Project Management Exam -Questions with Correct Answers/
Verified
Define a project. What are five characteristics that help differentiate projects from other
functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization? - ✔✔1. An established
objective
2. A defined lifespan with a beginning and an end
3. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals
4. Typically, doing something that has never been done before
5. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements
What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way projects are
managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the management of projects? -
✔✔a. Compression of the product life cycle
i. Speed has become the competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying
on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly
as possible
b. Knowledge Explosion
i. Growth in new knowledge has increased the complexity of projects because projects
encompass the latest advances.
c. Triple Bottom Line
i. Businesses can no longer simply focus on maximizing profit to the detriment of
environment and society. Efforts to reduce carbon imprint and utilize renewable resources
are realized through effective project management. The impact of this movement toward
sustainability can be seen in changes in the objectives and techniques used to complete
projects.
d. Increased Customer Focus
i. There's a premium on customer satisfaction. Account executives and sales reps are
assuming more of a project managers role as they work with their organization to satisfy the
unique need and requests of clients
Describe the four phases of the traditional project life cycle. Which phase do you think
would be the most difficult one to complete? - ✔✔a. The four phases of the traditional
project life cycle are:
i. Defining stage
,1. Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are
formed; major responsibilities are assigned.
ii. Planning stage
1. Plans developed to determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled,
whom it will benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be.
iii. Executing stage
1. Physical product is produced. Time, cost, specification measures are used for control.
iv. Closing stage
1. Delivering of the product, redeploying project resources, and conducting a post-project
review.
While I believe each stage is important, the most difficult phase in my opinion would be the
executing stage. During this stage the majority of the work takes place and will largely
determine the success of the project. Defining, and planning are no good if you are unable
to execute according to those plans.
What kinds of projects is Agile PM best suited for and why? - ✔✔a. Agile PM is best suited
for projects with high levels of uncertainty. A good example of this would be software
projects because software projects are notorious for having unstable scopes in which end
user requirements are discovered not defined up front.
The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin. Explain. - ✔✔a. They are two sides of the same coin because managing projects
involves balancing the technical and sociocultural dimensions of the project. The first
dimension is the technical side of the management process, which consists of the formal,
disciplined, purely logical parts of the process. This technical dimension includes planning,
scheduling, and controlling projects. The second dimension is the sociocultural side of
project management. In contrast to the orderly world of project planning, this dimension
involves the much messier, often contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation. It
centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment
that combines the talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the
project. Some suggest that the technical dimension represents the "science" of project
management, while the sociocultural dimension represents the "art" of managing a project.
To be successful, a manager must be a master of both.
Describe the major components of the strategic management process. - ✔✔a. The major
components of the strategic management process are
, i. review and define the organizational mission
ii. analyze and formulate strategies
iii. set objectives to achieve strategies
iv. implement strategies through projects.
Strategic management requires strong links among mission, goals, objectives, strategy, and
implementation. The mission gives the general purpose of the organization. Goals give
global targets within the mission. Objectives give specific targets to goals. Objectives give
rise to the formulation of strategies to reach objectives. Finally, strategies require actions
and tasks to be implemented. In most cases the actions to be taken represent projects.
Explain the role projects play in the strategic management process. - ✔✔a. Strategy is
implemented primarily through projects. Successful implementation of projects means
reaching the goals of the organization and thus meeting the needs of its customers.
How are projects linked to the strategic plan? - ✔✔a. The most important criteria for
selecting a project is that the project will fit with the organization strategy. Organizations
need to maximize the use of their resources by allocating resources to projects that will
contribute to the strategic plan.
The portfolio of projects is typically represented by compliance, strategic, and operations
projects. What impact can this classification have on project selection? - ✔✔a. Each
classification of project provides a different value for a company. A company must ensure
they prioritize these projects so that they do not hurt themselves financially or legally.
Why does the priority system described in this chapter require that it be open and
published? Does the process encourage bottom-up initiation of projects? Does it discourage
some projects? Why? - ✔✔a. An open, published priority system ensures projects are
selected on the basis of their contribution to the organization. Furthermore, the priority
system scoring model is required that it be open and published because if it is, some
discipline and credibility are attached to the selection of projects. Each member can self-
evaluate their project idea against priorities - and so can everyone else in the organization
so yes, it does encourage bottom up; it allows organization members to evaluate projects in
a fair manner. To some, this approach may look intimidating but rarely is in practice, it does
discourage projects that clearly will not make positive, significant contributions to the
organization vision.
Verified
Define a project. What are five characteristics that help differentiate projects from other
functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization? - ✔✔1. An established
objective
2. A defined lifespan with a beginning and an end
3. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals
4. Typically, doing something that has never been done before
5. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements
What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way projects are
managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the management of projects? -
✔✔a. Compression of the product life cycle
i. Speed has become the competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying
on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly
as possible
b. Knowledge Explosion
i. Growth in new knowledge has increased the complexity of projects because projects
encompass the latest advances.
c. Triple Bottom Line
i. Businesses can no longer simply focus on maximizing profit to the detriment of
environment and society. Efforts to reduce carbon imprint and utilize renewable resources
are realized through effective project management. The impact of this movement toward
sustainability can be seen in changes in the objectives and techniques used to complete
projects.
d. Increased Customer Focus
i. There's a premium on customer satisfaction. Account executives and sales reps are
assuming more of a project managers role as they work with their organization to satisfy the
unique need and requests of clients
Describe the four phases of the traditional project life cycle. Which phase do you think
would be the most difficult one to complete? - ✔✔a. The four phases of the traditional
project life cycle are:
i. Defining stage
,1. Specifications of the project are defined; project objectives are established; teams are
formed; major responsibilities are assigned.
ii. Planning stage
1. Plans developed to determine what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled,
whom it will benefit, what quality level should be maintained, and what the budget will be.
iii. Executing stage
1. Physical product is produced. Time, cost, specification measures are used for control.
iv. Closing stage
1. Delivering of the product, redeploying project resources, and conducting a post-project
review.
While I believe each stage is important, the most difficult phase in my opinion would be the
executing stage. During this stage the majority of the work takes place and will largely
determine the success of the project. Defining, and planning are no good if you are unable
to execute according to those plans.
What kinds of projects is Agile PM best suited for and why? - ✔✔a. Agile PM is best suited
for projects with high levels of uncertainty. A good example of this would be software
projects because software projects are notorious for having unstable scopes in which end
user requirements are discovered not defined up front.
The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin. Explain. - ✔✔a. They are two sides of the same coin because managing projects
involves balancing the technical and sociocultural dimensions of the project. The first
dimension is the technical side of the management process, which consists of the formal,
disciplined, purely logical parts of the process. This technical dimension includes planning,
scheduling, and controlling projects. The second dimension is the sociocultural side of
project management. In contrast to the orderly world of project planning, this dimension
involves the much messier, often contradictory and paradoxical world of implementation. It
centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment
that combines the talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the
project. Some suggest that the technical dimension represents the "science" of project
management, while the sociocultural dimension represents the "art" of managing a project.
To be successful, a manager must be a master of both.
Describe the major components of the strategic management process. - ✔✔a. The major
components of the strategic management process are
, i. review and define the organizational mission
ii. analyze and formulate strategies
iii. set objectives to achieve strategies
iv. implement strategies through projects.
Strategic management requires strong links among mission, goals, objectives, strategy, and
implementation. The mission gives the general purpose of the organization. Goals give
global targets within the mission. Objectives give specific targets to goals. Objectives give
rise to the formulation of strategies to reach objectives. Finally, strategies require actions
and tasks to be implemented. In most cases the actions to be taken represent projects.
Explain the role projects play in the strategic management process. - ✔✔a. Strategy is
implemented primarily through projects. Successful implementation of projects means
reaching the goals of the organization and thus meeting the needs of its customers.
How are projects linked to the strategic plan? - ✔✔a. The most important criteria for
selecting a project is that the project will fit with the organization strategy. Organizations
need to maximize the use of their resources by allocating resources to projects that will
contribute to the strategic plan.
The portfolio of projects is typically represented by compliance, strategic, and operations
projects. What impact can this classification have on project selection? - ✔✔a. Each
classification of project provides a different value for a company. A company must ensure
they prioritize these projects so that they do not hurt themselves financially or legally.
Why does the priority system described in this chapter require that it be open and
published? Does the process encourage bottom-up initiation of projects? Does it discourage
some projects? Why? - ✔✔a. An open, published priority system ensures projects are
selected on the basis of their contribution to the organization. Furthermore, the priority
system scoring model is required that it be open and published because if it is, some
discipline and credibility are attached to the selection of projects. Each member can self-
evaluate their project idea against priorities - and so can everyone else in the organization
so yes, it does encourage bottom up; it allows organization members to evaluate projects in
a fair manner. To some, this approach may look intimidating but rarely is in practice, it does
discourage projects that clearly will not make positive, significant contributions to the
organization vision.
