Chapter 14 Project Management Flashcards
Project
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product service or result
Project management
application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet project requirements
Triple constraint
projects are limited in scope, time, cost (continuous balance between the three)
PMBOK list
projects are constrained by scope, time, cost, quality, resources, and risk
Stakeholders
people who are involved or affected by the project
Program
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
Systems
sets of interacting parts which work together to achieve some purpose
Systems analysis
approach which involves defining the scope of the system, diving it into components, and identifying its problems, constraints, and needs
Systems management
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)
Functional versus Project versus Matrix organization structure
-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
Project life cycle
-set of phases through which a project passes on its way to completion
Process groups for project life cycle
-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)
Project charter
document that formally authorizes the project and gives project managers access to organization assets
Preliminary project scope statement
describes in broad strokes what work will be done
Project management plan
describes what resources will be needed and when they will be used
Work breakdown structure
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
Responsibility assignment matrix
2-dimensional chart which shows the degree of responsibility each team has to each work package
Procurement (or outsourcing)
acquiring goods or services from an outside agency
Request for information
simply asks for suppliers’ capabilities and timelines
Request for quote
when particulates of job are known and various suppliers complete for contract
Request for proposal
most detailed request, buyer submits a statement of need and supplier complete to find innovative solutions
Activity
defined portion of work that has an expected duration, cost and resource requirement
Activity sequencing
defining these activities and then deciding which must be done in which order
Types of Dependencies
-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
Earned Value Management
technique for estimating progress of a project
Planned value
amount of money budgeted to a given activity at a certain time
Actual cost
total direct and indirect costs incurred
Earned value
estimate of what the work so far is actually worth
Schedule and cost variance
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
Network diagrams or process diagrams
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
Critical path
minimum time required to complete the project: represents the longest path from beginning to end
Gantt Chart
-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
Resource leveling
planning resources depending on project schedule
Monte Carlo analysis
attempts to estimate total risk based on the risk of its components
Sensitivity analysis
allows us to vary input parameters to determine the optimum result
Scope creep
-exer-expanding expectations
-overseen by integrated change control, or change control system, or change control board
Variance
difference between planned and actual performance
-positive variance: project is ahead of schedule, negative variance: project is being scheduleS
Schedule control
adjusting the schedule to account for variances and other changes
Configuration management
process which ensures that descriptions of all products are up to date
Baseline
project management combined with approved changes
-corrective actions and preventive actions
Cost estimating, budging, control
-process of developing approximate cost for project
-allocating overall cost to individual work items
-keeping project within its budget
Project portfolio management
process of selecting projects and programs deemed beneficial for an organization’s success and evaluating projects from a strategic standpoint
Run chart
way to monitor quality
-graphs variation of process over time
Control chart
similar to run chart
-depicts results of a process over time
Pareto chart
particular type of histogram that shows problems in decreasing order of occurrence
-useful to help prioritize efforts on finding solutions
Risk management
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
Responses to negative risk
-risk avoidance, risk acceptance, risk transference, risk mitigation
Responses to positive risk
-risk exploitation, risk sharing, risk enhancement, risk acceptance
