People & Teams
Maslow's fourth tier — the need for status, recognition, and achievement.
Esteem Needs
This Agile ceremony produces a potentially shippable product increment.
Sprint Review / End of Sprint (the sprint itself produces it; review demonstrates it)
If SV is positive, the project is this.
Ahead of Schedule
A PM discovers that team members have been adding undocumented features. This is an example of:
Scope Creep
A PMO that provides templates, tools, and governance standards to all project managers is an example of:
OPA (Organizational Process Asset)
A PM who has no formal authority but is highly respected for their technical background has this power.
Expert Power (or Referent Power if based on personality)
A team using Kanban decides to limit their WIP to 3 items per person. What benefit does this create?
Reduces bottlenecks and improves flow / reduces multitasking
Variance at Completion (VAC) = BAC minus this.
EAC (Estimate at Completion)
A change request has been approved. The next step is to update this to reflect the approved change.
Project Management Plan / Baselines (scope, schedule, cost baseline)
A PM is told the organization uses a weak matrix structure. What challenge should the PM anticipate?
Difficulty getting resources; functional managers control team members; PM has limited authority
In Tuckman's Performing stage, the team operates with high autonomy. What is the PM's best leadership style here?
Delegating / Laissez-faire — let the team self-manage
In a hybrid project, agile methods are used for 'how' work is done. Predictive methods control this.
What is delivered, when, and at what cost — the overall plan and governance
A project has BAC = $100,000, EV = $70,000, and AC = $80,000. What is the CV?
CV = EV – AC = $70,000 – $80,000 = -$10,000 (over budget)
A risk has been accepted. What should the PM document for an accepted risk that could still occur?
Contingency plan / Contingency reserve
A company's culture of innovation and risk tolerance is an example of which factor?
EEF (Enterprise Environmental Factor) — internal culture
Herzberg would say giving an employee a bonus for good work is a hygiene factor, NOT a motivator. What should the PM do instead?
Provide recognition, meaningful work, and growth opportunities
Name two of the twelve Agile principles.
Any two of the 12 — e.g., deliver working software frequently; welcome changing requirements; build projects around motivated individuals; face-to-face communication; sustainable pace; technical excellence; simplicity; self-organizing teams; reflect and adjust; early and continuous delivery; business-developer collaboration
ETC stands for this — the expected cost to complete the remaining work.
Estimate to Complete
A vendor delivers a product that passes QC inspection but was built using an unapproved process. What was missing?
Quality Assurance (QA) — the process was not followed
A project team has completed the project. According to OPA best practice, what should they produce before closing?
Lessons Learned document / Final lessons learned register
A newly formed cross-functional team is in Forming. What should the PM focus on?
Setting clear expectations, roles, goals, and building psychological safety
Why might a PM choose a hybrid approach over pure Agile for a regulated industry project?
Regulatory compliance often requires documentation, fixed deliverables, and auditable milestones that pure Agile may not provide
A PM wants to know if the remaining work can be completed within the remaining budget. They would calculate this index.
TCPI (To-Complete Performance Index)
A PM is reviewing the WBS and notices a deliverable is missing. What process is the PM likely performing?
Scope verification / Scope definition or WBS creation (validate scope or plan scope management)
A PM is initiating a new project. They find a lessons learned register from a similar past project. How should they use it?
Review it to identify risks, processes, and approaches that worked or failed — inform planning decisions