businiess

Question 1

what is a project

Answer 1

“A project is a temporary organisation that is created for the purpose of delivering one or
more business products according to an agreed business case”

Question 2

Main features of a project

Answer 2

Finite duration
Specific deliverable's or products 
Defined scope
Unique and one-off
Uncertain and risky
Multi-disciplined
Cross functional / cross enterprise
Complex relationships

Question 3

define runner in terms of spectrum of projects

Answer 3

delivery process the same with new end produc

Question 4

what is Drill for oil; open new Tesco; financial audit; type of project

Answer 4

runner

Question 5

define repeaters in terms of spectrum of projects

Answer 5

like the last job but with these differences

Question 6

what is Mergers and acquisitions; mountain rescue type of project

Answer 6

repeaters

Question 7

Strangers

Answer 7

highly bespoke

Question 8

examples of strangers

Answer 8

Management consultancy;
R&D, product development,
process change, major
disaster relief

Question 9

What is a business case

Answer 9

Documentation of the justification of a project, owned by the Project
Executive/Sponsor on the Project Board

Question 10

examples of juistifactions

Answer 10

Usually quantified in financial terms, e.g. revenues/market share, cost/efficiency
savings, regulatory requirement

Question 11

what is the role of the senior user on the board

Answer 11

Often only realised after project is completed – responsibility for ensuring they
happen usually rests with the Senior User on the Project Board

Question 12

what is net present value

Answer 12

Net present value (NPV)= value of all free cash flow from operation, current and future, discounted to reflect the risk of those earnings

Question 13

what is FCF

Answer 13

FCF is cash available to the
providers of capital to the
business: debt holders and
equity holders

Question 14

what is the role of project board

Answer 14

Accountable for the success and realisation of benefits.
Approve plans/resources; Monitoring/Assurance; Direction
Need: Authority/Credibility/Ability to delegate/Available

Question 15

what is role of manager

Answer 15

Responsible for day to day management within
constraints set by Project Board.
Managing NOT doing

Question 16

role of Team/Stream

Leader

Answer 16

Responsible for the work packages and

deliverables: cost/time/quality

Question 17

features of communication

Answer 17

• Project managers spend most of their time communicating
• Internally at all levels and externally
• Creates the bridge between diverse stakeholders
• Different cultures, expertise, perspectives and interests
• Misunderstandings and lack of information are a key reason for
project failures

Question 18

Featutes of managing by stages

Answer 18

Plan, monitor and control on a stage by stage basis
• Stage gates allow formal review of activities and deliverables to decide whether to proceed to the next stage – continued justification

Question 19

why is the initiation phase important

Answer 19

. Where the project is defined and planned
• Where most of the decision that affect costs and
benefits are made
• Where revision to decision are most easily made
as little is committed at this stage

Question 20

what is the project brief

Answer 20

Summaries what the project is
What it will deliver – the scope
Why it is desirable – the high level business case
How the project will work – the plan for the plan
Who is going to do it - Sponsor and project management team
When - The top level project stage schedule
What can go wrong – key risks
It is owened by the sponser

Question 21

What are the features of Focus on products

Answer 21

❑ Focus on Products, or deliverables In contrast to focus on activities or work
❑ Clients want outputs NOT activity
❑ Client knows what they are going to get
❑ Scope is as clear as can make it -What is in and what is out
❑ What it will do and the quality expectations
❑ Gets user buy-in
❑ Interfaces are made clear

Question 22

what is bottom up costing estimation approach

Answer 22

❑ Use the financial model to create detail of cost items
❑ Can go to high level of detail
❑ Build in sensitivity modelling

Question 23

what is Analogous estimating

Answer 23

estimating In proportion to similar project

Question 24

examples of parametic estimating

Answer 24

Parametric
❑ Lines of code per day
❑ Metres of road per day
❑ Miles of tunnel per day

Question 25

key features of critical chain method

Answer 25

Remove due-date mentality and
multitasking
Identify constraints
Focus on the constraint to remove it

Question 26

What is risk management and why do we have to manage it

Answer 26

A risk is an uncertain event that, if it occurs will have an effect on the project
objectives.

manage because
❑ The future is inherently uncertain
❑ Downside uncertainty – bad things happen
❑ Upside uncertainty – opportunities to exploit

Question 27

what is quality contrOL

Answer 27

❑Clear deliverable descriptions that define quality criteria and tolerances
Reviewed and agreed by customers and the Board
Used to sign-off the deliverables
❑ Test and inspection of deliverables
❑Have test plans derived from quality criteria and limits in the product description
❑ Recording of decisions and actions to provide audit trail
❑ E.g. test results

Question 28

whta is EV

Answer 28

EV is the value of work performed in terms of planned budget

Question 29

what is scope creep

Answer 29

Adding features and functionality without
addressing the effects on time, costs and
resources

Question 30

what is the purpose of closure

Answer 30

The purpose is to provide a fixed point at which acceptance of the project product
is confirmed, and recognize that objectives set out in the Brief have been
achieved, or that the project has nothing more to contribute.

Question 31

key points of learning from experience

Answer 31

❑ Reviews take place throughout project
❑ Evaluate performance
• Was it on time
• Did it met budget
• Did quality match requirement
• Were the benefits realised – may be deferred
• How well did processes operate