A project has completed the first phase. During the lessons learned meeting, the project manager reported that the project was successful because it was on time, on budget, and on scope. The sponsor objected and said that other project benefits, such as cost reduction of the product and system response time, were not achieved.
What may have caused this situation?
The acceptance criteria were not accurately defined. Acceptance criteria specify the conditions that must be met for the project to be considered successful. If these criteria did not include key project benefits such as cost reduction and system response time, then the project team would have focused only on the traditional constraints of time, budget, and scope, leading to a disconnect between the project manager's and the sponsor's expectations of success.
Why D? How system response time etc. need to be defined at organization level. It should be B as acceptance criteria was not defined properly for system response time and cost reduction.
The situation described suggests that there might be an issue related to the project's overall success criteria and the alignment of project goals with organizational benefits. The most likely cause for this situation is option D. This option indicates that the benefits related to cost reduction and system response time might have been strategic objectives that should have been managed at the organizational level rather than being solely the responsibility of the project manager. If the benefits were not clearly defined, communicated, and managed at the organizational level, there might be a misalignment between the project's success criteria (on time, on budget, on scope) and the broader organizational objectives.
While Option B (Acceptance criteria were not accurately defined) could contribute to the issue, Option D addresses the broader context of strategic alignment and benefits management, making it a more comprehensive and likely explanation for the situation described. In well-managed projects, aligning project objectives with organizational goals and ensuring effective benefits management are critical aspects of project success.
D: This is an alignment issue. There should have been agreement on acceptance criteria at both organisation and team level.
system response time is one of the key issues that has not been addressed which makes answer D the right choice.
Acceptance criteria are essential for defining what success looks like for a project. They should include not only the traditional measures of success such as being on time, on budget, and within scope but also the specific benefits and performance improvements expected by the sponsor and stakeholders, such as cost reduction and system response time improvements. If these criteria were not accurately defined or documented, it can lead to misunderstandings about what constitutes a successful project completion. Properly defined acceptance criteria ensure that there is alignment between the project team and stakeholders (including the sponsor) regarding project outcomes. If these criteria were not clear or comprehensive, the project team might believe they have met their objectives based on scope, time, and budget, while missing critical performance or benefit targets important to the sponsor.
B. The acceptance criteria were not accurately defined. If the acceptance criteria did not accurately include all the project benefits such as cost reduction of the product and system response time, then the project manager would not have managed or measured these aspects. Accurate and comprehensive acceptance criteria ensure that all project benefits are clearly defined and agreed upon, aligning the project's success criteria with the sponsor's expectations.
Acceptance criteria define the specific conditions that must be met for a project to be considered successful. If the acceptance criteria did not include the other project benefits such as cost reduction of the product and system response time, then it's possible that the project team focused solely on meeting the traditional project constraints (time, budget, scope) and did not consider or communicate the broader project objectives and benefits effectively.
Option D suggests that benefits should have been managed at the organizational level, indicating that the project manager may not have adequately addressed or communicated the broader business benefits during the project. Effective benefits realization often requires collaboration between project managers and higher-level organizational management to ensure that project goals align with broader business objectives.
This situation suggests a potential misalignment between the project manager's focus on traditional project constraints (time, budget, and scope) and the sponsor's expectation of broader benefits. It highlights the importance of managing and aligning project benefits not only at the project level but also at the organizational level. Benefits realization should be considered throughout the project lifecycle, and the project manager should work closely with stakeholders to ensure that both project constraints and broader organizational benefits are addressed.
Debe ser B
B is the answer