How should the cost of quality be factored into the project budget process?

1. Describe the impact of quality initiatives within a project on the project schedule?
2. What is strategic quality management and how does it impact the project environment?
3. How should the cost of quality be factored into the project budget process?
4. Describe the impact of the following items, if any, on quality leadership:
   • Teamwork
   • Strategic integration
   • Continuous improvement
   • Respect for people
   • Customer focus
   • Management-by-fact
   • Structured problem-solving

• List and describe the critical roles of senior/executive management during the life cycle of the project.
• Describe how adopting various types of management structures and initiatives impact project management. Consider the following:
  • Concurrent engineering/management
  • Total quality management (TQM)
  • Empowerment
  • Self-directed work teams
  • Life-cycle costing

• In a matrix organization, people are often assigned full-time to a project. What is the responsibility of the project manager to the assigned resource and to the manager the resource is "borrowed" from?
• What should be the role of the project manager in the planning endeavors, including strategic and operational planning, of his or her company?
• Describe how quality can be measured so that quality improvement efforts can be evaluated for effectiveness.
• Define the inputs to risk identification. What tools and techniques need to be implemented on the project to ensure adequate input is received?
• How can quality tools help identify and quantify project risks?
• What are the methods, tools, and capabilities that will allow the project manager to anticipate potential risks before the risks fully develop.
• Describe how project risk can include both threat and opportunity for the project.
• Describe the use of, and methods for, tracking lessons learned as a means of identifying risk(s).
• What is performance management, what are the options for implementing performance management, and why is it important?
• You are asked to lie to the customer about the project status in order to “save the project from termination.” You fear that you might get fired if you tell the customer the truth because you wouldn’t be perceived as a “team player.” How would you handle this situation? Explain why.
• Design an evaluation form to be used by the project team, clients, and other stakeholders after project termination to evaluate the effectiveness of the project manager.
• As a company executive, how would you determine if there is a need to establish a project office? If it is determined that there is a need, how do you measure the return-on-investment as a result of the implementation of the PMO?
• Describe the three graphs you would recommend for any project and how you would interpret the data as represented on the graph. That is, how does the data represent “good” or “bad” conditions?
• What legal issues need to be considered when releasing items for bid?
• What kinds of changes can be made to contracts and procurement documents, and how should they be managed?
• Describe the relationship between purchasing and the work breakdown structure (WBS).
• What ethical considerations are involved in contracting and procurement?
• When changes are made to the project schedule, scope, or resource allocation, how should they be reflected in any procurement contracts or RFPs that are in place?
• Discuss methods you can use to improve the productivity of your meetings.
• Think of a project that you are familiar with and describe how you would assess it based on the Project Management Maturity Model. What needs to be done to push the project to the next level of the model?
• Discuss the steps that need to be taken to write accurate and effective job or position descriptions.
• How do you manage the following?
  • Failure to complete work within allocated deadlines
  • Constant interruptions
  • Excessive needs for overtime
  • Distracting personnel issues
  • Delegation of work
  • Conflicting priorities

• How would you define “good” procedural documentation? As a project manager, what would your attitude be toward procedural documentation? Why?
• Summarize the importance of adhering to a professional code of ethics.
• What is meant by a trade-off? Who are the major players in performing trade-offs?
• Describe strategic planning and why it is important for projects.
• Pick two “project success actions” you believe are the most important when predicting project success, and explain why you think they are the most important.
• Prepare a draft of your project management experience. Documentation of your project management experience is a required part of the application process to become certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is now available only through the online application. You can record your experiences based on the instructions found in the PMP handbook on the PMI website, under "Eligibility Requirements."
• Why must management support be visible to the whole team and not just to the project manager?
• What factors should be considered when performing a return-on-investment analysis on training dollars for project management?
• Is it possible for a matrix to get out of control because of too many small projects, each competing for the same shared resources? If so, how many projects are too many? How can management control the number of projects? Does your answer depend on whether the organization is project-driven or non-project-driven?
• Draft a course summary for a desired program to enhance project management skills in your organization.
• Describe how a project’s maturity would affect your approach to managing it and why.