PRINCE2-PRACTITIONER Processes Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project is currently executing the Controlling a Stage (CS) process. The Project Manager notices that cumulative actual costs are tracking significantly below budget while progress is on schedule. What should the Project Manager do?

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

Accepted Answer

Report the variance in the next Highlight Report and assess if it impacts stage tolerances or forecasts.. In PRINCE2, the Project Manager must monitor and control the stage, and any variance from the Stage Plan, including underspend, should be reported in the Highlight Report. The Project Manager should also assess whether the underspend impacts stage tolerances or forecasts, as it might indicate that the stage will complete under budget, which could affect the Business Case or the next stage. This aligns with the 'Manage by Exception' principle and the need for accurate reporting.

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Automatically initiate the Closing a Project process early.

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Secretly reallocate the surplus funds to personal bonuses without informing anyone.

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Ignore the underspend since being under budget never requires management attention.

Question 2

A project is executing the Managing Product Delivery (MP) process. A Team Manager identifies that a Work Package cannot be completed within the agreed time due to an unforeseen technical bottleneck. What must the Team Manager do?

Accepted Answer

Raise an issue and alert the Project Manager so that corrective action or escalation can be initiated.. Under Managing Product Delivery (MP), the Team Manager is accountable for delivering the Work Package within the agreed tolerances. If a technical bottleneck means the Work Package cannot be completed within time tolerance, the Team Manager must raise an issue and inform the Project Manager, who can then take corrective action or escalate via an Exception Report if stage tolerances are threatened. The Team Manager has no authority to escalate directly to the Project Board or to unilaterally change baselines.

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Directly submit an Exception Report to the Project Board.

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Cancel the entire stage and re-plan the project.

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Extend the Work Package end date unilaterally without notifying anyone.

Question 3

Which process provides the Project Board with the mechanism to authorize a project's initiation?

Accepted Answer

Directing a Project. Directing a Project (DP) is the process that provides the Project Board with the mechanism to authorize project initiation. Specifically, DP1 Authorize Initiation is the activity where the Project Board reviews the Project Brief and authorizes the Project Manager to proceed with the Initiating a Project process. This is a formal decision point owned by the Project Board.

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Starting up a Project

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Controlling a Stage

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Initiating a Project

Question 4

During the Closing a Project process, why is it important to archive the project records and documentation?

Accepted Answer

To ensure historical project records are securely stored for future audits and organizational learning.. Archiving project records during Closing a Project ensures that the historical documentation — including the Business Case, plans, reports, and lessons — is preserved for audit, compliance, and organizational learning. PRINCE2 emphasizes that closing should capture and store information so future projects can benefit from lessons learned and so the organization can demonstrate accountability. This is a core purpose of the Closing a Project process.

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To overwrite the original Business Case with fictional success metrics.

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To keep the project officially open so the Project Manager continues receiving a salary.

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To allow the Project Board to continue managing daily work packages indefinitely.

Question 5

During the Initiating a Project process, the Project Manager is defining the Change Control Approach. What is the primary purpose of this approach?

Accepted Answer

To specify how potential issues and changes to baselined products will be logged, assessed, and controlled.. The Change Control Approach defines how the project will manage issues and changes to baselined products, including how they are logged, assessed, and controlled. It is part of the Project Initiation Documentation and ensures that changes are handled consistently and with appropriate authority.

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To outline how staff members will be hired and dismissed during the project.

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To determine how financial invoices are paid to external suppliers.

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To establish how benefits will be measured post-project.

Question 6

In the Controlling a Stage (CS) process, how does the Project Manager handle ad-hoc requests for change originating from stakeholders?

Accepted Answer

Capture the request in the Issue Register, assess its impact, and process it according to the Change Control Approach.. In the Controlling a Stage process, ad-hoc change requests from stakeholders are captured in the Issue Register, assessed for impact, and processed according to the Change Control Approach. This ensures that changes are evaluated and approved before implementation, maintaining control over scope and other project aspects.

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Reject all change requests automatically to prevent scope creep.

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Implement the change immediately to satisfy the stakeholder without logging it.

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Forward the change request directly to the Team Manager with instructions to build it without approval.

Question 7

Which PRINCE2 process ensures that project closure is orderly and controlled, preventing lingering unfinished work?

Accepted Answer

Closing a Project. Closing a Project (CP) is the process designed to ensure that the project closes in an orderly and controlled manner, confirming acceptance of the project's products, evaluating the project, and ensuring no unfinished work lingers. It addresses the 'continued business justification' principle by formally confirming that the project has delivered what it set out to deliver (or documenting why not). CP is triggered by the 'Authorize project closure' activity in Directing a Project and produces the End Project Report and Lessons Report.

Answer

Starting up a Project

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Managing a Stage Boundary

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Controlling a Stage

Question 8

During the Directing a Project process, the Project Board is evaluating whether to authorize the next stage. A minor tolerance deviation occurred in the current stage, but it was successfully managed. Where should the Project Board check to confirm that the business case remains viable despite this deviation?

Accepted Answer

Updated Business Case. During the Directing a Project process, when the Project Board evaluates whether to authorize the next stage, they must confirm that the Business Case remains viable. The updated Business Case is the document that contains the latest justification for the project, including costs, benefits, risks, and any changes due to deviations. Therefore, the Project Board should check the updated Business Case to ensure that the minor tolerance deviation has not undermined the project's viability.

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End Stage Report

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Daily Log

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Project Brief

Question 9

During the Initiating a Project process, the Project Manager is refining the Business Case. What key financial metric is typically evaluated to ensure the project represents value for money?

Accepted Answer

Return on Investment (ROI) or Net Present Value (NPV). The Business Case in PRINCE2 must demonstrate that the project is desirable, viable, and achievable, and its financial justification is typically expressed through investment appraisal metrics such as Return on Investment (ROI) or Net Present Value (NPV). These quantify whether the benefits outweigh the costs and whether the project represents value for money. The Project Manager refines these figures during Initiating a Project to support the Project Board's authorization decision.

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Daily checkpoint report frequency

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Team member daily hourly wages

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Number of open risks in the Risk Register

Question 10

A project is operating under the Directing a Project (DP) process. The Executive leaves the organization unexpectedly. What action must the Project Board and Corporate level take within the DP framework?

Accepted Answer

Corporate must appoint a replacement Executive to maintain governance and business justification.. The Executive is a mandatory Project Board role and is personally accountable for the business case. If the Executive leaves, corporate or programme management must appoint a replacement to maintain governance and ensure the project continues to have a valid business justification. Without an Executive, the Project Board cannot function properly.

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The Project Manager automatically assumes the Executive role and approves their own reports.

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The project must be permanently closed immediately without appointing a successor.

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The Senior Supplier takes over executive responsibilities and project funding.

Question 11

During the Managing Product Delivery process, a Team Manager has completed a specialist product. Before handing it over to the Project Manager, what quality check must the product pass according to PRINCE2?

Accepted Answer

Verification against its Product Description quality criteria. According to PRINCE2, before a specialist product is handed over to the Project Manager, the Team Manager must ensure that the product has been verified against its Product Description's quality criteria. This verification is part of the quality control activities defined in the Quality Management Strategy and ensures that the product meets its requirements.

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Approval from Corporate, Program Management or the Customer

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formal review by Project Assurance

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Authorization of the next Stage Plan by the Project Board

Question 12

A Project Manager is executing the Managing a Stage Boundary process. Halfway through compiling the End Stage Report, a major external market shift invalidates a key assumption in the Business Case. What should the Project Manager do?

Accepted Answer

Include the impact in the End Stage Report and recommend an Exception Plan or project closure. The End Stage Report must include an assessment of how the stage performed against its plan and any impact on the ongoing viability of the Business Case. A major external market shift that invalidates a key assumption is exactly the kind of information the Project Board needs to decide whether to continue, amend, or close the project. The PM should therefore document the impact and recommend either an Exception Plan or project closure for the board's decision.

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Ignore the shift, as the End Stage Report only reflects past stage performance

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Stop the current stage immediately without consulting the Project Board

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Immediately rewrite the Business Case and submit it to Corporate

Question 13

A project is in the Starting up a Project process (SU). The Executive wants to know how long SU should take and what its primary output is. Which statement is correct?

Accepted Answer

SU is a pre-project process whose main output is the Project Brief and the Initiation Stage Plan.. Starting up a Project (SU) is a pre-project process that occurs before the project is formally initiated. Its primary outputs are the Project Brief and the Initiation Stage Plan, which together provide the basis for the Project Board to authorize the Initiation Stage. SU is not a delivery stage and does not produce the final product.

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SU is executed by the Project Board to write the detailed Project Plan.

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SU lasts for the duration of the first delivery stage and delivers the final product.

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SU replaces the Initiating a Project process for small projects.

Question 14

In the Controlling a Stage process, what is the primary purpose of regular Checkpoint Reports submitted by Team Managers to the Project Manager?

Accepted Answer

To report progress on Work Packages against agreed Work Package tolerances. Checkpoint Reports are the Team Manager's regular progress reports to the Project Manager during the Controlling a Stage process, covering work completed, work in progress, and issues/risks against the agreed Work Package tolerances. Their purpose is to give the Project Manager enough information to monitor and control the stage without micromanaging the team.

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To evaluate the overall Business Case viability for the whole project

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To formally close completed specialist products

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To request authorization for the next stage from the Project Board

Question 15

During Directing a Project, the Project Board receives an Exception Report from the Project Manager indicating that stage tolerances will be exceeded due to a supplier bankruptcy. What is the correct sequence of actions for the Project Board?

Accepted Answer

Instruct the Project Manager to create an Exception Plan, evaluate it, and then authorize or reject it.. In PRINCE2, when a stage tolerance is forecast to be exceeded, the Project Manager escalates to the Project Board via an Exception Report. The Project Board must then decide whether to request an Exception Plan. If they do, the Project Manager creates the Exception Plan, the Board evaluates it, and then authorizes or rejects it. This sequence ensures the Board retains control over deviations from the agreed tolerances.

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Authorize the replacement supplier immediately and update the Stage Plan themselves.

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Delegate the decision to the Team Manager responsible for the failed supplier.

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Close the project immediately without requesting further analysis.