Key Terms and Introduction to Project Management

Question 1

You have been assigned as project manager to implement a new and innovative
smartphone application in a balanced matrix organizational structure. You experience
difficulties in obtaining and assigning project resources in your project due to which one of the following factors?

A. The power and authority are shared between you and the functional manager, and
you do not have full authority over the project and its funding.
B. Your role is like a coordinator or expeditor (communication coordinator or staff
assistant).
C. You have no real authority and power.
D. The project budget is fully controlled by the functional manager.

Answer 1

A. The power and authority are shared between you and the functional manager, and
you do not have full authority over the project and its funding. In a balanced matrix organization, the project manager is assigned full time, and the authority of the project manager is usually at an equal level with the functional manager. This can result in conflict regarding resource assignments and priorities and in the general management of the project. The control of the budget is shared between the project manager and the functional manager.

Question 2

Project Management Office (PMO), which is a centralized organizational unit to oversee and coordinate the management of projects and programs under its domain
throughout the organization, has all of the following functions EXCEPT:
A. Identify and develop the organization’s methodology, administrative practices,
guidelines, policies, procedures, and rules.
B. Establish and maintain templates, policies, procedures, best practices, and standards
for project management methodologies.
C. Monitor compliance with organizational project management processes, policies,
procedures, and other items.
D. Be involved heavily during project initiation as a key decision maker and integral
stakeholder to make recommendations, prioritize projects, terminate projects, or
take other actions as required.

Answer 2

A. Identify and develop the organization’s methodology, administrative practices,
guidelines, policies, procedures, and rules. The PMO identifies and develops the project management methodology, best practices, policies, procedures, and standards but not the organizational methodology, administrative practices, guidelines, policies, procedures, and rules.

Question 3

You are a project manager overseeing a web-based automation project in a weak matrix organization. You are playing the role of a communication coordinator with little power to make decisions and sometimes report to a high-level manager. Your role can be defined as a:
A. Team lead
B. Project coordinator
C. Lead coordinator
D. Project expeditor

Answer 3

B: Both the project coordinator and the project expeditor play a supportive role to the
project manager. A project coordinator role is similar to a project expeditor role as they
both act primarily as staff assistants and communication coordinators. However, unlike a
project expeditor, a project coordinator has some power to make decisions and reports
to a high-level manager.

Question 4

Success in portfolio management, which can be generally described as a group of
projects or programs and other works to achieve a specific strategic business goal, is
generally defined as:
A. Aggregate performance of all components.
B. Control of changes to specific products and services.
C. Compliance with schedule, budget, and specifications requirements.
D. Realization of the business benefits and financial objectives

Answer 4

A: Portfolio management encompasses identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing,
and controlling the collection of projects, programs, other work, and sometimes other
portfolios to achieve strategic business objectives. It is generally associated with the
relationships between components in the portfolio, effective resource management to
protect priority components, and the aggregate results of the portfolio as they relate to
strategic performance.

Question 5

You are overseeing the implementation of the internal website of your organization
to view the company’s event calendar. Your role is to coordinate activities, resources,
equipment, and information on the project, but you have limited authority in making
project decisions and have to negotiate with the functional manager to get required
resources for your project. Which of the following kind of organization are you working
in?
A. Balanced matrix
B. Composite structure
C. Weak matrix
D. Strong matrix

Answer 5

C: You are working in a weak matrix organization. Your role is of a project expeditor or
project coordinator where you mostly act as a staff assistant and communication coordinator with limited authority and no control over the project’s budget. You have to negotiate with the functional manager to get needed resources for the project.

Question 6

You are overseeing a complex project to implement a new wireless media streaming
device. Due to the complex nature of the project, you need several highly skilled
technical resources with very specialized expertise and domain knowledge. You obtain these resources from the organization resource pool and different departments, specifying the duration and bandwidth for which they will be required. You also commit
to release these resources to respective departments once your needs are fulfilled. You
are working in which kind of organizational structure?
A. Composite structure
B. Functional
C. Projectized
D. Matrix

Answer 6

D: In the matrix structure, the personnel and other resources that a project manager
requires are not permanently assigned to the project but are obtained from a pool and
are controlled and monitored by a functional manager. Personnel required to perform
specific functions in a particular project are assigned for the period necessary and are
then returned to the control of the functional manager for reassignment.

Question 7

A software firm is in the process of implementing a critical accounting application
for a dentist’s office. In order to implement the project, full-time staff from several
departments are selected to create a special project team or task force. It was decided that the task force members would not report to their functional managers or work
on their functional activities while working on this critical project. This type of
organizational structure is called:
A. Functional organization
B. Hybrid structure
C. Weak Matrix
D. Balanced matrix organization

Answer 7

B: Hybrid structure is a combination of functional, project oriented, and matrix organizational structures. For example, a functional organization may create a special project team or task force to handle a critical project and may have many characteristics of projectized organization; it may include full-time staff from different functional departments with their own set of operating procedures, standards, and reporting structure.

Question 8

Which one of the following is NOT true about functional organizational structure?
A. Project work is considered to be priority work in all functional groups.
B. Similar resources are grouped by specialists.
C. The project manager has little or no authority and could even be part time.
D. Multiple projects compete for limited resources and priority.

Answer 8

A: In a functional structure, project is given very little priority. Also, in a functional
structure, similar resources are grouped by technical expertise and are assigned to one supervisor. Team members give more importance to their functional responsibility to the
detriment of the project.

Question 9

Which one of the following is the logical breakdown of what needs to be done to
produce the project deliverables and is sometimes referred to as the performing
organization’s methodology for projects?
A. Product life cycle
B. Project life cycle
C. Feedback loop
D. Product development

Answer 9

B: The project life cycle is the logical breakdown of what needs to be done to produce
the project deliverables, and sometimes it is referred to as the performing organization’s methodology for projects. On the other hand, a product life cycle consists of generally sequential, nonoverlapping product phases determined by the manufacturing and control needs of the organization. For instance, as predicted by Moore’s law, each year a
microprocessor company introduces new models of processors that are faster and more
powerful than their predecessors. Microprocessors that are obsolete or do not sell well
are quickly retired from production. This product life cycle begins in R and D, extends to
manufacturing, and finally ends with phase out.

Question 10

The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to satisfy the project
needs by establishing project objectives, identifying project requirements, managing
stakeholders, and balancing project constraints (i.e., cost, time, quality, scope, risk, and
others) is referred to as:
A. Project management
B. Project administration
C. Project initiation
D. Project coordination

Answer 10

10. A: Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to satisfy project requirements.

Question 11

All project phases conclude with a review of the deliverables and related work (phase
exits or stage gates or kill points) for the purpose of:
A. Determining if the project should continue and the next phase should be initiated.
B. Detecting defects and correcting errors.
C. Assessing project risks.
D. Enforcing formal control procedure of the project.

Answer 11

11. A: At the conclusion of a project phase, the project manager and team should assess the performance of the project and determine if acceptable conditions exist to support a decision to continue or terminate the project. If the decision is to move forward with the
    project, then the decision is also made about whether the next phase should be initiated
    or not. Risk levels will vary as the project progresses, and the end of a phase is generally
    considered to be a good point to reassess risk. Project control procedures should be
    enforced throughout the project life cycle.

Question 12

The level of power and authority of a project manager may fluctuate due to various
factors. Typically, how much power and authority a project manager will have depends
on which of the following?
A. The organizational structure
B. The negotiation skills of the project manager
C. Project management knowledge and technical competency of the project manager
D. The relationship of the project manager with senior management, especially with
the sponsor

Answer 12

12. A: The authority of the project manager varies greatly depending on the organizational structure. In a projectized organization, the project manager has almost total authority. A strong matrix maintains many characteristics of projectized organization where much of the authority rests with the project manager. In a balanced matrix, the authority is shared between the functional manager and the project manager, and the project manager does not have full authority over the project and its funding. A weak matrix maintains many characteristics of a functional organization; the project manager’s role is like that of a coordinator or expeditor (communication coordinator or staff assistant) than that of a true project manager. In a functional organization, the project manager has noreal authority and power. Relationship, negotiation skills, and technical ability may affect
    the level of authority in some organizations, but managerial structure is generally the
    major factor.

Question 13

Which one of the following is generally considered to be the characteristic of operational works?
A. It is a continuing endeavor that produces many identical or nearly identical products
or provides repetition.
B. It is temporary in nature and has a definite beginning and ending.
C. It is completed when its goals and objectives have been met and signed off by the
stakeholders.
D. It is a unique undertaking.

Answer 13

13. A: Operational works are ongoing and support the day-to-day functions of an organization. Operational work differs from project work as operational work is any continuing endeavor that produces many identical or nearly identical products or provides repetitive services (e.g., frying burgers, manufacturing cars, and teaching algebra).

Question 14

You are overseeing a project to implement a new video game console. Since everything
is not known upfront, you take the approach of defining and developing the product
by incremental steps and continually reviewing and adjusting processes, assumptions,
requirements, and decisions throughout the project life cycle as the project progresses.
You are engaged in which of the following?
A. Project selection
B. Monitoring & Controlling
C. Progressive elaboration
D. Decomposition

Answer 14

14. C: Progressive elaboration is defined as moving forward in increments and adding more detail as the project progresses.

Question 15

Which one of the following is TRUE about power of the project managers in different
organizational structures?
A. In a projectized organization, the project manager has no real authority and power.
B. A strong matrix maintains many characteristics of projectized organization, where
much of the authority rests with the project manager.
C. In a weak matrix, the authority is shared between the functional manager and the
project manager; the project manager does not have full authority over the project
and its funding.
D. A balanced matrix maintains many characteristics of a functional matrix; the project
manager role is like that of a coordinator or expeditor (communication coordinator
or staff assistant) than that of a true project manager.

Answer 15

B: The authority of the project manager varies greatly depending on the organizational structure. In a projectized organization, the project manager has almost total authority. A strong matrix maintains many characteristics of projectized organization where much
of the authority rests with the project manager. In a balanced matrix, the authority is
shared between the functional manager and the project manager; the project manager
does not have full authority over the project and its funding. A weak matrix maintains
many characteristics of a functional organization; the project manager role is like that
of a coordinator or expeditor (communication coordinator or staff assistant) than that
of a true project manager. In a functional organization, the project manager has no real
authority and power.

Question 16

You are managing a group of related or unrelated projects or programs and other works to achieve specific strategic business objectives and goals. You are a:
A. Program owner
B. Project manager
C. Program manager
D. Portfolio manager

Answer 16

16. D: A portfolio can be generally described as a group of projects or programs and other works to achieve a specific strategic business goal. The programs may not be related other than the fact that they are helping to achieve the common strategic goal. A portfolio manager is usually assigned to manage these groups of projects, programs, and other works. Portfolio management encompasses identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling the collection of projects, programs, other work, and sometimes other portfolios to achieve strategic business objectives. For example, a construction business has several business units such as retail, single and multifamily residential, and others. Collectively, all the programs, projects, and work within all of these business units make up the portfolio for this construction business.

Question 17

As a project manager in a balanced matrix organization, what type of authority you
have?
A. Low to moderate
B. Little to none
C. High to almost total
D. Moderate to high

Answer 17

17. A: A project manager has a low to moderate authority in a balanced matrix organization.

Question 18

You took over a software development project from another project manager who
just left the company. You realize that the project is in a mess as there is a lack of
management control and the previous project manager managed the project without
much project organization. You decided to develop specific work plans for each of the
30 work packages and soon realize that the plan would help each phase, but would not
control the integration of those phases into a cohesive whole. To your surprise, you also
find out that there is no clearly defined project deliverables. You are in a desperate need
to organize the project as soon as you can. What will be the BEST course of action?
A. Capture lessons learned as you progress and update organizational process assets.
B. Report the poor condition of the project to management.
C. Adapt a life cycle approach to the project.
D. Develop a detailed description of project deliverables.

Answer 18

18. C: Adapting a life cycle approach to effectively run the project will ensure overall control and successful completion of the deliverables. You may want to report the situation to management but it will not really solve the issue. Capturing lessons learned will certainly assist with the subsequent phases, but would not really help with controlling the project. Developing a detailed description of the project deliverables would not improve control.

Question 19

You just completed a critical data center project for your organization. Currently, the
support team is conducting ongoing operations and maintenance to ensure that all
routers, switches, firewalls, PCs, servers, and digital storages are operating as planned.
A large portion of your project budget is allocated to maintenance and operations to
run the data center smoothly. You will be sending out daily status updates and resolving
issues, but there is no need for planning or providing documentation. This ongoing
operations and maintenance is extremely important to the products of your data center
project and should be consider as:
A. Not a part of your project
B. An entirely separate project
C. A separate phase in your project life cycle
D. Activities in the closing process group

Answer 19

19. A: Operations and maintenance are not considered to be temporary as they are ongoing. A project is always unique and temporary in nature. Thus, these activities should not be considered as a project or even part of a project.

Question 20

Steve is very concerned about all major constraints on his project as these constraints
provide a framework for understanding trade-offs in managing competing project
requirements. He identified scope, time, cost, quality, risk, resources, communications,
and customer satisfaction to be the major constraints. Which one of the following is the
prioritized order of all these constraints?
A. Scope, time, cost, quality, risk, resources, communications, and customer satisfaction
B. Time, scope, cost, quality, risk, resources, communications, and customer satisfaction
C. Cost, scope, time, quality, risk, resources, communications, and customer satisfaction
D. The all are of equal importance unless stated otherwise

Answer 20

20. D: All major constraints are of equal importance unless stated otherwise. Senior management in an organization gets involved in setting priorities among these constraints directly or indirectly. The primary job of the project manager is to manage these different project constraints by assessing the situations, prioritizing competing demands, and analyzing the impact of changes on all the constraints.

Question 21

The management framework within which project decisions are made is called:
A. Project Management Information System (PMIS)
B. Configuration management system
C. Project management plan
D. Project governance

Answer 21

D: Project governance is the management framework within which project decisions are made. The role of project governance is to provide a decision making framework that is logical, robust, and repeatable to govern an organization’s capital investments.
This framework provides the structure, processes, decision-making models, and tools
to the project manager and team for managing the project. It also provides the team
a comprehensive, coherent method of controlling the project and helps safeguarding
project success by defining, documenting, and communicating reliable, repeatable project practices. The PMIS consists of the data sources and tools & techniques used to gather, integrate, analyze, and disseminate the results of the combined outputs of the project management processes. It is an automated system that can serve as a repository for information and a tool to assist with communication and with tracking documents and deliverables. The PMIS also supports the project from beginning to end by optimizing the schedule and helping collect and distribute information.
The configuration management system is the subset of the Project Management Information System (PMIS) that describes the different versions and characteristics of the product, service, or result of the project and ensures accuracy and completeness of the description.
The project management plan is a single-approved document that defines how the project
is executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.