5-7 combo PM
Lower cost of capital
Which of the following is not a potential advantage of using good project management? a. Shorter development times b. Higher worker morale c. Lower cost of capital d. Higher profit margins
Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis.
Which of the following is not a suggestion for improving user input?
Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis
Which of the following is not a suggestion for improving user input? a. Develop a good project selection process for information technology projects b. Have users on the project team c. Co-locate users with developers d. Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis
Project management
_____ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. a. Project management b. Program management c. Project portfolio management d. Requirements management
Monitoring and controlling
______ involves measuring progress toward project objectives and taking corrective actions. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
Executing
______ processes include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or phase. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
Configuration management
_________ ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete. a. Configuration management b. Integrated change control c. Integration management d. A change control board
Critical chain scheduling
___________ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. Parkinson's Law b. Murphy's Law c. Critical path analysis d. Critical chain scheduling
PERT
___________ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Critical path method d. Crashing
Scope
________________ refer(s) to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them. a. Deliverables b. Milestones c. Scope d. Product development
Acceptance decisions
____determine(s) if the products or services produced as part of the project will be accepted or rejected.
Tracking Gantt chart
a Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information.
requirement
a condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system, product, service, result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formal document.
work breakdown structure (WBS)
a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project.
WBS dictionary
a document that describes detailed information about each WBS item.
stakeholder register
a document that includes details related to the identified project stakeholders
dummy activities
activities with no duration and no resources used to show a logical relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project network diagrams.
Outputs of estimating costs
activity cost estimates basis of estimates project document updates
feeding buffers
additional time added before tasks on the critical path that are preceded by non-critical-path tasks.
project buffer
additional time added before the project's due date.
buffer
additional time to complete a task, added to an estimate to account for various factors.
scope
all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them.
activity
an element of work, normally found on the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements; also called a task.
task
an element of work, normally found on the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements; also called an activity.
three-point estimate
an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate.
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
an iterative software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members
Which type of estimate is done very early in a project or even before a project is officially started?
rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate
Which of the following is the ratio of earned value to planned value and can be used to estimate the projected time to complete the project?
schedule performance index (SPI)
Which of the following is the earned value minus the planned value?
schedule variance (SV)
discretionary dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks defined by the project team and used with care since they may limit later scheduling options.
mandatory dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of the work being done on the project.
external dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationships between project and non-project activities.
decomposition
subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces.
Avoid ________ when deciding what project to invest in or continue.
sunk costs
duration
the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time.
slack
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float.
float
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called slack.
free slack (free float)
the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities.
total slack (total float)
the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date.
schedule baseline
the approved planned schedule for the project.
scope baseline
the approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary.
variance
the difference between planned and actual performance.
early finish date
the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic.
early start date
the earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic.
late finish date
the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date.
effort
the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task.
baseline dates
the planned schedule dates for activities in a Tracking Gantt chart.
project scope management
the processes involved in defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project.
project time management
the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project.
project management process groups
the progression of project activities from initiation to planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing
relationship
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a dependency.
dependency
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a relationship.
critical path
the series of activities in a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project; it is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float.
node
the starting and ending point of an activity on an activity-on-arrow diagram.
scope creep
the tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger.
What is the main goal of project cost management?
to complete a project within an approved budget.
Which type of estimate uses the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project?
top-down estimate
Which of the following is not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems? Use off-the-shelf hardware/software Keep the scope realistic Follow good project management processes Don't involve users
Don't involve users
program
Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be managed as part of a _____. a. portfolio b. program c. investment d. collaborative
Duration Compression Forms
Shortening the project schedule to accomplish all the activities sooner than estimated. ; Crashing and Fast tracking
d. 3.4
Six Sigma's target for perfection is the achievement of no more than ___ defects, errors, or mistakes per million opportunities. a. 9 b. 1 c. 6 d. 3.4
3.4
Six Sigma's target for perfection is the achievement of no more than ____ defects, errors, or mistakes per million opportunities
Fast Tracking
Starting two tasks at the same time that were previously scheduled to start sequentially. Fast tracking can increase project risk and might cause the project team to have to rework tasks
decomposition
Subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces
Project Mean (Statistical Term)
Sum of the means of the individual tasks.
Project Variance (Statistical Term)
Sum of the variances of the individual tasks.
Hammock
Summary activities used in a high-level project network diagram.
systems thinking
Taking a holistic view of an organization to effectively handle complex situations.
Function points
Technology-independent assessments of the functions involved in developing a system.
quality control
The ____ process is often associated with the technical tools and techniques of quality management, such as Pareto charts, quality control charts, and statistical sampling
seven run rule
The ____ states that if seven data points in a row are all below the mean, above the mean, or are all increasing or decreasing, then the process needs to be examined for non-random problems.
customer
The ____ ultimately decides if quality is acceptable
Overrun
The additional percentage or dollar amount by which actual costs exceed estimates.
payback period
The amount of time it will take to recoup, in the form of net cash inflows, the total dollars invested in a project.
Float
The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the end of the project and can be calculated using a Forward Pass (to determine early start and early finish dates of activities. It is calculated as the difference bewteen late finish date and early finish date. Also referred to as slack.
Total Slack
The amount of time you can delay the start of a task without delaying the ending of the project
Free Slack
The amount of time you can delay the start of a task without delaying the start of a successor task.
baseline
The approved project management plan plus approved changes.
scope baseline
The approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary
Backward Pass
The calculation of late finish dates and late start dates for the uncompleted portions of all schedule activities. Determined by working backwards through the schedule network logic from the project's end date.
Forward Pass
The calculation of the early start and early finish dates for the uncompleted portions of all network activities.
b. Activity on node and activity on arrow
What are the two common network diagramming methods? a. PERT and CPM b. Activity on node and activity on arrow c. PERT and CERT d. Activity on node and PDM
1. Schedule Variance (SV) 2. Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
What are the two types of performance reviews used in the Control Schedule Process?
Category assigned that have a specific number of features assigned
What does "Grade" mean in quality management plan
Degree to which characteristics meet requirements
What does "Quality" mean in quality management plan
d. Improvement
What does the term kaizen mean? a. Minimize waste b. Do it right the first time c. Maximize value d. Improvement
The size of the cluster of measurements one would expect if the same procedures were repeated many times under the same conditions. A precise process is one where there is a small deviation from the norm
What is Precision
c. A structured procedure to ensure that the methods and standards agreed to are being followed.
What is a quality audit? a. A checklist for performing quality tests. b. The result of inspections. c. A structured procedure to ensure that the methods and standards agreed to are being followed. d. The result of prevention.
The closer a system's measurement is to the accepted value, the more accurate the system is.
What is accurate in Quality Management?
d. Using detail from previous similar projects
What is analogous estimating? a. A subset of the GERT method b. The term means nothing concerning estimating c. The same as bottom-up estimating d. Using detail from previous similar projects
d. Rearranging the schedule so that more activities are done in parallel
What is fast tracking? a. A resource-leveling algorithm b. A Monte Carlo simulation c. Applying more resources to the critical path d. Rearranging the schedule so that more activities are done in parallel
a. A measure of dispersion
What is standard deviation? a. A measure of dispersion b. A measure of central tendency c. The same as the control limit d. A measure of quality
b. How much, total, the project will cost
What is the EAC? a. How much more mosey it will take to finish b. How much, total, the project will cost c. How much has been spent to date d. The same as BAC-PV
Project Management Professional (PMP)
What is the certification program called that the Project Management Institute provides? a. Certified Project Manager (CPM) b. Project Management Professional (PMP) c. Project Management Expert (PME) d. Project Management Mentor (PMM)
b. Parallel
What is the definition of doing two or more activities at the same time? a. Serial b. Parallel c. Constraint d. PERT
defining activities
What is the first process in planning a project schedule? a. defining milestones b. defining activities c. estimating activity resources d. sequencing activity sequencing
resource allocation
What is the last step in the four-stage planning process for selecting information technology projects? a. information technology strategy planning b. business area analysis c. mind mapping d. resource allocation
Joint Application Design (JAD)
using highly organized and intensive workshops to bring together project stakeholders—the sponsor, users, business analysts, programmers, and so on—to jointly define and design information systems.
multitasking
when a resource works on more than one task at a time.
burst
when a single node is followed by two or more activities on a network diagram.
merge
when two or more nodes precede a single node on a network diagram.
Outputs of controlling costs
work performance measurements budget forecasts organizational process asset updates change requests project management plan updates project document updates
Cost variance formula
CV = EV - AC
Time-Scale Network Diagram
(Tool) Any project schedule network diagram drawn in such a way that the positioning and length of the schedule activity represents its duration. Essentially, it is a bar chart that includes schedule network logic.
Variance Analysis
(Tool/Technique) A method for resolving the total variance in the set of scope, cost and schedule variables into specific component variances that are associated with defined factors affecting the scope, cost, and schedule variables. *How you are doing as compared to your plan. Helps head off problems before they make your project go over budget.
Predecessor
The schedule activity that must happen first when defining dependencies between activites in a network.
Expected Value
Calculated using three time estimates for activity duration instead of one and then finding the weighted average of the three time estimates
Critical Path Method (CPM)
Calculates the earliest start date, earliest finish date, latest start date, and latest finish date for each activity
Bottom-Up Estimating
(Tool/Technique) A method of estimating a component of work. The work is decomposed into more detail. An estimate is prepared of what is needed to meet the requirements of each of the lower, more detailed pieces of work, and these estimates are then aggregated into a toal quantity for the component of work. *Breaking down complex activities into pieces, and working out the resource assignments fo reach of those simpler pieces using the other fout tools and techniques.
Template
(Tool/Technique) A partially complete document in a predefined format that provides a defined structure for collecting, organizing, and presenting information and data.
project scope statement
A document that includes at least a description of the project, including its overall objectives and justification, detailed descriptions of all project deliverables, and the characteristics and requirements of products and services produced as part of the project
Resource Leveling
(Tool/Technique) A schedule network analysis techique that is performed after the critical path has been determined to address specific delivery dates and take into account resource availability or to keep resource usage at a constant level during specified time periods of the project. The resulting schedule often has an altered critical path and could result in the project taking longer to complete.
WBS dictionary
A document that includes detailed information about each WBS item
project management plan
A document used to coordinate all project planning documents and guide project execution and control.
change control board (CCB)
A formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project.
systems development life cycle (SDLC)
A framework for describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining information systems.
virtual team
A group of individuals who work across time and space using communication technologies.
executive steering committee
A group of senior executives from various parts of the organization who regularly review important corporate projects and issues.
systems approach
A holistic and analytical approach to solving complex problems that includes using a systems philosophy, systems analysis, and systems management.
Source Lines of Code (SLOC)
A human-written line of code that is not a blank line or comment.
It contains the acceptance criteria for project deliverables and sometimes includes the quality attributes.
Why is the Scope Statement important to Plan Quality Management
Critical Chain Method
(Tool/Technique) A schedule network analysis technique that modifies the project schedule to account for limited resources. In this method, resource dependencies are used to determine the critical path. Then, buffers are added working backwards from delivery data into the schedule at strategic points, and the project is managed so that each milestone is hit on time.
discretionary
3. As the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this? a. technical b. mandatory c. discretionary d. external
a cost baseline
3. Which of the following is not an output of the project cost management process called estimating costs, according to the PMBOK® Guide? a. activity cost estimates b. a cost baseline c. basis of estimates d. project documents updates
Assists with reading the WBS and defining technical information for WBS elements
Why is the WBS dictionary important to Plan Quality Management
5 percent
4. If a company loses $5 for every $100 in revenue for a certain product, what is the profit margin for that product? a. 5 percent b. 5 percent c. $5 d. $5
Crosby
____ wrote Quality Is Free in 1979 and is best known for suggesting that organizations strive for zero defects.
finish-to-start
4. You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent? a. finish-to-start b. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish d. start-to-finish
Finish-to-Finish Relationship (FF)
A logical relationship in which the predecessor must finish before the successor can finish. *When you need to coordinate activities so they finish at the same time.
predictive life cycle
A software development approach used when the scope of the project can be clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be accurately predicted.
Duration and effort are synonymous terms.
5. Which of the following statements is false? a. A resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type. b. Duration and effort are synonymous terms. c. A three-point estimate includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. d. A Gantt chart is a common tool for displaying project schedule information.
Management
5. _________________ reserves allow for future situations that are unpredictable. a. Contingency b. Financial c. Management d. Baseline
a white diamond
6. What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone? a. a black arrow b. a white arrow c. a black diamond d. a white diamond
parametric
6. You are preparing a cost estimate for a building based on its location, purpose, number of square feet, and other characteristics. What cost-estimating technique are you using? a. parametric b. analogous c. bottom-up d. top-down
Work will finish within plus or minus one standard deviation
68.26%
a Tracking Gantt chart
7. What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information? a. a network diagram b. a Gantt chart c. a Tracking Gantt chart d. a milestone chart
Project cost budgeting
7. _________________ involves allocating the project cost estimate to individual material resources or work items over time. a. Reserve analysis b. Life cycle costing c. Project cost budgeting d. Earned value analysis
ISO 9000
____, a quality system standard developed by the ISO, is a three-part, continuous cycle of planning, controlling, and documenting quality in an organization
Earned value management
8. __________________ is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data. a. Reserve analysis b. Life cycle costing c. Project cost budgeting d. Earned value management
Critical path method
8. is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Critical path method d. Crashing
The cost variance is $500, which is under budget.
9. If the actual cost for a WBS item is $1,500 and its earned value is $2,000, what is its cost variance, and is it under or over budget? a. The cost variance is $500, which is over budget. b. The cost variance is $500, which is under budget. c. The cost variance is $500, which is over budget. d. The cost variance is $500, which is under budget.
Fast Tracking
(Technique) A scheduling compression technique where you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence. May increase rework and project risk.
Gantt chart
A standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format; sometimes referred to as bar charts.
Lead
(Technique) The amount of time a successor's start or finish can occur before the prececessor's start or finish. In a finish-to-start example, activity A (the predecessor) must finish before activity B (the successor) can start. *When you let a task get started before it's predecessor is done. Ex. You might want th caterer preparing dessert an hour before everyone is eating dinn.er
requirements traceability matrix (RTM)
A table that lists requirements, their various attributes, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all are addressed
work package
A task at the lowest level of the WBS
Lag
(Technique) The amount of time a successor's start or finish is delayed from the prececessor's start or finish. In a finish-to-start example, activity A (the predecessor) must finish before activity B (the successor) can start. *Making sure that one task waits awhile before it gets started. Ex. When the bride and father dance, everybody wates a while before they join them.
Gantt Chart
(Tool) A bar chart that shows activities against time; although the traditional early charts did not show task dependencies and relationships, modern charts often show dependencies and precendence relationships; these popular charts are useful for understanding proejct schedules and for determining the critical path, time requirements, resource assessments and projected completion dates.
Milestone Chart or Milestone Schedule
(Tool) A bar chart used to identify major milestones in project and the start and finish. Usually set out in the form of a chart. Identifies major sections of a project. Similar to Gantt chart. It consumes NO resources and has NO duration.
Project Time Management
(Knowledge Area) Includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of a project.
Schedule Data
(Output/Input) A collection of information about your schedule. It will include things that you'll need to analyze your schedule later on in the project: alternative schedules, specific requirements for resources, milestone charts, bar charts, project schedule network diagrams, and other data and metrics about your schedule.
Activity List
(Output/Input) A documented tabulation of schedule activites that shows th activity description, activity identifier, and a sufficiently detailed scope of work description so project team members understand what work is to be performed. *List of everything that needs to be done to complete your project. This list is lower-level than the WBS. It's all the activities that must be accomplished to deliver the work packages.
Schedule Baseline
(Output/Input) A specific verion of the schedule model used to compare actual results to the plan to determine if preventative or corrective action is needed to meet the project objectives. Created after schedule is developed.
Milestone List
(Output/Input) All the important checkpoints of your project. These checkpoints could be listed in your contract as requirements of successful completion; some could just be significant points in the project that you want to keep track of.
Project Schedule Network Diagram
(Output/Input) Any schematic display of the logical relationships among or sequencing of project activities. Always drawn from left to right to reflect project work chronology.
Activity Duration Estimates
(Output/Input) Estimates of how long each activity in the activity list will take. The estimate can be in hours, days, or weeks.
Activity Attributes
(Output/Input) Information that provides schedule-related information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity.
Schedule Management Plan
(Output/Input) The document that establishes criteria and the activities for developing and controlling the project schedule. It is contained in, or is a subsidiary plan of, the project management plan.
Formula for Standard Deviation when using PERT
(Pessimistic - Optomistic) / 6
Develop Schedule
(Process) The process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule.
Estimate Activity Durations
(Process) The process of approximating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.
Estimate Activity Resources
(Process) The process of estimating the type and quantities of material, people, equipment or supplies required to perform each activity.
Sequence Activities
(Process) The process of identifying and documenting relationships among the activities.
Define Activities
(Process) The process of identifying the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.
Control Schedule
(Process) The process of monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and managing changes to the schedule baseline.
Crashing
(Technique) A project schedule compression technique used to decrease the project duration with minimum additional cost. A number of alternatives are analyzed, including the assignment of additional resources.
Critical Path Methodology (CPM)
(Tool/Technique) A schedule network analysis technique used to determine the amount of scheduling flexibility (the amount of total float) on varoius logical network paths in the project schedule network, and to determine the minimum total project duration. Early start and finish dates are calculated by means of a forward pass, using a specified start date. Late start and finish dates are calculated by means of a backward pass, starting from a specified completion date, which sometimes is the project early finish date determined during the forward pass calculation.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
(Tool/Technique) A schedule network diagramming technique in which schedule activities are represented by boxes (or nodes). Schedule activities are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show how the sequence in which the activities are to be performed. Also called Activity on Node (AON).
What-If Scenario Analysis
(Tool/Technique) A technique used to assess the feasibility of the project schedule should unexpected events occur. This analysis is useful for preparing contingency and response plans to mitigate the impact of identified risk events and could involve simulations of varoius project durations using different sets of project assumptions. The most common simulation is the Monte Carlo Analysis technique.
Three-Point Estimates
(Tool/Technique) An analytical technique that uses three cost or duration estimates to represent optimistic (O), pessimistic (P) and most likely (ML) scenarios. This technique is applied to improve the accuracy of the estimates of cost or duration when the underlying activity or cost component is uncertain.
Reserve Analysis
(Tool/Technique) An analytical technique to determine the essential features and relationships of components in the project management plan to establish a reserve for the schedule duration, budget, estimated cost, or funds for a project. *Means adding extra time to the schedule (called a contigency reserve or buffer) to account for extra risk.
Parametric Estimating
(Tool/Technique) An estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration. An example used in home construction is cost per square foot. This number remains about the same no matter how big the house. *Means plugging data about your project into a formula, spreadsheet, database, or computer program that comes up with an estimate.
Analogous Estimating
(Tool/Technique) An estimating technique that uses the values of parameters, such as scope, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimating the same parameter or measure for a future activity.Takes less time and costs less than other types of estimates. Also called top-down estimating.
Schedule Compression
(Tool/Technique) Shortening the project schedule duration without reducing the project scope.
Project Management Software
(Tool/Technique) Software that has features designed to help project managers play around with resources and contraints and find the best combination of assignments for the project.
Published Estimating Data
(Tool/Technique) Something that project managers in a lot of industries use to help them figure out how many resources they need. They rely on articles, books, journals, and periodicals that collect, analyze, and publish data from other people's projects.
Decomposition
(Tool/Technique) Taking the work packages defined in the scope management process and breaking them down even further into activites that can be estimated.
Schedule Network Analysis
(Tool/Technique) The technique of identifying early and late start dates, as well as early and late finish dates, for the uncompleted portions of project schedule activities.
return on investment (ROI)
(benefits minus costs) divided by costs.
Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
9. Which of the following statements is false? a. Growing grass was on the critical path for a large theme park project. b. The critical path is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a project can be completed. c. A forward pass through a project network diagram determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity. d. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Work will finish within plus or minus two standard deviations
95.44%
Work will finish within plus or minus three standard deviations
99.73%
If a company loses $5 for every $100 in revenue for a certain product, what is the profit margin for that product?
-5%
Tom DiMarco's 4 reasons for project cost estimate inaccuracies.
1 - Estimates often are done too quickly before clear system requirements have been produced. 2 - The person doing the estimating often has a lack of estimating experience. 3 - People have a tendency to underestimate. An experienced person may estimate based on how he/she would do the task, but the task may be performed by an inexperienced worker. 4 - Management desires accuracy. They are not looking for ballpark figures and often that is what they are given.
3 Project Management Processes
1 - Estimating the cost 2 - Determining the budget 3 - Controlling costs
Earned value management involves calculating which three values for each activity or summary activity from a project's WBS?
1 - Planned Value 2 - Actual Cost 3 - Earned Value
Five levels of project portfolio management from simplest to most complex
1 - Put all your projects in one database 2 - Prioritize the projects in your database 3 - Divide your projects into two or three budgets based on type of investment, such as utilities or required systems to keep things running, incremental upgrades, and strategic investments. 4 - Automate the repository 5 - Apply modern portfolio theory, including risk-return tools that map project risk on a curve.
3 basic types of estimates
1 - Rough order of magnitude (ROM) 2 - Budgetary estimate 3 - Definitive estimate
cost
1. Accountants usually define _________________ as a resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something given up in exchange. a. money b. liability c. trade d. cost
planning schedule management
1. Which of the following processes involves determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule? a. planning schedule management b. defining activities c. estimating activity resources d. activity sequencing
It is ahead of schedule and over budget.
10. If a project is halfway completed, its schedule performance index is 110 percent, and its cost performance index is 95 percent, how is it progressing? a. It is ahead of schedule and under budget. b. It is ahead of schedule and over budget. c. It is behind schedule and under budget. d. It is behind schedule and over budget.
Critical chain scheduling
10. is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. Parkinson's Law b. Murphy's Law c. Critical path analysis d. Critical chain scheduling
activity attributes
2. Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of . a. items in an activity list b. items on a Gantt chart c. milestone attributes d. activity attributes
to complete a project within an approved budget
2. What is the main goal of project cost management? a. to complete a project for as little cost as possible b. to complete a project within an approved budget c. to provide truthful and accurate cost information on projects d. to ensure that an organization's money is used wisely
c. You are getting less than you planned for each dollar spent
A CPI of less than 1 means ______. a. You are ahead of schedule b. You are behind schedule c. You are getting less than you planned for each dollar spent d. You are getting more than you planned for each dollar spent
b. Shows activities on a bar chart
A Gantt chart _____. a. Shows only milestones b. Shows activities on a bar chart c. It is the same as a AOA network diagram d. Is a method of presentation used in PERT scheduling
b. Quality control
A Pareto diagram is a method of _____. a. Quality assessment b. Quality control c. Quality assurance d. Quality planning
normal distribution
A ____ is a bell-shaped curve that is symmetrical regarding the average value of the population (the data being analyzed).
WBS
A ____ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines its total scope.
control chart
A ____ is a graphic display of data that illustrates the results of a process over time.
project
A _____ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. a. program b. process c. project d. portfolio
deliverable
A ______ is a product or service, such as a technical report, a training session, or hardware, produced or provided as part of a project. a. deliverable b. product c. work package d. tangible goal
process
A ______ is a series of actions directed toward a particular result. a. goal b. process c. plan d. project
WBS
A ___________ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. a. scope statement b. WBS c. WBS dictionary d. work package
project charter
A ____________ is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management. a. project charter b. contract c. business case d. project management plan
95
A certainty factor of 1.960 is used for ____ percent desired certainty
project life cycle
A collection of project phases, such as concept, development, implementation, and close-out.
Crashing
A compression technique that looks at cost and schedule trade-offs. One of the things you might do to crash the schedule is add resources, from either inside or outside the organization, to the critical path tasks
requirement
A condition or capability that must be met by the project or that must be present in the product, service, or resutl to satisfy an agreement or other formally imposed specification
a. Fixed cost
A cost category that does not change when units of production vary is called _____. a. Fixed cost b. Direct cost c. Indirect cost d. Variable cost
Rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate
A cost estimate prepared very early in the life of a project to provide a rough idea of what a project will cost.
Definitive estimate
A cost estimate that provides an accurate estimate of project costs.
Budgetary estimate
A cost estimate used to allocate money into an organization's budget.
Bottom-up estimate
A cost-estimating technique based on estimating individual work items and summing them to get a project total.
Parametric modeling
A cost-estimating technique that uses project characteristics (parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate project costs.
Analogous estimate
A cost-estimating technique that uses the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project; also called top-down estimate.
Be able to define a critical path task.
A critical path task is a project activity with zero float.
work breakdown structure (WBS)
A deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines its total scope
Cost management plan
A document that describes how cost variances will be managed on the project.
project charter
A document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management.
Finish-to-Start Relationship (FS)
A logical relationship in which the predecessor must finish before the successor can start. This is the most common relationship and the default for most software packages. *One task must be completed before the other can start. The first activity's finish leads into the second activity's start.
Start-to-Finish Relationship (SF)
A logical relationship in which the predecessor must start before the successor can finish. (This is the least used and some software packages do not even allow it.)
Start-to-Start Relationship (SS)
A logical relationship in which the successor can start as soon as the predecessor starts. *When you need to coordinate activities so they begin at the same time.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
A measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is the ratio of earned value (EV) to planned value (PV). *Use when you want to know whether you are ahead or behind schedule. If less than one, then you're behind schedule because the amount you've actually worked (EV) is less than what you'd planned (PV).
Schedule Variance (SV)
A measure of schedule performance on a project. It is the difference between the earned value (EV) and the planned value (PV). *Use when you want to know how much ahead of or behind schedule you are.
Cash flow analysis
A method for determining the estimated annual costs and benefits for a project.
agile software development
A method for software development that uses new approaches, focusing on close collaboration between programming teams and business experts.
net present value (NPV) analysis
A method of calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time.
balanced scorecard
A methodology that converts an organization's value drivers to a series of defined metrics.
discount factor
A multiplier for each year based on the discount rate and year.
directive
A new government law requires an organization to report data in a new way. Under which category would a new information system project to provide this data fall? a. problem b. opportunity c. directive d. regulation
COCOMO II
A newer, computerized cost-estimating tool based on Barry Boehm's original model that allows one to estimate the cost, effort, and schedule when planning a new software development activity.
Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO)
A parametric model developed by Barry Boehm for estimating software development costs.
requirements management plan
A plan that describes how project requirements will by analyzed, documented, and managed
systems analysis
A problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of the system to be studied, and then dividing it into its component parts for identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs.
use case modeling
A process for identifying and modeling business events, who initiated them, and how the system should respond to them
configuration management
A process that ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete.
deliverable
A product or service, such as a technical report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code, produced or provided as part of a project.
deliverable
A product, such as a report or segment of software code, produced as part of a project
Beta/PERT (Weighted Three-Point Estimate)
A program evaluation and review technique (PERT) used the three estimated durations of three-point estimating but weight the most likely estimate by a factor of four. This weight average places more emphasis on the most likely outcome in calculating the duration of an activity. Therefor, it produces a curve that is skewed to one side when possible durations are plotted against their probability of occurrence.
Earned value management (EVM)
A project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data.
champion
A senior manager who acts as a key proponent for a project.
organizational culture
A set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.
Activity Identifier
A short unique numeric or text identification assigned to each schedule activity to differentiate that project activity from other activities. Typically unique within any one project schedule network diagram.
Milestone
A significant point or event in the project.
Monte Carlo Analysis
A simulation technique that shows the probability of all the possible project completion dates.
adaptive software development (ASD)
A software development approach used when requirements cannot be clearly expressed early in the life cycle.
Monte Carlo Analysis
A technique that computes or iterates, the project cost or project schedule many times using input values selected at random from probability distributions of possible costs or durations, to calculate a distribution of possible total project cost or completion data.
weighted scoring model
A technique that provides a systematic process for basing project selection on numerous criteria.
mind mapping
A technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas.
Triangular Distribution (Three-Point Estimating)
A technique to reflect risk in the estimates that are provided for both time and cost. Takes the average of three estimated durations - the optimistic value, the most likely value and the pessimistic value. By using the average of three values rather than a single estimate, a more accurate duration estimate for the activity is obtained.
Earned Value (EV) or Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP)
A technique where you figure out how much of your project's value has been delivered to the customer so far. You can do this by comparing the value of what your schedule says you should have delivered against the value of what you actually delivered. It's about how much work you have been able to accomplish with the money you have been given.
Learning curve theory
A theory that states that when many items are produced repetitively, the unit cost of those items normally decreases in a regular pattern as more units are produced.
Cost baseline
A time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.
planning
A work breakdown structure, project schedule, and cost estimates are outputs of the ______ process. a. initiating b. planning c. executing d. monitoring and controlling e. closing
defect
A(n) ____ is any instance where the product or service fails to meet customer requirements.
unit test
A(n) ____ is done to test each individual component (often a program) to ensure that it is as defect-free as possible.
d. Cost
Accountants usually define ____ as a resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something given up in exchange. a. Trade b. Liability c. Money d. Cost
d. All of the above
Activity duration is done after _____. a. The WBS is done b. Activity sequencing c. Before scheduling development d. All of the above
political frame
Addresses organizational and personal politics.
IT governance
Addresses the authority and control for key IT activities in organizations,including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project management.
systems management
Addressing the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and making changes to a system.
scope
All the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them
Cost budgeting
Allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items to establish a baseline for measuring performance.
Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
Allows for conditional branching and looping, and probabilistic treatment
d. None of the above
An SV of 1.1 means ______. a. You are on schedule but overspent b. You are behind schedule and overspent c. You are ahead of schedule and overspent d. None of the above
Schedule Activity
An element of work performed during the course of a project. It is a smaller unit of work than a work package and the result of decomposition in the Define Activities process of project time management. Activities can be further subdivided into tasks.
Estimate at completion (EAC)
An estimate of what it will cost to complete the project based on performance to date.
c. Order of magnitude
An estimate that has a large margin of error and is usually used to test the initial viability of a project is _____. a. Definitive b. Conceptual c. Order of magnitude d. Preliminary
analyze
An important tool used in the ____ phase of the DMAIC process is the fishbone or Ishikawa diagram.
Project Management Information System (PMIS)
An information system that stores all the information related to your project; could be a software product or a combination of software and a manual system
matrix organizational structure
An organizational structure in which employees are assigned to both functional and project managers.
functional organizational structure
An organizational structure that groups people by functional areas such as information technology, manufacturing, engineering, and human resources.
project organizational structure
An organizational structure that groups people by major projects, such as specific aircraft programs.
systems philosophy
An overall model for thinking about things as systems.
SWOT analysis
Analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats; used to aid in strategic planning.
kill
Another name for a phase exit is a _____ point. a. review b. stage c. meeting d. kill
discretionary
As the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this? a. technical b. mandatory c. discretionary d. external
25%
Approximately what percentage of the world's gross domestic product is spent on projects? a. 10% b. 25% c. 50% d. 75%
A__________________ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defined the total scope of the project A. WBS B. scope statement C. WBS dictionary D. work package
Answer: A
Which of the following is not a suggestion for improving user input? A. Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis B. Have users on the project team C. Co-locate users with developers D. Develop a good project selection process for IT projects
Answer: A
Assume you have a project with major categories called planning, analysis, design, and testing. What level of the WBS would these items fall under? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
Answer: B
Project management software helps you develop a __________, which serves as basis for creating Gantt charts, assigning resources, and allocating costs. A. project plan B. WBS C. schedule D. deliverables and WBS Dictionary
Answer: B
The project scope statement, __________, and organizational process assets are primary inputs for creating a WBS. A. Project management plan B. Requirements documents C. Stakeholder register D. Requirements traceability
Answer: B
What approach to developing a WBS involves writing down or drawing ideas in a nonlinear format? A. top-down B. mind mapping C. bottom-up D. Analogy
Answer: B
What major restaurant chain terminated a large project after spending $170 millions on it, primarily because they realized the project scope was too much to handle? A. Burger King B. McDonald's C. Taco Bell D. Pizza Hut
Answer: B
Which of the following is not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems on information technology project? A. Keep the realistic scope B. Don't involve too many users in scope management C. Follow good project management processes D. Use off-the-shelf hardware and software whenever possible
Answer: B
________________ refer(s) to all the project work involved in creating the products of the project and processes used to create them. A. Deliverables B. Scope C. Milestones D. Product development
Answer: B
Which tool or technique for collecting requirements is often the most expensive and time consuming? A. surveys B. focus group C. interview D. observation
Answer: C
Scope________ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables. A. validation B. completion C. close-out D. verification
Answer: D
Which of the following items is not a primary output of Create WBS process? A. WBS B. WBS Dictionary C. Project documents updates D. Project Charter
Answer: D
Which of the following items is not a primary input for Scope Verification process? A. PM Plan B. Requirements document C. Validated deliverables D. Requirement traceability matrix E. Project reports
Answer: E
c. Discretionary
As the project manager of a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this? a. Technical b. Mandatory c. Discretionary d. External
2
Assume that you have a project with major categories called planning, analysis, design, and testing. What level of the WBS would these items fall under?
2
Assume you have a project with major categories called planning, analysis, design, and testing. What level of the WBS would these items fall under? a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3
Resource Leveling
Attempts to smooth out the resource assignments to get tasks completed without overloading the individual while trying to keep the project on schedule; typically extends project end date
cash flow
Benefits minus costs or income minus expenses.
What approach to developing a WBS involves identifying specific tasks and grouping them into broader categories? Mind mapping Top-down Analogy Bottom-up
Bottom-up
Cost performance index (CPI) formula
CPI = EV / AC
Difference between CPM and PERT
CPM uses the most likely duration to determine project duration, while PERT uses what's called expected value (or the weighted average) to determine project duration
d. improve thinking by forcing the team to look into the underlying reasons for events.
Cause-and-effect diagrams, such as Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams, can be used to ______. a. find blame for mistakes. b. run the quality control program. c. project the outcome of events into the future. d. improve thinking by forcing the team to look into the underlying reasons for events.
opportunities
Chances to improve the organization.
Leads and lags
Come in when there are delays between dependent and independent activities
politics
Competition between groups or individuals for power and leadership.
Hard Tools
Computerized tools like Microsoft Project software
Project Calendars
Concern all the resources involved in the project
Life cycle costing
Considers the total cost of ownership, or development plus support costs, for a project.
Cost control
Controlling changes to the project budget.
_______ is a resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something given up in exchange.
Cost
Why do many projects never finish?
Cost management problems cause many problems to never finish.
Computerized tools
Cost-estimating tools that use computer software, such as spreadsheets and project management software.
Intangible costs or benefits
Costs or benefits that are difficult to measure in monetary terms.
Tangible costs or benefits
Costs or benefits that can be easily measured in dollars
Indirect costs
Costs that are not directly related to the products or services of the project, but are indirectly related to performing the project.
Direct costs
Costs that can be directly related to producing the products and services of the project.
d. Add more resources to the critical path
Crashing the schedule will _____. a. Require that the WBS is revised b. Prevent non-critical path activities from becoming critical c. Result in meeting the original end date d. Add more resources to the critical path
bottom-up approach
Creating a WBS by having team members identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible and then grouping them into higher-level categories
top-down approach
Creating a WBS by starting with the largest items of the project and breaking them into subordinate items
analogy approach
Creating a WBS by using a similar project's WBS as a starting point
a. quality planning
Ishikawa diagrams can be used for _____. a. quality planning b. quality control c. quality assessment d. quality assurance
maintain momentum by making annual improvement part of the regular systems and processes of the company
Juran's final step to quality improvement is ____.
Six Sigma methodologies
DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) is used to improve an existing business process and DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, and Verify) is used to create new product or process designs
structural frame
Deals with how the organization is structured (usually depicted in an organizational chart) and focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities to meet the goals and policies set by top management.
________ are used for making many purchasing decisions for which accurate estimates are required and for estimating final project costs.
Definitive estimates
Logical Relationships
Dependency between two project schedule activities or between project schedule activity and schedule milestone.
strategic planning
Determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, studying opportunities and threats in the business environment, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
Developed in the 1950s by the United States Navy. They were working on one of the most complex engineering projects in history at the time, the Polaris Missile Program, and needed a way to manage the project and forecast the project schedule with a high degree of reliability; (Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4 x most likely)) / 6
prototyping
Developing a working replica of the system or some aspect of it to help define user requirements
Cost estimating
Developing an approximation or estimate of the costs of the resources needed to complete the project.
Calendars
Divided into two types: project calendars and resource calendars
Management reserves
Dollars included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that are unpredictable (sometimes called unknown unknowns).
Contingency reserves
Dollars included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that may be partially planned for (sometimes called known unknowns) and are included in the project cost baseline.
Reserves
Dollars included in a cost estimate to mitigate cost risk by allowing for future situations that are difficult to predict.
If a project is halfway completed and its schedule performance index is 110 percent and its cost performance index is 95 percent, how is it progressing?
It is ahead of schedule and over budget.
Estimate at completion (EAC) formula
EAC = BAC / CPI
Earned value formula
EV = PV to date * RP
_____ is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data.
Earned value analysis
Cost Baselines
Expected cost of a project; displayed as an S-curve
c. An activity cannot start until another has finished
Finish-Start means _____. a. An activity cannot start until another has started b. An activity cannot finish until another has finished c. An activity cannot start until another has finished d. An activity cannot finish until another has started
human resources frame
Focuses on producing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people.
symbolic frame
Focuses on the symbols, meanings, and culture of an organization.
scope validation
Formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables
benchmarking
Generating ideas by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products inside or outside the performing organization
c. International Organization for Standardization
ISO stands for ______. a. International Organization for Specification b. International Operation for Specifications c. International Organization for Standardization d. None of the above
five
It took only ____ years for 50 million people to use the Internet compared to 25 years for 50 million people to use telephones
interface management
Identifying and managing the points of interaction between various elements of a project.
integrated change control
Identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle.
d. 0.82
If PV = 5,000, AC = 5,500, EV = 4,500, what is the CPI? a. 500 b. -1000 c. 1.2 d. 0.82
a. 0.9
If PV = 5,000, AC = 5,500, EV = 4,500, what is the SPI? a. 0.9 b. 1.1 c. 1000 d. -500
Why is it important to define clearly the year on which the company bases its dollar amounts?
If a company bases all costs on a previous years estimates it would need to account for inflation and other factors when projecting costs and benefits in future-year dollars.
a. -5%
If a company loses $5 for every $100 in revenue for a certain product, what is the profit margin for that product? a. -5% b. 5% c. -$5 d. $5
b. It is ahead of schedule and over budget.
If a project is halfway completed, its schedule performance index is 110%, and its cost performance index is 95%, how is it progressing? a. It is ahead of schedule and under budget. b. It is ahead of schedule and over budget. c. It is behind schedule and under budget. d. It is behind schedule and over budget.
20 percent
If estimates for total discounted benefits for a project are $120,000 and total discounted costs are $100,000, what is the estimated return on investment (ROI)? a. $20,000 b. $120,000 c. 20 percent d. 120 percent
a. The cost variance is $500, which is under budget.
If the actual cost for a WBS item is $1,500 and its earned value is $2,000, what is the cost variance, and is it under or over budget? a. The cost variance is $500, which is under budget. b. The cost variance is -$500, which is over budget. c. The cot variance is -$500, which is under budget. d. The cost variance is $500, which is over budget.
d. Find the cause because this means that the process is out of control.
If there are seven data points either above or below the mean, but still within the control limits, what should you do? a. Reject the product. b. Reinspect the product. c. Ignore it and continue to measure the process. d. Find the cause because this means that the process is out of control.
Why is cash flow important?
If top management selects too many projects that have high cash flow needs in the same year, the company will not be able to support all of its projects and maintain profitability.
define
Important tools used in the ____ phase of the DMAIC process include a project charter, a description of customer requirements, process maps, and Voice of the Customer (VOC) data.
99.7
In any normal distribution, ____ percent of the population is within three standard deviations of the mean.
Early Finish Date (EF)
In the critical path method, the earliest possible point if time on which the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity (or the project) can finish, based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.
Early Start Date (ES)
In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time on which the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity (or the project) can start, based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and and any schedule constraints.
Late Finish Date (LF)
In the critical path method, the latest possible point if time that a schedule activity may be completed based upon the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any constraints assigned to the schedule activities without violating a schedule constraint or delaying the project completion date. Calculated during the backward pass calculation of the project schedule network.
Late Start Date (LS)
In the critical path method, the latest possible point if time that a schedule activity may begin based upon the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any constraints assigned to the schedule activities without violating a schedule constraint or delaying the project completion date. Calculated during the backward pass calculation of the project schedule network.
Mathematical Analysis
Includes three commonly known techniques: Critical Path Method (CPM), Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT), and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
integration
Initiating involves developing a project charter, which is part of the project ______ management knowledge area. a. integration b. scope c. communications d. risk
________ for projects often include items like goodwill, prestige, and general statements of improved productivity that an organization cannot easily translate into dollar amounts.
Intangible costs
c. A sophisticated project justification method
Internal rate of return is _____. a. An estimating method b. A basic project justification method c. A sophisticated project justification method d. Part of earned value analysis
Which tool or technique for collecting requirements is often the most expensive and time consuming? Focus groups Observation Surveys Interviews
Interviews
c. Accelerations and pauses used to tie activities together in a logical sequence
Leads and Lags are _____. a. A form of precedence diagramming b. Only used in start-start relationships c. Accelerations and pauses used to tie activities together in a logical sequence d. Never used in finish-finish relationships
Resource Calendars
Look at particular resources or groups of resources and their availability
______ reserves allow for future situations that are unpredictable.
Management
phase exit
Management review that should occur after each project phase to determine if projects should be continued, redirected, or terminated; also called a kill point.
kill point
Management review that should occur after each project phase to determine if projects should be continued, redirected, or terminated; also called a phase exit.
templates
Many people use ______ to have a standard format for preparing various project management documents. a. methodologies b. templates c. project management software d. standards
Milestones
Mark the completion of major deliverables or some other key event in the project
What approach to developing a WBS involves writing down or drawing ideas in a nonlinear fashion? Bottom-up Top-down Analogy Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping
Sunk cost
Money that has been spent in the past.
directives
New requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence.
Critical Path (CP)
On any project this is the longest full path. Any project activity with a float time that equals zero is considered a critical path task
Deming's
One of ____ 14 Points for Management states that an organization should cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality.
Juran's
One of ____ ten steps states that an organization should build awareness of the need and opportunity for improvement
Which of the following is not a suggestion for improving user input? Co-locate users with developers Deliver something on a regular basis Have users on the project team Only have meetings as needed
Only have meetings as needed
Estimated time to complete formula
Original time estimate / SPI
offshoring
Outsourcing from another country.
b. It is not the most commonly used method
PERT is the most commonly used scheduling method because ______. a. It is the only one that can find a critical path b. It is not the most commonly used method c. The U.S. Navy uses it d. It uses loops and condditional branches
d. maturity
PMI's OPM3 is an example of a _____ model or framework for helping organizations improve their processes and systems. a. Six Sigma b. quality c. benchmarking d. maturity
Soft Tools
Paper templates or project meetings
b. 20% of the events create 80% of the problems.
Pareto's law states that ______. a. 80% of the events create 80% of the problems. b. 20% of the events create 80% of the problems. c. 20% of the events cause 20% of the problems. d. Things that can go wrong will go wrong.
matrix
Personnel in a ______ organizational structure often report to two or more bosses. a. functional b. project c. matrix d. hybrid
External Predecessors
Predecessors outside the work you are doing.
Discretionary Predecessor
Predecessors that aren't a necessity, just a matter of preference based on your knowledge of the best practices for getting the job done.
Mandatory Predecessor
Predecessors that have to exist just because of the nature of the work.
b. activity attributes
Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of ___. a. items in an activity list b. activity attributes c. items on a Gantt chart d. milestone attributes
activity attributes
Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of _______ . a. items in an activity list b. items on a Gantt chart c. milestone attributes d. activity attributes
a. keeping the defect from happening.
Prevention means ______. a. keeping the defect from happening. b. keeping the defect from getting to the customer. c. keeping the process always on target, or mean. d. avoiding scope changes.
project integration management
Processes that coordinate all project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life, including developing the project charter, developing the preliminary project scope statement, developing the project management plan, directing and managing the project, monitoring and controlling the project, providing integrated change control, and closing the project.
______ involves allocating the project cost estimate to individual work items over time.
Project cost budgeting
WBS
Project management software helps you develop a _____, which serves as a basis for creating Gantt charts, assigning resources, and allocating costs.
WBS
Project management software helps you develop a ___________, which serves as a basis for creating Gantt charts, assigning resources, and allocating costs. a. project plan b. schedule c. WBS d. deliverable
strategic, tactical
Project portfolio management addresses _____ goals of an organization, while project management addresses _____ goals. a. strategic, tactical b. tactical, strategic c. internal, external d. externa, internal
three
Project quality management involves ____ main processes
control
Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where all of the following characteristics are high except ______. a. member identity b. group emphasis c. risk tolerance d. control
b. conformance to specifications.
Quality is ______. a. conformance to grade. b. conformance to specifications. c. conformance to the customer's desires. d. conformance to the project team's requirements.
Lag
Require the dependent activity to have time added either to the start date or to the finish date of the activity (frequently used)
Lead
Requires time to be subtracted from the start date or the finish date of the dependent activity (not frequently used)
Profits
Revenues minus expenses.
Schedule performance index (SPI) formula
SPI = EV / PV
Schedule variance formula
SV = EV - PV
a. Can be used to find the critical path
Scheduling software _____. a. Can be used to find the critical path b. Is only used for PERT c. Is only used for CPM d. Uses only finish-start relationships because it uses AON notation
________ refer(s) to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them. Scope Product Development Milestones Deliverables
Scope
validation
Scope ____ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables.
verification
Scope ____________ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables. a. verification b. validation c. completion d. close-out
systems
Sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.
Activity Attributes
The characteristics of the activity. These might include a description of where the activity will take place, who will perform the activity, and whether the activity is a summary-level activity—level two or three on the WBS perhaps—or a detailed activity with particular specifications.
If the actual cost for a WBS item is over $1500 and its earned value was $2000, what is its cost variance, and is it under or over budget?
The cost variance is $500, which is under budget
Be able to calculate the critical path.
The critical path is the activities whose durations add up to the longest full path utilizing the forward pass, backward pass, and float calculations.
variance
The difference between planned and actual performance
Schedule Variance (SV)
The difference bewtween what was accomplished and what was scheduled. A negative number means the project is behind schedule. A positive number means the project is ahead of schedule.
internal rate of return (IRR)
The discount rate that results in an NPV of zero for a project.
Cost variance (CV)
The earned value minus the actual cost.
Schedule variance (SV)
The earned value minus the planned value.
project feasibility
The first two phases in a project (concept and development) that focus on planning.
project acquisition
The last two phases in a project (implementation and close-out) that focus on delivering the actual work.
late start date
The latest possible time an activity may begin without delaying the project finish date.
quality planning
The main outputs of ____ are a quality management plan, quality metrics, quality checklists, a process improvement plan, and project document updates.
Standard Deviation (Statistical Term)
The measurement of the variability of the quantity measured, such as time or costs, from the average.
required rate of return
The minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment.
diverse
The nature of information technology projects is different from projects in many other industries because they are very ______. a. expensive b. technical c. diverse d. challenging
Effort
The number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component. Usually expressed as staff hours, staff days, or staff weeks. Contrast with duration. *Total number of person-hours that are expended. *Ex. If it takes 2 people 6 hrs. to carve an ice sculpture for the centerpiece of a wedding, the effort to create is 12 person-hrs.
Baseline
The original project plan plus approved changes.
Budget at completion (BAC)
The original total budget for a project.
Critical Path
The path with the longest duration within the project. It is sometimes defined as the path with the least float (usually zero float). The delay of a tast on the critical path will delay the completion of the project.
Earned value (EV)
The percentage of work actually completed multiplied by the planned cost; formerly called the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP).
Planned value (PV)
The portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be spent on an activity during a given period; formerly called the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS).
project scope management
The processes involved in defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project
Project cost management
The processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget.
opportunity cost of capital
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the capitalization rate or discount rate.
discount rate
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the capitalization rate or opportunity cost of capital.
capitalization rate
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the discount rate or opportunity cost of capital.
Profit margin
The ratio between revenues and profits.
Rate of performance (RP)
The ratio of actual work completed to the percentage of work planned to have been completed at any given time during the life of the project or activity.
Cost performance index (CPI)
The ratio of earned value to actual cost; can be used to estimate the projected cost to complete the project.
Schedule performance index (SPI)
The ratio of earned value to planned value; can be used to estimate the projected time to complete a project.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
The ratio of what was actually completed to what was scheduled to be completed in a given period. Values less than 1.0 mean the project is receiving less than a dolar's worth of work for each dollar we were scheduled to spend. Measures schedule efficiency.
cost of capital
The return available by investing the capital elsewhere.
Successor
The schedule activity that happens second or subsequently to a previous activity when defining dependencies between activites in a network.
Why did McDonald's terminate a large project after spending $170 million on it? The scope was too much to handle The company found a better technology The government requirement that prompted the project was repealed The company decided to outsource the work
The scope was too much to handle
b. Nonrandom
The seven run rule states that if seven data points in a row on a control chart are all below the mean, above the mean, or all increasing or decreasing, then the process needs to be examined for ____ problems. a. Random b. Nonrandom c. Six Sigma d. Quality
d. gold plating
The team determines that the product would benefit from additions that are beyond the agreed-to specifications. This is an example of ______. a. scope change b. change order c. quality assessment d. gold plating
scope creep
The tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger
Duration (DU or DUR)
The total number of work periods (not including holidays or other nonworking periods) required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure component. Usually expressed as workdays or workweeks. Sometimes incorrectly equated with elapsed time. Contrast with effort. *The amount of time that an activity takes. Ex. If it takes 2 people 6 hrs. to carve an ice sculpture for the centerpiece of a wedding, the duration is 6 hrs.
Actual cost (AC)
The total of direct and indirect costs incurred in accomplishing work on an activity during a given period; formerly called the actual cost of work performed (ACWP).
a. the highest level that the process should operate within.
The upper control limit defines ______. a. the highest level that the process should operate within. b. the highest specification limit that the customer wants. c. the standard deviation of the process. d. the variance of the process.
Computerized tools
These are used to perform estimating techniques automatically.
Be able to name the duration compression techniques.
They are crashing and fast tracking.
When do organizations have a history of not spending enough money and what does it impact?
They have a history of not spending enough money in the early phases of projects and it impacts the total cost of ownership.
Analogous Estimating
This a top-down technique that uses historical information to determine estimates and is a form of expert judgment.
Bottom-up estimating
This involves estimating the individual costs of each activity and then rolling them up to come up with a total project cost.
Parametric modeling
This is a mathematical model used to estimate project costs.
Be able to describe and calculate PERT duration estimates.
This is a weighted average technique that uses three estimates: optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely. The formula is as follows: [optimistic + pessimistic + (4 × most likely)] ÷ 6.
Be able to describe the cost baseline.
This is the expected cost of the project and is used to measure performance. It's displayed as an S-curve.
Schedule Development
This is where you will lay out the schedule for your project tasks, determine their start and finish dates, and finalize activity sequences and durations
business service management (BSM) tools
Tools that help track the execution of business process flows and expose how the state of supporting IT systems and resources is impacting end-to-end business process performance in real time.
Two Types of Slack (AKA Float time)
Total Slack and Free Slack
1. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) 2. Dependency Determination 3. Applying Leads and Lags 4. Schedule Network Templates
What are the tools and techniques of the Sequence Activities Process?
problems
Undesirable situations that prevent the organization from achieving its goals.
Joint Application Design (JAD)
Using highly organized and intensive workshops to bring together project stakeholders-the sponsor, users, business analysts, programmers, and so on-to jointly define and design information systems
Scope ________ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables. Acceptance Close-out Completion Validation
Validation
A ________ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines its total scope. Work package WBS dictionary WBS Scope statement
WBS
Project management software helps you develop a ________, which serves as a basis for creating Gantt charts, assigning resources, and allocating costs. WBS Project plan Schedule Deliverable
WBS
mind mapping
What approach to developing a WBS involves writing down or drawing ideas in a nonlinear format?
mind mapping
What approach to developing a WBS involves writing down or drawing ideas in a nonlinear format? a. top-down b. bottom-up c. analogy d. mind mapping
a. Those that involve the actual production of the product
What are direct costs? a. Those that involve the actual production of the product b. Those that are fixed c. Those that are variable d. Those that can be estimated accurately
c. Those that stem from hard logic
What are mandatory dependencies? a. Those that are enforced by external parties b. Those that contain milestones c. Those that stem from hard logic d. Finsh-Start relationships
Customer Satisfaction Prevention over inspection Management responsibility Continuous Improvement
What are the 4 concepts in Quality Management Systems?
1. Project Management Plan 2. Project Schedule 3. Work Performance Information 4. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Control Schedule Process?
1. Scope Baseline 2. Enterprise Environmental Factors 3. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Define Activities Process?
1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Project Schedule Network Diagrams 4. Activity Resource Requirements 5. Resource Calendars 6. Activity Duration Estimates 7. Project Scope Statement (constraints, and drop-dead dates you have to meet) 8. Enterprise Environmental Factors 9. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Develop Schedule Process?
1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Activity Resource Requirements 4. Resource Calendars 5. Project Scope Statement (lists constraints and assumptions for each activity) 6. Enterprise Environmental Factors 7. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Estimate Activity Durations Process?
1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Resource Calendar 4. Enterprise Environmental Factors 5. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Estimate Activity Resources Process?
1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Milestone List 4. Project Scope Statement 5. Organizational Process Assets
What are the inputs into the Sequence Activities Process?
1. Work Performance Measurements 2. Organizational Process Assets Updates 3. Change Requests 4. Project Management Plan Updates 5. Project Document Updates
What are the outputs of the Control Schedule Process?
1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Milestone List
What are the outputs of the Define Activities Process?
1. Project Schedule 2. Schedule Baseline 3. Schedule Data 4. Project Document Updates
What are the outputs of the Develop Schedule Process?
1. Activity Duration Estimates 2. Project Document Updates (updates to the Activity Attributes)
What are the outputs of the Estimate Activity Durations Process?
1. Project Schedule Network Diagrams 2. Project Document Updates (Activity Attibutes Updates, Activity List Updates, Risk Register Updates)
What are the outputs of the Sequence Activities Process?
1. External Predecessors 2. Discretionary Predecessors 3. Mandatory Predecessors
What are the three types of predecessors?
1. Performance Analysis 2. Variance Analysis 3. Project Management Software 4. Resource Leveling 5. What-If Scenario Analysis 6. Applying Leads and Lags 7. Schedule Compression 8. Schedule Tool
What are the tools and techniques of the Control Schedule Process?
1. Decomposition 2. Templates 3. Expert Judgment 4. Rolling Wave Planning
What are the tools and techniques of the Define Activities Process?
1. Schedule Network Analysis 2. Critical Path Method 3. Critical Chain Method 4. Resource Leveling 5. What-If Scenario Analysis 6. Adjusting Leads and Lags 7. Schedule Compression 8. Scheduling Tool
What are the tools and techniques of the Develop Schedule Process?
1. Expert Judgment 2. Analogous Estimating 3. Parametric Estimating 4. Three-point Estimates 5. Reserve Analysis
What are the tools and techniques of the Estimate Activity Durations Process?
1. Expert Judgment 2. Alternatives Analysis 3. Published Estimating Data 4. Project Management Software 5. Bottom-Up Estimating
What are the tools and techniques of the Estimate Activity Resources Process?
d. Parametric
Which type of estimating technique utilizes factors to account fo elements of scale? a. Analogous b. Critical Path c. Bottom-up d. Parametric
b. To complete a project within an approved budget.
What is the main goal of project cost management? a. To complete a project for as little cost as possible. b. To complete a project within an approved budget. c. To provide truthful and accurate cost information on projects. d. To ensure that an organization's money is used wisely.
a. Unit testing, Integration testing, system testing, user acceptance testing
What is the preferred order for performing testing on IT projects? a. Unit testing, Integration testing, system testing, user acceptance testing b. Unit testing, system testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing c. Unit testing, system testing, user acceptance testing, integration testing d. Unit testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing, system testing
b. To ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken
What is the purpose of project quality management? a. To produce the highest-quality products and services possible b. To ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken c. To ensure that appropriate quality standards are met d. All of the above
systems development life cycle
What is the term used to describe a framework of the phases involved in developing information systems? a. systems development life cycle b. rapid application development c. predictive life cycle d. extreme programming
McDonald's
What major restaurant chain terminated a large project after spending $170 million on it, primarily because they realized the project scope was too much to handle? a. Burger King b. Pizza Hut c. McDonald's d. Taco Bell
PRINCE2
What methodology was developed in the U.K., defines 45 separate subprocesses, and organizes these into eight process groups? a. Six Sigma b. RUP c. PMBOK® Guide d. PRINCE2
b. A white diamond
What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone? a. A black arrow b. A white diamond c. A white arrow d. A black diamond
a white diamond
What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone? a. a black arrow b. a white arrow c. a black diamond d. a white diamond
offshoring
What term is used to describe when an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source in another country? a. globalization b. offshoring c. exporting d. global sourcing
expert judgment
What tool and technique is used for all of the other project integration management processes? a. project management software b. templates c. expert judgment d. all of the above
c. A control chart
What tool can you use to determine whether a process is in control or out of control? a. A cause-and-effect diagram b. A control panel diagram c. A control chart d. A run chart
a. Probabilistic and Deterministic
What two activities describe how Activity Durations are determined? a. Probabilistic and Deterministic b. Finish-start and Finish-finish c. Probabilistic and constrained d. Deterministic and constrained
a. A Tracking Gantt chart
What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information? a. A Tracking Gantt chart b. A network diagram c. A Gantt chart d. A milestone chart
a Tracking Gantt chart
What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information? a. a network diagram b. a Gantt chart c. a Tracking Gantt chart d. a milestone chart
Lessons-learned report
What type of report do project teams create to reflect on what went right and what went wrong with the project? a. lessons-learned report b. progress report c. final project report d. business case
outsourcing
When an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source.
a. Bottom-up
Which estimating technique relies on the estimator developing detail for each activity in the WBS? a. Bottom-up b. Analogous c. Parametric d. Critical Path
c. Estimating
Which is not an element of a change control system? a. Monitoring b. Analyzing c. Estimating d. Correcting
a. Activity on arrow (AOA)
Which network diagramming method uses dummy activities to show relationships? a. Activity on arrow (AOA) b. Activity on node (aON) c. PDM d. CPM
d. Finish-Start
Which of the following constraint types is most commonly used? a. Finish-Finish b. Start-Finish c. Start-Start d. Finish-Start
select projects that will take less than two years to provide payback
Which of the following is not a best practice for new product development projects? a. align projects and resources with business strategy b. select projects that will take less than two years to provide payback c. focus on customer needs in identifying projects d. assign project managers to lead projects
Don't involve too many users in scope management.
Which of the following is not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems on IT projects?
Don't involve too many users in scope management
Which of the following is not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems on information technology projects? a. Keep the scope realistic b. Use off-the-shelf hardware and software whenever possible c. Follow good project management processes d. Don't involve too many users in scope management
d. Sunk cost
Which of the following is not a consideration when deciding to continue a project? a. IRR b. ETC c. EAC d. Sunk cost
systems analysis
Which of the following is not a phase of the traditional project life cycle? a. systems analysis b. concept c. development d. implementation
b. The project manager
Who is primarily responsible for the quality in a project? a. The engineering staff b. The project manager c. The individual employees d. The customer
minimize change
Which of the following is not a suggestion for performing integrated change control? a. use good configuration management b. minimize change c. establish a formal change control system d. view project management as a process of constant communication and negotiation
projects involve little uncertainty
Which of the following is not an attribute of a project? a. projects are unique b. projects are developed using progressive elaboration c. projects have a primary customer or sponsor d. projects involve little uncertainty
c. A cost baseline
Which of the following is not an output of the project cost management process called estimating costs, according to the PMBOK Guide? a. Activity cost estimates b. Basis of estimates c. A cost baseline d. Project documents updates
technical skills
Which of the following is not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project manager? a. people skills b. leadership c. integrity d. technical skills
information
Which of the following is not part of the three-sphere model for systems management? a. business b. information c. technology d. organization
meeting communications goals
Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management? a. meeting scope goals b. meeting time goals c. meeting communications goals d. meeting cost goals
a Gantt chart
Which of the following items is not normally included in a project charter? a. the name of the project manager b. budget information c. stakeholder signatures d. a Gantt chart
business case
Which of the following outputs is often completed before initiating a project? a. stakeholder register b. business case c. project charter d. kick-off meeting
d. Planning schedule management
Which of the following processes involves determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule? a. Defining activities b. Estimating activity resources c. Activity sequencing d. Planning schedule management
develop the project business case
Which of the following processes is not part of project integration management? a. develop the project business case b. develop the project charter c. develop the project management plan d. close the project or phase
develop the project business case
Which of the following processes is not part of project integration management? a. develop the project business case b. develop the project charter c. develop the project management plan d. close the project or phase
d. 3 sigmas from the mean
Which of the following represents 99.73% of the population? a. 2 sigmas from the mean b. 3 standard deviations from the median c. 2 standard deviations from the mode d. 3 sigmas from the mean
a. Duration and effort are synonymous terms.
Which of the following statements is false? a. Duration and effort are synonymous terms. b. A resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical structure that identified the project's resource by category and type. c. A three-point estimate includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. d. A Gantt chart is a common tool for displaying project schedule information.
b. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Which of the following statements is false? a. Growing grass was on the critical path for a large theme park project. b. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost. c. The critical path is a series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a project can be completed. d. A forward pass through a project network diagram determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity.
Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Which of the following statements is false? a. "Growing grass" was on the critical path for a large theme park project. b. The critical path is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a project can be completed. c. A forward pass through a project network diagram determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity. d. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Duration and effort are synonymous terms
Which of the following statements is false? a. A resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type. b. Duration and effort are synonymous terms. c. A three-point estimate is an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. d. A Gantt chart is a common tool for displaying project schedule information.
b. Grade is not the same as quality.
Which of the following statements is true? a. Grade means that the product is appropriately designed for the intended end use. b. Grade is not the same as quality. c. Grade means that the product is designed to the highest standard. d. Quality means that the product is appropriately designed for its intended use.
symbolic
Which of the four frames of organizations addresses how meetings are run, employee dress codes, and expected work hours? a. structural b. human resources c. political d. symbolic
Executing
Which process group normally requires the most resources and time? a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
interviews
Which tool or technique for collecting requirements is often the most expensive and time consuming?
interviews
Which tool or technique for collecting requirements is often the most expensive and time consuming? a. interviews b. focus groups c. surveys d. observation
b. Analogous
Which type of estimate develops estimates based on similar projects? a. Parametric b. Analogous c. Bottom-up d. Critical Path
The scope was too much to handle.
Why did McDonald's terminate a large project after spending $170 million on it?
It identifies the deliverables, work packages and the control accounts that are used to measure project performance. From this, you can determine what metrics to use to measure the quality of the deliverables.
Why is the WBS important to Plan Quality Management
a. Parametric
You are planning a cost estimate for a building based on its location, purpose, number of square feet, and other characteristics. What cost-estimating techniques are you using? a. Parametric b. Analogous c. Bottom-up d. Top-down
a. Finish-to-start
You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent? a. Finish-to-start b. Start-to-start c. Finish-to-finish d. Start-to-finish
finish-to-start
You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent? a. finish-to-start b. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish d. start-to-finish
b. Opportunity cost
You have two projects on your desk and can only choose one. The cost of choosing one over the other is called _____. a. Direct cost b. Opportunity cost c. Fixed cost d. Benefit cost ratio
c. Project cost budgeting
___ involves allocating the project cost estimate to individual material resources or work items over time. a. Reserve analysis b. Life Cycle costing c. Project cost budgeting d. Earned value analysis
c. Critical chain scheduling
___ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. Parkinson's Law b. Murphy's Law c. Critical chain scheduling d. Critical path analysis
d. Critical path method
___ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Crashing d. Critical path method
d. Earned value management
___ is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, an cost data. a. Reserve analysis b. Life cycle costing c. Project cost budgeting d. Earned value management
b. Quality
___ is the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements. a. Conformance to requirements b. Quality c. Fitness for use d. Reliability
Performance
____ addresses how well a product or service performs the customer's intended use.
Maintainability
____ addresses the ease of performing maintenance on a product
Features
____ are the system's special characteristics that appeal to users
Process adjustments
____ correct(s) or prevent(s) further quality problems based on quality control measurements.
Benchmarking
____ generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization
a. Bench marking
____ generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside the performing organization. a. Bench marking b. Quality audits c. Design of experiments d. Six Sigma
Pareto charts
____ help(s) you identify the vital few contributors that account for most quality problems in a system.
CMMI
____ helps integrate traditionally separate organizational functions, set process improvement goals and priorities, provide guidance for quality processes, and provide a point of reference for appraising current
Planning quality
____ includes identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and how to satisfy those standards
Statistical sampling
____ involves choosing part of a population of interest for inspection
Performing quality control
____ involves monitoring specific project results to ensure that they comply with the relevant quality standards while identifying ways to improve overall quality.
Performing quality control
____ involves periodically evaluating overall project performance to ensure that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards
Six Sigma
____ is a comprehensive and flexible system for achieving, sustaining and maximizing business success.
External failure cost
____ is a cost that relates to all errors not detected and not corrected before delivery to the customer.
Rework
____ is action taken to bring rejected items into compliance with product requirements or specifications or other stakeholder expectations
User acceptance testing
____ is an independent test performed by end users prior to accepting the delivered system.
c. Deming Explain: The plan-do-check-act cycle is the basis for quality improvement as defined by Shewhart and modified by Deming.
____ is known for his work on quality control in Japan, and he developed the 14 Points for Management in his text Out of the Crisis. a. Juran b. Crosby c. Deming d. Ishikawa
Reliability
____ is the ability of a product or service to perform as expected under normal conditions.
Appraisal cost
____ is the cost of evaluating processes and their outputs to ensure that a project is error-free or within an acceptable error range
Functionality
____ is the degree to which a system performs its intended function
Conformance to requirements
____ means the project's processes and products meet written specifications
b. Management
____ reserves allows for future situations that are unpredictable. a. Contingency b. Management c. Financial d. Baseline
project scope statement
a document that includes, at a minimum, a description of the project, including its overall objectives and justification, detailed descriptions of all project deliverables, and the characteristics and requirements of products and services produced as part of the project.
resource breakdown structure
a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type.
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
a management philosophy that states that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that is limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal.
kick-off meeting
a meeting held at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans
critical chain scheduling
a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
slipped milestone
a milestone activity that is completed later than planned.
arrow diagramming method (ADM)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called activity-on-arrow (AOA).
activity-on-arrow (AOA)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called arrow diagramming method (ADM).
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities.
forward pass
a network diagramming technique that determines.
requirements management plan
a plan that describes how project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed.
use case modeling
a process for identifying and modeling business events, who initiated them, and how the system should respond to them.
deliverable
a product, such as a report or segment of software code, produced as part of a project.
PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)
a project management methodology developed in the U.K. that defines 45 separate sub-processes and organizes these into eight process groups
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
a project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty with the individual activity duration estimates.
critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis
a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration.
backward pass
a project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity in a similar fashion.
start-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts.
start-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity is finished.
finish-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished.
finish-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be started.
fast tracking
a schedule compression technique in which you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence.
network diagram
a schematic display of the logical relationships or sequencing of project activities.
process
a series of actions directed toward a particular result
milestone
a significant event that normally has no duration on a project; serves as a marker to help in identifying necessary activities, setting schedule goals, and monitoring progress.
requirements traceability matrix (RTM)
a table that lists requirements, various attributes of each requirement, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all requirements are addressed.
activity list
a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule.
work package
a task at the lowest level of the WBS.
crashing
a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Which of the following is not a key output of project cost management? a - activity cost estimates b - a cost management plan c - updates to the project management plan d - a cost performance baseline
b - a cost management plan
The drawback with ________ is that they are usually time-intensive and therefore expensive to develop.
bottom-up estimates
executing processes
coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or project phase
A(n) ________ is a time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.
cost baseline
Which of the following processes of project cost management involves allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items to establish a baseline for measuring performance?
cost budgeting
The main outputs of the ________ process are work performance measurements, budget forecasts, organizational process asset updates, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates.
cost control
Which of the following processes of project cost management involves developing an approximation of the costs of the resources needed to complete a project?
cost estimating
Which of the following is the ratio of earned value to actual cost and can be used to estimate the projected cost of completing the project?
cost of performance index (CPI)
The ________ is the additional percentage or dollar amount by which actual costs exceed estimates.
cost overrun
Outputs of determining the budget
cost performance baseline project funding requirements project document updates
Which of the following is the earned value minus the actual cost?
cost variance (CV)
bottom-up approach
creating a WBS by having team members identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible and then grouping them into higher level categories.
top-down approach
creating a WBS by starting with the largest items of the project and breaking them into their subordinate items.
analogy approach
creating a WBS by using a similar project's WBS as a starting point.
initiating processes
defining and authorizing a project or project phase
standard
describes best practices for what should be done
methodology
describes how things should be done
prototyping
developing a working replica of the system or some aspect of the system to help define user requirements.
planning processes
devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project addresses the organization's needs
probabilistic time estimates
duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discrete estimate.
The ________ is an estimate of the value of the physical work actually completed.
earned value (EV)
closing processes
formalizing acceptance of the project or project phase and ending it efficiently
SMART criteria
guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed.
activity attributes
information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity.
A company might complete a project to develop and implement a new customer service system in one or two years, but the new system could be in place for ten years. Project managers should create estimates of the costs and benefits of the project for ten years. This is an example of ________.
life cycle costing
You are preparing a cost estimate for a building based on its location, purpose, number of square feet, and other characteristics. What cost estimating technique are you using?
parametric
A ________ might provide an estimate of $50 per line of code for a software development project based on the programming language the project is using, the level of expertise of the programmers, the size and complexity of the data involved, and so on.
parametric model
resources
people, equipment, and materials.
Suppose a project included a summary activity of purchasing and installing a new Web server. Suppose further that, according to the plan, it would take one week and cost a total of $10,000 for the labor hours, hardware, and software involved. The ________ for that activity that week is, therefore, $10,000.
planned value (PV)
Murphy's Law
principle that if something can go wrong, it will.
Parkinson's Law
principle that work expands to fill the time allowed.
To increase ________, a company can increase revenues, decrease expenses, or try to do both.
profits
What are most executives concerned with more than other issues?
profits
Scope
refer(s) to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them.
monitoring and controlling processes
regularly measuring and monitoring progress to ensure that the project team meets the project objectives