MECH 3170 Project Scope Management - Chapter 5

Question 1

What is project scope management primarily concerned with?

Answer 1

Defining and controlling what is and isn’t included in the project

Question 2

Which process groups do scope management (SM) fall under?

Answer 2

Planning: 5.1 Plan SM, 5.2 Collect requirements, 5.3 define scope, 5.4 create WBS;
M&C: 5.5 Validate scope, 5.6 control scope

Question 3

What is product scope?

Answer 3

Requirements that relate to the product of the project

Question 4

What is project scope?

Answer 4

The work within the project that will be done to deliver the product of the project (i,e the product scope)

Question 5

What is 5.1 Plan Scope Management and what processes does it include?

Answer 5

A SM plan is a component of the PM plan and can include processes for:
Preparing detailed project scope statement;
Determining how WBS will be created
Defining how WBS will be approved and maintained;
Specifying how formal acceptance of completed project deliverables will be obtained;
How changes to the scope will be managed

Question 6

What is the purpose of the scope management plan?

Answer 6

To help reduce risk of project scope creep

Question 7

What are requirements?

Answer 7

They are what the stakeholders need from the project and must relate to achieving the objectives of the project

Question 8

What does 5.2 Collect Requirements involve?

Answer 8

Refining the high-level requirements from the project charter;
Gathering more information from all stakeholders

Question 9

How do you collect requirements (5.2)?

Answer 9

Review historical records, interview, focus groups, facilitated workshops, brainstorming, questions and surveys, observations, prototypes, etc

Question 10

What is 5.3 Define Scope primarily concerned with?

Answer 10

Primarily concerned with determining what is and isn’t included in the project and its deliverables

Question 11

What does defining the scope result in, and what does it typically include?

Answer 11

Defining scope results in a Project Scope Statement which typically includes project scope, deliverables, acceptance criteria/success factors, constraints, and assumptions

Question 12

What does defining the scope result in, and what does it typically include?

Answer 12

Defining scope results in a Project Scope Statement which typically includes project scope, deliverables, acceptance criteria/success factors, constraints, and assumptions

Question 13

What is a WBS?

Answer 13

A WBS is a delivrable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create required deliverables. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project

Question 14

What is the foundation of the project?

Answer 14

The WBS

Question 15

What does the WBS do?

Answer 15

Decomposition - breaks the project deliverables into small and manageable components known as work packages

Question 16

What are work packages?

Answer 16

Items at the lowest level of the WBS;
Can be realistically estimated;
Can be completed relatively quickly (<100 hours);
Can be completed without interruption (doesn’t require more info);
They come from breaking up the project deliverables into small and manageable components.

Question 17

What are rules for 5.4 Create WBS?

Answer 17

WBS is created by the team (not PM alone);
Entire project is included in the highest level of the WBS and then decomposed from there;
WBS only includes deliverables that are required for the project;
Should be used on eveyr project;
Be numbered, and have the same numbers be used throughout PM plan

Question 18

What are the benefits of using a WBS?

Answer 18

Helps prevent work from slipping through the cracks;
Helps team members understand where their piece fits into the overall project;
Facilitates communication amongst stakeholders;
Helps prevent change;
Provides the basis for cost, schedule, and resource estimates;
Gets team buy-in an helps to build the team;
Provides proof of the need for money, time, and resources.

Question 19

What does the WBS not show?

Answer 19

Dependencies between tasks!

Question 20

What is the WBS Dictionary? What does it act as, and how does it help?

Answer 20

A document that provides description of the work to be done for each WBS work package (lowest level tasks on WBS only).
Acts as a dictionary for the person/group responsible for completing a certain work package.
Helps clearly define the activities to be undertaken and prevent scope creep.

Question 21

What is scope creep?

Answer 21

Adding features and functionality (project scope) without addressing the effects on time, cost, and resources, or without customer approval.

Question 22

Why is cope creep bad?

Answer 22

Means you have less time to work on the approved features or requirements of the project

Question 23

What are common causes of scope creep?

Answer 23

Lack of scope definition
Lack of scope and requirements management;
Lack of sponsor involvement;
Lack of stakeholder involvement;
Pushy customer;
Length of project (scope creep increases with project length).

Question 24

What is 5.5 Validate Scope?

Answer 24

The process of formalizin acceptance of the completed project deliverables

Question 25

What does Validate Scope (5.5) require?

Answer 25

Requires review of deliverables with the customer to obtain formal acceptance (i.e. acceptance signature)

Question 26

How does validate scope differ from quality control?

Answer 26

Differs in the sense that scope validation is concerned with the acceptance of deliverables, while quality control is concerned with the correctness of deliverables.

Question 27

What is 5.6 Control Scope

Answer 27

The process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope, and managing changes to the scope baseline.
Controlling scope should be proactive.
Any proposed changes to the project scope need to follow the change management process.

Question 28

What is the responsibility of the PM in term of scope?

Answer 28

To minimize scope creep and ensure that no unapproved changes find their way into your project.

Question 29

It is important to proactively manage scope creep through proper change management.

Answer 29

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