What is the primary purpose of risk assessment in projects?

The primary purpose of risk assessment in projects is to evaluate potential risks and develop strategies to mitigate their impact. This process involves identifying uncertainties that could negatively affect the project's objectives, such as scope, timeline, budget, and overall success. By assessing these risks, project managers can prioritize them based on their potential impact and likelihood, allowing for the formulation of plans to address or mitigate them proactively. This enhances the project's resilience, enabling teams to respond effectively to unexpected challenges or changes, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving project goals.

The other options, while relevant to project management, focus on areas that do not directly relate to risk assessment. Developing marketing strategies, allocating resources, and setting project timelines are important project management tasks, but they do not capture the essence of risk assessment, which is fundamentally about identifying and managing uncertainties to protect the project's health and success.