PRINCE2 – Foundation Exam – Quiz 08

It is to be noted that the correct and accurate definition of a stakeholder in PRINCE2 goes by a person who is affected by the project and can affect the project.

It should be noted that The Highlight Report, created in the ‘Study highlights’ operation

You won’t recall any of the ‘operation description’ diagrams in the manual unless you’re blessed with a photographic memory. These do, however, provide a valuable guide to help you keep things straight when revising. Each activity has a summary diagram of the activity and the corresponding one here makes the inputs clear. However, Project Mandate is not used as an activity Prepare the Risk Management Strategy.

The Communications Management Plan provides information of the communications receivers in its ‘Reporting’ section, and these communications comprise the Highlight Report. The thought in the manual about communications management and the Product Initiation Documentation (PID) section of Project Controls remains unclear, but the PID was not listed as an choice in this issue. Be careful: In PRINCE2 there is no such thing as a communications strategy. Some questions that include plausible-sounding response choices, so you need to be very careful about what’s PRINCE2 and what’s not, particularly if your organization is using the non-PRINCE2 word.

A different program, the Benefits Review Program. There is no such thing as a PRINCE2 Benefits Realization Timeline and cost-benefit analysis is a strategy, not a Business Case leading. ‘Investment appraisal’ is a heading in Business Case PRINCE2.

The Technique for Configuration Management is wrongly called, as the name leads you to believe it just includes Configuration management. The technique generally also includes the management of problems and the monitoring of changes. Of course, configuration management is closely related to change control, but they aren’t the same thing.

If you look the exact words carefully, some questions are easier to answer. Here the word ‘plan’ in the name ‘Benefits Analysis Program’ indicates the solution, even though you haven’t already learned it.

It should be remembered that benefits that come on stream during and after the project, not just at the end of the project. The Benefits Review Package lists all reviews of the benefits. As its name suggests, it is a program to test benefits and is not used to document benefits.

It is found that “establishing a solid foundation of the project under construction” is the part of the purpose statement as mentioned in the process of Initiating a Project.

The whole idea of giving delegated authority is that, within those boundaries, everybody can get on with the job. The Project Director will plan and get on. It should be reflected in the flow of the tasks in the process, and it is the substance of the ‘Take corrective action’ operation. The Project Manager may take advice before setting the action in the train, but that may not be required. The other response options suggest the mandatory participation of others in handling any question, and that’s just not true.

Phase schedule for step one of production. The PID contains the Business Case, Project Plan and Risk Management Policy. The Stage Plan is different, as it is not a ‘whole project’ – typically there are a number of Stage Plans, since most projects are multi-stage – and the Project Initiation Report (PID) covers the whole project.

It should be noted that a team’s progress details will be fed into the Stage Plan

“Capture” risks is essential, and that’s part of the Risk Register feature. It is doubtful that complete information will still be available – such as how to handle the risk – but this will not stop the Project Manager from setting up the application, which can be augmented with more details when they become available

The Project Manager has no choice but to refer the matter to the Board and do so without hesitation. The tolerances are a strict order from the Project Board – the ‘boss’ of the Project Manager – that should the estimates go beyond the specified limits, then the board must be immediately told.

This is a test to see ‘where we are now’ before determining if action falls under the delegated authority of the Project Manager. Have a look at Figure 7.1 earlier in this chapter if you are not clear on that point.

To serve some useful purpose in managing the stage, the Stage Plan must be kept up-to-date, and therefore actuals are entered when this information arrives from Team Managers in or followed by Checkpoint Reports. [Manual 15.4.2 last bullet point, P2FD Ch7 Managing workflow to teams-Testing job package progress]

The ‘legal’ and so right response to the exam is that the Project Plan should be revised at the stage boundaries, not in the Controlling a Stage phase, which is the focus of this section. This is likely to be different in reality, but this problem is partly to highlight the point that the exams are based on PRINCE2 as set out in the manual.

The Project Manager should record the issue one way or the other (register or log) and then
check it out. It shouldn’t be ignored or passed to a Project Board member. Neither should a
Project Manager sends it straight back and tells the team member to get on with it. What if the
team member was wrong? At the very least, the Project Manager would be likely to talk to the
Team Manager about the issue, as part of the ‘examine’ function of the activity ‘Capture and
examine issues and risks’.

On stage boundary, just before that stage begins, a Stage Plan is formed. Stage Plans during Initiation are not produced en bloc for the whole project. There is no such thing as PRINCE2 Business Strategy. A Team Plan is created when a Team Manager receives a Work Package (assignment) during a distribution point, not during implementation, as necessary.

It should be kept in mind that when generating the PID, the Project Manager consults with others but is responsible for that.

Team leaders often misinterpret things and their passion for detecting threats may also get carried away. The Project Manager is responsible for the Risk Register and can not be controlled by over- team members who watched the previous night’s disaster movies at home and now panic that asteroid impacts could destroy the project. The matter can be documented in the Regular Log along with the reasons for turning it down by the Project Manager or handled by talking to the concerned team member and not using any of the records.

The first move is to use the Issue Register and an Issue Report to document the issue information. There may or may not be associated risks requiring one or more entries in the Risk Register, but that will come after the problem is properly investigated and the query being raised when the information will first be registered.

The Project Manager will use the Highlight Report to bring issues to the attention of board members like a new risk that members need not take action. [Manual A11.2, Key issues, and risks, P2FD Ch7 Warning of questions and risks to the Board]

An example of feasibility work is looking at various options for the new entrance and reception facilities at the headquarters of Princess Projects Plc.
One choice is to develop the building as a purpose-built entrance area with a completely new extension. Another is upgrading a large car park office and transforming it into a smart reception and entrance area.
None of these solutions include planning and project management. Alternatively, the choices are technological stuff-or ‘specialist’ staff, to use the term PRINCE2. All the different feasibility options have different business cases (costs, risk, time scale, etc.) and very different project plans are needed.

It is to be noted that Project Initiation Documentation (PID) is not a single document rather a folder that contains the Business Case of the project.

As an everlasting guide i.e. ongoing reference. Throughout the project, the PID is kept up to date as an ongoing, authoritative indication of what the project is, and how it is managed. For example, it is useful for team members to join a project as a guide to understand how the project is running.

The Business Case is all about project justification. It explains the rationale and provides relevant information such as the project’s projected cost and time, and the degree of risk. If the project is justified or partially justified by benefits – which are the majority of projects – then the Business Case includes descriptions of the benefits and their probable value

The Benefits Evaluation Program deals with the actual calculation of benefits. Benefits Reports are the reviews to see if there are benefits. The aim is therefore simply to state when each analysis will take place and what benefits will be reviewed in each. It also includes relevant information such as who is in charge of carrying out every analysis.

It is to be noted that “reporting stage end” is an activity in the process Managing a Stage Boundary. This is the last activity in the process, as a look at the process model reveals.

By process model the answer is released. If you have a visual memory for the exam it helps – but if not, the reasoning for the test will help. Once the plans are updated, there may be new projections of time and cost, and both of these are included in the business case.