Resource Planning and Management

Question 1

Functional Organization

Answer 1

A hierarchal organizational structure type where staff is organized along departmental lines

The most common organizational structure

Project managers have little to no authority

Managers are responsible for assigning work to employees and rating the performance of the employees

Question 2

Matrix Organization

Answer 2

Organizational structure that is organized along departmental lines, similar to a functional organization, but resources assigned to a project are accountable to the project manager for all work associated with the project

Question 3

Strong Matrix

Answer 3

Emphasizes project work over functional duties

The project manager has the majority of power in this type of matrix

Question 4

Weak Matrix

Answer 4

Emphasizes functional work over project work and operates more like a functional hierarchy

Functional managers have the majority of power in this type of matrix

Question 5

Balanced Matrix

Answer 5

Shares equal emphasis between projects and functional work

Both the project manager and the functional manager share power in this type of matrix

Question 6

Projecticized Organizational Structure

Answer 6

Focuses on projects rather than functional work units where project manager has full authority to manage the project and resources

Far less common than the functional or matrix structure

Question 7

Interproject Dependencies

Answer 7

when you need the completed deliverables from one project to work on the current project

Question 8

Resource Life Cycle

Answer 8

acquisition, maintenance, hardware decommissioning, end-of-life software, and successor planning

Question 9

Core Team Members

Answer 9

team members that are involved from the beginning to the end of the project and are critical to the success of the project

core to the project because of their expertise and knowledge of the business process, technology associated with the project, and/or the skills needed to perform the work on the project, so their expertise is required throughout the project

Question 10

Functional Team Members

Answer 10

team members who join and then leave when their work is done

They may have skills or expertise needed for a specific task, but not the entire project life cycle

may also include stakeholders, advisors, or subject matter experts (SMEs)

Question 11

Gap analysis

Answer 11

determines the difference between where you are now and where you want to be in the future (compares the resources you have to the resources you need)

can be used to compare performance capability, financial assessments, resource assignments, goal planning, etc.

Question 12

Project Organization Chart

Answer 12

documents names, positions, supervisors, etc.

hierarchal in nature, similar to a WBS

Question 13

Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)

Answer 13

organizational chart that shows the departments, work units, or teams within an organization and their respective work packages

Question 14

Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)

Answer 14

hierarchal chart that breaks down the work of the project according to the types of resources needed

Question 15

Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

Answer 15

a matrix-based chart that maps your WBS elements to the required resources

Question 16

RACI chart

Answer 16

show the types of resources and the responsibility they each have on the project

usually depicted as a chart with resource names listed in each column and work elements such as milestones or work packages listed in a row

Question 17

Five Stages of Team Development

Answer 17

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning

Question 18

Team Building

Answer 18

a set of activities or exercises designed to get a diverse group of people to work together in an efficient manner

most effective in the Forming and Storming stages, especially when they don’t know each other that well

Question 19

Conflict

Answer 19

the incompatibility of desires, needs, or goals between two parties or individuals

Question 20

Smoothing

Answer 20

the areas of agreement are emphasized over the areas of difference, so the real issue stays buried

a temporary way to resolve conflict; does NOT lead to a permanent solution

example of a lose-lose resolution technique because neither side wins

Question 21

Forcing

Answer 21

where one person forces a solution on other parties

a permanent solution, but not necessarily the best since the other parties were not in agreement

example of a win-lose resolution technique because the forcing party wins when the other lose

Question 22

Compromising

Answer 22

achieved when each of the parties involved in the conflict gives up something to reach a solution

a give-and-take; neither side wins or loses

Question 23

Collaberating

Answer 23

easily the best way to resolve conflict, this involves working together with other team members to derive a solution

a permanent resolution technique that project managers most often use as it is a win-win scenario

Question 24

Avoiding

Answer 24

also known as withdrawal, this occurs when one of the parties leaves and refuses to discuss the conflict. This is the worst of all the techniques because nothing gets resolved and is an example of a lose-lose resolution technique

Question 25

Procurement planning

Answer 25

the process of identifying the goods and services required for your project that will be purchased from outside the organization

Question 26

Make or buy analysis

Answer 26

determines whether its more cost-effective to produce the needed resources in-house or to procure them from outside the organization

Question 27

Statement of Work (SOW)

Answer 27

details the goods or services you want to procure

Question 28

Solicitation

Answer 28

the process of obtaining responses from vendors to complete the project work and documented in the SOW

Question 29

Request for Information (RFI)

Answer 29

used when you have to father more information about the goods or services you need to procure

Question 30

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Answer 30

submitted when you are ready to procure and begin the work

Question 31

Request for Quote (RFQ)

Answer 31

often used when you know what you want to buy, typically a commodity of some sort like a fleet of trucks or piece of equiptment

Question 32

Request for Bid (RFB)

Answer 32

used when the items or services you are procuring are readily available in the marketplace

Question 33

Competitive analysis

Answer 33

a vendor analysis technique that involves comparing the bids you receive to each other by comparing elements such as costs, resource experience and skills, warranty periods, features/functionality, and more

Question 34

Contract

Answer 34

a legal, mutually binding document that describes the goods or services that will be provided, the costs of the foods or services, and any penalties for noncompliance

Question 35

Fixed-price contract

Answer 35

states a fixed fee or price for the goods or services provided

works best when the product is very well-defined and the statement of work is clear and concise

Question 36

Cost-reimbursable contract

Answer 36

reimburses the seller for all the allowable costs associated with producing the foods or services outlined in the contract

riskier for the buyer because the total costs are unknown until the project is completed

the advantage is that the buyer can easily change the scope

Question 37

Time and materials contract (T&M)

Answer 37

a cross between fixed-prices and cost-reimbursable contracts where the buyer and seller agree on a unite rate, but the total cost is unknown and will depend on the amount of time spent to produce the product or service

Question 38

Unit price contract

Answer 38

is priced according to the units of work that make up the project or materials needed to complete the work, or both

Question 39

RACI

Answer 39

Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed