PgMP® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide

399 Pages·2013·19.363 MB·English

by  Ginger Levin, J. LeRoy Ward

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT / PROJECT MANAGEMENT
PgMP® Exam
Practice Test and Study Guide
Fouth Edition
PgMP® Exam Practice Test and Study Guide, Fourth Edition is the book you need to pass the Program Management
Professional (PgMP®) exam the first time around. It reflects recent revisions based on PMI®’s Standard for Program
Management - Third Edition (2013).

Based on best practices that complement PMI®’s standards, this is the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource
available to help you prepare for the exam with new and changed terminology. It includes a list of the major topics
covered on the exam organized by the five performance domains—strategic program management, program life
cycle, benefits management, stakeholder management, and governance—as presented in the Program Management
Professional Examination Content Outline. It also includes helpful tips on how to make the most of the time you have
available to prepare for the exam.

Just like its bestselling predecessors, this indispensable study guide includes 20 multiple-choice practice questions for
each domain along with a comprehensive answer key. The program life cycle domain includes 20 questions for each
of the five phases. Each question also has a plainly written rationale for each correct answer with bibliographic
references for further study.

Two challenging, 170-question practice tests that simulate the actual exam are included in the book and
online, so you can retake them as many times as necessary. They also include a rationale and reference.

Scores for the online tests are presented as if each question is rated similarly, but this edition also
includes a new component: the authors’ own weighting system for the level of difficulty for
each question. This system will show you what they feel meets the exam’s criteria for
Proficient, Moderately Proficient, and Below Proficient. You then will see your
scores by domain in both approaches.

Supplying an insider’s look at the questions, terminology, and
sentence construction you will encounter on the day of the
exam, this indispensable study tool is designed to help
you pass the exam and achieve the highly
sought-after PgMP® certification.
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PgMP Exam
®
Practice Test & Study Guide
Fourth Edition
ESI International Project Management Series
Series Editor

J. LeRoy Ward, Executive Vice President
ESI International, Arlington, Virginia
PgMP® Exam: Practice Test and Study Guide, Fourth Edition
Ginger Levin and J. LeRoy Ward • 978-1-4822-0135-2 • 2013
PgMP® Exam Challenge!
Ginger Levin and J. LeRoy Ward • 978-1-4822-0208-3 • 2013
PMP® Exam: Practice Test and Study Guide, Ninth Edition
Ginger Levin • 978-1-4822-0224-3 • 2013
PMP® Exam Challenge! Sixth Edition
J. LeRoy Ward and Ginger Levin • 978-1-4665-9982-6 • 2013
Determining Project Requirements, Second Edition:
Mastering the BABOK® and the CBAP® Exam
Hans Jonasson • 978-1-4398-9651-8 • 2012
Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts
Gail Levitt • 978-1-4398-5543-0 • 2012
Practical Project Management for Building and Construction
Hans Ottosson • 978-1-4398-9655-6 • 2012
Project Management Concepts, Methods, and Techniques
Claude H. Maley • 978-1-4665-0288-8 • 2012
Program Management Complexity: A Competency Model
Ginger Levin and J. LeRoy Ward
978-1-4398-5111-1 • 2011
Project Management for Healthcare
David Shirley • 978-1-4398-1953-1 • 2011
Managing Web Projects
Edward B. Farkas • 978-1-4398-0495-7 • 2009
Project Management Recipes for Success
Guy L. De Furia • 978-1-4200-7824-4 • 2008
Building a Project Work Breakdown Structure:
Visualizing Objectives, Deliverables, Activities, and Schedules
Dennis P. Miller • 978-1-4200-6969-3 • 2008
A Standard for Enterprise Project Management
Michael S. Zambruski • 978-1-4200-7245-7 • 2008
The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Second Edition
Gerard M. Hill • 978-1-4200-4680-9 • 2007
PgMP Exam
®
Practice Test & Study Guide
Fourth Edition
Ginger Levin, PMP, PgMP
J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
AN AUERBACH BOOK
Parts of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 2013, are reprinted with permission of the Project Management Institute, Inc., Four
Campus Boulevard, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 U.S.A., a worldwide organization advancing the state of the art in project management.
Parts of The Standard for Program Management, 2013, are reprinted with permission of the Project Management Institute, Inc., Four Campus Boulevard,
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 U.S.A., a worldwide organization advancing the state of the art in project management.
“OPM3” is a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.
“PgMP” is a certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.
“PMBOK” is a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.
“PMI” is a service and trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.
“PMP” is a certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United States and other nations.
CRC Press
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© 2013 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
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Version Date: 20130510
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4822-0136-9 (eBook - PDF)
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Contents
Preface ....................................................................................................vii
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................ix
Online Practice Test ................................................................................xi
About the Authors .................................................................................xiii
List of Acronyms .................................................................................... xv
Introduction .........................................................................................xvii
Strategic Program Management ..........................................................................1
Initiating the Program ......................................................................................19
Planning the Program .......................................................................................37
Executing the Program .....................................................................................55
Controlling the Program ...................................................................................75
Closing the Program .........................................................................................93
Benefits Management .....................................................................................107
Stakeholder Management ...............................................................................123
Governance ....................................................................................................143
Practice Test 1 ................................................................................................ 161
Answer Sheet for Practice Test 1 ....................................................................219
Answer Key for Practice Test 1 ......................................................................223
Practice Test 2 ................................................................................................259
Answer Sheet for Practice Test 2 ....................................................................321
Answer Key for Practice Test 2 .......................................................................325
Appendix: Study Matrix ....................................................................... 361
Study Matrix—Practice Test 1 ........................................................................363
Study Matrix—Practice Test 2 ........................................................................369
References .............................................................................................375
v
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Preface
Based on our experience in helping people to prepare for the PgMP®* Exam,
we know that you will have questions, such as “What topics are covered on the
exam?” and “What are the questions like?” Not surprisingly, some of the most
sought- after study aids are practice tests, which are helpful in two ways.
(1) taking practice tests increases your knowledge of the kinds of questions,
phrases, terminology, and sentence construction that you will encounter on the
real exam; and (2) taking practice tests provides an opportunity for highly con-
centrated study by exposing you to a breadth of program management content
generally not found in a single reference source.
We developed this specialty publication with one simple goal in mind—that
is, to help you study for and pass the PgMP® certification exam. Because the
Project Management Institute (PMI®) does not sell past exams for prospective cer-
tification purposes, the best option is to develop practice test questions that are
as representative as possible. And that is exactly what we have done.
This guide contains study hints, a list of exam topics, and m ultiple- choice
questions for each of the five domains covered in the PgMP® exam, according to
the Program Management Professional (PgMP®) Examination Content Outline
(April 2011). We have prepared 20 practice questions in each of these five
domains. For the Program Life Cycle domain, we have prepared 20 questions for
each of the five phases in the life cycle. We have also included two 170-question
representative practice tests.
As we have done in our other PgMP® Exam Practice Test & Study Guide books,
we have included a plainly written rationale for each correct answer along with
a supporting reference list. References are provided at the end of this study
guide for the five domains covered in the exam: Strategic Program Management,
Program Life Cycle, Benefits Management, Stakeholder Management,
and Governance.
Some of the questions are scenario based, as are some on the PgMP® exam.
While some are definition questions, they are worded such that you apply the
concepts to your work as a program manager.
* “PgMP” is a certification mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is registered in the United
States and other nations. “PMI” is a service trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc., which is
registered in the United States and other nations.
vii
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
viii  ◾  Preface
For those who speak English as a second language (ESL), our experience
in presenting program and project management courses around the world has
shown that most of our ESL clients understand English well enough to pass
the PgMP® exam as long as they know the content. Nevertheless, in an effort to
avoid adding to your frustration before taking the exam, we have painstakingly
reviewed each question and answer in the practice tests to ensure that we did
not use words, terms, or phrases that could be confusing to people who are not
fluent in English. Although the language issue may concern you, and rightfully
so, the only difference between you and those who speak English as their first
language is the amount of time it takes to complete the exam. If you can grasp
the content expressed in this publication, then we believe that a few colloquial-
isms or ambiguous terms on the real exam ultimately will not determine whether
you pass or fail. Your subject matter knowledge will do that.
Earning the PgMP® certification is a prestigious accomplishment, but studying
for it should not be difficult if you use the tools available.
Good luck on the exam!
Dr. Ginger Levin, PMP, PgMP
Lighthouse Point, Florida
J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP
New York, New York
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC