TOPIC: Choosing Between Referring OPA and Asking Previous Project Manager

Referring to the question on Exam 4 (QID: 612353),

You are developing the project management plan for your project. You want to know if there is any relevant information from the past projects that can help you with your task.
What should you do?

A. Review the lessons learned register
B. Research the OPA
C. Meet with a project manager who managed similar past projects
D. Check with EEF for lessons learned from the past projects

Can I just confirm, is it that "B" should be the "default" answer?
Are there any specific scenarios that we can choose "C" as the answer, if yes, what are the scenarios?

This is one of those examples of questions where what you'd do in real life might differ from the answer PMI expects. The best choice for the PM in this case would be to check the OPAs as there is nothing in the question that would indicate that they would be insufficient. Only if the question explicitly stated that the OPAs had already been checked, or that they lacked relevant information (or something similar) would I consider the Meet with a project manager who managed similar past projects option. However, there is no golden bullet - so make sure you read the question and answers closely!

That being said, on the job I would do both. The more information you have the better - just be mindful of how PMI is expecting you to answer the questions!

Kyle

Jia,

I came across a similar question with the explanation of "it's better to research it yourself than to ask someone else." Kyle is right, the PMI answer is look at the OPAs of the company first. Part of the compendium will be lessons learned from previous projects.

Harry