Exam II Review: Burns, Schwalbe, and MS Project

1. Review for exam II October 20, 2015

2. Format for exam • 70 multiple choice • 3 sets of discussion questions

3. Bring…/Don’t Bring… • Bring… • Scantron sheet • Pencil, eraser, calculator • Don’t Bring… • Paper • PDAs, Pocket PC’s, tablets, • Programmable, high memory storage devices

4. We Covered: • Burns Chs 4, 7, 8 • Schwalbe, Chs 5-7

5. We also covered • Probabilistic PERT (formulas will be given to you) • Each task (activity) requires three time estimates – Optimistic, Most likely, Pessimistic • Crashing

6. Ch 5—scope management Ch 6—time management Ch 7—cost management Schwalbe, Chs. 5-7

7. For Schwalbe material • Skim the chapter • Look for definitions and concepts • Work the multiple choice at the end • Read the chapter Summary

8. Discussion Exercises (Two or Three) • Be able to draw a network chart and a Gantt chart from a table of tasks • Be able to crash a network based on information provided in a table • Discuss the home ground for predictive methodologies of which the waterfall model is exemplary • Discuss the homme ground for adaptive methodologies of which scrum is examplary

9. Relative to MS Project, Know • How to subordinate (indent) tasks • How how to link tasks • What the default arrangement is between a pair of linked tasks • How to add resources • How to insert cost and WBS columns • Why begin with a PROJECT summary task • Whether to start with task manually or automatically scheduled

10. Further, relative to MS Project • Know how duration and costs are determined for summary tasks—does the user enter them?? • Does MS project understand the WBS even though it will not draw it? • How does MS Project determine overall project duration and cost—top down or bottom up?

11. In MS Project…. • How is a summary task distinguished from an ordinary task? • What does a milestone look like? • How are milestones entered into MS Project • In what view are resources named and hourly rates determined? • Resource sheet • How are fixed costs entered? • In the cost table

12. In MS Project…. • In what view are we able to track and monitor the overall project? • tracking Gantt • What must we do before we can begin to enter tracking data? • Save project as a baseline

13. Parkinson’s Law • What is it?? • The time required to complete a task will fill up the time allotted for it, including any slack time!! • Why is this?

14. The Generic Process Tools and Techniques Outputs Inputs Process

15. Almost all knowledge areas have a ……… • Planning process--it is the first such process within any knowledge area • Controlling process—it is the last such process within any knowledge area

16. Estimating Processes • Occur within what process group? • Occur within what two knowledge areas? • Involve estimating what three ‘things’? • Analogous estimating amounts to? • Is it more costly to over or under estimate? • Should persons inexperienced at estimated be used to estimate?

17. Project Scope Management Processes • Plan scope: determining how the project’s scope and requirements will be managed • Collect requirements: defining and documenting the features and functions of the products produced during the project as well as the processes used for creating them • Define scope:reviewing the project charter, requirements documents, and organizational process assets to create a scope statement • Create the WBS:subdividing the major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components • Validate scope: formalizing acceptance of the project deliverables • Control scope: controlling changes to project scope throughout the life of the project Information Technology Project Management, Seventh Edition

18. Six Scope Management Processes • Planning • Plan Scope Management • Collect Requirements • Define Scope • Create WBS • Monitoring and Controlling • Validate Scope • Control Scope

19. Plan Scope Management Process Tools and Techniques Expert Judgment Meetings Plan Scope Management Inputs Outputs Project Management Plan Project Charter Enterprise Environmental Factors Organizational Process Assets Scope Management Plan Requirements Management Plan Project Management Plan Updated

20. Project Time Management Processes • Plan schedule management: determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule • Define activities: identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables • Sequencing activities: identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities • Estimate activity resources: estimating how many resources a project team should use to perform project activities • Estimate activity durations: estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities • Develop the schedule: analyzing activity sequences, activity resource estimates, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule • Control the schedule: controlling and managing changes to the project schedule

21. Plan Schedule Management Process Tools and Techniques Expert Judgment Analytical techniques Meetings Plan Schedule Management Inputs Outputs Project Management Plan Project Charter Enterprise Environmental Factors Organizational Process Assets Schedule Management Plan

22. Inputs • Project Management Plan, PMP • Project Charter • Enterprise Environmental Factors, EEF • Organizational Process Assets, OPA • For planning processes, these inputs almost always appear, especially the one’s in red When was the PMP (Project Management Plan) first addressed?

23. Name two competitive scheduling Techniques • CPM – Critical Path Method • A deterministic (not probabilistic) method • Activity on node network • Widely used in commercial PM software • PERT– Program Evaluation & Review Technique • Can address probability questions to it • Activity-on-arrow network

24. Which of these charts would you do first? Second? • Work Break Down Structure chart • Network chart • Gantt Chart • From which of these charts can we determine a list of tasks?

25. What are the processes that make up the cost management knowledge area? • Plan Cost Management • Estimate Costs • Determine Budget • Control Costs

26. Project Cost Management Processes • Plan cost management: determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling project cost. • Estimate costs:developing an approximation or estimate of the costs of the resources needed to complete a project • Determine the budget:allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items to establish a baseline for measuring performance • Control costs:controlling changes to the project budget Information Technology Project Management, Seventh Edition

27. Know the types of costs • Direct • Indirect • Sunk • Tangible costs or tangible benefits • Intangible costs or intangible benefits • Can benefits be measured in $??? • Fixed costs • Hourly costs

28. Know the three types of cost estimates • Rough order of magnitude—five years out • Budgetary--18-24 months out • Definitive—immediately prior • For which of these do we typically use analogous or top-down estimation? • For which of these do we typically do bottom-up estimation working from a WBS?

29. When estimating, name some development tasks that we frequently forget… • An install program • The conversion of data to work within the new system—a conversion utility • A help system, sometimes context sensitive • Glue code required to get source code from an outside source to work within our system • Interfaces with external systems

30. Reserves: What are they? • Contingency reserves allow for situations that are known to be unknown • About 10% of all other costs • Management reserves allow for unknown unknown situations • Again about 10% of all other costs including contingency reserves

31. What is the name of the technique we use to track, monitor and control schedule and costs?? • Earned Value Management

32. What is the Purpose of the Project Plan? • To guide Execution • To enable monitoring an tracking of Execution

33. The Project Team • Ideally, the PM should become involved at what point in a project? • What about the other project team members? • Which is easier to develop? Skills or competencies? • What have many organizations done about this? • Create a learning laboratory for wanna be project managers • Use a hierarchy of job classifications for aspiring project managers

34. Team Development and Effectiveness • Name the five states of team development according to B.W. Tuckman • Effective project teams have what characteristics? • Next slide • Barriers to team effectiveness include what? • Next slide

35. Characteristics of effective project teams • A clear understanding of the project objective • Clear expectations of each person’s role and responsibilities • A results Orientation • A High Degree of Cooperation and Collaboration • A High Level of Trust

36. Unclear goals Unclear definition of Roles and Responsibilities Lack of project structure Lack of Commitment Poor Communication Poor Leadership Turnover of project team members Dysfunctional behavior Barriers to team effectiveness are…

37. That’s pretty much all, Folks??