question

Project

answer

A project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result."*

question

Operations

answer

Operations is work done to sustain the business.

question

Project Attributes

answer

A project: Has a unique purpose. Is temporary. Is developed using progressive elaboration or in an iterative fashion. Requires resources, often from various areas. Should have a primary customer or sponsor. The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project. Involves uncertainty.

question

The Triple Constraint

answer

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?

question

What is Project Management?

answer

Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements."*

question

Project Stakeholders

answer

Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities. Stakeholders include: The project sponsor The project manager The project team Support staff Customers Suppliers Opponents to the project

question

Different ways to define project success

answer

The project met scope, time, and cost goals. The project satisfied the customer/sponsor. The project produced the desired results.

question

What is a Program?

answer

A program is: "a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually."* A program manager provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within the program.

question

Project portfolio management

answer

Project portfolio management is an emerging business strategy in which organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success.

question

Leader

answer

A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals.

question

Manager

answer

A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals.

question

Strategic planning

answer

Strategic planning involves determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, studying opportunities and threats in the business environment, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services. Strategic planning provides important information to help organizations identify and then select potential projects.

question

SWOT Analysis

answer

SWOT analysis involves analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It can help you identify potential projects, as is shown in the example about four people trying to start a new business.

question

Pyramid for the Project Selection Process

answer

Strategic Planning: Determine organizational strategy, goals, and objectives. Business area analysis: Analyze how various business areas can help achieve strategic goals Project Planning: Identify potential projects to help meet strategic goals. Resource Allocation: Allocate resources to selected projects.

question

Methods for Selecting Projects

answer

Focus on competitive strategy and broad organizational needs. Perform net present value analysis or other financial projections. Use a weighted scoring model. Implement a balanced scorecard. Address problems, opportunities, and directives. Consider project time frame. Consider project priority.

question

Performing Financial Projections

answer

Financial considerations are often an important aspect of the project selection process. Three important methods include: Net present value analysis Return on investment Payback analysis

question

Net Present Value Analysis

answer

Net present value (NPV) analysis is a method of calculating the expected net monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time. NPV means the return from a project exceeds the opportunity cost of capital—the return available by investing the capital elsewhere. Projects with higher NPVs are preferred to projects with lower NPVs if all other factors are equal

question

Steps for Calculating NPV

answer

Determine the estimated costs and benefits for the life of the project and the products it produces. Determine the discount rate. A discount rate is the rate used in discounting future cash flows. The annual discount factor is a multiplier for each year based on the discount rate and year (calculated as 1/(1+r)t, where r is the discount rate, and t is the year). Calculate the net present value by subtracting the total discounted costs from the total discounted benefits.

question

Return on Investment

answer

Return on investment (ROI) is the result of subtracting the project costs from the benefits and then dividing by the costs. For example, if you invest $100 today and next year your investment is worth $110, your ROI is ($110 - 100)/100, or 0.10 (10 percent). Note that the ROI is always a percentage, and the higher the ROI, the better. Many organizations have a required rate of return for projects—the minimum acceptable rate of return on an investment. You can find the internal rate of return (IRR) by finding what discount rate results in an NPV of zero for the project.

question

Payback Analysis

answer

Payback period is the amount of time it will take to recoup—in the form of net cash inflows—the total dollars invested in a project. Payback analysis determines how much time will lapse before accrued benefits overtake accrued and continuing costs. Payback occurs in the year when the cumulative benefits minus costs reach zero. The shorter the payback period, the better.

question

Weighted Scoring Models

answer

A weighted scoring model is a tool that provides a systematic process for selecting projects based on many criteria. To create a weighted scoring model: Identify criteria important to the project selection process. Assign a weight to each criterion (so they add up to 100 percent). Assign numerical scores to each criterion for each project. Calculate the weighted scores by multiplying the weight for each criterion by its score and adding the resulting values.

question

Implementing a Balanced Scorecard

answer

A balanced scorecard is a methodology that converts an organization's value drivers—such as customer service, innovation, operational efficiency, and financial performance—to a series of defined metrics.

question

Problems, Opportunities, and Directives

answer

Problems are undesirable situations that prevent an organization from achieving its goals. These problems can be current or anticipated. Opportunities are chances to improve the organization. Directives are new requirements imposed by management, government, or some external influence.

question

Project Time Frame

answer

Another approach to project selection is based on the time it will take to complete a project or the date by which it must be done. For example, some potential projects must be finished within a specific time period. If they cannot be finished by this set date, they are no longer valid projects. Some projects can be completed very quickly—within a few weeks, days, or even minutes. However, even though many projects can be completed quickly, it is still important to prioritize them.

question

Five Levels of Project Portfolio Management

answer

Put all of your projects in one list. Prioritize the projects in your list. Divide your projects into several categories based on types of investment. Automate the list. Apply modern portfolio theory, including risk-return tools that map project risks.

question

Project Management Process Groups

answer

Project management process groups progress from initiating activities to planning activities, executing activities, monitoring and controlling activities, and closing activities. A process is a series of actions directed toward a particular result.

question

Description of Process Groups

answer

Initiating processes include actions to begin or end projects and project phases. Planning processes include devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project meets its scope, time, and cost goals as well as organizational needs. Executing processes include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the deliverables of the project or phase. A deliverable is a product or service produced or provided as part of a project. Monitoring and controlling processes measure progress toward achieving project goals, monitor deviation from plans, and take corrective action to match progress with plans and customer expectations. Closing processes include formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly end.

question

Phase

answer

A phase is a distinct stage in project development, and most projects have distinct phases.

question

Methodology

answer

A methodology describes how things should be done, and different organizations often have different ways of doing things.

question

Champion

answer

Some projects have a senior manager called a champion who acts as a key proponent for a project.

question

How Top Managers Can Help Project Managers Succeed

answer

Provide adequate resources. Approve unique project needs in a timely manner. Encourage cooperation from people in other parts of the organization and deal with political issues. Mentor and coach them on leadership issues. Develop and enforce organizational standards. Support a Project Management Office (PMO).

question

Project Management Office (PMO)

answer

A project management office (PMO) is an organizational entity created to assist project managers in achieving project goals. A PMO can help development standards and methodologies, provide career paths for project managers, and assist project managers with training and certification.

question

Initiating Tasks

answer

Identify and understand project stakeholders. Prepare a business case for the project (if needed). Create the project charter. Hold a kick-off meeting. Develop a preliminary scope statement.

question

Project stakeholders

answer

Project stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities.

question

Stakeholder Analysis

answer

A stakeholder analysis provides information about key stakeholders to help manage relationships with them. Includes the following information: Names and organizations of key stakeholders Their roles on the project: Unique facts about each stakeholder Their levels of interest in the project Their influence on the project Suggestions for managing relationships with each stakeholder Because a stakeholder analysis often includes sensitive information, it should not be part of the official project plans, which are normally available for all stakeholders to review.

question

Preparing a Business Case for the Project

answer

Successful organizations initiate projects to meet business needs, and a common business need is to spend money wisely. A business case is a document that provides justification for investing in a project. The Phase I project provided a wealth of information to help write a business case for the Phase II project. It is a good idea to have one of the company's financial managers review the information for accuracy.

question

Contents of a Business Case

answer

Introduction/Background Business Objective Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity Statement Critical Assumptions and Constraints Analysis of Options and Recommendation Preliminary Project Requirements Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis Schedule Estimate Potential Risks Exhibits

question

Creating a Project Charter

answer

A project charter is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides a summary of the project's objectives and management. It authorizes the project manager to use organizational resources to complete the project. Ideally, the project manager will play a major role in developing the project charter. Instead of project charters, some organizations initiate projects using a simple letter of agreement or formal contracts. A crucial part of the project charter is the sign-off section.

question

kick-off meeting

answer

A kick-off meeting is a meeting held at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans. Often used to get support for a project and clarify roles and responsibilities. The project champion should speak first and introduce the project sponsor and project manager. Often a fair amount of work is done to prepare for the meeting.

question

Developing a Preliminary Scope Statement

answer

A scope statement is a document used to develop and confirm a common understanding of the project scope. It describes in detail the work to be accomplished and is an important tool for preventing scope creep—the tendency for project scope to continually increase. It is helpful to create a preliminary, or initial, scope statement during project initiation so that the entire project team can start important discussions and work related to the project scope. There are usually several versions, and each one becomes more detailed as the project progresses and more information becomes available.

question

Contents of a Scope Statement

answer

Contents and length will vary based on the project. Typical contents include: The product or service requirements and characteristics A summary of all deliverables The project success criteria References to related documents

question

Project Planning

answer

Project Planning Should Guide Project Execution. Planning is often the most difficult and unappreciated process in project management. Often, people do not want to take the time to plan well, but theory and practice show that good planning is crucial to good execution.

question

Project integration management

answer

Project integration management involves coordinating all the project management knowledge areas throughout a project's life span. The main planning tasks include: Creating a team contract Developing the project management plan

question

Team contracts

answer

Team contracts help promote teamwork and clarify team communications. The process normally includes the core project team members reviewing a template and then working in small groups to prepare inputs for their team contract. The project manager should act as a coach or facilitator, observing the different personalities of team members and seeing how well they work together. Everyone involved in creating the team contract should sign it, and as new project team members are added, the project manager should review ground rules with them and have them read and sign the contract as well.

question

Topics Covered in a Team Contract

answer

Code of conduct Participation Communication Problem solving Meeting guidelines

question

Project Management Plans

answer

A project management plan is a document used to coordinate all project planning documents and to help guide a project's execution and control.

question

Baseline

answer

A baseline is a starting point, a measurement, or an observation that is documented so that it can be used for future comparison; also defined as the original project plan plus approved changes.

question

Attributes of Project Management Plans

answer

Project management plans should be dynamic, flexible, and receptive to change when the environment or project changes. Just as projects are unique, so are project plans. For a small project involving a few people over a couple of months, a project charter, team contract, scope statement, and Gantt chart might be the only project planning documents needed; there would not be a need for a separate project management plan. A large project involving 100 people over three years would benefit from having a detailed project management plan and separate plans for each knowledge area. It is important to tailor all planning documentation to fit the needs of specific projects.

question

Common Elements in Project Management Plans

answer

Introduction/overview of the project Project organization Management and technical processes Work to be performed Schedule information Budget information References to other project planning documents

question

Project scope management

answer

Project scope management involves defining and controlling what work is or is not included in a project. The main planning tasks include scope planning, scope definition, and creating the WBS. The main documents produced are a scope management plan, scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary.

question

Scope Planning and the Scope Management Plan

answer

A project's size, complexity, importance, as well as other factors affect how much effort is spent on scope planning. The main output of scope planning is a scope management plan, which is a document that includes descriptions of how the team will prepare the scope statement, create the WBS, verify completion of the project deliverables, and control requests for changes to the project scope.

question

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

answer

A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project. The WBS is a document that breaks all the work required for the project into discrete tasks, and groups those tasks into a logical hierarchy. Often shown in two different forms: Chart form Tabular form

question

Work Packages

answer

A work package is a task at the lowest level of the WBS. It represents the level of work that the project manager monitors and controls. You can think of work packages in terms of accountability and reporting.

question

WBS dictionary

answer

A WBS dictionary is a document that describes each WBS task in detail.

question

Scope Baseline

answer

The approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBS dictionary form the scope baseline. Performance in meeting project scope goals is based on the scope baseline.

question

Project time management

answer

Project time management involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. The main planning tasks performed include activity definition, activity sequencing, activity resource estimating, activity duration estimating, and schedule development. The main documents produced are an activity list and attributes, a milestone list, a network diagram, the activity resource requirements, the activity duration estimates, and a project schedule.

question

Activity List

answer

The activity list is a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule. It should include the activity name, an activity identifier or number, and a brief description of the activity

question

Attributes

answer

The activity attributes provide schedule-related information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity. Both should be in agreement with the WBS and WBS dictionary and be reviewed by key project stakeholders.

question

Milestone

answer

A milestone is a significant event in a project. It often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete a milestone, but the milestone itself is like a marker to help identify necessary activities. There is usually no cost or duration for a milestone. Project sponsors and senior managers often focus on major milestones when reviewing projects.

question

Activity Sequencing

answer

Activity sequencing involves reviewing the activity list and attributes, project scope statement, and milestone list to determine the relationships or dependencies between activities. A dependency or relationship relates to the sequencing of project activities or tasks. For example, does a certain activity have to be finished before another one can start? Can the project team do several activities in parallel? Can some overlap? Activity sequencing has a significant impact on developing and managing a project schedule.

question

Mandatory dependencies

answer

Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project. You cannot hold training classes until the training materials are ready.

question

Discretionary dependencies

answer

Discretionary dependencies are defined by the project team. A project team might follow good practice and not start detailed design work until key stakeholders sign off on all of the analysis work.

question

External dependencies

answer

External dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project activities. The installation of new software might depend on delivery of new hardware from an external supplier. Even though the delivery of the new hardware might not be in the scope of the project, it should have an external dependency added to it because late delivery will affect the project schedule

question

Network Diagrams

answer

Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing. A network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities. In the activity-on-arrow (AOA) approach, or the arrow diagramming method (ADM), activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes (starting and ending point of an activity) to illustrate the sequence of activities; only show finish-to-start dependencies (most common type of dependency). The precedence diagramming method (PDM) is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities. These are more widely used as they can show all dependency types.

question

Bursts

answer

Bursts occur when two or more activities follow a single node.

question

Merge

answer

A merge occurs when two or more nodes precede a single node.

question

Duration

answer

Duration includes the actual amount of time spent working on an activity plus elapsed time. For example, even though it might take one workweek or five workdays to do the actual work, the duration estimate might be two weeks to allow extra time needed to obtain outside information or to allow for resource availability.

question

Effort

answer

Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task. A duration estimate of one day could be based on eight hours of work or eighty hours of work.

question

Discrete, Range, and Three-Point Estimates

answer

Duration estimates are often provided as discrete estimates, such as four weeks. A range estimate might be between three and five weeks. A three-point estimate is an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate, such as three, four, and five weeks.

question

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

answer

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates.

question

PERT weighted average

answer

PERT weighted average = optimistic time+4×most likely time+ pessimistic time

question

Critical Path Analysis

answer

Critical path method (CPM)—also called critical path analysis—is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed. It is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float. Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date. The longest path or the path containing the critical tasks is what is driving the completion date for the project.

question

What Does the Critical Path Really Mean?

answer

The critical path shows the shortest time in which a project can be completed.

question

Crashing

answer

Crashing is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost. If two critical tasks each take two weeks, and it will take $100 to shorten Task 1 by a week and $1,000 to shorten Task 2 by a week, shorten Task 1.

question

Fast tracking

answer

Fast tracking involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence. Instead of waiting for Task 1 to be totally finished before starting Task 2, start Task 2 when Task 1 is halfway done.

question

Project buffer

answer

A project buffer is additional time added before the project's due date to account for unexpected factors.

question

Project cost management

answer

Project cost management includes the processes required to ensure that a project team completes a project within an approved budget. The main planning tasks are cost estimating and cost budgeting. The main documents produced include a cost estimate and a cost baseline.

question

Analogous estimates

answer

Analogous estimates, also called top-down estimates, use the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project. This technique requires a good deal of expert judgment and is generally less costly than others are, but it can also be less accurate.

question

Bottom-up estimates

answer

Bottom-up estimates involve estimating individual activities and summing them to get a project total. This approach can increase the accuracy of the cost estimate, but it can also be time intensive and, therefore, expensive to develop.

question

Parametric modeling

answer

Parametric modeling uses project characteristics (parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate project costs.

question

Cost Budgeting

answer

Project cost budgeting involves allocating the project cost estimate to tasks over time. The tasks are based on the work breakdown structure for the project. The main goal of the cost budgeting process is to produce a cost baseline, or time-phased budget, that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.

question

Economies of Scale

answer

Economies of scale means when a company gain cost advantages with increasing level of production. With increased level of production, a company can purchase source material in bulk with cheaper price, thus decreases the cost of production, and see increases in profits.

question

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent)

answer

FTE is a unit that measures the ratio by calculating the hours of one or more part-time employees that compare to one full time employee. In a simple word, one FTE is equivalent to one full time worker. For example, if a company have two employees that works 30 hours per week, total up to 60 hours per week. Assuming a full time employee works 45 hours per week, the FTE for the company is 60 divided by 45, which is 1.3.

question

J-I-T (Just in time)

answer

Just in time is an inventory strategy that is also known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), developed by Toyota. It aims to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving or purchasing goods only as they are needed in the production process, thus reducing inventory costs. The main waste that JIT aims to eliminate are, • Waste of overproduction (largest waste) • Waste of time on hand (waiting) • Waste of transportation • Waste of processing itself • Waste of stock at hand • Waste of movement • Waste of making defective products

question

Luddite

answer

According to the dictionary, Luddite means one who is opposed to any innovative changes and especially technological change. In the early 19th century, One group of English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest because they sense the threat that the machinery will cause the demise of their trade. Nowadays, Luddite generally means people who are afraid of change, oppose to any changes that would change the way he or she does thing,

question

ERP (Enterprise resource planning system)

answer

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business management software—typically a suite of integrated applications—that a company can use to collect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities, including: • Product planning, cost • Manufacturing or service delivery • Marketing and sales • Inventory management • Shipping and payment ERP provides an integrated view of core business processes, often in real-time, using common databases maintained by a database management system.

question

Productivity

answer

Productivity is an average measure of the efficiency of production. It can be expressed as the ratio of output to inputs used in the production process, i.e. output per unit of input. When all outputs and inputs are included in the productivity measure it is called total productivity. Outputs and inputs are defined in the total productivity measure as their economic values. The value of outputs minus the value of inputs is a measure of the income generated in a production process. It is a measure of total efficiency of a production process and as such the objective to be maximized in production process.

question

Monte Carlo Methods

answer

Monte Carlo methods (or Monte Carlo experiments) are a broad class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to obtain numerical results. They are often used in physical and mathematical problems and are most useful when it is difficult or impossible to use other mathematical methods.

question

Mandatory dependencies

answer

Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project. You cannot hold training classes until the training materials are ready. External dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project activities. The installation of new software might depend on delivery of new hardware from an external supplier. Even though the delivery of the new hardware might not be in the scope of the project, it should have an external dependency added to it because late delivery will affect the project schedule

question

Discretionary dependencies

answer

Discretionary dependencies are defined by the project team. A project team might follow good practice and not start detailed design work until key stakeholders sign off on all of the analysis work.

question

Project quality management

answer

Project quality management ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken.

question

quality

answer

"the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements"

question

Conformance to requirements

answer

Conformance to requirements means that the project's processes and products meet written specifications.

question

Fitness for use

answer

Fitness for use means that a product can be used as it was intended.

question

Quality planning

answer

Quality planning includes identifying which quality standards are relevant to the project and how best to satisfy those standards.

question

metric

answer

A metric is a standard of measurement. They allow organizations to measure their performance in certain areas and to compare them over time or with other organizations. Examples of common metrics used by organizations include failure rates of products produced, availability of goods and services, and customer satisfaction ratings.

question

checklist

answer

A checklist is a list of items to be noted or consulted. It helps project teams verify that a set of required topics or steps has been covered or performed. A single project can have many different checklists, such as for: Interviewing project team members Selecting suppliers Reviewing important documents Ensuring a room is ready for training

question

Project human resource management

answer

Project human resource management is concerned with making effective use of the people involved with a project.

question

project organizational chart

answer

Similar to a company's organizational chart, a project organizational chart is a graphic representation of how authority and responsibility is distributed within the project. The size and complexity of the project determines how simple or complex the organizational chart is.

question

responsibility assignment matrix (RAM)

answer

A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is a matrix that maps the work of the project as described in the work breakdown structure (WBS) to the people responsible for performing the work. For smaller projects, it is best to assign WBS activities to individuals; for larger projects, it is more effective to assign the work to organizational units or teams.

question

RACI charts

answer

RACI charts are a type of RAM that show Responsibility, Accountability, Consultation, and Informed roles for project stakeholders.

question

resource histogram

answer

A resource histogram is a column chart that shows the number of resources required for or assigned to a project over time. In planning project staffing needs, senior managers often create a resource histogram in which columns represent the number of people needed in each skill category. By stacking the columns, you can see the total number of people needed each month. After resources are assigned to a project, you can view a resource histogram for each person to see how his/her time has been allocated

question

staffing management plan

answer

A staffing management plan describes when and how people will be added to and removed from a project. It describes the types of people needed to work on the project, the numbers needed for each type of person each month, and how these resources will be acquired, trained, rewarded, and reassigned after the project.

question

Project communications management

answer

Project communications management involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information. Key outputs include a communications management plan and a project Web site.

question

Project Risk Management Planning

answer

PMI defines a project risk as an uncertainty that can have a negative or positive effect on meeting project objectives. Key outputs of project risk management planning include a risk management plan, a probability/impact matrix, a risk register, and risk-related contractual agreements.

question

Risk Management Plans

answer

A risk management plan documents the procedures for managing risk throughout the life of a project. The general topics that a risk management plan should address include the methodology for risk management, roles and responsibilities, budget and schedule estimates for risk-related activities, risk categories, probability and impact matrices, and risk documentation.

question

Contingency plans

answer

Contingency plans are predefined actions that the project team will take if an identified risk event occurs.

question

Fallback plans

answer

Fallback plans are developed for risks that have a high impact on meeting project objectives, and are put into effect if attempts to reduce the risk are not effective; sometimes called contingency plans of last resort.

question

Contingency reserves or contingency allowances

answer

Contingency reserves or contingency allowances are funds held by the project sponsor that can be used to mitigate cost or schedule overruns if unknown risks occur.

question

Risk events

answer

Risk events refer to specific, uncertain events that may occur to the detriment or enhancement of the project. You can chart the probability and impact of risk events on a matrix.

question

Negative risk events

answer

Negative risk events include the performance failure of a product produced as part of a project, delays in completing work as scheduled, increases in estimated costs, supply shortages, litigation against the company, and strikes.

question

Positive risk events

answer

Positive risk events include completing work sooner than planned or at an unexpectedly reduced cost, collaborating with suppliers to produce better products, and obtaining good publicity from the project.

question

risk register

answer

A risk register is a document that contains the results of various risk management processes and is often displayed in a table or spreadsheet format. It is a tool for documenting potential risk events and related information, including: An identification number for each risk event A rank for each risk event (usually high, medium, or low) The name of the risk event A description of the risk event The category under which the risk event falls The root cause: The real or underlying reason a problem occurs Triggers: Indicators or symptoms of actual risk events Potential responses to each risk event The risk owner, or person who will own or take responsibility The probability of the risk event occurring The impact to the project if the risk event occurs The status of the risk event

question

Risk-Related Contractual Agreements

answer

Work done by outside suppliers or sellers should be well documented in contracts, which are mutually binding agreements that obligate the seller to provide the specified products or services, and obligate the buyer to pay for them.

question

Procurement Management Plans

answer

A procurement management plan is a document that describes how the procurement processes will be managed, from developing documentation for making outside purchases or acquisitions to contract closure.

question

Types of Contracts

answer

Fixed-price or lump-sum contracts involve a fixed total price for a well-defined product or service. Cost-reimbursable contracts involve payment to the seller for direct and indirect actual costs. Time-and-material contracts are a hybrid of both fixed-price and cost-reimbursable contracts. Unit pricing can also be used in various types of contracts to require the buyer to pay the supplier a predetermined amount per unit of service.

question

Request for Proposal (RFP)

answer

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a document used to solicit proposals from prospective suppliers.

question

proposal

answer

A proposal is a document in which sellers describe what they will do to meet the requirements of a buyer.

question

Request for Quote (RFQ)

answer

A Request for Quote (RFQ) is a document used to solicit quotes or bids from prospective suppliers.

question

bid

answer

A bid (also called a quote) is a document prepared by sellers providing pricing for standard items that have been clearly defined by the buyer.

question

contract statement of work (SOW)

answer

A contract statement of work (SOW) is a description of the work that is to be purchased. It is a type of scope statement that describes the work in sufficient detail to allow prospective suppliers to determine if they are capable of providing the goods and services required and an appropriate price. It should be clear, concise, and as complete as possible, describe all services required, and include performance information, such as the location and timing of the work.

question

Supplier Evaluation Matrix

answer

After doing a thorough evaluation of potential suppliers, many organizations summarize evaluations using a supplier evaluation matrix—a type of weighted scoring model. Suppliers are often evaluated on criteria related to cost, quality, technology, past performance, and management.

question

groupthink

answer

groupthink—conformance to the values or ethical standards of a group—if there are no conflicting viewpoints on various aspects of a project.

question

Quality assurance

answer

Quality assurance includes all the activities related to satisfying the relevant quality standards for a project. Another goal of quality assurance is continual quality improvement. Key outputs of quality assurance include recommended corrective actions and project plan updates.

question

Benchmarking

answer

Benchmarking generates ideas for quality improvements by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects or products within or outside of the organization itself (for example, training costs per employee and course ratings are benchmarks).

question

quality audit

answer

A quality audit is a structured review of specific quality management activities that helps identify lessons learned, which could improve performance on current or future projects.

question

Cause-and-effect diagrams

answer

Cause-and-effect diagrams—also called fishbone diagrams (because their structure resembles a fishbone) or Ishikawa diagrams (named after their founder)—can assist in ensuring and improving quality by finding the root causes of quality problems.

question

Motivation

answer

Intrinsic motivation causes people to participate in an activity for their own enjoyment. Extrinsic motivation causes people to do something for a reward or to avoid a penalty.

question

Thamhain and Wilemon's Ways to Have Influence on Projects

answer

1. Authority: The legitimate hierarchical right to issue orders. 2. Assignment: The project manager's perceived ability to influence a worker's later work assignments. 3. Budget: The project manager's perceived ability to authorize others' use of discretionary funds. 4. Promotion: The ability to improve a worker's position. 5. Money: The ability to increase a worker's pay and benefits. 6. Penalty: The project manager's ability to cause punishment. 7. Work challenge: The ability to assign work that capitalizes on a worker's enjoyment of doing a particular task. 8. Expertise: The project manager's perceived special knowledge that others deem important. 9. Friendship: The ability to establish friendly personal relationships between the project manager and others.

question

Stephen Covey's 7 habits

answer

Be proactive. Begin with the end in mind. Put first things first. Think win/win. Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Synergize. Sharpen the saw.

question

empathic listeners

answer

Good project managers are empathic listeners—they listen with the intent to understand.

question

rapport

answer

rapport—a relation of harmony, conformity, accord, or affinity.

question

Mirroring

answer

Mirroring is the matching of certain behaviors of the other person, a technique to help establish rapport.

question

Tuckman Model of Team Development

answer

Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

question

Reward and Recognition Systems

answer

Team-based reward and recognition systems can promote teamwork. Focus on rewarding teams for achieving specific goals. Allow time for team members to mentor and help each other to meet project goals and develop human resources.

question

short list

answer

Often, buyers develop a short list of the top three to five suppliers to reduce the work involved in selecting a source, and they are often asked to prepare a best and final offer (BAFO).

question

Earned value management (EVM)

answer

Earned value management (EVM) is a project performance measurement technique that integrates scope, time, and cost data.

question

planned value (PV)

answer

The planned value (PV) is that portion of the approved total cost estimate planned to be spent on an activity during a given period.

question

actual cost (AC

answer

The actual cost (AC) is the total direct and indirect costs incurred in accomplishing work on an activity during a given period.

question

earned value (EV)

answer

The earned value (EV) is an estimate of the value of the physical work actually completed. It is based on the original planned costs for the activity and the rate at which the team is completing work on the activity to date.

question

rate of performance (RP)

answer

The rate of performance (RP) is the ratio of actual work completed to the percentage of work planned to have been completed at any given time.

question

Earned Value Formulas

answer

EV = PV to date * RP Cost Variance (CV) = EV - AC Schedule Variance(SV) = EV - PV Cost Performance Index (CPI) = EV/AC Schedule Performance Index(SPI) = EV/PV Estimate at Completion (EAC) = BAC(Budget at Completion)/CPI Estimated Time to Complete = Orignal time/SPI

question

Interpreting Earned Value Numbers

answer

In general, negative numbers for cost and schedule variance indicate problems in those areas. Negative numbers mean the project is costing more than planned or taking longer than planned. Likewise, CPI and SPI less than one or less than 100 percent indicate problems.

question

Objectives of Integrated Change Control

answer

Influence the factors that cause changes to ensure that changes are beneficial. Determine that a change has occurred. Manage actual changes as they occur. Note: The project management plan provides the baseline for identifying and controlling project changes.

question

Monitoring and Controlling Tasks for Project Scope Management

answer

The main monitoring and controlling tasks performed as part of project scope management are scope verification and scope control.

question

Scope Creep

answer

Even when the project scope is fairly well defined, many projects suffer from scope creep—the tendency for project scope to grow bigger and bigger.

question

Scope verification

answer

Scope verification involves formal acceptance of the completed project scope by the project sponsor or designated stakeholders. Acceptance is often achieved through customer inspection and then sign-off on key deliverables.

question

Scope Control

answer

You cannot control the scope of a project unless you have first clearly defined the scope and set a scope verification process in place. You also need to develop a process for soliciting and monitoring changes to project scope; stakeholders should be encouraged to suggest beneficial changes and discouraged from suggesting unnecessary changes.

question

Monitoring and Controlling Tasks for Project Time Management

answer

The main monitoring and controlling task performed as part of project time management is schedule control. Project managers often cite delivering projects on time (schedule control) as one of their biggest challenges, because schedule problems often cause more conflict than other issues.

question

No Surprises

answer

Top management hates surprises, so the project manager must be clear and honest in communicating project status. By no means should project managers create the illusion that the project is going fine when, in fact, serious problems have emerged.

question

Monitoring and Controlling Tasks for Project Cost Management

answer

The main monitoring and controlling task performed as part of project cost management is cost control.

question

Monitoring and Controlling for Project Quality Management

answer

The main project quality management task for monitoring and controlling is quality control. Key outputs include quality-control measurements, validated defect repair, and validated deliverables. The main outcomes of this process are acceptance decisions, rework, and process adjustments.

question

Monitoring and Controlling Tasks for Project Human Resource Management

answer

The main human resource management task performed as part of monitoring and controlling a project is managing the project team, which is no small task! Project managers must use their soft skills to find the best way to motivate and manage each team member.

question

Tools and Techniques for Managing Project Teams

answer

Observation and conversation Project performance appraisals Conflict management Issue logs

question

Performance Reporting

answer

Performance reporting keeps stakeholders informed about how resources are being used to achieve project objectives. Status reports describe where the project stands at a specific point in time. Progress reports describe what the project team has accomplished during a certain period. Forecasts predict future project status and progress based on past information and trends.

question

issue

answer

An issue is a matter under question or dispute that could impede project success.

question

issue log

answer

An issue log is a tool used to document and monitor the resolution of project issues.

question

Constructive change orders

answer

Constructive change orders are oral or written acts or omissions by someone with actual or apparent authority that can be construed to have the same effect as a written change order.

question

Contract closure

answer

Contract closure involves completion and settlement of contracts, and resolution of any open items. Two tools to assist in contract closure are: Procurement audits, which help to identify lessons learned in the entire procurement process. A records management system, which provides the ability to easily organize, find, and archive procurement-related documents.

question

Capabilities and Outcomes

answer

Capabilities are incremental steps that lead to best practices, and outcomes are the results of applying capabilities.

question

maturity model

answer

A maturity model is a framework for helping organizations improve their processes and systems.

CST4800 Mid Term – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards