PRINCE2F People: organizations, teams, and leadership Practice Question
A project manager notices that team members are frequently bypassing the project's defined escalation paths and going directly to senior stakeholders with issues. This is causing confusion and undermining the project's governance. Which PRINCE2 principle is being violated?
⚠ Common exam trap
PeopleCert often tests the distinction between 'roles and responsibilities' (who does what) and 'manage by stages' (how control is exercised over time); the trap here is that candidates see a governance breakdown and incorrectly attribute it to unclear roles rather than the violation of stage-based escalation control.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Manage by stages
'Manage by stages,' because the PRINCE2 principle of managing by stages requires that each stage be planned, monitored, and controlled with defined escalation paths for issues. When team members bypass these paths and go directly to senior stakeholders, they undermine the stage-by-stage control and governance, violating the principle that decisions and escalations should follow the established stage boundaries and management levels.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Defined roles and responsibilities
Why it's wrong here
While related, the issue is specifically about bypassing stage gates and escalation, not undefined roles.
- ✗
Learn from experience
Why it's wrong here
This principle involves capturing and applying lessons, not escalation procedures.
- ✓
Manage by stages
Why this is correct
This principle involves planning, monitoring, and controlling by stages, which includes defined escalation paths.
- ✗
Continued business justification
Why it's wrong here
This principle is about ensuring the project remains viable, not about escalation paths.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PRINCE2F practice question is part of Courseiva's free PeopleCert certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PRINCE2F exam.