chapter6 PM

PERT weighted average

(optimistic time + 4*most likely time + pessimistic time)/6

node

the starting an ending point of an activity on an AOA diagram

critical path

the series of activities in a network diagram that determines the earliest completion of the project; it is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float

what symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone

white diamond

merge

two or more nodes that precede a single node on a network diagram

task

an element of work normally found on the WBS that has an expected duration, cost and resource requirements; also called an activity

three point estimate

an estimate that includes an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate

tracking Gantt chart

a Gantt chart that compares planned an actual project schedule information

what type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information?

a Tracking Gantt chart

resource breakdown structure

a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type

Theory of Constraints (TOC)

a management philosophy that any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that limits the ability to achieve more of the system's goal

critical chain scheduling

a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date

slipped milestone

a milestone that is completed later than planned

forward pass

a network diagramming techcnique that determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity

backward pass

a project network diagramming technique that determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity

as the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule. you decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. what type of dependency is this?

discretionary

probabilistic time estimates

duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely and pessimistic estimates of activity durations instead of using one specific or discrete estimate

early start date

earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic

True or false: duration and effort are synonymous terms

false

you cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent?

finish to start

late finish date

the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date

late start date

the latest possible time an activity can begin without delaying the project finish date

effort

the number of work days or work hours required to complete a task

Murphy's Law

the principle that if something can go wrong, it will

Parkinson's law

the principle that work expands to fill the time allowed

discretionary dependencies

the sequencing of project activities or tasks defined by the project team and used with care because they may limit later scheduling options

activity on arrow (AOA)

a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called ADM

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

a project network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates

start to finish dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start before the "to" activity is finished

start to start dependency

a relationship on a project network diagram in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity starts

fast tracking

a schedule compression technique in which you do activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence

network diagram

a schematic display of the logical relationships or sequencing of project activities

milestone

a significant event that normally has no duration on a project; serves as a marker to help in identifying necessary activities, setting schedule goals and monitoring progress

burst

a single node followed by two or more activities on a network diagram

Gantt chart

a standard format for diplaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a valendar format; sometimes referred to as bar charts

crashing

a technique for making cost and schedule trade offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost

dummy activities

activities with no duration and no resources used to show a logical relationship between two activities in the arrow diagramming method of project networking diagrams

predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates and assumptions are all examples of _____

activity attributes

buffer

additional time to complete a tasl; a buffer is added to an estimate to account for various factors

activity

an element of work normally found on the WBS that has an expected duration, cost and resource requirements; also called a task

mandatory dependencies

the sequencing of project activities or tasks that are inherent in the nature of the work being done on the project

___ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.

critical chain scheduling

____ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration

critical path method

True or false: fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost

false

SMART criteria

guidelines to help define milestones that are specific, measureable, assignable, realistic and time framed

activity attributes

information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates and assumptions related to the activity

arrow diagramming method (ADM)

network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called AOA

precedence diagramming method (PDM)

network diagramming technique in which boxes rep activities

Which of the following processes involves determining the policies, procedures and documentation that will be used for planning, executing and controlling the project schedule?

planning schedule management

resources

ppl, equipment and material

project time management

processes required to ensure timely completion of a project

critical path method/analysis (CPM)

project network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration

early finish date

the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic

external dependencies

the sequencing of project activities or tasks that involve relationships between project and non project ativities

relationship

the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a dependency

dependency

the sequencing of project activities or tasks; also called a relationship

project budder

time added before the project's due date

activity list

tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule

duration

the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time

slack

the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called float

float

the amount of time a project activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date; also called slack

free slack (free float)

the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of an immediately following activities

total slack (total float)

the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date

schedule baseline

the approved planned schedule for the project