PMI PMI-RMP - PMI Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) Exam

Risks are dynamic and must be continuously monitored and updated throughout the project lifecycle, regardless of project size or duration. The PMBOK® Guide specifies that risk monitoring is an ongoing process:

"Risks are monitored throughout the project. The risk register should be updated as new risks are identified, existing risks change, or as risk responses are implemented."

— PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, Section 11.7 (Monitor Risks)

Continuous review ensures that new risks are captured and previously identified risks are managed appropriately.

The project manager should assess and record associated secondary risks and proceed to treat them as any other risks. This involves identifying and evaluating the potential negative health effects of using pesticides and developing a plan to mitigate these risks. While it is important to consider the concerns of residents, the health authorities have determined that not moving forward with the plan will have more serious consequences on public health.

 Secondary risks are those that arise as a direct outcome of implementing a risk response. In this case, the use of pesticides is a risk response to limit the risks of harmful insects, but it may also cause negative health effects to some residents. This is a secondary risk that needs to be assessed and recorded in the risk register, along with its probability, impact, and response plan. The project manager should not suspend the project, as this would ignore the primary risk of harmful insects. The project manager should not consult with health experts to provide a risk trigger, as this is not a valid risk management technique. A risk trigger is an indication that a risk event is about to occur or has occurred, not a condition that prevents a risk response from being implemented. The project manager should not proceed with the project as normal, as this would neglect the secondary risk and its potential consequences. The project manager should follow the risk management process and treat the secondary risk as any other risk in the project. References: PMI. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. Chapter 11: Project Risk Management, p. 408. 5

According to the PMBOK Guide, one of the tools and techniques for the implement risk responses process is root cause analysis. Root cause analysis is a technique that focuses on identifying the fundamental reason for the occurrence of a problem or a risk. By conducting a root cause analysis, the risk owner can determine why the implemented measures were only partially successful and what caused the new unforeseen risk to emerge. This can help the risk owner to identify and implement more effective risk responses, as well as to update the risk register and the risk report with the new information1 . References: PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, pages 452-453, 474-4751; PMI-RMP Exam Content Outline, 2015, page 8.

 

When a risk manager realizes that a project has unrealistic funding and low resources, the appropriate document to review is the Project Management Plan. The Project Management Plan includes detailed information about the project’s budget, resources, and overall strategy. By reviewing this plan, the risk manager can identify any discrepancies between the planned and actual resources and funding, allowing them to assess the associated risks and take necessary corrective actions.

PMI’s standards indicate that the Project Management Plan is the primary document that outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled, including how resources and budgets are allocated​​.

 

Adding correlation to the model accounts for the relationship between activities, which can result in increased variability in the model's outcomes. This will increase the standard deviation, which is a measure of the uncertainty in the model.

 According to the PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, Chapter 11: Project Risk Management1, an effect of adding the correlation to the Monte Carlo schedule risk analysis model is that it increases the standard deviation of the model. This is because:

Correlation is the statistical relationship between two or more variables. In a schedule risk analysis, correlation can be used to model the dependency between the durations of different activities. For example, if two activities are positively correlated, it means that if one activity takes longer than expected, the other activity is also likely to take longer than expected. Conversely, if two activities are negatively correlated, it means that if one activity takes longer than expected, the other activity is likely to take shorter than expected.

A Monte Carlo schedule risk analysis is a simul-ation technique that uses random values for uncertain variables, such as activity durations, to generate possible outcomes for the project schedule. The simul-ation is repeated many times to produce a probability distribution of the project completion date and duration. The standard deviation is a measure of the variability or dispersion of the distribution. A higher standard deviation means that the distribution is more spread out and less predictable.

Adding correlation to the Monte Carlo schedule risk analysis model increases the standard deviation of the model because it introduces more variability and uncertainty to the simul-ation. Correlated activities can have a cumulative effect on the project schedule, either positively or negatively, depending on the direction and strength of the correlation. This can result in more extreme outcomes for the project completion date and duration, which increase the spread of the distribution and the standard deviation.

PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, Chapter 11: Project Risk Management1

Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)® Exam Cert Guide2

 According to the PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, Section 11.2.1.2, Assumptions Log, an assumption is a factor that is considered to be true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration. Assumptions can affect the project planning and execution, and should be identified, documented, validated, and updated throughout the project life cycle. The assumptions log is an output of the Identify Risks process, and it records the project assumptions and their potential impact, validity, and priority. If the assumptions are found to be invalid or inaccurate, they may introduce new risks or change the existing risk exposure. Therefore, the project manager should update the assumptions log and assess the risk associated with the conflicting infrastructure pieces, and plan appropriate risk responses if needed. References: PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, Section 11.2.1.2, Assumptions Log

When conflicting infrastructure pieces are identified, the project manager should update the assumptions log to reflect the new information and assess the risks associated with the conflicting pieces. This allows the project manager to make informed decisions about how to address potential issues and avoid future problems. (Reference: Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Section 11.3)

 

 

With 25 identified risks, and considering the constraints and resources available, the appropriate next step is to perform a qualitative risk analysis. This process helps prioritize the risks based on their probability and impact, as well as other relevant factors like urgency, proximity, and detectability. By doing so, the team can focus on the most significant risks that require immediate attention and develop response plans accordingly, optimizing the use of available resources. PMI recommends this approach to ensure that risk management efforts are both efficient and effective in addressing the most critical risks first​.

 

According to the PMBOK® Guide1, the risk management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed. It provides guidance on how the project team will identify, analyze, respond, monitor, and control risks throughout the project life cycle. The risk management plan should be reviewed and updated whenever there are changes in the project scope, schedule, budget, or objectives, as these changes may introduce new risks or affect the existing ones. In this case, the organization’s decision to accelerate a key project is a significant change that may alter the risk profile of the project. Therefore, the first action for the project risk manager to take is to revise the risk management plan to reflect the new situation and ensure that the risk management processes are aligned with the project objectives and constraints. This is part of the Plan Risk Management process in the PMBOK® Guide1. References: 1: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition

A contingency plan is pre-planned for specific risk triggers. When the trigger is observed, the contingency plan should be activated as specified. PMBOK® Guide states:

"If a risk trigger occurs, the corresponding contingency plan or fallback plan should be implemented as documented in the risk response plan."

— PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, Section 11.6

Lessons learned from previous projects are critical for effective risk identification because they provide insights into what risks materialized, how they were managed, and what could have been improved. According to the PMBOK® Guide:

“Lessons learned from previous projects are organizational process assets that should be reviewed during risk identification to avoid repeating past mistakes and to leverage successful risk responses.”

— PMBOK® Guide, 6th Edition, Section 11.2.2.1 (Organizational Process Assets)

These assets enable proactive identification and management of similar risks in the new project.