Chapter 1 Project Management
____________ phase of the project involves various actions, including collecting and making final payments, evaluating and recognizing staff, conducting a postproject evaluation, documenting lessons learned, and archiving project documents.
Closing
Initiating Phase is
First phase of the project life cycle, during which projects are identified, selected, and authorized.
The closing phase is ...
Fourth phase of the project life cycle, during which actions are taken to close the project including archiving project documents and documenting lessons learned.
________________ and the _______________ have brought new opportunities for firms, as seen in multisourcing project work elements to more competitive participants worldwide.
Globalization, internet
Project Charter happens right after the ______ phase and is...
Initiating Phase & A document issued by the project sponsor that authorizes the project and commits funds for the project. Also referred to as project authorization or project initiation document.
Ultimately, the responsibility of the project manager is to make sure the customer is satisfied. (T/F)
It means not only meeting the customer's expectations but also developing and maintaining an excellent working relationship throughout the project. Regular communication is important!
This phase results in the accomplishment of the project objective, leaving the customer satisfied that the full scope of the work and deliverables were completed according to specifications, within budget, and on time.
Performing Phase
In the ______________ phase the project plan is executed, activities are carried out to produce all the _________________ and to accomplish the project objective.
Performing, project deliverables
Project Objective
-what is to be accomplished. -It is the tangible end product that the project team must produce and deliver. -end product or deliverable, schedule, and budget.
Project Management Process: (11)
1. Establish Project Objective: must be agreed upon 2. Define scope: customer requirements, statement of work, deliverables, acceptance criteria 3. Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): Subdivide project scope into pieces (work packages). 4. Assign responsibility: person or organization who is responsible for each work item in WBS must be identified 5. Define specific activities: review each WBS work package and develop detailed activities 6. Sequence activities: create a network diagram that shows the sequence and dependent relationships of the activities 7. Estimate activity resources: types of resources, skills required, quantity, equipment, people, availability. Assign specific person for each acitivity. 8. Estimate activity durations: time estimates on how long activities will take 9. Develop project schedule: which activities are going to start/finish, and latest start/finish times 10. Estimate activity costs: based on types and quantities of resources estimated for each activity 11. Determine Budget: A total budget through developing estimated costs for each activity.
Write down the Project Life Cycle Chart
1. Initiating 2. Planning 3. Performing 4. Closing
The four phases of the project life cycle:
1. Initiating 2. Planning 3. Performing 4. Closing The time span of each phase and the associated level of effort will vary depending on the specific project
8 Factors that constrain the project success:
1. Resources 2. Risk 3. Customer Satisfaction 4. Scope 5. Quality 6. Stakeholders 7. Schedule 8. Budget
PMBOK Guide
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (framework of PM)
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A hierarchical decomposition of the project work scope into work packages to be executed by the project team to produce the project deliverables.
The Baseline plan is ..
A set of integrated project documents that shows how the project scope will be accomplished within budget and on schedule and is used as a benchmark to which actual performance can be compared.
The Project Schedule..
A timetable for a project indicating when activities are planned or need to be started and finished. The project schedule indicates the dates when specific activities must be started and finished in order to meet the project completion date (for example, when a new bridge is to be open to traffic or when a new product must be launched at an industry exposition).
The project scope..
All the work that must be done to produce all the project deliverables that meet the customer requirements and acceptance criteria and accomplish the project objective. Also referred to as project scope or work scope.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is
a hierarchical decomposition of the project work scope into work packages.
The key to effective project control is measuring ________________ progress and comparing it to _______________ progress on a timely and regular basis throughout the performing phase and taking any needed corrective action immediately.
actual, planned
Project
an endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated activities and the effective utilization of resources.
The planning involves determining what needs to be done (scope, deliverables), how it will get done (activities, sequence), who will do it (resources, responsibility), how long it will take (durations, schedule), how much it will cost (budget), and what the risks are. The result is a ____________________________
baseline plan that is a set of integrated documents that shows how the project scope will be accomplished within budget and on schedule and is used as a benchmark to which actual performance can be compared.
The project objective is usually defined in terms of ______________,__________, and _____________
end product (deliverable), schedule, budget.
The project management process involves two major functions: ________________ a plan, and then __________ that plan to accomplish the project objective.
establishing, executing
A project is carried out through a set of ______________________, a number of nonrepetitive activities that need to be accomplished in a certain sequence in order to achieve the project objective.
interdependent activities (tasks)
Project Management
is planning, organizing, coordinating, leading, and controlling resources to accomplish the project objective.
While the project work is being performed, it is necessary to _________ and _________ the progress of the project work to ensure that everything is going according to plan and the project objective will be accomplished.
monitor, control
Once a project is authorized and/or a contract is signed with an external contractor, the next phase of the project life cycle is to do detailed __________ for how to accomplish the project.
planning
If the organization decides to use external resources (a contractor) to perform the project, the organization will prepare a document called a ________________ that defines the project requirements and is used to solicit proposals from potential contractors to do the project.
request for proposal (RFP)
A project utilizes various ___________ to carry out the activities.
resources
Once the project ________ and project ____________ are developed, it must be determined whether the project can be accomplished within the required time, budget, and resources.
schedule, budget
The project manager and team need to build relationships with, and engage, the various _____________who may influence or may be affected by the project, in order to gain their support
stakeholders
Deliverables are ..
the tangible product or items to be provided
The Project Budget..
The amount the sponsor or customer has agreed to pay for acceptable project deliverables. The project budget is based on estimated costs associated with the quantities of various resources that will be used to perform the project.
Examples of various project resources
The people (including subcontractors and consultants), materials, equipment, and facilities required to perform the project and produce the project deliverables.
Who provides the funds necessary to accomplish the project?
The project Sponsor or Customer
The performing phase is
Third phase of the project life cycle, during which the project baseline plan is executed to produce all the project deliverables and to accomplish the project objective. It includes performing the work, monitoring and controlling progress, and managing changes to accomplish the project scope on schedule and within budget.
Good __________ and ________________are essential to prevent problems from occurring or to minimize their impact on the achievement of the project objective when they do occur. The project manager needs to be proactive in planning and communicating and provide leadership to the project team to keep these constraining factors in balance and to accomplish the project objective.
Planning & Communication
Examples of Projects:
Planning a wedding, designing a computer system, building a shopping mall, organizing a festival, building a tree house, hosting a dinner for 20 relatives.
Once projects are selected, they are formally authorized using a document referred to as a ____________________________. The charter may include the rationale or justification for the project; project objective and expected benefits; general requirements and conditions such as amount of funds authorized, required completion date, major deliverables, and required reviews and approvals; and key assumptions.
Project Charter
______________ are individuals or entities involved in, or who may influence, or may be affected by a project, such as the customer/sponsor; project team, including the project manager, subcontractors, and consultants; end users or consumers; and advocacy groups.
Project Stakeholders
project involves a degree of uncertainty
TRUE; combination of assumptions and estimates causes uncertainty that the project objective will be completely accomplished. For example, the project scope may be accomplished by the target completion date, but the final cost may be much higher than anticipated because of low initial estimates for the cost of certain resources.
There could be risks that adversely affect accomplishing the project objective (T/F)
TRUE; example: there may be a risk that a new pharmaceutical product may not receive regulatory approval.
Planning phase is
Second phase of the project life cycle, during which a baseline plan is developed. It includes defining the project scope, identifying resources, developing a schedule and budget, and identifying risks.
A document that identifies stakeholders including their key contact information, role or specific topics of interest, expectations, any known issues, and areas of potential influence.
Stakeholder register
Project Sponsors/ Customers can be a person, an organization, or a partnership of people or organizations.
TRUE; Also referred to as a sponsor or client.
A project has a specific time frame or finite life span (T/F)
TRUE; It has a start time and a date by which the objective must be accomplished. For example, the refurbishing of an elementary school might have to be completed between June 20 and August 20.
A project may be a unique or one-time endeavor (T/F)
TRUE; Some projects, such as designing and building a space station, are unique because they have never been attempted before. Other examples: Weddings, building a house
Quality expectations must be defined from the onset of the project. (T/F) The project work scope must be accomplished in a quality manner and meet specifications. (T/F)
TRUE; TRUE Mechanisms such as standards, inspections, audits, and so forth must be put in place to assure quality expectations are being met throughout the project and not just checked or inspected at the end of the project, when it might be costly to correct. All project deliverables should have quantitative acceptance criteria.