Deck 10: Finishing Well: Project Closure and Learning

Question 1

What is a knowledge map?

A) A directory of information regarding which individuals or groups in the organization have specific types of knowledge or expertise
B) A work breakdown structure WBS) of corporate knowledge
C) A catalogue of on-line knowledge resources germane to a specific project
D) An organization chart of all team members currently engaged in project work and the projects to which each team member is assigned
E) A repository of project files for past projects
F) None of the above

Answer 1

A directory of information regarding which individuals or groups in the organization have specific types of knowledge or expertise

Question 2

Retainage in the context of a project management refers to:

A) A final project payment the customer holds until all final details are complete
B) A final deliverable that the project team withholds until the final payment is received
C) An initial payment made to the organization to retain the service of the project team
D) A firewall to protect project data
E) None of the above

Answer 2

A final project payment the customer holds until all final details are complete

Question 3

Which of the following is a true statement about project retrospectives?

A) Project retrospectives follow a standard agenda and are no more than a day long.
B) A project retrospective which emphasizes collective and relatively open assessment of the project process and outcomes is culturally neutral, and can be used in most business settings.
C) A useful way to begin a retrospective is to have the project team re-create in mind map format the project work breakdown structure.
D) none of the above
E) a and b
F) a and c
G) b and c
H) a, b, and c

Answer 3

none of the above

Question 4

Which of the following is a method for continuous learning during project delivery?

A) Team member performance evaluations
B) Traffic light process
C) Creating a knowledge map
D) Tollgate meetings
E) None of the above

Question 5

Key principles of "after-action reviews" include:

A) Wait until sufficient time has passed after project closure to allow long-term performance results to be available for review and discussion.
B) Try to determine which individuals contributed most to success and failure.
C) Use the method primarily for failed projects.
D) Leave your stripes at the door.
E) Use a fluid process that differs from project-to-project.
F) a and d

Question 6

When should a project be formally closed?

A) When the project's criteria have been met
B) When the project has been cancelled
C) When team members have become bored with the project
D) When the customer has signed off to accept the project
E) All of the above
F) All of the above except C

Question 7

The financial dimension of project closure involves:

A) Submitting the final bill to the customer
B) Closing the project office
C) Summarizing the lessons learned
D) Completing project documentation
E) Celebration

Question 8

Which of the following is/are effective ways of facilitating learning from project to project?

A) Focusing primarily on procedural lessons learned.
B) The use of macro articles to provide in-depth information about project experiences
C) Minimizing the overlap in team members from team to team in order to promote the adoption of fresh perspectives on each new project
D) Encouraging formal presentations of project technical findings
E) Strengthening social networking among project managers
F) All of the above

Question 9

A project retrospective is intended to fulfill which of the following purposes?

A) To determine whether the customer's objectives were realistic
B) To summarize lessons learned from the project
C) To decide which team members are at fault for any errors in the project
D) To plan how projects should be approached differently and better going forward
E) To determine the ROI of the project
F) All of the above
G) b and d only
H) a, b and d only
I) c and e only

Question 10

Which of the following is a true statement about project learning?

A) Because each project produces a unique output, the learning curve phenomenon does not apply to project work.
B) To accelerate project learning, project teams and those who lead them should focus on deliberate activities to enhance performance outcomes.
C) Lessons learned sessions at the end of a project are of great benefit to the project being reviewed.
D) None of the above.
E) a and b
F) a and c
G) b and c
H) a, b, and c

Question 11

Which of the following dimensions of end-of-project closure activities are unimportant and may be omitted if a team is pressed for time at the end of the project?

A) Customer Dimensions
B) Human Resource Dimensions
C) Administrative Dimensions
D) Organizational Dimensions
E) None of the above

Question 12

A project manager at a semi-conductor manufacturer held a retrospective meeting for a product development project to capture lessons learned. Although the product was scheduled for market release, preliminary tests indicated it had not met all of its technical expectations. Although the meeting examined what went well, during one part of the meeting, the PM directed the discussion toward what went wrong from a technical standpoint. However, one member of the group, Jack, persistently focused on individual team members and blamed them personally for the product's less-than-ideal technical performance. Which of these best describes the factor most likely influencing Jack's behavior in the meeting?

A) Fundamental attribution error
B) Parkinson's Law
C) Extrinsic motivation
D) Escalation of commitment
E) Negativity bias
F) Pareto's Law