Chapter 6-7

Question 1

Activity

Answer 1

an element of the project that consumes time such as work or waiting (waiting for approval, contracts to be signed, parts or materials to arrive). It may or may not require resources.

Question 2

Merge Activity

Answer 2

an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it (more than one dependency arrow flowing to it-aka it’s an important activity)

Question 3

Parallel Activities

Answer 3

Activities that can occur at the same time

Question 4

Path vs. Critical Path

Answer 4

Path- a sequence of connected, dependent activities

Critical Path- the path with the longest duration through the network, is something is delayed the project still requires the same time just has a different order

Question 5

Burst Activity

Answer 5

this activity has one or more activity immediately following it (other activities can be done till after this one is completed)

Question 6

Sensitivity

Answer 6

the likelihood the original critical paths will change once the project is initiated (non critical activities are labeled insensitive)

Question 7

Laddering

Answer 7

working on anything that can be done at one time during the same time period to complete more activities faster. (this is also called concurrent engineering)

Question 8

Free Slack or Float

Answer 8

Free Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any activities following it. OR free slack can be the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the early start date of following activities.

Question 9

Lag

Answer 9

A Lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

Question 10

Finish to Start Relationship

Answer 10

There are situations in which the next activity in a sequence must be delayed even when the preceding activity is complete. For example when you’ve made a YouTube video for a sponsor even though the video is complete you have to wait for the sponsors approval before posting.

Question 11

Start to Start Relationship

Answer 11

Activity Q cannot begin until 5 time units after activity P begins, therefore you assign a lag of five time units to activity Q.

Question 12

Finish to Finish Relationship

Answer 12

The completion of one activity depends on the when another activity is done.

Question 13

Start to Finish Relationship

Answer 13

this relationship represents situations in which the finish of an activity depends on the start of another activity

Question 14

Hammock Activities

Answer 14

This type of activity derives its name because it spans over a segment of a project. Examples of hammock activities are Inspection Services, Consultants, or construction Management Services.

Question 15

The Risk Management Process

Answer 15

1. Risk Identification- analyze the project to identify sources of risk
2. Risk Assessment- access the risks in terms of severity of impact, likelihood of occurring, and controllability
3. Risk Response Development- develop a strategy to reduce possible damage, develop contingency plans
4. Risk Response Control- implement risk strategy, monitor and adjust plan for new risks, change management

Question 16

Risk Breakdown Structures

Answer 16

Organizations use risk breakdown structures (RBS) in conjunction with work breakdown structure (WBS) to help management teams identify and eventually analyze risks.

Question 17

Risk Profile

Answer 17

a list of questions that address traditional areas of uncertainty on a project. These questions have been developed and refined from previous similar projects.

Question 18

Scenario analysis

Answer 18

The easiest and most commonly used technique for analyzing risk. Team members assess the significance of each risk event in terms of probability and impact.

Question 19

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis or FMEA

Answer 19

extends the risk severity matrix by including ease of detection in the equation

impact * probability * detection = risk value

Question 20

Two strategies for mitigating risk

Answer 20

1. reduce the likelihood that the event will occur

2. reduce the impact the event would have on the project

Question 21

Risk avoidance

Answer 21

changing the project plan to eliminate the risk or condition.

Question 22

Risk Transfer

Answer 22

passes the risk onto another party, this transfer does not change the risk, and results in paying a premium for the exemption.

Question 23

Contingency plan

Answer 23

an alternative plan that will be used if a possible foreseen risk event becomes a reality. A contingency plan represents actions that will reduce or mitigate the negative impact of the risk of event.

Question 24

Types of Risks

Answer 24

1. Technical
2. Schedule
3. Cost
4. Funding

Question 25

Positive Risk or Opportunity

Answer 25

an event that can have a positive impact on project objectives (unusually favourable weather can speed up a construction project)

Question 26

Responses to Opportunities

Answer 26

Exploit- this task seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with an opportunity to ensure it happens.

Share- the strategy involves allocating some or all of the ownership of an opportunity to another party who is best able to capture the opportunity for the benefit of the project.

Enhance- the opposite of mitigation in that action is taken to increase the probability and/or the positive impact of an opportunity

Accept- accepting an opportunity is being willing to take advantage of it if it occurs, but not taking action to pursue it.

Question 27

Budget Reserves

Answer 27

set up to cover identified risks, these reserves are those allocated to specific segments or deliverables of the project

Question 28

Management Reserves

Answer 28

set up to cover unidentified risks and are allocated to risks associated with the total project

Question 29

Risk Register

Answer 29

details all identified risks, including descriptions, category, and probability of occurring, impact, responses, contingency plans, owners and current status.