7.4: PgMP-Style Questions

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Page ID: 137968

Guharaman Janakiraman
De Anza College

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Sample Questions

A program manager needs to reallocate $400,000 from one component to another to address an integration issue. The governance framework specifies that the program manager can approve budget reallocations up to $500,000 without board approval. What should the program manager do?
1. Seek governance board approval because any budget change is significant.
2. Approve the reallocation within their authority and notify the sponsor.
3. Ask the component managers to resolve the issue without budget reallocation.
4. Defer the decision until the next governance board meeting.
A governance board meets quarterly and consistently approves every recommendation without discussion. The program manager believes this pattern indicates weak governance. What is the primary risk?
1. The program manager has too much authority.
2. Problems and risks may not receive adequate scrutiny, allowing them to compound into crises.
3. The board members are too busy to participate effectively.
4. The program is running so well that governance oversight is unnecessary.
At a stage gate review, the governance board determines that the program has met most criteria but has two unresolved risks that could affect benefits realization. What is the most appropriate decision?
1. Proceed, because most criteria are met.
2. Terminate, because all criteria must be fully met.
3. Proceed with conditions, requiring the program to address the two risks within a defined timeframe.
4. Recycle, requiring the program to restart the current phase.
A program's escalation policy specifies that any risk with a potential impact exceeding $1 million must be escalated to the governance board within five business days. A component manager identifies such a risk but reports it only in the monthly status report, which is reviewed three weeks later. What governance failure occurred?
1. The component manager violated the escalation policy by not escalating within the defined timeframe.
2. The program manager should have identified the risk independently.
3. The governance board should review status reports more frequently.
4. The escalation policy threshold is set too low.
A program has collected lessons learned at the end of each completed component. However, a review reveals that none of the lessons have been shared with active components or other programs. What governance principle has been violated?
1. Compliance monitoring.
2. The requirement to apply lessons learned, not just capture them.
3. Performance reporting.
4. Escalation policy.
A governance board must decide whether to terminate a program that has spent $30 million of its $50 million budget but has achieved only 35% of its planned benefits. The program manager argues that the remaining $20 million will bring benefits to 90%. What analytical question should the board ask?
1. Whether the program manager's past performance justifies trust in the projection.
2. Whether the remaining $20 million represents the best use of organizational resources compared to alternative investments, given the program's track record.
3. Whether the $30 million already spent can be recovered.
4. Whether the program team should be replaced.
Which of the following best describes the relationship between program governance and organizational governance?
1. Program governance replaces organizational governance for the duration of the program.
2. Program governance operates independently of organizational governance.
3. Program governance must conform with and operate within the organization's broader governance structure.
4. Organizational governance does not apply to programs managed under a portfolio.
A governance board includes the program sponsor, CFO, CTO, VP of Operations, and VP of Marketing. A decision requires expertise in regulatory compliance, which none of the current board members possess. What should the program manager recommend?
1. Make the decision without regulatory input to avoid delay.
2. Add a regulatory compliance expert to the board, either as a permanent member or as an advisor for this decision.
3. Delegate the decision to the program's legal team.
4. Defer the decision until a regulatory expert becomes available.
A program manager has been sending 200-page briefing packages to the governance board before each meeting. Board members report that they do not read the packages. What change should the program manager make?
1. Require board members to sign a confirmation that they have read the package.
2. Replace the 200-page package with a focused executive summary that highlights decision points, risks, and deviations from plan.
3. Stop sending packages and present all information verbally during meetings.
4. Reduce the meeting frequency so board members have more time to read.
A stage gate review is scheduled for the end of the program definition phase. The program manager realizes that one component's planning is incomplete, but all other criteria have been met. The program manager asks the board to approve the gate with the understanding that the incomplete planning will be finished during the first month of delivery. What governance risk does this create?
1. No risk; this is a reasonable accommodation.
2. The program enters delivery with an incomplete plan, which could lead to integration issues, resource conflicts, and scope gaps in the unfinished component.
3. The board loses credibility by approving an incomplete gate.
4. Both B and C.

Answer Key

1. B. The reallocation falls within the program manager's defined decision rights, so approving it and notifying the sponsor is appropriate.
2. B. Rubber-stamp governance allows problems to go unscrutinized, since the board's role includes challenging recommendations and asking hard questions.
3. C. Proceed with conditions fits when most criteria are met but specific, time-bound issues remain to be resolved.
4. A. The escalation policy defined a five-day timeline, so failing to escalate within that timeframe is a policy violation.
5. B. Collecting lessons learned without disseminating and applying them fails to deliver the value of the process.
6. B. The sunk cost is irrelevant; the board should evaluate whether the remaining funds are the best use of resources given the program's track record.
7. C. Program governance must operate within the organization's broader governance structure rather than independently of it.
8. B. Board composition should include the expertise needed for the decisions being made, such as adding a regulatory expert.
9. B. Governance reporting should be exception-based, so a concise executive summary is more effective than an exhaustive package.
10. D. Entering delivery with incomplete planning creates operational risk, and approving an incomplete gate also undermines the gate process's credibility.

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