CIS-SPM Certified Implementation Specialist - Strategic Portfolio Management Questions and Answers

A resource event is a non-scheduled activity that affects the availability and capacity of a resource or a group of resources. Examples of resource events are vacations, holidays, training, or sick leave. Resource events can be created by resource managers or resources themselves, and they can be viewed in the resource calendar or the resource workbench. You can find more information about resource events in the Product Documentation for ServiceNow.

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, the planning console can show as many WBS levels as desired, starting from the level 1 to the lowest system components. The WBS levels can be expanded or collapsed by clicking the plus or minus icons next to the task names. The planning console also allows users to create, edit, and delete tasks, as well as add dependencies, assign resources, and track progress.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-management/concept/c_PlanningConsole.html

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, the project property to update actual effort from time card is controlled at the project level. This property is called Update actual effort from time card and it determines if the Actual effort field on the Dates tab should be updated based on the hours entered from time cards for the project. If set to Yes, the Actual effort field is read-only on the Project and Project Task forms. If set to No, the Actual effort field is editable on the Project and Project Task forms.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-management/reference/r_Properties.html

 According to the Create a customer project from a demand document, when creating a project from demand, the resource plan and the cost plan are moved and copied upon project creation. The resource plan defines the resources required for the project, and the cost plan defines the estimated and actual costs for the project. The other options are not correct, as they are not related records that are moved and copied upon project creation. The change requests, the idea, and the demand are not moved or copied to the project, but they are linked to the project as references. The assessment is not a record that is associated with the project, but with the demand.

In order to map custom fields from Microsoft Project to ServiceNow when importing a project, you must first create custom fields in your ServiceNow instance that match the names and data types of the custom fields in Microsoft Project. This will allow you to map the custom fields using a transform map when importing the project. You can find more information about this process in the Product Documentation for ServiceNow.

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, the Business Unit field on a Project or Demand form is a reference field that displays values from the cmn_department table. A reference field stores a link to a record on another table, rather than storing the data directly in the field2.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-management/reference/r_ProjectTable.html 2: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-platform-administration/page/administer/form-administration/concept/c_ReferenceFields.html

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, a user’s availability is calculated as the ratio of allocated hours to total capacity, expressed as a percentage. Allocated hours are the hours that a user is assigned to work on a project or demand. Total capacity is the maximum number of hours that a user can work in a given period, based on their schedule and availability profile. A user’s availability indicates how much of their time is already allocated and how much is still available for new assignments.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_ResourceManagement.html

The Transition stage of the Now Create methodology includes the activities of Transition, Mobilize, Prepare and Conduct. This stage is focused on transitioning the solution from development to production, mobilizing the stakeholders for the go-live, preparing the environment and data for the launch, and conducting the final testing and validation. You can find more information about the Transition stage in the Now Create ebook or the Project Methodology website for ServiceNow.

The project status report allows project managers to do the following:

Show historical trend of project KPI’s: The project status report displays the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the project, such as schedule variance, cost variance, and earned value. It also shows the historical trend of these KPIs over time, which helps project managers monitor the progress and performance of the project. You can find more information about the project status report KPIs in the Product Documentation for ServiceNow.

Print as a PDF attachment: The project status report can be printed as a PDF attachment and sent to the stakeholders or sponsors of the project. This helps project managers communicate the status and health of the project in a clear and concise format. You can find more information about the project status report PDF attachment in the Product Documentation for ServiceNow.

The demand workbench is a feature of ServiceNow Demand Management that allows you to view and assess business demands in a single place. You can use the demand workbench to compare demands with portfolios and see how they align with your strategic goals and objectives. You can also use the demand workbench to compare and prioritize demands against other demands based on their scores, risks, and benefits. You can find more information about the demand workbench in the Product Documentation for ServiceNow.

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, a rate card is a table that defines the hourly cost of labor for different roles or resources. A project rate is a fixed rate that is applied to all resources assigned to a project, regardless of their roles or individual rates. Both of these can be used to calculate the planned cost of a resource plan by multiplying the hours allocated to each resource by the corresponding rate. The other options are incorrect because:

A. Demand rate: A demand rate is a rate that is applied to a demand, not a resource plan. It is used to estimate the cost of fulfilling a demand before it is converted into a project2.

C. Default rate: A default rate is a rate that is applied to a resource when no other rate is specified. It is not a valid option for calculating the planned cost of a resource plan, as it is only used as a fallback option3.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_RateCards.html 2: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/demand-management/concept/c_DemandRate.html 3: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_DefaultRate.html

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, when requesting resources from a group and when resource role is specified, the planned cost is calculated from the hourly rate of the specified role. The system uses the rate card associated with the resource plan to determine the hourly rate for each role. The other options are incorrect because:

A. The distribution costs: The distribution costs are the costs that are distributed across the project tasks based on the resource plan allocation2.

B. The task rate cards: The task rate cards are the rate cards that are applied to the project tasks, not the resource plan3.

D. The CI rate cards: The CI rate cards are the rate cards that are applied to the configuration items, not the resource plan4.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_ResourcePlans.html 2: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_DistributionCosts.html 3: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_TaskRateCards.html 4: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/resource-management/concept/c_CIRateCards.html

According to the Portfolio Planning document, the first step in the process when configuring Portfolio Planning to work with ServiceNow® Project Portfolio Management is to generate default mapping configurations. This step creates the default mappings between the Portfolio Planning fields and the ServiceNow® Project Portfolio Management fields. The other options are not correct, as they are not the first step in the process. Creating an alignment integration is the second step, creating custom mapping configurations is the third step, and creating personalized portfolio plans is the fourth step.

According to the Assigning Resource Roles document, you define ‘Roles’ requested via resource plans under resource roles in the Resource Management application. Resource roles are the roles that users can request or allocate for resource plans. The other options are not correct, as they are not the places where you define ‘Roles’ requested via resource plans. The system roles are the roles that grant access to various applications and modules in the system. The roles under system security are the roles that control the security settings and permissions for the system. The skill management modules are the modules that manage the skills and skill levels of users and groups.

According to the ServiceNow documentation1, a program is a container for the following:

Program tasks: Tasks that define the scope and deliverables of the program2.

Issues: Problems that affect the program or its outcome3.

Cost plans: Plans that estimate the cost of the program and its components4.

A portfolio is not a part of a program, but rather a collection of programs and projects that are aligned with a strategic goal or objective.

1: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-portfolio-management/concept/c_ProgramManagement.html 2: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-portfolio-management/task/t_CreateAProgramTask.html 3: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-portfolio-management/task/t_CreateAnIssue.html 4: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-portfolio-management/task/t_CreateACostPlan.html : https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/vancouver-it-business-management/page/product/project-portfolio-management/concept/c_PortfolioManagement.html