Division 2: Project Management

Question 1

What are some examples of responsibilities involved in project management?

Answer 1

Project planning, scheduling, monitoring, coordinating, and directing, updating documentation, closing out the job, and following up with clients

Question 2

What is the most important factor to consider when selecting consultants to bring into a project?

Answer 2

Past working relationships

Question 3

What should a project manager consider when assembling a project team?

Answer 3

Project type and complexity, project size, staff availability, experience levels, billing rates, and personalities

Question 4

What are the two methods commonly used for scheduling design and construction projects?

Answer 4

The bar or Gantt chart and the critical path method (CPM)

Question 5

What is the simplest method commonly used for scheduling design and construction projects?

Answer 5

The bar or Gantt chart

Question 6

What is a bar or Gantt chart?

Answer 6

The simplest method of scheduling design and construction projects, in which all the project tasks are listed on the y axis, the entire project duration is represented by the x axis, each task is represented with a bar that illustrates its start and end, and task dependencies are represented by arrows

Question 7

The critical path method is more commonly used with design projects than with construction projects. True or false?

Answer 7

False

Question 8

What is the critical path method?

Answer 8

A method of scheduling design and construction projects, in which all the project tasks are listed, each task’s beginning and end points are represented by numbered circles, and arrows point in the direction of progression from one task to another (arrows can be solid, or dashed to show dependencies, or thick to show the critical path that must be delivered in time if the project deadline is to be met)

Question 9

In the critical path method, what is the float of a task?

Answer 9

The maximum length of time that a noncritical task can be delayed or extended before it causes a delay in the overall project

Question 10

What is a work plan or fee projection?

Answer 10

A detailed project schedule that breaks the project down into its component tasks, assigns staff members and resources to each task, and details how the firm’s fees will be used to pay staff members and cover other costs over the course of the project

Question 11

Creating the work plan or fee projection is one of the earliest and most important tasks that a project manager must complete. True or false?

Answer 11

True

Question 12

What does a good work plan include?

Answer 12

Scope of services, breakdown of the services into phases, dependencies, milestones, required staff, time and fee allocations, consultants’ scopes of work, and consultants’ costs and fees

Question 13

What is the primary element of a work plan or fee schedule?

Answer 13

Project schedule

Question 14

How is the project schedule most commonly depicted in a work plan or fee schedule?

Answer 14

Bar or Gantt chart

Question 15

What is the top-down approach?

Answer 15

Fee estimation in which the project manager begins by estimating the total working fee then uses rules of thumb and historical data to determine the percentages of the total fee that will be allocated to more specific costs

Question 16

What is the total working fee?

Answer 16

The fee available to pay people to do the job after subtracting fees for profit, consultants, and other expenses

Question 17

For a traditional design-bid-build project, what are the fee percentages needed for schematic design, design development, construction documentation, bidding, and construction administration?

Answer 17

15%, 20%, 40%, 5%, and 20%, respectively

Question 18

What is the bottom-up approach?

Answer 18

Fee estimation in which the project manager begins by estimating how much time is required to complete each individual task in a project, then assigning staff members to each task, and using the staff members’ billing rates to estimate the total project fee

Question 19

Which fee estimation approach is the most accurate?

Answer 19

Bottom-up

Question 20

A project manager typically only uses one of either the top-down approach or the bottom-up approach in fee estimation. True or false?

Answer 20

False

Question 21

Why should a project manager monitor employees’ time sheets weekly?

Answer 21

To take corrective action if the actual time exceeds the budgeted time

Question 22

What is a full wall schedule?