Question 1

Which of the following is a principle of PRINCE2?
A)Manage change
B)Manage by stages
C)Manage by tolerance
D)Manage risk

Accepted Answer

Manage by stages is a principle of PRINCE2. A project will be broken down into a minimum of two stages.
Key takeaway: A PRINCE2 project must contain at least an initiation stage and one other stage. This ensures that there is a suitable decision point at the end of the first stage where the business case can be assessed.

Question 2

Which of the following two roles sit on the project board?
1)Project manager
2)Executive
3)Senior user
4)Project assurance
A)1, 2
B)2, 3
C)1, 4
D)3, 4

Accepted Answer

The executive and the senior user. Together with the senior supplier, they make up the project board.
Key takeaway: As the project board is responsible for making decisions at a project level, it is important to ensure that all interests are represented. The executive represents the business, the senior user the user interest, and the senior supplier the supplier interest.

Question 3

Which of the following documents is NOT produced within a PRINCE2 project?
A)Lessons log
B)Project mandate
C)Project manager role description
D)Stage plan

Accepted Answer

Project mandate. This is the document that triggers the initiation of a project.
Key takeaway: The project mandate comes from the authority that is commissioning the project and its creation is a pre-project activity.

Question 4

James Kirk is the project manager for a 5-year project, with a time tolerance of +3 months for the current stage. One of his team leaders, Monty Scott, reports a projected problem with a work package that is expected to take an extra 2 weeks. What action should Kirk take?
A)None
B)Produce an Exception Report.
C)Cancel the project.
D)Add an entry to the Risk Register.

Accepted Answer

Add an entry to the Risk Register. Since the forecasted time will not cause the stage tolerance to be exceeded, there is no need to create an Exception Report.
A well-executed risk register should contain information on the specific risks, what is being done to do with it (or how it would be dealt with if it occurred, some analysis of the overall impact, and perhaps a categorization (useful on big projects with many risks).
A risk register serves a centralized repository for risk management. Any newly identified risks should be added, and the document should be periodically reviewed and updated.
Key takeaway: The Team Manager has the responsibility to report to the Project Manager as soon as any work package tolerances are forecast to be exceeded. The Project Manager then makes the decision as to what action to take based upon his own tolerances for the current stage.

Question 5

Which document defines the acceptance criteria and roles for the project?
A)Project Initiation Document
B)Project Mandate
C)Project Product Description
D)Quality Management Strategy

Accepted Answer

Project Product Description. This is created in the Starting up a Project process and used during the Closing a Project process to help verify that the project has delivered to expectations.
Key takeaway: The project product description is a special case of the more general product description. It defines what the project must deliver as a whole in order to be accepted.

Question 6

Which of the following are valid threat responses?
1)Transfer
2)Reject
3)Share
4)Fallback
A)1, 2
B)1, 3
C)1, 2, 3
D)1, 3, 4

Accepted Answer

1, 3 & 4. Transfer, Share, and Fallback, are all valid responses to a threat. Reject is only a valid response to an opportunity.
Key takeaway: A risk can be either a threat or an opportunity with different valid responses, depending on the type.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a PRINCE2 theme?
A)Continued business justification
B)Progress
C)Organization
D)Plans

Accepted Answer

Continued Business Justification. This is one of the 7 principles of PRINCE2.
Key takeaway: The 7 themes of PRINCE2 are areas within the project that must be considered throughout the lifespan of the project. The themes must all be applied to each PRINCE2 project in a suitable tailored manner.

Question 8

Which role maintains the Quality Register?
A)Project Support
B)Project Manager
C)Project Assurance
D)Senior Supplier

Accepted Answer

Project Support. This role is responsible for administrative aspects of the project.
Key takeaway: Although the Project Support role may be filled by the same person as the Project Manager role, the roles are still distinct within PRINCE2. Project Support is responsible for day-to-day administrative support of the project, including tasks such as configuration management and maintaining the Quality Register.

Question 9

Who is responsible for determining the Change Authority and change budget?
A)Corporate or Programme Management
B)Project Manager
C)Project Board
D)Executive

Accepted Answer

Executive. It is the executive's decision alone as to who has responsibility for requests for change or off-specification items and the associated budget.
Key takeaway: The Executive represents the business interests on the project, which includes the funding for the project. Because of this, it is their sole responsibility to determine budgets and responsibilities for changes/off-specifications which might affect the overall cost.

Question 10

Which document is used to record issues and risks in the Starting up a Project process if the appropriate registers have not yet been created?
A)Lessons Log
B)Daily Log
C)Outline Business Case
D)Project Brief

Accepted Answer

Daily Log. Any issues or risks can be transferred to the Risk Register or Issue Register when they are created during the Initiating a Project process.
Key takeaway: During the Starting up a Project process there has been no stage boundary at which to review the business case and validity of the project, meaning the project does not yet have formal approval from the Project Board. This will occur (if everything is acceptable) following the request to initiate the project at the end of the stage.

Question 11

Which process allows non-PRINCE2 practices to be integrated into a PRINCE2 project environment when creating products?
A)Managing Product Delivery.
B)Controlling a Stage.
C)Directing a Project.
D)Managing a Stage Boundary.

Accepted Answer

Managing Product Delivery. This process allows a Team Manager to use their own procedures to manage the delivery of a work package.
Key takeaway: The interface between a Team Manager and a Project Manager is agreed when the Work Package is accepted. The Team Manager (who may be from another company) may then use whatever standards and processes they deem necessary to manage the work.

Question 12

Which of the following are tolerance areas?
1)Change
2)Issues
3)Quality
4)Benefits
A)1,2
B)2,3
C)2,4
D)3,4

Accepted Answer

3, 4. Quality and benefits are tolerance areas, along with Time, Cost, Scope, and Risk.
Key takeaway: Tolerances can only be set on measurable areas and involve +/- amounts on planned costs, dates, measurable benefits, and the like. Harder to measure tolerances, such as scope or risk, can be expressed in the form of which requirements may be sacrificed, or the projected cost of the risks.

Question 13

Which of the following products are part of the Project Initiation documentation?
1)Quality Management Strategy
2)Project Plan
3)Outline Business Case
4)Communication Management Strategy
A)1, 2
B)2, 3
C)1, 3, 4
D)1, 2, 4

Accepted Answer

The Outline Business Case is created in the Starting up a Project process.
Key takeaway: Most of the important documentation for the project is first produced in the Project Initiation process. This includes the Detailed Business Case, which is expanded from the Outline Business Case.

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true about a PRINCE2 project?
A)It has no products.
B)It has a finite lifespan.
C)It contains responsibilities assigned to specific people.
D)Its objectives can be redefined at any time.

Accepted Answer

It has a finite lifespan. A PRINCE2 project can never be open-ended.
Key takeaway: A PRINCE2 project is defined as a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products, according to an agreed business case. An open-ended project is simply not possible within the PRINCE2 framework, and would make tasks such as defining objectives and measuring benefits almost impossible.

Question 15

Who can order the closure of a project?
A)Project Manager
B)Project Board
C)Project Assurance
D)Project Support

Accepted Answer

Project Board. Any closure authorisation must come from the Project Board, even for the planned closure.
Key takeaway: The Project Manager can make a recommendation for the project to be closed either when the project comes to a natural end, or at any time during the project (such a recommendation would likely be included in an Exception Report). The ultimate decision lies with the Project Board in all cases.

Question 16

Which role(s) has/have ultimate authority on the Project Board?
A)Senior Supplier
B)Senior User
C)Executive
D)Joint authority

Accepted Answer

Executive. The project is ultimately controlled and paid for by the business, which is represented by the Executive.
Key takeaway: Although the Project Board generally makes decisions together, it is not a democracy. The Senior Supplier and Senior User can be overruled by the Executive, even if they are both united against him.

Question 17

Which roles must be independent of each other?
1)Team Manager
2)Project Support
3)Project Manager
4)Project Assurance
A)1, 3
B)2, 3
C)2, 4
D)3, 4

Accepted Answer

Project Assurance advises the Project Board. The Project Manager must not have any influence over this advice.
Key takeaway: Project Assurance is there to support the interests of the primary stakeholders on the Project Board. Delegating any Project Assurance responsibilities to the Project Manager would be a conflict of interest and cannot happen.

Question 18

Which process provides information to the Project Board to allow them to assess the continuing viability of the project?
A)Controlling a Stage.
B)Directing a Project.
C)Managing a Stage Boundary.
D)Managing Product Delivery.

Accepted Answer

Managing a Stage Boundary. This is the point at which the Business Case is reviewed.
Key takeaway: In line with the PRINCE2 principle of Continued Business Justification, the Business Case is updated during the Managing a Stage Boundary process. This is then reviewed by the Project Board-if the justification is no longer valid, then the project should be closed.

Question 19

Which of the following roles can appoint the Project Manager?
A)Executive
B)Senior User
C)Senior Supplier
D)Project Assurance

Accepted Answer

Executive. The Executive and the Project Manager roles are the first two roles to be assigned on any PRINCE2 project.
Key takeaway: The Project Manager can be appointed by Corporate or Programme Management at the same time as they appoint the Executive. If this is not done, the role must be assigned by the Executive as one of the first tasks.

Question 20

Which of the following supports the PRINCE2 principle of Management by Exception?
A)Delegation of authority.
B)Creating the Product Flow Diagram.
C)Maintaining the Business Case.
D)Creating a Request for Change.

Accepted Answer

Delegation of authority. This allows tolerances to be set and frees up management levels to take care of other tasks without being overly concerned about the details of the delegated tasks.
Key takeaway: Delegation of authority occurs throughout a PRINCE2 project. Corporate or Programme Management delegate to the Project Board, who delegate to the Project Manager, who in turn delegates to the Team manager. Each level has tolerances set by the level above to determine when they need to report back in case of problems.

Quiz 1: Projects in Controlled Environments Foundation

Which of the following is a principle of PRINCE2?

Which of the following two roles sit on the project board? 1) Project manager 2) Executive 3) Senior user 4) Project assurance

Which of the following documents is NOT produced within a PRINCE2 project?

James Kirk is the project manager for a 5-year project, with a time tolerance of +3 months for the current stage. One of his team leaders, Monty Scott, reports a projected problem with a work package that is expected to take an extra 2 weeks. What action should Kirk take?

Which document defines the acceptance criteria and roles for the project?

Which of the following are valid threat responses? 1) Transfer 2) Reject 3) Share 4) Fallback

Which of the following is NOT a PRINCE2 theme?

Which role maintains the Quality Register?

Who is responsible for determining the Change Authority and change budget?

Which document is used to record issues and risks in the Starting up a Project process if the appropriate registers have not yet been created?

Which process allows non-PRINCE2 practices to be integrated into a PRINCE2 project environment when creating products?

Which of the following are tolerance areas? 1) Change 2) Issues 3) Quality 4) Benefits

Which of the following products are part of the Project Initiation documentation? 1) Quality Management Strategy 2) Project Plan 3) Outline Business Case 4) Communication Management Strategy

Which of the following statements is true about a PRINCE2 project?

Who can order the closure of a project?

Which role(s) has/have ultimate authority on the Project Board?

Which roles must be independent of each other? 1) Team Manager 2) Project Support 3) Project Manager 4) Project Assurance

Which process provides information to the Project Board to allow them to assess the continuing viability of the project?

Which of the following roles can appoint the Project Manager?

Which of the following supports the PRINCE2 principle of Management by Exception?