IT project has deliverables: a delivery date and a budget, and each stage of the project lifecycle carry its own risks. Since IT projects are often difficult to estimate and manage, the project should not be allowed to go from one phase into the next until a formal Risk Assessment has been performed, in order to achieve deliverables and expectations and to meet with user’s satisfaction. Risk assessment can take place at any stage and during any time of the project lifecycle, though the sooner the better. In this paper risk management and assessment in the early stages of IT projects will be discussed, along with methodologies on project management that will help ensure that a project start off with a reasonable chance of being successful. Emphasis will be on the TenStep methodology