CAPM flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Project

A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a defined start and end, distinct from ongoing operations.

Project charter

Document issued by the sponsor that formally authorizes the project, names the project manager, and states high-level scope, objectives, budget, and risks.

Project management office

Organizational unit that standardizes project governance; types are supportive (low control), controlling (moderate control), and directive (manages projects directly with high control).

Functional organization

Structure grouped by specialty where the project manager has little authority, staff report to one functional manager, and coordination across departments happens through those managers.

Tuckman ladder

Model of team development with five stages - forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning - where productivity peaks at performing and the team disbands at adjourning.

Stakeholder register

Document recording identified stakeholders with their roles, contact information, requirements, expectations, influence, and potential impact, used to plan how to engage each.

Triple constraint

Interrelated constraints of scope, schedule, and cost (with quality) that must be balanced; changing one typically requires adjusting at least one of the others.

Conflict resolution methods

Five approaches: collaborate/problem-solve and compromise yield win-win outcomes; force, avoid, and accommodate are win-lose; collaboration best supports lasting resolution.

Work breakdown structure

Deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the total project scope; the lowest level is a work package, and the 100 percent rule requires children fully represent the parent.

Critical path

Longest duration path through the project network with zero total float; it determines the shortest possible project duration, and any delay on it extends the finish date.

Total float

Time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date; calculated as late start minus early start or late finish minus early finish.

Three-point estimating

Technique using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates; PERT beta formula (O+4M+P)/6; standard deviation is (P-O)/6; triangular average is (O+M+P)/3.

Cost performance index

Earned value ratio CPI = EV/AC; greater than 1.0 means work is costing less than planned, below 1.0 means cost overrun, equal to 1.0 means on budget.

Estimate at completion

Forecast of total project cost; when current cost performance continues, EAC = BAC/CPI; other forms apply when variances are atypical or expected to cease.

Contingency reserve

Time or money set aside for identified risks (known unknowns), owned and used by the project manager; management reserve covers unknown unknowns and typically needs sponsor approval.

Risk response strategies

For threats: avoid, transfer, mitigate, escalate, accept. For opportunities: exploit, share, enhance, escalate, accept. Selection depends on risk exposure and risk appetite.

Agile Manifesto values

Four values: individuals and interactions over processes and tools; working software over comprehensive documentation; customer collaboration over contract negotiation; responding to change over following a plan.

Sprint

Timeboxed Scrum iteration of one to four weeks, commonly two, at the end of which a potentially releasable, Done product increment is produced.

Product owner

Scrum role accountable for maximizing product value by managing and ordering the product backlog, defining items clearly, and representing stakeholder needs to the development team.

Daily scrum

Fifteen-minute timeboxed event for the development team to inspect progress toward the sprint goal and adapt the plan for the next 24 hours.

Definition of Done

Shared, explicit checklist of quality criteria an increment must satisfy to be considered complete; it is distinct from the acceptance criteria of individual backlog items.

Kanban WIP limits

Caps on how many items may be in progress at each workflow stage; they expose bottlenecks, discourage multitasking, and support a pull-based flow of work.

Velocity

Amount of work, often measured in story points, a team completes per iteration; used to forecast future capacity and never to compare different teams.

Burndown chart

Graph of remaining work versus time for an iteration or release; a downward trend to zero shows progress, while a flat or rising line suggests scope or impediment problems.

Business analysis

Set of activities that identify business needs and recommend solutions delivering value to stakeholders, bridging business problems and the teams that build solutions.

BACCM core concepts

Business Analysis Core Concept Model's six concepts: change, need, solution, stakeholder, value, and context; every business analysis task is considered in relation to all six.

Requirements classification

Categories: business requirements (why the change), stakeholder requirements (who needs what), solution requirements (functional and non-functional), and transition requirements (temporary, needed only to implement).

Elicitation techniques

Methods for drawing out requirements, including interviews, workshops, focus groups, observation or job shadowing, surveys, document analysis, brainstorming, and prototyping.

Requirements traceability matrix

Grid linking each requirement to its source, business need, design components, and test cases, supporting impact analysis, coverage checks, and verification.

MoSCoW prioritization

Prioritization scheme with Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have this time; used to agree scope when time is fixed and trade-offs are needed.

INVEST criteria

Heuristic for good user stories: Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable; guides splitting large items into backlog-ready stories.

Kano model

Classifies product features as must-be, performance, delighter, indifferent, or reverse, based on how their presence affects customer satisfaction; guides prioritization of requirements.