TOPIC: responsibility for applying the processes?!

Hello Guys,

i am actually studying for the PMP Certification and therefore i use nearly all availabillity offers from Cornelius like the PrepCast (incl. Simulator), the formular guide and also the study coach and what should i say - I LOVE IT ALL!

Great Job by you guys!

And while i am studying and just answering some sample questions out of the "Self-Assessment Questions for
Module 03 Processes, Process Groups & Knowledge Areas" this question here come across:

Question 9: Who is responsible for determining which processes are appropriate for a project as well as the appropriate degree of rigor required for each process?

A.) The project team
B.) The project manager
C.) The project manager and the project team
D.) The change control board

Before you read on, just think about for a second ... what would be your answer?

Well, here are my thoughts about it:

Like i remember from the PMBOK Guide and from the lessons out of PrepCast (and also from the readings of the Prep Books i use) the project maanger together with the project team does evaluate which processes fits to the specific situation and therefore need to be performed at this specific project (may be all of the 47 Processes, may be just a few of it ...),
whatever, but the decision about and even more than that the responisbility for the final decision has the project manager.

So, my answer was certainly "B )"!

But wait .... here is, what the "Answers & Explanations for Self-Assessment 03 " -Sheet has to say about:

Question 9: Who is responsible for determining which processes are appropriate for a project as well as the appropriate degree of rigor required for each process?

A.) The project team
B.) The project manager
C.) The project manager and the project team
D.) The change control board

Correct answer is C

Explanation :... The project manager, in collaboration with the project team, determines the appropriate processes and the appropriate degree of rigor for each process.
Reference: PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, page 48

Well, this Textreference here is not exactly what is written in the PMBOK, in the PMBOK the exact textpassage is:

"For any given project, the projectmanager, in collaboration with the project team, is always responsible for determining which processes are appropriate, and the appropriate degree of rigor for each process."

This could - imho - also have been written like this:

"For any given project, the projectmanager (in collaboration with the project team) is always responsible for determining which processes are appropriate, and the appropriate degree of rigor for each process"

or even

"For any given project, the projectmanager - in collaboration with the project team - is always responsible for determining which processes are appropriate, and the appropriate degree of rigor for each process.. "

Seems, i am being wrong ... really?!?

Well, i am from germany and so i am not a native speaker/writer and my english is off course not really good ( i know, sry for that, i hope you did still get my point), but from my sight of view the question is finally not targetting on whom is determining the appropriate processes (and there degree of ...and so on).
Imho the question is targetting on who is responsibill for the result out of this tailoring process, right?
And this is allways and ever, ever, ever ... the PM, right?

Well, again i hope you get me and i would love to here what you do think about.

Best regards,

Markus

Hello Markus,

Thanks a lot for providing your insight and concerns regarding the wording of the question/answer of this question. I must admit that the wording and context of PMP Exam questions were the most challenging obstacle for me during my first couple months of preparation. Simply because the context of questions and answers are subject to the interpretation of the receiver.

I would often doubt my personal interpretation of questions on the PMP Exam Simulator; this ultimately caused me to waste time during my practice exam because I was looking too far into the question. The question below looks as if it is asking for the party responsible for deciphering the project processes that are appropriate, as well as the degree of effort and care that should be taken into account for each of these processes. That being said, it makes sense to me that the project manager will not always be the subject matter expert for every task and activity that encompasses a project.

For instance, if I'm the project manager working for an innovative and specialized technology project, chances are I'm not going to be the subject matter expert on all the mechanisms within the project. As the project manager, I must consult with my firmware, software, and development experts so I can create a robust project scope statement and develop a realistic schedule, budget, risk register, etc. Project managers often confer the expertise of their team so they can plan accordingly.

I hope this makes sense. In any case, I understand your frustration and I can see how you might have misinterpreted the question to be asking for the person or party responsible for the project's process results. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns regarding this and I will do my best to clarify.

P.S. Your English is great from an American perspective and fantastic from a foreign perspective. Give yourself more credit!!

Hi Robert,

thank you for your kind words and for the response.

Here my thoughts:

Robert Decraene wrote: Hello Markus,

.... That being said, it makes sense to me that the project manager will not always be the subject matter expert for every task and activity that encompasses a project.

For instance, if I'm the project manager working for an innovative and specialized technology project, chances are I'm not going to be the subject matter expert on all the mechanisms within the project. As the project manager, I must consult with my firmware, software, and development experts so I can create a robust project scope statement and develop a realistic schedule, budget, risk register, etc. Project managers often confer the expertise of their team so they can plan accordingly.

Well, i know that the project manager is not allway the subject matter expert for everything hapening at his/her project. This wouldn't work in real life. I am a project manager in the IT Industry for several years now and also dealing with the PMBOK Guide knowledge since a few years (just didn't the exam yet, but this will happen in a few weeks now).
It is totally clear to me, that the project manager is not the expert for everything and therefore he/she had the project team and other experts arround.
But in the end he/she is responsible for all the results and everything what is happening while the project.
In my experience sometimes it could be even counter productive, if the project manager (may be recruited out of the available experts) is the best subject matter expert in his project ...

Robert Decraene wrote: I hope this makes sense. In any case, I understand your frustration and I can see how you might have misinterpreted the question to be asking for the person or party responsible for the project's process results. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns regarding this and I will do my best to clarify.

First of all don't worry, i am not frustrated, not at all. It makes really fun to me to fresh up my PMP knowledge with the help of the pm prep cast and all the other stuff available here. You guys do a really great job here.
I am just a fan of precision (may because of my german background ).
And i am still convinced that i did not missinterprete the question.

From my sight of view the question is clearly asking for the responsibility and not for who is performing the determination ...

It asked:

Who is responsible for determining ...

it asked not:

Who will conduct (do, perform, execute ...) the determination ...

Don't get me wrong; i do not want to be anoying and it is true, it is not reall THAT important regarding this specific question.
But it is more for instance and for making the point clear regarding what you allready mentioned, that it is really important to read the questions full and concentrated and precise and to get the right context of all of the questions.

I think the discussion could help therefore.

Best regards,

Markus

Hi there,

i have a question:

I would kindly ask if it is ok, when i post this specific question for discussion also in some other boards (e.g. LinkedIn)?

Of course i would point out the ressource where the question comes from and i also would add a link to the PMP Prep Cast allways.

I would love to here what other (often allready experienced PM's and PMP's) have to say about that.
I would refer to the "fair use" there.

Thx in advance and best regards.

Markus

Markus,

As the creator and owner of The PM Exam Simulator and the 1,800 questions it contains I can not approve that our questions are publicly posted in discussion forums other than our own. We would consider it to be a copyright violation.

Hi Cornelius,

i absolutely understand your position.
Thx for your fast response on that.

You and your team doing a great job!

best regards,

Markus

@Robert (or anyone else):

no more discussion?