CompTIA Project+ (PK0-005) flashcards

A formal procedure used to manage and approve changes to a project's scope, schedule, or budget after the project baseline has been established.

• Ensures proposed changes are evaluated for impact.
• Requires formal documentation and approval.
• Prevents scope creep and uncontrolled project deviations.

Memory trick: Changes aren't chaos; they're a controlled cascade.

The process of determining which risks might affect the project and documenting their characteristics.

• Done early in the project lifecycle, typically planning phase.
• Involves team and stakeholder input.
• Outputs include the Risk Register.

Memory trick: IPQRP: Identify, Plan, Quantify, Respond, Plan.

A supporting document that provides detailed information for each component of the WBS, such as scope of work, owner, resources, and acceptance criteria.

• Complements the visual WBS chart with narrative detail
• Part of the overall scope baseline along with the WBS and scope statement
• Helps prevent ambiguity about what each work package includes

Memory trick: 'Chart, Dictionary, Statement, Account' - the WBS family of documents.

A servant-leader for the Scrum Team, responsible for promoting and supporting Scrum as defined in the Scrum Guide. They coach the team on self-organization and facilitate Scrum events.

• Coaches the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality.
• Ensures Scrum is understood and enacted.
• Removes impediments to the Development Team's progress.

Memory trick: POSD: Product Owner, Scrum Master, Development Team - each has a specific Job.

A secure version of HTTP that uses SSL/TLS to encrypt communication between a web browser and a server.

• Encrypts data in transit
• Protects against eavesdropping and tampering
• Uses port 443 by default

Memory trick: HTTPS: 'S' stands for Secure, protecting your web journey.

In change management, risk assessment involves identifying potential negative impacts of a change, and mitigation involves planning and implementing actions to reduce the likelihood or impact of those risks.

• Crucial for critical and complex changes.
• Involves identifying threats, vulnerabilities, and potential consequences.
• Mitigation strategies include testing, phased rollouts, and rollback plans.

Memory trick: Assess Risks Before Changing Anything Critical.

A regular document or communication that provides an update on the current state of a project, including progress, accomplishments, issues, risks, and upcoming activities.

• Provides concise, high-level updates to stakeholders.
• Key for transparency and managing expectations.
• Typically includes health indicators (red/amber/green).

Memory trick: Status reports state the situation.

Any delay to an activity on the critical path will directly delay the entire project's completion by the same amount, assuming no other adjustments are made.

• Critical path activities have zero float (slack).
• Delays on non-critical paths may not affect project end date.
• Monitoring critical path is crucial for schedule control.

Memory trick: Critical path is the longest path, so any delay there delays the whole race.

The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

• Calculated as Late Finish - Early Finish (LF - EF) or Late Start - Early Start (LS - ES).
• Critical path activities have zero total float.
• Positive float indicates flexibility; negative float indicates a schedule problem.

Memory trick: Schedule terms help manage time: ES, EF, LS, LF, Float.

The process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.

• Follows the creation of the WBS.
• Breaks down work packages into smaller, manageable activities.
• Forms the basis for estimating, scheduling, and executing the project work.

Memory trick: After knowing WHAT (WBS), you plan HOW (Activities).

An analysis performed during initiation to determine whether a proposed project is technically, financially, and operationally viable.

• Performed before formal project approval
• Assesses technical, financial, and operational viability
• Helps decide go/no-go on a proposal

Memory trick: Feasibility = 'Is it feasible?' checked first

The lowest level of a work breakdown structure (WBS), representing a discrete, manageable unit of work that can be estimated, scheduled, and assigned.

• Decomposition stops when work is estimable and assignable
• Sits below deliverables/phases in the WBS hierarchy
• Forms the basis for activity definition and cost estimating

Memory trick: 'Project, Phase, Package, Task' - decomposition gets smaller like Russian nesting dolls.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal law that protects sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge.

• Applies to Covered Entities (e.g., healthcare providers, health plans) and Business Associates.
• Establishes national standards for electronic healthcare transactions.
• Includes the Privacy Rule and the Security Rule to protect Protected Health Information (PHI).

Memory trick: HIPAA: Health Info, Private Always, US-based Act.

Digital platforms designed to facilitate real-time interaction, communication, and shared work among meeting participants, especially for dispersed teams.

• Enable real-time audio/video communication.
• Often include features like screen sharing, digital whiteboards, and chat.
• Support simultaneous co-editing and decision documentation.

Memory trick: Connect, Collaborate, Capture: The 3 C's of great meetings.

Applications designed to assist project managers in planning, executing, and controlling project work, often including features for scheduling, resource allocation, budgeting, and collaboration.

• Supports Gantt charts, critical path analysis, resource leveling.
• Can track progress, costs, and risks.
• Facilitates collaboration and reporting.

Memory trick: PM Software Plans, Manages, and Solves.

A quantitative risk analysis technique that calculates the average outcome of a future event by multiplying its probability of occurrence by its monetary impact.

• EMV = Probability x Impact.
• Used for decision-making under uncertainty.
• Typically calculated for negative risks (threats) as a negative value, or positive risks (opportunities) as a positive value.

Memory trick: EMV: Expect Money Value by multiplying P by I.

A schematic display of the project's sequential activities and their logical relationships.

• Shows activity dependencies and workflow.
• Helps identify the critical path.
• Visualizes potential bottlenecks and overall project flow.

Memory trick: To see how everything connects, draw a 'network' of tasks, like a spider's web.

Technical controls are security safeguards implemented through hardware, software, or firmware to protect information systems and data.

• Enforced by technology (e.g., encryption, firewalls, access control lists).
• Automate and manage protection of resources.
• Contrast with administrative (policies) and physical (tangible) controls.

Memory trick: TAP: Technical, Admin, Physical covers all controls.

A comprehensive suite of tools designed to manage multiple projects simultaneously across an organization, offering advanced features for resource management, portfolio management, financial tracking, and integration with other enterprise systems.

• Manages projects at a portfolio and program level.
• Includes advanced resource leveling and capacity planning.
• Integrates with ERP, CRM, and other business systems.
• Provides robust financial management and reporting.

Memory trick: Simple tasks, Agile sprints, Enterprise big picture, Docs just share.

An iterative and incremental approach to project management that emphasizes collaboration, self-organizing teams, and continuous delivery of value.

• Focuses on flexibility and adaptability to change.
• Delivers working software frequently in short iterations.
• Values individuals and interactions over processes and tools.

Memory trick: Agile teams move like a nimble fox, quickly adapting to the hunt.

A bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, showing the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. It is widely used for planning and communicating project timelines.

• Visually displays tasks, durations, and dependencies.
• Provides a clear timeline of the project.
• Helps track progress against the schedule.
• Commonly used for waterfall projects.

Memory trick: Gantt charts show time, RACI shows roles, Burndown tracks sprint, Burnup totals done.

The final process group in project management, focused on formally completing all activities across all process groups to formally close the project or phase.

• Includes activities like lessons learned, final reports, and contract closure.
• Ensures all project work is completed and accepted.
• Releases resources and archives project documents.

Memory trick: I Plan Every Move, Control and Close it.

A cloud deployment strategy where application instances and data are distributed across multiple, geographically distinct cloud regions to enhance fault tolerance, disaster recovery, and global availability.

• Protects against widespread regional outages.
• Improves latency for global users.
• More complex and costly than single-region deployments.

Memory trick: Resilience: Don't put all your cloud eggs in one basket, spread them across the globe.

The uncontrolled expansion of project scope without corresponding adjustments to time, cost, or resources, typically caused by bypassing formal change control.

• Often results from informal, undocumented requests being accepted
• Prevented by requiring all changes to pass through the change control process
• Leads to budget overruns and schedule delays if unmanaged

Memory trick: 'Submit, Study, Sanction, Save, Share' - a change must pass every gate.

A framework that outlines the security and compliance obligations of both the cloud service provider (CSP) and the cloud customer.

• CSP is responsible for the 'security of the cloud' (infrastructure).
• Customer is responsible for 'security in the cloud' (data, applications, configuration).
• Crucial for understanding compliance boundaries.

Memory trick: Compliance in the Cloud: Shared Responsibility is Key.

A document that justifies a project's investment by comparing costs, benefits, and risks of proceeding versus not proceeding.

• Created during initiation, before the charter
• Supports the go/no-go investment decision
• Feeds into the project charter once approved

Memory trick: Business case = the 'why should we spend money' pitch

An estimation technique that uses optimistic (O), pessimistic (P), and most likely (M) estimates to calculate a weighted average duration or cost.

• PERT formula: (O + 4M + P) / 6.
• Provides a range of possible outcomes.
• Useful for activities with high uncertainty.

Memory trick: Analogous is past, Parametric is math, Bottom-Up is small, Three-Point is uncertain.

Analyzing the 'actual remaining work' line against the 'ideal burndown' line on a burndown chart to assess sprint progress and identify potential deviations from the plan.

• Actual line above ideal = behind schedule.
• Actual line below ideal = ahead of schedule.
• Flat actual line = little to no work completed.
• Steep actual line = rapid work completion.

Memory trick: Above the ideal, behind the goal.

A component of the project management plan that describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed for the project.

• Defines how risks are identified, analyzed, and responded to.
• Includes roles and responsibilities for risk management.
• Outlines risk categories and probability/impact scales.

Memory trick: When risks arise, the plan guides your enterprise.

A software solution that aggregates and analyzes security alerts from different applications and network hardware in real-time.

• Centralizes logs from various sources.
• Provides real-time analysis of security events.
• Crucial for compliance auditing and incident response.

Memory trick: For compliance, gather all the security clues in one place and analyze them.

The process group where the work defined in the project management plan is performed to achieve the project's objectives. It involves coordinating people and resources, managing stakeholder expectations, and integrating project activities.

• Focuses on carrying out the project plan.
• Includes activities like development, implementation, and testing.
• Often the longest process group in terms of duration.

Memory trick: I Plan Every Monday Carefully Closing Projects.

A risk response strategy that aims to reduce the probability of a threat occurring, or reduce its impact if it does occur.

• Proactive approach to reduce risk exposure.
• Often involves implementing new processes, conducting tests, or adding redundancy.
• Commonly used for high-probability/high-impact risks.

Memory trick: Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, Accept – For threats, these are your steps.

IaaS is a cloud computing service model where a provider offers virtualized computing resources over the internet, including virtual machines, storage, and networks.

• Users manage operating systems, applications, and data.
• Provider manages virtualization, servers, storage, and networking.
• Offers high flexibility and control, similar to on-premise but with cloud benefits.

Memory trick: IaaS: Infrastructure, I Control Everything Above the Hardware.

Weaknesses in web applications that attackers can exploit to gain unauthorized access, steal data, or disrupt services.

• Common examples include SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Broken Authentication.
• Often result from improper input validation or insecure coding practices.
• OWASP Top 10 lists the most critical web application security risks.

Memory trick: Web App Security: Validate Input, Protect Data, Authenticate Users.

A formal document issued during project initiation that authorizes the project and gives the project manager authority to use organizational resources.

• Issued by a sponsor or high-level manager
• Names the project manager and their authority level
• Created before detailed planning documents like the WBS or scope statement

Memory trick: 'I Plan Every Move Carefully' = Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Closing.

The process of monitoring the implementation of agreed-upon risk response plans, tracking identified risks, identifying and analyzing new risks, and evaluating risk process effectiveness throughout the project lifecycle.

• Occurs during the Execution and Monitoring & Control phases.
• Ensures risk responses are effective.
• Identifies new risks and re-evaluates existing ones.

Memory trick: When a 'known unknown' risk appears, you 'watch' it and 'act' on your plan.

The process of categorizing data based on its sensitivity, value, and criticality to an organization, to determine appropriate security controls and handling requirements.

• Helps apply appropriate security measures.
• Influences data retention and access policies.
• Typically involves categories like Public, Internal, Confidential, Secret.

Memory trick: Secure your data by knowing its worth, its weaknesses, and how to react.

The establishment of secure and reliable communication links between on-premise data centers and public or private cloud environments.

• Often uses VPNs, direct connect services (e.g., AWS Direct Connect, Azure ExpressRoute).
• Enables consistent network policies and data transfer between environments.
• Crucial for extending enterprise networks into the cloud securely.

Memory trick: Hybrid Cloud: Connect, Secure, Integrate, Manage.

The process of developing an appropriate approach to project communications based on the communication needs of stakeholders and available organizational assets.

• Identifies who needs what information, when, and how.
• Tailors communication methods to stakeholder preferences.
• Ensures effective information flow to support project objectives.

Memory trick: Speak their language, listen to their tune, for communication to be true.

A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, approving, deferring, or rejecting changes to project baselines during monitoring and control.

• Evaluates impact on scope, schedule, cost, and quality
• Approved changes update the relevant baseline
• Bypassing the CCB is a common cause of scope creep

Memory trick: 'Perform, Vary, Change, Risk, Quality' - the five checks of control.

An Agile framework for developing, delivering, and sustaining complex products, characterized by iterative sprints, defined roles, and specific events for planning, review, and retrospective.

• Uses short, time-boxed iterations called 'sprints'.
• Emphasizes transparency, inspection, and adaptation.
• Includes roles like Product Owner, Scrum Master, and Development Team.

Memory trick: Scrum sprints to innovation, collecting feedback on the run.

A multi-region cloud deployment strategy involves deploying an application or service across multiple geographically distinct cloud regions to achieve high availability, disaster recovery, and reduced latency.

• Protects against widespread regional outages.
• Increases fault tolerance and business continuity.
• Often involves complex data synchronization and traffic routing.

Memory trick: Regions for Resilience: Spread out to survive anything.

A schedule network analysis technique to determine the earliest and latest possible start and finish dates for activities, and to identify the critical path.

• Calculates float (slack) for non-critical activities.
• The critical path has zero or negative float.
• Any delay on the critical path delays the entire project.

Memory trick: CPM finds the core path, Monte Carlo simulates, What-if explores scenarios.

Funds, budget, or time identified to offset the impact of scheduled risk events that are 'known unknowns' (i.e., identified risks for which mitigation plans are developed).

• Part of the cost baseline.
• Managed by the project manager.
• Accounts for identified risks.

Memory trick: Budgeting is like packing for a trip; you pack the essentials, then add a 'just in case' bag.

A chart that shows the amount of work remaining in a sprint or release against the time left to complete it, providing a quick visual progress update.

• Used in agile methodologies (Scrum).
• Tracks remaining work (e.g., story points, hours).
• Compares actual progress to an ideal burndown line.

Memory trick: Imagine 'Burndown' as the 'Burn'ing fuel in a rocket, showing how much 'Down' is left to go.

A formal document or repository that captures knowledge gained throughout a project, detailing successes, failures, and recommendations for improving future projects or organizational processes.

• Created during or at the end of a project/phase.
• Includes what went well, what could be improved, and best practices.
• Serves as an organizational asset for continuous improvement.
• Often reviewed at project closure meetings.

Memory trick: Lessons learned remembers, Charter starts, Stakeholder identifies, Change logs track.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is the management of infrastructure (networks, virtual machines, load balancers, etc.) in a descriptive model, using the same versioning as source code.

• Automates infrastructure provisioning and management.
• Ensures consistency and repeatability across environments.
• Reduces manual errors and configuration drift.

Memory trick: IaC: Infrastructure as Code, Consistent Everywhere.

A technique used to identify the underlying reasons for deviations from the project schedule, enabling the project manager to implement effective corrective actions.

• Focuses on 'why' the problem occurred.
• Helps prevent recurrence of the issue.
• Essential for effective schedule control and corrective action planning.

Memory trick: When the schedule 'stumbles', first 'diagnose' the 'ailment' before giving medicine.

Documentation created during closing that captures successes, challenges, and recommendations to improve future projects.

• Occurs during the closing phase
• Captures both positives and negatives
• Stored for organizational process assets/future reference

Memory trick: Lessons learned = the project's 'report card' for the future

The final phase of the project life cycle where deliverables are formally accepted, contracts are closed, resources are released, and lessons learned are documented.

• Includes formal sign-off/acceptance from the customer
• Archives all project documentation for future reference
• Captures lessons learned to improve future projects

Memory trick: 'I Plan Every Move Carefully' = Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring, Closing.

The earliest possible time an activity can finish, based on its early start date and duration.

• EF = ES + Duration - 1 (for discrete days)
• For successor activities, ES is determined by the latest EF of all its predecessors.
• Used in forward pass calculation for critical path analysis.

Memory trick: Forward pass, trace the path, find the latest end before the next begins.

A responsibility assignment matrix that maps out who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task or deliverable in a project.

• R = Responsible (performs the task)
• A = Accountable (owns the task's completion, only one 'A' per task)
• C = Consulted (provides input)
• I = Informed (receives updates)

Memory trick: RACI: Responsibility Always Clarifies Involvement.

Tools designed to support iterative development, flexibility, and continuous delivery in agile project environments.

• Supports frameworks like Scrum and Kanban.
• Emphasizes flexibility and rapid iterations.
• Ideal for innovative or rapidly changing projects.

Memory trick: Choose your project software like you choose your shoes: fit the terrain!

The process of identifying, documenting, tracking, and resolving problems (issues) that arise during the project lifecycle.

• Deals with current, realized problems.
• Involves documenting issues in an issue log.
• Aims for timely resolution to minimize project impact.

Memory trick: When a problem 'hits the fan', you need a 'system' to track and fix it.

A principle of data privacy that states organizations should collect, process, and store only the personal data that is absolutely necessary for the specified purpose.

• Reduces the risk of data breaches.
• A core requirement of GDPR and CCPA.
• Promotes privacy by design.

Memory trick: Privacy: Less is more, keep it fair, tell them why, and secure the vault.

An earned value metric calculated as EV divided by AC that measures cost efficiency; a value below 1.0 indicates a cost overrun.

• Formula: CPI = EV / AC
• CPI < 1.0 = over budget; CPI > 1.0 = under budget
• Different from SPI, which measures schedule efficiency (EV/PV)

Memory trick: 'Plan, Earn, Actual, Cost-index, Schedule-index' - PV, EV, AC, CPI, SPI build the EVM toolkit.

A linear, sequential project management approach where each phase of the project must be completed before the next phase can begin. It emphasizes thorough upfront planning and documentation.

• Phases are distinct and sequential (e.g., Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, Maintenance).
• Suitable for projects with well-defined requirements and stable scope.
• High emphasis on upfront planning and documentation.

Memory trick: For rigid rules and clear steps, Waterfall's your best bet.

A logical grouping of network devices that allows them to communicate as if they were on the same physical network segment, regardless of their actual physical location.

• Segments a single physical network into multiple logical networks.
• Improves network security by isolating traffic.
• Enhances network performance by reducing broadcast domains.

Memory trick: Segment your network like rooms in a house, keeping different activities separate.

An Agile project management chart that visually represents the cumulative amount of work completed (value delivered) versus the total scope of work over time.

• Shows progress by plotting completed work against the total scope.
• Useful for tracking value delivery and scope changes.
• Typically used in Agile methodologies like Scrum.

Memory trick: Burnup builds up, Burndown brings down, Gantt guides tasks.

A stage in a Kanban workflow that becomes overloaded with tasks, slowing down the entire process and preventing new work from entering or completing.

• Indicates a constraint in the value stream.
• Causes work to pile up before that stage.
• Requires intervention to smooth the flow.

Memory trick: Kanban flow is like a river; a bottleneck is a dam.