Measurement Performance Domain

Question 1

What Do Project Managers Measure?

Answer 1

• Deliverable Metrics / Which Metrics to Measure
• Delivery / Work Performance Metrics
• Baseline Performance
• Resources
• Business Value
• Stakeholders
• Forecasts

Question 2

Leading Indicators

Answer 2

• KPI to predict changes or trends in project
• Example: Project Size, # of items in progress or backlog
• Can help reduce performance risk when used in tandem with identified performance variances
• Qualitative indicators include stakeholder engagement, risk management, success criteria definitions, etc.

Question 3

Lagging Indicators

Answer 3

• KPI that measures the past performance of project deliverables or events
• Can correlate performance outcomes with environmental variables
• Example: work amount completed vs. morale

Question 4

Examples of Deliverable Metrics Specific To Product Type

Answer 4

• Error or Defects (source, # of, and # resolved)
• Performance Measures (size, weight, capacity, accuracy)
• Technical Performance Measures (requirements for technical Components or technical solutions)

Question 5

Delivery Metrics

Answer 5

• WIP
• Lead & Cycle Time
• Queue Size
• Batch Size
• Process Efficiency

Question 6

WIP

Answer 6

• # of items that are in progress
• # is limited to partition work to a manageable size
• Compared to Queue Size

Question 7

Lead Time

Answer 7

• The total time an item takes from entering the backlog to iteration or release
• Can indicate a more effective overall work process or project team

Question 8

Cycle Time

Answer 8

• The amount of time it takes to complete at ask
• Shorter times indicate productive project teams
• Consistent cycle times can help predictions

Question 9

Queue Size

Answer 9

• The # of items in a queue
• Compares with WIP limit
• Can help forecast overall completion

Question 10

Batch Size

Answer 10

• The estimated amount of work to be completed for an iteration
• level of effort, story points, etc.

Question 11

Process Efficiency

Answer 11

• Value Adding Time / Non-Value Adding Time
• Tasks in development or in-verification = value adding time

Question 12

Metrics for SCHEDULE Baseline

Answer 12

• Start & Finish Dates
• Efforts & Duration
• Schedule Variance
• Schedule Performance Index
• Feature Completion Rates

Question 13

Metrics for for COST Baseline

Answer 13

• Actual vs Planned Cost
• Cost Variance
• Cost Performance Index

Question 14

Cost Variance

Answer 14

• CV = EV - AC
• Earned value - Actual Cost
• Component of Cost Baseline

Question 15

Cost Performance Index

Answer 15

• CPI = EV / AC
• Earned Value / Actual Cost
• Component of Cost Baseline

Question 16

Schedule Performance Index

Answer 16

• SPI = EV / PV
• Earned Value / Planned Value
• Component of Schedule Baseline

Question 17

Schedule Variance

Answer 17

• SV = EV - PV
• Earned Value - Planned Value
• Part of Schedule Baseline

Question 18

Identify This System & Delivery Method

Answer 18

• Value Management System
• Commonly used in Predictive / Waterfall Delivery

Question 19

Business Value Metrics

Answer 19

• Cost-Benefit Ratio
• Planned vs. Actual Benefits Delivery
• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Net Present Value (NPV)

Question 20

Net Present Value

Answer 20

• NPV = Value Inflow - Value Outflow of all business capital
• Used to decide starting or continuing a project
• Business Value Metric

Question 21

Return on Investment

Answer 21

• Financial return compared to cost
• Business Value Metric

Question 22

Exception Plan

Answer 22

• An agreed upon plan to make an exception if a threshold is crossed or forecasted to occur
• Important to plan:
  1) the exception,
  2) what needs to be done, and
  3) criteria to measure if the exception is helping

Question 23

Forecast Metrics

Answer 23

• Estimate To Completion (ETC)
• Estimate At Completion (EAC)
• Variance At Completion (VAC)
• To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
• Regression Analysis
• Throughput Analysis

Question 24

Estimate To Completion

Answer 24

• ETC = (BAC - EV) / CPI
• Forecasts the expected cost to finish all REMAINING work
• Component of Forecast Measurements
• Earned Value Management System for Waterfall metric

Question 25

Estimate At Completion

Answer 25

• EAC = BAC / CPI
• Forecasts expected cost to finish all work
• Component of Forecast Measurements
• Earned Value Management for Waterfall metric

Question 26

Variance At Completion

Answer 26

• VAC = BAC - EAC
• Variance at Completion = Budget At Completion - Estimate At Completion
• Component of Forecast Measurements

Question 27

To-Complete Performance Index

Answer 27

• Estimates the cost of performance to meet a specific management goal
• Cost to Finish Remaining Outstanding Work / Budget Remaining
• Component of Forecast Measurements

Question 28

Regression Analysis

Answer 28

• Estimating the relationship between variables on multiple dimensions
• Used to forecast or infer future performance

Question 29

Throughput Analysis

Answer 29

• The # of items being completed in a fixed timeframe
• Can be used for adaptive practices
• Examples include Features Complete vs. Remaining, Velocity, or Story Points Completed
• Used to evaluate progress and estimate likely completion dates
• Can help verify or update cost estimates when used with burn rates for stable project teams