Project Management Flashcards
Project
a unique, temporary endeavor with a specific objective to be met within prescribed time, budget and resource limitations made up of an interrelated set of activities that have a definite starting and ending point
Project management involves meeting each of the three goals:
- Scope (objectives) - what are you trying to do (in/out)
- Cost of resources - not just money, but equipment, resources
- Time schedule - the project always has a start and an end time
Teamwork skills matter…
work is often done in teams, projects by yourself are RARE
Inward and outward facing teams (bridge role)
understanding internal requirements and resolving issues
communicating needs and resolving issues with suppliers
Analytical and personal skills
understanding total cost and make vs buy
selecting and managing suppliers who meet cost, quality, delivery, and other performance specifications
negotiation of prices and contracts, monitoring performance
Importance of teamwork
group norms determine how well the teams perform and matter more than who is on the team
- believe their work matters
- feel the work is personally meaningful
- have clear goals and defined roles
- know they can depend on one another
- enjoy psychological safety (you trust others but you’re not best friends)
Google - Project Aristotle
Critical Path Method (CPM)
an algorithm for scheduling activities within a project for the fastest and most efficient solution (methodology for project management)
Critical path
schedules for timely execution, the longest sequence of events that determines the project length. there is no slack time on the critical path
longest path in the project or project duration
Activity slack
the difference between an activity’s earliest and latest start times or between it’s earliest and latest finish times
how much room you have for delay
Crashing: minimum cost schedule (crashing method)
shortening (or expediting) some activities within a project to reduce overall project completion time and/or total cost
- create network diagram
- determine the paths and identify the critical path
- calculate the crashing cost per unit for each activity
- calculate the total project costs (direct, indirect, penalty)
- shorten the activity on the critical path at the least cost until Cost > Savings (the reason you stop crashing)
Organizing the Project Team
work is often done in teams for project management
- both inward and outward facing (bridge role)
- both analytical and interpersonal skills
project management
Planning, directing, and controlling resources (people, equipment, material) to meet the technical, cost, and time constraints of a project
project milestone
A specific event in a project
Work breakdown structure (WBS)
The hierarchy of project tasks, subtasks, and work packages
activities
Pieces of work within a project that consume time. The completion of all the activities of a project marks the end of the project
Project aristotle
Create psychological safety with:
1. equality in conversational turn-taking
2. ostentatious listening (when members of a team demonstrate they are actively listening by repeating what has just been said and making eye contact)
time-cost models
Extension of the critical path models that considers the trade-off between the time required to complete an activity and the cost. This is often referred to as “crashing” the projectpp
Immediate predeccesor
Activities that need to be completed immediately before another activity
slack time
The time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project; the difference between the late and early start times of an activity
early start schedule vs late start schedule
A project schedule that lists all activities by their early start times
A project schedule that lists all activities by their late start times. This schedule may create savings by postponing purchases of material and other costs associated with the project
