Business 311: Project Management

Why do projects need a project feasibility study?

In order to ensure that the project will not exceed budget and possibly result in failure.

Why does project feasibility include a project cost estimate?

In order to ensure that the project will not exceed budget and possibly result in failure.

What organizational culture may NOT be conducive to business portfolio management?

strong functional lines of authority

An ethical issue in project management could be _____.

taking money from a client for something that shouldn't be done

How many projects can be involved in portfolio management?

No set limit

What is Project Management?

- Project manager: organize and coordinate human and financial resources so that projects are completed - Project: 1-time events that have specific start and end date -- design new software to increase efficiency -- building a bridge -- creating a new product -- expanding sales into new territory - Project Management (PM): when a company applies its human and financial resources to plan and execute a specific task --- 5 Stage of Project Management --- -- Project initiation -- 1 - project team members are assigned - project goals are communicated to team members - work with your clients to gather as much information as they can regarding project specifications so that they can develop a plan -- Project Planning --2 - a written project charter is drafter - Gantt Chart: shows workflow of a project, a detailed schedule of what will happen and when - ^^ developed by Henry Gantt, American mechanical engineer -- Execution Stage --3 - resources are distributed - Relevant project information

Benefits of Project Management

- when a company partakes in good project management, it lowers the probability of a project failing - assigning a project manager, your company is making sure that someone is watching over the project and helping it get from start to finish - PM helps a project fulfil its requirements; makes sure that goals outline in the project are successfully met - utilizing employees efficiently - PM helps simplify tasks and resolves problems more efficiently - when a project is outline, employees know what's expected of them and should recognize when a problem exists - reduction in costs; if employees stay on task expenses can be reduced AND creating quality templates that can be reused on all future projects

Project Management Best Practices & Techniques

-- Plan it out first -- - explaining and outlining all of the details of the project - reduces unnecessary costs, minimize the duration of the project and increase the quality of the project -- creating a project -- - company assigns any resources that will be used and determines the timeframe in which the project will be completed is also important -- understanding the scope of the project -- - knowing what you plan to accomplish by completing the project - great way to set the boundaries of the project - helps determine how much work is needed to complete the project -- understanding and defining the deliverables -- - deliverables of the project is also paramount - understanding answers the question 'What will the project deliver?' -- project begins -- - monitor the actual progress hoped for in the project plan - helps a manager see where costs might have changed, or where the schedule or scope of the project might vary -- identify all risks and understand the likelihood of the risk

How many stages of project management are there?

5

A group that delegates, organizes, and oversees projects within a company is know as:

A PMO

A project portfolio management process must include which of the following?

A description of the process, criteria, a method to consider resources, and a method to manage the portfolio

What is a statement of work?

A narrative description of the deliverables of a project A statement of work is a narrative description of the deliverables of the project.

A task that has defined perimeters in business is known as what?

A project A project is a task that's not part of a daily routine that has defined perimeters and is unique.

In project portfolio management, what is a difference between a program and a project?

A project is a component of a program. A program is a group of projects, not the other way around. Since each of the projects in a program produces deliverables, the program produces deliverables. Programs and projects should support the organization's goals.

What is the technical feasibility of a project?

A project is technically feasible if you have all requisite technical skills, resources and logistical requirements.

Susan is a project manager. She uses a power/interest grid to help her manage stakeholders by determining _____.

All answers are correct. - A stakeholder's amount of power over a project and interest level in the project - How often to communicate with a stakeholder - How to engage each stakeholder in project activities

Project team members might be _____.

All answers are correct. - Assigned on a full-time basis - Assigned on a part-time basis - Added or removed as a project progresses

A stakeholder management plan includes a plan to _____.

All answers are correct. - Determine how to engage stakeholders - Communicate with stakeholders - Determine how to handle feedback or issues

Which of the following is a common motivating factor for a project?

All answers are correct. - cutting costs - Solving a problem, such as a potential health or safety issue - Meeting requirements of a new law that requires the project

The key steps for project initiation ensure _____.

All answers are correct. - formal authorization to perform the work - clear justification for the project the authority to apply organizational - resources to the work

A project business case might include _____.

All answers are correct. - market demand - ecological impacts - legal requirements

A crucial skill for project managers is to be knowledgeable about their organization, including its _____.

All answers are correct. - products - services - operations

Useful tools to aid in assembling a project team include _____.

All answers are correct. A project organizational chart A responsibility assignment matrix Job descriptions

A project manager should meet one-on-one with each project team member to review _____.

All answers are correct. His or her job position description The responsibility assignment matrix The project organization chart

When is a PMO used?

All of the answers are correct - For a project in a specific department - For all projects - For a specific project

Project management:

All of the answers are correct - Helps simplify tasks and resolve problems - Assigns someone to watch over the project - Ensures your company has the appropriate number of employees working on a project

Which of the following is typically found in a project charter?

All of the answers are correct. An overview of the project Organizational structure Budgets

A project stakeholder is _____.

An individual, group, or organization that might affect, be affected by, or perceive itself as affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of the project

Because tasks are often being completed at the same time, a project manager needs to _____.

Be able to multi-task

How to Develop A Business Case for a Project

Business Case: a document that provides the justification for our project - a document that researches, details, and justifies the investment in a project - it assesses and measures the benefits, costs, and risks associated with the investment being made in a project - it assess and evaluates the options available to solve a business issue --- Creating a Business Case --- -- Executive Summary -- - a synopsis of what the project is, how it works, and most importantly why it is needed - brief summary of the sections below - detail the rationale behind the project idea and the impact of not doing the project -- Benefits -- - providing decision makers with a call to action and a motivation to undertake this project - cut costs - generate additional revenue - solve a problem - undertake something compulsory, such as a new law that requires this project - fix a problem, such as resolve a potential health and safety issue -- Project Description - how much the project will cost - plan out t

Business Portfolio Management

Business portfolio management: a process that enables organizations to manage multiple projects or individual projects for optimal results - works by identifying an organization's best project managers and using best management practices, strategic priorities, and valuable lessons learned in a project management office - allows the organization to evaluate and balance conflicting demands for project resources - they align with organizational strategies and prioritizing the work - they help manage risk and provides cost-effective allocation of resources to the most deserving projects --- Functions and Goals --- - Prioritize which projects should be done first and receive adequate funding - Assure that scopes of work and work breakdown structures are clearly written - Track that timelines and budgets remain on schedule - Validate that all milestones and deliverables are completed on time and within budget to meet their sponsors' quality requirements -- GOALS -- - Establishing a communic

Which type of PMO offers training and tools for project managers?

Center of excellence

Which of the following is NOT an ethical issue in project management?

Checking company rules and procedures

In terms of a project, which of the following is the best definition of risk?

Circumstances or events that lie outside of a project's control

In project portfolio management, name the step that comes next AFTER deciding whether to select, reject, or place a project on-hold.

Communicate the decision to the appropriate people in the organization. A company must ensure that everyone who's associated with the project knows about the decision prior to proceeding with it. This helps prevent misunderstandings and allows some time to address questions and to clarify the direction regarding the project.

Stakeholder identification should be performed at what point in a project?

Continuously throughout the project

Assuming there are only two countries, Country A can produce 10 tons of wheat or 20 tons of rice, while Country B can produce 5 tons of wheat or 15 tons of rice. Which country has the highest opportunity cost for producing 1 ton of rice?

Country A EXPLANATION Country A's opportunity cost is 10 tons of wheat = 20 tons of rice or 1 ton of wheat = 2 tons of rice. Country B's opportunity cost is 5 tons of wheat = 15 tons of rice or 1 ton of wheat = 3 tons of rice. To make 1 ton of rice in country A is the same as making 1 / 2 ton of wheat while in country B it's the same as making 1 / 3 ton of wheat. Country A has the higher cost.

Which of the following people has the highest opportunity cost of earning a college degree, if they must give up their present job?

Curly, who is a salesman earning $60,000 EXPLANATION Losing a job means Curly would lose the most as he earns the most.

What is a project management office that is assigned to a specific department called?

Departmental

Which project planning step assigns the responsibilities of the project tasks?

Determine details

What are projected costs?

Estimated costs of a project to provide investors with an estimate so that a budget can be agreed upon

Which tool draws an arrow and connects lines spurring off of it?

Fishbone diagram

A great tool to manage a schedule or budget when planning a project is:

Gantt charts

When using project portfolio management, a company should select a project to be performed by the organization based on:

How well the project meets the criteria they have established and their ability to complete the project with the available resources

What is the first step in project management planning?

Identify a project

Which of the following is a benefit of ethical behavior in project management?

It builds a principled, just, and reliable team.

Which one is NOT true about project management?

It causes confusion.

Which of the following is true about project management?

It helps reduce costs.

How can you avoid all project risks?

It is impossible to avoid project risks completely, all projects have inherent risks All projects have inherent risks. Project planning involves finding ways to mitigate against known risks, or plan around them and identifying possible contingencies should unknown risks occur.

What's the purpose of a business case?

It provides the rationale and motivation to do a project, and its purpose is for decision-makers to agree to begin a project.

A _____ is a text-based tool to clearly define project team member roles and responsibilities.

Job description

In project management, which technique compares current progress with the planned out progress?

Monitoring and tracking progress

The project organization section of a project charter typically includes which of the following?

Names and contact information for project personnel The project organization section of a charter identifies all the key personnel associated with a task. Their roles and responsibilities can be found in a separate section.

Who developed PERT?

Navy

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding project portfolio management?

Once an organization establishes a portfolio management process, it cannot be changed.

Calculate Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost: a relative concept, which means that you're finding out how much of one thing you can produce in comparison to another thing. - which opportunity cost we're trying to measure based on which possibility we want to choose. Economics: getting the best results with the least amount of effort or producing a larger quantity of one thing with the same amount of resources #1 Make them equal to each other #2 reduce the equation down to its lowest #3 flip the variables and look at it from a different perspective

Which one is NOT usually a practice or technique of better project management?

Ordering supplies only when they run out

Which is NOT a stage of project management?

Participation

In which stage are Gantt charts first used?

Planning

What is the first step in utilizing the best practices for project management?

Planning

The three types of stakeholders are _____.

Primary, secondary and key

Which skill entails knowing how to find resolutions?

Problem solving

Project Feasibility Study

Project Feasibility Study: a document containing a detailed description of the project, followed by a set of different feasibility area. - study will provide necessary information so that you can decide whether or not your project will begin or whether it has a shot at success --- Steps to a Project Feasibility Study --- -- #1 Description of the Project - What are the important details of the project? -- - detailed description of the project scope and what the project will do and how it will do it - information regarding stakeholders; those who have vested interest in the project or will be impacted by the project - detailed timeline and task breakdown, including what will be done, when, and by whom - detail the end result of the project -- #2 Market Feasibility - Does anyone need this product or service? -- - identify a pricing model and ensure similar products/services are not currently available at a lower price. - If you continue with the project, investing time, money and resou

Project Stakeholders

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide); a project stakeholder; an individual, group or organization that might affect, be affected by, or perceive itself as affected by a decision, or activity or outcome of a project - stakeholders can be internal or external to the project or organization - may exert influence on the project, project deliverables, or the team in order to satisfy their own agenda --- Stakeholder Identification --- - think about who the team and customers are, as well as any other organizations that might be affected by the project and create a list - EXAMPLE for a house project - The construction company (also known as the project team) - Subcontractors - The homeowner (or customer) - The bank (or financer) - The real estate agent - Attorneys - The city tax office - The city inspector, and - Neighbors --- Stakeholder Characterization --- -- Primary Stakeholders -- - those that stand to be directly affected, either positively or negatively, by the project,

What is a Project Management Office?

Project Management Office (PMO): a group established within a company that clarifies and maintains project management standards - created for a special, one-time project and disassemble afterward, OR created to offer long-term administrative assistance for project managers - PMO is established to help provide any help, guidance, or administrative assistance so that projects can be better managed and implemented within a company - PMO helps process paperwork involved in projects, like consent forms from the students participating in field trips or other activities - PMO helps guide project managers from start of a program to the end, ensuring that it runs smoothly --- PMO Roles --- -- Project Repository Project Management Office -- - offer information on the standards and methodology of how projects should be carried out -- Departmental Project Management Office -- - Assigned to a specific department or unit within a company -- Project-Specific PMO -- - Designed for a specific project

Project Portfolio Management

Project Portfolio Management: the practice of selecting and investing in the best projects and programs an organization performs - Project: a unique activity that the organization performs that has a beginning and an end, creates one or many products or services, and consumes resources in creating deliverables - Program: a group of related projects that are managed to achieve specific goals of the organization - view the relationship between portfolio, programs, and projects as a hierarchy --- The Process --- -- #1 Establish a Framework -- - the kind of projects that can be considered - how the projects are described - who makes the selection decisions - when decisions are made - the criteria used to select or reject projects -- #2 Prioritize -- - score each potential project based on how well it meets the selection criteria - how relevant the project is to the company's customers -- #3 Take resources into account -- - evaluate the potential project based on the resources each proj

Team Assembly & Assignments in Project Management

Project Team: people with assigned roles and responsibilities to complete a project - Responsibility assignment matrix: A tool to align skilled personnel with project work objectives - Job Position Descriptions: a text-based tool to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each project manager - Project organizational chart: a hierarchical, graphic display of the reporting relationship of each project team member to the project manager -- Responsibility Assignment Matrix -- - RAM gives you an understanding of the skills and capabilities necessary to deliver the project - VERTICAL: list the project work to be performed, develop project plan, develop software design, program software interface, increase level of detail - HORIZONTAL; project team member positions, positions might be replaced with specific team member names, functional organization providing skilled staff to the project -- Job Position Description -- - job position description needs to be complete and detailed

Project Charter

Project charter: a critical document that provides written authorization for a task to either start or continue to move forward (project authorization/ project initiation form) - created and signed by high level members of an external government agency, organization or sponsor that is funding the project, NOT a member of the project team --- Major Elements --- -- Statement of Work -- - a narrative description of the deliverables of the project - can be given by a project sponsor or derived from a contract for an external customer - includes the product scope description - refers to an organization's strategic plan -- Agreements -- - outlines agreements between organizations, both internal and external to the company - letters of agreement, emails, memorandums of understanding, and verbal or written contracts - covers numerous aspects of the project; manpower, funding, sub-contract work, or quality -- Project Organization -- - overview of the task's organizational structure - includes

Key Steps in Initiating a Project

Project initiation: a clear justification for the project, formal authorization to perform the work, and the authority to apply organizational resources to the work - minimizes the issue of staff not showing up when planned - organizations not providing the level of support needed for the project --- Key Steps to initiate a project --- -- Develop a business case -- - establish the benefits and costs associated with the work to be performed -- Do a feasibility study -- - identify project constraints, alternatives, and related assumptions -- Establish the project charter -- - provide formal authorization to perform the work and the authority to assign organizational resources to the work -- Identify Stakeholders -- - consider the perspective of anyone who may have a vested interest in the project or project outcome -- Appoint the project team and set up the project office -- - identify personnel with the talents and skills to deliver the project -- Review the project and gain approval

The act of using skills, tools and other resources to get a project from start to finish is called:

Project management

What does PMO stand for?

Project management office

Project Management Skills

Project management: the utilization of skills in order to get a project from start to finish --- Project Manager's Skill Set --- - knowledgeable about their organization; their operations, products and services - communicate that knowledge to customers - organization and multi-tasking are key - Leadership, responsible for taking a project from start to finish, knowing how to motivate and inspire employees - confidence, you want to know that the person in charge is capable and confident in completing a project - communication, if a project manager cannot communicate tasks, expectations, goals, and progress, a project will never be successfully completed - problem solving; requires creativity and negotiation, find a resolution quickly

What is meant by project scope?

Project scope refers to what the project is expected to accomplish.

Which is NOT a skill of a project manager?

Quality assurance

What project constraints may be impacted if project scope changes?

Quality, resources, risks, customer satisfaction or schedule may be impacted by a change to project scope. Altering project scope may impact quality (reduced scope will result in a compromised project deliverable), resources (cost may increase if extra features are added), risk (additional scope will add risk of that extra feature failing), customer satisfaction (customer will be disappointed if scope of final deliverable is reduced), schedule (it may take more time to deliver additional feature).

Please list the 6 project constraints

Schedule, scope, resources, risks, quality, customer satisfaction

What are the steps involved in a project feasibility study?

Technical feasibility, market feasibility, organizational/managerial feasibility, financial/economic feasibility

What is return on investment (ROI)?

The amount of money made after costs

Who is assigned to oversee the completion of a project?

The project manager

What is project management?

The use of resources to get a project from start to finish. - Project management is the application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives. - Implementing the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to complete a project.

Why should the project feasibility study include a project timeline?

To determine what will be done, when, and by whom

What does it mean to understand and define the deliverables of a project?

To explain what result or product the project will create.

What is the purpose of a project charter?

To provide authorization for a project to begin A project charter provides the authorization necessary for a project to begin.

What emerging project team structure might benefit from portfolio management

Virtual Project Teams

In one hour, Sally can complete 4 reports or she can write 8 computer programs. Calculate the opportunity cost for this scenario.

Writing one report and forgoing 2 computer programs EXPLANATION The opportunity cost here is 4 reports = 8 computer programs which reduces to 1 report = 2 computer programs.

An executive summary is a synopsis of _____.

all answers are correct - Why a project is needed - What a project is - How a project works

How often does a company engage in a particular project?

once

How many unknown risks can be identified in a project?

indefinite

Ethics in a project management team means _____.

making decisions that are honest and fair

An example of unethical behavior in project management is _____.

misleading the client for one's own benefit

A project manager sends initiating plans/documents to project sponsors and/or customers for approval to proceed to the:

planning phase of a project

Project Management Planning

process of project management planning; a combination of steps to complete a project - a list of steps that project managers go through so that the project can be completed successfully - tools: resources the project manager can use to aid them in the process -------- The Planning Process -------- -- Step 1: Identify a Project -- - know what the company needs and what projects can be done that will benefit the company -- Step 2: Determine the Details -- - defining the key details - deciding who will be working on the project - what their responsibilities will be - the timeline of those responsibilities - the resources that will be used and the budget -- Step 3: Start the Project -- - When all of the details and planning have been completed, the project will then begin -- Step 4: Monitor and Correct Problems -- - project manager's responsibility is to observe the progress - great way to identify a problem, when a problem is found, the project manager will make the necessary changes so

The Six Constraints of Project Management

rules that bind you when managing a project --- Constraint Types --- -- Schedule -- - the time available to deliver a project - if the time allotted time is overrun (due to traffic, queues at the store, etc.) additional costs will be incurred -- Customer Satisfaction -- - jeopardized when any other project constraint is impacted -- Quality -- - measures how successful and correct the project deliverables - high if goal is achieved - change to project quality is likely to impact customer satisfaction -- Scope -- - refers to the features of the project (what the project does and how it does it) - if the project scope changes, you may decide to do an alternative - the alternative may impact project scope, quality, customer satisfaction, and budget, as the project did not deliver what it set out to -- Risk -- - risk are uncertainties, or threats, to the project - attempt to identify any and all possible risks and mitigate against them - plan an alternative actions so that if this risk

What are positive outcomes that organizations can expect when they use portfolio management?

selecting and prioritizing projects and balancing conflicting demands to assure the most important projects get done first

What does business portfolio management focus primarily?

selecting the right programs or projects, prioritizing the work, and providing the needed resources

Ethics in Project Management

the Project Management Institute (PMI) has four core values: responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty --- PMI Code of Ethics --- - sets forth mandatory requirements to be applied in all professional and volunteer roles. - for all members of PMI and those individuals who have commenced or earned a PMI certification -- Responsibility -- - duty to take ownership for the decisions we make or fail to make - the actions we take or fail to take - the consequences that result -- Respect -- - the duty to show a high regard for ourselves, others and the resources entrusted to us - resources entrusted to us may include money, reputation the safety of others and natural or environmental resources -- Fairness -- - the duty to make decisions and act impartially and objectively -- Honesty -- - the duty to understand the truth and act in a truthful manner both in our communications and in our conduct --- Ethical Issues in Project Management (unethical behavior --- - Stealing the competition's

Project management entails _____.

using skills to take a project from start to finish

It takes Joan 1 hour to make a pizza and 2 hours to make a cake. Joan's opportunity cost of making a pizza is which of the following?

½ of a cake EXPLANATION Joan only needs 1 hour to make a pizza, so that equals 1 / 2 a cake.

With the same amount of resources, Country A can produce 25 tons of chicken or 50 tons of wheat. What is Country A's opportunity cost of producing 1 ton of wheat?

½ ton of chicken EXPLANATION The opportunity cost equation is 25 tons of chicken = 50 tons of wheat. Reducing the equation, you get 1 ton of chicken = 2 tons of wheat which means that 1 ton of wheat is equal to 1 / 2 ton of chicken.