Question 1

Standards and guidelines to follow when performing project management must be devised by top management.

Accepted Answer

The content of a project management plan and instructions for providing status information might seem like common sense to senior managers, but many new IT project managers have never created plans or created a nontechnical status report. Top management must support the development of these standards and guidelines, and encourage or even enforce their use.

Question 2

An organization that uses a project organizational structure earns their revenue primarily from performing projects for other groups under contract.

Accepted Answer

A project organizational structure is hierarchical, but instead of functional managers or vice presidents reporting to the CEO, program managers report to the CEO. Their staffs have a variety of skills needed to complete the projects within their programs. An organization that uses this structure earns its revenue primarily from performing projects for other groups under contract.

Question 3

The project organizational structure is the most efficient choice for most IT projects.

Accepted Answer

The project organizational structure is often inefficient for the company as a whole.  Assigning full-time staff to a project often creates under-utilization and misallocation of staff resources.

Question 4

Project managers must take adequate time to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders.

Accepted Answer

Because the purpose of project management is to meet project requirements and satisfy stakeholders, it is critical that project managers take adequate time to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders.

Question 5

Internal stakeholders include groups affected by the project such as government officials or concerned citizens.

Accepted Answer

External project stakeholders include the project's customers (if they are external to the organization), competitors, suppliers, and other external groups potentially involved in the project or affected by it, such as government officials or concerned citizens.

Question 6

Project managers should lead projects in isolation in order to truly serve the needs of the organization.

Accepted Answer

Even though projects are temporary and intended to provide a unique product or service, you cannot run projects in isolation. If project managers lead projects in isolation, it is unlikely that they will ever truly serve the needs of the organization.

Question 7

Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from various functional areas working on their projects.

Accepted Answer

Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from various functional areas working on their projects.

Question 8

​An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job more difficult

Accepted Answer

Most project managers strive for strong unit integration to deliver a successful product, service, or result. An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job easier.

Question 9

Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where activities are organized around individuals.

Accepted Answer

Project work is most successful in organizations in which work activities are organized around groups or teams, rather than individuals. An organizational culture that emphasizes group work is best for managing projects.

Question 10

Most people believe that the underlying causes of many companies' problems can be traced to its organizational structure.

Accepted Answer

Organizational culture is very powerful, and many people believe the underlying causes of many companies' problems are not in the organizational structure or staff; they are in the culture.

Question 11

When you separate business and organizational issues from project management planning, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

Accepted Answer

When you integrate business and organizational issues into project management planning and look at projects as a series of interrelated phases, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

Question 12

It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during the earlier phases.

Accepted Answer

In early phases of a project life cycle, resource needs are usually lowest and the level of uncertainty is highest. It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during latter phases.

Question 13

Project managers and their teams must keep in mind the effects of any project on the interests and needs of the entire system or organization instead of focusing on the immediate concerns of the project.

Accepted Answer

Although it is easier to focus on the immediate and sometimes narrow concerns of a particular project, project managers and other staff must keep in mind the effects of any project on the interests and needs of the entire system or organization.

Question 14

According to the symbolic frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

Accepted Answer

The symbolic frame focuses on symbols and meanings. In this frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

Question 15

Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization.

Accepted Answer

Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization. If certain functional managers are not responding to project managers' requests for necessary information, top management must step in to encourage the functional managers to cooperate.

Question 16

Most colleges and universities have very strong functional organizations.

Accepted Answer

Most colleges and universities have functional organizations with departments such as admissions, financial aid, student affairs, academic affairs, etc. These functional areas help the institution run smoothly and efficiently.

Question 17

The same organization can have different subcultures.

Accepted Answer

It is also important to note that the same organization can have different subcultures. The IT department may have a different organizational culture than the finance department, for example.

Question 18

The best way to sustain a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility for the project.

Accepted Answer

The best way to kill a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility.

Question 19

Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management.

Accepted Answer

A systems approach involves looking at a project as a whole, including all the interrelated parts and their interactions. This helps project managers identify and anticipate potential issues and risks, and make more efficient and effective decisions. Using a systems approach can lead to more successful project outcomes.

Question 20

Systems analysis addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and modifying a system.

Accepted Answer

Systems management addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining,and modifying a system.

Quiz 2: The Project Management and Information Technology Context

Standards and guidelines to follow when performing project management must be devised by top management.

An organization that uses a project organizational structure earns their revenue primarily from performing projects for other groups under contract.

The project organizational structure is the most efficient choice for most IT projects.

Project managers must take adequate time to identify, understand, and manage relationships with all project stakeholders.

Internal stakeholders include groups affected by the project such as government officials or concerned citizens.

Project managers should lead projects in isolation in order to truly serve the needs of the organization.

Project managers in matrix organizations have staff from various functional areas working on their projects.

​An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job more difficult

Project work is most successful in an organizational culture where activities are organized around individuals.

Most people believe that the underlying causes of many companies' problems can be traced to its organizational structure.

When you separate business and organizational issues from project management planning, you do a better job of ensuring project success.

It is much more expensive to make major changes to a project during the earlier phases.

Project managers and their teams must keep in mind the effects of any project on the interests and needs of the entire system or organization instead of focusing on the immediate concerns of the project.

According to the symbolic frame, the most important aspect of any event in an organization is not what actually happened, but what it means.

Project managers must have cooperation from people in other parts of the organization.

Most colleges and universities have very strong functional organizations.

The same organization can have different subcultures.

The best way to sustain a project is to withhold the required money, human resources, and visibility for the project.

Using a systems approach is critical to successful project management.

Systems analysis addresses the business, technological, and organizational issues associated with creating, maintaining, and modifying a system.

An organizational culture with strong unit integration makes the project manager's job more difficult