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CCNA Benefits Realization Questions

17 of 92 questions · Page 2/2 · Benefits Realization · Answers revealed

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76
MCQhard

A project is technically sound, but the business units are resisting the change. What is the most likely cause?

A.The benefits realization plan did not include change management or stakeholder engagement.
B.The technical documentation is missing.
C.The budget was too high.
D.The project was finished too quickly.
AnswerA

Technical soundness does not secure adoption. Resistance arises when the benefits realisation plan omits change management and stakeholder engagement, leaving affected business units uninvolved, unconvinced of the value, and unprepared for new ways of working.

Why this answer

When a technically sound project faces business resistance, the root cause is almost always that the benefits realization plan omitted change management and stakeholder engagement. Technical soundness does not create adoption; people adopt change when they understand the 'why', are involved in design, and see their concerns addressed. Without a structured change plan (communication, training, sponsorship, resistance management), even flawless technology stalls at go-live.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the principle that benefits realization requires business change, not just technical delivery — candidates pick technical or financial distractors (documentation, budget, speed) instead of recognizing the change-management gap.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option B is wrong because missing technical documentation would cause operational or support problems, not active business resistance — and a technically sound project typically has adequate documentation. Option C is wrong because a high budget is a financial concern, not a cause of user resistance; users rarely resist because of cost. Option D is wrong because finishing quickly is generally positive and does not by itself generate resistance — if anything, faster delivery reduces disruption windows.

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77
MCQeasy

Why should benefit realization planning start at the inception of an IT investment?

A.To secure the budget before the project is approved.
B.To identify technical risks in the software architecture.
C.To ensure that the project team is selected correctly.
D.To ensure that the desired business outcomes are clearly defined and measurable.
AnswerD

Defining measurable business outcomes at inception establishes the baseline against which benefit realisation is later assessed. Without this, the investment lacks agreed success criteria, making it impossible to determine whether promised value was actually delivered or to intervene when outcomes drift.

Why this answer

Benefit realization planning must begin at inception because the entire investment rationale depends on defining what business outcomes the investment is meant to deliver and how those outcomes will be measured. If the desired outcomes are not clearly articulated and made measurable up front, there is no baseline against which to track value delivery, and the initiative risks drifting into a technology project with no demonstrable business return. CGEIT frames IT investment management around value delivery, so anchoring measurable outcomes at the start is what enables later benefit tracking, stage-gate reviews, and post-implementation evaluation.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the distinction between project management activities (budget, risk, team) and governance activities (defining and measuring business value), so candidates who focus on execution mechanics rather than value definition pick the wrong option.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because securing budget is a funding/approval activity, not the purpose of benefit realization planning — budget approval follows from a credible benefits case, it does not define it. Option B is wrong because identifying technical risks in the software architecture is a solution design and risk management activity, not benefit realization, which focuses on business value outcomes rather than technical architecture concerns. Option C is wrong because selecting the project team is a resourcing decision that occurs after the investment case is understood; team composition does not determine whether benefits are defined or measurable.

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78
MCQmedium

A hospital's IT steering committee is reviewing a proposed electronic health record (EHR) upgrade. The business case claims annual savings of $2.4M from reduced duplicate testing, but the finance department cannot trace those savings to any existing cost center or budget line. Which benefits realization action should the committee require BEFORE approving funding?

A.Defer the savings claim to the post-implementation benefits review and approve funding on strategic grounds alone.
B.Reclassify the $2.4M as an intangible benefit so it no longer needs to appear in the financial business case.
C.Require the vendor to contractually guarantee the $2.4M savings in the software license agreement.
D.Validate the savings against a documented baseline of current duplicate-test volumes and unit costs.
AnswerD

Without an agreed baseline, the claimed $2.4M cannot be verified, attributed, or later measured. Establishing current duplicate-test volumes and their unit costs gives the committee an auditable starting point against which post-implementation results can be compared, and it exposes whether the savings are genuinely incremental or merely shifted between cost centers.

Why this answer

Benefits claims must be traceable to a measurable baseline before investment approval, otherwise realization cannot be proven later. Establishing current duplicate-test volumes and unit costs creates that baseline and clarifies which cost centers will actually realize the savings. The other choices either shift accountability, postpone verification, or disguise the claim rather than establishing the measurement foundation the committee needs.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that a compelling strategic rationale or a vendor guarantee can substitute for a measurable, owned baseline for the claimed savings.

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79
MCQhard

When assessing the feasibility of a project, why is it necessary to evaluate the 'risk of benefit realization'?

A.To ensure the project follows the vendor's best practices.
B.To ensure the technical project has no bugs.
C.To reduce the number of stakeholders involved.
D.To determine if the expected value can realistically be achieved under current conditions.
AnswerD

Evaluating benefit realisation risk tests whether forecast value survives realistic conditions such as capability gaps, adoption rates or market shifts. Feasibility therefore rests on achievable value, not theoretical projections, preventing approval of business cases whose returns cannot materialise.

Why this answer

Evaluating the risk of benefit realization determines whether the projected business value can actually be delivered given current organizational, technical, and market conditions. It separates optimistic benefit forecasts from achievable outcomes by factoring in uncertainty, dependencies, and constraints. This assessment directly informs investment decisions and whether the business case is defensible.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the confusion between project delivery risk (will it be built?) and benefit realization risk (will the value actually materialize?), causing candidates to select quality or vendor-related answers.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because vendor best practices relate to implementation methodology, not to whether the organization can realize the projected benefits. Option B is wrong because bug-free code is a quality assurance concern, not a benefit realization feasibility issue. Option C is wrong because reducing stakeholder count is neither a goal nor a valid outcome of benefit risk assessment; stakeholder engagement is typically broadened, not reduced.

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80
Multi-Selectmedium

A manufacturing firm's CIO is establishing benefits ownership for a portfolio of IT-enabled change programs. The steering committee wants to ensure each benefit has clear accountability so that realization can be tracked and intervened upon. Which TWO of the following are essential components of effective benefits ownership? (Choose two.)

Select 2 answers
A.Assignment of benefit tracking to the project management office for the duration of the program.
B.A named business owner who is accountable for the outcome and has authority over the processes that generate the benefit.
C.A commitment from the CIO to report benefit status directly to the board each quarter.
D.A defined measurement method, baseline, and target for each benefit that the owner is expected to deliver.
E.A benefits register maintained exclusively by the finance department to ensure consistency of valuation.
AnswersB, D

A benefit can only be realized where the change actually occurs, so the accountable owner must sit in the business function that controls the affected process. Without that authority, the owner cannot enforce adoption, adjust operations, or remove obstacles. Naming a business owner with real process control converts a benefit from an aspiration into a managed outcome with a single point of accountability.

Why this answer

Effective benefits ownership requires an accountable business owner with authority over the process that generates the benefit, plus an agreed measure with baseline and target. Together these create a clear contract for delivery and a basis for intervention. Tracking by the PMO, custody by finance, or executive reporting are supporting mechanisms but do not themselves establish ownership or make the benefit measurable.

Exam trap

The trap here is equating monitoring, reporting, or valuation activities with ownership, when ownership requires business authority over the process plus a defined measure and target.

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81
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE items are necessary to calculate the 'Total Cost of Ownership' (TCO) for a new IT project?

Select 3 answers
A.The number of users who will be trained.
B.Project staff salaries during the development phase.
C.Hardware and software acquisition costs.
D.The predicted revenue increase.
E.Ongoing annual maintenance and support costs.
AnswersB, C, E

Development-phase salaries are a direct, attributable cost of building the solution, so they belong in TCO alongside acquisition and ongoing running costs. Omitting internal labour understates true ownership cost and distorts comparison between build, buy or cloud alternatives.

Why this answer

TCO captures the full lifecycle cost of an IT project, so it must include the direct capital outlay for hardware and software acquisition (option C), since these upfront procurement costs are a core component of the ownership cost. It must also include project staff salaries during the development phase (option B), because internal labor for design, build, and deployment is a real cost incurred before the system goes live. Finally, ongoing annual maintenance and support costs (option E) are essential because TCO extends beyond initial acquisition to include recurring operational expenses such as licensing renewals, patching, and vendor support over the asset's useful life.

Option A is not required because the number of users to be trained is a training-scope metric, not a cost figure, unless converted into training expenses. Option D does not belong because predicted revenue increase is a benefit/ROI input, not a cost element of TCO.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the boundary between cost and benefit items, causing candidates to include revenue projections in TCO or to mistake a cost driver (user count) for an actual cost.

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82
MCQhard

An IT project is nearing completion. Which activity best signifies that the 'Value Delivery' phase is beginning?

A.The project management office closes the project file.
B.The vendor invoice is paid in full.
C.The business operations teams begin using the system to execute new processes.
D.The final code is checked into the repository.
AnswerC

Value delivery begins when the capability is actually used to produce outcomes, not when it is accepted or deployed. Business operations executing new processes with the system confirms the transition from project output to operational benefit realisation.

Why this answer

Value Delivery in IT governance begins when the delivered capability actually produces business outcomes — that is, when operations teams start using the system to run new or changed processes. Until users adopt the system in production, the investment has only produced an asset, not realized value. The transition from project delivery to operational use is the clearest signal that benefits are now being generated and can be measured against the business case.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the distinction between project completion artifacts (code check-in, invoice payment, project closure) and actual business adoption, luring candidates toward administrative milestones that do not demonstrate value realization.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because closing the project file is an administrative/PMO closure activity that confirms the project is formally ended; it says nothing about whether the system is delivering value. Option B is wrong because paying the vendor invoice is a financial settlement of contractual obligations, not evidence of realized business benefit. Option D is wrong because checking code into the repository is a development milestone indicating build completion, which occurs well before value delivery and may never result in production use.

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83
MCQhard

A project delivers a new system, but the benefits are not realized due to an outdated manual process that was not updated. Where did the benefits management plan fail?

A.In the software coding standards.
B.In the technical design phase.
C.In the business change management and process alignment components.
D.In the project budget management.
AnswerC

Benefits realisation depends on the affected business processes and roles actually changing, so the plan failed to address business change management and process alignment. Delivering the system alone leaves the outdated manual process intact, preventing the projected value from being realised.

Why this answer

Benefits realization depends not only on delivering the technology but also on changing the business processes and organizational behaviors that surround it. If an outdated manual process remains in place after the system goes live, the expected benefits cannot materialize — this is a failure of the business change management and process alignment components of the benefits management plan.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the misconception that successful technical delivery equals benefit realization, causing candidates to blame technical phases (design, coding) instead of business change management.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because software coding standards affect code quality and maintainability, not whether business processes are updated to leverage the new system. Option B is wrong because the technical design phase addresses system architecture and functionality; the failure here is organizational, not technical. Option D is wrong because budget management controls cost, not benefit realization; a project can be on budget and still deliver zero benefits if processes are not aligned.

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84
MCQmedium

A global retailer has completed an IT-enabled supply chain transformation. Twelve months after go-live, the PMO reports that the expected reduction in inventory carrying cost has not materialized, even though the system is fully operational and user adoption is high. The CIO asks the benefits realization manager to determine why the expected benefit is not being realized. Which action should the benefits realization manager take FIRST?

A.Verify whether the benefit was assigned to a named benefits owner and whether the associated business process changes were actually implemented.
B.Escalate to the vendor to confirm that the supply chain module is configured to deliver the promised inventory optimization functionality.
C.Re-run the business case to recalculate the projected inventory carrying cost savings using actual post-implementation data.
D.Commission a post-implementation review to compare the original business case assumptions against the current supply chain operating model.
AnswerA

Benefits realization depends on accountable ownership and complementary business process change, not just technology delivery. With high adoption but no benefit, the likely cause is that no one owns the outcome or that downstream processes such as inventory replenishment rules were never redesigned. Confirming ownership and process change first targets the most probable root cause before other diagnostics.

Why this answer

When technology is delivered and adopted but expected benefits do not appear, the most frequent causes are lack of a named benefits owner and failure to implement the business process changes the benefit depends on. Confirming ownership and process change is a fast, targeted diagnostic that addresses the enterprise's accountability for outcomes rather than the solution's technical functionality.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that a fully operational, highly adopted system should automatically deliver benefits, when benefits require accountable ownership and complementary business process change.

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85
Multi-Selecteasy

Which TWO of the following are considered key elements of a robust Benefits Realization Plan (BRP)?

Select 2 answers
A.Detailed software vendor licensing terms.
B.Project team contact list.
C.Technical architectural diagrams.
D.Clear identification of benefits and their owners.
E.Defined metrics and baseline performance measurements.
AnswersD, E

Naming each benefit and assigning a named owner creates accountability for delivery, preventing vague aspirations from entering the plan. This satisfies the BRP requirement that benefits be explicitly identified and owned, enabling tracking and intervention when realisation drifts.

Why this answer

Option D is correct because a robust Benefits Realization Plan must explicitly identify each intended benefit and assign a named benefit owner who is accountable for its delivery and tracking, ensuring benefits are actively managed rather than assumed. Option E is correct because the BRP requires defined metrics with baseline performance measurements so that benefit delivery can be quantified and compared against the pre-project state, enabling objective realization tracking. Options A, B, and C do not belong: vendor licensing terms, a project team contact list, and technical architectural diagrams are project or solution artifacts that support delivery but do not constitute the benefit identification, ownership, measurement, and baselining elements that define a BRP.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the distinction between BRP elements (benefits, owners, metrics, baselines) and general project artifacts (contact lists, diagrams, licensing) — candidates pick familiar project documents that are not benefits-focused.

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86
MCQeasy

A manufacturing firm is closing out a completed infrastructure modernization program. The CIO wants to confirm that the program's claimed benefits will continue to be tracked after the program team disbands. Which of the following is the MOST important governance action at closure?

A.Archive all project documentation and close the program budget
B.Obtain final sign-off from the steering committee that the program delivered as specified
C.Transfer each benefit to a named operational owner with a defined measurement and reporting routine
D.Conduct a lessons-learned workshop with the program team
AnswerC

Benefits realization extends beyond program closure. Transferring each benefit to an accountable operational owner, with an agreed measurement method and reporting cadence, ensures the value claim continues to be tested in business as usual. This is the essential closure action that prevents benefits from being orphaned when the program team disbands.

Why this answer

Program closure is the point at which benefits accountability must move into the operational organization. Naming an operational owner for each benefit, with an agreed measurement method and reporting routine, keeps the value claim alive after the team disbands. Administrative closure, lessons learned, and delivery sign-off do not by themselves sustain benefits tracking.

Exam trap

The trap here is equating program completion and sign-off with benefits realization, when benefits usually accrue after closure and require a transferred owner to remain visible.

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87
Multi-Selecthard

Which THREE metrics are commonly used to measure the success of an IT investment?

Select 3 answers
A.Total cost of software development.
B.Customer satisfaction or Net Promoter Score (NPS).
C.Return on Investment (ROI).
D.Net Present Value (NPV).
E.The number of hours the development team worked.
AnswersB, C, D

Customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score capture perceived value delivered to users, complementing financial and operational measures of an IT investment. This satisfies the stem by providing a stakeholder-facing metric that indicates whether the investment achieved its intended business outcomes.

Why this answer

Customer satisfaction or Net Promoter Score (NPS) (B) is a standard success metric because it captures the perceived value and user adoption of the IT investment, which ultimately drives retention and business outcomes. Return on Investment (ROI) (C) is correct because it directly compares the financial gains from the investment against its costs, expressing profitability as a percentage. Net Present Value (NPV) (D) is also correct because it discounts future cash flows to present value, showing whether the investment adds economic value after accounting for the time value of money.

In contrast, total cost of software development (A) is only an input cost, not a measure of success, and the number of hours the development team worked (E) is an effort or productivity input rather than an outcome-based success metric.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the difference between input/activity metrics (cost, hours worked) and outcome/value metrics (ROI, NPV, NPS), so candidates who equate effort or spend with success select the wrong options.

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88
MCQhard

A global manufacturer's governance committee has approved a benefits realization framework. Eighteen months later, an audit finds that several IT investments show 'green' benefits status in quarterly reports even though the underlying operational metrics have not improved. The framework requires business owners to self-report status. Which change to the framework would MOST improve the reliability of benefits reporting?

A.Add a financial penalty clause to business unit budgets when reported benefits are not achieved.
B.Increase the reporting frequency from quarterly to monthly so problems surface sooner.
C.Replace business owner self-reporting entirely with a central project management office that consolidates all benefits status.
D.Require business owners to attach source-system evidence for each reported metric and have an independent function validate a sample each cycle.
AnswerD

The failure is that self-reported status is not tied to objective evidence and no one independently checks it. Requiring source-system extracts and independent sampling validation removes the ability to report green without supporting data and creates a credible deterrent, directly improving the reliability of benefits reporting while keeping owners accountable for the metrics.

Why this answer

The framework relied on unverified self-assessment, so status reflected optimism rather than evidence. Requiring source-system data and independent sampling validation introduces objective proof and a credible check while preserving business ownership of the metrics. That combination improves reliability far more than changing reporting frequency, centralizing the process, or adding penalties.

Exam trap

The trap here is assuming that more frequent reporting, central consolidation, or financial penalties will fix data quality, when the real defect is the absence of independent verification against objective evidence.

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89
MCQmedium

Why should IT projects include a 'disbenefit' analysis in their business case?

A.To increase the project budget.
B.To reduce the amount of documentation required.
C.To provide a transparent and realistic view of the project's impact.
D.To satisfy the software vendor's requirements.
AnswerC

Disbenefit analysis quantifies negative outcomes alongside benefits, satisfying the business case's need for balanced, evidence-based justification. Rather than presenting only upside, it exposes costs, risks and adverse impacts, giving decision-makers the transparent, realistic impact view the stem demands. This supports informed investment approval and later benefit-realisation tracking.

Why this answer

A disbenefit analysis documents the negative consequences a project may create — cost overruns, productivity dips during transition, regulatory exposure, or cannibalised revenue — so decision-makers see a balanced, realistic picture rather than a one-sided optimistic case. This transparency supports sound investment decisions and realistic benefit forecasting. Option C captures that purpose.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests whether candidates understand that business cases must be balanced and transparent; the trap is assuming disbenefit analysis exists to justify more budget or satisfy vendors rather than to inform honest investment decisions.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because disbenefit analysis does not increase the budget; it may actually reduce approved funding by revealing hidden costs that make a project less attractive. Option B is wrong because adding disbenefit analysis increases, not reduces, documentation and analytical rigour. Option D is wrong because disbenefit analysis is a governance best practice driven by internal investment decision-making, not a vendor requirement; vendors have no stake in how a customer documents negative impacts.

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90
MCQhard

An organization realizes its IT strategy is not yielding the expected business benefits. What is the most effective approach to remediate this?

A.Increase the frequency of software deployments.
B.Cancel all current IT projects.
C.Perform a strategic alignment review to identify gaps between IT capabilities and business needs.
D.Immediately hire more IT staff.
AnswerC

A strategic alignment review compares IT capabilities against business needs, exposing the specific gaps causing benefits shortfalls. This satisfies the stem's requirement for the most effective remediation, since misalignment, not delivery failure, is the root cause of unrealised business benefits.

Why this answer

When IT strategy fails to deliver expected business benefits, the root cause is usually misalignment between IT capabilities and business needs, so a strategic alignment review is the most effective remediation. This review identifies gaps in objectives, priorities, resources, and governance, enabling corrective action rather than blind escalation or cancellation. It restores the linkage between IT investment and business value.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the instinct to apply operational fixes (more staff, more deployments, project cancellation) to a strategic problem, tempting candidates away from the diagnostic alignment review that addresses root cause.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because increasing deployment frequency without addressing alignment accelerates delivery of misaligned work, worsening the benefit gap. Option B is wrong because cancelling all IT projects destroys value and continuity without diagnosing the underlying misalignment. Option D is wrong because adding staff addresses capacity, not strategic direction, and may increase cost without improving benefit realization.

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91
MCQhard

An enterprise is adopting a 'Benefits-led' approach to IT governance. Which artifact is the most critical for documenting the causal link between IT-enabled outcomes and organizational strategy?

A.The Project Charter.
B.The Balanced Scorecard (BSC).
C.The IT Strategy document.
D.The Benefits Dependency Map (BDM).
AnswerD

The Benefits Dependency Map explicitly links enablers, IT-enabled changes, business changes and outcomes to strategic objectives, documenting causality. This satisfies the stem's requirement for the artifact evidencing the causal link between IT-enabled outcomes and organisational strategy under a benefits-led approach.

Why this answer

A Benefits Dependency Map (BDM) is the artifact specifically designed to document the causal chain from IT enablers through business changes to business benefits and strategic objectives. It visually links each IT-enabled outcome to the organizational strategy it supports, making it the most critical document in a benefits-led governance approach.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the distinction between strategy-setting artifacts (IT Strategy, BSC) and benefit-tracing artifacts (BDM), luring candidates who equate strategic documents with benefits documentation.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because a Project Charter authorizes a project and defines its scope and objectives, but does not map causal links between IT outcomes and strategic benefits. Option B is wrong because the Balanced Scorecard tracks performance across four perspectives but does not document the causal dependency chain from IT enablers to benefits. Option C is wrong because the IT Strategy document sets direction and priorities but does not trace individual IT-enabled outcomes to specific organizational benefits.

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92
MCQhard

If a project is completed but the expected benefits are not realized, what is the best initial step for a CGEIT professional?

A.Ignore the missing benefits as long as the system works.
B.Analyze the 'Benefit Dependency Network' to identify where the link between output and outcome failed.
C.Start a new, more expensive project.
D.Blame the technical team for poor coding.
AnswerB

The Benefit Dependency Network maps how enablers, changes and outcomes interconnect, so tracing it pinpoints precisely where the output-to-outcome linkage broke down. This satisfies the stem's requirement for an initial diagnostic step before committing to corrective action or revised business cases.

Why this answer

The Benefit Dependency Network (BDN) maps the causal chain from IT/change outputs through business outcomes to enterprise goals, showing the dependencies and enablers required to realize value. When a project delivers its outputs but benefits fail to materialize, the BDN is the diagnostic tool that reveals where the causal link broke — for example, a missing organizational change management enabler or an unaddressed dependency. Analyzing it is the correct first step because it produces evidence-based root cause insight rather than blame or premature re-investment.

Exam trap

CGEIT often tests the distinction between outputs (deliverables) and outcomes (benefits), luring candidates toward operational or blame-oriented answers instead of structured benefits-realization diagnostics.

How to eliminate wrong answers

Option A is wrong because ignoring missing benefits defeats the purpose of benefits realization governance — a functioning system that delivers no value is a governance failure, not a success. Option C is wrong because starting a new, more expensive project before understanding why the first failed repeats the same mistakes and wastes further capital. Option D is wrong because blaming the technical team assumes the failure is code-related, when benefit shortfalls typically stem from strategy misalignment, adoption gaps, or flawed business cases — not coding quality.

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