ISMN 5370 EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE
Project - Answers :A *temporary* endeavor undertaken to accomplish a *unique*
purpose
Purpose - Answers :- the best project involves a single, definable purpose, end product,
or result
- when multiple results are expected, confusion can occur with respect to
Why project management? - Answers :- better control of resources
- improved customer relations
- shorter development time
- lower cost
- higher quality
- greater profit
- consistency with strategic plan
- better internal coordination
Temporary (project) - Answers :- there is a point in time when the project should be
completed
- if no deadline then the task is "routine" or "ongoing"
Unique (project) - Answers :some aspects of the work has never been done before
Progressive elaboration - Answers :projects begin broadly defined and then become
defined more precisely
Project resources - Answers :- finite
- possibly scarce
- may be required from many organizational areas
- may involve (many) vendors
Project sponsor - Answers :- the primary stakeholder, among many
- this person will ultimately accept the project as being completed
Project uncertainty - Answers :- all projects involve uncertainty, because they are
unique
- typically measured in terms of the difficulty in predicting the time and cost, and defining
the scope, in advance
- the most complex projects have uncertainty in all 3 dimensions: time, cost, and scope
Project constraints - Answers :- time (schedule)
- cost (budget)
- scope (requirements)
- these are inter-related and known as the *triple constraint*
, Project complexity - Answers :- the number and diversity of resources required
- the magnitude of the effort required
- the number and diversity of skills required
Quality - Answers :- the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs
- acceptable quality is implicit in the agreement to complete a project of given scope in
the scheduled time for the budgeted cost
Project management - Answers :- an efficient way to maintain focus on all project
constraints and to control the necessary trade-offs among them
- these trade-offs often involve balancing the demands / constraints among the project
stakeholders: project sponsor, project management, project team
Project manager - Answers :coordinates efforts across the involved functional areas;
integrates the planning and control of costs, schedules, and work tasks
Project manager - Answers :- decide what must be done and how by organizing
- acquire and allocate facilities, material, capital and other resources
- direct and motivate people to attain objectives by leading
- *control* activities to guide work towards goals
Change management - Answers :- the systematic management of employee
engagement and adoption when the organization changes how work will be done
- very critical element of project management
Planning - Answers :- setting organizational goals and establishing means for achieving
them consistently with available resources and forces in the environment
- sets goals and directions, allocates resources, and anticipates problems
Planning and controlling - Answers :Planning:
- sets goals and directions
- allocates resources
- anticipates problems
- motivates participants to achieve goals
Controlling:
- guides work towards goals
- ensures effective resource use
- corrects problems
- rewards goal achievement
Project manager skillset - Answers :- people skills
- leadership
- ability to listen
- integrity, ethical behavior, consistency
- builds trust
Project - Answers :A *temporary* endeavor undertaken to accomplish a *unique*
purpose
Purpose - Answers :- the best project involves a single, definable purpose, end product,
or result
- when multiple results are expected, confusion can occur with respect to
Why project management? - Answers :- better control of resources
- improved customer relations
- shorter development time
- lower cost
- higher quality
- greater profit
- consistency with strategic plan
- better internal coordination
Temporary (project) - Answers :- there is a point in time when the project should be
completed
- if no deadline then the task is "routine" or "ongoing"
Unique (project) - Answers :some aspects of the work has never been done before
Progressive elaboration - Answers :projects begin broadly defined and then become
defined more precisely
Project resources - Answers :- finite
- possibly scarce
- may be required from many organizational areas
- may involve (many) vendors
Project sponsor - Answers :- the primary stakeholder, among many
- this person will ultimately accept the project as being completed
Project uncertainty - Answers :- all projects involve uncertainty, because they are
unique
- typically measured in terms of the difficulty in predicting the time and cost, and defining
the scope, in advance
- the most complex projects have uncertainty in all 3 dimensions: time, cost, and scope
Project constraints - Answers :- time (schedule)
- cost (budget)
- scope (requirements)
- these are inter-related and known as the *triple constraint*
, Project complexity - Answers :- the number and diversity of resources required
- the magnitude of the effort required
- the number and diversity of skills required
Quality - Answers :- the totality of characteristics of an entity that bear on its ability to
satisfy stated or implied needs
- acceptable quality is implicit in the agreement to complete a project of given scope in
the scheduled time for the budgeted cost
Project management - Answers :- an efficient way to maintain focus on all project
constraints and to control the necessary trade-offs among them
- these trade-offs often involve balancing the demands / constraints among the project
stakeholders: project sponsor, project management, project team
Project manager - Answers :coordinates efforts across the involved functional areas;
integrates the planning and control of costs, schedules, and work tasks
Project manager - Answers :- decide what must be done and how by organizing
- acquire and allocate facilities, material, capital and other resources
- direct and motivate people to attain objectives by leading
- *control* activities to guide work towards goals
Change management - Answers :- the systematic management of employee
engagement and adoption when the organization changes how work will be done
- very critical element of project management
Planning - Answers :- setting organizational goals and establishing means for achieving
them consistently with available resources and forces in the environment
- sets goals and directions, allocates resources, and anticipates problems
Planning and controlling - Answers :Planning:
- sets goals and directions
- allocates resources
- anticipates problems
- motivates participants to achieve goals
Controlling:
- guides work towards goals
- ensures effective resource use
- corrects problems
- rewards goal achievement
Project manager skillset - Answers :- people skills
- leadership
- ability to listen
- integrity, ethical behavior, consistency
- builds trust
