Pre-Assessment Flashcards
A firm begins its strategic business initiative of developing a new business model that will allow the firm to deliver an efficient, tailored service to its customers. To accomplish this, the firm initiates a business management project.
Which aspect of project management applies to this firm’s project?
Independent operations
Interdependent tasks
Regulatory concept
External environment
Interdependent tasks
A firm begins its strategic business initiative of developing a new business model to enhance its competitiveness.
What can be identified as a strategic business initiative for this firm?
Timely payment of liabilities
Liaison with regulatory agencies
Improvement in product design
Environmental scanning
Improvement in product design
A firm begins a strategic business initiative of developing a new business model that will allow the firm to deliver an efficient, tailored service to its customers.
Which stakeholder would have triggered this strategic business initiative?
Director of operations
Production supervisor
Project sponsor
Financial controller
Project sponsor
Which group is included in the five process groups?
Risk process group
Closing process group
Communication process group
Quality process group
Closing process group
What does PRINCE2 stand for?
PRoject INsights for CompEtitiveness
PRojects IN a Competitive Environment
PRoject INsights and CompEtencies
PRojects IN a Controlled Environment
PRojects IN a Controlled Environment
Which PMBOK process group is described as the delivery part of project management where the main activity happens?
Planning
Executing
Controlling
Closing
Executing
Which advantage does the functional (departmentalized) organizational structure provide for a firm with multiple projects?
Lines of authority are clear.
The project customer is the only focus.
It is efficient for collaboration and cooperation between departments.
Each project is managed holistically.
Lines of authority are clear.
Which two organizations are examples of organizations with the functional organizational structure?
Choose 2 answers
Microsoft The U.S. Department of State The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The U.S Department of Energy Google Inc.
The U.S. Department of State
The U.S Department of Energy
An organization expects to use a project management office (PMO) to support multiple projects that will be implemented within a projectized organizational structure.
Which implied effect is a benefit to this organization?
Project team members retain their functional responsibilities.
Project team members become full-time employees.
Project team members gain access to the newest technologies and skill sets.
Project team members gain access to historical data from other projects.
Project team members gain access to historical data from other projects.
Regardless of the organizational structure used to manage a project, an organization elects to use a project management office (PMO).
Which benefit will this organization gain?
Projects will coordinate resource usage by monitoring the status of shared resources.
Projects will define the organization’s corporate strategy in the project charter.
Projects will receive a 10% managerial reserve fund to cover warranty back charges.
Projects will eliminate the costs incurred from having to follow corporate procedures.
Projects will coordinate resource usage by monitoring the status of shared resources.
During a certain project phase, specific blueprints are drawn and approved, materials and labor costs are estimated, prototypes are created, and work activities and tasks are identified. Also, quality expectations, measurements, and costs are defined.
During which project phase do these activities occur?
Defining
Planning
Executing
Closing
Planning
Place the project activities in order of occurrence from first (1) to last (5).
Select your answer from the pull-down list.
Developing the work breakdown structure Capturing lessons learned Working to produce project deliverables Collecting customer requirements Customers evaluating the project outcomes
Collecting customer requirements Developing the work breakdown structure Working to produce project deliverables Customers evaluating the project outcomes Capturing lessons learned
During which life cycle phase is the vast majority of the actual work to produce the project’s deliverables completed?
Defining
Planning
Executing
Closing
Executing
What is the correct term for an intermediate outcome of project work, such as a signed contract or obtaining a construction permit?
Deadline
Procurement
Statement of work
Deliverable
Deliverable
Which deliverable from a work breakdown structure (WBS) is not specific enough to measure its completion at project closure?
User training
User documentation manuals
Payment processing hardware
Hardware setup
User training
The following table shows the Level 1 work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project A.
WBS ID Description 0.0 Project A 1.0 Project started 2.0 Feasiblity 3.0 Design 4.0 Development 5.0 Manufacturing 6.0 Distribution 7.0 Project completed Which approach did the project manager use to structure the WBS?
List of deliverables
Sequence of project phases
Enumeration of functional departments
List of project stakeholders
Sequence of project phases
For the following collapsed work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project O, the project manager must complete the scope baseline. In addition to the WBS, the scope baseline will contain two additional documents.
WBS ID
- 0 Project O
- 0 Project Started
- 0 Feasibility
- 0 Design
- 0 Development
- 0 Manufacturing
- 0 Distribution
- 0 Project Completed
What are the other two documents that belong in the scope baseline?
Project charter and statement of work
Project contract and business case
WBS dictionary and project scope statement
Activity list and scope management plan
WBS dictionary and project scope statement
For the following collapsed work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project O, the project’s steering committee held a phase gate review of the Feasibility results. That review determined that the project’s proposed design would be obsolete before it would reach the marketplace.
WBS ID
- 0 Project O
- 0 Project Started
- 0 Feasibility
- 0 Design
- 0 Development
- 0 Manufacturing
- 0 Distribution
- 0 Project Completed
Which action should the project manager initiate?
Crashing the project’s schedule by asking for more resources
Fast-tracking the schedule by altering predecessor to successor relationships
Terminating the project as soon as possible and releasing the project’s resources
Looking for ways to make the design less costly
Terminating the project as soon as possible and releasing the project’s resources
A project is an operational necessity to repair a design flaw in the date field that constrains the year number to two digits, instead of permitting the year to be indicated with four digits. If the project is not completed before December 31, 1999, many legacy programs are expected to fail or produce unpredictable outcomes. The marketing department wants to upgrade its existing computer equipment and have the costs included in the budget for this project. The project team implemented the marketing department’s request without completing the formal change control procedures.
What has happened to the scope baseline in this scenario?
Scope updates have caused an unaffordable scope variance.
Scope creep has caused a scope variance.
Scope upgrade has caused a scope variance.
Scope risks have caused a smaller scope variance.
Scope creep has caused a scope variance.
A general contractor is managing a highway construction project that will repair a flood-damaged road. The project was documented in a cost-plus-incentive fee contract that specified a completion date of June 30. The Department of Transportation has offered an incentive for early completion of the repairs.
Which triple-constraint baseline remains unchanged by the effects of the incentive?
Scope
Time
Cost
Price
scope
In Project A, the contract specifies that time is very important. All of the scope must be completed, or the project will fail. The project’s objective requires the project team to work as quickly as possible.
Which triple constraint can be adjusted to permit the project team to work as quickly as possible?
Time
Cost
Price
Incentives
cost
In Project B, all of the scope must be completed, or the project will fail. The work is important but not urgent.
Which triple constraint can be adjusted if the project’s objective requires the project team to work at the lowest possible cost?
Time
Cost
Incentives
Penalties
time
A project manager is discussing the latest financial reports of a project to construct a grocery store and is approximately 90% into the planning phase. The project manager has been told by a project team member that other grocery stores in the area have an automated teller machine (ATM) for visitors. An ATM has not been discussed or incorporated into the planning of this project nor have any been incorporated into prior grocery store services. The leader calls for the immediate addition of an ATM into all prior grocery stores.
Which non-numeric model is this leader using?
Operating necessity
Competitive necessity
Sacred cow
Checklists
competitive necessity
An organization has a surplus of project dollars in the operating budget. The senior leader’s decision is to fund one more project with the remaining funds. Of the three projects proposed, one of the projects was selected without evaluation of feasibility or viability.
Which non-numeric model is this leader using?
Operating necessity
Competitive necessity
Sacred cow
Weighted factor
sacred cow
Each project team member generated a series of questions to evaluate three projects. The checklist was compiled into one list based on frequency of question content, such as personnel, materials, experience, and time. The more frequent the question content, the more likely the questions would be asked first.
Which two benefits result from this checklist approach?
Choose 2 answers
Operational impact has been built in.
Strategic impact has been integrated.
Biases have been reduced.
Priorities of senior leadership are met.
Operational impact has been built in.
Strategic impact has been integrated.
Each project team member generated a series of questions to evaluate three projects. A checklist was then compiled into one list based on the frequency of question content, such as personnel, materials, experience, and time.
What is a disadvantage of using this checklist approach?
Scoring models have not been integrated.
Biases have not been eliminated.
Numerical values have not been itemized.
Weighted values have not been considered.
Biases have not been eliminated.
Match each purpose to its associated financial concept.
Answer options may be used more than once or not at all. Options are listed below the prompts.
- To calculate money’s worth today compared to in the future
- To calculate whether revenue tomorrow is greater than costs today
- To calculate future cash flows using time and interest rate
- To calculate the alternative use of money
net present value
opportunity cost
time value of money
internal rate of return
- time value of money
- net present value
- internal rate of return
- opportunity cost
What is the time value of money?
The value of what you are giving up when you select one of two projects
The concept that a dollar today is worth a dollar, but a dollar in a year will be worth less than a dollar
The discount amount when present value of cash intake equals the original investment
The measure of time in which total cash received is equal to, or exceeds, total costs
The concept that a dollar today is worth a dollar, but a dollar in a year will be worth less than a dollar
What is internal rate of return?
The value of what you are giving up when you select one of two projects
The concept that a dollar today is worth a dollar, but a dollar in a year will be worth less than a dollar
The discount amount when present value of cash intake equals the original investment
The measure of time in which total cash received is equal to, or exceeds, total costs
The discount amount when present value of cash intake equals the original investment
Which two processes are considered iterative processes?
Choose 2 answers
Initiating Planning Operating Executing Closing
Planning
Executing
Which activity is accomplished as part of the planning process of a project?
Finalizing the project budget
Reviewing the lessons learned in the project
Documenting any requested changes to scope
Reconciling the vendor accounts
Finalizing the project budget
Which activity is accomplished as part of the planning process of a project?
Training and coaching team members
Documenting any requested changes to scope
Finalizing the project schedule
Returning excess materials and supplies
Finalizing the project schedule
Which activity is accomplished during the closing process of a project?
Reconciling the vendor accounts
Assigning project team members to new projects
Verifying that the deliverables meet the required scope
Coaching team members
Reconciling the vendor accounts
Which activity is performed during the creating part of the initiating process?
Completing the project documentation
Recognizing and rewarding performance
Assessing project quality
Drafting the project charter
Drafting the project charter
Which activity is accomplished as part of the executing process of a project?
Receiving sign-off from the customer
Creating the work breakdown structure
Creating the network diagram
Implementing the project plan
Implementing the project plan
Which process involves determining who the project’s stakeholders are?
The planning process
The closing process
The initiating process
The monitoring and controlling process
The initiating process
Which tool could a project manager use to ensure that the project team will address the items that are important when developing and defining the project’s scope?
Checklist
Checksheet
Fishbone diagram
Network diagram
Checklist
A project manager wants to understand and document the approvals that must be obtained for each work package in the work breakdown structure (WBS).
Which tools document the approval requirements for each work package?
Choose 2 answers
Project charter Project statement of work (SOW) Request for proposal (RFP) Resource breakdown structure (RBS) Requirements traceability matrix (RTM) Organizational breakdown structure (OBS)
Project statement of work (SOW)
Requirements traceability matrix (RTM)
The general manager of a hotel has asked for a project to put in new landscaping around the building. The project manager has constructed a high-level work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project, which is provided below.
WBS ID Description 1.0 Landscaping 1.1 Plans 1.2 Site preparation 1.3 Sprinklers 1.4 Sidewalks and curbing 1.5 Planting Which activity would it be logical to add to the approved high-level WBS to provide more detail on the work to be accomplished?
- 0 Building façade and foyer
- 6 Online reservation system
- 5.1 Lay sod
- 1.1 Plant trees and bushes
1.5.1 Lay sod
A state college is launching a library building project. The project manager has constructed a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. A few elements from the WBS are shown in the table below (the WBS ID numbers and indentations of the descriptions are intentionally omitted).
Description: Library project Facility needs Academic plan Stakeholder input Building proposal Siting Fundraising Potential Donor List U.S. Donors Florida Donors
Which two WBS elements of this project are on the same level as each other?
Choose 2 answers
Florida donors Building proposal Potential donor list Facility needs Fundraising
Fundraising
Building proposal
The World Fabrication Corporation is launching a project that calls for the heavy use of copper-clad bolts. The cost of these bolts fluctuates daily and it is difficult to estimate the project cost over several weekly purchases of bolts. The threat of cost increases is highly probable with a potentially significant budget impact. The company has decided to contract with the supplier to buy the bolts at a fixed price for the expected duration of the project.
What risk response strategy is World Fabrication Corporation using?
Risk Mitigation
Risk Acceptance
Risk Transference
Risk Avoidance
Risk Avoidance
Consolidated Systems, Inc. is initiating a project to develop a new Inventory system with a specific system launch date and fixed budget. The company had planned to use a software development tool it has used for past projects but is now considering instead using new state-of-art software that has the potential to speed development. The available staff is familiar with the old software development tool.
What can the company do to avoid the risk of project delays?
Outsource the software development to a consultancy
Conduct weekly project status meetings
Continue using the old software tool
Train the staff in new software
Continue using the old software tool
Bantam Electronics, a leader in mobile communications, has fallen behind in technology. Competitors have introduced products using the latest technology. Resources with expertise in this technology are scarce since there are very few universities offering training in the technology. Bantam’s market share has fallen from 70 % to under 50%.
What can Bantam do to mitigate the risk of losing further ground in technology?
Outsource technical development
Discontinue advanced technology products
Hire technical staff from the competition
Offer to pay for engineers to attend courses
Hire technical staff from the competition
What are the three categories of risk in the project risk register?
External, technical, or organizational Internal, material, or personnel Portfolio, program, or project Certain, uncertain, or probable Internal, identifiable, or iterative
External, technical, or organizational
A project manager is creating a list of anticipated project tasks while building a calendarized budget.
What is the key component of this budget called?
Contingency reserves
Management reserves
Budget estimates
Activity estimates
Activity estimates
A project manager has identified activities in a calendarized budget.
What is the appropriate next planning action this project manager should take to utilize the cost, duration, and sequencing information for these activities?
Estimating dates of spending
Completing top-down estimates
Completing bottom-up estimates
Creating project schedules
Creating project schedules
Which output is needed prior to using the bottom-up estimating technique?
Quality management plan
Teaming agreement
Work breakdown structure
Stakeholder matrix
Work breakdown structure
A project team is gathered together to begin the planning process for a large office building. It is discussing estimates of each activity in the schedule. For all of the plumbing-related work, the team will use the information obtained from the plumber-in-residence in its organization.
What estimating technique will be used?
One-point
A project team is gathered together to begin the planning process to create a new website for its client. Discussions have turned to website capacity. Some team members believe the bandwidth of the site needs to be higher to avoid the website freezing. Others believe the bandwidth is too high as it is right now. A finite capacity needs to be determined to define the estimated time to complete this task.
What estimating technique will be used?
Parametric
Top-down
One-point
Three-point
Three-point
The project team is determining the duration for upgrading the software on the app used on its mobile devices. An experienced technician took 15 minutes to complete the task. Two other new technicians will be assisting. They have performed a few upgrades on mobile devices, desktop computers, and laptop computers, which took one technician approximately 25 minutes and the other 20 minutes to upgrade.
Using three-point estimating, how many minutes will it take for each upgrade performed?
15
20
25
40
20
The project team is determining the duration for upgrading the software on the app used on its mobile devices. An experienced technician took 10 minutes to complete the task. Two other new technicians will be assisting and have little experience in software upgrades on mobile devices or desktop and laptop computers. One technician took approximately 28 minutes, while the other technician took 31 minutes to complete the task.
Using three-point estimation, how many minutes will it take for each upgrade performed?
15
23
30
35
23
A project manager is working on a large two-year IT project. At the end of the first year, the project is two months behind schedule because the interface programming is taking longer than planned. The sponsor will not extend the deadline or the budget but is willing to eliminate an interface.
Which schedule compression technique can the project manager use?
Determining the critical path
Resource leveling
Scope reduction
Fast-tracking
Scope reduction
A project manager is working on a large two-year IT project. At the end of the first year, the project is two months behind schedule because the interface programming is taking longer than planned. The sponsor will not extend the deadline or reduce the scope. The project manager decides to crash the schedule to meet the project deadline.
What is the risk of this decision?
Reduction in rework
Use of fewer resources
Reduced quality of deliverables
Less overtime
Reduced quality of deliverables
A project was authorized as an operational necessity to repair a design flaw in the date field on a computer system that constrains the year number to two digits instead of permitting the year to be indicated with four digits. During execution of the activity concerned with identifying the affected software, five relevant software modules were discovered that had not been included in the scope baseline. The project team must adjust the baselines to include the omitted scope.
Which change management phase does this scenario describe?
Preparing for the change
Managing the change
Reinforcing the change
Upgrading the change
Preparing for the change
A general contractor is managing a highway construction project that will repair a flood-damaged road. The Department of Transportation offered an incentive fee if the repairs are completed early. Therefore, the project manager has established a rewards and recognition program and has communicated this program to the project team members. The project’s recognition program will reward project team members who add value by accelerating the project while maintaining its ability to deliver the completed scope correctly.
Which change management phase does this scenario describe?
Preparing for the change
Managing the change
Reinforcing the change
Upgrading the change
Reinforcing the change
A general contractor is managing a construction project that will add a new conference room to an existing office building. The project was documented in a fixed-price contract that specified a completion date. The contract includes a damages clause imposing a late completion penalty if the conference room is not ready for use by the due date. One month into the implementation, the customer wants to modify the room’s lighting equipment. The requested change will delay the project’s critical path by three months.
Which process should be used to maintain the existing baseline?
Using a change management system to influence performance
Absorbing the change request in the baselines for time and cost
Focusing on the original scope
Using the risk management system to process change requests
Using a change management system to influence performance
A general contractor from Germany is managing a construction project in Norway that will add a new conference room to an existing office building. The project needs to collect requirements from the client prior to developing plans to build the new conference room.
Which two actions would prove useful to plan the project’s quality?
Choose 2 answers
Defining traceable and verifiable requirements that can be validated at project closure
Establishing metrics that describe what to measure and how to measure it
Using inventory to protect against defects during project implementation
Changing the work plan to account for the project experiencing common variation
Using slogans and numerical quotas to exhort resources to work harder
Defining traceable and verifiable requirements that can be validated at project closure
Establishing metrics that describe what to measure and how to measure it
What is the purpose of the cost performance index (CPI)?
To measure a project’s labor costs
To measure a project’s cost effectiveness
To measure a project’s cost efficiency
To measure a project’s actual costs
To measure a project’s cost efficiency
What is the purpose of the schedule performance index (SPI)?
To determine a project’s budgeted schedule
To determine the ratio between planned value and actual cost
To determine a project’s time efficiency
To determine the ratio between cost variance and schedule variance
To determine a project’s time efficiency
What is the purpose of cost variance (CV) analysis?
To determine if a project is meeting efficiency expectations
To determine if a project is meeting schedule expectations
To determine if a project is meeting budget expectations
To determine if a project is meeting price and time expectations
To determine if a project is meeting budget expectations
What is the name for the closing task where all project activities are reviewed to determine what went right and what went wrong?
Closeout review
Lessons learned review
Client deliverables review
Project manager review
Lessons learned review
What is another name for the lessons learned review that is often used by the military and other uniformed services?
Rules of engagement
Activity report
Protocol assessment
After action report
After action report
The customer of a project validates that scope has been completed for the second of three segments of the project.
Which closure practice does this describe?
Stage completion
The customer of a project validates that the project scope has been completed, all invoices have been paid, and the expected benefits have been realized.
Which closure practice does this describe?
Deliverable completion
