SCM CH 3
6) A project organization: A) is effective for companies with multiple large projects. B) is appropriate only in construction firms. C) often fails when the project cuts across organizational lines. D) is most helpful for ongoing projects with no termination date. E) is most helpful when the work contains simple and unrelated tasks.
A
7) If an activity whose normal duration is 13 days can be shortened to 10 days for an added cost of $1,500, what is the crash cost per period? A) $500 B) $1,500 C) $750 D) $13,000 E) $15,000
A
A code of ethics especially for project managers: A) has been established by the Project Management Institute. B) has been formulated by the Federal government. C) has been formulated by the World Trade Organization. D) is inappropriate, since everyone should use the same guidance on ethical issues. E) does not exist at this time.
A
4) The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is: A) the optimistic time. B) the pessimistic time. C) the activity variance. D) the minimum time. E) exactly twice as long as the expected time.
B
6) The expected activity time in PERT analysis is calculated as: A) the simple average of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times. B) the weighted average of a, m, and b, with m weighted 4 times as heavily as a and b. C) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times. D) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times, divided by six. E) the sum of the activity variances, divided by six.
B
5) The ________ distribution is used by PERT analysis to calculate expected activity times and variances. A) Normal B) Beta C) Alpha D) Gaussian E) Binomial
Beta
1) Which of the following is NOT a limitation of PERT? A) Project activities have to be clearly defined, independent, and stable in their relationships. B) Precedence relationships must be specified and networked together. C) Only one time estimate can be used for each activity. D) Time estimates tend to be subjective and are subject to fudging by managers. E) There is the inherent danger of placing too much emphasis on the critical path.
C
1) Which of the following is NOT performed by Microsoft Project? A) drawing the project AON network B) identifying the critical path C) providing PERT probability calculations D) tracking the progress of the project E) creating the project Gantt chart
C
Expected Time
C) The expected time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b)/6.
) Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true? A) The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path. B) Some activities on the critical path may have slack. C) Every network has only one critical path. D) On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration. E) The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network.
D
10) A network has been crashed to the point where all activities are critical. Additional crashing: A) is unnecessary. B) is impossible. C) is prohibitively expensive. D) may require crashing multiple tasks simultaneously. E) can be done, but all critical tasks must be reduced in duration.
D
12) Which of the following statements concerning CPM activities is false? A) The early finish of an activity is the early start of that activity plus its duration. B) The late finish is the earliest of the late start times of all successor activities. C) The late start of an activity is its late finish less its duration. D) The late finish of an activity is the earliest late start of all preceding activities. E) The early start of an activity is the latest early finish of all preceding activities.
D
12) Which of the following statements regarding PERT analysis is true? A) Each activity has two estimates of its duration. B) Project variance is the sum of all activity variances. C) Project standard deviation is the sum of all critical activity standard deviations. D) Only critical activities contribute to the project variance. E) The most likely time is equivalent to the expected activity time.
D
4) Which of these statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is true? A) Crashing is not possible unless there are multiple critical paths. B) Crashing a project often reduces the length of long-duration, but noncritical, activities. C) Activities not on the critical path can never be on the critical path, even after crashing. D) Crashing shortens the project duration by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tasks. E) The crash time always exceeds the normal time.
D
6) Which of the following is NOT one of the phases of project management? A) planning B) scheduling C) controlling D) budgeting E) All of the above are project management phases.
D
1) The control of projects involves close monitoring of which of the following? A) resources B) costs C) quality D) budgets E) all of the above
E
2) Which of the following statements regarding Bechtel is true? A) Its competitive advantage is project management. B) Bechtel was the construction contractor for the Hoover Dam. C) While helping to rebuild Iraq, Bechtel's crews had to travel under armed escort. D) Bechtel's procurement program is global in nature. E) All of the above are true.
E
3) The main difference between PERT and CPM is that: A) PERT is more accurate than CPM. B) PERT assumes that activity durations are known. C) PERT ignores activity costs. D) CPM assumes activity durations can vary. E) PERT employs three time estimates for each activity.
E
4) Which of the following projects were completed by Bechtel? A) Hoover Dam B) Boston Central Artery/Tunnel C) Rebuilding Kuwait after Iraq's invasion in 1990 D) Rebuilding Iraq after the U.S. invasion, starting in 2003 E) All of the above were Bechtel projects
E
Ethical issues that may arise in projects large and small include: A) gifts from contractors. B) exaggerated expense reports. C) compromised quality standards to meet bonuses or avoid penalties related to schedules. D) pressure to mask delays with false status reports. E) all of the above.
E
1) A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional areas.
False
1) The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
False
3) Work breakdown structure is a useful tool in project management because it addresses the timing of individual work elements.
False
PERT, but not CPM, has the ability to consider the precedence relationships in a project.
False
The standard deviation of project duration is the average of the standard deviation of all activities on the critical path.
False
9) The project organization works best when which of the following conditions are satisfied? I. Work tasks can be defined with a specific goal and deadline. II. The job is typical and familiar to the existing organization. III. The work contains interrelated tasks requiring specialized skills. IV. The project is temporary but unimportant to long-term organizational success. V. The project cuts across organizational lines.
I, III, V
A) The ___ time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
Optimistic
The network analysis method that allows activity times to vary is ________.
PERT
PERT
PERT was made by Booz. Considers precedence relationships and interdependencies
Describe some of the challenges faced in the construction of the new 11-story building at Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, Florida.
Parking and EPA issues
5) What was the name of the construction project to rebuild the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001? A) Project Panther B) Project Pit Bull C) Project Python D) Project Piranha E) Project Phoenix
Project pheonix
PERT vs CPM
The basic difference between PERT and CPM is that PERT requires three time estimates of activity completion time, whereas CPM uses only a single estimate.
CPM/PERT vs Gantt Charts
The differences are mainly that PERT/CPM has the ability to consider precedence relationships and interdependence of activities.
How is the completion time of a project and PERT activity calculated
The formula is t = (a + 4m + b) / 6. Expected completion of a PERT project is the sum of the expected times for individual activities that are on the critical path.
WBS
Work Breakdown Structure
A(n) ________ divides a project into more and more detailed components.
Work breakdown structure
What is a project organization
an organization formed to ensure that programs (projects) receive the proper management and attention.
What are unethical behaviors
gifts from contractors, pressure to mask delays with false status reports, falsifying (exaggerating) expense reports
The ________ has established a code of ethics especially for project managers.
project management institute
3) A(n) ________ is an organization formed to ensure that programs (projects) receive the proper management and attention.
project organization
3) A combination of effective Gantt chart use and other tactics allowed Delta to cut the average time for a plane layover by what % of the original 60 minute duration? A) 33%, to 40 minutes B) 50%, to 30 minutes C) 20%, to 48 minutes D) 25%, to 45 minutes E) 40%, to 36 minutes
A
3) A project manager is interested in crashing a project with variable activity times. Which of the following tools should he/she employ? A) PERT B) CPM C) Gantt Chart D) either PERT or CPM E) PERT, CPM, or a Gantt chart are fine.
A
5) The phases of project management are: A) planning, scheduling, and controlling. B) planning, programming, and budgeting. C) planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling. D) different for manufacturing projects than for service projects. E) GANTT, CPM, and PERT.
A
AOA
Activity on Arrow AOA networks sometimes require dummy activities. Both are acceptable in practice.
AON
Activity on Node nodes consume no resources or time in AOA networks, both are acceptable in practice; however, Microsoft Project uses AON, nodes designate activities in AON, while arrows designate activities in AOA.
PERT calculations typically include the duration variance of each activity. What is the purpose of this calculation, i.e. what's the role of variances in PERT analysis?
Answer: The activity variances influence the probability of project completion.
10) A project organization that becomes permanent is often referred to as a: A) fixed project organization. B) matrix organization. C) normal organization. D) standard organization. E) permanent project organization.
B
11) In a PERT network, non-critical activities that have little slack need to be monitored closely: A) because PERT treats all activities as equally important. B) because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities. C) because slack is undesirable and needs to be eliminated. D) because they are causing the entire project to be delayed. E) because they have a high risk of not being completed.
B
3) Which of the following statements about Bechtel is true? A) Even though Bechtel is over 100 years old, the Kuwaiti oil fields was its first "project." B) Bechtel is the world's premier manager of massive construction and engineering projects. C) Bechtel's competitive advantage is supply chain management. D) While its projects are worldwide, its network of suppliers is largely in the United States E) All of the above are true.
B
CPM
CPM by DuPont for chemical plants (1957). Considers precedences relationships and interdependencies
10) The beta distribution is used in project management to:
Calculate expected activity times and variance
is decreasing activity time in a network to reduce time on the critical path so total completion time is reduced.
Crashing
________ is a project management technique using only one time factor per activity that enables managers to schedule, monitor, and control large and complex projects.
Critical path method
Critical Path
Longest time through the network
What is the objective of critical path analysis?
To determine the longest path through a network
2) In project management, crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network.
True
1) The PERT pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
True
2) Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.
True
3) Every network has at least one critical path.
True
4) Project managers have their own code of ethics, established by the Project Management Institute.
True
Ethical issues that can arise in projects include gifts from contractors, pressure to mask delays with false status reports, and pressure to compromise project quality to meet bonuses or avoid penalties related to schedules.
True
Gantt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project.
True
Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.
True
In PERT analysis, the identification of the critical path can be incorrect if a noncritical activity takes substantially more than its expected time.
True
One large phase of a project is scheduling
True
16) Identify the responsibilities of project managers.
making sure that (1) all necessary activities are finished in proper sequence and on time; (2) the project comes in within budget; (3) the project meets its quality goals; and (4) the people assigned to the project receive the motivation, direction, and information needed to do their jobs.