Chapter 7
Control is the collection, recording, and reporting of project information.
False Page 238
The most important use of data gathered from monitoring is learning from mistakes.
False Page 238
The purpose of control is to ensure that all interested parties have the information they need.
False Page 238
A common mistake is to focus too much on results and not enough on the intensity of activity.
False Page 240
In order to manage for overall project success, control should be exercised at a very high and aggregated level and not get bogged down with unnecessary details.
False Page 240
Mechanisms to gather and store data rarely need to be designed.
False Page 240
Raw numbers represent a simple tally of the occurrence of an event.
False Page 241
An important use of data analysis is to identify who to properly blame for poor project performance.
False Page 243
Everyone associated with the project should receive the same information.
False Page 243
Frequent blame is considered a good motivational tool to keep project team members on track.
False Page 243
In general, it is preferable to have periodic reports.
False Page 243
Exception reports are prepared to disseminate the results of a special study.
False Page 244
Remarks should be directly attributed to individuals in the meeting minutes.
False Page 246
To maximize efficiency, project team meetings should follow Robert's Rules of Order.
False Page 246
Lower expenditures than expected at a given point in time is always good.
False Page 247
The percentage of an activity's budget actually spent by a given date is typically a good indicator of the percent of that activity's completion.
False Page 248
The 50-50 approach for estimating progress overstates the EV of tasks that are near completion and understates the EV of tasks that have recently begun.
False Page 254
Data Collecting will eventually exist in one of the following formats except: Frequency counting Raw numbers Verbal characterization Subjective numeric ratings Probability scores
Probability scores Page 241
Project monitoring and control can be thought of as opposite sides of project selection and planning.
True Page 238
The most important use of data gathered from monitoring is control.
True Page 238
It is often the case with particularly challenging or uncertain projects that the planning-monitoring-controlling effort is minimized so that the "real work" can be done.
True Page 239
The plan-monitor-control cycle constitutes a "closed loop" process.
True Page 239
In order to manage for overall project success, control must be exercised at the detailed work level for each aspect of project performance.
True Page 240
One way of linking planning and control is to monitor project progress on the MSP Gantt chart.
True Page 240
Too often, intensity of activity is measured instead of results.
True Page 240
Statistical quality control techniques can be helpful for determining what size variances are significant.
True Page 242
An overload of reporting is just as dangerous as underreporting.
True Page 244
Exception reports are primarily intended for unexpected situations.
True Page 244
Project review meetings are always important.
True Page 245
Weekly progress report meetings should be rarely held.
True Page 245
Monitoring is the direct connection between project planning and control.
True Page 246
The key to setting up a monitoring system is to identify the special characteristics of scope, cost and time that need to be controlled in order to achieve the project goals.
True Page 246
Earned value is a measure for overall project progress in terms of performance, budget and schedule.
True Page 247
According to the text, there is no satisfactory way to measure accurately the percent of completion of most tasks.
True Page 248
Earned Value is a measure of overall project progress in terms of performance, budget, and schedule.
True Page 253
Earned value (EV) of a task is the budgeted cost of the work actually performed.
True Page 254
Control systems that make use of all five components of project control are called cybernetic control systems.
True Page 264
The go/no-go control takes the form of tests (sensors) to determine if some specific precondition (standard and comparator) has been met before permission is granted to continue (decision maker and effector).
True Page 264
Estimated (remaining cost) to completion (ETC) is calculated as... a) (BAC - EV)/CPI b) (BAC - EV)/SPI c) (BAC + EV)/CPI d) (BAC + EV)/SPI e) (BAC - AC)/CPI
a) (BAC - EV)/CPI Page 249
Which of the following is not an objective mentioned in the text for data gathered from monitoring? a) promoting team members b) keeping management informed c) auditing d) learning from mistakes e) control
a) promoting team members Page 238
The most common source of changes to a project based on the natural tendency of the client and project team members to improve the project's output is called... a) scope creep b) projectitis c) multitasking d) dynamic scoping e) unfreezing
a) scope creep Page 263
The plan-monitor-control cycle is best described as... a) an open loop process b) a closed-loop process c) an ad-hoc process d) an informal process e) a hierarchical process
b) a closed-loop process Page 239
In earned value analysis... a) it is desirable to have negative variances for both schedule and spending. b) it is desirable to have positive variances for both schedule and spending. c) the schedule variance should be positive and the spending variance negative. d) the schedule variance should be negative and the spending variance positive. e) ideally both variances would equal zero.
b) it is desirable to have positive variances for both schedule and spending. Page 249
Which of the following is not true regarding meetings? a) A written agenda should be distributed in advance of the meeting. b) The agenda should announce pre-set starting and stopping times. c) It is appropriate to be flexible and extend a meeting's stopping time if issues come up that were not on the agenda. d) Don't penalize those who show up on time by making them wait for those who are late. e) All of the above are true.
c) It is appropriate to be flexible and extend a meeting's stopping time if issues come up that were not on the agenda. Page 245
Which of the following is not a primary mechanism by which the PM exerts control? a) reviews b) personnel assignments c) audit reports d) resource allocation e) all of the above are mechanisms by which the PM exerts control
c) audit reports Page 257
Which of the following is not a distinct type of report? a) exception b) special analysis c) critical incident d) routine e) all of the above are distinct types of reports
c) critical incident Page 244
The first step in setting up a monitoring system is to: a) identify personnel b) identify all project milestones c) identify key factors to be controlled d) identify reports required e) develop a change request form
c) identify key factors to be controlled Page 240
Which of the following is used when it is especially difficult to find a direct measure of a variable? a) frequency count b) raw numbers c) surrogates d) subjective numeric ratings e) verbal characterizations
c) surrogates Page 241
When a PM updates a project all of the following should be updated except: a) Tables b) Charts c) Action plans d) All of the above should be updated e) None of the above should be updated
d) All of the above should be updated Page 245
Which of the following is not a component of a control system? a) effector b) sensor c) decision maker d) leveler e) standard
d) leveler
Which of the following is most closely associated with ordinal rankings? a) frequency counts b) raw numbers c) indicators d) subjective numeric rankings e) surrogates
d) subjective numeric rankings Page 241
The cost/spending variance is calculated as... a) AC - EV b) EV- PV c) PV - EV d) AC - PV e) EV - AC
e) EV - AC Page 249
Managing a project involves all of the following except; a) Continually planning what to do b) Checking on progress c) Comparing progress to plan d) Taking corrective action to build to bring progress into agreement with the plan if it is not e) Holding regular meetings
e) Holding regular meetings Page 244
The following components are required for project control except; a) Sensor b) Comparator c) Decision maker d) Standard e) Regulator
e) Regulator Page 264
Which of the following was not listed in the text as a convention for estimating task progress? a) 50% when task is started and another 50% when it is completed b) 100 percent when task is completed and 0% before that c) using the ratio of cost expended to total cost budgeted d) using the ratio of time expended to the total time scheduled e) all of the above were mentioned
e) all of the above were mentioned Page 248
Which of the following is not a tool used to aid the PM in project control? a) variance analysis b) trend projections c) earned value analysis d) control charts e) discounted cash flow analysis
e) discounted cash flow analysis Page 263
