Chapter 10 Project Scheduling: Lagging, Crashing, and Activity Networks

D)

16) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource has the greatest continual use. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 5 M 1 H 1 K 5 G 5 J 3 F 2 P 1 B 2 S 2 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 4 B) Resource 2 C) Resource 3 D) Resource 5

A)

17) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource is used the least. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 5 M 1 H 1 K 4 G 5 J 3 F 2 P 1 B 2 S 2 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 1 B) Resource 2 C) Resource 4 D) Resource 5

False

Gantt charts cannot depict float.

True

In an actual project, one means of crashing critical path activities would be to perform at a lower level of quality.

True

In order to accelerate completion of a project, the manager must crash critical path activities.

C)

3) Activities A and B have a finish to finish relationship and early start and finish times as shown. What is the result of incorporating a 4-day lag between activities C and B? A) The early finish for A increases to 31. B) The early start time for A increases to 24. C) The early finish time for B increases to 31. D) The early start time for D falls to 23.

D)

50) What is the late finish for activity D in the network shown in the diagram? A) 15 B) 16 C) 17 D) 18

B)

6) Which statement about this Gantt chart is BEST? A) Activity a has a duration that could be as short as 1 day and as long as 10. B) Activity b probably has activity a as a predecessor. C) No progress has been made on activity c. D) Activity d is the longest activity.

True

Brook's Law states that the typical crashing decision to add more resources to an activity only delays the activity further.

False

Most project management software employs AOA diagramming.

A)

1) The most common type of logical sequencing between tasks is referred to as the: A) Finish to start relationship. B) Finish to finish relationship. C) Start to start relationship. D) Start to finish relationship.

D)

23) The process of accelerating a project is referred to as: A) Streamlining. B) Expediting. C) Rushing. D) Crashing.

D)

58) Networks would NOT be well suited for: A) Planning a construction project. B) Planning a wedding. C) Planning a software upgrade. D) Planning monthly production.

A)

59) When involved in a project involving many subcontractors: A) It is imperative that the network is a mutually accessible document. B) One subcontractor's network diagram should never be shown to another for ethical reasons. C) PERT/CPM should not be used. D) It is illegal to reveal one subcontractor's plan to another.

B)

60) Research has shown that, in general: A) There is a tendency to underestimate activity lengths. B) There is a tendency to overestimate activity lengths. C) The activity lengths are estimated correctly. D) The activity lengths are estimated correctly but the networks are drawn incorrectly.

B)

51) Which of the activities in the diagram have slack? A) C and D B) B and D C) C and E D) B and E

C)

52) What is the duration of the project shown in the network? A) 36 B) 37 C) 38 D) 39

D)

53) An AOA network: A) Cannot show a merge activity. B) Cannot show a burst activity. C) Cannot have consecutive merge and burst activities. D) Can have all of the features described in A-C above.

A)

54) AOA networks have an advantage over AON networks: A) If the project is complex. B) Because they are easier to read for novices. C) When it comes to software packages for project management. D) When the task of network labeling is considered.

B)

55) AON networks have an advantage over AOA networks: A) If the project under study is complex. B) Because they don't need dummy activities. C) In the construction industry because they are the norm. D) When it is critical to highlight milestones.

B)

56) The BEST approach to network representation of a large and hugely complex project is to: A) Represent all activities and relationships. B) Simplify network logic and reduce it to the most meaningful relationships. C) Use AOA. D) Use AON.

D)

8) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine when resource 5 is free. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 1 F 1 B 5 G 2 C 4 H 5 D 3 J 3 E 2 K 4 A) Between 0 and 15 B) Between 15 and 30 C) Between 30 and 45 D) Between 45 and 60

A)

9) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine when resource 2 is free. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 1 F 1 B 5 G 2 C 4 H 5 D 3 J 3 E 2 K 2 A) Between 0 and 15 B) Between 15 and 30 C) Between 30 and 45 D) Between 45 and 60

True

Dummy activities are used in AOA networks to indicate the existence of precedent relationships between activities and their event nodes.

False

Finish to start lags are the same as additional activity slack.

False

For large projects, network diagrams are more useful if they are completely detailed.

True

Gantt charts can display early start or late start logic.

True

Most activity estimations using PERT methods lead to overly optimistic activity duration estimates.

False

Networks are adaptable and useful for all scheduling challenges that an organization faces.

True

Quite often the marginal gains in employee productivity decrease dramatically with the increased use of overtime.

False

The critical path may not contain a dummy activity.

True

The least common type of lag relationship occurs when a successor's finish is dependent upon a predecessor's start.

D)

20) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource is used the least. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 3, 5 M 1, 2 H 1 K 4 G 2, 5 J 3 F 4, 1 P 1 B 2 S 3, 4 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 4 B) Resource 2 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 3

B)

10) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine which resource is used the least. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 1 F 2 B 1 G 3 C 4 H 4 D 2 J 3 E 2 K 5 A) Resource 1 B) Resource 3 C) Resource 4 D) Resource 2

C)

11) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine which resource is used the most. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 1 F 2 B 3 G 3 C 4 H 4 D 2 J 5 E 2 K 1 A) Resource 4 B) Resource 3 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 2

D)

12) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine which resource is free for use in another project before the others. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 1 F 2 B 3 G 3 C 4 H 4 D 2 J 5 E 2 K 1 A) Resource 4 B) Resource 3 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 2

A)

31) Use the information in the table (all times are in days) to determine the lowest total cost for a 20-day project if the base cost for each activity finished in normal time is $1,000. Activity Normal Time Minimum Time Crash Cost ($/day) Predecessor A 10 6 $70 -- B 6 3 $40 -- C 2 2 -- B D 4 2 $60 C E 6 4 $80 A F 8 5 $90 D, E A) $6,280 B) $6,390 C) $6,530 D) $6,740

D)

32) Use the information in the table (all times are in days) to determine the lowest extra cost for an 18-day project if the base cost for each activity finished in normal time is $1,000. Activity Normal Time Minimum Time Crash Cost ($/day) Predecessor A 10 6 $70 -- B 6 3 $40 -- C 2 2 -- B D 4 2 $60 C E 6 4 $80 A F 8 5 $90 D, E A) $400 B) $420 C) $440 D) $460

C)

33) It costs $75 per day for each day that a construction crew is on site. The project manager determines that most activities can be crashed and has listed the crashing costs next to the minimum time for each activity. Use this information to determine the lowest cost for this project. All times given are in days. Activity Normal Time Minimum Time Crash Cost ($/day) Predecessor A 10 6 $70 -- B 6 3 $40 -- C 2 2 -- B D 4 2 $60 C E 6 4 $80 A F 8 5 $90 D, E A) $1,720 B) $1,750 C) $1,780 D) $1,810

A)

34) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. What is the total cost for completing this project in 40 days? Activity Predecessor Normal Time Normal Cost Crash Time Crash Cost A -- 8 $12,000 5 $22,000 B A 12 $18,000 9 $32,000 C A 15 $22,000 9 $62,000 D B 3 $9,000 2 $18,000 E C 9 $15,000 5 $35,000 F E 7 $5,000 5 $8,000 G D 8 $13,000 6 $23,000 H A 12 $20,000 8 $32,000 J H 6 $45,000 4 $56,000 A) $172,000 B) $218,000 C) $192,000 D) $159,000

B)

35) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. What is the lowest total cost for completing this project in 35 days? Activity Predecessor Normal Time Normal Cost Crash Time Crash Cost A -- 8 $12,000 5 $22,000 B A 12 $18,000 9 $32,000 C A 15 $22,000 9 $62,000 D B 3 $9,000 2 $18,000 E C 9 $15,000 5 $35,000 F E 7 $5,000 5 $8,000 G D 8 $13,000 6 $23,000 H A 12 $20,000 8 $32,000 J H 6 $45,000 4 $56,000 A) $211,500 B) $197,500 C) $203,500 D) $194,500

B)

36) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. There is a penalty of $4,000 per week for every week the project exceeds 37 weeks. What is the lowest total cost for completing this project? Activity Predecessor Normal Time Normal Cost Crash Time Crash Cost A -- 8 $12,000 5 $22,000 B A 12 $18,000 9 $32,000 C A 15 $22,000 9 $62,000 D B 3 $9,000 2 $18,000 E C 9 $15,000 5 $35,000 F E 7 $5,000 5 $8,000 G D 8 $13,000 6 $23,000 H A 12 $20,000 8 $32,000 J H 6 $45,000 4 $56,000 A) $172,000 B) $184,000 C) $187,000 D) $192,500

D)

4) What is the early start time for activity C if it has the start to start relationship shown? A) Day 20 B) Day 25 C) Day 27 D) Day 29

A)

43) An activity on an arrow network: A) Cannot have more arrows than nodes. B) Cannot have more nodes than arrows. C) Has one more node than arrows. D) Has one more arrow than nodes.

A)

13) Use the Gantt chart and the activity list to determine which resource is needed earliest in this project. Activity Resources Activity Resources A 5 F 2 B 6 G 3 C 7 H 4 D 1 J 5 E 2 K 1 A) Resource 2 B) Resource 3 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 4

B)

14) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine when resource 3 is free. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 3 M 1 H 1 K 5 G 4 J 3 F 2 P 1 B 2 S 2 T 4 W 3 A) Between 0 and 10 B) Between 10 and 20 C) Between 20 and 30 D) Between 30 and 40

C)

15) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource has the greatest continual use. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 3 M 1 H 1 K 5 G 4 J 3 F 2 P 1 B 2 S 2 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 3 B) Resource 1 C) Resource 2 D) Resource 4

D)

18) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource is used the most. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 5 M 1 H 1 K 4 G 5 J 3 F 2 P 1 B 2 S 2 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 1 B) Resource 2 C) Resource 4 D) Resource 5

C)

19) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource is used the most. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 3, 5 M 1, 2 H 1 K 4 G 2,5 J 3 F 4, 1 P 1 B 2 S 3, 4 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 4 B) Resource 2 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 5

B)

2) A finish to start lag delay is usually shown: A) As an added value in the predecessor's activity time. B) On the line adjoining the two activity nodes. C) As an added value in the predecessors early start time. D) As a subtracted value in the follower's early finish time.

A)

21) Use the Gantt chart and activity list to determine which resource is released from this project for use in another project the earliest. Activity Resources Activity Resources R 3, 5 M 1, 2 H 1 K 4 G 2, 5 J 3 F 4, 1 P 1 B 2 S 3, 4 T 4 W 3 A) Resource 2 B) Resource 4 C) Resource 1 D) Resource 3

C)

22) A basic Gantt chart: A) Clearly displays early and late start and finish times for all activities. B) Cannot be used to track the project's progress. C) Permits scheduling resources well before they are needed. D) Shows dummy activities to preserve network logic.

A)

24) One reason for crashing a project is: A) The project has slipped behind schedule. B) That the initial schedule may be too pessimistic. C) Market needs change and the project is not in demand any more. D) There are no repercussions for delivering the project late.

B)

25) Which of these approaches will NOT accelerate the completion of a project? A) Improve the productivity of existing project resources. B) Increase the bureaucratic oversight. C) Improve the working method. D) Increase the quantity of personnel and equipment.

C)

26) If an activity's cost is plotted against its duration on axes with zeros at the origin: A) The slope of the line is positive because it costs more to finish an activity more quickly. B) The slope of the line is negative because a shorter activity costs less than a longer one. C) The slope of the line is negative because it costs more to finish an activity more quickly. D) The slope of the line is positive because a longer activity costs more than a shorter one.

D)

27) The most common method for shortening activity durations involves the decision to: A) Eliminate bureaucracy. B) Alter the technology used in the activity. C) Assign more senior personnel to the activity. D) Increase project resources.

C)

28) An activity performed by a subcontractor is scheduled for 20 weeks at an anticipated cost of $100,000. Due to slippage on the critical path you need to reduce this activity by three weeks. If the subcontractor informs you that the activity can be completed in 16 weeks for $200,000, what is the slope for the activity? A) $5,000 per week B) $33,333 per week C) $25,000 per week D) $12,500 per week

A)

29) Given the cost information in the table, what is the cheapest activity to crash on a per week basis? Activity | Normal Time |Normal Cost | Crash Time| Crash Cost A 8 $1,000 5 $6,000 B 6 2,000 4 6,000 C 9 2,500 6 8,000 D 12 4,000 8 10,000 A) Activity A B) Activity B C) Activity C D) Activity D

C)

30) Use the information in the table (all times are in days) to determine the lowest cost minimum completion time if the base cost for each activity finished in normal time is $1,000. Activity Normal Time Minimum Time Crash Cost ($/day) Predecessor A 10 6 $70 -- B 6 3 $40 -- C 2 2 -- B D 4 2 $60 C E 6 4 $80 A F 8 5 $90 D, E A) $7,120 B) $6,910 C) $6,790 D) $6,830

A)

37) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. There is a penalty of $6,000 per week for every week the project extends beyond 25 weeks. What is the lowest total cost duration for completing this project? Activity Predecessor Normal Time Normal Cost Crash Time Crash Cost A -- 8 $12,000 5 $22,000 B A 12 $18,000 9 $32,000 C A 15 $22,000 9 $62,000 D B 3 $9,000 2 $18,000 E C 9 $15,000 5 $35,000 F E 7 $5,000 5 $8,000 G D 8 $13,000 6 $23,000 H A 12 $20,000 8 $32,000 J H 6 $45,000 4 $56,000 A) 34 weeks B) 36 weeks C) 40 weeks D) 43 weeks

D)

38) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. What is the total cost for completing this project as quickly as possible? Activity Predecessor Normal Time Normal Cost Crash Time Crash Cost A -- 8 $12,000 5 $22,000 B A 12 $18,000 9 $32,000 C A 15 $22,000 9 $62,000 D B 3 $9,000 2 $18,000 E C 9 $15,000 5 $35,000 F E 7 $5,000 5 $8,000 G D 8 $13,000 6 $23,000 H A 12 $20,000 8 $32,000 J H 6 $45,000 4 $56,000 A) $244,000 B) $255,600 C) $258,333 D) $262,000

B)

39) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. There is a penalty of $250 per week for every week the project extends beyond 32 weeks. What is the duration of the least expensive project possible? Activity Normal time Crash time Normal Cost Crash Cost Predecessor A 8 5 $1,000 2,000 B 6 4 1,500 2,000 A C 8 5 1,800 2,300 A D 12 9 1,000 1,800 B E 14 11 950 1,450 B F 9 7 1,500 1,900 C, D G 7 5 2,300 2,800 E, F A) 38 weeks B) 37 weeks C) 36 weeks D) 35 weeks

B)

40) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. There is a penalty of $250 per week for every week the project extends beyond 32 weeks. What is the cost of the least expensive project possible? Activity Normal time Crash time Normal Cost Crash Cost Predecessor A 8 5 $1,000 2,000 B 6 4 1,500 2,000 A C 8 5 1,800 2,300 A D 12 9 1,000 1,800 B E 14 11 950 1,450 B F 9 7 1,500 1,900 C, D G 7 5 2,300 2,800 E, F A) $11,450 B) $12,450 C) $13,450. D) $14,450

C)

41) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. What is the lowest total cost for completing this project in 33 weeks? Activity Normal time Crash time Normal Cost Crash Cost Predecessor A 8 5 $1,000 2,000 B 6 4 1,500 2,000 A C 8 5 1,800 2,300 A D 12 9 1,000 1,800 B E 14 11 950 1,450 B F 9 7 1,500 1,900 C, D G 7 5 2,300 2,800 E, F A) $11,250 B) $11,500 C) $12,250 D) $12,500

A)

42) A project has the activity duration and cost information indicated in the table where all times are in weeks. For every week longer than 30 weeks, there is a penalty of $300. What is the highest total cost for completing this project? Activity Normal time Crash time Normal Cost Crash Cost Predecessor A 8 5 $1,000 2,000 B 6 4 1,500 2,000 A C 8 5 1,800 2,300 A D 12 9 1,000 1,800 B E 14 11 950 1,450 B F 9 7 1,500 1,900 C, D G 7 5 2,300 2,800 E, F A) $14,250 B) $13,950 C) $13,550 D) $13,150

B)

44) The AOA network described by this table needs: Activity Predecessor A -- B -- C A, B D B E C, D A) Zero dummy activities. B) One dummy activity. C) Two dummy activities. D) Three dummy activities.

C)

45) The AOA network described by this table needs: Activity Predecessor A -- B -- C A D A, B E C F C, D A) Zero dummy activities. B) One dummy activity. C) Two dummy activities. D) Three dummy activities.

D)

46) What information is NOT included in the nodes for an AOA network? A) Label B) Early start time C) Late finish time D) Early finish time

A)

47) Dummy activities have a duration equal to the: A) Slack on the critical path. B) Length of the predecessor. C) Length of the successor. D) Lag needed to preserve network logic.

B)

48) The critical path of this network is: A) 14. B) 15. C) 12. D) 13.

C)

49) The fastest completion time for this project is: A) 14. B) 15. C) 16. D) 17.

A)

5) Activity X has the start to finish relationship shown with activity Y and both have early start and finish times as shown. Which statement is BEST? A) a < d B) a < c C) b < c D) d < a

C)

57) A complex project that is managed using a top-down, bottom-up approach to network diagrams means that: A) Management's top-down portion of the network contains the greatest detail. B) Top management does not have a basis for understanding the actual development of the project. C) The top tier summary network does not give top management the basis for understanding the actual development of the project. D) The bottom level information cannot be understood by those performing the actual work.

C)

7) Consider the Gantt chart shown below where the time scale is in minutes and all activities are performed on an early start basis. How much slack is available in The Great Hair Washing project? A) 10 minutes B) 15 minutes C) 0 minutes D) 5 minutes

True

AOA is a more useful technique than AON if the project is complex and has many significant milestones.