Examination Paper of Project Management

IIBM Institute of Business Management 1

IIBM Institute of Business Management

Examination Paper MM. 100

Project Management

Subject Code-C101

Section A: Objective Type & Short Questions (30 marks)

This section consists of Multiple Choice questions & short questions.

Answer all the questions.

Part one questions carry 1 mark each & Part Two questions carry 5 marks each.

Part One:

Multiple Choices:

1. A ________________ is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product,

service, or result.

a) Program

b) Process

c) Project

d) Portfolio

2. Which of the following is not a potential advantage of using good project management?

a) Shorter development times

b) Higher worker morale

c) Lower cost of capital

d) Higher profit margins

3. Which of the following is not an attribute of a project?

a) Projects are unique

b) Projects are developed using progressive elaboration

c) Projects have a primary customer or sponsor

d) Projects involve little uncertainty

4. Which of the following is not part of the triple constraint of project management?

a) Meeting scope goals

b) Meeting time goals

c) Meeting communications goals

d) Meeting cost goals

5. The first stage of any project is-

a) Proposal

b) Conceptualization

c) Implementation

d) Management

6. __________________ is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project

activities to meet project requirements.

a) Project management

Examination Paper of Project Management

IIBM Institute of Business Management 2

b) Program management

c) Project portfolio management

d) Requirements management

7. Project portfolio management addresses ____________________ goals of an organization

while project management addresses _________________ goals.

a) Strategic, tactical

b) Tactical, strategic

c) Internal, external

d) External, internal

8. Several application development projects done for the same functional group might best be

managed as part of a-

a) Portfolio

b) Program

c) Investment

d) Collaborative

9. Which of the following is not one of the top ten skills or competencies of an effective project

manager?

a) People skills

b) Leadership

c) Integrity

d) Technical skills

10. A _________________ is a series of actions directed towards a particular result.

a) Goal

b) Process

c) Plan

d) Project

Part Two:

1. Explain the phases of project lifecycle?

2. Discuss the roles & responsibilities of project leader.

3. What are the key attributes of quality? Discuss.

4. List the element of pre-feasibility study.

END OF SECTION A

Examination Paper of Project Management

IIBM Institute of Business Management 3

Section B: Caselets (40 Marks)

This section consists of Caselets.

Answer all the questions.

Each caselet carries 20 marks.

Detailed information should form the part of your answer (Word limit 150 to 200 word

Caselet 1

PRINCE2 has many excellent ideas for project management, but I think its approach to quality is at best

weak and at worst entirely inappropriate. My first grip is that PRINCE2 redefines what the word quality

usually means. My dictionary defines it as “Degree or standard of excellence, especially a high standard.”

If I have bought myself a quality car, I have probably purchased something like a Mercedes or Rolls

Royce. PRINCE2‟s definition is something that is “fit for purpose” of satisfying stated needs. So for

example, according to PRINCE2, my land rover is a quality product, it‟s not luxurious but, as a keen skier,

I can use it to haul equipment to the Alps each year. This re-definition of the word quality often confuses

people before they even look at the detail.

At the beginning of a PRINCE2 project, you agree with the customer a set of measurable attributes about

the products you will build. These are called acceptance criteria. Later, when you deliver the products, the

client will only sign them off it they conform to these criteria. This assumes the client knows what they

want. They often don‟t. When Henry ford was designing the model T car, he was asked why he didn‟t

consult with potential users, he replied, “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said

faster horses”

User‟ not knowing what they want is often a problem in ground breaking projects. People in the early

19900s knew they wanted to get places faster, but their idea on how to achieve this was limited by their

own experience. Another example is the project to create the iPhone. Steve jobs did not consult with the

potential users. Instead he went through many iterations of building prototypes, playing with them,

decoding what worked and what did not until he ended up with the final design‟s

So this idea in PRINCE2‟s quality theme, that you can simple ask a group of potential users at the outset,

to specify what products they want, does not always work. PRINCE2 defines a project as a piece of work

that is unique. The more unique and ground breaking it is, the more difficult it becomes to define exactly

what is required at the end. Project work is a creative process. Sometimes it takes trial and error and a

certain amount of vision to create something the end users will eventually be satisfied with.

As I said at the outset, PRINCE2 has many useful ideas. But the quality theme should be used with

caution. In groundbreaking projects, they can hinder the creation of products the client is going to be

satisfied with.

Questions:

1. What is the major problem in ground breaking projects?

Caselet 2

An overseas government agency with a base in china contacted acorn consulting in preparation for a

special project event held in 2012. The annual event, that represents one of the most significant

opportunities for foreign business in china, achieved sales valued at $20.6 billion in 2009, and acorn client

is the 2010 host nation. For an event to be successful the team will require meticulous preparation, months

of planning and a coordination and clinical team effort from all involved.

Client objectives

Acorn consulting was asked to provide a 1 day indoor team building and project alignment session

program for 50 senior‟s staff from an overseas government agency with staff from Guangzhou, Hong

Examination Paper of Project Management

IIBM Institute of Business Management 4

Kong, Chengdu and Kunming. The participants were comprised of both local and overseas staff. The

objective of the program was to achieve the following:

To foster a higher degree of cooperation, buy-in and team spirit between staff

Create excitement and positive energy for the huge team project to be carried out later during the year

To explore issues that will challenge the project‟s success and workshop ways to overcome them

Solution Acorn‟s solution was to hold 2 separate half day session. The first half day was an interactive workshop

whereby participants analyzed and discussed the key elements of high performing team including, problem

solving, team dysfunction and the drivers of the project success.

The second half day session was devoted to a specifically designed team building event requiring

participants to divide into smaller groups and cooperate with others groups to complete a final project.

This „mini project‟ illustrated the ingredients of success and highlighted the challenges discussed in the

previous half day workshop.

Outcome

Participants thoroughly enjoyed the events and where highly motivated and enthusiastic about completing

their upcoming organization projects. Participants were better able understand and experience the

importance of every individual‟s role in high performing team. The team members are aware of the pitfalls

the project team can face and have the tools and understand to avoiding these obstacles.

Questions:

1. Do you think Acorn‟s solution was good? Why or why not?

2. What are the objective of the of project alignment session program?

END OF SECTION B

Section C: Applied Theory (30 Marks)

This section consists of Long Questions.

Answer all the questions.

Each question carry 15 marks each.

Detailed information should from the part of your Answer (Word limit 200 to 250 words)

1. Define project planning and explain the project planning process?

2. Define project risk and explain different types of techniques used to reduce project risk?

END OF SECTION C

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