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Take Action for Session 5 - Scope Management

Studying PMBOK® Guide & PMP® Exam Prep Book

Chapters to Study PMBOK PrepBook

5 Project Scope Management

5.1 Plan Scope Management

5.2 Collect Requirements

5.3 Define Scope

5.4 Create WBS

5.5 Validate Scope

5.6 Control Scope

In this Workbook

Read the article: Student Tips for Building a WBS written by Kay Wais, PMP from

www.successfulprojects.com in this workbook.

Read the worksheet: Tools and Techniques of Collect Requirements.

Take a look at the PMP® Sample Test Questions from PMI . This is a (very) small collection of

PMP® Exam sample questions that PMI® has officially published.

Take a look at the CAPM Sample Test Questions from PMI . This is an (extremely) small

collection of CAPM® sample questions that the PMI® has officially published. CAPM® questions are much easier than PMP® questions; however you may come across one or two like this on your PMP® certification exam.

Take the Scope Management Self-Assessment.

Listening

Listen to Episode 55 of The PMO Podcast™ with Mark Perry: Recommendations for Informal

Projects Part I-The Simple WBS and learn more about the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

o Link not available in this free sample


http://www.successfulprojects.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=MMrZDjo07_w%3D&tabid=127

http://www.successfulprojects.com/


Listen to Episode 09 of The Controlling Chaos Podcast™ with Dina Henry Scott, PMP and Lee

Scott, PMP: Work Breakdown Structures and learn about the importance of the WBS in project scope.


Viewing

Watch complimentary PM PrepCast™ L00.32 Finding the Best Answer to Sample Questions.


Watch the Slideshare 15 Free PMP® Exam Questions.


Go Beyond!

Sign up for www.free-pm-exam-questions.com

o You will receive over 100 sample exam questions

Join your local PMI Chapter ( www.pm-prepcast.com/chapters).

o An outstanding way to network and to be exposed to industry trends. Your chapter may offer discounts on PMP® Exam workshops.

Find a study-buddy.

o Attend your local PMI Chapter dinner meeting. Ask the people at the registration desk to direct you to the person who can put you in touch with other attendees studying for the exam.

o Partner with a fellow employee or friend to study:

One person: form a Study Partnership

Two or more people: form a Study Group

Be sure the others are as dedicated as you. Study time is a precious commodity and you don’t want to waste it.

My Additional Actions

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Answer Sheet for Session 05 Self-Assessment

This page should be printed and completed while taking the Self-Assessment. The questions, answers, and a detailed explanation for each question are on the following pages.

Question Number My Answer Correct Incorrect

Question 01

Question 02

Question 03

Question 04

Question 05

Question 06

Question 07

Question 08

Question 09

Question 10

Question 11

Question 12

Question 13

Question 14

Question 15

Total Number

% Correct _____%

To calculate the % correct, divide the “total correct” by 0.15. Example: If you have 13 correct then calculate 13 / 0.15 = 86.6%



Questions for Session 05 Self-Assessment

The following 15 self-assessment questions have been hand-picked from www.pm-exam-simulator.com so that you can test your understanding of the concepts you studied this week.

Question 1: As a project manager, you are trying to receive formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables from your stakeholders. However, stakeholders want to compare the requirements to the deliverables using acceptance criteria before issuing the acceptance letter. Where can you find the acceptance criteria for the requirements?

A.) Requirements Traceability Matrix B.) Requirements Documentation C.) Requirements Management Plan D.) Validated Deliverables

Question 2: You are executing Phase 2 of a three phase project for your customer. Three weeks ago, as part of the closing of Phase 1, your customer accepted the project deliverables and you started the execution of Phase 2. However, the customer is now complaining that some of the Phase 1 product features are not functioning as expected and that the overall product is not functioning properly. What should you do first?

A.) Ignore the customer because they have already accepted the product B.) Review the Validate Scope Process C.) Ask the customer to submit a change request to enable the product to match the expected functionality D.) Immediately start working on rectifying the errors as reported by the customer

Question 3: For unknown reasons, your manager has suddenly become a negative stakeholder on your project. He is now asking you to incorporate multiple changes into the project scope. Although you have the ultimate authority over the project and you have managed to avoid such requests, some requests look reasonable to you. Which of the following documents can help you identify which changes require a change request?

A.) Scope Management Plan B.) Configuration Management Plan C.) Schedule Management Plan D.) Quality Management Plan

Questions 4-15 are not available in this free sample


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Answers for Session 05 Self-Assessment

Question Number Correct Answer

Question 01 B

Question 02 C

Question 03 B

Question 04 A

Question 05 D

Question 06 D

Question 07 B

Question 08 D

Question 09 A

Question 10 A

Question 11 D

Question 12 D

Question 13 C

Question 14 C

Question 15 C



Answers & Explanations for Session 05 Self-Assessment

The following 15 self-assessment questions have been hand-picked from www.pm-exam-simulator.com so that you can test your understanding of the concepts you studied this week.

Question 1: As a project manager, you are trying to receive formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables from your stakeholders. However, stakeholders want to compare the requirements to the deliverables using acceptance criteria before issuing the acceptance letter. Where can you find the acceptance criteria for the requirements?

A.) Requirements Traceability Matrix B.) Requirements Documentation C.) Requirements Management Plan D.) Validated Deliverables

Correct answer is B

Explanation: Requirements Documentation contains the project, product, technical, and other types of requirements along with their acceptance criteria. Note: Even though the PMBOK® Guide states that the "Requirements Traceability Matrix" may contain acceptance criteria, this is not the correct answer. This is because in the description of the Validate Scope process, the PMBOK® Guide states that it is the "Requirements Documentation" that contains the criteria used for formal approval. Therefore, "Requirements Documentation" is the best answer, because it is always correct, while "Requirements Traceability Matrix" may only be correct in some cases, on some projects, under special circumstances.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 5thEdition, pages 118, 134

Question 2: You are executing Phase 2 of a three phase project for your customer. Three weeks ago, as part of the closing of Phase 1, your customer accepted the project deliverables and you started the execution of Phase 2. However, the customer is now complaining that some of the Phase 1 product features are not functioning as expected and that the overall product is not functioning properly. What should you do first?

A.) Ignore the customer because they have already accepted the product B.) Review the Validate Scope Process C.) Ask the customer to submit a change request to enable the product to match the expected functionality D.) Immediately start working on rectifying the errors as reported by the customer

Correct answer is C

Explanation: The product delivered by you at the end of Phase 1 was accepted by the customer and Phase 1 was closed. This means that the customer accepted the delivered product "as is", which means that it worked as expected. The fact that the customer only now determined that the delivered product from Phase 1 did not function according to their expectations here in Phase 2 resulted from them not performing appropriate deliverables acceptance and phase closing activities. You could just ignore the customer's request since you are right and they are wrong. However, the best course of action is to have the customer go through proper channels and submit a change request in order to enable the product to match the expected functionality.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 5thEdition, pages 135-136





Question 3: For unknown reasons, your manager has suddenly become a negative stakeholder on your project. He is now asking you to incorporate multiple changes into the project scope. Although you have the ultimate authority over the project and you have managed to avoid such requests, some requests look reasonable to you. Which of the following documents can help you identify which changes require a change request?

A.) Scope Management Plan B.) Configuration Management Plan C.) Schedule Management Plan D.) Quality Management Plan

Correct answer is B

Explanation: The Scope Management Plan outlines how the overall project scope will be defined, managed and controlled. However, it does not document which changes require a change request and which do not. Actually, that depends upon the situation. If any change impacts one or more project baselines, a change request should be created. Otherwise, minor changes do not require change requests. The Configuration Management plan defines those items that are configurable, those items that require formal change control, and the process for controlling such items.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, pages 138

Questions 4-15 are not available in this free sample



Student Tips for Building a WBS that will both help your project and earn a good grade on a WBS assignment by Kay Wais, PMP. © Successful Projects, LLC, www.successfulprojects.com

Structure is not a statement. The work breakdown structure is often confused with scope statement. Both come early in a project’s life cycle. WBS is an outline of work to be done.

Exclude the Distractions and Details. A well-crafted WBS includes all of the work needed to complete the project and purposefully excludes all the anticipated, but unnecessary, diversions and distractions that would slow it down. Don’t include technical specifications or work instructions inside the WBS. Don’t try to write the WBS using full sentences.

Know the two key terms. There are summary tasks and work packages in a WBS. Summary tasks are just there for organizational purposes. The work packages are where the actual work resides. Work packages get estimated and delegated. Summary tasks do NOT get estimated and delegated.

Beware the stand-alone work package. A summary task with just one work package under it is a huge red flag that your WBS work is incomplete.

Think deliverables. A WBS specifies the major and subordinate deliverables so it is best to write it in terms of nouns as opposed to actions. Remember that approvals are a deliverable.

Decompose to the level of delegation and to where you can accurately estimate. Make sure that each WBS element has someone who is clearly accountable for its completion. Decompose that deliverable to the point where the time and cost can be accurately estimated.

Bigger projects demand longer legs. WBS levels increase when a project is large, complex and time-consuming. These increasingly more detailed levels are often referred to as “long legs.” Deliverables are pushed further into the future on long-legged projects.

A good WBS helps prevent project delay or failure. Omitting WBS development and proceeding directly to a Gantt chart or other network diagram may unnecessarily delay the project. Creating a WBS that is not deliverables-focused may lead to project failure.

Practice the art of progressive elaboration. Increase the “legs” of a WBS until a level is reached that provides the needed insight for effective project management. At that finite end point, one person is responsible for one independent element, and there are clear, objective criteria for measuring the element’s progress and completion.

Plan to Use your WBS. For the assignment you probably do not have to track the percent that all of the work is done, but the WBS is where you would plan to do this tracking. You may want to build in a method for this at the start. If you’re using project management software, that is done for you. However if you are using something like Word or Excel, it might be helpful to add a columns such as “assigned” and “% complete” immediately to help you prepare for that.


http://www.successfulprojects.com/


Tools and Techniques of Collect Requirements

Interviews

An interview is a form of information gathering. This may be done in a formal or informal setting. It is used to discover information directly from stakeholders through talking. Questions are either prepared beforehand or spontaneous with a recording of the responses given.

An interviewer may choose to conduct the interviews either one-on-one, in a group setting, or a combination of these. Interviews are one of the fastest techniques for collecting requirements; however, there are challenges that need to be considered. In a one-on-one setting an interviewee may feel free to share detailed, unfiltered information. In a group setting, the dynamics of the group members may impact each interviewee’s willingness to share. Regardless, interviews can aid and expedite the identification and definition of the features and functions of desired project deliverables and should be considered the preferred method of requirements gathering.

Focus Groups

Focus groups are guided by a trained moderator. Prequalified stakeholders and subject matter experts are gathered and then channeled by the moderator to learn about their expectations and attitudes about the proposed product, service, or result. This is achieved through an interactive discussion. Compared to interviews, focus groups are designed to be more spontaneous.

Facilitated Workshops

Facilitated workshops are meetings that bring together a group of individuals who are best qualified to identify and discuss product and project requirements. Some key benefits of these workshops are that they bring diverse often cross-functional representatives together so a “big picture” view and impact are captured, potential issues identified early and resolved quickly, stakeholder differences are reconciled in a well-controlled environment, and trust and important relationships are fostered between participants, which can lead to improved communication and consensus building. An example of a facilitated workshop is a JAD or Joint Application and Design/Development session. These are typically called and facilitated by business analysts and include key stakeholders, subject matter experts, and the development team. In this way the design and development team can much better understand the context and subtleties of each requirement. As a result the development team is much more effective and the number of development cycles can be dramatically decreased.

Group Creativity Techniques

Group creativity techniques are similar to focus groups but differ in that there are several activities that take place instead of just group discussions. These activities can include:

a. Brainstorming: This technique involves collecting multiple ideas related to project and product requirements from all the participants.

b. Nominal Group Technique: This technique usually follows the brainstorming technique. In this method, the previous technique is enhanced with the help of a voting process. This is where ideas are ranked to determine the most useful, which in turn is used for prioritization and/or further brainstorming.

c. Delphi Technique: The Delphi technique is a good way to maintain anonymity in terms of feedback and responses on presented ideas. In this technique, a selected group of experts answer questionnaires. These answers are then presented in an anonymous fashion to a panel that provides feedback. Following the round of feedback the experts then are given the ability to modify their responses. This continues in an iterative fashion for as many rounds as is deemed appropriate to firm up requirements.

d. Idea/mind Mapping: In this technique, ideas are created through individual brainstorming. The ideas are consolidated to a single map to compare and contrast. This technique is designed to shape new and better ideas.



e. Affinity Diagram: An affinity diagram is useful for creating a cause and effect diagram whereby ideas are collected, sorted, and related ideas grouped together. This process is repeated until all the ideas are grouped and/or sub-grouped, which helps with management of the ideas.

Group Decision-Making Techniques

Group decision-making is technique that provides for a leader to facilitate the process of reaching a decision. The technique takes the pressure off of individuals who are unwilling or unable to make a decision. This technique is effective for generating, classifying, and prioritizing product requirements and should result in a definitive plan of action. The multiple methods of reaching a group discussion are unanimity/consensus, majority, plurality/clique, and dictatorship/unilateral.

Questionnaires and Surveys

When a quick turnaround is required and statistical analysis is imperative the ideal technique used is the questionnaire or survey. Questionnaires and surveys are written sets of questions that are designed to accumulate information from a wide number of respondents faster and easier.

Observations

Observations offer a direct way of viewing the individual, their environment, how their jobs or tasks are performed, and the process they follow. This is particularly effective on cases where the detailed process is difficult to articulate or when the people are reluctant to explain their requirements. Another term that refers to observation, job shadowing may be done with the observer viewing the user on the job. Observation may also be accomplished through the use of a participant observer who performs the process or procedure in order to experience how it is done, which helps uncover hidden requirements or factors not initially noticed through observation.

Prototypes

Prototypes, or models, are built before the actual product in order to obtain feedback on requirements sooner. Because the prototypes are tangible, this model allows the stakeholders to experiment and “see” possible outcomes rather than just discussing abstract representations or assuming their requirements. The concept of progressive elaboration is supported by prototyping because it is used on mock up creation, user experimentation, feedback generation, and prototype revision. All these feedback cycles formulated from experiments are designed to eventually be sufficient to complete or design the final output.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is primarily a compare and contrast activity between different organizations that may have a bearing on the project. Most often actual and planned practices such as processes or operations are compared with the goal of: establishing best practices, work toward continuous improvement of existing practices, as well as deriving a basis for measuring the performance of the requirements gathering process.

Context Diagrams

Context diagrams take advantage of the power of representing a system or product graphically. The Context Diagram shows the system under consideration as a single high-level process and then shows the relationship that the system has with other external entities (systems, organizational groups, external data stores, etc.).

Document Analysis

Document Analysis is a practice that can help elicit requirements and identify information relevant to the requirements. It describes the act of reviewing the existing documentation often of comparable business processes or systems in order to extract pieces of information that are relevant to the current project, and therefore should be considered as project requirements. Some more common documents that are analyzed are business process models, use cases, requirements specifications, and RFPs. Existing



documentation can be scoured for an understanding of key functions, business rules, business entities, and business entity attributes. Document analysis may also be necessary when stakeholders are not available to offer insight into existing business processes or systems.



PMI Sample questions

PMP Sample Test Questions

(correct answers are bolded)

1. An accepted deadline for a project approaches. However, the project manager realizes only 75% percent of the work has been completed. The project manager then issues a change request.

What should the change request authorize?

A. Additional resources using the contingency fund

B. Escalation approval to use contingency funding

C. Team overtime to meet schedule

D. Corrective action based on causes

2. The project manager develops a process improvement plan to encourage continuous process improvement during the life of the project. Which of the following is a valid tool or technique to assist the project manager to assure the success of the process improvement plan?

A. Change control system

B. Process analysis

C. Benchmarking

D. Configuration management system

3. The project manager meets with the project team to review lessons learned from previous projects. In what activity is the team involved?

A. Performance management

B. Scope identification

C. Risk identification

D. Project team status meeting

CAPM Sample Test Questions

(correct answers are bolded)

1. Which interpersonal skill is displayed by developing a vision and strategy, and inspires people to achieve that vision and strategy?

A. Motivation

B. Leadership

C. Influencing the organization

D. Effective communication

2. Administer procurements is performed as part of which process group?

A. Planning

B. Executing

C. Monitoring and Controlling

D. Closing



Version History of this Weekly Workbook Version Date Comments

1.00 2014-04-30 Original

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