Project Management Reviewer

Chapters 5-8

Chapter 5
1. What is a program manager? How does this job differ from that of a project manager?
Project Manager Responsibilities Program Manager Responsibilities

1. Managing the project (scope, schedule, resources) 1. Overseeing multiple projects

2. Assembling and managing the project team and their 2. Managing multiple project teams (and sometimes
performance project managers)
3. Delivering successful project outcomes (ensuring it is 3. Delivering successful program outcomes.
on time and under budget)
2. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the matrix form of organization.

Advantages:
1. The focus is on the project.
2. The project has access to the entire organization for labor and technology.
3. Less worry about what happens when the project is completed.
4. Response to client needs is rapid.
5. Better balance of resources.
Disadvantages of a Matrixed Organization?
1. Power balance is delicate.
2. Projects compete for resources.
3. Projectitis (kind of behavior or feeling that an individual suffers from due to deep attachment with a
project) is a serious disease.
4. Division of responsibility is complex.
5. No unity of command in management
3. Name the two of the four basic types of project organization and list at least one characteristic, advantage, and
disadvantage of each.
a. Functional
1. Characteristic: Top management oversees the project and all staff are involved in the work.
2. Advantage: Experts can be grouped to share knowledge and experience
3. Disadvantage: Response to clients is slow.
b. Projectized

1. Characteristic: It consists of certain projects with respective teams.

2. Advantage: The structure is simple and flexible.
3. Disadvantage: Duplication in staffing.
4. Why is the project management office so important?
It is important because it is the office responsible for the creation, planning and facilitation of the projects.
5. What are the major sources of conflict throughout the life cycle?
1. Internal conflict
2. Member frustration
3. Wasting time
4. Poor decision making
5. Team members are more concerned with finishing the job than doing a good job.
6. What are the major tasks of a Project Management Office?
1. Establish and enforce good practices
2. Improve maturity
3. Improve project management systems
4. Offer training
5. Help with administrative details
6. Establish a process for dealing with risk
7. Determine if a project is a good fit
8. Assist in project termination
7. Where is the location of a project in the functional structure?
In a functional structure, the project is in the functional department. The top manager oversees the project
and the staff are involved in the project.
8. What is a major advantage of the Functional Organization for a Project?
It maximizes flexibility in borrowing staff from different function divisions.
9.When a project requires input from several functional areas and uses a sophisticated technology, what is the
recommended organizational structure?
The functional structure

Chapter 6
10. Any successful project charter must contain nine key elements. List three items and briefly describe the
composition of each.
1. Purpose A short summary of objectives and project scope.

2. Schedules outlines the various schedules and lists all milestone events and/or phase-gates.

3. Resources contains the budgets by task as well as the cost control and monitoring plans.

11. What are the general steps for managing each work package within a specific project?
Give project team members responsibility of planning, executing and evaluation of work packages. 4. The

12. What should be accomplished at the initial coordination meeting?

1. Technical scope
2. Areas of responsibility
3. Delivery dates or budgets
4. Risk management group

13. What are the basic steps to design and use the Work Breakdown Structure?
 1. Break the tasks down into detail so they can be individually planned, budgeted, scheduled, monitored, and
controlled.

2. Identify relevant supporting information needed for a work package.

3. The work packages must be reviewed with the people involved.

4. The WBS can be used to capture the direct costs estimated or budgeted for each task.

5. A project master schedule can be used to summarize schedule info for each work package.

6. Repeat the process.

14. Contrast the Project Plan, the Project Charter, and the WBS.

Project Plan: contains scope, deliverables, time, budget, quality, risk control, roles, responsibilities, the Action

Plan and WBS.

Project Charter: the document showing the overview of resources and other important factors such as the
schedules and risk management plans
WBS: is derived from the action plan. It relates the details of each subtask to its task and provides the final basis
for the project budget, schedule, personnel and control.
15. Contrast milestones with phase-gates, with examples.
Milestones-Natural subproject ending points where payment may occur, evaluations may be made, or progress
may be reassessed.
Example: If a project is expected to take 10 hours and cost $10,000 to finish, completing five hours of work
and spending $5,000 is considered a milestone.
Phase gates Preplanned points during the project where progress is assessed and the project cannot resume
until re-authorization has been approved.
Example: Phase 1 and Gate 1: Idea for Abdulmalks Coffee Table (coffee shop) near Abdulazziz Road. If
Abdulmalks Coffee Table is feasible then it advances to phase 2 and gate 2.
16. Why is project planning so important?
Project planning is important because it clearly identifies the roles and responsibilities of the team members, it

emphasizes the importance of communication while the project is on-going, and engages the stakeholders for
project success.
17. What is the process of managing risk in a project?
Project risk management

18. Project success is judged by what criteria?

1. Delivered within time and budget schedules
2. Customer satisfaction

3. Improved productivity
19. What is the RACI Matrix?
RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) matrix. It is an approach to identify the human resources needed
for the project: who is responsible, who is accountable, who to consult and who to inform.

Chapter 7
20. What are the advantages of top-down budgeting? Of bottom-up budgeting? What is the most important task for top
management to do in bottom-up budgeting?
1.Advantages of Top-Down Budgeting
1. Overall project budgets can be controlled accurately.
2. Management has more control over budgets.
3. Small tasks dont need to be identified individually.
2. Advantages of Bottom-Up Budgeting
1. Greater buy-in by low level managers
2. More likely to catch unusual expenses
3. Its important in this process to follow a good WBS to ensure that no tasks are overlooked.
21. In preparing a budget, what indirect costs should be considered?
1. fixed costs (materials)
2. labor costs
3. equipment costs
4. Overhead costs
5. general, sales, administrative (GS&A) costs
22. Describe the purpose and use of a tracking signal.
A tracking signal is a measurement of how well a forecast is predicting actual values.
23. Describe the top-down budgeting process.
This is the technique of developing a budget by comparing a project to past ones using the judgment and
experience of top and middle management.
24. Why is learning curve analysis important to project management?
The concept of a learning curve is that people get better when they repeat a task. The estimator must know the
impact of learning on a past project (and the rates) to predict its impact on the current project.
25. If a project budget is over funded, what will often happen?
It produces waste and encourage slack (lazy) management.
26. If a project budget is underfunded, what will often happen?
It prevents accomplishment and frustrate committed stakeholders.
27. Why senior managers view the bottom-up budgeting process as being risky.
Because their subordinates may overstate resource requirements to ensure success. They may also be unwilling to
hand over control to subordinates whose experience and motives are questionable.
28. What is the easy method of evaluating risk in certain situations by modifying project parameters and evaluating the
corresponding changes?
General Simulation Analysis