Which project role is responsible for validating scope?

Which project role is responsible for validating scope?

• A. The Project Manager
• B. The Functional Manager
• C. The Quality Team
• D. The Customer

Answer: (D)

Validating scope is about obtaining formal acceptance of completed deliverables from the customer or their designated representative. The authority to accept the finished work rests with the customer, who reviews the deliverables against the agreed requirements and acceptance criteria and signs off when they are satisfied. The Project Manager facilitates this process, coordinating reviews and ensuring deliverables are ready for acceptance, but does not grant the formal acceptance themselves. This distinction also ties to Verify versus Validate: verification checks that the product was built correctly, while validation confirms that the right product was built to meet the intended use and requirements. The customer is the one who performs that validation and provides formal acceptance, signaling that the scope has been satisfied. The other roles play important supporting parts—functional managers oversee resources within a function, and the quality team ensures deliverables meet quality standards—but they do not provide the formal acceptance of scope.

Validating scope is about obtaining formal acceptance of completed deliverables from the customer or their designated representative. The authority to accept the finished work rests with the customer, who reviews the deliverables against the agreed requirements and acceptance criteria and signs off when they are satisfied. The Project Manager facilitates this process, coordinating reviews and ensuring deliverables are ready for acceptance, but does not grant the formal acceptance themselves.

This distinction also ties to Verify versus Validate: verification checks that the product was built correctly, while validation confirms that the right product was built to meet the intended use and requirements. The customer is the one who performs that validation and provides formal acceptance, signaling that the scope has been satisfied.

The other roles play important supporting parts—functional managers oversee resources within a function, and the quality team ensures deliverables meet quality standards—but they do not provide the formal acceptance of scope.