S7 Closing, Project Performance, and Project Closure

Welcome to Session Seven

  • Final session of Mach three live.
  • Focus: Closing well, supporting project performance, and closing out the project/phase.

Accountability Time

  • Application Status:

    • 65% of participants have approved applications.

  • Weekly Assignments:

    • 22% completed all assignments.

  • Exam Date:

    • Target schedule exam date collected via poll.

Big Picture View

  • Kudos for application completion and momentum.
  • Keeping on pace is an impressive accomplishment, even if not at 100% velocity.

Agenda Highlights

  • Eight topics with questions and bonus questions.
  • Discussion about next steps and test-taking experience.
  • Exam Content Outline (ECO) is rich in the last segment.
  • Reference materials provided for tools and techniques.

Question 1: Process Optimization

  • Question regarding process optimization and standardization.
  • Correct Answer: Lean Six Sigma (focuses on eliminating inconsistencies and waste).
  • AB testing: Comparison, not process standardization.
  • Crystal Methods: Team communication, not process optimization.
  • Retrospectives: Team improvement, not process optimization.

Question 2: Task Management

  • Question about a tool for managing tasks and workload flow.
  • Correct Answer: Kanban (visual depiction of work in progress, helps identify bottlenecks).
  • Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI): Organizational improvement, not task management.
  • Crystal Methods: Focuses on communication, not workload management.
  • Lean Six Sigma: Process optimization, not individual task management.

Capability Maturity Model Integration

  • Stages: Initial -> Structured -> Standardized -> Optimized -> Innovation.

Lean Six Sigma

  • Focus: Business process optimization and waste removal.
  • DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) is associated with Six Sigma.

Lessons Learned and Retrospectives

  • Lessons learned is a document; retrospective is a process.

Quality Tools and Techniques

  • Experiments and AB testing for quality improvement.

Question 3: Visualizing Tasks

  • Question about a system to visualize tasks and manage workflow.
  • Correct Answer: Kanban (helps with workflow management and identifying bottlenecks).
  • RACI chart: Outlines responsibilities, but doesn't manage workflow.
  • Critical path method: Displays activity durations but doesn't manage workflow.

Question 4: Risk Management

  • Question about the first step in addressing upcoming identified risks.
  • Correct Answer: Conduct a risk audit to ensure risk response plans are up to date and effective.
  • Risk reserve analysis: Important, but secondary to ensuring plan effectiveness.
  • Recalculating cost performance index: Doesn't help with risk mitigation.
  • Reviewing risk register & quantitative risk analysis: Assumes ongoing risk updates.

Question 5: Schedule Efficiency

Question about evaluating project schedule efficiency. Correct Answer: Schedule Performance Index.
Plan value is static.

Roles

  • Project manager role: achieve the project objectives
  • Responsibility assignment matrix versus RACI
    * RACI is a subset of RAM
  • Explicit knowledge: Documented (plans, procedures, lessons learned).
  • Tacit knowledge: Unspoken, experience-based (mentorship, job sharing, pairing).
  • Tolerances are always a range.
  • Threshold is a specific point at which above that things get escalated.
  • Artifact maintenance: documentation is up to date and current.

Question 6: Schedule Performance Metric

Question about evaluating project schedule efficiency or how it’s performing. Schedule Performance Index is the answer because it measure schedule and it is and index.

Question 7: Agile Estimating

  • Question about helping a Scrum team with sprint planning and estimating.
  • Correct Answer: Team Velocity (helps with sprint planning and estimating based on completed work).
  • Cycle time: Duration to complete tasks, doesn't aid estimating.
  • Throughput: Volume of tasks completed but doesn't account for complexity.
  • Lead time: Time measure, but doesn't aid estimating.

Question 8: Project Progress Visualization

Question about showing where the project is in progress and what’s left. Correct Answer: Burn up charts (track total user story points done and remaining).
Burn down chart is only per iteration however burn up charts an be for the total release or total project

Burn chart explanation

  • Burn down: how many user stories that they have in a single sprint and how they are knocking off how many they still have left to do. Not about money.
  • Lead time: add all the time that it sat there in queue or in back on backlog.

More explanations:

  • Good illustrations of Earned Value Management with formulas.
  • Difference between quality control and audit.
  • Cause and effect - Ishikawa diagram
  • Iteration means: single cycle of design, develop, test, deploy, and adjust.

Question 9: Addressing Project Issues

  • Question about initial action for a major project issue.
  • Correct Answer: Convene a meeting . First investigate then document.

Question 10: Resolving Task Delays

  • Question about resolving task delays affecting high-priority tasks.
  • Investiage, document, proactively address, and only escalate if necessary.
  • Do not escalate the leadership - use your own authorities
  • Impediments, obstacles, barriers, issues - dont wrap around the axle.
    Risk is a probability.

Question 11: Managing Project Changes

  • Question about addressing a change request that could negatively impact project success.
  • Correct Answer: Convene a meeting (Change Control Board helps balance asks vs. value).
  • Team voting: Team does not make decision

Question 12: Contract Modifications

  • Question about dealing with necessary contract modifications.
    Correct Answer: Initiate you contact specific change control process or system. Then you may take it to your change control board.

Contract Changes

Contract changes, integrated change control process, cost beneft analysis.
For vendors it starts here.
Breach of contract material or non material.

Question 13: Verifying Requirements

  • Question about verifying satisfaction of stakeholder expectations.* Correct Answer: Requirements Traceability Matrix.

Post implementation - outcomes not requirements.
RTM has all the requirements and who can sign off on it.

Question 14: Ensuring Deliverable Standards

Correct Answer: Definition of Done. Done for a project or sprint, or userstory. Standards and expectations will be ready for release.

Question 15: Transitioning Responsibilities

  • Question about smoothly transition of responsibilities to avoid post project issues.
    Transitioning = Can you revive what I’m handing off ti you and are you ready to ger maximum value -transition.

Question 16: Measuring Long-Term Impact

  • Question about justification that the money was well spent on a project.
    Benefit management plan is the correct plan.
    Stakeholder questions on whether a benefit management or other is involved.

Question 17: Benefit Realization

  • Question about benefit owner responsibilities.
    Correct answer = accountable.

Question 18: Knowledge Transfer

Yay! Got it together!!! Answer: Lessons Learned.

Question 19: Knowledge Sharing Sessions

  • Question about future collaboration
  • Knowledge sharing session when PMO holds meetings and share things that value benefitted.

Final Reports:

  • Excellent illustration of final review, final test, we have to look at notes for each question.
  • The value will be realized over the long term after project’s closure.

Session Wrap-up: Review of Key Areas and Next Steps

  • Affirmation that all topics were covered.
  • Discussion of next steps, including one-on-one mentoring.
    Testing of questions

Post-Session Actions:

  • All week seven videos to be available soon.
  • Encouragement to take mock exams.
  • Offer of individual Zoom mentorship sessions for application approval and exam preparation.