ISMN 5370 STUDY GUIDE
What is a project? - Answers :Is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service, or result.
Purpose - Answers :•The best project involves a single, definable purpose, end product,
or result.
•When multiple results are expected, confusion can occur with respect to
•Resource allocations
•Task priorities
•Project failure can often be traced to a poorly defined end result.
Why project management? - Answers :•Better control of resources
•Improved customer relations
•Shorter development time
•Lower cost
•Higher quality
•Greater profit
•Consistency with strategic plan
•Better internal coordination
Project characteristics - Answers :projects have a number of characteristics that
distinguish them from other types of work
Temporary - Answers :•There is a point in time when the project should be completed.
•If no deadline, then the task is "routine" or "on-going".
•Projects bring together people, materials, facilities, etc. that are disbanded upon
completion of the project.
Unique - Answers :•Some aspect of the work has never been done before.
•Even when the same people, resources, facilities etc. are combined to do something
that has been done before, a project can be unique because
•The people have experience from the prior project
•The technology has been upgraded
•The people have other things going on in their lives
•The cost of resources may have changed
Progressive Elaboration - Answers :•Projects begin broadly defined and then become
defined more precisely.
•Similarly, project planning usually begins in broad terms and then becomes more
precise with time.
Project resources - Answers :•Finite
•Possibly scarce
•May be required from many organizational areas
, •May involve (many) vendors
Project sponsor - Answers :- the primary stakeholder, among many
- this person will ultimately accept the project as being completed
Project Uncertainty - Answers :•All projects involve uncertainty, because they are all
unique.
•Much of project management is uncertainty management.
Greater uncertainty requires greater management skill
•Typically measured in terms of the difficulty in predicting the time and cost, and
defining the scope, in advance.
•The most complex projects have uncertainty in all three dimensions: time, cost, and
scope.
Project Constraints - Answers :•Time (schedule)
•Cost (budget)
•Scope (requirements)
•These are inter-related and known as the triple constraint.
Project complexity - Answers :•Typically related to
•The number and diversity of resources required
•The magnitude of the effort required
•The number and diversity of skills required
•More complex projects typically require more time to complete [and probably cost more
too].
what about quality? - Answers :•the totality of features and characteristics of a product
or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
•Acceptable quality is implicit in the agreement to complete a project of given scope in
the scheduled time for the budgeted cost.
•Changes in scope, time, or budget will probably affect quality.
Project team - Answers :A project team is a group of people, often from different
functional areas and possibly organizations, who participate where and when needed.
core knowledge areas - Answers :•Integration Management
•Scope Management
•Time Management
•Cost Management
•Quality Management
Facilitating Knowledge Areas - Answers :•Communications Management
•Resource Management
•Risk Management
•Procurement Management
•Stakeholder Management
What is a project? - Answers :Is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique
product, service, or result.
Purpose - Answers :•The best project involves a single, definable purpose, end product,
or result.
•When multiple results are expected, confusion can occur with respect to
•Resource allocations
•Task priorities
•Project failure can often be traced to a poorly defined end result.
Why project management? - Answers :•Better control of resources
•Improved customer relations
•Shorter development time
•Lower cost
•Higher quality
•Greater profit
•Consistency with strategic plan
•Better internal coordination
Project characteristics - Answers :projects have a number of characteristics that
distinguish them from other types of work
Temporary - Answers :•There is a point in time when the project should be completed.
•If no deadline, then the task is "routine" or "on-going".
•Projects bring together people, materials, facilities, etc. that are disbanded upon
completion of the project.
Unique - Answers :•Some aspect of the work has never been done before.
•Even when the same people, resources, facilities etc. are combined to do something
that has been done before, a project can be unique because
•The people have experience from the prior project
•The technology has been upgraded
•The people have other things going on in their lives
•The cost of resources may have changed
Progressive Elaboration - Answers :•Projects begin broadly defined and then become
defined more precisely.
•Similarly, project planning usually begins in broad terms and then becomes more
precise with time.
Project resources - Answers :•Finite
•Possibly scarce
•May be required from many organizational areas
, •May involve (many) vendors
Project sponsor - Answers :- the primary stakeholder, among many
- this person will ultimately accept the project as being completed
Project Uncertainty - Answers :•All projects involve uncertainty, because they are all
unique.
•Much of project management is uncertainty management.
Greater uncertainty requires greater management skill
•Typically measured in terms of the difficulty in predicting the time and cost, and
defining the scope, in advance.
•The most complex projects have uncertainty in all three dimensions: time, cost, and
scope.
Project Constraints - Answers :•Time (schedule)
•Cost (budget)
•Scope (requirements)
•These are inter-related and known as the triple constraint.
Project complexity - Answers :•Typically related to
•The number and diversity of resources required
•The magnitude of the effort required
•The number and diversity of skills required
•More complex projects typically require more time to complete [and probably cost more
too].
what about quality? - Answers :•the totality of features and characteristics of a product
or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
•Acceptable quality is implicit in the agreement to complete a project of given scope in
the scheduled time for the budgeted cost.
•Changes in scope, time, or budget will probably affect quality.
Project team - Answers :A project team is a group of people, often from different
functional areas and possibly organizations, who participate where and when needed.
core knowledge areas - Answers :•Integration Management
•Scope Management
•Time Management
•Cost Management
•Quality Management
Facilitating Knowledge Areas - Answers :•Communications Management
•Resource Management
•Risk Management
•Procurement Management
•Stakeholder Management
