Project Management

Notes from An Introduction to Project Management by Kathy Schwalbe

Project

a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result

After the project has ended, the desired outcome…

may not be measurable until a year or more

A project has a _______ purpose.

unique

A project does not last forever because it’s _________.

temporary

A project drives ______ and enables value creation.

change

Projects are often defined broadly when they begin, and as time passes…

the specific details of the project becomes clearer

A project requires what?

resources

A project should have a primary customer or ________.

sponsor

Provides direction and funding for the project

project sponsor

A project may be planned, but it involves ______ at the start. External factors can cause this feeling

uncertainity

Works with project sponsors, the project team, and the other people involved in a project to define, communicate, and meet project goals

Project managers

To create a successful project, projects managers must consider the triple constraint known as

scope, schedule, and cost & balance

Other 3 constraints that are popular according to the PMBOK Guide are

quality, risks, and resources

T/F: Projects involve uncertainty and resources, and the customer defines quality

T

T/F: Experienced project managers know that you can’t decide which constraints are most important on each project

F; they can

T/F: The project manager should be communicating with the sponsor throughout the project to make sure the project meets his or her expectations

T

The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements (needs and expectations of stakeholders)

Project management

What kind of approach does project management take?

principle-centered approach

The people involved in or affected by project activities

stakeholders

The project manager is sometimes called the

project leader

What are the five project management process groups?

Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing activities

An overarching function that coordinates the work of all other knowledge areas

Project integration management

Involves working with all appropriate stakeholders to define, gain written agreement for, and manage all the work required to complete the project successfully

Project scope management

Includes estimating how long it will take to work to complete the work

Project schedule management

Consists of preparing and managing the budget for the project

Project cost management

Ensures that the project will satisfy the stated or implied needs for which it was undertaken

Project quality management

Is concerned with making effective use of the people and physical resources needed for the project

Project resource management

Involves generating, collecting, disseminating, and storing project information

Project communications management

Includes identifying, analyzing, and responding to risks related to the project

Project risk management

Involves acquiring or procuring goods and services for a project from the performing organization

Project procurement management

Focuses on identifying project stakeholders, understanding their needs and expectations, and engaging them appropriately throughout the project

Project stakeholder management

____________________ assist project managers and their teams in carrying out work in all ten knowledge areas

Project management tools and techniques

T/F: A project’s success is measured upon value of it, if it met the scope, quality, and cost goals, and if satisified the customer/sponsor

F; scope, schedule, and cost goals

It is the worth, importance, or usefulness of something

Value

A number that represents the customer’s willingness to recommend a product or service to others

net promoter score

How many project performance domains are there?

8

This is a group of related activities that are critical for the effective delivery of project outcomes

Project performance domain

They serve as foundational guidelines for strategy, decision making, and problem solving

Principles

T/F: Project management is structured around eight performance domains along with two other sections, one describing tailoring, and the other describing models, methods, and artifacts.

T

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with people that is affected by the project

stakeholders

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with the people who are responsible for producing project deliverables that realize business outcomes

team

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with the development approach, cadence, and life cycle phases of the project

development approach and life cycle

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with initial, ongoing, and evolving organization and coordination necessary for delivering project deliverables and outcomes

planning

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with delivering the scope and quality that the project was undertaken to achieve

delivery

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with assessing project performance and taking appropriate actions to maintain acceptable performance

measurement

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with risk and _______

uncertainity

One project performance domain that addresses activities and functions associated with establishing project processes, managing physical resources, and fostering a learning enviornment

project work

It is the deliberate adaption of the project management approach, governance, and processes to make them more suitable for the given environment and the work at hand

tailoring

This is a thing strategy to explain a process, framework, or phenomenon

model

It is the means for achieving an outcome, output, result, or project deliverable

method

This can be a template, document, output, or project deliverable

artifact

T/F: About one-quarter of the world’s gross domestic product is spent on projects

T

What are the two important concepts that help projects meet enterprise goals

programs and project portfolio management

This consists of related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually

program

This is a very large project that typically costs over US $1 billion, affects over one million people, and lasts several years

megaproject

A ________ provides leadership and direction for the managers heading the projects within the program. Also, coordinates the efforts of project teams, functional groups, suppliers, and operations staff supporting the projects

program manager

What two managers have review meetings to share important information and coordinate important aspects of each project

program and project managers

This defined as a collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives

portfolio

A ________ manager need to understand how projects fit into the bigger picture of the organization

portfolio

The difference between project (or program) management and portfolio management

Project management is tactical and portfolio management is strategic

What is the ability to create and respond to change?

agile

Known as the predictive approach as where requirements were defined in detail before any software was written

waterfall approach

This is an agile lightweight framework that helps people, teams and organizations generate value through adaptive solutions for complex problems

scrum

This is used to describe an approach where the project scope cannot be well-defined upfront, increment releases are desired, and changes are expected. Called adaptive project management as well

agile project management

An approach where most of the project planning is done upfront, there is a single final product, service, or result delivered at the end of the project, change is constrained, costs and risks are controlled, and stakeholders are involved at specific milestones. Known as traditional or waterfall project management

predictive project management

Used to describe a mixture or combination of predictive and agile approaches. Used because two parties may have their own approaches

Hybrid project management

The talent triangle is the types of skills that a _______ manager need to continuously develop

project

What are the three skills in the talent triangle?

technical project management, strategic & business management, and leadership

A _______ focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives, while inspiring people to reach those goals

leader

A ______ often deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals

manager

A ________ manager often take on the role of both leader and manager

project

This is a global professional society for project and program managers

Project Management Institute

This is someone who has documented sufficient project experience, agreed to follow the PMI code of professional conduct, and demonstrated knowledge of the field of project management by passing a comprehensive examination

Project Management Professional

This is a set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is right and wrong

ethics

This type of planning involves determining long-term objectives by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, studying opportunities and threats in the business environment, predicting future trends, and projecting the need for new products and services

strategic planning

This is analysis is used to aid in strategic planning. It analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

SWOT Analysis

This is a technique that uses branches radiating out from a core idea to structure thoughts and ideas. Used to perform SWOT Analysis

mind mapping

The four stages of the traditional project planning process is…

strategic planning, business area analysis, project planning, and resource allocation

T/F: The four-stage project planning process can be very time-consuming and difficult to adjust in a rapidly changing business environment

T

T/F: The traditional approach to strategic planning can expose that there are not enough projects for the available resources

T

T/F: With traditional approach to strategic planning, spending money is done responsibly

F; It is done irresponsibly

T/F: The traditional approach to strategic planning can make it easy to pivot quickly and make fast investment decisions

F; it is difficult to pivot quickly

Agile organizations holds these meetings where people meet to link with business strategy with quarterly planning

quarterly business review

This is a tool used to show a high-level visual summary of the vision and direction of a product or products over time

product roadmap

Is a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format. Represents each task that must be completed, including its relationship to other tasks

Gnatt chart

This is a practice of strategically driving the development, market launch, and continual support and improvement of a company’s products

Product management

What do product managers focus on answering what question?

The “why?”

This involves identifying and coordinating the interdependencies among projects, products, and other important strategic initiatives across an organization

program management

The two functions can provide real synergy and strategic advantage to a company initiative

product and program management

Project managers are tasked with getting things done under _______ managers.

program

A ________ sets a strategic plan and goals for completing a major undertaking. It focuses on high-level plans. Also, strategic thinking and objectives are communicated behind these plans

roadmap

T/F: Products roadmaps should be created to focus on strategy and Gnatt charts should be created to focus on implementing that strategy

T

T/F: Projects should secondly and foremost address business needs

F; first not secondly

T/F: Projects that address competitive strategy are much more likely to be successful because they will be important to the organization’s competitive position

T

T/F: One method for selecting projects based on broad organizational need is determine whether they meet the three important criteria: need, funding, and will

T

T/F: Three primary methods for determining the projected financial value of projects are net present value analysis, return on investment, and payback analysis

T

A method of calculating the expected monetary gain or loss from a project by discounting all expected future cash inflows and outflows to the present point in time

NPV (net present value)

The return available by investing the capital elsewhere. A positive NPV

opportunity cost of capital

T/F: Project with lower NPVs are preferred to projects with higher NPVs if all other criteria are equal

F; A project with higher NPVs are preferred than lower NPVs

The sum of benefits/income minus costs/expenses

cash flow