Which practice area primarily involves assessing project risks and impacts?

The practice area that primarily involves assessing project risks and impacts is risk management. This area focuses on identifying, analyzing, and responding to potential risks that could affect the successful completion of a project. Risk management entails a systematic process that allows organizations to minimize the likelihood and impact of negative events while maximizing opportunities that could benefit the project.

In risk management, various tools and techniques are employed to determine the probability of risks and their potential impact on project objectives. By assessing these factors, project teams can prioritize risks and develop mitigation strategies to address them. This proactive approach helps ensure that risks are managed effectively throughout the project life cycle, ultimately leading to better project outcomes.

The other practice areas, while important in their own right, do not primarily focus on risk assessment. Configuration management deals with maintaining the integrity of project artifacts and ensuring that changes do not adversely affect project outcomes. Quality assurance is concerned with ensuring that project deliverables meet specified quality standards and involve processes aimed at preventing defects. Project planning involves defining project objectives, scopes, and timelines, but it does not specifically address the assessment of risks. Therefore, risk management stands out as the key practice area for assessing project risks and impacts.