PMP Practice Questions #35
You are managing the rollout of an inventory management system for a large retail organization across multiple locations. The anticipated benefit of this project is a 30% reduction in wastage costs over the next year. Six months post-implementation in some of the locations, you observe a 20% reduction in wastage costs. Given that your project is both on schedule and within budget, what should your next action be as the project manager?
A) Evaluate the current benefits delivered and communicate the value gain progress to stakeholders.
B) Continue working on your project since it is on schedule and within budget.
C) Revisit the plan for the remaining store implementations to assess financial viability.
D) Accelerate the implementation in the remaining stores to achieve the 30% savings faster.
Analysis
The question is centered around the project manager’s role in managing the rollout of an inventory system for a large retail organization. The expected benefit of the project was a 30% reduction in wastage costs over a year. However, six months after implementing the system in some locations, only a 20% reduction was observed. While this isn’t a clear negative or positive, the project manager needs to decide the next action, given that the project is on schedule and within budget.
Analysis of Options:
Option A: Evaluate the current benefits delivered and communicate the value gain progress to stakeholders. This option emphasizes the project manager’s responsibility to continuously assess benefits and keep stakeholders updated. It ensures the project manager is tracking project benefits and aligning project objectives and goals with business strategies to realize these benefits. Thus, this option aligns with best practices to keep stakeholders informed, especially amid ambiguity about benefit realization.
Option B: Continue working on your project since it is on schedule and within budget. While it’s essential to maintain the project schedule and budget, this option ignores the situational context provided. Continuous monitoring and assessments are vital, particularly when outcomes, such as the realization of benefits, are uncertain. Simply proceeding without considering benefit metrics might miss an opportunity for necessary adjustments.
Option C: Revisit the plan for the remaining store implementations to assess financial viability. Although this could be a consideration for later, especially if benefits consistently underperform, acting on it now might be premature. Additionally, any decision to alter the plan would likely necessitate consultation with stakeholders.
Option D: Accelerate the implementation in the remaining stores to achieve the 30% savings faster. This approach is reactive. Accelerating the implementation could potentially introduce new risks and challenges. Before taking such action, it would be better to understand the current benefit realization thoroughly and engage with stakeholders. Additionally, there’s no indication that speeding up the implementation will ensure the 30% saving is realized
Conclusion: Given the provided information and choices, Option A (Evaluate the current benefits delivered and communicate the value gain progress to stakeholders) is the most appropriate immediate step. Regular communication and evaluation ensure alignment with stakeholder expectations and can help inform future decisions or course corrections if required.
PMP Exam Content Outline Mapping
| Domain | Task |
|---|---|
| Business | Task 2: Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value |
| Process | Task 4: Engage stakeholders |
| Process | Task 2: Manage Communications |
Topics Covered
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Measurement system to track benefits
- Benefits Management Plan
- Project Benefits
- Project Communication
