CompTIA
What is the biggest difference between waterfall and agile?
Waterfall is structured, while agile is flexible.
What are the differences between agile and waterfall teams when delivering products? (Select all that apply.) Waterfall teams deliver the big design up front, while agile teams deliver in small batches. Waterfall teams deliver customers nearly finished products, while agile teams deliver in iterations or increments. Waterfall teams deliver in small batches, while agile teams deliver a big design upfront. Waterfall teams deliver in increments, while agile teams deliver customers nearly finished products.
Waterfall teams deliver a big design upfront since the team built the plan early and has clear transitions between phases. Agile team members must commit to delivering small batches of functionality. In waterfall, customers receive nearly finished products. Agile teams deliver in iterations or increments by developing small parts or developing features one at a time.
How does the requirements gathering process differ between agile and waterfall projects?
Waterfall: the PM captures all requirements at the start Agile: the PM captures only high-level requirements initially and requirements are continually updated throughout the project
Different organizational structures give different roles to project managers (PMs). For example, a corporation has a PM responsible for assigning work but does not have budget responsibilities or any official authority over the people doing the work. The PM is in what type of organizational structure? Weak matrix Projectized Functional Strong matrix
Weak matrix because in a matrix structure, a manager is responsible for assigning work but does not have official authority over the people doing the work, and the PM has littler control over budget and staff in a weak matrix.
You work for a coffee shop (DB). The manager asked you to prepare a business case for increasing the company's online presence. Currently, the company has one social media account and no website. You are drafting options for the business case. You selected four options. Set up at least three additional social media channels. Set up a company website. Set up a company website and at least three additional social media channels. Do nothing. Why did you offer "do nothing" as an option? How would doing nothing impact the business?
"Do nothing" should be an option so the company can choose to not pursue the project because there could be other more profitable projects the funding could be used for.
A project manager (PM) needs to calculate the return on investment (ROI). The project has generated a revenue of $23,000 with a cost of $108,000. What is the ROI?
-78.70%
A project manager (PM) needs to determine a project's return on investment (ROI). In this case, the project's net profit is $50,000.00, costing $15,000.00. What is the ROI?
333.33%
Which of the following is the most critical for the project manager (PM) to share with leaders to obtain approval to start a project and secure funding and resources? A business case An executive summary A problem statement A problem analysis
A business case, because it summarizes information about the project and is shared with leaders to obtain approval and funding for a project.
What is the difference between a program and a portfolio?
A program is a collection of projects that will accomplish a single objective. A portfolio is an arbitrary, unrelated group of projects that exist in the same section of an organization.
What is a group of several related projects that have a common objective to accomplish a big goal?
A program.
What components of the general project information does a project charter include? (Select all that apply.) Project name Project description Risk management plan Project sponsor
A project charter is a brief, formal document that outlines the project parameters and includes the project name, description, and sponsor
A project manager (PM) has just assembled the project team. The PM needs to start the next process and build the organizational chart. What are some of the sections in a project organizational chart? (Select all that apply.) Stakeholder Sponsor Steering committee End-user
A project organizational chart clarifies team members and reporting structure - appropriate sections include sponsors and a steering committee (governing body that oversees the project)
A team creates a quality assurance plan during the planning phase of a project. Which questions does a quality assurance plan address? (Select all that apply.) A. How will the team verify that the project meets expectations? B. If the risk were to occur, what is the monetary loss? C. How can the team prevent defects? D. If the process is not working, how can the team recognize and improve the process?
A, C, D QA plan address defects, not monetary loss
A project manager (PM) is working on a project with a flexible budget and has just defined cost inputs and parameters at the start of the project. The PM is working on what type of project?
Agile product
What are the size limitations of agile, scaled agile, and waterfall project teams?
Agile teams: 3-10 member Scaled agile teams: any size because multiple agile teams work together to form a larger group Waterfall teams: can be any size on a single project team.
You are a PM for a project to design a new data management system. The customers are internal to your company. While they can't describe every feature that they need, they are really excited to work with you throughout the project. You've been given a full development and operations team for up to one year to complete the project. Would you use an agile or waterfall methodology? Why did you make that choice?
Agile, because the scop is not fixed and the customer is available to collaborate during the project
How does stakeholder communication differ between agile and waterfall projects?
Agile: stakeholder communication occurs throughout the project - team members share progress at every iteration' Waterfall: stakeholder communication is limited in timing, frequency, and channels
How often will you revise the project communication plan?
As often as needed throughout the project's life cycle
What are some of the responsibilities of a business analyst (BA)? (Select all that apply.) A. A business analyst writes tests against technical requirements. B. A business analyst helps define the project. C. A business analyst gathers business and technical requirements. D. A business analyst assists with testing and validation.
Business analysts deeply understand business direction and company priorities and are familiar with the software environment. Therefore, a business analyst's responsibilities include helping to define the project. A business analyst operates as a translator between business and information technology (IT). Therefore, a business analyst will gather business and technical requirements. Business analysts verify project deliverables against requirements. Therefore, they assist with testing and validation.
A company plans to expand its business throughout the southeast, including the state of Virginia. What additional data regulation will the company need to take into consideration?
CDPA: The Consumer Data Protection Act
A company plans to expand its business into California. What additional data regulation will the company need to take into consideration?
CPRA: California Privacy Rights Act
You are pulling customer information from a system. This system lets you see the customer's interactions with the company and their purchase history. What type of system is this?
CRM (customer-relationship management)
Which communication plan methods ensure the message shared matches reality? (Select all that apply.) Capturing information Centralizing information Reflecting reality Project auditing
Capturing information (meeting notes), centralizing information, reflecting reality
Which sections are included in an escalation plan? (Select all that apply.) Category Level Escalation owner Records
Category: the type of escalation in a plan Level: escalation order (who it should be escalated to) Escalation owner: who will be contacted on each level of escalation
How does the message transmission differ between chat messaging and SMS?
Chat messages use internet connection SMS messages use cellular networks.
The project team needs to set a time to plan, and the group is evenly divided. Group A wants to plan on Monday afternoon, and Group B wants to plan on Friday morning. The two factions presented their arguments for why their time slot was better for the team. Through the conversation, the team realized that some of their partners work half days on either Monday or Friday, and both meeting times conflicted. So they revisited the schedule and decided to plan on Tuesday afternoon instead. What conflict resolution strategy did the team use?
Collaborating conflict resolution strategy (win-win)
A project manager works with a team to develop a web application. Midway through the process, two senior level programmers begin having disagreements about which font type to use on the user interface. Which conflict resolution strategy should be leveraged to arrive at the best case scenario?
Collaborating: the parties work together to design a new idea that works for the team (win-win)
Which of the following are considered Scrum values describing how people should approach each other? (Select all that apply.) Commitment Focus Adaptation Openness
Commitment, focus, openness 5 Scrum values: courage, focus, commitment, respect, openness
A government organization needs to select a secure method for communicating with public customers. Their top priorities are protected communication and adherence to regulatory guidelines. Which of the following solution design elements are the most critical in this scenario? (Select all that apply.) Scalability Compatibility Compliance Security
Compliance: refers to the need for the solution to comply with regulations Security: refers to how the solution and the company's assets are protected
In what project phase would you determine if your plan will create a positive financial return?
Concept/discovery phase
A medical records company wants to upgrade to a more secure database management system (DBMS). They are responsible for thousands of personal health records, billing and financial data, and organizational records. Which of the following data types should the company be the most concerned with safeguarding when selecting a DBMS vendor? Public data Confidential data Internal data Secret data
Confidential data
What type of data requires communication security where the data has limited access and is only available to authorized users?
Confidential data
What is the difference between confidential, secret, and top secret data
Confidential data is information or material that may cause damage to national security if disclosed without authorization Secret data may cause serious damage to national security if disclosed without authorization Top secret data may cause exceptionally grave damage to national security if disclosed without authorization
What are some of the principles that represent the philosophy and best practices of PRINCE2? (Select all that apply.) Continued business justification Learn from experience Defined roles and responsibilities Restrict to suit the product
Continued business justification, learn from experience, and define roles/responsibilities 7 PRINCE2 principles: o Continued business justification o Learn from experience o Defined roles/responsibilities o Manage by stages o Manage by exception: (set tolerances for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits) o Focus on products: team understands/agrees on products definition/requirements o Tailor to suit the project: PMs adapt PRINCE2 elements to fit a project's size/scope/requirements
What is the difference between core and extended team members?
Core: full-time, specialized skills, handle day-to-day operational work Extended: part-time members with specialized skills
Elements of a records management plan flow through a cycle, which includes standards for each stage. What are the stages of the records management plan lifecycle?
Creation: naming conventions/owners Storage/retrieval: identifying where the team will store files Archival/disposition: handling duplicate and outdated files
A project team is meeting to discuss their options for improving and re-designing existing software code. What project management type of performance diagram can incorporate multiple factors and map various outcomes from a single decision?
Decision tree (use when a single decision requires consideration of many factors)
What is the difference between a dedicated resource and a shared resource?
Dedicated: work on one project at a time Shared: work on 2 or more projects simultaneously
A project manager (PM) works through the common SDLC phases and has just created a low-function prototype. What phase is next?
Development SDLC: outline project, determine resources, create low-function prototype, develop software
A project manager (PM) just received the project scope and activities and is building their project team. What data point about a potential team member is NOT needed to create other artifacts in the initiation phase? Contact method Availability Project responsibilities Employment history
Employment history might be an important data point to collect during the team selection process, but it is not a necessary data point to collect to create other artifacts in the initiation phase
A major production company's project manager (PM) is closing a software implementation project. The PM is now responsible for eliciting feedback from the customers who will be interacting with the software. The PM is seeking feedback from what project influencer role? End-user Internal customer Sponsor Senior management
End-users, because they are people who interact with the project's final output
How do you know when it is time to escalate a problem?
Escalation points include a trigger (conditions that initiative an escalation) Triggers are defined when creating an escalation plant
What phase would you begin writing software code for a project?
Execution phase
An organization has tasked a project manager (PM) to update the business case. The PM has new data that needs to go into the cost-benefit analysis and risks. What part of the business case does the PM need to update? Options Problem analysis Financial overview Project analysis
Financial overview because it contains cost-benefit/ROI analysis
What is the difference between a flowchart and a decision tree?
Flowchart: describes a process and includes many decisions Decision tree: depicts a single decision with many factors
A solution architect decides how they can best maximize their time remaining before they must deliver software to a client. How should the architect prioritize the features of the software and still meet their deadline?
Functional requirements
A company plans to expand its business into the EU. What additional data regulation will the company need to take into consideration?
GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation
You are leading a project with a tight timeline. Your project sponsor is a visual learner, and they have requested a project schedule that they can read at a glance without getting distracted by the details. What chart would you create for them, and why?
Gantt chart: creates a visual timeline of the project's activates
An agile team is working with the extreme programming model to develop a web application that needs to be ready within the next 30 days. Recognizing that a highly detailed project plan will be needed, the team elects to use a bar chart where the 30-day timeframe is broken down into daily representations on the x-axis and all tasks/activities are recorded on the y-axis. What productivity tool would help keep the team on task with milestones and specify the tasks needed to reach the milestone events?
Gantt chart: highly detailed project plan that shows tasks and time in a grid to create a schedule view Shows time across x-axis and tasks across y-axis
A project manager's assistant has calculated many financial aspects of the business case. The project manager (PM) has asked the assistant to determine ESGs for a major water plant facility. What would the assistant add for governance? Water management Human rights Pay for performance Employee benefits
Governance factors describe how the company operates, including its policies, transparency, and structure. For example, the board's diversity, lobbying activities, political donations, and pay for performance reflect the company's approach to governance.
A team develops a website for a client in the grocery industry. The client requests a complex interface that allows consumers to order items for delivery. Additionally, the inventory must be queried and adjusted based on orders placed to ensure consumers are seeing real-time availability. What elements of the solution design process does the team include in this project? (Select all that apply.) Scalability Extensibility High-level design Functional requirement
High-level design: a conceptual design that describes how the solution will need to work and integrate Functional requirements: the features the business requests, such as product features, user interfaces, administration processes, and implementation support or training
What are the three major types of resources in project management?
Human: people Physical: materials/equipment Capital: the money that pays for human/physical resources
What is the difference between IaaS and PaaS?
IaaS: provides basic computing services PaaS: provides computing services and development tools
What is the first step in developing a communication plan?
Identify stakeholders to determine who must be communicated with regularly
A team is responsible for purchasing resources for a large construction project. It is their shared responsibility to minimize the possibility of waste and maximize value in the project. Using a purchasing and fiscal perspective, what resource management technique should the team apply to help the project?
Include a summary of assumptions and risks in the financial plan
A dashboard analyst develops reports and dashboards for key stakeholders. What type of privacy considerations must be taken into consideration when developing outward facing reports? (Select all that apply.) A. Is the data already public and will not cause relative harm if viewed by outside parties? B. Does the dashboard reflect internal data, which is not otherwise public information? C. Does the dashboard contain confidential data, and if so, has access been set appropriately? D. Does the dashboard include additional costs that will become a financial burden on the stakeholders?
Is the data already public and will not cause relative harm if viewed by outside parties? Does the dashboard reflect internal data, which is not otherwise public information? Does the dashboard contain confidential data, and if so, has access been set appropriately?
A project manager (PM) is working with an agile team to build small sections at a time and review progress, so the team can adapt to their approach. For example, the team plans to release their part to production but need to ensure it is the appropriate time. What type of development is this agile framework team implementing?
Iterative and incremental because they are building one section at a time, reviewing progress, and adapting their approach
What is the difference between iterative and incremental?
Iterative means starting with somethin small and improving with each iteration. Incremental means completion one small portion at a time.
You are assuming project management responsibilities for a team. Their project charter has the following objective: Respond to new customer contact requests within 48 hours. Is this a KPI or OKR? How can you tell?
KPI (key performance indicator): sets an operation target measured over a long time and has upper/lower limits OKR (objectives & key results): sets a goal that introduces change, comprehensive and include one objective an up to 5 key results
A project manager (PM) develops a graph for the team's stakeholders. The PM wants to be able to visually depict a comparison in the improvement in quality scores against the cost of achieving them. What type of project tool would best meet the PM's requirements?
Law of diminishing returns: compares improvement in quality scores against the cost of achieving them
A team is in the planning phase of a large project. The project involves protected intellectual property included in a new video game. What communication security methods will the team need to apply during the planning session? (Select all that apply.) Communication archiving Nondisclosure agreements Encrypted communication Centralizing information
NDAs: parties agree to not share specific information with others Encrypted communication
The software architect is reviewing the LLD with you. They have listed a risk that the industry's average availability of 98% is lower than the organization's expected 99.999% uptime. What type of requirement is this?
Non-functional requirement (NFR): passive measures of system attributes (often ends in -ility)
How does nonverbal communication affect verbal communication?
Nonverbal communication includes the signals we send during verbal communication. The audience receives and interprets both verbal and nonverbal cues during verbal communication to create a message. Therefore, inconsistencies between the two can create an unexpected effect.
A newly-hired project manager (PM) works for a major software company. What type of operational work does the PM expect to perform? (Select all that apply.) Run security checks. Set up user accounts. Implement identity management. Establish single sign-on.
Operational work is routine, predictable, and repetitive. Running security checks and setting up user accounts fit this description.
A manufacturing company needs to develop a report that shows its stakeholders which resources generate the most revenue for the company. Which chart would be the best fit?
Pareto chart: visualizes the Pareto principle with lines (total percentage of the count) and columns (counts of a category)
Why is the Pareto principle called the 80-20 Rule?
Pareto principle asserts that you can solve 80% of a problem by addressing 20% of causes.
You are the PM for a team. Lately, you've noticed that the team is having a lot of fun. They chat before meetings and improve their processes regularly. Last week, they led the planning activity and hit a new productivity goal. Which Tuckman team life cycle stage is this team in, and why?
Performing Tuckman life cycle: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning
What are the three most common tiers in an N-tier architecture? (Select all that apply.) Presentation Internet Application Data
Presentation: outward-facing customer tier (webpages) Application: between presentation/data tiers - retrieves and process data and sends it to the frontend Data: tier with data houses and is stored within the solution
What is a function of both product owners on agile teams and project managers?
Product owners and project managers both create work for teams
In a business endeavor, what role leads, plans, and aligns endeavors to organizational strategy? Program manager Project manager Supportive project management office Directive project management office
Program managers, because they lead programs, which are related groups of projects. They keep the program aligned to organizational strategy and ensure it is within budget and on time.
You are the PM for a new project team. The team includes 20 people, and some members don't know each other. You would like to create a visual to help the team understand who is on the team and how they are organized. What artifact could you develop, and why?
Project organizational chart - looks like a traditional organizational chart, but only shows your project team
Why is waterfall described as linear and sequential?
Project phases are completed one at a time and in one order only and cannot move backwards.
What high-level documents share major progress points, such as new feature rollouts?
Project road maps
A project manager wants to select a productivity tool that will share major progress points, including new feature rollouts and products that would serve well in an executive summary. Which of the following tools would be the best option?
Project roadmaps (high-level documents that share major progress points)
What statement includes detailed descriptions of multiple elements?
Project scope: includes a summarized scope, major boundaries, and deliverables
What 3 characteristics differentiate projects and operations?
Projects are unique, have a specific reason/purpose, and have defined start/end points.
Why is a RAM also called a RACI chart?
RAM uses the acronym RACI to represent roles assigned to each task: responsible, accountable, consulted, informed Ram forms a grid when filled out, RACI letters fill the grid
What is a document that describes how project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project lifecycle?
Requirements management plan
How are confidential and restricted data different?
Restricted data imposes stricter limits and must be justified and granted on a need-to-know basis
How has the software development life cycle (SDLC) adapted to waterfall and agile methodologies?
SDLC started as a waterfall methodology, and then introduced iterative cycles to support agile approaches. The iterative SDLC model repeats the research, development, and testing phases, allowing teams to develop in small batches. However, it maintains fixed planning and deployment processes. The spiral and agile models iterate across all SDLC phases.
How are the iteration in SAFe and the sprint in Scrum similar and different?
Similar: fixed timeboxes lasting 1-4 weeks used as a planning cadence Different: any team using SAFe would work in an iteration, whether they used Scrum, XP, or any other approach, but a sprint is specific to Scrum.
How are program managers similar to and different from project managers?
Similar: manage their respective areas' schedule, flow, and budget Different: project managers focus on projects that deliver a single objective, and program mangers coordinate multiple projects
In Scrum, what is the difference between a sprint backlog and a product backlog?
Sprint backlog: items the Scrim team plans to complete in a sprint Product backlog: ordered list of all potential product changes or enhancements (much larger and will change overtime)
What type of communication is also referred to as real-time communication?
Synchronous communication
How can time zones affect your communication strategy?
Team members spread across multiple time zones will limit the time you have available to schedule synchronous meetings. Therefore, you may need to rely on more asynchronous communication and coordinate with the team to find acceptable meeting times.
A geographically dispersed team frequently collaborates through teleconferencing software. The software is commonly used in the United States, but team members in Europe are unfamiliar with the platform. What type of communication challenge is the team facing?
Technological barriers (any communication challenge related to technology)
You are a PM in an organization. You assume line manager and budget responsibilities for the project team members whenever you lead a project. The project team members also support operational work related to their field of expertise, and functional managers provide support for skill development. What organizational structure are you most likely operating in?
The company is a matrix organization because employees work with a PM and a functional manager. It is a strong matrix because the PM has management responsibilities and the functional manager is a dotted line manager.
Why is it helpful to have separate people fulfill the facilitator and scribe roles in a meeting?
The facilitator should focus on the meeting flow, and capturing notes disrupts the flow. The scribe can take more thorough notes if they aren't distracted by moderating the conversation's tone while documenting its contents.
A team is working through a Kanban board. What are some activities within the four-part workflow? (Select all that apply.) Prioritizing and ordering the backlog Selecting the top-ordered backlog items and moving it into progress. Moving items through the workflow, while keeping within WIP Selecting the next item in the backlog before the team is ready to start new work
The first part of the Kanban team workflow is to prioritize and order the backlog. In the second part of the Kanban workflow, the Kanban team selects the top-ordered backlog items and moves the items into progress, carefully limiting items that are in progress. In the third part of the Kanban workflow, the Kanban team moves items through the workflow, while keeping work within the work in progress (WIP) limits. In the fourth part of the Kanban workflow, the Kanban team does not select the next item in the backlog until the team is ready to start new work.
You work for a coffee shop (DB) .The manager asked you to prepare a business case for increasing the company's online presence. Currently, the company has one social media account and no website. You collected meaningful data about the company, and you are considering two different problem statements. Problem Statement One: DB experienced a 5% increase in sales after a recent promotion on their social media page. Approximately 15% of local consumers use that platform, but the other 85% of the market cannot connect with DB unless they visit or call the store. Problem Statement Two: DB does not have a website, and other coffee shops in the area do. Additionally, competitors have up to five social media pages with up to 12,000 followers per page. Which problem statement should you use in the business case, and why?
The first problem statement is a better, outcome-focused problem statement. It discusses the real business problems: lost revenue and connecting to customers.
You received an offer to manage a project, and you must have Secret clearance. Why?
The project is handling national security information that requires Secret clearance.
What are examples of artifacts that a project manager should include in the records management plan? (Select all that apply.) A. The approved project budget B. An email discussing the best date/time for the project kickoff meeting C. Audit results covering the duration of the project D. Facility certifications for space used to conduct project business
The records management plan defines the historical records of the project that should be maintained. The project budget is an example of a record that should be maintained. Audit results/facility certifications covering the duration of the project are legal documents that should be maintained for compliance purposes and should be included.
In solution design, what does the term "solution" mean?
The set of products that will solve a problem
A project manager (PM) is dividing up responsibilities amongst team members prior to their kickoff meeting. The PM assigned the software team as responsible for development of the core software code. What is included in the responsible category of the RACI chart?
The software team will complete the work
What engagement organizes project management activities, with the PM as the primary audience?
The stakeholder engagement plan
Why would a project team choose to include an end-user or customer on the team?
They can off end-user perspective about the product's usability, suggest new features, and collaborate with team members to design the product
What type of system combines workflows and user interfaces to create a one-stop experience for support?
Ticketing/case management system
Why should you review existing artifacts when you start a project?
To catch up on the project's progress, improve your project management approach, and learn contextual information about the environment
You are a PM working with a mix of your coworkers and third-party contractors. The contractors have signed an NDA, and they access documents through a secure file share. They cannot download files. Why would these measures be in place?
To protect the communication security of confidential data
A project manager at an information technology (IT) consulting firm has received new tasks to add to the project plan. What are some activities included in creating a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM)? (Select all that apply.) A.List the work breakdown structure (WBS) elements or product backlog items (PBIs) in the first column. B.List the project team members, stakeholders, and other necessary parties across the top columns. C.Assign who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for completing work. D.Ensure that every person has a role for each task.
When creating a responsibility assignment matrix, the PM lists the activities in the first column. The PM may use tasks, work breakdown structure (WBS) elements, or product backlog items (PBIs). In a responsibility assignment matrix, the PM lists the project team members, stakeholders, and other necessary parties across the top of the available columns. For each activity, the PM assigns each team member a role. The PM marks those responsible for a specific task with an R, A for accountable, C for consulted, and I for informed.
