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?
This is a better answer
1 Acceptance (Handover)
2. Commissioning (Handover)
3. Transfer of Responsibility (Handover)
4. Team Dissolution (Closeout)
5. Post Project review (Closeout)
Description:
1. There needs to be an acceptance procedure and demonstration that the project has delivered everything required/contacted too. This would usually be signed off or documented along with the acceptance criteria for the products in the contract, but if no contract is in place the Project Management Plan would contain these criteria. Acceptance may be phased or progressive over time up to the end of the handover stage. It is the formal recognition that the project has discharged its obligations to the sponsor and the user.
2. Following the acceptance, the commissioning stage will enable the users to understand how to operate the products and use them to obtain the benefits for which the project was undertaken. This can take a long period of time depending on the product, as with a software system, it may require loading/installation of various types of data and transferring information from superseded systems. O&M manuals would also be transferred at this point if they exist to help the commissioning procedure.
3. Once the two previous stages are complete, the users will take full responsibility of the products meaning they will have to be happy and satisfied they have all the information required to operate the product. There may be arrangements in place after the handover such as a training service or maintenance contract, but this stage effectively completes the handover.
4. Team dissolution follows the successfully handover of the product and requires that the team be disbanded. Any unemployment issues following this stage must be dealt with in a reasonable, coordinated and sympathetic way, and if the project had a long lifecycle, the team may worked together for a number of years and care and recognition of performance should take place.
5. To ensure that the project has met its objectives and that the project team can be discharged of any further obligations to the project, a post project review is undertaken. This will generally instigate a lessons learned review as this will benefit future projects and give an overall review of the lessons learnt throughout the project from concept to handover/closeout.
Paul could you give me some feedback on questions 1 & 2 below please?
1)List and describe five typical functions that a project office can perform?
•Assurance
•Reporting
•Document control
•Lessons Learned
•Planning
A project office can provide assurance throughout the lifecycle of a project. The project office will help to ensure that the company’s procedures are adhered to. A good example of a process or procedure that must be followed within my organisation at Network Rail is the GRIP process which is used to police projects via a number of set deliverables and stage gates. NR uses a virtual project office with separate departments that can be called on when required. The planning department would help to ensure that the GRIP process is followed correctly before the project can progress.
The project office can help to produce reports for the project team. The project office may help in producing progress reports, financial reports, updated risk registers etc in order to ensure that the general day to day management requirements for the project are carried out at the required times.
Document control is another function of the project office. Organisations often have dedicated document controllers who ensure that the correct versions of documents are issued to the right people to make sure that there is a single source of truth. Document controllers will ensure that important documentation is correctly filed and is readily available to those who may need to review or access it. Document control is an important part of the project office team within my organisation as there are a lot of design submissions for our engineering team to review and It is important that everybody involved is aware of any comments made or revisions of designs submitted.
Lessons learned are collated by the project office and stored and disseminated to those who may find them useful. The project office will be responsible for ensuring that producing and disseminating lessons learned to the wider team is a regular occurrence. The project office will be responsible for ensuring that the lessons learned documentation can be accessed by those who need it. It is often a case that things like lessons learned documents are stored within a central repository such as an online drop box or central network.
The project office is able to help the project manager be able to plan resources and the availability of plant and materials by having a robust programme and an overall view of when certain resources will be required and when. It is important that the project manager works closely with the planners within the project office to ensure that resources are effectively used. In a virtual project office there will often be a separate planning resource available for the project manager
2)Describe 5 typical responsibilities of a project sponsor
The sponsor is responsible for approving the project management plan. The PMP serves as a contract between the PM and the sponsor.
The sponsor chairs the steering group. The sponsor will ensure that the steering group is regularly updated throughout the course of the project.
The sponsor is responsible for managing key stakeholders on a project. The sponsor will often be the individual that will aim to strike a rapport with the key stakeholders and will aim to act as the link between the project team and the key stakeholders involved on a project.
The sponsor is responsible for delivering the project benefits. The benefits of the project should be clearly set out within the business case at the start of the project. The sponsor will keep a close eye on these end goals or benefits through stagegate reviews at regular interviews throughout the course of the project.
The sponsor helps to manage the key risks on a project. The sponsor will work closely with the project manager to ensure that risks are either effectively managed or eradicated all together where possible. The sponsor will be involved during the concept phase of the project so he or she may well be able to put together a plan to effectively manage or eradicate these risks from the project all together early in the lifecycle.
@sam the project office question is good, but you need to say more about the role of a project sponsor. Each paragraph should be 2-3 sentences to pass.
Cheers for the feedback Paul. Ideally i would like to send you a couple of questions each week on the lead up to my exam on the 18th July. Is it best to do it on here or email you direct?
Yes sure