Project Management Framework: Test

Question 1

Responsible for technical execution and may also be involved in project management activities

Answer 1

Project team

Question 2

Category of projects that share common and specific characteristics

Answer 2

Application area

Question 3

Collection of phases that the project must go through from its beginning to its closing

Answer 3

Project life cycle

Question 4

Group of projects or programs coordinated to implement the business strategy

Answer 4

Portfolio

Question 5

Manager responsible for the work of a business function, business line, or organization unit

Answer 5

Functional manager or line manager

Question 6

Manager who provides the financial resources, promotes the project, and plays a significant role on the project charter development

Answer 6

Sponsor

Question 7

Matrix organization where the authority is evenly shared between functional manager and project manager

Answer 7

Balanced matrix organization

Question 8

Members of the project team directly involved in project management work

Answer 8

Project management team

Question 9

Multidimensional organization that combines the functions’ vertical lines with the project’s horizontal lines to better adapt to the project’s challenges

Answer 9

Matrix organization

Question 10

Organization structured around and oriented toward projects: authority over each project is exclusively assigned to a project manager who has full control over the budget, schedule, resources, and work assignments

Answer 10

Projectized organization

Question 11

Organization where the staff is grouped hierarchically by functions: authority of the functional managers over the project is clear, with each employee having only one clear boss

Answer 11

Functional organization, hierarchical or vertical

Question 12

Organizational unit responsible for project management across the organization

Answer 12

Project management office

Question 13

Person or group who receives the project’s product, using it to create value for the organization

Answer 13

Customer

Question 14

Person or group who can be positively or negatively impacted by the project

Answer 14

Stakeholder

Question 15

Process of providing greater levels of planning detail as the project moves toward completion and as more and better information becomes available

Answer 15

Progressive elaboration

Question 16

Set of related projects and operations that when managed in a coordinated way address a common business objective

Answer 16

Program

Question 17

Temporary initiative carried out with the aim of producing a unique product

Answer 17

Project

Question 18

Term used to describe three concurrent project constraints that must be simultaneously accomplished: scope, time, and costs

Answer 18

Triple constraint

Question 19

The complete history of a product, extending through its idea, definition, development, operation, and disposal phases

Answer 19

Product life cycle

Question 20

Work with permanent characteristics, frequently repeating the same process

Answer 20

Operation

Question 21

Which of the following does NOT distinguish a project from an operation?

a. It produces a unique product or service.

b. It has a specific beginning and end.

c. It should be planned and controlled.

d. It’s progressively elaborated.

Answer 21

C - Projects, just as many operations, require planning and controlling. Unlike operations, projects are temporary, unique, and progressively elaborated.

Question 22

The quality department is performing regular inspections on an engine assembly line. The quality department is involved in:
A. A project

B. An operation

C. A program

D. A subproject

Answer 22

B - Regular inspections on an engine assembly line have a repetitive nature and are relatively certain. Thus the quality department is performing an operation. There is no information to suggest that the quality department is involved in a project, a program, or a subproject.

Question 23

You are managing a critical project for your organization with a brand-new technology. The customer has given you a brief scope of work, and management is requiring a project schedule. What should you do NEXT?

a. Ask for a better scope definition.

b. Delay planning until more information is available.

c. Provide a basic project schedule, with considerable schedule flexibility, and detail future work when more and better information becomes available.

d. Refuse to do the project until the level of risk is controlled.

Answer 23

C - The question may suggest that something is wrong with this particular project because the customer has provided a brief scope of work. However, the very definition of project indicates that projects are uncertain, particularly during their early stages. How should you approach this uncertainty? Answers A, B, and D may be tempting, but they are not realistic. Your approach to uncertainty cannot be to require information that does not exist (A), plan the project later (B), or refuse to do the project (D). With a brief scope of work, you only can provide a high-level project schedule, with considerable flexibility to account for existing uncertainty. The scope and the schedule can be progressively elaborated when more information becomes available.

Question 24

Which of the following statements regarding progressive elaboration is NOT TRUE?

a. Project deliverables are often progressively elaborated.

b. Progressive elaboration is closely related to project uncertainty.

c. Progressive elaboration should be avoided once baselines have been approved.

d. Rolling wave planning is a progressive elaboration technique.

Answer 24

C - Progressive elaboration may occur throughout the project and does not necessarily lead to a change to project baselines. All the other statements are correct.

Question 25

The project manager is responsible for:

a. Delivering above expectations

b. Determining the project business need

c. Adapting the project management approach to project needs

d. Prioritizing projects

Answer 25

C - Adapting the project management approach is part of planning and should therefore be part of the project manager’s responsibility. Answer A is not correct because project management is about translating expectations into requirements and then meeting those requirements (not exceeding them). Answers B and D are not correct because management is responsible for determining the project business need and prioritizing projects.

Question 26

The project manager should recommend corrective action when detecting a project variance. What should be the project manager’s priority when correcting project variances?

a. Scope, schedule, quality, costs

b. Schedule, scope, costs, quality

c. Scope, schedule, costs, quality, risk

d. Constraints are equally important unless priorities were previously defined.

Answer 26

D - There is no preestablished structure of priorities common to every project. In some projects, scope is the most important constraint because it was agreed upon within a contract. Other projects may have a rigid schedule or be subject to contractual penalties for late delivery. Others have costs or even quality as their key constraint. When the project manager needs to recommend a corrective action, he does not have the authority to choose among different priorities. Instead, he should follow the priorities previously defined by the sponsor for that specific project. When those priorities haven’t been defined, all the constraints are equally important and the project manager should request guidance from the sponsor.

Question 27

A software company is developing a new application dedicated to the media industry. Before finishing the application development project, the sales team managed to make the first sale. The application development team agreed to incorporate some of the requirements of the first customer into the scope of the development project. Meanwhile, the sales team is being trained to increase their ability to sell the application. What BEST describes the work the company is doing?

a. Project

b. Operation

c. Program

d. Portfolio

Answer 27

C - The company is dealing with projectized work (application development) and operational work (sales team work). The company is managing a program because projects and operations are being managed in a coordinated way to meet a common business objective. Answers A and B would not fully describe the organization’s work.

Question 28

Portfolio management aims to:

a. Manage ongoing work

b. Coordinate benefits of related projects and programs

c. Improve program management focus

d. Select projects and programs that are aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives

Answer 28

D - A portfolio is a group of projects, programs, or operations that may be managed in a coordinated way to implement the business strategy. Projects, programs, and operations within the portfolio may not be directly related.

Question 29

The ____________ is the complete history of a product, extending through its idea, definition, development, operation, and disposal phases.

a. Project life cycle

b. Product life cycle

c. Business plan

d. Life cycle costing

Answer 29

B - The product life cycle is the complete history of a product, extending through its idea, definition, development, operation, and disposal phases.

Question 30

All of the following are advantages of adopting a project life cycle EXCEPT:

a. To adopt a progressive elaboration approach

b. To promote confidence regarding project success

c. To detect project variances sooner

d. To approve major deliverables

Answer 30

D - Approving major deliverables is not a consequence of adopting a project life cycle. Major deliverables may be approved even when the project is not structured into phases. All other options describe advantages of adopting a project life cycle.

Question 31

All of the following are examples of projects interacting with the product life cycle EXCEPT:

a. Initiating a project to launch a new IT system

b. Closing a factory site

c. Upgrading an assembly line

d. Adding a new work shift to increase production throughput

Answer 31

D - Increasing or decreasing the operational throughput does not typically require a project. All other options represent projects interacting with the product life cycle, by developing, closing, or enhancing products.

Question 32

A product development project is facing resource allocation problems. Team members often abandon their project activities to respond to their operational work priorities. Other times, late management decisions stall the team’s progress. The project has been constantly delayed, but the project manager argues that he does not have enough authority to act and all he can do is adjust the schedule. What is the MOST likely cause of such delays?

a. Poor human resource management planning

b. Poor communications management planning

c. The project being managed in a functional organization

d. The project manager not implementing a change control system

Answer 32

C - If the project manager does not have any control over resources, all the authority is at the functional managers’ level. This type of organization is known as a functional organization. The lack of project manager’s authority in a functional organization cannot be solved with human resource management planning, communications planning, or a change control system.

Question 33

Senior management held a meeting to discuss the project scope validation approach and then directed the project manager to implement it. The project manager must be working ________________.

a. With the steering committee

b. In a strong matrix organization

c. With the project management office

d. As a project expediter

Answer 33

D - The project expediter has an extremely low level of authority. The project expediter does not make decisions but acts as an assistant to management, helping transmit information and directions to the team. The steering committee (answer A) and the project management office (answer C) are not responsible for defining the project scope validation approach. A project expediter is a type of project management role within a functional or weak matrix organization (answer B).

Question 34

Why is ambiguous authority more common in a matrix organization than in a functional organization?

a. A functional organization provides more coercive authority to project managers.

b. Matrix organizations’ projects are usually more complex.

c. In a matrix organization the project’s responsibilities are defined ambiguously.

d. In a matrix organization team members have two bosses.

Answer 34

D - In every matrix organization, including the strong matrix, the authority over projects and resources is shared between the project manager and the functional manager. The difference between a weak, a balanced, and a strong matrix lies on how the authority is distributed between them. Answers A, B, and C are incorrect statements.

Question 35

Who is responsible for the recognition and rewards system in a weak matrix organization?

a. Sponsor

b. Project manager

c. Human resources department

d. Functional manager

Answer 35

D In a week matrix organization, most of the project’s authority belongs to the functional manager.

Question 36

Which of the following statements regarding the difference between a weak and a strong matrix organization is NOT TRUE?

a. In a strong matrix, the project manager negotiates resources with the functional managers.

b. In a strong matrix, team members do not report to functional managers.

c. In a strong matrix, the project manager has more authority to manage the schedule and the budget.

d. Project management offices are more common in strong matrix organizations.

Answer 36

B - In every matrix organization, including the strong, the authority over the project is shared between the project manager and the functional manager. All other statements are true.

Question 37

In which type of organization would a critical project best fit where the project manager would need to exercise maximum control over resources?

a. Strong matrix

b. Projectized

c. Weak matrix

d. Project management office

Answer 37

B - In a projectized organization, resources report exclusively to a project manager, who has full authority over the project.

Question 38

All of the following can be performed by the project management office EXCEPT:

a. Assigning a project manager to a critical project

b. Defining project management methodologies

c. Defining the business need

d. Helping prioritize projects according to company strategy

Answer 38

C - Management should be responsible for establishing the business need. All other options may be performed by the project management office.

Question 39

Which of the following BEST describes a stakeholder in a highway construction project?

a. Project team member and project manager

b. Team member, project manager, and customer

c. Environmental organization

d. All of the above

Answer 39

D - Stakeholders are individuals or groups who can be positively or negatively impacted by the project. Thus D is the best option.

Question 40

The project manager does not have sufficient authority to manage the project. Who is responsible for managing the situation?

a. Project manager

b. Sponsor

c. Functional manager

d. Team

Answer 40

B - The sponsor is responsible for formally delegating authority to the project manager.

Question 41

In a matrix organization, the project manager should address resource requirements with the:

a. Functional manager

b. Sponsor

c. HR department

d. Customer

Answer 41

A - The functional manager provides human resources to the project. The project manager should negotiate the assigned resources with the functional manager.

Question 42

A team member has just detected an inconsistency in the change management plan. What is the BEST thing for her to do?

a. Correct the change management plan.

b. Do nothing. The project manager is responsible for the change management plan.

c. Recommend corrective action.

d. Inform the project manager immediately.

Answer 42

C - Team members should be involved in project management activities. Although they are not accountable for project management activities, they should support them with their experience and knowledge. Recommending corrective action is about more than just informing the project manager of the error (answer D). Doing nothing (answer B) or correcting the plan without the project manager’s validation (answer A) would not be appropriate actions.

Question 43

A project manager has moved from a functional to a matrix organization. The project manager is now responsible for:

a. Negotiating contracts

b. Selecting the change requests that should be implemented

c. Negotiating resources

d. Approving the project management plan

Answer 43

C - Negotiating resources with the functional manager is part of the project manager’s responsibility within a matrix organization. Answer A is not correct because the project manager is not usually responsible for negotiating contracts. Answers B and D are not correct because the project manager does not have the authority to select the change requests or to approve the project management plan.