TOPIC: Two questions for which I don't agree with answers. Please give your opinion.

Below are the questions, for which I don't agree with the answers. Please help me with your feedback.

1) A project manager has assembled the project team. They have identified 33 risks on the project, determined what would trigger the risks, rated them on a risk rating matrix, tested their assumptions, and assessed the quality of the data used. The team is continuing to move through the risk management process. What has the project manager forgotten to do?

A. Conduct a simulation.
B. Perform risk mitigation.
C. Determine the overall risk ranking for the project.
D. lnvolve other stakeholders.

Answer given is D. But according to me, the answer is C, because, in Qualitative risk analysis, an overall risk ranking of the project needs to be determined. That was not done. So, I believe that is the answer.

2) A project manager is quantifying risk for her project. Several of her experts are off-site, but wish to be included. How can this be done?

A. Perform Monte Carlo analysis using the internet as a tool.
R. Apply the critical path method.
C. Determine options for recommended corrective action.
D. Use facilitation techniques.

Answer given is D. To me, the answer is A since Monte Carlo analysis is used in Quantitative risk analysis and the internet can be used since team members are off-site.

I believe I am right. Please give me your valuable opinion. Thank you.

Hello Rahul,

Our forum policy states the following: "If you are posting a sample exam question include information about where you found this sample question."

Would you please let us know where they are from and also if you have permission by the question owner to post them here?

Thank you

First question:

This is a great PMP question because it tries to lead you down all sorts of rabbit-holes. Let's start with eliminating answers. The goal of every PMP question is to remove two weaker answers. For this question, A and B are answers we can eliminate. "Tested their assumptions" seems to suggest that A has already been accomplished. "Determined risk triggers" as already being accomplished would eliminate B.

Thus, we are down to two answers, and this is the PMP exam in nutshell. First, C is problematic because we are still in the Plan Risk Management processes and determining an overall risk ranking for the project is something you do as risks begin to occur (and is included in the risk report), not as we are going through the process of identifying risks.

That being said, this is what the PMBOK has to say about assessing risks in the Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, "Such assessments are subjective as they are based on perceptions of risk by the project team and other stakeholders. Effective assessment therefore requires explicit identification and management of the risk attitudes of key participants in the Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis process." (PMBOK, pg. 420).

It quickly appears that you have not identified key stakeholders to help you assess and identify risks. The PBMOK and the PMP exam are all about communication and including SMEs.

Lastly, you can ask yourself what answer is communicative, proactive, includes stakeholders for the judgment and feedback and what insures that we don't do any re-work? In this case, this answer is including those key stakeholders at critical points where their input is critically necessary.

D, final answer.

Hi Sir, I found these questions online and only answer options were given. No explanation. Since anyone could access them for free, I thought I can post them here.

Question 2:

So let's begin. First, your statement supporting answer A is simply the wrong approach to the PMP exam. You have gone into the question with an assumption (or an agenda) on how YOU think things should be done. This is not how you approach PMP exam question. The point of all PMP exam questions is to pick the BEST (or least worst from those given). Let's start by eliminating two answers. Both B and C can be eliminated as nonsensical. First, "apply critical path method" is a scheduling technique not found in the current process and "options for recommended corrective action" is vague and vacuous.

Thus, we are left with A and D. The problem with D is "using the internet as a tool". The "internet" is not a tool per se and is vacuous. A Monte Carlo simulation is a computer program run iteratively which produces a range of possibilities. Secondly, the question is "how can we include the experts"? Obviously, this answer is not how you would design a Monte Carlo simulation and secondly, it does not help the experts communicate their ideas.

Thus, we are left with D. PMBOK, pg. 432 shows that facilitation is a tool and technique that can "can improve effectiveness by establishing a clear understanding of the purpose of the workshop, building consensus among participants, ensuring continued focus on the task, and using creative approaches to deal with interpersonal conflict or sources of bias.".

Again, this is a great PMP question because we have to make sure our answer fully answers the question. Facilitation is a tool and technique used in Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, fully answers the question.

D, final answer.

Hi Devin,

I understand now. They tricked me well with Quantitative analysis --> Monte Carlo and experts in off-site locations --> Internet.

Hi Devin,

I still have a doubt about the first question. The question says that risks were rated on a matrix and quality of the data was assessed. So, clearly the project was in Qualitative Risk analysis process. Generally, the overall risk ranking of the project is also given in this stage so that it can be compared to the risk ranking of other projects. Clearly, it was not done. Question says they were proceeding to the next stage, which can be either Quantitative Risk analysis or Plan Risk Responses. I understand that option D is correct because there can be many stakeholders outside of the Project Team. But, option C is also correct. So, if I understand correctly, option D is selected because it is a better answer than option C. Not because option C is wrong.

Rahul

On what page of the PMBOK (in Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis) can you find that the "overall risk ranking of the project is also given in this stage so that it can be compared to the risk ranking of other projects". I don't think that is correct, but willing to change my answer if you can find support from the PMBOK. Where are you getting that from?

You are right. It is not there in the PMBOK guide. But it is there in another book I read. Thank you.

It's there, technically, because the risk report (communicated at whatever interval is outlined in the communication plan) will show overall project risk. But that overall project risk is the current level of triggered risks, not something you produce as a statistic on your first pass through the risk planning processes.

The key to passing the PMP exam is to get a sense of the context of the question. The question is clearly about the project team doing a lot of risk identification (33) and other extremely detailed risk analysis without including any expert. PMBOK (423), "Risks can be assessed in interviews or meetings with participants selected for their familiarity with the types of risk recorded in the risk register. Project team members and knowledgeable persons external to the project are included". Other tools to gather risks are meetings, interviews, risk workshops, etc.

Candidates that don't do well on the exam tend to poorly analyze the question. They say read the question carefully. Actually, you need to understand the context of the question carefully. Get a sense of where it is going. It's kind of like those "what's different in this picture" game. You need to step into the question as see yourself as the PM.

When you pick Answer C, you are not analyzing the question carefully, but merely picking out an answer that makes sense to you. You need to pick the answer that best fits the context.

I think it's like those "magic eye" puzzles, once you see how to do it, these questions become much easier.

Hope this helps.

If I may add something, it looks to me there are some made-up terms which sound misleading to me; for example, while I get the sense of a risk rating matrix, there is no such a thing in the PMBOK Guide, and the matrix is commonly called a "probability & impact matrix".
Similarly, while you may identify sources of overall project risk (as part of the Identify Risks process) and you will be able to quantify the overall project risk exposure (as part of the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process), I couldn't think of any action to "rank" overall risk, as in fact you may think of the prioritisation of individual project risks as some sort of ranking—which would not be appropriate either, as a ranking implies a quantification that you do not have at this stage.

My 2 cents here.

Gabriella