CHAPTER 6

A. The smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

When completing a backward pass, you carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish the LF, unless the next preceding activity is a burst activity, in which case you select A. The smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. B. The largest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. C. The average LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. D. The smallest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. E. The largest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

B. One or more activities. Work packages from the work breakdown structure (WBS) are used to build the activities found in the project network. An activity can include one or more work packages. The activities are placed in a sequence that provides for orderly completion of the project.

When translated into a project network, a work package will become A. A single activity. B. One or more activities. C. A milestone. D. A critical path. E. An arrow.

B. Free slack Free slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any succeeding activity. It only occurs at the end of a chain of activities where you have a merge activity and requires no coordination with managers of succeeding activities unless all the available free slack is used.

Which of the following can be used without coordinating with managers of succeeding activities? A. Total slack B. Free slack C. Critical float D. Float pad E. Slip pad

B. ES + DUR

Which of the following correctly calculates the early finish for an activity? A. LS + DUR B. ES + DUR C. LF + DUR D. ES + SL E. LF + SL

C. LF - DUR

Which of the following correctly calculates the late start for an activity? A. EF - DUR B. ES - DUR C. LF - DUR D. ES - SL E. LF - SL

D. Path.

A sequence of connected, dependent activities is termed a(n) A. Path of events. B. Parallel path. C. Activity chain. D. Path. E. Dependent chain.

C. Burst

A(n) _________ activity has more than one dependency arrow flowing from it. A. Parallel B. Critical path C. Burst D. Merge E. Independent

A. Parallel activity.

Activities which can take place at the same time are termed A. Parallel activity. B. Critical path. C. Burst activity. D. Merge activity. E. Independent activity.

D. Merge activity.

An activity that has more than one dependency arrow flowing into it is termed a(n) A. Parallel activity. B. Critical path. C. Burst activity. D. Merge activity. E. Independent activity.

D. Project flow and dependency. The node depicts an activity, and the arrow shows dependency and project flow.

Arrows on an activity-on-node (AON) project network represent A. An activity. B. Project flow. C. Dependency. D. Project flow and dependency. E. An activity and dependency.

A. Start to Start lags Concurrent engineering basically breaks activities into smaller segments so that work can be done in parallel and the project expedited. Start-to-start relationships can depict the concurrent engineering conditions and reduce network detail.

Concurrent engineering, which has dramatically reduced the development time for new products, relies on what kind of lag? A. Start to Start lags B. Start to Finish lags C. Finish to Finish lags D. Finish to Start lags E. Any of these could be correct

B. Work packages.

On a project network, the activity times are derived from the A. Organization breakdown structure. B. Work packages. C. Budget. D. Project proposal. E. Responsibility matrix.

B. Start to Finish

System documentation cannot end until three days after testing has started. This is an example of which kind of lag? A. Start to Start B. Start to Finish C. Finish to Finish D. Finish to Start E. Any of these could be correct

A. Total slack Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project. Stated differently, total slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the project end date or an imposed completion date.

The amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project is termed A. Total slack. B. Free slack. C. Critical float. D. Float pad. E. Slip pad.

E. Laddering.

The assumption that all immediate preceding activities must be 100% complete is too restrictive in some situations. When an activity is broken down into smaller segments in order to start the succeeding activity sooner, this is called A. Hammock activities. B. Concurrent engineering. C. A forward pass. D. Dissecting. E. Laddering.

B. Earliest time an activity can finish.

The backward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT A. Latest time an activity can begin. B. Earliest time an activity can finish. C. The critical path. D. How long an activity can be delayed. E. Latest time an activity can finish.

B. Longest path through the network. When the critical path term is used, it means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network. If an activity on the critical path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time.

The critical path in a project network is the A. Shortest path through the network. B. Longest path through the network. C. Network path with the most difficult activities. D. Network path using the most resources. E. Network path with the most merge activities.

D. The critical path.

The forward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT A. Earliest time an activity can begin. B. Earliest time an activity can finish. C. Duration of the project. D. The critical path. E. How soon the project can finish.

C. Sensitivity. We use the term sensitivity to reflect the likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated. Sensitivity is the function of the number of critical paths and the level of slack for noncritical activities.

The likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated is referred to as A. Flexibility. B. Resilience. C. Sensitivity. D. Concurrent engineering. E. Rigidity.

C. Lag.

The minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end is referred to as A. Hammock. B. Laddering. C. Lag. D. Cushion. E. Buffer.

D. Finish to Start

The requirement for a freshly poured foundation to cure before beginning construction is an example of which of the following type of lag? A. Start to Start B. Start to Finish C. Finish to Finish D. Finish to Start E. Any of these could be correct

C. Total Slack.

Tom is responsible for ordering hardware for a custom home his company is building. The contractor installing the hardware is scheduled to start in 5 working days, but the hardware is on backorder and will not arrive for another 9 working days. Fortunately, Tom has 10 days of slack; however, he shares this slack with the hardware installer. He will have to let the contactor know that the hardware will be ready 4 days later than expected and that the slack for the installer has been reduced by 4 days. Tom and the installer share 10 days of A. Free Slack. B. Shared Slack. C. Total Slack. D. Critical Slack. E. Functional Slack.

D. Highlights major deliverables and identifies their completion dates The work breakdown structure (WBS) will highlight major deliverables. Since major deliverables are a summary of the tasks below them, they do not directly consume time or resources; therefore, they are not included in the network.

Which of the following does NOT help describe a project network? A. A graphic display of the flow and sequence of work through the project B. Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment C. Gives the times when activities can start and finish and when they can be delayed D. Highlights major deliverables and identifies their completion dates E. Identifies critical activities

C. Conditional statements are allowed but looping statements are not allowed Conditional statements are not allowed (that is, this type of statement should not appear: If successful, do something; if not, do nothing).

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic rules to follow when developing project networks? A. An activity cannot begin until all preceding activities have been completed B. Each activity must have a unique identification number C. Conditional statements are allowed but looping statements are not allowed D. An activity identification number must be larger than that of any preceding activities E. Networks flow from left to right

D. Activity duration Project networks are developed from the work breakdown structure (WBS). The project network is a visual flow diagram of the sequence, interrelationships, dependencies and timing of all the activities that must be accomplished to complete the project. Both the WBS and the work packages will include the duration of the activity.

Which of the following is provided by both the project network and the work breakdown structure? A. Dependencies B. Sequencing C. Interrelationships D. Activity duration E. Timing

A. They are used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of a project Hammock activities are frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project. Typical examples of hammock activities are inspection services, consultants, or construction management services. A hammock activity derives its duration from the time span between other activities. For example, a special color copy machine is needed for a segment of a tradeshow publication project. A hammock activity can be used to indicate the need for this resource and to apply costs over this segment of the project.

Which of the following is true about hammock activities? A. They are used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of a project B. They are a combination of Start to Start and Start to Finish lags C. They are activities in which the costs are not subject to change D. They are an alternative description for the critical path E. They are highly sensitive

C. A node

Which of the following represents an activity on an activity-on-node (AON) project network? A. An arrow B. A line C. A node D. Both an arrow and a line E. An arrow, a line and a node all represent activities

E. Either LS - ES or LF - EF Total slack or float for an activity is simply the difference between the LS and ES (LS - ES = SL) or between LF and EF (LF - EF = SL).

Which of the following will correctly calculate the total slack in an activity? A. LS - ES B. LF - EF C. LS - LF D. LF - ES E. Either LS - ES or LF - EF

D. Successor

________ activities are to be completed immediately following a particular activity. A. Merge B. Burst C. Predecessor D. Successor E. Parallel

C. Predecessor

________ activities must be completed immediately before a particular activity. A. Merge B. Burst C. Predecessor D. Successor E. Parallel

B. Looping. This is an example of looping or recycling through a set of activities and cannot take place within a well-structured project network. One important reason is that it inhibits its ability to establish a completion date.

Bill is building a project network that involves testing a prototype. He must design the prototype (activity 1), build the prototype (activity 2), and test the prototype (activity 3). Activity 1 is the predecessor for activity 2 and activity 2 is the predecessor for activity 3. If the prototype fails testing, Bill must redesign the prototype; therefore, activity 3 is a predecessor for activity 1. This is an example of A. Conditional statements. B. Looping. C. Having more than one start node. D. Good network development. E. Natural network flow.

C. Dangler path. If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, each path is a dangler path. The same is true if a project network ends with more than one activity. Dangler paths give the impression that that project doesn't have a clear beginning or ending. Using a common start or end node helps to identify the total planning period for all projects.

If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, a common start node should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network. Without a common start node, each path is a A. Critical path. B. Parallel path. C. Dangler path. D. Multiple start path. E. Confused path.

C. Finish to Finish When the finish of one activity depends on the finish of another activity, a finish to finish lag exists. For example, testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype is complete.

If testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype has been built, what type of lag exists? A. Start to Start B. Start to Finish C. Finish to Finish D. Finish to Start E. Any of these could be correct

C. Check to see which activities are on the critical path If for some reason the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, it is possible to select those activities, or combination of activities, that will cost the least to shorten the project. Similarly, if the critical path is delayed and the time must be made up by shortening some activity or activities on the critical path to make up any negative slack, it is possible to identify the activities on the critical path that cost the least to shorten. If there are other paths with very little slack, it may be necessary to shorten activities on those paths also.

If, for some reason, the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, which of the following actions would the project manager take first? A. Check to see which activities cost the least B. Check to see which activities have the longest duration C. Check to see which activities are on the critical path D. Check to see which activities have the most slack E. Check to see which activities have the highest risk

B. Work breakdown structure. The project network is developed from the information collected for the work breakdown structure (WBS) and is a graphic flow chart of the project job plan.

Information to develop a project network is collected from the A. Organization breakdown structure. B. Work breakdown structure. C. Budget. D. Project proposal. E. Responsibility matrix.