MIS 4310 - Chapter 4

60. A(n) _____ involves analyzing a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and is used to aid in strategic planning.

SWOT analysis

25. Change requests are always made in writing.

TRUE

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

resource allocation

40. Payback occurs when:

the net cumulative benefits equal the net cumulative costs.

44. The business case includes information on _____.

the project objective, high-level requirements, and time and cost goals

30. The first step in the planning process is _____.

to tie the information technology strategic plan to the organization's overall strategic plan

69. A(n) _____ is a tool that provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria.

weighted scoring model

16. The ROI is always positive.

FALSE

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

FALSE

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

FALSE

4. Project integration management must occur just within the context of a particular project.

FALSE

6. An organization's information technology project selection process should guide the strategic plan.

FALSE

8. Projects that address broad organizational needs are likely to fail.

FALSE

57. _____ involves coordinating all of the other project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life cycle.

Project integration management

67. _____ is the result of subtracting the project costs from the benefits and then dividing by the costs.

Return on investment (ROI)

68. The _____ is the discount rate that results in an NPV of zero for a project.

internal rate of return (IRR)

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

monitoring and controlling

73. In project integration management, project ______ and _______ are intertwined and inseparable activities.

planning, execution

43. A _____ is a document that recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management.

project charter

47. The _____ section of the project plan should describe the major project functions and activities and identify those individuals who are in charge of them.

project responsibilities

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

required rate of return

49. The _____ section of the project management plan describes specific methodologies a project might use and explains how to document information.

technical processes

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

zero

48. The _____ section of the project management plan describes how to monitor project progress and handle changes.

project controls

46. A _____ is a document used to coordinate all project planning documents and help guide a project's execution and control.

project management plan

32. In the _____ stage of selecting information technology projects, organizations define project scope, benefits, and constraints.

project planning

2. Interface management involves identifying and managing the points of interaction between various elements of a project.

FALSE

20. Many projects fail because of unclear requirements and expectations, so starting with a payback analysis makes a lot of sense.

FALSE

21. The introduction or overview of a project must only include a list of definitions and acronyms.

FALSE

52. _____ should result in improvements in project performance.

Corrective actions

78. List and briefly describe the six main processes involved in project integration management.

1. Developing the project charter involves working with stakeholders to create the document that formally authorizes a project—the charter. 2. Developing the project management plan involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a consistent, coherent document—the project management plan. 3. Directing and managing project execution involves carrying out the project management plan by performing the activities included in it. The outputs of this process are deliverables, work performance information, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates. 4. Monitoring and controlling project work involves overseeing activities to meet the performance objectives of the project. The outputs of this process are change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates. 5. Performing integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle. The outputs of this process include change request status updates, project management plan updates, and project document updates. 6. Closing the project or phase involves finalizing all activities to formally close the project or phrase. Outputs of this process include final product, service, or result transition and organizational process assets updates.

42. In a weighted scoring model, the sum of the weights of all the criteria must total _____ percent.

100

80. What is a weighted scoring model? How is it created?

A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria. These criteria can include factors such as meeting broad organizational needs; addressing problems, opportunities, or directives; the amount of time it will take to complete the project; the overall priority of the project; and projected financial performance of the project. The first step in creating a weighted scoring model is to identify criteria important to the project selection process. It often takes time to develop and reach agreement on these criteria. Holding facilitated brainstorming sessions or using groupware to exchange ideas can aid in developing these criteria. Some possible criteria for information technology projects include: • Supports key business objectives • Has strong internal sponsor • Has strong customer support • Uses realistic level of technology • Can be implemented in one year or less • Provides positive NPV • Has low risk in meeting scope, time, and cost goals Next, you assign a weight to each criterion. Once again, determining weights requires consultation and final agreement. These weights indicate how much you value each criterion or how important each criterion is. You can assign weights based on percentages, and the sum of all of the criteria's weights must total 100 percent. You then assign numerical scores to each criterion (for example, 0 to 100) for each project. The scores indicate how much each project meets each criterion. At this point, you can use a spreadsheet application to create a matrix of projects, criteria, weights, and scores. After assigning weights for the criteria and scores for each project, you calculate a weighted score for each project by multiplying the weight for each criterion by its score and adding the resulting values.

56. _____ involves identifying and controlling the functional and physical design characteristics of products and their support documentation, and ensures that the descriptions of the project's products are correct and complete.

Configuration management

27. _____ involves working with stakeholders to create the document that formally authorizes a project.

Developing the project charter

28. _____ involves coordinating all planning efforts to create a consistent, coherent document.

Developing the project management plan

34. _____ are new requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence.

Directives

64. _____ are new requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence.

Directives

71. _____ factors include relevant government or industry standards, the organization's infrastructure, and marketplace conditions.

Enterprise environmental

10. Opportunities and directives are essentially the same thing.

FALSE

12. The organization should complete low-priority projects before high-priority ones, if the low-priority ones take less time.

FALSE

76. _____ involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle.

Integrated change control

58. _____ involves identifying and managing the points of interaction between various elements of the project.

Interface management

38. Which of the following is true of return on investment or ROI?

It is always a percentage.

45. Which of the following are organizational process assets?

Management systems

61. _____ is a technique that uses branches radiating from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas.

Mind mapping

63. _____ refer to chances to improve the organization.

Opportunities

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

TRUE

79. What are the methods for categorizing information technology projects?

Selecting projects is based on various categorizations, such as the impetus for the project, the time window for the project, and the general priority for the project. The impetus for a project is often the need to respond to a problem, an opportunity, or a directive. Problems are undesirable situations that prevent an organization from achieving its goals. These problems can be current or anticipated. For example, users of an information system may be having trouble logging onto the system or getting information in a timely manner because the system has reached its capacity. In response, the company could initiate a project to enhance the current system by adding more access lines or upgrading the hardware with a faster processor, more memory, or more storage space. Opportunities are chances to improve the organization. For example, the project described in the opening case involves creating a new product that can make or break the entire company. Directives are new requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence. For example, many projects involving medical technologies must meet rigorous government requirements. Another categorization for information technology projects is based on the time it will take to complete a project or the date by which it must be done. For example, some potential projects must be finished within a specific time window. If they cannot be finished by this set date, they are no longer valid projects. Some projects can be completed very quickly—within a few weeks, days, or even minutes. Many organizations have an end user support function to handle very small projects that can be completed quickly. Even though many information technology projects can be completed quickly, it is still important to prioritize them. Organizations can prioritize information technology projects as being high, medium, or low priority based on the current business environment. For example, if it is crucial to cut operating costs quickly, projects that have the most potential to do so would be given a high priority. The organization should always complete high-priority projects first, even if a low- or medium-priority project could be finished in less time. Usually there are many more potential information technology projects than an organization can undertake at any one time, so it is very important to work on the most important ones first.

54. An IT company revises its process parameters in response to complaints from vendors that products were not ready on time. This would be an example of _____.

a corrective action

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

an elaborate timetable

70. A(n) _____ is a methodology that converts value drivers, such as customer service, innovation, operational efficiency, and financial performance, to a series of defined metrics.

balanced scorecard

75. A(n) _____ is the approved project management plan plus approved changes.

baseline

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

business area analysis

36. Benefits minus costs is known as the _____.

cash flow

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

FALSE

83. What is integrated change control? What are the main objectives of integrated change control?

Integrated change control involves identifying, evaluating, and managing changes throughout the project life cycle. The three main objectives of integrated change control are: 1. Influencing the factors that create changes to ensure that changes are beneficial: To ensure that changes are beneficial and that a project is successful, project managers and their teams must make trade-offs among key project dimensions, such as scope, time, cost, and quality. 2. Determining that a change has occurred: To determine that a change has occurred, the project manager must know the status of key project areas at all times. In addition, the project manager must communicate significant changes to top management and key stakeholders. Top management and other key stakeholders do not like surprises, especially ones that mean the project might produce less, take longer to complete, cost more than planned, or be of lower quality than desired. 3. Managing actual changes as they occur: Managing change is a key role of project managers and their teams. It is important that project managers exercise discipline in managing the project to help minimize the number of changes that occur.

77. A(n) _____ is a formal group of people responsible for approving or rejecting changes to a project.

change control board (CCB)

55. A(n) _____ is a formal, documented process that describes when and how official project documents may be modified, the people authorized to make modifications, and the paperwork required for these changes.

change control system

66. A positive NPV means the return from a project exceeds the _____, the return available by investing the capital elsewhere.

cost of capital

37. The first step in determining the NPV is to _____.

determine the estimated costs and benefits for the life of the project and the products it produces

51. The majority of time on a project is usually spent on _____, as is most of the project's budget.

execution

18. A project charter typically does not authorize the project manager to use organizational resources to complete the project.

FALSE

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

FALSE

23. It is necessary that IT project managers have prior technical experience in creating and managing IT products.

FALSE

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

FALSE

74. _____ project work includes collecting, measuring, and disseminating performance information.

Monitoring

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

Net present value

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

Net present value (NPV)

72. _____ include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, information systems, financial systems, management systems, lessons learned, and historical information that can be used to influence a project's success.

Organizational process assets

53. Which of the following is a proactive process undertaken to reduce the probability of negative consequences associated with project risks?

Preventive actions

62. _____ refer to undesirable situations that prevent an organization from achieving its goals.

Problems

59. _____ involves determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses, studying opportunities and threats, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services.

Strategic planning

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

TRUE

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

TRUE

82. Discuss the three items that should be summarized in the work that needs to be performed section of the project management plan.

Major work packages: A project manager usually organizes the project work into several work packages using a work breakdown structure (WBS) and produces a scope statement to describe the work in more detail. This section should briefly summarize the main work packages for the project and refer to appropriate sections of the scope management plan. Key deliverables: This section lists and describes the key products created as part of the project. It should also describe the quality expectations for the product deliverables. Other work-related information: This section highlights key information related to the work performed on the project. For example, it might list specific hardware or software to use on the project or certain specifications to follow. It should document major assumptions made in defining the project work.

14. NPV analysis is a method for making equal comparisons between cash flows for multi-year projects.

TRUE

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

TRUE

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

TRUE

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

TRUE

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

TRUE

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

TRUE