Review Flashcards
planning technique to subdivide the project scope and deliverables into smaller, more manageable components. What is this technique called?
Decomposition
The three types of estimates on which three-point estimates are based are:
Most likely, optimistic, and pessimistic
Project calendar definition
A project calendar is a calendar of working days or shifts that establishes those dates on which schedule activities are worked. It also establishes non-working days that determine dates on which schedule activities are idle, such as holidays, weekends and non-shift hours.
For control and management communication, the broader and more comprehensive summary activity that is used between milestones is referred to as:
Hammock activity
a technique that computes or iterates the project cost or the project schedule many times, using input values selected at random from probability distributions of possible costs or durations. In this way, one can calculate a distribution of possible total project costs or completion dates.
Monte Carlo Analysis
The critical path method (CPM) calculates the theoretical early start and finish dates and late start and finish dates. The difference between the late and early start of a task is called:
Total float
A control chart is used to determine whether a process is stable or has predictable performance. When a process is within acceptable limits, the process need not be adjusted. At what values are the upper and lower control limits usually set?
+ / - 3 Sigma
The three categories into which contracts can be broadly classified are:
Broadly speaking, contracts can be classified as: 1. Fixed-price (Firm-fixed-price, Fixed-price incentive), 2. Cost-reimbursable (Cost-plus-fixed-fee, Cost-plus-incentive fee, Cost-plus-award fee), 3. Time-and-Materials (T&M).
The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle as the basis for quality improvement is usually attributed to:
Deming
A ______ is a collection of projects or programs grouped together for strategic business needs.
Portfolio
While managing a project, you decide to award a contract to an external enterprise. You enter into a contract where you pay the external enterprise a set amount (as defined by the contract), irrespective of the seller’s costs. What would best describe this type of contract?
Firm Fixed Price FFP
What are the outputs of the Plan Procurement Management process?
The procurement management plan, procurement statements of work, and make-or-buy decisions are three of the seven outputs of the Plan Procurements process.
A tool that provides a visual representation of human resource allocation to a project, number of working hours and availability on the project is a:
The correct response is Resource Histogram. This bar chart illustrates the number of hours that a project, department or project team will be working each week or month over the course of the project. The chart can include a horizontal line that represents the maximum number of hours available for a particular resource. Bars that extend beyond the maximum available hours indicate the need for a resource leveling strategy.
Four negative risk management strategies are:
Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, and Accept.
What does it mean if the Earned Value is equal to Actual Cost?
CV = EV - AC. If the EV is equal to the AC, then there is no cost variance on the project.
You are the project manager managing a project to design a print head for dot matrix printers. In order to determine ideal settings for print quality, the quality manager of the company suggests trying out various scenarios for printing by varying certain parameters on the print head. Identifying variables which influence the product or process under development is called:
Design of Experiments
Cause and Effect diagrams are used to illustrate how various factors might be linked to potential problems or effects. They are also called:
Ishikawa Diagrams
What is the best way to make an accurate forecast of ETC?
Manual forecasting of costs of remaining work is generally the best means of generating an accurate forecast of ETC.
What is the difference between a histogram and a Pareto chart?
A Pareto chart is a type of histogram where the causes are ordered by frequency.
Most project management software packages use a method of constructing a project schedule network diagram known as:
Precedence Diagramming Method. PDM uses Nodes to represent Activities and connects the activities with Arrows to show dependencies. This is the method most commonly used by project management software packages.
When a negative unplanned risk occurs in a project, a response to it would be called:
A workaround
A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement is called a:
This is a control account. Control accounts are placed at selected management points of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Each control account may include one or more work packages, but each of the work packages must be associated with only one control account.
You are defining the schedule activities for your project and identifying deliverables at the lowest level in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). You find that there is insufficient definition of the project scope to decompose a branch of the WBS down to the work package level. You now look at using the last component in that branch of the WBS to develop a high-level project schedule for that component. Such a planning component is called:
The correct response is a planning package. Control accounts and planning packages are two planning components used when there are insufficient details of the project scope.
A Project manager estimates the work to be accomplished in the near term in detail at a low level of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). He estimates work far in the future as WBS components that are at a relatively high level of the WBS. What is this technique called?
Rolling wave planning. In Rolling Wave Planning, the work to be accomplished in the near term is estimated in detail at a low level of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), while the work far in the future is estimated as WBS components that are at a relatively high level of the WBS. The work to be performed within another one or two reporting periods in the near future is planned in detail during the current period.
The WBS represents all product and project work. The total work at the lowest levels should roll up to the higher levels so that nothing is left out and no extra work is performed. This principle is also called the:
100% rule. The WBS represents all product and project work. The total work at the lowest levels should roll up to the higher levels so that nothing is omitted and no extra work is performed. This principle is also called the 100% rule.
A Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) is used to break down the project by type of resources. The RBS is an example of a:
Hierarchical chart. The Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) is a hierarchical chart. It is used to break down the project by type of resources. For example, an RBS can depict all of the welders and welding equipment used in different areas of a ship, even though these resources may be scattered among different branches of the Organizational Breakdown Structure and RBS.
Analogous Estimating is an estimation technique that uses the values of parameters such as scope, cost, budget and duration from a previous similar activity as the basis of activity. It is frequently used for estimation when there is a limited amount of information about the project. This is a form of:
Gross value estimation. Analogous estimating is a gross value estimating technique. It is most reliable when the previous activities are similar in fact and not just in appearance, and the project team members preparing the estimates have the needed expertise.
A project was estimated to cost $200,000 with a timeline of 10 months. Due to a shipment delay, the schedule was slightly delayed. However, this was made up by shipping the first batch of materials for the project by air. The net result was that there was some additional cost in the project. At the end of the second month, the Project Manager reviews the project and finds that the project is 20% complete and Actual Costs are $50,000. The Estimate to Complete (ETC) for the project would now be:
$160,000 The budget at completion (BAC) = $200,000 (given). The Actual Cost (AC) = $50,000 (given). The Earned value (EV) = (2/10) * 200,000 since 20% of the project is complete; i.e., 2 months out of 10. Hence, Earned Value (EV) = $40,000. This is an instance of an atypical situation in the project. Late arrival of materials does not mean that all subsequent material will arrive late. Hence, the calculation used for ETC is ETC = BAC - EV = $200,000 - $40,000 = $160,000.
As a project manager, where would you document the escalation process to resolve issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff level?
Communications Management Plan
While developing the project schedule, you find that the completion of a successor activity depends on the completion of its predecessor activity. What is this dependency called?
Finish to finish
A project manager wishes to illustrate the connections between the work that needs to be done and the project team members. According to the PMBOK, the resulting document would be called:
The correct response is Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM). This illustrates the connections between the work that needs to be done and the various team members. On larger projects, RAMs can be developed at various levels.
The project management team has determined that there are some changes to the scope of the project. According to the PMBOK, who would be responsible for reviewing, evaluating and approving documented changes to the project?
The Change Control Board is a group of formally constituted stakeholders responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying or rejecting changes to the project.
The transition from one phase to another within a project’s life cycle (e.g., from design to manufacturing) is typically marked by:
Kill point
Estimating the type and quantities of material, people, equipment and supplies required to perform each activity is:
Estimate Activity Resources
Fill in the blank: _______________ means developing in steps and continuing by increments.
Progressive elaboration
Randy is managing a project and identifies that there are eight stakeholders in the project. He is concerned that he might end up with an unmanageable number of communication channels. How many communication channels does Randy have to plan for?
28 channels The correct response is 28. The formula for the number of communication channels is n(n – 1)/2, where n is the number of stakeholders. In this case, n = 8, so it works out to 8(8 - 1)/2 = 28.
As a project manager, you perform various project performance measurements to assess the magnitude of variation. You then attempt to determine the cause and decide whether corrective action is required. This is known as:
Variance Analysis This is known as Variance Analysis. As project manager, you would then attempt to determine the cause of the variance relative to the scope baseline, and then decide whether corrective action is required.
Two efficiency indicators that reflect the cost and schedule performance of a project are:
The Cost Performance Index (CPI) and the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) are two efficiency indicators that reflect the cost and schedule performance of the project. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 219]
At the end of a project, what will your schedule variance be equal to?
Zero. The schedule variance is the earned value minus the planned value. At the end of the project, all of the planned values should be earned, and the differences should be zero.
Quantitative risk analysis should be performed:
only on prioritized risks. Since the quantitative risk analysis is a more in-depth process, it should only be performed on prioritized risks to minimize impact to the overall project schedule.
If you are working on a project where there is no definite detailed scope, but similar projects have been completed in the past, what is the correct Estimate Activity Durations tool to use?
Analogous estimation relies on comparing a project to previous projects that were similar in nature.
As project manager, you would like to show the relationship between two variables to help your project team understand the quality impacts better. Which tool should be used?
Scatter Diagram A scatter diagram plots several occurrences of two variables (one on each axis). Often a relationship between the two variables can then be determined, based on how closely they fit a geometric model. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 238]
Which document describes the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables?
The project scope statement is the correct response. This document describes the project’s deliverables in detail and the work that is required to create those deliverables. It also forms the baseline for evaluating whether requests for changes are within or outside the project’s boundaries. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 123]
The date through which the project has provided actual status and accomplishments is called:
The date through which the project has provided actual status and accomplishments is called the data date (DD). It is also known as the as-of date or the status date. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 184]
Types of risk diagramming techniques:
Risk diagramming techniques include: Cause-and-effect diagrams (also known as fishbone diagrams), flowcharts, and influence diagrams. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 325]
A hierarchical structure of resources organized by resource type category and resource type, used in resource leveling schedules, is known as:
The Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) is a hierarchical structure of resources by resource category and resource type, used in resource leveling schedules and in developing resource-limited schedules. The RBS may also be used to identify and analyze project human resource assignments. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 261]
What does a Cost Performance Index (CPI) of more than 1.0 indicate?
The project is under budget. The CPI is calculated as the earned value divided by the actual cost. An index of greater than one indicates that you have spent less than you forecasted to this point. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 219]
The Cost Performance Baseline is a time-phased budget and is used as a basis to measure, monitor, and control overall cost performance of the project. It is usually displayed in the form of:
The correct response is an S-curve (or S curve). The Cost Performance Baseline is a time-phased budget and is used as a basis to measure, monitor, and control overall cost performance of the project. It is usually displayed in the form of an S-curve and is developed by summing estimated costs by period. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 213]
A project is estimated to cost $50,000 with a timeline of 50 days. After 25 days, the project manager finds that 50% of the project is complete and actual costs are $50,000. What is the Cost Performance Index (CPI)?
The CPI is 0.5 The Cost performance Index (CPI) is given by the formula CPI = EV/AC where EV is the Earned Value and AC is the Actual Cost. Since 50% of the project is complete, Earned Value = 50% of $50,000 = $25,000. Hence CPI = 25,000/50,000 = 0.5. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 219]
An estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (such as square footage in construction or lines of code in software development) is known as:
This technique is known as Parametric Estimating. It can produce higher levels of accuracy, depending on the sophistication as well as on the underlying resource quantity and cost data built into the model. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 205]
Lucy is currently preparing a high-level cost estimate for her project in the initiation phase. With the limited detail available to her, what would you expect the range of her estimate to be, and what would you call such an estimate?
During the initial stages of the project, the amount of information available will be limited. Therefore, a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimate is usually prepared, and it should have an accuracy range of -25% to +75%. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 201]
Funding requirements for a project are usually in incremental amounts that are not continuous. These increments appear as a step function in the graph depicting Cash flow, Cost baseline and Funding. Any gap at the end of the project between the funds allocated and the cost baseline represents:
Management reserves Management reserves are included in the project’s total funds, but they are not included in the project’s cost performance baseline. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 214]
A variance threshold for costs or other indicators to indicate the agreed amount of variation allowed is called:
Control thresholds are variance thresholds for costs or other indicators such as person-days, and they indicate the agreed amount of variation allowed. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 148]
The WBS is finalized by establishing control accounts for the work packages and a unique identifier from a code of accounts. This provides a structure for hierarchical summation of:
Cost, schedule and resource information
Uncontrolled project scope changes are often referred to as ________ .
Scope creep
A fundamentally functional organization creates a special project team to handle a critical project. This team has many of the characteristics of a project team in a project organization and has a Project Manager dedicated to the project. Such an organization is called:
Composite
The Create WBS process identifies the deliverables at the __________ level in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Lowest
After brainstorming potential project risks, what is the recommended method for prioritizing these risks and their mitigation plans?
A probability and impact matrix will help filter the high-risk items and high-impact items from the others, so that you can focus your attention on these riskier items. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 331]
If you are requesting a vendor quote for a defined scope, what is the recommended contract type?
Fixed price
The most detailed level of the WBS is called the _______________ .
Work package
Which of the following is a hierarchical representation of project risks?
Risk breakdown structure
During the Plan Procurement Management phase, the make-or-____ analysis must be completed. This technique prompts the project team to determine the source of their item.
The make-or-buy analysis is a technique used by the project manager to determine whether a particular work can be best completed by the project team or should be procured from outside sources. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 365]
