"Risk Management Is Project Management for Adults" (1997), published in IEEE Software, is one of timothy-lister's rare solo publications. The essay argues that genuine project management requires confronting uncertainty rather than pretending it doesn't exist — a theme Lister and DeMarco would develop more fully in waltzing-with-bears six years later.
The title encapsulates the risk-management-as-risk-embracement philosophy: treating risk management not as an optional add-on but as the defining characteristic of mature project leadership. The "for adults" framing reflects the DeMarco/Lister tradition of dry humor and practitioner skepticism toward management practices that avoid hard truths.