General PM Concepts Flashcards
What is a project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Projects have a definite beginning and end, and are undertaken to fulfill objectives by producing deliverables.
Each project is unique.
What is an objective?
An objective is an outcome toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed.
What is a deliverable?
A deliverable is any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is required to be produced to complete a process, phase, or project.
What are some examples of the tangible elements of business value in projects?
Monetary assets Stockholder equity Utility Fixtures Tools Market share
What are some examples of the intangible elements of business value in projects?
Goodwill Brand recognition Public benefit Trademarks Strategic alignment Reputation
What are the four factors that can lead to the initiation of a project (that can cause a project to start)?
- Meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements
- Satisfy stakeholder requests or needs
- Implement or change business or technological strategies
- Create, improve, or fix products, processes, or services
What are the four qualities that characterize projects of all types?
- Creates a unique product, service, or result
- Is a temporary endeavor
- Drives change (current state > future state)
- Enables business value creation (business value is the benefit that results)
The end of the project is reached when one or more of the following is true:
- The project’s objectives have been achieved.
- The objectives will or cannot be met.
- Funding is exhausted or no longer available for allocation to the project.
- The need for the project no longer exists.
- The human or physical resources are no longer available.
- The project is terminated for legal cause or convenience.
Examples of Factors that Lead to the Creation of a Project: Meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements
- The project’s objectives have been achieved.
- The objectives will or cannot be met.
- Funding is exhausted or no longer available for allocation to the project.
- The need for the project no longer exists.
- The human or physical resources are no longer available.
- The project is terminated for legal cause or convenience.
Examples of Factors that Lead to the Creation of a Project: Satisfy stakeholder requests or needs
- Market Demand (ex: a car company authorizes a project to build more fuel-efficient cars in response to gasoline shortages)
- Customer Request (ex: an electric utility authorizes a project to build a substation to serve a new industrial park)
- Stakeholder Demands (ex: A stakeholder requires that a new output be produced by the organization)
- Social Need (ex: A nongovernmental organization in a developing country authorizes a project to provide potable water systems, latrines, and sanitation education to communities suffering from high rates of infectious diseases)
Examples of Factors that Lead to the Creation of a Project: Implement or change business or technological strategies
- New Technology (ex: an electronics firm authorizes a new project to develop a faster, cheaper, and smaller laptop based on advances in computer memory and electronics technology)
- Competitive Forces (ex:lower pricing on products by a competitor results in the need to lower production costs to remain competitive)
- Political Changes (ex: a newly elected official instigating project funding changes to a current project)
- Market Demand (ex: a car company authorizes a project to build more fuel-efficient cars in response to gasoline shortages)
- Economic Changes (ex: an economic downturn results in change in the priorities for a current project)
- Strategic Opportunity or Business Need (ex: a training company authorizes a project to create a new course to increase its revenues)
- Environmental Considerations (ex: a public company authorizes a project to create a new service for electric car sharing to reduce pollution)
Examples of Factors that Lead to the Creation of a Project: Create, improve, or fix products, processes, or services
- New Technology (ex: an electronics firm authorizes a new project to develop a faster, cheaper, and smaller laptop based on advances in computer memory and electronics technology)
- Material Issues (ex: a municipal bridge developed cracks in some support members resulting in a project to fix the problems)
- Market Demand (ex: a car company authorizes a project to build more fuel-efficient cars in response to gasoline shortages)
- Customer Request (ex: an electric utility authorizes a project to build a substation to serve a new industrial park)
- Business Process Improvements (ex: an organization implements a project resulting from a Lean Six Sigma value stream mapping exercise)
- Strategic Opportunity (ex: a training company authorizes a project to create a new course to increase its revenues)
- Environmental Considerations (ex: a public company authorizes a project to create a new service for electric car sharing to reduce pollution)
What is project management?
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Project management enables organizations to execute projects effectively and efficiently.
What is a program?
A group of related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. Programs are not large projects.
What is a portfolio?
A portfolio is a collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.
What is operations management?
It is concerned with the ongoing production of goods and/or services. It ensures that business operations continue efficiently by using the optimal resources needed to meet customer demands. Operations are ongoing and are managed by organization managers, not project managers.
What is Organizational Project Management (OPM)
A framework in which portfolio, program, and project management are integrated with organizational enablers in order to achieve strategic objectives.
Its purpose is to ensure tat the organization undertakes the right projects and allocates critical resources appropriately.
It also helps ensure that all levels in the organization understand the strategic vision, the initiatives that support the vision, the objectives, and the deliverables.
What are the key components of a project?
- Project Life Cycle
- Project Phase
- Phase Gate
- PM Processes
- PM Process Group
- PM Knowledge Area
What is a project life cycle?
The series of phases that a project passes through from its start to its completion. Project life cycles can be predictive or adaptive.
Project life cycles are independent of product life cycles.
What is a project phase?
A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables. Phases may be sequential, iterative, or overlapping.
What is a phase gate?
A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to continue with modification, or to end a program or project.
What is a PM process?
A systematic series of activities directed toward causing an end result where one or more inputs will be acted upon to create one or more outputs.
What is a PM process group?
A logical grouping of project management inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs.
What are the five PM process groups?
- Initiating
- Planning
- Executing
- Monitoring and Controlling
- Closing
What is a PM knowledge area?
An identified area of PM defined by its knowledge requirements and described in terms of its component processes, practices, inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques. PM knowledge areas are used in most projects most of the time.
What are the ten identified PM knowledge areas?
- Integration
- Scope
- Schedule
- Cost
- Quality
- Resources
- Communications
- Risk
- Procurement
- Stakeholder
Predictive Life Cycle Description
The project scope, time, and cost are determined in the early phases of the life cycle.
Any changes to the scope are carefully managed.
Predictive life cycles may also be referred to as waterfall life cycles