CIS 560 IT Services & Project Management Chapters 5 & 6
Define and then compare two schedule compression techniques: crashing and fast tracking.
Crashing is a schedule compression technique in which cost and schedule tradeoffs are analyzed to determine how to obtain the greatest amount of compression for the least incremental cost. Fast tracking looks specifically for activities that can be done in parallel if the resources are available. Both techniques reduce the amount of time needed to complete the project, but one involves parallelization while the other involves compression.
CPM
Critical Path Method
Describe two sources of project scope elements other than stakeholders and team participants.
Industry standards, government regulations
Discuss the project management related problems created due to "scope creep."
It is nearly impossible to deliver a successful project with the right scope, cost and budget if the scope is continually changing and growing
Differentiate between legal authority and acquired authority.
Legal authority is granted to an individual by virtue of their position in the company or given by a senior member of the management staff. Acquired authority or power is gained from one's peers based on the perceived knowledge of the individual, their interpersonal skills or their work experience on similar projects
PERT
Program Evaluation and Review Technique
Explain timing and accuracy of the three levels of cost estimates: ROM, budget, and definitive.
The ROM project cost estimate level is performed very early in the project life cycle. The accuracy ranges greatly, anywhere from +25% to -75%. Budget is performed toward the end of the project planning stages and is more accurate than ROM at +10% to -25%. Finally, the Definitive level is performed at the end of the project execution. Therefore, definitive is the most accurate at +5% to -10%.
Explain the difference between a Theory X employee and a Theory Y employee.
Theory X workers are inherently lazy and require direct supervision on a constant basis in order to perform work. Theory X workers dislike work and avoid it whenever possible. To get them to work a supervisor must use punishment as the motivator. Theory Y workers are the opposite. They enjoy work and can be trusted to work efficiently without direct supervision. These workers are motivated by the work itself and need little motivation from their manager. Managers with this approach exercise a participative style of group decision making.
Explain the difference between logical and physical task relationships.
A physical task relationship is one that involves a physical deliverable that must be completed in order for one task to complete and one to begin. A logical task relationship has an intangible deliverable or variable that relates two tasks.
Can a project have multiple critical paths? Explain.
A project can have multiple critical paths if there are two distinct sets of activities with zero slack. These distinct sets of activities must need to be accomplished in parallel to one another (hence the multiple critical paths).
Explain the main benefit of generating a requirements traceability matrix and describe the contents of this matrix.
A requirements traceability matrix (RRM) can eliminate lost requirements those that were originally listed in the discovery process but not implemented. It can also help to make sure that everything that is built or delivered was on the list of requirements. Hopefully this will keep the team from inventing things or adding things to the project that were not agreed to by stakeholders.
Briefly describe the contents of the schedule management plan.
A schedule management plan contains; How schedule contingencies are to be handled as defined by the risk discovery process. Items such as use of overtime, use of parallel activities when and what, change of task sequences those tasks that have discretionary dependencies. Scheduling techniques will be used to track progress How schedule performance will be monitored and controlled What accounting codes are significant to record activity for the project
How do you know when to stop decomposing a task?
A task should be decomposed until it exhibits the following six characteristics: Status and/or completion is measurable and can be reported easily at any time Start and end events are clearly defined and easily communicated Each activity has a single deliverable Time and cost is easily estimated Activity duration is within acceptable limits no longer than 10 work days. This is not a hard unbreakable rule but a suggested guideline that no activity be defined with an effort longer than two weeks. Work assignments are independent, you shouldn't need to interrupt the work in the middle of an activity due to another activity not working as planned
Explain the activities that occur during the activity resource estimating process.
Activity resource estimating processes involve determining what resources including people, computers, electricity, etc. are needed, in what quantities, and in the case of human resources what level of expertise.
Explain what is meant by the statement that the project scope statement should not be built in isolation.
It means that the project manage should involve the team members and stakeholders when appropriate.
Explain what subject matter experts are and their importance to the project.
Subject matter experts (SME) are used to aid the systems analyst in their quest for the accurate list of system requirements. SME's can come from inside or outside the organization. They are those individuals who have 2 intimate knowledge of how the product of the project is supposed to function. They should be consulted during the entire project for requirements input and acceptance.
WBS
Work breakdown structure
Explain the main benefit to generating a roles and responsibility matrix and also describe the contents.
A roles and responsibility matrix (RRM) can eliminate confusion by improving communication with the project stakeholders and team members so that everyone understands each party's responsibility level. The RRM contains columns for each employee or role in the project, and one row for each activity in the project. The activities listed on the RRM are generally at a summary level initially (early in the project) and as the project proceeds are expanded to include lower level activities. A responsible party is assigned to each activity or task at one of four levels: responsible for getting the activity completed, approval of the work product created from each activity, consulting or reviewing, or informing as a subject matter expert.
Why is it important at the beginning of project planning to build resource estimates assuming that resources will not be required to work overtime to complete their assignments?
Assuming that resources will work overtime is a recipe for disaster. Not only will it completely destroy the morale of the project team, but the quality of work produced will drop off dramatically. Additionally, non-project related work still needs to be done by project team members. Assuming that individuals will work overtime is detrimental to the chances for a successful outcome.
Explain the CPM process for schedule development.
CPM uses the sequence and duration of activities to determine the total project duration. CPM then produces two pieces of information, the amount of slack and the longest path through the schedule.
Explain the process followed when using the PERT approach to scheduling.
First, a network diagram is created to show task dependencies. Then weighted averages are calculated for each task. The formula for calculating the PERT Weighted Average is Optimistic Estimate + 4(Most Likely Estimate) + Pessimistic The PERT weighted averages for each activity are added to the network diagram to show the start dates and finish dates for each and the final project end date. Generating three estimates for every task and then calculating a weighted average is a very lengthy and time-consuming task, but once complete the critical path can be found and resources can be scheduled for the project.
Project managers can possess five types of influence. Name and describe them.
Legitimate or formal - receive support because the project team perceives the project manager has the right to issue directives Reward - receive support because the project team perceives the project manager has the ability to influence monetary rewards such as: salary, bonus, promotion. Penalty - receive support because the project team perceives the project manager has the ability to punish workers by withholding rewards, or assigning non-rewarding work Expert - receive support because the project team perceives the project manager has the knowledge and skills needed to be successful Referent - receive support because the project team has great faith in the abilities of the project manager based solely on their personal presence, examples of individuals who held referent power; John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King.
Briefly describe and compare resource loading and resource leveling.
Resource loading defines the amount of time a specific resource is needed over each time period, and is helpful in identifying overloaded resources. Resource leveling is the process of rescheduling activities on the project schedule that have available slack to achieve a more balanced distribution of resource usage
Explain the difference between slack and free slack.
Slack is the difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of the project, while free slack is the difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of any successor task.
List and explain the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction and those that lead to satisfaction.
Some of the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction can include unsatisfactory supervision, company policies, relationships with peers and superiors, working conditions, and salary. Many of these items relate to the first three levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Factors that lead to job satisfaction include recognition, the work itself, achievement, responsibility, growth inside and outside the job, and advancement. Many of these factors relate to the two upper levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Explain the analogous approach to assigning resources to a WBS listing advantages and disadvantages.
The analogous approach to assigning resources involves modeling the resource assignment after a previously completed similar project. The advantage of using the analogous approach is that appropriate resource types and durations can be quickly estimated, and similar suppliers can also be used if needed. However, if the resources aren't evaluated prior to project initiation the analogous approach can be disadvantageous because the project will likely have some differences from the previously completed similar project.
List and explain the four types of dependencies possible between tasks on a precedence diagram.
The four types of dependencies possible on a precedence diagram are finish-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-start, and start-to-finish. Finish-to-start means that the beginning of a task is dependent on the completion of all its predecessors. Finish-to-finish means that the completion of a task is dependent on the completion of all its predecessors. Start-to-start means that the start of a task is dependent on the start of all its predecessors. Start-to-finish means that the completion of a task is dependent on the start of all its predecessors.
Explain the rational and process for decomposing tasks into smaller and smaller units of work.
The rational for decomposing tasks into smaller and smaller units of work is quite simple. In short, by breaking down a project into tiny tasks, cost and time estimates can be more accurately made and scheduled. Additionally, decomposition allows for tasks to be assigned to a single person who is held responsible for completion of the task.
List and explain the characteristics that determine the size and depth of the scope statement.
The size and depth of the scope statement is determined by many factors such as: size, risk, technology, experience, and the strategic importance of the project. Project size is determined by the number of people, dollar value, duration, or geographic span of the project. Technology refers to the maturity of the technology required for the project, and the experience of current staff with the technology. The degree of risk to the business, the strategic importance of the project to the organization, and the project cash requirements also determine the size and depth of the scope statement.
Describe the three influence types from the Thamhain and Wilemon study found to offer the project manager the best chance for success and the types which may cause the opposite effect.
The three influence types found to offer the project manager the best chance for success were expertise, work challenge, and salary influence. The worst influence types to use to gain support and the potential for a successful project are budget allocation, salary, and penalty. What this means to the project manager is that to obtain higher productivity commitments from workers assigned to projects they should strive to influence the team using their business and technology expertise, assign the right amount of challenging work to the right workers and try to create an environment in which they have influence on salaries.
List and briefly explain the three key deliverables for the scope planning process.
The three key deliverables from scope planning are the scope statement, scope management plan, and the work breakdown structure. The scope statement describes the characteristics of the product that the project was created to deliver. The scope management plan describes how the project team will define the project scope, develop the detailed scope statement, develop the WBS, and verify and control the scope. The work breakdown structure is an outcome oriented list of tasks executed by the project team to accomplish the stated project objectives.
Describe each of the methods for creating a WBS and describe advantages and disadvantages of each.
There are 4 methods for creating a WBS including: analogy, top down, bottom up, and thread. Analogy - created by looking for a similar project done in the past and using its WBS as a starting point. The advantages of using the analogy technique are: • Fastest path to a completed WBS • A valuable tool for brainstorming a new project and looking for deliverables • Enhances cross-project consistency • Improves budget and time estimates • Improves resource allocations The issues of using the analogy technique are: • Make sure the previous WBS is completely understood and similar • Make sure the previous WBS was accurate and updated • Resist the temptation to not critically review previous WBS and its appropriateness for the new project Top-down - used when a similar project's WBS doesn't exist. A brainstorming session where subject matter experts, stakeholders, and team members look at the list of objectives project the project charter and create a high-level list of deliverables and then further compose that list into smaller and smaller steps needed to create that deliverable. The advantages of using the top-down technique are: • Ensures projects are organized logically based on the nature of the project • Promotes stakeholder participation in the planning phase of the project • Can create a greater understanding of the entire project by all participants The issues of using the top-down technique are: • Need to make sure major objectives are not forgotten • Make sure to decompose the tasks to appropriate levels • Can be time-consuming, must guard against "analysis paralysis" • Cost and time estimates are more difficult to create and generally less accurate than under the analogy approach Bottom-up - a similar project's WBS doesn't exist. A brainstorming session where subject matter experts, stakeholders, and team members look at the list of objectives project the project charter and generate as many low-level activities needed to complete objectives, which are then grouped by deliverable. This process continues until all relevant tasks have been grouped into sub-groups that directly tie to a major objective. The advantages of using the bottom up technique are: • Promotes stakeholder participation in the planning phase of the project • Can create a greater understanding of the entire project by all participants • May lead to a more complete list of tasks The issues of using the bottom up technique are: • Harder to get organized into logical steps or phases • Need to make sure major objectives are not forgotten • Difficult to retain focus on the "big picture" • Difficult to generate a complete list of tasks Thread - usually done alongside one of the other three processes. Instead of looking at all of the project's objectives, the group concentrates on one at a time and decomposes it into lower levels of detail or if using a bottom-up approach goes in the other direction. The advantages of using the thread technique are: • Promotes stakeholder participation in the planning phase of the project • Can create a greater understanding of the entire project by all participants • Greater control and focus of the brainstorming sessions • Generally, the most important stakeholder objectives done first The issues of using the bottom up technique are: • Make sure to not lose focus of the "big picture" • May lose site of the effect one objective may have on another • Increases the need for communication • More successful when the project leader and team have a good understanding of the project's objectives
What does it mean and why is it important to follow a "progressive elaboration" process when creating time and cost estimates?
Time and cost estimates should be done in a "Progressive Elaboration" process meaning they start out general and less accurate and over time become more detailed and accurate as the project proceeds. Estimates done very early in the life of the project (sometimes referred to as a ROM or Rough Order of Magnitude) can contain as much as -25% to + 75% variance. Estimates done after much of the early planning has been completed contain a variance of -10% to + 25% (sometimes referred to as the Budget estimate) and as the project moves closer to completion, within the last several months the variance narrows to -5% to + 10%.
Explain why it is important to define time estimates in two dimensions: effort and duration.
Time estimates require two dimensions because both effort and duration requirements will affect the total time estimate. If a large amount of effort is required, multiple individuals would have to be assigned (which would have a direct impact on the time estimation). Secondly, the duration is rather selfexplanatory. The duration is the estimated work hours it would take to complete the task.
Describe several uses for a WBS.
a. Guide the work of the entire project team b. Facilitate communication with all stakeholders and project team c. Aid the team in building the schedule and budget d. Assigning the right person to the right task e. Getting the project to a done state f. Aid in quality control g. Accountability, one person is assigned responsibility for each task h. Used to reduce amount of scope creep i. Aid in budget and schedule progress reporting and performance reporting j. Aid in examining alternative steps in building a product
