ARC cheat sheet

A project is a temporary endeavor producing a unique product, service, or result; a program is a group of related projects managed together for coordinated benefits.

Project life cycle phases (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/controlling, closing) are governance structures, not the same as the product life cycle.

A project manager authorizes and balances the triple constraint: scope, schedule, and cost, with quality and risk as mediating factors.

Program management focuses on benefit realization across projects; portfolio management selects and prioritizes the mix of programs and projects.

A PMO can be supportive (templates and coaching), controlling (compliance required), or directive (manages projects directly).

Organizational structures range from functional (PM has little authority) to projectized (PM has high authority); matrix structures split authority between PM and functional manager.

A deliverable is any unique verifiable product or capability produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

A stakeholder is any individual or group that can affect or be affected by the project; project success includes meeting stakeholder expectations, not only the baseline.

Scope baseline = project scope statement + work breakdown structure (WBS) + WBS dictionary; it is the approved reference for scope control.

The WBS decomposes deliverables into work packages; the 100% rule states the WBS captures all work in scope, no more and no less.

A work package is the lowest level of the WBS and can be estimated, scheduled, and assigned; a control account sits above it for cost/schedule tracking.

Requirements types include business, stakeholder, solution, functional, and nonfunctional; each should be documented, traceable, and testable.

Scope creep is uncontrolled expansion without approved change control; gold plating is adding features not requested.

A requirements traceability matrix links requirements to their source, design, and test cases to verify coverage.

Validate scope (formal acceptance of deliverables) differs from control quality (verifying correctness); validation precedes formal sign-off.

A change request affecting scope must pass integrated change control; approved changes update the scope baseline and are communicated to stakeholders.

Critical path is the longest duration path through the network and determines the shortest possible project duration; it has zero total float.

Total float = LS − ES = LF − EF; float is the amount a task can slip without delaying the project finish.

A predecessor is a task that must occur before another; four dependency types exist: finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish.

Leads advance a successor; lags delay a successor; both are applied to a dependency to reflect real constraints.

Schedule compression methods: crashing adds resources for cost; fast tracking overlaps phases and increases risk.

A milestone has zero duration and marks a significant event; it is not a work activity.

Resource leveling adjusts start/finish dates to resolve resource overallocation, often extending the schedule; resource smoothing adjusts within float without extending it.

A Gantt chart shows schedule bars over time; a network diagram shows logical dependencies and the critical path.

Rolling wave planning elaborates near-term work in detail while far-term work stays at a higher level.

Cost baseline = approved time-phased budget excluding management reserve; it is the reference for measuring cost performance.

Planned value (PV) = budgeted cost of work scheduled; earned value (EV) = budgeted cost of work performed; actual cost (AC) = actual cost incurred.

Cost variance CV = EV − AC (positive is favorable); schedule variance SV = EV − PV (positive is ahead of schedule).

Cost performance index CPI = EV / AC; schedule performance index SPI = EV / PV; values above 1.0 are favorable.

Estimate at completion EAC = BAC / CPI (typical variance) or AC + (BAC − EV) (atypical variance); ETC = EAC − AC.

Variance at completion VAC = BAC − EAC; a negative VAC indicates projected overrun.

Bottom-up estimating aggregates detailed work-package estimates; analogous estimating uses historical data from similar projects; parametric uses a unit rate.

Contingency reserve covers identified risks; management reserve covers unknown-unknowns and is held above the cost baseline.

Sunk costs are excluded from forward-looking decisions; only future costs and benefits are relevant to go/no-go choices.

Risk is an uncertain event that may affect objectives; an issue is a risk that has occurred and requires active management.

Risk management process: plan, identify, perform qualitative analysis, perform quantitative analysis, plan responses, implement responses, monitor.

Qualitative analysis ranks risks by probability and impact; a probability-impact matrix assigns a risk score.

Expected monetary value EMV = probability × impact; used to compare risk exposure and set contingency reserves.

Positive-risk (opportunity) strategies: exploit, enhance, share, accept; negative-risk (threat) strategies: avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept, escalate.

Risk register records risk ID, description, probability, impact, score, owner, response, and status.

A risk owner is accountable for monitoring a risk and executing its response; a risk response owner implements the specific action.

Residual risk remains after a response; secondary risk is a new risk created by a response.

Decision tree analysis compares options using EMV across branches to select the lowest expected cost or highest expected value.

Stakeholder power/interest grid classifies stakeholders by authority and concern to tailor engagement strategy.

Stakeholder engagement levels: unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading; the plan defines current and desired levels.

Communication models include sender, encoding, message, medium, decoding, receiver, and feedback; noise disrupts the message.

Communication methods: interactive (meetings), push (email, reports), pull (portals, repositories); choice depends on urgency and audience.

Communication channels formula: n(n − 1)/2, where n is the number of stakeholders.

The communications management plan defines who receives what information, in what format, frequency, and via which channel.

Formal written communication suits contracts and approvals; informal verbal suits team coordination and rapid feedback.

Active listening, feedback, and confirmation of understanding reduce miscommunication; cross-cultural awareness affects encoding and decoding.

Quality management: plan quality, manage quality (assurance), control quality (inspection and testing of deliverables).

Prevention over inspection: cost of prevention and appraisal (conformance) is lower than cost of internal/external failure (nonconformance).

Quality is conformance to requirements and fitness for use; grade is a category of technical characteristics and differs from quality.

Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram identifies root causes; Pareto chart prioritizes the vital few causes by frequency.

Control charts track process variation; points outside control limits or nonrandom patterns signal an out-of-control process.

Statistical sampling inspects a subset to draw conclusions about a population; larger samples increase confidence.

Performance monitoring uses KPIs, earned value metrics, and audits to compare actual performance against baselines and trigger corrective action.

A quality audit is a structured independent review to verify processes comply with the quality management plan.

The seven basic quality tools: cause-and-effect, flowchart, check sheet, Pareto, histogram, control chart, scatter diagram.

Core professional ethics: responsibility, respect, fairness, and honesty; these govern conduct toward stakeholders and the public.

Governance defines the framework of authority, decision rights, and oversight; it is distinct from day-to-day project management.

A code of conduct requires disclosure of conflicts of interest and avoidance of gifts or benefits that could influence decisions.

Ethical decisions must consider legal requirements, organizational policy, and the public interest; when in doubt, escalate through proper channels.

Whistleblowing is escalating illegal or unethical conduct to appropriate authorities after internal channels fail.

Governance boards or steering committees approve baselines, major changes, and stage-gate decisions.

Accurate reporting of project status is an ethical obligation; misrepresenting progress or cost violates honesty and integrity.

Professional responsibility includes maintaining competence, respecting confidentiality, and following applicable laws and regulations.

Sustainability and stewardship require balancing economic, social, and environmental impacts in project decisions.