Below are some typical exam questions form the planning the strategy section of the APMP syllabus.
1) List and Describe five project success criteria that occur across many projects?
2) Explain five reasons for undertaking stakeholder management?
3)Explain five typical plans and policies within the Project Management Plan?
4) Describe five risk identification techniques?
5) Explain five benefit of quality management?
6) Explain five health and safety duties of a project manager?
Remember each should be made up of five paragraphs of 2-3 sentences each.
1-List and describe five project success criteria that occur across many projects?
Each project has different success criteria because of varying reasons of initiation. Project management intention is to balance the competing different criteria to reached the objectives; completion. Success criteria in many different projects are:
1-Time
2-Budget
3-Quality
4-Safety
5-Customer Satisfaction
1- Time- Project always has a limited time frame, typically construction projects. Because if not, it means builder will take their own time to build; makes it difficult to manage as it will involve high supervision costs and objective of building in the first place will loose over time. Example: successful delivery of the Expo Boulevard and associated facilities in or before the Dubai Expo in year 2020 is the key success criteria for such projects.
2- Budget- All projects have a certain limit or budget. Example is for retail or residential building which will be leased or sold once completed. Target selling price usually forecasted prior to construction begin. But if the construction cost exceeded the selling price, it makes it non-profitable to continue building. Therefore, it makes it crucial to control cost during construction projects and ensuring cost within the budget is the key success criteria for such commercial projects.
3- Quality- Building monument, museum or one-off-the-kind structure requires stringent quality control and assurances. This is because projects of this kind require exceptionally high standards of quality that will be associated to branding, promotion of certain organisations, state or even country. Quality (from chosen materials, bespoke design to usage of high end technology) becomes the prime/ key criteria for building such projects. Example: Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
4- Safety- It has been an increasing awareness in different parts of the world that building objectives (in particular to construction projects) must take into account of safety on site, safety of the design and during occupations. This is important as it relates not only to reputation but also confidence of stakeholders and end users. Fatality on site or serious injuries depicting poor management and supervision. This reflects badly to the client and project team and in return to the project itself.
5- Customer Satisfaction- Customer acceptance is important at every end of the projects. The only way for customer satisfaction is through a thorough identification and agreeing the requirements, which will later be managed and monitored closely. This increase chances of acceptance and in return, satisfaction. Without acceptance, the project is considered as failure.
6. Explain five health and safety duties of project manager?
1- HSE Plan- Ensure Health, Safety and Environmental plan are in place in each of the construction project site with the assistance of an appointed HSE advisor/ manager. HSE plan should include but not limited to roles and responsibilities and processes and procedures in managing HSE on site, ensuring that escalation of issues and emergency protocols are being prepared, maintained and implemented, logistics, workforce training and HSE facilities on site to aid worker in their work (i.e. PPE, drinking facility, rest area, etc). This is to be maintained up to date and reviewed periodically.
2- Training- Project manager is to ensure that all project team and construction workers are full briefed, attended a project specific Health and Safety training or induction prior to visiting/ working on site. This is because each project is unique having different circumstances and familiarizing staff with site condition is important to ensure that they aware when doing work on site. A full basic health check record of all workforces should also be included in the site office.
3- Reporting, Monitoring and Control- Project manager is to ensure that proper tools and procedures are in place with respect of monitoring contractors HSE performance on site and that the integrity of HSE statistics are maintained in high standards. In addition, it is also the PM’s responsibility to inculcate open and honest safety culture at site; which means encouraging hazard spotting or near misses report with rewards rather than imposing penalty.
4- Conduct periodic risk assessment of site office and project sites. This ensures that formal reviews are being conducted on site office prior occupation and of the project site to identify potential high risk hazard that may cause serious danger to the health and safety of workers. Assessment to be followed by reports and actions to mitigate risks. This needs to be done periodically.
5- Use of safety, personal protective equipment (PPE) – it is the Project manager’s duty to ensure that each workforce/ project team are provided with the basic PPE when entering/ working at site. i.e. hat, gloves, goggles, safety vis and boots. This is in line with the Health and Safety at Work act 1974 to provide basic protection to persons against risk to health on site and in many cases, the use of PPE have saved many lives.
1. Time, Cost, Quality, Safety, Benefits realisation
One of the key project success criteria you will find on most projects is the successful delivery of the project within the specified project schedule. Projects have a specified timeframe because of the need to realise the benefits as quickly as possible or at a certain point i.e. the construction of the Olympic stadium in time for the Olympics. If the stadium is late the project is unsuccessful.
As with Time most projects if not all have a specified budget in which to deliver it in. Projects are often carried out to deliver financial benefit over time. If the budget was exceeded it may translate to the project being a waste of time and therefore unsuccessful.
Quality is a broad term but as success criteria it means that the end product delivers to expectations. However it also looks at the processes and procedures implemented to achieve the final product. If the product is not fit for purpose or the project processes did not work effectively then it is likely to be deemed as unsuccessful.
Safety is on the top of everybody’s agenda for moral reasons but also businesses do not want to be associated with bad safety performance. If there are serious accidents on a project it is likely to be deemed as unsuccessful overall.