Week 5 - Project Management 2 Flashcards
What questions should be considered in risk management?
What is likely to happen?
What can minimise the probability or impact of these events?
What cues will signal the need for action?
What is risk management defined as?
The art of identifying, analysing and responding to risk factors throughout the life of a project and in the best interest of its objectives
What is project risk defined as?
An uncertain event or condition that if occurs may have a positive or negative effect on project objectives
What are common types of project risk?
Absenteeism Resignation Staff pulling away Time overruns Unavailable skills or poor training Incomplete specs Change of orders
What is a risk impact matrix?
It is a way of measuring risk, measuring the consequences and likelihood
What are some risk mitigation strategies?
Accept, minimise, share, transfer, contingency reserves, insurance, workaround, mentoring, cross training
What does control and documentation do?
Helps managers classify and codify risks, responses and outcomes
What are some common sources of project cost?
Labour, materials, subcontractors, equipment and facilities, travel
What are some problems with cost estimation?
Low estimates, unexpected difficulties, lack of definition, spec changes, external factors
What is contingency funding?
It is where funds are set aside for future unknowns, in case something unexpected happens
What are the benefits of contingency funding?
Recognises future unknowns, adds provision for plans for an increase in project cost, acts as warning signal to overdrawn budget
What does project scheduling require you to do?
Follow some laid-out steps in order to allow a schedule to take shape
What is project planning defined as?
The identification of the project objectives and the ordered activity necessary to complete the project
What is a project network diagram?
Any schematic display of the logical relationships of project activities
What is an early start date in project scheduling?
The earliest possible date an uncompleted activity can start
What is a late start date in project scheduling?
The latest possible date that an activity may begin without delaying a milestone
What is calculated in the forward pass of a project scheduling diagram?
Earliest start / earliest finish of an activity
What is calculated in the backward pass of a project scheduling diagram?
The late start / late finish data for a task in the network
What is the float in a Project Network Diagram?
The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the finish of the project
What is the critical path in a project network diagram?
The path through the project network with the longest duration
What is the critical path method?
A network analysis technique used to determine the amount of schedule flexibility used to determine the minimum project duration
What does m, b and a stand for in beta distribution?
most likely (m) most pessimistic (b) most optimistic (a)
What is the formula for activity duration?
(a + 4m + b) / 6
where a is most optimistic, b is most pessimistic and m is most likely
What is the formula for calculating activity variance?
((b - a) / 6) ^ 2
where a is most optimistic, b is most pessimistic
What are some ways of reducing a critical path?
Eliminate tasks on the path, plan serial tasks in parallel, overlap sequential tasks, shorten task duration
What is a Gantt chart?
A time phased network tracking tool
What are some benefits of Gantt charts?
Easy to comprehend They identify the schedule baseline network Allow for updating and control Identify resource needs Easy to create
What is the project control cycle?
Setting a goal
Measuring progress
Comparing actual with planned
Taking action, recycling the process
What are milestones?
These are events or stages of a project that represent a significant accomplishment
What do milestones do?
Signal completion of important steps Motivate team Offer re-evaluation points Coordinate schedules Identify review gates Signal when work should start Delineate work packages
What is Agile Project Management (Agile PM)
A new era in project planning that places a premium on flexibility and evolving customer requirements throughout the development process
What are some features of Agile PM?
You plan the work, then work the plan
Customer needs may evolve over the project
Importance of involving customer leads to incremental, iterative planning process
What are some unique features of Agile PM?
Recognises mistake of assuming once the initial project is planned, the project will be executed to original specs.
It is flexible - iterative system for managing projects with change and uncertainty
It is a rolling wave of continuous plan - execute - evaluate cycle
Emphasis on adaptation, flexibility, coordinated efforts of multiple disciplines
What is Agile PM often referred to as?
Scrum
What is a sprint in Agile PM?
One iteration of the agile planning and executing cycle
What are the stages in the agile cycle?
Plan-Execute-Evaluate
What is the meaning of scrum in Agile PM?
The development strategy agreed to by all key members of the project
What is time-box in Agile PM?
The length of any particular sprint, fixed in advance, during the scrum meeting
What is a user story?
A short explanation of the ned user that captures what they do or need from the project
What is a scrum master?
This is the person on the project team that is responsible for moving the project forward between iterations, removing impediments and solving disputes
What is the sprint backlog?
Backlog of items selected for the sprint and a plan for delivering the sprint goal
What is the burndown chart?
The remaining work in the sprint backlog
What is the product backlog?
This is a prioritised list of everything that might be needed in the completed product and source of requirements for any changes
What is the work backlog?
An evolving, prioritised queue of business and technical functionality that needs to be developed into a system
What are stages in a sprint?
Sprint planning Daily scrums Development work Sprint review Sprint retrospective
What are some problems with agile?
Requires active user involvement
Scope creep
Hard to predict end product at the start
Requirements are kept to a minimum, so can lead to confusion
Testing is integrated throughout lifecycle - adds cost
Burden of frequent delivery
If misapplied, expensive with few benefits
What is a retrospective?
It is a time where a team stops to reflect on how to become more effective - and then adjusting their behaviour accordingly
What is said about learning from experience?
Is that it is not automatic
What do retrospectives create?
The opportunity for participants to learn improvement
The opportunity to harvest the experience of the team
Why should you look back in regards to project retrospectives?
Identify needs for improvement Builds motivation for change Team actually designs the change Can help build alliances when there are multiple teams Offers closure (from bad experiences)
Who designs the changes in regards to project retrospectives?
The team that was involved!
Why do the team design the changes in regards to project retrospectives?
They are in the best position to identify, organise and prioritise problems.
Owning the changes means the team is the master of its process
What do retrospectives provide in failed projects?
Opportunity to learn from failure A focus on improvement rather than blame Close the door against similar adversity Learning, growth, maturity Experiences recalled help foster teams common focus
What are retrospectives never about?
Blaming, naming or shaming
Who is involved in retrospectives?
The team and scrum master must be invovled, it is good to involve external team members
Who is never involved in a project retrospective?
The customer and management
Who does a retrospective facilitate?
Professionals, scrum master, any team member
What do we look for in retrospectives?
What went well (celebrate, recognise heroes, share good practice)
What did not go well (what to avoid, how to work differently)
What are we still puzzled about?
When are retrospectives carried out?
At the end of the project
During the project:
- the end of each sprint (find out what we can put in the next sprint)
- at specified milestones
- after a project surprise (reactive retrospective)
What are some goals of retrospectives?
Capture effort data Get the story out Improve process, procedures, management and culture Capture collective wisdom Repair any damage to the team Enjoy the accomplishment!
What is the structure of a retrospective?
Set the stage Gather the data Generate insights Decide what to do Close the retrospective
What are some possible tools for retrospectives?
Fishbone diagrams, Pareto charts
What do insights allow?
The team to step back, identify the bigger picture, grasp root causes.
What emerges once insights have been gained?
The solutions
When generating insights, what do we interpret?
Causes, effects, strengths and weaknesses
How can we map stakeholders?
By using a matrix showing their level of attention and their power
What is the problem with agile and the iron triangle?
Project management cannot be agile and fit within the iron traingle objectives without careful recognition of risks
In what environments does agile work better within?
Low risk environments - you wouldn’t agile a plane!
Where does a customer sit in the stakeholder matrix?
High attention and high power
What do you need to do with customers?
Actively cultivate them
How can project risks be mitigated?
Through the management of customer expectations
How can project management risks be mitigated by management customer expectations?
Clarifying design limits, scope within budget, agreeing feasible and realistic goals, corroborating facts before starting
Why should you work with the customer to establish facts?
Keeps them informed with cost/time/scope
Communicates design limits and allows for a safe and effective implementation
What type of design should be made when working with the customer?
A feasible one that is an acceptable one
How can customer expectations be met?
The 7Cs
What are the 7Cs?
Client Clarity Create Change Confirm Continue Close
What does Client mean in the 7Cs?
Use expertise and experience to win the business
What does Clarity mean in the 7Cs?
Understand the customer needs through meetings, interviews…
What does Create mean in the 7Cs?
Scope and agree design specifications
What does Change mean in the 7Cs?
Manage and implement the project
What does Confirm mean in the 7Cs?
Clarify the project success
What does Continue mean in the 7Cs?
Establish and implement post-project support
What does Close mean in the 7Cs?
Maintain customer relationships for testimonials and winning of future projects
