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ZHAW. International Management. Project Management.

ZHAW. International Management. Project Management.

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Dominique Schoch

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Dominique Schoch

About these flashcards

This flashcard set delves into the complexities of project management at a university level, focusing on key concepts like risk management, team dynamics, and strategic planning. It covers essential topics such as the critical path, budget contingencies, and the importance of scope management. Ideal for students and professionals, this flashcard set provides a comprehensive overview of project management principles, helping learners understand the intricacies of managing projects effectively.

Flashcards

44

Students

6

Language

English

Category

Micro-Economics

Level

University

Created / Updated

28.12.2015 / 16.06.2025

What's the critical path?

The path through the network with the longest duration. Zero buffer.

What are the 3 methods for duration estimation of an activity within a project?

-past experience

-expert opinion

-mathematical (most likely, most pessimistic, most optimistic)

What are possibilities to reduce the critical path?

-eliminating tasks

-convert serial paths to parallel ones

-shorten/speed up (longest, easiest tasks etc.)

How can we crash/speed up a project?

-improve the productivity

-change the working method

-compromise quality

-overtime/add resources

How leads a project manager?

-acquiring resources

-communicate

-motivate & build teams

What is essential by creating effective project teams?

-clear sense of mission

-cohesiveness (Zusammenhalt)

-trust

-enthusiasm

-goal oriented

Reasons why teams fail?

-unclear goals

-poorly defined team roles

-lack of motivation

-poor communication

-poor leadership

What types of project costs exist?

-top-down

-bottom-up

-ABC (activity based costing)

Why are budget contingencies important?

-project scope may change

-Murphy's Law

-normal conditions not possible

What are the 4 key steps in the control cycle?

1. Setting a goal

2. measuring progress

3. comparing actual with planned

4. taking action & recycling

What are human factors in project evaluation & control?

-optimistic reports

-level of detail

-non-technical performance measurement

Definition of project risk?

Any possible event that can negatively affect the practicabiity of a project.

(Probability of event) (consequences of event)

Hence, risk management is the art to identify & analyze ro risk factors.

Name the 4 stages of risk management?

1. risk identification

2. analysis of probability & consequences

3. risk mitigation (Linderung) strategies

4. control & documentation

What are the 4 approaches of risk identification?

-brainstorming

-expert opinion

-past history

-team assessments

Name 5 causes of project risks?

-politics

-naive optimism of youth

-marine corps mentality (no left/no right)

-competition bcse of new technologies

-unplanned crises

Name 4 risk mitigation strategies?

-accept

-minimize

-share (partnership)

-transfer (assurance)

-contingency

-mentoring

What's PRAM and what are the key features?

"Project Risk Analysis & Management"

-follows over the life cycle

-risk management strategy changes over the life cycle

What are the 4 main forms of a project termination?

-extinction (project is stopped; either successfull or not)

-addition (pm team = new operating group)

-integration (team back to normal organisation)

-starvation (politics, budget)

Why are closeouts difficult?

-sign off can be a de-motivator

-low priority activities

-unique view (not considering to transfer the learned issues)

-shortcuts on back-end

What are key reasons for an early termination?

-costs exceed business benefits

-not meeting the strategic criteria

-deadlines continued to be missed

-technological changes

Definition of project?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

Unique venture, with a beginning and an end, conducted by people, to meet goals, within the parameters (cost, schedule, quality)

What are the elements/characteristics of a project?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

-complex

-limited

-clear goal

-customer focused

Why are projects important/key motivators?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

-shortened product life cycle

-increasing complexity

-global markets etc.

What are the 4 key elements of the success of a project?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

-budget

-schedule

-performance

-client acceptance

Why is PM such a challenge?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

-operate outside of the normal business

-different mind-set needed

-ad-hoc

-crossing boarders

-time, budget, performance, customer satisfaction

What includes strategic management?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

Formulating, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that allow an organization to meet its objectives.

What are strengths & weaknesses of a functional structure?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

+it represents the firm's "design"

+stimulate development of deep knowledge

+pm team members stay connected with their functional group

-siloing

-less customer focus

-projects may take longer

What are strengths and weaknesses of a project structure?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

+improved communication

+effective decision-making

+creation of pm experts

-expensive form of organization

-loyalty to the project rather to the firm

-workers unassigned at a project end

What are the strengths and weaknesses of a matrix structure?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

+good in dynamic environments

+pm & function are equal

+maximizes scarce resources

-dual hierarchies (2 bosses)

-negotiation bcse of scarce resources

How could a company change its structure towards a heavyweight-project-organization?

Keyboard commands:

= turn,

= for-/backward,

= scroll

-pm authority expanded

-a more market oriented organization

-focus on customer

For what is a project management office (PMO) good for and what are the 3 forms?

-stock for technical details, past project reports, expertise

-weather station, control tower, resource pool

Describe the characteristics of the 3 different PMOs?

-weather station: monitoring and tracking

-control tower: protecting & supporting pm

-resource pool: skilled people

Definition of stakeholders?

Stakeholders are individuals or groups which have a stake in a project and can positively or negatively impact it.

What is stakeholder management?

Formulating strategies which lead to positive results regarding the impact of the stakeholders.

What are key factors which affect the development of a culture?

-technology

-environment

-reward system

-rules

Explain 6 criteria for a useful project-selection?

Realism

Ease of use

Flexibilty

Capability

Cost effectiveness

Comparability

Name the 3 financial models?

-payback period (break-even)

-net present value (invest/not invest)

-internal rate of return

Definition of project portfolio management?

The systematic process of selecting, supporting & managing the firm's collection of projects.

What are the 3 keys to successful project portfolio management?

1. flexible structure & freedom of communication

2. low-cost environmental scanning (try to build & test new products)

3. time-paced transition (Übergang)

What are the challenges in implementing project portfolio management?

-conservative technical communities

-out-of-sync (not investing in projects which don't reflects the new strategy)

-unpromising projects

-scarce resources

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Flashcards

What's PRAM and what are the key features?

"Project Risk Analysis & Management"

-follows over the life cycle

-risk management strategy changes over the life cycle

What are the 4 main forms of a project termination?

-extinction (project is stopped; either successfull or not)

-addition (pm team = new operating group)

-integration (team back to normal organisation)

-starvation (politics, budget)

Why are closeouts difficult?

-sign off can be a de-motivator

-low priority activities

-unique view (not considering to transfer the learned issues)

-shortcuts on back-end

What are key reasons for an early termination?

-costs exceed business benefits

-not meeting the strategic criteria

-deadlines continued to be missed

-technological changes

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