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Examining the Project Life Cycle and the Organization - Revving Through Project Life Cycles

Q: What is the difference between a feasibility study and a business case?

A feasibility study examines the potential project to see if it's feasible to do the project work. A business case examines the financial aspect of the project to see if the project can be profitable, what the profit margin may be for the project, what the financial risk exposure may be, and the what true costs of the project may be.

22 important questions on Examining the Project Life Cycle and the Organization - Revving Through Project Life Cycles

What is the difference between Project phases and Process groups?

Project Phases are unique to each project. Depening on the organization and the sector different phases might exists. The phases together make up the project lifecycle which is the same for all projects.
Project Groups consist of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. These are all universal to all projects.

Define - sequential relationship of phases

Each phase of a project relies on the completion of the previous phase before it can begin.

Define - overlapping relationship of phases

This when time is an issue. The project manager allows one phase to begin before the last phase is completed and thus the phases overlap. This is also called fast tracking, which increases the risk within a project.

What is the reason that project's are broken down into smaller, more manageble phases?

This allows the project manager to deal with the uncertainty in his project by seeing the project as a whole and yet still focus on the completing the project one phase at a time.

Why is the project life cycle so important?

It determines not only the start of the project but also when the project should be ending. And with that defines the project phase that lie between start and end of a project.

What is the difference between a feasibility study and a business case?

A feasibility study examines the potential project to see if it's feasible to do the project work.
A business case examines the financial aspect of the project to see if the project can be profitable, what the profit margin may be for the project, what the financial risk exposure may be, and the what true costs of the project may be.

What is the purpose of an audit/ inspection at the completion of a project phase?

This confirms that the project is in alignment with the requirements and expectations of the customer. If the results of the audit or briefings are not in alignment, rework can happen, new expectations may be formulated, or the project may be killed.

Which three IT-based life cycles can de recognized?

Predictive Life Cycles
Iterative and Incremental Life Cycles
Adapte Life Cycles

Define - predictive life cycles

The project scope, budget, and schedule are defined early in the project. The predefined phases of the project focus on specific project work so the project team members''participation may fluctuate from phase to phase. This is known as the waterfall methodology or a plan-drive project.

Define - Iterative and Incremental life cycles

The project scope is defined early in the project, but the costs and schedule are iteratively developed. The project moves through iterations of processes better to define the project's product, time and costs.

Define - adapte life cycles

These life cycles anticpate frequent changes of the project scope, schedule, and costs. Stakeholders involvement is high as the project develops quickly and future phases are based on defined requirements and the results of preceding phases. Also known as agile or change driven.

What can a project manager determine about the project phases?

what work to complete in which phase of the project
what resources, people, equipment, facilities are needed per phase
the expected deliverables per phase
the expected costs to complete a phase
the phases that pose the highest amount of risk

What are characteristics of changes impacting a project life cycle?

Changes are more easier and more likely at the early phases of a project than at completion
Stakeholders have greater influence on the outcome of the project deliverables in the early phases than in the final phases
Changes at the beginning of a project have lower risk and cost less than changes at the end of a project.

Define - project life cycle

Unique to each project and made up of phases of work. Project life cycles typically create a milestone and allow subsequent phases to begin.

How would you define the difference between a product and project life cycle?

The product life cycle is the cradle to grave ongoing work of the product. Projects affecting the product are just blips on the radar screen of the whole product life cycle.

What is the advantage of phases for management?

Phases are an ideal method of keeping management informed of project progression. At the end of each phase the is some deliverable (project phase deliverable) that the project manager can show to management and customers.

What are typical things a project manager will be accountable for at the end of a project phase? (and will report on to management)

The performance of the project to date
The performance of the project team to date
Proof of deliverables in the project phase
Verification of deliverables in alignment with the project scope

How will we verify the scope at the end of a project phase?

By checking whether the deliverables that have been completed are in alignment with what has been expected.

What costs should one consider when deciding whether to kill a project or not at the end of a project phase?

The cost work of to complete the project

What is the advantage of fast-tracking or 'overlapping relationship'? And what is the risk of it

This allows the phase to overlap in order to compress the schedule and finish the job faster. The risk is that undetected errors of prior phases could affect the current phase of the project work.

Define - Iterative relationships of project phases

Ideal for projects such as research. The next phase of the project is not planned until the current phase of the project is under way. The direction of the project can change based on the current work in the project, market conditions, or as more information is discovered.

What do we mean with phase exit?

The completion of a project phase. It requires that the project deliverables meet some pre-determined exit criteria, which can include many different activities:

Sign-offs
Regulatory inspections and audits
Quality Metrics
Performance Metrics
Security Audits
The end of a project phase

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

PMP - project management professional study guide | 9780071775915 | Joseph Phillips

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Examining the Project Life Cycle and the Organization - Revving Through Project Life Cycles

22 important questions on Examining the Project Life Cycle and the Organization - Revving Through Project Life Cycles

What is the difference between Project phases and Process groups?

Define - sequential relationship of phases

Define - overlapping relationship of phases

What is the reason that project's are broken down into smaller, more manageble phases?

Why is the project life cycle so important?

What is the difference between a feasibility study and a business case?

What is the purpose of an audit/ inspection at the completion of a project phase?

Which three IT-based life cycles can de recognized?

Define - predictive life cycles

Define - Iterative and Incremental life cycles

Define - adapte life cycles

What can a project manager determine about the project phases?

What are characteristics of changes impacting a project life cycle?

Define - project life cycle

How would you define the difference between a product and project life cycle?

What is the advantage of phases for management?

What are typical things a project manager will be accountable for at the end of a project phase? (and will report on to management)

How will we verify the scope at the end of a project phase?

What costs should one consider when deciding whether to kill a project or not at the end of a project phase?

What is the advantage of fast-tracking or 'overlapping relationship'? And what is the risk of it

Define - Iterative relationships of project phases

What do we mean with phase exit?

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