Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
Chapter 7: Managing Project Risk
True/False
1. Failure to follow a formal risk management plan will often cause organizations to
be reactive and find themselves in a state of perpetual crisis, a condition known as
crisis management.
a. True
b. False
2. The best time to plan for risk is during the project execution phase when risk can
be assessed most accurately.
a. True
b. False
3. Effective project risk management requires that each risk have an owner.
a. True
b. False
4. In general, because of the similarities in IT projects, one can manage all projects
and risks in the same manner.
a. True
b. False
5. Project risk management focuses solely on the downside of risk that results from
unexpected problems or threats.
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
a. True
b. False
6. The PMBOK® definition of project risk suggests that a systematic process is
needed to effectively manage the risk of a project.
a. True
b. False
7. It never pays to ignore an element of project risk.
a. True
b. False
8. The goal of a sound risk management is to completely avoid all risk.
a. True
b. False
9. Unknown-unknown risks are residual risks that we cannot even imagine
happening.
a. True
b. False
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
10. Since risk arises from uncertainty, there can be no such category as known risks.
a. True
b. False
11. Learning cycles can be used as a tool for identifying threats and opportunities.
a. True
b. False
12. Nominal Group Technique is a free form, unstructured process similar to
Brainstorming.
a. True
b. False
13. The fishbone or Ishikawa diagram is a form of cause and effect analysis
diagramming.
a. True
b. False
14. Since IT projects are developed in an environment that changes so rapidly and so
extensively, there is little value in using past projects to guide our risk assessment
of new ones.
a. True
b. False
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
15. Qualitative risk analysis has as one of its strengths the ability to include subjective
analysis based on experience and judgment.
a. True
b. False
16. The concept of expected value rests on the notion of a probability-weighted
summation of component parts.
a. True
b. False
17. The area under the normal distribution curve that lies within 2 standard deviations
of the mean (plus or minus) includes about 68% of all the values.
a. True
b. False
18. Sensitivity analysis is used to determine the joint effects of multiple risky tasks,
while Monte Carlo Simulation is used to measure which individual tasks pose the
greatest project risk.
a. True
b. False
19. The deployment of a specific risk management strategy is in part a function of
risk tolerance levels of the stakeholders.
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
a. True
b. False
20. Triggers or flags in the form of metrics should be identified to draw attention to a
particular risk when it occurs.
a. True
b. False
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
Multiple Choice
1. _____ are the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification,
analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control on a project.
a) Project risk management
b) Project risk response
c) Project risk planning
d) Project risk analysis
e) Project risk control
2. Successful risk management requires _____
a) misunderstanding the benefits of risk management
b) inadequate time for risk identification
c) use of a non-standard approach to assess risk
d) stakeholder responsibility
e) occasional monitoring of risks to ensure compliance
3. _____ is an uncertain event that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on
project objectives.
a) Risk management
b) Risk response
c) Project risk
d) Risk plan
e) Risk control
4. The first step in managing IT project risk is _____.
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
a) risk identification
b) risk assessment
c) risk planning
d) risk monitoring and control
e) risk evaluation
5. _____ involves deciding which risks can impact the project.
a) Plan Risk Management
b) Identify Risks
c) Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
d) Plan Risk Responses
e) Monitor and Control Risks
6. _____requires determining the true problem, or cause, of the risk.
a) risk identification
b) risk assessment
c) risk planning
d) risk monitoring and control
e) risk evaluation
7. _____ is the core layer in the IT Project Risk Identification Framework.
a) Measurable Organizational Value
b) Project objectives
c) Risk sources
d) Internality / Externality
e) Known / Unknown
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
8. Identifying what you know, what you think you know, and things you need to find
out would be activities most closely associated with:
a) Learning Cycles
b) Brainstorming
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
9. Gaining consensus from a group of experts would be most closely associated
with:
a) Learning Cycles
b) Brainstorming
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
10. Initial generation of ideas without evaluation would be most closely associated
with:
a) Learning Cycles
b) Brainstorming
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
11. A structured technique for identifying risks which requires participants to rank
and prioritize ideas in round-robin fashion is most closely associated with:
a) Learning Cycles
b) Brainstorming
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
12. A _____ is a structured tool that identifies risks that have occurred in the past.
a) learning cycle
b) brainstorming session
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) checklist
13. A _____ identifies threats and opportunities in the external environment as well as
organizational strengths and weaknesses .
a) Learning Cycle
b) SWOT Analysis
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Checklist
14. _____ focuses on root-cause analysis and determining the cause of risks, as well
as the effects of risks on the project.
a) Learning Cycles
b) Brainstorming
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
c) Nominal Group Technique
d) Delphi Technique
e) Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
15. Receiving a much larger than usual gas utility bill because of an early spring cold
spell is an example of what type of risk?
a) known risk
b) known-unknown risk
c) unknown-unknown risk
d) known-known
e) none of these
16. _____ involves developing a probability distribution for understanding and
responding to identified risks.
a) Plan Risk Management
b) Identify Risks
c) Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
d) Plan Risk Responses
e) Monitor and Control Risks
17. _____ prioritizes risks so that an effective risk strategy can be formulated.
a) Risk mitigation
b) Risk assessment
c) Risk avoidance
d) Risk analysis
e) Risk monitoring and control
Information Technology Project Management 5e – Marchewka
18. The Payoff Table would be used with which risk assessment technique ?
a) Qualitative Risk Analysis
b) Quantitative Risk Analysis
c) Cause-and- Effect Diagram
d) Simulations
e) Probability Distributions
19. Which of the following distributions has mean which is equal to (a + 4b +c) / 6
where a, b, and c are denote optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates
respectively?:
a) Discrete Distribution
b) Normal Distribution
c) Pert Distribution
d) Triangular Distribution
e) Binomial Distribution
20. _____ use only integer or whole numbers, where fractional values are not allowed
or would not make sense.
a) Discrete Distribution
b) Normal Distribution
c) Pert Distribution
d) Triangular Distribution
e) Binomial Distribution