Project Risk Management Risk Monitoring and Control 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A previously identified risk has now occurred on the project. What does this risk become in project management terminology?
- A constraint
- An issue (Correct answer)
- A trigger
- A lesson learned
Correct answer: An issue
When a risk event actually occurs, it transitions from a risk (uncertain future event) to an issue (a current problem that requires immediate action).
Question 2: Which risk response strategy, when implemented, would most likely create secondary risks that must be monitored?
- Risk acceptance
- Risk avoidance
- Risk transfer (Correct answer)
- Risk mitigation
Correct answer: Risk transfer
Risk transfer (e.g., using contracts or insurance) can create secondary risks such as vendor default, contract disputes, or inadequate coverage that must be monitored.
Question 3: What is the purpose of 'technical performance measurement' in the context of monitoring project risks?
- To measure the team's coding proficiency
- To compare technical accomplishments to planned milestones as a risk indicator (Correct answer)
- To evaluate vendor technical capabilities
- To document technical debt
Correct answer: To compare technical accomplishments to planned milestones as a risk indicator
Technical performance measurement compares achieved technical results against planned targets; deviations can indicate that technical risks are materializing or escalating.
Question 4: A project manager wants to ensure all identified risk owners are actively managing their assigned risks. Which tool is most appropriate?
- Risk breakdown structure
- Risk register review meetings (Correct answer)
- Monte Carlo simulation
- Sensitivity analysis
Correct answer: Risk register review meetings
Regular risk register review meetings bring together risk owners to report on risk status, response effectiveness, and trigger conditions, ensuring accountability.
Question 5: When should a project team consider closing a risk in the risk register?
- When the project is 50% complete
- When the risk can no longer occur because its window of opportunity has passed (Correct answer)
- When the risk owner leaves the project
- When the risk has a probability below 10%
Correct answer: When the risk can no longer occur because its window of opportunity has passed
A risk should be closed when it can no longer occur—typically because the phase or condition that would trigger it has passed—or when it has been fully mitigated.
Question 6: Which of the following scenarios represents an appropriate use of management reserves in risk monitoring?
- Covering routine project expenses
- Funding responses to unknown-unknown risks that materialize (Correct answer)
- Paying for planned risk mitigation activities
- Compensating for poor initial cost estimating
Correct answer: Funding responses to unknown-unknown risks that materialize
Management reserves are held for unforeseeable 'unknown-unknown' risks; when such an event occurs, a change request is needed to access these funds.
Question 7: A project manager receives work performance reports showing the schedule is significantly behind. From a risk monitoring perspective, this information should primarily be used to:
- Immediately crash the schedule
- Assess whether schedule risks are materializing and update risk status (Correct answer)
- Report the delay to the customer only
- Reduce project scope to recover schedule
Correct answer: Assess whether schedule risks are materializing and update risk status
Schedule variance data is a key input for risk monitoring, helping the team assess whether previously identified schedule risks have triggered and whether new risks have emerged.
Project Risk Management Risk Monitoring and Control 4
A previously identified risk has now occurred on the project.
What does this risk become in project management terminology?