PMcrunch

The first 3 above - Risk Identification, Risk Analysis, Risk Mitigation Planning - at the core of the thinking ahead and planning. 
 

In Risk Identification, think about all of the potential things that can go wrong - or even right, if not according to plan - and document these as exhaustively as you can justify.  Risk Identification is best accomplished by identifying stakeholders and brainstorming - leaving the analysis or mitigation planning out until the risks have been identified.
 

In Risk Analysis, you look “under the covers” of the risk, to understand the details.  This will help you to understand the complexity, the impact, the probability, and most importantly the factors influencing the risk item.
 

In Risk Mitigation Planning, the final part of the planning portion of risk management, information from the analysis is used to develop alternate courses of action in case a risk event occurs.  This is at the heart of thinking ahead - and “being prepared for anything”.
 

Risk Mitigation Plan Implementation means that we are implementing all of the above - putting the system in place to do all that was described above!  Risk Tracking is identifying what happens with the risks we have identified, so that our plan is triggered appropriately when prescribed events occur.

Personally, I find this whole process very liberating in the sense that much comfort much be derived from the fact that risks have been thought through very carefully, and there is a strategy in place to handle anything.  We need not worry, because that was essentially done up front!  We only need to implement the plan!
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John Reiling, PMP
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