Ch 1 - Initiating the Project

Question 1

What are the four required components of a project?

Answer 1

1. unique
2. temporary
3. assigning resources to complete work of the project, and assuring results of project meet quality standards outlined in project plan
4. stakeholder satisfaction

Question 2

What are the 4 steps in pre-project setup?

Answer 2

1. identifying the project
2. validate the project
3. write project charter
4. obtain approval for charter

Question 3

What are the two steps involved in validating the project?

Answer 3

1. create the business case, including justification for project
2. identifying and analyzing the stakeholders

Question 4

what steps are including in validating the business case?

Answer 4

1. determine business reason/need for the project

2. create the business case

Question 5

what is a business case?

Answer 5

written document or report that helps exec mgmt and key statekholders determine benefits and rewards of project

Question 6

what info is included in a business case?

Answer 6

1. business need or justification for the project
2. high-level details re: estimated budget
3. high-level timelines for completing project
4. feasibility study (optional)
5. alignment to strategic plan

Question 7

What is included in the project justification, and where is it in included? (3)

Answer 7

1. tangible and intangible benefits
2. reason for bringing about the project
3. can be section w/in business case or independent doc

Question 8

What happens after the business case is created?

Answer 8

1. select which method to use to decide on which project to pursue

Question 9

What are the four reason project selection methods will vary?

Answer 9

1. mission of org
2. people serving on selection committee
3. criteria used
4. project itself

Question 10

What are the three primary categories of decision models?

Answer 10

1. benefit measure methods
2. constrained-optimization models
3. expert judgement

Question 11

what is a benefit measure method?

Answer 11

provides a means to compare benefits obtained from project requests by evaluating them using same criteria, most commonly used decision model

Question 12

what are four common benefit measurement method?

Answer 12

1. cost-benefit analysis
2. scoring model
3. payback period
4. economic model

Question 13

what is a cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 13

1. one option under benefit measurement methods for decision models
2. compares cost to produce product or service to financial gain/benefit

Question 14

when is the cost-benefit model a good choice for project selection?

Answer 14

when decision is based on how quickly project investment will be recouped from either decreased expenses or increased revenue

Question 15

what is the weakness of using cost-benefit analysis

Answer 15

doesnt’ account for other important factors such as strategic value

Question 16

what is scoring model? (3)

Answer 16

1. one option under benefit measurement methods for decision models
2. model that has predefined list of criteria against which each project is rated
3. each criterion has scoring range and weighting factor

Question 17

what is an advantage of scoring model?

Answer 17

can place heavier weight on criterion that is more importance

Question 18

what is the weakness of the scoring model?

Answer 18

ranking it produces is only as valuable as criteria and weighting system ranking is based on

Question 19

What is an economic model for project selection models?

Answer 19

series of financial calculations (aka cash flow techniques) which provide data on overall financials of project

Question 20

what are 3 economic models?

Answer 20

1. discounted cash flow
2. net present value
3. internal rate of return IRR

Question 21

what are the nine project mgmt knowledge areas?

Answer 21

1. integration
2. scope
3. time
4. cost
5. quality
6. HR
7. communications
8. risk
9. procurement