PGMP Exam Preparation and Study Guide, 3rd Edition

PgMP® Exam Preparation
Study Guide
440 Questions & Answers
Third Edition
Jean Gouix, PMP, PgMP

Martial Bellec, PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP
© Jean Gouix and Martial Bellec, not for distribution, sale or reproduction
© June 2018 by Jean Gouix and Martial Bellec.
All rights reserved. These pages contain information about program management material
that is protected by copyright laws. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or any other, without the prior written permission of Jean Gouix and
Martial Bellec.
We need you to help us stop Copyright Infringement. As authors of one of the best-sellers for
the PgMP® exam preparation, it happens that this book is unfortunately illegally copied. We
allow people to teach or do financial gain with our book but only under our prior written
permission. When you recognize that contents of this book are used in training sessions that
you attend or purchase, without any mention to a formal agreement with us, please notify us
immediately at program.support@orange.fr. We will then get in contact with the unfair
provider to obtain financial compensation.
Project Management Institute The Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition,
Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017. Copyright and all rights reserved. Material from this
publication has been reproduced with the permission of PMI.
Project Management Institute PgMP® Examination Content Outline, Project Management

Institute, Inc. 2011. Copyright and all rights reserved. Material from this publication has been
reproduced with the permission of PMI.
Your feedback is very important. If you feel you have discovered an error when reading this
study guide, please forward your remark to: program.support@orange.fr
1st Edition Depot legal France, February 2012
2nd Edition Depot legal France, June 2013
3rd Edition Depot legal France, June 2018
ISBN : 978-2-9546078-1-8
Proudly Printed in Brittany, France, June 2018
II
Contents
List of figures..........................................................................................................................VI
Preface.................................................................................................................................. VII
About the Authors.................................................................................................................... X
About our online PgMP® Exam Prep package....................................................................... XI
Rationale of this Book-Third Edition.................................................................................... XII
Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1
What is a program?...................................................................................................................... 1
Role of the program manager........................................................................................................1
The day-to-day work of the program manager................................................................................2
'Do level' skills of the program manager......................................................................................... 2
'Be level' skills of the program manager......................................................................................... 2
Project vs. Program...................................................................................................................... 3
Portfolio vs. Program.................................................................................................................... 4
Operations vs. Program.................................................................................................................5
The Standard- Fourth Edition in a nutshell......................................................................................6
Study Questions........................................................................................................................... 9
Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................12
Domain I Strategic Program Management............................................................................ 14
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 14
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 17
Domain II Program Life Cycle............................................................................................... 22
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 22
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Initiating......................................................... 27
III
Introduction...............................................................................................................................27
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 31
Study Questions - Answers......................................................................................................... 35
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Planning.......................................................... 37
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 37
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 42
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Executing.........................................................48
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 48
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 52
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Controlling.......................................................57
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 57
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 62
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Closing.............................................................67
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 67
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 71
Study Questions - Answers.......................................................................................................... 74
Domain III Benefits Management......................................................................................... 76
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 76
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 81
Domain IV Stakeholder Management....................................................................................86
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 86
Study Questions......................................................................................................................... 90
IV
Study Questions - Answers.......................................................................................................... 93
Domain V Governance........................................................................................................ 95
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 95
Study Questions........................................................................................................................101
Study Questions - Answers........................................................................................................ 104
170 Tutorial Questions........................................................................................................ 106
Guidelines to test your knowledge of the standard...................................................................... 106
170 Tutorial Questions - Answers....................................................................................... 146
170 Practice Questions........................................................................................................ 157
Guidelines to be prepared for the PgMP® certification.................................................................157
170 Practice Questions - Answers....................................................................................... 220
List of figures
Figure 1 : Program vs. Project.................................................................................................................. 3
Figure 2 : Interdependencies between Projects and Program........................................................... 3
Figure 3 : Portfolio vs. Program................................................................................................................ 4
Figure 4 : Operations vs. Program.......................................................................................................... 5
Figure 5 : The standard - Fourth Edition................................................................................................. 6
Figure 6 : Key elements of program strategy alignment.................................................................... 16
Figure 7 : Environmental analysis........................................................................................................... 16
Figure 8 : Program Life Cycle................................................................................................................. 22
Figure 9 : Program Definition ................................................................................................................. 23
Figure 10 : Program Delivery................................................................................................................ 24
Figure 11 : Program Closure................................................................................................................. 25
Figure 12 : Generic Mind map............................................................................................................. 26
Figure 13 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Initiating - Part 1......................................................................,.... 28
Figure 14 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Initiating - Part 2...........................................................................29
Figure 15 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Planning - Part 1........................................................................... 38
Figure 16 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Planning - Part 2........................................................................39
Figure 17 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Planning - Part 3........................................................................40
Figure 18 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Executing - Part 1............................................................................ 49
Figure 19 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Executing - Part 2............................................................................ 50
Figure 20 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Monitoring and Controlling - Part 1.............................................. 58
Figure 23 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Closing - Part 1................................................................................ 68
Figure 24 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Closing - Part 2................................................................................ 69
Figure 25 : Benefits identification .......................................................................................................... 78
Figure 26 : Benefits realization ...............................................................................................................79
Figure 27 : Benefits transition and sustainment ................................................................................... 80
Figure 28 : Stakeholders are diverse and numerous .......................................................................... 87
Figure 29 : Stakeholder map.................................................................................................................. 88
Figure 30 : Engaging Stakeholders ....................................................................................................... 89
Figure 31 : Governance Plan................................................................................................................. 96
Figure 32 : Governance Board vs. Program Management................................................................97
Figure 33 : Program Governance and Governance Board...............................................................99
VI
Preface
About the First and Second Editions of this Study Guide
The first two Editions of this Study Guide generated an outstanding feedback from our
readers, as most of them reported that it helped them significantly to pass the exam. All really
appreciated the first sections, whose aim was to demystify program management, and to
enable them to try and answer initial sample questions. Most questions were indeed an
occasion to approach actual exam conditions, to clarify concepts, to understand the tricks,
to learn “subtle" differences between terms or situations, and to transform doubts into
certainties.
This PgMP® Exam Prep Study Guide 3rd Edition primarily aims at aligning the book to the
Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition1 (the standard). We believe that this
Fourth Edition of the standard is a big step forward, as it mainly emphasizes and clarifies the
five major domains of program management: strategy alignment, benefits management,
stakeholder engagement, governance, and life cycle management. This approach is very
much in-line with the Examination Content Outline (ECO)2, April 2011, which we already took
as a reference document for the previous Editions of our study guide.
What's new in this Third Edition of the Study Guide?
We have updated our Study Guide due to three major factors:
1 - Impact of changes to the standard:
Although the standard is still based on the 5 same performance domains, it has evolved from
a process-based document to a principle-based one, which means that the standard shifted
away from supporting processes to supporting activities. These activities are aligned with
program life cycles phases.
Some terminology changes (example: Program and program management definition,

Program Benefits Delivery phase becomes Program Delivery phase, Benefits realization plan
becomes Benefits management plan, etc.)
Several artifacts are removed from the standard. For instance, the program plan is now
removed and more emphasis is now placed on the program charter. The mandate (or
strategic mandate) issued by executives is still referenced but with less emphasis.
For detailed information about the changes, please refer to Appendix X1 of the standard
1 The Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc.,2017
2 Program Management professional (PgMP) Examination Content Outline, Project Management Institute
Inc., 2011
VII
2- Comments from readers:
We have added 5 Study Questions to the 5 existing ones after each performance domain.
This book now contains 100 Study Questions which cover all program domains and
subdomains detailed in the standard and in the ECO.
Next, we received many suggestions from readers, to provide more information in order to
help them better understand program management fundamentals, which is a prerequisite to
address exam questions. As a consequence, we introduce 170 Tutorial Questions which are
directly related to the content of the standard.
So, in addition to the revised 170 Practice exam-like Questions which have been updated,
the reader will find 270 additional questions which are directly related to the standard
content.
Our Study Guide now contains a total of 440 Questions with answers, which doubles their
number when compared to the previous Editions!
3- Link to our online courses:
We have been encouraged by several readers and PgMP® exam candidates to reference
our online courses in this Study Guide. This is why we have extracted a set of slides from the
PgMP® exam prep course, and inserted them after the performance domain sections of this
Study Guide.
For more information on these online courses, please refer to our web site:
www.jmetraining.com where you will find all needed information about the courses as well as
our coaching and presential services.
Who should read this Study Guide?
This book has 10 sections related to domains and program life cycle phases. Each section is a
tutorial that the reader may refer to: project practitioners, PMP®3 credentialed practitioners,
executives, consultants in project and program management, teachers, entrepreneurs or
salesmen in the field of project management, etc.
The book is primarily written for experienced practitioners in program management whose
goal is to become PgMP® credentialed.
3 PMP is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
VIII
Thanks and Acknowledgments
We want to thank our spouses Mireille and Isabelle for their patience and support while we
spent many long hours reading PMI documents, creating new questions, updating the Study
Guide, and working on our computers. We also thank Olivier Gouix, Jean’s son, for the design
of the Study Guide covers. Olivier is an expert in professional video and graphics design.
(oliviergouix@gmail.com)
Jean and Martial
IX
About the Authors
Jean Gouix, PMP, PgMP
Jean is currently professional trainer, teacher and coach in project and

program management. While working for IBM, Jean had the opportunity
to manage projects and programs with International Customers located
in Europe and in the Middle East. Jean became IBM Senior project
manager. Jean now prepares candidates for the PMI certifications:
CAPM®, PMP®, and PgMP®. Jean has held several positions as a volunteer
with PMI in France and with PMI Central in the USA. Jean led several
Committees responsible to verify the French translation of the PMBOK®
Guide4. Recently, Jean was Subject Matter Expert (SME) of the Standard
for Program Management, 4th Edition. Jean was also involved in the
translation of this standard into French. Jean received an engineering degree from Ecole
Superieure d'Electricite (Supelec), Paris, France. Jean received PMP® and PgMP® certifications
in 1999 and 2010 respectively.
Martial Bellec, PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP
Martial is an agile coach for hybrid complex projects for a Global

Telecom services and network provider and an Associate Professor at
the University of Rennes 1, France. After the operational delivery of multi
million € innovation and customer projects for the last 30 years, his
passion to project, program and portfolio management in any form
(agile or waterfall) allows him to coach and advice projects teams,
teach and give conferences worldwide to several different audiences.
Martial is a Subject Matter Expert of the Standard for Program
Management, 4th Edition. He received the engineering degree from the
Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications in Brest, France
and is past Vice President of PMI France, the largest PMI branch outside
USA. He received the PMP®, PgMP® and PMI-ACP® certifications as well
as the Orange Project Manager professional Certificate in March 2014 from College de
I’Ecole Polytechnique, France.
4 PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
About our online PgMP® Exam Prep package
As a complement to this Study Guide, we have developed an online PgMP® exam prep
course.
Our course includes a series of online modules, all based on The Standard for Program
Management - Fourth Edition and the PgMP® Examination Content Outline, or ECO. It is a
complement to the Study Guide with many more details which are useful to prepare for the
exam. The modules consist in a series of slides, illustrated by several colored drawings, with
many references to the standard and to the ECO, and exam like questions/answers. This
course includes an audio A-to-Z case study which illustrates key concepts and artifacts (golf
estate program)
This package includes:
• Revision of your exam application before you submit it to PMI®

• Access to the online course over a time period
• Coaching sessions via Skype with Jean or Martial to answer your questions, and assess
your progress
We also offer additional coaching sessions which you can tailor to your needs.
For more information, please refer to our web site: www.jmetraining.com
You can also write to us at: program.support@orange.fr
Good luck on your way to the PgMP® certification!
XI
Rationale of this Book- Third Edition
How is our Study Guide structured?
For each domain/subdomain, we provide (where applicable):
• The list of tasks described in the Examination Content Outline (ECO)

• The core and supporting activities related to this domain, as described in the
standard
• A summary list of important notions (highlights)to remember about the domain
• The ‘posture’ that the program manager should have with respect to this domain,
and which should help them answer correctly the exam’s scenario questions. By
‘posture’ we mean not only the body position, but also the mental attitude, the
mind-set, etc. of the program manager
• Frequently asked questions (FAQs) often supplement the above information
About the Examination Content Outline (ECO5)
The ECO is the result of a Role Delineation Study (RDS) which was conducted by PMI, in order
to specify the role of the program manager.
The ECO comprises five domains/subdomains of practice as described below in table 1.

Each domain is associated with tasks, knowledge and skills that the program manager
should apply or possess. The Examination Content Outline (ECO) has identified a total of 72
tasks and 126 knowledge and skill statements which are considered to be critical for program
managers.
The Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) comprises 170 questions essentially scenario-based,
which address the five domains defined by PMI in the current Examination Content Outline
(ECO), dated 2011 as summarized in the following table6:
Domain Subdomain % of the exam Number of questions

I Strategic Program Management 15 25
II Program Life Cycle (44) (75)
Initiating 6 10
planning 11 19
executing 14 24
controlling 10 17
closing 3 5
III Benefits Management 11 19
IV Stakeholder Management 16 27
V Governance 14 24
Total 100 170
Table 1 : The 9 (sub-) domains of the Examination Content Outline
5 Program Management Professional (PgMP®), Examination Content Outline, April 2011. Published by PMI©
6 The number of questions has been rounded to the closest integer number
XII
About the Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition
The objective of the standard is to offer information related to the good practices in program
management. Core and supporting activities are documented. These activities are mapped
onto the program life cycle phases where most of the work takes place.
The structure of the standard is identical to the structure of the ECO: both are based on the
same five domains (also called performance domains).
The THREAD that leads from the ECO, via the standard, to the exam questions is as follows.
Let’s take an example: You are a program manager engaged in stakeholder
management/engagement activities for your large program.
1- Domain IV (Stakeholder management) Task 1 of the ECO says that you

should...’’Identify stakeholders, including sponsors, and creates the stakeholder matrix,
etc.’’
2- The good practice (sections 5.1 and 5.2) documented in the standard recommends
that you perform the activities related to the ‘Program stakeholder identification’, and
‘Program stakeholder analysis’ in order to create the stakeholder register and develop
a stakeholder map to visually represent the stakeholders' interaction
3- Our Study Guide provides several scenario-based questions related to program
stakeholder management, such as PQ-120 and PQ-145
In addition, we have inserted mind maps related to the Program Life Cycle (PLC) subdomains
detailed in the ECO. In each mind map we list activities, key outputs, and we propose a link
to the tasks specified in the ECO document. Please note that this is our interpretation of the
link between the standard and the ECO, which is not formally expressed by PMI.
XIII
Structure of the Study Guide
In section 1, a general presentation reviews the fundamentals of a program from the point of
view of both the standard and practical experience. The other sections simply follow the
domains/ subdomains as described in Table 1 and include a short summary, 10 Study
Questions and their answers.
With a total of 440 questions, we propose three sets of test questions:
• Study Test: 100 Study Questions (SQxx). For each of the 10 domains/subdomains:
o 5 Study Questions for an introductory section about program management
o 5 Study Questions scenario-oriented
o They provide ALL readers with a better understanding of the PgMP® exam
context, and assess whether they should go for it or not
• Tutorial Test: 170 Tutorial Questions (TQyy):
o A set of 170 Tutorial Questions which directly relate to the content of the
standard
o To make sure that ALL readers deeply understand the fundamentals and key
concepts of the standard before going to the practice test, at the pace of the
actual exam (4-hours)
o We recommend to reach 80 % of good answers before getting to the practice
test
The Tutorial Test questions are found in the middle of the book and candidates are
invited to attempt them in a single 4-hour session, under actual exam conditions.
The 170 answers are then given with a clear explanation or direct reference to the
standard or to the PMBOK® Guide.
• Practice Test: 170 Practice Questions (PQzz)

o A 4-hour test in real exam conditions
o A set of 170 practice questions which are mostly ‘‘scenario-based" and
capture the essence of the exam. These questions have been inspired by our
professional experience as program managers, coaches and teachers
o We recommend to reach 75-80 % of good answers before taking the PgMP®
exam. Correctly answering all these questions will help to build confidence in
your understanding of the standard and the ECO and prepare you for the
PgMP® certification!
XIV
We encourage you to read the following PMI® publications:
[1] The Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition. Project Management Institute,
Inc. We also call it "the standard” in our book.
[2] PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Project Management Institute, Inc.
[3] Program Management Professional (PgMP)® Examination Content Outline (ECO). Project
Management Institute, Inc. April 2011.
[4] The Standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition. Project Management Institute,
Inc.
[5] A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) - Sixth Edition.
Project Management Institute, Inc.
Throughout this book these publications will be referred to by their number in brackets. For
example, [1, section 1.2xx] means "The Standard for Program Management - Fourth Edition,
section 1.2xx”.
XV
Introduction
What is a program?
“A program is a group of related projects, subsidiary programs and program activities that
are managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them
individually” [1, section 1.2]
A program must contribute to the strategic vision, goal, and mission of the performing
organization. It is often seen by the executive management as an efficient manner to
implement key parts of the strategy and transform them into tactical goals.
A program fulfills its tactical objectives thanks to an integrated, balanced and optimized
coordination approach. A collective pool of human resources, procurement sources, facilities
or equipment is monitored by means of a centralized Program Management Information
System (PMIS). Disagreements are smoothed out with the use of smart resource sharing; while
decisions, management and control follow the same rules and policies by means of a well-
established governance structure.
A program needs a strong collective vision so that its numerous stakeholders all commit to
the realization and adoption of the projected outcomes. While program performance is
assessed by means of pre-established metrics, communication towards stakeholders is
planned and carefully tailored to the available media (ranging from interpersonal
relationships through to modern internet tools). This is the minimum requirement to ensure a
smooth transition to operations.
Special attention is paid to risks that may jeopardize the targeted benefits. Program level risks
must be explicitly identified; their impacts must be adequately evaluated and mitigated.
Role of the program manager

The role of the program manager is not to replace the project manager, either entirely or in
part. The program manager’s natural authority will be gained through their senior experience,
setting up clear escalation procedures while addressing whatever issues occur with
professionalism. When agreeing to abide by The Project Management Institute Code of Ethics
and Professional Conduct [2], the program manager additionally commits to obligations of
responsibility, respect, fairness and honesty. As a manager, their responsibilities are large and
numerous, and a solid strategic perspective is needed to accommodate the day-to-day life
of the program; their motto is “think STRATEGY, not TACTICS”.
Program managers are responsible for the definition of the overall vision and of the program
scope, in coherence with the strategic objectives. They have to define a comprehensive
roadmap explaining key program events and how and when the individual benefits may
contribute to those strategic objectives. The overall program budget is under their control
according to governance rules, which will clearly state the delegated level of their authority
within the program. Most of the time, they will be responsible for preparing major decisions or
arbitrations to be taken by the governance board. Program managers guarantee that
changes are managed fairly and uniformly throughout the program. In order to maximize
program outcomes, they always keep in mind the informal as well as clearly defined inter
dependencies between projects. Program level risks and issues are carefully registered and
monitored while project level ones are left to project teams.
Their primary goal is to ensure stakeholder satisfaction and ultimately to make sure that
benefits are transferred to operations in a sustainable manner.
The day-to-day work of the program manager

The program manager should constantly maintain contact with people, both internal and
external to the program. The well informed program manager should be aware of program
level risks or issues and assess them appropriately. They should put in place reliable reporting
methods to constantly assess the performance of projects and report on the probability of
achieving the program benefits. On a periodic basis, time and energy will be spent on
collecting, analyzing and preparing program reviews: milestones, budget, changes, risks,
expenditures, procurements, and cross project issues.
‘Do level' skills of the program manager

Generally, the program manager should be an experienced and recognized project
manager, and possession of a global certification such as those delivered by PMI® is often a
requirement. Their general understanding of the technical domain of the program is vast, and
they should have sufficient knowledge to understand underlying key questions or issues. “The
devil is in the detail" should largely leave room for the "one mile wide, one inch deep" way of
accommodating the day-to-day life of the program. Very often, the program manager has a
comprehensive experience of the performing organization, not only in terms of practices or
knowledge but also in terms of networking with people. They should have a good knowledge
of existing PMIS internal factors, as well as a good comprehension of external factors that
may affect program targets. Above all, the program manager is an excellent communicator
and they are always in a position to promptly and effectively communicate the "necessary-
to-be-said” things, whatever the hierarchical position of the person they are addressing.
‘Be level' skills of the program manager

A good program manager is a talented person who tends to have numerous behavioral skills.
The skills listed below are rarely all possessed by a program manager, but a good subset is:
1. Be dynamic, self-minded, rigorous, and optimistic

2. Show leadership and charisma
3. Be able to convince a large number of people to follow a holistic, benefits focused
vision
4. Be able to negotiate face to face or with a group
5. Support the need to manage complex issues or changes
6. Understand and influence the political stakes of the program
7. Be able to face multiple changes coming from inside and outside the program
8. Always be in a closed loop with stakeholders in order to keep them engaged
9. Possess excellent communication skills
10. Have a good understanding of risks to be taken or not
11. Challenge preconceived ideas
12. Be excellent in building sustainable relationships
13. Be able to describe and present a program’s strategic vision
Project vs. Program
The difference between a program and a project is simply depicted in Figure 1.
While projects are well known to be characterized by a TACTICAL triangle:

cost/schedule/quality (including scope), the program may be symbolized by a STRATEGIC
triangle:
Benefits: they may be tangible (e.g. business or profit increase) or non-tangible (cultural
change, acquisition of a new technology, or change of a “century-old" process) and are
always defined with respect to the strategy of the performing organization.
Governance: programs are complex in nature and they focus the interests of several
diverging entities or people. Smart governance is necessary to make sure that decisions
are fair, appropriate and committed to by all.
Stakeholders: must be identified, ranked in terms of influence and adherence to program
benefits, or their ability to produce benefits.
Stakeholders Schedule
Figure 1 : Program vs. Project
The relationships between a program and a project are iterative and cyclical (Figure 2).
While the program provides direction to projects, projects report performance to the program
when progressing, escalating risks and issues. Based on this performance evidence, the
program redirects the projects if necessary.
Figure 2 : Interdependencies between Projects and Program8
8 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 2- Fundamentals)
Portfolio vs. Program
A portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations

managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives [4, section 1.3]
As depicted in Figure 3, a portfolio does not need to have interdependencies between its
constituent components. These components may be projects, programs or operations. They
may be linked in several ways, ranging from a same background technology, same business
units, same geographical areas or same lines of products.
Portfolio
Integrated
mode
Figure 3 : Portfolio vs. Program9
However, the portfolio implements the strategic orientations of the performing organization
by allocating resources to these components. Thus, the portfolio is a powerful tool used to
meet the strategic objectives of an organization.
Program Portfolio
Interdependencies Made up of constituent There are not necessarily
components that have dependencies between
interdependencies components within a
portfolio
Objectives Strategic goals, create benefits, Business driven only
not necessarily to make money:
skill acquisition, operation
transformation, public welfare
improvements, public research,
line of products, management of
major organizational changes,
etc.
Table 2 : Fundamental differences between a program and a portfolio
Operations vs. Program

The main purpose of a program is to make sure sustainable benefits are transitioned to
organizational entities, in charge of the management of the organization’s operations. It is
important that the program manager establishes solid relationships to understand their
expectations, address their needs and concerns so that to obtain a smooth and long-term
value of the program benefits.
Figure 4 : Operations vs. Program10
The Standard - Fourth Edition in a nutshell
Figure 5 : The standard - Fourth Edition
Figure 5 depicts the 5 domains of the standard :
1. Strategy alignment (section 3 of the standard) is about making sure that the expected
benefits of the program are identified and realized according to the organizational
strategy. The question is not to elaborate this strategy but rather to initiate and
guarantee the delivery of sustainable benefits that serve this strategy.
2. The next essential domain is called benefits management (section 4) which follows a
rather classical approach: identification, analysis and planning, delivery, transition,
and sustainment.
3. Programs are complex in nature and most of the time, stakeholders (section 5) are not
only numerous but they also disagree about the directions to give or to update. A
complete domain is devoted to this aspect, covering stakeholder identification,
planning, and engagement. It is important to note that the standard refers to
stakeholder “engagement" rather than to stakeholder "management”. Indeed, the
question is not to manage the stakeholders themselves but preferably their
"expectations", thus their engagement to the program.
4. Governance (section 6) is about the program management framework, functions,
processes or procedures. A clear governance structure needs to be established and
individual roles must be well identified in order to avoid potential conflicts or clear
them. The responsibilities of the Governance board must be clearly defined, including
decision taking rules, and issue escalation processes. Components which compose
the program are not under the direct authority of the program (Governance) board
because they fall into the local management of the program itself. Sometimes, the
Governance board has the power to approve the passage of components from one
life cycle project phase to another. This is to make sure that the projects’ outcomes or
deliverables will clearly contribute to the realization of the final benefits, thus to the
strategic goals of the program.
5. Program Life Cycle (section 7) has been extensively simplified in the fourth edition of
the standard. Of course, a program, like a project, has a beginning phase - namely
definition phase - and an end - namely closure phase. The program delivery phase
lies in between and is an essential period of the program.
All work performed in a program for the purpose of program management is collectively
known as program activities, (standard, section 7.2.1). All program activities are
interpedendent and complementary. At program level, each activity produces outputs
(deliverables) used by other activities. They also use outputs (deliverables) created by
project-level activities.
Two categories of program activities are identified:
The core activity (or better, activities) called Program Integration Management occurs
across the entire program life cycle. The standard identifies five core activities (section
7.2.2) which we will discuss in the next sections of this book.
Supporting activities which are related to program management such as
communications, procurements, quality, etc. very similar to the knowledge areas
identified in the PMBOK® Guide, but here identified at program level. Each supporting
activity is mapped onto the program life cycle phases where this activity will most
likely be performed.
Main outputs from all these activities are mentioned in the standard and in this Study Guide.
The standard mentions a number of program artifacts. The word “artifact” may sound unusual
at first, as its classical definition is “object fabricated by a human being”. In the standard,
artifacts should be understood as any formal, oral, written or informal program management
document, piece of work, action, study, etc. This Edition of the standard does not provide
anymore a comprehensive list of program artifacts. However, this Study Guide reflects our
understanding of when these key artifacts are initiated, developed and maintained during
the Program Life Cycle.
The following list of study questions will help you prepare for the exam.
Study Questions
5 questions directly related to the standard
Study Question SQ1

The relationship between program management and project management is:
a- Master/servant
b- Collaborative
c- Iterative
d- Command and control
Study Question SQ2

Interaction between the program manager and the project manager is the CLOSEST in which
stage (s) of the project?
a- Initiation, planning and closing
b- Initiation and closing
c- All stages
d- Executing
Study Question SQ3

Interactions between the program manager and the project manager tend to be:
a- Iterative and cyclical
b- Constructive
c- Time boxed
d- Controversial
Study Question SQ4

The business value may be defined as the sum of:
a- Positive and negative program benefits
b- Financial inflows and financial outflows
c- Profit and loss flows
d- Tangible and intangible elements of the business
Study Question SQ5
What are the skills commonly required by program managers?
a- Stakeholder engagement strategic management leadership, analytical and integration
skills
b- Stakeholder engagement, change management, leadership, analytical and integration
skills
c- Stakeholder engagement, governance, benefits management, strategic alignment skills
d- Stakeholder engagement, strategic management, leadership, negotiation and integration
skills
5 questions scenario oriented
Study Question SQ6

Embracing the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is a requirement for PMP® and
PgMP® certifications. The code specifies the behavior that project and program managers
should have for themselves and the behavior they can expect from other project and
program management practitioners. From the following lists, what are the essential
obligations of the Code?
a- Responsibility, respect, fairness, accountability
b- Responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty
c- Responsibility, leadership, fairness, honesty
d- Responsibility, leadership, power, honesty
Study Question SQ7

A program is made up of a number of projects or discrete components. These components
mainly consist of activities organized to produce specific deliverables. Aggregation of these
deliverables at the program level serves the strategic benefits of the performing organization.
Program management targets the global optimization of its resources. This needs a specific
management effort. Among the following choices, which one BEST describes this
management effort?
a- The management effort of a program is only made by the program manager
b- The management effort is ultimately the responsibility of the PMO
c- The management effort often resides outside the scope of the discrete components
d- The management effort always requires a specific infrastructure
10
Study Question SQ8
A program is made up of a number of projects or discrete components. These components
mainly consist of activities organized to produce specific deliverables. Aggregation of these
deliverables at the program level serves the strategic benefits of the performing organization.
Program management targets the definition and production of strategic benefits. According
to the following choices, which one BEST describes how the discrete outcomes produced by
the projects will be organized at the program level?
a- The unitary deliverables produced by all discrete components should have a one-to-one
relationship with the benefits of the program. Then, it is easy to justify the budget for each of
them
b- Each project outcome is targeted in order to be directly transitioned to the operations
c- The interdependent components are integrated, controlled and monitored in order to
deliver program’s strategic benefits
d- All the unitary deliverables produced by the discrete components will be justified in front of
the SAME business objective as their hosting portfolio
Study Question SQ9

Even though a program may be composed of a number of different projects; program and
project domains are really different. Among the possible choices below, which one is
WRONG when describing their relationships?
a- The interactions between a program and its projects tend to be iterative and cyclical
b- At the beginning of the program, the program identifies candidate projects, defines
objectives and dates
c- When the program is in the execution phase, the project reports to the program for
monitoring and controlling purposes
d- When the program is in the closing phase, all projects are scheduled to terminate at the
same time
Study Question SQ1Q

Even though a portfolio may be composed of a number of different programs or projects;
portfolio, program and projects domains are really different. Among the possible choices
below, which one is WRONG about portfolios, programs and projects?
a- The portfolio authorizes only components that have a direct contribution to the business
objectives of the performing organization
b- The portfolio directs the program objectives
c- The portfolio directs the program and the projects’ objectives
d- The portfolio and the program have an ongoing life cycle
11
Study Questions - Answers
Study Question SQ1
b- The standard, section 1.4.3
Study Question SQ2

a- During execution, project managers manage their projects, and the program manager
works essentially on dependencies between projects The standard, section 1.4.3
Study Question SQ3

a- Interactions and Relationships are two different notions! The standard, section 1.4.3
Study Question SQ4

d- Example of tangible benefit: monetary asset, intangible benefit: reputation The standard,
section 1.6
Study Question SQ5

b- Strategic related skills are more needed by the sponsor and the steering committee
members The standard, section 1.7.1
Study Question SQ6

a- No! Accountability only means responsibility for a specific activity. It is often used in matrix
based charts of human resource management, especially the Responsibility Assignment
Matrix or RACI table, to assign responsibility for a specific activity to one person, b- Correct!
c- No! Leadership is not part of the code but responsibility is. d- No! Power is much too
focused on the practitioner and is somewhat pejorative in this context.
The standard, section 1.1 and PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
Study Question SQ7

a- No! It is mainly a joint effort between project managers and the program manager, b- No!
The PMO assists the program manager in the program’s day-to-day activity. The program
manager is ultimately in charge of management, c- Correct! This refers to ‘other program-
related activities’ d- Not always! A periodic program review and informal day-to-
day synchronization of contacts may be sufficient in certain cases to implement the
management effort.
The standard, section 1.2
Study Question SQ8

a- No! High level benefits often aggregate discrete components deliverables, and benefits
are far less numerous than deliverables. b- No! Not necessarily. For example, a validation
process could be an essential requirement to qualify products before transition. However, this
process is not transitioned to operations that only care about the results of the final
qualification report, c- Correct! d- Not necessarily! Deliverables may target several different
business objectives from the same portfolio.
12
Study Question SQ9
a- No! This is correct; at the beginning, the program directs the projects and afterwards,
projects update performance and status, and based on this information, the program
redirects them, b- No! This is true; the program is in charge of giving clear goals to projects, c-
No! This is especially true in big programs, d- Correct answer! In fact the program may deliver
incremental benefits. In this case, projects providing early benefits may be terminated while
some others are still being executed.
The standard, section 1.4.3
Study Question SQ10

a- No! This is correct. If there is no business goal, the component is removed from the portfolio,
b- No! This is true. The portfolio is in charge of giving clear goals to programs, c- No! This is true.
The portfolio is in charge of giving clear goals to components. Indeed, projects and programs
may directly report to portfolio management, d- Yes! In fact both have life cycles, BUT only
the portfolio life cycle is ongoing (hopefully, no specific end date!)
The Standard for portfolio management section 2.3
13
Domain I Strategic Program Management
Introduction
Number of questions in the exam: 15% = 25/26 questions out of a total of 170 questions
The Examination Content Outline (ECO) describes Strategic Program Management:
Identifying opportunities and benefits that achieve the organization’s strategic objectives
through program implementation [3, page 3]
It describes 11 tasks:
1. Perform an initial program assessment (objectives, risks, requirements) to ensure

alignment to the strategic goals of the organization
2. Establish a high-level roadmap/milestones which must be approved by the sponsor
3. Define the high-level roadmap in order to set a baseline for the program
4. Define the program mission statement
5. Evaluate the organization’s capability to achieve the program objectives and
alignment to the strategic plan
6. Identify program benefits that will be created
7. Identify financial and non-financial benefits
8. Evaluate program objectives relative to outside constraints
9. Obtain organizational leadership by obtaining a formal approval of the charter and
then proceed to program initiation
10. Align and integrate benefits across the organization to make sure that they will be
transitioned to operations
11. Exploit strategic opportunities typically arising from the market environment
The Program Strategy Alignment Performance Domain is part of the program management
framework, and is detailed in section 3 of the standard.
Please note that the term ‘Strategic Program Management1 used in the ECO and the term
‘Program Strategy Alignment’ used in the standard relate to the same Performance Domain.
Highlights
The Strategic Program Management domain seeks to ensure that the program outcomes will
be aligned with the strategic objectives of the performing organization; this will be verified by
the Governance board throughout the lifetime of the program. As such, strategic
management is considered by company executives as a guarantee that the strategy of the
organization will be understood and implemented down to the lowest level of component
projects, related activities, and by all contributing individuals. Strategic management also
ensures that the impact of the benefits will be positive, sustained, and that the associated
costs are acceptable.
Thus, for simplicity’s sake, we can claim that strategic management targets a clear and
sound high level and comprehensive description of the program objectives and explains how
they refer to the more global strategic objectives of the organization.
14
Posture
As a program manager regarding the strategy alignment domain, your posture should be as
follows:
• Strategy: Don’t get it wrong! You have to align the program objectives to the
performing organization’s strategy, but as a program manager, it is not your job to
define the strategy of the performing organization.
• Be clear and simple: You always have to clearly show that progress in the delivery of
benefits is aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. The program roadmap
and the benefits management plan are powerful tools to clearly inform and convince
executives, sponsors, program and project team members that the program direction
is sound and clear.
Key outputs
The outputs of strategic management should be easy to communicate, discuss and adapt. In
other words, the outputs come together to form a compacted resume of program basics
(Figure 6).
The Program Business Case is the justification (business impact, expected benefits, risk, etc.)
for authorizing the program.
The Program Charter defines WHAT the program’s goals and objectives are, formally
authorizes the program, provides the program manager with the authority for leading the
program and includes:
• Program Vision describes the ‘to be ' state of the program (‘where are we going to?’)
and guides the development of the program charter over its life
• Program Mission Statement is a list of actions beginning with an infinitive form of a
verb: “To verb xxx”. It summarizes ‘what needs to be done’ in order for the program to
succeed. It serves as a basis for listing all the actions that have to be carried out for
ultimate program success. It also describes the values and the purpose of the
program
• Program Goals and Objectives describe what the program is expected to deliver in
support of the business case
• Expected high-level benefits
• Metrics for success as well as key success factors
• Assumptions and Constrains
The Program Roadmap describes when major program events will occur, such as major
outcomes, benefits and milestones, as well as when major decisions will have to be made. It
may also describe how they will happen, especially when referring to relationships between
secondary outcomes or constraints like available funds, contract notifications or market
surveys.
15
Figure 6 : Key elements of program strategy alignment11
Various studies help assess the program’s ultimate chance of success, such as environmental
analyses (comparative advantage, SWOT, feasibility studies, assumptions and historical
information analysis (Figure 7).
Enterprise environmental factors
Figure 7 : Environmental analysis9 11
11 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 7- Strategy Alignment)
16
The following list of study questions will help you prepare for the exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ11

What are the 3 main artifacts elaborated during program formulation activities?
a- Organization’s Strategic Plan, Program Risk Management Strategy, Environmental
Assessments
b- Organization’s Strategic Plan, Program Business Case, Environmental Assessments
c- Program Charter, Program Business Case, Environmental Assessments
d- Program Charter, Program Business Case, Program Roadmap
Study Question SQ12

What is the MAIN purpose of the Program Business Case?
a- To authorize the program team to use organizational resources
b- To assess the program’s resources against the program’s deliverables
c- To assess the program’s benefits against the program’s risks
d- To assess the program’s investments against the intended benefits
Study Question SQ13

Which definition is NOT a valid statement that applies to the program charter?
a- It sets the base to measure the program success
b- It formally expresses the high-level benefits expected to be produced by the program
c- It consists in key elements such as: program scope, assumptions, high-level benefits, low
level risks
d- It formally authorizes the program
17
Study Question SQ14
What is the BEST definition of the program roadmap?
a- A chronological representation of the program’s intended deliverables and outcomes
b- A chronological representation of a program’s intended direction, graphically depicting
dependencies between major milestones and decision points in order to reflect the pace at
which benefits will be realized
c- A chronological representation of a program’s intended direction, in order to reflect the
pace at which resources will be consumed
d- A chronological representation of detailed schedules of future projects to be launched
Study Question SQ15

What are the key components of the program strategy alignment performance domain?
a- Program business case, program roadmap, program governance processes, program risk
management strategy, and environmental assessments
b- Program business case, program roadmap, program charter, program SWOT
c- Program business case, program roadmap, program charter, program risk management
strategy, and environmental assessments
d- Sustainability assessments, program roadmap, program charter, program risk management
strategy
Study Question SQ16

The main objective of portfolio management is to achieve organizational strategic
objectives. What is NOT a true statement with regard to portfolio management?
a- Portfolio management is concerned with managing portfolio components
b- Portfolio management interacts with operational management
c- Portfolio management is a process with regular, repeated activities for the management
of decisions related to portfolio components
d- The portfolio manager participates in key program and project reviews to reflect senior
level support, leadership and involvement
Study Question SQ17

The program charter is one of the documents that will be used to measure program success.
What are some of the components of the program charter?
Program vision, program mission, program goals and objectives, and program management
plan
Program vision, program mission, program goals and objectives, and metrics for success
c- Program vision, program mission, stakeholder analysis, and program management plan
d- Program goals and objectives, metrics for success, business case, and program
management plan
18
Study Question SQ18
Among the following answers, which one BEST describes why organizations initiate programs?
a- To optimize resource usage
b- To comply with regulation
c- To group several projects
d- To deliver benefits
Study Question SQ19

In strategic program alignment, an important task is establishing the program direction. In this
context, among the following options, which one BEST fits the role of the program manager?
a- To define key performance indicators for measuring and monitoring the value of the
organization
b- To confirm that the program is aligned with the portfolio strategic goals
c- To evaluate stakeholders' concerns and expectations
d- To elaborate the strategic plans of the performing organizations
Study Question SQ20

An important task of ‘strategic program definition’ consists of ensuring that the program
objectives will be delivered and will meet the stakeholders' expectations. A number of criteria
serve to evaluate this. Which of the following lists BEST describes these TYPICAL criteria?
a- Staff capability, seniority of organizational leaders and program manager, knowledge of
stakeholders, and level of resources needed to be acquired
b- Regulatory and legal constraints, social impacts, sustainability, cultural considerations, and
political climate
c- Regulatory and legal constraints, financial climate, ethical concerns, cultural
considerations, and political climate
d- Regulatory and legal constraints, financial climate, local ecological concerns, cultural
considerations, and political climate
19
Study Question SQ11
d- The standard, section 3
Study Question SQ12

d- The standard, section 3.1
Study Question SQ13

c- The standard, section 3.2
Study Question SQ14

b- The standard, section 3.3
Study Question SQ15

c- The standard, section 3 Fig 3-1
Study Question SQ16
a- Correct answer! Portfolio management is NOT concerned with managing components. This
is the responsibility of the program and project managers, b- Wrong answer! This is a true
statement. Portfolio management interacts with a number of organizational activities
(functional groups, production, manufacturing, finance, IT, HR, etc.) c- Wrong answer! This is
a true statement. The portfolio manager must regularly review the portfolio content d- Wrong
answer! This is part of the portfolio manager’s responsibilities.
The standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition, sections 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8
Study Question SQ17

a- No! The program management plan is not an element of the program charter. It is
developed later.b- Correct! They are elements of the program charter, c- No! Stakeholder
analysis and program management plan are not elements of the program charter, d- No!
business case and program management plan are not elements of the program charter.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Strategic program Management - Task 2 and
standard, section 3.2
Study Question SQ18

a- No! This is not the primary reason, b- No! This is not the primary reason, c- No! This is not the
primary reason.d- Correct! This is the primary reason to initiate a program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Strategic program Management. The standard,
section 2.1 (first phrase)
20
Study Question SQ19
a- No! This is the portfolio manager's role, b- No! This is the portfolio manager's role. The
program manager should ensure that the program remains aligned with the strategic
objectives, but not to confirm they are! c- Correct! d- No! This is the portfolio manager's
role.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Strategic program Management - Task 4 and
standard, section 1.7 (role of the program manager, second paragraph)
Study Question SQ20

a- No! This has little to do with this list, b- Correct! This list belongs to Task 8 of the Examination
Content Outline, c- No! Financial climate is not part of this list, d- No! Local ecological
concerns and financial climate are not part of this list.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Strategic program Management - Task 8
21
Domain II Program Life Cycle
Introduction
Number of questions in the exam: 44% = 75 questions (approximately) out of a total of 170
questions. These 75 questions are spread over five subdomains which are examined in the
study guide.
Programs, like projects, have a life cycle which is composed of sequential, and sometimes
overlapping, phases. The breakdown of the life cycle into phases provides better control over
the program management activities. The standard breaks down the program life cycle into
three phases which may sometimes overlap: [1, Fig.7-1 ].
1. Program definition phase

2. Program delivery phase
3. Program closure phase
Figure 8 : Program Life Cycle 13
Highlights
The main objectives of the Program definition phase are to:
• Progressively elaborate how the program will be aligned with the strategic objectives
of the performing organization,
• Define the expected program outcomes, and
• Obtain approval from the Governance board to further proceed.
13 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 5 - Program Life Cycle)
22
The Program definition phase is divided into two overlapping subphases:
• Program formulation in which the program sponsor and the program manager are
assigned. During this subphase, the business case, the program charter and the
program roadmap are developed. Please note that in many instances a preliminary
business case is established earlier and refined during this subphase. Also, estimates of
scope, resources, cost, risks, etc. are often conducted during this subphase.
• Program planning. The program charter is formally approved before entering into the
Program planning subphase, in which the program management plan is developed to
organize the delivery of the desired benefits. During this subphase, the program
governance structure is established, and the initial program organization is deployed.
Figure 9 : Program Definition 14
The main objectives of the Program delivery phase are to, authorize, plan and perform
component activities in order to deliver planned program benefits. Proper integration of
component activities into the program is a key ingredient for the program success.
Components will iterate through three component-level subphases:
1. Component authorization and planning, which primarily aims to adapt the

components scope to changes and guarantee their integration
2. Component oversight and integration, to ensure coordination and consistency
between components in order to deliver planned benefits
3. Component transition and closure, which makes sure that the necessary transition
of each component to operations, customer services, training, etc. is performed
adequately before component closure
23
Figure 10 : Program Delivery 15
The main objective of the Program closure phase is to execute a controlled closure of the
program. The Governance board will agree with program closure when all benefits are
realized within the timeframe off the program, or when evidence shows that benefits will be
sustainable after the program closure, and when all outcomes are in place to transition the
program to a receiving organization. On some occasions, the program may be terminated
early, when it becomes evident that it will not achieve its objectives.
24
Operational
activities
Figure 11 : Program Closure 16
At the end of each phase, a gate review should take place under the authority of the
steering committee (also called Governance board), and a go/no-go decision should be
made about moving on to the next phase or stopping the program.
Please note that Domain II (Program Life Cycle) of the Examination Content Outline (ECO) is
composed of five subdomains, which address program management tasks related to:
1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Controlling
5. Closing
These subdomains are mapped onto the program life cycle phases where they mostly occur:
ECO subdomains Program Phase

Initiating and Planning program definition
Executing and Controlling program delivery
Closing program closure
Table 3 : ECO subdomains mapping to Program Phases
It should be noted that initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing tasks occur in
EACH phase of the program life cycle. Any given phase must be initiated, planned,
executed, controlled and closed!
25
Generic Mind map
For each ECO subdomain of the Program Life Cycle, we have attempted to link Activity
Group described in the standard and their activities to outputs, and then to ECO tasks under
the following generic mind map format:
Figure 12 : Generic Mind map
Posture
As a program manager regarding the program life cycle, your posture should be as follows:
Do not confuse the life cycle of a program and the life cycle of a project. A project
has a beginning and an end. This is very ‘structuring’, especially for gate reviews
which consider the ability of the project to ultimately deliver the outcomes and
authorize the project to continue to the next phase. For a program, the gate reviews
are more focused on performance and strategic alignment and may not be directly
related to the life cycle itself. For example, a high level gate review may be
specifically planned for sign-off by the final customer of an important interim benefit.
Concentrate your efforts on defining and closing the program. A program is complex
in nature, with many diverging opinions between stakeholders, especially at the
beginning; and benefits will not be sustained if you do not put in place a smooth
transition to operations.
26
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain
Initiating
Introduction
Number of questions in the exam: 6% = 10 questions out of a total of 170 questions.
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Initiating the Program as:
Defining the program and constituent projects, and obtaining agreement from stakeholders
[3, page 3]
1. Develop the program charter to initiate program and benefits

2. Develop a high-level scope statement
3. Develop a high-level milestone plan (high-level roadmap)
4. Assign roles and responsibilities for the core team and develop an
accountability matrix
5. Define success criteria
6. Obtain adherence from key stakeholders to program objectives (kick-off
meetings, etc.)
Mind map “Initiating” tasks
Initiating tasks identified in the ECO are mainly performed during the program formulation
subphase of the Definition phase of the program. The standard identifies the list of core and
supporting activities related to this subphase, and their key outputs. We have attempted to
relate outputs to ECO Task numbers (where applicable), which we present in Figure 13 and
Figure 14.
27
Program scope management
Figure 14 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Initiating - Part 2
29
Highlights
The tasks related to “initiation” aim to define the program direction, the needed resources
envelopes, and the financial framework (funding sources, flows of money, etc.). An initial risk
assessment needs to be performed. An initial list of benefits must be identified and documented in
the initial benefits management plan. The benefits' timeline is illustrated by means of a high level
roadmap. Two key persons shall be assigned at the end of the formulation subphase: the sponsor
that brings the strategic guidance and the funds in coherence with the first cost estimates, and the
program manager. The program manager will then structure the initial program core team and
move forward with an approved charter. The list of the most important stakeholders should be
known at this stage as well as their major expectations. The governance structure should be defined,
but will not be operational yet.
Posture
As a program manager regarding the initiating sub-domain, your posture should be as follows:
• First key - your sponsor: It is important to understand that most of the time; the decision to
run a program will come from the top of your organization. Your sponsor is a very important
person (or group of people) to work with. They provide the program rationale, its ultimate
direction, in-line with the more global strategy of the performing organization. Do not forget
that the sponsor provides the needed resources and that you must convince them that the
benefits will be realized with the allocated amount of resources, during this time frame, with
an accepted level of risks.
• Second key - the stakeholders: You cannot ignore the fact that some discrepancies in terms
of approaches, phasing, and objectives may exist, for instance between functional
managers, who will provide resources, and the program clients. You need to know them well
and build good working relationships with them.
• Third key- YOUR personal vision of the program: you have to mentally imagine what and how
your program will deliver. You need to have a clear idea of the major benefits, when they
should occur, and a good idea of the way you will deliver them. In other words, you already
have the headlines of the battle plan in your head before moving forward.
30
The following list of study questions related to ‘Initiating the program' will help you prepare for the
exam.
Study Questions
5 questions directly related the standard
Study Question SQ21

The program definition phase is composed of the following subphases:
a- Program initiation, program formulation, and program preparation
b- Program formulation, program preparation, and program planning
c- Program formulation and program planning
d- Program initiation and program planning
Study Question SQ22

The program manager is selected and assigned during:
a- Program formulation
b- Program initiation
c- Program planning
d- Program preparation
Study Question SQ23

What is NOT a correct list of program charter elements?
a- Vision, strategic alignment, key expected outcomes, estimated costs and resource needs
b- Vision, program management plan, strategic alignment, key outcomes required to achieve the
vision and expected benefits
c- Benefits strategy, assumptions and constraints, timeline, and program governance
d- Timeline, stakeholder considerations, components, and program governance
Study Question SQ24

Program resource requirements estimation is the activity performed to estimate the resources
required to plan and deliver a program. What is WRONG in below statements?
a- Resources include office space, data centers, and other facilities
b- Resources include vehicles, office space, but do not include people
c- Resources include office space, data centers, but do not include estimated program cost
d- Resources include facilities, data centers, but do not include initial risks
31
Study Question SQ25
Which activities support program formulation?
a- Program change assessment, program quality assessment, program initial cost estimate, and
program scope assessment
b- Program change assessment, program governance assessment, program stakeholders
assessment, and program schedule assessment
c- Program change assessment, program information management assessment, program initial
program cost estimate, and program initial benefits evaluation
d- Program strategy evaluation, program procurement assessment, program life cycle assessment,
and program communications assessment
Study Question SQ26

You are initiating a program for a catering company. This program is responsible for introducing a
new process to improve the production of a complete set of products. This program covers 12
nations, 4 regional head-offices and 6 business units. What is the MOST likely number of persons you
should invite to the kick off meeting?
a- 12
b- 24
c- 48
d- 72
Study Question SQ27

Program X has obtained the authorization to proceed. Resources are scarce in your company, but
the program is vital to the organizational success. In order to be successful, it is clear that the
program will need to subcontract a major portion of the work, and outside vendors will participate in
the execution part. At this moment, the sponsor has asked you to develop the program charter in
order to present it to the steering committee and obtain approval to proceed with the next phase of
the program. You prepare the program charter and present it to the steering committee that
disagrees with what you present, asks you to modify the charter and does not give the OK to
proceed to the next phase. From the options below, which one contains the BEST list of program
charter ingredients?
a- Program justification, strategic fit, initial identified risks, estimate of cost and resources,
recommended governance structure, in scope and out of scope elements, key benefits, key
milestone dates
b- Program justification, strategic fit, initial identified risks, estimate of cost and resources, planned
RFPs and RFIs, key benefits, key milestone dates, recommended governance structure
c- Program justification, strategic fit, initial identified risks, screening and scoring options for vendors,
key benefits, key milestone dates, recommended governance structure, estimate of cost and
resources
d- Strategic fit, initial identified risks, recommended governance structure, planned contract types,
key benefits, key milestone dates, estimate of cost and resources, in scope and out of scope
elements
32
Study Question SQ28
Your construction company has run many programs during recent years, and almost all programs
run so far are very similar in nature. In your company, lessons learned have been captured, and
many standards (quality, regulations, success, etc.) have been developed and repeatedly re-used
in various programs. You have been nominated as program manager for construction program X
which is composed of three component projects: A, B and C. You are in the definition phase of
program X and you are in the process of identifying success criteria for the program and for the
component projects. According to the following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to
handle this situation?
a- Define standard measurement criteria for success for program X and for the three component
projects
b- Define standard measurement criteria for success for program X but let each project manager
define the success criteria for their project. They have enough experience
c- Do not use standard measurement criteria for the success of program X. “Similar programs” does
not mean they are identical
d- Ask the PMO to define those measurement criteria. They are the experts
Study Question SQ29

You are a portfolio manager in a very profitable company which manufactures spare parts for the
automotive industry. You observe that the car market is increasing dramatically in 4 continents: A, B,
C and D. You have performed initial business studies that are based on the Net Present Values (NPV)
that these continents could generate. This business has to be sustained for several years and you are
not sure how the financial global instability will affect these studies. Based on current studies, select
which continent seems to be the BEST?
NPV (M€) at Continent A Continent B Continent C Continent D
1.5% 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.4
3% 1.1 1.2 1.15 1.25
5% 0.9 0.95 1.02 1.3
a- Continent A
b- Continent B
c- Continent C
d- Continent D
33
Study Question SQ3Q
The concept of initiating Program X has been accepted by a group of company executives who
ask you to prepare the documentation to formalize the acceptance of the program, and to present
it at the next steering committee meeting. With a group of experts, you initiate feasibility studies,
conduct a series of SWOT sessions on risk identification, lead comparative analyses with competition,
and also perform cost/benefit analyses to define the expected benefits. What are you trying to
CREATE?
a- The program scope statement
b- The program roadmap
c- The program mandate
d- The program charter
34
Study Question SQ21
c- The standard, section 7.1.2
Study Question SQ22
a- The standard, section 7.1.2
Study Question SQ23
b- The program management plan is developed during the Program Planning subphase, after
creation of the charter. The standard, section 7.1.2.1
Study Question SQ24
b- The standard, section 8.1.1.7
Study Question SQ25
Study Question SQ26
a- No! The answer assumes that there is one invited person per nation, which is not mentioned in the
text. b- Correct! You should have 4 regional head-offices, managing 6 business unit managers. The
number of nations is a trap. c- No! You assume that all nations are represented in the 4 regional
head-offices, which is either not very likely or not clearly stated in the text. d- No! You assume that
all nations are represented in the 6 business units, which is neither very likely nor clearly stated in the
text.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Initiating the program - Task 6
Study Question SQ27
a- Correct! This is a list of items you should include in the program charter (plus some more) b-
Wrong answer! The program charter should not include planned RFPs or RFIs. Too early! c- Wrong
answer! The program charter should not include screening and scoring options for vendors. Too
early! d- Wrong answer! The program charter should not include planned contract types. Too early!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Initiating the program - Task 1 and standard, section
7.1.2.1
35
Study Question SQ28
a- Correct! Standards exist in your company; use them for the program and for the projects. This will
ease their monitoring and controlling. b- No! You should try to define standard criteria for all
projects, c- No! You should try to define standard criteria for all projects. d- No! The text says that
standard criteria have already been defined in your company. No need to define them again. Most
importantly: try to define STANDARD criteria for the program and for components!
Study Question SQ29
NPV (M€) at Continent A Continent B Continent C Continent D
1.5% 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.4
3% 1.1 1.2 1.15 1.25
5% 0.9 0.95 1.02 1.3
a- No! Continents C and D outperform continent A. b- No! Continents C and D outperform continent
B. c- No! Continent D outperforms continent C. d- Correct! Continents C and D outperform continents
A and B. Continent D is preferred because it gives superior results when interest rates are higher,
which is the MOST probable case because of the global business situation.
Study Question SQ30
a- No! The program charter is the correct answer, b- No! The program roadmap which is also an
output from the "Program initiation" does not formally authorize the existence of the program. The
program charter does! c- No! A program mandate may be issued by the program governance
board, but it only addresses the strategic objectives and the planned benefits for the program. The
program charter comes after the program mandate and is more complete, d- Correct! All are
activities performed during Program Formulation in order to create the program charter which
formalizes the existence of the program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Initiating the program - Task 1 and standard, section 3.4.2
and section 7.1.2.16
36
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Planning
Introduction
Number of questions in the exam: 11%= 19 questions out of a total of 170 questions.
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Planning the Program as:
Defining program scope and developing the program, including all constituent projects, and all
activities that occur within the program [3, page 3]
1. Develop a detailed program scope statement

2. Develop the PWBS
3. Develop the program management plan
4. Optimize the program management plan (resource leveling, etc.)
5. Define the PMIS
6. Establish escalation procedures to resolve issues
7. Define exit criteria related to transition/integration and closure
8. Develop KPIs
9. Identify opportunities to develop team motivation to achieve program success
Mind map “planning” tasks
Planning tasks identified in the ECO are mainly performed during the planning subphase of the
Program Definition phase of the program. The standard identifies the list of core and supporting
activities related to this subphase, and their key outputs. We have attempted to relate outputs to
ECO Task numbers (where applicable), which we present in Figure 15 , Figure 16 and Figure 17.
Please note that the standard 4th Edition does not mention the Program management development
core activity which was mentioned in the 3rd Edition and which we believe is a key activity,
because it creates one of the most important artifacts in program management: the program
management plan. We have added it in Figure 17.
37
Program scope statement tf
Program scope management ■ECO Task 14

Program scope
plan
Program scope management | planr
Program work breakdown prn T . R
structure (the PWBS defines tf------ --- 0
the TOTAL program scope)
Program schedule management

plan
Program master schedule

Program schedule
Program schedule
planning Inputs to the program risk
management
register
ECO Planning Sub
program roadmap updates
Domain. Part 1
Program risk ma Program risk management plan
Program risk management planning

Program risk register
Program change management

plan
Program change
management Program change thresholds
Program communications
management plan
Program communicat
Program communications
management Communication requirements
inputs to Stakeholder register
Figure 15 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Planning - Part 1
38
39
40
Highlights
“Planning tasks" are mainly performed during the program planning subphase of the Definition
phase. In this subphase, the program management plan is developed by the program
management team and approved by the Governance board. This management plan contains all
the subsidiary plans which are needed to proceed to the delivery phase of the program. This list is
rather similar to that of a project. However, the plans are all developed at program level even if
some portions of the plans may be generically applied to all components (for instance quality
standards, risk checklists or procurement processes and templates). At the end of the Definition
phase, the Governance board is working with a finalized structure and clearly established rules and
processes. However, the components are not yet formally authorized; this will be done in the next
phase.
Posture
As a program manager regarding the planning sub-domain, your posture should be as follows:
• Elaborate every plan in detail: the program management plan is rather similar, in terms of
exhaustive content, to the project management plan. It contains all the details explaining
how you plan program’s activities in order to organize, realize, transition and sustain the
strategic benefits. During this phase, you will need the help of several program team
members (including the PMO) that will support you during work decomposition (PWBS) and
specify how to do the work.
• Keep flying high: it is rather obvious that you will have to go into very specific details quite
often, but your role is to back off from time to time, in order to guarantee consistency
between all the plans, to understand interactions, and to compensate for negative side
effects from one plan to the next. It is exactly the same as building a complex house of
cards, stay patient, but always think in terms of your program's global balance.
41
The following list of study questions related to ‘Planning the program’ will help you prepare for the
exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ31

What is the MOST IMPORTANT artifact created during the program planning subphase?
a- The benefits management plan
b- The stakeholder engagement plan
c- The governance plan
d- The program management plan
Study Question SQ32

A KEY OUTPUT from the program risk management planning activity is:
a- The risk acceptance level of the organization
b- The risk appetite of the organization
c- The program risk register
d- Contingency and management reserves
Study Question SQ33

The program quality management plan is the main output from the program quality management
planning activity. What is TRUE about this plan?
a- It identifies quality standards that are relevant at the program level only
b- It is not a component of the program management plan
c- It contains the quality policy that is applicable at the program level only
d- It identifies the quality standards that are relevant to the program and its components
Study Question SQ34

What is a CORRECT list of outputs coming from the program financial management planning
activity?
a- Program financial management plan, program funding schedules, and program financial metrics
b- Program financial management plan, program cost estimates, component cost estimation
guidelines
c- Initial program budget, program funding schedules, and contract payments
d- Program funding schedules, program operational costs, and cost estimates
42
Study Question SQ35
The program management plan is developed during the program planning subphase of the
program definition phase, on a number of inputs. What BEST describes this list of inputs?
a- The organization’s strategic plan, the business case, and realized benefits
b- The strategic plan, the business case, and the governance plan
c- The business case, the program charter, and the assessments completed during program
formulation
d- The organization’s strategic plan, the business case, the program charter, and the assessments
completed during program formulation
Study Question SQ36

You are involved in planning activities for program X. This program is composed of four projects A, B,
C and D. Projects B and C already existed as standalone projects before being regrouped in a
program. Projects B and C have their own Project Management Information System (PMIS). You
wonder if program X and projects A and D should have their own PMIS defined. You discuss this with
the program PMO and with the project managers. What is the BEST way to handle this situation?
a- Programs do not need to have access to a PMIS, projects do
b- Projects do not need to have access to a PMIS, programs do
c- Program X needs to have access to a PMIS. Projects A and D do not need to have access to a
PMIS, because projects B and C already have a PMIS
d- Program X, projects A and D can use the existing PMIS structure of projects B and C and adapt it
for the new environment
Study Question SQ37

You are managing a program which is now a candidate for closure. All components have been
properly closed, and all planned deliverables have been created. A steering committee meeting is
planned for the end of next week, and you prepare yourself for the meeting. You want to convince
the steering committee members that the program is actually ready for closure. You look at the
documents you developed during the planning phase of the program. From the list of arguments,
which is the MOST important you should use to convince the steering committee that the program
can be closed?
a- Show that all contracts’ closing conditions are met
b- Show that the exit criteria are met
c- Show that all Customer expectations are met
d- Show that your program closes on schedule, within budget limitations, and produced the
planned benefits described in planning documents
43
Study Question SQ38
In this PWBS, how many program packages are depicted?

a- 5
b-7
c- 12
d-9
Study Question SQ39

You are conducting planning activities for a major program which will cover several countries and
will last several years. Four projects have been identified as part of the program, and due to
resource shortage in your company, you will need to subcontract part of the work, in various parts of
the world. You know that most of the project members will be junior technicians who have never
worked on a project before. You have discussed the necessity to improve members’ competencies
and to be ready to develop their project teams, in order to maximize project and program
performance, with the potential project managers. In this situation, which option will contribute
LEAST to team development?
a- Co-Iocation
b- Team building activities
c- Training
d- Team rewards
44
Study Question SQ40
You ore developing the schedule for your program. The program is composed of three component
projects: A, B and C. Project managers A and B are familiar with the critical chain method and plan
to use it on their projects. Project manager C plans to use the critical path method. In parallel you
have started to develop the program master schedule and you have prepared a Gantt chart which
shows the major activities and program milestones. You have set-up a meeting with your project
managers in order to choose a scheduling tool for the projects and for the program. What is the BEST
option for it?
a- Impose Gantt as the common scheduling method, because Gantt charts are very popular
b- Impose the critical chain method because the method is well known by two project managers
c- Impose a common scheduling tool
d- Let each project manager decide which tool she is most comfortable with
45
Study Question SQ31
d- Because it encompasses all subsidiary artifacts. The standard, section 7.1.2.2
Study Question SQ32
c- The standard, section 8.1.2.10
Study Question SQ33
d- The standard, section 8.1.2.8
Study Question SQ34
a- The standard, section 8.1.2.5
Study Question SQ35

d- The standard, section 8.1.2
Study Question SQ36
a- Wrong! Programs and projects should have access to a PMIS. b- Wrong! Programs and projects
should have access to a PMIS. c- Wrong! Programs and projects should have access to a PMIS.
d- Correct! You can use the existing PMIS as a base and extend it for the program and the two other
projects.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Planning the program - Task 11
Study Question SQ37
a- No! This is not enough to ask for program closure, b- Correct! If all exit criteria are met you can
ask for program closure. c- No! This is not enough to ask for program closure, d- No! This is not
enough to ask for program closure.
46
Study Question SQ38
a- Wrong answer! b- Wrong answer! c- Wrong answer! d- Correct! Program packages are defined as
‘the lowest level of the PWBS’. And there are 9 of them!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Planning the program - Task 8 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 5.4 and section 6.2
Study Question SQ39
a- Correct answer! Because of the worldwide coverage of the program, co-location should not be
considered as a team development option, b- Wrong answer! This should be applicable, c- Wrong
answer! Because they are junior technicians, training may be a good option, d- Wrong answer!
Team rewards should help to develop team spirit!
section 9.4.2 (develop team - Tools and Techniques)
Study Question SQ40
a- No! Although Gantt charts are very popular, you should not impose them. There may be more
appropriate scheduling tools accepted by all. b- No! This is not a valid reason. Try to have a
common tool. The critical chain method may not be adequate for project C or for the whole
program.c- Correct answer! Whatever scheduling tool is chosen, it should be the same for projects
and program scheduling. At least, for the sake of simplicity, you should try to only have one
common scheduling tool. d- No! Try to impose a unique scheduling tool. This will ease your job!
47
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Executing
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Executing the Program as:
Performing work necessary to achieve the program’s objectives and deliver the program benefits
[3, page 3]
1. Initiate component projects and assign proper resources

2. Establish standards to facilitate control
3. Establish adequate communication channels
4. Lead human resource functions to improve team engagement
5. Maximize project managers contribution to program objectives
6. Execute program management plans to meet stakeholder expectations
7. Consolidate and report performance reports
8. Evaluate program status for better control
9. Approve closure of components
Mind map “Executing” Tasks
Executing tasks defined in the ECO are mainly performed during the Delivery phase of the program.
The standard identifies the list of core and supporting activities related to this phase, and their key
outputs. We have attempted to relate outputs to ECO Task numbers (where applicable), which we
present in Figure 18 and Figure 19.
Note: ECO Tasks 19, 20, 21,23 are part of the program manager’s responsibilities. They are not linked
to any specific activity mentioned in the standard.
Please note that some of these activities, such as cost budgeting, cost estimation, risk identification,
risk analysis, and risk response management, are also heavily evoked during the Program Planning
subphase of Program Definition
48
Program risk register updates
Program risk identification
Program risk management Proposed risk responses
Risk register (updates)
Reports on risk KPIs trends
Status information on the

ECO task 18
program and component
ECO Task 22
Notification of change requests
Program financial reports
Presentations
-------------------------------------------------------- 1
Prog ram communications I Public announcements
ECO Executing Sub
Domain. Part 1
! management
Program information distnbution

Press release
Information distributed to
stakeholders
-ECO Task 22
, . . . : ECO Task 18
Lessons learned reports f
Program information
Inputs to other management
management
plans
Program budget baseline

S'*" updates
------ Program payment schedules

Program financial Component payment schedules
management
— Component cost estimates
Component cost estimation
Figure 18 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Executing - Part 1
49
Figure 19 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Executing - Part 2
50
Highlights
The majority of the tasks related to “executing” are carried out during the Delivery phase of the
program life cycle. This phase is essential to the benefit creation. The components are initiated
(‘chartered’) once their interfaces have been carefully revisited in order to maintain a consistent
program architecture. They are then executed, and their closure is approved (but not performed
yet; see closure activities). Resources are prioritized and reallocated to meet program needs,
procurements are conducted according to prior resource allocations, appropriate sellers are
selected, contracts are signed, and payments are made. The budget is refined and broken down to
the component level. In order to keep stakeholders engaged, the necessary and sufficient
information is distributed to them.
Posture
As a program manager regarding the executing sub-domain, your posture should be as follows:
• Deliver! Your goal is to deliver the benefits; you are running a benefit factory, you have to
make sure that all processes are running in parallel, by ensuring with or without the program
team, that every single piece of work is duly defined AND delivered.
• This is not monitor and control: When focusing on delivery, you assume by default that the
interactions between activities are working satisfactorily. Clearing potential unbalance or
negative dependencies (delays or unsatisfactory outcomes) are activities which do not
belong to “executing” but more to “controlling”.
51
The following list of study questions related to 'Executing the program' will help you prepare for the
exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ41

The program delivery phase is composed of the following subphases:
a- Component definition, component integration, component closure
b- Component authorization and planning, component oversight and integration, component
transition and closure
c- Component planning, component integration, component transition and closure
d- Component authorization and planning, component transition, component closure
Study Question SQ42

Which PERFORMANCE DOMAIN provides guidance for processes leading to component
authorization?
a- Program governance
b- Program benefits management
c- Program strategy alignment
d- Program stakeholder engagement
Study Question SQ43

What is TRUE concerning program cost budgeting activities?
a- The program payment schedules identify the schedules and milestones where funding is received
by the customer
b- The program payment schedules identify the schedules and milestones where funding is received
by the funding organization
c- The component payment schedules indicate when team members will be paid
d- There are no component payment schedules, only program ones
Study Question SQ44

What is a CORRECT list of outputs from program procurement management activities performed
during the program delivery phase?
a- Request for proposal (RFP), request for comments (RFC), and request for debate
b- Request for proposal (RFP), invitation for bid (IFB), and request for claim
c- Request for proposal (RFP), invitation for bid (IFB), and request for quote (RFQ)
d- Invitation for bid (IBB), signed agreements and request for claim
52
Study Question SQ45
Which activity is defined as the CORE activity in the standard?
a- Program communications management
b- Program integration management
c- Program procurement management
d- Program scope management
Study Question SQ46

You are managing a software development program that includes three projects and a set of
recurring testing activities which are common to these three projects. Testing activities are not
managed as a project, but as a non-project component. In the program roadmap, you have
indicated the key milestones to initiate and close components. Two projects are late because they
are short of resources. Testing activities have been completed and now you would like to close this
component in order to release the resources and dispatch them into the delayed projects. What
should be the IMMEDIATE ACTION with regard to closing testing activities?
a- You should close the testing activities because they are not managed as a project and do not
require governance board approval
b- You should issue a component transition request to the governance board, even though it is not a
project
c- You should issue a component initiation request to the governance board, even though it is not a
project
d- You should close the testing activities because they are completed
Study Question SQ47

You are managing a program that is composed of three component projects: A, B and C. You just
exited the definition phase and you start the execution of the program in order to generate planned
deliverables and to create expected benefits. You understand that in order to initiate the program
components, you will have to issue component initiation requests which will be accepted (or
rejected) by the program governance board. Which DOCUMENT indicates the timing of the
components to be initiated?
a- The program roadmap
b- The program business case
c- The program benefits management plan
d- The program charter
53
Study Question SQ48
exited the definition phase. Project managers are identified and you start the execution of the
program in order to generate planned deliverables and to create expected benefits. Project A will
provide two deliverables, project B will provide three deliverables, and project C will provide four
deliverables. Projects B and C are more critical for the program success than project A. You
understand that, in order to initiate program components, you will have to issue component
initiation requests which will be reviewed by the program governance board. According to the plan,
you have issued a request to initiate component project A. This request has been rejected by the
board. What is the MOST probable cause for the board refusal?
a- Project A does not have a sponsor
b- Project A does not have an identified manager
c- Project A does not have a business case
d- Project A only provides two deliverables and project C provides four deliverables, so project C
should start first
Study Question SQ49

exited the definition phase. You start the execution of the program in order to create the planned
deliverables and to create expected benefits. You have previously developed a communication
plan which gives all details about the methods used to distribute accurate and useful information
regarding the program status to program stakeholders. From this list of distribution methods, which
one is NOT considered a valid list of methods used to formally communicate the program status to
stakeholders?
a- Face to face meetings, hard copy distribution, and shared-filing systems
b- Face to face meetings, hard copy distribution, electronic tools for program management such as
scheduling tools
c- Hard copy distribution, electronic tools for program management, conferencing tools such as
voice mail, telephone, and video
d- Electronic tools for program management, informal meetings, conferencing tools such as voice
mail, telephone, and video
Study Question SQ5Q

Best practices in project and program management recommend using lessons learned in order to
capitalize on good and bad things that have happened in past projects or programs, and to take
corrective actions for future endeavors. In addition, the program manager must organize lessons
learned sessions to inform key stakeholders. Lessons learned will be compiled and archived at
program closure time and a final report will be issued and distributed. When is the BEST time to
conduct stakeholders’ lessons learned sessions in a program?
a- During all phases of the program life cycle
b- During the execution phase of the program life cycle
c- At program closure
d- Only when a major event (good or bad) occurs
54
Study Question SQ41
Study Question SQ42

a- Component authorization criteria are documented in the Governance plan The standard,
section 7.1.3.1
Study Question SQ43

Study Question SQ44

Study Question SQ45

b- Program integration management is a core activity (as opposed to supporting activity) because
it occurs across the entire program life cycle. It includes activities needed to identify, define,
combine, unify, and coordinate multiple program components. It is considered in the standard as
the most important activity (activities) in program management. The standard, section 7.2.2
Study Question SQ46
a- No! You need to obtain governance board approval to close them. b- Yes! When you want to
transition a component of your program, you need to send a request to the steering committee
which will then approve or disapprove, c- No! You need to issue a component transition request,
not a component initiation request, d- No! You need to get approval from the steering committee to
close this component.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Executing the Program - Task 24 and standard, section
6.1.11
Study Question SQ47
a- Correct answer! The program roadmap (which is part of the program management plan) provides
this information. b- No! The program business case does not contain this detailed information. c-
No! The benefits management plan provides all details about the realization of the planned benefits
but it does not specify when projects should be initiated, d- No! The program charter does not
contain this detailed information.
3.3
55
Study Question SQ48
a- Wrong answer! By default, YOU are the project sponsor! b- No! The text says that all component
project managers are identified, c- Correct answer! This is the most probable cause for the board
refusal. The standard says that the program manager frequently acts as the sponsor for components
and the component needs to have a business case. d- No! This is not a valid reason. The text says
that the request for initiation is issued according to the plan.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Executing the Program - Task 16 and standard, section
6.1.11
Study Question SQ49
a- Wrong answer! All are valid methods to communicate program status, b- Wrong answer! All are
valid methods to communicate program status. c- Wrong answer! All are valid methods to
communicate program status, d- Correct answer! Informal meetings are not considered a valid
method for communicating program status.
8.2.2.1
Study Question SQ50
a- Correct answer! Lessons learned should be collected, and information sessions should be
organized with key stakeholders throughout each program life cycle phase. Lessons learned
updates are an output from the "Information distribution" activities, b- Wrong! Lessons learned should
be collected, and information sessions should be organized with key stakeholders during each
program life cycle phase, c- No! Lessons learned should be collected, and information sessions
should be organized with key stakeholders during each program life cycle phase. d- No! Lessons
learned should be collected, and information sessions should be organized with key stakeholders
during each program life cycle phase, not only when a major event occurs.
8.2.4.1
56
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Controlling
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Controlling the Program as:
Monitoring progress, updating program plans as required, managing change and risk [3, page 3]
1. Compare actual trends and variances to plans and identify corrective actions
2. Apply corrective actions
3. Manage program issues
4. Manage changes
5. Assess impact of changes and get approval from governance
6. Manage risks
Mind map “Controlling” Tasks
Monitoring and Controlling tasks defined in the ECO are mainly performed during the Delivery phase
of the program. The standard identifies the list of core and supporting activities related to this phase,
and their key outputs. We have attempted to relate outputs to ECO Task numbers (where
applicable), which we present in Figure 20, Figure 21 and Figure 22.
57
Figure 20 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Monitoring and Controlling - Part 1
58
59
60
Highlights
The program is now executed according to “what is documented in the program management
plan", in order to deliver benefits in-line with the strategic objectives of the performing organization.
Very often, the complexity of the factors influencing the delivery of benefits make things happen
differently from what was originally planned.
In other words, according to Murphy’s Law17, "It is found that anything that can go wrong generally
does go wrong sooner or later”.
Therefore, the “Monitoring and controlling" activities simply target monitoring these deviations and
taking the right decisions with respect to the strategic outcomes of the program.
These activities may consist of either:
mitigating the reasons for deviations in order to keep the objectives unchanged or,
- if it is not possible, updating the program objectives to take into account the factors outside
the control of the program
These updates are the result of decisions taken at program level, and take into consideration
feedback such as: performance reports, risk register and related preventive actions, program
forecasts, or benefits realization reports. Actual deviations from the original plans are documented
by means of: change requests to the program management plan, budget, master schedule or
stakeholder strategy. Decisions are taken according to the governance rules in several ways:
payment approvals, plan updates or go/no-go decisions.
Posture
• Watch and stay tuned! In order to make subsequent corrections, the first step is to always
have a clear view of what is going on. Stay informed in all aspects of the program by
soliciting and collecting information from those “who know”. This flow of information is the
basis of a sound, accurate and detailed understanding that legitimizes these changes.
• Define and share the changes: The second step is to define the necessary changes in all
aspects of the program. If you are the initiator, make sure that all interested parties commit
to the decision (program change control). If not, clarify the intention; do not forget that a
brilliant idea is only valid when it is understood and applicable by all.
• Implement the changes: track what, when, who, how to perform the changes. Make sure
that what has been decided is implemented as agreed; if not, the program’s credibility will
suffer, as this reflects your own capacity to keep the program on track.
17 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's law
61
The following list of study questions regarding 'Controlling the Program' will help you prepare for the
exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ51

Risk monitoring and controlling activities are conducted to determine whether:
a- Program assumptions are still valid, and proper risk management policies and procedures are
being followed
b- Program assumptions are still valid, and contractual agreements are actually signed
c- Proper risk management policies and procedures are being followed, and lessons learned reports
are communicated to stakeholders
d- Assessed risk has changed from its prior state, with analysis of trends; and the program budget
baseline has been updated
Study Question SQ52

The program schedule monitoring and controlling activity includes:
a- Tracking and monitoring the attendance of stakeholders to key checkpoint meetings
b- Tracking and monitoring the start and finish of all high-level component and program activities
and milestones against the program master schedule
c- Tracking and monitoring the start and finish of all high-level component and program activities
and milestones against the program roadmap
d- Tracking and monitoring the start and finish of program activities and milestones against the
program master schedule, but not component ones
Study Question SQ53

Program scope monitoring and controlling activity should:
a- Capture requested scope changes coming from customers only
b- Evaluate each change request and communicate the decision to the steering committee
c- Determine the disposition of each requested change and update the risk management plan
d- Capture requested scope changes, evaluate them and communicate the decision to affected
stakeholders, and record the request and supporting detail
Study Question SQ54

What is TRUE about the program reporting activity?
a- Program reporting is concerned by program results only and reporting them to stakeholders
b- Program reporting is not an element of program communications
c- Outputs from this activity include reports required by program sponsors or program agreements
d- Outputs from this activity do not include customer feedback requests
62
Study Question SQ55
CORRECTIVE and PREVENTIVE actions are needed to bring the program back in alignment with:
a- The strategic priorities
b- The original budget
c- The original schedule
d- The sponsor priorities
Study Question SQ56

You are managing a program under a firm fixed price contract for an important customer. Up to
now, this program was progressing well but suddenly, an unforeseen major risk appears that may
severely impact the program. The mitigation plan for that risk implies a significant program budget
increase. Your organization has serious financial issues during the coming months. According to the
following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- Formally ask the board to authorize you to obtain additional budget from your customer
b- Ask for permission to use the management reserve and ask for no additional funds from the
customer
c- Modify the contract type because the conditions have changed significantly
d- Ask for the authorization to close the program, as the conditions have changed significantly.
There is no need to continue.
Study Question SQ57

What should be the FIRST STEP in implementing a change originating from a project which is
integrated into the program you manage?
a- Follow the management procedures of the work package change control board
b- Follow the management procedures of the integrated change control board
c- Follow the management procedures of the component-level change control board
d- Follow the management procedures of the governance change control board
Study Question SQ58

Your program has an estimated budget at completion of 40000. As of now, 6400 has been
consumed to complete 10% of the work. You have a contingency reserve of 8000. What should be
your NEXT action?
a- You have already consumed 2400 from the contingency reserve. You have to ask the
governance board for 16000 more to be sure of finishing
b- Perform a program review with all project managers to assess the reason for this cost overrun
c- Allocate the remaining contingency reserve immediately to the other projects, to make sure the
program won't be delayed any longer
d- Perform a detailed review of the components which are delayed
63
Study Question SQ59
You are managing a program which has four component projects: A, B, C and D. During the
definition phase of the program, with the help of the PMO, you have defined several rules for your
project managers, such as: all issues must be logged in a project issues register, with a predefined
code, in order to be able to track them easily. You request that the status of those issues be reported
and discussed during your weekly status meetings with the project managers. During today’s
meeting, project manager C reports a high severity issue which has a major impact on the delivery
of a project outcome which is urgently expected at program level. During the meeting, project
manager A says that he encountered a similar problem, and it took him a long time to develop a
correction which works. The correction is documented. Project manager A proposes to provide the
fix to project manager C. What IMMEDIATE action should be taken?
a- The program manager immediately brings the meeting to a close and asks project manager C to
apply the fix right away
b- Project Manager C reads the documentation related to the correction, and then decides
whether or not to apply the fix
c- Project manager C applies the correction to project C with the assistance of a person from
project A
d- The program manager spends the necessary time to understand what the similarities between
projects A and C are
Study Question SQ60

Company XYZ has decided to launch a program which has a strategic position in the company
portfolio. A high number of change requests are expected to impact the program, and your
company has decided to have a dedicated change manager for the program. You are the
change manager for the program. In your position, you review all change requests, and
recommend accepting or rejecting them. Your main focus is on reviewing changes on scope, but
also on time, quality, costs, risks, contracts and rewards. Which DOCUMENT will you base your
decisions upon?
b- The program scope management plan
c- The change management plan
64
Study Question SQ51
Study Question SQ52

Study Question SQ53

Study Question SQ54

Study Question SQ55

Study Question SQ56

a- No! The contract type with your customer is "firm fixed price’’, so you should try other solutions
before this one! b- Yes! The management reserve can be used to mitigate unknown risks. c- No!
You cannot modify the contract type without proper justification and approval from all parties!
d- No! This is not the best option. The customer is important for your organization, and they expect
you to deliver the results as stated in the contract.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Controlling the Program - Task 30 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 7.3.2.3
Study Question SQ57

a- No! Not in PMI vocabulary, b- No! Do not escalate to program level something which has not
really been considered at project level. c- Correct! d- No! Do not escalate to governance level
something which has not really been considered at project level.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Controlling the Program - Task 28 and standard, section
2.5.2 (program vs. project change) and PMBOK® Guide, section 4.6
Study Question SQ58

a- No! You cannot ask for further contingency if you do not explain beforehand the reasons for it.
b- Correct! The program is in bad shape, you have consumed more than 10 % of the budget to
produce less than 10 % of the work; you have to do something immediately at program level.
c- No! Are you really sure that this will stop the delay? d- No! Maybe some dependencies from non
delayed projects will cause delays to other components. ALL projects should be reviewed NOW!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Controlling the Program - Task 25
65
Study Question SQ59
a- No! This is a program review; you have many other items for today; please go on with the
meeting, b- Correct! Project manager C should first carefully read the existing documentation before
deciding to apply it or not. c- No! Project manager C should first read the documentation before
applying it. d- No! This may take too much time, and is not very productive.
Study Question SQ60

a- No! The correct answer is the 'change management plan', b- No! The correct answer is the
change management plan', c- Correct! In order to correctly manage changes, you base your
decisions upon the change management plan which should detail rules for accepting or rejecting
changes. The change management plan is an output from the Program change management
planning activity. d- No! The correct answer is the 'change management plan'.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Controlling the Program - Task 28 and standard, section
8.1.2.1
66
Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Closing
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Closing the Program as:
Finalizing all program activities, including all constituent components, executing transition plans,
archiving, obtaining approvals, and reporting [3, page 3]
1. Complete a final report of actual trends and variances to original plans to determine
program performance
2. Obtain stakeholder approval for closure
3. Execute the transition to operations in order to maximize the sustainability of the program
4. Conduct the post review meeting and elaborate lessons learned
5. Disseminate lessons learned, best practices and recommendations for future programs
Mind map “Closing” Tasks
Closing tasks defined in the ECO are mainly performed during the Closure phase of the program. The
standard identifies the list of core and supporting activities related to this phase, and their key
outputs. We have attempted to relate outputs to ECO Task numbers (where applicable), which we
present in Figure 23 and Figure 24.
67
Figure 23 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Closing - Part 1
68
Figure 24 : ECO Tasks Mapping - Closing - Part 2
69
Highlights
Closing a program is very similar to closing a project, with some additional specific activities. A final
report is issued, so that performance is assessed with respect to the original intention; this intention
consists mainly in delivering benefits aligned with the organization’s strategy. The final report
contains lessons learned which are consolidated, documented, disseminated and archived so that
future management initiatives can benefit from them.
Component projects as well as procurements must be closed BEFORE program closure. At each
component closure, program closure activities should be performed to capture information which
may impact the program, such as redeployment of component resources within or outside the
program, reallocation of unused budget, capture of lessons learned, etc. Disbandment of the
resources is organized, and most importantly human resources are returned to their functional
teams, except those who are needed to support operational transition.
Acceptance of the results is generally confirmed by receiving sign off from the sponsor, client or
steering committee.
The program manager may close the program only AFTER the steering committee (or the sponsor
alone) has delivered a formal closure acceptance.
Posture
• The motto is “Switch off all lights!”

• Be sure of the final acceptance! Do things in the right order. It is essential that your program
has reached a sufficient level of delivery before beginning program closure. The
governance, and often the customer, must have accepted the major outcomes or benefits
beforehand. Even if a number of actions are performed under your strict authority, never
forget that they always have the final word, do not coerce them into going through
acceptance, and stay tuned to their expectations until the final formal acceptance.
• Be sure of a sustained transition! Operations must have been engaged quite early, up to the
moment when they can take over the program benefits.
• Close all component projects!
• Close all contracts!
• Close all program management subsidiary plans! You have to trigger a rather exhaustive list
of actions to close them, one by one. Disband the teams except those which are strictly
necessary for transition and support.
The following list of study questions regarding ‘Closing the Program’ will help you prepare for the
exam.
70
Study Questions
Study Question SQ61

Which artifact contains component TRANSITION CRITERIA related to organizational expectations?
a- Benefits management plan
b- Component management plan
c- Governance plan
d- Delivery management plan
Study Question SQ62

Once the transitioning activities are completed, WHO provides the authorization to formally close
the program?
a- The Customer
b- The program manager
c- The portfolio manager
d- The sponsoring organization
Study Question SQ63

The request to CLOSE a program component and then to ACCEPT the request is done by:
a- The project manager and the program manager
b- The program manager and the steering committee
c- The project manager and the steering committee
d- The customer and the program manager
Study Question SQ64

What is a condition to PREMATURELY CLOSE the program?
a- The charter is fulfilled
b- Expected benefits will be realized
c- Customer is unhappy
d- Expected benefits cannot be achieved
Study Question SQ65

Successful completion of the program is judged against:
a- The approved business case, actual program outcomes, and the current goals and strategic
objectives of the organization
b- The approved business case, the customer dissatisfaction, and sponsor expectations
c- The customer dissatisfaction, the money spent and the sponsor recommendation
d- The program roadmap, the current goals of the organization, and the sustainment activities
71
Study Question SQ66

A program may be closed under various conditions. Among the following choices, which one is NOT
a condition to close the program?
a- The program has been cancelled
b- The sponsoring organization has approved the program closure
c- All program objectives have not been achieved yet
d- The program has become unnecessary
Study Question SQ67

You are the program manager of a new line of breakfast cereals to be sold worldwide. The program
is organized in several projects, one per line of products which are each adapted to their targeted
market. This year, you have successfully completed the commercial launch of a number of new
products. Your governance board asks you to initiate close-out activities related to these projects so
that operations can start working. Among the following reasons, which one is NOT a typical reason
to invoke the "Program closure "activities?
a- Only one out of several projects released its products onto the market
b- Several projects released their products onto the market
c- The new product lines have been released according to the benefit plans, and the governance
board needs a formal sign-off from the operations
d- You have not fully convinced the board that benefits will be realized, but lessons learned have
been thoroughly collected and documented
Study Question SQ68

is organized in several projects, one per line of products which are each adapted to their targeted
market. This year, you have successfully completed the commercial launch of a number of new
products. Your governance board asks you to initiate close-out activities related to these projects so
that the operations can start working. Program performance has been analyzed and proven to be
high, and according to the survey of the stakeholders' opinion, they seem to be very satisfied.
Among the following choices, which one is NOT a probable end of this program?
a- The program has performed satisfactorily and is fully closed
b- The program is transitioned to the operations
c- The program is cancelled
d- The program has partially realized benefits and you will have to propose new benefits to the
governance board
72
Study Question SQ69
Program X has three component projects: A, B and C. All three component projects have been
closed with the agreement of the steering committee. One month later, the program is still not
closed. Generally, the final decision to close a program is under the sponsor’s responsibility. What is
the MOST probable cause for NOT closing program X?
a- Not all of the expected benefits have been realized
b- The program closure recommendation was not formulated by the steering committee
c- The steering committee has been disbanded
d- The program sponsor has left the organization
Study Question SQ7Q

Program X has three component projects: A, B and C. As of today, projects A and B are closed, but
project C is due to close in one month. Three months later, the program remains open. The steering
committee requests that the program be closed as soon as possible. What is the MOST probable
cause for the steering committee to ask for the closure of program X?
a- Program governance does not recommend the program closure
b- All contracts are not formally closed
c- The program has been cancelled
d- All component projects are not formally closed
73
Study Question SQ61
Study Question SQ62

Study Question SQ63

Study Question SQ64

Study Question SQ65

Study Question SQ66

a- Wrong! The program has been cancelled, so now it may be closed. b- Wrong! The sponsoring
organization has approved program closure, so now it should be closed. c- Correct! All program
objectives have not been achieved yet so keep the program open! d- Wrong answer! The program
has become unnecessary, so it may be closed.
The standard, sections 72.2.5 and 8.3
Study Question SQ67

a- No! The "Program closure" activities are invoked each time (non-) project activities are closed. For
instance, component resource disposition and lessons learned need to be evaluated by the
program manager. b- No! The "Program closure" activities are invoked each time (non-) project
activities are closed. For instance, component resource disposition and lessons learned need to be
evaluated by the program manager. c- No! This is an essential reason to invoke the "Program
closure" activities. For instance, component resource disposition and lessons learned need to be
evaluated by the program manager. d- Correct! You have to first convince your governance
board that benefits will be achieved, before asking for program close out. Gathering lessons learned
is neither a valid nor typical reason to invoke “Program closure” activities.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Closing the program - Task 32 and standard, section
72.2.5
Study Question SQ68

a- No! This is probable because benefits have been delivered satisfactorily, b- No! This is probable
because benefits have been delivered satisfactorily, c- Correct! Benefits are delivered and
stakeholders are satisfied (see text) so why cancel the program? d- No! Stakeholders may ask you to
close some activities. After this, they may come back with more requests that you will have to take
into account for potential new benefits.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Closing the program - Task 31 and standard, section
72.2.5
74
Study Question SQ69
a- No! All expected benefits may not occur before the program ends. b- Correct answer! This is the
most probable cause for not closing the program. c- Wrong ansyyer! It may be true, but it is not the
most probable cause for not closing the program, d- No! That may be the case, but it is not a valid
reason not to close the program!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Closing the program - Task 32 and standard, section 6.2.2
Study Question SQ70

a- No! Program governance has requested that the program be closed! b- No! All contracts must
be closed before formal program closure, but this is not the most probable cause, c- Correct
answer! Among all options, this must be the most probable cause. d- No! The text says that two
projects are closed and project C is due to close in one month. Three months later, there is a high
probability that the program will be cancelled!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Closing the program - Task 32 and standard, section
7.2.2.5
75
Domain III Benefits Management
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Benefits Management as:
Defining, creating, maximizing, and sustaining the benefits provided by programs [3, page 3]
1. Develop the benefits management plan

2. Capture benefits opportunities throughout the program life cycle
3. Develop a benefits sustainment plan
4. Monitor the metrics to maintain/improve benefits realization
5. Manage the projects/program realization in order to maximize benefits
6. Maintain the benefits register and report benefits to stakeholders
7. Manage risks in relationship with benefits management, and take the necessary preventive
or corrective actions
8. Develop transition plans to deliver and sustain benefits
Both the Examination Content Outline and the Standard for Program Management address the
Benefits domain.
The standard describes the relationship between the program life cycle and program benefits
management [1, figure 4-1]. It is important to note that activities related to benefits management
are performed during several program life cycle phases. For instance:
• Benefits identification starts in the Program definition phase,

• Benefits analysis and planning is part of Program definition phase and overlaps Program
delivery phase,
• Benefits delivery is part of the Program delivery phase,
• Benefits transition is part of Program closure and Benefits sustainment begins during this
phase.
Highlights
Programs are undertaken to create BENEFITS. This is the PRIMARY reason to create and manage
programs. Benefits will provide VALUE to the program beneficiaries that will utilize them.
Posture
The benefits are defined and scheduled in order to provide strategic progress to the performing
organization. As a program manager, you have to make sure that the benefits management plan
has the following characteristics:
• Have a clear big picture: you have to always be in a position to clearly and simply show the
rationale, progress, performance, aggregation, even sublimation of the major components
that contribute to the expected benefits. If your messages are complex, confusing, unclear;
76
• there is a high probability that a number of stakeholders will not understand their share of
involvement
• Prove the promise: the big picture described above is your “passport”, enabling you to cope
with barriers and reluctance. It is a convincing set of documents that efficiently shows the
power of your approach; you do not just promise, but you prove that the benefits will be
there, and be sustained.
FAQs
• What is a benefit?
The standard defines the word 'benefit' as:
The gains and assets realized by the organization and other stakeholders as the result of outcomes
delivered by the program [1, glossary]
• Do component projects also create benefits?
The answer is clearly ‘yes’. Project benefits are usually produced in the form of deliverables. These
deliverables may be raised up to program level “as is”, or aggregated together to produce a
program-level benefit. In most cases, programs are undertaken to produce benefits which are
significantly larger than those coming from projects alone [1, section 4 introduction].
• Are all benefits measurable?
The answer should be ‘yes’. However, it is sometimes difficult to measure certain non tangible
benefits, such as: company image, morale improvement. In these cases interviews, polls, public
opinion, etc. should help to provide metrics. There should be an effort, in any program, to define
metrics for the planned benefits, such as ‘10% increase in revenue’, 20% workload reduction’, etc.
• Are all benefits created ‘at once’?
The answer is ‘no’. In some programs, benefits may be incremental. For instance, an increase in
revenue may occur step by step during the life of the program, and the targeted benefit may be
realized at the end of the program, or even after the program is over.
• Are all benefits delivered before the end of the program?
The answer is ‘not always’. In most programs, benefits will be realized before the end of the program,
but in some cases, all or some benefits will only be realized after the program is concluded. Please
also note that, in some cases, all benefits may be delivered at the same time (for example, the
construction of a big building). The program manager should develop both a transition plan which
describes how benefits will be transitioned to the receiving organization, and a sustainment plan
which will detail post-transition activities related to the benefits realization within the receiving
organization.
• Who identifies benefits and when?
Because programs are undertaken to provide benefits to an organization, planned benefits, at least
major ones, should be identified very early on during the program's life cycle: the program business
case which ‘puts the program on track’ when it is accepted, should contain these expected
benefits. A program mandate is sometimes issued by executives along with a preliminary business
77
case. After approval of the business case, the program charter is developed and formally expresses
expected benefits. Then the program roadmap provides the benefits delivery timeline. During
program formulation, the program manager is usually not yet known. Therefore, planned benefits will
generally be identified by other persons close to the company strategy (executives, portfolio
managers, sponsors, etc.).
During the life of the program, new opportunities may appear and new benefits may emerge (Ex:
new customer request, market change, environmental opportunities, new organizations, etc.). After
endorsement by the Governance Board, the program manager should make every possible effort to
transform those opportunities into positive results for the performing organization.
Figure 25 : Benefits identification 18
• How do we manage benefits?
First, benefits need to be identified and recorded in the benefits register which is developed during
the benefits identification phase. KPIs are identified for each benefit and are also recorded. The
benefits register will be updated during follow-up phases.
Then, benefits should be qualified (intangible benefits) or quantified (tangible benefits).
Projects that contribute to program benefits must be identified and the responsibility for realizing
those benefits must be clearly assigned. Additionally, metrics should be defined for each benefit.
Programs generate outcomes (results), and intermediate benefits which contribute to the final
expected benefits. The program roadmap indicates the major events related to the creation of the
benefits (intermediate or incremental, and final). The program roadmap is an input to the creation
of the more detailed program schedule. (See standard, sections 3.3 and 8.1.2.11). Benefit models
such as benefit mapping tools can help the program manager to ensure that final benefits,
intermediate benefits, program outcomes, project deliverables, etc. remain satisfactorily
18 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 8 - Benefits)
78
interdependent and ‘aligned’ during the program's life cycle. The benefits management plan
details when and how planned benefits will be achieved.
The major goal of program management is to make sure that benefits are realized as expected.
• How do we make sure that planned benefits are realized?
Program governance provides the right structure to track benefit realization over the life of the
program, through day-to-day program and project management activities, phase-gate reviews,
health checks, audits, etc.
Reviews and benefit realization analysis help to manage program benefits.
Sponsor
Business case
$$$
Figure 26 : Benefits realization 19
• How do we measure benefit realization?
Monitoring and reporting on benefits metrics defined in the benefits management plan make it
possible to understand the extent of the realized benefits.
In addition, it is of primary importance to make sure that benefits remain aligned with the business
case content. This is also true at program closure.
79
Who is accountable for benefit realization?
Project deliverables contribute to benefits. Therefore, project managers have their share of
responsibility! Additionally, the program manager is responsible for making sure that program
outcomes contribute to the realization of the benefits.
The standard considers that the sponsor has the responsibility to enable the delivery of benefits
[1, section 6.2.1].
• Benefits sustainment
During the program life cycle, the program manager must make sure that benefits will be sustained
by the receiving organization, after the end of the program. The program sustainment plan should
be developed prior to program closure to make sure that benefits will actually be delivered as
planned. [1, section 4.5].
Figure 27 : Benefits transition and sustainment20
The following list of study questions related to ‘Benefits management’ will help you prepare for the
exam.
80
Study Questions
Study Question SQ71

What is NOT true concerning program benefits?
a- Benefits are the gains and assets realized by the organization and other stakeholders as the result
of outcomes delivered by the program
b- Program benefits management do not consider negative impact but rather concentrates on
maximizing positive benefits
c- A benefit may be realized after program closure
d- Program benefits management continually aligns benefits with the organization’s goals and
objectives
Study Question SQ72

What are the 5 phases of program benefits management?
a- Identification, analysis and planning, delivery, transition, sustainment
b- Assessment, analysis and planning, delivery, transition, sustainment
c- Identification, analysis and planning, execution, transition, sustainment
d- Identification, analysis and planning, delivery, transition, closure
Study Question SQ73

What is NOT included in a typical benefit register?
a- KPIs and thresholds for achieving the benefit
b- Risk assessment for achieving the benefit
c- Target dates and milestones for benefits achievement
d- Change Log for non-benefits achievement
Study Question SQ74

What is TRUE concerning the costs to realize benefits after program closeout?
a- There are no additional costs because the program is closed
b- Operational costs may be needed to sustain benefits
c- There are no additional costs because benefits are always higher than costs after program
closure
d- There are no additional costs for intangible benefits as they cannot be measured
Study Question SQ75

What is the MAIN purpose of an effective governance when dealing with benefits delivery?
a- To control and sign off the benefits
b- To authorize, oversight and close components
c- To adapt program resources to program pace
d- To align the program with the organization’s strategy
81
5 questions scenario based
Study Question SQ76

You have managed a program and all planned benefits have been realized when the program
ends. At the start of the program, you developed the benefits management plan which was the
baseline for the management of benefits. The board wants to ensure that the program delivered the
full benefits for which it was created. At the end of the program, benefits should ALWAYS be
compared against those promised in:
a- The benefits management plan
b- The program charter
c- The program business case
d- The portfolio objectives
Study Question SQ77

The main purpose of a program is to realize benefits that are aligned with a company's strategic
objectives. Identified benefits may or may not be easily measurable, but benefits should be defined
with a clear notion of improvement that can be tracked and analyzed. As an example, a program
benefit for a commercial company could be identified as 'bigger profits'. From the list of options,
which one is LEAST clearly stated as a benefit?
a- Increased market share
b- Lower manufacturing costs
c- Faster product delivery
d- Better administrative support
Study Question SQ78

You manage program X which is composed of four projects: A, B, C and D. From the beginning of
your program, you have been extremely sensitive to the fact that program outcomes must generate
benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives of your company. The program is well
underway, but you realize that several opportunities have emerged that your program could take
advantage of. You believe that with a few more resources added into the component projects,
more benefits could be generated. You think about what you should do in order to seize the
opportunities for your program. What will be the LEAST useful action to take?
a- You start interviewing new people with the objective of increasing the size of your project teams
b- You talk to your sponsor about these opportunities in order to have his position
c- You update the benefits management plan and distribute it to all key stakeholders for advice
d- You ask that the business case of your program be updated and re-evaluated with the new
opportunities
82
Study Question SQ79
You manage program X which is composed of four projects: A, B, C and D. From the beginning of
your program, you have been extremely sensitive to the fact that program outcomes must generate
benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives of your company. The program is well
underway, but you realize that several opportunities have emerged that your program could take
advantage of. You believe that with a few more resources added into the component projects,
more benefits could be generated. You think about what you should do in order to seize the
opportunities for your program. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- You start interviewing new people with the objective of increasing the size of your project teams
b- You tell your sponsor that your program will be updated to seize these opportunities
c- You inform key stakeholders that your program will include these opportunities
d- You ask that the business case of your program be updated and re-evaluated with the new
opportunities
Study Question SQ80

You work for construction company ABC for which you have been managing a program over the
last four years. The main product generated by the program is a hospital which will bring lots of
benefits to the community. According to the plan, most benefits will occur only after the program is
completed. You are currently in the closure phase of the program. In order to request formal closure
acceptance from the program steering committee, you prepare the program transition plan. The
steering committee wants to understand what type of guarantee will be included in the transition
plan in order to make sure that benefits will be sustained when the hospital is operational. What type
of guarantee is NOT related to benefits sustainment?
a- The Customer has an appropriate support organization for the hospital
b- Company ABC support organization is well trained to understand hospital support requirements
c- Company ABC support organization understands when and how updates should be made to the
hospital
d- Company ABC program resources are properly redeployed when the program is over
83
Study Question SQ71
b- minimizing negative impacts is as important as realizing the benefits, and should be managed,
measured and properly communicated to affected stakeholders The standard, section 4
Study Question SQ72

a- The standard, section 4
Study Question SQ73

Study Question SQ74

Study Question SQ75

Study Question SQ76

a- No! The benefits management plan describes when and how planned benefits will be realized.
b- No! The program charter itself is based upon the business case. The business case is an input to
the Program formulation subphase, and the charter is an output from this subphase. c- Correct!
Expected benefits are derived from the program business case and must remain in line with that
business case until the end of the program. d- No! Portfolio objectives do not describe planned
program benefits.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Benefits Management - Task 1 and standard, section
7.2.2.5
Study Question SQ77
a- Wrong answer! 'Increased market share' is a benefit which can be measured and tracked,
b- Wrong answer! 'Lower manufacturing costs' is a benefit which can be measured and tracked.
c- Wrong answer! 'Faster product delivery' is a benefit which can be measured and tracked.
d- Correct! 'Better administrative support' does not mean that much. It will actually be difficult to
track and analyze. You need to be more specific. Other answers can be tracked and analyzed.
The standard, section 4 introduction
Study Question SQ78

a- Correct answer! This is the worst option. Much too early! b- No! This is a valid action. It is always
good to inform, and get advice from your sponsor, c- No! This is a valid action. It is always good to
inform, and get advice from key stakeholders, d- No! This is a valid action. In fact, the business case
of your program will need to be updated and validated with the new opportunities, before deciding
to proceed or not.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Benefits Management - Task 2
84
Study Question SQ79
a- No! You are going too fast! You don't yet have the agreement to get new people, b- No! You
are going too fast! You should discuss it with your sponsor, but don't tell them yet that your program
will be updated; it's too soon! c- No! This is too early. You may inform key stakeholders about the
possibility of including these opportunities, but it is only a possibility. d- Correct answer! This is the best
action to take. The business case of your program will need to be updated and validated with the
new opportunities, before deciding to proceed or not.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Benefits Management - Task 2
Study Question SQ80

a- No! There should be an appropriate customer support organization at transition time. b- No!
Support staff must be well trained at transition time. c- No! Support staff must be able to understand
what the planned changes to the product are in order to make sure that the Customer will be able
to support the updated product, d- Correct answer! Redeployment of program resources is not
related to benefits sustainment.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Benefits Management - Task 8 and standard, section 4.5
85
Domain IV Stakeholder Management
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline (ECO) describes tasks related to Stakeholder Management as:
Capturing stakeholder needs and expectations, gaining and maintaining stakeholder support, and
mitigating/channeling opposition [3, page 3]
1. Identify stakeholders and document their position relative to the program

2. Create the stakeholder management plan
3. Negotiate stakeholder support and set clear acceptance criteria
4. Confirm stakeholder support to achieve program objectives
5. Communicate properly with stakeholders
6. Evaluate and manage risks identified by stakeholders
7. Develop relationships with stakeholders
The Examination Content Outline addresses the Stakeholder Management domain and the
standard for Program Management addresses the Stakeholder Engagement performance domain.
In fact, these domains are identical. The standard prefers to use the word ‘engagement’ rather than
the word ‘management’. The program manager does not directly manage stakeholders, but rather
needs to manage their expectations. The important point is that all stakeholders must remain
‘engaged’ throughout the program life cycle!
Highlights
Because of program characteristics (scope, length, cost, etc.), the number of program stakeholders
is usually much larger than on a given project. For this reason there is an emphasis on program
stakeholder management/engagement.
The standard defines 5 activities:
1. Program Stakeholder Identification. This Lists all stakeholders, creates the stakeholder register.
2. Program Stakeholder Analysis. This identifies stakeholders’ needs, expectations, interest,
influences etc. The program manager may develop a stakeholder map in order to visually
represent their position [1, figure 5.2].
3. Program Stakeholder Engagement Planning. This develops the stakeholder engagement plan
that contains stakeholders’ engagement metrics.
4. Program Stakeholder Engagement. This measures and ensures that all stakeholders remain
adequately engaged throughout the program’s life cycle. A log (record) should be
developed in order to track stakeholders' issues and concerns. The program manager often
utilizes strong communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills during this period.
5. Program Stakeholder Communications. The program manager must engage effective
communication with all stakeholders and pay maximum attention to key stakeholders with
‘high power' and ‘high influence’ over the program.
86
Posture
You have to make sure that the relevant information is always given on time to your stakeholders.
You have to constantly update the stakeholder register, and really "keep in touch", through phone
calls, planned meetings, or simple courtesy visits.
When a stakeholder is losing engagement, e.g. non-attendance or non-participation in an
important meeting, or not preparing an expected presentation as previously agreed-upon; simply
find out what’s the matter and propose a sensible way forward.
Save your energy for the most important stakeholders, whether they are ‘positive or negative’ about
the program. Don’t waste much time on a degrading relationship that has little impact on your
program. Engagement is not about maintaining good social relations, but merely about the positive
impact on your program.
FAQs
• Who do we call ‘program stakeholders’?
Program stakeholders are the people and organizations that can positively or negatively impact the
program outcomes, or be impacted by the program outcomes. Because of their importance, the
program manager should identify them as soon as possible and develop a plan to ‘manage’ their
expectations. New stakeholders may join the program and others may disappear over its life time,
and stakeholders’ attitudes may evolve.
• Who are the main program stakeholders?
The main stakeholders should be identified very early on, even before program initiation. During the
program definition phase, the program manager will continue to identify stakeholders, build
categories (internal, external, etc.) and then sort them into smaller categories. Stakeholder
identification should occur throughout the life of the program. The stakeholder register contains the
list of all stakeholders, their expectations and the degree to which they support the program.
Figure 28 : Stakeholders are diverse and numerous21
21 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 9 - Stakeholder Engagement)
87
A stakeholder map can be developed to visualize their expected influence on the program.
High
Low Interest
Figure 29 : Stakeholder map 22
The main program stakeholders usually are:
• The program sponsor who provides program resources and is accountable for enabling
program success. He/she is also often the program ‘champion’
• The portfolio manager
• The program Governance board members (or steering committee members)
• The program manager
• The program team members
• The component (project) managers and components team members
• The PMO (Program Management Office)
• Funding organization(s)
• Performing organization(s)
• Regulatory agencies
• Customers, vendors, suppliers, competitors, etc.
• What tools or sources can be used to identify and analyze program stakeholders?
88
Brainstorming sessions, historical information, focus groups, questionnaires, interviews, surveys, etc.
• How does the program manager track and measure stakeholders’ engagement?
In addition to the stakeholder register, the program manager will need to develop a stakeholder
engagement plan which describes HOW the stakeholders are engaged, and contains metrics to
measure stakeholders’ activities, such as attendance at and participation in key meetings, amount
of communication with the program team, engagement in program activities, etc. The stakeholder
engagement plan is a subsidiary plan of the program management plan.
An issue log will also be created in order to track and help solve stakeholders’ issues.
Communication is KEY in order to capture and provide adequate information!
High
Power
Low
Low Interest High
Figure 30 : Engaging Stakeholders 23
89
The following list of study questions related to ‘Stakeholder management/engagement' will help you
prepare for the exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ81

Why is it preferable to focus on the notion of stakeholder engagement rather than stakeholder
management?
a- Because engagement means "to have a direct managerial relationship", which is often the case
between the program manager and a stakeholder
b- They are basically the same notions, but as there is no stakeholder management plan, the word
“engagement" is better
c- People have a tendency to resist direct management, and most of the program stakeholders do
not have a hierarchical affiliation with the program manager
d- Because most of the time it is enough to just engage with the stakeholders in order to gain their
support, and nothing more
Study Question SQ82

What is the primary goal of stakeholder engagement?
a- To gain and maintain stakeholder buy-in for the program’s objectives, benefits, and outcomes
b- To keep them aware of the program progress
c- To obtain from the stakeholders a formal approval of the program’s benefits
d- To have them elaborate and approve the stakeholder engagement plan
Study Question SQ83

What is a typical composition of a program steering committee?
a- Sponsor, business owner, portfolio manager, key senior managers, program manager
b- Sponsor, PMO director, key senior managers, program manager
c- Sponsor, business owner, project managers, key senior managers, program manager
d- Sponsor, business owner, portfolio manager, key senior managers, financial VP
Study Question SQ84

What is NOT the purpose of the stakeholder register?
a- To systematically identify all key stakeholders
b- To collect emerging stakeholders
c- To easily report, distribute program deliverables, and provide formal and informal
communications
d- To contain and distribute confidential information
90
Study Question SQ85
What is the primary role of the program sponsor?
a- The program sponsor is accountable for the program success
b- The program sponsor is accountable for enabling the program success
c- The program sponsor is responsible to achieve program objectives
d- The program sponsor provides only financial resources to the program
5 questions scenario based
Study Question SQ86

You are managing a program which is composed of three projects: A, B and C. The three projects
all work with different subcontractors, but they also have the same subcontractor X in common.
Project managers A and B have no problem with subcontractor X, but you are aware that project
manager C and subcontractor X have difficulties in their relations, and that the work climate tends
to be deteriorated as a result. Project manager C has already spent a lot of time with you explaining
the situation. One day you receive a phone call from subcontractor X who complains about project
manager C's attitude towards him. Subcontractor X plays a key role in the program and you do not
want him to leave! What is the BEST action you should take to handle the situation?
a- Call a meeting between subcontractor X and yourself
b- Discuss the problem with project manager C in order to understand the situation better, and then
decide whether or not to talk to subcontractor X
c- Call a meeting between project manager C, subcontractor X and yourself
d- Call a meeting between project managers A, B and C, subcontractor X and yourself
Study Question SQ87

You manage the PMO of a large program in your company. You understand that the main purpose
of the PMO is to support and help the program manager to make the program a success. There are
various types of PMO, depending on the need of the organization. Some PMOs provide mainly
administrative support; some may have more responsibilities such as providing expertise in certain
critical areas of the program. There are some characteristics which are common to any type of
PMO, as far as program support is concerned. What is a COMMON characteristic of all program
PMOs?
a- The PMO is accountable for the success of the program
b- The PMO is a member of the steering committee
c- The PMO is responsible for assigning component project managers of your program
d- The PMO is a program stakeholder
91
Study Question SQ88
You ore managing a program in a construction company. You know that many stakeholders will be
impacted by the results of the program. You have performed an in-depth analysis of the
stakeholders and you have developed the stakeholder engagement plan. Key stakeholders have
been identified and recorded in the stakeholder register. A detailed communication plan specifying
key meeting dates has been distributed to all stakeholders. Your program is progressing well, but
your project managers report the fact that more and more key stakeholders do not show up at key
meetings. Your project managers do not know if this non-attendance is really impacting their
projects or not. You realize that, in the stakeholder engagement plan, certain information is missing
with regard to stakeholder engagement in program activities. What did you forget?
a- You did not develop stakeholder metrics in order to help track stakeholder attendance at key
meetings, and identify potential risks caused by their non-participation
b- You developed stakeholder metrics but you did not identify who the key stakeholders are, and
what their expectations are
c- You did not develop a stakeholder register with the list of key stakeholders and their expectations
d- You did not communicate to key stakeholders the fact that they should attend those meetings
Study Question SQ89

You are leading the definition phase of a new program for your company. A list of key stakeholders
has been established, and you now want to understand what their attitude is with regard to the
program and you also want to build a preliminary strategy to manage them. Many stakeholders
come from the same business unit of your organization. You have started to interview some of them,
but you find out that this is very time consuming. You think about other possible methods you could
use to speed up gathering information from this specific group of stakeholders. Among the following
tools or methods, which one should be MOST efficient to collect information regarding stakeholders'
attitude towards the program?
a- Questionnaires and surveys
b- Stakeholder checklists
c- Interviews
d- Focus groups
Study Question SQ90

The PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct describes what is expected from program and
project management practitioners. PMI has identified four sections in that code: Responsibility,
Respect, Fairness and Honesty. You are a program manager and you want to develop and foster
good relationships with your stakeholders, internal and external to your organization. As a
practitioner in the global project management community, what is NOT an appropriate attitude to
show towards your stakeholders?
a- You conduct yourself in a professional manner, even when it is not reciprocated
b- You take ownership for the errors you make
c- You make decisions and take actions only in the best interest of your program
d- You only file ethics complaints when they are substantiated by facts
92
Study Question SQ81
c- The standard, section 5
Study Question SQ82
Study Question SQ83
d- The program manager is NOT a member of the steering committee. The standard, section 5
Study Question SQ84
Study Question SQ85
Study Question SQ86

a- No! You need to involve project manager C as well, in order to make sure that all aspects of the
problem will be discussed, b- No! Project manager C has already spent a lot of time explaining
things to you! c- Correct! The best attitude is to have a three-party meeting with project manager C,
subcontractor X and you in order to take corrective actions. Project manager C has already spent a
lot of time with you regarding this problem, so you are well aware of the situation. d- No! You do not
want project managers A and B to be involved in the discussion which only concerns project C.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Stakeholder Management - Task 5
Study Question SQ87

a- No! The PMO is not accountable for program success, but the program sponsor is. b- No! In most
cases, the PMO is not a member of the steering committee although they could be on some
programs, c- No! The PMO is not responsible for assigning project managers, d- Correct! As an entity,
the PMO is a stakeholder of the program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Stakeholder Management - Task 1 and standard, section
5.1
Study Question SQ88

a- Correct! The fact that your project managers do not know if the non-attendance of key
stakeholders is impacting their projects means that you forgot to develop adequate stakeholder
metrics, b- No! The text says that you have performed an in-depth stakeholder analysis, c- No! The
text says that you have performed an in-depth stakeholder analysis, d- No! A detailed
communication plan has been established and distributed.
93
Study Question SQ89
a- Wrong answer! This method may take a lot of time and may not be the most efficient, b- Wrong
answer! This method may take a lot of time and may not be the most efficient. Also, existing
checklists may not be appropriate for your needs. c- Wrong answer! You have already started to
interview some of them and you are looking for a more efficient tool. Individual interviews usually
take a lot of time! d- Correct answer! Focus groups with open-ended questions sessions allow
participants to interact with each other. Where groups are concerned, focus groups are known to be
more efficient than other methods. The text specifies that 'Many stakeholders come from the same
business unit'.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Stakeholder Management - Task 2 and standard, section
5.2
Study Question SQ9Q

a- No! This is valid behavior (Respect section 3.2.4). b- No! This is valid behavior (Responsibility section
2.2.4). c- Correct answer! You should not ALWAYS make decisions only based on the interest of your
program. The code says that 'you should make decisions and take actions based on society, public
safety and the environment' (Responsibility section 2.2.1). d- No! This is a valid behavior
(Responsibility section 2.3.4).
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Stakeholder Management - Task 7 and PMI Code of
Ethics and Professional Conduct
94
Domain V Governance
Introduction
The Examination Content Outline describes tasks related to Governance as:
Establishing processes and procedures for maintaining proactive program management oversight
and decision-making support for applicable policies and practices throughout the entire program
life cycle [3, page 4]
1. Develop program and project management standards and structure

2. Select a governance model in line with the organizational governance requirements
3. Pass gate reviews to obtain formal authorization to proceed further
4. Develop and maintain KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
5. Develop and utilize a PMIS (Program Management Information System)
6. Regularly evaluate risks on strategic objectives
7. Establish alerts and escalation procedures so that issues are handled at the right level
8. Contribute to the collection of lessons learned within the organization
9. Apply existing lessons learned
10. Monitor the business environment, evaluate opportunities
11. Make sure that operations are in line with program strategic objectives
Both the Examination Content Outline and the Standard for Program Management address the
Governance domain.
Highlights
A program is often much more complex to manage than a standalone project: it typically has
numerous stakeholders, complex risk management requirements, internal interdependencies
between components, and dependence upon external factors, etc. This makes decision-making
and following-up benefit realization highly complex, with many contradicting factors.
As a result, the governance plan aims mostly at properly managing the program by providing:
• Definition of rules and responsibilities,

• Planned governance meetings,
• Rules and procedures that provide efficient and fair decisions across the entire program,
stored in a decision register, in order to support:
initiating or closing a component,

approval of changes to the program,
approval of gate reviews, requiring performance oversight by program
management, and which allows the program to proceed
approval of the program closure
95
• A planned and uniform standard level of quality, risk mitigation and change control all of
which are subject to review or audits,
• A guarantee that effort is efficiently and unambiguously made, through usage of metrics and
accountability tools, in order to ultimately deliver benefits in-line with the strategic objectives
of the performing organization.
Figure 31 : Governance Plan 24
Most organizations establish a program Governance board (or steering committee) whose main
activities are to oversee program management activities and make decisions according to pre-
established rules.
24 This figure is an excerpt from our online courses (Module 10 - Governance)
96
Figure 32 : Governance Board vs. Program Management25
Posture
As a program manager regarding the governance sub-domain, your posture should be as follows:
• Procedures: You have to make sure that the procedures for decision making processes are
clearly stated, shared and known by all stakeholders. These procedures should always be
referred to when there is a conflict.
• Decisions: You definitely need to make decisions, but not ALL of them! Some decisions must
be made by the Governance board. You should consider the Governance board as a single
individual in charge of approving or rejecting top level decisions, scenarios, and directions,
etc. Your job is to clearly explain the possible choices and alternatives, assessing them by
means of multi-criteria grids if needed, but the Governance board always has the final
WORD.
• Power: The Governance board is a committee where various powers and interests may
compete. Your role is not to impose your personal views and fight, but rather to create the
conditions so that the power, and the interests of all stakeholders are considered when an
important decision is taken. This may range from simply making sure that a consensus is
reached, to collecting relevant opinions when documenting a decision. Once the decision is
taken, you are empowered by the Governance board to ensure its pre-agreed, effective
implementation. Manage to win over opposition with explanations, and reserve the right to
say: “This is a decision taken by the members of the Governance board, and if you do not
agree with it, I can ask them to consider your alternative.”
97
FAQs
• What does ‘Program governance’ mean?
The standard defines ‘Program governance’ as ‘the framework, functions, and processes by which a
program is monitored, managed, and supported in order to meet organizational strategic and
operational goals'. Sound governance creates and manages the necessary and sufficient
conditions to make sure that the decisions will be made clearly, and shared by all stakeholders.
Obviously, we can also include the people in charge of ‘governing’ the program. (Governance
board members, program manager and program team members, component project managers,
etc.). The standard provides a list of main program governance roles (section 6.2)
• What is the role of the Governance board?
The Governance board (also called Program board or Steering committee) is responsible for
providing appropriate support for the conduct of the program, approving appropriate program
governance systems and methods, providing and securing proper program funding, endorsing a
decision-making body for approving and supporting recommendations (for instance, the program
quality plan), as well as monitoring and tracking the progress of the program through phase-gate
reviews, health checks, reviews and audits.
The Governance board will usually authorize components initiation and closure. In addition, the
Governance board will approve program closure.
During the Program definition phase (program planning subphase), Program governance will issue a
Program governance plan which defines HOW and also who, when, etc. the program governance
will be conducted. The Program governance plan is usually included in the program management
plan.
98
Program Governance
Figure 33 : Program Governance and Governance Board26
• Who are the members of the Governance board?
It varies according to the size and nature of the organization. This Governance board is usually
composed of senior-level persons, change manager, sponsor organization, functional managers,
etc. For small organizations, the program sponsor can be the sole member of the Governance
board. Please note that the program manager IS NOT a member of the program Governance
board. The program manager reports to the Governance board during the program’s life cycle.
• What are the main Program board initiatives and approvals?
The board should ensure that a mandate has been issued by senior-level people to initiate the
program. The board should also ensure that the program is correctly funded. Then, during the
program definition phase, the Governance board will approve the program charter and the
business case. The Governance board will approve the passage from one phase to another. The
Governance board will approve component initiation and component transition or closure, based
on pre-defined criteria. The board may also be involved in decisions related to changes and issues
(escalation process). The board will also approve recommendations for the program closure.
• How is the governance of program components organized?
The program manager and the program team often have a similar governance function for
program components. The relationship between the program Governance board and the program
is usually similar to the relationship between the program management team and the component
projects even if, in some rare cases, the Governance board may like to have direct control over
components.
99
European cultural differences
In Continental Europe, program managers have a cooperative role: they are often only in charge of
asking for decisions to be made by the Governance board and executing the program according
to the guidance provided. This posture is often due to a weak balanced weighted matrix of
responsibilities within Continental European organizations, where functional managers and
respective directors have much more power than the program manager.
In US and UK management cultures, the program manager is often seen as THE boss throughout the
whole of the performing organization. In this case the program managers are supervised by
executive management (or by the steering board) which empowers them to set-up, execute,
control and close the program in order to drive the ultimate delivery of targeted benefits.
Please keep in mind that most exam questions refer to the second type of organizations.
100
The following list of study questions related to ‘Governance’ will help you prepare for the exam.
Study Questions
Study Question SQ91

Program Governance is the performance domain that:
a- Enables and performs program decision making, establishes status reports of the program, but
takes no program related decisions
b- Enables and performs program decision making, establishes practices to support the program,
and develops project oversight
c- Enables and performs project decision making, establishes practices to support the program, and
maintains program oversight
d- Enables and performs program decision making, establishes practices to support the program,
and maintains program oversight
Study Question SQ92

What systems and methods are usually NOT part of a program governance plan?
a- Definitions of roles and responsibilities
b- Project governance plans
c- Planned governance meetings such as health checks, phase gate reviews, and audits
d- Benefits, performance metrics, and measurement
Study Question SQ93

What is NOT the purpose of the Program charter?
a- To authorize the project management team to use organizational resources in order to pursue
projects related to the program
b- To authorize the program management team to use organizational resources in order to pursue
the program
c- To link the program to the organization’s strategy
d- To link the program to its business case
Study Question SQ94

When dealing with governance, the escalation processes for managing risks or issues typically
operate at:
a- Individual, deliverable, benefit, and strategic levels
b- Inside the program, between component teams
c- Outside the program, between the program management team and the program’s steering
committee
d- Both b- and c-
101
Study Question SQ95
What is NOT TRUE about program quality governance?
a- Minimum quality criteria can be common to all components
b- Core quality management processes may be identified at component level
c- Specific program level quality processes may be defined
d- There is never a need to address this at program level because quality governance is addressed
at component level
Study Question SQ96

In order to assess program performance against expected outcomes and planned benefits, the
program manager will prepare phase-gate reviews to be approved by the steering committee.
These phase-gate reviews are formal reviews. Periodic health checks are an additional means to
assess program performance. Also, on many programs, audits will be conducted to ensure that the
program delivers the expected results. What is NOT an appropriate action from the program
manager in preparation for the audits?
a- Impose a date for the audit
b- Document deviations from the approved processes
c- Document decisions that show how the program is managed
d- Follow the organization's approved processes for program management
Study Question SQ97

is organized as several projects, one per line of products which are adapted to their targeted
markets. This year, you have successfully completed the commercial launch of a number of new
products. You are asked by the governance board to initiate close-out activities related to these
projects so that operations can start. When performing program closure, an important activity is
documenting the lessons learned. According to the following statements, what BEST describes this
activity from the governance board point of view?
a- This is used by governance board members to refine their opinion of the program’s performance
b- This is used by governance board members to compare your program with other programs in
progress which are similar to yours
c- This is used by governance board members to compare your program with other programs in
progress which are different from yours
d- This helps to support organizational best practices
Study Question SQ98

A uniform set of program and project standards needs to be developed at program level in order to
enforce efficiency and consistency throughout the program. According to the following options,
which one MOST accurately describes these standards?
a- These standards shall be based on organizational standards only
b- These standards shall be based on industry standards only
c- These standards shall be based on both industry and organizational standards only
d- These standards shall be based on PMI® standards only
102
Study Question SQ99
There are several factors that may influence benefit realization: quality, stakeholders' engagement,
financial sourcing, market conditions, the political climate, etc. Another important factor is related to
risks. As a program manager, you have to regularly provide updated information related to program
risks to your governance board. Among the following choices, what BEST describes this updated
information?
a- It provides all details on project risks and on component risks. It allows the governance board to
make decisions based upon the severity of the risks that are affecting the program and the
components
b- It gives the minimum but sufficient information related to existing and new risks so that the
governance board can understand whether or not strategic benefits are jeopardized within this
program
c- It mainly consists of program and project risk register updates
d- It mainly consists in updating the risk register and the stakeholder register
Study Question SQ100

You have recently been appointed as program manager, and during the definition phase of your
program, you need to produce the detailed program management plan that will be needed to
efficiently provide strategic benefits to your organization. Your governance board also expects that
your program will enhance the performing organization’s lessons learned. According to you, what is
the MOST efficient mean to maximize this enhancement?
a- To ask your sponsor what is already going on in the organization; after all, they know the
organization well enough to provide you with this overview
b- To perform a physical survey among key stakeholders and members of the governance board
c- To identify and apply existing lessons learned; monitor how they perform throughout the life cycle
of your program, so that, after program closure, the board will really know how they are applicable
to future programs or as organizational improvements
d- To identify existing lessons learned that could serve your program but, rather than applying them,
try to change and adapt them now. If these changes perform satisfactorily, then they could replace
the existing lessons learned. Your efforts for improving the lessons learned from scratch will make the
governance board very proud of you
103
Study Question SQ91
d- Program decision making and NOT project decision making! The standard, section 6
Study Question SQ92

Study Question SQ93

Study Question SQ94

Study Question SQ95

d- It is true that Program quality management is often planned and governed at component level,
BUT it does not mean that there is NO need to address it at program level. Too strong statement!
Study Question SQ96

a- Correct answer! Imposing an audit date is rarely the best option! b- Wrong answer! Before the
audit, the program manager should document any deviation from the approved processes, c-
Wrong answer! For the audit, the program manager should document decisions that show how the
program is managed, d- Wrong answer! The program manager must follow the organization's
approved processes for program management (including processes for audit management!).
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Governance - Task 2 and standard, section 6.1.1.2
(planned governance meetings)
Study Question SQ97

a- No! The performance report that has been provided BEFORE program closure initiation is a better
document for that, and should already contain all the performance information. Lessons learned are
then extracted from the final performance report, b- No! The performance report that has been
provided BEFORE program closure initiation is a better document for that. c- No! The performance
report that has been provided BEFORE program closure initiation is a better document for that.
d- Correct! This is the goal of this activity.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 8, and standard, section 7.2.2.5 and
section 8.2.4.1
Study Question SQ98

a- No! Industry based standards can also be considered, b- No! Organizational standards can also
be considered. These standards are defined internally to the organization and are a result of
organizational assets that may be applicable to this program, c- Correct! Industry and
organizational standards already include PMI® standards, d- No! Even if PMI® standards are good
practices, they may not fully reflect the organizational and industry standards that may be
applicable to this program. Therefore, they cannot be the only source of applicable standards.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Governance - Task 1
104
Study Question SQ99
a- No! As program manager, you have to provide PROGRAM LEVEL information to the governance
board. You cannot only provide details but must also provide a proven analysis showing how risks
may impact the strategic objectives of your program, b- Correct! This is the only purpose of this
document at governance board level, c- No, as program manager, you cannot provide details
only but must also supply a proven analysis showing how risks may impact the strategic objectives of
your program. Even if the risk register provides an exhaustive description, it does not explain how risks
impact altogether the strategic benefits of your program. d- No! As program manager, you cannot
only provide details but also must supply a proven analysis showing how risks may impact the
strategic objectives of your program. Even if the risk register provides exhaustive descriptions, it does
not explain how risks impact altogether the strategic benefits of your program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 6
Study Question SQ100

a- No! The sponsor will only give you incomplete information, please consider the repository of
lessons learned to do this. b- No! These people will only give you incomplete information, please
consider the repository of lessons learned for this. c- Correct! d- No! Please do not change
anything which has been already proven to work for previous programs in your organization. You are
just creating the program management plan; do not reinvent the wheel at this stage, this will cause
you to waste time and will upset the governance board.
105
170 Tutorial Questions
Guidelines to test your knowledge of the standard
Before getting to the exam questions, you need to have a good knowledge of the Standard.
Most Exam Questions are scenario based, BUT a thorough understanding of the concepts
documented in the standard is A MUST in order to succeed!
We propose a list of 170 Tutorial Questions, denoted TQyy, (with answers) which are mostly
addressing concepts defined in the standard and some in the PMBOK® Guide.
By experience, we believe that you need to correctly answer around 80% of the questions before
taking the mock-exam test of 170 Practice questions.
Another purpose of this test is also to be trained to sit an exam for 4 hours in a row. You have 4 hours
maximum to complete all the questions.
While doing this Tutorial Test, please note each answer on a separate blank sheet.
Tutorial Question TQ1

You are the manager of a program which has four projects, one non-project component, and a
PMO.
An initial budget baseline has been created for your program but since then, two contracts were
signed with outside contractors.
What should your program budget baseline look like now?
a- The program baseline must be updated to include contract costs
b- The program baseline does not change, but a contingency reserve must be added
c- The program baseline does not change, but a management reserve must be added
d- The program baseline must include both contingency and management reserves

What is a CORRECT list of outputs from the program communications management activity?
a- Status information on the program but not on the projects, notification of program change
requests, and public announcements
b- Status information on the program, projects, subsidiary programs or other work, notification of
program change requests, and media interviews
c- Status information on the program but not on the projects, risk responses, and notification of
program change requests
d- Notification of program change requests, external filings with government and regulatory bodies,
but no public disclosures
106
One of the fundamental differences between projects and programs are found in the way they are
managed in response to change.
Which statement is WRONG about project and program change management?
a- Project change management is mainly used to monitor and control the amount of variance from
the cost and schedule baselines
b- Project change management is used to manage the variance caused by known risks
c- Programs use change management in a forward-looking proactive manner to adapt to the
evolving environment
d- Programs employ change and change management to constrain or control the impact of
variability on their baselines

The scope management planning activity creates two major artifacts: the Program Scope
Statement and the PWBS.
What is TRUE regarding the Program Scope Statement and the PWBS?
a- The Program Scope Statement describes the major deliverables, acceptance criteria, and
program exclusions
b- PWBS is the acronym for the Program Scope Statement
c- The Program Scope Statement contains the first one or two levels of components’ WBS
d- There is no Program Scope Statement. It only exists at component level

Program X has delivered all planned benefits to the customer, and is now ready for closure. Who
provides formal acceptance to program closure?
a- The customer
b- The program manager
c- The CEO
d- The Governance board

You are the program manager of a program which spans over several countries. You are aware of
the large number of stakeholders, speaking various languages, and with diverse needs and
expectations. You want to develop an appropriate communications management plan. What is the
first thing you should do?
a- Put in place a meeting with all program stakeholders
b- Call them one by one to understand their requirements
c- Develop a communication management plan
d- Perform an initial communications assessment
107
What is NOT a true statement about governance?
a- Program governance focuses on controlling program scope, time and cost
b- Component project governance is often achieved through actions of the program manager
c- Project governance focuses on controlling project scope, time and cost
d- The program governance board is the decision-making body in charge of approving
recommendations about the program

You are tracking your program with the Earned Value Management Method (EVM). As of today, CV
= 100, SV = -500 and EV = 1000. You conclude that your program is:
a- On schedule and under budget
b- Late and over budget
c- Late and under budget
d- On schedule and over budget

Which statement is TRUE about business value?
a- Non-profit organizations want to attain value for their activities
b- Improving a company image is not considered as a factor contributing to business value
c- Program benefits do not contribute to business value
d- Business value is always related to profit increase

Which answer below is NOT a correct list of elements contained in a program risk management
plan?
a- Risk categories, risk events, risk tolerances, definition of high level risks, format of risk management
reports
b- Risk categories, budget allocated for risk management, roles and responsibilities of the team
members in risk management
c- Budget allocated for risk management, tools and data sources used in risk management, risk
categories
d- Timing of risk management activities, definition of risk probability and impact, definition of risk
severity
108
You are managing a program which has three components. Each component has signed contracts
with various sellers. One of the sellers calls you and requests that his contract be modified for good
reasons.
What is the BEST way to handle this request?
a- Refuse to modify the contract because it has been signed by both parties
b- Ask the seller to contact directly the CCB (Change Control Board)
c- Accept because it is for good reasons
d- Ask the seller to follow the change procedure which is specified in the contract

The program risk register contains the list of identified risks. What is NOT part of a risk register?
a- Organization’s risk appetite
b- List of potential responses to risks
c- List of risk owners
d- Probability and impact of identified risks

What is a CORRECT list of program delivery phase activities?
a- Program change monitoring and controlling, program resource management, and program
scope monitoring and controlling
b- Program stakeholder monitoring and controlling, program resource management, and program
schedule monitoring and controlling
c- Program change monitoring and controlling, program governance monitoring, and program
quality assurance and controlling
d- Program benefits monitoring and controlling, program information management, and program
financial management

Program X was initiated in response to a statement of work internal to the organization. Because of
strategy changes, the business case which was approved for program X has evolved during the life
cycle. Successful completion of the program is measured against:
a- The current approved business case
b- The initial approved business case
c- The program charter because the business case has evolved
d- The statement of work

What is a CORRECT list of Tools and Techniques used in Schedule management?
a- Leads and lags, schedule compression, critical path, and mitigation
b- Critical path, four-point estimating, critical chain, and rolling wave planning
c- Leads and lags, critical path, avoidance, crashing, and fast tracking
d- Critical path, leads and lags, rolling wave planning, and schedule compression
109
To beat competition and increase market share, your company has decided to launch a top priority
program in order to develop and market a product which will use a brand new technology.
The program you will manage has three components. Your company wants to launch the program
as soon as possible but one of your components does not have all the needed critical resources.
What is the BEST scenario to solve the skilled resources issue for your strategic program?
a- Do nothing and tell the component manager to accept the risk
b- Tell the board that you would like to subcontract the difficult part to an outside company
c- Ask the component manager to send the team to training courses
d- Do not take the risk and stay with the old technology

The program manager of Program X is developing the change management plan of her program.
She knows that because of high uncertainty, she can expect to face lots of change requests later
on during program execution.
What are the key elements she should include in the change management plan?
a- Only requests coming from outside the program will be considered
b- Only requests coming from inside the program will be considered
c- Only requests within defined thresholds will be considered
d- All requests will first be screened by the steering committee

You are managing program ABC. All benefits have not been created, but necessary outcomes
have been generated to deliver remaining benefits in the near future. During a phase-gate review,
you present the program status and ask that the board approves the program closure. The board
disagrees. What is MOST probable reason for the board refusal?
a- The program has not delivered all planned benefits
b- A sustainment plan has not been established
c- The board does not have the authority to approve program closure
d- Outcomes have not been produced to generate the remaining benefits

Bid documents are used to solicit proposals from prospective sellers. What is WRONG regarding bid
documents?
a- RFI (Request for Information) is used when more information is needed about to be acquired
products
b- RFP (Request for Proposal) is used when there is a problem in the program (or project) and the
solution is not clear
c- RFQ (Request for Quotation) is used when more information is needed on how sellers will satisfy
requirements, and how much it will cost
d- RFO (Request for Operations) is used in the building industry
110
You are managing a program which has great difficulty to deliver its planned benefits. It is
becoming obvious that one of the component projects, project A, is the main cause of the
difficulties.
WHAT should be your attitude with regard to this situation?
a- You ask manager A to take corrective actions
b- You ask manager A to take preventive actions
c- You ask the program sponsor to discuss with manager A
d- You look for a replacement of manager A

Concerning the key difference between programs and portfolios, two aspects stand out:
a- Executive support and investment levels
b- Cost and scope
c- Time and relatedness
d- Sustainability and closure

Program Manager X is currently evaluating the need for resources in her development program. It is
obvious that the planned allocation of resources is not sufficient. She is authorized to contract with
an outside provider.
What is her NEXT step?
a- Develop a Statement of Work (SOW) to explain the requirements
b- Sign a Fixed-Price contract with a provider
c- Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explain the requirements
d- Let the Company contract department deal with the problem

In programs, change management is a key activity which often requires stakeholders' involvement
in order to understand the need for change and evaluate its impact on program objectives. Once
program change management authorities are established, they are recorded in the:
a- The change management plan
c- The business case
d-The program management information system (PMIS)

What is NOT under the responsibility of a Program Management Office (PMO)?
a- Define standard program management processes and procedures
b- Be accountable for enabling success
c- Conduct program performance analyses
d- Define quality standards for the program and its components
111
The management of your organization is in the process of deciding which program to launch,
between program X and program Y. Based on below information, which is the BEST option?
a- Launch Program X because it is strategic for the organization even though its business case shows
that expenses will be greater than short term revenue
b- Launch Program X because its business case shows that revenues will be much lower than
expenses
c- Launch Program Y because its business case shows that both expenses and revenues will be low
d- Launch both Program X and program Y because their business case is very similar

The program manager of Program X is developing the change management plan of her program.
She knows that because of high uncertainty, she can expect to face lots of change requests later
on during program execution. She is currently working with the steering committee in order to define
change thresholds.
What is an acceptable example of threshold?
a- We will reject changes which impact the baseline of component projects
b- Before accepting a technology change request, we will do thorough testing and simulation runs
c- We will refuse changes which affect the program roadmap
d- We will accept all changes required by the Customer

What is WRONG about the program financial framework?
a- It is a high-level plan for coordinating available funding for the program
b- It determines how funding is allocated for the program
c- It describes how to manage risk reserves
d- It describes the program funding flows

Which activities DO NOT support Program Communications management?
a- Program communications management planning, program information distribution, and program
quality management planning
b- Program communications assessment, program information distribution, and program reporting
c- Program communications management planning, program communications assessment, and
program reporting
d- Program communications management planning, program communications management
planning, and program reporting
112
You want to formally communicate your program’s status.
What is NOT the best method to do this?
a- Face-to-face meetings
b- Presentation to a group of stakeholders
c- E-mails
d- Program team members meeting

The Resource Management Plan is a subsidiary plan of the Program Management Plan. It contains
all of the following EXCEPT?
a- Identification of resources, acquire resources guidance, roles and responsibilities
b- Roles, authorities, responsibilities, and needed competences
c- Project organization charts, training strategies, and work to be performed
d- Team development methods, resource control, and recognition plan

Objective of the Program schedule assessment activity is NOT to:
a- State the level of confidence in the assessment of activity durations
b- Identify alternative activities which could be initiated if activities run into excessive delays
c- Identify the key program schedule risks and mitigate them
d- Assess expectations for delivery dates and benefits milestones

During a phase-gate review, a board member would like to better understand what are the key
milestones and decision points of the program. What document contains this information?
b- The benefits realization plan
c- The program plan
d- The business case

What is a CORRECT list of outputs from the program financial closure activity?
a- Inputs to the knowledge repository, closed program budget, and financial closing statements
b- Closed program budget, contract payments, and corrective actions
c- Financial closing statements, approved change requests, and closed component budgets
d- Updates to the financial management plan, financial closing statements, and revised estimate at
completion
113
You are managing program X which is composed of three projects: A, B, and C which have created
all expected benefits. Time has come to close the program, except the fact that some contracts are
still open but are due to close very soon.
You have the governance board agreement to close the program.
What should be your NEXT action?
a- You should close the program because you have the board agreement
b- You should close the program because all contracts will close soon
c- You should not close the program until all contracts are closed
d- You should close the program because all benefits have been created

Program X is composed of 3 projects: A, B, and C. Project A is being closed, and all its resources
have been transferred to another program. Outcomes from projects B and C are needed to create
the expected benefit, but both projects are very late. Projects B and C share in common critical
resources.
WHAT should the program manager do?
a- Stop one project and transfer the critical resources to the other project
b- Transfer all critical resources from project C to project B
c- Transfer all critical resources from project B to project C
d- Look in detail into both projects B and C schedules, and investigate if there is a possibility to move
forward or backward some activities where critical resources are needed

Which document issued by upper management defines the strategic objectives of the organization
and the expected benefits?
a- The benefits register
b- The benefits management plan
c- The program charter
d- The business case

What is WRONG about program stakeholders?
a- Stakeholders are always internal to the program
b- Stakeholders can be positive or negative
c- Stakeholders’ expectations must be managed
d- Stakeholders’ interests need to be balanced
114
When you started managing program X, you noticed that one of the key stakeholders was very
opposed to it. During the course of the program, you have spent a lot of time communicating with
this stakeholder, and you notice that this stakeholder has completely changed his attitude and is
now very positive about the program. Where should you record this change in his attitude?
a- In the stakeholder engagement plan
b- In the stakeholder register
c- In the issue log
d- In the stakeholder breakdown structure

The PMIS (Program Management Information System) is a key element of the program infrastructure.
An effective PMIS incorporates:
a- Software tools, documents, data, knowledge repositories, and Company vision
b- Software tools, risk database and analysis tools, and risk exposure
c- Financial management systems, earned value management activities and tools, and stakeholder
attitudes
d- Configuration management tools, change management system, requirements management
activities and tools

Which statement is TRUE with regard to stakeholders' identification?
a- Program stakeholders identification is the sponsor's primary responsibility
b- The stakeholder register provides a list of stakeholders which will evolve during the Program life
cycle
c- Program stakeholders’ identification occurs only at program start
d- The stakeholder register provides a list of stakeholders which will not evolve during the Program
Life cycle

You are managing program X which is well underway. Three benefits out of a total of four have
been realized. During a checkpoint meeting, the steering board tells you that the Company strategy
has changed, which makes benefits useless. What can you anticipate in the near future?
a- The program charter will be modified
b- The program will be canceled
c- The program roadmap will be modified
d- The Program WBS will be modified
115
The management of your organization is in the process of deciding which program to launch,
between program X and program Y. Based on below information, which is the BEST option?
a- Launch Program X because it is strategic for the organization even though its business case shows
that expenses will be greater than short term revenue
b- Launch Program X because its business case shows that revenues will be much lower than
expenses
c- Launch Program Y because its business case shows that both expenses and revenues will be low
d- Launch both Program X and program Y because their business case is very similar

What is NOT a responsibility of the program governance board?
a- Approve the program charter, make sure that the program has adequate funding, and approve
program closure
b- Approve the program charter, establish the program governance plan, and approve component
initiation
c- Approve component initiation, approve project deliverables, and support the creation of a PMO
d- Approve the business case, approve the program charter, and resolve issues escalated from the
program team

What is the MAIN purpose of program governance?
a- Ensure that the program remains on schedule
b- Ensure that the program remains within budget
c- Ensure that the program remains aligned with the strategic objectives
d- Ensure that the program remains on schedule and within budget

Program ABC is under consideration by your Company’s management. If it is accepted, this
program will be composed of three already existing projects A, B, and C. The program governance
structure will include a PMO with 3 members. Also, intensive testing activities will take place. You
have been asked to estimate the cost of the program.
What is the BEST option for your estimation?
a- Aggregate the costs of the three projects
b- Aggregate the costs of all program components and the costs of all program management
resources including the PMO
c- Aggregate the costs of all program components but exclude PMO related costs because PMO it
is not a project
d- Aggregate the costs of all program components but exclude PMO and testing related costs
because they are not projects
116
Resource prioritization decisions should be based on the guidelines defined in:
a- The governance plan
b- The stakeholder engagement plan
d-The program resource management plan

Program risk analysis allows to estimate the amount of contingency reserves and management
reserves.
What is NOT a true statement about these reserves?
a- Management reserves are included in the overall program budget
b- Contingency reserves are set aside for identified risks
c- Management reserves are not included in the performance measurement baseline of the
program
d- Contingency reserves and Management reserves are synonymous

A program initial cost estimation usually provides an order — of — magnitude estimate which will allow
decision makers to decide if the program should be funded or not. Cost estimation for a program
uses techniques which are also used at project level.
What is a CORRECT list of these estimation techniques?
a- Analogous, parametric, three-point, and correlating
b- Analogous, digital, parametric, and combinatorial
c- Parametric, three-point, bottom-up, and cross-components
d- Analogous, parametric, three-point, and bottom-up

Your company is a market leader in car manufacturing. A dedicated portfolio manager is in charge
of exploring all innovations and upcoming technologies concerning the electric car. You are
conducting the definition of a program with the objective to acquire a disruptive battery
technology. While developing the initial program risk assessment, several stakeholders mention that
skills and competencies of the existing staff will not allow doing this. What kind of uncertain event are
they mentioning?
a- The program objective is not in line with the organizational objectives
b- The program objective is not supportive of the portfolio objectives
c- The program resource requirements are out of sync with organizational capacity and capability
d- The program resource requirements are just optimistic
117
A program manager is managing a program with 8 team members, and 1 client.
How many communication channels exist between these stakeholders?
a- 12
b- 90
c- 45
d- 36

The WORST reason to close programs is when:
a- The deliverables are not achievable any more
b- The governance board members do not attend to governance meetings
c- The benefits are no longer aligned with the organization’s strategy
d- The funding resources are exhausted

What is NOT true about Quality assurance?
a- It includes the analysis of quality control results
b- It should be conducted during the entire program life cycle
c- It is synonymous with quality control
d- It ensures that appropriate quality standards are used in the program

In some cases, deliverables created by the component projects need to be transitioned to another
organization.
When do components' deliverables definitely need to be transitioned to another organization?
a- When components produce deliverables and the program generates all planned benefits before
program closure
b- When components produce deliverables and the program will not generate all planned benefits
before program closure
c- When components do not produce deliverables
d- When the strategy has changed and planned benefits are not needed anymore

Programs are selected to provide value to organizations, according to approved strategic
objectives. During the life of the program, the program manager is responsible for providing
expected results. What is under the responsibility of the program manager?
a- Define the strategic objectives of the organization
b- Make sure that the program remains aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization
c- Confirm that the program remains aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization
d- Update the strategic objectives of the organization
118
A detailed strategy for effective stakeholder engagement covers the following:
a- Stakeholder engagement guidelines and level of support in various components of the program
b- Stakeholder engagement guidelines to exclude negative individuals with the help of their
managers
c- Stakeholder engagement guidelines to provide rewards to individuals actively promoting the
program
d- Stakeholder engagement guidelines and level of support at program level

The PMBOK® Guide defines two types of reserves: Contingency reserve and management reserve.
What is TRUE about these reserves?
a- No difference between them. Two different names for the same concept
b- Contingency reserve accounts for unidentified risks
c- Management reserve is used for identified work within scope
d- Management reserve is used for unforeseen work within scope

What is NOT a program benefit?
a- Increase employee morale
b- Increase Company image
c- Decrease waste
d- Align with the Company strategy

You are presenting your program status and progress at a gate review. One of the component
projects is ready to start. The component business case has been approved, and resources are
identified including the project manager. At your surprise, the board disapproves starting the
project.
What is the MOST probable reason for the board to refuse initiating the project?
a-The board does not have the authority to approve or disapprove component initiation
b- All the criteria to initiate the project are not met
c- The project manager is not identified
d- The project sponsor has not been identified
119
The program roadmap and the program master schedule are two important artifacts in program
management.
Which statement is NOT true about them?
a- Actually they are identical and synonymous
b- The program roadmap is an important input to the creation of the master schedule
c- The program master schedule shows when components should start and generate planned
deliverables
d- The program roadmap provides a high-level view of key milestones and decision points

One of the program delivery phase activities is called financial management activities. What is a
CORRECT list of financial management activities?
a- Identifying factors that create changes to the budget baseline, monitoring changes when they
occur, and monitoring contract expenditures to ensure funds are disbursed in accordance with the
contracts
b- Monitoring changes when they occur, monitoring contract expenditures to ensure funds are
disbursed in accordance with the contracts, and define component payment schedules
c- Monitoring contract expenditures to ensure funds are disbursed in accordance with the contracts,
define component payment schedules, and create program financial metrics
d- Program funding schedules, define component payment schedules, and create program
financial metrics

You have been managing program ABC which is composed of four projects and a PMO. All
expected benefits have been realized and are now being transitioned to operations. Some benefits
need to be sustained and related costs have been estimated.
You wonder WHICH structure should endorse these sustainment costs?
a- Program ABC because it created the benefits
b- Operations
c- Jointly between Program ABC and operations
d- The PMO

What is the BEST list of typical stakeholder engagement techniques?
a- Negotiation, communication, coercion, executive brief of the program
b- Negotiation, communication, conflict resolution, and facilitated negotiation sessions within large
programs
c- Negotiation, communication, conflict resolution, training course
d- Negotiation, communication, executive brief, detailed report of the stakeholder’s activities during
the last period
120
During a formal phase-gate review, the program manager reports that all contingency reserves
have been used. What BEST option should be taken by the Governance board?
a- Immediately stop the program. Continuing is too risky!
b- Assess the risk level of the program and take a decision
c- Inject more money into the program. Any program should run with a contingency reserve
d- Do nothing because management reserve exists

Objective of the Program information management assessment activity is to:
a- Assess program’s communications needs
b- Assess communications needs for positive program stakeholders
c- Assess communications needs for positive and negative stakeholders
d- Assess information management needs of the program

You are managing program XYZ which has two component projects A and B. These projects are
highly interdependent. During the execution of the program, it is becoming evident that a new
project, project C is needed to deliver expected benefits. The Governance board agrees with the
new project.
What is the BEST option with regard to the program’s WBS?
a- The program's WBS needs to be updated to reflect the work performed in the new project
b- No impact because the original program’s WBS has been approved by all stakeholders
c- No impact because an approved WBS cannot be changed until the program ends
d- The program’s WBS needs to be updated to reflect the work performed in the new project, and
stakeholders must agree with the updated WBS

Five alternative strategies may be considered for dealing with threats (negative risks).
What is a CORRECT list of these strategies?
a- Mitigate, exploit, share, escalate, and avoid
b- Escalate, avoid, transfer, mitigate, and accept
c- Mitigate, escalate, avoid, share, and accept
d- Escalate, share, transfer, enhance, and mitigate

Objective of the Program procurement assessment activity is to:
a- Assess program procurement needs
b- Assess program and component projects procurement needs
c- Standardize procurement methods across the program
d- Make or buy decision
121
What BEST defines the total cost of ownership of a program?
a- Development costs, implementation costs, direct costs, and indirect costs
b- Development costs, implementation costs, transition costs, and procurement costs
c- Development costs, implementation costs, transition costs, and sustainment costs
d- Implementation costs, transition costs, and overhead costs

Objective of the Program quality assessment activity is NOT to:
a- Assess the need for quality reviews and audits
b- Develop a program quality assessment
c- Assess quality constraints, expectations, risks, and controls
d- Develop a program quality management plan

You are managing a highly technical program, and you need to contract with an outside company
a major piece of the work including specialized equipment and resources to run it. Your needs are
well described in the Statement of Work (SOW). Your program has a limited budget which you need
to contain.
What type of contract should you sign with the outside company?
a- Fixed-price contract
b- Cost-reimbursable contract
c- Time & Material contract
d- Document of Understanding

Which main artifacts will be used to charter and authorize programs?
a- Program sponsor, strategic plan, program mandate, and program management plan
b- Strategic plan, business plan, program mandate, and program management plan
c- Business case, strategic plan, and strategic mandate
d- Business case, program execution plan, program benefits, and program charter

What is the BEST definition of program procurement closure activities?
a- They formally close components when all deliverables have been satisfactorily completed
b- They formally close the program when all benefits have been satisfactorily realized
c- They formally close out each agreement of the program after ensuring that there are no
outstanding contractual issues
d- They formally close the budget
122
At program closure time, lessons learned need to be archived. Lessons learned should be stored in
the:
a- PWBS
b- PMIS
c-OBS
d- LOL

Which statement is TRUE?
a- The stakeholder map visually represents the interaction of all stakeholders’ current and desired
support and influence
b- The stakeholder register may visually show a power/interest grid
c- The stakeholder map is another name for the stakeholder register
d- The program stakeholder analysis activity creates the stakeholder engagement plan

You are managing a program which is composed of three projects: A, B, and C. Projects A et B have
the same supplier in common. The delivery schedule from this supplier is critical for project A, and less
critical for project B. Project C has nothing to do with this supplier.
What should be your attitude regarding this supplier?
a- Do nothing as stakeholders should be managed at component project level
b- Because the delivery schedule is critical for project A, you should directly manage this stakeholder
c- Ask project C manager to deal with this supplier because project A and B managers are already
very busy and project C manager is ‘neutral’
d- Let project A manager deal with this supplier, but tell her to alert you in case of difficulties

You are managing Program X which is under progress and starts delivering benefits to the Customer.
You want to communicate the good news to key stakeholders. Which document should you refer to
in order to properly communicate the information?
a- The stakeholder management plan
b- The stakeholder register
c- The communications management plan
d-The Program Work Breakdown Structure (PWBS)

You are managing program X and you recommend to close it. What is the BEST reason to close your
program?
a-The program has delivered all planned benefits
b- The customer is very satisfied
c- The sustainment plan has been approved
d- The governance board approves the recommendation to close the program
123
Your program is progressing well but is on a very tight schedule. Identified risks at program and
component levels are well under control. The PMO is extremely efficient in supporting the overall
program. A new regulation just came out which may severely impact your program.
What is the BEST scenario to handle this new situation?
a- Send a note to all component managers telling them to immediately update their components'
risk registers with the new risk
b- Do not tell anything to your component managers who are extremely busy, and ask your PMO to
handle the new risk
c- Do not tell anything to your component managers who are extremely busy, and handle the new
risk yourself
d- Call a meeting with the PMO and your component managers. Explain the new situation

With the help of the procurement department of your organization, you have identified prospective
sellers you are willing to work with. Your program is highly technical, and you are ready to solicit
proposals from prospective sellers. Your primary concern is not the price, but the ability of the
contractor to understand the technical details and to have the right technical approach.
What is the BEST type of request?
a- Request for quotation
b- Request for Information
c- Request for Proposal
d- Invitation for negotiation

All WORK performed in a program for the purpose of program management is collectively known as:
a- Program activities
b- Program work packages
c- Program artifacts
d- Program outcomes

What is a CORRECT list of Tools & Techniques which can be used for managing Quality?
a- Affinity diagrams, Cause-and-effect diagrams, matrix diagrams, and WBS analysis
b- Affinity diagrams, histograms, sender-receiver models, and scatter diagrams
c- Cause-and-effect diagrams, matrix diagrams, affinity diagrams, and RACI charts
d- Flowcharts, histograms, matrix diagrams, and scatter diagrams
124
The success of a program is measured:
a - By how the organization is able to realize benefits from the program outcomes
b - By how the organization is able to satisfy the customer
c - By the results of the Earned Value method
d - Against the baseline

The PWBS (Program Work Breakdown Structure) is a key artifact used to define the total work of the
program.
What is NOT TRUE about the PWBS?
a- The PWBS contains the first one or two levels of a component WBS
b- The PWBS serves as the framework for developing the program master schedule
c- The PWBS contains the roles and responsibilities of key team members
d- The PWBS is an essential tool for developing realistic schedules and cost estimates

What is a risk threshold?
a- A measure of the degree of cumulated acceptable variations around the sum of project
objectives
b- A measure of the degree of acceptable variation around a program objective that reflects the
risk appetite of the organization and program stakeholders
c- A measure of the deviation of the program objective once the risk is triggered
d- A measure of the degree of acceptable variation around a portfolio objective

Program X has delivered all planned benefits to the customer, and is now ready for closure. Who is
responsible to request program closure?
a- The program manager
b- The PMO manager
c- The sponsoring organization
d- The CEO
125
You are managing a program which is composed of four component projects. Projects are
producing their deliverables, but in order to create planned benefits, it is becoming evident that
another project needs to be initiated in order to integrate efforts of other projects. Time is critical.
What should be your immediate action?
a- Initiate a new project as soon as possible. Time is critical
b- Identify and document the activities needed to support the initiation of the new project, then
start the project
c- Identify and document the activities needed to support the initiation of the new project, then
present them to the Governance board for approval
d- Identify and document the activities needed to support the initiation of the new project, present
them to the program team for approval, and start the new project

What is NOT a correct list of PMO’s responsibilities within a program?
a- It defines quality standards for the program and its components, and it supports document and
transfer knowledge
b- It provides training to ensure that standards and practices are well understood, and it supports
program communications
c- It supports effective resource management, and it provides centralized support for managing
changes
d- It conducts program performance analyses, and it has the authority to cancel the program

Earned Value Management (EVM) is very often used during financial monitoring and controlling.
What are the key parameters used in EVM?
a- CV, SV, EP, PV, and CPI
b- CV, SV, SPI, and CVI
c- EV, CV, SV, CPI, and SPI
d- EP, AP, CV, and SV

The RAM (Resource Assignment Matrix) defines who is assigned to do the work. One example of a
RAM is a RACI chart.
What is the meaning of the acronym RACI?
a- Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform
b- Responsible, Assigned, Clarify, and Illustrate
c- Release, Acknowledge, Consult, and Inform
d- Read, Allocate, Create, and Illustrate
126
You are managing program XYZ which has three component projects, A, B, and C. Projects A and B
have the same supplier. Project A has identified a major risk with this supplier but project B does not
have this risk. Project A manager is unable to resolve the risk which is becoming critical. You are well
aware of the problem. What is your BEST attitude with regard to this situation?
a- Do nothing as it is a project level risk
b- Ask project manager B to work with project manager A in order to resolve the risk
c- Handle the risk at your level
d- Escalate the risk to the program sponsor

You manage program X which is composed of three projects: A, B, and C. Program X is expected to
generate two benefits: X1 and X2.
Projects A and B have created benefit X1 and can now be closed.
Project C has created all expected outcomes but it is clear that the second benefit X2 will be
created much after the end of the program. What is now the BEST action for you?
a- You should not invoke program closure because benefit X2 has not happened
b- You should invoke program closure because projects A and B have created benefit X1
c- You should make sure that all benefits will happen, be transitioned and sustained and then you
invoke program closure
d- You should make sure that benefit X1 will be transitioned and sustained

Program XYZ has three component projects: A, B and C. Projects A and B are highly interdependent
and their success is critical for delivering planned benefits. Project C is much less critical than other
projects. Program XYZ also has a PMO which is in charge of quality assurance and quality control
activities for the projects. You are responsible to create the program’s WBS.
What is the BEST option?
a- The program’s WBS should only include the WBS of Project A, Project B, and Project C
b- The program's WBS should not include PMO activities because the PMO is only a support function
c- The program’s WBS should include the work needed to perform program’s activities, including
PMO’s work
d- The program’s WBS should not include Project C’s activities because this project is not critical for
delivering benefits

Various financial tools can be used to elaborate the business case. Your management wants to
understand WHEN the program will generate positive returns vs. the planned investment. What is the
name of this tool?
a- ROI
b-NPV
c-IRR
d- Payback period
127
Program X is due to provide outcomes and benefits for a customer. Program X is composed of
projects A, B, and C. You are the program manager and you are developing the communication
management plan. You are wondering who should and who should not communicate with the
customer?
a- Everyone on the program should be able to communicate with the customer
b- Before deciding who should communicate with the customer, you need to think about what
information needs to be communicated
c- Only managers should communicate with the customer
d- The program sponsor should be the only person communicating with the customer

The program you managed has just been closed. There are three remaining risks which could
impact the realization of benefits later on in the receiving organization. What is the BEST way to
handle these remaining risks?
a- Do nothing because the program is closed. It is not your responsibility anymore
b- Update your risk register
c- Update your risk register with relevant information
d- Transfer the remaining risks to the receiving organization, along with their response plans

Program communications management is different from project communications management
because of:
a- The diversity of program funding sources
b- The wide range of program stakeholders
c- The focus placed on the Customer
d- The program risk level

What is TRUE regarding the program risk management sustainment activity:
a- At program closure, remaining risks need to be sustained after transitioning them
b- At program closure, the performing organization is responsible to retain the remaining risks without
transitioning them. So there is no need to sustain them.
c- There is no program risk management sustainment activity
d- The PMO has the responsibility to develop a program risk management sustainment plan

What is TRUE about the program life cycle?
a- The program life cycle has a start date but no planned end date
b- The program life cycle has four identified phases (Definition, Planning, Delivery, and Closure)
c- The program life cycle has phases which are always sequential
d- The program life cycle needs to be managed to provide the necessary alignment with the
strategic goals of the organization
128
Objective of the Program resource requirements estimate activity is to:
a- Provide a first estimate of resources needed for the program and planned components
b- Provide a first estimate of resources for the program only
c- Provide a first estimate of resources for the component projects only
d- Develop the resource management plan for the program

What is the MAIN purpose of stakeholder analysis?
a- To establish the balance between mitigating the stakeholders who view the program negatively
and encouraging the active support of positive stakeholders
b- To establish strengths and weaknesses of each stakeholder in order to better gain their support
c- To develop a grid to compare the stakeholders
d- To analyze the skills and competencies of the human resources contributing to the program

Program activities are tasks and work conducted to support a program and which contribute
throughout the program life cycle. Which activity does NOT support program management?
a- Program change management
b- Program resource management
c- Program financial management
d- Program governance management

You are managing a program which has three components: A, B, and C. All planned deliverables
have been satisfactorily produced and everything is place to close the components except
component C for which there is an outstanding payment issue with a contractor. There is a high
pressure from your sponsor to close the program.
How should you BEST handle this situation?
a- Talk to component manager C in order to understand the payment issue, and then make a
decision
b- Ask component manager C to close her component
c- Close all components because planned deliverables have been produced
d- Close components A and B, but do not close component C until the payment issue is solved
129
You are managing the program PMO which is in charge of transitioning the benefits to another
organization.
You also have defined a training plan which has been accepted by all. You contact the manager
of this organization and you find out that she is not ready to accept the benefits at this moment
because her organization has not completed training activities.
What should be your IMMEDIATE action?
a- Revisit the training content with her
b- Inform the program manager
c- Accept to delay transitioning the benefits until this organization is fully trained
d- Do nothing

Which list is NOT a combination of complexity factors for a program?
a- Governance, stakeholder, definition, benefits delivery
b- Benefits delivery, interdependency, resource, scope
c- Governance, stakeholder, change, risk
d- Resource, scope, quality, technology

You are managing a program which is composed of several components. Because of the size and
duration of the program, many change requests are expected. A Change Control Board (CCB) has
been established.
What BEST characterizes the role of the CCB?
a- The CCB reviews change requests and rejects them when they are inappropriate
b- The CCB approves or rejects documented change requests
c- The CCB updates program documents after a decision is taken on accepting or rejecting change
requests
d- The CCB reviews non documented change requests

The risk management plan is a subsidiary plan of the management plan.
What is a CORRECT list of risk management elements?
a- Risk strategy, methodology, list of identified risks, and funding
b- Risk strategy, risk owners, methodology, and funding
c- Methodology, funding, timing, and risk categories
d- Risk strategy, funding, primary and secondary risks
130
A benefit can be transitioned to operations ONLY when:
a- All benefits of the program are ready to be transitioned
b- The formal work of all contributing program components to the program has ended
c- The program is not closed
d- All acceptance criteria of this benefit are met so that it contributes to the overall achievement of
the collective set of benefits

Program communication management and program information management are
complementary activities within a program.
What is TRUE regarding these activities?
a- Communication management is concerned by generating proper information needed by
stakeholders
b- Information management is concerned by distributing information to stakeholders
c- Information management is concerned by preparing, collecting, storing, and securing
information assets
d- Communication management and information management are identical activities

What is the name of the program information repository recommended for sharing information,
provide access to past decisions and to historical information?
a- Program Data Base (PDB)
b- Program Management Sharing System (PMSS)
c- Program Management Plan (PMP)
d- Program Management Information System (PMIS)

You are managing a program with three component projects. Project A is highly technical, project B
is addressing marketing aspects, and project C is in charge of developing new applications. You do
not have all the resources needed for project A and project C. You have the budget to contract
outside resources. What is your best option?
a- No choice. You need to sign Fixed-price contracts
b- You have the option to mix contract types
c- Sign Time & Material contracts. They are cheaper!
d- Let the sponsor decide upon the contract type. He provides the funds!

Which activity is NOT related to benefits delivery?
a- Monitoring the environmental conditions of the organization
b- Initiating, performing, transitioning and closing components
c- Running operations to sustain benefits
d- Evaluating threats and opportunities affecting benefits
131
With the help of the PMO manager, you are creating the program schedule of your program which
is composed of three projects.
Project A manager prefers to use the critical path method, Project B manager prefers to use three-
point estimates, and Project C manager prefers to use Monte Carlo analysis. Project A is the most
critical project.
WHAT should be your action regarding scheduling tools?
a- Let Project managers use their preferred scheduling tool. No problem!
b- Impose the critical path method for all because Project A is most critical
c- Impose the Monte Carlo analysis because you are an expert in this technique
d- Ask the PMO to standardize the scheduling tools for the three projects

A program sponsor is an individual or a group that:
a- Is ultimately accountable for the program success
b- Provides resources both at program and project level
c- Provides resources and support for the program, and is accountable for enabling success
d- Supports the program, provides guidance at project execution level

Objective of the Program initial risk assessment activity is to:
a- Identify the key program risks and estimate their probability of occurrence and impact on the
program
b- Identify all the risks on the program and develop response plans
c- Identify the key program risks and mitigate them
d- Eliminate the key program risks and identify risk owners

Your program has started to deliver planned benefits, but it is becoming evident that a new project
needs to be added to the existing ones, in order to improve coordination of project outcomes. The
company strategy has not changed, and expected benefits remain the same.
WHICH program artifact(s) should be updated in order to reflect the existence of the new project?
a- Only the master schedule
b- Both the program roadmap and the master schedule
c- Only the program roadmap
d- None of them
132
What is WRONG regarding Program Quality Assurance and Quality Control?
a- Program Quality Assurance does not include the analysis of the Quality Control results of program
components
b- Program Quality Control activity ensures that quality plans are implemented at project and
subsidiary program levels
c- Program Quality Control involves the monitoring of specific components or program deliverables
to determine if they meet quality requirements
d- Program Quality Assurance focuses on cross-program and intercomponent quality relationships

Effective communications are essential in order to drive benefits creation. A communication
strategy should be defined for each stakeholder.
WHERE should this strategy be recorded?
a- In the stakeholder engagement plan
b- In the stakeholder register
c- In the stakeholder map
d- In the stakeholder breakdown structure

Program integration management is defined in the standard as a core activity because:
a- It only occurs at the program level and not at component level
b- It only happens once during the program life cycle
c- It includes activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate multiple components in
the program
d- It does not interact with other supporting activities

In a program, who is responsible to define and conduct quality initiatives?
a- The portfolio manager
b- The program management team
c- The sponsor because they provide the resources
d- Operations because benefits will be transitioned to them

What is the BEST answer about releasing project resources when the program is being closed?
a- Project resources can only be reassigned to another project
b- Project resources may be reassigned to another program within the organization
c- Project resources are unique and cannot be reassigned
d- Project resources reassignment is performed by the portfolio manager
133
Communication requirements specific to particular stakeholders should be included in the:
a- Stakeholder register
b- Information management plan
c- Stakeholder engagement plan
d- Communications management plan

What is TRUE about remaining risks at program closure?
a- There is no remaining risk at program closure
b- Remaining risks must be closed before program closure
c- Remaining risks should be transferred to the appropriate organizational risk register
d- Remaining risks should be transferred to the PMO only

The PMO plays an important support role especially for large projects. What is the BEST answer
regarding PMO’s responsibilities?
a- The PMO defines quality standards for the program only
b- The PMO is never involved in defining quality standards for the component projects
c- The PMO defines quality standards for the program and its components
d- The PMO defines quality standards for the components only

The program life cycle is composed of the following phases:
a- Program definition, benefits delivery, and program closure
b- Program initiation, program formulation, program delivery, and program closure
c- Program definition, program delivery, and program closure
d- Program initiation, program planning, program delivery, and program closure

A program is composed of three component projects X, Y, and Z. Each project will generate two
deliverables. Benefit B1 will be based on deliverables X1 and X2, benefit B2 will be based on
deliverables X1 and Z2, and benefit B3 is based on deliverables X2, Y2 and Z1. What is NOT a true
statement?
a- Deliverable Y1 will not participate to any benefit creation
b- Deliverable X1 cannot participate to the creation of two benefits
c- The program roadmap should show three benefits, and deliverable X1 will participate to the
creation of two benefits
d- The program roadmap should show three benefits, and deliverable Y1 will not participate to the
creation of any benefit
134
What BEST defines the activity called Program information archiving and transition?
a- Collection and distribution of program records
b- Distribution and archiving of records and documentation from components
c- Collection and archiving of records and documentation only from the program
d- Collection and archiving of records and documentation from the program and its components

Lessons learned are key assets for Companies.
They are a compilation of knowledge gained during the life of the program.
WHEN should lessons learned be gathered during the program life cycle?
a- During gate reviews
b- At the end of the program
c- At the completion of components
d- All of the above

The main purpose of the program change assessment activity is to estimate the likelihood and
magnitude of changes that could arise from identified sources of changes.
The program change assessment will become an input to:
a- The program charter
b- The program business case
c- The program change management plan
d- All of the above

Concerning the key difference between programs and projects, three aspects stand out:
a- Uncertainty, duration and complexity
b- Uncertainty, managing change and complexity
c- Uncertainty, managing change and sustainability
d- Ambiguity, managing change and complexity

Program closure phase activities include:
a- Program financial closure, program stakeholder engagement closure, and program resource
transition
b- Program financial closure, program resource transition, and program benefits sustainment
c- Program procurement closure, program resource transition, and program risk management
transition
d- Program financial closure, program information archiving and transition, and lessons learned
135
You are currently identifying the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the expected benefits of your
program. What is the MAIN objective of the KPIs?
a- Monitor benefits sustainment
b- Measure customer satisfaction
c- Measure sponsor satisfaction
d- Monitor the delivery of benefits

What is the WORST method to communicate the program’s status?
a- Face-to-face meetings
b- Presentations to a group of stakeholders
c- Presentations to a program team members
d- Informal communications such as e-mails

Program X was initiated to generate four benefits. All benefits have been created except one.
What is the BEST answer regarding benefits transition?
a- Benefits cannot be transitioned until all benefits are created
b- Three generated benefits can be transitioned. The fourth one will not be transitioned
c- Three generated benefits can be transitioned, and component outcomes to create the fourth
one will also be transitioned
d- Three generated benefits can be transitioned. Program components can now be closed

During a formal checkpoint meeting, the governance board asks you if key program stakeholders
are actively engaged in the program. You hesitate and your answer is very vague. You spent a lot of
time identifying stakeholders, you developed a stakeholder map and a stakeholder engagement
plan, but obviously you cannot correctly answer this question.
What is the MOST PROBABLE cause of your difficulty?
a- You did not correctly identify stakeholders
b- You did not develop a stakeholder management plan
c- You did not include metrics in your stakeholder management plan
d- You did not develop stakeholder maps
136
Program strategy alignment is a performance domain is supported with inputs from environmental
assessments and a program risk management strategy.
What is NOT included in a risk management strategy?
a- Program risk thresholds
b- Initial program risk assessment
c- High-level program risk response strategy
d- List of most important risks

What is the KEY difference between project and program change?
a- There is no difference: a change is a change!
b- There are no changes in projects as they are much more certain than programs
c- Project changes are approved by the Change Control Board while program changes are
approved at Portfolio Control Board
d- Project changes are at the tactical level while program changes are at the strategic level

In any program, stakeholders need to have access to current information. The Program
Management Information System (PMIS) is a key Governance capability which should be
established to provide this access.
Which tools should be stored in the PMIS in order to be used and provide information on the
program performance and progress?
a- Risk management tools
b- Earned Value Management tools
c- Configuration management tools
d- Change management tools

In the context of a program, project managers’ responsibilities are:
a- Defined in the PMBOK® Guide
b- Only defined in the Standard for Program Management
c- Defined by the PMO
d- Defined by the program sponsor
137
Program Manager X is currently evaluating the need for resources in her development program. It is
obvious that the planned allocation of resources is not sufficient. She knows that the program
budget is very tight.
What is the BEST option for her?
a- Subcontract one the component development projects
b- Talk to the program sponsor for advice
c- Talk to the portfolio manager and see if he can reallocate resources to her program
d- Cancel one of the component development projects and reallocate resources internally to her
program

The prime objective of programs is to create benefits, which in turn, provide value to the
organizations.
What is NOT an aspect analyzed and assessed during the benefits delivery phase?
a- Customer satisfaction
b- Value delivery
c- Strategic alignment
d- Controlled program closure

The program management plan contains all program’s subsidiary plans. This plan contains the
following plans EXCEPT:
a- The risk management plan
b- The scope management plan
c- The resource management plan
d- The governance management plan

You are the PMO manager of program X, and during a checkpoint meeting, the program manager
asks you to communicate the program performance report to program stakeholders. How should
you proceed?
a- Ask each project manager to directly communicate their performance report to stakeholders
b- Refuse to communicate the program performance information because it is part of the program
manager’s responsibility
c- Ask stakeholders to address their request to each project manager
d- Consolidate the performance report from each project and non-project activities
138
What BEST characterizes the program charter?
a- It is prepared by the program management office (PMO) as an answer to the program business
case
b- It provides the program manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to program
activities
c- It is issued by the portfolio manager to set strategic goals to the program
d- It is elaborated by the program team just before the definition phase

What is TRUE about the program reporting activity?
a- Program reporting is concerned by program results only and reporting them to stakeholders
b- Program reporting is not an element of program communications
c- Outputs from this activity include reports required by program sponsors or program agreements
d- Outputs from this activity do not include customer feedback requests

Common factors to consider when optimizing and tailoring program governance include:
a- Legislative environments, stakeholder attitudes, contracting, and strategic importance
b- Legislative environments, alignment with portfolio and organizational governance, and
contracting
c- Optimized governance, program delivery, risk of failures and technology
d- Decision-making hierarchy, alignment with portfolio and organizational governance, and benefits

Which statement is FALSE regarding Governance?
a- Portfolio governance is the hierarchical level of governance where program investments are
authorized
b-Stand-alone programs which are outside a portfolio structure do not need Governance
c- Effective program governance is especially important in highly complex environments
d- A program within a portfolio is likely to be governed within the framework of the portfolio

What is the name of the technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental
cost by adding resources?
a- Fast tracking
b- Crashing
c- Lead
d- Lag
139
Your program spans over several countries, with different cultures and different languages. Most
team members do not speak English which is your mother language. You are developing the
program communications plan for your program, and you wonder how to deal with this international
situation.
WHAT should you mention in the program communications management plan?
a- All communications will be done in English, because English is the most popular language over
the planet
b- All documents will be translated into country languages before diffusion
c- The communications language will first be discussed with country managers before
implementation
d- The communication language will be agreed upon by all stakeholders before implementation

What is TRUE about the program resource transition activity?
a- Program resources are only released to other programs
b- Team members are reallocated to other initiatives or programs
c- Resources are not reassigned to another component in execution
d- Resources are reassigned only to components within the same program

What is WRONG about the program master schedule?
a- The initial program master schedule is often created before the detailed schedules of the
individual components are available
b- The program’s delivery date and major milestones are developed using the program roadmap
and the program charter
c- The program master schedule should include activities that are unique to the program, such as
activities related to stakeholder engagement
d- Changes in the program master schedule never require changes in the program roadmap

What is NOT under the responsibility of the program manager?
a- Keep the program aligned with strategic objectives
b- Manage issues escalated from components
c- Confirm that the program is aligned with strategic objectives
d- Deliver expected benefits

The actual work that ensures the sustainment of benefits is typically:
a- Conducted after the close of the program
b- Starting at day 1 of the program life cycle
c- Conducted before the definition of the program
d- Under the responsibility of the program sponsor
140
During program closure, the program manager creates a final report.
What is the BEST answer with respect to the final report content?
a- Final lessons learned
b- Program’s performance assessment
c- Observations from team members
d- All of the above

Contract types fall within three categories: Fixed-price, Cost- reimbursable, or Time & Material.
What is TRUE about contract types?
a- For Fixed-price contracts, the risk is mainly on the seller
b- Cost-reimbursable contracts are used when the scope of work is not expected to change
c- For Fixed-price contracts, the risk is mainly on the buyer
d- Time and Material contracts are not legal anymore

What is a CORRECT list of outputs which should exist at the end of the formulation subphase?
a- Business case, program charter, component charters, and program manager confirmed
b- Program roadmap, component management plans, business case, and program quality
standards
c- Program manager confirmed, sponsor identified, program roadmap, program charter, and risk
management plan
d- Program manager confirmed, program charter, business case, and program roadmap

Company C is involved in a major reorganization program which you will manage. Company C has
signed a contract with Vendor V. In order to fulfill the contract, Vendor V subcontracts work to three
companies X, Y and Z. You have just started to put a PMO in place for your program.
What should be your attitude with respect to communicating with companies X, Y, and Z?
a- You should not communicate directly with companies X, Y, and Z because you do not have
signed a contract with them
b- You should communicate directly with companies X, Y, and Z because you have signed a
contract with Vendor V, and they work for Vendor V
c- You should communicate with Vendor V, and with companies X, Y, and Z
d- You should ask your PMO to communicate with Companies X, Y, and Z
141
Transitioning and sustaining activities are two complementary notions.
What is a WRONG statement about them?
a- Transitioned benefits will provide value to the receiving organization
b- Sustainment activities will help the receiving organization to ensure continued realization of the
benefits
c- Sustainment related activities are never part of a WBS
d- A sustainment plan should be developed by the program manager prior to program closure

You are managing a program which is composed of three projects: A, B, and C, and a PMO.
Projects A and B are late producing their deliverables, which may create a problem to deliver on
time benefit B1. Project C is under closure. Because of budget constraints, you are not allowed to
hire additional resources.
What is NOT an option for you to consider?
a- Reallocate resources from the PMO to projects A and B
b- Reallocate resources from project C to projects A and B
c- Acquire resources from outside
d- Revisit the schedule and investigate if it can be compressed

You are managing program ABC which has three component projects. Your program has started
delivering benefits but it is becoming obvious that a new project must be started immediately in
order to coordinate the efforts of the three existing projects. Your program’s budget is very tight.
What is your BEST option?
a- Start the new project without informing your sponsor. You are pretty sure she will disagree with the
additional cost
b- Perform a cost estimate of the new project, show the current and future planned expenditures of
the program, and report to the governance board for a decision
c- Start the new project immediately and inform the governance board at the next checkpoint
meeting
d- Perform a cost estimate of the new project, and use the management reserve of your program to
add needed resources

What is a correct list of OUTPUTS from program financial management activities?
a- Contract payments, component closure, and closed component budgets
b- Contract payments, program closure, and approved change requests
c- Closed component budgets, revised estimate at completion, and corrective actions
d- Program budget baseline updates, customer claims, and contract payments
142
Which of the following is under the responsibility of the program manager?
a- Manage the component projects
b- Interact with project and other program managers
c- Define the Company strategy
d- Manage the portfolio

In your program, one component is producing a series of products which will be used by other
component projects. One specialist from your PMO is in charge of measuring the quality level of the
products.
She is performing activities from which quality activity?
a- Quality control
b- Quality assurance
c- Quality prevention
d- Quality inspection

A mandate has been issued by upper management in order to start formalizing a new program. You
are in charge of conducting activities thru the definition phase of the PLC. What is the main
deliverable created at the end of this phase?
a-The program management plan
c- The program roadmap
d- The program business case

You are sponsoring a rehabilitation program in your neighborhood. What is definitely NOT a benefit
which can be generated by this program?
a- Improve housing conditions
b- Reduce prohibited behaviors
c- Manage program costs
d- Improve safety

Project A within program X is ready to start. All conditions are met to initiate the project.
Who is the LEAST authorized to approve component A initiation?
a- The sponsor
b- The governance board
c- The steering committee
d- The component manager
143
Program changes can be classified in various categories. MOST OFTEN changes are:
a- Internal to the program
b- External to the program
c- Customer initiated
d- Both internal and external to the program

You have been selected as the program manager for program X. You want to conduct a risk
identification session with component managers. Program and project team members have strong
skills in some areas, but also lack competence in other critical domains. In addition, competition is
very strong.
What is the BEST tool to conduct this risk identification?
a- Conduct a root cause analysis session
b- Use a cause-effect diagram
c- Conduct a SWOT analysis
d- Conduct a brainstorming session

One of the most popular method to create a PWBS is to start decomposition the program scope
from the top, and subdividing the program scope and deliverables into smaller, more manageable
parts.
What is NOT a true statement about decomposing the scope?
a- Decomposition stops at the level of control required by the program manager
b- Decomposition usually stops at the first one or two levels of a component
c- Decomposition includes an identification and analysis of the deliverables
d- Decomposition stops at the lowest level of components

The program you managed is being closed. Benefits are being transitioned to another operational
organization. All program resources have not been utilized, including funds. What is the BEST way to
handle these remaining resources?
a- You were the program manager, so it is your responsibility to transfer remaining funds to an
appropriate organization
b- You have nothing to do. It is not under your responsibility
c- The steering committee should decide what to do with remaining funds
d- Ask your PMO what to do
144
A Program Management Office (PMO) is:
a- A management structure
b- A governance structure
c- A supporting structure
d- An executive structure
145
170 Tutorial Questions - Answers
Please find below the answers to the tutorial questions.
Because there is no tangible threshold for this assessment, our recommendation is to take this
practice test until you achieve a result of 80%.

a- is correct! d- No! Contingency and management reserves are related to risks! The standard,
section 8.2.3.1


d- No! Projects do! The standard, section 2.5.2

a- The PMBOK® Guide, section 5.3.3.1




c- Here EV provides no information related to cost or schedule The PMBOK® Guide, section 7.4.2.2

a- The standard, section 1.6

a- Risk events are part of the risk register The PMBOK® Guide, section 11

d- The PMBOK® Guide, section 12.2.3.2

a- Part of initial risk assessment,The standard, section 8.1.1.8

a- The standard, section 8.2 Figure 8-3
146

d- The PMBOK® Guide, section 6

b- Risk transference: shifting the impact of a threat The PMBOK® Guide, section 11.5.2.4



d- RFO does not exist! The PMBOK® Guide, section 12.1.3.3





b- The sponsor is accountable for enabling program success The standard, section 6.2.3

a- Company executives may decide to launch a program even if its business case is not very good,
but the program will be strategic. The standard, section 3



a- Program quality management planning: No! The standard, Table 7-1

c- Better to explain live! The standard, section 8.2.2.1
147
Tutorial Question TQ3Q
c- The PMBOK® Guide, section 9.1.3.1 (work to be performed)

c- Correct answer: No! This is part of risk management The standard, section 8.1.2.10










b- The standard, section 3

a- Company executives may decide to launch a program even if its business case is not very good,
but the program will be strategic. The standard, section 8.1.2.3

c- The governance board does not approve project deliverables; the program managers does!

148



d- The PMBOK® Guide, section 7.2.2


c- Formula: n x (n-1) / 2, with n = 10 The PMBOK® Guide, section 10.1.2.2








b- is correct! d- No, because YOU are the sponsor The standard, section 6.1.11


149





b- The PMBOK® Guide, section 11.5.2.4

b- is correct! d- No! This is part of procurement planning, not procurement assessment.
The standard, section 8.1.2.7


d- Correct answer: too early. This is part of planning activities. The standard, section 8.1.1.6

a- On this type of contract, the risk is mainly on the buyer. The PMBOK® Guide, section 12.1.1.6

c- The standard, sections 3 and 6.1.2


b- Correct answer! d- LOL does not exist! The standard, section 7.2.2.1



150


b- The standard, section 8.1.2.7 and the PMBOK® Guide, section 12.1.3.3








d- Correct answer: The PMO does not have the authority to cancel the program.

c- Correct answer! EV, CV, SV, CPI, and SPI The PMBOK® Guide, section 7.4.2.2

a- The PMBOK® Guide, section 9.1.2.2



151




c- At program closure, the receiving organization needs to be aware of remaining risks, if any. This is
why remaining risks need to be transitioned. But hopefully, they will go away! So, no need to sustain
them!
The standard, section 8.3 and Figure 8-4


a- Correct answer d- No! Too early. This is part of planning activities The standard, section 8.1.1.7






b- The PMBOK® Guide, section 4.6

c- The PMBOK® Guide, section 11.1.3.1

152








a- The standard, sections 8.2.6 and 8.2.6.1







153






c- The standard, section 8.3 and Figure 8-4







b- They provide information on program performance and progress (EV, CV, SV, etc.)


b- The sponsor provides the funds! The standard, section 8.1.2.9.
154

d- There is a Governance plan, but NO Governance management plan! The standard, section
7.1.2.2


b- The standard, section 3 and section 7.1.2.1




b- The PMBOK® Guide, section 6.5.2.6

c- The only fair decision! The standard, section 8.1.2.2



c- This is done by the steering committee The standard, section 6.2.2



a- The PMBOK® Guide, Glossary / Definitions

155
a- The PMBOK® Guide, section 12


c- No budget for it! The standard, section 8.2.7.1



b- Correct! c- No! The Program manager does not define the strategy, but must make sure that the
program is and remains aligned with it! The standard, section 1.7


a- All other deliverables need to be created before! The standard, section 7.1.1




c- The PMBOK® Guidef section 12.2.2.3

d- The PMBOK® Guide, section 5.4.2.2 and standard, section 8.1.2.12


156
170 Practice Questions
Guidelines to be prepared for the PgMP® certification
This practice test intends to put the PgMP® candidate in conditions as close as possible to those in
the actual PgMP® exam. You have 4 hours maximum to complete all the questions.
While doing this practice test please note each answer on a separate blank sheet.
Practice Question PQ1

One of the key responsibilities of any program manager is to correctly manage program benefits. In
order to do this, it is highly recommended that they identify metrics which will help the management
of benefits during the life of the program. Benefits management has a life cycle with phases that run
in parallel to program life cycle phases, with a close relationship between the two. During which
PHASE should benefits metrics be defined and recorded?
a- During the benefits identification phase
b- During the program initiation phase
c- During the benefits analysis and planning phase
d- During the benefits delivery phase

One of the key responsibilities of any program manager is to correctly manage program benefits. In
order to do this, it is highly recommended that they identify metrics which will help the management
of benefits during the life of the program. Benefits management has a life cycle with phases which
run in parallel to program life cycle phases, with a close relationship between the two. During one of
these phases, the program manager will identify benefits metrics in order to be able to measure the
benefits when they will occur. Which DOCUMENT specifies the benefits metrics?
b- The benefits management plan
c- The governance plan
d- The benefits report

On your program, one key stakeholder is very active, participates in all planned meetings, provides
needed inputs, on time, and with high quality data. The involvement of this stakeholder is very
important for the success of the program. Everything looks perfect, except the fact that he is very
negative with regard to the program itself. From the beginning this stakeholder has been against the
program. You discussed this fact with your program sponsor, but her reaction is more or less: "Don't
worry about his attitude, he is known to be that way, there is nothing we can be do about it. Also, his
involvement in the program is a must." What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Talk to that stakeholder and ask him to change his attitude
b- Accept the sponsor’s comment and pass the same information on to your project managers
c- Accept the sponsor’s comment and do nothing else. Things may improve in the future
d- Think about the action you could take, step by step, to move him from an 'enemy' attitude to a
'champion' one. This may not be easy, but you should at least try
157
Your company is a major player in the field of telecommunications. Your company has embarked
on a major reorganization, and has decided to manage this initiative as a program. The program is
structured with three project managers and a PMO with four experts. The program is well underway,
but for some reason, the program manager has left the company. Because of your experience in
similar programs in the past, management has selected you as the new program manager. You will
start working Monday morning to take over the program. You have a lot of experience in the field of
telecommunications and in managing restructuring programs, but you lack a lot of information
about this specific program. In order to start properly, you first want to meet the most appropriate
person or entity. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Meet the PMO manager. After all, the PMO has a key role in the management of the program
b- Meet the Customer. After all, they are the best positioned to tell you what they expect from the
program
c- Meet telecommunication experts. After all, you are also an expert in telecommunications and
you will understand one another
d- Meet the program sponsor. After all, they champion the program initiative

structured with three project managers and a PMO with four experts. The program is progressing
well, but for some reason, the program manager has left the company. Because of your experience
in similar programs in the past, management has selected you as the new program manager. You
will start working Monday morning to take over the program. You have a lot of experience in the
field of telecommunications and in managing restructuring programs, but you lack information
about this specific program. You know what benefits the program is supposed to generate, and you
also know what metrics have been defined for each of the planned benefits. What is NOT an
appropriate tool to monitor those metrics and take corrective actions if necessary?
a- Variance analysis
b- Development of ‘what-if-scenarios'
c- Critical chain
d- Simulation tools
158
structured with three project managers and a PMO with four experts. The program is well underway,
but for some reason, the program manager has left the company. Because of your experience in
similar programs in the past, management has selected you as the new program manager. You will
start working Monday morning to take over the program. You have a lot of experience in the field of
telecommunications and in managing restructuring programs, but you lack much information about
this specific program. At this moment, you only want to understand what the planned benefits of the
program are, regardless of when they may occur. Which DOCUMENT should you read in order to
answer that question?
a-The benefits management plan
b- The program initiative
c- The benefits register
d- The benefits log

You are the program manager of program X. Your program has been running for two years. All
benefits have been realized except one, but you believe that the conditions are met to close the
program. You prepare a presentation to the next board meeting in order to obtain their agreement.
What is the BEST convincing argument you should use?
a- All benefits have been realized, so the program may be closed
b - All benefits have not been realized, but you can prove that all necessary outcomes have been
created to ensure that the missing benefit will be realized later on
c- You have developed a sustainment plan with the receiving organization
d- You can prove that all the closure conditions are met because the charter is fulfilled

You are a program manager within a humanitarian organization. The program’s target is to expand
its activities to new geographical regions. One of your project managers made the suggestion of
including a local small airline company in the program to optimize freight in his sub region. This
initiative could result in adding one more project into the existing program. What is the IMMEDIATE
action you should take?
a- You accept and mandate the project manager to initiate this project
b- You request the project manager to create a change request
c- You propose this to the next governance board meeting
d- You do nothing because this is a small project
159
You are a program manager within a humanitarian organization. This program targets to expand its
activities to new geographical regions. One of your project managers made the suggestion of
including a local small airline company in the program to optimize freight in his sub region. This
initiative could result in adding one more project to the existing program. The governance board
rejected initiating the new project. What is the MOST probable cause of the board’s refusal?
a- One of the key sponsors was not consulted previously
b- There are already too many projects in your program
c- The outcomes of this project were not sufficiently validated with respect to the organizational
strategy
d- You did not sufficiently argue that this new project coherently impacts the architecture of the
program

Among the following options, in which order during the program life cycle are the following
approved: the charter, the program management plan, the strategic mandate and customer sign
off?
a- Charter, strategic mandate, program management plan, customer sign off
b- Strategic mandate, charter, program management plan, customer sign off
c- Customer sign off, strategic mandate, charter, program management plan
d- Customer sign off, charter, strategic mandate, program management plan

You are in charge of developing the program stakeholder engagement plan for your company's
program XYZ. As of today, only a few stakeholders have been identified, but you know that many
more are still to be identified, including approximately ten subcontractors who will be involved in the
execution of the program. You have previously worked on another program where the
management of stakeholders was poorly performed, and you do not want to see this happen
again. In order to develop the 'best' stakeholder engagement plan for your program, you want to
select the most appropriate tool. Among the following options, which one is the tool MOST
recommended for the development of the stakeholder engagement plan?
a- Stakeholder metrics, which is the preferred tool to track stakeholders’ performance throughout
the program
b- Stakeholder analysis, which helps to gain a thorough understanding of stakeholders’ needs and
expectations
c- Brainstorming sessions with the initial program team members and identified stakeholders
d- Interpersonal techniques such as: negotiation, conflict management, and communication which
help resolve any issue impacting upon the program’s progress
160
Your program is made up of six projects: A B, C, X, Y, Z. Project Y is the most important, project X
delivers essential outcomes to project Y while project Z is of secondary importance. You have been
recently asked by your governance board to reduce your overall budget. You propose to group
projects A, B and C in one single project in order to reduce your infrastructure costs, making project
leader A take over the responsibility of project leaders B and C. Several board members disagree.
What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Make sure that project leaders B and C are redeployed within the organization
b- Update the business case
c- Demonstrate that projects A, B and C have strong interdependencies
d- Assess to what extent merging projects A, B and C will impact upon the three remaining projects
X, Y and Z.

Your program is made up of six projects: A, B, C, X, Y, Z. Project Y is the most important, project X
delivers essential outcomes to project Y while project Z is of secondary importance. You have been
recently asked by your governance board to reduce your overall budget. You know that the skills
needed by project Z are quite similar to those needed by project X. According to following options,
what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- Reduce resources of project Z and reallocate them to project X
b- Reduce the overall resources and reallocate them evenly across the six projects
c- Reduce resources of projects X and Z
d- Announce a delay during the next board meeting

delivers essential outcomes to project Y while project Z is of secondary importance. As project Y is
generating cash flow, the governance board asks you to accelerate it. What should be your next
action?
a- Transfer some resources from project Z to project Y
b- Transfer some resources from project Z to project X
c- Transfer some resources from project X to project Y
d- Perform resource leveling across projects X, Y and Z

delivers essential outcomes to project Y while project Z is of secondary importance. There is a flu
epidemic in project team X and the project leader informs you that next the deliverables will be
delayed by 2 weeks. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Evaluate the impact of project X's delay on project Y
b- Close project Z and reallocate the resources to project X
c- Announce a delay during the next board meeting
d- Ask project manager X to issue a change request
161
delivers essential outcomes to project Y while project Z is of secondary importance. There is a flu
epidemic in project team X and the project leader announces that the next deliverables will be
delayed by 2 weeks. These deliverables are part of outcome 1234 which is a major interim outcome
at program level. A gate review to authorize delivery to customer sign-off is scheduled within one
week. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Organize an extraordinary board meeting to announce this delay
b- Assess the impact of this delay on outcome 1234 against go/no-go decision criteria you already
have in place with your PMO
c- Announce a delay at the next board meeting
d- Ask project manager X to issue a change request

Appropriate governance is a necessary ingredient in program management. Without proper
governance, it is highly probable that the program will fail. Would you like to sail across the Atlantic
Ocean without a skilled skipper and without adequate assistance in the case of difficulties? Program
governance may have various meanings and interpretations, but it covers several aspects
accepted by the majority of program management experts. What is the BEST definition of program
governance?
a- Program governance covers the tools, processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities necessary
to ensure proper management of change requests and to achieve program goals in-line with the
planned benefits
b- Program governance covers the tools, processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities necessary
to ensure proper delivery of planned and unplanned benefits
c- Program governance comprises the framework, functions, and processes by which a program is
monitored, managed and supported in order to meet organizational strategic and operational
goals
d- Program governance covers the tools, processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities necessary
to ensure proper decision-making and delivery of management activities to make sure that
customer requirements are met
162
Your program has performed very well and all benefits are delivered. It delivered an important IT
component for the marketplace. You are preparing for the closure of the program with the program
team, as all outcomes have been signed off by the customer. However, in one of your customer’s
business units, a bug is reported that may affect the yearly back up process. It is agreed that release
maintenance is done every 3 months. Your program close out meeting is in one week. According to
the following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- You delay the closure until the bug is fixed
b- You keep the closure date as it is, report the bug to operations for the next release, and ask one
of the remaining experts to document a possible solution before the closure date
c- You keep the closure date as it is but negotiate with the functional managers that the team in
charge of correcting the bug will not be released until the bug is fixed
d- You delay the closure until the bug is fixed. You create a new release, and you install and perform
non regression tests in the business unit

You are managing a program that is going well. The customer would like you to launch a new
project for an additional feature requested by one of their overseas affiliates. This feature is an
extension to the core product of the program but the customer has estimated the additional cost
and is ready to pay for it. The analysis you have made with the program team indicates that it is
better to keep this feature in the existing component project A. According to the following options,
what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- You have authority over the architecture of your program, so you simply explain to the customer
that deciding to launch a project or not is your job
b- Assess in detail whether a specific project is needed or not, propose this analysis to the
governance board and formally ask for more funds
c- Initiate a new project and ask for extra funds to pay the project manager
d- This request was not stated in the core contract, simply refuse it!

Programs are undertaken to contribute to a company's strategic objectives and to generate
benefits. In many situations, a well-managed program helps to obtain benefits and a level of control
that are not available when projects are managed individually. What is TRUE about benefits that are
generated by a program?
a- Benefits always contribute to more than one company’s strategic objective
b- Benefits must be tangible and measurable in financial terms
c- Benefits need to be sustained after the program is finished
d- The PMO is responsible for delivering the benefits
163
Programs are undertaken to contribute to a company's strategic objectives, and to generate
benefits. In many situations, a well-managed program helps to obtain benefits and a level of control
that are not available when projects are managed individually. Assume you manage a program for
which benefits have been identified and recorded in the benefits register. Now it is time to develop
the benefits management plan which will guide benefits realization. Which answer is TRUE regarding
the benefits management plan?
a- The benefits management plan is developed by the sponsor because they are ultimately
accountable for enabling the program success
b- The benefits management plan ensures that all the planned program outcomes are achieved
before the close of the program
c- The benefits management plan ensures that all the planned benefits are realized before the
program finishes
d- The benefits management plan identifies which processes and procedures should be used to
manage the program

The identification and engagement of key stakeholders are necessary for the success of any
program. Among the list of key stakeholders are the program sponsor and the program manager.
What is the CORRECT answer with regard to the prime responsibilities of the sponsor or of the
program manager?
a- The program sponsor's prime responsibility is to provide resources, secure funding for the program,
and enable program success
b- The program sponsor's prime responsibility is to provide resources and to manage the program
ate reviews
c- The program manager's prime responsibility is to manage the program according to the plan and
to keep stakeholders happy
d- The program manager's prime responsibility is to manage the component project managers and
to make sure that they remain on time and within their allocated budget

You are managing a program that will deliver a series of home automation sensors for the consumer
market. Your organization is a worldwide leader in the consumer industry, has R&D in several
countries, marketing and sales in 52 countries and subcontracts their manufacturing. This program is
in charge of adapting the existing product line for customers in emerging and promising markets on
another continent. Your senior management thinks that this region will generate an approximate
total increase of 50 M€ in cash flow during the next 5 years. You are now in the program formulation
subphase, defining the strategic objectives. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Define the objectives, requirements and risks of the program according to the program mission,
the intended 50 M€ increase, the transformation limitations of your organization, and the global
vision of the market
b- Assess how the Enterprise Organizational Factors and Organizational Process Assets can help your
program or need to be adapted to this new continent
c- Elaborate on the business case received from the governance board by further estimating market
sales, costs and gross margin. Obtain agreement with sales and manufacturing
d- Meet the potential sponsors to know their program objectives
164
another continent. You are now in the formulation subphase, and you are developing the program
charter. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Develop a general scope statement which will contain the program vision, local influences and
variables in order to facilitate global planning
b- Write a general scope statement to create the PWBS, in order to determine and plan program
deliverables
c- Assess to which extent the PMIS already in place in your organization needs to be adapted to
local constraints such as: cost and organization’s labor constraints, certification processes, R&D
funding
d- Create a detailed scope statement which will contain the budget objectives, local influences
and variables in order to facilitate global planning

another continent. You are now involved in defining the strategic objectives. According to the
following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- Perform a market survey of end users by means of focus groups to properly identify local needs, to
address whether home automation is really needed in this region, and how?
b- Consider how the local regulations demand an urgent change in the products themselves; the
existing products may have to be completely redesigned as well as the manufacturing process
c- Estimate sales volume, program costs and ROI, in order to obtain an initial approval of your
program
d- Check to what extent the consumer trends, the local climate in private and public trading and
the local R&D and sales skills may direct the new range of products and related benefits

You are in the definition phase of your program. Key benefits have already been identified, and you
are now developing the benefits management plan which will provide detailed information about
how and when the benefits will be realized. This document will serve as the baseline for benefits
management. In parallel to the benefits management plan, you are also developing a risk register
to capture identified risks, and you would like to link the two documents: the benefits management
plan and the risk register. Which option is TRUE with regard to the benefits management plan and to
the risk register?
a- There is no relationship between the two. They are completely separate
b- There is a strong relationship between the two. The risk register should specify how and when
component-level risks will impact benefits
c- There is a strong relationship between the two. The risk register may contain risks which impact
benefits delivery
d- There is a strong relationship between the two. In fact, they should be merged into a single
document
165
As a program manager in your company, you know that benefits management is a key ingredient
of your program success. Even before your program was initiated, a group of executives from your
company met several times in order to identify the key benefits that your program could produce.
Following those discussions, a list of identified benefits was established and recorded in a program
document. During the life of the program, you will use this preliminary list of expected benefits as the
basis for benefits management. During the program life cycle, what is the FIRST document that
contains this preliminary list of expected benefits?
c- The program business case
d- The benefits management plan

An effective program governance structure is a key element of success for any program. What is
NOT an element of an effective governance structure?
a- Responsibilities and accountabilities are clearly defined
b- Program governance is consistent with the organizational governance requirements
c- Strategic alignment is realized and benefits are delivered
d- All component issues are resolved at component level

You are managing a program which is well underway. The four component projects: A, B, C and D
are creating the required deliverables. The stakeholders at project level are well engaged and
consistently participate in the various projects’ checkpoint meetings. For some reason, you realize
that at the program level, some key stakeholders seem not to attend the checkpoint meetings
although they are aware that their participation is required. Stakeholders have received a calendar
of the checkpoint meetings, but sometimes you have massive attendance, and on other occasions,
very few stakeholders attend. You have the feeling that they do not attend on a regular basis, but
you really have no proof of that. You are concerned about that situation which puts the program at
risk. What did you overlook?
a- You did not send them an e-mail ahead of time telling them to attend the meeting
b- You did not give them a phone call ahead of time telling them to attend the meeting
c- You did not develop a stakeholder register
d- You did not establish stakeholder metrics in the stakeholder engagement plan
166
On this diagram, what are the critical path, critical path length, shortest path and shortest path
length, respectively?
a- ABCG, 53, AHG, 40
b- ADEFG, 54, AHG, 39
c- ADEFG, 55, AHG, 40
d- ABCG, 54, AHG, 39

Program planning activities mainly occur during the program definition phase. In reality, planning
activities occur during each phase of the program life cycle; for instance each phase must be
correctly planned before being executed. Also, planning (or re-planning) activities should be
performed at key milestones of the program, such as gate reviews. Because of the extended
duration of the majority of programs, there are additional milestones where plans should be revisited
and updated to ensure ongoing usefulness. This may NOT happen:
a- At each component initiation
b- At each component closure
c- Each time a new major risk is identified
d- Each time the portfolio is modified

Program planning activities mainly occur during the program definition phase. But actually, planning
and updated to ensure ongoing usefulness. You manage a program which spans four years. In
which situation is it LEAST important for you to update the program plans?
a- When the steering committee asks you to release three key resources from your program
b- When a customer request to increase the program scope has been accepted
c- When a customer request to increase the program scope has been rejected
d- When the steering committee asks you to include one more component in your program
167
Program planning activities mainly occur during the program definition phase. But actually, planning
and updated to ensure ongoing usefulness. In which situation is it MANDATORY to update the
program plans?
a- When the Customer requests a major extension to the program scope
b- When the program is over three months late
c- When a program schedule change request has been accepted
d- When the measured quality of the program deliverables is below standard

The program you are managing is in good shape. However, your executive sponsor e-mails you
stating that you should urgently clear certain serious issues. She explains that a project manager
reported problems during an informal discussion. You were not aware of these problems before.
a- You should meet the project manager to understand more about this
b- You request that the sponsor explains the issues in detail
c- You meet the project manager, discuss the point and you ask him to never give this kind of
information again without informing yourself first
d- You should politely meet the sponsor, understand the reported issues, but ask her to never interact
directly again with the people you manage

You are managing a program which is composed of three projects. You have weekly checkpoint
meetings with your project managers. With the help of the PMO, you have standardized their
reporting format which makes the meetings more effective. Before the checkpoint meeting, you ask
each project manager to provide you with the status of key elements you have identified. The PMO
then combines the information coming from the projects and from the program itself. What is the
MOST appropriate list of artifacts you will generate when monitoring and controlling the
performance of your program?
a- Program Performance reports and Forecasts
b- Benefits management plan updates
c- Change requests, stakeholder engagement reports, program roadmap and audit reports
d- Change requests, work results, stakeholders’ feedback, program roadmap and the status of team
morale
168
You are in charge of a program for removing the waste produced in summer by the visitors to your
city. The overall cost is 1M€. Last year you had to remove the waste from June 1st through August
31st. However, the tourist office extrapolates from current bookings that visitors will only come from
July 1st through July 30th, with a 95% probability. What is the expected schedule variance?
a-1 month
b- 2 months
c- 3 months
d- Not enough information to answer

You are in charge of a program for removing the waste produced in summer by the visitors to your
city. The overall cost is 1M€. Last year you had to remove the waste from June 1st through August
31st. However, the tourist office extrapolates from current bookings that visitors will only come from
July 1st through July 30th, with a 95% probability. What is the expected cost variance?
a- 1M€
b- 0.66 M€
c- 0.33 M€
d-0M€

Program X has just finished program formulation, which means that the steering committee gave its
OK to proceed to the next subphase. A PMO has just been formed and you have been appointed
as its manager. Your role is to provide support to program X and to the project management teams.
Program X is composed of three projects that were managed independently so far, and are now
regrouped into a single program for better efficiency and convergence towards well-identified
benefits. The project managers have many years of experience in managing projects. Each project
has its own way of working, using different processes, tools, procedures and templates. What is the
BEST option for the PMO to approach this situation?
a- Do nothing; project managers have a lot of experience, so why bother?
b- Meet each project manager to understand their rationale for using specific tools. Then you
choose the best tool and impose it on the others
c- Set up a meeting with the three project managers, have each one explain their project context
and then ask them to vote for a common approach
d- Do everything possible to establish consistent and uniform standards across the program
169
You are managing a program that has about thirty stakeholders, six of whom are identified as 'key
stakeholders' because you need their deep involvement for the success of the program. You are
developing the stakeholder engagement plan, and you want to make sure that key stakeholders
remain engaged during the whole length of the program. In order to avoid a potential crisis, you
want to be able to measure their attendance at meetings, measure participation trends and
identify root causes of non-participation. What is the BEST action you should take?
a- Develop attendance lists for the meetings, ask that they be filled in by those present at each
meeting, and create attendance trend curves
b- Develop the stakeholder register which will contain the list of key stakeholders
c- Develop a stakeholder map which will visually represent the stakeholders’ interactions
d- Develop stakeholder metrics which will allow the tracking of stakeholders’ attendance and
involvement in the program

You are managing a program that has about thirty stakeholders, six of whom are identified as 'key
stakeholders' because you need their deep involvement for the success of the program. Some of
the key stakeholders are remotely located, and English is not their mother tongue. You know that all
have different expectations. You are aware of the importance of communicating with them, and in
order to properly manage their expectations, you want to make sure you use adequate tools and
techniques. What is the MOST appropriate list of Tools and Techniques for this purpose?
a- Negotiation, conflict resolution, meetings, and active listening
b- Negotiation, conflict resolution, face to face discussions, and active listening
c- Negotiation, conflict resolution, and communication
d- Negotiation, conflict resolution, communication, and dispute management

The Executive President of your organization has to assign a program manager to a new program.
This program is spread over several countries and will need to be operated by virtual teams most of
the time. He will use a matrix of criteria, weighted to compare and choose the most adequate
program manager. Among the following options, which factor will receive the MOST important
weight?
a- The program manager will speak fluently in at least two common languages used throughout the
regions where the program operates
b- The program manager will originate from the corporate country
c- The program manager will have advanced interpersonal skills
d- The program manager will have vast experience in program management
170
You are currently in the definition phase of program ABCD. When establishing the benefits
management plan, interdependencies between the benefits have been thoroughly analyzed and it
is now clear that all benefits will be realized before program closure. However, a key external
stakeholder who may be positively impacted by the program is not really convinced that this will be
the case. According to the following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this
situation?
a- Explain the plan again; everything is nicely scheduled and interdependent, so do not worry
b- Go back to your program team and establish metrics that satisfy this external stakeholder
c- Go back to your program team and establish metrics that satisfy all stakeholders
d- You understand that the benefits may be not as positive as this stakeholder would like. You thus
decide to enhance the quality of the intended benefits

You are the program manager of program B which has obtained permission to proceed and has
successfully passed the program formulation subphase. Resources are scarce in your company, but
the program is vital. You realize that the constraints imposed on available in-house resources are one
of the major problems you will have to face. Most resources in the company are being used for
program A which is even more vital than program B. Not only does program A have many more
resources being used on their program, but it also has critical skill sets needed on your program. You
are aware of the fact that, because of budgetary constraints, your company will not accept
resources from outside. You prepare a presentation to the governance board to explain the
situation and you are developing a list of options for the board. Among the following options, which
one is the BEST fit for your program?
a- Propose that program A subcontracts part of the job in order to release some of the resources
currently on program A which could then move to program B
b- Propose that you audit program A to see if resources are being utilized efficiently enough. If not,
program B could get the underutilized resources from program A
c- Propose to slow down program A. This could at least temporarily release some resources and
these could move to program B
d- Propose to work with your colleague, the manager of program A, in order to see if synergies could
be identified between the two programs, and whether resources can be distributed differently
between the two programs
171
You are managing program X which is composed of four projects: A, B, C and D. From the beginning
of your program, you have been extremely sensitive to the fact that program outcomes must
generate benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives of your company. One KPI you have
defined for the program relates to the component project deliverables which must be produced on
time, and with the required quality level. At one program checkpoint, project manager C reports a
potential delay expected on a key project deliverable. If the delay occurs, it will impact one major
program objective. Project manager C says that the expected delay of the deliverable is due to the
potential late delivery of a piece of test equipment from an outside vendor. After discussing with
project manager C, you find out that no real commitment was ever given from the vendor on the
delivery date of this test equipment. What is the BEST action for you to take?
a- Ask project manager C to update the contract with the vendor with an urgent delivery date
b- Ask project manager C to immediately contact the vendor and explain to him the critical nature
of the situation
c- Pick up the phone yourself and give the order to the vendor to immediately provide the test
equipment
d- Inform the steering committee about the situation

of your program, you have been extremely sensitive to the fact that the program outcomes must
generate benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives of your company. You have defined
several KPIs which are well known and accepted by your project managers. Those KPIs relate to the
risk level of the projects, to 'not to exceed costs', to the delivery dates, and also to the minimum
required quality levels. All KPIs are defined with a range or tolerance level. Your project managers
have included the KPIs in their project management plans and they know they will need to track
them and report to you about their status. WHEN do you expect your project managers to report on
KPIs status?
a- When KPIs are not met
b- When KPIs are outside their defined tolerance
c- Every week, or once a month depending on the nature of the project
d- Only before meeting the steering committee for a formal review

generate benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives of your company. The program is
well underway, but you realize that many risks identified on the component projects are reported to
you by your project managers who expect you to handle them. You keep saying that it is not your
responsibility to handle project related risks, but your project managers seem to always find a good
reason to ask you to handle such risks. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Check the project risk registers in order to see if those risks are logged correctly
b- Tell your project managers that you will only accept high priority risks
c- Refuse to handle these risks and tell your project managers that this must not occur again in the
future
d- Review the risk escalation procedures to see if they are up to date, and reinforce the risk
escalation rules given to your project managers
172
The local authorities have decided to build a highway between two large cities. Several bridges also
need to be built. A business case has demonstrated the pertinence of the program. A large
construction program is launched and is forecast to last approximately four years. You have been
selected as its sponsor. During the definition phase of the program, and with the help of the local
authorities, you need to define its financial framework. What are the MOST COMMON funding
models used to create the financial framework?
a- Funded entirely within a single organization, funded within multiple organizations, funded and
managed entirely from outside the parent organization, and supported only by external sources of
funding
b- Managed within a single organization but funded separately, funded and managed entirely from
an inside organization, and supported with only internal sources of funding
c- Funded entirely within a single organization, managed within a single organization but funded
separately, funded and managed entirely from outside the parent organization, and supported with
internal and external sources of funding
d- Managed within a single organization but funded separately, funded and managed entirely from
outside the parent organization, and not supported with internal and external sources of funding

The local authorities have decided to build a highway between two large cities. Several bridges also
need to be built. A business case has demonstrated the pertinence of the program. A large
construction program is launched and is forecast to last approximately four years. You have been
selected as its sponsor. The program will need to have a financial plan, but before that, during the
definition phase of the program, and with the help of the authorities, you need to define its financial
framework. What is the MAIN purpose of a program financial framework?
a- The program financial framework is the only input used to develop the program financial plan
b- It defines and describes the program funding flows in such a way that the money is spent as
efficiently as possible
c- It provides the program manager with a plan to coordinate available funding under known
constraints
d- It takes into account the various potential funding sources in order to create a viable financial
plan
173
In this diagram, what is the critical path?

a- ABCG
b- ADEFG
c- AHG
d- ADCG
On the above diagram, which statement is TRUE?

a- ADCG is the longest path
b- ADEFG is the critical path
c- Activity C is on the critical path
d- AHG is the shortest path and is the critical path
174
On this diagram, if D duration becomes 15, what are the critical path, critical path length, shortest
path, and float on the shortest path, respectively?
a- ABCG, 53, AHG, 14
b- ADEFG, 54, AHG, 14
c- ADEFG, 55, AHG, 13
d- ABCG, 54, AHG, 13

You have been managing a program over the last four years. All the component projects have
been properly closed. You have monitored the realization of the benefits during the life of the
program. According to the plan, some benefits have produced their strategic expectations during
the life of the program, and some do this much later, after the program is closed. You are now
thinking about closing the program. You present the program status to the steering committee, and
based upon your statements, the steering committee recommends that the program be closed.
However, you are not certain exactly when the benefits are scheduled to occur. WHERE is this
information documented?
a- In the benefits realization plan
b- In the transition plan
c- In the benefits management plan
d- In the program business case

You have been managing a program over the last four years. All the component projects have
been properly closed. You have monitored the realization of the benefits during the life of the
program. According to the plan, some benefits have been realized during the life of the program,
and some will occur much later, after the program is closed. You are now thinking about closing the
program. You present the program status to the steering committee and, based upon your
statements, the steering committee recommends that the program be closed. The steering
committee wants to understand how you plan to transfer the responsibilities to operations. Which
document BEST describes this?
a- The benefits transition report
b- The program transition plan
c- The benefits management plan
d- The program transition report
175
You are preparing a program charged with developing a set of new IT technologies that promises to
be a great business development opportunity within your organization. This program is located in the
corporate division that groups together a number of other corporate functions including: finance,
human resources, the strategic board, and corporate marketing. The intention is to spread the
benefits of your program over the entire organization that consists of 5 business divisions operating in
more than 50 countries and split into 3 geographical zones. You have created the high level
roadmap but failed to obtain formal approval from your executive sponsor. What is the MOST LIKELY
reason that the approval was denied?
a- The milestones and high level costs identified all major road blocks but did not contain sufficient
details per country
b- You did not identify integration needs and scenarios to make sure that the benefits will bring
sustained business development for the 5 business divisions and the 3 geographical zones which
represent the majority of the countries
c- You did not identify integration needs and scenarios to make sure that the benefits will bring
sustained business development for the 50 countries
d- You did not identify the skills and resources needed by each of the 50 countries

You are preparing a program in charge of developing a set of new IT technologies that promises to
more than 50 countries and split into 3 geographical zones. You have thoroughly evaluated
corporate capabilities to define and validate the benefits with the functional managers. However,
there are still board members objecting that this is not yet complete. What did you do WRONG?
a- You did not evaluate whether the individual budgets of the functional managers fit your program
b- You did not spend sufficient time with the managers to gain their confidence
c- You did not fully assess the capability of the staff and other necessary resources (test equipment,
software tools) to provide your program’s expected benefits
d- The human resource incentive plan is not attractive enough to get resources from the functional
managers
176
You are preparing a program in charge of developing a set of new IT technologies that promises to
more than 50 countries and split into 3 geographical zones. You have prepared an initial charter
that proposes high level costs, milestones and an overall schedule as well as the expected benefits.
What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- Propose this charter to the governance board in order to receive formal authorization to further
proceed with program preparation
b- Introduce this charter also to the stakeholders of lesser importance so that all really come on
board to join the program
c- Get the governance board to come together and organize a kick off meeting
d- Develop a detailed business case per country

Your organization operates energy plants in ten countries. You are leading the program in charge of
refurbishing the energy-producing plants with the new ABCXYZ technology. This will address the local
people’s important concerns and make your organization more socially acceptable; but it will
reduce the overall business profits. Some board members have told you that this profit cut is not
acceptable. What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- You acknowledge this and try to minimize your budget so that long term ROI increases
b- You decide to put in place a rigorous earned value methodology to demonstrate that every
single cent spent on your program will be efficient
c- You design earned value metrics that combine both the financial and non-financial metrics of
your program. On this basis, you will be able to show that profit will increase in the long term
d- You design a slide presentation for the next board meeting explaining that if the social aspects
are not taken into account, profit will disappear anyway

people’s important concerns, and make your organization more socially acceptable; but it will
acceptable and that the resultant social gain is not clearly demonstrated. Among the following
choices, what is the WORST course of actions you took that explains this situation?
a- Social concerns were not really analyzed and mapped against state-of-the-art environmental
quality standards. Therefore you did not really define tangible metrics to show how greatly your
program improves social acceptance
b- You neglected to rigorously demonstrate that the profit cut is unambiguously compensated by
the increase in social acceptance
c- You spent too much effort on technical actions related to refurbishment
d- You spent too little effort on informing the population that your program is good for it
177
people’s important concerns, and make your organization more socially acceptable; but it will
acceptable. What should you say in your reply to them?
a- The program is a careful balance of tangible financial results and non-financial benefits.
Jeopardizing this balance may break the whole business in the long term
b- I will minimize the introduction of ABCXYZ technology in order to increase profit and I will try to
convince the local population
c- I will implement the new ABCXYZ technology to all ten countries because all business, however
small, is good for our company
d-1 will launch a project in order to assess the business increase by expanding ABCXYZ technology in
five new countries
Practice Question PQ6Q

Governance of the program you manage is working well and is composed of 13 people: the
executive sponsor, the program director, 5 project managers, the PMO officer, 4 representatives
from the external stakeholders and yourself. The steering board is reviewing program financials, but
several questions are raised on the presence of too many constraints that are not explicitly defined
at the program level. In reality, the program has complex financial sourcing that mixes public and
private funds. Which one of the following is NOT a typical output of the ‘Program financial
framework establishment’ activity?
a- Program funding sources
b- Program financial framework
c- Business case updates
d- Updates to the communications management and stakeholder engagement plans

Governance of the program you manage is working well and is composed of 13 people: the
executive sponsor, the program director, 5 project managers, the PMO officer, 4 representatives
from the external stakeholders and yourself. The steering committee recently rejected one of the
change requests that you had submitted for approval. This change request has been written by 2
project managers and yourself, to extend the budget to hire new people for the development of an
additional range of products that shows good business potential. This new idea was communicated
to all team members and the sponsor agreed with it, but now, disappointment is growing within the
team. What did you FORGET?
a- To include the 3 other project managers in the writing of the change request
b- To justify the business case for this new range of products
c- To discuss and negotiate with the external stakeholders about their position regarding the change
d- To mention this change request as a hot topic on the board’s agenda
178
The program you are managing spans three years. Phase-gate reviews are recommended to assist
program control and management as well as to facilitate governance. Phase-gate review dates
have been defined and you are aware that you need to show evidence that the program can
proceed to the next phase. Your program just finished the program definition phase. Phase-gate
reviews provide an opportunity to assess the program with respect to a number of strategic and
quality related criteria. During the gate review, the steering committee will look at some key criteria
in order to agree or not to proceed to the next phase. What is NOT mandatory when exiting this
gate?
a- Component projects are initiated in order to meet program objectives
b- The program governance structure is established
c- Expected benefits are in line with the program business case
d- The risk level remains acceptable to the organization

The program you are managing spans three years. Your program is composed of four projects: A, B,
C and D. A total of six benefits are expected from the program. All projects have generated the
expected deliverables, except project B which only produced one deliverable out of a total of four.
Because of major technical problems, it is very unlikely that project B will produce its remaining
deliverables. During today's steering committee, you explained that only four benefits will be
provided out of a total of six expected, and the steering committee has thus recommended that
the program be closed. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Discuss the situation with the steering committee and convince them not to close the program
until the two remaining benefits are realized
b- Ask project manager B to accelerate and produce the remaining deliverables which were
committed
c- Ask the steering committee the reason for their request to close the program while two benefits
are missing
d- Proceed to program closure as required by the steering committee

generate benefits in line with the strategic objectives of your company. The program is well
underway, but you realize that several opportunities emerge that your program could take
advantage of. You believe that more benefits could be generated if these opportunities are well
managed. According to your estimate, one of your projects, project C, could handle one
opportunity, and a new project could handle three other emerging opportunities. What is the
IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Immediately find a project manager for the new project and propose the name to the steering
committee for approval
b- Update your benefits management plan and show it to the steering committee for approval
c- Find a way to update the program business case in order to validate these opportunities before
updating the plans
d- Tell project manager C that she will increase her scope of responsibilities by including a new
opportunity in her project
179
Any program needs to have an appropriate governance structure in order to perform correctly. The
program governance structure includes people such as the program manager, the sponsor, the
PMO, etc. who will be involved in the various phases of the program using policies, procedures,
standards that are derived from company assets. The governance plan should provide all the
necessary information related to the execution of the governance process. Once defined, this plan
is used during the program life cycle. Which is the BEST list of governance plan ingredients?
a- Definitions of roles and responsibilities, structure and composition of the program governance
board, stakeholder engagement plan, component initiation criteria and planned phase-gate
reviews
b- Definitions of roles and responsibilities, high level governance plan and meeting schedules,
financial model, and periodic “health checks”
c- Definitions of roles and responsibilities, schedule of planned governance meetings such as phase
gate reviews, program health checks and required audits
d- Definitions of roles and responsibilities, PWBS, structure and composition of the program
governance board, governance goals summary, planned phase-gate reviews

In order to assess program performance against expected outcomes and planned benefits, the
program manager will prepare phase-gate reviews to be approved by the steering committee.
These phase-gate reviews are complemented by periodic health checks. Gate reviews and health
checks are different in nature. What is the MAIN difference between gate reviews and heath
checks?
a- Gate reviews are planned ahead of time while health checks are performed when needed
b- Both gate reviews and health checks are formally planned ahead of time
c- Both gate reviews and health checks do not need to be scheduled ahead of time, only when
necessary
d- Health checks are planned ahead of time while gate reviews are performed when needed

The program manager should be aware of the Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) which may
influence the overall management of the program. What is a CORRECT list of Enterprise
Environmental Factors?
a- Business environment, funding, program organization, regulatory, and economy
b- Business environment, geographic diversity, PMO, and technology,
c- Legislative, regulatory, industry, and market
d- Legislative, program manager, component project managers, and regulatory
180
Environmental Analysis may be used to assess the validity of the business case and program
management plan. What is a CORRECT list of Environmental Analyses which may be performed by
the program manager?
a- Comparative advantage analysis, feasibility studies, and PMIS
b- Comparative advantage analysis, feasibility studies, mandate and SWOT analysis
c- Feasibility studies, SWOT analysis, assumptions analysis, and historical information analysis
d- Feasibility studies, SWOT analysis, Critical chain, and historical information analysis

Programs may be undertaken for a number of reasons. What is the PRIMARY objective of any
program?
a- Coordinate the management of several projects in order to be more efficient
b- Manage and optimize project interdependencies
c- Generate benefits which are in line with the strategic objectives
d- Generate benefits which are in line with customer expectations

During the program definition phase, you develop the program roadmap, which is a chronological
representation of the program's intended direction. The program roadmap bridges business strategy
and key program activities. From the list of options, which is the KEY INPUT used to develop the
program roadmap?
b- The sponsor recommendation
c- The program mandate
d- The program scope statement

You are managing program X which has several component projects. Project A has generated all its
deliverables according to planned EVM values but now has difficulties in closing its procurements
with one contractor, although all contract clauses have been fulfilled. This contractor is also involved
in other components of the program without any problem. According to the following options, as
program manager, what is the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- Ask for project A closure and try to resolve remaining procurement issues at program level
b- Do not ask for project A closure until all procurement issues are resolved
c- Ask for project A closure and call your legal department to open a dispute with the contractor
d- Inform your program governance board that a major problem has occurred with one contractor
181
You are preparing for an important governance board meeting. This meeting will review the
performance of the program so far. A board member has informed you that an important
stakeholder XYZ is very satisfied whereas another board member reports that another important
stakeholder ABC is not satisfied at all. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Ask XYZ to meet ABC and share why she is so happy. You expect that ABC will change his mind
when listening to XYZ
b- Meet ABC and explain why XYZ is happy
c- Meet ABC, listen carefully to his concerns, and put an agenda item at the next board meeting to
introduce consistent mitigation of these concerns
d- Meet ABC, listen carefully to his concerns, and provide some answers directly to him

Program governance ensures that benefits are realized in conjunction with the strategic objectives
of the organization. Governance is composed of a full range of stakeholders: executive sponsor,
program director, project managers, program manager, PMO, and project teams. Among the
following options, which is the MOST recommended technique to be used in order to assess ongoing
performance and progress against the expected outcomes of the program?
a- Establishing formal gate reviews
b- Defining the timing and objectives of external audits
c- Planning of periodic health checks that have to be formally scheduled in the program roadmap
d- Planning of periodic health checks that have to be organized when needed

Among the following options, which one is the MOST typical planning technique used to guarantee
that all costs of conformance and of nonconformance will be incurred at program level?
a- Cost of Quality (COQ)
b- Earned Value Method
c- Return on Investment
d- Net Present Value
182
Your program deals with many vendors and most of them will be common to several of your
program’s constituent projects. You have consequently decided to manage procurement at the
program level rather than at project level. You have assigned one procurement expert in your PMO
to manage all procurements on your behalf. This PMO expert has developed the procurement
management plan, and is now conducting procurements. As of today, not all vendors have been
selected, and no contract has been signed with any of them. When conducting procurements, the
PMO expert will generate several outputs. Which is the CORRECT list of these outputs?
a- Performance/earned value reports, request for quote (RFQ), awarded contracts, program
procurement plan, and quality checklists
b- Performance/earned value reports, invitation for bid (IFB), program budget updates, request for
roadmap and program procurement standards
c- Proposal evaluation criteria, signed agreements, agreements administration plan, and request for
proposal (RFPs)
d- Request for quote (RFQ), request for proposal (RFP), awarded contracts, and program roadmap
updates

Your company is in the process of reorganizing its marketing channels and has decided to put in
place a program to manage this major change in the organization. You are the program manager
of this highly strategic program. You have identified the key stakeholders in the stakeholder register
and you have performed a stakeholder analysis that provides information about stakeholders’
attitudes with regard to the program. From your analysis, some stakeholders will have a positive
attitude; some will certainly have a negative attitude. Once your program is underway, you find that
you were right in your analysis, as one key stakeholder, a functional manager who provides several
key resources to your program, shows negative attitudes during checkpoint meetings. During the last
meeting, this manager said they will soon withdraw their resources from the program. What is the
IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Do nothing because you definitely need those key resources, and you do not want them to be
taken off the program
b- Tell this functional manager that because they agreed to provide your program with those key
resources, they can’t say anything
c- Talk to this functional manager and explain the importance of having their support
d- Talk to the program sponsor and explain the situation
183
You are managing a software development program which has four projects: A, B, C and D. Projects
A, B and C are in charge of developing various software modules and project D mainly performs test
activities for the other three projects. You have regular checkpoint meetings with the four project
managers, both on an individual basis, and during group sessions. During one checkpoint meeting,
project manager D reports a major risk that appeared recently on her project. One of her suppliers
may not be able to deliver the test equipment on time; it may be two months later than originally
planned. If this happens, it will jeopardize test sessions that are planned to start in one week from
now and may delay the creation of the planned benefit by two months. What is the BEST way to
handle the situation?
a- Take corrective action and modify the benefits management plan to take into account the two
months delay. Plans must reflect reality
b- Ask project manager D to immediately contact the supplier and work on an alternate solution if
possible. You should also inform the steering committee about the two months delay in the benefit
realization
c- Immediately inform the steering committee about the two months delay. They are most interested
in benefit realization
d- Ask project manager D to immediately contact the supplier and work on an alternative solution if
possible. You should also look at the plan to see what will be the consequence of the delay on the
benefit realization

managers, both on an individual basis, and during group sessions. The meetings with your project
managers are going well, but it appears that project teams spend a lot of time discovering already
known problems and correcting them. The same problems seem to pop up again and again in
each project and across projects, week after week. Each project manager seems to forget what
happened the previous week in their project and in the other projects. You want to understand the
reason for this problem and you want to fix it. What is the MOST PROBABLE source of this problem?
a- There is no proper PMIS database in place in the program, which makes life difficult for the
projects
b- The PMO is not playing his support role which involves collecting information from the project
managers
c- There is not a correct feedback process in place to capture lessons learned from the projects
d- Your project managers have neither read nor signed the communication plan
184
managers and with the PMO. The projects are progressing with difficulty. Project execution is
complex, more complex than anticipated. Project members have little experience in their jobs and
project managers spend a lot of time helping and counselling them. Two project managers report
the fact that some of their members are showing a lack of motivation. Project managers ask you for
recommendations about what to do to help project team members perform better. The program
PMO is experienced in software development. What is the BEST option for you to take?
a- Ask the PMO to develop a training course on software programming development for the project
team members
b- Move PMO members to project teams in order to speed up software development
c- Hire an outside consultant to coach, train or mentor according to needs
d- Ask the PMO to perform an assessment of the situation and to recommend an action plan

You are managing a program which has four projects: A, B, C and D. You have regular checkpoint
meetings with the four project managers, both on an individual basis, and during group sessions.
Meetings are going well with all of them, except with project manager D who has a tendency to
argue and disagree with most of your remarks. Project managers A, B and C have started to be a
little bit nervous with their colleague who is creating a climate of discomfort in the program team.
You realize that the situation has become difficult and you want to understand what is happening.
You invite project manager D for a discussion in your office. You want to get the best out of the
discussion. What skill should you exercise MOST during the discussion?
a- Leadership
b- Conflict resolution
c- Influencing
d- Active listening

The program you are managing is in charge of designing, building and delivering a new space
rocket to an important government agency. Even if it seems that this is a project, a program is
needed in this case because it belongs to the space industry. According to the following options
what is the BEST reason for having a program instead of a project?
a- In this industry, it often happens that funds are not all available from day 1. Therefore you need to
deliver interim benefits to the contractor so that you obtain funds according to major outcomes
b- A program is needed because normally a rocket costs several tens of millions of Euros
c- This is a standard request from the contracting companies to have highly experienced people to
direct the program.
d- A rocket is the sum of several technologies (boosters, air conditioning, solar panels, telecom
payload, etc.) that require very careful management of interfaces between sub systems because of
the technology complexity
185
rocket to an important government agency. You have a change control board (CCB) at the
program level to assess change requests on a number of criteria: scope, quality, schedule, cost,
contracts, risks, etc. Because the program is quite large, changes that impact earned value less
than 5% are processed at project level, this is an example of:
a- Resource leveling
b- Smoothing
c- Tolerance
d- Delegation of governance

rocket to an important government agency. You just finished defining the program. It seems that the
people working on the program do not really interrelate; meetings are slow, misunderstandings are
numerous, and people quite often remain distant from each other. You would like to increase
cohesion in the team. Among the following options, what is the BEST statement concerning this
team?
a- The team is in a forming phase
b- The team is in a storming phase
c- The team is in a transforming phase
d- The team is in a non-producing phase

The program architecture is the set of components that define the program and contribute to its
planned benefits. During the development of the program architecture, rules for the inclusion (and
exclusion) of program components should be defined, and the interrelationships between the
components should also be identified. During the program life cycle, the architecture of the
program is subject to change, but one key responsibility of the program manager is to properly
manage the program architecture. Among all the options, which is the BEST reason to change the
program architecture?
a- The sponsor has decided to move the program manager to another position
b- The steering board is discussing the possibility of including one more project in the program
c- The steering board has agreed to close one program component
d- The steering committee has agreed to add one more component to the program
186
The program architecture defines the relationships among its components, related to both
operational and project activities. The program manager is responsible for managing all the
interfaces between these components. During the life of the program, new components may be
brought into the program and some may be removed from the program. In order to communicate
interface changes to stakeholders, guidelines should be developed. In which of the following
situations is it BEST to communicate a program interface change to stakeholders?
a- A change request is rejected and the program architecture does not change
b- A change request is accepted at the component level but has no impact on other components
c- A new PMO member has been brought into the group
d- A scope change in one component has an impact on the program architecture

You are managing a program which has three component projects and some other work. Recently,
due to a big shift in the market, the strategic objectives of the company have changed. As a result
of this change, your program has been impacted and management has decided to stop one of
your components, and to initiate two new projects as part of your program. You know that, in your
program, you are responsible for managing component interfaces. As a result of the management
decision to stop one project and to add two more, HOW MANY program component interfaces are
you managing now?
a- Four interfaces
b- There is not enough information in the text
c- Six interfaces
d- Ten interfaces

You are a program manager attending a governance board meeting and presenting slides in order
to pass a gate review. What is the MOST likely document to be reviewed in such a meeting?
a- Program Management Plan
b- Stakeholder Engagement Plan
c- Benefits Register
d- Program Procurement Plan

Your program X is experiencing severe delays with component project A. Project manager A informs
you that a possible reason is a resource conflict that still remains between 2 work packages in her
project. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Organize a meeting with project manager A and the persons in charge of the delayed work
packages to find an appropriate solution
b- Organize a meeting with project manager A and the persons in charge of the delayed work
packages to impose your authority and prove that, as a program manager, you can perform better
than project manager A
c- Ask project manager A to really assess to what extent this resource conflict is affecting the
schedule of her own project
d- Meet the 2 persons in charge of the respective work packages to find a suitable solution
187
You are the newly appointed program manager of company XYZ which specialises in global
humanitarian aid. The board members have expressed dissatisfaction with the program
performance during several board meetings. They state that it is difficult to see from the information
provided whether the program needs correction or not. As newly appointed program manager,
what is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Meet individually with each project manager to analyze their performance reports in order to
formalize requests for corrective actions
b- Update the business case
c- Travel to meet the three most important regional CEOs
d- Assess the completeness of the information provided in the reports with respect to the concerns
expressed by the board, and share a targeted update of the program report with all project
managers

You are contributing to the initiation of a program you expect to manage. This program consists of
renewing the nationwide telecommunication backhaul network of your organization. The
organization has several affiliates around the country and their expenditure costs have to be cut as
a result of this program. As you introduce the stakeholder register to the governance board, several
board members express concerns and at this stage, you fail to pass the review to authorize the
program. What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- Clearly identify the stakeholders list, including the sponsor, and create a matrix to state their
position concerning the program
b- Invite new members to the governance board to be sure that all affiliates are represented on the
board
c- Recommend a decentralized governance board structure to handle the complexity of the
program which is due to the number of affiliates
d- Simply add the board members to the stakeholder list

You are contributing to the initiation of a program you expect to manage. This program consists of
renewing the continent wide telecommunication backhaul network of your organization. The
organization has several affiliates all over the country and their expenditure costs have to be cut as
a result of this program. As you introduce the stakeholder register to the governance board, several
board members express concerns and at this stage, you fail to pass the review to authorize the
program. Some board members even think that the program will face strong opposition from five
stakeholders and that this is not good for the future of the program. What is the IMMEDIATE action
you should take?
a- Ask your assistant to organize a 10-day trip to meet and convince the affiliates throughout the
continent
b- Check historical data on the five stakeholders to better understand them. Ask for the support of
one of the veteran board members
c- Organize yourself to quickly obtain historical data on the five stakeholders, and ask your program
team to provide you with their current positions
d- Emphasize the other good parts of the mandate you are elaborating to smooth and
accomodate these concerns
188
You are planning the activities tor your program. The scope of the program is well defined; you
understand the program requirements and the program architecture are established. You now want
to decompose the work to be performed in the program and create the program work breakdown
structure (PWBS). You ask your project managers to do the same for their projects and create their
WBS. You plan to use the project's WBS as an input to creating the program WBS. You have drafted
a program WBS on your own and you also have received the projects' WBS from your project
managers. What is the BEST option now to create the PWBS?
a- Incorporate the first or first two levels of the projects' WBS into the program WBS
b- Include each entire project’s WBS into the program WBS
c- Select the projects' work packages and include them into the program WBS
d- Ignore the projects' WBS because they only relate to the projects and not to the program

You are planning the activities for a complex program composed of three projects. The scopes of
the projects are well defined, but the scope at the program level is still not finalized. You are not sure
if some non-project work will be incorporated in the program or not. You want to move ahead in the
program planning activities and you start creating an initial version of the program work breakdown
structure (PWBS). As of today, what is the BEST option to create a meaningful PWBS?
a- Ask your project managers to develop their project's WBS, and consolidate the PWBS with the
project's ones. If the non-project work is confirmed, you will then update the PWBS with that
additional piece of work
b- Wait for confirmation on the non-project work as it will impact the PWBS
c- Ask your project managers to develop their project's WBS, and consolidate the PWBS with the
project's ones. In any case, the non-project work will not impact the PWBS
d- The PWBS creation is not under your responsibility. It is the sponsor’s responsibility because he is
accountable for the program success

You are planning the activities for a complex program composed of three projects and some
recurring activities. You are developing the program management plan which integrates the
program's subsidiary plans. The program management plan will be the primary input to program
execution. The program management plan mainly describes how the program will be managed.
What is NOT an appropriate list of plans included in the program management plan?
a- The risk management plan, the schedule management plan, the governance plan, and the
benefits management plan
b- The procurement management plan, the scope management plan, the stakeholder
engagement plan, and the steering committee management plan
c- The resource management plan, the governance plan, the quality management plan and the
benefits management plan
d- The quality management plan, the risk management plan, the financial management plan and
the schedule management plan
189
You are planning the activities for a complex program composed of three projects and some
recurring activities. You are developing the program management plan which integrates the
program's subsidiary plans such as scope management, schedule management, etc. The program
management plan will be the primary input to program execution. You are now developing the
program quality management plan which will also be included in the program management plan.
You are aware that most quality planning activities occur at each component level. What is the
MOST appropriate list of elements you should include in the program quality management plan?
a- Program quality standards, program quality policy, quality metrics, quality assurance and control
specifications, and quality control activities required at component level
b- Program quality standards, program quality policy, quality checklists, and roles and responsibilities
for quality related activities at component level
c- Program quality standards, program quality policy, and program quality estimates of costs
d- Component quality plans, program quality standards, and program quality policy

A portfolio is usually composed of components such as programs and projects. What is a TRUE
statement with regard to portfolio components?
a- Portfolios cannot include portfolios
b- Portfolios always include projects
c- Portfolios can include non-project work
d- Portfolios always include programs

You are managing a program composed of three projects: A, B and C. You want to evaluate the
performance of your program using earned value parameters collected from each individual
project. As of today, project A has a CPI of .8, and AC = 100. Project B has a SPI = 1.5 and EV = 200.
For project C, cost variance (CV) = 50 and AC = 150. What is the earned value (EV) at program
level?
a- 200
b- 280
c- 480
d- 400

For project C, cost variance (CV) = 50 and AC = 150. What is the program actual cost (AC)?
a- 100
b- Not enough information to answer
c- 250
d- 150
190
For project C, cost variance (CV) = 50 and AC = 150. Which option is TRUE about projects A, B and
C?
a- Project A is under budget
b- Project A is over budget and project B is late
c- Project B is ahead of schedule and project C is under budget
d- Project A is over budget and project C is ahead of schedule

You are managing a space program. You have several projects for handling air and ground
infrastructure. The technologies used are very mature and you must minimize risks, as humans will be
transported by the system you are developing. The most recent governance board meeting
indicated that fewer funds will be made available and you are asked to evaluate the resultant
impacts. You know that due to budget reduction, the schedule may be delayed even if it will cause
damage to the image of the organization when it is announced. You have recently identified a new
specific technology that can save money for your program but it has several risks involved. Indeed,
this technology is very attractive and promises a less expensive alternative to the one already
chosen and developed by one of your projects.
a- Explain to the governance board that the only solution to reduce costs is to launch a new project.
Risks are clear for this project but should be taken
b- Ask for more time
c- Do not take this risk, go on with the old technology, and argue for the same level of funding
d- Conduct a deep analysis of the risks on human safety related to this new technology. Design a
transition from the old to the new technology, and then ask the governance board to launch a new
project
191
Many stakeholders participated in your last program communication meeting. Many of them will sell
products and services provided by your program, in their respective geographical areas.
Performance reports have been introduced and are shown to be satisfactory, proving that the
delivery of these results will be done on time and with a good compliance to overall expectations.
However, some sellers are still not fully convinced by this information. What did you overlook?
a- You did not spend enough money on the catering, this explains the problems you had during
lunch on the first day
b- You did not sufficiently explain how the sellers will give the information to their teams
c- You did not sufficiently explain how products and services from you program are related to your
internal organization of projects
d- Your program delivers the same products and services to all sellers without any mention of
customization. They come from different regions and your program outcomes are too generic to
really meet their specific needs

Many stakeholders participated in your last program communication meeting. The majority of them
will sell products and services provided by your program, in their respective geographical areas.
delivery of these results will be done on time and with good compliance to overall expectations.
However, at a coffee break, people from continent A tell you that they do not really see the profit
they can gain from your program. They are still skeptical and argue that they are missing information
on this topic. The meeting resumes before you are able to conclude this discussion. You are not
chairing the next session and you take advantage of this time off to think about it. The next
opportunity to reopen this discussion will be at lunch-time. What is the BEST action you should take?
a- Avoid them politely, finally concluding that the atmosphere is very positive and that these
concerns will be forgotten soon
b- Go and socialize with them to speak about the food of continent A, compare it with your local
habits, it is not often that you have an opportunity to get closer to these people
c- Ask your PMO to probe them again at lunch and if they express their concerns again, ask the
PMO to propose a meeting after the summit to address their concerns
d- Share lunch with them, socialize and wait for them to reopen the debate; if not, you will reopen it
yourself and consider the outcomes
192
However, some sellers are still not fully convinced by this information. What is the IMMEDIATE action
you should take?
a- Take some senior executives from the governance board to one side and discuss with them, one
by one
b- Ask them for their own business plan for their geographical region and convince them that they
will increase their margins with your program
c- Gather the skeptical sellers in a separate meeting to define a specific transition plan. Explain that,
with your program, you will ensure that the outcomes will be transitioned to them, that the training
plans are adequate to their staff and that switching from the previous state will be evident
d- Gather all the sellers to review the transition plan. Explain that, with your program, you will ensure
that the outcomes will be transitioned to them, that the training plans are adequate to their staff
and that switching from the previous state will be evident

However, at a coffee break, people from continent A tell you that they do not really understand
what level of profit they can gain from your program. They are still skeptical and argue that they are
lacking some information related to this. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Agree to elaborate on this with the local criteria of continent A and update the benefits register
accordingly. Agree that it will be updated by your PMO immediately after the meeting and sent
back to them
b- Ask your PMO to explain again the overall benefits and evaluate why they cannot be positive for
continent A
c- Explain what the expected benefits for continents B through G are, and convince people from
continent A that their benefits will be very similar
d- As all six other continents are happy, simply expect that they will align to them
193
You have been recently appointed to a new program as program manager. This program has
received formal acceptance from the board and is now in the definition life cycle phase. One of
the key tasks is to create the scope statement of the program in order to have a high level view of
the business impact and to identify essential aspects that must be accomplished by the program.
What are the KEY topics you have to address when creating the scope statement?
a- Scope and limitations, program boundaries, assumptions and constraints, and acceptance
criteria
b- Scope, PWBS, organizational needs and requirements, assumptions and constraints
c- PWBS, organizational needs and requirements, charter of each component, assumptions and
constraints
d- Organizational needs and requirements, program charter, scope, assumptions and constraints

You are managing a program that is composed of three projects: A, B, and C. During a checkpoint
meeting with your project managers, you find out that projects A and B are both one month late,
and project C is on schedule. From this information, what can you CONCLUDE for your program?
a- Your program is one month late
b- Your program is two months late
c- Your program is on schedule
d- You do not have enough information to conclude

You have been recently appointed to a new program as program manager. This program has
received formal acceptance from the board and is now in the definition life cycle phase. One of
the key tasks is to develop consistent escalation procedures in order to raise program level issues at
the Governance board level. Which of the following options is NOT part of an escalation process?
a- Issue
b- Regulation
c- Risk
d- Change request

Company XYZ is involved in a major reorganization which impacts the program you are managing:
your program sponsor spends very little time working with you, several issues escalated to him remain
unresolved, your PMO has been disbanded and its members redeployed to other programs, and
one of your project managers is temporarily working on another program. The performance of your
program really suffers from these major organizational changes. The impact on your program is
mainly due to CHANGES in:
a- Labor
b- Management
c- Governance
d- Leadership
194
Your company has decided to regroup four existing projects and manage them as a program. You
have just been assigned as the program manager. For historical reasons, each existing project has its
own Project Management Information System (PMIS). Project managers have a lot of experience in
their domain of responsibility, and their PMIS have an excellent reputation in the company. You
wonder if you should establish a dedicated Program Management Information System (PMIS).
What is the BEST option to answer this question?
a- Your project managers' PMIS have an excellent reputation. So why bother to establish a PMIS at
program level? Use the existing PMIS “as is”
b- Your program will use a specific set of processes, tools, procedures, data, etc., which are different
from the projects' ones. As a result you should establish a dedicated PMIS at program level
c- Ask your PMO to decide since they will eventually be the only entity to use the PMIS at program
level
d- Ask the program sponsor since he provides the resources for the program

You are managing a program which is well underway. When you meet with your 3 project
managers, they say that key stakeholders at project level are really engaged and participate well to
the various checkpoint meetings, except for project C where one key stakeholder does not
participate on a regular basis to the various meetings. This stakeholder plays a key role in the project.
Project C’s manager has already tried to understand why this stakeholder does not attend these
important meetings. On one occasion she was sick, at another she forgot to attend, and on one
occasion she thought her participation was not necessary. One day, project C’s manager comes to
you and really complains about this stakeholder who does not attend key meetings and puts project
C at risk. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Pick-up the phone, and talk to this stakeholder in order to inform her that her participation is key
for the program success
b- Discuss with project C’s manager in order to get more information about this stakeholder, to
understand what her exact role in the project is, and why her involvement in the project is so
important
c- This stakeholder is key for project C. Tell project C’s manager that it is his responsibility to manage
this stakeholder. You manage at program level, not at project level!
d- Ask managers of projects A and B to help project C’s manager, because they have no problem
with their stakeholders
195
You have been identified as the potential program manager of a key program for your company.
The program is in the definition phase, a high-level business case has been built, and you know that
the governance board has many concerns about the level of risk for the program. During a recent
board meeting, the board members performed a SWOT analysis, and several risks were identified as
a result. Most of these risks originate from the external environment, such as strong competition,
potential impacts of the economic crisis on the program results, and only a few risks were identified
as internal to the organization. Because the program may bring many benefits to the company, at
the conclusion of the board meeting, the decision has been made to go ahead and start the next
program phase. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Ignore the majority of the risks identified by the board because most of the risks have been
identified as related to 'outside the company' and not under your control
b- Only record the top five risks identified during the board meeting
c- Record all the risks identified during the board meeting in the risk register. They will then be
reviewed for further analysis
d- Record all the risks identified during the board meeting and be ready to pass all of them to your
project managers when they will be on board

You have been identified as the potential program manager of a key program for your company.
The program is in the definition phase; a high-level business case has been built, you have
developed a high-level management plan, and you are now working on the identification of the
key stakeholders for the program. You have led a series of brainstorming sessions, and you have
identified an initial list of six key stakeholders. This number will potentially grow during upcoming
phases of the program. As a result of your identification of the six key stakeholders, you wonder what
to do next. What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- Continue brainstorming in order to identify more stakeholders. It is important to have the
maximum number of stakeholders possible during the pre-program preparations phase
b- Send an e-mail to each identified stakeholder in order to start establishing good channels of
communication
c- Create a priority list of identified stakeholders showing the most important one at the top, and
then list by decreasing importance
d- Create a stakeholder register which will contain all the identified stakeholders. This register will
then be updated when new stakeholders will be identified

You are in charge of a program which has been running for three years. This program includes six
projects focused on technological subsystems that are subsequently integrated by a seventh
project, namely the “integration project," to deliver a full range of IT software solutions for major
customers of your organization. Not surprisingly, as this program is highly innovative from a
technological point of view, you have regular meetings to update the overall risks at program level.
Recently, one of the six technological projects, the "storage project” failed an essential qualification
test for the data archiving system. You asked for an immediate risk review. What should you MOSTLY
consider during this meeting?
a- Review the existing risks and identify whether new risks may arise
b- Consider whether new risks may be triggered from this failure
c- Update the program risk register
d- Trigger the risk response actions related to the failure
196
You are in charge of a program which has been running for three years. This program consists of six
projects focused on technological subsystems that are then subsequently integrated by a seventh
project, namely the “integration project,” to deliver a full range of IT software solutions for major
customers of your organization. The program is fueled by internal funds which are submitted for
board approval. This process is rather stable now as the financial effort is being tracked, monitored,
and controlled according to the program's expenditure. What is the MOST recommended action for
successful monitoring and control of the program financials?
a- Identify factors that create changes to the program management plan
b- Monitor contract expenditures to ensure that funds are made available before the contract starts
c- Communicate changes in the financial baseline to the governance groups and to the auditors
d- Manage the expenditures of the program architecture to ensure costs are within expected levels

project, namely the “integration project,” to deliver a full range of IT software solutions for major
customers of your organization. Recently, one of the six technological projects, the "storage project"
failed an essential qualification test for the data archiving system. This project delivers essential
building blocks to the integrated software solutions and you have observed over the last few weeks
that its performance was slowly but surely degrading. As the project team was highly reactive and
professional, they identified a fix and have already implemented it. According to the following
options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- Congratulate the team for being so reactive
b- Ask for a copy of the change request as well as for the non regression test proof, and record it in
the CCB register
c- Quote the reactivity of the team as an example for the other projects
d- Accept the fix but on the condition that a specific change request is submitted to the next CCB
meeting in order to be sure that this change is sustainable for the program

project, namely the "XYZ integration project,” to deliver a full range of IT software solutions for major
customers of your organization. Recently, the XYZ integration project did not accept an essential
outcome from one of the projects, namely ABC. The project leader for ABC claims that the outcome
is compliant with the requirements list which was defined several weeks ago. On the contrary,
project leader XYZ claims that, as such, this outcome cannot interface with another building block of
the whole system. People are now rather concerned and the issue is escalated to you to resolve the
dispute. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Remind everyone that they are working on the same program and invite them to organize a
meeting to solve the issue by themselves
b- Organize an issue analysis meeting in order to assess the severity of the issue, identify its origin and
possible remedies
c- Ask the quality team to perform an audit and wait for their recommendation
d- Escalate the issue to the governance board and ask for support from management to cool down
some team members
197
Adequate stakeholder engagement is a key element of program management and is essential tor
the success of the program. The program manager has the obligation to properly identify the
stakeholders, manage their expectations, and make sure they remain engaged throughout the
program life cycle. The PMI® Standard for Program Management details three activities which
address the stakeholder engagement domain. What is the CORRECT list of activities recommended
by the standard?
a- Program stakeholder engagement, program stakeholder engagement planning, and manage
program stakeholders
b- Select program stakeholders, program stakeholder engagement, and program stakeholder
engagement planning,
c- Select program stakeholders, manage program stakeholder expectations, and program
stakeholder identification
d- Program stakeholder engagement, program stakeholder engagement planning, and program
stakeholder identification
What is the correct name for such a diagram?

a- Box Network Diagram
b- Schedule Network Diagram
c- Critical Path Diagram
d- Milestone Diagram

You are initiating a program for a food company. This program is in charge of introducing a new
process for accelerating the production of a complete set of products. With the current technology,
you estimate it will take 3 years to make this new process 100% operational, whereas with more
resources it will take only 2 years. This contradicts the sponsor’s estimate of 7 years. What is the time
estimate?
a-3.5
b- 3.33
c- 4.16
d- 4.98
198
In order to optimize various project results and generate benefits, your company has decided to
launch a program with three existing projects: A, B and C. You have been chosen as the program
manager and you are in the process of identifying the key stakeholders of your program. Each
component project already has its own list of key stakeholders recorded in separate project
stakeholder registers. Among the three component projects, project A is the most important for the
program’s success, followed by project B, and finally project C has the lowest priority. You want to
focus on the list of key stakeholders at program level. What is the MOST appropriate way to handle
the list of key stakeholders who may impact the program?
a- Identify and record key stakeholders who are unique at program level
b- Aggregate the list of key stakeholders identified in the three component projects A, B and C
c- Only focus on project A stakeholder register, because project A is the most important component
project
d- Identify and record key stakeholders who are unique at program level and key stakeholders
identified in each project

A program is composed of several projects which generate outputs used to create benefits which
are in line with the strategic objectives of the company. Usually the program will generate
intermediate benefits which, in turn, will contribute to the final planned benefits. During the planning
efforts of the program, several tools may help to understand the relationship between planned
benefits and projects outputs. Among this list of options, which tools MAKE THE LINK between
planned benefits and projects outputs?
a- Benefits maps and benefits modelling tools
b- Benefits maps and the program charter
c- Benefits maps and the benefits payback period
d- Benefits modelling tools and the program charter
199
The organization’s strategic plan is a key input to several portfolio management activities. What BEST
describes the content of a strategic plan?
a- A vision and a set of objectives, a description of the organizational structure and organization
areas, and an inventory of all existing components
b- A vision and a set of objectives, a description of the organizational structure and organization
areas, and a description of funding sources and funding constraints
c- A description of the organizational structure, and a description of funding constraints
d- A vision and a set of objectives, a description of the organizational structure and organization
areas, measurable goals and guidance, and allocation funds to different types of initiatives

Portfolio management includes activities to initiate, plan, execute, optimize, monitor and control the
portfolio. When portfolio components have been identified, categorized, evaluated, selected and
prioritized, portfolio optimization can be performed. From the list of options, what BEST describes the
purpose of portfolio optimization?
a- To develop the portfolio component mix with the greatest potential to achieve the organization's
strategic objectives
b- To develop the portfolio component mix with an optimized schedule to achieve the
organization's strategic objectives
c- To develop the portfolio component mix with an optimized cost to achieve the organization's
strategic objectives
d- To develop the portfolio component mix with the minimum number of resources to achieve the
organization's strategic objectives

Any company should have a VISION which reflects where it would like to be in x years from now. For
instance, company ABC plans to be the leading business in men's clothing five years from now. This is
its vision. Once the vision is defined, understood and shared in the company, the strategic objectives
of the company should reflect that vision. From then on, a portfolio of initiatives can be developed
to reflect the strategic initiatives. This is also true at program level. Any program should have a vision
about 'what the situation will be when the program is complete'. For the sake of simplicity, let's
consider how a vision could be stated by a child. From the below options, which one is the VISION
statement of the child?
a-1 want to attend best schools, and best universities in order to have a good job
b- I want to become the President of my country
c- I want to learn two foreign languages, travel a lot, make new friends, and help people
d- I want to be more proud of myself
200
You are the program manager of a key program for your company. The program has the go ahead
from the governance board and is in the program definition phase. Key stakeholders of the program
have been identified, and you know that because of internal politics, some of them may not be very
supportive. You have identified three key stakeholders from whom support is absolutely necessary for
the success of the program. You wonder what to do next in order to get their support. According to
the following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- You contact them individually, when possible you discuss face to face, you explain the
importance of the program and you tell them why their support is absolutely necessary
b- You send them an e-mail summarizing the importance of the program and what you expect from
them
c- You ask the program sponsor to handle this situation, because it is the sponsor’s responsibility to
obtain stakeholder buy-in
d- You develop stakeholder metrics which will help you to manage key stakeholders' participation in
the program meetings

Your organization has initiated program ALPHA and you have been appointed as the program
manager. Your organization is now finalizing the acquisition of a competitor who has a similar
program called DELTA, and which is also a leading initiative in the business you are pursuing. What is
the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Meet with DELTA program manager and explain to her that now your organization is taking over
her responsibilities and that you have to close DELTA
b- Meet with DELTA program manager and explain to her that now your organisation is taking over
her responsibilities and that you have to merge DELTA with ALPHA, only taking the added value of
DELTA and closing remaining components
c- Meet the two executive sponsors of ALPHA and DELTA and ask them to clearly define a sensible
high level series of benefits derived from ALPHA and DELTA
d- Study the PMIS and lessons learned from DELTA and incorporate them into ALPHA

Your organization has initiated program ALPHA and you have been appointed as the program
manager. Your organization is now finalizing the acquisition of a competitor who has a similar
program called DELTA, and which is also a leading initiative in that business. Management thinks that
program DELTA performs better than program ALPHA and asks you to document the merger based
on efficient components and the closure of non — efficient components. What is the IMMEDIATE action
you should take?
a- Study the infrastructure of DELTA and copy paste the best components onto ALPHA. Close all
remaining components
b- Assess the KPIs of DELTA, identify discrepancies between the two programs, and then align them
c- Improve the KPIs of program ALPHA because from now on, your organization is the head office
and has therefore high costs that explain the differences
d- Follow the recommendations of the governance board
201
You are planning the activities for a complex program composed of three projects: A, B and C. You
and your team have finished developing what you consider to be the initial version of the program
management plan which integrates the program's subsidiary plans. You now do a thorough check
of resource utilization per component project. It is evident that on some months, the resources of
projects A and B will be underutilized, and on other months, there will be a lack of resources on these
two projects. Project C has no resource utilization problems and project C is the most critical for the
program’s success. No project has started yet. You look for a way to improve project A and B's
resource utilization problems. What is the BEST way to handle this situation?
a- When projects A and B have resource utilization problems, you can immediately transfer
resources from project C to projects A and B. In a program, each project must contribute to overall
program success
b- Before looking at other alternatives, you should first try to apply resource leveling techniques on
projects A and B
c- Before looking at other alternatives, you should first try to apply resource dispatching techniques
on projects A and B
d- Before looking at other alternatives, you should first try to apply the Monte Carlo technique to
optimize resource utilization on projects A and B

You are planning the activities for a complex program composed of three projects: A, B and C. You
and your team have finished developing what you consider to be the initial version of the program
management plan which integrates the program's subsidiary plans. You now do a thorough check
of resource utilization per component project. You find out that the three projects have a need for
the same test station during the same periods of their life-cycles. Your company does not have this
type of equipment which is critical for the three projects. After discussing with your procurement
organization you understand that this type of equipment is very expensive to buy. Your allocated
program budget does not cover the cost of buying three test stations. You want to find the BEST way
to procure the test stations for your three projects.
a- Buy three test stations even though they are expensive, because they are critical for the three
projects. You will always find a way to resell them when they are no longer needed
b- Try first to optimize the test station utilization across the three projects by applying techniques such
as resource leveling or smoothing. You may end up with only the need for one piece of equipment
to be used at any given time
c- Look at other alternatives, such as renting three test stations. This may solve your budget limitation
problem
d- Present the case to the steering committee. Because of the critical nature of the test stations, they
will allocate a budget extension to the program
202
You are managing a program with three component projects: A, B and C. Project B has created all
its planned deliverables and project B’s manager now formally reports that he has completed all his
project’s closing activities. Based on this report, you approve the closure of the project and you ask
project manager B to release all of his resources. You receive a phone call from the program
sponsor asking you to immediately stop releasing project B’s resources. What did you do WRONG?
a- You cannot decide all by yourself to close a component project. The component closure
decision is a decision taken by the program management team
b- You cannot decide all by yourself to close a component project. The component closure
decision must come from the PMO
c- You cannot decide all by yourself to close a component project. The component closure decision
must come from the governance board
d- You cannot decide all by yourself to close a component project. The component closure
decision must come from the customer

You are managing a program which is composed of 3 projects: A, B, and C. A steering committee
meeting is planned for this coming Friday, and the board wants to see your program’s EVM
parameters. The table below reflects the EVM data reported by your project managers:
CV CPI SPI BAC
Project A 100 1.5 0.8 1000
Project B 50 2 0.5 500
Project C 30 1.8 0.7 800
What can you conclude for your program?

a- Your program is late and you spent less than planned
b- Your program is ahead of schedule and you spent more than planned
c- Your program is on schedule and you performed more than planned
d- Your program is ahead of schedule and you performed less than planned
203
You are managing a program for a major IT company in charge of upgrading the system for the
identification of citizens at the borders of your country. This is under contract procurement from the
Public Administration of the Interior's Ministry of Affairs. You are now in a board meeting with all
parties, including your sponsor and the group of public officers representing the Administration’s
interests. Your program is rather complex and risky, spread over numerous projects that focus on
several kinds of IT expertise: database, sensors, border personnel training, etc. When reviewing the
lengthy risk updates, the Administration claims that several risks are not under control. It anticipates
delays and quality problems, arguing the fact that projects are too numerous and difficult to handle.
According to the following options, what will be the MOST appropriate way to handle this situation?
a- You acknowledge the concern and propose to concentrate on major risks; these risks will be
escalated at program level, and project level risks will not be mentioned at board level
b- You acknowledge the concern and agree that it is your job to master this complexity. You argue
that the Public Administration has chosen your IT company because of its excellent achievements in
the past and that there are no evident reasons why this should not be also the case for your
program
c- You acknowledge the concern and argue that you organized the program in specialized
technical teams for day-to-day efficiency reasons that will be demonstrated at the end of the
program
d- You acknowledge the concern and update the risk register. Risks are quite numerous but you
think it is the best way to really show that they are under control

parties, including your sponsor and the group of public officers representing the Administration's
interests. This is the final sign off for all outcomes of the program. Everything works well but, at a
coffee break, your sponsor tells you that the information given during the board meeting is not
sufficient to make the closure of the program easily accepted internally after this meeting. What is
the MOST probable reason for this?
a- You forgot to organize an internal meeting to state how internal resources will be released when
transitioning the program to operations
b- The sponsor thinks that, as you succeeded in this program, you are now a dangerous internal
competitor for his own position. He has to find some reasons to delay the closure and discredit your
performance
c- You forgot to organize a governance board meeting before this one
d- You did not document sufficiently the impact of lessons learned on future projects as you just
explained to the Administration
204
interests. They all recognized the accomplishment of your team. This is the final sign off for all
outcomes of the program. The sign off went smoothly and the success was celebrated in due form
between some governance board members and the public officers who have daily contacts with
your team. When getting back to your company, you realize that the whole program team is
surprisingly reluctant to perform the remaining necessary day-to-day actions. What is the MOST
probable reason for that?
a- People are sad to leave the program
b- You neglected to give proper recognition of your team’s performance in front of the
Administration
c- The program team thinks that you should have formally invited them to the celebrations with the
Administration
d- People are tired

interests. This is the final sign off of all outcomes of the program. The Administration reports from their
operational teams that a bug has been identified when they perform the monthly back up.
However, this bug does not impact the daily and weekly back-ups. Your backup teams have
already been partially disbanded. What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- Create a fix with the remaining program team and propose this will be corrected in the next
release because the Administration can live with it
b- Perform closure of the program; this minor bug will be corrected by the operational team
c- Elaborate a fix with the remaining program team and implement it right away
d- Create a fix with the remaining program team, assess whether other people should reintegrate
the program, and negotiate with their functional managers that they reintegrate the program in
order to correct the problem
205
interests. Your program is rather complex and risky, spread over numerous projects that focus on
several kinds of IT expertise: database, sensors, border personnel training, etc. The Administration has
said that not all border teams will use the new system. What is the MOST probable reason for this?
a- It is a really challenging program that will provide a major transformation to the Administration. It is
so broad that the Administration members did not even understand all of the impacts. They will
understand later
b- You think that the program is complex and that this is a normal situation. After proper training and
real deployment, border teams will get familiar with it and adopt it
c- The program is in the executing phase and there is little time to consider details which will occur
later
d- The Administration has a negative opinion of the program. The transition plan is not clear enough
to ensure that all border teams will use the system

Your pharmaceutical company has decided to reorganize some of its business units, and has
decided to manage this major effort as a program. A business case has been developed and the
program is approved. Also, it has been decided that two existing projects will become components
of this program. You have been asked to manage the definition phase of the program. What does
your management expect as the MAIN outputs from running the program definition phase?
a- Program mandate, program roadmap, establishment of the infrastructure, component
management plans, and assignment of the program manager
b- Program mandate, program charter, program management plan and assignment of the
program manager
c- Program charter, assignment of the program manager and of the program sponsor, program
roadmap, establishment of the governance structure
d- Program charter, assignment of the program manager and of the program sponsor, component
planning and authorization, establishment of the governance structure
206
of this program. You have been asked to develop the program charter and the steering committee
has approved it. What is the BEST definition of the program charter?
a- The program charter formally authorizes the program and it details all planned benefits, their
metrics and their realization plan
b- The program charter provides the program manager with the authority to apply resources to
program activities, and to start delivering benefits right away
c- The program charter formally authorizes the program and it provides a governance mechanism
with approval and reporting procedures
d- The program charter formally authorizes the program and it provides the program manager with
the authority to apply resources to program activities

of this program. You have developed the program charter which contains high-level information
about the program. You now want to develop a document which, among other subjects, addresses
the program scope, limitations, expectations and business impact. The objective is to make sure that
all stakeholders share a common understanding of the program intentions. What DOCUMENT are
you creating?
b- The program scope management plan
c- The program WBS
d- The program stakeholder engagement plan

You are managing a program which is entering the closure phase. In order to properly close the
program, you read the closure criteria which have been documented, and you compare them to
your situation. From the list below, what is NOT a closure criterion for the program?
a- All benefits need to be realized before program closure
b- The governance board or the sponsor must provide their agreement
c- A sustainment plan must be documented and approved
d- A final report must be issued
207
Your program is a nationwide reorganization of a government based agency. It consists of
centralizing warehouse plants in bigger cities to cut expenditure costs such as gas and vehicles
loans. This program is now 2 years old and you demonstrated that this program is on track so far. It is
composed of six projects: A, B, C, X, Y, Z. Generally, one of the reasons for a program to work
satisfactorily is that the interdependencies between the program and its components are well
managed, which is apparently the case here. What BEST describes these interactions?
a- The interactions between your program and its components tend to be iterative and cyclical
b- The interactions between your program and its components are scheduled to happen only
before the governance board meetings
c- The interactions between your program and its components are strictly limited to when an alert is
escalated to you
d- The interactions between your program and its components are daily, informal and based on
confidence between people

You have been designated as the program manager of an international program with stakeholders
located in five countries in Europe and in Asia. You are developing the program management plan,
and you are now identifying the major risks to your program. The program statement of work is very
clear. You have identified a list of experts from the five countries who understand the program
context and who can really contribute to identifying the most important risks. You are aware of the
Tools and Techniques that can be used to identify those risks, but you want to select the right tool.
Under these circumstances, which is the BEST tool you should use?
a- Perform a remote brainstorming session with the experts
b- Perform a root cause analysis (Ishikawa diagramming technique)
c- Apply the Delphi technique with the experts
d- Interview each expert

You have developed a program management plan which has been reviewed and accepted by all
stakeholders of your program. You are currently in the executing part of the program, and you want
to make sure that your four project managers A, B, C and D execute according to the program
management plan. During a checkpoint meeting, project manager B argues that she has
developed her project management plan which has been accepted, and she thus does not need
to follow the program management plan which she does not feel responsible for. This will soon
become a problem because project manager B tends to go her own way, regardless of what others
are doing. What is the NEXT action you should take?
a- Remind project B manager that the program management plan takes precedence over her
project management plan
b- Remind project B manager that she is not alone, but that her project is one element of a whole
program with the objective of delivering the planned benefits
c- Remind project B manager that even though her plan was approved, she should now forget
about her project management plan and only follow the program management plan
d- Tell project B manager that her plan was approved a long time ago and has now become
obsolete and should be updated
208
You have developed a program management plan which has been reviewed and accepted by all
stakeholders of your program. You are currently in the executing part of the program, and you want
to make sure that your four project managers A, B, C and D execute according to the program
management plan. During a checkpoint meeting, you request that each project manager reports
on the progress of their project, to enable you to synthesize the data on the overall program
performance and communicate the result to stakeholders. You know that stakeholders are mainly
interested in knowing, on a monthly basis, what the projected end program cost will be compared
to the planned cost. In order to communicate this information to stakeholders, WHICH cost reporting
tool should be used by your project managers?
a- Bar charts in order to show how costs are distributed per project over time
b- Pie charts in order to show the distribution of the costs per project over time
c- Earned value reports to highlight EAC vs. BAC
d- Earned value reports to highlight CPI vs. SPI

You are managing a program which is well underway. Several identified benefits have been
realized. The four component projects are on track and are producing the expected deliverables,
but poor quality is a becoming a problem, because deliverables are not up to the appropriate
quality standards. Overall, your program team lacks quality skills, and you want to hire an outside
expert to take charge of managing quality matters on your program. The steering committee agrees
to this action. The quality expert will report to you. In order to include this expert in the program
team, you spend enough time with him to make sure that he understands the program’s
environment. His participation in the program is confirmed. The contract with him is signed. What is
the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Update the program charter in order to reflect his participation in the program. The program
charter defines all program stakeholders
b- Update the program Gantt chart to include the delivery schedule expected from this expert. The
schedule is key
c- Update the program stakeholder register and inform other stakeholders about the participation of
this new stakeholder
d- Do nothing because this stakeholder will report to you
209
The program you are managing is spread over 9 countries, includes 23 external companies and
generates more than 50 external communications a year. You organize an open event every year in
order to distribute the essential information on your program. The objective of this event is not only to
summarize and distribute all the available information but also to receive feedback from all parties
about the achieved and future expected benefits. The open event took place last week and you
discovered that several medium-level stakeholders expressed negative concerns about the
program. They claimed that they do not see how it will serve their interests and do not understand
why so much money is being spent on it. What is the MOST probable reason to make them think like
this?
a- The 50 external communications were not appropriate for communicating your results
b- The 50 external communications were not appropriate for communicating your results, but
because they are directly produced by the project teams, you have no other choice than to
distribute this information
c- They think that one event a year is not enough, you should organize an open event every 20
external communications
d- They believe that the information provided in the 50 external communications is too detailed. You
should arrange for the information on your program to be better synthesized and not wait for the
open event to distribute it. Then you should ask them for feedback

discovered that several medium-level stakeholders expressed negative concerns about the
program. They claimed that they do not see how this will serve their interests and do not understand
why so much money is being spent on it. They claimed that information is not distributed as often as
they wish. What is the MOST suitable solution to overcome this?
a- Do not wait for one year to have contact with them. Exploit every contact, even informal to get
feedback from them
b- The open event should be complemented by some other visible interim events. You could
organize more focused workshops on specific areas where these stakeholders are involved
c- The open event should be complemented by some other visible interim events. You should
develop a plan for that
d- You should ask them to invite you to their events in order to deliver information about top level
benefits
210
are facing strong opposition from the program team over-archiving all distributed information into
the PMIS. This PMIS is provided by the corporate IT support. What is the FIRST action you should take?
a- Ask them to stop everything now and urge them to archive files
b- Develop an understanding of why they are opposed to the corporate PMIS and use
management reserve to purchase another PMIS in order to archive files
c- Ask your PMO to specify and negotiate a PMIS change with corporate people to make it more
acceptable by all
d- Argue that this is the PMIS corporate tool, used by several other programs and there is no other
specific PMIS just for us

You manage a program in company ABC which manufactures and sells electronic equipment. Up
to now, the company was using its own marketing channels, but the company has recently decided
to split them: some equipment will still be sold through existing channels, and some equipment will
be sold through the new marketing channels. This decision has a major impact on the existing
company organization. Some of the strategic objectives have changed, taking into account the
new marketing channels. You do not know if the program you are managing is impacted or not by
the new strategy, and if it is, to what extent. A steering committee meeting is planned next week
and you will participate. What will be the MOST important question to be asked by the steering
committee about your program?
a- Is your program still expected to generate adequate revenue?
b- Is your program still in the updated portfolio?
c- Are the component projects of your program still expected to produce the right deliverables?
d- Are the expected benefits generated by your program still in line with the new strategic
objectives?
211
You are managing a program that is in charge of developing a new set of drills for oil exploration.
There are many constraints because these drills should operate in a large set of conditions: depth,
underground structure, temperature and location. You have organized this program by project
characteristics: one of them consists of the design and manufacturing of the drills, which is located
on your corporate premises, while several others test the drills in their respective regions, ranging from
polar to equatorial conditions. An important objective of the program is to minimize the overall
future operational costs of the drills for your organization. Among the following options, which one
does NOT characterize the need of having a program in such a case?
a- The coordination of the logistics needed for the transportation of the drills between the corporate
location and the overseas sites
b- The coordination of human resources among the test projects
c- The compliance of the drills to global quality standards
d- The existence of high technical risks in each of the different projects

underground structure, temperature and locations. You have organized this program by project
polar to equatorial conditions. An important objective of the program is to minimize the overall
future operational costs of the drills for your organization in order to increase business efficiency.
Among the following stakeholders, which one has MOST likely applied this prime objective?
a- The executive sponsor of your program
b- The manager of the portfolio your program is part of
c- The CEO of your organization
d- The program director
212
underground structure, temperature and locations. You have organized this program by project
polar to equatorial conditions. A prime objective of the program is to minimize the overall future
operational costs of the drills for your organization. However, you recently observed that the total
test costs rose significantly when a number of drills of the same model all broke at a depth between
2100 and 2550 meters. What is the IMMEDIATE action you should take?
a- Check that the local drilling processes are understood and applied by the staff on each
respective platform
b- Gather information on what specific conditions exist on each site
c- Request a detailed issue report from each test project manager
d- Organize a meeting with all test project managers

Congratulations! You have been selected as the program manager in charge of managing a large
program which includes five projects, and lots of stakeholders. This program is key for your company.
Several benefits are expected as a result of this program that should establish your company as a
leader in its field. The program existence has just been approved by a group of company
executives. The fact that the go ahead has been given to proceed with the program means that
the program has successfully exited the first phase of its life cycle: the definition phase. Which
document is NOT an output of this phase?
a- The strategic mandate

program which includes five projects, and lots of stakeholders! This program is key for your company.
leader in its field. The program is progressing fairly well and you are now proceeding with the delivery
of planned benefits. The market is changing rapidly; more and more opportunities emerge and from
looking at what's happening in the market, you realize that by expanding the program scope,
several more benefits could be generated. Your company could take advantage of the potential
new benefits, and you think about what you should do to make it happen. You and your team are
extremely busy with program activities, and you have very little time to spend on other matters. The
next steering committee is scheduled in one month from now. What is the BEST option for you to
take?
a- Do nothing. You and your team are already very busy. In addition, you are not responsible to
report new opportunities to upper management
b- Prepare a presentation and spend necessary time to review it with your team in order to present it
at the next steering committee meeting
c- Talk to your sponsor, inform him about the opportunities and ask him what you should do next
d- Prepare a presentation and ask for an extraordinary steering committee meeting in order to
explain the new opportunities
213
program which includes five projects, and lots of stakeholders. This program is key for your company.
leader in its field. You are now proceeding in the first phase of the program life cycle, the definition
phase. You know that you should develop the program roadmap before the next steering
committee meeting. You have a list of identified key benefits and also a high level schedule of their
planned dates. You are not sure about the difference between the benefits management plan and
the program roadmap. From the list of below options, what is the BEST answer?
a- There is no difference between the two. They both relate to the creation of program benefits
b- They are different: the benefits management plan describes when and how the benefits will be
created, and the program roadmap is more general and provides a high level view of the key
milestones and decision points of the program, including benefits realization
c- They are different: the benefits management plan describes when and how the benefits will be
created, and the program roadmap does not address at all the creation of the benefits
d- They are complementary: both are outputs from ‘Benefits and planning’ activities

Program management requires a special blend of skills in:
a- Communication, recognition of the dynamic aspects of stakeholders’ expectations, leadership,
technical expertise, conflicts and issues resolution, program scheduling management tools including
critical chain, and strategic visioning
b- Communication, procurement, leadership, decision making, conflicts and issues resolution, data
bases and strategic visioning
c- Technical expertise, procurement management, and a solid foundation of human aspects,
excluding project management skills
d- Communication, recognition of the dynamic aspects of stakeholders’ expectations, leadership,
change management, analytical, integration, and strategic visioning

You have developed the roadmap for your program in which you have indicated the key
milestones to initiate and close components. Now you are certain that one of the components is
ready to be initiated: a business case and a project charter have been developed for the
component, and a project manager is assigned. You inform the project manager that she should
officially initiate her project right now. You communicate this decision to key program stakeholders.
Soon after your notification was sent, you received a message from the program sponsor telling you
to immediately stop this project. What is the MOST probable reason for this decision?
a- You did not get an approval from program stakeholders to start this component
b- You did not send a component initiation request to the steering committee
c- You did not send a component initiation request to the sponsor
d- You did not previously discuss this component initiation with your other project managers
214
You have developed the roadmap for your program in which you have indicated the key
milestones to initiate and close components. Now you are certain that one of the components is
ready to be initiated: a business case and a project charter have been developed for the
component, and a project manager is assigned. A steering committee meeting is planned for the
end of this week, and you prepare a presentation for the governance board about your desire to
start this component as soon as possible. During the governance board meeting, you state your
case. The steering committee disagrees with the component initiation. What did you OVERLOOK?
a- You did not assign a project manager for that component
b- This project does not have a charter nor a business case defined
c- There is no component sponsor assigned
d- The program governance plan does not show component initiation criteria

You are managing a program which is well underway. Several identified benefits have been realized
and the four component projects are on track to produce their expected deliverables. A large
majority of stakeholders are happy with program results, except one who is key for the success of the
program. This stakeholder insists on the fact that you did not plan to track and manage her
expectations. You paid a lot of attention to stakeholder engagement during the program definition
phase, and you believe you effectively documented how to track stakeholders’ expectations during
the life of the program. Where did you record HOW you planned to track and manage
stakeholders’ expectations?
a- The stakeholder engagement plan
b- The program charter which describes stakeholder expectations
c- The program business case which gives a high-level summary of stakeholder expectations
d- The stakeholder register

You are managing an international program with stakeholders located in various countries around
the world. You are developing the program management plan, and you are concerned by the
variety of languages used. In most countries, English is not the mother tongue. You have asked for
stakeholders’ representatives in each location. You are concerned by the fact that communications
between you and some of them may be a problem. You would like to select the best option to
communicate. Among all the options, which one is the BEST to communicate?
a- Impose English as the only possible language for communicating with you. Tell your stakeholders
representatives that there is no other choice
b- Propose English as the unique communicating language with you as English is the number one
language spoken in the world and wait for comments from the stakeholders’ representatives. Then
decide on a common communication language
c- Make a survey among all stakeholders in order to decide which language will be most
appropriate
d- Ask each stakeholder to use their mother tongue and hire external translators
215
Projects A, B and C are components of program X. You have just been selected as the manager of
project A. Your project has not started yet, waiting for the 'go' decision from the board. A steering
committee meeting is called today, and the decision to start project A is among the topics to be
discussed. Program manager X comes back from the meeting and tells you that, unfortunately, the
steering committee will not allow project A to start now. From the list of reasons, which one is the
MOST critical for the steering committee to refuse to start project A?
a- The business case for project A does not exist
b- Project A manager has not been selected yet
c- The total number of resources is not present on the project
d- Project A does not have a sponsor

You are managing a program and you want to monitor its performance throughout the entire
program life cycle. According to the collected data, requests and decisions for corrective or
preventive actions will be taken by means of the program governance. You collect this status data
on a regular basis, and you then perform performance analyses. Program performance analyses
cover a set of specific activities, such as cost and schedule variances, probability to achieve
planned benefits, issue and risk status. Program metrics may be used to help you assess the situation.
From the list of options, what is INCLUDED in the program performance activities you want to
perform?
a- Collecting, measuring, disseminating performance information, and assessing overall trends in
order to create the program transition plan
b- Collecting performance information and store it in the PMIS data base before updating the risk
management plan
c- Collecting, measuring, disseminating performance information, assessing overall trends in order to
create program performance reports and forecasts
d- Collecting, and measuring performance information in order to update the benefits
management plan before distributing it to the stakeholders
216
©Jean Gouix and Martial Bellec. not for distribution, sale or reproduction
You manage a program which is in the definition phase, and you are developing the benefits
management plan which describes when and how planned benefits will occur. From the list of
planned benefits, you know that some of the identified benefits may not occur before the program
ends. In addition, based upon the characteristics of some of the benefits, you are not sure what will
happen to them when the program is over. You have heard about sustainment plans, but you are
not sure what they are about. From this list of options below, which is a TRUE statement about
benefits?
a- The delivery of the benefits should be sustained after the program is over. The sustainment plan
should address this issue
b- All benefits must be realized before the program ends
c- The benefits management plan only addresses the benefits which are generated before the
closure of the program
d- There is no sustainment plan in program management. This is not a program management
terminology

What is the BEST definition of a program?
a- A program is a group of related projects, subsidiary programs and program activities that are
managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them
individually
b- A program may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the component projects
c- Programs are composed of various components
d- Most of the components are the separate projects within the program, but another component is
the management effort and infrastructure needed to manage the program

You manage a program which includes the development of a new software product. This new
software product will be used by hundreds of end users. You are aware that stakeholder support is
critical to program success, and you have performed a detailed analysis of your stakeholders. You
have put in place a communication plan to address each of the key stakeholder's concerns and
expectations. You meet with them on a regular basis, you distribute summary reports on the program
performance, and you address their issues with action plans. They seem to be happy with what they
get from you. Your program is running well, but one day, an end user starts complaining about the
fact that you ignored her expectations. After you have discussed this with her, you disagree with her
statement and you can prove that her expectations are recorded. WHICH document contains this
information?
a- The stakeholder log
b- The stakeholder analysis
c- The stakeholder register
d- The stakeholder map
217
You are the sponsor of a major international program in company XYZ. This program is composed of
five projects, and it has a huge number of stakeholders spread all over the world. The execution of
the program is well underway and the steering committee has planned to meet soon for the
monthly checkpoint of the program. In order to provide a clear status of the program, the program
manager has prepared a set of slides. In his presentation, he states that three component projects
can be closed as their planned deliverables have been completed. Based on the presentation, the
steering committee agrees with the closure of the three projects. Before accepting to close the
projects, the steering committee should have asked WHICH question to the program manager?
a- What was the estimated cost at completion (EAC) for each project?
b- What is the status of the two remaining projects?
c- What is planned for the reassignment of resources from each closing project?
d- Do the three projects satisfactorily meet the criteria as stated in the benefits management plan of
the program?

You are in the program formulation subphase of a new program X that you would like to manage.
You have an important meeting with the portfolio manager who will host your program if it is
selected. This portfolio consists of a number of programs and projects in charge of marketing a
complete range of green cars that will differentiate your organization from the competition.
Program X is organized into 4 projects named “class K cars", "class L cars”, “class M cars", and “class
N cars" which are customized for 3 continents A, B and C. The portfolio manager explains to you that
there is a maximum budget which will impose the prioritization of several programs to be launched
shortly. You really want to promote your program X. What is the MOST appropriate reply to the
portfolio manager’s statement?
a- Your program X has the shortest ROI
b- The "class M cars” project is highly expected by continent A customers
c- All projects have strategic value; you propose to cancel some combinations of classes of cars vs.
continents and to assign resources according to the priority of the business opportunity
d- You recommend selecting the program AS IS because you have an outstanding experience in
cutting costs afterwards

You are in the program formulation subphase of a new program X that you would like to manage.
You have an important meeting with the portfolio manager who will host your program if it is
selected. This portfolio consists of a number of programs and projects in charge of marketing a
complete range of green cars that will differentiate your organization from the competition. What is
the MOST important organizational criterion to select a program?
a- Total amount of budget
b- Required skills and level of expertise with respect to competition
c- Innovation strengths with respect to competition
d- Benefits
218
You have been nominated as program manager for a program composed of three component
projects: A, B and C. You are in the definition phase of the program and you are in the process of
identifying the core team members of the program. You have a list of key roles you want to fill in the
program core team, and you start interviewing candidates. Now you have successfully identified
people and you want to document the link between the roles and identified candidates, as they
are coming into the core team. What DOCUMENT are you trying to build?
a- The RAM or responsibility assignment matrix
b- The OBS or organizational breakdown structure
c- The accountability matrix
d- The RBS or risk breakdown structure

You have been nominated as program manager for a program composed of three component
projects: A, B and C. You are in the definition phase of the program and you are in the process of
identifying key stakeholders, understanding their expectations, and you start developing a strategy
to manage them. As of today, you have identified six key stakeholders, four internal to the
organization, and two external. Each stakeholder seems to be in favor of the program. You know
that their involvement is key for program success. You have never met them before and you would
like to immediately start building a strong relationship with them. What is the NEXT action you should
take?
a- Send a welcome note to each key stakeholder, and explain the program context and challenges
b- Call each of the key stakeholders, welcome each one and explain the program context and
challenges
c- Send the program management plan to each key stakeholder and add a welcome note to the
document
d- Organize a welcome kick-off meeting with the six key stakeholders and explain the program
context and challenges
219
170 Practice Questions - Answers
Please find below the answers to the practice test.
At the end of the formal PgMP® exam, PMI will provide you a qualitative assessment of your
performance, per domain:
Proficient - indicates performance is above the average level of knowledge in this domain
Moderately Proficient - indicates performance that is at the average level of knowledge in this
domain
Below Proficient - indicates performance is below the average level of knowledge in this domain
Because there is no tangible threshold for this assessment, our recommendation is to take this
practice test until you achieve a result of 80%.

a- No! Too early. b- No! This is too early, and there is no such 'phase', c- Correct! d- No! Too late.

a- No! There are no metrics in a roadmap, just milestones for key events, b- Correct! The benefits
management plan, which is a subsidiary plan of the program management plan, describes WHEN
benefits should occur and HOW benefits will be analyzed and measured (e.g. partially realized,
totally realized, etc.) using metrics identified and recorded (logged) in the benefits management
plan. c- No! This document mainly consists of procedures describing how governance
decisions should be managed, d- No! There is no such document.

a- No! It will not work! You should first argue about his concerns and then, depending upon his more
or less positive reaction, ask him to change, b- No! You are not the BOSS of the program if you do
so, please solve program issues yourself! This will not help, c- No! When things may go wrong, they
go wrong! d- Correct! You should think about what actions you could take to move him to a more
positive attitude (e.g. face to face discussions, regular communication, ask to review his
presentations before he comes to your meetings, etc.). This may not be easy, but because of his
importance in the program, you should try.
220
a- No! First discuss with the program sponsor, b- No! You will definitely need to discuss with the
Customer, but you should first discuss with the sponsor, c- No! You lack information about the
program, not about technical elements! d- Yes! You should first meet the sponsor who is usually an
executive representing the company. They should provide you with the proper program
background, and this should help you to then meet with the other entities. All other answers refer to
meetings that can occur later.

a- No! This can be a useful tool, b- No! This can be a useful tool. c- Correct answer! This is not an
appropriate tool to monitor metrics and take corrective action. It can be used in the time domain to
optimize the schedule, d- No! This can be a useful tool.

a- No! The benefits management plan documents the plan for realizing the benefits. It provides
much more information than just the list of planned benefits, b- No! This is not a program document.
c- Correct! The benefits register should contain all planned benefits, d- No! This is not a program
document.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Strategic program Management - Task 6 and standard,
section 4.1.1

a- No! The text says that all benefits have NOT been realized, b- No! This is very valid information to
prove that the missing benefit will be realized later on. BUT, there may be other reasons not to close
the program, such as procurement closure, financial closure, etc. c- This is very useful, but are all
closure conditions met? d- Correct answer! Iff the program charter is fulfilled, the program may be
closed.
7.2.2.5 (program closeout)
a- Wrong! The project manager has to justify the initiation of a new project at program level. For this,
they first need to write a change request. Then this initiation has to be validated by the governance
board. b- Correct! Because it helps the project manager to express this idea in coherence with the
program infrastructure, it is up to you to then decide with the CCB (Change Control Board). c-
Wrong! First you have to assess the impact of this new project on the program according to the
program management plan. d- No! At least ask "Why is this needed?"
8.2.1

a- No! It is of course not essential to meet them all before, just good practice, even if it is not always
possible, b- No! This is not a valid reason for rejection, c- Correct! Always explain the change in a
strategic way to the board. d- Wrong! It is very likely that you showed the coherence of the program
architecture to the board.
8.2.1
221
a- No! The strategic mandate (when it exists) comes before the charter, b- Correct! In the program
life cycle, Company executives often issue a strategic mandate, supported by a valid business
case. The program charter will be issued during program formulation, then the program
management plan will be developed, and finally customer sign off occurs at program closure c-
No! Customer sign off is last. d- No! Customer sign off is last.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Executing the Program - Knowledge Specific to Domain
2 (Phase gate reviews) and standard, section 6.1 (mandate) and sections 7.1.2.1 and 7.1.2.2 (charter
and program management plan), and section 7.2.2.5(customer sign off during program closeout)

a- No! Stakeholder metrics are defined in the engagement plan and are used to measure the
performance of stakeholders’ engagement activities. b- Correct answer! The stakeholder
engagement plan is an output of the ‘Stakeholder engagement planning' activity; and during this
activity, the key tool is 'stakeholder analysis'. c- No! Brainstorming sessions are used during
stakeholder identification, d- No! Those are tools used during ‘Stakeholder engagement’ related
activities.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Stakeholder Management - Task 2 and standard,
sections 5.3 and 5.4

a- No! This is the consequence of project closures but it is too soon at this stage, b- No! The
proposed change concerns architecture reorganization internal to the program and the business
case has already been updated to justify cutting the program costs, c- Yes! If is the correct answer
because, in this particular situation, it is essential to analyze and show the inter-dependencies
between projects in order to justify grouping them. d- No! This is part of the process for grouping
projects, but not THE IMMEDIATE action to be taken. This is of secondary priority.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Strategic program Management - Task 10

a- Correct answer! b- No! You do not optimize your overall resources; there is a high chance that
an even distribution will lead to the wrong outcomes, c- No! You do not take into account the fact
that Z has lower priority, d- No! The consequence of a budget reduction is not only the delay; it
could also impact other criteria such as quality.

a- No! It may not be adequate, for example if the skills in project Z are not usable in project Y. b- No!
It may not be adequate, for example if the skills in project Z are not usable in project X. c- No! It may
not be adequate, for example if the skills in project X are not usable in project Y. d- Yes! This is the
correct answer because it simply encompasses all the other possible answers.
222
a- Yes! Check that the delay on project X deliverables has an impact on project Y before anything
else, b- No! Maybe resources of project Z are not adequate for project X; in this case you have to
evaluate this first, c- No! You cannot go to the governance board before evaluating the impact
internally to the program; maybe there is no need to escalate. d- No! An administrative task cannot
be the first one to perform.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Planning the program - Task 15

a- No! What do you tell them? You will just make people angry with you if you do so! b- Correct!
c- No! You cannot wait so long; you have to do something about the delay NOW. d- No! Check
that the deliverables have an impact on 1234 before doing anything else.

a- No! Change request management is just a small part of program governance, b- No! The
definition of program governance is wrong: only planned benefits should be delivered! c- Correct!
This is an adequate definition off program governance, d- No! The definition is incomplete and the
objective is not only to meet Customer requirements.
The standard, section 6

a- No! You have to transition the bug to operations, b- Yes! An operational team should be already
in place because you planned the close out meeting, c- No! You have to transition the bug to
operations, d- No! You have to transition the bug to operations.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Closing the program - Task 33

a- No! You will make the customer unhappy, b- Correct! This is the best option, c- No! You cannot
initiate a project without formal review by the governance board, d- No! You have to adapt to all
customer expectations.

a- Wrong! In some cases, expected benefits can contribute to only one strategic objective, b- No!
Although this is desirable, in some cases it is difficult to define tangible benefits that are measurable
in financial terms. E.g. improve the company image, improve reputation, etc. c- Correct!
Delivered benefits need to be sustained after the program is over. d- No! This is not the responsibility
of the PMO which is more a 'support' function to the program. It is the responsibility of the program
manager.
223
a- Wrong! The sponsor is not responsible for developing the benefits management plan. It should be
done under the program manager’s responsibility. b- Correct! All planned program outcomes
should be achieved before the program ends, but some benefits may occur even when the program
is over. c- No! All planned benefits may not occur before the end of the program, d- No! This has
nothing to do with the benefits management plan. Processes and procedures used to manage the
program should be specified in the program management plan.
4.2.1

a- Correct! This is a description off the sponsor's prime responsibilities. b- No! Gate reviews should be
managed by the steering committee, not by the sponsor alone, c- No! This is a weak answer with
regard to stakeholders! d- No! Weak answer! For instance, one of the program manager's prime
responsibilities is to make sure that program goals and objectives remain aligned with the strategic
objectives of the organization.
The standard, sections 5.1 and 6.2.1

a- Correct! Think strategy not tactics, you are really in the position of a program manager to obtain
requirements and agreements from stakeholders in order to create the project charter later. This is
correct because it is the most global answer, b- Wrong answer! Strategic but not enough! c- No!
These are tactical actions, d- No! These are tactical actions.

a- Correct! Always take the most global or inclusive answer, plan for sustainability rather than
efficiency. It is the most global answer because the vision of the program may encompass things
other than the budget objective. For example, inter-governmental cooperation projects, or existing
R&D centers that may then be part of the organization, b- Wrong! Too focused and more tactically
oriented, c- Wrong! Too focused and more tactically oriented, d- Wrong! Too focused and more
tactically oriented.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Initiating the program - Task 1 and standard, sections
7.1.2.1 and 8.1.1.10

a- Wrong! Think strategy not tactics, these are tactical actions, b- Wrong! Think strategy not tactics,
these are tactical actions. c- Wrong! Think strategy not tactics, these are tactical actions.
d- Correct! These are strategic actions and are more global.

a- Wrong! The risk register and the benefits management plan are closely related, b- Wrong! The risk
register does not specify WHEN component level risks will impact benefits! c- Correct! The risk
register may contain risks which impact benefits delivery, d- No! This is not the best answer. Merging
the two entities or not is not the issue.
8.2.8.2
224
a- No! The program charter is issued later. The business case is an input to the creation of the
program charter. b- No! The program roadmap is created during the program definition phase
which is the first phase of the program life cycle. c- Correct answer! Benefits are first documented in
the program business case which is developed during the program definition phase. Please note
that the standard also mentions the 'program mandate' as another document which may contain
benefits identified prior to the definition phase. d- No! The benefits management plan is developed
after expected benefits have been identified and documented.
section 3.1

a- No! This helps assigned people to make the right decisions throughout the program life cycle.
b- No! This may guarantee that specific governance rules are handled appropriately, c- No!
Effective governance is about HOW, and WHAT is ultimately delivered, d- Correct answer!
Unfortunately, it might not be possible to solve all component issues at the component level and
some need to be escalated. All other answers are elements of an effective governance structure.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Governance - Task 2 and standard, section 1.4.3 and
figure 6-1

a- No! E-mails are not the best tools to measure attendance at meetings, b- No! Phone calls are
not the best tools to measure attendance at meetings, c- No! The stakeholder register does not
include a measure of attendance at meetings, d- Correct! Stakeholder metrics must be defined in
the stakeholder engagement plan in order for you to be able to track stakeholder participation at
meetings and identify causes of non participation. Other answers are wrong.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Stakeholder Management - Task 4 and standard, section
5.4
a- Correct! b- Wrong answer! ADEFG is 51 long and AHG is 40 long, c- Wrong answer! ADEFG is 51
long, d- Wrong answer! AHG is 40 long and ABCG is 53 long.
section 6.5.2.2
225
a- Wrong answer! Plans should be revisited at each component initiation in order to evaluate the
potential impact on the program, b- Wrong answer! Plans should be revisited at each component
closure in order to evaluate the potential impact on the program, c- Wrong answer! Plans should
be revisited at the identification of a new major risk in order to evaluate the potential impact on the
program, d- Correct answer! The fact that the portfolio has been modified might NOT impact the
program. So, it may not be necessary to perform planning activities at the program level. 'Each time' is too strong
The standard, section 1.5 and the Standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition, section 2.3.4
(Portfolio optimization)
a- No! If three key resources leave the program, plans should be updated to reflect the change.
b- No! If the program scope change request has been accepted, then plans must be updated.
c- Correct! If the change request has been rejected, there is no need to update the plans. d- No! If
new components are coming into the program, plans will need to be updated. The standard,
section 1.7.1
a- No! The Customer may request a major scope change, which may be accepted or rejected.
b- No! This is a fact. This might not result in a modification to the plans, only a need to catch up, if
possible! c- Correct! An accepted schedule change request means that the schedule has
changed. The program plans must be updated. d- No! This is a fact. This may not result in a
modification to the plans, only a need to be at the right quality standard, if possible!
a- No! You need to discuss with the project manager, but you also need to show your authority!
b- No! This does not solve any issue at all. c- Correct! You show your authority, d- No! However, the
sponsor may think that she is paying for everything, including informal discussions with members of
YOUR team.
a- Correct! This is the exhaustive list of artifacts of the "Program Performance Monitoring and
Controlling" activities, b- No! This is not the good definition of artifacts relative to the “Program
Performance Monitoring and Control” activity, c- No! Stakeholder engagement reports are not an
artifact generated by the "Program Performance Monitoring and Control” activity, d- No!
Stakeholders’ feedback and status of team morale are not artifacts generated by the "Program
Performance Monitoring and Control” activity.
7.2.2.3
a- Wrong answer! b- Correct answer! The difference is only the time which is needed: 2 months less
this year. c- No! July 1st to July 30th is one month for this year. June 1st to August 31st was 3 months
last year. Schedule variance = 3-1 =2 months, d- Wrong answer! You do have enough information!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Controlling the Program - Task 25
226
a- No! You will spend 2/3 less this year, b- Correct. Total cost = 1000000, this is the value of cleaning
the town. Planned cost per month =cpm= 1000000/3, cost variance = 2*cpm = 666666. c- No! This
is the cost for one month, not the cost variance, d- No! You will only have to remove the waste
during one month this year, compared to 3 months last year. There is a cost variance!

a- No! This is not a good option. Do everything possible to have common tools across the program.
b- No! This is not a good option. You may not have the skill to decide which one is the 'best' tool',
there may be other options, c- No! This is not a good option. The decision should not be based on a
'vote' decision. The PMO should decide, d- Correct! The PMO should investigate all possible options.
The organization may have a set of options which could be used, regardless of the options already
used by the projects. Investigate as much as possible and try to standardize! This will save effort and
money!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Executing the Program - Task 17 and standard, sections
1.9 and 6.2.3

a- No! True, but this is a weak answer because the meeting attendance lists are filled in on a
voluntary basis by the attendees! Stakeholder metrics are a far better answer, b- No! The
stakeholder register does not help to track stakeholders’ engagement, c- No! The stakeholder map
does not help to track stakeholders' engagement, d- Correct answer! Stakeholder metrics allow
the tracking of stakeholders’ attendance and involvement.
5.4

a- No! 'Active listening' is not a Tool used to check stakeholders' engagement. It is only an element
of communication, b- No! 'Active listening' is not a Tool used to check stakeholders’ engagement. It
is only an element of communication, c- Correct answer! This is a correct list of tools which can
help check stakeholders' engagement. d- No! 'Dispute management’ is not a Tool used to check
stakeholders’ engagement.
5.4

a- No! It can be true also when selecting a junior project manager, b- No! It is not really a proof of
success. On the contrary, if the majority of the staff is not from this country, it may lead to cultural
issues or basic resistance by countries who may challenge what corporate say. c- No! This is
necessary for the program manager, but does not guarantee that the program will be managed
satisfactorily. d- Correct! Because it simply encompasses all previous answers.
227
a- No! Come on, any stakeholder is important enough to be taken into account, and clever enough
to understand what you explained, b- No! Because the metrics should be applicable to all. c- Yes!
This is the correct answer because the metrics should be applicable to all. d- No! This stakeholder is
not dissatisfied by the level of benefits you are proposing, they just need metrics to sign off.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Benefits Management - Task 1

a- No! As stated in the text, getting resources from outside the organization is not an option. b- No!
You should not audit Program A yourself. This could be an option for the steering committee to
pursue, but not by YOU as an auditor! c- No! As stated in the text, program A is even MORE vital for
the company than program B! d- Correct answer! Identification of synergies could allow a better
optimization of resources across the two programs.

a- No! Because it can be done later on. b- Correct! Project manager C is responsible for managing
the issue regarding the delivery of the test equipment not you. c- No! Let project manager C do
their job first! d- No! This is not the most urgent piece of action! It should be done if necessary, after
exploring all possibilities with the vendor.

a- No! Your project managers should alert you when their KPIs are outside the defined control limits.
b- Correct! At the very least your project managers should alert you when their KPIs are outside the
defined control limits. c- No! Your project managers should alert you when their KPIs are outside
the defined control limits. d- No! Your project managers should alert you when their KPIs are
outside the defined control limits.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Tasks 4 and 7

a- No! This has nothing to do with risk logging, b- No! Project related high priority risks should be first
handled by project managers, c- No! Unless you have escalation rules in place, the same situation
will pop up again! d- Correct! Obviously there is a problem with escalation procedures. Review
them and reinforce the rules.

a- No! This is not the exact list of funding models, and ‘supported ONLY by external sources’ is too
strong, b- This is not the exact list of funding models, and ‘supported ONLY with internal sources of
funding' is too strong, c- Correct! These are the four funding models used to create the financial
framework, d- This is an incomplete list of funding models.
228
a- Wrong! There are other inputs such as component payment schedules, operational costs, etc.
b- Correct! This is the main purpose of the program financial framework. c- No! This is true but there is
a key element missing: 'How the money will be spent', d- No! This is true, but too restrictive.
a- Correct! The critical path is the longest (length = 53). b- No! This path length is only 51; it is not the
longest one. c- No! This path length is only 40; it is not the longest one. d- No! This path length is only
50; it is not the longest one.
section 6.5.2.2
a- No! The path length is only 50. b- No! The path length is only 51. c- Correct! Activity C is on the
critical path ABCG (length = 53) d- No! AHG is the shortest path (length = 40) and is not the critical
path.
section 6.5.2.2
229
a- Not Correct! The float on AHG is 13! b- Correct! c- Not Correct! The float on AHG is 13! d- Not
Correct! ABCG is 53.
section 6.5.2.2

a- No! In this standard 4th Edition, there is no 'benefits realization plan', but there is a 'benefits
management plan'. b- No! The transition plan outlines the steps needed to move the program from
a development state to an operational state. c- Correct! The benefits management plan should
state everything about benefits management including when benefits are planned to occur, d- No!
This is definitely not the purpose of the business case.
4.2.1

a- No! There is not such report. b- Correct answer! The transition plan outlines the steps needed to
move the program from a development state to an operational state. c- No! This plan only describes
how, when, etc. benefits will be realized. d- No! The standard does not mention such report, but
even if it exists, it will show the result of the transition and not HOW you plan to transition.

a- No! You do not need to go into such details at that stage, do not bother your sponsor with the
details. b- Yes! This is the correct answer because you do not give the necessary analysis to your
sponsor about the transition to operations, c- No! You do not need to go into such details with all
the countries at this stage; this is a high level roadmap only. Do not bother your sponsor with the
details, d- No! You do not need to go into such details at that stage, do not bother your sponsor
with the details.
230
a- No! This is strategy, and detailed budget evaluation is premature, b- No! The amount of time you
spent with them is not a valid reason; you may have good interpersonal relationships with them while
being poor at capabilities assessment, c- Correct answer! The abilities of the functional teams
providing resources to the program have to be fully examined in order to determine whether they fit
or not. d- No! The program has little human resources interaction at that stage.

a- Correct! b- No! This is not needed at that stage, second order stakeholders have minor weight
at this stage; try first to convince the most important ones. c- No! This is outside of the procedures.
d- No! This is too detailed and not really needed at this stage.

a- No! You admit that your program is weak, and acknowledge that benefits to the organization are
financial gains only. Still, in essence social, thus non-financial, concerns are also addressed, b- No!
Hopefully, it should have been done already, not now. c- Correct answer! Because EVM can
cumulate both financial and non-financial metrics. d- No! This is rather a soft and nice presentation
but governance needs hard metrics to decide.

a- No! This is plausible, but there is no mention of any profit in this answer, b- Correct! Both social and
profit aspects are handled in this answer, c- No! This deals with technical aspects only. d- No! This
deals with communications only.

a- Correct! b- No! This goes against the non-financial benefits expected by external stakeholders, so
if you do that, the program will face strong adversity in the future, c- No! Before generalizing you
have to calculate the business case and assess whether generalization is accepted by your
governance board, d- No! You need to have a strategic business direction from your governance
board before initiating such a project.

a- Correct! Program funding sources are an input to this activity, not an output!. b- No! This is an
output to this activity, c- No! This is an output to this activity, d- No! This is an output to this activity.

a- No! These are items of lesser importance, b- No! This has to be a big part of the change request;
the assumption which is implicit in the Practice Question PQis that you have justified the business
case in the change request, c- Correct! This is correct because it supersedes all other answers, d-
No! These are items of lesser importance.
231
a- Correct answer! At the end of the program definition phase, component projects are not yet
initiated (started). All other answers provide valid phase-exit criteria, b- No! This is a requirement to
exit this gate, c- No! This is a valid exit criterion at any gate. d- No! This is a valid exit criterion at any
gate.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 3 and standard, section 7.1.1

a- No! The steering committee must have good reasons to ask for program closure, b- No! The
probability of producing the remaining deliverables is very low. You should therefore follow the
steering committee’s recommendation, c- No! You should adhere to the steering committee’s
decision. d- Correct! Based on your presentation and on the program’s status, the steering
committee recommends program closure. Now is the time to close!
6.1.12

a- No! This is not the best option. Much too early! b- No! Too early because 'new benefits' are not yet
approved by the board. Only an updated business case can show if it is true that those emerging
opportunities really bring new benefits or not. c- Correct! This is the best option. It is too early to
update the benefits management plan, and this should wait until the business case update shows
evidence that these opportunities will really bring 'new benefits' to the program, d- No! This is not the
best option. Too early!
section 3.1

a- No! The stakeholder engagement plan is not an ingredient of the governance plan. b- No! The
financial model is not an ingredient of the governance plan. c- Correct answer! This is a partial list of
ingredients of the program governance plan. d- No! The PWBS is not an ingredient of the
governance plan
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 2 and standard, sections 6.1.1.1 and
6.1.1.2

a- Correct! Health checks are scheduled when it is necessary to assess program performance. Gate
reviews are formally defined in the program roadmap. Gate review requirements are developed in
the governance plan. b- Wrong answer! Health checks are scheduled when it is necessary to assess
program performance, c- Wrong answer! Gate reviews must be scheduled ahead of time. They are
mentioned in the program roadmap. d- Wrong answer! Health checks are scheduled when it is
necessary to assess program performance and gate reviews must be scheduled ahead of time.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Governance - Task 2 and standard, sections 6.1.9 and
6.1.10
232
a- No! Program organization in not an enterprise environmental factor (factor OUTSIDE the program).
b- No! PMO is not an enterprise environmental factor. The PMO is a management structure.
c- Correct! This is a partial list of the enterprise environmental factors. d- No! Program and
component managers are not enterprise environmental factors.

a- No! PMIS is not an analysis, b- No! mandate is not an analysis, c- Correct list! d- No! Critical
chain is not an analysis!

a- No! This is not the primary reason to undertake programs, b- No! This is not the primary reason to
undertake programs, c- Correct! This is the primary objective of any program, d- No! Benefits must
be in line with strategic objectives which may or may not be different from customer expectations.

a- No! The program roadmap and the program charter are outputs from ‘Program initiation’
activities, b- No! Their view is important but not sufficient, c- Correct! Although optional, the
mandate is one of the key inputs for producing the program roadmap. It is an input to ‘Program
initiation’ activities. In addition, an initial business case is usually used as an input. d- No! Too
early at this stage. It will be developed later.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Strategic program Management - Tasks 2 and 3 and
standard, section 3.3, 6.1.2 and 7.1.2.1

a- Correct! All contract clauses have been fulfilled with this contractor, so there is no reason not to
close the project. You will now try to resolve the remaining issues (claims if any, etc.) at program
level before escalating if necessary. b- No! Because all contract clauses have been fulfilled, you
should now ask for project closure. c- No! Try first to solve the problem at program level before
escalating. d- No! Try first to solve the problem at program level before escalating.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Closing the program - Task 33 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 4.64.7 (close project or phase)

a- No! There is a chance that ABC will convince XYZ to share their concerns and that they will
become unhappy as well. Control the situation by yourself! b- No! Doing this does not really take
into consideration ABC’s concerns, c- Correct! You have to address the concerns at governance
board level because at least 3 persons are aware of the issue (ABC, a board member and you). It is
likely that they will ask you to provide the status of it. d- No! You cannot just informally expect to
solve such serious problems.
233
a- No! Gate reviews do much more: they also review strategic alignment, risk level benefits, etc.
only at program gates. b- No! An external audit is not the core method for assessing health; it is
more a complementary one. c- Wrong! Health checks are not scheduled in the program roadmap.
d- Correct! Periodic health checks represent the best way to assess program health in a sustained
way. Health checks are generally held between phase-gate reviews and the governance plan
should specify the metrics used during health checks.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 11 and standard, section 6.1.10

a- Correct answer! This is one of the recommended Tools and Techniques mentioned in the “Plan
quality management” process at project level. Quality related tools defined at the project level can
be also used at the program level, b- Wrong! Earned Value Method has nothing to do with Quality
costs, c- Retun on Investment has nothing to do with Quality costs, d- Wrong! Net Present Value
has nothing to do with Quality costs.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 1 and PMBOK® Guide, section 8.1.2.3

a- No! Quality checklists are an output from the "Program Quality Planning" process. b- No!
Request for roadmap is not an output from any process or activity, c- Yes! This is a correct list off
outputs expected from the "Program procurement management" activity. d- No! Program
roadmap updates is not an output from the "Program procurement management" activity.

a- No! Always do something when the number of resources decreases! b- No! This is an autocratic
attitude, not really desirable for the long term health of your relationship! c- Correct answer! Talk to
the functional manager, explain, communicate, and then, if need be, talk to your sponsor, d- No!
You should first talk to the functional manager, and then, if need be, to the sponsor.

a- No! It is much too early to modify the plan. It is only a risk and not an issue yet. b- No! It is too early
to alert the steering committee. It is only a risk, not an issue, c- No! It is too early to alert the steering
committee. It is only a risk, not an issue, d- Correct! It is a severe risk, but still not an Issue. Project
manager D should work with the vendor to find an alternative solution, if possible. Also you should
look at what impact the delay has upon benefit realization. It may not be critical.

a- No! There may be a PMIS in place. PMIS is only a tool, it does not solve the lack of lessons learned
being capture, b- No! The PMO is not the source of the problem. You are responsible for making
sure that lessons learned are correctly captured, c- Correct! This must be the number one problem.
Make sure that a process is in place (and used) to capture lessons learned from the projects and
from the program, d- No! The problem comes from lessons learned not being properly captured.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Executing the Program - Task 18
234
a- No! The PMO may not have the necessary skills to develop adequate training courses, b- No! The
PMO should first conduct an assessment of the situation, c- No! This cannot be the option until the
need is clearly stated, d- Yes! This is the best option. And then, according to the findings, you take
action.

a- No! Communication skills are most important in this situation. It is not a matter of leadership, b-
No! Communication skills are most important in this situation. There may not be a conflict (yet!). c-
No! Communication skills are most important in this situation, d- Correct! Pay a lot of attention to
what project manager D says, and be really involved in the discussion. Active listening is the most
critical skill in a face to face discussion.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Executing the Program - Task 19 and Core Skills CS1

a- Yes! This is correct; financing a program is not straightforward, because of its size and duration.
b- No! Budget at completion is not a criterion for deciding to have a project or a program, c- No!
The choice of the person directing the project or program is not a criterion, d- No! This is not true in
all cases because this answer is very ‘project/sub-projects oriented’.
section 8.1.2.4

a- No! Leveling means the even spreading of resources between components, b- No! Smoothing is
a conflict resolution technique, c- Correct answer! d- No! Not really used by PMI, this concept
being a hierarchy of issues and solutions.

a- Yes! This is correct. The team is in the first phase of Tuckman’s model b- No! This phase needs
people to work interactively together; typically people read each others’ documents and criticize
them, but they interact, c- No! Not in PMI vocabulary, d- No! Not in PMI vocabulary.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Executing the Program - Task 19 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 9.4 (Develop team)

a- No! This is not a valid reason to modify the program architecture, b- No! The steering committee is
only investigating the possibility of including a new project. It is much too early to update the
program architecture! c- No! This is not a good reason to modify the program architecture. This is
part of the life of the program. Component projects will close one after the other, until the program
also closes, d- Correct! The addition of the new component may have an impact on the program
architecture.
4.2.2
235
a- No! The change request is rejected therefore no program architecture change and no interface
change. b- No! The change request has no effect on other components. No interface change.
c- No! This should not impact component interfaces. At least, this is not the BEST option, d- Yes! For
sure, this needs to be communicated to stakeholders as it impacts component interfaces.
4.2.2 and section 6.1.8

a- No! There is not enough information to be able to count the number of interfaces, b- Correct! It is
not possible to determine precisely how many interfaces the program manager has to manage. We
have no idea about component interrelationships, c- No! There is not enough information to be able
to count the number of interfaces, d- No! There is not enough information to be able to count the
number of interfaces.

a- Yes! This is correct because it simply includes all the other plans, b- No! This engagement plan
could be reviewed but it is not the most likely to be reviewed, c- No! This register could be reviewed
but it is not the most likely to be reviewed, d- No! This plan could be reviewed but it is not the most
likely to be reviewed.

a- No! The program manager coordinates efforts between projects but does not directly manage
individual projects, b- No! The program manager coordinates efforts between projects but does not
directly manage individual projects, c- Yes! This is the correct answer as you ask the project
manager to perform an in-depth analysis of the relationship between resources and delay. By asking
her to look at the project again, you are helping her to find and fix a possible misunderstanding of
what is really happening on the project, d- No! The program manager does not manage individual
projects, not even parts of them.
The standard, section 6.1.6 (Issue governance)

a- No! This option does not take any action at program level even though it seems the board is upset
by the PROGRAM’S performance reports not by the project performance reports, b- No! This does
not address collecting, measuring and disseminating the performance report, c- No! This does not
address collecting, measuring and disseminating the performance report. d- Yes! This is the first
action to be taken to guarantee the completeness of the reports: gap analysis, risk analysis, issues
analysis and trend, probability analysis.
72.2.3

a- Correct! b- No! The governance board is representative of your environment, but it should have
a limited number of members to be efficient, c- No! This is contrary to the definition of a governance
board that centralizes all program information to take decisions, d- No! Don’t be naive!
236
a- No! Ideal but this is time consuming and expensive, time is running on, and this list of 5 may be
incomplete; you have to make sure that this list is complete first, b- Correct! c- No! You should not
pass this problem to your program team; you need to solve the problem on your own. d- No! Never
ignore a concern coming from a board member!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Stakeholder Management - Task 2

a- Correct! This is typically done when creating a PWBS. b- No! Only include the top one or two
levels from the projects' WBS into the PWBS. c- No! Do not include the projects' work packages in
the PWBS! d- No! Do not ignore the projects’ WBS because they are a key input to the PWBS
creation!
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Planning the program - Task 8 and standard, section
8.1.2.12

a- Correct! You will update the PWBS with the non-project work when it is confirmed (or not). b- No!
You should not wait. Consolidate now the PWBS with the data available from the projects at present.
You will update the PWBS later if needed, c- Wrong! If confirmed, non-project work will impact the
PWBS. d- Wrong! The PWBS creation is under the program manager's responsibility, not the sponsor's.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Planning the program - Task 8 and standard, section
8.1.2.12

a- Wrong answer! This is a valid list of plans included in a program management plan. b- Correct
answer! There is no ‘steering committee management plan’! c- Wrong answer! This is a valid list of
plans included in a program management plan. d- Wrong answer! This is a valid list of plans
included in a program management plan.
7.1.2.2

a- Wrong! The program quality management plan should not include the quality control activities
required at component level, b- Wrong! The program quality management plan should not include
the roles and responsibilities at the component level, c- Correct! This is the most appropriate list
(although incomplete!). d- Wrong! The program quality management plan should not include the
quality plan of the components. It may be just a pointer to the plans.
8.1.2.8

a- Wrong answer! Portfolios may include portfolios (or subsidiary portfolios). E.g. a company portfolio
may include business unit portfolios, b- Wrong answer! Some portfolios might not include projects.
c- Correct answer! Portfolios sometimes include non-project work, such as recurring activities which
are not managed as a project. For instance, regression tests, upgrading or debugging activities,
maintenance, ongoing operations, etc. d- Wrong answer! Some portfolios might not include
programs.
The Standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition, section 1.3
237
a- Wrong answer! Program EV = 480. b- Wrong answer! Program EV = 480. c- Correct! For project
A, CPI (EV/AC) = 0.8 and AC = 100. So for project A, EV = 80. For project B, EV = 200. For project C,
cost variance (CV = EV-AC) is 50, and AC = 150. So for project C, EV = 200. For the program, EV =
sum of the components’ EVs = 80 + 200 + 200 = 480. d- Wrong answer! Program EV = 480.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Controlling the Program - Task 25 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 7.4.2.2

a- Wrong answer! There is not enough information to answer the question. b- Correct! For project B,
we know the SPI (EV/PV = 1.5) and EV = 200. There is no information about the actual cost (AC) for
project B. So, we do not have enough information to calculate the program AC (which is the sum of
its components’ ACs). c- Wrong answer! There is not enough information to answer the question.
d- Wrong answer! There is not enough information to answer the question.
section 7.4.2.2

a- Wrong answer! CPI is less than 1. So project A is over budget. b- Wrong answer! For project B, SPI is
greater than 1, so project B is ahead of schedule, c- Correct! For project B, SPI is greater than 1, so
project B is ahead of schedule. For project C, cost variance is positive, so project C is under budget.
d- Wrong answer! We have no information about project C being late or ahead of schedule.
section 7.4.2.2

a- No! With this option, you are not really managing risks at program level! b- No! Doing nothing
gives the same results so doesn’t offer any opportunity to save money. c- No! With this option, you
do not tackle the request made by the governance board. d- Correct! This is best option.

a- No! This is a minor issue that could not explain the situation, b- No! You do not have to explain
how to do this, sellers must do so. c- No! You do not have to explain this; it is your own private
matter. d- Correct!

a- No! This is not very sociable. b- No! Having good personal relationships with the stakeholders does
not mean that they will be positive towards your program. c- No! They traveled from far away to
come to this meeting, do not send your PMO, but show your empathy by meeting them again!
d- Correct! Conviviality is a good environment for solving program issues.
238
a- No! This puts you in a weak position; senior executives might not be very supportive, b- No! It is
not within the scope of your program to reconsider local business plans. c- No! Could be correct
but not all stakeholders will be engaged in the decisions that will be taken. d- Correct answer! You
also gain credibility from positive stakeholders if you explain other difficulties. Another advantage is
that they can moderate the expectations of the negative stakeholders and help you to minimize the
effort required to obtain a consensus.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Benefits Management - Tasks 3 and 8

a- Correct! A benefits register update is needed to capture specific parameters of continent A.
b- No! This does not solve the issues of adapting benefits to continent A. c- No! This does not
update the benefits register to take into account the specific needs of continent A. d- No! This does
not update the benefits register to take into account the specific needs of Continent A.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Benefits Management - Task 6

a- This is Correct! b- No! The PWBS is created AFTER the scope statement has been defined
c- No! The project charters are created AFTER the scope statement has been defined d- No! The
program charter is created before and outlines the scope statement.
8.1.2.12

a- No! You do not have enough information to conclude. Projects A and B are late, but you need to
understand what is the impact on the creation of the program's benefits, and you do not know if
they are on the critical path. b- No! You do not have enough information to conclude. Projects A
and B are late, but you need to understand what is the impact on the creation of the program's
benefits, and you do not know if they are on the critical path. c- No! You do not have enough
information to conclude. Projects A and B are late, but you need to understand what is the impact
on the creation of the program’s benefits, and you do not know if they are on the critical path.
d- Correct answer! You need to collect more information coming from the projects, in order to
evaluate the impact (if any) on the creation of the program's benefits.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Executing the Program - Task 23 (Evaluate the program’s
status)

a- No! Issues can be escalated if needed, b- Correct answer! A regulation is usually imposed and
cannot be escalated to the board, c- No! Risks can be escalated if needed. d- No! Change
requests can be escalated if needed
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Governance - Task 7 and standard, section 6.2.2.
Practice Question PQ1Q8

a- No! This is not the main reason, b- No! This is not the main reason, c- Correct answer! Your
program performance is mainly suffering from major governance changes. Any program needs to
have an effective governance structure in order to be successful. d- No! It is not a matter of
leadership changes, but of major changes in the governance structure.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Governance - Task 2 and standard, section 6 (Program
governance)
239
a- No! You definitely need a PMIS at program level. The projects' PMIS may be outstanding, but
because the program needs to access data other than that of the projects, you cannot use their
PMIS 'as it is'! The program PMIS may use the projects' PMIS as a base, but also with additions.
b- Correct answer! The program manager uses financial tools, processes, etc. other than the project
managers' ones. There must be a PMIS dedicated to the program which may be based on the
projects' PMIS, but with additions relative to the program. c- No! The PMO is not the only body to
use the PMIS at program level; you, the program manager, will also use it. d- Wrong! The sponsor
provides the resources, but they are not responsible for establishing a PMIS at program level.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Governance - Tasks 5 & 8 and standard, section 7.2.2.1

a- No! First discuss with project C’s manager, so you understand the situation better, b- Correct!
Obviously, project C’s manager has already talked to this stakeholder. He needs help from you. You
should first discuss with project C’s manager and then decide whether or not to talk to this
stakeholder, c- Not the correct answer! Obviously project C’s manager already tried to fix the
situation with this stakeholder, with no success. Your role as the program manager is also to help your
project managers, d- No! You should try not to involve the managers of Project A and B in this issue.
One of your responsibilities is also to protect your project managers!

a- No! You cannot ignore the identified risks during the board meeting! b- No! Why would you only
record the top five risks? During this meeting, a priority list may not have been established!
c- Correct! Identified risks should be recorded in the risk register for further analysis, d- No! During
this phase of the program, it is YOUR responsibility to work on the identified risks, and not the project
managers' (also, most of the time they have not yet been appointed).

a- No! During the definition phase it is important to identify key stakeholders and log them into the
register, not to identify the maximum number of stakeholders, b- Wrong answer! c- No! You will
do this later on. d- Correct! The stakeholder register is the main output from the "Program
stakeholder identification" activity.
5.1

a- Correct answer! All answers are valid, no good reason to exclude one of them immediately. This is
correct because it is the MOST inclusive; it encompasses all possible alternatives, b- No! OK but too
restrictive, c- No! OK but too restrictive, d- No! OK but too restrictive.
8.2.8
240
a- Wrong! ... to the BUDGET BASELINE. b- Wrong! ... to ensure that funds ARE DISBURSED IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONTRACTS, c- Yes! This is the best answer because it is the only one
which is fully compliant with the standard’s wording. d- Wrong! ... the program INFRASTRUCTURE.
8.2.3

a- No! It is always fair to congratulate the team but please make sure that the change request is
accepted by the CCB before doing it! b- No! This is only an administrative task; it bears no reference
to the decision which is needed, c- No! You may certainly be right to do so, but it is not the most
important thing to do at this stage. Please make sure that the change request is accepted by the
CCB beforehand. d- Yes! All answers are valid, no good reason to exclude one of them
immediately. This is correct because this is the only one where you clearly remind the program team
that you are in charge.

a- No! This is not the best option. You should work on the issue! b- Correct! All answers are valid;
there is no good reason to exclude one of them immediately. This is correct because this is the only
one where you clearly remind the program team that you are in charge and in control; you bring
people together to solve shared issues, c- No! Your job is to resolve the issue, d- No! You should
escalate to the governance board ONLY if you cannot solve the issue.

a- No! There is no such activity as "Manage program stakeholders". You do not manage
stakeholders, you manage their expectations and you should make sure they remain engaged! b-
No! There is no such activity as "Select program stakeholders", c- No! There is no such activity as
"Select program stakeholders", d- Correct answer! This is the correct list of activities.
The standard, section 5
241
a- No! This is not PMI® terminology, b- Correct! This type of schedule network diagram is also
sometimes called a 'precedence diagram'. c- No! The critical path can be identified on any
schedule network diagram, but in this diagram, there is no indication of float, early start or early finish
dates for the activities. d- No! In this diagram, there is no indication of milestones; only activity
durations and activity relationships are identified.
section 6.5.2.2

a- Correct! Pessimistic = 7; most likely = 3; optimistic = 2; estimate = (P+4ML+O)/6 = 3.5 (this is known
as the PERT estimate) b- No! You did not apply the right formula c- No! You did not apply the
right formula d- No! You did not apply the right formula
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Initiating the program - Task 3 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 6.4.2.4

a- No! You should include unique key stakeholders at program level and the key stakeholders in
each project, because they may impact the program. b- No! In addition to the key stakeholders in
each project, you also need to include unique key stakeholders at program level. c- No! You
should also take into account the stakeholders from other projects, d- Correct! This is the best way.
Identify and record key stakeholders who are unique at program level, and also include key
stakeholders at project level.

a- Correct! Both tools are useful for understanding the relationships between the benefits and project
outcomes, b- No! The program charter is not a tool used for understanding this relationship, c- No!
The benefits payback period is not a tool used for understanding this relationship, d- No! The
program charter is not a tool used for understanding this relationship.
The standard, Figure 4-1 (‘map benefits’) and other standards in program management and
commercial software applications
242
a- No! The strategic plan should not contain an inventory of all existing components. This is not
related to strategy! b- No! The strategic plan should not contain a description of funding sources
and funding constraints. This is too restrictive, and non strategic! c- No! The strategic plan should not
contain a description of funding constraints. This is too restrictive, and non strategic! d- Correct
answer! This is a correct description of a strategic plan’s content.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Strategic program Management - Task 1 and The
Standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition, section 4.1.3.1

a- Correct answer! This is the purpose of the "Optimize portfolio" activity, b- No! An optimized
schedule is not the purpose of the "Optimize portfolio" activity, c- No! Cost optimization is not the
purpose of the "Optimize portfolio" activity, d- No! Minimizing the number of resources is not the
purpose of the "Optimize portfolio" activity.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Strategic program Management - Task 1 and
The Standard for Portfolio Management - Fourth Edition, section 2.3.4

a- No! This is more the notion of 'mission statements' which are very useful but should be developed
after the vision has been defined, b- Correct! You may not become the president of your country,
but at least try and set your expectations and actions to that level! Remember the vision is 'where
you want to be in x years from now'. You may not achieve it, but at least you can try!! c- No! This is
more the set of actions you need to think about for your future career, but it is not a vision statement.
d- No! This is more a benefit you want to achieve for yourself than a vision statement.

a- Correct! The best option is to contact them, to have a face to face discussion (where possible), to
explain the program’s challenges and why their support is important, b- No! The best option is a
verbal discussion, except where it is not possible (where there are geographical constraints for
example). c- No! It is YOUR responsibility to manage your program's stakeholders, d- No!
Stakeholder metrics will help you to make sure stakeholders remain engaged during the execution
of the program. But you need to obtain their support beforehand!

a- No! You cannot take this decision on your own and you have ignored the added value of DELTA.
b- No! This has to be examined at governance board level before the merger, c- Correct! This is
the best option, d- No! This is a trivial way of handling such a strategic issue.

a- Wrong! You have to think strategically, this option is tactical only. You have to understand the
complementary aspects of both programs in order to merge them in an efficient manner.
b- Correct! There may be performance metrics differences between the two organizations, c-
Wrong! This is unfair; The DELTA team will become an enemy if you do that. d- Wrong! This is tactical,
not strategic, act STRATEGICALLY!
243
a- Wrong! Project C’s resources are critical for the success of the project! b- Correct answer! You
should first apply leveling techniques on the resources of projects A and B. c- Wrong! Dispatching' is
not a correct term, d- Wrong! The Monte Carlo technique has nothing to do with this situation.

a- Wrong! Firstly you do not have the right budget, and secondly you may not be able to resell the
equipment. This option is too risky! b- Good answer! First try to optimize the equipment's usage within
and across projects. Techniques such as leveling or smoothing may help you in your effort. c- No!
This should not be your first option. Try to optimize the resource usage first. d- No! The steering
committee wants you to look at optimizing the equipment’s usage before budgeting any extra
money.

a- No! The governance board (or steering committee) makes closure decisions based on
component closure requests, not the program management team. b- No! The governance board
(or steering committee) makes closure decisions based on component closure requests, not the
PMO. c- Correct! The governance board (or steering committee) makes closure decisions based
on component closure requests, d- Incorrect! The governance board (or steering committee)
makes closure decisions based on component closure requests, not the customer.
7.1.3.3

a- Correct answer! The three projects’ SPIs are less than 1 which means that all projects are late, and
cumulative CV is positive which means that you spent less than planned, b- No! The three projects
are late (SPI less than 1), and cumulative CV is positive which means you spent less than planned.
c- All SPIs are less than 1 which means than all projects are late, and all CPIs are greater than 1
which means that you definitely performed more than anticipated, d- No! All SPIs are less than 1
which means that the three projects are late, and all CPIs are greater than 1 means that you
performed well and above what was planned.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Controlling the Program - Task 25 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 7.4.2.2

a- Correct! b- No! You are not arguing about your program but about your company; you will
upset your internal sponsor and the Administration, by making them feel they are now linked to you
by default, c- No! You are not demonstrating that risks are under control, d- No! You run the risk of
really boring them and thus losing their interest; they want a high-level plan, not details.
244
a- Correct! This information should not be provided during the board meeting, but it is essential to
have it internally. You have to manage how you release internal resources. b- No! Governance
means politics, but this cannot be solved during a closure meeting, c- No! An internal board
meeting could be a preparation meeting with participants from your organization only. Plausible,
but then the sponsor should have already stated this. d- No! This is more related to external
considerations.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Closing the program - Task 33

a- No! This may happen, but it is never valid for all people, b- No! Your team’s performance was
given due recognition during the meeting, c- Correct! This is the most probable cause! d- No! This
is not a valid reason!

a- Correct! This option says that you can provide a fix with the remaining program team members,
so do it! Then close the program. b- No! You do not share the issue with operations, this is too
selfish and there is a better option! c- No! This is risky; there is a high chance that it will make the
bug worse. d- No! This can take time and you are not sure that they will reintegrate the program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Closing the program - Task 33

a- No! This is an "AVOID" and arrogant strategy that is not good for the credibility of your program.
b- No! You are not really addressing their concern, c- No! You should try to understand NOW!
d- Correct! Because you propose a new transition plan for that concern.

a- Wrong answer! The program mandate is an input to this phase’s activities, and the component
plans are developed during the ‘Program delivery’ phase. b- Wrong answer! The program
mandate is an input to this phase's activities, c- Correct answer! These are the main outputs from the
definition phase, d- Wrong answer! Component planning and authorization is performed during the
‘Program delivery’ phase.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Initiating the program - Task 1 and standard, section 7.1.2

a- Wrong answer! The detailed benefits plan is not part of the program charter, b- No! A minimum
number of planning activities is necessary before starting to deliver benefits, c- Wrong! The program
charter does not provide a governance mechanism, d- Yes! Once approved (as stated in the text),
this is the definition of the program charter. In addition to those characteristics, we can add the fact
that the program charter links the program to the strategic priorities of the organization.
7.1.2.1
245
a- Correct! The text refers to a description of the scope statement, b- Wrong answer! The program
scope management plan describes HOW the program scope will be managed. c- Wrong answer!
The PWBS depicts the total work to be accomplished in the program, d- Wrong answer! The
program stakeholder engagement plan describes HOW stakeholders will be engaged.
8.1.2.12

a- Correct answer! All benefits do not need to be realized before program closure, but the conditions
(outcomes) to realize the benefits must exist in order to close the program, b- No! This is a valid
criterion for program closure, c- No! This is a valid criterion for program closure, d- No! This is a valid
criterion for program closure.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Closing the program - Task 33 and standard, section 8.3
(program closure phase activities)

a- Correct! The interactions between the program and its components tend to be iterative and
cyclical, b- No! Interactions will not necessarily be stimulated when preparing the board meetings.
They will occur randomly during the life of the program, c- No! This is true but too restrictive. There
are many other reasons for the program to interact with its component projects. d- No! Even if
interpersonal skills are of utmost importance to the program manager, there are other types of
interactions, formal and informal, between the program and its components.

a- No! Brainstorming sessions might not be adequate with remote experts, b- No! Root cause
analysis is not the right tool; it is mainly used to identify possible key causes of past problems or
failures you have encountered already; it is also used to identify all the possible triggers of a specific
risk event but not the risk itself. c- Correct! The Delphi technique is a way to reach a consensus
among experts, and it works well when experts are remotely located. Please note that the PMBOK®
Guide Sixth Edition does not mention this technique anymore, although it is an efficient method to
reach a consensus with dispersed experts! d- No! Interviews are not the best tool with remote
experts.

a- No! It is not a question of precedence, b- Correct! Component projects are elements of a
program and each of them contributes to the planned benefits, c- No! Project manager B should
follow her plan but also understand that her project management plan is one element of the
program contributing to the planned benefits, d- No! It is not a matter of obsolescence.
246
a- No! Bar charts do not show estimate vs. planned, b- No! Pie charts do not show estimate vs.
planned. c- Correct! Earned value management (EVM) is recommended to show what the estimate
at completion (EAC) is vs. the planned budget at completion (BAC). d- No! Earned value is the
recommended tool but highlighting CPI (Cost Performance Index) vs. SPI (Schedule Performance
Index) will not help in this situation!
8.2.3 (implementing earned value management) and PMBOK® Guide, section 7.4.2.2 (earned value
formulas)

a- No! You do not have to update the program charter each time you need to add or remove
stakeholders, b- No! This is a secondary problem. c- Correct! It is key that this new stakeholder is
made known to the other stakeholders, d- Wrong answer! This stakeholder is key for program
success, and should be registered as such.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Stakeholder Management - Tasks 1 and 5

a- No! You do nothing to improve the situation, b- No! Stakeholders clearly understand; do not
repeat information which bothers them, this will increase their opposition, c- No! You may be faced
with lower attendance, and the impact of the open event will also be less likely to generate
feedback, d- Correct answer! You have to provide synthesized information at program level to
receive support from stakeholders.

a- No! Ok, but how? b- No! This makes sense, but you should use a systematic approach for all
stakeholders; at the next open event you might discover new opposition from people who are not
involved in these workshops, c- Correct! Because you organize a plan at program level to
systematically mitigate the lack of visibility, d- No! You cannot guarantee that this information will
satisfy them at all, they have expressed concerns, and YOU have to answer to them, specifically.

a- No! A ‘forcing approach' is not needed; you are not under time pressure at this stage. b- No!
Investments are already made at corporate level, do not reinvent the wheel, c- Correct answer! To
escalate concerns to the corporate IT people demonstrates a positive attitude, d- No! You do not
have empathy with your team; beware of not damaging your relationship with them.

a- No! This is not a concern at this moment, b- No! This is a good question, but it is the result of the
decision of the steering committee depending upon the alignment (or not) of your program with
new strategic objectives, c- No! This is not a concern at the moment, d- Correct! This is the key
question about your program. If the expected benefits are not in line with the new strategic
objectives, your program may be cancelled or at least be re evaluated.
247
a- No! Cost minimization can be a good reason tor initiating a program, b- No! HR management
can be a good reason for initiating a program, c- Correct! The other answers are plausible reasons,
but this answer is better because it only concerns one or several projects. For instance, compliance
to global quality standards may only concern the design project. The need to have a "global"
quality standard does not mean that it applies to all projects but to all drills; do not mix program
management and quality management, d- No! High technical risks can be a good reason for
initiating a program.

a- Wrong! They provide resources and ensure the success of the program, not of the objectives.
b- This is Correct! The portfolio manager makes sure that projects and programs directly support
business objectives. c- No! This is not systematic. The CEO usually delegates, d- No! They have
executive ownership only.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011/ Strategic program Management - page 7, Knowledge
Specific 11 and standard, section 1.4.2

a- No! This is a local action; project managers do not need a program manager for that! b- No! You
simply observe local conditions, but in this answer, there is no mention of a consolidated action
between sites. c- No! This is a local action; project managers do not need a program manager for
that! d- Correct! This is correct because you take the initiative to correlate and resolve at program
level.

a- Correct answer! A strategic mandate (when it is issued by company executives) is an input used
during this phase. b- Wrong answer! The program roadmap is an output from this phase, c- Wrong
answer! The program charter is an output from this phase, d- Wrong answer! The program
management plan is an output from this phase.

a- Wrong! Your responsibility as program manager includes the possibility to exploit new
opportunities, b- Wrong! You do not have the time to prepare a presentation with your team. You
should first talk to your sponsor, c- Correct! Your sponsor should be able to tell you what to do next,
for instance whether you should present the case to the steering committee, d- No! You should first
discuss things briefly with your sponsor and tell him that you do not have time to go further into the
opportunities. He should be able to carry on.

a- Wrong! They are different (see other comments), b- Correct! The answer text reflects the
differences between the two. c- Wrong! The program roadmap highlights all of the major program
milestones, including dates regarding benefits, d- Wrong! The program roadmap is an output from
the Program initiation’ activities which are performed during the ‘Program definition’ phase.
The standard, section 3.3 and section 4.2.1
248
a- No! Technical expertise is not always necessary, and scheduling management tools skills are
usually not necessary! b- No! Procurement skills and data bases skills are usually not mandatory, c-
No! Technical expertise is not always necessary, and project management skills are recommended!
d- Yes! This is an exact list out of the standard.

a- No! Stakeholders do not decide on component initiation (and transition). The steering committee
decides, b- Yes! When you want to start a component of your program, you need to send a request
to the steering committee that will then approve or disapprove, c- No! Sponsors do not decide by
themselves. It is the steering committee that agrees to initiate (and transition) components and you
must ask for that authorization, d- No! It is the responsibility of the steering committee, not of your
project managers.

a- No! The project manager is assigned (see the text content), b- No! The project charter and the
project business case exist (see the text content), c- No! The project sponsor is assigned; by default,
YOU are the component sponsor, d- Correct! This must be the only reason not to start the
component as this is mandatory; and all other answers are wrong (see the text content).

a- Correct! The stakeholder engagement plan describes HOW you plan to track and manage
stakeholders's expectations, b- No! The program charter does not say HOW to track stakeholders’
expectations. c- No! The program business case does not say HOW to track stakeholders’
expectations, d- No! The stakeholder register contains the stakeholders’ expectations, but it does
not say HOW to track them!
5.3

a- No! To "impose’’ is not the best choice, b- Correct! This is the best answer. It is always better to
seek consensus than to impose your views. If all key stakeholders representatives agree with the fact
that English is the best choice, it will come from a unanimous decision, c- No! You cannot make a
survey among ALL stakeholders. d- No! This solution is too costly.
249
a- Correct! From the list this is the only element which could prevent project A from starting.
A business case is needed for each component project in a program. b- Wrong! You have been
selected as the project manager! c- Wrong! Or at least not the best answer. The fact that all
resources are not present should not delay the start of the project. d- Wrong answer! Remember,
most of the time, the program manager acts as the sponsor for component projects.
6.1.11 and section 7.1.3.1

a- Wrong! The transition plan is not included in the performance activities, b- Wrong! The PMIS is not
included in the performance activities, c- Correct! d- Wrong! The benefits management plan is
not included in the performance activities.
7.2.2.3

a- Correct! All benefits should be sustained after the program is completed. The sustainment plan
should be developed to ensure the continued realization of the benefits delivered, b- Wrong! Some
benefits may occur after the program is closed, c- Wrong! The benefits management plan should
address ALL benefits, d- Wrong! There should be a sustainment plan.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Benefits Management - Tasks 3 and 7 and standard,
section 4.5

a- Correct! Official PMI® definition, b- No! This statement is true but it does not contain all the
essential notions of a program, i.e. control, common management for better coordination and
benefits c- No! This could also fit as a definition of a portfolio, d- No! This definition says nothing
about benefits.

a- No! The stakeholder log does not exist, b- No! Stakeholder analysis is a Tool used to develop the
stakeholder engagement plan. c- Correct! The stakeholder register should contain stakeholders'
expectations, d- No! Stakeholder maps visually represent the interaction and influence of
stakeholders.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Stakeholder Management - Task 2 and standard,
section 5.2
250
a- No! The EAC of each project has little to do with the closure decision, b- No! The status of the
two remaining projects has no impact on the decision whether to close or not the three projects.
c- No! This question is not appropriate for the decision to close the three projects. This should have
been addressed in the various project plans, d- Yes! This is the key question to ask before agreeing
or not to close the three projects. The deliverables may have been produced, but according to the
criteria defined in the benefits management plan, are we certain that expected benefits have been
(or will be) realized as per the defined criteria?
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Benefits Management - Task 5 and standard, section
6.1.9 (second bullet, outcomes of program components) and section 4.2.1 (benefits management
plan)

a- No! This is part of the portfolio’s manager role. b- No! There is no comparison with other
programs, this statement is not appropriate, c- Correct! This is the best option. d- No! You have to
show that money spent will be recovered BEFORE selection.

a- No! The budget alone cannot indicate whether projects will have to be interdependent or not.
b- No! Requirements on their own cannot indicate whether a program is needed or not: it also
depends on the total amount of work and the way this work is structured and work packaged.
c- No! This is not an essential criterion for eventually structuring a program into interdependent
projects, d- Correct! Portfolio management considers ‘benefits’ to be the highest priority criteria
when selecting a program.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Strategic program Management - Task 7 and standard,
section 1.4.12

a- No! The RAM (responsibility assignment matrix) shows the link between the work elements and
people assigned to do the work. b- No! The OBS (organizational breakdown structure) shows the
reporting relationships between team members, c- You are Correct! This is exactly what the
accountability matrix does. d- No! The RBS (risk breakdown structure) is a hierarchical representation
of the risks
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 I Initiating the program - Task 4 and PMBOK® Guide,
section 9.1.3.1 (OBS: same concept for a program and a project)

a- No! This is not the best option. It is always better to meet people, when possible, b- No! This is not
the best option. It is always better to meet people, when possible, c- No! This is not the best option.
Anyway, the program management plan has not been created yet! d- Correct! The kick-off
meeting is the best option in this situation. You will have the opportunity to meet each stakeholder
and all discuss things together. They will also have the opportunity to meet other key stakeholders.
You will really start to build a team whose involvement is vital for the program’s success.
PgMP® Examination Content Outline 2011 / Initiating the program - Task 6
251
Acheve d’imprimer par:
www.imprimersonlivre.com
Roudenn Grafik
22190 Plerin
4eme trimestre 2018

PGMP Exam Preparation and Study Guide, 3rd Edition

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

PGMP Exam Preparation and Study Guide, 3rd Edition

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

PGMP Exam Preparation and Study Guide, 3rd Edition

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PgMP® Exam Preparation

Jean Gouix, PMP, PgMP

Project Management Institute PgMP® Examination Content Outline, Project Management

1st Edition Depot legal France, February 2012

2nd Edition Depot legal France, June 2013

3rd Edition Depot legal France, June 2018

Proudly Printed in Brittany, France, June 2018

About the Authors.................................................................................................................... X

About our online PgMP® Exam Prep package....................................................................... XI

Rationale of this Book-Third Edition.................................................................................... XII

Role of the program manager........................................................................................................1

The day-to-day work of the program manager................................................................................2

'Do level' skills of the program manager......................................................................................... 2

'Be level' skills of the program manager......................................................................................... 2

Project vs. Program...................................................................................................................... 3

Portfolio vs. Program.................................................................................................................... 4

Operations vs. Program.................................................................................................................5

The Standard- Fourth Edition in a nutshell......................................................................................6

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................12

Domain I Strategic Program Management............................................................................ 14

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................20

Domain II Program Life Cycle............................................................................................... 22

Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Initiating......................................................... 27

Study Questions - Answers......................................................................................................... 35

Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Planning.......................................................... 37

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................46

Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Executing.........................................................48

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................55

Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Controlling.......................................................57

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................65

Domain II Program Life Cycle / Subdomain Closing.............................................................67

Study Questions - Answers.......................................................................................................... 74

Domain III Benefits Management......................................................................................... 76

Study Questions - Answers..........................................................................................................84

Domain IV Stakeholder Management....................................................................................86

Study Questions - Answers........................................................................................................ 104

170 Tutorial Questions........................................................................................................ 106

Guidelines to test your knowledge of the standard...................................................................... 106

170 Tutorial Questions - Answers....................................................................................... 146

170 Practice Questions........................................................................................................ 157

Guidelines to be prepared for the PgMP® certification.................................................................157

170 Practice Questions - Answers....................................................................................... 220

What's new in this Third Edition of the Study Guide?

We have updated our Study Guide due to three major factors:

1 - Impact of changes to the standard:

Some terminology changes (example: Program and program management definition,

3- Link to our online courses:

Who should read this Study Guide?

3 PMP is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Jean is currently professional trainer, teacher and coach in project and

Martial Bellec, PMP, PgMP, PMI-ACP

Martial is an agile coach for hybrid complex projects for a Global

4 PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

This package includes:

• Revision of your exam application before you submit it to PMI®

For more information, please refer to our web site: www.jmetraining.com

You can also write to us at: program.support@orange.fr

Good luck on your way to the PgMP® certification!