Pocket PMOSchedule risk analysis tools, and which to pick when
Every serious schedule risk analysis tool compared honestly: publisher, deployment, indicative first-year cost, and what each is genuinely best for — plus how to choose without buying all of them.
| Decision area | Typical alternative | Pocket PMO |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Desktop installs, enterprise licences, and Excel add-ins across the market | Browser application, nothing to install |
| Indicative first-year cost | From $979/year (RiskyProject Professional) to ~$14,000+ (Safran Risk) at the enterprise end — published prices, October 2026 | Free tier; planned paid tiers are announced before they ship |
| Data it consumes | .mpp/.xer and P6 schedules, or Excel models built by specialists | Three-point estimates you enter, a CSV, or a Primavera P6 (.xer) / Microsoft Project (.xml) schedule import |
| Who drives it | Specialist risk analysts, model by model | Any PM, project by project, minutes to first result |
| AI access | Early vendor moves only — Lumivero’s @RISK Agent added an MCP connection in May 2026 (beta); none of these tools publishes a computation endpoint | Read-only MCP server in preview — planned; endpoint details not yet published |
The enterprise tier: Primavera Risk Analysis, Safran Risk, Deltek Acumen Risk
Oracle Primavera Risk Analysis is the incumbent: enterprise desktop deployment, the largest installed base, and over a decade as the reference for quantitative schedule risk analysis in P6-governed programmes; pricing runs through enterprise procurement. Safran Risk (~$14,000, published estimate at the time of writing, October 2026) dominates oil and gas, with integrated cost-and-schedule modelling, risk drivers, and weather windows. Deltek’s Acumen suite leads on schedule quality diagnostics: Acumen Fuse is the diagnostics product — it will tell you your schedule is not analyzable before it analyses it — and Acumen Risk adds the risk analysis layer (the combined offering runs ~$14,300 per three-year term, published estimate). All three assume specialist users, annual or multi-year commitments, and governance processes built around them.
The specialist mid tier: Lumivero SRA, RiskyProject, Tamara, Full Monte
Lumivero Schedule Risk Analysis (~$4,355, published estimate) takes an Excel-based approach familiar to estimation teams. RiskyProject from Intaver Institute ($979/year for Professional, published price) is the most self-contained desktop option: its own scheduling engine, .mpp/.xer import, Latin Hypercube Monte Carlo, and Event Chain Methodology, without requiring P6 or MS Project. Tamara from Vose Software (~$2,570, published estimate) is widely cited as the fastest tool in the category — driver-based modelling that skips schedule building altogether. Barbecana Full Monte is a purpose-built Monte Carlo add-in for MS Project and P6 schedules. These tools reward teams with a named risk analyst and a real QSRA practice.
The Excel library: @RISK
@RISK, from Lumivero (originally Palisade), is the most widely used Monte Carlo library in the industry: at its base it is an Excel add-in that brings distribution maths to whatever model you have built in a spreadsheet, and the @RISK Schedule Risk Analysis add-on extends the same engine to schedule work, importing Microsoft Project and Primavera P6 schedules. It is the right choice when your risk model already lives in Excel and your analysts are comfortable there — and with the schedule add-on it is a credible route into schedule risk analysis as well. Subscription pricing is published by Lumivero; verify current terms directly.
Where Pocket PMO sits
Pocket PMO is the lightweight browser tier of this market: PMI-standard methods — PERT three-point estimation, CPM critical path, Monte Carlo simulation, EVM — plus WBS, risk matrix, stakeholder management, budget tracking, and portfolio views, with nothing to install and a free tier, so you can verify the numbers before paying anything. It is not a deep QSRA suite: no event chains and no tornado charts, and a schedule import (Primavera P6 .xer or Microsoft Project .xml) drives the forecast through simplifications the import review flags, rather than a full desktop scheduling engine. It is for teams that need credible forecast numbers every week without buying the desktop or enterprise stack. The MCP server additionally exposes the computation core to AI agents in preview — the closest incumbent step is Lumivero’s @RISK Agent MCP connection (announced May 2026, beta), which assists analysis workflows rather than publishing a computation endpoint.
Which tool, when
P6-governed capital programmes with existing enterprise procurement: Primavera Risk Analysis. Oil and gas with integrated cost-and-schedule risk: Safran Risk. Schedules of questionable quality that need diagnostics first: Deltek Acumen Fuse (paired with Acumen Risk when you go on to analyse). Excel-native estimation teams: Lumivero Schedule Risk Analysis or @RISK. A named risk analyst who wants a self-contained desktop suite: RiskyProject. Driver-based rapid modelling without schedule building: Tamara. MS Project or P6 users who want Monte Carlo inside their scheduler: Barbecana Full Monte. A whole project team that needs weekly forecast numbers, earned value, and portfolio oversight without a specialist or a licence negotiation: Pocket PMO.
How to choose without buying all of them
Every tool here is a serious product, so let your own project decide. Take a schedule you already know well — ideally one where your old forecast turned out wrong — and run it through the free trials of the two or three tools that fit your tier. For the Pocket PMO side of that comparison, the free tier makes it genuinely free: enter the tasks as three-point estimates, run the Monte Carlo and critical path, and put the P80 date next to what the incumbents produce. Where the numbers disagree, the ranges will tell you why — and that is the cheapest due diligence you will ever run.
Related planning pages
When Pocket PMO is a good fit
Choose Pocket PMO when you want a practical project workspace that connects WBS planning, estimation, schedule risk, earned value, stakeholders, budget tracking, and reporting.