Project Management 3351 - Final Flashcards
What do we need to estimate each activity in a WBS in term of?
duration and effort
what is the duration represented by?
calendar time
what is effort represented by?
number of working hours
how many working hours is one month of effort?
168
what is the delphi technique to project estimation?
using multiple anonymous experts, each making estimates and taking average or analyzing outcome
what are the three types of estimates in the 3 point technique?
optimistic, pessimistic, most likely
what is the formula for the three point estimation techniqeu?
E = (O + 4M + P)/6
what is time boxing?
allocating a “box” of time for a specific activity, task or deliverable
what can happen if time boxing is used too often?
project team members can become burned out or frustrated
who determines the overall project schedule in top down estimating?
top and middle managers
what are lower level managers expected to do in top down estimating?
breakdown schedule/budget estimates into specific activities (WBS)
top down estimating tries to determine what the project _______ cost and how long it _______ take, as decreed by a top level manager who ______ those parameters are appropriate.
should, should, think
what may top down estimating lead do ?
a death march project
which estimating technique may be a response to the business environment?
top down estimating
what is the most common form of project estimation?
bottom up estimating
what is bottom up estimating
project is broken up into much smaller modules and the person hours/weeks/months are determined for each module, schedules and budgets are the aggregate of detailed activities and costs
what is analogous estimating?
everything is based on similar tasks done in the past
what is the common principle in analogous estimating?
find the time it would take you to do a similar task, double it and add 10-20%
what estimation approach utilizes a third party who is very knowledgeable on the type of project you are going to engage in?
expert advice
what are the problems associated with the lines of codes estimation approach?
do comments count? declaring variables? efficient vs bloat code, differences between languages, can’t really estimate before project completion
what are the 5 primary elements of a function point analysis?
inputs, outputs, inquiries, logical files, interfaces
what are external inputs?
data originating from users or other systems that cross the boundary to the application
what are external inquiries?
input and output components resulting in data retrieval
what are value adjustment factors?
system characteristics that influence the function point analysis
how many DI’s are there?
14
what is cocomo an acronym for
constructive cost model
who introduced cocomo
barry boehm
what estimates is cocomo based on and what is it used to estimate?
based on LOC estimates, and it estimates cost, effort, and schedule
name the three project types in cocomo?
organic, embedded, semi-detached
a project where the work is expected to go smoothly with few problems is what type of project?
organic
what is a semi-detached project?
in between organic and embedded
challenging projects that may be new ground for an organization or project team is what type of project?
embedded
what is a person-month?
the effort by one person in on month
how many hours is a person-month defined as in cocomo?
152 hours
what is KDSI?
thousands of delivered source instructions (lines of code)
how is effort calculated in cocomo?
converting FP to LOC and plugging into equation for appropriate project type
how is duration calculated in cocomo?
2.5 X effor^(of some value that depends on project type)
how do you get people required in cocomo?
effort/duration
what does cocomo 2 incorporate?
sub models
when an application is composed from existing parts what sub model can be used with cocomo?
application composition model
what is the early design model used for?
when requirement are available but design has not yet started
when reusable components are being integrated what submodel do you use?
reuse model
what is the post architecture model?
its a model for when the system architecture is already designed
T/F: The most common error in guesstimating is to be pessimistic
and to overestimate the time and resources necessary to
complete a project
F
T/F:The Delphi technique is a quick and economical way to
estimate the duration and costs of project activities
F
T/F: Time boxing involves allocating a time segment for a task
rather than attempting to estimate how long that task should
take
T
T/F: Basing an estimate of activity durations on experience gained
from working on similar projects is called analogous estimation.
T
T/F: Counting lines of code (LOC) is a good way to encourage
efficient programming.
F
T/F: Because function points are independent of technology, they
provide a way to compare projects that may use different
platforms or languages.
T
An estimation technique characterized by schedule and cost
estimates of how long something should take or should cost is
top down estimating
An estimation technique characterized by the estimation, in
person-timeframe (i.e. person-hours, person-weeks) terms, or
small modules is
bottom up
An estimation technique characterized by picking numbers out
of the air is
guesstimating
An estimation technique characterized by the allocation of a
timeframe for a specified activity. e.g. a team has two weeks
to complete a task and at the end of two weeks work on that
task ceases is
time boxing
An estimation technique characterized by the recruitment of
multiple experts who provide rounds of estimates until a
consensus estimate emerges is
delphi technique
An Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) would be considered an
ILF
screen that allows the user to input information using a
keyboard and a mouse would be called an
EI
A data set of Customer names and addresses that is
maintained by another application system would be called an
EIF
management report and its accompanying graphs would be
considered an
EO
something that includes a combination of inputs and outputs
for retrieving data from either the internal files or from files
external to the application would be called an
EQ
what is included in cost management according to PMBOK?
resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, cost control
what is a gantt chart?
a bar chart that shows a project schedule, shows start and end dates and terminal elements and summary elements of a project
explicit relationships amoung tasks are not shown in what type of gantt chart?
traditional
what is the critical path?
the longest duration path in the network diagram, that determines the shortest possible time to complete the project
what are in the four corners of a an activity on node node?
earliest start, earliest finish, latest start and latest finish
what is a sub-critical path?
a non critical path through the network, total duration are shorter than the critical path
an activity that should be involved wih at least one critical path is what?
a zero slack activity?
the amount of a task completion that can be delayed without affecting the project completion date is called?
slack
the difference between the LF and EF or the LS and ES is what?
slack
what are the dependency constraints?
technical, management, interproject, date constraints
the task of shrinking the projected completion date is known as what?
schedule compression
what do you look for when shrinking a schedule?
tasks that can be done simultaneously instead of sequentially, tasks that can begin when only a part of a previous task is done (instead of all of it), tasks that can be partitioned and assigned to more than one person
what are the 4 fundamental relationships in AON?
finish to finish, start to start, start to finish an finish to start
what is lead time?
starting a the next task before the previous task is complete?
what is lag time?
adding a buffer of time before the next task begins
what are the four quadrants in AOA?
event number, latest date, slack, earliest date
what is PERT?
program evaluation a review technique
what three estimates is PERT based off of?
same as 3 point technique: optimistic, pessimistic and most likely
what are the 4 quadrants in PERT?
event number, target date, standard deviation, expected date
how are z scores calculated in PERT?
z = (T-te)/s, where s is the activity standard deviation which is (pessimistic - optimistic)/6
what type of cost is people cost?
a direct cost
how is labor cost calculated when you know effort?
effort x labor rate
what type of cost is material cost?
a direct cost
what type of cost is leasing new facilities for people to work in on a project?
an indirect cost
what is a reserve?
money that is put aside in case of unforseen expenses
what is a sunk cost?
software engineering dual degree
what does the project plan become once the schedule and project plan are accepted?
the baseline plan
T/F: The project budget is determined by the project schedule, the
cost of the resources assigned to each of the tasks, and by any
other direct or indirect costs and reserves.
T
T/F: he PMBOK® area called project cost management includes
cost estimating, cost budgeting, and cost control.
T
T/F: Gantt charts are useful for planning but should not be used for
tracking and monitoring the progress of a project.
F
T/F; Project network diagrams provide valuable information about
the logical sequence and dependencies among the various
activities and tasks so that a completion date or deadline can
be determined.
T
T/F: predecessor activities are activities that can be worked on at
the same time as another activity.
F
T/F: at must be completed
before another activity can be started.
T
T/F: parallel activity is a task that can be worked on at the same
time as another activity
T
T/F: parallel activities can shorten the project schedule, but can
have an impact on project resources if a resource is assigned
to two tasks at the same time.
T
T/F: identifying the critical path is important because any change in
the duration of the activities or tasks on the critical path will
affect the project’s schedule.
T
T/F: a critical path has zero slack?
T
T/F: PERT was developed in the 1950s to create a visual
representation of scheduled activities, their logical sequence,
and interrelationships using a statistical probability distribution.
T
T/F: Installing a server before loading the operating system is an
example of a finish-to-start relationship.
T
T/F: Start-to-Start and Finish-to-Finish relationships allow activities
to be worked on in parallel.
T
T/F; A start-to-finish activity is the most common relationship
between two activities.
F
T/F: The direct costs of using a resource is the only type of cost that
should be considered when developing the project budget.
F
T/F: Sunk costs include such things as rent, utilities, insurance, and
other administrative costs.
F
T/F: reserve can provide a cushion when unexpected situations
arise
T
The term most closely associated with activity bars across a
horizontal time axis is
gantt charts
the term most closely associated with the identification of
predecessors, successors, and parallel activities is:
project network diagrams
The technique used to find the sequence of tasks with zero
slack (or float) is most closely associated with:
cirtical path analysis
he technique used to help manage the Polaris submarine
project and which bases activity estimates on probabilistic
estimates of three scenarios is most closely associated with:
PERT
An activity being analyzed under PERT was judged to most likely
have a duration of 40 days. When considering the time it would
take to complete the activity if every relevant factor went well, it
was estimated to take 20 days and even under the worst case
imaginable, the task would be take 50 days. The estimates PERT
duration of that activity is:
38.33 days
Under the Precedence Diagramming Method, the situation
which occurs when a relationship between two tasks that can
or must start at the same time is called:
start to start
Under the Precedence Diagramming Method, the most
common relationship between two activities which implies a
logical sequence is called:
finish to start
Under the Precedence Diagramming Method, the situation
which occurs when two activities can start at different times,
have different durations, but are planned to be competed at
the same time is called:
finish to finish
Under the Precedence Diagramming Method, the situation
which occurs when task A cannot end until task B starts is
called:
start to finish
he decision to build an application system based on what was
left after a previous attempt ended in failure primarily because
of the large investment the company made in the failed
project was most likely made by a manager who did not fully
understand:
sunk cost
crisis management is _________ risk management is _________
reactive, proactive
what is the common mistake associated with success orientation?
unwillingness to admit risks exist
what is a risk as defined by PMBOK?
an uncertain event or condition that has negative or oportunistic properties
risk management maximizes what and minimizes what?
maximizes: probability of positive (opportunistic events)
minimizes: probability of adverse events
what is the risk management plan responsible for determining?
methodology, roles and responsibilities, budgeting, scheduling, risk analysis scoring,
who should be included in risk identification
most if not all project stakeholders
what are the it project risk management process steps?
planning, identification, assessment, strategies, monitoring and control, response, evaluation
events that are going to occcur but you don’t know when are called what?
known risks
an uncertain event is called what?
known-unknown risk
an event that we have no idea will happen and we aren’t thinking about or anticipating are called?
unknown known risk
project managers are directly responsible for what type of risk?
internal
what risk type arises from the environment outside of the project?
external
what is the most common approach to risk identification?
brainstorming
what is the nominal group technique?
anonymous round robin elicitation of ideas and evaluation of those ideas until they are ranked and prioritized
what is the delphi technique?
experts are brought in to identify potential risks and discuss their impact
what are the advantages of using a checklist?
its a simple a direct approach to identifying risks
what are the disadvantages of using a checklist?
risk identification may be limited to the risk categories on the checklist
what are the element of a swot analysis??
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
what type of diagram is a cause and effect diagram?
fishbone
what is the purpose of risk analysis?
to determine the probability and impact of each risk
what does risk assessment focus on?
prioritizing risks so a strategy can be formulated
risk timelines can be created and controlled through what?
the risk register
quantitative risk analysis is reserved for what types of risks?
high impact risks
expected value helps to determine what in terms of risk?
severit
if the cost of avoiding the risk is less then the expected value what should you do?
spend the money and avoid it
if the cost of corrective action is greater than the expected value what should you do?
nothing, not worth it
what analysis technique would you want to use when deciding between two decisions?
decision tree
what are the 4 risk response strategies?
avoidance, transfer, mitigation, acceptance
what risk response strategy attempts to completely eliminate the possibility of the risk?
avoidance
what is risk transfer?
transferring risk to a third party
what are some examples of risk transfer?
insurance, fixed priced contracts, warrantees
what risk response strategy attempts to reduce probability and/or impact of a risk?
mitigation
under what circumstances should risk acceptance be used as a risk response strategy?
when no other action is feasible or if the risk is of small probability and impact
what do most risk acceptance strategies rely on?
contingency allowance
what tools are used for risk monitoring?
risk register and risk timeline
what process documents recognized risks, the planned response and the outcomes?
risk evaluation
T/F: Failure to follow a formal risk management plan will often
cause organizations to be reactive and find themselves in a
state of permanent crisis
T
T/F: The best time to plan for risk is during the project execution
phase when risk can be assessed most accurately
F
T/F: Effective project risk management requires that each risk
have an owner
T
T/F: In general, because of the similarities in IT projects, one can
manage all projects and risks in the same manner.
F
T/F: Project risk management focuses only on the downside that
results from unexpected problems or threats
F
T/F: The PMBOK definition of project risk suggests that a
systematic process is needed to effectively manage the risk
of a project.
T
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) that
defines the process of risk management includes all of the
following processes except:
a) Risk Management Planning
b) Risk Identification
c) Qualitative Risk Analysis
d) IT Project Risk Impact Analysis
e) Risk Response Planning
d
Gaining consensus from a group of experts would be most
closely associated with:
Delphi technique
Initial generation of ideas without evaluation would be most
closely associated with:
Brainstorming
A structured technique for identifying risks which requires
participants to rank and prioritize ideas in round-robin
fashion is most closely associated with:
Nominal group technique
T/F: The goal of a sound risk management is to completely avoid
all risk.
F
T/F: Triggers or flags in the form of metrics should be identified
to draw attention to a particular risk when it occurs.
T
T/F: Unknown-unknown risks are residual risks that we cannot
even imagine happening.
T
T/F: Since risk arises from uncertainty, there can be no such
category as known risks.
F
T/F: Nominal Group Technique is a free form, unstructured
process similar to Brainstorming.
F
T/F: The fishbone or Ishikawa diagram is a form of cause and
effect analysis diagramming.
T
T/F: Since IT projects are developed in an environment that
changes so rapidly and so extensively, there is little value in
using past projects to guide our risk assessment of new
ones.
F
T/F: Qualitative risk analysis has as one of its strengths the
ability to include subjective analysis based on experience
and judgment.
T
T/F: The concept of expected value rests on the notion of a
probability-weighted summation of component parts.
T
Receiving a much larger than usual gas utility bill because
of an early spring cold spell is an example of what type of
risk?
known-uknown risk
Which of the following distributions has mean which is
equal to (a + 4b +c) / 6 where a, b, and c are denote
optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates
respectively?
PERT distribution
Which of the following distributions has mean which is
equal to (a +b +c) / 3 where a, b, and c are denote
optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates
respectively?
Triangular distribution
Which processes assesses the likelihood of
risk occurrences and their consequences using numeric
probability assignments?
quantitative risk analysis
What tool or technique shows the
impacts of one decision over another as well as the
probability and cost of each risk along a logical path?
desicion tree
Information-gathering techniques used in the Risk
Identification process include all of the following except:
a) Brainstorming
b) Delphi technique
c) Interviewing
d) PERT technique
D
