Risk Management Series (1)

What is Risk Management? What is PMI-RMP? How to obtain the Risk Management Certification? Many people are interested in risk management but not many people are aware about how to handle the risks either in projects or businesses. Even they are aware, they don’t realize about the risk management certification. That’s why the number of PMI-RMP certifications in Indonesia is very low.

In this newsletter, there is an article that describes why you need a certification. PMI-RMP (Risk Management Professional) is one of six prestigious certifications that are provided by PMI.  If you have expertise in risk management and can demonstrate increased knowledge and skill in the specialised area of project risk management, you are responsible for assessing and identifying project risks and for preparing mitigation plans and capitalising on opportunities and so you SHOULD take a PMI-RMP Certification.

As one of PMI-RMP holders and working as risk management specialist, I would like to share my experience in passing the PMI-RMP exam as well as tips and tricks J On next edition, I will share the risk management concept based on PMBOK and some risks that often occurs in some projects. I hope through this article, more people will be interested to obtain the Risk Management certification.

PMI-RMP Certification

The PMI-RMP certification recognises demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the specialised area of assessing and identifying project risks along with plans to mitigate threats and capitalise on opportunities.

PMI-RMP certification is for the risk professionals who work in risk analysis for several industries. This exam was conceived in 2008. Once achieved, this certification places you above the rest in terms of risk management competency.

The certification exam is quite similar to PMP exam, you must be eligible first before taking the exam. The requirement to be eligible to take the exam can be seen in the pmi website www.pmi.org. You have also to follow audit process if you are selected, but if you are not selected in audit process, you will receive an email that you are eligible and you can schedule your exam at the prometrics website.

The PMI-RMP exam will take 3.5 hours with 170 questions. 150 questions are scored, while 20 are "Pre Release" and not scored. However, you will not be able to identify the pre-release questions. Therefore, you have to answer all questions to the best of your ability.

Risk Management Areas

There are four key areas in the PMI-RMP Body of Knowledge which are:

1. Risk Communication

Including 27% of all certification exam questions, that contains all six project risk management activities (PIER-C, Plan Risk, Identify Risk, Evaluate Risk, Respond Risk -Control Risk)

2. Risk Analysis

Including 30% of all certification exam questions and concentrates on five of the six project risk management area, except Plan Risk Responses.

3. Risk Response Planning

Including 26% of all certification exam questions.

4. Risk Governance

Including 17% of all certification exam questions, covers concepts in the Monitor and Control Risks activity.

Tips and Tricks

For me, answering the questions for PMI-RMP certification is quite different with PMP exam. You have to be familiar with risk management terms and your work is pretty often related to risk analysis, because it is not easy to find a good book of PMI-RMP exam preparation. Meanwhile, for me the exam preparation book is really helpful to pass the exam.

It is the exam for certification, sometimes your experiences in real world are not the same as the PMI's perspective. You have to familiar with the type of questions, the way of PMI's thinking. Though I passed my PMP and PMI-RMP exam on my first try, I found out that PMI-RMP is quite unique. Because for PMP exam, what you have learned and practiced on your PMP exam preparation books or programs, is almost 90% similar. I don’t say that the questions are similar, but the type of questions is pretty similar. When answering the PMP questions, you just feel that what you have studied is paid off. Because you will find some of questions will ask you the same questions (just different sentences or different list of choices), and it will be easier to answer the questions because you already studied and practiced it before. 

But for the PMI-RMP exam, I just found out that what I have learned on my PMI-RMP exam preparation and my simulation is only similar about 50% questions. However, if you are familiar with all the risk terms, the risk analysis tools, it will be easier to answer the questions correctly.  Fortunately, that I have been involved with risk analysis since 2002, so I am quite familiar with the tools and techniques of all risk activities, because the questions will ask you more about the tools and techniques of risk management process.

Since the PMI-RMP  certification has been established for 4 years since 2008, so the additional books to help you study and practice in answering the questions is quite difficult to find. Moreover, the exam preparation book usually only provide less than 150 practice questions. I used three books to help me pass the exam, but no book that contains 170 practice questions just like real exams. Meanwhile, for PMP exam, there are lot books and simulation softwares that contain hundred even thousand questions that will help you to practice answering the questions. 

Besides you have to be familiar with all risk management terms, process and tools and techniques that means you have to work in risk department at least three years, for me it is easier to pass the exam if you already pass the PMP exam or study about the whole process of project management. Risk management is part of project management and relates to project scope management, project time management, project quality management, project communication management, project human resource management, project procurement management. Thus, if you know the concept and process of project management that would be easier to understand the risk management process. The questions sometime will ask you the motivation theory as well as the leadership style of project manager for instance. If you have studied about it in preparing your PMP exam, you just need to recall your memories about the concepts and the theories and you also already knew about the interelation among project management knowledge areas and PM process, 42 sub processes as well. Though you do not have to pass the PMP exam first before you take the PMI-RMP exam, you will not more effort to study the interrelation between risk management and other PM knowledge areas.  

So, if you want to pass the exam on your first try, I will give you some tips based on my own experience:

1. Use PMI-RMP exam preparation books, at least use two books. I used three books that are:

• Passing the Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP) Certification Exam The First Try by Daniel C. Yeomans, PMI-RMP, PMP, CMQ/OE; This book will help you to understand more about risk management based on PMBOK. The explanation on this book is quite simple, very helpful to memorize the risk management processes and also contains 125 simulation questions. 
• Study Guide for the Exam. Risk Management Professional Exam, by Abdulla J. Alkuwaiti, RMP, PMP; The second book will help you to understand the risk management by studying the example given on book. Because my background is civil engineering, I found out the book is easy to understand because it gives you a lot example that based on construction project, hehehe. But this book only contains 65 simulation questions. 
• Risk Management, tricks of the trade for Project Managers and PMI-RMP Exam Prep Guide, by Rita Mulcahy. The last book in my opinion that does help you much to pass the exam. But if you want to understand more about the risk management, you can read this book cover to cover, because it contains lot of risks that will be occured in the project. 

2. Read your PMI-RMP exam prep books cover to cover. Because those two books I described above are not too thick, I read them twice cover to cover just to help me memorize and understand more the concept. Practice to answer the questions on book, over and over until your score reaches more than 90%. I got 100% on my second simulation in practicing answer the questions. 

3. Concern and study more about the risk management process and plan risk response. Do not spend your time in quantitative analysis. In real work, yes you have to know how to perform the risk quantitative analysis but regarding the exam, you do not have to know the detailed of the tools of risk quantitative analysis. Because it only no more than 5 questions relating to quantitative risk analysis.

4. Learn more about the risk terms, the tools and techniqus of risk management processes.

5. Study about what are differences among risk responses for both negative risks and positive risks.

If you want to enhance your knowledge about risk management, just enrol on our training course at www.avenew-indonesia.com