Project Management Exam 1
Project Charter
A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.
Effective Success criteria are _________ and _______.
CLEAR AND QUANTIFIABLE
Projects are Valued by ________ and ________.
Net Present Value and Rate of Return
Deliverables are ________
Tangible Results project is supposed to deliver
Enhance (Project Priority Martrix)
To optimize. This means different things for the elements of triple constraint theory
a characteristic that does NOT describe a project
perpetual
WBS Dictionary
A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the work breakdown structure.
Projectized Organization
Any organizational structure in which the project manager has full authority to assign priorities, apply resources, and direct the work of persons assigned to the project.
To create a project schedule, you need to perform several tasks. Which choice is not one of these tasks? A. Assign resources to activities. B. Set a deadline for the project. C. Estimate the effort activities will take. D. Put activities into sequence.
B. Set a deadline for the project Management might set a deadline for your project, but that isn't needed to build the schedule. You build the schedule first and then adjust it, if necessary, to meet the deadline.
When you start a project plan, what information do you identify first because it drives most of the plan? A. the resources assigned to the project B. the work that must be done C. the budget D. the processes you'll use to run the project
B. The work that must be done The work that must be done determines the skills and resources you need, the effort the work will take, the cost, and so on.
Which of the following is considered an acceptable approach to organizing tasks into groups? A. Geographical Locations B. Key Work Product C.All answers are correct D. Project Phases
C. All of the above
How to control risk in the project
Controlling risk involves regularly reviewing the risk register and crossing off those risks that are no longer going to impact the project.
Initiation process
Determines the nature and scope of the project. Includes the creation of the Project Charter
Types of Organizations
Functional Matrix Projectized
True/False: the scope statement is likely subject to change over the course of the project.
True The scope statement is likely going to change over the course of the project to control the scope, such as if a project falls behind schedule.
Agile Project Management
approach that focuses on adaptability to rapid and unexpected change complex projects
Who provides guidance to the project manager regarding matters related to the project?
The Project Sponsor
Which estimate on a normal distribution provides the best chance for a project being selected and completed successfully?
The average of the worst-case value and the 50% probability value on the normal distribution This choice is not so high that the project won't get selected, yet it provides an 86% chance of delivering at or below your estimates.
Rate of Return
The beneficial/monetary value that the completion of a project will provide for the company/stakeholders
What are three skills that are crucial for a project manager to possess
leadership interpersonal skills business enterprise
Six essential skills a good PM should possess
1. Communication 2. Technical skills 3. Leadership 4. Planning 5. Team building and management 6. Stakeholder management
Characteristics of a Project
1. It has a definite beginning and end 2. It is temporary 3. It has interrelated activities
What does it mean to ENHANCE the scope, the cost, and the time?
Scope--> add value Time--> shorten Cost--> reduce
Traditional Project Management
-Design up front -Fixed scope -Deliverables -Freeze design as early as possible -Low uncertainty -Avoid change -Low customer interaction -Conventional project teams
Strong Matrix Organization
-Moderate/High project manager authority -Moderate/High resource availability -Budgeted by project manager -Full time project manager -Full time project admin staff
4 Steps to help achieve project success
1. Recognize the type of organization in which the project is going to be executed. 2. Identify an organization´s knowledge and work to understand the level of maturity of its processes and standards. 3. Use the proper project configuration. 4. Apply good project governance.
Change management systems are designed to accomplish:
1. Track all changes that are to be implemented. 2. Identify expected effects of proposed changes on schedule and budget. 3. Reflect scope changes in baseline and performance measures. 4. Review, evaluate, and approve/disapprove proposed changes formally.
Descriptive Characteristics of a project
1. has a specific goal 2. must end at some point 3. unique endeavor
Which of the following statement is true? 1. the design of a new aircraft and the production of a prototype is considered a project 2. a call center that employs agents who call as many customers as possible on a given day with a predetermined list of questions is an example of a project 3. the design of a floor plan that will be used in several houses in a new subdivision is an example of a program 4. a group of houses in a new subdivision built using the same floor plan is an example of a business as usual type operation
1. the design of a new aircraft and the production of a prototype is considered a project
It is commonly accepted that a good project manager spends ______% to ______% of her work hours communicating with the project team members, sponsor, and other stakeholders.
80% to 90%
What is the Project Charter?
A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It is required before the PM can begin planning.
Communication Management Plan
A document that includes the stakeholders' communication requirements; language, format, content and detail of information required by stakeholders; time frame and frequency of communication; and glossary of common terminology used in the project.
Project Management Plan
A document used to coordinate all project planning documents and guide project execution and control
Schedule Management Plan
A plan (formal document) that specifies the process to manage project schedules and any changes made to the schedules. It ensures that the actual development of the schedule is guided by a well thought-out process that will ensure sufficient organizational structure and an approach to efficiently developing the schedule
Change Control Process
A process that ensures changes to the project are identified, evaluated, approved, documented and managed.
Define Scope
A scope statement is created which can be in sentence form or bulleted. You can't delineate every project boundary, but the scope statement should be comprehensive enough that it reduces some of the major risks to the project
Request for Proposal (RFP)
A type of procurement document used to request proposals from prospective sellers of products or services.
True or False: The project charter is always approved/written by the PM
False: the project charter DOES NOT have to be approved/written by the PM. If a PM is selected after the Project Charter is written, the PM should be extremely thorough in reviewing the document before starting the planning process.
How much authority does PM have in a Functional (Hierarchy) Organization?
Almost none difficult for projects to success Functional Managers are in charge of budget, and who most people/resources report to
Something that someone takes to be true and is often neglected in project documentation although it is commonly used as a basis for decision making?
An assumption
Matrix Organization
Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of persons assigned to the project. Resources report to both PM and FM. Can be Weak, Balanced or Strong, depending on the emphasis/importance placed on Projects
Collect Requirements
At this stage the detailed requirements of the final product or service are assembled and itemized.
Which of the following is the term commonly used to refer to an expected output over the life of a project? A. An objective B. A deliverable C. A target D. An end object
B. Deliverable
When project managers identify communication needs, they begin by considering the_________. A. Potential Clients B. Stakeholders C. Work Packages D. Project Deliverables
B. Stakeholders
A work breakdown structure diagram shows work broken down into manageable pieces, which provides several benefits for managing projects. Which choice is not a benefit? A. assigning work to resources B. identifying deliverables C. estimating time and cost D. measuring progress
B. identifying deliverables Deliverables drive the creation of the work breakdown structure, not the other way around.
All of the following are common requirement gathering tools
Brainstorming sessions Prototyping Focus groups
After putting tasks in an order that makes sense, determine dependencies between them. How are dependencies listed?
Finish to Start Finish to Finish Start to Start Start to Finish
Which of the following is considered a "Problem Statement?" A. Animal enclosures in zoos need to be bigger and more similar to their natural habitats B. Higher participation in events can be achieved through offering food to participants C. Despite increasing tourism in Florida, SeaWorld has been receiving a decreasing number of guests, which indicates loss of market share D. Emerging technologies can provide significant gains to companies struggling with supply chain management
C. Despite increasing tourism in Florida, SeaWorld has been receiving a decreasing number of guests, which indicates loss of market share
According to best practice, which of the following is a well-worded task? a. Personnel Training b. Building Barge c. Install Flooring d. Nine Electric Sockets
C. Install Flooring **ALWAYS begin with a verb**
Operational work is different from project work in that it is: A. Unique B. Temporary C. On-going and repetitive. D. A part of every project activity.
C. Ongoing and repetitive
Which of the following is not a component of the project triple constraint? A. Time B. Scope C. Stakeholders D. Cost
C. Stakeholders
The IT department says that there are several products on the market that do what the project needs. What is the most important thing you need to ensure that you select the product that best meets the project requirements?
Clear and prioritized requirements. Clear and prioritized requirements make it easier to choose the product that meets the requirements and doesn't provide more than is needed.
Project Priority Matrix
Constrain Enhance Accept
Project Procurement Management
Deals with outside Procurement. Includes the processes necessary to purchase or acquire products, services, or results needed from outside the project team.
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 a plan of action if your approach doesn't work.
What needs to be done/determined during the project planning phase?
Developing the scope statement Developing the schedule (often a Gantt chart) Developing the budget Selecting the team Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) Identifying deliverables Planning for risk Establishing a communication plan
Validate Scope
During the project the deliverables are "validated" meaning they are approved by the recipient. Note this appears during the Monitoring & Controlling process group, and it refers to the formal acceptance of the deliverables after they have been submitted, not the specifications for the deliverables during the planning phase
Project Closing Process
Finishing all activities across all process groups, disbanding the project team and signing off the project with the customer.
Think of process groups as ________ and knowledge areas as _______.
Horizontal and Vertical The knowledge areas take place during anyone of these process groups. You can think of the process groups as horizontal, while the knowledge areas are vertical. The knowledge areas are the core technical subject matter, which are necessary for effective project management.
Planning procurement management
Identifying which project needs can best be met by using products or services outside the organization and how those contractors/vendors will be involved
Success Criteria
Include the process and criteria you'll use to determine that the deliverables are complete and satisfactorily meet expectations. Examples: signed contracts, certificate of occupancy
Project Stakeholder Management
Includes the processes required to identify the people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, to analyze stakeholder expectations and their impact on the project, and to develop appropriate management strategies for effectively engaging stakeholders in project decisions and execution.
Project Communications Management
Includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.
Project Human Resource Management
Includes the processes that organize, manage, and lead the project team. Will identify the roles of the project team and their requirements for those positions, as well as how they fit in the overall project structure. Can be done in-house by drawing from other departments in the organization, by getting new hires or by a combination of both. The team needs development, possibly training and other things that will make them viable for the project. Managing the project team is an ongoing responsibility
The project charter is the ultimate outcome of the _______ process group.
Initiating
The knowledge area that examines the ripple effect of a change in one project element o all the other elements?
Integration Management
What happens when you change one element of the priority matrix?
It affects the other elements as well
Who will the Project Manager ALWAYS report to?
It is entirely dependent on the organizational structure?
What is NOT a characteristic of a project?
It repeats itself regularly this is a characteristic of an operation. While a project might contain activities that may be repeated, the project itself should never repeat itself
Waterfall Project Management
Linear and sequential approach to managing software design and development projects in which progress is seen as flowing steadily (and sequentially) downwards (like a waterfall). simpler projects
Monitoring and Control Process
Managing and tracking the project. Potential problems can be identified quickly for the team to take corrective action. The project management plan is used for this purpose
Elements of the Monitoring/Control Process
Measuring ongoing project activities Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope) against the project management plan and the project baseline (where should we be?) Identifying corrective actions to address risks and issues (how can we get back on track?) Managing changes using the change control process (what is the impact of this change?)
Control Stakeholder Engagement
Monitoring overall project stakeholder relationships and adjusting strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders. Determine if the stakeholders' needs are being addressed. If not, figure out what changes need to be made to either satisfy those needs or adjust the expectations.
functional (Hierarchy) organizational structure
Most common organizational structure; pyramid shaped; used in larger organizations; deep vertical structures; strict chain of command ensures that communication and assignment and evaluation of tasks are carried out
A company's ongoing operations and maintenance are crucially important for providing a healthy environment for a project's product to be created and delivered. Ongoing operations and maintenance should:
NOT be viewed as part of a project. Projects are temporary and unique! Operations and maintenance are considered ongoing activities, not temporary. Such work should not be considered a project or part of a project.
Constrain (Project Priority Matrix)
Original Parameter is fixed
Project Control
Part of a project that keeps it on track, on-time and within budget. Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with a post-implementation review
Project Integration Management
Processes that coordinate all project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life, including developing the project charter, developing the preliminary project scope statement, developing the project management plan, directing and managing the project, monitoring and controlling the project, providing integrated change control, and closing the project. Project integration happens at the beginning, middle and end of a project
Project Communications Management
Project Communications Management includes the processes that are required to ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.
What are the 5 project management process areas?
Project Initiation Project Planning Project Execution Monitoring and Controlling Project Closing
What are the 10 project management knowledge areas?
Project Integration Management Project Scope Management Project Time Management Project Cost Management Project Quality Management Project Human Resources Management Project Communications Managements Project Procurement Management Project Stakeholder Management
Project Quality Management
Project Quality Management includes the processes and activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. Plan quality management is part of the overall project management plan, though it can be a standalone document if it contains the quality specs for the product or service.
Several stakeholders for a project disagree on the priorities of several project objectives. You ask the _____ to help you resolve this issue.
Project Sponsor The project sponsor wants the project to succeed and has enough authority to help you resolve issues, particularly with other stakeholders.
The project management knowledge area that includes processes required to identify people, groups, or organizations that could impact or be impacted by the project, to analyze their expectations, and develop strategies to engage them in decisions and execution.
Project Stakeholders Management
End Deliverables
Result the project delivers at the end of the project. List this FIRST. Then move on to smaller, intermediate deliverables to be completed in between status reports
Project proposals should always begin with the business case and the _____________.
Scope Statement
The change review board can't get through all the change requests that are submitted. They want to focus on requests with significant impact. What is the easiest way to allow the review board to focus on significant changes
Set thresholds so you or team leads can decide what to do with small change requests. Setting thresholds for time and cost will reduce the number of change requests that the review board has to handle.
Why do you identify risks when you initially define a project?
So management can decide whether the risks are serious enough to warrant skipping the project If the project has numerous, serious risks, management might decide to choose a different project that offers benefits without so much uncertainty.
Why is it important to define a project?
So the customer or sponsor can decide whether to approve the project By defining the project, the customer can make an informed decision whether the project makes sense for the organization.
you are using a management tool to analyse level of impact and interest of your project stakeholders. What is the name of this tool?
Stakeholder Analysis
Project Planning Process
The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to manage risk effectively during project execution. All of this information is recorded in the project management plan.
Plan Stakeholder Management
The process of developing appropriate management strategies to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, based on the analysis of their needs, interests, and potential impact on project success. Listing each stakeholder and prioritizing what their concerns are and how they might impact the project. This will lead to managing stakeholders' expectations to make sure their needs are met and that you're in communication with them.
Plan Schedule Management
The process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing and controlling the project schedule. In other words, plan schedule management process aims to ensure the timely completion of a project
Plan Communications Management
The process of identifying and evaluating stakeholder information and requirements for the purpose of developing a suitable project communications approach. Analyzing the communication needs of stakeholders in terms of the type, format, and value of information
Project Scope Management
The processes involved in defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), which is a graphic breakdown of project work, is another part of this area. Validate scope during the project, which means making sure that the deliverables are being approved regularly by the sponsor or stakeholder.
Project Risk Management
The processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and controlling risk on a project. Perform qualitative risk analysis after the biggest risks have been identified and classified by likelihood and impact. Then prioritize them. Then perform quantitative analysis
Project Cost Management
The processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. Each task will have to be estimated for cost, which means including all resources such as labor, materials, equipment and anything else needed to complete the task
Project Time Management
The processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. The project is divided into tasks, which are scheduled with start dates and deadlines, as well as budgets for each task. And things are constantly changing over the phases of any project, which means revising these things often. This involves plan schedule management, which involves creating a schedule for the project and determining who is responsible for what. NOT the same as developing a WBS
Define Activities
The project is divided into tasks. Note that according to the PMBOK this process is different from Create WBS within the Scope Management knowledge area, but in practice they are generally the same. A task list is produced which defines ALL of the project (not most of it!)
Control Scope
The scope statement must be revisited regularly in light of the project work that has been completed and current project status. If you are behind schedule, for example, you may wish to gravitate toward a minimum acceptable scope rather than all the bells and whistles you wanted to produce in the beginning
In a project you manage, it is taking much longer than expected for the customer to approve project deliverables. What is the most likely reason for these delays?
The success criteria aren't clear and quantifiable.
Scope Creep
The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources. Scope creep in project management refers to changes, continuous or uncontrolled growth in a project's scope, at any point after the project begins. This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered harmful.
Statement of Work (SOW)
This fully describes the work to be completed, the product to be supplied, or both. The SOW becomes part of the contract between the buyer and the seller. The SOW is typically created as part of the procurement planning process and is used by the seller to determine whether it can meet the project's requirements.
Develop Project Management Plan
This is the primary guiding document for the project manager and end result of the planning phase. It is used to ensure a successful outcome to the project. It is distributed and approved by relevant stakeholders, particularly the project sponsor, and changes are tracked through the change log.
Executing Process Group
Those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications. involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the project activities. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed, as defined in the project management plan
What is the main purpose of the initiating step in project management?
To obtain commitment to start a project
Accept (Project Priority Matrix)
Tolerable to not meet original parameter
Which of the following is true about granularity (i.e. the level of task breakdown when listing project tasks)?
Too low level of granularity leads of very complicated project plans with overwhelming details
What is the general purpose of the Scope Management knowledge area?
Understanding, clarifying, and qualifying what the project team should be working on
The development team has a problem with one of the software features and needs to quickly brainstorm a solution with the vendor team, which is not local. What method of communication would you choose for the brainstorming session?
Videoconferencing
What is the document that forces the project team to think through all levels of the project and identify the major tasks that need to be performed for the project to be completed?
Work Breakdown Structure
Why is a face-to-face meeting the best approach for obtaining approval to proceed?
You can ensure that stakeholders understand the project plan before they formally commit to it. Obtaining approval is about buy-in. The approval meeting gives you a chance to present the plan, answer stakeholder questions, and resolve any final issues.
What are the components that differentiate a project from operational work?
a unique goal, temporary endeavor, and a budget
Project objectives help you flesh out a project by _____ and _____.
by defining project scope and identifying the best approach to use to achieve the goal and objectives . Project objectives help identify the items you include in scope. They help identify the approach that best satisfies the objectives
intermediate deliverables
deliverables delivered during the course of the project
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
During the __________ project management process group, you, as project manager, orient your team members to the project and the parts they play in it
executing
One risk to your schedule is that a hard drive with customized software fails and you lose the work that was done. The development team regularly backs up their work so they can resume work quickly after a hard drive failure. What type of risk management strategy do backups represent?
risk mitigation Backups mean that you can restore the files you need, so you lessen the impact of a hard drive failure. Risk mitigation means that you limit the impact or probability of the risk.
Sequence Activities
tasks are ordered and relationships between them are established. Finish-to-Start(FS) Finish-to-Finish(FF) Start-to-Start(SS) Start-to-Finish(SF) NOT necessary for small projects with simple schedules
A project team member is talking to another team member and complaining that many people are asking him to do things. If he works in a functional organization, who has the power to give direction to the team member?
the Functional Manager In a functional organization, the functional manager is the team member;s boss and probably also the project managers boss
When would you create a work package that describes the work to be done in explicit detail?
the assigned resource is inexperienced A detailed work package can provide an inexperienced person with guidance on what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, how to tell that the work is complete and completed correctly.
To get early warning that a risk might occur, what is the key item to document in your risk information forms?
the events that might trigger the risk If an event might trigger a risk, documenting these events will give you early warning. The event doesn't mean the risk will definitely occur.
Net Present Value (NPV)
the sum of the present values of expected future cash flows from an investment, minus the cost of that investment A key measurement when deciding between several competing projects to take on
Why is it important to document the project scope?
to remind stakeholders what they agreed to and to prevent scope creep
Types of Matrix Organizations
• Weak • Balanced • Strong
