Ch. 9

22. When estimating resource needs, project teams should consider all the following EXCEPT: a. support needs such as information systems and other services. b. the time required to communicate between activities. c. issues involved in securing specific knowledge or skills that are required. d. strengths and weaknesses of scoring models.

D

5. Estimate Activity Resources focuses exclusively upon the identification of the number of human resources required to perform each scheduled activity. a. True b. False

B

7. When determining resource availability, project managers need only consider full-time, internal resources. a. True b. False

B

1. Estimate Activity Resources is the process of assessing all types of resources - people, materials, tools, and equipment (along with quantities) - required for each activity to complete it as specified in project scope. a. True b. False

A

10. When recruiting resources to support a project, it is helpful to bring core team members and key subject matter experts on board as early as possible, to help plan the project and develop the project culture. a. True b. False

A

11. Project managers find many advantages in having diverse teams, as considering diverse perspectives in making decisions can help avoid major risks that a single perspective would not uncover. a. True b. False

A

12. One approach to identifying which activities contribute to work overload for a particular resource is to compare the resource histogram to the Gantt chart schedule, using the same timescale. a. True b. False

A

13. When resource overloads are extreme, project managers may need to consider the acquisition of additional resources, reductions in scope or extensions to the project schedule. a. True b. False

A

15. In order to avoid project delays, project managers confronted with a resource overload will seek to delay some of the noncritical activities by an amount no more than their slack period, to level the demand for that worker. a. True b. False

A

16. Critical chain project management is an alternate scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account. a. True b. False

A

17. Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) attempts to keep the most highly demanded resource busy on critical chain activities, but not overloaded.. a. True b. False

A

18. If a project resource is excessively overloaded, it may be necessary to reduce the project scope. a. True b. False

A

2. Even when a project team does not identify individual activities, it will still need to determine how many resources and what knowledge and skill each needs to complete the project. a. True b. False

A

20. An example of fast tracking a project schedule would be to overlap the design and production phases for a design-to-production project, where the conventional approach would be to move on to construction only after completing the design phase. a. True b. False

A

26. Consider the RACI chart presented in Figure 8-1. Who is accountable for the data requirements? a. the project manager b. the project engineer c. the contract officer d. the logistics manager

A

3. Agile project schedules are limited to the amount of work the assigned resources can handle. a. True b. False

A

30. Project managers often confront the challenge of reducing excessive time commitments and overloads among project resources. All of the following methods can be used to reduce work overloads EXCEPT: a. Require all project resources to work overtime b. Split an activity into two activities and delay the second part. c. Reorder activities when logically feasible. d. Reassign certain activities to other workers.

A

4. As the project manager identifies potential resources to work on the project, it is helpful to consider their professional disciplines, skill levels and their physical location. a. True b. False

A

6. When constructing a responsibility matrix or "RACI" chart, it is important to ensure that only one person has primary accountability for any activity. a. True b. False

A

9. RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) charts go beyond a communication plan in that they identify every project activity and specify the exact involvement of each stakeholder. a. True b. False

A

41. Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the total cost to complete this project in 7 days if crashed in the most cost efficient manner? a. $ 180 b. $ 220 c. $ 240 d. $ 270

B

14. Resource leveling is a network scheduling technique that seeks to assign nearly equivalent work units to each member of the project team. a. True b. False

B

19. Crashing is a project schedule compression technique that expedites a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other. a. True b. False

B

21. Crashing almost always accelerates the schedule while increasing project risk, whereas fast tracking almost always accelerates the schedule while increasing project cost. a. True b. False

B

23. Which of these is NOT an issue to be considered when selecting team members? a. cross functional teams b. stages of team development c. co-located teams d. virtual teams

B

25. Consider the RACI chart presented in Figure 8-1 (RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform). Who is responsible for development of the specification? a. the project manager b. the project engineer c. the contract officer d. the data manager PICTURE

B

32. Consider the programmers resource histogram presented in Figure 8-3. If only six programmers are available to support this project, which of the following conclusions is valid? a. The current schedule is feasible. b. The demand for programmers during weeks five and six exceeds the number available. c. The demand for programmers during weeks six through ten exceeds the number available. d. There is an excess capacity of programmers throughout the duration of this project.

B

35. The components (principles) of Critical Chain Project Management include which of the following? a. Estimate activity durations generously b. Avoid multi-tasking. c. Adhere strictly to completion deadlines - rather than finishing early or late. d. Add a comfortable buffer to every project activity

B

40. Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the incremental cost to achieve a one-day reduction in the duration of this project in the most cost efficient manner? a. $ 30 b. $ 35 c. $ 40 d. $ 60

B

8. While a "RACI" chart may be very useful for assigning activities to core team members and project managers, it should not include the subject matter experts assigned to the project. a. True b. False

B

24. A common tool project teams use is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). Typically, this chart will depict: a. the early start and early finish, and late start and late finish, of each schedule activity. b. the duration of each activity. c. all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package. d. the hierarchical organizational reporting structure.

C

27. Consider the RACI chart presented in Figure 8-1. What responsibility should the contract officer assume with respect to the statement of work? a. develop b. approve c. consult d. inform

C

33. Consider the programmers resource histogram presented in Figure 8-3. Which activity is an ideal candidate to delay in order to achieve a feasible schedule? a. Activity A - Define Requirements b. Activity B - Design Application c. Activity C - Draft User Manual d. Activity F - Correct Defects

C

34. Critical Chain method was developed to address several problems that are common in organizations that use traditional project scheduling. Which of the following describes a common problem addressed by the critical chain method? a. Many team members render overly optimistic estimates of the time it will take them to complete project activities. b. Many team members work solely on a single task until it is complete - impeding work on other related activities. c. Many team members tend to use all of the time available for an activity rather than completing it early. d. Many team members work best when multi-tasking

C

36. Project managers must often face the challenge of compressing the project schedule. All of the following actions can be taken to reduce the duration of the critical path EXCEPT: a. Reduce the project scope and /or quality. b. Overlap sequential activities using finish-to-finish, start-to-start, or start-to-finish relationships. c. Use the float in critical path activities d. Partially overlap sequential activities by using time leads.

C

37. Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the cost to complete this project in the normal time? a. $ 40 b. $ 120 c. $ 145 d. $ 405 PICTURE

C

39. Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. Which activity should you crash to reduce this project by one day with the least incremental cost? a. Activity A b. Activity C c. Activity E d. Activity F

C

28. Consider the software programmer loading chart presented in Figure 8-2. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the loading of the software programmer? a. The programmer is never overloaded. b. The programmer is overloaded on Wednesday only. c. The programmer is overloaded on Thursday only. d. The programmer is overloaded on both Wednesday and Thursday. PICTURE

D

29. Consider the software programmer loading chart presented in Figure 8-2. What percent of available time is the software programmer assigned to work activities on Thursday? a. 80 percent b. 100 percent c. 150 percent d. 200 percent

D

31. Consider the programmers resource histogram presented in Figure 8-3. How many programmers are required during the fifth week of this project? a. 2 programmers b. 4 programmers c. 6 programmers d. 7 programmers PICTURE

D

38. Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the normal (un-crashed) duration of this project? a. 6 days b. 7 days c. 8 days d. 9 days

D