Determine the Reason for Project Budget Overrun

Analyzing Project Documents

Question

At a weekly project team meeting, it is apparent the project is over budget.

The project manager needs to determine the reason for this issue.

Which of the following documents should MOST likely be analyzed to obtain the answer?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

A.

The project team meeting revealed that the project is over budget, and the project manager needs to determine the root cause of the issue. To identify the cause of the over-budget issue, the project manager must analyze various project documents to find out where the project deviated from the original plan. The best document set to analyze depends on the content and context of the project.

Option A includes the project charter, organization chart, scope statement, and issue log. The project charter outlines the project's high-level goals and objectives, whereas the organization chart shows the reporting structure of the project team. The scope statement defines what is in and out of the project scope, and the issue log tracks the issues that have arisen throughout the project.

Option B includes dashboard information, action items, project schedule, and status report. Dashboards provide an overview of the project status, whereas action items outline tasks assigned to project team members. The project schedule outlines the timeline of the project, and the status report provides an overall status update of the project.

Option C includes the project management plan, scope statement, communication plan, and meeting agendas. The project management plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled. The scope statement defines what is in and out of the project scope, and the communication plan outlines how communication will be managed throughout the project. Meeting agendas provide a list of topics to be discussed during project team meetings.

Option D includes the project schedule, project management plan, communication plan, and issue log. The project schedule outlines the timeline of the project, whereas the project management plan is a comprehensive document that outlines how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled. The communication plan outlines how communication will be managed throughout the project, and the issue log tracks the issues that have arisen throughout the project.

In the context of the given scenario, the best option is option D. Analyzing the project schedule will help the project manager identify any schedule deviations that may have caused the project to go over budget. The project management plan can help identify any oversights or errors in project planning and execution. The communication plan can help determine if there were any communication gaps that may have contributed to the over-budget issue. Finally, the issue log can help identify the root cause of any issues that may have resulted in increased project costs.