During the initiation stage, the project manager aligns the project’s risk management approach to ABC Company’s risk management policy. As a result, the project will use two risk registers, one for ABC Company’s risks and one for external supplier risks.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘tailor to suit the project’ principle, and why?

A new Training Delivery Manager is being recruited to replace the current manager in six month’s time. The new Training Delivery Manager will need to review the
‘classroom-based training materials’ before they are finalized. As a result, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is not part of the project management team, has stated that the project’s duration should be at least seven months. Any deviations from this timescale must be escalated to the CEO.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘manage by exception’ principle, and why?

The Health and Safety Training Project has been divided into four stages. The executive considers this project to be a compulsory project and has advised the project manager that it is not necessary to produce the project initiation documentation. This would mean that the project would consist of three delivery stages.
How well does this apply the ‘manage by stages’ principle?

The Training Delivery Manager was identified as the senior user. However, before the project begins, this manager goes on long-term sick leave. The executive says that they do not need to replace the role of senior user on the project board.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘defined roles and responsibilities’ principle, and why?

The government agency held a seminar for training organizations to discuss the approach to accreditation for new health and safety courses. The project manager attended on behalf of ABC Company. Other training organizations described delays that had occurred when accrediting course material in the past. As a result, the project manager has produced a report recommending ways to improve the ‘classroom-based training materials’ to avoid such delays.
Is this an appropriate application of the principle ‘learn from experience’, and why?

ABC Company produces a corporate business plan which includes the targets for the next 12 months. For the Health and Safety Training Project, a feasibility study was carried out and, as a result, the expected sales were included in this plan. During the ‘starting up a project’ process, the executive advised the project manager that the corporate business plan provides sufficient justification to initiate the project.
Is this a correct application of the ‘continued business justification’ principle, and why?

Checkpoint reports are being produced monthly. A week after the last checkpoint report was prepared, the team responsible for developing the ‘classroom-based training materials’ have realized that they will not be able to deliver the materials to the accreditor by the work package completion deadline.
Which action demonstrates application of the ‘manage by exception’ principle?

During stage 3, a work package was assigned to produce the ‘planned pilot courses’. The product’s quality criteria were defined and baselined before the work package was agreed.
Which principle is being applied, and why?

One of the senior managers of the company that is developing the ‘e-learning course’ has worked with ABC Company before. The team manager for the delivery of the ‘e-learning course’ has looked on ABC Company’s intranet, but cannot find any reference to this work. The team manager has contacted the senior manager to discuss this project.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘learn from experience’ principle, and why?

During stage 3, project costs are increasing but there will still be a positive return on investment, as documented in the business case. However, corporate management has recently revised its targets for return on investment and has decided to stop the project as it will not meet the new targets.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘continued business justification’ principle?

ABC Company has a standard course development model with four defined stages that the company manages using PRINCE2. The project manager for the
Health and Safety Training Project has recommended the stage 2 of the standard model be split into two separate stages. As a result, there will now be five management stages in the project.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘tailor to suit the project’ principle, and why?

During stage 3, the operational staff that handle course bookings asked for the project scope to be increased for an online booking function. The additional product has been as it will enable them to process bookings more quickly and accurately.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘focus on products’ principle, and why?

The executive has set the following tolerances for stage 2:
Time (+/- 1 week)
Cost (+/- ֲ£20,000)
Scope (using MoSCoW prioritization technique)
Risk (based on the risk appetite defined in the risk management approach)
These tolerances have been recorded in the stage plan. The project manager will report progress regularly via highlight reports to the project board and use exception reports to raise exceptions. In addition, the project assurance role will monitor the stage to provide confidence to the project board that exceptions are being reported.
How well does this apply the ‘manage by exception’ principle, and why?

The Health and Safety Training Project is part of a programme of strategic expansion, which is important for ABC Company’s continued operation. At the end of stage 2, the estimated project costs are greater than the expected benefits in the business case. The project board has reviewed the situation and asked programme management to decide whether the project should be closed prematurely.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘manage by stages’ principle, and why?

The project is at the end of stage 4. The project manager has changed the benefits management approach. It now includes all the activities necessary to measure the increased revenue.
Who should approve this update?

The development of the ‘e-learning course’ will be outsourced to an external supplier and their key members will join the project management team. The supplier wants to keep their work processes confidential and not share these with ABC Company. ABC Company has agreed.
Who should approve the external supplier’s team plan?

ABC Company has a number of projects in progress. The executive of the Health and Safety Training Project is also a member of the project board for two other projects and is very busy. As a result, during this initiation stage, the executive has appointed another person to carry out both their business assurance and the role of change authority for minor and medium severity issues.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The ‘classroom-based training materials’ will be used as the basis for developing the ‘e-learning course’. As a result, the executive wants to ensure that the
‘classroom-based training materials’ are of the required standard. The executive has asked to meet the project manager every day during stage 2 to discuss progress and identify any concerns regarding quality.
Is this an appropriate approach to applying the organization theme, and why?

Use the ‘Additional Information’ in the Scenario Booklet to answer this question.
The Operations Director is the executive for the project and has proposed that a senior course developer be appointed as project manager. The course developer works in the Training Development Manager’s team and has a good understanding of the standard course development model. The course developer was a team manager on a previous project for which the Operations Director was the executive.
Is this proposed appointment appropriate, and why?

A construction company that is one of ABC Company’s key clients has agreed to provide a member of the staff to review and comment on the ‘e-learning course’.
Which stakeholder interest should the member of staff represent, and why?

The executive identified that there would be a benefit to the construction companies as their working time lost due to accidents would be reduced. This was included as a benefit to ABC Company in the business case for the Health and Safety Training Project.
Is this appropriate, and why?

At the end of stage 2, the specialist ‘e-learning course’ supplier will be selected. As a result, it is decided that the quality management approach will not be created until the end of stage 2, to take into account this supplier’s standards and techniques.
Is this appropriate, and why?

ABC Company has decided to include the Health and Safety Training Project in a programme to support their strategy to deliver globally. The programme team has provided the detailed business justification and, as a result, the project board has decided that the business case will not need refining further during the
‘initiating a project’ process.
Is this an appropriate action for the project board, and why?

ABC Company uses a standard development model to develop courses and uses PRINCE2 to manage these projects. The objectives from the Health and Safety
Training Project have been documented in the business plan of ABC Company. This business plan has triggered this project. As a result, to save time, the executive has decided to simplify the ‘starting up a project’ process. The project mandate will be adapted and becomes the project brief.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The external team manager for the ‘e-learning course’ has reviewed the quality register to ensure all quality activities have been completed. The ‘e-learning course’ has been approved and accreditation has been achieved. As a result, the team manager updated the work package to notify the project manager that it is complete, and updated the team plan.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The project’s change control approach states that PRINCE2’s recommended issue and change control procedure will be used. The senior user has requested that a new set of marketing materials and marketing channels be introduced to support the launch of the training course. The senior user has suggested that this should be managed informally.
Where should the project manager record the issue, and why?

An external consultant has signed a contract and agreed a work package to accredit the trainers. The Purchasing Manager will monitor the contract, which states the requirement to organize the accreditation with the Training Delivery Manager. The Training Delivery Manager has tried to contact the consultant but there has been no response. The project manager believes there is a risk that the consultant is prioritizing other clients’ work.
The Purchasing Manager has been assigned as the risk owner. Is this an appropriate approach to managing this risk, and why?

ABC Company carried out a similar project two years ago, in response to changes in health and safety legislation for the health service. The experiences from that project were used to refine the corporate risk management policy. For that reason, the project board decided to use the corporate risk management policy in the risk management approach for this project.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The delivery of the pilot courses has been split into two separate products: ‘planned pilot courses’ and ‘delivered pilot courses’. ‘Planned pilot courses’ will be produced during stage 3, and the ‘delivered pilot courses’ will take place during stage 4. This will allow the project board to approve the plan for the pilot courses before the resources are committed to delivering the pilot courses.
Why is this an appropriate application of the plans theme to control the project?

A quality review of the ‘marketing materials’ has started. The team manager for the ‘marketing materials’ has been unhappy with the team’s workload throughout the project and refuses to attend the review meeting to present the material. The team manager suggests that a new marketing team member make the presentation. However, the chair decides to represent the marketing team and makes a list of actions to resolve later.
Is this an appropriate approach to the quality review, and why?

In order for ABC Company to achieve the expected sales of the health and safety training course, the senior user will need to ensure that all staff understand the objectives and target audience for the course. In addition, these sales will need to be added to each individual’s sales targets. These activities have been included in the benefits management approach.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The team manager for the production of the ‘marketing materials’ has identified that they will not be ready within the timescale agreed in the work package. The team manager has sufficient tolerance to take corrective action. As a result, additional resources have been assigned to this work package.
Which theme is being applied?

The project board has asked for highlight reports every six weeks during stage 3. As a result, the project manager has asked each team manager for checkpoint reports every six weeks, in order to collate these into the highlight report. The team manager for the ‘marketed courses’ is new to team management.
Is this an appropriate action as part of the ‘controlling a stage’ process, and why?

The project is in stage 2. The project manager is reviewing stage status and has collected the checkpoint reports from the team managers. These show that the products are being completed on schedule. However, project support has raised issues that quality reviews have not been completed as agreed. The project manager reports in the highlight report that the stage is progressing well.
Is this appropriate, and why?

The project is at the start of stage 3, and there will be six teams working on product delivery. In order to exercise control, the project manager has asked each team to submit a detailed team plan for approval. The external team manager for the ‘e-learning course’ has agreed to submit a summary to the project manager, but will submit the detailed team plan to the senior supplier to review and approve.
Is the team manager’s response appropriate, and why?

The Health and Safety Training Project is closing as planned. According to the contract terms, suppliers must submit all invoices within one week of project closure. The project manager will issue a project closure notification informing all suppliers of this invoicing deadline as part of the ‘recommended project closure’ activity.
Is this appropriate, and why?

CLOSING A PROJECT –
Benefits relating to income and business reputation after the project has closed cannot be shown at project closure.
Which statement describes how the ‘closing a project’ process makes provision for this?

All the products that are due in stage 3 have been completed, apart from the ‘updated corporate quality procedures’. The work has been completed but the product has not yet been approved. The executive has been told that it will be signed off before the end of the project. In response to an exception report, the executive has instructed the project manager to plan to obtain approval of the product in stage 4.
Is this appropriate application of the report management stage end’ activity, and why?

Towards the end of stage 2, the stage 3 plan is being prepared. This includes the work required to promote the new courses to other training companies. In addition to the current ways of marketing the courses, the Sales Director wants to advertise in trade magazines. The likely costs involved and the opportunities it may bring have been identified.
As part of the ‘update the project plan’ activity, what should the project manager be responsible for?

MANAGING A STAGE BOUNDARY –
The ABC Company trainers have been accredited and the course booking procedures have been amended. The ‘managing a stage boundary’ process is taking place at the end of stage 3.
Which activity should occur during the ‘update the business case’ activity?

Based on lessons from previous projects that used the ABC Company standard development model, the project board has set low cost and time tolerances for stage 2. As a result, the project manager plans to set very low tolerances for time and cost for all work packages to be carried out during stage 2.
Is this an appropriate application of the ‘manage by exception’ principle, and why?

During stage 4, a work package was authorized for the ‘delivered pilot courses’ to be completed by the end of week 2. The ‘finalized materials’ work package will start in week 3. Both work packages have zero tolerances, and finalizing the materials is dependent on feedback from the pilot courses.
During week 1, there were some problems with the pilot courses, so at the start of week 2 the team manager rescheduled the courses to week 3, and reported this in the weekly checkpoint report as the end of week 2.
Should the team manager have reported this delay previously as an issue, and why?

The project is now closed. The expected increase in revenue is not being achieved. It has been agreed with the team manager for the ‘marketing materials’ that additional marketing activities will be undertaken to achieve the expected increase in revenue.
Who should be responsible for monitoring the results of the marketing activities, and why?