Project. Management Midterm

Forming Stage (1)

Low familiarity among the team Individual roles not clear Emphasis on collective goals

Conflict over ideas on how to proceed with a project can lead to more creative approaches.

True

Many different project life cycle models are used for different types of projects, such as information systems, improvement, research and development, and construction.

True

Step 5 of Negotiation Processes

consists of the process and strategies of the negotiation itself. It is helpful to keep in mind the ultimate goal while focusing on the many details of information sharing, trading of concessions, and exploring possible solutions. Step 6 is actually a reminder to reach an agreement and then to document that agreement.

Constraint

anything that limits the implementation of a project

Norming Stage (3)

Participation and empowerment Commitment to team goals Roles and responsibilities

What is another name for the Activity-on-Node (AON) network diagramming technique?

a. Activity on Arrow (AOA) b. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) c. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) d. Critical Path Method (CPM) b.

What can a project manager do to determine if workers are overloaded?

a. Ask them if they are too busy. b. Check to see if they have been working overtime. c. Check the network diagram for resource overloads. d. Add the demands for each resource at each time period. d.

It is helpful to list requirements and supporting information in a requirements traceability matrix. When requirements are complete, they should meet all of these criteria EXCEPT:

a. Assigned to a team member who will be the requirement owner b. Qualified by measurable conditions c. Prioritized according to value, cost, time, risk, or mandate so trade-off decisions can be made if needed d. Identified with the stakeholder(s) who needs it a.

The components (principles) of Critical Chain Project Management include which of the following?

a. Avoid multi-tasking. b. Add a comfortable buffer to every project activity c. Estimate activity durations generously d. Adhere strictly to completion deadlines - rather than finishing early or late. a.

Why is it often necessary for project managers to persuade experienced workers to be part of the project team?

a. Because the project manager has a reputation of being a good boss by caring for team members. b. Because functional managers always offer their least experienced people as resources. c. Because strong technical skills are very important for SMEs. d. Because highly skilled workers tend to be excellent generalists that need to be "sold" on the project d.

On a [Tracking] Gantt chart, critical activities are normally shown in ____ or _______.

a. Blue or normal face b. Italics or underlined c. Red or boldface d. Capital letters or boldface c.

The term _________ is a broad label that describes the variety of people and groups who can impact a project or who might be impacted by either the work of, or the results of, the project.

a. Business owners b. Executive management c. Stakeholders d. Customers c.

Who is responsible for ensuring that the steering team completes its tasks?

a. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) b. Chief Projects Officer (CPO) c. Project Sponsor d. Customer b.

When assessing project team capability, the project manager should remember that his or her responsibilities are to simultaneously support all of these three entities that are intertwined in many ways, EXCEPT:

a. Chief Projects Officer (CPO) b. Parent organization c. Project d. Project team a.

Which of the answers below is NOT one of the four ways to classify projects?

a. Classifying by timing of project scope clarity b. Classifying by funding source c. Classifying by application d. Classifying by size b.

________ power should be used by a project manager only in circumstances in which it is necessary to maintain discipline or enforce the rules.

a. Coercive power b. Legitimate power c. Reward power d. Expert power a.

Of the ten project management knowledge areas, which of them includes the "processes to identify the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, analyze their expectations and impact, and develop strategies for engaging them in project decisions and execution?"

a. Communications Management b. Integration Management c. Stakeholder Management d. Risk Management c.

A lead is a change in the logical relationship that results in the _____ of the successor activity.

a. Delay b. Overlap c. Acceleration d. Elimination c.

Who should be involved in identifying potential projects?

a. Executives b. Program Managers c. Functional Managers d. Employees at all Levels d.

All of these are characteristics of when a team is operating in a virtual mode, EXCEPT:

a. Face-to-face communication is used. b. Time boundaries are crossed. c. Cultural, organizational, age, gender, and functional diversity is present. d. Team members are physically dispersed. a.

Which of these is NOT one of the common leadership challenges faced by project managers?

a. Facilitate team decision making b. Influence stakeholder behavior c. Select and prioritize projects d. Manage and negotiate conflicts c.

The _____________ method is an alternative scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account.

a. Fast Tracking b. Critical Path Method c. Crashing d. Critical Chain d.

Which of these is NOT one of the four purposes of a project charter?

a. Help the project manager, sponsor, and any team members that are already assigned develop a common understanding. b. Authorize the project manager to proceed c. Quickly screen out obviously poor projects d. Provide a detailed blueprint to guide project execution d.

A strong project matrix is different from a weak matrix in that _____:

a. In a strong project matrix the functional manager is strong; they have more decision-making authority than the project manager. b. In a strong matrix the project manager is strong; they have more power than the functional manager. c. In a strong matrix the project manager has complete, or very close to complete, power over the project team d. In a strong matrix "staff is grouped by areas of specialization and the project manager has limited authority to assign work and apply resources." b.

Which of these is NOT an issue for the project manager regarding the use of subject matter experts (SMEs) on a project?

a. Inability to relate to the project b. Scheduling issues c. Lack of understanding d. Turf wars d.

In addition to technical skills, a project manager must have _________ skills in order to successfully resource a project.

a. Microsoft Project b. Behavioral c. Estimating d. Cultural b.

Of all the resources, managing ________ is the most challenging aspect of a project.

a. Money b. Equipment c. Licenses d. People d.

Which of the managerial roles below would NOT be found in a traditional project management approach?

a. Project Manager b. Facilitator c. Functional Manager d. Scrum Master d.

A variety of outcomes may result from managing the project team. Poor appraisals, insufficient progress, conflict, necessary reassignments or other causes may warrant ___________ on a project.

a. Role clarification b. Staff changes c. Lessons learned d. Morale changes b.

The signing of the project charter marks the transition between which two phases of the project life cycle?

a. Selecting and Initiating b. Initiating and Planning c. Planning and Executing d. Executing and Closing b.

Which of these is NOT one of the five stages of team development?

a. Storming b. Performing c. Transforming d. Norming c.

Which of these is NOT one of the difficulties of using PERT for developing time estimates for each schedule activity?

a. There is no guarantee that the three estimates are more accurate than a single estimate. b. PERT does not address cases where multiple activities must be completed before the successor can begin. c. Special software and skills are necessary to effectively use PERT. d. It takes a significant effort to develop three time estimates for an activity. c.

Which of the following statements best describes the contemporary use of financial models and scoring models for project selection?

a. These methods are often used together to ensure financial and non-financial factors are both considered. b. Scoring models are unreliable because they fail to consider financial factors. c. One of these techniques is typically used to the exclusion of the other, due to time demands. d. Financial methods are preferred because they ensure alignment with the organization's strategic goals. a.

Which of these is a characteristic of all project life cycles?

a. They all have four phases: Selecting & Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Closing & Realizing b. They are all predictive and plan-driven. c. They involve a series of phases that need to be completed and approved before proceeding to the next phase. d. They are all based on the Project Management Institute's 5 process groups. c.

Which one of these is NOT one of the increased challenges to working with a global or virtual team?

a. Time boundaries b. Cultural diversity c. Physical dispersion d. Varied skills d.

Which of the characteristics below does NOT describe a project?

a. Time-bound b. Progressively elaborated c. Permanent d. Creates a unique product or service c.

A document that provides more information about each work package by documenting details about the associated deliverable, activity, scheduling information, person responsible, resources required, etc. is called a ________:

a. WBS b. WBS Dictionary c. Project Scope Statement d. Requirements Traceability Matrix b.

A ________ is a matrix that shows all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package.

a. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) b. Staffing Management Plan c. Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) d. Stakeholder Register c.

What does the acronym WBS stand for?

a. Workplace Backup System b. Work Breakdown Schematic c. Workplace Business Structure d. Work Breakdown Structure d.

Which of the following charter elements defines the project purpose and justifies the necessity of the project?

a. acceptance criteria b. business case c. scope overview d. scope control plan b.

All of the following are among the steps of the negotiation process EXCEPT:

a. clarify both parties' interests b. work toward a common goal c. use "good cop / bad cop" technique d. clarify and confirm agreements c.

Which of these is NOT an issue to be considered when selecting team members?

a. co-located teams b. virtual teams c. cross functional teams d. stages of team development d.

Faced with significant schedule challenges, the project manager has an ethical responsibility to do all of the following EXCEPT:

a. deliver the project according to the agreed-upon schedule b. determine a schedule that is possible to achieve c. willingly accept end dates dictated by customers or sponsors d. persuade all stakeholders that the schedule makes sense c.

It is argued that project teams progress through five stages of team development. Which of the following sequences best represents this progression?

a. forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning b. forming, norming, storming, performing, reforming c. forming, storming, norming, performing, reforming d. forming, performing, reforming, norming, adjourning a.

Which of the following examples is NOT a typical or appropriate situation to employ project management?

a. installing a new accounting application on a server b. improving a soldering process in an assembly line c. processing deposits and withdrawals in a bank d. developing a new medical device for use by clinics c.

The milestone schedule in the project charter:

a. is a schedule that provides detailed data for when each project activity should begin. b. is a detailed schedule that shows the planned duration for every activity in the project. c. is a high-level plan that indicates a few significant accomplishments anticipated over the life of the project. d. is a summary-level schedule that shows how major project tasks are sequenced. c.

Portfolio management helps an organization achieve its strategic goals in all of the following ways EXCEPT:

a. prioritizing work to be done b. selecting the right projects c. managing ongoing projects d. providing needed resources c.

Project charters typically include all of the following elements EXCEPT:

a. project assumptions b. negative and positive risks c. detailed resource requirements d. project constraints c.

All of the following elements should be included in a project scope statement EXCEPT:

a. project boundaries or exclusions b. constraints imposed on the project, and assumptions made during planning c. names of the project team members d. final and intermediate deliverables with acceptance criteria c.

A _________ is a written request or formal proposal to propose changes to any project planning component such as a document, project deliverable, or baseline (scope, cost, and time).

a. project charter b. scope statement c. request for proposal (RFP) d. change request d.

The project charter serves all of the following purposes EXCEPT:

a. quickly screens out obviously poor projects b. helps develop a common understanding between the project manager, sponsor and assigned team members c. authorizes the project manager to proceed d. describes skill sets needed for the project d.

Frequently, project managers lack legitimate power based upon position and instead resort to persuading others based upon personal relationships. This type of power is known as:

a. referent power b. positional power c. coercive power d. connection power a.

Project failure can result from all of the following causes EXCEPT:

a. unrealistic time demands b. incomplete or unclear requirements c. adequate support from executive management d. inadequate planning c.

The work component at the lowest level of the WBS for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed is called the ______:

a. work package b. activity c. work element d. control account a.

Negotiation

about redefining an old relationship that is not working effectively or establishing a new relationship. Negotiation is the most commonly used process and the first step to resolve a dispute, a difference, or a conflict

Source Selection Criteria

basic minimum criteria the sellers have to be fulfilled to get shortlisted

Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)

better understand how variability in the individual activity durations impacts the entire project schedule

What does thinking of a charter like a contract mean?

both the project manager and the sponsor sign the charter willingly and strive to make the project successful. When core team members have helped write the charter rough draft, they may also sign the charter. If the project manager feels bullied into making a change, it is not a free choice.

What does a Business case generally include?

both why the project is needed and, if the firm uses financial justification as part of project selection, an estimate of costs and benefits.

Projects typically require inputs from multiple disciplines and, therefore, require _____________

cross-functional teams

Work packages need to be ___________

detailed enough to facilitate further planning and control. If they are too detailed, the burden of tracking increases

enumeration method

enumeration method

What do Cost-Benefit Analysis Models compare?

expected project costs to expected project benefits. Several models can be used in making project selection decisions

What does a clear and compelling vision statement. do?

helps all members and all stakeholders of an organization understand and desire to achieve it

Joint establishment of project meeting agendas

helps in building relations because all team members feel their concerns are addressed, and they develop a greater sense of ownership in meetings

Statement of Work

narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied

Mission Statement

organization's core purpose, core values, beliefs, culture, primary business, and primary customers.

What happens if several projects have close scores?

other criteria or discussion can be used to break the tie

Stakeholders

people and groups who can impact the project or might be impacted by either the work or results of the project.

Procurement Management

processes to purchase or acquire products, services, or results from outside the project team

What are some other names for a project charter?

project request, project submission form, or project preplanning form

Negotiation of Project Team Members

securing the needed and desired team members

Respect

show high regard for ourselves, others, and resources

Executing

starts when the plan is accepted, and includes authorizing, executing, monitoring, and controlling work until the customer accepts the project deliverables.

SWOT Analysis

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

On-boarding of Project Team Members

successfully adding them to the project team

All levels of the WBS with at least one level below are considered _____________

summary levels

Assumption

suppositions made during project planning that are treated as correct or factual, though they have not been proven

Responsibilty

take ownership for decisions

Core objectives of PMI Talent Triangle

technical, behavioral, and strategic.

Change Control System

that entails processes to receive and review change proposals and accept or reject them after evaluating their impact on project scope, cost, and schedule. In essence, it is a system of managing and controlling changes and modification to the project plan and project deliverables

SMART

that is, specific, measurable, achievable, results based, and time specific

Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

the analyst calculates the percentage return expected on the project investment

Net present value (NPV)

the analyst first discounts the expected future value of both the project costs and benefits, recognizing that a dollar in the future is worth less than a dollar today

Baseline

the approved project plan mainly consisting of scope, schedule, and cost. It is not normally altered unless a formal change control request is approved for modifying these plans

Forward Pass

the calculation of the early start and early finish dates for the uncompleted portions of all network activities

Early finish date (EF)

the earliest possible point in time on which uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish, based upon the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.

Early start date (ES)

the earliest possible point in time on which uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can start, based upon the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints.

Lessons Learned

the knowledge acquired by the project team throughout the project planning and execution, including things that should be replicated and things that should be avoided on future projects

Late start date (LS)

the latest possible point in time that a schedule activity can start, based upon the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints

Virtual teams

the norm for global projects and multinational organizations

Develop Project Team

the process of improving the competencies, team member interaction, and overall team environment to enhance project performance

Critical Path

the sequence of schedule activities determining the duration of the project. Generally, it is the longest path through the project.

Preassignment of Project Team Members

the timing of assigning a project team member

Duration

the total number of work periods (not including holidays or other nonwork periods) required to complete a schedule activity ... usually expressed as workdays or workweeks

Resources

the workers, tools, equipment, and anything else needed in order to execute your project. Since executives consider projects to be investments of resources, they will want a rough estimate

What is the goal of portfolio management?

to achieve the maximum benefit toward the strategic goals of the company. To accomplish this, executives need to identify, select, prioritize, resource, and govern an appropriate portfolio of projects and other work.

What is the first step of portfolio management?

to carefully align potential projects with the parent organization's goals

What is the second step in collecting requirements?

to gather input from the various project stakeholders

What is a reasonable goal for identifying potential projects?

to identify approximately twice as many potential projects as the organization has time and resources to perform

analysis paralysis

to never start doing anything because the plan is not yet complete

Why is identifying twice as many potential projects a reasonable goal?

under close examination, some potential projects may not be a good fit.

two-pass method

used to determine the amount of slack or float each activity has

Another name for determining the relative importance of each decision criteria is?

weighing the criteria

Visions often require extra effort to achieve but are considered to be __________

worth the effort

Outsourcing

hiring expertise from other organizations

Honesty

understand the truth and act in a truthful manner

What are project portfolios similar to?

Financial portfolios

10 knowledge areas

Integration, Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, Stakeholder

Storming Stage (2)

Interdependence of Members Manage Differences and Conflict Focus on consensus building

What is a WBS?

It is a project planning tool that is defined as the concept of hierarchical decomposition for transforming the project scope into deliverable work elements at the highest level. Its composition continues until it facilitates managing these work elements effectively; an important project planning tool that uses the concept of hierarchical decomposition for transforming the scope into deliverable work elements

What is the first piece of the WBS?

Project management

Stakeholder List

Project success is partially dictated by identifying and prioritizing stakeholders, managing robust relationships with them, and making decisions that satisfy stakeholder objectives. Therefore, it is good practice to identify and prioritize stakeholders early in a project.

Virtual Team

a distributed team

Project Management Processes

initiate, plan, execute, control, and close work

Signatures and Commitments

lists who is involved and sometimes describes the extent to which each person can make decisions and/or the expected time commitment for each person. This is where the project sponsor, project manager, and perhaps core team members publicly and personally show their commitment to the project by signing the charter.

Five major elements affecting project completion:

logical order (or sequence) of project tasks, duration of each task, the number of resources available when needed to complete those tasks, imposed dates, and cash flow.

All projects go through a predictable pattern of activity called what?

project life cycle

Planning

starts after the initial commitment, includes detailed planning, and ends when all stakeholders accept the entire detailed plan

Acceptance Criteria

stipulates which conditions must be met in order for the deliverables to be approved

Project Scope

the entirety of what will and will not be done to meet the specified requirements.

What is associated with projects?

uncertainties and unknowns that present many challenges to managing project work due to uniqueness

How many project processes are there?

49

Five types of useful project team member capabilities are as follows:

Activity-specific knowledge and skills Personal planning and control Personal learning Organizational understanding Interpersonal skills and sensitivity

What important customer-related tasks must the sponsor ensure are performed?

All customers (stakeholders) have been identified. Their desires have been uncovered and prioritized. The project delivers what the customers need. The customers accept the project deliverables.

Step 4 Negotiation Processes for Team: Consider multiple options

Brainstorm multiple approaches—even approaches that only solve part of the issue.

How can project managers and teams enhance stakeholder satisfaction?

By learning the cultural ethics and values of all their stakeholders, working hard to establish trust, and ensuring that they use fast and reliable information systems.

What is the final step in defining scope?

Create a Scope Description

DMAIC model.

Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control

Step 2 Negotiation Processes for Team: Know your walk-away point

Determine in advance the minimum you need from the negotiation.

A "top-down" approach to creating a WBS is typically used when a project is unique and different from previous projects.

False

A WBS dictionary is a document that defines each of the terms used in the project scope statement.

False

GANTT refers to the Generalized Activity Network Tracking Technique which was developed to better understand how variability in the duration of individual activities impacts the expected project duration.

False

Generally, the pace of work and amount of money spent remains consistent from one life cycle stage to another.

False

Legitimate Power

Formal authority based upon user's position; Asking people to perform within their job description

Performing Stage (4)

High mutual trust High commitment Self-managed team

Connection Power

Informal based upon user's relationships with influential people; When working with project sponsors and when negotiating for resources

Construction model

Just as in other project applications, since construction projects differ greatly in size and complexity, a variety of project life cycle models are in use. Pre-planning, design, procurement, construction, start up

Step 5 Negotiation Processes for Team: Work toward a common goal

Keep the common goal in mind: seek and share information, make concessions, and search for possible settlements.

Process Topics

Manage Meetings Establish Roles Maintain Focus Consider Alternatives Use Data Make Decisions

A variety of outcomes may result from managing the project team, such as the following:

Morale changes "Quarter-mile stones" to "inch stones" Staff changes Training needs Discipline Role clarification Issues Lessons learned

Managerial Project Roles

Project Manager, Functional Manager, Facilitator

Coercive Power

Punishing others for not performing; Only when needed to maintain discipline or enforce rules

Objectives should be _______ to be effective?

SMART

What should an organization include in its portfolio?

Some large and some small projects Some high-risk, high-reward projects, and some low-risk projects Some projects that can be completed quickly and some that take substantial time to finish Some projects that serve as efforts to enter new markets and new products or services and some to improve current products

What. are core team members inclined to give each other as familiarity increases?

The benefit of doubt

predecessor activity

The schedule activity that determines when the logical successor activity can begin or end

What are the three things the project scope statement should include?

The team needs to determine both what they will deliver to the project stakeholders at the end of the project and what they need to deliver along the way to ensure they will be successful in the end. The team should decide what work needs to be accomplished to create the deliverables The team needs to determine what will limit or influence the project work

Subject Matter Experts

The temporary members who are brought on board as needed

Payback period models do not consider the amount of profit that may be generated after the costs are paid.

True

The name and number of phases in a project life cycle are determined by the organization(s) involved in the project.

True

The project scope is the work that must be performed to deliver a product, service or result with the required features and functions.

True

What are the disadvantages of the matrix form of organization?

Two bosses Dual responsibility and accountability can be demotivating for some people

Six-Step Project Conflict-Resolution Process

Understand the conflict. Agree on conflict-resolution goals. Identify causes of the conflict. Identify potential solutions for the conflict. Pick the desired conflict solution. Implement the chosen solution.

Collaborating/Problem Solving

Whenever there is enough time, trust can be established, the issue is important to both sides, and buy-in is needed

The work package is the point from which:

Work activities are defined The schedule is formed Resources are assigned Many of the control features are developed

Project Charter

a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities

WBS component

a work element that is part of the WBS at any level

Developing a highly effective project team requires the following six activities from the project manager:

5-2.1.1 Understand stages of project team development. 5-2.1.2 Understand characteristics of high-performing project teams. 5-2.1.3 Assess individual member capability. 5-2.1.4 Assess project team capability. 5-2.1.5 Build both individual and team capability. 5-2.1.6 Establish team ground rules (team charter).

Critical Path Method

A technique used to determine the amount of scheduling flexibility (float) on various logical network paths in the project schedule network, and to determine the minimum total project duration.

Project sponsors and managers learn that they need to act in the best interests of what three constituencies?

(1) the project itself—attempting to deliver what is promised, (2) the project team—encouraging and developing all team members, and (3) the other project stakeholders—satisfying their needs and wants.

External Analysis

(elements over which the project team has little or no control) consists of asking what opportunities and threats are posed by competitors, suppliers, customers, regulatory agencies, technologies, and so on.

Additional suggestions for creating good estimates include the following:

Ensure the WBS is complete. Do not include anything outside the WBS in the estimate. Clearly identify each activity. Include appropriate contingencies. Use relevant and sufficient data. Include all relevant stakeholders in making estimates. Conduct an independent review. Revise the estimate if there is a major project change

What is the second step in defining scope?

Establish Project Boundaries

A Work Breakdown Structure must be decomposed at least four levels in order to be effective.

False

A business case is a brief narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied by the project.

False

A form of matrix organization in which the functional manager and project manager have equal amounts of power is called a weak matrix.

False

A project manager's referent power is described as persuading others based upon giving them something.

False

All project teams progress uniformly through five stages of team development.

False

An assumption becomes a risk if it turns out to be ________

False

Because the specific projects within them are of limited duration, programs themselves are temporary.

False

Communications Management, one of the ten PMBOK Guide Knowledge Areas, entails the processes to identify the people, groups, or organizations, that could impact or be impacted by the project, analyze their expectations and impact, and develop strategies for engaging them in project decisions and execution.

False

Crashing is a project schedule compression technique that expedites a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other.

False

In a projectized organization the functional manager has complete, or very close to complete, power over the project team.

False

The "relationship" topics within team ground rules, such as "discuss openly and protect confidentiality" and "avoid misunderstandings", should eliminate the need for the team to address how to handle conflict.

False

The Project Management Office (PMO) is comprised of the top leader in the organization (CEO or other officer) and his or her direct reports.

False

The first process in developing a project schedule is to identify all the resources available to work on the project.

False

The internal part of strategic analysis (elements within the project team's control) consists of asking what opportunities and threats are posed by competitors, suppliers, customers, regulatory agencies, technologies and so on.

False

The most common type of logical dependency to determine the sequence of project activities is "finish-to-finish" (FF).

False

The only critical measures of project success are completing the project on schedule and on budget.

False

The project business case provides a high-level description of what the project will accomplish and how it will be done.

False

The project charter serves as a formal legal contract between the project team and the project sponsor.

False

The project master network is a high-level plan that indicates a few significant accomplishments that are anticipated over the life of the project.

False

The vision statement should present a positive, inspiring and vivid description of the organization as it currently exists.

False

When constructing a responsibility matrix or "RACI" chart, it is important to ensure that only one person has primary accountability for any activity.

False

When determining resource availability, project managers need only consider full-time, internal resources.

False

______________ helps project team members share ______________, which in turn helps them stay committed to successful project completion.

Frequent celebration of small successes; the enjoyment of working on a project

The rate of improvement can vary widely depending on many factors, such as:

How much the culture of the organization stresses continual improvement How much skill is involved in the activity How complex that activity is How much of the activity is dependent on the worker versus dictated by the pace of a machine If there is frequent job rotation

Step 1 Negotiation Processes for Team: Prepare for negotiation

Know what you want and who you will negotiate with.

One way to understand project schedules and how they are constructed is to understand that five factors may limit how fast a project can be completed:

Logical order Activity duration Resource availability Imposed dates Cash flow

What is. the new role in the Matrix Organization form?

Manager of Project Managers, leads PMO

The traditional methods of obtaining and documenting requirements are many, such as:

Meetings with key stakeholders Interviews Focus groups Questionnaires Surveys Observations Prototypes Industry standards Reference documents, Market analysis Competitive analysis Requests from the client Standard specifications

What do all the major types of project life cycle models have in common?

They all have definite starting and ending points. They involve a series of phases that need to be completed and approved before proceeding to the next phase. The phases generally include at least one initiating, one planning, one closing, and one or more executing phases. The various life cycle models are all frequently adapted based on how they align with the organizational culture and language.

What are the five activities that the duties of the steering team revolve around?

Overall priority setting Project selection and prioritization Sponsor selection General guidance Encouragement

Reward Power

Persuading others based upon giving them something; If team members perform well and if negotiating for resources

Referent Power

Persuading others based upon personal relationship; Frequent since project managers often lack legitimate power based upon position

Expert Power

Persuading others based upon your own knowledge and skills; When others respect your opinions

When requirements are complete, each requirement needs to be:

Traceable back to the business reason for it Identified with the stakeholder(s) who need it Unambiguous Qualified by measurable conditions Validated for its value and completion Bounded by constraints Prioritized according to value, cost, time risk, or mandate so trade-off decisions can be made if needed

A project manager demonstrates integrity in ways that include making honest decisions, protecting people, defending core values, leading major change, showing respect, establishing a culture of honesty, and displaying total commitment to project and people.

Tru

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows each work activity on a separate line with the bar placed from the early start date to the early finish date for each activity on a timescale.

True

A charter can be used to quickly screen out obviously poor projects.

True

A mandatory dependency is a logical relationship between activities that must happen - usually due to a physical or legal demand.

True

A portfolio is defined as "projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic business objectives"

True

A project charter can vary in its length from one-page to multiple pages, depending on the size and complexity of the project.

True

A project is a time-bound effort constrained by performance specifications, resources, and budget to create a unique product or service.

True

A project manager needs to be concerned with achieving desired scope and quality (often called performance), subject to constraints of time and cost.

True

A project manager understands the importance of understanding individual motives, and takes the time to ask each team member what he or she personally wants from being involved in the project.

True

A successor activity is the schedule activity that follows a predecessor activity, as determined by their logical relationship.

True

A well-written business case should persuade decision-makers to support the project and inspire the project team members and key stakeholders to work hard towards successful completion of the project.

True

An example of fast tracking a project schedule would be to overlap the design and production phases for a design-to-production project, where the conventional approach would be to move on to construction only after completing the design phase.

True

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) attempts to keep the most highly demanded resource busy on critical chain activities, but not overloaded.

True

Critical chain project management is an alternate scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account.

True

During project charter creation there is typically a very general understanding of the project, so any budget included is approximate and should be called a preliminary budget with a corresponding confidence level for this estimate.

True

If the project manager changes an activity on the critical path to start at a later date, then the whole project will end at a later date.

True

If the project scope is hard to define early in the project and/or much change is expected, an Agile project management approach often works better.

True

In "personal cultures" people display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating.

True

In a functional organization workers can learn readily from others in their discipline and keep their skills sharp.

True

In a projectized organization the project manager has extensive authority for budgets, personnel and other decision-making issues.

True

In contrast to a legal contract, the parties to a signed project charter feel obligated to the spirit (as opposed to the letter) of the charter since the project details have not yet been worked out and the specifics will certainly change.

True

It is important to assign a unique name and a unique number to every component in the project Work Breakdown Structure.

True

None of the financial project selection models ensure alignment of the project with an organization's strategic goals.

True

Once the plan baseline has been approved and the project is underway, project teams deal with change by establishing and using a change control system to receive and review change proposals and accept or reject them after evaluating their impact on project scope, cost and schedule.

True

Operations consist of the ongoing work needed to ensure that an organization continues to function effectively.

True

Organizational culture consists of values, social rituals, symbols, work ethics, organizational behavior, beliefs, and practices that are shared among members of the organization and are taught to new members.

True

Risks, assumptions and constraints are included in the project charter so that key participants will be aware of what could prevent them from successfully completing the project.

True

Scoring models are most useful when there are multiple projects and several criteria to be considered.

True

Strategic objectives are the means of achieving the mission and vision, and should provide focus on decisions regarding which projects to select and how to prioritize them.

True

Synergy results in a team having a collective capability that exceeds the sum of individual capabilities.

True

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is normally developed by listing deliverables - major deliverables first and then progressively smaller ones until the team feels that every deliverable has been identified.

True

The ideal time to on-board core team members is when the project charter is being written.

True

The negotiation process involves several steps such as: preparing for negotiation; knowing your walk-away point; and working towards a common goal.

True

The project scope statement establishes the project boundaries by stating what features and work elements are included (in scope) and which are excluded (out of scope).

True

To use the enumeration method of determining the critical path, we list or enumerate all of the paths through the network.

True

When a contractor seeking external projects prepares to submit a proposal, it is really conducting a small project with the primary deliverable of the project being a compelling and complete proposal.

True

When a project team member is not performing, rewards may not prove as effective as a coercive approach that threatens the team member with undesired consequences.

True

When a project team needs to construct a WBS, it needs to include in its planning team a subject matter expert (SME) who understands how each segment of the work will be accomplished.

True

When constructing a responsibility matrix or "RACI" chart, it is important to ensure that only one person has primary accountability for any activity.

True

When developing a project schedule, total float refers to the amount of time a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project end date.

True

When recruiting resources to support a project, it is helpful to bring core team members and key subject matter experts on board as early as possible, to help plan the project and develop the project culture.

True

When resource overloads are extreme, project managers may need to consider the acquisition of additional resources, reductions in scope or extensions to the project schedule.

True

When the project sponsor and manager are determining how to create the project culture, ethics should be an important consideration.

True

While the lowest level of decomposition in a WBS is the work package, work packages can still be decomposed further into work activities.

True

the project manger can ask the users to start with only a high-level description of their reasons for the requested feature and then guide the discussion with the following five questions:

What do we not understand about the feature? What is the business reason for the feature? What is the impact of not providing this feature? What action items need to be accomplished if we do this? What impact will this have on other features of the project or elsewhere?

Scope

a combination of product scope and project scope

a computerized mathematical technique that allows people to account for risk in quantitative analysis and decision making that furnishes the decision maker with a range of possible outcomes and the probabilities with which they will occur

a computerized mathematical technique that allows people to account for risk in quantitative analysis and decision making that furnishes the decision maker with a range of possible outcomes and the probabilities with which they will occur

WBS Dictionary

a document that provides detailed information about each work package by providing details about the associated deliverable, activity, scheduling information, predecessor, successor, person responsible for it, resources required, and associated risks.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

a financial analysis tool used to determine the benefits provided by a project against its costs.

What does the WBS prrovide?

a framework of common reference for all project elements, for specific tasks within the project, and ultimately for better schedules and better estimates. It is the basis for all subsequent planning of such important functions as schedule, resources, cost, quality, and risk. It also serves as an outline for integrating all these planning elements

Program

a group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.

Milestone Schedule

a high-level plan that indicates a few significant accomplishments that are anticipated over the life of the project. It divides the project into a few (about three to eight) intermediate points or milestones whose completion can be verified.

Gantt chart

a horizontal bar chart that shows each work activity on a separate line with the bar placed from the early start date to the early finish date for each activity on a timescale

discretionary dependency

a logical relationship between activities that is considered desirable, usually based upon experience or best practice

mandatory dependency

a logical relationship between activities that must happen—usually due to a physical or legal demand

finish-to-start (FS)

a logical relationship where initiation of work of the successor activity depends upon the completion of work of the predecessor activity.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

a matrix that shows all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package

Decomposition

a method of dividing the project scope into many parts that, when combined, would constitute the project deliverable. It is the process of breaking down the project scope until it has been divided into manageable, discrete, and identifiable components requiring simple tasks to complete.

Fast-tracking

a method to expedite a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other; increases risk

Lead

a modification of a logical relationship that allows an acceleration of the successor activity.

Lag

a modification of a logical relationship that directs a delay in the successor activity

Project

a new, time-bound effort that has a definite beginning and a definite ending with several related and/or interdependent tasks to create a unique product or service.

Subproject

a part of a larger project organized as a project itself to make it easier to plan and manage

Payback Period (PP)

a person calculates how many years would be required to pay back or recover the initial project investment.

Rolling wave planning

a planning technique of identifying and defining the work to be completely accomplished in the near term and planning the future work at a higher level; to plan the first part of the project in as much detail as needed and to plan later phases only at a high level

RACI Chart

a popular form of RAM that presents roles of key stakeholders and their roles defined as responsible (R), accountable (A), consult (C), and inform (I) for project activities in a matrix form

Estimating Activity Resources

a process of assessing all types of resources—people, materials, tools, and equipment (along with quantities)—required for each activity to complete it as specified in project scope.

Resource Leveling

a project execution technique of adjusting the use of resources based on resource availability and the amount of float on activities to accomplish work as soon as possible, given the limited resource availability

Define Activities

a project planning process that identifies and determines specific actions to develop and deliver the project outcomes, such as products, services, or results

Define activity

a project planning process that identifies and determines specific actions to develop and deliver the project outcomes, such as products, services, or results. Many people find that work activities can be easily defined once the various deliverables are itemized

Staffing Management Plan

a proposal focused on acquiring, developing, and retaining human resources for as long as you need them on the project.

Project Team

a selected group of individuals with complimentary skills and disciplines who are required to work together on interdependent and interrelated tasks for a predetermined period to meet a specific purpose or goal

Project Milestone

a significant point or event in the project

Collect Requirements

a systematic effort to understand and analyze stakeholder needs to define and document these needs and requirements with a focus on meeting project objectives.

Activity on node (AON) or the precedence diagramming method (PDM)

a technique in which the scheduled activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are performed.

What should the WBS be?

a uniform, consistent, and logical method for dividing the project into small, manageable components to manage project scope and for planning, estimating, and monitoring

Change Request

a written request or a formal proposal to propose changes to any project planning component such as a document, project deliverable, or baseline (scope, cost, and time)

The right length for a typical project charter is generally _________.

a. 1 to 2 pages b. 1 to 4 pages c. 5 to 8 pages d. 8 to 10 pages b.

Which of these is NOT one of the three reasons that project managers and teams should look at risk when creating the project charter?

a. A positive risk is an opportunity to complete the project better faster, and/or at a lower cost or to capitalize upon the project in additional ways. b. Sometimes there is more risk to the organization if the project is not undertaken. c. It is important for the project manager and team to identify all risks to the project during the creation of the charter. d. Any negative risk that is a threat that may inhibit successful project completion needs to be identified. c.

What is the definition of a project charter?

a. A short document that grants the project team the right to continue into the more detailed planning stages of the project. b. The project purpose or justification statement, that answers the question "why" and helps all parties understand the purpose of the project. c. A high-level description of what needs to be accomplished and how it will be done. d. A document that sets forth the "attributes that need to be present in order to satisfy a contract, client or other stakeholder." a.

A(n) ________ is an important point in a project schedule that the project sponsor and manager want to use as a checkpoint.

a. Activity b. Network c. Milestone d. Signoff c.

Which of these is NOT one of the factors that can limit how fast a project can be completed?

a. Activity duration b. Resource availability c. Technical approach d. Logical order c.

Project management emerged as a formal discipline to be studied and practiced in the 1950s and 1960s, primarily in which types of projects / industries?

a. Aerospace and construction b. Telecommunications c. Information technology d. Healthcare a.

This technique is an iterative process that identifies and defines the work to be completely accomplished in the near term, and plans the future work at a higher level.

a. Agile b. Traceability c. Rolling wave planning. d. Decomposition. c.

_________ is a method to expedite a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other.

a. Agile Project Management b. Critical Path Method c. Fast Tracking d. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) c.

The idea behind __________ is to plan the first part of the project in as much detail as needed and to plan later phases only at a high level.

a. Agile Project Planning b. Rolling Wave Planning c. Reverse Phase Scheduling d. Critical Chain Scheduling b.

A project charter should be thought of as being similar to a contract. Which of these is one of the characteristics of a contract that would apply to a charter as well?

a. Agreement entered into freely by both parties b. Can be changed freely by either party c. Provides something of value for one of the parties d. Once it is signed it cannot be changed a.

Once the project baseline is approved, every change needs to be ___________.

a. Approved by the project manager b. Formally documented c. Automatically executed d. Rejected b.

Typical project charter elements paired with the questions they answer are listed below. Which of these is NOT correct?

a. Background - Answers the question "Who?" b. Resources - Answers the question "How Much?" c. Scope overview - Answers the question "What?" d. Milestone schedule - Answers the question "When?" a.

What are the disadvantages of the projectized form of organization?

Team members are often assigned to just one project, even if the project only needs part of their time, which leads to idle time Project teams not watched closely can fail to practice important organizational cultural norms, or accepted practices, and they sometimes fail to pass the lessons they learn on to other project teams Motivating people could become a challenge

When project teams operate in a virtual mode, many of the following characteristics are present:

Team members are physically dispersed. Time boundaries are crossed. Communication technologies are used. Cultural, organizational, age, gender, and functional diversity are present.

The personal values can be enhanced by utilizing the following effective team behavior methods:

Team members are selected to represent the right skill mix. Team members help each other. Team members demonstrate a constant focus on improvement. Team members use effective time management, including for meetings. Team members strive for innovation with few formal procedures. Team members capture, share, and use lessons learned.

Background Instructions

The project manager and team decide whether this optional section is necessary for their project as they construct the scope overview and business case. If the scope overview and business case seem detailed enough for all important stakeholders, an extra background section may not be needed

Hector and his team were preparing a RACI chart for the major project work packages and activities. In each row they only assigned an "A" for Accountable to a single resource. Why did they feel it was necessary for only one person to be assigned the accountability for each activity?

a. Because only one person should do the work on each activity or work package. b. Because the project manager is always the person who is accountable for each activity or work package. c. Because if more than one person has accountability, it is too easy for them to blame each other when something goes wrong. d. Because there are rarely enough people on a project team to have more than one person be accountable. c.

In regard to resource leveling, why are noncritical path activities generally the first to be delayed?

a. Because they are longer in duration. b. Because they have available slack / float. c. Because they require fewer resources. d. Because they are not important. b.

The ratification of the project charter requires negotiation between the project manager and project sponsor. In step number two, the project manager is advised to know their ________; or the minimum needed from the negotiation.

a. Benefit / Cost Ratio (BCR) b. Opportunity Cost c. Walk-Away Point d. Payback Period c.

In addition to predecessor-successor relationships, what does critical chain project management (CCPM) factor into its scheduling?

a. Calculations on resource availability b. Final project deliverables c. Planning the current phase in detail and later phases at a high level d. Multitasking wherever possible a.

Which two project team success factors have shown the strongest correlation to successful project performance as perceived by senior managers?

a. Clearly defined project and team objectives, and use of task and relationship behaviors to resolve conflicts b. Mutual trust, respect, and credibility and cross-functional cooperation c. Clear project plans created by the team, and effective communications d. Stimulating work environment and opportunity for team and individual recognition d.

Project managers need to use various types of power to encourage people to perform. When they persuade others based on their own knowledge and skills, what type of power are they using?

a. Coercive b. Referent c. Connection d. Expert d.

Which of the following is an advantage associated with managing projects in a functional organization?

a. Combines task focus with technical capability. b. Rapid communication between the various functions working on the project. c. Unity of command - all workers understand clearly what they need to do because only one "boss" is giving them instructions. d. Traditional department barriers are reduced. c.

Which of the ten knowledge areas defined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully?

a. Communications management b. Stakeholder management c. Scope management d. Quality management c.

Which of these is NOT one of the types of control systems that a customer and contractor should work together to set up and utilize?

a. Communications plan b. Risk management system c. Payment system d. Change control system c.

On an information system project the team and users may participate in a facilitated session where each possible feature of the system is discussed, and users articulate their preferences. This requirements gathering technique is called ______________:

a. Competitive analysis b. Joint Application Design (JAD) session c. Focus group d. Observations b.

Which of the following roles and attributes do NOT describe the core team members on a project?

a. Core team members join the project on a temporary basis to perform specific project activities as necessary. b. Core team members often make project decisions jointly with the project manager. c. Core team members are the small group of people who are usually on the project from start to finish. d. Core team members may supervise the work of subject matter experts who are brought in on an as-needed basis. a.

Which of the situations described below would NOT lead to the creation of a new project?

a. Customer request for an enhancement to a product b. Replacing obsolete systems infrastructure c. Operating the assembly line in a factory on a day-to-day basis d. New regulation that requires compliance d.

Project managers should build relationships with core team members by establishing appropriate decision making and problem solving. Which of these is NOT true of decision making on projects?

a. Decisions are best made by the sponsor, to ensure buy-in from all participants. b. People involved in making decisions tend to support them. c. Decisions made by groups take longer. d. Some decisions are best made by a single expert, while others are best made by a diverse group. a.

The planning technique of identifying and defining the work to be accomplished in the near term completely, and planning the future work at a higher level, is called ___________:

a. Decomposition b. Rolling Wave Planning c. Baselining d. Joint Application Design (JAD) Session b.

In which phase of the DMAIC model in Six Sigma (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) are root causes identified and statistically proven?

a. Define b. Measure c. Analyze d. Improve c.

During which of the following Project Schedule Management processes does the team estimate the number of work periods that will be required to complete a schedule activity, usually expressed as workdays or workweeks?

a. Define activities b. Estimate activity durations c. Develop schedule d. Sequence activities b.

________ are the building blocks of a project schedule.

a. Deliverables b. Work packages c. Activities d. Requirements c.

Which of these is NOT one of the sections of a project change request form?

a. Description of the change and why needed b. Basic information to track the request to the project and person submitting c. Requirements priority ranking d. Impact expected from the change c.

Organizational values guide project managers and provide them with a frame of reference. Which of the answers below is NOT an example of how values can impact project managers?

a. Determine how people are treated, controlled and rewarded. b. Determine how the organization likes to communicate internally and externally. c. Motivate the ethical actions and communications for managers and subordinates . d. Encourage personal commitment to the organization and justification for its behavior. b.

All of these are suggestions for creating good schedule estimates EXCEPT:

a. Do not include anything outside of the WBS in the estimate. b. Use subject matter experts (SMEs) from the team to make all schedule estimates. c. Clearly identify each activity. d. Use relevant and sufficient data. b.

All of the following factors should be assessed to determine an organization's ability to perform projects EXCEPT:

a. Do teams and individuals follow instructions well? b. Do we monitor and understand our external environment? c. Do we have have a teamwork attitude, free and open communication, creativity, and empowered decision making? d. Do we have a clearly defined project management process? a.

The ideal time to bring core team members and even a few SMEs on-board is __________.

a. During project selection. b. When the project charter is being written. c. When the detailed project plan is being written. d. During project execution. b.

All of the following statements concerning project portfolios are true EXCEPT:

a. Each project in the portfolio should have a direct impact on the organization. b. Portfolios cannot include operations and programs. c. Portfolios usually include a mix of some high-risk, high-reward projects and some low-risk projects. d. The projects in a portfolio are managed as a group to achieve strategic business objectives. b.

The ______ is the latest possible point in time when a schedule activity can finish based upon the network logic, the project completion date, and any constraints.

a. Early Start Date b. Late Start Date c. Early Finish Date d. Late Finish Date d.

Why is it important for project managers to have one-on-one discussions with their core team members?

a. Ensures that the team member understands the project manager's power. b. Helps the project manager understand priorities and motivations of each core team member. c. Helps them establish ground rules and the team charter. d. Helps them move through the forming stage of team development. b.

Which of these is NOT one of the five Project Management Process groups defined by the Project Management Institute in A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge® (PMBOK)®?

a. Executing b. Managing c. Initiating d. Monitoring & Controlling b.

Source selection criteria for selecting a contractor might include: production capacity, business size and type, past performance, and references. These are all examples of typical criteria within which category?

a. Financial b. Operational c. Technical d. Management b.

When preparing a project proposal, the contractor should understand the client's _______ criteria.

a. Financial b. Source selection c. Technical requirements d. Operational b.

Contractor companies might determine which client projects to pursue by performing a quick _______.

a. Financial Analysis b. SWOT Analysis c. Scoring Model d. Business Case b.

This style of conflict resolution is preferred for important decisions that require both parties to actively support the final decision.

a. Forcing / Competing b. Compromising c. Smoothing / Accommodating d. Collaborating / Problem Solving d.

Which of these is NOT an example of an organizational culture characteristic that makes project success more likely?

a. Formal recognition for project management b. Unity of command c. Flexible leadership d. Teamwork across cultures b.

In which stage of team development do team members jockey for power, ask many questions, and establish dubious goals?

a. Forming b. Storming c. Norming d. Performing b.

In which stage of team development do project managers personalize each member's role, collaborate when possible, and assess and build members and team capability?

a. Forming b. Storming c. Norming d. Performing c.

Projects typically require inputs from multiple disciplines and, therefore, require _________ teams.

a. Functional b. Matrixed c. Cross-functional d. Virtual c.

In which type of organizational structure do members of the project team have two bosses?

a. Functional b. Projectized c. Agile d. Matrix d.

An organizational placement strategy where the project team members are physically situated close to one another to improve communication, working relationships, and productivity is called _________.

a. Functional b. Projectized c. Co-location d. Subproject c.

These individuals are department or division heads who determine how the work of the project is to be accomplished, and negotiate with the project manager regarding which workers are assigned to the project.

a. Functional Managers b. Facilitators c. Sponsors d. Project Management Office (PMO) a.

Department or division heads, those ongoing managers of the organization who determine how the work of the project is to be accomplished and often negotiate with the project manager regarding which workers are assigned to the project, are referred to as ___.

a. Functional managers b. Scrum masters c. Facilitators d. Project Management Office (PMO) a.

What organization structure is often used for small projects that require most of their work from a single department?

a. Functional organization b. Projectized organization c. Balanced matrix organization d. Strong matrix organization a.

An organizational structure in which project team members are moved to alternate locations to allow them to better work with one another, and on the project in general, is called ____:

a. Functional organization b. Unity of command c. Co-location d. Projectized organization c.

The second step in defining scope is to identify which elements are included in the project scope and which are excluded, in order to establish the project _______________.

a. Functional requirements b. Non-functional requirements c. Requirements traceability matrix d. Boundaries d.

A ________ is a horizontal bar chart that shows each work activity on a separate line with the bar placed from the early start date to the early finish date for each activity on a time-scale.

a. Gantt chart b. Project schedule c. Milestone chart d. Timeline a.

The phases Idea Generation, Idea Screening, Concept Development, Validation and Transition are all phases in what type of Life Cycle Model?

a. Generic Project Life Cycle b. Research & Development (R&D) Project Life Cycle c. Construction Project Life Cycle d. DMAIC Project Life Cycle b.

What two project dimensions are components of project performance?

a. Goals and objectives b. Scope and quality c. Time and cost d. Resources and risk b.

Acceptable behaviors adopted by a project team to improve working relationships, effectiveness and communication are referred to as ____________:

a. Ground rules b. Acceptance criteria c. Negotiations d. Strengths a.

All of the statements below accurately describe what an effective project charter should accomplish, EXCEPT:

a. Helps the project manager, sponsor, and team members develop a common understanding. b. Authorizes the project manager to proceed. c. Provides the detailed project scope, schedule and budget to be completed by the team. d. Quickly screens out obviously poor projects. c.

When teams reach a high performing level, all of the following personal rewards for team members can result, EXCEPT:

a. High spirit and team morale. b. Satisfaction in project accomplishments. c. Pride in performing as an individual. d. Enjoyment of their work c.

The collaborative style for handling conflict has a(n)____ concern for self and a(n) ______ concern for others.

a. High, high b. High, low c. Low, high d. Medium, medium a.

Which of these is NOT an example of types of projects that the organization might include in their portfolio of projects?

a. High-and low-risk projects b. Short and long-term projects c. Projects with positive and negative net present value (NPV) d. Projects to create new products and projects to incrementally improve existing products c.

Once it is clear who is responsible for each activity, the demands for each resource at each time period can be added and shown in a resource _________.

a. Histogram b. Breakdown Structure c. Management Plan d. Schedule a.

A typical question to be asked about project progress against the planned schedule milestones might include: "How many resource types are required and _____________?"

a. How much will they cost? b. Are they external or internal to the organization? c. What skill sets do they need? d. Are they available? d.

A Staffing Management Plan addresses all of the areas below EXCEPT:

a. How to identify potential internal and/or external human resources for the project. b. How to determine the availability of the internal and/or external human resources for the project c. How to handle timing issues with regard to building up, developing, rewarding, and releasing the project team. d. How to record resource assignments in a project scheduling tool such as MS Project. d.

Contractor companies might perform a quick SWOT analysis prior to bidding on a potential project, including all of the considerations below EXCEPT:

a. How well the potential project meets contractor objectives b. Risks of pursuing vs. not pursuing the project c. Weighted score for the project d. The contractor's capability to perform the work if awarded c.

What is the first step in developing a project scope management plan?

a. Identify stakeholders. b. Create a Work Breakdown Structure. c. Create a project Scope Statement. d. Collect requirements. a.

Which of these is NOT a typical section in a change request form?

a. Impact on project scope. b. Impact on budget. c. Impact on other projects. d. Impact on deadline dates c.

Which of the following is NOT a format that is typically used to represent a Work Breakdown Structure?

a. Indented outline b. Requirements Traceability Matrix c. Free format d. Hierarchical or "org chart" b.

The most widely accepted financial model for selecting projects is _________:

a. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) b. Net Present Value (NPV) c. Payback Period (PP) d. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) b.

The benefit of performing a sensitivity analysis while using a scoring model to choose projects is:

a. It examines at all project risk factors / variables at once. b. It identifies the opportunity costs associated with the project. c. It shows the urgency of different project priorities. d. It allows management to examine what would happen to a decision if factors were to change d.

A basic Gantt Chart can be helpful in project planning in all of these ways EXCEPT:

a. It provides a visual representation of the project schedule b. It is easy to understand when each activity should be performed c. It shows the critical path activities in red or boldface d. It shows predecessor-successor relationships, late start dates, etc. d.

If an activity on the critical path falls behind schedule, what effect will this have on the entire project?

a. It will not have an effect on the project if the critical path activity has free float b. It will only have an effect on its successor activity, not the entire project c. It will increase the length of the entire project by the amount of schedule slippage for the activity d. It will not have an effect on the project if the critical path activity has total float

During the selection and initiating stage of a major office construction project, Sarah was named the project manager. She and her team took the rough high-level information from the project charter and used it as a guideline for preparing detailed project plans. They documented all required deliverables, prepared a detailed schedule and budget, and created other detailed plans that encompassed processes for all of the 10 PMBOK® Knowledge Areas. Before starting the work, they obtained final sign-off on their plan documents. What life cycle was being used by Sarah and the team?

a. Iterative b. Agile c. Predictive d. Scrum c.

Managing a virtual project team presents challenges, as different countries have different communications preferences. Which countries prefer communication via continual phone updates with written backup?

a. Japan, Taiwan and Brazil b. Hungary and India c. The Netherland and Germany d. Australia, United States, Canada, New Zealand United Kingdom, and Sweden. d.

All of these are typical relationship sources of conflict EXCEPT:

a. Lack of commitment b. Next project assignment c. Technical approach d. Roles and responsibilities c.

The schedule activity that follows a predecessor activity, as determined by their logical relationship, is called a ________.

a. Lag b. Predecessor activity c. Lead d. Successor activity d.

If a painted room must dry for four hours before work can continue, the result is a delay in the successor activity. The wait for paint to dry is an example of a __________.

a. Lead b. Lag c. Mandatory dependency d. Discretionary dependency b.

Which of these is NOT one of the actions that should be completed during the Two-Pass Method of determining the critical path?

a. List all of the paths through the network b. Complete the backward pass through the network c. Complete the forward pass through the network d. Calculate float and the critical path a.

All of these are tasks that comprise the "define scope" process EXCEPT:

a. List deliverables and acceptance criteria. b. Establish project boundaries. c. Create a scope description. d. Identify work packages. d.

Project Manager, Functional Manager, and Facilitator are all what type of traditional project management roles?

a. Managerial Roles b. Executive Roles c. Associate Roles d. Steering Team Roles a.

Which of the following statements regarding project life cycles is most accurate?

a. Many different project life cycle models are used for different types of projects. b. All research and development projects use the same four-stage project life cycle model. c. Project life cycles are very similar regardless of the industry. d. The project life cycle is the same for the diverse types of projects managed by an organization. a.

Stakeholders are defined as ____________.

a. Members of the project team who are responsible for creating project deliverables. b. "Senior managers who serve in a formal role given authority and responsibility for successful completion of a project deemed strategic to an organization's success." c. People and groups who can impact the project or might be impacted by the work of or results of the project. d. Project customers who define the characteristics of the product scope and provide the requirements for the project deliverables. c.

The first draft of which two sections of the charter should be provided by the sponsor or the leadership team?

a. Milestone Schedule with Acceptance Criteria b. Scope Overview and Business Case Instructions c. Resources Needed Instructions and Stakeholder List d. Signatures and Commitment Instructions b.

What are the four columns in a milestone schedule?

a. Milestone, Money, People, Space b. Milestone, Stakeholder, Priority, Interest in Project c. Milestone, Completion Date, Stakeholder Judge, Acceptance Criteria d. Milestone, Risk Event, Risk Owner, Risk Response Plan c.

An organization's ______ is a one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization's or program's work.

a. Mission b. Strategy c. Vision d. Beliefs c.

The first part of setting strategic direction for an organization is to analyze the external and internal environments by preparing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Once the SWOT is complete, the next step is to create a clear and compelling statement describing the inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization's work, called a __________.

a. Mission Statement b. Vision Statement c. Triple Bottom Line Statement d. Business Case b.

All but one of these is a type of resource that might be included in the Resources Needed section of the charter. Which type of resource would typically NOT be included?

a. Money b. Office Supplies c. People d. Space b.

Financial analysis is a common approach for determining which projects are selected. In which financial model does a person calculate how many years would be required to recover the initial project investment?

a. Net Present Value (NPV) b. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) c. Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR) d. Payback Period (PP) d.

Should a virtual team also meet in person?

a. No; the additional expense of arranging for all team members to meet in a central location is prohibitive. b. No; with the availability and diversity of technology methods available, it should not be necessary to physically bring team members together one time. c. Yes; the team should meet in person at every major project milestone. d. Yes; the team should meet in person once, at the beginning of the project. d.

What will happen to a project's schedule if there are resource overloads and the critical path is delayed?

a. Nothing will happen to the project's schedule if the critical path is delayed. b. The project's schedule will slip only if the float / slack period for the critical path activities is not enough to resolve the resource overload issue. c. The project's schedule will slip only if the float / slack period for the noncritical activities is not enough to resolve the resource overload issue. d. There is never a delay in the critical path, because it is the longest path through the network. c.

Tracy is working with the project sponsor to create the project charter for a small to medium sized project. In the Milestone Schedule with Acceptance Criteria section of the project charter, how many intermediate milestones should she and the team include?

a. One or two b. Three or four c. Three to Eight d. Ten to Twenty c.

All of the following represent common methods for making decisions on contemporary project teams EXCEPT:

a. One or two team members recommend or make the decision. b. The project manager or sponsor makes the decision. c. The steering team reviews the project data and makes the decision. d. The project team votes to make the decision. c.

A project charter is similar to a contract in many ways, but there are some differences between the two documents. How are project charters different from contracts?

a. One party cannot arbitrarily change a contract, whereas the project sponsor does have the authority to change the charter. b. Contracts and project charters are entered into freely. c. In both a project charter and a contract there is something of value for both parties. d. Both the charter and contract are living documents that can evolve with changing conditions. a.

Team operating principles are sometimes included in a project charter to enhance team performance. Which of the following statements accurately describes the value of establishing team operating principles?

a. Operating principles describe the specific work each team member will perform. b. Operating principles are especially helpful for a routine project where participants have worked together before. c. Operating principles increase team effectiveness and ensure that all parties are aware of what is expected. d. Operating principles identify the rules along with the punishments to be administered when the rules are broken. c.

Project management is best described as including administrative tasks for planning, documenting and controlling work, as well as __________.

a. Operational tasks to ensure that the operations of the organization continue to function effectively. b. Leadership tasks for visioning, motivating, and promoting work associates. c. Political tasks for managing customers and business partners. d. Strategy development tasks that will be used in project selection. b.

Which of these is NOT one of the three time estimates that is used in a Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) formula?

a. Optimistic b. Median c. Pessimistic d. Most likely b.

A typical question to be asked about project progress against the planned schedule milestones might include: "What would happen if a delivery of a material was __________?"

a. Ordered from a new vendor b. One week late c. More expensive than planned d. Lower quality than specified b.

All of these would typically be included in a mission statement EXCEPT:

a. Organization's core values b. Organization's beliefs c. Organization's financial goals d. Organization's customers c.

The overall project is considered to be the first level of the WBS. All of the following methods can be used to organize the second level of the WBS EXCEPT

a. Organized by work function./ subproject b. Organized by design components / deliverables. c. Organized by activities and tasks d. Organized by project phase. c.

On some projects, if members from a supplier company and/or representatives from the customer have a desk in the project workspace, this is referred to as ___________.

a. Outsourcing b. Matrix organization c. Agile d. Co-location d.

Which of these is NOT a technique for reducing the critical path and compressing a project's schedule?

a. Overlap sequential activities using finish-to-finish (FF), start-to-start (SS), or start-to-finish (SF) relationships. b. Perform a forward pass and a backward pass through the network. c. Shorten activities by assigning more resources (crashing). d. Schedule activities that are normally in sequence at the same time (fast tracking). b.

Project managers must often face the challenge of compressing the project schedule. All of the following actions can be taken to reduce the duration of the critical path EXCEPT:

a. Partially overlap sequential activities by using time leads. b. Use the float in critical path activities c. Reduce the project scope and /or quality. d. Overlap sequential activities using finish-to-finish, start-to-start, or start-to-finish relationships. b.

Which of these is NOT a disadvantage of using a financial model for project evaluation and selection?

a. Payback period (PP) models do not consider the amount of profit that may be generated after the costs are paid. b. BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) does not account for intangible benefits and costs that cannot be determined in financial terms. c. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) can favor smaller projects that create less total value for the firm but have high percentage returns. d. Use of financial models ensures that selected projects make sense from a cost and return on investment perspective. d.

What is the potential downside to bringing project workers into a project too early?

a. People don't like being told what to do, but are usually enthusiastic if they can participate in creating the project plan. b. When the people who perform the work help to plan it, many more details may be considered. c. Bringing SMEs on board before they are needed to complete the project could be expensive. d. For external projects, it is common to list the specific workers who will be assigned to a project team in the proposal. c.

What is a disadvantage of assigning core team members and Subject Matter Experts (SME) to a project as early as possible?

a. People don't like to be told what to do, but are usually enthusiastic when given the chance to help create the project plan. b. If highly experienced people are brought in before they are needed to complete project activities, this can be expensive. c. When experienced people participate in creating the project plan, the plan is often more detailed and realistic. d. Securing experienced workers early ensures they will be available when needed. b.

If several projects have close scores as the result of a scoring model, what can be done to break the virtual tie?

a. Perform a sensitivity analysis to examine what would happen to the decision if factors changed b. Use a cost-benefit model to select projects c. Use a SWOT analysis to select projects d. Prepare a business case a.

Scope definition is a critical part of project planning. Which of these PMBOK Knowledge Areas does NOT use the defined scope as the foundation for their planning processes?

a. Plan Cost Management. b. Plan Schedule Management. c. Identify Stakeholders. d. Plan Risk Management. c.

The "process of developing a plan that includes the total scope of what needs to be done and what is excluded from the project" is:

a. Plan Scope Management b. Collect Requirements c. Define Scope d. Create WBS a.

Which of the Project Management Institute's (PMI) five planning processes for time management is described as "determining the predecessor and successor relationships among the project activities?"

a. Plan schedule management b. Define activities c. Sequence activities d. Estimate activity durations c.

Which of the five project management process groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing) defines a new project or phase by obtaining authorization?

a. Planning b. Initiating c. Executing d. Monitoring & Controlling b.

Project managers need two types of abilities to resource a project effectively and efficiently: Technical and _________ abilities.

a. Political b. Organizational c. Behavioral d. Information systems c.

A ______ is a "group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually."

a. Portfolio b. Program c. Subproject d. Mission b.

___________ is a technique in which the scheduled activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are performed.

a. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) b. Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) c. Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) d. Critical Path Method (CPM) a.

The ________ facilitates the process of integrating project plans for time, resources, and scope.

a. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) b. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) c. Gantt Chart d. Project Charter b.

When estimating resource needs, it is wise to include time to communicate between activities as well as time to perform activities - those _____ that occur when one person or group passes work on to another group.

a. Predecessor activities b. Closing activities c. Handoffs d. Conversations c.

The project life cycle where project teams plan in short bursts (generally of one to four weeks), often called sprints or iterations, is referred to as

a. Predictive, plan-driven project life cycle b. Process improvement life cycle c. Adaptive, change-driven project life cycle d. Construction project life cycle c.

Examples of these types of project selection criteria include government regulations and clear safety or security situations.

a. Probability of success b. Expected return on investment c. Mandatory criteria d. Project fit with organizational objectives c.

_________ is the work required to be performed for delivering a product, service or result with the required features and functions.

a. Product Scope b. Work Breakdown Structure c. Scope Management Plan d. Project Scope d.

________ is "a technique used to determine the amount of scheduling flexibility (float) on various logical network paths in the project schedule network, and to determine the minimum total project duration."

a. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) b. Critical Path Method (CPM) c. Polaris d. Special Program Office (SPO b.

The processes to receive and review change proposals and accept or reject them after evaluating their impact on project scope, cost and schedule is managed through _________:

a. Progressive elaboration. b. Change control system. c. Rolling wave planning. d. Meetings with key stakeholders b.

Which of the following statements correctly describes project management?

a. Project management uses knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet stakeholder needs and expectations b. Project management only relies upon checklists to plan and execute the work. c. Project management's goal is to maintain efficiency of ongoing operations. d. Project management should not involve tradeoffs between scope, schedule and cost. a.

Projects differ from operations, in that:

a. Project managers can use checklists to manage their work. b. Only projects are associated with processes. c. Projects are temporary, and no two are identical. d. Projects are associated with the ongoing work needed to ensure that an organization functions effectively. c.

While the term project charter is a widely used standard, some organizations use other names. Which of the below would NOT be an alternative name for a project charter?

a. Project preplanning form b. Project submission form c. Project request d. Detailed project management plan d.

The series of phases that a project goes through from its initiation to its closure are referred to as the ____________.

a. Project processes b. Project schedule c. Project life cycle d. Project management plan c.

This is defined as an incremental increase in the work of a project without corresponding adjustments to resources, budget or schedule.

a. Project scope b. Product scope c. Risk trigger d. Scope creep d.

Which of these activities is NOT the responsibility of the steering team?

a. Project selection and prioritization b. Sponsor selection c. Overall priority setting d. Mentor project manager, charter project d.

For a construction project, the house is the _______ deliverable, and the how-to instructions are the _____ deliverable.

a. Project, product b. Product, interim c. Product, project d. Functional, non-functional c.

Which of these does NOT describe project work?

a. Projects are temporary and unique. b. Project managers need both "soft" and "hard" skills to be effective. c. Projects go through predictable stages called a life cycle. d. Project managers have all of the power and authority for getting the project done. d.

Jeffrey is the project manager for a new project to design a self-driving automobile for a customer in the automotive industry. He and his team have worked with the customer to identify all of the characteristics the automobile should have to satisfy the customer's stated needs. They have identified the deliverables that will need to be created to meet the requirements and have developed a project schedule that the client has approved. Which of the answers below does NOT describe one of the project constraints that Jeffrey and his team have addressed?

a. Quality b. Scope c. Time d. Resources d.

Which of the ten Knowledge Areas in the PMBOK® is defined as the "processes to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully?"

a. Quality Management b. Human Resource Management c. Risk Management d. Scope Management d.

Which of these is NOT one of the roles of key project stakeholders represented in a RACI Chart?

a. R = Responsible b. A = Accountable c. C = Control d. I = Inform c.

Near the end of the project, timing issues regarding team members must be addressed. Which of the answers below is NOT one of the three "r" end-of-project activities related to project team members?

a. Recognizing team members b. Retrospective meetings with team members c. Releasing team members d. Rewarding team members b.

In a project scoring model, each decision criterion is given a __________.

a. Relative weight b. Relative cost c. Relative benefit d. Statement of work a.

A ________ is a condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective that satisfies a standard or specification or any other formally documented need.

a. Requirement b. Scope c. Work package d. Product, service or result a.

The WBS is a tool that project teams use to progressively divide the __________ of a project into smaller and smaller pieces.

a. Requirements b. Stories c. Deliverables d. Features c.

The _________ is a document that provides detailed information for each work package by providing details about the associated deliverable, activity, scheduling information, predecessor, successor, resources required, risks, etc.

a. Requirements traceability matrix b. Work breakdown structure (WBS) c. WBS dictionary d. Scope statement c.

RAM stands for:

a. Resource Accountability Matrix b. Responsibility Assignment Matrix c. Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform d. Resource Assignment Matrix b.

_____________ is a project execution technique of adjusting the use of resources based on resource availability and the amount of float on activities to accomplish work as soon as possible, given the limited resource availability.

a. Resource Histogram b. Resource Leveling c. Precedence Diagramming Method d. Creating a Lead b.

Once it is obvious that a particular person is overloaded, it is helpful to pinpoint exactly which activities are involved by comparing the __________ to the Gantt Chart schedule for the same time scale.

a. Resource Histogram b. Staffing Management Plan c. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) d. RACI Chart a.

When using _____________ to reduce a project schedule, certain activities are performed at a faster-than-normal pace, and extra charges for overtime pay, expedited deliveries, or more expensive machinery could be incurred.

a. Resource Leveling b. Crashing c. Fast-tracking d. Learning curve b.

Which of the four values in the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct is modeled by the behavior described as "Make decisions and act impartially?"

a. Responsibility b. Honesty c. Respect d. Fairness d.

In which of these types of organizational cultures is it more important to get the job done than to worry about who does the work or who gets credit?

a. Role culture. b. Task culture. c. Personal culture. d. Power culture. b.

Potential problems can occur with activity duration estimating when omissions are made. All of these are potential remedies for this problem EXCEPT:

a. Rolling wave planning b. Checklists, templates, devil's advocate c. Refining scope and WBS d. Lessons learned a.

A ________ is the approved project plan for scope, schedule, and cost that is not altered unless a formal change request is approved.

a. Schedule b. Budget c. Work Breakdown Structure d. Baseline d.

Which of these would NOT be one of the things that may be negotiated between a client company and a contractor company?

a. Schedule b. Quality standards c. Personnel to be assigned to the project d. Source selection criteria d.

The lowest level of a WBS is known as a _________:

a. Schedule activity. b. Requirement c. Work package. d. Deliverable. c.

Effective project managers should develop a number of desired behaviors. One of these behaviors is obtaining a deep understanding of stakeholder wants and needs, determining true requirements, and learning if proposed changes are essential. Which of the 10 PMBOK Guide® Knowledge Areas does this reflect?

a. Scope b. Time c. Communications d. Stakeholders a.

Uncontrolled change is known as:

a. Scope creep. b. Over budget condition. c. Missed schedule milestones. d. Quality issues. a.

All of these are advantages of using a scoring model for selecting projects EXCEPT:

a. Scoring models are useful whenever there are multiple projects and several criteria to be considered. b. Scoring models help ensure alignment with the organization's strategic goals. c. By comparing expected project costs to expected benefits, scoring models can be used to make project investment decisions. d. Scoring models can define mandatory decision criteria for project selection. c.

At what stage of the project life cycle are the majority of the "hands-on" tasks completed?

a. Selecting and initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Closing and realizing c.

The Chief Projects Officer (CPO) ensures that the steering team does all of these EXCEPT:

a. Selects a manageable set of projects to be implemented b. Identifies potential projects during strategic planning c. Selects appropriate project sponsors and teams d. Approves the project charter d.

According to PMI, after planning schedule management, the next process in project time management is to ___________.

a. Sequence activities b. Define activities c. Estimate activity durations d. Develop schedule b.

Which of these is NOT an advantage of a projectized organization?

a. Shorter response time. b. Enhanced project team identity. c. Clear career path for professionals. d. Customer focus. c.

Because it is the ______ sequence of activities, the critical path determines the _______ possible end date of the project.

a. Shortest, earliest b. Longest, latest c. Longest, earliest d. Shortest, latest c.

Which of these is NOT part of the organization's Triple Bottom Line?

a. Social b. Environmental c. Economic d. Operational d.

________ serve(s) as a moral compass to guide us and provide a frame of reference to set priorities and determine right and wrong.

a. Social rituals b. Work ethics c. Values d. Symbols c.

When using Reverse Phase Scheduling, the __________ develops the schedule.

a. Sponsor b. Customer c. Project Manager d. Team d.

With whom may the project manager and team need to negotiate when creating the charter?

a. Sponsor b. Leadership Team c. Core Team d. Functional Manager a.

The project charter is formally presented to the ________ for approval.

a. Sponsor b. Project Management Office (PMO) c. Steering / Leadership Team d. Project Manager a.

A ________ is a proposal focused on acquiring, developing and retaining human resources for as long as you need them on the project.

a. Staffing Management Plan b. Project Charter c. Business Case d. Statement of Work a.

A _____________ is defined as grouping all resources into main categories in level one and populating each main category with resources based on either function or skill level.

a. Staffing Management Plan b. Stakeholder Register c. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) d. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) d.

Which of the information below would NOT be part of a milestone schedule?

a. Stakeholder Judge b. Assumptions and Constraints c. Completion Date d. Acceptance Criteria b.

Management of the marketing department has decreed that the results of the previous marketing campaign must be reviewed and evaluated before work on the next marketing campaign can begin. What type of dependency does this illustrate?

a. Start-to-start b. Start-to-finish c. Finish-to-finish d. Finish-to-start d.

Which of these four most common types of logical dependencies would be represented by the situation "the carton must be sealed and labelled before the package can be shipped?"

a. Start-to-start (SS) b. Start-to-finish (SF) c. Finish-to-start (FS) d. Finish-to-finish (FF) c.

A professor who always grades on a curve cannot finish scoring the midterm exams until all of the students have completed taking the test. What kind of relationship is this?

a. Start-to-start (SS) b. Start-to-finish (SF) c. Finish-to-start (FS) d. Finish-to-finish (FF) d.

Which of the following executive roles is responsible for overall priority setting, project selection and prioritization, general guidance and encouragement?

a. Steering Team b. Sponsor c. Project Management Office d. Chief Projects Officer a.

During which stage of team development do team members often feel close to one another and have a good understanding of how to work together?

a. Storming b. Norming c. Forming d. Performing d.

Which of the following statements concerning strategic analysis is true?

a. Strategic analysis focuses exclusively upon external analysis. b. External analysis focuses on the threats and opportunities facing the organization. c. External analysis focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. d. Internal analysis focuses on the threats and opportunities facing the organization. b.

_______ are the small group of people who are on the project from start to finish, and who jointly with the project manager may make decisions and carry out many project activities.

a. Subject matter experts b. Facilitators c. Sponsors d. Core team members d.

In order to be useful as schedule building blocks, activities should have certain characteristics. Which of these is NOT one of the characteristics that an activity should have?

a. Tangible output that can be verified b. It is the element at the lowest level of the WBS and has a deliverable associated with it c. Resources, other costs, and schedule that can be estimated and controlled d. Clear starting and ending points b.

From a behavioral perspective, the project charter reflects a common understanding between the ________ and the project manager.

a. Team b. Sponsor c. Functional Manager d. Program Manager b.

Sarah, an experienced project manager, took over a troubled project that had serious performance and morale issues. She called the team together and stressed that all team members should keep each other informed, demonstrate that they value each other's input, share feelings, and respect confidentiality. With these new group norms Sarah was establishing ________ between team members.

a. Team charter b. Open and transparent communications c. Legitimate communications d. Referent communications b.

Which of these would NOT be a benefit of creating a project charter?

a. Teamwork develops. b. The team doesn't have to worry about whether management will accept a decision and can focus on the project plan. c. The sponsor is less likely to unilaterally change the original agreement. d. The team can immediately get started with executing the project based on the details in the charter. d.

Which of the following statements correctly describes a weakness associated with the financial project selection model?

a. The Net Present Value (NPV) method does not consider the time value of money. b. The benefit-to-cost models favor projects which generate the smallest absolute return over a specified period. c. The Internal Rate of Return (IRR) method is difficult to use when a project has conventional cash flows. d. Payback period models do not consider the profit to be realized after the costs are paid. d.

Which of these is NOT one of the three ways to organize a WBS?

a. The WBS is organized by PMBOK Knowledge Area. b. The WBS is organized by project phase. c. The WBS is organized by design components / deliverables. d. The WBS is organized by work function / subproject. a.

Adding a background section to a project charter would be helpful in what way?

a. The background statement is the project purpose or justification, and answers the question "why"? b. The background statement represents the knowledge acquired by the project team throughout the project planning and execution. c. The background statement provides more detail to understand the rationale and purpose behind the Scope Overview and the Business Case statements. d. The background statement establishes what project team operating principles they will use. c.

The project manager and sponsor need to act in the best interest of all of these constituencies EXCEPT:

a. The project itself b. The project team c. The project management office (PMO) d. Other project stakeholders c.

Why is it important to involve workers in the planning phase of a project when possible?

a. The project manager needs to know what vacation days they plan to take. b. Project plans are only accurate when the team does all of the planning. c. People are more likely to be enthusiastic about performing work they helped to plan. d. During the planning phase the project manager needs to determine if the team members will work well together. c.

All of these could be common causes of scope creep EXCEPT:

a. The project scope is not clearly defined and agreed upon. b. The team adds more work to the project without realizing that more time and resources will be required. c. The team defines project and product scope as well as exclusions, constraints and assumptions in a project scope statement. d. A customer is so excited about project progress that they ask for a new not previously requested project deliverable. c.

What does the "Talent Triangle" refer to?

a. The project teams' talent in managing the three constraints of scope, time and cost. b. The interaction of the three executive-level roles on the project: Sponsor, Steering Team, and Project Management Office. c. PMI's research findings that project managers need skills and knowledge in three areas: Technical, Behavioral, and Strategic. d. The hierarchy of project management life cycles, knowledge areas and process groups. c.

Which of these is NOT an indication that the project has been a success?

a. The project was completed on schedule and on budget b. The project created deliverables that included all of the agreed-upon features c. The organization realized business-level benefits d. The project team overcame the lack of user involvement and met most of the success criteria d.

Whom should the project manager consult if there is a severe resource overload and they are considering alternative actions such as reducing the project scope, assigning activities to other workers, splitting activities, reordering activities or resource leveling?

a. The resources who are involved. b. The project sponsor. c. The scrum master. d. The customer. b.

When people are arguing over a decision, it would be helpful to bring out the team charter. Which of these is NOT a reason for referring to the team charter when disagreements arise?

a. The team charter defines the desirable norms for how members are expected to work together on project activities. b. The team charter specifies personal behavior expectations for team members. c. The team charter defines attitudinal expectations for resolving conflict and teamwork. d. The team charter contains the project scope overview, which is used to distinguish between what the project will and will not do. d.

The rough draft of the project charter is typically written by _______.

a. The team. b. The project manager. c. The project sponsor. d. The key stakeholders. b.

Which of these is NOT a typical situation for creating a project schedule milestone?

a. Time just before a large amount of money needs to be committed to the project b. Time for weekly project meetings c. Merging point in the schedule where multiple project activities need to be completed d. Completion of a critical activity b.

All of these are advantages of using a WBS EXCEPT:

a. To encourage a systematic planning process. b. To ensure all dates assigned to schedule activities are within the overall project timeline. c. To reduce the possibility of omission of key elements. d. To simplify the project by dividing it into manageable units. b.

Nikhil is the project manager for a consulting company that is performing a project for a client. Which reason below best explains why it is important for him to understand the cultures of both organizations?

a. To facilitate effective project communications and decision making. b. To understand the standards, policies, and procedures of the client site where he will be working. c. To understand how well the client's organization supports project management. d. To understand if the client organization is viewed by others as being true to its values. a.

_________ is the total number of work periods (not including holidays or other nonwork periods) required to complete a schedule activity, usually expressed as workdays or workweeks.

a. Total elapsed time b. Duration c. Normal time d. Milestone b.

______ is defined as "the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of immediately following schedule activities."

a. Total float b. Lag time c. Free float d. Lead time c.

Personal values of individual team members can contribute to team performance. Which of these is NOT one of the personal values that can contribute to a high performing team?

a. Understanding and acceptance of personal responsibility. b. Ability to put their own needs above those for the project. c. Willingness to consider alternative views and to change. d. High need for achievement. b.

Under which circumstances might a project manager or sponsor retain the right to make a project decision?

a. When they want all team members involved in making the decision. b. When the decision requires a higher authority. c. When not enough information is available and they are pressed for time. d. When they plan to use voting to test for agreement. b.

When crashing a project schedule, the two questions to be asked when deciding which activities to speed up are ________ and _________.

a. Which activities have float, and which activity costs the least on a per-day basis to speed up? b. Are my most skilled resources available, and which activities are on the critical path? c. Which activities are on the critical path, and which critical path activity costs the least on a per-day basis to speed up? d. Which activities can I overlap by using time leads, and which work packages can I remove to reduce project scope? c.

All of the following are advantages associated with managing projects in a projectized organization EXCEPT:

a. Workers know they will still have a job when they finish work on a project. b. Departmental barriers are reduced. c. One boss - the project manager d. Response times and decision making are swift. a.

This document summarizes why the project is important by describing the benefits of a selected component, and is used as a basis for authorizing further project management activities:

a. business case b. SWOT analysis c. program management plan d. guiding principle a.

The method of dividing the project scope into many parts that, when combined, would constitute the project deliverable is called _____:

a. collect requirements b. decomposition c. rolling wave planning d. requirements traceability b.

Achieving project success is determined by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. completing the project on schedule and on budget b. creating deliverables that include all required features c. involving only important key stakeholders d. providing outputs that please the project's customers c.

Milestones are important points in a project schedule that can serve as check points for project managers and sponsors. Which of the following could be a reason to identify a milestone during project schedule planning?

a. completion of the WBS b. weekly team status meetings c. completion of a major deliverable d. signing of the project charter c.

A _______ is the approved project plan mainly consisting of scope, schedule, and cost that is not normally altered unless a formal change control request is approved for modifying these plans.

a. component. b. requirement. c. baseline. d. benchmark. c.

Which of the following styles of handling conflict is most appropriate whenever there is enough time, trust can be established, the issue is important to both sides and buy-in is needed?

a. compromising b. collaborating / problem solving c. smoothing / accommodating d. forcing / competing b.

All of the following are among the methods project managers can use to develop individual and team capabilities EXCEPT:

a. demand situational leadership b. demonstrate personal leadership c. utilize coercive powers d. teach personal responsibility c.

In an adaptive or change - driven project life cycle:

a. early results lead into planning later work. b. the product is well understood. c. the waterfall approach is commonly used. d. all planning precedes all executing. a.

This term is defined as the total number of work periods (not including holidays or other non-work periods) required to complete a schedule activity, usually expressed as workdays or workweeks:

a. effort b. elapsed time c. duration d. resource days c.

Which of the following responses identifies a common type of logical dependency used to sequence project activities?

a. first-in; first-out b. finish-to-start c. last-in; first-out d. last-in; last-out b.

During which stage of team development do team members attempt to jockey for power, ask many questions and establish dubious goals?

a. forming b. norming c. storming d. performing c.

Which of the following organizational structures runs contrary to the unity of command principle - that each employee works for a single supervisor?

a. functional organization b. matrix organization c. siloed organization d. projectized organization b.

A project sponsor is wise not to sign a project charter authorizing work until the project manager and team show that they have ____:

a. gathered requirements from key stakeholders. b. reviewed lessons learned from recently completed projects in order to avoid similar mistakes. c. learned to work together well. d. prepared a comprehensive schedule and budget. b.

Some organizational culture characteristics make project success more likely. These characteristics include all of the following EXCEPT:

a. lack of appreciation for project management b. engagement of stakeholders c. teamwork across cultures d. collaboration to meet organizational goals a.

When trying to understand a corporate culture, it is helpful to understand the types of power that are used. In "power cultures":

a. more deference is paid to knowledge than to formal authority. b. supervisors exert a great deal of economic and political power. c. display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating. d. workers closely follow their appointed roles. b.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the responsibilities typically associated with the development of the project charter?

a. more often than not, the project manager writes the draft project charter. b. the customer typically prepares and signs the charter. c. the project manager typically prepares the business case and scope overview. d. the project sponsor typically prepares the detailed first draft of the charter. a.

________ between a client company and a contractor company should aim at a win-win solution, and the outcome must benefit both the parties involved.

a. negotiations b. selections c. meetings d. conflicts a.

A clear and compelling vision will have all the following characteristics EXCEPT:

a. often requires several years to achieve. b. provides detailed roadmap for managing a project c. often requires extra effort to achieve. d. helps all stakeholders understand the direction of the organization b.

Projects are considered successful for all of the reasons below EXCEPT:

a. organizational learning takes place and is captured for future projects b. members of the team learn new skills and/or refine existing skills c. the team has used heroics to meet project objectives d. the performing organization reaps business-level benefits. c.

Which of these is NOT among the common task-related sources of project conflict?

a. personalities b. priorities c. technical approach d. schedule a.

Which of the following responses most accurately depicts the correct sequence of activities in the strategic planning process?

a. strategic analysis - guiding principles - strategic objectives - flow-down objectives b. guiding principles - strategic objectives - flow-down objectives - strategic analysis c. guiding principles - strategic analysis - strategic objectives - flow-down objectives d. strategic objectives - strategic analysis - guiding principles - flow-down objectives a.

A common tool project teams use is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). Typically, this chart will depict:

a. the hierarchical organizational reporting structure. b. the duration of each activity. c. all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package. d. the early start and early finish, and late start and late finish, of each schedule activity. c.

The project charter grants the project team the right to:

a. write a detailed business case b. create a detailed project plan c. develop the project mission statement d. begin project execution b.

Why is scope definition an important part of project planning?

all other planning is based on the project scope vital in preventing scope creep

Unity of Command

all workers understand clearly what they need to do because only one "boss" is giving them instructions

Critical Chain Method

an alternate scheduling technique that modifies project schedule by taking resource constraints into account

Work package

an element at the lowest level of a WBS

Popular Project Selection Tool

an evaluation model based on selection criteria based on project attributes, organizational indices, financial performance attributes, and strategic goals

Co-location

an organizational technique in which the project team members are moved to alternate locations (either full time or only for parts of days) to allow them to better work with one another, and on the project in general.

Risk

an uncertain situation that could negatively or positively affect the project if it occurs

Matrix Organization

any organization in which the project manager or project team leader actually shares responsibility for the project with a number of individual functional managers

Program Management

applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet requirements and to obtain predetermined benefits. It is a systematic approach of aligning multiple components of the program to achieve the program goals while optimizing the integrated cost, schedule, and effort required to execute the program

Plan Schedule Management

arranging how to develop, manage, execute, and control the project schedule

Requirement

attribute that needs to be present in order to satisfy a contract, client, or other stakeholder; a condition or capability needed by a user to solve a problem or achieve an objective that satisfies a standard, a specification, or any other formally documented need

How does the sponsor help behind the scenes as the project progresses?

by obtaining resources, removing roadblocks, making high-level decisions, and interfacing between the project core team and the executive team

Classifying by Timing of Project Scope Clarity

deals with how early in the project the project manager and team are likely to be able to determine with a high degree of certainty what the project scope will be

What are the two parts of establishing project boundaries?

decide which features and work elements are included (in scope) and which are excluded (out of scope) manage expectations regarding any project

What is the first step in the iterative process of developing a project schedule?

define major milestones

Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)

defined as grouping all resources into main categories in level one and populating each main category with resources based on either function or skill level

Sequence activities

determine the logical order in which they can be accomplished

What happens after a leadership team agrees on a list of important criteria?

determine whether any of the criteria are mandatory

Sequence Activities

determining the predecessor and successor relationships among the project activities

What do you. do after potential projects are identified?

develop a brief description of each

What does the WBS help do?

develop an optimum project schedule and cost estimates at the work element level

Reverse phase schedule

developed by the people closest to the work (often either the hands-on workers or the forepersons who directly supervise work) by starting with the final project deliverables and continually asking what needs to be completed prior to starting work on this deliverable

What should be included in common understanding of the project?

includes at least the broad justification for the project, how it aligns with the goals of the parent organization, determination of what is included and excluded in the project scope, rough schedule, success measures, major risks, rough estimate of resource needs, and stakeholders. On larger and more complex projects, additional understanding may be required at this point. Small, simple projects may use a simplified single-page charter.

Nonfunctional Requirements

includes requirements such as scalability, reliability, maintainability, and testability.

A WBS usually has one or more intermediate levels, which generally represent items that need to be created to produce the final deliverables, such as drafts, prototypes, and designs and are frequently called __________

interim deliverables

Step 1 of Negotiation Processes

involves advance fact finding to determine what is needed from the negotiation. This includes seeking to understand both what the sponsor is likely to want and how he or she may act during the negotiations.

What is a practical rule of dividing the deliverables?

keep dividing the project until it no longer can be divided realistically

What are some unique responsibilities of program managers?

leading program activities in a coordinated way, communicating with internal and external stakeholders, resolving cost, scope, schedule, risk, and quality across all projects with shared governance, and managing external and internal factors such as culture and socioeconomic issues.

Fairness

make decisions and act impartially

When members get to share in ____________, they feel their insight is valued

meaningful project learning

ready, fire, aim

not planning at all because of fear that planning will take too long

Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR)

obtained by dividing the cash flow by the initial cash outlay.

Assumptions Log

often created as a living document to record all assumptions and the findings of whether they proved to be true or false

Steering or Leadership Team

often the top leader (CEO or other officer) and his or her direct reports; to select, prioritize, and resource projects in accordance with the organization's strategic planning and to ensure that accurate progress is reported and necessary adjustments are made.

Step 2 of Negotiation Processes

or the project manager to understand the bottom line. What is the minimum acceptable result? Just as when buying a car, a project manager needs to understand when to walk away. This can vary a great deal depending on how much power each party has. The sponsor is likely to have more power. However, project managers need to understand that if they have the power and take advantage of their negotiation partner, that partner may not work with them on a future project. Therefore, the goal is not to always drive the hardest bargain, but to drive a fair bargain.

What are the three only-customer tasks?

prioritizing the project need, carefully selecting a good contractor, and killing the project if necessary

Portfolio

projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic business objectives

Review of Project Life Cycle

selecting, selection, initiating, charter, planning, kickoff, executing, project result, closing, administrative closure, realizing, benefits realized

Classifying by Application

software development, new product development, equipment installation

Functional Manager

someone with management authority over an organizational unit

Requirements of deliverables are often translated into what?

specifications so that the deliverable can be validated, qualified by measurable conditions, and bounded by constraints

Crashing

speeding up the critical path, often by adding additional resources or employing existing resources for longer hours and/or more days per week; increases cost

Portfolio Management

the centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.

Late finish date (LF)

the latest possible point in time when a schedule activity can finish based upon the network logic, the project completion date, and any constraints

Start-to-finish (SF)

the logical relationship where completion of the successor schedule activity is dependent upon the initiation of the predecessor schedule activity.

Finish-to-finish (FF)

the logical relationship where completion of work of the successor activity cannot finish until the completion of work of the predecessor activity

Strategic Objectives

the means of achieving the mission and vision

What does the vision statement lead to?

the mission statement

Visions are often multiyear goals that suggest __________ once acheived

the need for a new vision

Develop Schedule

the process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule

Estimate Activity Durations

the process of approximating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources

Acquire Project Team

the process of confirming human resource availability and obtaining the team necessary to complete project assignments

Plan Scope Managment

the process of developing a plan that includes the total scope of what needs to be done and what is excluded from the project, implementation and validation of the scope, and control deviations from the scope statement

Plan Resource Management

the process of identifying resources and required skills for the project, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities to all the resources, developing a reporting hierarchy, and communicating expectations.

Control Schedule

the process of regulating changes to the project schedule

Manage Project Team

the process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and coordinating changes to optimize project performance

Define Scope

the process of translating stakeholder needs and requirements into detailed specifications of the project outcomes and products. Essentially, the project scope statement includes three things regarding the total scope

success activity

the schedule activity that follows a predecessor activity, as determined by their logical relationship

What are the advantages of the projectized form of organization?

traditional department barriers are reduced The project manager is responsible for communications, response times and decision making tend to be swift Co-location often results in enhanced project team identity as well as trust, collaboration, coordination, strong customer focus, and effective integration of effort on the project

What are the advantages of the functional form of organization?

unity of command, all workers in a discipline report to the same supervisor, workers know that when they finish work on a project, they will still have a job because they will continue to report to the same functional manager

Functional/technical requirements

usually the focus of needs assessment exercises and is centered on performance of the deliverable

What does organization culture consist of?

values, social rituals, symbols, work ethics, organizational behavior, beliefs, and practices that are shared among members of the organization and are taught to new members

Co-located teams

when the members are assigned work spaces near each other or in proximity to each other, such as being in the same building or in another building in the vicinity

appropriate decision making and problem solving

who makes each type of project decision and how those decisions are made

What are the four joint project manger/customer tasks?

writing and signing the project charter, developing clear and detailed requirements, setting up and using project control systems, and conducting a great project kickoff meeting

Internal Analysis

(elements within the project team's control) consists of asking what strengths and weaknesses the organization possesses.

Customer's Success

Needs met, deliverables used, customer satisfied

First 2 Steps of Planning and Initiating Phase

identify potential projects, then prioritizing them

Classifying by Industry

is useful in that projects in different industries often have unique requirements.

Cost Management

processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget

Risk Management

processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, response implementation, and monitoring risk on a project

Communications Management

processes to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and ultimate disposition of project information

Resource Management

processes to identify, acquire, and manage resources needed to successfully complete the project

Quality Management

processes to incorporate the organization's quality policy regarding planning, managing, and controlling quality requirements to meet stakeholder expectations

Schedule Management

processes to manage timely completion of the project

What is the first step in collecting requirements?

to ensure that the project team is clear on the project objectives. This could be accomplished by reviewing the project charter—particularly the "why" section that justifies the project. The project team members then may describe in more depth what each believes the expected project benefits are and/or what problems the project is attempting to overcome.

Project Manager

the person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving the project objectives.

Project Life Cycle

the series of phases that a project goes through from its initiation to its closure

What do Triple Bottom Line Vision Statements emphasize?

the social, environmental, and economic health of the company's stakeholders rather than a narrow emphasis only on the economic return for shareholders.

Compromising

Only when an agreement is unlikely, both sides have equal power, and each is willing to get part of what they want without taking more time

Forcing/Competing

Only when quick decision is necessary, we are sure we are right, and buy-in from others is not needed

Charter Element: Scope overview Business case Background Milestone schedule Success criteria Risks, assumptions, and constraints Resources Stakeholders Team operating principles Lessons learned Signatures and commitment

Answers the Question: What? Why? Why? When? What? Whoa! How much? Who? How? How? Who?

What are the four main purposes of a project charter?

Authorize the project manager to proceed Help the project manager, sponsor, and team members, if any are already assigned, develop a common understanding Help the project manager, sponsor, and team members commit to the spirit of the project Quickly screen out obviously poor projects

What are the advantages of the matrix form of organization?

Because both project and functional managers are involved, there is good visibility into who is working where, and resources can be shared between departments and projects Cooperation between departments can be quite good Lessons learned can be shared effectively between projects Flexibility

Background Statement

Can be any length and is optional for a project charter; provides information that may need to be made known

What are the disadvantages of the functional form of organization?

Can slow down communications when multiple functions need to have input. Can become more complex when organizations have multiple levels of hierarchy within functional divisions and a chain of command must be followed, long communication channels often make for slow decision making and slow response to change Integration becomes difficult and it may lead to frustration and a decrease in motivation and innovation, decisions will tend to favor the strongest functional group or division

Smoothing/Accommodating

Only when we know we are wrong, it is more important to other party, or we are after something bigger later

Seven methods that many project managers find useful are as follows:

Demonstrate personal leadership. Utilize project management tools. Demand situational leadership. Create a desirable team identity. Teach personal responsibility. Develop understanding and respect. Use a learning cycle.

What are the three methods of WBS organization?

Project phase Design components/deliverables Work function/subproject

A variety of actions can be taken to reduce the critical path as follows:

Reduce the project scope and/or quality. Overlap sequential activities using finish-to-finish (FF), start-to-start (SS), or start-to-finish (SF) relationships. Partially overlap sequential activities by using time leads. Increase the number of work hours per day or workdays per week. Schedule activities that are normally in sequence at the same time. Shorten activities by assigning more resources. Shorten activities that cost the least to speed up. Shorten the activity with the least probability of increasing project risk.

Process Trade offs

Scope (size and features), Quality (acceptability of the results), Cost, Schedule, Resources, Risks

Step 6 Negotiation Processes for Team: Clarify and confirm agreements

Agree on key points, summarize, and record all agreements.

Why should project managers and teams look at risks?

Any negative risk that is a threat that may inhibit successful project needs to be identified A positive risk is an opportunity to complete the project better, faster, and/or at lower cost or to capitalize upon the project in additional ways, and a plan should be developed to capitalize upon it Sometimes there is more risk to the organization if the project is not undertaken

What are some questions to ask regarding a firm's ability to support projects?

Do we have the right skills, capabilities, technical knowledge, and resources that are required for potential projects? If we do not have them, can we acquire them easily? Do we have a teamwork attitude, free and open communication, creativity, and empowered decision making? Do we have a clearly defined project management process? Do our associates have the right attitudes, skills, and competencies to use the project management process? Are our leaders at each level willing to take appropriate personal risk? Does senior leadership establish a strong leadership foundation? Do individuals and teams exhibit leadership at their respective levels? Do we monitor and understand our external environment?

2 Traits of project managers

Project managers need certain "soft skills" and "hard skills" to be effective. Project managers frequently have more responsibility than authority.

2 Traits of projects

Projects are temporary and unique, while other work, commonly called operations, is more continuous. Projects go through predictable stages called a life cycle.

Sponsor

a senior manager serving in a formal role given authority and responsibility for successful completion of a project deemed strategic to an organization's success

This element of the project charter can be considered to define the project boundaries - it states what is included and what is not included, at a fairly high level.

a. Business case b. Background c. Scope Overview d. Milestone Schedule with Acceptance Criteria c.

A ________ is a logical relationship between activities that must happen - usually due to a physical or legal demand.

a. Discretionary dependency b. Lead c. Mandatory dependency d. Lag c.

Which of these is NOT an advantage of using Monte Carlo analysis for predicting a project schedule?

a. It allows for more realistic estimates. b. It is flexible, and allows for an entire range of possible time estimates to be used for any activity. c. It uses three time estimates - Optimistic, Pessimistic, and Most Likely. d. It can provide extensive information about individual activities and different paths through the project. c.

Lessons Learned Register

an accumulation of the knowledge gained during previous projects' selection, planning, and executing that can be easily referenced to help with planning and executing future projects

Functional Organization

an organizational structure in which staff is grouped by areas of specialization and the project manager has limited authority to assign work and apply resources." This is the traditional approach in which there are clear lines of authority according to type of work.

First part of setting strategic direction

analyze both the external and internal environments and determine how they will enhance or limit the organization's ability to perform.

Facilitator

another person help the project manager with the process of running meetings and making decisions.

Deliverable

any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

More Sophisticated Project Selection Tool

decision trees, analytical hierarchical process (AHP), expected net present value, and other economic evaluation models are sometimes used for project selection

PMI Talent Triangle

develop knowledge and skills in technical areas, leadership, and strategic business management.

Customer

ensures that a good contractor for external projects or project manager for internal projects is selected, make sure requirements are clear, and maintain communications throughout the project.

Step 3 (and 4) of Negotiation Processes

for the project manager to understand the underlying needs of the sponsor and to share his or her own needs. This is not a 10-second political sound bite that says "take it or leave it." This is developing a real understanding of each other's needs. Once both parties understand what the other really needs, various creative solutions can be developed. This is the essence of Step 4.

Projectized Organization

group employees, collocated or not, by activities on a particular project. The project manager in a projectized structure may have complete, or very close to complete, power over the project team.

Closing and realizing

includes all activities after customer acceptance to ensure the project is completed, lessons are learned, resources are reassigned, contributions are recognized, and benefits are realized.

Four Ways to Classify Projects

industry, size, understanding of project scope, and application.

Methods of Resolving Resource Overloads:

ssign certain activities to other workers. Sometimes an activity can be split into two activities, with the first part being performed as scheduled and the last part delayed. This is often not an attractive strategy because many activities take more total time when split. It also takes people a little time to remember where they left off when they resume work. However, it would be productive if you split an activity into two activities and then execute them in parallel, but with different resources. We will discuss this later in this chapter. Another method of resolving the overloads is to reorder the activities. This may include questioning the logic that was used when creating the schedule. One means of reordering activities, fast tracking, is covered in Section 9.8 on compressing schedules. Sometimes when people understand how badly overloaded a resource is, they realize the need and decide to acquire or borrow additional resources. If a resource is impossibly overloaded, perhaps the project scope needs to be reduced or the schedule needs to be extended. If there is a severe overload and one of the above strategies needs to be employed, it usually makes sense to inform the sponsor. The project manager needs to understand who is overloaded, when the overload occurs, and what activities cause the overload. Good project managers will then be able to determine possible courses of action. However, it may be up to the sponsor to make the final decision on how to resolve the overload. It is often helpful to resource-level the overloaded person's schedule as described below.

Selecting and initiating

starts when an idea for a project first emerges and the project is selected and planned at a high level, and ends when key participants commit to it in broad terms.

Soft Skills

the ability to work in teams, interpersonal skills, communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, and leadership activities.

Project Management

the art and science of using knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques efficiently and effectively to meet stakeholder needs and expectations

Business Case

the benefits of a selected component ... used as a basis for the authorization of further project management activities

Backward Pass

the calculation of late finish dates and late start dates for the uncompleted portions of all schedule activities. Determined by working backward through the schedule network logic from the project's end date.

Quality

the characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.

Product Scope

the entirety of what will be present in the actual project deliverables

What is the second part of aligning projects with the firm's goals?

to identify potential projects

Information Power

Control of information; Frequent, as a large part of a project manager's role is to convey information

Associate Project Roles

Core Team Member, Subject Matter Expert

Meeting Agreements

Cost, schedule, and specifications met

In traditional projects, the sponsor carries out what other role?

Customer

Executive Project Roles

Sponsor, Customer, Steering or Leadership Team, Project Management Office

How does the Voice of Customer (VOC) method help teams understand the customer?

by not only asking questions but also by placing themselves in the customer's situation

Start-to-start (SS)

a logical relationship where initiation of the work of the successor schedule activity depends upon the initiation of the work of the predecessor schedule activity

Project Management Office

a management structure that standardizes the project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools and techniques; ranges from supporting project managers to controlling them by requiring compliance to directives in actually managing projects

Levels of Traditional Project Roles

executive, managerial, associate

Performance

scope and quality

Step 3 Negotiation Processes for Team: Clarify both parties' interests

Learn what the other party really wants and share your true interests to determine a common goal.

What is the first step in defining scope?

List deliverables and acceptance criteria

Project Team's Success

Loyalty, development, satisfaction

Hard Skills

risk analysis, quality control, scheduling, budgeting, change control, planning other related activities, and project execution.

Relationship Topics

Encourage Participation Discuss Openly and Protect Confidentiality Avoid Misunderstandings Develop Trust Handle Conflict

R&D model

Idea generation, idea screening, concept development, validation, transition

Basic Causes of Failure

Incomplete or unclear requirements Inadequate user involvement Inadequate resources Unrealistic time demands Unclear or unrealistic expectations Inadequate executive support Changing requirements Inadequate planning

What are the three WBS formats?

Indented Outline Hierarchical or "org chart" Free format

Classifying by Size

Large projects often require more detailed planning and control.

Performing Organization's Success

Market share, new products, new technology

Withdrawing/Avoiding

Only when conflict is minor, there is no chance to win, or it is helpful to secure needed information or let tempers cool

open and transparent communication

keeping people informed, demonstrating that everyone's input is valued, personally sharing feelings, and respecting confidentiality. She should set the expectation that all team members practice these habits

An "owner" is assigned responsibility for each ____________ identified.

major negative risk

Vision

one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term, desired change resulting from an organization or program's work.

When managers assess the organization's ability to perform projects and then identify, select, prioritize, resource, and govern a portfolio of projects and other work that they believe will help the organization achieve its strategic goals, they are performing _____________

portfolio management

Integration Management

processes and activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities

Scope Management

processes and activities to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities

Stakeholder Management

processes to identify the people, groups, or organizations, that could impact or be impacted by the project, analyze their expectations and impact, and develop strategies for engaging them in project decisions and execution