Mock 1

Question 1

1. You recently took over a relatively new project expected to last another seven years. The previous project manager completed most of the WBS. When you begin to define the project activities, you realize that the WBS work packages expected to occur in the next year are planned in detail, but the work packages for later in the future (three years or more) are not planned with much detail, if any detail at all. You determine—
   a. It is a major problem. The WBS is incomplete and you need to redefine the project scope to complete the project schedule.
   b. It is a problem that must be resolved quickly. The previous project manager was not done with the WBS, and you must stop the project to complete the WBS in sufficient detail.
   c. It is not a problem at this time. The previous project manager was using the rolling wave planning technique, so you are able to continue defining the activities.
   d. It is not a problem at this time. You can only plan what you know. You plan to communicate to the project sponsor that the WBS is not sufficient to plan the whole project and that the sponsor can worry about the details.

Answer 1

1. c. It is not a problem at this time. The previous project manager was using the rolling wave planning technique, so you are able to continue defining the activities.

Rolling wave planning provides progressive detailing of the work to be accomplished throughout the life of the project. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 131, 152

Question 2

2. In the initial stage of the project life cycle, the project’s technical objectives are apt to be understood only in a general sense. A major component of project conflict during this stage of the project is—
   a. Concerns over priorities and procedures
   b. Concerns about technical issues
   c. Schedules
   d. Confusion of establishing a project in the matrix management environment

Answer 2

2. d. Confusion of establishing a project in the matrix management environment

During project formation, there is always an element of confusion or lack of clarity regarding the balance of power between the project manager and functional managers. If not resolved, such confusion manifests itself in conflicts regarding technical decisions, resource allocation, and scheduling later in the project. [Executing]

Meredith and Mantel 2012, 151–152

Question 3

3. On your project to construct a new runway for your City’s airport, you are in the process of selecting vendors for various parts of this project. You have conducted your make-or-buy analysis and have issued Requests for Proposals. You believe it is important to examine past performance of potential vendors. This means you are using—
   a. Proposal evaluation techniques
   b. Multi-disciplinary review teams
   c. Analytical techniques
   d. Independent estimates

Answer 3

3. c. Analytical techniques

Analytical techniques are a tool and technique n conduct procurements. They are used to help organizations identify the readiness of a vendor to provide the desired end state, determine costs to support budgeting, and avoid cost overruns In evaluating past performance they identify areas that have more risk and that may need to be monitored closely for project success. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 376

Question 4

5. Change control procedures, configuration management knowledge base, versions, and baselines in the develop project management plan process are:
   a. Enterprise environmental factors
   b. Organizational process assets
   c. Part of the project’s configuration management plan, which as a subsidiary plan will be part of the project management plan
   d. Part of the organization’s management practices

Answer 4

5. b. Organizational process assets

Organizational process assets include formal and informal plans, policies, procedures, and guidelines. As an input to the develop project management plan process, they include the items listed as well as standardized guidelines, instructions, proposal evaluation criteria, and performance measurement criteria; project management plan template; change control procedures; project files from previous projects; and historical information and lessons learned [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 75

Question 5

4. Requirements typically are classified into product requirements and project requirements. Capturing and managing both types of requirements is important for project success, so you and your team decided to follow this classification system on your project to modernize all the telecommunications equipment in your company. During such an approach, all the following are examples of productrequirements EXCEPT—
   a. Action requirements
   b. Level of service requirements
   c. Security requirements
   d. Performance requirements

Answer 5

4. a. Action requirements

Such classification systems are helpful in both defining and documenting stakeholder needs to meet project objectives. Project requirements are ones that involve actions, processes, or other conditions the project needs to meet. [Planning]PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 112

Question 6

6. You are managing a project that has five subcontractors. You must monitor contract performance, make payments, and manage provider interface. One subcontractor submitted a change request to expand the scope of its work. You decided to award a contract modification based on a review of this request. All these activities are part of—
   a. Control procurements
   b. Conduct procurements
   c. Form contract
   d. Configuration management

Answer 6

6. a. Control procurements

The purpose of control procurements is to ensure that the contractual requirements are met by the seller. This objective is accomplished by managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance and making changes and corrections to contracts if appropriate. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 379

Question 7

7. Although the project charter serves to state the project manager’s authority and responsibility on the project, the project manager further requires which type of power in order to be an effective leader?
   a. Expert
   b. Legitimate
   c. Position
   d. Referent

Answer 7

7. a. Expert

Expert power is a function of knowledge, skills, and reputation possessed by the project manager. In such situations, project personnel will do what the project manager wants because they believe he or she knows best, and they trust and respect the project manager. [Executing]

Adams et al. 1997, 174–180

Verma 2005, 54

Levin 2010, 163

Question 8

8. The performance measurement baseline consists of all the following EXCEPT—
   a. Scope baseline
   b. Requirements baseline
   c. Schedule baseline
   d. Cost baseline

Answer 8

8. b. Requirements baseline

The scope, schedule, and cost baselines may be combined into a performance measurement baseline. It also may include technical and quality parameters. It then is used as an overall project baseline against which project execution is compared to measure and manage performance. It also is used for earned value measurements. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 302, 549

Question 9

9. While working as the project manager on a new project to improve overall ease of use in the development of a railroad switching station, you have decided to add a subject matter expert who specializes in ergonomics to your team. She has decided to observe the existing approach as you and your team work to define requirements for the new system. This method is also called—
   a. Mentoring
   b. Coaching
   c. Job shadowing
   d. User experimentation

Answer 9

9. c. Job shadowing

Observations are a tool and technique in the collect requirements process. They provide a way to view individuals in their environment and to see how they perform their jobs or tasks and carry out processes. Another term for this approach is job shadowing and usually is done by an observer viewing the user performing his or her job. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 116

Question 10

10. In addition to providing support to the project, quality assurance also provides an umbrella for—
    a. Plan-do-check-act
    b. Continuous process improvement
    c. Project management maturity
    d. Work performance information

Answer 10

10. b. Continuous process improvement

Continuous process improvement provides an iterative means for improving the quality of all processes and is part of the definition of quality assurance. Its objective is to reduce waste and eliminate non–value-added activities. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 242–243

Question 11

11. As you manage the railroad switching station project, you are concerned that the business analyst who was responsible for preparing the WBS may have overlooked some parts of the project. In order to see if the WBS requires enhancements you decide to—
    a. Perform a cause-and-effect diagram
    b. Meet with your sponsor
    c. Use an affinity diagram
    d. Review the accompanying WBS Dictionary with a member of the PMO

Answer 11

11. c. Use an affinity diagram

In quality assurance an affinity diagram is used to generate ideas that can be linked to form organized patterns of thought about a problem. Using them in project management, one can enhance the creation of the WBS by using it to give structure to the decomposition of scope. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 245

Question 12

12. Assume that your company is working under a fixed-price-incentive contract. It has a target cost of $100,000, a target profit of 10%, a price ceiling of $120,000, and a share formula of 80/20. Assume that your company completes all of the work but has actual costs of $110,000. What is the final value of this procurement?
    a. $120,000
    b. $132,000
    c. $118,000
    d. $110,000

Answer 12

12. c. $118,000

In this situation, there is a $10,000 overrun from the target costs. Applying the 80/20 share ratio, the seller’s share of the overrun is 20% of $10,000 or a minus $2,000 in earned fee. The final value of this procurement is $110,000 in costs, plus a seller fee of $10,000 less $2,000, or $8,000 for a final price of $118,000. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Fleming 2003, 92

Question 13

13. If you apply the configuration management system along with change control processes project wide, you will achieve all but one of the which following objectives?
    a. Provide the basis for which the product configuration is defining
    b. List the approved configuration identification
    c. Document the specific responsibilities of each stakeholder in the perform integrated change control process
    d. Ensure the composition of a project’s configuration items is correct

Answer 13

13. c. Document the specific responsibilities of each stakeholder in the perform integrated change control process

Configuration management is an integral part of the perform integrated change control process. It is necessary because projects by their nature involve changes. The integrity of baselines must be maintained by releasing only approved changes for incorporation into the project’s products or services and by maintaining their related configuration and planning documentation. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 96–97

Question 14

14. You need to outsource the testing function of your project. Your subcontracts department informed you that the following document must be prepared before conducting the procurement:
    a. Make-or-buy analysis
    b. Procurement management plan
    c. Evaluation methodology
    d. Contract terms and conditions

Answer 14

14. b. Procurement management plan

The procurement management plan describes how the project management team will acquire goods and services from outside the performing organization. It describes how the procurement processes will be used from developing procurement documents through closing contracts. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 366–367

Question 15

15. Constraints common to projects include—
    a. Scope, quality, schedule, budget, and risk
    b. Scope, teaming, planning, and resources
    c. Scope
    d. Resources and communication

Answer 15

15. a. Scope, quality, schedule, budget, and risk

The constraints include, but are not limited to scope, schedule, budget (cost), quality, resources, and risk. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 6

Question 16

16. You are developing a project charter and want to ensure that any changes that may occur after the project begins will be controlled rigorously. You have consulted your company’s configuration management knowledge base, and it contains versions and baselines of all the following official company documents EXCEPT—
    a. Standards
    b. Strategic plans
    c. Policies
    d. Procedures

Answer 16

16. b. Strategic plans

The configuration management knowledge base is an organizational process asset. It contains the versions and baselines of all company policies, practices, procedures, and standards, as well as pertinent project documents. [Initiating]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 98

Question 17

18. Your project management office implemented a project management methodology that emphasizes the importance of integrated change control. It states that change requests can occur in all the following forms EXCEPT—
    a. Indirect
    b. Legally mandated
    c. Informal
    d. Internally initiated

Answer 17

18. c. Informal

Change requests are an input to the perform integrated change control process. Although occurring in many forms, they must be formal requests developed within the context of a change control system consisting of documented procedures. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 96, 531

Question 18

17. To identify inefficient and ineffective policies, processes, and procedures in use on a project, you should conduct—
    a. An inspection
    b. A process analysis
    c. Benchmarking
    d. A quality audit

Answer 18

17. d. A quality audit

A quality audit is a tool and technique for the perform quality assurance process. It is primarily used to determine whether the project team is complying with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 247

Question 19

20. A number of tools and techniques are helpful in the perform integrated change control process. If you want to implement an integrated change control process, you should use—
    a. Configuration management software
    b. A project management information system
    c. Project status review meetings
    d. Change control meetings

Answer 19

20. d. Change control meetings

Often, a project will set up a change control board, which has the responsibility for meeting and reviewing the change requests, and approving, rejecting, or other disposition of the changes. Decisions of the board are documented and communicated to stakeholders for information and follow-up actions. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 99

Question 20

19. Configuration management describes procedures for applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance. Which one of the following tasks is NOT performed in configuration management?
    a. Identifying functional and physical characteristics of an item or system
    b. Controlling changes to characteristics
    c. Performing an audit to verify conformance to requirements
    d. Allowing automatic approval of changes

Answer 20

19. d. Allowing automatic approval of changes

Allowing for automatic approval of defined changes is a function of the change control system, not configuration management. Configuration management ensures that the description of the project product is correct and complete. The change control system consists of a set of procedures to describe how modifications to project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled. [Monitoring and Controlling]PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 94, 96, and 531

Question 21

21. Having worked previously as a software project manager, you were pleased to be appointed as the project manager for a new systems integration project designed to replace the existing air traffic control system in your country. You found a requirements traceability matrix to be helpful on software projects, so you decided to use it on this systems integration project. Using such a matrix helps to ensure that each requirement—
    a. Adds quality and supports the organization’s quality policy
    b. Adds business value as it links to business and project objectives
    c. Sets forth the level of service, performance, safety, security, and compliance
    d. Shows the impact to other organizational areas and to entities outside of the performing organization

Answer 21

21. b. Adds business value as it links to business and project objectives

The requirements traceability matrix is a table that links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the life cycle. This approach helps to ensure that each requirement adds value as it links to the business and project objectives. It also tracks requirements during the life cycle to help ensure that the requirements listed in the requirements document are delivered at the end of the project. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 118

Question 22

22. During the closing phase of the project, the top-ranked source of conflict is—
    a. Schedule
    b. Administrative procedures
    c. Cost
    d. Human resources

Answer 22

22. a. Schedule

In many projects, there is a rush to finish because of schedule slippages that develop in the execution/implementation phase. Delays in schedules become cumulative and impact the project most severely in the final stages of the project. While there are other sources of conflict, such as personalities and cost, attempting to finish on time is always on everyone’s mind. [Closing]

Verma 1996, 103 and 105

Question 23

23. Which of the following ensures that requested changes to deliverables are thoroughly considered as part of the performintegrated change control process?
    a. Scope change control system
    b. Configuration management system
    c. Change control board
    d. Configuration status audits

Answer 23

23. b. Configuration management system

The formal configuration management system is an important tool and technique for scope control and focuses on deliverables and documents. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 96–97

Question 24

24. Which of the following tools is used in process analysis to determine the underlying causes of defects?
    a. Root cause analysis
    b. Assumptions analysis
    c. Cost-benefit analysis
    d. Quality metrics

Answer 24

24. a. Root cause analysis

Determining the root cause of the problem means to determine the origin of the problem. What may appear to be the problem on the surface is often revealed, after further analysis, not to be the real cause of the problem. Process analysis includes root cause analysis used to identify as problem, discover the underlying causes that lead to it and develop preventive actions. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 247

Question 25

25. All of the following statements concerning validate scope and control quality are true EXCEPT—
    a. The processes can be performed in parallel
    b. Both processes use inspection as a tool and technique
    c. Validate scope is concerned with the acceptance of deliverables, and control quality is concerned with meeting quality requirements for the deliverables
    d. Validate scope verification typically precedes control quality

Answer 25

25. d. Validate scope typically precedes control quality

Validate scope focuses on accepting project deliverables, and to be accepted, they must meet the requirements. Control quality is one way to ensure that the requirements have been met, which is why control quality typically is done before validate scope. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 134

Question 26

26. Consider a company that sells products to consumers: as one product begins the deterioration and death phases of its life cycle (or the divestment phase of a system), new products or projects must be established. This means that—
    a. The company requires a continuous stream of projects to survive
    b. The company is not at a high level of maturity
    c. The company is in a period of overall decline
    d. The company definitely lacks a balanced portfolio

Answer 26

26. a. The company requires a continuous stream of projects to survive

Organizations that rely on products for their revenue must constantly be introducing new products into the marketplace as old products are removed. Ideally, this should be an overlapping process to maintain balanced or increasing revenue over time. The closure phase evaluates the efforts of the total system and serves as input to the conceptual phase for new projects and systems. It also has an impact on other ongoing projects with regard to identifying priorities. [Closing]

Kerzner 2009, 69–70

Question 27

27. You are in the process of performing quality assurance on your product and find that some requirements are not as complete as they should be, which causes rework and adds costs to your overall project. The term for all costs incurred over the life of the product by investing in appraising and inspecting the product for conformance and nonconformance to requirements is called—
    a. Life-cycle costs
    b. Expected value
    c. Cost of conformance
    d. Cost of quality

Answer 27

27. d. Cost of quality

Cost of quality involves both the cost of conformance and the cost of non-conformance. Examples of the cost of conformance are divided into two categories prevention costs and appraisal cots (includes inspections). Costs of non-conformance include internal failure costs and external failure costs. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 235

Question 28

28. The project scope baseline should be used in the identify risks process because it—
    a. Identifies project assumptions
    b. Identifies all work that must be done; therefore, it includes all risks on the project
    c. Helps organize all work that must be done on the project
    d. Contains information on risks from prior projects

Answer 28

28. a. Identifies project assumptions

Project assumptions, which should be enumerated in the project scope baseline in the scope statement, are areas of uncertainty, and therefore, potential causes of project risk. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 322

Question 29

29. Although there are various tools and techniques to consider as you collect requirements on your project, one approach that supports the concept of progressive elaboration is—
    a. Idea/mind mapping
    b. Affinity diagrams
    c. Prototypes
    d. Joint Application Design® sessions

Answer 29

29. c. Prototypes

Prototypes are used to obtain early feedback on requirements by providing a working model of the expected product before it is built. Stakeholders then can experiment with this model rather than discussing abstract representations of requirements. This approach supports progressive elaboration, because it is used in iterative cycles of mock-up creation, user experimentation, feedback generation, and prototype revision. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 116

Question 30

30. Tools and techniques used to perform quality assurance include—
    a. Tools from control quality and plan quality management
    b. Tools from performance reporting
    c. Variance analysis
    d. Direct and manage project execution

Answer 30

30. a. Tools from control quality and plan quality management

The tools used from plan quality management and control quality are used in perform quality assurance. The perform quality assurance process also uses affinity diagrams, process decision program charts, interrelationship digraphs, tree diagrams, prioritization matrices, activity network diagrams, matrix diagrams, quality audits, and process analysis. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 245–247

Question 31

31. An approach to provide insight into the health of the project and to identify any areas that require special attention is to—
    a. Conduct periodic status reviews
    b. Prepare regular status and progress reports
    c. Prepare forecasts of the project’s future
    d. Continuously monitor the project

Answer 31

31. d. Continuously monitor the project

The monitor and control project work process is performed throughout the project and includes collecting, measuring, and disseminating performance information and assessing measurements and trends to effect process improvement. Continuous monitoring is important because it provides insight into the project’s health, highlighting areas requiring special attention. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 88

Question 32

32. Although your company’s project life cycle does not mandate when a project review should be conducted, you believe it is important to review performance at the conclusion of each phase. The objective of such a review is to—
    a. Determine how many resources are required to complete the project according to the project baseline
    b. Adjust the schedule and cost baselines based on past performance
    c. Obtain customer acceptance of project deliverables
    d. Determine whether the project should continue to the next phase

Answer 32

32. d. Determine whether the project should continue to the next phase

The review at the end of a project phase is called a phase-end review. The purpose of this review is to determine whether the project should continue to the next phase for detecting and correcting errors while they are still manageable and for ensuring that the project remains focused on the business need it was undertaken to address. [Initiating]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 41, 549

Question 33

33. The key management skills required during the adjourning stage of team development include all but which one of the following?
    a. Evaluating
    b. Reviewing
    c. Celebrating
    d. Improving

Answer 33

33. c. Celebrating

During the adjourning stage of team development, the emphasis is on tasks and relationships that promote closure and celebration. There is recognition and satisfaction as the theme is moving on and separation. Management skills involve evaluating, reviewing, and improving, while leadership qualities are celebrating and bringing closure. [Executing]

Verma 1997, 40; PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 276

Question 34

34. Assume that your actual costs are $1,000; your planned value is $1,200; and your earned value is $1,500. Based on these data, what can be determined regarding your schedule variance?
    a. At –$300, the physical progress is being accomplished at a slower rate than is planned, indicating an unfavorable situation.
    b. At +$300, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished ahead of your plan.
    c. At +$500, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished at a lower cost than was forecasted.
    d. At –$300, you have a behind-schedule condition, and your critical path has slipped.

Answer 34

34. b. At +$300, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished ahead of your plan.

Schedule variance is calculated as EV – PV, or $1,500 – $1,200 = +$300. Because the SV is positive, physical progress is being accomplished at a faster rate than planned. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Kerzner 2009, 648–649; PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 224

Question 35

35. The key to effective cost control is—
    a. Using earned value to forecast project status
    b. Focusing on projected expenditures and actively networking with key stakeholders to ensure funds will be available as requested
    c. Informing stakeholders of the project’s cost status
    d. Managing the approved cost baseline and any changes to it

Answer 35

35. d. Managing the approved cost baseline and any changes to it

The control costs process involves monitoring the project’s status to update the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline. Its benefit is that is provides the means to recognize variance in order to take corrective action and minimize risks. Therefore, effective management of the approved cost baseline and any changes is imperative. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 215–216

Question 36

36. The CPI on your project is 0.44, which means that you should—
    a. Place emphasis on improving the timeliness of the physical progress
    b. Reassess the life-cycle costs of your product, including the length of the life-cycle phase
    c. Place emphasis on improving the productivity by which work was being performed
    d. Recognize that your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation

Answer 36

36. d. Recognize that your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation

CPI = EV/AC. It measures the efficiency of the physical progress accomplished compared to the baseline. A CPI of 0.44 means that for every dollar spent, you are only receiving 44 cents of progress. Therefore, something is not correct with how you planned your project, or your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation. You might want to reconsider a formal “replan” and/or take a new baseline of your project. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Kerzner 2009, 650–652; PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 224

Question 37

37. Project deliverables are the outputs that include the product, service, or result of the project as well as ancillaryresults. These ancillary results should be in the—
    a. Requirements management plan
    b. Scope management plan
    c. Project scope statement
    d. Project acceptance criteria

Answer 37

37. c. Project scope statement

The project scope statement describes in detail the deliverables and what work must be done to prepare them. Ancillary results are also considered deliverables and are included in the project scope statement. They include items such as project management reports and documentation. Deliverables in the project scope statement may be described at a summary level or in a detailed way. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 123

Question 38

38. Which of the following tools and techniques is used in the close project or phase process?
    a. Project management methodology
    b. Work performance information
    c. Expert judgment
    d. Project management information system

Answer 38

38. c. Expert judgment

According to the PMBOK® Guide, expert judgment is use in close project or phase to ensure closure is performed to appropriate standards. [Closing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 102

Question 39

39. After the project scope statement is complete, it may be necessary to update other project documents. All the following are examples of a document that may require updates EXCEPT—
    a. Project charter
    b. Stakeholder register
    c. Requirements documentation
    d. Requirements traceability matrix

Answer 39

39. a. Project charter

Outputs of the define scope project are the project scope statement and project document updates that include updates to the stakeholder register, requirements documentation, and the requirements traceability matrix. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 125

Question 40

40. A challenge of earned value management is predicting percent complete. The simplest formula to use to calculate EV is—
    a. 0/100 rule
    b. 50/50 rule
    c. (Percent complete) × (budget at completion)
    d. Milestone method

Answer 40

40. c. (Percent complete) × (budget at completion)

Multiplying the percent complete by the budget at completion, or the total budget for the project, is the simplest formula to use. The 50/50 rule, or the more conservative 0/100 rule, can eliminate the necessity for the continuous determination of percent complete. After the percent complete is determined, it can be plotted against time expended. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Kerzner 2009, 656–657

Question 41

42. Assume that on your project, you are using earned value management. Your project is one that has extremely long work packages. Therefore, the method you should use to calculate EV is—
    a. 0/100 rule
    b. Milestone method
    c. Equivalent effort
    d. Apportioned effort

Answer 41

42. b. Milestone method

The milestone method is especially helpful for work packages of long duration that have interim milestones or a functional group of activities with a milestone established at specific control points. In the EV system, value is earned when the milestone is completed. In such cases, a budget is assigned to the milestone rather than to the work packages. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Question 42

41. While managing a large project in your organization, you realize that your project team requires training in contract administration because you will be awarding several major subcontracts. After you analyze your project requirements and assess the expertise of your team members, you decide that your team will need a one-week class in contract administration. This training should—
    a. Commence as scheduled and stated in the staffing management plan
    b. Commence as scheduled and stated as part of the procurement management plan
    c. Be scheduled if necessary after performance assessments are prepared and after each team member has had an opportunity to serve in the contract administrator role
    d. Commence as scheduled and stated in the team development plan

Answer 42

41. a. Commence as scheduled and stated in the staffing management plan

Training is a tool and technique for the develop project team process. The requirements and schedule for the develop project team process should be stated in the staffing management plan. Project team members’ skills can be developed as part of the project activities. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 266, 275

Kerzner 2009, 656

Question 43

43. Your project sponsor has asked you, “What do we now expect the total job to cost?” Given that you are using earned value, you should calculate the—
    a. To-complete performance index
    b. Estimate to complete
    c. Estimate at completion
    d. Budget at completion

Answer 43

43. c. Estimate at completion

EAC is the total amount of money estimated to be spent on the project. It can be calculated several different ways. However, the basic approach is to add the actual costs to date plus the estimate to complete. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Kerzner 2009, 660

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 224

Question 44

44. One key reason that the develop project charter process is so important is that it—
    a. Documents the boundaries of the project
    b. States the methods for acceptance of the project’s deliverables
    c. Describes the project’s characteristics
    d. Links the project to the ongoing work of the organization

Answer 44

44. d. Links the project to the ongoing work of the organization

The project charter not only authorizes a project, it shows how the project is linked to the strategic plan of the organization. Among other things, the project charter documents the business need for the projectand describes the current understanding of the requirements. [Initiating]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 68

Question 45

45. Your company has been awarded a contract for project management consulting services for a major government agency. You were a member of the proposal writing team, are PMP® certified, and you are the project manager. You are now working to prepare your project management plan, which is to be submitted in one week. You decided to use some facilitation techniques to help develop your plan. While a number are possible, you selected—
    a. Conflict resolution
    b. Checklist analysis
    c. SWOT analysis
    d. Assumptions analysis

Answer 45

45. a. Conflict resolution

Facilitation techniques are a tool and technique in develop project management plan process. Other examples are brainstorming, problem solving, and meeting management. They are used to help teams and individuals achieve agreement to accomplish the project’s objectives. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 77

Question 46

46. Assume you had a phase gate meeting with your Governance Board for your project to develop the next generation radar system as part of the nation’s airspace modernization program. At this meeting, the Board approved your project management plan. However, as you begin to execute your plan, an organizational process asset to consider is—
    a. Stakeholder risk tolerances
    b. The organization’s culture
    c. Hiring and firing guidelines
    d. Process measurement data base

Answer 46

46. d. Process measurement data base

The process measurement data base is an organizational process asset that is used to collect and make available measurement data on processes and products. The other answers are examples of enterprise environmental factors used as inputs to direct and manage the project work. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 83

Question 47

47. Consider the data in the table below. Assume that your project consists only of these three activities. Your estimate at completion is $4,400.00. This means you are calculating your EAC by using which of the following formulas?
    a. EAC = AC/EV × BAC
    b. EAC = AC/EV × [work completed and in progress] + [actual (or revised) cost of work packages that have not started]
    c. EAC = [Actual to date] + [all remaining work to be done at the planned cost including remaining work in progress]
    d. EAC =% complete × BAC

Answer 47

47. c. EAC = [Actual to date] + [all remaining work to be done at the planned cost including remaining work in progress]

This formula assumes that all of the remaining work is independent of the burn rate incurred thus far. AC is $2,900 + [$500 + $1,000]. The $500 is from Activity B, and the $1,000 is from Activity C. [Monitoring and Controlling]

Kerzner 2009, 660

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 224

Question 48

48. Rolling wave planning in the create WBS process refers to situations in which—
    a. Certain deliverables or subprojects will be accomplished far into the future
    b. Additional work is added to the project after the scope baseline has been established; therefore, additional decomposition is required
    c. Identification codes for the WBS elements cannot be determined until the schedule activity list is complete in case revisions are required
    d. Subprojects are developed by external organizations and then become part of the WBS for the entire project

Answer 48

48. a. Certain deliverables or subprojects will be accomplished far into the future

Many projects involve deliverables or subprojects that will be accomplished far into the future and cannot be specified in detail at the current time. In these situations, the project management team typically waits until the deliverable or subproject is clarified so that details for that portion of the WBS can be developed. Then a rolling wave planning approach can be used. [Planning]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 131

Question 49

49. The lessons learned documentation is an output from the—
    a. Identify stakeholders process
    b. Develop project management plan process
    c. Manage communications process
    d. Plan communications management process

Answer 49

49. c. Manage communications process

Lessons learned documentation is an output of the manage communications process. It is an element of the organizational process assets updates. It includes the causes of issues, reasons for corrective actions selected, and other types of lessons learned about communications management. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 303

Question 50

50. Your experience has taught you that inappropriate responses to cost variances can produce quality or schedule problems or unacceptable project risk. When leading a team meeting to discuss the importance of cost control, you note that cost control is concerned with—
    a. Influencing the factors that create change to the authorized cost baseline
    b. Developing an approximation of the costs of the resources needed to complete the project
    c. Allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items
    d. Establishing a cost performance baseline

Answer 50

50. a. Influencing the factors that create change to the authorized cost baseline

The control costs process is also concerned with ensuring that requested changes have been acted upon, managing actual changes if and when they occur, ensuring cost expenditures do not exceed authorized funding, monitoring cost performance, preventing unapproved changes from being included in the reported cost or resource use, informing stakeholders of all approved changes and their costs and bringing expected cost overruns within acceptable limits. [Monitoring and Controlling]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 216

Question 51

51. You are pleased to be the project manager for a new video conferencing system for your global organization. You want it to be one that is easy to use and is state of the art. As the project manager, you also are the project leader. You realize leadership is critical throughout the phases of the project and its key elements are—
    a. Respect and trust
    b. Political and cultural awareness
    c. Negotiation and influencing
    d. Decision making and conflict management

Answer 51

51. a. Respect and trust

Leadership is critical to project management as it focuses on ensuring a group of people are working toward a common goal and enables them to work as a team. It involves getting things done through others. Respect and trust, not fear and submission, are its key elements. [Executing]

PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2013, 513