Chapter 5 Flashcards

1
Q

A critical success factor for effective time management is _ _ of standards and expectations.

A

timely communication

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2
Q

The most widely-used tools for scheduling, monitoring, and communicating time aspects of projects are the /

A

PERT/CPM

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3
Q

PERT

A

Program Evaluation Review Technique

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4
Q

CPM

A

Critical Path Method

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5
Q

Time is a resource if managed effectively, otherwise it is a _

A

constraint

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6
Q

_ _ relates to the anticipated planned activities and the unexpected events.

A

Time management

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7
Q

To be effective, a project manager must be organized and _ _

A

prioritize work

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8
Q

A PM must plan her vacation to _ with daily and routine work

A

disconnect

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9
Q

An effective manager has a _ _

A

priority list

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10
Q

_ can affect project organization, progress, personnel, and ultimately the outcome

A

Indecisiveness

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11
Q

The law of _ _ tells us that, beyond a certain point, additional time and energy is unnecessary and, if continued, can be counter-productive

A

diminishing returns

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12
Q
  1. Longer meetings do not mean better results
  2. Need for a communicated agenda
  3. Need for continued focus and control
  4. Opportunity for participation
  5. Summation of outcome and closure
A

An effective PM conducts meetings with 5 principles in mind:

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13
Q
  1. Coordinate the various project tasks.
  2. See the relative importance of each activity.
  3. Determine the time to complete each activity.
  4. Identify tasks that will delay the entire project if they are not completed as scheduled.
  5. Reschedule activities in order to reduce the total time.
  6. Control project progress
A

How PERT / CPM helps PM’s

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14
Q

PERT / CPM shows the _ and _ for each activity and enables the project manager to determine which tasks may become _

A

sequence, duration, bottlenecks

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15
Q

PERT is described in terms of a network that consist of activities connected by _

A

arrows

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16
Q

Using a PERT / CPM network can determine the total project completion time by identifying its longest path, or _ _

A

critical path

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17
Q

A _ is a sequence of connected activities that extends from the starting node to the completion node

A

path

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18
Q

starts by determining the earliest start and the earliest finish as well as the latest start and the latest finish times

A

Critical path analysis

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19
Q

Activities with _ slack time form the critical path

A

zero

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20
Q

A popular approach for estimating activity duration involves obtaining these three estimate

A

o Optimistic
o Pessimistic
o Most likely

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21
Q

t= (o+ 4m + p) / 6

A

Multiple estimate formula

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22
Q

Given the distribution among the range of values for an activity, we can calculate the variance using the _ _ _

A

standard deviation formula

23
Q

_ is the square of the standard deviation

A

Variance

24
Q

Variance reflects the _ _ _ in the estimated value for any activity duration

A

degree of uncertainty

25
Q

The greater the _ between o and p, the greater the variance and uncertainty

A

range

26
Q

Sigma2 = ((p – o)/6)2

A

Variance formula

27
Q

(Desired completion time – mean completion time) / standard deviation

A

Standard deviation formula

28
Q

The _ _ _ to a project is a task that can make or break a project

A

Allocation of resources

29
Q

Information inputted into MS Project can be used to generate a _ _ _

A

resource allocation graph

30
Q

The _ _ process can be useful for management reviews and during plan approvals

A

resource smoothing

31
Q
  1. Communications
  2. Methods
  3. Separation
  4. Support
  5. Analysis
  6. Closure
A

Factors that will help in achieving a timely delivery

32
Q

time estimates and progress towards completing each activity must be clearly communicated to team and readily available at all times

A

Communications

33
Q

Experience is the best source of estimating time requirements and requires good documentation and archiving

A

Methods

34
Q

team members are responsible for work units that they are specifically assigned to and that they are accountable for

A

Separation

35
Q

team must feel confident of PM support in order to stick to their schedule

A

Support

36
Q

PM’s must ensure that careful needs analysis is carried out before the project is allowed to continue

A

Analysis

37
Q

PM’s are responsible to move resources, including human resources, on to the next phase and next project

A

Closure

38
Q

PERT / CPM is a method of _ tasks.

A

scheduling

39
Q

PERT / CPM shows _ by detailed activities and time (hours, days, weeks).

A

sequence

40
Q

PERT / CPM helps determine which task may become a _ and delay the entire project.

A

bottleneck

41
Q

PERT / CPM is a _ _ _ tool that helps accomplish project objectives on time.

A

planning and control

42
Q

PERT / CPM graphically illustrates the interrelationships of _ _ _ required to bring a project to its successful conclusion.

A

events and activities

43
Q

PERT is defined in terms of _. The _ consists of events and activities.

A

network, network

44
Q

All of the required events are _ by arrows that indicate the preceding and succeeding events.

A

connected

45
Q

An event can be considered as a _. Events have no time dimension and usually are represented by a circle.

A

milestone.

46
Q

An activity (presented by an _) links two successive events together and represents the work required between these two events.

A

arrow

47
Q

An _ must be accomplished before the following event can occur.

A

activity

48
Q

Earliest start time rule:

A

The earliest start time for an activity leaving a particular node is equal to the largest of the earliest finish times for all activities preceding that node.

49
Q

Latest finish time rule:

A

The latest finish time for an activity entering a particular node is equal to the smallest of the latest start times for all activities leaving the node

50
Q

_ is the length of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the completion date for the entire project.

A

Slack

51
Q
  1. What is the total time to complete the project?
  2. What are the scheduled start and completion times for each activity?
  3. What activities are critical and must be completed as scheduled in order to keep the project on time?
  4. How long can non-critical activities be delayed before they cause a delay in the project’s completion time
A

Important questions that PERT / CPM helps us answer

52
Q

● Slack = LS – ES

● Slack = LF – EF

A

Slack formula

53
Q
  1. A complete list of activities necessary to complete the project.
  2. A proper sequence of activities and identification of preceding activities.
  3. Reliable activity estimates.
A

The outcome of any PERT / CPM application depends on: