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PMP ETW > Time > Flashcards

Time Flashcards

1
Q

What is a schedule management plan?

A
  • how schedule will be defined
  • how activity definition will be done
  • how it will be measured
  • how and how often the team will track progress
  • what will happen if the project veers from the plan
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2
Q

For what 5 processes is the activity list an input?

A
  • Sequence Activities
  • Estimate Activity Resources
  • Estimate Activity Durations
  • Develop Schedule
  • Control Schedule
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3
Q

When is Define Activities performed?

A
  • After the scope is baselined

* IOW: after the requirements documentation, project scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary under control

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4
Q

What are the components of the scope baseline?

A
  • approved scope statement
  • WBS
  • WBS dictionary
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5
Q

Exactly when are baselines created relative to the Planning and Executing process groups? IOW relative to approval of PMP?

A

• find out

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6
Q

What is rolling-wave planning and when would it be appropriate to use?

A

• contrast IT system creation vs. construction (waterfall?)

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7
Q

What are some differences between a work package & a schedule activity?

A
  • work packages are deliverables-based, focusing on the scope of the project, while activities are focused on the work that needs to be done to execute the work packages
  • WBS belongs to scope baseline, while activity list is more closely related to the schedule
  • activities are verbs; work packages may be noun/verb
  • each activity maps back to one and only one work package
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8
Q

What is an activity attribute?

A

additional info/parameters about an activity

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9
Q

What are some typical milestones?

A
  • imposed dates (constraints)
  • projected dates (based on historical info)
  • phase gates
  • completion of interim deliverables
  • hand-offs
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10
Q

What is a network diagram?

A
  • preferred method of representing activities, dependencies, and sequences
  • activities drawn in order they must be performed, and the amount of time each activity takes is represented by numbers
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11
Q

In what process are network diagrams created?

A

Sequence Activities

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12
Q

synonym for precedence diagramming method?

A

activity on node

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13
Q

What is the relationship between activities and milestones?

A

activities often must be arranged so as to meet imposed milestones

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14
Q

Describe the ITTO for Sequence Activities?

A 
Inputs:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• milestone list
• scope statement
Tools:
• PDM
• dependency determination
• leads & lags (waiting)
Output:
•  schedule network diagrams
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15
Q

What are the 3 main classes of dependencies?

A
  • mandatory (hard logic)
  • discretionary (soft logic)
  • external (must be considered, but outside scope/control; i.e. supplier)
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16
Q

What are the 4 types of dependencies?

Give an example of each?

A
  • FS, SS, FF, SF
  • FS: hard logic (concrete)
  • SS:
  • FF:
  • SF:
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17
Q

Why must leads be clearly explained and documented?

A

Need a good reason not to start an activity

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18
Q

What 3 factors typically affect an activity’s duration?

A
  • level of effort required
  • number of resources required
  • resource availability
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19
Q

Describe the ITTO for Estimate Activity Resources?

A 
Inputs:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• resource calendars
• risk register
• activity cost estimates (if available)
Tools:
• expert judgment
• alternative analysis
• published estimating data
• bottom-up estimating
Outputs:
• activity resource requirements
• RBS
• document updates
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20
Q

Explain why activity duration is different than the level of effort required?

A

LOE is invariant, but duration is a function of: how many, who, when

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21
Q

When is Estimate Activity Durations performed relative to adjacent processes?

A

> Estimate Activity Resources

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22
Q

Explain the similarities and differences between crashing and fast-tracking?

A

Both get project done faster:
• crashing adds resources (and cost)
• fast-tracking does tasks in parallel (adds risk as discretionary dependencies (soft logic) are ignored and more is going on simultaneously)

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23
Q

Describe the ITTO for Control Schedule?

A

fill this in

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24
Q

Why are network paths important?

A
  • they illustrate different sets of sequences in which activities must be performed
  • they are used to identify areas of high risk

• critical path calculations show where most schedule risk exists

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25
Q

What is the critical path?

A

Activities that cannot be delayed without delaying the finish date.

26
Q

Why is the critical path significant?

A
  • longest path, thus minimum (shortest) duration

* may be more than one CP (same length), which reflects increased risk

27
Q

What is float?

A
  • how much time an actvity can slip before it affects the critical path
  • activities on the CP have zero float
28
Q

How can an activity become critical temporally?

A

even if not initially on the CP, major slippage of a task can put it on the CP

29
Q

How compute CP on the exam?

A

path chart:

path-activities-path duration

30
Q

How compute float on the exam?

A

float = CP duration - other tasks on that task’s path - task duration

31
Q

Describe the ITTO for Estimate Activity Durations?

A 
Inputs:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• activity resource requirements
• resource calendars
• RBS
• risk register
• scope statement (constraints/assumptions)
Tools:
• expert judgment
• analogous estimating
• parametric estimating
• three-point estimating (PERT):
        • beta/triangular distributions
• bottom-up estimating
• reserve analysis
Outputs:
• activity duration estimates
• document updates
32
Q

What are the PERT formulas for an activity duration estimate and the std deviation (beta), and a triangular distribution?

A 
Beta:
duration estimate = (P + 4 * R + O) / 6
std dev = (P - O) / 6
Triangular:
avg of 3 estimates (P + R + O) / 3
33
Q

What does PERT stand for, and how is it used?

A
  • Program Evaluation and Review Technique
  • method to analyze the time tasks will take, to find the minimum (CPM)
  • advantage: incorporates uncertainty in all activity durations
34
Q

What is a reserve time estimate?

A

time added to activities as a contingency

35
Q

When is Develop Schedule performed?

A

before Determine Budget

36
Q

Describe the ITTO for Develop Schedule?

A 
INPUTS:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• activity resource requirements
• activity duration estimates
• schedule network diagrams
• RBS
• resource calendars
• scope statement
• risk register
• staff assignments
• EEF + OPA
TOOLS:
• schedule network analysis
• CPM
• Critical chain method (CCM)
• Resource optimization techniques:
     • leveling
     • smoothing
• modeling techniques
• leads and lags
• schedule compression
OUTPUTS:
• schedule baseline
project schedule
milestone chart
Gantt charts
network diagram
schedule data
project calendars
PMP updates
document updates
37
Q

What is the critical path method?

A

the combination of activities that, if delayed, will delay the project’s finish

38
Q

What are the 3 purposes of the CPM?

A
  • calculate project finish date
  • identify how much individual activities can slip without delaying the project
  • identify activities with the highest risk that cannot slip without changing the project finish date
39
Q

What is the critical chain method?

A
  • a way to view and manage uncertainty when building the schedule
  • it modifies buffering techniques by estimating each activity as aggressively as possible, building the schedule network, then adding one lump-sum buffer to the end
  • unlike other schedule network analysis techniques, it takes into account both activity and resource dependencies
40
Q

What is a principal advantage of the CCM?

A

team not aware of the buffers!

41
Q

What is the difference between resource leveling, and resource smoothing? When are they used?

A
  • both forms of resource optimization
  • Leveling: Used when org can’t supply enough resources simultaneously. Determine CP, then model uresource application to determine the effect on the schedule outcome. Schedule will lengthen: “With the resources available, when is finish date?”
  • Smoothing: form of leveling where time constraint has priority, while avoiding peaks/troughs of resource demand. CP and completion date do not change, activity float decreases. Less disruptive to schedule than leveling.
42
Q

What is the early start date for an activity?

A

earliest date activity can start when factoring in other dependencies (forward pass)

43
Q

What is the early finish date for an activity?

A

early start date + duration - 1

44
Q

What is the late start date for an activity?

A

latest an activity can start without changing CP (backward pass)

45
Q

What is the late finish date for an activity?

A

late start + duration - 1

46
Q

What are network diagrams used for?

A
  • show workflow to team and sponsors
  • identify opportunities to compress the schedule
  • show project progress
47
Q

What is the two-pass method, and why are two passes required?

A

forward pass (calculates EF) EF = ES + duration

backward pass (calculates LS and LF)
LS = LF - duration

Two passes are required because the EF must be summed initially; unless there is an imposed date, LF = EF. LS is when an activity MUST begin (given all before it) to meet the schedule.

48
Q

Distinguish between total float and free float?

A
  • total float = amount of time and activity may be delayed or extended from its early start without delaying the project finish date
  • free float = amount of time and activity can be delayed without delaying the ES of any successor
49
Q

What is the enumeration method?

And what is its principal advantage?

A
  • sum the durations for all paths; longest is the CP

* one knows near-critical paths too

50
Q

What is the pneumonic for calculating float?

A

there is a start formula and a finish formula, and we always begin late

51
Q

What crashing and how do you do it?

A
  • accelerating project

* do activities on the CP faster

52
Q

What actions can be taken to reduce the CP?

A
  • reduce scope and/or quality
  • overlap sequential activities using FF, SS or SF relationships
  • partially overlap sequential activities by using leads
  • increase the number of work hours per day or work days per week
  • schedule activities that are normally in sequence at the same time (fast-tracking)
  • shorten durations by assigning more resources (crashing)
  • shorten activities that cost the least to speed up
53
Q

Contrast what is given up to accelerate the schedule for both crashing and fast tracking?

A
  • crashing = money +/- risk

* fast-tracking = risk +/- re-work

54
Q

What does negative float mean?

A

you’re behind !

55
Q

When can the CP have float?

A

• In planning = 0
• In executing:
negative = behind
positive = ahead

56
Q

How would you resolve negative float?

A

compress the schedule

57
Q

How would you choose an activity to fast track?

A

Look for those whose dependencies are discretionary

58
Q

When are critical chain or agile scheduling methods often used?

A

where schedule is resource-dominated

availability may vary

59
Q

Distinguish between buffers and padding?

A

buffers are planned, and inserted to minimize known risks

60
Q

What is project float?

A
  • difference between the schedule baseline in the end date required by the customer
  • not the same as total float, which pertains to individual activities

PMP ETW (15 decks)

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