ch. 17

Question 1

projects

Answer 1

unique, one-time operations designed to accomplish a specific set of objectives in a limited time frame

Question 2

project champion

Answer 2

person who promotes and supports a project

Question 3

Work Breakdown Structure

Answer 3

hierarchical listing of what must be done during a project

Question 4

PERT

Answer 4

program evaluation and review technique, for planning and coordinating large projects

Question 5

CPM

Answer 5

critical path method, for planning and coordinating large projects

Question 6

Network (precedence) diagram

Answer 6

diagram of project activities that show sequential relationships by use of arrows and nodes

Question 7

Activity on arrow (AOA)

Answer 7

network diagram convention in which arrows designate activities

Question 8

Activity on node (AON)

Answer 8

network diagram convention in which nodes designated activities

Question 9

activities

Answer 9

project steps that consume resources and/or time

Question 10

events

Answer 10

starting and finishing of activities, designated by nodes in the AOA convention

Question 11

path

Answer 11

sequence of activities that leads from the starting node to the finishing node.

Question 12

critical path

Answer 12

longest path; determines expected project duration

Question 13

critical activities

Answer 13

activities on the critical path

Question 14

slack

Answer 14

allowable slippage for a path; the difference between the length of a path and the length of the critical path

Question 15

Determinilistic

Answer 15

time estimates that are fairly certain

Question 16

probabilistic

Answer 16

estimates of times that allow for variation

Question 17

optimistic time

Answer 17

length of time required under optimal conditions

Question 18

pessimistic time

Answer 18

length of time required under the worst conditions

Question 19

most likely time

Answer 19

most probable length of time that will be required

Question 20

beta distribution

Answer 20

used to describe the inherent variability in activity time estimates

Question 21

independence

Answer 21

assumption that path duration times are independent of each other; requiring that activity times be independent, and that each activity is on only one path

Question 22

crash

Answer 22

shortening activity durations

Question 23

virtual project teams

Answer 23

some or all of the team members are geographically separated