Who authorizes a project?

The correct answer is A. Sponsor. The Sponsor authorizes a project because they hold the organizational authority and funding to formally approve the project's existence, scope, and resources - this is a foundational concept in both PMI's PMBOK and PRINCE2 frameworks. B (Project Manager) is wrong: the PM is…

Organizational Aspects of Project Management

Question

Options

ASponsor
BProject manager
CProject team
DBuyer

How the community answered

(14 responses)

A
71% (10)
B
7% (1)
C
7% (1)
D
14% (2)

Explanation

The Sponsor authorizes a project because they hold the organizational authority and funding to formally approve the project's existence, scope, and resources - this is a foundational concept in both PMI's PMBOK and PRINCE2 frameworks.

B (Project Manager) is wrong: the PM is appointed by the sponsor to lead execution, not to authorize the project itself.
C (Project Team) is wrong: the team carries out the work but has no authority to sanction or fund the project.
D (Buyer) is wrong: a buyer may trigger a project through a contract, but authorization is an internal governance act performed by the sponsoring organization, not the customer.

Memory tip: Think of the sponsor as the project's parent - they give birth to it (authorization), fund it, and are ultimately accountable for its business case. The PM is the manager who runs the day-to-day once the project is alive.

Topics

#project sponsor#project authorization#project roles#organizational structure

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