What is a Project?
What is the definition of a project?
A project is a temporary body of work, with a definite beginning and ending, undertaken to meet specific strategic goals and objectives in order to bring about beneficial change or added value to a company; a project produces a unique product, service, or result
What is the definition of Operational work?
Name two specific things that the project manager is responsible for
The manager is ultimately responsible for meeting the project objectives and for updating project plans as new information is received (remember "project elaboration"?). The manager is responsible for communications between all involved and, in general, making sure the project is delivered in budget, on schedule, with quality and within scope
PMI stands for what?
PMI stands for Project Management Institute
What is the purpose of Human resources?
ensures that people are used effectively to their best potential within a project
Projects make up almost _____ of the work that most organizations do (Fill in the Blank)
Half - 50 Percent
Submitting a monthly expense report is considered a ________. Because....
Operational Task - a regularly performed task to keep the business running normally.
What are three things that all projects are constrained by?
Scope
Time
Costs
What is a stakeholder? How involved are they in the project?
A stakeholder is the client / investor into your project
They want to be in communication and know updates on the project regularly
Define Procurement
involves managing the acquisition of materials, products, goods, and services for a project.
At the start of a project, cost and staffing levels are usually_______ ( Fill in the Blank)
Quite Low -
More resources are needed as project work is organized, prepared and carried out. As the project comes to a close, cost and staffing levels drop again
Producing a new prototype is an example of _______ because ...
A project because it is not a normal everyday task and will take different steps to complete
The project manager is involved in all tasks pertaining to the project- True or False?
True-
A project manager must gain acceptance and approval of the goods or services resulting at the end of the project from all stakeholders. Balancing stakeholders' expectations—keeping those expectations realistic and in line with the objectives of the project—is an important managerial responsibility.
As a project moves through each stage of the project life cycle, the project manager is involved in various activities.
When considering Risk Management for a project- what are three things that could go wrong during production/creation?
Going over Budget
Going over timeline
Not being able to get materials on time
etc
Why does the Scope section of a project matter?
Project scope helps to distinguish what is and is not involved in the project and controls what is allowed or removed as it is executed. Scope management establishes control factors, that can be used to address elements that result in changes during the lifecycle of the project.
How long does it take to "complete" a project?
It Varies! Depending on the project itself, budget, plan, location etc. A project can take hours, weeks, months or even years
Planning and releasing a new advertising campaign or your company is considered a ______ because...
Project- Not an everyday task. Has a defined start and end.
If there are no clear goals and objectives (or no real agreement among stakeholders) for a project, the likelihood of success is______ . Why?
Small- because the project is undefined. There are no clear goals so the employees working on the project will be confused and the stakeholders will have no idea what they are getting for a product
What is a Gantt Chart? and how+why are they used?
Gantt charts are the most common timelines used to track project schedules. They provide a graphical illustration of a schedule that helps to plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks in a project. A list of the activities is found on the left of the chart and the project time scale is along the top. Each activity is represented by a bar—the start, length and end of the project illustrated through the position and length of the bar graph.
Define Risk Management and Provide an example
Risk management involves managing all factors that place a project's success at risk
Ex- Going over Budget
Safety Concerns
Unable to get materials in time etc
What is the Golden Rule when it comes to Project Management?
The Golden Rule:
Bottom line? Two out of Three Ain't Bad!
Fast? Cheap? Good? A golden rule of project management is that the end result of a project can only exhibit "two out of three" of these qualities.
If a client wants a work product to be good and cheap, it won't be fast.
If a client wants cheap and fast end results, they won't be all that good.
If a client wants both fast and good deliverables, it is not going to be cheap!
Hiring new staff to work at the company is an example of ________ because...
Operational Task - But could also be a project depending on if those people are getting hired to complete a specific task over time or not
List at least 2 ways you can measure the success of any project
Schedule- does it meet deadlines?
Scope- Did we complete only the elements necessary for this project?
Budget- Did the project stay on budget?
Is the team satisfied with the results? Customers?
What is the quality of the work?
Define what a budget is and why is it important ?
Budget is a numeric assessment of the likely amount of the cost of the project; it includes project costs, resources, effort, and durations (linked to the timeline). A budget usually includes the expected cost of individual activities as well as the full project cost when the defined scope of work is completed.
Name all ten things that project management draws on
Human Resources
Scope
Communications
Procurement