Division 2: Project Management Flashcards
What are some examples of responsibilities involved in project management?
Project planning, scheduling, monitoring, coordinating, and directing, updating documentation, closing out the job, and following up with clients
What is the most important factor to consider when selecting consultants to bring into a project?
Past working relationships
What should a project manager consider when assembling a project team?
Project type and complexity, project size, staff availability, experience levels, billing rates, and personalities
What are the two methods commonly used for scheduling design and construction projects?
The bar or Gantt chart and the critical path method (CPM)
What is the simplest method commonly used for scheduling design and construction projects?
The bar or Gantt chart
What is a bar or Gantt chart?
The simplest method of scheduling design and construction projects, in which all the project tasks are listed on the y axis, the entire project duration is represented by the x axis, each task is represented with a bar that illustrates its start and end, and task dependencies are represented by arrows
The critical path method is more commonly used with design projects than with construction projects. True or false?
False
What is the critical path method?
A method of scheduling design and construction projects, in which all the project tasks are listed, each task’s beginning and end points are represented by numbered circles, and arrows point in the direction of progression from one task to another (arrows can be solid, or dashed to show dependencies, or thick to show the critical path that must be delivered in time if the project deadline is to be met)
In the critical path method, what is the float of a task?
The maximum length of time that a noncritical task can be delayed or extended before it causes a delay in the overall project
What is a work plan or fee projection?
A detailed project schedule that breaks the project down into its component tasks, assigns staff members and resources to each task, and details how the firm’s fees will be used to pay staff members and cover other costs over the course of the project
Creating the work plan or fee projection is one of the earliest and most important tasks that a project manager must complete. True or false?
True
What does a good work plan include?
Scope of services, breakdown of the services into phases, dependencies, milestones, required staff, time and fee allocations, consultants’ scopes of work, and consultants’ costs and fees
What is the primary element of a work plan or fee schedule?
Project schedule
How is the project schedule most commonly depicted in a work plan or fee schedule?
Bar or Gantt chart
What is the top-down approach?
Fee estimation in which the project manager begins by estimating the total working fee then uses rules of thumb and historical data to determine the percentages of the total fee that will be allocated to more specific costs
What is the total working fee?
The fee available to pay people to do the job after subtracting fees for profit, consultants, and other expenses
For a traditional design-bid-build project, what are the fee percentages needed for schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding, and construction administration?
15%, 20%, 40%, 5%, and 20%, respectively
What is the bottom-up approach?
Fee estimation in which the project manager begins by estimating how much time is required to complete each individual task in a project, then assigning staff members to each task, and using the staff members’ billing rates to estimate the total project fee
Which fee estimation approach is the most accurate?
Bottom-up
A project manager typically only uses one of either the top-down approach or the bottom-up approach in fee estimation. True or false?
False
Why should a project manager monitor employees’ time sheets weekly?
To take corrective action if the actual time exceeds the budgeted time
What is a full wall schedule?
A low-tech technique for developing a broad outline of the entire project schedule, involving every team member and the client, and representing simplified start and end dates for major tasks.
What are the four basic kinds of communication in a design office?
Work assignments, instructions, reward and punishment, and social interaction
For the greatest impact, multiple kinds of basic communication should be delivered together. True or false?
False
How does a good project manager handle team members’ anger?
By recognizing anger as a symptom of a significant problem, not just a personality trait.
What is a consultant?
An expert who is not part of the firm’s regular staff but is employed to work on specific projects
The project manager should involve the consultants in the project as early as possible. True or false?
True
What are eight articles that every project notebook should have?
General reference, contracts, fees and schedules, programming, budget, job communication, construction administration, and close-out and follow-up
In a project notebook, what does the general reference include?
The index of the notebook, the project directory, and the filing index (names and code numbers of the office filing system for the job)
In a project notebook, what do the contracts include?
The owner-architect agreement, architect-consultant agreements, and work authorizations
In a project notebook, what do the fees and schedules include?
The preliminary schedule, the detailed schedule, time projections, fee budgets, task assignments, and financial management report summaries
In a project notebook, what does the programming include?
Goal statements, the program summary, code and zoning research, special equipment needs, and utility information
In a project notebook, what does the budget include?
The overall project budget, the construction budget, the furnishings budget, and budget updates
In a project notebook, what does job communication include?
Major correspondence, meeting minutes, telephone and e-mail logs, transmittal logs, design review notes, and written client approvals
In a project notebook, what does construction administration include?
The shop drawing log, the sample log, notes from job conferences and site visits, bulletins, change orders, field orders, field reports, site observation reports, and certificates for payment
In a project notebook, what does close-out and follow-up include?
The punch list, the certificate of substantial completion, the summary of construction costs, the summary of fee expenditures, commissioning reports, testing and balancing reports, comments on the completed job, consultant evaluations, and follow-up visit notes
What is project perfection syndrome?
The desire to continue pursuing perfection in a project
Why is project perfection syndrome dangerous?
As a project gets closer to being perfect, the effort and cost required to bring it closer to perfection also increase
