Project Management Basics Flashcards

Question 1

What is a project in project management terms?

Accepted Answer

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Temporary means it has a defined start and end, while unique means the outcome differs in some meaningful way from routine operations. Projects differ from ongoing operations, which repeat the same work to keep an organization running.

Question 2

What is the triple constraint, and why is it important to project planning?

Accepted Answer

The triple constraint is a model showing that scope, time, and cost are linked, so changing one usually affects the others. Planners use it to explain trade-offs to sponsors. For example, adding features typically requires more time, more money, or both. Some versions place quality at the center.

Question 3

What is a project life cycle, and what phases does it usually include?

Accepted Answer

A project life cycle is the series of phases a project moves through from beginning to end. Common phases include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Phase names vary by method, but the sequence generally moves from defining the work to delivering and then closing it out formally.

Question 4

Who is a project sponsor, and what does this person typically do?

Accepted Answer

A project sponsor is the executive or senior leader who authorizes the project and provides funding, support, and final decision authority. The sponsor champions the work across the organization, helps remove obstacles, and approves major changes to scope or budget. Sponsors do not usually manage daily tasks, which belong to the project manager.

Question 5

What is a project charter, and what information should it contain?

Accepted Answer

A project charter is a document that formally authorizes a project and gives the project manager authority to use organizational resources. It usually states the project purpose, high-level requirements, key stakeholders, summary milestones, and initial budget. Creating it during initiation gives everyone a shared, written starting point.

Question 6

What is a stakeholder, and why does identifying stakeholders early matter?

Accepted Answer

A stakeholder is any person, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by the project. Identifying stakeholders early helps the team learn their interests, influence, and expectations before those expectations become conflicts. Missing a key stakeholder often leads to late requests, rework, or unexpected opposition.

Question 7

What is the difference between a project and a program?

Accepted Answer

A program is a group of related projects managed together to achieve benefits that would not be realized if the projects were run separately. A project has one defined deliverable, while a program coordinates several projects, shared resources, and dependencies. Programs usually last longer and focus on strategic outcomes rather than a single product.

Question 8

Why do projects need a defined objective before work begins?

Accepted Answer

A defined objective gives the team a clear target, so everyone can judge whether the work is succeeding. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, which is often summarized by the SMART acronym. Without one, teams drift, scope grows unchecked, and the finished result may not match what the sponsor wanted.

Question 9

What is project scope, and how does it differ from the product scope?

Accepted Answer

Project scope is the total work required to deliver the intended product, service, or result. Product scope describes the features and characteristics of that deliverable itself. Both must be defined clearly, because gaps in either one often lead to rework or disputes at closing.

Question 10

What is a work breakdown structure, and what is its main purpose?

Accepted Answer

A work breakdown structure is a hierarchical decomposition of the total project work into smaller, manageable components. Its main purpose is to show the full scope clearly, so the team can estimate effort, assign responsibility, and track progress. Work packages at the lowest level should be small enough to schedule and monitor.

Question 11

What is scope creep, and how can a team reduce it?

Accepted Answer

Scope creep is the uncontrolled growth of project scope without corresponding adjustments to time, cost, or resources. It often begins with small, informal requests that seem harmless. Teams reduce it with a clear baseline, a documented change control process, and a habit of evaluating each request's impact before approving it.

Question 12

What is a scope baseline, and when is it established?

Accepted Answer

A scope baseline is the approved version of the scope statement, work breakdown structure, and WBS dictionary. It is established during planning, after stakeholders review and agree to the defined scope. Once approved, the baseline serves as the reference point for measuring performance and evaluating change requests.

Question 13

What is a deliverable, and how do teams confirm that one is complete?

Accepted Answer

A deliverable is any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability that must be produced to complete the project or a phase. Teams confirm completion through inspection against acceptance criteria defined in advance. The sponsor or customer then formally accepts the deliverable, which closes that item in the project record.

Question 14

Why is it useful to write a scope statement before starting detailed work?

Accepted Answer

A scope statement records what the project will deliver, what it will not deliver, and the key assumptions and constraints. Writing it early gives the team and sponsor a shared understanding before effort and money are committed. Explicit exclusions are especially valuable, because they prevent later disagreements.

Question 15

What is requirements gathering, and which methods do teams commonly use?

Accepted Answer

Requirements gathering is the process of eliciting, documenting, and confirming what stakeholders need from the project. Common methods include interviews, workshops, surveys, observation, and reviewing existing documents. Good requirements are testable and traceable, so each one can be verified against the final deliverable.

Question 16

How would a project manager use a WBS dictionary during monitoring and control?

Accepted Answer

A WBS dictionary describes each work package in detail, including its description, owner, deliverables, milestones, cost account, and acceptance criteria. During monitoring and control, the manager checks progress against these entries to see whether each package still matches its intended scope. When a package changes, the dictionary is updated so that records stay accurate.

Question 17

What is a critical path, and why does it matter to a schedule?

Accepted Answer

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities through a schedule, and it determines the shortest possible project duration. Any delay on this path delays the project end date unless recovered. Activities off the critical path have float, meaning they can slip somewhat without changing the finish date.

Question 18

What is the difference between a milestone and an activity?

Accepted Answer

An activity is a task that consumes time and resources to produce work. A milestone is a significant point or event in the schedule, such as an approval or completion of a phase, and it has zero duration. Milestones help stakeholders track progress at a glance without reading every detailed task.

Question 19

What is a dependency, and what are the four common dependency types?

Accepted Answer

A dependency is a logical relationship between two activities, where one depends on the start or finish of another. The four common types are finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and start-to-finish. Finish-to-start is the most frequent, meaning the successor cannot begin until the predecessor finishes.

Question 20

How do teams estimate activity duration during schedule development?

Accepted Answer

Teams estimate duration using methods such as expert judgment, analogous estimating based on similar past work, and parametric estimating based on measured quantities and rates. Three-point estimating combines optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values to produce a weighted estimate. Estimates should be reviewed with the people who will do the work.

Question 21

What is a Gantt chart, and what does it show?

Accepted Answer

A Gantt chart is a bar chart that displays schedule activities along a time axis, with each bar showing start date, duration, and end date. It makes dependencies, overlaps, and progress visible at a glance. Many teams use it for communication, although it does not by itself calculate the critical path.

Question 22

What is cost estimating, and how does it differ from budgeting?

Accepted Answer

Cost estimating is the process of approximating the monetary resources needed to complete project work. Budgeting then aggregates those estimates, along with reserves, into a cost baseline that is authorized for spending over time. Estimates come first, and the budget is built from them.

Question 23

What are contingency reserves, and how do they differ from management reserves?

Accepted Answer

Contingency reserves are funds or time set aside for identified risks that the team accepts and plans to address if they occur. Management reserves cover unidentified risks and are usually controlled by the sponsor or senior management rather than the project team. Both are released only through approved changes.

Question 24

How does earned value management help a project manager measure performance?

Accepted Answer

Earned value management compares planned value, earned value, and actual cost to judge schedule and cost performance. Planned value is the budgeted cost of scheduled work, earned value is the budgeted cost of work completed, and actual cost is what was really spent. Comparing them shows whether the project is ahead or behind plan.

Question 25

What is a risk in project management, and how does it differ from an issue?

Accepted Answer

A risk is an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more objectives. An issue is a problem that has already happened and needs a response now. Risks are managed before they occur, while issues are resolved after they appear.

Question 26

How does a risk register support the risk management process?

Accepted Answer

A risk register is a living document that records each identified risk with its description, causes, owner, likelihood, impact, and planned responses. It gives the team one place to track risk status across the project. Regular reviews keep the register current, so new risks are added and closed risks are retired.

Question 27

What are the main steps in a basic risk management process?

Accepted Answer

A basic risk management process identifies risks, analyzes them, plans responses, implements those responses, and monitors risk throughout the project. Identification uses brainstorming, checklists, and past lessons. Analysis rates each risk by probability and impact, so the team can focus on the most significant exposures first.

Question 28

What are the four common responses to a negative risk?

Accepted Answer

The four common responses to a negative risk are avoid, transfer, mitigate, and accept. Avoid changes the plan to eliminate the threat, transfer shifts the impact to a third party such as an insurer, and mitigate reduces the probability or impact. Accept means acknowledging the risk and handling it if it occurs.

Question 29

What is quality management, and how does it differ from quality control?

Accepted Answer

Quality management is the overall approach to planning, assuring, and improving quality across the project. Quality assurance checks that the processes used are effective and followed. Quality control inspects actual deliverables and results to confirm they meet defined requirements. Both activities support the same goal of meeting stakeholder expectations.

Question 30

Why is a plan-do-check-act cycle useful for improving project quality?

Accepted Answer

The plan-do-check-act cycle is an iterative method for testing changes on a small scale before adopting them. Teams plan an improvement, do a trial, check the results against expectations, and act by standardizing what worked or adjusting the approach. Repeating the loop builds quality into everyday work rather than relying only on final inspection.

Question 31

What is a risk probability and impact matrix used for?

Accepted Answer

A probability and impact matrix is a grid that rates each risk by how likely it is to occur and how severe its effects would be. Teams use it during qualitative analysis to sort risks into priority levels, such as high, medium, and low. The resulting ranking shows where to focus attention first.

Question 32

How does a team decide whether a risk response is worth its cost?

Accepted Answer

A team compares the expected value of the risk, meaning probability times impact, with the cost of the response. If the response costs less than the expected loss it prevents, it is generally justified. Teams also consider whether the response introduces new risks or creates benefits beyond the threat it addresses.

Question 33

What is a communications management plan, and what should it define?

Accepted Answer

A communications management plan describes how project information will be collected, distributed, stored, and eventually disposed of. It should define who needs what information, in what format, how often, and through which channels. A clear plan prevents duplicated messages and missed updates.

Question 34

What does a power and interest grid help a project team decide?

Accepted Answer

A power and interest grid sorts stakeholders by their level of authority over the project and their level of concern about its outcome. High power and high interest stakeholders need close management, while those with low power and low interest need monitoring. The grid helps the team choose how much effort each group deserves.

Question 35

What makes feedback effective when a team member's work needs improvement?

Accepted Answer

Effective feedback is specific, timely, focused on the work rather than the person, and paired with a clear next step. Describing observed behavior and its effect on the project gives the person something concrete to act on. Private, early feedback usually preserves trust better than public criticism.

Question 36

What is a team charter, and why do teams create one?

Accepted Answer

A team charter is a short agreement that defines the team's purpose, roles, decision-making method, working norms, and ways of handling conflict. Teams create one early so members share expectations before tension arises. Revisiting the charter periodically keeps it useful as the team and its work change.

Question 37

What does a RACI matrix show, and how is each letter defined?

Accepted Answer

A RACI matrix shows who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task or deliverable. Responsible means the person who does the work, while Accountable means the single person who owns the outcome and signs off. Consulted people provide input before decisions, and Informed people receive updates after decisions are made.

Question 38

How can a project manager handle a conflict between two team members?

Accepted Answer

A project manager should first listen to each person separately to understand the underlying interests and facts. Next, bring both people together to focus on the shared goal and the specific issue, not personalities. Agreeing on concrete next steps and a follow-up date helps the team resolve the disagreement and move forward.

Question 39

What is a status report, and what should it contain?

Accepted Answer

A status report is a regular summary of project progress, showing what was completed, what is planned next, and where the project stands against its baseline. It should also list open issues, key risks, and any decisions needed from stakeholders. Keeping reports brief and consistent makes them easier to read and compare over time.

Question 40

How should a project manager close a project formally?

Accepted Answer

A project manager closes a project by confirming that all deliverables are accepted, final documents are archived, and the sponsor has signed off on completion. Lessons learned are gathered from the team and recorded for future projects. Resources are released, contracts are closed, and the team receives recognition for its work.

Project Management Basics Flashcards

1Project Fundamentals

2Scope and Work Breakdown

3Schedule and Cost Planning

4Risk and Quality Management

5Teams and Communication

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