What is a project? Correct Answer: A project is "a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result"
Operations is work
... [Show More] done to sustain the business
Projects end when their objectives have been reached or the project has been terminated
Projects can be large or small and take a short or long time to complete
Project Attributes Correct Answer: Has a unique purpose
Is temporary
Is developed using progressive elaboration
Requires resources, often from various areas
Should have a primary customer or sponsor
The project sponsor usually provides the direction and funding for the project
Involves uncertainty
Project and Program Managers Correct Answer: Project managers work with project sponsors, the project team, and other people involved in a project to meet project goals
Program: group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually
Program managers oversee programs; often act as bosses for project managers
The Triple Constraint of Project Management Correct Answer: Successful project management means meeting all three goals (scope, time, and cost) - and satisfying the project's sponsor!
What is Project Management? Correct Answer: Project management is "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements" ]
Project managers strive to meet the triple constraint by balancing project scope, time, and cost goals
10 Knowledge Areas Correct Answer: Scope
Time
Cost
Quality
Integration
HR
Communications
Risk
Procurement
Stakeholder
Project Stakeholders Correct Answer: Stakeholders are the people involved in or affected by project activities
The stakeholders needs and expectations are important throughout the project!
Stakeholders include:
The project sponsor
The project manager
The project team
Support staff
Customers
Users
Suppliers
Opponents!!!
Project Management Tools and Techniques Correct Answer: Project management tools and techniques assist project managers and their teams in various aspects of project management
Some specific ones include:
Project charter, scope statement, and WBS (scope)
Gantt charts, network diagrams, critical path analysis, critical chain scheduling (time)
Cost estimates and earned value management (cost)
Project Portfolio Management Correct Answer: As part of project portfolio management, organizations group and manage projects and programs as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise's success
Portfolio managers help their organizations make wise investment decisions by helping to select and analyze projects from a strategic perspective
Project Charters Correct Answer: After deciding what project to work on, it is important to let the rest of the organization know
A project charter is a document that formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project's objectives and management
Key project stakeholders should sign a project charter to acknowledge agreement on the need and intent of the project; a signed charter is a key output of project integration management
Organizational Structures Correct Answer: 3 basic organization structures:
Functional: functional managers report to the CEO
Project: program managers report to the CEO
Matrix: middle ground between functional and project structures; personnel often report to two or more bosses; structure can be weak, balanced, or strong matrix
Importance of Leadership Skills Correct Answer: Effective project managers provide leadership by example
A leader focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives while inspiring people to reach those goals
A manager deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals
Project managers often take on the role of both leader and manager
Project Overview Correct Answer: A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements
A program is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
Project portfolio management involves organizing and managing projects and programs as a portfolio of investments
Project managers play a key role in helping projects and organizations succeed
The project management profession continues to grow and mature
Creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Correct Answer: A WBS is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project that defines the total scope of the project
WBS is a foundation document that provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes
Decomposition is subdividing project deliverables into smaller pieces
A work package is a task at the lowest level of the WBS
Approaches to Developing WBSs Correct Answer: Using guidelines: some organizations, like the DOD, provide guidelines for preparing WBSs
The analogy approach: review WBSs of similar projects and tailor to your project
The top-down approach: start with the largest items of the project and break them down
The bottom-up approach: start with the specific tasks and roll them up
Mind-mapping approach: mind mapping is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas
Project Time Management Processes Correct Answer: Defining activities: identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables
Sequencing activities: identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities
Estimating activity resources: estimating how many resources a project team should use to perform project activities
Estimating activity durations: estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities
Developing the schedule: analyzing activity sequences, activity resource estimates, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule
Controlling the schedule: controlling and managing changes to the project schedule
What is Project Scope Management? Correct Answer: Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them
A deliverable is a product produced as part of a project, such as hardware or software, planning documents, or meeting minutes
Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in a project
***Of the Constraints, Scope is the most difficult to describe, agree upon, and meet.***
Scope Aspects of IT Projects Correct Answer: Functionality is the degree to which a system performs its intended function
Features are the system's special characteristics that appeal to users
System outputs are the screens and reports the system generates
Performance addresses how well a product or service performs the customer's intended use
Reliability is the ability of a product or service to perform as expected under normal conditions
Maintainability addresses the ease of performing maintenance on a product
Three types of Dependencies Correct Answer: Mandatory dependencies: inherent in the nature of the work being pe [Show Less]