ISDS Midterm 2

Project Constraints

"Scope goal, time goal, cost goal"

Scrum Ceremonies

- Sprint planning session meeting with the team to select a set of work from the product backlog to deliver during a sprint - Daily Scrum short meeting for the development team to share progress and challenges and plan work for the day - Sprint Reviews meeting in which the team demonstrates to the product owner what it has completed during the sprint - Sprint retrospectives 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

Project Success

- The project met scope, time, and cost goals - The project satisfied the customer/sponsor - The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy

Calculating the critical path

- develop a good network diagram - add the duration estimates for all activities on each path through the network diagram - the longest path is the *critical path* - if one or more of the activities on the *critical path* takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless the project manager takes corrective action.

Elements of a schedule management plan

- project schedule model development - the scheduling methodology - level of accuracy and units of measure - control thresholds - rules of performance measurement - reporting formats - process descriptions

Planning (Because Scrum implies that team members work as a self- directed group, coached by the ScrumMaster, a team charter should not be necessary)

-Descriptions of work are identified in the product and sprint backlogs -More detailed work is documented in technical stories -Team must estimate a velocity or capacity for each sprint

What is Project Management?

-The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements -Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint (project scope, time, and cost goals) and also facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of project stakeholders

pre-initiation tasks

-determine the scope, time, and cost constraints for the project -identify the project sponsor -select the project manager -develop a business case for the project -meet with the project manager to review the process and expectations for managing the project -determine if the project should be divided into two or more smaller projects

Organizational project management

A framework in which portfolio, program, and project management are integrated with organizational enablers in order to achieve strategic objectives.

Many organizations develop their own internal IT project management methodologies

A methodology describes how things should be done A standard describes what should be done

Programs

A program is "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually" -Examples of common programs in the IT field include infrastructure, applications development, and user support -A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program

Total slack or total float

Amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date

The two main tools for monitoring and controlling in the Scrum framework

Daily Scrum: held each morning to plan and communicate work for the day and discuss any risks, issues, or blockers • Sprint review: work progress within a sprint can be represented on a sprint board maintained by the ScrumMaster

Forward pass

Determines the early start and finish dates

Which of the following is a pre-initiation task?

Developing a business case for a project

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

Project Stakeholders

Individuals and organizations actively involved in the project or whose interests might be affected as a result of project execution or project completion

Project Closing

Involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services

Precedence diagramming method (PDM)

Network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration • Critical path: a series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed • The longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float; amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date

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

PMI or the Project Management Institute: provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP). A Project Management Professional (PMP) has documented sufficient project experience and education agreed to follow the PMI code of professional conduct, and demonstrated knowledge of project management by passing a comprehensive examination.

Main processes

Planning scope management: Collecting requirements: Defining scope: Creating the WBS: Creating the WBS: Controlling scope:

The most difficult and unappreciated process in project management is often

Planning: Because planning is not always used to facilitate action, many people view it negatively. However, the main purpose of planning is to guide project execution. As such, plans must be realistic and useful, so a fair amount of time and effort must go into the process.

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

Sequencing activities

Which of the following is true of projects?

They have a unique purpose.

_____ refers to the difference between planned and actual performance.

Variance

Activity list:

a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule • Activity name, activity identifier or number, and brief description of the activity

Feeding buffers:

additional time added before tasks on the critical path

Project buffer:

additional time added before the project's due date

Buffer:

additional time to complete a task

Network diagrams

are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing • Schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities • Two main formats are the arrow and precedence diagramming methods

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

bursts

Controlling scope

controlling changes to project scope throughout the life of the project

Controlling scope:

controlling changes to project scope throughout the life of the project

In project time management, the process of_____ primarily involves checking and managing changes to the project schedule.

controlling the schedule

Collecting requirements:

defining and documenting the features and functions of the products produced during the project as well as the processes used for creating them

Backward pass

determines the late start and finish dates

Planning scope management:

determining how the project's scope and requirements will be managed

In project time management, the ultimate goal of _____ is to provide a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project.

developing a schedule

Validating scope:

formalizing acceptance of the project deliverables

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

human resource

Murphy's Law:

if something can go wrong, it will

Project scope management

includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included In a project • Ensures that the project team and stakeholders have the same understanding of what products the project will produce and what processes the project team will use to produce them

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

Projects involve five project management process groups

initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing • Tailoring these process groups to meet individual project needs increases the chance of success in managing projects

Sequencing process

involves evaluating the reasons for dependencies and the different types of dependencies • A dependency or relationship is the sequencing of project activities or tasks

milestone

is a significant event that normally has no duration • It often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete a milestone • They're useful tools for setting schedule goals and monitoring progress • Examples: obtaining customer sign-off on key documents or completion of specific products

A Project Management Office (PMO)

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

Decomposition

is the main tool or technique for creating a WBS • Subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces• A work package is a task at the lowest level of the WBS

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

Product owner:

person responsible for the business value of the project and for deciding what work to do and in what order, as documented in the product backlog

ScrumMaster:

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

Agile

projects may not even need to estimate activity durations or project schedules at all; overall project completion time is not important

Activity attributes

provide more information • Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity

The ______ documents how project needs will be analyzed, documented, and managed.

requirements management plan

A(n) _____ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project.

work breakdown structure

Parkinson's Law:

work expands to fill the time allowed

arrow diagramming method (ADM)

• Activities are represented by arrows• Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities• Only show finish-to-start dependencies• Refer to the text for the step-by-step process of creating AOA diagrams

Closing

• After the sprint review, the ScrumMaster leads a sprint retrospective • Team reflects on what happened during the sprint • Sprint retrospective is intended to answer two fundamental questions • What went well during the last sprint that we should continue doing? • What could we do differently to improve the product or process?

types of dependencies or relationships between activities

• Finish-to-start• Start-to-start • Finish-to-finish • Start-to-finish

Goals

• Influence the factors that cause scope changes Ensure changes are processed according to procedures developed as part of integrated change control Manage changes when they occur

SMART Criteria for milestones

• Specific • Measurable • Assignable • Realistic • Time-framed

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

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

Project Attributes

A project: Has a unique purpose Is temporary Is developed using progressive elaboration Requires resources, often from various areas Should have a primary customer or sponsor The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project Involves uncertainty

A process

A series of actions or steps taken to achieve an end

What Is a Project?

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Creating the WBS:

subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components

Examples of IT projects

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Foundation • Intelligent Things • Cloud to the Edge • Immersive Experience

Project Portfolio Management

As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success

critical chain scheduling

Considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date • Uses the Theory of Constraints (TOC): management philosophy developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt; attempts to minimize multitasking when a resource works on more than one task at a time

Planning Schedule Management

Elements of a schedule management plan • Project schedule model development • Scheduling methodology • Level of accuracy and units of measure • Control thresholds • Rules of performance measurement • Reporting formats• Process descriptions

Project Pre-Initiation and Initiation

Initiating includes recognizing and starting a new project Right kinds of projects for the right reasons Strategic planning should serve as the foundation for deciding which projects to pursue Expresses the vision, mission, goals, objectives, and strategies of the organization Provides the basis for IT project planning

Project Pre-Initiation and Initiation (closing phase)

Main differences between pre-initiation in this case and the first case • Determining roles and deciding what functionality would be delivered as part of each release • How many sprints will be required to complete a release • How many releases of software to deliver

Project Management Tools and Techniques

Methods available to assist project managers and their teams; some popular time-management tools include Gantt charts, network diagrams, and critical path analysis -Some specific ones include • Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope) Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time) Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)

Project Management Knowledge Areas

Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10 knowledge areas (scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communications, risk, procurement, stakeholder, and project integration management)

The Role of the Project Manager

Project managers must work closely with the other stakeholders on a project, especially the sponsor and project team

Scrum

Projects that rely heavily on the critical path method consider meeting the project's estimated completion date as a crucial component of success

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

• Free slack or free float

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities

Project monitoring and controlling

The fourth stage of the project management process; includes making sure the project stays on track and making the appropriate corrective measures if it doesn't Outputs include performance reports, change requests, and updates to various plans

Project Planning

The second phase of the project management process that focuses on defining clear, discrete activities and the work needed to complete each activity within a single project. -• Team contract• Project scope statement• Work breakdown structure (WBS) • Project schedule, in the form of a Gantt chart with all dependencies and resources entered • List of prioritized risks (part of a risk register)

Project Execution

The third stage of the project management process; includes carrying out the actual project work -Usually takes the most resources to perform Many project sponsors and customers focus on deliverables related to providing the products, services, or results desired from the project • It is equally important to document change requests and update planning documents A milestone report can help focus on completing major milestones

Outputs of creating the WBS

are the scope baseline and project documents updates • Scope baseline includes the approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary

Scrum team or development team

cross-functional team of five to nine people who organize themselves and the work to produce the desired results for each sprint, which normally lasts two to four weeks

Scope

refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them • A deliverable is a product produced as part of a project, such as hardware or software, planning documents, or meeting minutes

Defining scope:

reviewing the project charter, requirements documents, and organizational process assets to create a scope statement

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

s a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project • Foundation document that provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes

The _____ should list and describe all of the deliverables required for the project.

scope statement

Initiating

the project management process that deals with selecting and starting a project and establishing the goals for the project It's good practice to hold a kick-off meeting at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans

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

top-down

Project management consists of 10 knowledge areas

• Integration, scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

• Network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates

Project time management processes

• Planning schedule management • Defining activities • Sequencing activities • Estimating activity resources • Estimating activity durations • Developing the schedule • Controlling the schedule

Scrum artifacts

• Product backlog: list of features prioritized by business value • Sprint backlog: highest-priority items from the product backlog to be completed within a sprint • Burndown chart: shows the cumulative work remaining in a sprint on a day-by-day basis

Important elements of a project scope statement

• Product scope description • Product user acceptance criteria • Detailed information on all project deliverables

The Importance of Project Schedules

• Project time management processes • Planning schedule management • Defining activities• Sequencing activities • Estimating activity resources • Estimating activity durations • Developing the schedule• Controlling the schedule

Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing

• Schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities • Two main formats are the arrow and precedence diagramming methods

scope creep

• Tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger and bigger

Executing

• The most time and money should be spent on executing • Plans are implemented to create the desired product • Agile approach: team produces several iterations of a potentially shippable product • Users can access and make suggestions • Communications are different• Project team meets every morning, physically or virtually

Developing the Schedule

• Uses results of the other time management processes to determine the start and end date of the project • Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project • Important tools and techniques • Gantt charts• Critical path analysis• Critical chain scheduling • PERT analysis