Chapter 5

An event is a series of connected activities.

False Page 152

Another name for total slack is free slack.

False Page 160

Milestones cannot be identified on a Gantt Chart.

False Page 178

The start-to-finish linkage is used in situations where is it desirable for two or more activities to finish at the same time.

False Page 184

If task duration estimates are carefully made, the project manager needs to only examine the critical path when conducting a risk analysis.

False Page 163

The simulation approach is generally preferred over the statistical method.

True Page 177

Standard Pert/CPM networks can be use to resolve probabilistic concerns.

True Page 184

What is it a milestone? a) a significant event in the project b) a mark on a chart that depicts project progress c) an activity on the critical path d) an activity with an uncertain completion time e) all of the above

a) a significant event in the project Page 182

A project schedule is a project action plan converted into a timetable.

True Page 151

Events in a project consume no resources or time.

True Page 152

A big advantage of AON networks is that they are easier to draw.

True Page 153

A diagram of nodes connected by directional arcs that defines the project and illustrates the technical of all activities is referred to as a network.

True Page 153

A situation where two or more activities have the same starting and finishing nodes or where a single activity connects to two or more nodes is called a dummy task

True Page 155

The shortest time to complete a network is equal to the duration of the longest path through the network.

True Page 156

Critical path tasks always have zero slack.

True Page 157

The difference between LFT and EFT is called slack.

True Page 157

The difference between the LST and EST is called slack.

True Page 157

Float refers to the amount of time a noncritical task can be delayed without causing a delay in the entire project.

True Page 158

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start time of any successor activity is known as free slack.

True Page 161

The formula for the expected time of an activity in a network assumes that the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely time estimates have a Beta distribution.

True Page 161

Merger" is a term used to describe the situation in which two or more paths in a network join together

True Page 172

The actual project duration will be known with certainty after the project is completed.

True Page 177

Technical dependencies are often harder to see on a Gantt chart than on a PERT/CPM network.

True Page 178

The difference between LST and LFT is called slack.

False Page 157

A Gantt chart can not depict a critical path, only a PERT/CPM chart can.

False Page 151

The tasks of project planning, project budgeting, and project scheduling are largely separable from one another.

False Page 151

When it was originally developed, PERT used certain (deterministic) methods to estimate activity duration.

False Page 152

Networks are usually drawn with a "Start" node to the right and a "Finish" node to the left.

False Page 153

The difference between EST and LFT is called slack.

False Page 157

Milestones are not depended upon the predecessor activities in the project plan.

False Page 158

The movement from left to right through the network beginning with the start node that calculates the LS and LF for each activity is known as "FORWARD PASS"

False Page 158

To manage a project successfully, the project manager need only pay close attention to tasks on the critical path.

False Page 158

A disadvantage of using beta distribution to approximate activity times is that it is generally less flexible than the normal distribution.

False Page 161

Technical dependencies are generally easier to see on a Gantt chart than on PERT/CPM networks.

False Page 178

It is easiest to see lead and lag time in a project task on a PERT/CPM networks.

False Page 182 & 183

A start-to-finish linkage is the most common way of linking to successive task.

False Page 183

AON and AOA networks can both be used to depict any project network.

Page 153 True

A disadvantage of Gantt charts is that they are hard to draw.

Page 178 False

Which of the following terms is most closely associated with a task required by the project? a) activity b) event c) milestone d) network e) path

a) activity Page 152

An identifiable state resulting from the completion of one or more activities is called? a) an event b) an activity c) a milestone d) a path e) the critical path

a) an event Page 152

Which of the following is typically used as the best estimate of task duration? a) expected time b) pessimistic time c) optimistic time d) most likely time e) none of the above

a) expected time Page 161

What is the standard deviation of a task with optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times of 3, 4, and 7 days respectively assuming the estimates were made at the 99% plus level? a) .444 b) .667 c) 1.212 d) 1.469 e) 1.540

b) .667 Page 161

What is project slack? a) The amount of time a non-critical task can be delayed without making the project late. b) The amount of time the critical path of a project can be delayed without making the project late. c) The amount of time an activity on the critical path can be delayed without making the project late. d) The difference between how long the project would take if all tasks were completed based on their pessimistic versus optimistic time estimates. e) None

b) The amount of time the critical path of a project can be delayed without making the project late. Page 158

Which of the following linkages is used to start two or more activities at the same time? a) finish-to-start b) start-to-start c) finish-to-finish d) start-to-finish e) They can all be used to start two or more activities at the same time.

b) start-to-start Page 184

Which of the following is NOT an element of the Gantt chart? a) actual progress b) variance of the critical path c) the current date d) scheduled milestones e) all of the above are elements

b) variance of the critical path Page 178 to 182

What is the expected time to complete a task with an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times of 3, 4, and 7 days respectively? a) 3 b) 4 c) 4.3 d) 4.7 e) 7

c) 4.3 Page 163

Technical dependencies on a project plan are easiest to see on a: a) Gantt chart b) Cost chart c) PERT/CPM chart d) Work Breakdown Structure e) RACI Matrix

c) PERT/CPM chart Page 173

PERT was originally used for what type of project? a) construction b) R & D c) military d) computer software development e) advertising

c) military Page 152

The amount of time a noncritical task can be delayed without delaying the project is called? a) surplus b) flop c) slack d) critical time e) safety

c) slack Page 157

Slack is calculated as? a) LFT - EST b) LFT - LST c) LST - LFT d) LFT - EFT e) EFT - EST

d) LFT - EFT Page 157

A Term not used in the discussion of PERT/CPM analysis is a) Activity b) Events c) Critical Path d) Sensitivity path e) network s

d) Sensitivity path Page 184

For which purpose is simulation NOT used with regard to project scheduling? a) to overcome the limitations associated with statistical techniques used to develop probability of completion time estimates b) to investigate the range of project completion times c) to investigate the distribution of project completion times d) to verify the accuracy of the optimistic, pessimistic and most likely time estimates e) all of the above

d) to verify the accuracy of the optimistic, pessimistic and most likely time estimates Page 177