PMP Mock Questions - All

A Heuristic is best described as: Thumb rule Activity diagram Workaround Control tool

A A Heuristic is a thumb rule. An example is cost per square feet.

You are negotiating with a contractor for additional staff augmentation—a number of software developers and a few testers. As a buyer, you don't quite have the exact statement of work ready. What kind of contract is MOST appropriate for this kind of work? Time and Materials - T and M Cost plus fixed fee - CPFF Firm Fixed Price Contract - FFP Fixed Price Incentive Fee Contracts - FPIF

A As the nature of work is not quite clear and this deals with contracting additional staff, the best choice of contract is T and M. Fixed price contracts are applicable where scope of work is quite clear, which is not the case here. Choosing a Cost-reimbursable contract makes no sense since the unit rate of staff can be determined and agreed between you and the seller. So, the best option is T and M.

ISO Stands for __________. International Organization for Standardization International Standardized Organization In Standardized Organization None

A ISO Stands for International Organization for Standardization.

You are in charge of a painting project for a high-rise building. As part of the planning, you need to take a decision of buy vs. lease some stilt ladders needed on site. The cost of the ladder is $1000 and a daily cost of $4, while the daily lease cost is $12. If you were to lease the ladder, what should be the duration to ensure your decision is correct? A duration less than 126 days A duration less than 150 days A duration greater than 126 days A duration greater than 126 days

A Let's assume the duration to be X days. 12 * X = 1000 + 4 * X, 8X = 1000, X = 125. This means that if the ladder is used for any duration equal or greater than 125 days, it is economical to purchase rather than lease. So, in other words, to lease the duration should be equal to or less than 125 days.

Your project activity float is negative 10. What is your course of action? Add more resources Ask more time to complete the project Use less experienced team members Ignore it

A Negative activity float indicates your project is behind schedule. Adding more resource is the best option.

In which of the following situations is network diagram better than bar chart? To show interdependencies between activities To analyze schedule progress To analyze WBS To analyze project plan

A Network diagram is best to show Interdependencies between activities.

The _________ details the different tasks for members in the project. Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) WBS SOW Scope statement

A Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) details the different tasks for the members in the project

You are managing a project, and to ensure things run smoothly, you have decided to provide project information periodically to all the stakeholders. You have decided that you would report against the baselines for scope, cost, and schedule. Which of the following would be the best choice? Performance reporting Status reports Forecasts Risk Register

A The best choice is Performance reporting with respect to the triple constraints - Scope, Schedule, and Cost. Forecasts are future projections and risk register deals with risks, which are not the right options. While status reports could be an option, the best answer is Performance reporting.

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding change log? Change log is used to log only approved change requests It is used to document changes that occur during a project The changes along with their impact on cost, time, and risk are logged Rejected change requests are also captured in the change log

A The change log is used to log all change requests—approved and rejected changes. Along with the changes, their impact on cost, time, and risk details are also documented. So, option A is not true regarding change logs and hence is the correct answer.

You are in the process of making cost estimates for a project. However, detailed requirements are not yet available. A similar project was executed by your company, and you decide to use the past project's historical data to come up with your estimates. This is called: Analogous estimating Parametric estimating Bottom-up estimating Three point estimating

A The correct answer is Analogous estimating. It relies on past or historical data of similar nature. As the project is at an early state, where the detailed requirements are not yet available, this is the best technique suited to come to an early estimate, though it may not be very accurate.

The purpose of a quality audit is to: Identify inefficient and ineffective policies Identify project quality for customer Study organizational behavior Prepare a report for the quality team

A The purpose of a quality audit is to identify inefficient and ineffective policies.

Top-down estimating is also called _______ estimating. Analogous Primary Organizational Simple

A Top-down estimating is also called analogous estimating.

All of the following are tools and techniques that can be used in Identify Stakeholders process EXCEPT: A-)Expert Judgment B-)Stakeholder Register C-)Meetings D-)Stakeholder Analysis

Answer B. Stakeholder analysis, Expert Judgment and Meetings are tools and techniques that can be used in Identify Stakeholders process. Stakeholder Register is an output of Identify Stakeholders process.

A process with lack of consistency and predictability is called: In control Out of control Bad quality Quality noise

B A process with lack of consistency and predictability is called out of control.

You have replaced a project manager on a project that is already in the execution phase. The project is behind schedule, and you have been specifically brought in to ensure the project meets its schedule. You decide to review the schedule network diagram created by the earlier project manager and realize that the project is 3 weeks behind schedule. After reviewing the activities and the network diagram, you decide to Crash the schedule. This means you: Decrease the scope of the project after discussing with the sponsors Add additional resources to the activities on the Critical path Perform activities in parallel to decrease the schedule Discuss with the sponsors and explain how it is not going to be possible to meet the schedule

B Crashing is a technique used to shorten the schedule by adding resources. Options A and D are clearly not correct, and Option C is an example of Fast Tracking.

Your project is in a critical phase. You notice one of the team members comes in late to office and leaves early. This is clearly impacting delivery. You decide to discuss the details with the concerned team member to better understand the details. On discussion, you find no specific reasons, so you explain the necessity and criticality of the project, expecting the team member to improve. However, next week, your lead engineer reports about inadequate time being spent by the same person in office. What would be the best choice of communication in this case? Informal and verbal Formal and written Informal and written Formal and verbal

B In this case, you have already tried out the option of discussing with the team member once, which is an example of informal verbal. Clearly, that has not worked, so it calls for a more strict reprimand. Hence, the correct form of communication would be a formal written communication.

You are responsible for the complete makeover of a shopping mall, which involves civil work and painting. After going through the details, you have come up with the cost estimates which have been approved to arrive at the cost baseline. Work is now in progress, and you and senior management are happy with the work. Suddenly, you realize the ceiling repair work was not factored in the estimates though it was very much a part of the scope. You decide to make use of Contingency reserves, but your senior manager advises you to make use of the Management reserve. What is the correct action? Making use of both the Management Reserve and the Contingency Reserve Making use of Management Reserve Making use of Contingency Reserve None of the above

B Management reserve is meant for unknown unknowns and is part of the scope of the project. The question clearly states that the work is in scope. Contingency reserves are for known unknowns, which is not the case here. The correct answer is Management Reserve.

Your company has been tasked with providing estimates for a road construction project. You have data available related to costs per square feet. You now need to provide an estimate of the cost of the project based on this data. What estimation technique is most applicable in this scenario? Top-down Estimating Parametric Estimating Bottom-up Estimating Analogous Estimation

B Parametric Estimation is most applicable in this scenario as the cost per unit is readily available. Parametric estimation uses the relationship between variables to determine cost or duration. It calculates the cost or duration of the unit and also determines the number of units required. This helps in calculating the cost/duration of the project.

You are in the process of executing a project that deals with laying out electrical cables connecting two cities. You have been reporting progress on a monthly basis. This month, due to unplanned vacations, many of the staff have not turned up at work. This has caused a delay in the schedule. You decide to check if the schedule variance is within the allowable threshold. What document should you refer to? Project Management Plan Schedule Management Plan Project Schedule Network Diagram Activity Definition

B The acceptable schedule variances are defined in the Schedule Management Plan.

Which of the following types of contracts has the highest risk for the buyer? Cost plus fixed fee - CPFF Time and Material Firm Fixed Price Contract - FFP Fixed Price Incentive Fee Contracts - FPIF

B The riskiest for the buyer among the options stated above is Cost plus fixed fee. It's a cost-reimbursable type of contract in which total costs are unknown, so there is an element of risk involved as the total scope of work is not clear. Time and material have medium risk from the perspective of the buyer and are typically used for smaller dollar amounts. Of the options, the fixed price options are the least risky for the buyer since the cost will not change no matter what for the buyer.

You and your team are planning out the work to be done. You break up the work into discrete work packages. To ensure that each work package has all the necessary details, you and your team decide to write down detailed information for each work package such as Statement of work, details of the work package, and who will be the responsible individual for the work package. Where would you store this information? Approved Project Scope Statement WBS Dictionary WBS Project Management Plan

B This is where this information is stored.

Which of the following best describes the assumptions made by Herzberg's Hygiene theory? Employees are basically lazy and need to be monitored Hygiene factors help avoid job dissatisfaction and lead to motivated employees Hygiene factors help avoid job dissatisfaction; their absence could create dissatisfaction, but they will not lead to motivated employees Job content factors have no influence in keeping people happy on the job and motivated.

C According to Herzberg's Hygiene theory, certain factors termed Hygiene factors" exist. Their absence can lead to dissatisfaction.

Which of the following statements is false regarding Risk Management? All identified risks are maintained in the Risk Register. Risk prioritization occurs in Qualitative Risk Analysis. Risk prioritization occurs in Quantitative Risk Analysis. Low-priority risks are maintained in a Watch List.

C All of the statements are true except the statement regarding Quantitative Risk Analysis. Quantitative Risk analysis does not deal with prioritizing risks. The prioritization occurs in the Qualitative Risk Analysis process. Quantitative Risk Analysis deals with assigning numeric values to risks.

You are the project manager of a software project. You have just analyzed activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints and created project schedule. To which process does the above tasks belong? Define Activities Sequence Activities Develop Schedule Control Schedule

C Analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints and creating project schedule belong to Develop Schedule process.

S Curve depicts a relationship between: Resource Availability and time Remaining budget and time Actual Cost, Planned Value, and Earned Value Cost and Quality

C S curve shows a relationship between Actual Cost, Planned Value, and Earned Value.

You have successfully completed a project. You have now been assigned a project which is midway in its execution. You have had to take up this project due to non-availability of the current project manager. This is a complex project involving multiple contractors and teams at various geographical locations. You decide to look up the requirements of the types of reports and frequency of sending them. Where would you find this information? Project Management Plan Scope Management Plan Communication Management Plan Stakeholder Analysis

C The correct answer is Communication Management Plan. This Plan provides information such as frequency of communication, type of communication, and who is responsible for communication.

The release criteria include: The timing of the release of team members The method in which you will release them Both of the above are true None

C The release criteria include both the timing of the release of team members and the method in which you will release them.

You have scheduled regular weekly team meetings with project team members. Things have been going according to plan and there have been no variances till date with respect to the work performance baselines. A site engineer reports that he had to perform a couple of corrective actions, but they were not logged. As a Project Manager, what should you do? Reprimand the team member for not documenting the corrective action Reprimand the team member and ensure the corrective action is reverted Do nothing; this is bound to happen on a project Document the corrective actions performed in the historical records

D All changes, including corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repair, must undergo change control prior to the change being made. It is also necessary to document the corrective and preventive actions taken in historical data as this can serve as a good input for subsequent projects. Reprimanding the team member and allowing uncontrolled changes to happen are a recipe for disaster in project management.

You know that the success of your project will be determined by how well you manage risks. You know that identifying risks upfront can help you be better prepared with risk response strategies. So, you decide to identify risks by taking help of experts. You have identified some experts, and rather than calling them to your office, you send them questionnaires. You promise them complete anonymity so that they give unhindered responses. What information gathering technique are you adopting? Brainstorming Root Cause Identification SWOT analysis Delphi Technique

D All the four options listed above are information gathering techniques, but the correct answer is Delphi Technique. This is a form of information gathering technique where inputs from experts is solicited anonymously without gathering them together.

Which of the following statements is not true regarding the Scope Management Plan? Scope Management Plan is not a part of the Project Management Plan It provides guidance on how the Project Scope will be verified It provides guidance on how the scope will be defined, documented, monitored, and controlled It provides guidance regarding the enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets that would play a part

D All the options except Option A are true regarding the Scope Management plan. The Scope Management Plan is part of the Project Management Plan.

Your company has won a project to build a school playground with specific toys and a sandpit. The school has mandated that the project be completed before the school starts after holidays. You review the plan and see that the estimated completion date is nearly a month after the desired completion date. As resources are sparse, you do not have the option to add additional resources. However, you see that the sand pit work can start in parallel with the play kits being installed. Your analysis tells you that by performing these activities in parallel, the project would meet its schedule. This is an example of: Scope Creep Resource Levelling Crashing Fast Tracking

D Crashing deals with adding additional resources, and is not an option here. Fast Tracking is a schedule compression technique by performing activities in parallel if they can be overlapped. Note that Fast Tracking may result in increased risk and rework.

You have recently joined an organization's project management office. After reviewing the organizational assets, you realize that project managers have not routinely documented lessons learned for their projects. There are a few projects that are about to start. You decide to call up a meeting of all the project managers and explain the need of Lessons Learned. In order to get a buy-in from your managers, what would you focus on as the best use of this document? It helps the team to plan tasks It helps in performance reporting It will help the manager to better control the project The historical information can be used for other projects

D Note that the question states that new projects are about to start and past lessons learned of projects could have served as good inputs for the other projects. Not having lessons learned handicaps the managers.

You have asked your team members to provide estimates of tasks. You see that a specific team member has provided estimates on the higher side. You discuss the matter with the team member, and get a reply that as the team member did not have an idea of how long it would take, the team member had guessed the estimate and then to be on the safer side simply doubled it. What is this known as? Lead Lag Free Float Pad

D Pad is adding time as a buffer to project estimate. As the team member was uncertain of what it would take and, as stated, to be on the safer side she simply doubled the estimate. Padding is a sign of poor Project Management.

You are in charge of a project to build a bridge across a river. You are midway through the project. However, due to changes in environmental laws, the project can no longer proceed and would need to be terminated. Executive management has asked you to document the level of work completed for the project. In which of the following processes would this be done? Project Closure Contract closure Project charter Scope Verification

D Scope verification is performed not only while a project is being executed but it is also performed when a project is terminated. It is used to determine the level of completion.

You are managing a project responsible for doing plantation on a large reserve land. You have created the schedule network diagram and have identified two paths. Path 1 consists of two activities of a duration of 2 and 5 weeks, respectively. Path 2 consists of 3 activities with durations of 1, 3, and 3 weeks, respectively. Which of the two paths is the Critical Path? Path 1 Path 2 Neither Both Paths 1 and 2 are Critical Paths

D The duration of both the paths is 7 weeks. Remember that the path with the longest duration is the critical path and you can have more than one Critical Path.

The key benefits of ____________ process is that it will maintain or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and the environment changes. Plan Stakeholder Engagement Identify Stakeholders Manage Stakeholder Engagement Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

D The key benefits of Monitor Stakeholder Engagement process is that it will maintain or increase the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder engagement activities as the project evolves and the environment changes.

What is the role of the Project Manager in Procurement? Ensure contract contains all the project management requirements such as status reporting , meeting attendance, and communication needs Ensure contract is satisfying the needs of the project Control changes to the contract All of the above

D The project manager must ensure all of the above in Procurement. Many times the project manager works with the contract manager. An important point is that the Project Manager must be assigned before the contract is signed.

You are managing a project for constructing a bridge over a river. All the risks have been identified and the design phase is just completed. The team is in its second week of construction. One of the subject matter experts reports that there is a possibility of the monsoons to be heavier this year. She points out that the load-bearing plates earlier designed may have to be redesigned considering the additional water pressure expected because of additional rain water. What would be your best immediate course of action? Schedule an emergency meeting with all stakeholders to discuss this risk Mitigate risks by immediately redesigning the load-bearing plates Write up a change request and submit it to the Change Control Board for approval Update the Risk register to add this risk along with its probability and impact

D The question is asking about the best immediate course of action. The first course of action should be to add this risk in the Risk register. The possible impact and risk probability should also be added. No other action should be performed prior to this. So, scheduling an emergency meeting, which might sound as the first thing to do, is not correct and neither is making any change to the design. Writing up a change request will only come after the risk is documented and its probability and impact accessed. So, the first course of action should be to update the Risk register.

Project Team has created sub-plans for each activity in the project plan. These plans are called: Resource plans Activity plans Sub-plans Management plans

D These plans are called management plans.

Your company has won a large project—administering funds for one of the fund houses. The project work has been going on smoothly and the customer has been praising the work done so far. The client has planned a visit the next month to go over the plans for the next phase of the project as well as to meet with the project team. Your senior management realizes that this client could potentially need additional capabilities in the derivatives segment. Your company has a strong exposure to this segment having executed numerous such projects. Your senior manager also invites key managers from the derivatives segment to showcase the organization's abilities in the derivatives vertical. What is this an example of? Mitigating the risk Avoiding the risk Transferring the risk Exploiting the risk

D This is an example of exploiting the risk. The client is happy with the work progress, and there might also be an opportunity that the client could be interested in the derivatives segment. This opportunity could lead to more business. By inviting key managers from the derivatives segment, you are enhancing the possibility of generating additional revenue. Hence, this is an example of exploiting the risk. Note that this is a positive risk.

A data point in a control chart that requires investigation is called: A special cause A quality fault A rule of seven A rule of five

A A data point in a control chart that requires investigation is called a special cause.

What is the purpose of a fishbone diagram? Illustrates how various factors might be linked to potential problems or effects Determines if a process is in control Shows trends in a process over time Shows the pattern of relationship between two variables

A A fishbone diagram is used to illustrate how various factors might be linked to potential problems or effects.

You are the project manager of a project and have added some dummy activities to correctly show all logical relationships. Which network diagramming method have you used? ADM (Arrow Diagramming Method) Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) PERT None

A ADM (Arrow Diagramming Method) uses dummy activities to correctly show all logical relationships. Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) uses arrows as activities, and nodes are used to connect and show dependencies. The Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) uses boxes or nodes as activities and arrows as dependencies between the nodes.

As a project manager, you have successfully delivered all project deliverables within stipulated timelines. Your senior management wants you to calculate the Cost of Quality. As a project Manager, what costs would you NOT consider while making this calculation? Cost of Hiring Prevention costs Appraisal costs External and Internal Failure costs

A All of the above are correct, except option A since hiring costs have nothing to do with Cost of Quality. Prevention and Appraisal Costs are the expenditures during the project to avoid failures, while Internal and External Failure Costs are those incurred during and after the project because of failures.

You and a group of managers conduct a weekly meeting for sharing information and project management best practices. Joe who is a colleague of yours explains the need for correctly identifying all the project stakeholders. He explains that in his current project he has made use of Stakeholders Engagement Assessment Matrix. Many of the other colleagues are not quite aware of the need and usage of this matrix. Which of the following is the best choice? Lists all the stakeholders along with their current engagement and desired engagement Lists all the stakeholders Lists only those stakeholders who are Resistant Lists only those stakeholders who are Supportive

A As the name suggests, Stakeholders Engagement Assessment Matrix is used to identify the current engagement level of project stakeholders. It can also be used to indicate the desired level of engagement. Through this analytical process, gaps in engagement levels can be identified and action plans and communication plans can be generated to bridge these gaps. The Stakeholder Engagement Assessment Matrix does not list stakeholders depending on their engagement level, so options C and D are clearly wrong. While you might be tempted to choose option B since you do list down all the stakeholders in a matrix in the document, the better and more qualified answer is Option A. Here, along with the complete list of stakeholders, you also indicate their current and desired engagement level.

The project that you are in charge has been successfully completed. The last of the deliverables have been formally accepted by the client. You had several contractors with whom contracts were prepared. With the project done, you decide to communicate the completion details and closure of contracts. Which is the best form of communication? Formal written Formal verbal Informal verbal Informal written

A As this is related to a contract, it must be a formal written form of communication. Any other form of communication related to contracts is not acceptable.

What is the best use of a Work Authorization System? It manages the timing and sequence of activities that need to be performed It manages who performs the activity It identifies the resources needed to complete activities It is used for comparing actual work against the baselines

A It defines how work will be authorized and how work will be done at the right time and in the right sequence. Option B is not correct since who performs the work comes from the responsibility assignment matrix and neither is option C the right answer. Option D is related to monitoring and controlling work performance data, which is not covered by Work Authorization System.

You are in charge of a software project and you are almost 40% complete. The project stakeholders want a performance report to date. You had planned to use Earned Value Management methodology. You come up with the following numbers: EV = 100 AC = 300 PV = 150 BAC = 600. You and your team have faced numerous issues till now. However, you choose to ignore the current work performance and decide to go with what was originally planned. Based on this information, what would be the EAC for the project? 800 200 600 1800

A It is stated that the issues experienced in the project were ignored, so the past performance is not considered and the planned values are considered. So, the formula: EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) = 300 + (600 - 100) EAC = 800.

You are developing strategies to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle. What is process you are working on? Plan Stakeholder Engagement Identify Stakeholders Manage Stakeholder Engagement Control Stakeholder Engagement

A Plan Stakeholder Engagement is the process to develop a strategy to effectively engage stakeholders throughout the project life cycle.

The ____ is the international organization that controls the standards for quality. ISO PMP PMI ISCII

A The ISO is the international organization that controls the standards for quality.

Which hierarchical chart shows resources? RBS OBS WBS Scope statement

A The Resource Breakdown Structure shows various resources, both human and mechanical, needed for the project.

You are in charge of a project, and to ensure things go well, you have had monthly meetings with the stakeholders. The project is running on schedule and budget. You are in your fourth month of execution, but the stakeholder indicates dissatisfaction with the deliverables. Making changes in the deliverables would mean a delay in the schedule. What would have been the most important process that could have prevented this situation? Scope Planning Scope Control Schedule Control Risk Monitoring and Control

A The most important process that could have prevented this situation would have been Scope Planning. Project deliverables are defined during scope planning, so proper implementation of this process could have prevented this situation.

As a manager in an organization that believes in the Theory X style of management, which of the following do you think describes correctly the assumptions of this theory? Employees are inherently lazy, dislike work, and will avoid work if they can Employees are motivated and enjoy doing their work Employees want to do well at work Employees are trustworthy and are motivated by doing a good job

A Theory X assumes employees cannot be trusted and will only work if rewarded or under threat and coercion. This theory does not consider employees to work on their own. So, the correct option is A. The other options consider an employee to be self-motivated and self-starter, which is not what Theory X is based on.

Your company has bagged a number of government contracts dealing with setting up infrastructure. This includes setting up roads and bridges. This is a very big and prestigious project, so your company wants to ensure everything is planned well in advance. You are the project manager of this project. Considering its importance, you and your team come up with a list of risks. One of the subject matter experts indicates that during the months of July and August, the construction work of the bridge across the river would need to stop on account of past history of flooding of the river. You agree with the expert and plan the schedule accordingly. What strategy did you just apply? Accept Exploit Mitigate Transfer

A This is an example of Risk acceptance strategy as there is nothing you can do about situations not in your control. Exploit is meant for positive situations, while risk mitigation is where you have a strategy to either reduce the risk impact or probability. Neither is transfer correct as the question does not state that someone else will be responsible for handling the risk.

You are the project manager and have decided to outsource a part of the project to a vendor. You have offered a bonus to the vendor if the work is completed in two months. This is an example of: Project incentive Project goal Fixed price contract None

A This is an example of project incentive.

You are in your third month of project execution, which is expected to continue for a duration of 14 calendar months. Your sponsor has asked for a performance report. You decide to create an "S curve". Based on the S curve, you report your Actual Cost, which is more than the Earned Value. Also, the Planned Value is greater than the Earned Value. What would be the interpretation of this data? The project is over budget and behind schedule The project is on schedule and on budget The project is over budget but on schedule The project is on budget but behind schedule

A This is because both SPI and CPI are less than 1.

The Scope Baseline consists of _____. Approved Project Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary Preliminary Project Scope Statement, Approved Project Scope Statement, WBS, WBS Dictionary Scope Management Plan, WBS, WBS Dictionary Scope Management Plan, Approved Project Scope Statement, WBS Dictionary

A This is the only correct answer.

You are in charge of managing a software development project that is related to simulations for driving racing cars. In one of your team meetings, it is revealed that a lot of issues have been reported in the air tunnel modelling module. On deeper analysis, it is found that many of the issues could have been prevented had a simple code review checklist been used. You prepare a code review checklist and ensure the code is reviewed per the checklist. This is a good example of: Corrective Action Preventive Action Defect Repair Quality Control

A This question is meant to test your understanding of the difference between corrective action and preventive action. Defect repair might sound tempting, but it is only applicable for the issues found in the current delivery. This is also not about Quality Control, so that leaves you with only two options: Corrective or Preventive actions. Corrective actions are always preceded by nonconformity, while preventive actions are never preceded by nonconformity. In this case, nonconformity in the form of a lot of issues during Quality Assurance were reported. The root cause was identified to be the need of a standard checklist which was later used. Preventive action is always taken proactively. In the question stated there is no demonstration of any proactive steps taken and hence this is not an example of Preventive action.

You are the project manager for a project. You are updating the WBS during Define Activities. This process is often called ________. Refinements Updates Activities Supporting detail

A Updating the WBS during Define Activities is often called Refinements. It occurs with riskier projects.

Conflict resolution techniques that may be used on a project include confronting, smoothing, forcing, and: A-) Withdrawing B-) Directing C-) Organizing D-) Controlling

Answer is A, Withdrawing, or in other words, avoiding. The other three are directing, organizing, and controlling, are not types of conflict resolution techniques. Therefore, the answer is A.

During risk management activities, 236 risks have been identified which are caused by 13 root causes. You could eliminate the 234 risks by your risk management activities. For remaining 2 risks, you, together with your team, could not find a way to mitigate or insure the risks. Also these 2 risks cannot be outsourced or removed from project scope. What is the best solution? A-) Accept the risk B-) Mitigate the risk C-) Avoid the risk D-) Transfer the risk

Answer is A, accepting the risk. When you read the case, the project manager tried first to eliminate the risk, then tried to mitigate or insure the risk. But all these options did not work. And the last step is the risk should be accepted by the project team and continuous reserves should be allocated in order to accommodate risks or in order to overcome the bad impacts of these risks when they occur. Therefore, the best answer here is accepting the risk and also planning contingency reserves.

You are trying to gather ideas related to project and product requirements. Which technique is appropriate for this? A-)Brainstorming B-)Nominal Group Technique C-)Affinity Diagram D-)Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

Answer is A. A technique used to generate and collect multiple ideas related to project and product requirements.

Early in the life of your project, you are having a discussion with the sponsor about what estimating techniques should be used. You want a form of expert judgment, but the sponsor argues for analogous estimating. It would be BEST to: A-) Agree to analogous estimating, as it is a form of expert judgment B-) Suggest life cycle costing C-) Determine why the sponsor wants such an accurate estimate D-) Try to convince the sponsor to allow expert judgment because it is typically more accurate.

Answer is A. Agree to analogous estimating, as it is a form of expert judgment. Since analogous estimating is a type of expert judgment you can accept it. This is a tricky question.

During project planning phase, which of the following steps come latest compared to others? A-)Hold kick-off meeting B-)Gain formal approval of the plan C-)Develop Budget D-)Develop Schedule

Answer is A. Following is the order of steps in planning phase: Develop schedule Develop budget Gain formal approval of the plan Hold kick-off meeting Kick-off meeting is the last step of planning phase.

Your colleague Wayne, a project manager, completed a mp3 player development project. While he was telling his experiences from his project, he mentioned that they delivered "adjustable screen timeout duration" feature, without a deviation from the plan, although the customer did not require and was not in scope of the project. He added that customer was very surprised and happy when they saw this additional feature at the end of the project. Which of the following is correct about this story? A-)Gold plating was done in the project B-)Customer satisfaction increased with an additional feature which they did not expect C-)Change request has been delivered successfully D-)Unnecessary risk has been taken by adding a new feature to product.

Answer is A. Gold plating refers to continuing to work on a project or task well past the point where the extra effort is worth the value it adds (if any). After having met the requirements, the assignee works on further enhancing the product, thinking the customer would be delighted to see additional or more polished features, rather than what was asked for or expected.

There are three projects that are possible to be executed in your company: Project A: Payback period= 6 years & NPV =$ 3,000,000 Project B: Payback period=4 years & NPV =$ 2,000,000 Project C: Payback period=2 years &NPV =$ 1,000,000 Based on Net Present Value (NPV) criterion, which project should be selected? A-)Project A B-)Project B C-)Project C D-)None of them, they all have equal value

Answer is A. Project A has highest NPV of $ 300,000. Time value of money is already taken into account when calculating NPV of a project. Since Project A has the highest NPV, it should be selected.

You are a project manager in a bicycle manufacturing company. Rubber for brake mechanism for your bicycles supplied by RuBrake Inc could not reach due to flood affected the transportation routes. This was a risk you thought it could happen since it happens each year on same season. So, as per your risk response plan, you started to use rubbers delivered one year ago. However, this response brought another risk -old rubbers have higher breaking risk during implementation to the brake system.This new risk can also be called: A-)Secondary risk B-)Residual risk C-)Contingency plan D-)Unmanageable risks

Answer is A. Secondary risks are risks that arise as a direct result of implementing a risk response

You are the project manager of a software project team consisting of 2 analysts, 4 software developers and 3 test engineers. One new test engineer will join the team in two weeks. What will be the number of communication channels after new test engineer joins the team? A-)55 B-)50 C-)45 D-)36

Answer is A. The total number of potential communication channels is n(n-1)/2, where n represents the number of stakeholders. Your team has 10 team members already (2 analysts, 4 software developers, 3 test engineers, and you as a project manager). After new test engineer joins, there will be 11 team members. Number of communication channels = 11*(11-1)/2=11*10/2 = 55

You are expected to manage stakeholders' expectations as a project manager. All of the following are interpersonal skills that you should apply EXCEPT: A-)Building trust B-)Resolving conflict C-)Risk taking D-)Active listening

Answer is C. The project manager applies interpersonal skills to manage stakeholder's expectations. For example: Building trust Resolving conflict Active listening Overcoming resistance to change

During project executing, a team member comes to the project manager because he is not sure of what work he needs to accomplish on the project. Which of the following documents contain detailed descriptions of work packages? A-) WBS Dictionary B-) Activity List C-) Project scope statement D-) Scope management plan

Answer is A. WBS Dictionary. Work packages in a Work Breakdown Structure contain only nouns or a couple of words regarding a work or deliverable. Detailed information on what needs to be done, responsible, prerequisites, successors, due date etc. are included in the Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary.

You are the program level manager with several project activities underway. In the executing process group, you begin to become concerned about the accuracy of progress reports from the projects. What would BEST support your opinion that there is a problem? A-) Quality Audits B-) Risk Quantification Reports C-) Regression Analysis D-) Monte Carlo Analysis

Answer is A. quality audits. If you read the second sentence again, it says that you are concerned about the accuracy of progress reports from the project. In order to check whether the standards of your organization have been applied in the projects that you are responsible of, you can conduct a quality audit and find out whether there is really a problem. Therefore, here the best answer is A, Quality Audits.

A project manager is in the middle of creating a request for proposal (RFP). What part of the procurement process is she in? A-) Conduct procurements B-) Plan Procurements C-) Control Procurements D-) Close Procurements

Answer is B, she is in plan procurements process. Because procurement statement of work, procurement documents are prepared in plan procurements management process. And RFP is a procurement document as well. Therefore, it is prepared in plan procurements process. RFP was defining what the buyer is requiring from the seller.

All of the following are hygiene factors according to Herzberg's Theory EXCEPT: A-)Salary B-)Professional Growth C-)Security D-)Relationships at work

Answer is B. According to Herzberg's Theory, there are hygiene factors and motivating agents. Inadequate Hygiene factors may destroy motivation but sufficient hygiene factors itself are not enough to motivate people. Hygiene factors are: Working card Salary Personal Life Relationships at work Security Status Professional growth is a motivating agent based on Herzberg's Theory.

There has been several changes in your project and this affected your cost and schedule estimates. This has invalidated the original estimating assumptions. What is the estimate at completion (EAC) for your project based on following parameters? BAC = $ 360,000 AC = $ 120,000 EV = $ 180,000 CPI = 1.2 ETC = $ 145,000 A-)$ 300.000 B-)$ 265.000 C-)$ 325.000 D-)$ 360.000

Answer is B. EAC = AC + ETC = $ 120.000 + $ 145.000 = $ 265.000

During a team meeting, a team member asks about the measurements that will be used on the project to judge performance. The team member feels that some of the measures related to activities assigned him are not valid measurements. The project is BEST considered in what part of the project management process? A-) Initiating B-) Executing C-) Monitoring & Controlling D-) Closing

Answer is B. Executing. Questions states that team member feels some of the measures on his activities are not valid. Therefore, he must be working during the executing phase of the project where project deliverables are produced and project members perform most of the work they should do.

You are working as a project manager in a company. You have the highest degree of authority, you are working full-time for your project and you manage the budget of the project. What is the organization structure in your company? A-)Strong Matrix B-)Projectized C-)Functional D-)Balanced Matrix

Answer is B. In a projectized organization structure, project manager has the highest level of authority, works full-time and manages the budget of the project.

Your Company has entered into a joint venture with Service Company to develop a software program. Which of the following should be cooperatively prepared by both the buyer and the seller during teaming agreement process? A-)Contract B-)Contract, Procurement statement of work C-)Request for proposal D-)Human Resource Plan

Answer is B. In some cases, the seller may already be working under a contract funded by the buyer or jointly by both parties. The effort of the buyer and seller in this process is to collectively prepare a procurement statement of work that will satisfy the requirements of the project. The parties will then negotiate a final contract for award.

You want to group your project stakeholders based on their authority and involvement in the project. Which of the following is appropriate model for this? A-) Power/Interest Grid B-) Power/Influence Grid C-) Influence/Impact Grid D-) Salience Model

Answer is B. Power/Influence Grid. Authority of a stakeholder represents power of the stakeholder and involvement of a stakeholder represents the influence level of the stakeholder. Therefore, answer is B. Power/Influence Grid.

The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with XYZ Factory, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in XYZ Factory to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act? A-)Do nothing and continue to work as before B-)Take appropriate person in XYZ Factory into confidence and discuss this issue with her C-)Disclose the evaluation criteria to your (seller) organization and help their business growth D-)Remove yourself from the project

Answer is B. Since the evaluation criteria are proprietary information of XYZ Factory, it is important for you to discuss the matter directly with the appropriate person in the XYZ Factory.

You are trying to establish a cost performance baseline for your project in Determine Budget Process. You can use the following tool and techniques EXCEPT: A-) Cost aggregation B-) Bottom-up estimating C-) Expert judgment D-) Historical relationships

Answer is B. Tools and techniques used in Determine Budget Process are: Cost aggregation Reserve analysis Expert judgment Historical relationships Funding limit reconciliation Bottom-up estimating is used in Estimate Costs Process.

Portfolio managers are responsible of managing: A-)Dependency of different projects B-)Operational projects only C-)Projects, programs and operations D-)Functional work and projects

Answer is C. The relationship among portfolios, programs, and projects is such that a portfolio refers to a collection of projects, programs, sub-portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

The project team is arguing about the prospective sellers who have submitted proposals. One team member argues for a certain seller while another team member wants the project to be awarded to a different seller. The BEST thing the project manager should remind the team to focus on in order to make a selection is the: A-) Procurement documents B-) Procurement audits C-) Evaluation criteria D-) Procurement management plan

Answer is C, evaluation criteria. The source selection criteria, or evaluation criteria defined in plan procurement management process actually defines, in an objective way, how quantitatively, the potential sellers will be evaluated in conduct procurements process. Therefore, if you have applied specific metrics, specific categories to evaluate, or assess a potential seller in conduct procurement process, then you have to use that metrics, use that categories to evaluate each seller one by one. And the sellers, which got the highest scores should be awarded with contract. Therefore, the team members should not go in argument about the selection of the sellers. Because you have already a quantitative metric to evaluate which seller is best matching to your source selection criteria.

During every project team meeting, the project manager asks each team member to describe the work he or she is doing, and the project manager assigns new activities to team members. The length of these meetings has increased because there are many different activities to assign. This could be happening for all the following reasons EXCEPT: A-) Lack of a WBS B-) Lack of a responsibility assignment matrix C-) Lack of resource leveling D-) Lack of team involvement in project planning

Answer is C, lack of resource leveling. If you read the clauses again, here the problem is the activities or the tasks that need to be performed in the project are not clear. So, the reasons of these ambiguities, or these unclear points about the tasks that will be performed can be lack of a WBS. If you could not decompose your project activities and creation of WBS, then this might be causing the ambiguities in your project tasks. Also, if you do not have a clear and concise responsibility assignment matrix, then the resources of your project will have unclarity about who will do what in the project. Also, if the team was not involved in project planning, maybe you could not have identified the required steps, required tasks, activities that need to be performed in the project. So, options A, B, and D are the possible reasons for this case mentioned in the question. However, lack of resource leveling might be causing a scheduling problem. Resource leveling is a technique used in schedule management knowledge area, which was enabling the uniform distribution of tasks and activities in a project.

A schedule performance index, SPI, of 0.75 means: A-) Project is over budget. B-) Project is ahead of schedule. C-) Project is progressing at 75% of the rate originally planned D-) Project is progressing at 25% of the rate originally planned

Answer is C, project is progressing at 75% of the rate originally planned. A, is irrelevant because SPI is a schedule performance index. We cannot derive any conclusion about budget performance of the project with this index. B, is not correct because SPI is less than one, therefore, the project is behind schedule. And D, says that you have completed 25% of the work that you have originally planned, so it's not correct. The correct answer here is C, because SPI 0.75 means, you have completed 75% of your work that you have originally planned.

In the context of a desirable model of communication between a sender and a receiver, all the following statements are correct EXCEPT: A-) Noise should be at minimum level. B-) Receiver must reply the message after decoding the message. C-) Receiver should acknowledge first and then agree with the message sent by the sender. D-) Receiver should send a feedback message to the sender.

Answer is C. As part of the communications process, the sender is responsible for the transmission of the message, ensuring the information being communicated is clear and complete, and confirming the communication is correctly understood. The receiver is responsible for ensuring that the information is received in its entirety, understood correctly, and acknowledged or responded to appropriately. However, receiver may not agree on received message

You are a new project manager who has never managed a project before. It would be BEST in this situation to rely on _____ during planning in order to improve your chance of success. A-) Your intuition and training B-) Stakeholder analysis C-) Historical information D-) Configuration management

Answer is C. Historical information. First thing to explore before starting a new project is the historical information about similar projects in the organizational process assets library of the organization.

You have documented all possible risks that can affect your project with appropriate risk responses when they occur in your risk management plan. All other remaining risks are called as: A-)Risk Triggers B-)Unmanageable Risks C-)Residual Risks D-)Accepted Risks

Answer is C. Residual risks that are expected to remain after planned responses have been taken, as well as those that have been deliberately accepted.

During a meeting with some of the project stakeholders, the project manager is asked to add work to the project scope. The project manager had access to correspondence about the project before the project charter was signed and remembers that the project sponsor specifically denied funding for the scope mentioned by these stakeholders. The BEST thing for the project manager to do is to: A-) Let the sponsor know of the stakeholders' request. B-) Evaluate the impact of adding the scope. C-) Tell the stakeholders the scope cannot be added. D-) Add the work if there is time available in the project schedule

Answer is C. Tell the stakeholders the scope cannot be added. After the scope of a project is finalized and scope baseline is determined, it can be changed only with the approved changed requests. If there is not an approved change request, existing scope baseline must be valid and project team must work on to deliver that scope only. In the scenario, scope is defined already but some stakeholders ask to add new work to the scope. This cannot be done unless there is an approved change request. Therefore, stakeholders must be informed that this new work cannot be added.

John is a project manager of a complicated project. When he started creating a work breakdown structure for his project, he realized that it is too complex to complete work breakdown structure on a single sheet. You, as a colleague of John, recommend using a work breakdown structure numbering system to John to: A-) Determine the complexity of the project B-) Help in automating the WBS using appropriate software C-) Provide a hierarchical structure for each WBS element D-) Present risks of the project

Answer is C. The WBS is finalized by assigning each work package to a control account and establishing a unique identifier for that work package from a code of accounts. These identifiers provide a structure for hierarchical summation of costs, schedule, and resource information.

A project manager is quantifying risk for her project. She needs expert opinion in this process and related experts are spread over to different geographical locations. How can she continue? A. Using Monte Carlo analysis online B. Applying the critical path method C. Determine options for recommended corrective action D. Applying the Delphi Technique

Answer is D, applying the Delphi Technique. If you remember from our previous lectures, that technique was asking the experts opinion on a topic or on a problem and collecting their feedback anonymously and then sending back the results back to the experts again, and recollecting their responses again. And reiterating this process until a consensus is reached by all participants, by all experts. Therefore, since expert opinion is important for this case and experts are spread over different geographical locations, we can use Delphi Technique.

Which of the following is NOT true for a project? A-) Projects are constrained by limited resources B-)Projects are planned, executed, and controlled C-) Projects create a unique product or service D-) Projects are ongoing and repetitive

Answer is D. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and ending.

Your company just won a major new project. It will begin in three months and is valued at 2m USD. You are the project manager for an existing project. What is the FIRST thing you should do once you hear of the new project? A-) Ask management how the new project will use resources B-) Resource level your project C-) Crash your project D-) Ask management how the new project will affect your project

Answer is D. Ask management how the new project will affect your project. Since this is another project that your company is going to execute, you need to be sure whether it will impact your project.

Which of the following techniques includes measuring, examining and validating whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria? A-)Workshops B-)Surveys C-)Expert Judgment D-)Inspection

Answer is D. Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and validating to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria.

An activity has an early start (ES) of day 3, a late start (LS) of day 13, an early finish (EF) of day 9, and a late finish (LF) of day 19. The activity: A-) Is on the critical path. B-) Has a lag. C-) Is progressing well. D-) Is not on the critical path.

Answer is D. is not on the critical path. Because if you look to the early start and late start values of the activity, you can find the float or the slack of activity's time by subtracting early start, 3 days, from the late start, 13 days. And it gives 10 days of float for this activity. You will find the same result if you go through subtracting the early finish, 9 days, from the late finish, 19 days. Since the float of activity or the slack of the activity is greater than zero, it's not on the critical path. Remember the critical path activities was having zero float, therefore the answer is D.

During the quality testing of the new software integration project, the results shows performance variance from Quality management plan. Thus, the project manager asked quality team to investigate the root cause of the variance and resolve it to get back on track. What type of action did the project manager did the project manager request> a. Corrective action b. Preventive action c. Defect repair d. All of the above

Answer option a. Corrective action focus on realigning the performance of the project work with the project planned performance. Preventive action (Answer option b.) focus on ensuring the future performance of the project work will be aligned with the project management plan the action, "Defect repair" (Answer option c.) focus on modifying nonconforming product component to become conforming. The best action that fits the described request is Corrective action (option a)

Project X is a new product development project that is running for almost 6 months. Since you were assigned to the project as a replacement for the former project manager, you have been hearing from the project team that despite the robust change control process in place, the project is facing so many changes in the previously approved scope and requirements keeps changing, you should _____ a. Consider changing development approach b. Reject all upcoming changes c. Revisit change management process d. Educate the team that all changes are welcome as long as they're funded

Answer option a. new product development project are usually iterative and requires an agile approach, if you were to "Reject all upcoming changes"(Answer option b.) it would impact the end product fit for purpose, if you to "Revisit change management process" (Answer option c.) it would not improve the situation neither since there is already a robust process in place, and if you were to "Educate the team that all changes are welcome as long as they're funded" (Answer option d.) without controls it might harm project scope and other project elements. The best course of action is to "Consider changing development approach" (Answer option a.).

You are managing a software development project with an agile approach, as you just completed release one, what should you do to prepare for next release? a. Confirm Scope baseline is up to date b. Review Backlogs c. Confirm Scope statement still valid d. Review previous release WBS

Answer option b. "Confirm Scope baseline is up to date" (Answer option a.) and "Confirm Scope statement still valid" (Answer option c.) both more relevant with predictive lifecycles, "Review previous release WBS" (Answer option d.) will not be useful for project manager to obtain current requirements. The best answer is "Review Backlog" (Answer option b.) as backlogs contains current requirements.

As a new project manager hired to work for Company XYZ customer projects. In you first project you gave high focus to using of automated tools, this made your project management team wonders about the significance of using such change in the way they used to work in the company, what would you advise them? a. It is a part of tailoring project integration management considerations b. It is a new trend and good practice for project integration management c. It is how you do project management d. It is an existing practice within the company

Answer option b. "It is a part of tailoring project integration management" (Answer option a.) is not accurate since using automated tools is not one of Project Integration Management Considerations for tailoring, "It is how you do project management" (Answer option c.) also is inaccurate description of the use automated tools, "It is an existing practice within the company" (Answer option d.) is inaccurate statement since the case mentioned it's not how the company do project management. The best answer is "It is a new trend and good practice for project integration management" (Answer option b.).

During project kick off meeting, two project team members had a disagreement around whether to include a specific test within testing scenarios for the new product or not, as the project manager for this new project, you should _____ a. Add the suggested scenario b. Reject adding the new test c. Postpone the discussion for later time d. Ask each one of them to explain the logic behind his opinion

Answer option c. If you were to "Add the suggested scenario" (answer option a.), or "Reject adding the new test"(answer option b.) it will be premature decision as you didn't discuss the reasoning behind both opinions, and since this is the project kick off meeting and there's no time pressure for resolving the conflict "Postpone the discussion for later time" (answer option a.) seems an appealing approach, if you were to "Ask each one of them to explain the logic behind his opinion" " (answer option d.) it won't be the right time for such discussion. The best course of action is to "Postpone the discussion for later time" (option c.).

You were assigned to a new project where you expect to have high volume of duties, as the project sponsor approved one project management resource "Project coordinator" to be added to your project team. To lower your workload, which of the following tasks you would assign to him? a. Engage different teams and align their work together b. Oversee different work streams and realign any off track work stream c. Oversee project risk management activities d. Develop and maintain business documents

Answer option c. If you were to assign "Engage different teams and align their work together" (answer option a.) or "Oversee different work streams and realign any off track work stream" (answer option b.) you would be delegating a project integration management activities which cannot be delegated to someone other than the project manager, "Develop and maintain business documents" (answer option d.) is a project sponsor duty as business documents consists of Business case and Benefits management plan and both are developed by project sponsor. The best course of action is to "Postpone the discussion for later time" (Answer option c.).

During sprint meeting for a software development project, the project manager was taking the voting of project team around a specific decision when one of the team held his fist closed, what does this indicate to? a. He is not interested to participate b. He is fine with the decision c. He disagree with the decision d. He fully supports the decision

Answer option c. holding closed fist in the fist of five voting technique means the member disagrees with the decision. The best answer is "He disagree with the decision" (Answer option c.).

Company XYZ decided to terminate your 8 month project during the 3rd month due to budget cuts, as the project manager for this project what should you do next? a. Try to convince the management to reconsider their decision b. Ask the management to consider the project successful according to the current rate of performance c. Do nothing since the management decision is final d. Transfer the finished and unfinished deliverables to concerned parties

Answer option d. If you were to "Try to convince the management to reconsider their decision" (Answer option a.) or "Ask the management to consider the project successful according to the current rate of performance" (Answer option b.) none of them would be the best action to do, and if you were to "Do nothing since the management decision is final" (Answer option c.) it would not be the best practice as the project needs to be closed formally. The best course of action is to "Transfer the finished and unfinished deliverables to concerned parties" (Answer option c.) as a part of formal project closure process.

Upon the project management plan review for approval, one of the key stakeholders raised a concern that a key component of the project scope wan not included in the final version, you should _____ a. Submit change request b. Amend the plan with the missing requirement c. Disregard the concern d. Review the requirements documentation and traceability matrix

Answer option d. if you were to "Submit change request" (Answer option a.) the project plan still not approved yet accordingly no need for change requests, "Amend the plan with the missing requirement" (Answer option b.) not the best option since the requirement might have been reviewed before and rejected for any reason, "Disregard the concern" (Answer Option c.) not the best option since it will both harm the relationship with the stakeholder and might harm the project itself if it was dropped by mistake. The best answer is "Review the requirements documentation and traceability matrix" (Answer option d.).

A change request was submitted to add new scope to a running project, the agreed process for decision making within the project is to reach unanimity voting between 5 board members. In which case you should go in for the change? a. Three out of the five approved b. Four out of the five approved c. The project sponsor approved d. None of the above

Answer option d. unanimity is achieved only when all members of the board agree on one course of action, "Three out of the five approved" (Answer option a.), "Four out of the five approved" (Answer option b.) and "The project sponsor approved" (Answer option c.) unanimity was not achieved. The best course of action is to "Consider changing development approach" (Answer option d.).

You are the project manager and decided to outsource a part of the project to a vendor. The vendor discovered some issues that impact the cost and schedule of its work. How does the vendor update the agreement? A new contract needs to be signed by your company and the vendor A contract addendum needs to be signed by your company and the vendor An SOW needs to be signed by you and the vendor None of the above

B A contract addendum needs to be signed by your company and the vendor.

Identify the basic quality tools to facilitate, measure, and control quality Cause and effect diagrams, Flowcharts, Check sheets, Pareto diagrams, Histograms, Control Charts, Sequence Diagrams Cause and effect diagrams, Flowcharts, Check sheets, Histograms, Control Charts, Scatter Diagrams Activity diagrams, Flowcharts, Check sheets, Pareto diagrams, Histograms, Control Charts, Sequence Diagrams Cause and effect diagrams, Monte Carlo analysis, Check sheets, Pareto diagrams, Histograms, Control Charts, Scatter Diagrams

B As per PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition, Pareto chart is not included as a tool under control quality process.

You are managing a project that has teams located in different parts of the world. While the advantage of colocation is beneficial, the team structure or locations cannot be changed. Being an experienced manager, you realize that lack of a proper communication channel can quickly lead to chaos. What would your choice of communication be? Formal and Verbal Formal and Written Informal and Written Informal and Verbal

B Considering cross-located teams and difference in cultures, the best choice of communication in this case would be formal and written.

Your team is in its second month of development. You are managing a software development project for a banking product. In one of the team meetings, a debate arises if defects found during Quality control need to undergo change control. Some team members are convinced that all defects should undergo change control, while the others are convinced that defects need not undergo change control. Which of the following statements are untrue? Defects to deliverables need to undergo change control Defects to deliverables need not undergo change control Corrective actions need to undergo change control Preventive actions need to undergo change control

B Defects to deliverables, corrective actions, and preventive actions need to undergo change control. So all the above statements are true except option B.

You are managing a project to set up a brand new play area for the community. You and your team have been working as per plan and things are moving smoothly. Suddenly, one of the stakeholders indicates that the play area must also include a sand pit. This was not originally planned for, so you analyze the impact on the cost, schedule, and scope. You then submit the change request to the Change control board for their approval .You have immediately received an approval. What should your next step be? Get the work done immediately and start executing Update the impacted baselines - scope, cost, and schedule Update the work performance reports and share them with stakeholders Set up a meeting with the change control board

B Once you have created the change request and submitted for approval, you don't need to set up a separate meeting with the change control board unless asked for. Work performance reports will be shared as per agreed frequency. However, this is irrelevant to the question. You might be tempted to jump in and start work immediately, but first, the impacted baselines should be updated. In this case, all the three baselines have to be updated. This is necessary to ensure that performance information is tracked against the new baselines and not the old ones.

You and your team have just created a schedule network diagram. You have come up with the estimates and have defined the durations and subsequently have identified the Critical Path. You now decide to do a Backward Pass" through the Schedule Network Diagram. What would you be calculating?" The Early Start and Early Finish for each activity The Late Start and Late Finish for each activity The duration of paths other than the critical path The duration of the critical path

B Options C and D are incorrect as the Backward Pass is not used to calculate the duration. In fact, the critical path is calculated based on duration. Option A talks about Early Start and Early Finish, which are calculated using Forward Pass." Using "Backward Pass

Your company policy allows you to gift customers within certain limit. By mistake, you have given a gift to the customer's representative that is beyond the limit mentioned in your company policy. What should you do? Forget it and don't tell anyone. Contact your company's senior management and ask for assistance. Ask your customer to return the gift. Ask your customer to give you a gift which has the same cost.

B The best option is to contact your company's senior management and ask for assistance.

Rather than using Triangular Distribution while doing Three Point Estimation, you choose to use Beta Distribution. Based on your analysis and understanding, you are confident that the project would be completed with a total cost of $108,000. You also estimate that a best case would be $90000, while a worst-case scenario would result in the costs incurred to shoot up to $138000. What would the Three Point Cost estimate be when using Beta Distribution? 112000 110000 101000 None of the above

B The question states that you should do Three Point Estimation using Beta Distribution. The formula for this estimation technique is 4a + b + c / 6, where a = Most Likely Estimate, b = Estimate based on Best-case scenario, and c = Estimate based on Worst-case scenario. So, the Three Point Estimate using Beta distribution is (4 *108000) + 90000 + 138000 / 6 = 660000/6 = $ 110000.

You are responsible for managing a project that deals with laying out a freeway connecting two major port cities. Progress on the project has been smooth, and you and your team are very confident on completing the project well within the stipulated timelines. On reviewing, you see that the project has also run below the budget, resulting in savings. You decide to add an extra feature of reflector strips on the road every mile. You do a quick calculation and are satisfied that neither budget nor schedule will slip. You feel that by adding these extra features you could also bag some future projects. This is an example of: Scope Creep Gold Plating Integrated Change Control Fast Tracking

B This is an example of Gold Plating. Integrated change control deals with formally approving or rejecting changes before they are implemented, so it is not the correct answer. Fast tracking is a schedule compression technique, so it too is not the correct answer. While Scope Creep is related to change in scope, it is related to uncontrolled changes in product or projects scope and is often due to client interference. Gold plating is done intentionally or knowingly for some strategic purpose. Here, the manager believes that by adding the extra features, future projects could be bagged.

You are in charge of managing a software development project which is related to simulations for driving racing cars. In one of your team meetings, it has been revealed that a lot of issues have been reported in the air tunnel modelling module. On deeper analysis, it is found that many of the issues could have been prevented had a simple code review checklist been used. You decide to mandate usage of the code review checklist for all subsequent deliveries to ensure other deliveries are less issue prone. This is a good example of : Corrective Action Preventive Action Defect Repair Quality Control

B This question is meant to test your understanding of the difference between corrective action and preventive action. Defect repair might sound tempting, but it is only applicable for the issues found for the current delivery. Here, the question also states some additional steps being mandated (code review for all subsequent deliveries). This is also not about Quality Control, so that leaves us with only two options - Corrective or Preventive actions. Corrective actions are always preceded by nonconformity, while preventive action is never preceded by nonconformity. In this case, nonconformity in the form of a lot of issues during Quality Assurance was reported. The root cause was identified to be the need of a standard checklist which was then used. This would have been a case of Corrective action had no other actions been taken other than usage of the code review checklist for the current delivery. In addition, a decision was taken to use the checklist for all subsequent deliveries to ensure the same issues did not occur. Preventive action is always taken proactively. Here, mandating usage of code review checklist for other deliveries is a demonstration of proactive steps taken. Hence, this is an example of Preventive action.

You are in charge of a project for the electrical layout of a five-star hotel. You see this as a very simple project as you and your team have a lot of experience executing similar projects. As a result, your organization has a wealth of Organizational Process assets. You have worked out the exact details of the work involved and have a very detailed WBS with granular-level activities defined. You decide to employ the services of a contractor for laying out of the cable trays. What kind of a contract would be the best choice? Cost-reimbursable contract Fixed-price contract T and M contract None of the above

B When as a buyer you are clear of the scope and statement of work, the contract choice should be Fixed-price. In this type of contract, if scope is clearly defined, then almost all the risk lies with the seller. Here, the buyer is smug with the confidence of having had experience in executing similar projects in the past and has also broken down WBS into detailed activities. So, scope is clear and the correct answer is option B.

As a manager on a project, you have to ensure that the project delivers within the scheduled timelines with minimal rework and customer delight. For some time now, the project work is proceeding smoothly with a CPI and SPI a perfect 1. One of your team members approaches you and indicates the possible need of a long vacation on personal grounds, and this could possibly occur two months from now. You look up the schedule and finds that this team member is scheduled to execute activities that are on the critical path and the team member's absence in two months' time would cause a delay in schedule. You decide to take some action and reschedule task allocation to ensure that this team member is not planned to work on any of the critical path activities. What did you just do? Mitigate the risk Avoid the risk Transfer the risk Exploit the risk

B You have avoided the risk. By interchanging the tasks, you have ensured that the resource who could go on a long vacation does not work on critical path activities. There is no question of exploiting the risk as this is not a positive risk. This is not a case of risk mitigation since you have neither created a backup plan nor come up with an alternate strategy.

You are managing a project that your company won after making a bid. The clients have negotiated long and hard and have driven a hard bargain. The project is scheduled to span over eight months, and you are in your fifth month of execution. You are extremely worried since you have about four more months of work remaining and the project is at the Point of total assumption." What does this mean?" As a seller, you are running behind schedule As a seller, you are ahead of schedule The project is going to have a cost overrun which will need to be negotiated with the client As a seller, all subsequent costs will have to be borne by you

C The point of total assumption (PTA) is a point where cost overruns will cause a dollar for dollar decrease in profit for the seller. Hence, any subsequent cost will have to be borne by your company.

You have replaced an earlier project manager in a project .The earlier project manager has left the organization and you are now responsible for the project. On reviewing the project management plan you are disturbed because a number of procurement contracts have been signed off and they all turn out to be Cost plus fixed fee types of contracts. Why are you worried? All the risk is now with the seller Contracts should always be T and M Seller has no motivation to control cost and cost could spiral Contracts should always be Fixed Price

C As a project manager, you indeed have a reason to be worried if your project has already been signed off on Cost Plus Fee type of contracts. In such contracts, you, the buyer, needs to pay the seller for all the costs and also an agreed percentage of the cost. As a result, there is no motivation on the seller to control the costs; in fact, it is in the interest of the seller to increase the costs. It is not necessary that all projects should always be T and M or Fixed Price. Option A is clearly wrong since all the risks are, in fact, with the buyer and not the seller.

Decomposition is best described as: Creating control accounts Creating work packages Breaking down deliverables into smaller work packages so that they can be better planned Planning and scheduling of work packages

C Decomposition deals with breaking down deliverables into small discrete work packages that can be planned better. It also helps prevent work from slipping through the cracks and gives the project team a better picture of the work involved.

You have been assigned to a project that deals with developing a software product for the BFSI domain. You and your team are building the schedule network diagram. While sequencing activities, one of the team members, who is an Architect, indicates that rather than interacting with the database on every activity, you should introduce an activity which would cache the data. The team member argues that this will improve performance and hence this activity should be introduced in the sequence prior to the other activities that deal with database interaction. What kind of a dependency is this? This is an example of Mandatory Dependency This is an example of External Dependency This is an example of Discretionary Dependency or Soft Logic This is an example of Hard Logic

C Discretionary Dependency is also known as Soft Logic or Preferred Logic or Preferential Logic. Note that this is not a mandatory dependency as it is not a Must Have" but more a "Should have." Discretionary dependency decisions are usually based on best practices and business knowledge. In this case

Earned Value Analysis is used to measure performance based on a few parameters. Identify them. Scope and Cost Scope and Schedule Scope, Cost, and Schedule Cost and Schedule

C Earned Value Analysis is used to measure performance based on Scope, Schedule, and Cost.

You are a project manager of a company, and your project is currently in execution phase. The customer has requested you for additional work. This work will affect the budget but not the schedule of the project. What should you do next? Add the additional requirements to the project plan Ignore the request Explain the change procedure and ask to submit a request for change Discuss with the project team about the change

C Explaining the change procedure and asking to submit a request for change is the best choice.

You are in charge of constructing a high-rise residential building. After creating a Network diagram, you have identified the Critical Path. Work has started, but suddenly due to inclement weather, plinth work has got delayed. This plinth work activity was on the critical path. As a manager driving this project, would you be worried and why? No - It will not matter if the Plinth work is delayed. No - Activities on the critical path do not impact the schedule Yes - Any delay of activities on the critical path would lead to a delay of the entire project Yes - you will now have to relay this bad news to the client

C If activities on the critical path are delayed, it can lead to a delay in the entire Project. Hence, options A and B are incorrect. Option D is a very subjective answer, and nowhere does the problem state how the stakeholders would take the news. So, the best answer is option C.

Which of the following options best describes Achievement Theory of Motivation? Employees given a reward are most likely to be motivated People cannot be trusted and must be governed and monitored regularly to ensure tasks get done People are motivated by achievement , power, and affiliation Employees will put in an effort in direct proportion to the perceived review and reward

C Option A and Option D are related to Expectancy theory; Option B is related to Theory X style of management. So, these options are not the correct answers. Option C is the correct answer. The Achievement Theory of Motivation states there are three types of motivational needs: need for achievement, need for authority and power, and need for affiliation. As per this theory, a strong affiliation motivation" undermines a manager's objectivity because of his need to be liked

As a part of the Executive Management team, you have a number of project managers reporting to you. One of the project managers has reported the data for their project that has got you worried regarding the health of the project. EV = $ 300000, PV = $ 550000, AC = $ 200000. You are worried since, as per your calculations, the project is behind schedule. However, the Project Manager disagrees and feels the project is ahead of schedule. What is the correct interpretation of the data? Both you and the project manager are incorrect; the health of the project cannot be determined from this information Both you and the project manager are correct as interpretation is very subjective You are correct as the project is behind schedule The Project Manager is correct as the project is ahead of schedule

C SPI = EV / PV = 300000/550000 = less than 1. An SPI less than 1 indicates the project is behind schedule.

Of the following types of contracts, which has the highest risk for the seller? Cost plus fixed fee - CPFF Time and Material - T and M Firm Fixed Price Contract - FFP Cost plus Incentive fee - CPIF

C The riskiest for the seller among the options stated is Firm Fixed Price Contract, FFP. It's a Fixed price contract in which total costs are fixed. The scope of work is clearly defined and stated. Cost-reimbursable contracts are the least risky for the seller since the costs are not fixed and paid at actuals. Time and material have medium risk from the perspective of the buyer and seller and are typically used for smaller dollar amounts.

Which of the following best describes Vroom's Expectancy theory? Employees will put in efforts dependent on expectancy, valence, and instrumentality Employee motivation is not achievable; employees must be forced to get things done Hygiene factors will ensure that job dissatisfaction does not occur; however, it does not ensure job satisfaction People have needs starting with Physiological Needs and ending with self-actualization

C Vroom's Expectancy theory is based on the idea that people believe there are relationships between the effort they put in at work, the performance reviews/ratings they are credited for the effort, and the rewards they receive from their effort and performance review ratings. So, people will be motivated if they believe that hard work and effort will lead to good performance reviews and good performance reviews will lead to desired rewards. This theory consists of three key elements: Expectancy - Perception of an employee of how much and what amount of effort will lead to a desirable performance rating. Instrumentality - Perception or expectation that a good performance rating would translate into a hefty salary hike. Valence - Preference of an employee for a certain reward. Option B is clearly unrelated to this theory, so it is not the correct answer. Option C is related to Herzberg's Hygiene theory, so it too is not the correct answer. Option D is about Maslow's Theory of Hierarchical needs, so it's not the correct answer.

Which of the following statements is not true regarding Scope Verification? Consists of conducting inspections, reviews, and audits Used to determine if results conform to requirements Used to get formal sign off from clients Used to determine schedule variance

D All the options except Option D are true regarding scope verification. This process can also be done at the end of each project phase in the project lifecycle. So, the correct answer is option D since scope verification has nothing to do with schedule variance.

Which of the following activities is not performed as a part of Project Closure? Ensuring all the deliverables meet contract requirements Creating lessons learned and updating Organizational Process Assets Final acceptance Verifying scope

D All the options except verifying scope" are performed during project closure. Ensuring deliverables meet contract requirements and formal acceptance are key activities of project closure. Capturing lessons learned is also a very important activity performed during project closure.

You have been asked to provide Cost estimates for a project which would be responsible for the complete electrical installation in warehouses. As a project manager, you have had past experience in similar projects in your previous organization. The organization you have joined also has recently done a similar project. There is an urgency in providing the estimate as mandated by executive management. What estimation technique would you adopt? Ask your previous organization for the estimates Use Parametric Estimating technique Use Bottom-up Estimating Use Analogous Estimating

D Analogous estimating relies on previous similar projects as the basis of estimation. So, it relies on historical information. This technique is used when there is limited amount of detailed information like during early phases of the project. It is less costly and less time-consuming. As time is a constraint as stated in the question, this is the best choice.

John is managing a project. The project is about three-fourths done when the site engineer reports that due to inherent complexities in a certain task, the deliverables would get delayed. This would involve additional analysis and then implementation. He requests that this new work, which was not envisioned earlier, be added to the scope and also the time required be added to the schedule. You and the site engineer have analyzed the impact of this change to cost and have written up a change request and requested approval from change control board. Just today, you have received approval from the change control board. What should be the immediate course of action? Start work immediately Ascertain the impact of this change to scope, schedule, and cost before making any change Perform Quality Assurance Make sure that the scope baseline and schedule baseline are updated to reflect the approved change before implementing the change

D As the change has been approved, you should always update the baseline (in this case, the scope and schedule baseline) before implementing the change. This will ensure that you track performance against the new scope and schedule, and not against the old benchmarks.

As a project manager, you are expected to calculate the cost of Poor Quality. The project work is in progress. What costs would you consider? Cost of Hiring Prevention costs Appraisal costs External and Internal Failure costs

D Cost of Hiring has nothing to do with cost of Poor Quality, so it is not the correct answer. Cost of Poor Quality is just another term for Failure Costs. Failure Cost is generally categorized into External and Internal Failure costs, so option D is correct. Prevention and Appraisal costs are costs of conformance, which are the costs incurred to avoid failures. Hence, these are not considered cost of Poor Quality.

You head the engineering department in your company. Lately, you have observed that certain deliveries are missing the schedule. On closer scrutiny, you observe this to be occurring with a specific team member. You decide to discuss it out with the team member. Initially, the team member is reluctant to discuss but finally opens up and indicates that the cause of the delays is often different instructions coming in from you as well as the project manager. She indicates that at such times she is confused related to whose instructions to follow, thereby causing delays. What kind of an Organizational structure is this most likely to be? Functional Projectized Weak Matrix Balanced Matrix

D Here the team member is being expected to follow instructions from both the Project Manager and the Functional Manager. This is never the case in a Functional or Projectized organization where the lines of authority are clearly defined. A weak matrix organization is more like a Functional Organization where the project manager has almost no authority. The scenario explained above is typical of a balanced matrix organization where power resides equally distributed between the functional and project manager.

You are a project manager managing a project that has not been making good progress. Certain issues like a flash flood have significantly delayed the laying out of the plinth for the shopping complex. There have been a lot of escalations from key stakeholders, and executive management is pressing for getting the project on track. In a review meeting, your lead architect, sensing the urgency, suggests a change that could significantly reduce the schedule. She is very confident that the suggested change will work to get things on track. As a project manager, what is the best course of action? The project is lagging, so implement the change request as it would reduce the schedule Reject the idea of making the change as this will need an approval from change control Create a change request and submit it to change control board Identify the impact of the change on the scope and cost and then include this information in the change request

D No changes should be made without a formal approval, so option A is clearly wrong. Rejecting ideas without doing a thorough analysis of the impact is also not the correct approach. Now the option of creating a change request and submitting it for approval sounds like the right option. However, the better approach is to always do an analysis of the impact on scope, time, and cost and then submit the change request. So while option C is correct, the better option is D.

You and your team are in the process of creating WBS and WBS Dictionary. What would be the best choice of attributes in a WBS Dictionary? Work Package ID and Work Package Description Work Package ID, Control Account ID, and Work Package Description Work Package Description Work Package ID, Control Account ID, Work Package Description, Acceptance Criteria, Responsible Organization, Cost, Assumptions

D Options A, B, and C each provide great details of what a WBS Dictionary should contain. So, they all seem like the right choices. However, the question asks about the BEST choice of attributes in a WBS Dictionary, which is provided in Option D. Note that the WBS and WBS Dictionary are corelated by WBS Name and Work Package ID

You are in charge of a project that deals with laying out a lavish 18-hole golf course. The project work is in progress. You also have a number of contractors working on the project. Being an experienced manager you know that communication is key to success of the project. You have identified 10 stakeholders with whom you need to communicate. Due to some internal and external organizational changes at the client's end, three new stakeholders have been added with whom you need to communicate. You also had to reduce one of the contractors with whom you were communicating. How many communication channels do you have now? 45 78 91 66

D Originally, you had 10 stakeholders to communicate with, so the number of communication channels was 10 * (10-1) /2 = 45. However, 3 new stakeholders got added, while 1 stakeholder got reduced. So, the total number of stakeholders = 10 + 3 -1 = 12 and hence the total number of communication channels is (12 * (12-1)) /2 = 66.

The Project Quality Management process must __________. Address the quality of the management and product Improve project management and the quality of the product Ensure that the project satisfies customer requirements All of the above

D Project Quality Management addresses both the management of the project and the product. It improves project management as well as the quality of the product. It ensures that the project will satisfy customer requirements.

Your team has delivered phase one of a project to the client. Based on client feedback and issues found by the client, you decide to do some introspection to identify root causes so that the subsequent deliverables do not face the same issues. What techniques would you choose to apply? Perform Quality Audits Review Activity Network Diagrams Lookup Process decision program charts Process Analysis

D Quality Audits are meant to ascertain if the project activities conform to the policies and procedures, so it is not the correct answer. Activity Network diagrams are used for scheduling, while Process decision program charts are used to anticipate intermediate steps. The correct answer is Process Analysis, which is used to identify a problem and its cause and develop preventive actions.

Which of the following is part of the Manage Quality process? Benchmarking Cost of Quality Design of experiments Quality audits

D Quality audits are part of the Manage Quality process.

You know that the success of your project will be determined by how well you manage risks. You know that identifying risks upfront can help you be better prepared with risk response strategies. You discuss and consult with other project managers in the company. One manager suggests usage of SWOT to identify risks. What would you do next as a part of this technique? Gather team members and experts together and discuss to identify risks Gather anonymous responses from experts and identify risks Perform root cause analysis to identify problems, their cause, and potential response Identify the Organization's strengths and weaknesses

D SWOT involves identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This technique then identifies the threats due to organization's weakness as well as opportunities due to the organization's strengths. So, option D is the correct answer. The other three options are also risk identification techniques, but the question is specific to SWOT.

You are in charge of building a shopping portal. You are fairly confident as you have a team experienced in doing such work. As per the agreement at the end of the first month, you organize a demonstration of the software. You invite the sponsor and key stakeholders. Later, the sponsor informs you that she is not very happy with the progress, indicating that one of the clients who would be using this software is not satisfied as her needs are not being met. Satisfying this client's needs would mean some radical changes with an impact on both cost and schedule. What could be the root cause of this issue? Deliverables were not as per requirement The stakeholder is making unrealistic demands The scope statement was ambiguous All the stakeholders were not identified

D The correct answer in this case is improper stakeholder analysis - Option D. While options A, B, and C could be true, the question gives no indication of these being the case. The question does mention about an important client whose expectations were not met. Stakeholder analysis deals with identifying all the stakeholders, their needs and expectations, and their influence. In this case, the client's needs are not being met, which indicates that stakeholder analysis and identification were not done correctly.

You are in charge of building a bridge across a river. All the initial groundwork and structural designs have been completed and work is in progress. You know that the next two months will be particularly critical involving some critical activities such as Arc welding of stiffener plates. You know your company employs welders who specialize in this kind of work. However, you are apprehensive about their availability for the next two months. What should you refer to first to find if these welders are available for the next two months? Milestone List Pareto Chart Histograms Resource Calendars

D The correct answer is Resource Calendars. These provide information regarding availability of resources and also the duration of their availability. So, referring to these documents would be the first course of action.

You are the project manager for a large Project. You are currently busy with approximating the number of work periods required to complete individual activities with estimated resources. Which of the following inputs do you need for this? Activity List Resource requirements Resource Breakdown structure All of the above

D The process is Estimate Activity Durations. And for this process all the options mentioned are used as inputs

You are in the process of defining activities and have broken down the WBS into individual activities. You now uniquely tag each activity with a unique code. So, you have defined an ___ for each activity. Schedule Network Diagram Activity List Milestone List Activity Identifier

D The question states that you have decided to uniquely tag each identified activity, which is nothing but Activity Identifier. This is done during creation of the Activity List.

You are managing a project which involves building software for the aeronautical domain. The nature of the work is complex and needs a lot of research. During Quality assurance, both the development team and testing team suggest that the quality assurance process be changed to include White Box testing and not just rely on Black Box testing. The teams want to make this shift in approach as they believe this would lead to better quality of deliverables. What is the best course of action? As the changes will help improve quality, execute white box testing Create a change request Refuse to adopt this change as this would mean a change in the agreed process Analyze the impact of the change on scope, schedule, and cost, and then write up a Change Request

D This is a question meant to test your understanding of change management. Any change, however small or big, should always be first analyzed for its impact on the constraints—scope, cost, and schedule—and then submitted to change control for approval. Changes without formal approval should not be implemented.

Which of the following statements is not true regarding Contracts? Contracts are legally binding in nature Contracts obligate the buyer to provide compensation and the seller to provide some product or service in return By careful administration of terms and conditions, the buyer can transfer some of the risks to the seller Contracts undergo an approval process as any other plan

D This question tests your knowledge of contracts and procurement. At the onset, all the answers seem to be correct with respect to contracts. A contract is legally binding in nature; it's an agreement between the seller providing some service or product and the buyer compensating the seller. Some of the risks can indeed be transferred to the seller through terms and conditions. Due to the legal nature, contracts are subject to an intensive approval process, much more intense than other plans. Hence in the context of the question, option D is the right answer.

Over lunch, you meet a colleague who is managing a large turnover project for setting up a chemical plant. Your colleague is worried because the client is being unreasonable and asking for changes that will have a severe impact on the scope schedule and cost. The client is also not ready to absorb the additional impact on schedule and cost. She seeks your advice. What should she do? Refuse to budge and not make any changes Request her executive management to initiate legal action against the client Ultimately the customer is always right, so go ahead and make the changes and absorb the impact on cost, schedule, and scope Set up a meeting with the client to better understand the need of the changes being asked for

D Why is the client being unreasonable? Why does the client want to make these changes? Obviously, your colleague is in a tough situation. However tough the problem is, a project manager must not act impulsively by seeking legal action or refuse or immediately start making the changes. When faced with a problem, a project manager should first try and find the root cause and not react. So, in this case, the best advice for your colleague would be to set up a discussion with the client and try to understand the needs of the client.

According to EVM, which term below represents the budgeted cost of the work to be completed to date? Planned Value (PV) Earned Value (EV) Estimate to Complete (ETC) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Solution: A By definition, Planned Value (PV) is how much value of work was scheduled to achieve to date.

A project with Earned Value (EV) = $1000, Actual Cost (AC) = $800 and Planned Value (PV) = $800. What is the Schedule Variance (SV)? $200 $0 -$100 -$200

Solution: A SV = EV - PV SV = $1000 - $800 = $200 Note that the Actual Cost (AC) is not used in the calculation.

If a project has a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.90, this means that: 90% of the work planned to date has been completed 90% of the work of the whole project has been completed 90% of the budget planned to date has been spent 90% of the project budget has been spent

Solution: A The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) represents the performance of the project in terms of schedule up to the moment. If it is smaller than 1, less than 100% of the scheduled work has been completed to date.

According to EVM, which term below represents the outstanding amount of money required to finish the project? Planned Value (PV) Earned Value (EV) Estimate to Complete (ETC) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Solution: C By definition, Estimate to Completion (ETC) is the amount of money we need to put into the project from today in order to complete it.

If a project has a Cost Performance Index (CPI) of 0.90, this means that: 90% of the work planned to date has been completed 90% of the budget planned to date has been spent 111% of the budget planned to date has been spent 111% of the project budget has been spent

Solution: C The Cost Performance Index (CPI) represents the performance of the project in terms of budget up to the moment. If it is smaller than 1, the project is currently over budget (i.e. has spent more than what has been planned).

If a project has a To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) of 0.90, this means that: 90% of the work planned up to today has been completed 90% of the budget planned up to today has been spent the project can spend money at a rate 11% higher than planned and still meet the project budget the project can spend money at a rate 10% lower than planned to meet the project budget

Solution: C The To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) is the efficiency needed to finish the project on budget. If it is smaller than 1, that means that we have more money left on the budget than the remaining Planned Value (PV) to achieve. Therefore, in theory, we can spend more money yet can still finish the project on budget. (However, in reality, it is generally preferred to finish the project under budget. A TCPI smaller than 1 is a good sign that the project is going healthy.)

A project with both Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI) of 0.80. The project is currently: ahead of schedule and under budget behind schedule and under budget ahead of schedule and over budget behind schedule and over budget

Solution: D CPI < 1 = over budget and SPI < 1 = behind schedule, so the project is both "behind schedule and over budget".

Kylie is working on a project as a project management team member. Her duties involves updating the information of the project progress, communicating with stakeholders for updates and responding to enquiries when the project manager is away. She is given limited authority to make decisions based on the project manager's instruction. Which of the following title best describes Kylie? A. Junior Project Manager B. Project Expeditor C. Project Staff D. Project Coordinator

Solution: D Project Coordinators' duties include helping the project manager for day-to-day work as well as making decision for certain issues with authority pre-approved by the project manager. Therefore, Kylie should be working as a project coordinator for the project described above.

All of the following about communication models is true EXCEPT: A-) Sender encodes his thoughts and sends to receiver. B-) Information is sent by the sender to receiver with the assistance of medium. C-) Receiver acknowledges if he agrees with the information he received. D-) Message is decoded by the receiver into thoughts.

The answer is C, Receiver acknowledges if he agrees with the information he received. If you remember, acknowledgement was saying that the receiver got the message, but it does not mean that he or she agrees with the received message. Acknowledgement means only that the message sent by the other party has been received. Therefore, it does not mean an agreement, and here the best answer is C.

Your project management plan results in a project schedule that is too long If the project network diagram cannot change but you have extra personnel resources, what is the BEST thing to do? A-) Fast track the project. B-) Level the resources. C-) Crash the project. D-) Monte Carlo analysis.

The answer is C, crash the project. Because, in first sentence, it is mentioned that schedule is too long, therefore the aim is making a shorter schedule. And in the second sentence it is mentioned that you have extra personnel resources. If you have resources, you can put more resources in an activity to complete it in a shorter time. And this is actually a description of crashing an activity or crashing the project. If you look to the other options, fast tracking was performing activities in parallel instead of series, therefore it is irrelevant. Leveling the resources was for fixing the over-allocation of resources and distributing the tasks to all your resources uniformly. And Monte Carlo analysis was another estimating tool which is irrelevant choice as well. Therefore, here the best answer is C.

You are a project manager for a major information systems project. Someone from the quality department comes to see you about beginning a quality audit of your project. The team, already under pressure to complete the project as soon as possible, objects to the audit. You should explain to the team that the purpose of a quality audit is: A-) Part of an ISO 9000 investigation B-) To check if the customer is following its quality process C-) To identify inefficient and ineffective policies D-) To check the accuracy of costs submitted by the team

The best answer is C, to identify inefficient and ineffective policies. B and D are irrelevant options because quality audit is done in order to check whether you are meeting the quality standards, whether you are following the quality procedures of your company. Therefore, it's not related whether the customer is following its quality processes. Or it is not related about accuracy of costs submitted by the team.