High Difficulty Flashcards
QFD
Quality Function Deployment
RBS
Resource Breakdown Structure / Risk Breakdown Structure
TQM
Total Quality Management
CI
Configuration Item
RTY
Rolled Throughput Yield
RPN
Risk Priority Number
SYD
Sum of the Years Digit (a depreciation calculation method)
CM
Configuration Management
SIPOC
Supplier Input Process Output Customer
DfX
Design for X
PMCD
Project Manager Competency Development (Framework)
ES
Earned Schedule
TPM
Total Productive Maintenance
TOC
Theory of Constraints
PESTLE
Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental
TECOP
Technical, Environmental, Commercial, Operational, Political
VUCA
Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity
BIM
Building Information Model
MSA
Master Services Agreement
MVP
Minimum Viable Product
MMF
Minimum Marketable Feature
What is the acronym to describe the characteristics of effective feedback?
Balanced, Observed, Objective, Specific, and Timely (BOOST)
What is the acronym to describe the characteristics of effective goals?
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART)
MBTI
Myers Briggs Type Indicator
SAFe®
Scaled Agile Framework
NPS
Net Promoter Score
CFD
Cumulative Flow Diagram
EVA
Earned Value Analysis / Economic Value Added
How do Agile projects ensure quality? (4)
- Frequent reviews throughout the project
- Customer engagement with the team
- Recurring retrospectives to check effectiveness of the quality processes
- Incremental delivery
What is the fundamental principle of Lean?
Making improvements by reducing waste (extra inventory, unnecessary waiting, and even untapped creativity).
What are the characteristics of a well-groomed backlog?
DEEP (Detailed appropriately, Estimated, Emergent, and Prioritized)
What are the 3 C’s of a user story?
Card, Conversation, Confirmation
What is the purpose of a spike in agile projects?
To test a technological approach and stop as soon as it’s clear.
What type of team members are ideal for an agile team - I-shaped or T-shaped?
T-shaped
What are the characteristics of a good XP Metaphor?
It should be simple and non-technical, enabling the stakeholders to understand the overarching approach being taken to provide a capability or solve a problem.
What are the characteristics of a good user story?
INVEST (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable) is a set of criteria used to assess the quality of a user story.
What are the components of the business value of a project?
- Shareholder value
- Customer value
- Employee knowledge
- Channel partner value
- Social value
What are the 3 pillars of empirical process control in the Scrum framework?
- Transparency - Inspection - Adaptation
What are the six layers of the Agile Planning Onion?
The 6 layers of the Agile Planning Onion are Strategic, Portfolio, Product, Release, Iteration, and Daily.
What are the 3 forms of waste in Lean?
The 3 forms of waste in Lean are: - Variability (mura) - Overburden (muri) - Non-value adding actions (muda)
What is the Shu-Ha-Ri model?
The Shu-Ha-Ri model is often used to address the appropriate time and opportunity for process tailoring in agile. Level 1 is Shu (follow), Level 2 is Ha (break away), and Level 3 is Ri (fluency or go beyond and transcend).
What are the agile coaching styles that align with the Shu Ha Ri model?
The Agile coaching styles that align with the Shu-Ha-Ri model are: - Shu - Teaching - Ha - Coaching - Ri - Advising
Name a popular agile adoption pattern for teams new to agile.
Shu Ha Ri model
Code of Account vs Chart of Account
Code of Account is any numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the WBS, whereas Chart of Account is any numbering system used to monitor project costs by category.
Project Schedule vs Schedule Baseline
Project Schedule is the “actual” schedule progress of the project whereas Schedule Baseline is the “planned and approved” version of the project schedule. Schedule variance is measured by comparing the (actual) Project Schedule with the Schedule Baseline.
Validate Scope vs Control Quality
Scope validation differs from quality control in that scope validation is primarily concerned with acceptance of the deliverables, while quality control is primarily concerned with correctness of the deliverables and meeting the quality requirements specified for the deliverables. Quality control is generally performed before scope validation but the two can be performed in parallel as well.
Work Performance Data (WPD) vs Work Performance Information (WPI)
WPD are the raw observations or measurements gathered as work on the project is carried out (e.g. percent completion, quality/technical performance measures, activity start/finish dates, no. of change requests/defects, actual costs/durations, etc.) WPD is processed and analyzed to generate WPI (e.g. status of deliverables/change requests, forecasts, EV measures - SV, CV, SPI, CPI, etc.).
Progressive Elaboration vs Rolling Wave Planning
Rolling Wave Planning is a form of Progressive Elaboration.
Progressive Elaboration vs Prototyping
Prototyping is a form of Progressive Elaboration.
Padding vs Buffer (or Reserve)
Padding is the amount of unreasonable extra time added to the estimate, just to feel confident with the estimate. Buffer is the extra time added to the estimate to account for uncertainty or risk. Buffer is clearly identified in schedule documentation whereas padding is hidden.
Manage Quality vs Control Quality
Manage Quality checks whether quality standards are being followed, whereas Control Quality checks whether quality standards are being met. Audits and root cause analysis are examples of Manage Quality. Peer reviews and testing are examples of Control Quality. In Manage Quality think about “process”, and in Control Quality think about “deliverables”.
Quality vs Grade
Quality is the degree to which a deliverable meets the requirements. Grade is a category assigned to a product or a service that has the same functional use but different technical characteristics. For example, a software application may be of good quality (no defects, good performance, etc.), but low grade (limited features). Low grade may not be a problem, but low quality is almost always a problem.
Product Quality vs Project Quality
Product Quality focuses on the quality of the “product” of the project. It is measured in terms of the degree to which the product conforms to customer’s requirements. Whereas, Project Quality focuses on the quality of “project management processes”. It is measured in terms of the degree to which the project meets its objectives (scope, time, cost, customer satisfaction, etc.).
Product Scope vs Project Scope
Product Scope refers to requirements that specifically relate to the “product” of the Project. Project Scope is all the “work” that goes in to producing the project deliverables (products, services or results).
Requirements vs Product Scope
Requirements are “what” the customer needs. Requirements can be of many types. For example, product related requirements, performance requirements, quality requirements, project management requirements, etc. Whereas, Product Scope refers to requirements that specifically relate to the “product” of the project.
Precision vs Accuracy
Precision means that values have very little scatter (very close to each other). Accuracy means that values are very close to the true value. Precise values may not be accurate and vice versa. E.g., if your office starts at 8 am and you reach at 8:30 am sharp every day, you are precise, but not accurate. Whereas, if you reach between 7:45-8:15 am every day, you are more accurate, but less precise.
Attribute Sampling vs Variable Sampling
In Attribute Sampling, data is in the “attribute” form, and the result either conforms or does not conform. In Variable Sampling, data is in the “variable” form, and the result is rated on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity. For example, whether a car starts in first attempt or not is Attribute Data, but the mileage of the car per liter of gasoline is Variable Data.
Tolerance vs Control Limits
Tolerances are used to determine whether individual components are acceptable, whereas Control Limits are used to control the process. Control Limits usually fall within Tolerance Limits.
Common Cause vs Special Cause
Common Cause is a source of variation that is inherent in the system and predictable, whereas Special Cause is not inherent in the system, and is unpredictable and intermittent. On a control chart, Common Cause appears as random data points within the control limits, whereas Special Cause appears as data points outside the control limits or non-random points within the control limits.
Authority vs Responsibility
Authority is the “right” to do something, whereas Responsibility is the “obligation” to do something.
Responsibility vs Accountability
Responsibility is the “obligation” to do something. Whereas, Accountability is the acceptance of success and failure. Responsibility can be delegated to some extent, but Accountability cannot.
Team Performance Assessments vs Project Performance Appraisals
Team Performance Assessments are the assessments of the entire team’s performance. They are measured in terms such as on-time, on-budget, etc. Project Performance Appraisals are the appraisals of individual project team members’ performance.
Residual Risks vs Secondary Risks
The risks that remain after risk responses have been implemented are called Residual Risks. New risks that emerge as a result of applying risk response strategies are called Secondary Risks.
Risk Tolerance vs Risk Threshold
Risk Tolerances are the areas of risk that are either acceptable or unacceptable. For example, “we’ll not accept any risk to employees’ safety”. Risk Threshold is the point at which a risk moves from being acceptable to unacceptable. For example, “if the price of raw materials increases beyond 10%, we must employ the contingency plans for this risk”.
Configuration Control vs Change Control
Configuration Control is the activity of managing the specifications of project’s deliverables and processes throughout the lifecycle of the project. Change Control is the process of managing changes to the project’s documents, deliverables, and baselines (scope, schedule, cost, etc.).
Schedule Model vs Project Schedule
Scheduling tool populated with project schedule data (e.g. activities, resources, duration estimates, etc.) is known as a Schedule Model. Assigning calendar dates to the Schedule Model results in the Project Schedule. In simple terms, Project Schedule = Schedule Model + Calendar Dates.
Change Control System vs Contract Change Control System
Change Control System is used to manage the changes to the project documents, deliverables, and baselines (scope, schedule, cost, etc.). Contract Change Control System is used to manage changes to the contracts on the project, and is integrated with the project’s integrated change control system.
Business Need vs Business Case
Business Need is the “trigger” for a project. Business Case is the “justification” for a project. Business need is usually a part of the business case for the project.
Feasibility Study vs Cost-Benefit Analysis
Feasibility Study is about “can we do it?”, whereas Cost-Benefit Analysis is about “should we do it?”
Corrective Action vs Defect Repair
Corrective Action is taken to bring the project performance (in terms of scope, schedule, cost, quality, etc.) in line with the baselines. Defect Repair is undertaken to fix a “flaw” (or deficiency) in the project’s deliverables.
Responsibility vs Role
Responsibility is the duty to take ownership of one’s actions and the consequences of those actions. Role is a function that a person is assigned to perform. Example, project manager’s “role” is to manage the project and achieve its objectives, and it’s the project manager’s “responsibility” to ensure project success.
Resource Loading vs Resource Leveling
Resource Loading is to allocate work to project resources. Resource Leveling is the technique to produce a resource-limited schedule. For example, if the project requires 3 resources in May, 10 in June and 2 in July, but a maximum of only 4 resources are available, then resource leveling may be used to stretch out the project to work with 4 resources (May - 3; June - 4; July - 4; Aug - 4).
Variance Analysis vs Value Analysis
Variance Analysis is a project management technique to assess the magnitude of variance (in scope, time, cost, quality, etc.) from the baseline and determine whether corrective or preventive action is required. Value analysis is a product analysis technique to perform the same work at lesser cost.
Qualitative Risk Analysis vs Quantitative Risk Analysis
Qualitative risk analysis is the process of short-listing top priority risks on the project. Quantitative risk analysis is the process of numerically analyzing the impact of top priority risks, identified through the qualitative risk analysis process, on the project objectives. Qualitative analysis is faster and more cost-effective than quantitative analysis. Former must be done on all projects, but latter is optional.
Statement of Work (SOW) vs Project Scope Statement
SOW is the description of products, services or results to be supplied. Project Scope Statement is the description of project scope i.e. all the “work” that must be done to produce the products, services or results.
Verification vs Validation
Verification checks whether the product was built right. Validation checks whether the right product was built. Verification is usually an internal process, whereas Validation is external. Verification usually takes place before Validation.
Mandatory Dependency vs Discretionary Dependency
Mandatory dependencies are those that are contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work. Example, foundation needs to be laid before the building can be constructed. Discretionary dependencies are established based on knowledge of best practices within a particular application area. Example, construction work should wait until the rainy season is over.
Manage Team vs Develop Team
Manage Team process is about managing the performance of individual team members, whereas Develop Team is about the performance of the “team” as a unit.
Project Requirements vs Product Requirements
Project requirements are related to the work that goes into producing the deliverables of the project. For example, the project should be completed by Dec 31, 2014. Whereas, Product requirements are concerned with the actual product or deliverable of the project. For example, the building structure should be able to withstand earthquakes of magnitude up to 7.5 on Richter scale.
Direct Costs vs Indirect Costs
Direct costs are costs that can be directly attributed to a specific project, e.g. labor, raw materials, and equipment rental costs. Direct costs are included in the project budget. Indirect costs are costs that cannot be directly attributed to a specific project, e.g. management, general administration, rental and utility costs. Indirect costs may or may not be included in the project budget.
Known Unknowns vs Unknown Unknowns
Known Unknowns are things we know that we don’t know, whereas Unknown Unknowns are things we don’t even know that we don’t know. From risk management perspective, former are risks that are identified during risk management and mitigated using Contingency reserves. Latter are risks that are not even identified during risk management, and managed using Management Reserves.
Scope Creep vs Gold Plating
Scope Creep is adding features and functionality (project scope) without addressing the effects on time, costs, and resources, or without customer approval. Whereas, Gold Plating is giving customer extras like extra functionality, high quality, better performance than what is part of the project requirements. Gold Plating need not be only in terms of Scope.
Project Management System vs Project Management Information System
All the processes, tools, techniques, methodologies, resources, and procedures to manage a project are collectively known as Project Management System. Project Management Information System is an information system (consisting of the tools and techniques) used to manage the outputs of project management processes.
Resource Leveling vs Resource Smoothing
Resource Leveling is performed to balance the demand and supply of resources. Resource Smoothing is performed to achieve a more uniform resource utilization over a period of time. Resource Leveling may change the critical path, but Resource Smoothing does not.
Data vs Information
Data is raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is organized. When Data is processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make it useful, it is called Information.
Compliance vs Conformance
Compliance is the act of complying with a rule, standard, law, or requirement such that the result is either compliant or non-compliant. Conformance is delivering results that fall within an acceptable range.
Explicit Knowledge vs Tacit Knowledge
Explicit knowledge is knowledge that can be documented using words, pictures, and numbers. Tacit knowledge is knowledge that is personal and difficult to express, such as beliefs, insights, experience, and “know-how”. Explicit knowledge is easy to share but lacks context and not easy to understand and apply. Tacit knowledge has context and easier to understand and apply.
Risk Audits vs Risk Reviews
Risk Audits are used to assess the effectiveness of the risk management process. Risk Reviews are meetings to examine and document the effectiveness of risk responses.
Risk Register vs Risk Report
Risk Register is a document that captures details of individual project risks. Risk Report is a document that summarizes information on individual project risks and the level of overall project risk.
Iterative vs Incremental Life Cycles
Iterative - deliver the product as a whole and add features later. Incremental - deliver the product in pieces, but each piece is fully featured.
Earned Value Management (EVM) vs Earned Schedule (ES)?
ES It is an extension to the theory and practice of EVM. EVM measures performance in terms of cost, whereas ES measures it in terms of time. ES replaces EVM’s Schedule Variance and Schedule Performance Index formulas and provides the schedule variance is terms of time instead of cost. ES also provides formulas for forecasting the project completion date.
Manage Quality vs Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance is about using project processes effectively. Manage Quality includes all the quality assurance activities, and is also concerned with the product design aspects and process improvements. In other words, Quality Assurance is a subset of Manage Quality.
Communication vs Communications
The term “communication” indicates the act of communicating, such as facilitating a meeting, giving information and active listening. The term “communications” indicates the artifacts of communication, such as memos, presentations, and emails.
Resource Histogram vs Resource Calendar
The Resource Histogram shows when resources are “needed” for the project, and the Resource Calendar shows when the resources are “available” for the project.
Benefits vs Value
Benefits are gains realized by an organization or beneficiaries through portfolio, program, or project outputs and resulting outcomes. On the other hand, ‘value’ is the net result - tangible or intangible - of realized benefits less the cost of or effort for achieving those benefits.
Burndown Chart vs Burnup Chart
A Burndown Chart tracks how much work remains on your project and whether the deadline will be met. A Burnup Chart tracks how much work is done. It shows more information than a Burndown Chart because it also has a line showing how much work is in the project as whole and allows progress to be tracked independently of scope changes.
Business Case vs Business Value
Business Case is the justification for doing a project, whereas Business Value is the tangible or intangible benefits from project investment.
What is the fundamental difference between PERT and CPM?
PERT estimates the activity durations based on probability, whereas CPM assumes that the activity durations are fixed.
What is the fundamental difference between Accountability and Responsibility when it comes to delegation?
Responsibility can be delegated, but Accountability cannot be.
What is the relationship between Accountability, Authority and Responsibility?
With Authority and Responsibility comes Accountability. Accountability = Authority + Responsibility
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) vs Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF)
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a version of a product that has just enough features to be usable by early customers who can then provide feedback for future product development. Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) is a small, self-contained feature that can be developed quickly and delivers significant value to the user. MMF is about delivering value to customers, whereas MVP is about learning more about the ultimate product. An MVP can contain zero, one or more MMFs.
Definition of Done (DoD) vs Definition of Ready (DoR)
Definition of Done (DoD) is a team’s checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use, whereas, Definition of Ready (DoR) is a team’s checklist for a user-centric requirement that has all the information the team needs to be able to begin working on it.
Vision vs Mission
A vision statement is usually aspirational in nature and describes how the project aligns with the stakeholder and organization goals. The mission statement defines the overall purpose of the project.
Earned Value Management (EVM) vs Expected Monetary Value (EMV)
EVM is a “project management technique” that integrates scope, schedule and cost to measure project performance and progress in an objective manner. EMV is a “statistical technique” that calculates the profit or loss of an outcome (e.g. a project) based on different scenarios, by taking into consideration the probability of occurrence and the expected profit or loss from each scenario.
Result vs Deliverable
A Result is an output of a process or an activity. It could be an outcome (e.g. a business process, an upgraded system, a research study, a trained resource, etc.) or a document (e.g. a new policy document, a training plan, a research report, etc.). A Deliverable is any tangible output produced by the project. It could be a product, service or result. Result is a type of Deliverable.
Product vs Deliverable
A Product is an end item or a component of the end item produced by a project (e.g. a building, a software application, etc.). A Deliverable is any tangible output produced by the project. It could be a product, service or result. Product is a type of Deliverable.
Product vs Result
A Product is an end item or a component of the end item produced by a project (e.g. a building, a software application, etc.). A Result could be an outcome (e.g. a business process, an upgraded system, a research study, trained resources, etc.) or a document (e.g. a new policy document, a training plan, a research report, etc.). Both Product and Result are considered deliverables of the project.
Project Life Cycle vs Product Life Cycle
A Project Life Cycle is a series of phases from concept to closure through which a project passes through. A Product Life Cycle is a series of phases from concept to end of life (or disposal) through which a product passes through. A product life cycle may contain one or more project life cycles.
Iterative and Incremental Life Cycles vs Adaptive Life Cycles
Adaptive Life Cycles are also iterative and incremental, but differ in that iterations are very rapid (usually with a duration of 2 to 4 weeks) and are fixed in time and cost. In Iterative and Incremental projects, the iterations may overlap, but in Adaptive projects, the iterations are usually performed in sequence, and do not overlap.
Manage Stakeholder Engagement vs Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
Manage Stakeholder Engagement is about communicating and working with stakeholders i.e. implementing the strategies defined in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement is about monitoring the relationship with stakeholders i.e. evaluating the effectiveness of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan and adjusting the strategies and plans for engaging stakeholders.
Manage Communications vs Monitor Communications
Manage Communications is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving, and disposition of project information i.e. implementing the Communications Management Plan. Monitor Communications is about monitoring and controlling communications i.e. evaluating the effectiveness of the Communications Management Plan and adjusting it.
Management vs Leadership
Management is more closely associated with directing another person to get from one point to another using a known set of expected behaviors. In contrast, leadership involves working with others through discussion or debate in order to guide them from one point to another.
Is float a resource or a constraint for a project?
Float is a resource. It should be managed judiciously to cover for risks or other unforeseen events.
Total Float belongs to the ____________, whereas Free Float belongs to the ____________.
Total Float belongs to the <u>project</u>, whereas Free Float belongs to the <u>individual activities</u>.
________ is a probabilistic method, whereas ________ is deterministic. (Options: PERT / CPM)
<u>PERT</u> is a probabilistic method, whereas <u>CPM</u> is deterministic.
How do you calculate the float of a network path in Critical Path Method?
The float of a path is the difference between the duration of the Critical Path and the duration of the (given) path.
If a project is being done under a contract, who owns the “float”?
50% is owned by the buyer, and 50% by the seller
What is the most critical EVA metric?
Cost Performance Index (CPI)
What is the formula for Negative Float?
Negative Float = LS - ES or Negative Float = LF - EF where LF is Late Finish, EF is Early Finish, LS is Late Start and ES is Early Start. Either formula can be used.
What is the formula for Rolled Throughput Yield (RTY)?
RTY = TPY of Process 1 * TPY of Process 2 * … * TPY of Process N where TPY is Throughput Yield
What is the formula for Risk Priority Number (RPN)?
RPN = S x O x D where S is Severity or Impact, O is Occurrence or Probability, and D is Detection.
What is the formula for Duration Uncertainty?
Duration Uncertainty = P - O where P is the Pessimistic Estimate, and O is the Optimistic Estimate.
What is the formula for Estimate At Completion (EAC) when the project is having a negative cost performance to date, and needs to meet a deadline?
EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) / (SPI * CPI)
What is the formula for Present Value (PV)?
PV = FV / (1 + r) ^ n where FV is the future value, r is the interest rate and n is the number of time periods
(Gain from an investment - Cost of the Investment) / Cost of the Investment is the formula for?
Return on Investment (ROI)
What is Network Logic?
All activity dependencies in a project schedule network diagram.
What is a Performance Measurement Baseline?
An integration of scope, schedule and cost baselines of the project. It is used for measuring project performance including earned value measurement.
What is a Planning Package?
A WBS component within a Control Account that is identified and budgeted in early planning, but is not yet sub-divided into work packages.
What is Product Scope?
The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.
What is Sensitivity Analysis?
A quantitative risk analysis and modeling technique used to help determine which risks have the most potential impact on the project. It examines the extent to which the uncertainty of each project element affects the objective being examined when all other uncertain elements are held at their baseline values. The typical display of results is in the form of a Tornado Diagram.
What is Validation?
The process to check whether the right product (or deliverable) was built. It is usually an external process and involves customer acceptance.
What is Verification?
The process to check whether the product (or deliverable) was built right. It is often an internal process.
What is Activity-on-Node (AON)?
A method of representing a precedence diagram.
Define Attribute Sampling.
A method of measuring quality that consists of noting the presence (or absence) of some characteristic (attribute) in each of the units under consideration.
What is a Backlog?
A listing of product requirements and deliverables to be completed, written as stories, and prioritized by the business to manage and organize the project’s work.
What is a Prioritization Matrix?
A quality management planning tool used to identify key issues and evaluate suitable alternatives to define a set of implementation priorities.
What is a Configuration Item (CI)?
An item that is placed under configuration control. It may include the product, its components, documentation or project artifacts (plans and documents).
What is Configuration Control?
Configuration Control is the activity of managing the specifications of project’s deliverables and processes throughout the lifecycle of the project.
What is Configuration Status Accounting?
The recording and reporting of all the changes to the configuration items.
What is Configuration Verification and Audit?
The process of verifying the correctness of the product and its components in order to ensure conformance to requirements.
What is Product Analysis?
It is a tool to define the scope by studying how a product is to be built, how it should work, how it should look like, what it should cost, etc. It is used when the deliverable of the project is a product (as opposed to a service or result).
What is Joint Application Development (JAD)?
A methodology that involves the customer or end users in the design and development of an application, through a series of collaborative workshops. It uses customer involvement and group dynamics to accurately depict the user’s view of the business need and to jointly develop a solution. It is used in the software development industry.
What is Quality Function Deployment (QFD)?
A facilitated workshop technique used in manufacturing industry that helps transform customer needs (the voice of the customer [VOC]) into engineering characteristics for a product or service. These characteristics are then prioritized, and goals are set for achieving them.
What is Apportioned Effort?
Effort that cannot be divided among or attributed to individual tasks or work packages on the WBS, an example being quality assurance effort.
What is Discrete Effort?
Effort that can be measured and directly attributed to a project activity or a work package on the WBS, for example, the effort required to develop a software, which is identified as a deliverable of the project. Discrete effort is one of three earned value management (EVM) types of activities used to measure work performance.
What is Level of Effort (LOE)?
A support activity which is difficult to measure but is directly related to the project’s objectives. It usually consists of short amounts of work which must be repeated periodically. Examples of such an activity may be project budget accounting, customer liaison, etc.
What is Negative Float?
The amount of time by which the early date (start or finish) of an activity exceeds its late date.
What is Standard Deviation?
A statistical concept that gives a measure of the “spread” of the values of a random variable around the mean of a distribution. It shows how much variation there is from the average or the mean value.
What is Resource Smoothing?
A technique aimed to “smoothen” or achieve a more uniform resource utilization over a period of time. For example, instead of using 7 resources in Month 1 and 3 resources in Month 2, it is better to use 5 resources each month as long as the activities stay within their free and total float.
What is the Learning Curve Theory, and how is it relevant to project management?
It says that the time required to perform a task decreases as the task is repeated, and the amount of improvement decreases as more units are produced. In project management, this theory is used for schedule and cost estimation.
What is Heuristic Estimation?
Heuristic estimation technique uses “Rule of Thumb” or certain generally acceptable rules for estimation. Heuristic estimates are derived based on experience (on past projects) and not from scientific rules or formulae. For example, a software development company may have learned from experience that testing usually takes about 20% of the time it takes for coding.
What is Kaizen?
A Japanese term - Kai (take apart) and Zen (make good). It’s process improvement technique.
What is Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)?
It is a holistic approach to equipment maintenance that strives to achieve perfect production with no breakdowns, slowdowns, defects or accidents. It emphasizes proactive and preventive maintenance to maximize the operational efficiency of equipment. It places a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.
What does Journey to Abilene mean?
Organizations frequently take actions in contradiction to the problem they are trying to solve, and as a result, compound their problem rather than solve it.
What is the Theory of Constraints (TOC)?
It is a methodology for identifying the most important limiting factor (i.e. constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor. In manufacturing, the constraint is often referred to as a bottleneck.
What is Risk Premium?
The extra return in excess of (over and above) the risk-free rate of return of an investment (example, a project). It’s a compensation for the risk to the party (example, a contractor to whom the risk is transferred) that accepts the risk.
What is Risk Priority Number (RPN) methodology?
A technique for analyzing the risk associated with potential problems identified during Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). RPN is calculated by multiplying Severity (S) or Impact, Occurrence (O) or Probability, and Detection (D). RPN = S x O x D.
What is Privity of Contract?
It’s a legal term for the relationship between the parties involved in a contract. For example, in a project involving sub-contracts, there is no privity of contract between the prime buyer and the sub-contractors.
What does Fait Accompli mean?
Something that cannot be changed or negotiated. For example, we cannot negotiate on government regulations.
What is an Indemnification Clause?
A provision in a contract in which one party agrees to be financially responsible for specified types of damages, claims, or losses.
What is Material Breach?
A breach serious enough to destroy the value of the contract and give a basis for an action for breach of contract.
What are Liquidated Damages (LD)?
An agreed upon sum of money that the buyer will be entitled to in the event that the contractor fails to meet certain contractual obligations. These are established at the time of signing the contract and are a part of the contract.
What is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)?
It includes processes and techniques to resolve disputes without resorting to litigation.
What is meant by Velocity?
A measure of a team’s productivity rate at which the deliverables are produced, validated, and accepted within a predefined interval. Velocity is a capacity planning approach frequently used to forecast future project work.
What is meant by a generalized specialist?
An individual with deep knowledge in a particular specialization who has also learned to be productive in other team roles.
What is meant by Information Radiator?
A generic term for any of a number of handwritten, drawn, printed or electronic displays which a team places in a highly visible location, so that all team members as well as passers-by can see the latest information at a glance. Examples include task board, burndown chart, incident report, continuous integration status, impediments list, etc.
What is a risk-adjusted backlog?
A backlog that contains activities relating to managing risk in addition to the usual features associated with delivering value.
What is Co-creation?
It is the process of including stakeholders, who are most affected by the work or outcomes of the project, in the team as partners.
What is Empiricism?
The idea that the best way of planning is to do work and learn from it. It is a fundamental for Scrum and agile approaches.
What is Empirical Process Control?
A style of work used in agile that leverages the principles of inspection, adaptation, and transparency.
Define Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
It is that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
Define Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF).
A small, self-contained feature that can be developed quickly and that delivers significant value to the user.
What is a Spike?
A time-boxed iteration to research or experiment.
What is meant by Last Responsible Moment (LRM)?
A strategy of not making a premature decision but instead delaying commitment and keeping important and irreversible decisions open until the cost of not making a decision becomes greater than the cost of making a decision.
What is a Value Stream?
An organizational construct that focuses on the flow of value to customers through the delivery of specific products or services.
What is Value Stream Mapping?
A lean enterprise technique used to document, analyze, and improve the flow of information or materials required to produce a product or service for a customer.
What is meant by T-shaped skills?
T-shaped skills mean deep skills in a preferred functional area, discipline, or specialty, and broad skills outside one’s core area.
What is meant by I-shaped skills?
I-shaped skills mean deep skills in the core area of expertise, but lack of skills outside the core area.
What is an XP Metaphor?
An Extreme Programming (XP) technique to describe a common vision for how a program works.
What is Little’s Law?
The more things that you work on at any given time, the longer it is going to take for each of those things to finish.
What is a Story Map?
A visual model of all the features and functionality desired for a given product, created to give the project team a holistic view of what they are building and why.
What is a Fishbowl Window?
A long-lived video conferencing link between the various locations in which the team is dispersed. People start the link at the beginning of a workday, and close it at the end. In this way, people can see and engage spontaneously with each other, reducing the collaboration lag.
What is Remote Pairing?
A replacement for face-to-face pairing using virtual conferencing tools to share screens, including voice and video links.
What is meant by the phrase “Caves and Common” in agile?
It refers to the creation of two zones in the office area - common and social areas (called common) to amplify osmotic communication and quiet areas or private spaces (called caves) where individuals can work without being interrupted.
What is a Product Box Exercise?
A technique used to explain an overarching solution wherein stakeholders try to describe aspects of a solution in the same way a marketer might describe product features and benefits on a box (or product packaging).
What is Dysfunctional Conflict?
Conflict which negatively impacts the project objectives.
What is Project Float?
The amount of time that a project can be delayed without violating the project deadline imposed by the customer, or the delivery date committed to the customer.
What is a Network Loop?
A schedule network path that passes the same node twice. Network loops cannot be analyzed using traditional schedule network analysis techniques such as the Critical Path Method.
What is the Fixed Formula Method of calculating earned value?
A specified percentage of budget value is assigned when a work package is started, and the remaining budget value percentage is assigned when the work package is complete.
What is the Weighted Milestone Method?
An earned value method that divides a work package into measurable segments, each ending with an observable milestone, and then assigns a weighted value to the achievement of each milestone.
What is Work Performance Information?
The performance data collected from controlling processes, analyzed in comparison with project management plan components, project documents, and other work performance information.
What is Work Performance Data?
The raw observations and measurements made while activities are being performed. It includes % work complete, technical performance measures, activity start and finish dates, actual costs and durations, no. of defects, etc. It is collected as part of the Direct and Manage Project Work process, and is input to most M&C processes. It is combined with forecasts to generate Work Performance Reports.
What does the term Laissez-faire mean?
It literally means “let do”, but broadly implies “let it be”, or “leave it alone”. In the context of project management, it is one of the leadership styles.
What is Organizational Project Management (OPM)?
It is a framework in which portfolio, program, and project management are integrated with organizational enablers in order to achieve strategic objectives.
What is a Product Life Cycle?
A series of phases, from concept to end-of-life, that a product passes through. A typical product life cycle may include the following phases: concept, definition, production, operation, and obsolescence (retirement or disposal).
What is an Adaptive Life Cycle?
A project life cycle that is iterative or incremental. Its iterations are very rapid (usually 2-4 weeks in length) and are fixed in time and resources.
What is an Incremental Life Cycle?
An adaptive project life cycle in which the deliverable is produced through a series of iterations that successively add functionality within a predetermined time frame. The deliverable contains the necessary and sufficient capability to be considered complete only after the final iteration.
What is an Iterative Life Cycle?
A project life cycle where the project scope is generally determined early in the project life cycle, but time and cost estimates are routinely modified as the project team’s understanding of the product increases. The product is developed through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product.
What is a Predictive Life Cycle?
A form of project life cycle in which the project scope, time, and cost are determined in the early phases of the life cycle.
What is the Expectancy Theory?
A theory that says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectations. It explains the processes that an individual undergoes to make choices.
What is Point of Total Assumption (PTA)?
The total cost on a Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF) contract, above which the seller bears all cost overruns.
What is Project Governance?
The framework, functions, and processes that guide project management activities in order to create a unique product, service, or result to meet organizational, strategic, and operational goals.
What is a Project Management Knowledge Area?
A grouping of project management processes by areas of specialization.
What is a Project Management Process Group?
A logical grouping of project management processes. For example, all planning processes are grouped under the Planning Process Group. Project Management Process Groups are not project phases.
What is Straight-line depreciation?
A depreciation method that assumes the same amount of depreciation for each year of a product’s life.
What is Double Declining Balance depreciation?
A depreciation method in which the depreciation rate is 200% (or double) that of the rate calculated with the Straight-Line depreciation.
What is Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method of project selection?
The method of discounting future cash flows at an interest rate that reflects time value of money and a risk premium. DCF is the amount that someone is willing to pay today in anticipation of future cash flows (returns).
What is Opportunity Cost?
Benefit (monetary or otherwise) foregone by selecting one project over another.
What is Future Value (FV)?
Value of an asset at a specific date in future.
What is Net Present Value (NPV)?
Present value of future cash inflows minus present value of future cash outflows.
What is servant leadership?
Servant leadership is the practice of leading through service to the team, by focusing on understanding and addressing the needs and development of team members in order to enable the highest possible team performance.
What is a Special Cause?
A source of variation that is not inherent in the system, and is unpredictable and intermittent. It can be assigned to a defect in the system. On a control chart, it appears as data points outside the control limits or non-random points within the control limits. It is also referred to as Assignable Cause.
What is Value Engineering?
A product analysis technique to perform the same work at lesser cost. It is also known as Value Analysis or Value Management.
What is a Collective Bargaining Agreement?
A written, legally enforceable contract for a specified period (usually 1 year), between organization and its employees represented by an independent trade union. It sets down and defines conditions of employment (wages, working hours, conditions, etc.) and procedures for dispute resolution. It is also called labor agreement, union agreement, or union contract.
What is an Influence Diagram?
A graphical representation of a decision problem that shows decisions, uncertainties, and objectives, and how they influence each other.
What is Monte Carlo Simulation?
A process to generate a probability distribution for the overall project duration or cost by running multiple trial runs, called simulations, using input values selected at random from probability distributions of individual activity durations or costs.
What is a Schedule Model?
A representation of the plan for executing the project’s activities including durations, dependencies, and other planning information, used to produce a project schedule along with other scheduling artifacts.
What are Analytical Techniques?
Various techniques used to evaluate, analyze, or forecast potential outcomes based on possible variations of project or environmental variables and their relationships with other variables. Examples includes Root Cause Analysis, Regression Analysis, and Reserve Analysis.
What is a Context Diagram?
A visual depiction of the product scope showing a business system (process, equipment, computer system, etc.), and how people and other systems (actors) interact with it.
What is Design of Experiments (DOE)?
A statistical method for identifying which factors may influence specific variables of a product or process under development or in production.
What is Multicriteria Decision Analysis?
A technique that utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty, and valuation, to evaluate and rank many ideas.
What is Nominal Group Technique?
A technique that enhances Brainstorming with a voting process used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or for prioritization.
What is a RACI Chart?
A common type of responsibility assignment matrix that uses responsible, accountable, consult, and inform (RACI) statuses to define the involvement of stakeholders in project activities.
What is Regression Analysis?
An analytic technique where a series of input variables are examined in relation to their corresponding output results in order to develop a mathematical or statistical relationship.
What is a Tornado Diagram?
A special type of bar chart used in sensitivity analysis for comparing the relative importance of the variables.
What is a Focus Group?
A meeting that brings together key stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations and attitudes about a proposed product, service, or result. It is conducted by a trained moderator.
What are Prototypes?
A method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model (usually on a smaller scale) of the expected product before actually building it. They help customers visualize their end product and provide early feedback, and reduce the risks on the project.
What is Process Analysis?
A technique to analyze a process in order to identify bottlenecks or problems, root causes of problems, non-value adding activities in the process and areas for improvement. It includes root cause analysis.
What is a Scatter Diagram?
A tool used to determine the correlation between 2 variables. The independent variable is plotted on the x-axis, and the dependent variable on the y-axis. The closer the points are to the diagonal line, the more closely the variables are related.
What is a Logical Data Model?
A visual representation of an organization’s data, described in business language and independent of any specific technology.
What is Brain Writing?
A refinement of brainstorming that allows individual participants time to consider the question(s) individually before the group creativity session is held.
What are the 4 D’s of Delegation?
- Drop (what can be dropped?) - Delay (what can be delayed?) - Delegate (what can be delegated?) - Do (what must I do?)
What kind of tasks should be delegated?
- Routine tasks - Tasks that require technical expertise - Tasks that can motivate the delegatee
What kind of tasks should NOT be delegated?
- Long term planning - Monitoring of critical tasks - Crisis management - Performance appraisals - Task of motivating team members - Task of rewarding team members
What are the different styles that a PM adopts as the project progresses?
Initially, the PM’s style is more <i>directing</i>. The style changes to <i>coaching</i>, <i>supporting</i> and finally <i>delegating</i> as the project progresses.
According to Hersey and Blanchard, what are the four basic situational leadership styles?
- S1. Telling / Directing - S2. Selling / Coaching - S3. Participating / Supporting - S4. Delegating / Observing
What kind of leadership style is appropriate when the team members are highly skilled and motivated to do the job?
Laissez-faire
Project objectives must be?
SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic or Relevant, and Tangible or Time bound)
How is a project’s success measured?
Success of a project is measured by product and project quality, timeliness, budget compliance, and degree of customer satisfaction.
What are some of the strategic considerations or triggers for authorizing a project?
- Market demand - Strategic opportunity/business need - Social need - Environmental consideration - Customer request - New Technology - Legal requirement
What drives the management of project portfolios?
Strategic plan of the organization
What are the different ways in which a PMO supports project managers?
PMO develops a common project management methodology, best practices and standards; monitors compliance to standards, policies and procedures across projects; manages interdependencies, coordinates communication, and manages shared resources among projects; provides mentoring and coaching to project managers.
What is difference between the role of a project manager and a PMO?
- PM focuses on project objectives; PMO on major program scope changes - PM controls assigned project resources; PMO optimizes use of resources across projects - PM manages the project constraints (scope, schedule, cost, quality); PMO manages methodologies, standards, overall risks, and interdependencies among projects.
How does senior management support projects?
- As project sponsor - In setting objectives and priorities - In planning the project - In resolving conflicts
What are the key benefits of project management?
- Improved effectiveness and efficiency - Increased profitability - Improved quality - Improved customer satisfaction
Project Management is to projects, what ___________ is to operations.
Project Management is to projects, what <u>Business Process Management</u> is to operations.
What are the key elements of a Benefits Management Plan?
- Target benefits - Strategic alignment - Timeframe for realizing benefits - Benefits owner - Metrics - Assumptions - Risks
All project generally consist of 5 project phases. True or False?
False. The number of phases, the need for phases, and the degree of control applied depend on the size, complexity, and potential impact of the project.
Name a tool or technique which is used in all Integration processes.
Expert Judgment
When is Contract an input to the Develop Project Charter process?
When the project is being done for an external customer.
Which system is used for recording change requests?
Configuration Management System (which is a part of the Project Management Information System)
Which is the only initiating process which uses Project Charter as an input?
Identify Stakeholders
How is Reserve Analysis used in managing risks?
Reserve Analysis compares the amount of the contingency reserves remaining to the amount of risk remaining at any time in the project in order to determine if the remaining reserve is adequate. It is a technique used in the Monitor Risks process.
Which technique is used for measuring deviation from baseline plans in order to determine the need for preventive or corrective actions?
Variance Analysis
Project Charter is an input to which processes (name any 4)?
- Develop Project Management Plan - Plan Scope Management - Collect Requirements - Define Scope - Plan Schedule Management - Plan Cost Management - Plan Risk Management - Identify Stakeholders; and more…
List the project management processes that use WBS as an input.
WBS is not an input to any process! However, Scope Baseline, which includes the Project Scope Statement, WBS, and WBS Dictionary, is an input to several processes such as Define Activities, Estimate Costs, Determine Budget, Identify Risks, and Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis.
Which processes use the Reserve Analysis technique to establish and maintain an adequate schedule and cost contingency reserve?
- Estimate Activity Durations - Estimate Costs - Determine Budget - Control Costs - Monitor Risks
Why is Scope Baseline an input to the Develop Schedule process?
The scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary (components of scope baseline) have details about the project deliverables that are considered when building the schedule model.
Which process takes Work Performance Information as input and produces Work Performance Reports as output?
Monitor and Control Project Work
Which are the common tools and techniques for Control Schedule and Control Costs?
- Data Analysis - Project Management Information System
Which are the only two Monitoring and Controlling processes that do NOT use Work Performance Data as an input?
- Monitor and Control Project Work - Perform Integrated Change Control
Root Cause Analysis is usually performed in which processes? (6)
1) Monitor and Control Project Work
2) Manage Quality
3) Control Quality
4) Identify Risks
5) Plan Stakeholder Engagement
6) Manage Stakeholder Engagement
Which project documents are you likely to update as a result of quality planning?
- Lessons Learned Register - Requirements Traceability Matrix - Risk Register - Stakeholder Register
Approved Change Requests are an input to these processes and Change Requests are an output. Which processes are these?
- Direct and Manage Project Work - Control Quality - Control Procurements
Why is Scope Baseline an input to the Identify Risks process?
The scope baseline includes deliverables and criteria for their acceptance, some of which might give rise to risk. It also contains the WBS, which can be used for identifying risks at the project level as well as the work package or control account level.
Which at least 3 project management processes that use the Brainstorming technique?
- Develop Project Charter - Develop Project Management Plan - Collect Requirements - Plan Quality Management - Identify Risks - Identify Stakeholders
Which project management processes use Cause-and-Effect Diagrams?
Manage Quality and Control Quality Note: Cause-and-Effect Diagrams are a Data Representation technique.
What is the common input to all Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing processes?
Project Management Plan (or one of its subsidiary management plans)
What is the common output of most Monitoring and Controlling processes?
Change Requests Note: Change Requests are an output of all Monitoring and Controlling processes EXCEPT Perform Integrated Change Control, which has Change Requests as an input and Approved Change Requests as an output.
Work Performance Data is an ____________ (Input or Output) of Executing processes.
Work Performance Data is an <u>output</u> of Executing processes. Note: Work Performance Data is an output of the Direct and Management Project Work process, which integrates the performance data from all the other Executing processes.
How do deliverables flow through a project?
Direct and Manage Project Work (Deliverables) → Control Quality (Verified Deliverables) → Validate Scope (Accepted Deliverables) → Close Project or Phase (Final Product, Service or Result Transition)
What is the output from the Determine Budget process that goes as an input to Develop Project Management Plan?
Cost Baseline
Work Performance Data is an output of an Executing process, and an input to most Monitoring and Controlling processes. True or False?
True.
Work Performance Data is an input to the Monitor and Control Project Work process. True or False?
False. Work Performance Information (not Work Performance Data) is an input to Monitor and Control Project Work.
Work Performance Information is an input to the Perform Integrated Change Control process. True or False?
False. Work Performance Reports (not Work Performance Information) is an input to Perform Integrated Change Control process.
According to McClelland’s theory, people who work best in cooperation with others have a high need for ___________.
According to McClelland’s theory, people who work best in cooperation with others have a high need for <u>affiliation</u>.
Which organizational theory concentrates on outcomes rather than needs?
Expectancy Theory
What are the three variables in the Expectancy Theory?
- Expectancy - Instrumentality - Valence
What does the Expectancy Theory advocate?
For a person to be motivated, effort, performance and motivation must be linked.
What is common among Define Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, and Identify Risks processes?
It is important to involve team members in all these processes. Involving team members in the decomposition can lead to better and more accurate results. Work should be estimated by people most familiar with the work. Involving team members in risk identification helps to develop and maintain a sense of ownership and responsibility for the risks and associated risk response actions.
When are risks identified on a project?
Risks can be identified anytime in the project life cycle.
In which type of contract would you consider a Point of Total Assumption (PTA)?
Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF)
Is the Point of Total Assumption (PTA) always between the Target Price and the Ceiling Price?
No
Can the Point of Total Assumption (PTA) be higher (or more) than the Ceiling Price?
Yes
Can the Point of Total Assumption (PTA) be lower (or less) than the Target Price?
Yes
Who is more concerned about the Point of Total Assumption (PTA) - buyer or seller - and why?
Seller, because cost overruns above PTA are not shared by the buyer.
What is the buyer/seller share ratio beyond the Point of Total Assumption (PTA)?
0:100 (because cost overruns above PTA are not shared by the buyer)
Can the seller be already in losses (profit below zero) at the Point of Total Assumption (PTA)?
Yes
What is the contract price when the actual cost exceeds the Point of Total Assumption (PTA)?
Ceiling Price
What is the point at which a Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF) contract becomes a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract?
Point of Total Assumption (PTA)
When does the Point of Total Assumption (PTA) assume more importance - in cost underruns or overruns?
Cost overruns
Are the human resource policies of an organization considered an Enterprise Environmental Factor or an Organizational Process Asset for the project?
Organizational Process Asset
How does Organizational Governance impact projects within the organization?
Organizational Governance may impose constraints on the project.
Which Project Management Knowledge Area spans across Initiating, Planning, Executing, and Monitoring and Controlling Process Groups?
Project Stakeholder Management
Which Project Management Knowledge Area spans across all 5 Process Groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing)?
Project Integration Management
Which process puts the performance reports in the hands of the stakeholders?
Manage Communications
Which method uses “time value of money” to appraise long-term projects?
Net Present Value (NPV)
What are the two categories of project selection methods?
- Benefit Measurement - Constrained Optimization
How do Benefit Measurement methods of project selection work?
They compare the projects based on features and benefits.
How do Constrained Optimization methods of project selection work?
They use complex mathematical models and algorithms to predict the success of the project.
What are the two main types of accelerated depreciations?
- Declining Balance - Sum of the Years Digit
What are the two forms of depreciation?
- Straight-line - Accelerated
Which types of project selection methods use a comparative approach?
Benefit Measurement methods
Which types of project selection methods use a mathematical approach?
Constrained Optimization methods
Which statistical measure can be used to calculate the probability of completing a project by a given date or in a given time?
Standard Deviation
The method in which parties seek help of a private third party to make a decision regarding a dispute, outside of the court, is known as?
Arbitration
In this leadership style, the project manager is primarily focused on getting the tasks done, with little regard to the team member’s feelings. Which leadership style is this?
Autocratic
In this leadership style, the project manager turns things over to the team members, and only monitors the work at a high level.
Laissez-faire
The discount rate at which the NPV of a project is zero is known as?
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Name the different powers of a Project Manager.
- Legitimate (or Formal) - Reward - Punitive (or Coercive) - Expert - Referent
Which is the best form of power for a Project Manager?
The best form of power depends upon the situation and the maturity level of the project manager. Generally speaking, personal powers (such as Expert and Referent) are better than positional powers (such as Legitimate, Reward and Punitive).
What is the total power of a project manager?
Total Power = Positional Power + Personal Power
Give an example of Indirect Power.
Contacts/network power (a form of power derived from alliance or contacts with someone influential in the organization)
What is the difference between Power and Authority?
Power is the ability to get things done, whereas Authority is the formal power derived from one’s position in the organization.
What is another name for Control Account?
Cost Account
What are Analogous estimates also known as?
Top-down estimates
Name at least 5 commonly used analytical techniques in project management.
Alternatives analysis; Regression analysis; Root cause analysis; Reserve Analysis; Trend Analysis; Earned Value Management; SWOT Analysis; Variance Analysis, etc.
What are summary activities commonly used for?
For schedule control and management communication.
Which tool is used to assure the success of process improvement on a project?
Process Analysis
What is a SIPOC model?
A tool used in quality management that summarizes the inputs and outputs of one or more processes in tabular format.
Which tool can help in understanding and estimating the cost of quality in a process?
Flowcharts
In which processes are you likely to use Focus Groups?
- Develop Project Charter - Develop Project Management Plan - Collect Requirements
What are the three dimensions of a Stakeholder Cube?
- Power - Interest - Attitude
Which stakeholder mapping model is useful for large complex communities of stakeholders?
Salience model
Give examples of a few different types of stakes that stakeholders can have.
- Interest - Rights (legal or moral rights) - Ownership - Knowledge - Contribution
What are the four categories of stakeholders in the Directions of Influence method?
- Upward - Downward - Outward - Sideward
Who are sideward stakeholders?
The peers of the project manager, such as other project managers or middle managers who are competing or sharing project resources.
Which classification models are appropriate for small projects with simple stakeholder relationships?
- Power/interest grid - Power/influence grid - Impact/influence grid
What information is contained in the Stakeholder Register?
- Identification information - Assessment information - Stakeholder classification
Before the baselines are established, changes are not required to be formally controlled by the Perform Integrated Change Control process. True or False?
True.
WBS is a communication tool on a project. True or False?
True.
WBS is task-oriented. True or False?
False. WBS is deliverable-oriented.
Reducing project scope is a drastic but valid schedule compression technique. True or False?
False. Schedule compression, by definition, shortens the project schedule without changing the project scope.
Adding contingency reserves to duration estimates is unethical. True or False?
False. Contingency reserves or buffers are extra time added to the duration estimate to account for uncertainty or risk. They are clearly identified in the schedule documentation.
Padding duration estimates is unethical. True or False?
True. Padding is the amount of unreasonable extra time added to the estimate, just to feel confident with the estimate.
Point of Total Assumption (PTA) is the total cost of the project at which the seller makes no profit and no loss. True or False?
False.
What does the Project Charter contain?
- Project Purpose, Project title, description and objectives - Success Criteria and Exit Criteria - High level requirements - Overall project risks - Summary milestone schedule & summary budget - Project manager’s name and authority level - Resources pre-assigned - Name and signature of the sponsor
What are the 4 main aspects of any Configuration Management System?
- Configuration Identification - Configuration Control - Configuration Status Accounting - Configuration Verification and Audit
What does a Configuration Management Plan define?
- Configuration Items (items which need to be placed under configuration control) - Items that require formal change control - The process for controlling changes to such items (Change Control process)
Do all Configuration Items need to go through formal change control?
No
Which process is used to control changes to all aspects of the approved project plan?
Perform Integrated Change Control
Which is one of the last things done as part of the project closure?
Release of the project team
What are the activities that are performed as part of project closure?
Confirm that all the requirements have been met, close all procurements, get formal acceptance of the deliverables, measure customer satisfaction, perform financial closure, report final project performance, document lessons learned, update and archive project records, hand-off the deliverables, release the team and other resources.
Give some examples of Work Performance Information.
Status of deliverables, implementation status for change requests, earned value measurements (SV, CV, SPI, CPI, etc.) and forecasted estimates to complete.
When is project/phase closure activities performed?
At the end of each project phase, at the completion of each contract, and at the end of the project.
Arrange the following activities in the order in which they are performed in the Closing Process Group: Release the team; Close contract(s); Document lessons learned; Get formal acceptance from the customer.
- Get formal acceptance from the customer 2. Close contract(s) 3. Document lessons learned 4. Release the team
What is the correct order of tasks in the Closing Process Group?
- Obtain final acceptance of deliverables 2. Transfer the ownership of deliverables to assigned stakeholders 3. Perform administrative closure 4. Distribute final project report 5. Collate lessons learned 6. Archive project documents 7. Measure customer satisfaction
What does a Project Scope Statement include?
- Product scope description - Deliverables - Acceptance criteria - Project exclusions
What is the 100% rule when developing the WBS?
The work at the lowest levels of the WBS must add up to 100% of the project scope.
How does the Configuration Management Plan (a component of the Project Management Plan) help to control scope?
It helps to identify items that require formal change control and the process for controlling changes to such items.
What is a scope model?
A visual depiction of the product scope by showing a business system (process, equipment, computer system, etc.), and how people and other systems (actors) interact with it.
When can free float occur on a schedule network?
Free float can occur when two or more activities converge into a single activity on a network.
Give an example of Start-to-finish (SF) dependency.
The day shift worker (predecessor) cannot leave work until the night shift worker (successor) has taken over the command.
Which performance indicators are used to analyze schedule variance?
SV and SPI; Total Float and Early Finish Variances
Who approves the project Schedule Baseline?
Appropriate stakeholders identified in the Schedule Management Plan.
PERT assumes that activity duration estimates follow ____________ distribution.
PERT assumes that activity duration estimates follow <u>beta</u> distribution.
PERT assumes that project duration estimates follow ____________ distribution.
PERT assumes that project duration estimates follow <u>normal</u> distribution.
If the customer wants to know the likelihood of completing the project by a given date, which technique would help you determine this information?
Monte Carlo technique
What does the standard deviation of a project indicate about the project?
Standard deviation is a measure of the uncertainty or risk involved in the project.
Project A and Project B have an expected duration of 48 days each. Their standard deviation is 4 days and 8 days respectively. What can you tell about the two projects?
Project B has more risk than Project A. More standard deviation indicates more uncertainty or risk.
If the customer wants to know the likelihood of completing the project under $1 million, which technique would help you determine this information?
Monte Carlo technique
What is the range of preliminary estimates?
-15% to +30%
One of the fundamental tenets of modern quality management states that quality is planned, designed, and ____________-in, and not ____________-in.
One of the fundamental tenets of modern quality management states that quality is planned, designed, and <u>built</u>-in, and not <u>inspected</u>-in.
Who defines the quality of a product, service or result of a project?
The customer
What is the fundamental principle of Six Sigma?
Increase predictability to reduce defects.
What is the benefit of using a logical data model?
It helps to identify the sources of data integrity and other quality issues.
Prevention is preferred over __________.
Prevention is preferred over <u>Inspection</u>.
Prevention keeps errors out of the _______.
Prevention keeps errors out of the <u>process</u>.
Inspection keeps errors out of the ________________.
Inspection keeps errors out of the <u>hands of the customer</u>.
When is quality management most effective?
When quality is incorporated into the planning and designing of the project and product, and when organizational culture is aware and committed to quality.
What are the 4Ds of decision-making?
Drop-Delay-Delegate-Do
What kind of tasks should NOT be delegated by the project manager?
- Overall project planning - Decision-making - Policy-making - Performance appraisals - Crisis management
What are the top 7 sources of conflict in a project environment, according to Thamhain and Wilemon?
- Schedule conflict - Conflict of priorities - Resource conflict - Technical conflict - Conflict over administration - Personality conflict - Cost conflict
According to the research done by Thamhain and Wilemon, what is usually the top source of conflict across every phase of the project life cycle?
Schedule
According to Thamhain and Wilemon, which type of conflict is usually at the bottom of the intensity list during the project?
Personality
What is the fundamental principle of Theory of Constraints (TOC)?
Adjusting all processes to improve (reduce/remove) the bottleneck.
What are the steps involved in resolving a conflict?
- Investigate the conflict 2. Decipher the source and stage of conflict 3. Determine the root cause 4. Analyze the context 5. Implement and track solution
Name the important communication skills for a project manager?
- Listening - Questioning - Educating - Fact-finding - Setting and managing expectations - Persuading - Negotiating - Resolving conflict
What are the 5Cs of written communication?
- Correct grammar and spelling - Concise expression and elimination of excess words - Clear purpose and expression directed to the needs of the reader - Coherent logical flow of ideas - Controlling flow of words and ideas
What are the two parts of successful communication?
- Develop an appropriate communication strategy. 2. Carrying out the activities necessary to implement the communication strategy.
What is the proper structure to describe risks?
Cause - Event (or Risk) - Effect
What is the benefit of categorizing risks during risk analysis?
Risk categorization can lead to development of more effective risk responses by focusing attention and effort on the areas of highest risk exposure.
What are the essential characteristics of the planned risk responses? (ACRATO)
Planned risk responses should be:
- Appropriate to the significance of the risk
- Cost-effective
- Realistic
- Agreed upon by all parties involved
- Timely
- Owned by a responsible person
On what basis are contingency reserves established?
On the basis of quantitative risk analysis and the organization’s risk thresholds
What are the four types of business risks?
- Competitive - Legislative - Monetary - Operational
Which type of proposal request is most costly for the seller to respond to?
Request for Proposal (RFP)
What information is usually included in an Agreement?
Procurement SOW, roles and responsibilities, schedule, pricing, payment terms, acceptance criteria, reporting requirements, warranty, penalties, incentives, change control process, dispute resolution mechanisms, etc.
Give 3 examples of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) techniques.
- Negotiation - Mediation - Arbitration
Which type of contract uses parameters such as target cost, target fee, target price, award fee, and fee criteria?
Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF)
Which type of contract uses parameters such as target cost, target fee, target price and share ratio?
Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF)
Which type of contract uses parameters such as total price, award fee and fee criteria?
Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF)
What are the activities that are performed in the Control Procurements process?
- Verify the product - Issue formal acceptance - Conduct a procurement audit - Report final contract performance - Document lessons learned - Perform financial closure of the contract (make payments)
Stakeholder ___________ should be identified and managed as a project objective.
Stakeholder <u>satisfaction</u> should be identified and managed as a project objective.
