Chapter 1 - Discussion 1. Why is there a new or renewed interest in the field of project management? There are more people that project manage now because new technologies have become big factor in businesses. It also helps the bussinesses with the following: Better control of financial, physical, and human resources, it improves customer relations, has lower costs and improved productivity, and higher profit margins. 2. What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a pro ject different from what most people do in their day-to-day day-to-d ay jobs? What is the triple contraint? A project is a "temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result." It's main attributes are as followed: " A project has a unique pupose, the project is temporary, a project is developed using progressive elaboration, a project requires resources in various areas, a project should have a promary customer or sponser, a project involves uncertainity." Each project is constrained in different ways by its scope, time, and cost goals. These three limitations are referred to as the triple contraint. 3. What is project management? Briefly describe the pr oject management framework, providing examples of stakeholders, knowledge areas, too ls and techniques, and project success factors. Project management is " the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements." Stakeholders are the people involved in and affected by project activities. This includes: the project sponser, project team, support staff, customers, users, suppliers, and opponents of the project. There are nine knowledge areas of project management: "integration management, scope management, time management, cost management, quality management, human resource managament, communications management, risk management, and procurement management." The tools and techniques help project managers and the teams carry out the nine knowledge areas. Integration tools include: project management software, change request, and lessons-learned reports. Scope techniques include scope statements and work breakdown analyses. A good time tool is Gnatt charts. Cost techniques include: net present value, return on investement, and payback analysis. Quality tools are checklists and quality control charts. Human Resource tools inclice: motivation techniques, empathic listening, and resources histograms. Communications tools are kick-off meetings, and progress reports. Risk techniques have risk rankings and risk management plans. Procurement tools are make-or-buy analyses and contracts. There are three criteria for measurement of success. They include: "the project met scope, time, and cost goals, the project satisfied the customer/sponser, the results of the project met its main objective, such as making or sacing a certain amount of money. 4. What is a program? prog ram? What is a project portfolio? Discuss the relationship between projects, programs, and portfolio management and t he contributes they each makes to enterprise success. A program is " a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually." A project portfolio is a group of projects put together so you can view their work. Portfolio management looks at long term goals. They make sure that the the programs in the
portfolio are broken down in each sector. The programs are just multiple projects. It's a building block starting with project and ending with portfolio manager. 5. What is the role of the project manager? What are the suggested skills for all project managers and for information technology project managers? Why is leadership so important for project managers? How is the job market for information technology project managers? The role of the project manager is to work closely with the other stakeholders on a project. They manage the project by knowing the nine knowledge areas. They need to have a wide variety of skills but they also need to know when certain skills are more important to use. Their suggested skills are numerous. They include: people skills, leadership, listening, integrity, strong at building trust, verbal communication, strong at building teams, conflict resolution, conflict management, critical thinking, and balances priorities. Leadership is so important because you have to think long term. Leadership is the single most important skill a manager can have. They need to be able to get their team motivated and asking the right questions. Project management in the IT field is suppose to be the most in demand within the next two to five years. Companies are now wanting a manager with a technology background but also knows and understands the business side of things. 6. Briefly describe some key events in the history of project management. What role does t he Project Management Institute and other professional societies play in helping the profession? The idea of project management first began with the Manhattan Project in World War II while making the atomic bomb. In 1917, Henry Gantt developed the Gantt chart which is a standard format for displaying project schedule information. During the Cold War, specifically 1958, the concept of network diagrams came about. This is when the critical path was founded and they followed that path. In thw 1990s, the Project Management Offics (PMO) was formed. They are an organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management function throughout an organization. The PMI (Projecy Management Institute) has created specific interest groups that enable members to share ideas about project management in their particular field. 7. What functions can you perform with project management software? What are some popular names of low-end, midrange, and high-end project management tools? You can create Gantt charts and network diagrams. You can assist in critical path analysis, resource allocation, project tracking, and status reporting. Some of the popular low-end tools are MinuteMan, Project Kickstart, and Basecamp. A midrange tool is Microsoft Project. Microsoft came out with a higher-end tool called Microsoft Enterprise Project Management software.
Chapter 1 - Quick Quiz 1. Approximately what percentage o f the world's gross domestic income product is spent of projects? a. 10 percent b. 25 percent c. 50 percent d. 75 percent 2. Which of the following is not a potential advantage of using good project management?
a. Shorter development times b. High woker morale c. Lower cost of capital d. Higher profit margins 3. A ___________ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. a. program b process c. project d. portfolio 4. Which of the following is not an attribute of a project? a. project are unique b. projects are developed using progressive elaboration c. projects have a primary customer or sponser d. project involve little uncertainty 5. Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management? a. meeting scope goals b. meeting time goals c. meeting communications goals d. meeting cost goals 6. ________ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. a. Project management b. Program management c. Project portfolio management d. Requirements management 7. Project portfolio management addresses ________ goals of an organization, while project management addresses _______ goals. a. strategic, tactical b. tactical, strategic c. internal, external d. external, internal 8. Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be managed as part of a _________. a. portfolio b. program c. investment d. collaborative 9. Which of the following is not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project manager? a. people skills b. leadership c. integrity d. technical skills 10. What is the certification program called that t he Project Management Institute provides? a. Certified Project Manager (CPM)
b. Project Management Professional (PMP) c. Project Management Expert (PME) d. Project Management Mentor (PMM)
Chapter 2 - Quick Quiz 1. Which of the following is not part of the three-sphere model for systems management? a. business b. information c. technology d. organization 2. Which of the four frames of organization addresses how meetings are run, employee dress codes, and expected work hours? a. structural b. human resources c. political d. symbolic 3. Personnel in a _____ organizational structure often report to two or more bosses. a .functional b. project c. matrix d. hybrid 4. Project work is most successful in an org anizational culture where all of the following characteristics are high except ________. a. member identity b. group emphasis c. risk tolerance d. control 5. A ________ is a product or service, such a technical report, a training session, or hardware, produced or provided as a part of a project. a. deliverable b. project c. work package d. tangible goal 6. Which of the following is not a phase of the traditional project life cycle? a. systems analysis b. concept c. development d. implementation 7. What is the term used to describe a framework of the phases involved in deve loping information systems? a. systems development life cycle b. rapid application development c. predictive life cycle d. extreme programming
8. Another name for a phase exit is a _________ point. a. review b. stage c. meeting d. kill 9. The nature of information technology projects is different from projects in many other industries because they are very __________. a. expensive b. technical c. diverse d. challenging 10. What term is used to describe when an organization acquires goods and/or sources from an outside source in another country? a. globalization b. offshoring c. exporting d. global sourcing
Chapter 3 - Quick Quiz A ________ is a series o f actions directed toward a particular result. a. goal b. process c. plan d. project 2. ________ processes include coordinating people and other reso urces to carry out the project plans and produce the products, services, or results of the project or phase. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing 3. Which process group normally requires the most resources and time? a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing 4. What methodology was developed in the U.K., defines 45 separate subprocesses, and organizes these into eight process groups? a. Six Sigma b. RUP c. PMBOK Guide d. PRINCE2 5. Which of the following outputs is often completed before initating a project?
a. stakeholder register b. business care c. project charter d. kick-off meeting 6. A work breakdown structure, project schedule, and cost estimates are outputs of the _________ process. a. initiating b. planning c. executing d. monitoring and controlling e. close 7. Initiating involves developing a pro ject charter, which is part of the project ________ management knowledge area. a. integration b. scope c. communications d. risk 8. __________ involves measuring progress toward project objectives and tak ing corrective actions. a. Initiating b. Planning c. Executing d. Monitoring and controlling e. Closing 9. What type of report do project teams create to reflect on what went right and what went wrong with the project? a. lessons-learned report b. progress report c. final project report d. business case 10. Many people use _______ to have standard format for preparing various project management documents. a. methodologies b. templates c. project management software d. standards
