Domain 1 Flashcards
Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts – 36%
T/F: Scrum has no project manager
T. The closest thing is the “scrum master”
How does the project management role work in Scrum?
It’s divided into 3 parts: scrum master, product owner, development team
How does the project management role work in Kanban?
The PM ensures that work is being done and that the team is following the Kanban.
T/F: The project manager in Kanban assigns tasks & deadlines
F. In Kanban, that is not necessary as the team is self organizing.
In addition to traditional project management responsibilities, what other duties do lean project managers have?
They have an additional emphasis on promoting efficiency, accuracy and reducing waste.
How does the project management role work in XP (Extreme Programming)?
The project management activities are split into two roles; manager and coach
What is the manager in XP responsible for?
The manager leads the planning process, monitors people’s behavior & performance
What is the coach in XP responsible for?
The coach is an emotional support to team members and empowers them.
Give an overview of the sender-receiver communication model
The sender sends a message through via some avenue (medium) to a decoder (the medium the receives the message)
What are the different types of influences to be mindful of?
Social, economic and environmental influences
What are the key aspects of business acumen in project managment?
Financial management
Market awareness
Strategic alignment
Risk management
Name & describe the 6 types of power
- Referent power - pm is well likes
- Information power - pm has control of data & info sharing
- Expert power
- Legitimate power
- Reward power
- Punitive punishment
Describe a visionary leader.
Has a clear plan of what they’ll accomplish, how it will be accomplished &will push to get it done.
Describe a change agent leader.
Knows how to engage stakeholders to create change
Describe a servant leader.
Focuses on serving others & put others needs in front of their own
Describe a transactional leader.
Offers rewards or punishments to team when reaching project goals
What factors contribute to project complexity?
Project uncertainty
Human behavior
System (ie org) behavior
What activities are must be completed before a project is initiated?
A business case, a feasibility study and a statement of work
Kanban means ___ signal
Visual
What is the minimum viable product?
The MVP is a product that satisfies customer needs while giving customers an opportunity to provide feedback
How does “pair programming” show that XP promotes better work-life balance?
Pair programming encourages 2 people to work on a program together, so that neither person has to work long hours
How does disciplined agile differ from traditional agile?
It combines Agile and lean principles with other frameworks. It has a process goal driven approach and focuses on scaling agile in larger orgs.
What are the core principles of disciplined Agile?
Customer focus
Simplicity
Pragmatism
Continuous improvement
What are some internal enterprise env factors to consider in PM?
Org culture, structure & governance
Geographic location of facilities & resources
Org infrastructure
IT Software
Resource availability throughout project lifecycle
Employee/Team capabilty
What are some external enterprise env factors to consider in PM?
Market conditions
Social and cultural influences
Legal restrictions
Commercial databases
Academic research
Industry standards
Financial considerations
Physical environment elements
What are some examples of organizational process assets (OPAs)?
Org processes, policies, procedures and corporate knowledge base items
What are the two categories of Organizational process assets (OPAs) and what do they entail?
Processes, policies and procedures - created by an organizational office and can’t easily be changed
Org knowledge repositories - documents that are continuously updated throughout the project & kept in an electronic database
T/F: OPAs are unique to an org
T.
T/F: Governance frameworks only address rules, procedures and policies regarding an org
F. It also addresses projects
What factors must a governance framework address for projects?
Alignment with org mission
Risk management
Performance on time, costs and technical objectives
Communications w/ the right stakeholder at the right time
T/F: Only the project manager can create the project governance.
F. The project manager, project management office, project department or the org itself can create project governance.
Project managers answer to ____ influences
Organizational
What are some examples of OPAs to consider at the launch of a project?
HR polices,
Estimating techniques
Checklists
Project improvement goals
What are some examples of the type of organizational knowledge repositories?
Lesson learned
Data
Issue and defect management
T/F: An organizational system can act as a type of project constraint.
T.
What are the two types of “project-centric” organizations?
Orgs that are primarily contracted to perform projects (ie, architecture, IT, consulting, etc)
Orgs primarily that do their project work inhouse
Describe a functional/central organization & the project managers role.
Business units are clearly divided and work as separate entities. Project work has to do with that specific business unit. Project manager communicates between departments if needed
What attributes does a project manager have in a functional/central organization?
Little power & autonomy
Project role & project team is part time
Reports directly to functional manager
Little to no admin support for project
May have a different title (ie project coordinator, team lead, etc)
Describe a matrix structure organization.
Employees in different departments blend together & can come together to work on a project, causing team members to potential have multiple managers.
What attributes/resources does a project manager have in a weak matrix structure?
Limited authority
Part time project role
Manage a part time project team
Possibly have part time admin
Not called “project manager”
What attributes/resources does a project manager have in a balanced matrix structure?
Reasonable authority
Full time project manager
May manage a part time team
May have admin support
What attributes/resources does a project manager have in a strong matrix structure?
Highest level of power
Manages part time to almost full time team
Full time project manager
Full time admin support
What attributes/resources does a project manager have in a project oriented structure?
High authority over project team
Full time project manager w/ team
Full time admin support
Manages budget
Supported by project management office
What attributes/resources does a project manager have in a virtual structure?
Low authority
Part time team
Full time project manager
part time or full time admin support
Describe PMO’s
Project management offices support project managers, provide project resources ( templates, tools, etc), and their goal is to standardize project work in the org
T/F: PMOs are most used in matrix structures and project oriented environments
T
Name & define the 3 types of PMOs
Supportive - PMO acts as a consultant and provides needed materials
Controlling - PMO requires the use of specific methodologies, documents and tools
Directive - The project manager is part of the PMO and only works on projects assigned by the PMO
T/F: The product life cycle ends when the project closes
F. The product life cycle ends when the product is obsolete
T/F: The project life cycle and the product lifecycle are the same.
F
A business case contains…
Analysis of project benefits, costs, ROI and risks & the org project impact for the stakeholders
A feasibility study determines if a project is…
technically, financially and economically feasible
A statement of work (SOW) contains…
the project scope, objectives and the who, what, where, when and how of the actual project work
T/F: There is a phase review at the end of the close phase
F. There is a phase review at the end of every phase
When is the likelihood of project success the lowest?
Early phases
What are the project phases?
Initiation
Planning
Executing
Monitoring & controlling
Closing
What are the steps of Demings PDCA cycle?
Plan
Do
Check
Act
Define progressive elaboration
Starting with a broad project concept then narrowing it down until a refined scope statement is created
What are some reasons to undertake a project?
Opportunity (market demand)
Org needs
Customer demand
Technology
Legal requirements
T/F: Subprojects are managed as their own project
T.
What is the difference between an iterative project approach & and incremental project approach?
In an incremental approach, project features are added incrementally until it’s over.
What is the purpose a requirements traceability matrix?
Track the relationship between project requirements (as outlined in scope) and project activities/deliverables, etc
What are the benefits of a requirements traceability matrix?
Improved project planning
Enhanced communication
Better risk management
Increased project visibility
Improved quality assurance
What are the PMI values?
Responsibility
Respect
Fairness
Honesty
Define user stories
Shot descriptions from the user’s perspective
Define story points
How many points are required to create the user story
What are the triple constraints of Project Management?
Scope
Schedule
Cost
“Recall that the product backlog is a list of prioritized requirements called (1). The project team assigns (2) to the (1) as a way to estimate the amount of effort required to create the (1), and there are only so many (2) available per timeboxed iteration.”
1- user stories
2 - story points
Project scope vs Product scope
Project scope deals with the work that needs to be done, product scope deals with the specific features the product must have to be done
Milestone list vs milestone chart
Milestone list contains the project milestones and the planned time to reach the milestone. The milestone charter plots the planned milestones on a calendar
Analogous estimating is also known as _____ estimating and is a form of ______ judgment
top-down, expert
What is the most reliable estimate duration?
Bottoms up estimation
What has to be completed before a bottom up estimation?
A WBS has to be completed first
What is a risk register?
A risk register is a document containing identified threats and opportunities that can affect the project
What are the components of a risk register?
The identified risk
The risk owners (Those accountable for monitoring the risk)
Potential responses
Root causes of risk
Risk categories
What is an output of stakeholder identification?
The stakeholder register
What is needed in the Closing phase to confirm that the project deliverable has been transferred?
A document showing formal acceptance of the deliverable
What components are typically part of the final project report?
Project summary
Scope objectives (& which ones were missed)
Quality performance
Schedule performance
Cost per.
Deliverable
Project risk summary
Lessons learned
T/F: If a project is terminated early, a final project report is still created.
T
What plans help ensure project success after the project is closed?
Transition, sustainment and benefits management plan
What are key project closure activities?
Confirmed completion of deliverable
Obtain final acceptance
Do a project review
Lessons learned
Release project resources
Celebrate success (party)
Project manager vs project sponsers
Project mangers are in the project details, project sponsers provide resources and ensure the project fits with the org strategic goals & objectives
What is a RACI chart?
A matrix chart that indicates who is Responsible, Accountable, who will be Consulted and Informed on different project tasks.
T/F: Only one person can be accountable for a task on RACI chart.
T
What are the four quadrants of emotional intelligence?
Self awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Social skill
What are the important functions that a pm performs?
Initiator (of project)
Negotiator
Listener
Coach
Working member (of project team)
Facilitator
Model
Steward
Which project initiating activities is the pm responsible for?
Defining the project scope objectives and goals
Identifying stakeholders
Creating the project charter
Forming the project team
Developing the budget & schedule
Which project negotiating activities is the pm responsible for
Resources
Conflicts
Managing project scope
Risk mitigation strategies
Stakeholder interests
T/F: Celebration communication is an important part of project management
T. It’s important to celebrate successes and milestones achieved.
What are some activities must be completed before a the project can begin?
Feasibility study
Identify stakeholders
Define problem & high level project scope
Project charter
Get approval
What is benefits planning?
Defining & documenting the project benefits
What steps can pms take to follow and execute planned strategies?
Clearly define the strategy
Assign roles & responsibilities
Develop a detailed action plan
Implement the strategy
Monitor & evaluate progress
Communicate progress & results to key stakeholders
Continually adjust based on feedback
What are some key activities of benefits planning?
Defining the benefits the project is meant to deliver
Assigning responsibility for each benefit to a person or team
Tracking & monitoring the benefits as they’re being developed (to ensure they actually come)
Evaluating the benefits
Ensure benefits are sustained
What are some techniques to promote adaptability and resilience?
Having diverse project teams
Being open and transparent during the planning phase
Having prototypes and experiments for testing
Being open to new ways of thinking and doing things
Leveraging new experiences
What are some key responsibilities of the project sponsor?
Ensure project is in alignment with org strategic goals
Build the project governance structure
Ensure project quality is met
Oversee project initiation phase
T/F: The project sponsor focuses on the projects operational aspects.
F. This is the pm’s role
What is the OSCAR model and what is it used for?
It’s a coaching model that’s used by pm’s to improve their own skills and support their team members. It stands for:
Outcome
Situation
Causes
Actions
Review
What are some items contained in the activity list?
All scheduled project activities
scope of work description
Activity identifier
Define acceptance criteria
The criteria (listed in the scope statement) that the deliverable must meet before the customer can accept it
What is the first step in active problem solving?
Defining the problem & desired solution
What is the output of identifying risks?
The risk register
What is included in the risk register?
Identified risks
Risk owners
Potential responses
Root causes of risk
Risk categories & all updates
What information is included in the stakeholder registry?
Stakeholder identification
Stakeholder assessment info
Stakeholder classification
What is qualitative risk analysis?
Prioritizing the risks
T/F: Qualitative risk analysis is done first
T. Qualitative goes before quantitative
What 3 components make up the “cost of quality” (COQ)?
COQ= prevention costs + appraisal costs + failure costs
Histograms show what type of data?
Continuous
