Quick Quiz

 Quick Quiz

1. Approximately what percentage of the world s gross domestic product is spent on projects?

a. 10 percent 

b. 25 percent 

c. 50 percent 

d. 75 percent

2. Which of the following is a not a potential advantage of using good project management? 

a. Shorter development times

b. Higher worker morale

c. Lower cost of capital 

d. Higher profit margins 

3. A ______ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

a. program 

b. process

c. project

d. portfolio

4. Which of the following is not an attribute of a project?

a. projects are unique 

b. projects are developed using progressive elaboration 

c. projects have a primary customer or sponsor 

d. projects involve little uncertainty 

5. Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management?

a. meeting scope goals

b. meeting time goals

c. meeting communications goals

d. meeting cost goals

6. ______ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

 a. Project management

 b. Program management c.

 Project portfolio management

 d. Requirements management 

7. Project portfolio management addresses ______ goals of an organization, while project management addresses ______ goals.

a. strategic, tactical

b. tactical, strategic 

c. internal, external 

d. external, internal 

8. Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be managed as part of a ______.

a. portfolio

b. program 

c. investment 

d. collaborative 

9. Which of the following is not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project manager?

a. people skills 

b. leadership

c. integrity 

d. technical skills 

10. What is the certification program called that the Project Management Institute provides?

a. Certified Project Manager (CPM) 

b. Project Management Professional (PMP) 

c. Project Management Expert (PME) 

d. Project Management Mentor (PMM)

Quick Quiz Answers:- 1. b; 2. c; 3. c; 4. d; 5. c; 6. a; 7. a; 8. b; 9. d; 10. b

Discussion Questions

1. Why is there a new or renewed interest in the field of project management? 

2. What is a project, and what are its main attributes? How is a project different from what most people do in their day-to-day jobs? What is the triple constraint? 

3. What is project management? Briefly describe the project management framework, providing examples of stakeholders, knowledge areas, tools and techniques, and project success factors. 

4. What is a program? What is a project portfolio? Discuss the relationship between projects, programs, and portfolio management and the contributions they each make to enterprise success. 

5. What is the role of the project manager? What are suggested skills for all project managers and for information technology project managers? Why is leadership so important for project managers? How is the job market for information technology project managers? 

6. Briefly describe some key events in the history of project management. What role does the Project Management Institute and other professional societies play in helping the profession? 

7. What functions can you perform with project management software? What are some popular names of low-end, midrange, and high-end project management tools?

Exercises

1. Visit the Standish Group s Web site at www.standishgroup.com. Read one of the CHAOS articles, and also read at least one report or article that questions the findings of the CHAOS studies. See the Suggested Readings by Robert L. Glass on the companion Web site for references. Write a two-page summary of the reports, key conclusions, and your opinion of them. 

2. Find someone who works as a project manager or someone who works on projects, such as a worker in your school s IT department or the president of a social club. Prepare several interview questions to learn more about projects and project management, and then ask them your questions in person, through e-mail, or over the phone. Write a two-page summary of your findings. Guidelines for your interview and sample questions are available on the companion Web site. 

3. Search the Internet for the terms project management, project management careers, project portfolio management, and information technology project management. Write down the number of hits that you received for each of these phrases. Find at least three Web sites that provide interesting information on one of the topics. Write a two-page paper summarizing key information about these three Web sites as well as the Project Management Institute s Web site (www.pmi.org). 

4. Find any example of a real project with a real project manager. Feel free to use projects in the media (the Olympics, television shows, movies, etc.) or a project from your work, if applicable. Write a two-page paper describing the project in terms of its scope, time, and cost goals. Discuss what went right and wrong on the project and the role of the project manager and sponsor. Also describe if the project was a success or not and why. Include at least one reference and cite it on the last page. 

5. Skim through Appendix A on Microsoft Project 2007. Review information about Project 2007 from Microsoft s Web site (www.microsoft.com/project) and information about VPMi Express from www.vcsonline.com. Also, visit The Project Management Center (www.infogoal.com/pmc) and Top Ten Reviews (http://project-management-softwarereview.toptenreviews.com). Research two project management software tools besides Project 2007. Write a two-page paper answering the following questions:

        a. What functions does project management software provide that you cannot do easily using other             tools such as a spreadsheet or database? 

        b. How do the different tools you reviewed compare, based on cost of the tool, key features, and                other relevant criteria? 

        c. How can organizations justify investing in enterprise or portfolio project management software?

6. Research information about PMP and related certifications. Skim through Appendix B for information and find at least two articles on this topic. What are benefits of certification in general? Do you think it is worthwhile for most project managers to get certified? Is it something you would consider? Write a two-page paper summarizing your findings and opinions.

Companion Web Site

Visit the companion Web site for this text at www.cengage.com/mis/schwalbe to access:

• References cited in the text and additional suggested readings for each chapter
•  Template files
•  Lecture notes
•  Interactive quizzes
•  Podcasts
•  Links to general project management Web sites
•  And more

See the Preface of this text for additional information on accessing the companion Web site.

Key Terms

Best Practice — An optimal way recognized by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective 

critical path — The longest path through a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of a project

Enterprise project management software — Software that integrates information from multiple projects to show the status of active, approved, and future projects across an entire organization; also called portfolio project management software

Ethics — A set of principles that guide our decision making based on personal values of what is right and wrong Gantt.

Chart — A standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format green IT or green 

computing — Developing and using computer resources in an efficient way to improve economic viability, social responsibility, and environmental impact.

Leader — A person who focuses on long-term goals and big-picture objectives, while inspiring people to reach those goals.

Manager — A person who deals with the day-to-day details of meeting specific goals 

portfolio project management software — Software that integrates information from multiple projects to show the status of active, approved, and future projects across an entire organization; also called enterprise project management software.

Program — A group of projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually.

Program Manager — A person who provides leadership and direction for the project managers heading the projects within a program.

Project — A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result 

project management — The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.

Project Management Institute (PMI) — An international professional society for project managers.

Project Management knowledge areas — Project integration management, scope, time, cost, quality, human resource, communications, risk, and procurement management.

Project Management Office (PMO) — An organizational group responsible for coordinating the project management functions throughout an organization.

Project Management Professional (PMP) — Certification provided by PMI that requires documenting project experience and education, agreeing to follow the PMI code of ethics, and passing a comprehensive exam.

Project Management tools and Techniques — Methods available to assist project managers and their teams; some popular tools in the time management knowledge area include Gantt charts, network diagrams, and critical path analysis.

Project Manager — The person responsible for working with the project sponsor, the project team, and the other people involved in a project to meet project goals 

Project Portfolio Management or Portfolio Management — When organizations group and manage projects as a portfolio of investments that contribute to the entire enterprise s success.

Project sponsor — The person who provides the direction and funding for a project 

Stakeholders — People involved in or affected by project activities 

Triple constraint — Balancing scope, time, and cost goals

 

Virtualization — Hiding the physical characteristics of computing resources from their users, such as making a single server, operating system, application, or storage device appear to function as multiple virtual resources.

End Notes

1 Andrew H. Bartels, Teleconference: Global IT 2008 Market Forecast, Forrester Research (February      11, 2008). 

2 Eric Chabrow, Computer Jobs Hit Record High, CIO Insight (July 7, 2008). 

3 Project Management Institute, Project Management Salary Survey, Fifth Edition, 2007.

4 Project Management Institute, PMI Today, October 2006 and June 2008. 

5 Standish Group, The CHAOS Report (www.standishgroup.com) (1995). Another reference is Jim           Johnson, CHAOS: The Dollar Drain of IT Project Failures, Application Development Trends                   (January 1995).

6 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boosting Business Performance through Programme and Project                    Management (June 2004).

7 Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®    Guide), Fourth Edition (2008). 

8 Gartner, Inc. Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2008, Gartner                               Symposium/ITxpo (October 9, 2007). 

9 Nicholas G. Carr, Does IT Matter? (Harvard Business School Press, 2004). 10 Where I.T. Matters:       How 10 Technologies Transformed 

10 Industries, Baseline (October 2, 2006). 11 Project Management Institute, Inc., A Guide to the Project      Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide), Fourth Edition (2008).

12 Claude Besner and Brian Hobbs, The Perceived Value and Potential Contribution of Project                     Management Practices to Project Success, PMI Research Conference Proceedings (July 2006). 

13 Jim Johnson, CHAOS 2006 Research Project, CHAOS Activity News, 2:no. 1 (2007). 

14 Standish Group, CHAOS 2001: A Recipe for Success (2001). 

15 Chang Dong, K.B. Chuah, and Li Zhai, A Study of Critical Success Factor of Information System         Projects in China, Proceedings of PMI Research Conference (2004). 

16 Dragan Milosevic and And Ozbay, Delivering Projects: What the Winners Do, Proceedings of the         Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium (November 2001). 

17 Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ®     Guide), Fourth Edition (2008). 

18 Eric Burke, Project Portfolio Management, PMI Houston Chapter Meeting (July 10, 2002). 

19 Project Management Institute, Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)                 Knowledge Foundation (2003).

20 Ibid., p. 13. 

21 Ultimate Business Library, Best Practice: Ideas and Insights from the World s Foremost Business             Thinkers (New York: Perseus 2003), p. 1. 

22 Ibid., p. 8. 

23 Mary Brandel, The Perfect Project Manager, ComputerWorld (August 6, 2001). 

24 Lauren Thomsen-Moore, No soft skills for us, we re techies, ComputerWorld (December 16, 2002). 

25 Jennifer Krahn, Effective Project Leadership: A Combination of Project Manager Skills and                 Competencies in Context, PMI Research Conference Proceedings (July 2006). 

26 Stacy Collett, Hot Skills: Cold Skills, ComputerWorld (July 17, 2006). 

27 Regents of the University of California, Manhattan Project History, Here s Your Damned                         Organization Chart, (1998 2001). 

28 Venessa Wong, PMI On Specialization and Globalization, Projects@Work (June 23, 2008) 

29 Project Management Institute, PMI Today, (February 2009). 

30 Project Management Institute, PMI Community Post, (February 9, 2007). 

31 Project Management Institute, PMI Today, (December 2006), p. 12 13. 

32 Top Ten Reviews, 2006 Project Management Report, , http://project-management-                                     softwarereview.toptenreviews.com, (accessed September 10, 2008)