Project Mgmt Ch.6 Questions

Question 1

You are the project manager of the JHG Project. This project has 32 stakeholders and will require implementation activities in North and South America. you have been requested to provide a duration estimate for the project. Of the following, which will offer the best level of detail in your estimate?

A. The resource calendar

B. An order of magnitude

C. A requirements document

D. A stakeholder Analysis

Answer 1

A. The resource calendar

The resource calendar is the best choice for this scenario as it is the only activity duration estimating input listed.

Question 2

Michael is the project manager of the 78GH Project. This project requires several members of the project team to complete a certification class for another project the week of November 2. This class causes some of the project activities of Michael’s activities to be delayed from his target schedule. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Hard logic

B. External dependencies

C. Soft logic

D. Conflict of interest

Answer 2

B. External dependencies

Before the work can being, the certification must be completed.

Question 3

You are managing an interiror decorating project. The walls are scheduled to be painted immediately after the primer. You have allowed 36 hours between the primer activity and the painting activity to ensure that the primer has cured. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Lead.

B. Lag

C. Soft logic

D. Finish-to-Start relationship

Answer 3

B. Lag

The time between the activities is lag time. The painting activity must wait 36 hours before it can begin.

Question 4

As the project Manager for the DFK Project, you are reviewing your project’s network diagram (as shown in the following illustration):

Given the diagram, what is the relationship between tasks F and G?

A. FS

B. SS

C. FF

D. SF

Answer 4

A. FS

G is slated to start immediately after F, so this is a finish-to-start relationship. In other words, F must finish so G may start.

Question 5

You are the project manager for the LLL Project. Steven, a project team member, is confused about network diagrams. Specifically, he wants to know what the critical path is in a network diagram. your answer is which of the following?

A. The critical path is the network that hosts the activities most critical to the project’s success.

B. The critical path is the path with the longest duration.

C. The critical path is always the one path that cannot be delayed or the entire project will be delayed.

D. The critical path is the path from start to completion with no deviation from the project plan.

Answer 5

B. The critical path is always the lognest duration.

Question 6

What is the difference between PDM and ADM?

A. ADM places activities on arrows, while PDM places activities on nodes.

B. AD is also known as AOA, while PDM is sometimes referred to as GERT.

C. ADM hosts activities on nodes, while PDM hosts activities on arrows.

D. PDM can have two types of relationships between tasks, while ADM can have only one type of relationship between tasks.

Answer 6

A. ADM places activities on arrows, while PDM places activities on nodes.

ADM, the arrow diagramming method, is also known as “activity on arrow,” while the PDm, the precedence diagramming method, places activities on nodes. PDM is also known as “activity on nodes.”

Question 7

Which network diagram method type can use dummy activities?

A. Project network diagrams

B. Precedence diagram method

C. Activity on the node method

D. Arrow diagramming method

Answer 7

D. Arrow diagramming method

Only the arrow diagramming method uses dummy activities.

Question 8

Where is a project manager most likely to experience a subnet?

A. WBS

B. Kill points

C. Activity on the node method

D. Arrow diagramming method

Answer 8

D. Arrow diagramming method

Subnets are often included in network templates to summarize common activities in a project.

Question 9

You are the project manager for the POL Project. This project will use a three-point estimate to calculate the estimates for activity duration. For activity D, you have the following information: P = 9, O = 4, M = 5. What is the result of this estimate?

A. 18 weeks

B. Six weeks

C. 33.33 days

D. Three weeks

Answer 9

B. Six weeks

The formula is (P+4M+O)/3. In this instance, the outcome is six weeks.

Question 10

You are the project manager for the YKL Project. This project will impact several lines of business at completion. You have elected to schedule each milestone in the project to end so the work does not impact current business cycles. This is an example of which one of the following?

A. Constraint

B. Expert judgment

C. WBS scheduling

D. Soft logic

Answer 10

D. Soft logic

Soft logic alows the project manager to make decisions based on conditions outside of the project, best practices, or guidelines.

Question 11

You are the project manager for the MNB Project. You and your project team are about to enter into the activity duration estimating process. Which of the following will not be helpful in your meeting?

A. Constraints

B. Assumptions

C. The project charter

D. Identified risks

Answer 11

C. The project charter

The project charter is not an input to the activity duration estimating process.

Question 12

You are the project manager for a new training program at your customer’s site. This program will require each of the customer’s employees to attend the half-day class and complete an assessment exam. You will be completing the training at the customer’s facility, and will need a trainer for the duration fo the training, which is six moths. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Resource requirements

B. Assumption

C. Cost constraint

D. A human resource issue

Answer 12

A. Resource requirements

The trainer is required for the project for six months.

Question 13

You are the project manager for a construction company. Your firm has been contracted to complete the drilling of a well for a new cabin in Arkansas. The specification of the well is documented, but your company has little experience in well drilling in Arkansas. The stakeholder is concerned your time estimates are not accurate since the soil and rock in Arkansas are much different than the soil in your home state. Which one of the following can you use to ensure your project estimates are accurate?

A. An order of magnitude

B. A commercial duration estimating database

C. Local contractors

D. Soil samplings from the Arkansas government

Answer 13

B. A commercial duration estimating database

Commercial duration estimating databases are valid resources to confirm or base time estimates upon.

Question 14

You are the project manager for your organization. You and your project team are in conflict on the amount of time allotted to complete certain activities. Several of the team members want to bloat the time associated with activities to ensure they will have enough time to complete their tasks should something go awry. The law of economics that these tasks may suffer from is which of the following?

A. Parkinson’s Law

B. The law of diminishing returns

C. Hertzber’s theory of motivation

D. Oligopoly

Answer 14

A. Parkinson’s Law

Parkinson’s Law states that work will expand to fulfill the time allotted to it.

Question 15

You are the project manager for your organization. You and your project team are in conflict on the amount of time allotted to complete certain activites. Several of the team members want to bloat the time associated with activities to ensure they will have enough time to complete their tasks should something go awry. Instead of overestimating their project activities, the project team should use which of the following?

A. Capital reserve

B. Contingency plans

C. Contingency reserve

D. Assumptions of plus or minus a percentage

Answer 15

C. Contingency reserve

Rather than bloat activities, projects should use a contingency reserve. A contingency is a portion of the project schedule allotted for time overruns on activities.

Question 16

Which of the following is not an output from the activity duration estimating process?

A. WBS

B. Activity list updates

C. A basis of estimates

D. Duration estimates

Answer 16

A. WBS

The WBS is not an output of activity duration estimating.

Question 17

You are the project manager for the 987 Project. Should this project run over shcedule, it will cost your organization $35,000 per day in lost sales. With four months to completion, you realize the project is running late. you decide, with management’s approval, to add more project team members to the plan to complete the work on time. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Crashing

B. Fast tracking

C. Expert judgment

D. Cost benefit analysis

Answer 17

A. Crashing

When more resources are added to a project to complete the work on time, this is called crashing.

Question 18

You are the project manager for the 987 Project. Should this project run over schedule, it will cost your organization $35,000 per day in lost sales. With four months to completion, you realize the project is running late. You decide, with management’s approval, to change the relationship between several of the work packages so they begin in tandem rather than sequentially. This is an example of the which one of the following?

A. Crashing

B. Fast tracking

C. Expert judgment

D. Cost benefit analysis

Answer 18

B. Fast tracking

Fast tracking allows activities to operate in tandem with each other rather than sequentially.

Question 19

Which of the following is a correct attribute of the critical path?

A. It determines the earliest completion date.

B. It has the smallest amount of float.

C. It has the most activities in the PND.

D. It is the path with the most expensive project activities

Answer 19

A. It determines the earliest completion date.

The critical path is the path with the longest duration. In cases where the project’s expected end date is well beyond the duration of the scheduled work, the critical path is considered the path with the least amount of float.

Question 20

Chris, a project manager for his company, is explaining the difference between a Gantt chart and a milestone chart. Which of the following best describes a Gantt chart?

A. A Gantt chart depicts what was planned against what actually occurred.

B. A Gantt chart compares the work in the project against the work that has been completed.

C. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against a calendar.

D. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against each resource’s calendar.

Answer 20

C. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against a calendar.

A Gantt chart is a bar chart that represents the duration of activities against a calendar. The length of the bars represents the length of activities, while the order of the bars represents the order of activities in the project.

Question 21

You are the project manager for a construction project. your foreman informs you that, due to the humidity, the concrete will need to cure for an additional 24 hours before the framing can begin. To accommodate the requirement, you add ______________ time to the framing activity.

A. Lead

B. Lag

C. Delay

D. Slack

Answer 21

B. Lag

You will add lag time to the framing activity. Lag is waiting time.

Question 22

A heuristic is a ______________________?

A. Guideline

B. Regulation

C. A regulation internal to an organization

D. A best method of implementing an activity

Answer 22

A. Guideline

A heuristic is simply a guideline, or a rule of thumb.

Question 23

You are the project manager for a project with the following network diagram. Studying the diagram, which path is the critical path?

A. ABCD

B. EBCD

C. EFH

D. EGH

Answer 23

B. EBCD

EBCD is the critical path because it is the longest path to completion at 18 days.

Question 24

Bertha is the project manager for the HAR Project. The project is behind schedule and Bertha has elected, with management’s approval, to crash the crtitical path. This process adds more what? (Choose best answer.)

A. Cost

B. Time

C. Risk

D. Documentation

Answer 24

A. Cost

Crashing involves adding resources, which typically increases cost.

Question 25

Bertha is the project manager for the HAR Project. It’s currently behind schedule and Bertha has elected, with management’s approval, to fast track the critical path. This process adds more what:? (Choose the best answer.)

A. Cost

B. Time

C. Risk

D. Documentation

Answer 25

C. Risk

Fast tracking adds risk because tasks are allowed to overlap.