Operations Midterm

False

For unstructured processes, email is an effective way to track task completion

Phase I: Initiating Phase II: Planning Phase III: Executing Phase IV: Monitoring

Identify each of the phases of managing a project. Phase I: Identify problem/opportunity Phase II: Identify activities, resources, schedule Phase III: Getting it done Phase IV: Assessing if everything is progressing as planned and managing changes

Service processes can not be documented

Identify the statement below which is false

False

If there are four possible outcomes of a random event, the probability each of the four outcomes being realized is 25%

True

Local measures measure the impact of a change on a part of a process

Little's Law

Manufacturing lead times (MLT)/turnaround times (TAT) are proportional to the amount of work-in-process inventory in the system

Step 1: Define the model Step 2: Construct a monte carlo table for each random variable Step 3: Reproduce/simulate the performance of the system

Match the description with each of the sequential steps required to create a monte carlo simulation

Handoffs

Occurs when swimlanes are crossed

False

Once a process is documented changes should not be made to the process

True

One way to develop an understanding of the principles which govern flows is practice

True

Operations has to be done well for an organization to be successful

True

Operations management is about managing flows of products, people or information through a process

True

Operations management is concerned with operating, improving and designing processes/operations/systems which transform inputs into outputs

Visibility

Process charts involve classifying each step of a process into a category. Which of the following is not a commonly employed category?

True

A bottleneck is what is limiting throughput when the system constraint is the capacity of the process

True

A burndown chart is used to monitor day-by-day amount of work that remains in a given sprint

True

A handoff occurs when the responsibility for the next activity passes from one person to another

True

A high level view of a process usually contains 4-6 main tasks

Random

A monte carlo simulation reproduces the performance of a system that involves a BLANK event

True

A monte carlo table should be constructed for each random variable in the model

True

A process or task can often be broken into subprocesses and flowcharts of the subprocesses can be created

resources inputs outputs

A process, operation or system uses BLANK to transform BLANK into BLANK

- The order in which the tasks need to be performed - the tasks which need to be performed

A product or service's routing structure specifies which of the following:

True

A product/service can be delivered using any one of the process types. The process type which should be used depends on the customer's wants and expectations

True

A project is a non-continuously operating process (i.e., it is a one-time deal). Resources are used, a process is followed and a unique output is produced

Continuous flow

A sugar refinery is best characterized as which of the following process types?

True

A work breakdown structure can help identify activities/tasks required to complete a project and their dependencies

Visible

According to Ian James, companies which are successful with process find ways to make their processes

Inventory

All the money the system has invested in things which it intends to sell

True

Along the diagonal of the process-product matrix is the zone of strategic fit

Mass customization

An example of the process type which is outside the zone of strategic fit but has still proved to be successful is

Job shop/batch/process types

Are best suited to produce make-to-order products

product focused

Assembly line/continuous flow process types have flow structures which are said to be

True

Assuming there is excess market demand, increasing the flow through the bottleneck will result in an increase in throughput

True

Because different products compete for time on the same resources with job shop/batch processes, when volumes are high, scheduling becomes very difficult

Project

Developing and launching an advertising campaign for new product or service is best characterized as which of the following process types?

True

Documenting a process helps develop a shared understanding of the process and how to go about improving a process

Systems view

Evaluating how a part of a process impacts the entire process

False

Service organizations do not have work-in-process inventory

True

System measurements measure the impact of a change on the entire process

Capacity of a process

The average number of units a process is capable of completing in a given time period

False

The best process type for an organization to employ to produce a product or service will not change as the product or service progresses through its life cycle

- The duration - Whether there is a budget - Whether a schedule is required

The distinction between a multiple project environment and a job shop is somewhat artificial. What factor(s) below should you consider in deciding whether to manage a process as a project?

Latest Finish Time (LF)

The latest the activity can be completed without jeopardizing the project completion date

True

The line of visibility divides a process into two portions: the proportion of the process which is visible to the customer and the portion of the process which is not visible to the customer

Throughput time

The minimum possible time required to process a unit from start to finish

Throughput time

The minimum possible time required to process a unit from start to finish (the sum of processing times)

True

The process choice decision is a decision about how you want to organize your resources

True

The process type which is likely to be successful in producing a product or service largely depends on the demand characteristics of that product or service

false

The process, operation or system which produces/provides an organization's primary product(s)/service(s) is the only process, operation or system in most organizations

Slowest

The rate units arrive at a workstation is dictated by the processing time of the BLANK preceding workstation

Project completion date

The result of the forward activity pass (the earliest possible time in which the project can be completed)

Task

The smallest possible unit of work

throughput

The system contraint(s) is what limits

True

The value of diving deeper and documenting additional subprocesses (or subtasks) are performed

process

To produce or provide an organization's primary products or services requires a

Agile approach

What project management approach would you use for a project which you don't know exactly what the end result will look like or even the required activities?

Capacity Utilization ratio

What the workstation has to do to satisfy the market demand divided by what the work station is able to do

True

When a process changes, a new process flowchart should be constructed which reflects the change

Microsoft Project

Which of the following applications is frequently used to help manage projects?

- increasing the flow through the bottleneck - reducing idle time on the bottleneck - decrease the time the bottleneck takes to process a unit - have the bottleneck only process units which are going to result in a sale - don't allow the bottleneck to produce defective units - offload bottleneck tasks to a nonbottleneck resource

Which of the following could result in an increase in throughput?

- Gets clarity on the process for yourself and others - helps identify best practices - helps identify opportunities for improvement

Which of the following is a potential advantage of documenting a process?

Scrum

Which of the following is an agile approach to managing a project

Continuously operation process

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a project?

Process Flow Diagram

Which of the following is not a common initiation document?

Waiting to engage in a process improvement effort until after the process is documentation

Which of the following is not a common process of mapping pitfalls?

Project

Which of the following is not a continuously operating process type?

A handoff occurs where swimlanes are at opposite poles

Which of the following is not a true statement?

Process chart

Which of the following process documentation tools classifies each step in a process as either an operation, transport, inspect, delay or store?

Job shop

Which of the following process types is best characterized as a continuously operation process capable of producing very low volumes of highly customized outputs?

Continuous flow

Which of the following process types is best characterized as producing very high volumes of a highly standardized/commodity product?

A handoff agreement must be very structured and require both parties to sign the agreement every time there is a handoff

Which of the following statements is false?

Manufacturing lead times (MLT) or turnaround times (TAT) are dictated by the slowest workstation

Which of the following statements is false?

resource flexibility is high (i.e., resources are general purpose resources and can process a variety of products)

Which of the following statements is not an accurate statement concerning assembly line/continuous flow process

To be profitable, job shop/batch processes require high volumes in order to cover fixed costs

Which of the following statements is not an accurate statement?

Assembly line/continuous flow process types

Which process types are best suited to repeatedly produce, high volumes of a standardized product at a low per unit cost?

assembly line/continuous flow process types

Which process types are best suited to repeatedly produce, high volumes of a standardized product at a low per unit cost?

True

Work packages are the smallest units of effort consuming both time and resources that the project manager can schedule and control

Greater than

Work-in-process (WIP) inventory will accumulate in front of a resource whenever the flow feeding (i.e., arriving at) the resource is BLANK the rate the resource can process units

Operational Expense

all the money the system has to spend in order to turn inventory into throughput

arrow

in a flowchart, represents flow

parallelogram

in a flowchart, represents input/output

inverted triangle

in a flowchart, represents inventory

diamond

in a flowchart, represents point where flow diverges

oval

in a flowchart, represents start/end point

Rectange

in a flowchart, represents task

True

process documentation tools are used to assess process's capability and identify opportunities for improvement

process maps

process flowcharts are also sometimes referred to as

Deployment Chart

process flowcharts with swimlanes

False

service providers who perform back-office tasks should always be visible to the customer

cycle time

the average time between completions of successive units in a process

Latest Start Time (LS)

the latest you can start the activity without jeopardizing the project completion date

Throughput

the rate at which the system generates money through sales

Manufacturing lead time (MLT)/Turnaround Time (TAT)

the total time a unit spends in the system (from the time the unit enters the system until it leaves)

handoffs

which of the following is a common point/source of problems (i.e., an opportunity for improvement)?

google chrome

which of the following is not particularly useful in creating process flowcharts?

Process Chart

which type of chart/diagram is frequently used to identify and eliminate non-value adding activities?