SPM Chapter 1

A research report showed that the U.S. spends ____ on projects every year.

$2.3 trillion

More than ____________________ million people regard project management as their profession.

16

In ____, Henry Gantt developed the famous Gantt chart as a tool for scheduling work in factories. a. 1897 c. 1927 b. 1917 d. 1957

1946

The Manhattan Project cost almost $2 billion in ____. a. 1936 c. 1956 b. 1946 d. 1966

1946

By the ____, the U.S. military and its civilian suppliers developed software to assist in managing large projects. a. 1960s c. 1980s b. 1970s d. 1990s

1970s

A research report showed that the U.S. spends the equivalent of ____ percent of the nation's gross domestic product on projects every year.

25

The "CHAOS" study found that more than ____________________ percent of information technology projects were canceled before completion.

31

According to the Standish Group study describing what factors contribute most to the success of information technology projects, ____ percent of successful projects are led by experienced project managers. a. 75 c. 97 b. 80 d. 100

97

____ was an early project management software product that helped managers analyze complex schedules for designing aircraft. a. Artemis c. Vega b. Columbia d. Oberlin

Artemis

The Project Management ____, a Web site for people involved in project management, provides an alphabetical directory of more than 300 project management software solutions. a. Center c. Consortium b. Alliance d. Facility

Center

"All project leaders use a shared road map, focusing on key business aspects of their projects while integrating goals across all parts of the organization" describes the ____ best practice for project delivery. a. Use an integrated toolbox b. Grow project leaders c. Develop a streamlined project delivery process d. Measure project health using metrics

Develop a streamlined project delivery process

____ project management software integrates information from multiple projects to show the status of active, approved, and future projects across an entire organization. a. Investment c. Enterprise b. Active d. Budget

Enterprise

____________________, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is "right" and "wrong."

Ethics

According to the Standish group, which of the following factors contributes most to the success of information technology projects? a. Executive support c. Experienced project manager b. User involvement d. Clear business objectives

Executive support

A project should be developed using progressive elaboration, starting from specific details and broadening in scope as it progresses.

False

A research report showed that the U.S. spends $2.3 trillion on projects every year, an amount equal to 40 percent of the nation's gross domestic product.

False

Determining the relationships among tasks is not essential in helping to improve project scheduling.

False

Every project is constrained in different ways by its scope and cost goals; these limitations are sometimes referred to in project management as the double constraint.

False

Follow-up studies done by the Standish Group showed that the number of failed projects has more than doubled in the past decade.

False

In the example of building a new house, the support staff would provide the wood, windows, flooring materials, appliances, and so on.

False

Program managers are not responsible for coordinating the efforts of project teams, functional groups, suppliers, and operations staff.

False

Project management is the silver bullet that guarantees success on all projects.

False

Project managers for large information technology projects have to be experts in the field of information technology.

False

Projects are often defined narrowly when they begin.

False

Projects rarely involve uncertainty.

False

Questions about how long a project's schedule should be are related to the issue of the project's scope.

False

Some people refer to the "double constraint" of project management to include quality and customer satisfaction.

False

Stakeholders' needs and expectations are only important in the beginning of a project.

False

There are six core knowledge areas of project management.

False

Today's project managers still draw Gantt charts by hand.

False

A(n) ____________________ chart is a standard format for displaying project schedule information.

Gantt

____________________ tools are generally licensed on a per-user basis.

High-end

____ tools, sometimes referred to as enterprise project management software, provide robust capabilities to handle very large projects. a. Low-end c. High-end b. Midrange d. Inexpensive

High-end COMPLETION

Because there are so many people working on projects in various industries, PMI has created Specific ____________________ (SIGs) that enable members to share ideas about project management in their particular application areas, such as information systems.

Interest Groups

____ tools are often recommended for small projects and single users. a. Low-end c. High-end b. Midrange d. Expensive

Low-end

A PMO, or Project ____ Office, is an organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization. a. Management c. Municipal b. Money d. Marketing

Management

Most people agree that the modern concept of project management began with the ____. a. Great Wall of China c. Egyptian pyramids b. first space shuttle d. Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

____________________ is still the most widely used project management software today in the midrange tools category.

Microsoft Project

____________________ tools, a step up from low-end tools, are designed to handle larger projects, multiple users, and multiple projects.

Midrange

The ____________________, an international professional society for project managers founded in 1969, has continued to attract and retain members, reporting 277,221 members worldwide by August 31, 2008.

PMI - Project Management Institute - Project Management Institute (PMI)

Just as passing the CPA exam is a standard for accountants, passing the ____ exam is becoming a standard for project managers. a. PMI c. PMP b. PM d. PMO

PMP

PMI provides certification as a Project Management ____ (PMP), someone who has documented sufficient project experience and education, agreed to follow the PMI code of professional conduct, and demonstrated knowledge of the field of project management by passing a comprehensive examination. a. Producer c. Professional b. Practitioner d. Professor

Professional

____________________ is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements."

Project management

____________________ refers to the process in which organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success.

Project portfolio management - Portfolio management

____________________ include people, hardware, software, or other assets.

Resources

____________________ skills include effective communication, influencing the organization to get things done, leadership, motivation, negotiation, conflict management, and problem solving.

Soft

____ are the people involved in or affected by project activities and include the project sponsor, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and even opponents of the project.

Stakeholders

A key finding of a 2004 study is that relationship management is viewed as a top success factor for information systems in China, while it is not mentioned in U.S. studies.

True

A program is "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually."

True

Because projects involve uncertainty and limited resources, projects rarely finish according to discrete scope, time, and cost goals as originally planned.

True

Managing the triple constraint involves making trade-offs between scope, time, and cost goals for a project.

True

Many people still use basic productivity software, such as Microsoft Word or Excel, to perform many project management functions.

True

New software makes basic tools, such as Gantt charts and network diagrams, inexpensive, easy to create, and available for anyone to update.

True

One attribute that helps define a project is that a project has a unique purpose.

True

Project managers must be able to make effective use of technology as it relates to the specific project.

True

Project managers often take on the role of both leader and manager.

True

Project managers should possess general management knowledge and skills.

True

The 2006 Standish Group survey showed that IT project success rates had risen from 16 percent in 1994 to 35 percent in 2006.

True

The job description for a project manager can vary by industry and by organization.

True

Until the 1980s, project management primarily focused on providing schedule and resource data to top management in the military, computer, and construction industries.

True

Winners in project delivery know that strong program managers—referred to as project leaders—are crucial to project success.

True

A Gantt chart is a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a ____ format. a. pie chart c. bar graph b. line graph d. calendar

calendar

Project ____ management involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information. a. risk c. communications b. procurement d. resource

communications

The question, "What is the project's budget?" is related to the project's ____________________.

cost

The longest path through a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of a project is called the ____ path. a. essential c. critical b. important d. vital

critical

Because a project requires resources, often from various areas, many projects cross ____ or other boundaries to achieve their unique purposes.

departmental

Project ____ management is concerned with making effective use of the people involved with the project. a. human resource c. communications b. risk d. procurement

human resource

Project ____ management is an overarching function that affects and is affected by all of the other knowledge areas. a. cost c. integration b. quality d. time

integration

Project management ____________________ describe the key competencies that project managers must develop.

knowledge areas

A(n) ____ focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives, while inspiring people to reach those goals. a. assistant c. leader b. programmer d. manager

leader

Some people say that, "Managers do things right, and ____________________ do the right things."

leaders

Many organizations assert that using project management provides advantages, such as ____.

lower costs

A(n) ____ often deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals. a. manager c. programmer b. leader d. analyst

manager

Some people say that ____ achieve the vision of a project. a. leaders c. stakeholders b. managers d. supervisors

managers

Companies that excel in project delivery use performance ____________________ to quantify progress.

metrics

In the example of the project of building a house, the project sponsors would be the potential ____. a. contractors c. managers b. support staff d. new homeowners

new homeowners

The term "____________________" refers to work done in organizations to sustain the business.

operations

Many organizations are now using enterprise or project ____ management software to help manage projects. a. path c. institute b. portfolio d. office

portfolio

A(n) ____________________ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

project

A ____ can have many different job descriptions, which can vary tremendously based on the organization and the project. a. project supervisor c. job coordinator b. project manager d. project coordinator

project manager

In the example of the project of building a house, the ____ would normally be the general contractor responsible for building the house. a. project sponsors c. project manager b. project team d. support staff

project manager

The ____________________ of project management includes quality along with scope, time, and cost.

quadruple constraint

Project ____ management ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken. a. cost c. scope b. time d. quality

quality

Project ____ management involves defining and managing all the work required to complete the project successfully. a. scope c. time b. quality d. cost

scope

The question, "What unique product or service does the customer or sponsor expect from the project?" is related to the ____________________ of the project.

scope

What works on one project may not work on another, so it is essential for project managers to continue to develop their knowledge and ____ in managing projects. a. time c. funding b. resources d. skills

skills

One reason project managers need good ____________________ skills is that to understand, navigate, and meet stakeholders' needs and expectations, they need to lead, communicate, negotiate, solve problems, and influence the organization at large.

soft

Achieving high performance on projects requires ____, otherwise called human relations skills. a. capital skills c. light skills b. soft skills d. hard skills

soft skills

As computer hardware became smaller and more affordable and ____________________ included graphical and easy to use interfaces, project management software became less expensive and more widely used.

software

The project ____ usually provides the direction and funding for the project.

sponsor

Project management tools and ____________________ assist project managers and their teams in carrying out work in all nine knowledge areas.

techniques

During the Cold War years of the 1950s and '60s, ____ continued to be key in refining several project management techniques. a. NASA c. steel manufacturing b. the military d. marine biology

the military

In an interview with two chief information officers (CIOs), both men agreed that the most important project management skills seem to depend on ____. a. the difficulty of the project and the resources involved b. the difficulty of the task and the people involved c. the uniqueness of the project and the difficulty of the task d. the uniqueness of the project and the people involved

the uniqueness of the project and the people involved

Gantt charts, project network diagrams, critical path analysis, crashing, fast tracking, and schedule performance measurements are examples of tools and techniques for ____________________.

time management

The limitations of scope, time, and cost goals are sometimes referred to as the ____.

triple constraint