Controlling the Project Schedule Flashcards
What items are required to control the project schedule?
- The project management plan, which includes the schedule baseline and schedule management plan
- Work performance data
- Project documents such as the project calendar and lessons learned register
- Organizational process assets such as schedule control tools
- Project documents such as the project schedule and project calendars.
- Work performance data
- The project management plan
- Organizational process assets such as monitoring and reporting methods
What are the examples of some of the tools and techniques you can use to control your project’s schedule?
- Using software that tracks target actual start, duration, and completion dates
- Assessing the progress of a sequence of activities in a project to identify the current schedule status
- Realigning activities based on delays or overlap opportunities in the schedule
- Shortening the project schedule by performing tasks in parallel without changing the project scope
- Realigning activities based on delays or overlap opportunities in the schedule
- Redistributing work among resources by adjusting the schedule
- Using software to monitor target actual start, duration, and completion dates
- Condensing the project schedule without changing the project scope
A project manager reviews her current project on day 30. She wants to calculate the schedule variance or SV.
If the current EV is $26,400 and the PV is $36,000, what is the SV for this period?
-$9,600
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. The budgeted cost for work completed as of the review date, including the partially completed task, is $26,400. The planned value of the work is $36,000. The earned value is $9,600 less than the planned value therefore the schedule variance is -$9,600.
You want to calculate the SPI for your publishing project at the current date.
If the current earned value is $50,000 and the planned value is $65,000, what is the SPI, rounded to two decimal points?
0.77
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. The SPI is earned value divided by planned value, or in this case $50,000 divided by $65,000, which is 0.77 when rounded to two decimal places.
What are the examples of the outputs of the Control Schedule process?
- Schedule variance measurements
Correct answer. - This is a correct option. Work performance information such as the schedule performance index and schedule variance are outputs of the Control Schedule process. They enable performance monitoring and communication about progress to project stakeholders. - Schedule forecasts
Correct answer. - This option is correct. As work performance information becomes available and changes are made to the schedule baseline, schedule forecasts are updated based on the new information. - Updates to the risk register
Correct answer. - This is a correct option. Risk register updates may be included as part of project documents updates, which is an output of the Control Schedule process. The risk register and the risk response plans that it contains may need to be updated as a result of schedule compression techniques being used. - Change requests
Correct answer. - This option is correct. Change requests are outputs of the Control Schedule process. These requests contain proposed corrective or preventive actions designed to bring schedule performance in line with the schedule baseline. - Updates to the schedule baseline
Correct answer. - This is a correct option. Updates to project management plan components such as the schedule and cost baselines are made as a result of schedule changes made through the Control Schedule process.
A piece of equipment being used on a noncritical activity is needed for an activity on the critical path. You’re already over budget.
What’s the best way of protecting the critical activity?
Reassign the resource away from the noncritical activity to protect the activity on the critical path
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. If you have enough float to compensate for the increased duration of the noncritical activity, you should use resource leveling to protect the critical activity.
An experienced IT specialist assigned to work on the critical two-week Activity A is also working on the parallel Activity B, which has one month of float.
What’s the best action to take?
Use the float available on Activity B to ensure the specialist completes Activity A first
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. You can take advantage of the float available in Activity B and use resource smoothing to ensure the critical path activity is completed on time.
Activity E – an activity on the critical path which is mandatory for Activity F – is making slow progress. So far project spending has been well below the target budget.
What is the best solution?
Assign extra available resources to work on Activity E
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. Because the project is under budget, there are excess funds available to ensure that extra resources can be used to complete Activity E on time.
A project sponsor asks you to complete two final month-long activities in a critical path – which have discretionary dependency – earlier than planned. You’re already over budget.
What should you do?
Confirm with stakeholders before performing the two activities in parallel
Correct answer. - This is the correct option. This is an example of fast tracking. In this case, you don’t use any extra resources and don’t increase the duration of the activities. Instead, you compress the schedule so that both activities are carried out at the same. However, there are risks associated with this technique so it’s vital to get expert judgment before reducing the schedule.
Suppose the earned value of a project is $30,000 and the planned value is $53,000.
What is the SPI for the project rounded to two decimal points?
Answer: 0.57
0.57
What are the examples of the outputs of the Control Schedule process?
- Updated schedule forecasts
- Schedule variance figures for key activities
- A change to durations and end dates in the schedule baseline
- Change requests
- A new network diagram outlining a change in the project schedule
- A new activity added to the project schedule to incorporate a change
- Lessons learned through incorporating a change to the project schedule
- A change to activity start dates in the schedule baseline
- Schedule performance index figures for key activities
- Change requests
- Updated schedule forecasts
- Schedule variance figures for key activities
- A change to durations and end dates in the schedule baseline
- Change requests
- A new network diagram outlining a change in the project schedule
You lose resources on a noncritical activity that has four months float. The resource loss will extend the activity by one month and won’t hurt your project schedule.
What’s the best action to take?
Use leveling by allowing the activity to lengthen in duration and use the available float
Use leveling by allowing the activity to lengthen in duration and use the available float
You have accidentally assigned the same specialized resource to Activities H and J. Activity H can be delayed using float to remove any overlap of the activities.
What is the best action to take?
Employ resource smoothing by using the float to delay the start of Activity H
Employ resource smoothing by using the float to delay the start of Activity H
Your sponsor says that your project must be completed one month early no matter what it costs. You may not cut any product features or sacrifice quality.
What’s the best way to accomplish this?
Crashing
Crashing
Activity E, on the critical path, is running late. You have no extra money and the subsequent – and final – project activity has a discretionary dependency on Activity E.
What should you do?
Perform the activity at the same time as its successor activity to make up time
Perform the activity at the same time as its successor activity to make up time
