Project Management Exam 1 Notes

Steps of the Planning Process

- Establish Project Objective. - Define Scope. - Create Work Breakdown Structure. - Assign Responsibility - Define Specific Activities - Sequence Activities. - Estimate Activity Resources. - Estimate Activity Durations - Develop Project Schedule - Estimate Activity Costs - Determining Budget

Two Major Functions of Project Management

- Establishing a Plan - Executing that plan to accomplish the project objective.

Benefits of Project Management

- Having a satisfied customer. - Satisfaction of completion. - Expansion of your knowledge and skills.

Critical Success Factors

- Planning and Communication. - Well-Thought out plan. - Clear Objective. - Measuring actual project. - Evaluation of project. - Involving customer as a partner. - Identify, engage, and build relationships with stakeholders. - Lean and understand the culture and customs of other project participants.

Steps of the Project Selection Process

1. Develop a set of criteria against which the project will be evaluated. 2. List assumptions that will be used as the basis for each project. 3. Gather data and information for each project. 4. Evaluate each project against the criteria.

Initiating Phase

The first phase of the project life cycle, during which projects are identified, selected, and authorized.

Designee

The individual with whom the project manager would communicate and to whom the project manager is accountable.

Latest Finish Time

The latest time by which a specific activity must be completed for the entire project to be finished by its required completion time. It is calculated on the basis of the project required completion time and the estimated durations of succeeding activities.

Latest Start Time

The latest time by which a specific activity must be started for the entire project to be finished by its required completion time. It is calculated by subtracting the activity's estimated duration from the activity's latest finish time.

Major Deliverables

The major end products or tangible items that are expected to be produced during and at the completion of the performance of the project.

Win Ratio

The percentage of the number or dollar value of the contractor's proposals that result in contractual agreements with customers.

Sponsor Designee

The person who the sponsor designates to act on behalf of the project sponsor.

Project Deliverables

The project progress is monitored and controlled to assure the work remains on schedule and within budget, the scope is fully completed according to specifications, and all deliverables meet acceptance criteria. Also, any changes need to be documented, approved, and incorporated into an updated baseline plan if necessary.

Dependent Relationship

The sequence in which activities must be finished before other activities can start.

Balancing Project Constraints

The successful accomplishment of a project objective could be constrained by many factors, including the scope, quality, schedule, budget, resources, risks, customer satisfaction, and stakeholder support.

Actual Finish Times

The time at which activities are actually completed.

Reporting Period

The time interval at which actual project performance will be compared to planned performance.

Project Required Completion Time

The time or date by which a project must be completed, usually established by the sponsor or customer.

Project Estimated Start Time

The time or date when a project is expected to begin.

Schedule

The timetable that specifies when each activity should start and finish.

Performing Phase

Third phase of the project life cycle, during which the project baseline plan is executed to produce all the project deliverables and to accomplish the project objective. It includes performing the work, monitoring and controlling progress, and managing changes to accomplish the project scope on schedule and within budget.

Characteristics of the Closing Phase

This process involves various actions, including collecting and making final payments, evaluating and recognizing staff, conducting a postproject evaluation, documenting lessons learned, and archiving project documents. Important task is evaluating the performance of the project. Feedback should also be obtained from the customer to determine whether the anticipated benefits from the project were achieved, assess level of customer satisfaction, and obtain any feedback that would be helpful in future business relationships with this customer or other customers.

Project Objective

What is to be accomplished; the tangible end product that the project team must produce and deliver. It is usually defined in terms of end product or deliverable, schedule, and budget. If may include a statement of benefits that will be achieved from implementing the project.

Attributes of a Project

A project has a clear objective. A project is carried though a set of interdependent activities. A project utilizes various resources. A project has a specific time frame and finite life span. A project has a sponsor or customer. A project involves some degree of uncertainty.

Quality

________ expectations must be defined from the onset of the project. The project work scope must be accomplished in this manner and meet specifications.

Systems Development Life Cycle

A project management planning tool consisting of a set of phases or steps to be completed over the course of development of an information system.

ASAP Schedule

A schedule based on the earliest start time of each activity in the project.

ALAP Schedule

A schedule based on the latest start time of each activity in the project.

Baseline Plan

A set of integrated project documents that shows how the project scope will be accomplished within budget and on schedule and is used as a benchmark to which actual performance can be compared.

Objective

A statement of what is expected to be accomplished - the end product or deliverable.

Responsibility Assignment Matrix

A table that designates the individuals or organizational units responsible for accomplishing each work item in a work breakdown structure.

Resource Requirements Plan

A table that illustrates the expected utilization of resources by time period during the time span of the project.

Exception

A variation from specified requirements.

Scope

All the work that must be done to produce all the project deliverables that meet the customer requirements and acceptance criteria and accomplish the project objective.

Contract

An agreement between the contractor, who agrees to perform the project and provide a product or service, and the customer, who agrees to pay the contractor a certain amount in return.

Resource Constrained Planning

An approach to creating a network diagram and schedule in which the sequence and dependent relationships of activities are based on resources constraints that take into account the availability of a limited quantity of resources.

Agile Project Management

An approach to reduce product development time while minimizing risk through continuous interaction between the customer and small self-organized teams that produce increments of working product features in short-time iterations while rapidly adapting to changes in requirements.

Project

An endeavor to accomplish a specific objective through a unique set of interrelated activities and the effective utilization of resources.

Project Manager

An individual in the organization who has been identified to be the manager for the project. Initial work is to organize a core team to do the planning for the project.

Contractor

An individual or organization to whom a sponsor or customer outsources the project work.

Risks

An uncertain event that if it occurs can jeopardize accomplishing the project objective.

Major Risks

Any risk that the sponsor thinks has a high likelihood of occurrence or a high degree of potential impact that could affect the successful accomplishment of the project objective.

Business Strategies

Can be driven by the market opportunities, competition, and/or technology.

Factors Contractors May Consider in Response to an RFP

Competition, Risk, Mission, Extension of Capabilities, Reputation, Customer Funds, Proposal Resources, and Project Resources.

Summary Network

Contains a small number of higher-level activities rather than a large number of detailed activities.

Constraints

Could include such things as a requirement to complete the project without disrupting the current workflow.

Customer Requirements

Define the functional, operational, and performance specifications or capabilities that must be met for the project's end product and other project deliverables.

Approval Requirements

Define the limits of authority of the project manager.

Acceptance Criteria

Describe the quantitative criteria for each major deliverable that the sponsor will use to validate that each deliverable meets certain performance specifications and are the basis for the sponsor's accepting that the deliverable is indeed done correctly and meets the sponsor's expectations.

Planning Process

Determining what needs to be done, how it will get done, who will do it, how long it will take, how much it will cost, and what the risks are.

Bid/No-Bid Decision

Evaluation by a contractor off whether to go forward with the preparation of a proposal is sometimes referred to as this.

Scope Creep

Expanding the scope of the project by making changes to the scope without appropriate approval.

Project Life Cycle

Four phases which include initiating, planning, performing, and closing the project.

Closing Phase

Fourth phase of the project life cycle, during which actions are taken to close the project including archiving project documents and documenting lessons learned.

Characteristics of the Initiating Phase

Identification of a need, problem, or opportunity and can result in sponsor authorizing a project to address the need. Projects are initiated when a need is identified by a sponsor. If the organization decides to use external resources, the organization will prepare a RFP.

Total Slack

If it is a positive value, it is the amount of time that the activities on a particular path can be delayed without jeopardizing completion of the project by its required completion time. If it is a negative value, it is the amount of time that the activities on a particular path must be accelerated to complete the project by its required completion time. Also known as total float.

Noncritical Paths

In a network diagram, any path of activities with positive total slack.

Critical Path

In a network diagram, any path of activities with zero or negative total slack. The longest (most time-consuming) path.

Key Assumptions

Include those that the project rationale or justification is based on.

Approval Signature and Date

Indicate that the sponsor has officially or formally authorized the project.

Success Criteria or Expected Benefits

Indicate the outcomes or expected quantitative benefits that will result from implementation of the project.

Funding

Indicates the total amount of money the sponsor authorizes for the project.

Stakeholders

Individuals or entities involved in, or who may influence, or who may be affected by, a project, such as the customer/sponsor; project team; end users or consumers; and advocacy groups.

Project Control Process

Involves regularly gathering data on project performance, comparing actual performance to planned performance, and taking corrective action immediately if actual performance is behind planned performance.

Characteristics of the Planning Phase

Lay out a road-map or game plan that shows how the project scope will be accomplished within budget and on schedule. Involves determining what needs to be done, how it will get done, who will do it, how long it will take, how much it will cost, and what the risks are.

Quality Control

Monitoring the quality of the work early and regularly throughout the performance of the project, comparing results with quality standards, and making any necessary corrective actions immediately.

Resources

Needed to perform the project activities, produce the project deliverables, and accomplish the project objective.

Characteristics of the Performing Phase

Once the baseline plan has been developed, work can proceed. This phase results in the accomplishment of the project objective, leaving the customer satisfied that the full scope of work and deliverables were completed according to specifications, within budget, and on time. Necessary to monitor and control the progress of the project to ensure everything is going according to plan.

Project Management

Planning, organizing, coordinating, leading, and controlling resources to accomplish the project objective.

Planning Phase

Second phase of the project life cycle, during which a baseline plan is developed. It includes defining the project scope, identifying resources, developing a schedule and budget, and identifying risks.

Project Title

Should be concise and create a vision for the end result of the project.

Reporting Requirements

State the frequency and content of the project status reports and reviews.

Purpose

Summarizes the need and justification for the project. It may reference prior documents regarding the rationale for selecting the project.

Free Slack

The amount of time a specific activity can be postponed without delaying the ES time of its immediately succeeding activities. It is the relative difference between the amounts of TS for activities entering into the same activity.

Budget

The amount the sponsor or customer has agreed to pay for acceptable project deliverables.

Evaluation Criteria

The criteria that an organization uses to evaluate potential projects and support project selection or that a customer uses to evaluate proposals from competing contractors.

Cost-Reimbursement Contract

The customer agrees to pay the contractor for all actual costs, regardless of amount, plus some agreed-upon profit.

Fixed-Price Contract

The customer will pay the contractor a fixed amount, regardless of how much the work actually costs the contractor.

Time and Materials Contract

The customer will pay the contractor whatever the actual costs are.

Due Date

The date, specified in a request for proposal, by which a customer requires potential contractors to submit proposals.

Required Schedule

The dates or times by which the sponsor or customer wants the project and key milestones completed.

Earliest Start Time

The earliest time at which a specific activity can begin, calculated on the basis of the project estimated start time and the estimated durations of preceding activities.

Earliest Finish Time

The earliest time by which a specific activity can be completed, calculated by adding the activity's estimated duration to the activity's earliest start time.

Sponsor or Customer

The entity that provides funds to accomplish a project. It can be an organization, or a partnership of people or organizations.

Network Diagram

§ A tool for arranging and displaying specific activities in the appropriate sequence and defining their dependent relationships.

Information System

A computer-based system that accepts data as input, processes the data, and produces useful information for users.

Activity

A defined piece of work that consumes time.

Project Charter

A document issued by the project sponsor that authorizes that project and commits funds for the project.

Project Quality Plan

A document that defines the specifications, standards, and codes that must be met during the performance of the project work, and the procedures for quality tools and techniques, to assure and control quality.

Proposal

A document that includes a proposed approach, schedule, and budget for meeting the project requirements and accomplishing the project scope.

Project Scope Document

A document that includes the customer requirements, statement of work, deliverables, and acceptance criteria.

Request for Proposal

A document, prepared by the sponsor/customer, which defines the project requirements and is used to solicit proposals from potential contractors to do the project.

Work Breakdown Structure

A hierarchical decomposition of the project work scope into work packages to be executed by the project team to produce the project deliverables.

Milestone Schedule

A list of target dates or times for the occurrence of key events in the project timetable.

Resource Leveling

A method for developing a schedule that attempts to minimize the fluctuations in requirements for resources.

Resource Limited Scheduling

A method for developing the shortest schedule when the quantity of available resources is fixed.

Laddering

A method of showing the dependent relationships of a set of activities that is repeated several consecutive times and allows the activities to be completed in the shortest possible time while making the best use of available resources.

Work Packages

A piece or component of the project work at the lowest level of any branch of a work breakdown structure.

Bar Chart

A planning and scheduling tool that displays project activities along a time scale.

Project Selection

involves evaluating potential projects, and then deciding which of these should move forward to be implemented.