Episode 554: PMBOK Guide 8th Edition, All Six Principles for the PMP Exam

Here is our first question.

Let me read it to you.

A project manager is assigned to oversee a program for a strategic transformation initiative composed of five related projects spread across multiple business units.

Each project has a separate objectives, schedules, and leads, but all must deliver coordinated outcomes to achieve the program's benefits.

During program initiation, what should the project manager do first? Should it be A, define and implement a program governance structure, including roles, escalation paths, and coordination mechanisms; B, develop a consolidated program dashboard to track key milestones, budgets, and overall status across all projects in the program; C, organize stakeholder workshops to confirm shared expectations, success measures, and communication needs; or D, perform an integrated risk analysis to identify cross-project threats, constraints, and dependencies.

At this point, I'm always going to give you about 10 seconds or so, so that you can review the questions and pick the answer of your choice.

But usually, that probably won't be enough time for you, so please do press pause for more time.

Based on the statistics from our PMP exam simulator, I know that nearly half of you just picked C.

Unfortunately, it is wrong, and I know why.

But before I reveal the correct answer, I want you to look at the question itself for a moment.

This question isn't describing one project with one team.

It's describing a system.

We have five, five related projects spread across multiple business unit.

Each has separate objectives, schedules, and leads, but all have to deliver coordinated outcomes to achieve the program's benefits.

The moment you see that kind of setup on the exam, you are very likely looking at a question testing your holistic view.

So the exam is asking, what does this entire system need before anything else happens? Now, let's talk about why C is wrong.

It tells us to organize stakeholder workshops to confirm shared expectations, success measures, and communication needs.

This sounds exactly like what a good project manager does at the start of something complex.

It sounds collaborative.

It sounds proactive.

But here's the problem.

Workshops produce conversations, and conversations need somewhere to go.

Without a governance structure that is already in place, who resolves the conflicts that come out of those workshops? Who has the authority to make the call when two business units disagree? The workshop kinda happens in a vacuum.

B and D have the same problem, just in different clothes.

Answer B wants to develop a consolidated program dashboard, but- That only tracks what is happening or has happened.