Tools & Techniques Descriptions (1 of Each) Flashcards
Expert Judgment
Expertise which may come from individuals with experience, knowledge, skills, and/or training and can be from the company, consultants, PMO, SMEs, Industry Groups, etc. Technical and management expertise may be required in developing documents. Expert Judgment is a tool and technique for every Integration Process.
Used as a T&T in:
- Develop Project Charter
- Develop Project Management Plan
- Direct & Manage Project Work
- Monitor & Control Project Work
- Perform Integrated change Control
- Close Project or Phase
- Plan Scope Management
- Define Scope
- Create WBS
- Plan Schedule Management
- Define Activities
- Estimate Activity Resources
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Plan Cost Management
- Estimate Costs
- Determine Budget
- Plan HR Management
- Control Communications
- Plan Risk Management
- Identify Risks
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
- Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
- Plan Risk Responses
- Plan Procurement Management
- Conduct Procurements
- Identify Stakeholders
- Plan Stakeholder Management
- Control Stakeholder Engagement
Facilitation Techniques
Brainstorming, conflict resolution, problem solving, and meeting management techniques.
Used as a T&T in:
- Develop Project Charter
- Develop Project Management Plan
Stakeholder Analysis
A technique used to identify the stakeholders, and their interest, experience and influence on the project.
Used as a T&T in:
- Identify Stakeholders
Meetings
Special meetings called Profile Analysis Meetings can be used to develop an understanding of roles, interested, knowledge, and the overall position of Project stakeholders, especially major stakeholders.
Used as a T&T in:
- Direct & Manage Project Work
- Monitor & Control Project Work
- Perform Integrated Change Control
- Close Project or Phase
- Plan Scope Management
- Plan Schedule Management
- Plan Cost Management
- Plan Quality Management
- Plan HR Management
- Plan Communication Management
- Control Communications
- Plan Risk Management
- Control Risk
- Plan Procurement Management
- Identify Stakeholders
- Plan Stakeholder Management
- Control Stakeholder Engagement
Questionnaires & Surveys
Used to quickly gather information from a large number of participants.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Prototypes
A common technique for soliciting requirements by making a working model (usually on a smaller scale), of the end product. A prototype helps customers visualize their end product and provide early feedback. It also helps reduce the risks on the project.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Observations
This technique, also called “job shadowing”, involves “watching over the shoulder” of end-users (of the proposed product) to see how they perform their tasks. It is used to uncover “hidden” requirements, which the users may not be able to articulate themselves.
Uses as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Interviews
A formal or informal approach to seek information from the stakeholders by talking to them directly. Interviewing stakeholders, and subject matter experts can help in identifying and defining the features and functions of the project deliverables.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Group Decision-Making Techniques
Used to assess various alternatives. The objective is to classify and prioritize (low, medium, high) requirements. There are multiple methods of reaching a group decision, such as Unanimity, Majority, Plurality, and Dictatorship.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
- Validate Scope
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Estimate Costs
Group Creativity Techniques
Used to collect project and product requirements via Brainstorming, Nominal Group Technique, Mind Mapping, Affinity Diagram, and Multi-criteria decision analysis.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Focus Groups
Meeting that bring together dry stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations and attitudes about a proposed product, service, or result. They are conducted by trained moderators.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Facilitated Workshops
Bring key stakeholders together for defining cross-functional requirements and reconciling stakeholder differences. Examples include Joint Application Development (JAD) in software development, Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) in manufacturing.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
- Define Scope
Document Analysis
Gathering requirements by analyzing business plans, marketing material, agreements, RFP, business rules, business processes, use cases, problem/issue logs, policies, procedures, and regulatory documentation.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Context Diagrams
Help stakeholders visualize the product scope by showing the interaction between a business system (process, equipment, computer system, etc.), with people and other systems.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
Benchmarking
Comparing the current project’s processes to those of other comparable projects (within or outside the organization) order to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance.
Used as a T&T in:
- Collect Requirements
- Plan Quality Management
Product Analysis
Translates high-level product descriptions into tangible deliverables. Project Deliverables are a art of the Project Scope Statement, which is an outp of Define Scope process. Product analysis includes techniques such as Product Breakdown, Systems Analysis, Requirements Analysis, Systems Engineering, Value Engineering, and Value Analysis.
Used as a T&T in:
- Define Scope
Alternatives Generation
A technique to identify different approaches to perform the work of the project. Brainstorming and Lateral Thinking are commonly used to identify alternatives.
Used as a T&T in:
- Define Scope
Decomposition
Th technique of breaking down a very laager project into manageable components.
Used as a T&T in:
- Create WBS
- Define Activities
Analytical Techniques
Various techniques such as rolling wave planning, leads and lags, alternative analysis, and methods for reviewing schedule performance may be employed. Techniques such as payback period, return on investment, internal rate of return, discounted cash flow, and net present value, may be used for making funding decisions (self-funding, funding with equity, or funding with debt) and financing project resources (making, purchasing, renting, or leasing).
Used in:
- Plan Schedule Management
- Plan Cost Management
- Plan Risk Management
- Plan Stakeholder Management
- Conduct Procurements
- Monitor & Control Project Work
- Close Project or Phase
Rolling Wave Planning
In the beginning of the project when requirements and scope are not well defined, the activities are defined in detail for the work to be done in near term, and defined at a high level for the work to be done in future. As requirements and scope become clear, the work packages are decomposed further. This technique is known as Rolling Wave Planning.
Used in:
- Define Activities
Dependency Determination
All types of dependencies - Mandatory, Discretionary, External, and Internal - meet to be considered when sequencing activities.
Leads & Lags
Refinements applied during network analysis and activities to develop/create a viable schedule and a viable project schedule network diagram.
Example of Lead: User Documentation can start 2 weeks before schooled completion of testing.
Example of Lag: The successor activity must wait 3 days after pouring of the concrete to allow the concrete to set.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
A method used in Critical Path Methodology (CPM) for developing a project schedule network diagram. It uses boxes or rectangles, referred to as nodes, to represent activities, and connects them with arrows that represent the logical relationships between activities.
Alternatives Analysis
Alternative ways to accomplish an activity. For example, two less experienced resources could be used to accomplish a task instead of an experienced resource. An activity could be automated by using a tool instead of being performed manually, in order to expedite work. Some components could be purchased instead of being manufactured in-house.
Bottom-Up Estimating
An estimating technique in which complex activities are broken down into smaller and more manageable activities. Resource requirements are determined for these smaller activities and then aggregated or “rolled-up” to determine the resource requirements for the entire activity.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Resources
- Estimate Costs
Project Management Software
Such as a scheduling tool (e.g. MS Project) can help to plan, organize, and manage resource pools and develop resource estimates.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Resources
- Control Schedule
- Estimate Costs
- Control Costs
Published Estimating Data
Production rates and unit costs for resource, equipment and supplies for different regions can be used to estimate activity resource requirements. Such information could be optioned from publicly available databases.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Resources
Analogous Estimating
An estimating technique that uses information from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimating a future activity. For example, a similar project done in the past took 5 months to complete. so, the current project, which is slightly more complex, should take about 6 months.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Estimate Costs
Critical Chain Method
A schedule network analysis technique that modifies the project schedule to account for limited resources and project uncertainties. It is developed from the critical path method. The resource-constrained critical path is known as the critical chain.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
Critical Path Method
A schedule network analysis technique used to determine the minimum project duration by analyzing the amount of float on various paths in the project schedule network.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
Modeling Techniques
A technique used to develop and control project schedule by assessing the feasibility of project schedule under various scenarios. It works by asking questions such as “what if scenario X happens?”. Monte Carlo Analysis is commonly used to conduct “What if” analysis.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
Resource Optimization Techniques
Techniques such as Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing are used to produce a resource-limited schedule. These techniques alter the project schedule to reduce the extreme variations in resource usage, and achieve a more stable usage over the course of the project.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
Schedule Compression
It is the shortening of the project schedule duration without reducing the project scope. Commonly used schedule compression techniques include Crashing and Fast-tracking.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
Schedule Network Analysis
This technique generates the project schedule model. It identifies early and late start dates, as well as early and late finish dates, for the uncompleted portions of project schedule activities.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
Scheduling Tool
Schedule tools such as MS Project can expedite the process of schedule development.
Used in:
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
Cost of Quality
The total cost of all quality related if forts throughout the product life cycle. It includes prevention and appraisal costs (cost of conformance), and failure costs (cost of non-conformatnce).
Used in:
- Estimate Costs
- Plan Quality Management
Parametric Estimating
An estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship established based on historical data, to calculate an etiolate project cost, budget, or duration. For example it costs $100K to build one apartment unit. So, it should cost about $10M to construct a complex with 100 units.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Estimate Costs
Reserve Analysis
An analytical technique to establish a contingency (or buffer) for project duration or budget to mitigate schedule or cost risks. Contingency reserves account for “known-unknowns” in the project. The reserve is calculated either as a fixed number (e.g. $50K), or a percentage (e.g. 10%) of total project cost.
Used in:
- Control Costs
- Control Risks
- Determine Budget
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Estimate Costs
Three-Point Estimating
An estimating technique that uses three cost or duration estimates (optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic) to account for risk or uncertainty involved in an activity.
Used in:
- Estimate Activity Duration
- Estimate Costs
Vendor Bid Analysis
The bids from various vendors are compared to estimate total project cost. Separate bids may be invaded for different deliverables. Costs are estimated for all the deliverables in order to determine the total project cost.
Used in:
- Estimate Costs
Cost Aggregation
The individual cost estimates of activities in the WBS are aggregated to get the cost estimates by work package. Cost estimates by work packages are aggregated to get cost estimates by Control Account. Finally, cost estimates by Control Account are rolled up to determine the total project cost.
Used in:
-Determine Budget
Funding Limit Reconciliation
In this technique, the funding available in each time period (say each month) is compared with the planned expenditure in the time period to ensure that the planned expenditure is within the available funding. For example, if the planned expenditure in a given month is more than the funding available in that month, then the work in that month may have to be rescheduled to another month when more funds are available.
Used in:
- Determine Budget
Historical Relationships
Knowledge gained from past experience can be translated into mathematical models to predict the total project cost. For example, cost for a construction project can be calculated by using cost per sq. ft. rather than using bottom-up estimating.
Used in:
- Determine Budget
Additional Quality Planning Tools
These include Brainstorming, Force field analysis, Nominal group techniques, and other quality management and control tools such as Affinity diagrams, PDPC, Tree diagrams, Matrix diagrams, Prioritization matrices, etc.
Used in:
- Plan Quality Management
Cost-Benefit Analysis
It compares the cost of quality activities with the expected benefit. For example, if a quality improvement activity cots $10,000 and results in only a marginal increase in quality, then it’s probably not worth doing.
Used in:
- Plan Quality Management
Design of Experiments
Is a statistical approach that helps to determine the factors that have the most impact on quality. Ex) Lets say a company wants to optimize its e-commerce portal to generate maximum revenue. One way is to change one element of the web site at a time, try it out for a week , and analyze its impact on revenue. A more efficient and faster way is to use DOE and change a combination of elements at the same time to determine the best layout. DOE is used during the
Plan Quality Management process to determine the number and type of tests to be used and their impact on cost of quality.
Used in:
- Plan Quality Management
Seven Basic Quality Tools
Seven Basic Quality Tools are:
- Cause-and-Effect Diagrams
- Flowcharts
- Checksheets
- Pareto Diagrams
- Histograms
- Control Charts
- Scatter Diagrams
Used in:
- Plan Quality Management
- Control Quality
Statistical Sampling
Involves choosing a random sample for inspection from a population of interest. It is used when not many defects are expected, testing entire population would take too long, or testing is destructive or costly. The sample recency and die are established in the Plan Quality Management process.
Used in:
- Plan Quality Management
- Control Quality
Networking
Can help in understanding the political environment and interpersonal factors that can influence the project. Examples include information conversations, luncheon meetings, conferences and symposia.
Used in:
- Plan HR Management
Organization Charts and Position Descriptions
Ensures that each activity or work package has a clear owner, and team member have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Think about these documents here:
- Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) - documents roles and responsibilities on the project.
- Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) - describes the responsibilities by departments;
- Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) - organizes resources by their types.
Used in:
- Plan HR Management
Organizational Theory
Understanding the Organizational theorists can help in human resource planning and increase the changes of project success. For example, by understanding Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the project management team can design the reward system more effectively.
Used in:
- Plan HR Management
Communication Methods
The three main categories of communication methods are:
- Interactive Communication - Ex) face-to-face meeting and teleconferences
- Push Communication - Ex) letters, reports, emails, and newsletters
- Pull Communication - Ex) blogs and websites
Used in:
- Plan Communication Management
- Manage Communications
- Manage Stakeholder Engagement
Assumptions Analysis
The uncertainties and inaccuracies in assumptions can be a source of risk. Assumption analysis helps to identify risks associated with assumptions.
Someone said: “Assumption is the mother of all screw ups”.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
Checklist Analysis
A checklist of common risks can be developed based on knowledge gained from previous similar projects. The lowest level of the Risk Breakdown Structure can also serve as a risk checklist.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
Diagramming Techniques
Ishikawa (or Fishbone) diagrams, Flowcharts, and Influence diagrams are commonly used for risk identification.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
Document Reviews
A detailed review of all the documents listed as inputs of the Identify Risks process is performed in order to identify risks. These documents include cost, schedule and quality management plans, assumption log, procurement documents, reports, and project files from previous projects. Inconsistency in these document, may be an indicator of risks on the project.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
Information Gathering Techniques
Various information gathering techniques such as Brainstorming, Delphi technique, Interviewing, and Root cause analysis can be used to identify risks.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
SWOT Analysis
An information gathering technique used in risk management to increase the breadth of the risks considered, and device contingency plans by examining the project’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Used in:
- Identify Risks
Probability & Impact Matrix
A common way to categorize risks as low, moderate, or high risk by combining the two dimensions of risk - its probability of occurrence and its impact on objectives, if it occurs.
Used in:
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Risk Categorization
Risks can be categorized by:
- Source - Ex) technical, external, organizational, environmental, or project management
- Areas of project or work packages
Used in:
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Risk Data Quality Assessment
For effective risk management, the quality of data on which risk analysis is based, has to be accurate. This technique exams how well risks are understood, and how accurate and reliable the risk data is. Ex) one area that could be examined is whether the project team interviewed all the key stakeholders to gather inputs on risks, or did they miss any key stakeholders.
Used in:
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Risk Probability & Impact Assessment
This technique determines the probability of occurrence of each project risk and analyzes its impact on project objectives (such as scope, schedule, cost, quality, etc.), if it occurs.
Used in:
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Risk Urgency Assessment
Risks that need to be addressed in near term are considered urgent. Sometimes, the probability and impact can be combined with a third factor - urgency - in order to determine the final risk severity rating.
Used in:
- Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
Data Gathering & Representation Techniques
Data Gathering and Representation Techniques include:
- Interviewing - draw in from experience and knowledge of the stakeholders to quantify the probability and impact of risk on project objectives.
- Probability distributions - such distributions can be continuous or discrete, and represent the uncertainty in duration or cost estimates of the project.
Used in:
- Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
Quantitative Risk Analysis & Modeling Techniques
Quantitative Risk Analysis & Modeling Techniques commonly used are:
- Sensitivity analysis - helps to determine which risks have the most potential impact on the project
- Expected Monetary Value (EMV) Analysis - calculates the profit or loss of an outcome (such as a project) based on different scenarios, by taking into consideration the probability of occurrence and the expected profit or loss from each scenario
- Modeling and simulation (e.g. Monte Carlo technique) - determines the probability of certain outcomes, like project duration or cost, by running multiple trial runs, called simulations, using input values selected at random from probability distributions of individual activity durations or costs.
Used in:
- Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
Contingent Response Strategies
These strategies define the actions to be taken when a risk event (positive or negative) occurs. The risk triggers - symptoms or warning signs indicating that a risk has occurred or about to occur - are defined as well. Examples of risk triggers include a missed milestone, a competitor going bankrupt, drop in the price of a raw material.
Used in:
- Plan Risk Responses
Strategies for Negative Risks or Threats
(ATM) These strategies include: - Avoid - Transfer - Mitigate - Accept The first three typically deal with threats that may have a negative impact on project objectives, if they occur.
Used in:
- Plan Risk Responses
Strategies for Positive Risks or Opportunities
(SEE) These strategies include: - Exploit - Enhance - Share - Accept The first three typically deal with opportunities that may have a positive impact on project objectives, if they occur.
Used in:
- Plan Risk Responses
Make-or-Buy Analysis
A technique to determine whether to accomplish a particular work in-house (make) or procure it from an external organization (buy). Both direct and indirect costs should be considered while making such decisions. Available contract types are also considered because the different buyer-seller risk sharing equation varies base on the contract type.
Used in:
- Plan Procurement Management
Market Research
Research of the industry and available vendors can be done through variety of sources such as conferences, online reviews and information gathered through other companies and directly from vendors. This information helps to reduce procurement related risks, and refine the procurement strategy.
Used in:
- Plan Procurement Management
Project Management Information System
Scheduling tool, work authorization system, configuration management system, information collection and distribution system, and reporting tools can be used when the work on the project is being carried out.
Used in:
- Direct & Manage Project Work
- Monitory & Control Project Work
Quality Management & Control Tools
All the tools and techniques of Plan quality Management process and Control Quality process can also be sued in Perform Quality Assurance.
Additional other tools such as Affinity Diagrams, PDPC, Interrelationship Digraphs, Tree Diagrams, Prioritization Matrices, Activity Network Diagrams (AOA and AON), Matrix Diagrams can be used.
Used in:
- Perform Quality Assurance
- Plan Quality Management
- Control Quality
Quality Audits
One of the most important techniques of Perform Quality Assurance are Quality Audits. Usually people associate audits with fault finding. However, in reality, audits are conducted not only to find issues, but also to capture best practices and lessons learned from the project, so that they can be shared with other projects and departments in the organization. Quality Audits can also be used to confirm the appropriate implementation of approved change requests.
Used in:
- Perform Quality Assurance
Virtual Teams
The project management team may set up an extended team at an offsite location to work on the project. Reasons for using a virtual team are plenty, the obvious ones being, cost reduction, and unavailability of enough skilled resources onsite. Communication management and conflict resolution assume increased importance in a virtual team setup.
Used in:
- Acquire Project Team
Acquisition
The project management team may need to hire new staff or sub-contract work on the project, if required resources are not available in-house.
Used in:
- Acquire Project Team
Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis
Criteria such as availability, cost, experience, ability, knowledge, technical, and commutation skills, ability, and location of the team members can be used to rate or score team members, and make team selection decisions in an objective manner.
Used in:
- Acquire Project Team
Negotiation
Project Manager may need to negotiate with functional managers, other project managers within the organization, external vendors, suppliers, and contractors to get the most suitable resources for the project.
Used in:
- Acquire Project Team
Pre-Assignment
Team members select in advance are considered pre-assigned. Sometimes, pre-assigned resources are listed in the Project Charter itself. For example, the sponsor assigns his son-in-law as the principal architect on the project even before the charter is signed.
Used in:
- Acquire Project Team
Colocation
Co-location means placing team members together in the same physical location. Co-location infuses a sense of belonging and team spirit among team members, and hence increases effectiveness of the team. Co-location is also referred to as “tight matrix”.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Ground Rules
Ground rules establish clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members. Ground rules are very important in any professional setup.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal Skills, also known as “soft skills”, are an important ingredient for developing an effective project team and managing stakeholders. The skills that are most useful in developing project teams are communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, team building, motivation and negotiation. The key skills for managing stockholders expectations are resolving conflicts, active listening, trust building, and overcoming resistance to change.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
- Manage Project Team
- Manage Stakeholder Engagement
Personnel Assessment Tools
Specialized tools such attitudinal surveys, structured assessments and interviews, ability tests, and focus groups can provide insight into strengths and weaknesses of the team member. This information can be used to improve understanding, trust, commitment, and communications among team members and improve team productivity.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Recognition & Rewards
A good recognition and rewards system is important for the development of a team. Recognition and rewards should be based on activities and performance under a person’s control. Only desirable behavior should be recognized and rewarded.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Team-Building Activities
The objective of team-building activities is to help the team members work together effectively. Such activities assume more importance in a virtual team setup. It is an on-going activity throughout the project.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Training
Training needs of the team members are identified in the Human Resource Management Plan, and can also be identified on the job. Team members are trained in order to help them acquire the skills necessary to effectively perform their job on the project. Training can be internal or external, formal or informal.
Used in:
- Develop Project Team
Conflict Management
Conflicts are inevitable in a project environment. Conflict management is an important skill that Project Managers should master. Major sources of conflict are schedule, cost, resource constraints, project priorities, personality differences, technical and administrative issues. Five conflict resolution techniques are:
- Withdrawing/ Avoid
- Smooth/ Accomodate
- Compromise / Reconcile
- Force / Direct
- Collaborate / Problem Solve
Used in:
- Manage Project Team
Observation & Conversation
The Project Manager observes the work, attitude, and the interactions of project team members among each other, in order to assess their performance.
Used in:
- Manage Project Team
Project Performance Appraisals
This is individual team members’ performance appraisal. The objective is to clarify roles and responsibilities, provide constructive feedback, resolve issues, set goals for future, identify training needs and prepare development plans.
Used in:
- Manage Project Team
Communication Models
In voice of communication model should aim to reduce the noise and ensure effective communication.
Used in:
- Plan Communications Management
- Manage Communications
Communication Technology
Various technologies can be used to transmit the information. Examples include meetings, teleconferences, webinars, formal letters or memos, faxes, rails, web sites, wikis, blogs, etc. The choice of method used should be appropriate for the project and the type of information that is being communicated.
Used in:
- Plan Communications Management
- Manage Communications
Information Management System
Varios tools such as email, telephone, hard copy documents, newsletters, websites, collaborative tools, etc. are used to distribute information. Information technology systems can be integrated to automate flow of information and reduce manual effort to keep the information in sync.
Used in:
- Manage Communications
- Control Communications
- Control Stakeholder Engagement
Performance Reporting
The act of collecting and distributing performance information, including status reports, progress measurements, and forecasts. Performance reports may include scope, schedule, cost and quality performance information. In addition, the reports may include forecasts and risk related information.
Used in:
- Manage Communications
- Control Procurements
Advertising
Advertisements in newspapers or speciality trade publications can be used to invite more sellers. Sometimes such advertisements are mandated for government contracts.
Used in:
- Conduct Procurements
Bidder Conferences
Meeting between the buyer and potential sellers to ensure that sellers have a clear and common understanding of the technical and contractual requirements, and all sellers are treated equal. Such meetings are conducted prior to submission of responses by the sellers. The procurement documents may be amended as a result of these meetings.
Used in:
- Conduct Procurements
Independent Estimates
Independent Estimates, prepared by the buyer or an expert on behalf of the buyer, can be used as a benchmark for evaluating proposals. Significant differences in cost estimates may indicate that the procurement SOW is not clear, or the sellers have misunderstood or incorrectly estimated the work.
Used in:
- Conduct Procurements
Procurement Negotiations
Negotiations are used to clarify the requirements, and discuss technical solution, scope, pricing, payment terms, schedule and other terms of the purchase, and conclude with a contract document.
Used in:
- Conduct Procurements
- Close Procurements
Proposal Evaluation Techniques
Techniques such as a weighting system can be used for evaluating the seller proposals. An evaluation committee assigns a “score” to each seller based on the source selection criteria and the evaluation criteria defined for the procurement. Sellers are ranked according to their score.
Used in:
- Conduct Procurements
Management Skills
Facilitation, influencing, and negotiation are essential skills required to effectively manage stakeholders.
Used in:
Manage Stakeholder Engagement
Change Control Tools
Manual or automated tools may be used for configuration and change management. These tools can help to manage change requests and communicate their status to the appropriate stakeholders.
Used in:
- Perform Integrated Change Control
Inspection
The process of measuring, examining and validating the deliverables against the requirements in order to ensure that the deliverables meet the acceptance criteria, is known as Inspection. Inspections are sometimes called reviews, product reviews, audits, and walkthroughs.
Used in:
- Validate Scope
- Control Quality
Variance Analysis
Variances are determined by comparing Work Performance Data with the Scope Baseline. Variances are further analyzed to determine their root cause and magnitude. Depending upon the magnitude of variation, corrective or preventive actions may be required.
Used in:
- Control Scope
Performance Reviews
Performance Reviews measure the actual vs. planned schedule progress in order to assess the schedule performance of the project. Various techniques such as Trend Analysis, Critical Path Method, Critical Chain Method, and Earned Value Measurements (SPI and SV) can be used to review performance. It is also used to determine variances from the cost baseline, cost trends, and earned value measures such as CV and CPI.
Used in:
- Control Schedule
- Control Costs
Earned Value Management (EVM)
A project management methodology that integrates scope, schedule and cost to measure project performance and progress in an objective manner.
PV = Planned Value EV = Earned Value AC = Actual Cost BAC = Budget at Completions EAC = Estimate at Completion ETC = Estimate to Complete VAC = Variance at Completion CV = Cost Variance SV = Schedule Variance CPI = Cost Performance Index SPI = Schedule Performance Index
Used in:
- Control Costs
Forecasting
Based on the current cost performance, an estimate of how much more budget is required to complete the remaining work on the project (ETC) and how much is the total project expected to cost when it gets completed (EAC).
Used in:
- Control Costs
To-Complete Performance Index
The cost performance that must be achieved on the remaining work to meet a BAC (or EAC) target. It is the ratio of the “cost to finish the remaining work” to the “remaining budget”.
Used in:
- Control Cost
Approved Change Requests Review
All approved change requests are reviewed to ensure that they are implemented as approved, in a timely manner, and as per the standards defined. For example, if a change request was approved for a defect repair, then the Control Quality process verifies that the defect has been satisfactorily repaired.
Used in:
- Control Quality
Risk Reassessment
Risks are regularly reassessed to look for new emerging risks, or risk that are no longer valid.
One of the PMI-isms is to review risks in the status review meetings.
Used in:
- Control Risks
Risk Audit
Risk audits are conducted to examine the effectiveness of risk responses and the overall risk management process.
Used in:
- Control Risks
Variance & Trend Analysis
Work Performance Reports, an input to this process, help to determine the variances and trends in project performance. If variance is above the threshold, then it may warrant a risk response. The trends are analyzed to update the Risk Management Plan or response strategy.
Used in:
- Control Risks
Technical Performance Measurement
Technical performance measurements can provide insight into the technical risks on the project. For example, if a product fails a trial run, it may indicate a potential technical risk in the design of the product.
Used in:
- Control Risks
Contract Change Control System
Contract Change Control System is used to manage changes to the contracts on the project, and is integrated with the project’s integrated change control system.
Used in:
- Control Procurements
Procurement Performance Reviews
A structured review of seller performance with regard to scope, schedule, cost, quality and other parameters. It cnan include a review of seller performance reports, and quality audits by the buyer.
Used in:
- Control Procurements
Inspections & Audits
Inspections and audits are conducted by the buyer to verify compliance to standards and processes, and check whether deliverables meet quality standards.
Used in:
- Control Procurements
Payment Systems
Payments are made in accordance with the payment terms and conditions mentioned in the contract.
Used in:
- Control Procurements
Claims Administration
A claim is a request, demand, or assertion of rights by a seller against a buyer, or vice versa, for consideration, compensation, or payment under the terms of a legally binding contract, such as for a disputed change. Claims are administered throughout the project. ADR can be used if parties cannot come to an agreement through mutual negotiations.
Used in:
- Control Procurements
Records Management System
A system used by the project manager to manage contract, procurement documentation, and records. It is a part of the Project Management Information System (PMIS).
Used in:
- Control Procurements
- Close Procurements
Procurement Audits
Procurement Audits are conducted to capture “lessons learned” for the entire procurement, with an objective to identify successes and failures from the procurement. This information is used to support future procurement decisions.
Used in:
- Close Procurements
Communication Requirements Analysis
The communication requirements are analyzed to determine the information needs of the project stakeholders. Only that information should be communicated that contributes to project success, or where lack of communication can lead to project failure.
Used in:
- Plan Communications Management
Process Analysis
A technique to analyze a process in order to identify bottlenecks or problems, root causes of problems, non-value adding activities in the process, and areas for improvement. It includes root cause analysis.
Used in:
- Perform Quality Assurance
