100 A Flashcards
1
Q
The MOST correct use of a project network diagram is for _____
A
Documenting task interdependencies
2
Q
At a minimum, periodic forecasts must be done at what interval?
A
As often as specified in the contract documents
3
Q
The calculated duration for a project is 28.166. The standard deviation is 5.5. What technique would you use to compute the probability of completing a project on a specific day?
A
Monte Carlo Simulation
4
Q
The best reason to use multiple calendars is to ___________
A
More accurately show how the project will be built
5
Q
During planning you discover that the time needed to complete the project is longer than the time available. What do you do?
A
Determine options for crashing and/or fast-tracking the project and present management with your recommended option
6
Q
Free float is the ____________
A
amount of time an activity can be delayed without impacting the early start of its successor activity
7
Q
In an activity-on-arrow diagram, the boxes represent:
A
Task dependencies
8
Q
Every activity in a schedule, except the first and last activity, should have at least ________
A
one predecessor and one successor
9
Q
A project manager has increased project costs by US $100,000, but completed the project four weeks earlier than planned. What tool is BEST described here?
A
Duration compression
10
Q
An early start constraint dictates __________
A
The actual start of an activity
11
Q
Dummy activities are NOT used on which type of network diagram?
A
PDM
(Precedence Diagram)
12
Q
Dummy activities ARE used on which 3 types of network diagram?
A
- CPM
- PERT
- Detailed
13
Q
Which of the following is NOT required when performing weekly or monthly schedule updates?
A
Original duration
14
Q
Which of the following is required when performing weekly or monthly schedule updates?
A
- Actual finish dates
- Percent complete
- Remaining durations
15
Q
During the creation of a project plan, you want to find the critical path of the project. Which of the following project management tools would you use to determine the critical path?
A
Network diagram
16
Q
T/F
The critical path is frequently defined as the shortest throughout the schedule.
All of the following describe the critical path of a schedule except:
A
False,
The longest
17
Q
The critical path of a schedule can be changed by redefining the _______
A
network logic or activity durations or both
18
Q
The critical path of a schedule is determined by ________
A
network logic
19
Q
The critical path of a schedule is the chain of activities that controls the _____
A
overall project completion time
20
Q
The critical path of a schedule can be described as a series of activities that have ________
A
the least amount of total float
21
Q
How many types of relationships between activities can be found on a precedence diagram?
A
4
(FS, SF, SS, FF)
22
Q
Project delays are best analyzed ________
A
Contemporaneously with they delay
23
Q
- Crashing
- Mandatory
- Slack
All of the above relate to ___________ the schedule.
A
Controlling
24
Q
Hammock activities in a schedule are included in the ___________ pass calculations
A
Forward and backwards pass
25
Hammock activities in a schedule depict a _____ relationship between a sequence of activities in the same path.
Start to Finish
26
Hammock activities maybe separated by any number of _______
Activities or events in the logic path
27
Hammock activities do NOT measure the elapsed time between the _______ of a sequence of activities
start and completion
28
A project manager is involved in the ABC project. Time lines have slipped for project ABC and he feels there could have been a mistake in the initial time estimate of this project. The following are assumptions that he made when doing the initial schedule using the critical path method (CPM). Which one is NOT correct?
The CPM can have no dummies
29
Which of the following is NOT required while initially planning a project?
Resource identification and leveling
30
While initially planning a project, include a schedule that identifies ______ on the project
All the tasks required on the project
31
While initially planning a project, include a schedule that includes the ______ of each task
duration of each task
32
While initially planning a project, include a schedule with ______ between tasks
Logical relationships between tasks
33
Project schedules help control all of the following:
* Time
* Cost
* Resources
34
During the planning phase, Task G was estimated to take five days. Task G is on the critical path. On day two, it became clear that Task G would take 15 days, which will impact the imposed project end date. The project team meets to perform root cause analysis to identify the cause of the variance and to plan schedule recovery with activities performed later in the schedule. What should be the output of this meeting?
Corrective action
35
The calculation of the latest finish time and latest start time for all incomplete network activities or late time for events in the ADM and PDM scheduling methods is referred to as ______
A backward pass
36
Which of the following are GENERALLY illustrated better by bar charts than network diagrams?
Progress or status
37
In an earned value-based system, a schedule performance index of less than one for the project indicates the project is ____________
Behind schedule
38
You evaluate your critical path and determine the project will be completed two weeks ahead of management's expected due date. What should you do?
Prepare a list of risks that did NOT occur
39
An earned value-based project control system can use either of which two budgets as the basis of its calculations?
Labor hours or dollars
40
While evaluating the Gantt chart, the project manager determines that the project is behind schedule. What should she do?
Evaluate the alternatives with the team
41
If the optimistic estimate is one, the pessimistic estimate is nine, and the most likely estimate is eight, what is the PERT estimate?
7
42
In terms of reporting progress to management, a schedule that is organized based on the project’s work breakdown structure is useful because the schedule can be __________
summarized to intermediate levels of detail
43
The project manager has a project that is three months behind but, surprisingly, markedly under budget. She has decided to try to make up time, but wants to avoid rework. What should she do?
Crash
44
A total float value less than zero on a schedule activity indicates that the activity is being impacted by ____
an imposed schedule restraint
45
During schedule development, which of the following would BEST provide the basis for the most likely activity duration estimate?
The schedule for a similar project at the same facility completed 2 years earlier
46
Total float is defined as the amount of time an activity can be delayed without impacting the _______
overall project completion
47
What is the duration of a milestone?
Zero (milestones do not have durations)
48
When creating a baseline project schedule, the ideal outcome is ___________
A zero total float value on the longest path
49
A project manager received executive orders to deliver the project two weeks earlier than scheduled doing whatever it takes. He decided the least costly means would be to add resources to critical path tasks in order to shorten the time of those tasks. In this case, the project manager has:
Crashed the critical path
50
What is a critical path method schedule?
A network diagram of logically interconnected activities
51
You are managing the project when you discover an estimated completion date will occur after the desired date. What should you do FIRST?
Evaluate the possibility of doing more tasks in parallel
52
What is the result of a forward pass calculation?
Determines the early start and early finish date for individual activities
53
Which of the following BEST describes comparing actual dates with planned dates?
Variance analysis
54
A project plan results in a project schedule that is too long. If the project network diagram cannot change but you have extra personnel resources, what should you do?
Crash the project
55
Resource planning must take all of the following into account EXCEPT for
Earned value techniques established for the project
56
Resource planning must account for types of _______ required to complete the project.
types of materials, equipment and labor skills required to complete the project
57
Resource planning must account for _______ limitations.
Cash flow (expenditure) limitations
58
Resource planning must account for the _______ to complete the project.
Time available
59
After analyzing the status of your project, you determine that the earned value is lower than the planned value. What should you expect as an outcome if this trend continues?
The project will finish behind schedule
60
Which of the following describes a type of schedule logic?
Start-to-finish
61
The sponsor wants the project completed in 40 days. The CPI is 1.1, the project critical path duration is 38 days with a standard deviation of two days. What is the maximum project float?
4 days
62
Hard logic within a CPM schedule refers to activities with interrelationships that are _______
fixed, and activities that should always be worked in the logic sequence defined
63
A project manager obtains weighted average duration estimates from the team to calculate activity duration. Which type of mathematical analysis is he using?
PERT
64
What is the primary difference between the arrow diagramming method (ADM) and precedence diagramming method (PDM)?
ADM is limited to finish-to-start relationships logic relationships, while PDM is not
65
A heuristic is BEST described as a:
Rule of thumb
66
A task needs more time and the project manager determines that there is enough reserve to accommodate the change. Who needs to approve the change?
The PM
67
The “baseline” plan is usually initially reviewed and approved by the
The Owner/employer
68
You have a project with the following tasks: Task A takes 40 hours and can start after the project starts. Task B takes 25 hours and should happen after the project starts. Task C must happen after Task A and takes 35 hours. Task D must happen after Tasks B and C and takes 30 hours. Task E must take place after Task C and takes 10 hours. Task F takes place after Task E and takes 22 hours. Which of the following is TRUE if Task B actually takes 37 hours?
The critical path is on A,C,D, E,F
(Increased duration of B reduced activity float but does not cause it to go on the critical path)
69
Longest path is identified by using ________
Driving relationships
70
If project time and cost are not as important as the number of resources used each month, which of the following is the BEST course of action?
Perform resource leveling
71
A project deadline has been imposed for the end of the year. The project consists of two tasks. Task A has a duration of two months and task B has a duration of three months. Tasks A and B can be performed concurrently. The start date for the project is set for the beginning of July. What is the total duration for the critical path?
6 months
72
A task has an early start of day 3, a late start of day 13, an early finish of day 9, and a late finish of day 19. The task:
Is not on the critical path
73
Which of the following is NOT a construction planning activity?
* Periodic Forecasts
* Commissioning Schedule
* Work Breakdown Structure
* Baseline Plan
* Periodic Forecasts
74
Regarding network diagrams:
A critical path ____ run over a dummy
Can
75
T/F
The path with the dummy is always the critical path.
False
76
Regarding network diagrams:
All the project interdependencies are ______
Shown
77
Regarding network diagrams:
______ is the time a task can be delayed without delaying the project.
Slack
(Float)
78
What is the BEST method of estimating the time for a task that has never been done by your company before?
PERT
79
What is a prerequisite if schedule status is to be summarized using an earned value-based system?
The schedule must first have been “resource-loaded” with either labor-hours or dollars.
80
According to your project network diagram, the critical path for the project is six weeks. One week into the project, the project sponsor informs you that the executive steering committee has moved the project's finish date to two weeks sooner than your published finish date. Assuming you are on schedule, what is the project slack?
Minus 2 weeks
81
When resource leveling craft labor for a critical path schedule, the scheduler must consider ___________
breaks in continuity of work for the craft labor, thereby possibly reducing any additional mobilization and demobilization costs
82
All of the following are inputs to schedule development:
* Vacation schedules
*Need for delay between ordering equipment and installing it
*Establish interdependencies between activities
83
T/F
Planned start and finish dates for each activity are NOT inputs to scheduled development
True
84
Free slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the:
Early start of its sucessor
85
A task has an early start of day three, a late start of day 13, an early finish of day nine, and a late finish of day 19. What is the duration of this task?
7 days
86
Which best describes the following: A master schedule is composed of five different, logically tied subproject schedules. How many different critical paths can be found?
at least one
87
A project has three critical paths. How does this affect the project?
it increases the project risk
88
Which of the following will NOT affect the total float calculation?
Front end loading
89
Which of the following will affect the total float calculation?
* Multiple calendars
* Start and finish constraints
* Preferential logic
90
Which of the following is the BEST tool for showing the team the project schedule status during project execution?
Gantt chart
91
You are a project manager for a new product development project that has four levels in the work breakdown structure, and has been sequenced using the arrow diagramming technique. The activity duration estimates have been received. What time management activity would you do NEXT?
Duration compression
92
In a graphical earned value analysis, what time-scaled value is the indicator that is used to represent both schedule and cost performance?
Budgeted cost of work performed
93
During project execution, the forecast remaining hours begin to exceed planned remaining hours. Consequently, the project takes on a negative variance. Which analysis method is the project manager likely to use as a measurement tool to validate this information?
EV minus PV
94
The slack of a task is determined by the amount _______
of time a task can be delayed before it delays the critical path
95
Which of the following is NOT an element of the project planning process?
Earned value analysis
96
A project has seven activities: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. A, B, and D can start anytime. A takes three weeks, B takes five weeks, and D takes 11 weeks. A and B must be completed before C can start. C takes six weeks. B, C, and D must be completed before E can start. E takes two weeks. F can start as soon as C is completed and requires four weeks. E must be completed before G can start. G takes three weeks. F and G must be completed for the project to be completed. What activities have slack available?
Activity A has two weeks slack, and activity F has one week
97
A driving relationship is the link between __________
a predecessor and the activity whose dates it controls
98
To control the schedule, a project manager is re-analyzing the project to predict project duration. She does this by analyzing the sequence of activities with the least amount of scheduling flexibility. What technique is she using?
Critical path
99
If after calculating a schedule an activity exhibits negative total float, which of the following is certain. The activity _________
has yet to be completed
100
What is the BEST report to use when reporting to senior management?
Milestone chart
101
Which of the following BEST describes the primary use of project management software?
Creating and controlling a schedule
102
A team member from research and development tells you that her work is too creative to provide you with a fixed single estimate for the task. You both decide to use the average time the task has taken for past projects to predict the future. This is an example of which of the following?
Parametric estimating
103
Which of the following will always describe the critical path? The path with the ____
longest duration
104
A project manager for a small construction company has a project that was budgeted for US $130,000 over a six week period. According to her schedule, the project should have cost US $60,000 to date. However, it has cost US $90,000 to date. The project is also behind schedule, because the original estimates were not accurate. Who has the primarily responsibility to solve this problem?
Project manager
105
You are looking at the standard reports that the project office has supplied, and you see network diagrams and Gantt charts. Under what circumstances would you want to use a network diagram instead of a Gantt chart?
To show interdependencies between tasks
106
Under what circumstances should one use resource-leveling calculations?
When you believe that known resources limitations may override schedule dates
107
Which estimating method uses one time estimate for each task?
CPM
108
A task has an early start of day three, a late start of day 13, an early finish of day nine, and a late finish of day 19. What is the task's float?
10 days
109
In its simplest form, what is the main drawback of critical path method scheduling?
It assumes that resources are unlimited
110
You are a project manager for a small construction project. Your project was budgeted for US $72,000 over a six-week period. As of today, you've spent US $22,000 of your budget to complete work that you originally expected to cost US $24,000. According to your schedule, you should have spent US $30,000 by this point. Based on these circumstances, your project could be BEST described as:
Behind schedule
111
Which of the following is correct concerning a change control system?
it should include a method for controlling schedule
112
The characteristic of the precedence diagramming method that models construction projects differently than the arrow diagramming method is that it __________
allows multiple relationship types to be associated with activities
113
A project has seven activities: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Activities A, B, and D can start anytime. A takes three weeks, B takes five weeks, and D takes 11 weeks. A and B must be completed before C can start. C requires six weeks to complete. B, C, and D must be completed before E can start. E requires two weeks. F takes four weeks and can start as soon as C is completed. E must be completed before G starts. G requires three weeks. F and G must be completed for the project to be completed. What is the critical path?
Both B, C, E, G, and D, E, G
114
If the optimistic estimate for a task is 12 days and the pessimistic estimate is 18 days, what is the standard deviation of the task?
1
115
Which of the following is true of activity duration estimating?
Estimates should always include some indication of the range of possible results
116
You have a project with four tasks as follows: Task 1 can start immediately and has an estimated duration of one. Task 2 can start after task 1 is completed and has an estimated duration of four. Task 3 can start after Task 2 is completed and has an estimated duration of five. Task 4 can start after Task 1 is completed and must be completed when Task 3 is completed. The estimate for Task 4 is ten. What is the shortest amount of time in which the project can be completed?
11 days
117
Which of the following does NOT need to be done if there is a major delay on a non-critical path activity?
Change the project schedule
118
If the optimistic estimate for a task is 12 days and the pessimistic estimate is 18 days, what is the most likely estimate?
Unknown, the most likely estimate is a separate estimate
119
The sponsor of the project you are managing asks you to compress the duration of the project. Which of the following is correct about fast-tracking and crashing?
Fast tracking often results in rework, and crashing often results in increased cost
120
The relationships in an activity-on-arrow diagram are:
Finish to start
