Project Management Flashcards
What are the 6 goals of project mgmt? to reach….
to reach the end of the project
to reach the end on budget
to reach the end of time
to reach the end safel
to reach the end error free
to me everyone’s expectations
Describe goals vs objectives
goals are universal principles that can apply to all projects
objectives describe project specific results
What are the 5 phases of Projectmgmt? s,p,d,p,c
start - proj begins
planning - how to perform work
design - the design is worked out. this is iterative and must be well developed to proivde the foundation for production to occur
production - prep of construction docs and other delis cables based on n design
close out - when work is completed
What are the 6 activities of project management
defining - define the design projects’ scope of work, budget and schedule, in effect determining the project objectives
planning - planning the work so goals will be met
directing - directing the design team so that the project objectives will be met while staying on schedule and within budget
coordinating - coordinating hte efforts of the desing team so that interdisciplinary info flow smoothly
monitoring - monitoring the design team’s work and progress against objecgives budget and schedule
learning - learnin what went right what went wrong and improving
What is the different between the 5 phases of project mgmt and the six activities of proj mgmt
phases provide a timeline for action.
activities provide the primary purpose of the project manager
What comes first, planning or defining a project
Defining
one a project is defines with an established scope of work, budgte and rough schedule it can be planned through the mechanism of a work plan
What is a project work plan
PWP - is an organizaiton framework to plan how and in what sequenc ethe project will occur
What does a PWP do / outline? What does it establish?
It takes the scope of services, outlined in the contract docs and client agreements, and ORGANIZES this scope into specific tasks, and clarifies how and when this work will be accomplished by the desing team
Provides the design team with a high level plan of project work to reference as the project progresses
The PWP will establish:
project communications precedures
hiarchy and reporting structure
safety , accounting and quality control procedures (CAD standards)
What are the 6 objectives of the project work plan?
definition of project objectives
ID of project team
breakdown of proj tasks and budget
development of proj schedule
establishment of proejct quality control program
last, ID of other project specific procedures and standards
How do you define project objectives? www,h
what needs to be done
when it needs to be done
who will do it
how much will it cost
How do you ID the project team? What does PM consider when putting team together
not the LA’s job
will be established by client owner or prime consultant
project manager will consdier the following:
what disciplines are needed
are those dicsiplines available in hours or are consultants needed
how will work be divided between these parties
how will info be shared amongst the project team
When teams are very complex - an org chart is helpful
What are the 3 componenets of project tasks
Tasks have 3 components
1 an objective
2 a duration
3 effort (labor hours and cost)
How does one develop and define project tasks? What is a WBS and what does it establish?
A WBS Work Breakdown Structure document is often used to structure tasks. it will establish
a hiearchy of takss
the realtionship between various takss
shows smaller tasks as components of larger onces
Each task is given a code so it can be tracked
Describe the 4 elements / considerations of a project schedule
They should be centered around MAJOR MILESTONES
KEY DELIVERABLE DUE DATES throughout the process
they should confirm dates and timelines established in the desing CONTRACT DATES
they should include scheduling CONTINGENCIES
What is the best practice for buffering contingencies
incorporate 10% more time in scheudle than is anticipated
What is a QC program? In what phases are they important? What doe they outline?
QC establishes the quality control procedures to ensure project is complete and accurate as possible. Completeness and accuracy are defined in terms of climent objectives, contract terms, and regulatory standards
QC important during transition from concept to schematic and from schematic into construction. relevant prior to major submissions and review periods
QC is for detailed review - spell check, cad standards ect_) AS WELL AS ensuring all parties are using updated, coordinated and same information in their desing drawings
What is QC’s role during construction?
To ensure work is constructed in conformance with the design drawings and specifications and to correct any deficiencies that arise
under section 6 of a workplan - what may not be captured in previous sections that should be addressed?
project work safety plan
required equipment for communication, field work, site visits, etc
may include elemtns of CAD standards
invoicing procedures
templates or standard formats for meeting mintues telephone calls or other correspondance
What are the types of project schedules?
Milestone List
Bar Chart (aka Gantt Chart)
Critical Path Method
What is a milstone list project schedule?
most basic form of schedule. often used on small projects
often appear in RFP’s
include a simple table with Milestone, scheduled deadline and actual deadline (to be filled in)
What is a gantt chart or bar chart project schedule?
Most common graphic schedule used in the desing profession becaue they are easy to create and easily understood
a table outlines tasks and subtasks in the 1st column, then a date range across the horizontal axis. Colored bars fill in timelines for each task
Critical Path Method - what is it? visually? what does it ID? how?
Visually looks like Gantt chart BUT…
the CPM schedules ID tasks that are critical to the project and illustrates relationships and interdependencies between tasks AND will highlight the most important tasks
Tasks are considered to be CRITICAL when NOT meeting the task deadline will direclty and irreversibly impact the project schedule
What doe the terms “float” and “no float” mean in relationship to a CPM schedule?
Float - excess time in a schedule
No float - means a task must be met on that deadline - as not meeting it will direclty and irreversibly impact the project schedule
What is the convention for PMs for tracking progress and QC on deadlines for design drawings
The PM will assign a series of percentage completion milestones
0% - the drawing is not started but the shhet size may be decides and titleblock is inserted
25% - the darwing has been started but most of the design is still in progress
50% - plans. sections and details are drawn but dimensions notes and callouts are missing or incomplete
90% - the drawing is complete, pending changes or comments during QC
100% - drawing complete with final QC incorporated
What is a constructability review? what does it consider?
an audit process in which the contract documents are reviewed to ID potential construction related problems and suggest improvements for how to streamline and improve project construction
broad considerations but may include:
materials costs
equipment limitations on site
local expertise in a building trade
What is value engineering?
entails review of the contract docs to determine if construction costs and duration can be reduced while maintaining or even improving project quality
When the LA is the prime consultant. what coordination and communicaiton tasks will they be resposible for? What about when they are a sub consultant?
What is always true of information regardless of being a prime or sub role
communication is always hiearchical and will always defer to the prime contractor or consultant
The prime will communicating info between various subconsultants and to the owner
subs recieve information and are directed by the prime
Regardless of contract role - the LA’s work must always conform with the client / owners objectives and the LA must recieve client / owner approval on key desing decsiisons and recieve approval prior to transitioning from the design phase to the production phase
Who is responsible for facilitating meetings?
What does facilliation entail?
the prime will act as the facilliator, unless otherwise arranged in a contract
facilliation entails:
scheduiling date time and place of meetings
preparing meeting schedule and agendas
ensuring that meeting participants are aware of deliverables related ot a metting
taking notes or meeting minutes and distribuing them post meeting
following up with key atendees and the owner / client to confirm key decsisions and next steps
What are the best pracitces around meeting agendas and meeting minutes?
meeting agendas should be distributed to all attendees prior to a metting
meeting minutes should include a date time location lace names posiitions and other key identification of atendees. and should record all notable statmeents relevant to taks oriented, high level summary take aways from a meeting
What is the best measure to take in preventing contract conflicts and disputes
effective projecment mgmt, and well written contracts
contracts for design services should describe services in detail including the clear exclusion of scope of works not included if potential for misunderstanding exists
What are the three mechanisms for dispute resolution typically outlined in construction and design contracts?
mediation:
voluntary method, led by third party to help the disputing parties come to a common agreement that ends the conflict. does NOT prescribe legally binding decisions and any resolution brokered is not court enforced
arbitration:
third parties are given autority to render a final binding decsiion that cannot be repealed. it is formal and can be binding so that it is court enforcable
partnering
a preventative process that is meant to address serious conflicts prior to escalation. parties are led through team building exercises by a trained facilliator to id common goals, improve communciation and promote unity in the project team
What is the typical phases into which a project budget is broken down?
administration
design
construction
construction support services
contingency
What is overhead
non labor costs associated with operating and maintaining an office
How tools / references can be used to help you determine a project. budget.
a successful budget balances what two things?
analysis of similar projects
feasability studies
cost data handbooks
successful budgets find compelling common ground between bdugetary constraints and programmatic requirements
In a project budget what constitutes an admin cost?
project management - depending on client expertise, it may be allocated more toward client or owner’s staff - or toward general contractor or prime who will be admin’ing the project for the client
in a proj budget what constitutes a design cost? what profit goals should an LA typ shoot for?
amount allocated toward developing a concept and translating this into construction documents
should take design for all needed disciplines into account.
shoot for 15 to 20% profit
What should LA do if client’s design budget is insufficient for required scope of services? what is standardar markup to cover printing, presentations ect if not explicity covered in budget?
reduce number of deliverables
reduce the number of meetings
adjust the overall scope of work so that services are reduced
10%
in a proj budget what are construction costs? how is related to design?
What is the term for construction cost estimates produced by a designer? How early is it appropriate to develop cost estimates
money allocated to build the project
LA must produce a design that meets the construction budget and maximizes design impact within budgetary constraints
“opion of probable cost” Concept phase - for purposes of LARE - is too early. LA should not offer costs until design had advanced in its lifecycle enough to provide substantial cost information
what are construction support services costs in a proj budgte?
budget for constrcution inspection, testing, review of submitalls, ect
What is project contingency costs in a proj budget? what is best practice set aside?
amount of money client or owner has set aside for cosntruction changes and buffer for unexpected cost overruns
- to 10%
QC during the construction phase is generally addressed through:
> sunmitals and samples of prefab projects for designer approval
mockups of elements constructed on site to serve as ref for larger scale work
materials testing to ensure installation quality
Direct observation of installation
