Chapter 14 Project Management

Question 1

Project

Answer 1

temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product service or result

Question 2

Project management

Answer 2

application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet project requirements

Question 3

Triple constraint

Answer 3

projects are limited in scope, time, cost (continuous balance between the three)

Question 4

PMBOK list

Answer 4

projects are constrained by scope, time, cost, quality, resources, and risk

Question 5

Stakeholders

Answer 5

people who are involved or affected by the project

Question 6

Program

Answer 6

group of related projects that are managed in a coordinated way which results in benefits which could not be obtained if projects were managed separately

Question 7

Systems

Answer 7

sets of interacting parts which work together to achieve some purpose

Question 8

Systems analysis

Answer 8

approach which involves defining the scope of the system, diving it into components, and identifying its problems, constraints, and needs

Question 9

Systems management

Answer 9

involves the work of creating, maintaining, and upgrading a system
-involves 3 spheres:
=Business
=Technology
=Organization (4 frames: structural frame, Human Resources frame, political frame, symbolic frame)

Question 10

Functional versus Project versus Matrix organization structure

Answer 10

-Functional: each member’s role is defined by their function and who they report to in organization
-Project: project managers report directly to CEO and staff report to them
-Matrix: hybrid of the two, staff manage reports to both a project manager as well as functional manager

Question 11

Project life cycle

Answer 11

-set of phases through which a project passes on its way to completion

Question 12

Process groups for project life cycle

Answer 12

-initiating process, planning process, executing process, closing process
-monitoring and controlling process runs throughout
-each of the 10 knowledge areas has tasks that are related to each of the 5 process cycle (integration, scope, time, cost, quality HR, communications, risk, procurement, stakeholder)

Question 13

Project charter

Answer 13

document that formally authorizes the project and gives project managers access to organization assets

Question 14

Preliminary project scope statement

Answer 14

describes in broad strokes what work will be done

Question 15

Project management plan

Answer 15

describes what resources will be needed and when they will be used

Question 16

Work breakdown structure

Answer 16

deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project
-work package is the smallest level of task on the WBS
-part of scope management plan

Question 17

Responsibility assignment matrix

Answer 17

2-dimensional chart which shows the degree of responsibility each team has to each work package

Question 18

Procurement (or outsourcing)

Answer 18

acquiring goods or services from an outside agency

Question 19

Request for information

Answer 19

simply asks for suppliers’ capabilities and timelines

Question 20

Request for quote

Answer 20

when particulates of job are known and various suppliers complete for contract

Question 21

Request for proposal

Answer 21

most detailed request, buyer submits a statement of need and supplier complete to find innovative solutions

Question 22

Activity

Answer 22

defined portion of work that has an expected duration, cost and resource requirement

Question 23

Activity sequencing

Answer 23

defining these activities and then deciding which must be done in which order

Question 24

Types of Dependencies

Answer 24

-Finish to Start: Task B cannot begin until Task A is completed
-Finish to Finish: Task B cannot finish before Task A is finished
-Start to Start: Task B cannot start until Task A is started
-Start to Finish: Task B cannot finish until Task A is started

Question 25

Earned Value Management

Answer 25

technique for estimating progress of a project

Question 26

Planned value

Answer 26

amount of money budgeted to a given activity at a certain time

Question 27

Actual cost

Answer 27

total direct and indirect costs incurred

Question 28

Earned value

Answer 28

estimate of what the work so far is actually worth

Question 29

Schedule and cost variance

Answer 29

when project progresses faster or slower than expected, differences between earned value and planned value
if positive then called positive schedule variance or cost variance

Question 30

Network diagrams or process diagrams

Answer 30

schedule to estimate total number of resources and durations
-Circles or nodes: start and endpoints for tasks
-Bursts: nodes that have multiple activities dependent on them
-Merges: nodes that depend on multiple activities

Question 31

Critical path

Answer 31

minimum time required to complete the project: represents the longest path from beginning to end

Question 32

Gantt Chart

Answer 32

-common method of diagramming a schedule
-Summary tasks: task groups are depected with heavy umbrella-shaped lines and extend from beginning of earliest task to end of latest task in group
-Milestone: significant event on schedule that has no duration of its own but represents completion of some important part of project, usually drawn as a diamond shape
-activities that are not along critical path often have built in leeway when they can start or finish
-slack or float: is the variability in starting time

Question 33

Resource leveling

Answer 33

planning resources depending on project schedule

Question 34

Monte Carlo analysis

Answer 34

attempts to estimate total risk based on the risk of its components

Question 35

Sensitivity analysis

Answer 35

allows us to vary input parameters to determine the optimum result

Question 36

Scope creep

Answer 36

-exer-expanding expectations
-overseen by integrated change control, or change control system, or change control board

Question 37

Variance

Answer 37

difference between planned and actual performance
-positive variance: project is ahead of schedule, negative variance: project is being scheduleS

Question 38

Schedule control

Answer 38

adjusting the schedule to account for variances and other changes

Question 39

Configuration management

Answer 39

process which ensures that descriptions of all products are up to date

Question 40

Baseline

Answer 40

project management combined with approved changes
-corrective actions and preventive actions

Question 41

Cost estimating, budging, control

Answer 41

-process of developing approximate cost for project
-allocating overall cost to individual work items
-keeping project within its budget

Question 42

Project portfolio management

Answer 42

process of selecting projects and programs deemed beneficial for an organization’s success and evaluating projects from a strategic standpoint

Question 43

Run chart

Answer 43

way to monitor quality
-graphs variation of process over time

Question 44

Control chart

Answer 44

similar to run chart
-depicts results of a process over time

Question 45

Pareto chart

Answer 45

particular type of histogram that shows problems in decreasing order of occurrence
-useful to help prioritize efforts on finding solutions

Question 46

Risk management

Answer 46

risk is an uncertainty that can lead to a positive or negative impact on a project
-usually plot probability/impact chart
-high-impact and high-probability risks are given highest priority

Question 47

Responses to negative risk

Answer 47

-risk avoidance, risk acceptance, risk transference, risk mitigation

Question 48

Responses to positive risk

Answer 48

-risk exploitation, risk sharing, risk enhancement, risk acceptance