Project Management Midterm Study Guide

Standard Deviation Formula for Project Management

(p-o)/6

Management

- Direct using positional power - Maintain - Administrative - Focus on systems and structure - Rely on control - Focus on near-term goals - Ask how and when - Focus on bottom line - Accept status quo - Do things right - Focus on operational issues and problem solving

Leadership

- Guide, influence, and collaborate using relational power - Develop - Innovate - Focus on relationships with people - Inspire trust - Focus on long-range vision - Ask what and why - Focus on the horizon - Challenge status quo - Do the right things -Focus on vision, alignment, motivation, and inspiration

Duration

- the number of work periods necessary to complete an activity -influenced by: resourced, wait, supplier lead time, available work days

Incremental Life Cycle

-Dynamic Requirements -Activities performed once for a given increment -Frequent smaller deliveries -Goal is speed

Agile Life Cycle

-Dynamic requirements -Activities repeated until correct -Frequent small deliveries -Goal is customer value via frequent deliveries and feedback

Iterative Life Cycle

-Dynamic requirements -Activities repeated until correct -Single delivery -Goal is correctness of solution

Predictive Life Cycle

-Fixed requirements -Activities performed once for the entire project -Single delivery -Goal is to manage cost

Effort

-Number of labor units necessary to finish an activity -Expressed as staff hours, days, or weeks -influenced by: skills, tools, attitude

Project Phase

A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables.

Techniques

A defined systematic procedure employed by a human resource to perform an activity to produce a product or result or deliver a service, and that may employ one or more tools.

Logical Relationships

A dependency between two activities, or between an activity and a milestone.

Successor

A dependent activity that logically comes after another activity in a schedule.

Standard

A document established by an authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example.

Project Charter

A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.

WBS Dictionary

A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure.

Business Case

A documented economic feasibility study used to establish validity of the benefits of a selected component lacking sufficient definition and that is used as a basis for the authorization of further project management activities.

Requirements Traceability Matrix

A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them.

Program

A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits to obtainable from managing them individually.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables

Project Management Process Group

A logical grouping of project management inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. The Project Management Process Groups include initiating processes, planning processes, executing processes, monitoring and controlling processes, and closing processes. Project Management Process Groups are not project phases.

Finish-to-Finish

A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished.

Start-to-Finish

A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.

Finish-to-Start

A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished.

Start-to-Start

A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started.

Control Account

A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.

Project Management Office (PMO)

A management structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.

Prototypes

A method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of the expected product before actually building it.

Code of Accounts

A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure (WBS)

Resource Leveling

A resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to optimize the allocation of resources and which may affect critical path.

Resource Smoothing

A resource optimization technique in which free and total float are used without affecting the critical path.

Fast Tracking

A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.

Milestone

A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.

Methodology

A system of practices, techniques, procedures, and rules used by those who work in a discipline.

Resource Optimization

A technique in which activity start and finish dates are adjusted to balance demand for resources with the available supply.

Decomposition

A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.

Mind Mapping

A technique used to consolidate ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas.

Crashing

A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources.

Schedule Compression Techniques

A technique used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope.

Project

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result

Project

A temporary endeavor with a definitive start and end date, undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Planning Package

A work breakdown structure component below the control account with known work content but without detailed schedule activities. See also control account

Predecessor

An activity that logically comes before a dependent activity in a schedule.

Parametric

An estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters.

Project Management Knowledge Area

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.

Rolling Wave Planning

An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level.

Backlog

An ordered list of user-centric requirements that a team maintains for a product.

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.

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. A program is a group of related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. A portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

Compare and contrast the differences between a project, program and portfolio:

Enterprise Environmental Factor

Conditions, not under the immediate control of the team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project, program, or portfolio.

1. Compliance 2. Maintain Status Quo 3. Continuous Improvement 4. Strategic Initiatives

Correctly assign sample projects to the categories companies use to group their projects and compete for funding. These categories are based on the factors that lead to creation of projects:

How scope is managed in the Agile life cycle:

Deliverables are defined over multiple interactions. Detailed scope is defined and approved before the iteration they begin. Is responsive to high levels of change, and required ongoing stakeholder engagement. Scope is decomposed into a set of products; product backlog. Team works the highest priority items for the iteration from the product backlog. Processes are repeated for each iteration.

How scope is managed in the predictive life cycle:

Deliverables defined at the beginning of project. Change is managed progressively via integrated change control. Processes are performed toward beginning, updated via change control.

1. Product vision drives product roadmap 2. release plan establishes iterations 3. iteration plans schedules feature development 4. prioritized features delivered by user 5. tasks created to deliver user stories

Describe in ascending order how Agile uses tasks, user stories, iterations and releases:

Tailoring

Determining the appropriate combination of processes, inputs, tools, techniques, outputs, and life cycle phases to manage a project.

Data

Discrete, unorganized, unprocessed measurements or raw observations.

Validate Scope

Formal agreement and acceptance by stakeholders (Occurs after quality control process)

For a project, success is measure by project and product quality, timeliness, budget compliance, and degree of customer satisfaction. A program's success is measured by the program's ability to deliver the intended benefits to an organization, and by the program's efficiency and effectiveness in delivering those benefits. A portfolio's success is measured in terms of the aggregate investment performance and realization of the portfolio.

How the different managers measure success:

Needs Assessment

Identifies the business issue or opportunity and recommends proposals to address them. It identifies a gap between the current and desire future state.

1. Milestone 2. Summary or Hammock View 3. Detailed Schedule

Identify by name the types of common schedule formats and reports

1. Time 2. Cost 3. Scope 4. Quality 5. +Achievement of project objectives

Identify the four traditionally most important factors for defining a project's success, and the most current additional determinate:

1. Supportive: Supportive PMOs provide a consultative role to projects by supplying templates, best practices, training, access to information, and lessons learned from other projects. This type of PMO serves as a project repository. The degree of control provided by the PMO is low. 2. Controlling PMOs provide support and require compliance through various means. The degree of control provided by the PMO is moderate. 3. Directive: Directive PMOs take control of the projects by directly managing the projects. Project managers are assigned by and report to the PMO. The degree of control

Identify the type of Project Management Office by its characteristics and level of authority:

- List of Activities - Activities Attributes - Milestones - Change Requests & Project Mngt. Plan Updates

List a couple of outputs from the Define Activities process:

1. Project schedule model development 2. Release and iteration rate 3. Level of accuracy 4. Units of measure 5. Organizational procedures links 6. Project schedule model maintenance 7. Control thresholds *8. Reporting Format

List a few elements included in a schedule mgmt. plan:

1. Resources 2. Risk 3. Budget 4. Scope 5. Quality 6. Schedule

List all 6 of the project management constraints:

1. Requirements Tracebility Matrix 2. Requirements documentation

List or name the 2 outputs of the Plan Scope Management:

1. Project scope description 2. Deliverables 3. Acceptance Criteria 4. Project Exclusions

List or name the 4 elements of a project scope statement:

- Business - Stakeholder - Solution - Functional - Nonfunctional - Transition - Project - Quality

List several types of requirements that are:

1. Work Performance Info 2. Change requests 3. Accepted Deliverables

List the 3 outputs of the validate scope process:

1. Plan Schedule Management 2. Define Activities 3. Sequence Activities 4. Estimate Activity Duration 5. Develop Schedule 6. Control Schedule

List the 6 Time Management processes in a PMBOK Project Management Methodology Map in the correct order:

1. Predictive 2. Iterative 3. Incremental 4. Agile

Match the types of project life cycle planning methods based on their life cycle phases, degree of change involved and frequency of delivery:

- Charter - Requirements Documentation - Scope statement - WBS - WBS Dictionary

Name several documents that help the project manager prevent/manage scope creep:

a. Project Integration Management b. Project Scope Management c. Project Schedule Management d. Project Cost Management e. Project Quality Management. f. Project Resource Management g. Project Communications Management h. Project Risk Management i. Project Procurement Management j. Project Stakeholder Management

Name several knowledge areas in the PMI map:

1. Initiating Process Groups 2. Planning process Groups 3. Executing Process Groups 4. Monitoring and Controlling Process Group 5. Closing Process Group

Name the five PMI project management process groups in order:

1. Responsibility 2. Respect 3. Fairness 4. Honesty

Name the four professional conduct values of PMI:

1. Project Schedule Network Diagrams 2. Project Documents Updates

Name the output of the Sequence Activities:

Information

Organized or structured data, processed for a specific purpose to make it meaningful, valuable, and useful in specific contexts.

Organizational Process Assets

Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases that are specific to and used by the performing organization.

Portfolio

Projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

1. Organizational culture, structure, and governance. 2. Geographic distribution of facilities and resources. 3. Infrastructure 4. Information Technology software 5. Resource availability 6. Employee capability

Recognize organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors by examples of each:

Program

Related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.

1. Plan 2. Collect Requirements 3. Define Scope 4. Create WBS 5. Validate Scope 6. Control Scope

Six Scope Management Processes in Order:

Objective

Something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed.

Float or Slack

The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

Lead

The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity.

Lag

The amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity.

Benefits Management Plan

The documented explanation defining the processes for creating, maximizing, and sustaining the benefits provided by a project or program.

Product Scope

The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.

Progressive Elaboration

The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.

Business Value

The net quantifiable benefit derived from a business endeavor. The benefit may be tangible, intangible, or both.

Critical Path

The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration.

Scope Creep

The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources

Work Package

The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and duration are estimated and managed.

Project Scope

The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.

Simple three point estimating formula

Three points are used to define the range of possible outcome: optimistic, pessimistic, most likely. Used when there is little historical information. Can be used for time as well as cost. (O+M+P/3)

PERT

Used when there is high confidence in the estimator or the estimations provided. [O+ (4xM)+P/6]

- Project Scope Statement - WBS - Work Package - Planning Package - WBS Dictionary

Which components are included in the Scope Baseline?

1. Develop the scope statement 2. Create the WBS 3. Maintain the WBS 4. Define how to obtain acceptance of deliverables 4. Manage changes to scope

Which elements are included in the scope management plan?

Affinity diagrams

allow large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis.

Analogous estimating

is a technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using historical data from a similar activity or project.