PMBOK Chapter 2 - Organizational Influence and Project Life Cycle

Question 1

What are organizations?

Answer 1

systematic arrangements of entities (persons and/or departments) aimed at accomplishing a purpose, which may involve undertaking projects

Question 2

What is the organization’s culture an example of?

Answer 2

an enterprise environmental factor

Question 3

What is organizational structure?

Answer 3

an enterprise environmental factor, which can affect the availability of resources and influence how projects are conducted

Question 4

What is the classic functional organization?

Answer 4

An organizational structure in which staff is grouped by areas of specialization and the project manager has limited authority to assign work and apply resources.

Question 5

What are matrix organizations?

Answer 5

Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of persons assigned to the project.

Can be classified as weak, balanced or strong depending on the relative level of power and influence between functional and project managers

Question 6

What are weak organizations?

Answer 6

maintain many of the characteristics of a functional organization, and the role of the project manager is more of a coordinator or expediter

Question 7

What are strong organizations?

Answer 7

have many of the characteristics of the projectized organization, and have full-time project managers with considerable authority and full-time project administrative staff

Question 8

What are balanced matrix organizations?

Answer 8

recognize the need for a project manager, they do not provide the project manager with the full authority over the project and project funding

Question 9

What is a projectized organization?

Answer 9

team members are often collocated; most of the organization’s resources are involved in project work and project managers have a great deal of independence and authority

Question 10

What are organizational process assets?

Answer 10

the plans, processes, policies, procedures and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization.

Question 11

What are the five process groups?

Answer 11

Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing

Question 12

What are enterprise environmental factors?

Answer 12

refer to conditions, not under the control of the project team, that influence, constrain or direct the project

Question 13

What is a stakeholder?

Answer 13

an individual, group or organization who may affect, by affected by or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity or outcome of a project

Question 14

What is project governance?

Answer 14

The framework, functions, and processes that guide project management activities in order to create a unique product, service, or result to meet organization, strategic, and operational goals.

Question 15

Examples of project stakeholders:

Answer 15

Sponsors / Customers and users / Sellers / Business partners / Organizational groups / Functional managers

Question 16

What are the two basic project team compositions:

Answer 16

1) Dedicated – all or a majority of the project team members are assigned to work full-time on the project
2) Part-time – the project managers and team members work on the project while remaining in their existing organizations and continuing to carry out their normal functions

Question 17

What is a project life cycle?

Answer 17

the series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure

Question 18

What is a predictive life cycle?

Answer 18

the product and deliverables are defined at the beginning of the project and any changes to scope are carefully managed

Question 19

What is an adaptive life cycle?

Answer 19

the product is developed over multiple iterations and detailed scope is defined for each iteration only as the iteration begins

Question 20

What is a project phase?

Answer 20

a collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables

Question 21

Two basic types of phase-to-phase relationships:

Answer 21

1) Sequential relationship – a phase starts only when the previous phase is complete
2) Overlapping relationship – a phase starts prior to completion of the previous one

Question 22

What are iterations?

Answer 22

they develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product