Chapter 7: Plans

Question 1

What does the development of a plan allow the project management team assess and understand? (9 answers)

Answer 1

Why
What
How
When
Where
Who
How much
Risks
Issues

Question 2

Definition: scope

The sum of the product, delivery, and management activities represented by an approved plan and its _______ descriptions and ______ _______ descriptions.

Answer 2

Definition: scope

The sum of the product, delivery, and management activities represented by an approved plan and its product descriptions and work package descriptions.

Question 3

Should the number of stages be included int he project plan?

Answer 3

Yes, the project plan should identify the number of stages and details of the stage boundaries, as well as proposed work packages into which the product delivery activities will be organized.

Question 4

Shall the project plan changes be approved by the project board before the project plan is updated?

Answer 4

Yes, In the process of managing a stage boundary, any necessary changes to the project plan should be approved by the project board and reflected in an updated and baselined project plan.

Question 5

What is a stage plan and how is it different to the project plan?

Answer 5

Definition: stage plan

A detailed plan used as the basis for project management control throughout a stage.

Definition: project plan

A high-level plan showing the major products of the project and when, how, and at what cost they will be delivered.

Question 6

Is a team plan mandatory or optional in PRINCE2 projects?

Answer 6

Optional

Question 7

How is the length of stages determined? Based on what factors?

Answer 7

Level of complexity
Level of risk
Planning horizon
Appropriate decision points
Alignment with products activities

Question 8

What is a resource-driven project?

Answer 8

A project that must be delivered without any resources beyond those authorized in the project initiation documentation would be considered a resource-driven project.

Question 9

What types of tolerances are there in planning a project?

Answer 9

time
cost
scope

Question 10

Does the project manager normally make the product flow diagram by themselves?

Answer 10

Preparing the product flow diagram usually involves consultation with subject matter experts in the delivery and acceptance of the required products.

Question 11

What is the difference of an internal and and external dependency?

Answer 11

Internal dependency: an internal dependency is one between two products of a project. In these circumstances, the project team has control over the dependency.

External dependency: an external dependency is one between a project product and a product or activity outside the scope of the project. In these circumstances, the project team does not have complete control over the dependency.

Question 12

Which are the elements the estimates consist of in PRINCE 2?

Answer 12

People
Resources
Duration of activities
Cost of people and resources
Benefits
Risk

Question 13

High-Level and unrealistic estimates, can enable the project manager and project board to agree to a realistic set of tolerances. True or False?

Answer 13

False.

Question 14

What is the difference between schedule and product flow diagram?

Answer 14

Definition: product flow diagram
A diagram showing the sequence of production and interdependencies of the products listed in a product breakdown structure.

&

Definition: schedule
A graphical representation of a plan (such as a Gantt chart), typically describing a sequence of tasks together with resource allocations, which collectively deliver the plan.

Question 15

What are some examples of methods/tools of scheduling a project?

Answer 15

Gantt chart
Spreadsheet
Product checklist
Activity flowboard

Question 16

What are some estimating techniques for project managers?

Answer 16

top-down
bottom-up
comparative
parametric
data analytics
subject matter expertise

Question 17

What are the 3 different ways a plan can address sustainability?

Answer 17

Product Sustainability
Delivery Sustainability
Benefits Sustainability

Question 18

What are the aspects of the project scale that can affect the planning? (5)

Answer 18

Duration
Size of project team
Complexity
Novelty
Cost

Question 19

Is the plan considered a management product?

Answer 19

Yes

Question 20

What is the high-level content of a plan? (10 items)

Answer 20

Scope
Dependencies
Assumptions + prerequisites
Lessons incorporated
Products to be delivered
Work to be performed
Budget
Schedule
Targets and Tolerances
Monitoring, controlling and reporting arrangements

Question 21

What is the high-level content of the Management product: Project product description? (7items)

Answer 21

Purpose: description of what the project products will fulfil and who will use them

Major products: description of the major products to be delivered
Derivation: what the products are based on, such as existing products or a requirement for a new capability

User’s quality expectations: description of the quality expected of the project products and the standards and procedures that will need to be applied to achieve them

Acceptance criteria: prioritized list of criteria that the project products must meet to be accepted by the
user

Acceptance methods and responsibilities: the means by which acceptance will be confirmed and who will be responsible for the acceptance decisions

Project level quality tolerances: any tolerances that apply to the acceptance criteria.

Question 22

Who prepares the project + stage plan + work package descriptions?

Answer 22

The project manager

Question 23

Who approves the project + the stage plan?

Answer 23

The project executive