Project Selection and Management Overview
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Questions and Answers

What is the primary goal of the committee acting as a portfolio manager?

  • Maximizing costs while minimizing benefits
  • Maximizing benefits versus costs while balancing other factors (correct)
  • Balancing project size with project length
  • Selecting only high-risk projects

    • Which is NOT a consideration when classifying projects within a portfolio?

  • Cost of the project
  • Number of stakeholders involved (correct)
  • Purpose of the project
  • Risk associated with the project

    • What percentage of high-risk projects might an organization aim to maintain in its portfolio?

  • 20% (correct)
  • 10%
  • 50%
  • 30%

    • What might be a consequence of having multiple high-payoff projects with very high risk?

    <p>Only one of the projects may be selected</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which factor is important in determining the scope of a project?

    <p>How much of the organization is affected by the system</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What trade-off does the organization need to make regarding project resource allocation?

    <p>Choosing between multiple high-payoff, high-risk projects</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is likely a purpose of a project?

    <p>To improve the technical infrastructure</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is typically expected from a project in terms of economic value?

    <p>To return a greater amount than the total project costs</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary purpose of the project work plan?

    <p>To manage the project tasks and schedule</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What should the project work plan at a minimum include?

    <p>Task dependencies and current statuses</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is it increasingly important to define tasks in detail for larger projects?

    <p>To ensure essential steps are not overlooked</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the project manager use the work plan to determine?

    <p>Changes needed to meet the project deadline</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT typically included in the project work plan?

    <p>Detailed marketing strategies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary role of a CIO as mentioned in the content?

    <p>To keep the business running.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the mix of the project portfolio change according to the business environment?

    <p>It depends on the business lines that create the most value.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What categorization do projects fall into according to the CIO's roles?

    <p>Must-do’s, should-do’s, and nice-to-do’s.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the approach taken by Marriott towards IT projects?

    <p>Business initiatives and strategies are enabled by IT.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    When do traditional IT projects occur at Marriott?

    <p>Only during infrastructure upgrades.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What factors are used to evaluate projects at Marriott?

    <p>Return on investment and financial measures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What should be pushed for in an area where operations are running smoothly?

    <p>More innovation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the CIO consider when measuring the efficiency of business operations?

    <p>Service levels, cost, and productivity measures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why was a transition to agile development recommended at BA?

    <p>To respond to user demands for speed and flexibility.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one of the main benefits of using agile methods according to the content?

    <p>It enables teams to adjust functionality based on delivery dates.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a key drawback of waterfall-based methodologies mentioned in the content?

    <p>They fail to adapt easily to schedule changes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did BA do to ease the transition to agile methodologies?

    <p>They designated certain team members as agile mentors and coaches.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do RAD methodologies differ from waterfall methodologies?

    <p>RAD methodologies involve close user involvement throughout the project.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one challenge that systems development faces, particularly in waterfall methodologies?

    <p>Monitoring project time schedules is complicated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In what situation is agile methodology particularly effective?

    <p>When the user base demands regular updates and iterations.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does agile development prioritize that differentiates it from waterfall methods?

    <p>User-centered design and close involvement.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one method used to estimate the time required for a project?

    <p>Calculating the time spent in the planning phase.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What percentage of effort is typically spent in the design phase of a project?

    <p>35%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential limitation of using industry standard percentages for estimating project phases?

    <p>They do not account for the specifics of the individual project.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How can systems consulting firms enhance project estimations?

    <p>Through their past project experiences and established methodologies.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    If a project takes 4 months in the planning phase, what is the estimated total time for the project using standard percentages?

    <p>22.66 person-months</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a common practice during the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) to refine project estimates?

    <p>Maintaining a record of actual time and effort values.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the suggested industry percentage for the implementation phase of a typical project?

    <p>30%</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is it important to keep the estimates conservative during project planning?

    <p>It helps in avoiding overall project failure.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the duration of the 'Develop application design document' task?

    <p>9 days</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which task is a dependency for the 'Develop rejects-handling design document'?

    <p>Staging database design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which tasks are included under 'Develop OLAP design document'?

    <p>Universe design and Develop OLAP design part 1</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How many days are allocated for the 'Staging database design' task?

    <p>9 days</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the status of the 'Web entry application UI design sign-off' task?

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

    Which of the following is NOT a sub-task of 'Develop application design document'?

    <p>Data export utility design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the total duration for completing 'Extract, transform, load (ETL) design document' and its sub-task?

    <p>4 days</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which task directly follows the 'Develop OLAP design part 1' task?

    <p>Develop OLAP design document</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of these tasks has the longest duration?

    <p>Web entry application UI design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a dependency for 'Develop OLAP design part 1'?

    <p>High-priority reports design</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Project Selection and Management

    • IT departments often face a high demand for projects exceeding their capacity.
    • Business application growth has significantly increased in the past decade.
    • CIOs face the challenge of selecting projects that maximize return on IT investments while minimizing project risk.
    • A recent study from AMR Research found that a small percentage (2-15%) of IT projects are not strategically aligned with business goals.
    • Traditional project selection methods (first-in, first-out, political clout) are becoming less effective.
    • Project portfolio management (PPM) has emerged as a critical success factor for IT departments.
    • PPM involves selecting, prioritizing, and monitoring project portfolios.
    • Software tools like those from Hewlett Packard, Primavera Systems, and Project.net are valuable for managing project portfolios.
    • Project management involves planning and controlling projects within time and budget constraints to achieve desired outcomes.
    • A project manager is responsible for coordinating various tasks and roles within a project team.
    • Project management is a profession with various training options and certifications (e.g., PMP).
    • Many software tools are available to aid in project management.
    • Unrealistic demands from sponsors and managers pose a significant challenge to effective project management.
    • Overly optimistic project timelines lead to delays and problems.
    • Effective project management prioritizes realistic assessments of project scope and adherence to project plans.

    Project Portfolio Management

    • IT organizations simultaneously handle multiple initiatives, as new software applications, business models, and technical infrastructure are concurrently developed.
    • Individual projects are managed as part of a broader program by the IT steering committee, which oversees project portfolio performance.
    • Decision-makers consider investments within larger project portfolios by reviewing anticipated risks and returns relative to other projects.
    • Priorities are established to align the business, project, and portfolio goals.
    • Business sponsors and approval committees are responsible for evaluating project costs, benefits, and associated technical/organizational risks (e.g., system request and feasibility analysis).
    • Organizations require diverse projects–high-risk/low-risk, strategic/tactical–to best utilize project portfolios.
    • Portfolio managers balance high-risk projects with a lower percentage (less than 20%) of the overall portfolio to avoid overburdening the management of high risk.

    Project Size, Purpose, Length, Risk, Scope, and Economic Value

    • Project size (personnel needed), cost, purpose, duration (time to completion/business value delivery), risk (likelihood of success/failure), scope, and economic valuation (return on investment) influence selection parameters.
    • These characteristics inform the selection of appropriate project methodology.

    Project Methodologies

    • The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) forms the basis for systems development.
    • Various methodologies follow different SDLC phases.
    • Waterfall development processes tasks sequentially.
    • Parallel development allows multiple sub-projects to be worked on simultaneously.
    • The V-model method explicitly links development stages with testing phases.
    • Rapid Application Development (RAD) speeds up analysis, design, and implementation phases, potentially integrating user feedback early.
    • Iterative development creates progressively improved, fully functional, versions of a system.
    • System Prototyping provides a simplified version of a system to gain early feedback from users.
    • Throwaway Prototyping uses prototypes to investigate design alternatives but are not usually built into the final system.
    • Extreme Programming (XP) stresses communication, simplicity, feedback, and courage as core values.
    • Scrum groups project work into sprints with iterative deliverables.

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    Related Documents

    Project Selection and Management - Chapter 2 PDF

    Description

    This quiz explores the challenges IT departments face in project selection and management. It discusses the importance of aligning projects with business goals and the role of project portfolio management (PPM) in maximizing returns and minimizing risks. Participants will learn about traditional methods and modern tools that aid in effective project management.

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