Week 2 – Defining project goals, scope, and success criteria – Shuffle Q/A 2

1. Fill in the blank: When determining a measurable outcome, _____ define what needs to be achieved and describe a desired outcome.

Answers

·        key results

·        objectives

·        metrics

·        budgets

Explanation: When attempting to determine a quantifiable result, defining what has to be accomplished and describing the intended goal is accomplished via the use of objectives.

2. As a project manager, you’re using the SMART criteria to craft revenue goals for your team. During the process, you look at last year's revenue data as a benchmark for deciding how much to increase revenue this year. In this instance, which SMART criteria are you using?

Answers

·        Specific

·        Measurable

·        Attainable

·        Relevant

·        Time-bound

Explanation: You are focusing most of your attention on using the "Specific" and "Measurable" aspects of the SMART criteria in this particular case. You are being explicit about the aim, which is to increase revenue, and assessing it by using a quantitative reference point, which is the revenue from the previous year. In other words, you are utilizing the data from the previous year as a benchmark. A crystal clear and well-defined target for your team may be developed with the aid of the precise and quantifiable features.

3. As a project manager it is your responsibility to maintain the limits of the project. Which of the following are ways that scope creep is likely to affect your project? Select all that apply.

Answers

·        Increased risk

·        Team member turnover

·        Schedule delays

·        Losses to your bottom line

 

4. Consider this Office Green scenario: A member of the marketing team suggests allowing customers to choose from an additional three plant colors. Select all that apply.

What can help prevent project scope creep in this scenario? Select all that apply.

Answers

·        Get clarity on project requirements

·        Go along with the member’s suggestion

·        Make project plans visible

·        Create a plan for dealing with out-of-scope requests

5. Fill in the blank: Deliverables help project managers, team members, and stakeholders _____ and realize the impact of the project.

Answers

·        quantify

·        adjust

·        rank

·        compare

Explanation: Deliverables are important because they allow project managers, team members, and stakeholders to evaluate progress and comprehend the project's effect.

6. Which of the following is an adoption metric?

Answers

·        An increase in customer satisfaction score

·        A 20% increase in the amount of tasks completed

·        A 35% increase in first-time customers

·        Double the amount of time participating within an app

Explanation: Adoption metrics often evaluate how successfully a new system, method, or technology is being welcomed by users. These choices aren't supplied; nevertheless, adoption metrics are available.Adoption metrics are very necessary for determining whether or not a company has been successful in implementing changes and whether or not those changes have been accepted.

7. As a project manager, your team has been tasked to come up with a new service that increases revenue by 4% within one year. The team implements a new service, a website has gone live, catalogs have been printed and delivered, orders have been received, and revenue starts to go up. What is this an example of?

Answers

·        A successful project launch

·        A successful implementation of OKRs

·        A successful project landing

·        A successful use of the triple constraint method

Explanation: This serves as an example of the execution and implementation of a project done successfully. They have successfully carried out the strategy, which required them to develop a new service in order to boost income. The project manager and the team were given this responsibility. The website is now operational, catalogs have been sent out, orders are being received, and the target result of increased income is currently being accomplished. It demonstrates efficient administration of projects, beginning with planning and continuing through execution and culminating in the accomplishment of the project's goals.

8. As project manager, you approve a team member’s request to change the order of their tasks because they think it will be more efficient. However, this change disrupts another team member’s work process: they need to do two additional tasks not related to the project’s goal. What is happening on this project?

Answers

·        The project is going out-of-scope.

·        The project is staying in-scope.

·        The project is iterating.

·        The project is becoming more efficient.

Explanation: In the context of project management, this scenario illustrates the concept of a compromise or trade-off. One member of the team may gain from the change in the order of duties since it may increase their level of efficiency; however, this adjustment has unexpected repercussions for another member of the team who must now execute two more jobs.

When managing projects, it is often required to make adjustments, and making choices often requires striking a balance between opposing goals and interests. It's possible that approving one modification may have an effect on other facets of the project; thus, project managers need to examine the advantages and downsides before making choices that are in line with the overall aims and objectives of the project.

Finding the appropriate balance and catering to the requirements of the team while yet maintaining forward momentum on the project is a balancing act of the highest order. When navigating such scenarios, communication and teamwork become essential in order to avoid interruptions and ensure that everyone is on the same page with regard to the overall objectives of the project.

9. Suppose as a project manager you’re receiving requests from stakeholders to add new features to the product you’re developing. How would you deal with this external scope creep?

Answers

·        Agree on who can make formal requests and how your team will evaluate and act on those requests

·        Ignore the requests because the project is already underway

·        Implement the initial stakeholders requests and then ban all future requests

·        Take a team vote to decide if the team should add the new feature to the product

 

10. As a project manager for an online retailer, you meet with your company’s head of customer service and are asked to improve the response time to customer email inquiries by 15 percent by the end of the first quarter. Your team creates email templates for responding to typical questions from customers and produces an end-of-quarter report that shows a 17 percent improvement in response time after your templates were implemented. Which of the following best represents the success criteria for this project?

Answers

·        Approval from your company’s head of customer service

·        Email templates for responding to typical questions from customers

·        An end-of-quarter report that shows a 17 percent improvement in response time

·        A 15 percent improvement in response time at the end of the first quarter

Explanation: The precise target that was stated at the beginning of the project is the one that would best reflect the success criteria for this endeavor. That aim is to reduce the amount of time it takes to respond to customer email questions by 15 percent by the conclusion of the first quarter. The fact that the end-of-quarter report reveals a 17 percent increase in performance demonstrates that the project has not only met but also surpassed the predetermined criteria for success.

In this particular situation, the success criterion is defined as attaining an improvement in reaction time of 15 percent, and the project has proved success by delivering a 17 percent increase in response time. This marks a successful conclusion to the project and is in line with the primary objective that was established by the head of customer service.

11. Which of the following is the best example of success criteria?

Answers

·        Achieve an 87% customer satisfaction rate within three months of product launch.

·        Use the triple constraint model to manage changes in project scope.

·        Offer the best product in our industry.

·        Create a new product feature that will satisfy customers.

Shuffle Q/A 3

12. As project manager, you approve a team member’s request to change the order of their tasks because they think it will be more efficient. However, this change disrupts another team member’s work process: they need to do two additional tasks that are not related to the project’s goal. What is this an example of?

Answers

·        Internal scope creep

·        External scope creep

·        Calibrating scope

·        Internalizing scope

Explanation: This seems to be a textbook example of the domino effect, in which an apparently little modification in one aspect of the project winds up generating a chain reaction of interruptions in other areas. It serves as a useful reminder of how intertwined duties may be inside a project as well as the need of taking into consideration the larger effect that modifications will have.

13. Which scenario demonstrates project landing?

Answers

·        The car company Janco launches a new car series called the Cruiser ST. The launch is successful and all the dealerships request more models.

·        The project manager considers positive feedback from the project sponsor as enough evidence to assume success and reports the project complete.

·        The Director of Product requests to reduce the budget by 25% but the final outcome still needs to look and function as originally agreed.

·        The project manager checks back on the project in five years to see if the training program produces a 20% increase in the county’s recycling rate.

Explanation: Bringing a project to a successful landing, also known as project closure, often entails bringing to a close all of the activities associated with the project, finishing any remaining tasks, and officially winding down the project. Therefore, the following would be an example of a situation that indicates successful project landing:

Imagine that your team has successfully finished all of the deliverables, achieved the objectives of the project, and received permission from the customer. You have completed an in-depth project evaluation, recorded the lessons you've learned, and made certain that all materials have been shared in the right manner. The paperwork for finishing the project has been signed off on, and all of the stakeholders have expressed satisfaction with the results. This indicates that the project was able to land successfully, marking the formal conclusion of the project lifespan.

14. Fill in the blank: Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) combine both a goal and a _____ to determine a measurable outcome.

Answers

·        vision

·        consensus

·        budget

·        metric

Explanation: OKRs, which stand for objectives and key results, are a method that determines a quantifiable outcome by combining a goal with a set of measurable outcomes.

15. As a project manager, you’re using the SMART criteria to craft goals for your team. During the process, you create goals that are a little challenging, but also encourage growth. In this instance, which SMART criteria are you using?

Answers

·        Specific

·        Measurable

·        Attainable

·        Relevant

·        Time-bound

Explanation: In this particular case, you are going to be concentrating on the "A" in SMART, which denotes "Achievable" or "Attainable." You can make sure that the goals you set for your team will inspire growth and development without being excessively ambitious or impossible to achieve if you write down objectives that are difficult but not insurmountable at the same time.

16. As the project manager for a team of software developers, your team has been hired to develop a piece of proprietary software for a corporate customer. After a few weeks working on the project your customer announces that they will need their software several weeks sooner than originally expected, but that the software needs to look and function as originally agreed with no changes.

Using the triple constraint model, what trade-off could you use to meet your customer’s new requirements?

Answers

·        Change team roles

·        Change the project scope

·        Change the budget

·        Change the project goals

Explanation: That is a textbook example of being pressed for time! In the realm of business, it is not unusual for deadlines to be subject to change. In this scenario, the difficulty is in meeting the shortened deadline without sacrificing the quality and functionality that were previously discussed and agreed upon. To guarantee that everyone on the team is on the same page, this may need some inventive scheduling, maybe the reallocation of resources, and effective communication among the members of the team. The most important thing to do is to manage the client's expectations, communicate openly and often with your team, and consider negotiating with the customer if the shortened timetable creates substantial obstacles. Now is the time to put your talents in project management to the test!

17. As a project manager, you have created a dashboard that allows your stakeholders to easily track gaps and trends in revenue. What type of metric would this be an example of?

Answers

·        An efficiency metric

·        A business metric

·        A happiness metric

·        An engagement metric

Explanation: If you've created a dashboard in order to monitor gaps and trends in revenue, it's likely that you're interested in key performance indicators (KPIs) that are associated with financial data. When it comes to determining the project's or the company's overall financial health, revenue indicators are of the utmost importance. Your dashboard acts as a tool for monitoring and evaluating key data, giving stakeholders a perspective of the project's financial performance that is crystal obvious and easy to understand.

18. The objective for a car company is to launch a new series of cars. Which three of the following could be examples of key results? Select all that apply.

Answers

·        Create a best-in-class midsize sedan.

·        Meet production deadlines 95% of the time.

·        Distribute 98% of the product on time to dealerships.

·        Improve the customer satisfaction survey score by 15%.