Chapter 1-5 Project Initiation

Question 1

What are some common themes in a project?

Answer 1

Unique: the exact project has not been performed before, it has a degree of novelty.
Temporary: it has a beginning and an end, it requires a group of people to carry it out when the project finishes the team moves on.
Focused: the task is to deliver a particular product, service or result

Question 2

A project is in essensen defined by its:

Answer 2

Scope (quality): describes what should be delivered
Schedule (time): describes when it should be delivered
Resource (cost): describes the budget for making the delivery

Question 3

What is a project?

Answer 3

It is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create unique product, service or result. It is a task with a beginning and an end, it has definite starting and finishing points.

Question 4

Describe the process volume-variety matrix

Answer 4

It classifies processes by considering volume (the quantity of throughput for that process) and variety (the number of different variations of process possible).

Question 5

Describe the different projects:
First-timers
As…. But…
Painting by numbers

Answer 5

Low-volume, high-variety processes, notion of uniqueness prevails, ex: first moon landing
There is some similarity to previous work, in terms of either the process followed or the product being delivered.
High degree of commonality in both process and outcome. Almost more a repetitive operation

Question 6

What are some reasons why projects have become more complex?

Answer 6

Competition from more parts of the world, importance of innovation, trade barriers have fallen, international collaborative ventures have increased, globalization.

Question 7

What is meant by the 5Cs?

Answer 7

It is the environment in which projects operate:
Context: the external general influences on the organic ion in which the project is taking place
Complexity: the level of difficulty or complication of the project
Completeness: how much of the end requirement a project will deliver
Competitiveness: how many other organizations will be competing to deliver that work
Customer focus: the expectation that customers will have their needs ,et by the project

Question 8

What is meant by PESTEL?

Answer 8

The context in which projects operate and it is referred to as political influence, economic, social, technical, environmental and legal.

Question 9

What is meant by the 7s framework?

Answer 9

It provides a set of issues that needs to be considered in project management. It stands for strategy, structure, systems, staff, skills, style/culture and stakeholders

Question 10

What is the input-output model?

Answer 10

A project is viewed as a transformation of input into output. The project will take place under a set of control and constraints.
Inputs: requirements and those that emerge during the project course
Constraints: focus on time, cost and quality
Outputs: a satisfied need, will be converted fin rotation, a tangible product or changed people
Mechanisms: the means and mechanism by which the output is achieved are ex: people, knowledge and expertise etc.

Question 11

What is the hedgehog syndrome?

Answer 11

You repeat the same mistakes over and over again because there is no feedback, future projects should be based on the opportunity to learn from previous projects.

Question 12

Describe the project life cycle

Answer 12

It is described according to the 4D model
Define the project
Do it! Or deliver the project
Develop the process

Question 13

Describe the generic lifecycle for a project

Answer 13

It shows how the level of activity varies with time. The level of activity is relatively low during the early phases, increases through the doing phase when the major volume of work is done and decreases through the development phase

Question 14

Describe the following:
Vision
Organizational strategy 
Portfolios
Programmes
Project strategy
Project tasks

Answer 14

Identifies where the organization is heading
Is concerned with delivery, turning the ideas into reality
Choosing projects that are going to give the maximum benefits
Framework for grouping existing or defining new projects, a group of related projects, projects can be organized into programmes through chain, portfolio and network
Means and guidelines of what to do and how to do it to achieve the highest competitive advantage and the best value from a project
The execution of the project activities

Question 15

What is meant by the traditional versus strategic approaches to strategy?

Answer 15

Traditionally strategy was considered to be a one-way process, implemented from the top down. Today organizations combine this with feedback from the organization.
Traditional approach: weak link between project and organizational strategy, lack of coordination between projects etc.
Strategic approach: coherent, coordinated, focused, strategy-driven etc.

Question 16

Who are the external and internal stakeholders?

Answer 16

External: people outside the project team or organization, people for whom the project is being provided or the people paying for the process
Internal: those associated with the process, typically members of the project team or governance structure

Question 17

Identify the three main stakeholders

Answer 17

The internal team: those that are always central to your consideration
Core external people: people external to the project but who are crucial for its success
The rest of the world: only requires monitoring

Question 18

The requirements of a project may be stated in terms of?

Answer 18

Time, cost and quality

Question 19

What is a stakeholder map?

Answer 19

It provides a rough guide on how to manage particular groups related to the project:
High power-low interest: keep satisfied 
Low power-low interest: monitor only
High interest-low power: keep informed
High interest-high power: manage closely

Question 20

What is the TCQ model?

Answer 20

Consideration of a project’s objectives, there is a trade-off between these three objectives. This approach stresses conformance to the stated objective as being the most important for measuring project success. Excellence is defined in terms of real performance.

Question 21

What is the balanced scorecard?

Answer 21

It determines the nature of the return on an investment on projects, it links four perspective on business projects: 
Shareholders
Customers and suppliers
Internally 
Innovation and learning

Question 22

What are some strategies for dealing with quantification problems?

Answer 22

Carrying out a pilot study, benchmarking and reference sites, modeling.

Question 23

What are the three steps that the initiation follows?

Answer 23

Conceptualization: define initial scope
Intel analysis and planning: determine the business case through quantitative and qualitative metrics
Proposal

Question 24

What aspects should be covered in a project?

Answer 24

Scope: what the project will achieve, the purpose of it, often written as a statement of work, always revisited as the project is approved and should be defined in writing, important to make sure that everyone agree upon what the project should do, project deliverables as a tool to focus management attention on key project results
Schedule: the initial time frame for project completion, the stage-gate model is a way to organize the project and explicitly define when to quit, activity map and deployment few char may help to outline the project
Resources: establishing the initial business case by using NPV, IRR and payback period

Question 25

What is a project objective statement (POS)?

Answer 25

It includes scope, schedule and resources.

Question 26

What are the three categories that approaches to planning fall into?

Answer 26

Claim we know everything
Acknowledge we know nothing
Both of the above

Question 27

What are the stage-gate model?

Answer 27

A way to organize the project. In order to go between stages you have to go through gates, these are specific measures or criteria that needs to be met to pass gates. The criteria as must be laid down in advance. Arrangement of activities also has to be considered within the stages, should activities run sequentially (one after the other) or concurrently (as far as possible at the same time)