WGU C722 Test Bank Project Management, Top Exam Questions and answers, Approved.

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WGU C722 Test Bank Project Management, Top Exam Questions and answers, Approved. A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) The project management standard developed by the Pr ... oject Management Institute. Benefit measurement methods A type of decision model that compares the benefits obtained from a variety of new project requests by evaluating them using the same criteria and comparing the results. Co-located When team members work together at the same physical location Constrained optimization models Decision models that use complex principles of statistics and other mathematical concepts to assess a proposed project. Cost-benefit analysis A commonly used benefit measurement method that calculates the cost of producing the product, service, or result of the project and compares this to the financial gain the project is expected to generate. Decision model A formal method of project selection that helps managers make the best use of limited budgets and human resources. Includes benefit measurement methods and constrained optimization models. Discounted cash flow (DCF) Compares the value of the future cash flows of the project to today's dollars. Economic model A type of benefit measurement method. It is a series of financial calculations that provide data on the overall financials of the project and is generally used as a project selection technique. Expert judgment A technique used in project selection, determining estimates, and determining other related project information that relies on the knowledge of those with expertise on the requested subject matter. Expert judgment can come from, stakeholders, other departments, consultants, team members, vendors, or industry groups. Feasibility study Undertaken to determine whether the project is a viable project, the probability of project success, and the viability of the product of the project Functional organization A form of organizational structure. Functional organizations are traditional organizations with hierarchical reporting structures. Internal rate of return (IRR) The discount rate when the present value of the cash inflows equals the original investment. Projects with higher IRR values are generally considered better than projects with lower IRR values. Assumes that cash inflows are reinvested at the IRR value. Matrix organization An organizational structure where employees report to one functional manager and at least on project manager. Functional managers assign employees to projects and carry out administrative duties, while project managers assign tasks associated with the project to team members and execute the project. Net present value Evaluation of the cash inflows using the discounted cash flow technique, which is applied to each period the inflows are expected. NPV subtracts the initial project investment from the total cash flow in today's dollars. It is similar to discounted cash flows. Operations Operations typically involve ongoing functions that support the production of goods or services. They don't have a beginning or an end. Payback period The length of time it takes a company to recover the initial cost of producing the product or service of the project. Program A grouping of related projects that are managed together to capitalize on benefits that couldn't be achieved if the projects were managed separately. Project Temporary in nature, with a definite start and end date; creates a unique product, service, or result. It is completed when the goals and objectives of the project have been met and signed off on by the stakeholders. Project management Applying skills, knowledge, and project management tools and techniques to fulfill the project requirements. Project Management Institute (PMI) The world's leading professional project management association. Project management knowledge areas The ten project management groupings, or Knowledge Areas, that bring together common or related processes. They are Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resource, Communications, Risk, Procurement, Stakeholder. Project management office (PMO) Established by organizations to create and maintain procedures and standards for project management methodologies to be used throughout the organization. Project manager The person responsible for applying the skills, knowledge, and project management tools and techniques to the project activities to successfully complete the project objectives. Project performance indicators Measures that the project manager uses to determine whether the project is on track, such as any deviation from the baseline schedule or the baseline budget. Project plan A document, or assortment of documents, that constitutes what the project is, what the project will deliver, and how all the processes will be managed. Used as the guideline throughout the project Executing and Controlling phases to track and measure project performance and to make future project decisions. Also used as a communication and information tool for stakeholders, team members, and management. Project selection Used to determine which proposed projects are approved to move forward Project-based organization An organizational structure focused on projects. Project managers generally have ultimate authority over the project, and sometimes supporting departments such as human resources and accounting might report to the project manager. Project managers are responsible for making project decisions and acquiring and assigning resources. Scoring model One of the benefit measurement methods used for project selection. It contains a predefined list of criteria against which each project is ranked. Each criterion has a scoring range and a weighting factor. A scoring model can also be used as a tool to select from among competing vendors. Assumption An event or action believed to be true for planning purposes. Project assumptions should always be documented. Business analyst The person in charge of understanding the business unit's needs when assessing a project request. The business analyst might be assigned directly from the business unit itself or may be part of the IT organization. Business case Formally documents components of the project assessment, including a description of the analysis method and the results. Business process reengineering Applying changes to an IT system and putting those elements into place based on a project request and a business analyst's examination of the workflow--how people handle their work relative to the request. Business requirements The requirements that describe how the business objectives of the project will be met Closing A process that documents the final delivery and acceptance of the project and is where hand-off occurs to the operational unit. Lessons learned are performed during this process, and project team members are released. Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Describes a software application that is purchased from a re-seller, vendor, or manufacturer. Customer The recipient of the product or service created by the project. In some organizations this stakeholder may also be referred to as the client Enterprise project A project that will be used by users throughout the enterprise. Executing This project process group is where the work of the project is performed. Fast-tracking A schedule compression technique where two activities that were previously scheduled to start sequentially start at the same time. Fast-tracking reduces schedule duration. Functional requirements These define what the product of the project will do by focusing on how the end user will interact with the product. High-level requirements These explain the major characteristics of the product and describe the relationship between need and the product requested. This is also referred to as a product description. Initiating The first process in a project life cycle and the first of the five project process groups. This is the formal acknowledgment that the project should begin. The primary result of this process is the project charter. Monitoring and Controlling This project process group is where activities are performed to monitor the progress of the project and determine whether there are variances from the project plan. Corrective actions are taken during this process to get the project back on course. Multiple business unit project A project that is initiated by multiple units. Planning The process group where the project plans are developed that will be used throughout the project to direct, monitor, and control weak results. The primary result of this process is the project plan. Project champion The person who fully understands, believe in, and espouses the benefits of the project to the organization. This is the cheerleader for the project. Project charter An official, written acknowledgment and recognition that a project exists. It's signed by the project sponsor and gives the project manager authority to assign organizational resources to the work of the project. Project description Documents the key characteristics of the project or service that will be created by the project. Project life cycle The grouping of project phases in a sequential order from the beginning of the project to the close. Request for proposal (RFP) A document that is sent out to potential vendors requesting them to provide a proposal on a product or service. Sponsor An executive in the organization with authority to allocate funds, assign resources, and enforce decisions regarding the project. Stakeholder A person or an organization that has something to gain or lose as a result of the project. Most stakeholders have a vested interest in the outcomes of the project. Statement of work (SOW) Contains the details of a procurement item in clear, concise terms and includes the project objectives, a description of the work of the project, and concise specifications of the project or services required. Technical requirements Also known as nonfunctional requirements, the product characteristics needed for the product to perform the functional requirements. Technical requirements typically refer to information technologyrelated projects. They are typically the elements and functions that happen behind the scenes of a program to meet the client's request. Triple constraint According to Comp TIA, time, cost, and quality. Other sources cite scope rather than quality in their definitions of the triple constraints. Acceptance criteria The process and the criteria that will be used to determine whether the deliverables are acceptable and satisfactory. Critical success factor Elements that must be completed in order for the project to be considered complete. Critical success factors that are not satisfactory can lead to project failure. Decomposition The process of breaking project deliverables down into smaller, manageable components of work so that work packages can be planned and estimated. Key performance indicators (KPI's) Help you determine whether the project is on track and progressing as planned by monitoring the project against predetermined criteria. Order of magnitude A high-level estimate of the time and cost of a project based on the actual cost and duration of a similar project. Product description Explains the major characteristics of the product and describes the relationship between the business need and the product. This is also referred to as high-level requirements. Project justification Documentation in the project charter that included the reason the project is being undertaken and the business need the project will address. Scope creep The minor changes or small additions that are made to the project outside of a formal scope change process that cause project scope to grow and change. Scope definition Per the PMBOK Guide, the process of breaking down the major deliverables from the scope statement to create the WBS. For purposes of the Comp TIA objectives and exam, scope definition is used in a much broader sense to cover several scope planning elements, including the scope statement and the scope management plan. Scope management plan Defines the process for preparing the scope statement and the WBS. This also documents the process that manages project scope and changes to project scope. Scope planning The process of defining the scope management plan, the scope statement, and the WBS and WBS dictionary. Scope statement Documents the product description, key deliverables, success and acceptance criteria, key performance indicators, exclusions, assumptions, and constraints. The scope statement is used as a baseline for future project decisions. Status date The date when the project manager measures how much has been spent on a specific task. Work breakdown ... Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary A document that describes the deliverables and their components, the code of accounts identifier, estimates, resources, criteria for acceptance, and any other information that helps clarify the deliverables. Work breakdown structure (WBS) A deliverable-oriented hierarchy that defines that defines the total work of the project. Each level has more detailed information than the previous lever Activity definition Indentifying the activities of the project that need to be performed to produce the product or service of the project. Activity duration Assessing the number of work periods needed to complete he project activities. Work periods are usually expressed in hours and days. Large projects might express duration in weeks or months. Activity list A list of all the activities required to complete the work of the project that also includes an identifier code and the WBS code it's associated with. Activities are broken down from the work package level of the WBS. Activity sequencing Sequencing activities in logical order and determining whether dependencies exist among the activities. Analogous estimating An estimating technique that uses the actual duration of a similar, completed activity to determine the duration of the current activity. This is also called top=down estimating. Backward pass Calculating late start and late finish dates by starting at the end of a network diagram and working back through each path until reaching to start of the network diagram. This is part of critical path method (CPM), which is a mathematical technique to develop the project schedule. Crashing This is a schedule compression technique that adds resources to the project to reduce the time it takes to complete the project. Critical path (CP) The longest path through the project. Activities with zero float are considered critical path tasks. Critical path method (CPM) A schedule development method that determines a single early and late start date, early and late finish date, and the float for each activity on the project. Dependencies The relationship between project activities. Dependency relationships The type of dependency between two activities and the specific relationship between the activities. Discretionary dependency A type of dependency that the project manager and project team choose to impose on the project schedule, such as the uses of an established corporate practice. Document control process Defines how revisions are made, the version numbering system, and the placement of the version number and revision date. Duration compression The use of techniques such as fast-tracking or crashing to shorten the planned duration of a project or to resolve schedule slippage. Early finish The earliest date an activity may finish as logically constrained by the network diagram. Early start The earliest date an activity may start as logically constrained by the network diagram. External dependency A type of dependency where a relationship between a project task and a factor outside the project, such as weather conditions, drives the scheduling of that task. Finish-to-finish A project task relationship in which the finish of the successor task is dependent on the finish of the predecessor task. Finish-to-start A project task relationship in which the successor task cannot begin until the predecessor task has been completed. Float time The amount of time the early start of a task may be delayed without delaying the finish date of the project. Also known as slack time. Forward pass The process of working from the left to the right of a network diagram in order to calculate early start and early finish dates for each activity. Iterative process Any process that is repeated more than once. The five process groups are repeated throughout the project's life because of change requests, responses to change, corrective action, and so on. Late finish The latest date an activity can complete without impacting the project end date. Late start The latest date an activity can start without impacting the project end date. Logical relationships The dependency relationships that may exist between tasks. Finish-to-start is the most common logical relationship. Mandatory dependency A type of dependency where the relationship between two tasks is created by the type of work the project requires. Mathematical analysis Calculating theoretical early and late start and finish dates for all project activities. Network diagram A depiction of project activities and the interrealtionships between these activities. Parametric estimating A quantitatively based estimating technique that is typical calculated by multiplying rate times quantity. Precedence diagramming method (PDM) A network diagramming method that places activities on nodes, which connect to dependent activities using arrows. Also known as activity on node. Predecessor A task on the network diagram that occurs before another task. Preliminary investigation An investigation at project request time to determine the costs and benefits of the project, as well as examine alternatives to the proposed solution in order to determine the feasibility of carrying out the project. Program evaluation and review (PERT) Calculates the expected value, or weighted average, of critical path tasks to determine project duration by using three estimates: most likely, pessimistic, and optimistic. The PERT calculation is (optimistic + pessimistic = (4 x most likely))/6. Project execution Carrying out the project plan. Activities are clarified, the work is authorized to begin, resources are committed and assigned to activities, and the product or service of the project is created. The largest portion of the project budget will be spent during this process. Project schedule Determines the start and finish dates for project activities and assigns resources to the activities. Quantitatively based durations A duration estimate obtained by applying a productivity rate of the resource performing the task. Schedule baseline The final, approved project schedule that is used during project execution to monitor project progress. Schedule development Calculating and preparing the schedule of project activities, which becomes the schedule baseline. It determines activity start and finish dates, finalizes activity sequences and durations, and determines activity duration estimates. Sequencing Putting the project activities in the order in which they will take place. Slack time The amount of time allowed to delay the early start of a task without delaying the finish date of the project. This is also known as float time. Start-to-finish A task relationship where the finish of the successor task is dependent on the start of its predecessor. Start-to-start A project task relationship where the start of the successor task depends on the start of the predecessor task. Successor A task on the network diagram that occurs after another task. Top-down estimating An estimating technique that uses actual durations from similar activities on a previous project. This is also referred to as analogous estimating. Bidder conference A meeting held by the buyer with potential vendors during the procurement process to allow vendors to ask questions and get clarification on the project. Communications planning Determines the communication needs of the stakeholders, when and how the information will be received, and who will receive the information Contract A legally binding document that describes the work that will be performed, how the work will be compensated, and any penalties for noncompliance. Cost-reimbursable contract Provides the seller with payment for all costs incurred to deliver or produce the product or service requested. Equipment a. Resources such as servers, specialized test equipment, or additional PC's that are required for a project. b. One of the categories of project resources. It included test tools, servers, PC's, or other related items required to complete the project. Fixed-priced contracts A contract that states a fixed fee for the work that the vendor will perform. Formal communications Planned communications such as project kickoff meetings, team status meetings, written status reports, or team-building sessions. Human resources The people with the background and skills to complete the tasks on the project schedule. Human resources planning Defining team member roles and responsibilities, establishing an appropriate structure for team reporting, securing the right team members, and bringing them on the project as needed for the appropriate length of time. Informal communications Unplanned or ad hoc communications, including phone calls, emails, conversations in the hallway, or impromptu meetings. Lines of communication A mathematical formula that determines the number of lines of communication between participants in a meeting. The formula n(n-1)/2, where n represents the number of participants. Make-or-buy analysis Determines the cost effectiveness of producing goods or services in-house vs. procuring them from outside the organization. Materials A catchall category of project resources that includes software, utility requirements such as electricity or water, any supplies needed for the project, or other consumable goods. Organizational planning The process of addressing factors that may impact how to manage a project team, defining roles and responsibilities for project team members, identifying how the project team will be organized, and documenting a staffing management plan. Procurement planning The process of identifying what goods or services will be purchased from outside the organization. It uses make-or-buy analysis to determine whether goods or services should be purchased outside the organization or produced internally RACI chart A type of responsibility assignment matrix that describes the resources needed for the task and their role for that task using the following descriptors: responsible, accountable, consult, or inform. Resource planning A process that defines and documents all the resources needed and the quantity of resources needed to perform project activities, including human, material, and equipment resources. Resource pool description A listing of all the job titles within a company or department with a brief description of the job. It may also identify the number of people currently employed in each job title. Resource requirements A document containing a description of the resources needed from all three resource types for work package items from the WBS Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) A resource chart that defines the WBS identifier, the resource type needed for the WBS element, and the quantity of resources needed for the task. A WBS is displayed in chart form. Sole source A requirement that a product or service must be obtained from a single vendor in government work; also includes justification. Solicitation Obtaining bids and proposals from vendors in response to RFPs and similar procurement documents prepared during the solicitation process. Staff acquisition Obtaining human resources and assigning them to the project. Human resources may come from inside or outside the organization. Staffing management plan Document when and how human resources will be added to and released from the project team and what they will be working on while they are part of the team. Time and materials contract A type of contract where the buyer and the seller agree on a unit rate, such as the hourly rate for a programmer. The total cost is unknown and will depend on the amount of time spent to produce the product. Appraisal costs Costs of quality that covers the activities that keep the product defects from reaching the client, including inspection, testing, and formal quality audits. Benchmarking Compares previous similar activities to the current project activities to provide a standard to measure performance against. It's often used to derive ideas for quality improvements for the project. Bottom-up estimating Individually estimating each work package, all of which are then rolled up, or added together, to come up with a total project estimate. This is a very accurate means of estimating, provided the estimates at the work package level are accurate. Comprehensive project plan Integrates all planning data into one document that the project manager can use as a guidebook to oversee the project work during the Executing and Controlling phases. Contingency reserve An amount of money or time set aside and dedicated to the project to be used to cover unforeseen costs or time that was not identified as part of the planning process. Contract administration The process of monitoring vendor performance and ensuring all the requirements of the contract are met. Cost baseline The total approved, expected cost of the project created in the planning process. It's used as a comparison to actual project expenses throughout the remainder of the project. Cost budgeting Assigning cost estimates to activities and creating the cost baseline, which measures the performance of the project throughout the project's life. Cost estimating Developing an estimation of the cost of resources needed for each project activity. Cost of quality The cost of all of the work required to assure the project meets the quality standards. The three costs associated with the cost of quality are prevention costs, appraisal costs, and failure costs. Definitive estimate An estimating technique that assigns a cost estimate to each work package in the project WBS. This is the most accurate of the cost estimating techniques, which typically falls withing -5 percent and +10 percent of the actual budget. Deliverable An output or result that must be completed in order to consider the project complete or to move forward to the next phase of the project. Deliverables are tangible and can be measured and easily proved. Failure cost The cost if the product fails, including downtime, used support, rework, and scrapping the project. Flowchard A diagram that shows the logical steps that must be performed in order to accomplish an objective. It can also show how the individual elements of a system interrelate. Impact The consequences imposed if a risk event occurs on the project. Loaded rate A rate used for cost estimating of human resources that included a percentage of the salary to cover employee benefits, such as medical, disability, or pension plans. Metric A standard of measurement that specifically defines how something will be measured. Milestone A major deliverable of key event on the project used to measure project progress. Prevention costs The cost of activities performed to avoid quality problem [Show More]

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