Definitions Flashcards
total float formula
total float = late finish - early finish
normal distribution
bell curve - symmetrical distribution - 50% chance of falling below the mean and 50% chance of falling above the mean (1sigma=68.27%. 2sigma = 95.45%. 3sigma= 99.73%)
triangular distribution
when there are 3 possible values w/ equal probability - distribution is a triangle. A= lowest value, B= highest value, M = most likely value
beta distribution (PERT)
triangular distribution w/ more weight given to the most likely estimate (can be asymmetrical). O = optimistic estimate, ML=most likely estimate, P=pessimistic estimate
mean for a beta distribution
mean = (O + 4ML + P)/6
mean = (O + 4ML + P)/6
standard deviation for beta distribution
standard deviation for beta distribution
standard deviation = (P-O)/6
statistical sums
project mean is the sum of the means of the individual tasks. project standard deviation is the square root of the project variance
earned value management
used to monitor the progress of a project and is an analytical technique. uses 3 independent values - PV, AC, EV
planned value (PV)
the budget or the portion of the approved cost estimate planned to be spent during a given period
actual cost (AC)
the total of direct and indirect costs incurred in accomplishing work during a given period
earned value (EV)
the budget for the work accomplished in a given period
cost variance (CV)
CV = EV - AC
schedule variance (SV)
SV = EV - PV
cost performance index (CPI)
CPI = EV/AC
schedule performance index (SPI)
SPI = EV/PV
positive CV indicates, negative CV indicates
costs are below budget, costs are overrun
positive SV indicates, negative SV indicates
a project is ahead of schedule, a project is behind schedule
CPI greater than 1.0 indicates
costs are below budget
SPI greater than 1.0 indicates
project is ahead of schedule
CPI less than 1.0 indicates
costs are over budget
SPI less than 1.0 indicates
a project is behind schedule
estimate at completion (EAC)
the amount we expect the total project to cost on completion and as of the “data date” (time now)
new estimate technique for finding EAC
EAC = AC/new estimate for remaining work
new estimate is most applicable when:
the actual performance to date shows that the original estimates were fundamentally flawed or when they are no longer accurate because of changes in conditions relating to the project
original estimate technique for finding EAC
EAC = AC/(BAC - EV)
original estimate is most applicable when:
actual variances to date are seen as being the exception, and the expectations for the future are that the original estimates are more reliable than the actual work effort efficiency date
performance estimate low technique for finding EAC
EAC = AC + (BAC - EV)/CPI or EAC = BAC/CPI
performance estimate low formula is most applicable when:
future variances are projected to approximate the same level as current variances
performance estimate high technique for finding EAC
EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) / (CPI)(SPI)
performance estimate high formula is most applicable when:
the project is over budget and the schedule impacts the work remaining to be completed
BAC
budget at completion. the total budgeted cost of all approved activities
ETC
estimate to complete - the estimate for completing the remaining work for a scheduled activity
ETC when past variances are considered to be atypical
ETC = BAC - EV
ETC when prior variances are considered to be typical of future variances
ETC = (BAC - EV)/CPI
communications channels
channels = (n(n-1))/2. n - number of ppl
rule of seven
if 7 or more observations occur in one direction, or a run of 7 observations occurs either above or below the mean, they should be investigated to determine if they have an assignable cause.
business value
the entire value of a business - the total sum of all tangible and intangible elements
colocation
project team members are physically located close to one another in order to improve communications, working relations, and productivity
constraint
a restriction or limitation that may force a certain course of action or inaction
enterprise environmental factors
external or internal factors that can influence a project’s success. includes controllable factors such as the tools used in managing project within the org, or uncontrollable factors that have to be considered by the project manager such as market conditions or corporate culture
good practice
a specific activity or application of a skill, tool, or technique that has been proven to contribute positively to the execution of a process
operations
ongoing work performed by ppl, constrained by resources, planned, executed, monitored, and controlled. unlike a project bc they are repetitive
organizational process assets
any formal or informal processes, plans, policies, procedures, guidelines, and ongoing or historical project info such as lessons learned, measurement data, project files, and estimates vs actuals
portfolio
a collection of programs, projects, and additional work managed together to facilitate the attainment of strategic business goals
product life cycle
the collection of stages that make up the life of a product. these stages are typically introduction, growth, maturity, and retirement
program
a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way
progressive elaboration
the iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available
project
work performed by ppl, constrained by resources, planned, executed, monitored and controlled. has a definite beginning and end and creates a unique outcome
project life cycle
the name given to the collection of various phases that make up a project - make the project easier to control and integrate
project management
the ability to meet project requirements by using various knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to accomplish project work
project management info system
collection of tools, methodologies, techniques, standards, and resources used to manage a project
stakeholder
an individual, group, or organization who may affect by, or perceive itself to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project
standard
a document that describes rules, guidelines, methods, processes, and practices that can be used to enhance the chances of success
subproject
a component of a project
program management
the act of managing a group of related projects in a coordinated way
project management office (PMO)
an additional layer of organization dedicated to helping project managers
project managers roles
focus on the immediate needs of the project, control the project management team and participants, control scope, schedule, cost, and quality trade-offs
PMO manager roles
review program scope changes for opps and risks, attempt to maximize/optimize/satisfy shared resources, manage overall risk, opportunities, and interdependencies of all projects at their level of the enterprise
project management knowledge competency
what project managers know
project management performance competency
what project managers do
personal competency
how project managers behave based on their attitudes and personal characteristics
role of the project participant
work as subject matter experts - give cultural, social, international, political, and physical contexts to the project environment
functional organizations
each employee is in a hierarchical structure with one superior. staff is often grouped by specialty
pros of a functional organization
flexibility in staff use, availability of experts for multiple projects, grouping of specialists, technological continuity, normal advancement path
cons of a functional organization
client is not the focus of activity, function rather than problem oriented, no one fully responsible for project, slow response to the client, tendency to sub optimize, fragmented approach to a project
project expeditor
a facilitator - has little formal authority - communicates information btwn the executive and the workers. used when project costs are relatively low
project coordinator
reports to a higher level in the hierarchy, usually holds a staff position. has more formal authority than a PE. can assign work to functional workers. useful when project costs are relatively low compared to those in the rest of the organization
pros of matrix organizations
project is the point of emphasis, access to a reservoir of technical talent, less anxiety about team future at project completion, quick client response, better firm-wide balance of resources, minimizes overall staff fluctuations
cons of matrix organizations
two-boss syndrome, more time and effort needed to get team members, functional managers may be reluctant to share top performers, conflicts of authority between project manager and functional manager, careful project monitoring required, political infighting among project managers
projectized organizations
team members are often collocated, project manager has a large amount of independence and authority
pros of projectized organizations
one boss, project manager has independence/authority, team members are collocated, treated as insiders, most resources are involved in project work
cons of projectized organizations
hourly costs may become inflated while specialists are waiting between assignments or are on call, bureaucracy, standards, procedures, and documentation may result in an abundance of red tape
expert judgment
tool and technique used in every process group
2 characteristics of a corporate knowledge base
identify gatekeepers of a knowledge base, have unstructured pathways for access that simplify the relationship of a current need to prior attempts/successes
gatekeeper
an individual or team that has experience with a variety of projects, problems, and processes
examples of enterprise environmental factors
organizational culture and structure, government or industry standards, infrastructure, existing human resources, personnel administration, company work authorization systems, marketplace conditions, stakeholder risk tolerances, commercial database, project management information systems
phases of project life cycle
concept phase, development/planning phase, implementation/execution phase, termination/close phase
at what phase in the project life cycle are resources necessary at their highest
implementation/execution phase
deliverables of the concept phase
- feasibility studies that clarify the problems to be solved 2. order of magnitude forecasts of cost 3. a project charter to grant permission for the project to proceed
deliverables of the development/planning phase
- scope statement 2. WBS 3. schedule baseline 4. determination of budgetary costs and a developed budget 5. identification of resources and team members w/ levels of responsibility 6. a risk assessment 7. communications management plan 8. a project plan 9. control systems and methods for handling change control
deliverables of the implementation and execution phase
- execution results for work packages 2. status reports and performance reporting 3. procurement of goods and services 4. managing, controlling, and redirecting of scope, quality, schedule and cost 5. resolution of problems 6. integration of the product into operations
deliverables of the termination and close phase
- formal acceptance 2. documented results and lessons learned 3. reassignment or release of resources
sequential phases
often called for bc of the absence/uncertainty of info needed to proceed w the dependent phase
overlapping phases
when a project has low uncertainty and/or commitment of funding for the duration of the project. may increase risk
predictive life cycles
preferred when the product to be delivered is well understood
iterative or incremental life cycle2
used when scope details become clear as each phase is completed. works well in highly complex projects
adaptive, agile, or change-driven life cycles
work well in a rapidly changing environment
code of ethics and professional conduct
responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty
tailoring
project managers and their teams consider each process and determine if it is appropriate to their specific situation
input
a tangible item internal or external to the project that is required by a process for the process to produce its output
output
a deliverable, result, or service generated by the application of various tools or techniques within process
technique
a defined systematic series of steps applied by one or more individuals using one or more tools to achieve a product or result or to deliver a service
tool
a tangible item such as a checklist or template used in performing an activity to produce a product or result
initiating
defining and authorizing the project or phase
planning
defining objectives, refining them, and planning the actions required to attain them
executing
integrating all resources to carry out the project plan
monitoring and controlling
measuring progress to identify variances and taking corrective action when necessary
closing
bringing the project or phase to an orderly end, including gaining formal acceptance of the result
tuckman’s team stages
forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
data
raw observations and measurements that are identified as activities are performed. usually an output
information
data that has been analyzed in context. usually an input
reports
the physical or electronic representation of work performance information compiled in project documents. can be either input or output
application area
a category of projects that share components that may not be present in other categories or projects
change control
the procedures used to identify, document, approve, and control changes to the project baselines
change management
the process for managing change in a project. should be incorporated into the project management plan
objective
something toward which work is to be directed, a strategic position to be attained, a purpose to be achieved, a result to be obtained, a product to be produced, or a service to be performed
project management information system (PMIS)
the collection of tools, methodologies, techniques, standards, and resources used to manage a project. can be formal or informal
project management methodology
any structured approach used to guide the project team through the project life cycle. may utilize forms, templates, and procedures standard to the org
develop project charter phase
used to formally authorize a new project or validate an existing project for continuation into the next phase
statement of work
an input in the form of a narrative description of the products or services to be delivered by the project
business case
provides the business perspective for which the project is being initiated. deals w the business needs being addressed by the project
examples of business reasons addressed by a project
market demand, business needs, customer request, technological advancement, legal requirement, social need
validate a good objective
SMART - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely
agreement
request initiated by an external entity, will include a defined SOW and the business case and a rationale for the request
project charter
an agreement btwn the sponsor and the assigned project manager. this document names the project manager
considerations when developing the project charter
enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets
work breakdown structure
the ruling scope document - a framework for defining project work by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable pieces, it defines the total scope of the project using descending levels of detail
schedule
reflects the work to be performed and defined by the WBS over time and is used to measure project performance
time-phased budget
summarizes the effort expressed in resource costs that are depended to produce each deliverable
s curve
displays cumulative costs, total planned cost, and actual cost
3 baseline plans
scope baseline plan, schedule baseline plan, cost baseline plan
enterprise environmental factors that could constrain project management plan
government or industry standards, project management info systems, infrastructure, personnel administration
primary process whereby the project management plan is put into action
direct and manage project work
tools and techniques used in direct and manage project work process
expert judgment, PMIS, meetings
outputs of the direct and manage project work process
deliverables, change requests, and work performance data
project requirements
defined by stakeholders - what is expected of the project output
types of meetings
information exchange, brainstorming/option evaluation/design, decision making
work performance data
gathered thru work execution and passed to the controlling processes for analyis
types of work performance data
work completed, key performance indicators, technical performance measures, start and finish dates, # of change requests, # of defects, actual costs
3 ways change requests are generated
- sponsors and stakeholders generate thru the integrated change control process 2. project team members contacted directly by sponsor or stakeholders to make a change 3. project participants make a change request based on observations or based on quality management responsibilities
reasons for change requests
corrective action, preventive action, defect repair, updates
project documents that require periodic updates
risk registers, stakeholder registers, data and WBS dictionaries
monitor and control project work process
project manager and team monitor performance and compare actual performance to the project management plan and determine if corrective/preventive action is necessary
outputs of monitor and control project work process
change requests (primary), work performance reports, project plan updates, and project document updates
types of analytical techniques used by project manager
root cause analysis, forecasting methods, failure mode and effect analysis, fault tree analysis, reserve analysis, trend analysis, earned value management, variance analysis, regression analysis, grouping methods, causal analysis
perform integrated change control process
coordinates changes across the entire project by determining that a change has occurred, managing a change, and ensuring a change is controlled
change management log
log that shows the status of each change request
configuration control
systematic procedure that refers to change management - protects customer and team members from unauthorized changes
inputs of perform integrated change control process
project management plan, change requests, work performance reports, enterprise environmental factors, and org process assets
change control boards
ppl who provided resources to screen and prioritize change requests - involved in meetings
change control tools
managing change requests and their associated decisions
outputs of perform integrated change control
approved changes, a change log, project plan updates, and project document updates
lack of tracking updates in project plan may result in
scope creep
lack of tracking updates in project documents may result in
weakened end results for a project
close project or phase
occurs at the end of the project AND at the end of each phase. involves expert judgment, analytical techniques, meetings
outputs of close project or phase
final product/service/result and updates to the organizational process assets
organizational process assets at close project or phase process
formal acceptance/project closure documentation, project files, historical info
scope management
defining the intent of the project and defining the work necessary to complete the project
role of project manager in scope management
defining the work, ensuring that only the project work is being competed, preventing scope creep
chart of accounts
the financial numbering system used to monitor project costs by category
code of accounts
the numbering system for providing unique identifiers for all items in the WBS. hierarchical and can to multiple levels, each lower level containing a more detailed description of a project deliverable
control account
the management control point at which integration of scope, budget, and schedule takes place and at which performance is measured
decomposition
the process of breaking down a project deliverable into smaller, more manageable components
parking lot
a technique for capturing ideas and recording them for future use
planning package
a component of the WBS that is a subset of the control account to support known uncertainty in project deliverables
requirements traceability matrix
a matrix for recording each requirement and tracking its attributes and changes throughout the project life cycle to provide a structure for changes to product scope
rolling wave planning
a progressive elaboration technique that addresses uncertainty in detailing all future work for a project
scope baseline
the approved detailed project scope statement along w the WBS and WBS dictionary
scope creep
the uncontrolled expansion of a product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources
WBS dictionary
houses the details associated w the work packages and control accounts. it is the level of detail needed as defined by the project team
work package
the lowest level of a WBS; cost estimates are made at this level
plan scope management process
the process that documents how scope will be defined, validated, and controlled
primary tools and techniques needed for the plan scope management process
expert judgment and meetings
requirements management plan
describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed
outputs of the plan scope management process
scope management plan, requirements management plan,
collect requirements process
defines and documents what is needed to meet project objectives
inputs of collect requirements process
scope management plan, requirements management plan, stakeholder management plan, project charter, stakeholder register
tools and techniques for collect requirements process
interviews, focus groups, facilitated workshops, group creativity techniques, questionnaires and surveys, observations, prototypes, benchmarking, context diagrams, document analysis
interviews
can be formal or informal w various stakeholders- must stay on topic w project objectives - ultimate goal is to determine the needs of the stakeholders. must develop an interview plan for each stakeholder
group decision making
project team must gather and assess alternatives to detrmine which path/paths should be followed in order to best meet project objectives
unanimity
gaining a consensus in which everyone agrees w a single course of action
majority
applying a greater than 50% criteria for voting on a recommended action
plurality
when no majority is available, the option w the greatest number of votes will be selected
dictatorship
a single person is identified as the sole person responsible for making a decision
group creativity techniques
brainstorming, nominal group technique, idea/mind mapping, affinity diagram, multicriteria decision analysis
nominal group technique
a technique that enhances brainstorming w a voting process used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or prioritization
idea/mind mapping
a technique in which ideas created thru individual brainstorming sessions are consolidated into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding, and generate new ideas
affinity diagram
a technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis
key performance indicator
ex revenue, costs, attendance - should be defined based on the objectives in the project charter
multicriteria decision analysis
a technique that utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty, and valuation, to evaluate and rank many ideas
prototyping
a method of obtaining early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of the expected product before actually building it
benchmarking
comparing actual or planned practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance
outputs of collect requirements process
requirements documentation and requirements traceability matrix
requirements documentation examples
business requirements, stakeholder requirements, solution requirements, project requirements, transition requirements, requirements assumptions, dependencies, and constraints
define scope process
process of developing a detailed description of the project and product - defines which of the collected requirements will be included in and excluded from the project scope
inputs of define scope process
scope management plan, project charter, requirements documentation, organizational process assets
tools and techniques of define scope process
expert judgment, product analysis, alternatives generation, facilitated workshops
outputs of define scope process
project scope satement, project documents updates
facilitated workshops
used to define scope process to bring stakeholders together on specific deliverables to be produced. project managers create an agenda for these meetings
product analysis
consider components needed for the product such as quality, grade, or vendor sourcing
alternatives generation
determine different ways to execute a project to deliver the product, service, or result
project scope statement
succinctly defines the work included in the project as well as the work that will not be included. should be reviewed and approved by the sponsor and key stakeholders
what is the first component of the project management plan
the project scope statement
create WBS process
process that further articulates the work that is included in a project. defines the work necessary to fulfill the scope and project objectives
components of the WBS
control accounts and work packages
control accounts
a summary-level component of the WBS that is used to summarize both subsidiary control accounts and work packages that make up the control account
work and resources should only be assigned at:
the work package level
WBS ID
a numbering system that relates work packages to control accounts and determines how work and costs are summarized and reported
outputs of the create WBS process
WBS, WBS dictionary, scope baseline, project document updates
