Chapter 1: Introduction to Project Management – Flashcards
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Understand the growing need for better project management, especially for information technology (IT) projects
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Explain what a project is, provide examples of IT projects, list various attributes of projects, and describe the triple constraint of project management
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Describe project management and discuss key elements of the project management framework, including project stakeholders, the project management knowledge areas, common tools and techniques, and project success
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Discuss the relationship between project, program, and portfolio management and the contributions each makes to enterprise success
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Understand the role of project managers by describing what they do, what skills they need, and career opportunities for IT project managers
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Describe the project management profession, including its history, the role of professional organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI), the importance of certification and ethics, and the advancement of project management software
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Introduction
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Many organizations today have a new or renewed interest in project management
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The top skills employers look for in new college graduates are all related to project management:
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team-work, decision-making, problem-solving, and verbal communications. Organizations waste $109 million for every $1 billion spent on projects, according to PMI's Pulse of the Profession® report
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Advantages of Using Formal Project Management
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Better control of financial, physical, and human resources. Improved customer relations. Shorter development times. Lower costs.
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Higher quality and increased reliability. Higher profit margins.
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Improved productivity. Better internal coordination Higher worker morale.
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What Is a Project?
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A project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result"
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Operations is work done
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to sustain the business
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Projects end when
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their objectives have been reached or the project has been terminated
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Examples of IT Projects
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A team of students creates a smartphone application and sells it online. A company develops a driverless car.
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A government group develops a system to track child immunizations.
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A global bank acquires other financial institutions and needs to consolidate systems and procedures
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Top Strategic Technologies
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Computing everywhere. The Internet of things. 3D printing. Advanced, pervasive, and invisible analytics.
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Media Snapshot: Unproductive Apps
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Gartner predicted that by 2014, there would be more than 70 billion mobile application downloads every year, but it was almost double
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Facebook is by far the most downloaded app, and the most popular category of all apps continues to be games
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The challenge is to develop useful apps and get workers to focus on them instead of the many distracting options available
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A project
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has a unique purpose. is temporary. is developed using progressive elaboration requires resources, often from various areas. should have a primary customer or sponsor. involves uncertainty.
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The project sponsor usually provides
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the direction and funding for the project.
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Project managers
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work with project sponsors, project team, and other people involved in a project to meet project goals
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Program:
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group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually
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Program managers oversee
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programs; often act as bosses for project managers
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What is Project Management?
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Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements"
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Project managers strive to meet
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the triple constraint (project scope, time, and cost goals) and also facilitate the entire process to meet the needs and expectations of project stakeholders
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Stakeholders are
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the people involved in or affected by project activities
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Stakeholders include
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the project sponsor. the project manager. the project team. support staff. customers. users. suppliers.. opponents to the project
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Knowledge areas
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describe the key competencies that project managers must develop
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Project managers must have knowledge and skills in all 10 knowledge areas
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project integration, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder managemen
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Project management tools and techniques
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assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management
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Some specific ones include
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Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope) Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time) Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)
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Super Tools
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are those tools that have high use and high potential for improving project success, such as:
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Software for task scheduling (such as project management software) Scope statements. Requirements analyses. Lessons-learned reports.
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Tools already extensively used that have been found to improve project importance include:
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There are several ways to define project success:
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The project met scope, time, and cost goals. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor. The results of the project met its main objective, such as making or saving a certain amount of money, providing a good return on investment, or simply making the sponsors happy.
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What Helps Projects Succeed?
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1. Executive support 2. User involvement 3. Clear business objectives 4. Emotional maturity 5. Optimizing scope 6. Agile process 7. Project management expertise 8. Skilled resources 9. Execution 10. Tools and infrastructure
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Top Three Reasons Why Federal Technology Project Succeed
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Adequate funding. Staff expertise. Engagement from all stakeholders.
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Recent research findings show that companies that excel in project delivery capability:
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Use an integrated project management toolbox (use standard/advanced PM tools, lots of templates). Grow project leaders, emphasizing business and soft skills. Develop a streamlined project delivery process Measure project health using metrics, like customer satisfaction or return on investment.
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A program
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is "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually"
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A program manager
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provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program
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Examples of common programs in the IT field include
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infrastructure, applications development, and user support
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As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as
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a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success
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Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective
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help their organizations make wise investment decisions
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by helping to select and analyze
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projects from a strategic perspective
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A best practice
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is "an optimal way recognized by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective"*
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Robert Butrick suggests that organizations need to follow basic principles of project management, including these two mentioned earlier in this chapter:
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Make sure your projects are driven by your strategy. Be able to demonstrate how each project you undertake fits your business strategy, and screen out unwanted projects as soon as possible
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Engage your stakeholders. Ignoring stakeholders often
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leads to project failure. Be sure to engage stakeholders at all stages of a project, and encourage teamwork and commitment at all times
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The Role of the Project Manager
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Job descriptions vary, but most include responsibilities like planning, scheduling, coordinating, and working with people to achieve project goals
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Remember
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that 97% of successful projects were led by experienced project managers, who can often help influence success factors
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Suggested Skills for Project Managers
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The Project Management Body of Knowledge. Application area knowledge, standards, and regulations.
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Project environment knowledge General management knowledge and skills
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Soft skills or human relations skills
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Ten Most Important Skills and Competencies for Project Managers
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1. People skills. 2. Leadership. 3. Listening. 4. Integrity, ethical behavior, consistent. 5. Strong at building trust. 6. Verbal communication. 7. Strong at building teams. 8. Conflict resolution, conflict management. 9. Critical thinking, problem solving. 10. Understands, balances priorities.
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Different Skills Needed in Different Situations
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Large projects: Leadership, relevant prior experience, planning, people skills, verbal communication, and team-building skills were most important.
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High uncertainty projects: Risk management, expectation management, leadership, people skills, and planning skills were most important
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Very novel projects: Leadership, people skills, having vision and goals, self confidence, expectations management, and listening skills were most important
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Effective project managers provide
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leadership by example
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A leader
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focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals
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A manager
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deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals
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Project managers
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often take on the role of both leader and manager
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The Project Management Profession
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is growing at a very rapid pace
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It is helpful to understand
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the history of the field, the role of professional societies like the Project Management Institute, and the growth in project management software
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Some people argue that building the Egyptian pyramids was a project, as was building the Great Wall of China
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Most people consider the Manhattan Project to be the first project to use "modern" project management. This three-year, $2 billion (in 1946 dollars) project had a separate project manager and a technical manager
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In the 100s, many companies began creating PMOs to help them handle the increasing number and complexity of projects
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A Project Management Office (PMO) is an organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization
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Several global dynamics are forcing organizations to rethink their practices:
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Talent development for project and program managers is a top concern
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Good project portfolio management is crucial in tight economic conditions Basic project management techniques are core competencies.
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Organizations want to use more agile approaches to project management Benefits realization of projects is a key metric
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The Project Management Institute - PMI - is an international professional society for project managers founded in 1969
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PMI has continued to attract and retain members, reporting more than 449,000 members worldwide by late 2014
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There are communities of practices in many areas, like information systems, financial services, and health care
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Project management research and certification programs continue to grow. Students can join PMI at a reduced fee and earn the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification
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Project Management Certification
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PMI provides certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP)
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A PMP has documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow a code of ethics, and passed the PMP exam
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The number of people earning PMP certification is increasing quickly
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Ethics, loosely defined, is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is "right" and "wrong"
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Project managers often face ethical dilemmas
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In order to earn PMP certification, applicants must agree to PMI's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
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Several questions on the PMP exam are related to professional responsibility, including ethics
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There are hundreds of different products to assist in performing project management
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Three main categories of tools:
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Low-end tools: Handle single or smaller projects well, cost under $200 per user
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Midrange tools: Handle multiple projects and users, cost $200-$1,000 per user, Project 2013 most popular
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High-end tools: Also called enterprise project management software, often licensed on a per-user basis
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Several free or open-source tools are also available
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A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result
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Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
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A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
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Project portfolio management involves organizing and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments
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Project managers play a key role in helping projects and organizations succeed
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The project management profession continues to grow and mature
