St+$ent Na#e St+$ent ID No Date an$ Ti#e *ect+!e!

IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Assessment No. 2

Midterm Examination
Open 6 C'o"e$ 7ooTi#e a''o8e$ 9 o% &ina' Ma!)losed book 2 hours %plus 10 minutes reading time& 2'1

IMPORTANT NOTES: 1. This closed-book exam is part of the final mark of this paper. You must complete this closed-book exam if you wish to be eligible to pass this paper. 2. The invigilator will provide you enough copies of paper where you will write your answers. Please write legibly otherwise your answer may not be given the corresponding mark. !. "nsure that this cover sheet is filled in and attached to your completed closed-book examination. #. $ny student caught cheating will receive ZERO. $ seating plan will be created by the invigilator at the time of the exam and if copying is identified %i.e. your work is the same as any of the students seated around you& it will be marked ZERO. '. (efer to your )ourse *andbook for regulations relating to (ecount+ (econsideration of ,arks. This must be applied for WITHIN 3 DA S from the date $ssessment -eedback is provided by the lecturer or nominated representative. $ll applications are to be submitted to your lecturer or nominated representative. .ote/ No !ea""e""#ent" a!e pe!#itte$ %o! &ina' E(a#") *ea!ning O+tco#e / 1 3 0 2 4 ,+e"tion No / 1 3 0 2 4 Tota' Ma!-" A''ocate$ 0 2 2 3 /0 /0 Tota' 5 2/ #a!-" Tota' Ma!-" Achie.e$

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&ina' Ma!-

+ 2:9

1. "xplain the -ive Pro3ect ,anagement Process 4roup. 2. *ow to 5evelop an effective 6cope ,anagement for a Pro3ect7 !. 8hat is i9mportant about understanding and continuously refining a Pro3ect:s 6cope7 #. 8hat is a ;6cope )reep; in 8eb 5esign Pro3ect ,anagement7 '. *ow does excessive scope creep lead to pro3ect failure7 <. 8hat is a 8ork =reakdown 6tructure %8=6&7 *ow to organi>e a 8ork =reakdown 6tructure %8=6&7 ?. 8hat is pro3ect scheduling7 *ow does scheduling help pro3ect management7 @. 8hy pro3ect time management process is important7 8hat are the components of Time management7 (ead the following scene. 9n the scene ,r. Aramer %9nformation 6ervices pro3ect manager& ,s. )hala %9nformation 6ervices manager& and ,arcus %9nformation 6ervices editor& are talking to each other. M!) ;!a#e!/ $ shipment of P)s is coming in next ,onday. Today we need to discuss every detail of the delivery to make sure weBre prepared. M") Cha'a/ 9Bll call you when the first delivery truck arrives then 9Bll meet the driver at the dock to collect the paperwork. 9f the truckBs on time it should be about 10 oBclock when 9 call you. M!) Ma!c+"/ $fter you call 9Bll gather my crew together and meet you at the dock. 8e can have all #'0 P)s off the dock and into the warehouse by one oBclock. TheyBll be out of the way by the time the second truck arrives at two oBclock. M") Cha'a/ .ow wait a minuteCwhere are we going to stack all the shipping pallets7 There wonBt be room for them in the docking bay.

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M!) ;!a#e!/ ThatBs a good point. 9Bll have a flatbed truck parked next to the dock. Dnce the P)s are off the pallets have your guys put the pallets on the flatbed. 8hat other details have we missed7 .ow answer the following/ 10. 9n the above scene list the activities that the team decides to do in preparation for the delivery of the shipment of P)s. 11. 8hat is decomposition7 $. 9dentifying when the pro3ect will be completed for the pro3ect stakeholders =. 6ummari>ing pro3ect milestones into comprehensive descriptions ). 6plitting ma3or work deliverables into action steps 5. 4rouping activities together on the work breakdown structure 1!. 8hat is )ost and Pro3ect )ost ,anagement7

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St+$ent Na#e St+$ent ID No Date an$ Ti#e *ect+!e!

IT PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Assessment No. 2

Midterm Examination Marking Guide

Q410-A4-01

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S+gge"te$ an"8e! to ,/ *ow to 5evelop an "ffective 6cope for the ,anagement of a Pro3ect The pro3ect scope defines the work that must be done to successfully complete the pro3ect on time and within budget. "ffective scope management prevents scope creep or changes in the pro3ect that expand what must be accomplished beyond the schedule and budget that the stakeholders originally agreed to. 6mall businesses are particularly vulnerable to scope creep making an effective scope management plan even more important. 6cope 5efinition 9n order to develop an effective scope management process you must first define the scope of your pro3ect. 8ork with the pro3ect stakeholders including the pro3ect sponsor who approves and funds the pro3ect to determine what product service or result they expect. -or example stakeholders of a pro3ect to centrali>e a business:s new account opening process would expect to end up with one department in a central location managing all aspects of the process. =aseline the 6cope Dnce you have defined the pro3ect scope the next step in developing an effective scope management strategy is baselining. This means that all pro3ect stakeholders have formally agreed on what the pro3ect will and will not produce or accomplish. The pro3ect team must handle any changes to the baselined scope that occur during the pro3ect through a separate change management process. 6cope Eerification $n effective scope management plan doesn:t end when the pro3ect work starts. Throughout the pro3ect you must go back to the stakeholders each time the pro3ect team completes a pro3ect deliverable. The stakeholders verify that pro3ect deliverables satisfy the scope reFuirement in completeness and Fuality. -or instance if one of the reFuirements of the centrali>ed account opening process is to create an effective user interface for remote offices the stakeholders will perform Fuality and user testing to verify that this reFuirement has been met. 6cope ,anagement and )hange )ontrol $ny changes to the baselined scope reFuirements affect the pro3ect. 9f the change is an additional reFuirement or modification to an existing reFuirement the pro3ect may take longer or cost more to complete. 9f the change is the removal of a pro3ect reFuirement the impact may be positive allowing the pro3ect team to complete the pro3ect ahead of schedule or under budget. You must control both negative and positive changes in order for the scope management plan to be effective. 6cope management includes a process for stakeholders to formally reFuest a change and provide a reason for the reFuest. $n authori>ed stakeholder must then approve the change reFuest and the pro3ect manager must document the change in the pro3ect plan including any impact the change will have on the pro3ect timeline or budget. -inally a designated stakeholder group must prioriti>e any additional reFuirements.

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8hat 9s 9mportant $bout Gnderstanding and )ontinuously (efining a Pro3ect:s 6cope7 $ pro3ect scope is a written statement of the most important parts of the pro3ect including its 3ustification product deliverables and ob3ectives. The scope should be continuously revised as you actually work on the pro3ect. )ollaboration 8hen everyone understands the pro3ect:s scope everyone understands the goal of the pro3ect and how it is to be carried out reducing the risk of employee confusion and miscommunication. Thus employees who understand the scope can work better together because they are all on the same page. 6imilarly continuously revising the pro3ect:s scope allows employees to collaborate by discussing what is not working and how it will affect the pro3ect as a whole. 8hen employees continuously revise the pro3ect plan they do not feel as if they are working alone with a fixed outlineH they know the pro3ect is fluid and that they can change its parameters with the help of their teammates. 8hole-=usiness )oncerns )ontinually refining the pro3ect:s scope allows people working on the pro3ect to think about how that pro3ect fits in with the concerns of the business as a whole. This is especially important for newer small businesses where change happens often and rapidly. 9f the needs or goals of the business as a whole change or expand while the pro3ect is being developed employees can refine the pro3ect scope to include the new focus of the business. $chievements Dften ob3ectives achieved during the pro3ect can change the pro3ect:s scope. -or example your employees may be working on a client marketing package that includes radio television and print marketing. *owever during the pro3ect your company acFuires an individual skilled in social media marketing. $fter conferring with the client you might change the deliverables to include a social media marketing plan as well. 9n this situation the scope of the pro3ect had to change because the company is now able to achieve more. $ll employees on the pro3ect would have to understand how the new addition affects their role in the pro3ect. -or instance the people developing the radio television and print plans would have to discuss their ideas with the new social media developer to make sure the message remains consistent. )hallenges Iike achievements challenges encountered during the pro3ect will change the scope. -or example delays due to technical problems challenges encountered in the research phase and the closing or re-structuring of partner companies can lead to delays and changes in a pro3ect. 8hen employees encounter these challenges they must revise the scope of the pro3ect as a whole after discussing how one area:s challenges will affect the entire pro3ect. This will allow them to set goals and get back on track as soon as possible. 8hat 9s a ;6cope )reep; in 8eb 5esign Pro3ect ,anagement7 $s a 8eb site design pro3ect progresses past the earliest stages the 8eb site clientBs vision for the pro3ect freFuently changes. This phenomenon called scope creep happens at every level from a simple site for a mom-and-pop store to sites for -ortune '00 companies. 9t is not uniFue to 8eb pro3ects but occurs in many kinds of software and engineering pro3ects.

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8eb 6ite 5evelopment Typically a 8eb site pro3ect starts with a meeting between the client users and the software developers. The client rarely has fully-developed idea for the site but instead has some sketchy ideas or a wish list of features. The developers who may include programmers pro3ect managers and graphic artists discuss the clientBs ideas and take extensive notes. 6everal days later the developers present a graphical mock-ups of the site designH the client examines these and chooses one and typically reFuests changes to fine-tune the design. $t this point the developers have not yet done any programming but begin once the client agrees on the design. 9n a perfect world the developers create the 8eb site and send it to the client who is thrilled. 9n reality revisions and problems crop up and the pro3ect changes. )lient "xpectations 8eb site clients know 8eb pages can be changed Fuickly. This sets the stage for scope creep. Gsers not present at the initial meetings come up with their own ideas other users reali>e they didnBt meet certain reFuirements or the company president 3ust saw a 8eb site she thought looked better than their design. Gnless the pro3ect manager handles changing expectations with discipline the pro3ect can get Fuickly out of hand. *ow 5oes "xcessive 6cope )reep Iead to Pro3ect -ailure7 Pro3ect managers must maintain a difficult balance. Dn one hand they must set aggressive goals that challenge their teams pushing employees to do their best. Dn the other they must ensure ob3ectives are reasonable or the entire pro3ect could fail. 6cope creep is a form of goal mismanagement that rears its head during a pro3ect. 6cope )reep 6cope creep refers to a gradual complication of pro3ect ob3ectives. 9magine a sniper preparing to shoot a target. Through careful analysis of the variables such as distance wind speed and the rifleBs range the sniper pinpoints the location where the bullet should strike. 9f the sniper pulls the trigger now the ob3ective is met. =ut if the sniper complicates the situation say by adding more targets and thus more shots new variables come into play. $t some point the sniperBs ob3ectives will exceed her abilities. )osts 6cope creep can break your budget. $ marketing campaign for example to promote the release of a new product might have a budget suitable for the design and delivery of commercials for a single medium such as TE. 5eciding later to add radio promotions could bust the budget. .ow the budget also must cover the production and airing of commercials for an entirely different medium. 4) What i" a 8o!- 7!ea- $o8n "t!+ct+!e $ work breakdown structure %8=6& is the foundation for pro3ect planning and is one of the most important techniFues used in pro3ect management. $ 8=6 identifies all of the deliverables reFuired for a pro3ect and is a standard way to organi>e the work. 9n order to complete a 8=6 effectively you must decompose each deliverable necessary to complete a pro3ect. 5oing so will enable you to understand the total scope of a pro3ect. Drgani>ing a 8=6

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Dnce all of the work packages in a 8=6 have been identified the pro3ect manager should organi>e them in the most logical manner possible. The manner in which work packages are organi>ed can emphasi>e different aspects of the pro3ect. There are various ways you can organi>e a 8=6/

$ccording to the phases in which the product will be released $ccording to the physical elements of the product listing each as a high-level deliverable $ccording to the general pro3ect ob3ectives the deliverables need to meet $ccording to the reports needed for upper management. $ccording to the chronology of the ma3or steps in a productBs life cycle $ccording to various locations if the pro3ect is geographically dispersed $ccording to functional departments and then within each department using the individual 8=6 that makes the most sense

,<) What i" p!o=ect "che$+'ing> Ho8 $oe" "che$+'e he'p p!o=ect #anage#ent> The pro3ect schedule is the tool that communicates what work needs to be performed which resources of the organi>ation will perform the work and the timeframes in which that work needs to be performed. The pro3ect schedule should reflect all of the work associated with delivering the pro3ect on time. 8ithout a full and complete schedule the pro3ect manager will be unable to communicate the complete effort in terms of cost and resources necessary to deliver the pro3ect. 6chedules also help you do the following/ They provide a basis for you to monitor and control pro3ect activities. They help you determine how best to allocate resources so you can achieve the pro3ect goal. They help you assess how time delays will impact the pro3ect. You can figure out where excess resources are available to allocate to other pro3ects. They provide a basis to help you track pro3ect progress.

J. 8hy Pro3ect Time management process is important7 8hat are the components of Time management7 ,anagers often cite delivering pro3ects on time as one of their biggest challenges Time has the least amount of flexibilityH it passes no matter what happens on a pro3ect 6chedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on pro3ects especially during the second half of pro3ects

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)omponents of time management =efore beginning a pro3ect it is important for the pro3ect manager to have a solid understanding of time management and how its components are integrated into the pro3ect management process. Three components of time management are part of the planning step of the pro3ect management process/

activity definition and seFuencing assessing activity duration and schedule development.

6chedule control the fourth component of time management is part of the control step of the pro3ect management process.

12. .etwork $ctivity 5iagram 1!. 1!. 8hat is )ost and Pro3ect )ost ,anagement7 )ost is a resource sacrificed or foregone to achieve a specific ob3ective or something given up in exchange )osts are usually measured in monetary units like dollars Pro3ect cost management includes the processes reFuired to ensure that the pro3ect is completed within an approved budget )ost estimating/ developing an approximation or estimate of the costs of the resources needed to complete a pro3ect )ost budgeting/ allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items to establish a baseline for measuring performance )ost control/ controlling changes to the pro3ect budget ,ost members of an executive board better understand and are more interested in financial terms than 9T terms so 9T pro3ect managers must speak their language Profits are revenues minus expenditures Profit margin is the ratio of revenues to profits Iife cycle costing considers the total cost of ownership or development plus support costs for a pro3ect )ash flow analysis determines the estimated annual costs and benefits for a pro3ect and the resulting annual cash flow

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