Deck 2: The Project Management Information Technology Context

Question 1

 It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during the earlier phases.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: In early phases of a project life cycle, resource needs are usually lowest and the level of uncertainty is highest. It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during latter phases.

Question 2

 Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management.

Answer 2

True
Explanation:  Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management. If top management and project managers are to understand how projects relate to the whole organization, they must follow a systems philosophy.

Question 3

 The best way to sustain a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility for the project.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: The best way to kill a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility.

Question 4

 An organization that uses a project organizational structure earns their revenue primarily from performing projects for other groups under contract.

Question 5

 When you separate business and organizational issues from project management planning, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

Question 6

 Most colleges and universities have very strong functional organizations.

Question 7

 An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job more difficult.

Question 8

 The project organizational structure is the most efficient choice for most IT projects.

Question 9

 Project managers and their teams must recognize the effects of any project on the interests and needs of the entire system or organization instead of focusing on the immediate concerns of the project.

Question 10

 Internal stakeholders include groups affected by the project such as government officials or concerned citizens.

Question 11

 Most people believe that the underlying causes of many companies' problems can be traced to its organizational structure.

Question 12

 Project managers should lead projects in isolation in order to truly serve the needs of the organization.

Question 13

 Project managers must take adequate time to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders.

Question 14

 According to the symbolic frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

Question 15

 Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from various functional areas working on their projects.

Question 16

 Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where activities are organized around individuals.

Question 17

 The same organization can have different subcultures.

Question 18

 Standards and guidelines to follow when performing project management must be devised by top management.

Question 19

 Systems analysis addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and modifying a system.

Question 20

 Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization.

Question 21

 The _____ frame of an organization focuses on providing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people.

A) structural
B) human resources
C) political
D) symbolic

Question 22

 The nature of hardware development projects is more diverse than software-oriented projects.

Question 23

 Leadership style has no impact on the success of virtual teams.

Question 24

 Grey's Infotech sells customized hardware and software solutions for businesses. The salespeople for Grey's have a strict dress code when meeting clients. They are required to wear dark business suits, in order to convey the company's dedication to quality. The meaning conveyed to the clients' through the salespeople's clothing is part of the _____ frame of the organization.

A) political
B) symbolic
C) structural
D) human resources

Question 25

 The team members of a virtual team are all of the same nationality.

Question 26

 In what type of organizational structure do project managers have the most authority?

A) Functional
B) Project
C) Matrix
D) Circular

Question 27

 The symbolic perspective of an organization:

A) focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities to meet the goals and policies set by top management.
B) views the organization as coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups.
C) focuses on providing harmony between the needs of the organization and the needs of people.
D) focuses on the meanings of the culture, language, traditions, and image of the organization.

Question 28

 Which of the following is true of a matrix organizational structure?

A) In a matrix organizational structure, employees are organized into departments according to their skills, and there is little interaction between employees from different departments.
B) Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from only a single functional area working on their projects.
C) In a strong matrix organizational structure, the project manager controls the project budget and has moderate to high authority.
D) A matrix organizational structure is hierarchical, but instead of functional managers reporting to the CEO, program managers report to the CEO.

Question 29

 Projects must operate in a broad organizational environment, and project managers need to consider projects within the greater organizational context. Which approach describes the holistic view of carrying out projects within the context of the organization?

A) Linear analysis
B) Systems thinking
C) Reductionism
D) The silo approach

Question 30

 In what type of organizational structure do project managers have the least amount of authority?

A) Functional
B) Project
C) Matrix
D) Circular

Question 31

 Which perspective of an organization focuses on different groups' roles and responsibilities in order to meet the goals and policies set by top management?

A) Structural frame
B) Human resources frame
C) Political frame
D) Symbolic frame

Question 32

 Which characteristic of organizational culture describes the degree to which management's decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on people within the organization?

A) Member identity
B) Group emphasis
C) People focus
D) Unit integration

Question 33

 The last phase of the traditional project life cycle is the implementation phase.

Question 34

 In Rizzati Corp, vice presidents in departments such as engineering, manufacturing, IT, and human resources report directly to the chief executive officer and undertake their tasks independently of each other. The staffs of these departments have specialized skills in their respective disciplines. Which type of organizational structure does Rizatti Corp have?

A) Project
B) Symbolic
C) Matrix
D) Functional

Question 35

 In a _____ organizational structure, personnel often report to both a functional manager and one or more project managers.

A) project
B) symbolic
C) matrix
D) functional

Question 36

 Which problem-solving approach requires defining the scope of a system, dividing it into its components, and then identifying and evaluating its problems, opportunities, constraints, and needs?

A) Linear programming
B) Independent component analysis
C) Principal component analysis
D) Systems analysis

Question 37

 In a _____organizational structure, program managers, rather than functional managers or vice presidents, report to the CEO. Their staffs have a variety of skills needed to complete all required tasks within their programs.

A) project
B) symbolic
C) matrix
D) functional

Question 38

 Which perspective on organizations assumes that organizations are coalitions composed of varied individuals and interest groups?

A) Political frame
B) Symbolic frame
C) Structural frame
D) Human resources frame

Question 39

 An organization usually commits more money as a project continues, therefore a management review should occur after each phase to evaluate progress, potential success, and continued compatibility with organizational goals.

Question 40

 _____ refers to a set of shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that characterize the functioning of an organization.

A) Chain of command
B) Line of control
C) Organizational culture
D) Organizational structure

Question 41

 Which of the following is true of the project life cycle?

A) In the early phases of a project life cycle, resource needs are usually lowest.
B) In the later phases of the project life cycle, the level of uncertainty is usually the highest.
C) It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during the earlier phases than the latter phases.
D) More resources are usually needed during the initial phases of a project than during the middle or final phases.

Question 42

 Which systems development life cycle model assumes that requirements will remain stable after they are defined?

A) Spiral life cycle
B) Waterfall life cycle
C) Prototyping life cycle
D) RAD life cycle

Question 43

 Which is a disadvantage for virtual teams compared to traditional teams?

A) Increased costs for office space and support
B) Reduced opportunities for informal transfer of information
C) Limited flexibility in team working hours
D) Reduced dependence on technology and processes for accomplishing work

Question 44

 Which approach to product development is currently used by many organizations so a predictive set of steps is used as an overall means to coordinate more detailed steps that are adaptively managed?

A) Adaptive
B) Hybrid
C) Predictive
D) Incremental

Question 45

 Which of the following best describes a kill point in the project life cycle?

A) The period of time given to managers during the feasibility phases to decide on the cost, quality, and time constraints for the project
B) A review of the status of a project at each phase of development to determine if it should be continued, redirected, or terminated
C) The point of time in the project lifecycle after which it is impossible to terminate a running project
D) The final submission of the project deliverables after which the project is terminated

Question 46

 In which development life cycle do stakeholders define and approve the detailed scope before the start on an iteration?

A) Adaptive
B) Hybrid
C) Incremental
D) Iterative

Question 47

 Which observation is true of the agile approach to software development?

A) In the agile method, requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration.
B) An agile approach sets scope goals, but leaves time and cost goals flexible.
C) Agile is a predictive model of software development.
D) In the agile approach, requirements must be clearly expressed early in the life cycle.

Question 48

 In organizational culture, what does people focus refer to?

A) The degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment
B) The degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee and control employee behavior
C) The degree to which management's decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on employees within the organization
D) The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative, and risk seeking

Question 49

 In which systems development life cycle do model developers use a model to generate functional requirements and physical design specifications simultaneously?

A) RAD life cycle
B) Prototyping life cycle
C) Spiral life cycle
D) Waterfall life cycle

Question 50

 Which characteristic of organizational culture refers to the degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment?

A) Means-ends orientation
B) Open-systems focus
C) Conflict tolerance
D) Risk tolerance

Question 51

 In organizational culture, what does means-end orientation refer to?

A) The degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment
B) The degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee and control employee behavior
C) The degree to which management focuses on outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve results
D) The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative, and risk seeking

Question 52

 In which product life cycle the scope, schedule, and cost are determined early, and changes to scope are carefully managed?

A) Iterative
B) Incremental
C) Predictive
D) Adaptive

Question 53

 In organizational culture, what does control refer to?

A) The degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment
B) The degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee employee behavior
C) The degree to which management focuses on outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve results
D) The degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative, and risk seeking

Question 54

 Which statement best describes outsourcing?

A) An organization selling its products in a market outside its domestic market
B) An organization's acquisition of goods and services from an outside source
C) An organization setting up manufacturing and retailing facilities in a new country
D) An organization's use of virtual teams with employees located in different countries

Question 55

 The _____ model uses an approach in which developers work with an evolving prototype, using tools such as computer-aided software engineering, joint requirements planning, and joint application design to facilitate rapid prototyping and code generation.

A) prototyping life cycle
B) waterfall life cycle
C) RAD life cycle
D) spiral life cycle

Question 56

 Which characteristic is true of virtual teams?

A) It is easier for a virtual team to build relationships and trust.
B) Negative incentives do not impact virtual team members.
C) It is important to select team members carefully.
D) As they never meet, virtual teams do not have conflicts.

Question 57

 Which characteristic of organizational culture refers to the degree to which employees identify with the organization as a whole, rather than with their types of job or profession?

A) Member identity
B) People focus
C) Group emphasis
D) Unit integration

Question 58

 Which characteristic of organizational culture refers to the degree to which departments within an organization are encouraged to coordinate with each other?

A) Member identity
B) People focus
C) Group emphasis
D) Unit integration

Question 59

 Which term refers to a product or service, such as a technical report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code, produced or provided as part of a project?

A) Deliverable
B) Input
C) System
D) Resource

Question 60

 Select an example of external stakeholders for an organization.

A) Top managers
B) Functional managers
C) Employees
D) Competitors

Question 61

 A(n) _____ is a framework for describing the phases of developing information systems.

Question 62

 _____ is an organization's acquisition of goods and services from an outside source. 

Question 63

 _____ refers to the degree to which work activities are organized around teams, rather than individuals.

Question 64

 Sprint planning is part of the basic ______.

Question 65

 A major element of good practice concerns _____, which addresses the authority and control for key IT activities in organizations, including IT infrastructure, IT use, and project management.

Question 66

 A(n) _____ is an overall model for thinking about things as systems.

Question 67

 The three spheres of systems management are business, organization, and _____.

Question 68

 The _____ life cycle model is suitable for projects in which changes can be incorporated with reasonable cost increases or acceptable time delays.

Question 69

 A(n) _____ refers to a product or service, such as a report, a training session, a piece of hardware, or a segment of software code, produced or provided as part of a project.

Question 70

 Three general classifications of organizational structures are _____, project, and matrix.

Question 71

 Some projects have a senior manager called a(n) _____ who acts as a key advocate for a project.

Question 72

 The _____ frame of the organization is the one that is usually depicted in an organizational chart.

Question 73

 The _____ frame of an organization relates to the company's culture.

Question 74

 _____ addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and modifying a system.

Question 75

 _____ are sets of interacting components working within an environment to fulfill some purpose.

Question 76

 _____ software development can be used for software development or in any environment in which the requirements are unknown or change quickly.

Question 77

 In a(n) _____ organizational structure, project managers have little or no authority.

Question 78

 _____ refers to the degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee employee behavior.

Question 79

  The _____ life cycle model is used when risk must be tightly controlled and when changes must be restricted after the requirements are defined.

Question 80

 Describe the concept of a systems approach.