TOPIC: Business Case vs. Scope Management Plan. Help me understand why is the answer B?

I'm trying to understand the reasoning behind the correct answer to the following PMP practice question.

Question:

A research and development team is planning to build a new facility focused on improving the organization's existing products. The effort will be a multi-year initiative.

What should the project manager do first?

A. Develop a scope management plan that focuses on the initiative's objectives.

B. Develop a business case that outlines the initiative's return on investment.

The correct answer is B, but I'm struggling to understand why.

My understanding is that a scope management plan is part of project planning, which happens after a project has been formally approved. Since the initiative is still being evaluated, it seems like the organization would first need a business case to justify the investment and secure approval before any planning documents are created.

Is the key takeaway that business justification always comes before project planning? Or is there another PMP concept that I'm missing here?

Think about the question this way, everything you do on a project costs resources or money, be it planning scoping etc.
Therefore companies before they commit to resources , even to go through initial planning phases, need to see the business case before they put in investment of people.
I am actually going through this right now in my job, we are trying to get together a solid business case and ROI, to get the leadership to buy into resources and the planning phase.
Scoping a management plan would require resources, people would need to sit around a table and in many companies they would have to clock their hours against this project. However the business case has not yet been made to say its worth investing time and effort in, before buy-in of the ROI from the leadership.
Hope this helps

I agree with Neil, and could add a little comment: in real life the project manager is not usually the person who creates the business case - that is often done by the sponsor, business analyst, PMO, or leadership.
That's probably why the answer can feel a little awkward.

Hey Kenneth,

Elena and Neil pretty much nailed it on this one. The business case will always come first because without it the PM will struggle to identify what resources are needed and in what capacity to accomplish the business goals during the life of the project. The activities that will be scoped will be dependent on what the business case is hoping to accomplish.