Project Management- Chapter 2

In the phase gate model, a gate can lead to three possible outcomes. Which of the following is not one of those outcomes?

Accelerate

A good project priority system will promote a culture where all stakeholders contribute to the goals of the organization but ultimately someone has to choose what direction to go. What are upper management's risks in prioritizing projects?

Picking the wrong one(s)

What positive role can corporate politics play in managing strategic projects?

Project sponsors may use politics to support a project behind the scenes.

Multitasking in an organization with many projects creates:

inefficiencies

The term ____ ____ is often used to denote a project that a powerful, high-ranking official is advocating. (Enter only one word per blank.)

- sacred -cow

For a hypothetical company, projects that cost $1,000,000 to implement must have a payback not longer than 4 years. Which of the following annual project cost savings would be acceptable?

-$300,000 Reason: This annual savings would result in $1,200,000 savings over 4 years. It will achieve the cut off point of a minimum of $250,000 per year.

What are the critical inputs that senior management must provide to an organization utilizing a project priority management system?

-Amount of resources to commit to various categories of projects. -Guidance in what to include in the selection criteria.

Identify the steps necessary to implement strategies through projects.

-Determine and allocate available resources -Establish a planning and control system -Establish a corporate organization that complements the strategy

Identify the assumptions made in the integration of projects with strategic plans.

-Existence of a strategic plan -A process for prioritizing projects by their contribution to the plan

Which of the following are typically identified as the selection criteria?

-Financial -Nonfinancial

What are the critical needs of a company utilizing a strategic project portfolio system?

-Getting input from senior management. -Involving a team of people rather than just an individual to make decisions.

What are some key benefits of soliciting project proposals from stakeholders throughout, and possibly outside, the company?

-Good ideas are not limited to just upper management. -A Request for Proposal (RFP) can be used to take a concept and ask an outside company to develop the project.

Identify traditional components included in a mission statement.

-Major products/services -Target customers/markets -Geographical domain

The "implementation gap" refers to the lack of understanding of strategy among top and middle managers. What problems may ensue from this?

-Potential conflict of interests between managers. -Lack of support for strategic projects.

Which of the following are the considerations for a proper mix of projects?

-Resource demand -Type -Risk

Identify the reasons that best explain why organizations are applying weighted scoring criteria in building strategic project portfolios.

-To determine a project's "fit" into the strategic plan -To gain credibility in selection of projects

Which of the following are reasons why a firm may choose to use non-financial criteria, rather than financial, to accept a strategic project?

-To develop a product that will increase sales in other more profitable areas. -Capture greater market share.

Place the following steps in the strategic management process in the correct sequence. (Place the first step at the top).

1. Review/revise mission statement 2. Set Strategy and Objectives 3. Portfolio of strategic choices 4. Strategy Implementation 5. Project selection 6. projects

Negative NPVs are desirable.

False

Managing the ____ takes the selection system one step higher in that the merits of a particular project are assessed within the context of existing projects.

portfolio

Criteria for project selection are where the ____ of a portfolio starts to manifest itself.

power

What are the major dimensions of strategic management?

-Responding to changes in the external market -Allocating scarce resources of the firm

Implementation of projects without a strong priority system linked to strategy creates problems. Which of the following are some of those problems?

-The implementation gap -Organization politics -Resource conflicts and multitasking

Identify significant benefits of using a multi-weighted scoring model to select projects.

-The weighting provides an objective measurement to allow ranking from best to worst. -Selection criteria may be mapped to critical success factors in the strategic plan.

What are the main reasons project managers need to understand an organization's mission and strategy?

-To allow appropriate decision making -To be an effective project advocate

Why is it important to systematically prioritize projects?

-To prevent conflicts between functional managers for resources. -To prevent excessive corporate politics from overcoming objective reasoning. -To properly allocate scarce resources.

What are two types of risks associated with a strategic project portfolio?

-Total risk of all the projects. -Specific project risks.

____ projects, also called ____ ____ projects, are typically those needed to meet regulatory conditions required to operate in a region.

-compliance -must -do

In the context of the phase gate process, the ____ gate is invisible.

-first

In strategic management, allocation of resources depends on ____.

-organizational culture How a firm allocates its resources depends on the type of business, environment volatility, competition, and organizational culture.

Typically an organization will issue a ____for ____ to contractors/vendors with adequate experience to implement a project. (Use a single word to fill each blank.)

-request -proposal

Doran (1981) created the SMART memory device to help write objectives. The T stands for ____ ____.

-time related

What is required to implement a "strategy"?

Actions and tasks

Identify the second step in strategy formulation.

Assess the internal and external environments.

Which of the following is a project that is relatively easy to accomplish and produce modest commercial value?

Bread and butter

These projects are relatively easy to accomplish and produce modest commercial value.

Bread-and-butter

True or false: Senior management uses weighted scoring models to build a project portfolio which maximizes short-term profitability.

False

True or false: Strategic management positions the organization to meet the needs and requirements of its customers for the short term

False

Which of the following best relate symptoms of an "implementation gap"?

Frequent meetings to renegotiate resource allocations.

____ answers the question of how strategies will be realized, given available resources.

Implementation

____ translate the organization strategy into specific, concrete, measurable terms.

Objectives

What happens when an organization restricts project proposals from specific levels or groups within the organization?

Opportunities may be missed.

____ is the simplest and most widely used model for evaluating projects. (Enter only one word per blank.)

Payback

Which of the following is not used to calculate NPV?

Payback period

Which of the following is not true of the process of ranking project proposals?

Projects categorized as "wants" get first priority.

Mission statements should be written and communicated to organizational managers and other employees in order to:

Provide a focal point for decision making.

The question "what are we now?" is part of which of the following phases of the strategic management process?

Review mission

The assessment of the external and internal environments is known as the ____ analysis.

SWOT

Many organizations find they have three basic kinds of projects in their portfolio. Which of the following is not one of those three?

Sacred cows

____ management should be responsible for prioritizing projects. (Fill in the blank with one word.)

Senior

____ paybacks are more desirable.

Shorter

____ describes how an organization intends to compete with the resources available in the existing and perceived future environment.

Strategy

Which of the following statements is true of selection criteria for projects?

They are typically identified as financial and nonfinancial.

Why might organizations include multiple non-financial criteria in a screening model for projects?

To avoid focusing only on profitable projects, which can lead to overextension.

Why is alignment between the strategic plan and projects critical for an organization?

To avoid poor utilization of the organization's resources.

Generally, multitasking adds to delays and costs.

True

True or false: How a project manager responds to project delays should be based on the impact on strategic concerns.

True A project manager has to make decisions based on how the project affects the organization's strategy, including whether project delays may reduce an organization's ability to compete.

____ scoring models generally include qualitative and/or quantitative criteria.

Weighted

____ scoring models result in bringing projects into closer alignment with strategic goals

Weighted

____ scoring models result in bringing projects into closer alignment with strategic goals.

Weighted

The projects have low commercial potential and low technical feasibility.

White elephants

The ____ approach basically uses a list of questions to review potential projects and to determine their acceptance or rejection.

checklist

The most frequently used method in selecting projects has been the ____ .

checklist

The selection process is the first part of the management system that spans the lifetime of the project. This system has been described as a series of ____ that a project must pass through in order to be completed.

gates

Resource sharing also leads to ____ .

multitasking

In the context of ranking strategic project proposals, if a project does not meet designated " ____ " objectives, it is not considered and is removed from consideration.

must

Organizational ____ drive projects

objectives

These projects are high-risk, high-value projects.

oyster

A ______ driven project portfolio system can reduce or eliminate the impact of problems in project implementation.

priority

A multiproject organizational environment faces major problems without a ____ system that is clearly linked to the strategic plan.

priority

Enforcing the project ____ system is critical.

priority

One of the four activities of the strategic management process is to implement strategies through ____. (Use a single word to fill the blank.)

projects

If the person believes his idea is worthwhile, then a project ____ is submitted conforming to the selection guidelines of the firm.

proposal

Doran (1981) created the SMART memory device to help write objectives. The R stands for ____.

realistic

Task completion requires ____ .

resources

A preliminary decision of balance between compliance, strategic, and operational projects must be made by ____ management.

senior

Project ____ are typically high-ranking managers who endorse and lend political support for the completion of a specific project.

sponsors

One of the four activities of the strategic management process is to analyze and formulate ____. (Use a single word to fill the blank.)

strategies

The main goal of a "governance team" managing a project portfolio system is to ensure that:

the process of publishing the priority of every project is free of power politics.

The most important criterion for project selection is:

the project's fit to the organization's strategy.

Project proposals should be classified by ____ so the appropriate criteria can be used to evaluate them.

type

Formulating strategy answers the question of ____ to reach the organization's objectives.

what needs to be done