Flashcards: Chapter 1 Introduction
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Created by:
gaynell on January 10, 2011
Subjects:
Description:
Key terms for introduction into Project Management
Groups:
Antech PMP Study Group, PMP Study Group
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Project | A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result; terminates when successful or when no longer needed; may involve repetitive elements |
| Project Management | The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements; meeting requirements; process groups; constraints - scope, quality, schedule, cost, resources, risk; + Ops - performing on-going duties to produce products or services; - intersect: closeout phase, new prods or srvcs, new processes, termination of prods or srvcs |
| Progressive Elaboration - (Technique) | Continuously improving and detailing a plan as more detailed and specific information and more accurate estimates become available as the project progresses, and thereby producing more accurate and complete plans that result from the successive iterations of the planning process. |
| Portfolio | A collection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management of that work to meet strategic business objectives. The projects or programs of the portfolio may not necessarily be interdependent or directly related. |
| Portfolio Management - (Technique) | The centralized management of one or more portfolios, which includes identifying, prioritizing, authorizing, managing, and controlling projects, programs, and other related work, to achieve specific strategic business objectives. |
| Program Management | The centralized coordinated management of a program to achieve the program's strategic objectives and benefits; + proj, portfolio - all stem from the goal of meeting strategic objectives; linking & interrelationships; perspectives of sceop, change, planning, management, success & monitoring |
| Program | A group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. They may include elements of related work outside of the scope of the discrete projects in the program. |
| Projects and Strategic Planning | Projects are often utilized as a means of achieving an organization's strategic plan. Projects are typically authorized as a result of one or more of the following strategic considerations: 1. Market Demand 2. Strategic Opportunity/business need 3. Customer request 4. Technological advance 5. Legal Requirements |
| Project Management Office | An organizational body or entity assigned various responsibilities related to the centralized and coordinated management of those projects under its domain. The responsibilities can range from providing project management support functions to actually being responsible for the direct management of a project. |
| Project Management Office primary function | Support PMs in a variety of ways which may include but are not limited to: 1. Managing shared resources across all projects administered by the PMO. 2. Identifying and developing project management methodology, best practices, and standards. 3. Coaching, mentoring, training, and oversight. 4. Monitoring compliance with project management standards, policies, procedures, and templates via project audits. 5. Developing & managing project policies, procedures, templates, and other shared documentation (OPA's) 6. Coordinating communication across projects |
| Differences between role of PM and PMO | 1. PM focuses on the specific project objectives, PMO manages major scope changes which may be seen as potential opportunies to better achieve business objectives. 2. PM controls the assigned project resources to best meet project objectives while the PMO optimizes the use of shared organizational resources across all projects. 3. PM manages the constraints of individual projects while the PMO manages the methodologies, standards, and overall risk opportunity & interdependencies among projects at the enterprise level. |
| Operations | Organizational function performing the ongoing execution of activities that produce the same product or provide a repetitive service. |
| Projects intersect with operations | 1. Closeout phase. 2. When developing a new product, upgrading a product, or expanding outputs. 3. Improvement of operations or the product development process. 4. Until the divestment of the operations at the end of the product life cycle. |
| Project Manager | The person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives; an effective proj mgr must acquire 3 dimensions of pm contigency: knowledge of pm, performance: what they accomplish, personal - how the proj mgr behaves; includes personality, leadership, attitues |
| Functional Manager | Someone with management authority over an organizational unit within a functional organization. The manager of any group that actually makes a product or performs a service. Sometimes called a line manager. |
| Knowledge | This refers to what the project managers knows about project management. |
| Performance | This refers to what the project manager is able to do or accomplish while applying their project management knowledge. |
| Personal | This refers to how the project manager behaves when performing the project or related activity. Personal effectiveness encompasses attitudes, core personality characteristics and leadership - the ability to guide the project team while achieving project objectives and balancing the project constraints. |
| PMBOK | The standard for managing most projects most of the time across many types of industries. This standard describes the project management processes, tools, and techniques used to manage project toward a successful outcome; will apply to most projs most of the time |
| Enterprise Environmental Factors | Refer to both internal and external factors that surround or influence a project's success. They may also enhance or constrain project management options and may have a positive or negative influence on the outcome. Examples: Organizational culture, structure, and processes; Government or industry standards; Infrastructure; Existing human resources; Personnel administrations; Marketplace conditions |
| Good Practice of PMBOK | There is a general agreement that the application of these skills, tools, and techniques can enhance the chances of success over a wide range of projects. |
| Application Area | A category of projects that have a common components significant in such projects but are not needed or present in all projects. Usually defined in terms of either the product (similar technologies or production method) or the type of customer or industry sector. |
| Project Life Cycle | Provides a basic framework for managing the proj; generally sequential, perhaps overlapping or iterative proj phases; determined by mgmt & ctl needs; determined by org, industry and/or tech; costing & staffing generally a curve that peaks towards the end of the phase; stakeholder influence, risk and uncertainty high initially, decreases as proj progresses; cost of changes increases as project progresses |