Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
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You are the manager of a large and complex project. During Execution one of your team members comes to you and tells you that they have discovered a major problem. You check the risk register and notice that this problem was not included. What is the first thing that you should do
1) Alert the Project Sponsor
2) Create a work around
3) Review the Identify risks process
4) Tell the team member its not his responsibility to identify risks and issues
I am convinced that the answer is 2 because the problem at hand needs to be tackled first using a work around and reviewing "Identify risks" is not going to help . I am only confused between choices 2 and 3 Saving Changes...
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
I agree, it is option 2. The trick of the question is the word "first". Option 3 must also be done, but not in the first place. Saving Changes...
Harshita VermaSr. Manager Strategy & Control| State Street Services Pvt. Ltd.Bangalore, Karnataka, India
I concur with you on this one. Option 2 is looks appropriate to me. We need to first explore a work around to attack the problem. Option 3 & 4 anyways look incorrect. Saving Changes...
Frankly speaking, I am a little confused of what a major problem is and of whether it has already occurred or just identified a major potential problem It looks more likely the question on communications management or stakeholder management. Anyway, a project manager should first let project sponsor know the issue if this might be considered as a major problem whether it has already occurred or remains potentially before taking any measures such as iteration of risk management processes in case of potential risk which has not yet occurred, or creating a workaround in case of a unplanned or passively accepted risk. So I would go with "A". Saving Changes...
Actually, the first step should be to add the risk in risk register and then create mitigation plan (option 2).
Option 3 is also right, but it definitely comes after option 2. Saving Changes...
Is this major problem already an event or has it just been identified.
If it has just been identified you want to take the issue through the risk assessment process. As the PM you and your team really want to know the probability it will happen and what the likely consequences for the event. Once that is defined then you can decide how to respond and if need be how to pay for the change.
If it is truly and Unk-unk then development using your change control process, documentation of the response and use of contingency. Saving Changes...
"...During Execution one of your team members comes to you and tells you that they have discovered a major PROBLEM."
An issue or a problem is a negative risk realized. The sponsor must be informed immediately. Assessment of complexity, cause, impact and work around/solution design should ensue subsequently.
It's a newly discovered problem. During risk assessment this problem or any risk related might not have been anticipated hence 'risk' is missing in the risk register. Not 'all' problems encountered in a project are risks 'accounted for'. Saving Changes...
Deepesh RammoorthyICT Project Manager ( PMP®AgilePM®Certified ScrumMaster® (CSM®))| Australian Red Cross Blood ServiceTarneit, Vic, Australia
Thanks Guys . Had this or a similar question appeared on the exam , I would still have selected work around for an Unknown problem that suddenly appeared during executing and I had no Risk Response Plan for .
If I had a risk response in terms of Contingency or Fallback , I would have executed that for a "known" risk. Saving Changes...
The immediate response is to resolve the problem or develop a workaround, but once the dust has settled you would want to re-evaluate how risks were identified to understand why this problem was not envisioned. Was it truly a Black Swan or a freak incident of some kind, or should it have been possible to identify it and if so, why was it not identified?
Kiron Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
I'm with Kiron on this one. You may find that resolving the problem requires you to involve the sponsor. Saving Changes...
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