Project management CH. 1-6
98.A typical statement in actual practice is that estimates should have a probability of being met ______ of the time.
95%
103.Which of the following represents an activity on an AON project network?
A node
65.The lowest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is
A work package
92.The cost to prepare bottom-up estimates will typically run how much more than the costs to prepare the top-down estimates?
About three times as much
29. Which of the following is not one of the requirements for successful implementation of strategies through projects?
Allocation of resources Prioritizing of projects Motivation of project contributors Adequate planning and control systems ALL OF THESE ARE REQUIREMENTS
66."To construct a high-quality, custom home within five months at costs not to exceed $150,000" is best classified as
An objective
107.An AON project network uses which of the following basic building blocks?
Arrows Nodes
102.A/an _________ activity has more than one dependency arrow flowing from it.
Burst
91.A manager getting further into a project and obtaining a better understanding of what needs to be done to accomplish a project is an example of:
Changes in project scope
63.The final step in the creation of a Work Breakdown Structure is to
Code the WBS for tracking
50.Which of the following is not one of the typical forms of a project management office?
Command center
64.If a project criterion indicates that the project must meet a specific date, that criterion is classified as
Constrained
61.The intersection of the WBS and the OBS is called the
Cost account
69.The first step of project scope definition is to
Define the overall objective to meet the customer's needs
7. In which of the following stages are project objectives established, teams formed, and major responsibilities assigned?
Defining
30.Strategy formulation includes which of the following activities?
Determining alternatives Evaluating alternatives
93.In a learning curve, the improvement ratio is applied to which of the following items?
Direct labor
9.Which of the following is the first step in developing a set of strategies designed to best meet the needs of customers?
Environmental Analysis
94.Which of the following is not one of the recommended guidelines for developing useful work package estimates?
Estimates should include a normal level of contingency
46.The Organizational Culture Diagnosis Worksheet classifies cultural characteristics into all of the following except:
Ethics
11. The first stage in the Project Life Cycle is the Concept stage.
F
112.Free slack applies to an entire project network.
F
117.Lags are used to break larger activities into smaller segments so that activities that follow can be started earlier.
F
119.In an AOA network an activity is represented by a box.
F
120.In developing a project network, neither looping statements nor conditional statements are permitted.
F
13. Because of the profitability motive, project management is nearly always limited to the private sector.
F
16. One of the most significant driving forces behind the demand for project management is the ever increasing expansion of the product life cycle.
F
17. In the current trends, Project managers are typically required to manage many diverse systems such as; networks, bar charts, job costing, task forces, partnering and schedule, to manage projects.
F
18. Because of its flexibility, project management is equally useful in ongoing, routine work as well as unique, one-time projects.
F
20. On the project team, the Marketing manager is the primary, direct link with the customer.
F
32.The information gap refers to the lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among top and middle-level managers.
F
33.Multi-weighted scoring models include only quantitative criteria, not qualitative.
F
34.Many organizations find they have three different kinds of projects in their portfolio, compliance, operational, and sacred cows.
F
35.Effective objectives can be created to apply only at the department level and not relating to organizational objectives.
F
37.Formulating strategy answers the questions who and when the tasks will be performed to reach objectives.
F
38.Using the Project Portfolio Matrix, revolutionary commercial advances using proven technical advances are classified as Oyster projects.
F
39.Generally, people working on several projects at the same time are more efficient than having several people working part-time on the same projects.
F
53.The project form of project management structure is commonly used when one functional area plays a dominant role in completing the project or has a dominant interest in the success of the project.
F
54.Creating teams using the project form of project management structure results in the maximum technological expertise being brought to bear on project problems.
F
56.The functional form of project management has been rated as the most effective of the various forms of organizing project teams.
F
59.The three forms of matrix project management are weak, mixed, and strong.
F
60."Silver bullets" and "Tiger Teams" are terms that are frequently given to functional project management teams.
F
79.Responsibility matrices are used primarily with small and medium sized projects and have limited use in large projects. True
F
80.For large companies, the organization breakdown structure is used rather than the work breakdown structure.
F
81.Estimating the total cost of a project by multiplying each major function by a complexity factor is an example of the apportion method of estimating costs.
F
82.The function point method of time and cost estimating is best applied to projects that have large, complex physical deliverables, such as a bridge or building.
F
83.The apportion method is a top-down approach that uses the pooled experience of senior and/or middle managers to estimate the total project duration and cost.
F
84.Due to the averaging out of under-estimates and over-estimates, a long duration project is more likely to be on target than a short term, small project.
F
85.Project estimates should be broken down into as much detail than and with as much accuracy as possible.
F
86.The salary of the project manager and her administrative assistant is classified as direct labor costs.
F
87.If a project is internal to the company and relatively small, the bottom-up approach to estimating time and costs for the project is the best choice.
F
88.The Consensus method of estimating costs is a bottom-up technique.
F
89.As long as everyone in a project adds just a little padding to reduce risk, the project duration and costs are probably overstated by a small amount.
F
24.Project selection criteria are typically classified as:
Financial and non-financial
101.The requirement for a freshly poured foundation to cure before beginning construction is an example of which of the following type of lag?
Finish to start
95.Which of the following is a good condition for bottom-up estimating?
Fixed price contract
27.Which of the following is not one of the characteristics of effective objectives?
Flexible
100.Sean is forecasting the time and cost of developing a customized software program by looking at the number of inputs, outputs, inquires, files, and interfaces. Which of the following methods is he using?
Function point
49.From the list below, which is not a primary characteristic of organization culture?
History
105.Which of the following correctly calculates the late start for an activity?
LF - DUR
110.Which of the following will correctly calculate the total slack in an activity?
LS - ES LF - EF
41.Which of the following is an advantage of a functional project management organization?
Maximum flexibility in the use of staff
43.Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which employees identify with the organization as a whole rather than with their type of job or field of professional expertise?
Member identity
68.Which of the following is a good example of a Process Breakdown Structure?
New software program
10. Corporate downsizing has increased the trend toward
Outsourcing significant segments of project work
62.Which of the follow is least likely to be included in a Work Package?
Overhead
4. A professional organization for project management specialists is the
PMI
104.Activities which can take place at the same time are termed
Parallel activity
109.A sequence of connected, dependent activities is termed a(n)
Path
97.The approach that begins with a top-down estimate for the project and then refines estimates as the project is implemented is known as ______ method.
Phase estimating
6. In which of the following stages is it determined what the project will entail, when it will be scheduled, whom it will benefit, and what the budget will be?
Planning
22.Projects are usually classified into all but one of the following categories. Which one is not one of the typical classifications?
Political necessity
1. Which of the following characteristics is not typical of a project manager?
Possesses in-depth technical knowledge
106.________ activities must be completed immediately before a particular activity.
Predecessor
2. Which of these is not part of the "technical dimension" of project management?
Problem solving
96.Which of the following is not one of the factors that need to be considered to improve quality of estimates for project times and costs?
Profit
42.Computers R Us is concerned about keeping project costs low and wants to be sure that all pools of expertise are used. Additionally they want to minimize duplication of efforts across projects. Their best choice for project management structure is the _______ organization structure.
Project
44.The project organization structure that is least likely to have team members who are also members of another team is the ______ organization.
Project
48.The Macintosh development team at Apple is a good example of what kind of project structure?
Project
67.The tool used to assist in making project trade-offs between schedule, budget, and performance objectives is called a
Project priority matrix
25.Which of the following terms is often used to denote a project that a powerful, high-ranking official is advocating?
Sacred Cow
70.The tendency for the project deliverables to expand over time—usually by changing requirements, specifications, and priorities—is called:
Scope creep
3. From 1994 to 2004 the trend for projects late or over budget was:
Slightly better
21. In today's business environment, project managers find it valuable to have a keen understanding of
Strategic management Project selection process
108.________ activities are to be completed immediately following a particular activity.
Successor
99.Project costs are typically viewed from all of the following except:
Sunk
111.The two approaches used to develop project networks are AOA and AON.
T
113.An activity can be a predecessor and a successor in the same project network.
T
114.In developing a project network, each activity should have a unique identification number that is smaller than the identification numbers of activities that follow it.
T
115.Gantt charts are popular because they represent an easy-to-understand, clear picture on a time-scaled horizon.
T
116.It is possible to have more than one critical path at the same time.
T
118.An activity is an element of the project that always requires time but may or may not require resources.
T
12. Due to corporate downsizing significant segments of project work have been outsourced to other organizations.
T
14. In practice, the amount of work accomplished in each stage of the Project Life Cycle will vary greatly depending on the department or work group.
T
15. Ten years ago major universities offered only one or two classes in project management, primarily for engineers.
T
19. One of the characteristics that separate project management from other endeavors of the organization is that there are specific time, cost, and performance requirements.
T
31.One way to offset the influence of politics on project management within an organization is to have a well-defined project selection model.
T
36.Effective objectives can be created to apply only at the department level and not relating to organizational objectives.
T
40.Project Management historically has been preoccupied solely with the planning and execution of projects while strategy was under the purview of senior management.
T
51.A disadvantage of using the functional form of project management structure is that projects generally take longer to complete.
T
52.Organizational culture refers to a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions which bind people together.
T
55.There is a strong connection between project management structure, organizational culture, and project success.
T
57.One of the major disadvantages of the project form of project management structure is that it tends to be more expensive than other forms of organizing.
T
58.Matrix management is a hybrid organizational form in which a horizontal project management structure is "overlaid" on the normal functional hierarchy.
T
71.A process breakdown structure is frequently used on projects such as software development where the project is focused on activities rather than deliverables.
T
72.Basically, the WBS is an outline of the project with different levels of detail.
T
73.Studies suggest that there is a strong correlation between project success and clear project scope definition.
T
74.One of the items included on a project scope checklist is the reviews with the customer.
T
75.Project scope describes what you expect to deliver to your customers when the project is complete.
T
76.The hierarchical work breakdown structure can be used to represent the need for information at various levels of management.
T
77.A typical responsibility matrix will include not only those responsible for a specific task but also those who supply support and assistance.
T
78.Quality and the ultimate success of a project are traditionally defined as meeting or exceeding the expectations of the customer or management.
T
90.General and Administrative costs are usually allocated as a percent of the total of a direct cost such as labor, materials, or equipment.
T
45.Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which work activities are organized around groups rather than individuals?
Team emphasis
8. The importance of project management has increased due to
The movement of manufacturing operations out of the U.S Time to market The movement toward flatter and leaner organizations
28.Which of the following questions does the organization's mission statement answer?
What do we want to become?
47.The project manager has the responsibility to answer which of the following questions?
What task has to be done?
23.Which of the follow is not one of the commonly heard comments of project managers?
Why is this project so strongly linked to the strategic plan?
26.Which of the following is not true of multi-weighted scoring models?
Will include quantitative criteria Will include qualitative criteria Each criterion is assigned a weight Projects with higher scores are considered more desirable ALL ARE TRUE
5. From among the following activities, which is the best example of a project?
Writing a term paper
