Chapter 2: Project Management with PRINCE2 Flashcards
TRUE or FALSE:
In general, today’s organizations are inevitably moving to achieve a balance between business as usual and business change.
TRUE
What is a Project?
A Project is a temporary organization that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to an agreed business case.
What differentiates a Project work from business as usual? (5 elements)
- Change
Projects are the means by which we introduce change - Temporary
when the desired change has been implemented, business as usual resumes in its new form, and the need for a project is removed - Cross-functional
A project involves a team of people with different skills working together to introduce a change that will impact others outside the team - Unique
Projects might go based on a proven project activity within an organization, but different projects are still different perhaps in terms of the team, the customer, the location, the time. - Uncertainty
Projects introduce threats and opportunities more than what we encounter in the course of business as usual
What is Project Management?
Project Management is the planning, delegating, monitoring, and control of all aspects of the projects and the motivation of those involved IN ORDER TO achieve the project objectives within the expected performance targets for time, cost, quality, scope, benefits and risk.
How many “variables” are there in a project, which need to managed?
What are those?
There are 6 variables involved in any project:
- Costs
- Timescales
- Quality
- Scope
- Benefits
- Risk
What does the “quality” aspect/variable of a project entail?
The quality of the end product.
Regardless of whether a project is finalized within the agreed upon time and cost, THE PROJECT PRODUCT MUST BE FIT FOR PURPOSE.
TRUE or FALSE:
There must be agreement on the project’s scope and the project manager needs to have a sufficient understanding of what is and what is not within the scope.
TRUE
TRUE or FALSE:
Delivery beyond scope, meaning delivering more than was expected, is always perceived as a good thing, as the organization can move forward faster.
FALSE
Delivery beyond scope causes delays, extra costs, and uncontrolled change.
What does the “benefits” aspect/variable of a project entail?
“Why are we doing this?”
The project manager has to have a clear understanding of the purpose of the project as an investment and make sure that actual project delivery is consistent with achieving the desired return.
In simpler words, the project manager must make sure that the final product of the project will actually bring the desired return to the organization.
TRUE or FALSE:
The project manager is responsible for planning the sequence of activities for the project
TRUE
In the Plan-Delegate-Monitor-Control sequence of activities, what does the project manager do in the “Monitor” stage?
The project manager is responsible to monitor how well the work in progress matches the plan.
“How well does the work match the plan”.
In the Plan-Delegate-Monitor-Control sequence of activities for project management, what does the project manager do in the “Control” stage (if the work is going OK, and if the work is not going OK)?
If the work is not going OK»_space;> take corrective action
If the work is going OK»_space;> identify whether there are opportunities to speed up or reduce costs?
What does the Plan-Delegate-Monitor-Control project management framework try to ensure?
Hint: it’s also an aim of PRINCE2 and has many “rights”.
That the right information is available at the right time for the right people to make the right decisions about the project.
PRINCE2 assumes that there will be a customer and a supplier to every project.
What do each of these do and what are their responsibilties?
The customer specifies the desired result and (usually) pays for the project.
The responsibilities of the customer are to mandate, govern, and realize benefits.
The supplier is the one who provides the resources and skills to deliver the desired result of the customer.
What is a Programme?
A Programme is a temporary structure designed to lead multiple interrelated projects and other work in order to progressively achieve outcomes of benefit for one or more organizations.
In simpler words, a Programme is a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually
Just FYI: a good link explaining Programme https://www.prince2.com/eur/blog/project-vs-programme#:~:text=A%20programme%20is%20defined%20as,t%20have%20a%20fixed%20deadline.