Chapter 2

Question 1

Organization Definition

Answer 1

Organizations are systematic arrangements of entities (persons and/or departments) aimed at accomplishing a purpose, which may involve undertaking projects. An organization’s culture and style affect how it conducts projects.

Question 2

Examples of cultural norms

Answer 2

The norms include established approaches to initiating and planning projects, the means considered acceptable for getting the work done, and recognized authorities who make or influence decisions.

Question 3

Functional Organizations

Answer 3

A hierarchy where each employee has one clear superior. Staff members are grouped by specialty, such as production, marketing, engineering, and accounting at the top level. Specialties may be further subdivided into focused functional units, such as mechanical and electrical engineering. Each department in a functional organization will do its project work independently of other departments.

Question 4

PM in Weak Matrix

Answer 4

Weak matrix organizations maintain many of the characteristics of a functional organization, and the role of the project manager is more of a coordinator or expediter.

Question 5

Project Expediter definition

Answer 5

A project expediter works as staff assistant and communications coordinator. The expediter cannot personally make or enforce decisions.

Question 6

Project Coordinator definition

Answer 6

Same as expediter but have power to make some decisions, have some authority, and report to a higher-level manager.

Question 7

PM in Strong Matrix

Answer 7

Have many of the characteristics of the projectized organization, and have full-time project managers with considerable authority and full-time project administrative staff

Question 8

PM in Balanced Matrix

Answer 8

Recognizes the need for a project manager but it does not provide the project manager with the full authority over the project and project funding.

Question 9

Projectized Organization Traits

Answer 9

Team members are often colocated. Most of the organization’s resources are involved in project work, and project managers have a great deal of independence and authority. Virtual collaboration techniques are often used to accomplish the benefits of colocated teams. Projectized organizations often have organizational units called departments, but they can either report directly to the project manager or provide support services to the various projects.

Question 10

Composite Organization

Answer 10

Organizations that involve all these structures (functional, matrix, projectized) at various levels.

Question 11

Organizational Process Assets

Answer 11

The plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization. May be grouped into two categories: (1) processes and procedures, and (2) corporate knowledge base.

Question 12

Enterprise environmental factors

Answer 12

Refer to conditions, not under the control of the project team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project. Enterprise environmental factors are considered inputs to most planning processes, may enhance or constrain project management options, and may have a positive or negative influence on the outcome.

Question 13

Stakeholder DEF

Answer 13

An individual, group, or organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project.

Question 14

Project governance and importance

Answer 14

The alignment of the project with stakeholders’ needs or objectives. It is an oversight function that is aligned with the organization’s governance model and that encompasses the project life cycle. Critical to the successful management of stakeholder engagement and the achievement of organizational objectives. Project governance enables organizations to consistently manage projects and maximize the value of project outcomes and align the projects with business strategy.

Question 15

Project sponsor

Answer 15

The person or group who provides resources and support for the project and is accountable for enabling success.

Question 16

Project Success

Answer 16

The success of the project should be measured in terms of completing the project within the constraints of scope, time, cost, quality, resources, and risk as approved between the project managers and senior management.

Question 17

Customers and Users

Answer 17

Customers are the persons or organizations who will approve and manage the project’s product, service, or result. Users are the persons or organizations who will use the project’s product, service, or result.

Question 18

Sellers

Answer 18

Sellers, also called vendors, suppliers, or contractors, are external companies that enter into a contractual agreement to provide components or services necessary for the project.

Question 19

Business Partners

Answer 19

Business partners are external organizations that have a special relationship with the enterprise, sometimes attained through a certification process. Business partners provide specialized expertise or fill a specified role such as installation, customization, training, or support.

Question 20

Project Team

Answer 20

The project team includes the project manager and the group of individuals who act together in performing the work of the project to achieve its objectives.

Question 21

PM Staff

Answer 21

The members of the team who perform project management activities such as scheduling, budgeting, reporting and control, communications, risk management and administrative support. This role may be performed or supported by a project management office (PMO).

Question 22

Project Staff

Answer 22

The members of the team who carry out the work of creating the project deliverables.

Question 23

Supporting Experts

Answer 23

Supporting experts perform activities required to develop or execute the project management plan. These can include such roles as contracting, financial management, logistics, legal, safety, engineering, test, or quality control.

Question 24

Composition Types - Project Teams

Answer 24

Dedicated and Part-Time

Question 25

Dedicated Project Team

Answer 25

All or a majority of the project team members are assigned to work full-time on the project. The project team may be colocated or virtual and usually reports directly to the project manager. This is the simplest structure for a project manager, as the lines of authority are clear and team members can focus on the project's objectives.

Question 26

Part-time Project Team

Answer 26

Some projects are established as temporary additional work, with the project manager and team members working on the project while remaining in their existing organizations and continuing to carry out their normal functions. The functional managers maintain control over the team members and the resources allocated to the project, and the project manager is likely to continue performing other management duties. Part-time team members may also be assigned to more than one project at a time.

Question 27

Project Life Cycle

Answer 27

A project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure.

Question 28

4 Generic Parts of Project Life Cycle Structure

Answer 28

Starting the project, Organizing and preparing, Carrying out the project work, and Closing the project

Question 29

Cost and Saving Through Generic Project Life Cycle

Answer 29

Cost and staffing levels are low at the start, peak as the work is carried out, and drop rapidly as the project draws to a close.

Question 30

Risk and certainty through Generic Project Life Cycle

Answer 30

Risk and uncertainty are greatest at the start of the project. These factors decrease over the life of the project as decisions are reached and as deliverables are accepted.

Question 31

Ability to make changes to product in terms of costs through Generic Project Life Cycle

Answer 31

The ability to influence the final characteristics of the project's product, without significantly impacting cost, is highest at the start of the project and decreases as the project progresses towards completion.

Question 32

Project phases

Answer 32

A project phase is a collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one or more deliverables.

Question 33

Relationship between phases and PM Process Group

Answer 33

A phase may emphasize processes from a particular Project Management Process Group, but it is likely that most or all processes will be executed in some form in each phase.

Question 34

Characteristics of project phases

Answer 34

The work has a distinct focus that differs from any other phase. This often involves different organizations, locations, and skill sets. Achieving the primary deliverable or objective of the phase requires controls or processes unique to the phase or its activities. The closure of a phase ends with some form of transfer or hand-off of the work product produced as the phase deliverable.

Question 35

Two types of Phase-to-phase relationships

Answer 35

Sequential and overlapping

Question 36

Sequential relationship

Answer 36

In a sequential relationship, a phase starts only when the previous phase is complete. The step-by-step nature of this approach reduces uncertainty, but may eliminate options for reducing the overall schedule.

Question 37

Overlapping relationship

Answer 37

In an overlapping relationship, a phase starts prior to completion of the previous one. Overlapping phases may require additional resources to allow work to be done in parallel, may increase risk, and can result in rework if a subsequent phase progresses before accurate information is available from the previous phase.

Question 38

Predictive life cycles

Answer 38

Predictive life cycles (also known as fully plan-driven) are ones in which the project scope, and the time and cost required to deliver that scope, are determined as early in the project life cycle as practically possible. These projects proceed through a series of sequential or overlapping phases, with each phase generally focusing on a subset of project activities and project management processes.

Question 39

Iterative and incremental life cycles

Answer 39

Iterative and incremental life cycles are ones in which project phases (also called iterations) intentionally repeat one or more project activities as the project team's understanding of the product increases. Iterations develop the product through a series of repeated cycles, while increments successively add to the functionality of the product. These life cycles develop the product both iteratively and incrementally.

Question 40

Adaptive life cycles

Answer 40

Adaptive life cycles (also known as change-driven or agile methods) are intended to respond to high levels of change and ongoing stakeholder involvement. Adaptive methods are also iterative and incremental, but differ in that iterations are very rapid (usually with a duration of 2 to 4 weeks) and are fixed in time and cost. Adaptive projects generally perform several processes in each iteration, although early iterations may concentrate more on planning activities.

Question 41

When to use predictive life cycle

Answer 41

Predictive life cycles are generally preferred when the product to be delivered is well understood, there is a substantial base of industry practice, or where a product is required to be delivered in full to have value to stakeholder groups.

Question 42

When to use incremental or iterative life cycle

Answer 42

Iterative and incremental life cycles are generally preferred when an organization needs to manage changing objectives and scope, to reduce the complexity of a project, or when the partial delivery of a product is beneficial and provides value for one or more stakeholder groups without impact to the final deliverable or set of deliverables.

Question 43

When to use adaptive life cycle

Answer 43

Adaptive methods are generally preferred when dealing with a rapidly changing environment, when requirements and scope are difficult to define in advance, and when it is possible to define small incremental improvements that will deliver value to stakeholders.