Crosswinds: Chapter 3

Question 1

The business environment in which projects operate can consist of and be influenced by
a variety of factors (4 total)

Answer 1

• Governance
• Strategic (long term) planning
• Portfolios and portfolio management
• Programs and program management

Question 2

Agile

Answer 2

is an adaptive, iterative approach to projects that expects and embraces change
and stresses self-organizing teams, transparent and up-to-date communication, and an intense level of participation by the product owner/customer. Agile is flexible and varies from team to team based on the team’s culture, diversity, and globalization.

Question 3

Agile Manifesto

Answer 3

promotes the adoption and expansion of Agile software development and supports those who explore and apply Agile principles and practices for the benefit of the software industry.

Question 4

Balanced Matrix

Answer 4

The balanced matrix organization represents the middle ground between a strong matrix organization and a weak matrix organization. The functional manager controls resources and the project manager delivers project results.

Question 5

Burndown Charts

Answer 5

A release burndown chart depicts the number of story points (a unit of measurement
that represents the size of a user story relative to the other user stories in the project) that remain in the project at the start of each iteration. If work is added to the release, the burndown chart may reflect a burnup

Question 6

Closing Process Group

Answer 6

The Close Project or Phase process involves the completion of
activities across all process groups for the project, phase, or contract. Once completed, the related project, phase, or contract
information must be archived and all organizational resources released. The process is performed once or at predefined points in the project.

Question 7

Cost Benefit Analysis

Answer 7

A cost benefit analysis is used to weigh project costs against anticipated tangible project benefits.

Question 8

Governance

Answer 8

at the portfolio, program, or project level, is a
framework that provides the template for defining and maintaining the processes and functions that result in successful portfolios, programs, and projects.

Question 9

Governance Functions

Answer 9

• Oversight Processes/activities for guidance, direction, and leadership
• Decision-Making Processes/activities for structure and delegation of authority
• Integration Processes/activities for strategic alignment of programs and projects
• Control Processes/activities for monitoring, measuring, and reporting

Question 10

The four steps for implementing governance framework are

Answer 10

• Assess To review and analyze the current state of governance
• Plan To plan for the desired future state of governance
• Implement To execute the governance plan
• Improve To review the state of governance and identify improvement opportunitie

Question 11

Organizational project management

Answer 11

a strategy framework
that accommodates the alignment of project, program, and portfolio management practices with organizational strategy and goals. The framework can be adjusted as needed for the alignment of portfolios, programs, or projects with organizational goals.

Question 12

Portfolio Management

Answer 12

Portfolio management involves the coordinated management
of one or more portfolios to align with the overall strategic goals of the company.

Question 13

Portfolio

Answer 13

a group of programs and projects that are centrally
managed to align with the company’s strategic plan. A company could have multiple portfolios in order to achieve it’s strategic business goals and each portfolio could represent work being done for a particular product line; for a particular grouping of products; or by a particular group, division, or branch of the company.

Question 14

Program Management

Answer 14

involves the coordinated management
of the projects within a program to align with the strategic goals of the company.

Question 15

Benefits Management

Answer 15

involves the establishment of the benefits
a program is expected to deliver to an organization; includes
Establishment of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actual, Realistic, Time-based) benefits

Question 16

Benefits Management Plan

Answer 16

The benefits management plan and business case are two of the first project related
documents created. They help determine what is in the charter.

Question 17

Project Management

Answer 17

Project management is the application of information, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project needs. It can include developing requirements, determining realistic goals, managing the triple constraint, and adapting the various plans to achieve project goals.

Question 18

Project Management System

Answer 18

The project management system is a set of procedures, tools and techniques, processes, and methodologies used to manage projects. The system can be formal or informal and is typically supported by the project management plan during the execution of the project work. Examples of a project management system are: Agile, waterfall, hybrid, Kanban, and Lean.

Question 19

Project Management Life Cycle (PMLC)

Answer 19

The project management life cycle includes the five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. These process groups can be applied to a project or to individual project phases.

Question 20

Project Life Cycle

Answer 20

The project life cycle includes the project work processes. For each phase, it describes the work being performed, who is performing the work, the deliverables, and the approval process. Examples of a work process are the building process for home construction and the development process for a computer program. The project life cycle typically coexists with the project management life cycle.

Question 21

Product Life Cycle

Answer 21

The product life cycle includes the product or service from concept to divestment (closure), typically starting with a business plan, moving through the project that results in the product or service, then transitioning the product or service to operations, and ending with the retirement of the product or service.

Question 22

3 Areas of Focus for Project Managers

Answer 22

The project environment includes cultural, social, political, and international variables. General management ability includes having the ability to manage such areas as
financing, purchasing (procurement), sales, law, manufacturing and logistics, health (safety), and information technology. Interpersonal skills include communication, influence, leadership, motivation, negotiation, team building, decision-making, and political and cultural awareness.

Question 23

Project

Answer 23

is a temporary initiative that creates business value.
It has a specific purpose, creates unique results, drives organizational change, and has a definite start and finish. It is initiated in response to:
* A stakeholder need or request * A legal, regulatory, or social requirement * A business or technological strategy
* A product, process, or service that needs to be created, enhanced, or corrected

Question 24

Progressive Elaboration

Answer 24

is the refinement of the plan as new information relevant to the work of the project is discovered. This often involves multiple incremental changes.

Question 25

Operations Management

Answer 25

consists of managing operational resources and the
day-to-day activities of the organization. Operations managers must direct the planning, execution, and monitoring and controlling of the work.

Question 26

Project Management Office (PMO)

Answer 26

is a group that standardizes project governance and simplifies the sharing of resources, tools, techniques, and methodologies. The approach the PMO may take can be:
* Directive PMO directly manages projects
* Controlling PMO provides support and requires compliance in the form of adoption of mandated project management frameworks, governance frameworks, and/or tools and documentation
* Supportive PMO provides project management templates, best practices, lessons learned, and access to other supportive information

Question 27

Triple Constraint

Answer 27

One of the most basic foundations of traditional project
management is the triple constraint: Scope, Schedule, and Cost. * Scope is the description, typically in the form of written requirements, of the expected product, service, or result of the project
* Schedule details the amount of time necessary to deliver the product, service, or result of the project (The schedule cannot be determined until scope is defined)
* Cost is the amount of money needed to deliver the product, service, or result of the project and cannot be determined until schedule is determined
Unless otherwise stated, all three constraints are of equal importance.

Question 28

Process Groups

Answer 28

There are five main process groups: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and
controlling, and closing.

Question 29

Initiating Process Group

Answer 29

Project management is the application of information, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project needs. It can include developing requirements, determining realistic goals, managing the triple constraint, and adapting the various plans to achieve project goals.

Question 30

Planning Process Group

Answer 30

Because the success of the project is so dependent on planning, it is considered the most important of the process groups. The project manager creates the project management plan and the component management plans (Integration, Scope, Schedule, Cost, Quality, Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, and Stakeholder), then integrates the component plans into the project management plan.

Question 31

Executing Process Group

Answer 31

During the executing process group, the actual work of the project is performed in accordance with the project management plan. This process group creates work results. Note that performing the work typically unearths unplanned events and unforecasted issues. The executing processes create work results.

Question 32

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group

Answer 32

During the monitoring and controlling process group, the team checks for variances (monitoring) and adjusts the plan or output in light of the variances (controlling). This process group results in preventative and corrective actions.

Question 33

Closing Process Group

Answer 33

During the closing process group, the project or phase is closed. Assuming that the project or phase has been executed and is nearing completion, any procurements must be closed, and then the project or phase may be closed.

Question 34

If the phases have a sequential relationship, a phase _____

Answer 34

only begins after its predecessor
phase has been completed. For example, phase two begins only after the completion of phase one.

Question 35

If the phases have an overlapping relationship, a phase ___

Answer 35

can begin even if its
predecessor phase has not been completed. (An overlapping relationship is typically used if a compression technique, such as fast tracking, is applied. While the overall project could be completed sooner, overlapping phases may increase risk and rework may be required if a phase is started prior to obtaining accurate information from the prior phase.)