Organisation Structures, Governance & Roles

What is the relationship between an organisational breakdown structure (OBS) and a responsibility assignment matrix?

• AA register of project risks arranged by the owner responsible for each one, without reporting-line information
• BAn organisational breakdown structure shows who sits where in the organisation, and can be cross-referenced against the work breakdown structure to build a responsibility assignment matrix✓
• CAn organisational breakdown structure is drawn up after the project has closed, when the project manager records which departments contributed to the work for the benefit of future project teams
• DAn organisational breakdown structure is used to calculate the project's critical path by listing the departments involved and adding together the elapsed time that each of them expects to need

Answer: The organisational breakdown structure maps the organisation's people and units; mapping this against the work breakdown structure produces a responsibility assignment matrix showing who is responsible for each piece of work.

What is the primary responsibility of the project manager?

• AOwn the business case and chair the steering group, taking accountability to the organisation for the benefits the project is expected to realise
• BSet the organisation's overall corporate strategy and approve its portfolio
• CDeliver the project's objectives within agreed time, cost, quality and scope constraints through day-to-day management✓
• DAct only as a passive administrator with no delegated authority, recording what the team decides and passing it to the steering group

Answer: The project manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, delivering its agreed objectives within the constraints of time, cost, quality and scope.

How do the responsibilities of the project sponsor and the project manager differ throughout a project?

• AThe two roles are identical; sponsor and project manager are interchangeable titles
• BThe sponsor carries out the day-to-day technical tasks
• CThe sponsor owns the business case and provides senior direction, while the project manager manages delivery within the constraints the sponsor and governance have set✓
• DThe project manager owns the business case throughout the project, while the sponsor takes charge of the schedule, the budget and the day-to-day direction of the project team

Answer: The sponsor is accountable for the business case and provides direction and senior support, while the project manager is accountable for delivering the project day-to-day within the agreed constraints.