Processes practice questions

Issue an Exception Report directly to the Project Board

Why wrong: Team Managers and Project Managers do not raise Exception Reports directly to the Project Board; only the Project Manager raises Project-level Exception Reports to the Board.

Terminate the Work Package immediately

Why wrong: Tolerances are designed for management escalation, not automatic termination.

Adjust the Project Board's stage tolerances

Why wrong: The Project Manager has no authority to adjust Project Board tolerances.

Immediately rewrite the Project Initiation Documentation and submit it to Corporate.

Why wrong: Rewriting the PID is part of stage boundary management or major project-level re-baselining, not an immediate first step in CS.

Cancel the work package and award it to a different supplier without consulting the Project Board.

Why wrong: The Project Manager does not have the authority to unilaterally reallocate major contracts outside stage tolerances.

Wait until the end of the stage before notifying the Project Board of the delay.

Why wrong: Tolerances forecast to be exceeded must be reported immediately via an Exception Report, not hidden until stage boundary.

Escalate directly to the Project Board, bypassing the Project Manager.

Why wrong: Team Managers report to and communicate through the Project Manager, not directly to the Project Board.

Pause the Work Package indefinitely until the supplier figures out a workaround.

Why wrong: Pausing work without formal notification and approval violates the control loops of MP and CS.

Change the quality criteria directly to match what the team can achieve and record it in the Team Plan.

Why wrong: Team Managers do not have the authority to change agreed product descriptions or quality criteria without Project Manager approval.

Initiating a project.

Why wrong: Initiating a project is an activity within the Initiating a Project process, not a Directing a Project board activity.

Authorizing project closure.

Why wrong: Project closure is premature unless the project is no longer viable, which is determined via 'Authorizing project closure' activity, but the board is looking for an alternative way forward.

Capturing and sharing lessons.

Why wrong: Capturing lessons is an ongoing activity, not the specific board response to an exception.

Evaluating the project

Why wrong: Evaluating the project focuses on comparing actual results with the baseline Performance Targets and creating the End Project Report.

Updating the Project Management Plan

Why wrong: The Project Management Plan is not updated during closure; the project is being wrapped up.

Preparing the End Stage Report

Why wrong: An End Stage Report is produced in Managing a Stage Boundary, not Closing a Project (which uses an End Project Report).

Managing a Stage Boundary

Why wrong: Managing a Stage Boundary plans the next stage and reviews the current one.

Controlling a Stage

Why wrong: Controlling a Stage handles the day-to-day management of delivery within tolerances.

Starting up a Project

Why wrong: Starting up a Project only produces the Project Brief and Initiating Stage Plan.

Approving the detailed Stage Plans for the entire project life cycle.

Why wrong: Only the initiation stage plan is planned during SU; subsequent stage plans are planned near the end of each preceding stage.

Authorizing the Project Management Plan.

Why wrong: The Project Management Plan is authorized by the Project Board during Initiating a Project, not during SU.

Conducting a formal End Project Evaluation.

Why wrong: End Project Evaluation occurs in Closing a Project.

Controlling a Stage

Why wrong: Controlling a Stage manages day-to-day work within an ongoing stage.

Directing a Project

Why wrong: Directing a Project is the overarching governance process used by the Project Board.

Starting up a Project

Why wrong: Starting up a Project is a pre-project process to prepare for initiation.

Delay the authorization of the Starting up a Project process until Corporate provides exact financial projections.

Why wrong: SU is designed to avoid wasted effort and gathers available information; waiting for final metrics is not expected at this stage.

Leave out the Business Case entirely until the Initiating a Project process is authorized.

Why wrong: An outline Business Case is a mandatory component of the Project Brief produced during SU.

Include a fully detailed Business Case with guaranteed ROI figures to satisfy the Executive.

Why wrong: A detailed Business Case is not produced until the Initiating a Project process.

The Project Assurance role independently

Why wrong: Project Assurance advises and monitors; it does not have executive decision-making authority to approve changes.

The Project Manager

Why wrong: The Project Manager can only authorize changes within agreed stage tolerances, not changes to the Project Product Description.

The Team Manager

Why wrong: Team Managers do not have authority to approve changes to project-level baselines.

Assembling the Project Management Plan

Why wrong: Assembling the PMP brings together the various subsidiary plans and schedules.

Refining the Business Case

Why wrong: Refining the Business Case focuses on costs, benefits, and financial feasibility.

Preparing the Project Initiation Documentation

Why wrong: Preparing the PID is the overarching activity/compilation step that brings all initiated components together.

Starting up a Project

Why wrong: Starting up a Project prepares the ground for initiation.

Directing a Project

Why wrong: Directing a Project is the Project Board's process.

Controlling a Stage

Why wrong: Controlling a Stage is managed by the Project Manager to monitor stage progress, whereas MP specifically governs the creation of products.

When a Team Manager fails to complete a single Work Package on time.

Why wrong: A Work Package delay is handled locally or escalated as an issue; it does not automatically require an Exception Plan unless stage tolerances are breached.

When the Project Board wants to prematurely close the project due to corporate budget cuts.

Why wrong: Premature closure follows the project closure process, not an Exception Plan.

Automatically at the end of every successful stage, regardless of performance.

Why wrong: At the end of a successful stage, a normal Next Stage Plan is created, not an Exception Plan.

To construct all specialist products and deliver them to the operational environment.

Why wrong: Specialist products are built during the delivery stages, not in SU.

To close the project and archive all project records.

Why wrong: Project closure is handled by the Closing a Project process.

To manage the day-to-day execution of work packages.

Why wrong: Day-to-day execution is handled in Controlling a Stage and Managing Product Delivery.

During the Starting up a Project process before appointing the Project Manager.

Why wrong: The PID does not exist yet during Starting up a Project; only the Project Brief exists.

During the Closing a Project process.

Why wrong: The PID is the foundational governance document created at the beginning; it is not authorized at closure.

At the start of every single delivery stage.

Why wrong: Delivery stages are authorized using Stage Plans, not by re-authorizing the PID every time.

Submit them to the Corporate/Programme level to request additional project funding.

Why wrong: Highlight reports go to the Project Board, and funding requests follow formal exception handling or stage boundaries.

Issue them daily to all Team Managers to track individual task completion.

Why wrong: Team Managers report via Checkpoint Reports to the Project Manager, not the other way around via Highlight Reports.

Use them as the final evaluation document when closing the project.

Why wrong: The End Project Report is used for project closure evaluation.

Managing Product Delivery

Why wrong: Managing Product Delivery is a Team Manager process.

Initiating a Project

Why wrong: Initiating a Project is a Project Manager planning process.

Controlling a Stage

Why wrong: Controlling a Stage is a Project Manager process.

Escalate them to the Project Board so the board members can resolve them personally before disbanding.

Why wrong: The Project Board decommissions; uncompleted tasks or lingering risks are handed over as follow-on actions.

Automatically convert them into new projects under the same Project Manager.

Why wrong: Projects are closed formally; creating new projects requires a new Starting up a Project process.

Delete them permanently because the project is closing and they are no longer relevant.

Why wrong: Deleting them would lose valuable risk/issue data that may impact the operational life of the product.

Draft the End Stage Report for the Project Board.

Why wrong: End Stage Reports are prepared by the Project Manager during Managing a Stage Boundary.

Update the Project Business Case with actual costs incurred during manufacturing.

Why wrong: Updating the Business Case is the responsibility of the Project Manager, not the Team Manager.

Perform a formal project-level post-project benefit review.

Why wrong: Post-project benefit reviews happen after project closure, managed by Corporate or Senior User.

Closing a Project

Why wrong: Closing a Project happens at the very end of the project lifecycle.

Managing Product Delivery

Why wrong: Managing Product Delivery is executed during delivery stages.

Controlling a Stage

Why wrong: Controlling a Stage occurs after initiation and stage authorization.