Project Management Fundamentals
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Questions and Answers

What is the main purpose of the project charter in the initiation process?

  • To identify stakeholders
  • To create a stakeholder register
  • To get approval from the project sponsor (correct)
  • To outline project objectives, scope, cost, and time
  • What is a key characteristic of a project life cycle?

  • It is always customizable (correct)
  • It is the same for all projects
  • It is always sequential
  • It consists of five process groups
  • What is a project management process comprised of?

  • A unique life cycle for each project
  • A fixed set of five process groups (correct)
  • A set of customizable process groups
  • A set of sequential phases
  • What is the main goal of collecting requirements?

    <p>To understand what stakeholders want</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which process group is more detailed and comprehensive than initiation?

    <p>Planning</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What are the three main questions to answer during the planning process?

    <p>What are we going to do, how are we going to do it, how to know when the project is done</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the output of the planning process?

    <p>A comprehensive project plan</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is project management?

    <p>A complimentary discipline</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of a stakeholder registry in collecting requirements?

    <p>To identify and document stakeholder needs and expectations</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main goal of defining the project scope?

    <p>To determine what is included and excluded from the project</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is composed of the scope statement, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and WBS Dictionary?

    <p>Scope Baseline</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

    <p>To break down a project into smaller, manageable pieces</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of the WBS Dictionary?

    <p>To prevent scope creep</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When is it necessary to break down a work package further in a WBS?

    <p>When you cannot confidently estimate the cost and time requirements</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the purpose of estimating time requirements for each work package?

    <p>To create a project timeline</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is it important to use a hybrid model in a Work Breakdown Structure?

    <p>To combine deliverables and tasks</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Project Management Fundamentals

    • Project management is a complimentary discipline that helps run projects easily and is not a profession on its own.
    • Anyone, regardless of their profession, can benefit from understanding project management.

    Project Life Cycle

    • A project life cycle is unique to a project, industry, and needs, and is highly customizable.
    • It's a sequential series of phases, and each phase may have multiple process groups.
    • Examples of project life cycles:
      • Human development: conceiving, birth, childhood, teenage hood, adulthood, and death.
      • IT project: high-level design, detailed design, coding, testing, installation, and turnover.

    Project Management Process

    • Project management process is a fixed set of five process groups:
      1. Initiation
      2. Planning
      3. Executing
      4. Monitoring and Controlling
      5. Closing
    • These process groups are not customizable and are always in the same order.

    Initiation Process Group

    • Two important processes in initiation:
      1. Develop a project charter (a simple document outlining project objectives, scope, cost, and time, and stakeholder identification)
      2. Identify stakeholders (create a stakeholder register)
    • The project charter is a checkpoint to get approval from the project sponsor before proceeding with the project.

    Planning Process Group

    • Planning is a more detailed and comprehensive process than initiation.
    • Three main questions to answer in planning:
      1. What are we going to do?
      2. How are we going to do it?
      3. How to know when the project is done?
    • The output of planning is a comprehensive project plan, which includes:
      • Requirements
      • Scope
      • Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
      • Schedule
      • Cost and budget
      • Quality

    Collecting Requirements

    • Collecting requirements is about understanding what stakeholders want.
    • Use the project charter and give it more details and specifications.
    • Tips for collecting requirements:
      • Use stakeholder registry
      • Keep requirements simple and realistic
      • Explain trade-offs to stakeholders

    Defining the Scope

    • Defining the scope is about what is and what is not included in the project.
    • Documents needed:
      • Project Charter
      • Requirements document
      • Any other information about risks, assumptions, and constraints
    • Tips for defining the scope:
      • Be specific
      • Avoid ambiguity
      • Don't include everything in the project scope

    Scope Baseline

    • Scope baseline is composed of:
      1. Scope statement
      2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
      3. WBS Dictionary### Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
    • A top-down approach to break down a project into smaller, manageable pieces
    • Decompose deliverables into Work Packages
    • Work Packages are "things", not actions, and should be deliverables, documents, or completed items

    Key Points of Work Breakdown Structure

    • How deep you go in levels depends on the answer to the question: "Can I confidently estimate the cost and time requirements of that work package?"
    • If you can't estimate, you need to break it down further to activity level
    • Use a hybrid model that combines deliverables and tasks

    Creating a WBS

    • Start with the project name as level 1 and segment the project into various work components
    • Label each component with a number (e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.)
    • Break down each component into smaller work packages

    Importance of WBS

    • Everything happens after WBS in the planning process group
    • Project costs, schedule, risks, and everything is calculated using the WBS
    • Do not calculate costs or schedule for a project as a whole, but at the work package level

    Scope Baseline

    • Consists of:
      • Project scope statement
      • WBS
      • WBS Dictionary
    • WBS Dictionary defines each work package to prevent scope creep

    Time Management

    • Take the WBS and estimate the time required for each work package
    • If you can't estimate, break down the WBS further to activity level
    • Use a Gantt chart to layout the work packages and activities

    Cost Management

    • Take the WBS and estimate the costs for each work package
    • Use a bottom-up approach to estimate costs
    • Add up the costs to create a budget
    • Include contingency estimates and management reserves for PMP takers

    Execution

    • The purpose of execution is to complete the work defined in the project management plan
    • Focus on managing the team, following processes, and information exchange
    • Protect the scope from changes and prevent scope creep

    Monitoring and Controlling

    • Measure the project's performance against the plan
    • Manage change requests and make sure you're hitting KPIs
    • Monitor scope, schedule, costs, quality, risks, and procurement
    • Document everything and solve problems as they arise

    Earned Value

    • Calculated as Total Project Budget x % complete of the project
    • Used in construction and software projects
    • Not always applicable in real life due to exponential growth and power curves

    Closing

    • Hand over the project to the client if applicable
    • Finish procurements and complete cost records
    • Gather final lessons learned
    • Release resources and let team members go back to their own teams
    • Celebrate the completion of the project

    Project Management Fundamentals

    • Project management is a complimentary discipline that helps run projects easily and is not a profession on its own.
    • Anyone, regardless of their profession, can benefit from understanding project management.

    Project Life Cycle

    • A project life cycle is unique to a project, industry, and needs, and is highly customizable.
    • It's a sequential series of phases, and each phase may have multiple process groups.
    • Examples of project life cycles include human development (conceiving, birth, childhood, teenage hood, adulthood, and death) and IT project (high-level design, detailed design, coding, testing, installation, and turnover).

    Project Management Process

    • Project management process is a fixed set of five process groups: Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
    • These process groups are not customizable and are always in the same order.

    Initiation Process Group

    • Two important processes in initiation: Develop a project charter and Identify stakeholders.
    • The project charter is a checkpoint to get approval from the project sponsor before proceeding with the project.

    Planning Process Group

    • Planning is a more detailed and comprehensive process than initiation.
    • Three main questions to answer in planning: What are we going to do?, How are we going to do it?, and How to know when the project is done?
    • The output of planning is a comprehensive project plan, which includes Requirements, Scope, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Schedule, Cost and budget, and Quality.

    Collecting Requirements

    • Collecting requirements is about understanding what stakeholders want.
    • Tips for collecting requirements: Use stakeholder registry, Keep requirements simple and realistic, and Explain trade-offs to stakeholders.

    Defining the Scope

    • Defining the scope is about what is and what is not included in the project.
    • Documents needed: Project Charter, Requirements document, and Any other information about risks, assumptions, and constraints.
    • Tips for defining the scope: Be specific, Avoid ambiguity, and Don't include everything in the project scope.

    Scope Baseline

    • Scope baseline is composed of: Scope statement, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), and WBS Dictionary.

    Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

    • A top-down approach to break down a project into smaller, manageable pieces.
    • Decompose deliverables into Work Packages, which are "things", not actions, and should be deliverables, documents, or completed items.

    Key Points of Work Breakdown Structure

    • How deep you go in levels depends on the answer to the question: "Can I confidently estimate the cost and time requirements of that work package?"
    • If you can't estimate, you need to break it down further to activity level.
    • Use a hybrid model that combines deliverables and tasks.

    Creating a WBS

    • Start with the project name as level 1 and segment the project into various work components.
    • Label each component with a number (e.g. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.).
    • Break down each component into smaller work packages.

    Importance of WBS

    • Everything happens after WBS in the planning process group.
    • Project costs, schedule, risks, and everything is calculated using the WBS.
    • Do not calculate costs or schedule for a project as a whole, but at the work package level.

    Time Management

    • Take the WBS and estimate the time required for each work package.
    • If you can't estimate, break down the WBS further to activity level.
    • Use a Gantt chart to layout the work packages and activities.

    Cost Management

    ...

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    Learn the basics of project management, a discipline that helps run projects smoothly, and discover how it can benefit anyone regardless of their profession.

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