CPT Risk Assessment & Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In performance consulting, 'scope creep' during an intervention design project is best categorized as what type of risk?
- Financial risk
- Project management risk (Correct answer)
- Ethical risk
- Evaluation risk
Correct answer: Project management risk
Scope creep is a project management risk that expands deliverables beyond the original agreement, threatening timelines and budgets.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes a 'residual risk' in performance improvement planning?
- Risk identified after project completion
- Risk remaining after mitigation strategies have been applied (Correct answer)
- Risk transferred to a third-party vendor
- Risk removed through avoidance strategies
Correct answer: Risk remaining after mitigation strategies have been applied
Residual risk is the level of risk that persists even after planned controls and countermeasures have been implemented.
Question 3: A CPT notices that subject matter experts are unavailable during the critical design phase. This is an example of which category of project risk?
- Technical risk
- Resource risk (Correct answer)
- Compliance risk
- Market risk
Correct answer: Resource risk
Resource risk involves the unavailability of people, skills, equipment, or budget needed to execute the project as planned.
Question 4: When using a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) in HPT, what does the 'detectability' rating measure?
- How likely a failure is to occur
- How severe the impact of failure would be
- How easily a failure can be identified before it causes harm (Correct answer)
- How quickly recovery from failure is possible
Correct answer: How easily a failure can be identified before it causes harm
Detectability in FMEA rates how easily the failure mode can be identified before the effect reaches the end user or causes damage.
Question 5: An organization chooses to purchase insurance for a performance improvement rollout that involves significant financial exposure. This is an example of:
- Risk avoidance
- Risk reduction
- Risk transference (Correct answer)
- Risk acceptance
Correct answer: Risk transference
Risk transference shifts the financial consequence of a risk to another party, such as an insurer or contracted vendor.
Question 6: Which evaluation design best controls for the risk that observed performance improvements result from factors other than the intervention?
- Post-test only design
- Pretest-posttest without a control group
- Randomized controlled design with a comparison group (Correct answer)
- Longitudinal survey design
Correct answer: Randomized controlled design with a comparison group
A randomized controlled design with a comparison group controls for confounding variables, allowing causal attribution of performance change to the intervention.
Question 7: A CPT recommends delaying a performance improvement initiative because the organization is undergoing a major restructuring. This decision reflects:
- Risk avoidance
- Risk acceptance
- Risk reduction through timing (Correct answer)
- Risk transference
Correct answer: Risk reduction through timing
Adjusting implementation timing to avoid a high-turbulence period reduces the likelihood of poor adoption and competing change priorities.
CPT Risk Assessment & Management 3
In performance consulting, 'scope creep' during an intervention design project is best categorized as what type of risk?