easyMultiple Choice
CRISC Practice Question: When assessing IT risks, which of the following…
When assessing IT risks, which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of developing risk scenarios?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the purpose of risk scenarios with downstream activities like financial quantification or compliance, when the core goal is to systematically identify and articulate how threats and vulnerabilities can materialize into risk events.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
To identify specific threats and vulnerabilities that could impact objectives
The primary purpose of developing risk scenarios in IT risk assessment is to identify specific threats and vulnerabilities that could impact business objectives. Risk scenarios provide a structured narrative that links threat sources, vulnerabilities, and potential impacts, enabling a focused analysis of how adverse events might occur. This is foundational for prioritizing risks and determining appropriate controls, rather than for calculating exact losses, compliance, or continuity planning.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To calculate the exact financial loss
Why it's wrong here
Risk scenarios build a plausible cause-and-effect narrative to estimate likelihood and impact ranges for prioritisation; exact financial loss cannot be calculated from them. They are tempting because quantification feels rigorous, but scenario analysis supports qualitative and semi-quantitative assessment, not precise loss figures.
- ✓
To identify specific threats and vulnerabilities that could impact objectives
Why this is correct
Risk scenarios build narratives linking threat events to business objectives, exposing vulnerabilities that generic assessments overlook. This satisfies the stem's primary purpose: identifying specific threats and vulnerabilities, not merely cataloguing assets or controls. Scenarios make the causal chain explicit, so assessors can evaluate likelihood and impact against defined objectives.
- ✗
To satisfy regulatory compliance
Why it's wrong here
Compliance obligations may motivate risk assessment, but scenarios exist to identify and evaluate plausible threat events and their business impact, informing treatment decisions. Satisfying a regulator is a by-product; treating compliance as the primary purpose misdirects the analysis away from prioritising genuine risk.
- ✗
To create a business continuity plan
Why it's wrong here
Risk scenarios identify and analyse how threats could exploit vulnerabilities to affect objectives; they feed risk assessment, not continuity planning. A BCP is a response document built after risks are evaluated. Developing scenarios would support continuity planning only indirectly, as an input, never as its primary purpose.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CRISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CRISC exam.