FPM Course

Questions and Answers

Project portfolio management addresses ______ goals.

Tactical

Internal

External

Strategic (correct)

The President of a small research company decides to improve the organization’s knowledge management. The IT manager is put in charge of implementing a new application within a set timeframe and budget. The IT manager is managing a...

Program

Plan

Portfolio

Project (correct)

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

Ethics (correct)

Religion

Values

Morality

A RACI chart is a type of ________.

Responsibility assignment matrix Signup and view all the answers

Each organization has different criteria for selecting projects. Some may be tied to revenue; others to enhance efficiency within the organization. Of the options listed below, which one is the most critical?

The right timing Signup and view all the answers

The value of money today is typically worth more than the same amount of money in the future is the basic concept of _______ analysis.

Net present value Signup and view all the answers

What document provides justification for investing in a project?

Business case Signup and view all the answers

What document formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project’s objectives and management?

Project charter Signup and view all the answers

A ________ describes the future state that would be achieved by the development and deployment of a product.

Product vision Signup and view all the answers

A project brief is:

A modified version of a project charter Signup and view all the answers

A project management plan should be...

Receptive to change Signup and view all the answers

The best project managers spend more time on the _______ phase of a project than the typical project manager.

Planning Signup and view all the answers

An adaptive approach is based on the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto values...

Working software over comprehensive documentation Signup and view all the answers

Sprints have consistent durations and start immediately after the previous sprint. During a sprint:

A product increment is created Signup and view all the answers

The project approach where the work is planned in detail is:

Predictive Signup and view all the answers

A collection of logically related project activities that are done in stages is called:

Incremental - Phase Signup and view all the answers

Even though companies might work on similar projects over and over again, such as building houses, providing training courses, or developing specific types of products, there are unique challenges because all projects involve…

Uncertainty Signup and view all the answers

What is one type of difference between projects and operations?

Projects are temporary endeavors, whereas an organization's operations are ongoing in nature Signup and view all the answers

What is a major difference between project management and portfolio management?

Project management addresses specific, short-term goals whereas portfolio management focuses on long-term goals Signup and view all the answers

Several individual housing projects that are done in the same area by the same firm might best be managed as part of a…

Portfolio Signup and view all the answers

Which project document should you review to know the team values and guidelines?

Team charter Signup and view all the answers

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

Strategic planning Signup and view all the answers

Project Team Alpha has collected all the requirements before doing their product design. Most likely, this project has adopted:

A waterfall project management methodology Signup and view all the answers

If a project team collected a few requirements and then completed a deliverable that builds towards the final project product, most likely, this project has adopted:

An adaptive project management methodology Signup and view all the answers

One of the key questions the project brief should address is:

What does done mean Signup and view all the answers

The document that breaks down the product vision into a high-level direction for the development of the product is called:

Product roadmap Signup and view all the answers

What are the three skills that are identified in the PMI Talent triangle?

Ways of working, power skills, business acumen Signup and view all the answers

Which project would you select based solely on the payback period if all projects have the same initial cost of $20,000?

Year 1 - $10,000; Year 2 - $10,000; Year 3 - $10,000; Year 4 - $0 Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following questions should the Project Charter answer?

What is the business need the project has undertaken to address? Signup and view all the answers

The document that includes the scope items for adaptive or iterative projects is called:

Product backlog Signup and view all the answers

Where would you look for the project's objectives after taking over as the project manager for an existing waterfall project?

Project Charter Signup and view all the answers

The project selection process can be broken into categories of stewardship, customers, process, and people to aid with the development of a…

Balanced scorecard Signup and view all the answers

The life cycle approach where the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level is:

Incremental Signup and view all the answers

A product life cycle…

Can have single or multiple projects Signup and view all the answers

‘Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software’ is a principle from which document?

The Agile Manifesto Signup and view all the answers

Tailoring involves adjustments on various project management approaches and processes. It is crucial for project managers because projects:

Come in all shapes and sizes and not one process will fit all Signup and view all the answers

Project managers need to assess the complexity of their projects. According to PMI's Disciplined Agile toolkit, scaling factors include:

Solution complexity, skill availability, team size, domain complexity Signup and view all the answers

Jacob has been hired as a project manager in a new start up. He was told that they have a PMO, but when he contacts them, all they have are some start up documents. What type of PMO is this?

Supportive Signup and view all the answers

The firm Lucy is working at has been doing projects for many years. They have many project managers and a PMO, yet each department follows their own practices. At which stage of project management maturity is her organization?

Common Processes Signup and view all the answers

When tailoring for a project, besides thinking about the product deliverable and project team, project managers should also consider:

The organizational culture Signup and view all the answers

Reviewing questions from each of the performance domains will proactively support project decisions. The performance domains include:

Development Approach, Project Team, Project Work, Uncertainty Signup and view all the answers

Organizations use continuous improvement to:

Focus on processes to improve results Signup and view all the answers

What can agile teams do to collect lessons learned for the entire project?

Hold a final retrospective Signup and view all the answers

Juan is having trouble collecting the requirements from the user for a new application. The user cannot describe the requirements in a language the project team understands. What technique should Juan try to use?

Prototyping Signup and view all the answers

The project document that provides detailed information about each WBS item is called?

WBS dictionary Signup and view all the answers

Sandra is working with the project team to create the WBS for her project. The team is very experienced, but this is a balanced matrix organization. Which technique is best to use to develop the WBS?

Bottom-up Signup and view all the answers

The main factor considered for prioritization of the product backlog is:

Customer value Signup and view all the answers

What is the outcome of product backlog prioritization?

Each new feature is prioritized and added to the stack Signup and view all the answers

As a new project manager, what should be at the top of the story map you are organizing for an event?

Customer’s objective Signup and view all the answers

Decomposing work on agile projects involves:

Using story cards to facilitate planning Signup and view all the answers

You have been assigned to work on a large complex project. When you review your organization's project methodology, you notice the project management plan is basic and it only has a few forms. What should you recommend to the project sponsor?

Tailor the project management methodology to suit the project. Signup and view all the answers

A ______________ organizational structure is where project team members work on projects part-time by their supervisor while still having operational responsibility.

Functional Signup and view all the answers

To be successful, organizations use change management to introduce new products and services. Many change models involve five key steps including:

Formulate, plan, implement, manage, and sustain changes Signup and view all the answers

When considering the geographic distribution scaling factors for the composition of a project team, project managers should consider the _ and the _.

Team location, time zone Signup and view all the answers

Tailoring for a project is important because…

Not all project management processes work or should be used for all projects Signup and view all the answers

Retrospectives are useful for teams and allow for…

Focus on inspection and adaptation Signup and view all the answers

What needs are at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy? (Select all that apply)

Physiological Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is one of the seven habits of highly effective people?

Sharpen the saw Signup and view all the answers

While the project hasn't really started, the project team is simply not getting along. Everyone wants to have their say in their role and responsibilities. You, as the project manager, are trying to be supportive, but your patience is wearing out. This behavior is common in the ________ phase in Tuckman's team model.

Storming Signup and view all the answers

Of the following soft skills, which is the most important in managing stakeholder engagement to ensure project success?

Listening Signup and view all the answers

You are working on a project to develop a new training course. You are having difficulties communicating with one of the subject matter experts (SME) who is providing important content for the class you are developing. What strategy might you use to help improve communications?

Use several different methods to communicate with the SME Signup and view all the answers

When deciding on which communication technology you should use, you should consider…

Ease of use Signup and view all the answers

Project managers in large organizations need to utilize their soft skills to effectively communicate in order to…

Assess stakeholder needs and manage information flow Signup and view all the answers

Bernard is managing a project team. His core team started with five, grew to eight, and then one person left and has yet to be replaced. How many two-way conversations will the new team member be engaged in when they start?

28 Signup and view all the answers

What two dimensions should you use when evaluating project risks?

Probability and impact Signup and view all the answers

The first thing you should do to ensure you will have an effective meeting is…

Ask if the meeting is required Signup and view all the answers

Lynn is managing a construction project on the development of a shopping mall. The project has a tight schedule to complete the mall before christmas. The architect wants to use a manufacturer who supplies specialized recycled floor tiles but there is a chance that these will not arrive in time. Lynn is suggesting they use another tile that is readily available from the same manufacturer. This is an example of a risk and a risk strategy.

Threat; avoid Signup and view all the answers

Juan is reviewing the stakeholder register. The project team has done a good job of identifying many stakeholders. What is the next step that Juan should do?

Have the team complete a power/influence grid Signup and view all the answers

What is the best bid document to use for well-defined products?

RFQ Signup and view all the answers

What should be done with low priority risks?

Document them and revisit them periodically during the project execution Signup and view all the answers

The project sponsor has asked Sanita to provide an update on the level of risk on her project. As she reviews the risk register, she notices that the number of risks is increasing, there is no risk strategy for new risks, and there are no risks being eliminated. Should Sanita be concerned?

Yes, new risks should also have a strategy Signup and view all the answers

A benefit the organization can receive from outsourcing is…

Allowing the organization to focus on its core business Signup and view all the answers

Although you are on a tight schedule, your project needs additional work from outside vendors. Your team has prepared a statement of work for the tasks that need to be completed. What type of contract would be the best for you to use for your procurement?

Firm fixed price Signup and view all the answers

If the probability of a risk event changes from 0.1 to 0.3, and the impact of the same risk changes from 0.8 to 0.5, the new risk score will be…

0.15 Signup and view all the answers

If the earned value for a task is $100, the planned value is $120, and the actual cost is $90, what is the cost variance?

$10 Signup and view all the answers

What is the SPI if you are 75% completed a task with a BAC of $200 and planned to have spent $100?

1.5 Signup and view all the answers

On a burndown chart, if the actual work line is above the ideal line, then the sprint is:

Behind schedule Signup and view all the answers

The ideal work line on a burndown or burnup chart is a straight line showing the sum of:

Estimates for all the user stories that need to be completed Signup and view all the answers

Scope creep refers to…

The tendency for uncontrolled project scope expansion Signup and view all the answers

Your project is underway to create a new website. Things were going well, but today one of the key stakeholders demanded that a new feature be added to the website. The new feature is required due to a regulation change that is effective in the next month. What is your best response?

Analyze the request Signup and view all the answers

The _________ tracks unknown risks that have occurred.

Issue log Signup and view all the answers

One of the metrics that can be used in the status report to show if the project is on schedule is:

Schedule variance Signup and view all the answers

You bought a laptop assuming it had application software loaded so you could use it right away, but it did not. This is an example of the laptop missing which quality dimension?

Fitness for use Signup and view all the answers

Cost of quality includes the costs of...

Conformance and non-conformance Signup and view all the answers

What type of diagram helps find the root cause of a quality problem?

Cause-and-effect diagram Signup and view all the answers

If seven data points in a row are all below the mean, above the mean, increasing, or decreasing, it is a violation of…

The seven-run rule Signup and view all the answers

Your project is in the execution phase and your team is verifying and completing deliverables. However, your client is slow on accepting these deliverables. Why is it important to get the client to accept the project deliverables when they are completed?

It increases the probability of acceptance of the final product Signup and view all the answers

Acceptance on an adaptive project involves completing work listed within the Definition of Done. This involves...

Completing, testing and obtaining formal acceptance from the customer Signup and view all the answers

As part of project closing, it is important to plan for and execute a smooth ________ of the project into the normal operations of the company.

Transition Signup and view all the answers

Most people prefer a face-to-face close out meeting to enhance...

Knowledge transfer Signup and view all the answers

A project has a $800 total budget to deliver 4 deliverables of equal value spaced evenly over 4 months. After 2 months, three deliverables were completed at a cost of $500. if the trends continues, what is the EAC?

$667 Signup and view all the answers

The project has a $600 total budget to deliver six deliverables of equal value spaced evenly over 6 months. After 4 months, three deliverables were completed at a cost of $200. The SPI is…

75% Signup and view all the answers

In general when using earned value, ___ variance numbers and an index _ than one indicate problems in that objective of the project.

Negative; less Signup and view all the answers

What should you consider in preparing a projection for remaining work in a project while reviewing the burnup chart?

The team velocity Signup and view all the answers

A burndown or burnup chart should be…

Displayed so everyone on the team can see it Signup and view all the answers

The issue log can also be used for ___________ because they know when issues were reported, how long they took to do, and how they were resolved.

Reference and Lessons Learned and preparation of final reports Signup and view all the answers

A report that presents summaries of the project's progress with visuals or graphics to represent the larger overall data set is…

Dashboards Signup and view all the answers

The _________ diagram is also known as a fishbone or Ishikawa diagram and uses the five ‘whys’ technique to peel away the layers of a problem.

Cause and effect Signup and view all the answers

What type of quality control tool could you use to visualize the relationship between two variables?

Scatter diagram Signup and view all the answers

It is important to find the ________ or underlying reason a problem occurs.

Root cause Signup and view all the answers

You have an extremely tight schedule with a hard deadline for your project completion. You are controlling your schedule with an iron fist. One of the items you have budgeted for and that you watch weekly is the _________ by staff.

Overtime and vacation time booked Signup and view all the answers

Jen's project team is doing quality testing on their hardware upgrade project. To track their testing, they have decided to develop workflow documents showing the movement of data from various computers. This is an example of…

Process analysis Signup and view all the answers

________ means the project's processes and products meet written specifications.

Conformance to requirements Signup and view all the answers

The change request procedure…

Provides an orderly approach to evaluating and approving potential changes Signup and view all the answers

You are the project manager for creating and installing a trade show booth for the upcoming consumer electronics show. Your president will announce a new product at the show, and your marketing team will meet with potential distributors at the company's booth. You have a very tight schedule to complete the new product on time. Your policy on project changes should be to allow…

Only changes required by municipal authorities Signup and view all the answers

Answering questions such as “what will you do differently on the next project based on your experience working on this project?” is a part of…

Lessons learned register Signup and view all the answers

A ______ plan includes information related to what work needs to be done, when, and by whom after the project is completed.

Transition Signup and view all the answers

What is the cost of quality for the project if the identified costs are: Testing - $2000; Rework - $1000; Material - $3000; Inspection - $1000?

$4,000 Signup and view all the answers

________ is one of the ways a project is closed which involves not providing any budget to the project and is due to results in missed deadlines and/or a lack of progress.

Starvation Signup and view all the answers

In project quality management, _________ is an example of a prevention cost.

Training Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a tailoring consideration for stakeholders?

Diversity, communication technology, and complexity of relationships Signup and view all the answers

Plan, do, check, and act are elements of what?

Kaizen feedback loop Signup and view all the answers

A prioritized list of features, bugs, and ideas is included in what?

Product backlog Signup and view all the answers

What is the component of the project management plan that describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed?

Requirements management plan Signup and view all the answers

Focus groups, interviews, surveys, prototypes, benchmarking, and context diagrams are examples of what?

Requirement collection tools Signup and view all the answers

Jesse has just started a new challenging project for a new technical product that has never been done by her organization before. To prepare, she starts first with a tailoring review on the product and considers:

Security and compliance issues Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of WBS work packages?

Can be rearranged Signup and view all the answers

As a product manager for an emergency room system upgrade, you are required to prioritize all the features of the product backlog. You are planning to use stack ranking. How will you mark each priority?

Using numbers Signup and view all the answers

Generating ideas by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects is known as:

Benchmarking Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the outcomes of prioritizing the product backlog?

Features may be removed at any time Signup and view all the answers

Lessons learned and retrospectives are similar in that they both:

Are done throughout the project Signup and view all the answers

What is normally on the back of a story card?

Acceptance criteria Signup and view all the answers

Teams may develop __________ to help understand the needs and desires of end-users.

Personas Signup and view all the answers

__________ dependencies are sometimes referred to as soft logic.

Discretionary Signup and view all the answers

__________ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date.

Total slack Signup and view all the answers

The technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost is known as...

Crashing Signup and view all the answers

What will the team define for a particular sprint during each release planning?

Goal Signup and view all the answers

The use of an MVP is best done for which scenario?

For new customers and new products Signup and view all the answers

The project team has started the work on sprint 2 and the work is underway. One of the stakeholders discusses a change with the product owner and the product owner discusses the change with the development team. Who can modify the sprint backlog in the middle of the sprint?

The development team Signup and view all the answers

When does a new sprint start in Scrum?

Immediately after the previous sprint Signup and view all the answers

Good Earth, a company manufacturing packaged food products, sets up a store in Baltonia. However, a year later, the company closes the store down due to high operating costs. In such a scenario, the money spent on the rent of the store in Baltonia would be an example of a(n) ______ cost.

Sunk Signup and view all the answers

__________ allow for future situations that are unpredictable.

Management reserves Signup and view all the answers

A __________ is a time-phased budget that project managers use to measure and monitor cost performance.

Cost baseline Signup and view all the answers

Estimates are best derived collaboratively by the team because:

The team performs the work and is the closest to it Signup and view all the answers

You have been assigned by the Project Manager to help with the resource planning on a large complex project. You have just received the resource histogram for the project and several resources are overallocated. What should you do?

Work with the Project Manager to level the resources Signup and view all the answers

When identifying resources in a non-union environment you should consider:

Availability Signup and view all the answers

The project schedule management plan is where you can find what?

Level of accuracy Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is true of a finish to finish dependency?

It must finish before the ‘to’ activity can finish. Signup and view all the answers

A similarity between the crashing technique and fast-tracking technique is that:

Both can shorten the time needed to finish a project. Signup and view all the answers

In scrum, a sprint duration is typically what?

1 to 4 weeks Signup and view all the answers

The sum of all product backlog items completed during a sprint is called what?

Product increment Signup and view all the answers

Jenna is a project manager who works closely with her financial team. She always tries to provide a cash flow forecast on her projects. This involves allocating costs over a period of time. Which of the following provides her with the project's cost baseline?

S-curve Signup and view all the answers

The planning poker estimation technique uses numbered cards to estimate the items in a product backlog. What is the best scenario for planning poker?

Small teams Signup and view all the answers

The backlog that only the development team can modify is what?

Sprint Signup and view all the answers

A cost estimation tool that estimates individual work items and then sums them is known as a(n) _________ estimate.

Bottom up Signup and view all the answers

When a project team uses statistical information to calculate project costs this is an example of ________ estimating.

Parametric Signup and view all the answers

The minimum business increment (MBI) focuses on the _ value while the minimum viable product (MVP) focuses on the _ value.

Business; customer Signup and view all the answers

Newtech Inc hires John as a contract software programmer to work on their new project. The money paid to John buying Newtech Inc would be an example of a(n) ______ cost.

Direct Signup and view all the answers

What chart shows the total number of resources assigned to a project or phase over time?

Resource histogram Signup and view all the answers

What are the critical factors to use when acquiring stuff for a virtual team on a high-profile project?

Availability, cost, and ability Signup and view all the answers

When calculating the budgets for agile projects, you first need to determine the sprint duration, the number of people, and then add additional cost for equipment, tools, infrastructure support, etc. What else do you need to take into account?

Risks Signup and view all the answers

If you notice a resource is overallocated, what technique should you use?

Resource leveling Signup and view all the answers

One of the advantages of communicating with a collocated project team is what?

Seeing body language Signup and view all the answers

An example of push communication is what?

Voice mails Signup and view all the answers

Topics such as communication methods, frequency of communication, and escalation procedures should be described in what?

Communications management plan Signup and view all the answers

After a meeting where decisions were made, what should you do next?

Prepare and distribute the minutes. Signup and view all the answers

Engaging stakeholders should be done when?

Throughout the project Signup and view all the answers

In addition to meeting scope, schedule, and cost goals, another measure of project success includes what?

Satisfying the customer/sponsor Signup and view all the answers

In Tuckman’s team development model, which stage occurs with differing opinions and resulting conflict?

Storming Signup and view all the answers

Bob is managing a project where two of the key stakeholders cannot agree on one of the requirements. The requirement is directly related to one of the benefits in the business case, so he has to resolve this quickly. Plus, the two key stakeholders must work together for the next year. What approach should Bob use to resolve the conflict?

Compromise Signup and view all the answers

A project _______ is an uncertainty that can impact meeting objectives.

Risk Signup and view all the answers

Paul is reviewing the risk register for his project. The project has been going well and he is looking at the risk register to see what symptoms of risk events he should be looking for. Which column in the risk register should he be looking at?

Trigger Signup and view all the answers

__________ involves minimizing the risk score by reducing its occurrence probability.

Risk mitigation Signup and view all the answers

If triggers for some risks have come and gone, how should these be handled?

Update the project risk register. Signup and view all the answers

Your team member has just informed you that a risk event has occurred. The risk event was in the risk register and was accepted. However, you know exactly what must be done, because you have…

A contingency plan Signup and view all the answers

What type of contract is least risky for purchasing goods and services?

Fixed price Signup and view all the answers

What should you do if you believe there is an incorrect charge on a seller’s invoice?

Check the contract for the dispute resolution process. Signup and view all the answers

A _________ is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

Project Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is often added to the project triple constraint?

Meeting quality goals Signup and view all the answers

If a weighted score for a project is based on three criteria, the first weighted 50% and the other two weighted 25% each, what would be the weighted score for a project with scores of 100 on the first criteria, 80 on the second, and 60 on the third?

85 Signup and view all the answers

If a project cost is only $100 paid at the end of Year 0 and its annual benefits are $20/year, what is its payback period?

5 years Signup and view all the answers

A ________ describes the future state that would be achieved by the development and deployment of a product.

Product roadmap Signup and view all the answers

The financial analysis section of a business case often includes a return on investment (ROI). In the following scenario, a project has an initial investment of $10,000 in Year 0 and a NPV $5,000. What is the ROI?

50% Signup and view all the answers

A requirements ________ is a table that lists requirements, various attributes of each requirement, and the status of the requirements to ensure that all of them are addressed.

Traceability matrix Signup and view all the answers

The _________ approach to creating a WBS can be very time consuming, but it can also be a very effective way for projects that represent entirely new products, services, or approaches.

Bottom up Signup and view all the answers

By using the Three Point Estimation – Beta (PERT) analysis tool, determine the estimated activity duration for a task in days if the optimistic time is 20 days, the pessimistic time is 35 days and the most likely time is 26 days.

26.5 Signup and view all the answers

You are working on a small renovation project and are using parametric estimating. The remaining work package to complete the interior finishing will take 30 hours to do. You need your plasterer for 10 hours at $75/hour, your painter for 15 hours at $50/hour and the rug installation company will need another 5 hours at $100/hour. What cost estimate should you provide?

$2000 Signup and view all the answers

The Fibonacci sequence technique for estimation states that the number in the sequence is obtained by adding the twonumbers in the sequence.

Next, previous Signup and view all the answers

Your team lead has provided you with the following estimates for an activity: optimistic four days, pessimistic 26 days, and most likely 12 days. What is the estimate if you use the three-point beta estimate approach?

13 days Signup and view all the answers

Your team lead has provided you with the following estimates for an activity: optimistic $500, pessimistic $2,500, and most likely $1,000. What is the best estimate using the three-point triangular approach when you round up to the nearest hundred?

$1400 Signup and view all the answers

The _______ sets the expectations for the dates and features to be delivered over the course of multiple iterations.

Release plan Signup and view all the answers

You are reviewing your qualitative risk analysis. You have established that the risk threshold for your project is 5. On the list of identified risks, three have a risk score of 2, three have a risk score of 4, five have a risk score of 6, and two have a risk score of 9. How many risks should be accepted?

6 Signup and view all the answers

An example of _______, is when dark clouds form when it's about to rain.

Trigger Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Burndown Charts and Project Management

An actual work line above the ideal line on a burndown chart indicates a sprint is ahead of schedule.
The ideal work line represents estimated ideal states a project will achieve, not individual tasks.
Project portfolio management focuses specifically on strategic goals.

Project Management Fundamentals

The implementation of a new knowledge management application is a project.
Ethics guide decision-making regarding what is considered right or wrong.
A RACI chart (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) is a responsibility assignment matrix.

Project Selection Criteria

Organizations select projects based on varying criteria, with timing being the most critical.
For project scoring based on weighted criteria, a score of 85 is derived from a formula involving 50% and 25% weights for three criteria.
A payback period of 5 years occurs with an initial investment and consistent annual benefits.

Financial and Project Documentation

Net present value analysis highlights that money's value decreases over time.
A business case justifies the investment in a project, while a project charter formally recognizes it.
A product vision articulates the desired future state post-implementation.

Management Methodologies

A project brief refines the project charter and is utilized for guiding project management processes.
Agile methodologies prioritize working software and promote iterative processes over traditional documentation-heavy approaches.
In predictive project management, work is planned in detail ahead of time.

Performance Domains and Scaling Factors

Performance domains in project management include Development Approach, Project Team, Project Work, and Uncertainty.
Scaling factors according to PMI's Disciplined Agile toolkit encompass solution complexity and team dynamics.
An organization's project management maturity can vary from established methodologies to common practices across departments.

Techniques for Requirements Gathering

Prototyping is an effective technique for eliciting unclear requirements from users.
A requirements traceability matrix tracks requirements, attributes, and status to ensure comprehensive coverage.
The work breakdown structure (WBS) documentation provides details for managing tasks in a project.

Addressing Change and Retrospectives

Change management frameworks often follow a structured five-step process for effective implementation.
Retrospectives in agile teams focus on inspection and adaptation to improve processes for future sprints.
Continuous improvement is crucial for enhancing organizational processes and results.

Project Management Skills and Team Dynamics

Essential skills for project managers include ways of working, power skills, and business acumen.
Geographic distribution of team members necessitates consideration of team location and time zones.
Stakeholder consideration includes recognizing diversity and complexity of relationships impacting projects.

Product Backlog and Prioritization

The product backlog serves as a prioritized list of features, enhancements, and fixes for the project.
Effective backlog prioritization focuses primarily on customer value to ensure the most significant impact.
The story map initiates with customer objectives as the top priority for clarity in project execution.

Conclusion

Tailoring project management approaches is critical due to the diverse nature of projects and their unique needs.
Project managers must adapt methodologies to match project complexity, stakeholder needs, and organizational culture for successful outcomes.### Product Backlog Prioritization
Stack ranking is a method used to prioritize product backlog features.
Prioritization can be marked using numbers.
Benefits of prioritizing product backlog include managing potential feature changes effectively.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking involves generating ideas by comparing specific project practices or product characteristics to those of other projects, either inside or outside the organization.

Team Evaluations and Retrospectives

Lessons learned and retrospectives both focus on continuous improvement throughout a project.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The bottom-up approach to creating a WBS is time-consuming but effective for projects introducing new products or services.

User Stories and Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria are typically found on the back of a story card.
Developing personas helps teams understand and align with end-user needs.

Dependencies and Scheduling

Discretionary dependencies, sometimes referred to as soft logic, should be used cautiously as they can limit future scheduling flexibility.

Estimation Techniques

The Three Point Estimation (Beta or PERT) calculates activity duration considering optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely time estimates.
Total slack is the time an activity can be delayed without affecting the project finish date.
Cost and schedule trade-offs to achieve schedule compression involve the crashing technique.

Sprint Planning and Goals

Sprint goals are defined during each release planning session.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is most beneficial for new customers and new products.

Scrum Process

Only the development team can modify the sprint backlog during a sprint.
New sprints begin immediately after the completion of previous ones.

Cost Management

Costs related to failed business ventures, like rent for a store that closed, are classified as sunk costs.
Parametric estimating involves estimating time and cost based on project variables, focusing on specific activities and resources.

Risks and Mitigation

A project risk is an uncertainty affecting project objectives, which can either be positive or negative.
Risk mitigation involves minimizing risk scores by reducing the probability of occurrences.

Communication in Projects

Effective communication is essential and should involve stakeholders throughout the project.
Using various methods to improve communication with subject matter experts can enhance project outcomes.

Team Development Stages

Conflict often arises during the storming stage of Tuckman's team development model, where team members may disagree on operations.

Project Risks and Strategies

Evaluating risks involves looking at their probability and impact to determine the best approach for managing them.
When faced with tight schedules and uncertain materials, strategies like risk avoidance can be effective.

Stakeholder Engagement

Identifying stakeholders should be followed by developing a power/influence grid to prioritize engagement strategies.

Meeting Effectiveness

Sending out meeting agendas beforehand is crucial for running effective meetings, ensuring participants come prepared.

Resource and Budget Management

A resource histogram visually represents the total number of project resources over time, helping identify over-allocation issues.
Cost baseline is a time-phased budget that is critical for monitoring project cost performance.

Soft Skills in Project Management

Listening is a vital soft skill necessary for managing stakeholder engagement and ensuring project success.

Use of Contracts in Procurement

For minimizing risk in contracts, fixed-price agreements are the preferred choice as they establish clear, upfront costs.### Bid Documents
RFQ (Request for Quotation) is suitable for well-defined product purchases.
RFI (Request for Information) and RFP (Request for Proposal) serve different purposes in procurement.

Risk Management

Low-priority risks should be documented and revisited periodically.
An increasing number of risks without a management strategy indicates a need for concern.

Outsourcing Benefits

Outsourcing allows organizations to focus on core operations, reducing fixed costs and improving resource allocation.

Procurement Contracts

For tasks needing outside vendor support, a Firm Fixed Price contract is recommended.
Identify risks involves documenting characteristics of potential risks in a project.

Risk Score Calculation

Changing risk probability impacts the overall risk score; a previous risk score of 0.1 changes to 0.3 significantly affects the future assessment.

Earned Value Management

Cost variance is determined by subtracting earned value from planned value.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) gauges efficiency in completing projects relative to planned progress.

Burndown Charts

A burndown chart shows project's progress; if actual work is above the ideal line, the project is behind schedule.
The ideal work line indicates tasks needed for project completion.

Scope Creep

Scope creep denotes uncontrolled expansion of project scope, which can affect timelines and budgets.
Requests for additional features should be analyzed before acceptance.

Risk Documentation

An issue log tracks unapproved issues, providing valuable reference for project evaluation and lessons learned.

Quality and Performance Metrics

Cost of quality includes both conformance and non-conformance costs.
A cause-and-effect diagram (fishbone) is effective for root cause analysis of quality issues.

Project Closure

Client acceptance of deliverables enhances the likelihood of final product acceptance.
Effective transition planning is essential for integrating project outputs into normal operations.

Earned Value Forecasts

Estimates at completion (EAC) are derived from current budget trends and completion rates.
SPI provides insight into project efficiency over time.

Quality Assurance Tools

Scatter diagrams visualize relationships between variables to evaluate productivity.
Conformance to requirements ensures all processes and products meet the established standards.

Change Management

A change request procedure formalizes scope adjustments, assessing impacts before approval.
Implementing a transition plan defines post-project work responsibilities and timelines.

Cost of Quality

The cost of quality is derived from evaluation costs such as testing, rework, and material expenses, highlighting the financial impact of maintaining quality throughout the project lifecycle.

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Questions and Answers

Project portfolio management addresses ______ goals.

The President of a small research company decides to improve the organization’s knowledge management. The IT manager is put in charge of implementing a new application within a set timeframe and budget. The IT manager is managing a...

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

A RACI chart is a type of ________.

Each organization has different criteria for selecting projects. Some may be tied to revenue; others to enhance efficiency within the organization. Of the options listed below, which one is the most critical?

The value of money today is typically worth more than the same amount of money in the future is the basic concept of _______ analysis.

What document provides justification for investing in a project?

What document formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project’s objectives and management?

A ________ describes the future state that would be achieved by the development and deployment of a product.

A project brief is:

A project management plan should be...

The best project managers spend more time on the _______ phase of a project than the typical project manager.

An adaptive approach is based on the Agile Manifesto. The Agile Manifesto values...

Sprints have consistent durations and start immediately after the previous sprint. During a sprint:

The project approach where the work is planned in detail is:

A collection of logically related project activities that are done in stages is called:

Even though companies might work on similar projects over and over again, such as building houses, providing training courses, or developing specific types of products, there are unique challenges because all projects involve…

What is one type of difference between projects and operations?

What is a major difference between project management and portfolio management?

Several individual housing projects that are done in the same area by the same firm might best be managed as part of a…

Which project document should you review to know the team values and guidelines?

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

Project Team Alpha has collected all the requirements before doing their product design. Most likely, this project has adopted:

If a project team collected a few requirements and then completed a deliverable that builds towards the final project product, most likely, this project has adopted:

One of the key questions the project brief should address is:

The document that breaks down the product vision into a high-level direction for the development of the product is called:

What are the three skills that are identified in the PMI Talent triangle?

Which project would you select based solely on the payback period if all projects have the same initial cost of $20,000?

Which of the following questions should the Project Charter answer?

The document that includes the scope items for adaptive or iterative projects is called:

Where would you look for the project's objectives after taking over as the project manager for an existing waterfall project?

The project selection process can be broken into categories of stewardship, customers, process, and people to aid with the development of a…

The life cycle approach where the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level is:

A product life cycle…

‘Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software’ is a principle from which document?

Tailoring involves adjustments on various project management approaches and processes. It is crucial for project managers because projects:

Project managers need to assess the complexity of their projects. According to PMI's Disciplined Agile toolkit, scaling factors include:

Jacob has been hired as a project manager in a new start up. He was told that they have a PMO, but when he contacts them, all they have are some start up documents. What type of PMO is this?

The firm Lucy is working at has been doing projects for many years. They have many project managers and a PMO, yet each department follows their own practices. At which stage of project management maturity is her organization?

When tailoring for a project, besides thinking about the product deliverable and project team, project managers should also consider:

Reviewing questions from each of the performance domains will proactively support project decisions. The performance domains include:

Organizations use continuous improvement to:

What can agile teams do to collect lessons learned for the entire project?

Juan is having trouble collecting the requirements from the user for a new application. The user cannot describe the requirements in a language the project team understands. What technique should Juan try to use?

The project document that provides detailed information about each WBS item is called?

Sandra is working with the project team to create the WBS for her project. The team is very experienced, but this is a balanced matrix organization. Which technique is best to use to develop the WBS?

The main factor considered for prioritization of the product backlog is:

What is the outcome of product backlog prioritization?

As a new project manager, what should be at the top of the story map you are organizing for an event?

Decomposing work on agile projects involves:

You have been assigned to work on a large complex project. When you review your organization's project methodology, you notice the project management plan is basic and it only has a few forms. What should you recommend to the project sponsor?

A ______________ organizational structure is where project team members work on projects part-time by their supervisor while still having operational responsibility.

To be successful, organizations use change management to introduce new products and services. Many change models involve five key steps including:

When considering the geographic distribution scaling factors for the composition of a project team, project managers should consider the _________ and the _________.

Tailoring for a project is important because…

Retrospectives are useful for teams and allow for…

What needs are at the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy? (Select all that apply)

Which of the following is one of the seven habits of highly effective people?

Of the following soft skills, which is the most important in managing stakeholder engagement to ensure project success?

You are working on a project to develop a new training course. You are having difficulties communicating with one of the subject matter experts (SME) who is providing important content for the class you are developing. What strategy might you use to help improve communications?

When deciding on which communication technology you should use, you should consider…

Project managers in large organizations need to utilize their soft skills to effectively communicate in order to…

Bernard is managing a project team. His core team started with five, grew to eight, and then one person left and has yet to be replaced. How many two-way conversations will the new team member be engaged in when they start?

What two dimensions should you use when evaluating project risks?

The first thing you should do to ensure you will have an effective meeting is…

Juan is reviewing the stakeholder register. The project team has done a good job of identifying many stakeholders. What is the next step that Juan should do?

What is the best bid document to use for well-defined products?

What should be done with low priority risks?

The project sponsor has asked Sanita to provide an update on the level of risk on her project. As she reviews the risk register, she notices that the number of risks is increasing, there is no risk strategy for new risks, and there are no risks being eliminated. Should Sanita be concerned?

A benefit the organization can receive from outsourcing is…

Although you are on a tight schedule, your project needs additional work from outside vendors. Your team has prepared a statement of work for the tasks that need to be completed. What type of contract would be the best for you to use for your procurement?

If the probability of a risk event changes from 0.1 to 0.3, and the impact of the same risk changes from 0.8 to 0.5, the new risk score will be…

If the earned value for a task is $100, the planned value is $120, and the actual cost is $90, what is the cost variance?

What is the SPI if you are 75% completed a task with a BAC of $200 and planned to have spent $100?

On a burndown chart, if the actual work line is above the ideal line, then the sprint is:

The ideal work line on a burndown or burnup chart is a straight line showing the sum of:

Scope creep refers to…

Your project is underway to create a new website. Things were going well, but today one of the key stakeholders demanded that a new feature be added to the website. The new feature is required due to a regulation change that is effective in the next month. What is your best response?

When considering the geographic distribution scaling factors for the composition of a project team, project managers should consider the _ and the _.

In general when using earned value, ___ variance numbers and an index _ than one indicate problems in that objective of the project.