PMP Exam Review Flashcards
What is a project?
temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product
3 types of deliverables
product, service, result
What is a project manager?
person assigned by the organization to lead the team that is responsible for achieving project objectives
What are the agile team roles?
product owner - prioritizes the product backlog (in collaboration with stakeholders)
scrum master / team facilitator - promotes the team as a servant leader who works to removed impediments
team - 3-9 people
List the Scrum Events and the Agile Ceremonies
scrum events: sprint, sprint planning, daily scrum, sprint review, retrospective
agile ceremonies: same list w/o sprint
Describe Kanban
flow-based scheduling (on a board)
# columns and labels change with each project
limits for # items in each column
‘swarm’ to unclog bottlenecks
does not use sprints
Describe Crystal
agile method
complexity increases as # people involved increases
uses color scheme to denote complexity
What is a RACI chart?
type of RAM (responsibility assignment matrix)
defines involvement of stakeholders in different parts of the project
RACI = responsible, accountable, consulted, informed
What is in the resource management plan?
organization chart
resource management guidance
training strategies
resource calendar
recognition plan
Compare agile vs. traditional project assignments
agile: team self organizes and assesses requirements
traditional: PM assigns work via a work breakdown structure
What values support PMI’s code of ethics?
responsibility, respect, fairness, honesty
What are the techniques for prioritizing?
review project backlog
Kano model - identifies needs as basic, performance, or excitement
MoSCoW analysis - must/should/could/won’t have (lists of items)
Paired comparisons - compares two features, take the winner and repeat with another feature
100 points - assign different combinations of point values to different items, sum = 100
What is a report? How is it created?
something designed to inspire decision or action
raw data is organized into facts, facts are put in context to create a report
List some team decision making tools
Brainstorming - quantity over quality
3-point estimating - average of optimistic, pessimistic, most likely values
absolute estimating - predicting via a value
relative estimating - predicting via comparisons (t-shirt sizing)
story points w/fibonacci values
What is velocity?
number of story points team produced in a sprint
Describe a retrospective
checks on process effectiveness
looks for root causes of issues
evaluate trial process for continued use, adjusting or eliminating
steps: set stage, gather data, generate insights, make decisions, close
List components of a communications plan
meeting times
tools to track work status
frequency of work status updates
shared team hours
preferred communication approaches
What is project vision?
includes what the project is, where it is going to be used, who it will serve
explains desired objectives
explains alignment with company’s strategic goals
Who issues the project charter? what is it?
issued by the project sponsor
it authorizes the project
used with traditional projects
empowers PM
high level requirements
milestones
stakeholder register
exit criteria
List methods to reach a consensus
fists of 5 (closed fist = complete disagreement; 5 fingers = complete agreement)
roman voting (gladiator)
Polling (hear all opinions, then vote)
dot voting - same approach as 100 points method of estimating
What is an example of an XP Metaphor?
amazon using a shopping cart to ‘check out’
(xp metaphor is analogy for how something will work)
What is an EEF?
Enterprise environmental factor
-conditions (not under control of the project team) that affect the project
internal: organizational culture, infrastructure
external: market conditions, government standards/policies
What is an OPA?
Organizational process asset
-plans, processes, procedures specific to the organization
lessons learned, knowledge base, templates
What is a business case?
How is this different from a business needs document?
economic feasibility study (financial analysis)
provides basis for authorization of the project
different b/c a needs document is done first and focuses on more than just financial reasons to do a project
What is a project implementation plan?
built to ensure minimal disruption is caused by implementing your project
Describe ‘rolling wave planning’
REFERS TO WORK
iterative planning technique in which the near-term work is planned in detail and future work is planned at a higher level, form of progressive elaboration that focuses on scope planning
can be used in either predictive or agile
What is a predictive life cycle?
approach in which scope, time and cost are determined early and are fixed
aka: ‘waterfall’ or ‘traditional’
What are the adaptive life cycles?
iterative - producing several versions of the finished product
incremental - continuously adding to parts of the product that are already finished
agile - project constantly evolves via continuous collaboration, iterative repetition with incremental deliverables
List the typical use cases
Agile, predictive, hybrid, iterative, incremental
What is a ‘blah blah blah’ management plan used for?
it explains how the ‘blah blah blah’ will work, but does not contain the ‘blah blah blah’
example: the scope management plan does not explain the actual scope
What is project scope?
the work done to deliver a product or service
project scope INCLUDES product scope
What is product scope?
features and functions of the product or service
product scope IS INCLUDED IN project scope
List the data gathering techniques
document analysis
focus groups
questionnaires
benchmarking - comparing your product to the market
interviews
What is the ‘Delphi Technique’?
a decision making technique that involves consulting experts, having a moderator summarize and deliver all of their opinions, then the experts submit another answer
Compare affinity diagram to mind mapping
Affinity: takes a large collection of ideas and organizes them into similar groups
Mind: consolidates many ideas
Describe a context diagram
a scope model that shows how your product will interact with the rest of the business
product = order system; rest of the business = customer, warehouse, bank
What is the purpose of a requirements traceability matrix?
links requirements to the deliverable that satisfies them
What is included in the project scope statement?
scope, major deliverables, assumptions, constraints
developed after requirements have been established
What does product analysis help to define?
scope
Describe a work package and the 100% rule
work package - lowest level of any branch in the WBS
THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO THE NUMBER OF DECOMPOSITIONS WITHIN A WBS
100% rule - if something is not included in the WBS, that item will not get done without a change request
What is a control account?
control point where scope/budget/actual cost/schedule are compared to earned value for performance measurement
What is a planning package?
a placeholder on the WBS for future work that has not been fully planned
What are the parts of the scope baseline?
scope statement, WBS, WBS dictionary
What is the ranking system in the product backlog?
Epic -> features -> user stories -> tasks
Describe a milestone
significant event in a project/program/portfolio
no duration
not an activity (it is a moment in time)
What are the types of precedence relationships?
finish to start (most common)
start to start
finish to finish
start to finish (least common)
Explain effort vs. duration
effort: working hours
duration: elapsed time
example: worked on a fence for 5 hours over the weekend (Sat and Sun), duration was 48 hours while effort was 5 hours
What is project float? What are the formulas?
difference between the critical path and another project path
(critical path has zero float)
late start minus early start
late finish minus early finish
Describe smoothing and leveling
smoothing: adjust activities to keep resource requirements within original limits, does not change critical path
leveling: adjusts start and finish dates based on resource constraints, CAN change critical path
What are the schedule compression techniques?
Crashing - adding resources to shorten items on the critical path
Fast-tracking - perform activities in parallel to reduce time
Cost estimate vs budget
cost estimate = single activity
budget = project
Direct cost vs indirect cost
direct - anything that can be directly tied to a WBS item
indirect - cannot directly tie to WBS (items shared by multiple teams, ex: furniture in a meeting room)
What is life cycle costing?
costs associated with ongoing operations resulting from the completion of a project (buying a dog = project cost; taking care of the puppies = life cycle cost)
What is cost of quality? What are the components?
total cost associated with preventing defects and correcting observed defects
cost of conformance = preventing defects
cost of nonconformance = correcting defects
List and describe estimating techniques
Bottom-up: estimating at most granular level
Analogous: uses historically similar projects
Parametric: uses statistical cost relationships (pipe cost is $x/ft)
3-point: triangular (O+M+P)/3 or PERT/beta (O+4M+P)/6
What are the types of reserves?
Contingency: included in cost baseline
Management: money for unknown risks, not controlled by the PM, not in cost baseline
both are included in the project budget
Define ‘quality’
degree to which characteristics fulfill requirements
what is the difference between quality control and quality assurance?
control: ensuring the finished product meets expectations
assurance: ensuring the correct processes are followed (not checking the thing that is being worked on)
What does it mean if a regulation is ‘de facto’
it is widely accepted but not required by law
What is a control chart?
measures the stability of a process over time
plots the outcome against specification limits to see if the outcome is within the limits and is ‘in control’
What are the visual aides uses to measure quality?
fishbone diagram, scatter diagram, control chart, pareto chart
What is a ‘turnkey’ project?
entire project is sub-contracted but is ran by the buyer’s project manager
What are the traditional types of contracts?
Fixed price - can include incentives or provisions for economic adjustments (inflation)
Time and materials - buyer pays on a per-hour or per-unit basis, can includes reimbursement for expenses
Cost reimbursable - buyer pays for service plus all costs incurred by the seller, can include an additional fee paid to the seller
What are the agile types of contracts
capped time - work is stopped after a certain amount of time
Target cost - work until you run out of money
incremental delivery - example: 1st release = capped, 2nd = target
Explain the types of PMOs
PMO = project management office
supporting - consults, offers templates and best practices
controlling - mid-level control, guides and enforces compliance
directive - high-level control, directive PMO manages project
List methods of handling conflict
Problem-solving - proactive, direct, common answer on exam
collaboration - second-favorite answer
compromise
forcing
smoothing
withdrawal
How are contingency reserves and management reserves different?
contingency reserves - part of the cost baseline, for ‘known unknowns’
management reserves - outside of the cost baseline, for ‘unknown unknowns’
What is the Deming cycle?
plan-do-check-act cycle
takes an incremental and iterative approach to quality management that can reduce variations in a process and reduces waste
Is multitasking a favorable approach in project management?
No
multitasking = ‘switch tasking’, results in inefficiency and waste
What are some reasons for a project to close?
met all objectives
no longer feasible due to requirements changes
funding no longer available
risks render the project impossible
organization no longer needs the project
external factors make the project obsolete (new law fixes the problem that the project would have fixed)
At what point should procurements be closed?
anytime the terms of the procurement have been satisfied by both the buyer and seller AND the bill has been paid- CAN OCCUR AT ANY POINT IN THE LIFE OF THE PROJECT
What types of risks could be encountered?
How are risks identified?
positive risk = opportunity
negative risk = threat
risks are written as if/then statements
when identifying, focus on the risk itself, NOT THE IMPACT (the impact is not the risk)
individual risk = affects certain objectives
overall risk = affects the project as a whole
variability risk - uncertainty about a key characteristic (team member’s productivity)
ambiguity risk - uncertainty about future events (weather, inflation)
secondary risk - unintended consequence of a risk response (I’m hiding from something, but I don’t have any food in here)
How can a risk register be organized?
in a decomposed, risk breakdown structure
What are the risk identification frameworks?
PESTLE - political, legal
TECOP - technical, operational
VUCA - volatility
What are the risk classification approaches?
effect-based: think of potential project impacts, then think of risks that could cause those impacts
source-based: think of trigger events that lead to risks, then identify those risks that come from the trigger event
in both cases you are starting with something that is not the risk, and then working either forwards or backwards to figure out the risk
What is a product roadmap?
a document that paints a picture of what value will be delivered and when
How do you calculate total communication channels on a team?
N(N-1)/2
N = total number of team members, INCLUDING YOURSELF!!!!!!
“you are leading a team of seven”, then you have a team of 8!
What are the parts of a communication model?
encoding –> transmitting –> decoding
What does a lack of feedback imply?
acceptance
What is a functional manager?
a manager who’s subordinates are added to a project team, resulting in the functional manager becoming a stakeholder in the project
What are the 5 levels of engagement?
unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading
commonly used in a stakeholder engagement matrix
What is the difference between an artifact and a project document
a project document defines and supports the project
an artifact is created during the project (ex. lessons learned register, sprint backlog, product roadmap, product backlog)
What are the steps in the change control system?
change identification, document the change, analyze the impact of the change, approve or reject the change, implement the change
What are the types of change requests?
corrective, preventative, repair (ex: budget), update
What are the common leadership styles?
Laissez-Faire: hands off, checked out
Transactional: focus on goals and feedback, manage when necessary
Servant Leader: serves the team primarily
Transformational: empowers followers by promoting ideas
Charismatic: inspires through personality
interactional: combination of other styles
What visualisations can be used to show stakeholder power?
Power/interest grid (scatter plot)
Power/interest/attitude (3-D plot)
salience model (vin diagram with 3 circles: power, legitimacy, urgency)
Explain colocation
entire team is physically in the same room
PMI likes this, allows passive communication through teammates that can be value and not otherwise realized
‘war room’, ‘situation room’, ‘tight matrix’
What is the Tuckman ladder?
shows the 5 stages of team development
forming / storming / norming / performing / adjourning
How do you calculate EAC? ETC?
You need EAC to calculate ETC.
Estimate at completion is your adjusted budget.
Estimate to complete is the adjusted budget less what has been spent so far.
EAC = estimate at completion = budget at completion / cost performance index
and cost performance index = earned value / actual cost
ETC = estimate to complete = estimate at completion - actual cost so far
What is value stream mapping?
looks at time associated with individual processes and places to reduce time, improve flow of info or material needed to produce a product
3 questions to answer at the daily stand up?
what has been done since last meeting
what needs to be done before the next meeting
what does anyone need help with
What are the parts of active listening?
Reflecting: “so, what you’re saying is….”
Attending: eye contact, constant engagement
Following: respond verbally or nonverbally
non-functional vs functional requirements
non-functional: requirements for the product to work (wind for a wind turbine)
functional: parts needed for the product to work (wind turbine blades)
formula for present value
PV = 1/(1+i)^n x future value
What is on the y-axis of a chart showing results from a monte carlo simulation?
cumulative probability
Describe a PM’s power in different organizational structures
Functional structure: PM has least power
Matrix structure
Project-oriented structure: PM has most power
Describe a PM’s power in different types of of PMOs
PMO = project management office
supportive: PM has least power
controlling
directive: PM has most power
What are the 5 phases of Six Sigma?
Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control
Figure out the problem, collect data, understand data, improve the situation, maintain the improvement
