PCC Strategic Planning & Vision 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project controls manager is asked to align a capital project portfolio with the organization's five-year strategic plan. Which tool best maps individual projects to strategic objectives?
- Responsibility assignment matrix
- Strategic alignment matrix (Correct answer)
- Risk register
- Resource histogram
Correct answer: Strategic alignment matrix
A strategic alignment matrix explicitly links each project's deliverables and benefits to specific organizational strategic objectives.
Question 2: Which financial metric is most commonly used to prioritize projects during the strategic portfolio selection process?
- Cost performance index (CPI)
- Net present value (NPV) (Correct answer)
- Earned value (EV)
- Payback period only
Correct answer: Net present value (NPV)
NPV accounts for the time value of money and compares the profitability of competing projects, making it the preferred portfolio prioritization metric.
Question 3: During strategic planning, a PMO identifies that two approved projects compete for the same critical resource. The BEST initial action is to:
- Cancel the lower-priority project immediately
- Escalate to the project sponsor
- Perform resource leveling and present trade-off options to leadership (Correct answer)
- Hire contractors to cover both projects
Correct answer: Perform resource leveling and present trade-off options to leadership
Resource leveling identifies scheduling options and trade-offs that can be presented to decision-makers before any project is cancelled or scope is changed.
Question 4: An organization's strategic vision statement differs from its mission statement in that the vision:
- Describes current capabilities
- Defines daily operational procedures
- Articulates the desired future state (Correct answer)
- Lists specific financial targets
Correct answer: Articulates the desired future state
A vision statement describes where the organization aspires to be in the future, while the mission statement defines its current purpose and activities.
Question 5: Which planning horizon is typically associated with a project controls strategic plan?
- Days to weeks
- Months only
- One to five years (Correct answer)
- Thirty or more years
Correct answer: One to five years
Strategic plans generally cover a one-to-five-year horizon, balancing long-term vision with actionable near-term initiatives.
Question 6: A benefits realization plan in strategic project management is used to:
- Track contractor invoices
- Measure whether expected business benefits are achieved after project delivery (Correct answer)
- Define the project scope baseline
- Schedule resource onboarding
Correct answer: Measure whether expected business benefits are achieved after project delivery
A benefits realization plan establishes how, when, and by whom the intended strategic benefits of a project will be measured and confirmed post-delivery.
Question 7: In strategic portfolio management, a 'bubble chart' is typically used to visualize:
- Earned value curves for individual projects
- Risk probability versus impact for a single project
- Project risk versus return to support portfolio balancing decisions (Correct answer)
- Resource allocation across departments
Correct answer: Project risk versus return to support portfolio balancing decisions
Portfolio bubble charts plot projects by dimensions such as risk and return (or strategic value and cost), enabling leaders to balance the portfolio visually.
PCC Strategic Planning & Vision 2
A project controls manager is asked to align a capital project portfolio with the organization's five-year strategic plan.
Which tool best maps individual projects to strategic objectives?