PMI Exam

Hybrid Methodologies

-agile and other iterative methods -business analysis techniques for requirements management -tools to identify complex project elements -organizational change management methods

Project Phase

-a collection of logically related project activities that, together, produces one or more deliverables -can be described by a variety of attributes that may be measurable and unique to a specific phase

Process Groups

-a logical grouping of project management processes to achieve specific project objectives -independent of process phases as well as the application area or industry focus -initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, closing

Phase Gate

-a review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue, modify, or end a phase or project -the project's performance and progress are compared to the project and business documents

Project Life Cycles

-a series of phases that a project passes through from start to completion; a framework for managing the project -can be predictive or adaptive with phases that may be sequential,iterative, or overlapping

Product Life Cycles

-a series of phases that represent the evolution of a product, from concept through delivery, growth, maturity, and retirement -phases in a product life cycle can include one or more project life cycles

Project Management Processes

-a systematic series of activities where inputs are acted upon by tool and techniques to create outputs -an output can be a deliverable or another type of outcome -processes are linked by the outputs they produce and may contain overlapping actives that occur throughout the project -the output of one process generally results in an input to another process or deliverable of the project or phase

Implement Risk Responses

-address overall project risk exposure -minimize individual project threats -maximize individual project opportunities -part of the executing process group -this process is performed throughout the project -revisiting risk management documents to capture the results of mitigation -change controls should also address risks associated with the proposed change

Project Integration Management

-allows you to combine work from all knowledge areas and ensure that resources, deadlines, and the project life cycle are aligned -project manager works with stakeholders and guides their team -the project manager is ultimately responsible for the project -ensuring due dates of project deliverables, project life cycle, and benefits realization plan are aligned -providing a project management plan -ensuring the creation and the use of appropriate knowledge -managing project performance and changes -making decisions -measuring and monitoring progress -collecting, analyzing, and communicating information -manage transitions -completing project work

Control Schedule

-allows you to create work performance information, schedule forecasts, and make changes and updates to existing documents -part of the monitoring and controlling process group, and occurs at the time in the project life cycle when you track, review, and regulate progress, identify areas where you should make changes, and initiate those changes -you perform this process throughout the project

Knowledge Areas

-an identified area of project management defined by its knowledge requirements and described in terms of its component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques -project management processes are categorized by knowledge areas, which are interrelated and interdependent -integration, schedule, quality, communications, procurement, scope, cost, resources, risk, stakeholder

On-Demand Scheduling

-another form of adaptive planning -limits your project team's work to balance demand against delivery -pulls work from a backlog as resources become available -utilizes on-demand scheduling for projects that evolve the product incrementally, such as new types of electronic devices or cars

Personality Types

-authentic -courteous -creative -cultural -emotional -intellectual -managerial -political -service-oriented -social -systemic

Close Project or Phase

-benefit of this process is that project information is archived, and planned work is completed -part of the closing process group and happens at the time in the life cycle to formally complete or close a project, phase, or contract -completion or exit criteria are satisfied -contractual agreements are complete -project's deliverables are transferred to production or operations -suggestions for improvements in procedures are collected -satisfaction of stakeholders is measured

Define Scope

-chooses final project requirements developed after collecting requirements -key benefit is that is describes the product, service, or result boundaries and criteria -part of the planning process group and it happens at the time in the cycle that establishes the scope of the project, refines objectives, and defines the course you need to follow to achieve those objectives -this process creates the project scope statement -allows your team to perform more detailed planning -guides the teams work during execution -provides the baseline that helps with decision making on changes to the project

Manage Communications

-communications are critical in any type of management -communicating effectively means saying the right thing to the right people to ensure their actions benefit the project -managing communications ensures timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information -it ensures the information communicated is properly generated, formatted, and received by the intended audience -part of the executing process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle when processes are performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project requirements -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed -nearly every other process is touched by the impact of communications -this process identifies all aspects of effective communication, allows for flexibility to accommodate changes in the project, and provides opportunities for stakeholders to make requests for further information, clarification, and discussion

Executing Process Groups

-consists of those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project requirements -coordinating resources -managing stakeholder engagement -integrating and performing the activities of the project -key benefit is that the work needed to meet the project objectives is performed according to plan -project manager will ensure that team members know their tasks and delegate responsibilities as appropriate with effective communications -build team cohesiveness and relationships to both external and internal stakeholders -integrate the various parts of the project work into a cohesive whole -ensure stakeholder needs are being met in relation to the approved scope -the assigned resources will do their work as outlined in the project management plan and the schedule

Initiating Process Group

-consists of those processes that define a new project by obtaining authorization to start -aligns the stakeholders' expectations and the project purpose -informs stakeholders of the objects -discusses how participation can help ensure the expectations are met -stakeholders who can influence the outcome of the project are identified -project manager is appointed if not already -when project charter is approved, project is officially authorized and the project manager is authorized to apply organizational resources to project activities

Develop Project Management Plan

-defines, prepares, and coordinates all plan components and consolidates them onto a single integrated plan -part of the planning process group and happens at the time in the life cycle when you establish the scope of the project, refine objectives, and define how to achieve objectives in predictive life cycles, this process is performed once -in adaptive life cycles, make updates at predefined points, including before each iteration or sprint

Plan Resource Management

-determining an approach to resource management gives an understanding of the resources needed -plan resource management establishes the approach to manage resources -resource planning also ensures sufficient resources are available -part of the planning process group and it happens at the time in the project when the project manager establishes the scope of the project, refines the objectives, and defines the course of action required to attain the project's objectives -this process is performed once or at predefined points in the project -plan resource management can impact project costs, schedule, risk, quality, and other project areas. If resource requirements are not defined, it will be harder to get them. This could derail the schedule, budget, and quality -charts exist to documents and communicate team roles and responsibilities -Hierarchical chart shows positions or relationships in a graphical, top-down format Work breakdown structure (WBS) shows deliverables broken down into work packages and shows high-level responsibility The organizational breakdown structure (OBS) is arranged according to an organization's departments, units, or teams with their work listed under each The resource breakdown structure (RBS) is for physical resources. Each descending level represents a higher detail of the resource until the detail is fine enough to be used with the WBS -Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) illustrates the connections between activities and project team members. Shows that only one person is accountable for any one task to avoid confusion RACI chart (responsible, accountable, consult, inform) is a common type of responsibility assignment matrix that defines the involvement of stakeholders in project activities. It clarifies roles and responsibilities

Develop Project Charter

-documents that you have the authority to utilize resources for the project -serves as a formal record for activities -links the organization's strategy to the project -part of the initiating process group and is the time in the life cycle when a new project or a new phase of an existing project is defined by obtaining authorization to start the project -project sponsor or initiator should have authority to procure funding and commit resources -includes project purpose, measurable objects, high-level requirements, assigned resources, and information that will be a key input to other processes

Plan Communications Management

-effective communications among team members and stakeholders are essential to running a successful project -by planning the communications used in a project, the project manager can identify who needs what information and when -key benefit is the creation of a documented approach to engage stakeholders by presenting relevant information in a timely manner, sets the stage for communication -part of the planning process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle required to develop an appropriate approach and plan for a project communications activities based on the information needs of each stakeholder or group; available organizational assets, and the needs of the project -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed -communication technology used to transfer information among stakeholders may vary -common methods of information transferal include conversations, meetings, documents, databases, and web sites -the urgency of the need for information can vary by project or phase -Basic sender/receiver model has two parties and entails the assurance that the message is delivered, not necessarily understood Encode the message (into symbols, text, or sound) Transmit the message (via a communication channel) Decode (receive and translate into a useful form) -Interactive communication model has two parties and entails that the message is delivered and understood The sender is responsible for transmission, and the receiver is responsible for receiving, interpreting and responding -Cross-cultural model: acknowledges that differences in communication styles can be present due to differences in people The message is influenced by differences and will contribute to barriers or noise -Interactive involves two or more parties, with multidirectional exchange in real time -Push means that messages are sent to specific people; the distribution of these messages is ensures, but the confirmation of it reaching and being understood is not -Pull requires recipients to access the content on their own -the communication management plan describes how project communication will be planned, structured, implemented, and monitored for effectiveness

Monitor Risks

-enables project decisions to be based on information about overall project risk and individual project risks -monitoring risk response plans -tracking identified risks -identifying and analyzing new risks -evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project -part of the monitoring and controlling process group -this process is performed throughout the project

Control Resources

-ensures resources are available at the right time and the right place -ensures resources are released when no longer needed -compares the planned utilization vs. actual utilization of resources and corrects as necessary -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes -performed periodically throughout the project as needed -impact on the risk register includes risks, probability, effect, risk breakdown structure, and response for each -influences cost and time baseline because it can lead to changes in time and cost -impact project costs, schedules, risks, quality, and other project areas

Project Scope Management

-ensures that the project includes all the work required-and only the work required- to complete the project successfully -product scope: the features and functions of a product, service, or result -requirement: a condition or capability that should be present in a product, service or result to satisfy its specifications -project scope:the work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions -project scope is dependent on product scope

Monitor Communications

-ensures the right information is getting to the right place at the right time -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes are required; and initiate the corresponding changes -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed

Direct and Manage Project Work

-ensures the team is carrying out the planned project activities to complete deliverables and that approved changes are made -provides overall management for project success -part of the executing process group and is the time in the life cycle when processes are performed to complete project work that satisfies the project requirements -performed for the duration of the project work -as the project team performs project work, work performance data is analyzed -this data illustrates project performance and the completion status of deliverables

Planning Process Group

-establish the total scope of the effort -define and refine the objectives -develop the course of action required to attain those objectives -develop the components of the project management plan and the project documents used to carry out the project -key benefit is that is defines the course of action to successfully complete the project or phase -project manager gathers relevant stakeholders to establish the total scope of the project and have a course of action ready to achieve objectives -the project management plan and project documents are considered baselines, can be updated as needed -24 processes

Plan Schedule Management

-establishes policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, and controlling your project schedule -key benefit is that it gives you guidance on managing your schedule from beginning to end -part of the planning process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle when you define the course of action for your project -this process is performed only once or at predefined points along the way -the schedule management plan outlines how you allocate resources and prioritize activities

Portfolio Management

-facilitates the effective governance and management of the work that helps achieve organizational strategies and priorities -aligns portfolios with organizational strategies by selecting the right programs or projects, prioritizing the work, and providing the needed resources -focuses on doing the right programs and projects to align with the business strategy

Program Management

-focuses on the interdependencies between projects and the program level to determine the optimal approach for managing them -a program is made up of subsidiary programs and projects -benefits can be obtained by managing them together, rather than individually programs should not be misinterpreted as large projects

Plan Cost Management

-goal of this process is to create the cost management plan -documents cost management processes and their associated tools and techniques -defines how the project costs will be estimated, budgeted, managed, monitored, and controlled -sets the framework that allows cost processes to be efficient and coordinated -part of the planning process group and is the time in the project life cycle when the project manager establishes the scope of the project, refines the objectives, and defines the course of action required to attain the project's objectives. It can occur once, or frequently during the project. Once created, the plan is re-examined often -the cost management plan describes how the project costs will be planned , structured, and controlled. It is based on project cost estimates and is a component of the project management plan

Factors that influence a system

-governance frameworks -management elements -organizational structure types

Acquire Resources

-guides the selection of resources and assigns them to activities -these resources includes team members, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, and any other resources -part of the executing process group and is the time in the life cycle when processes are performed to complete project work that satisfies the project requirements -interpersonal and team skills will be very useful in this process, especially in negotiation -functional managers ensure that the project receives the best resources -other project management teams within the performing organization may provide resources -external organizations and suppliers may provide specific team or physical resources

Plan Risk Response

-identifies ways to address overall and individual project risks -allocates resources -inserts activities into project documents and the project management plan as needed (changes to baselines must be authorized) -risk responses can minimize threats, maximize opportunities, and reduce overall project risk exposure -once risks have been identified, analyzed, and prioritized, plans should be developed by the risk owner to address risks considered to be sufficiently important -selecting the optimal risk response from several options is often required -part of the planning process group -this process is performed throughout the project -while often critical to the success of the project, this effort does not directly contribute to the chartered goals of the project and can increase the costs or schedule of the overall project -however, carrying out this process thoroughly means that the project will more likely be on schedule and experience fewer ad hoc issues Strategies for Threats -Escalate: escalated risks are not managed on the project level since they exceed the project manager's authority, they are communicated to those in the program, portfolio, or other relevant part of the organization -Avoid: risk avoidance takes place when the project team acts to eliminate the threat or protect the project from its impact -Transfer: involves shifting ownership of a threat to a third party to manage the risk and to bear the impact if the threat occurs -mitigate: action is taken to reduce the probability of occurrence and/or impact of a threat -Accept: acknowledge the existence of a threat, but no proactive action is taken. This strategy may be appropriate for low-priority threats, and it may also be adopted where it is not possible or cost-effective to address a threat Strategies for Opportunities -Escalate: escalated risks are not managed on the project level since they exceed the project manager's authority, they are communicated to those in the program, portfolio, or other relevant part of the organization -Exploit: may be selected for high-priority opportunities where the organization wants to ensure that the opportunity is realized. This strategy seeks a 100% chance of realizing an opportunity -Share: involves transferring ownership of an opportunity to a third party so that it shares some of the benefit if the opportunity occurs -Enhance: used to increase the probability and/or impact of an opportunity -Accept: accepting an opportunity acknowledges its existence but no proactive action is taken Strategies for Overall Project Risk -Avoid: when the level of overall project risk is significantly negative and outside the agreed-upon risk thresholds for the project, an avoid strategy may be used. This involves taking focused action to reduce the negative effect of uncertainty on the project and bring the project back within the thresholds -Exploit: when the level of overall project risk is significantly positive and outside the agreed-upon risk thresholds for the project. This involves taking focused action to capture the positive effect of uncertainty on the project -Transfer/Share: if the level of overall project risk is high but the organization is unable to address it effectively, a third party may be involved to manage the risk on behalf of the organization -Mitigate/Enhance: these strategies involve changing the level of overall project risk to optimize the chances of achieving the project's objectives -Accept: where no proactive risk response strategy is possible to address overall project risk, the organization may choose to continue with the project as currently defined, even if overall project risk is outside the agreed-upon thresholds -Contingent Response Strategies: for some risks, it is appropriate for the project team to make a response plan that will only be executed under certain predefined conditions, if it is believed that there will be sufficient warning to implement the plan

Project Cost Management

-includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget -budget spreads costs over time, allocating funds to the resourced needed to have the project meet its schedule -the estimated costs are just numbers, once you have determined when you need those monies, it becomes a budget -contingency reserve is the costs of the response solutions for known project risks -cost baseline is the approved version of the time-phased project budget, excluding any management reserves. It is used as a basis for comparison to actual project results and can only be changed through formal change control procedures -Earned Value Management (EVM) is a methodology that combines scope, schedule, and resource measurements to assess project performance and progress against the project baseline, one of the best techniques for controlling costs -Earned Schedule (ES) replaces the schedule variance measures used in traditional EVM with ES and action time (AT), the resulting schedule variance equation is ES-AT, if the amount of ES is greater than 0, the project is considered ahead of schedule

Manage Quality

-increases the probability of meeting the quality objectives -identifies ineffective processes and the causes of poor quality -manage quality is the process of translating the quality management plan into executable activities that incorporate the organization's policies into the project -key benefits are that it increases the probability of meeting the quality objectives and identifies causes of poor quality -part of the executing process group and when processes are performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan in order to satisfy the project requirements -this process is iterated throughout the project and should be scheduled to reduce any potential conflicts -this process will likely trigger the need to iterate other specific project management processes like change management, scope management, risk management, or others -ensures the product has been created using the correct quality standards and that it meets those quality standards via different testing methods -design an optimal product by using guidelines that address specific aspects of the product -build confidence that an output will be completed that will meet expectations through quality assurance tools and techniques -confirm that the quality processes are used and that their use meets the quality objectives -improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes to achieve better results -quality assurance departments can be a good resource for your project because they usually follow organization-wide protocol for using quality tools and techniques

Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)

-internal to the organization, and may arise from the organization itself -the plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization -these assets influence the management of the project -include any artifact, practice, or knowledge from any or all of the organizations involved in the project

Leadership Skills

-involve the ability to guide, motivate, and direct a team white demonstrating negotiation, resilience, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills -projects are coming increasingly more complicated with more and more businesses executing their strategy through projects -study people's behaviors and motivations

Perform Integrated Change Control

-involved project manager and project team reviewing change requests and prioritizing, approving, communicating, and managing them -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes -in agile or adaptive environments, add change requests to the backlog at any time and incorporate changes into the current scope using change requests -changes are authorized by the product owner, not the project manager -changes may be requested by any stakeholder at any time -change requests are approved, deferred, or rejected, by either the change control board (CCB), the project sponsor or project manager

Project Communications Management

-involves developing strategies that enhance the effectiveness and accuracy of messages within the stakeholder community -successful communication involves two parts; the development of a communications plan based on the needs of the project and its stakeholders -the actual messages that are generated during project work -communication mechanisms require messages to initiate processes and stimulate relationships between people -messages can take many different forms, usually in hard (paper) or soft (electronic) format -examples include written, spoken, formal or informal, gestures, media, and choice of words -Dimensions of communication management: internal, external, formal, informal, hierarchical focus, official, unofficial, written or oral -the 5 C's of written communication aim to avoid any misunderstandings by using a few simple guidelines: correct grammar and spelling concise expression and the elimination of excess words clear purpose and expression directed to the needs of the reader coherent logical flow of ideas controlling flow of words and ideas -communication skills can be used to enhance the communication management processes. The 5 C's of communication can be improved by adhering to these skills and competencies: listening actively awareness of cultural and personal differences identifying, setting and managing stakeholder expectations enhancing team members' skills in persuasion, motivation, coaching, negotiation for mutually acceptable agreements, and conflict resolution

Plan Procurement Management

-involves documenting project procurement decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers -this process determines whether to acquire goods or services from outside the project and, if so, what to acquire as well as how and when -procurement activities should be planned so that the ordering, receipt, review, and approval of items from suppliers are satisfactory prior to conducting them -part of the planning process group -this process is performed once or at predefined points in the project Typical steps of procurement -prepare the procurement statement of work (SOW) or terms of reference (TOR) -Prepare a high-level cost estimate to determine the budget -Advertise the opportunity -Identify a short list of qualified sellers -Prepare and issue bid documents -Prepare and submit proposals by the seller -Conduct a technical-and-quality-based evaluation of the proposals -Conduct a technical-and quality-based evaluation of the proposals -Perform a cost evaluation of the proposals -Prepare the final combined quality and cost-evaluation to select the winning proposal -Finalize negotiations and sign a contract -Statement of Work is a narrative description of products, services, or results to be delivered by the project, developed from the project scope baseline and defines only that portion of the project scope that is to be included within the related contract, and describes the procurement item in enough detail to allow prospective sellers to determine if they are capable of providing the products, services, or results -bid documents are used to solicit proposals from prospective sellers -terms such as bid, tender, or quotation are generally used when the seller selection decision is based on price, while a term such as proposal is generally used when other considerations such as technical capability or technical approach are the most important -Fixed price-contracts involve setting a fixed total price for a defined result -Firm fixed price (FFP)- the price for goods is set and is unlikely to change -Fixed price incentive fee (FPIF) allows for deviation of the price of the goods, depending on the performance of the seller -Fixed price with economic price adjustments (FPEPA) allows for adjustments to the contract price due to changed conditions -Cost-reimbursable contracts involve payments to the seller for all costs incurred while completing the work, plus a fee representing seller profit -Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) a seller is reimbursed for all costs and receives a fixed-fee payment -Cost plus incentive fee (CPIF) a seller is reimbursed for all costs and receives a predetermined incentive fee -Cost plus award fee (CPAF) a seller is reimbursed for all costs, but the fee is based on satisfaction criteria -Time and Materials Contract (T&M) is a hybrid type of contractual arrangement with aspects of both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price contracts. Often used for the acquisition of experts, and any other outside support when a precise statement of work cannot be quickly prescribed -Source selection criteria: capability and capacity, product cost and life cycle cost, delivery dates, technical expertise and approach, and specific relevant experience -a make-or-buy analysis is the act of choosing between manufacturing a product in-house or purchasing it from an external supplier. Once the make-or-buy analysis is complete and the decision is made to acquire from outside the project, a procurement strategy should be identified -for professional services, delivery methods include: buyer/services provider with no subcontracting, buyer/services provider with subcontracting allowed, joint venture between buyer and services provider, and buyer/services provider acts as the representative -for industrial or commercial construction, project delivery methods include: turnkey, design build (DB), design bid build (DBB), design build operate (DBO), and build own operate transfer (BOOT) -contract payment types include but are not limited to these contract types plus variations: lump sum, firm fixed price, cost plus award fees, cost plus incentive fees, time and materials, and target cost -Procurement phases information may include: sequencing or phasing of the procurement, a description of each phase, and the specific objectives of each phase, procurement performance indicators and milestones to be used in monitoring, criteria for moving from phase to phase, monitoring and evaluation plan for tracking progress, and process for knowledge transfer for use in subsequent phases -the procurement management plan is an output of this process and contains the activities to be undertaken during the procurement process -how procurement will be coordinated with other project aspects -timetable of key procurement activities -procurement metrics to be used to manage contracts -stakeholder roles and responsibilities related to procurement -constraints and assumptions that could affect planned procurements -the legal jurisdiction and the currency in which payments would be made -determination of whether independent estimates will be used and whether they are viewed as evaluation criteria

Conduct Procurements

-involves obtaining responses to bids and proposals, selecting a vendor, and awarding the contract -responses can be solicited in the form of bids, quotations, proposals, or offers -the end results of the process are the established agreements- including formal contracts -by awarding a contract, the team implements a legal agreement for the delivery of goods or services -part of the executing process group -performed periodically throughout the project as needed -advertising is communicating with users or potential users of a product, service, or result -negotiation is a discussion aimed at reaching an agreement -procurement negotiation clarifies the structure, rights, and obligations of the parties and other terms of the purchases so that mutual agreement can be reached prior to signing the contract -the negotiation should be led by a member of the procurement tram that has the authority to sign contracts

Manage Team

-involves tracking team member performance, giving feedback, resolving issues, managing change -part of the executing process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas which changes to the plan are required; and initiate the corresponding changes -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed -individual and team performance can potentially impact project cost, schedule, risks, quality, and other project areas -this process can impact the issue log and the lessons learned register -managing conflict will be an important tool and technique that you may use if issues arise between individuals within the project team -conflicts are inevitable in a project -sources of conflict include scare resources, scheduling priorities, and work styles -conflicts should be addressed in private-by using a direct, collaborative approach -Five techniques for managing conflict Withdraw or avoid: postpone the issue to be resolved by others Smooth or accommodate: emphasize areas of agreement rather than differences Compromise or reconcile: search for solutions that bring some satisfaction to parties Force or direct: push viewpoints at the expense of others, usually through a power position Collaborate or problem solve: incorporate multiple viewpoints and insights from different perspectives

Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis

-key benefit is that it quantifies overall project risk exposure, terms of time, cost, resources, etc., and can provide additional quantitative information to support response planning -for this process to occur, high-quality data on individual project risks and other sources of uncertainty needs to be available to some extent -part of the planning process group -not required for every project, but when it is used it is used throughout the project -collecting the data required for quantitative risk analysis is more labor intensive than qualitative analysis and may disrupt other planned activities since project members will need to dedicate time to assess various types of analyses. This could potentially cause activities to slip in the schedule and even increase overall costs -quantitative risk analysis is not used for every project because it usually requires a specialized risk software and expertise in the development and interpretation of risk methods, it also consumes additional time and cost -Simulations are used to model the combined effects of individual project risks to evaluate their potential impact on achieving project objectives -Histogram shows the frequency of a particular simulation outcome -Cumulative Probability Distribution (S-curve) shows the probability of achieving any particular outcome -for a quantitative schedule risk analysis, it is also possible to conduct a criticality analysis to determine which elements of the risk model have the greatest effect on the project's critical path -Sensitivity Analysis helps determine which individual project risks could have the most impact on project outcomes -Tornado Diagram presents the calculated correlation coefficient for each element of the quantitative risk analysis model that can influence the project outcome. Items are ordered by descending strength of correlation, giving the typical tornado appearance -Decision tree analysis is a diagramming and calculation technique for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty. Decision trees are used to support selection of the best of several alternative courses of actions. The decision tree is evaluated by calculating the expected monetary value of each branch, allowing the optimal path to be selected -Influence Diagram represents a project or situation as a set of entities, outcomes, and influences, with their relationships and effects -Risk report is a project document that will be updated to reflect the results of the quantitative risk analysis, includes the assessment of overall project risk exposure, reflected in two key measures: chances of project success and degree of variability remaining in the project; a detailed probabilistic analysis of the project which presents key outputs from the quantitative risk analysis, includes S-curves, tornado diagrams, and criticality analysis and includes a narrative interpretation of the results

Leadership Styles

-laissez-faire -transactional -servant leader -transformational -charismatic -interactional

Project Schedule Management

-main purpose of the project schedule is to provide a detailed plan for how and when the project will deliver the results defined in the project scope -also an important tool for communicating and managing stakeholder expectations, team or individual assignments, and as a basis for performance reporting -project manager develops a time-table for the realization of project benefits, effectively schedule, allocate, use, and replace resources to achieve goals, and schedule activities so that resources are available, activities are completed and objectives are reached -when you develop a schedule at the beginning of your project, you create the schedule baseline, which is the formally accepted schedule -the general steps to develop the schedule are choosing a scheduling method and entering project information into a scheduling tool to create a schedule model -this model acts as your project schedule that, after it is approved, serves as the schedule baseline

Factors that cause a project to start

-meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements -satisfy stakeholder requests or needs -implement or change business or technological strategies -create, improve, or fix products, processes, or services

Iterative Scheduling with a Backlog

-one form of adaptive planning -a form of rolling wave planning that charts requirements that may be vague during the initial planning phase -is used to deliver incremental value -welcomes changes throughout the development life cycle -can be used in new product development

Estimate Costs

-one of the most important parts of project planning -it sets the stage for the budget and allows you to consider the details and features of project activities -develop an approximation of the cost of resources needed to complete project work -part of the planning process group and is the time in the project when the project manager establishes the scope of the project, refines the objectives, and defines the course of action required to attain the project's objectives -estimates should be reviewed and refined during the project to reflect additional details as they become available and as assumptions are tested -after the completion of the project, estimates of cost are stored as organizational process assets (OPAs) for others to reference on future projects -cost estimate is a quantitative assessment or prediction of the likely costs of resources required to complete project work -estimations should be made for all resources, such as labor, materials, equipment, services, and facilities -cost estimates include contingency amounts to account for identified risks, and management reserve to cover unplanned work -these estimates should include the "root", the method, and the assumed accuracy -cost estimates can be expressed in units of currency and in some cases, staff hours or days -they include identification and consideration of cost alternatives to initiate and complete the project -cost trade-offs and risks should be considered -progressive elaboration: as the project progresses, the scope will become clearer and estimates will be more accurate -the rough order of magnitude (ROM) is an estimate of costs provided in the early stages of a project when scope and requirements are not fully defined -the ROM estimate may have a larger range in the initiation phase and a narrower range later in the project -analogous cost estimating uses historical data from a similar activity to compare current work to previous, similar work. The ratio of the current work to the previous work is multiplied by the previous cost. It is used to get a high-level estimate when detailed information is not available, less costly, less time consuming, but less accurate -parametric estimating uses the statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (such as square footage in construction) to calculate a cost estimate. The number of units is multiplied by the cost per unit to derive a cost estimate for that particular entity. This method can produce a higher level of accuracy depending upon the sophistication and underlying data built into the module, be applied to a total project or to segments of a project, and can be used with other estimating methods -bottom-up estimating takes detailed estimates at the work package level to determine the most accurate estimate possible. To begin, estimate the cost of work packages or activities to the greatest level of detail. Then, roll up costs to higher levels for reporting and tracking purposes -three point estimating is used to account for uncertainty in the cost estimate. First, stakeholders need to provide estimates for most likely, optimistic, and pessimistic scenarios -triangular distribution equation: cE=(cO+cM+cP)/3, used when there is insufficient historical data -Beta distribution equation: cE=(cO+4cM+cP)/6, used when there is sufficient historical information

Operations Management

-ongoing production and continued efficency to meet customer demand -concepts and methodologies that pertain to project management may be useful for operational managers

Create WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

-organizes and defines the total scope of a project by breaking down the work to be performed -work refers to work products or deliverables that are the result of an activity- not just the activity itself -the loess-level component of the WBS is called a work package -purpose of this process is to subdivide project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components -key benefit is it gives a framework for what should be delivered by the project -part of the planning process group, performed only once, and it occurs at the time in the project life cycle when you establish the scope of the project, refine objectives, and define the course of action for attaining objectives -when your WBS is formally approved, it represents the scope baseline in the project management plan -decomposition is a technique that allows you to divide project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts -when decomposition isn't possible for a deliverable or subcomponent that will be achieved in the future, you and your project team can perform rolling wave planning by waiting until deliverables or subcomponents are agreed upon, then developing the details of the WBS -100% rule: the total work at the lowest levels should roll up to higher levels. Nothing is left out; no extra work is performed

Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEFs)

-originate from the environment outside the project and often outside the enterprise -uncontrollable conditions that influence, constrain, or direct the project -internal or external to the organization -positive or negative influence on the outcome of the project -considered as inputs to project management process especially those around planning

Estimate Activity Durations

-part of the planning process group and it takes place at the time in the life cycle when you define the course of action for attaining project objectives -perform this process throughout the project -this process requires estimates of work effort and number of resources -these are then used to estimate an activity's duration -the number of resources may determine the duration -a change to a vital resource may impact the activity -other factors to consider are law of diminishing returns, number of resources, advances in technology, motivation of staff -analogous estimating uses past data from a similar activity. This is frequently used when there is a limited amount of detailed information about the project. It is less costly and less time consuming but also less accurate -Parametric estimating uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters -estimates may be improved by when using three point estimating, tE=(tO+tM+tP)/3 -Bottom up estimating is done by aggregating the lower-level components of the work breakdown structure (WBS). The work within the activity is decomposed into more detail. The detailed durations are estimated and then these estimates are summed up

Plan Scope Management

-part of the project management plan and documents how the project and the product scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and validated -key benefit is that it provides guidance on how scope will be managed throughout the project -part of the planning process group, can be iterated more than once during planning. It occurs at the time in the project life cycle when you establish the scope of the project, refine project objectives, and define the course of action you'll take to attain those objectives

Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis

-prioritizes individual project risks so they can be analyzed for probability of occurrence and their impact -key benefit is that it focuses efforts on high-priority risks -risk perception among the project team and stakeholders introduces bias into the assessment, attention should be paid to correcting any biases that surface -this process also identifies a risk owner for each risk, this person will take responsibility for planning a risk analysis and ensuring that it is implemented -part of the planning process group and is the time in the life cycle required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the project objectives -this process is performed throughout the project

Closing Process Group

-process performed to formally complete or close a project, phase, or contract -verifies that the defined processes are completed within all of the process groups to close the project or phase, and formally establishes that the project or project phase is complete -key benefit is that phases, projects, and contracts are closed out appropriately -project manager must ensure that resources are released, documents are updated and archived, organizational process assets and lessons learned are updated, contracts are closed, and performance metrics and reports are complete

These trends include various fields:

-product development -market niches -standards -technologies -economics that can impact a project -sustainability strategies

Manage Project Knowledge

-project knowledge is the skills, expertise, talent, and experience used to achieve project objectives -about making sure stakeholders are aware of and share their knowledge before, during, and after the project -leverage past knowledge to improve project outcomes -create new knowledge to support future projects -part of the executing process group and is the time the life cycle when processes are performed to complete project work that satisfies the project requirements

Project Quality Management

-project quality management entails plan quality management, manage quality, and control quality -you will compare work results to the quality requirements to ensure that the end result is acceptable -you will ensure quality is measured using the right standards for the domain of the project -project manager is responsible for ensuring the product is built using the correct standards to pass the quality inspections, and that all approved change requests were incorporated into the product of the project -verified deliverables and quality reports will become inputs to use when validating whether the deliverables meet the established quality and scope standards -quality measures and techniques are specific to the type of deliverables being produced by the project -depending on the project, the project team may need knowledge of statistical control processes to evaluate data -prevention is an intentional activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is aligned with the project management plan -inspection is an examination of a work product to determine whether it conforms to documented standards -attribute sampling is a process that determines whether or not the deliverable conforms to specifications -variable sampling is the process that measures a deliverable's conformance to specific degree -tolerances are the specified range of acceptable results -control limits identify the boundaries of variation in a process -quality is the degree to which a product fulfills the requirements -grade is the item's classification based on its technical characteristics -quality conformance is the degree that the product or service meets the established quality requirements -quality nonconformance is the degree that the product or service doesn't meet the established quality requirements -Cost of quality (COQ) is the cost incurred in ensuring the quality of the project -the plan-do-check-act cycle (PDCA) is the basis for quality improvement

Project Resource Management

-project resource management includes identifying, acquiring, and managing resources -resource management processes ensure that resources will be available to the project manager and project team -organizations can help meet those demands -popular resource management methods include Lean, JIT, Kaizen, and others -agile teams have given rise to self-organizing teams where teams are provided with a suitable environment and adequate support

Project Risk Management

-projects are risky since they are unique undertakings with varying degrees of complexity -the risk management processes aim to increase the probability and impact of positive risks and decrease the probability and impact of negative risks, to optimize the chances of project success -all stakeholders involved with the project should play some role in managing risks -risk exists at two levels for every project: high level (overview) and low level (detailed) -overall project risk is the term used to describe the effect of uncertainty on the project as a whole -Individual project risk: an uncertain event that has a positive or negative effect on one of more project objectives -the project risk management processes aim to exploit or enhance positive risk (known as opportunities) while avoiding or mitigating negative risks (known as threats) -Event-based risks: uncertain future events -Variability risk: uncertainty exists around key characteristics of a plan, can be addressed through Monte Carlo analysis, where a model is created to stimulate conditions. The range of variations is illustrated in probability distributions. Actions are suggested to reduce the spread of possible outcomes -Ambiguity risk: uncertainty exists around what might happen in the future (inherent systematic complexity), can be addressed through expert judgement or benchmarking against similar projects -emergent risks: the unknowable unknowns, can only be recognized after they've occurred -strong project resilience can include back-up plans and strategies such as the right level of budget and schedule contingency for emergent risks, in addition to a risk budget breakdown set aside for known risks, and flexible project processes (like strong change management) to cope with emergent risks by maintaining the direction toward project goals -integrated risk management: involves managing organizational risks from a strategic perspective

Define Activities

-purpose is to identify and document specific actions you need to take to produce project deliverables -this process reduces work packages into specific activities -part of the planning process group and takes place at the time in the life cycle when you define your course of action for attaining project objectives -perform this process throughout the project -define work in scheduled activities that you should execute, monitor, and control during a defined timeframe -rolling wave planning is an iterative planning technique in which the near-term work to be done is planned in detail, while future work is planned at a higher level -progressive elaboration is the iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a plan as more information becomes available -decomposition is a technique used for dividing the project scope and deliverable into smaller, more manageable parts

Control Costs

-purpose is to monitor the budget to look for variances from the approved cost baseline -controlling costs requires knowledge of actual costs spent to date, and analyzing the relationship between the consumption of funds to the work being accomplished -key benefit is that the cost baseline is maintained throughout the project -if funds are consumed too fast, then a change request should be submitted to increase (or reallocate) the budget item -project cost control includes influencing the factors that create changes to the authorized cost baseline -monitoring cost performance to isolate and understand variances from the approved cost baseline, monitoring work performance against funds expended, preventing unapproved changes from being included in the report cost or resource usage, informing appropriate stakeholders of all approved changes and associated cost -bringing expected cost overruns within acceptable limits -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify areas where changes to the plan are required; and initiate those changes -this process is performed throughout the project -monitoring and controlling starts almost immediately in the project and runs to the end -a significant deviation from the cost baseline can result in modifying the scheduling of the project, introducing an additional risk, reducing scope through configuration or change management, or other project modifications -work performance information includes information on how the project work is performing compared to the cost baseline -budget at completion (BAC) is the total budget allocated to the project -Estimate at completion (EAC) is the expected total cost of completing all work expressed. Actual cost (AC) + estimate to complete (ETC) -Earned Value Analysis (EVA) shows the health of the project by integrating scope, schedule, and cost. EVA can be reported for the current reporting period and also cumulatively , it can be used to forecast total cost of the project at completion and the efficiency required to complete the project (as outlined in the baseline budget) -Planned value (PV) is the authorized budget assigned to scheduled work. The total of the PV is sometimes referred to as the performance measurement baseline (PMB) -Earned value (EV) is a measure of work performed until a specific date, expressed in monetary value obtained as a result of the work performed. The EV needs to relate to the PMB. The EV cannot be greater than the authorized PV budget for a component. The EV is often used to calculate the percent complete of a project -Actual cost (AC) is the budget spent until a specific date for the work performed until that date. The total cost incurred in accomplishing the work that the EV measured -Variance Analysis collects and assembles information on project performance variances. Common topics are schedule, cost, and quality variances -Variance at completion (VAC) is a projection of the amount of budget (deficit or surplus) expressed as the difference between the budget at completion (BAC) and the estimate at completion (EAC). Equation: VAC=BAC-EAC -Schedule Variance (SV): a measure of schedule performance. Equation: SV=EV-PV -Cost Variance (CV) is the amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time. Equation: CV=EV-AC -Schedule performance index (SPI) is a measure of schedule efficiency. If the result is greater than 1, more work was completed than was planned. Equation: SPI=EV/PV -Cost Performance Index (CPI) measures the cost efficiency of budgeted resources. If the result is greater than 1, the project is saving money. Equation: EV/AC -trend analysis examines project performance over time to determine if performance is improving or deteriorating -in earned value management, the three parameters of PV, EV, and AC can be represented by lines on a chart, with cost and time represented on the Y and X axis -as project work progresses, the project team may develop a forecast for the estimate at completion (EAC) -forecasting involves making projections of conditions and events in the project's future based on current information and other knowledge -during cost control, reserve analysis is used to monitor the status of contingency and management reserves to determine if these reserves are still needed or if additional reserves should be requested -to-complete performance index (TCPI) is a measure of the cost performance that should be achieved with the remaining resources in order to meet a management goal. It's an indication of the efficiency the project manager will have to achieve in order to meet the original goals. It is expressed as the ratio of the cost needed to finish the outstanding work to the remaining budget. Equation: (BAC-EV)/(BAC-AC)

Control Scope

-purpose is to monitor the status or the project scope and manage changes to the scope baseline -key benefit is the scope baseline is maintained throughout the project and that all requested changes and corrective or preventive actions are performed through the perform integrated change control process -part of the monitoring and controlling precess group and it occurs at the time in the project life cycle for tracking, reviewing, and regulating the progress and performance of the project; identifying areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiating those changes -a business analyst is responsible for managing and controlling requirements activities

Determine Budget

-purpose of this process is to aggregate the estimated cost of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized cost baseline -cost baseline is the approved version of the time-phased project budget, excluding any management reserves. It shows when the money will be spent, usually broken into phases, can only be changed through formal change control procedures, and used as a basis for comparison to actual results -the cost baseline is developed as a summation of the approved budgets for the direct schedule activities -key benefit is to determine the cost baseline against which project performance can be monitored and controlled -part of the planning process group and is the time in the life cycle when the project scope is established, the objectives are refined, and the course of action required to attain the project objectives is defined -this process is performed once or at predefined points in the project based on dependencies and constraints -the project budget is different from the cost baseline -a project budget includes all the funds authorized to execute the project -the cost baseline is the approved version of the time-phased project budget that includes contingency reserves but excludes management reserves -a project may have multiple cost baselines -performance measurement baseline is another term for the baseline, may be used if Earned value measurements (EVM) are applied

Sequence Activities

-schedule network diagrams are the main outputs -these diagrams identify and document relationships among project activities and show you the logical sequence of project work -the sequence activities process is part of the planning process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle when you need to define the course of action you'll take to achieve project objectives -you'll perform this process throughout the project -Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM): a technique for constructing a schedule model where activities are graphically linked by one or ore logical relationships to show the sequence in which they would be performed -an activity can be either a predecessor (it comes before another) or a successor (it comes after another) -Finish-to-start (FS): a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor has finished -Finish-to-finish (FF): a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor has finished -Start-to-start (SS): a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started -Start-to-finish (SF): a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started -Dependency determination and integration: will allow you to sequence your activities according to how they are dependent on each other -Mandatory dependencies: those that are legally or contractually required in the work -Discretionary dependencies: based on best practices within a particular area where a specific sequence is desired, even though there may be other acceptable sequences -External dependencies: involve a relationship between project activities and non-project activities -Internal dependencies: involve a precedence relationship between project activities and are generally inside the project team's control -Lead is the amount of time a successor activity can be advanced compared to a predecessor activity, often represented as a negative value within the network diagram -lag is the amount of time a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity, often represented as a positive value -properly sequenced activities allow you to develop a formal schedule model that, when approved, will act as the schedule baseline

Adaptive Planning

-stipulates that once work starts, priorities may change -the plan should be changed to reflect the new priorities

Develop Team

-teamwork is a critical factor for project success. Developing effective project teams is one of the responsibilities of any project manager -part of the executing process group and is the time in the life cycle when processes are performed to complete project work that satisfies the project requirements -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed -team development increases the team's performance, which then increases the likelihood of meeting objectives -the team's effectiveness can be indicated with improved skills, improvements in competencies, and reduced staff turnover rate -the Tuckman ladder describes the steps of project team development Forming: team members meet and learn about the project and their responsibilities Storming: team begins to address the project work, make decisions, and the approach Norming: team members begin to work together and support each other Performing: the team functions as a well-organized unit Adjourning: the team has completed the work and moves on from the project

Technical Project Management Skills

-the abilities to effectively apply project management knowledge to deliver the desired outcomes for programs or projects -focus on the critical technical project management elements for each project you manage -your ability to tailor both traditional and agile tools, techniques, and methods for each project

Project Management

-the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet the project requirements -accomplished through the appropriate application of the project management processes, as they pertain to that project -effective project management helps organizations meet business objectives, deliver products, resolve problems, and generate other such benefits

Identify Risks

-the iterative process of identifying individual project risks as well as sources of overall project risk, and documenting their characteristics -key benefit is that is documents individual project risks and the sources of overall project risk -part of the planning process group and is the time in the life cycle required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the project objectives -this process is performed throughout the project -only after every aspect of the project has been analyzed for risks, should the team move forward with solutions -SWOT analysis examines the project from each of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats perspective. For risk identification, it is used to increase the breadth of identified risks by including internally generated risks. The technique starts with the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the organization, focusing on either the project, organization, or the business area in general. SWOT analysis then identifies any opportunities for the project that may arise from strengths, and any threats resulting from weaknesses

Plan Risk Management

-the process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project -it ensures that the aspects of risk management match the level of risk exposure and the importance of the project -it may be necessary to revisit this process at a major phase change or if risk management is ineffective -this process is part of the planning process group and is the time in the life cycle required to establish the scope of the project, refine the objectives, and define the course of action required to attain the project objectives -this process is performed once or at predefined points in the project -project risks can happen in all aspects of the project- cost, schedule, quality, scope, etc -careful and conscientious application of risk management planning enhances the probability of success for the entire project -the risk management plan describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed -risk strategy describes the general approach to managing risk on this project -methodology defines the specific approaches, tools, and data sources that will be used to perform risk management on the project -roles and responsibilities define the lead, support, and risk management team members for each type of activity described in the risk management plan and clarifies their responsibilities -Funding identifies the funds needed to perform activities related to project risk management and establishes protocols for the application of contingency and management reserves -Timing defines when and how often the project risk management process will be performed throughout the project life cycle, and establishes risk management activities for inclusion into the project schedule -Risk categories provide a means for grouping individual project risks. A common way to structure risk categories is with a risk breakdown structure (RBS), which is a hierarchical representation of potential sources of risk. An RBS helps the project team consider the full range of sources form which individual project risks may arise -Stakeholder risk appetite is recorded in the risk management plan, as it informs the details of the plan risk management process -Definitions of risk probability and impacts are specific to the project context and reflect the risk appetite and thresholds of the organization and key stakeholders -Probability and impact matrices can be used to prioritize. Prioritization rules may be specified by the organization in advance of the project and be included in organizational process assets, or they may be tailored to the specific project -Reporting formats define how the outcomes of the project risk management process will be documented, analyzed, and communicated. This section of the risk management plan describes the content and format of the risk register and the risk report, as well as any other required outputs from the project risk management processes -Tracking documents how risk activities will be recorded and how risk management processes will be audited

Control Procurements

-the process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, making changes as appropriate, and closing out contracts -it ensures that both the seller's and buyer's performance meet the project's requirements according to the legal agreement -both the buyer and seller should ensure that both parties meet their contractual agreements -part of the monitoring and controlling process group -performed throughout the project when agreements are active -major output of this process is a change request -contested changes and potential constructive changes are requested changes where the buyer and seller cannot reach an agreement on compensation for the change or cannot agree that a change has occurred -changes may be disputed by one party and can lead to a claim against the other party -claims are documented, processed, monitored, and managed throughout the contract life cycle, usually in accordance with the terms of the contract -the buyer, usually through its authorized procurement administrator, provides the seller with formal written notice that the contract has been completed. Requirements for formal procurement closure are usually defined in the terms and conditions of the contract and are included in the procurement management plan

Project Procurement Management

-the processes required to develop and administer agreements such as the following: contracts, purchase orders, memoranda of agreements (MOAs), and service level agreements (SLAs) -involves agreements that describe the relationship between the buyer and seller -the buyer becomes a key stakeholder to the seller's project -the agreements turns into an input in the seller's management processes -the seller itself may become a buyer of lower-tiered resources -most organizations have policies that define procurement rules and specify the authorities around them

Control Quality

-this process entails monitoring and recording the results of quality management activities by assessing performance and ensuring the projects outputs are complete, correct, and meet customer expectations -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify areas where changes to the plan are required; and initiate those changes -this process continues all through the project from here until closing -this process results in a clear conclusion: the deliverable fits or not. Corrective actions may be required and the change management process is triggered. This could cause changes to project cost, schedule, risks, and project benefits -control quality is concerned with the correctness of the deliverables and meeting the quality requirements specified for the deliverables, while validate scope is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables -the control quality process implements the actions that are set up in the manage quality process -this process includes the tasks for the actual quality measurements while the manage quality process makes sure that the right quality standards are used for controlling quality -the level of effort to control quality and degree of implementation may differ between industries

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

-track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project -identify any areas where changes to the plan are required -initiate those changes -collecting performance data producing performance measures -reporting and disseminating performance information to the appropriate stakeholders -continuous monitoring provides the project team and other stakeholders with the status of the project and identifies any areas that require additional attention -comparing actual performance with the planned performance -analyzing variances between them -evaluating possible alternatives -recommending appropriate changes to get the project back on track -benefit is that project performance is measured and analyzed at regular intervals or appropriate events, to identify and correct variances from the project management plan

Monitor and Control Project Work

-track, review, and report progress to meet performance objectives defined in the project management plan -allows stakeholders to compare the current state of the project to the planed state -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and is the time in the life cycle required to track, review, and regulate the progress and performance of the project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiates corresponding changes -compare actual project performance against the project management plan assess performance to determine if corrective actions are needed -check the status of risks to record any updates -maintain accurate and timely information base about the project's products -provide status reports, work performance measurements, and forecasts to update cost and schedule information -monitoring involves collecting, measuring, and assessing measurements and trends to improve the process -controlling involves determining corrective or preventative actions that return the project to a healthy path and following up on action plans to determine if actions resolved issues -change requests may be issued to expand, adjust, or reduce project scope, product scope, or quality requirements -corrective action: realigns the performance of the project work with the project management plan -preventive action: ensures the future performance if the project work is aligned with the project management plan -defect repair: modifies a nonconforming product or product component

Operations

-transform resource or data inputs into desired goods, services, or results, and delivers value to the customers -they are different from projects since they are ongoing and are managed by organizational managers-not project managers

Develop Schedule

-used to create a schedule model with planned dates for completing activities -this process helps you analyze activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to develop a model for project execution, monitoring, and controlling -part of the planning process group and it occurs at the time in the life cycle when you define the course of action for achieving project objectives -this is an iterative process that you perform throughout the project -the project manager gathers inputs, uses helpful tools and techniques, and created defined outputs to develop an accurate schedule -the critical path method is used to estimate the least possible amount of time to complete the project, and to determine the amount of flexibility (or float) within the schedule -resource optimization is used to adjust activities according to resource availability -resource leveling is used when limits on the available resources is paramount. Adjustments are made to the project schedule according to resource availability, and may affect the critical path -resource smoothing is used when the time constraint takes priority. The project's critical path is not changed. Activities may only be delayed within their free and total float -schedule compression shortens or accelerates without reducing the project scope in order to meet constraints, imposed dates, or other objectives -crashing shortens the schedule duration by adding resources -fast tracking is a technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel. It may result in rework and increased risk

Collect Requirements

-used to determine, documents, and manage stakeholder needs and requirements for meeting objectives -performed once in a predictive development approach -part of the planning process group and happens at the time in the life cycle when you establish the scope of the project, refine objectives, and define how to achieve objectives -ensure requirements are accounted for in the project management plan -ensures activities for requirements deliver value -ensures activities are performed on time and within budget -collaborate with business analysts to obtain, document, and manage stakeholder requirements to meet business and project objectives -requirement: a condition or capability that should be present in a product, service or result to satisfy its specifications -business solutions: stakeholder needs -technical solutions: show how the need will be implemented -functional requirements: describe behaviors of the project -nonfunctional requirements: describe environmental conditions or qualities for the project to be effective transition and readiness requirements: temporary capabilities necessary to make the transition from the current state to the desired future state -project requirements: the actions, processes, or other conditions that the project should meet -quality requirements: criteria for validating the completion of a requirement -progressive elaboration: occurs when requirements become more clearly defined as the project advances

Validate Scope

-used to obtain the customer's acceptance of completed project deliverables -key benefit is that it brings objectivity to the acceptance process and increases the likelihood that the final product, service, or result will gain acceptance by validating each deliverable -part of the monitoring and controlling process group and it occurs at the time in the project life cycle for tracking, reviewing, and regulating the progress and performance of the project; identifying areas in which changes to the plan are required; and initiating those changes -the control quality process is usually performed before the validate scope process, although those processes may be performed simultaneously -the control quality process ensures deliverables are technically correct and meet the quality requirements -verified deliverables that are completed and checked for correctness through the control quality process -accepted deliverables meet the criteria for acceptance and are approved by the customer or sponsor

Plan Quality Management

-what standards apply to your project? -what quality measures will be expected of the final result of your project's product? -when and how quality inspections with occur? -this process identifies the quality requirements and standards as well as the documentation requirements that demonstrate compliance with those standards -key benefit is that it provides guidance on how quality will be managed throughout the project -part of the planning process group. The planning stage of a project is that time in the project life cycle used to define the course of action in order to attain the project objectives, should be performed in parallel with other planning processes -project manager makes sure that all the needed roles are involved and that they provide insight in this process and make sure the quality management plan and quality metrics are formalized and communicated to the team -quality impacts all other dimensions of the project, including scope, schedule, cost, and resource allocation -this process can impact the project by identifying new risks and requirements, and can create new work packages -prevention costs are related to the prevention of poor quality -appraisal costs are related to evaluating, measuring, auditing, and testing the product of the project -Failure costs include any costs related to nonconformance -the optimal COQ is one that invests in the cost of prevention to avoid failure costs -quality management plan describes how policies, procedures, and guidelines will be implemented to achieve quality objectives. The plan can include quality standards and objectives, quality roles within the team, deliverables and processes subject to review, quality control and management activities, and quality tools

Estimate Activity Resources

-when a project has information about requirements, project manager begins to estimate the resources needed for the project -key benefit is that it identifies resources required to complete the project -part of the planning process group and it happens at the time in the project when the project manager establishes the scope of the project, refines the objectives, and defines the course of action required to attain the project's objective -this process is performed periodically throughout the project as needed -scope determines the actual work that resources will do -costs will either affect or be affected by resource requirements -schedule may be impacted if there aren't enough resources, or if more resources are available than needed

Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Environment

-with agile, stakeholders collaborate more -there is increased adaptability due to changes and quality assurance -team members are domain experts for integration management -control of detailed project planning and delivery is given to the project team -the project manager builds a collaborative environment

Decomposition usually involves these five activities:

1) Identify your deliverables and related work 2) Structure and organize your WBS 3) Decompose upper WBS levels into detailed, lower-level components 4) Develop and assign identification codes to WBS components 5) Verify that the correct amount of decomposition was used for your deliverables

Four qualities that characterize projects of all types

1) creates a unique product, service, or result 2) is a temporary endeavor 3) drives change 4) enables business value (the benefit that results) creation

System

a collection of various components that produce results not obtainable by the individual components alone

Technique

a defined, systematic procedure used to perform an activity

Portfolio

a group of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives

Program

a group of related projects, subsidiary programs, and/or program activities that accomplish a set of goals

Project

a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. it has a definite beginning and end and are undertaken to fulfill objectives by producing deliverables

Automated Tools

an automated tool, such as a project management information system (PMIS), to input and collect ticket tracking, labor time reporting, project progress, and assign tasks, etc

System Component

an identifiable element that provides a particular function or group of related functions

Deliverable

any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project

Inputs

involve information that is referenced to properly begin the process

Tool

something tangible, like a diagram or a software program that can help you perform an activity

Project Charter

the document issued by the project sponsor that formally authorized the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities

Work Performance Data

the raw observations and measurements identified during activities performed to carry out the project work

Outputs

the things that are produced or updated as a result of a process