pm Flashcards
which are the possible definitions of project managment?
1) a TEMPORARY endeavor undertaken to create a UNIQUE product, service, or result
(US Project Management Institute)
2) UNIQUE process, undertaken to achieve an objective consisting of a set of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, conforming to specific requirements,
including the constraints of time, cost and resources
(British Standards Institute)
3) TEMPORARY management environment, usually undertaken in phases, created for the purpose of delivering one or more business outputs or outcomes
(British Standards Institute)
Where are the projects?
projects are everywhere, in every business functions, sectors and geographical areas. but eveyone is different in size and type and they are not managed all in the same way
which are the trend of PM in the last years?
more and more attention is payed to PM and it is becoming a serious discipline with professional associations such as APM and PMI. The growth of pmi memberships in the last years demonstrates the growth of interest in PM.
which are the main reasons that can lead to the failure of a project?
Projects are different from routine activities since they are unique and specific. The main reasons that can lead to their failures are:
1) overshoot the deadline: is the project on time?
2) go over budget: is the project on or under buget?
3) not fully meet the specifications: does the project meet the agreed-upon specifications to the satisfaction of the stakeholders?
Look in the slides to see some project’s failures. Projects often go wrong or simply not as expected.
which is the typical model of projects?
it s the waterfall model which cames from engineering. the lifecycle phases are common to many types of projects but the waterfall model is not helpul for every projects (ex. software projects)
which is the working definition of project?
A problem with a desired end-result scheduled for completion, requiring
unique and non-routine activities
which is the difference between activities, work packages and programme?
Activities: set of tasks comprising a project
Work Packages: division of tasks
Programme: a substantial, long-range objective that is broken down into a set of projects
which is the working definition of project management?
The science and art of solving the problem within predetermined time and
resource parameters
Shouldering just enough risk to escape with your career intact!!!
which is the aim of the module?
- To understand the scope and variety of project types
- To understand key variables in project management
–To learn methods, techniques and approaches which are important in successfully managing projects (to meet objectives in a wide range of contexts)
we’ll also discover:
- theories and models
- success factors and sources of risk
- principles and assumptions
- application of standards and techniques
how can the project manager identifies the activities of a project?
- use of past projects
- team brainstorming sessions
- think through the sequence of work to be done
- decompose the project’s goal
which are the definitions of WBS?
1)A hierarchical decomposition of the entire work that should be completed to
achieve the project’s objectives. It is most effective when each element of the structure includes the elements of scope, schedule and costs, and as such is essential to ensuring integrated accountability and control over project work.
2) Way in which a project may be divided by level into discrete groups for programming, cost planning and control purposes (BS)
3) A deliverable oriented grouping of project elements that organisesand defines the total scope of the project-Each descending level represents an increasingly detailed definition of the project work
(US Project Management Institute)
the WBS is the backbone of project planning and control
which is the purpose of the WBS?
To sub-divide the scope of work into manageable work packages which can be estimated, planned, and assigned to a responsible person or department for completion
(The breakdown should group similar work together)
which are some of the possible structures of the wbs?
- Product-based structure
- organisation- based structure
- cost- based structure
- contract- based structure
- location- based structure
- transport- based structure
which are the goal and uses of wbs?
- develop the master project plan
- estimate resources requirements
- develop project organisation
- facilitates other management processes
- provide mechanism for project control both at general level and individual packages level
- assigniging responsabilities
which are the steps that we have to do after completing the WBS? which is the standard process for scheduling?
the first thing that we have to do is to list and briefly describe all this activities. this allow us to understand better their relations and dependencies which in turn will enable us to draw the table of predecessors.
After that we have to convert the project action plan in an operating timetables by sequencing the activities based on them dependencies and schedules the activity (time) and at the end schedules the resources.
Scheduling is fundamental for monitoring and controlling the project.
The standard process of scheduling is:
1. List activities (from the Work Breakdown Structure)
2. Arrange activities considering precedence and relationships
3. Develop network diagram
which are the possibles scheduling representations?
- Cascading sequence of activities: Gantt Chart
- Network of activities: Activity of Node and Activity on Arc
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Gantt Chart?
Advantages:
- Easy to understand
-Easy to show progress and status
-Easy to maintain
-Most popular view to communicate project status to client and/or senior management
Disadvantages:
-Not always easy to see precedence & relationships (difficult to follow complex projects); in particular when the project is complex i.e the number of activities is high
which are the advantages and disadavantages of network (cpm/pert)?
Advantages:
- Allows visualisation of task relationships much better than Giantt Chart, for example if you want to see the relationships of one activity you can go directly to it and observe the arrow to and from her.
- Facilitates calculation of critical path
- Clarifies impact of decisions on downstream activities
Disadvantages:
- it seems more Complex respect to Giantt Chart, it is not easy to comprehend it at a glance
- Charts don’t readily depict durations, dates, progress: That’s means also that it is more difficult to track the progress of the project
what are the benefits of successful scheduling? (they are 5)
- Illustrates interdependence of all tasks
- Determines critical activities/critical path
- Identifies times when resources must be available
- Facilitates communication throughout the project
- Affects client expectations through the establishment of activities, milestones, and completion dates
what is a milestone in the scheduling?
it is a key moments in the project, e.g. completion of a phase.
Technically a milestone is not an activity, so it has no duration or resource.
However, there is a common tendency to treat them as approval points (but should put an ‘approval’ activity into the schedule)
what is the duration of the project?
we have to think the project as a set of paths, the duration of the project is the minimum duration of the project i.e the duration of the longest path. of course things can go worse and the project can last more
what are the differences between activity/task; event, milestone, network, path and critical?
- Activity / Task: A specific task that is required by the project, and takes time to complete.
- Event: An identifiable start, end or mid state; for example Milestones are events.
- Network: Arrangement of all activities, in their logical sequence. It defines the precedence relationships.
- Path: A series of connected activities (or intermediate events) between any two events in a network
- Critical: Activities, events, or paths, which if delayed, will delay the completion of the project.
what are the factors to evaluate a schedules?
1) Duration of the project
2) Risk of schedule overrun
3) Use of resources: Continuous use of a resource is better than having a resource come on to the project and then leave several times
4) Cost of the schedule
5) Psychology: Early wins
what are the methods to analyse the network?
2 foundations methods:
- CPM and PERT both developed in 1950s
1 modern method: Monte Carlo Simulation