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Foundations of Project Management – Module 3 Challenge Answers 2025

Question 1
A project manager defines the project goals and identifies a budget. What phase of the project life cycle are they implementing?

  • Initiate the project

  • Close the project

  • Execute and complete tasks

  • Improve and control

✅ Correct Answer: Initiate the project

🔹 Explanation: The initiation phase is when goals, budget, high-level scope, and stakeholders are identified before detailed planning begins.

Question 2
Why is it important to initiate a project (phase one) before making a plan (phase two)?

  • Because understanding scope, cost, and timeline is crucial to creating a budget, setting a schedule, and determining roles and responsibilities

  • Because establishing your team is crucial to have in place before understanding scope, cost, and timeline

  • Because creating a budget, setting a schedule, and determining roles and responsibilities is crucial to understanding scope, cost, and timeline

  • Because executing and completing tasks is crucial to understanding scope, cost, and timeline

✅ Correct Answer: Because understanding scope, cost, and timeline is crucial to creating a budget, setting a schedule, and determining roles and responsibilities

🔹 Explanation: Initiation clarifies scope, cost, and timeline at a high level; those inputs are needed to create an informed detailed plan (budget, schedule, roles).

Question 3
What project management methodology requires the team to complete the previous phase before the next phase starts?

  • Linear methodology

  • Flexible methodology

  • Agile methodology

  • Iterative methodology

✅ Correct Answer: Linear methodology

🔹 Explanation: A linear (sequential) approach — e.g., Waterfall — requires one phase to finish before the next begins, unlike Agile/iterative methods.

Question 4
Which answer best describes the Agile project management methodology?

  • Created in the seventies, the Agile methodology refers to the sequential ordering of phases, including initiating, planning, executing, and closing.

  • Created in the eighties, the Agile methodology refers to the sequential ordering of phases, including defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling.

  • Created in the nineties, the Agile methodology refers to being able to move quickly and easily through a project by working on many tasks at once.

  • Created in the eighties, the Agile methodology refers to being able to move quickly and easily through a project by combining and eliminating tasks.

✅ Correct Answer: Created in the nineties, the Agile methodology refers to being able to move quickly and easily through a project by working on many tasks at once.

🔹 Explanation: Agile emphasizes speed, adaptability, and iterative delivery (responding to change rather than rigid sequential phases). (This option best matches the course wording.)

Question 5
What is the main advantage of the Agile approach over the Waterfall methodology?

  • Agile focuses on reducing waste within an operation.

  • Agile has clearly defined expectations and helps teams avoid expensive changes to a project once it has started.

  • Agile takes a flexible approach, letting teams make adjustments as they go.

  • Agile allows the project manager to make centralized decisions and assign tasks.

✅ Correct Answer: Agile takes a flexible approach, letting teams make adjustments as they go.

🔹 Explanation: Agile’s key advantage is flexibility and the ability to adapt during the project, enabling continuous improvements and frequent feedback.

Question 6
As a project manager, your team is improving one of your client’s current sales conversion processes. This is a complex project with many steps. It’s also high-risk. One missed step could cost your client significant potential revenue. Which project management methodology is best for this project?

  • Waterfall methodology

  • Lean Six Sigma methodology

  • Linear methodology

  • Sequential methodology

✅ Correct Answer: Lean Six Sigma methodology

🔹 Explanation: For process-improvement projects where defects or missed steps carry high cost, Lean Six Sigma is appropriate because it focuses on reducing variation and preventing costly errors through structured process improvement.

Question 7
Which of the following are project manager responsibilities during the planning phase? Select all that apply.

  • Establish the team

  • Set the schedule

  • Determine roles and responsibilities of team members

  • Close the project

✅ Correct Answer: Establish the team; Set the schedule; Determine roles and responsibilities of team members

🔹 Explanation: Planning involves forming the team, developing the schedule, and defining roles. Closing is a separate final phase.

Question 8
Which of the following are project manager responsibilities during the closing phase? Select all that apply.

  • Reflect on lessons learned

  • Complete the project proposal

  • Ensure all tasks are complete

  • Confirm acceptance of the project outcome

✅ Correct Answer: Reflect on lessons learned; Ensure all tasks are complete; Confirm acceptance of the project outcome

🔹 Explanation: Closing includes confirming acceptance, ensuring work is finished, and capturing lessons learned. A project proposal is created much earlier.

Question 9
In which project plan phase does the project manager celebrate successes and release the team to support other projects within the company?

  • Make a plan

  • Initiate the project

  • Close the project

  • Execute the project

✅ Correct Answer: Close the project

🔹 Explanation: The closing phase wraps up work, secures stakeholder acceptance, celebrates success, and releases team members.

Question 10
Which project management approach is an Agile framework that delivers products through an iterative process?

  • Lean

  • Scrum

  • Six Sigma

  • Waterfall

✅ Correct Answer: Scrum

🔹 Explanation: Scrum is an Agile framework that delivers product increments iteratively through sprints and frequent review.