TEST ARCHED 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 benefits not obtainable individually.

Project life cycle phases (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/controlling, closure) differ from product life cycle phases, which may span multiple projects.

Triple constraint: scope, time, cost - quality sits at the center; a change to any one constrains the others.

Benefit realization is measured after program closure; project success is measured against scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines.

Organizational structures: functional (PM has little authority), matrix (weak/balanced/strong), and projectized (PM has high authority over resources).

A PMO can be supportive (templates, best practices), controlling (compliance), or directive (manages projects directly).

Project charter authorizes the project and names the project manager; it is issued by the sponsor, not the PM.

Program manager scope spans multiple projects and shared resources; portfolio manager aligns projects/programs to strategic objectives.

Stakeholder register and business case are inputs established in initiation before detailed planning begins.

Scope baseline = scope statement + WBS + WBS dictionary; it is the approved reference for measuring scope performance.

WBS decomposes deliverables, not activities; the lowest level is a work package, and the 100% rule requires the WBS capture all scope.

Requirements types: business, stakeholder, solution, functional, and non-functional (quality, performance, security).

MoSCoW prioritization: Must have, Should have, Could have, Won't have (this time).

Scope creep = uncontrolled additions without change control; gold plating = adding features not requested.

Validate Scope (acceptance of deliverables) differs from Control Quality (correctness); validation happens after quality control.

A requirements traceability matrix links requirements to design, build, test, and acceptance to confirm coverage.

Decomposition depth rule: work packages should be estimable and assignable; a common heuristic is 8–80 hours per work package.

Assumptions and constraints recorded in the scope statement directly bound what solutions are feasible.

Non-functional requirements (scalability, availability, latency, security) drive architecture; functional requirements drive features.

Layered architecture separates presentation, business logic, and data access; each layer depends only on the layer below.

Coupling measures interdependency between modules (lower is better); cohesion measures relatedness within a module (higher is better).

CAP theorem: a distributed system cannot simultaneously guarantee consistency, availability, and partition tolerance - pick two under partition.

Design reviews (preliminary and critical) gate progression; a design must satisfy requirements traceability before build.

Trade-off analysis selects among options using weighted criteria; document rejected alternatives and rationale.

Availability formula: availability = MTBF / (MTBF + MTTR); reducing MTTR raises availability.

Interface contracts (APIs, data schemas) must be defined and agreed before parallel development begins.

Critical path = longest path through the network; it determines minimum project duration and has zero total float.

Total float = LS − ES = LF − EF; free float is the time an activity can slip without delaying its successor.

Schedule compression: crashing adds cost/resources to shorten duration; fast tracking overlaps activities and raises risk.

Earned Value: CV = EV − AC; SV = EV − PV; CPI = EV/AC; SPI = EV/PV; EAC = BAC/CPI (typical variance).

TCPI = (BAC − EV) / (BAC − AC) - cost performance needed to finish within budget.

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

Resource leveling may extend the schedule (changes critical path); resource smoothing keeps duration within float.

Agile delivery: sprint backlog is pulled from the product backlog; velocity = completed story points per iteration.

Milestones have zero duration and mark significant events; they consume no resources.

Quality assurance is process-focused (prevention); quality control is product-focused (inspection and defect detection).

Verification confirms the product was built right (conforms to spec); validation confirms the right product was built (meets user needs).

Cost of quality = prevention + appraisal (cost of conformance) + internal/external failure (cost of non-conformance).

Test levels: unit, integration, system, and acceptance; acceptance testing maps to Validate Scope.

Pareto principle: roughly 80% of defects stem from 20% of causes - prioritize the vital few.

Control charts use upper/lower control limits; a point outside limits or seven consecutive points on one side signals a special-cause variation.

Cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagrams identify root causes; scatter diagrams show correlation between two variables.

Definition of Done is the shared quality gate for agile increments; a deliverable not meeting it is not complete.

Risk = uncertain event with positive or negative effect; issue = a risk that has occurred and requires action now.

Risk score = probability × impact; risk response strategies for threats: avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept, escalate.

Opportunity strategies: exploit, share, enhance, accept, escalate.

Change control steps: request, assess impact (scope/time/cost/quality), approve/reject via CCB, update baselines, communicate.

A change to an approved baseline requires formal approval; undocumented changes are scope creep.

Risk register fields: ID, description, cause, probability, impact, score, owner, response, trigger, status.

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

Issue log tracks open problems with owner, priority, and resolution date; escalate per governance thresholds.

Risk audit reviews the effectiveness of the risk process and responses, not individual project outcomes.

Power/interest grid: high power-high interest = manage closely; low power-low interest = monitor.

Communication channels formula: n(n − 1)/2 where n = number of stakeholders; channels grow quadratically with team size.

Communication methods: interactive (meetings), push (email/reports), pull (intranet/portals) - choose by urgency and audience.

Governance defines decision rights, escalation paths, approval thresholds, and reporting cadence.

RACI: Responsible (does the work), Accountable (one owner per task), Consulted (two-way input), Informed (one-way update).

Stakeholder engagement levels: unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading - plan to move them toward supportive.

Status reports compare actual vs baseline (scope, schedule, cost); exceptions are escalated per governance thresholds.

Lessons learned are captured at phase gates and closure and fed into the organizational process assets.

Communication management plan specifies who receives what information, in what format, frequency, and via which channel.

Effective communication requires the sender to encode and the receiver to decode; noise and filters distort the message.

Governance board (steering committee) owns scope and budget approvals above defined thresholds; the PM does not self-approve.

Escalation should follow the defined chain and time thresholds, not bypass governance.

Reporting should be exception-based: highlight variances and decisions needed, not exhaustive activity logs.

Stakeholder analysis includes influence, interest, expectations, and potential impact on the project.

Formal vs informal and written vs verbal communication selection depends on message complexity and record-keeping needs.

Communication plan is a subsidiary of the project management plan and is baselined with it.

Meeting governance: agenda, decision log, action items with owners and due dates, and minutes distributed promptly.

A governance gate (phase gate) reviews deliverables against exit criteria before the next phase is authorized.

Escalation thresholds are numeric (e.g., variance > 10% or cost > threshold) and defined in the governance plan.

Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix compares current vs desired engagement and drives tailored communication.

Transparency rule: report bad news early; suppressed variance is a governance failure, not a communication choice.

RACI conflicts (two Accountable owners) are resolved before work starts, not during execution.

Communication models: linear (sender→receiver), interactive (feedback loop), and transactional (with acknowledgment).

Governance artifacts: charter, project management plan, phase-gate criteria, decision log, and escalation matrix.

Decision rights matrix clarifies who approves scope, budget, and design changes at each level.

Stakeholder communication cadence should match decision needs, not the PM's convenience; align with governance reporting cycles.

Conflict resolution modes: collaborate (win-win), compromise, accommodate, avoid, force - collaborate is preferred for important issues.

Lessons learned repository and organizational process assets inform future governance and communication plans.

Governance review should check baselines, risk exposure, and benefit realization, not just schedule status.

Communication is bidirectional; confirmation of understanding is required for critical messages.

Stakeholder register is a living document updated as stakeholders change through the project life cycle.

Escalation path must be known to all stakeholders before issues arise; publish it in the communication plan.

Reporting variance thresholds trigger formal corrective action and change requests.

Project closure requires final acceptance, transition of deliverables, and archived lessons learned.

Effective governance balances control with delivery speed; excessive gates slow progress, too few increase risk.

Stakeholder satisfaction is an outcome of meeting requirements and managing expectations, not of over-communicating.

Communication blockers (noise, jargon, cultural differences) should be identified and mitigated in the plan.

Sponsor is the primary escalation point for scope and budget conflicts beyond PM authority.

Meeting decisions must be recorded with owner and date to be actionable and auditable.

Post-implementation review measures benefits against the business case.