PMI-PMOCP practice question 5 of 15

Many PMOs fail due to a lack of sponsorship. This is a:

Domain PMO Business Acumen

Answer options

A: Myth, because the lack of sponsorship is not the cause of failure, but a consequence – or evidence – of a lack of alignment with the stakeholders' expectations.

B: Fact, because without the support of upper management a PMO cannot survive. Correct answer

C: Myth, since the PMOs do not fail, they only generate below-expected results.

D: Fact, as the failure of many PMOs is due to lack of necessary investments.

Correct Answer:

B. Fact, because without the support of upper management a PMO cannot survive.

Explanation

Multiple PMI standards explicitly list “continuous executive/upper-management sponsorship” as a critical success factor for any PMO. Without that sponsorship the PMO cannot obtain sustained funding, organizational authority, or strategic visibility and is therefore frequently disbanded. Empirical PMI studies (e.g., Pulse of the Profession) show that a large share of PMOs that are closed or judged unsuccessful cite weak or absent executive sponsorship as the primary cause, confirming that lack of sponsorship is a fact-based driver of failure rather than a mere symptom.

Why Incorrect

A. Reverses causality; PMI research names loss of sponsorship itself as a primary root-cause, not only a symptom of misalignment.
C. Documented cases show PMOs are formally closed or dismantled, i.e., they can and do fail, not merely under-perform.
D. Insufficient investment is a secondary effect; PMI data rank executive sponsorship higher than funding level as a cause of PMO termination.

References

1. PMI. Implementing Organizational Project Management: A Practice Guide, 2014, Sec. 4.2 “Critical Success Factors”, p. 49-50 – lists “Sustained executive sponsorship” as essential for PMO survival.

2. PMI. Pulse of the Profession®: PMO Frameworks 2016, p. 8 – 37 % of discontinued PMOs cite “lack of executive sponsorship” as the main reason for failure.

3. Hobbs, B. & Aubry, M. (2011). “A multi-phase research program concerning PMOs,” Int. Journal of Project Management, 29(5), 723-732, doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2011.07.006 – identifies weak executive sponsorship as a primary failure factor.

4. PMI. The Standard for Organizational Project Management (OPM), 2018, 3.4.3 – emphasizes executive sponsorship as mandatory for PMO authority and longevity.

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