A company is releasing a new product geared toward a specific geographic area. The program manager has received the program objectives and developed the program roadmap which consists of six program…

Question

Options

• AAssign project managers and resources
• BClassify the program's benefits
• CIdentify the program sponsor and program stakeholders
• DDevelop the program business case

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  80% (24)
• C
  3% (1)
• D
  13% (4)

Explanation

Option B is correct because, per the PMI Standard for Program Management, after obtaining governance board approval the program manager enters the detailed planning stage of program definition, where classifying the program's benefits (part of developing the Benefits Management Plan) is the immediate next step before components begin execution.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Assign project managers/resources): This happens during component initiation, which comes after benefits are identified and planned - you can't staff work you haven't yet defined in benefit terms.
• C (Identify sponsor and stakeholders): These are identified during program formulation (earlier in the lifecycle), well before the roadmap is built or governance approval is sought.
• D (Develop the business case): The business case is also a formulation-phase deliverable - it comes before the roadmap is developed, so it's already done at this point in the scenario.

Memory tip: Think of the sequence as Form → Classify → Assign (FCA). Formulate (business case, sponsor, stakeholders) → Classify benefits and plan them → Assign resources and PMs to components. Governance approval is the gate between formulation and benefits classification, so B is always the "what's next after approval" answer.

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