Chapter 9 key terms

Question 1

Activities (also called tasks)

Answer 1

Must either precede or follow other tasks from the beginning of the project to its completion.

Question 2

Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)

Answer 2

Represents the task, or activity, and the node signifies an event marker that suggests the completion of one activity and the potential to start another.

Question 3

Activity-on-node (AON)

Answer 3

The node represents an activity, and the path arrows demonstrate the logical sequencing from node to node through the network.

Question 4

Arrow

Answer 4

Represents the task

Question 5

Backward pass

Answer 5

Calculation of late finish times (dates) for all uncompleted network activities

Question 6

Beta distribution

Answer 6

Distributions that are asymmetrical

Question 7

Burst activity

Answer 7

An activity with two or more immediate successor activities (task flowing out from it)

Question 8

Concurrent

Answer 8

When more than one activity to be accomplished at the same time.

Question 9

Confidence interval

Answer 9

The highest reasonable probability of being accurate.

Question 10

Crashing

Answer 10

Speeding up the project

Question 11

Critical path

Answer 11

The path through the project network with the longest duration. These are identified as having zero float in the project.

Question 12

Critical Path Method (CPM)

Answer 12

A Network analysis technique used to determine the amount of scheduling flexibility.

Question 13

Durations

Answer 13

Estimate activity for each step in the project

Question 14

Early start (ES) date

Answer 14

Earliest possible date on which the uncompleted portions of an activity can start.

Question 15

Event

Answer 15

A point when an activity is either started or completed

Question 16

Float (also called slack)

Answer 16

The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the finish of the project.

Question 17

Forward pass

Answer 17

Network calculations that determine the earliest start/earliest finish time for an activity.

Question 18

Hammock activities

Answer 18

Summaries for some subsets of the activities identified in the overall project network.

Question 19

Laddering

Answer 19

A technique that allows us to redraw the activity network to more closely sequence project subtasks, so the overall network sequence becomes more efficient.

Question 20

Late start (LS) date

Answer 20

The latest possible date that an activity may begin without delaying a specified milestone

Question 21

Linked activities

Answer 21

Illustrates the scheduling goal.

Question 22

Merge activity

Answer 22

Activity with two or more immediate predecessors (tasks flowing into it)

Question 23

Network diagram

Answer 23

Schematic display of the project’s sequential activities and the logical relationships between them.

Question 24

Node

Answer 24

A junction point joined to some or all of the others by dependency lines.

Question 25

Path

Answer 25

A sequence of activities defines by the project network logic

Question 26

Predecessors

Answer 26

Those activities that must be completed prior to initiation of later activity in the network

Question 27

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

Answer 27

An event and probability-based network analysis system generally used in projects where activities and their durations are difficult to define.

Question 28

Project network diagram (PND)

Answer 28

A schematic display of the logical relationships of project activities.

Question 29

Project scheduling

Answer 29

An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates

Question 30

Resource-limited schedule

Answer 30

A project schedule whose start and finish dates reflect expected resource availability

Question 31

Scope

Answer 31

The work content and products of a project or components of a project

Question 32

Serial activities

Answer 32

Are those that flow from one to the next, in sequence.

Question 33

Slack (also called float)

Answer 33

The amount of time an activity can be delayed and still not slow the overall project.

Question 34

Successors

Answer 34

Activities that cannot be started until previous activities have been completed

Question 35

Tasks (see activities)

Answer 35

Must either precede or follow other tasks from the beginning of the project to its completion.

Question 36

Variance (activity and project)

Question 37

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Question 38

Work package