EXIN Dynamic Project Management Method Project Manager flashcards

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

Dynamic project model

A structured set of linked objects - deliverables, activities, resources, conditions, and decisions - from which schedules are generated and regenerated as circumstances change, rather than a fixed hand-drawn plan.

Deliverable object

A defined result the project must produce. It is realized only when its producing activity completes and all conditions attached to that activity are satisfied.

Activity object

Work that transforms input deliverables into output deliverables. It requires named resources to execute and is bound by start and completion conditions.

Resource object

A person, team, tool, or facility required to execute an activity. Resource availability constrains scheduling and can itself be expressed as a condition on the activity.

Condition object

A boolean predicate or constraint that must hold for an activity to start or finish. If a condition becomes false, dependent activities are invalidated and downstream re-planning is triggered.

Decision object

A model node representing a choice among alternative activity sets. Exactly one branch is active at a time, and switching branches is a controlled change requiring impact analysis.

Model versus schedule

The model states what must be true and how objects relate; the schedule states when work happens. One model can yield many successive schedules without changing its underlying logic.

Realized deliverable

A deliverable whose producing activity is complete and whose governing conditions are all satisfied. Realized deliverables, not activity percentages, are the unit of progress reporting.

Orphan deliverable

A deliverable with no producing activity in the model. It is a validation defect that must be resolved before the model can be baselined.

Orphan activity

An activity that produces no deliverable. It is a validation defect indicating either a missing output definition or work that should be removed from scope.

Dependency cycle

A closed loop of activity dependencies in which each activity waits on another in the same chain. Cycles make the model unschedulable and must be broken before baselining.

Model validation

The pre-baseline check for orphan nodes, dependency cycles, unreachable conditions, and unassigned decision branches. A model failing validation cannot be approved as a baseline.

Baseline in DPMM

An approved snapshot of the model and its generated schedule at a point in time. Changes to the model after baselining require impact analysis and re-approval of affected segments.

Impact analysis

Tracing the downstream effect of a change to a deliverable, condition, or decision branch through all dependent nodes, to identify which activities, dates, and approvals are affected.

Critical path in DPMM

The longest chain of dependent activities through the model. Activities on it have zero float, so any delay there moves the project completion date directly.

Float calculation

Float equals late start minus early start, or late finish minus early finish. Zero-float activities form the critical path; positive float indicates scheduling slack.

Percent-complete fallacy

Treating an activity at partial completion as delivered value. In DPMM an incomplete activity has realized no deliverable, so progress counts only completed outputs.

Condition failure

The event of a previously true condition becoming false. It invalidates dependent activities and forces re-planning of the affected downstream portion of the model.

Contingency activity

A prepared activity attached to a risk condition that activates through a decision node if that condition fails, allowing a planned response rather than an improvised one.

Decision branch switch

Changing which alternative path under a decision node is active. It is a controlled model change requiring sponsor approval when it affects the critical path or baseline.

Iterative elaboration

The practice of adding model detail in successive cycles as understanding grows, re-validating and re-baselining each cycle rather than specifying everything upfront.

Project manager role

Owns model integrity, baseline control, and re-planning execution. Escalates changes affecting the critical path or approved decision branches to the sponsor.

Sponsor role

Approves baselines and decision branches and receives escalations. Holds authority over scope-level model changes that the project manager cannot approve alone.

Team member role

Executes activities, reports status, and reports condition changes promptly. Supplies the factual input that keeps the model an accurate representation of reality.

Escalation threshold

The rule that condition changes altering the critical path or an approved decision branch go to the sponsor, while changes confined within float stay with the project manager.

Model detail sufficiency

The principle that the model should carry only the detail needed to support actual decisions and control points. Excess detail adds maintenance cost without improving control.

Dynamic re-planning

Regenerating the schedule from the model after a condition change or decision switch, then re-validating and re-approving the affected baseline segment before execution resumes.

Top-down deliverable identification

The first planning step: decompose the project goal into required deliverables before deciding what activities will produce them, keeping scope anchored to outputs.

Bottom-up activity derivation

The second planning step: for each deliverable, define the activities, resources, and conditions needed to produce it, working from outputs back to the work.

Resource-constrained scheduling

Scheduling that respects resource availability as a binding condition, which can push activities later than their pure dependency dates and shift the critical path.

Dynamic versus agile

Dynamic refers to model-driven re-planning when conditions change; agile is a branded iterative delivery framework. The exam treats them as distinct concepts and penalizes conflation.

Change control in DPMM

Any alteration to a deliverable definition, condition, or active decision branch requires impact analysis on dependent nodes plus re-approval of the affected baseline segment.

Progress by realized output

Reporting project status as the count or weight of realized deliverables rather than activity completion percentages, giving a factual measure of delivered value.