PgMP Practice Test 26 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A program manager runs a program to deploy smart metering infrastructure across three countries. The program's benefit realization plan projected cost savings from reduced manual meter reading, but a new regulatory ruling now requires manual verification visits for a subset of meters, materially reducing the savings. The program is in its third of four tranches. What should the program manager do to maintain strategic alignment?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Re-baseline the benefits realization plan with updated savings projections and present the revised business case to the governance board for a continue-or-redirect decision.. When a regulatory change materially reduces projected benefits, the program manager updates the benefits realization plan and business case with realistic figures and returns to governance for a continue-or-redirect decision. Strategic alignment requires that benefit commitments reflect current reality and that the authorizing body decides whether the reduced value still merits investment.

Answer

Maintain the original benefits projections and note the regulatory impact only in the program's risk register.

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Shift the shortfall to a new program that reports the original savings target so the enterprise benefit commitment is preserved.

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Terminate the remaining tranche because the original benefit target can no longer be achieved.

Question 2

You are the program manager for a large infrastructure program. A key supplier has repeatedly missed deliverable deadlines, causing delays. During a program review, you learn that the supplier's project manager was never formally onboarded into the program's governance structure and has not been receiving updated schedules. What should you do to improve engagement with this supplier?

Accepted Answer

Include the supplier's project manager in the program's governance meetings and ensure they receive all relevant program communications.. The supplier's missed deadlines are likely due to lack of integration into program governance and communications. Including the supplier's project manager in governance and communications directly addresses this gap, enabling better coordination and alignment. Punitive measures, replacement, or escalation do not resolve the root cause and may worsen the situation.

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Replace the supplier with a more reliable vendor and update the program's procurement strategy.

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Issue a formal warning to the supplier and request a corrective action plan for the missed deadlines.

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Escalate the supplier's performance issues to the program sponsor and let them handle the supplier relationship.

Question 3

You are the program manager for a program that has just completed the Program Definition phase. The program charter has been approved, and you are now moving into the Program Delivery phase. The program consists of three component projects, but only one project has been authorized to begin. The other two projects are still awaiting final approval from the governance board. What should you do first to ensure the program remains aligned with its strategic objectives?

Accepted Answer

Begin executing the authorized project while continuously monitoring the program environment and revalidating the program business case as new information emerges.. In the Program Delivery phase, the program manager must execute authorized components while maintaining alignment with strategic objectives. Since not all projects are approved, the program manager should proceed with the authorized project and continuously monitor the environment and revalidate the business case. This approach ensures that the program remains adaptive and that benefits are delivered incrementally, while awaiting governance decisions on the remaining projects.

Answer

Immediately escalate to the governance board to demand approval for the remaining two projects so that the program can proceed as originally planned.

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Revisit the program charter to revise the scope so that it includes only the one authorized project, and then close the other two projects permanently.

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Delay all program activities until all three component projects receive approval, to avoid partial delivery and ensure a unified program launch.

Question 4

You are managing a program to deploy a new customer relationship management (CRM) system across 12 regional sales offices. The program has been running for six months, and you notice that engagement from regional sales managers has declined. They attend meetings sporadically and rarely provide input. You want to re-engage them effectively. (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Conduct individual interviews with each regional sales manager to understand their concerns and expectations.. Re-engaging disengaged stakeholders requires understanding their concerns and adapting the engagement approach. Individual interviews uncover specific issues, while revising the engagement plan ensures tailored and sustained interaction. These actions address root causes and foster collaboration. One-way communication, escalation, or replacement do not resolve underlying problems and may worsen relationships.

Answer

Replace the regional sales managers with alternative representatives who are more willing to participate.

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Escalate the lack of engagement to the program sponsor and request that they mandate attendance at all future meetings.

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Send a detailed monthly newsletter highlighting program progress and upcoming milestones to all stakeholders.

Question 5

A program manager is developing the benefits realization plan for a program that will roll out a new data analytics platform across five business units. The program sponsor asks how the program will know whether the expected increase in cross-selling revenue is actually being achieved. Which action should the program manager take FIRST to establish measurable benefits?

Accepted Answer

Define a benefits metric for cross-selling revenue with a baseline, target, and measurement method, and assign a benefits owner.. The benefits realization plan must define each benefit with a clear metric, baseline, target, measurement method, and owner. For cross-selling revenue, this means specifying how it will be measured, from what baseline, and who is accountable. Without these elements, the program cannot demonstrate that the analytics platform delivered the expected benefit. The other actions do not create a measurable, attributable benefit.

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Direct the project managers to include cross-selling revenue as a key performance indicator in their project status reports.

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Include the expected cross-selling revenue increase in the program charter and monitor it through the integrated master schedule.

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Ask each business unit to report its total revenue monthly and aggregate the results at the program level.

Question 6

You are the program manager for a multi-year enterprise resource planning program. A component project manager escalates a dispute with a vendor over deliverable acceptance criteria. The program governance plan specifies that the Program Governance Board (PGB) handles strategic escalations, while the program manager resolves operational conflicts. The component manager insists the issue requires board intervention because the vendor contract is shared across three projects. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Review the contract terms, facilitate alignment on acceptance criteria with the vendor and affected component managers, and escalate to the PGB only if unresolved.. The governance plan defines an escalation hierarchy where operational issues are resolved at the program manager level, and only strategic or unresolvable issues reach the Program Governance Board. Reviewing contract terms and facilitating alignment uses the program manager's authority, addresses the shared-contract complexity, and preserves the board's strategic focus. Escalating prematurely or delegating improperly violates the documented decision rights and accountability structure central to program governance.

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Ask the PMO to arbitrate the dispute because it owns program templates and tools.

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Escalate the dispute directly to the PGB because the contract is shared across multiple projects.

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Direct the component manager to resolve the dispute independently since it originated in their project.

Question 7

You lead a global ERP program with stakeholders in North America, Europe, and Asia. During a monthly steering committee meeting, the European finance director states that the program's new reporting module will not meet local statutory requirements. You have not previously engaged this director in requirements discussions. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with the European finance director to understand the specific statutory requirements and their impact on the program.. When a key stakeholder raises an unexpected concern, the program manager should first engage directly to understand the issue. This allows for accurate assessment and appropriate action. Escalating, demanding a change request, or reviewing plans are secondary steps. Active listening and fact-finding are foundational to stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution.

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Ask the European finance director to submit a formal change request through the program's change control board.

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Review the program's stakeholder engagement plan to determine why the European finance director was not included in requirements discussions.

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Immediately escalate the issue to the program sponsor and request a change to the reporting module to include European statutory requirements.

Question 8

You are the program manager for a global digital transformation program. The Program Governance Board (PGB) has delegated authority to a program management office (PMO) to approve component baseline changes under $100,000. A component manager submits a change worth $95,000, but it alters a regulatory compliance requirement affecting two other components. The PMO approves it without consulting you. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Escalate the change to the PGB because it affects regulatory compliance and multiple components, exceeding the PMO's delegated authority.. Delegated authority is bounded by both financial thresholds and the nature of the change. A regulatory compliance impact affecting multiple components is strategic and exceeds a purely financial delegation. Escalating to the PGB ensures the decision is made at the correct governance level, maintains compliance, and reinforces the boundaries of delegated authority. Accepting or self-approving the change would violate the governance framework and expose the program to regulatory and integration risk.

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Reverse the PMO approval and implement the change yourself under program manager authority.

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Accept the PMO decision because it is within the delegated financial threshold.

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Allow the change but require the component manager to absorb any compliance remediation costs.

Question 9

A program manager is developing the stakeholder engagement plan for a program that will streamline procurement processes across three business units. The program sponsor emphasizes the need to keep all key stakeholders informed and engaged. Which document should the program manager reference to identify the initial list of stakeholders and their basic attributes?

Accepted Answer

Program charter. The program charter is the foundational document that authorizes the program and identifies initial stakeholders. It provides the starting point for stakeholder identification and analysis. Other documents like the stakeholder engagement plan, communications management plan, and benefits realization plan are developed later or focus on different aspects, making them less suitable for initial identification.

Answer

Benefits realization plan

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Stakeholder engagement plan

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Communications management plan

Question 10

A program manager is leading a program to standardize HR systems across a conglomerate whose board has just approved a new five-year strategy emphasizing digital self-service and data-driven workforce planning. The program's original scope focused on payroll consolidation. The program manager must realign the program to the new strategy. (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Map the program's intended benefits to the new strategic objectives and identify gaps where the current scope no longer contributes.. Realigning a program after a strategic shift starts with mapping benefits to the new objectives to find where the program still contributes, then proposing scope and component changes through governance for approval. These two actions connect the new strategy to authorized work. Unilateral cancellation, hidden project-level scope creep, and communication without change all leave the program executing an obsolete direction.

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Immediately cancel all payroll consolidation workstreams so resources can be redeployed to self-service projects.

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Report the new strategy to the program team and continue executing the payroll consolidation roadmap unchanged.

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Instruct component project managers to add self-service features to their existing project charters without changing program scope.

Question 11

A program manager is preparing the program charter for a multiyear initiative to modernize a utility's customer billing systems. The sponsoring executive wants the charter to clearly establish why the program matters to the organization and what authority the program manager holds. Which two elements must the program charter contain to satisfy both needs?

Accepted Answer

The program's strategic objectives and the program manager's level of authority.. The program charter is the document that formally authorizes the program, ties it to the organization's strategic objectives, and defines the program manager's authority. It summarizes the program's justification and boundaries at a high level rather than detailing schedules, risks, or procurement mechanics, which are captured later in the program management plan and its subsidiary documents.

Answer

The program's risk register and the quality management plan.

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The detailed project schedules and the names of every assigned team member.

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The procurement strategy and the communications management plan.

Question 12

A program manager is leading a program to implement a new HR system. The program's success depends on active support from the HR directors of five business units. Two HR directors are enthusiastic, two are neutral, and one is resistant, citing concerns about data privacy. The program manager wants to move the resistant director to a supportive position. Which action is MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the resistant director to understand their data privacy concerns and collaboratively develop mitigation strategies.. To convert a resistant stakeholder, the program manager should engage directly to understand and address their concerns. This collaborative approach can resolve the root cause of resistance and build support. Peer pressure, escalation, or ignoring the stakeholder do not effectively address the underlying issues and may exacerbate resistance.

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Proceed with the program as planned, ignoring the resistant director since the other four directors are supportive.

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Ask the two enthusiastic directors to persuade the resistant director to support the program.

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Escalate the resistance to the program sponsor and recommend that the sponsor mandate compliance.

Question 13

A program manager is leading a program to implement a new regulatory compliance system. During benefits transition, the program manager learns that the compliance department has not allocated staff to monitor the new system's effectiveness, and the benefits owner has left the organization. The program is scheduled to close in one month. What should the program manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Escalate the lack of a benefits owner and monitoring resources to the program sponsor and governance board.. When a benefits owner leaves and monitoring resources are not allocated, the program manager must escalate to the sponsor and governance board. They have the authority to assign a new owner and provide resources. This ensures that benefits sustainment is addressed before program closure. The other actions either delay the issue, overstep the program manager's role, or fail to resolve the resource gap.

Answer

Assume the benefits owner role temporarily until a permanent replacement is found.

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Extend the program closure date until the compliance department can allocate monitoring staff.

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Document the risk in the program risk register and continue with the transition as planned.

Question 14

A program manager is leading a large infrastructure program with multiple component projects. During the Program Delivery phase, the program manager notices that a component project manager has made a significant change to the project's scope without informing the program manager. This change could affect the program's ability to deliver a key benefit. What should the program manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a program impact analysis to evaluate the change's effect on program benefits, then engage the governance board for a decision.. When a component project makes an unauthorized change that could affect program benefits, the program manager must first perform a program impact analysis to understand the consequences across the program. This analysis informs the governance board, which has the authority to approve, reject, or modify the change. Engaging governance ensures that decisions are made with full awareness of strategic implications and that the program remains aligned with its objectives.

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Update the program management plan to incorporate the change and continue execution without involving governance.

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Escalate the issue to the project management office (PMO) and let them handle the change control process.

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Instruct the project manager to revert the change immediately to avoid any impact on the program.

Question 15

A program manager is reviewing the benefits register for a program that aims to improve employee productivity through a new collaboration platform. The program manager notices that the benefit 'increase in employee productivity' is listed without a metric or target. What should the program manager do?

Accepted Answer

Define a specific metric, baseline, and target for employee productivity and update the benefits register.. The benefits register must contain measurable benefits with metrics, baselines, and targets. For employee productivity, the program manager should work with stakeholders to define a specific metric, such as tasks completed per hour or output per employee, and establish a baseline and target. This makes the benefit manageable and allows the program to track realization. The other actions either remove the benefit, leave it unmeasurable, or misassign accountability.

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Leave the benefit as is, since productivity is difficult to measure and qualitative benefits are acceptable.

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Remove the benefit from the register until a metric can be identified.

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Ask the project managers to include productivity metrics in their project reports.