These are some typical questions based on the first two chapters in the book. Remember to get the full marks for each questions you need to write five paragraphs for each question. Each paragraph should explain the point you are trying to make and then explain why it is important to project managers. So for example the barriers to effective communication might be five paragraphs like
1) Time zones are one of the key barriers to communication in multi-national projects. This makes communication difficult as the working period of different team members may not overlap and the remote working can make it difficult for the project to build trust between team members. Project managers can overcome this by organising face to face startup meeting of key project team members or by using on-line conferencing facilities to build relationships.
Five more like that and you should get full marks.
So the questions for this week are, please complete any two from the questions below.
1) List and describe five functions that a project office can perform?
2) Describe five typical responsibilities of a project sponsor?
3) Describe five situations in which portfolio management would be appropriate?
4) List and describe five activities that take place during handover and closeout?
5) Describe five different types of project reviews?
6) Describe five advantages of adopting a structured method?
7) Explain the benefits of project governance?
Paul,
Please could you take a look at my answer to the question on types of project review below:
Describe 5 different types of project review?
Project Evaluation
A project evaluation is an internal review that is carried out in order to gain a greater understanding of how well the project is progressing at any given point and to determine whether any actions are required in order to ensure that the project stays on track.
A project evaluation is chaired by the sponsor and can be carried out at any point during the process of a project.
A project evaluation will often involve reviewing the progress of a project against the initial project programme and may also take a further look into projects spend. These project evaluation reviews are a good opportunity for the PM to update the sponsoring organisation on any potential issues that may cause issues with regard to the progress or completion of the project.
Phase Gate Review
A phase gate reveiew is a formally documented review which at very least should be carried out during the concept, definition and implementation stages of the project.
A phase gate review will review the progress of a project in terms of project deliverables and products. A phase gate review is generally chaired by the sponsoring organisation as a part of their governance process.
Once the sponsoring organisation is happy that the required progress has been made during a certain stage of the project they will sign off that stage of the project and allow the project team to move forward with the job. It is often upon the completion of these stage gate reviews that additional funds are made available to allow the project team to progress as planned.
Audits
Audits are generally carried out by external companies as a part of the sponsoring organisations governance policy. There will be a formal output from an audit and improvements may need to be made as a result of the audit.
An audit can focus on different elements of the project including finance, procurement, equal opportunities and compliance with company policies.
Post Project Review
Post project reviews are carried out at the end of the project in order to review the positives and negatives of the completed job. The post project review will often be chaired by the sponsor but may involve many if not all of the project team that were involved in order to get a feel for how all parties within the team felt the project went. A post project review will run through the success criteria which will have initially been set out in the PMP at the start of the project and whether the project has met these criteria or not.
Post project reviews are a good opportunity to run through lessons learnt may they be good or bad. These lessons learnt can then be disseminated to the wider team in order to ensure that best practice is followed where applicable and also to give others within the organisation the opportunity to ensure that they don’t make the same mistakes on their projects. The whole project will be reviewed during this process and this will include looking at how effective the methods and process that were used were and whether they can be improved on and learnt from.
Benefits Realisation Review
The benefits realisation review is carried out at the end of the handover stage by the project sponsor. At this point in the project the main team will have disbanded and the project manager will most likely be unavailable.
The key outputs to come from the benefits realisation review are to ascertain whether the sponsor is happy that the required benefits have been realised from the products that have been produced as a result of the project.
Sam, yes that answer is good, with a sufficient level of detail in each paragraph to get you the marks you need.
Paul, please could you review my practice questions below?
Q.Describe 5 roles associated with a project and their main responsibilities.
•Project Sponsor
•Project Manager
•Steering Group
•Users
•Team
Project Sponsor, the project sponsor is the single named individual responsible for the project. The sponsor owns the business case and is responsible for the project benefits. The sponsor will chair stagegate reviews and the benefits realisation review at the end of the project and will act as a source of escalation for the project manager should any complex issues arise. The project sponsor will be around at the concept stage of the project and also at the very end during handover and closeout when there may not be a project manager present.
The project manager is responsible for managing the project on a day to basis and is responsible for managing the project team and the suppliers. The project manager will be responsible for ensuring that the project is delivered to the required time, cost and quality. The project manager also owns the PMP.
The steering group is responsible for appointing the project sponsor at the start of the project. The steering group will also authorise the business case at the beginning of the project and will provide support to the sponsor throughout the latter stages.
The project team are responsible for supporting the PM throughout the project. They are the people responsible for delivering the products to time, cost and quality requirements under guidance from the PM. The project team should identify any risks or opportunities to the PM so that they can be effectively managed.
The users are responsible for defining the product requirements during the definition stage. They may liaise with the PM throughout the project to discuss any required changes. The users will also be responsible for accepting and operating the products at the handover and closeout stage of the project.
Q. Describe the main components of a project management method. Make 5 points in your answer.
The main components of a project management method are as follows:
•People
•Products
•Processes
•Tools
•Templates
People, a project management method aims to clearly define the individual roles within the project team. The individual roles should be clearly described and should detail the duties of each role and how they fit into the bigger picture. The roles included within this will be that of the Project Sponsor, project manager, the team, the users and the steering group.
Products, the products or deliverables that the project is aiming to deliver should be clearly set out within the project management method. There are two types of products, Managerial and technical. Managerial products are things that help the overall management of the project and include products such as the PMP. Technical products are the deliverables that come out of the end of the project such as a bridge or a new section of rail track.
Processes, by clearly setting out processes as a part of the project management method it is possible for a uniform approach to project management to take place. These processes will often include things such as a uniform approach to risk management or standard reporting procedures throughout a project team or organisation. By operating in a manner where all parties involved are aware of the standard processes required it is possible to create an environment where one project manager may leave the company but the project can continue with little disruption as the incoming PM is able to easily fit into the role as the processes that he or she will be working with will be familiar.
Tools, project managers often employ a number of tools which aid them in the day to day running and organisation of a project. These tools will often include data management systems or tools to update finance or risks as new issues or opportunities arise. These tools are an important part of the project management method and can help to keep things such as project contingencies and resource requirements current and up to date.
Templates are often used for producing the documents that are required within the project management method over and over again, these templates may well be available for things such as the PMP or risk log but may also be available for other documents such as an outline for stagegate reviews which can be filled in by PM’s and the sponsor in a uniform manner. Templates for authority papers and other such documents which will be required for each and every project will also be available as an off the shelf document which can be edited for each project based on its individual requirements.
sam first answer on project roles is ok, you need to add a sentence or two more amplifying The role of The project manager and steering group. for The PM think about The leadership roles. for The steering group I would add their role in governance. The rest is ok.
I think your answer on The components of a method is fine…..
Paul,
i’ve had a go at a couple more questions from this section. Please can you take a look?
Explain five distinct benefits of using a structured life cycle approach?
Benefits:
Having a project lifecycle ensures that the correct amount of attention is given to each stage of the process, especially at the beginning of the project during the concept and definition phases. If the correct level of effort or resource isn’t deployed during these stages then the project will simply not be allowed to progress onto the next stage, for example if the business case hasn’t been ironed out by the end of the concept phase or the PMP hasn’t been created by the end of definition then the project will not be able to progress into the next phase.
A project lifecycle allows planning to be carried out more easily as the different stages of the project are clearly laid out. By having a project lifecycle each stage of the project can be split out giving the planning team an opportunity to create more detailed plans for the concept, definition, implementation and hand over and close out stages separately.
The project lifecycle details clear outputs that are required at each stage before progress can be made onto the next stage of the project. This allows all involved to be clearly focused on working towards the short term goals required in order to complete each phase alongside the more long term goal of the completion of the project itself.
A clearly laid out project lifecycle provide logical places at which to stop and review progress i.e at the end of each phase. The lifecycle dictates that reviews will be carried out at the end of the first three stages as a minimum. These reviews allow the project manager and the sponsor to take stock of where the project has progressed to and give both parties an opportunity to address any issues may they be current or potential future risks or issues.
The project lifecycle can help to give confidence to the sponsor and stakeholders through the completion of phasegate reviews. Progress can be linked directly to these phasegates through the completion of the required criteria and products. The phasegate reviews will give the stakeholders the confidence that the project is progressing as initially laid out in the project management plan during the definition phase. By successfully completing each stage of the project the stake holders can rest easy in knowing that the required deliverables have been satisfied as required.
List and describe five key phases of a project lifecycle, the activities undertaken during and the outputs of each?
Concept
Definition
Implementation
Handover
Closeout
The first phase of the lifecycle is the concept stage. At this point the project is its infancy and the sponsor is heavily involved with its running. The key output of this stage of the project is the business case. A project manager may well be appointed to aid the sponsor with the production of the business case during this early part of the process.
Definition is the second stage of the lifecycle and includes the production of the PMP by the project manager as well as all of the other subsidiary plans which will be referenced in the PMP. At this stage the project will be more clearly defined and a single option will be determined. The key output of the stage is the PMP which should document the entire project and the required deliverables.
Implementation, during this stage the products will be produced. Using the construction of a new rail bridge as an example this stage would encompass the chosen contractor designing and building the structure to the specification set out by the client. The key out put at this stage would be the products or the bridge in this case. The project manager is responsible for producing the products as set out in the PMP and should do so with time, cost and quality in mind.
Handover, the handover stage involves the products being accepted so that they may be commissioned and bought into use. There will be an acceptance procedure where the projects products will be reviewed against the acceptance criteria to ensure that the requirements of the project have been met. Using the example of the construction of a rail bridge again at this point in the project the bridge would be accepted and bought into use, the ownership will be transferred from the project team to the users.
The closeout stage will involve the dissolution of the team and the project closeout admin such as the closeout of project codes and the removal of site cabins etc. The post project review is to be carried out by the sponsor during this stage to determine whether the success criteria for the project has been satisfied