Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ) Risk, Issue and Change Management Syllabus

Risk, Issue and Change Management syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Risk, Issue and Change Management in Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Risk Management

   6 topics

   • The risk management process
     • Identify, assess, plan responses, implement
     • Continuous monitoring and review
   • Risk identification techniques
     • Brainstorming, checklists and prompt lists
     • Assumptions and constraints analysis
   • Qualitative and quantitative assessment
     • Probability and impact assessment
     • Probability/impact grid and risk scoring
   • Risk response strategies
     • Threat responses: avoid, reduce, transfer, accept
     • Opportunity responses: exploit, enhance, share, reject
     • Fallback plans and risk owners
   • The risk register and proximity
   • Benefits of risk management
2. 2

   Issue Management

   4 topics

   • Distinguishing risks from issues
   • The issue management process
     • Capture, assess, escalate, resolve
   • The issue register and escalation routes
     • Tolerances and escalation to the sponsor
   • Roles in managing issues
3. 3

   Change Control and Configuration Management

   5 topics

   • The change control process
     • Request, assess, decide, implement, review
     • Impact assessment on scope, time, cost, quality
   • The change request and change log
   • Roles in change control
     • Change authority and delegated limits
   • Configuration management
     • Configuration identification and status accounting
     • Version control and configuration audits
   • Relationship between change control and configuration management

Risk, Issue and Change Management flashcards for Association for Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ)

19 of 59 cards from the Risk, Issue and Change Management deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In APM terms, what is a 'risk' (risk event)?

   An uncertain event or set of circumstances that, should it occur, would have an effect on the achievement of one or more project objectives. It may have positive (opportunity) or negative (threat) impact.

2. What is the formal aim of risk management in a project?

   A structured process that allows individual risk events and overall risk to be understood and managed proactively, optimising success by minimising threats and maximising opportunities.

3. Name the typical stages of the APM risk management process.

   1) Initiate (define context/scope), 2) Identify, 3) Assess (qualitative then quantitative), 4) Plan responses, 5) Implement responses, with ongoing Manage/review (communicate and monitor) throughout.

4. What is the difference between 'risk event' and 'overall project risk'?

   A risk event is a single uncertain occurrence affecting objectives; overall (aggregated) project risk is the combined exposure of stakeholders to the consequences of all uncertainty across the whole project.

5. Distinguish a threat from an opportunity in risk management.

   A threat is a risk with a negative effect on objectives; an opportunity is a risk with a positive effect. Both are managed through the same risk process with mirrored response strategies.

6. List common risk identification techniques used in APM PMQ.

   Brainstorming, checklists, prompt lists, assumption/constraint analysis, lessons-learned reviews, SWOT analysis, interviews, Delphi technique, nominal group technique, and document/cause-and-effect analysis.

7. What is the Delphi technique for risk identification?

   A method of gathering risk input anonymously from a panel of experts over several iterative rounds, with feedback between rounds, to reach consensus while avoiding dominant-personality bias.

8. What is a prompt list in risk identification?

   A predetermined list of risk categories or sources (e.g. PESTLE, TECOP) used to stimulate thinking and ensure broad coverage so categories of risk are not overlooked.

9. What does qualitative risk assessment involve?

   Subjectively assessing and prioritising individual risks by rating their probability and impact (e.g. high/medium/low), often plotting them on a probability-impact grid to determine priority.

10. What does quantitative risk assessment involve?

    Numerically analysing the combined effect of risks on overall project outcomes (cost/time), using models such as Monte Carlo simulation, decision trees and sensitivity analysis to give probabilistic forecasts.

11. What is a probability-impact grid (P-I matrix)?

    A matrix that plots each risk's likelihood against its severity of impact, producing a priority score so risks can be ranked and management attention focused on the most significant.

12. How is the expected value (risk exposure) of a single risk calculated?

    $$EV = P \times I$$ where $P$ is the probability of the risk occurring and $I$ is its impact (often a monetary value).

13. What is Monte Carlo simulation used for in quantitative risk analysis?

    A computer-based technique that runs many iterations using probability distributions for uncertain variables to produce a range of possible project outcomes (e.g. cost/duration) and their likelihoods.

14. What is a decision tree in quantitative risk analysis?

    A diagrammatic technique mapping decision options and chance events with their probabilities and values, used to calculate the expected monetary value (EMV) of each path and choose the best option.

15. What is sensitivity analysis in risk?

    A technique that tests how changes in individual uncertain variables affect the overall project outcome, identifying which risks the project result is most sensitive to (often shown on a tornado diagram).

16. List the four response strategies for a threat (negative risk).

    Avoid (eliminate the threat/cause), Reduce/Mitigate (lower probability and/or impact), Transfer (assign to a third party, e.g. insurance/contract), and Accept (take no proactive action, possibly with contingency).

17. List the four response strategies for an opportunity (positive risk).

    Exploit (make it certain to happen), Enhance (increase probability and/or impact), Share (partner with a third party to gain benefit), and Reject/Accept (take no proactive action).

18. What is 'transfer' as a threat response, and give an example?

    Passing ownership of a risk and its impact to a third party best able to manage it, e.g. taking out insurance or using a fixed-price contract. The risk does not disappear but liability is moved.

19. What is the difference between a 'fallback plan' and 'contingency'?

    Contingency is time/money/resource set aside for risks that may occur; a fallback (or secondary) plan is a predefined response invoked if the primary risk response fails or the risk still occurs.

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