Module 3 Planning Flashcards
Plan the Project
What 3 things make up a Project Management Plan?
- Subsidiary Plans
- Baselines
- Other Documents
What is the purpose of the Project Managment Plan?
It describes how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed.
In agile it establishes guardrails to maintain controls so that the team can tailor ways of working to work quickly and flexibly.
What is an Estimate
A quantitative assessment of the likely amount or outcome of a variable, such as a cost, resources needed, effort or duration.
What is Accuracy?
An assessment of correctness
What is Precision?
An assessment or exactness
What is Crashing?
A schedule compression method used to shorten schedule duration by adding resources for the least incremental cost
What is Fast-Tracking?
A schedule compression method in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for as least a part of their duration.
What is a Budget?
The approved estimate for the project, a scheduled activity or a WBS component
What is the purpose of Planning?
The purpose of planning is to proactively develop an approach to create the project deliverables.
What are Metrics?
The natural linkage between planning, delivering and measuring work. There is a natural linkage between planning, delivering and measuring - that natural linkage is metrics.
What 4 things does an Estimate contain?
- Rage - tends to get narrower as project progresses
- Accuracy - refers to the correctness of estimate
- Precision - refers to the exactness of estimate
- Confidence - gets better with data or experience
What is a Schedule?
A model for executing project activities that include.
1. duration
2. dependencies
3. other planning information
What is the difference between Deterministic and Probabilistic estimating?
Deterministic estimates present a single number or amount, ie 12 months.
Probabilistic estimates present a range of estimates with probabilities in that range.
by: 1. A weighted average of multiple likely outcomes
2. Running a simulation to develop a probability, like cost or schedule
What is the difference between Absolute and Relative estimating?
Absolute estimates uses specific numbers and specific information
Relative estimates are specific estimates shown in comparison to other relative estimates. They only have meaning within a given context - relative to others.
What is Flow Based estimating?
Based on cycle time and through put, they provide an estimate to complete a specified quantity of work.
How do you adjust estimates for uncertainty?
Estimates are inherently uncertain (risky). Try to conduct a simulation to establish range of uncertainty, then adjust key deliverable dates and budget estimates or add contingency time and funds to make the adjustment.
What are the 5 steps to Schedule planning in predictive/waterfall approaches?
- Decompose project scope into specific activities
- Sequence related activities with their dependencies
- Estimate effort, duration, people and resources needed
- Allocate people and resources based on availability
- Adjust the sequence, estimates and resources until an agreed upon schedule is achieved.
What are the 2 Schedule Compression methods?
Crashing
Fast-Tracking
What are the 5 steps in creating the Scope Management Plan?
Plan Scope Management
1. Collect Requirements
2. Define Scope
3. Create WBS
4. Validate Scope
5. Control Scope
What is a Product Road Map?
A high level visual summary of the product/project that includes goals, milestones and deliverables. Used in Agile to map out scope (epics, features and user stories).
What is a Milestone?
A specific point within the project life cycle that is used to measure progress towards the ultimate goal. It is a specific point along a project timeline, and has a duration value of 0 and is an important achievement in a project. The milestone may signal need for stakeholder engagement, budget updates or external review.
What are requirements in Agile called?
User Stories
How is Scope Management done in Waterfall?
Get the requirements up front
Breakdown in a Work Break Down Structure (WBS)
Further decompose into Control Packages
Further decompose into Work Packages
Further decompose into Activities/Tasks
Create Planning packages for Work Packages that you are still uncertain about
What is Rolling Wave Planning?
Planning method in which work in the near term is planned in detail while work in the future is planned at a higher level. It’s a form of progressive elaboration applied to Work Packages, Planning Packages and Release Planning levels of work. Work packages are decomposed to the known level of detail at the time and then into activities as more is known about upcoming events.
Usually for projects that have long term funding but not granular scope.
Used in Waterfall and Agile approaches.
What is the benefit of Rolling Wave Planning?
It allows you to start taking action now as a project manager without having all the full details of the scope yet - gets the ball rolling. Projects that have long term funding but not a clear scope are a good fit for rolling wave planning.
What is a Story Map?
All user stories in a particular order. Its a visual technique used to create a shared understanding of project scope and requirements
What is a requirement?
A single measurable statement of a condition or capability. It tells how a product or result will satisfy a business need.
What are the characteristics of a Requirement?
Start at a high level before providing details, then
must be
Unambiguous (measurable/testable)
Complete
Consistent and
Acceptable to key stakeholders
How do you keep track of Requirements?
With a Requirements Traceability Matrix.
What is the Requirements Management Plan?
It is where you plan, track and report on project requirements activities.
What are some types of Requirements?
Project Requirements
Product Requirements
Business Requirements
Quality Requirements
Stakeholder Requirements
Transition Requirements
Readiness Requirements
Why do we need to collect Requirements?
Because they define the scope of the project or product and help us understand the stakeholders needs and objectives they are trying to reach.
What is Story-boarding?
Its a type of prototyping that uses visuals or images to visualize a process or the project outcome.
What is a Prototype?
Its an evaluation and experimentation tool. It enables early feedback for further development and to develop a detailed list of project requirements.
What are the 4 steps to Collecting Requirements?
- Create Requirements Traceability Matrix
- Collect and Prioritize Requirements
- Create WBS
- Create Project Scope Statement
What are the components of WBS in Waterfall?
Project—>Control Package—>Work Package/Planning Package—>Activities/tasks
What are the 6 Product Analysis Methods?
- Product Breakdown - breaks down product into components
- Systems Engineering - multi disciplinary approach to complex systems
- Systems Analysis - understand product goals and build system to meet them
- Requirements Analysis - identify, validate and document specifications for product
- Value Engineering - optimizes value in structured way
- Value Analysis - examine factors of cost to lower it without affecting quality, or reliability
What are the 3 components of a Scope Baseline?
- Scope Statement
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary
What are baselines used for?
To measure project performance against the baseline.
How do you plan a schedule in Waterfall/Predictive?
Breakdown the work packages into required activities. Determine dependencies and precedence relationships. Estimate duration of activities based on average resources. Determine the critical path. Resolve resource over allocation. Compress the schedule if needed to fit constraints.
What are 2 sources of information to start building a schedule?
Benchmarks - based on best practices
Historical Data - lessons learned from previous projects
What is the Critical Path?
The Critical Path is the sequence of scheduled activities that determines the project’s duration. Its the longest sequence of tasks through a Precedent Diagram Model (PDM) and the shortest possible time a project can be done in.
When do you use the Critical Path Method over PERT?
Critical Path Method assumes that all tasks are well-defined and can be scheduled with certainty. PERT is a statistical model to help schedule and control tasks that are uncertain.
What is a Lag?
A delay in starting the successor activity. (Do the successor later)
What is a Lead?
An acceleration of the successor activity. (Do the successor earlier)
What is the difference between Lag and Lead for activities?
A lag is a delay or waiting period that must be observed before a successor activity can begin, meaning the successor activity is scheduled to start after the completion of the predecessor, not at the same time or before
A lead, on the other hand, represents an acceleration or overlap, allowing the successor activity to start before the predecessor activity is fully completed
Always in reference to the Predecessor Activity.
List and describe the type of dependencies in sequencing activities.
Finish to Start - predecessor has to finish before successor can start
Start to Start - predecessor has to start before successor can start
Finish to Finish - predecessor has to finish before successor can finish
Start to Finish - predecessor has to start before successor can finish
What is a Network Diagram?
A visual representation of project activities, their dependencies, and the sequence in which they need to be completed
What is the difference between Total Float and Free Float in the Critical Path Method?
Total float is the float in an activity. It is the amount of time the activity can be delayed without affecting the Critical Path or a constraint.
Free float is the float between activities. Its the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the next activities early start.
What is a Project Organization Chart?
Chart showing the people, and their roles, on the project. Its like a WBS of the people involved in the project.
What is Source Selection Critera?
Part of procurement. They are the attributes that a seller is require to meet or exceed to bid on a project.
What are Qualified Vendors?
Pre-approved vendors with a history of working well with the organization. They already have a good track record and an account with the organization. They are preferred for project work.
When are contracts used?
During Procurement to acquire resources that the project will need.
What are the 4 general types of Contract Types?
- Cost-Reimbursable Contract - for projects with expected significant scope changes
- Fixed Price Contract - for well defined requirements and no scope changes
- Time & Materials Contract - used for external support, precise scope not avaible
- “Agile” Contracts -
What is a Multi Tier Structure Contract and an example?
A multi-tier contract structure involves multiple levels or stages of agreements, often used in complex projects or relationships, with each tier having distinct obligations and responsibilities. For example, a supply chain contract might have tiers for raw material suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors, each with their own agreements and performance metrics
What is Budget at Completion (BAC)?
Highest point on the Cost Baseline. It’s the sum of all the costs for the work planned.
What is the Cost Baseline?
Approved time phased budget that excludes management reserves. It can only be changed with a change control process.
Does the Cost Baseline contain Management Reserves?
No! But the Project Budget does.
What are the 2 types of Contingencies and their uses?
Work Package/Activity Contingencies - a planned amount of money or time which is added to an estimate to address a specific risk
Management Reserve - a planned amount of money or time which is added to an estimate to address unforeseeable situations
Business Risks
Represent an opportunity for gain or loss. Legal, Governmental, Operational or Financial.
Nominal Group Technique
Structured way to gather information from a group or team
Stages of NGT:
- Silent Generation: Participants individually and silently generate ideas in response to a specific question or problem.
- Round-Robin Recording: Each participant shares one idea at a time, and these ideas are recorded on a flip chart or other visual display.
- Clarification: Participants can clarify or build upon the ideas that have been shared.
- Voting/Ranking: Participants independently vote or rank the ideas to prioritize them.
Delphi Technique
A structured method used to gather expert opinions and reach consensus on complex issues through multiple rounds of anonymous questionnaires and feedback
What is a model?
All models are simplifications of reality.
What is simplicity?
The balance of detail and complexity.
What are the 5 Risk Response Strategies for Threats?
Escalate
Accept
Avoid
Mitigate
Transfer
What are the 5 Risk Response Strategies for Opportunities?
Escalate
Accept
Exploit
Share
Enhance
How is Risk managed in Agile?
There is Inherent Risk in Agile because the approach is change driven.
The Team places risks into the risk register/list, uses information radiators to ensure visibility and uses a backlog refinement processes that include constant risk assessment. The risks in user stories and the back log work items and are discussed by the Team at planning meetings during normal work.
