Chapter 3

Question 1

Critical Path

Answer 1

A series of events and activities with no slack time. If any activity along the critical path falls behind schedule, the entire project schedule is similarly delayed. As the name implies, a critical path includes all activities that are vital to the project schedule

Question 2

Concurrent Task

Answer 2

A task that can be completed at the same time as (in parallel with) another task

Question 3

Dependent Task

Answer 3

A task is said to be dependent when it has to be completed in a serial sequence.

Question 4

Gantt Chart

Answer 4

A horizontal bar chart that illustrates a schedule. Developed many years ago by Henry L.Gantt as a production control technique. Still are in common use today

Question 5

Milestone

Answer 5

A reference point that marks a major occurrence. Used to monitor progress and manage a project.

Question 6

PERT

Answer 6

The Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) was developed by the U.S. Navy to manage very complex projects, such as the construction of nuclear submarines.

Question 7

Predecessor Task

Answer 7

A single prior task upon which two or more concurrent tasks depend

Question 8

Risk

Answer 8

An event that could affect the project negatively

Question 9

Project Triangle

Answer 9

The three major components of a project: cost, scope, and time. A project manager tries to find the optimal balance among these factors

Question 10

Risk Response Plan

Answer 10

A proactive effort to anticipate a risk and describe an action plan to deal with it. An effective risk response plan can reduce the overall impact by triggering a timely and appropriate action

Question 11

Slack Time

Answer 11

The amount of time by which an event can be late without delaying the project. The dif-ference between latest completion time (LCT) and earliest completion time (ECT)

Question 12

Task

Answer 12

Any work that has a beginning and an end, and requires the use of company resources including people, time, and/or money. Examples include conducting a series of interviews, designing a report, selecting software, waiting for the delivery of equipment, and training users.

Question 13

Structured Walkthrough

Answer 13

A review of a project team member’s work by other members of the team.Generally, systems analysts review the work of other systems analysts, and programmers review the work of other programmers, as a form of peer review. Should take place throughout the SDLC and are called requirements reviews, design reviews, code reviews, or testing reviews, depending on the phase in which they occur.

Question 14

Quality Assurance

Answer 14

A process or procedure for minimizing errors and ensuring quality in products. Poor quality can result from inaccurate requirements, design problems, coding errors, faulty documen-tation, and ineffective testing. A quality assurance (QA) team reviews and tests all applications and systems changes to verify specifications and software quality standards.

Question 15

Risk Management

Answer 15

The process of identifying, evaluating, tracking, and controlling risks to minimize their impact

Question 16

Task Duration

Answer 16

Task duration can be hours, days, or weeks—depending on the project. The project manager first makes three time estimates for each task: an optimistic, or best-case estimate (B), a probable-case estimate (P), and a pessimistic, or worst-case estimate (W). The manager then assigns a weight, which is an importance value, to each estimate. The weight can vary, but a common approach is to use a ratio of B = 1, P = 4, and W = 1. The expected task duration is calculated as follows: (B + 4P + W)/6

Question 17

Metrics of a successful project

Answer 17

To be successful, an information system must satisfy business requirements, stay within budget, be completed on time, and—most important of all—be managed effec-tively. When a project develops problems, the reasons typically involve business, bud-get, or schedule issues, as explained in the following sections. In addition to planning and managing the project, a project manager must be able to recognize these prob-lems and deal with them effectively.