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All fields are required, by clicking the button you agree with the Terms and Conditions of knowledgehut.LLC's Privacy Policy 1. How does the project closure review differ from the performance measurement control system discussed in Chapter 13?Project closure review : a macro view of project performance as a part of the total organization. Although closure is concerned about current or past performance of the project, project closure is also concerned with assessing organizational culture and support of projects, the project’s fit within the total portfolio of projects, project priorities, team performance, and lessons learned. The closure review is intended to include all factors relevant to the project and managing future projects. 2. What major information would you expect to find in a project review?
3. Why is it difficult to perform a truly independent, objective review?In most cases those performing the review have some previous knowledge of the project, which presents opportunities for bias. Sometimes the review team, or facilitator, is perceived as a jury, but even jury members come with built-in biases. For example, internal politics have been known to enter into decisions concerning closure of a project. The simple point is that every attempt should be made to keep the review independent and objective. If the review of projects is a regular procedure for all projects, the negative stigma of audits is minimized. 4. Comment on the following statement: “We cannot afford to terminate the project now. We have already spent more than 50 percent of the project budget.”If organizational priorities have changed so the project no longer supports organizational strategy, the project should be terminated. Basically, costs to the time of the audit are sunk costs. The decision to continue or shut down should rest on estimated future costs and project benefits. 5. Why should you separate performance reviews from pay reviews? How would you do this?These two activities are not compatible. It is difficult to be both a judge and a coach at the same time. Performance reviews are intended to encourage changes in behavior, encourage career development, and support continuous organizational learning. These reviews focus on social and technical contributions the individual contributed to the project team. For example, the 360-degree feedback process has been used successfully to improve the ability of people to work on teams. As long as performance reviews are not directly related to pay and promotion decisions, such reviews are more readily accepted and even perceived as positive for the individual and organization. Since pay reviews can result in negative or positive outcomes for a career, they are perceived as very serious by most individuals. Pay reviews should be more carefully structured and based on clear standards and criteria known to the person being evaluated. Every attempt should be made to avoid confrontation. 6. Advocates of retrospective methodology claim there are distinguishing characteristics that increase its value over past lessons learned methods. What are they? How does each characteristic enhance project closure and review? Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal is key to the company’s mobile gaming efforts. Microsoft is quietly building a mobile Xbox store that will rely on Activision and King games.By Tom Warren / @tomwarren Oct 19, 2022, 1:25 PM UTC| Share this story
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is building an Xbox mobile store to directly offer games on mobile devices, challenging Apple and Google. The software giant first hinted at a “next-generation” store it would “build for games” earlier this year but has now quietly revealed details of the plans in filings with the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA is currently investigating the $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition and has asked Microsoft for context. In its filings, Microsoft says a big motivation for the purchase is to help build out its mobile gaming presence. Its plans for this space apparently include creating an Xbox mobile gaming platform and store. Here’s what the company says in the filings:
Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush Saga are two hugely popular mobile games published by Activision and King, respectively, and Microsoft could leverage these titles to help build out a game store to rival Google Play and the App Store. Given Apple’s policies blocking third-party app stores on iOS, it’s difficult to imagine Microsoft competing on iPhones anytime soon. But that’s clearly not stopping it from envisioning an Xbox mobile app store. Microsoft’s acknowledgment of a mobile gaming push comes as the company increasingly positions Xbox Cloud Gaming as an option for mobile gaming on emerging handhelds. Microsoft was quick to support Xbox Cloud Gaming on Valve’s Steam Deck, followed by a partnership with Logitech and Razer for their cloud gaming-focused handhelds. That means a push into mobile gaming could happen on multiple fronts — not just on phones and tablets. Beyond hardware, there’s a lot of revenue at stake here, too. Games are some of the most popular downloads on mobile and drive in-app purchases on app stores. Microsoft clearly wants a piece of that pie. Look at how the company describes the opportunity:
However, the CMA has barely discussed the potential for Microsoft’s entrance into mobile gaming as part of its investigation and is instead largely focusing on console gaming, which Microsoft argues is an increasingly smaller part of the overall market. In a graph posted at Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition site, the company depicts the entire gaming market as worth $165 billion in 2020, with consoles making up $33 billion (20 percent), PCs at $40 billion (24 percent), and mobile gaming at $85 billion (51 percent).
Gaming market revenue.Image: Microsoft Building a successful rival to the Google Play Store or App Store would be a huge challenge, though, and Microsoft will need to woo third-party developers if it hopes to make inroads. The company seems to be laying the groundwork here by committing to a set of principles that would allow developers to freely run their own app stores on its Xbox mobile platform and offer their own payment systems to process in-app purchases. That’s a benefit Apple certainly doesn’t offer. (These commitments don’t fully extend to Xbox consoles yet, but Microsoft said earlier this year it’s “committed to closing the gap on the remaining principles over time.”) Microsoft says these same principles will also apply to the future Xbox mobile store, which could be enough to lure developers onto the platform. One company that might be particularly interested is Epic Games, which has allied itself with Microsoft in the past few years in the fight against Apple’s App Store policies. Related
Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney welcomed Microsoft’s first hints at an open app store model in 2019 ahead of a giant battle between Epic and Apple a year later that saw Fortnite disappear from iPhones. Epic has been arguing that Apple should allow third-party payment systems in its App Store or even allow rival app stores to function on iPhones and iPads. Epic eventually called on Microsoft to help argue its case in court, and Microsoft cranked up the pressure on Apple with some significant Windows store changes days ahead of the Epic v. Apple trial last year. Epic didn’t win its legal argument, and Fortnite still isn’t back on the iPhone. But Epic did turn to Microsoft to bring Fortnite to Xbox Cloud Gaming earlier this year after court documents revealed Epic originally blocked the game from Xbox Cloud Gaming as the service was “competitive with our PC offerings.” This closer partnership between the companies could help persuade Epic to come on board early with Microsoft’s mobile gaming plans. Epic has already embraced Samsung’s Galaxy Store on Android, and having Fortnite and Call of Duty: Mobile on Microsoft’s Xbox mobile game store would be a good start in a difficult task to take on Apple and Google.
Fortnite arrived on Xbox Cloud Gaming earlier this year.Image: Xbox However, a big potential stumbling block for Microsoft’s mobile gaming ambitions could be its control of Call of Duty on both mobile and console. Microsoft has seen success with Xbox Game Pass, and it has made it clear it wants to bring Activision games to the service. Regulators are now weighing how this would impact competition. Xbox Game Pass is also at the heart of the ongoing battles between Microsoft and Sony over Call of Duty. Sony is arguing that Microsoft could take Call of Duty away from PlayStation entirely, while Microsoft says that wouldn’t make business sense. This disagreement has spilled out into a public war of words between Sony’s PlayStation chief and Microsoft’s head of Xbox, but the real conflict is happening behind closed doors. Related
Microsoft now says keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation is a “commercial imperative for the Xbox business and the economics of the transaction” and that it would put revenue at risk if it pulled Call of Duty from Sony’s consoles. “Microsoft has been clear that it is counting on revenues from the distribution of Activision Blizzard games on Sony PlayStation.” But even if Call of Duty stays on PlayStation, Sony could still lose out on serious revenue if Microsoft offers the title on Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft previously claimed that Sony is paying for “blocking rights” to keep some games off Xbox Game Pass and now says that’s the case with Call of Duty. “The agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years,” says Microsoft in its filings. The CMA and other regulators now have the unenviable task of untangling these arguments between Sony and Microsoft and figuring out exactly how this deal could harm consumers or competition. Microsoft still hopes to close this deal out by spring 2023, but there’s a good chance we have months of battles ahead — as well as the opportunity to gain rare insights, as with these mobile plans, into the secret ambitions of the gaming industry. Join the conversation Most Popular
Verge Deals/ Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily. Email (required)Sign up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. What is included in a project audit?A project management audit is a formal review that seeks to evaluate a given project based on specific criteria. Examples of these can include project quality, performance, and adherence to the statement of work.
Which part of the audit report is designed to be the most useful on future projects?Which part of the audit report is designed to be the most useful on future projects? The correct answer is option D) Lessons learned.
Which part of the audit report includes backup data or details of analysis that would allow others to follow up if they wished?Which part of the audit report includes backup data or details of analysis that would allow others to follow up if they wished? The correct answer is option E) Appendix. E) Appendix- It is that part of the report that contains the further reference details.
What level of the project management maturity model does institutionalization of project management take place?Level 3: Organizational Standards and Institutionalized Process. “All project management processes are in place and established as organizational standards.
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