Project Planning & Execution Flashcards

An executive director wants to ensure a technology implementation project stays aligned with the organization's strategic priorities. The BEST mechanism is:

Answer: A project steering committee with decision-making authority

A steering committee with real authority provides ongoing strategic oversight, resolves cross-functional issues, and ensures the project remains mission-aligned.

When prioritizing multiple competing projects with limited staff capacity, a portfolio management approach recommends ranking projects by:

Answer: Strategic alignment, expected impact, feasibility, and resource requirements

Portfolio prioritization uses a balanced scorecard of strategic fit, impact, and resource demand to maximize organizational value from limited capacity.

A quality management plan for a new service delivery project should include:

Answer: Quality standards, measurement methods, and roles responsible for quality assurance

A complete quality management plan defines what quality means for the project, how it will be measured, and who is accountable for achieving it.

An executive director is managing a project with a cross-functional team whose members still report to their functional department heads. This describes which organizational structure?

Answer: Matrix organization

A matrix structure shares authority between functional managers and project managers, requiring negotiation for resources and creating dual reporting relationships.

A project's Estimate at Completion (EAC) is significantly higher than the original Budget at Completion (BAC). This most likely indicates:

Answer: Cost overruns that will persist through project completion

When EAC exceeds BAC, the project is trending toward finishing over budget based on current cost performance — corrective action is needed.

Which technique helps an executive director identify the root cause of a project quality problem by graphically displaying cause-and-effect relationships?

Answer: Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram

An Ishikawa (fishbone) diagram structures potential causes into categories (people, process, equipment, etc.) to systematically identify root causes of a quality defect.

During project execution, a key vendor fails to deliver on time. To minimize schedule impact, the executive director should FIRST:

Answer: Engage the vendor to understand the delay and explore recovery options

Direct engagement with the vendor first establishes facts, surfaces recovery options, and preserves the relationship before escalating to contract enforcement.