IST 301 Exam 1 Study Questions

A _____ is a tool used in quality management.

checklist

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

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

executing

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

In project integration management, directing and managing project execution involves carrying out the project management plan by performing the activities included in it.

true

Information systems can help an organization support a strategy of being a low-cost producer.

true

Maturity models, statistical methods, and test plans are examples of tools used in quality management.

true

Monitoring and controlling processes overlap all of the other project management process groups.

true

Most colleges and universities have very strong functional organizations.

true

One of the main reasons why project management is challenging is because of the factor of uncertainty

true

Organizational process asset updates are an important output of the closing process of a project.

true

Payback period is the amount of time it will take to recoup, in the form of net cash inflows, the total dollars invested in a project.

true

Project human resource management is concerned with making effective use of the people involved with a project.

true

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

true

Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization.

true

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

true

Projects that arise as a result of problems and directives must be resolved quickly to avoid hurting an organization's business.

true

Resources in a project should be used effectively because they are limited.

true

Some organizations initiate projects using a contract in place of a project charter.

true

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.

true

The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) methodology of the Six Sigma projects, is used to improve an existing business process.

true

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

true

The introduction of new software makes basic tools, such as Gantt charts and network diagrams, inexpensive and easy to create

true

The same organization can have different subcultures

true

The two main items for monitoring and controlling in the Scrum framework are the dailyScrum and the sprint retrospectives.

true

Until the 1980s, project management primarily focused on providing schedule and resource data to top management in the military, computer, and construction industries.

true

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

waterfall life cycle

A project's internal rate of return can be determined by finding what discount rate results in an NPV of ____ for the project.

zero

The first step in determining the NPV is to _____.

...

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

human resources

Which of the following best describes outsourcing?

An organization's acquisition of goods and services from an outside source

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

Creation of a WBS

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

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.

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

Initiating

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

Kick-off meetings

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

Low-end

____ analysis is a method of calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time.

Net present value

management?

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

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

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 project schedule information section of the project management plan includes ____.

an elaborate timetable

The _____ stage of information technology planning outlines business processes that are central to achieving strategic goals and helps determine which ones could most benefit from information technology.

business area analysis

A Gantt chart is the same as a project management plan.

false

A SWOT analysis, being a linear process, cannot be performed using the nonlinear mind mapping technique.

false

An organization should consider only projects with a negative NPV if financial value is a key criterion for project selection.

false

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

false

Corrective actions reduce the probability of negative consequences associated with project risks, while preventive actions should result in improvements in project performance.

false

Decisions and actions taken in one knowledge area at a certain time rarely affect other knowledge areas.

false

Effective program managers recognize that managing a project is much more complex than managing a program.

false

Good project managers assume that their definition of success is the same as the sponsors.

false

In order to be realistic, a project manager should always set discrete goals instead of a range of objectives.

false

Initiating and closing tasks are usually the longest and require the most amount of resources and time.

false

Initiating processes are not required to end a project.

false

It is mandatory for project managers working on large information technology projects to be experts in the field of information technology.

false

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

false

Leadership style has no impact on the success of virtual teams.

false

Opponents of a project do not belong to the category of stakeholders.

false

Project managers should lead projects in isolation in order to truly serve the needs of the organization.

false

Project procurement management primarily involves identifying stakeholder needs while managing their engagement throughout the life of the project.

false

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

false

The burndown chart is a Scrum created artifact that provides a list of features prioritized by business value.

false

The kick-off meeting is always held before the business case and project charter are completed.

false

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

false

The number of interfaces in a single project is limited, and does not depend on the number of people involved in the project.

false

The only responsibility of a project manager is to meet the specific scope, time, and cost goals of a project.

false

The pre-initiation phase of a project using the Scrum method does not involve project charters, stakeholder management strategy, and kick-off meetings.

false

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

false

Agile methods comprise of 45 subprocesses which are organized into eight process groups.

false ( All agile methods include an iterative workflow and incremental delivery of software in short iterations.)

Earned value management is a tool primarily used in human resource management.

false (Project budgets, net present value, return on investment, payback analysis, and earned value management are tools used in cost management.)

The outputs of the _____ process include change request status updates, project management plan updates, and project document updates.

monitoring and controlling

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

monitoring and controlling

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

project integration management

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

project sponsor

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

prototyping life cycle

The _____ is the minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment.

required rate of return

In the _____ stage of selecting information technology projects, organizations select information technology projects.

resource allocation

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

sprint reflection meeting

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

In organizational culture, control refers to _____.

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

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.

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

time

An annual discount factor is a multiplier for each year based on the discount rate and year.

true

As projects progress, the organization must reevaluate the need, funding, and will for each project to determine if the project should be continued, redefined, or terminated.

true

Every project should have a well-defined objective.

true

Identifying the project sponsor is a pre-initiation task.

true