TOPIC: Is pre-assignment a project constraint?

Can you explain?

What about Virtual teams?

Kostas,

The PMBOK Guide has an answer for you to this question:

Pre-Assignment is a T&T of Acquire Project Team (9.2.2) and it is not listed as part of the competing project constraints (see 1.3)

Virtual Teams are also a T&T of Acquire Project Team (9.2.4) and also not listed as a constraint.

Hi Cornelius,

Thanks for your reply!

Because this question is from the mock exam number 4, if someone hasn't done it yet, maybe it would be better to stop the reading here.

Otherwise.....we know that there are 6 constraints (Cost-Scope-Quality-Schedule-Resources-Risk) and the question was asking which of the following is a project constraint. It had 4 answers (none of them was one of the above 6 constraints) and two of them were Pre-assignment and Virtual temas.

Now my guess was that since Virtual team increases communication risk it is the most obvious from the four. But the suggested correct answer was ''pre-assignment''.

This is the reason I am asking this qiestion....I cant find the logic behind it.

Regards
Kostas

Although “pre-assignment” is not a project competing constraint, if I am given an option to choose either the pre-assignment or the virtual team as a project constraint, I will go for the pre-assignment option.

A project constraint is anything that imposes any sort of a limitation on the project. Pre-assignments pre-commit all or some of the resources to the project. This limits the project manager’s options and resourcing decisions.

Now let’s come to the virtual teams. If the term “virtual team” is written as is for the choice. In that case it is not a constraint. But if the choice is something like “A decision that mandates the formation of a virtual team due to any reason”, then it becomes a constraint.

Let me reiterate that I totally agree that “pre-assignment” is not a competing project constraint, but it is a limitation that influences project options. “Collective bargaining agreement” is another such example. I hope that this is not one of the remaining two choices 

Let me know if this explanation helps.

Regards,

Khurram