Deck 12: Managing It Projects

Question 1

In today's hypercompetitive business environment, firms that have strong project management skills have a higher likelihood of success because they are able to:

A) Spend money wisely.
B) Adapt processes and systems and therefore innovate faster than their competitors.
C) Optimize business processes.
D) Change and adapt in a slow yet methodical manner, reducing risk.
E) Utilize social and mobile platforms.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The project triangle includes 3 sides: time, scope and:

A) cost
B) product
C) event
D) quality
E) requirements

Answer 2

A

Question 3

This project cycle plan chart looks very much like a bar chart and is easy for management to read because of its visual nature.

A) PERT
B) Gantt
C) CPM
D) NPV
E) Flowchart

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is at the center of the project triangle?

A) Agility
B) Quality
C) Speed
D) Cost
E) Focus

Question 5

Which of the following is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result?

A) project
B) event
C) scope
D) requirement
E) system

Question 6

Scope may be divided into product scope and __________ scope.

A) project
B) cost
C) time
D) time
E) sequence

Question 7

An organization may convert from an old system to a new system by choosing to run both the old and new systems at the same time until the new system is fully accepted. This is known as:

A) Cutover
B) Parallel conversion
C) Direct cutover
D) Agile development
E) SDLC

Question 8

Increasing project success requires gaining commitment from stakeholders. All of the following help to sustain that commitment for the life of the project EXCEPT:

A) Continually reminding stakeholders of the project benefits
B) Placing key stakeholders on the project team
C) Encouraging the project sponsor to provide public support for the project
D) Surprising the stakeholders by keeping the system's workings a secret
E) Assigning the right leader to be the project sponsor

Question 9

Which development methodology is more traditional and more structured than other approaches?

A) Agile programming
B) Prototyping
C) Open source deployment
D) Software development life cycle (SDLC)
E) Critical path method (CPM)

Question 10

Which of the following development approaches is an iterative, incremental approach that allows development teams to respond to the unpredictability of building and implementing software?

A) Prototyping
B) SDLC
C) DSDM
D) Agile software development
E) RAD

Question 11

To maintain balance in a project with a fixed budget and a well-defined scope, a project team will require flexibility:

A) with the deadline.
B) in spending.
C) with project quality.
D) with assumed risks.
E) in achieving the goals of the business case.

Question 12

What does PMO stand for?

A) Project Maintenance Office
B) Project Mission and Objectives
C) Product Maintenance Office
D) Project Mission Office
E) Project Management Office

Question 13

To help with organization and complexity, a project manager will break a project up into:

A) Variables
B) Business processes
C) Subprojects
D) Infrastructure
E) Work

Question 14

Which one of the following is NOT one of the four essential elements of any project?

A) Common project vocabulary
B) Project team
C) System evaluation
D) Project cycle plan
E) Project management

Question 15

What type of software is released under a license approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI)?

A) System Architecture Software (SAS)
B) Open System Software (OSS)
C) Shareware Software (SS)
D) Open Source Software (OSS)
E) Source System Software (SSS)

Question 16

All of the following are indications that the project is successful EXCEPT:

A) Customers receive a significant benefit from the project.
B) The project meets its return on investment goal.
C) The project meets the established time and budget criteria.
D) The project prepares the organization for future success and growth.
E) The project profits are high and last for a very short time period.

Question 17

A successful project begins with a ____________ that articulates the purpose and details of the project, benefits and costs, stakeholders, and required resources.

A) project plan
B) Gantt chart
C) business case
D) dashboard
E) strategy

Question 18

To reduce risk, a project should have which one of the following qualities?

A) High complexity
B) High clarity
C) Big in size
D) Large in budget
E) Lots of programmers.

Question 19

Which one of the following software products is NOT an open source software release?

A) PERL
B) Open Office
C) Linux
D) Mozilla
E) Microsoft Office

Question 20

Open source software:

A) is free.
B) requires an organization pay a per user fee.
C) is costly.
D) is not allowed to be modified.
E) is provided by software vendors like Microsoft and SAP.

Question 21

All of the following are examples of agile software development methodologies EXCEPT:

A) Scrum
B) Lean
C) Feature-Driven Development
D) Extreme Programming (XP)
E) SDLC

Question 22

The riskiest approach to system implementation is a parallel conversion.

Question 23

A project is a permanent endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.

Question 24

To transform resources into profits, organizations combine two types of work-operations and ________.

Question 25

Integrating within the organization is a mechanism to manage project complexity, and includes frequent team meetings as an example.

Question 26

Strong project leadership can trade off against strong project management processes. That is, if the leader is not strong, then processes can be strengthened to make up for it. And if the processes are weak, a strong leader is needed.

Question 27

According to Brooks, adding extra personnel to a system project more often makes it later, not earlier.

Question 28

Adding more people to a project can be helpful, but most projects are not made more efficient by simply adding labor.

Question 29

Small projects that are low in complexity and low in clarity are low in risk.

Question 30

Project cost and schedule estimates should be made only using documented facts.

Question 31

In calling something a "project," the issues of uniqueness and temporariness are very important.

Question 32

A research firm found that a majority of software projects are delivered late or over budget or simply fail to meet expectations.

Question 33

A system development life cycle:

A) Assures us that as some systems die others are born in a sort of "circle of life."
B) Is a chain of events that count down to the demise of a system.
C) Illustrates the steps needed to go from one stage to another: for example, analysis to design to construction to implementation to operation to maintenance.
D) Specifies how to build a prototype quickly then improve on it.
E) Is a self-propelled ride at the "Technology Amusement Park" in San Francisco.

Question 34

Prototyping and RAD can be used to minimize problems of defining a scope that is too broad or narrow at the beginning of a project.

Question 35

All of the following are drawback of prototyping EXCEPT:

A) Additional costs may be needed to make a prototype into an operational version.
B) An operational version needs to be made using desktop tools rather than enterprise-level tools.
C) Frequent changes over time making documentation more difficult.
D) A prototyping development process is difficult to manage because it can be impossible to determine when the prototype is complete.
E) Integration of prototyping methodology is difficult when there is a broad range of requirements.

Question 36

The mantra for prototyping is "code a little, test a little."

Question 37

Open source software is free but often an organization will have to pay for training and technical support for the software.

Question 38

The maintenance and review phase is the longest phase of the software development lifecycle.

Question 39

If someone wants a system cheaply, quickly, and with a large scope, we can conclude:

A) That desire represents the three sides of the Project Triangle
B) This is normally not possible: you can usually only achieve two of those three objectives at a time.
C) Management might be providing an impossible goal.
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 40

To support a common language and improve communication, a project manager should develop a private collection of acronyms and make frequent use of them.

Question 41

Agile development tends to be _______-oriented rather than process-oriented.

Question 42

Explain why IT projects are seen as just business projects involving significant amounts of technology.

Question 43

Two or more teams that work interdependently and interface with each other and with a common superordinate goal is working within a ____________system.

Question 44

____________is the term used to describe what happens when a project's scope increases after it has started.

Question 45

A good project manager defines a realistic project scope and then manages the project so that it can be completed on time and within _________.

Question 46

Why does the addition of more people to a project not speed up the project efforts?

Question 47

____________,____________ , and____________ are the three outside elements of the project triangle?

Question 48

How do companies manage risk? What are the factors that contribute to a high-risk project?

Question 49

Distinguish between the iterative approaches of prototyping and agile software development.

Question 50

____________are the individuals and organizations that are involved in or may be affected by a given project.

Question 51

Classify the following organizational activity as either operations or a project.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Operations } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Backing up the data repository to support business } \\\text { continuity plarning. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Operations } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Monitoring the perfornance of all information } \\\text { systems and networks using a dashboard }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Project } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Provide a mobile application to employees that } \\\text { allow then to post travel expenses and verify } \\\text { reimbursenent payments }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Project } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Development of a CRM-like system to integrate } \\\text { marketing and sales activities with activities of the } \\\text { global supply chain. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Project } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Reengineering of the sales order process to include } \\\text { social network analysis. }\end{array} \\\hline\end{array}$$

Question 52

Project risk is a function of____________ ,____________ , and____________ .

Question 53

Identify an example of project management software and the features/functionality you would expect it to provide.

Question 54

____________is the department that develops project management skills, boosts efficiency for projects, and improves project delivery.

Question 55

____________is one example of open source software.

Question 56

Match the project responsibility as being that of the project manager or the project sponsor.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Project sponsor } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Liaison between the project tearn and the } \\\text { project stakeholders }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Project sponsor } & \text { Senior level project charnpion } \\\hline \text { Project manager } & \text { Assign tearn members to work on the project } \\\hline \text { Project manager } & \text { Marage project risk } \\\hline \text { Project manager } & \text { Measure the projects status } \\\hline \text { Project manager } & \text { Take corrective action when recessary } \\\hline\end{array}$$

Question 57

Explain why in a project only two of the three project elements (cost, time, and scoop) can be optimized and the third must be adjusted to maintain balance.

Question 58

Identify the following qualities as either being associated with operations or project work.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Operations } & \text { Repetitive } \\\hline \text { Operations } & \text { Fornal quality control } \\\hline \text { Project } & \text { Pupose is to sustain the enterprise } \\\hline \text { Project } & \text { Termporary } \\\hline\end{array}$$

Question 59

____________organizes the discrete project activities and orders them along a timeline, identifying the critical beginning and ending dates as well as necessary time and resources.

Question 60

List some strategies a manager should consider when trying to manage a project's technical complexity.

Question 61

Match the development methodology with its characteristics.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Agile development } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Iterative, speedy, and active user } \\\text { interaction }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Prototyping } & \begin{array} { l } \text { Evolutionary development that provides a } \\\text { tarnible model to users early in the process }\end{array} \\\hline \text { SDLC } & \text { Traditional and struetured } \\\hline\end{array}$$

Question 62

Match the description to the SDLC project phase it represents.
$\begin{array}{|l|l|}\hline \text { Initiation and feasibility } & \text { Project is scoped, considered and planned. } \\\hline \text { Requirements definition } & \begin{array}{l}\text { System specifications are identified and } \\\text { documented. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Functional design } & \begin{array}{l}\text { The system is designed in conceptual } \\\text { terms. }\end{array} \\\hline \begin{array}{l}\text { Technical design and } \\\text { construction }\end{array} & \begin{array}{l}\text { The system is built or a purchased system } \\\text { is customized. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Verification } & \begin{array}{l}\text { The system is reviewed to ensure it meets } \\\text { requirements. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Implementation } & \text { The system is brought up for use. } \\\hline \text { Maintenance and review } & \begin{array}{l}\text { The system is repaired and upgraded as } \\\text { needed. }\end{array} \\\hline\end{array}$

Question 63

Match the activity to the SDLC project phase to which it belongs.
$\begin{array}{|l|l|}\hline \text { Initiation and feasibility } & \text { Costs are detailed and timeline developed. } \\\hline \text { Requirements definition } & \text { Identify user requirements } \\\hline \text { Functional design } & \begin{array}{l}\text { Complete a detailed analysis of the new } \\\text { system including data-flow diagrams. }\end{array} \\\hline \begin{array}{l}\text { Technical design and } \\\text { construction }\end{array} & \text { The system is built. } \\\hline \text { Verification } & \begin{array}{l}\text { End users test the system for usability, } \\\text { security and operability. }\end{array} \\\hline \text { Implementation } & \text { The system "goes live." } \\\hline \text { Maintenance and review } & \begin{array}{l}\text { Evaluate and monitor system usage, } \\\text { making minor adjustments as needed. }\end{array} \\\hline\end{array}$

Question 64

Match the three major project periods to Lewin's phases of the change model.
$$\begin{array} { | l | l | } \hline \text { Requirements period } & \text { Unfreezing } \\\hline \text { Development period } & \text { Charging } \\\hline \text { Production/distribution period } & \text { Refreezing } \\\hline\end{array}$$