MSP-Practitioner MSP Practitioner, 5th edition Exam Questions and Answers

Recruitment Policy isnotconsidered a critical organizational element in MSP, whereas Delivery Mechanism for Change, Business as Usual, and Corporate Strategy are recognized as essential elements.

The MSP Practitioner states:“All other are critical organizational elements,”highlighting that MSP focuses on how organizations govern and implement change (delivery mechanisms), maintain ongoing operations (business as usual), and set strategic direction (corporate strategy).

Recruitment policies, while important HR tools, are not part of the critical organizational elements that MSP emphasizes in programme governance and transformational change management.

The Business Change Manager (BCM) reviews the Business Case to confirm that the plans for benefits realization are sound and achievable. The BCM ensures that the expected benefits are realistic, measurable, and aligned with the organization's strategic objectives.

The MSP Practitioner states:“BCMs will review it to confirm that benefit realizations have been handled correctly.”This review helps identify risks or gaps in benefit planning early, enabling corrective actions before programme progression.

While the SRO approves the Business Case and the Programme Manager produces it, the BCM’s critical role is to validate the benefits-related aspects, ensuring the programme can deliver its expected value effectively and sustainably.

The Benefits Map is categorized as a Boundary document. Boundary documents define the programme’s scope, constraints, and interfaces with its environment, helping to establish what the programme will deliver and what lies outside its remit.

The MSP Practitioner explains:“Benefits Map is a Boundary document while others such as programme preparation plan, risk register, and stakeholder profiles are management documents.”The Benefits Map visually depicts how outputs connect to outcomes and benefits, defining the boundary between delivery and benefits realization.

Boundary documents provide critical clarity for managing expectations, preventing scope creep, and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, forming a foundation for programme governance and control.

The Sponsoring Group, not the SRO, is accountable for confirming the Programme Mandate. The MSP Practitioner clearly states:"The Sponsoring Group is accountable for confirming the mandate,"which means the SRO oversees delivery but does not hold responsibility for initial mandate confirmation. Meanwhile, the Programme Manager has ownership of the Vision Statement and Blueprint, aligning with delivery responsibilities.

The Risk Register is the key document where programmes establish the context for risk identification, assessment, and response planning. It captures all identified risks along with their evaluation and mitigation measures. The MSP Practitioner notes,"All the above information is part of Risk register,"indicating that the Risk Register consolidates risk-related data essential for proactive management and decision-making throughout the programme lifecycle.

The Programme Manager is responsible for producing the Business Case. This document outlines the justification for the programme, including costs, benefits, risks, and options. The Programme Manager prepares the Business Case to ensure it is comprehensive, realistic, and aligned with the programme’s objectives.

The MSP Practitioner notes:“Programme manager prepares it as he is responsible for it,”emphasizing the role’s responsibility to articulate the strategic rationale and provide a sound basis for decision-making. The Business Case is then reviewed and approved by the SRO and other governance bodies.

The Programme Manager collaborates with other roles such as the Business Change Manager and SRO to ensure all aspects of the Business Case are valid and supported. This role is pivotal in maintaining the integrity and credibility of the programme justification throughout its lifecycle.

The Project Brief is a key document that describes the purpose, cost, time, performance requirements, and constraints of a specific project. It acts as the initial detailed definition of a project within the programme context. The MSP Practitioner states:“Project brief describes purpose, cost, time, performance requirements and constraints of a project,”highlighting its role in defining project scope and parameters, which supports effective project delivery aligned to the programme objectives.

A vision-led programme is one that is undertaken to fulfil political ideas and priorities, such as electoral promises. These programmes are driven by a clear vision for change that aligns with political or societal goals rather than just compliance or operational needs. Public programmes started to fulfil electoral promises fit this definition of vision-led programmes as they reflect a vision for future societal outcomes.

The POTI (Projects, Operations, Teams, and Infrastructure) model is used to define the high-level scope of the Blueprint. The Blueprint theme encompasses the detailed design and delivery aspects of the programme’s transformation. As per MSP Practitioner,"POTI defines high level scope of blueprint,"situating the model firmly within the Blueprint Design and Delivery governance theme.

Approval to proceed at this stage authorizes work on all projects within the first tranche of the programme. The MSP Practitioner explains:"Approval to proceed is for first tranche, at end of that tranche, Go/No Go decision will be taken for next tranche,"meaning that the programme is phased with controlled progression through tranches rather than approval for the entire programme upfront.

While identifying the correct people to communicate with is important, MSP does not list it as one of the four core elements of successful communication.

The MSP Practitioner outlines the four core elements as:

a) Stakeholder identification and analysis

b) Message Clarity and consistency

c) Effective system of message delivery

d) Feedback Collection system

These elements ensure messages are targeted, clear, consistently delivered, and that feedback is captured to improve communication.

Misidentifying core communication elements can weaken engagement efforts, so focusing on these pillars supports stronger communication outcomes throughout the programme lifecycle.

A key attribute for the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) is having access to and credibility with key stakeholders because the SRO plays a pivotal role in stakeholder management and programme accountability. The MSP Practitioner notes,"This attribute is necessary as SRO is also involved in stakeholder management,"emphasizing that SRO’s influence and stakeholder credibility are critical to programme success.

Programmes aimed at political and societal change face lower success probability when outcomes are vague or have long-term horizons that are difficult to define and measure. The MSP Practitioner explains:“Vaguely defined outcomes decrease probability of success.”Long-term societal effects are often uncertain and harder to control, thus reducing the clarity needed for successful programme management and delivery.

Training, moving, and supporting operational units fall under business change and transition costs. These costs are related to the activities required to move from the current state to the future state, including training staff and supporting new operations. The MSP Practitioner clarifies:“Training and moving an operational unit is related to transition,”distinguishing these from capital costs (assets) and programme management costs.

The Business Change Manager (BCM) holds the primary responsibility for monitoring the progress of benefits realization against the plan. This role is focused on ensuring that the expected benefits from the programme’s outputs and outcomes are actually realized in the business environment. The BCM works closely with stakeholders, operational managers, and programme teams to track benefit achievement, resolve issues that might impede benefit delivery, and report progress.

According to the MSP Practitioner:“BCM is responsible for monitoring benefits.”This accountability includes validating that the changes introduced by the programme are embedded within business operations and are delivering measurable value as outlined in the Benefits Realization Plan. The BCM must maintain a clear line of sight on benefits, manage dependencies between projects and operational teams, and oversee any transition activities required to sustain benefits.

The Programme Manager and Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) have broader accountability for programme delivery and governance, but it is the BCM who acts as the day-to-day custodian of benefits. They translate strategic benefit objectives into operational terms and ensure the organisation adapts to new ways of working. This ensures that benefits do not remain theoretical but are tangibly realized, measured, and maximized over time.

Effective benefits monitoring by the BCM mitigates the risk of programmes delivering outputs that do not translate into business improvements or strategic value, reinforcing MSP’s emphasis on outcome-focused delivery.

The statement that“Programme control defines reporting mechanism”is not true. While programme control encompasses refining delivery, managing ambiguity, and justifying programme continuation, defining the reporting mechanism is typically a management or communication function rather than a control function.

The MSP Practitioner clarifies:“Programme control deals with improving delivery, reducing ambiguity & bringing certainty and justifies continuance of programme,”focusing on the governance and decision-making controls rather than specific reporting structures.

Effective programme control ensures programmes remain viable and aligned with strategic objectives through structured oversight and governance processes.

Dependency management isnotconsidered a principal control for managing the tranches but rather a governance control related to delivering the benefits.

The MSP Practitioner explains:“Dependency management is governance control for Delivering the benefits,”which means while dependencies between projects and benefits must be managed, they are not direct tranche controls.

Principal tranche controls focus on approving and reviewing Business Cases and conducting Benefit Reviews to ensure each tranche delivers value and remains aligned with strategic objectives.

Recognizing this distinction helps ensure the programme maintains effective controls focused on stage delivery and benefit realization without conflating governance functions.

The Programme Brief is developed from the Programme Mandate and serves as a foundational input to the Business Case. It contains the programme objectives and expected outcomes, which the Business Case further elaborates. The MSP Practitioner states:“Programme brief contains objectives and outcomes of programme which is further enhanced in Business case.”This positions the Programme Brief as a bridge between initial mandate and detailed justification for the programme.

Project outputs are actually theoutputof delivering the capability, not an input. Inputs to delivering the capability include the Project Dossier, Business Case, and Blueprint, which provide the framework, justification, and detailed design for what is to be delivered.

The MSP Practitioner clarifies:“Project outputs are output of delivering the capability,”meaning these are the tangible products or deliverables produced by the projects managed within the programme. In contrast, the Project Dossier contains detailed descriptions and plans for the projects, the Business Case justifies the programme’s existence and value, and the Blueprint defines the future state and capabilities required.

This distinction is important because delivering the capability depends on having a clear, approved vision (Blueprint), a solid business justification (Business Case), and a structured project plan (Project Dossier). Only once these inputs are in place can project outputs be successfully created and integrated to achieve the programme’s objectives.

Understanding this flow ensures that programme teams focus on the correct artefacts at each stage—inputs for planning and delivery, outputs for realization and benefits management—ensuring clarity and control throughout the transformational flow.