MG 352 Exam 4
A _____________ is defined as grouping all resources into main categories in level one and populating each main category with resources based on either function or skill level.
" Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)"
Methods of resolving resource overloads
"-Assign certain activities to other workers -Split activity into 2 -Reorder activities -Decide to acquire or borrow additional resources -Inform the sponsor -Resource level"
A fixed cost is described as __________.
"A cost that remains the same regardless of the size or volume of work. "
During risk analysis for a routine project, ____ percent of money should be put into management reserves, while for an unusual project, ____ percent should be reserved.
5% ; 30%
Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the normal (un-crashed) duration of this project?
9 days
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
Addresses problems such as conservative duration estimates, variation of activity durations, using time across all team members, keeping multiple projects moving, and starting promptly.
The approved project budget with contingency reserves serves as a (n) _________ for project control.
Baseline
Which of these methods of estimating can produce the most accurate estimate?
Bottom up
"Crashing the following activity chains would save time and cost extra money as follows: AGJQ = 2 days $300 CDIL = 3 days $400 Which sequence of activities would you, as a project manager, choose to crash?"
CDIL
In addition to predecessor-successor relationships, what does critical chain project management (CCPM) factor into its scheduling?
Calculations on resource availability
What can a project manager use to help determine if workers are overloaded?
Check to see if they have been working overtime.
On some projects, if members from a supplier company and/or representatives from the customer have a desk in the project workspace, this is referred to as ___________.
Co-location
_____ is the process of monitoring the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline.
Control cost
Projects typically require inputs from multiple disciplines and, therefore, require _________ teams.
Cross functional
Activity cost estimates, the basis of estimates and other supporting detail, are outputs of which process?
Estimate costs
During which phase of a project life cycle do recurring costs typically occur?
Executing
Of all the resources, managing ________ is the most challenging aspect of a project.
People
Crashing
Speeding up the criticla path
A ____________ addresses when and how project team members will be acquired and how long they will be needed.
Staffing Management Plan
When using Reverse Phase Scheduling, the __________ develops the schedule
Team
The process "Estimate Activity Resources" involves identification of the ___________ and ___________ of resources required for each activity within a work package.
Types; Quantities
A common tool project teams use is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). Typically, this chart will depict:
all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package.
critical chain method
an alternate scheduling technique that modifies project schedule by taking resource constraints into account
"Which of these is an example of an expedited cost? a. The team completes a major deliverable within the normal 40 hour work week. b. New computers are delivered per the agreed dates in the executed purchasing agreement. c. Production work is halted in the factory due to lack of inventory, and management pays for overnight delivery of additional material. d. Summer months are slow for the company so management establishes summer hours, where everyone gets Friday afternoons off."
c. Production work is halted in the factory due to lack of inventory, and management pays for overnight delivery of additional material.
A(n) ______is used to compare actual project spending with planned expenditures over time to determine if corrective action is needed.
cost baseline
"A Staffing Management Plan addresses all of the areas below EXCEPT: a. How to identify potential internal and/or external human resources for the project. b. How to determine the availability of the internal and/or external human resources for the project c. How to handle timing issues with regard to building up, developing, rewarding, and releasing the project team. d. How to record resource assignments in a project scheduling tool such as MS Project."
d. How to record resource assignments in a project scheduling tool such as MS Project.
"Which of the scenarios below is NOT an example of an assumption that may arise when estimating the cost of direct labor? a. Workers will be paid for 40 hours per week whether or not there is enough work for them to do. b. Workers are already familiar with the technology being used on the project. c. Workers will be paid at the prevailing wage rate of $14 per hour. d. Only in-house workers will be used"
d. Only in-house workers will be used
The budget within the cost baseline that is allocated for identified risks, for which mitigating responses are developed, is called the ______.
"Contingency reserve "
When determining resource availability, project managers need only consider full-time, internal resources.
FALSE
Which of these is NOT an example of supporting detail pertaining to cost estimates?
Schedule milestones
A ________ is a proposal focused on acquiring, developing and retaining human resources for as long as you need them on the project.
Staffing Management Plan
Agile project schedules are limited to the amount of work the assigned resources can handle.
TRUE
An example of fast tracking a project schedule would be to overlap the design and production phases for a design-to-production project, where the conventional approach would be to move on to construction only after completing the design phase.
TRUE
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) attempts to keep the most highly demanded resource busy on critical chain activities, but not overloaded.
TRUE
What will happen to a project's schedule if an activity on the critical path is delayed?
The project's schedule will slip only if the float / slack period for the noncritical activities is not enough to resolve the resource overload issue.
__________ is defined as a formal, structured process that is aimed at increasing the value or productivity of a work element while minimizing the cost.
Value engineering
What are two techniques used to compress a project schedule?
"Crashing and Fast Tracking"
__________ estimates are often used to seek initial project charter approval.
"Order of Magnitude "
Why is it important to involve workers in the planning phase of a project when possible?
"People are more likely to be enthusiastic about performing work they helped to plan. "
What does each column of a RACI chart depict?
"Responsible, Accountable, Consult , Inform"
Project managers must often face the challenge of compressing the project schedule. All of the following actions can be taken to reduce the duration of the critical path EXCEPT:
"Use the float in critical path activities "
Consider the programmers resource histogram presented in Figure 8-3. How many programmers are required during the fifth week of this project?
7 programmers
In RACI chart, the single individual who will have to provide an explanation if something goes wrong is indicated with a(n) ________.
A- Accountable
Consider the programmers resource histogram presented in Figure 8-3. Which activity is an ideal candidate to delay in order to achieve a feasible schedule?
Activity C - Draft User Manual
Aisha, an experienced project manager, has successfully managed many new build-outs of office space for her east coast company. Her manager announced today that they will be expanding operations to the Midwest. The company had already signed a lease for 5,000 square feet of office space in Cincinnati, and the offices had to be up and running in 3 months. He asked Aisha for a cost estimate for this construction by the end of the day. How can she come up with a credible estimate so quickly?
Ask the manager questions about the new office space to understand the impacted departments that will be located there, the level of finishes desired, etc. then use the budgets of previous similar projects as a guideline.
The components (principles) of Critical Chain Project Management include which of the following?
Avoid multi-tasking
Why is it necessary to have only one person assigned primary accountability for an activity?
Because if more than one person has accountability, it is too easy for them to blame each other when something goes wrong
In regard to resource leveling, why are noncritical path activities generally the first to be delayed?
Because they have available slack / float.
In addition to technical skills, a project manager must have _________ skills in order to successfully resource a project.
Behavioral
What is used to compare actual project spending with planned expenditures to determine if corrective action is needed?
Cost baseline
The ________ defines the cost baseline, modifies it whenever necessary, and uses it for monitoring and controlling costs.
Cost management plan
Crashing is a project schedule compression technique that expedites a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other.
FALSE
Estimate Activity Resources focuses exclusively upon the identification of the number of human resources required to perform each scheduled activity.
FALSE
A "schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration" is referred to as _________.
Fast tracking
Variations in project costs can be partially explained by the presence of certain events associated with a project. _______ are events discovered during planning that can be estimated directly.
Known knowns
The amount of project budget reserved for unforeseen project work that addresses the "unknown unknowns" that can affect a project is the _____
Management reserve
Fast Tracking
Method to expedite a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other; usualy at an increase in risk
A project cost management plan needs to be consistent with the methods of the __________.
Parent organization
Once it is obvious that a particular person is overloaded, it is helpful to pinpoint exactly which activities are involved by comparing the __________ to the Gantt Chart schedule for the same time scale.
Resource Histogram
Critical chain project management is an alternate scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account.
TRUE
When constructing a responsibility matrix or "RACI" chart, it is important to ensure that only one person has primary accountability for any activity.
TRUE
When recruiting resources to support a project, it is helpful to bring core team members and key subject matter experts on board as early as possible, to help plan the project and develop the project culture.
TRUE
When resource overloads are extreme, project managers may need to consider the acquisition of additional resources, reductions in scope or extensions to the project schedule.
TRUE
Consider the software programmer loading chart presented in Figure 8-2. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the loading of the software programmer?
The programmer is overloaded on both Wednesday and Thursday.
When crashing a project schedule, the two questions to be asked when deciding which activities to speed up are ________ and _________.
Which activities are on the critical path, and which critical path activity costs the least on a per-day basis to speed up?
The ________ facilitates the process of integrating project plans for time, resources, and scope.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
RACI chart
a popular form of RAM that presents roles of key stakeholders and their roles defined as responsible (R), accountable (A), consult (C), and inform (I) for project activities in a matrix form
Estimating activity resources
a process of assessing all types of resources required for each activity to complete it as specified in project scope.
"Which of these is NOT a technique for reducing the critical path and compressing a project's schedule? a. Overlap sequential activities using finish to finish (FF), start to start (SS), or start to finish (SF) relationships. b. Perform a forward pass and a backward pass through the network. c. Shorten activities by assigning more resources (crashing). d. Schedule activities that are normally in sequence at the same time (fast tracking).
b. Perform a forward pass and a backward pass through the network.
"Jim, a project manager for a manufacturing company, is responsible for getting bids for two sophisticated pieces of equipment that will be installed on the factory floor. He has distributed the detailed specifications to a number of vendors, and is waiting for the bid responses. When analyzing the vendor's bids, Jim can do all of the following to determine if the vendor's bid prices appear to be reasonable EXCEPT: a. Compare the bids and assume that the lowest responsible offer is fair. b. Review industry publications to determine if the prices are in line with industry standards. c. Select one of the lower-priced vendors with a good reputation and negotiate with them for the best price. d. Implement activity-based costing."
d. Implement activity-based costing
Recognition and rewards ___________.
should be included in the project's Staffing Management Plan
Reverse Phase Schedules (Last Planner System)
starts with the final project deliverables and continually asking what needs to be completed prior to starting work on this deliverable
Plan Resource Management
the process of identifying resources and required skills for the project, defining and assigning roles and responsibilities to all the resources, developing a reporting hierarchy, and communicating expectations.
Which of these is NOT an issue to be considered when selecting team members?
"stages of team development "
Consider the project crashing information presented in Figure 8-4. What is the cost to complete this project in the normal time?
$145
Consider the software programmer loading chart presented in Figure 8-2. What percent of available time is the software programmer assigned to work activities on Thursday?
200 percent
Jason, a project manager, is working with his team to estimate the total cost of developing a web-based CRM system. After reviewing the planned scope of work with Jason, his sponsor suggests that Jason use the budget from a previous, similar project as the basis for his project budget. The estimating process that Jason's sponsor is using is called _____________.
Analogous Estimating
________ is an estimating technique that uses the cost of a similar, previous project as a starting point for creating a cost estimate for a new project.
Analogous Estimating
Project managers need two types of abilities to resource a project effectively and efficiently: Technical and _________ abilities.
Behavioral
When using _____________ to reduce a project schedule, certain activities are performed at a faster-than-normal pace, and extra charges for overtime pay, expedited deliveries, or more expensive machinery could be incurred.
Crashing
The _____________ method is an alternative scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account.
Critcal chain
_____________ is "the process of aggregating the estimated costs of individual activities or work packages to establish an authorized time-phased project budget or cost baseline".
Determine budget
An example of a nonrecurring cost is _________.
Developing a design that guides the team, once approved
The time value of money is relevant to project management because:
Discounting the value of future revenue and cost streams enables better project decisions.
_________ is a method to expedite a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other.
Fast tracking
What type of costs do NOT depend on the size of the project?
Fixed
__________ costs are those that remain the same regardless of the size or volume of work.
Fixed
When estimating resource needs, it is wise to include time to communicate between activities as well as time to perform activities those _____ that occur when one person or group passes work on to another group.
Handoffs
Once it is clear who is responsible for each activity, the demands for each resource at each time period can be added and shown in a resource _________.
Histogram
One of the principle benefits of creating a bottom-up estimate during planning is that the estimate:
It is very accurate
As the project progresses from initiation through planning and executing, and additional detail is gathered, the range of values for the project cost estimate will:
Narrow
Ellen is estimating how much it will cost to re-carpet the executive conference room. After selecting the grade and pattern of carpet, Ellen multiplies the carpet price per square yard times the number of square yards in the conference room to derive the total price of the material. This estimating method is called ______.
Parametric estimating
The "process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, required skills, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing management plan" is called __________.
Plan Resource Management
The "process that establishes the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, managing, expending, and controlling project costs" is referred to as:
Plan cost management
Whom should the project manager consult if there is a severe resource overload and they are considering alternative actions such as reducing the project scope, assigning activities to other workers, splitting activities, reordering activities or resource leveling?
Project sponsor
After creating a Staffing Management Plan, the project manager and team might create a chart that provides a visual representation of project resource needs by type of resource and time period (weeks, months, etc.) This chart is called a(n) ________ .
Resource Histogram
When the demand for resources is greater than the available supply, the project manager can use a scheduling method that adjusts the start and finish dates of activities in order to address resource limits or constraints. This technique is called ________.
Resource Leveling
____________ is a project execution technique of adjusting the use of resources based on resource availability and the amount of float on activities to accomplish work as soon as possible, given the limited resource availability.
Resource Leveling
A ________ is a matrix that shows all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package.
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
What does RAM stand for, and what is its purpose?
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
What are the three "r" activities that take place near the end of a project, regarding team members and timing issues?
Rewarding, recognizing, and releasing project team members
An iterative planning technique where "the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level" is referred to as ___________.
Rolling Wave planning
The idea behind __________ is to plan the first part of the project in as much detail as needed and to plan later phases only at a high level.
Rolling wave planning
In a time-phased project budget, where the cumulative cost is shown for the project at each point in time, the cumulative cost curve is ___ shaped.
S shaped
Rolling Wave Planning
plan the first part of the project in as much detail as needed and to plan later phases only at a high level