One of the main reasons to even have a software process is to reduce the risk of your project failing in some way. Failure for software can take many forms:
Didn’t meet deadline
Over budget
Missing features / full of bugs
Consequences of the software failing
Don’t hide from the risks to your project! Acknowledge what could possibly happen and then take active steps to 1) prevent it from happening and 2) if it does happen, minimize the impact.
The risk management lifecycle uses six steps:
Identify - What is the risk and how does it affect your project?
Analyze - What is the cost of the risk if it occurs and how likely is it to occur?
Prioritize - How much should you care about this risk?
Plan - What are you going to do if the risk comes to fruition?
Mitigate - How can you reduce the possibility or impact of the risk?
Monitor - What aspects of your project / team should you keep an eye on?
What are some things that could go wrong with your project and how can you avoid serious repercussions?