MOCK 1

Question 1

1. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a project?

A. Constrained by limited resources
B. Planned, executed, monitored, and controlled
C.Creates a unique product or service
D.Ongoing and repetitive

Answer 1

Answer: D

Explanation: A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and ending.

Question 2

2. In which document would you find the code of account identifier, description of work, responsible organization:

A. Scope Statement
B. WBS Dictionary
C. PERT/Charts
D. Responsibility Assignment Matrix

Answer 2

Answer: B
Explanation: Information in the WBS dictionary includes, but is not limited to, code of account identifier, description of work, responsible organization, list of schedule milestones, etc.

Question 3

3. All the following statements relating to Project Management Staff and the project team are accurate EXCEPT:

A. The Project Management Staff helps develop the Project Management Plan.
B. The Project Team is responsible for activities like planning, controlling, and closing.
C. The Project Management Staff is a subset of the project team.
D. For very small projects, the project management responsibilities might be shared by the entire project team or administered solely by the project manager.

Answer 3

Answer: B

Explanation: The Project Management Staff is a subset of the project team and is responsible for the project management and leadership activities such as initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling, and closing the various project phases. This group can also be referred to as the core, executive, or leadership team. For smaller projects, the project management responsibilities can be shared by the entire team or administered solely by the project manager.

Question 4

4. You are considering whether to buy or make a software product. If you want to buy, the cost is $ 80,000, and the cost of procuring and integrating the product in your company is $ 1,000. If you want to build it yourself, the product will require seven engineers working for three months. The salary of each software engineer is $ 4,000 per month. The other related miscellaneous costs budget allocated to the project is $2,000.
   Which option will you choose?

A. Buy
B. Build
C. Neither build, nor buy
D. Need more information on suppliers to make a decision

Answer 4

Answer: A Explanation: If you buy, the cost is: $ 80,000 + $ 1,000 = $ 81,000,
If you build, the cost is: $ 4,000 x 7 x 3 + $ 2,000 = $ 86,000. So, in this situation, it is preferable to buy.

Question 5

5. Which of the following would not be helpful in performing the Develop Schedule Process?

Schedule network analysis, critical path method, critical chain method
Project calendars and schedule data
Scheduling tool, schedule compression, leads and lags
Modeling techniques, resource optimization techniques

Answer 5

Answer: B Explanation: Know your Tools/Techniques. Project calendars and schedule data are outputs of the Develop Schedule Process.

Question 6

6. In the context of the communication model, all the following statements are correct EXCEPT:

Noise (communication blockers) should be minimized.
Receiver should decode and reply to the message.
Decoder (receiver) should acknowledge and agree with the message sent by the encoder (sender).
Decoder should send a feedback message to the encoder.

Answer 6

Answer: C Explanation: Inherent in the communication model is an action to acknowledge a message. Acknowledgment signals only receipt of the message, not agreement or understanding

Question 7

7. The government has mandated that you ensure the neighborhood is not adversely impacted by your project. For your project, this directive is regarded as a/an:

Assumption
Ethical practice
Constraint
LEAN

Answer 7

Answer: C Explanation: From a project management point of view, constraints are factors that will limit the Project Management Staff`s options. Since this is a government mandate, it becomes a constraint for your project. LEAN is a quality technique focused on reducing/eliminating waste.

Question 8

8. You are estimating schedule activity costs by determining the unit cost rates, e.g., staff costs per hour. All the following could be used to determine resource cost rates EXCEPT:

Statistical relationship (parametric estimating) between historical data and other variables.
Interviewing those doing the work.
Reviewing standard rates with escalation factors (for contracts).
Reviewing a seller’s published price list.

Answer 8

Answer: A Explanation: Parametric estimating uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables. All the other options are valid ways to determine unit cost rates.

Question 9

9. You are performing the Control Risks process, and are on the lookout for indications that a risk has occurred or is about to occur. These indications can also be referred to as:

Triggers
Workarounds
Risk averse
Triggers, early warning signs, and risk symptoms

Answer 9

Answer: D Explanation: Best answer is Triggers. Indications that a risk has occurred or is about to occur. Triggers may be discovered in the risk identification process and watched in the risk monitoring and control process. Triggers are sometimes called risk symptoms or warning signs.

Question 10

10. Stakeholders, including consultants, customers, sponsors, and professional and technical associations, that gather and analyze information with people and/or computers, are some of the sources of:

Enterprise environmental factors
Organizational process assets
Expert judgment
Stakeholder monitoring and control

Answer 10

Answer: C Explanation: Expert judgment: Additional expertise is available from many sources, including… other units within the organization; stakeholders, including consultants, customers, and sponsors; and professional and technical associations.

Question 11

11. You decide to use statistical sampling for your project, because surveying the entire population involves all the following issues, except:

Inaccurate data
More money
More time
More resources

Answer 11

Answer: A Explanation: Survey of the entire population would yield the most accurate data.

Question 12

12. Your organization requires that all technical projects go through Initiate, Analyze, Design, Implement, Test, and Closeout project life cycle which is:

Defined as the product life cycle.
Defined by having applicable project phases.
Contains several product life cycles.
Has deliverables that must be completed before work starts during the next phase.

Answer 12

Answer: B Explanation: A project life cycle is a collection of generally sequential and sometimes overlapping project phases whose name and number are determined by the management and control needs of the organization or organizations involved in the project, the nature of the project itself, and its area of application. Option A and Option C are wrong because project life cycle does not include the product life cycle. Option D is not accurate because work in the next phase may, at times, start before the deliverables of the previous phase are completed.

Question 13

13. Your team started creating a work breakdown structure for your project, but soon realized the project was too complex to be depicted completely in graphic format. You began using a work breakdown structure code of accounts to:

Determine the complexity of the project
Identify the level at which individual WBS elements are found
Help in automating the WBS using appropriate software
Present justification for completing the project

Answer 13

Answer: B Explanation: The WBS is finalized by establishing control accounts for the work packages and a unique identifier from a code of accounts. These identifiers provide a structure for hierarchical summation of costs, schedule, and resource information.

Question 14

14. You advocate active participation of your team members; this is because you believe in:

Theory Y (McGregor Model)
Theory X (McGregor Model)
Maslow`s hierarchy of needs
Referent Power

Answer 14

Answer: A Explanation: Douglas McGregor advocates that most workers can be categorized according to two theories: Theory X: This assumes that the workers are inherently lazy and require supervision Theory Y: The average worker finds physical and mental effort on the job satisfying and likes his work.

Question 15

15. Which of the following is the most widely used contract type?

Cost plus incentive fee contracts
Fixed price incentive fee contracts
Cost plus award fee contracts
Firm Fixed Price Contract

Answer 15

Answer: D Explanation: Firm fixed price contracts (FFP) is the most commonly used contract type. (And the type that is easier to budget for, typically provides the lowest risk, and requires no day-to-day administration.)

Question 16

Please refer to the diagram given (all units are in days). What is the project float if management wants to complete this project within 13 days?
0 days
- 3 days
2 days
Cannot be determined, because information given in the question is incomplete

Answer 16

Answer: B Explanation: The possible paths are as follows:
Start -> Task1 -> Task2 -> Task4-> End: 10
Start -> Task3 -> Task5 -> Task7-> End: 15
Start -> Task6 -> Task7 -> End: 15
Start -> Task1 -> Task2 -> Task3 -> Task5 -> Task7 -> End: 16
The critical path is 16. If the project has to be completed within 13 days, the project float is - 3 days (i.e., 13 - 16) A project may have a negative project float. To deal with such conditions, if the project has to be completed on time, the project manager will have to either fast-track or crash the project schedule.

Question 17

17. You use issue logs or action item logs to document and monitor the resolution of issues. You focus on documentation and timely resolution of issues, because unresolved issues can:

Be escalated to the project sponsor.
Become a major source of conflict if ignored.
Become undetermined risks in the project.
Have adverse effect on all project parameters.

Answer 17

Answer: B Explanation: Issues are clearly stated and categorized based on urgency and their potential to impact the project. An owner is assigned an action for resolution, and target date is usually established for closure. Unresolved issues can be a major source of conflict and project delays.

Question 18

18. Your project is almost complete, when the customer requests an additional feature in the project`s final product. The BEST course of action is to:

Include the feature, as it will improve customer satisfaction.
Include the feature – otherwise the product will not be accepted by the customer.
Talk with the customer and explain that the new feature does not make business sense.
Follow your change control process.

Answer 18

Answer: D Explanation: Option D is the best available choice. Option A and Option B are not recommended, because this requirement was not in the initial scope of work. Agreeing to include this requirement now will impact your project deliverables. Option C assumes that you know more about the business needs than the customer, which may not be true.

Question 19

19. You and the other Project Management Staff are using cost aggregation, reserve analysis, expert judgment, and funding limit reconciliation to establish a cost performance baseline. This is performed during which process?

Control Costs
Determine Budget
Estimate Costs
Create WBS

Answer 19

Answer: B Explanation: Knowing your tools & techniques is how you get this one right. Aggregate means “add” it all up. Determine Budget is the process of aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized cost baseline. Cost aggregation, reserve analysis, expert judgment, historical relationships, and funding limit reconciliation are all the tools/techniques used in this process.

Question 20

20. Graphical representations of situations showing cause-and-effect, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes are also referred to as:

S-curve charts
Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT)
Causal influence diagrams
Run charts or scatter diagrams

Answer 20

Answer: C Explanation: These are graphical representations showing causal influences, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes.

Question 21

21. During executing, all the following statements are apply, except:

Most of the project budget will be expended during the Executing Process Group.
The project manager and the team implement the planned methods and standards.
The project manager will review/verify all information from the current phase-end closures.
The project manager and the team manage risks and implement risk contingency plans.

Answer 21

Answer: C Explanation: When closing the project, the project manager will review all prior information from the previous phase closures to ensure that all project work is complete and that the project has met its objectives.

Question 22

22. Determining the required levels of quality for the project is the responsibility of:

Project Sponsor
Project Manager/Project Management Staff
Project Team
All stakeholders in the project

Answer 22

Answer: B Explanation: The Project Manager and the Project Management Staff are responsible for managing the tradeoffs involved to deliver the required levels of both quality and grade.

Question 23

23. You understand that managing stakeholder engagement is an important priority. Which statement on project stakeholders is NOT correct?

Negative stakeholders should be ignored if the project has to be successfully completed.
Stakeholders have varying levels of responsibility and authority when participating on a project and these can change over the course of the project life cycle.
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognize our own as well as other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different feelings, and to use this information to guide thinking/behavior.
Stakeholder expectations may be difficult to manage, because stakeholders often have very different or conflicting objectives.

Answer 23

Answer: A Explanation: In the case of stakeholders with positive expectations from the project, their interests are best served by helping the project succeed. The interests of negative stakeholders are served by impeding the project`s progress. Overlooking negative stakeholders can result in an increased likelihood of failure.

Question 24

24. You need to verify whether deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria. For this purpose, which of the following tools/techniques would you rely on?

Inspection
Expert judgment
Observations
Focus groups

Answer 24

Answer: A Explanation: Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and verifying to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria.

Question 25

25. Two project team members disagree often on the best way to handle an issue. You ask them to look at the positives and negatives of their approaches and submit their recommendations, which could be a “middle path.” Which of the following conflict resolution techniques have you used?

Smoothing
Compromising
Confrontation
Withdrawal

Answer 25

Answer: B Explanation: Both sides give a little.

Question 26

26. You had conducted an independent estimate to find out the cost of sub-contracting the manufacturing of 1,000,000 ball-bearings for your automobile company. You estimated the cost to be $500 per bearing. However, when you asked for bids and proposals from prospective sellers, the minimum price quoted was $750 per bearing. The reasons for the variance in the estimate could be all the following, EXCEPT:

The procurement statement of work was not clear.
The prospective sellers misunderstood the procurement statement of work.
The procurement statement of work was not sufficient.
There have been no major changes in the cost of material and labor since last year.

Answer 26

Answer: D Explanation: Significant differences in cost estimates can be an indication that the procurement statement of work was deficient, ambiguous, and/or that the prospective sellers either misunderstood or failed to respond fully to the procurement statement of work.