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103 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Define: project
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A project can be defined as a one time, organized effort toward a specific goal.
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Name 5 features of a project.
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* A specific objective to be completed within specifications.
* Defined start and end dates * has funding limits * consumes resources (money, people, equipment and supplies) * Happens only once and then is finished |
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What is prgressive elaboration?
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Starts with the highest level of a project, and continues with progressively more detailed aspects.
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Name the three specific components of a project?
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* Objectives
* Budget * Schedule |
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Name the four major phases of a project?
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* planning
* execution * initiation/scope Definition * closure |
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Define: project
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A project can be defined as a one time, organized effort toward a specific goal.
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Name 5 features of a project.
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* A specific objective to be completed within specifications.
* Defined start and end dates * has funding limits * consumes resources (money, people, equipment and supplies) * Happens only once and then is finished |
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What is prgressive elaboration?
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Starts with the highest level of a project, and continues with progressively more detailed aspects.
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Name the three specific components of a project?
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* Objectives
* Budget * Schedule |
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Name the four major phases of a project?
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* planning
* execution * initiation/scope Definition * closure |
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There are four major phases to a project. The first phase is Initiation/Scope definition. Elaborate.
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Initition starts the project. Scope definition focuses on the why and what of a project. Deliverables from this phase include the project charter and scope definition.
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There are four major phases to a project. The second phase is planning. Elaborate.
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Helps achieve scope with detailed activites and time estimates. Deliverables include work breakdown structure, statement of work, effort, time and cost estimates, etc. The project team is also put together in this phase.
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There are four major phases to a project. The third phase is Execution. Elaborate.
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Deliverables include the product, service, or result. Distinguishes between project activities and project management. This phase is where the actual work is performed.
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There are four major phases to a project. The fourth phase is closure. Elaborate.
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Includes the review of time and cost performance, compilation of lessons learned, and a plan for future activities.
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Whata is scope creep?
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The addition of project requirements while a project is in process.
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What are some "checklist" items if we were creating a doomed project?
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* uninvolved sponsers
* bad project plans * changes in proect managers * lack of work definition and responsibility *unclear benefits and deliverables * lack of change control * technology changes * lack of required skills within the project team * scope creep |
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Define Project Stakeholders?
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Individuals and organizations whose interests might be affected by the project.
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Name some potential stakeholders.
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Project owner, financial source, clients, sponsor, project team, end users, vendors, taxpayers, media, et al.
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Name three methods for identifying skateholders requirements.
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* Focus Groups
* Surveys * Interviews |
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What are informal project drivers?
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informal project drivers are reasons for the proiject that might not be captured on the balanced scorecar. For example, the real driver of a project might be a political or power factor more than a sound business justification.
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What is a project concept definition?
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* Describes the end product
* Clarifies the functionality envisioned in the final product. * Provides a focus for project planning. |
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What is a system requirements analysis?
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system requirements analysis involves translating the business needs and requirements and transforming them into functional and technical requirements.
2-14 |
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What is the project sponsor?
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He represents the business segment with the greatest stake in the project's outcome. Often a chief officer of a company.
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What is a project charter?
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This document formally recognizes and authorizes a project and provides direction on its objectives and management. Some companies usea simple letter of agreement. The charter is a key output of the initiation phase. Also often includes a project statement of work (SOW).
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What is a project statement of work (SOW).
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A written description of the product or service the project intends to deliver.
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What is the business case.
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A separate document included in your charter package.Lists the various project costs, benefits, and payback period (length of time for the project to pay for itself)
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What is the scope definition?
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Means clearly identifying what problem or opportunity is addressed by the project, the goals and objectives of the project, and what risks, obstacles and assumptions might affect the outcome.
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Scope is generally defined as...
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the sum of the products and services to be provided by a project.
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Name some items in a typical scope document.
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goals, delvierables, success criteria, completion date, resources needed, risks and assumptions, budget, etc.
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What is an initial risk assessment?
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All possible business and technical risks should be accounted for and their effect on the project evualated.
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Planning serves five primary functions. Name them.
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*Translating needs into managable tasks.
* Defining the resources needed *Coordinating project team work *Evualating potential risks *Signaling emerging problems |
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What is a work breakdown structure?
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WBS further defines the work to be done as pasrt of the project and breaks it into managable pieces. A WBS is an outcome oriented analysis of the actual activities involved in a project. It provides a basis for planning and managing schedules, costs, and changes. Most experts believe that work must be done on a project only if it's included in the WBS.
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Name the four approaches to WBS's.
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* Using guidelines
* Using the analogy approach * Top Down approach * bottom up approach |
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There are four approaches to WBS's. Describe "using guidelines"
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Some companies provide prescribe the form and content for a WBS. It's important to follow company guideline and policy to fill these forms out.
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There are four approaches to WBS's. Describe the analogy approach.
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You would use a similar project's WBS as a starting point. Then you can modify or alter them from similar ones already created.
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There are four approaches to WBS's. Describe the top-down approach.
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Considered the convential approach. Starts with the largest items of the project and break them into their subordinate items. Involves progressively dividing the work into minute levels of detail. Best suited to project managers who have vast experience and technical insight into several types of projects.
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There are four approaches to WBS's. Describe the bottom up approach.
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Team members first identify the maximum possible specific tasks related to the project. The team members then aggregate the specific tasks and organize them into summary activities or higher levels in the WBS. Often used for projects that represent entirely new systems or approaches to performing a task.
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Outline some basic principals for writing a good WBS.
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* A unit of work must appear at only one instance in the wbs.
* the work content of a wbs item is the sum of the wbs items below it. * A wbs item is the responsibility of only one individual, even though others work on it. * the wbs must be consistent with the way in which work will be performed. * Project team members should be involved int developing the wbs to ensure consistency and buy-in *Each wbs items must be documented to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work included and excluded. * Items and phases that likely will require iterative planning should be identified. * The wbs must be a flexible tool used to accomodate inevitable changes while maintaining control of work in the projet. |
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What three catagories do project costs typically fall into.
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* Labor
* Equipment and Material * Facilities |
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Name three cost estimate types.
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* Analogous estimates
* Parametric Modeling * Definitive estimates |
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There are three cost estimate types. The first one is Analogous estimates. Elaborate.
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Uses a similar project and uses estimates based on an earlier project
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There are three cost estimate types. The second one is parametric modeling. Elaborate.
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Uses a math equation to calculate costs.
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There are three cost estimate types. The third one is definitve estimates. Elaborate.
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aka bottom up estimating. Uses the WBS and the project resource documentation to estimate the cost.
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Steps to building a team:
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* Determine skill requirements
* Interview potential team members * Select team members * Identify the team structure * hold a kickoff meeting * Clarify roles and expectations * Describe your management process * Establish a good basis for open communication |
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A project schedule should contain the following components:
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* Planned start and finish dates
* Realistic and measurable milestones and key events * Entry and exit criteria * Dependencies and the sequence those activities need to follow |
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Name the three major ways to present project schedules visually.
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* Calendar
* Gantt (bar) chart * PERT/CPM (Arrow) diagram |
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There are three major ways to present project schedules visually. Describe calendar.
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The calendar displays activities in a calendar format. Think like a Outlook calendar.
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There are three major ways to present project schedules visually. Describe Gannt chart
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The Gannt chart displays activities as bars, with the dates listed across the top of the chart. Percent completed is shown on the bars, as are resource assignments. (like MS project)
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There are three major ways to present project schedules visually. Describe the PERT chart.
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The arrow diagram is commonly used with the project evualation and review technique/critical path method. Shows relationships or dependencies using blocks or arrows. Similar to a flow chart.
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What is the critical path?
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Loosely defined as the sequence of activities that drive the completion date.
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Name the 5 types of reports to different types of stakeholders.
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* high level - senior management - monthly
* status report - project sponsor - two weeks * project report - project team - weekly * task report - individual team member - as needed * vendor report - external vendors - as needed |
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What is a resource management plan?
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Tracks all resources on a project and how long they'll be working on various tasks. The gannt chart and the estimation info provide the basis for a resource managament plan. Basically a table or spreadseet that contains indivdual by job skill or title, hours, equipment needed, facitiles needed, etc.
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What is procurement planning?
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the process of identifying the project needs that can best be met by using products or services from sources external to the organization.
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The processes involded with procurement management are:
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* procurement planning
* solicitation planning * solication * source selection * contract administration * contract closeout 4-11 |
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Who should be consulted as part of procurement planning?
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Internal and external experts
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Name the two solication documents for solication planning?
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Requests for proposals (RFP's)
Requests for quotes (RFQ's) |
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Describe a request for proposal.
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used to solicit proposals from prospective vendors. More open ended. Vendors might request particular hardware, etc.
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Describe a request for quote.
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More specific then RFP. Used to get a bid for a particular item.
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Name 5 vendor assessment methods
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* Surveys
* audits * interviews * reviews of previous work * reviews of quality systems |
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Name the three types of contracts to consider?
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* fixed price
* cost reimbursement * time and materials |
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Why is a risk assessment performed?
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to identify all the risks involved with the project and to prioritize and analyze the effect each risk has on the project.
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Why manage risks?
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* improve buy-in by alerting management to any factors that might interefere with project success.
* Reduce uncertainty * facilatite knowledge transfer by organizing and documenting experience |
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What is a comprehensive project plan?
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aka project management plan. a collection of project related documents and other outputs created during the initiation and planning phase. It is put together aat the end of the planning phase.
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name the major componets of the comprehensive project plan.
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Administrative info
* a table of contents * change control info Outputs from the planning process * *exuctive summary * sponsors * team members, *project charter * milestones * resources - etc Checklists and templates Reference materials Appendix |
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Name some issues that should be taken into consideration when proividing feedback with team members.
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* Ensure that expectations have been clearly communicated
* if the feedback is negative, start with something positive first * Ensure that your motives for providing feedback are really to assist the other person and not to put them down * Use the word we as much as possible * Try to be specific about behaviors that dont meet expectations * If you have sturggled with a similar problem, say so, and offer the startegies that helped you. |
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Name some guidelines when dealing with individual performance issues.
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* Always try to deal with issues in private
* stress the impact of individual performance on team success * Be sure that the expectations have been clearly communicated * Try to gain insight into the root cause of the behavior * Work with the person to develop specific actions and expectations that can be monitored until the performance is up to par. |
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Name 5 functions of a project manager
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* planning
* organizing * coordinating * controlling * directing |
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Three things needed to deal with wavering executives
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* Identify the source of doubts
* Be diplomatic * Utilize your allies and influences |
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Six strategies for good client relathionships.
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* Communicate frequently
* Gain consenous * Work on team building * Manage expecations * Make timely decisions * Manage by fact |
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What is a bottom-up budget?
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It start with detailed cost estimates. In its simplest form, is is just a cost roll-up with cost subtotals for various subprojects and milestones.
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What is variance?
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The difference between the initial project budget and the actual spending on the project is the variance.
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What are some factors that can influence variance?
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* accuracy of the estimates
* inflation * availability of resources * use of overtime * seasonal fluctuations in prices |
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Name the two kinds of common tracking reports.
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* Project status report
* Budget variance report |
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There are two commone kinds of tracking reports. One is the project status report. Discuss...
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Documents the status of the design, development efforts, and progress in acheiving the needs of the project. - the project mgr would document the measurement of the relationship between between actual progress and scheduled progress.
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There are two common kinds of tracking reports. One is the budget varianece report. Discuss...
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Documents the initial and actual spending on the project to identify variance.
Variances should be identified, documented, explained, reconciled, and if possible, resolved. |
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What is a progress report?
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It is a detailed summary of the accomplishments of a project team and the methods they use to accomplish them.
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What is a status report?
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It covers a broader range of info than a progress report. It is a detailed account of a project's status at a specific phase.
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Name the three types of performance reports?
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* Routine
* Exception * Special analysis |
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There are three types of performance reports. One is the Routine report. Discuss..
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Routine aka regular performance reports aren't neccessarily scheduled but might be distributred at intervals that coincide with project phases or milestones.
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There are three types of performance reports. One is the Exception report. Discuss..
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The exception report provides team members with information they need to make a decision or notify them of a change that affects their work. Also distributed to stakeholders to inform them a decision has been made.
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There are three types of performance reports. One is the Special Analysis report. Discuss..
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Contains info about the results of a special study. Mightr be conducted to determine a solution to a problem encountered during a project.
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Two tools/techniques to measure the performance of an employee are:
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* Variance Analysis
* Trend Analysis |
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There are two tools/techniques to measure the performance of a project. One is variance analysis. Discuss...
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Used to guage how closely a project adheres to its schedule, resource use, and budget provision. Can be used to determine whether or not a project's quality standards are met.
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There are two tools/techniques to measure the performance of an employee. One is Trend analysis. Discuss...
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Used to evualate a project's progress over time. Can be used to determine whether a solution to a problem is effective by determining whther or not the problem exists after its solution is implemented. Can be used to show patterns of resource consumption across a project.
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What is Earned Value (EV) Analysis?
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It's a technique for measuring actual vs. baseline (budgeted) costs. It is important to performance reporting because it can give the project mgr and team members the most accurate measure of whether or not a project activity is being completed as planned.
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Name the three ways that dollar amounts are calculated using an EV analaysis.
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* Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS aka PV or planned value) - how much is expected to be spent during a specific time.
* Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP aka EV or earned value) - The total budgeted cost of all work completed to date on a project. * Actual cost of Work Performed (ACWP aka AC or actual cost) - the amount spent on completing a specific activity within a specific time period. |
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List 4 causes of scope creep.
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* Open definitions or unanswered questions regarding deliverables at project start.
* An ambiguous scope in the statement of work (SOW) * Evolving stakeholder expectations * Developers recognizing new possibilities |
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Name some common changes made to projects midstream.
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* Scope
* Effort * Personnel * Management * Econonomics * Environment * Priorities |
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Name some change control activities?
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* Evualating and identifying neccesary changes
* Evualting the impact of changes on scope, schedule, budget, performance indicators, etc. * Evualating whether the change needs to be elevated to the project sponsor * Notifying the appropriate parties of the changes and impact * Documenting and implenting accepted changes *Documenting unacceptable changes * reforecasting the scope, schedule, and budget based on the changes * Escalating issues to the project sponsor or senior level stakeholders |
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Change requests fall into two broad catagories. Name them.
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* Changes that are neccessary
* Changes that are unneccessary but would still be beneficial |
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After agreeing on a change to the project, you must evualate the impact of the change in terms of the following:
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* Scope
* Schedule * Budget * Performance indicators * Resources availability * Risks * Project Goals |
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Changes need to be documented and integrated into the project plan via the......
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* project plan
* scope document * WBS * Project scheudle * Budget |
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When evualating change requests, what are three main areas to consider?
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* Budget
* Quality * Schedule |
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What are some root causes of schedule splippage?
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* Miscommunication
* Substandard ability * Lack of training * Environmental considerations * Lack of adequate resources * Unrealistic expectations |
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What is the red light, green light method on using slack (slack is extra time figiured in)
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* Green - the project isn't consuming slack, and is expected on time and on budget
* Yellow - Project is consuming slack, and needs to be re-evualated. * Red - The project has consumed all of its slack, and will be late or over budget |
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Name the 6 quality testing methods.
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* functional
* hardware compatibility * Usability testing * performance benchmarking * Feature banchmarking * User scenario |
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Name the 3 types of acceptance testing?
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* User acceptance testing - a group os users tests the deliverable. It should be fre of errors at this point
* Factory acceptance testing - Applies to very large sysstems and testing is done at the site of the original development. After this phase, the deliverable should be ready to send to the client * Site acceptence testing - this one is done at the customer site to make sure the deliverable funtions properly within their environment. |
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What activities should be performed as a prject comes to an end. Name them.
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* Meet customers to gain final approval of the deliverable
* Hand over the deliverable to the customer and begin support * Close out vendor contracts * Perform a project review * Complete the project billing * Return project resources * Collect project files and store them for future access |
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The project closure phase begins with the cusomter acceptance meeting. It has two main purposes....
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* Verify that the acceptance criteria for the project have been met
* Obtain customer signoff on the statement of work |
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A vendor contract is considered closed when....
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* the contrct conditions have been met
* the work specified has been completed * The deliverables have been tested and accepted * The vendor has been notified that the deliverables have been accepted and that the contract is complete. |
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A project review meeting should encompass....
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* include all aspects of the project, such as planning, organizing, and execution of the plan, management, and financials.
* Identify which aspects of the project was successful and which need improvement. * Identify possible improvements to existing procedures. * Hold the meeting as close to the end of the project as possible. * Assure that all team members attend the meeting. |
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During the project review meeting, certain defined objectives and standard questions should be addressed. Name those objectives...
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* to learn from the experience
* To prepare to repeat the successes. * To learn how to handle less successful events differently. * To provide data from which others might benefit. * identify processes that need to be changed. |
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What should be included in the final project report?
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* A brief description of the project.
* A measure of its success * The lessons learned * Explanations for any variances in time or budget. |
