Change Flashcards
“The launch event is planned to be held at a local hotel. A month before the event, the hotel unexpectedly has to close. Another venue is available, but it is double the cost of the original venue.
Here are three actions being taken in response to the loss of venue.
Which role (A-E) should be responsible for carrying them out?”
“A. Corporate, programme management or the customer.
B. Executive.
C. Senior user.
D. Project manager.
E. Project support”
1. Decide whether the impact on the project benefits of using an alternative venue, is acceptable.
C. Senior user.
C. Correct. The senior user makes decisions on escalated issues with particular focus on safeguarding the expected benefits. Ref tab 11.2
“The launch event is planned to be held at a local hotel. A month before the event, the hotel unexpectedly has to close. Another venue is available, but it is double the cost of the original venue.
Here are three actions being taken in response to the loss of venue.
Which role (A-E) should be responsible for carrying them out?”
“A. Corporate, programme management or the customer.
B. Executive.
C. Senior user.
D. Project manager.
E. Project support”
2. Obtain authority for an increase in the change budget to cover the cost of re-planning the launch event.
B. Executive.
Correct. The executive is responsible for securing the funding for the project and determining the change budget. Ref tab 11.2, C.2.1
“The launch event is planned to be held at a local hotel. A month before the event, the hotel unexpectedly has to close. Another venue is available, but it is double the cost of the original venue.
Here are three actions being taken in response to the loss of venue.
Which role (A-E) should be responsible for carrying them out?”
“A. Corporate, programme management or the customer.
B. Executive.
C. Senior user.
D. Project manager.
E. Project support”
3. Manage the issue and, if approved, arrange the alternative venue.
D. Project manager.
Correct. The project manager manages the issues and may implement corrective actions. Ref tab 11.2
At the end of stage 2, the CEO decided to add a promotional video to the scope of stage 3 and increase the project budget by £10,000. This amount is sufficient to resolve the issue, which will be managed using the recommended issue and change control procedure. However, after noticing that stage 3 has a cost tolerance of £12,000, the CEO decided to use this instead.
Is this appropriate, and why?
No, because this is a request for change and should not be funded from stage cost tolerance.
Correct. A request for a change is an issue that proposes a change to a baseline. A change of project scope is, therefore, a request for change and tolerances should not be used to fund requests for change. Ref tab 11.1, 11.3.6
During stage 3, the ‘artwork’ has been completed. However, it does not fully meet the quality criteria requested by the singer and in the documented product description. The cost of corrective action will be £500 and will delay the project by a week. The team manager has discussed this issue with the graphic designer and the singer. It has been agreed that the ‘artwork’ is good enough and will be used as it is.
Is this an appropriate approach to controlling change, and why?
No, because the project board must agree any change to the quality criteria.
Correct. Accepting an off-specification product without amendment is known as a concession and must be approved by the project board or its delegated change authority. Ref tab 11.3
“An issue has been raised that the singer wants to add an extra song to the recorded album. Making this change would take stage 3 beyond its cost tolerance.
Here are three actions that are carried out when managing the issue.
During which step of the issue and change control procedure (A-E) should they be carried out?”
“A. Capturing issues.
B. Assessing issues.
C. Proposing corrective actions.
D. Deciding on corrective actions.
E. Implementing corrective actions.”
1. The project manager asks the senior user to confirm the priority of adding the song, before considering what action to recommend.
B. Assessing issues.
Correct. As part of the ‘assessing issues’ step, it may be necessary to request advice from the project board to check their understanding of the issue’s priority or severity before proposing resolutions. Ref 11.4.2
“An issue has been raised that the singer wants to add an extra song to the recorded album. Making this change would take stage 3 beyond its cost tolerance.
Here are three actions that are carried out when managing the issue.
During which step of the issue and change control procedure (A-E) should they be carried out?”
“A. Capturing issues.
B. Assessing issues.
C. Proposing corrective actions.
D. Deciding on corrective actions.
E. Implementing corrective actions.”
2. When the impact is reviewed, it is decided that the issue should be managed formally, rather than informally.
B. Assessing issues.
Correct. During the ‘assessing issues’ step, when the impact is reviewed, the decision can be taken that the issue needs to be managed formally rather than informally, as may have been decided during ‘capturing issues’. Ref 11.4.1, 11.4.2
“An issue has been raised that the singer wants to add an extra song to the recorded album. Making this change would take stage 3 beyond its cost tolerance.
Here are three actions that are carried out when managing the issue.
During which step of the issue and change control procedure (A-E) should they be carried out?”
“A. Capturing issues.
B. Assessing issues.
C. Proposing corrective actions.
D. Deciding on corrective actions.
E. Implementing corrective actions.”
3. The project board requests a plan to record the extra song.
D. Deciding on corrective actions.
Correct. As part of the ‘deciding on corrective actions’ step, the project manager checks if the issue could be handled without the need to escalate it to the project board. If not, the issue will be escalated to the project board for a decision and they may ask for an exception plan. Ref 11.4.4
The recording studio has carried out improvements and can now deliver recordings to a higher quality than specified in the product description for the ‘recorded album’. The Recording Studio Manager has recorded the songs to the new improved standard, at no additional cost. This change has no other impact on the project.
How should the project manager categorize this issue, and why?
As an off-specification, because the recording of the songs will not fulfil the criteria specified.
Correct. An off-specification is something that should be provided by the project, but currently is not (or is forecast not to be) provided. This might be a missing product or a product not meeting its specification. In this case, although the recording quality of the songs will be improved, it will still be something different from what was planned. Ref tab 11.1
During stage 3, the project board grants a concession to permit the use of ‘artwork’ that does not fully meet the acceptance criteria. As a result, the project manager has updated the product description for the ‘artwork’.
Is this action appropriate, and why?
Yes, because the product description should be updated to reflect the revised acceptance criteria.
Correct. When a product is granted a concession, the product description will need to be revised before the product is handed over to the user. Ref tab 11.3
