Information Systems Project Mgmt - Chapter 9 Quiz (Multiple Choice)

Project performance appraisals are different from team performance assessments in that project performance appraisals focus on: A. How an individual team member is performing on the project B. An evaluation of the project teams effectiveness C. A team-building effort D. Reducing the staff turnover rate

A. How an individual team member is performing on the project Questions like this can drive you crazy on the exam because it is easy to get confused. The best thing to do is to look at the two terms used here (project performance appraisals and team performance assessment) and review in your mind what each means BEFORE looking at the choices. Choices B, C, and D list aspects of team performance assessments. Only choice A is correct. Project performance appraisals deal with how each team member is performing work, rather than how well the team is working together.

The project manager is looking at the project's resource needs and lessons learned from past projects. This information causes the project manager to be concerned about the ability to acquire enough resources for the project in six months. Which of the following would be the LEAST effective preventive action? A. Make sure functional managers have a copy of the resource histogram B. Show the sponsor the data, and explain the project manager's concern C. Determine metrics to use as an early warning sign that resources will not be available D. Ask functional managers for their opinions:

A. Make sure functional managers have a copy of the resource histogram Sending data without pointing out the issue (choice A) increases the likelihood that the communication will not be adequately decoded by the recipient. The other choices are more effective communication in this instance.

You have just been assigned as project manager for a large telecommunications project. This one-year project is about halfway done. The project team consists of 5 sellers and 20 of your company's employees. You want to understand who is responsible for doing what on the project. Where would you find such information? A. Responsibility assignment matrix B. Resource histogram C. Bar chart D. Project organization chart

A. Responsibility assignment matrix The responsibility assignment matrix maps who will do the work. The resource histogram (choice B) shows the number of resources used in each time period. In its pure form, a bar chart (choice C) shows only activity and calendar date. An organizational chart (choice D) shows who reports to whom.

The installation project has a CPI of 1.03 and an SPI of 1.0. There are 14 team members, and each team member had input into the final project management plan. The customer has accepted the three deliverables completed so far without complaint and the responsibility assignment matrix has not changed since the project began. The project is being completed in a matrix environment and there are no contracts needed for the project. Though the sponsor is happy with the status of the project, one of the team members is always complaining about how much time his project work is taking. Which of the following would be the BEST thing for the project manager to do? A. Review the reward system for the project B. Try to improve schedule performance of the project C. Meet with the customer to try to extend the schedule D. Gain formal acceptance in writing from the customer:

A. Review the reward system for the project Improving schedule performance (choice B) relates to getting the project completed sooner. Though it would seem to always be a good idea to improve schedule performance, this project's performance is fine. The schedule has been approved as it is. lt would be better for the project manager to spend more time controlling the project to make sure it finishes according to plan than to improve schedule performance. If you chose C, ask yourself why. There is nothing wrong with the schedule performance of the project that would require an extension. Did you think that the best way to deal with the complaining stakeholder was to give hirn more time? How do you know the team member's activities are on the critical path? lt is always important to gain formal acceptance from the customer, as it provides an opportunity for the team to check if everything is going well, lt is a good idea to get such acceptance in writing. Choice D could be done, but there is a more important problem that takes precedence here. Read on. The only thing glaringly wrong in this situation is that the team member is complaining. If you read the situation completely, you will notice that the team member was involved and approved the project management plan, including his own involvement in the project. Since the responsibility assignment matrix has not changed, the team member has not even been assigned different duties since the project began. There must be something else causing the team member to complain. The project manager should investigate and find out what part of the reward system is ineffective.

The project CPI is 1.02, the benefit cost ratio is 1.7, and the latest round of performance reviews identified few needed adjustments. The project team was co-located into a new building when the project started. Everyone commented on how excited they were to have all new facilities. The sponsor is providing adequate support for the project, and few unidentified risks have occurred. In an attempt to improve performance, the project manager spends part of the project budget on new chairs for the team members and adds the term "senior" to each team member's job title. Which of the following is the MOST correct thing that can be said of this project or the project manager? A. The project manager has misunderstood Herzberg's theory B. The project is slowly spending more money than it should. The project manager should begin to watch cost more carefully C. The performance review should be handled better to find more adjustments D. The project manager should use good judgment to determine which variances are important:

A. The project manager has misunderstood Herzberg's theory Choice B includes the concept of cost to trick you into selecting it if you are unsure of the real answer. There is no indication that the costs are trending in any particular direction. There is no reason to think that performance reviews should turn up more adjustments (choice C). The project manager should always use good judgment (choice D), but nothing in this question talks about judgment regarding variances, so this cannot be the best choice, In this situation, the project manager is making great working conditions better. According to Herzberg's theory, fixing bad working conditions will help you to motivate, but making good working conditions better will not improve motivation. You need to focus on the motivating agents and not the hygiene factors

The management theory that states that all people can direct their own efforts is: A. Theory Y B. Herzberg's theory C. Maslow's hierarchy D. Theory X:

A. Theory Y Know the difference between Theory X and Theory Y.

What does a resource histogram show that a responsibility assignment matrix does not? A. Time B. Activity C. Interrelationships D. The person in charge of each activity

A. Time The responsibility assignment matrix maps specific resources against the work packages from the WBS. On a resource histogram, the use of resources is shown individually or by groups over time.

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

A. Withdrawing There is always the option to simply postpone dealing with the issue until later. This is withdrawing.

You just found out that a major subcontractor for your project consistently provides deliverables late. The subcontractor approaches you and asks you to continue accepting late deliverables in exchange for a decrease in project costs. This offer is an example of: A. Confronting B. Compromise C. Smoothing D. Forcing:

B. Compromise Both parties are giving up something. This is a compromise

A project manager has just found out that a major subcontractor for her project is consistently late delivering work. The project team member responsible for this part of the project does not get along with the subcontractor. To resolve the problem, the project manager says, "You both will have to give up something to solve this problem," What conflict resolution method is she using? A. Confrontation B. Compromise C. Smoothing D. Communicating

B. Compromise The act of both parties giving something defines compromise.

A project manager had a complex problem to solve and made a decision about what needed to be done. A few months later, the problem resurfaced. What did the project manager MOST likely not do? A. Proper risk analysis B. Confirm that the decision solved the problem C. Have the project sponsor validate the decision D. Use an Ishikawa diagram

B. Confirm that the decision solved the problem Notice the phrasing of this question, "most likely NOT do," Expect to see questions worded on the exam in ways that can cause you to misinterpret them. You will also see questions about things we forget to do in the real world. "Who has time;' you might say, "to determine if each problem is really solved?" One could respond with, "Who has time not to do this? Who has time to deal with the same problem twice?" The final steps of problem solving include: implement a decision, review it, and confirm that the decision solved the problem.

A project manager must publish a project schedule. Activities, start/end times, and resources are identified. What should the project manager do NEXT? A. Distribute the project schedule according to the communications management plan B. Confirm the availability of the resources C. Refine the project management plan to reflect more accurate costing information D. Publish a bar chart illustrating the timeline

B. Confirm the availability of the resources The project schedule remains preliminary until resource assignments are confirmed.

You are a project manager leading a cross-functional project team in a weak matrix environment. None of your project team members report to you functionally, and you do not have the ability to directly reward their performance. The project is difficult, involving tight date constraints and challenging quality standards. Which of the following types of project management power will likely be the MOST effective in this circumstance? A. Referent B. Expert C. Penalty D. Formal:

B. Expert Reward and expert are the best sources of power. Reward is not listed as a choice.

During project planning in a matrix organization, the project manager determines that additional human resources are needed. From whom would he request these resources? A. Project manager B. Functional manager C. Team D. Project sponsor

B. Functional manager Did you remember that in a matrix organization, the functional manager controls the resources?

The sponsor's role on a project is BEST described as: A. Helping to plan activities B. Helping to prevent unnecessary changes to project objectives C. Identifying unnecessary project constraints D. Helping to put the project management plan together:

B. Helping to prevent unnecessary changes to project objectives Though the sponsor may help plan some of the activities (choice A), it is not the sponsor's exclusive duty. Some project constraints (choice C) come from the sponsor, but they should be considered necessary. The project management plan (choice D) is created by the team and approved by the sponsor and other management. Since the project objectives are stated in the project charter and it is the sponsor who issues the project charter, choice B is the correct answer.

The MOST common causes of conflict on a project are schedules, project priorities, and: A. Personality B. Resources C. Cost D. Management

B. Resources Know the top four sources (schedule, project priorities, resources, and technical opinions) so you can answer questions such as this one. Don't be fooled because "personality" is on the list. It is last.

A team member is not performing well on the project because she is inexperienced in system development work. There is no one else available who is better qualified to do the work. What is the BEST solution for the project manager? A. Consult with the functional manager to determine project completion incentives for the team member B. Obtain a new resource more skilled in development work C. Arrange for the team member to get training D. Allocate some of the project schedule

C. Arrange for the team member to get training The job of the project manager includes providing or obtaining project-specific training for team members. This kind of training is a direct cast of the project.

The project has been challenging to manage. Everyone has been on edge due to pressure to complete the project on time. Unfortunately, the tension has grown to the point where team meetings have become shouting matches and little work is accomplished during the meetings. One team member asks to be excused from future team meetings, as all the shouting upsets him. Meanwhile, the sponsor has asked to attend team meetings in order to better understand how the project is going and the issues involved in completing the project, and the customer has started discussions about adding scope to the project. In this situation, it would be BEST for the project manager to: A. Ask the sponsor if the information needed could be sent in a report rather than have her attend the meeting B. Inform the team member who asked to be excused from the meetings of the value of communication in such meetings C. Create new ground rules for the meetings and introduce them to the team D. Hold a team-building exercise that involves all the team members:

C. Create new ground rules for the meetings and introduce them to the team Here is a situation where all four choices could be done. Choice A does not solve the root cause of the problem described. Choice B merely dismisses the concerns of the team member and might cause anger. A team-building exercise (choice D) would take planning and so could not be done right away. Remember, the sponsor might be attending the next meeting and at least one team member might not attend because of past problems. The best thing to do would be to set up new ground rules for the team governing behavior (choice C) and then plan a team-building exercise (choice D).

The new project is exciting to both the project manager and the team. This is the project manager's first assignment as project manager. The team has the feeling that they will be able to complete work that has never been tried before. There are 29 people contributing to the product description, and the team consists of nine highly experienced experts in their field. Part of the way through planning, three highly technical team members are disagreeing about the scope of two of the deliverables. One is pointing to the draft WBS and saying that two additional work packages should be added. Another is saying that a particular work package should not even be done. The third team member agrees with both of them. How should the project manager BEST deal with the conflict? A. He should listen to the differences of opinion, determine the best choice, and implement that choice B. He should postpone further discussions, meet with each individual, and determine the best approach C. He should listen to the differences of opinions, encourage logical discussions, and facilitate an agreement D. He should help the team focus on agreeable aspects of their opinions and build unity by using relaxation techniques and common-focus team building:

C. He should listen to the differences of opinions, encourage logical discussions, and facilitate an agreement Do not get confused by the wordiness of the question. Ask yourself what is the best way to resolve any conflict, and you can get the answer. Most of the situation is a distracter. Problem solving and compromising are the two most important conflict resolution techniques. Conflict management is a key general management skill.

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:

C. Lack of resource leveling Resource leveling refers to maintaining the same number of resources on the project for each time period. Leveling has nothing to do with assigning activities or managing meetings.

3. The halo effect refers to the tendency to: A. Promote from within. B. Hire the best. C. Move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields. D. Move people into project management because they have had project management training.:

C. Move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields. Just because a person is good in a technical field does not mean he or she will also be a good project manager.

During the first half of the project, five team members left for other projects without being replaced, two team members went on vacation without informing you, and other team members expressed uncertainty about the work they were to complete. In this situation, it is BEST if you create a _____ for the second half of the project. A. Work breakdown structure B. Resource histogram C. Staffing management plan D. Responsibility assignment matrix

C. Staffing management plan The staffing management plan describes when resources will be brought onto and taken off the project.

What conflict resolution technique is a project manager using when he says, "I cannot deal with this issue now!" A. Problem solving B. Forcing C. Withdrawal D. Compromising

C. Withdrawal Delaying the issue is called withdrawal.

A project manager is trying to settle a dispute between two team members. One says the systems should be integrated before testing, and the other maintains each system should be tested before integration. The project involves over 30 people, and 12 systems need to be integrated. The sponsor is demanding that integration happen on time. What is the BEST statement the project manager can make to resolve the conflict? A. Do it my way B. Let's calm down and get the job done C. Let's deal with this again next week after we all calm down D. Let's do limited testing before integration and finish testing after integration

D. Let's do limited testing before integration and finish testing after integration Choice D is an example of compromising.

Which of the following conflict resolution techniques will generate the MOST lasting solution? A. Forcing B. Smoothing C. Compromise D. Problem solving

D. Problem solving Problem solving normally takes more time, but it gets buy-in from everyone, generating a more lasting solution.

A project has several teams. Team C has repeatedly missed deadlines in the past. This has caused team D to have to crash the critical path several times. As the team leader for team D, you should meet with the: A. Manager of team D B. Project manager alone C. Project manager and management D. Project manager and the leader of team C:

D. Project manager and the leader of team C: Those having the problem should resolve the problem. Having had to crash the critical path several times implies that team D has already dealt with these problems. In this case, the two team leaders need to meet. The extent of this situation requires the project manager's involvement as well.

A large project is underway when one of the team members reviews the project status report. He sees that the project is currently running late. As he looks at the report further, he notices that the delay will cause one of his activities to be scheduled during a time he will be out of the country and cannot work on the activity. This is of great concern because he is very committed to the project being successful and he does not want to be the cause of the project being further delayed. What is the BEST THING for him to do? A. Contact the project manager immediately to provide the project manager with his schedule B. Include the information in his next report C. Request that the issue be added to the project issue log D. Recommend preventive action

D. Recommend preventive action Notice that this question talks about what the team member should do? It is important for the project manager to understand the team member's role and possibly even instruct team members on how to work on projects and what is expected of them. Choices A, B, and C have one thing in common. They involve the team member asking the project manager to do something. In reality, it may very well be the team member who will come up with a solution (such as decreasing the scope of the activity, fast tracking, or specific suggestions about changes to predecessor activities). Therefore, choice D is the best choice. But ask yourself how you run your projects. Which is better, your way or this way? Lastly, please note that recommended corrective or preventive actions can come from the team or stakeholders, in addition to the project manager.

A project is in the middle of execution when a stakeholder suggests a major new change. This change will cause the third major overhaul of the project. At the same time, the project manager discovers that a major work package was not completed because a team member's boss moved him to another project that had a higher priority. Which of the following is the BEST person for the project manger to address these issues with? A. The team B. Senior management C. The customer D. The sponsor

D. The sponsor It is the sponsor's role to prevent unnecessary changes and to set priorities between projects. The situation described in this question implies that such work is not being done, and the project manager must therefore go to the root of the problem: the sponsor.

Which of the following leadership traits is MOST important for a project manager? A. Communication B. Team building C. Technical expertise D. Project control

A. Communication As project managers spend 90 percent of their time communicating, the correct choice must be A.

The project is just starting out and consists of people from 14 different departments. The project charter was signed by one person and contains over 30 major requirements that must be met on the project. The sponsor has informed the project manager that the SPI must be kept between 0.95 and 1.1. A few minutes of investigation resulted in the identification of 34 stakeholders, and the schedule objectives on the project are constrained. A project manager has just been hired. Which of the following types of project management power will BEST help the project manager gain the cooperation of others? A. Formal B. Referent C. Penalty D. Expert

A. Formal Generally, the best forms of power are reward or expert. The project manager has not had time to become a recognized expert in the company (choice D) and reward is not included as a choice here. This leaves formal power (choice A) as the only logical answer.

There have been many work packages completed successfully on the project, and the sponsor has made some recommendations for improvements. The project is on schedule to meet an aggressive deadline when the successor activity to a critical path activity suffers a major setback. The activity has 14 days of float and is being completed by four people. There are two other team members with the skill set to assist the troubled activity, if needed. The project manager receives a call that three other team members are attempting to be removed from the project because they do not feel the project can be successful. When the project manager pursues this, she discovers that those team members have issues that have not been addressed. Which of the following is the BEST thing to do to improve the project? A. Have the team members immediately assist the troubled activity B. Investigate why the project schedule is aggressive C. See who can replace the three team members D. Create an issue log

D. Create an issue log Sometimes complex problems are caused by not doing simple things. The data in the first paragraph, once you read the choices, is completely extraneous. The troubled activity has float and so does not need immediate attention. Choice A may not be necessary if the amount of float will not be exceeded by the problem. None of the choices suggest investigating if the amount of float is enough to cover any delay caused by the trouble, whatever it is. Rather, the choices take you in different directions. Choice B should have already been done before the project began. Choice C cannot be best, as replacing team members does not solve the root cause of the problem. Could there be something that the project manager is doing wrong, or could be doing that she is not, that would solve the problem without losing resources? Wouldn't it be more effective to discover the root cause of those team members' concerns so that the problem does not surface again later? The creation of an issue log will let the troubled team members know that their concerns have been heard, are noted, and will be resolved. This might be enough to stop them from leaving and avoid project delays and confusion if new team members must be added. This makes choice D the best answer.

The highest point of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is called: A. Physiological satisfaction B. Attainment of survival C. Need for association D. Esteem

D. Esteem This question is asking which of the FOLLOWING is the highest. Self-actualization is not listed, so the next best choice is esteem.

What theory proposes that employees' efforts will lead to effective performance and the employees will be rewarded for accomplishments? A. Conditional reinforcement B. Malsow's hierarchy C. McGregor's D. Expectancy

D. Expectancy Employees who believe that their efforts will lead to effective performance and who expect to be rewarded for their accomplishments will stay productive as rewards meet their expectations. This is expectancy theory.

All of the following are forms of power derived from the project manager's position EXCEPT: A. Formal B. Reward C. Penalty D. Expert

D. Expert When someone is given the job of project manager, they will have formal, reward, and penalty power. But just having the position does not make the project manager either a technical or project management expert.