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Chapter 3: Managing the Object-Oriented Information Systems Project

True-False Questions

  1. The creation of a system service request is usually done by the project review board.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 53Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Components constructed earlier in the project will typically require more rework than those created later in the project.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 56Difficulty: Easy

  1. In OOSAD systems development, it is better to tackle the easier problems first and save the harder problems for later in the project after the team has gained more experience.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 57Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Systems architecture decisions should be made in early stages of the OOSAD methodology.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 58Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Early planning in OOSAD projects should be highly detailed and structured.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 59Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Planning estimates that are made during the construction phase are likely to be more accurate than planning estimates made during the inception phase.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 59Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Project management and planning activities in OOSAD projects are most intense during the inception phase of a project and taper off as the project progresses.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 59, 79Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The first alpha release of the major systems components typically occurs during the construction phase of the OOSAD project.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 61, 78Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The project charter includes details of project scheduling and resource allocation, and is developed during the project planning phase.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 63Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Plans regarding a long-term planning horizon are typically more focused and detailed than those covering a shorter-term horizon.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 64 Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The project plan’s WBS indicates the proportion of time estimated for each task in the project.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 65Difficulty: Moderate

  1. In a network diagram, the horizontal size of a node indicates the duration of time the task takes to complete.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 65-66Difficulty: Moderate

  1. COCOMO is a method for resource planning and estimation.

Answer:TruePage Reference: 67Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The level of formality is higher for a project newsletter than for minutes of meetings.

Answer:FalsePage Reference: 73Difficulty: Moderate

  1. A post-project review is conducted only if the project resulted in actual successful deliverables.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 73Difficulty: Easy

  1. In critical path scheduling, calculating the late finish time for tasks requires working backward from the final task toward the first in the project.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 77Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The amount of time that a task can be delayed without delaying the start of its successor tasks is called slack time.

Answer: TruePage Reference:77Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Total slack time is calculated using the PERT method.

Answer: FalsePage Reference:77Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Performing a critical path analysis requires knowledge of pessimistic and optimistic time estimates for each task.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 79-80Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Performing a PERT analysis requires knowledge of a task’s predecessors and successors.

Answer: FalsePage Reference:79-80Difficulty: Moderate

  1. In Microsoft Project, each task’s start date is automatically calculated based on the project’s start date and the task durations and dependencies.

Answer: TruePage Reference: 82Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Although Microsoft Project includes facilities for performing CPM and PERT analyses, it does not include functionality for determining resource utilization.

Answer: FalsePage Reference: 83Difficulty: Moderate

Multiple-Choice Questions

  1. The project manager’s role differs from other systems analysts in that the project manager is responsible for:
  1. modeling the system.
  2. obtaining user requirements.
  3. planning and execution.
  4. programming the components.

Answer: cPage Reference: 52Difficulty: Easy

  1. In many organizations, the initiation of a systems project is triggered by a:
  1. Project workbook.
  2. System service request.
  3. Feasibility study.
  4. Baseline plan.

Answer: bPage Reference: 53Difficulty: Easy

  1. The project review board is responsible for:
  1. planning and monitoring progress on a project.
  2. evaluating and prioritizing proposed projects.
  3. performing comprehensive feasibility studies.
  4. initiating system service requests.

Answer: bPage Reference: 53-54Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Which of the following is NOT part of an SSR?
  1. User contact information
  2. Problem statement
  3. Identification of IS liaison
  4. Feasibility study

Answer: dPage Reference: 53-54Difficulty: Easy

  1. In order to facilitate management of a project as a series of iterations, the system components should be divided up as ______slices.
  1. vertical
  2. horizontal
  3. diagonal
  4. cross-sectional

Answer: aPage Reference: 56Difficulty: Moderate

  1. In the OOSAD development process, the components developed early in the process:
  1. are typically the easiest problems to solve.
  2. require relatively little project management intervention.
  3. require the most reworking as the project proceeds.
  4. are the least time-consuming to develop.

Answer: cPage Reference: 56Difficulty: Moderate

  1. With OOSAD development, unlike the traditional systems life cycle:
  1. extensive detailed planning is completed early in the project.
  2. difficult problems about system architecture are tackled early.
  3. accuracy of scheduling estimates decrease over time.
  4. management and planning activities are concentrated in the initial stages.

Answer: bPage Reference: 57Difficulty: Moderate

  1. In a project undergoing OOSAD development, implementation issues are focused in the ______stage.
  1. elaboration
  2. transition
  3. construction
  4. inception

Answer: cPage Reference: 60Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The repository of all project correspondences, inputs, outputs, deliverables, standards, and procedures is commonly known as the:
  1. project execution document.
  2. project workbook.
  3. project deliverable.
  4. project review.

Answer: bPage Reference: 63Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The high-level document prepared for internal and external stakeholders, which formally announces a project and its objectives, is commonly known as the:
  1. project charter.
  2. project workbook.
  3. project evaluation.
  4. project review.

Answer:aPage Reference: 63Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Durations of tasks in a project are graphically represented in a(n):
  1. network diagram.
  2. work breakdown structure.
  3. activity diagram.
  4. Gantt chart.

Answer: dPage Reference: 65Difficulty: Moderate

  1. A work breakdown structure represents the:
  1. division of a project into tasks and subtasks.
  2. assignment of personnel to individual tasks in the project.
  3. cost and benefit breakdown for the tasks in a project.
  4. ranking of high-to-low priority projects.

Answer: aPage Reference: 65Difficulty: Moderate

  1. A network diagram is appropriate if you want to see:
  1. division of tasks into subtasks.
  2. degree of temporal overlap between tasks.
  3. dependencies between tasks.
  4. risk level of each task.

Answer: cPage Reference: 65Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Manageability of the project is enhanced when:
  1. each individual is assigned multiple varied tasks.
  2. resources are randomly distributed among tasks.
  3. communications between project members are highly restricted.
  4. each task is assigned to an individual or well-defined group.

Answer: dPage Reference: 66Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The COCOMO method involves:
  1. determining critical paths in a network of tasks.
  2. using data from previous projects for resource estimation.
  3. performing cost-benefit analysis by establishing break-even points.
  4. establishing optimistic and pessimistic predictions of task duration.

Answer:bPage Reference: 67Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Which of the following is the appropriate technique for determining a project's human resource requirements?
  1. PERT
  2. CPM
  3. COCOMO
  4. WBS

Answer: bPage Reference: 67Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Which of the following activities takes place primarily during project execution?
  1. Establishing a baseline plan
  2. Defining project scope
  3. Monitoring project progress
  4. Closing the customer contract

Answer: cPage Reference: 70Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Which of the following is most likely to require a formal change request to be submitted and approved?
  1. The need for a significant design modification
  2. A slipped completion date for an activity
  3. Sickness, resignation, or termination of an employee
  4. Identification of a new task that becomes evident later in the project

Answer: aPage Reference: 71Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The sequence of tasks whose order and duration directly affect the completion date of a project is called a:
  1. schedule sequence.
  2. critical path.
  3. task dependency.
  4. sequence chart.

Answer: bPage Reference: 76Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The nodes on the critical path:
  1. have the most slack time of any nodes in the project.
  2. represent the most important tasks of the project.
  3. represent the longest possible time the project can take.
  4. take the longest total duration of any path in the project.

Answer: dPage Reference: 76Difficulty: Hard

  1. For a node with slack time:
  1. earliest estimated completion time precedes latest estimated completion time.
  2. earliest estimated completion time exceeds latest estimated completion time.
  3. earliest and latest estimated completion times are equal to each other.
  4. earliest and latest estimated completion times have no relationship to each other.

Answer: aPage Reference: 77Difficulty: Hard

  1. The time that a task can be delayed without delaying the completion of the project is called:
  1. early finish.
  2. late finish.
  3. total slack.
  4. free slack.

Answer: cPage Reference: 78Difficulty: Moderate

  1. The scheduling technique that uses optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic time estimates to calculate an expected task duration is called:
  1. critical path scheduling.
  2. PERT.
  3. WBS.
  4. iterative analysis.

Answer: bPage Reference: 79-80Difficulty: Moderate

Essay and Problem-Solving Questions

  1. Describe the formal steps that are typically taken in an organization to trigger the initiation of a systems development project. Who are the people involved in requesting, evaluating, and managing the process, and what documents and processes are involved?

Answer:

The potential need for a project is usually triggered when a business manager or system user identifies a problem or opportunity that can be addressed by an information system. Based on this motivation, a request is made to a project review board, often via a formal document called a System Service Request (SSR). This is typically one of many SSRs that are considered by the review board, which prioritizes and ranks the requests, selecting those that seem most suited for meeting the organizational goals and objectives. If a project is selected, it is assigned to a steering committee and a project manager, who conduct a feasibility assessment study in order to determine whether the project makes sense from an economic and operational standpoint. If so, the detailed planning and execution of the project commences, under the leadership of the project management and the oversight of the steering committee.

Page Reference: 52-54Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Identify and describe the activities that a project manager typically engages in during the course of a systems project, and the skills required for successfully accomplishing these tasks.

Answer:

The project manager is involved in several key activities, including leading, management, customer relations, technical problem solving, conflict resolution, team management, and risk/change management. As a leader and team manager, communication skills are key for articulating the goals of the project, influencing and guiding the team members toward these goals, and serving as a liaison between the project team and other stakeholders. Planning and scheduling skills are required for breaking the project into a set of tasks and recognizing the sequences and dependencies between these tasks. Problem-solving and analytical skills are necessary for interpreting the customers’ system requirements, identifying and resolving conflicts, identifying and designing systems solutions. These skills are also important for evaluating team member performance, and for recognizing and assessing risks and opportunities during project execution.

Page Reference: 54-55Difficulty: Moderate

  1. List and describe the project management steps involved in project initiation.

Answer:

During project initiation, the project manager assesses project size and scope, and establishes procedures for subsequent steps of the project. This involves several specific activities. For example, the project manager establishes a project initiation team including one or more user representatives and systems development persons. Initial contact with the customer takes place in initiation as well, in order to begin the relationship that will last throughout the project. With the customer and the team, a project initiation plan is established that eventually evolves into the system service request. Management procedures are developed for communication and reporting, job assignments and roles, change management, and funding. All of this planning constitutes the first entries into the project workbook, which will grow and evolve for the duration of the project.

Page Reference: 54, 62Difficulty: Moderate

  1. What is a project workbook? What purpose does it serve? At what point in the project is it created and maintained? Name and describe the main sections of a project workbook.

Answer:

The project workbook is the central repository of all documentation and correspondence related to the systems project. It is the key source of communication, orientation, auditing, and management for a project, and can be stored in hard-copy or electronic format, often on the organization’s Web site to provide easy access for team members. The workbook is initially created during project initiation and is maintained and modified throughout the planning and execution of the project. The workbook consists of a project overview, the initiation plan and SSR, descriptions of the project scope and risks, and procedures for managing the project. In addition, design and analysis documents such as data and process descriptions are included. Team correspondences are added to the workbook, providing a log of communications that take place over the course of the project. The statement of work is also included to help members recall which promises were made to customers. Finally, the project schedule is included in order to provide a progress tracking mechanism.

Page Reference: 63Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Describe the main activities that take place during the project planning phase of project management. What are the main outputs that result from the planning phase, and who is the audience of each of these outputs?

Answer:

During planning, the project manager starts with an analysis to determine the scope of the problem, solution alternatives, and feasibility. Once this is done, the project is broken into tasks and organized hierarchically in a work breakdown structure (WBS). This process leads to establishment of a preliminary schedule, which involves identifying dependencies, durations, and sequences of the tasks; project management software tools are useful here for constructing Gantt charts and identifying critical tasks and paths in the project. Resource requirements are determined, and personnel are assigned to the different tasks of the projects. Standards and procedures, which may have been started during the project initiation phase, are refined and fleshed out. Risk assessment is another important activity of project planning; these include factors such as new technologies, customer resistance to change, competitive pressures, regulations, and team member inexperience. Based on scheduling, resource needs, and risk evaluation, a preliminary budget is created. The main outputs of the planning phase are a statement of work, which is developed primarily for the customer, and a baseline plan which is used by team members during the execution of the project to track progress.

Page Reference: 64-69Difficulty: Moderate

  1. What is a baseline project plan, and what is its purpose? What information is contained within it and how is that information used and updated during the course of a project’s execution? What factors may cause pressure to change to baseline plan, and how are these factors dealt with? How do Gantt charts assist in using and maintaining the baseline plan?

Answer:

The baseline project plan is the major document produced by the project planning process and is used for guiding the project team through project execution. It consists of estimates of task durations and sequences as well as resource requirements for the project. During project execution the project manager puts the baseline plan into action, which means starting the tasks and assigning the resources. Progress on tasks is monitored and compared against the estimates of the baseline plan. As tasks are completed, they are marked off in the plan. Actual progress on current tasks is compared against the baseline plan estimates, and this sometimes results in making modifications to future task estimates. In some organizations, changes to the plan must be formally approved by a steering committee. But some changes are inevitable, such as slipped completion dates, bungled tasks, identification of new activities that had not previously been anticipated, or changes to personnel. Gantt charts help to identify where slips are being encountered, and what effects these slips will have on future activities, enabling the project manager to reallocate resources or reschedule tasks in order to avoid project delays.

Page Reference: 70-71Difficulty: Moderate

  1. Compare and contrast the two types of diagrams for representing project schedules. In particular, describe the appearance of each of the diagrams, indicate the features of the schedules that are emphasized by each, and identify how tasks, their relationships, and their time frames are represented in each diagram.

Answer:

The two types of diagrams for representing project schedules are the Gantt chart and the Network diagram. A Gantt chart displays as a list of tasks arranged vertically, and for each task a horizontal bar that represents the task’s start and end point and overall duration. Although the Gantt chart may also include thin lines connecting one horizontal bar to another in order to represent dependency links, the main strength of a Gantt chart is its representation of task durations and time overlaps between tasks. By contrast, Network diagrams represent tasks as circles or rectangular boxes, and dependencies between these tasks as lines connecting the boxes. The main focus of the Network diagram is to visually represent task dependencies. There is no pictorial representation of task durations in Network diagrams; instead the start and end times are represented by text within the task boxes.

Page Reference: 65-66, 74-76Difficulty: Moderate

  1. What is a critical path? Why is it important for a project manager to know the critical path for the project? Describe how the critical path is calculated, and relate the concept of critical path to the concept of slack time.

Answer: