PDD C19 Flashcards
1
Q
What is a sequential task?
A
- Tasks in a sequential completion order
- A sequential task cannot finish before the previous task
2
Q
What is a parallel task?
A
- Tasks that all depend on the same previous task but are indpendent
3
Q
What is a coupled task?
A
- Tasks that occur simultaneously and are dependent on each other
4
Q
What is the design structure matrix (DSM) used for?
A
- It is a tool for representing and analyzing task dependencies
- Sequential tasks have a mark right below the diagonal
- Parallel tasks have no mark under the diagonal
- Coupled tasks have marks above the diagonal
- Changing the order of tasks is called sequencing/partitioning
5
Q
What is a Gantt Chart?
A
- The traditional tool for representing task timing
- Horizontal bars represent start and end dates
- Bar fill marks progress
- Vertical line is current date
- Doesn’t explicitly display task dependencies
6
Q
What are PERT (program evaluation and review technique) charts?
A
- Charts that explicitly represent both dependencies and timing
- Hybrid of DSM and Gantt chart
- Coupled tasks are shown in 1 box
- Organized from left to right
7
Q
What is the critical path?
A
- The longest chain of dependent events
- Defines the minimum possible completion time of all tasks
8
Q
What is purpose of a contract book?
A
- Documents the project plan and the results of the concept development phase of the development process
- Represents an agreement between the development team and senior management about project goals, direction, and resource requirements
9
Q
What is the project task list?
A
- A list of all the tasks that make up the project
- 50 to 200 tasks
10
Q
What are the 7 criteria for team staffing?
A
- 10 or fewer members
- Members volunteer for the team
- Members serve from development until launch
- Members are assigned full-time
- Members report directly to their team leader
- The key functions (marketing, design, manufacturing, product management) are on the team
- Members are located within talking distance
11
Q
How are hours sometimes represented on project staffing?
A
- As fractions of full time
12
Q
What is the purpose of a project schedule?
A
- The schedule identifies when major project milestones are expected to occur and when each project task is expected
to begin and end - Used to track progress and to orchestrate exchange of materials and information
13
Q
What are the 4 steps for a baseline project schedule?
A
- DSM or PERT to identify task dependencies
- Position the key milestones in a Gantt chart
- Schedule tasks while considering resources
- Adjust timing of milestones to match time duration of tasks
14
Q
What are common milestones?
A
- Design reviews
- Comprehensive prototypes
- Interfaces with other projects
- Fixed events like demos or trade shows
15
Q
What are the major components of a budget?
A
- Staff (most expensive)
- Materials and services
- Project-specific capital investment in facilities and equipment
- Spending on outside development
16
Q
How accurate are budgets over time?
A
- Initially accurate within 20-50%
- Later stages 5-10%
17
Q
What is a project risk plan?
A
- A list of the areas of risk in a project that can affect technical, financial, and schedule performance
- The team creates a list of actions to minimize risk
- Seek to address the greatest risks ASAP or plan around it
18
Q
What are ways to accelerate projects?
A
- Start early
- Manage scope
- Facilitate effective information exchange
- Complete individual tasks quicker
- Move tasks off the critical path
- Eliminate critical tasks when possible
- Condense safety times
- Eliminate waiting delays
- Overlap critical tasks
- Pipeline large tasks
- Outsource
- Iterate quicker
- Decouple tasks
- Consider sets of solutions
19
Q
What are the uses of Microsoft Project?
A
- Determine the project completion date as individual task durations vary during the course of the project
- Identify changes that can be made in specific tasks to improve the overall schedule
- Monitor progress to tasks assigned to specific resources (people typically)
