CompTIA Project+ Study Guide

KIM HELDMAN, MBA, PMP, is Senior Manager, IT/Chief Information Officer for the Regional Transportation District in Denver, CO. She oversees an IT portfolio of projects ranging from those small in scope and budget to multimillion-dollar, multiyear projects. With more than 25 years of experience in information technology project management, Kim directs IT resource planning, budgeting, project prioritization, and strategic and tactical planning. Most of the real-world scenarios in this Study Guide are based on her actual experiences on the job. Kim is the author of several books on project management, including Project Management JumpStart, 3rd Edition, and the eight previous editions of the bestselling PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. Visit her website at www.kimheldman.com for more information.

Introduction xviii Assessment Test xxxii

Chapter 1 Initiating the Project 1

Defining the Project 2

Identifying the Project 2

Programs and Portfolios 3

Understanding Operations 4

Using the PMBOK Guide® 4

Understanding Organizational Structures 5

The Functional Organization 5

The Matrix Organization 6

The Projectized Organization 8

Validating the Project 9

How Projects Come About 10

Business Case Validation and Stakeholder Identification 12

Project Selection 13

Project Selection Methods 13

Understanding the Project Management Knowledge Areas 17

Understanding the Role of the Project Manager 17

Leadership 18

Communication 19

Problem-Solving 19

Negotiating 20

Organization and Time Management 21

Summary 21

Exam Essentials 22

Key Terms 23

Review Questions 24

Chapter 2 Project Team Roles and Responsibilities 29

Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities 31

The Customer 32

The Project Sponsor 32

The Project Manager 33

The Project Coordinator 34

The Project Scheduler 34

The Project Team Members 34

The Project Management Office 35

The Stakeholder Matrix 36

Receiving a Project Request 37

The Project Request Process 37

The High-Level Scope Definition 37

Documenting the High-Level Scope Definition 39

Summary 40

Exam Essentials 40

Key Terms 41

Review Questions 42

Chapter 3 Creating the Project Charter 47

Project Process Groups 49

The Initiating Processes 50

The Planning Processes 50

The Executing Processes 52

The Monitoring and Controlling Processes 53

The Closing Processes 53

Creating the Project Charter 54

Goals and Objectives 55

Project Description 55

Key Deliverables 55

High-Level Requirements 56

High-Level Milestones 56

High-Level Budget 56

High-Level Assumptions 56

High-Level Constraints 57

High-Level Risks 57

Other Contents 58

Criteria for Approval 58

Formal Approval 58

Holding the Kickoff Meeting 58

Summary 60

Exam Essentials 61

Key Terms 62

Review Questions 63

Chapter 4 Creating the Work Breakdown Structure 67

Documenting the Scope Management Plan 68

Writing the Scope Statement 69

Project Objectives 70

Project Description 70

Acceptance Criteria and Key Performance Indicators 71

Key Deliverables 71

Exclusions from Scope 71

Time and Cost Estimates 71

Assumptions 72

Constraints and Influences 72

Constraints 72

Influences 75

Approval of the Scope Statement 77

Documenting the Requirements 77

Requirement Categories 78

The Requirements Document 80

Creating the Work Breakdown Structure 80

Decomposing the Major Deliverables 81

Guidelines for Creating a WBS 82

Benefits of the WBS 83

WBS Dictionary 84

Summary 87

Exam Essentials 88

Key Terms 88

Review Questions 90

Chapter 5 Creating the Project Schedule 95

Schedule Planning 96

Defining Tasks 97

Task Sequencing 98

Types of Dependencies 98

Logical Relationships 98

Creating a Network Diagram 99

Assigning Resources 100

Determining Task Durations 100

Defining Duration 101

Estimating Techniques 101

Creating the Project Schedule 103

Milestones 104

Displaying the Schedule 105

The Critical Path Method 105

Duration Compression 107

Project-Scheduling Software 108

Setting the Baseline and Obtaining Approval 108

Quality Gates 108

Establishing Governance Gates 109

Summary 111

Exam Essentials 112

Key Terms 112

Review Questions 114

Chapter 6 Resource Planning and Management 119

Determining Resource Needs 121

Resource Management Concepts 121

Interproject Work 124

Personnel Management 124

Selecting Team Members 124

Organization Charts and Position Descriptions 125

Matrix-Based Charts 126

Roles and Responsibilities 127

Building and Managing a Cohesive Team 127

Trust Building 128

Monitoring Team Performance 129

Conflict Management 132

Managing Conflict 133

Project Kickoff 136

Summary 139

Exam Essentials 140

Key Terms 141

Review Questions 143

Chapter 7 Defining the Project Budget and Risk Plans 147

Estimating Costs 148

Cost-Estimating Techniques 148

Estimating Tips 152

Creating the Project Budget 153

Creating the Project Budget 154

Cost Baseline 156

Expenditure Tracking and Reporting 156

Earned Value Management 157

Expenditure Reporting 160

Risk Planning 161

Risk Identification 162

Risk Analysis 163

Risk Response 165

Risk Monitoring 167

Summary 169

Exam Essentials 170

Key Terms 170

Review Questions 172

Chapter 8 Communicating the Plan 177

Communications Planning 179

Exchanging Information 180

Listening 182

Methods of Communicating 182

Forms of Communicating 183

Communication Methods 183

The Communication Plan 186

Communicating with Project Team Members 188

Managing Stakeholder Expectations and

Communication Needs 189

Engaging Stakeholders 190

Factors That Influence Communications 192

Communication Triggers 194

Summary 198

Exam Essentials 199

Key Terms 200

Review Questions 201

Chapter 9 Processing Change Requests and Procurement Documents 205

Project Management Plan Review 207

Implementing Change Control Systems 208

Identify and Document the Change Request 210

Change Request Log 210

Evaluate the Impact and Justification of Change 211

Change Control Board 212

Implement the Change 213

Validate the Change 213

Updating the Project Management Plan 213

Communicating the Changes 214

Types of Organizational Change 214

Procurement Planning 215

Statement of Work 216

Vendor Solicitation 217

Vendor Selection Criteria 218

Types of Contracts 219

Partner and Vendor-centric Documents 220

Agile Project Management 221

Sprint Planning 222

Daily Standups or Scrum Meetings 223

Scrum Retrospective 223

Other Methodologies 224

Summary 225

Exam Essentials 226

Key Terms 227

Review Questions 229

Chapter 10 Project Tools and Documentation 233

Project Management Tools 235

Charts 236

Dashboards and Status Reports 240

Knowledge Management Tools 243

Using Performance Measures 244

Key Performance Indicators 245

Key Performance Parameters 246

Balanced Score Card 246

Project Endings 246

Characteristics of Closing 246

Types of Project Endings 247

Steps in Closing Out a Project 249

Obtaining Sign-Off 249

Transferring the Product of the Project 249

Releasing Team Members 250

Closing Out the Contract 250

Administrative Closure 251

Archiving Project Documents 251

Documenting Lessons Learned 251

Preparing the Project Close Report 254

Summary 255

Exam Essentials 256

Key Terms 257

Review Questions 258

Appendix Answers to Review Questions 263

Chapter 1: Initiating the Project 264

Chapter 2: Project Team Roles and Responsibilities 266

Chapter 3: Creating the Project Charter 267

Chapter 4: Creating the Work Breakdown Structure 269

Chapter 5: Creating the Project Schedule 270

Chapter 6: Resource Planning and Management 272

Chapter 7: Defining the Project Budget and Risk Plans 273

Chapter 8: Communicating the Plan 275

Chapter 9: Processing Change Requests and Procurement Documents 276

Chapter 10: Project Tools and Documentation 278

Index 281