Intro Flashcards
project
a temporary endeavor to create a unique deliverable (product, service, or result). this differs from operational work in that projects are not ongoing and repetitive. projects are typically undertaken to achieve an organization’s strategic plan
an example of a project is the launch of a website. website maintenance is operational work
other projects: building a house, a quarterly publication, an office move, or developing a training course
project management
the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and resources to obtain the desired product, service, or result. to achieve desired level of quality, scope, time, and budget (triple constraint) must be balanced.
triple constraint
scope, time, and budget
when one of these factors changes, at least one other is likely to be affected
program
a group of related projects coordinated strategically to benefit the organization
portfolio
a group of projects and programs facilitating the completion of strategic objectives. projects within a portfolio are not necessarily interdependent or directly related
project management office (PMO)
a centralized unit that coordinates projects based on the organization’s overall business objectives. Responsibilities can include: administrative support, training, resource alignment, and implementing tools to facilitate better project management practices. the influence of a PMO may vary based on organizational structure and maturity to be supportive, controlling, or directive
operations management
provides support for the oversight, direction, and control of day-to-day business operations. this subject area of ongoing endeavors is outside the scope of project management. however, there is a relationship of intersection between the two, such as during phase closure, product lifecycle management, or operations process improvement
stakeholder
any individual or organization that influences or is affected by the execution of the project. stakeholder influence can be positive or negative
project manager
a member of the performing organization and is responsible for the achievement of project objectives
project management staff
a group of individuals who suppot the project by performing project management functions. examples include a project scheduler, cost controller, or technical lead
project staff
carry out the work defined by the scope statement to generate project deliverables
project sponsor
provides the authorization (championing) of the project based on its strategic relevance to the organization. they develop and/or approve the project charter, provide resources and financial support to the project, and may serve as a conduit between project delivery and the requesting organization (customer)
customer
receives and manages the final product, service, or result
end users
will use the final deliverable and may contribute differently to requirements gathering and acceptance than the customer
performing organization
employees which are most closely involved in project work
external stakeholders
may be affected by project execution in a positive or negative way. examples include: government entities or special interest groups
functional organization
staff is grouped by specialty (department) and has one clear supervisor (department manager). in this type of organization, project managers must coordinate across the functional department managers. may have a project expeditor who cannot personally make or enforce decisions
weak matrix
functional managers have the majority of power over resource time. a project coordination may have limited power in decision making
balanced matrix
the organization recognized the need for project management; however, the project and resource managers share power over resources and funding.
strong matrix
project manager has strong influence on project priorities and resource time
projectized organization
an organization’s management is focused around projects. staff is hired full-time to each project, reporting directly to the project manager. project managers have nearly total authority and access to resources
composite matrix
an organization that shares qualities of wak and strong matrix for different projects within the organization
project lifecycle
the collection of project phases that connect the start of a project to the completion. the review and acceptance of deliverables, commonly referred to as Phase Gate, often marks the completion of one project phase and the beginning of the next
project phases
collections of logically related project activities, usually culminating in the completion of a major deliverable. a project phase is a component of a project life cycle. project phase should not be confused with project management process groups
deliverable
a measurable work product such as a specification, design document, or prototype
how time affects a project
at the beginning of a project cost and staffing levels are low, and stakeholder influence and risk are high
over time, the cost of changes will increase while stakeholder influence and risk decrease
predictive life cycles
the project team determines the scope, schedule, and budget early in the project. this approach is preferred when the deliverable is understood and can be well defined
two styles include:
sequential relationship
overlapping relationship
sequential relationship
a phase can only begin when the preceding phase is complete. this relationship reduces risk (uncertainty), but may prevent opportunities for schedule compression
overlapping relationship
a phase may begin before the preceding phase has been fully completed. overlapping phases can reduce the project schedule, however, it will increase risk. change in the completion in one phase may create costly rework in the following phase
iterative and incremental life cycles
the project team intentionally repeats one or more project activities or phases to gain product improvements. each iteration follows all the project management process groups incrementally, building deliverables until exit criteria are achieved. while a high-level vision should be established early on, detailed-scope may be determined one iteration at a time
adaptive life cycles
also known as change-driven or agile methods. these can be used when stakeholders are not able to agree to requirements early in the project lifecycle. this approach borrows the concept of the iterative approach, using very rapid 2-4 week iterations and with a variable scope and a fixed time and cost. after a set of requirements is determined, it is prioritized into a backlog list that can be used to determine the scope of each iteration. this style may be preferred when the project environment is rapidly evolving
process
a series of actions performed to generate a desired result
initiating
defines and authorizes a new project or phase and begins assessing the stakeholder environment
planning
defines and refines the project objectives and plans HOW other processes should be performed to attain the objectives of the project
executing
integrates resources to perform work according to the project management plan
monitoring and controlling
measures progress to identify changes that can bring future performance closer in line with the plan
closing
finalizes all activities across all the other process groups to formally close each phase and project
