Managing IT Projects Chapter 5, IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT 7e, IT Project Management Chapter 6, ch.7 It project management schwalbe, IT Project Management Chapter 8, Project Management Chapter 6, IT Project Management Chapter 7, Project Management Exam 2,...
To complete performance index
(BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC)
Estimate to completion
(BAC - EV) / CPI
PERT weighted average formula
(Optimistic time + 4 * most likely time + pessimistic time)/6
return on investment (ROI)
(benefits minus costs) divided by costs.
Fast tracking
(doing things in parallel) Doing two, or several, activities that were originally planned to be completed in sequence at the same time.
ROI
(total expected benefits- total expected costs)/ total expected costs
ROI =
(total expected benefits-total expected costs) / total expected costs
How many bosses does one have with matrix organization? And what is the result of this?
- 2 bosses (Project manager and Functional manager) -Project manager coordinates all of the activities for the functional areas, while the functional manager is responsible for providing people and resources to project Violate unity of command Confusion, conflict, mixed loyalties
Common risks
- Absenteeism - Resignation - Staff being pulled away by management - Additional staff/skills not available - Training not as effective as desired - Initial specifications poor or incomplete - Work or change orders multiplying due to various problems - Enhancements taking longer than expected
Estimation accuracy categories
- Ball park (~30%) - Comparative (~15%) - Feasability (~10%) - Definitive (~5%)
Business process re-engineering (BPR)
- Based on the believe that large-scale gains only result from a fundamental rethinking about what is done and how it is done. - In most BPR initiatives, IT emerges as a key enabler of change. - (Negative) Is associated with downsizing.
Methods of risk assessment
- Brainstorming meetings - Expert opinion - History - Multiple (or team-based) assessments
Reasons for project networks and scheduling
- Clearly illustrate dependencies of all tasks and work packages - Illustrating interrelationship between activities and project personnel facilitates communication flows. - Helps with master scheduling of organizational resources because it shows times when various personnel must be fully committed to project activities. - Identifies the critical activities and distinguishes them from the less critical. - Determines when you can expect the project to be completed. - Deadlines for activities are identified
A few project control systems
- Configuration control - Design control - Trend monitoring - Document control - Acquisition control - Specification control
Common problems in PPM
- Conservative technical communities that are not willing to give up projects that do not align with business goals. - Out of sync projects and portfolios - Unpromising projects - Scarce resources
How can project organizations protect themselves from problems with claims
- Consider the possible areas of claims at the start and plan accordingly. - Make sure the project stakeholders know their particular areas of risk under the contract to help prevent baseless claims after the fact. - Keep accurate and up-to-date records from the start of the contract. - Keep clear details of customer change requests. - Ensure that all correspondence is retained and archived.
Key identifiable features of contracts
- Contractual requirements - Valid consideration - Contracted terms
Typical parameters in project update reports
- Cost status + S curves + Earned value + Variance of exception reports - Schedule status - Technical performance status
Extrem Programming
- Created to deal with common project problems of rapidly changing requirements, challenging deadlines and working with new or unfamiliar technologies. - Will work best on relatively small projects or with small teams. - Uses 'user stories' to determine product features. - The customer must be available at all times. - There is a good structural model to support it. - Main drawback is that it cannot be scaled to large projects.
Portfolio management process
- Decision making - Prioritization - Review alternatives - Realignment - Reprioritization
The spiral model
- Differs from waterfall in that it has an evolutionary and iterative approach to system development. - Works well when the requirements are not well understood by the users. - Involves carrying out the same activities over a number of cycles in order to clarify the requirements, issues and solutions and in effect amount to repeating the development lifecycle several times. - The total cost of the project will increase as the lengt of the spiral increases.
Types of costs
- Direct vs Indirect - Recurring vs non-recurring - Fixed vs variable - Normal vs expedited
Financial models
- Discounted cash flow analysis - Net present value - Internal rate of return
Concerns when shutting down a project
- Emotional issues of the project team - Emotional issues of the clients - Intellectual issues internal - Intellectual issues external
Program Evaluation and Review Technique
- Employs both a project network diagram (visual representation of scheduled activities) with a statistical distribution (provides probability for estimating when the project and activities will be completed). - Takes probabilistic view of estimation.... (optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic)
Scope statement key steps
- Establishing the project goal criteria - Developing the management plan for the project - Establishing a work breakdown structure - Creating a scope baseline
CM Critical Success Factors
- Execution Strategies - Decision Taker(s) - Performance monitoring - Sufficient Resources - Effective Environment - Communication - Defined Boundary
Risk classifications
- Financial risk - Technical risk - Commercial risk - Execution risk - Contractual or legal risk
Keys to successful PPM
- Flexible structure and freedom of communication (fostering the right environment for innovation) - Low-cost environmental scanning (launching many low-cost pilots to gauge commercial viability of projects) - Time-paced transition (planning the introduction of new products).
Choosing a project selection approach
- Focus on the method - Right method for the right situation
Important elements of the project sign-off document
- General program and project management confidence - Commercial confidence - Market and sales confidence - Product quality confidence - Manufacturing confidence - Supply chain logistics confidence - Aftermarket confidence - Health, safety, and environment confidence
What prevents effective project closeout
- Getting the project signed off discourages other closeout activities - The assumed urgency of all projects pressures us to take shortcuts at the back end - Closeout activities are given a low priority and are easily ignored - Lessons learned analysis is viewed as a bookkeeping process - People may assume that because all projects are unique, the actual carryover from project to project is minimal
Some closeout documents
- Historical records - Postproject analysis - Financial closeout
IRR disadvantages
- IRR is not ROI. Only if project-generated cash flows can be reinvested in new projects at similar rates of return does this hold true. - IRR and NPV typically agree only when projects are independent of each other. If projects are not mutually exclusive IRR and NPV may disagree. NPV is then leading. - If cash flows are not normal IRR may arrive at multiple solutions, only one of which is correct.
How to make a champion
- Identify and encourage the emergence of champions - Encourage and reward risk takers - Remember that champions are connected emotionally to their projects - Don't tie champions too tightly to traditional project management duties
Reasons to make project changes or specification adjustements
- Initial planning errors, either technological or human - Additional knowledge of project or environmental conditions - Uncontrollable mandates - Client request
The waterfall method
- Is generally taken to mean any sequential model. - Each stage has two elements: (1) the work being carried out and (2) the 'verification and validation' of that work. - Rework when necessary is carried out in succeeding stages and the original stage in which the product was produced is not revisited. - (Good) Addresses elements of quality management through verification and validation, and configuration management by baselining products at the end of each stage. - (Bad) Does not have explicit means for exercising management control on a project, and planning control and risk management are not covered. - Works best when the level of reworking of products is kept to a minimum and the requirements are well understood from the outset.
Profile models disadvantages
- Limit decision criteria to 2 - Some value must be attached to risk which is not always logical
Typical risk variables
- Market risks - Political risks - Technical risks - Financing risks - Environmental impact risks - Cost risk - Schedule risk - Quality (functionality) risk - Managerial risk - Integration (stakeholder) risk - Acts of God
What are the four major characteristics of a good MOV
- Measurable - Agreed upon -Verifiable -Provide value to organization
Limitations of AHP
- Negative utility - Requires all criteria to be openly available.
Soft Systems Methodology (SSM)
- Not an approach to information systems development. Soft Systems Model: 1. The problem situation is stated, but perhaps in an unstructured way. 2. Root definitions are collected and explored, to find out what people believe about the system. 3. Based on the root definitions, a series of conceptual models are built that show what a human activity system would look like if built from each model. 4. The various conceptual models are compared and discussed and agreement is sought on the best model. 5. Real-world constraints are considered. 6. Actions are generated to implement the change.
The socio-technical approach
- Not really an IT approach - Similar to business process re-engineering, but place greater emphasis on designing processes for people as well as efficiency.
True for any decision model
- Only partially reflect reality - Include both objective and subjective factors
Project control techniques
- Project S-curve - Milestone analysis
Additional approach to project assessment (from short to long-term importance):
- Project efficiency (meeting budget and schedule) - Impact on customer (meeting specifications, client acceptance) Business success (commercial success?) Preparing for the future (was project good investement?)
Project Risk Analysis and Management (PRAM)
- Recognizes that risk management follows its own life cycle - The application of different risk management strategies at various points in the project life cycle - The integration of multiple approaches to risk management into a coherent, synthesized approach
Risk estimation methods
- Risk impact matrix with likelihood and consequences - Quantitative method using probability of failure and consequence of failure scale (.1, .3, .5, .7, .9)
Two agile approaches
- Scrum - DSDM
Checklist disadvantages
- Subjective - Fails to resolve trade-off issues
Six criteria of IT Project Success
- System quality (build quality) - Information quality - Use (superficial customer acceptance) - User satisfaction - Individual impact (what value is added) - Organizational impact
Package based solution implications for project manager
- There is still a need for proper analysis of requirements. - Business and user management need to be clear on whether they are going for package-constrained or -based approach. - Project manager will still have to coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders, specialists and vendors.
How can you improve the likelihood of success
- Value driven approach - Socio-technical approach -project management approach -knowledge management approach
The incremental model
- Variant of the waterfall method - Phased delivery; functionality is delivered in different phases. - Not appropriate where the scope of the project is poorly defined or undecided, or the requirements are not clear.
The 'V' model
- Variant of the waterfall method. - Shows correspondence between the different stages of the project. - Demonstrates elements of quality assurance (QA). - Enables the procurement and delivery stages to be clearly defined and the deliverables of each stage to be validated.
Different development lifecycle models
- Waterfall models - 'b' model - 'V' model - Incremental model - Spiral models - Scrum - DSDM - Extreme programming
Risk documentation, key information
- What -> identify source of risk - Who -> assign responsibility - When -> will mitigation occur - Why -> pinpoint most likely reason for risk - How -> detailed plan for how to abate the risk
Slack (or float)
- amount of time an activity can be delayed, that is, take longer than expected, before it delays the project. - not in critical path
Four project time management processes that are the basis for creating a project schedule
- defining activities. - sequencing activities. - estimating activity resource. - activity durations.
Elements of conceptual development
- problem statement - information gathering - constraints - alternative analysis - project objectives - statement of work
Parkinson's Law
- the idea that work expands to fill the time available - People will rarely report finishing something early because there is little incentive to do so or because they may fear that management will cut their estimates next time
How important is the project team?
-"80% cost spend on human resource"
Define project organization:
-"pure project" organization -It supports multiple projects at one time and integrates project tools and techniques throughout the organization
Calculate the ROI for a project with total expected costs of $40,000 and total expected benefits of 35,000
-12.5%
Describe the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
-1950's; To help manage the Polaris Submarine Project -Developed around same time as Critical Path -Often combined as PERT/CP Employs both a project network diagram with a statistical distribution
In the Scope management plan/process, what does creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) include?
-A tool for developing the project plan and links the project's scope to the schedule and budget -WBS represents a logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product, service, or result is naturally subdivided. It is an outline of what work is to be performed (ex. Select your smartphone, buying a house, buying a car) -Decomposes the whole project into smaller components and more manageable units of work, which is work packages
Attributes of a successful project manager:
-Ability to communicate with people -Ability to deal w people -Ability to create and sustain relationships Ability to organize
What the different types of Project Network Diagrams?
-Activity of the Node (AON) -Critical Path Analysis -Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) -Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
Why do we hate scope?
-Additional resources (internal/external) -Additional work—more expensive than technology
Advantages and Disadvantages of project organization
-Advantages: Clear authority and responsibility Improved communication High level of integration -Disadvantages: Project isolation Duplication of effort Projectitis
Advantages and Disadvantages of matrix organization
-Advantages: High level of integration Improved communication Increased project focus Equipment is shared for projects --> resources are utilized to their max Faster decisions process Objectives are visible and clear -Disadvantages: High potential for conflict (Who is my boss?) Poorer response time Accountability becomes difficult because of shared responsibility Resources pulled in several directions --> conflict Confusion of primary role
Advantages and Disadvantages of functional organization
-Advantages: Increased flexibility Breadth and depth of knowledge and experience Less duplication Coordination is easy, clear and straightforward -Disadvantages: Authority and responsibility
Define scope creep
-After fixed scope, being asked to add small but time and resource consuming features to the system -Be cautious. Keep in mind triple constraint
Describe the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
-Based on 4 fundamental relationships: 1. Finish-To-Start (FS) 2. Start-To-Start (SS) 3. Finish-To-Finish (FF) 4. Start-To-Finish (SF)
Describe an AON chart
-Boxes or "nodes" = Activities -Arrows = precedence & flow -Task sequence = predecessors, successors or parallel
Leadership roles of a project manager:
-Centers on getting people motivated and then headed down the right path toward a common goal
What does the Scope change request form include?
-Clearly defined description of change request -Scope change should be justified to separate the "would likes" from "must haves" -Alternatives should also be listed
How to develop project budget:
-Define what resources will be needed to perform the work -Determine the quantity of resources that are needed -Define the cost of using each resource -Calculate the cost of the task or activity -Ensure that the resources are leveled, and resources have not been over allocated, assigned to more than one task scheduled at the same time
Tools for defining project scope
-Deliverable Structure Chart (DSC) -Use Case Diagram (UCD)
Define scope grope
-Describes a project's team inability to define the project's scope -Early stage of project life cycle (PLC)
Define the Scope Statement
-Develop an application system that supports all of the processes, products, and services identified in the electronic commerce strategy -The application system must integrate with the bank's existing enterprise resource planning system (ERP)
Types of Procuring External Project Resources:
-External -Full insourcing -Selective outsourcing -Full outsourcing
What are the 3 types of organization?
-Functional -Project -Matrix
What tools are used when developing the project schedule?
-Gantt Charts -Project Network Diagrams
Planning
-ID and respond to problem/opportunity -Ensures the goal,scope, budget, schedule, tech & system development processes,methods and tools that are in place
What is the Triple Constraint?
-Impact of additional requirements can be explained by the "triple constraint" -The project is balanced/in harmony when the schedule and budget support the project's scope in order to achieve the MOV -Model of the constraints of project management -Quality of work is constrained by the project's budget, time and scope
Benefits of controlling scope:
-Keeps project manager in control of the project -Authorized changes to the project's scope are reflected in changes to schedule and budget -Allows the project team to stay focused and on track
Critical Path
-Longest path - shortest amount of time a project can be completed
Describe a Critical Path Analysis
-Longest path -Identifying the critical path is a major concern to the project manager because any change in the duration of the tasks on the critical path will affect the project's schedule -Tasks on critical path must be monitored and managed -CP can change and can also have multiple CP's at once
What does the Scope change request log include?
-Makes sure that the request has not fallen through the cracks -Includes info about who has the authority to make the scope change and when a response can be expected
Roles of a project manager:
-Managerial role -Planning, organizing resources, and controlling -Administrative function: performance reviews, project tracking, day-by-day responsibilities
What is MOV and its function?
-Measurable Organizational Value -define project scope, requirements or functions of the system, measure of success -A project begins with setting goals, which are MOV -supported by the scope, schedule, budget and quality
In order to make a plan, we should know project infrastructure first. This includes:
-Project Objectives -Governance -Resources
Pros and Cons of functional organization:
-Pros: Keeps each section organized Unique expertise, specialized skills, knowledge -Cons: Separation --> difficult to get together Poor communication
Define the Statement of Work (SOW)
-SOW is the document that captures and defines all aspects of your project -Notes activities, deliverables, and the timetable of your project -Lays out groundwork for project plan -SOW is easily one of most important because it's made at the outset of a project and outlines everything that needs to go into your project -Needed in situations where a project involves vendors and external contributors in addition to the internal project team
What are the tools and procedures of controlling the scope
-Scope change request form -Scope change request log
For a task in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), what do we need to consider?
-Sequence -Resource -Time
Define scope leap
-Significant and fundamental changes of scope -Change of environment, business, and industry -Maybe a new project is better
Critical Chain Project Schedule
-Similar to critical path analysis. Only difference is the CCPM takes into account resource contention -Takes a more project portfolio view -Requires that everyone understand that each project task has a 50% chance of being completed as scheduled, so about half of the tasks will be late -Instead of penalties for being late, bonuses or other incentives for completing tasks early may be needed
Product-oriented deliverables
-Specific features and functionality of the application system -Use Case Diagram (UCD) --> provides a high-level model for defining, verifying, and reaching agreement upon the product scope
What should project governance define?
-Structure -Authorization -Over-sight & Accountability -Decision-Making -Resources
Project-oriented deliverables/scope
-Supports the project management and IT development processes that are defined by the PLC and PM methodology -Maps all the project deliverables of the PLC and SDLC phases -The purpose is to define all of the project-oriented deliverables provided by the project team -Includes: Business cases, project charter, project plan and defines the work products of various PLC phases Uses DSC
deliverable
-Tangible and verifiable product of work -project plan, design specifications, delivered system
What does the project environment include:
-Technology -Office supplies -Culture
out of scope (for the project)
-Technology and organizational assessment of the current environment -customer resource management and data mining components
What are the 2 ways to define scope?
-The Statement of Work (SOW) -Scope Statement
Define project goal
-The project goal should be focused on providing business value to the organization -Provides clear focus and drives the other phases of the project
Finalizing the project schedule and budget:
-The project schedule and budget may require several iterations before it is acceptable to the sponsor, the project manager, and the project team -Once the project schedule and project plan are accepted, the project plan becomes the baseline plan -Once accepted, the project manager and project team have the authority to execute or carry out the plan
What is governance?
-The way that organizations or countries are managed at the highest level and the systems for doing this -Provides support for project objectives, which then support MOV -Provides framework, which provides the project manager and team with structure, processes, and decision-making models and tools for managing the project and ensuring its success
What are Project Network Diagrams?
-a couple of tools for planning, scheduling, and monitoring the project's progress -provides info about the logical sequence and dependencies among various tasks -provides info about when the specific tasks must start and finish and what tasks may be delayed without affecting the deadline target date
ITPM (methodology)
-a strategic-level plan for managing and controlling the project -game plan for implementing project and product lifecycles -recommends phases, processes, tools, and techniques for supporting an IT project -must be flexible and include "best practices" learned from over time CAN BE TRADITIONAL(WATERFALL) OR AGILE (SCRUM)
iterative approaches to systems development (RAD)
-attempts to compress the analysis, design, build, and test activities of the SDLC into a series of short iterations or development cycles
The work breakdown structure (WBS) should:
-be "deliverable-oriented" -support the project's MOV -Have enough detail to support planning and control -involve the people who will be doing the work -Should include learning cycles and past lessons learned
MOV must:
-be measurable -provide value -be agreed upon -be verifiable
extreme project management
-becoming popular -exemplify speed, uncertainty, changing requirements, and high risks -embraces that projects are often chaotic and unpredictable -focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and innovation
Scope management plan/process should include:
-collecting requirements -defining scope -creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) -verifying scope -controlling scope
Plan project
-defines the agreed upon scope, schedule, and budget -used as a tool to gauge the project's performance throughout the life cycle
what are the tools for project scope definition
-deliverable definition table -deliverable structure chart -context level data flow diagram -use case diagram
attributes of a good business case
-details all possible impacts, costs, and benefits -clearly compares alternatives -objectively includes all pertinent information -systematic in terms of summarizing findings
project integration processes
-develop project charter -develop project management plan -direct and manage project execution -monitor and control project work -perform integrated change control -close project or phase
close project
-ensure that all of the work is completed as planned -final project report and presentation to the client
XPM (Extreme Project Management )
-focuses on flexibility, adaptability, and innovation -exemplifies speed, uncertainty, changing requirements, and high risks
Risk focuses on :
-identification -assessment -response
scope planning
-initiating process to begin defining and documenting the project work needed to achieve the projects MOV -attempts to answer: what is and what is not to be delivered by this project?
IT Project Management Foundation: Project Management Processes
-initiating processes -planning processes -executing processes -controlling processes -closing processes
organization
-lack of direction -changing priorities -lack of funding
Examples of people
-lack of top management support - lack of skills -poor communication
Estimating Techniques software engineering approached
-lines of code LOC -Function points -COCOMO -heuristics
project life cycle(execute project plan)
-manage the project scope, schedule, budget, and people to ensure project achieves its goals -progress must be documented and compared to baseline plan -project performance must be communicated to all of the stakeholders
Execute project plan
-manage the project scope, schedule, budget, and people to ensure the project achieves its goal -progress must be documented and compared to baseline plan -must communicate everything to all stakeholders
Project inside of the functional department includes:
-manager -team -resources (from the dept.)
Why would a balance scorecard approach fail
-metrics not properly defined -non-financial variables incorrectly identified as primary drivers
Scope definition:project scope verification
-mov -deliverables -quality standards -milestones -review and acceptance
developing the business case(step 2: define MOV- the projects overall goal)
-must be measurable -provides value -must be agreed upon -must be verifiable at end of project
technology
-obsolete -unproven -incompatible
Systems Development Life Cycle
-planning -analysis -design -implementation -maintenance and support
examples of processes
-poorly defined goals and objectives -poor planning -lack of controls
Project Management Approach
-processes and infrastructure (Methodology) -resources -expectations -competition -efficiency & effectiveness
project life cycle(define project goal)
-project goal should be focused on providing business value to the organization -provides a clear focus and drives other phases -how will we know if this project is successful given the time, money and resources invested?
Design
-project team uses "to be" requirement to design architecture to support new information systems. includes network design, hardware config, databases
PMBOK
-published and maintained by the project management institute(pmi)
iterative approaches to systems development(agile systems development)
-scrum, dynamic systems development method(DSDM), adaptive software development(ASD), extreme programming(XP) -releases are developed through several iteration -each working release is transferred to users
Scope definition: product oriented deliverables
-specific features and functionality of the application -first cut of requirements definition tools: use case diagram, context dataflow diagram
scope (product-oriented deliverables)
-specific features and functionality of the application system -first cut of requirements definition DFD, UCD
project phases (fast tracking)
-starting the new phase of a project before approval is obtained for the current phase -can be used to reduce the project schedule -can be risky
Fast tracking
-starting the next phase of a project before approval is obtained for the current phase -can be used to reduce project schedule & should only be done when risk is acceptable
Methodology
-strategic level plan for managing and controlling the project -recommends phases, processes, tools, and techniques for supporting an IT project
scope (project-oriented deliverables)
-support the project management and IT development processes defined in the ITPM DDT, DSC
project planning framework
-the mov -define project's scope (initiation, planning, definition, verification, change control) -subdivide into phases -task sequence, resource, time estimates -schedule and budget baseline
Phase exits, stage gates, kill points
-these are the phase-end review of key deliverables - Allows organization to evaluate project performance and take immediate action to correct errors or problems
project phases (phase exits, stage gates, kill points)
-these are the phase-end review of key deliverables -allows the organization to evaluate the project performance and take immediate action to correct errors
Define Project Scope
-what needs to be done to produce all the project deliverables, satisfy the customer/sponsor -Scope definition includes scope boundary and deliverables
All of the following represent common methods for making decisions on contemporary project teams EXCEPT: a. One or two team members recommend or make the decision. b. The steering team reviews the project data and makes the decision. c. The project team votes to make the decision. d. The project manager or sponsor makes the decision.
...
Nikhil is the project manager for a consulting company that is performing a project for a client. Which reason below best explains why it is important for him to understand the cultures of both organizations?
...
Which two project team success factors have shown the strongest correlation to successful project performance as perceived by senior managers?
...
Generic Project Life Cycle
1- define project goal 2- plan project 3- execute project plan 4-close project 5- evaluate project
Methods for assigning completion values
1. 0/100 rule 2. 50/50 rule 3. Percentage complete rule
Forward pass process
1. Add all activity times along each paths as we move through the network (Early Start + Duration) = Early Finish 2. Carry the EF to the immediate successor. The EF becomes that nodes ES point unless it is a merge point. 3. At merge point, the latest preceding EF becomes the ES for that node.
Simplified scoring models
1. Assign importance weights to each criterion. 2. Assign scores to each criterion in term of its rating. 3. Multiply importance weight with score. 4. Add the weighted score to arrive at an overall project score.
Root cause best practices
1. Based on business goals develop threshold criteria for initiation of RCA. 2. Precisely define each major problem and quantify the business impact. 3. Allocate adequate time and resources for each RCA that are in line with the associated risk. 4. Complete each RCA consistently. 5. Don't categorize problems or their causes. 6. Institute a rigorous validation process that uses evidence to verify causes and weed out uncertainty. 7. Based on the causes, use the talents of people, to help identify the best solutions. 8. Prioritize solutions based on criteria. 9. Develop solutions that are clear and descriptive enough to be implemented by a third party. 10. Focus monitoring metrics on implementation timing and effectiveness of the solutions and report regularly on your RCA's successes.
Steps in Earned Value Management (EVM)
1. Clearly define each activity or task that will be performed on the project, including its resource needs as well as a detailed budget. 2. Create the activity and resource usage schedules. 3. Develop a "time-phased" budget that shows expenditures across the project's life. 4. Total the actual costs of doing each task to arrive at the actual cost of work performed (AC). 5. Calculate both a project's budget variance and schedule variance while it is still in process.
Scope management plan/processes
1. Collect Requirements 2. Define Scope 3. Create work breakdown structure 4. Verify Scope 5.Control Scope
Scope management activities
1. Conceptual development 2. Scope statement 3. Work authorization 4. Scope reporting 5. Control system 6. Project closeout
Project life-cycle
1. Conceptualization 2. Planning 3. Execution 4. Termination
Project Management Processes and ITPM phases
1. Conceptualize and initialize INITIATING 2.. Develop project charter and plan PLANNING 3. Execute and control project EXECUTING 4. Close project CONTROLLING 5. Evaluate project success CLOSING
Stages of configuration management
1. Configuration identification a. Develop a breakdown of the project to the necessary level of definition. b. Identify the specifications of the components of the breakdown and of the total project. 2. Configuration reviews Meet with all the stakeholders to agree on current project definition. 3. Configuration control a. If agreement is achieved repeat the first steps until the project is defined. b. If agreement is not reached, either: - Cycle back to the configuration as agreed at a previous review and repeat until succes; or - Change the specifications last obtained by a process change control to match what people think it should be. 4. Status accounting Memory of current and all previous configurations.
What is the generic project life cycle
1. Define project goal 2. plan project 3. Execute project plan 4. Close project 5. Evalulate project
Root cause analysis steps
1. Define the problem 2. Create a causal understanding of the problem 3. Identify solutions that act on known causes of the problem 4. Implement the best solutions Focus on implementing effective solutions, not labeling a root cause.
PRAM assessment phases
1. Define, make sure the project is wel defined. 2. Focus on Risk management as a project in itself. 3. Identify, assess the specific sources of risk at the outset. 4. Structure, review and refine methods. 5. Clarify ownership of risk. 6. Estimate, develop a reasonable estimate of the impact risks and the proposed solutions. 7. Evaluate process 8. Plan, produce proactive risk management plan 9. Manage, monitor actual progress and respond, be proactive.
Reasons to choose for rapid application developement
1. Desire to provide results quickly 2. Business opportunities with limited life time 3. Non-rapid development methods did not deliver better results, faster is then simply cheaper 4. External changes are reduced because less time elapses.
Crisis management approach steps
1. Develop a recovery plan 2. Manage the scope 3. Reevaluate project leadership 4. Re-estimate the business case and consider cancellation 5. Re-plan the project 6. Manage users' expectations 7. Formulate an open communications plan 8. Break the remainder of the project into small chunks 9. Deal with the people issues of the project team 10. Incorporate corrective practices in the development process
Key Change Beliefs
1. Discrepancy; belief that change is needed. 2. Appropriateness; belief that the proposed change is the correct one. 3. Efficacy; belief that the change recipient and organization can execute the change. 4. Principal support; believe that formal leaders are committed to the change. 5. Valence; belief that the change is beneficial to the change recipient.
Elements of putting it all to bed
1. Documentation 2. Legal 3. Cost 4. Personnel
Gantt chart benefits
1. Easy to read and comprehend 2. Identify the project network coupled with its schedule baseline 3. Allow for updating and project control 4. Useful for identifying resource needs and assigning resources to tasks 5. Easy to create
Common methods for reducing critical path
1. Eliminate tasks on the critical path. 2. Replan serial paths to be in parallel. 3. Overlap sequential tasks. 4. Shorten the duration of critical path tasks. 5. Shorten early tasks. 6. Shorten longest tasks. 7. Shorten easiest tasks. 8. Shorten tasks that cost the least to speed up.
Important guidelines for lessons learned
1. Establish clear rules of behavior for all parties to the meeting 2. Describe, as objectively as possible, what occurred 3. Fix the problem, not the blame
Common types of claims in the event of project closure
1. Ex-gratia claims, no contractual basis, but client feels there is a moral and commercial obligation. 2. Default claims by the project company in its obligations under the contract
Logical relationships between tasks
1. Finish to start 2. Finish to finish 3. Start to start 4. Start to finish
Elements of project closeout management
1. Finishing the work 2. Handing over the project 3. Gaining acceptance for the project 4. Harvesting the benefits 5. Reviewing how it all went 6. Putting it all to bed 7. Disbanding the team
Eight principles of DSDM
1. Focus on the business need. 2. Deliver on time. 3. Collaborate. 4. Never compromise quality. 5. Develop the solution iteratively. 6. Build incrementally from firm foundations. 7. Communicate continuously and clearly. 8. Demonstrate control.
ABC steps
1. Identify the activities that consume resources and assign costs to them. 2. Identify the cost drivers associated with the activity. Resources, in the form of project personnel, and materials are key cost drivers. 3. Compute a cost rate per cost driver unit or transaction. (e.g. for labour -> cost/hour) 4. Assign costs to projects by multiplying the cost driver rate times the volume of cost driver units consumed by the project.
Process for developing the MOV Step1
1. Identify the desired area of impact -strategic -customer -financial -operational -social
Options for accelerating projects/crashing
1. Improve the productivity of existing project resources. 2. Change the working method employed for the activity, usually by altering the technology and types of resources employed. 3. Compromise quality and/or reduce project scope. 4. Fast-track the project by: a. Shorten the longest critical activities. b. Partially overlap activities. c. Employ start to start lag relationships. 5. Use overtime. 6. Add resources to the project team.
Purposes of the work breakdown schedule
1. It echoes project objectives 2. It is the organization chart for the project 3. It creates the logic for tracking costs, schedule and performance specifications for each element in the project 4. It may be used to communicate project status 5. It may be used to improve overall project communication 6. It demonstrates how the project will be controlled
Common sources of costs
1. Labor 2. Materials 3. Subcontractors 4. Equipment and facilities 5. Travel
Problems with cost estimation
1. Low initial estimates 2. Unexpected technical difficulties 3. Lack of definition 4. Specification changes 5. External factors
Common errors while reviewing how it all went
1. Misidentifying systematic errors 2. Misapplying or misinterpreting appropriate lessons based on events 3. Failing to pass along lessons learned conclusions
Criticism and caveats to project activity networks
1. Networks can become too large and complex to be meaningful. 2. Faulty reasoning in network construction can sometimes lead to oversimplification or incorrect representations. 3. Networks are sometimes used for tasks for which they are not well suited. 4. Networks used to control the behavior of subcontractors have special dangers. When employing subcontractors: a. All subcontractors should be privy to the prime contractor's overall network. b. The networks of all subcontractors need to be merged. 5. There is a strong potential for positive bias in PERT estimations used in network construction.
What 3 infrastructure are needed to support the IT project
1. Organizational infrastructure 2. project infrastructure 3. technical infrastructure
Factors influencing the quality of estimates
1. Planning horizon; estimates of current events are close to 100 percent accurate but are reduced for more distant events. 2. Project duration; long-duration projects increase the uncertainty in estimates. 3. People; skills of the people making the estimates. Skills of the people working on the project, learning curve. Time spent communicating between team members. 4. Project structure; will influence time and cost estimates. E.g. dedicated project team or matrix. 5. Padding estimates. 6. Organizational culture. 7. Other factors; such as non-project factors.
Problem solving approach steps
1. Problem recognition 2. Re-examination of prior course of action 3. Search for alternative course of action 4. Implementing an exit strategy
10 critical success factors
1. Project mission 2. Top management support 3. Project plans and schedules 4. Client consultation 5. Personnel 6. Technical tasks 7. Client acceptance 8. Monitoring and feedback 9. Communication 10. Troubleshooting
Elements of the final project report
1. Project performance 2. Administrative performance 3. Organizational structure 4. Team performance 5. Techniques of project management 6. Benefits to the organization and the customer
Reasons for contingency
1. Project scope is subject to change. 2. Murphy's Law. 3. Cost estimation must anticipate interaction costs. 4. Normal conditions are rarely encountered.
Six criteria for project screening/selection method
1. Realism; model must reflect organizational objectives. 2. Capability; model should be flexible enough to respond to changes in the conditions under which the project are carried out. 3. Flexibility; model should be easily modified should trial applications require changes. 4. Ease of use; model must be simple enough to be used by people in all areas of the organization. 5. Cost; the screening model must be cost-effective. 6. Comparability; model must be broad enough to be applied to multiple projects.
Benefits of contingency funds
1. Recognizes the future contains unknowns. 2. Provision is made for increase in costs. 3. Application to contingency funds gives an early warning sign.
Guidelines for estimating
1. Responsibility; those most experienced should provide estimates. 2. Use several people. 3. Normal conditions. 4. Time units; should be selected early in the development phase. 5. (Task) independence. 6. (Do not allow for) contingencies. 7. Adding risk assessment to the estimate helps to avoid surprises to stakeholders.
Steps in systematic risk management
1. Risk identification 2. Analysis of probability and consequences 3. Risk mitigation strategies 4. Control and documentation
Steps for developing the business case
1. Select the core Team 2. Define Measurable Organization Value 3. Identify Alternatives 4.Define feasibility and asses risk 5.Define total cost of ownership 6.Define total benefits of ownership 7. Analyze alternatives using financial model (payback,breakeven, ROI, NPV) 8.Propose and support the recommendation
What are the 8 steps to develop a business case
1. Select the core team 2. Define measurable organizational value 3.Identify alternatives 4. Define feasibility 5. Define total cost of ownership 6. Define total benefits of ownwership 7. alternatives using financial models 8. Propose and support the recommendation
Project manager's responsibilities
1. Selecting a team 2. Developing project objectives and a plan for execution 3. Performing risk management activities 4. Cost estimating and budgeting 5. Scheduling 6. Managing resources
Theories to explain escalation behavior
1. Self-justification theory (SJT) 2. Prospect theory (PT) 3. Agency theory (AT) 4. Approach-avoidance theory (AAT)
General model of organizational control / controle cycle
1. Setting a goal 2. Measuring progress 3. Comparing actual with planned performance 4. Taking action
Milestone analysis benefits
1. Signal the completion of important project steps. 2. Can motivate the project team. 3. Offer points at which to reevaluate client needs and any potential change requests. 4. Help coordinate schedules with vendors and suppliers. 5. Identify key project review gates. 6. Signal other team members when their participation is expected to begin. 7. Can delineate the various deliverables developed in the WBS and thereby enable the project team to develop a better overall view of the project.
Rules of thumb for network diagramming
1. Some determination of activity precedence muse be done prior to creating the network. 2. Network diagram flows from left to right. 3. An activity cannot start until all preceding activities have been completed. 4. Arrows on networks indicate precedence and logical flow. 5. Each activity should have a unique ID. 6. Looping is not permitted. 7. It's common to start and finish from and to a single node.
Project factors to review for potential early termination
1. Static factors 2. Task-team factors 3. Sponsorship factors 4. Economic factors 5. Environmental factors 6. User factors
Analytical hierarchy process
1. Structuring the hierarchy of criteria 2. Allocating weights to criteria 3. Assigning numerical values to evaluation dimensions 4. Evaluating project proposals
Backward pass process
1. Subtract activity times along each path as you move through the network (Late Finish - Duration = Late Start). 2. Carry back the LF to the immediate successor. That LS becomes the LF of the next node, unless it is a burst point. 3. For a burst point. The smallest succeeding LS becomes the LF for that node.
main methods of termination
1. Termination by extinction 2. Termination by addition 3. Termination by integration 4. Termination by starvation
Creating project baseline (EVM)
1. The WBS is used to identify the individual work packages and tasks. 2. The time-phased budget allows us to determine the correct sequencing and the points in the project when budget money is like to be spent.
Some believe that agile is only appropriate in a stable environment where:
1. The application is not complex and the scope is well defined. 2. The organizational environment is fixed and mature. 3. The technical environment is neither technically advanced nor novel. 4. The application fits well in with the existing infrastructure.
Three de-escalation management models
1. The crisis management approach. 2. The change management approach. 3. The problem solving approach.
Elements to compute return at risk
1. The expected cost of the project. 2. The likelihood of achieving that expected cost. 3. The risk profile of the cost risk distribution. 4. The expected returned value of the project. 5. The likelihood of achieving that value. 6. The value profile of the value distribution.
Good reasons for crashing a project
1. The initial schedule may be too aggressive. Durations are simply too short. Crashing inevitable. 2. Market needs change and the project is in demand earlier than expected. 3. The project has slipped considerably behind schedule. 4. The contractual situations provides even more incentive to avoid schedule slippage.
Common factors apparent in agile approaches
1. The success of the approach depends on users and technical staff being empowered to make decisions without having to obtain explicit approval from senior managers. 2. All deliverables are reviewed for their business fitness rather than their adherence to requirements documents. 3. Testing is seen as being an integral part of the iterative cycle. 4. All changes are viewed as being reversible. 5. Incremental delivery is acceptable and so a partial system may be implemented initially and refined by subsequent increments. 6. The concept of a timebox is used to develop a system with a predefined scope within a short time limit. 7. Typically workshop-type methods are used to develop requirements and agree priorities.
Change management approach steps
1. Unfreezing commitment to a failing course of action 2. Committing to a new course of action 3. Providing psychological safety nets 4. Developing new attitudes and behaviors 5. Refreezing commitment to a new course of action
Drawbacks of structured development methods
1. Users and analysts/developers need to be trained to understand the documentation 2. The users also needs to accept that the amount of time required from them will be much increased. 3. Leads to increased levels of documentation and therefore bureaucracy.
Important decision rules used for early termination
1. When costs exceed business benefits 2. When the project no longer meets strategic fit criteria 3. When deadlines continue to be missed 4. When technology evolves beyond the project's scope
Project integration processes
1. develop project charter 2. develop project management plan 3. direct and mange project execution 4. monitor and control project work 5. perform integrated change control 6. close project or phase
Project charter:
1. documents the project's MOV 2. Defines the project infrastructure 3. Summarized the details of the project plan 4. Defines roles and responsibilities 5. Shows explicit commitment to the project 6. sets out project control mechanisms
Reasons why project closeout is important
1. in the case of contractual disputes 2. as a useful training tool for postproject analysis of either successes or failures 3. to facilitate project auditing tasks by showing the flow of expenses in and out of various project accounts
Alpha techniques
1. make messages more persuasive; 2. add incentives; 3. increase source credibility; 4. provide consensus information; and 5. engage in a norm of reciprocity.
Omega techniques
1. sidestep resistance, 2. consuming resistance, and 3. use resistance to promote change.
phase 5 should focus on 4 areas. What are they
1.Post mortem by project manager and team of entire project 2. Evaluation of team members by project manager 3. Outside evaluation of project, project leader, and team members 4. Evaluate project's organizational value
A principal idea in agile is that the length of daily stand-up meetings should be ___________.
15 minutes or less
Process for developing the MOV Step2
2. Identify the desired value of the IT project -better? -faster? -cheaper? -do more?
Process for developing the MOV Step 3
3. Develop an appropriate metric -money -percentage -numeric values
process for developing the MOV step 4 & 5
4- set a time frame for achieving the mov 5- verify and get agreement from the project stakeholders(project manager and team can only guide the process)
Process for developing the MOV Step 4
4. Set a time frame for achieving the MOV
Process for developing the MOV Step 5
5. Verify and get agreement from the project stakeholders
Tracking Gantt chart
A Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information
project
A _____ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. a. program b. process c. project d. portfolio
deliverable
A ______ is a product or service, such as a technical report, a training session, or hardware, produced or provided as part of a project. a. deliverable b. product c. work package d. tangible goal
process
A ______ is a series of actions directed toward a particular result. a. goal b. process c. plan d. project
WBS
A ___________ is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. a. scope statement b. WBS c. WBS dictionary d. work package
project charter
A ____________ is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management. a. project charter b. contract c. business case d. project management plan
Project Life Cycle
A collection of project phases that maps the life of a project from its beginning to define, build, and deliver the product. -each phase should provide 1 or more deliverables.
project life cycle
A collection of project phases, such as concept, development, implementation, and close-out.
Planned value (PV)
A cost estimate of the budgeted resources scheduled across the project's life cycle (cumulative baseline).
rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate
A cost estimate prepared very early in the life of a project to provide a rough idea of what a project will cost
definitive estimate
A cost estimate that provides an accurate estimate of project costs
budgetary estimate
A cost estimate used to allocate money into an organization's budget
bottom-up estimates
A cost-estimating technique based on estimating individual work items and summing them to get a project total
parametric estimating
A cost-estimating technique that uses project characteristics (parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate project costs
top-down estimates
A cost-estimating technique that uses the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project; also called analogous estimates
analogous estimates
A cost-estimating technique that uses the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project; also called top-down estimates
What is associated with resources in the WBS?
A cost. -Example: -Includes technology, facilities, and people -Consultant is paid 104k/year -Plan: one day to complete a task -Cost: 104,000/52/5 = 400 Reality: 2 days to finish. Cost is --> 400 * 2 = 800 --> 400 over budget
Work package
A deliverable at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure; it is an element of work performed during the course of a project. A work package normally has an expected duration plus an expected cost. Other generic terms for project work include task or activity.
Statement of work
A detailed narrative describing the required work for a project.
project charter
A document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management.
project management plan
A document used to coordinate all project planning documents and guide project execution and control.
In agile projects, overall planning is at a high level, and only the near-term work is planned in detail. The project work is conducted in iterations (sprints) that are normally:
A fixed length of two or four weeks
change control board (CCB)
A formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes on a project.
systems development life cycle (SDLC)
A framework for describing the phases involved in developing and maintaining information systems.
virtual team
A group of individuals who work across time and space using communication technologies.
29. What is a work package?
A group of related task within a project
executive steering committee
A group of senior executives from various parts of the organization who regularly review important corporate projects and issues.
resource breakdown structure
A hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type
"Black swan"
A high impact event that is rare and unpredictable, but not improbable in retrospect.
systems approach
A holistic and analytical approach to solving complex problems that includes using a systems philosophy, systems analysis, and systems management.
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
A management philosophy that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that limits the ability to achieve more of the system's goal
cash flow analysis
A method for determining the estimated annual costs and benefits for a project
COCOMO (Constructive Cost Model)
A method for estimating a software project's size and cost. -developed by barry boehm -has been extended to COCOMO II
agile software development
A method for software development that uses new approaches, focusing on close collaboration between programming teams and business experts.
net present value (NPV) analysis
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.
critical chain scheduling
A method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date
balanced scorecard
A methodology that converts an organization's value drivers to a series of defined metrics.
slipped milestone
A milestone activity that is completed later than planned
discount factor
A multiplier for each year based on the discount rate and year.
Critical path method CPM
A network analysis technique used to determine the amount of float on various logical network paths in the project schedule. And to determine the minimum total project duration.
Program Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT)
A network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates.
Arrow diagramming method (ADM)
A network diagramming get technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected to points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities.
arrow diagramming method (ADM)
A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities
Activity-on-arrow (AOA)
A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
A network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities
forward pass
A network diagramming technique that determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity
directive
A new government law requires an organization to report data in a new way. Under which category would a new information system project to provide this data fall? a. problem b. opportunity c. directive d. regulation
Earned Value (EV)
A performance measurement that tells us how much of the budget we really should have spent for the work that was completed
Resource contention (multitasking of resources)
A person is often assigned to more than one project or required to attend meetings, training, etc. As a result, they can no longer devote their time to tasks that are on the critical path
Event
A point when an activity is either started or completed.
systems analysis
A problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of the system to be studied, and then dividing it into its component parts for identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs.
configuration management
A process that ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete.
deliverable
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.
Project definition
A project is a unique venture with a beginning and an end. Projects are goal oriented. "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service".
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
A project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates
Backward Pass
A project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity
critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis
A project network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration
earned value management (EVM)
A project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data
Resource-limited schedule
A project schedule whose start and finish date reflect expected resource availability. The final project schedule should always be resource-limited.
Project metric
A qualitative measurement of some attribute of the project (scope, schedule, budget, resources, quality, risk)
Start-to-start dependency
A relationship in which th "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity is started.
Finish-to-finish dependency
A relationship in which the "from" activity must finish before the "to" activity can be finished.
Start-to-finish dependency
A relationship in which the "from" activity must start before the "to" activity can be finished.
Finish-to-start dependency
A relationship in which the "from" activity or predecessor must finish before the "to" activity or successor can start.
start-to-finish dependency
A relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity is finished
start-to-start dependency
A relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts
finish-to-finish dependency
A relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished
finish-to-start dependency
A relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be started
fast tracking
A schedule compression technique in which you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence
network diagram
A schematic display of the logical relationships or sequencing of project activities
Network diagram
A schematic display of the project's sequential activities and the logical relationships between them.
champion
A senior manager who acts as a key proponent for a project.
Path
A sequence of activities defined by the project network logic.
organizational culture
A set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.
milestone
A significant event that normally has no duration on a project; serves as a marker to help in identifying necessary activities, setting schedule goals, and monitoring progress
burst
A single node followed by two or more activities on a network diagram
adaptive software development (ASD)
A software development approach used when requirements cannot be clearly expressed early in the life cycle.
predictive life cycle
A software development approach used when the scope of the project can be clearly articulated and the schedule and cost can be accurately predicted.
Gantt chart
A standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format; sometimes referred to as bar charts
Gantt chart
A standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format; sometimes referred to as bar charts.
Function point analysis
A system for estimating the size of software projects based on what the software does.
17. How does a use case diagram help to define the project's scope?
A system modeling tool used for refining the scope boundary and defining what the system must do
Activity List
A tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule
Activity list
A tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule. The list should include the activity name, activity identifier or number and a brief description of the activity.
WBS
A task-oriented "family tree" of activities that organizes, defines, and graphically displays the total work to be accomplished in order to achieve the final objectives of a project. Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project objective.
Crashing
A technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
crashing
A technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost
weighted scoring model
A technique that provides a systematic process for basing project selection on numerous criteria.
mind mapping
A technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
A technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time estimates to calculate the expected time for a particular task. -developed in 1950s to help manage the Polaris submarine project -employs both a project network diagram with a statistical distribution
learning curve theory
A theory that when many items are produced repetitively, the unit cost of those items normally decreases in a regular pattern as more units are produced
cost baseline
A time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance
planning
A work breakdown structure, project schedule, and cost estimates are outputs of the ______ process. a. initiating b. planning c. executing d. monitoring and controlling e. closing
18. What is a deliverable structure chart (DSC)? What is its purpose?
A work package is developed for each the phases and deliverables
integrated de-escalation management model
A. Prevent B. Detect C. Disrupt D. Re-evaluate and re-plan E. Implement new course of action F. Learn
Activity-based costing
ABC, first assigns costs to activities, then to the project based on the amount of resources (specific activities) it requires.
Began in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a defense project called _______________ that eventually led to the Internet
ARPANET
Self-organization
Ability of interconnected autonomous agents of a complex adaptive system to evolve into an organized form without external force.
Approach avoidance theory
According to approach avoidance theory, in escalation situations, the cost of persistence (a restraining force) is often overshadowed by one or more driving forces such as: (1) the size of the reward for goal attainment, (2) the cost of withdrawal, or (3) the proximity to the goal.
____ is the process of "confirming human resource availability and obtaining the team necessary to complete project activities".
Acquire Project Team
Concurrent activities
Activities that can be accomplished at the same time.
Successors
Activities that cannot be started until previous activities have been completed.
Serial activities
Activities that flow from one to the next, in sequence.
dummy activities
Activities with no duration and no resources used to show a logical relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project network diagrams
Actual cost (AC)
Actual cost incurred for completing an activity
The project life cycle where project teams plan in short bursts (generally of one to four weeks), often called sprints or iterations, is referred to as _________:
Adaptive, change-driven project life cycle
Buffer
Additional time estimated to complete a task. Used as a safety net to account for various factors.
buffer
Additional time to complete a task; a buffer is added to an estimate to account for various factors
political frame
Addresses organizational and personal politics.
IT governance
Addresses the authority and control for key IT activities in organizations,including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project management.
systems management
Addressing the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and making changes to a system.
The 'b' model
Adds project maintenance as a cycle to the waterfall model, following the same stages as the original development.
Which of the following is NOT a traditional functional area of a business? A. Marketing and sales B. Supply chain management C. Accounting and finance D. Advertising E. Human resources
Advertising
Organization breakdown structure
Allows companies to define the work to be accomplished and assign it to the owners of the work packages, including budget.
MONITORING AND CONTROLLING
Allows for managing and measuring progress towards the project's MOV and scope, schedule, budget, and quality objectives
Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT)
Allows the eventual owner to mitigate risk in the short run.
Tracking Gantt chart
Allows the project team to constantly update the project's status by linking task completion to the schedule baseline.
Strategies for overcoming resistance based on approach-avoidance model
Alpha vs. Omega
Planned value
Also called the budget, is the portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be spent on an activity during a given period
Activity on Node
An activity or task focuses on producing a specific project deliverable, generally takes a specific amount of time to complete, and requires resources.
Merge activity
An activity with two or more immediate predecessors. Merge activities can be located by forward pass.
Burst activity
An activity with two or more successors. Found via backward pass
activity
An element of work normally found on the WBS that has an expected duration, cost, and resource requirements; also called a task
task
An element of work normally found on the WBS that has an expected duration, cost, and resource requirements; also called an activity
earned value (EV)
An estimate of the value of the physical work actually completed
estimate at completion (EAC)
An estimate of what it will cost to complete the project based on performance to date
Three-Point Estimate
An estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate
Milestone
An event or stage of the project that represents a significant accomplishment on the road to the project's completion.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique PERT
An event- and probability-based network analysis system generally used in projects where activities and their durations are difficult to define.
SSADM
An example of a structured development method. Default structure: 1. Feasibility 2. Requirements analysis 3. Requirements specification 4. Logical system specification 5. Physical design Although it can be tailored to the demands of individual projects it is perceived as a large, bureaucratic approach ill-suited for the fast pace of change in the modern business world.
champion
An individual who identifies with a new development using all the weapons at his command, against the funded resistance of the organization. Functions as an entrepreneur within the organization.
matrix organizational structure
An organizational structure in which employees are assigned to both functional and project managers.
functional organizational structure
An organizational structure that groups people by functional areas such as information technology, manufacturing, engineering, and human resources.
project organizational structure
An organizational structure that groups people by major projects, such as specific aircraft programs.
systems philosophy
An overall model for thinking about things as systems.
In which phase of the DMAIC model in Six Sigma (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) are root causes identified and statistically proven?
Analyze
SWOT analysis
Analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats; used to aid in strategic planning.
kill
Another name for a phase exit is a _____ point. a. review b. stage c. meeting d. kill
16. What is a scope statement? What purpose does it serve?
Another way to define the scope boundary; it is a detailed documentation of the sponsors needs and expectation.
Project risk
Any possible event that can negatively affect the viability of a project. Risk = (Probability of Event) (Consequences of Event)
Project network diagram PND
Any schematic display of the logical relationships of project activities.
25%
Approximately what percentage of the world's gross domestic product is spent on projects? a. 10% b. 25% c. 50% d. 75%
Discretionary dependencies
Are defined by the project team. They are sometimes referred to as hard logic.
Reserves
Are dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to mitigate cost risk by allowing for future situations that are difficult to predict.
Mandatory dependencies
Are inherent in nature of the work being performed on a project. They are sometimes referred to as hard logic.
Problems with milestones
Are only a form of reactive control.
Dummy activities
Are used in AOA networks to indicate the existence of precedent relationships between activities and their event nodes. They do not have any work or time values assigned to them.
Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs)
Are used to protect the excessive financial exposure of a contracting agency to a project being developed.
discretionary
As the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this? a. technical b. mandatory c. discretionary d. external
The PMBOK® area called project time management includes all of the following except:
Assign Activities
2
Assume you have a project with major categories called planning, analysis, design, and testing. What level of the WBS would these items fall under? a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3
Beta distribution
Asymmetrical distribution; suggests that certain events are more like to occur that others.
Iterative approach to system RAPID APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT (RAD)
Attempts to compress the analysis, design, build, and test activities of the SDLC into a series of short iterations or development cycles
One of these is NOT a criterion to consider when prioritizing stakeholders:
Attitude
PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is a guide for project management practitioners that describes the expectations that they should hold for themselves and others. Which of these is not one of the desired behaviors and basic obligations referenced by the code of conduct?
Authority
Which of these is NOT a reason why effective communications to stakeholders are necessary?
Authorizing work.
Variance at completion
BAC - EAC
Estimate at completion
BAC / CPI
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
Based on the idea that people often inflate or add cushioning to their time estimates in order to give themselves a form of safety to compensate for uncertainty -Created in 1997; Critical Chain by Eliyahu Goldratt
Why is it often necessary for project managers to persuade experienced workers to be part of the project team?
Because highly skilled workers tend to be excellent generalists that need to be "sold" on the project
The Network era
Began in the 1990s when many organizations sought to regain control of the IT deparment and hired a Chief Data Processing Officer
The Micro era
Began in the early 1980s with the personal computer
Bottom-up budgeting
Begins inductively from the work breakdown structure to apply direct and indirect costs to project activities.
AOA strengths and weaknesses
Benefits - Accepted use in business fields such as construction. - In case of large complex projects it is often easier to employ the path process in AOA. - AOA event nodes are easy to identify and flag as milestones. Drawbacks - Dummy activities - Information-intensive, because both nodes and arrows contain information.
Tracking Gantt benefits and drawbacks
Benefits - Easy to understand - Easy to assimilate and interpret - Can be updated very quickly Drawbacks - Don't identify the underlying source of the problems - Does not allow for future projections of the project's status
Package-based IS benefits and drawbacks
Benefits - Introduction of the new system is likely to take less time. - Cost is likely to be lower, since the cost of development are shared among all package users. - Ongoing support and system enhancements are usually readily available. Drawbacks - May not be a perfect fit for the organization. - Best package in terms of fit may not run on organizations hardware or fit with its software strategy. - Organization is in the hands of the software supplier in terms of getting changes and enhancements made. - Adoption of package software is unlikely to bring competitive advantage.
AON strengths and weaknesses
Benefits - Most popular format for computer packages. - Activity is placed in the node and arrows are merely connection devices, thereby simplifying the network labeling. Drawbacks - With complex project with numerous paths it becomes hard to read.
S-curve benefits and drawback
Benefits - Simplicity - Provides a way to show real-time tracking information Drawbacks - Do not allow us to make reasonable assumptions as to the cause of the variance between planned and actual.
cash flow
Benefits minus costs or income minus expenses.
Iterative approach to system SPIRAL DEVELOPMENT
Breaks up a software project into a number of mini-projects that address one or more major risks. -Identifies risks as each iteration is completed.
What is the potential downside to bringing project workers into a project too early?
Bringing SMEs on board before they are needed to complete the project could be expensive
20. What is the purpose of validating and verifying a project's scope?
Brings objectivity to the acceptance process and increases the chance of final product service or results acceptance by validating each deliverable.
Task contingency
Budget reserves used to offset cutbacks, schedule overruns or other unforeseen circumstances accruing to individual tasks or project work packages.
Managerial contingency
Budget safety measures that address higher-level risks.
Informal Organization
Bypasses formal lines of communication and authority; power determined by how well one is connected "grapvine"; Can be more complex than the formal organization
Cost performance index (CPI)
CPI=EV/AC Percentage of work completed per dollar spent
Backward pass
Calculation of late finish times for all uncompleted network activities.
Duration estimates
Can be assessed in some of the following ways: - Experience - Expert opinion - Mathematical derivation
Hammock activities
Can be used to summarize some subset of activities identified in the overall project network. The hang below the activities like a 'hammock'.
The old saying "What's in it for me?" describes what each stakeholder wants, and there are a number of things that can be done to build a relationship between stakeholders and the core team. Which of these is NOT one of the ways to build these relationships?
Carefully review every communication prior to sharing it with stakeholders to make sure that it is politically correct.
Collect Requirements
Centers on defining and documenting the stakeholder's needs to properly manage expectations
opportunities
Chances to improve the organization.
Transforming the organization so it is aligned with the execution of the chosen corporate business strategy is _________________________
Change Management
Structured development methods
Characterized by: 1. User involvement 2. Separation of logical and physical 3. Emphasis on data 4. Diagrammatic documentation 5. Defined structure
Who is responsible for ensuring that the steering team completes its tasks?
Chief Projects Officer (CPO)
An organizational structure in which project team members are moved to alternate locations to allow them to better work with one another, and on the project in general, is called ____:
Co-location
________ power should be used by a project manager only in circumstances in which it is necessary to maintain discipline or enforce the rules.
Coercive power
Which of the following styles of handling conflict is most appropriate whenever there is enough time, trust can be established, the issue is important to both sides and buy-in is needed?
Collaborating / problem solving
Which of the following processes of Scope Management Process centers on defining and documenting the stakeholders' needs to properly manage expectations?
Collect Requirements
What are the characteristics of "pull" communications?
Communications are posted either on paper or in electronic form and stakeholders need to take the initiative to receive the communication.
Which of these is not a challenge of working on global and virtual teams?
Competencies
Which of these is an example of an internal stakeholder who would be impacted by the project process?
Competing Projects
politics
Competition between groups or individuals for power and leadership.
Fast-tracking
Compressing the schedule by starting certain successor activities after the predecessor activity has started with a lag, instead of waiting until the predecessor is finished.
21. What is the purpose of scope change control procedures?
Concerned with managing changes to the projects scope and to ensure that these changes are beneficial when they occur
Specialist products
Concerned with the actual deliverables for the Information System.
Verify scope
Confirmation and formal acceptance that project's scope is accurate, complete, and supports the project's goal.
9. Briefly describe the validate scope process.
Confirmation and formal acceptance that the projects scope is accurate complete and supports the projects MOV. The project team and sponsor must agree to all deliverables
COCOMO
Constructive cost model
Reserves
Contingency funds to be used at the discretion of the project manager
Indirect costs
Cost that are not directly related to the products or services of a project, but are indirectly related to the project. Example: cost of electricity, paper towel etc.
Direct costs
Cost that can be directly related to creating the products and services of the project. Exampke: salaries of team memebers.
Sunk Costs
Costs incurred prior to the project, such as a project that has been restarted after a failed attempt
Sunk costs
Costs incurred prior to the project, such as a project that has been restarted after a failed attempt
intangible costs or benefits
Costs or benefits that are difficult to measure in monetary terms
tangible costs or benefits
Costs or benefits that can be easily measured in dollars
indirect costs
Costs that are not directly related to the products or services of the project, but are indirectly related to performing the project
direct costs
Costs that can be directly related to creating the products and services of the project
Project lifecycle
Covers the delivery of whatever has been defined as constituting the end-product of the project. Although often shorter that system dev lifecycle it also includes associated management and quality aspects necessary for project success.
System development lifecycle
Covers the whole life of a system. Not only feasibility study, analysis, specification, design and development, but also the operation, maintenance and enhancement aspects which take place after the system has been accepted by the end-user. Often only focusses only the technical aspects.
Which of the following processes of Scope Management Process decomposes or divides the major project deliverables into smaller and more manageable components
Create work breakdown structure
The 'best' way to improve cost and time estimating
Creating a database for estimating.
The technique used to find the sequence of tasks with zero slack (or float) is most closely associated with:
Critical Path Analysis
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
structural frame
Deals with how the organization is structured (usually depicted in an organizational chart) and focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities to meet the goals and policies set by top management.
Which of these is NOT one of the ways to build relationships with the core team?
Defer to the project manager for problem solving and decision making.
What is the project timeline?
Define project goal --> plan project --> execute project plan --> close project --> evaluate project
Which of the following processes of Scope Management Process defines what work will and will not be included in the project?
Define scope
Work packages
Defined as WBS elements of the project that are isolated for assignment to "work center" for accomplishment.
Scope definition
Defines what is and is not included in the project work
6. Briefly describe the collect requirements process.
Defining and documenting the customer sponsor or stakeholder needs and expectation this may be a formal document
30. What is the difference between a deliverable and a milestone? Give an example of each.
Deliverable- Tangible verifiable work products, Milestones Signiant events or achievements acceptance of deliverables or phase completion
Issues in the effective use of EVM
Depends highly on accurate and up-to-date information on the project.
11. Why is it important to define the project's scope accurately and completely?
Detail of specific deliverables that provide a basis for developing the projects work breakdown structure
7. Briefly describe the define scope process.
Detailed description of the product service or information system to be designed built and implemented.
Organizational values guide project managers and provide them with a frame of reference. Which of the answers below is NOT an example of how values can impact project managers?
Determine how the organization likes to communicate internally and externally
Which of the following steps is not part of the six-step project conflict-resolution process?
Determine which teammate was in the wrong
Forward pass
Determines the early start date and early finish dates for each activity on a network diagram
Backward pass
Determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity on a network diagram.
Scope reporting
Determines the types of information that will be regularly reported. Determines the frequency and types of updates.
strategic planning
Determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, studying opportunities and threats in the business environment, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services.
The objective of the ______ process is to improve competencies, team member interaction, and overall team environment to enhance project performance.
Develop Project Team
Parametric estimation
Develop estimates by using old project data multiplied by inflation and increased in labor/material needs.
Stakeholder Analysis Process
Develop list of stakeholders; identify stake holders interest in project +1 for positive, 0 for neutral, -1 for negative; determine degree of influence each stakeholder has 0 to 10; Define a role for each stakeholder (champion, consultant, decision maker, ally, rival, foe, etc); Identify an objective for each stake holder; Identify a strategy for each stakeholder (build, maintain, improve, reestablish the relationship.
Use of maturity models
Development of better project management practices is an evolutionary process, involving systematic commitment to continuous improvement, maturity models offer the template for defining and then achieving such progressive improvement.
Scope baseline
Document providing a summary description of each component of the project's goal, including a basic budget and scheduling information for each activity.
Scope Statement
Documents project sponsors needs and expectations
Purpose of the project charter:
Documents the project's MOV Defines the project infrastructure (all of people, technology, resources, methods, project management process, knowledge areas) Summarizes the details of the project plan Defines the project's governance structure (roles and responsibilities, lines of reporting, managing changes) Shows explicit commitment to project
unknown unknowns
Dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that are unpredictable (sometimes called management reserves)
management reserves
Dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that are unpredictable (sometimes called unknown unknowns)
known unknowns
Dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that may be partially planned for (sometimes called contingency reserves) and that are included in the project cost baseline
contingency reserves
Dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to allow for future situations that may be partially planned for (sometimes called known unknowns) and that are included in the project cost baseline
reserves
Dollar amounts included in a cost estimate to mitigate cost risk by allowing for future situations that are difficult to predict
24. Briefly describe scope leap.
Dramatic shift in the strategic focus or tactical direction of the organization altering the backdrop under which is operating.
Probabilistic time estimates
Duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations -instead of one specific or discrete duration estimate.
probabilistic time estimates
Duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discrete estimate
DSDM
Dynamic System Development Method
EAC (atypical variances)
EAC = Cumlative AC+(BAC-Cumulaltive EV)/SPI*CPI
EAC (typical variances)
EAC= Cumlative AC=((BAC-Cumulative EV)/Cumulative CPI
Began in the 1960's when large organizations first purchased a centralized mainframe
EDP Era
Schedule variance
EV - PV
Cost performance index
EV / AC
Schedule performance index
EV /PV
Cost Variance
EV-AC
Earned Value
EV=PV*Percent complete
Early start date
Earliest possible date on which an activity can start based on the network
Calculate Cost Variance (CV)
Earned Value - Actual Costs
Calculate Schedule Variance (SV)
Earned Value - Planned Value
Calculate Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Earned Value / Actual Costs
Calculate Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
Earned Value / Planned Value
Cost management
Encompasses data collection, cost accounting and cost control
The project sponsor's responsibilities during the executing stage include:
Ensuring communications with key stakeholders
The Chief Projects Officer's or PMO's responsibilities might include:
Ensuring enough resources are available to perform the project
10. Briefly describe the control scope process.
Ensuring that controls are in place to manage proposed scope changes once the project scope is set must be communicated to all project stakeholders.
Control Scope
Ensuring that controls are in place to manage proposed scope changes once the project's scope is accepted. These procedures must be communicated and understood by all project stakeholders.
Gantt chart
Establishes a time-phased network, which links project activities to a project schedule baseline. Can also be used to track the difference between planned and actual.
EAC - Estimate at completion
Estimates the most liely total or final value based on our projects' performance and any risks that should be considered.
38. What is guesstimating? Why should a project manager not rely on this technique for estimating a project?
Estimation by guessing or just picking numbers out of air; not the best way to derive a project schedule and budget due to lack of educated assumptions
Project scope
Everything about a project - work content as well as expected outcomes. Including: - Project's goals - Constraints - Limitations
Information Distribution
Face-to-Face meetings; telephone, Email, other wireless; collaboration technology (blog, wiki, IM)
Which of the four values in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is modeled by the behavior described as "Make decisions and act impartially?"
Fairness
True or False: A form of matrix organization in which the functional manager and project manager have equal amounts of power is called a weak matrix.
False
True or False: A project manager's referent power is described as persuading others based upon giving them something.
False
True or False: All project teams progress uniformly through five stages of team development.
False
True or False: An issue log is a document that identifies the specific issues that must be resolved before a particular project management meeting adjourns.
False
True or False: Contemporary project communications typically include both push methods such as blogs, and pull methods such as e-mail.
False
True or False: During the Manage Communications process, project managers must continuously monitor relationships, communications, and lessons learned in order to manage stakeholder expectations.
False
True or False: In a projectized organization the functional manager has complete, or very close to complete, power over the project team.
False
True or False: Team members on agile projects need strong direction from the sponsor and project manager.
False
True or False: The "relationship" topics within team ground rules, such as "discuss openly and protect confidentiality" and "avoid misunderstandings", should eliminate the need for the team to address how to handle conflict.
False
True or False: The communications management plan is finalized during project planning, and should only be changed through a formal change control process.
False
product scope
Focuses on identifying the features and functionality of the information system to be implemented
EXECUTING
Focuses on integrating people and resources to carry out the planned activities of the project plan or phase
human resources frame
Focuses on producing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people.
iterative systems development
Focuses on shortening the SDLC by embracing the idea that requirements are difficult to define and will change over time -emphasizes using working software to measure progress -relies heavily on face-to-face communication
Project Cost Management
Focuses on the processes, procedures, and techniques to develop and manage the project budget. Includes: - Estimate Costs - Determine Budget - Control Costs
symbolic frame
Focuses on the symbols, meanings, and culture of an organization.
Critical path
For a project is a series of activities that determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed. It is the longest path through the network diagram and had the least amount of slack or float.
Types of control
Formal Controls 1. Behavior 2. Outcome Informal Controls 1. Clan control 2. Self-control
A hierarchical organization where each employee has one clear superior and staff are grouped by areas of specialization and managed by a person with expertise in that area is known as a:
Functional organization
What organization structure is often used for small projects that require most of their work from a single department?
Functional organization
The tool most closely associated with activity bars across a horizontal time axis is:
Gantt Charts
Acceptable behaviors adopted by a project team to improve working relationships, effectiveness and communication are referred to as ____________:
Ground rules
______ establish(es) clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members, and may cover topics such as protecting confidentiality, establishing trust and handling conflict.
Ground rules
Estimation techniques
Guesstimating delphi technique time boxing top down estimating bottom up estimating
SMART criteria
Guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed
Why is it important for project managers to have one-on-one discussions with their core team members?
Helps the project manager understand priorities and motivations of each core team member.
The collaborative style for handling conflict has a(n)____ concern for self and a(n) ______ concern for others.
High, high
ITPM
IT Project Management Approach
a value-driven approach
IT projects must provide value to the organization
Responsibility assignment matrix
Identifies team personnel who will be responsible for each task in the project's development.
interface management
Identifying and managing the points of interaction between various elements of a project.
integrated change control
Identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle.
20 percent
If estimates for total discounted benefits for a project are $120,000 and total discounted costs are $100,000, what is the estimated return on investment (ROI)? a. $20,000 b. $120,000 c. 20 percent d. 120 percent
Ordered activity
Illustrates the scheduling goal, order through logic.
Project stakeholders can be prioritized based upon their level of power, legitimacy and urgency plus a number of additional criteria that might include:
Impact
Difference between AON and AOA
In AOA the arrow represents the activity with its duration time estimate, while the node is used only as an event marker, usually representing the completion of a task.
A strong project matrix is different from a weak matrix in that _____:
In a strong matrix the project manager is strong; they have more power than the functional manager
23. Briefly describe scope creep.
In project management refers to changes continuous or uncontrolled growth in a projects scope
Three point estimate
Includes an optinistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. The optimistic is based on a best case scenario, while the pessimistic estimate is based on the worst case scenario.
Project Cost Management
Includes the processes required to ensure that a project team completes a project with in an approved budget.
Stakeholders
Individuals, groups, or organizations that have a stake or claim in the project's outcome
activity attributes
Information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity
Planned value
Initial estimate or budgeted cost of work scheduled for an actvity or component of the WBS
integration
Initiating involves developing a project charter, which is part of the project ______ management knowledge area. a. integration b. scope c. communications d. risk
Scope Planning
Initiating process to begin defining and documenting the project work (i.e., deliverables) needed to achieve the project's MOV Tools: Scope boundary, scope statement
project management process groups
Initiating- signals the beginning of project or phase Planning-supports planning entire project and each phase Executing- focuses on integrating people and resources to carry out the planned activities of project Monitoring and Controlling-allows to managing and measuring progress towards the MOV, scope, etc Closing- set of processes for formally accepting the projects product, service or end result
Fast tracking
Involves doing activities in parallel that you normally would do in sequence.
Defining activities
Involves identifying the specific actions that will produce the project deliverables in enough detail to determine resource and schedule estimates.
40. What is the Delphi technique? When would it be an appropriate estimating technique for a project?
Involves multiple, anonymous experts, and each expert makes an estimate. Best used for when estimates are close.
External dependencies
Involves relationships between project and non-activities.
Classical project success criteria
Iron triangle/ triple constraints: - Time - Budget - Performance To this should be added - Client acceptance
Resource breakdown structure
Is a hierarchical structure that identifies the projects resources by category and type.
Cash flow analysis
Is a method for determining the estimated annual costs and benefits for a project and the resulting annual cash flow. Project managers must conduct thus to determine net present value.
Critical chain scheduling
Is a method that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
Precedence diagramming method (PDM)
Is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities. It is particularly useful for visualizing certain types of time relationships.
Critical path analysis
Is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. Helps in combating schedule overruns.
Earned value management
Is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time and cost data
Network diagram
Is a schematic display of logical relationships among project activities and their sequencing.
Cost baseline
Is a time phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.
Earned value
Is an estimate of the value of the physical work actually completed. EV is based on the original planned cost for the project or activity and the rate which the team is completing work on the project or activity to date.
Total slack/total float
Is the amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date.
Free slack/free float
Is the amount of time an activity can be delayed with out delaying the early start date of any immediately following actovities.
Slack or Float
Is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date.
Rate of performance
Is the ratio of actual work completed to the percentage of work planned to have been completed at any given time during the life of the project or activity.
Actual cost
Is the total direct and indirect costs incurred in accomplishing work on an activity during a given peroid
Budgetary estimate
Is used to allocate money into an organizations budget.
A situation that requires a decision to be made, but one that the team that cannot make now, usually due to needing more information or time, is called a(n) _____:
Issue
A document used to manage points of discussion or dispute that arise during projects, in order to monitor them and ensure that they are resolved and add them to lessons learned, is called a(n) _____.
Issue log
37. How does the concept of knowledge management support the development of the project plan?
It helps process and break down the development of a project that gives every participant involved a specific specialization based on their knowledge.
45. What is a "death march" project? What situations in project planning can lead to a "death march" project?
It is when a project is believed to be destined for failure by the participants or that requires a stretch of work that is unstainable. The project is often forced by superiors based off better judgement.
35. Why should the WBS be deliverable oriented?
It meets the more specific needs of the WBS and Makes project smaller and more manageable
socio-technical approach
It's not just about the technology or building a better mouse trap
De-escalation management maturity (DMM) Model
Level 1: Discipline to change project plan. Level 2: Discipline to detect deviations from project plan and prevent escalation. Level 3: Discipline to execute project plan. Level 4: Discipline to encourage bad news reporting and to change attitudes and behaviors. Level 5: Discipline to engage in organizational learning.
Build, Operate, Own, and Transfer (BOOT)
Limits the client's financial exposure until all problems have been contractually resolved.
Lag
Logical relationship between the start and finish of one activity and the start and finish of another.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
Looks at relationship between the end of activities and the start of another. Based on 4 fundamental relationships 1. Finish-To-Start (FS) Implies a logical sequence 2. Start-To-Start (SS) Two tasks can or must start at the same time (parallel) 3. Finish-To-Finish (FF) Two activities can start at different times, have different durations, but are planned to be completed at the same time. Once completed, next set of activities can begin (parallel) 4. Start-To-Finish (SF) Least common. Opposite of FS. A nurse 1 relieving nurse 2 at the start of nurse 1's hours and the end of nurse 2's hours.
Generic PM maturity model
Low maturity - Ad hoc, no common language, little support Moderate maturity - Defined practices, training programs, organizational support High maturity - Institutionalized, seeks continuous improvement
_____ may sometimes occur weeks or months after the project is complete in order to obtain an accurate assessment.
MOV Evaluation
14. How does a project's scope support the MOV concept?
MOV guides many decisions related to scope, schedule, budget, and resources throughout the project's life cycle.
________ is the process of the project team communicating and working with stakeholders to satisfy their needs (and additional desires, when possible), handle issues quickly and encourage active stakeholder participation throughout.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
phase exit
Management review that should occur after each project phase to determine if projects should be continued, redirected, or terminated; also called a kill point.
kill point
Management review that should occur after each project phase to determine if projects should be continued, redirected, or terminated; also called a phase exit.
25. What are the benefits of having scope control procedures?
Manages risk and identifying, monitoring and developing contingency plans to address and mitigate issues
templates
Many people use ______ to have a standard format for preparing various project management documents. a. methodologies b. templates c. project management software d. standards
32. What are some advantages of including milestones in the WBS?
Marks off project goals and milestones, makes object oriented goals either to focus in on
____ organization structures can be classified as weak, balanced, or strong depending on the relative level of influence between the functional manager and the project manager.
Matrix
Which of the following organizational structures runs contrary to the unity of command principle - that each employee works for a single supervisor?
Matrix organization
Goal of scope management
Maximum efficiency through the formation and execution of plans or systems that leave as little as possible to chance.
The second-to-last item on a standard project team meeting agenda is _________:
Meeting summary
22. Briefly describe scope grope.
Metaphor that describes a project teams' inability to define the projects scope
Began in the early 1980's with the personal computer
Micro Era
Is credited to he U.S Navy when it used a project management approach to manage the Polaris missile project
Modern Day Project Management early 1950s
sunk cost
Money that has been spent in the past
Sunk cost
Money that has been spent in the past.
bottom up estimating
Most real world estimating. Dividing project into smaller modules and then directly estimating the time & effort in terms of person hours, person weeks
15. What is a statement of work? What purpose does it serve?
Narrative description of the product service or information system, For internal projects, this is tied to the business needs, This would include specifications quantities quality standards and performance requirements prospective bidders
Statement of Work SOW
Narrative description of the product, service, or information system. -For internal projects, this is tied to the business need -For external projects, this would include specifications, quantities, quality standards, and performance requirements for prospective bidders
NPV=
Net cash flow / (1+r)^t
Began in the 1990's when many organizations sought to regain control of the IT department and hired a Chief Data Processing Officer
Network Era
Forward pass
Network calculations that determine the earliest start/earliest finish time (date) for each activity.
directives
New requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence.
Basic principles of object-oriented and component-based approaches
OO - Objects that communicate with each other. - Object have variables and methods. - Useful when developing larger systems. CB - In stead of objects, libraries are the focus.
Burst
Occur when two or more activities follow a single node on a network diagram.
Multitasking
Occurs when a resource works on more than one task at a time. This situation occurs frequently on projects.
Merge
Occurs when two or more nodes precede a single node on a network diagram.
Work authorization
Often consists of the formal sign-off on all project plans, including detailed specifications of project deliverables.
Learning Curve
Often have to "Build one and throw it away" to understand a problem or a new technology. The time it takes to learn the new technology.
Learning costs
Often have to "build one and throw it away" to understand a problem or a new technology
Milestone
On a project is a significant event that normally has no duration usually taking several activities and a lot of work to complete a milestone.
Node
One of the defining points of a network; a junction point joined to some or all of the other by dependency lines (paths).
Contingency reserves
One of the most common methods to mitigate project risks.
Technology
Only 3% of IT project failures can be attributed to technical challenges but this percentage can be increased if obsolete, unproven, or incompatible technologies are used
Reasons why straight-line ROI is wrong
Only true if: - 100% guarantee of cost containment - and 100% guarantee of value returned at expected value.
Organization
Organizational issues can lead to project failure. A lack of clear direction, improper strategy, rapidly changing business environment and/or customer needs can create a moving target for the product's product or service
Calculate Estimated Time To Complete
Original Time Estimate / SPI
offshoring
Outsourcing from another country.
Life cycle costing
Overall picture of the cost of a project throughout its duration. This considers the total cost of ownership, or development plus support cost for a project.
Package-constrained vs package-based
Package-constrained = Processes are changed to fit the package. Package-based = Additional functionality is commissioned or added on top.
Change management
Part of risk mitigation strategy requiring proper documentation.
Which of these is NOT one of the types of control systems that a customer and contractor should work together to set up and utilize?
Payment system
What are the four categories in which many projects fail?
People, Processes, Technology, Organization
Resources
People, equipment, and materials
An output of the process Develop Project Team, an evaluation of the team's success in achieving project objectives for schedule, budget and quality levels, is called team ____.
Performance assessments
During which stage of team development do team members often feel close to one another and have a good understanding of how to work together?
Performing
matrix
Personnel in a ______ organizational structure often report to two or more bosses. a. functional b. project c. matrix d. hybrid
Dependency
Pertains to the sequencing of project activities or task.
All of these are types of project communications timing schedules EXCEPT:
Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)
Calculate Earned Value (EV)
Planned Value * Rate of Performance
3. What is meant by project scope?
Planning that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals
Prospect theory
Posits that individuals exhibit risk averse or risk seeking behavior depending on how a problem is framed. Specifically PT suggests that individuals will exhibit risk seeking behavior in choosing between two negative alternatives, especially when it is between a sure loss and the possibility of a larger loss combined with a chance to return to the reference point.
Self-justification theory
Posits that individuals tend to escalate their commitment to a course of action in order to self-justify prior behavior.
Resistance
Possibly also a source of innovation and motivation.
activity attributes
Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of _______ . a. items in an activity list b. items on a Gantt chart c. milestone attributes d. activity attributes
Crashing
Process of accelerating the project. Directly related to resource commitment. The more resources are spent, the quicker the project can finish.
Cost estimation
Process to create a reasonable budget for the project and identify project resources (human and material) as well as, creating a time-phased budget for their involvement in the project.
project integration management
Processes that coordinate all project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life, including developing the project charter, developing the preliminary project scope statement, developing the project management plan, directing and managing the project, monitoring and controlling the project, providing integrated change control, and closing the project.
Scope and schedule are examples of:
Project Management objectives
_____ provide valuable information about the logical sequence and dependencies among the various activities and tasks:
Project Network Diagrams
Group phenomena that evolve over time and include established approaches to initiating and planning projects, the acceptable means for getting the work done, and recognized decision-making authorities are referred to as:
Project culture (norms)
WBS
Project management software helps you develop a ___________, which serves as a basis for creating Gantt charts, assigning resources, and allocating costs. a. project plan b. schedule c. WBS d. deliverable
Forward/backward pass
Project managers calculate free slack and total slack by doing __&__ pass though a network diagram.
Turnkey / lump-sum
Project organization assumes all responsibility for successful performance.
13. What is the difference between product-oriented deliverables and project-oriented deliverables?
Project oriented support the project management process defined by project life cycle while Product is specific features and functionality of the application system
strategic, tactical
Project portfolio management addresses _____ goals of an organization, while project management addresses _____ goals. a. strategic, tactical b. tactical, strategic c. internal, external d. externa, internal
control
Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where all of the following characteristics are high except ______. a. member identity b. group emphasis c. risk tolerance d. control
33. What is a crux? Why should the project manager and project team identify the cruxes of a project?
Proof of concept, it is a point and the matter in certain parts of projects
Gantt charts
Provide a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in calender form.
CLOSING
Provides a set of processes for formally accepting the project's product, service, or end result so that the project or phase can be brought to an orderly end
12. What is a scope boundary? What purpose does it serve?
Provides a useful first step
Definitive estimate
Provides an accurate estimate of project cost.
Rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate
Provides an estimate of what a project will cost. Used to aid in project selection process.
Activity attributes
Provides more schedule related info about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates and assumptions related to the activity.
Benchmarking
Purpose of benchmarking is to systematically manage the process improvements of project delivery by a single organization over a period of time.
31. What purpose do milestones serve?
Quality control and keeps team focused with events.
Risk factor
RF = Pf +Cf - (Pf)(Cf) Pf = average probability of failure Cf = average consequence of failure
Earned value management (EVM)
Recognizes that it is necessary to jointly consider the impact of time, cost and project performance on any analysis of current project status. This method inks all three primary project success metrics (cost, schedule, and performance).
27. What is the purpose of a scope change request log?
Record information from request form and keep track of the project scope
Frequently, project managers lack legitimate power based upon position and instead resort to persuading others based upon personal relationships. This type of power is known as:
Referent power
Scope statement
Reflects the project team's best efforts at creating the documentation and approval of all important project parameters prior to proceeding to the development phase.
The sources of most project conflicts can be grouped into those related to ___________ and those related to __________.
Relationships; tasks
Learning curves
Repetition of activities often lead to reduction in time necessary per single activity. Y for x = aX^b, b = log(learning percentage)/log(2)
One of these is NOT an important and necessary function of communications from stakeholders:
Reporting project progress.
19. What is a work breakdown structure (WBS)? How does it map to the deliverable structure chart (DSC)?
Represents a logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product service or results is naturally subdivided.
28. Discuss why a project's scope must be tied to the WBS.
Represents a logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product service or results is naturally subdivided.
Reactance
Represents the affective component of resistance. "I don't like it!".
Project scheduling
Represents the conversion of project goals into an achievable methodology for their completion; it creates a timetable and reveals the network logic that relates project activities to each other in a coherent fashion.
project S-curve
Represents the typical form of the relationship between time passed and budget expended.
26. Briefly describe what should be included on a scope change request form.
Requestor name, requester date, request title, request number, request description, Justification, possible alternatives
Project closeout
Requires project managers to consider the types of records and reports they and their clients will require at the completion of the project.
Top-down budgeting
Requires the direct input from the organization's top management. Ascertains the opinions and experiences of the top management regarding estimated project costs.
Profits
Revenues minus expenditures. To increase __, a company can increase revenues, decrease expenses, or try both.
profits
Revenues minus expenses
Reporting Performance and progress reporting categories
Reviews; Status & progress Reporting; Progress Reporting; Forecast Reporting
The IT Project Risk Management Processes include all of the following except:
Risk Elimination
Issues in project screening and selection
Risks Commercial factors Internal operating issues Additional factors, including: - Patent protection - Impact on company's image - Strategic fit
Iterative approach to system AGILE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
SCRUM, ASD, releases are developed through several iteration -each working release is transferred to users
Key constructs derived from the theory for the research in the article
SJT - Psychological self-justification - Social self-justification PT - Sunk cost effect AT - Goal incongruency - Information asymmetry AAT - Completion effect
Schedule Performance
SPI=EV/PV ration of the work performed to the work scheduled
43. Describe bottom-up estimating. What are some advantages and disadvantages of bottom-up estimating?
Schedules and budgets are constructed from WBS, starts with people who will be doing the work. Develops estimates based on opinion that there is a significant similarity between current project and others
verification
Scope ____________ is often achieved by a customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables. a. verification b. validation c. completion d. close-out
Project Objectives
Scope, Schedule, Budget, Quality must all support the Project Goal
In agile projects, the individual who leads in a collaborative manner by guiding teams and removing obstacles to their progress is called the:
Scrum master
Effective budgeting
Seeks to integrate corporate-level goals with department-specific objectives; short-term requirements with long-term plans; and broader, strategic missions with concise, needs-based issues.
systems
Sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.
program
Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be managed as part of a _____. a. portfolio b. program c. investment d. collaborative
Node labels
Should be clearly labeled, common information: 1. Identifier, 2. descriptive label, 3. activity duration, 4. early start time, 5. early finish time, 6. late start time, 7. late finish time, 8. activity float
Disputes
Should be factored into the decision to terminate early.
34. What is the proper level of detail for a WBS?
Should include three levels of detail. Some branches of the WBS will be more subdivided but most have three levels
Project team members should be chosen based on:
Skills -Technological skills -Business/organization knowledge -Interpersonal skills
The amount of time an activity can be delayed before affecting the project deadline is _____
Slack
36. Explain why people who do the work on a project should be involved in developing the project plan.
So the plan is in the vision of the developers.
Clarence and his team are working on a high profile project, and want to be sure that they are proactive about managing stakeholder expectations. What document can they refer to in order to understand their stakeholders' assumptions?
Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix
Function point
Standard unit of measurement that represents the functional size of a software application.
Risk mitigation strategies
Standard: - Accept risk - Minimize risk - Share risk - Transfer risk + Fixed-price contracts + Liquidated damages Other: - Mentoring - Cross-training
Lead
Starting the next task before the first task is complete
What is lead time?
Starting the next task before the first task is complete
Which of the following executive roles is responsible for overall priority setting, project selection and prioritization, general guidance and encouragement?
Steering team
During which stage of team development do team members attempt to jockey for power, ask many questions and establish dubious goals?
Storming
Process for developing the MOV Step 6
Summarize the MOV in a clear, concise statement or table EX. the website will provide a 20% retuen on investment and 500 new customers within the first year of its operation
When trying to understand a corporate culture, it is helpful to understand the types of power that are used. In "power cultures":
Supervisors exert a great deal of economic and political power
___________ applications are part of an interorganizational information system that facilitates the upstream flow of information. A. Supply chain management B. Management information C. Executive support D. Decision support E. Customer relationship management
Supply chain management
PLANNING
Supports planning of the entire project and each individual phase
Which of the following is NOT a basic step of business process management? A. Developing a vision that specifies business objectives B. Identifying ways to improve processes with information systems C. Surveying customers about product preferences D. Identifying critical processes to be redesigned E. Understanding and measuring existing processes
Surveying customers about product preferences
Estimated time duration with beta distribution
TE = (a + 4m + b)/6
systems thinking
Taking a holistic view of an organization to effectively handle complex situations.
Finish-to-Finish means..
Task A and B are completed at the same time
Start-to-Start means..
Task A and B start at the same time
Start-to-Finish means..
Task A cannot end until B starts. (A nurse has to work until relieved by another nurse who arrives to start the next shift)
Finish-to-Start means..
Task B cannot begin until Task A is complete
In which of these types of organizational cultures is it more important to get the job done than to worry about who does the work or who gets credit?
Task culture
Pair programming
Technique in which two programmers work together at one workstation. One, the driver, writes code while the other, the observer, pointer or navigator, reviews each line of code as it is typed in. The two programmers switch roles frequently.
Laddering
Technique that allows us to redraw the activity network to more closely sequence project subtasks to make the overall network sequence more efficient.
Free slack Total slack
Techniques that can help project managers make schedule trade-offs is determining the ___&___ for each project activity.
Formal organizational structure
Tells how individuals within an organization should elate to one another, it does not tell us how they actually relate.
duration
The actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time
What is lag time?
The adding of a buffer time before the next task begins
Cost overrun
The additional percentage or dollar amount by which actual cost exceed estimates.
overrun
The additional percentage or dollar amount by which actual costs exceed estimates
Budget contingency
The allocation of extra funds to cover uncertainties and improve the chances that the project can be completed within the time frame originally specified. Contingency is added after all costs are already specified.
slack
The amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float
float
The amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called slack
free slack (free float)
The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities
total slack (total float)
The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date
Float
The amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying the finish time of the project.
payback period
The amount of time it will take to recoup, in the form of net cash inflows, the total dollars invested in a project.
Schedule Baseline
The approved planned schedule for the project
baseline
The approved project management plan plus approved changes.
Activity-on-arrow
The arrow represents the task or activity and the node signifies an event marker that suggests the completion of one activity and the potential start of another.
Risk management
The art and science of identifying, analyzing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interests of its objectives.
The edge of time
The balance between exploration (innovation, knowledge creation) and exploitation (improvements in productivity, processes and enhancements).
Indirect Costs
The cost for covering such things as rent, utilities, insurance, etc.
Indirect costs
The cost of covering such things as rent, utilities, insurance, etc.
Actual cost of work performed (AC)
The cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various project work packages.
8. Briefly describe the purpose of a work breakdown structure (WBS).
The decomposition or dividing of the major project deliverables into smaller and more manageable components
Create work breakdown structure
The decomposition or dividing of the major project deliverables into smaller and more manageable components.
Cost variance
The difference between a taks's or WBS component's estimated cost and its actual cost CV=EV-AC
Schedule Variance (SV)
The difference between the current progress of the project and its original or planned schedule (SV=EV=PV)
Direct Costs
The direct cost of labor or other resources
internal rate of return (IRR)
The discount rate that results in an NPV of zero for a project.
early finish date
The earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic
early start date
The earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic
Cost performance index (CPI)
The earned value divided by the actual, cumulative cost of the work performed to date (EV/AC). This value allows us to calculate the projected budget to completion.
cost variance (CV)
The earned value minus the actual cost
schedule variance (SV)
The earned value minus the planned value
Schedule performance index (SPI)
The earned value to date divided by the planned value of work scheduled to be performed (EV/PV). This value allows us to calculate the projected schedule of the project to completion.
Straight-line ROI
The expected return value divided by the expected cost.
Estimate at Completion (EAC)
The expected total cost of the project to completion based on performance across the various tasks up to the status date.
project feasibility
The first two phases in a project (concept and development) that focus on planning.
Scope management
The function of controlling a project in terms of its goals and objectives through the processes of conceptual development, full definition, execution and termination.
Prorated Costs
The idea that there is a cost associated with using a resource
Prorated costs
The idea that there is a cost associated with using a resource
Project planning
The identification of the project objectives and the ordered activity necessary to complete the project including the identification of resource types and quantities required to carry out each activity or task.
project acquisition
The last two phases in a project (implementation and close-out) that focus on delivering the actual work.
Late start date
The latest possible date an activity may begin without delaying a specified milestone.
late finish date
The latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date
late start date
The latest possible time an activity may begin without delaying the project finish date
late start date
The latest possible time an activity may begin without delaying the project finish date.
required rate of return
The minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment.
diverse
The nature of information technology projects is different from projects in many other industries because they are very ______. a. expensive b. technical c. diverse d. challenging
Activity-on-node
The node represents an activity and the path arrows demonstrate the logical sequencing from node to node through the network.
effort
The number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task
It is important to capture lessons learned in a knowledge database because _____________:
The organization will benefit from the capture and re-use of knowledge developed during the project
baseline
The original project plan plus approved changes
budget at completion (BAC)
The original total budget for a project
Critical path
The path through the project network with the longest duration. Critical path activities have zero float!
entrepreneur
The person who adopts the idea or technology and actively works to sell the system throughout the organization, eventually pushing it to success.
Project budget
The plan that identifies the allocated resources, the project's goals and the schedule that allows an organization to achieve those goals.
baseline dates
The planned schedule dates for activities in a Tracking Gantt chart
Baseline dates
The planned schedule dates for activity
planned value (PV)
The portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be spent on an activity during a given period
Murphy's Law
The principle that if something can go wrong, it will
Parkinson's Law
The principle that work expands to fill the time allowed
collect requirements
The process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives.
define scope
The process of developing a detailed description of the project and product.
verify scope
The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables.
control scope
The process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline.
Create Work Breakdown Structure
The process of subdividing project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components.
Conceptual development
The process that addresses project objectives by finding the best ways to meet them.
Project Cost Management
The processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget
project cost management
The processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget
Project Time Management
The processes required to ensure timely completion of a project
Godfather or sponsor
The project champion at senior management level.
What is the project charter?
The project charter serves as an agreement and as a communication tool for all project stakeholders Includes MOV, describes the infrastructure needed to support the project, summarizes detailed plan Provides a framework for project governance
2. Describe the relationship among scope schedule and budget.
The project scope is meant to stay balanced through the schedule and budget adjusted accordingly.
Which of the following statements is the best indicator that the new software project was successful
The project's product, a software system, was a week late and 2% over budget, but six months later was found to have met the company's goal of reducing service callbacks by 15%.
opportunity cost of capital
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the capitalization rate or discount rate.
discount rate
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the capitalization rate or opportunity cost of capital.
capitalization rate
The rate used in discounting future cash flow; also called the discount rate or opportunity cost of capital.
profit margin
The ratio between revenues and profits
rate of performance (RP)
The ratio of actual work completed to the percentage of work planned to have been completed at any given time during the life of the project or activity
cost performance index (CPI)
The ratio of earned value to actual cost; can be used to estimate the projected cost to complete the project
schedule performance index (SPI)
The ratio of earned value to planned value; can be used to estimate the projected time to complete a project
Profit margin
The ratio of revenues to profits.
cost of capital
The return available by investing the capital elsewhere.
Project Scope Definition
The scope boundary and scope statement provide a useful first step
Discretionary dependencies
The sequencing of project activities or tasks defined by the project team and used with care because they may limit later scheduling options
Mandatory dependencies
The sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of the work being done on the project
external dependencies
The sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationships between project and non-project activities
relationship
The sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a dependency
dependency
The sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a relationship
critical path
The series of activities in a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project; it is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float
node
The starting and ending point of an activity on an activity-on-arrow diagram
In an Agile life cycle model _____.
The team is self-directed
life cycle costing
The total cost of ownership, or development plus support costs, for a project
actual cost (AC)
The total of direct and indirect costs incurred in accomplishing work on an activity during a given period
Iterative approach to system PROTOTYPING
The user and developer work together to develop a partially or fully functional system as soon as possible. -A prototype may be developed to discover or refine system requirement specifications.
Scope
The work content and products of a project or component of a project. Scope is fully described by naming all activities performed, the resources consumed, and the end products that result, including quality standards.
project scope
The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.
Contingency reserves
These allow for future situations that may be partially planned for (sometimes called known unknowns) and are included in the project cost baseline.
Learning curve theory
This ideology states that when many items are produced repetitively, the unit cost of those items decreases in a regular pattern as more units are produced.
Processes
This includes having a set of project management and product management processes.
Earned value (EV)
This is the real budgeted cost, or "value," of the work that has actually been performed to date.
Budgeted cost at completion (BAC)
This represents the total budget for a project.
Predecessors
Those activities that must be completed prior to initiation of a later activity in the network
When should the relationship building between the project manage / other core team members and important stakeholders occur?
Throughout the project
feeding buffers
Time added before tasks on the critical chain if they are preceded by other tasks that are not on the critical path
project buffer
Time added before the project's due date
Key point of project governance?
Time and money
41. What is time boxing? What are some advantages of using time boxing?
Time boxes are an estimating technique that sets a finite time for a task or task group. Whenever that time box ends is the amount of scope for that activity, and Can focus a team if used correctly
Narratives
Tool that can be used to overcome resistance.
What are Gantt Charts?
Tools for monitoring project status. -Bar charts that display schedules of multiple projects Include start/finish dates and percentage of completion. -Communicate critical dependencies and project timelines -shaded bars = completed tasks -diamonds = milestones -bars = tasks
business service management (BSM) tools
Tools that help track the execution of business process flows and expose how the state of supporting IT systems and resources is impacting end-to-end business process performance in real time.
top-down estimating
Top & middle managers determine overall project schedule &/or cost Lower level managers are expected to breakdown schedule/budget estimates into specific activities (WBS)
42. Describe top-down estimating. What are some advantages and disadvantages of top-down estimating?
Top and middle managers determine overall project schedule and/or cost. Lower level managers are expected to breakdown schedule budget estimates into specific activities
Methods for estimating project times and costs
Top-down 1. Consensus methods (delphi method) 2. Ratio methods (e.g. by features or complexity) 3. Apportion methods (costs are apportioned as a percentage of total costs, based on historical figures) 4. Function point methods (uses weighted macro variables called function points). 5. Learning curves Bottom-up approaches 1. Template methods (use previous projects) 2. Parametric procedures applied to specific tasks 3. Range estimating Hybrid: phase estimation A detailed estimate is developed for the immediate phases and a macro for the remainder. The process is repeated as the project progresses.
What champions do
Traditional - Technical understanding - Leadership - Coordination and control - Obtaining resources - Administrative Non-traditional - Cheerleader - Visionary - Politician - Risk taker - Ambassador
Which of these is NOT one of the five stages of team development?
Transforming
True or False: A project manager demonstrates integrity in ways that include making honest decisions, protecting people, defending core values, leading major change, showing respect, establishing a culture of honesty, and displaying total commitment to project and people.
True
True or False: A project manager must use effective communications to set and manage expectations of all stakeholders as well as to ensure that project work is completed properly and on time.
True
True or False: A project manager understands the importance of understanding individual motives, and takes the time to ask each team member what he or she personally wants from being involved in the project.
True
True or False: A stakeholder is anyone who will use, will be affected by or could impact the project.
True
True or False: Common purposes for project communications include status reporting and efforts to obtain approval of project outputs.
True
True or False: Conflict over ideas on how to proceed with a project can lead to more creative approaches.
True
True or False: If the project scope is hard to define early in the project and/or much change is expected, an Agile project management approach often works better.
True
True or False: In "personal cultures" people display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating.
True
True or False: In a functional organization workers can learn readily from others in their discipline and keep their skills sharp.
True
True or False: In a projectized organization the project manager has extensive authority for budgets, personnel and other decision-making issues.
True
True or False: Organizational culture consists of values, social rituals, symbols, work ethics, organizational behavior, beliefs, and practices that are shared among members of the organization and are taught to new members.
True
True or False: Project managers should purposefully plan and carry out relationship-building activities with stakeholders that lead to respect and trust.
True
True or False: Stakeholders include people who have their routines disrupted by the project.
True
True or False: Synergy results in a team having a collective capability that exceeds the sum of individual capabilities.
True
True or False: The adoption of specific ground rules that specify acceptable behaviors by project team members can improve working relationships, effectiveness, and communication.
True
True or False: The ideal time to on-board core team members is when the project charter is being written.
True
True or False: The negotiation process involves several steps such as: preparing for negotiation; knowing your walk-away point; and working towards a common goal.
True
True or False: The plan-do-check-act (PDCA) process improvement model can be applied specifically to improving project meetings.
True
True or False: When a project team member is not performing, rewards may not prove as effective as a coercive approach that threatens the team member with undesired consequences.
True
True or False: When the project sponsor and manager are determining how to create the project culture, ethics should be an important consideration.
True
merge
Two or more nodes that precede a single node on a network diagram
Agency theory
Under agency theory, goal incongruency between principal and agent can create a situation in which the agent acts to maximize their own utility, rather than acting in the best interest of the principal.
A good project metric must be
Understandable, quantifiable, cost effective, proven, high impact
problems
Undesirable situations that prevent the organization from achieving its goals.
Which of the following is an advantage associated with managing projects in a functional organization?
Unity of command - all workers understand clearly what they need to do because only one "boss" is giving them instructions
WBS codes
Used to allocate costs to specific activities in the WBS.
Project management maturity models
Used to allow organizations to benchmark the best practices of successful project management firms.
Management products
Used to manage the project itself - the organization, plans, reports, etc.
Prototyping within agile
Used to: 1. Assist users to define and confirm requirements by demonstrating possibilities. 2. Investigate the effectiveness of novel methods of working. 3. Test performance implications. 4. Assist in considering work practice.
creative originator
Usually and engineer or scientist who is the source of and driving force behind the idea.
44. Describe poker planning. What are some advantages of poker planning?
Variation of the delphi technique that uses a deck of cards that represents an estimate in days. Moderator describes particular task feature deliverable or user story to be estimated
Which of the following processes of Scope Management Process provides confirmation and formal acceptance that the project's scope is accurate, complete, and supports the project's goal?
Verify Scope
Control systems
Vital to ensure that any changes to the project baseline are conducted in a systematic and thorough manner.
In the Plus-Delta method of evaluating project meetings, the "delta" column is used for team members to offer their opinion about one aspect of the meeting that ________.
Was poor and could be avoided (changed) in future meetings
Two basic development lifecycle models
Waterfall vs. Spiral
mind mapping
What approach to developing a WBS involves writing down or drawing ideas in a nonlinear format? a. top-down b. bottom-up c. analogy d. mind mapping
Project Management Professional (PMP)
What is the certification program called that the Project Management Institute provides? a. Certified Project Manager (CPM) b. Project Management Professional (PMP) c. Project Management Expert (PME) d. Project Management Mentor (PMM)
defining activities
What is the first process in planning a project schedule? a. defining milestones b. defining activities c. estimating activity resources d. sequencing activity sequencing
resource allocation
What is the last step in the four-stage planning process for selecting information technology projects? a. information technology strategy planning b. business area analysis c. mind mapping d. resource allocation
systems development life cycle
What is the term used to describe a framework of the phases involved in developing information systems? a. systems development life cycle b. rapid application development c. predictive life cycle d. extreme programming
Which of these is NOT one of the three questions that each team member answers in an Agile standup meeting?
What issues they've encountered during this iteration and how they've resolved them.
McDonald's
What major restaurant chain terminated a large project after spending $170 million on it, primarily because they realized the project scope was too much to handle? a. Burger King b. Pizza Hut c. McDonald's d. Taco Bell
PRINCE2
What methodology was developed in the U.K., defines 45 separate subprocesses, and organizes these into eight process groups? a. Six Sigma b. RUP c. PMBOK® Guide d. PRINCE2
a white diamond
What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone? a. a black arrow b. a white arrow c. a black diamond d. a white diamond
offshoring
What term is used to describe when an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source in another country? a. globalization b. offshoring c. exporting d. global sourcing
expert judgment
What tool and technique is used for all of the other project integration management processes? a. project management software b. templates c. expert judgment d. all of the above
a Tracking Gantt chart
What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information? a. a network diagram b. a Gantt chart c. a Tracking Gantt chart d. a milestone chart
Lessons-learned report
What type of report do project teams create to reflect on what went right and what went wrong with the project? a. lessons-learned report b. progress report c. final project report d. business case
outsourcing
When an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source.
Under which circumstances might a project manager or sponsor retain the right to make a project decision?
When the decision requires a higher authority
1. What is the triple constraint?
When the schedule and budget support the projects scope in order to achieve MOV
Forecast reporting
Where we think it is going
Which of the answers below is NOT information to be contained in the communications matrix?
Where will project meetings take place?
Cost-plus contracts
Which fix the company's profit for a project in advance.
select projects that will take less than two years to provide payback
Which of the following is not a best practice for new product development projects? a. align projects and resources with business strategy b. select projects that will take less than two years to provide payback c. focus on customer needs in identifying projects d. assign project managers to lead projects
Don't involve too many users in scope management
Which of the following is not a best practice that can help in avoiding scope problems on information technology projects? a. Keep the scope realistic b. Use off-the-shelf hardware and software whenever possible c. Follow good project management processes d. Don't involve too many users in scope management
systems analysis
Which of the following is not a phase of the traditional project life cycle? a. systems analysis b. concept c. development d. implementation
Lower cost of capital
Which of the following is not a potential advantage of using good project management? a. Shorter development times b. Higher worker morale c. Lower cost of capital d. Higher profit margins
Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis
Which of the following is not a suggestion for improving user input? a. Develop a good project selection process for information technology projects b. Have users on the project team c. Co-locate users with developers d. Only have meetings as needed, not on a regular basis
minimize change
Which of the following is not a suggestion for performing integrated change control? a. use good configuration management b. minimize change c. establish a formal change control system d. view project management as a process of constant communication and negotiation
projects involve little uncertainty
Which of the following is not an attribute of a project? a. projects are unique b. projects are developed using progressive elaboration c. projects have a primary customer or sponsor d. projects involve little uncertainty
technical skills
Which of the following is not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project manager? a. people skills b. leadership c. integrity d. technical skills
information
Which of the following is not part of the three-sphere model for systems management? a. business b. information c. technology d. organization
meeting communications goals
Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management? a. meeting scope goals b. meeting time goals c. meeting communications goals d. meeting cost goals
a Gantt chart
Which of the following items is not normally included in a project charter? a. the name of the project manager b. budget information c. stakeholder signatures d. a Gantt chart
business case
Which of the following outputs is often completed before initiating a project? a. stakeholder register b. business case c. project charter d. kick-off meeting
develop the project business case
Which of the following processes is not part of project integration management? a. develop the project business case b. develop the project charter c. develop the project management plan d. close the project or phase
develop the project business case
Which of the following processes is not part of project integration management? a. develop the project business case b. develop the project charter c. develop the project management plan d. close the project or phase
Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Which of the following statements is false? a. "Growing grass" was on the critical path for a large theme park project. b. The critical path is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a project can be completed. c. A forward pass through a project network diagram determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity. d. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
Duration and effort are synonymous terms
Which of the following statements is false? a. A resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type. b. Duration and effort are synonymous terms. c. A three-point estimate is an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. d. A Gantt chart is a common tool for displaying project schedule information.
symbolic
Which of the four frames of organizations addresses how meetings are run, employee dress codes, and expected work hours? a. structural b. human resources c. political d. symbolic
Executing
Which process group normally requires the most resources and time? a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
interviews
Which tool or technique for collecting requirements is often the most expensive and time consuming? a. interviews b. focus groups c. surveys d. observation
multitasking
Working on more than one task at a time
Should a virtual team also meet in person?
Yes; the team should meet in person once, at the beginning of the project.
finish-to-start
You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent? a. finish-to-start b. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish d. start-to-finish
Project management
_____ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. a. Project management b. Program management c. Project portfolio management d. Requirements management
Monitoring and controlling
______ involves measuring progress toward project objectives and taking corrective actions. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
Executing
______ processes include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or phase. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing
Configuration management
_________ ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete. a. Configuration management b. Integrated change control c. Integration management d. A change control board
Critical chain scheduling
___________ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. Parkinson's Law b. Murphy's Law c. Critical path analysis d. Critical chain scheduling
PERT
___________ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Critical path method d. Crashing
Scope
________________ refer(s) to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them. a. Deliverables b. Milestones c. Scope d. Product development
Time Boxing
a "box" of time is allocated for a specific activity, task, or deliverable. -can focus a team if used effectively -can demoralize a team if not used effectively.
Tracking Gantt chart
a Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information.
SDLC( analysis)
a closer look at the problem/opportunity and documents the specific needs and requirements for new system
Project Portfolio
a collection of diverse projects managed collectively to align with the organization's strategy and overall plan to achieve competitive advantage.
PMBOK GUIDES DEFINITIONS(project portfolio)
a collection of diverse projects managed collectively to align with the organizations strategy and overall plan to achieve competitive advantage.
PMBOK GUIDES DEFINITIONS(program)
a collection of projects within a project portfolio whose activities are coordinated so that the benefits of the program are great than the sum of the benefits of the individual projects.
Program
a collection of projects within a project portfolio whose activities are coordinated so that the benefits of the program are great than the sum of the benefits of the individual projects.
requirement
a condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system, product, service, result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formal document.
work breakdown structure (WBS)
a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project.
Project Management Office (PMO)
a department that oversees all the project management standards, methods and policies
WBS dictionary
a document that describes detailed information about each WBS item.
stakeholder register
a document that includes details related to the identified project stakeholders
project scope statement
a document that includes, at a minimum, a description of the project, including its overall objectives and justification, detailed descriptions of all project deliverables, and the characteristics and requirements of products and services produced as part of the project.
resource breakdown structure
a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type.
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
a management philosophy that states that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that is limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal.
Configuration management
a management process for establishing and maintaining consistency of a product's performance, functional, and physical attributes with its requirements, design and operational information throughout its life.
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
critical chain scheduling
a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
slipped milestone
a milestone activity that is completed later than planned.
arrow diagramming method (ADM)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called activity-on-arrow (AOA).
activity-on-arrow (AOA)
a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called arrow diagramming method (ADM).
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities.
forward pass
a network diagramming technique that determines.
requirements management plan
a plan that describes how project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed.
use case modeling
a process for identifying and modeling business events, who initiated them, and how the system should respond to them.
deliverable
a product, such as a report or segment of software code, produced as part of a project.
PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)
a project management methodology developed in the U.K. that defines 45 separate sub-processes and organizes these into eight process groups
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
a project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty with the individual activity duration estimates.
critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis
a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration.
backward pass
a project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity in a similar fashion.
start-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts.
start-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity is finished.
finish-to-finish dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished.
finish-to-start dependency
a relationship on a project network diagram where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be started.
fast tracking
a schedule compression technique in which you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence.
network diagram
a schematic display of the logical relationships or sequencing of project activities.
process
a series of actions directed toward a particular result
milestone
a significant event that normally has no duration on a project; serves as a marker to help in identifying necessary activities, setting schedule goals, and monitoring progress.
Root cause analysis
a structured process designed to help people understand the causes of past problems to prevent recurrence.
requirements traceability matrix (RTM)
a table that lists requirements, various attributes of each requirement, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all requirements are addressed.
activity list
a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule.
work package
a task at the lowest level of the WBS.
crashing
a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
PMBOK GUIDES DEFINITIONS(a project)
a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
When assessing project team capability, the project manager should remember that his or her responsibilities are to simultaneously support all of these three entities that are intertwined in many ways, EXCEPT: a. Chief Projects Officer (CPO) b. Parent organization c. Project d. Project team
a. Chief Projects Officer (CPO)
5 components of project
a. Client interest b. Project stake c. Resources d. Creativity e. Uncertainty
Which of these is NOT one of the three methods of communication that will be documented in a communication plan? a. Virtual methods b. Pull methods c. Push methods d. Interactive methods
a. Virtual methods
Some organizational culture characteristics make project success more likely. These characteristics include all of the following EXCEPT: a. lack of appreciation for project management b. engagement of stakeholders c. collaboration to meet organizational goals d. teamwork across cultures
a. lack of appreciation for project management
All of the following are among the methods project managers can use to develop individual and team capabilities EXCEPT: a. utilize coercive powers b. demonstrate personal leadership c. teach personal responsibility d. demand situational leadership
a. utilize coercive powers
If a company loses $5 for every $100 in revenue for a certain product, what is the profit margin for that product?
a: -5 percent
You are preparing a cost estimate for a building based on its location, purpose, number of square feet, and other characteristics. What cost-estimating technique are you using?
a: Parametric
dummy activities
activities with no duration and no resources used to show a logical relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project network diagrams.
lag (or negative lead)
adding a buffer of time before the next task begins
Brook's Law
adding manpower to a late software project makes it later
Expedite (or crash)
adding resources to an activity on the critical path to shorten its duration.
feeding buffers
additional time added before tasks on the critical path that are preceded by non-critical-path tasks.
project buffer
additional time added before the project's due date.
buffer
additional time to complete a task, added to an estimate to account for various factors.
developing the business case(step 1: select the core team)
advantages- credibility, alignment with organizational goals, access to the real costs, ownership, agreement, bridge building
scope
all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them.
business case
an analysis of the organizational value, feasibility, costs, benefits, and risks of the project plan
activity
an element of work, normally found on the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements; also called a task.
task
an element of work, normally found on the WBS, that has an expected duration and cost, and expected resource requirements; also called an activity.
three-point estimate
an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate.
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
an iterative software development process that focuses on team productivity and delivers software best practices to all team members
developing the business case step 7
analyze alternatives using financial models (payback, breakeven, ROI, NPV) and scoring model. payback period= initial investment/net cash flow
Scope boundary
any work within the scope boundary should include only the work or activities that support the project's MOV -Having a clear/agreed-upon definition of the Project MOV is critical for managing the scope boundary.
Project management
application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
Personal values of individual team members can contribute to team performance. Which of these is NOT one of the personal values that can contribute to a high performing team? a. Understanding and acceptance of personal responsibility. b. Ability to put their own needs above those for the project. c. Willingness to consider alternative views and to change. d. High need for achievement.
b. Ability to put their own needs above those for the project
Which of the following roles and attributes do NOT describe the core team members on a project? a. Core team members often make project decisions jointly with the project manager. b. Core team members join the project on a temporary basis to perform specific project activities as necessary. c. Core team members are the small group of people who are usually on the project from start to finish. d. Core team members may supervise the work of subject matter experts who are brought in on an as-needed basis.
b. Core team members join the project on a temporary basis to perform specific project activities as necessary.
Customer responsibilities on a project might include all of the following EXCEPT: a. Participate in status or kick-off meetings b. Perform the work of the project to achieve its objectives c. Review and accept project deliverables d. Advise on project requirements
b. Perform the work of the project to achieve its objectives
Stakeholders include all of the following people EXCEPT: a. those who provide people or resources for the project b. those who will not be impacted by the project c. those who work on the project d. those whose routines may be disrupted by the project
b. those who will not be impacted by the project
Which of the following is not an output of the project cost management process called esti-
b: a cost baseline
If a project is halfway completed, its schedule performance index is 110 percent, and its cost performance index is 95 percent, how is it progressing?
b: it is ahead of schedule and over budget
What is the main goal of project cost management?
b: to complete a project within an approved budget
CCPM (Critical Chain Project Management)
based on the idea that people often inflate or add cushioning to their estimates to create a form of "safety" to compensate for uncertainty or risk because... -your work is dependent upon the work of someone else, and you believe that starting your work will be delayed -Your pessimism from previous experience where things did not go as planned -Your belief that the project sponsor or customer will cut your project schedule or budget so you inflate your estimates to guard against this cut
Most enterprise software is built around a set of ________, which reflect techniques and processes that have consistently shown superior results. A. functional guidelines B. operational guidelines C. accreditation standards D. best practices E. predictable routines
best practices
Time boxing
box of time is allocated for a specific activity or task
iterative approaches to systems development (spiral development)
breaks up a software project into a number of mini-projects that address one or more major risks. identifies these risks as each iteration is completed
Agile teams require motivated members with a higher level of commitment, and agile teams have all of the following desirable traits EXCEPT: a. Question everything b. Deliver value c. Argue about everything d. Fail their way to success
c. Argue about everything
Which of these is NOT an advantage of a projectized organization? a. Shorter response time b. Enhanced project team identity c. Clear career path for professionals d. Customer focus
c. Clear career path for professionals
Characteristics of an organizational culture can have a major impact on a project's success. All of these are attributes of an organizational culture EXCEPT: a. Risk tolerance b. Motivation and reward systems c. Financial control procedures d. Code of conduct
c. Financial control procedures
All of the following are characteristics of a projectized organization EXCEPT: a. Coordination is the responsibility of project managers b. Focus is on the customer c. Functional managers have the majority of authority d. Decision making is streamlined
c. Functional managers have the majority of authority
All of these are characteristics of Agile life cycle model that distinguish it from other life cycle methodologies EXCEPT: a. Documentation is minimal early in the project but becomes progressively more complete b. Project teams plan in short bursts (generally of 1 to 4 weeks) often called sprints or iterations c. It is a plan-driven model with phases including: selecting and initiating, planning, executing, and closing and realizing benefits d. Products are defined and delivered one iteration at a time with an output that has business value successfully finished in each iteration
c. It is a plan-driven model with phases including: selecting and initiating, planning, executing, and closing and realizing benefits
When teams reach a high performing level, all of the following personal rewards for team members can result, EXCEPT: a. High spirit and team morale. b. Satisfaction in project accomplishments. c. Pride in performing as an individual. d. Enjoyment of their work.
c. Pride in performing as an individual
All of these are reasons why understanding project stakeholders is important to successful project management EXCEPT:
c. The customer who pays for the project is always the actual person who uses the project deliverables, and as the end user they fully understand their needs.
The project manager and sponsor need to act in the best interest of all of these constituencies EXCEPT: a. The project itself b. The project team c. The project management office (PMO) d. Other project stakeholders
c. The project management office (PMO)
Which of these is a characteristic of all project life cycles? a. They all have four phases: Selecting & Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Closing & Realizing b. They are all predictive and plan-driven c. They involve a series of phases that need to be completed and approved before proceeding to the next phase d. They are all based on the Project Management Institute's 5 process groups
c. They involve a series of phases that need to be completed and approved before proceeding to the next phase
All of the following are advantages associated with managing projects in a projectized organization EXCEPT: a. Response times and decision making are swift. b. One boss - the project manager c. Workers know they will still have a job when they finish work on a project. d. Departmental barriers are reduced.
c. Workers know they will still have a job when they finish work on a project.
Which of these is NOT among the common task-related sources of project conflict? a. schedule b. technical approach c. personalities d. priorities
c. personalities
In order to plan for a project meeting, project managers should develop an agenda. Which of the statements below is NOT accurate with respect to a project meeting agenda? a. the project manager should assure the agenda is prepared and distributed ahead of time. b. the agenda should state the purpose of the meeting. c. the agenda should only be shared with senior management. d. the agenda should list the major topics of the meeting in the order in which they will be covered.
c. the agenda should only be shared with senior management.
All of the following are among the steps of the negotiation process EXCEPT: a. clarify both parties' interests b. work toward a common goal c. use "good cop / bad cop" technique d. clarify and confirm agreements
c. use "good cop / bad cop" technique
_________________ reserves allow for future situations that are unpredictable.
c: Management
_________________ involves allocating the project cost estimate to individual material resources or work items over time.
c: Project cost budgeting
phase 4
close project. Prepare final project report and presentation
Analysis
closer look at the problem or opportunity -documents specific needs and requirements for the new system
what are the five processes of project scope management
collect requirements define scope create the work breakdown structure verify scope control scope
Project Life Cycle
collection of logical stages or phases that maps the life of a project from its beginning to define, build, and deliver the product
phase1
conceptualize and initialize
legal feasibility and ethical
concerned with legal issues, including political repercussions and meeting the requirements of the Information Privacy Act
organizational feasibility
concerns whether the new system fits within the organization's customs, culture, charter, or legal requirements
An activity that is critical in the implementation of an ERP system but is often underestimated is that of _________. A. configuring the ERP system parameters B. selecting the color of the fonts and screen background C. connecting the network D. customizing the user interface E. installing the software on the hardware
configuring the ERP system parameters
project termination
consists of all activities consistent with closing out the project.
executing processes
coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or project phase
bottom-up approach
creating a WBS by having team members identify as many specific tasks related to the project as possible and then grouping them into higher level categories.
top-down approach
creating a WBS by starting with the largest items of the project and breaking them into their subordinate items.
analogy approach
creating a WBS by using a similar project's WBS as a starting point.
Core components of ERP systems include all of the following EXCEPT: A. employee recruitment. B. inbound logistics. C. sales and marketing. D. financial reporting. E. customer relationship management.
customer relationship management.
The core business process that focuses on after-sale activities is: A. sales of end products. B. customer service. C. order processing. D. distribution of end products. E. receiving and stocking raw materials, parts, and products.
customer service.
All of these are stages of team development EXCEPT: a. Storming b. Adjourning c. Performing d. Learning
d. Learning
Which of these activities is NOT the responsibility of the steering team? a. Project selection and prioritization b. Sponsor selection c. Overall priority setting d. Mentor project manager, charter project
d. Mentor project manager, charter project
All of these are techniques for managing project conflicts EXCEPT: a. Smooth / Accommodate b. Collaborate / Problem Solve c. Withdraw / Avoid d. None of these choices are correct.
d. None of these choices are correct.
When people are arguing over a decision, it would be helpful to bring out the team charter. Which of these is NOT a reason for referring to the team charter when disagreements arise? EXCEPT: a. The team charter defines the desirable norms for how members are expected to work together on project activities. b. The team charter specifies personal behavior expectations for team members. c. The team charter defines attitudinal expectations for resolving conflict and teamwork. d. The team charter contains the project scope overview, which is used to distinguish between what the project will and will not do.
d. The team charter contains the project scope overview, which is used to distinguish between what the project will and will not do.
Which one of these is NOT one of the increased challenges to working with a global or virtual team? a. Time boundaries b. Cultural diversity c. Physical dispersion d. Varied skills
d. Varied skills
It is argued that project teams progress through five stages of team development. Which of the following sequences best represents this progression? a. forming, norming, storming, performing, reforming b. forming, storming, norming, performing, reforming c. forming, performing, reforming, norming, adjourning d. forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
d. forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
__________________ is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data.
d: Earned value management
If the actual cost for a WBS item is $1,500 and its earned value is $2,000, what is its cost variance, and is it under or over budget?
d: The cost variance is $500, which is under budget
Accountants usually define _________________ as a resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific objective or something given up in exchange.
d: cost
developing the business case step 4
define feasibility and assess risk -economic, technical, organizational, and others(legal,ethical)
developing the business case step 6
define total benefits of ownership (TBO) -increasing high-value work -improving accuracy/efficiency -improving decision making -improving customer service
developing the business case step 5
define total cost of ownership(TCO) -direct of upfront costs(hardware,software) -ongoing costs(salaries, training) -indirect costs
baseline
defined as the project's scope fixed at a specific point in time. The baseline is viewed as the project's configuration.
product-oriented processes
defines how the SDLC will be implemented -this will define all the sub-phases and deliverables associated w the execute and control project management life cycle phase
project life cycle(plan project)
defines the agreed upon scope, schedule, and budget. -used as a tool to gauge the projects performance throughout the life cycle.
initiating processes
defining and authorizing a project or project phase
deliverables vs milestones
deliverables: tangible, verifiable work products(reports, presentations) milestones: significant events, keeps team focused
standard
describes best practices for what should be done
methodology
describes how things should be done
Define Scope
detailed description of project and the product. It should define what work will and will not be included in the project. (i.e., Project deliverables)
process for developing the MOV step 3
develop an appropriate metric -does it increase or decrease? metrics: money, percentage, numeric values
phase2
develop the project charter and detailed project plan defined in terms of projects -scope -schedule -budget -quality objectives
prototyping
developing a working replica of the system or some aspect of the system to help define user requirements.
analogous estimates(past experiences)
developing estimates based upon one's opinion that there is a significant similarity between the current project and others
analogous estimates
developing estimates based upon ones opinion similar to top-down approach use information from previous, similar projects as a basis for estimation
Implementation
development or construction of the system, testing, and installation -training support and documentation must also be in place
planning processes
devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project addresses the organization's needs
The outbound logistics core activity is associated with: A. manufacturing of end products. B. order processing. C. receiving and stocking raw materials, parts, and products. D. selling of end products to customers. E. distribution of end products
distribution of end products
The project management body of knowledge PMBOK
documents 9 project management knowledge areas
the project charter
documents the projects MOV, defines the project infrastructure(all the ppl, resources, technology, methods, etc), summarizes the details of the project plan(scope, schedule, budget, deliverables), defines roles and responsibilities, shows explicit commitment to the project, sets out project control mechanisms
probabilistic time estimates
duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discrete estimate.
project life cycle(close project)
ensures that all of the work is completed as planned -final project report and presentation to the client
Project Integration Management
entails making choices about resource allocation, making trade-offs among competing objectives and alternatives, and managing the interdependencies among the project management knowledge areas.
Project Integration Management
entails making choices about resource allocation, making tradeoffs
Top down estimating
estimating the schedule and/or cost of the entire project in terms of how long it should take or how much it should cost
phase 5
evaluate project success
phase 3
execute and control project using approach like SDLC
how can estimates be improved
experience revision monitor focus on deliverables control
closing processes
formalizing acceptance of the project or project phase and ending it efficiently
Status reports
give the actual status vs. the baseline plan
Guesstimating
guess at the estimate
estimation techniques
guesstimating, Delphi technique, time boxing, top-down estimating, bottom-up estimating, analogous estimates(past experiences), parametric modeling(statistical)
SMART criteria
guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed.
scope boundary
having a clear/agreed-upon definition of the projects mov is critical because this work must be within this
developing the business case step 3
identify alternatives
SDLC (planning)
identifying and responding to a problem/opportunity -incorporates the project management and system development processes and activities -ensures that the goal, scope, budget, schedule, technology, and system dev processes, methods, and tools are in place
activity attributes
information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity.
The support activity that ensures that employees have the hardware, software, and network access required to perform their jobs is ________. A. infrastructure activities B. procurement activities C. administrative activities D. technology development activities E. human resources activities
infrastructure activities
Breakeven point=
initial investment / net profit margin
breakeven point
initial investment/ net profit margin
Payback Period =
initial investment/net cash flow
Function point analysis 5 primary elements
inputs outputs inquiries logical files interfaces
An information system that supports functional areas, business processes, and decision making within an organization is ________________. A. internally focused B. supplier-focused C. customer-focused D. stakeholder-focused E. externally focused
internally focused
Delphi Technique
involves multiple experts. Each expert makes an estimate. They compare the estimates, if close, it can be averages it not, do another iteration until consensus is reached
Delphi Technique
involves multiple, anonymous experts. -each expert makes an estimate -estimates are compared, and if close they can be averaged but if not there do another iteration until consensus is reached
A project
is a temporary endeavor undertaken to accomplish a unique product, service, or result.
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
is based on the idea that people often inflate or add cushioning to their estimates to create a form of "safety" to compensate for uncertainty or risk
lead
is starting the next task before the first task is complete
Project Management
is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.
Standalone systems that cannot integrate with other systems easily are generally called _____________ systems, and are frequently on the list of systems that need to be replaced. A. enterprise B. integrated C. support D. primary E. legacy
legacy
project life cycle(evaluate project)
lessons learned to determine those things to do the same and things to change -evaluate team member performance -may to audited by an outside third party
evaluate project
lessons learned to determine those things to do the same and those things to change -evaluate team member performance -may be audited by outside third party
knowledge management approach
lessons learned, best practices & shared knowledge
Knowledge Management Approach
lessons learned, best practices and shared knowledge
Work Breakdown Structure
logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product, service, or result is naturally subdivided OUTLINE OF WHAT WORK IS TO BE PERFORMED
The core business process in which goods are not manufactured until a sales order is actually received is called ________________. A. make-to-stock B. procure-to-pay C. make-to order D. order-to-cash E. value chain
make-to order
Economic Feasibility
measures the cost-effectiveness of a project
All of the following are important recommendations to achieve a successful enterprise system implementation EXCEPT: A. look beyond ERP. B. get help from outside experts. C. minimize the time devoted to training. D. secure executive sponsorship. E. involve the right people.
minimize the time devoted to training.
Scope Change Control
mitigates: scope grope, scope creep, scope leap
If the organization fails to include the right people in an enterprise system implementation project, all of the following problems may occur EXCEPT: A. essential business requirements may be overlooked. B. people may react negatively to the new system. C. different perspectives will not be captured. D. people may refuse to use the new system. E. money can be saved with a faster implementation.
money can be saved with a faster implementation.
statement of work(SOW)
narrative description of the product, service, or information system -for internal projects, it is tied to the business need -for external projects, this would include specifications, quantities, quality standards etc.
types of project termination
natural vs unnatural
socio-technical approach
not just about the technology or building a better mouse trap
Project Board
number of stakeholders, represent the interests of stakeholders
Pyramid of top, middle, low level. what is low level?
operations level. short term operations
what is the approach of ITPM
organizations must choose among competing interests to fund specific projects and decision should base off a value a project will provide to the organization
resources
people, equipment, and materials.
Project manager
person assigned by the performing organizations to achieve the project objectives
value driven approach
plain and simple. IT Projects must provide value to the organization
Murphy's Law
principle that if something can go wrong, it will.
Parkinson's Law
principle that work expands to fill the time allowed.
PMBOK guide - definition
process: a set of interrelated actions and activities performed to achieve a pre-specified product, result, or service -they are ongoing
project management approach
processes and infrastructure (Methodology) resources expectations competition efficiency and effectiveness
What is the difference between a project and a processes
processes are ongoing. projects are temporary
Student's Syndrom
procrastinating until the last minute before starting to work on a task
WBS should follow work package concept. What is it
project>phase>deliverable>activity/task> milestone-deliverable completion> milestone-phase completion
developing the business case step 8
propose and support the recommendation
The core activity of inbound logistics involves: A. receiving and stocking raw materials, parts, and products. B. order processing. C. distribution of end products. D. selling of end products to customers. E. manufacturing of end products.
receiving and stocking raw materials, parts, and products.
Technical Feasibility
refers to whether existing information technology is likely to be able to meet the needs of the new system
monitoring and controlling processes
regularly measuring and monitoring progress to ensure that the project team meets the project objectives
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
represents a logical decomposition of the work to be performed and focuses on how the product, service, or result is naturally subdivided. It is an outline of what work is to be performed
Activity variance
s^2 = ((b - a) / 6)^2
bottom-up estimating
schedules and budgets are constructed from WBS starts with people who will be doing the work schedules and budgets are the aggregate of detailed activities & costs(person-hours, person-weeks, person-months for each module)
Tools/Procedures
scope change request form & scope change request log
What can cause inaccurate estimates
scope changes, overlooked tasks, insufficient analysis -red tape
What is the triple contraint
scope, schedule, budget
discretionary dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks defined by the project team and used with care since they may limit later scheduling options.
mandatory dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of the work being done on the project.
external dependencies
sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationships between project and non-project activities.
A key distinction between the business processes of manufacturing businesses versus service businesses is: A. service businesses do not require the sales and marketing core business process. B. service businesses do not require much emphasis on inbound and outbound logistics core business processes. C. neither type of business requires the human resources core business process. D. service businesses do not deal with products whereas manufacturing businesses do. E. manufacturing businesses do not require the customer service core business process.
service businesses do not require much emphasis on inbound and outbound logistics core business processes.
The WBS...
should be deliverable -oriented should involve the people who will be doing the work
INITIATING
signals beginning of the project or phase
runaway systems
software projects that spiral out of control exceeding original budget and schedule projections.
Systems that have been created to support the processing needs of particular business activities in particular departments are termed ___________ applications. A. standalone B. primary C. enterprise D. integrated E. support
standalone
process for developing the MOV step 1
step 1: define area of impact. potential areas of impact: strategic, customer, financial, operational, social
process for developing the MOV step 2
step 2: identify the desired value of the IT project organization value: better? faster? cheaper? do more?
Pyramid of top, middle, low level. what is top?
strategic level, long term operations
to implement the SDLC can use a -
structured development approach or a iterative development approach
decomposition
subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces.
process for developing the MOV step 6
summarize the mov in a clear, concise statement or table. this project will be successful if __
project-oriented deliverables
support project management & IT development processes defined in the ITPM
Maintenance and support
system is updated to respond to bugs, new features, or adjust to a changing business enviornment
Pyramid of top, middle, low level. what is middle?
tactical level
Features of an ERP system include all of the following EXCEPT: A. compliant with regulatory requirements. B. consistent look and feel. C. tailored to each organization's unique business needs. D. enhanced organization-wide access to data. E. centralized storage of data.
tailored to each organization's unique business needs.
Organizations that build Internet, intranet, extranet, or mobile applications are utilizing the ______________ support business activity. A. human resources B. infrastructure C. technology development D. administrative E. procurement
technology development
duration
the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time.
lag
the adding of a buffer of time before the next task begins
slack
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float.
float
the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called slack.
zero slack(or float)
the amount of time an activity can be delayed before it delays the project
free slack (free float)
the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities.
total slack (total float)
the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date.
PMBOK GUIDES DEFINITIONS( project management)
the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
schedule baseline
the approved planned schedule for the project.
scope baseline
the approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary.
SDLC (implementation)
the development or construction of the system, testing and installation. -training, support and documentation must also be in place
variance
the difference between planned and actual performance.
early finish date
the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic.
early start date
the earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic.
parkinsons law
the idea that work expands to fill the time available -people rarely report finishing something early bc there is little incentive to do so or because they may fear management will cut their estimates next time
late finish date
the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date.
effort
the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task.
PMBOK GUIDES DEFINITIONS(a project manager)
the person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives
baseline dates
the planned schedule dates for activities in a Tracking Gantt chart.
project scope management
the processes involved in defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project.
project time management
the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project.
project management process groups
the progression of project activities from initiation to planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing
Baseline Plan
the project plan (project schedule and project plan) that has been accepted. Used as a yardstick, or benchmark, to track project's actual progress with original plan.
SDLC (design)
the project team uses the requirements and "to be" logical models to design the architecture to support the new information system. -this includes designing the network, hardware configuration, databases, user interface, and app programs
The overall goal and measure of project success is:
the project's MOV.
relationship
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a dependency.
dependency
the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a relationship.
critical path
the series of activities in a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project; it is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float.
People
the stakeholders of a project with varied roles and interests in the project's success or failure
node
the starting and ending point of an activity on an activity-on-arrow diagram.
SDLC (maintenance and support)
the system is updated to respond to bugs, new features, or to adjust to a changing business environment
scope creep
the tendency for project scope to keep getting bigger.
The desire to fund a project should be based upon
the value the completed project will provide to an organization
What is the objective of budget schedule development?
to create a realistic project schedule and budget
the project charter
together with the baseline project plan,, provides a tactical plan for carrying out the project. -serves as an agreement or contract between project sponsor and team -provides a framework for project governance
Budget at Completion (BAC)
total budget for the project
Methodology can be
traditional and agile. Agile is better
parametric modeling
use project characteristics(parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate
Burn down chart
used with agile
Joint Application Design (JAD)
using 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.
Company A is a supplier to company B and provides information through its value chain to its customer (company B). Company B is a supplier to company C and provides information through its value chain to its customer (company C). Connecting the value chains so that information flows between companies creates a ________ system. A. enterprise B. unified C. structural D. value E. intranet
value
The set of business activities that add value to the end product is referred to as a __________ A. key sequence B. primary flow C. essential structure D. critical path E. value chain
value chain
structured development approach (since 60s/70s)
waterfall method -stresses a sequential/logical flow (define requirements-design-build/code-test-implement-maintenance) -detailed planning makes estimating easier -more suitable for large, complex systems -may work well if project team is less experienced
Progress reporting
what the team has accomplished
multitasking
when a resource works on more than one task at a time.
burst
when a single node is followed by two or more activities on a network diagram.
merge
when two or more nodes precede a single node on a network diagram.
Define predecessor activity
· Activities must be completed before another activity can be started
Define sucessor activity
· Activities must follow a particular activity in some type of sequence
In the Scope management plan/process, what does collecting requirements include?
· Centers on defining and documenting the stakeholders' (the clients) needs to properly manage expectations · Interviews · Workshops · Brainstorming sessions · Focus groups · Surveys · Observing people while they work
In the Scope management plan/process, what does controlling scope include?
· Concerned with managing changes to the project's scope and to ensure that these changes are beneficial when they occur
In the Scope management plan/process, what does verifying scope include?
· Confirmation and formal acceptance that project's scope is accurate, complete, and supports the project's goal · Once the project's scope has been defined, it must be verified, validated, and accepted by stakeholders
In the Scope management plan/process, what does defining scope include?
· Detailed description of project and the product · Should define what work will and will not be included in the project (project deliverables) · Narrative description of the product, service, or information system · For internal projects --> this is tied to the business need · For external projects --> includes specifications, quantities, quality standards, and performance requirements
What should the project charter contain?
· Project ID · Project Stakeholders · Project description · MOV · Project scope · Project schedule (summary) · Project budget (summary) · Quality issues/standards/requirements · Resources · Assumptions & risks · Project administration · Acceptance and approval · References Terminology
What are 2 ways a Critical Path Analysis schedule can be shortened?
· Project manager can expedite or crash by adding resources · Fast tracking—running activities in parallel which were originally planned as sequential
Define parallel activity
· The activity can be worked on at the same time as another activity
For Budget Schedule Development, the project's schedule can be determined based on:
· the tasks and time estimates in the WBS · Schedule will also depend on how these activities are sequenced
Project variance
σ^2 for p = Project variance = ∑ (variances of activities on critical path)
When purchasing goods from Amazon.com, which of the following terms refers to the process of creating an account, adding items to the shopping cart, providing billing and shipping information, and submitting the order? A. Make-to-order process B. Make-to-stock process C. Order-to-cash process D. Inbound logistics E. Enterprise system management
Order-to-cash process
Amazon.com works with external vendors in order to offer vast amounts of products. Which of the following terms refers to the process of obtaining goods from these vendors? A. Value chain procurement B. Order-to-cash process C. Make-to-stock process D. Make-to-order process E. Procure-to-pay process
Procure-to-pay process
In an effort to correct the problems associated with standalone systems, organizations have turned to _______________ systems. A. core B. legacy C. primary D. support E. enterprise-wide systems
enterprise-wide systems
Software, such as Microsoft Office, that is written by third-party vendors for the needs of different users and organizations is known as ________software. A. custom B. open source C. off-the-shelf D. network E. business process
off-the-shelf
Elements of Projects
• Complex, one-time processes • Limited by budget, schedule, and resources • Developed to resolve a clear goal or set of goals • Customer-focused
Kinds of freedom in free software
• The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). • The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2). The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Four types of dependencies or relationships between activities
• finish-to-start dependency. • start-to-start dependency. • finish-to-finish dependency. • start-to-finish dependency.
Information included in cost management plans
• level of accuracy • units of measure • organizational procedures links • control thresholds • rules of performance measured • reporting formats • process descriptions
The four processes of project cost management
• planning cost management. • estimating costs • determining the budget • controlling cost
Why projects are important
• product life-cycles have shortened • product launch windows are becoming increasingly narrow • increasingly complex and technical products • emergence of global markets • an economic period marked by low inflation
Planning schedule management
• project schedule model development • the scheduling methodology and the scheduling tool to use • level of accuracy and units of measure •control thresholds • rules of performance measurement • reporting formats • process descriptions.
Project time management
•Planning schedule management • defining activities • sequencing activities • estimating activity resources • estimating activity durations • developing the schedule • controlling the schedule
Project standard deviation
√(Project variance)
resource contention
▪A person is often assigned to more than one project or required to attend meetings, training, etc. As a result, they can no longer devote their time to tasks that are on the critical path
