Course Two: Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project

Question 1

Adoption

Answer 1

Refers to how the customer uses and adapts a product or service without any issues

Question 2

Asana

Answer 2

A work management platform that helps teams plan and coordinate their work; useful for building project plans, assigning tasks, automating workflows, tracking progress, and communicating with stakeholders

Question 3

Benchmark

Answer 3

A point of reference

Question 4

Benefits

Answer 4

Expected gains of a project

Question 5

Budget

Answer 5

An estimate of the amount of money a project will cost to complete

Question 6

Business case

Answer 6

The reason for initiating a project

Question 7

Collaboration tools

Answer 7

Tools used to quickly and efficiently check in with team members on questions, comments, and other topics related to a project

Question 8

Cost-benefit analysis

Answer 8

The process of adding up the expected value of a project—the benefits—and comparing them to the dollar costs

Question 9

Customers

Answer 9

The people who will get some value from a successfully-landed project

Question 10

Data validation

Answer 10

A feature that adds dropdown lists to cells in a spreadsheet

Question 11

Deliverable

Answer 11

A tangible outcome from a project; what gets produced or presented at the end of a task, event, or process

Question 12

Engagement

Answer 12

Refers to how often or meaningful customer interaction and participation is over time

Question 13

Function

Answer 13

A feature that generates formulas which can be used to manipulate data and perform calculations in a spreadsheet

Question 14

Gantt chart

Answer 14

A horizontal bar chart that illustrates a project’s tasks, with clear breakdowns of who’s responsible for the work and when those tasks are due

Question 15

Influence

Answer 15

Measures how much power a stakeholder has and how much the stakeholder’s actions affect the project outcome

Question 16

Initiation

Answer 16

The first phase within the project life cycle, followed by planning, executing, and closing

Question 17

In-scope

Answer 17

Tasks that are included in the project plan and contribute to the project’s goal

Question 18

Intangible benefits

Answer 18

Gains that are not measurable or quantifiable, such as customer or employee satisfaction or brand recognition

Question 19

Intangible costs

Answer 19

A cost that cannot easily be quantified, such as loss of employee morale or brand damage.

Question 20

Interest

Answer 20

Refers to how much the needs of the stakeholder will be affected by project outcomes

Question 21

Key results

Answer 21

The part of an OKR that describes measurable outcomes that objectively define when the objective has been met

Question 22

Key stakeholders

Answer 22

The people with the highest amount of influence on and interest in a project; also called “key players”

Question 23

Land (vs. Launch)

Answer 23

To measure the success of a project using the success criteria established at the outset of the project

Question 24

Launch (vs. Land)

Answer 24

To deliver the final result of a project to the client or user

Question 25

Materials

Answer 25

Items needed to help get the project done

Question 26

Objective

Answer 26

The part of an OKR that defines what needs to be achieved and describes a desired outcome

Question 27

Objectives and key results (OKRs)

Answer 27

A combination of a goal and a metric to determine a measurable outcome

Question 28

Out-of-scope

Answer 28

Tasks that are not included in the project plan and don’t contribute to the project’s goal

Question 29

Pivot table

Answer 29

A basic analysis tool used to summarize data and show the relationships between data points, making it easier to understand the information contained in a spreadsheet

Question 30

Power grid

Answer 30

A two-by-two grid used for conducting a stakeholder analysis; shows stakeholder interest in the project versus their influence over the project

Question 31

Primary stakeholders

Answer 31

People who will benefit directly from a project’s success

Question 32

Productivity tools

Answer 32

Tools used to manage project tasks, including word processing software, spreadsheets, and presentations

Question 33

Project charter

Answer 33

A document that clearly defines the key details of a project

Question 34

Project Goal

Answer 34

The desired outcome of a project

Question 35

Project proposal

Answer 35

Documentation written at the beginning of a project; kicks off the initiation phase by influencing and persuading the company to move forward with the project

Question 36

Project sponsor

Answer 36

The person who’s accountable for the project and who ensures the project delivers the agreed-upon business benefits

Question 37

RACI chart

Answer 37

A visual that helps to define roles and responsibilities for individuals or teams to ensure work gets done efficiently; lists who is "responsible," "accountable," "consulted," and "informed" for project tasks

Question 38

Return on investment (ROI)

Answer 38

A metric used to calculate the return on an investment relative to its cost.

Question 39

Resources

Answer 39

The budget, people, materials, and other items needed for a project

Question 40

Scheduling and work management software

Answer 40

Tools used for assigning tasks to multiple teammates and for tracking and visualizing progress; most useful for bigger projects with a larger number of tasks and a bigger team of people to manage

Question 41

Scope

Answer 41

The boundaries of a project; an agreed-upon understanding as to what is included or excluded from a project

Question 42

Scope Creep

Answer 42

Changes, growth, and uncontrolled factors that affect a project’s scope at any point after the project begins

Question 43

Scope management

Answer 43

Understanding and negotiating how changes will be evaluated, accepted, and performed

Question 44

Silo

Answer 44

A situation in which the knowledge and responsibility for a task falls on one person

Question 45

Secondary stakeholders

Answer 45

People who are indirectly impacted by a project’s success

Question 46

SMART goals

Answer 46

A method to evaluate goals; states that goals should be "specific," "measurable," "attainable," "relevant," and "time-bound"

Question 47

Stakes

Answer 47

The important parts of a business, situation, or project that might be at risk if something goes wrong

Question 48

Stakeholder analysis

Answer 48

Anyone involved in the project who has a vested interest in the project’s success

Question 49

Stakeholder buy-in

Answer 49

The process of involving stakeholders in decision-making to hopefully reach a broader consensus on the organization's future

Question 50

Steering committee

Answer 50

The most senior decision-making body on any project; they have the authority to make changes to the budget and approve updates to the timeline or scope

Question 51

Success criteria

Answer 51

The standards that measure how successful a project was in reaching its goals

Question 52

Triple constraint

Answer 52

The combination of the three most significant restrictions of any project: scope, time, and cost