Project Management
What is a RACI matrix?
A project manager is the person responsible for planning, executing, and closing a project, ensuring it meets objectives within constraints. They lead the team, manage stakeholders, and handle risks and changes.
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
Procurement Management plans, conducts, controls, and closes procurements of products, services, or results from outside the organization. It involves make-or-buy decisions and contract management.
RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed; it's a responsibility assignment matrix clarifying roles and responsibilities for project tasks to avoid confusion.
Project Management
What is Lean project management?
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into manageable sections called work packages. It serves as a basis for scheduling, costing, and risk analysis.
The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum processes, removes impediments, coaches the team on Agile practices, and ensures adherence to Scrum rules without being a traditional manager.
Lean focuses on maximizing value by eliminating waste (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects) through principles like value stream mapping, just-in-time delivery, and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
Project Management
What is PRINCE2?
PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) is a process-based methodology with seven principles, themes, and processes, emphasizing defined roles, stages, and business justification.
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
The Executing process group involves directing and managing project work, acquiring and developing the team, managing communications, stakeholder engagement, and procuring resources to deliver project outputs.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
Project Management
What are the triple constraints in project management?
The triple constraints, also known as the iron triangle, are scope , time , and cost . Changes to one constraint affect the others, and quality is often considered a fourth constraint.
Critical Chain Method focuses on resource constraints, using buffers (project, feeding, resource) to manage uncertainties and protect the critical chain.
Quality Management plans, manages, and controls quality to ensure project deliverables meet stakeholder requirements. It involves quality planning, assurance, and control using tools like Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams.
A risk register documents identified risks, their probability, impact, owners, responses (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and status for ongoing tracking.
Project Management
What is Agile project management?
Stakeholder analysis identifies stakeholders, assesses their power/interest/influence, and develops engagement strategies. Tools include power/interest grid and salience model.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) where the team delivers a potentially shippable product increment. It includes planning, daily scrums, review, and retrospective.
Project Management
What is Kanban?
Scrum is an Agile framework with roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Sprints are typically 2-4 weeks.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
CPI = EV / AC; it measures cost efficiency. CPI > 1 means under budget; CPI < 1 means over budget.
Kanban is a visual workflow management method using a board with columns (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done) to limit work-in-progress, improve flow, and enable continuous delivery.
Project Management
What is Scrum?
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a defined beginning and end. Operations are ongoing, repetitive activities that sustain the business, unlike projects which are unique and finite.
A project charter formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, defines high-level objectives, scope, stakeholders, and authority levels. It's issued by the sponsor.
Scrum is an Agile framework with roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Sprints are typically 2-4 weeks.
Project Management
What is Earned Value Management (EVM)?
PRINCE2 (Projects IN Controlled Environments) is a process-based methodology with seven principles, themes, and processes, emphasizing defined roles, stages, and business justification.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
PMBOK stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge, a guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) outlining standards, best practices, and guidelines for project management. The latest edition structures content around 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups.
EVM is a technique integrating scope, schedule, and cost to measure project performance. Key metrics include PV (planned value), EV (earned value), AC (actual cost), SPI (schedule performance index), and CPI (cost performance index).
Project Management
Explain change control.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) uses three time estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) for probabilistic scheduling, calculating expected duration as (O + 4M + P)/6.
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Change control is a formal process to review, evaluate, approve, or reject proposed changes to baselines like scope, schedule, or cost. It uses a Change Control Board (CCB).
Project Management
What is a baseline in project management?
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
A baseline is the approved version of a plan (scope, schedule, cost) used as a reference to measure performance. It can only be changed through formal control processes.
Quality Management plans, manages, and controls quality to ensure project deliverables meet stakeholder requirements. It involves quality planning, assurance, and control using tools like Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams.
A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into manageable sections called work packages. It serves as a basis for scheduling, costing, and risk analysis.
Project Management
What is a Sprint in Scrum?
Quality Management plans, manages, and controls quality to ensure project deliverables meet stakeholder requirements. It involves quality planning, assurance, and control using tools like Pareto charts and cause-and-effect diagrams.
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) where the team delivers a potentially shippable product increment. It includes planning, daily scrums, review, and retrospective.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
Project Management
What is project management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. It involves planning, organizing, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals within constraints like scope, time, and cost.
Cost Management plans, estimates, budgets, and controls costs to ensure the project is completed within the approved budget. It includes earned value management for performance measurement.
Slack, or float, is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. Total float is for the project end; free float is before affecting successors.
CPM identifies the longest sequence of dependent tasks (critical path) that determines the minimum project duration. Tasks on the critical path have zero float and must be completed on time.
Project Management
What is Cost Management?
Cost Management plans, estimates, budgets, and controls costs to ensure the project is completed within the approved budget. It includes earned value management for performance measurement.
A project charter formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, defines high-level objectives, scope, stakeholders, and authority levels. It's issued by the sponsor.
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
It involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating project progress and performance to meet objectives, including controlling changes, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks.
Project Management
What is a risk register?
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed; it's a responsibility assignment matrix clarifying roles and responsibilities for project tasks to avoid confusion.
A risk register documents identified risks, their probability, impact, owners, responses (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and status for ongoing tracking.
CPI = EV / AC; it measures cost efficiency. CPI > 1 means under budget; CPI < 1 means over budget.
Project Management
What is the Scope Management knowledge area?
Stakeholder analysis identifies stakeholders, assesses their power/interest/influence, and develops engagement strategies. Tools include power/interest grid and salience model.
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of scenarios using probability distributions for durations, costs, etc., to predict project outcomes like completion probability and risk exposure.
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
Project Management
What is the difference between a project and operations?
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a defined beginning and end. Operations are ongoing, repetitive activities that sustain the business, unlike projects which are unique and finite.
A project charter formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, defines high-level objectives, scope, stakeholders, and authority levels. It's issued by the sponsor.
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
Project Management
What happens in the Initiating process group?
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
Lean focuses on maximizing value by eliminating waste (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects) through principles like value stream mapping, just-in-time delivery, and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
In the Initiating process group, the project is authorized, and the project charter is created. High-level risks, milestones, and stakeholders are identified.
Common types include Fixed-Price (FP), Time and Materials (T&M), and Cost-Reimbursable (CR). FP suits well-defined scopes; CR for uncertain scopes.
Project Management
What is a Gantt chart?
A risk register documents identified risks, their probability, impact, owners, responses (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and status for ongoing tracking.
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
PMBOK stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge, a guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) outlining standards, best practices, and guidelines for project management. The latest edition structures content around 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups.
A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) where the team delivers a potentially shippable product increment. It includes planning, daily scrums, review, and retrospective.
Project Management
What does Risk Management entail?
The five process groups are Initiating , Planning , Executing , Monitoring and Controlling , and Closing . They represent the phases through which a project progresses iteratively.
Lessons learned are documented experiences, knowledge gained during the project (positive/negative), captured throughout and formally during closure to improve future projects.
Risk Management plans risk responses, identifies, analyzes, prioritizes risks, implements responses, and monitors them. Risks are uncertain events that could impact objectives positively or negatively.
Time Management, or Schedule Management, includes planning the schedule, defining activities, sequencing them, estimating durations, developing the schedule, and controlling it. Tools like CPM and Gantt charts are used.
Project Management
What are the four core values of the Agile Manifesto?
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) where the team delivers a potentially shippable product increment. It includes planning, daily scrums, review, and retrospective.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Project Management
What is the purpose of the Monitoring and Controlling process group?
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
It involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating project progress and performance to meet objectives, including controlling changes, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks.
Slack, or float, is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. Total float is for the project end; free float is before affecting successors.
CPI = EV / AC; it measures cost efficiency. CPI > 1 means under budget; CPI < 1 means over budget.
Project Management
What is Integration Management?
Story points estimate relative effort for user stories using Fibonacci-like scales (1,2,3,5,8...), considering complexity, risk, and effort, not hours.
Integration Management coordinates all project elements, including developing the project charter, management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, monitoring performance, and closing the project.
Lean focuses on maximizing value by eliminating waste (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects) through principles like value stream mapping, just-in-time delivery, and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum processes, removes impediments, coaches the team on Agile practices, and ensures adherence to Scrum rules without being a traditional manager.
Project Management
What is Stakeholder Management?
The triple constraints, also known as the iron triangle, are scope , time , and cost . Changes to one constraint affect the others, and quality is often considered a fourth constraint.
Change control is a formal process to review, evaluate, approve, or reject proposed changes to baselines like scope, schedule, or cost. It uses a Change Control Board (CCB).
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
Stakeholder Management identifies, analyzes, plans engagements, and manages stakeholders' needs, expectations, and influences. A stakeholder register and engagement assessment matrix are key tools.
Project Management
Who is a project manager?
A project manager is the person responsible for planning, executing, and closing a project, ensuring it meets objectives within constraints. They lead the team, manage stakeholders, and handle risks and changes.
Critical Chain Method focuses on resource constraints, using buffers (project, feeding, resource) to manage uncertainties and protect the critical chain.
EVM is a technique integrating scope, schedule, and cost to measure project performance. Key metrics include PV (planned value), EV (earned value), AC (actual cost), SPI (schedule performance index), and CPI (cost performance index).
A project delivers a unique outcome; a program coordinates related projects for benefits; a portfolio is a collection of projects/programs aligned to strategic objectives.
Project Management
What is the critical chain method?
SPI = EV / PV; it measures schedule efficiency. SPI > 1 means ahead of schedule; SPI < 1 means behind.
Critical Chain Method focuses on resource constraints, using buffers (project, feeding, resource) to manage uncertainties and protect the critical chain.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a defined beginning and end. Operations are ongoing, repetitive activities that sustain the business, unlike projects which are unique and finite.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Project Management
Explain stakeholder analysis.
A project delivers a unique outcome; a program coordinates related projects for benefits; a portfolio is a collection of projects/programs aligned to strategic objectives.
Integration Management coordinates all project elements, including developing the project charter, management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, monitoring performance, and closing the project.
Stakeholder analysis identifies stakeholders, assesses their power/interest/influence, and develops engagement strategies. Tools include power/interest grid and salience model.
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of scenarios using probability distributions for durations, costs, etc., to predict project outcomes like completion probability and risk exposure.
Project Management
What is Resource Management?
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
Integration Management coordinates all project elements, including developing the project charter, management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, monitoring performance, and closing the project.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Project Management
What are contract types in procurement?
A risk register documents identified risks, their probability, impact, owners, responses (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept), and status for ongoing tracking.
The Closing process group finalizes all activities, obtains stakeholder acceptance, releases resources, archives documents, and documents lessons learned to formally close the project.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) uses three time estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) for probabilistic scheduling, calculating expected duration as (O + 4M + P)/6.
Common types include Fixed-Price (FP), Time and Materials (T&M), and Cost-Reimbursable (CR). FP suits well-defined scopes; CR for uncertain scopes.
Project Management
What is the primary output of the Planning process group?
Change control is a formal process to review, evaluate, approve, or reject proposed changes to baselines like scope, schedule, or cost. It uses a Change Control Board (CCB).
A project manager is the person responsible for planning, executing, and closing a project, ensuring it meets objectives within constraints. They lead the team, manage stakeholders, and handle risks and changes.
The triple constraints, also known as the iron triangle, are scope , time , and cost . Changes to one constraint affect the others, and quality is often considered a fourth constraint.
The primary outputs include the project management plan, which encompasses subsidiary plans for scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholders.
Project Management
Differentiate project, program, and portfolio management.
A baseline is the approved version of a plan (scope, schedule, cost) used as a reference to measure performance. It can only be changed through formal control processes.
A project delivers a unique outcome; a program coordinates related projects for benefits; a portfolio is a collection of projects/programs aligned to strategic objectives.
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a defined beginning and end. Operations are ongoing, repetitive activities that sustain the business, unlike projects which are unique and finite.
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
Project Management
Describe Procurement Management.
Procurement Management plans, conducts, controls, and closes procurements of products, services, or results from outside the organization. It involves make-or-buy decisions and contract management.
SPI = EV / PV; it measures schedule efficiency. SPI > 1 means ahead of schedule; SPI < 1 means behind.
It involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating project progress and performance to meet objectives, including controlling changes, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks.
Lessons learned are documented experiences, knowledge gained during the project (positive/negative), captured throughout and formally during closure to improve future projects.
Project Management
What are lessons learned?
Lessons learned are documented experiences, knowledge gained during the project (positive/negative), captured throughout and formally during closure to improve future projects.
In the Initiating process group, the project is authorized, and the project charter is created. High-level risks, milestones, and stakeholders are identified.
Lean focuses on maximizing value by eliminating waste (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects) through principles like value stream mapping, just-in-time delivery, and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
CPM identifies the longest sequence of dependent tasks (critical path) that determines the minimum project duration. Tasks on the critical path have zero float and must be completed on time.
Project Management
What are story points in Agile?
Scrum is an Agile framework with roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Sprints are typically 2-4 weeks.
Story points estimate relative effort for user stories using Fibonacci-like scales (1,2,3,5,8...), considering complexity, risk, and effort, not hours.
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of scenarios using probability distributions for durations, costs, etc., to predict project outcomes like completion probability and risk exposure.
The primary outputs include the project management plan, which encompasses subsidiary plans for scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholders.
Project Management
What is a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
Integration Management coordinates all project elements, including developing the project charter, management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, monitoring performance, and closing the project.
A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into manageable sections called work packages. It serves as a basis for scheduling, costing, and risk analysis.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Project Management
What is the role of the Scrum Master?
Scrum is an Agile framework with roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Sprints are typically 2-4 weeks.
The Scrum Master facilitates Scrum processes, removes impediments, coaches the team on Agile practices, and ensures adherence to Scrum rules without being a traditional manager.
CPI = EV / AC; it measures cost efficiency. CPI > 1 means under budget; CPI < 1 means over budget.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
Project Management
What is Velocity in Scrum?
EVM is a technique integrating scope, schedule, and cost to measure project performance. Key metrics include PV (planned value), EV (earned value), AC (actual cost), SPI (schedule performance index), and CPI (cost performance index).
Story points estimate relative effort for user stories using Fibonacci-like scales (1,2,3,5,8...), considering complexity, risk, and effort, not hours.
Integration Management coordinates all project elements, including developing the project charter, management plan, directing work, managing knowledge, monitoring performance, and closing the project.
Velocity is the sum of story points completed per sprint, used to forecast future sprints and release planning. It helps teams improve predictability.
Project Management
What is PERT?
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) uses three time estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) for probabilistic scheduling, calculating expected duration as (O + 4M + P)/6.
They are: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.
A project manager is the person responsible for planning, executing, and closing a project, ensuring it meets objectives within constraints. They lead the team, manage stakeholders, and handle risks and changes.
Project Management
What is a project charter?
Lean focuses on maximizing value by eliminating waste (e.g., overproduction, waiting, defects) through principles like value stream mapping, just-in-time delivery, and continuous improvement (Kaizen).
A project charter formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, defines high-level objectives, scope, stakeholders, and authority levels. It's issued by the sponsor.
Stakeholder analysis identifies stakeholders, assesses their power/interest/influence, and develops engagement strategies. Tools include power/interest grid and salience model.
Scope creep is the uncontrolled expansion of project scope without adjustments to time, cost, and resources. It is managed through change control processes.
Project Management
What is slack or float in scheduling?
Slack, or float, is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. Total float is for the project end; free float is before affecting successors.
Scrum is an Agile framework with roles (Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team), events (Sprint, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Retrospective), and artifacts (Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Increment). Sprints are typically 2-4 weeks.
A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work into manageable sections called work packages. It serves as a basis for scheduling, costing, and risk analysis.
Story points estimate relative effort for user stories using Fibonacci-like scales (1,2,3,5,8...), considering complexity, risk, and effort, not hours.
Project Management
Define Schedule Performance Index (SPI).
SPI = EV / PV; it measures schedule efficiency. SPI > 1 means ahead of schedule; SPI < 1 means behind.
Agile is an iterative, flexible approach emphasizing collaboration, customer feedback, and delivering working software in short cycles called sprints. It values individuals, working software, and responding to change.
It involves tracking, reviewing, and regulating project progress and performance to meet objectives, including controlling changes, scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risks.
A project charter formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, defines high-level objectives, scope, stakeholders, and authority levels. It's issued by the sponsor.
Project Management
What are the five process groups in PMBOK?
The triple constraints, also known as the iron triangle, are scope , time , and cost . Changes to one constraint affect the others, and quality is often considered a fourth constraint.
A baseline is the approved version of a plan (scope, schedule, cost) used as a reference to measure performance. It can only be changed through formal control processes.
The five process groups are Initiating , Planning , Executing , Monitoring and Controlling , and Closing . They represent the phases through which a project progresses iteratively.
SPI = EV / PV; it measures schedule efficiency. SPI > 1 means ahead of schedule; SPI < 1 means behind.
Project Management
Who is the Product Owner in Scrum?
Slack, or float, is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project finish date. Total float is for the project end; free float is before affecting successors.
A Sprint is a time-boxed iteration (usually 2-4 weeks) where the team delivers a potentially shippable product increment. It includes planning, daily scrums, review, and retrospective.
The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog, prioritizes features based on value, accepts work, and represents stakeholders and customers.
The triple constraints, also known as the iron triangle, are scope , time , and cost . Changes to one constraint affect the others, and quality is often considered a fourth constraint.
Project Management
What is the Waterfall methodology?
Waterfall is a linear, sequential approach where phases like requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance are completed one after another. It's suitable for projects with fixed requirements.
Story points estimate relative effort for user stories using Fibonacci-like scales (1,2,3,5,8...), considering complexity, risk, and effort, not hours.
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
Project Management
What is PMBOK?
PMBOK stands for Project Management Body of Knowledge, a guide published by the Project Management Institute (PMI) outlining standards, best practices, and guidelines for project management. The latest edition structures content around 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups.
The five process groups are Initiating , Planning , Executing , Monitoring and Controlling , and Closing . They represent the phases through which a project progresses iteratively.
Risk Management plans risk responses, identifies, analyzes, prioritizes risks, implements responses, and monitors them. Risks are uncertain events that could impact objectives positively or negatively.
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates the project schedule, showing start and finish dates of tasks, dependencies, and milestones in a timeline format.
Project Management
Explain the Critical Path Method (CPM).
SPI = EV / PV; it measures schedule efficiency. SPI > 1 means ahead of schedule; SPI < 1 means behind.
CPM identifies the longest sequence of dependent tasks (critical path) that determines the minimum project duration. Tasks on the critical path have zero float and must be completed on time.
Scope Management involves planning, controlling what is and is not included in the project to prevent scope creep. Key processes include collecting requirements, defining scope, creating WBS, validating, and controlling scope.
The primary outputs include the project management plan, which encompasses subsidiary plans for scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholders.
Project Management
Explain Communications Management.
Waterfall is a linear, sequential approach where phases like requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance are completed one after another. It's suitable for projects with fixed requirements.
A project manager is the person responsible for planning, executing, and closing a project, ensuring it meets objectives within constraints. They lead the team, manage stakeholders, and handle risks and changes.
Resource Management identifies, acquires, develops, and manages project team and physical resources. It covers planning resource management, estimating resources, acquiring, developing, managing the team, and controlling resources.
Communications Management ensures timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and disposition of project information. It plans communications, manages them, and monitors effectiveness.