PMP TEST 2.2 Flashcards
3
You are in charge of managing a software development project that is related to simulations for driving racing cars. In one of your team meetings, it is revealed that a lot of issues have been reported in the air tunnel modelling module. On deeper analysis, it is found that many of the issues could have been prevented had a simple code review checklist been used. You prepare a code review checklist and ensure the code is reviewed per the checklist. This is a good example of:
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Corrective Action
Preventive Action
Defect Repair
Quality Control
Correct Option:A
Nonconformity - issues reported during Quality Assurance
1) Corrective action - is always preceded by nonconformity
2) Preventive action - is never preceded by nonconformity
3) Defect repair - issues found in the current delivery
8
You are in charge of a project, and to ensure things go well, you have had monthly meetings with the stakeholders. The project is running on schedule and budget. You are in your fourth month of execution, but the stakeholder indicates dissatisfaction with the deliverables. Making changes in the deliverables would mean a delay in the schedule. Which process could have prevented this situation?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Scope Planning
Scope Control
Schedule Control
Risk Monitoring and Control
Correct Option:A
EXPLANATION
The process that could have prevented this situation is Scope Planning. Project deliverables are defined during scope planning, so proper implementation of this process could have prevented this situation.
10RISK
Your company has bagged a number of government contracts dealing with setting up infrastructure. This includes setting up roads and bridges. This is a very big and prestigious project, so your company wants to ensure everything is planned well in advance. You are the project manager of this project. Considering its importance, you and your team come up with a list of risks. One of the subject matter experts indicates that during the months of July and August, the construction work of the bridge across the river would need to stop on account of past history of flooding of the river. You agree with the expert and plan the schedule accordingly. What strategy did you just apply?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Accept
Exploit
Mitigate
Transfer
Correct Option:A
EXPLANATION
This is an example of Risk acceptance strategy as there is nothing you can do about situations not in your control. Risk exploitation is meant for positive situations, while risk mitigation is where you have a strategy to either reduce the risk impact or probability. Transfer is also not correct as the question does not state that someone else will be responsible for handling the risk.
14
You head the engineering department in your company. Lately, you have observed that certain deliveries of a specific team member are missing the schedule. You decide to discuss it with the team member. Initially, the team member is reluctant to discuss but finally opens up and indicates that the cause of the delays is often different instructions coming in from you as well as the project manager. She indicates that at such times she is confused about whose instructions to follow, thereby causing delays. What kind of an organizational structure is this most likely to be?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Functional
Projectized
Weak Matrix
Balanced Matrix
Correct Option:D
EXPLANATION
1) Funcional - organization is grouped into departments where people with similar skills are kept togethe
2) Projectize - works by arranging activities into portfolios or programs and executing them through projects.
3) Week matrix - functional manager controls the project budget
4) Balnced matrix - authority is balanced between the project manager and the functional manager
Here the team member is being expected to follow instructions from both the Project Manager and the Functional Manager. This is never the case in a Functional or Projectized organization where the lines of authority are clearly defined. A weak matrix organization is more like a Functional Organization where the project manager has almost no authority. The scenario explained above is typical of a balanced matrix organization where power resides equally distributed between the functional and project manager.
15The release criteria include:
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
The timing of the release of team members
The method in which you will release them
Both of the above are true
None of the above
Correct Option:C
EXPLANATION
The release criteria include both the timing of the release of team members and the method in which you will release them.
18You are the project manager for a project. You are updating the WBS during Define Activities. This process is often called ________.
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Refinement
Update
Analysis
Supporting detail
Correct Option:A
EXPLANATION
Updating the WBS during Define Activities is often called Refinement. It occurs with riskier projects.
25
You are in charge of a software project that is almost 40% complete. The project stakeholders want a performance report to date. You had planned to use Earned Value Management methodology. You come up with the following numbers: EV = 100, AC = 300, PV = 150, and BAC = 600. Your team has faced numerous issues till now. However, you choose to ignore the current work performance and decide to go with what was originally planned. Based on this information, what would be the EAC for the project?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
800
200
600
1800
EV - Earn value AC - Actual cost PV - Planned value BAC - Budget at complete EAC - Estmate at complete
Correct Option:A
EXPLANATION
It is stated that the issues experienced in the project were ignored, so the past performance is not considered and the planned values are considered. So, EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) = 300 + (600 - 100) EAC = 800.
26
Your team has delivered phase one of a project to the client. Based on client feedback and issues found by the client, you decide to do some introspection to identify root causes so that the subsequent deliverables do not face the same issues. What techniques would you choose to apply?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Perform Quality Audits
Review Activity Network Diagrams
Look up Process decision program charts
Perform Process Analysis
Correct Option:D
Quality Audits - project activities conform to the policies and procedures
Activity Network Diagrams - used for scheduling,
Process decision program charts - used to anticipate intermediate steps
Process Analysis - used to identify a problem and its cause and develop preventive actions
EXPLANATION
Quality Audits are meant to ascertain if the project activities conform to the policies and procedures, so it is not the correct answer. Activity Network diagrams are used for scheduling, while Process decision program charts are used to anticipate intermediate steps. The correct answer is Process Analysis, which is used to identify a problem and its cause and develop preventive actions.
36
Which of the following best describes Vroom’s Expectancy theory?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Employees will put in efforts dependent on expectancy, valence, and instrumentality.
Employee motivation is not achievable
Hygiene factors will ensure that job dissatisfaction does not occur; however, it does not ensure job satisfaction.
People have needs starting with Physiological Needs and ending with self-actualization.
Correct Option:A
EXPLANATION
Vroom’s Expectancy theory is based on the idea that people believe there are relationships between the effort they put in at work, the performance reviews/ratings they are credited for the effort, and the rewards they receive from their effort and performance review ratings. So, people will be motivated if they believe that hard work and effort will lead to good performance reviews and good performance reviews will lead to desired rewards. This theory consists of three key elements: Expectancy (perception of an employee of how much and what amount of effort will lead to a desirable performance rating), Instrumentality (perception or expectation that a good performance rating would translate into a hefty salary hike), and Valence (preference of an employee for a certain reward). Option B is clearly unrelated to this theory, so it is not the correct answer. Option C is related to Herzberg’s Hygiene theory, so it too is not the correct answer. Option D is about Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchical needs, so it’s not the correct answer.
41RISK
As a manager on a project, you have to ensure that the project delivers within the scheduled timelines with minimal rework and customer delight. For some time now, the project work is proceeding smoothly with a CPI and SPI a perfect 1. One of your team members approaches you and indicates the possible need for a long vacation on personal grounds two months from now. You look up the schedule and find that this team member is scheduled to execute activities that are on the critical path, and the team member’s absence in two months’ time would cause a delay in schedule. You decide to take some action and reschedule task allocation to ensure that this team member is not planned to work on any of the critical path activities. What did you just do?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Mitigate the risk
Avoid the risk
Transfer the risk
Exploit the risk
Correct Option:B
EXPLANATION
You have avoided the risk. By interchanging the tasks, you have ensured that the resource who wants to go on a long vacation does not work on critical path activities. There is no question of exploiting the risk as this is not a positive risk. This is not a case of risk mitigation since you have neither created a backup plan nor come up with an alternate strategy.
43
Which of the following activities is not performed as a part of Project Closure?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Ensuring all the deliverables meet contract requirements
Creating lessons learned and updating Organizational Process Assets
Final acceptance
Verifying scope
Correct Option:D
EXPLANATION
All the options except verifying scope are performed during project closure. Ensuring deliverables meet contract requirements and formal acceptance are key activities of project closure. Capturing lessons learned is also a very important activity performed during project closure. However, verifying scope is not performed during project closure. It belongs to the Monitoring and Controlling process group.
52
You have been asked to provide cost estimates for a project involving complete electrical installation in warehouses. As a project manager, you have had past experience in similar projects in your previous organization. The organization you have joined also has recently done a similar project. The executive management wants you to quickly come up with an estimate. What estimation technique would you adopt?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Ask your previous organization for the estimates
Use Parametric Estimating technique
Use Bottom-up Estimating
Use Analogous Estimating
Correct Option:D
EXPLANATION
Analogous estimating relies on previous similar projects as the basis of estimation. So, it relies on historical information. This technique is used when there is limited amount of detailed information, like during the early phases of the project. It is less costly and less time-consuming. As time is a constraint, this is the best choice.
Top-down I perform an analysis at the whole-project level.
Fast, not too accurate.
(2) variations that are top-down.
* Analogous (estimating by analogy, or history)
"uses history"
'Since similar projects have cost about $65,000,
this project should also cost about $65,000.'
* Parametric (estimating by history and a little math/parameters)
"uses history and a bit of math
'Other projects have taught us it takes about 10 days to build
1 km of road. This project requires 10 km, therefore should take
about 100 days.'
Parameter -> 1 km road = 10 days duration...
Bottom-up I perform an analysis on each activity, and roll
the totals up to a single project total.
Accurate, not too fast.
No variations. Merely Bottom-up.
56
You have been assigned to a project that deals with developing a software product for the BFSI domain. You and your team are building the schedule network diagram. While sequencing activities, one of the Architects in your team suggests that rather than interacting with the database on every activity, you should introduce an activity that would cache the data. The team member argues that this will improve performance and suggests that the activity be introduced in the sequence prior to other activities that deal with database interaction. What kind of a dependency is this?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
This is an example of Mandatory Dependency.
This is an example of External Dependency.
This is an example of Discretionary Dependency or Soft Logic.
This is an example of Hard Logic.
Correct Option:C
EXPLANATION
Discretionary Dependency is also known as Soft Logic or Preferred Logic or Preferential Logic. Note that this is not a mandatory dependency as it is not a Must Have but more a Should have. Discretionary dependency decisions are usually based on best practices and business knowledge. In this case, a Software architect can be assumed to be an expert in his field.
Dependency:
- Mandatory “hard logic”
‘Part of the way you have to do the work’ (“nature” of the work)
“We need to wait 2 weeks for concrete to dry and cure before
we start building.” - Discretionary “soft logic”
‘The team can use their preference or “discretion”’.
‘We can build the servers at our desk and then take them to the lab, or just build them in the lab…’ - External (outside the work/project)
“We can’t start construction until City Hall has approved Blue-prints.” - Internal (inside the work/project)
‘… within the team’s control…’
“As soon as we’ve brought the concrete mix on-site, we can start building the concrete pad.”
57
You and your team are in the process of creating WBS and WBS Dictionary. What would be the best choice of attributes in a WBS Dictionary?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Work Package ID and Work Package Description
Work Package ID, Control Account ID, and Work Package Description
Work Package Description
Work Package ID, Control Account ID, Work Package Description, Acceptance Criteria, Responsible Organization, Cost, Assumptions
Correct Option:D
EXPLANATION
Options A, B, and C describe what a WBS Dictionary should contain. So, they all seem like the right choices. However, the question asks about the BEST choice of attributes in a WBS Dictionary, which is provided in Option D. Note that the WBS and WBS Dictionary are correlated by WBS Name and Work Package ID
58
Project manager’s role is part time in _________ organization structure?
SELECT THE CORRECT ANSWER
Matrix
Composite
Functional
Projectized
Correct Option:C
EXPLANATION
PM’s role is part time in functional type of organization structure. The functional manager has authority.
