Project Management

Quality Management

Includes processes/activities that determine quality policies, objectives and responsibilities

Procurement Management

Includes the processes necessary to acquire products, services or results needed from outside the project team.

Scope Management

Includes the processes that ensure that all the work required is identified to complete the project successfully.

Project Manager Knowledge Areas

Integration Management Scope Management Time Management Cost Management Quality Management Human Resource Management Communication Management Procurement Management Stakeholder Management

people skills

Negotiation Conflict resolution Communication: written and verbal Prioritization Budgeting: Money, Time

Triangular Distribution (Simple Average)

O+M+P / 3 the three point estimate are averaged together

Adjourning Stage

Only occurs when all the team's work has been completed This may occur at any time in the project life cycle

volatility

the level of instability in a project environment

Model Selection Criteria - Comparable

the model should be usable across a range of projects such that the outcomes of the model can be used to compare projects example: using a profitability model for one project and a qualitative scoring model for another would not allow the decision maker to analyze the projects relative to each other

Scope

the number and type of features or functions

Critical Path

the path with the longest duration from the start of the project to its completion

Project Sponsor

the person in the organization who has authority to expend resources for projects

Risk Management

the proactive planning for risk and opportunities that occur at most steps of the project management process from the time we define the project and create our charter to all of the project management planning through execution of the project

quality management

the process of identifying the customer's requirements and how they will be measured.

project selection

the process of identifying which project(s) an organization will undertake

Quality Control

the process of monitoring and changing project execution to ensure that activities are being executed as planned and will result in meeting the customer requirements.

Risk Planning

the process of reviewing every aspect of the project to identify what risks may occur, by examining internal and external influences

Quality Assurance

the process of validating the requirements and measurements are appropriate for the project environment.

Schedule Compression

the reduction of the overall project timeline to the least possible length for the least cost to the project

critical path

the sequence of states determining the minimum time needed for an operation, especially analyzed on a computer for a large organization

activities

the starting point for developing the project schedule because they identify specific work that will need to occur in order to execute the project

Rough Costs

the term used for initial estimating project costs

vendor lead time

the time necessary for ordering products from vendors, for products to cure and for equipment to be available

time

time used or time something is due and is usually converted into dollars spent

crash

to obtain the greatest amount of compression of the schedule/critical path for the least incremental cost or time

planned value

the dollar value of all work scheduled to have been completed to date. Based on the baseline schedule and the calendarized baseline budget

Estimate at Completion

the forecast of how much more the project is expected to cost to complete

budget at completion

the approved total baseline budget approved for the completed project

Negotiated Middle Ground

the balance struck between top-down and bottom-up estimation methods

negative float

the calculated completion date of the last activity is later than the targeted completion date established at the beginning of the project

Model Selection Criteria - Low Cost

the costs of gathering data and running the model should be low relative to the scale of the project example: a model that requires hiring a consultant to run and interpret may not be cost effective for smaller projects

project controls

the data gathering, management, and analytical processes used to predict, understand and constructively influence the time and cost outcomes of a project or program.

make or buy decision

the decision between making the product internally or buying from an outside vendor

Risk Appetite

the degree of uncertainty an entity is willing to take on in anticipation of a reward

Risk Tolerance

the degree, amount or volume of risk that an organization or individual will withstand

Project Scope

the desired result for a project and it defines the product

Total Float

the difference between the finish date of the last activity on the critical path and the project completion date. Any delay will reduce the amount available

earned value

the dollar value of all work completed to date. Based on the baseline budgeted cost of each activity

TCPI

(BAC-EV)/(BAC-AC)

ETC

(BAC-EV)/CPI

Risk Register

A prioritized chart of risks by probability and severity

EAC

AC + ETC

Finish to Start Relationships

Approval -- > Purchasing a logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until the predecessor has finished. materials cannot be purchased until the design is approved

PERT Chart

Chart that indicates the critical path

Human Resource Management Plan

Defines the roles, skills and knowledge needed by project team members. Identifies when the human resource will be needed and how the person will be identified, trained and integrated with the team.

Communications Management Plan

Documents which information will be shared, when, how and with whom.

CV

EV-AC

SV

EV-PV

CPI

EV/AC

PCI

EV/BAC

SPI

EV/PV

Cost Management Plan

Explains how the budget will be developed, monitored and controlled

Time Management Plan

Explains how the schedule will be developed, monitored and controlled

labor costs

FTE X number of work hours estimated

Stakeholder Analysis

PM Conducts the analysis to define the relevant stakeholders, their interests, and their communication needs.

Risk Threshold

Refers to measurements along the level of uncertainty or the level of impact at which a stakeholder may have a specific interest

Models

Representation of reality singular in their version of reality

Norming Stage

Team members have "figured out" how they will interact with each other. Working relationship are beginning to form. Trust and understanding is beginning to form between team members. They are beginning to feel comfortable working together and openly and willingly sharing information

Model Selection Criteria - Flexible

The model should provide accurate measures across a reasonable range of conditions Example: model would allow for changing conditions

Combined probability and Severity Score

The severity and probability of the risk to help placement on prioritized chart of risks

WBS Number

Used as a coding scheme to associate the various tasks to activities, deliverables and the project as a whole

Model Selection Criteria - Capable

Uses factors that are relevant to the organization Example: net present value model (long term value perspective)

Float time or Slack Time

the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the completion date of the project

Wagon Masters

What Project managers can be viewed as, leading their charges to successful completion of their goal of developing a new product or service

Project Requirement

a characteristic, function or capability that must be present in the project final outcome

retrospective

a discussion after the completion of each sprint to determine what went well and what changes should occur in the next sprint

corrective action

a document issued to identify quality failures and how they will be corrected

charter

a document that, like a contract, is agreed upon by the sponsor and key stakeholders. It defines the project and authorizes the resources, roles, responsibilities, authorities and scope for the project.

net present value

a financial measure of the total future benefits of a project minus the costs of the project

project schedule network diagram

a graphic representation of dependencies recognized during the planning phase

Portfolio

a group of initiatives that support the long-term goals and objectives of the company

Team

a group of people working together to reach a mutually agreed-upon goal or objective

Program

a group of related projects

Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE2)

a highly structured project management method which focuses on the specification of the outputs rather than the coordination of activities. Includes very specific processes and terminology to ensure that all project participants understand the work.

Subject Matter Experts

a person who is an authority in a particular area or topic

activity

a portion of work that will be executed as a part of the project to create the specified deliverables.

Project Maturity Model

a process for determining if the level of documentation and best practices followed in project execution

project justification

a statement explaining the business need for the project

virtual team

a team whose members are not physically co-located on a regular basis during the project

Complex

a whole made up of complicated or interrelated parts

Mitigating Risk

absorbing the impact of the risk and not allowing it to impact effort and cost

Model Selection Criteria - Realistic

accurately reflects the way the organization does business appropriate for the level of resources, capabilities and external environment of the organization example: Profitability Model

Project Management

act of managing a project and encompasses the use of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to ensure that the project meets its goals.

slack

amount of time an activity, network path, or project can be delayed from the early start without changing the completion date of the project

management reserve

an amount added to the overall project budget to cover unknown risks.

Quality

an aspect of the scope which defines to what degree the characteristics meet the customer's expectation

8 and 80 Rule

an ideal guide to aid communications, that states that a PM should avoid controlling tasks less than eight hours or team members will feel micromanaged and should not let more than 80 hours go by without checking in

Scenario

an imagined or projected sequence of events, especially any of several detailed plans or possibilities.

Agile Project Managment

an iterative approach to project management where the project team works closely with the customer to deliver projects in usable chunks.

Team

any group of people brought together and organized to work cooperatively to reach a commonly agreed upon and understood goal or objective.

project exclusions

any limitations or boundaries to the project

Risk

any uncertainty in an event or condition that may impact the project

stakeholder

anyone who is involved with the project from inside or outside of the organization that is either a user or contributor to the project and the organization

Deterministic duration estimation technique

appropriate when the activity durations are very predictable

0-100 Rule

assigns 0% to activities that have not been started and those that are in progress. Completed activities are assigned 100%. Every activity in the project is assigned a value of either 0%

50/50 Rule

assigns 50% complete as soon as an activity is started and the activity is considered 100% upon completion. no percentages in between, it is either 0%, 50% or 100%

GANTT Chart

bar graph used to visually depict relationships on a project

apportion method

based on the ratio method but takes into consideration specific functionality or types of work that will be required. Often used when the project transitions from the defining to the planning phase. Designating % of the budget to specific parts of the project i.e. customer's budget or similar projects

Critical Chain

builds on the critical path method by going a step further adding time buffers to account for limited resources

latest start date

calculated with the backward pass by taking the required project completion date and working backward subtracting the duration of each activity through each possible pathway

Payback Period

calculates the amount of time required to earn back the cost of doing the project

concurrent or parallel activities

can be done at the same time

milestones

certain key dates that are identified that indicate critical events and may include scheduled customer reviews, government inspections and other activities that must be performed on specific dates before the project may proceed

avoiding risk

changing the project plan to sidestep anticipated risk factors

Cost Variance

compares the difference between the EV and the AC to determine if the project is meeting its budget expectations

Schedule Variance

compares the differences between the EV and the PV to determine if the project is meeting its schedule expectations of if there is a variance

organizational maturity level

comprehensiveness of written procedures to accomplish tasks in each of the process areas identified by PMI

Direct overhead costs (indirect)

costs from the project that are shared across the work activities work space, supervision, project administration, equipment or other resources are not related to a specific work activity these costs cannot be directly attributed to a specific cost

contingency reserves

costs included in the budget to cover situations that may occur project manager has the authority to use it

Direct Costs

costs that are directly attributable to completing the project work. Specific work activities identified in the WBS; labor, materials supplies and equipment

scrum

daily standup meeting where the team discusses their work status and plans the work for the day

operations

day-to-day activities in which organizations engage, which could result in a product or service satisfying a need that a customer is willing to pay for. continuous, ongoing activity, indefinite lifespan

competitive necessity model

decision of whether to approve or disapprove the project is based on whether implementing the project will ensure the viability of the company in the competitive market

statement of work

defines the product of the project

mandatory or logical dependencies

dependencies of one activity or task to another or legal requirements

internal dependence

dependencies such as impact on milestone as defined by the project requirements or under management control

External

dependencies that rely on external resources or forces

physical

dependencies where primer must be applied before the final paint or where the plumber and electrician cannot work in the same utility closet at the same time

overall organizational maturity level

determined by the lowest maturity level of any of the processes

Projects

develops new product or service. Temporary activity, specified Lifespan logical groups of activities

lessons learned

documentation of experience gained during the project, which can improve the success of future projects

Work Breakdown Structure

ensures that everyone understands what has to be delivered and who is responsible for doing what when

To Complete Performance Index

essentially what the CPI will need to be for the remainder of the project if the team intends to finish on budget

Project Baseline

establishes the expected scope, the expected cost, and the expected schedule, tells you where you are going

top-down estimation methods

estimates that are often provided by someone at the organization who has knowledge or experience from prior projects similar to the project being considered.

operating necessity

evaluates a project based on whether it will ensure ongoing operations with the understanding that not executing the project will result in operations being interrupted.

Internal Rate of Return

evaluates potential projects as if the were financial investments

Scoring model

extends the benefits of the checklist approach and overcomes some of its weaknesses

Frederick Taylor

father of scientific management used scientific reasoning to study human labor relative to organizational system goals determined that by breaking down work into individual discrete activities one could improve both human productivity and subsequently organizational productivity. help to determine work breakdown structure, scheduling and resource requirements

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)

focuses on managing the uncertainties of a project by assuming that resources available to complete the project are in limited supply and it specifically plans to ensure resource availability

Risk Breakdown Structure

follows the WBS and insures that each activity and task in the WBS is reviewed for risk and opportunity and documented as identified

collecting customer requirements

gathering information from the customer and stakeholders in order to define the high level project outcomes

Histogram

graph of frequency distribution in which rectangles with bases on the horizontal axis are given widths equal to the class intervals and heights equal to corresponding frequencies.

network diagram / precedence diagram

graphic representation for how a project will proceed

Gantt Chart

horizontal bar chart that sequences tasks and provides duration of each task

project defining phase

idea for the projects is formalized into a project proposal and the decision on whether the project will be selected for implementation is made

Procurement Management Plan

identifies how the project team will acquire products and services from outside organizations

Requirements Traceability Matrix

identifies the project deliverables that come from the stakeholder requirements

work performance data

identifies the work activities that are completed, partially completed, or not started.

Monitoring and Controlling

if the PM detects that the project is not being executed as planned, they may need to intercede in order to correct the situation.

opportunity cost

if the organization spends money on a project, then other possible uses of the money would need to wait.

future net cash flows

in order to evaluate project, you need to know the costs (outflows) and benefits (cash inflows) for the entire working life of the project outcome.

Communication Management

includes processes to ensure timely and appropriate planning, creation, distribution, management

Integration Management

includes processes/activities needed to identify, define and coordinate various processes and project management activities

Cost Management

includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, managing and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget

Risk Management

includes the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning and controlling risk on project.

Stakeholder Management

includes the processes required to identify all people or organizations impacted by the project, analyzing stakeholder expectations, and developing appropriate strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution.

Time Management

includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project

Human Resource Management

includes the processes that organize, manage and lead the project team

Change Control Board

the appropriate board in which change requests are submitted through, they ensure that the change does not negatively impact the project triple constraints

deliverables

intermediate outcomes from work activities

accepting risk

involves building a response into the plan to address the accepted risk

Co-located Teams

involves team members physically working at the same location. Face to face meetings are possible and members are able to easily meet in person with one another at almost any time.

transferring risk

involves transferring the risk to some other party, such as an insurance company

Waterfall Method

is a traditional practice which found its best use in software and hardware development. The work flows downward like water falling over a ledge.

Business Scenario

is representative of a significant business need or problem, and enables vendors to understand the value to the customer organization of a developed solution Describes: past events that are relevant, current key information and expected or desired outcomes contain information about past present or future outcomes

actual cost

is the total dollar value of costs incurred to date. Includes work and invoices already paid as well as any expenses that have been incurred but not yet invoiced or paid.

monitor

knowing the status of the project work

scrum master

leads the team but rather than directing project team members, acts as a facilitator who ensures that obstacles are removed and the team has the resources needed to complete the iteration

The Five Steps

logical groups of processes which outline what must occur in order to manage the project

Finish to Finish Relationship

logical relationship where the successor task cannot be completed until the first task is completed. cannot finish design until the owner gives us approval of the decor after reviewing the design proposal

Percent Complete Index

measure of how much of the total project work has been completed

virtual meeting

meetings conducted with video conferencing tools Skype, Hangout, GoToMeeting

Non-numeric project selection Models

non-financial models focus on selection criteria that are not limited to traditional numeric performance measures

uncertain

not exactly known or defined

scope creep

occurs when there are any, but particularly small, incremental additions to the project scope that are not subject to the formal scope change process.

task

often used to describe specific actions taken to complete an activity

improvement changes

opportunities identified after the project approval process but that make sense to incorporate into the project even if not identified at the start

Three Point Estimate

optimistic estimate (O), Pessimistic Estimate (P), most likely estimate (M)

General and administrative Costs

overhead costs from the project organization legal, human resources, payroll not related to one project but are shared or born by all activities of the business

Frank and Lillian Gilbreths

parents of what is known as time and motion study The Psychology of Management

earned value analysis

process of assessing the work completed, allows the project manager to compare the actual WBS work activities completed to the actual expenditures.

backward pass

process where we start from the end date and add dates based on the estimates for each task in the diagram

Weighted Factor Scoring Model

project selection, where some criteria may be more important than others.

Sacred Cow

projects are suggested by senior leadership or a powerful constituent of the company "sacred" nature of the project is that its existence will not be questions but will be pushed toward completion until the sponsor realizes the futility of the effort

Model Selection Criteria - Easy to Use

provide results in a reasonable amount of time results should be easily understood by the decision makers example: use models that provide measures that the decision maker can easily apply

Estimate to Completion

provides an estimate of how much money will be needed to complete the project

Triple Constraint

refers to the fact that all projects are constrained by cost (budget), schedule (time), and scope (deliverables).

predecessor activities

related tasks that have to be completed before this activity/task/work is started

Change Requests

requests for changes in scope, schedule or funding

Bottom-up Estimation Method

require that estimates be made at the detailed work activity level of the WBS

standards

requirements that are generally accepted by a group of firms that produce similar products or services

Project Manager

responsible and accountable for managing the project to maximize its success

quality audits

rigorous reviews of the project performance.

project plan

robust document which addresses all of the activities necessary to complete the project

resource leveling

the act of leveling the amount of resources needed to be constant over a period of time

Communication Plan

sets the stage for what is required and guides individual expectations

serial activities

show the predecessors and then the successors in a string

Baseline Budget

snapshot of the project budget, approved budget and will be used as the standard for comparison of actual costs throughout the life of the project and identifying variances

constrain

something that limits or restricts someone or something

Henry Gantt

studied organizational operations management techniques in the construction of navy ships used in World War I

learning curves

suggests that as a person repeats a task, the time required to complete the task decreases

Time Value of Money

suggests that money is worth more to an organization now than in the future.

project cost

sum total of all expenses directly charged to the project

project charter

summarizes all of the key information about the project and authorizes the project manager to assemble the team and begin detailed planning.

control

take action as needed to ensure the project plan is completed as planned

Storming Stage

team members are beginning to know each other, but they do not yet understand how to work together. Members jockey for a position within the team. Roles of responsibility are being established. Personalities surface, showing strengths, weaknesses and personal needs of each individual on the team

Performing Stage

team members are full comfortable working together. Trust has been developed. Working relationships are jelled. Work is being conducted and project progress is occurring.

Forming Stage

team members may be meeting for the first time. A time for introduction and forming relationships and understanding from exchange of imformation

Virtual Teams

teams whose members interact primarily through electronic communications. Members may be in the same building or across continents.

cost

the $ expression of scope and time with an addition for money to be spent on meeting quality expectations.

discretionary task dependence

the PM choose based on resource availability, including people, money/budget, and other materials

Early Start Date

understood by calculating the total project float. begin at the start date, add the duration of each activity in each possible path through the network diagram, including non-working days from the resource calendars, to determine the early project end date

node label

unique identifier for each activity

Numeric project selection models

use financial and other quantitative measures to drive decision making. profit/profitability and scoring models

Critical Path Method (CPM)

used for estimating project activity durations but assumes that the estimates do not vary and time can be reliably estimated.

alignment

used to describe connecting project outcomes to company goals

duration

used to describe the number of time periods required to complete some portion of the work

product scope

used to describe the portion of the scope statement that defines the features and functions of the project outcome or deliverables

Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

used to estimate activity duration times by using a statistical approach to estimate the time that will be required to complete project work activities

Probabilistic duration estimation techniques

used when there is uncertainty in how long an activity will take

ratio method

uses experience from prior projects to estimate the overall cost of the current project I.e. construction estimates based on the square footage method

The Beta Distribution (weighted average)

uses the three estimates but places emphasis on the most likely estimate developed as the PERT

Cost Performance Index

using the same inputs as the CV measure with the combination of ratios, creates a measure of cost efficiency

Start to Start Relationships

we cannot start the successor activity until the predecessor activity has started less common gas pipeline construction would be that as soon as the crew begins placing the pipe into the trench, the process of filling in the trench can occur

successor activities

what can be done only after this work is complete

Phase Gate

when a decision is made to move from one phase into the next

project planning phase

when detailed planning occurs

Executing Phase

when the bulk of the work to complete the project outcomes occurs

project closing phase

when the project outcomes are delivered to the customer and/or sponsor and the customer and/or sponsor evaluates them to determine if they are acceptable PM must ensure that all the loose ends are tied up

parametric estimating

when top-down methods are based on the relationship between the current project and historical data

forward pass

when we start assigning dates based on the earliest start date, adding dates based on our estimates for each task in the diagram

sprints

where the focus is to work together in delivering functionality to the customer in a relatively short period of time (often less than 3 weeks)

Start to Finish

where we cannot end the first task until the second task has started. cooking shift cannot leave until the second shift has arrived and started

backlog

written customer functionality requirements, prioritizing these allows the team to know what to work on first