Exam 70-348 Managing Projects and Portfolios with Microsoft PPM (Definitions - 2)

1. Business Drivers
   A business driver is a specific goal that your organization wants to accomplish. Examples include improving customer satisfaction, increasing market share, or reducing IT costs. In the Microsoft PPM cloud service, business drivers are used as part of the portfolio analysis process to help rank the relative importance of your projects. Using this process, can help you determine which projects to do and which not to do to get the best overall value for your budget.
2. Project Impact Statements

A project impact statement is a way of defining how a given project affects a business driver. 

3. Enterprise Custom Fields

An enterprise custom field is a data field that you can configure to suit your own unique project needs or specific organizational needs, which is then shared with the rest of the organization for widespread use. There are a number of enterprise custom field types, including:

1.      Cost

2.      Date

3.      Duration

4.      Flag

5.      Number

6.      Text

4. Enterprise Global Objects

An enterprise global object, therefore, is an application object that is included in the Enterprise Global file and shared with members of the organization for use in the Microsoft Project and the Microsoft PPM cloud service interfaces. When Microsoft Project is connected to the Microsoft PPM cloud service, the Enterprise Global and the local global file merge so that both the Enterprise objects and local objects are available.

5. Enterprise Project Types

Enterprise project type (EPT) is a wrapper for a project that includes specific project elements—such as phases, stages, workflows, and/or Project Detail Pages (PDPs)—which can be used to create projects in a consistent manner. Each EPT represents a single project type that can be used to create a new project. Using enterprise project types helps categorize projects within the same organization that have a similar project life cycle. Normally, project types are aligned with an individual department, such as marketing projects, IT projects, or HR projects.

6. Workflow Phases

A workflow phase is a collection of steps or stages that, when executed collectively, result in a particular outcome. In the Microsoft PPM cloud service, it is used to organize the multiple stages that make up a common set of activities in the project life cycle. The phases themselves are just a way of organizing your stages and do not necessarily determine the order in which the stages are executed.

7. Workflow Stages

A workflow stage represents one step in the project lifecycle, at which some specific set of data must be entered, modified, reviewed, or processed in some way. In the Microsoft PPM cloud service, this includes entering data on one or more project detail pages, grouped to gather information about a project, and possibly entering values in enterprise custom fields.

8. Documents Library

Documents include any documentation or recorded piece of information related to the project that project team members may need to share with one another and/or on which they may need to collaborate with each other. The Documents library provides a location where these documents can be created, stored, edited, and as needed, attached to the project or a task.

9. Deliverables Library

A deliverable is a tangible and measurable result, outcome, or product that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project. Typically, the project team and project stakeholders agree on the project deliverables before the project begins. Clarifying the deliverables before the project work begins can help ensure that the outcome of a project meets all the stakeholders' expectations and that the goals of the project align with the larger business goals.

10. Risks Library

A risk is any possible event or condition that could have a negative impact on the project if it were to occur. Each risk is rated by severity and assigned an estimate for how likely it is to occur. Risk management involves proactively identifying and tracking any potential risks for your project. You can capture any of the potential risks that might affect the day-to-day operations or the final outcome of your project and they will be visible on the project site for all team members to be aware of.

  

11. Issues Library

An issue is any event or condition that is already occurring that is having a negative impact on your project. They can also be used to track work items that are not easily identified as assignments or tasks in projects. Project managers, resource managers, and team leads can then determine whether the issues will affect the project and identify strategies to manage the issues before they become larger problems. You can capture any issues for your project and they will be visible on the project site for all team members to be aware of.

12. Web Parts

Your project site is made up of various widgets or components, known as web parts. You can edit these web parts to include or display specific information, delete web parts from the page, and add web parts to insert different components on the page.