Comp/Informatics Project Mgmt

COBOL programmers cannot be of much help on a Java project.

*a. True b. False

____ describes a holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of the organization. a. Systems philosophy b. Systems thinking c. Systems analysis d. Systems approach

*b. Systems thinking

In the _____ phase, the project team creates a definitive or very accurate cost estimate, delivers the required work, and provides performance reports to stakeholders. a. development b. implementation c. concept d. close-out

*b. implementation

Project managers have the most authority in a pure ____. a. functional organizational structure b. project organizational structure c. matrix organizational structure d. circular organizational structure

*b. project organizational structure

The ____ model requires heavy user involvement, and developers use a model to generate functional requirements and physical design specifications simultaneously. a. RAD life cycle b. prototyping life cycle c. spiral life cycle d. incremental build life cycle

*b. prototyping life cycle

____ is a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization. a. Organizational politics b. Organizational philosophy c. Organizational culture d. Organizational structure

*c. Organizational culture

• artifact

A useful object created by people

• planning processes

Devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project addresses the organization's needs

The term sigma means median.

False

• closing processes

Formalizing acceptance of the project or project phase and ending it efficiently

Which of the following is an output of schedule control?

Lessons-learned reports

A(n) _____ on a project is a significant event that normally has no duration.

Milestone

Which of the following is an input of the process of controlling costs?

Work Performance Data

An important tool for project scope management is _____.

a work breakdown structure

According to the symbolic frame, what is most important about any event in an organization is what actually happened.

a. True *b. False

Most IT projects involve a major amount of software development.

a. True *b. False

In Scrum, a(n) _____ is a useful object created by people.

artifact

According to Thamhain and Wilemon, _____ is the legitimate hierarchical right to issue orders.

authority

A Gantt chart is a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a ____ format.

calendar

The cost performance index (CPI):

can be used to estimate the projected cost of completing the project.

A _____ is a tool used in quality management.

checklist

The main technique used in creating a WBS is _____, which involves subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces.

decomposition

A(n) _____ refers to 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

The symbolic perspective of an organization:

focuses on the meanings of the culture, language, traditions, and image of the organization.

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following activities is known as a _____.

free slack

Project managers have the least amount of authority in a pure _____ organizational structure.

functional

A(n) _____ is 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.

kick-off meeting

The process of controlling costs primarily involves:

managing changes to the project budget.

In a _____ organizational structure, personnel often report to both a functional manager and one or more project managers.

matrix

A(n) _____ describes how things should be done.

methodology

A _____ is a standard of measurement in quality management.

metric

The project scope management knowledge area maps to the _____ process group through the activities of scope validation and scope control.

monitoring and controlling

The _____ characteristic of organizational culture describes the degree to which management's decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on people within the organization.

people focus

The project cost management knowledge area maps to the _____ process group through the activities of estimating costs and budget determination.

planning

The _____ perspective on organizations assumes that organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups.

political frame

A project's sponsor is also known as a(n) _____.

primary customer

A _____ is a tool used in risk management.

probability matrice

In a _____organizational structure, program managers, rather than functional managers or vice presidents, report to the CEO. Their staffs have a variety of skills needed to complete all required tasks within their programs.

project

Project managers have the most authority in a pure _____ organizational structure.

project

The first two traditional project phases (concept and development) focus on planning, and are often referred to as _____.

project feasibility

The improvement of the product and process in the Scrum method is discussed at the _____.

sprint reflection meeting

A(n) _____ is an overall model for thinking about things as sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.

systems philosophy

The _____ model of a systems development life cycle assumes that requirements will remain stable after they are defined.

waterfall life cycle

The _____ is a very important tool in project management because it provides the basis for deciding how to do the work.

work breakdown structure (WBS)

What are some of the typical challenges project teams face during each of the five process groups?

(for example, the What Went Right? or What Went Wrong? feature). You can also frame your discussion on one of PMI's Project of the Year Award winners, or on a well-known project failure like the Denver International Airport baggage handling system. --- Also include setting priorities during initiating, getting stakeholder inputs during planning, meeting schedule deadlines during execution, collecting timely data during monitoring and controlling, and defining good procedures during project closing.

Although it is easier to focus on the immediate and sometimes narrow concerns of a particular project, project managers and other staff must keep in mind the effects of any project on the interests and needs of the entire system or organization.

*a. True b. False

An organization that uses a project organizational structure earns their revenue primarily from performing projects for other groups under contract.

*a. True b. False

If a project manager does not submit a potential project in the proper format, it could be rejected.

*a. True b. False

If project managers lead projects in isolation, it is unlikely that those projects will ever truly serve the needs of the organization.

*a. True b. False

It is rare for technical specialists or project managers to remain with the same company for a long time.

*a. True b. False

Most colleges and universities have very strong functional organizations.

*a. True b. False

Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from various functional areas working on their projects.

*a. True b. False

Project organizations may miss economies of scale available through the pooling of requests for materials with other projects.

*a. True b. False

Since the organization usually commits more money as a project continues, a management review should occur after each phase to evaluate progress, potential success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals.

*a. True b. False

The Adaptive Software Development (ASD) life cycle model assumes that software development follows an adaptive approach because the requirements cannot be clearly expressed early in the life cycle.

*a. True b. False

The best way to kill a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility for the project.

*a. True b. False

The same organization can have different subcultures.

*a. True b. False

Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management.

*a. True b. False

In the ____ phase, the project team creates more detailed project plans, a more accurate cost estimate, and a more thorough WBS. a. development b. implementation c. concept d. close-out

*a. development

Project managers have the least amount of authority in a pure ____. a. functional organizational structure b. project organizational structure c. matrix organizational structure d. circular organizational structure

*a. functional organizational structure

In early phases of a project life cycle, resource needs are usually ____ and the level of uncertainty is ____. a. lowest; highest b. high; lowest c. lowest; lowest d. highest; highest

*a. lowest; highest

The ____ assumes that organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups. a. political frame b. symbolic frame c. structural frame d. human resources frame

*a. political frame

A ____ is a collection of project phases. a. project life cycle b. project feasibility c. project planning cycle d. project acquisition

*a. project life cycle

In a ____, program managers report to the CEO. a. project organizational structure b. system organizational structure c. matrix organizational structure d. functional organizational structure

*a. project organizational structure

The ____ focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities in order to meet the goals and policies set by top management. a. structural frame b. human resources frame c. political frame d. symbolic frame

*a. structural frame

The term "systems approach" emerged in the ____. a. 1940s b. 1950s c. 1960s d. 1970s

*b. 1950s

Most trade schools, colleges, and universities did not start offering degrees in computer technology, computer science, management information systems, or other information technology areas until the ____. a. 1950s b. 1970s c. 1980s d. 1990s

*b. 1970s

____ refers to the degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment. a. Means-ends orientation b. Open-systems focus c. Conflict tolerance d. Risk tolerance

*b. Open-systems focus

The ____ focuses on producing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of the people. a. structural frame b. human resources frame c. political frame d. symbolic frame

*b. human resources frame

The ____ model assumes that requirements will remain stable after they are defined. a. spiral life cycle b. waterfall life cycle c. prototyping life cycle d. RAD life cycle

*b. waterfall life cycle

The ____ model uses an approach in which developers work with an evolving prototype. a. incremental build life cycle b. waterfall life cycle c. RAD life cycle d. spiral life cycle

*c. RAD life cycle

A preliminary or rough cost estimate is developed in the ____ phase, and an overview of the work involved is created. a. implementation b. development c. concept d. close-out

*c. concept

In a ____, personnel often report to both a functional manager and one or more project managers. a. project organizational structure b. system organizational structure c. matrix organizational structure d. functional organizational structure

*c. matrix organizational structure

The ____ characteristic of organizational culture describes the degree to which management's decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. a. member identity b. group emphasis c. people focus d. unit integration

*c. people focus

In a ____ matrix organizational structure, the project manager controls the project budget and has moderate to high authority. a. weak b. balanced c. strong d. functional

*c. strong

Many companies have realized that information technology is integral to their business and have created a vice president or equivalent-level position for the head of information technology, often called the ____. a. CPO b. CFO c. CEO d. CIO

*d. CIO

____ is a problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of the system, dividing it into its components, and then identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs. a. Systems philosophy b. Systems management c. Systems troubleshooting d. Systems analysis

*d. Systems analysis

A ____ is the hierarchy most people think of when picturing an organizational chart. a. project organizational structure b. system organizational structure c. matrix organizational structure d. functional organizational structure

*d. functional organizational structure

The ____ model provides for progressive development of operational software, with each release providing added capabilities. a. spiral life cycle b. RAD life cycle c. waterfall life cycle d. incremental build life cycle

*d. incremental build life cycle

Six Sigma's target for perfection is the achievement of no more than _____ defects, errors, or mistakes per million opportunities.

3.4

• methodology

A ________ describes how things should be done.

• burndown chart

A chart that shows the cumulative work remaining in a sprint on a day-by-day basis

• Scrum team or development team

A cross-functional team of five to nine people who organize themselves and the work to produce the desired results for each sprint

• stakeholder register

A document that includes details related to the identified project stakeholders

• 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

What is a methodology and what are some methodologies other than the PMBOK Guide do organizations use as a basis for project management methodology?

A methodology describes how things should be done, and different organizations often have different ways of doing things. In addition to using the PMBOK® Guide as a basis for project management methodology, many organizations use others, such as the following: • PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2): Originally developed for information technology projects, PRINCE2 was released in 1996 as a generic project management methodology by the U.K. Office of Government Commerce (OCG). It is the de facto standard in the United Kingdom and is used in over 50 countries. PRINCE2 defines 45 separate subprocesses and organizes these into eight process groups as follows: 1. Starting up a project 2. Planning 3. Initiating a project 4. Directing a project 5. Controlling a stage 6. Managing product delivery 7. Managing stage boundaries 8. Closing a project • Agile methodologies: Agile software development is a form of adaptive software development. All agile methodologies include an iterative workflow and incremental delivery of software in short iterations. Several popular agile methodologies include extreme programming, scrum, feature driven development, lean software development, Agile Unified Process (AUP), Crystal, and Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM). • Rational Unified Process (RUP) framework: RUP is an iterative software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members. According to RUP expert Bill Cottrell, "RUP embodies industry-standard management and technical methods and techniques to provide a software engineering process particularly suited to creating and maintaining component-based software system solutions." Cottrell explains that you can tailor RUP to include the PMBOK process groups, since several customers asked for that capability. There are several other project management methodologies specifically for software development projects such as Joint Application Development (JAD) and Rapid Application Development (RAD). • Six Sigma methodologies: Many organizations have projects underway that use Six Sigma methodologies. The work of many project quality experts contributed to the development of today's Six Sigma principles. Two main methodologies are used on Six Sigma projects: 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 to achieve predictable, defect-free performance.

• ScrumMaster

A person who ensures that the team is productive, facilitates the daily Scrum, enables close cooperation across all roles and functions, and removes barriers that prevent the team from being effective

• PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)

A project management methodology developed in the United Kingdom that defines 45 separate subprocesses and organizes these into eight process groups

Which of the following best describes a kill point in the project life cycle?

A review of the status of a project at each phase of development to determine if it should be continued, redirected, or terminated

• process

A series of actions directed toward a particular result

• sprint

A set period of time, normally two to four weeks, during which specific work must be completed and made ready for review when using Scrum methods

• daily Scrum

A short meeting in which the team shares progress and challenges

• product backlog

A single list of features prioritized by business value

People with a high need for _____ seek to excel and tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations to improve their chances for achieving something worthwhile.

Achievement

_____ involves assigning the needed personnel to work on the project.

Acquiring the project team

• agile methods

An approach to managing projects that includes an iterative workflow and incremental delivery of software in short iterations

• Rational Unified Process (RUP) framework

An iterative software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members

In the _____approach for constructing a WBS, you use a similar project's WBS as a starting point.

Analogy

2. Approximately how much time do good project managers spend on each process group and why.

Andy Crowe's research found that alpha project managers spend about 2% of their time initiating, 21% planning, 69% executing, 5% monitoring and controlling, and 3% closing projects. The most time should be spent on executing, followed by planning.

_____ is the cost of evaluating processes and their outputs to ensure that a project is error-free or within an acceptable error range.

Appraisal cost

Which of the following questions reflect the strategic goals of project portfolio management?

Are we investing in the right areas?

A rough order of magnitude estimate can be referred to as a _____ estimate.

Ballpark

• standard

Best practices for what should be done

Which of the following is a planning process associated with project scope management?

Collecting requirements

_____ are an example of external stakeholders for an organization.

Competitors

____ refers to the degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee employee behavior.

Control

• executing processes

Coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and create the products, services, or results of the project or project phase

A major element of good practice concerns ____________________, which addresses the authority and control for key IT activities in organizations, including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project management.

Correct Answer(s): a. IT governance

A(n) ________________________________________ is a framework for describing the phases involved in developing information systems.

Correct Answer(s): a. SDLC b. systems development life cycle c. systems development life cycle (SDLC)

____________________ are sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.

Correct Answer(s): a. Systems

____________________ addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and making a change to a system.

Correct Answer(s): a. Systems management

The term ______________________________ has become popular to describe new approaches that focus on close collaboration between programming teams and business experts.

Correct Answer(s): a. agile software development

Some projects have a senior manager called a(n) ____________________ who acts as a key proponent for a project.

Correct Answer(s): a. champion

In the ____________________ phase, there should be some sort of customer acceptance of the entire project.

Correct Answer(s): a. close-out b. closeout

Experienced project managers know it is often best to balance the degree of ____________________ to get good project results.

Correct Answer(s): a. control

A(n) ____________________ is a product or service, such as a report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code, produced or provided as part of a project.

Correct Answer(s): a. deliverable

A(n) ______________________________ is a group of senior executives from various parts of the organization, who regularly review important corporate projects and issues.

Correct Answer(s): a. executive steering committee

In a(n) ____________________ organizational structure, project managers have little or no authority.

Correct Answer(s): a. functional

Three general classifications of organizational structures are ____________________, project, and matrix.

Correct Answer(s): a. functional

To handle complex situations effectively, project managers need to take a(n) ____________________ view of a project and understand how it relates to the larger organization.

Correct Answer(s): a. holistic

Management reviews, called phase exits or ____________________, are very important for keeping projects on track and determining if they should be continued, redirected, or terminated.

Correct Answer(s): a. kill points

Understanding the ____________________ is just as important to good project management as understanding the phases of the traditional project life cycle.

Correct Answer(s): a. product life cycle

The ____________________ is usually depicted in an organizational chart.

Correct Answer(s): a. structural frame

The ____________________ focuses on symbols and meanings.

Correct Answer(s): a. symbolic frame

When project managers use a(n) ____________________, they are better able to make decisions that address the needs of the entire organization.

Correct Answer(s): a. systems approach

A(n) ____________________ is an overall model for thinking about things as systems.

Correct Answer(s): a. systems philosophy

The three spheres of systems management are business, organization, and ____________________.

Correct Answer(s): a. technology

Which of the following is true of the schedule performance index (SPI)?

Correct c. It can be used to estimate the projected time to complete the project.

In which of the following areas of management is payback analysis most likely to be used?

Cost

The main goal of the _____ process is to produce a cost baseline for measuring project performance and project funding requirements.

Cost Budgeting

Which of the following activities is a part of the planning process of the Scrum?

Creating product backlogs, sprint backlogs and release backlogs are all part of the planning process of the scrum.

_____ is a planning process that is within the Project Scope Management knowledge area.

Creation of a WBS

• 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

In project time management, which of the following processes generate the main outputs of an activity list, activity attributes, and a milestone list?

Defining activities

• initiating processes

Defining and authorizing a project or project phase

If the cost estimate for a project is a basis for contract awards and performance reporting, it should be a(n) _____ estimate and as accurate as possible.

Definitive

The term ______ describes a product produced as part of a project.

Deliverable

_____ are an output of the executing process of project integration management.

Deliverables

Which of the following is a pre-initiation task?

Developing a business case for a project

_____ is best known for developing Theory X and Theory Y.

Douglas McGregor

Which of the following is one of Deming's 14 Points for Management?

Eliminate the annual rating or merit system.

Which of the following refers to a set of principles that guides decision making based on personal values of what is considered right and wrong?

Ethics

2. In which process group should you spend the most time and money?

Executing

The acquiring of the project team is a subprocess associated with the _____ process of project human resource management.

Executing

_____ the project includes work required to introduce any new hardware, software, and procedures into normal operations.

Executing

Which of the following dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project activities?

External

A budgetary estimate is the most accurate of the three types of estimates.

False

A disadvantage of using Gantt charts is that they do not provide a standard format for displaying planned project schedule information.

False

A drawback of the precedence diagramming method is that it cannot be used unless dummy activities are employed.

False

A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is a matrix that maps the work of the project as described in the OBS to the people responsible for performing the work as described in the WBS.

False

A work package must always represent less than 80 hours of work.

False

A work package represents one component of the product that the project aims to deliver.

False

Analogous estimates are called activity-based costing.

False

Analogous estimates are the most accurate technique to estimate costs.

False

Budgetary estimates are made even before a project is officially started.

False

Deliverables are only product-related, such as a piece of hardware or software.

False

Gantt charts cannot be used to aid project quality management.

False

If cost variance is a positive number, it means that performing the work costs more than planned.

False

In a network diagram, it is mandatory for every item on the WBS to be shown instead of only those activities with dependencies.

False

In project time management, the next step after sequencing activities is to define these activities.

False

Internal stakeholders include groups affected by the project such as government officials or concerned citizens.

False

It is important for project managers to focus on indirect costs because they can be easily controlled.

False

Microsoft Project 2010 does not lend itself to project human resource management.

False

Overrun is the additional percentage amount by which estimates exceed actual costs.

False

Project scope statements must include the project boundaries, constraints, and assumptions.

False

Systems analysis addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and modifying a system.

False

The executing tasks of the WBS remain constant from project to project.

False

The final process in project time management is developing the schedule.

False

The scope of a project is clear and specific from the start.

False

The team members of a virtual team are all of the same nationality.

False

When deciding what projects to invest in or continue, one should include sunk costs.

False

The WBS is organized solely around project phases.

Flase

Which of the following tools are most likely to be used in project time management?

Gantt charts

Joe is a project manager in an IT company and has over the years, gained substantial knowledge in his area of work. However, while managing his team, he often loses his temper. In addition, he fails to be an active listener when his team members approach him with work related challenges. In which of the following areas does Joe need to develop his skills in?

Human relations skills

_____ is a project management methodology that defines 45 separate subprocesses and organizes these into eight process groups.

IN Controlled Environments

Which of the following is true of a matrix organizational structure?

In a strong matrix organizational structure, the project manager controls the project budget and has moderate to high authority.

Describe the process of initiating a project and the issues involved.

In project management, initiating includes recognizing and starting a new project. An organization should put considerable thought into project selection to ensure that it initiates the right kinds of projects for the right reasons. It is better to have a moderate or even small amount of success on an important project than huge success on one that is unimportant. The selection of projects for initiation, therefore, is crucial, as is the selection of project managers. Ideally, the project manager would be involved in initiating a project, but often the project manager is selected after many initiation decisions have already been made. Organizations must also understand and plan for the ongoing support that is often required after implementing a new system or other product or service resulting from a project. It is important to remember that strategic planning should serve as the foundation for deciding which projects to pursue. The organization's strategic plan expresses the vision, mission, goals, objectives, and strategies of the organization. It also provides the basis for information technology project planning. Information technology is usually a support function in an organization, so it is critical that the people initiating information technology projects understand how those projects relate to current and future needs of the organization. Information systems must support the firm's business goals, such as providing consulting services more effectively and efficiently. An organization may initiate information technology projects for several reasons, but the most important reason is to support business objectives. Providing a good return on investment at a reasonable level of risk is also important, especially in tough economic times.

Which of the following is true of the agile approach to software development?

In the agile method, requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration.

Which of the following is true of the project life cycle?

In the early phases of a project life cycle, resource needs are usually lowest.

_____ processes include defining and authorizing a project or project phase.

Initiating

List and describe the five process management groups.

Initiating processes include defining and authorizing a project or project phase. Initiating processes take place during each phase of a project. Therefore, you cannot equate process groups with project phases. Recall that there can be different project phases, but all projects will include all five process groups. For example, project managers and teams should reexamine the business need for the project during every phase of the project life cycle to determine if the project is worth continuing. Initiating processes are also required to end a project. Someone must initiate activities to ensure that the project team completes all the work, documents lessons learned, assigns project resources, and that the customer accepts the work. Planning processes include devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project addresses the organization's needs. There are several plans for projects, such as the scope management plan, schedule management plan, cost management plan, procurement management plan, and so on, defining each knowledge area as it relates to the project at that point in time. For example, a project team must develop a plan to define the work that needs to be done for the project, to schedule activities related to that work, to estimate costs for performing the work, to decide what resources to procure to accomplish the work, and so on. To account for changing conditions on the project and in the organization, project teams often revise plans during each phase of the project life cycle. Executing processes include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the various plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or phase. Examples of executing processes include acquiring and developing the project team, performing quality assurance, distributing information, managing stakeholder expectations, and conducting procurements. Monitoring and controlling processes include regularly measuring and monitoring progress to ensure that the project team meets the project objectives. The project manager and staff monitor and measure progress against the plans and take corrective action when necessary. A common monitoring and controlling process is reporting performance, where project stakeholders can identify any necessary changes that may be required to keep the project on track. Closing processes include formalizing acceptance of the project or project phase and ending it efficiently. Administrative activities are often involved in this process group, such as archiving project files, closing out contracts, documenting lessons learned, and receiving formal acceptance of the delivered work as part of the phase or project.

_____ are those costs that are difficult to measure in monetary terms.

Intangible costs

Which of the following is true of the schedule performance index (SPI)?

It can be used to estimate the projected time to complete the project.

Which of the following statements is true of project management?

It does not guarantee successes for all projects.

Which of the following is true of a finsih-to-finish dependency?

It is a dependency in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished.

Which of the following is true of earned value?

It is an estimate of the value of the physical work actually completed.

Which of the following is true of virtual teams?

It is important to select team members carefully.

Which of the following is true about the agile method?

It uses several iterations or deliveries of software instead of waiting until the end of the project to provide a product.

_____ uses 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.

JAD

Which of the following tools can best help in efficient communication management?

Kick-off meetings

The _____ for an activity is the latest possible time an activity might begin without delaying the project finish date.

Late Start Date

_____ helps develop an accurate projection of a project's financial expenses and benefits.

Life cycle costing

Which of the following types of tools is usually recommended for small projects and single users?

Low-end

_____ addresses the ease of performing maintenance on a product.

Maintainability

Which of the following types of dependencies are inherent in the nature of work being performed on a project?

Mandatory

_____ refers to the degree to employees identify with the organization as a whole, rather than with their types of job or profession.

Member identity

Which of the following is a difference between low-end and midrange tools of the project management software?

Midrange tools are designed to handle larger projects than low-end tools.

_____ refers to matching certain behaviors of the other person.

Mirroring

_____ refers to the degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment.

Open-systems focus

____ refers to a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.

Organizational culture

3. Why do organizations need to tailor project management concepts, such as those found in the PMBOK® Guide, to create their own methodologies?

Organizations have different ways of doing things, so they often develop their own methodologies.

A network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities is known as a(n) _____.

PDM

Which of the following provides certification as a Project Management Professional?

PMI

Which of the following is most likely to be a reason for inaccuracies in information technology cost estimates?

People lack estimating experience.

At the bottom of Maslow's structure are _____ needs.

Physiological

The budget is one of the three values of earned value management and is also known as _____.

Planned Value

1. Which project management process group(s) includes activities from every single knowledge area?

Planning

_____ processes include devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project addresses the organization's needs.

Planning

3. Name one of the unique outputs of planning used in Scrum.

Product backlog, sprint backlog, release backlog, work for each day in the daily Scrum, and a list of stumbling blocks

Which of the following is one of the main outputs of estimating activity resources process?

Project Documents Update

A _____ is an organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization.

Project Management Office

Which of the following project management knowledge areas primarily involve generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information?

Project communications management

_____ includes the processes required to ensure that a project team completes a project within an approved budget.

Project cost management

Martha works as a project manager at a bank. Due to certain changes in external factors, Martha needs to make a few alterations in the tactical goals of her project. In such a scenario, which of the following will best help Martha cope with the change?

Project environment knowledge

Which of the following project management knowledge areas is an overarching function that affects and is affected by the different knowledge areas?

Project integration management

Which of the following is a difference between project management and portfolio management?

Project management addresses specific, short-term goals whereas portfolio management focuses on long-term goals.

_____ progress from initiation activities to planning activities, executing activities, monitoring and controlling activities, and closing activities.

Project management process groups

Which of the following is a difference between projects and operations?

Projects are temporary endeavors whereas an organization's operations are ongoing in nature.

Which of the following project parameters would be compatible with the use of the agile approach?

Projects that have more flexible scheduling

The _____ model uses an approach in which developers work with an evolving prototype, using tools such as computer-aided software engineering, joint requirements planning, and joint application design to facilitate rapid prototyping and code generation.

RAD life cycle

_____ is an iterative software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members.

Rational Unified Process

Which of the following is a disadvantage of virtual teams as compared to traditional teams?

Reduced opportunities for informal transfer of information

• monitoring and controlling processes

Regularly measuring and monitoring progress to ensure that the project team meets the project objectives

_____ is the ability of a product or service to perform as expected under normal conditions.

Reliability

Galaxy, a construction company, buys a particular brand of tiles manufactured by Tiles and Floors, an eco-friendly tile manufacturing company. However, Tiles and Floors has declared bankruptcy and closed down. At present, Galaxy is facing a crisis because there are no other manufacturers in the market that supplies eco-friendly tiles. Which of the following constraints is Galaxy currently facing?

Resources

_____ involves formal acceptance of the completed project scope by the stakeholders.

Scope Validation

A(n) _____ is a cross-functional team of five to nine people who organize themselves and the work to produce the desired results for each sprint.

Scrum team

A(n) _____ is the person who ensures that the team is productive, facilitates the daily Scrum, enables close cooperation across all roles and functions, and removes barriers that prevent the team from being effective.

ScrumMaster

In project time management, which of the following processes primarily involve identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities?

Sequencing activities

• user stories

Short descriptions written by customers of what they need a system to do for them

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

Stakeholders

Which of the following is a relationship in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity is started?

Start-to-start

_____ are sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.

Systems

_____ refers to a problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of a system, dividing it into its components, and then identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs.

Systems analysis

_____ addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and making a change to a system.

Systems management

Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment, and project managers need to consider projects within the greater organizational context. _____ describes this holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of the organization.

Systems thinking

The _____ presents subjects with a series of ambiguous pictures and asks them to develop a spontaneous story for each picture, assuming they will project their own needs into the story.

TAT

In the Scrum method, what role is played by the ScrumMaster?

The ScrumMaster facilitates four ceremonies or meetings when using Scrum methods: • Sprint planning session: A meeting with the team to select a set of work from the product backlog to deliver during a sprint. This meeting takes about four hours to a full day. • Daily Scrum: A short meeting for the development team to share progress and challenges and plan work for the day. Ideally the team members are in the same place, the meeting usually lasts no more than 15 minutes, and it is held at the same time and place each day. If that is not possible, teams can use videoconferencing to have short virtual meetings. The ScrumMaster asks what work has been done since yesterday, what work is planned for today, and what impediments or stumbling blocks might hamper the team's efforts. The ScrumMaster documents these stumbling blocks and works with key stakeholders to resolve them after the daily Scrum. Many teams use the term issues for items that do not have to be solved in the next 24 hours and blockers for items that need to be addressed immediately. This allows a ScrumMaster to maintain focus on highest-priority items (blockers) first and then manage the resolution of other issues over the next day or so. • Sprint reviews: A meeting in which the team demonstrates to the product owner what it has completed during the sprint. • Sprint retrospectives: A meeting in which the team looks for ways to improve the product and the process based on a review of the actual performance of the development team.

What is a work breakdown structure?

The WBS is a very important tool in project management because it provides the basis for deciding how to do the work. The WBS also provides a basis for creating the project schedule and performing earned value management for measuring and forecasting project performance.

• sprint backlog

The highest-priority items from the product backlog to be completed in a sprint

. What are the main differences between the two versions of the JWD Consulting case study? When should you use a more prescriptive or agile approach? Do you think users of the JWD Consulting Intranet site would prefer one release of the software or several incremental ones? What are some pros and cons of each approach?

The main difference is that three iterations of software are delivered instead of one. An agile approach normally works best when requirements are unclear or change frequently. Answers will vary on user preferences. There could be training issues with multiple releases, but there could be business value in getting some releases earlier.

• product owner

The person responsible for the business value of the project and for deciding what work to do and in what order when using a Scrum method

• project management process groups

The progression of project activities from initiation to planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing

Managers who follow _____ assume that the average worker wants to be directed and prefers to avoid responsibility.

Theory X

Which of the following is true of bottom-up estimates?

They are time-intensive and expensive to develop.

Which of the following is true of projects?

They have a unique purpose.

Which of the following best defines the role of leaders?

They inspire people to reach goals.

Which of the following is true of low-end tools of the project management software?

They provide basic project management features.

Which of the following is true of program managers?

They provide leadership and direction for project managers heading the projects within a program.

The _____ approach for constructing a WBS starts with the largest items of the project and breaks them into subordinate items.

Top-Down

_____ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date.

Total Slack

A Tracking Gantt chart is based on the percentage of work completed for project tasks or the actual start and finish dates.

True

A schedule management plan includes information which describes the format and frequency of schedule reports required for the project.

True

A systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a framework for describing the phases of developing information systems.

True

A unit of work should appear at only one place in the WBS.

True

According to the symbolic frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

True

Definitive estimates are made one year or less prior to project completion.

True

Determining the budget involves allocating the project cost estimate to individual work items over time.

True

Globalization has to do with doing business -- creating or selling goods or services -- in multiple countries.

True

If an important supplier goes out of business, management reserves can be set aside to cover the resulting costs.

True

In a bottom-up estimate, the size of the individual work items is one of the factors that drives the accuracy of the estimates.

True

It is important for project managers to understand that every cost estimate is unique.

True

Many information technology projects also require detailed functional and design specifications for developing software, which also should be referenced in the detailed scope statement.

True

Mind mapping allows people to write and even draw pictures of ideas in a nonlinear format.

True

Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing.

True

One of the reasons why project cost estimates are inaccurate is because human beings are biased toward underestimation.

True

Parametric models are reliable when the models are flexible in terms of the project's size.

True

Project managers must conduct cash flow analysis to determine net present value.

True

Project managers must take adequate time to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders.

True

Project schedules grow out of basic documents such as the project charter.

True

Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in a project.

True

Resource leveling results in fewer problems for project personnel and accounting departments.

True

Spreadsheets are a common tool for cost estimating, cost budgeting, and cost control.

True

Standards and guidelines to follow when performing project management must be devised by top management.

True

Supporting details for an estimate include the ground rules and assumptions used in creating the estimate.

True

Systems are sets of interacting components that work within an environment to fulfill some purpose.

True

The Control Thresholds section of the cost management plan specifies the amount of cost variance that is allowed before action must be taken.

True

The Level of Accuracy section of the cost management plan specifies rounding guidelines for the cost estimate (e.g. to the nearest $1,000).

True

The Rules of Performance Measurement section of the cost management plan may specify how often actual costs will be tracked and to what level of detail.

True

The formulas for variances and indexes start with EV, the earned value.

True

The project management plan and project funding requirements are inputs of the process of controlling costs.

True

The project scope statement should reference supporting documents, such as product specifications that will affect what products are produced or purchased, or corporate policies, which might affect how products or services are produced.

True

The project scope statement, stakeholder requirements documentation, and organizational process assets are the primary inputs for creating a WBS.

True

The quality assurance process involves taking responsibility for quality throughout the project's life cycle.

True

The same organization can have different subcultures.

True

The scope management plan can be informal and broad or formal and detailed, based on the needs of the project.

True

Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management.

True

_____refers to the degree to which departments within an organization are encouraged to coordinate with each other.

Unit integration

_____ is a process for identifying and modeling business events, who initiated them, and how the system should respond to them.

Use Case Modeling

_____ are short descriptions written by customers of what they need a Scrum system to do for them.

User stories

_____ involves formalizing acceptance of the project deliverables and during this phase the key project stakeholders, such as the customer and sponsor for the project, inspect and then formally accept the deliverables.

Validating Scope

Which of the following questions reflect the strategic goals of project portfolio management?

a. Are we investing in the right areas?

An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job more difficult.

a. True *b. False

Assigning staff part-time to the project often creates underutilization and/or misallocation of staff resources.

a. True *b. False

Because of overlaps in their duties, hardware specialists usually understand the language of database analysts, and vice versa.

a. True *b. False

Because of the nature of information technology projects, the people involved come from very similar backgrounds and possess similar skill sets.

a. True *b. False

External project stakeholders generally include the project sponsor, project team, support staff, and internal customers for the project.

a. True *b. False

Few business and information technology students understand the concepts of systems and performing a systems analysis.

a. True *b. False

If project managers have functional management commitment, they will also have adequate resources and not be distracted by events that do not affect their specific projects.

a. True *b. False

It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during earlier phases.

a. True *b. False

Many of the theories and concepts of project management are difficult to understand.

a. True *b. False

Organizational issues are often the least difficult part of working on and managing projects.

a. True *b. False

Technical and analytical skills guarantee success in project management.

a. True *b. False

The nature of hardware development projects is more diverse than software-oriented projects.

a. True *b. False

When you separate business and organizational issues from project management planning, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

a. True *b. False

Within the category of programmer, there are several job titles used to describe the specific technologies the programmer uses, such as project manager programmer, systems analyst programmer, macro developer, and so on.

a. True *b. False

According to McClelland's acquired-needs theory, people with a high need for _____ desire harmonious relationships with other people and need to feel accepted by others.

affiliation

Generating ideas by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products inside or outside the performing organization is known as _____.

benchmarking

A cost estimation tool which involves estimating individual work items or activities and summing them to get a project total is known as a(n) _____ estimate.

bottom-up

A _____ is an important Scrum artifact used to graphically display progress on each sprint during the monitoring and controlling process.

burndown chart

In an AOA network diagram, _____ occur when two or more activities follow a single node.

bursts

Project procurement management mainly involves:

buying goods and services for a project from outside the performing organization.

4. What are some of the key outputs of each process group?

charter, a project management plan, deliverables, performance reports, and closed procurements.

Administrative activities, such as archiving project files, closing out contracts, documenting lessons learned, and receiving formal acceptance of the delivered work as part of the phase or project, are often involved in _____ processes.

closing

The _____ process involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services and bringing the project, or project phase, to an orderly end.

closing-- The closing process involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services and then bringing the project or project phase to an orderly end. It includes verifying that all of the deliverables are complete, and it often includes a final project report and presentation.

A preliminary or rough cost estimate is developed in the _____ phase of the project life cycle, and an overview of the work involved is created.

concept

A critical path:

determines the earliest completion date of a project.

One of the main outputs of the initiation process is _____.

developing the project charter

Newtech Inc. hires John for the position of a software programmer to work on their new project. Salary paid to John by Newtech Inc. would be an example of _____ costs.

direct

After working with key stakeholders to define activities and calculate their resources, the next process in project time management is to:

estimate the duration of activities.

Examples of _____ processes include acquiring and developing the project team, performing quality assurance, distributing information, managing stakeholder expectations, and conducting procurements.

executing

In Rizzati Corp, vice presidents in departments such as engineering, manufacturing, IT, and human resources report directly to the chief executive officer and undertake their tasks independently of each other. The staffs of these departments have specialized skills in their respective disciplines.Rizatti Corp can be said to have a _____ organizational structure.

functional

Enterprise project management softwares are also known as _____ tools of project management software.

high-end

Team building exercises and motivation techniques are tools used in _____ management.

human resource

The _____ frame of an organization focuses on providing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people.

human resources

n the _____ phase, the project team creates a definitive or very accurate cost estimate, delivers the required work, and provides performance reports to stakeholders.

implementation

The _____ model of a systems development life cycle provides for progressive development of operational software, with each release providing added capabilities.

incremental build life cycle

During _____ processes for a new project, the organization recognizes that a new project exists, and completes a project charter as part of this recognition.

initiating

The project integration management knowledge area maps to the _____ process group through the activities of developing project charters.

initiating

The project stakeholder management knowledge area maps to the _____ process group by identifying stakeholders.

initiating

The project management plan is the output of the planning process of project

integration management

A common _____ process is reporting performance, where project stakeholders can identify any necessary changes that may be required to keep the project on track.

monitoring and controlling

The ideal outcome of the _____ process group is to complete a project successfully by delivering the agreed-upon project scope within time, cost, and quality constraints.

monitoring and controlling

The project time management knowledge area maps to the _____ process group through the activity of schedule control.

monitoring and controlling

Indirect costs are:

not directly related to the products or services of a project.

A(n)_____ is a series of actions directed toward a particular result.

process

A(n) _____ is the person responsible for the business value of the project and for deciding what work to do and in what order when using a Scrum method.

product owner

Enterprise environmental factors are an output of the executing process of _____.

project human resource management

Organizational process assets update is the output of the closing process of

project integration management

Developing a _____ is a planning process that occurs in the Project Integration Management knowledge area.

project management plan

In project time management, a(n) _____ is an output of controlling the schedule.

project management plan update

The role of a _____ is to provide direction and funding for a project.

project sponsor

According to Thamhain and Wilemon, _____ is the ability to improve a worker's position.

promotion

In the _____ model, developers use a model to generate functional requirements and physical design specifications simultaneously.

prototyping life cycle

Project _____ management ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.

quality

A(n) _____ is a table that lists requirements, their various attributes, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all are addressed.

requirements traceability matrix

A(n) _____ is a column chart that shows the number of resources assigned to a project over time.

resource histogram

A risk register is the output of _____.

risk identification planning

Project _____ management involves defining and managing all the work required to complete the project successfully.

scope

A(n) _____ is a set period of time, normally two to four weeks, during which specific work must be completed and made ready for review when using Scrum methods.

sprint

A(n) _____ is a Scrum artifact and consists of the highest-priority items from the product backlog to be completed in a sprint.

sprint backlog

A(n) _____ is a document that includes stakeholders' roles, names, organizations, and contact information.

stakeholder register

A difference between strategic and tactical goals is that:

strategic goals are long-term in nature whereas tactical goals are short-term.

The _____ perspective of an organization focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities in order to meet the goals and policies set by top management.

structural frame

Grey's Infotech sells customized hardware and software solutions for businesses. The salespeople for Grey's have a strict dress code when meeting clients. They are required to wear dark business suits, in order to convey the company's dedication to quality. The meaning conveyed to the clients' through the salespeople's clothing is part of the _____ frame of the organization.

symbolic

A _____ is usually not necessary to the Scrum method.

team contract

The three spheres of systems management are business, organization, and _____.

technology

Steve, an engineer in a construction company, is at present working on a home construction project. The home is being built for the Robinson family, the owners of the home. Steve is working with his project team and support staff to ensure the project is completed on time. In such a scenario, the project sponsor is _____.

the Robinson family

In organizational culture, people focus refers to _____.

the degree to which management 's decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on employees within the organization

In organizational culture, means-end orientation refers to _____.

the degree to which management focuses on outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve results

organizational culture, control refers to _____.

the degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee employee behavior

Schedule variance is:

the earned value minus the planned value.

In the development phase of the project life cycle:

the project team creates more detailed project plans, a more accurate cost estimate, and a more thorough WBS.

Scope refers to:

the work involved in creating the products and the processes used to create them.

Fast tracking is an example of a tool used in _____ management.

time

The first step in project cost management is:

to plan how costs will be managed.

In project management, the three limitations of scope, time, and cost are referred to as the _____.

triple constraint

The _____ provides a basis for creating the project schedule and performing earned value management for measuring and forecasting project performance.

work breakdown structure

Briefly describe what happens in each of the five project management process groups (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing). What types of activities occur before initiating a project? Descriptions of what happens in each of the five process groups

• Initiating includes actions to commit to begin or end projects and project phases. Some deliverables include defining the business need for the project, getting a project sponsor, and selecting a project manager. • Planning includes creating workable plans for the entire project. Every knowledge area requires development of some plans. • Executing involves coordinating everyone and everything to carry out the project plans. Deliverables include the products of the project or phase. • Monitoring and controlling ensures the project objectives are met. Deliverables include monitoring and measuring progress and taking corrective action. • Closing involves bringing the project to an orderly end. Deliverables include organizational process assets updates and closed procurements. Before initiating a project, organizations often determine high-level scope, time, and cost constraints for a project, identify the project sponsor, select the project manager, and develop a business case for the project, to name a few.