Quiz 1 - introduction to project management

Question 1

As a CAPM candidate you must have a firm grasp on what constitutes a project. Which one of the following is not an attribute of a project?
Definite starting date
Has no definite end date
Creates a product, service, or result
Requires resources

Answer 1

Has no definite end date
A, C, and D are incorrect since projects do have a definite end date; Creates a product, service, or result, and Requires resources

Question 2

You are a project manager for Johnson Keyboards, Inc. Your organization has adapted the PMBOK Guide as a standard tool for how projects should operate, and you are involved in shaping the standardization for all future projects. In light of this information, what is the recommended course of action for the processes and procedures in the PMBOK Guide?
Not all processes and procedures in PMBOK guide are required on all projects
All processes and procedures are to be followed as defined in PMBOK guide
Not all process and procedures are needed, unless PMBOK guide states the process or procedure is required for project type

Answer 2

Not all processes and procedures in PMBOK guide are required on all projects. Not all information in the PMBOK Guide should be applied uniformly to all projects. It is the responsibility of the project management team to determine what practices are appropriate for each project.

Question 3

Your organization is considering launching a new project. Robert, the CEO, wants to know what business value the proposed project will contribute. Which one of the following is not an example of business value consideration for a new project?
Return on investment
New equipment 
Skills obtained by doing the project
Risk assessments within the project

Answer 3

Risk assessments within the project. Risk assessments within the project is not a business value, but a project management activity. Risks can be positive or negative, but the assessment of the risk is not a business value element. Business value means that the project is contributing something positive for the organization. A, return on investment is a business value. B, new equipment can be a business value consideration because the equipment will be owned as an asset by the organization and can be used in other endeavors. C, skills obtained by doing the project, is a business value. C, By doing the project the project team members may learn skills that can allow the organization to grow on future projects and in operations

Question 4

You are explaining to a junior engineer the difference between a project and operations. Which one of the following is true only of operations?
They are performed by people
They are constraint by resources
They are ongoing
They utilize procurement

Answer 4

They are ongoing. A, B, and D are incorrect, projects and operations are performed by people; are constrained by limited resources; and are planned, executed, and controlled, both operations and projects can utilize procurement.

Question 5

You are the project manager for your company, Mark Manufacturers. Your company has a large client that has requested a special component be created for one of their test engines. Your organization agrees and creates a standard contract with the customer, and your manager assigns you to manage this project. The project was launched because of which one of the following?
A customer request
A change in the technology your customer is creating
A legal requirement
An organizational need

Answer 5

A customer request. This project was launched because the customer requested the new component. B is incorrect because the project is not a response to a change in technology, but a customer request. C, a legal requirement, is not correct because this actually refers to a law or mandated regulation that has been created. D, an organizational need, typically refers to a project to improve the performance of the organization.

Question 6

Project managers are not responsible for which one of the following in most organizations?
Identify project requirements
Select projects to be initiating
Balance the demands of time, scope, cost, and quality
Establish clear and achievable project objectives

Answer 6

Select projects to be initiating Project managers typically do not select which projects are to be initiated. The project selection committee, customers, or project sponsors are typically responsible for this. A, C, and D incorrect because the project manager is responsible for these activities.

Question 7

You and William, a project stakeholder, are discussing risks within your project. Which one of the following best describes risk?
Any event that can cause a project to fail
Any event that may have positive or negative effect on your project team
An uncertain event that may have positive or negative effect on project
An event that will cause time and cost constraints to be broken

Answer 7

An uncertain event that may have positive or negative effect on project. Risk is an uncertain event that can have positive or negative effects on your project. A, B, and D are characteristics of risk, but the best choice is C because risk is uncertain and may have a positive or negative effect on the project.

Question 8

You are the project manager for a large software development project. You have concerns that one of the components of the Iron Triangle is slipping. Your project sponsor, Jim Bob, is not familiar with the Iron Triangle, so you explain the concept to him. What will be affected if any angle of the Iron Triangle is not kept in balance?
Cost
Quality
Time
Scope

Answer 8

Quality. Cost, time,and scope are the three sides of the triangle. These three sides must be kept in balance or quality will suffer. A, C, and D are incorrect because these are the three sides of the Iron Triangle. These three sides must be kept in balance or quality will suffer.

Question 9

Which knowledge area includes the creation of the project charter?
Project scope Management
Project cost Management
Project integration Management
Project communication Management

Answer 9

Project integration management, which focuses on the coordination of all components of project management, includes the development of the project charter. A is incorrect because project scope management focuses on the creation and control of the project scope. B, project cost management, is incorrect because its role is to manage, control, and respond to the financial concerns within the project. D, is incorrect, project communications management, focuses on who needs what information, when is it needed, and in what modality.

Question 10

Beth is a project manager and she’s working with Karen the program manager. There is some disagreement about the project management methodology Karen is requiring all project managers to operate by. Who has authority over this decision in this scenario?
Project sponsor
Project manager
Program manager

Answer 10

Karen, the program manager, oversees the project managers and the approach they’ll take in managing their individual projects. A is incorrect because the project sponsor would defer to the program manager as this decision fits within Karen’s roles and responsibilities. C, is incorrect; Beth may be the project manager, but she must follow Karen’s directives for project management within the program.

Question 11

Which one of the following is an example of a project life cycle phase?
Framing
Phase gate review
Project quality management 
Executing

Answer 11

Of all the choices presented only framing is a project life cycle phase. A life cycle phase is unique to a project and shows the type of work and expected deliverables achieved within that phase. B is incorrect, Phase gate reviews happen at the end of a phase. C is incorrect, Project quality management is a knowledge area, not a phase. D is incorrect, Executing is a process group.

Question 12

Smith Construction has won a contract to build a 77-story condominium building in downtown Chicago. The building will have 650 condos, a parking garage, indoor and outdoor pools, two floors for retail, two floors of offices, and several shared community rooms. Mary Anne Kedzie has elected to create a program for the creation of the building. Which one of the following best describes a program?
A standardized approach to project management within an organization
A standardized approach to project management with multiple projects coordinated together
A collection of related projects managed in coordination to gain control that would not necessarily be available if the project was managed independently
A collection of related projects all contributing to one deliverable

Answer 12

A collection of related projects managed in coordination to gain control that would not necessarily be available if the project was managed independently. A program is a collection of related projects managed and coordinated to gain a higher level of control. A, B, and D do not accurately describe a program. Note that D is not the best answer because programs typically create many deliverables and benefits—rarely just one deliverable.

Question 13

Which one of the following statements best defines the difference between a program and portfolios in regard to scope?
A. Programs do not have scopes because they are made up of projects. Portfolios have organizational scope.
B. Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios have an organizational scope
C. Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios do not have scopes because they are financial investments
D. Programs and portfolio can share the same scope because portfolio may have 2 or more programs

Answer 13

C, Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios have an organizational scope. Portfolios have an organizational scope that reflects the strategic goals of the organization. Programs have larger scopes than projects and may be part of portfolios. D is incorrect because programs and portfolios won’t have the same scope. Programs may be part of a portfolio, but portfolios have an organizational scope.

Question 14

Who is usually responsible for portfolio management within an organization?
Project manager
Project sponsor
Stakeholder
Senior management

Answer 14

Senior management is responsible for portfolio management. A is incorrect because project managers are responsible for a project’s success, but not for the portfolio. B is incorrect, project sponsors, authorize projects. C, stakeholders, is incorrect because stakeholders is too vague to be an acceptable answer

Question 15

You are the project manager of a large project to install 1900 kiosks throughout college campuses in North America. The kiosks will collect applications for credit cards, phone services, and other services marketable to college students. The bulk of your project is focused on the information technology integration, the wide area network (WAN) connections from each kiosk, security of the data transferred, and the database of the information gathered. For ease of management, you have hired local contractors to install the kiosks that you will ship to each campus. The contractors on each campus will be responsible for the WAN connection, the electrical connection, the security of the kiosk, and all testing. The local contracted work could be called what?
Risk mitigation 
Operations
Subprojects
Management by projects

Answer 15

Subprojects work that is subcontracted out for ease of management, as in this situation, becomes a subproject. A is incorrect because risk mitigation describes the measures a project manager takes to reduce or eliminate risks. The scenario did not provide enough information to determine what risks would have been mitigated. B, operations, is incorrect because it does not describe this scenario at all. D, Management by projects, is incorrect because this term describes a company that operates through projects. There is no indication that this is true with the scenario presented.

Question 16

There are several different project life cycle approaches you’ll need to know and be familiar with on your CAPM exam. Which life cycle approach defines the project scope, timeline, and project costs early in the project?
Predictive
Iterative
Incremental
Adaptive

Answer 16

The predictive approach requires the project scope, the project time, and project costs to be defined early in the project timeline. Predictive life cycles have predefined phases, where each phase completes a specific type of work and usually overlaps other phases in the project. B, C, and D are incorrect choices as these life cycles do not plan the project scope, the project time, and the project costs early in the project.

Question 17

Which of the following is likely to be part of an operation?
Providing electricity to a community
Designing an electrical grid for a new community
Building a new dam as a source of electricity
Informing the public about changes at an electrical company

Answer 17

Providing electricity to a community. An electrical company’s primary operation is to provide electricity. B and C are projects. Although D, providing information, could potentially be part of an ongoing operation, A is still the best answer presented.

Question 18

Of the following, which one is not part of project integration management?
The creation of the project plan
The interaction between project teams
The execution of the project plan
The documentation of changes to the project plan

Answer 18

The interaction between project teams. Project integration management focuses on the project plan and its implementation, not the interaction between project teams. Although B could, in some instances, be considered accurate if the project plan had some interaction with other project teams, the assumption cannot be made in this question. A, C, and D are all part of project integration management, so they are not valid answers.

Question 19

You are the project manager for the Fixture Installation Project in your organization. You’ve just completed the second of three phases. What event will happen next?
Phase gate review 
Initiating of the third phase
Project quality management activities 
Phase closure

Answer 19

Phase gate reviews happen at the end of each project phase and before the next phase will begin. These are opportunity to review the project work so far and to confirm that the project can and should move forward. B is incorrect; the third phase of the project will commence after the phase gate review. C, project quality management activities, will happen throughout the project, not just at the end of a phase. D isn’t a valid project management term; the phase gate signals the end of the phase and allows the next phase to begin if the project is allowed to move forward.

Question 20

You are a new project manager in a company that uses a project management office. A new technology has been released in the marketplace that will supersede the technology your project is implementing. There are doubts that the project should continue. Martin, a member of the project management office is considering the amount of funds already invested in the project. What term is given to the monies you’ve already spent in the project?
Capital losses
Return on investment 
Sunk costs
In the red

Answer 20

Sunk costs describe the funds already “sunk” into a project – and they should not be considered when determining if the project should move forward or not. A is incorrect because capital losses describe the money that is lost, never to be recouped. B is incorrect because return on investment is the money earned after the project is completed and as a result of the investment made in the project endeavor. D, in the red, is a term to describe a project that is losing money. In the red is a financial slang for an endeavor that is not profitable (in the black, means that your project is profitable).

Question 21

What term best describes the raw data of a project, such as number of change requests and actual duration?
Project data outcome
Work performance data
Work performance information
Work performance reports

Answer 21

Work performance data is the raw data and facts about the project work. A is incorrect, Project data outcomes is not a viable project management term. B is incorrect, Work performance information is the result of analyzed data, not raw data. D is incorrect Work performance reports are documents that communicate the information of the project.

Question 22

The project manager typically devotes the most amount of time to which of the following tasks?
Communication 
Budget management 
Project organization 
Management by  team negotiation

Answer 22

It’s been said that project managers spend 90 percent of their time communicating. B, C, and D are all incorrect because the project manager does not devote most of his time to these tasks.

Question 23

You have an excellent idea for a new project that can increase productivity by 20 percent in your organization. Management, however, declines to approve the proposed project because too many resources are already devoted to other projects. You have just experienced what?
Parametric modeling 
Management by exception
Project portfolio management 
Management reserve

Answer 23

Project portfolio management is the process of choosing and prioritizing projects within an organization. An excellent project idea can still be denied if there aren’t enough resources to complete the project work. Parametric modeling is a model to estimate costs, such as cost per ton or cost per hour. Management by exception is a
management theory to manage people and problems. management reserve is an amount of time and money reserved for projects running late or over budget.

Question 24

Which one of the following documents is an analysis of the financial feasibility of a proposed project?
Feasibility study
Business case
Feasibility case
Portfolio analysis review

Answer 24

B is correct. Business case. Projects that are large in scope will likely be preceded by a business case. A business case is an analysis of the financial feasibility and validity of the proposed project. A, is incorrect, feasibility study, is a study of whether it is feasible for the organization to undertake the proposed project. C, and D are incorrect because these are not valid project management terms.

Question 25

Of the following, which is the most important stakeholder involved with a project?
Project manager
Project sponsor
CEO
Customer

Answer 25

D is correct. Customers, internal or external, are the most important stakeholders in a project. A is incorrect because the project manager manages the project for the customer. B is incorrect because the project sponsor authorizes the project. C is incorrect because the CEO may not even know about the project—and even then she would be interested in the success of the project for the customer.