Scope

Question 1

1. You have been assigned as the project manager for a web-based application project to automate the sales and marketing processes for one of your clients. You have decided to utilize a group creativity technique to identify the project and product requirements during the Collect Requirements process. All of the following are valid group creativity techniques EXCEPT:

A. Nominal group technique
B. The Delphi technique
C. Affinity diagram
D. Tornado diagram

Answer 1

D: A Tornado diagram is not a component of the Group Creativity techniques. It is mostly used during the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process to display the sensitivity analysis data in order to determine which risks have the most potential impact on a project. This diagram can be used to determine sensitivity in cost, time, and quality objectives and will be helpful to determine a detailed response plan for the elements with greater impacts.

Question 2

2. The project scope statement that describes project deliverables and the work required to create them in detail, enables the project team to perform more detailed planning, guides the project team’s work during execution, and provides the baseline for evaluating changes includes all of the following EXCEPT:
   A. Detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
   B. Project constraints
   C. Project deliverables
   D. Product acceptance criteria

Answer 2

2. A: The detailed Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is developed after the project scope statement has been defined and accepted. The scope baseline consists of the project scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary.

Question 3

3. Which one of the following are the unapproved and undocumented changes and what
   occurs when changes to the scope are not detected early enough or are not managed?
   A. Scope baseline
   B. Residual risks
   C. Scope creep
   D. Variances

Answer 3

3. C: Scope creeps are the unapproved and undocumented changes, and they occur when changes to the scope are not detected early enough or managed. All these minor changes slowly add up and may have a drastic impact on budget, schedule, and quality.

Question 4

4. You are the project manager for a cashier system project to produce cashier application and software for the retail industry. You have recently discovered that one of your key competitors is also working on a similar project, but their new applications will include a computer-aided program and a web-based interface that your project does not offer. You have implemented a change request to update your project in order to include
   these exciting missing features. This is an example of which of the following?
   A. A change due to an error and omission in the business case
   B. A change due to a legal requirement and constraint
   C. A change due to an error or omission in the planning phase
   D. A change due to an external event

Answer 4

4. D: This is a change due to an external event mainly to remain competitive. The features that the competitors are offering were not included in the scope of the project; thus, they were never discussed during the initiation or planning phases. Due to the risk of losing a potential market, the project manager decided to include them in the project.
   Also, there was no legal requirement or constraint to include the missing features in this
   case.

Question 5

5. While trying to obtain the formal acceptance of the completed project scope and
   associated deliverables, with whom should the project manager validate the product?
   A. The sponsor, key stakeholders, and customers
   B. The project team
   C. The quality control team members
   D. The change control board members

Answer 5

5. A: The project manager should get the approval from the sponsor, key stakeholders, and the customers.

Question 6

6. Determining if the project scope has been completed by describing project deliverables and the work required to create them in detail, enabling the project team to perform more detailed planning, guiding the project team’s work during execution, providing the baseline for evaluating changes, and other factors relies mostly upon the use of:
A. Statement of work
B. Project plan
C. Project charter
D. Project scope statement

Answer 6

6. D: The statement of work generally precedes a contract and provides a narrative description of work to be completed. The project plan is derived from the project scope statement. Once a project is selected or a contract is signed to perform a project, a project charter is created to formally authorize a project or a phase, but is not a detailed plan. The scope statement answers the questions of what, why, who, where, and how and, in combination with the work breakdown structure, provides a detailed description of what must be accomplished.

Question 7

7. You are working as a project manager for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
   application to automate the accounting and financial processes for one of your key
   customers. Due to a mismatch with the customer’s requirement, you have been forced
   to redesign one of the major components. This is a significant setback since a substantial amount of code that has already been developed will have to be recoded to match the updated design. This rework has caused huge expenses, and you noticed a sign of extremely low morale among team members. Which of the following is TRUE in this situation?
   A. The team discovered this issue as a result of the Identify Risks process.
   B. The team did a poor job while creating the WBS.
   C. This problem was a result of poor collect requirements.
   D. The team carried on a rigorous Control Quality process and discovered the issue.

Answer 7

7. C: This problem was a direct result of scope misunderstanding due to poor collect
   requirements. Obviously, the team did not utilize all the tools & techniques to collect requirements from the customers and also did not spend quality time defining and developing a detailed description of the project and product.

Question 8

8. While overseeing a construction project, you discovered that one of the team members, on her own initiative, added extra windows to increase air circulation and light in the basement. The original plan did not include the cost of these extra windows, but the team member thought they were absolutely required due to poor air circulation and low light in the basement. This is an example of which of the following?
A. Value-added change
B. Self-motivated team member
C. Team member exceeding expectations
D. Inefficient change control

Answer 8

8. D: This is an example of inefficient change control as the team should be focused on “all the work” and “only the work” needed to complete the project, not extra. The key objective should be to complete the project with the agreed- upon deliverables in time, with quality, and within budget. This kind of “gold plating” increases risk and uncertainties and introduces problems into the project and should be monitored and controlled by the project manager.

Question 9

9. After a major milestone release, some of the key stakeholders are not happy and complain that their requirements are not met. The project manager should have involved them in which of the following processes to ensure their approval for the release?

A. Project Management Plan Development
B. Identifying Constraints
C. Validate Scope
D. Schedule Management

Answer 9

9. C: Validate Scope is the process of formal acceptance of completed project scope and deliverables by stakeholders through a signature on paper or via an e-mail that specifically states project approval. Prior scope validation would have avoided the dissatisfaction of stakeholders after the milestone release.

Question 10

10. Which one of the following mostly includes the product acceptance criteria that outline requirements a project must meet before stakeholders accept the final product or service?
A. Quality management plan
B. Project scope statement
C. Scope management plan
D. Requirements management plan

Answer 10

10. B: The project scope statement documents the characteristics and boundaries of the project and its associated products, results, and services in addition to the acceptance criteria.

Question 11

11. ITPro Consultancy, LLC has been offering cable TV, Internet, and phone services to its
    East Coast customers for almost five years now. Recently, they have initiated a project
    to introduce their service to the West Coast and have assigned a project manager. The
    project manager left the company, and you took over the project, as per the instruction
    of the CEO, when the project is almost ready to enter in execution. While reviewing the
    existing documents, you discovered that the team had done a great job in developing
    the requirements document and the project scope statement, but there was no WBS.
    What should you do FIRST in this situation?
    A. Immediately inform management and provide them with relevant oversight.
    B. Politely request to be excused from the project.
    C. You should not enter execution until the WBS is created for the project.
    D. You should refer to the WBS dictionary for the required detail needed to continue to
    execution.

Answer 11

11. C: You should inform management and provide relevant oversight, but doing so will
    not resolve the issue immediately. You can refuse to manage a project in a case where
    there is a conflict of interest or an ethical concern, but not in this kind of situation. A
    WBS dictionary is the detail of the work packages, so a WBS should be created first. You should always have a WBS since it is the foundational block to the initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing phases. Creating the WBS should not be
    a lengthy process that will require a long time; thus, you should take the time to create it
    prior to entering the execution.

Question 12

12. While discussing the scope in your project with the stakeholders and team members,
    you realized that all of the following statements are TRUE about scope EXCEPT:
    A. Product scope describes the features and functions that characterize a product,
    service, or result.
    B. Project scope management includes the processes concerned with “all the work” and
    “only the work” required to successfully deliver to the stakeholders’ expectations,
    manage changes, minimize surprises, and gain acceptance of the product in order to
    complete the project.
    C. Project scope describes work needed to deliver a product, service, or result with the
    specified features and functions.
    D. The project team should go above and beyond the defined scope and impress the
    customers by implementing extra features that will be beneficial for them.

Answer 12

12. D: The project team should be concerned with “all the work” and “only the work” required to successfully complete the project and try to avoid extra work or gold plating in every way possible.

Question 13

13. Which one of the following is NOT true about the Define Scope process?
    A. It is the process of developing a comprehensive, detailed description of the project
    and product.
    B. Expert judgement is used as a tool & technique in this process.
    C. The requirements document is the key output in this process.
    D. A detailed project scope statement that is created in this process is critical to project
    success and builds upon the additional analysis of requirements, major deliverables,
    assumptions, constraints, and other factors that are documented earlier in the
    project.

Answer 13

13. C: The requirements document is the output in the Collect Requirements process, not in the Define Scope process.

Question 14

14. You have been assigned as the project manager for a web-based application project
    to automate the recruiting process for one of your clients. You have decided to utilize
    a group decision-making technique to generate, classify, prioritize, and drive decisions
    forward. All of the following are valid group decision-making techniques EXCEPT:
    A. The decision is based on the most influential block in a group even if a majority is not
    achieved.
    B. The decision is based on a single course of action decided by everyone in the group.
    C. The decision is based on the support from more than 50 percent of the members of
    the group.
    D. The decision is made for the group by one individual, mostly the project manager.

Answer 14

14. A: The decision may be based on the largest block, not the most influential block in a
    group even if a majority is not achieved.

Question 15

15. Product scope describes the features, functions, and physical characteristics that
    characterize a product, service, or result. Completion of the product scope is measured
    against which one of the following?
    A. Scope statement
    B. Project requirements
    C. Project objectives
    D. Product requirements

Answer 15

15. D: Completion of the product scope is measured against the product requirements to determine successful fulfillment. The project requirements, project objectives, and the project scope statement are associated with project scope.

Question 16

16. As per the project manager’s instruction, the team has decomposed project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components to develop a WBS and WBS dictionary. The team finalized the WBS by establishing control or cost accounts and unique identifiers for the lower-level components of the WBS called work packages. Normally presented in the chart form, this WBS provides a structure for hierarchical summation of:
    A. Cost and schedule information
    B. Cost and requirements information
    C. Cost, resource, and schedule information
    D. Schedule and requirements information

Answer 16

16. C: A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the foundational block to the initiating, planning, executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing phases. Normally presented in
    chart form, it is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be
    executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. It provides a structure for hierarchal summation of cost, schedule,
    and resource information.

Question 17

17. A project manager, managing a data center project, had the opportunity to attend
    several meetings about the project prior to the creation of the project charter. In one of
    the meetings, the sponsor specifically denied funding for two very specific items. Two
    months into the project, a couple of stakeholders requested the project manager add
    work for one of the items that was strongly denied by the sponsor. What will be the best
    thing the project manager can do in this situation?
    A. Add the work if it does not have much impact on the schedule.
    B. Inform the stakeholders that the work cannot be added.
    C. Evaluate the impact of adding the work on time, cost, quality, risk, human resource,
    and other elements.
    D. Immediately inform the sponsor about the request that was denied by him.

Answer 17

17. B: The most appropriate thing to do in this kind of situation is to find out the root cause of the problem, but the option is not presented here. Based on the information provided, there is no reason to find out the details and try to convince the sponsor to add the work (C & D). The project manager should inform the sponsor, but the best course of action will be to inform the stakeholders that the work could not be added. There is no need to do any evaluations because this kind of change has already been denied. Even though there is no impact on the schedule, there may be impact on other areas. A project manager should not implement a change request without performing an impact analysis and must get the approval for the change from the change control board.

Question 18

18. Verified deliverables are inputs in which of the following scope management processes?
A. Define Scope
B. Create WBS
C. Validate Scope
D. Control Scope

Answer 18

18. C: Verified deliverables are the deliverables that have been completed as per the documented scope and checked for defects by the project team members in the Control
    Quality process. These deliverables are inputs in the Validate Scope process and are
    given to the customers and stakeholders for their acceptance.

Question 19

19. All of the following are true regarding the Control Scope process EXCEPT:
    A. It assures that underlying causes of all requested changes and recommended
    corrective actions are understood and processed through the Integrated Change
    Control process.
    B. One of the key focuses in the process may be dispute resolution related to project
    scope.
    C. It monitors the status of the project and product scope, maintains control over the
    project by preventing overwhelming scope change requests, and manages changes
    to the scope baseline.
    D. It verifies the correctness of work results.

Answer 19

19. D: Verifying the correctness of work is associated with the Control Quality process.

Question 20

20. Your project is approaching completion, and you were able to release some of the team members from the team to be assigned to other projects. Your team has successfully resolved all the issues in the issue log except for one, which will be fixed in the next version of the application as per the agreement with the client. You are ahead of schedule, but $3,500 over budget due to an unexpected price increase for one of the major pieces of equipment. Your team also successfully performed quality control inspections and met quality requirements for all of the items except one. You called a meeting and requested the client for product verification, and surprisingly the client mentioned that they wanted to make a major change to the scope. In this situation, the project manager should:
    A. Immediately inform management about this surprising new change
    B. Have an urgent meeting with the team members to explore the feasibility of making
    the change
    C. Inform the client that it is too late now to make a major change
    D. Ask the client for a description of the change

Answer 20

20. D: Note that in this kind of situation you should always try to gather as much information as possible if the time allows. You simply should not say no without knowing the details of the change and its possible impact on the project (C). The client only mentioned that they wanted a change, but did not provide you with any description of it. You may inform management (A) and also have a meeting with the team if their inputs are needed (B), but not before understanding what the change is all about.

Question 21

21. Your company, ITPro Consultancy, has assigned you as the project manager to upgrade the call center in your organization. The number of calls the customer support agents have to answer each month has increased drastically in the last five months, and the phone system is approaching the maximum load limit. Your team has worked on the
    requirements document and the project scope statement, and you are now ready
    to create the WBS with the help of your team members. All of the following are true
    regarding the WBS EXCEPT:
    A. The WBS represents all the work required to be completed in the project.
    B. Each level of the WBS represents a verifiable product or results.
    C. Activities in the WBS should be arranged in the proper sequence they will be
    performed.
    D. The WBS should be decomposed to a level called the work package level where cost
    and schedule can easily be calculated.

Answer 21

21. C: Note that we do not usually include the activities in the WBS, especially for the large projects, even though we decompose the WBS work packages to get our activities during the Define Activities process in schedule management. Once the activities are defined, sequencing is done in the Sequence Activities process. Note that WBS has no particular sequence to it.

Question 22

22. The sponsor has recently assigned you as a project manager to design and develop a custom video conferencing tool. As per the sponsor, the project must be completed in
    four months and should integrate with the existing infrastructure and applications in the
    organization. This is an example of which of the following?
    A. Constraints
    B. Assumptions
    C. Expert judgment
    D. High-level planning

Answer 22

22. A: Constraints specify the limitations and restrictions, such as constraints on time, budget, scope, quality, schedule, resources, and technology that a project faces. By specifying a time limit and technology compliance, the sponsor is limiting the options for the project.

Question 23

23. All of the following are TRUE about the Validate Scope process EXCEPT:
    A. Customer acceptance of the project deliverables is a key output of this process.
    B. It is an input to the Develop Project Management Plan process and an output of the
    Control Quality process.
    C. It should be performed at the end of each phase of the project.
    D. This process is closely related to the Control Quality process.

Answer 23

23. B: The output of the Validate Scope process is the customer acceptance of the project deliverables. This process is performed during the monitoring & controlling process group. To get approval of the phase deliverables, it is done at the end of each project phase in addition to other points to get approval for the interim deliverables. Both the Control Quality and Validate Scope processes can be performed simultaneously, but Control Quality is usually performed prior to Validate Scope. Control Quality verifies correctness of the work, whereas Validate Scope confirms completeness. Control Quality is focused on measuring specific project results against quality specifications and standards, whereas Validate Scope is mainly focused on obtaining acceptance of the product from the sponsor, customers, and other stakeholders. It is not an input to the Develop Project Management Plan or an output of the Control Quality process.

Question 24

24. A project manager is in the Control Scope process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope, maintaining control over the project by preventing overwhelming scope change requests, and managing changes to the scope baseline. Which one of the following is NOT true about this process?
    A. The Control Scope process must be integrated with other control processes.
    B. It should be performed prior to scope planning.
    C. Variance analysis is used as a tool & technique in this process.
    D. Work performance information and change requests are the key outputs in this
    process.

Answer 24

24. B: Scope planning should be performed prior to the Control Scope process. A change in one control process impacts the others; thus, the Control Scope process is integrated with other control processes.

Question 25

25. Your project to build a new substation to supply power to a newly developed industrial park is not going too well. You are overwhelmed with numerous issues in the project and got really frustrated when the city conducted an inspection and reported a
    building code violation. You were asked by management to ensure full compliance
    to the mandatory city and construction industry standards. At this time, you are also
    approaching the final deadline of the project in two weeks. You have identified a couple of changes that will drastically enhance performance and make your clients very happy. While trying to sort out all these messes, you received a call from the senior engineer informing you that he would be leaving the company soon. Which is the MOST critical issue you should address first?
    A. Notify the customers about the possible delay in the project.
    B. Initiate the change control process to implement new changes.
    C. Find a replacement for the senior engineer.
    D. Ensure compliance with the city and construction industry standards.

Answer 25

25. D: A project manager is responsible for prioritizing the most critical issue to concentrate on. The situation here does not really specify whether the senior engineer is playing a vital role in the project or not. “Gold Plating,” or giving customers extra, is not actually required in the project. The project manager should evaluate the current situation and then determine if the project will require additional time or not to complete. The most critical item for the project manager is to ensure full compliance with the city and construction industry standards.

Question 26

26. Sarah, a project manager, is in the Define Scope process of developing a comprehensive, detailed description of the project and product. Which of the following is NOT a tool & technique used in this Define Scope process?
A. Product Analysis
B. Expert Judgement
C. Data Analysis
D. Data Representation

Answer 26

26. D: Data representation is not in the Define Scope process.

Question 27

27. You have been selected as the project manager for a major data center upgrade at your company headquarters. The sponsor has handed you a project charter and wished you the best of luck. What should you do next as the first step?
    A. Instruct the team to work on a project scope statement.
    B. Instruct the team to work on the WBS.
    C. Review the charter and make sure that all key stakeholders have inputs into the
    scope.
    D. Start working on planning the project.

Answer 27

27. C: You should review the project charter and make sure that you have inputs from all key stakeholders in order to avoid confusion and unnecessary change requests in the future. You should then concentrate on creating the project scope statement, the WBS, and the project plan.

Question 28

28. Walkthroughs, reviews, product reviews, and audits are examples of which one of the following methods of examining work or a product to determine whether it conforms to documented standards or not?
A. Observation
B. Verification
C. Inspection
D. Group decision-making techniques

Answer 28

28. C: Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and verifying to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance
    criteria. Inspections are sometimes called walkthroughs, reviews, product reviews, and
    audits.

Question 29

29. A project manager is in the Collect Requirements process of collecting and documenting quantifiable needs and expectations of the sponsor, customer, and other stakeholders. Which of the following is NOT true regarding this process?
    A. It describes project deliverables and the work required to create them in detail
    as well as deliverables description, product acceptance criteria, requirements
    assumptions and constraints, and exclusions from requirements.
    B. Requirements documentation and requirements traceability matrix are the key
    outputs in this process.
    C. Interpersonal and team skills and data representations are used as tools &
    techniques in this process.
    D. The scope management plan and requirements management plan are inputs in this
    process.

Answer 29

29. A: Option A describes the scope statement, not the requirements documentation. The project scope statement describes project deliverables and the work required to create them in detail as well as the deliverables description, product acceptance criteria, requirements assumptions and constraints, and exclusions from requirements.

Question 30

30. The team members are analyzing the objectives and description of the product stated by the customer or sponsor and turning them into tangible deliverables and finally creating the project scope statement. Which of the following BEST describes what the team members are doing?
    A. Performing the product analysis
    B. Performing the plan quality management
    C. Conducting a multi-criteria decision analysis
    D. Determining the product description

Answer 30

30. A: The team members are gaining a better understanding of the product of the project to create the project scope statement by performing the product analysis. The team must have a product description before they can perform product analysis. The level of quality desired is analyzed in the plan quality management, not in product analysis. The multi-criteria decision analysis is a technique to evaluate and rank ideas. This technique uses a decision matrix based on factors such as uncertainty, expected risk levels, cost and benefit estimates, and time estimates to quantify requirements.