Comptia Project + - Project Basics

You are being interviewed for a job as a project manager, and the interviewer has asked you to list some of the key characteristics of a project. Which of the following responses is correct? a. A project must have at least three people involved in it. b. A project is temporary. c. A project must last at least one month from beginning to end. d. A project does not need to have an end; it can continue indefinitely.

b. A project is temporary. A project must be temporary. There is no specific team size required for a project. There is no specific duration for a project. A project cannot continue indefinitely; it must have an end.

Alpine Ski House owns and operates three ski lodges in the Rocky Mountains. The company wants to expand, and the board of directors has authorized the construction of five new facilities in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California and Nevada. The directors have a strategic objective of being the preferred go-to resorts for seniors and retirees within 10 years. Projects related to this goal that are under consideration include obtaining venture-capital financing, new marketing campaigns, acquiring new land, completing facility construction, and establishing franchises; they may be completed separately for each of the five new ski resorts. What type of project organizational structure will be involved at the corporate level? a. Program b. Portfolio c. Multiple-project d. Mega-project

b. Portfolio The expansion projects will be managed as a portfolio. All the projects will be tied to the strategic objective of being the preferred go-to resorts. Within the portfolio will be programs, projects within each program, and eventually operations to manage each new lodge.

Which of the following project alternatives would be the least likely for management to pursue? a. To comply with a new regulation b. To replace all laptops in the company older than five years c. To increase market share of a flagship product by 10 percent d. To decrease the number of employees who leave the company each year

b. To replace all laptops in the company older than five years. Replacing all laptops older than five years is not a strong reason to launch a project. Unless given more information, there is no justification that laptops of that vintage should be replaced.

You purchase a set of house plans from a magazine, and build your new home by following the plans exactly. Your friend across town likes your new home, and uses the same set of plans to construct a home. Have the two of you completed one project or two? a. Only one project has been completed, because the same set of plans was used for both houses. b. You have completed two projects. c. Either is correct, because the homes are similar enough that you can conclude you have completed either one or two projects. d. Only one project has been completed because, for all practical purposes, the houses are identical.

b. You have completed two projects. A project must be undertaken to create a unique product or service; in this case, the term "unique" is very specific and means unlike anything else. Even though the same plans were used, each house is unique due to differences not in the plans, such as each site's location. Since each house is unique, two projects were completed.

Which statement best describes a portfolio? a. A set of repetitive ongoing tasks b. A temporary endeavor that is undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result c. A collection of projects that are grouped to achieve the strategic business objective of an organization d. A set of projects managed in a coordinated way

c. A collection of projects that are grouped to achieve the strategic business objective of an organization A portfolio is a collection of projects that relate to a strategic business objective.

Which of the following statements is not true about a project? a. It creates a product or service. b. It is unique, and has never been done before. c. It is strategic to the company. d. It is progressively elaborated.

c. It is strategic to the company. A project is not always undertaken for strategic reasons, and many projects are "ordinary." An example would be development of a new staff recruiting manual.

You began a project on May 1 and the target completion date is December 15. On November 1, the client instructed you to stop work on the project immediately because they no longer need the project's deliverables. You are to permanently archive everything you have done to this point. Should you now move to the close phase activities of the project management process? a. Yes, because it is after November 1. b. No, because the client may change their mind and re-open the project at a later date. c. Yes, because the project is considered complete. d. No, because the original scope of work was not completed.

c. Yes, because the project is considered complete. A project should move to the close phase when no more work will be completed on it. In this case, the project deliverables are no longer needed and the project is being ended immediately. A project should move to the close phase when the scope of work is completed. In this case, the project's scope of work was changed by the client to reflect that the deliverables are no longer needed. A project should move to the close phase when no more work will be completed on it, independent of the date. If the client re-opens the project in the future it will become a new project.

An engineering company has completed design and construction of a petroleum refinery to produce gasoline. Part-way through construction, the engineers added a new process to produce another product unrelated to gasoline. Near the end of the construction effort, the owners decided to add a warehouse to store chemicals used in the gasoline refining process. When the refinery construction was completed, the engineering company began to operate the refinery. At this time, a contractor was brought in to correct problems that occurred during construction. How many projects were associated with this effort? a. 5 b. 3 c. 1 d. 4

d. 4 There were four projects: the refinery, the new process, the warehouse, and the contractor's work to fix problems. Each of these projects had specific start and finish dates and a specific purpose.

Which statement best describes a project? a. Something that produces a unique product, service, or result and is ongoing b. Something that produces multiple products, services, or results c. Something that produces a unique product, service, or result and does not have a start date or end date d. Something that produces a unique product, service, or result and has a start date and end date

d. Something that produces a unique product, service, or result and has a start date and end date A project produces a unique product, service, or result and has a start date and end date; for example writing a new book.

A project is undertaken for a specific and justifiable reason or purpose. Which of the following choices is a valid reason to update a company's sales website? a. The existing site uses old technology and won't have any more outages. b. The sales team will find the new design to be more attractive than the design of the existing site. c. The new site will comply with new regulations for accessibility. d. The new design will result in a 10 percent increase in the number of repeat customers within the first six months of being implemented.

d. The new design will result in a 10 percent increase in the number of repeat customers within the first six months of being implemented. The outcome should be specific enough to be confirmed through quantitative means.

What describes a operation?

A set of repetitive ongoing tasks is defined as an operation. An operation is ongoing, without start or end dates; for example filling customer orders for a book.

Which of the following is not a project? A. Seasonally switching the output of a petroleum refinery from gasoline to heating oil B. Initiating the final phase of a project C. Closing a department store because of poor sales D. Upgrading the order-entry system for a small steel-manufacturing company

A. Seasonally switching the output of a petroleum refinery from gasoline to heating oil. Seasonally switching the output of a petroleum refinery from gasoline to heating oil is not a project. It is an operation, which is repeated each year.

A portfolio is centered on one or more strategic business objectives. Which of the following represents a strategic business objective? A. Cross-training employees, so they can be more valuable B. Instituting weekly meetings of all project teams to increase project communication and efficiency C. Creating multi-lingual project teams D. Increasing corporate charitable donations

C. Creating multi-lingual project teams Multi-lingual project teams will allow a company to market its services to a wider range of clients, thus potentially increasing revenue. This qualifies as a strategic business objective, because a company exists to increase revenue and profitability.

A __________ is a collection of projects that relate to a strategic business objective.

Portfolio

What is the name of a group of projects that are managed in a coordinated manner?

Program A program is a set of projects that are managed in a coordinated way.

A _________ consists of one or more projects that are managed together. ___________ are not required to relate to a strategic business objective, and grouping projects to increase alignment is strategic in nature.

Program management

A ___________ is focused on a unique product, service, or result.

Project management

Which statement best describes a program? a. A set of projects managed in a coordinated way b. A set of repetitive ongoing tasks c. A temporary endeavor that is undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result d. A collection of projects that are grouped to achieve the strategic business objective of an organization

a. A set of projects managed in a coordinated way A program is a set of projects that are managed in a coordinated way. Projects within a program do not have to share any objectives.

During a very weak economy, a company is evaluating several proposed projects to pursue. Which project is the least likely to be approved? a. One to implement a new technology b. One to solve a business problem c. One to address a legal requirement d. One to explore a business opportunity

a. One to implement a new technology The least likely candidate for approval would be the proposal to implement a new technology. Until more is known about the benefits associated with this technology, and a benefit/cost determination is made, there is no reason to pursue it.

The Project Management Office (PMO) within a large company has seen a decrease in the overall success of the company's projects. Coordination among related projects is informal and there are staffing conflicts, disagreements between project sponsors about project desired outcomes, and conflicting priorities. The PMO wants to group projects by business unit and product lines to increase alignment between priorities. Toward which type of project organizational structure are they working? a. Portfolio management b. Program management c. Project management d. Operations management

a. Portfolio management The company is working towards a portfolio organizational structure. A portfolio is a collection of projects that relate to a strategic business objective, and grouping projects by product lines to increase alignment is strategic in nature.