- ________ is typically not referred to as a buffer type in critical chain project management.Resource buffer
Free buffer
Feeding buffer
Project buffer
Free buffer
A company has to make a choice between two projects, because the available resources in money and kind are not sufficient to run both at the same time. Each project would take 9 months and would cost $250,000.
The first project is a process optimization which would result in a cost reduction of $120,000 per year. This benefit would be achieved immediately after the end of the project.
The second project would be the development of a new product which could produce the following net profits after the end of the project:
1. year: $ 15,000
2. year: $ 125,000
3. year: $ 220,000
Assumed is a discount rate of 5% per year. Looking at the present values of the benefits of these projects in the first 3 years, what is true?
Both projects are equally attractive. The first project is more attractive by app. 7%. The second project is more attractive by app. 5%. The first project is more attractive by app. 3%.
The first project is more attractive by app. 3%.
- A production process has been defined as part of an industrial equipment manufacturing project. The process is intended to produce steel bolts with a length of 20 cm. The control limits are 19.955cm and 20.045cm.
The measurements made at the end of the process yielded the following results:
20.033cm, 19.982cm, 19,995cm, 20.006cm, 19.970cm, 19.968cm, 19.963cm, 19.958cm, 19.962cm, 19.979cm, 19.959cm.
What should be done?
The process is under control. It should not be adjusted. A special cause should be investigated, the process should be adjusted. The control limits should be adjusted. The measuring equipment should be recalibrated.
A special cause should be investigated, the process should be adjusted.
In order to speed up a project, you made a decision to fast-track a phase currently performed with five team members, and another one which was planned to begin in four weeks time with another five team members.
Which of the following activities should you do first?
Make sure that all exit criteria of the consecutive phase have been met to ensure the flow of communications in a team situation which is more complex by a factor of 2. Make sure that all entry criteria of the previous phase have been met by planning and performing a phase gate meeting to assess technical aptness. Make sure that all exit criteria of the previous phase have been met by planning and performing a phase gate meeting to assess technical performance. Restructure your team and delegate tasks in order to ensure the flow of communications in a team with the number of communication channels increased by a factor of 4.5.
Restructure your team and delegate tasks in order to ensure the flow of communications in a team with the number of communication channels increased by a factor of 4.5.
- You found the following earned value analysis information for a project that was recently closed-out:
SPI = 0.7, CPI = 1.0
The project has been cancelled while it was executed. At that time the project was behind schedule and on budget. The project's deliverables have all been finished. The project came in behind schedule but on budget. The project's deliverables have all been finished. The project came in ahead of schedule but on budget. The project's deliverables have all been finished. The project came in on schedule but over budget.
The project has been cancelled while it was executed. At that time the project was behind schedule and on budget.
In a traditionally drawn decision tree, a circle represents ___________.
a chance to which no expected monetary value can be assigned so that a likely pay-off can not be shown.
a decision to which no expected monetary value can be assigned so that a likely pay-off can not be shown.
a chance to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.
a decision to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.
a chance to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.
You are running a project for a customer based on a cost-reimbursable contract with the following terms:
Target costs: $ 1,000,000 Fixed fee: $ 100,000 Benefit/cost sharing: 80% / 20% Price ceiling: $ 1,200,000 Which is the PTA (= point of total assumption, break point) of the project?
$1,300,000 $1,500,000 $80,000 $1,125,000
$1,125,000
Start dates in the following network logic diagram are defined as early morning, finish dates are evening.
If tasks are scheduled to begin at early start date, what is true?
16 21
ACTIVITY B
26 31
Activity B has a free float of 10 d. Activity B has a total float of 10 d. Activity A has a free float of 10 d. Activity A has a total float of 10 d.
Activity B has a free float of 10 d.
Difference between Free and total float
- A project management team wants to procure some customized products which are available in identical grade and quality from many vendors. What should be included in the procurement package to ensure that their offers will be comparable?A statement of work describing the needs of the project in sufficient detail to enable vendors to make suitable proposals
A statement of work specifying attributes and metrics of the requested deliverables in detail to allow vendors submission of bids
The approved project scope statement, the WBS which should be broken down to work package level and the WBS dictionary
The risk management plan and the reports from those risk management reviews which have been made so far
A statement of work specifying attributes and metrics of the requested deliverables in detail to allow vendors submission of bids
You are assigned as the project manager to a project which is executed for a customer under FP contract. Your customer informed you this morning that they insist on certain “refinements” of the project scope.
You agree that the requested actions make really sense to the project, but believe that they constitute a major change increasing the project scope. What should you do next?
Accept the request of the customer. Diligently document the additional costs and working hours spent by yourself and the team on the implementation of the change and invoice these to the customer at appropriate rates. Perform earned value analysis to assess the current status of the project and get all the numbers you need to communicate the case to the change control board which then will have to make the best decision regarding the customer request. Check the contract, the project charter, the scope statement and other documents related to the project and the contract. Implement ADR (alternative dispute resolution) procedures if the conflict cannot be resolved otherwise. Talk to the project sales department and find a joint solution with them how to best reject the request considering the commercial and strategic value of the customer to the organization you are working for.
Check the contract, the project charter, the scope statement and other documents related to the project and the contract. Implement ADR (alternative dispute resolution) procedures if the conflict cannot be resolved otherwise.
- A prime contractor in a customer project under CPFF contract has run into unexpected technical problems. Fixing them will require a lot of additional work to be done.
The company made a decision to book more staff and equipment from their subcontractors in order to adhere to the agreed timeline. The customer agreed to this decision.
What will most likely happen?
The contractor‘s indirect costs will increase and the customer‘s payment for them will increase, too. The contractor‘s indirect costs will increase, but the customer‘s payment for them will not increase. The contractor‘s indirect costs will not increase, but the customer‘s payment for them will. Both the contractor's indirect costs and the customer‘s payment for them will not increase.
Both the contractor’s indirect costs and the customer‘s payment for them will not increase.
- A project management team is evaluating the causes that might contribute to unsatisfactory performance and quality. Which of the following statements is not true?Normal process variation is attributable to random causes and sometimes also called “white noise”.
Special causes are easier to predict and handle than random causes (also called common causes).
Special causes are unusual events which are difficult to foresee and often produce outliers.
A process can be optimized to limit the bandwidth of variations due to random causes.
Special causes are easier to predict and handle than random causes (also called common causes).
- You want to perform active risk acceptance. What should you do?Create contingency reserves in resources, money and time.
Develop a plan to minimize impact in case that an identified risk occurs.
Develop a plan to minimize the probability of occurrence for identified risks.
Make additional resources available to speed up the project.
Create contingency reserves in resources, money and time.
project manager made 3-point estimates on a critical path and found the following results:
Assuming ±3 sigma precision level for each estimate, what is the standard deviation of the allover path?
App. 4.2 days App. 5.2 days App. 6.2 days You can not derive the path standard deviation from the information given.
App. 5.2 days
. Activity 1 has a duration of 20 days, activity 2 of 10 days, activity 3 of 5 days and activity 4 of 6 days.
What is the minimum total duration between the milestones A and B?
36 days 37 days 39 days 42 days
37 days
31 2 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, pp 156 and 158
Which of the following statement(s) on whistleblowing is/are not true?
a. It is a term used to define an employee’s decision to disclose information on unethical, immoral or illegal actions at work to an authority figure.
b. An employee should always discuss the matter with people external to the company before following the “chain of command” and discuss it with the immediate superior.
c. The consequences of whistleblowing are often extreme and might include being branded as an owner of bad judgment, layoff, civil action and imprisonment.
d. Carefully performed whistleblowing can lead to the end of unethical business practices.
a
b
b, c
c, d
b. An employee should always discuss the matter with people external to the company before following the “chain of command” and discuss it with the immediate superior.
- Which of the following statements is not true?Attribute sampling is the process of assessing whether results conform to specifications or not.
Prevention means keeping errors out of the process by applying actions before the process starts changing its input.
Variables sampling means that the result is classified into one of the 3 categories:
“acceptable” - “acceptable after rework” - “rejected”.
Inspection is often mainly done to keep errors out of the hands of the customer instead of as a means of process control.
34 3 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, p 250
- Which statement describes best why you should document assumptions?Assumptions might prove to be wrong. Knowing which assumptions were incorrect allows baseline adjustments in case of project crisis.
Assumption analysis is a valuable tool and technique to explore the validity of assumptions during risk identification.
Assumptions limit the project management team’s options for decision making because they can not be controlled by the team.
In case of schedule or budget overruns, the documentation of assumptions supports a clear assignment of responsibility.
Assumption analysis is a valuable tool and technique to explore the validity of assumptions during risk identification.
- Which is normally not regarded as an element of cost of quality?Prevention costs
Maintenance cost
Appraisal costs
Failure costs
Maintenance cost
35 2 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, p 324
- You have recently been assigned as a project manager to a new B-O-T (build, operate, transfer) capital project. Reviewing the initial documentation you found out that it has been calculated with a very small margin during operations of its product for the shareholders. What should you do?As you are not responsible for lifecycle costing, you don’t have to worry about operation profits. Focus on project costs from initiation through handover.
Ensure maximum profits by buying the best and cheapest items, components and modules―potentially from a big number of different suppliers―and integrating them.
Create a realistic plan broken down to a sufficient level of detail. Perform all risk management processes. Ensure real-time communications with all stakeholders.
Try to get a second project manager assigned to share decision making and accountability to shareholders with the person.
Create a realistic plan broken down to a sufficient level of detail. Perform all risk management processes. Ensure real-time communications with all stakeholders.
PMBOK® Guide of responsibility for unrealistic expectations by management)
- Which statement on conflicts is true?
Conflict resolution should focus on people, not issues.
Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.
Conflict should always be handled in private and not in the team.
Too much openness is a common cause of conflict.
Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.
40 2 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, pp 283-284
- What is a trigger in project risk management?An expected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur
A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred
An unexpected situation causing an identified risk to occur
An unexpected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur
A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred
42 2 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, p 566
In a software company a large number of simultaneously performed projects utilize the same groups of human and other resources.
What is the term commonly used for this situation?
Concurrent engineering Resource over-allocation Resource pooling Program management
Resource pooling
- You have used estimates made by your team members and applied the critical path method to compute a network logic diagram for your project. Then you found out that it cannot be sufficiently optimized for scarce resources and fast progress towards a given deadline. What should you do next?Apply resource leveling heuristics to uncritical activities only.
Reduce estimates on duration and work efforts by an adequate percentage.
Apply Three-point estimation and critical chain project management.
Remove physical constraints and replace hard logic with soft logic.
Apply Three-point estimation and critical chain project management.
46 3 PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, pp 150 (Three-point estimating) and 178
