TPV 1 CompTIA Post Test

You are the project manager of the NHQ Project. This project has a budget of $750,000 and is scheduled to last two years. The project is currently 25 percent complete though it was scheduled to be forty percent complete by this time. The project has spent $210,000 to date. What is the project's current cost variance?

Answer: $-22,500. The cost variance is found by subtracting the actual costs from the earned value. The earned value is the percent complete times the budget at completion. In this question, the earned value is $187,500 and the actual costs are $210,000 for a cost variance of $-22,500. Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance of a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: Cost Variance (CV)=Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AC).

You are the project manager of the NHQ Project. This project has a budget of $750,000 and is scheduled to last two years. The project is currently 25 percent complete though it was scheduled to be forty percent complete by this time. The project has spent $210,000 to date. What is the project's cost performance index?

Answer: 0.89. The cost performance index (CPI) is found by dividing the earned value by the actual costs of the project. In this instance, it's $187,500 divided by $210,000. The cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula: Cost Performance Index (CPI)=Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC).

Your subject matter expert tells you that her most likely estimate is 40 hours, her pessimistic estimate is 65 hours, and her optimistic estimate is 24 hours. What is the final three-point estimate?

Answer: 43 hours. Three-point estimates are an average of the most likely, pessimistic, and optimistic estimates.

You are working on a project where project status meetings generally have 12 participants. How many lines of communication are there?

Answer: 66. There are 66 lines of communication. The formula for this equation is as follows: 12(12 - 1) / 2 = 66.

You are the project manager of your organization and are coaching Sam on the differences between a project and operations. Which one of the following is the best definition of a project?

Answer: A project is a short-term endeavor to create a unique product or service. Of all the choices, the best definition of a project is that it is a short-term endeavor to create a unique product or service. In project management, a project consists of a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Another definition is a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case. Projects have the following characteristics: • They are unique. • They are temporary in nature and have a definite beginning and ending date. • They are completed when the project goals are achieved. • Their success is measured by evaluating whether they meet or exceed expectations of the stakeholders.

Jane is the project manager of the GBB project for her company. In the current project, a vendor has offered the project a ten percent discount if they will order 100 units for the project. It is possible that the GBB project may need the 100 units, but the cost of the units is not a top priority for the project. Jane documents the offer and tells the vendor that they will keep the offer in mind and continue with the project as planned. What risk response has been given in this project?

Answer: Acceptance. Accepting happens when the risk is acknowledged, but it is not necessarily pursued in the project. Jane will accept the discount if the project needs the 100 units, but she is not ensuring that the order will happen.

This EVM figure represents the money that's been expended during a given time period for the completed work.

Answer: Actual cost (AC). AC represents the actual costs expended during a given time period for the completed work. PV is the planned value, EV is the earned value, and BAC is the budget at completion.

You are the project manager for your organization. Marcy, a project team member, has identified an issue with a piece of hardware that could affect your project implementation. What should you do with this issue related to the hardware?

Answer: Add the issue to the project issue log for resolution. Issues, all issues, should be added to a centralized project issue log. It's possible to categorize the issues within the log, but this document identifies the issues and its conditions, an issue owner, and a date needed for a resolution.

You have identified a new risk in your project that will likely cause serious delays to your project completion date. What should you first do with the newly identified risk?

Answer: Add the risk event to the project's risk register with any additional information you've discovered about the risk. Whenever a new risk is identified, it should first be added to the risk register to document the risk and its characteristics

Your project seems to have faded away over time and has become a full-fledged ongoing operation. What type of project ending does this describe?

Answer: Addition. Addition occurs when projects evolve into ongoing operations, and integration occurs when resources are distributed to other areas of the organization. Starvation is a project ending caused by resources being cut off from the project. Extinction occurs when the project work is completed and is accepted by the stakeholders.

Which of the following cost estimation methods uses historical information from similar projects and expert judgment to determine the total project cost?

Answer: Analogous. Analogous is an estimating technique that uses the values of parameter, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimation of the same parameter for a future activity. It is a top-down estimating technique and is a form of expert judgment. It provides a lower degree of accuracy than other estimating techniques. This technique is primarily used when there is a limited amount of detailed information about the project or program.

Which of the following cost estimation methods is most accurate, costly, and time consuming?

Answer: Bottom-up. The bottom-up cost estimation method is most accurate, costly, and time consuming.

After reviewing the project work progress report, a key stakeholder sends an email to the project manager conveying his dissatisfaction with the progress of the project. Which of the following would be the BEST ways for the project manager to address the stakeholder's concerns?

Answer: Call the stakeholder to address the concerns. Have a face-to-face meeting with the stakeholder. To address the stakeholder's concerns regarding the progress of the project, the project manager should immediately make a telephone call to the stakeholder, as it will ensure that the stakeholder's perspective is quickly entertained. During the conversation, the project manager should also schedule a face-to-face meeting with the stakeholder in order to understand their perspectives and concerns about the project clearly and satisfy their needs.

You are the project manager of the NGH Project for your organization. A stakeholder has requested a significant change to the project that will cause an increase in the project budget by fifteen percent and will add six months to the project schedule. You do not have the power as a project manager to make this type of change decision. To whom should you forward the request?

Answer: Change control board. A change control board is a group of executives that have the authority to determine if a project change request should be approved or declined. They'll evaluate the cost-benefits of the change request and make a decision on the value of the change request. Some change requests, such as new laws, are requirements but should still pass through a change control board whenever possible.

You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You, with your team are working on the Executing processes. Which of the following components of the project plan will you use during the Executing processes?

Answer: Change management form. Quality management metrics. Project schedule. The various components of the project plan that you will be using during the Executing processes include: • Risk register. • Communications plan. • Issues log. • Change management form. • Quality management metrics. • Project schedule. • WBS. • Budget. • Resource requirements. • Scope statement.

You are the project manager for your organization. Your current project has 18 project team members throughout the United States. You'll be managing these remote team members through email, Web conferencing, and phone meetings. All of the following are things you must consider when you plan for project team management and meetings except for which one?

Answer: Change management issues. While change management issues are a constant presence in the control of the project, they are not the most pressing planning consideration for virtual teams.

When the project manager creates a presentation and scope document of the project, he implements a method which ensures that any modification to a project's scope follows a standardized process. Which of the following methods is implemented by the project manager?

Answer: Change management. Change management is a method of transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations to a desired future state. The project manager implements this method in order to ensure that modification to a project's scope follows a standardized process. It includes the following: • Change request forms. • Change request log. • Change control board. • Coordination and communication with appropriate stakeholders. • Updating the affected project-planning documents.

There are four inputs to the control risks process. Which one of the following will NOT help you, the project manager, prepare for risk monitoring and controlling?

Answer: Change requests. Change requests are not one of the four inputs to the control risks process. The four inputs are the risk register, the risk management plan, work performance data, and work performance reports.

Gary is the project manager of the NGH project for his organization. He and the project team have created the initial WBS. Before Gary and the project team begin creating the activity list, Gary wants the project team to help him create a unique numbering system for the deliverables identified in the WBS. What numbering system can Gary and the project team apply to the WBS to identify the components of the WBS?

Answer: Code of accounts. The code of accounts is a hierarchical numbering system that uniquely identifies each deliverable of the WBS and segments the WBS by levels of numbering.

You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. Two of your team members are held in a conflict on a module of the project assigned to them. You have told them to work together to find a mutually beneficial solution. Which of the following conflict resolution techniques will your team members follow to achieve the solution?

Answer: Collaboration. Collaboration is a method of resolving conflict in which two people jointly work to come across a mutually beneficial solution. Collaboration is the only win-win solution to conflicts, but it can be time-intensive and unsuitable when there is not enough trust, respect, or communication among the participants for collaboration to occur.

You're a project manager for a project that's well into the Executing process. Which of the following activities will you be involved with during this process?

Answer: Comparing budget estimates to actual. One of the project execution tasks that you will be handling is comparing the actual expenditures to the project estimates.

Match the conflict management techniques with their descriptions.

Answer: Compromise = Achieved when each of the parties involved in the conflict gives up something to reach a solution Smoothing=Temporary way to resolve conflict; the areas of agreement are emphasized over the areas of difference, so the real issue stays buried. Avoiding=Occurs when one of the parties gets up and leaves and refuses to discuss the conflict.

During the monitoring and controlling phase, a project manager determines that the project is very close to completion (no further modification is required) and two parties are in conflict with each other. Which of the following conflict resolution styles will the project manager use to resolve this issue?

Answer: Confronting. Confronting is also called problem solving and is the best way to resolve conflict. One of the key actions performed in this technique is to go on a fact-finding mission. The thinking here is that one right solution to a problem exists and the facts will bear out that solution. Once the facts are uncovered, they are presented to the parties, and the decision is made clear. Thus, the solution becomes a permanent one, and the conflict expires. This is the conflict-resolution approach project managers use most often and is an example of a win-win technique.

Which of the following is the portion of the project charter that restricts the actions of the project team?

Answer: Constraint. Constraint restricts the actions of the project team and may take the form of budget, resources, schedules, or other limitations.

You are the project manager for the NQK Project for your organization. Your project team has both internal employees and contract-based employees. What document should define how the contract-based employees will be managed?

Answer: Contract. The contract between the buyer and seller should address how the contract-based project team members will be managed. The contract may defer to the buyer's human resource management plan, but not always.

Which of the following tools is used by a project manager to make sure that the project deliverable is aligned with the specification?

Answer: Control Chart. A control chart displays a variance of several samples of the same process over time and determines that if a project deliverable is out of specification.

Which of the following is a time-phased budget that is used to measure and monitor cost performance throughout the project life cycle?

Answer: Cost baseline. Cost baseline is an approved time-phased budget that monitors and measures cost performance throughout the project life cycle. It includes a budget contingency to accommodate the risk of incurring unidentifiable but normally occurring costs within the defined scope. Cost baseline varies from project to project, depending on the project's budget and schedule.

Which of the following is the process of monitoring cost performance and controlling changes to the cost baseline?

Answer: Cost control. Cost control is the process of monitoring cost performance and controlling changes to the cost baseline.

The cost variance (CV) value of a project is less than zero or negative. What does this value indicate?

Answer: Costs are higher than originally planned for the project. Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance of a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: Cost Variance (CV)=Earned Value (EV)-Actual Cost(AC).

The cost variance (CV) value of a project is positive. What does this value indicate?

Answer: Costs are less than that budgeted. Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance of a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: Cost Variance (CV)=Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AV).

You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You have to keep the resources levelly loaded, but will require them to be flexible in their start time. You have to quickly switch between tasks and task chains to keep the whole project on schedule. Which of the following methods will you use to accomplish the above task?

Answer: Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM). Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects. It puts more emphasis on the resources required to execute project tasks. This is in contrast to the more traditional Critical Path and PERT methods, which emphasize task order and rigid scheduling. A Critical Chain project network will tend to keep the resources levelly loaded, but will require them to be flexible in their start times and to quickly switch between tasks and task chains to keep the whole project on schedule.

A heterogeneous project team has different customs and value systems for developing the deliverables. Which of the following deals with customs and value systems?

Answer: Cultural differences. In an organization, a heterogeneous project team comprises people from different cultures and thus there will be cultural differences amongst members. Customs and value systems deal with cultural differences.

What is one important step that new project managers might overlook when faced with a possible scope change?

Answer: Determining an alternative solution. When faced with the possibility of a scope change, the project manager should determine whether there are alternatives that would lessen the impact of the proposed change.

From the following list, choose the item that represents the monitoring of quality control.

Answer: Development of a Pareto diagram. A Pareto diagram is used to rank the importance of a problem based on its frequency of occurrence over time. The actions that are taken following the completion of a quality activity are accepting the defects that were found, reworking the deliverables involved to correct the defects, or changing processes to prevent defects from happening in the future.

Name the types of project selection methods that are considered economic model methods.

Answer: Discounted cash flow. Net Present Value (NPR). Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The economic model includes discounted cash flow, NPV, and IRR. The benefit measurement methods include cost-benefit analysis, scoring model, and payback period.

You've developed a project plan and scope document. The project plan has been approved, and you're moving forward with the implementation of the project. What process have you entered?

Answer: Executing. You're in the Executing process of the project. Executing means that your project is underway and that team members are working on the deliverables of the project.

You are the project manager of an organization. A key stakeholder has informed you that the project must be completed on time. Currently, the project is running behind the schedule and the budget provided will also not allow addition of extra resources to meet the specified completion date. What is the BEST action you will take in order to meet the demands of the key stakeholder?

Answer: Fast tracking the schedule. Of all these, fast tracking will be the best action that you should take for completion of the project on the specified date because fast tracking involves starting the next phase of the project before the prior phase is completed in order to shorten the project schedule.

You are the project manager for the HNG Project. Your project is slated to last eight months, but management has asked that you create a method for reducing the project duration. You elect to allow certain phases of the project to overlap. What schedule compression technique have you used in this instance?

Answer: Fast tracking. This is an example of fast tracking. Fast tracking allows entire phases of the project to overlap in order to compress the total duration of the project schedule.

You're a project manager working on a midsize project that's well into the Executing phase. One of your more powerful stakeholders is somewhat overbearing at the regular project status meetings and insists that her solution is the only solution. What conflict-resolution technique does this describe?

Answer: Forcing. Forcing is when member forces a solution on the other parties. This is a win-lose conflict-resolution technique.

Mark works as a project manager in an organization. He finds that two of his team members are in a conflict, and important principles are at stake. What type of conflict resolution method should Mark use in this instance?

Answer: Forcing. If important principles are at stake, Mark will have to use the Forcing method to resolve the issues. Forcing is a method of resolving conflicts. In this conflict resolution method, one party wins while ignoring the needs and concerns of the other party. As the intensity of a conflict increases, the tendency for a Forced conflict becomes more likely. In this resolution method, one party wins at the expense of the other party.

You are a new project manager for your company. The previous project manager left abruptly. When reviewing the project manager's latest project, you find that the scope document is poorly formulated and missing several key elements. What are the next steps you should next take?

Answer: Gain project sponsor and stakeholder sign-off on a new document. Research and document the missing elements in a new scope statement. Your next steps include researching and documenting the missing elements of the scope statement and then writing a new scope statement and gaining sponsor and stakeholder buy-in, approval, and sign-off.

In software development, which of the following is used to document the services and functions that have been accidentally left out, deliberately eliminated, or still need to be developed?

Answer: Gap Analysis. Gap analysis is used to document the services and functions that have been accidentally left out, deliberately eliminated, or still need to be developed. Gap analysis is a technique that helps a company to compare its actual performance with its potential performance. It is a formal study of what a business is doing currently and where it wants to go in the future. Gap analysis provides a foundation for measuring investment of time, money, and human resources required to achieve a particular outcome.

A project manager of the NHY project has identified a new critical requirement after the project charter was approved. What should he do NEXT?

Answer: Generate a change request and submit it to the change control board for review. When the project manager identifies a new critical requirement after the project charter was approved, he should generate a change request and submit it to the change control board for review. The change control board (CCB) is responsible for reviewing change requests, analyzing the impact of the change, and approving, denying, or delaying the change requests.

This schedule network analysis technique allows for conditional loops.

Answer: Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT). Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT) is rarely used in practice but allows for conditional loops in the project schedule.

You are the project manager of the H2A Project for your organization. This project is designed to create new software for your organization. Some of the project team members are not comfortable addressing the project stakeholders directly about the status and requirements in the project. You have decided that all communications to and from the project team should flow through you, the project manager. Where should you document this team and stakeholder decision?

Answer: Ground rules. This is an example of team ground rules that the project team and the project stakeholders should all agree to abide by. You might also document this communication decision in the project's Communications Management Plan. Ground rules contribute significantly to improved communication among project team members, even more improved work relationships and ultimately a better end result for the project. The project manager should assemble key players to establish a shared understanding for the project and share ground rules that will help focus the team and get the required results.

Identifying stakeholders shows up in two areas of the Initiating process group. Which areas are they?

Answer: In the project charter. As a step in validating a project. Stakeholders are identified and analyzed when validating a project, and they are listed in the project charter.

All of the following are types of solicitation documents you may use during vendor selection except for which one?

Answer: Invitation for Proposal (IFP). An RFP (request for proposal), RFQ (request for quote), and IFB (invitation for bid) are all types of solicitation documents you can use to obtain bids from vendors for your project work.

According to a project schedule, a project continues through a lifecycle and the project manager approves some changes. What effect do approved changes have on the project?

Answer: It can add costs to the overall project. It can hold the costs of a project. It can decrease costs of the overall project. As a project continues through a lifecycle, the approved changes have the following effect on the project: • It can add costs to the overall project. • It can hold the costs of a project. • It can decrease costs of the overall project.

Which of the following statements is true about scope creep?

Answer: It occurs when the project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. Scope creep (also called focus creep, requirement creep, feature creep, and sometimes kitchen sink syndrome) in project management refers to uncontrolled changes in a project's scope. Scope creep includes the changes that circumvent the change control process and are not tracked. Such changes take away from valid project time and valid project costs. This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered a negative occurrence that is to be avoided.

"A project manager's experience shows that while using four laborers, ten deliverables can be produced. Now when the project manager uses eight laborers, fifteen deliverables are produced."

Answer: Law of diminishing returns. The law of diminishing returns states that a project manager cannot exponentially add labor to a project to reduce the amount of time required to complete the project work. According to this law, the user will get less and less output when he adds additional inputs while holding other inputs fixed. In other words, the change in output per unit increase in labor is negative and total output is falling.

What term describes the time and costs associated with the loss of efficiency and productivity an organization experiences while the employees learn how to use the new solution when a technical deliverable is implemented?

Answer: Learning curve. The learning curve describes the backwards-nature of efficiency that an organization experiences when a new solution is implemented into an organization.

What component of a project's documentation do team members typically want to keep out of the project archives?

Answer: Lessons Learned. Lessons learned are something that project team members don't typically want to include in the project archives because they're afraid it will look as though they did not perform adequately. It's important to document lessons learned without placing blame. If you encounter a project similar to this one in the future, you can review the archives and pick up some pointers on what not to do.

Which of the following is the last deliverable at the close out meeting?

Answer: Lessons Learned. The last deliverable at the close out meeting is lessons learned. Documenting lessons learned is the most important step of project closure. In this step, a project manager can identify where things went wrong, how he fixed them, and what would be considered as alternatives in the future. Lessons learned is useful for those who have a similar project.

This type of analysis is performed during procurement planning to determine cost effectiveness.

Answer: Make-or-buy. Make-or-buy analysis is performed during procurement planning to determine the cost-effectiveness of either making the goods and services in-house or procuring them from an outside vendor.

Your team has given you the following estimates, most likely, pessimistic, and optimistic. What technique will they use to determine a final expected value estimate for the task?

Answer: PERT. PERT calculates an expected value estimate using the most likely, pessimistic, and optimistic estimates.

You ask your team members for a quantitative task duration estimate. What technique will they use to determine this?

Answer: Parametric estimating. Parametric estimates are quantitatively based estimates that are typically calculated by multiplying rate times quantity.

You are the project manager for your organization and are creating a time estimate for your project. Your project will require the project to install 1,500 doors throughout your organization's campus. The doors are fireproof and are mandated by law. Roger, a project team member, estimates that each door will take 1.5 hours of time to install and test successfully. You estimate that the total time for the doors to be installed will be 2,250 hours of labor based on Roger's estimate. What type of estimate have you created?

Answer: Parametric. This is an example of a parametric estimate because you are using the 1.5 hours parameter for each door.

You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You have to create a graph so that you can see where the biggest problems are in relation to the other categories of failures. Which of the following charts will help you to accomplish the above task?

Answer: Pareto Chart. A Pareto chart shows categories of failures in a bar chart from the largest to the smallest instance of failures, defects, or even successes in a project, depending on what is being measured. Its primary advantage is that you can see where the largest problems are in relation to the other categories of failure. A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph, which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa.

You are the project manager of the NHQ Project for your organization. Management wants you to create a quality control chart that will allow them to see the categories of project failure from largest to smallest. What type of quality control does management want you to create?

Answer: Pareto Chart. Pareto chart shows categories of failure in a bar chart from largest instance to smallest instance of failure, defect, or even successes in a project depending on what's being measured. Its primary advantage is that you can see where the largest problems are in relation to the other categories of failure.

Quality Planning is the process of identifying quality standards applicable for the project and determining how the project will meet these standards. Which of the following techniques are used by a project manager to assist with quality planning?

Answer: Peer review. Inspection. Benchmarking. The techniques used by the project manager to assist with quality planning are: • Peer review: A peer review is an examination process in which colleagues examine a project work such as document, code, etc., and evaluate technical content and quality. • Benchmarking: Benchmarking is the comparison of actual or planned practices, such as processes and operations, to those of comparable organizations to identify best practices, generate ideas for improvement, and provide a basis for measuring performance. • Inspection: Inspection involves examining, measuring, or testing work results to determine whether they conform to the quality standards and plan.

Which of the following processes are where the project goals, objectives, and deliverables are refined and broken down into manageable units of work?

Answer: Planning. The planning process is where the project goals, objectives, and deliverables are refined and broken down into manageable units of work. Project managers create time and cost estimates and determine resource requirements for each activity. Planning involves several other critical areas of project management, including communication, risk, human resources, quality, and procurement.

Which of the following are project management process groups?

Answer: Planning. Executing. Closing. Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing are the five project management process groups.

Who is responsible for defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

Answer: Process Owner. The Process Owner is responsible for defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The Process Owner executes the crucial role of process champion, design lead, supporter, instructor, and protector. The Process Owner should be a senior level manager with credibility, influence, and authority across the various areas impacted by the activities of the process. The Process Owner must have the ability to influence and make sure compliance to the policies and procedures put in place across the cultural and departmental silos of the IT organization. The role of the Process Owner must be defined in the initial planning phase of any ITIL project. This role is responsible for the overall quality of the process and oversees the management of, and organizational compliance to, the process flows, procedures, data models, policies, and technologies associated with the IT business process.

You are performing the Close Procurements process and have just verified that the work completed on contract is not accurate and does not meet with your satisfaction. What procedure did you use to determine this?

Answer: Product verification. Product verification determines whether the work of the contract was completed accurately and satisfactorily. Scope verification is performed for project work that is produced by the internal project team (not performed on contract), and the post-project review is performed at the end of the project to capture lessons learned.

Which of the following documents graphically depicts the project team members and displays their interrelationship for a specific project?

Answer: Project Organization Chart. The project organization chart is a document that graphically portrays the team members of the project and their interrelationships for a specific project. An organization chart is a diagram that shows the hierarchical structure of an organization. Usually a chart starts with a higher or superior level and branches downward to subordinate levels.

In most organizations, this is the only person who has the authority to cancel a project.

Answer: Project Sponsor. In most organizations, the project sponsor is the one who has the authority to cancel a project. The project manager will likely be the one who recommends project cancellation, and it's always a good idea to have stakeholder consensus regarding this decision as well.

You are a project manager in a matrix environment and management is concerned about the utilization of the resources on your project team and when you'll release them. What project management plan will guide how and when project resources will be released from the project team?

Answer: Project Staffing Management Plan. The Project Staffing Management Plan will define how resources are brought onto the project team, how they are managed while on the project team, and how they may be released from the project team. The staffing management plan is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management plan and defines when project team members will be brought onto and released from the project. It describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. Depending upon the needs of the project, it can be formal or informal, highly detailed, or broadly framed. The staffing management plan may include the following items: staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

Who is responsible for the stakeholder expectations management in a high-profile, high-risk project?

Answer: Project manager. The project manager is responsible for stakeholder expectations management. A project manager is an expert in the field of project management. He is responsible for the entire project from inception to completion. The project manager leads the team and helps negotiate the multiple relationships within any project whether with clients, team members, firm principals or any variety of partners and functions as the hub of a project.

Which of the following determines the start of a project?

Answer: Project result. The project result determines the start of a project. When you start a project, it is a must to know about the project result.

Fred is the project manager for his organization, and he is helping management to create the project charter for a new project. This project charter, once it's officially approved, will formally initiate the project. The project charter should identify all of the following except for which one?

Answer: Quality Improvement Processes. The project charter does not define the quality improvement processes. This information is included later in project planning in the process improvement plan.

Quality metrics, quality checklists, and exit criteria are defined in which of the following processes?

Answer: Quality planning. Quality metrics are a standard of measurement defined in the quality management plan that defines what will be measured and how it will be measured. They are defined in the Quality Planning process, as are quality checklists and exit criteria.

Mark works as a project manager in an organization. The top management of the company has instructed him to show graphical representation of roles and responsibilities of the project team members. Which of the following will Mark provide to the management?

Answer: RACI chart. Mark will provide the RACI chart to show the graphical representation of roles and responsibilities of the project team members. RACI is an acronym that was derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. It is a type of responsibility assignment matrix used to ensure clear divisions of roles and expectations when the team consists of internal and external resources.

The final performance review is done at the closing process group. Which of the following is a benefit of this performance review?

Answer: Recognize Individual Performance. Final performance review of the team members can certainly assess an individual's performance, which can be helpful in recognizing which member can be put in future phases of the project. The performance review benefits the project manager to keep his resources ready for future activities.

You are the project manager of the NDF project. You need to determine how often a complete project report can be made, including forecasted project completion information for your project. How often should the report be created?

Answer: Regularly or on an exception basis. Performance reports should be created regularly or on an exception basis. A performance report tracks the performance of the program/project team members. A template can be created that tracks performance, such as work results, schedule, costs, and other factors. The performance report must include both the positive and negative performance for the staff.

The Project Communications Management knowledge area focuses on which of the following processes?

Answer: Report Performance. Distribute Information. Identify Stakeholders. Project Communications Management is one of the nine Knowledge Areas. It employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information. The following processes are part of Project Communications Management: • Identify Stakeholders. • Plan Communications. • Distribute Information. • Manage Stakeholder Expectations. • Report Performance. The Project Communications Management processes provide the critical links among people and information that are necessary for successful communication. These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well.

A financial manager in an organization has the authority to track costs of internal resources used in the project. Which of the following will MOST likely contain this information?

Answer: Resource Breakdown Structure. A resource breakdown structure is a document that contains the project scope, estimates the cost of the project, identifies the resources required, and develops the project schedule. It is managed by the financial manager, who is the executive in the organization and authorizes the project to begin.

You are the project manager of the NGQ Project and are reviewing the assignments for your project team. You have decided to use a RACI chart as your responsibility assignment matrix. What does RACI mean?

Answer: Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform. A RACI chart is a form of a responsibility assignment matrix that uses the legend of Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform. These responsibilities make up the term RACI.

What will the project manager do FIRST when he determines that a team member has left the company and there are no existing qualified team members available to fill the vacancy?

Answer: Review the staffing plan. The project manager is responsible for making project decisions and assigning resources for the project. So, when he determines that a team member has left the company and there are no existing qualified team members available to fill the vacancy, he will review the staffing plan. This is because the staffing plan documents when and how human resources will be added to and released from the project team and what they will be working on while they are part of the team.

You have been assigned as the Project Manager for a new project that involves deployment of a new software application to all your organization's users. You have completed identifying the scope and the related scope management activities. You plan to develop a schedule that your project team can follow. You have begun defining the activities that are required to complete the work packages. Which of the following would NOT serve as an input in this process?

Answer: Risk Matrix. Risk Matrix is a tool to analyze the risks, their impact, probability etc., and does not serve as a direct input for defining the activities.

A table of risks, their probability, impact, and a number representing the overall risk score is called a ____.

Answer: Risk matrix. A risk matrix is a tool used in the Risk Assessment process. It allows the severity of the risk of an event occurring to be determined.

Risk assessment gathers information from different resources for identifying different risk events. Which of the following techniques are included in the information gathering resources for an initial risk assessment?

Answer: SWOT analysis. Brainstorming. Delphi technique. The information gathering resources for an initial risk assessment includes the following: • SWOT analysis: It is a planning technique that defines strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a project to evaluate risk events. • Brainstorming: It is a technique to gather general data. It can be used to identify risks, ideas, or solutions to issues by using a group of team members or subject-matter expert. • Delphi technique: It is a communication technique based on a panel of experts in order to forecast different risk events.

You are the project manager of the NHO Project and are hosting a software development workshop to gather project requirements. In the workshop, what name is assigned to the person who records the workshop minutes?

Answer: Scribe. The person that keeps the minutes in a workshop is commonly called a scribe. You may also know this individual as the recorder.

Based on a project inspection, the project manager comes to know that some key personnel have left the organization and the existing people do not have the skills to cover this shortage. Which of the following documents will MOST likely be updated in order to recruit replacements for the team?

Answer: Staffing management plan, risk register, and project schedule. In order to recruit new skilled personnel, the project manager will most likely update the three documents. Firstly, he will update the staffing management plan, as it describes when and how human resources will be added and removed from the project team and what they will be working on while they are part of the team. Secondly, he will update the risk register, as it helps the personnel to communicate the project risks and actions plans to other stakeholders. Lastly, he will update the project schedule, as it determines the start and finish dates for project activities, and then assign resources to the activities.

Kelly is the project manager for a project in her organization. She needs to create a plan that will define how project team members will be brought onto and released from her project. What plan should Kelly create?

Answer: Staffing management plan. The staffing management plan defines how project team members will be acquired and released from the project. The staffing management plan is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management plan and defines when project team members will be brought onto and released from the project. It describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. Depending upon the needs of the project, it can be formal or informal, highly detailed, or broadly framed. The staffing management plan may include the following items: staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

Which of the following techniques gives assurance to the project manager that the work results are meeting the specifications when there are many work results to inspect?

Answer: Statistical Sampling. If there are numerous work results that require inspection or testing, then it is appropriate to use statistical sampling, where the project manager gathers a subset of all the applicable work results and randomly selects a small number for testing or examination. The results for this subset represent the whole. Statistical sampling can be very cost-effective, especially in projects where multiple versions of the same product are produced.

Which of the following organizational structures gives the project managers the power to handle the workers directly, and therefore adequately handle the entire project?

Answer: Strong matrix. A strong matrix organizational structure gives the project managers the power to handle the workers directly, and therefore, adequately handle the entire project. But the project managers are not accountable for the human resource management. When project managers start new projects, they discuss their staffing demands with the functional managers and the functional managers seek to have the resources available.

In this organizational structure, you report to the director of project management, and your team members report to their areas of responsibility (accounting, human resources, and IT). You will have complete control of the project team's assignments once the project is underway. Which type of organization does this describe?

Answer: Strong matrix. This describes a strong matrix organization because the project manager works in a division whose sole responsibility is project management, and once the team members are assigned to the project, the project manager has the authority to hold them accountable to their tasks and activities.

During the execution of a project, the project manager carries out an earned value management on the project and determines that the CPI is 1.2 and the SPI is .75. What do these figures indicate?

Answer: The project is under planned cost and behind schedule. The cost performance index (CPI) measures the value of the work completed at the measurement date against the actual cost. The schedule performance index (SPI) measures the progress up to a specified date against the progress that was planned. Since, in this scenario, the CPI is greater than one and the SPI is less than one, it indicates that the project is under planned cost and behind the schedule, respectively.

Mary is the project manager for her organization. She is working with the project team to define the project activities. She is concerned about some of the dependencies of the project work which may affect the project schedule. Which one of the following is the best example of a project constraint that will likely affect the project's ability to finish by a given deadline?

Answer: The project must use the BGH company to deliver the software portion of the project. Of all the constraints listed, only this is an external dependency which can directly affect the project manager's control over the project work. If the BGH company is late delivering the software portion of the project, it will likely have an effect on the project's ability to complete the project on time.

Gary is the project manager for his project. He and the project team have completed the qualitative risk analysis process and are about to enter the quantitative risk analysis process when Mary, the project sponsor, wants to know what quantitative risk analysis will review. Which of the following statements best defines what quantitative risk analysis will review?

Answer: The quantitative risk analysis process will analyze the effect of risk events that may substantially impact the project's competing demands. Once the risk events have passed through qualitative risk analysis, the risk events must be reviewed to determine the effect of the risks on the project's competing demands.

What is one of the first things you should make certain you know before determining risk probability and impact?

Answer: The stakeholder risk tolerance levels. Stakeholder risk tolerance levels are one of the most important pieces of information you need going into the risk analysis process. If your organization has a high tolerance for risks, this will cause you to score potential risk events differently than if they had a low tolerance.

What are the three constraints in the Iron Triangle of Project Management?

Answer: Time, cost and scope. The Iron Triangle of Project Management is an equilateral triangle that positions time, cost, and scope along the three sides of the triangle.

During the closing process group, what is the purpose of a post-project review?

Answer: To analyze project performance. A post-project review is most beneficial to future projects, as it analyzes project performance and covers all aspects of the project including both the negatives and the positives of each phase.

Why should you have a formal review of the final project management plan with the sponsor and key stakeholders?

Answer: To finalize the document and move into execution. To make sure everyone is on board with the plan. To obtain sign-off. A formal final review of the comprehensive project management plan is required so that you, the sponsor, and the key stakeholders understand what it is you're about to do, can authorize and sign off on that work, and can move the project into the Executing phase.

In the closing process group, which of the following is the purpose of a formal project closure?

Answer: To provide lessons learned for future projects. The purpose of a formal project closure in the closing process group is to provide lessons learned for future projects. Lessons learned documentation is the information that one gathers and documents throughout the course of the project. This documentation can be used to benefit the current project, future projects, or other projects currently being performed by the organization.

This type of estimate is predicated on historical data and expert judgment.

Answer: Top-down. A top-down estimate relies on historical data and expert judgment. It's also known as analogous estimating.

Which of the following documents is described in the statement below? "It is a companion document to the WBS. It describes each component in the WBS. It includes a brief definition of the scope or statement of work, defined deliverables, a list of associated activities, and a list of milestones. It details all work packages in WBS including estimates and billing information."

Answer: WBS dictionary. The Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary is a companion document to the WBS. It describes each component in the WBS. It includes a brief definition of the scope or statement of work, defined deliverables, a list of associated activities, and a list of milestones. It details all work packages in WBS including estimates and billing information. The WBS dictionary describes: • Deliverables. • Acceptance criteria. • Quality requirements. • Time estimates and milestones. • Cost estimates. • Contract information (if applicable). • Responsible individual or department.

You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You have to detail all work packages in the WBS, including estimates and billing information. Which of the following documents will you use to accomplish the task?

Answer: WBS dictionary. The Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary is a companion document to the WBS. It describes each component in the WBS. It includes a brief definition of the scope or statement of work, defined deliverables, a list of associated activities, and a list of milestones. It details all work packages in WBS including estimates and billing information. The WBS dictionary describes: • Deliverables. • Acceptance criteria. • Quality requirements. • Time estimates and milestones. • Cost estimates. • Contract information (if applicable). • Responsible individual or department.

When should you seek recommendations from the sponsor to either kill a project or come up with alternative strategies?

Answer: When costs far outreach the budgeted amount that the project was originally given. When an activity is insurmountable. When the elapsed time used for one or more tasks far exceeds time estimates. When the project's costs exceed its budget, you have to go to the sponsor and get input on what to do next. When the elapsed time taken for one or more tasks far exceeds your initial time estimates or you find that the project activity is insurmountable, it's time to visit with the stakeholders and project sponsor to see whether you need an extension or whether it's time to kill the project. If the sponsor loses interest, it's time to talk with the sponsor, not necessarily to pull the plug on the project.

Robert is the project manager for his organization. Management has asked Robert to provide them with the metric he uses to measure deliverables status, costs incurred, and especially how he measures the schedule progress for schedule adherence. What project component could Robert provide for management?

Answer: Work performance measurements. Work performance measurements are metrics that are defined to collect performance and progress of the project. Typical metrics are deliverables, schedule, and costs, though additional metrics, such as quality, can be added. Work performance measurements are created from the work performance information. WPMs are an output of Control schedule, Control cost, and Control scope processes, which are monitoring and controlling processes. WPMs consist of planned versus actual performance indicators with respect to scope, schedule, and cost. They are documented and communicated to the stakeholders and are used to make project activity metrics, such as the following: • Planned vs. Actual Technical performance and Scope performance. • Planned vs. Actual Schedule performance. • Planned vs. Actual Cost performance.