Chapter 3.1 Flashcards
define project life cycle
stages that a project goes through from its initiation to its closure
define product life cycle
the entirety of the products life, from initiation to retirement
define pre-work activity
-tasks and processes undertaken before a project is formally initiated
-ensure project is well-planned, feasible, and aligned with organizations goals
acronym SOW
statement of work
name 3 pre-work ativities
SOW, feasibility study, and business case
define a business case
-provides detailed analysis of costs, benefits, and risks with project
-justify project to stakeholders by demonstrating ROI and impact on org
define feasibility study
-evaluation of whether project is technicially, financially, and economically feasible
-assesses potential risks and benefits, determines whether project is work pursuing based on resources, market conditions, and other factors
Define SOW
-outlines scope and objectives of project, as well as work that will be performed to achieve them
-what needs to be done, who will do it, how it will be done, and when
what do project phases do?
-see the project as a whole and still focus on completing the project one phase at a time
-allow pm/org to have better control over work done in each phase
what is determined before each phase of a project?
-work that will happen in phase
-deliverables from that phase
-how deliverables will be reviewed, approved, and validated
-needed resources for that phase
-how phase will be approved to allow successor phase to launch
common flow of a construction project in relation to phases?
research, preconstruction, site work, foundation, framing, rough-in, interior finishes, exterior finishes, landscaping
define a phase-end review
determines whether the phase deliverable has met all its obligations and, if it has, authorizes next phase
-phase exit/phase gate, or go/no-go point
define fast-tracking
overlapping phases
how can fast-tracking put a project at risk?
insufficient planning, overlapping tasks, and increased resource constraints
when is a projects success most at risk of not being successful?
early phases of the project
define process
set of actions and activities to achieve a product, result, or service
a successful project depends on what 5 things? (pertaining to processess)
-using appropriate processes at appropriate times
-following defined pm approach for execution and control
-developing solid pm plan for all areas of project
-comforming project to customer requirements and expectations
-balancing project scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, and risks while meeting project objectives
define the “plan-do-check-act” method
the end of one process launches another.
-ie, end of the planning process enables the launch of the doing process.
-once completed, you check it, and if its good, you move right into the acting
acronym PDCA
plan-do-check-act
what is a project portfolio?
-defines the rules for selecting, maintaining, and even funding
define project portfolio management
-defines the projects that should be selected based on need, risk and reward, ROI, and any other issues an organization identifies
-focuses on initiation of best programs and projects org should invest in
-not overly concerned with how program and project should be managed
who is generally directly involved with portfolio management?
senior management, usually not PM
-senior mgmt is focused on what best works for organizations mission/goals
what do portfolio managers do?
-manage portfolio management processes (selecting projects, distributing risk exposure, and ensuring strategic alignment with org
what is project portfolio management?
-selection, management, and collection of projects within org
-unlike program, project in portfolio may not be directly related, but contribute to org success
-ie construction company portfolio of high-profile projects that could change a cities skyline
what is a program?
-collection of related projects organized to gain benefits from the projects that wouldn’t be realized if projects were managed independently
-not a large project, just collection of projects
-ie a skyscraper program: structure, elevators, electrical, plumbing, etc.
main takeaway for a program?
projects are usually contributing one major delierable and can work together to save time, effort, and dollars
-program managers manage programs, and pm work within them on seperate projects
what is progressive elaboration when it comes to project planning?
start with a very broad concept, then, throughs steady progressions, gather more detail to clarify the concept of the project.
define organizations that “management by projects”
org that operates by relying heavlily on project management principles to complete work.
-generally treat every undertaking as a project
name some reasons a project will be put into action
-opportunity (market demand, etc)
-organizational needs
-customers
-technology
-legal requirements
what are ways that projects can create value?
-improved efficiency
-enhanced customer experience
-increased revenue
-competitive advantage
-improved employee satisfaction
-better quality
-better decision making
what is a sub-project?
smaller project thats been lopped off from a larger project
-ie when building a new house, adding a home theater
what are some examples of subprojects?
-single phase within a project life cycle (ie construction of house, each phase could be a subproject)
-human resource skill sets (plumbers, electricians, carpenters, on a new house)
-specialized tech, materials, or activities (new type of siding for home construction)
difference between projects and operations?
projects are temporary, operations are ongoing
when will a pm most likely work directly with operations?
at the end of a project, when transfering deliverables
what is operational transfer?
transfering the deliverables of the project ownership into operations
acronym SLA
Service-Level Agreement
what is a development approach?
means used to create and evolve a product, servie, or result during the project life cycle
what is a predictive approach?
predicts the work that will happen in each phase of the project
-also called plan driven or traditional approach
-changes to scope are less common/more controlled
what is an adaptive approach?
-great deal of uncertainty
-little planning can be done up front
-ie highly complex IT projects
what is an iterative approach?
-starts with a vision of project scope, BUT schedule/costs are rough estimates
-work is divided into chunks of time (Iterations)
-allow to work on top requirements first and also apply lessons learned on future iterations
-have predefined types of work, such as features defined, designed, developed, and tested
-iterations also called timeboxed periods or sprints
what is an incremental approach?
-similar to iterative, BUT deliverables are created in increments
-features are added incrementally until project is complete
-like an assembly line process: feature added in predefined increments from start to finish
what is a hybrid approach?
combination of predictive and adaptive
-components that are established will follow predictive approach
-components that are not fully defined follow adaptive
basic difference between all of the approaches? (Predictive, etc)
-predictive predicts as much as possible, uses baselines to minimize changes
-iterative repeats same steps for each iteration, building outcome in chunks
-incremental builds in increments, adding functionality until complete
-adaptive uses iterative and incremental
-hybrid is combination of predictive and addaptive
what are some factors that can impact success of a project?
issues, risks, assumptions, and constraints
what are “issues”?
unexpected events that you document and manage to prevent them from causing risks
-events that have happened, that reoccur, or that are going to happen
what goes on a project issue log?
-date identified
-person identifying issue
-details about the issue
-summary of the issue
-prioritization
-issue owner
-target resolution date
-current status
-final outcome
what are some common “issues”?
-difference of opinion
-situations to be investigated
-unanticipated responsibilities that need to be assigned
what is a risk?
uncertain event or condition that could have POSITIVE or NEGATIVE impact
-negative risks are threats
-positive risks are opportunities
-ie leftover shrimp cocktail
what is the willingness to accept risk called?
utility function
term for the amount of risk youll take on if you go ahead?
risk tolerance
term for how much risk youll accept in relation to the reward the risk may bring?
risk appetite
where can risks exist?
organizatoin, program, portfolio, and a project…everywhere
term for risks you can readily identify
known risks
term for risks that are more ambiguous (weather)
known unknowns
define project risk
likelihood of the overall project being successful for the organization
the project manager will need what documents to identify project risks?
-assumption log
-cost estimates
-duration estimates
-issue log
-lessons learned register
-resource requirements
-resource documents
-stakeholder register
what is one of the first steps taken in risk identification in a project?
-review project documentation (project plan, scope, and other project files)
what is an “assumption”?
-something you believe to be true but isnt proven
-can include expected performance from a vender, reliability of equipment, access to resources, weather, and more
what is assumption analysis?
-examining assumptions to see what risks may stem from false assumptions
what do you do when an assumption is identified
document it in the assumption log
what are constraints?
-factors that limit the options of the pm
-can quickly endanger project success
-ie schedule, budget, resources, risks, etc
-mgmts responsibility to analyze impacts that changes will have according to constraints
what are communication constraints?
-anytning that limits project manager teams options when it comes to communication
-geographical, incompatible software, etc.
what type of projects use the triple constraints of project management?
predictive
what type of projects use the inverted triangle to represent constraints?
agile
which type of projects do not necessarily use milestones?
agile, as they are often changing/unknown
-use roadmaps, attempt to lay out release points like milestones
describe the triple constraints triangle (clockwise), and the agile triangle of constraints (inverted)
-scope, cost, time, on the triple, where scope is fixed and cost varies
-cost, scope, time on agile, where time is fixed and scope varies
one of the major tasks of project management dealing with this area?
balancing of competing constraints on a project
what is scope creep?
-doing what should never have entered the scope in the first place
-means wasted time and dollars
what is a predictive-plan based approach?
predicts what will be created and how
what is an adaptive approch?
expects change to happen
how is the scope handled in an adaptive approach project?
-defined and decomposed in the product backlog
-in each iteration, team will collect requirements, define scope, and create the WBS for that iteration
what are user stories?
quick descriptions of the requirement from the user perspective
what are story points?
represent how much effort is required to create the user story
-only so many points available for each iteration (also called sprints in agile projects)
-number of available points vary by project
what are epics?
describe really big requirements broken down into stories and span multiple iterations of the project
what 2 processes happen in each iteration of a project?
-validate scope
-control scope
acronym RTM?
Requirements traceability matrix
what is the RTM?
-documents and numbers each requirement and status, shows how each requirement is linked to specific deliverable
-tool for controlling project scope
-ensures all project requirements are addressed and fulfilled
-provides clear way to track relationship between requiremetns and deliverables, tasks, or test cases
what are some benefits to tracing requirements in project scope?
-improved project planning
-enhanced communication
-better risk management
-increased project visibility
-improved quality assurance
-better stakeholder engagement`
4 key foundational values for any pm?
-responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty
