Crashing Project Schedule
Question
You are the project manager of project for a client.
The client has promised your company a bonus, if the project is completed early.
After studying the project work, you elect to crash the project in order to realize the early end date.
This is an example of what type of risk response?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.B.
This is a positive risk response, as crashing is an example of enhancing.
You are enhancing the probability of finishing the project early to realize the reward of bonus.
Enhancing doesn't ensure positive risks, but it does increase the likelihood of the event.
Incorrect Answers: A: Crashing is a positive risk response.
Generally, crashing doesn't add risks and is often confused with other predominant schedule compression techniques of fast tracking - which does add risks.
C: This isn't an example of exploiting.
Exploiting is an action to take advantage of a positive risk response that will happen.
D: Crashing does add costs, but in this instance, crashing is an example of the positive risk response of enhancing.
The correct answer is C. Positive risk response, as crashing is an example of exploiting.
Explanation:
Risk response planning is the process of developing options, selecting strategies and agreeing on actions to address threats and opportunities. Risk response strategies are divided into four categories: Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, and Exploit.
Crashing is a technique used in project management to shorten the project schedule, which is achieved by adding resources to critical path activities. This technique is used to realize early completion of the project. In this case, the project manager has decided to crash the project to meet the early completion deadline promised by the client.
Crashing is an example of an Exploit strategy, which is a positive risk response strategy. This strategy involves taking advantage of opportunities to increase the probability or impact of positive risks. In this scenario, the early completion of the project is a positive risk, and the project manager is exploiting this opportunity by using the crashing technique.
Option A, Negative risk response, because crashing will add risks, is incorrect. Crashing does not add risks but increases the likelihood of realizing the positive risk of early completion.
Option B, Positive risk response, as crashing is an example of enhancing, is also incorrect. Enhancing is a strategy used to increase the probability or impact of an opportunity. Crashing is a technique used to shorten the project schedule and not necessarily to enhance opportunities.
Option D, Negative risk response, because crashing will add costs, is also incorrect. Although crashing may result in additional costs, it is not a negative risk response strategy.
Therefore, the correct answer is C. Positive risk response, as crashing is an example of exploiting.
