MAN4583 Midterm Review
Tiko and Camille's boss has a project in which the solution is a bit unclear. Tiko wants to use a waterfall approach and Camille wants to use the Agile approach. Which approach is best and why?
Agile is best because it delivers partial solutions at regular intervals.
Monitoring and Controlling
Check progress of project Compare to what was planned
The ________ outlines the timing, frequency, method, and type of project information to be shared between stakeholders.
Communication Plan
What is a Program?
Coordination and management of multiple related projects and other activities, towards the achievement of one or more strategic objectives (can change)
What is the triple constraint made of?
Cost, Scope, and Schedule
Deliverables
Define scope Measure progress
Initiating
Define your project Assess Scope Determine resources needed Identify stakeholders ask for approval
Project goal
Defines end result Solves the problem Take advantage of opportunity
Success Criteria
Definitions of what success looks like. ex: signed contracts certificate of occupancy 4/5 rating on customer surveys
Banton is defining his project deliverables. Which statement describes what a project deliverable is?
Deliverables are the results that the project delivers and help define the project scope.
Project scope
Describes the boundaries of the project what is included in the scope of the project and what is not included.
A project that you manage is behind schedule. You have identified an approach that would get the project back on track, but it would require you to break one of your organization's policies. What is the best course of action?
Determine if the rule is one that can be broken and come up with an alternative plan of action if your approach doesn't work.
_____ is one of the earliest activities that take place in a new project.
Developing the charter
How do you build high performing teams?
Establish report value each team member and team be transparent establish an open environment let your team know you appreciate them
During which process group does the project manager orient team members to the project and expectations?
Executing
Part of a project leader's job is to support a team through each stage of team development. What can you do to accelerate through the "storming" phase?
Facilitate meetings and provide coaching.
Closing process
Get client to accept project is complete Document project performance Close contracts Help resources move to next assingment
Rosanne's boss asks her to manage a project. Which question requires understanding of objectives, requirements, deliverables, and success criteria to answer?
How will you know when you are done?
The triple constraint.
If you increase the need or importance of one constraint, the others get stressed and need attention too. If you increase one constraint the others need to be increased as well.
Leadership Skills
Inspire your people Guide them to do the right things Hold them accountable Motivate others to give their best
Departments
Invested and affected by project outcomes
Why should project leaders be transparent and share their reasoning for decisions they make with their team?
It builds trust on the team.
How would you describe the importance of adaptability to a high-performing team?
It helps overcome unexpected situations.
Why does the portfolio come first, before programs and projects?
It is how a business achieves its goals.
Agile project management approach
Iterations produce deliverables at regular intervals Value delivered sooner More customer involvement small independent teams (unclear solution)
Navigating culture
Know the boundaries Respect change management Respect local culture
Executing
Launching a project Bring resources on board Get everyone settled in Start the project
Shaping culture
Mission statement Leadership Work enviroment
Your project seems to be going off track, so you take action to resolve the problem. In which project management process group are you working?
Monitoring and Controlling
Work that is the same day after day producing the same results
Operations
What does a merger include
Organizational restructure Business process Rebranding Product alignment
Program focus
Outcomes Considers business as usual Manages transition to new state Active benefits management Longer timeline
Project focus
Outputs Does not consider business as usual Ends once the output is delivered benefits realized post project Shorter timeline
Projectized Organizations
PM has almost complete authority Resources are dedicated to resources and report to PM PM and admin staff work full time
Hierarchy organizations
PM has almost no authority Functional manager in charge of budget Resources do not report to PM PM has divided responsabilities
Matrix organizations
PM has some authority Resources report to two managers PM and staff work full time in a strong mix
Identify the work to be done in detail, how long it may take, the resources you need, and the cost
Plan
Project change management should be:
Planned and include processes
A(n) _____ has a beginning, end, and unique set of goals and deliverables.
Project
According to the PMI framework, which is the document that authorizes the project manager to lead the project?
Project charter
This establishes the boundary of your project work and what is and is not included.
Project scope
Program management is managing related _______ that have shared resources and stakeholders.
Projects
Surveying or interviewing stakeholders facilitates collection of these detailed descriptions of deliverables.
Requirements
The sponsor of Project T5 assigned you as the project manager, and the project has already been approved. What is the first thing you need to do as the project manager?
Review what has been done and complete any tasks not addressed.
Which of the following is NOT an element of the triple constraint?
Risk
Functional Manager
Run departments and are accountable for achieving their departments goals
Sakait has done some extra work to appease a client. Now the client is asking her to do one more task, which is significant and not part of project scope. What should Sakait do?
Sakait should tell the client the task is not within scope and add the task using the change control process.
Organizational Culture
Set of factors that guide peoples behaviors and decisions within an organization
Gathering requirements, identifying deliverables, and defining project scope
Solution
This stakeholder, your champion, wants your project to succeed and has enough authority to make it happen.
Sponsor
What is a portfolio?
Strategic vehicle by which business delivers on goals and objectives (consistant)
Quantifiable, measurable results that show that the project is complete
Success Criteria
Ravi took on a system implementation project that he estimated would take six months to complete, but the work keeps continuing. What is the likely cause?
The project is not clearly defined.
The project sponsor would like to review the project scope. Which of the following documents would you present to her?
The scope statement and the WBS
Rudolph, the project manager, is trying to obtain customer approval of project deliverables. It is taking longer than he anticipated because the customer wants to discuss the results. What is the most likely reason for these delays?
The success criteria aren't clear and quantifiable.
Project charter
This document authorizes and publicizes the project this includes: Project name Purpose high level project description and milestone schedule stakeholders
Interpersonal Skills
To help everyone work as a team to get the project done and done well
You would likely take an agile approach to project management if:
Uncertainty is high
Business Expertise Skills
Understanding your organizations business what it does what is considers important
Assumptions
Use to fill missing information revisit and modify as necessary
Project Plan
Used over the course of the project directs peoples tasks tracks projects progression aids in course corrections
Project sponsor
Wants project to succeed and has formal authority to make that happen
Planning
What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? How will we know when its done?
Technical Skills
What goes into a project plan building and fine tuning a projects schedule reading a gant chart using critical path measuring performance
What questions does project management answer about your project?
What problem are you solving? How are you going to solve it? Whats your plan to get the project done? How can you tell when you are done? How well did the project go?
Storming
Where the team figures out how to work together
Forming stage
Where the team first comes together
Performing
Where the team is self managing
Norming
Where the team starts becoming more comfortable with each other
Adjourning
Where the work is done and the team disbands
Decomposition of project deliverables or phases is used to develop the:
Work Breakdown Structure
Traditional Project management approach (waterfall approach)
Works well when goals and solution are clearly defined simplicity, low risk, familiar technology, experienced resources (clear solution)
You are managing a project that is implementing a new financial system. You need to include some of the finance department's resources on the team. Which stakeholder should you approach?
a functional or line manager
Your boss has asked you to be the project manager of an approved software implementation project. Which project document identifies your authority and responsibilities?
a project charter
The boss has asked you to research project management tools that will help with building and planning tasks on a timeline. Which type of tool would you most likely consider?
a scheduling program
Krisha is gathering information on her stakeholders, such as department names, factors that motivate them, who they listen to, and their contributions on the project. What is this document called?
a stakeholder analysis
What are the components that differentiate a project from operational work?
a unique goal, a temporary endeavor, and usually a budget
Which of the following skills is not crucial for a project manager to possess?
accounting leadership business expertise interpersonal skills
After the plan is approved and project work begins, Tara's boss is not happy about a project delay for an upgrade. The vendor thought Tara's team would do the upgrade, and Tara thought the vendor would do it. What was missed in this situation?
an assumption was not identified
Teams should use the triple constraint to _____.
analyze how changes to cost, schedule or quality impact one another, how one variable affects the others
The portfolio lifecycle starts with _____ and ends with ensuring _____ are achieved.
capturing ideas; business benefits
Problem statement
clearly defines problem or opportunity
Project objectives help you flesh out a project by _____.
defining project scope
Your organization runs numerous projects and wants to choose the most appropriate resources for each project team. Which of the following is the best tool for identifying project resources?
enterprise project management software
Which technique would you most likely use to gather valid requirements and get buy-in from various departments?
focus groups
Tailoring Integrated Management
gain consensus assess approach execute deliverables document lessons learned
Problem Solving Skills
how to achieve project objectives meet the schedule and budgets
Your team has identified possible strategies for a project. The team is now evaluating them using a decision matrix. What is the purpose of weighting the objectives?
identifying the importance of each objective
Ramesh is creating objectives for his project. Which SMART step will help him identify actual progress?
measureable
Project customer
person or group with a problem to solve. (funds the project)
Your client has asked for a project that will fix productivity concerns with the customer service department. After asking "why" several times, you are able to determine the cause and create a _____.
problem statement
In what areas are there the most PM/BA overlap?
scoping and planning, communications, stakeholder management, risk management
Characteristics of high performing teams
shared sense of purpose mutual accountability collaboration recognition and empowerment resiliency and flexibility high energy attitude of achievement
Risk
situation or event that might occur that is uncertain
As part of the project definition, Bisa identifies risks for the project. What is the purpose of doing this during project initiation?
so management can decide whether the risks are serious enough to warrant denying the project
You are hiring a new project manager to take over a project with several teams that often disagree on what they are supposed to do. Which competency would you feel is most important in a candidate for this situation?
strong leadership skills
Which organizational factor would you use when having to make a difficult decision?
the organization's mission
Several stakeholders for a project disagree on the priorities of many project objectives. Who would you ask first for help resolving this issue?
the project sponsor
You are the project manager for a healthcare system implementation project. The sponsor has asked you to create a project definition. What will the sponsor use this document for?
to decide whether to approve the project
Why is it important to document the project scope?
to remind stakeholders what they agreed to and to prevent scope creep
