Program Management Professional (PgMP) — Question 173

The chief executive officer (CEO) informs the program manager that the delivery date for project A must be compressed by two months to accommodate market needs. Project A relies upon deliverables from projects B and C.
Which of the following should the program manager do first?

Answer options

• A. Direct the three project managers to crash their projects, to allow project A the two months of scheduling needed.
• B. Review the program resource management plan with the three project managers emphasizing their critical paths and shared critical resources to understand the possibility of accelerating the schedule.
• C. Convene the change board to evaluate the cost/benefit of the compression and the impact on the overall program.
• D. Engage the executive sponsor and program board to evaluate the CEO's request and determine if the project manager should act on it.

Correct answer: B

Explanation

The correct answer is B because reviewing the program resource management plan helps the program manager understand the critical paths and shared resources, which is essential for assessing the feasibility of accelerating the schedule. Option A is premature as it does not consider the implications of crashing the projects. Option C focuses on evaluating the cost/benefit, which is secondary to understanding resource allocation. Option D involves higher-level discussions that may delay immediate actions needed to address the compression request.