PROJECT MANAGEMENT CH 6

Finish-to-start dependency:

A relationship in which the "from" activity or predecessor must finish before the "to" activity or successor can start.

Start-to-start dependency:

A relationship in which the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity or successor is started

Start-to-finish dependency:

A relationship in which the "from" activity must start before the "to" activity can be finished

Finish-to-finish dependency

A relationship in which the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished.

Tracking Gantt chart

a Gantt chart that compares planned and actual project schedule information. The planned schedule dates for activities are called the baseline dates, and the entire approved planned schedule is called the schedule baseline.

Theory of Constraints (TOC)

a management philosophy developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and discussed in his books The Goal and Critical Chain.

Critical chain scheduling

a method that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.

activity-on-arrow (AOA) or the arrow diagramming method (ADM)

a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities.

network diagram

a schematic display of the logical relationships among project activities and their sequencing.

activity list

a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule.

You cannot start editing a technical report until someone else completes the first draft. What type of dependency does this represent? a. Finish-to-start b. Start-to-start c. Finish-to-finish d. Start-to-finish

a. Finish-to-start

Which of the following processes involves determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule? a. Planning schedule management b. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources d. Activity sequencing

a. Planning schedule management

activity or task

an element of work normally found on the work breakdown structure (WBS) that has expected duration, cost, and resource requirements.

Discretionary dependencies

are defined by the project team.

Mandatory dependencies

are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project.

Which of the following statements is false? a. A burndown chart is a tool for schedule control. b. Duration and effort are synonymous terms. c. A three-point estimate includes an optimistic, a most likely, and a pessimistic estimate. d. A Gantt chart is a common tool for displaying project schedule information.

b. Duration and effort are synonymous terms.

What type of diagram shows planned and actual project schedule information? a. A network diagram b. A Gantt chart c. A Tracking Gantt chart d. A milestone chart

c. A Tracking Gantt chart

___________is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. PERT b. A Gantt chart c. Critical path method d. Crashing

c. Critical path method

As the project manager for a software development project, you are helping to develop the project schedule.You decide that writing code for a system should not start until users sign off on the analysis work. What type of dependency is this? a. Technical b. Mandatory c. Discretionary d. External

c. Discretionary

feeding buffers

consist of time added before tasks on the critical chain if they are preceded by other tasks that are not on the critical path.

What symbol on a Gantt chart represents a slipped milestone? a. A black arrow b. A white arrow c. A black diamond d. A white diamond

d. A white diamond

________is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. Parkinson's Law b. Scrum c. Critical path analysis d. Critical chain scheduling

d. Critical chain scheduling

Which of the following statements is false? a. Growing grass was on the critical path for a large theme park project. b. The critical path is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which a project can be completed. c. A forward pass through a project network diagram determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity. d. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.

d. Fast tracking is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.

Predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions are all examples of . a. items in an activity list b. items on a Gantt chart c. milestone attributes d. activity attributes

d. activity attributes

forward pass

determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity

PERT weighted average

for each activity duration estimate, the total project duration estimate takes into account the risk or uncertainty in the individual activity estimates.

Dummy activities

have no duration and no resources, but are occasionally needed on AOA network diagrams to show logical relationships between activities.

three-point estimate

includes an optimistic, a most likely, and a pessimistic estimate, such as three weeks for the optimistic scenario, four weeks for the most likely scenario, and five weeks for the pessimistic scenario.

duration

includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time.

Internal dependencies

involve relationships between project activities that are generally inside the project team's control.

External dependencies

involve relationships between project and nonproject activities.

Fast tracking

involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence.

precedence diagramming method (PDM)

is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities.

Critical path method (CPM) or critical path analysis

is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration a project is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed.

node

is simply the starting and ending point of an activity. The first node signifies the start of a project and the last node represents the end.

slipped milestone

means the milestone activity was completed later than originally planned.

Bursts

occur when two or more activities follow a single node.

Multitasking

occurs when a resource works on more than one task at a time.

merge

occurs when two or more nodes precede a single node

milestone

on a project is a significant event that normally has no duration.

dependency or relationship

pertains to the sequencing of project activities or tasks.

activity attributes

provide schedule-related information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity.

Project schedule management

simply defined, involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. Six main processes are involved in project schedule management: - Planning schedule management - Defining activities - Sequencing activities - Estimating activity durations - Developing the schedule - Controlling the schedule

Murphy's Law

states that if something can go wrong, it will.

Total slack or total float

the amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date.

Free slack or free float

the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following activities.

Slack or float

the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date.

early finish date

the earliest possible time an activity can finish based on the project network logic.

early start date

the earliest possible time an activity can start based on the project network logic.

late finish date

the latest possible time an activity can be completed without delaying the project finish date.

late start date

the latest possible time an activity might begin without delaying the project finish date.

effort

the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task.

backward pass

through the network diagram determines the late start and late finish dates for each activity in a similar fashion.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT

uses probabilistic time estimates—duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations—instead of one specific or discrete duration estimate, as CPM does.

project buffer

which is time added before the project's due date.

Parkinson's Law

which states that work expands to fill the time allowed.