Exam #1 Study Guide
Chapter 1 1. Identify the five major characteristics of a project. a. An established objective b. A defined life span with a beginning and an end c. Usually, the involvement of several departments and professionals d. Typically, doing something that has never been done before e. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements 2. Identify and briefly describe the six factors that are increasing the demand for project management. f. Compression of the product life cycle i. Speed has become a competitive advantage; more and more organizations are relying on cross-functional project teams to get new products and services to the market as quickly as possible.
Review and define the organizational mission – the mission identifies “what we want to become.” Mission statements change infrequently c. Set long-range goals and objectives - d. Analyze and formulate strategies to reach objectives - e. Implement strategies through projects - 3. Identify and briefly describe the five characteristics of effective objectives. f. 4. Identify and briefly discuss the three classes of projects usually found in an organization's project portfolio. g. 5. Identify and briefly discuss the three intended outcomes of integrating and linking projects with the strategic plan. h. 6. What criteria would you use in recommending a particular project management structure? i. 7. What are the limitations of financial models in approving projects or selecting among projects for the organization’s project portfolio? j. 8. What are the two major shortcomings of using the Checklist approach to project selection? k.
These are the sort of problem-oriented short-answer questions that may show up on the exam. 9. Should the project priority system be open and published? Why or why not? l. 10. Why is profitability alone not an adequate measure of a project's value to an organization? m. 11. Given a scenario, classify various projects in terms of compliance, strategic, and operational value. n. 12. “Politics and project