Chapter 4 Flashcards
When is a predictive approach appropriate?
-objectives and scope are well defined -team has experience in executing smaller projects
-low degree of uncertainty
-accurately predict outcomes, cost, and timeline
What types of projects are predictive approach used for?
-construction, manufacturing, software development
-where processes are well established
When is the project plan developed/updated in the predicted approach?
Developed at beginning, updated throughout the cycle
What type of organization is suited for predictive approaches?
-hierarchical or traditional structure
Types of organizational structures and their general type of approach (predictive/adaptive)
-traditional-predictive
-matrix-predictive (though complexity of matrix may make it difficult)
-virtual-adaptive
Colocated-predictive
What are factors to consider when determine suitability of using predictive, plan based approaches?
-nature of project (well defined, clear requirements/objectives)
-organizational culture (values structure, predictability and control)
-level of change and uncertainty (projects constantly subject to change, plan based may not be best)
-level of control (org wants to maintain high level of control, plan based)
-level of collaboration and flexibility (if they value this, plan may not be best)
-level of risk (involve high risk, plan may be best)
-size/complexity of project (large/complex, plan may be best)
Reasons why it is important to determine the activities within each process?
-planning (helps keep accurate)
-resource allocation (time, personnel, equipment, materials)
-tracking progress
-quality control
-communication
Processes are grouped into what 3 categories?
-“only once or at predefined points” (develop charter, develop pmp, close)
-“multiple times are needed” (conduct procurements, acquire resources, monitor/control project work)
-“continuously” (ID risks, define activities, perform integrated change control)
Determining activities within the processes of a plan-based approach involves what?
-ID of project scope
-break down project into smaller parts
-create a WBS
-ID dependencies (what needs to happen in what sequence)
-develop project schedule
-assign resources
-monitor and control
What is the WBS?
-heirarchal decomposition of project into smaller, more manageable parts
what is the purpose of INITIATING? What are typical activities within the INITIATING process group?
authorizing the project or a project to begin
-develop project charter
-ID stakeholders and their needs
-define project scope and objectives
-assess feasibility and risks
-develop preliminary budget and schedule
what is the purpose of PLANNING? What are typical activities within the PLANNING process group?
Define and refine goals and objectives. Once objectives have been defined, plan how to reach objectives
-develop pm plan
-define detailed scopes objectives, deliverables
-develop WBS
-ID/sequence activities
-estimate duration/resource required for each activity
-develop budget and schedule
-ID/analyze risks
-develop quality management plan
-develop HR management plan
-develop comm management plan
-develop procurement management plan
what is the purpose of EXECUTING? What are typical activities within the EXECUTING process group?
“Working the plan”
-assign tasks/responsibilities to team
-acquiring/managing resources
-develop/managing deliverables
-perform quality assurance activities
-implement change mgmt process
-conduct stakeholder meetings/comm activities
-perform status reporting
what is the purpose of MONITORING AND CONTROLLING? What are typical activities within the MONITORING AND CONTROLLING process group?
Measure and monitor to ensure team is doing work as planned. Result of measurement (primarily cost, time, scope, quality) show discrepancies. Discrepancies are project variance.
-measure performance against plan
-monitor/control scope, schedule, budget, quality
-manage risks
-manage changes to pmp
-manage issues/defects
-perform status reporting
-analyze performance data
-perform trend analysis to ID potential issues
what is the purpose of CLOSING? What are typical activities within the CLOSING process group?
Formal acceptance of deliverables
-conduct final project activities
-completing deliverables
-conducting performance reviews
-documenting lessons learned
-archiving project info
-closing out contracts/agreements
-obtaining customer acceptance
-closing out accounts/financial records
In a predictive, plan based approach, the differences between various project components are what?
-scope
-schedule
-budget
-risks
-resources
-quality
Definition for quality?
-degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfills requirements
What are the basic steps in order to develop a project schedule?
-understanding of scope, requirements, and objectives
-this info is decomposed into work packages in the WBS
-pm meets with team, ID each work packages and specific activities required
-once ID’d, pm/team work on sequencing and establishing resource/duration estimates
What is a critical path activity?
-longest (time) sequence of activities in a project plan, which must be completed on time, for the project to be completed by the due date
What activities must be completed on the schedule to meet project objectives?
All of them
What is the critical path method?
-ID activities that MUST be done on the date in the schedule and the others can be adjusted without impacting the project end date
-activities on the critical path have zero float
-delay to this path is delay to project
-has the longest duration
-activities on the critical path change during project execution
-continuously leverage critical path method to understand zero float activities
What is free slack (aka free float)
-amount of time an activity can be delayed before that affects the next activity in the path
What is total slack (aka total float)?
-amount of time an activity can be delayed before it affects the total project duration
What does Microsoft project use to analyze tasks on the schedule for critical path method?
-forward pass and backward pass calculations
What is forward pass?
-calculate the earliest start and finish times for each activity in the project network diagram
What is backwards pass?
-calculate latest start and finish times for each activity in project network diagram
-moves backwards
How to identify the critical path?
-comparing earliest and latest start and finish times for each activity
-if an activity has a difference between its earliest and latest start and finish times, it means it has slack time and is not critical to project completion date
When talking about scheduling software, “activities” are called what?
Tasks
What is the critical path method used for?
-Determine which activities have no float
-also use to determine earliest date for project completion
-can be more than one critical path in a project, as two paths can have the same duration, and it’s possible for the critical path to change
What is a baseline?
Project starting point that measures progress or delays
What are the 3 major baselines?
-scope, schedule, and cost
