Time Management

Question 1

Define activities

Answer 1

Taking the work packages created in the WBS and decomposing them into activities that are required to produce the work package deliverables

Question 2

Plan schedule management

Answer 2

How you will plan manage and control the project schedule

Need to determine in advance what the measures of performance will be how and when you will capture the data you need to measure how you will use the data to keep the project on track and what you will do when variances occur

Question 3

Rolling wave planning

Answer 3

Planning to a higher level and then waiting until project work has begun and work is clearer to plan at lower levels

Question 4

Milestones

Answer 4

Significant events within the project schedule. They are not work activities and have no duration

Question 5

Sequence activities

Answer 5

Taking activities and milestones and sequencing them in the order in which the work will be performed

Result is a network diagram

Question 6

Precedence diagramming method (PDM)

Activity on node (AON)

Answer 6

Boxes are used to represent activities and arrows show activity

Finish-to-start - an activity must finish before the successor can start
Start to start - an activity must start before the successor can start
Finish to finish - an activity must finish before the successor can finish
Start to finish - an activity must start before the successor can finish

Question 7

Graphical evaluation and review technique ( GERT )

Answer 7

Allows loops between activities

Ex: design a component and then test it, after testing the component may or may not need to be redesigned

Question 8

Types of dependencies

Answer 8

Mandatory ( hard logic ) - inherent in the nature of work; you must design before you can construct

Discretionary (preferred soft logic preferential ) - the way an organization has chosen to have work performed; established based on knowledge of best practice within an area of the project

External - needs or desires of a party outside the project

Internal - based on the needs of the project and may be something the project team can control

Question 9

Leads and lags

Answer 9

Lead may be used to indicate that an activity can start before its predecessor activity is completed

Lag is waiting time inserted between activities such as needing to wait 3 days after pouring concrete for construction can begin

Question 10

Estimate activity resources

Answer 10

Type and quantity of needed resources are determine

Resources can include equipment materials and people

Question 11

Estimate activity durations

Answer 11

Estimate how much time each activity will take

Estimators should be the ones who will be doing the work

Question 12

One-point estimating

Answer 12

Estimator submits one estimate per activity based on expert judgment or historical information

Question 13

Analogous estimating (top down)

Answer 13

Uses expert judgement and historical information to predict the future; can be done at various times and level of accuracy depends on how closely the project or activity matches past history

Management provides the schedule

Pros:
Quick
Less costly

Cons:
Less accurate

The last 5 projects took this long so this one should as well
The last two times this activity was completed each took 3 days

Question 14

Parametric estimating

Answer 14

Looks at the relationship between variables on an activity to calculate time or cost estimates

Can come from historical records industry requirements standard metrics

Example estimator may use measures like time per line of code time per linear meter or time per installation

Takes 2 hours to paint 1 square foot of wall so 60 square feet would take 120 hours

Question 15

Types of parametric estimates

Answer 15

Regression analysis ( scatter diagram ) - tracks two variables to see if they are related and crate a mathematical formula to use in future parametric estimating

Learning curve - the 100th room painted will be less time than the first room because of improved efficiency

Question 16

Heuristics

Answer 16

Generally accepted rule or best practice

Example design work is always 15% of the total project length

Question 17

Three point estimating

Answer 17

Estimating in a range

Estimators give an optimistic pessimistic and most likely estimate for each activity

Allows for more consideration of the uncertainty of estimating and the risk associated with the activities

Question 18

Types of 3 point estimating

PERT

Answer 18

Triangular distribution ( simple average ) a simple average of the 3 point estimates (P + O + M / 3)

Beta distribution PERT (weighted average) gives stronger consideration to the most likely estimate ( P + 4M + O / 6)

Question 19

Group decision making

Answer 19

Involving team members In estimating; brainstorming

Question 20

Reserve analysis

Answer 20

Reserve to accommodate the risks that remain in the project after the risk management planning processes have been complete

Question 21

Develop Schedule

Answer 21

After the network diagram and activity duration estimates are complete you put all this information into a schedule tool to create a schedule model.

Everything needed to develop a finalized schedule that is bought into, approved, realistic and formal

Question 22

Schedule network analysis types

Answer 22

Critical path method
Schedule compression
Modeling 
Resource optimization 
Critical chain method

Question 23

Critical path method

Answer 23

Determining the longest path through the network diagram the earliest and latest an activity can start and th earliest and latest it can be completed

Question 24

Critical path

Answer 24

Longest duration path through a network diagram and determines the shortest time that it could take to complete the project

Helps prove how long the project will take
Helps you determine where to focus your PM efforts
Provides vehicle to compress schedule
Shows where activities have float and can therefore be delayed without delaying the project

Question 25

Near-critical path

Answer 25

Close in duration to the critical path; something could happen that shortens the critical path or lengthens the near critical path to the point where the near critical path becomes critical

Question 26

Float

Answer 26

Total float - amount of time and activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date
Free float - amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor
Project float - amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying the externally imposed project completion date required by the customer or management

Question 27

Schedule compression

Answer 27

Fast tracking - tacking critical path activities that were planned in a series and doing them in parallel

Crashing - adding or adjusting resources to compress the schedule; results in increased costs

Question 28

Modeling

Answer 28

Asking yourself what if a particular factor changed on the project? And using ways to calculate or model the effect of these changes is through Monte Carlo analysis

Monte Carlo analysis - computer software to simulate the outcome of a project based on 3 point estimates

• the probability of completing the project on any specific day
• the probability of completing the project for any specific cost

Question 29

Resource optimization

Answer 29

Resource optimization refers to finding ways to adjust the use of resources

Resource leveling - used to produce a resource-limited schedule; lengthens the schedule and increases cost in order to deal with a limited amount of resources

Resource smoothing - resources are leveled only within the limits,it’s of the float of their activities

Question 30

Critical chain method

Answer 30

Uses a network diagram and critical path to develop a schedule by assigning each activity to occur as late as possible to still meet the end date

Allows the project team to place buffers on a h project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties

Question 31

Project schedule

Answer 31

Network diagram - show interdependencies between activities

Milestone charts - bar charts that only show major events; good for reporting to executives

Bar charts / Gantt charts - effective for progress reporting and control; good for reporting to the team

Question 32

Schedule baseline

Answer 32

Version of the schedule model used to mange the project and that the project team’s performance is measured against

Question 33

Reestimating

Answer 33

Standard practice to reestimate remaining work of project at least once during the life of the project to ensure you can still meet the end date

Question 34

Control schedule

Answer 34

Measuring against the baseline schedule and taking action to control it

Question 35

Schedule management plan

Answer 35

Reporting formats to be used
Planning for how schedule variances will be identified and managed
Determination of what acceptable variance will be on the project
Scheduling methodology used on the project
Establishment of schedule baseline

Question 36

Network diagrams

Answer 36

Shows dependencies and critical path
Help justify your time estimates for the project
Show workflow
Identify opportunity to compress the schedule

Question 37

Impacts of schedule compression options

Answer 37

Fast track - adds risk; may add management time for the PM
Crash - adds costs; may add risk; may add mgmt time for the PM
Reduce scope - may save cost, time and resources; may impact customer satisfaction; when choosing which activity to shorten always choose on the critical path and the 1st activity available
Cut quality - may increase risk; may save cost, time and resources; requires good metrics; may negatively impact customer satisfaction

Question 38

Options for shortening project schedule

Answer 38

Fast tracking
Crashing
Reestimate / review risks - the best and first choice 
Reduce scope - cut an activity
Lower quality standards 
Stand your ground
Work overtime

Question 39

How is estimating done?

Answer 39

One-point estimating 
Analogous estimating ( top down)
Parametric estimating 
-regression analysis 
- learning curve 
Heuristics 
3 point estimating 
Group decision making 
Reserve analysis