Mgmt 404 Week 1 Checkpoint

1. Question : (TCO 8) What does the author mean by technical and sociocultural aspects of project management?

Technical aspects are the project management skills needed to complete the project management task. They include defining scope, developing a WBS, scheduling, estimating, etc. Sociocultural aspects include the people side: leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, negotiation, etc.

2. Question : (TCO 1) Project management is a continual balance between three main elements. What are they?

The three main elements otherwise known as the three constraints are Scope, Budget and schedule.

3. Question : (TCO 8) What are the three basic ways to organize project teams? Briefly identify and describe an advantage and disadvantage for each.

1. Functional - Strengths: organization structure does not change, flexibility, in-depth expertise in vertical organizations, easy post-project transitions. Weaknesses: lack of focus, poor integration between verticals, time consuming, lack of ownership.

2. Matrix - Strengths: efficient, strong project focus, flexible, easier post-project transition. Weaknesses: dysfunctional conflict, infighting, stressful, slow.

3. Projectized (or Dedicated) - Strengths: simple, fast, cohesive, cross-functional integration. Weaknesses: expensive, redundant, closed system, post-project transition.

4. Question : (TCO 1) List and describe the phases of a project.

The phases of a project are Defining (creation of goals, specifications, tasks and responsibilities), Planning (Scheduling, budgeting, resources, risks and staffing), Executing (Status reports, changes, quality and forecasts) and Closing (training the customer, transferring of documents, release of the resources, evaluation and any lessons learned).

5. Question : (TCO 1) Identify and describe the three project type classifications.

Three project type classifications would be compliance, operational and...