Frequently Tested Question Verified Correct
Program - Answer A program is a group of related projects designed to accomplish a common goal over
an extended period of time.
Project - Answer A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result.
Project life cycle - Answer The stages found in all projects— definition, planning, execution, and delivery.
Project Management Professional (PMP) - Answer An individual who has met specific education and
experience requirements set forth by the Project Management Institute, has agreed to adhere to a code
of professional conduct, and has passed an examination designed to objectively assess and measure
project management knowledge. In addition, a PMP must satisfy continuing certification requirements
or lose the certification.
Implementation gap - Answer The lack of consensus between the goals set by top management and
those independently set by lower levels of management. This lack of consensus leads to confusion and
poor allocation of organization resources.
Net present value - Answer A minimum desired rate of return discount (e.g., 15 percent) is used to
compute present value of all future cash inflows and outflows.
Organization politics - Answer Actions by individuals or groups of individuals to acquire, develop, and
use power and other resources to obtain preferred outcomes when there is uncertainty or
disagreement over choices.
Payback - Answer The time it takes to pay back the project investment (investment/net annual savings).
The method does not consider the time value of money or the life of the investment.
Priority system - Answer The process used to select projects. The system uses selected criteria for
evaluating and selecting projects that are strongly linked to higher-level strategies and objectives.
, Priority team - Answer The group (sometimes the project office) responsible for selecting, overseeing,
and updating project priority selection criteria.
Project portfolio - Answer Group of projects that have been selected for implementation balanced by
project type, risk, and ranking by selected criteria.
Project screening matrix - Answer A matrix used to assess and compare the relative value of projects
being considered for implementation.
Sacred cow - Answer A project that is a favorite of a powerful management figure who is usually the
champion for the project.
Strategic management process - Answer Strategic management is the process of assessing "what we
are" and deciding and implementing "what we intend to be and how we are going to get there."
Project Sponsor - Answer Typically a high-ranking manager who champions and supports a project
Balanced matrix - Answer A matrix structure in which the project manager and functional managers
share roughly equal authority over the project. The project manager decides what needs to be done;
functional managers are concerned with how it will be accomplished.
Dedicated project team - Answer An organizational structure in which all of the resources needed to
accomplish a project are assigned full time to the project.
Matrix - Answer Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the
functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of individuals assigned to the
project.
Organizational culture - Answer A system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions held by an
organization's members.