IT Project+ Study Guide, 2nd Edition (PKO-002)

Overview

THE COMPTIA PROJECT+ EXAM TOPICS COVERED IN THIS CHAPTER INCLUDE:

• 1.1 Given a vague or poorly worded customer request or business need, determine the appropriate course of action in order to handle various business- and project- related issues.

• 1.2 Given a set of criteria that outlines an enterprise's minimal requirements for a project charter, together with stakeholder input, synthesize a project charter.

• 1.3 Identify strategies for building consensus among project stakeholders. Select an appropriate course of action involving negotiation or interviewing strategies, meetings, memos, etc.

• 1.4 Recognize and explain the need to obtain formal approval (sign-off) by the project sponsor(s) and confirm other relevant management support to consume organization resources as the project charter is refined and expanded.

• 1.8 Given a project charter or contract including a statement of work (SOW) recognize and explain the need to investigate specific industry regulation requirements and contractual /legal considerations for their impact on the project scope definition and project plan.

• 1.13 Recognize and explain the need to build management buy in and approval into the structure of the project, and describe strategies for doing so.

• 1.15 Recognize the need to conduct a review meeting as the project transitions from the initiation phase to the planning phase. The review should include an assessment of key items.

• 2.7 Describe the goals of useful project requirements, review with the client (e.g., verify mutual understanding of client's product delivery, product performance, and budget requirements, etc.) and describe when it is important to have such reviews.

• 2.8 Given the client's approved project requirements and the input of stakeholders, decompose these requirements into functional, business, and technical requirements while maintaining trace ability within strict configuration control.

The Initiation process group is the first of the five process groups that PMI lays out in the Guide to the PMBOK. Initiation covers the receipt of a request through the authorization to start a project. This process can be formal or informal, depending on the organization.

Initiation includes reviewing a customer request with the client to refine and clarify measurable deliverables and to develop a high-level requirements document.

A project selection process or criteria may be used to determine project approval. In this chapter we will discuss the most common methods used for project selection: cost-benefit analysis, scoring models, financial analysis, and expert judgment.

You will learn about project stakeholders: the people with a vested interest in the outcome of the project, including one of the most important stakeholders: the project sponsor.

The end result of the Initiation process is a project charter and the formal assignment of a project manager.

This chapter marks the start of an ongoing IT case study that will be used to demonstrate the application of these process groups.