Project Manager Examination flashcards
Project Manager Examination · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Project charter
- Formal document issued by the sponsor that authorizes the project and the project manager, and gives the PM authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.
- Scope baseline
- Approved combination of the project scope statement, work breakdown structure, and WBS dictionary; changes to any component require formal integrated change control.
- WBS 100% rule
- The work breakdown structure must capture all project work and only project work; the sum of child-level deliverables equals the parent deliverable.
- Validate Scope
- Process of formalizing acceptance of completed project deliverables with the customer; it follows Control Quality and produces acceptance documentation and change requests.
- PERT expected duration
- Weighted estimate calculated as (Optimistic + 4 × Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 6; standard deviation equals (Pessimistic − Optimistic) / 6.
- Critical path
- Longest path through the project network; it determines the shortest possible project duration and has zero total float on all its activities.
- Total float
- Amount of 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.
- Cost performance index
- Ratio of earned value to actual cost (EV/AC); a value below 1.0 indicates the project is over budget for work performed.
- Estimate at completion
- Projected total cost of the project; equals BAC/CPI when the current variance continues, or AC + (BAC − EV) when the variance does not continue.
- Schedule compression
- Technique to shorten project duration without reducing scope; fast tracking overlaps activities, while crashing adds resources to critical path activities.
- Cost of quality
- Total cost of conformance (prevention and appraisal) plus cost of nonconformance (internal and external failure); prevention is generally the least expensive category.
- Control chart rule
- A process is out of control when a data point falls outside the ±3 sigma control limits or when seven consecutive points fall on one side of the mean.
- Resource leveling
- Technique that adjusts start and finish dates to resolve resource over-allocation; it may extend the critical path and change the project finish date.
- Tuckman ladder
- Model of team development stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning; teams may cycle back to earlier stages after membership changes.
- RACI chart
- Responsibility assignment matrix that designates who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each activity; only one person is accountable per activity.
- Communication channels formula
- Number of communication channels equals n × (n − 1) / 2, where n is the number of stakeholders including the project manager.
- Power/interest grid
- Stakeholder classification tool; high power and high interest stakeholders are managed closely, while low power and low interest stakeholders are only monitored.
- Interactive communication
- Communication method involving real-time multi-directional exchange between participants; it is the most effective method for ensuring shared understanding.
- Stakeholder engagement levels
- Scale describing stakeholder attitudes: unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, and leading; the engagement plan targets a desired level for each stakeholder.
- Expected monetary value
- Probability multiplied by impact; negative for threats and positive for opportunities, and the sum of EMVs represents the project's expected monetary exposure.
- Contingency reserve
- Budget or time allocated for identified risks (known-unknowns); it is included in the cost baseline, whereas management reserve is not.
- Risk response strategies
- For threats: avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept, escalate. For opportunities: exploit, share, enhance, accept, escalate. Each response is assigned a risk owner.
- Fixed-price contract
- Contract type in which the seller agrees to a set price for defined scope and bears most cost risk; suitable when scope is well defined.
- Workaround
- Unplanned response to a risk that was not identified or accepted; it is applied after the risk occurs and is documented during monitoring.
- Business case
- Document that establishes the need for the project and justifies the investment through cost-benefit analysis; it precedes the project charter.
- Projectized organization
- Organizational structure in which the project manager has high authority and team members report directly to the PM; team members are often co-located.
- Enterprise environmental factors
- Internal and external conditions such as culture, market conditions, and information systems that influence the project and are generally not under PM control.
- Organizational process assets
- Processes, policies, templates, and knowledge repositories of the performing organization that the project team can use to execute the project.
- Manage Project Knowledge
- Process of using existing knowledge and creating new knowledge; it relies on knowledge management for tacit knowledge and information management for explicit knowledge.
- Work performance information
- Performance data analyzed in context and compared to the plan; it is produced by controlling processes and used to generate work performance reports.
- Integrated change control
- Process of reviewing all change requests, assessing their impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk, and approving, rejecting, or deferring them.
- Close Project or Phase
- Final process that confirms completion, transitions the product, archives project records, updates organizational process assets, releases resources, and finalizes lessons learned.