PM/350T Week 1

PM/350T Week 1 Tutorial Kit includes:

1. Discussion - Principles of Organizational Communication
2. Practice: Topic 1 Quick Check
3. Practice: Topic 2 Quick Check
4. Practice: Assignment
5. Apply: Assignment

Discussion Question - Principles of Organizational Communication

Includes Discussion Question and A+ Answer!

In this week’s learning, projects and project management were defined and elaborated on. Project initiation forces, project categories, and project types were introduced. 
In 2020/2021, the COVID-19 pandemic was a force that changed the world. Reflect on this external force when answering the questions below. 
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Identify an organization that initiated a project in response to COVID-19. Then identify the project initiation force(s) at work that caused the organization to initiate that project. What organizational goal was achieved by this project? 
• In Topic 1, project categories and types were discussed. Which category and type of project does the project you identified above fit into? Why? 
• In Topic 2, project structures in the organization were introduced. Considering your response above, which project structure did the organization likely implement to complete the project? Why?
• Offer 2 other organizational benefits that the project identified might produce. 

PM/350T Week 1 Topic #1 Quick Check - Projects

1. Projects are defined by which of the following characteristics?
2. What are other characteristics of a project?
3. The project life cycle is often represented by which of the following?
4. Which statement below is true?
5. What is true of the project selection process?

PM/350T Week 1 Topic #2 Quick Check - Project Management

1. Project management is the application of ________ to meet the requirements of a particular project.
2. Project Management helps individuals, groups, and organizations ________.
3. What is the overall goal of every project?
4. What are the two primary responsibilities of project management?
5. What is the leading factor for project success?

PM/350T Week 1 Practice Assignment

1. For various reasons and both internal and external factors, organizations engage in temporary improvement initiatives that are a departure from their day-to-day business. These projects are aligned with organizational goals and are undertaken to create what?
2. Which of the following best describes a deliverable?
3. Why are projects undertaken by organizations?
4. A project is terminated, or closed, when project objectives have been achieved. What is another reason to terminate a project?
5. A project can be large or small and involve many people or a single individual. What characteristics help determine whether a project is a program, project, or task?
6. Which of the following categories describes a project whose objective it is to create the next iteration of an existing product already on the market?
7. When are most of the resources for a project required?
8. What provides project management value for the organization?
9. Lack of executive support is the leading determinant of whether a project succeeds or fails. What is another reason?
10. Which statement below is most true?

PM/350T Week 1 Apply Assignment

1. Mainstreet Communities, LLC (Mainstreet) is a multi-family and mixed-use developer that creates apartment buildings. Some of its developments include live-work and commercial office spaces and some have retail stores and restaurants on the ground floor. Mainstreet is a privately held company. The owner, Jordan Amari, has asked that the development team repurpose the square footage in an existing building to include a climbing gym. The expense of this change cannot be justified economically and this same square footage could be used for additional apartments and rental income, but Mr. Amari has always wanted a climbing gym. As the project manager of this project, what project selection method do you recognize this to be?
2. Global Systems in Proximity, Inc. (GSP) is a software company that is developing a brand-new indoor positioning technology that the company expects to be disruptive in the industry. GSP expects to be awarded several patents on this technology. As the project manager, you know that this is what type of project?
3. Mainstreet is about to purchase a new ERP system that will be used by several internal departments (leasing, development, accounting, and administration) as well as key vendors. Each of these departments and stakeholders will allocate fractional resources to help define and configure this system. As the vice president of Operations, you will hold the title of PM and lead this installation and training. What type of project management structure do you feel is the best fit for this project?
4. GPS has won the bidding process and is the chosen technology that will drive a major national retailer’s indoor positioning system. For this initiative, GPS will be integrated into an existing program that cuts across several functional areas. In addition, marketing is running its own promotions project that, when completed, will be integrated into the indoor position system. The PMO is also engaged in a pure project that it is executing within the PMO. This national retailer has what kind of project organization structure?
5. As an aspiring project manager, you are preparing a document that will keep a log of all the projects that you have led or been a team member on. Which of the following qualify as a project for entry into your PM logbook?
6. At one of Mainstreet’s new mixed-use developments, changes were made to the building plans without going through a formal approval process. The contractors had to alter their work orders to accommodate the changes. As a result, the project cost more and took longer to complete. What best describes this scenario?
7. The facilities and maintenance department at Mainstreet has scheduled the renovation of one of its older apartment buildings. This renovation includes new door locks, carpet, baseboards, and an intercom system upgrade for each unit. As the director of facilities and maintenance, what project structure would you use for this project?
8. As the director of construction for Mainstreet, you are asked to help the owner, facilities director, and director of development subjectively decide the priority of the various projects that are currently under consideration. There are currently 36 projects to consider. Given the uncertainty due to the economic effects of COVID-19, it is important that project priority be based on risk, cost, return, and time. Return is weighted most important, followed by time to complete. As the director of construction with PM experience, what method would you recommend the project selection committee should use to prioritize projects?
9. I ensure that the right projects are done, and I have several programs that I am responsible for; each project is unique but aligns with organizational goals. Who am I?
10. Mainstreet has committed to building a 50-story mixed-use apartment building. Mainstreet has never built a building over five stories. Understanding the value of a project management professional, the owner of Mainstreet, Jordan Amari, hired an experienced mixed-use residential high-rise project manager. Jordan gave this project manager almost full authority to make decisions on behalf of ownership, including budget authority and authority to negotiate, hire, and fire contractors. If you are the project manager hired by Jordan, which of the below statements would best describe your position? 

PM/350T Week 2

PM/350T Week 2 Kit includes:

1. Discussion - Introduction to Change Management
2. Practice: Topic 3 Quick Check
3. Practice: Topic 4 Quick Check
4. Practice: Assignment
5. Apply: Summative Assessment

Discussion Question - Introduction to Change Management

Includes Discussion Question and A+ Answer!

In this week’s learning, you were introduced to the project manager and the project team.
You are an independent Project Manager (PM) who has just been hired to turn around a failing project that the functional manager was charged with. The project team reports to the functional manager. It is your first week on the job.
Respond to the following prompt in a minimum of 175 words:

• As the new PM, what are the first 3 actions you will take to ensure the project’s success?
• Discuss what type of power and negotiation type those actions suggest and if you have any suggestions to improve chances of success.

PM/350T Week 2 Topic #3 Quick Check - Project Manager

1. A project manager ________.
2. What does a leader do?
3. Which is an important skill for a project manager?
4. What is the preferred negotiation strategy for a PM?
5. How much of a role does communication play in being a project manager?

PM/350T Week 2 Topic #4 Quick Check - The Project Team

1. What are the stages of team development?
2. What are the five pillars of a S.M.A.R.T. meeting?
3. When you are forming a team, which are important actions to take?
4. Which theory describes humans as being intrinsically motivated?
5. What is true about conflict?

PM/350T Week 2 Practice Assignment

1. Project managers (PMs) often lack the type of power that functional managers enjoy. As a PM in a Weak Matrix organization, what type of power must you rely on?
2. What type of power does a functional manager enjoy?
3. What is the best method for communicating complex issues?
4. Which is true about the selection of the project manager?
5. What elements are included in a project manager’s code of ethics?
6. Project software that is a tool for scheduling activities and setting the schedule baseline is what type of software?
7. Leaders who are dedicated to making the jobs of their team members easier are what type of leader?
8. According to Human Synergistic, what is the highest performing organizational culture?
9. What is the most common cause of conflict?
10. What type of conflict resolution strategy requires both parties to give up something?

PM/350T Week 2 Apply Summative Assessment

1. Mainstreet Communities, LLC (Mainstreet), has a director of construction, Scott Thomas. Scott is a 20-year veteran with Mainstreet and is responsible for overseeing the construction of the company’s development projects. What type of power does Scott enjoy because of his position?
2. Mainstreet is engaged in a large project that proposes to redevelop an area that will impact two separate neighborhoods, neighboring retail businesses, and restaurants. It will also affect the traffic flow of two busy streets. Mainstreet estimates there are at least 30 key stakeholders that may influence this project. How many communication channels will Mainstreet have to manage?
3. Scott Thomas, Mainstreet’s director of construction is known for doing what he says and for fulfilling commitments that he undertakes. He is a person who takes responsibility for his actions. What do these characteristics say about Scott?
4. Global Proximity Systems (GPS) is outsourcing some of its development to a company that provided the most competitive pricing. The project started out well, but it was quickly noticed that the team was underperforming in terms of quality and missed deadlines. It was discovered that this development resource was having financial issues and recently had an across-the-board pay cut for all employees. Employees were concerned about the safety and security of their jobs. Due to the pay cuts, some were having trouble making ends meet for rent and other living expenses. What motivation theory describes this scenario?
5. GPS has created a new team of senior software engineers to develop and test a new technology in indoor positioning. Its goals are clear. This is a small team of four engineers. The engineers are highly specialized, like-minded, and have worked together in a high-performing team in the past. What type of leadership style will likely be the best fit for this team?
6. A project team is faced with making a critical decision regarding an issue that has come up. As the PM, you know that almost every team member will have different ideas of how to solve this issue. What is a decision-making process should you use to organize all of these differing ideas and arrive at a solution the team will support?
7. You are a manager of a functional department and your boss asks you to lead an improvement initiative that is unique to your department and must be completed in six months. You are responsible for achieving the objectives of these initiatives. What is your boss asking you to be?
8. GPS is installing one of its systems at a client location. For this project, there is a PM and an IT project lead (whose title is IT Project Manager for the IT department). The PM is responsible for the outcome of this project. Which of the following is critical?
9. GPS is initiating a new project initiative that is controversial and involves fractional resources from several functional areas of the company. What are some actions that a PM can take to avoid the storming stage of team development?
10. Mainstreet is in negotiations with a long-time vendor, Construction Supplies and Engineering (CSE). CSE is a key supplier of materials and services. Both companies are important to each other’s success. What negotiation strategy should both companies use?

PM/350T Week 3

PM/350T Week 3 Kit includes:

1. Discussion - Change Management from Start to Finish
2. Practice: Topic 5 Quick Check
3. Practice: Topic 6 Quick Check: Initiating Phase
4. Practice: Assignment
5. Apply: Assignment

Discussion Question - Change Management from Start to Finish

Includes Discussion Question and A+ Answer!

You have been assigned PM responsibility for a product development project using untested cutting-edge technology that has the potential to disrupt the industry. The project owner will be the Mobile Devices Group. This project is part of the product R&D Department within a large, publicly traded company that is projectized and experienced in running projects.
Respond to the following prompt in a minimum of 175 words:

• Determine the project methodology you will use for this project.
• Identify the EEFs and OPAs that you may be subject to on such a project.
• While filling out the Risk section of the Project Charter, determine some risks that could affect this project.
• Speculate as to this project’s gating process and identify who might be on the gating committee to move this project from the Initiating Phase to the Planning Phase.

PM/350T Week 3 Topic #5 Quick Check - Project Management Methodology

1. Why do project managers use project management methodology?
2. What are the phases of a typical project?
3. What does the gating process refer to?
4. Which statement below is true?
5. Which statement regarding project management processes is true?

PM/350T Week 3 Topic #6 Quick Check - Initiating Phase

1. Which document establishes the concept for a proposed project?
2. Which approved document authorizes the project manager to apply organizational resources to the project? 
3. What are two primary outputs of the Initiating phase?
4. What is the definition of a risk?
5. Which estimating technique is regarded as the most accurate and is used to baseline budget and schedule?

PM/350T Week 3 Practice Assignment

1. Which phases of a sprint would be most analogous to a software development project’s stages of gathering, designing, coding and testing, and deploying?
2. Which knowledge area cuts across all process groups?
3. What is the major output from the Develop Project Charter process that is part of the Initiating Process Group and created in the Initiating phase?
4. Mainstreet requires that project managers use specific project templates and follow approved processes and procedures known as ________.
5. COVID-19 has affected many projects in 2020. This Influence falls under which of the following categories?
6. What dimensions of knowledge are necessary to execute a large business improvement project that involves an ERP system?
7. A project being initiated involves several unproven technologies, and the project objectives change frequently, depending on what the project owner learns about these technologies. What project life cycle methodology is likely the best fit for this project?
8. What project document is updated as additional stakeholders are identified, scope is refined, and budgets are updated?
9. What entity is responsible for initiating projects and preparing the Project Charter?
10. When are project managers assigned to a project?

PM/350T Week 3 Apply Assignment

1. As Mainstreet Communities, LLC (Mainstreet) initiates and starts planning the new Wingra Point Live Work development that is catered to the growing remote workforce, it is faced with the risk that the City of Madison might change the zoning of the property to hotel commercial due to the allowance of short-term rentals for the development’s mobile-workforce residents who wish to travel and work. COVID-19 and the City of Madison’s pending decision are considered what?
2. You are an outside project management professional who has been hired by Mainstreet to lead its new Wingra Point Live Work development. You are given an approved vendor list and access to the shared drive containing project templates. You are also introduced to the company’s standard processes and procedures and the submission and approval protocols. What type of project inputs do these elements represent?
3. Sections of the Wingra Point Live Work development’s Project Charter were populated with information from the Business Case as well as the Budget Estimate, Schedule Estimate, Risk Register and Stakeholder Register. Each of these documents are outputs from various project management processes. What is the role of these outputs from other processes for the Project Charter?
4. Mainstreet’s Director of Development has been assigned to prepare the Project Charter for the Wingra Point Live Work project. In doing so, he uses project documents that are prepared in Microsoft Excel and linked to each other for tighter integration. He also used Microsoft Project to prepare a preliminary budget. To better assess stakeholders’ interests in, influence on, and impact on the project, he uses the Stakeholder Matrix. What do these documents represent?
5. One or more outputs from any given project management process can be one or more inputs for one or more other processes at any time during the project. What is the Stakeholder Register to Identify Stakeholders process in the Initiating Process Group and Stakeholder Management knowledge area?
6. One of the first tasks in preparing the Business Case and Project Charter documents is identifying stakeholders and analyzing their position, interest, influence, and impact. One tool serves as an output for the Project Charter, the Stakeholder Matrix, and Communication Plan. This tool is updated regularly throughout the project. Which tool is this?
7. A project manager needs a tool that will provide a quick visual summary of stakeholders. What tool should the project manager use?
8. Mainstreet’s Director of Construction, who normally acts as the PM for construction projects, is overloaded with three other large projects, so Jordan Amari, the owner of Mainstreet, has decided to hire an external project management professional to be the project manager for the Wingra Point project. When is the best time for this project manager to be hired?
9. COVID-19 has presented Mainstreet with an unexpected opportunity to increase its return on investment by building a new type of building that is targeted at mobile work-from-home tenants. This new type pf development is currently under review by the City of Madison for rezoning from multi-family residential to hotel commercial. The pending decision by the City of Madison represents what to the project?
10. As the project manager of an innovation project utilizing new technology that will benefit several divisions within the organization, you are charged with developing the Project Charter for approval. As part of that responsibility, you have to choose (1) the project life cycle, (2) the type of project organization structure, and (3) the estimating method for budget and schedule. The organization has never completed a project like this before, and you don’t have any prior experience with this kind of project, so, there is much uncertainty. Which of the decisions below is best suited to this project?

PM/350T Week 4 Kit includes:

1. Discussion - Creating and Implementing Learning and Development Initiatives
2. Practice: Topic 7 Quick Check
3. Practice: Topic 8 Quick Check
4. Practice: Assignment
5. Apply: Summative Assessment

Discussion Question - Creating and Implementing Learning and Development Initiatives

Includes Discussion Question and A+ Answer!

Many project documents were introduced this week.
Respond to the following prompt in a minimum of 175 words:

• Determine which 2 documents you would consult to identify the stakeholder who might present the biggest potential problem for the project. Explain your choices.
• Offer 2 other related project documents you will reference or update to help manage that stakeholder. Explain your choices.

PM/350T Week 4 Topic #7 Quick Check - Planning Phase

1. How many knowledge areas are part of the planning processes in the Planning phase of a project?
2. Which is a subsidiary plan of the Project Management Plan?
3. What is the process of fitting effort and level of planning detail proportionately to the cost, size, complexity, and risk of the project?
4. “Fail to plan; plan to fail” refers to which of the four project management phases?
5. Which knowledge area cuts across all process groups?

PM/350T Week 4 Topic #8 Quick Check - Executing Phase

1. Which two Process Groups are engaged in the Executing phase?
2. What are the three project documents that are developed in the Executing phase?
3. What project document contains the status of change requests?
4. Which process is focused on individual team members?
5. When there is only one source that provides needed goods and services, what type of procurement process would be used?

PM/350T Week 4 Practice Assignment

1. What process is the responsibility of everyone on the project team?
2. What is the term for the ranking of items that have the same functional use but different requirements that define their quality?
3. What is the cost to prevent defects?
4. It is unclear what the future economic environment holds for the project. What risks are associated with this statement?
5. What is a hierarchical representation of potential sources of risk?
6. Negotiating in good faith is a PMI ethical standard that relates best to which process?
7. A PM’s duty to understand the truth and communicate the truth applies to which of the following?
8. Managing Stakeholder Engagement is closely related to which other process?
9. What is the sequencing technique used to create a Project Schedule Network Diagram?
10. What is the longest distance path through the project which determines the shortest duration?

PM/350T Week 4 Summative Assessment

1. As an independent auditor hired to perform a quality audit for the Wingra Point development project, you will first start with evaluating project quality. Which of the below relates to quality management activities that relate to project quality?
2. The software development team for Global Proximity Systems delivered what the client asked for on time, on budget, and on quality. When the client released the new feature, their customers found that it did not meet their needs. Which scenario below best describes this situation?
3. As the project manager, you are reviewing the Project Management Plan and comparing it to actual results. You find that the project is behind schedule and costs are 5% over budget. The project deliverables are meeting quality requirements. Which scenario best describes this situation?
4. As the PM, you are asking your team to perform a final review of the 10 subsidiary plans that describe how the project will be executed, monitored and controlled, and closed. What document are you asking your team to review?
5. As the person in the project team responsible to managing the procurement process and interfacing with the buying office at the performing organization, you are aware that one of the vendors bidding on one of the construction contracts is a cousin of yours. What should you do?
6. In the project planning process, it was determined that a Cost-Plus Incentive Pricing (CPIF) contract will be used for the selected general contractor with a 70/30 share ratio and a target cost of $500.000 with a $50,000 Fixed Fee. At the end of project, costs came in at $476.000. How much was the seller paid according to the terms of this CPIF contract?
7. As the project scheduler, you are working on a schedule network diagram. One of the tasks is scheduled to take 2 days to finish and has Free Float of 5 days. As new information has come in, it looks like the task will take four days to finish vs. the original 2-day estimate. Which scenario below describes this situation?
8. In the planning stage of the project, the project team has identified various risks based on lessons learned from previous projects and through the process of defining and discussing risks associated with work to be performed. The risks that have not been identified are those that relate to uncertain economic conditions and from the areas of the project where there is not yet enough information to know what variances may occur. What are these types of risk?
9. As the project manager for a software project that involves bleeding edge technology that has yet to be proven, you are charged with procuring the right software development partner to deliver project requirements. You have already completed a request for information (RFI) but there remain issues that can only be solved once development has begun. What is the next step in the bidding process?
10. As the project manager of a project that has had opposition from a number of stakeholders, you wish to review how the position of various stakeholders has changed over the course of the project and to see which have moved in the direction desired and which are meeting expectations. What project management tool would you use to monitor and this type of Stakeholder information?

PM/350T Week 5

PM/350T Week 5 Kit includes:

1. Discussion - Employee and Organizational Evaluation Practices
2. Practice: Topic 9 Quick Check
3. Practice: Topic 10 Quick Check
4. Practice: Assignment
5. Apply: Summative Assessment

Discussion Question - Employee and Organizational Evaluation Practices

Includes Discussion Question and A+ Answer!

This week you were introduced to the Monitoring and Controlling Process Group and the Closing phase and Closing Process Group. This week's content also introduced you to change management and sustainability. The PMI Code of Ethics applies to all project activities.

Respond to the following prompt in a minimum of 175 words:

• What are 2 knowledge areas, process groups, or aspects of project management that stood out to you as opportunities to apply ethical principles to project activities? Identify which PMI standard of ethics you think applies and why.
• Explain how that ethical standard contributes to project success and sustainability.

PM/350T Week 5 Topic #9 Quick Check

1. Measuring the value of work performed expressed in terms of the money spent on that work is referred to as what?
2. Under what circumstances should a cost or schedule baseline be changed?
3. How many knowledge areas are part of the Monitoring and Controlling Processes Group?
4. What is the activity that verifies project requirements are technically met?
5. What is the activity of comparing actual performance to planned performance, analyzing variances, and recommending preventive or corrective action?

PM/350T Week 5 Topic #10 Quick Check

1. The following sentence describes which type of project termination? Project activity suddenly stops because there is a high expectation of failure.
2. Which document records what worked well and what did not work so well in the project?
3. The Closing phase is in which Process Group?
4. The Closing phase should answer which of the following questions?
5. People, Planet, and Profit refer to which of the following?

PM/350T Week 5 Practice Assignment

1. Which of the following Monitoring and Controlling processes are monitored?
2. Comparing actual performance to plans, communicating project status, and collecting performance information are all what types of activities?
3. What is the primary reason to validate and control scope?
4. What form of data analysis involves analyzing the project cost to the value received at a particular point in time?
5. Lack of a change control process, quality issues, scope creep, and unplanned in-scope work can all lead to what?
6. While controlling quality, a project manager might need to determine the sources of an issue. To do this, what tool might be employed?
7. Which project document is created early in the executing phase and is also an integral part of the closing phase and process group?
8. A project has been terminated due to lack of executive support and necessary resources.  Which of the below best describe this type of project termination?
9. Which change model addresses what will stay the same as well as what will change?
10. The triple-bottom line and the three-legged stool of sustainability have a balance of what three factors in common?

PM/350T Week 5 Summative Assessment

1. As a leader initiating change, you find that stakeholders of this change were very resistant at first but are now beginning to brainstorm ideas about how this change could be implemented and what the benefits of the change could be. When considering Clayton’s change curve, what stage best fits where stakeholders are at?
2. You are the project manager, and you just got out a meeting with senior leadership. They are asking you to lead a project that will make the company more profitable, reduce waste, and improve the quality of life of its employees. Everyone in the meeting was excited about the new changes. Which of the following best describes what you should do next?
3. You have been assigned to be the project manager for a project that was presented to stakeholders in a way that only communicated the result that management is expecting to achieve. As such, there is resistance in the team to make this change. While the current state of the organization is not ideal in every regard, it is working, employees are happy, and customers are happy. Which of the below scenarios best describes what you might want to do next?
4. You have been the project manager on a large, high-profile, three-year project in a highly projectized organization. You have had a great team that has been together since the beginning. By all key measures, the project was a success. It will be tough to close out the project. Who is the best choice to close out the project and why?
5. You have been assigned to a project that has struggled. Once on the project, you restored communication and trust. You were also actively involved with the project sponsor to give support and share the right message to team members and stakeholders. Unfortunately, just when the project was performing and hitting its stride, the project sponsor was promoted to a new position overseas and her position would not be filled for several months. As such, support for the project died and so did motivation to make the project a priority. Which type of termination below best describes this scenario?
6. When COVID-19 first shut down the country and turned the world upside down, it was your job as portfolio manager of a large consumer products company to take swift action and help senior management decide which projects should continue to be funded and which should be eliminated to make room for new projects in response to opportunities and threats presented in the current COVD-19 economy. In this urgent time, which two questions below should you ask first?
7. The City of Madison funded the redevelopment of a blighted area of the city with the objective of revitalizing it. Funding was approved to clean up the site, build up flood zones, build water retention ponds, and run the sewer, water, and electric utilities to the site. Five years into the project, it was clear that no commercial or residential developers were interested in developing on the site. What should the city of Madison have done before funding and completing the redevelopment?
8. This final act in closing out a project helps future projects, may be required by government regulations, ensures warranties are valid, may be required by the customer, and may be required for certification. What process does this describe?
9. As a project team member, you are responsible for verifying that project requirements are technically correct. What title below might best describe your position?
10. As a project manager of an agile project, you are verifying and validating individual deliverables and work packages so that a project phase can be closed. Which process group do these activities fit into?