GR1 Government Arrangements

Question 1

Project definition

Answer 1

-Unique, transient endeavour
-Bring about change and achieve planned objectives

Question 2

Project Management definition

Answer 2

-Application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience
-Achieve specific objectives for change (making it happen)

Question 3

Programme definition

Answer 3

-Unique, transient strategic endeavour
-Achieve beneficial change -Incorporating a group of related projects and BAU activities

Question 4

Programme Management definition

Answer 4

-Coordinated management of projects and BAU activities
-Achieve beneficial change

Question 5

Portfolio definition

Answer 5

-Collection of projects and/or programmes used to structure and manage investments at an organisation or functional level
-Optimise strategic benefits or operational efficiency

Question 6

Portfolio Management definition

Answer 6

The selection, prioritisation and control of an organisation’s projects and programmes in line with its strategic objectives and capacity to deliver

Question 7

Give 8 reasons why an organisation needs to change

Answer 7

GUSTIMEC

-Government legislation
-Upgrade systems or tools
-Standards (new ones to be met)
-Technology change
-Improving competitiveness
-Market share
-Efficiency increase in resource us
-Customer expectations change

Question 8

How long is a project usually?

Answer 8

18 months - 2 years

Question 9

How long is a programme usually?

Answer 9

2 - 10 years

Question 10

If a company doesn’t change and stagnates, what three things may happen?

Answer 10

-Failure
-Customers move on
-Don’t meet relevant standards

Question 11

What four things need to be changed in an organisation?

Answer 11

-Tools used
-Suppliers
-Organisation structure
-Organisation culture

Question 12

Give four aspects of a project

Answer 12

-Unique piece of work with a start and end point
-Has specific objectives
-Usually a cross functional team
-Has constraints to work around

Question 13

What are the seven project objectives?

Answer 13

-Scope
-Quality
-Cost
-Time
-Risks
-Benefits
-Safety

Question 14

Why may the users not adopt the new output (2 reasons)?

Answer 14

-Might not meet their needs
-Object to how and when the output was released

Question 15

Why do PMs need to engage with all stakeholders?

Answer 15

To understand any objections or resistance

Question 16

Why are programmes sometimes chosen over projects?

Answer 16

Because the change is too big to be delivered in a project

Question 17

Give three steps of programme outputs?

Answer 17

-Monitor adoption in BAU
-Take remedial action
-Measure and report on the benefits

Question 18

Give four reasons a programme is used

Answer 18

-If the scope of the business change isn’t fully defined
-If there’s a high amount of uncertainty and risk
-If there’s a complex set of dependencies between projects and their outputs
-If the adoption of the output and achievement of benefits is crucial to the organisation

Question 19

What are the five steps of the portfolio timeline?

Answer 19

-State the organisation’s strategy (long, medium, short)
-Organisation will need to change
Construct a portfolio of programmes and projects
-Programmes and projects report into the portfolio
-Assessment of the portfolio is related back to the strategic plan

Question 20

Give two senior management considerations of shaping a portfolio

Answer 20

-Organisation’s ability to resource the whole portfolio
-Changes to strategic direction or the pace of implementation
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Question 21

Give four things which must be balanced to achieve optimal prioritisation by senior managers

Answer 21

-Short term gains vs long term benefits
-Availability of key resources and allocation of people
-Risk profile of each programme/project
-Quantitative and qualitative benefits

Question 22

Give three activities involved in shaping

Answer 22

-Continuous analysis of projects and programmes
-Prioritisation of projects and programmes within the portfolio
-Deal with scarce or limited resources

Question 23

What are the three primary jobs of the portfolio manager?

Answer 23

-Assess risk vs return
-Consider the timing of projects
-Manage capacity bottleneck - many projects will have demand for the same resource

Question 24

Who makes sure the project links to the organisation strategy?

Answer 24

The project sponsor

Question 25

Give two consequences of a project not adhering to corporate governance

Answer 25

-Increased risk of project failure
-Loss of stakeholder trust and damaged reputation

Question 26

Give two benefits of a project following corporate strategy

Answer 26

-Alignment with organisational objectives
-Enhanced decision-making and resource allocation