Project Initiation and Roles

Question 1

project

Answer 1

_ temporary endeavor
_ definite start and end dates
_ meets a specific business need
_ clearly defined, measurable goals
_ results in a unique product, service, or result

Question 2

program

Answer 2

_ group of related projects that are managed together

Question 3

portfolio

Answer 3

_ collection of programs, subportfolios, projects that support strategic business goals or objectives
_ projects may be unrelated

Question 4

operations

Answer 4

_ ongoing and repetitive
_ no begin or end date, unless starting or ending an operation
_ typically support the production of goods or services
_ projects may be handed off to operations for ongoing use

Question 5

Project management

Answer 5

_ a set of tools and techniques that people perform to describe, organize, and monitor project activities

Question 6

Project manager’s primary purpose

Answer 6

_ integrate all the components of a project and bring it to a successful conclusion
_ manage project artifacts

Question 7

PMBOK Guide

Answer 7

_ a book by the Project Management Institute (PMI)
_ popular project management standards
_ focus of this course

Question 8

Functional organization

Answer 8

_ most common organizational structure
_ hierarchical, partitioned along functional lines
_ each department relatively independent, projects are typically “siloed” – done independently in each department
_ each person has one supervisor
_ drawback is that can’t hold members of other department accountable when there are dependencies
_ develop strong working relationship with functional managers to get work done
_ maintain open communication
_ project managers have little formal authority

Question 9

Advantages of a functional organization

Answer 9

_ growth potential and career paths
_ can work with people who have unique skills
_ clear chain of command

Question 10

Disadvantages of a functional organization

Answer 10

_ project managers have limited or no authority
_ multiple projects compete for limited resources
_ resources are typically committed only part-time to projects
_ issue resolution follows the departmental chain of command
_ project team members are loyal to the functional manager rather than to the project manager

Question 11

Matrix organization

Answer 11

_ organized departmentally like a functional organization
_ resources are assigned to the project managers for the duration of projects
_ project managers are peers of functional staff
_ team members report to both functional manager and project manager
_ each outcome should be accountable to only one manager
_ functional managers typically assign employee (time allocations) to projects, while project managers assign the tasks
_ typically has good interdepartmental communication

Question 12

Three types of matrix organizations

Answer 12

_ strong matrix - emphasizes project work over functional duties; project managers have most of the power
_ weak matrix - emphasizes functional work and is more hierarchical; functional managers have most of the power
_ balanced matrix - shares equal emphasis between projects and functional work; project and functional managers share power

Question 13

Projectized organization

Answer 13

_ organization is organized by project rather than by functional division
_ project managers have most of the power

Question 14

Advantages of a projectized organization

Answer 14

_ team members are colocated, working in the same location
_ project manager has full authority to manage project and resources
_ the project has dedicated, full-time resources
_ loyalty is with the project manager

Question 15

Disadvantages of a projectized organization

Answer 15

_ have to reassign team members when a project ends

_ projects may not be available for team members

Question 16

Steps for validating a project

Answer 16

_ understand the business need or demand
_ prepare a business case, including justification
_ analyze project stakeholders
_ determine which projects to implement

Question 17

Need or demand for a project (what prompts projects)

Answer 17

_ market demand
_ strategic opportunity/business need - something to help the organization become more efficient
_ customer request
_ technological advance - new tech inclines a business to think it needs a new product or service, or business need drives development of new tech
_ legal requirement - regulations
_ environmental considerations
_ social need - solve some social/human need

Question 18

Validating a business case

Answer 18

_ justification - the benefits to the organization
_ alignment to the strategic plan - if doesn’t align, no reason for project
_ alternative solutions - high-level descriptions of costs, feasibility, results, alignment with strategic plan, for alternative solutions
_ recommended solution
_ feasibility study - (optional) viability, technical issues, fits with existing infrastructure; usually for highly complex projects or high risk or novel projects

Question 19

Project selection methods

Answer 19

_ a project selection committee applies criteria to select projects
_ decision models - uses a fixed set of criteria agreed on by the committee to evaluate project requests
_ expert judgement - relies on expertise of stakeholders, subject matter experts, and those with previous experience to help with deciding; often used in conjunction with a decision model

Question 20

Categories of decision models

Answer 20

_ benefit measurement methods (most commonly used) - provide means for comparing benefits
_ constrained optimization models - mathematical models to assess a proposed project, not covered in this book

Question 21

Benefit measurement methods

Answer 21

_ a category of decision model

_ compares the benefits of projects using the same criteria in order to select among them

Question 22

Four kinds of benefit measurement methods

Answer 22

_ cost-benefit analysis
_ scoring model
_ payback period
_ economic model

Question 23

cost-benefit analysis

Answer 23

_ a benefit measurement method
_ compares cost to produce against the financial benefit
_ includes initial cost of development
_ good for selecting projects that pay for themselves in the shortest time
_ does not account for strategic value

Question 24

Scoring model

Answer 24

_ a benefit measurement method
_ predefined list of criteria against which each project is rated
_ each criterion has a scoring range and a weighting factor
_ factors might include financial data, market value, organizational expertise, fit for corporate culture
_ decision to go with a project is based on the final score; usually there is a minimum required score
_ allows for selecting projects that are not the shortest to recoup expenses
_ difficult to design a good scoring model

Question 25

Payback period

Answer 25

_ cash flow technique identifying length of time to recover costs for the project
_ compares initial investment to expected cash flow over the length of the project
_ least precise cash flow technique that is covered
_ the savings that result from a project can be used in place of income that the project generates

Question 26

Economic model

Answer 26

Cash flow techniques providing data on the overall financials of a project:
_ discounted cash flow
_ net present value (NPV)
_ internal rate of return (IRR)

Question 27

discounted cash flow

Answer 27

_ decision model that compares the value of future cash flows of the project “to today’s dollars”
_ compares value of future cumulative worth of the project’s expected cash flows “to today’s dollars”
_ project with highest value is chose
_ does NOT subtract initial investment

Question 28

net present value (NPV)

Answer 28

_ cash flows or revenues expected over the life of the project, minus the initial investments
_ projects are accepted if NPV > 0

Question 29

internal rate of return (IRR)

Answer 29

_ discount rate when the present value of the investment equals the original investment
_ profitability is given as an average percent over the life of the investment
_ projects with higher IRR are preferred

Question 30

leadership

Answer 30

_ rallying people around a vision
_ motivating people to achieve results
_ setting strategic goals
_ establish direction

Question 31

Project management communication strategy

Answer 31

_ what you want to communicate
_ how often you’ll communicate
_ the audience receiving the communication
_ the medium used for communication
_ monitoring the outcome of the communication

Question 32

Effective meetings

Answer 32

_ plan in advance
_ define purpose of meeting
_ develop an agenda
_ give each agenda item a time limit
_ end the meeting on time

Question 33

Project management office (PMO)

Answer 33

_ An office that an organization establishes to create and maintain company-wide project management procedures and standards
_ may provide key performance indicators and metrics
_ standards of performance and consequences of non-performance
_ coordinates resources among projects
_ “manages projects and programs”

Question 34

Stakeholder

Answer 34

_ person or organization with a vested interest in the project, having something to gain or lose
_ includes customers/clients, so could be a lot of people
_ they determine the requirements and assess results
_ to build consensus, negotiate throughout the project
_ project manager must manage stakeholder expectations throughout the project
_ functional managers are “critical” stakeholders when team members are supplied by other parts of the organization
_ e.g. customers, project sponsors

Question 35

Project sponsor

Answer 35

_ provides or obtains financial resources
_ serves as a tiebreaker when other stakeholders can’t make decisions
_ in best position for identifying stakeholders
_ monitors and controls delivery of major milestones
_ champions for the project, removing obstacles

Question 36

Project baseline

Answer 36

_ metrics for determining whether a project is on schedule, within scope, within budget, meeting quality requirements

Question 37

Project artifacts

Answer 37

_ work products used in management the project

_ e.g. documents, templates, agendas, diagrams

Question 38

Project coordinator

Answer 38

_ assists the project manager with everything

_ e.g. coordinate cross-functional team members, resources, meetings, scheduling, monitoring schedule, quality checks

Question 39

Project scheduler

Answer 39

_ develops and maintains the schedule
_ communicates timelines, due dates
_ reports schedule performance and schedule changes
_ usually only exist in large organizations on large projects
_ may be a shared resource in the project management office among projects

Question 40

Responsibilities of project team members

Answer 40

_ contributing to deliverables
_ estimate time and duration of tasks
_ estimate costs, particularly for outside purchases
_ provide status updates
_ manage anything dependent on their tasks

Question 41

Stakeholder matrix

Answer 41

Keeps track of all stakeholders in a large project, often with a spreadsheet. Includes:
_ name
_ contact info
_ role
_ needs, concerns, interests wrt project
_ level of influence
_ notes about interacting with stakeholder
* may need to update matrix regularly for changes, including changes in who is a stakeholder

Question 42

High-level scope definition

Answer 42

_ describes project objectives, high-level deliverables, and the reason for the project
_ explains major characteristics of the product or service
_ provides the relationship between the project and a business need
_ makes sure the requested solution solves the actual problem
_ requires meeting with stakeholders to get clarification; “what is behind the request?”