Deck 1: Modern Project Management

Question 1

Project management is ideally suited for a business environment requiring all of the following except

A)Accountability
B)Flexibility
C)Innovation
D)Speed
E)Repeatability

Answer 1

E
Explanation: Competing in a global market influenced by rapid change, innovation, and time to market means organizations manage more and more projects.

Question 2

Which of the following is the number one characteristic that is looked for in management candidates?

A)Overall intelligence
B)Works well with others
C)Experience
D)Past successes
E)Good references

Answer 2

B
Explanation: The phrase "works well with others" has long been a staple on grade school report cards; now, in the IT world, it's the No.1 criterion for management candidates.(See Research Highlight on page 16).

Question 3

Which of the following constraints is not typically found in managing projects?

A)Time
B)People
C)Cost
D)Performance
E)Both B and D are not typical constraints

Answer 3

B
Explanation: Specific time, cost, and performance requirements bind projects.

Question 4

Integration of project management with the organization takes place with the

A)Master budget
B)Strategy plan
C)Process of managing actual projects
D)Both b and c are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 5

Which of the following choices is not one of the stages of a project life cycle?

A)Conceptualizing
B)Defining
C)Planning
D)Executing
E)Delivering

Question 6

Which of the following characteristics is not typical of a project manager?

A)Managing a temporary activity
B)Possesses in-depth technical knowledge
C)Managing a non-repetitive activity
D)Manages independently of the formal organization
E)Provides a direct link to the customer

Question 7

In which of the following stages is a major portion of the physical and mental project work performed?

A)Conceptualizing
B)Defining
C)Planning
D)Executing
E)Delivering

Question 8

Which of the following activities is not considered a project?

A)Developing a new software program
B)Designing a space station
C)Preparing the site for the Olympic Games
D)Production of automobile tires
E)Developing a new advertising program

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Project management is becoming a standard way of doing business
B)Project management is increasingly contributing to achieving organizational strategies
C)Project management is being used at a consistent percentage of a firm's efforts
D)Both A and B are true
E)A, B, and C are all true

Question 10

In which of the following stages are you more likely to find status reports, many changes, and the creation of forecasts?

A)Conceptualizing
B)Defining
C)Planning
D)Executing
E)Delivering

Question 11

Which of the following is not considered to be a characteristic of a project?

A)An established objective
B)A clear beginning and end
C)Complex tasks
D)Only for internal use
E)Never been done before

Question 12

The advent of project management has been most profound in

A)Automobile manufacturing
B)Construction
C)Information technology
D)The U.S.Department of Defense
E)Film making

Question 13

In which of the following stages are project objectives established, teams formed, and major responsibilities assigned?

A)Conceptualizing
B)Defining
C)Planning
D)Executing
E)Delivering

Question 14

A professional organization for project management specialists is the

A)PMI
B)AMA
C)MIS
D)IPM
E)PMBOK

Question 15

A common rule of thumb in the world of high-tech product development is that a six-month project delay can result in a loss of product revenue share of ___ percent.The waste on failed projects and cost overruns is estimated in the neighborhood of

A)10
B)20
C)33
D)45
E)50

Question 16

The waste on failed projects and cost overruns is estimated in the neighborhood of

A)Under $100 Million
B)Over $150 Billon
C)Under $10 Billion
D)Between $90-$100 Billion
E)Between $125-$135 Billion

Question 17

Two dimensions within the project management process are

A)Technical and sociocultural
B)Cost and time
C)Planned and unexpected
D)Established and new
E)Unique and reoccurring

Question 18

From among the following activities, which is the best example of a project?

A)Processing insurance claims
B)Producing automobiles
C)Writing a term paper
D)Completing a college degree
E)All of these are good examples of projects

Question 19

Which of the following choices is not one of the driving forces behind the increasing demand for project management?

A)Compression of the product life cycle
B)Knowledge explosion
C)Development of third world and closed economies
D)More emphasis on the product and less on the customer
E)Corporate downsizing

Question 20

Which of the following is the first step in developing a set of strategies designed to best meet the needs of customers?

A)Market Research
B)Define the Integrated Project Management System
C)Environmental Analysis
D)Project Selection
E)All of the above are correct

Question 21

From 1994 to 2009 the trend for projects late or over budget was:

A)Significantly better
B)Slightly better
C)About the same
D)Slightly worse
E)Significantly worse

Question 22

The initial stage in the Project Life Cycle is the __________ stage.

Question 23

The __________, a professional organization for project managers, has grown from 93,000 in 2002 to more than 230,000 currently.

Question 24

Which of these is not part of the "technical dimension" of project management?

A)WBS
B)Budgets
C)Problem solving
D)Schedules
E)Status reports

Question 25

Like most organizational effort, the major goal of a project is to __________.

Question 26

A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects that continue over extended time intended to achieve a goal is known as a

A)Strategy
B)Program
C)Campaign
D)Crusade
E)Venture

Question 27

A common rule of thumb in the world of high-tech product development is that a six-month project delay can result in a __________ percent loss in product revenue share.

Question 28

Integration of all project processes and practices to improve Project Management is due to

A)Centralization
B)Environmental analysis
C)Customer Expectations
D)Project management system
E)The organization's environment and culture

Question 29

Competing in a global market is influenced by

A)Rapid change
B)Innovation
C)Time to market
D)Politics
E)A, B, and C are all true

Question 30

Which of these is not part of the "sociocultural dimension" of project management?

A)Negotiation
B)Resource allocation
C)Customer expectations
D)Leadership
E)Politics

Question 31

Increased competition has placed a premium on customer satisfaction and the development of __________ products and services.

Question 32

The final stage in the Project Life Cycle is the __________ stage.

Question 33

In which of the following stages is it determined what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, and what the budget will be?

A)Conceptualizing
B)Defining
C)Planning
D)Executing
E)Delivering

Question 34

In today's high-tech industries the product life cycle is averaging _________ years.

Question 35

In the __________ stage of the Project Life Cycle a major part of the project work, both physical and mental, takes place.

Question 36

Corporate downsizing has increased the trend toward

A)Reducing the number of projects a company initiates
B)Outsourcing significant segments of project work
C)Using dedicated project teams
D)Shorter project lead times
E)Longer project lead times

Question 37

In the _________ stage of the Project Life Cycle what will be accomplished by the project is determined along with the project's schedule and budget.

Question 38

Which of the following is not typically the responsibility of a project manger?

A)Meeting budget requirements
B)Meeting schedule requirements
C)Meeting performance specifications
D)Coordinates the actions of the team members
E)All of these are typical responsibilities

Question 39

The advent of many small projects has created the need for an organization that can support __________ management.

Question 40

The importance of project management has increased due to

A)The movement of manufacturing operations out of the U.S
B)Time to market
C)The movement toward flatter and leaner organizations
D)Both a and b are true
E)A, B, and C are all true

Question 41

The establishment of project goals, specifications, and responsibilities usually occurs in the ________ stage of the project life cycle.

Question 42

One of the characteristics that separate project management from other endeavors of the organization is that there are specific time, cost, and performance requirements.

Question 43

In some organizations, selection and management of projects often fail to support the broad-based _________ of the organization.

Question 44

The singular purpose of a project is often lacking in daily organizational life in which workers perform repetitive operations each day.

Question 45

WBS, schedules, and budgets are examples of the _________ dimension of the project management process.

Question 46

Training the customer, reassigning staff, and releasing resources occurs in the ________ stage of the project life cycle.

Question 47

One of the defining characteristics of a project is that it has a singular purpose, i.e., an established ________.

Question 48

The growth in ________ has increased the complexity of projects because projects typically include the latest advances.

Question 49

The ________ is a professional organization for project management specialists.

Question 50

Leadership, teamwork, and negotiation are examples of the _________ dimension of the project management process.

Question 51

Project managers are expected to ensure that appropriate trade-offs are made between the time, cost, and __________ requirements of the project.

Question 52

Because of the profitability motive, project management is nearly always limited to the private sector.

Question 53

The professional certification for project managers is a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Question 54

Because projects have a defined beginning and end, the ________ is frequently used to manage the transition of a project from start to completion.

Question 55

The development of schedules, budgets, and identifying risks are common elements to the ________ stage of the project life cycle.

Question 56

One of the defining characteristics of project management is that the projects are not confined to a single department but involve several departments and professionals.

Question 57

In the __________ stage, it determined what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, and what the budget will be.

Question 58

Ten years ago major universities offered only one or two classes in project management, primarily for engineers.

Question 59

A _________ is a series of coordinated, related; multiple projects that continue over extended time intended to achieve a goal.

Question 60

Because of its flexibility, project management is equally useful in ongoing, routine work as well as unique, one-time projects.

Question 61

The first stage in the Project Life Cycle is the Concept stage.

Question 62

Identify and briefly describe the four stages of the Project Life Cycle.

Question 63

Project management is usually restricted to specialists.

Question 64

Due to corporate downsizing significant segments of project work have been outsourced to other organizations.

Question 65

On the project team, the Marketing manager is the primary, direct link with the customer.

Question 66

Project management integration necessitates combining all of the major dimensions of project management under one umbrella.

Question 67

Identify the five major characteristics of a project.

Question 68

One of the most significant driving forces behind the demand for project management is the ever increasing expansion of the product life cycle.

Question 69

Unlike their functional counterparts, project managers generally possess only rudimentary technical knowledge to make trade-off decisions.

Question 70

Smaller projects in larger organizations tend not to need project management skills.

Question 71

A major portion of the project work, both physical and mental, takes place during the Production stage of the Project Life Cycle.

Question 72

Compare and contrast the Product Life Cycle and the Project Life Cycle.

Question 73

Project management is becoming a standard way of doing business.

Question 74

"Project managers perform the same functions as other managers." Agree or Disagree and support your decision.

Question 75

Because of the significant loss in potential product revenue, "time to market" has become one of the most critical factors in developing new products.

Question 76

Since a construction company builds many buildings the projects after the first building do not fit the definition of a project.

Question 77

In the current trends, Project managers are typically required to manage many diverse systems such as; networks, bar charts, job costing, task forces, partnering and schedule, to manage projects.

Question 78

Because of the requirement for in-depth expertise, project management is generally restricted to specialists.

Question 79

A common rule of thumb in the world of high-tech product development is that a six-month project delay can result in a 33 percent loss in product revenue share.

Question 80

In practice, the amount of work accomplished in each stage of the Project Life Cycle will vary greatly depending on the department or work group.