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PMP Practice: Keep the Vision Current

Question 12 of 20 in Develop a Common Vision

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Rowan Fitzgerald-Yamamoto is managing a 14-month infrastructure modernization project for Intentional Serendipity Co, a biotech research company. During the project kickoff meeting, the Chief Technology Officer emphasizes the need for cutting-edge security protocols and zero downtime during migration, while the Chief Financial Officer stresses cost containment and adherence to the approved budget. The Head of Research Operations interrupts multiple times, insisting that any system changes must not disrupt ongoing clinical trials, which have strict regulatory timelines. After the meeting, Rowan notices that these three executives are interpreting the project vision statement in fundamentally different ways—each emphasizing only the goals that align with their departmental priorities. The project charter clearly states that the vision is to 'modernize infrastructure while maintaining operational continuity and fiscal responsibility,' but the conflicting emphasis from leadership is creating confusion among team members about what success actually looks like. What should Rowan do to address the root cause of this misalignment?
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Correct answer: Facilitate a working session with the three executives to collaboratively define measurable success criteria that balance all three priorities and document how trade-off decisions will be made when priorities conflict

Explanation

The root cause of the misalignment is not that stakeholders are unaware of the vision statement—they've read it—but that they are interpreting it through the lens of their own departmental priorities without understanding how to balance competing objectives or make trade-offs. Simply restating the vision or escalating to authority does not resolve this underlying lack of shared understanding. The project manager should facilitate a collaborative session where executives work together to define what success looks like in concrete, measurable terms and establish a framework for prioritizing when objectives conflict. This approach creates genuine alignment by building shared ownership of the vision and ensuring everyone understands how different priorities will be balanced throughout the project. The scenario's closing fact—that the vision statement exists but is being interpreted in fundamentally different ways—makes facilitated collaboration the clear best answer, as it addresses interpretation and trade-off decision-making rather than just communication or authority.

**Why not A:** Creating separate vision statements for each stakeholder group legitimizes the fragmentation rather than resolving it. Multiple vision statements would deepen the confusion among team members and give each executive license to continue emphasizing only their priorities, which is the exact problem that needs to be solved.

**Why not B:** Escalating to the sponsor for a priority decision treats the issue as a binary choice between executives rather than an alignment opportunity. The charter already establishes that all three priorities matter, so the solution requires integration and trade-off frameworks, not hierarchy.

**Why not D:** Sending a memo reiterating the vision statement addresses information transmission but not interpretation. The executives have already read the charter and are interpreting it differently. Simply restating the same words will not resolve the underlying lack of shared understanding about how to balance competing objectives.

Key Concept

This question covers Keep the Vision Current under Develop a Common Vision (People).

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