pmi Flashcards
Internal Projects
Internal
within one department only – no others affected
Internal Projects
local
one department and associated closest processes (next immediate
upstream or downstream departments)
internal projects
processes/departments
hollistic
directly impacts all or majority of the firm’s
processes/departments
Projects Gates
periodic management reviews of project performance
(also referred to as “kill points”). Project could be terminated if no longer
feasible or economic/strategic issues change
Project Scope Creep
Uncontrolled expansion to project scope (once project work has begun)
without adjustments to time, cost or resources
Must have a formal Change Control process in place (see Risk session)
Traditional Project Management
Real Experiences. Real Results.Copyright BCIT School of Business
Traditional Project Management
* Focus is on completely planning the project up-front – remove any
ambiguity
* Cannot start project execution until plan fully developed
* Project changes are minimized as much as possible (many changes
may indicate poor up-front planning)
* Good for stable repeatable projects
* Performance is measured against project plan Performance Baseline
Agile Project Management
For dynamic projects. Example: Fighting a forest fire, stuck ship in
Suez Canal
Project outcome is known – eliminate the fire
Deliverable details are modified as the project progresses
Changes are expected, firm has in place effective change
management processes
Resources are readily available and can be transferred to project
easily
Constant communication and flexibility are keys to project success
Incremental Project Management
Customer has a desired outcome but no scope of work. Usually a finite
amount of time and/or budget will determine project end
Final project may meet customer objectives but still open to future
revisions
Example: Custom operating software or website
Project team will use an iterative project management process that is a
repeatable series of sequential steps
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A breakdown of specific work created from Scope of Work Deliverables.
* Provide a clearer picture of the deliverables to be produced
* Identify specific work activities for each Deliverable
* Identify resources needed by task – are there predominant recurring
resources (critical resources)
* Identify costs – develop project Budget
* Identify durations – develop project Schedule
Project Network Diagram
Flow chart that shows sequence, interdependencies, and start and
finish times of project work activities
* Provides the basis for scheduling resources
* Provides estimate of project overall duration
* Provides basis for budgeting cash flow and resource allocation
* Identifies activities that are “critical” and cannot be delayed
top down
Top-down - High level Qualitative: expert opinion, historical. Usually
one total dollar amount
bottom up
Bottom-up – Detailed Quantitative: estimate for each work activity
within Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
Three- Point Estimating
Most Likely (Realistic) - CM
Based on past projects
Optimistic (Best-case) – CO
If work performed flawlessly with no disruption
Pessimistic (Worst case) – CP
If work is performed very poorly
Refining Estimates
- Choose most realistic estimates per work activity
- Add Cost Contingency %
PMI has no formula or rule for contingency amounts .
Industry standard? 10-15% across all estimates
Can be applied entire project or just High Risk activities (preferred method)
PM can use contingencies to keep project on track
Refined Estimates + Contingency = Cost Baseline
Project Cost Performance Monitoring
(Earned Value Method)
Planned Value (PV) – The project planned work expressed as $
Earned Value (EV): The value of the physical work that has been
completed to-date ($)
Actual Cost (AC): The actual amount of money spent on the actual work
that has been completed to-date ($)
