Chapter 3: Project life cycle and initiating projects

Question 1

Development Approaches and Project Life Cycles

Answer 1

*Predictive (Traditional/Waterfall)
*Iterative
*Incremental
*Agile

Question 2

Predictive (development approach)

Answer 2

*Requirements are defined up-front before development begins
*Deliver plans for the eventual deliverable. Then deliver only a single final product at the end of project timeline
*Change is constrained as much as possible
*Key stakeholders are involved at specific milestones
* Risks and costs are controlled by detailed planning of mostly knowable considerations

Question 3

Iterative / Incremental (development approaches)

Answer 3

*Requirements can be elaborated at periodic intervals during delivery
*Delivery can be divided into subsets of the overall product
*Change is incorporated at periodic intervals
*Key stakeholders are regularly involved
*Risk and costs are controlled by progressively elaborating the plans with new information

Question 4

Agile

Answer 4

*Requirements are elaborated frequently during delivery
* Delivery occurs frequently with customer-valued subsets of the overall product
* Change is incorporated in real-time during delivery
* Key stakeholders are continuously involved
* Risk and cost are controlled as requirements and constraints emerge

Question 5

Iterative

Answer 5

The customer provides feedback after every iteration often done in a set of time “the whole evolves”

Question 6

Incremental

Answer 6

Each increment builds on top of the previous one “adding completed parts”

Question 7

Project Life Cycle Definition

Answer 7

A project life cycle is a series of phase a project passes through from its starts to its completion

Question 8

Project Phase

Answer 8

A project phase is a collection of logically related project activities that culminate in the completion of one or more deliverables

Question 9

Project Management Process Groups Definition

Answer 9

Progress from initiating activities to planning activities, executing activities, monitoring and controlling activities, and closing activities.

Question 10

Process Definition

Answer 10

A process is a series of actions directed toward a particular result

Question 11

Description of Process Groups

Answer 11

*Initiating processes include actions to begin projects and project phases
*Planning processes include devising and maintaining a workable scheme to ensure that the project meets its scope, time, and cost goals as well as organizational needs
*Executing processes include coordinating people and other resources to carry out the project plans and produce the deliverables of the project or phase
*Monitoring & controlling processes measure progress toward achieving project goals, monitor deviation from plans, and take corrective action to match progress with plans and customer expectations
*Closing processes include formalizing acceptance of the project or phase and bringing it to an orderly end.

Question 12

Characteristics of the process groups

Answer 12

*Executing: requires the most resource and time
*Monitoring & Controlling: done throughout the project’s life span
*Initiating and closing: the shortest

Question 13

Importance of top management commitment

Answer 13

*Without top management commitment many project will fail
* How top managers can help project managers succeed:
-provide adequate resources
-approve unique project needs in a timely
manner
-encourage cooperation from people in other
parts of the organization and deal with
political issues
-mentor and coach them on leadership
issues
-develop and enforce organizational
standards
-support a project management office

Question 14

What drives success?

Answer 14

*Personal impact (50%)
*Business (25%)
*Professionalism (25%)

Question 15

Pre-initiating

Answer 15

• After a project is approved, senior manager
  should meet to accomplish the following
  tasks:
  -Determine scope, time, and cost constraints
  -Identify the project sponsor
  -Select the project manager
  -Develop a business case for the project
  -Review processes/expectations
  -Determine if the project should be divided
  into two or more smaller projects

Question 16

Project owner
Project director/manager
Review team

Answer 16

Project owner: decides, governance
Project director/manager: execute (steering team)
Review team: helps to make the right decision (CFO, HR)

Question 17

Business case for a project

Answer 17

• A business case is a document that provides financial justification for investing in a project
  *Typical content:
  
  • Introduction/Background
  • Business Objective
  • Current Situation and Problem/Opportunity
    Statement
  • Critical Assumptions and Constraints
  • Analysis of Options and Recommendations
  • Preliminary Project Requirements
  • Budget Estimate and Financial Analysis
  • Schedule Estimate
  • Potential Risks
  • Exhibits

Question 18

Initiating process

Answer 18

*Identifying project stakeholders
*Creating the project charter
*Creating the assumption log
*Holding a kick-off meeting

Question 19

Identifying stakeholders

Answer 19

*Project stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities
*Internal project stakeholders
*External project stakeholders

Question 20

Contents of a project charter

Answer 20

-The project’s title and date of authorization
-The project manager’s name and contact information
-A summary schedule or timeline, including the planned start and finish dates; if a summary
milestone schedule is available, it should also be included or referenced
-A summary of the project’s estimated cost and budget allocation
-A brief description of the project objectives, including the business need or other justification for
authorizing the project
-Project success criteria or approval requirements, including project approval requirements and who
signs off on the project
-A summary of the planned approach for managing the project, which should describe stakeholder
needs and expectations, overall project risk, important assumptions and constraints
-A roles and responsibilities section
-A sign-off section for signatures of key project stakeholders
-A comments section in which stakeholders can provide important comments related to the project*

Question 21

Contents of an assumptions log

Answer 21

*An assumption log is a document used to record and track assumptions and constraints throughout
the project life cycle.
*It aids in communicating information to key stakeholders and avoids potential confusion.
*Most projects include several assumptions that affect the scope, time, cost, risk, and other
knowledge areas.
*It is important to document and validate these assumptions.

Question 22

Holding a project kick-off meeting

Answer 22

*It is crucial to get projects off to a great start.
*A kick-off meeting is a meeting held at the beginning of a project so that stakeholders can meet each other, review the goals of the project, and discuss future plans.
*There is often a fair amount of work is done to prepare for the meeting:
*Invitation (date, time, venue or virtual setup,
etc.)
*Agenda
*Review and/or prepare project charter
*Clarify roles
*Dress professional

Question 23

Scrum pillars and values

Answer 23

*Three pillars
-Transparency
-Inspection
-Adaptation
*Five values
-Commitment
-Focus
-Openness
-Respect
-Courage

Question 24

Identify key stakeholders (Agile/Hybrid projects)

Answer 24

*Senior managers to identify key people for agile/hybrid projects:
-The product owner: is responsible for
maximizing the value of the product created
by the development team by managing the
product backlog
-The scrum master is responsible for
promoting and supporting the Scrum
process as defined in the Scrum guide
-The development team or developers are
professionals who do the work of delivering
a potentially releasable increment of a
product at the end of each sprint

Question 25

Product Vision Statement

Answer 25

*A product vision describes the desired future
state that would be achieved by developing
and deploying a product

Question 26

Product Strategy

Answer 26

*A product strategy is a high-level plan describing what the organization hopes to accomplish with its product and how it plans to do so
*The strategy is depicted in a product roadmap

Question 27

Creating an initial product backlog and estimating size

Answer 27

*A product backlog is an emergent, ordered list of what is needed to improve the product
*Contents of the product backlog usually include a priority number, ID, description (often in the form of a user story), and an estimate
*A user story is a description of what a customer or user would want from a product or solution.

Question 28

Product release plan

Answer 28

*A product release plan is a tactical document that spans only a few months and is used internally
for the development teams.
*Product release plans evolve based on the initial sprints and feedback from the teams and other stakeholders.
*Features are services that fulfill user needs