Ch 17 book: Project Management Flashcards
A project
work designed to accomplish a specific objective (deliverable) in a limited time frame
unique, multi-person, large, one-time work
A program
a set of projects
project performance goals that all projects are expected to achieve
to be completed within time/schedule
cost and budget
quality and scope guidelines
what happens when, during the execution of a project one of the performance goals (schedule, cost, quality), becomes unacceptable?
one or both of the other performance goals should be adjusted (traded off) to bring the project on track
the project management triangle
A model of the three opposing performance goals or constraints of project management
–> schedule, cost, quality
shows that they should be traded off
project phases or stages
initiating the project (conception, feasibility study, etc.)
planning and scheduling
execution
monitoring
controlling
closing
In an organization, who is usually a project initiator or sponsor?
a senior manager or vice-president
the project scope
The major document used in project initiation
the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver the specified objective
project portfolio selection
Deciding which projects to implement
what factors does project portfolio selection involve?
budget
availability of personnel with appropriate knowledge and skill
cost benefit considerations
financial benefits
steps for project selection
- Establish a project council
–> ex: the executive committee
- Identify some project categories and criteria
–> ex: long-term vs. short-term, minor vs. major)
–> ex: business value, customer satisfaction, process effectiveness, employee satisfaction
- Collect project data.
- Assess resources availability.
- Prioritize the projects within categories
- Select projects to be funded
- Communicate the results to stakeholders and provide the reasons for selection or non selection of each project
work breakdown structure (WBS)
breaking the job down into smaller components
A hierarchical listing of the components of a project
project-based organizational structure
companies that have a lot of projects and its basically their business
A type of organizational structure where a company’s departments and personnel are organized around each particular project
what type of project organization do most companies use?
a matrix organization
a matrix organization
temporarily groups together specialists from different departments to work on special projects
project management office (PMO)
a group or department within an organization
defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization
the project manager
the person responsible for:
planning a project
scheduling a project
executing a project
controlling a project
meeting the project’s requirements
ensuring completion on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards
who bears the ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of the project?
The project manager
Project planning
further elaboration of the project scope (the work to be done)
includes:
breaking the project down into smaller components
planning for risk management
estimating the required resources for the activities
estimating costs
budgeting
human resource planning
project scheduling
quality
communications
purchases
Quality planning in a project
determining how project quality is to be assured and controlled
Communications planning in a project
determining the nature of information needed by stakeholders and how to satisfy these needs
Purchase planning in a project
determining what to purchase
determining the statement of work or the specification of the item
determining supplier evaluation and selection
determining the award of contract
The probability of occurrence of risk events in a project is highest when?
near the beginning of a project
The probability of occurrence of risk events in a project is lowest when?
near the end of a project
the cost associated with risk events tends to be lowest when?
near the beginning of a project
the cost associated with risk events tends to be highest when?
near the end of a project
The first step for risk management planning
identify the risk
risk register
stores the list of risks and other information obtained
Once risks have been identified in a project, what must be done?
each risk must be evaluated to determine its probability of occurrence and the potential consequences if it does occur
possible risk responses (things to lower the impact of risk)?
Redundant (backup) systems
Using a less complex process or a more stable supplier
Frequent monitoring of critical project aspects
Transferring risks
Risk-sharing
Extending the schedule, creating contingency funds, reducing project scope, clarifying the requirements, obtaining information, and improving communication
the steps of work breakdown structure (WBS)
- to identify the major components of the project
- to identify the major sub-components for each of the major components
- if necessary each major sub component may be broken down further
etc
work package
A group of related tasks within a project
The smallest unit of work that a project can be broken down to
when creating your work breakdown structure
activity
Another name for a work package in a project
the major rule when it comes to work packages and activities?
the bottom of the WBS should be small enough that it can be done by a subcontractor in a few days or weeks
The work packages or activities in the bottom of the WBS are used for what?
planning
including developing time and cost estimates
Project scheduling
determining the start and end times of activities and work packages in the work breakdown structure (WBS)
any sequential dependencies of pairs of activities and work packages should be identified
the resources needed for each activity and work package should be identified
A schedule Gantt chart
used at the end of project scheduling
used as a visual aid for scheduling and control of the activities and work packages
for simple projects
advantages of a schedule Gantt chart
a visual tool
simplicity
disadvantages of a schedule Gantt chart
fails to reveal relationships among activities/work packages that can affect the performance of work
what is used instead of a schedule Gantt chart in more complex projects?
a precedence network
two of the most widely used tools for scheduling and control of large-scale projects
program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
critical path method (CPM)
program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
A technique used for scheduling and control of large projects
managers can obtain a graphical display of project activities/work packages and their sequential relationship
managers can obtain an estimate of how long the project will take
managers can obtain indication of which activities/work packages are most critical to timely project completion
managers can obtain indication of how long any activity/work package can be delayed without delaying the project
critical path method (CPM)
A technique used for scheduling and control of large projects
managers can obtain a graphical display of project activities/work packages and their sequential relationship
managers can obtain an estimate of how long the project will take
managers can obtain indication of which activities/work packages are most critical to timely project completion
managers can obtain indication of how long any activity/work package can be delayed without delaying the project
Precedence Network
One of the main features of PERT/CPM
depicts project activities/work packages and their sequential relationships by use of arrows and nodes
the two precedence network conventions
activity-on-arrow (AOA)
activity-on-node (AON)
activity-on-arrow (AOA)
the original precedence network convention
the arrows designate activities
activity-on-node (AON)
the new precedence network convention
the nodes designate activities
has a start node
only has one ending node
A path in a precedence network diagram
A sequence of activities/ work packages that leads from the start node to the end node
they reveal sequential relationships
importance of sequential relationships in a precedence network diagram
If one activity in a sequence is delayed (i.e., is late) or is done incorrectly, all of the following activities/work packages on that path will be delayed
importance of the length of a path in a precedence network diagram
can be determined by summing the expected duration of the activities on it
the most important path in precedence network diagram
why?
the critical path (the longest path)
it governs the project completion time
expected project duration equals the expected duration of the longest path
if there are any delays along the longest path, there will be corresponding delays in the project completion time
Attempts to shorten project completion must focus on the activities/work packages on which precedence network path?
the critical path (the longest path)
the critical path in a precedence network diagram
The longest path from start to end
determines the expected project du ration
criticaI activities
Activities on the critical (longest) path
path slack time
the allowable slippage for any path in a precedence network diagram
reflects the difference between the length of the path and the length of the critical path
how much slack time does the critical path have?
none bruv
The main determinant of the way PERT/CPM networks are used
whether activity/work package durations are proballistic or deterministic
probabilistic durations
if durations are subject to random variation
deterministic durations
If durations are fairly certain
four values for each activity when using PERT/CPM for extremely large (more realistic) precedence networks
what can we find after the four values have been found?
ES (the earliest time the activity can start)
EF (the earliest time the activity can finish)
LS (the lαtest time the activity can start and not delay the project)
LF (the latest time the activity can finish and not delay the project)
we can find:
- the expected project duration
- Activity slack times
- The critical path
The earliest finish time for any activity/work package formula
EF = ES + t
EF: the earliest time the activity can finish
ES: the earliest time the activity can start
t: the expected activity duration
two basic rules to calculate the earliest start and finish times for each activity
- EF = ES + t
2. ES of the following node = EF of the node in question
two basic rules to calculate the lates start and finish times for each activity
- LS = LF - t
2. LS of the following now = LF of the node in question
Activity slack time
definition and calculation
the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without causing a delay in the project completion date
Activity slack time = LS - ES or LF - EF
is the slack time for one activity the same for the total path if the following activity has the same slack time?
yeee
f two activities are both on the same path and have the same slack, this will be the total slack available to both
the three-point estimation method
The probabilistic PERT/CPM approach
involves three duration estimates for each activity/work package instead of one
the three duration estimates in the the three-point estimation method
- Optimistic duration
- Pessimistic duration
- Most likely duration
Optimistic duration in the the three-point estimation method
The length of time under the best conditions
represented by “to”
pessimistic duration in the the three-point estimation method
The length of time under the worst conditions
represented by “tp”
most likely duration in the the three-point estimation method
The most probable length of time
represented by “tm”
The Beta distribution
a family of continuous positive distributions
used to describe the inherent variability of an activity/work package’s duration
can be symmetrical or skewed to either the right or the left depending on its shape parameters
the mean and variance of the distribution can be readily obtained from the three-point estimation method
shape parameters can be chosen so that the distribution is unimodal with a high concentration of probability surrounding the most likely dura也 t10n estimate
The expected duration of an activity using the three-point estimation method
formula and meaning
te = (to + (4)tm +tp) / 6
te: the average or expected duration for each activity/work package
to: optimistic duration
tm: realistic duration
tp: pessimistic duration
The standard deviation of each activity’s duration using the three-point estimation method
formula and meaning
estimated as one-sixth of the difference between the pessimistic and optimistic estimates
σ^2 = ((tp - to)^2) / 36
The size of the variance reflects the degree of uncertainty associated with an activity/work package’s duration
The larger the variance, the greater the uncertainty
the standard deviation of the duration of a pαth
formula and meaning
σpath = [E(Variances of activity durations on path)]^(1/2)
the central limit theorem
using the three-point estimation method, it states that a path’s duration is approximately a Normal distribution (after doing beta distributions for activities and shit)
the formula to determine the probability that a given path will be completed in a specified length of time
z =
Specified length of time - Expected path duration
/
(Standard deviation of path duration)
what does a negative z value indicate when we want to find the probability that a given path will be completed in a specified length of time?
indicates that the specified time is earlier than the expected path duration
it means there are less chances that this happens
how to calculate the probability that the project will be completed by the specified time?
what do we assume?
find the probability that each path will finish by the specified time
then multiply those probabilities
we assume independence of path durations
two conditions for independence of path durations
(a) that the activity/work package durations are independent of each other
(b) that each activity/work package is on only one path
when do we use simulation to find the desired probabilities in the three-point estimation method?
how do we use it?
when paths are not independent
a form of repeated sampling
many passes are made through the precedence network
a random value for each activity/work package’s duration is selected from the probability distribution of its duration in each pass
After each pass, the project duration is determined
crashing a project
Reducing the length of a project by using additional resources
which activities are potential candidates for project crashing? why?
Only activities on the critical path
because shortening non-critical activities would not have an impact on the project duration
from an economic standpoint, critical activities should be crashed according to what?
what does this mean?
according to crashing cost per period
crash those with the lowest crash cost per period first
The general procedure for crashing is:
- Obtain estimates of regular and crash durations and crash cost per period for each activity, and indirect project costs per period
- Determine the lengths of all paths
- Determine the critical activities
- Crash critical activities, starting from the cheapest, as long as crashing cost per period does not exceed the benefits of crashing
when crashing projects, what can happen to the number of critical paths?
we could be getting more than one critical path the more we shorten the longest path already
Project execution
involves the actual performance of the activities/work packages that were planned in project planning
the critical chain approach for project execution
used when multiple projects are underway and require joint resources
used to combat student’s syndrome and Pαrkinson’s law
student’s syndrome
a student tends to delay the start of an assignment until the last possible time
Pαrkinson’s law
states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion
how does the critical chain approach for project execution combat student’s syndrome and Pαrkinson’s law?
does not disclose the due dates of activities to the project workers
activities are prioritized, scheduled accordingly, and done as soon as possible
Project control
involves assessing a project’s progress against plans
taking corrective actions, if necessary, in order to bring the project on track
controlling the changes to a project or to the project’s scope
scope creep
The problem of uncontrolled changes to a project’s scope
Earned value analysis
a standard method of measuring a project’s progress at any given point in time
forecasting the project’s completion date and final cost
analyzing variances in the schedule and budget as the project proceeds
how to measure the progress of a project at any given time (t)?
with EV: budgeted cost of work performed up to t (Earned Value)
do not do it with PV: cost of work scheduled up to t (Planned Value)
how to measure the scheduled time overrun (in dollars) at time t?
PV (planned value) - EV (earned value)
how to measure the cost estimate at completion (EAC)?
EAC = BAC / (EV/AC)
EAC: cost estimate at completion
BAC: budget at completion
EV: earned value
AC: actual cost
how to measure the cost overrun (in dollars) at time t?
AC (actual cost) - EV (earned value)
what do we use for quality control?
involves using quality tools such as the control chart and cause and effect diagram
we want to identify quality “variance” and the cause to implement corrective action
advantages to using project management software
It imposes a methodology and common project management terminology
It provides alogical planning structure
It enhances communication among team members
It flags the occurrence of a problem
It automatically formats reports
It generates multiple levels of summary reports and detailed reports
It enables “what-if’ scenarios
It generates various charts, including a basic schedule Gantt chart
A major limitation of using Gantt charts for project management is that they do not:
a. Indicate all the major activities involved.
b. Indicate the closeout phase.
c. Show the timing of activities.
d. Show relationships among activities.
d. Show relationships among activities.
