PMP Exam Prep

Which of the following is not a valid instance of Risk Transference? A. Use of a Cost Reimbursable contract B. Warranties C. Fixed Price contracts D. Performance bonds

A - A Cost reimbursable contract does not transfer risk to the seller, rather, the risk is with the buyer. Risk Transference involves shifting the negative impact of a risk, along with the ownership of the response, to a third party. Risk transference nearly always involves payment of a premium to the party taking on the risk. Examples are use of performance bonds, warranties, fixed price contracts. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 344] [Project Risk Management]

With the establishment of a PMO in an organization, the project management jargon is being adopted by the employees. However, few people are still struggling with the project management terminologies. One of the most common confusion is the difference between a project stakeholder and a key stakeholder. Who are the key stakeholders? A. Individuals, groups or organizations in a decision making position. B. Individuals, groups or organizations actively involved in the project. C. Individuals, groups or organizations affected by the project. D. Individuals, groups or organizations carrying out the project work.

A - All of the given choices correctly define the project stakeholders. However, the key stakeholders are the subset of the project stakeholders that are in a decision making position. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 396] [Project Stakeholder Management]

You are beginning a new project. When should you use the Perform Integrated Change Control process? A. Throughout the entire project B. Only when closing out the project C. Only after the project is completely funded D. Only after the project scope is clearly defined

A - Changes can occur in the project at any time, therefore the Perform Integrated Change Control process is valuable for managing and tracking those changes. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 96] [Project Integration Management]

Which of the following is a tool or technique used in the Monitor and Control Project Work process? A. Expert judgment B. Rejected change requests C. Earned value technique D. Change control tools

A - Expert Judgment is a tool or technique used in the Monitor and Control Project Work process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 86] [Project Integration Management]

When writing the roles and responsibilities for team members, you should document the role, authority, responsibility and competency for each team member. Where must this information be documented? A. Human resource management plan B. RACI chart C. Resource calendar D. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS)

A - Information regarding team roles, responsibilities, authorities and competencies are documented in the Human Resource Management Plan. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 264] [Project Human Resource Management]

You have recently started working at a company as a senior project manager. The company has no employee training programs in place for junior project managers. Some junior project managers have been asking you for assistance in dealing with some work related issues. You feel that they could benefit from some guidance. Which courses of action would NOT fulfill your responsibility? A. Do nothing; it was not in your job description to mentor other employees. B. Suggest that you and other senior project managers develop a mentoring program. C. Develop a training program for junior project managers. D. Offer to conduct periodic coaching sessions for the employees seeking assistance.

A - PMI expects Project Management Professionals to share their knowledge with other professionals. Doing nothing to assist the employees because it does not strictly fall within your job description would not fulfill your responsibility to transfer knowledge to others. Even if the project managers job description does not include helping to transfer knowledge to others it is your responsibility as a project manager to do so. [Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 2] [Prof. Responsibility]

Which of the following is least likely to be a project? A. Regular updates of the company website B. Responding to a contract solicitation C. Running a campaign for a political office D. An endeavor that lasts for ten years.

A - Regular updates of the company website is an operational activity and is clearly not a project. 'Responding to a contract solicitation' and 'Running a campaign' are clearly projects. The endeavor lasting for ten years cannot be ruled out as a project just because of the duration. Projects can last from a few weeks to many years. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 3] [Project Framework]

Which of the following statements best describes Time & Material (T&M) contracts? A. T&M contracts are hybrid type of contractual agreements that could contain aspects of both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price type arrangements B. T&M contracts are the best form of contracts when the scope of work and the number of hours of work for a specific resource category is clearly known. C. T&M contracts are the same as Fixed Price contracts except that the total value is calculated using Fixed rates and the effort data is available to the purchaser as well as the seller. Once this is agreed upon, it becomes the same as a Fixed Price project. D. T&M contracts are very risky since the value of the project is not known. It is best to go in for a fixed price (FP) contract.

A - T&M contracts are hybrid type of contractual agreements that contain aspects of both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price type arrangements. They resemble cost-reimbursable contracts in that they are open ended, but resemble fixed price type contracts where the unit rates can be preset and agreed upon between buyer and seller for a specific resource category. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 364] [Project Procurement Management]

A project was estimated to cost $ 200,000 with a timeline of 10 months. Due to a shipment delay, the schedule was slightly delayed. This was however made up by receiving the first batch of materials for the project by air. The net result was that there was some additional cost in the project. At the end of the second month, the Project Manager reviews the project and finds that the project is 20% complete and Actual Costs are $ 50,000. The Estimate to complete (ETC) for the project would now be: A. $160,000 B. $210,000 C. $250,000 D. $200,000

A - The Budget at completion (BAC) = $ 200,000 (given). The Actual Cost (AC) = $ 50,000 (given). The Earned value (EV) = ( 2 /10 ) * 200,000 since 20% of the project is complete i.e. 2 months out of 10. Hence, Earned Value (EV) = $ 40,000. This is an instance of an atypical situation in the project. Late arrival of materials does not mean that all subsequent material will arrive late. Hence, the calculation used for ETC is: ETC = BAC - EV = $200,000 - $40,000 = $160,000. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 220] [Project Cost Management]

The Identify Stakeholders process has four inputs. Three of them are project charter, enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets. What is the fourth one? A. Procurement documents B. Stakeholder register C. Stakeholder engagement matrix D. Stakeholder management plan

A - The Identify Stakeholders process has four inputs: project charter, procurement documents, enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 393] [Project Stakeholder Management]

The WBS represents all product and project work. The total work at the lowest levels should roll up to the higher levels so that nothing is left out and no extra work is performed. This is also called as: A. 100% rule B. 80/20 rule C. Pareto's rule D. Ground rule

A - The WBS represents all product and project work. The total work at the lowest levels should roll up to the higher levels so that nothing is left out and no extra work is performed. This is also called as 100 percent rule. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 131] [Project Scope Management]

A tool that provides a visual representation of human resource allocation to a project, number of working hours and availability on the project is a: A. Resource Histogram B. Staff release plan C. Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) D. Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)

A - The correct response is Resource Histogram. This bar chart illustrates the number of hours that a project, department or entire project team will be needed each week or month over the course of the project. The chart can include a horizontal line that represents the maximum number of hours available for a particular resource. Bars that extend beyond the maximum available hours indicate the need for a resource leveling strategy. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 265] [Project Human Resource Management]

The date through which the project has provided actual status and accomplishments is called: A. Data Date (DD) B. Due Date (DD) C. Project Date (PD) D. Reporting Date (RD)

A - The date through which the project has provided actual status and accomplishments is called the data date. It is also known as the as-of date or the status date [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 184] [Project Communications Management]

Which of the following is inaccurately represented by the term Progressive elaboration? A. Changes to project scope B. Rolling wave planning C. Detailing out the product requirements which were developed during the initiation process. D. Production of fabrication and construction drawings from the design drawings for a chemical plant.

A - The distinction between Progressive elaboration and Scope Creep needs to be understood since the two terms are different. The changes to scope (especially in an uncontrolled manner) are called scope creep. In contrast, Progressive elaboration involves building on, or elaborating the output of a previous phase. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 6] [Project Framework]

After one year of construction, an office building is scheduled to be completed on 30th January. The landscaping work needs to start 15 days prior to completion of the building. Which of the following relationships most likely represents the relationship of the start of landscaping work to the completion of the office building? A. Finish-to-start with a 15 day lead B. Start-to-finish with a 15 day lead C. Finish-to-start with a 15 day lag D. Start-to-finish with a 15 day lag

A - The landscaping work needs to start on completion of the office building, so it is a finish-to-start relationship. Since it needs to start 15 days before completion of the building, it requires a lead of 15 days. Hence the answer is finish-to-start with a 15 day lead. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 156] [Project Time Management]

A control chart is used to determine whether or not a process is stable or has predictable performance. When a process is within acceptable limits, the process need not be adjusted. What are the upper and lower control limits usually set as? A. + / - 3 sigma B. + / - 6 sigma C. + / - 2 sigma D. + / - 1 sigma

A - The upper / lower control limits are normally set at + / - 3 sigma. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 238] [Project Quality Management]

While the five process groups are typically completed in order, they often overlap with each other throughout the project. Which two process groups do not overlap unless a project is canceled? A. Initiating and Closing B. Initiating and Executing C. Initiating and Monitoring and Control D. Planning and Closing

A - Throughout the project, the different process groups often are conducted at the same time except for the initiating and closing, which are separated by the other three groups. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 51] [Project Framework]

Which of the following is the BEST thing for a project manager to do in the Conduct Procurements process? A. Answer seller's questions about the procurement documents. B. Perform market research. C. Evaluate risks. D. Select a contract type

A. Answer seller's questions about the procurement documents. Risk analysis is done before the Conduct Procurements process begins, as procurement is a risk mitigation and transference tool. Selecting a contract type is part of Plan Procurement Management, Market research is also performed in the Plan Procurement Management process, to enable selction of the appropriate sellers for the needs of the project. During the Conduct Procurement process, the project manager answers questions submitted by prospective sellers.

Effective listening involves: A. Attending to the speaker without distractions, confirming what the speaker says, and taking note of body language. B. Asking opening and closing questions, restating the speaker's statements, and mirroring non-verbal cues. C. Listening without judgment, summarizing every few sentences, and pointing out body language cues. D. Taking notes, providing feedback, and expressing empathy.

A. Attending to the speaker without distractions, confirming what the speaker says, and taking note of body language. You do not necessarily take notes or express empathy, although the latter might be useful. You do not mirror the speaker's non-verbal cues, nor do you point them out. The best description of effective listening is attending to the speaker without distractions, confirming what the speaker says, and taking not of body language.

The customer wants to make a change to the project scope. The BEST thing for the project manager to evaluate is the: A. Effect of the change on the project schedule, cost, quality, risk, resources, and customer satisfaction. B. Effect of the change on scope management. C. Effect of the change on the project scope. D. Effect of the change on the project baselines.

A. Effect of the change on the project schedule, cost, quality, risk, resources, and customer satisfaction. The first action is to evaluate the impact of a change. An evaluation encompassing the impact of the change on the project schedule, cost, quality, risk, resources, and customer satisfaction is required (p.140).

Which process group focuses on completing the requirements of the project? A. Executing B. Initiating. C, Closing. D. Palning

A. Executing Project executing is where work is done to produce the product of the project.

At the end of a project, a project manager determines the project has added four areas of functionality and three areas of performance. The customer has expressed satisfaction with the project. What does this mean in terms of the success of the project? A. The project was unsuccessful because it was gold plated. B. The project was an unqualified success. C. The project was successful because the team had a chance to learn new areas of functionality and the customer was satisfied. D. The project was unsuccessful because the customer being happy means they would have paid more for the work.

A. The project was unsuccessful because it was gold plated. Gold plating a project wastes time and probably cost. It makes the project unsuccessful (p.296).

A project team is working on manufacturing a new product, but they are having difficulty creating a project charter. What is the BEST decription of the real problem? A. They are working on a process and not a project. B. They have not identified the project objectives. C. The end date has not been set. D. They have not identified the product of the project.

A. They are working on a process and not a project. Manufacturing a product is an ongoing process; it is operational work, not project work. Therefore, the manufacturing team would have no reason to create a project charter and would have difficulty doing so if they tried, because of the ongoing nature of the work. If the question referred to a team developing a new product rather than manufacturing one, however, that would qualify as a project (p.22). Operations management is responsible for overseeing, directing, and controlling business operations. Operations evolve to support the day-to-day business, and are necessary to achieve strategic and tactical goals of the business. Examples include: production operations, manufacturing operations, accounting operations, software support, and maintenance.

While planning the schedule for your project, you frequently refer to the project calendar. The project calendar is: A. A calendar containing the days on which various meetings are scheduled within the project team. B. A calendar of working days or shifts that establishes those dates on which schedule activities are worked. C. A calendar containing the list of days on which the project team members will be on leave or take an "off". D. A calendar that establishes the dates on which project deliverables are sent to the customer.

B - A project calendar is a calendar of working days or shifts that establishes those dates on which schedule activities are worked. It also establishes non-working days that determine dates on which schedule activities are idle, such as holidays, week-ends and non-shift hours. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 184] [Project Time Management] The project calander is an output of the Develop Schedule process. The Develop Schedule process is the sixth process of the Time Management Knowledge area.

Mary is currently focusing on controlling the key stakeholder engagement on her project. The project management plan is an essential input to this process. Which of the following components of the project management plan is least likely to be utilized during this process? A. Stakeholder communication needs and expectations B. Project management processes selected for the project C. Change management process D. Human resource requirements

B - All of the given choices are the components of the project management plan that can be utilized during the Control Stakeholder Engagement process. However, the key project stakeholders are usually not interested in the minor details of the project; rather they are more interested in the project's objectives, the current progress, and the current risks and issues. From the given choices, 'the selected project management processes for the project' is the weakest choice. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 411] [Project Stakeholder Management]

During a project update meeting for the key stakeholders, the schedule of some project activities was challenged. The VP Operations challenged that some of the critical path activities cannot be executed as scheduled as they will disturb critical operations. The VP has requested rescheduling of these tasks so that they are carried out during the non-working times of the business. What should the project manager do first? A. Analyze the impact of change B. Record the issue in the issue log C. Send the change request to the change control board for the approval D. Produce a change request

B - All of the tasks in the choices need to be carried out. However, the question is asking for the task to be carried out first. The identified issue must be documented in the project's issue log first. This should be captured and recorded during the meeting. Rest of the tasks can be performed after the meeting. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 408] [Project Stakeholder Management]

A contract change control system should include: A. Vendor contact information, tracking systems, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes B. Paperwork, tracking systems, dispute resolution procedures, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes C. Information database, dispute resolution procedures, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes D. Tracking systems, legal ramifications for certain actions, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes

B - Having a contract change control system will allow you to establish the procedures and process should you need to modify a contract. It contains paperwork, tracking systems, dispute resolution procedures, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 383] [Project Procurement Management]

Which of these is not a tool or technique for the Control Procurements process? A. Contract change control system B. Recommended Corrective Action C. Claims administration D. Performance reporting

B - Recommended corrective action is not a tool or technique in the Control Procurements process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 379] [Project Procurement Management]

A project manager wants to use a group decision making technique to generate, classify and prioritize requirements. Which of these is not a valid group decision making technique? A. Dictatorship B. Singularity C. Majority D. Unanimity

B - Singularity is not a valid method to reach a group decision. The other choices are valid methods to reach a group decision. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 115] [Project Scope Management] A group decision-making technique is an assessment process having multiple alternatives with an expected outcome in the form of future actions. These techniques can be used to generate, classify, and prioritize product requirements. There are various methods of reaching a group decision, such as: *Unanimity.* A decision that is reached whereby everyone agrees on a single course of action. One way to reach unanimity is the Delphi technique, in which a selected group of experts answers questionnaires and provides feedback regarding the responses from each round of requirements gathering. The responses are only available to the facilitator to maintain anonymity. *Majority.* A decision that is reached with support obtained from more than 50 % of the members of the group. Having a group size with an uneven number of participants can ensure that a decision will be reached, rather than resulting in a tie. *Plurality* A decision that is reached whereby the largest block in a group decides, even if a majority is not achieved. This method is generally used when the number of options nominated is more than two. *Dictatorship.* In this method, one individual makes the decision for the group.

A project's financial management reserve is identified in which process: A. Estimate Costs B. Determine Budget C. Control Costs D. Estimate Activity Resources

B - The Management Contingency Reserve is identified in the Determine Budget process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 213] [Project Cost Management]

Which document describes the project's deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables? A. Project authorization document B. Project scope statement C. Project scope management plan D. Project charter

B - The project scope statement is the correct response. This document describes the project's deliverables in detail and the work that is required to create those deliverables. It also forms the baseline for evaluating whether requests for changes are within or outside the project's boundaries. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 123] [Project Scope Management]

Which of these tools is NOT a part of the Seven Basic Tools of Quality? A. Control Chart B. Statistical Sampling C. Flowcharting D. Scatter Diagram

B - The seven basic tools of quality are: cause and effect diagrams, control charts, flowcharting, histograms, Pareto charts, check sheets, and scatter diagrams. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 239] [Project Quality Management] Statistical Sampling Statistical sampling involves choosing part of a population of interest for inspection (for example, selecting ten engineering drawings at random from a list of seventy-five). Sample frequency and sizes should be determined during the Plan Quality Management process so the cost of quality will include the number of tests, expected scrap, etc. There is a substantial body of knowledge on statistical sampling. In some application areas, it may be necessary for the project management team to be familiar with a variety of sampling techniques to assure the sample selected represents the population of interest.

While managing a project, you decide to contract to an external enterprise. You enter into a contract where you pay the external enterprise a set amount (as defined by the contract), irrespective of the seller's costs. What would best describe this type of contract? A. FP-EPA B. FFP C. FPIF D. CPFF

B - This is an example of a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) contract. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 363] [Project Procurement Management] Firm Fixed Price Contracts (FFP). The most commonly used contract type is the FFP. It is favored by most buying organizations because the price for goods is set at the outset and not subject to change unless the scope of work changes. Any cost increase due to adverse performance is the responsibility of the seller, who is obligated to complete the effort. Under the FFP contract, the buyer should precisely specify the product or services to be procured, and any changes to the procurement specification can increase the costs to the buyer.

There are two projects for the organization to choose between: Project A with an NPV of US $45,000 and Project B with and NPV of US $85,000. What is the opportunity cost of selecting project B? A. $85,000 B. $45,000 C. $130,000 D $40,000

B. $45,000 There are no calculations required. The opportunity cost is simply the value of the project(s) the organization did not select.

A definitive estimate is in a range from: A. -25 percent to +75 percent from actual. B. -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. C. -30 percent to +40 percent from actual. D. -10 percent to + 25 percent from actual.

B. -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. A rough order of magnitude estimate is usually made in initiating, and is a range from -25 percent to +75 percent from actual. A budget estimate is usually made in planning and is a range from -10 percent to +25 percent from actual. A definitive estimate is made as the project progresses and is in a rage from -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. Note that some project managers use a range for -5 percent +10 percent from actual for a definitive estimate.

As you walk into your office, you receive an e-mail from the sponsor notifying you that the auditing team will soon be in your office to start a risk audit of your project. The next e-mail your receive has been forwarded to you, and involves conflict between two members. You are immediately bombarded with phone calls from both parties to the e-mail complaining about the other. Which conflict resolution technique would you immediately use with the team members? A. Compromising B. Avoiding C. Forcing D. Collaborating

B. Avoiding Collaborating means problem solving and problem solving is the best way to resolve conflict? but not here. The question asks "what conflict resolution technique would you IMMEDIATELY use with the team members." Tempers are too hot and you have the sponsor to deal with. The best immediate choice here is avoiding (also referred to as withdrawal).

Inputs to the Manage Communication process include all of the following EXCEPT: A. Deliverables status. B. Change requests. C. Details of work performance. D. Completion forecasts.

B. Change requests. Completion forecast, details of work performance, and deliverables status are all inputs to the Manage Communications process. (p.297)

You are working on a project that requires the use of a stakeholders engagement assessment matrix. This tool can be used to identify: A. Additional stakeholders. B. Communications gaps. C. Skill level of stakeholders. D. Key relationships between stakeholders.

B. Communications gaps. The stakeholders engagement assessment matrix can be used to compare the actual engagement levels of individual stakeholders versus the levels of engagement planned. Any discrepancies can be analyzed, and communications to adjust the engagement levels can be implemented (p.538).

The sponsor and the project manager are discussing what type of contract the project manager plans to use on the project. The sponsor points out that the performing organization spent a lot of money hiring a design team to come up with the design. The project manager is concerned that the risk for the buyer be as small as possible. And advantage of a fixed-price contract for the buyer is: A. There is little risk. B. Cost risk is lower. C. Risk is shared by all parties. D. Cost risk is higher.

B. Cost risk is lower. If you had trouble with this one, you need to remember that the questions are asked from the buyer's perspective unless otherwise noted. The seller has the most cost risk in a fixed-price contract, and the buyer's risk is lower.

The project charter for a project was approved, and you have just been assigned as project manager. Realizing that project planning is an ongoing effort throughout the project, which process are you MOST likely to combine? A Estimate Activity Durations and Develop Schedule. B. Create WBS and Define Activities. C. Estimate Cost and Determine Budget. D. Plan Human Resources and Estimate Costs.

B. Create WBS and Define Activities. The Create WBS process consists of subdividing major project deliverables (scope) into smaller, more manageable work packages. The Define Activities process defines the activities that must take place to produce those deliverables. Therefore, it would be the most practical choice to combine those processes (p.200).

In which parts of the cost management process is earned value (EV) used? A. Performance measurement and variance management planning. B. Forecasting and project performance reviews. C. Creating the cost baseline and the cost control system. D. Reserve analysis and cost aggregation.

B. Forecasting and project performance reviews. Creating the cost baseline and the cost control system, reserve analysis, and cost aggregation. It is used on forecasting and project performance reviews (p.266).

While preparing your risk responses, your realize you need to make adjustments to the project to compensate for unknown risk events. These adjustments are based on your past project experience when unknown risk events occurred and knocked the project off track. What should you do? A. Document the unknown risk items and calculate the expected monetary value based on probability and impact that may result from the occurrences. B. Include a management reserve in the budget to compensate for the unknown risks, and notify management to expect unknown risk to occur. C. With the stakeholders, determine a percentage of the known risk budget to allocate to a management reserve budget. D. Determine the unknown risk events and the associated costs, then add the costs to the project budget as reserves.

B. Include a management reserve in the budget to compensate for the unknown risks, and notify management to expect unknown risk to occur. This question is asking how unknown risks are handled. It should be a reminder that, although the risk management process is designed to identify risks, not all risks can be identified. Some will inevitably remain unknown, and thus, they cannot be identified or assessed. A management reserve is not calculated based on a percentage of known risks. The amount of known risk reserves will have no impact on the number of unknown risks. Past history of what projects have needed is a better indicator. A management reserve is used for unknown risks, and it is wise to inform management that unknown risks can occur (p.432).

A project manager is working on her first project that uses people from outside her country. Which of the following would be the MOST important thing to expect to occur? A. Language or cultural differences that preclude (ausschließen) effective team work B. Increased human resource planning and coordination activities. C. Team-building activities become impractical, and the cost is prohibitive D. Added costs due to shoddy or incomplete work

B. Increased human resource planning and coordination activities. Diversity can enhance a project if planned and coordinated throughout the project (p.353).

The customer wants to expand the project scope after the performance measurement baseline has been established. Which procedures must be followed? A. Integrated management B. Integrated change control C. Document control D. Scope control

B. Integrated change control Although the issue relates to scope, integrated change control procedures should be followed. The scope change may impact any of the other project constraints (time, cost, risk, quality, etc.) (p.137).

A project manager is managing his second project. It started one month after the first and both are in process. Though his first project is small, this one seems to be growing in size every day. As each day passes, the project manager is beginning to feel more and more in need of help. The project manager has recently heard that there was another project in the company last year that is similar to his second project. What should he do? A. Contact the other project manager and ask for assistance. B. Obtain historical records and guidance from the project management office (PMO). C. Make sure the sope of the project is agreed to bay all the stakeholders. D. Wait to see if the project is impacted by the growth in scope.

B. Obtain historical records and guidance from the project management office (PMO). The correct answer is B. There are many things the project manager could do. Asking the other project manager for assistance is not the best choice, as the other project manager might not be an experienced mentor. His advice might not be adequate to help this project manager. Waiting to assess the impact on the project is reactive; a project manager should be proactive. Gaining agreement of all the stakeholders on the project scope is also not the best choice. It would be helpful, but does not specifically address the issue in this situation. By contacting the PMO, the project manager can access the knowledge of many project managers, historical information from many projects, and the assistance of someone whose job it is to help (p.26).

On one of your company's medical research projects, you object to how the research is being handled. However, you signed a confidentiality agreement with the company that prohibits you from talking about the research. It would be BEST to: A. Quit and do not talk about what you know. B. Quit and begin talking to the community. C. Continue working and begin to talk about your objections to the research to newspapers in other cities. D. Destroy the research.

B. Quit and begin talking to the community. Since you have signed a confidentiality agreement, the only allowable choice is to quit the company, and not discuss the research (p.555).

In planning a project, you notice of the materials required on the project are only available from a seller who owns a patent. What should be one of your MAIN concerns? A. Applicable laws B. Seller bankruptcy C. Seller competion D. Type of contract to use

B. Seller bankruptcy If the seller goes bankrupt, you will no longer have a source for the material. you must deal with this risk.

A project team member has been having a big disagreement with another team member for over two months when other team members become involved. The issues are complex, but you have specific experience in the area and know what needs to be done. The BEST choice would be to: A. Ask the other team members to stay out of the issue. B. Strive for fair resolution of the issue. C. Bring the team together and work out the issue to a win-win solution. D. Make the decision yourself.

B. Strive for fair resolution of the issue. Conflicts need to be resolved by those experiencing the problem, not the whole team. Asking the other team members to stay out of the issue should be unnecessary, and does not solve the root cause. The question seems to lead one to thing the project manager should solve it, but there is an even better answer. Without knowing the details of the problem, striving for fair resolution is a better choice than simply making the decision yourself (p.362).

Your project is managed in a projectized organization. It has just entered the Close Project or Phase process. Under the circumstances, which of the following should be your GREATEST concern? A. You will have extra pressure from the customer. B. The team is not focused on completing the project. C. Making sure your manager knows the project is almost completed. D. Setting yourself up to take over a large multi-year project.

B. The team is not focused on completing the project. Because you are in a projectized organization, the team members may either be looking for new jobs or trying to extend the length of the project so they have work for a longer period of time (p. 32).

What is the traditional way to display a reporting structure among project team members? A. Text-oriented role description B. Flowchart C. Hierarchical-type charts D. Matrix based responsibility chart

C - A hierarchical-type organization chart can clearly show roles and reporting relationships within a team. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 165] [Project Human Resource Management] *Resource Breakdown Structure* The resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of resources by category and type. Examples of resource categories include labor, material, equipment, and supplies. Resource types may include the skill level, grade level, or other information as appropriate to the project. The resource breakdown structure is useful for organizing and reporting project schedule data with resource utilization information.

As an external vendor, you are managing a complex software project that has been contracted on Time & Material (T&M). One of your team-members reports a break-through in automating some of the testing activities. This will potentially result in cost savings to the project as well as the project getting completed ahead of schedule by a month. Which of the following actions would you take? A. This is confidential information within your project team and need not be shared with the customer. The savings will be additional profits on the project. B. Communicate the current status and inform the customer that you will be incorporating some additional features to use up the savings in cost and time since it has been budgeted for. C. Communicate the current status to the customer and indicate the potential changes to cost and schedule. D. Communicate the savings in cost and time to the customer. At the end of the project, notify your billing department that they need to prepare an invoice for 50% of the cost being saved.

C - A project manager should always communicate an accurate statement of the project status. There could be subsequent actions to discuss how the savings could be best utilized, whether there can be any cost sharing etc. - but they would need to done following the appropriate procedure. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Page 2, 3] [Project Framework]

Project Manager's primary professional responsibility is towards: A. The performing organization B. The project sponsor C. All stakeholders D. Customers

C - A project manager's professional responsibilities are not limited to any one of the stakeholders. The other choices are correct but not complete by themselves. Expectations of every project stakeholder need to be managed. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 391] [Prof. Responsibility]

Which of the following is not a general management technique used to generate different approaches to execute and perform the project work? A. Lateral thinking B. Analysis of alternatives C. Map Out D. Brainstorming

C - Alternatives Identification concerns itself with identifying techniques to generate different approaches to execute and perform the work of the project. Map-Out is not a valid technique - the other three namely brainstorming, lateral thinking and analysis of alternatives are techniques used to generate ideas for different approaches. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 123] [Project Scope Management]

What is the BEST way to make an accurate forecasting of ETC? A. EAC - AC B. BAC - EV C. Manual forecasting of cost of the remaining work. D. (BAC - EV)/CPI

C - Manual forecasting of costs for remaining work is generally the best means of generating an accurate forecast. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 220] [Project Cost Management]

A company you worked for several years ago is bidding on a project your new company will be starting in approximately 6 months. You have been selected to manage the project, and will be participating in the vendor selection processes. What should you do? A. Notify the stakeholders of your status and excuse yourself from the vendor selection process. B. Provide the vendor selection committee with as much detail as you can remember about your former company so that the best decision can be reached. C. Notify the project stakeholders of your status as a former employee of the bidding company, and comply with their preferences for how you participate in the vendor selection process. D. Do nothing.

C - Notify the project stakeholders of your potential conflict of interest and follow their directives as to how to proceed, whether it is to excuse yourself or to fully participate. The code of ethics requires project managers to fully disclose to all project stakeholders any conflicts of interest or situations where you may unfairly influence a decision. Regardless of the project stakeholders' decision, you are still bound to respect the intellectual property of your former employer. [Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 4] [Prof. Responsibility]

Which of the following is accurate regarding Project Integration Management? A. Project deliverables are not part of Integration Management B. It involves the integration of process groups and not individual processes C. The need for it becomes evident in situations where individual processes interact D. It involves disregarding trade-offs and focuses on clearly articulating how accomplish all requirements by the deadline

C - Project Integration Management is needed more where individual processes interact. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 63, 64] [Project Integration Management]

Which of the following is an input to the Develop Project Team process? A. Resource Requirements B. Resource Conflicts C. Resource Calendars D. Resource Breakdown Structure

C - Resource calendars are input of the Develop Project Team process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 273] [Project Human Resource Management]

Susan is about to review her project stakeholder management plan to make some necessary adjustments. She has got her project management plan, the recent issue log and the work performance data. Which of the following inputs is still missing for this process? A. Project charter B. Stakeholder management plan C. Project documents D. Communication management plan

C - Since Susan is planning to adjust her project stakeholder management plan, this implies that she is about to start the Control Stakeholder Engagement process. The stakeholder management plan and the communication management plan are the components of the project management plan, hence these are already included. The project charter is not an input of the Control Stakeholder Engagement process. The missing input to the process is the project documents. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 410] [Project Stakeholder Management]

If you want to reduce the number of quality inspections and thus reduce the cost of quality control for your project, which technique should be used? A. Run Chart B. Defect Repair Review C. Statistical Sampling D. Pareto Chart

C - Statistical sampling will provide sufficient inspection to ensure a high likelihood of a quality product, while saving money for the project. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 240] [Project Quality Management]

You are a consulting project manager with over 15 years experience running software development projects. You have been engaged to manage a finance application project for a new customer. However on the first day onsite at the customer's headquarters you are told the project has been cancelled, but there is a need for a project manager to manage a major infrastructure project to deploy a large number of servers and storage devices. The customer asks if you would be interested in leading this project. You have never managed this type of project before but would be interested in the challenge. Which of the follow is the best response? A. Do not mention your lack of experience, but ask for more information about the project. After reviewing the information and see that you could probably wing the project, accept the project. B. Accept the job with the caveat you can bring in any needed resources to work on the project, then hire a project manager you know that works in this area to handle the implementation details. C. Decline the opportunity, citing your lack of experience and knowledge in this area. D. Do not mention your lack of experience and accept the job.

C - The best response is to decline the project due to lack of experience or expertise in this area. The PMI code of ethics mandates that project managers only accept assignments that are consistent with their background, experience, skills, and qualifications. Failing to disclose lack of experience and knowingly accepting a job for which you are not qualified is a violation of the code. While not presented as an option in this question, it would be acceptable to indicate your interest in the project following a full disclosure to the customer that you lack experience in this area. [Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 2] [Prof. Responsibility]

While managing a project, you decide to prepare an email for the project stakeholders describing the current project status. This is best described as an example of: A. Vertical communication B. Nonverbal communication C. Informal communication D. Formal communication

C - The correct response is that an email is an example of an informal communication. Another example is an ad-hoc conversation. Reports, briefings are considered as formal communication. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 287] [Project Communications Management]

Bar charts, with bars representing activities, show activity start dates as well as end dates and expected activity durations. For control and management communication, the broader, more comprehensive summary activity that is used between milestones is referred to as: A. Activity bridge B. Milestone chart C. Hammock activity D. Gantt chart

C - The correct response is the Hammock activity. The comprehensive summary activity that is displayed in bar chart reports for control and management communication is called Hammock activity. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 182] [Project Time Management]

While managing a project, you have included the product acceptance criteria in the Quality Management Plan. When reviewing your plan, a senior manager asks you look at this closely. You then realize that what you have done is incorrect. Where should you actually place the product acceptance criteria? A. Project Charter B. Change control process C. Project Scope Statement D. Scope Verification Plan

C - The project scope statement documents and addresses the characteristics and boundaries of the project and its associated products and services, as well as product acceptance criteria and scope control. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 123] [Project Scope Management]

A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost and schedule are integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement is called a: A. Code of accounts B. Control packages C. Control account D. Account Plan

C - This is a Control Account. Control Accounts are placed at selected management points of the Work Breakdown Structure WBS. Each control account may include one or more work packages, but each of the work packages must be associated with only one control account. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 132] [Project Scope Management]

Under which of the following scenarios would you not use a Decision tree? A. When some future scenarios are unknown. B. When you need to look at the implications of not choosing certain alternatives. C. When the future scenarios are known. D. When the outcomes of some of the actions are uncertain.

C - You would use a Decision Tree when uncertainty and unknowns exist regarding future scenarios and their outcomes; not when future scenarios are known. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 339] [Project Risk Management]

A definitive estimate is in a range from: A. -25 percent to +75 percent from actual. B. -10 percent to +25 percent from actual. C. -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. D. -30 percent to +40 percent from actual

C. -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. A rough order of magnitude estimate is usually made in initiating, and is in range from -25 percent to +75 percent from actual. A budget estimate is usually made in planning and is in a range from -10 percent to +25 from actual. A definitive estimate is made as the project progress and is in a range from -10 percent to +10 percent from actual. Note that some project managers use a range of -5 percent to +10 percent from actual for a definitive estimate.

Your team has com up with 434 risk and 16 major causes of those risks. The project is the last in a series of projects that the team has worked on together. The sponsor is very supportive and a lot of time was invested in making sure the project work was complete and signed off all key stakeholders. During project planning, the team cannot come up with an effective way to mitigate or insure against a risk. It is not work that can be outsourced, nor can it be deleted. What would be the BEST solution? A. Look for ways to transfer the risk. B. Continue to investigate ways to mitigate the risk. C. Accept the risk. D. Look for ways to avoid the risk.

C. Accept the risk. This question relates real-world situations to risk types. Did you realize the entire first paragraph is extraneous? Based on the question, you cannot remove the work to avoid it, nor can you insure or outsource it to transfer the risk. This leaves acceptance as the only correct choice (p.429).

All of the following are outputs of the Monitor and Control Project Work process EXCEPT: A. Issue log updates and recommended defect repair. B. Work performance reports and change requests. C. Approved change requests and project documents updates. D. Recommended corrective actions and work performance reports.

C. Approved change requests and project documents updates. Approved change requests are an output of Perform Integrated Change Control. The remaining items in each choice are outputs of the Monitor and Control Project Work process (p.86). Both *Integrated Change Control* process and *Monitor and Control Project Work* process are processes which are part of the process group *Monitoring and Controlling* and located in the knowledge area * Integration Management*

Which of the following is NOT needed in order to come up with a project estimate? A. A WBS B. Risks C. Change requests D. A network diagram

C. Change requests You need the WBS to define the activities, the network diagram to see the dependencies, and the risks to determine contingencies. NOTE: These are high-level risks, not the detailed risks we identify later in project planning. Change requests are not required to obtain estimates, although they could cause existing estimates to be adjusted. Without the other three choices, you cannot develop the estimates (p.258).

All of the following are parts of the Perform Quality Control process EXCEPT: A. Control charts and cause and effect diagrams. B. Pareto diagrams and process maps. C. Cost of quality and checklists. D. Inspection and histograms.

C. Cost of quality and checklists. Cost of quality is only used in the Plan Quality Management process. It involves looking at what the costs of conformance and nonconformance to quality will be on the project and creating and appropriate balance.

The carpeting subcontractor has, without prior approval, installed carpet that is a slightly different pattern from the pattern selected for the project. The difference in cost per square yard saves the buyer approximately US $10,000. Upon learning of the change, the BEST course of action for the project manager is to: A. Document the change in the change control plan. B. Demand that the original carpeting be installed. C. Determine the overall impact on the project. D. Meet with the customer to explain what happened and celebrate the $10,000 windfall.

C. Determine the overall impact on the project. The first thing is always to evaluate the impact of the change on the project. A good thing to do next might be to see what the contract states and then meet with the customer. Demanding installation of the originally specified carpet might be too drastic, and documenting the change really means doing nothing. Your actions in this case might be different than if the carpet was not already installed (p.140).

During what part of the project management process in MOST of a project's budget expended? A. Planning B. Closing C. Executing D. Monitoring and controlling

C. Executing A vast majority of the project's budget is expended during project executing (p.56).

In which process group is the product scope completed? A. Closing B. Monitoring and controlling C. Executing D. Initiating

C. Executing The work of completing the product scope is accomplished in project executing (p.78).

Reciprocal is another word for which communication method? A. External B. Verbal C. Interactive D. Formal

C. Interactive Reciprocal communication may be formal, verbal, or written, external or internal to the organization is interactive (p.389). Communication methods can be categorized in the following groups: *Interactive Communication*: This method is reciprocal and can involve tow people or many people. One person provides information, others receive it and then respond to the information. Examples of Interavtive communication include conversations, meetings, instant messaging, and conference calls. *Push Communication* This method involves a one-way stream of information. The sender provides the information tot the people who need it but does not expect feedabck on the communication. Examples of push communication are status reports, e-mailed updates, blogs, and company memos. * Pull Communication* Tin this method, the project manager places the information in a central location. The recipients are the responsible for retrieving, or "pulling" the information from that location. This method is used to distribute large documents or to send information to many people.

Which type of organization is BEST for managing complex projects involving cross-disciplinary efforts? A. Functional B. Line C. Matrix. D. Projectized

C. Matrix. The key word here is "cross-disciplinary". Cross-disciplinary means the project covers more than one department or technical area of expertise. In such a case, a matrix organization is needed with representatives from each department or discipline (p.30)

The cost performance index (CPI) on the project is 1.13, and the benefit cost ratio (BCR) is 1.2. The project scope description was created by the team and stakeholders. Requirements on the project have been changing throughout the project. No matter what the project manager has tried to accomplish in managing the project, which of the following is he MOST likely to face in the future? A. Having to add resources to the project B. Making sure the customer approved the project scope C. Not being able to measure completion of the product of the project. D. Having to cut costs on the project and increase benefits.

C. Not being able to measure completion of the product of the project. There are many pieces of data in this question that are distracters from the real issue. Though it is common to have to cut costs and add resources to a project, nothing in the question should lead you to think these will be required in this situation. Customers do not generally approve the project scope (what you are going to do to their requirements); instead, they approve the product scope (their requirements). Since requirements are used to measure the completion of the product of the project, not having complete requirements will make such measurement impossible.

Close Procurements is different from Close Project or Phase in that Close Procurements: A. Is the only one to involve the customer. B. May be done more than once for each contract. C. Occures before Close Project or Phase. D. Includes the return of property.

C. Occures before Close Project or Phase. The customer may be involved in lessons learned and procurement audits, and would certainly be involved in formal acceptance. Both Close Procurements and Close Project or Phase involve the return of property. Close Procurements is done once for each procurement, at the end of the contract. All procurements are closed before the project is closed (p.507).

Your project team has identified dependencies on six related projects that are providing major deliverables to your project. Some of these projects have a very similar scope and may overlap your deliverables. In light of this, which of the following process should you be MOST concerned about? A. Control Scope B. Validate Scope C. Plan Risk Responses D. Plan communications Management

C. Plan Risk Responses The biggest concern must be the risks others project may cause to yours. It would be better to prevent those problems in the Plan Risk Responses process than to just spend effort controlling scope (p.427).

A project has suffered many delays and the project manager has moved resources around, spent more time with risk management, and even fast tracked the project where possible. The project must be completed by its originally agreed-to date, as resources are needed for another project at that time. The project manager is about to meet with the customer to tell them the product scope needs to be cut when you stop him. What would you advise him to do? A. Cut quality before cutting scope. B. Work overtime. C. Reevaluate the project's business case. D. Move resources from a non-critical path to a critical path.

C. Reevaluate the project's business case. Think about this one again before reading on. Moving resources has already been done in this situation. If you selected work overtime, you might be in trouble. Overtime is rarely the first choice, as it impacts all other work in the company that the team might be working on and causes burnout. Is there a better option? Here the project has been adjusted and adjusted to the point that the very reason the project is being done (the business case) should be looked at to determine if the project is still viable and worth going to the customer to reduce scope or working overtime (Page: 118).

All of the following are true EXCEPT: A. The stakeholders' impact on the project must be assessed. B. The communications management plan is part of the project management plan. C. The stakeholders do not have a role in determining the project management plan unless they are part of the project team. D. The project manager needs to determine the skills of the stakeholders.

C. The stakeholders do not have a role in determining the project management plan unless they are part of the project team. The project manager must asses the skills of the stakeholders and analyse their impact. The communications management plan is part of the project management plan. On most successful projects, the stakeholders are actively involved in project management plan creation. The statement contradicting this fact is the exception among the choices offered.

The Project Charter formally authorizes a project. Who authorizes the project charter? A. The project manager B. A project sponsor or initiator internal to the project C. The user of the product D. A project sponsor or initiator external to the project

D - A project initiator or sponsor external to the project, at a level that is appropriate to funding the project, authorizes the project charter. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 68] [Project Integration Management] Projects are initiated by an entity external to the project such as a sponsor, program or project management office (PMO) staff person, or a portfolio governing body chairperson or authorized representative. The project initiator or sponsor should be at the level that is appropriate to procure funding and commit resources to the project. Projects are initiated due to internal business needs or external influences. These needs or influences often trigger the creation of a needs analysis, feasibility study, business case, or description of the situation that the project will address. Chartering a project validates alignment of the project to the strategy and ongoing work of the organization. A project charter is not considered to be a contract, because there is no consideration or money promised or exchanged in its creation.

Which of these tools and techniques are common to all six Project Integration Management processes? A. Project management Information System B. Analytical techniques C. Facilitation techniques D. Expert Judgment

D - All six processes of Project. Integration Management use Expert judgment as a tool and technique. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 65] [Project Integration Management]

What is the advantage of preparing an estimate of costs by an outside professional estimator? A. To determine if a lump sum contract should be used B. To determine the project funding limits C. To hold vendors accountable to a certain price D. To serve as a comparison point for incoming estimates

D - An estimate of costs will serve as a benchmark on proposed responses. Any significant differences in cost estimates can be an indication that the procurement statement of work was deficient, ambiguous or the prospective sellers failed to understand the work. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 376] [Project Procurement Management]

Which of the following Project Scope Management processes documents a configuration management system? A. Control Scope B. Define Scope C. Verify Scope D. Plan Scope Management

D - Configuration management activities are documented as part of the requirements management plan which is an output of the Plan Scope Management process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 110] [Project Scope Management]

Estimating the type and quantities of material, people, equipment or supplies required to perform each activity is: A. Estimate Activity Workload B. Estimate Activity Input C. Activity Resource Requirements D. Estimate Activity Resources

D - Estimate Activity Resources is the process of estimating the type and quantities of material, people, equipment or supplies required to perform each activity. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 160] [Project Framework]

You are managing a medium sized construction project, and are reviewing some invoices from the electrical contractor. You see that materials not required for your project have been included on the invoice. After making a few phone calls it becomes clear that one of your project resources asked one of the vendor's staff to add a few extra circuits to one part of the building. This change was never approved through the change management process. What do you do? A. Notify the manager of your project resource that he failed to follow proper processes. B. Refuse to pay the charges. C. Call a team meeting to determine how this will impact the project, then inform stakeholders of the impacts. D. Immediately inform the project stakeholders of the unauthorized scope change. Then call a team meeting to determine the impact to the project.

D - Immediately inform the stakeholders of the unauthorized scope change, then call team meeting to determine the impact. The code of ethics requires project managers to provide accurate and timely information about their projects, and to report the errors and omissions made by others when they are discovered. [Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 2] [Prof. Responsibility]

While developing the project schedule, you find that the completion of a successor activity depends on the completion of its predecessor activity. What is this dependency called? A. Start-to-Finish B. Start-to-Start C. Finish-to-Start D. Finish-to-Finish

D - In a Finish-to-Finish dependency, the completion of the successor activity depends upon the completion of its predecessor activity. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 156] [Project Time Management]

When does the Close Project or Phase process need to be performed in case of multi-phased projects? A. The Close Project or Phase process needs to be done at the end of each phase of the project; however, it is left to the project manager's discretion on whether he/she wants to perform this process in between phases. It necessarily needs to be done at the end of the project. B. The Close Project or Phase process is done at the end of the project in case the work is contracted out to external performing organizations. C. The Close Project or Phase process needs to performed at the end of the project and involves closing out the entire project scope. D. The Close Project or Phase process needs to be performed at the end of each phase of the project and involves closing out the portion of project scope applicable to that phase.

D - In multi-phase projects, the Close Project or Phase process is done at the end of each phase and closes out the portion of project scope and associated activities for a particular phase. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 101] [Project Integration Management]

On obtaining the project charter, the Project Manager of a project immediately starts acquiring the project team. Is this correct? A. Yes. Acquisition of the project team is primarily an Initiating Process Group activity. B. Yes. The project manager needs to get the team together as soon as the project starts. C. No. It is the responsibility of the project sponsor to provide the team for execution. D. No. Acquisition of the project team is primarily an Executing Process Group activity.

D - No, the project team is not acquired immediately after signing of the project charter. Acquisition of a project team starts with HR management planning in the planning process group, followed by the Acquisition of the team in the execution phase. The other answers are wrong because the acquisition of the project team is mentioned in the wrong phase. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 255] [Project Human Resource Management]

In general, Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis is: A. not often completed B. complete and 100% accurate C. in-depth and thorough D. quick and cost-effective

D - Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis is quicker than Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis which is sometimes not required by the project. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 328, 333] [Project Risk Management]

You are looking at various process improvement models. Which of the following is not a process improvement model? A. Malcolm-Baldrige B. Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3)® C. Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI®) D. Shewhart-Deming

D - Shewhart and Deming were quality management experts. The rest of the choices are process improvement models. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 229] [Project Quality Management]

Which of the following is not an organizational process asset that is used during the Plan Human Resource Management process? A. Template for organizational charts B. Template for position descriptions C. Standardized role descriptions D. Standardized stakeholder list

D - Standardized stakeholder list is not a valid organizational asset used in the Plan Human Resource Management process. The others are valid assets. Other assets are: Historical information on org structures that have worked in previous projects and organizational processes and policies. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 260] [Project Human Resource Management] 9.1.1.4 Organizational Process Assets Described in Section 2.1.4. The organizational process assets that can influence the Plan Human Resource Management process include, but are not limited to: • Organizational standard processes, policies, and role descriptions; • Templates for organizational charts and position descriptions; • Lessons learned on organizational structures that have worked in previous projects; and • Escalation procedures for handling issues within the team and within the performing organization.

Which of the following is accurate regarding the Estimate Activity Resources process? A. It produces project resource calendars as the output B. It determines dependencies that may require a lead or lag to define the relationship C. This process is coordinated independent of the Estimate Cost process D. It involves determining what and how many resources will be used

D - The Estimate Activity Resources process determines what and how many resources will be used. The resource calendars are inputs to this process and this process is closely coordinated with the Estimate Costs process. Activity leads and lags are not determined during this process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 160] [Project Time Management]

Which of the following is a hierarchical representation of project risks? A. Risk Register B. Risk Mitigation C. Risk categories D. Risk Breakdown Structure

D - The Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) is a hierarchical presentation of the project risks sorted by risk categories. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 560] [Project Risk Management] Tree diagrams. Also known as systematic diagrams and may be used to represent decomposition hierarchies such as the WBS, RBS (risk breakdown structure), and OBS (organizational breakdown structure). In project management, tree diagrams are useful in visualizing the parent-to-child relationships in any decomposition hierarchy that uses a systematic set of rules that define a nesting relationship. Tree diagrams can be depicted horizontally (such as a risk breakdown structure) or vertically (such as a team hierarchy or OBS). Because tree diagrams permit the creation of nested branches that terminate into a single decision point, they are useful as decision trees for establishing an expected value for a limited number of dependent relationships that have been diagramed systematically.

The WBS is finalized by establishing control accounts for the work packages and a unique identifier from a code of accounts. This provides a structure for hierarchical summation of: A. Schedule and requirements information B. Cost and requirements information C. Cost and resource information D. Cost, schedule and resource information

D - The WBS is finalized by establishing control accounts for the work packages and a unique identifier from a code of accounts. This provides a structure for hierarchical summation of costs, schedule and resource information.[PMBOK 5th edition, Page 132] [Project Scope Management]

Which of the following is an enterprise environmental factor? A. Configuration management knowledge base B. Change control procedures C. Historical information D. Commercial databases

D - The commercial databases are considered enterprise environmental factors. Rest of the choices are organizational process assets. [PMBOK 5th edition, 29] [Project Framework].

The critical path method (CPM) calculates the theoretical early start and finish dates; and late start and finish dates. The difference between the late and early start of a task is called: A. Free float B. Feeding buffer C. Danger zone D. Total float

D - The difference between the early and late finish of a task is called the total float for that task. Total float is the amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 177] [Project Time Management] Total Float is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date. Free Float is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any successor activity.

Project risks should be identified by: A. Those invited to the risk identification process only B. Key project stakeholders only C. The project manager only D. All project personnel

D - While it is not feasible to invite everyone to the risk identification meetings, everybody should be encouraged to identify risks as they encounter them. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 321] [Project Risk Management]

A fundamentally functional organization creates a special project team to handle a critical project. This team has many of the characteristics of a project team in a project organization and has a Project manager dedicated to the project. Such an organization would be called: A. A projectized organization B. A functional organization. C. A strong matrix organization D. A composite organization

D. A composite organization This organization would be called a composite organization. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 25] [Project Framework] Many organizations involve all these structures at various levels, often referred to as a composite organization, as shown in Figure 2-6. For example, even a fundamentally functional organization may create a special project team to handle a critical project. Such a team may have many of the characteristics of a project team in a projectized organization. The team may include full-time staff from different functional departments, may develop its own set of operating procedures, and may even operate outside of the standard, formalized reporting structure during the project. Also, an organization may manage most of its projects in a strong matrix, but allow small projects to be managed by functional departments.

From the project perspective, quality attributes: A. Provide the basis for judging the project's sucess or failure. B. Determine how effectively the performing organization support the project. C. Are objective criteria that must be met. D. Are specific characteristics for which a product is designed and tested.

D. Are specific characteristics for which a product is designed and tested. Quality attributes are the measurements that determine if the product is acceptable. They are based on the characteristics of the product for which they were designed.

A change control system should be created: A. By management. B. As needed on the project. C. By the team. D. As a formal documented procedure

D. As a formal documented procedure The change management process should be formal so changes don't "just happen." You manage them. You want changes documented for historical purposes so there is an audit trail indicating why made the changes. The change control system is a part of an organization's enterprise environmental factors. For example the "contract change control system" is a tool, which is used in the "Control Procurements" process. *Contract Change Control System* A contract change control system defines the process by which the procurement can be modified. It includes the paperwork, tracking systems, dispute resolution procedures, and approval levels necessary for authorizing changes. The contract change control system is integrated with the integrated change control system. *Change Control System.* A set of procedures that describes how modifications to the project deliverables and documentation are managed and controlled.

A project manager receives a deliverable from one of the team members to provide to the customer. While looking at the deliverable, the project manager notes that the document is smaller than what he expected and does not contain what he thought it should. The project manager should FIRST: A. Discuss it with the team member. B. Audit the development process. C. Contact the team member's manager to geht that person additional training. D. Validate Scope.

D. Validate Scope. Such a review compares the deliverable to the requirements. The project manager might have misunderstood and it would be best to check before talking to the team member or presenting the deliverable to the customer (p.183). Validate Scope is part of the knowledge area Scope Management and is related to the process group Monitoring&Controlling. *Validate Scope* The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. *Control Scope* is the process of monitoring the status of the project and product scope and managing changes to the scope baseline. The key benefit of this process is that it allows the scope baseline to be maintained throughout the project.

A project may be selected based on all of the following EXCEPT: A. Net present value (NPV). B. The number of resources required. C. Benefit measurement. D. Value analysis.

D. Value analysis. Value analysis is a way of making sure the least expensive way is found to do the work (p.119)

The scope baseline can BEST be said to include the: A. Scope management plan and WBS. B. WBS and project charter. C. Scope management plan and project scope statement. D. WBS and project scope statement.

D. WBS and project scope statement. The scope baseline includes the WBS, WBS dictionary, and the project scope statement (p.182).

To look backward at what may have contributed to quality problems on the project, the team may use all of the following EXCEPT: A. Cause and effect diagram. B. Ishikawa diagram. C. Fishbone diagram D. Scatter diagram

Did you realize that Ishikawa, cause and effect and fishbone are all names for the same tool? This diagram may be used to look backward at what may have contributed to quality problems on the project. A scatter diagram tracks two variables to determine their relationship (p.308).

A project manager and his team are using an Ishikawa diagram, trying to determine how various factors might have contributed to project problems. The project manager is invoved in which part of the quality management process? A. Control Quality B. Utilize Quality Tools C. Perform Quality Assurance D. Plan Quality Management

A. Control Quality The team is addressing problems that have impacted the quality on the project, so they must be in Control Quality. The Quality Management Process: - Plan Quality Management - Perform Quality Assurance - Control Quality Quality is defined as the degree to which the project fulfills requirements.

A project manager overhears a conversation between two stakeholders who are discussing how unhappy they are with the impacts of the project on their own departments. Stakeholders A asks if the project is on time, and Stakeholder B replies that the SPI is 1.05. Stakeholder B responds that he is not sure. What is the BEST thing for the project manager to do? A. Arrange a meeting with both stakeholders to allow them to voice any concerns they may have. B. Make sure the stakeholders see that the project manager overheard. Then ask them to direct any questions to the project manager in writing. C. Send both stakeholders a copy of the issue log and ask for additional comments. D. Make a presentation to all the stakeholders regarding the status of the project.

A. Arrange a meeting with both stakeholders to allow them to voice any concerns they may have. The correct answer is A. This is another question with more than one right answer. Would asking for something in writing be the best way to communicate? In this particular situation, asking for the concern to be in writing might alienate the stakeholders. The issue log is where the issue should be listed, but the situation does not say if the project manager knows what the stakeholders' concern is. Therefore, using the issue log cannot be the best choice. Why not make a presentation to all the stakeholders regarding the status of the project? The project manager already knows stakeholders A and B have the concern, not all the stakeholders. This problem would likely require informal verbal communication to discover the real problem. Arranging a meeting with the concerned stakeholders is therefore the best choice (p. 386).

Your company is in the middle of negotiating to win a major project. The project nicely fits into the company's strategic plan, but will require some of the best resources the company has in order to meet the quality objectives. Management is excited, because the project represents the opportunity to generate good profits for the company and will put all their company expertise to the test. The prospective team members are also excited because the client is prestigious. In order to meet the schedule objectives for the project, you need to start committing jobs to new and critical project resources now, while the contract is still under negotiation. What should you do? A. Ask the customer for a letter of intent. B. Explain to management that this would not be good idea at this point. C. Wait until the las minute to do so. D. Only start to collect resumes and do not commit any funds.

A. Ask the customer for a letter of intent. This is a though, but common, situation. Requesting a letter of intent from the customer is commonly done. Even though a letter of intent is not binding in a court of law. It does make the seller fell more comfortable about expending funds before a contract is signed. Notice how much of this question is extraneous. Expect questions on the exam that are wordy, distracting from the real problems at hand, and have whole paragraphs of information that is irrelevant to the real problem (p.491).

Inputs to the Direct and Manage Project Work process include all the following Except: A. Communications requirements, validated changes, and action items. B. Risk tolerances, the project management plan, and the project management information system. C. The project management plan, approved corrective actions, and work instructions. D. Historical information, defect repair orders, and the scope management plan.

A. Communications requirements, validated changes, and action items. Here is another question that requires you to think about each part of each choice to determine the correct answer. Validated changes are outputs of Control Quality Management and inputs to Monitor and Control Project Work, making that the exception. All of the other items listed in the choices are inputs to Direct and Manage Project Work (p.79).

Your project no longer ties into the company's objectives. What is the BEST thing to do? A. Extend the schedule. B. Decrease the cost. C. Change the CPI. D. Change the target opportunity cost.

A. Extend the schedule. The correct answer is A. Be very careful, as this simple question may uncover many gaps in your knowledge. The question is really asking, "The project priority has become lower, what should you do?" Although projects should relate to the company's objectives, many do not. Why would you decrease costs? In order to decrease costs, you must decrease scope or quality. Nothing here indicates this is required. You are still chartered to do the same project. One cannot arbitrarily change the CPI; the CPI changes based on changes in project performance. Target opportunity cost is a made-up term. The only correct choice is to extend the schedule and allow flexibility to accommodate the delays and other risks a low priority adds to the project (Page: 139).

Project setup costs are an example of: A. Fixed costs. B. Overhead costs. C. Opportunity costs. D. Variable costs.

A. Fixed costs. Setup costs do not change as production on the project changes. Therefore, they are fixed costs. Examples: setup, rent, utilities, etc.

The Estimate Activity Resources process includes reviewing the schedule management plan and: A. Further breaking down activities, and soliciting expert judgement. B. Creating a resource breakdown structure, and developing a schedule. C. Reviewing the cost management plan, and crashing the project. D. Creating a company calendar and reviewing resource availability.

A. Further breaking down activities, and soliciting expert judgement. The only choice that is completely correct is "Further breaking down activities, and soliciting expert judgment." Can you identify the incorrect element in each of the other choices? (p.206) Creating a resource breakdown structure is an output of the *Estimate Activity Resource* process. So creating a resource breakdown structure is part of the Estimate Activity Resource process. *Develop Schedule* is a own process which has the resource breakdown structure and the activity resource requirements as input. So that cannot be the right answer. Reviewing the cost management plan is done during the Cost Management processes. And the creation of the cost management plan is done after the schedule is done. Reviewing resource availability is part of the *Estimate Activity Resource* process but creating a company calendar which identifies working and nonworking days not. Estimate Activity Resources—The process of estimating the type and quantities of material, human resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity.

A project manager is worried about the costs on the project. There is a lot of rework and scrap and inventory costs are rising. If you were a mentor to this project manager, what is the BEST advice you could offer? A. Improve quality training and throw a milestone party. B. Look at marginal costs. C. Look at sunk costs. D. Such effects are the nature of the project and not to worry.

A. Improve quality training and throw a milestone party. Focusing on quality by improving quality training can improve the overall quality process. Scrap=Schrott marginal cost: For example, if producing additional vehicles requires building a new factory, the marginal cost of the extra vehicles includes the cost of the new factory. In practice, this analysis is segregated into short and long-run cases, so that, over the longest run, all costs become marginal. Looking at the marginal costs doesn't solve the problem of the rework and scrap and inventory.

A seller has withdrawn from a project midway through the project executing processes, and another seller is taking over. The project manager meets with the replacement seller and his crew. In this meeting, what should the project manager do FIRST? A. Introduce the team members, and identify the roles and responsibilities. B. Review the schedule. C. Create a communications management plan. D. Communicate the objectives of the project.

A. Introduce the team members, and identify the roles and responsibilities. The project objectives and schedule are included in the contract. A communications management plan was developed in planning, although may require updating with the addition of new people on the project. It is important that the new seller understand who is who on the project, so introductions of the team member and identification of their roles and responsibilities should occur first. (p.335).

The Java development of a project is outsourced to India. The project schedule is starting to slip. What is the LEAST likely cause of the slippage? A. Lack of competent programmers B. Internationalization C. Communication D. Cultural influences

A. Lack of competent programmers Most often, projects outsourced outside of the country encounter communication and time zone barriers. The procurement process should have assured the project manager the sellers were skilled (p.500).

A project manager can BEST resolve the differences between the requirements of one stakeholder and those of another by making which of these statements? A. Let's look at why there is a difference of opinion on the requirements. B. This discussion is getting too heated. Let's regroup to solve the problem tomorrow. C. I have made the decision to resolve the problem this way. D. There are many points on which we agree. I am certain if we focus on them, we will find a solution.

A. Let's look at why there is a difference of opinion on the requirements. It is imperative that requirements be as clear as possible before the project management plan is finalized. Focusing on points of agreement is smoothing, adjourning the discussion until tomorrow is avoidance and making in decision unilaterally is forcing. Only problem solving (determining the cause for differing opinions regarding the requirements) helps to clarify the requirements.

A project has tight budget when you begin negotiationg with a seller for a piece of equipment. The seller has told you the equipment price is fixed. Your manager has told you to negotiate the cost with the seller. What is your BEST course of action? A. Make a goog faith effort to find a way to decrease the cost. B. Holde the negotiations, but only negotiate other aspects of the project. C. Cancel the negotiations. D. Postpone negotiations until you can convince your manager to change his mind.

A. Make a goog faith effort to find a way to decrease the cost. There is always a way to decrease costs on the project. The best choice is to attempt to find a way to decrease the cost.

Many more changes were made to the project during project executing than had been expected. What is the BEST thing for the project manager to do now? A. Make changes as needed, but maintain a schedule baseline. B. Make only the changes approved by management. C. Talk to management before any changes are made. D. Wait until all changes are known, print out a new schedule, and revise the baseline.

A. Make changes as needed, but maintain a schedule baseline. Management does not have to be consulted on, or to approve, all changes. As changes are approved, the project management plan and project documents are updated accordingly. This includes updating all impacted baselines (p.140).

Assuming that the ends of a range of estimates are +/- 3 sigma from the mean, which of the following range estimates involves the LEAST risk? A. Optimistic = 26 days, most likely = 30 days, pessimistic = 33 days. B. 30 days, plus or minus five days. C. Mean of 28 days D. 22 to 30 days

A. Optimistic = 26 days, most likely = 30 days, pessimistic = 33 days. This one drove your crazy, didn't it? Reread the question! A mean of 28 days is not a range estimate, and so must be eliminated as a possible answer. When you look a the ranges of each of the other choices, you will see that 30 days, plus or minus 5 days = a range of 10 days. The range of 22 to 30 days = a range of 8 days. An optimistic estimate of 26 days, most likely estimate of 30 days, and pessimistic estimate of 33 days represents a range of 7 days. The estimate with the smallest range is the least risky, and therefore the correct choice. Did you realize the words +/- 3 sigma are extraneous? Practice reading questions that are wordy and have extraneous data.

A work breakdown structure is an input to all of the following processes EXCEPT: A. Perform Quality Assurance. B. Identify Risks. C. Estimate Costs. D. Define Activities.

A. Perform Quality Assurance. The WBS is used in many different processes, but is not integral to the Perform Quality Assurance process. *Perform Quality Assurance* is the process of auditing the quality requirements and the results from quality control measurements to ensure that appropriate quality standards and operational definitions are used. The key benefit of this process is it facilitates the improvement of quality processes.

Which of the following is the MOST appropriate thing to do in the closing process group? A. Perform procurement audits. B. Inspect work packages. C. Obtain formal acceptance of the project scope from the customer. D. Do project performance appraisals.

A. Perform procurement audits. Inspecting work packages is a monitoring and controlling function. Many people get tricked by the choice of "obtaining formal acceptance of the project scope from the customer." This can occur throughout the project. Closing involves formal acceptance of the product of the project. Project performance appraisals are done in project executing. Only procurement audits audits are done in project closing. (p.92)

The project manager has worked closely with the team to come up with contingency plans. Which of the following BEST describes contingency plans? A. Planned responses to risk events B. Planned workarounds C. Planned risk control procedures D. Planned responses based on probability analysis

A. Planned responses to risk events Workarounds by definition are unplanned. Responses can be based on probability analysis is too narrow an answer. Risk control procedures encompass all of risk management, not just contingencies. Contingency plans are best described as planned responses to risk events (p.558).

You are managing a tow-year project involving staff from several departments. The project is on schedule and within budget. A key team member leaves for a four-week vacation without completing a highly technical and specialized activity assigned to him (activity A). The project team cannot being activity B or activity E (a critical path activity) until activity A is completed. Activity A has three days float and is not on the critical path. A team member, a seller, and a non-team member work overtime to complete activity A within its float time. You need to reimburse the non-team member's department and pay the seller at an overtime rate. What action should you take? A. Reevaluate your communications management plan. B. Send a complaint letter to the key team member's boss, and ask him to fund the extra cost expended. C. Pay the cost out of your project reserves. D. Thank the others for filling in, but tell them not to waste time on non-critical path activities.

A. Reevaluate your communications management plan. Notice the issue of the key team member leaving has already occurred. Although the activity was not on the critical path, it would have impacted a critical path activity if it was not completed within its three-day float. Therefore, advising the participants not to waste time on non-critical path activities is not correct. The best choice is to discover why the problem happened so you can prevent similar situations in the future. Only a reevaluation of the communications management plan looks at the cause of the problem (p.391).

In the process of reviewing the status of your team's work assignments, you learn the project has fallen behind schedule by one week. The project finish date is still two months out and you think you can recover the time over the next month or so. What is the BEST course of action for reporting the project status? A. Report the project one week behind schedule and include recommended corrective actions. B. Report the project on schedule. Most project management plans are not accurate to less than one or two weeks anyway. C. Report the project on schedule. this is not a significant slippage and there is still time to recover. D. Report the project one week behind schedule and then issue a new report next week showing the problem fixed.

A. Report the project one week behind schedule and include recommended corrective actions. Reporting that the project is on schedule is unethical. It is best to report the true status of the project and your plan of action to resolve the problem.

A new testing center is going to be constructed over the next two years. The project sponsor and the project manager have been identified and high-level estimates begun. It is expected that the project can be completed within budget and on schedule. The only difficulty is in acquiring the number of resources with the correct expertise to complete the work. Under these circumstances, the proejct manager should spend more time creating: A. Resource-limited schedule. B. Risk analysis. C. Responsibilty chart. D. Responsibility assignment matrix.

A. Resource-limited schedule. A responsibility assignment matrix shows who is responsible for what, as does a responsibility chart. These will not help you manage the project with limited resources. Only a resource-limited schedule will help meet the defined need. A risk analysis may help, but not as much as a resource-limited schedule. Resource Leveling: Resource leveling is used to produce a resource-limited schedule. Leveling lengthens the schedule and increases cost in order to deal with a limited amount of resources, resource avilablility, and other resource constraints. A little-used function in project management software, this technique allows you to level the peaks and valleys of the schedule from one month to another, resulting in a more stable number of resources used on your project. You might level the resources if your project used 5 resources one month. 15 the next, and 3 the next, of some other up-and-down pattern that was not an acceptable use of resources. Leveling could also be used if you did not have 15 resources available and preferred to lenghten the project (which would be a result of leveling) instead of hiring more resources.

You have started the planning process for your US $32 million biomass power generator project when you are informed that your company has been taken over by a Japanese firm. You have struggled to satisfy the requirements of legal, technical, and business stakeholders though the balancing act has left some stakeholders upset. You are warned that the new management style is more consensus-based. Which of the following must you now watch out for? A. Schedule delays B. Tighter cost control C. Kaizen quality measures. D. Autocratic leaderhsip

A. Schedule delays Consensus management takes time because everyone must be in agreement before a decision can be made (p.360). Consensus is a management style which involves problem solving in a group, and making decisions based on group agreement. *Delphi technique.* The Delphi technique is a way to reach a consensus of experts. Project risk experts participate in this technique anonymously. A facilitator uses a questionnaire to solicit ideas about the important project risks. The responses are summarized and are then recirculated to the experts for further comment. Consensus may be reached in a few rounds of this process. The Delphi technique helps reduce bias in the data and keeps any one person from having undue influence on the outcome.

Two team members are having a big disagreement about how to accomplish an activity. The project is low risk and is taking place in a strong matrix environment with 34 team members. To resolve this dispute, the project manager should: A. Send the team members to their managers for advice on resolving the dispute. B. Ask for a benchmark analysis. C. Have the team members compromise. D. Make the decision.

A. Send the team members to their managers for advice on resolving the dispute. The correct answer is A. In a strong matrix environment, the project manager has more power than the functional manager and may be able to make resource decisions on her own. However, making this decision is incorrect, as this is not a resource decision; it is a technical one, and technical issues are managed by the team members' managers. A benchmark analysis provides information about the methods and performance used by other companies and departments. It would be better to look for internal expertise before engaging in such a time-consuming activity. It is not wise for a project manager to suggest a compromise when the issue is a technical one. The only viable choice is to send the team members to their managers for advice on resolving the dispute (p.340).

A retail chain has a long history of hiring contractors to design and build new stores for them as they expand around the world. An engineer within that organization has just been promoted to project manager. He is studying the science of project management and is getting confused with terms. You are asked to mentor him. He asks you, "Which should I expect to occur more frequently on an average project, project closure or procurement closure?" Which of the following is the BEST answer? A. Since there are typically many contracts in one project, procurement closure occurs more frequently. B. Since all the work is always done under contract, project closure occurs more often. C. Every time we close out a contract, we close out a project. D. All projects are different and there is no real answer to this question.

A. Since there are typically many contracts in one project, procurement closure occurs more frequently. To answer this question, forget all the extra words and focus just on the question; which occurs more frequently, project closure or procurement closure? If you have never worked with a contract, you are unlikely to guess the correct answer. For large projects, you must assume there are procurements, and typically more than one procurement on each project. That being said, what is your answer now? Can you see that the only correct choice is that project closure occurs only once and procurement closure may occur more frequently?

Which of the following BEST describes the relationship between standard deviation and risk? A. Standard deviation tells you how uncertain the estimate is. B. There is no relationship. C. Standard deviation tells you if the estimate is accurate. D. Standard deviation tells you if the estimate includes a pad.

A. Standard deviation tells you how uncertain the estimate is. An estimate can have a wide range and still be accurate if the item estimated includes identified risks. There is no such thing as a pad in proper project management. An estimate might be inflated, but it is a calculated reserve to account for risks, not arbitrary padding. The standard deviation tells you the amount of uncertainty or risk involved in the estimate for the activity. (p.212)

A parking lot fencing project was bid at $11 per foot, and one commpany is doing all the work. The parking lot has four equal sides of 125 feet and requires the installation of a six-foot diameter culvert on one side. Fencing should be installed at a rate of 100 feet per day. The culvert installation will cost US $500 and take one day to complete. The culvert must be installed before work can begin on that side of the fence. After three days of work, one side is complete, another has 75 feet installed, and the culvert is completely installed. So far, $2,700 of the total project budget has been used. What is the current status of the project? A. The budget is neutral with a cost variance of $0. B. It is under budget, with a cost variance of +$500 due to the completion of the culvert installation. C. It is over budget with a cost variance of +$125. D. It is over budget, with a cost variance of -$1,100.

A. The budget is neutral with a cost variance of $0. EV is the value of the work completed. In this case one side is done ($11 x 125 = $1,375), 75 feet of the second side is done ($11 x 75 = $825) and the culvert is complete ($500) for a total of $2,700. Since the AC is $2700, CV = $0. You are budget neutral.

The project manager is having a very difficult time keeping the project schedule on track. The project requires 220 people to complete it. All the project problems have been fixed to the project manager's satsifaction, the schedule performance index (SPI) is currently 0.67, the cost performance index (CPI) is 1.26, there are 23 activities on the critical path, and the project PERT duration is 26. Under these circumstances, the monthly status report should report: A. The issues and options. B. That the project will be late. C. That the project cost is behind budget. D. That the project is doing well.

A. The issues and options. The professional and social responsibility of the project manager requires that the truth be told. Reporting that the project is doing well is lying and unethical. Reporting that the project will be late is not the correct choice because you do not KNOW the project will be late. There is time to fix the problems. Your would not report that the project is behind budget, because there are no cost problems illustrated in the question. As in any report, you need to state the issues and options.

What does a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 2.1 mean? A. The payback is 2.1 times the cost. B. The cost is 2.1 times the profit. C. The costs are 2.1 times the benefits. D. The profit is 2.1 times the costs.

A. The payback is 2.1 times the cost. This formula compares benefits to costs, not just profit. Payback is equated to benefits here (p. 121). Cost-Benefit Analysis compares the expected costs of the project to the potential benefits it could bring the organization. (For project selection purposes, benefits are the same as revenue. Remember that revenue is not the same as profit.) This analysis results in the calculation of a benefit cost ratio, which can be expressed as a decimal or a ratio. A benefit cost ratio of greater than 1 means the benefits are greater than the costs. A benefit cost ration of less than 1 means the costs are greater than the benefits. A benefit cost ratio of 1 means the cost and benefits are the same. Revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services related to the company's primary operations. Profit, conversely, is the infamous bottom line. This is called net profit, because it is the amount of income that remains after accounting for all expenses, debts, additional income streams and operating costs. In between the top and bottom line, the term "profit" may emerge in the context of gross profit and operating profit.

What is a project management information system (PMIS)? A. a method to determine and archive how the project is doing B. A method to gather, integrate, and disseminate information about what and how the projec is doing C. A computerized status tracking system. D. A manual status tracking system

B. A method to gather, integrate, and disseminate information about what and how the projec is doing The system contains processes and tools to allow you, the project manager, to know the status of your project at all times.

Inputs to Direct and Manage Project Work process include all the following EXCEPT: A. Risk tolerances, the project management plan, and the project management information system. B. Communications requirements, validated changes, and actions items. C. Historical information, defect repair orders, and the scope management plan. D. The project management plan, approved corrective actions, and work instructions.

B. Communications requirements, validated changes, and actions items. Here is another question that requires you to think about each part of each choice to determine the correct answer. Validated changes are outputs of Control Quality Management and inputs to Monitor and Control Project Work, making that the exception. All of the other items listed in the choices are inputs to Direct and Manage Project Work. Direct and Mange Project Work (Project Integration Management, Executing Process Group) Direct and Manage Project Work is the process of leading and performing the work defined in the project management plan and implementing approved changes to achieve the project's objectives. The key benefit of this process is that it provides overall management of the project work.

During project executing, a major problem occures that was not included in the risk register. What should you do FIRST? A. Look for any unexpected effects of the problem. B. Create a workaround. C. Tell management. D. Teevaluate the Identify Risk process.

B. Create a workaround. Following the right process is part of professional and social responsibility. Because an unidentified problem or risk occurred, it is important to reevaluate the Identify Risks process as well as to look for unexpected effects to the problem. However thay are not your fist choices. You might need to inform management, but this is reactive, not proactive, and not the first thing you should do. Since this is a problem that has occured, rather than a problem that has just been identified, the first thing you must do is address the risk by creating a workaround.

Which of the following can create the MOST misinterpretation of the project scope statement: A. Poor pattern, structure, and chronological order. B. Imprecise language C. Small variations in size of work packages or detail of work D. Too much detail

B. Imprecise language Much of the work on the project is dictated by the project scope statement. Any imprecision in such a key document will lead to differing interpretations (p.172).

All of the following are parts of an effective change management plan EXCEPT: A. Procedures. B. Lessons learned. C. Meetings. D. Standards of reports.

B. Lessons learned. A change management plan includes the processes and procedures that allow smooth evaluation and tracking of changes. Lessons learned are reviews of the processes and procedures after the fact, to improve them on future projects (p.128).

You need to make a major change to the equipment used on your project. Your brother owns a company that produces a product that would meet the new needs of the project. What should you do? A. Elimintate your brother from bidding. B. Let the customer know of the family relationship. C. Negotiate a good deal on the product with your brother. D. Submit the bid and allow your brother to negotiate wiht the procurement office.

B. Let the customer know of the family relationship. Project managers have a professional and social responsibility to ensure that any conflicts of interest do not compromise the legitimate interest of the customer. The project manager must inform the customer of the family relationship with a potential supplier (p.559).

All of the following are examples of the cost of nonconformance EXCEPT: A. Warranty costs. B. Quality training. C. Scrap. D. Rework.

B. Quality training. Quality trainig is a cost of conformance to quality. All the other choices are costs of nonconformance to quality. Cost of Quality. A method of determining the costs incurred to ensure quality. Prevention and appraisal costs (cost of conformance) include costs for quality planning, quality control (QC), and quality assurance to ensure compliance to requirements (i.e., training, QC systems, etc.). Failure costs (cost of onconformance) include costs to rework products, components, or processes that are non-compliant, costs of warranty work and waste, and loss of reputation.

Inspections are a tool of the Validate Scope process. All of the following are examples of inspection EXCEPT: A. Walkthroughs. B. Sensitivity analysis. C. Audits. D. Product reviews.

B. Sensitivity analysis. Product reviews, audits, and walkthroughs are all forms of inspections, which may be used in the Validate Scope process. Sensitivity analysis has nothing to do with validating scope, and is not a from of inspection. Validate Scope process is located in the Monitoring and Controlling process group and is part of the knowledge area Project Scope Management. *Sensitivity Analysis.* A quantitative risk analysis and modeling technique used to help determine which risks have the most potential impact on the project. It examines the extent to which the uncertainty of each project element affects the objective being examined when all other uncertain elements are held at their baseline values. The typical display of results is in the form of a tornado diagram.

The customer's expectations for quality are shown on a control chart as the: A. Upper and lower control limits. B. Specification limits. C. Mean. D. Rule of seven.

B. Specification limits. *Rule of Seven:* The rule of seven is a general rule, or heuristic. It refers to a group or series of nonrandom data points that total seven on one side of the mean. The rule of seven tells you that, although none of these points are outside of the control limits, they are not random and the process is out of control. The project manager should investigate this type of situation and find a cause. While control limits represents the performing organization's standards for quality, specification limits represent the customer's expectations or contractual requirements for performance and quality on the project. Specification limits are characteristics of the measured process and are not inherent. In other words, specification limits are not calculated based on the control chart; instead, they are inputs from the customer. Therefore, they can appear either inside or outside of the control limits. To meet the customer's specification limits, the performing organizations's standards for quality (control limits) must be strickter than those of the customer. Agreeing to do a project when your work does not meet the customer's quality standards adds waste and extra management to the project to sort out acceptable items. Therefore, on the exam, assume that specification limits are outside the upper and lower control limits.

You are working for an international construction company. Your project involves pulling together over 13 different subprojects. You are having difficulty in ensuring three subcontractors are doing their work correctly. As you review the project results, you notice you have spent US $1,200,000 at the last reporting point. You know the schedule is not too bad, since your schedule performance index (SPI) is 1.1 Considering you feel you should have spent US $1,300,000 to this point, what are the cost performance index (CPI), and the schedule and cost variances? A. 1.43, $130,000, and ($130,000) B. 1.19, $230,000, and ($230,000) C. 1.19, $130,000, and $230,000 D. 1.1, ($230,000), and $130,000

C. 1.19, $130,000, and $230,000 PV is $1,300,000, EV = SPI x PV or 1.1 x US$1,300,000 or US$1,430,000. Since you have EV, PV, and AC, US $1,200,000, now you can compute the CPI and variances. CPI = EV/AC = $1,430,000/$1,200,000 or 1.19; SV = EV - PV = $1,430,000 - $1,300,000 or $130,000; and CV = EV - AC = $1,430,000 - $1,200,000 or $230,000.

All technical work is completed on the project. Which of the following remains to be done? A. Create a staffing management B. Plan Risk Responses C. Complete lessons learned D. Validate Scope

C. Complete lessons learned Did you pick Validate Scope? Than you have forgotten that Validate Scope is done during project monitoring and controlling, not project closing. Planning risk responses and creating the stamming management plan are done earlier in the project. The lessons learned can only be completed after the work is completed. PMI: Validate Scope. The process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables (Process Group M&C, Knowledge area Project Scope Management)

The financial systems project has a relatively high profile in the organization and has received great support from the sponsor. There are over 230 activities on the project, and a few have remained relatively large due to the nature of the work to be accomplished. One of these larger activities has an estimate to complet (ETC) that is logner than planned. If the project manager wants to look at non-value-added activities that might be causing the delay, the manager should: A. Measure using quality metrics. B. Perfrom a quality audit. C. Complete process analysis. D. Use a Pareto diagram.

C. Complete process analysis. Many people choose to perfrom a quality audit. However, performing a quality audit relates to determining wheter your are using the right processes and whether those processes are effective, rather than improving processes. Discovering non-value activites is part of process analyses. Process analysis follows the steps outlined in the process improvement plan to identify needed improvements. This analysis also examines problems experienced, constraints experienced, and non-value-added activities identified during process operation. Process analysis includes root cause analysis — a specific technique used to identify a problem, discover the underlying causes that lead to it, and develop preventive actions.

You have been appointed manager of a project to convert multiple electronic mail systems at a major financial institution to a singel platform. Your company's approach was not the client's first choice, and your firm was able to offer the lowest cost alternative by using funds provided to your company for a different purpose. After the project is underway, the client specifies a new approach that has never been used before. When the project is approaching the origninally scheduled end date, it becomes clear that the technological approach will have to be signigicantly altered. Although the client has been apprised of developments throughout the project through regular status reports, and the project management plan has been followed, the client demands the project be continued without any increase in cost until all of their requirements are met. Your firm feels that it has no choice but comply wieht the client's demands, although this will result in a substantial loss on the project. What is the MOST important thing that should have been done to avoid this situation? A. Better identification of risks and development of risk mitigation strategies B. Clearer project scope statement C. Formal client acceptance of the project management plan D. Enhanced communications management plan

C. Formal client acceptance of the project management plan Getting acceptance of the project management plan would have meant acceptance of project planning assumptions, project planning decisions regarding alternatives chosen, communication among stakeholders, key management reviews, the baseline for progress measurement and project control.

In which stage of team development are team members more likely to be independent? A. Influencing B. Storming C. Forming D. Adjourning

C. Forming In the storming stage of team development, team members are learning to work together. Influencing is not a stage of team development, it is a leadership style. In the adjourning stage, the team is disbanded, but they still have a relationship. Forming is the first stage of development, when people are brought together as a team. Team members are more likely to be independent in this stage. One of the models used to describe team development is the *Tuckman ladder* (Tuckman, 1965; Tuckman & Jensen, 1977), which includes *five stages of development* that teams may go through. Although it's common for these stages to occur in order, it's not uncommon for a team to get stuck in a particular stage or slip to an earlier stage. Projects with team members who worked together in the past may skip a stage. *Forming.* This phase is where the team meets and learns about the project and their formal roles and responsibilities. Team members tend to be independent and not as open in this phase. *Storming.* During this phase, the team begins to address the project work, technical decisions, and the project management approach. If team members are not collaborative and open to differing ideas and perspectives, the environment can become counterproductive. *Norming.* In the norming phase, team members begin to work together and adjust their work habits and behaviors to support the team. The team learns to trust each other. *Performing* Teams that reach the performing stage function as a well-organized unit. They are interdependent and work through issues smoothly and effectively. *Adjourning* In the adjourning phase, the team completes the work and moves on from the project. This typically occurs when staff is released from the project as deliverables are completed or as part of carrying out the Close Project or Phase process (Section 4.6).

A project manager wants to more extensively involve stakeholders on the project. The project team is co-located, so face-to-face communication with these stakeholders is usually possible, although not all external stakeholders are available to meet in person. Which of the following would be the BEST way for the project manager to involve the stakehoders more extensively? A. Invite the stakeholders to attend project status meetings. B. Update the stakeholders on the status of all project changes. C. Have the stakeholders periodically review the list of project requirements. D. Send status reports to the stakehodlers.

C. Have the stakeholders periodically review the list of project requirements. It seems like all of these are good ideas, but having the stakeholders review the list of project requirements helps discover errors and changes, and could therfore be considered the best choice.

The seller on your project abruptly goes out of business. What is the BEST thing to do? A. File for a portion of the company's assets. B. Terminate the contract. C. Hire a new seller immediately under time and material contract. D. Terminate the project.

C. Hire a new seller immediately under time and material contract. The immediate issue here is to keep the project progressing on schedule, so you first need to replace the seller. Creating a time and material contract is the best choice as it is usually quick to execute, since the contract and scope are brief. Of course, once you have stabilized the project by replacing the seller, you need to formally terminate the contract (p.472).

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

C. Problem solving Problem solving (also referred to as collaborating) normally takes more time, but it gets buy-in from everyone, generating a more lasting solution (p.362). *Collaborating (Problem Solving):* In this technique, the parties openly discuss differences and try to incorporate multiple viewpoints in order to lead to consensus. Collaboration leads to a win-win situation. * Compromising (Reconciling):* This technique involves finding solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to both parties. This is a lose-lose situation, since no party gets everything. Did you know that compromise is not the best choice, but rather second to collaborating? * Withdrawal (Avoidance):* In this technique, the parties retreat or postpone a decision on a problem. Dealing with problems is a PMI-ism, therefore, withdrawal is not usually the BEST choice for resolving conflict, though there may be situations where it is necessary. * Smoothing (Accommodating)* This technique emphasizes agreement rather than differences of opinion. *Forcing (Directing)* This technique involves pushing one viewpoint at the expense of another. It is win-lose situation.

There are several executing activities underway on your project. You are beginning to geht concerned about the accuracy of the progress reporting your team members are doing. How could you verify whether there is a problem? A. Risk quantification reports B. Regression analysis C. Quality audits D. Monte Carlo analysis

C. Quality audits Quality audits are a necessary part of the Perform Assurance process. They help you asses whether the process are being followed correctly on the project. (p.312) *Quality Audits:* A quality audit is a structured, independent process to determine if project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures. Quality Audits is part of the tools & Techniques of the *Perform Quality Assurance* process *Regression Analysis.* An analytic technique where a series of input variables are examined in relation to their corresponding output results in order to develop a mathematical or statistical relationship. It is a technique which is mainly used during the Monitor and Control Project Work process.

A large project is underway when one of the team members reviews the project status report. He sees the project is currently running late. As he looks at the report further, he notices 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 success of the project 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. Request that the issue be added to the project issue log. B. Contract the project manager immediately to provide the project manager wiht his schedule. C. Recommend preventive action. D. Include the information on his next report.

C. Recommend preventive action. Notice that this question asks 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. Providing the project manager with his schedule, including the information in a report, and requesting that the issue be added to the issue log 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 com up with a solution (such as decreasing the scope of the activity, fast tracking, or specific suggestions about changes to predecessor activities). Therefore, recommending preventive action is the best choice for the team member. Note that recommended corrective or preventive actions can come from the team or stakeholders in addition to the project manager. (p.239)

The seller on the project has presented the project manager with a formal notification that the seller has been damaged by the buyer's activities. The seller claims that the buyer's slow response to requested approvals has delayed the project and has caused the seller unexpected expense. The FIRST things the project manager should do are: A. Hold a meeting with the team to review why the acceptances have been late, make a list of the specific reasons, and correct those reasons. B. Review the procurement statement of work for requirements, send a receipt of claim response, and meet to resolve the issue without resorting to legal action if possible. C. Review the contract for specific agreed-upon terms that relate to the issue, see if there is a clear response, and consult an attorney if needed. D. Collect all relevant data, send the data to the company attorney, and consult with the attorney about legal actions.

C. Review the contract for specific agreed-upon terms that relate to the issue, see if there is a clear response, and consult an attorney if needed. Collecting and sending relevant data to the company attorney does not reflect the "take-charge" role of a professional project manager. The contract may have other terms equally as relevant as the requirements, so reviewing only the requirements is not enough. Meeting to resolve the reason for late acceptance might be logical, but it does not solve the real problem in the question. The real and immediate problem is the claim, not what caused it. Certainly a great project manager would eventually need to evaluate why the problem occurred, but this question is asking what to to FIRST. The best course of action would be to review the contract for terms related to this issue, look for a response, and consult an attorney if necessary.

All of the following are inputs to the Develop Schedule process EXCEPT: A. Resource requirements, schedule management plan, staff assignments. B. Network diagram, organizational process assets, resource breakdown structure. C. Schedule baseline, scope statement, risk register. D. Organizational process assets, activity attributes, resource calenders.

C. Schedule baseline, scope statement, risk register. This question is really saying, "Which of the following do you not need before you develop your final schedule?" Remember that if any part of a choice is incorrect, the entire choice is incorrect. Of all the items included in the four choices, the only one that is not an input to the Develop Schedule process is the schedule baseline. The schedule baseline is an output of that process.

The MOST common source of conflict on projects is: A. Priorities. B. Cost. C. Schedules. D. Personality.

C. Schedules Don't be fooled because "personality" is on the list. Schedule conflict is the number one source of conflict on projects. Know the top four sources of conflict: 1. schedules 2. project priorities 3. resources 4. and technical opinions.

From the seller's point of view, a procurement is considered closed when: A. Work is complete and formal acceptance revceived. B. Final payment is made. C. The archives, administrative closure, and clousre requirements as stated in the contract are all completed. D. Lessons learned are complete and final payment is reveived.

C. The archives, administrative closure, and clousre requirements as stated in the contract are all completed. Many people do not close out a procurement properly. Ensuring "the acrchives, administrative closure, and closure requirements as stated in the contract are alle completed" includes the components of all the other choices and is therefore the best answer.

As project manager, you are unable to allocate as much time to interact with your stakeholders as you would like. Which of the following stakeholders will you make it a priority to get to know? A. The stakeholder who is an expert on the product of the project, but is not interested in implementing it in his department. B. The manager of the department that will use the product of the project. She is known to be resistant to change. C. The department employee who is unfamiliar with the product of the project, but open to the positive impacts he believes the product will have on his work environment. D. The project sponsor, with whom you have successfully worked on many projects.

C. The department employee who is unfamiliar with the product of the project, but open to the positive impacts he believes the product will have on his work environment. As the department manager, this person is a key stakeholder, and wields a lot of influence over other stakeholders in her department. The fact that she is resistant to change indicates she will need some personal reassurance from the project manager, or she may exert her influence to derail the project.

At the end of a two-year project, the key stakeholders agree that the project has met all the objectives outlined in the project charter and further defined in the project scope statement. The project was within budget and finished on time. The management of one of the functional areas is quite upset because over half of his staff quit during the project, citing long hours and lack of management support. What is the MOST correct statement about this project? A. schedule once it has been set. The project and project manager achieved all of its objectives set forth in the project charter. B. responsible for providing adequate resources, and the project manager successfully managed the project with available resources. C. The project manager did not obtain adequate resources and did not set a realistic deadline based on resources available. D. The project should be measured against how successfully it met its project charter. This was not done during this project.

C. The project manager did not obtain adequate resources and did not set a realistic deadline based on resources available. The project manager is responsible for obtaining upper management buy-in to provide adequate resources, set realistic schedules, and promote team building (p.116).

Which of the following is NOT a possible outcome of risk acceptance? A. The project will suffer no damages. B. The project will experience a cost or schedule overrun. C. The project will recover costs from the insurance company. D. The project will use the risk reserve.

C. The project will recover costs from the insurance company. Recovering costs from the insurance company is the result of transference, not acceptance. Accepting a risk can be passive (what happens, happens) or active (creating contingency plans). Any of the other choices could be an outcome of accepting risks on the project (p.429). *Risk Acceptance.* A risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and not take any action unless the risk occurs.

Which of the following statements BEST describes how stakeholders are involved on a project? A. They help to determine the project schedule, deliverables, and requirements. B. They help to determine the resource needs and resource constraints on the project. C. They help to determine the project constraints and product deliverables. D. They approve the project charter, help provide assumptions, and create management plans.

C. They help to determine the project constraints and product deliverables. The project manager determines the project schedule through schedule development. The team and other stakeholders provide the inputs. Since it is also the project manager's role to determine resource needs and create management plans, the choices including those roles cannot be best. The project sponsor approves the project charter, not the stakeholders. Stakeholders do, however, help in determining project constraints and product deliverables. Notice how tricky questions can be if you do not read them correctly! Watch for this in other questions, and pay close attention to the differences in wording.

You have just been assigned to manage a project in the middle of project executing. The BEST way to control the project is to: A. Hold status meetings because they have worked best for you in the past. B. Refer to the bar chart weekly. C. Use a combination of communication methods. D. Meet with management regularly.

C. Use a combination of communication methods. Your communication needs to be effective for the situation. Because situations vary, so must your communication methods (p. 389).

A project manager is quantifying risk for her project. Several of her experts are offsite, but wish to be included. How can this be done? A. Use Monte Carlo analysis using the Internet as a tool. B. Determine options for recommended corrective action. C. Use the Delphi technique. D. Apply the critical path method.

C. Use the Delphi technique. The Delphi technique is most commonly used to obtain expert opinions on technical issues, the necessary project or product scope, or the risks (p.418).

The amount of funds available for a company to invest in projects is called: A. Sunk costs. B. Value analysis. C. Working capital. D. Direct cost.

C. Working capital. Sunk costs are expended costs. Value analysis involves finding a less costly way to do the same scope of work. A direct cost is directly attributable to an activity. The amount of funds available for a company to invest is their working capital.

Value analysis is performed to get: A. Management to buy into the project. B. The team to buy into the project. C. More value from the cost analysis. D. A less costly way of doing the same work.

D. A less costly way of doing the same work. Notice that you need to know the definition of value analysis to answer this question. Also notice that the other choices could be considered correct by someone who does not know the definition. Value analysis seeks to decrease cost while maintaining the same scope (p.255). Value Analysis is a concept part of the Cost Management knowledge area. This concept is sometimes referred to as value engineering. Its focus is to find a less costly way to do the same work. In other words, this technique asks, "How can we decrease cost on the project while maintaining the same scope?" When performing value analysis, you systematically identify the required project functions, assign values to these functions, and provide functions at the lowest overall cost without loss of performance.

A project manager has made a change to the project. What should she do NEXT? A. Evaluate impact. B. Assign resources. C. Request change control board involvement. D. Revise the project management plan and/or project documents

D. Revise the project management plan and/or project documents Once the change has been made, the documents affected by the change (the project management plan/or project documents) must be updated.

A project manager is concerned about the amount of gold plating that has occurred on past projects. all the following would NOT be of use in controlling gold plating EXCEPT: A. A project charter B. A risk management plan C. A staffing management plan D. A work breakdown structure dictionary

D. A work breakdown structure dictionary Gold plating generally refers to adding extra scope. If you picked project charter, remember the project charter is a high-level document. Because the WBS dictionary is much more detailed, it provides the most help in controlling gold plating. WBS dictionary. The WBS dictionary is a document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information about each component in the WBS. The WBS dictionary is a document that supports the WBS. Information in the WBS dictionary may include, but is not limited to: - Code of account identifier, - Description of work, - Assumptions and constraints, - Responsible organization, - Schedule milestones, - Associated schedule activities, - Resources required, - Cost estimates, - Quality requirements, - Acceptance criteria, - Technical references, and - Agreement information.

You are the project manager on a project that has a total project float of negative 20. What should you do FIRST? A. Request an extension of the project due date. B. Use less experienced team members. C. Fast track the project if overall project risk is already too high. D. Acquire more resources for critical path activities.

D. Acquire more resources for critical path activities. Negative float indicates you are behind. Requesting an extension of the project due date essentially means, "Do nothing and ask for more time." Fast tracking an already risky project only puts the project in worse shape. The more proactive choice is to acquire more resources for critical path activities.

During project executing, a project team member informs the project manager that based on her observations, the project cannot meet the quality standards set for it. What would be the LEAST effective thing for the project manager to do? A. Review the quality plan. B. Hold a meeting on the issue. C. Review the project scope statement. D. Continue the Perform Quality Assurance process

D. Continue the Perform Quality Assurance process Perform Quality Assurance involves determining whether standards are being followed. This would be the least effective, since it does not address the specific problem described in the question (p.311).

Your program manager has come to you, the project manager, for help with a bid for her newest project. You want to protect your company from financial risk, and you have limited scope definition. What is the BEST type of contract to choose? A. Cost plus percentage of cost (CPPC) B. Time and material (T&M) C. Fixed-price (FP) D. Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF)

D. Cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) Of the options given, the only contract that limits fees for large projects with limited scope definition is cost plus fixed fee. Limited scope definition are available and the purpose of the project is not a service, it is a project. Due to that there is no information, that requires the project to start as soon as possible, the best choice is a D. Cost plus fixed fee.

A project is considered out of control and the previous project manager has quit. You are assigned as the new project manager and have been asked to verify the quality level of the project and to recommend corrective action. What do you do FIRST? A. Review the project management plan. B. Create a risk mitigation plan. C. Meet with the team. D. Draw a control chart.

D. Draw a control chart. The question could be read as "What do you do first to deal with this situation?" You might do any of the other choices when first assigned as a project manager, but only creating a control chart deals with the problem presented (p.305)

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

D. Expert. When someone is given the job of project manager, he or she 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. Expert power has to be earned. (p.359)

A seller contacts you to tell you one of your team members did something that caused the seller harm, and the seller is going to file a claim. What is the BEST thing to do? A. Use the contingency reserve to cover the claim. B. See if there is any money left in the budget to pay for the claim. C. Look for instances where the seller caused you harm to counteract the claim. D. Follow the change control process outlined in the contract

D. Follow the change control process outlined in the contract You always need to follow the change control process. You cannot arbitrarily decide to refuse to pay claims. Reserves should be used for identified risks and not used arbitrarily (p.504).

A project manager is assigned to a new, high priority project. There are only five available resources because other resources are already committed to projects. The time available to complete the project is less than half the time needed, and the project manager can not convince management to change the end date. The project manager should: A. Use more experienced resources to complete the work faster. B. Provide the team with opportunities to produce acceptable quality on the work that can be accomplished. C. Coordinate with team members the overtime necessary to complete the work. D. Look for any scope that can be cut from the project.

D. Look for any scope that can be cut from the project. Requiring overtime is never the first resort to solve such problems because it causes the project manager to lose credibility and performance. This would likely create a cost impact on the project, or impact other projects or other work. Helping the team produce quality work is a good idea, but it does not address the time problem. Using more experienced resources is not viable, as other resources are not available. The best choice in this situation is to consider cutting the scope.

You are a project manager for one of many projects in a large and important program. At a high-level status meeting, you note that another project manager has reported her project on schedule. Looking back on your project over the last few weeks, your remember many deliverables from the other project that arrived late. What should you do? A. Discuss the issue with your boss. B. Develop a risk control plan. C. Meet with the program manager. D. Meet with the other project manager.

D. Meet with the other project manager. You should confront the situation by discussing it with the other project manager. You can then find out if the other project is really on schedule and thereby confirm or deny your information. Meeting with the program manager or with your boss would be the next step if meeting with the other project manager validates your concern. You might also develop a risk response plan to deal with the risk to your project. First, though, you need to meet with the other project manager. (p.558)

A team member from research and development tells you that her work is too creative to provide you with a fixed single estimate for the activity. You both decide to use the the average labor hours to develop a prototype (from past, similar projects) to predict the future. This is an example of which of the following? A. Three-point estimating B. Analogous estimating C. Monte Carlo analysis D. Parametric estimating

D. Parametric estimating Monte Carlo analysis is a modeling, or simulation, technique. Three-point estimating uses three time estimates per activity. One could use data from past projects to come up with the estimate (analogous estimating), but the best answer is paramtric estimating because past history is being used to calculate an estimate. Differences between analogous and parametric estimating: - Analogous is considered top-down and is less accurate than parametric. Analogous estimating uses an "analogy" - comparing a past similar project to your current project. - Parametric is more accurate, specifically when the underlying data is scalable. Parametric uses a relationship between variables (a unit cost/duration and the number of units) to develop the estimate.

The testing results for the new computer modulation project have arrived from the seller. The results indicate the project is not meeting the overall quality requirements. If the project manager meets with team members to analyze the situation, the project manager is involved in which process? A. Control Quality B. Plan Quality Management C. Quality Management D. Perform Quality Assurance

D. Perform Quality Assurance The key word here is "overall". Control Quality is incorrect because they are not addressing the specific work performance (i.e., the table is too short). The Perform Quality Assurance process is used to make sure standards and processes were followed.

All of the following are inputs to the Develop Schedule process EXCEPT: A. Assumption that the software will be released without any damaging bugs. B. Need for delay between ordering equipment and installing it. C. Vacation schedules. D. Planned start and finish dates for each activity.

D. Planned start and finish dates for each activity. Vacation schedules, the need for delay between ordering and installing equipment, and assumptions about the software are inputs to the Develop Schedule process. Start and finish dates for each activity are outputs of the Develop Schedule process.

You evaluate your critical path and determine the project will be completed two weeks ahead of management's expected due date. What should you do? A. Add extra features that will enhance the project and require two more weeks to complete. B. Pull resources off the critical path to work on non-critical path activities. C. Delay the project for two weeks. D. Prepare a list of identified risks that did not occur.

D. Prepare a list of identified risks that did not occur. Delaying project completion or adding work to the project are unethical actions. When the project is completed early, the project manager should report that the project came in ahead of time and explain WHY. This is a success! If there was proper project planning, this should occur because an expected risk did not materialize (p.215).

Your company puts a new product into the marketplace without any reports of problems. However, your internal research indicates there is a possibility of a malfunction that could cause serious injuries. You estimate that modifications to eliminate this possibility would cost US $20,000,000. What should you do? A. Wait until an injury to verify the impact. B. Make the necessary modifications to the products in production. C. Obtain insurance to cover the anticipated damages. D. Recall all existing product.

D. Recall all existing product. Modifying the products in production does not solve the problem, it just prevents it from getting bigger. Waiting for an injury is unethical, and may cause additional liability. Although insurance would cover the risk, it is best to recall the product and fix the problem in all instances (p.559).

A team member tell you that when his wife was diagnosed with a serious illness, he stole items from work and sold them, using the money for her treatment. He has since paid back the money taken, in ways that kept his theft secret. Ethically, what should you do? A. Advise the team member to tell his manager. B. Talk with a lawyer to see if this can be justified. C. Attempt to gather evidence to determine whether or not the theft in fact occurred. D. Report him to his manager.

D. Report him to his manager.

A new employee of the company is assigned to work on a project that is in the early planning processes. She has to decide today if she will accept the assignment to the project or wheter she wants to be assigned to a different project. However, the proeject manager is not at work and is not reachable. Where can the team member look to help her determine what work she is given on the project? A. Activity definitions B. Project management plan C. Job descriptions D. Responsibility assignment matrix

D. Responsibility assignment matrix Neither activity definitions nor project management plan include the responsibilities of team members on the project. Wheras a job description describes a person's primary job, the responsibility assignment matrix describes the person's responsibilities on the project. Matrix-based charts. A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is a grid that shows the project resources assigned to each work package. It is used to illustrate the connections between work packages or activities and project team members. On larger projects, RAMs can be developed at various levels. For example, a high-level RAM can define what a project team group or unit is responsible for within each component of the WBS, while lower-level RAMs are used within the group to designate roles, responsibilities, and levels of authority for specific activities. The matrix format shows all activities associated with one person and all people associated with one activity. This also ensures that there is only one person accountable for any one task to avoid confusion of responsibility. One example of a RAM is a RACI.

A new software development project is in progress and the project manager is working with the quality assurance department. They want to improve everyone's confidence that the project will satisfy the quality standards. Which of the following MUST they have before they start this process. A. Completed checklists B. A quality control plan C. Rework D. Results of quality control measurements

D. Results of quality control measurements The only choice listed that makes sense and is an official input to Perform Quality Assurance is results of quality control measurements. This question is similar to others in this program but not exactly the same. You may also see this occur on your exam. Carefully read the questions! (p.311)

A control chart show the last eight pipes produced were all less than average weight. You need to inform management that there is a problem because the situation violate the: A. 3 sigma rule. B. Rule of eight. C. 50/50 rule. D. Rule of seven.

D. Ruel of seven. Less than the average wight means there isn't a normal and expected variation in the process. This condition has occurred seven or more time in a row. The process is out of control. Rule of Seven: The rule of seven is a general rule, or heuristic. It refers to a group or series of nonrandom data points that total seven on one side of the mean. The ruel of seven tells you that, although none of these points are outside of the control limits, they are not random and the process is out of control. The project manager should investigate thsi type of situation and find a cuase.

The sponsor has asked you to require that each piece of the project scope be planned, estimated, and scheduled. The sponsor also wants to authorize each piece of the project management plan after the documentation is assembled. What is the MOST appropriate response to these requests? A. Provide the sponsor with a schedule of when the components will be ready for authorization. B. Politely advise the sponsor to forego the authorization of work. C. Ask the sponsor to authorize each piece before it is completed. D. Tell the sponsor the chance for authorization will come after the pieces of the project management plan are compiled.

D. Tell the sponsor the chance for authorization will come after the pieces of the project management plan are compiled. This question deals with the proper creation of the project management plan. The final plan contains more information than what is listed in this question. It is the final plan and not the components that require authorization. Otherwise, there is extra work for everyone. The project management plan is approved after all its components are completed.

People from the business development department are the only ones completing a project. Whenever questions arise, they are transmitted to the heads of other departments, to the people in these departments, and then back to the business development department. This is causing delays on the project. Why might this method of communication be happening? A. There is no project charter. B. The work breakdown structure does not show responsibilities. C. The communications management plan is not clear. D. The project is being managed in a functional organization.

D. The project is being managed in a functional organization. There is no indication that the situation is not part of the communications management plan. Neither the project charter nor the WBS are related to the cause of the delays. This type of communication is common in a functional organization.