Project Mangement ch2

What role does a project champion play for a project? Why is this important?

Some projects have a senior manager called a champion who acts as a key advocate for a project. The sponsor can serve as the champion, but often another manager can more successfully take on this role.

How can an organization use outsourcing to their advantage?

offshoring- outsourcing from another country outsourcing- from outside sources , reduced cost

What are the four phases of a project's lifecycle? Which phase requires the most resources? Which requires the least?

1. Starting the project 2. Organizing and preparing 3. Carrying out the work 4. Finishing the project More resources are usually needed than during the initial or final phase. The final phase of a project focuses on ensuring that project requirements were met and that the project sponsor approves completion of the project.

What is a project deliverable?

A deliverable is a product or service, such as a technical report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code, produced or provided as part of a project.

What are the three most common organizational structures used by companies?

A functional organizational structure is the hierarchy most people think of when picturing an organizational chart. Functional: CEO down to VP down to Staff Job is getting done, no PM authority, part time PM roles, little resources, functional manager manages the money Project : CEO down to PMs down to Staff Arranged by projects, almost all PM control;. Fill time PM role with 100p availability MatrixL CEO down to PM and VPs down to Staff down to Other help By job with PM as function

A systems development life cycle (SDLC) is broader than any single project. What are some various SDLCs and how would they change your approach to getting things done? .

A systems development life cycle (SDLC) is a framework for describing the phases of developing information systems Waterfall: linear, assumes stability after definition Spiral: refinement of software , open to change Prototyping: developing prototypes, heavier user involvement RAD- uses an approach in which developers work with evolving prototype

What are some effects of globalization on IT projects? How must teams adapt to succeed with global projects?

Communication, trust, common work practices, tools

The book states that IT projects are diverse. What type of diversity do they reference?

Different technologies make communication difficult between business professionals, rapid change

Describe organizational culture in your own words.

Organizational culture is a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.

What role do periodic management reviews of projects play? What primary decision is made with each review?

Phase exit - continued Phase gate reviews- redirected Kill points - terminated By breaking projects into phases top management can make sure that the projects are still compatible with the other organization needs

Describe the pros and cons of virtual teams for an organization. Would you prefer to manage a centralized or virtual team?

Pros: lower cost, more expertise, improvonmg balace for work life Cons: isolating team members, increase potental for comm problems, reducing network, increase dependance on technology

What is the systems approach and how does it relate to IT project management?

Systems analysis is a problem-solving approach that requires defining the scope of the system, dividing it into components, and then identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs.

How can organizational standards help new project managers?

The content of a project management plan and instructions for providing status information might seem like common sense to senior managers, but many new IT project managers have never created plans or created a nontechnical status report. Top management must support the development of these standards and guidelines, and encourage or even enforce their use.

What are the four frames of organizations? Which one do you think is the easiest to understand/deal with? Which one do you think is the most difficult?

The structural frame deals with how the organization is structured and focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities to meet the goals and policies set by top management. This frame is very rational and focuses on coordination and control The human resources (HR) frame focuses on producing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people. It recognizes that mismatches can occur between the needs of the organization and those of individuals and groups, and works to resolve any potential problem The political frame addresses organizational and personal politics. Politics in organizations take the form of competition among groups or individuals for power, resources, and leadership. The political frame emphasizes that organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups The symbolic frame focuses on symbols and meanings. In this frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

How can company politics contribute to a failed project? What can project managers do to improve their chance of success?

They tend to become frustrated with many of the "people problems" or politics involved in most organiza-tions. In addition, many IT professionals ignore important business questions, such as "Does it make financial sense to pursue this new technology? When you integrate business and organizational issues into project management planning and look at projects as a series of interrelated phases, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

What are the three spheres of systems management?

business, technological, and organizational issues

What are the four items valued in the Manifesto of Agile Software Development?

individual and interactions over processes and tools, working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contact negotiation, responding to change over following a plan

Define the terms scrum and sprint in the context of agile projects.

scrum: is the leading the leading agile development method for completing projects with a complex innovative scope of work - Sprint: a certain amount of time to complete their work