APM PMQ STUDY GUIDE 2025/2026 QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Give two strengths and a limitation of Hybrid Lifecycles. - ✔✔Strengths: Facilitates a
mix of approaches to suit a specific development, Building agile working into a project or
programme can offer increased efficiency and flexibility
Limitations: It requires great skill and clarity when using multiple different systems of
working to be successful
✔✔Define Business-As-Usual - ✔✔Business as usual (BAU) or operations within an
organisation are permanent structures that need specific resources to carry out routine
tasks with a stable team environment
✔✔What is the most common temporary organisational structure used? - ✔✔Matrix
structure
✔✔Define a Functional Organisational Structure. - ✔✔Groups employees by specific
skills and job functions in a hierarchical structure.
✔✔Define a Matrix Organisational Structure. - ✔✔Combines functional and project-
based structures, with dual reporting lines.
✔✔Define a Project-based Organisational Structure - ✔✔Forms teams specifically for
projects, dissolving them after project completion
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a Matrix organisational structure -
✔✔Adv: Resource flexibility, enhanced inter-department communication, good for
complex projects.
DisAdv: Potential for role confusion, conflict, and high administrative costs
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a Functional organisational structure -
✔✔Adv: Clear career paths, specialised efficiency, easy management of tasks
Disadv: Risk of silos, poor cross department communication, less responsive to change
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of Project-based organisational structure
- ✔✔Adv: High adaptability, focused decision making, strong team motivation.
Disadv: Job security concerns, frequent team changes, challenging resource
management
✔✔State the 6 roles on a project - ✔✔Project Manager, Project Team Members, Project
Users, Project Sponsor, Project Steering Group/Board.
✔✔State the four stages of Project Management Governance - ✔✔Policies
Regulations
,Procedures, Processes and Functions
Delegated Responsibilities
✔✔Why are Policies important for Project Management Governance? - ✔✔Provide
guidelines as to what the business expects of projects.
Outline the boundaries for the business.
Influence how projects are conducted and demonstrate the culture of the organisation.
Support governance of projects with various control points, such as decision gates,
audits and evaluation reviews.
✔✔Why are Regulations important for Project Management Governance? - ✔✔Ensure
conformance to standards.
Ensure that the work adheres to legal, regulatory, corporate, ethical and professional
standards.
✔✔Why are Processes, procedures and functions Important for Project Management
Governance? - ✔✔Standardise methods of working and provide a structured
methodology for the delivery of projects.
Ensure consistency of practice.
Best practice to have a bank of processes, procedures, and standardised functions in
place for a project community such as best practice principles for managing risk,
controlling the budget, life cycle approach, etc.
✔✔Why are Delegated Responsibilities Important for Project Management
Governance? - ✔✔Clarify roles and increases efficiency; everyone has clarity on what is
expected of them.
Good governance expects that the roles and responsibilities of the team and wider
stakeholders are clearly defined.
Use of a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM or RACI) can support this activity.
✔✔Sustainability balances what four considerations? - ✔✔Environment, Social,
Economic, Administrative
✔✔What will sustainability initiatives influence in an organisation? - ✔✔Sustainability
initiatives will influence product design, manufacturing processes, energy consumption,
waste management and stakeholder relationships.
✔✔Give an example of a tool or technique to embrace sustainability. - ✔✔ISO 14001,
LEED, B Corp, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
✔✔Give an example of one of the measures and metrics for sustainability assessment -
✔✔Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) data
Operational carbon usage data
Embodied carbon measures
, ✔✔What considerations should be given to manage stakeholder perception? -
✔✔Consideration should be given to engaging internal and external communities
(particularly ensuring individual responsibility), providing transparent and credible data
and metrics, as well as the use of universally recognised data collection and analysis
techniques such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
✔✔What are the five elements of the business case? - ✔✔Strategic context: The
compelling case for change.
Economic analysis: Return on investment based on investment appraisal of options.
Commercial approach: Derived from the procurement strategy.
Financial case: Affordability to the organisation in the time frame. Management
approach:
Roles, governance structure, life cycle choice, etc
✔✔Give an example of one of the tools and techniques used to determine factors which
influence and impact a project's business case. - ✔✔PESTLE, SWOT, VUCA.
✔✔Define PESTLE - ✔✔The Political, Economic, Sociological, Technical, Legal and
Environmental influences that could impact the project.
✔✔Define SWOT - ✔✔The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats relating
to the project.
Consider the strengths of the organisation, and their influence / impact on the project.
Consider the weaknesses of the organisation, and their influence / impact on the project
and the risk they might pose.
Consider the elements in the world outside the organisation that the project could
exploit.
Consider the external elements outside the organisation that could be problematic for
the project and the risk they might pose.
✔✔Define VUCA - ✔✔The Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity relating to
the project.
✔✔What are the responses to VUCA - ✔✔Vision, Understanding, Clarity, Agility
✔✔What does the business case justify? - ✔✔The initial and continued investment in
the project and enables the project manager to agree success criteria with the project
sponsor and other stakeholders
✔✔Define the Procurement strategy - ✔✔It is a project document that describes the
mechanics of how the project will go about procuring and subsequently managing
services and goods, and it should be formulated alongside the business case
ANSWERS RATED A+
✔✔Give two strengths and a limitation of Hybrid Lifecycles. - ✔✔Strengths: Facilitates a
mix of approaches to suit a specific development, Building agile working into a project or
programme can offer increased efficiency and flexibility
Limitations: It requires great skill and clarity when using multiple different systems of
working to be successful
✔✔Define Business-As-Usual - ✔✔Business as usual (BAU) or operations within an
organisation are permanent structures that need specific resources to carry out routine
tasks with a stable team environment
✔✔What is the most common temporary organisational structure used? - ✔✔Matrix
structure
✔✔Define a Functional Organisational Structure. - ✔✔Groups employees by specific
skills and job functions in a hierarchical structure.
✔✔Define a Matrix Organisational Structure. - ✔✔Combines functional and project-
based structures, with dual reporting lines.
✔✔Define a Project-based Organisational Structure - ✔✔Forms teams specifically for
projects, dissolving them after project completion
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a Matrix organisational structure -
✔✔Adv: Resource flexibility, enhanced inter-department communication, good for
complex projects.
DisAdv: Potential for role confusion, conflict, and high administrative costs
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a Functional organisational structure -
✔✔Adv: Clear career paths, specialised efficiency, easy management of tasks
Disadv: Risk of silos, poor cross department communication, less responsive to change
✔✔Give one advantage and one disadvantage of Project-based organisational structure
- ✔✔Adv: High adaptability, focused decision making, strong team motivation.
Disadv: Job security concerns, frequent team changes, challenging resource
management
✔✔State the 6 roles on a project - ✔✔Project Manager, Project Team Members, Project
Users, Project Sponsor, Project Steering Group/Board.
✔✔State the four stages of Project Management Governance - ✔✔Policies
Regulations
,Procedures, Processes and Functions
Delegated Responsibilities
✔✔Why are Policies important for Project Management Governance? - ✔✔Provide
guidelines as to what the business expects of projects.
Outline the boundaries for the business.
Influence how projects are conducted and demonstrate the culture of the organisation.
Support governance of projects with various control points, such as decision gates,
audits and evaluation reviews.
✔✔Why are Regulations important for Project Management Governance? - ✔✔Ensure
conformance to standards.
Ensure that the work adheres to legal, regulatory, corporate, ethical and professional
standards.
✔✔Why are Processes, procedures and functions Important for Project Management
Governance? - ✔✔Standardise methods of working and provide a structured
methodology for the delivery of projects.
Ensure consistency of practice.
Best practice to have a bank of processes, procedures, and standardised functions in
place for a project community such as best practice principles for managing risk,
controlling the budget, life cycle approach, etc.
✔✔Why are Delegated Responsibilities Important for Project Management
Governance? - ✔✔Clarify roles and increases efficiency; everyone has clarity on what is
expected of them.
Good governance expects that the roles and responsibilities of the team and wider
stakeholders are clearly defined.
Use of a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM or RACI) can support this activity.
✔✔Sustainability balances what four considerations? - ✔✔Environment, Social,
Economic, Administrative
✔✔What will sustainability initiatives influence in an organisation? - ✔✔Sustainability
initiatives will influence product design, manufacturing processes, energy consumption,
waste management and stakeholder relationships.
✔✔Give an example of a tool or technique to embrace sustainability. - ✔✔ISO 14001,
LEED, B Corp, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
✔✔Give an example of one of the measures and metrics for sustainability assessment -
✔✔Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) data
Operational carbon usage data
Embodied carbon measures
, ✔✔What considerations should be given to manage stakeholder perception? -
✔✔Consideration should be given to engaging internal and external communities
(particularly ensuring individual responsibility), providing transparent and credible data
and metrics, as well as the use of universally recognised data collection and analysis
techniques such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
✔✔What are the five elements of the business case? - ✔✔Strategic context: The
compelling case for change.
Economic analysis: Return on investment based on investment appraisal of options.
Commercial approach: Derived from the procurement strategy.
Financial case: Affordability to the organisation in the time frame. Management
approach:
Roles, governance structure, life cycle choice, etc
✔✔Give an example of one of the tools and techniques used to determine factors which
influence and impact a project's business case. - ✔✔PESTLE, SWOT, VUCA.
✔✔Define PESTLE - ✔✔The Political, Economic, Sociological, Technical, Legal and
Environmental influences that could impact the project.
✔✔Define SWOT - ✔✔The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats relating
to the project.
Consider the strengths of the organisation, and their influence / impact on the project.
Consider the weaknesses of the organisation, and their influence / impact on the project
and the risk they might pose.
Consider the elements in the world outside the organisation that the project could
exploit.
Consider the external elements outside the organisation that could be problematic for
the project and the risk they might pose.
✔✔Define VUCA - ✔✔The Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity relating to
the project.
✔✔What are the responses to VUCA - ✔✔Vision, Understanding, Clarity, Agility
✔✔What does the business case justify? - ✔✔The initial and continued investment in
the project and enables the project manager to agree success criteria with the project
sponsor and other stakeholders
✔✔Define the Procurement strategy - ✔✔It is a project document that describes the
mechanics of how the project will go about procuring and subsequently managing
services and goods, and it should be formulated alongside the business case
