Questions and Answers of Project Management

Team decision-making exercise ,see Appendix 1 Lost at Sea.Appendix 1.Your yacht is sinking after hitting a whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You onlyhave time to salvage fifteen items of
Look at the Katzenbach and Smith table and compare it with that developed by Jennifer Henderson. Can you find any similarities and clear differences between teams and groups and relate this to your
Think of a group or team you have been involved with, possibly in the workplace, in a sports team or as a member of a club. For each of your experiences, do you think it was a team or a group? What
Consider the examples of groupthink explained in this chapter and discuss how they can relate to situations you have experienced on your projects.
Examine Belbin’s team roles and select which role you consider is most applicable to your own style when working on a project. This might be your primary role.
If you have difficulty selecting only one style, you may have a dual preferred role. Think about how a secondary role might interrelate with your primary role. What can you identify from the
Think about other members of your team. What roles do you think they adopt when working on a project? Can you identify any roles that are not represented in your team or any roles that might
Consider a project you are familiar with and discuss how and when a team charter was developed.
The project team passes through a number of development phases. Quantify these changes as an individual’s attitude, the team’s attitude and the project manager’s leadership style.
Following on from question 1, discuss how the team’s performance changes as it progresses through the development phases.Question 1Consider a project you are familiar with and discuss how and when
The exercises are structured in line with the four levels of team building.1. Level One: Outline how you would set up a level one team-building event to enable the team members to get to know each
Select one important learning point you have identified in this book. Design for yourself a coaching program that will help you to develop your learning about this subject.
Think about the senior people in your organization. Who do you think would make a suitable mentor to help your development? How could you approach this senior person to ask them to be your mentor?
One of your project team has missed an important meeting with a client. How would you give them feedback to ensure a positive response?
Give examples of your projects where you have used the three negotiating strategies; win–lose, win–win and lose–lose.
Discuss how you have used collaboration to negotiate a better deal for resources from the functional managers.
Discuss how you have used negotiation as part of the decision-making process to converge on an optimal decision that has collective support.
Discuss how your commitment and your team members’ commitment to the project can vary during the project.
Identify Herzberg’s motivation factors and discuss how they relate to you.
Do you have any experience of delegating work or having work delegated to you? How effective was this delegation experience? Was the work delegated effectively, or not?What did you learn from your
Convert these loose criteria into SMART objectives. You can insert your own data, such as deadlines, referenced documents and other information, to enhance the ‘smartness’ of the objective:a. To
Draw up a lines of communication document for your project, determining who receives what and when.
Almost every aspect of your project requires some form of communication. Identify areas where information was misunderstood and the consequences for your projects.
How do you think the Victim role in the Drama Triangle maps on to the TA Child ego state modes?
Reflective exercise: Think about a situation where you have had experience of conflict.How do you think the various roles were played out? What do you think was the reason for the conflict? Did the
Explain how you solve problems during the implementation of your projects. Does this operate as a formal approach and/or use specific supportive techniques?
Explain how you generate creative ideas and develop innovative solutions to your problems.
Explain how you use a review and audit process to capture and act upon lessons learnt from previous problem-solving activities.
Which of the following is not part of the definition of a project?A. Repetitive activitiesB. ConstraintsC. Consumption of resourcesD. A well-defined objective
The executives at Levon Corporation watched as their revenue stream diminished and refused to listen to their own employees who were arguing that project management implementation was necessary for
Vince had been a “morning person” ever since graduating from college. He enjoyed getting up early. He knew his own energy cycle and the fact that he was obviously more productive in the morning
On November 15, 2008, the Department of Energy Resources awarded Telestar a $475,000 contract for the developing and testing of two waste treatment plants. Telestar had spent the better part of the
Two executives in this company each funded a “pet” project that had little chance of success. Despite repeated requests by the project managers to cancel the projects, the sponsors decided to
In October 2013 Franklin Electronics won an 18-month labor-intensive product development contract awarded by Spokane Industries. The award was a cost reimbursable contract with a cost target of $2.66
Barbara just received the good news: She was assigned as the project manager for a project that her company won as part of competitive bidding. Whenever a request for proposal (RFP) comes into
If BAC = $12,000 and CPI = 1.2, then the variance at completion is:A. –$2,000B. +2,000C. –$3,000D. +$3000
If BAC = $12,000 and CPI = 0.8, then the variance at completion is:A. –$3,000B. +$2,000C. –$3,000D. $3,000
Your manufacturing team informs you that they have found a way to increase the size of the manufacturing run from 10,000 to 18,000 units in increments of 2000 units. However, the setup cost will be
In 1946, shortly after the end of World War II, Cooper Manufacturing Company was created. The company manufactured small appliances for the home. By 2010, Cooper Manufacturing had more than thirty
A project sponsor forces the project management to include a management reserve in the cost of a project. However, the project sponsor intends to use the management reserve for his own “pet”
Kemko Manufacturing was a fifty-year-old company that had a reputation for the manufacturing of high-quality household appliances. Kemko’s growth was rapid during the 1990s. The company grew by
Explain what is meant by the project manager having credibility.
Contrast pure project organizations, functional project organizations, and matrix project organizations
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a matrix project organization?
What is the project management office (PMO) and what purpose does it serve?
What are the important characteristics of project team members?
What is the primary role of a project manager? How are the primary roles related to one another?
Why is it important for the project manager to adopt the systems approach?
What is a virtual project?
What criterion is used to determine when to close an Agile Project?
What is the release sprint?
What is the difference between being “responsible” and “accountable”?
What are the three main measures of success for any project?
In trying to decide when to engage the users of a project’s deliverables, what factors does the project owner need to consider?
Why is the implementation process so important in the project closure stage? Won’t the users just use the new system anyway?
As a project owner, what should you caution top management about concerning the resulting productivity from the project?
What information should be included in a project audit?
What are the main duties of the closure manager?
What are the types of project closure?
What issues should be addressed in the project final report?
Contrast project audits with financial audits.
What are the typical steps in a project audit?
What are the measurement challenges associated with using a multivariate model such as a scoring model?
What are some of the commonly used project evaluation criteria?
If a project manager is looking for revenue for a value-added scope change, the project manager's first choice would be:A. Management reserveB. Customer-funded scope changeC. Undistributed budgetD.
The most accurate estimates are:A. Parametric estimatesB. Quick-and-dirty estimatesC. Analogy estimatesD. Engineering estimates
Which of the following is considered to be a bottom-up estimate rather than a top-down estimate?A. Parametric estimatesB. Analogy estimatesC. Engineering estimatesD. None of the above
Which of the following would be considered a cost-estimating relationship (CER)?A. Mathematical equations based on regression analysisB. Learning curvesC. Cost–cost or cost–quantity
If a worker earns $30 per hour in salary but the project is charged $75 per hour for each hour the individual works, then the overhead rate is:A. 100%B. 150%C. 250%D. None of the above
Information supplied to a customer to support the financial data provided in a proposal is commonly called:A. Backup dataB. Engineering support dataC. Labor justification estimatesD. Legal rights
Estimating pitfalls can result from:A. Poorly defined statement of workB. Failure to account for risks in the estimatesC. Using the wrong estimating techniquesD. All of the above
The source of many estimating risks is:A. Poorly defined requirementsB. An inexperienced project managerC. Lack of management support during estimatingD. All of the above
A project where the scope evolves as the work takes place is called either progressive planning or:A. Synchronous planningB. Continuous planningC. Rolling wave planningD. Continuous re estimation
The calculation of the total cost of a product, from R&D to operational support and disposal, is called:A. Birth-to-death costingB. Life-cycle costingC. Summary costingD. Depreciation costing
The award of the Scott contract on January 3, 2010, left Park Industries elated. The Scott Project, if managed correctly, offered tremendous opportunities for follow-on work over the next several
In earned value measurement, earned value is represented by:A. BCWSB. BCWPC. ACWPD. None of the above
If BCWS = 1000, BCWP = 1200, and ACWP = 1300, the project is:A. Ahead of schedule and under budgetB. Ahead of schedule and over budgetC. Behind schedule and over budgetD. Behind schedule and under
If BAC = $20,000 and the project is 40 percent complete, what is the earned value?A. $5000B. $8000C. $20,000D. It cannot be determined.
If BAC = $12,000 and CPI = 1.2, what is the variance at completion?A. –$2000B. +$2000C. –$3000D. +$3000
If BAC = $12,000 and CPI = 0.8, what is the variance at completion?A. –$2000B. +$2000C. –$3000D. +$3000
If BAC for a work package is $10,000 and BCWP = $4,000, then the work package is:A. 40 percent completeB. 80 percent completeC. 100 percent completeD. 120 percent complete
If CPI = 1.1 and SPI = 0.95, then the trend for the project is:A. Running over budget but ahead of scheduleB. Running over budget and behind scheduleC. Running under budget and ahead of scheduleD.
Which document describes a work package, identifies the cost centers allowed to charge against this work package, and establishes the charge number for this work package?A. Code of accountsB. Work
Unknown problems such as escalation factors are often budgeted for using the:A. Project manager's charge numberB. Project sponsor's charge numberC. Management reserveD. Configuration management cost
EAC, ETC, SPI, and CPI most often appear in which type of report?A. PerformanceB. StatusC. ForecastD. Exception
If BAC = $24,000, BCWP = 12,000, ACWP = $10,000, and CPI = 1.2, then the cost that remains to finish the project is:A. $10,000B. $12,000C. $14,000D. Cannot be determined
There are several purposes for the 50–50 rule, but the primary purpose of the 50–50 rule is to calculate:A. BCWSB. BCWPC. ACWPD. BAC
When a project is completed, which of the following must be true?A. BAC = ACWPB. ACWP = BCWPC. SV = 0D. BAC = ETC
In March CV = –$20,000, and in April CV = –$30,000. In order to determine whether the situation has really deteriorated because of a larger unfavorable cost variance, we would need to
A project was originally scheduled for 20 months. If CPI is 1.25, what is the new schedule date?A. 16 monthsB. 20 monthsC. 25 monthsD. It cannot be determined
The cost or financial baseline of a project is composed of:A. Distributed budget onlyB. Distributed and undistributed budgets onlyC. Distributed budget, undistributed budget, and the management
In the future, we must better understand how to:A. Identify metricsB. Measure metricsC. Report metricsD. All of the above
What are the differences between a traditional metric and a KPI?
Metrics must be established for those activities that:A. Are the most difficult to manageB. Are the most difficult to measureC. Are the most difficult to reportD. Have a direct bearing on the success
Is there a standard way that metric information will be reported?
Completing a project within the triple constraint is not necessarily success if the stakeholders cannot recognize the value at the completion of the project.A. TrueB. False
What are the requirements for a metric to exist?
Metrics are designed to:A. Keep stakeholders informedB. Portray a clear and truthful representation of the projectC. Provide information for informed decision-makingD. All of the above
What causes a lack of support for the use of metrics?
In the early years of project management, how many core metrics were looked at on each project other than time and cost?A. NoneB. 2C. 3D. 5

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