Framework Flashcards
Many project managers have seen a graph that shows “Influence of Stakeholders” starting out high and declining as the project progresses. In contrast, it also shows the “Cost of Changes” starting out low and increasing as the project progresses. What is the key insight a project manager should gain from this graph?
Make changes as early in the project as possible.
Set aside money for expected changes at the end of the project.
Stakeholder influence is not important at the end of the project.
Place the project on hold until all changes are made
Make changes as early in the project as possible.
Which of the following techniques used in adaptive lifecycles helps in minimizing scope creep?
User stories
Time-boxing
Iterations
User epics
Time-boxing - periods are durations during which the team works steadily toward completion of a goal. Time-boxing helps to minimize scope creep as it forces the teams to process essential features first, then other features when time permits.
A first-time project manager was assigned to a project that had a duration of three months. In order to get a head start on the project, the manager took an older, completed the project and incorporated all the tools, techniques, and checklists in their entirety from that project into the current one. The older project was completed in 14 months’ time and was remarkably similar in nature. The most appropriate comment on this would be
- This is an excellent example of re-use of artifacts from prior projects.
- This is not the correct procedure. The project manager should always create processes and documents afresh for new projects.
- This is not correct. The project manager is violating copyright and intellectual property rights of the organization’s prior customers.
- This may be unnecessary. The project management team needs to decide what is appropriate for the project.
This may be unnecessary. The project management team needs to decide what is appropriate for the project.
The project management team needs to decide what is appropriate for the project. Since the prior project had a duration of 14 months and the current one is of 3 months’ duration, it is unlikely that the current project will have exactly the same processes applied. Some amount of tailoring will be required. The other responses are not valid. It cannot be said with certainty that the project manager will not be violating copyright and intellectual property rights of prior customers. Most organizations have clear guidelines on what information can go into their organizational assets’ database.
A project manager is spending most of the project funding in the current phase of the project. The manager is also managing various resources in the project. What is the stakeholder influence on the project now compared to earlier phases?
Less
More
Same
Cannot be determined
Less - Since the project manager is spending most of the money and managing resources, he or she is currently in the execution phase of the project. Spending levels reach a maximum in the execution phase. Stakeholder influences on the project decrease over the life of the project. Hence, stakeholder influence is now less than in previous phases.
A single point of failure (SPOF) is the part of a system that, upon failure, stops the entire system from working or makes the system useless. Which of the following events can render a knowledge management system ineffective?
If project team is not motivated. Knowledge is shared using a mixture of knowledge management tools and techniques. When project knowledge cannot be classified as explicit or tacit. Project team is geographically distributed.
If project team is not motivated.
The most important part of knowledge management is creating an atmosphere of trust so that people are motivated to share their knowledge. Even the best knowledge management tools and techniques will not work if people are not motivated to share what they know or don’t pay attention to what others know. None of the other choices pose a more serious threat than this.
Which of the following statements is correct:
Project lifecycles and product lifecycles are interdependent. A product lifecycle is the same as a project lifecycle. Project lifecycles are independent of product lifecycles. The last lifecycle for a project is generally the product's retirement.
Project lifecycles are independent of product lifecycles.
A project consists of multiple phases. Which of the following is a valid statement and applies to each phase of the project?
- Each phase of the project is generally concluded with a review of the work accomplished and deliverables to determine acceptance and whether the phase should be considered closed.
- Each phase is generally concluded with a review of the work accomplished but is only closed if the next phase has already started.
- Each phase is generally concluded with a review of the work accomplished. A phase is never considered complete until the end of the project when the entire project is complete.
- Each phase of the project is considered complete when the project sponsor signs off on that phase of the project.
Each phase of the project is generally concluded with a review of the work accomplished and deliverables to determine acceptance and whether the phase should be considered closed.
A project phase is usually concluded with a review of the work accomplished and the deliverables to determine acceptance, whether extra work is still required and to decide whether the phase should be considered closed. The other options are not valid.
Which of the following statements is not accurate about the initial phase of a project?
The cost associated at the beginning of the project is highest.
Staffing levels are the lowest at this stage.
Stakeholders have maximum influence during this phase.
The highest uncertainty is at this stage of the project
The cost associated at the beginning of the project is highest.
At the initial stage of a project, cost is typically not at its highest.
You are managing a complex software development project for an external customer. You are using the waterfall approach to manage the project in line with the contractual requirements. However, you are not comfortable with this approach. You believe that customers don’t really know what they want upfront; rather, what they want emerges out of repeated two-way interactions over the course of the project. In your current situation, the waterfall approach has its emphasis on upfront requirements capture and design, followed by product development and finally the system testing. The customer will only be involved during the requirements gathering and system testing stages and will be completely out of touch during the development activities. Which of the following can help you mitigate the risk created by the waterfall approach:
Adopt an iterative life cycle.
Adopt a hybrid life cycle.
Divide the project into multiple phases and organize phase gates.
Adopt an incremental life cycle.
Divide the project into multiple phases and organize phase gates.
In a predictive life cycle, the project planning is completed in the early phases of the project. Although the use of the waterfall life cycle is mandated by the client, the project manager can still customize the approach to obtain benefits offered by the adaptive approaches. In this case, dividing the project into multiple phases and organizing phase gates with the customer can help achieve this.
Which of the following scenarios is likely to occur in a project?
Stakeholders' influence on the project is lowest at the start of the project. Cost and staffing levels are low at the start of the project. Risk and uncertainty are lowest at the start of the project. Cost of changes are the highest at the start of the project.
Cost and staffing levels are low at the start of the project.
While the five process groups are usually completed in order, they often overlap with each other throughout the project. Which two process groups usually do not overlap during the course of the project?
Initiating and Executing Initiating and Closing Planning and Closing Initiating and Monitoring and Control
Initiating and Closing
Nancy is engaged in the construction of three office buildings. Although the construction sites are in various places, she has managed each team efficiently to complete the work on time and within budget. Which of the following statements describes the effort Nancy is doing?
Construction of all three buildings is considered one project. Construction of each building is a project because each building is separate in nature. Construction of each building is an operational work because it is repetitive in nature. The building construction is considered neither a project nor operational work.
Construction of each building is a project because each building is separate in nature.
Projects are temporary and unique, whereas operational work is repetitive. Since nancy is working to construct three unique buildings, and each has a definite beginning and a definite end, each effort is considered as a project.
Which of the following is least likely to be a project?
Running a campaign for a political office
Responding to a contract solicitation
An endeavor that lasts for 10 years
Regular updates of the company website
Regular updates of the company website
Regular updates of the company website constitute an operational activity and are clearly not a project. Responding to a contract solicitation and running a campaign are clearly projects. The endeavor lasting for ten years cannot be ruled out as a project just because of its duration. Projects can last from a few weeks to many years.
The term Progressive Elaboration incorrectly represents which of the following?
Rolling wave planning Detailing out the product requirements developed during the initiation process. Production of fabrication and construction drawings from the design drawings for a chemical plant. Changes to project scope
The distinction between progressive elaboration and scope creep needs to be understood since the two terms are different. The changes to scope (especially in an uncontrolled manner) are called scope creep. In contrast, progressive elaboration involves building on or elaborating the output of a previous phase.
Which of the following statements most accurately describes a project scenario?
The influence of the stakeholders is the same all through the project.
Changes in project scope during the initial phases of the project are very expensive.
Staffing peaks during the execution phase of a project.
The next phase of a project should never start until the deliverables for the previous phase are completely reviewed and approved.
Staffing peaks during the execution phase of a project.
Nancy is engaged in the construction of three office buildings. Although the construction sites are in various places, she has managed each team efficiently to complete the work on time and within budget. Which of the following statements describes the effort Nancy is doing?
Select one Mark question
Construction of each building is an operational work because it is repetitive in nature.
Construction of each building is a project because each building is separate in nature.
Construction of all three buildings is considered one project.
The building construction is considered neither a project nor operational work.
Nancy is engaged in the construction of three office buildings. Although the construction sites are in various places, she has managed each team efficiently to complete the work on time and within budget. Which of the following statements describes the effort Nancy is doing?
Select one Mark question
Construction of each building is an operational work because it is repetitive in nature.
Construction of each building is a project because each building is separate in nature.
Construction of all three buildings is considered one project.
The building construction is considered neither a project nor operational work.
Projects are temporary and unique, whereas operational work is repetitive. Since nancy is working to construct three unique buildings, and each has a definite beginning and a definite end, each effort is considered as a project.
As an external vendor, you are managing a complex software project on a time-and-materials (T&M) contract. One of your team members reports a breakthrough in automating some of the testing activities. This may result in cost savings to the project and completion of the project one month ahead of schedule. Which of the following actions would you take?
Select one Mark question
Communicate the current status and inform the customer you will incorporate some additional features to use up the savings in cost and time since it was budgeted.
This is confidential information within your project team and there is no need to share with the customer. The savings will be additional profits on the project.
Communicate the current status to the customer and indicate the potential changes to cost and schedule.
Communicate the savings in cost and time to the customer. At the end of the project, notify your billing department that they need to prepare an invoice for 50 percent of the cost saved.
A project manager should always communicate an accurate statement of the project status. There could be subsequent actions to determine how the savings could be best put to use, whether there could be any cost sharing, etc.—but these would need to be done following the appropriate procedure. [pmi code of ethics and professional responsibility] [project framework]
Control Schedule is part of which Project Management process group? Select one Mark question Executing Initiating Monitoring and controlling Planning
Control schedule is part of the monitoring and controlling process group.
Projects, portfolios, and programs are different entities in an organization. Which of the following choices states a correct relationship between them?
Select one Mark question
A portfolio consists of a collection of projects or programs that are grouped together to achieve strategic business objectives. The projects or programs need not be directly related.
A program is a collection of projects that are grouped together for convenience. It may include unrelated work if the work is under the same business division.
A project is a collection of programs and portfolios that are grouped together to achieve the project objectives.
A program consists of a collection of projects or portfolios that are grouped together to achieve strategic business objectives.
A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs that are grouped together to achieve a strategic business objective. Portfolio management focuses on ensuring that projects and programs are reviewed to prioritize resource allocation and that the management of the portfolio is aligned with organizational strategies. The projects or programs need not be directly related. A program is a collection of projects with common objectives, so unrelated work cannot be grouped together under a program.
David was required to investigate a business problem and describe the higher-level needs of the business as a whole. David’s final reports describes in detail the features, functions and characteristics of the product that will meet the business and stakeholder requirements. What is wrong with David’s report?
Select one Mark question
David was asked to analyze the business requirements, but he focused on the solution requirements.
David was asked to analyze the functional requirements, but he focused on the non-functional requirements.
David was asked to analyze the solution requirements, but he focused on the business requirements.
David was asked to analyze the non-functional requirements, but he focused on the functional requirements.
David was asked to analyze the business requirements but he focused on the solution requirements. Business requirements describe the higherlevel needs of the organization as a whole, such as the business issues or opportunities. While the solution requirements describes in detail the features, functions and characteristics of the product that will meet the business and stakeholder requirements.
A first-time project manager was assigned to a project that had a duration of three months. In order to get a head start on the project, the manager took an older, completed the project and incorporated all the tools, techniques, and checklists in their entirety from that project into the current one. The older project was completed in 14 months’ time and was remarkably similar in nature. The most appropriate comment on this would be:
Select one Mark question
This may be unnecessary. The project management team needs to decide what is appropriate for the project.
This is not correct. The project manager is violating copyright and intellectual property rights of the organization’s prior customers.
This is not the correct procedure. The project manager should always create processes and documents afresh for new projects.
This is an excellent example of re-use of artifacts from prior projects.
The correct response is that this may be unnecessary. The project management team needs to decide what is appropriate for the project. Since the prior project had a duration of 14 months and the current one is of 3 months’ duration, it is unlikely that the current project will have exactly the same processes applied. Some amount of tailoring will be required. The other responses are not valid. It cannot be said with certainty that the project manager will not be violating copyright and intellectual property rights of prior customers. Most organizations have clear guidelines on what information can go into their organizational assets’ database.
