Project Management PRINCE2 and Other Methodologies Flashcards

24 sample cards from the PRINCE2 and Other Methodologies deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is the purpose of the 'Closing a Project' (CP) process?

   To provide a fixed point to confirm acceptance of the project product, verify objectives were met (or nothing more can be done), hand over products, and produce the End Project Report, Lessons Report, and recommendation to close.

2. How does PMBOK differ from PRINCE2 in fundamental approach?

   PMBOK (PMI) is a broad knowledge/standards framework describing tools, techniques, and good practices (process groups and knowledge areas) but is not prescriptive; PRINCE2 is a prescriptive, process-based method of governance emphasizing principles, product focus, and the Business Case—it says 'what' to do but less on specific techniques.

3. What are the five PMBOK Process Groups (traditional editions)?

   Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring & Controlling, and Closing.

4. How does Agile differ from PRINCE2/PMBOK (predictive) approaches?

   Agile is iterative and incremental, delivering working products in short cycles (sprints) with flexible scope and fixed time/cost, valuing collaboration and responding to change; predictive (waterfall/PRINCE2) fixes scope up front and manages change formally against a plan.

5. In Agile (e.g. DSDM/PRINCE2 Agile), how are time, cost, and scope/quality typically fixed versus variable compared with traditional projects?

   Agile fixes time and cost and flexes scope/features (prioritized via MoSCoW); traditional projects tend to fix scope and flex time and cost.

6. What does the MoSCoW prioritization technique stand for?

   Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won't have (this time)—used in Agile to prioritize requirements against fixed time and cost.

7. What is Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) and who developed it?

   A method (from Eliyahu Goldratt's Theory of Constraints) that plans and manages projects by focusing on resource constraints and using aggregated time buffers rather than padding individual task estimates.

8. In CCPM, what is the difference between a project buffer and a feeding buffer?

   The project buffer is placed at the end of the critical chain to protect the project delivery date; feeding buffers are placed where non-critical paths feed into the critical chain to protect it from delays on those paths.

9. What is the 'critical chain' as opposed to the 'critical path'?

   The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks ignoring resource limits; the critical chain is the longest sequence accounting for both task dependencies and resource constraints/contention.

10. What behavioral problems does CCPM aim to eliminate by removing task-level safety time?

    Student syndrome (delaying work until the deadline nears), Parkinson's Law (work expanding to fill available time), and the loss of early finishes due to multitasking and dependencies.

11. What is Six Sigma and what quality level does it target?

    A data-driven methodology to reduce defects and variation in processes; a Six Sigma process targets no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO), corresponding to a $6\sigma$ process capability (with a $1.5\sigma$ shift).

12. What do the five phases of the Six Sigma DMAIC cycle stand for?

    Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control—used to improve existing processes.

13. What is the formula for Defects Per Million Opportunities (DPMO) in Six Sigma?

    $$\text{DPMO} = \frac{\text{Number of Defects}}{\text{Units} \times \text{Opportunities per Unit}} \times 1{,}000{,}000$$

14. How is process Sigma / process yield conceptually related to defects in Six Sigma?

    Yield is the proportion of defect-free outputs; higher process sigma means lower DPMO and higher yield. For example, a $3\sigma$ process has about 66,807 DPMO (~93.3% yield) whereas a $6\sigma$ process has 3.4 DPMO (~99.99966% yield).

15. What is the difference between DMAIC and DMADV in Six Sigma?

    DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) improves existing processes; DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify)—part of Design for Six Sigma—creates new processes or products.

16. What is Process Sigma capability index $C_{pk}$ used for?

    It measures how well a process fits within its specification limits accounting for centering: $$C_{pk} = \min\!\left(\frac{USL - \mu}{3\sigma},\ \frac{\mu - LSL}{3\sigma}\right)$$ Higher $C_{pk}$ indicates a more capable, better-centered process.

17. When choosing between a predictive and an adaptive (Agile) approach, what factors favor Agile?

    High uncertainty/changing requirements, need for early/frequent value delivery, close customer collaboration, small co-located empowered teams, and low cost of change—favor an adaptive/Agile approach.

18. When choosing an approach, what factors favor a predictive (plan-driven) method like PRINCE2/waterfall?

    Well-understood, stable requirements; high need for up-front certainty on scope, cost, and schedule; regulatory/compliance constraints; fixed-price contracts; and a high cost of late change.

19. What is a hybrid project approach and give an example?

    Combining predictive and adaptive elements to suit context—e.g. PRINCE2 Agile, which keeps PRINCE2 governance (Business Case, stages, Project Board) while using Agile delivery (sprints, MoSCoW, timeboxing) within stages.

20. What does 'tailoring an approach' involve when adapting PRINCE2 to a specific project?

    Adapting themes, processes, roles, terminology, and management products to the project's environment, size, complexity, risk, and team capability—while retaining the seven principles, which must not be dropped.

21. Which element of PRINCE2 must NOT be tailored away, and why?

    The seven principles—because a project is only a genuine PRINCE2 project if all seven principles are applied; themes, processes, and management products may be adapted, but the principles are non-negotiable.

22. In PRINCE2, what is an Exception Plan and when is it created?

    A plan created to recover from or prevent a deviation, replacing a Stage Plan (or Project Plan) when a tolerance is forecast to be exceeded; it must be approved by the appropriate management level (Project Board for a Stage, corporate for the Project).

23. What is a Work Package in PRINCE2?

    The set of information about one or more required products collated by the Project Manager to formally pass responsibility for work (and its execution/delivery) to a Team Manager or team member, including tolerances and constraints.

24. What is the DPMO/yield relationship known as the '1.5 sigma shift' in Six Sigma?

    An empirical allowance that a process mean drifts by about $1.5\sigma$ over the long term; this is why a nominal $6\sigma$ (short-term) capability corresponds to 3.4 DPMO rather than the ~2 defects per billion of a perfectly centered $6\sigma$ process.

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