PMP Flashcards
1
Q
Define Stakeholder Engagement Plan
A
Documents how involved and influential the stakeholders are. Includes communication plan and how much information will be delivered
2
Q
Define Communications Plan
A
Identifies how important information will be communicated to stakeholders (who/how/when/how often)
3
Q
Define Risk Register
A
List of potential obstacles
4
Q
Define Risk Report
A
Summary of identified risks, which have occurred, responses implemented, and overall risk exposure to the project
5
Q
Define Risk Management Plan
A
Includes a risk budget, risk resources, risk tolerance levels, and how to implement risk response
6
Q
What is the predictive or waterfall methodology?
A
Traditional approach with upfront planning, single-pass execution, and single delivery
7
Q
What are the steps in the Change Control Process?
A
Assess the change > identify options for implementing the change > approve or reject the change (change control board (ccb)) > record the change
8
Q
What is a Change Request Form?
A
Identify requirements for change (scope, time, organization, etc) > submit to project manager. Includes description, reasons, benefits, costs, impacts, supporting documentation, approvals
9
Q
What is a Project Management Plan?
A
Formal, approved document that defines how the porject is executed, monitored, and controlled
10
Q
What is a Project Charter?
A
Starts a project or phase. Objectives, scope, responsibilities, approximate schedule, budget estimate, anticipated risks, key stakeholders
11
Q
Key words associated with: Planning Phase/Process
A
Plan/estimate/define
12
Q
Key words associated with: Executing Phase/Process
A
Manage/conduct/implement
13
Q
Key words associated with: Monitor and Control Phase/Process
A
Monitor/control/validate
14
Q
Define Crashing
A
Adding more resources to a project
15
Q
What are Opportunities/Threats?
A
Positive and negative risks respectively
16
Q
Define Issue Log
A
List of real obstacles faced or facing
17
Q
Define Lessons Learned
A
Positive and negative experiences of a project
18
Q
Define Organizational Process Assets (OPA)
A
Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the organization. May include schedules, risk data, and earned value data. Basically anything and everything about the project, kind of like lessons learned but all the rest of the crap
19
Q
Define Stakeholder Register
A
Index of the project stakeholders and their essential attributes. Create early and update
20
Q
Define Project Lifecycle
A
Series of phases that a project passes through from start to completion. Can be predictive (waterfall) or adaptive (agile)
21
Q
Define Project Phase
A
Group of logically realted activities that culminate in the delivery of one or more deliverables. Phase exit criteria happens at end. E.g. feasiblity study
22
Q
Define Project gate
A
Review of a project or program at the end of a phase with a decision made as whether to continue, modify, or end it
23
Q
List project management process groups
A
Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing. These are not project phases
24
Q
Define Deliverable
A
A unique and verifiable product, service, or result
25
Examples of Adaptive Lifecycle
Agile, iterative, or incremental
26
What is a Hybrid life cycle
Combines predictive and adaptive aspects. Elements that ar well-known or have fixed requirements follow predictive. Evolving elements follow adaptive
27
What happens in the Initiating process?
Project is authorized. Only projects aligned with strategic objectives are authorized. Business case, benefits, and stakeholders are considered
28
What happensin the Planning process?
Objectives are determined and how to reach those objectives with given contraints
29
What happens in the Executing process?
Actual project work. Mostly about resources. Runs in paraellel with Monitoring and Controlling
30
What happens in the Monitoring and Controlling process?
Project performance is monitored, measured, and verified (also reporting). Runs in parallel with the Executing process.
31
What happens in the Closing process?
The project and various phases are brought to a formal end
32
What are the 9 types of project organization/authority?
Organic/Simple, Functional/Centralized, Multi-divisional, Matrix Strong, Matrix Weak, Matrix Balanced, Project-oriented, virtual, hybrid
33
Organic/Simple project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Little, part-time, little, owner/operator
34
Functional/Centralized project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Little, part-time, little, functional manager
35
Multi-divisional project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Little, part-time, little, functional manager
36
Matrix Strong project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Moderate/High, full-time, moderate-high, project manager
37
Matrix Weak project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Low, part-time, low, functional manager
38
Matrix Balanced project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Low to moderate, part-time, low-moderate, mixed
39
Project-oriented project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
High/total, full-time, high/total, project manager
40
Virtual project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Low to moderate, full-time, low to moderate, mixed
41
Hybrid project organization, list PM Authority, PM Role, Resource Availability, and who manages the project
Mixed, mixed, mixed, mixed
42
List the PMO's authority, role, resource availability, and who manages the project
High/total, full-time, high/total, project manager
43
Define the 3 types of PMO
Supportive - resource for projects. Provides templates, best practices, training, lessons learned. Repository. Low control | Controlling - provides support but requires compliance (specific frameworks or methodologies, specific templates or tool). Moderate control. | Directive - directly manages the projects
44
Define Project Steering Group Committee (PSG)
Advisory group that helps set direction, scope, goals, budgets, and timelines
45
Define project governance
provides direction, establishes decision-making procedures, defines metrics for evaluation project.
46
What is "development approach"?
Method of creating and evolving a product, service, or result. Basically picking predictive, iterative, inremental, adaptive, or hybrid approach
47
When should you escalate issues to the sponsors or management
For the exam: (usually) NEVER reach out to management. Escalate to sponsor if: problem impacts funding, resources, or project success, lacks support in organization. A decision requires authorization to change scope
48
If you are an outside provider managing a project, what is a key step prior to closing the project?
Local team accepts and signs the transition plan
49
What are the three areas of the PMI Triangle?
Ways of Working (technical project management), Power Skills (leadership), Business Acumen (strategic and business management)
50
If a new project manager takes over a project, what should they first do?
Continue monitoring the project before taking any action (like changing the budget)
51
When a new project manager takes over a project, where should they look to understand the project?
Project charter and lessons learned
52
What role can functional managers play in a project besides providing resources?
Provide functional expertise
53
Who is responsible for obtaining funding, committing resources, and approving deliverables?
Project sponsor
54
What is an Operations Manager's role?
Manage business operations efficiently
55
What is the difference between iterative and incremental methodologies?
Iterative allows feedback on unfinished work and delivers a single product at the end of the cycle. Incremental provides finished deliverables that the customer may use immediately (frequent, small deliveries). Both are good for unpredictable scope, but incremental is better when speed is important
56
What is the agile methodology?
Both iterative and incremental, meaning feedback is regularly given on work and there are multiple small deliverables
57
What are the primary goals of the following approaches: Predictive, Iterative, Incremental, Agile
Manage cost, correctness of solution, speed, customer value via frequent deliveries and feedback
58
What are some key differences between a project charter and a project management plan?
The charter is a high-level summary of the project outlining the goal, authority, and possible success metrics. Developed by the PM. It authorizes the project. The project management plan outlines the scope, timelines, budget, and methodology to be used. Developed with the project sponsors
59
What is a project business case?
Explains why a project is needed with analysis of costs and benefits (also called an economic feasibility study)
60
What is a project benefits management plan?
A document defining processes for creating, maximizing, and sustaining benefits, such as target benefits, timeframe for realizing benefits, metrics, assumptions and risks
61
What is a "weighted shortest job first (WSJF)" model used for?
A mathematical model used to objectively prioritize projects
62
Whose needs should be prioritized by a project: the customer or the business?
Customer
63
Lessons learned should include both explicit knowledge (charts, words, pictures) and tacit knowledge (belief, experience). True or false?
True
64
List the 5 steps in the Lessons Learned process
Identify recommendations, document and share findings, analyze and organize, store in a repository, retrieve for use on current projects
65
What is the triple constraint of a project? What does this affect/control?
Scope, Schedule, Cost --> Quality (quality is in the center of the triangle)
66
Define work performance data, information, and report
Data = measurement on project work (KPI's, story points); information = information collected from the data (like the velocity); report = generate decisions or raise issues
67
What is a multicriteria decisions analysis?
Uses a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach. Basically listing features and analyzing which/how much to implement (phone price, screen size, storage space, appearance). May use a voting process
68
What is Perform Integrated Change Control?
PM reviews all change requests to analyze and implement changes. Changes may be submitted by any stakeholder. Approved changes may require new cost estimates, schedule, etc. If there are no impacts to the baseline, then it is not a change request
69
What is a Change Management Plan
Document describing the process for submitting, evaluation, and implementing changes. How does a request start, who does it go to
70
What is the Configuration Management Plan?
Identifies items that require formal change control, i.e. items that affect the budget, schedule, scope, or work breakdown structure. Used to rebaseline project once change is executed.
71
What is a Configuration Management System?
Established methods, system, and procedures to control the change process (like SharePoint for version management)
72
Define Issue Log, Change Log, and Assumption Log
Issue log = tracks problems which are or could impact the project. Created after the risk happens; Change log = summarizes key details about changes (status); Assumption log = place to track the validity of each assumption
73
When a change is requested, who does the PM talk to first before implementing?
Change Control Board, not the product owner, sponsor or development team
74
Define enterprise environmental factors (EEF)
Conditions not under the control of the project team that impact project. May be internal or external
75
What is included in the Final Report?
After a project is formally closed, the final report provides a summary of the project performance and any products, services, or results that were delivered
76
What is the difference between Predictive Scope and Agile Scope?
Predictive scope is created at the beginning of the project. Agile Scope is created at the beginning of each iteration
77
What is the difference between a Scope Statement and a Scope Management Plan?
Scope statement documents the scope, acceptance criteria, deliverables, and exclusions. Scope Management outlines how the scope will be defined, developed, validated, monitored, controlled. This impacts how the schedule will be developed. It includes the scope statement, requirements, and deliverables
Essentially the scope statement outlines what is included/excluded and acceptance criteria. The Scope Management Plan takes this and adds requirements and deliverables.
78
What is the difference between product scope and project scope?
Product scope focuses on the end result (i.e. what needs to be done). Project scope is all the work needed for the project (i.e. how it will be done).
79
When defining scope, how do the project charter and scope statement correlate?
The project charter is a high-level outline of the scope which is used to guide the scope statement, which is a detailed description of the scope
80
What is the difference between validate scope and control scope?
Validate scope is concerned with acceptance by the client. Control scope is used check correctness/quality. Control happens before validate
81
What are the 7 steps to developing a Scope Baseline?
Create a WBS > define the project scope (I guess this comes after because you need to see what work you can handle or something?) > create scope statement > get WBS/dictionary and scope statement approved > baseline is ready > create scope management plan to monitor scope > create change management plan to control changes
82
What is the difference between a Work Breakdown Structure and a WBS Dictionary?
The WBS provides a breakdown of the work packages (groups of related tasks). The dictionary assigns responsibility and dates
83
What is the correlation between a scope statement, WBS, work package, and activity list?
Decomposed into Scope Statement > WBS > Work Package > Activity List
84
What is the requirements management plan?
Outlines all steps the project will take to collect, measure, test, and verify requirements
85
What is a requirements document?
Defines what is needed from the product
86
What is a requirement traceability matrix (RTM)?
Links the requirements to deliverables to prove that requirements are met. This outlines a use case, test case, and status (approved or not)
87
What is another term for "slack"?
Float
88
What is the difference between Lead and Lag times?
Lead is the overlap of tasks (like A finishes on Day 5 and B starts on Day 4, so overlap of 1 day). Lag is the delay from A finishing to B beginning
89
What is a Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) or Activity On Node (AON)
Graphical tool for scheduling activities in a project plan (typical workflow diagram)
90
What is the difference between finish-to-start (FS) and finish-to-finish FF) scheduling methods?
FS = typical A -> B
FF = A and B can run in parallel, but A can't finish until B finishes (you can edit a paper while it is being written, but can't finish editing until it completely written)
91
What is the difference between start-to-start (SS) and start-to-finish (SF) scheduling methods?
SS = similar to FF. Activities can run in parallel, but B can't start until A does (you can't level concrete until the foundation has been poured, but it doesn't have to be all the way poured to start)
SF = Task A cannot finish until task B starts. Like cutting over a new system - you can't close out the legacy system until the new system is online. Not commonly used
92
What is Resource Optimization?
Method of flattening the schedule when resources are over-allocated or allocated unevenly. Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing
93
What is the difference between resource leveling and resource smoothing?
Resource Leveling = start and finish dates are adjusted to accommodate critical resources, including changing the project start and end dates. Uses available float (slack)
Resource Smoothing = Used after resource leveling to optimize resources when you cannot extend the schedule. Tries to move around activities
94
What is bottom-up estimating for determining a schedule?
Work from the lowest items on the WBS on up. Time consuming but accurate
95
What is top-down/analogous estimating for determining a schedule?
Uses estimates from prior projects (assuming compared to top-level deliverables or milestones)
96
What is parametric estimating for scheduling?
Two or more parameters are used in an algorithm to determine schedule, like 1000 sqft/painter/day
97
That is three-point estimating (Triangular/PERT/Beta) for scheduling?
Gives three estimates: Most likely, optimistic, pessimistic. For Triangular, sum these and divide by 3 to get the average. For PERT or Beta, the M gets weighted by 4 (4M + O + P) / 6
98
On the PMP exam, what are clues for either a triangular estimate or PERT/Beta estimate?
Triangular: new projects, no experience, not much reliable data
PERT/Beta: team of experts, similar to triangular, but need more accurate estimate (since it uses weights)
99
Define the two types of schedule compression
Fast-tracking: activities are performed in parallel. May increase risk of rework, but does not inherently increase cost. This is used before crashing
Crashing: Additional resources added to project. Always increases cost and may increase risk. Use this when there is extra money (CPI is greater than 1). This could be overtime.
100
What is Brooks' Law (scheduling)?
Adding more people later in a project can actually push out the date further due to increased coordination costs
101
What are the different components that make up a project budget (the breakdown of a project budget)?
Project Budget = Cost Baseline + Management Reserve
Cost Baseline = total of control accounts
Control accounts = work package costs + contingency
Work package costs = activity costs + activity contingency
Contingency reserves = identified risks
Management reserves = unidentified risks
102
What is Net Present Value (NPV)?
The difference between the value of cash now and the value of cash at a future date. Pick the value with the highest dollar amount - the years are taken into consideration. Complicated formula using discount rate.
103
What is a resource management plan?
Includes information on rates, travel costs, etc.
104
What is a benefits management plan?
Includes target benefits, including NPV calculations, timeframes for realizing benefits. Describes how and when benefits will be delivered
105
What is the benefit cost ration (BCR)?
Summarizes the relationship between a project cost and benefits. If greater than 1, the benefits outweigh the cost. If less than 1, costs outweigh benefits. Pick revenue over profit when calculating
106
What is wideband delphi?
Consensus-based estimation technique for estimating effort, such as questionnairs
107
Define: appraisal costs, internal failure cost, and sunk cost
AC = cost of auditing/checking work
IFC = defects before release
SC = wasted money.
108
What is the Schedule Performance Index? What does the number mean?
Shows how the schedule is progressing against the plan. Less than 1 = behind, greater than 1 = ahead
109
What is the Cost Performance Index (CPI)? What does the number mean? How is it calculated?
Measure financial performance. Less than 1 = over budget. Over 1 = under budget. CPI = Earned Value (completed features value to date; EV) / actual costs to date (AC)
110
A project has a baseline schedule of 180 days and a budget of $250,000. After 21 days, the project has spent US $60,000 and earned a value of $75,000. What is the CPI for this project?
75000 / 60000 > 1, so under budget
111
What is Earned Value Management (EVM)?
Takes the EVA (the numbers) and uses them to show trends and forecasts
112
What is Value Analsysis?
Attempts to decrease cost while maintaining the same scope
113
What is Earned Value Analysis (EVA)?
Compares the performance measurement baseline to the actual schedule and cost performance
114
What is the Planned Value (PV)? How is it calculated?
Shows the budget that should have been spent against the planned schedule. PV = Planned Percent Complete x Budget
If a project is 20% complete and the budget is $10,000, $2000 should have been spent
115
What is Earned Value (EV)? How is it calculated?
Measures the actual work complete (as opposed to plan) against the budget. EV = actual percent complete x budget
If the actual percent complete is 25% and the task budget is $10,000, the amount spent should be $2500
116
What is the Actual Cost (AC)? How is it calculated?
The actual cost of work performed for an activity (no calculation - literally just a sum of what was spent)
117
What is Cost Variance? How is it calculated?
Shows if the budget is deficit or surplus. CV = EV - AC
If the actual percent complete is 25% and the task budget is $10,000, the amount spent should be $2500. If the actual costs were $2000, then:
CV = $2500 - $2000 = $500 surplus
118
What is Schedule Variance? How is it calculated?
Measures schedule performance. SV = EV - PV
If the actual percent complete is 25% and the task budget is $10,000, the amount spent should be $2500. If the planned work complete is 20% (so ahead of schedule), then the PV would be $2000
SV = $2500 - $2000 = $500
119
What does the acronym BAC stand for?
Budget at completion
120
What is Variance Analysis?
Explanation (cause, impact, actions) for cost (CV = EV - AC), schedule (SV = EV - PC), and variance at completion (VAC = BAC = EAC)
121
What is the To-complete performance index (TCPI)?
Future projects cost efficiency to complete the project within the project budget. Based on the Budget at Completion (BAC):
(BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC)
To calculate future cost performance:
(Remaining work) / (Remaining Funds) - (BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC)
122
What is the most expensive approach to quality management?
Letting the customer find the defects (warranty issues, recalls, rework)
123
List various data representation techniques used for quality control (various types of charts, etc.)
Control charts, flow charts, logical data model, matrix diagrams, mind mapping, cause and effect diagrams, histogram, affinity diagrams, scatter diagrams
124
What is quality control?
Analyze and evaluation the project deliverables against the requirements
125
What is a Control Chart?
It's a graph that shows the number of defects over time. Helps track performance against expectation. Shows if the project is in control or out of control. Perform data analysis if: 7 or more points above the center line, 5 or more points in direction, or any point outside of limits
126
What is a Flow Charts?
Shows the process from start to finish, including decision points and people, departments and systems involved
127
How is quality management performed in agile projects vs traditional projects?
Agile: By all team members
Traditional: specific team
128
What is a Design for Excellence (DfX) in terms of quality?
Prioritize specific aspect of the design like reliability cost, safety, etc
129
What is Design of Experiments (DOE) in terms of quality?
Statistical process for identifying variables that can most impact quality
130
What are two examples of quality improvement methods?
Plan-do-check-act (PDCA) and Six Sigma
131
How is quality data gathered?
Checklists, check sheets, statistical sampling, questionnaires, surveys
132
List various components of Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
PM si responsible for evaluating cost of rework. Ishikawa/fishbone diagram is used to show cause/effect relationships. Auditing performed by outside team (always ask for criteria or requirements before making decisions). Test criteria should be agreed upon by stakeholders. Requirements and acceptance criteria should be agreed upon before work starts.
133
What are the 4 steps of deliverable acceptance?
Control (quality testing) > Verified deliverables > Validate scope > accept deliverables (basically first check quality against requirements, then verify that it meets all acceptance criteria)
134
What is the difference between grade and quality?
Grade is a category assigned to products that have the same functional use but different technical characteristics. Usually refers to the number of features
Quality is the degree to which the product meets the customer or end-user requirements
135
What are Cost of Conformance and Cost of Non-Conformance?
CoC = money spent to avoid failures. CoNC = money spent because of failures
136
What is a Resource Breakdown Structure?
Hierarchical list of team and physical resources related by category and resource type (project > personnel/material/equipment; Personnel = Role 1/2/3; Role 1 = Level 1/2)
136
What is the difference between Checklist and Checksheet in terms of quality?
Checklist = verify compliance. Checksheet = tabulating test results
137
What is the Team Charter or Social Agreemtn?
Establishes values, agreements, and guidelines for the team to lay out clear expectations and behaviors. Created by the team.
PM should not challenge the team to do things, but stand up for their views
138
What types of rewards can a PM provide?
Maslow's hierarchy of needs: monetary, development and growth, acknowledgement and recognition
139
What is hybrid team feedback?
Feedback is required on regular and continuous basis. Shorted the feedback cycle as much as possible
140
What are the 5 stages of team development in a Tuckman Ladder Model? List key characteristics of each and PM's involvement
Forming (new team, behave independently; PM directs), Storming (trust and conflict arise; PM coaches), Norming (team begins to achieve goals; PM supporting), Performing (team is autonomous and makes decisions independently; PM delegates), Adjourning (team dissolves)
141
What is a RACI Assignment Matrix?
Matrix of people vs activities. Lists who is responsible, accountable, consulting, and informing.
Only one person should be accountable.
142
When staffing issues arise, who should the project manager involve?
Senior management
143
What are the 5 techniques for resolving conflict?
Collaborate/Problem solve (win-win; usually best)
Force/Direct (pick one viewpoint; win-lose)
Compromise/reconcile (temporary resolution; lose-lose)
Smooth/Accommodate (downplay and ignore)
Withdraw/Avoid (delay the issue)
144
From a communication perspective, what are the 3 key activities that must occur during the Initiate and Plan processes?
Identify stakeholders and their needs, create a project communication plan, identify project performance metrics
145
From a communication perspective, what are the 4 key activities that must occur during the Control and Execute processes?
Gather/analyze status, compile status, disseminate status, monitor stakeholder information needs
146
From a communication perspective, what is the key activity that must occur during the Closing processes?
Communicate project results
147
List and define the 6 project manager leadership styles
Laissez fair (hands off)
Servant Leader (#1 on test; serves the teams and project goals. Helps team to design solutions. Shield from interruptions)
Charismatic (high energy, strong belief, self-confident)
Transactional (implements rules, focuses on goals, feedback)
Transformational (inspires teams with a shared vision)
Interactional (combination of transactional, transformational, and charismatic)
148
Define the following types of risks:
Event Risk
Non-Event Risk
Variability Risk
Ambiguity Risk
Emergent Risk
Event - possible event, identified risk
Non-Event - uncertain future event that may or may not occur (includes next 3)
Variability - set number of outcomes, don't know which one. Use Monte Carlo analysis
Ambiguity - results from lack of knowledge or understanding
Emergent - emerges from blind spot. Unknowable unknowns
149
Define the following risk terms:
Project Resilience
Risk Appetite
Risk Tolerance
Scenario
Data Analysis
Quantitative Risk Analysis
Secondary Risk
Residual Risks
Bubble Chart
Tornado Chart
Project Resilience - emerging risk is becoming clear
Risk Appetite - level of uncertainty an organization is willing to take on. Documented in Risk Management Plan
Risk Tolerance - amount of risk an organization is willing to take
Scenario - scenario
Data Analysis - root cause analysis, assumption and constraint, SWOT, etc.
Quantitative - used for large projects
Secondary - risk in response to another risk
Residual Risk - left over risks after a planned response has been executed
Bubble Chart - displays 3 dimensions of data
Tornado Chart - compares and prioritizes relative impact of different risks (sensitivity analysis)
150
Define the following three risk evaluation parameters:
Data Quality Assessment
Probability Assessment
Impact Assessment
Degree to which the data is accurate
Likelihood a risk will occur
Impact if a risk does occur on schedule, cost, quality
151
Define the following risk characteristics:
Urgency
Proximity
Dormancy
Manageability
Controllability
Detectability
Connectivity
Strategic Impact
Propinquity
Urgency - how quickly do you need to respond should the risk occur
Proximity - time period before it impacts a project objective
Dormancy - period of time for impact of a risk to become apparent
Manageability - the ease to which a risk can be managed
Controllability - degree to which the outcome can be controlled
Detectability - ease of which risk can be identified
Connectivity - degree of interconnectedness between risks
Strategic Impact - impact on strategic goals
Propinquity - degree to which a stakeholder perceives a risk to be significant
152
What is a risk audit?
Routine review of risks. PM ensures audit is performed at appropriate frequency. Defined in risk managements plan
153
What is Expected Monetary Value (EMV) analysis?
Calculates average outcome when future scenarios may or may not happen. Decision tree analysis or make-or-buy analysis
E.g. Develope New or Improve Existing -> Develop New ($300k), Improve Existing ($100k)
Develop New = 75% success at $800k, 25% at -$100k
Improve = 90% success at $300k, 10% failure at -$50k
154
What is a risk probability matrix?
Compares Impact (negligible to catastrophic) and Probability (rare to almost certain)
155
What are the 5 possible actions for a threat (risk)?
Avoid (eliminate cause of risk), accept (no action taken), mitigate (reduce impact), transfer (3rd party takes ownership), escalate (to management; usually outside threat)
156
What are the the 5 possible actions for an opportunity (risk)?
Exploit (ensure it is realized), Enhance (increase impact), Accept (no action), Share (transfer ownership to 3rd party), escalate (outside of scope; management notified)
157
What is the Project Procurement Plan?
Includes management and control processes for developing and administering agreements, such as contracts, PO's, memorandum of agreement (MOAs), or SLAs. Does no include negotiation authority (that's in the project charter)
158
What is a Records Management System (RMS)?
Stores contracts
159
What is included in the Procurement Management Plan?
How procurement works, timetable, metrics, responsibilities, assumptions and constraints, legal jurisdiction, and currency
160
What is the Procurement Strategy?
Procurement delivery methods, type of agreements, phases
161
What is the Statement of Work?
Description of a procurement item, specifications, quality, requirements, and performance metrics. Collateral. Acceptance criteria. quality. Warranty
162
What are the 3 bid documents?
Request for information (RFI), request for quote (RFQ) and request for proposal (RFP)
163
What is a bidder conference?
Held to ensure that there is a clear understanding of procurement among all prospective bidders so no one has an advantage
164
When are fixed-price contracts most suitable?
When the work is predictable and well-defined
165
What are the three types of fixed-price contracts?
Firm fixed price (FFP) - one lump sum. All risks with seller
Fixed price incentive fee (FPIF) - seller is offered performance based incentive for meeting target
Fixed price with economic price adjustments (FPEPA) - Cost is adjusted over long periods of time
166
When are cost-reimbursable contracts most suitable?
Work is evolving, likely to change, or not well defined
167
What are the 4 types of cost-reimbursable contracts?
Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) - work expenses plus fixed profit
Cost plus incentive fee (CPIF) or
Cost plus award fee (CPAF) (very similar)
Cost plus fee or cost plus percentage of costs (CPF or CPPC) - Buyer pays work expenses plus award
168
When is a time and materials (T&M) contract most suitable?
Scope of work is not well-defined and contractor duration is not fixed
169
Define the following procurement terms:
Pre-approved seller lists
Seller proposals
Claim
Completed procurement
Control procurement
1. List of vetted sellers
2. acquired before the PM can negotiate and select seller
3. contested charge
4. formal notice that work is complete
5. monitoring payments to sellers
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When should stakeholders be identified?
As soon as the project charter is approved
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What are the three broad categories of stakeholders?
Internal, connected (shareholders), external (government, etc.)
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What is a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix?
Lists stakeholders as unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, or leading. Lists current and desired for each stakeholder
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Regarding stakeholders, what are power/interest grids, power/influence grids, and impact/influence grids?
Graph of the two components from low to high along two axis.
Low power, low interest = monitor
Low power, high interest = inform
High power low interest = satisfy
high power, high interest = manage closely
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What are the 4 directions of influence regarding the project?
Upwards (management, steering committee), downwards (project team), outwards (shareholders, governments, etc.), sidewards (peers)
175
Define the following stakeholder terms:
1. stakeholder cube
2. salience model
3. prioritization
4. stakeholder analysis matrix
1. 3D graph of representation
2. Venn diagram of power, legitimacy, and urgency
3. quadrant of grid
4. Assess stakeholder on interest, rights, ownership, knowledge, and contribution
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Given a Salience Model venn diagram listing stakeholder power, legitimacy, and urgency, who gets the highest, medium, and least priority?
Highest = directive (represent all three)
Medium (any two attributes; dominant (power and legit), dangerous (power and urgent), dependent (legit and urgent))
Least - single attribute (power = dormant, legit = discretionary, urgent = demanding)
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What is a stakeholder communication channel calculation?
Number of potential communication channels in a project. Increases as the number of stakeholders grows
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What is the formula to calculate communication channels?
n = number of stakeholders
n (n-1) / 2
Essentially, each stakeholder can talk to every other stakeholder, so grows as you add more
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What is the nominal group technique for managing stakeholders?
enhances brainstorming by allowing users to rank the most useful ides
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What is the crawford slip method for managing stakeholders?
manages large amount of inputs from multiple sources
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What is an affinity diagram?
Groups ideas based on themes or relationships
182
What is the output of stakeholder identification?
Stakeholder register
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What is an Artifact?
Template, document, output, or deliverable. Quantifiable
184
What are the four tenants of the PMI Code of Ethics
Responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty
185
What are the four phases of the product life cycle?
introduction, growth, maturity, retirement
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What is Stewardship?
Stewards are responsible for performing activities with integrity, care, and trustworthiness while adhering to internal and external guidelines
187
What is the most important indicator of a successful project?
Value
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What is "systems thinking"?
Recognize evaluation and respond to the dynamics within and around the project in a holistic manner to positively affect the project's success
189
What are adaptability and resilience?
Ability to respond to changing conditions, recover from setbacks, and advance the work of a project
190
Define cadence
Rhythm of activities conducted throughout the project.
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What is Estimate to Complete (ETC)
Earned value management measure that forecasts the expected cost to finish all remaining project work
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What is Estimate at Completion (EAC)
Earned value management measure forecasts the expected total cost of completing all work
193
What is the Hawthorne effect?
the act of measuring something that makes people take notice and adjust their behavior
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What is a vanity metric?
Measure that shows data but does not provide useful information for making decisions
195
What is Herzberg's Theory of Motivation
Hygiene agents (what factors influence satisfaction at work) are expected by and can only demotivate if they are not present. Motivating agents provide opportunities to exceed and advance
196
What are McGregor's Theory X, Y, and Z?
x = bad. People must be micromanaged.
y = good. self-led, motivated, proactive
z = increased loyalty at the workplace. Emphasizes well-being of employees both at work and outside. Encourages stead employment. Developed by Ouchi. **On test
197
What are the tiers to Maslow's Hierarch of Needs?
Physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization
198
What is Mclelland's 3 need theory?
achievement, power, affiliation
199
What model did Virginia Satir develop?
How people cope with change
200
What is the OSCAR model?
Outcome, situation, choices, actions, review. Adapt leadership style to support individuals for personal growth. Whittlworth and Gilbert
201
What is the ADKAR model?
Hiatt. Model of change: awareness > desire > knowledge > ability > reinforcement
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What is the 8-step process for change? Don’t need to list the steps. Just the idea
Kotter. Top down approach to changing organizations
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What is the transition model of change?
Bridges. Understanding of what occurs to individuals psychologically when an organizational change takes place
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What is expectancy theory?
People behave based on what they expect as a result of their behavior
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What is the Halo Effect
Cognitive bias in which our overall impression of a person influences how we feel and think about their character
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What are the three dimensions of comoplexity?
System behavior - interdependencies of components and systems
Human behavior - interplay between diverse individuals and groups
Ambiguity - uncertainty of merging issues and lack of understanding
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What is the difference between Design Build (DB) and Design Big Build (DBB) contracts?
DB includes both design and construction under one contractor. DBB is separate contracts
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What are the 4 key values of the Agile Manifesto?
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
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What are the 12 agile principles?
1. Highest priority to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery
2. Welcome changing requirements; harness for competitive advantage
3. Deliver working software frequently
4. Buisiness people and developers work together daily
5. Build projects around motivated individuals
6. Face to face conversations
7. Working software is the primary measure of progress
8. Agile processes promote sustainable development. Maintain a constant pace
9. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design
10. Simplicity - maximize the amount of work not done
11. Self organizing teams
12. Regular reflection
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What are the 4 questions asked in an Agile project charter?
Why are we doing the project? Who benefits and how? What does done mean for the project? How are we going to work together?
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What are the 5 steps in a predictive life cycle?
Analyze > Design > build > test > deliver
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What are the four steps in an iterative life cycle?
Analyze > analyze/design (prototype loop) > build test (refine loop) > deliver
213
What are some of the key elements of the Kanban approach?
Flow-based agile. No sprints. Work is pulled from the backlog then moved to done, then another item is pulled. Limit Work in Progress. Features are released as soon as they are complete. Works well for a more support model (bug fixes) when not developing a large-scale product (due to limited planning). Just in time - important features are delivered first. Items are prioritized based on what is needed next.
214
What are the six principles of kanban?
Visualize the workflow, limit work in progress, manage flow, make policies explicit, implement feedback loops, improve collaboratively
215
What are the 3 approaches to project work of a servant leader (in order)
Purpose (define why) > people (encouragement) > process (do not follow perfect process; look for results)
216
In Scrum, define Epics, Themes, and User Stories
Epics are large amounts of work that need to be broken down. Themes are groups of similar epics. User stories are created by the team and ordered by priority. They are used to estimate work
217
What is the sentence format for a user story?
As a [user] I [want/need] [goal] so that [value]
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What are the 3 C's of user stories?
Card, conversation, confirmation
219
User stories should INVEST. What does this stand for?
Independent, negotiable, valuable, estimable, small, testable
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Who is responsible for writing user stories?
Product owner
221
What is the Definition of Ready?
Checklist of what needs to be done to a product backlog item before the team can start implementing in the next sprint
222
What is the Definition of Done
Establishes the quality criteria for a delivery. When can we show the product to the product owner?
223
Define the following agile terms:
1. Ideation 2.0
2. Kano analysis
3. Highest paid person's opinion (HIPPO)
4. Design the product box
5. Affinity estimating
1. New approaches to solutions you encounter in your daily routine
2. Classify customer satisfaction into: exciters, satisfiers, dissatisfiers, and indifferent
3. Decision making where people agree with the highest paid person
4. Stakeholders provide the most valuable features (the ones you'd put on the product box)
5. T-shirt sizing
224
What is a Pareto Chart (80/20 rule)?
Frequency of defects and cumulative impact. Identify areas to focus on first in process improvement. Histogram. 20% of the cause problems when addressed eliminate 80% of the current challenges
225
What is a Ishikawa or Fishbone or Cause and Effect diagram?
Identification of problems as well as their origins. Used in conjunction with a Pareto chart
226
What does "Remembered the Future" mean?
Stakeholders look to the future and imagine back to what made the project a success. Used to define success criteria
227
What is Decision Tree Analysis
Lists various options with their benefit or cost. lists outcomes with their probability of occurrence. Choose the least cost and least probability impact
Square represents a decision, circle is a chance of an event occurring
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What is Value Stream Mapping and Value Stream Analysis?
Shows where the value delivery is slowing down and exposes opportunities to create better alignment. Analysis examines the steps to take a product or service from the beginning to end.
229
What are the four Agile value-driven delivery principles?
Define positive value, avoid potential downsides, prioritization, incremental development
230
What is a Cost Constructive Model?
People are 11 times more efficient that tools and processes
231
What are 3 ways of collaboration in an Agile methodology?
Pairing, Swarming, and Mobbing
232
What is a pre-mortem meeting?
Look at possible things that can cause failure during a project before they take place
233
What is the ESVP framework in retro?
Explorer (eager to discover new ides), Shopper (look over available information and go home with one useful idea), Vacationer (aren't interested in a retrospective, but are happy to be away from the daily grind), and Prisoner (feel they have been forced to attend and would rather be doing something else). Measures team engagement.
234
Regarding specialization and generalization, what are I-Shaped, T-Shaped, and Broken Comb/Paint Drip models?
I-Shaped = 1 specialization
T-Shaped = 1 specialization, but good collaboration skills
Broken Combe/Paint Drip = many specializations. Diverse knowledge
235
What are the three questions asked during a scrum standup?
What have I completed since last standup? What am I planning to complete between not and the next standup? What are my impediments?
236
What are the four questions asked during a Kanban standup?
What do we need to do to advance this piece of work? Is anyone working on anything not on the board? What do we need to finish as a team? Are there any bottlenecks or blockers?
237
What is Smoke Testing?
process to make sure the build is testable
238
What is Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD)
entire team gets together to discuss the acceptance criteria in order to drive defects down
239
What are Test-Driven Development (TDD) or Behavior Driven Development (BDD)
Automated tests written before product
240
In Agile, what is a Spike?
Timeboxed research or experiment. If PO is unsure of dependencies, PO can request the team to spike the feature to understand risks. Architectural spike = proof of concept. Risk-based spike - reduce or eliminate risk
241
In Agile, what is Team Velocity?
Average story points per iteration
242
What is a Cumulative Flow Diagram (CFD)?
Shows work in progress on a board. Used in Kanban
243
What is Lead Time in Kanban?
How long something takes to go through the entire process
244
What is Cycle Time in Kanban?
how long something takes to go through part of the process. Formula is WIP/Throughput
245
In Agile, what is a Fishbowl Window vs Remote Pairing?
Video conferencing (probably the camera of the entire room)
Virtual conferencing tools
246
In Agile, what is Shu Ha Ri?
Concept that describes the path to mastery. Shu = follow rules, Ha = move away from rules to break free. Ri = unconsciously finding an individual path, to go beyond/transcend
247
In Agile, what is an Information Radiator or Big Visible Chart (BVC)?
Big chart of project information kept in plain sight
248
In Agile, what is a Project Tweet?
Brief way to describe the project goal in 140 characters or less
249
In Agile, what is Kill Point?
Stage gate/decision to end the project or continue
250
In Agile, what is Little's Law?
Cycle times are proportional to queue lengths. Can predict lead time based on production rate and amount of work in process
251
In Agile, what are escaped defects?
Defects that make it to the customer
252
In Agile, what happens in Iteration 0 and Iteration H?
0 = get ready for the project, nothing built
H = end to clean up code/produce documentation
253
What is Parkinson's Law?
A person will spend all available time to complete a task regardless of the task's size. Project scheduling is the main driver to mitigate this law
254
What is Student Syndrome?
Wait until last minute to get the work done
255
What is dropping the baton?
Poor coordination
256
What is sandbagging?
Holding a complete work until the true due date arrives
257
What is Monochronic vs Polychronic
One thing at a time vs multitasking
258
What is Gulf of Evaluation?
What one person describes is often different from how another interprets
259
What are feeder buffers?
Buffers added to the schedule where non-critical paths merge with the critical path
260
What are Resource Buffers?
Additional time buffers where scarce resources are needed
261
What is Sashimi (scrum)
Every phase of development cycle is in a sprint (analysis, planning and design, development, testing, documentation, product displayed)
262
What is Discrete Effort?
Activity that can be linked to a specific WBS output
263
What are "Dangle"
Loosely-tied activities in a project schedule that don't have defined start or end dates
264
What is "Stale Sandwich"
Using outdated and inappropriate feedback mechanisms
265
Review the following procurements and contracts terms
Procurements and contracts is a method where you plan incremental releases of a product
Multi-tiered structure (flexible multiple documents)
Emphasize value delivered
Fixed price increments
Not to exceed time and materials (fixed overall budget)
Graduated time and materials (shared financial risk approach)
Early cancellation option
Dynamic scope option
Team augmentation (fund teams instead of scope)
Full-service suppliers
266
What is the process control theory that Scrum is based on?
Empirical. asserts that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is observed. Transparency, Inspection, Adaptation (TIA)
267
What are the seven wastes of lean manufacturing?
Overproduction, extra processing, transportation, waiting, motion, defects, inventory
268
What is the leading principal of Kanban?
It is more important to complete work that to start work
269
What are crystal methodologies?
Focus on individuals and their interactions as opposed to tools.
270
What is Agile Unified Process (AgileUP)?
Accelerated cycles and less heavyweight processes than Unified Process
271
What is Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM)?
Based on the principle that any project must be aligned to clearly defined strategic goals and focus upon early delivery of real benefits to the business
272
What is Feature-Driven Development (FDD)
Developing and designing software models every two weeks. Primary roles: project manager, chief architect, development manager, chief programmer, class owner, domain expert
273
What is Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
Used to organize a whole organization
274
What is Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
Framework for organizing several development teams towards a common goal
275
What is Disciplined Agile (DA)
Integrates several agile best practices into a comprehensive model: people first, learning oriented, full delivery life cycle, goal driven, enterprise awareness, scalable
276
What are the six styles of leadership?
Visionary (clear direction)
Coaching (long-term strength)
Affiliative (motivate in stressful times)
Democratic (consensus/get input)
Pacesetting (expect quick results; negative)
Commanding (demand compliance, crisis; negatvie)
277
What are the 5 scrum values?
Commitment, Courage, Focus, Openness, Respect
278
What is the Scrum 3-5-3 rule?
3 roles (PO, SM, Dev)
5 activities (Sprint, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retro)
3 Artifacts (product backlog, spring backlog, shippable increment)
279
Why would a sprint be canceled? Who can cancel it?
Goal of the sprint is obsolete. PO
280
Who attends a sprint review? Retro?
Literally anyone
Team
281
What are the 5 stages of a retrospective?
Set the stage, gather data, generate insights, decide what to do, close the retro
