Starting the Project Flashcards
(84 cards)
1
Q
Business Case
A
- Documented economic feasibility study.
- Establishes benefits of project components (including #s).
- Provides a basis for authorization of future project activities.
- Its the first step in authorizing project activities
- Might be preceded by a Business Needs Document
2
Q
Business Needs Document:
A
- provide high-level deliverables (less detailed than a Business Case)
- a prerequisite of a formal business case
- Describe requirements - what needs creating and/or performing
- Explains the justification, feasibility and return on investment (ROI) involved in pursuing the goal.
3
Q
Project Implementation Plan
A
- A plan for delivering a product that should consider all stakeholders, schedules, risks, budgets, and quality standards.
4
Q
Rolling Wave Planning
A
Planning rarely happens all at once and at the beginning of the project anymore. ‘Rolling Wave’ planning enables you to begin work, even if terms and conditions are uncertain and subject to change.
- can be used in either agile or predictive/traditional approaches.
- enables you to begin work even if you don’t have the full picture of the project
- A form of progressive elaboration
5
Q
Progressive Elaboration
A
An iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.
6
Q
Agile Methodology/Approach
A
a modern approach wherein the team works collaboratively with the customer to determine the project needs, quickly building outputs based on those assumptions, getting feedback, and continuing forward or adapting as much as needed.
- the aim is to deliver value early by regularly confirming and incorporating input.
- the team’s work, together with the customer’s input, drives the project forward.
7
Q
Predictive/Plan-Driven/Traditional Methodology/Approach/waterfall
A
Project needs, requirements, and constraints are understood, and plans are developed accordingly.
- Plans drive the project forward
8
Q
Hybrid Methodology/Approach
A
- Combines strategies from agile and predictive as required
- can switch approaches based on need, changing work requirements, or circumstances
9
Q
Predictive Life Cycle
A
(Traditional) A form of the project life cycle in which the project scope, time, and cost are determined in the early phases of the life cycle.
- it is the preferred cycle to use when project outcomes are well understood and known, such as enhancements to an established product.
10
Q
Adaptive life cycle
A
(Agile) Used in dynamic and complex environments, where change is constant.
- Can be Iterative, Incremental, or Agile
11
Q
Scope Management Plan
A
A plan that defines how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, and validated.
- provides guidance to you on how you’ll manage scope-related activities that range from collecting requirements and writing the scope statement, to break down the work that needs to be done.
- Use experts’ judgment, hold meetings and alternative analysis
12
Q
Project Requirements
A
The actions, processes, or other conditions the project needs to meet e.g. milestone dates, contractual obligations, constraints, etc.
13
Q
Product/Service Requirments
A
Distinct from project requirements, product requirements are the agreed-upon conditions or capabilities of a product, service, or outcome that the project is designed to satisfy.
14
Q
Project Scope
A
The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions. “Project scope” may include “product scope”
- measure completion of a project scope against the project management plan.
15
Q
Product Scope
A
The features and functions that characterize a product, service, or result.
- measure completion of a product scope against the product requirements.
16
Q
Tolerances
A
A quantified description of acceptable variation for a quality requirement. It applies to budget, time, quality, and non-functional requirements.
- Establishing tolerances for a project allows the project manager to effectively manage certain issues and control the project without having to escalate to the project board for review and approval.
17
Q
Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF)
A
Conditions (internal or external) not under the control of a project team, that influence, constrain, or direct the project at the organizational, portfolio, program, or project level. (e.g. employee capability, legal restrictions, financial considerations).
18
Q
Organization Process Assets (OPS)
A
Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization. These assets influence the management of the project.
19
Q
Document Analysis
A
A technique used to gain project requirements from current documentation evaluation.
- This method can be used to derive new project requirements from existing documentation such as business plans, service agreements, marketing materials, current process diagrams, etc.
20
Q
Focus Groups
A
brings together prequalified stakeholders and subject matter experts to learn about their expectations and attitudes about a proposed product, service or result.
21
Q
Benchmarking
A
the comparison of actual or planned products, processes, and practices to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement and provide a basis for measuring performance.
22
Q
Types of Data Representation (2)
A
- Mind Mapping: Consolidate ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding and to generate new ideas.
- Affinity Diagram: Allows a large number of ideas to be classified into groups based on their relationship for review and analysis
23
Q
Observation
A
A technique used to gain knowledge of a specific job role, task, or function in order to understand and determine project requirements.
24
Q
Facilitated Workshops
A
Organized working sessions held by project managers to determine project requirements and to get all stakeholders together to agree on project outcomes.
24
Storyboarding
A prototyping method using visuals or images to illustrate a process or represent a project outcome (used highly in Marketing)
25
Requirements Documentation
A description of how individual requirements meet the business/product needs for the project.
A document that records product requirements and relevant information needed to manage the requirements, which includes associated category, priority, and acceptance criteria. It can include the following:
1. Define the Purpose of the Product.
2. Break the Purpose Down Into Features.
3. Set the Goals For the Release Criteria.
4. Determine the Timeline. ...
Make Sure Stakeholders Review It.
26
Requirements Management Plan
A component of the project or program management plan that describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed
27
Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)
A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them.
28
Project Scope Statement (definition) & Tools to define it (5)
Description of the Project Scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints. Tools that project Managers use to determine the scope include:
1. Expert judgment
2. Alternative analysis - a data analysis technique used to develop as many potential options as possible to identify different approaches to execute and perform the work of the project.
3. Multi-criteria decision analysis - A decision-making used to analyze ideas to ultimately evaluate and prioritize (by ranking) the ideas to assist in defining the project scope.
4. Facilitation: facilitate workshops to help reach a cross-functional and common understanding of the project objectives and their limits
5. Product Analysis: asking questions about a product and forming answers to describe the use, characteristics, and other relevant aspects of what is going to be manufactured.
29
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A hierarchical decomposition (work packages) of a project's total scope of work to accomplish project objectives and create the required deliverables.
- Code of accounts is a system that uniquely identifies each component of the WBS
1. Project Name
1.1 Control Account (where $ is allocated)
1.1.1 Planning Package (When not all details are known)
1.1.1.1 Work Package (Lowest level, where work is defined, includes an activity)
30
WBS Dictionary
A document where you put the details of WBS elements. It could include work package details, description or statement of work, acceptance criteria, deliverables, cost, schedule, etc.
31
Decomposition
A technique of dividing and subdividing the project scope and deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.
32
Scope Baseline (definition)
What’s does it include? (4)
The approved version of a scope statement. This is the baseline you are monitoring and measuring throughout the project. Includes:
- Project scope statement
- WBS
- Work packages
- WBS Dictionary
33
Product Backlog
Used in Agile
- A list of the expected work to deliver the product.
- It includes de work and activities from the WBS
- Can change throughout the project
- Groom and refine the product continually
- Remove product backlogs items (PBIs) as work is completed
- Edit and clarify PBIs as more becomes known or as product requirements change
- Add PBIs when more work must be done
34
Iteration Backlog
the team determines what items from the product backlog can conceivably be completed within that time period based on the team's capacity.
35
User Stories
short description of required functionality; told from the user's point of view.
- aim to frame the need or desire of who is to benefit from the work of the team.
- Typically, the value is described in a template such as "As a [user name or persona], I want to [objective or intent], so that I can [why the objective brings value]"
- Framing the user's desire as a story, rather than a detailed requirement or specification, enables the team to focus on what the user actually values over simply delivering to a specification.
36
Tools for verifying Scope (7)
1. Definition of Done (DoD) - A team's checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use.
2. Definition of Ready (DoR) - A team's checklist for a user-centric requirement that has all the information the team needs to be able to begin working on it.
3. Acceptance Criteria - A set of conditions that are required to be met before deliverables are accepted.
4. Validate Scope - The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. This usually involves reviewing the deliverables with the project customer or sponsor to ensure that they are satisfied with the final deliverable and secure their formal acceptance for the completeness of the
deliverable.
5. Iteration Reviews - At or near the conclusion of a timeboxed iteration, the project team shares and demonstrates all the work produced during the iteration with the business and other stakeholders.
6. Variance Analysis - A technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance. Any variances must be analyzed to determine whether they are acceptable or they merit corrective action to keep the performance within specifications.
7. Trend Analysis - An analytical technique that uses mathematical models to forecast future outcomes based on historical results. Review the project performance over time to determine if it indicates improvement or deterioration.
37
Project Schedule
- An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.
- The schedule also specifies planned dates for meeting project milestones. With its supporting detail, the schedule is the main output of the development schedule process.
38
Schedule Management Plan definition and components (6)
a component of the project or program management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. Components:
1. Accuracy of activities duration
2. Units (weeks, days, hours)
3. Control thresholds - defined variance thresholds for monitoring schedule performance before action is taken. Expressed as percentage deviations from the baseline plan; for example, 10% behind schedule or 15% ahead of schedule.
4. Rules - including rules of performance measurements (e.g. Earned Value Management [EVM])
5. Reporting - formats, and frequency for schedule-related reports
6. Process descriptions - to explain how the schedule management processes are documented.
For Agile, consider developing a project roadmap.
39
Project Activity
a component of a decomposed work package.
- Work package is the lowest level of the WBS.
40
Feature (agile)
a set of related requirements that allows the user to satisfy a business objective or need.
(known as deliverables in traditional methodology)
41
Epic (Agile)
a very large or collection of user agile stories.
- Epics are responsible for producing a major deliverable which may include various agile features, for example.
42
Milestones
a significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.
- milestones have zero duration because they represent a significant point or event
43
Milestone Chart
provides the summary level view of a project's milestones.
- uses icons or symbols
- useful for upper management, who are not interested in fine details
44
Activity Dependency (meaning) and types of (4)
A Logical relationship that exists between two project activities.
Types:
1. Mandatory - A relationship that is contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work
2. Discretionary - A relationship that is established based on knowledge or best practices within a particular application area or an aspect of the project where a specific sequence is desired.
3. External - a relationship between project activities and non-project activites
4. Internal - contingent on inputs within the project team's control
45
Precedence Relationships
Exists between activities that describe the sequence in which the activities should be carried out. Each activity has two open points: start and finish. Precedence relationships consider appropriate logic
while connecting these points.
Types:
1. Finish-to-Start (FS)
2. Finish-to-Finish (FF)
3. Start-to-Start (SS)
4. Start-to-Finish (SF)
45
Activity Duration Estimates (definition and 2 measures)
The quantitative assessment of the likely number of time periods that are required to complete an activity.
1. Time: the actual calendar time required for an activity from start to finish
2. Effort: By the number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or WBS component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks. In contrast to duration (e.g. menhours).
46
Schedule Presentation Formats (7)
1. Gantt Chart
2. Milestone Chart
3. Project Schedule Network Diagram with Dates
4. Roadmap
5. Task Board
6. KanBan
7. Burndown Chart
47
Gantt Chart
A bar chart of schedule information where activities are listed on the vertical axis, dates are shown on the horizontal axis, and the activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates.
- useful for start and end dates, duration and order
- shows precedence relationships
- Percentage completion and actual progress
- Presentation of project status to the team and management.
48
Project Schedule Network Diagram with Dates
Adding dates to the project schedule network diagram helps when assigning start and finish dates to activities on the project schedule network diagram.
- These types of charts can be useful when you need to communicate the project status in terms of activity precedence relationships
49
Critical Path Method
Estimates the minimum project duration and determines the amount of schedule flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model. The goal is to determine the shortest possible project duration.
- use Early Start (ES); Early Finish (EF); Lat STart (LS); and Late Finish (LF) dates for all activities.
- do not factor in resource limitation.
50
What is Float
Also called slack. It is known as the amount
of time an activity can be delayed from its Early Start (ES) without delaying the project finish date or the consecutive activities. Float occurs only in activities that are not on the critical path. There are two types: total float and free float.
• Total float is the amount of time that a scheduled activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint. Total float for an activity can be calculated by subtracting its EF from
It's LF or its ES from its LS.
• Free float is the amount of time that a scheduled activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any successor or violating a schedule constraint. It allows flexibility in the start or finishes time within that activity only
51
Agile Release Planning
The Agile methodology focuses on creating a number of product releases, each containing completed features that are ready for customer use.
Each release consists of iterations, in which a piece of the product is designed, developed, and tested.
52
How to evaluate progress in Agile methodology?
1) Compare the total amount of work delivered and accepted with the estimate of the work to be completed for the current time period (e.g. Burn Down Charts)
2) Review the completed work in the regular Spring demos.
3) Conduct scheduled reviews to record lessons learned (also known as retrospectives) for correcting and improving processes.
4) Determine the rate at which deliverables are produced, validated, and accepted in the given time per iteration.
53
What are Smoothing and Leveling techniques in scheduling?
Smoothing: adjusting the activities of a schedule to keep resources requirements within predefined rouse limits and within free and total floats. `
Leveling: adjust start and finish dates based on resource constraints. Can change the critical path
54
Schedule Compression Techniques (2)
1) Crashing - adding resources to shorten schedule duration. Risks:
- Results in increased risk or cost
- Only works for activities on the critical path
- does not always produce a viable result
2) Fast-Tracking - performing activities in parallel to reduce total time on the project. Risks:
- Can result in rework
- increased risk
- increased cost
55
What are estimating techniques (3) and their advantages and disadvantages?
1) Analogous- top-down estimating
+ can ensure no work is inadvertently omitted from work estimates
- can sometimes be difficult for lower-level managers to apportion cost estimates
2) Parametic - scaling up or down
+ Is not time-consuming
- May be inaccurate, depending on the integrity of the historical information
3) Bottom-up
+ very accurate and gives lower-level managers more responsibility
- may be very time-consuming. Can be used only after the WBS has been well defined.
56
What is Cost Baseline
the approved version of the time-phased project budget, excluding any management reserves
- can be changed only through formal change control procedures
- monitors and measures cost performance
-
57
what is Funding Limit Reconciliation?
The process of comparing the planned expenditure of project funds against any limits on the commitment of funds for the project to identify any variances between the funding limits and the planned expenditures (budgeting).
58
What is Quality
The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements.
59
Name 5 types of quality standards and regulations
1) Standard - a document established as a model by an authority, custom, or by general consent
2) Regulations - Requirements imposed by a government body
3) De Facto regulations - widely accepted, unwritten laws
4) De Jure regulations - mandated by law
5) ISO 9000 Series - a quality system standard that can be applied to any product, service, or process in the world.
60
What is a Quality Management Plan
A component of the project management plan that describes how applicable policies, procedures, and guidelines will be implemented to achieve the quality objectives.
Examples:
1) What are the standards and regulations that might affect or are related to the project
2) how to implement them
3) how to control implementation
61
What is Cost of Quality (CoQ)
All costs incurred over the live of the product by investment in preventing nonconformance to requirements, appraisal of the product or service for conformance to requirements, and failure to meet requirements
61
Quality Audit
A structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures.
62
What are 3 data gathering tools for quality purposes
1) questionnaires and surveys
2) checklists
3) statistical sampling
63
What are the three control quality tools/steps (3)
1) Data Gathering
2) Data analysis
3) Data representation
64
What are two methods for data analysis?
1) Performance Review - measure, compare and analyse actual performance of work in progress against baseline
2) Root Cause Analysis - analytical tecnique used to determine the basic underlying reason that causes a variance, defect, or a risk.
65
What are 4 methods for data representation
1) Cause and Effect diagram (ex. fishbone diagram)
2) Scatter Diagram
3) Control Chart
4) Pareto Chart
66
Project Management Plan
The document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed.
67
Project Management Plan Components
1. Baselines:
a. Scope
b. Schedule
c. cost
2. Subsidiary Plans
a. Scope
b. Requirements
c. schedule
d. cost
e. quality
f. resource
g. communications
h. risk
i. procurement
j. Stakeholder
68
Change Management Plan
Answers the following questions:
1. Who can propose change?
2. what exactly constitutes a change?
3. what is the impact of the change on project objectives?
4. what are the steps to evaluate a change request before approving or rejecting
5. when a change request is approved, what project documents will record the next steps?
6. how will you monitor these actions to confirm completion and quality?
69
Procurement Strategy
The approach by the buyer to determine the project delivery method and the type of legally binding agreement(s) that should be used to deliver the desired results.
70
Make-or-buy analysis
the process of gathering and organizing data about product requirements and analyzing them against available alternatives including the purchase or internal manufacture of hte product
71
Make-or-buy decisions
Decisions made regarding the external purchase or internal manufacture of a product
72
Statement of Work (SOW)
a narrative description of products, services or results to be delivered by the product
73
Procurement SOW
The SOW describes the procurement item in sufficient detail to allow prospective sellers to determine if they are capable of providing the products, services or results.
- distributed to potential vendors to evaluate their capability to perform the work or provide the services
- based on the project scope baseline.
74
What are 3 contract types (prescriptive)
a. Fixed-priced - sets the fee that will be paid for a defined scope of work regardless of the cost or effort to deliver it.
b. Cost-reimbursement - payment to the seller for the seller's actual costs, plus a fee typically representing the seller's profit.
c. Time-and-material (T&M) - combines a negotiated hourly rate and full reimbursement for materials.
75
What are 3 agile contract types?
a. Capped Time and Materials contracts: similar to T&M but an upper limit is set on customers' payment.
b. Target Cost Contracts: supplier and customer agree on final price during project cost. Both parties face additional cost if it exceeds budget.
c. Incremental Delivery Contracts: customers review contracts during the contract life cycle at pre-negotiated designated points of the contract lifecycle. Customer can change, continue or terminate contract
76
Types of contract changes? (5)
a. Administrative Change - non-substantive changes, usually about the way the contract is administered.
b. Contract modification - A substantive change to the contract requirements such as a new deadline or a change to the product requirements.
c. Supplemental Agreement - An additional agreement related to the contract but negotiated separately.
d. Constructive Changes - changes that the buyer may have caused through action or inaction
e. Termination of Contract - terminated due to vendor default or for customer convenience.
77
Legal concepts when managing disputes (4)
a. Warranty - A promise, explicit or implied, that goods or services will meet a pre-determined standard.
b. Waiver - the giving up of a contract right, even inadvertently.
c. Brach of contract - failure to meet some of all of the obligations of a contract
d. Cease and Desist (C&D) letter - a letter sent to an individual or a business to stop (cease) allegedly illegal activities and to not undertake them again (desist)
77
Legal concepts when managing disputes (4)
a. Warranty - A promise, explicit or implied, that goods or services will meet a pre-determined standard.
b. Waiver - the giving up of a contract right, even inadvertently.
c. Brach of contract - failure to meet some of all of the obligations of a contract
d. Cease and Desist (C&D) letter - a letter sent to an individual or a business to stop (cease) allegedly illegal activities and to not undertake them again (desist).
78
Project Governance
The framework, functions, and processes that guide project management activities in order to create a unique product, service, or result to meet organizational, strategic, and operational goals.
79
Phase Gates
A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to continue with modification, or to end a project or program. (also governance gate, tollgate, and kill point).
80
Knowledge Management
A store of historical information about lessons learned in projects
