8.4: PgMP-Style Questions

Sample Questions

1. A program has delivered all planned outputs and benefits are being realized. The program sponsor wants to close immediately to free up the budget for a new initiative. However, the receiving organization has not completed its transition readiness assessment. What should the program manager do?
   1. Close the program as requested because all outputs have been delivered.
   2. Advise the sponsor that closure should not occur until the receiving organization confirms readiness to sustain the benefits.
   3. Close the program and assign a project manager to handle the transition.
   4. Transfer the benefits to the PMO and close the program.
2. During financial closure, the program manager discovers $2.3 million in unused contingency reserves. What is the correct disposition of these funds?
   1. Distribute them as bonuses to the program team.
   2. Return them to the funding organization in accordance with the financial framework.
   3. Transfer them to the next program the program manager will lead.
   4. Use them to fund additional benefits sustainment activities without governance approval.
3. A component project has completed its work, but two other components depend on outputs from this component that have not been formally tested at the integration level. The component manager requests closure. What should the program manager do?
   1. Approve closure because the component has completed its deliverables.
   2. Delay closure until integration testing confirms the outputs meet program-level requirements.
   3. Approve closure but retain the component manager for integration testing.
   4. Transfer integration testing to the dependent components.
4. A program is being closed. The program manager has documented fourteen residual risks that could affect benefit sustainment. What should happen to these risks?
   1. They should be archived with the program records.
   2. They should be transferred to the receiving organizations' risk registers with supporting analysis and response plans.
   3. They should be escalated to the portfolio management office.
   4. They should be closed because the program is ending.
5. A post-program review reveals that the program exceeded its budget by 15% due to underestimating the complexity of regulatory approvals. What is the most valuable outcome of this finding?
   1. Holding the program manager accountable for the overrun.
   2. Creating a specific, actionable lesson learned that recommends a regulatory complexity assessment during business case development for future programs.
   3. Revising the program's final financial report to explain the variance.
   4. Updating the organization's cost estimation guidelines with a 15% buffer for all future programs.
6. A program has been terminated early because the organizational strategy changed. Not all components have completed their work. What closure activities must still be performed?
   1. None, because the program was terminated rather than completed.
   2. Financial closure, resource release, risk transfer, knowledge archiving, and governance approval are still required regardless of the reason for closure.
   3. Only financial closure is required for terminated programs.
   4. The program should continue until all components are complete, regardless of the strategy change.
7. Which of the following best describes the difference between component closure and program closure?
   1. Component closure happens once; program closure happens multiple times.
   2. Component closure occurs incrementally as individual components complete their work; program closure occurs once when the governance board formally approves the end of the program.
   3. Program closure includes all component closure activities.
   4. Component closure and program closure are the same activity performed at different scales.
8. A program's lessons learned were collected at closure and stored in a database. Two years later, a new program with similar scope fails to access or use those lessons. What organizational failure does this represent?
   1. The lessons learned database was poorly organized.
   2. The organization failed to actively disseminate and apply lessons learned, treating capture as an end rather than a means.
   3. The new program manager was negligent.
   4. Lessons learned from previous programs are rarely relevant to new programs.
9. A governance board is conducting the final phase gate review. The program manager presents the final program report showing that all closure activities are complete except knowledge archiving, which is 80% done. What should the board do?
   1. Approve closure because 80% is close enough.
   2. Approve closure with the condition that knowledge archiving must be completed within a defined timeframe.
   3. Reject closure until all activities are 100% complete.
   4. Delegate the archiving to the PMO and approve closure.
10. What is the primary purpose of a post-program review?
    1. To evaluate the program manager's performance for their annual review.
    2. To assign blame for problems that occurred during the program.
    3. To evaluate overall program performance, capture lessons learned, and generate recommendations for organizational improvement.
    4. To calculate the final ROI of the program.

Answer Key

1. B. Benefits will degrade if the receiving organization is not ready to sustain them, so the program manager should advise against premature closure.
2. B. Financial closure requires accounting for all program funds, and unused reserves are returned per the financial framework.
3. B. Component closure should be coordinated with program-level integration requirements to avoid risk for dependent components.
4. B. Residual risks must be transferred to receiving organizations with full documentation rather than archived or closed.
5. B. The most valuable outcome is a specific, actionable lesson that prevents the same problem in future programs.
6. B. Terminated programs still require closure activities such as settling contracts, releasing resources, and archiving records.
7. B. Component closure is incremental throughout delivery, while program closure is a single event approved by the governance board.
8. B. Capturing lessons without disseminating and applying them defeats the purpose of the process.
9. B. Proceed with conditions fits when most criteria are met but a specific activity remains, given a defined completion date.
10. C. The post-program review serves organizational learning, not individual performance evaluation or blame assignment.