Program Life Cycle Management practice questions

Program Roadmap.

Why wrong: The roadmap focuses on milestones and timelines.

Program Charter.

Why wrong: The charter authorizes the program, it doesn't plan for engagement.

Communication Matrix.

Why wrong: This is a component of the engagement plan, not the overarching document.

Communication Matrix

Why wrong: This is part of the communications plan.

Direct the component managers to resolve the issue independently.

Why wrong: The program manager is responsible for interdependency management.

Escalate the issue to the Program Sponsor immediately.

Why wrong: Escalation is a last resort; the program manager should attempt resolution first.

Cancel one of the component projects.

Why wrong: Cancellation is not a standard response to resource contention.

Accelerate the component schedule.

Why wrong: Crashing may not be feasible or advisable without impact analysis.

Replace the component project manager.

Why wrong: This does not address the benefits impact.

Update the benefits realization plan.

Why wrong: You must assess impact before updating the plan.

Component Charter

Why wrong: Project level, not program level.

Stakeholder Register

Why wrong: Operational, not strategic alignment.

Risk Register

Why wrong: Operational, not strategic alignment.

Conduct a project kickoff for the largest component.

Why wrong: Kickoffs occur after the program plan is established.

Release the initial program budget to the project managers.

Why wrong: Budget allocation occurs after detailed planning and component approval.

Develop the detailed Work Breakdown Structure for each project.

Why wrong: This is a project-level activity, not a program-level integration step.

Deny the request as the roadmap is already baselined.

Why wrong: Program management requires flexibility to address stakeholder needs if valid, but it must be processed through the correct channels.

Consult the project managers to see if the change is feasible.

Why wrong: Feasibility is a secondary consideration; the governance process takes priority first.

Update the roadmap immediately to satisfy the stakeholder.

Why wrong: Changing the roadmap without governance approval bypasses established procedures.

Program Management Plan

Why wrong: This is developed in the planning phase.

Program Roadmap

Why wrong: The roadmap is a planning document reflecting timelines and milestones.

Benefits Realization Plan

Why wrong: This is a detailed planning document.

Business Case

Why wrong: The business case justifies the program but does not authorize it.

Program Management Plan

Why wrong: This plan is developed after the program is authorized.

Program Roadmap

Why wrong: The roadmap is a strategic tool, not an authorization document.

Reassign the technical lead to the program management office.

Why wrong: Removing the lead does not solve the underlying resource dependency conflict.

Prioritize the project with the highest budget.

Why wrong: Budget is not the sole factor in determining project priority for resource allocation.

Escalate the issue to the program sponsor for immediate intervention.

Why wrong: Escalation should be a last resort after attempting to resolve it at the program level.

Replace the project manager.

Why wrong: Replacing personnel is an extreme measure and may not address the root cause.

Update the risk register and ignore the impact.

Why wrong: Ignoring the impact fails the responsibility of benefit delivery.

Immediately stop the project to save costs.

Why wrong: Stopping a project without analysis ignores the potential for recovery or workarounds.

To detail individual project tasks.

Why wrong: Individual tasks are managed in project-level plans.

To list all program stakeholders.

Why wrong: This is covered in the stakeholder engagement plan.

To act as a budget forecast.

Why wrong: Budget is part of the plan but not the entire purpose.

Skip the lessons learned for this project to maintain the schedule.

Why wrong: Lessons learned are essential for organizational process assets.

Proceed with closing the program as the project is already finished.

Why wrong: Closing a program without comprehensive documentation is a governance failure.

Demand the project team return to document the lessons.

Why wrong: The program manager should facilitate, not demand, and ensure the closure process remains on track.

Force all projects to use Waterfall reporting.

Why wrong: This is impractical and ignores the benefits of Agile methodology.

Require only the Agile teams to report status in a Waterfall format.

Why wrong: This compromises the data integrity of the Agile teams.

Manage the projects separately and do not use a unified dashboard.

Why wrong: A program manager must provide a unified view for governance.

Report the project manager to HR for scope creep.

Why wrong: Scope creep is a management issue, not necessarily a disciplinary one.

Ignore the drift if the benefits are still perceived as high.

Why wrong: Ignoring drift compromises the integrity of the program plan.

Allow the scope change as long as the project budget is sufficient.

Why wrong: Budget sufficiency does not equate to strategic alignment.

The Program Governance Board.

Why wrong: They review and approve the assessment, not perform it.

The project managers of the affected projects.

Why wrong: They assess project-level impact, but the program manager leads the benefit assessment.

The Program Sponsor.

Why wrong: The sponsor provides high-level support, not detailed assessment.

Program Execution

Why wrong: This phase focuses on delivering components.

Program Formulation

Why wrong: This phase is about defining the program's strategic need.

Program Planning

Why wrong: This phase focuses on preparation and roadmap creation.

Call a meeting with all stakeholders to discuss the risk.

Why wrong: This may be an overreaction; first check the plan to see what was promised.

Send an apology email to the stakeholder.

Why wrong: An apology doesn't fix the communication process.

Update the risk register to include 'communication failure'.

Why wrong: While true, this doesn't resolve the stakeholder's immediate concern.

The Program Charter.

Why wrong: The charter is a static document post-approval.

The project-level performance reports.

Why wrong: These track outputs, not necessarily final benefits.

The Program Management Plan.

Why wrong: This is a high-level document; the specific tracking plan should be updated.

Ignore minor dependencies to simplify the plan.

Why wrong: All inter-project dependencies must be captured to avoid integration failures.

Ask each project manager to list their dependencies.

Why wrong: This is a starting point, but the program manager must synthesize them into a program-level view.

Let the project managers resolve them during execution.

Why wrong: Planning is the time to identify these to avoid execution delays.

To perform project-level tasks.

Why wrong: This is the responsibility of project teams.

To manage the budget of the individual projects.

Why wrong: This is the responsibility of the program and project managers.

To create the technical requirements.

Why wrong: Technical requirements are defined at the project level.