Government Procurement Certification Government Procurement Risk Management & Mitigation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In federal procurement, which document formally documents how identified risks will be managed throughout the life of a contract?
- Risk Management Plan (Correct answer)
- Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan
- Statement of Work
- Independent Government Cost Estimate
Correct answer: Risk Management Plan
A Risk Management Plan outlines risk identification methods, roles, monitoring cadence, and mitigation strategies for the entire contract period.
Question 2: A supply chain risk that could allow insertion of counterfeit parts is most directly addressed through which FAR provision?
- FAR 46.317 – Subcontractor Parts Quality Assurance (Correct answer)
- FAR 52.219-8 – Utilization of Small Business Concerns
- FAR 52.222-26 – Equal Opportunity
- FAR 15.304 – Evaluation Factors
Correct answer: FAR 46.317 – Subcontractor Parts Quality Assurance
FAR 46.317 and related DFARS clauses specifically require contractors to maintain quality assurance programs that detect and report counterfeit parts.
Question 3: Which approach helps agencies mitigate schedule risk when procuring complex IT systems?
- Breaking the acquisition into smaller, incremental delivery phases (Correct answer)
- Issuing a single large contract with a single delivery date
- Reducing the number of performance milestones
- Eliminating interim reporting requirements
Correct answer: Breaking the acquisition into smaller, incremental delivery phases
Incremental or modular contracting reduces schedule risk by delivering capability in manageable phases with shorter delivery cycles and earlier checkpoints.
Question 4: An agency discovers that its sole-source supplier is at risk of bankruptcy. This situation represents which category of procurement risk?
- Supply chain risk (Correct answer)
- Legal risk
- Budget risk
- Performance risk
Correct answer: Supply chain risk
Dependence on a financially unstable single supplier creates supply chain risk because the government may lose its source of critical goods or services.
Question 5: What is the role of an Acquisition Risk Assessment in the procurement planning phase?
- To identify and evaluate risks before a solicitation is issued so mitigation strategies can be built into the contract (Correct answer)
- To evaluate offeror technical proposals
- To conduct price reasonableness analysis
- To determine small business set-aside thresholds
Correct answer: To identify and evaluate risks before a solicitation is issued so mitigation strategies can be built into the contract
Conducting a risk assessment during planning allows the team to design contract terms, surveillance plans, and contingency funds that address known risks upfront.
Question 6: Which metric is most useful for monitoring performance risk on an ongoing basis during contract execution?
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against contractual requirements (Correct answer)
- The contractor's corporate revenue growth
- The number of invoices submitted on time
- The Contracting Officer's workload backlog
Correct answer: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against contractual requirements
KPIs tied to contractual requirements provide objective, measurable signals that alert the COR and CO when performance is trending toward failure.
Government Procurement Certification Government Procurement Risk Management & Mitigation 2
In federal procurement, which document formally documents how identified risks will be managed throughout the life of a contract?