Chapter 8 - Scheduling Resources and Costs

All of the following are benefits of scheduling resources before project implementation EXCEPT

A. It allows time for considering reasonable options if resource constraints do exist. B. The project completion date can be established. C. Work packages can be time-phased. D. It allows managers to share resources with other project managers if it is requested without negatively impacting their project. E. It ensures low network sensitivity. (Answer)

Resource leveling or smoothing can have all the following results on a project EXCEPT

A. Lower peak resource demand. B. Reduced resource need over the life of the project. C. Reduced fluctuations in resource demand. D. A longer project duration. (Answer) E. A more sensitive network.

All of the following are types of resource constraints EXCEPT

A. Materials. B. People. C. Equipment. D. Information. (Answer) E. Human.

Splitting an activity can result in all of the following EXCEPT

A. More people working on the same activity (Answer) B. Possible startup and shutdown costs. C. A resource being moved from one activity to another and then back. D. Activity work being placed on hold for a period until more resources are available. E. A better project schedule.

Which of the following is NOT one of the more common problems associated with scheduling multiproject resources?

A. Overall schedule slippage B. Inefficient resource utilization C. Decline in project quality (Answer) D. Resource bottlenecks E. Delays in one project causing delays in other projects

When considering the sequence and timing of activities, which of the following is NOT one of the types of project network constraints?

A. Physical B. Technical C. Resource D. Time (Answer) E. All the above

Technical constraints have been carefully considered when developing a project network. Which of the following is true at this point?

A. Resources have been assigned to each activity so they are adequate to complete the project on time. B. Technical dependencies between activities are known. (Answer) C. The project completion date can be established. D. The project is ready to be implemented. E. All of these are true statements once technical constraints have been established.

These are all guidelines a project manager should consider when EXCEPT

A. Select people with compatible work habits and personalities. B. Always assign the best people to the most difficult tasks (Answer) C. When possible, team veterans up with new hires. D. Select individuals with skill sets that complement each other. E. Have people work together early so that they can become familiar with each other.

Tony has realized that two activities in his project cannot be done at the same time because not enough resources are available. Activity 3 is critical and has a duration of 5 days. Activity 4 has 2 days of slack and a duration of 2 days. How will he decide which activity should be scheduled first?

A. The activity with the smallest duration B. The activity with the least slack (Answer) C. The activity with the most slack D. The activity with the lowest identification number E. The activity with the highest cost

A project budget report is showing our project as spending $35,000 against a budgeted amount of $40,000. Which of the following is true?

A. We are spending less than we should for the project. B. We are doing a good job managing the project. C. We should check to see if all the bills have been paid. D. We have more money to put into budget reserves. E. We can't be sure how the project is going (Answer)

When deciding which staff to team-up to work on work packages, factors to consider are:

A. Work habits. B. Practical Experience. C. Years of working in the company. D. All of these choices are correct. (Answer)

All resource leveling techniques involve

Delaying noncritical activities.

This is used to compare the cost accounts between organizational units and deliverables.

Direct Labor Budget Rollup

A special truck that George needs on his project has been scheduled on another project. This is an example of what type of resource constraint?

Equipment

If a project needs one earth mover six months from now in order to complete one activity, and the organization has four such machines, there is no equipment resource constraint

FALSE

Resource leveling or smoothing is only used on projects which are resource constrained

FALSE

Sequential activities hold just as much potential for resource conflicts as parallel activities.

FALSE

The fact that you must pour foundation before you frame the house and that you have to frame the house before you can put on the roof demonstrates scheduling constraints

FALSE

A lack of readily available engineers is a technical constraint

FASLE

The level of resources each activity will need to be completed in the given amount of time has been estimated; therefore, there are no resource constraints.

FASLE

Why is it necessary to have a time-phased budget baseline

It shows how much work was accomplished for the money spent

In a resource-constrained project, the first priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the

Least slack

In a resource-constrained project the third priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the

Lowest identification number

Gene is trying to order the concrete needed to continue his project. However, the supplier will not be able to deliver it until next week. This is an example of what kind of resource

Materials

Jan is trying to reallocate resources in a time-constrained project to create smoother resource utilization. She should first identify activities with the

Most slack.

When a company will reduce the number of projects they have to manage internally to only core projects and send noncritical projects to contractors and consulting firms this is called

Outsourcing

Rachel is working on a project that technically allows three activities to be done at the same time. If they were to be implemented at the same time, she would need 5 contractors in order for the activities to be completed on time. There are only 3 available for her to use. This is an example of what type of constraint?

People

Sam, the project engineer, has been scheduled to run the product system test at the same time he is to build a marketing prototype. This is an example of what type of resource constraint

People

Susan is to conduct environmental testing but the chamber cannot hold all the equipment that she wants to test. This is an example of a constraint that could impact the sequence and timing of activities in a project network. What type of constraint is it?

Physical

In reviewing the status of her project with top management, Shirley was told that there are only two programmers that she can use for her project. Her project is classified as __________ constrained

Resource

When there are not enough people, money, and/or equipment available for a project it is known as being

Resource Constrained

If resources are not adequate to meet peak demands, the resulting reschedule is termed

Resource-constrained scheduling

Which of the following is NOT a potential consequence of failing to identify limited resources before project implementation?

Scope creep

In a resource-constrained project the second priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the

Smallest duration

Resources are adequate, but demand varies widely over the life of the project. Delaying noncritical activities to lower peak demand on resources is known as resource

Smoothing

Having too few programmers and too many engineers is an example of a people resource constraint

TRUE

In a resource-constrained project, the completion date is most likely to change

TRUE

Resource bottlenecks are one of the three more common problems encountered in managing multi-project resource schedules

TRUE

Resource dependency takes priority over technological dependency but it does not violate it

TRUE

The inability to fit more than two earth movers on a construction site at the same time when more are needed to complete the activity on time is an example of a physical constraint

TRUE

To determine if a project is time-constrained or resource-constrained you would consult the project priority matrix

TRUE

Too many parallel activities for one individual is an example of a resource constraint.

TRUE

While balancing assignments, a project manager must also balance

Talent development

When developing a new software package, logically, the software must be designed before the code is written, and the code must be written before it is tested. These activities are dependent on each other by _________ constraints

Technical

In a resource-constrained project, which of the following is most likely to be changed?

The completion date

Regina's boss has told her that her project is very important. If the critical path is delayed, she will be given whatever she needs to get it back on schedule. Her project is classified as ________ constrained

Time

Most of the scheduling methods available today require the project manager to classify the project as either _______ constrained or ______ constrained

Time, resource

When looking at the critical path for a delayed project and the project manager sees that adding resources will reduce or remove the delay, the project manager knows that the project is

Time-Constrained

Project budgets are developed by time-phasing which of the following?

Work packages

When leveling schedules to overcome resource constraints, ___________ is increased

scheduling complexity