Your 10 day trial access includes:

 Guided learning
 Access to videos
 Practice exams
 Support from the PreparePM team

Every facet of human life is a project. Every little step we take, from the moment we wake up up to the
time we settle to sleep, is filled with mini projects. It's then not a stretch to assume that the way we handle
actual projects (from work, school, etc.) is reflection of the way we handle the biggest project there is - our
existence. That's why it's doubly important to come up with the perfect habit of proper planning and
management of projects.

This page covers general information about the discipline of project management.
1. A project is a temporary endeavor. Projects are unique and non-repetitive. Building a road is an
example of a project. The process of building a road takes a finite amount of time, and produces a
unique product. Operations on the other hand are repetitive. Delivering mail every day is an example
of operation.
2. The characteristics associated with a project are - unique purpose, temporary in nature, require
resources (often from various domains), should have a primary sponsor and/or customer, and involves
uncertainty.
3. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project
activities in order to meet project requirements
4. A program consists of a related group of projects. Projects are finite where as programs are
ongoing and continuous. Programs may be repetitive and cyclic. In some cases Project Management
is a subset of Program Management. The project manager may report to the program manager in such
cases. A project may or may not be a part of a program, but a program will always have projects.

A portfolio consists of multiple programs. As an example Building a house may be a project. Building a
colony consisting of row of houses is a program. Building a set of colonies to develop a new city can
be considered a portfolio.

5. A subproject is a subset of a project. Subprojects can be subcontracted. Technical or Functional

Manager may be in charge of a subproject.
6. Type of organization - This is an important concept to understand for the PMP exam. The type of
organizations in decreasing order of Project Manager's authority are -
o Projectized
o Strong Matrix
o Weak Matrix
o Functional

Project Manager has maximum authority in a Projectized organization and least authority in a
Functional organization. In Functional organizations staff is organized based upon their specialty, such
as engineering or sales. In these organizations, functional managers are responsible for specialized
departments like marketing. In Functional organization, the role of Project Manager is limited. In
Projectized organization, PMs have more authority and independence. All the persons in the project
team report to the Project Manager.

Real situations are a mixture of functional and projectized organizations. These mixed situations are
called matrix organizations. Strong matrix organizations have characteristics of projectized
organizations. Weak matrix organizations have characteristics of functional organizations.
7. Leadership style varies from autocratic to democratic. Shared leadership involves team members
taking most of the decisions. It encourages team development.
8. Project Management consists of ten Knowledge Areas. These are
o Project Integration Management
o Project Scope Management
o Project Cost Management
o Project Time Management
o Project Risk Management
o Project Quality Management
o Project HR Management
o Project Communication Management
o Project Procurement Management
o Project Stakeholder Management

Each Knowledge area has further Processes. There are a total of 47 processes. Each process has
inputs, outputs and "tools and techniques" (ITTO). The PMBOK primarily covers each of the processes
and it's ITTO in detail. You need to understand the concepts related to each of the input, output and
"tools and techniques".

9. Further the discipline of Project Management has five process groups. These are -
o Initiation
o Planning
o Execution
o Control
o Closure

Each process is part of one of these five project phases. It is important to know the process group for
each of the 47 processes.

10. Project Sponsors are primarily involved in funding the project. Tasks performed by project
sponsor include
o Provides financial support
o Accepts the project during scope verification
o May provide key milestone and deliverables due dates
o Does not sign the Project Charter. This is done by Senior Management.

Tasks performed by the senior management include

 o Issues the project charter
o Helps organize the work into projects
o Helps identify risks
o Approves the final project plan

Stakeholders are all the individuals that are concerned with the project. Stakeholders have vested
interest in the outcome of the project. They include project team members, customers, management,
and other individuals who get impacted by the project. Stakeholders role includes -

o Distributed information during the project.

o Notified of project plan changes
o Are listed in the project team directory.
o Become risk owners.
11. At the end of each project phase, reviews against a set of metrics are performed. If the project
fails to meet these metrics, the project may not be allowed to continue. These phase end reviews are
called Stage gates or Phase exits.
12. Project Life cycle: All projects have four parts in life cycle. These are -

o Starting the project

o Organizing and preparing
o Carrying out the project work
o Closing the project

2. At the beginning of the project there is less cost and less demand for resources. Also there is a
higher risk of failure at the beginning of the project. The risk reduces over the life of the project. The
stakeholder influence is maximum at the beginning of the project and reduces over the life of the
project.
3. Projects have multiple competing constraints. These are -

o Scope
o Quality
o Schedule
o Budget
o Resources
o Risk
 Different stakeholders may give different priority to these constraints. As an example budget may be
the most important constraint for the project sponsor. Scope may be imortant for a customer support
engineer, and quality may be important for the testing team. A project team has to balance the
demand of these constraints.

o Progressive Elaboration means adding more details in an iterative fashion. Project

Management Plan is developed using progressive elaboration.
o Project Management Office (PMO) is a group in an organization providing centralized
project management services. The exact role of PMO may vary across organizations. PMO may
provide services related to project management or may be directly responsible for project
management.
o Enterprise Environmental Factors refer to external factors in the company, that may
influence the project. Enterprise Environmental Factors may include cultural factors, political climate,
infrastructure and other external factors within the organization that may impact the project. Enterprise
Environmental Factors are input to many planning processes.

Questions on Project Management fundamentals are available in Fundamentals Questions.

QUESTIONS
1. Which of these is not one of the constraints of a project?

a. Scope

b. Resources

c. Team

d. Budget
CORRECT: c. Projects constraints are - Scope, Resources, Quality, Schedule, Budget and Risk
2. Which of the following is not correct about initial phase of a project?

a. The cost associated at the beginning of the project is highest.

b. Stakeholders have maximum influence during this phase

c. The highest uncertainty is at this stage of the project.

d. All the above statements are correct.

INCORRECT: a. There is minimum requirement of personnel and hence minimum cost at the project
initiation stage.
3. At which stage, does a typical project has maximum cost?
 a. Initial stage

b. Middle stage

c. Final stage

d. Cost is same at all stages.

INCORRECT: b. In the middle stages, the resources and cost usage is maximum.
4. At which stage, in a typical project do stakeholders have maximum influence?

a. Initial stage

b. Middle stage

c. Final stage

d. Shareholders have similar influence at all stages.

INCORRECT: a. It is easy to make changes to project goals and approach at the initial stage. Stake
holders have maximum influence at this stage.
5. You are the Project Managers of XYZ consultants. The Project team members are from Finance
and HR departments. The team members report to Finance and HR Managers respectively, and you have
limited control over them. What type of organizational hierarchy does XYZ consultants follow?

a. Matrix organization

b. Projectized organization

c. Functional organization

d. None of these.
CORRECT: c. The team members report to Functional Managers.
6. The Project Managers have maximum authority in which type of organization?

a. Weak Matrix organization

b. Balanced Matrix organization

c. Strong Matrix

d. Project Managers have same authority in the three types of organizations.

CORRECT: c. In strong matrix organization, Project Managers have more authority.
7. Which organization is closest to Functional organization?

a. Weak Matrix organization

b. Balanced Matrix organization

c. Strong Matrix

d. Projectized organization
CORRECT: a. Weak matrix organizations have a similar characteristics to Functional organizations.
8. Which of the following is not a project?

a. Running an election campaign for a political candidate.

 b. Building a bridge over a river.

c. Pilot aircraft for a United flight.

d. Writing a book on Project Management.

CORRECT: c. Projects must be a unique endeavor. Piloting a flight is a regular day-today operation, and
not a project.
9. There are two processes in the initiating process group. These are part of which knowledge area?

a. Project Cost Management

b. Project Scope Management

c. Project Time Management

d. Project Integration Management

INCORRECT: d. The two processes Develop Project Charter, and Develop Project Scope statement are
part of project integration management knowledge area.
10. Which of the following is a project?

a. Sending a weekly status report

b. Improving the roads of Rio de Janeiro for 2016 Olympics

c. Getting ready for office every day

d. Selling toys in a toy store

e.
CORRECT: b. Other operations are ongoing operations and not projects.