CH3

________ are used by project managers to depict resource utilization by task. A) Textual reports B) Bar graphs C) Pie charts D) Flow charts

A) Textual reports

List the six project initiation activities.

1.Establishing the project initiation team 2. Establishing a relationship with the customer 3. Establishing the project initiation plan 4. Establishing management procedures 5. Establishing the project management 6. Environment and project workbook

In order, what are the four steps in the project management process?

: Initiating the project, planning the project, executing the project, and closing down the project.

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the technical problem solving activity of a project manager. A) Contact point for payroll team B) Defining activities and their sequence C) Making trade-offs between alternative solutions D) Interpreting system requests and specifications

A) Contact point for payroll team

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to a task in a project plan? A) It can be done by one person only. B) It has a single and identifiable deliverable. C) It has a known method or technique. D) It has well-accepted predecessor and successor steps.

A) It can be done by one person only.

Which of the following is FALSE in the context of the project charter? A) It will not have the project manager's name and contact information. B) It includes the project title and date of authorization. C) It outlines many of the key elements of the project. D) It is a high-level document prepared for the customer.

A) It will not have the project manager's name and contact information.

Getting projects completed through the effective utilization of resources is a ________ activity of a project manager. A) Management B) Risk management C) Change management D) Team management

A) Management

Most project management software tools support a broad range of task durations, including minutes, hours, days, weeks, and ________. A) Months B) Years C) Centuries D) Decades

A) Months

A ________ is a planned undertaking of a series of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end. A) Project B) Technique C) Data flow D) Methodology

A) Project

________ is the third phase of the project management process in which the plans created in the prior phases (project initiation and planning) are put into action. A) Project execution B) Project closure C) Project development D) Project planning

A) Project execution

The critical path represents the ________ time in which a project can be completed. A) Shortest B) Longest C) Farthest D) Tallest

A) Shortest

An example of a project manager leadership activity is helping the team work towards a common goal.

true

Defining a task with too little detail will make the project complex.

true

Designing and sequencing activities to attain project goals describes the technical problem solving activity.

true

Executing the project is the third phase in the project management process.

true

In some organizations, the project manager is a very experienced systems analyst, whereas in others, both junior and senior analysts are expected to take on this role, managing parts of a project or actively supporting a more senior colleague who assumes the project manager role.

true

Problem solving is a skill required in the conflict management activity for a project manager.

true

Successful projects require the development of effective management procedures.

true

Systems development projects are undertaken for two primary reasons: to take advantage of business opportunities and to solve business problems.

true

The acronym PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique.

true

The most widely used method for cost estimation is COCOMO.

true

The project charter is a short (typically one page), high-level document prepared for the customer that describes what the project will deliver and outlines many of the key elements of the project.

true

The project charter often includes a signature section for key stakeholders and key assumptions.

true

There are 10 activities in total which are involved in the project planning phase.

true

Defining tasks in too much detail will make the management of the project ________. A) Unnecessarily complex B) Simple C) Extremely streamlined D) Constructive

A) Unnecessarily complex

________ is the process of dividing the project into manageable tasks and logically ordering them to ensure a smooth evolution between tasks. A) Work breakdown structure B) Task breakdown structure C) Project breakdown structure D) Management breakdown structure

A) Work breakdown structure

What does a project manager do during the project execution phase? List the steps in the project execution phase.

As project manager, you oversee the execution of the baseline plan. This means that you initiate the execution of project activities, acquire and assign resources, orient and train new team members, keep the project on schedule, and ensure the quality of project deliverables. The steps in the project execution phase include: 1. Executing the Baseline Project Plan 2. Monitoring Project Progress against the Baseline Project Plan 3. Managing Changes to the Baseline Project Plan 4. Maintaining the Project Workbook 5. Communicating the Project Status.

COCOMO stands for ________. A) Constructive Coordination Model B) Constructive Cost Model C) Collective Cost Model D) Constructive Correction Model

B) Constructive Cost Model

Which of the following is NOT an activity found in the project initiation phase? A) Establishing the project initiation team B) Establishing a relationship with the developer C) Establishing the project initiation plan D) Establishing management procedures

B) Establishing a relationship with the developer

Which of the following is NOT a component of PERT? A) Program B) Evolution C) Review D) Evaluation

B) Evolution

Which of the following is NOT a stakeholder involved in the project communication matrix? A) Team members B) Facilities team C) User group D) Contract programmers

B) Facilities team

A ________, which is conducted by the project manager, involves determining if the information system makes sense for the organization from an economic and operational standpoint. A) Tool B) Feasibility study C) Data flow D) Methodology

B) Feasibility study

To construct the Gantt chart, a ________ is drawn for each activity that reflects its sequence and duration. A) Horizontal line B) Horizontal bar C) Vertical line D) Vertical bar

B) Horizontal bar

Influencing the activities of others toward the attainment of a common goal through the use of intelligence, personality, and abilities refers to the ________ activity of a project manager. A) Management B) Leadership C) Team management D) Conflict management

B) Leadership

________ is a critical path scheduling technique used for controlling resources. A) Network programming B) Network diagramming C) Networking D) Network scheduling

B) Network diagramming

The project charter will never include which of the following? A) Project objectives and description B) Project budget C) Projected start and completion dates D) Key stakeholders, project role, and responsibilities

B) Project budget

What is the next step taken after project initiation? A) Project bidding B) Project planning C) Project execution D) Project development

B) Project planning

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the risk and change management activity of a project manager. A) Environmental scanning B) Team-building C) Risk and opportunity identification and assessment D) Resource redeployment

B) Team-building

_______ refers to the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the completion of the project. A) Response time B) Total slack C) Shortest time D) Free slack

B) Total slack

________ is NOT a common skill pertaining to the leadership activity of a project manager. A) Communication B) Working on assigned activities C) Assigning activities D) Monitoring progress

B) Working on assigned activities

A critical path refers to a sequence of task activities whose ________ and ________ directly affect the completion date of a project. A) Duration; network B) Order; network C) Task; sequence D) Order; duration

D) Order; duration

________ is a controlled process of initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project. A) System design B) System analysis C) Project scheduling D) Project management

D) Project management

The distinguishing feature of a network diagram is that the ordering of tasks is shown by connecting tasks—depicted as ________ or ovals—with their predecessor and successor tasks. A) Circles B) Diamonds C) Ellipticals D) Rectangles

D) Rectangles

Identifying, assessing, and managing the risks and day-to-day changes that occur during a project is attributed to ________. A) Forecasting B) Team-building C) Goal setting D) Risk and change management

D) Risk and change management

List the key difference between a Gantt chart and a network diagram.

Gantt charts visually show the duration of tasks, whereas a network diagram visually shows the sequence dependencies between tasks. Gantt charts visually show the time overlap of tasks, whereas a network diagram does not show time overlap but does show which tasks could be done in parallel. Some forms of Gantt charts can visually show slack time available within an earliest start and latest finish duration. A network diagram shows this by data within activity rectangles.

The project manager is a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills—management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship—who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project.

True

Why are systems development projects initiated? Provide an example.

: Systems development projects are undertaken for two primary reasons: to take advantage of business opportunities and to solve business problems. Taking advantage of an opportunity might mean providing an innovative service to customers through the creation of a new system. For example, PVF may want to create a Web site so that customers can easily access its catalog and place orders at any time.

What is a project charter? Describe elements that may be a part of the project charter.

A project charter is a short document prepared for the customer during project initiation that describes what the project will deliver and outlines generally at a high level all work required to complete the project. The project charter ensures that both you and your customer gain a common understanding of the project. It is also a very useful communication tool; it helps to announce to the organization that a particular project has been chosen for development. A project charter can vary in the amount of detail it contains, but it often includes the following elements: Project title and date of authorization; Project manager name and contact information; Customer name and contact information; Projected start and completion dates; Key stakeholders, project role, and responsibilities; Project objectives and description; Key assumptions or approach; Signature section for key stakeholders.

Resource estimates may need to be revised based upon the skills of the actual person (or people) assigned to a particular ________. A) Activity B) Group C) Person D) Team

A) Activity

A network diagram will never be used when the tasks ________. A) Cannot be worked on independently of other tasks B) Can be worked on independently of other tasks C) Are well defined and have a clear beginning and end point D) Serve the purpose of the project

A) Cannot be worked on independently of other tasks

Which of the following is NOT a feature of a network diagram? A) It represents how completion times vary for activities. B) It is more often used than Gantt charts to manage projects such as information systems development. C) Connecting arrows are not used. D) Variability in the duration of activities is the norm.

C) Connecting arrows are not used.

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the customer relations activity of a project manager. A) Interpreting system requests B) Interpreting system specifications C) Contact point for developers D) User training

C) Contact point for developers

The ________ is a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills—management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship—who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project. A) Consultant B) Project scheduler C) Project manager D) Project assistant

C) Project manager

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to the Gantt chart and network diagram? A) Gantt charts visually show the duration of tasks, whereas a network diagram visually shows the sequence dependencies between tasks. B) Gantt charts visually show the time overlap of tasks, whereas a network diagram does not show time overlap but does show which tasks could be done in parallel. C) Gantt charts visually show the time overlap of tasks, whereas a network diagram shows time overlap but does show which tasks could be done in parallel. D) Some forms of Gantt charts can visually show slack time available within an earliest start and latest finish duration.

C) Gantt charts visually show the time overlap of tasks, whereas a network diagram shows time overlap but does show which tasks could be done in parallel.

Which of the following is NOT true of a project communication plan? A) It outlines the communication procedures among management, project team members, and the customer. B) It includes when and how written and oral reports will be provided by the team. C) It does not define communication with vendors and external contractors. D) It includes how team members will coordinate work.

C) It does not define communication with vendors and external contractors.

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the conflict management activity of a project manager. A) Problem solving B) Smoothing out personality differences C) Monitoring D) Compromising

C) Monitoring

During ________, the project manager performs several activities to assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support subsequent activities. A) Project bidding B) Project development C) Project initiation D) Project delivery

C) Project initiation

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to resource estimation activity? A) This information is used to create a project resource plan. B) Project managers use a variety of tools to assist in making estimates of project size and costs. The most widely used method is called COCOMO. C) Resource estimates may need not be revised based upon the skills of the actual person (or people) assigned to a particular activity. D) People are the most important, and expensive, part of project resource planning.

C) Resource estimates may need not be revised based upon the skills of the actual person (or people)

At the end of the project planning phase, ________ of the Baseline Project Plan is conducted to double-check all information in the plan. A) Rating B) Testing C) Review D) Planning

C) Review

How many activities are involved in the project initiation phase? A) Four B) Five C) Six D) Three

C) Six

Nodes not on the critical path contain ________ time and allow the project manager some flexibility in scheduling. A) Shortest B) Critical C) Slack D) Report

C) Slack

Which of the following is NOT true about project close-down? A) It brings the project to an end. B) Projects can conclude with a natural or unnatural termination. C) Unnatural termination of a project can never happen. D) An unnatural termination occurs when the project is stopped before completion.

C) Unnatural termination of a project can never happen.

Which of the following is NOT a part of the project management process? A) Planning B) Initiating C) Executing D) Adjoining

D) Adjoining

Which of the following is NOT a feature of PERT? A) Uses optimistic estimate B) Uses pessimistic estimate C) Uses realistic estimate D) Calculates budget for a project

D) Calculates budget for a project

Working closely with customers to ensure that project deliverables meet expectations is a ________ activity of a project manager. A) Resource redeployment B) Forecasting C) Management D) Customer relations

D) Customer relations

A ________ is an end product of an SDLC phase. A) System tester B) Requirement C) Modeler D) Deliverable

D) Deliverable

Which is the first activity in the project planning phase? A) Setting a baseline project plan B) Creating a preliminary budget C) Identifying and assessing risk D) Describing project scope, alternatives, and feasibility

D) Describing project scope, alternatives, and feasibility

tasks that are ________ in scope will provide a clear sense of the status of the project or of the interdependencies between tasks. A) Short B) Medium C) Long D) Optimal

D) Optimal

Which of the following is the first activity in the project execution phase? A) Communicating the project status B) Managing changes to the Baseline Project Plan C) Maintaining the project workbook D) Executing the Baseline Project Plan

D) Executing the Baseline Project Plan

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the management activity of a project manager. A) Monitoring outcomes B) Assigning resources to activities C) Communicating expectations D) Forecasting

D) Forecasting

________ is NOT a skill pertaining to the team management activity of a project manager. A) Self-management B) Team-building C) Peer-evaluation D) Forecasting

D) Forecasting

________ refers to the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following tasks. A) Response time B) Total slack C) Shortest time D) Free slack

D) Free slack

To successfully orchestrate the construction of a complex information system, a project manager must have ________, leadership, and technical skills. A) Planning B) Initiating C) Executing D) Interpersonal

D) Interpersonal

Which of the following is a FALSE statement regarding the Project Scope Statement? A) It occurs near the end of the project planning phase. B) It is developed primarily for the customer. C) It clearly describes what the project will deliver. D) It is a description of the alternative solution.

D) It is a description of the alternative solution.

Which of the following is FALSE in the context of the project workbook? A) It can be stored as an online electronic document. B) It can be stored in a large three-ring binder. C) The project workbook is used by all team members. D) It is not useful for project audits.

D) It is not useful for project audits.

Which of the following is NOT true with respect to determining project standards and procedures? A) Specifies how various deliverables are produced and tested B) Specifies how the standard SDLC might be modified C) Specifies which SDLC methods will be used D) Specifies the budget and resource allocation

D) Specifies the budget and resource allocation

Managing the project team for effective team performance represents a ________ activity of a project manager. A) Leadership B) Change management C) Risk management D) Team management

D) Team management

A Gantt chart is the graphical representation of a project that shows each task as a ________ bar whose length is proportional to its time for completion. A) vertical B) linear C) curve D) horizontal

D) horizontal

List at least 3 activities of a project manager and the skill associated with that activity

Leadership: Influencing the activities of others toward the attainment of a common goal through the use of intelligence, personality, and abilities. Skills: Communication; liaison between management, users, and developers; assigning activities; monitoring progress Management: Getting projects completed through the effective utilization of resources. Skills: Defining and sequencing activities; communicating expectations; assigning resources to activities; monitoring outcomes Customer relations: Working closely with customers to ensure that project deliverables meet expectations. Skills: Interpreting system requests and specifications; site preparation and user training; contact point for customers Technical problem solving: Designing and sequencing activities to attain project goals. Skills: Interpreting system requests and specifications; defining activities and their sequence; making trade-offs between alternative solutions; designing solutions to problems Conflict management: Managing conflict within a project team to assure that conflict is not too high or too low. Skills: Problem solving; smoothing out personality differences; compromising; goal setting Team management: Managing the project team for effective team performance. Skills: Communication within and between teams; peer evaluations; conflict resolution; team building; self-management Risk and change management: Identifying, assessing, and managing the risks and day-to-day changes that occur during a project. Skills: Environmental scanning; risk and opportunity identification and assessment; forecasting; resource redeployment.

What are some of the activities one can accomplish in project management software? Include examples of project management software.

Most of the available tools have a set of common features that include the ability to define and order tasks, assign resources to tasks, and easily modify tasks and resources. Project management tools are available to run on IBM-compatible personal computers, the Macintosh, and larger mainframe and workstation-based systems. These systems vary in the number of task activities supported, the complexity of relationships, system processing and storage requirements, and, of course, cost. When using this system to manage a project, you need to perform at least the following activities: Establish a project starting or ending date; Enter tasks and assign task relationships; Select a scheduling method to review project reports.

Define and describe the PERT technique.

PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique; Concept) is a technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time estimates to calculate the expected time for a particular task. This technique can help you to obtain a better time estimate when there is some uncertainty as to how much time a task will require to be completed. The optimistic (o) and pessimistic (p) times reflect the minimum and maximum possible periods of time for an activity to be completed. The realistic (r) time, or most likely time, reflects the project manager's "best guess" of the amount of time the activity actually will require for completion. Once each of these estimates is made for an activity, an expected time (ET) can be calculated. Because the expected completion time should be closest to the realistic (r) time, it is typically weighted four times more than the optimistic (o) and pessimistic (p) times. Once you add these values together, it must be divided by six to determine the ET. This equation is shown in the following formula: ET = (o + 4r + p)/6 where ET = expected time for the completion for an activity; o = optimistic completion time for an activity; r = realistic completion time for an activity; p = pessimistic completion time for an activity.

What does project planning involve?

Project planning involves defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project. It often requires you to make numerous assumptions about the availability of resources such as hardware, software, and personnel. It is much easier to plan nearer-term activities than those occurring in the future. In actual fact, you often have to construct longer-term plans that are more general in scope and nearer-term plans that are more detailed. The repetitive nature of the project management process requires that plans be constantly monitored throughout the project and period.

Name four ways a project team can communicate. Indicate the type of formality, i.e., high, medium to low, etc.

Project workbook—High Inform; Meetings—Medium to high; Seminars and workshops—Low to medium; Project newsletters—Medium to high; Status reports—High; Specification documents— High; Minutes of meetings—High; Bulletin boards—Low; Memos—Medium to high; Brown bag lunches—Low; Hallway discussions—Low.

What are the ways a project can close? Provide an example of each.

Projects can conclude with a natural or unnatural termination. A natural termination occurs when the requirements of the project have been met-the project has been completed and is a success. An unnatural termination occurs when the project is stopped before completion. Several events can cause an unnatural termination of a project. For example, it may be learned that the assumption used to guide the project proved to be false, that the performance of the systems or development group was somehow inadequate, or that the requirements are no longer relevant or valid in the customer's business environment. The most likely reasons for the unnatural termination of a project relate to running out of time or money, or both.

What is COCOMO and how is it used?

The Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO; Concept) is an automated software estimation model that uses historical project data and current as well as future project characteristics to estimate project costs. It is the most widely used method and uses parameters that were derived from prior projects of differing complexity COCOMO uses these different parameters to predict human resource requirements for basic, intermediate, and very complex systems.

What is the critical path? Why is it important?

The critical path of a network diagram is represented by the sequence of connected activities that produce the longest overall time period. All nodes and activities within this sequence are referred to as being "on" the critical path. The critical path represents the shortest time in which a project can be completed. In other words, any activity on the critical path that is delayed in completion delays the entire project. Nodes not on the critical path, however, can be delayed (for some amount of time) without delaying the final completion of the project

What is a project manager? What types of skills should a project manager possess?

a systems analyst with a diverse set of skills-management, leadership, technical, conflict management, and customer relationship-who is responsible for initiating, planning, executing, and closing down a project.

A network diagram depicts a Gantt chart.

false

A project is an unplanned undertaking of a series of related activities to reach an objective that has a beginning and an end.

false

A study that determines if the proposed information system makes sense for the organization from an economic and operational standpoint is called non-feasibility study.

false

Closing down a project is not an activity performed in the project management process.

false

Establishing a relationship with the customer is the first step in project initiation.

false

In project initiation, the developer performs several activities to assess the size, scope, and complexity of the project and to establish procedures to support subsequent activities.

false

Interpreting system requests and specifications is not a skill required as part of the customer relations activity for a project manager.

false

Microsoft Excel is an example of project management software.

false

The Project Workbook is an offline or hard-copy repository for all project correspondence, inputs, outputs, deliverables, procedures, and standards that is used for performing project audits, orienting new team members, communicating with management and customers, identifying future projects, and performing post-project reviews.

false

The last deliverable, or end product, produced by Chris and Juanita was a System Service Request (SSR), a standard form PVF uses for requesting systems development work.

false