OM 303 - Module 3
Program evaluation and review technique (PERT)
A project management technique that employs three time estimates for each activity.
Critical path method (CPM)
A project management technique that uses only one time factor per activity.
The critical path for the network activities shown below is ________ with duration ________. - A-C; 12 - A-D-E; 19 - B-E; 13 - A-B-C-D-E; 29 - None of these
A-D-E; 19
Optimistic time
The "best" activity completion time that could be obtained in a PERT network.
Pessimistic time
The "worst" activity time that could be expected in a PERT network.
critical path
The computed longest time path(s) through a network.
A project being analyzed by PERT has 60 activities, 13 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 214 days with a project variance of 100, what is the probability that the project will take 224 days or more to complete? - 0.1587 - near zero - 0.0126 - 0.8413 - 2.14
0.1587
Contract requirements state that a project must be completed within 180 working days, or it will incur penalties for late completion. Analysis of the activity network reveals an estimated project time of 145 working days with a project variance of 400. What is the probability that the project will be completed before the late-payment deadline? - 0.0401 - 0.4599 - 0.8056 - 0.9599 - near 1.0000, or almost certain
0.9599
A project whose critical path has an estimated time of 820 days with a variance of 225 has a 20% chance that the project will be completed before which day (rounded to nearest day)? - 807 - 631 - 689 - 1009 - 833
807
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
A hierarchical description of a project into more and more detailed components.
Activity-on-arrow (AOA)
A network diagram in which arrows designate activities.
Activity-on-node (AON)
A network diagram in which nodes designate activities.
Critical path analysis
A process that helps determine a project schedule.
Forward pass
A process that identifies all the early times.
Dummy activity
An activity having no time that is inserted into a network to maintain the logic of the network.
Backward pass
An activity that finds all the late start and late finish times.
Project Organization
An organization formed to ensure that programs (projects) receive the proper management and attention.
A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional areas. - True - False
False
Slack time
Free time for an activity. Also referred to as free float or free slack.
Agile projects
Ill-defined projects requiring collaboration and constant feedback to adjust to project unknowns.
A project manager is interested in crashing a project with variable activity times. Which of the following tools should he/she employ? - Gantt Chart - PERT, CPM, or a Gantt chart are fine. - PERT - CPM - either PERT or CPM
PERT
GANTT charts
Planning charts used to schedule resources and allocate time.
Waterfall projects
Projects that progress smoothly in a step-by-step manner until completed.
Crashing
Shortening activity time in a network to reduce time on the critical path so total completion time is reduced.
A simple CPM network has three activities, A, B, and C. A is an immediate predecessor of B and of C. B is an immediate predecessor of C. The activity durations are A=4, B=3, C=8. - The critical path is A-B-C, duration 15. - The critical path is A-B-C, duration 13.5 - The network has no critical path. - The critical path is A-C, duration 12. - The critical path cannot be determined without knowing PERT expected activity times.
The critical path is A-B-C, duration 15.
Most likely time
The most probably time to complete an activity in a PERT network.
In project management, crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network. - True - False
True
A project organization that becomes permanent is often referred to as a: - standard organization. - normal organization. - matrix organization. - fixed project organization. - permanent project organization.
matrix organization