Project Management Chapter 1

Describe Discounted Cash Flow.

It compares the value of the future worth of the project's expected cash flows to today's dollars. For example, if you expected your project to bring in $450,000 in year 1, $2.5 million in year 2, and $3.2 million in year 3, you'd calculate the present value of the revenues for each year and then add up all the years to determine a total value of the cash flows in today's dollars.

What does the business case document?

It documents the business need or justification for the project and will often include high-level details regarding estimated budgets and timelines for completing the project.

Describe Net Present Value (NPV).

It is a cash flow technique that calculates the revenues or cash flows the organization expects to receive over the life of the project in today's dollars. The rule for NPV is that if NPV is greater than zero, you should accept the project. If it's less than zero, you should reject the project.

What is a Business Case?

It is a written document or report that helps executive management and key stakeholders determine the benefits and rewards of the project

How does project selection take place?

It may take place using formal documented guidelines, or it may be informal, requiring only the approval of a certain level of management.

Name 5 "soft skills" that project managers frequently need to use.

Leadership, Communication, Problem solving, Negotiating, and Organization and Time Management.

Name 3 things you should consider when starting a technology-based project.

Legal and regulatory conditions, Licensing terms, and Industry standards.

Name 7 things that might drive the creation of a project.

Market demand, Strategic opportunity/Business need, Customer request, Technological advance, Legal requirements, Environmental considerations, or Social need.

Describe Constrained Optimization models.

Mathematical models, some of which are very complicated. They are typically used in very complex projects and require a detailed understanding of statistics and other mathematical concepts.

How is a Matrix organization different than a functional organization?

Matrix organizations are organized along departmental lines, like functional organizations, but resources assigned to a project are accountable to the project manager associated with that project.

What is the primary difference between a project and a program?

Projects are a temporary endeavor to accomplish something specific, while a program is the repetitive management of the end result of the project. Programs are sometimes made up of multiple on-going or completed projects that are managed together.

Name 6 advantages of a projectized organization.

1) All project members are collocated in the same physical area. 2) Project manager has full authority to manage the project and resources. 3) Full-time resources are assigned to the project. 4) Loyalty is established with the project manager. 5) Other ad hoc resources may report to the project manager. 6) There is dedicated project support staff.

What are 3 advantages of a functional organization?

1) Growth potential and a career path for employees. 2) The opportunity for those with unique skills to flourish. 3) A clear chain of command.

What are 5 potential things that you might include in a business case?

1) Justification 2) Demonstrating how the project aligns to the strategic plan of the organization 3) A discussion of alternative solutions 4) A recommended solution (your project) 5) A feasibility study, if warranted.

Name the 10 Project Management Knowledge Areas.

1) Project Integration Management 2) Project Scope Management 3) Project Time Management 4) Project Cost Management 5) Project Quality Management 6) Project Human Resource Management 7) Project Communications Management 8) Project Risk Management 9) Project Procurement Management 10) Project Stakeholder Management

Name 5 characteristics of a matrix organization.

1) Project manager authority ranges from weak to strong. 2) Ther are a mix of part-time and full-time project resources. 3) Resources are assigned to projects by the department functional managers. 4) Project managers and functional managers share authority levels. 5) There is better interdepartmental communication.

What are 5 disadvantages of a functional organization?

1) Project managers have limited authority. 2) Multiple projects compete for the same limited resources. 3) Resources are generally committed part-time to the project rather than full-time. 4) Issue resolution follows the department chain of command. 5) Project team members are loyal to the functional manager.

Name 5 things that should be in a project manager's communication strategy.

1) What you want to communicate 2) How often you'll communicate 3) The audience receiving the communication 4) The medium used for communicating 5) Monitoring the outcome of communication

What is a Decision Model?

A formal method of project selection that helps managers make decisions regarding the use of limited budgets and human resources. It uses a fixed set of criteria agreed on by the project selection committee to evaluate the project requests

What is a Program?

A group of related projects that are managed together using coordinated processes and techniques. They tend to be on-going.

What is a Payback Period?

A cash flow technique that identifies the length of time it takes for the organization to recover all the costs of producing the project. It compares the initial investment to the expected cash inflows over the life of the project and determines how many time periods elapse before the project pays for itself.

What is a Scoring Model?

A scoring model has a predefined list of criteria against which each project is rated. Each criterion is given both a scoring range and a weighting factor. The weighting factor accounts for the difference in importance of the various criteria.

What are the 2 primary categories of decision models?

Benefit measurement methods and constrained-optimization models.

How can project managers overcome the limitations of working within functional organizations?

Build strong relationships with the functional managers of each section, and maintain open communications. Use good communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills when dealing with the team members.

Describe the Economic Model.

An economic model is a series of financial calculations, also known as cash flow techniques, which provide data on the overall financials of the project.

What are Portfolios?

Collections of programs, subportfolios, and projects that support strategic business goals or objectives. Unlike programs, portfolios may consist of projects that are not related.

What should project managers spend the majority of their time doing?

Communicating - up to 90% of their time, because it is the number one key to project success.

Name the 4 common benefit measurement methods.

Cost-benefit analysis, Scoring model, Payback period, and Economic model.

What 2 things should you do when planning a team meeting?

Define the purpose of the meeting and develop an agenda of the topics to be discussed or covered.

Name 3 common terms associated with the economic model.

Discounted cash flow, Net present value (NPV), and Internal rate of return (IRR).

How does discounted cash flow help with project selection?

Discounted cash flows for each project are compared to other similar projects on the selection list. Typically, projects with the highest discounted cash flows are chosen over those with lower discounted cash flows.

How is a Functional Organization designed?

Each group does their own thing and has one primary supervisor, such as a human resources department, and IT department, a marketing department, etc.

Describe a Weak matrix organization.

Emphasizes functional work over project work, and the functional managers have most of the authority.

Describe a Strong matrix organization.

Emphasizes project work over functional duties, and the project manager has the majority of authority.

How does Expert Judgment affect project selection?

Expert judgment relies on the expertise of stakeholders, subject-matter experts, or those who have previous experience to help reach a decision regarding project selection. Typically, expert judgment is used in conjunction with one of the decision models.

Describe a cost-benefit analysis.

It compares the cost to produce the product or service to the financial gain (or benefit) the organization stands to make as a result of executing the project

Who assigns personnel and tasks in a matrix organization?

Functional managers assign employees to the project, while project managers assign tasks associated with the project to the employee.

Are financial considerations the only thing that should be considered when performing a cost-benefit analysis?

No, the other possible benefits to the company, such as strategic value over the long or short-term should always be considered as well.

Do projects always have a defined beginning and end time or date?

No, they do have a defined end RESULT, but since projects are often used to create something new, the actual period of time that it will take to complete the project is not always known.

What are the 2 steps to validating a project?

Preparing the business case, and identifying and analyzing the project stakeholders.

Describe a Projectized organization.

Project managers have the majority of the power, and they are responsible for making descisions regarding projects, and for acquiring and assigning resources from inside or outside of the organization. Even support staff such as HR and admin works will usually report to the project managers.

What are Project Selection Methods?

Project selection methods are used to determine which proposed projects should receive approval and move forward. This process usually includes the allocation of high-level funding as well

Describe a Balanced matrix organization.

Shared, equal emphasis between projects and functional work. Both the project manager and the functional manager share power.

Who are Stakeholders?

Stakeholders are anyone who has a vested interest in the project. Stakeholders can include individuals as well as organizations, and both the project sponsor and the project manager are considered stakeholders.

What are the 3 types of matrix organizations?

Strong, Weak, and Balanced.

Describe the Benefit Measurement Method.

They provide a means to compare the benefits obtained from project requests by evaluating them using the same criteria. This is the most commonly used category of decision models.

What must the project managers and the functional managers in a matrix organization agree on?

The amount of time that a team member is going to work for the project manager vs. the amount of time they are going to spend doing their "regular" job working for the functional manager. Otherwise, team members will often drift towards their work with the functional manager and not dedicate as much time to the project.

What is the Internal Rate of Return?

The discount rate when the present value of the cash inflows equals the original investment. IRR states the profitability of an investment as an average percent over the life of the investment. The general rule is that projects with higher IRR values are considered better than projects with lower IRR values.

Who is the Project Sponsor?

The executive in the organization who authorizes the project to begin and is someone who has the ability and authority to assign funds and resources to the project. The sponsor is an advisor to the project manager and acts as the tiebreaker decision maker when consensus can't be reached among the stakeholders.

Why are functional organizations problematic for project managers?

The members of any given department are loyal to their own chain of command, but initially will have no reason to follow the directives of a project manager that is put in charge of them.

What is the goal of Project Management?

To deliver a unique product or service, whether it be tangible or intangible.

When is a project considered a success?

When the goal it sets out to accomplish are fulfilled and the stakeholders are satisfied with the results.