Intro to Project Management Chapter 4 – Flashcards
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activity attributes
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Information that provides 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.
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activity list
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A tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule.
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activity-on-arrow (AOA)
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A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities.
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arrow diagramming method (ADM)
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A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities.
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analogous estimates / top-down estimates
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The estimates that use the actual cost of a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the cost of the current project.
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baseline
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A starting point, a measurement, or and observation that is documented so that it can be used for future comparison; also defined as the original project plans plus approved changes.
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bottom-up estimates
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Cost estimates created by estimating individual activities and summing them to get a project total.
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buffer
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Additional time to complete a task, added to an estimate to account for various factors.
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burst
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An occurrence when two or more activities follow a single node on a network diagram.
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cost baseline
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A time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.
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crashing
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A technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
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critical chain scheduling
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A method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
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critical path method (CPM) / analysis
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A networking diagramming techniques used to predict total project duration.
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dependency / relationship
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The sequence of project activities or tasks.
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discretionary dependencies
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The dependencies that are defined by the project team.
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duration
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The actual amount of time spent working on an activity plus elapsed time.
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effort
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The number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task.
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external dependencies
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The dependencies that involve relationships between project and non-project activities.
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fast tracking
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A scheduling compression technique where you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence.
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feeding buffers
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Additional time added before tasks on the critical path that are preceded by non-critical path tasks.
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Gantt charts
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A standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format.
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mandatory dependencies
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The dependencies that are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project.
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merge
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A situation when two or more nodes precede a single node on a network diagram.
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milestone
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A significant event on a project.
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multitasking
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When a resource works on more than one tasks at a time.
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Murphy's Law
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If something can go wrong, it will.
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network diagram
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A schematic display of the logical relationships among or sequencing of project activities.
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node
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The starting and ending of an activity-on-arrow network diagram.
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parametric modeling
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A technique that uses project characteristics (parameters) in a mathematical model to estimate project cost.
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Parkinson's Law
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Work expands to fill time allowed.
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precedence diagramming method (PDM)
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A network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities.
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Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
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A network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates
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project buffer
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The additional time added before a project's due date to account for unexpected factors.
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project management plan
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A document which is a deliverable for the project integration management knowledge area, used to coordinate all project planning documents and to help guide a project's execution and control.
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scope baseline
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The approved project scope statement and its associated WBS and WBA dictionary
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scope management plan
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A document that includes descriptions of how the team will prepare the project scope statement , create the WBS, verify completion if the project deliverables, and control requests for changes to the project scope.
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slack / float
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The amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date.
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team contract
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A document created to help promote team work and clarify team communications.
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Theory of Constraints (TOC)
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A management philosophy that states that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that is limiting its ability to achieve more of its goal.
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three-point estimate
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An estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely and pessimistic estimate.
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work breakdown structure (WBS)
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A deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project.
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work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary
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A document that describes detailed information about WBS tasks.
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work package
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A task at the lowest level of the WBS.
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requirement
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a condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system, product, service, result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formal document
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requirements management plan
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a plan that describes how project requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed.
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requirements tractability matrix (RTM)
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A table that lists requirements, various attributes of each requirement, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all of them are addressed.
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Scope Creep
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The tendency for project scope to continually increase
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Critical path
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The series of activities that determine the earliest 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
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Organizational process assets
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Policies and procedures related to project management, past project files, and lessons-learned reports from previous, similar projects
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Execution
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The main purpose of project planning is to guide ______.
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"you plan to fail?"
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End of the saying, "If you fail to plan..."
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all of them
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Number of knowledge areas that include planning processes
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planning
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Often the most difficult and unappreciated process in project management
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gets managed
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End of the saying, "What gets measured..."
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project management plan
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Plan that coordinates all other project plans
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team contract
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Document created to help promote teamwork and clarify team communications (a ________ contract)
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baseline
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A starting point or measurement that can be used for future comparison
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dynamic or flexible
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As opposed to static, project management plans should be this
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variable
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The length of a project management plan is ______.
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meeting
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The ______ guidelines section of a team contract describes items like arranging telephone or video-conferencing, developing and following agendas, etc.
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subsidiary plans
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Other plans that the project management plan refers to, such as the scope management plan, risk management plan, etc. are called ________ plans
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work package
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Lowest level of the WBS
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work breakdown structure
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Meaning of the acronym WBS
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scope
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The _____ management plan involves defining and controlling what work is or is not included in the project
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statement
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The project scope ______ defines the scope of a project
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mind mapping
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approach for creating a WBS that that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas
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activities
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Process in project time management that seems more like a scope task - defining ________
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milestone
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A significant event on a project
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SMART
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Acronym for creating milestones that are specific, measureable, assignable, realistic, and time-framed
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critical
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Shows the shortest time in which a project can be completed; also the longest path through a network diagram - the ______ path
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chain
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A method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule - critical ____ scheduling
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parametric
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Type of estimate that uses project characteristics in a mathematical model, such as number of square feet of a house
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cost budgeting
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Allocating the overall cost estimate to individual tasks over time
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bottom-up estimate
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Type of estimate that can be very accurate but also very expensive to create
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analogous or top-down
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Type of estimate that uses the actual costs of a similar project as its basis
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baseline
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A time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance - a cost ______
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guide project execution
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The main purpose of project planning is to
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85-90%
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EI accounts for ______ of the difference between outstanding leaders and their more average peers.
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emotion
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When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of ______
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Self-awareness Self-management Social-Awareness Relationship Management
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Four Dimensions to Emotional Intelligence
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Mindfulness
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being aware of our own inner experience (attuned to self), and paying attention to what is happening around us (attuned to others and the world around us).
