Practice Test A – Flashcards

Weak matrix Explanation: A weak matrix organizational structure is difficult for project managers, because they essentially become project facilitators. In a weak matrix structure, project managers can plan and evaluate project implementation, but they have no authority over workers. Hence, project managers rely entirely on the resources of functional managers. Workers share little attachment to the project or its managers, because only the functional managers in an organization are responsible for promotions. The project manager has no authority over team members; they report on performance only to the functional manager. In a weak matrix organizational structure, the project manager is also known as project coordinator. Answer option A is incorrect because a strong matrix organizational structure gives project managers the power to handle workers directly, and therefore adequately handle the entire project. But project managers are not accountable for human resource management. When managers start new projects, they discuss their staffing needs with the functional managers, who seek to fill those needs. Answer option B is incorrect because a traceability matrix is a document, usually in the form of a table that correlates any two baseline documents that require a many-to-many relationship to determine its completeness. It is often used together with high-level requirements (often marketing requirements) and the detailed requirements of the software product to the matching parts of high-level design, detailed design, test plan, and test cases. Answer option D is incorrect because a coverage matrix is a table used to manage tracing. It's ideally applicable to smaller projects in which there are fewer—or only high-level—requirements to trace.

Strong matrix Explanation: A strong matrix organizational structure gives project managers the power to handle workers directly and therefore adequately handle the entire project. But project managers are not accountable for human resource management. When project managers start new projects, they discuss their staffing needs with functional managers, who seek to fill those needs. Answer option A is incorrect. A coverage matrix is a table used to manage tracing. It s ideally suited to smaller projects in which there are few—or only high-level—requirements to trace. Answer option B is incorrect. A risk matrix is a tool used in the risk assessment process. It allows the severity of a risk event to be determined. In a risk matrix, a table of risks, their probability, and their impact equate to a risk score. Answer option D is incorrect. A weak matrix organizational structure is difficult for project managers, because they essentially become project facilitators. They can plan and evaluate project implementation, but they don't have any authority over workers. Hence, project managers rely entirely on the resources of functional managers. Workers share little attachment to the project or its managers, because only the functional managers within an organization are responsible for promotions. Project managers have no authority over members of their team, who report only to the functional manager regarding performance.

Validate the business case. Identify and analyze stakeholders. Explanation: The steps in validating a project include validating the business case and identifying and analyzing stakeholders.

Discounted cash flow NPV IRR Explanation: An economic model includes discounted cash flow, NPV, and IRR. Benefit measurement methods include cost-benefit analysis, a scoring model, and a payback period.

Report performance Distribute information Identify stakeholders Explanation: Project Communications Management is one of the nine Knowledge Areas. It employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information. The following processes are part of Project Communications Management: Identify Stakeholders Plan Communications Distribute Information Manage Stakeholder Expectations Report Performance The Project Communications Management processes provide the critical links among people and information that are necessary for successful communication. These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well. Answer option C is incorrect because the Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) process is associated with the Project Scope Management knowledge area.

Integrating the project work and assuring the satisfaction of stakeholders Explanation: Project integration is the core function of project managers, and assuring the satisfaction of the stakeholders is their primary responsibility.

66 Explanation: There are 66 lines of communication. The formula for this equation is 12(12 - 1) / 2 = 66.

Planning the project Explanation: For an average project, project managers spend the majority of their time on well-developed project planning activities, such as creating the project scope statement, WBS, schedule, budget, and project plan.

Develop Project Charter Identify Stakeholders Explanation: The Initiating Process Group consists of the Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders processes. These processes define a new project or new phase of an existing project by obtaining authorization to start the project or phase. A project charter is a document that officially recognizes and acknowledges that a project exists. It helps define requirements and expectations for everyone involved in the project. It's issued by a project sponsor. A project charter can be as simple as a one-page form, for a very small project, that briefly describes the project, and authorizes and lists a project manager's responsibilities. However, it can be much longer, depending on project size. In addition to formally authorizing the project, the charter provides the project manager with authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. Project charters are important to project success. It's a good idea to assign a project manager prior to the start of planning, and preferably during project charter development. A project is successful when it achieves its objectives and meets or exceeds the expectations of the stakeholders. Stakeholders are those folks (or organizations) with a vested interest in your project. They may be active or passive as far as participation on the project goes, but the one thing they all have in common is that each of them has something to either gain or lose as a result of the project. Project stakeholders are those entities inside or outside an organization that sponsor or have an interest in a project, or who gain from its successful completion. More specifically, project stakeholders are individuals and organizations actively involved in the project, or those whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over its objectives and outcomes. The project management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their requirements and expectations, and, to the extent possible, manage their influence in relation to project requirements to ensure its successful completion. The project sponsor, generally an executive in the organization with the authority to assign resources and enforce decisions regarding the project, is a stakeholder. The project sponsor generally serves as the tie-breaker decision maker and is one of the people on your escalation path. The customer is a stakeholder, as are contractors and suppliers. The project manager, the project team members, and the managers from other departments, including the operations areas, are stakeholders as well. It's important to identify all the stakeholders in your project up front. Leaving out an important stakeholder or their department's function and not discovering the error until well into the project can be a project killer. Answer options B and C are incorrect because the Develop Project Management Plan and Define Scope processes are parts of the Planning Process Group.

An executive with the power to authorize the project Explanation: An executive with the power to authorize a project approves and signs the project charter. This sign-off provides the project manager with the authority to move forward, and it serves as the official notification of the start of the project. This approval is usually required prior to the release of purchase orders or the commitments made by the functional managers to provide resources to support the project. Answer option A is incorrect because the functional manager has the authority to assign project team members to activities. Answer option B is incorrect because the project manager is responsible for managing the work associated with the project. Answer option C is incorrect because the most senior project team member is the expert who will perform the work associated with the project.

In the project charter As a step in validating a project Explanation: Stakeholders are identified and analyzed during project validation, and listed in the project charter. Answer option A is incorrect because preparing a business case is one of the steps for validating a project. Answer option B is incorrect because the stakeholder matrix is a listing of stakeholders, who have already been identified by this time.

Closing Explanation: The primary purpose of the closing process group is to document formal acceptance of project work and to hand off the completed product to the organization for ongoing maintenance and support. Thus, it includes a transition plan, lessons learned, final individual performance appraisals, a close report, and a post mortem analysis. Answer option A is incorrect because the executing process group puts the project plan into action and the work of the project is performed. Answer option C is incorrect because the initiating process group is the first process in a project's life cycle. This is a formal acknowledgment of the project, which results in a project charter. Answer option D is incorrect because the monitoring/controlling process group performs activities to monitor project progress and identify possible variances in the project plan.

Planning Executing Closing Explanation: Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing are the five project management process groups. For more information, please see Chapter 2.

Project manager Explanation: It's the project manager's responsibility to investigate a customer's request, understand it, and document its high-level requirements. Answer option A is incorrect because a project sponsor is an executive in the organization with the authority to assign a budget and resources to a project. Project sponsors serve as final decision makers on the project, and sign and approve a project charter. Answer option B is incorrect because a functional manager is responsible for assigning work to employees who report to her. She is also responsible for rating employee performance and determining raises or bonuses. Answer option D is incorrect because a stakeholder is a person or organization with something to gain or lose as a result of implementing the project. Stakeholders are key to the success of your project.

Goals and objectives Explanation: Goals and objectives are specific and measurable. A project description describes key characteristics of a product, service, or project result, but the clue in this question is the quantifiable results you're looking for at the conclusion of the project. The project description describes the project as a whole, and milestones describe its major deliverable or accomplishments. For more information, please see Chapter 2.

Project calendar Explanation: A project calendar shows the list of working and nonworking days (either holidays or planned time off when no work will be done). Nonworking days are considered idle time A project calendar is used to define the working and nonworking days and times for tasks. It usually represents an organization's traditional working hours, and is used to schedule project tasks without assigned resources or of fixed duration. By default, a standard base calendar is used as the project calendar. A user can also reflect alternative schedules by using other base calendars. The project calendar's working days and hours reflect those for the whole project. A user can specify special days off, such as company holidays, and can indicate other nonworking times to reflect periods when the whole team will be working on non-project activities, such as company meetings or department retreats. Answer option A is incorrect because a project schedule defines when project work will happen, the order of the work, and its activities. Answer option B is incorrect because a resource calendar defines when project resources are available for project work. A resource calendar defines when specific team members won't be available for project work. A project s composite resource calendar, which is part of a project management plan, documents working days and nonworking days, when specific resources (people or material) will be active or idle. The calendar typically identifies resource-specific holidays and resource availability periods, as well as the quantity of each resource available during each availability period. Having a well-maintained resource calendar is critical to project communications. A resource calendar defines when specific team members won't be available for project work. A project s composite resource calendar, which is part of a project management plan, documents working days and nonworking days, when specific resources (people or material) will be active or idle. The calendar typically identifies resource-specific holidays and resource availability periods, as well as the quantity of each resource available during each availability period. Having a well-maintained resource calendar is critical to project communications. Answer option C is incorrect because a corporate calendar defines a corporation's working hours, such as holidays and busy-season rules.

Constraint Explanation: Constraint restricts the actions of a project team and may take the form of a budget, resources, schedules, or other limitations. Answer option A is incorrect because a milestone marks or indicates the completion of key project deliverables. Answer option C is incorrect because an assumption is an event, action, concept, or idea one believes to be true. Answer option D is incorrect because risk is a potential future event that possesses either opportunities or threats to the project.

Scope management plan Explanation: A scope management plan describes procedures for preparing a scope statement and WBS, a definition of how deliverables will be verified, and a description of the process for controlling changes. Answer option A is incorrect because a project charter provides formal approval for the project to begin and authorizes the project manager to assign resources to it. Answer option B is incorrect because a project scope statement documents project objectives, deliverables, and work required to produce deliverables. Answer option C is incorrect because an RFP is a procurement document advertised to a vendor community requesting vendors to provide a written proposal outlining how they will meet project requirements and how much it will cost to do so.

What are project deliverables? What are project boundaries? What are constraints? Explanation: The project scope statement provides a product description; acceptance criteria; key deliverables; as well as project boundaries, assumptions, and constraints. It also contains details of technical issues and other concerns that can affect quality planning, and that should have been identified as a result of planning processes in project scope management.

Process owner Explanation: A process owner is responsible for defining key performance indicators (KPIs). A process owner is responsible for defining key performance indicators (KPIs). She executes the crucial role of process champion, design lead, supporter, instructor, and protector. The process owner should be a senior-level manager with credibility, influence, and authority across various areas impacted by process activities. She must have the ability to influence and ensure compliance to policies and procedures put in place across cultural and departmental silos of an IT organization. The role of process owner must be defined in the initial planning phase of any ITIL project. She's responsible for overall process quality and oversees management of, and organizational compliance to, process flow, procedures, data models, policies, and technologies associated with the IT business process. As their name makes explicit, key performance indicators (KPIs) are a measure of performance. Such measures are commonly used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is, typically in terms of making progress toward its long-term organizational goals. KPIs can be specified by answering the question: What is really important for different stakeholders? KPIs can be monitored using business intelligence techniques to assess an organization s present state and assist in prescribing a course of action. The act of monitoring KPIs in real time is known as "business activity monitoring" (BAM). KPIs differ, depending on the nature of the organization and its strategy. They help to evaluate its progress toward its vision and long-term goals, especially toward difficult-to-quantify knowledge-based goals. Answer option B is incorrect because a service level manager is responsible for negotiating service-level agreements and ensuring that these are met. He makes sure that all IT service management processes, operational level agreements, and underpinning contracts are appropriate to agreed service-level targets. As the title denotes, the service-level manager also monitors and reports on service levels. Answer option C is incorrect. The Service Owner is responsible for a specific service such as infrastructure, application, or professional service in an organization, despite the location of its underpinning technology components, processes, or professional capabilities . However, to ensure that a service is managed with a business focus, defining a single point of responsibility is absolutely necessary to give a level of attention and focus required for its delivery. Service ownership is as critical to service management as establishing ownership is to processes that cross multiple vertical silos or departments. Thus, the service owner is responsible for continuous improvement and management of change affecting these services. He's a prime stakeholder in all IT processes that enable or support them. Answer option D is incorrect because a process manager is responsible for planning and coordinating all process management activities. She supports all parties involved in managing and improving processes, in particular process owners. The process manager also coordinates all changes to processes, thereby making sure that all processes cooperate in a seamless way.

Resource breakdown structure Explanation: A resource breakdown structure is a document that contains a project scope, estimates project cost, identifies required resources, and develops a project schedule. It is managed by the organization's financial manager, who also authorizes the project to begin. Answer option A is incorrect because the final element of scope planning is the work breakdown structure (WBS), a deliverables-oriented hierarchy that defines all project work. Answer option B is incorrect because an organizational breakdown structure specifies human resources needed for the project. Answer option C is incorrect because an RACI matrix is a type of RAM (responsibility assignment matrix) that describes resources and their level of responsibility, including "responsible," "accountable," "consult," or "inform."

Planning Explanation: The planning process is where project goals, objectives, and deliverables are refined and broken down into manageable units of work. Project managers create time and cost estimates and determine resource requirements for each activity. Planning involves several other critical areas of project management, including communication, risk, human resources, quality, and procurement. Answer option A is incorrect because the initiating process includes all activities that lead up to final authorization to begin the project, starting with the original project request. This process can be formal or informal, depending on the organization. Answer option C is incorrect because it's during the executing process that project work is performed. The project manager must coordinate all project team members as well as other assigned project resources. Answer option D is incorrect because the monitoring and controlling process monitors project progress to identify any variances from the project plan.

They are deliverables. Explanation: The elements of a WBS are deliverables. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a visual decomposition of project scope. Project scope is further broken down into smaller, more manageable units, each of which can be broken down further to arrive at the "work package," the smallest item in the WBS. Project groups and its discrete work elements are defined in a way that helps organize and define the project's total work scope. A WBS element can be a product, data, a service, or any combination thereof. WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control, along with guidance for schedule development and control. Answer option B is incorrect it defines a scope statement. Answer option C is incorrect because it's more apparent in a risk management plan. Answer option D is incorrect because a weak matrix is an organizational structure.

Precedence diagram method (PDM) Explanation: The precedence diagram method (PDM) is a technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to illustrate the sequence in which activities are to be performed. Answer option A is incorrect because CCM allows a project team to place buffers on any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties. Answer option B is incorrect because, in ADM, arrows represent activities and nodes represent connecting points between activities. Answer option C is incorrect because CDM is a way to diagram activities in a loop or repeated throughout a project to diagram activities not in sequential order.