 Hi, welcome to the first of two reviews for the strategic project management practice exam. Once again, I'm Dr. Stanley and I'll be conducting this review with you. This exam includes three case studies with 39 total questions. Thirteen, you're going to be asked to read the case study and then answer a series of questions designed to see how well you can apply the concepts you learned in the course in a real-world business situation. It's important to really understand the cases so I advise you to read each one a number of times. Luckily for you, this particular exam follows the same business case across all three cases so it shouldn't take long to feel comfortable with the business case that's being presented. Let's get started on case one. I'm going to go over case one with you and then I chose five questions from the actual practice exam to discuss. The case is broken into a number of different sections to help you find things quickly as you prepare to answer the questions. Case one starts off with a basic overview of the organization that is the subject of the case. Here, we're going to be looking at a small rural bank called Pocomo Cooperative Savings and Loan. It currently has one branch and about 50 employees. They are a local bank that provides banking services for their community. While a small bank, they're not stuck in their ways. They have a solid business objectives of increasing their revenues, continuing to provide great customer service, reducing operating costs, and increasing employee productivity. They're interested in undertaking a large project that will help them meet these objectives. As they review their employees, they realize that they don't have an actual project manager on their team, but their director of branch operations has handled projects in the past. So they're going to use her to handle this project. As you can see from this organization chart, there are a number of directors, each responsible for their own area, and I'll report directly to the CEO. In addition to the CEO, the bank has a board of trustees who must approve all new projects and make sure the funding for the projects is available. The board of trustees is anticipating a report that will include a thorough analysis of the project and a cost-benefit analysis. In this section of the case study, you find out that the small bank has instituted some projects related to technology over the past few years, including online banking and teleconsulting. The bank conducted a survey of its customers and found that many of them felt there was a lack of access to tele-services. Even with the institution of teleconsulting and online banking, there were a number of services that customers struggled to take advantage of because there was only one branch. The bank has proposed adding ATM kiosks throughout the service area, which would include a video link to tellers who could help them remotely. It's taken three years to gather the information from customers and figure out how the bank can meet their needs and now Marjorie is ready to move to the next step. Marjorie has some concerns that the original identification of the amount of funding the project will need may not be sufficient since much has changed in the last three years. She would like to do an up-to-date cost analysis. Marjorie also has concerns that the six-month allotment of time may not be sufficient to conduct research about locations as well as designing the standalone kiosks. The deliverables for this project include a series of standalone kiosks distributed throughout the service area that ensure the privacy of the customer. There will also need to be an increase in personnel to remotely staff the kiosk. A staffing analysis will need to be done. In preparing the project charter, Marjorie must include concerns about staffing, a change in the estimates from three years ago, a location analysis for the optimum places to put the kiosks. She must continue her regular duties at the main branch and during the entire project make sure the customer service to current customers is not derailed. Again I recommend that you read the case study a number of times so you're familiar with the case before beginning the questions. Let's take a look at some of the questions you'll be seeing on the exam. Here's a question that relates back to the course learning outcome. Analyze the organizational context in which projects are planned, managed, and implemented. Let's read the question together. The Chief Executive Officer presented the three-phase remote access project to the Board of Trustees four years ago and received conditional approval. Now that the third phase of the project, the Teller kiosks, is ready to begin, the Board of Trustees is unsure there's a need for this access and questions the financial value to the bank to implement it. They believe the funds would be better spent on building another full facility on the north end of the eastern shore. What project selection methods should the CEO present to the Board they would show the value of one project over another? The correct answer is D, a scoring model. The best way for the CEO to make his case for moving forward with a new project is to show how it compares to the proposed building of a new branch. He can use it to show how revenues, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity would compare across the two projects. Here's a question that relates back to the course learning outcome, appraised project management tools, techniques, and skills. Let's read the question together. During project planning, Marjorie is working with her team to develop a risk management plan. Which of the following should be part of the planning phase documentation? The correct answer is A, prepare a high-level list of project risks in the project charter. During the planning phase, the project manager will identify as many potential risks to the project as they possibly can. Having a list of risks as a tool the project manager can use during the implementation phase of the project to keep ahead of any known risks. Here's a question that relates back to the two stakeholder involvement. Let's read the question together. With her limited project management experience, Marjorie will rely on stakeholder involvement and engagement to ensure the project charter contains all relevant information. Which of the following is the most likely benefit to encouraging stakeholder involvement in the planning phase of the project if there are issues later in the project implementation? The correct answer is A, allows room for creative solutions. By involving the stakeholders early on, Marjorie will have the benefit of their expertise and will be more likely to have a varied and creative approach to project implementation. Here's a question that relates back to project management tools again. Let's read the question together. Marjorie is anticipating some disagreement between the project stakeholders and wants to include project boundaries in the project charter, so she has a way to manage these disagreements as the project moves forward. Which of the following describes what she will include in the project boundaries statement? The correct answer is C, a list of key points where she will review several aspects of the project. To help the stakeholders feel comfortable and understand when they will be included in the project process, Marjorie can provide them a list of exact points during the project implementation when she will give the stakeholders updates on the project process or the project progress. By letting them know upfront when they can expect updates, it eliminates the stakeholders uncertainty about the project and the need to contact her at odd times when there may not have been as much project gain. Last one. Here's a question that relates back to time management and project schedules. Let's read the question together. When presenting the updated remote access proposal to the Board of Trustees, Jonathan was questioned about whether this is an actual project that requires a project team and dedicated project management software. Jonathan shared a list of criteria of a project as supported by the PMBOK methodology. Which criteria of a project applies to the remote access project and likely convinced the Board members to officially define the remote access endeavor as a project? The correct answer is D. There will be an end to the activities associated with the proposal. Jonathan must provide the Board of Trustees with a definition of a project to make sure they understand that what Marjorie and her team are taking on is indeed a project as it will have a clear end of the activities. In other words, at a certain point in time, Marjorie and her team will move on to other things because the activities associated with creating kiosks will be over. I hope this review helped you feel more comfortable in preparing for the practice exam. There will be another video going over the second case from this exam.