CH8

31) Identify and briefly describe the three types of project constraints that could impact or change the structure of project network.

(1) Technical (logic)-the sequence that activities must be performed; (2) Resource-the absence of required people, materials, equipment, or working capital; (3) Physical-limitations based on space or environmental limits.

36) Identify and briefly describe two ways to classify projects with scheduling problems.

(1) Time-constrained-the end date is fixed and needed resources are available; (2) Resource-constrained-the resources are fixed and the end date is flexible

46) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. The project is time-constrained and the project manager wishes to minimize the number of resources required at any given time. Each activity requires a single resource. Activity Duration (days) Predecessor A 5 -- B 5 A C 10 A D 4 A E 5 B, C, D On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table and determine which activity should be delayed? A) Activity B B) Activity C C) Either activity B or activity D D) Both activities C and D E) Activity D

46) C

8) All of the following are benefits of scheduling resources before project implementation EXCEPT A) it ensures low network sensitivity. B) it allows time for considering reasonable options if resource constraints do exist. C) the project completion date can be established. D) it allows managers to share resources with other project managers if it is requested without negatively impacting their project. E) work packages can be time-phased.

A) it ensures low network sensitivity.

38) A project scheduler is trying to reallocate resources in a time-constrained project to create smoother resource utilization. The scheduler should first identify activities with the A) most slack. B) highest cost. C) least slack. D) lowest identification number. E) smallest duration.

A) most slack.

18) If resources are not adequate to meet peak demands, the resulting reschedule is termed A) resource-constrained scheduling. B) allocation. C) time-constrained scheduling. D) project resource adjustment. E) mandatory leveling.

A) resource-constrained scheduling.

24) When the work in an activity is interrupted to work on another activity and is then resumed at a later point in time, it is called _________. A) splitting B) prioritizing C) preempting D) overriding E) All of these alternatives are correct.

A) splitting

32) If it becomes necessary to delay one or several late starts to accommodate resource limitations, this is called: A) Splitting B) Resource-constrained scheduling C) Resource smoothing D) Resource accommodation E) Resource scheduling

B) Resource-constrained scheduling

21) All leveling techniques delay noncritical activities by using ________ to reduce peak demand. A) additional time B) additional slack C) positive risk D) additional people E) additional resources

B) additional slack

23) Renovation of a small compartment in a houseboat or camping trailer that is too small for more than one person is an example of a(n) ________ resource constraint. A) people B) physical C) budget D) equipment E) material

B) physical

11) When there are not enough people, money, and/or equipment available for a project it is known as being A) project constrained. B) resource constrained. C) delayed without prejudice. D) operationally successful. E) managerially resourceful.

B) resource constrained.

37) Delaying noncritical activities to lower peak demand and, thus, increase resource utilization is called resource __________. A) overtime B) smoothing C) switching D) slack utilization E) re-scheduling

B) smoothing

41) Why is a schedule not a schedule until resources have been assigned? Provide a real-life example that illustrates your explanation.

Before resources are assigned it is assumed that there will be adequate resources available once the project is implemented. Without assigning resources before implementation, resource constraints will be recognized during implementation and could have negative impacts on the project's deadline.

22) When developing project networks, which of the following is not a reason for delineating technical dependencies first before doing resource dependencies? A) An effort to examine the interactions between technical/logical constraints and resource limitations frequently uncovers surprising problems. B) Resource availability may not be known until the initial schedule is completed. C) All of these alternatives are reasons for delineating technical dependencies first before doing resource dependencies. D) Even if resources are known, one cannot assess the impact of limited resources until a resource-neutral schedule is created. E) The interrelationships and interactions among time and resource constraints are complex for even small project networks.

C) All of these alternatives are reasons for delineating technical dependencies first before doing resource dependencies.

25) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Activity Duration (days) Predecessor A 5 -- B 5 A C 10 A D 4 A E 5 B, C, D On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart for the table above. What is the early-start date for activity D? A) Saturday, May 9, 2020 B) Sunday, May 10, 2020 C) Monday, May 11, 2020 D) Tuesday, May 12, 2020 E) Wednesday, May 13, 2020

C) Monday, May 11, 2020

42) A project leader has realized that two activities in the project cannot be done at the same time because not enough resources are available. Activity 3 is critical and has a duration of 5 days. Activity 4 has 2 days of slack and a duration of 2 days. How will the project leader decide which activity should be scheduled first? A) The activity with the smallest duration B) The activity with the most slack C) The activity with the least slack D) The activity with the lowest identification number E) The activity with the highest cost

C) The activity with the least slack

6) In a resource-constrained project, which of the following is most likely to be changed? A) Resource levels B) The budget C) The completion date D) Project quality E) Scope creep

C) The completion date

20) When looking at the critical path for a delayed project and the project manager sees that adding resources will reduce or remove the delay, the project manager knows that the project is: A) Unstable. B) Over Allocated. C) Time-Constrained. D) Ahead of schedule. E) Institutionally Challenged.

C) Time-Constrained.

28) These are all guidelines a project manager should consider when assigning project work EXCEPT A) select individuals with skillsets that complement each other. B) select people with compatible work habits and personalities. C) always assign the best people to the most difficult tasks. D) have people work together early so that they can become familiar with each other. E) when possible, team veterans up with new hires.

C) always assign the best people to the most difficult tasks.

39) In a resource-constrained project the third priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) highest cost. B) smallest duration. C) lowest identification number. D) least slack. E) most slack.

C) lowest identification number.

26) The shortage of memory chips to produce a printed circuit motherboard is an example of a(n) ________ type of resource constraint. A) people B) equipment C) material D) budget E) physical

C) material

5) Many companies are ________ project work to contractors and consultants as a means of dealing with the peaks and valleys of resource allocation among projects. A) doing B) spinning-off C) outsourcing D) offshoring E) assigning

C) outsourcing

9) In a resource-constrained project the second priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) lowest identification number. B) most slack. C) smallest duration. D) least slack. E) highest cost.

C) smallest duration.

3) In terms of project classification, ________ constrained means that project duration is fixed and resources are flexible. A) material B) people C) time D) equipment E) resource

C) time

51) Why is it necessary to have a time-phased budget baseline? A) It reduces fluctuations in cash flow during the project. B) It allows proper resource allocation. C) It is not necessary to have a time-phased budget baseline. D) It shows how much work was accomplished for the money spent. E) It reduces schedule slippage when scheduling multiproject resources.

D) It shows how much work was accomplished for the money spent.

49) All resource leveling techniques involve A) using negative slack. B) adding resources. C) delaying the project. D) delaying noncritical activities. E) delaying critical activities.

D) delaying noncritical activities.

10) In scheduling resource-constrained projects, _________ are typically used rather than optimum mathematical solutions. A) project leaders B) project managers C) program managers D) heuristics E) team leaders

D) heuristics

45) In a resource-constrained project, the first, or primary, priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) lowest identification number. B) highest cost. C) smallest duration. D) least slack. E) most slack.

D) least slack.

48) A project cost baseline is also called __________. A) budget distribution B) budget allocation C) earned value (EV) D) planned value (PV) E) actual cost (AC)

D) planned value (PV)

16) Since resource leveling or smoothing delays noncritical activities, a common result is an increase in network ___________. A) density B) paths C) complexity D) sensitivity E) nodes

D) sensitivity

30) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume all activities require the same resource. Activity Duration (days) Predecessor A 20 -- B 5 A C 10 A D 10 A E 5 B, C, D On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table and determine the following. Assume the project is resource-constrained but not time-constrained. Assume only one resource is available and that resource can only do one activity at a time. Activities B, C and D all have the same early start date (time). Since there is only one resource, only one of the activities B, C, D can be started on the early start date. Which among activities B, C and D should be started first on the early start date? A) Activity A B) Both activities A and D C) Either activity B or activity D D) Activity D E) Activity C

E) Activity C

14) A project engineer has been scheduled to run the product system test at the same time as building a marketing prototype. This is an example of what type of resource constraint? A) Technical B) Equipment C) Time D) Physical E) People

E) People

34) A project scheduler is working on a project that technically allows three activities to be done at the same time. If they were to be implemented at the same time, the scheduler would need 5 contractors in order for the activities to be completed on time. There are only 3 available for the project. This is an example of what type of constraint? A) Equipment B) Physical C) Technical D) Materials E) People

E) People

29) Which of the following questions does a project manager NOT have to address when considering resources allocated to a project? A) Do unforeseen resource dependencies exist? B) Will outside contractors have to be used? C) Will the assigned labor be adequate and available to deal with my project? D) How much flexibility do we have in using resources? E) Will scope have to be redefined/stabilized?

E) Will scope have to be redefined/stabilized?

35) When a company will reduce the number of projects they have to manage internally to only core projects and send noncritical projects to contractors and consulting firms this is called A) task sharing. B) referring. C) redistribution of projects. D) project allocation. E) outsourcing.

E) outsourcing.

1) Having individual staff members assigned to multiple simultaneous tasks is an efficient way to split tasks and get tasks accomplished more efficiently. ⊚ true ⊚ false

FALSE

27) When scheduling activities in a resource-constrained project typically the activity scheduled first has the most amount of slack. ⊚ true ⊚ false

FALSE

47) The level of resources each activity will need to be completed in the given amount of time has been estimated therefore, there are no resource constraints. ⊚ true ⊚ false

FALSE

50) Resource constraints can be overcome by creative and efficient scheduling. ⊚ true ⊚ false

FALSE

7) Project management software is important because it will manage the project for the project manager. ⊚ true ⊚ false

FALSE

13) What is the difference in project goals when using resource leveling on time-constrained projects and using it on resource-constrained projects?

In time-constrained projects the goal is to smooth out the peaks and valleys and thus improve the utilization. In resource-constrained projects the goal is to achieve the shortest project duration given a limited supply of resources.

2) What are the impacts of resource-constrained scheduling?

Like leveling schedules, the limited resource schedule usually reduces slack, reduces flexibility by using slack to ensure delay is minimized, and increases the number of critical and near-critical activities. Since resources are not enough to accommodate the initial schedule, project duration is extended.

33) If your project has spent $75,000 versus a budget of $70,000 and it is a week ahead of schedule, is it a certainty that your project is doing well? Explain why or why not.

Not necessarily. You need more information to draw that conclusion. You do not know what work has been accomplished for the money spent.

12) Resource bottlenecks are one of the three more common problems encountered in managing multiproject resource schedules. ⊚ true ⊚ false

TRUE

15) If resources are truly limited and activity time estimates are accurate, the resource-constrained schedule will materialize as the project is implemented, not the time-constrained schedule. ⊚ true ⊚ false

TRUE

17) Scheduling projects classified as resource-constrained focuses on completing the project as soon as possible under the given resource constraints. ⊚ true ⊚ false

TRUE

43) The inability to fit more than two earth movers on a construction site at the same time when more are needed to complete the activity on time is an example of a physical constraint. ⊚ true ⊚ false

TRUE

44) Resource dependency takes priority over technological dependency but it does not violate it. ⊚ true ⊚ false

TRUE

40) When using resource-constrained scheduling, activities that were once scheduled to be completed at the same time now may have to be scheduled in sequence. What are the "rules of thumb" or heuristics that need to be followed to determine which activity is scheduled first?

The first priority is to allocate resources to the activity with the least amount of slack, usually an activity on the critical path. If more than one activity has the same amount of slack, then select the activity with the smallest duration. If more than one activity has the same slack and the same duration, then select the activity that has the lowest identification number.

4) Why should project managers be cautious about using the splitting scheduling technique?

The splitting technique is where an activity is interrupted and the resources are applied to another activity. The potential problems are in the additional shutdown and startup costs which are added as one moves from activity to activity prior to completing the original activity.

19) After constructing a project network based on technical constraints and reviewing resource requirements throughout the project, a project manager realizes many peaks and valleys in regard to resource usage. At one point the project manager needs 6 developers, but top management has made it very clear that she will not have access to more than 4. Classify this project in terms of the scheduling problem. What are the project manager's options at this point?

This project is classified as a resource-constrained project. The project manager can attempt the resource leveling or smoothing method. This may reduce the peak demand for resources, the fluctuations in resource demand, and it may even reduce the resources needed over the life of the project; however, if there is not enough slack to absorb the resource demand, The project manager will have to use resource-constrained scheduling. With this method, the length of her project may be extended.