Business Analyst Mock Interview
Practice 30 Business Analyst interview questions covering requirements gathering, stakeholder management, and data analysis.
Question 12 of 30
How do you determine the difference between a risk and an issue?
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Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"As a business analyst, I focus more on risk than issues. A risk is a predicted problem or something that could happen in the future, so it's up to my team and me to predict risk and help our clients overcome that risk. An issue is a risk that has already happened. I can certainly recommend to my clients how to recover from an issue; however, I would much rather help them with precautionary measures before my work becomes damage control."
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
If you have experience as a business analyst or a project manager, you know full well that there is a world of difference between a genuine risk and an issue. The interviewer wants to see that you are not going to overlook probability but that you can also focus your attention on current problems.
Rachelle Enns is an interview coach and job search expert. She works with candidates to perform their best in employment, medical, and post-secondary admission interviews.
"I treat risk as something that could occur in the future, and an issue is a risk that is currently happening. It's imperative to pay attention to both a risk and an issue; however, issues are usually more pressing, from my experience."
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Anonymous Answer
Risks are potential predicted problems, whereas an issue has already happened and needs to be resolved. I can recommend how to resolve an issue to clients, but I would prefer to establish precautionary measures before doing damage control.
Rachelle's Feedback
Excellent point, and an excellent distinction between risk and issue. Well said!
Anonymous Answer
A risk is forecasted and taken care of by applying risk mitigation techniques. The issue comes after the project is on the floor, and we have to do big damage control.
Rachelle's Feedback
Nice start! Do you have an example of a time when you were able to identify the difference between risk and an issue?
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