PRINCE2F PRINCE2 Practices Practice Question
Which TWO of the following are valid tolerances in PRINCE2?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse 'Resource' (a management lever) with a formal tolerance, or think 'Budget' is the official term when PRINCE2 specifically uses 'Cost'.
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
✓
Benefit
In PRINCE2, the six standard tolerances are Time, Cost, Quality, Scope, Risk, and Benefit. Among the given options, Benefit and Time are two valid tolerances. Resource, Schedule, and Budget are not formal tolerances: Resource is a management lever, Schedule is not the official tolerance term (PRINCE2 uses Time), and Budget is not the official tolerance term (PRINCE2 uses Cost).
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Benefit
Why this is correct
Benefit tolerance is valid because PRINCE2 defines tolerances against all six performance targets, including benefits. It permits permissible deviation in the forecast benefits of the business case before the project board must be escalated to.
- ✓
Time
Why this is correct
Time is one of the six tolerance areas defined across the PRINCE2 performance targets, alongside cost, scope, quality, risk and benefit. It is set for each management level, allowing deviation from planned schedule before escalation is triggered.
- ✗
Resource
Why it's wrong here
PRINCE2 defines six tolerance areas: time, cost, scope, quality, risk and benefit; resource is not among them, being covered within cost and time. It tempts because resource availability genuinely constrains delivery, and resource planning appears in other methods, but PRINCE2 does not treat it as a tolerance type.
- ✗
Schedule
Why it's wrong here
PRINCE2 names the six tolerance areas time, cost, scope, quality, risk and benefit; schedule is not one, because time tolerance already defines permitted deviation from planned dates. It tempts since schedule slippage is a real concern, and scheduling terminology is common elsewhere, but PRINCE2 uses time.
- ✗
Budget
Why it's wrong here
PRINCE2's tolerance areas are time, cost, scope, quality, risk and benefit; budget is not a named tolerance, since cost tolerance already expresses the permitted deviation. It tempts because budget and cost sound interchangeable, and budget variance is tracked in many frameworks, but PRINCE2 uses cost.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PRINCE2F question is part of Courseiva's 1,189-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
2 more ways this is tested on PRINCE2F
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. Which TWO of the following are types of tolerance that can be set in PRINCE2?
easy- A.Change control approach
- B.Quality management approach
- C.Risk budget
- ✓ D.Time
- ✓ E.Cost
Why D: In PRINCE2, tolerance is the permissible deviation from the plan that a role can allow without escalating to the next level of management, and the six tolerance areas are time, cost, scope, quality, risk, and benefit. Option D (Time) is correct because time tolerance defines the allowable variance in schedule, typically expressed in days or weeks, that a Project Manager or Team Manager may accept before the deviation must be escalated. Option E (Cost) is correct because cost tolerance defines the allowable variance in budget, usually expressed as a monetary amount or percentage, that can be consumed without triggering escalation. Options A (Change control approach) and B (Quality management approach) are incorrect because they are PRINCE2 approaches or strategy documents, not tolerance types, and option C (Risk budget) is incorrect because it is a financial reserve used to fund risk responses, not a tolerance category.
Variation 2. Which TWO of the following are valid tolerances in PRINCE2?
medium- A.Customer satisfaction
- ✓ B.Risk
- C.Innovation
- ✓ D.Quality
- E.Resources
Why B: In PRINCE2, the six tolerance areas defined for a project, stage, or work package are time, cost, quality, scope, risk, and benefit. Option B (Risk) is correct because risk tolerance sets the permissible deviation in the project's exposure to uncertainty, allowing the Project Manager to escalate only when risk thresholds are breached. Option D (Quality) is correct because quality tolerance defines the acceptable range of deviation in the project's quality criteria, such as defect rates or acceptance levels, before escalation is required. The remaining options do not belong: Customer satisfaction (A) is an outcome or success criterion rather than a defined tolerance area, Innovation (C) is not a PRINCE2 tolerance, and Resources (E) is not one of the six tolerance types (resources are typically addressed under cost and time constraints).
JA
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.