PMI SH - Evaluate and Deliver Project Benefits and Value

A company is considering adopting the agile methodology for future projects. The project manager is leading a discussion focused on the benefits associated with the agile methodology.

Which of the following points should the project manager highlight?

• Transparency is central, early and reliable delivery, methodology embraces change

• Product based method, divides projects into valuable phases, focuses on business justification

• Clear documentation exist, single point of responsibility, effective collaboration

• No overtime if possible, face-to-face contact and constantly looking back to move forward

Answer explanation

Transparency in central, early and reliable delivery, methodology embraces the change represent three core elements of agile methodology.

Agile focusses on customer collaboration over contract negotiation working software over comprehensive documentation and individual interaction over process and tools

In an agile project, the project status indicates that the project is 95% completed. During an iteration review, the stakeholders were concerned about the business value being delivered.

What should the project manager do to ensure the project is properly aligned?

• Communicate with the stakeholders to mitigate their concerns.

• Instruct the project sponsor to review the project goals and work completed.

• Meet with the product owner to re-evaluate the project's scope and deliverables.

• Request that the business analyst adjust the project goals accordingly.

Answer explanation

In an agile project, if stakeholders are concerned about the business value being delivered despite the project being 95% completed, the project manager should meet with the product owner to re-evaluate the project's scope and deliverables. This will help ensure that the project is properly aligned with the business needs and that the expected business value is being delivered. It is important for project managers to continuously monitor the work being done to ensure it remains optimally aligned with the benefits that need to be achieved.

The other answer choices are incorrect. 

Communicating with stakeholders to mitigate their concerns is important, but the project manager should first evaluate the project in order to appropriately respond to the stakeholders. 

Reviewing and adjusting the project goals should be done by the product owner, not the sponsor or business analyst. The product owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and is accountable for the end product.

Instructing the sponsor to review the project goals does not address the stakeholder's concerns and does not validate value delivery. 

Requesting that the business analyst adjust the project goals is inappropriate because project goals should not be adjusted to align with a project, the project should align with the business goals.

Project manager has just taken over a 5-year project that is at the midpoint. At the steering committee meeting, the CEO asked if the project was on track to deliver the target of a 40% increase in production. The project manager responded that since they only worked on the project for one month, they did not know the status of the project.

What should the project manager have done to avoid this situation?

• Reviewed the last status report to understand the project status.

• Validated the project status with the lead developer.

• Reviewed the last project status with the project sponsor.

• Checked the project schedule to understand the project status.

Answer explanation

When a new project manager takes over an ongoing project, one of the first steps is to review the project's history and current status with the project sponsor. The project sponsor is typically the individual with the most significant stake in the project's success and is responsible for oversight. By discussing the project's status with the sponsor, the new project manager can gain critical insights into the project's progress, goals, and expectations. This ensures that they have a clear understanding of the project's status, objectives, and any specific targets such as the 40% increase in production mentioned in the question.

The other options are not as accurate. 

Reviewing the last status report would only give the project manager a snapshot of the project's status at that point in time. It would not be enough to answer the CEO's question about the project's overall status. 

Validating the project status with the lead developer is valuable for technical details but may not give a comprehensive view of the project's overall status and alignment with high-level objectives.

Checking the project schedule would not be enough, as it would not take into account factors such as the project's budget and scope, and may not provide the strategic insights needed to address the CEO's question about the 40% production increase target.

A project manager is finishing a project and the sponsor is requesting insights on benefits realization. How can the project manager calculate project outcomes value?

• Evaluate qualitative and quantitative project benefits.

• Price tangible benefits and divide them by expenses.

• Conduct a retrospective financial assessment.

• Assess outcomes and compare them to the budget.

Answer explanation

To calculate project outcomes value, the project manager should evaluate both qualitative and quantitative project benefits. This will help to determine the overall value of the project and provide insights on benefits realization. A project benefit is the outcome of actions, behaviors, products, services, or results that provide value to the sponsoring organization. Metrics are used to show realized benefits, direct and indirect measures, which means they can be obtained by evaluating both qualitative and quantitative outcomes. 
The other options may not effectively capture the full range of benefits.
Pricing and dividing only considers tangible benefits.
Conducting a retrospective financial assessment only focuses on financial inputs.
Comparing outcomes to the budget focuses on cost efficiency.

A project manager is leading a project to implement a process improvement software system that was developed in-house. However, the adoption across the organization was less than 50%

due to a misalignment with core processes.

Which three of the following actions should the project manager have performed

to realize the project benefits?

• Conducted a full needs assessment in the design phase.

• Launched the pilot in a core business unit and collected feedback.

• Ensured wider stakeholder engagement to gain greater buy-in.

• Instructed the marketing team to collect feedback from customers.

• Developed a clear change management plan that included training.

Answer explanation

• Conducted a full needs assessment in the design phase.

• Launched the pilot in a core business unit and collected feedback.

• Ensured wider stakeholder engagement to gain greater buy-in.

Conducting a full needs assessment in the design phase would have helped the project manager to identify the specific needs of the organization and ensure that the software system was designed to meet those needs.

Launching the pilot in a core business unit and collecting feedback would have allowed the project manager to test the software system with a real-world user group and get feedback on how to improve it.

Ensuring wider stakeholder engagement to gain greater buy-in would have helped to ensure that all stakeholders were aware of the project and its benefits and were committed to its success.

The other two options are not as essential to address the specific problems highlighted in this scenario.

Instructing the marketing team to collect feedback from customers would have been helpful, but it is not essential for realizing the project benefits.

Developing a clear change management plan that included training would have been helpful, but it is not as important as ensuring that the software system is aligned with the organization's core processes and that there is widespread support for the project.

A project manager works in a matrix organization and manages an internal software development project to improve the company's tracking system. The project is scheduled to be completed in one month. Some benefits will be realized once the system is online, however, full benefits will not be realized for a while. Although the project manager will track benefits through project closure, they are concerned about tracking the benefits of post-project activities.

What should the project manager do?

• Request that a new project be initiated to monitor and report the achievement of benefits.

• Revise the benefits management plan to extend the project until all benefits are realized.

• Update the work breakdown structure (WBS) and project schedule with tasks to track benefits realization.

• Coordinate with the benefits owner to monitor the achievement of benefits after the project closes.

Answer explanation

The project manager should coordinate with the benefits owner to monitor the achievement of benefits after the project closes. This is the most appropriate option because it is the most efficient and effective way to track the benefits after the project closes. The benefits owner is the person who is responsible for ensuring that the benefits of the project are realized. The project manager can work with the benefits owner to develop a plan to track the benefits and to report on the progress of the benefits realization.

The other options are incorrect because they are not as efficient or effective.

 Requesting that a new project be initiated to monitor and report the achievement of benefits would be time-consuming and expensive. Revising the benefits management plan would delay the project and increase costs. Updating the WBS and project schedule with tasks to track benefits realization would be unnecessary if the project manager could simply coordinate with the benefits owner.

A business environment has become unstable because a stakeholder has altered the project deliverables and outcomes in the middle of the execution phase.

Taking the stakeholder into consideration, how should the project manager ensure the project benefits are delivered?

• Ensure the project team agrees to the project management plan and provide the stakeholder with constant updates.

• Combine both agile and predictive approaches and manage changes to the overall scope with minimal deviations.

• Ensure the project's deliverables and objectives are tailored to the initial requirements.

• Engage the stakeholder based on level of impact and ensure their requirements are captured adequately according to change management process.

Answer explanation

The project manager should properly engage the stakeholder based on level of impact and influence on the project. The PM should ensure the stakeholder's requirements are captured adequately according to change management process.

The other answer choices are incorrect. They do not reflect the requirements of the stakeholder and don't promote stakeholder engagement.

A project manager is developing a project management plan. The project duration is set for three months due to regulatory compliance and dependency on senior staff.

Which two project objectives should be defined well enough to be included in the project management plan? (Choose two)

• Improve the processes and reduce rework by keeping senior staff turnover to a minimum level.

• Develop detailed process maps to align operational activities with the new software system.

• Enhance the development process by redesigning new templates for the design documentation.

• Reduce the company's environmental footprint by using detailed recycling guidelines for all employees.

• Identify training needs and create a development plan to complete the delivery in three months.

Answer explanation

• Improve the processes and reduce rework by keeping senior staff turnover to a minimum level.

• Enhance the development process by redesigning new templates for the design documentation.

Improving the process and reducing rework addresses the potential risk of senior staff turnover, which could impact project continuity and quality. This aligns with the project's constraints (e.g., regulatory compliance and dependency on senior staff) and supports the goal of completing the project successfully within the fixed three-month duration.

Enhancing the development process focuses on improvement through the redesign of templates for design documentation. This directly contributes to achieving the project's goals within the regulatory compliance and resource constraints. The project manager seeks to make the process more efficient and effective, which is crucial for timely project delivery.

The other options are incorrect because they are not the most suitable choices.

While developing detailed process maps is a valuable activity, it is not explicitly tied to the project's constraints (e.g., the fixed three-month duration). 

Reducing the company's environmental footprint is not explicitly tied to the project's constraints (e.g., the fixed three-month duration). While it could be a valuable component of the project, it may not be as critical.

Identifying training needs and creating a development plan to complete the delivery in three months does not address the unique constraints mentioned in the scenario (regulatory compliance and senior staff dependency). It is also somewhat vague regarding how it directly contributes to the project's success within the three-month timeline.

After nine months, a project concludes its first phase with the release of a new product to the customer. The client is dissatisfied and states that many key features are missing.

What should the project manager do first in order to address this issue?

• Evaluate the missing features with the client and develop a plan to include them in the next nine-month project phase.

• Review the project plan to determine if the missing features were part of the original scope or if they were added later.

• Request additional funding in order to reduce the current release cycle timeline so the team can deliver value sooner.

• Restart the project by implementing an agile life cycle and incorporate the creation of a minimum viable product (MVP).

Answer explanation

The project manager should first review the project plan and scope to determine if the missing features were part of the original scope or if they were added later. This will help to identify the reasons for the missing features and develop a plan to address them. If the missing features were part of the original scope, the project manager should work with the team to identify the reasons for the missing features and develop a plan to address them. This may involve revising the project plan, adjusting priorities, and allocating additional resources as necessary. If the missing features were added later, the project manager should work with the client to determine if they are critical to the success of the project and if they can be added in a future release. It may also be helpful to communicate the plan to stakeholders and obtain their buy-in.

The other options are incorrect.

Evaluating the missing features with the client and planning to include the requirements in the next phase is premature. A comprehensive understanding of the missing features is crucial before making plans.

Requesting additional funding is premature. The project manager must have a better understanding of the issue before making a justified request for additional funding.

Restarting the project is an extreme measure and may not be possible or necessary.

Question

A new system is being developed to replace an existing manual process. During a sprint demo, business stakeholders expressed the concern that they would not gain any value from using this system.

What should the project manager do next?

• Discuss this with the product manager and identify new user stories to address business concerns.

• Call a steering committee meeting to determine critical success factors for the project.

• Create a project benefits management plan and review it with the stakeholders.

• Review the performance metrics with stakeholders to ensure the system accomplished agreed-upon metrics.

Answer explanation

The project manager should first review the performance metrics with stakeholders to ensure the system accomplished agreed-upon metrics. This will help the project manager to understand the specific concerns of the stakeholders and to see if the system is actually meeting their needs. 

The other options are not the best option because they do not address the specific concerns of the stakeholders.

Discussing the concerns with the product manager and identifying new user stories should be done after the project manager has reviewed the performance metrics and understands the specific concerns of the stakeholders. It is premature to identify new user stories before understanding the root cause of the business concerns, and it assumes that the issue is related to user stories. 

Calling a steering committee meeting is not the best option because the steering committee is typically responsible for setting the overall direction of the project, not for addressing the specific concerns of the stakeholders.

Creating a project benefits management plan and reviewing it with the stakeholders is a good option, but it should be done at the beginning of the project, not after the stakeholders have expressed concerns.