Project Management and Operating Environment

Question 1

What is Project Management

Answer 1

A unique transient endeavour undertaken to achieve planned objectives, which
could be defined in terms of outputs, outcomes or benefits

Question 2

What is Programme Management?

Answer 2

Programme management is the co-coordinated management of projects and
change management activities to achieve beneficial change

Question 3

What is Portfolio Management?

Answer 3

Portfolio management is the selection, prioritisation and control of an
organisation’s projects and programmes in line with its strategic objectives and
capacity to deliver. The goal is to balance change initiatives and ‘business as
usual’ while optimising return on investment

Question 4

What are the triple constraints of a project?

Answer 4

Quality, Time, Cost

Question 5

In addition to the “triangle of balance”, what else does a PM need to consider?

Answer 5

(Cost, Time, Quality)

Scope, Risks, Benefits

Question 6

What are the benefits of PM?

Answer 6

1. Greater chance of success
2. Ensure optimal use of resources and time
3. Engage stakeholders to make better decisions
4. Common consistent approach

Question 7

In analysing Business Environment, what is PESTLE?

Answer 7

Political
Economic
Sociological
Technological
Legal
Environmental (or Ecological)

Question 8

What are benefits of standard methodology of Project Management?

Answer 8

1. Consistent terminology across organisation
2. Common understanding or roles and responsibilities
3. Consistent documentation across projects
4. Structure for development of new PMs
5. Mobility of staff between projects

(Terminology, Roles, Documentation, Development new PMs, Mobility)

Question 9

What does “change management” mean in context of Programme Managements?

Answer 9

Transitional activities to achieve more effective change into Business as Usual e.g.

• training
• communication during course of programme
• training of new methods

Question 10

What does Project Environment refer to?

Answer 10

The circumstances and conditions under which the project, programme, or portfolio must operate

Question 11

The relative importance of time, cost and quality is determined by:

a. The project manager
b. The project manager and project team
c. The project sponsor
d. The project sponsor and suppliers

Answer 11

C
The project sponsor is accountable for achievement of the project objectives and owns the budget

The project manager manages these aspects, but the sponsor sets their relative importance

Question 12

Which of the following best describes project management?

a. The ongoing activity in an organisation, including process and competences
b. The application of process and methods to achieve the project objectives
c. The approach, knowledge and skills to deliver the business objectives
d. How an ogranisation responds to a crisis

Answer 12

B
PM is based upon proven methods and best practice processes

Option A is more like Operations Management or Business as Usual

Question 13

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a project?

a. Has a defined life span
b. Uses a pre-defined set of techniques
c. Produces defined and measurable business benefits
d. Has an element of uniqueness

Answer 13

B

Techniques will be applied as appropriate depending on the needs of individual projects

Question 14

Which one of the following is best suited to being project managed?

a. Maintaining new procedures
b. Operating new procedures
c. Minor changes to new procedures
d. Introducing new procedures

Answer 14

D

Projects introduce change rather than optimising existing products or services

Question 15

Business as usual (BAU) is different from project work in that it is:

a. On-going and repetitive
b. Unique
c. Temporary
d. A part of every project activity

Answer 15

A

BAU is the daily operations of a business. By nature this type of work is on-going and repetitive

Question 16

Programme management is used:

a. To support strategic change
b. When a project is running over budget
c. During crisis management
d. To co-ordinate line management areas

Answer 16

A
A programme typically comprises multiple projects. Their aim is to
deliver broad change over a longer period: addressing longer term strategy
rather than shorter term tactics

Question 17

What is a portfolio?
a. A grouping of an organisation’s projects and programmes including related
business-as-usual activities
b. A complex project requiring special tools and techniques
c. An archiving arrangement for project documentation
d. A grouping of related projects including associated business-as-usual activities

Answer 17

A
A portfolio can be made up of multiple projects, programmes and
BAU activities grouped for convenience rather than because they are directly
related. For example, the Marketing Portfolio would be comprised of all of the
projects, programmes and BAU activities that require marketing input.

Question 18

Which of the following is not generally seen as a 'theme' in portfolio 
management?  
a. Screen and analyse  
b. Control  
c. Review and report  
d. Select and prioritise

Answer 18

B
Rationale: Control

Portfolio management deals with prioritising, deciding on which projects should go ahead, reviewing projects in aggregate against predefined metrics, screening (stopping or not starting projects in first place)

Question 19

Which of the following best describes a project environment?
a. The circumstances and conditions within which the project, programme or
portfolio must operate.
b. Who may have an impact on the project or be impacted by it
c. The industry sector within which the project is being executed
d. The interrelated phases of a project, programme or portfolio

Answer 19

A
Rationale: The “environment” refers to all the factors that may affect the
delivery of a project.

Question 20

A common acronym for an analysis of project context is:

a. PETAL
b. PESTLE
c. PISTOL
d. PRETZEL

Answer 20

B
Rationale: Political
Economical