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what is Management by Objectives (MBO)

Management by Objectives (MBO) a management philosophy that says an
organization should be managed by objectives, it has three steps:

1. Establish unambiguous and realistic objectives

2. Periodically evaluate if objectives are being met
3. Implement corrective action

You should understand what this means for the project manager. If the project is not in line with or does not support the corporate objectives, the project is likely to lose resources assistance and attention. You should also understand that MBO works only if management supports it.

What is Project Management Office (PMO or Program Office)

department that centralizes the management of projects. A PMO usually takes one of three roles:

• Providing the policies, methodologies and templates for managing projects within the organization

• Providing support and guidance to others in the organization on how to manage projects, training others in project management or project management software, and assisting with specific project management tools

• Providing project managers for different projects, and being responsible for the results of those projects (All projects, or projects of a certain size, type or influence, are managed by this office)

Be careful to understand the authority of the PMO and how it is different from the other players on a project. The PMO is an organizational structure, not a person. The role of the project manager is described throughout this book. The roles of the sponsor and other people involved in a project are described in the Human Resources chapter. The PMO may:

• Manage the interdependencies between projects
• Help provide resources
• Terminate projects
• Help gather lessons learned and make them available to other projects
• Provide templates (i.e., for work breakdown structures)
• Provide guidance
• Provide enterprise project management software
• Be more heavily involved during project initiating than later in the project

Common Project Management Errors and Pitfalls

Errors include:
• Focusing on asking for percent complete
• Holding "go around the room" type status meetings
• Spending most of your time babysitting team members by constantly checking on them
• Asking to cut io percent off the estimate
• Thinking a bar (Gantt) chart is a project management plan
• Not attempting to obtain finalized requirements
• Not getting real resource commitments
• Not having a reward system
• Not focusing on quality
• Not having a control system
• Not having management plans
• Not measuring against the project management plan, or even creating metrics
• Not spending time finding and eliminating root causes of problems or deviations
• Not implementing corrective action to keep the project in line with the project management plan
• Not reevaluating the effectiveness of the project management plan
• Not reevaluating the accuracy or completeness of schedule, cost, scope
• Ignoring resource managers' need to have their people do their own departments' work
• Not realizing the project can affect the reputation of team members
• Not realizing the project manager has some human resource responsibilities to the project team, such as project job descriptions and adding letters of recommendation to team members* human resource files
• Blaming unrealistic schedules on management instead of realizing they are the project manager's responsibility

In a matrix organization, two projects have a concurrent need for identical skills in limited availability with the functional manager in charge

In a matrix organization, two projects have a concurrent need for identical skills in limited availability with the functional manager in charge of the skill in demand. Who is responsible for resolving this conflict over resources?

[A] O Senior Management
[B] O Functional Manager
[C] O Project Manager
[D] O Sponsor

Choice A is the correct answer.

This is a conflict over resource assignments that need to be addressed based on project priorities. Project priorities are decided by the senior management of the performing organization. Functional managers, project managers, and sponsor do not decide priorities of different projects.

Hence choice A is correct while choices B, C, and D are incorrect.

A Project team has completed the project network diagram; what is the next thing to do?

[A] O Determine critical path
[B] O Develop budget
[C] Estimate time and c0st
[D] O Develop schedule

Choice C is the correct answer.

Project network diagram defines activity sequencing only. Critical path can be determined only after activity duration estimating is completed. Schedule and budgets are developed after completing risk management planning.

Hence choice C is correct while choices A, B, and D are incorrect.

In which of the following stages is the voice of customer technique adopted?

[A] O Project Initiation
[B] O Project Planning
[C] O Project Executing
[D] O Project Controlling


Choice B is the correct answer.

This question may appear as confusing. Many may think that it is meant for all the processes because customer inputs are essential throughout.

Remember, Voice of the Customer is a planning technique used to provide products, services, and results that truly reflect customer requirements by translating those requirements into the appropriate technical requirements for each phase of project product development. Hence, it is considered as a planning technique.

example of enterprise environmental factors'

[A] Organizational culture
[B] Existing human resources
[C] Work authorization system
[D] organization's procedures in the form of templates


Enterprise Environmental Factors refer to any or all external environmental factors and internal organizational environmental factors that surround or influence the project's success. Examples are organizational culture (choice A), existing human resources, such as skills and knowledge (choice B), and work authorization system (choice C).


Choice D, Organization's procedures in the form of templates, is an example of Organizational Process Assets. The examples for Organizational Process Assets are templates and checklists, and other assets that may be available based on past project experiences.

Hence choice D is correct while choices A, B, and C are incorrect.