Which type of analysis is used to determine the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance?
Answer(s): D
5.6.2.1 Variance AnalysisVariance analysis is a technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline and actual performance. Project performance measurements are used to assess the magnitude of variation from the original scope baseline. Important aspects of project scope control include determining the cause and degree of variance relative to the scope baseline (Section 5.4.3.1) and deciding whether corrective or preventive action is required.
A project’s purpose or justification, measurable project objectives and related success criteria, a summary milestone schedule, and a summary budget are all components of which document?
Answer(s): C
4.1.3.1 Project CharterThe project charter is the document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It documents the business needs, assumptions, constraints, the understanding of the customer’s needs and high-level requirements, and the new product, service, or result that it is intended to satisfy, such as:Project purpose or justification,Measurable project objectives and related success criteria, High-level requirements,Assumptions and constraints,High-level project description and boundaries, High-level risks,Summary milestone schedule, Summary budget, Stakeholder list,Project approval requirements (i.e., what constitutes project success, who decides the project is successful, and who signs off on the project),Assigned project manager, responsibility, and authority level, andName and authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project charter.Process: 4.1. Develop Project CharterDefinition: The process of developing a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is a well-defined project start and project boundaries, creation of a formal record of the project, and a direct way for senior management to formally accept and commit to the project.Inputs1. Project statement of work2. Business case3. Agreements4. Enterprise environmental factors5. Organizational process assetsTools & Techniques1. Expert judgment2. Facilitation techniquesOutputs1. Project charter
In the Define Activities process, the schedule management plan is used to:
6.1.3.1 Schedule Management PlanA component of the project management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. The schedule management plan may be formal or informal, highly detailed or broadly framed, based upon the needs of the project, and includes appropriate control thresholds. For example, the schedule management plan can establish the following:Project schedule model development. The scheduling methodology and the scheduling tool to be used in the development of the project schedule model are specified.Level of accuracy. The acceptable range used in determining realistic activity duration estimates is specified and may include an amount for contingencies.Units of measure. Each unit used in measurements (such as staff hours, staff days, or weeks for time measures, or meters, liters, tons, kilometers, or cubic yards for quantity measures) is defined for each of the resources.Organizational procedures links. The WBS (Section 5.4) provides the framework for the schedule management plan, allowing for consistency with the estimates and resulting schedules.Project schedule model maintenance. The process used to update the status and record progress of the project in the schedule model during the execution of the project is defined.Control thresholds. Variance thresholds for monitoring schedule performance may be specified to indicate an agreed-upon amount of variation to be allowed before some action needs to be taken. Thresholds are typically expressed as percentage deviations from the parameters established in the baseline plan.Rules of performance measurement. Earned value management (EVM) rules or other physical measurement rules of performance measurement are set. For example, the schedule management plan may specify:○○ Rules for establishing percent complete,○○ Control accounts at which management of progress and schedule will be measured,○○ Earned value measurement techniques (e.g., baselines, fixed-formula, percent complete, etc.) to be employed (for more specific information, refer to the Practice Standard for Earned Value Management) [9],○○ Schedule performance measurements such as schedule variance (SV) and schedule performance index (SPI) used to assess the magnitude of variation to the original schedule baseline.Reporting formats. The formats and frequency for the various schedule reports are defined.Process descriptions. Descriptions of each of the schedule management processes are documented.Process: 6.2 Define ActivitiesDefinition: The process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is to break down work packages into activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the project work.InputsSchedule management plan1. Scope baseline2. Enterprise environmental factors3. Organizational process assetsTools & Techniques1. Decomposition2. Rolling wave planning3. Expert judgmentOutputs1. Activity list2. Activity attributes3. Milestone list
A project team attempts to produce a deliverable and finds that they have neither the expertise nor the time to complete the deliverable in a timely manner. This issue could have been avoided if they had created and followed a:
12.1.3.1 Procurement Management PlanThe procurement management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how a project team will acquire goods and services from outside the performing organization. It describes how the procurement processes will be managed from developing procurement documents through contract closure. The procurement management plan can include guidance for:Types of contracts to be used; Risk management issues;Whether independent estimates will be used and whether they are needed as evaluation criteria;Those actions the project management team can take unilaterally, if the performing organization has a prescribed procurement, contracting, or purchasing department;Standardized procurement documents, if needed; Managing multiple suppliers;Coordinating procurement with other project aspects, such as scheduling and performance reporting; Any constraints and assumptions that could affect planned procurements;Handling the long lead times to purchase certain items from sellers and coordinating the extra time needed to procure these items with the development of the project schedule;Handling the make-or-buy decisions and linking them into the Estimate Activity Resources and Develop Schedule processesSetting the scheduled dates in each contract for the contract deliverables and coordinating with the schedule development and control processes;Identifying requirements for performance bonds or insurance contracts to mitigate some forms of project risk;Establishing the direction to be provided to the sellers on developing and maintaining a work breakdown structure (WBS);Establishing the form and format to be used for the procurement/contract statements of work; Identifying prequalified sellers, if any, to be used; andProcurement metrics to be used to manage contracts and evaluate sellers.A procurement management plan can be formal or informal, can be highly detailed or broadly framed, and is based upon the needs of each project.
A benefit of using virtual teams in the Acquire Project Team process is the reduction of the:
9.2.2.4 Virtual TeamsThe use of virtual teams creates new possibilities when acquiring project team members. Virtual teams can be defined as groups of people with a shared goal who fulfill their roles with little or no time spent meeting face to face. The availability of communication technology such as e-mail, audio conferencing, social media, web- based meetings and video conferencing has made virtual teams feasible. The virtual team model makes it possible to:Form teams of people from the same organization who live in widespread geographic areas;Add special expertise to a project team even though the expert is not in the same geographic area; Incorporate employees who work from home offices;Form teams of people who work different shifts, hours, or days; Include people with mobility limitations or disabilities; and Move forward with projects that would have been ignored due to travel expenses.There are some disadvantages related to virtual teams, such as possibility for misunderstandings, feeling of isolation, difficulties in sharing knowledge and experience between team members, and cost of appropriate technology. Communication planning becomes increasingly important in a virtual team environment. Additional time may be needed to set clear expectations, facilitate communications, develop protocols for resolving conflict, include people in decision making, understand cultural differences, and share credit in successes.
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