C722

portfolio

a group of related programs that support a long-term company goal or objective Pg 13

program

a group of related projects Pg 13

project

an activity or group of activities to generate a new, unique product, service, or results to support that program Pg 13

charter

a document that, like a contract, is agreed upon by the sponsor and key stakeholders. It defines the project and authorizes the resources, roles, responsibilities, authorities, and scope for the project Pg 13

Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely

Criteria of specific objectives that are unique to a project are referred to as SMART which stands for what Pg 15

triple constraint

cost (budget), schedule (time), and scope (deliverables) Pg 17

stakeholder analysis

analysis to define the relevant stakeholders, their interests, and their communication needs Pg 19

Change Control Board (CCB)

a group of people who track changes in a project and can be used as a governance tool Pg 19

Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)

a key tool so that people understand what is expected of them and how they will be held accountable Pg 21

Project Management Institute (PMI)

Founded in 1969, it's headquartered in Newton, PA, and has member chapters on every continent (except Antarctica). Publishes foundational and practice standards and is the largest in the world. Pg 22

Association for Project Management (APM)

A UK-based charter organization that is the largest professional body of its kind in Europe. Formed in 1972, it's membership is primarily limited to the United Kingdom. Pg 22

International Project Management Association (IPMA)

the world's first project management association, founded in 1965. The leading authority on competent project, programme, and portfolio management (PPPM) Pg 22

AXELOS, Ltd

a joint venture between the government of the United Kingdom and Captia PLC. It was formed to manage and grow a number of standards and associated certifications developed by the Cabinet office, including ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library), PRINCE2, and Managing Successful Programs (MSP). Pg 22

Functional (Departmentalized) Organization pros/cons

Pros: Lines of authority are clear; work is easily prioritized by identified departmental authority

Cons: Utilizing resources across functions can be difficult; project is not managed holistically

Projectized Organization pros and cons

Pros: Clear lines of authority; project is managed holistically; gain historical data from prior projects.

Cons: Approach is expensive because of the duplication of personnel; SME assigned may not have the most appropriate knowledge or expertise for the project

Matrix Organization pros and cons

Pros: Central focus is the project; issues are responded to quickly.

Cons: Requires cooperation and coordination between and among functional departments and project managers; resource balancing between projects can lead to friction.

project management office (PMO)

A process for determining if the level of documentation and best practices followed in project execution. Pg 26

Project Management Maturity Level

Determined by the comprehensiveness of written procedures to accomplish tasks in each of the process areas identified by PMI. Pg 26

alignment

Term used to describe connecting project outcomes to company goals. Pg 30

Realistic

Model is appropriate to the level of resources available, the operating environment, and capabilities of the company. Pg 31

Capable

The model is able to apply the pertinent factors of the evaluation, including time, risk, cost, and internal and external environment. Pg 31

Flexible

Model should provide accurate measures across a reasonable range of changing conditions. Pg 31

Easy to use

The model is not difficult to learn and understand in a relatively short time; provides results readily understandable to the user.. Pg 31

Low Cost

Cost to run the model is economical relative to scale (budget) of project Pg 31

Comparable

The model should be usable across a multitude of projects, and not be project specific. Pg 31

Non-numeric project selection models

A process of selecting projects; not limited to traditional numeric performance measures; includes Competitive Necessity, Operating Necessity, Sacred Cow, and Checklist.

Return on Investment (ROI)

(NET PROFIT / COST OF INVESTMENT) * 100 Pg 32

Competitive Necessity Model

A process of selecting a project based upon whether implementing the project will ensure the viability of the company in the competitive market.

Operating Necessity Model

A process of selecting a project based upon if it will ensure ongoing operations.

Sacred Cow

Projects are suggested by senior leadership or a powerful constituent of the company often created to satisfy the expectations of the leader with little regard for the project's viability or contribution to strategic or operational needs. Pg 32

Checklist Model

This method uses a series of questions to evaluate each potential project. Each project would be analyzed using the same set of questions, and then the answers to the questions would be compared to determine whether a project is accepted or rejected.

weighted factor scoring

This scoring models requires senior management to assign a weight to each criterion, which places some emphasis on selected criteria when calculating the total project score. Pg 34

time value of money

Money is worth more to an organization now than in the future. Pg 35

payback period

Calculates the amount of time required to earn back the cost of doing the project. Pg 36

Internal rate of return (IRR)

To calculate future cash flows using time and interest rate; evaluates potential projects as if they were financial investments. Pg 37

net present value (NPV)

To calculate whether revenue tomorrow is greater than costs today; A financial measure of the total future benefits of a project minus the costs of the project. Pg 38

future net cash flows

Amount a company expects to realize from a project before that project begins. Pg 38

Project Process Groups

Initiating, Planning/Executing/Monitoring and Controlling, Closing

Project Phases

Defining, Planning, Executing, and Closing

Work Breakdown Structure

a key document that will be used for cost estimates, time estimates, risk identification, and resource assignment. Pg 45

collecting customer requirements

The process of gathering information from the customer and stakeholders in order to define the high level project outcomes Pg 48

specifications

used to describe customer requirements that identify precise and measurable characteristics of the project outcome Pg 48

project sponsor

The person in the project organization who has authority to expend resources for projects. Pg 48

Integration Management Plan

Documents how the various processes and planning areas will be kept in sync throughout the project life cycle. Pg 49

Types of Project Management Plans

Integration, Scope, Risk, Procurement, Communications, Human Resources, Stakeholder, Quality, Cost, Time, Configuration, Change, Process Improvement, Requirements

Stakeholder Management Plan

Explains how stakeholders will be identified along with their level of interest in the project and influence over the project. This is closely tied to the communications plan since stakeholders will need varying levels and frequency of information. Pg 49

Configuration Management Plan

Documents how the project team and stakeholders will keep track of the versions of project documents to ensure that the most up-to-date document is in use. Pg 49

Requirements Management Plan

Documents how the customer and stakeholder requirements will be identified, integrated to the project scope, tracked throughout the project, and verified at closure. Pg 49

Iterative Process

A process for arriving at a decision or a desired result through different stages of a project. Each stage will provide a deliverable that will help the business determine whether or not they will keep going with the overall plan.

phase-gate

Go/no go - where the overall project could be easily stopped before any more resources were expended Pg 52

Scope Creep

occurs when the project team integrates enhancements to the scope without proper evaluation and approval. Pg 56

Gantt chart

A type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule with start and finish dates of the activities and tasks that the project requires. Pg 57

PERT chart

Pg 57

float time (slack time)

the difference between the time required for the critical path to complete and the time for another path to complete Pg 57

cost of business (COB)

Day-to-day expenses that are not typically considered part of the project and should not be charged to the project. Pg 58

Critical path method (CPM)

Developed for the Dupont Corporation to estimate activity time durations, this method assumes time can be reliably estimated; calculates the longest path. Pg 68

Critical chain project management (CCPM)

Focuses on managing the uncertainties of a project and builds buffers into the schedule to prevent key activities from failing. Pg 68

Waterfall

Used previously in software development, this method organizes project tasks into linear workflows. Pg 68

Projects in controlled environments (PRINCE)

Focuses on the specification of outputs, including very specific processes and terminology. Pg 68

PMBOK

a standard that identifies the best practices which can be applied across projects and environments Pg 68

uncertainty

Situation where the current state of knowledge is such that (1) the order or nature of things is unknown, (2) the consequences, extent, or magnitude of circumstances, conditions, or events is unpredictable, and (3) credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot be assigned. Pg 69

Network Diagram

a project planning tool that shows the sequenced project activities using arrows and circles Pg 69

Agile project management

an iterative approach to project management where the project team works closely with the customer to deliver projects in usable chunks Pg 74

scrum

The daily standup meeting where the team discusses their work status and plans the work for the day. Pg 74

sprints

Occurs when the focus is to work together in delivering functionality to the customer in a relatively short period of time (often less than 3 weeks). Pg 74

backlog

Cards that contain customer functionality requirements Pg 74

retrospective

a discussion after the completion of each sprint to determine what went well and what changes should occur in the next sprint. Pg 74

Extreme Project Management

Approaches to address issues of extraordinary uncertainty or complexity. Pg 75

8/80 Rule

A good rule of thumb that ensures that no task is less than 8 hours or more than 80 hours in the WBS Pg 89

living documents

Planning documents that are not written in stone. Perodical review helps ensure that the plans are still valid. Pg 80

Statement of Work (SOW)

Defines the project's outcomes in terms of objectives, specific deliverables, acceptance criteria, technical requirements, milestones, constraints, and assumptions. Pg 81

Project Scope Statement

Both the product scope (description of the project outcomes) and the project scope (description of how the work will be completed) are included Pg 82

Requirements Traceability Matrix

A grid that includes the requirement, identifies the business need, and the specific stakeholder who provided the requirement Pg 82

Resource Responsibility Matrix

A document that shows the needed resources which are identified and roles and responsibilities are detailed. Pg 83

Skill Matrix

Shows the required skills for each role and the available skills for each person available for the project team. Pg 83

Tools that document approval requirements

Project Statement of Work (SOW) and Requirements Traceability Matrix (RAM)

Resource Leveling

The act of leveling the amount of resources needed to be constant over a period of time Pg 84

Activity

A portion of work that will be executed as part of the project to create the specified deliverables. Pg 88

task

specific actions taken to complete an activity. Pg 88

WBS Number

Used as a coding scheme to associate the various tasks to activities, deliverables, and the project as a whole. Pg 89

Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS)

Follows the WBS and insures that each activity and task in the WBS is reviewed for risk and opportunity and documented as identified. Pg 95

Risk Transfer

A technique used to move the risk of loss to another party by means of a contract. Pg 95

Opportunity Acceptance

An opportunity the we will welcome and use the benefits to our advantage Pg 95

Opportunity Enhancing

Involves identifying the root cause of a positive risk so that you can influence it for a greater likelihood of the opportunity occurring. Pg 95

risk register

a list of potential project-derailing events, how those they will be monitored, and what action will be taken should the event occur; include external, technical, and organizational.

top-down estimation methods

This approach starts with identifying every major aspect to the project; approach requires a history and knowledge of project pricing to accurately estimate.

Bottom-up estimation methods

In this style, project managers tally their costs upward, starting at the bottom and accounting for each expected cost. In sum, the total costs should equal the finished project.

parametric estimating

Determined by identifying the unit cost or duration and the number of units required for the project or activity. Pg 99

ratio method

Uses experience from prior projects to estimate the overall cost of the current project. Pg 99

apportion method

A method of allocating project costs using the work breakdown structure. Pg 99

baseline budget

The approved budget that will be used as the standard for comparison of actual costs throughout the life of the project and identifying variances. Pg 100

Direct overhead costs

costs from the project that are shared across the work activities. Pg 100

General and administrative costs (G&A)

Costs that cannot be related to a specific project work activity Pg 100

simple budget

cost of the major deliverables but does not indicate when the expenses will occur. Pg 101