Chapter 16: Initiating a project Flashcards
What is the purpose of the Initiating a project process?
The purpose is to establish solid foundations for the project, enabling the organization to understand the work that needs to be done to deliver the project before committing to a significant spent.
What are the objectives of the Initiating a project process?
The objective of initiating a project process is to ensure that there is common understating of:
- The reasons for doing the project, the benefits expected and associated risks
- The scope of what is to be done and the products to be delivered
- How and when the project product will be delivered and at what cost
- Who is to be involved in the project decision-making
- How the quality required will be achieved
- How baselines will be established and controlled
- How risks, issues and changes will be identified, assessed and controlled
- How progress will be monitored and controlled
- Who needs information, in what format and at what time
- How the corporate, program management or customer method will be tailored to suit the
project.
There are 9 activities in the Initiating a project process. Which ones are those?
- Agree the tailoring requirements
(i.e., the PM might need to tailor how the project is directed and managed) - prepare the risk management approach
(i.e., the PM defines the goals of applying risk management, the procedure, the roles & responsibilities, the risk tolerances, the timing of risk management activities, the tools & techniques and reporting requirements) - prepare the change control approach (i.e., the change control approach defines the format and the composition of the records that need to be maintained)
- prepare the quality management approach (i.e., the PM writes down how the quality will be managed: processes, procedures,, techniques, standards and responsibilities)
- prepare the communication management approach (i.e., the PM writes down how the project management team will communicate with internal & external stakeholders)
- set up project controls (i.e., the PM will define the tolerances, who makes decisions, how the project management team levels communicate with each other etc.)
- create project plan (i.e., timescales and resource requirements, map the management stages and other major control points; the project plan also shows the major products of a project, when they will be delivered and at what cost)
- prepare the benefits management approach (i.e., how benefits will be managed, who is responsible, and what actions should be taken to confirm the benefits during and after the project)
- assemble the PID (i.e., the PM gathers all documentation together with the business case and the team structure and role descriptions and gives to the Board to approve)
There are a total of 7 (+1) formal management products that need to be created (or updated) in the Initiating a project process). What are those?
- Risk management approach
- Benefits management approach
- Communication management approach
- Change management approach
- Quality management approach
- Business case
- Project plan
- Issue, Risk and Quality Registers
What does the Project Plan present?
Presents how and when objectives will be achieved. Provides business case with costs and identifies management stages and other main control points.
What does the Communication Management Approach describe?
Describes the means and frequency of internal and external communication.
What does the Business case define?
Defines business justification of the project on basis of the benefits, costs, risks, timeframe.
What does the Risk Management Approach contain?
How risk will be managed: processes, procedures, techniques, standards, responsibilities
What does the Quality Management Approach contain?
How quality will be managed: processes, procedures, techniques, standards, responsibilities
What does the Change Management Approach detail?
Details the procedures, techniques and responsibilities for issue management and change control
What do the issue, risk and change registers record?
Record issues, risks and quality reviews so they may be properly managed by the project manager. The registers are each formal documents in the project.
There is always one project management team role that is in charge of reviewing the formal management products. Who is that?
Project Assurance
Who is the project management team role that is in charge of creating management products such as Issue, quality and change registers?
Project Support (that defaults to the PM if the role is not taken by someone else)
TRUE or FALSE:
The Quality Management Approach document contains the customer quality expectations.
FALSE
Customer Quality Expectations are part of the Project Product Description.
How does the project manager set up project controls?
By defining:
* the frequency and format of communication between the project management levels
* the number of management stages and hence end stage assessments
* mechanisms to capture and analyse issues and changes
* mechanisms to monitor tolerances and escalate exceptions
etc..