Chapter 2 Foundation Principles of Project Management Flashcards
What is projects and operations?
Project
•All work that is done one time.
1. Has a beginning and end
2. Produces a unique product, either tangible or intangible
Operations
• All the work is performed over and over.
1. Operations have no definite end hence is called ongoing operations
2. Produce similar identical products
What are the differences between projects and operations (Projects vs Operations)?
- Projects and ongoing operations overlap and interact
- Project initiate or change ongoing operations
- Projects exists within an ongoing operation or vice versa
- Both may be funded out of a same budget and use many of the same people
- Both require a wide range of the same management skills
What are the common and specific skills?
Project management : pure discipline specific skill
Business management: negotiating, finance, customer recruitment
Technical: every manager begins the path with technical competence. However, project lead roles does not require only the best technicians in the group.
Best project managers bring a mix of skills to their job.
The larger the project, the more project management skills required.
What is the cost-schedule-quality equilibrium?
A project is considered successful when it is On Time, On Budget and High Quality.
Cost, Schedule and Quality are the three primary interdependent variables of a project
Project managers balance these variables to create the optimal cost-schedule-quality equilibrium.
What are the success formulas for managers to come to an agreement?
- Set realistic expectations with all the project stakeholders
- Manage expectations throughout the project. Make changes known and accept the new equilibrium.
- Deliver the promised product on time and within budget
What are the three management functions?
Project definition: lays out the foundation for a project and involves two activities
- Determining the purpose, goals and constraints
- Establishing project rules
Project planning: put together the details using common scheduling and estimating techniques. Risk management is used to create strategies to manage uncertainties
Project control: All activities to keep the project moving towards the goal and involve the following
- Progress measurement - a feedback mechanism to validate the plan
- Communication - to keep all participants coordinated and informed
- Corrective actions - responses to obstacles and deviations
What are the phases in project life cycle?
Define: begins with project charter and completed when project rules are approved
Plan: begins with building the project plan, detailing how to execute and ends with approved project and and rules.
Execute: stages of performing the actual work as approved in the plan and takes 90% or more of the project’s effort
Closeout: smallest phase. Performs 3 functions.
- Making the transition to the next phase, whether it is operations or another project
- Establishing formal closure of the project in the eyes of the customer
- Reviewing project successes and failures with a view to improving future projects.
What are the product development life cycle phases?
Requirements: defines the function and performance requirements for the product to meet customer needs.
Design: describing the product in further details resulting in proper documents.
Construct: the product is built and any documentation necessary for its operation is written.
Operate: projects then turn into ongoing operations. These operations can last for years and may contain many projects for improvement.
What are the differences between product life cycle and project life cycle?
Project life cycle is industry independent while product development life cycle is industry specific.
Project life cycle focuses of managing the work while product development describes the work required to create the product
Product development may contain many full project life cycles.
What are the challenges of managing projects?
- Personnel - the number and their skills vary
- Estimating - assumptions and facts based
- Authority - projects cross organizational boundaries
- Controls - project time frame limitations
