Understanding Orgs Quiz #3

What is project portfolio management?

-(also called just portfolio management in this text), in which organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success. -Portfolio management addresses questions like: Are we working on the right projects? o Are we investing in the right areas? o Do we have the right resources to be competitive?

What is program management?

-A program is "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually." 11 As you can imagine, it is often more economical to group projects together to help streamline management, staffing, purchasing, and other work -A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program. Program managers also coordinate the efforts of project teams, functional groups, suppliers, and operations staff supporting the projects to ensure that project products and processes are implemented to maximize benefits. Program managers are responsible for more than the delivery of project results; they are change agents responsible for the success of products and processes produced by those projects. Program managers often have review meetings with all their project managers to share important information and coordinate important aspects of each project. Many program managers worked as project managers earlier in their careers, and they enjoy sharing their wisdom and expertise with their project managers. -addresses questions like: Are we carrying out projects well? o Are projects on time and budget? o Do project stakeholders know what they should be doing?

What is a project? How does it differ from typical business operations?

-A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. -Projects are different from operations in that they end when their objectives have been reached or the project has been terminated. -Projects can be large or small and involve one person or thousands of people. They can be done in one day or take years to complete.

Provide three examples of projects:

-A young couple hires a firm to design and build them a new house. -A retail store manager works with employees to display a new clothing line. -A college campus upgrades its technology infrastructure to provide wireless Internet access. -A construction company designs and constructs a new office building for a client. -A school implements new government standards for tracking student achievement. -A group of musicians starts a company to help children develop their musical talents. -A pharmaceutical company launches a new drug. -A television network develops a system to allow viewers to vote for contestants and provide other feedback on programs. -The automobile industry develops standards to streamline procurement. -A government group develops a program to track child immunizations.

What is project management?

-Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements."7 Project managers must not only strive to meet specific scope, time, cost, and quality requirements of projects, they must also facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of the people involved in or affected by project activities -addresses questions like: Are we carrying out projects well? o Are projects on time and budget? o Do project stakeholders know what they should be doing?

What are the four project contraints? Explain.

-Scope: What work will be done as part of the project? What unique product, service, or result does the customer or sponsor expect from the project? -Time: How long should it take to complete the project? What is the project's schedule? -Cost: What should it cost to complete the project? What is the project's budget? What resources are needed? -Quality: How good does the quality of the products or services need to be? What do we need to do to satisfy the customer?

What are the six attributes of projects? Explain.

-unique purpose: Every project should have a well-defined objective. For example, many people hire firms to design and build a new house, but each house, like each person, is unique. -temporary: A project has a definite beginning and a definite end. For a home construction project, owners usually have a date in mind when they'd like to move into their new home. -developed using progressive elaboration or in an iterative fashion: Projects are often defined broadly when they begin, and as time passes, the specific details of the project become more clear. For example, there are many decisions that must be made in planning and building a new house. It works best to draft preliminary plans for owners to approve before more detailed plans are developed. -requires resources, often from various areas: Resources include people, hardware, software, or other assets. Many different types of people, skill sets, and resources are needed to build a home. -should have a primary customer or sponsor: Most projects have many interested parties or stakeholders, but someone must take the primary role of sponsorship. The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project. -involves uncertainty: Because every project is unique, it is sometimes difficult to define the project's objectives clearly, estimate exactly how long it will take to complete, or determine how much it will cost. External factors also cause uncertainty, such as a supplier going out of business or a project team member needing unplanned time off. Uncertainty is one of the main reasons project management is so challenging, because uncertainty invokes risk