PRINCE2F Overview of PRINCE2 and Principles — 20 Questions

Question 1

Refer to the exhibit. Which principle is not being applied in the project?

Accepted Answer

Learn from experience. The principle 'Learn from experience' is not being applied because the project team is repeating the same mistakes from previous projects without reviewing lessons learned logs or incorporating feedback. PRINCE2 requires continuous learning throughout the project lifecycle, but the exhibit shows no evidence of lessons being documented or used to improve current practices.

Answer

Manage by stages

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Tailor to suit the project environment

Answer

Focus on products

Question 2

Match each PRINCE2 principle to its description.

Accepted Answer

Continued Business Justification: The project must have a valid business justification that is reviewed regularly.. Only options A, B, C, D correctly match the PRINCE2 principle to its description. Option E is incorrect because 'Manage by Exception' involves setting tolerances for authority, not unlimited authority. Option F is incorrect because 'Tailor to Suit the Project Environment' means adapting the method to the project's context, not following a standard approach without adjustment. The seven PRINCE2 principles are: Continued Business Justification, Learn from Experience, Defined Roles and Responsibilities, Manage by Stages, Manage by Exception, Focus on Products, and Tailor to Suit the Project Environment. Option D describes 'Manage by Stages' correctly, but note that 'Manage by Exception' is a separate principle not accurately described in E.

Answer

Manage by Exception: The project manager has unlimited authority without any tolerances.

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Tailor to Suit the Project Environment: The project must follow a standard approach without adjustment.

Question 3

Match each PRINCE2 principle to its description.

Accepted Answer

Continued Business Justification: The project must remain viable in terms of costs vs benefits.. The correct matches are: Continued Business Justification: project viability; Learn from Experience: lessons logging; Manage by Stages: stage-by-stage planning; Focus on Products: product delivery. Common confusions include swapping stage management with business justification and exception management with learning from experience.

Answer

Continued Business Justification: The project is divided into manageable stages.

Answer

Learn from Experience: Management by exception is applied to empower decision-making.

Question 4

A project manager is leading a project to implement a new CRM system. During a stage boundary, the project board asks for evidence that the project is being managed by exception. The project manager has defined tolerances for time and cost but has not defined tolerances for scope or quality. Which PRINCE2 principle is being violated, and what is the consequence?

Accepted Answer

Manage by exception; without tolerances for all six aspects, the project board cannot delegate authority effectively, and the project manager may overstep.. Manage by exception requires that tolerances are set for all six project aspects. When scope and quality tolerances are missing, the project board cannot delegate authority properly, and the project manager may exceed boundaries without escalation. This violates the principle and can lead to uncontrolled changes. The project manager must ensure all tolerances are defined and agreed upon.

Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment; the project manager should adapt the tolerances to the project's complexity, so missing some is acceptable.

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Define roles and responsibilities; the project board must define who is responsible for setting tolerances, so the project manager is not at fault.

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Focus on products; without product descriptions, the project cannot define quality tolerances, leading to unclear scope.

Question 5

A PRINCE2 project manager for a marketing campaign is preparing the Project Initiation Documentation. The Project Board has asked how the project will ensure that it remains aligned with the corporate strategy and that decision-makers have the necessary information. Which PRINCE2 principle should the project manager emphasize to address this concern?

Accepted Answer

Defined roles and responsibilities. The defined roles and responsibilities principle establishes a clear project organization with accountable individuals. This ensures that the project remains aligned with corporate strategy and that decision-makers receive the information they need to govern. The other principles address different aspects such as tolerances, product focus, and tailoring.

Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment

Answer

Manage by exception

Answer

Focus on products

Question 6

A project manager is reviewing the PRINCE2 principles with the project team to ensure they are applied consistently. The team discusses how to apply the principle 'learn from experience' throughout the project. Which TWO of the following actions best demonstrate the application of the 'learn from experience' principle? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Reviewing lessons learned from previous similar projects during the initiation stage.. The learn from experience principle requires seeking, recording, and acting on lessons throughout the project. Reviewing lessons from previous projects during initiation and conducting lessons learned reviews at each stage and incorporating findings into subsequent stages both demonstrate this principle by ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation based on experience.

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Documenting the project's progress in a daily log and sharing it with the team.

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Ensuring that all project team members have the required technical certifications.

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Holding a post-project review to capture lessons for future projects.

Question 7

A programme manager is reviewing a project that has just entered the 'Initiating a Project' process. The project manager has produced a detailed business case, but the programme manager notes that the business case does not explicitly state what would happen if the project were stopped. Which PRINCE2 principle is being violated?

Accepted Answer

Continued business justification. The continued business justification principle mandates that a project must have a justifiable reason to start and continue, and the business case must include the consequences of stopping. If the business case lacks this, the project cannot be properly evaluated, so the principle is violated. The other principles are not directly related to the content of the business case in this context.

Answer

Manage by exception

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Tailor to suit the project environment

Answer

Learn from experience

Question 8

A project manager is assessing whether a new project to upgrade a data center complies with PRINCE2 principles. Which TWO of the following statements describe how the 'defined roles and responsibilities' principle is applied? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The executive is accountable for the project's business case and must ensure it remains viable.. Defined roles and responsibilities ensures that the project has a clear organizational structure with accountable roles. The project board must include business, user, and supplier interests to balance stakeholder needs, and the executive is accountable for the business case. These two statements correctly describe how the principle is applied in the scenario.

Answer

The project manager must assign all tasks to team members without consulting the project board.

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The project manager is accountable to the project board for the day-to-day management of the project.

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The project board must approve all changes to the project plan, regardless of size.

Question 9

During a project to implement a new enterprise resource planning system, the project manager realizes that the project's products are being defined in detail as they are being developed, rather than beforehand. The project manager wants to ensure that the project follows the PRINCE2 principle of 'focus on products'. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Create a product breakdown structure and product descriptions for all products before development begins.. The focus on products principle in PRINCE2 requires that the project's products are clearly defined and agreed upon before development begins. This ensures that all work is directed towards delivering the required outputs and that quality criteria are established upfront. In the scenario, the project manager should first create a product breakdown structure and product descriptions to define all products, their interdependencies, and their quality requirements. This foundational step enables effective planning, estimation, and control, and aligns the project with the principle.

Answer

Review the business case to confirm that the project remains viable.

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Update the risk register to reflect the potential for scope creep.

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Hold a quality review to assess the products that have already been developed.

Question 10

A Project Manager is reviewing the PRINCE2 principles with the project team. The team is discussing how to ensure the project remains aligned with PRINCE2. Which TWO of the following statements correctly describe the PRINCE2 principles? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The principles are mandatory and must be applied in full for a project to be considered PRINCE2.. The PRINCE2 principles are mandatory and universal. They must be applied in full for a project to be considered PRINCE2, and they are applicable to any project regardless of size, type, or environment. Tailoring applies to processes and themes, not to the principles themselves. The other statements incorrectly suggest that principles can be tailored, selected, or ignored for certain projects.

Answer

The principles can be tailored, but tailoring must not compromise the principles themselves.

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The principles are optional and can be selected based on the project's needs.

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The principles are only applicable to large, complex projects and can be ignored for small projects.

Question 11

A project manager is explaining the PRINCE2 principles to a new team member. The team member asks which principles are mandatory and must be applied without exception for the project to be considered PRINCE2-compliant. Which THREE of the following are PRINCE2 principles? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Continued business justification. The seven PRINCE2 principles are continued business justification, learn from experience, defined roles and responsibilities, manage by stages, manage by exception, focus on products, and tailor to suit the project environment. Among the options, continued business justification, manage by exception, and define roles and responsibilities are principles. Manage by risk and focus on stakeholders are not principles, though they relate to themes.

Answer

Focus on stakeholders

Answer

Manage by risk

Question 12

A project manager is reviewing the PRINCE2 principles to ensure that the project is being managed correctly. Which TWO of the following are PRINCE2 principles? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Continued business justification. The two PRINCE2 principles among the options are continued business justification and manage by exception. Continued business justification ensures that the project maintains a valid business case throughout, while manage by exception establishes tolerances and delegation of authority. The other options are either not principles (identify and manage risks) or are principles but not the correct selections for this question (defined roles and responsibilities and learn from experience are principles, but the question asks for two, and the correct two are the ones identified).

Answer

Learn from experience

Answer

Define roles and responsibilities

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Identify and manage risks

Question 13

A project manager is reviewing the business case for a new software development project. The project is expected to generate significant revenue, but the initial investment is high. According to PRINCE2, which principle is MOST directly being applied when the project manager ensures that the business case remains viable throughout the project?

Accepted Answer

Continued business justification. The PRINCE2 principle of Continued Business Justification requires that the business case, which documents the project's justification, is reviewed and updated at key decision points (e.g., stage boundaries) to ensure the project remains viable. In this scenario, the project manager is actively verifying that the high initial investment is still justified by the expected revenue, directly applying this principle to avoid proceeding with an unviable project.

Answer

Manage by stages

Answer

Learn from experience

Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment

Question 14

During a project, a key stakeholder raises a concern that the project scope has expanded significantly without formal approval. The project manager realizes that changes have been implemented informally. Which PRINCE2 principle has been violated?

Accepted Answer

Manage by stages. The scenario describes scope changes being implemented without formal approval, which violates the 'Manage by stages' principle. PRINCE2 requires that a project be planned, monitored, and controlled on a stage-by-stage basis, with each stage ending in a formal review and approval before proceeding. Implementing changes informally bypasses stage boundaries and the associated management controls, directly breaking this principle.

Answer

Defined roles and responsibilities

Answer

Continued business justification

Answer

Learn from experience

Question 15

A project team is working on a complex infrastructure project. The project manager wants to ensure that the project is tailored appropriately. According to PRINCE2, which principle addresses the need to adapt PRINCE2 to the project's specific context?

Accepted Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment. The 'Tailor to suit the project environment' principle directly addresses the need to adapt PRINCE2 to the specific context of the project, including its size, complexity, importance, capability, and risk. For a complex infrastructure project, this means adjusting management products, roles, and processes (e.g., simplifying the Business Case or using a more detailed Risk Register) to fit the project's unique technical and organizational environment, ensuring the method remains effective without being overly burdensome.

Answer

Continued business justification

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Focus on products

Answer

Manage by stages

Question 16

A project to build a new bridge is underway. The project board has decided to use a stage plan for the next stage rather than a detailed Gantt chart for the entire project. This approach aligns with which PRINCE2 principle?

Accepted Answer

Manage by stages. The decision to use a stage plan for the next stage rather than a detailed Gantt chart for the entire project directly reflects the 'Manage by stages' principle. This principle requires that the project board only plans in detail for the immediate next stage, while higher-level plans cover the remainder of the project, enabling control and flexibility.

Answer

Continued business justification

Answer

Learn from experience

Answer

Focus on products

Question 17

A project manager notices that the project's product descriptions are being created after the products have already been developed. Which PRINCE2 principle is being ignored?

Accepted Answer

Focus on products. The 'Focus on Products' principle requires that a project defines and agrees on product descriptions (including quality criteria) before development begins, ensuring that all stakeholders have a shared understanding of what will be delivered. Creating product descriptions after development violates this principle because it undermines the definition of scope, quality expectations, and acceptance criteria upfront, leading to potential rework and misalignment.

Answer

Learn from experience

Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment

Answer

Manage by stages

Question 18

Which TWO of the following are PRINCE2 principles?

Accepted Answer

Continued business justification. Continued business justification is a core PRINCE2 principle that requires the business case to remain viable throughout the project lifecycle. This principle ensures that the project is not started without a clear justification and that this justification is reviewed and updated at key decision points, such as stage boundaries. It directly supports the PRINCE2 focus on ongoing viability rather than a one-time approval.

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Risk management

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Configuration management

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Waterfall methodology

Question 19

Which THREE of the following are PRINCE2 principles?

Accepted Answer

Tailor to suit the project environment. 'Tailor to suit the project environment' is one of the seven PRINCE2 principles. This principle requires that the method be adapted to the specific context of the project, including its size, complexity, importance, capability, and risk, ensuring that PRINCE2 is applied appropriately without unnecessary bureaucracy.

Answer

Plans

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Business Case

Question 20

Refer to the exhibit. Which principle is missing from the configuration?

Accepted Answer

Manage by stages. The PRINCE2 principle 'Manage by stages' is missing from the exhibit because the configuration lists only 'Continued business justification,' 'Learn from experience,' 'Roles and responsibilities,' 'Manage by exception,' 'Focus on products,' and 'Tailor to suit the project environment.' The seven PRINCE2 principles are all required, and 'Manage by stages' is the one omitted. Without it, the project lacks the mandatory planning and control mechanism that divides the project into discrete management stages, each with its own plan and review points.

Answer

Focus on products

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Manage by exception

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All principles are applied