Examination Practice Flashcards
What is a project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result
What is a program?
A program involves several projects closely related and designed to accomplish a common goal, but performed as individual projects.
When the projects are all completed, the program is completed.
What is a project portfolio?
Is a large number of projects or programs that an
organization is concurrently performing or considering
What is project portfolio management?
Is the process of selecting and coordinating
projects in the whole organization, thereby creating an overview of all projects, which can effectively help the organization achieve its strategic business objectives.
What is project management?
Is the process of managing projects with the
goal of completing them successfully in terms of budget, time and level of quality.
The Pyramid
Linear Approaches: Stage-Gate, Waterfall
Iterative Approaches: SCRUM, Agile
In linear approaches=traditional project management, the scope is fixed and the budget and time are flexible.
In iterative approaches= the budget and time are fixed and the scope is flexible.
Advantages of the Waterfall Approach:
- allows departmentalization and control
- easy to manage and use
- good for small projects
- specific deliverables and review processes
- clearly stages and well-understood milestones
- good documentation
- easy to arrange tasks
Disadvantages of the Waterfall Approach:
- risk and uncertainty
- not for complex projects
- no room for change
- adjusting the scope can end the project
- difficult to measure progress
- prototype produced until late in the lifecycle
Advantages of the Stage-Gate Model:
- accelerated to speed up to market
- increased new product success rates while the failures are decreased.
- enables the effectiveness and efficiency of the scarce resources
- fewer errors, rework, waste within the projects
- improved alignment across business leaders
- improves organization discipline and focus on the right projects
Disadvantages of the Stage-Gate Model:
- Who are the gatekeepers?
- expecting too much from a process
- relying on the software as a solution
- bureaucratic
- gatekeepers might behave badly
The power of nine in Agile Stage-Gate Hybrid Model
Three artifacts: 1. sprint, 2.daily scrum, 3.retrospect meeting.
Three roles: 1.scrum master, 2.product owner, 3. member of the team.
Three tools: 1.product backlog, 2.burn down charts, 3.sprint board, or kanban board.
Team environment phases:
1.Forming, 2.Storming, 3.Norming, 4.Performing, 5.Adjourning
Leadership Style in Team Environment:
- Forming: the focus is on the team by defying goals, roles, and responsibilities. One way communication.
- Storming: handling conflicts by clarifying activities, roles, and responsibilities. Two-way communication.
- Norming: involving the team in setting its own goals and work process. Multi-way communication, team leader acts as a team member.
- Performing: empowering the team to be self-managing and let the team set their own way of working. Team lead communicates with the rest of the organization.
- Adjourning: Focusing on finalizing the more tedious tasks of documentation and handing-over results
Team Orientation
It refers to the attitudes and tasks that team members have towards one another. It refers to an acceptance of the team norms and the importance of team membership by giving high priority to the team goals and be willing to be part of the relevant aspects of the team.
Team Leadership
Involves providing direction and support for other team members. There is not one person with the authority to others. Team leadership can be shown by any team member by explaining what is asked from the team, listening to the concerns of other team members. Horizontical Leadership - Team centered leadership.
Monitoring
Refers to observing other team members’ performance and activities and recognizing if a team member is working correctly. All team members must provide feedback and back up by recognizing when a team member performs correctly and being aware of other team members’ performance and tasks.
Feedback
Involves the seeking, giving, and accepting information among team members. Giving feedback by providing information on other team member’s performance. Seeking feedback by asking other team member to give you input or support. And accepting positive or negative feedback related to one’s performance.
Back up
Involves being available to support a team member and have an idea about other team members’ tasks. The team members are willing to provide assistance when is needed by supporting another task if one can not do it and by correcting mistakes.
Coordination
Refers to team members executing their activities in a timely and integrated manner. It implies that the performance of some team members influences the performance of others. This may involve an exchange of information that subsequently influences another
member’s performance. Coordination represents the output of the model and reflects the execution of team activities such that members respond as a function of the behavior of others, e.g
passing performance-relevant data to other members in an efficient manner.
facilitating the performance of other members’ jobs
Communication
Involves the exchange of information between two or more team members in the prescribed manner and using appropriate terminology. Often, the purpose of
communication is to clarify or acknowledge the receipt of information, e.g.
verifying information prior to making a report
acknowledging and repeating messages to ensure understanding
Emotional Intelligence
the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.
What is PMO?
An organizational body or entity assigned
various responsibilities related to centralized and
coordinated management of those projects
under its domain.
How do you establish a PMO?
- Establish the foundation
- Place short term initiatives
- Rollout long term solutions
- Support and improve
Maturity Levels of a PMO?
- Initial
- Established
- Defined
- Managed
- Optimized
Initial
identified as PMO
inconsistency
little unused project data
mostly qualitative reporting
Established
recognized PMO need of improvement some consistency some collected data but some of them are analyzed reporting is still primarily
Defined
solid PMO most processes have consistency key data are collected basic analytics are done reporting has some metrics
Managed
successful PMO good sponsorship core processes are consistent all key project data are collected solid analytics reporting primarily data-driven
Optimized
world-class PMO complete sponsorship core processes consistent and continuously improved all key data is collected analytics are comprehensive reporting completely data-driven
How manage Risk in a project?
Risk planning, Risk Identification, Risk Analysis(Qualitative, Quantitative), Risk response, Risk monitoring and control
The four choices of risk response
- Avoid: change of strategy and plan (High probability, high impact)
- Transfer: transfer risk to a third party (low probability, high impact).
- Mitigate: actions to reduce the risk (high probability, low impact)
- Accept: take the risk (low probability, low impact)
SMART Objectives
Specific, Measurable, Agreed to, Realistic, Time constrained
