PMP Quiz
Communication under a contract should tend toward: a. Formal written communication. b. Formal verbal communication. c. Informal written communication. d. Informal verbal communication.
A
What percent of time do project managers spend communicating? a. 90 b. 20 c. 70 d. 25
A
A Gantt chart is useful in determining a. The level of effort of a task b. When a task starts and stops c. How tasks are related to each other d. Who is assigned to do a task e. Relative priority of tasks
B
Your lead engineer estimates that a work package will most likely require 50 weeks to complete. It could be completed in 40 weeks if all goes well, but it could take 180 weeks in the worst case. What is the PERT estimate for he expected duration of the work package? a. 65 weeks b. 70 weeks c. 75 weeks d. 80 weeks
B
_________ is a request for interim stoppage of work due to non conformance, funding or technical considerations a. Bid Protest b. Stop Work order c. Notice to Proceed d. Supplier Default Notice
B
____________ must be measured regularly to identify variances from the plan. a. Stakeholder requirements b. Project performance c. Schedule control d. Project controls
B
Quality is a. zero defects b. a problem c. a specification d. a cost
C
Which of the following BEST describes when the baseline can be changed? a. Only under emergency conditions b. The original baseline is always maintained throughout the project. c. With any approved changes d. When the project sponsor determines it is appropriate
C
A comprehensive definition of Scope management would be: a. Approval of Scope baseline b. Approval of detailed project charter c. Configuration control d. Managing a project in terms of its objectives thru all life cycle phases and processes.
D
A graphic display of resource usage hours is: a. Organizational chart b. Responsibility matrix c. WBS d. Histogram
D
A project Manager believes that modifying the scope of the project may provide added value for the customer. The project manager should: a. Change the scope baseline b. Prepare a variance report c. Change project objectives d. Convene change control board
D
When actual costs exceed estimated costs without any change in the scope of work, the project is experiencing a. Accelerated costs b. Cost growth c. Schedule compression d. Cost overrun e. Cost risk
D
An activity has an early start date of the 10th and a late start date of the 19th. The activity also has duration of 4 days. There are no non-workdays. From the information given, what can be concluded about the activity? a. Total float for the activity is 9 days b. The early finish date of the activity is the end of the day on the 13th c. The late finish date is the 25th d. The total calendar time to complete the activity is 4 days e. A and B
E
Which is not an element of procurement management? a. Purchasing b. Expediting c. Acquisition d. Marketing e. C and D
E
A team of seven people adds two more people to the team. How many lines of communication are there now? a. 9 b. 36 c. 18 d. 81
B
A tight matrix is: a. A balanced matrix organization. b. Where all team members are brought together in one location. c. Where functional managers operate in a dual reporting structure reporting to both their own departments and to the project manager. d. a and c
B
Earned value is a. the base line plan b. completed work value c. cost/cost variance d. percent over or under budget e. a and b
B
A concurrent relationship is shown on a network diagram as a. an arrow going from the start of one task to the start of another b. an arrow going from the start of one task to the finish of another c. an arrow going to the start of two or more tasks d. a and c e. b and c
A
A project manager receives a change request from the customer. The change requires adding a new filtration system to the project in place of a cleaner bag. When the project manager evaluates the change, it is MOST important that he/she consider the impact to the: a. Triple constraint. b. Communication plan. c. Sponsor. d. subsequent tasks
A
A team member notifies you that she is about to add extra functionality to the project. She states there was no impact on the cost or schedule. What is the initial action to perform by the project manager? a. Understand what functionality is proposed, and if she is gold plating, halt her progress b. Implement change control processes to track the change c. Inform the customer of the change to the scope d. Notify the functional manager that scope changes are not approved
A
As part of integrated change control a project manager wants to involve the stakeholders. Which of the following would be the BEST way accomplish this? a. Have the stakeholders periodically review the list of project requirements b. Invite the stakeholders attend project status meetings c. Send the status report to the stakeholders d. Constantly update the stakeholders on the status of all project changes
A
Conditional diagramming methods such as GERT are used a. Because PDM and ADM do not allow non-sequential activities, such as loops or conditional branches b. For a graphical representation of the network c. To show the four types of dependencies (finish-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-start, and start-to-finish) d. To help expedite the preparation of a project network diagram e. To easily display dummy activities in a network
A
Cost of quality is a concept that includes a. The cost necessary for ensuring conformance to requirements. b. The life cycle cost of the project. c. All research and development costs related to the project. d. only the cost of the quality control function e. a and b
A
Cost overruns on a project have major impacts on the profitability of operations, but ________ do(es) not necessarily contribute to cost overruns of a project budget. a. a change in contract scope b. delays in schedule c. lack of work force experience d. integration uncertainty for project elements e. contractor claims for out-of-scope work
A
Ensuring that all work is both authorized and funded by contractual documentation is the responsibility of: a. The Project Manager b. Functional Manager c. Sponsor d. All of the above
A
Fast Tracking in time management is a. Doing some or all activities in parallel rather than in sequence b. Preparing progress reports on a quick turnaround basis c. The timely input of data to calculate the critical path d. Reducing the time allowed for each project activity e. Minimizing float
A
How does most communication occur? a. Nonverbally b. Verbally c. Para lingually d. Referentially
A
In what way does free float (FF) differ from total float (TF)? a. Free float is commonly referred to as slack time whereas total float is commonly referred to as float time. b. Free float only affects the early start of any immediately following activities. c. There is no difference; the two terms are functionally equivalent. d. An activity's free float is calculated by subtracting its total float from the critical path's total float.
A
Inputs to contract administration include a. Contracts, work results, change request and seller invoices b. Contracts, work results, scope request and seller invoices c. Contracts, work results, contract change control system d. Contracts, work breakdown structure, change request and seller invoices
A
One way that the Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique differs from the Program Evaluation and Review Techniques is that it a. Allows the relationships in the logic diagram to contain loops b. Represents the Project Baseline Chart in a superimposed fashion over both the logic diagram and the Gantt Charts c. Uses Object Oriented Programming techniques to allow resource histograms that are attached to the project's Gantt Charts d. Represents the duration of the project activities in a probabilistic fashion e. Represents the duration of the project activities in a deterministic fashion
A
Outputs of Integrated Change Control include: a. Project plan updates, corrective action and lessons learned b. Project plan updates, performance updates and lessons learned c. Project plan updates, corrective action and work breakdown structure d. Project plan updates, corrective action and progress meetings
A
Some contracts are not completed because the contractor fails or refuses to complete the contractual conditions. This situation is called a ________ for which damages can be assigned. a. breech b. stop-work c. flawed contract d. contract in situ e. none of the above
A
Statistical sampling methods are valid for most projects, regardless of the lack of repetitive processes, because ________. a. projects rely on external vendors for products that must meet contractual specifications to conform to the requirements b. purchased materials will never meet the requirements of the project c. services are amenable to statistical sampling even for small lots d. it looks good to the customer when there is a mathematical approach to quality e. statistics provide a basis for customer acceptance of the projects
A
Suppose the summary network for a major project has 500 activities. For a briefing requirement for senior management, the best method of displaying the progress on the project (schedule vs. calendar) is by using a ________. a. bar chart of all activities on the summary schedule b. network of all activities on the summary schedule c. narrative description of the active tasks d. combination of the full (detail) network and the summary network e. histogram to show percent of work on the project that has been completed
A
The SPI, which is used to estimate project completion date, is calculated by? a. EV/PV b. EV/AC c. ACWS/PV d. PV/EV
A
The basis for measuring and reporting schedule performance is the a. Schedule baseline b. Number of change requests c. Difference between planned and actual events and activities d. Need for duration compression techniques
A
The cost of quality has been argued as being primarily driven by the workers. When items were produced that did not meet the customers' expectations, the workers were found to be at fault. Current thinking is that management has at least ________ percent of the responsibility for the cost of quality. a. 85 b. 75 c. 65 d. 55 e. 50
A
The project is not going well and many changes are being made. Which of the following should you do FIRST to gain control of the project? a. Review the scope of work with the stakeholders b. Create a new change form c. Remind everyone of the change procedures d. Ask management for help
A
The project manager identifies a potential problem with the schedule in that many of the supervisors are not starting work on schedule, but are waiting until all the float (slack) is consumed on an activity before starting. In a few cases, this practice is pushing following activities out and absorbing the float downstream. The project manager directs that this practice stop and to ensure compliance ________. a. freezes the start of all activities to identify when supervisors initiate late starts b. freezes the end point of all activities to identify when the supervisors initiate late starts c. converts the schedule to a fixed activity network so the supervisors have only a given time frame to complete activities d. informs the supervisors that any delays in the scheduled activities will result in dismissal of the responsible supervisor e. dismisses the most frequent abuser of the scheduling system as an example of the action that will be taken against supervisors for irregular practices
A
The project manager is working to clearly describe the level of involvement expected from everyone involved in the project in order to prevent rework, conflict and coordination problems. Which of the following BEST describes the project manager's efforts? a. Integration management, control, communications planning b. Smoothing, control, goodwill, gold plating c. Scope verification, quality control, execution d. Risk assessment, scheduling, lessons learned, stakeholder management
A
The project manager on a large software installation project is working with her team on a critical set of tasks. They are working late on Saturday night. Circumstances create the situation wherein the project manager must decide to change the schedule that will push the end date of the project out two weeks. What BEST action should the project manager take next as a result of her decision? a. He should immediately document and capture the changes and present them to the change control board the next time that board is available for contact. b. She should look for free float to bring the project back into schedule. c. She should implement configuration management in order to obtain senior management approval and then make the change. d. She should review her detailed risk assessment development process to ensure that other unidentified risks are included and a plan for mitigation is created.
A
The project schedule is the key to tracking progress in the project. Schedule reports should be easily understood, practical, pertinent, and current because of their intended use by ________. a. engineers b. planners c. managers d. the scheduling team
A
The purpose of status meetings is to: a. Exchange information about the project. b. have team members report on what they are doing c. Issue work authorizations. d. confirm the accuracy of the costs submitted by the team
A
Financial compensation is the primary motivational tool for which of the following management theories or programs? a. Zero Defects program b. Theory X management c. Theory Y management d. Quality Control Circles
B
The role of the project manager relating to integration is MOST appropriately described as: a. Ensuring that the various project elements are properly coordinated. b. Ensuring that all members work together. c. Ensuring that the stakeholders' role is integrated with the rest of the team. d. Ensuring that management's role is integrated into the everyday workings of the project.
A
The sender is responsible for: a. Confirming the message is understood. b. Ensuring the receiver agrees with the message. c. Scheduling communication exchange. d. Presenting the message in the most agreeable manner.
A
The three major types of communication are: a. Written, verbal, and non-verbal. b. Verbal, formal documentation, informal documentation. c. Verbal, written, and graphic. d. Verbal, written, and electronic.
A
The___ of a product or service most affects its reliability and maintenance characteristics. a. design b. concept c. fabrication d. performance e. cost
A
To assess the implications of crashing a project, a project manager should first compute a. Cost and time slope for each activity that can be expedited b. Cost of additional resources to be added to the project c. Time that will be saved in the overall schedule when tasks are expedited d. Changes in technology that result from crashing the project e. Three probabilistic time estimates of PERT
A
Two months into a design project, the customer requested a modification to the product. The change was made without notifying the project manager. During the final testing phase, results were different then what was planned for. This scenario is an example of which of the following? a. Poor use of scope change control b. Poor adherence to the communication plan c. Poor development of the quality management plan d. Poor definition of the test plan
A
Unless evidence indicates otherwise, a process is assumed to be a. In control. b. Out of control. c. Working at full capacity. d. Working at less than full capacity. e. Operating within required engineering tolerances.
A
Unless evidence indicates otherwise, a process is assumed to be a. In control. b. Out of control. c. Working at full capacity. d. Working at less than full capacity. e. operating within required engineering tolerances
A
Which describes how cost variances will be managed? a. Cost management plan b. Cost baseline c. Cost estimate d. Chart of accounts
A
Which of the following best characterizes the results of an increase in quality? a. Increased productivity, increased cost-effectiveness, and decreased cost risk. b. Reduced productivity and no change to cost-effectiveness or cost risk. c. Reduced productivity and an increase in overall product or service cost. d. Increased productivity and cost-effectiveness. e. Increased productivity, decreased cost-effectiveness and increased cost risk.
A
Which of the following can create the MOST misinterpretation in the statement of work? a. Using imprecise language b. Poor pattern, structure, and chronological order c. Small variation in size of tasks or detail of work d. Drawings that show too much detail
A
Which of the following is an overall project change control output? a. Project plan updates b. Risk management plan c. Project plan d. Change requests
A
Which of the following would be used to present information to upper management? a. Gantt chart b. Network diagram c. Fish bone diagram d. Milestone chart
A
Which process is not included in Project Cost Management? a. Closeout b. Estimating c. Budgeting d. Control
A
Which relationship dependency is indicative of concurrency? a. Start-to-start b. Start-to-finish c. Finish-to-start d. Finish-to-finish e. a and d
A
You are a project manager for a US $3,000,000 product development project. Your project is well into the execution phase and remains on time, on budget and on specification. This morning, your project sponsor called to express concern about the project. Based on the schedule baseline, the project should be nearing implementation, but the sponsor does not know the current status of the project. You remind the sponsor that your team produces a detailed status report weekly and distributes it via e-mail. The sponsor indicates that e-mail is too impersonal and verbal updates are preferred. This situation suggests problems with which of the following project management processes? a. Communications planning b. Information distribution c. Performance reporting d. Stakeholder management
A
You have been assigned to manage the development of an organization's first website. The site will be highly complex and interactive, and neither your project team nor the client has much experience with website development. The timeline is extremely aggressive. Any delay will be costly for both your firm and the client. You have an executive sponsor and have achieved agreement and sign-off on both the project charter and the project plan. Client personnel have been kept fully informed of the project's progress through status reports and regular meetings. The project is on schedule, within the budget, and a final perfunctory review has been scheduled. Suddenly, you hear that the entire effort may be cancelled, because the product developed is totally unacceptable. What is the MOST likely cause of this situation? a. A key stakeholder was not adequately involved in the project. b. The project charter and project plan were not thoroughly explained or adequately reviewed by the client. c. Communication arrangements were inadequate and did not provide the required information to interested parties. d. The executive sponsor failed to provide adequate support for the project.
A
_________ is a written order directing the contractor to make changes according to the provisions of the contract documents. a. Change order/purchase order Amendment b. Contract order Modifications. c. Contractor claim d. Owner Directive
A
Having to constantly push the team to perform is an example of a LACK of: a. Project continuity. b. Team buy-in. c. Management support. d. Team accord.
B
In which of the following scope management processes is the scope management plan prepared? a. Initiation b. Scope planning c. Scope Definition d. Scope verification
B
A team member notifies you she has added extra functionality to the project. She tells you there was no impact on the cost or schedule. What should be done as a result of this change? a. Implement change control processes to track the change b. Understand what functionality was added, to determine course of action c. Notify the functional manager that scope changes are not approved d. Make sure marketing is aware of the change
B
A project manager believes that modifying the project scope may provide added value for the customer. What should the project manager do? a. Change the scope baseline b. Contact the customer to determine if the change adds value c. Call a meeting of the change control board d. Change the project's objectives
B
A project manager discovers that two team members discussed what was needed to complete an activity on the project and made many scope changes. The deliverable is now completed and the team members are planning to go onto the next task. In looking at what was done, the project manager determines that the work does NOT meet the requirements of the project. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager? a. Add another task, formatted with the correct scope, to the project b. Refuse the submittal of the task c. Have the team begin the task again and include the incident in their performance review d. Ask the team member's manager to assign different people to the task
B
A project manager had a complex problem to solve and made a decision about what needed to be done. A few months later, the problem resurfaced. Most likely what did the project manager not do? a. Proper risk analysis b. Confirm that the decision solved the problem c. Have the project sponsor validate the decision d. Use an Ishikawa diagram
B
A project manager has a project team consisting of people from four countries. The project is very important to the company and the project manager is concerned about its success. The length of the project schedule is acceptable. What type of communication methods should he/she use? a. Informal verbal b. Formal written c. Formal verbal d. Informal written
B
A project manager has made a change to the project. What should she do NEXT? a. Assign resources b. Revise the project plan c. Evaluate impact d. Request change control board involvement
B
A project manager is concentrating on ensuring that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. This is: a. Time management. b. Scope management. c. Cost management. d. quality management
B
A project manager is trying to manage a complex project at a 6-sigma level with 15 people. The project manager decides to use a trend report because it will help him: a. Evaluate earned value. b. Examine project results over time. c. Analyze the level of project complexity. d. Determine the level of quality.
B
A project manager may issue a waiver on items received from a vendor because the items are less than the purchase order specified. If the project manager knowingly accepts faulty material the vendor is usually ________ any damages that the material may cause. a. held responsible for b. relieved of responsibility for c. made to pay a percentage of d. willing to repair/correct
B
A report that is focused on predicting future project status is called a: a. Trend report. b. Forecasting report. c. Status report. d. Variance report.
B
A scope change is defined as a. Change in technical specifications b. Modification to the agreed upon project scope as defined in the work breakdown structure c. Change in product description d. Change in the personnel authorization system
B
A team member determines that the scope of work for her task is no longer valid. She comes to you for advice on making the change to the task scope of work. To which of the following documents should the project manager refer to make this change? a. The project management information system b. The scope management plan c. The cost management plan d. The work authorization system
B
About midway through the project, the project manager learns that most members of the project team do not review the weekly project updates. What should the project manager do? a. Create a signature log so team members can indicate when they have read the reports b. Revise the communications plan appropriately to meet the informational needs of the stakeholders c. Improve the layout of the weekly project updates to encourage reading by team members d. Go to the team members first hand to find out why they are not reading the reports
B
All work packages are complete a. at EAC time b. when BAC is equal to EAC c. when BCWP intersects BCWS d. when schedule variance is zero e. c and d
B
An output of the scope change control process is: a. Scope statement b. Lessons learned c. Formal acceptance d. Work breakdown structure
B
As of the data date, your project schedule has a BCWS of 100. The BCWP, however, is 110. This tells you that your project is currently 10% a. Behind schedule b. Ahead of schedule c. Over budget d. Under budget e. Ahead of schedule and over budget
B
During a project team meeting, a team member suggests an enhancement to the scope of work that is beyond the scope of the project charter. The project manager points out that the team needs to concentrate on completing all the work and only the work required. This is an example of: a. Change management process. b. Scope management. c. Quality analysis. d. Scope decomposition.
B
During the execution phase of the project, you realize the subcontractors are working with incomplete and different scope statements. As the project manager, what should you do FIRST? a. Check the work completed against the correct scope statements b. Review the scope of work with the stakeholders c. Document the inconsistencies to management, calculating the cost of non-conformance d. Stop all activities until the scope of work is complete
B
Life cycle costing is a concept whereby all costs for a system are computed to determine the total cost of ownership. Life cycle cost categories include ________. a. purchase, repair, and operation b. development, procurement, and operation/maintenance c. procurement, lease, and disposal d. procurement, operation, and disposal e. operation, maintenance, and storage
B
Mgmt. has decided to crash a project in order to avoid penalty payments for late deliveries. Additional costs are expected. To crash the project either overtime or additional resources should be assigned to: a. All activities b. Those activities on the critical path beginning with the longest time duration activities. c. Only for activities with the longest time durations. d. None of the above.
B
Projects have direct and indirect costs that the project manager must track to ensure the budget is not exceeded. The project manager has the most control over direct costs such as ________. a. bonuses, fees, and awards b. labor, materials, and equipment c. labor, supervision, and fees d. overhead, G&A, and fees e. G&A, facilities, and transportation
B
Risk management is defined as the art and science of _____ risk factors throughout the life cycle of a project. a. Researching, reviewing and acting on b. Identifying, analyzing and responding to c. Reviewing, monitoring and managing d. Identifying, reviewing and avoiding
B
The critical path is calculated by establishing the following dates a. Start to start, start to finish, finish to finish, finish to start b. Early start, early finish, late start, late finish c. Predecessor to successor, predecessor to predecessor, successor to successor d. Primary to secondary, primary to finish, secondary to secondary, finish to finish e. Planned start, actual start, planned finish, actual finish
B
The customer wants to expand the project scope after the performance measurement baseline has been established. The customer will need to follow which procedures? a. Scope control b. Configuration management c. Time management d. Cost control
B
The goal of resource-constrained scheduling is to a. Organize time on construction projects b. Minimize the overall project duration given the available resources c. Minimize overtime expenses by assigning resources within normal work hours d. Maximize the efficiency of available resources based on activity sequences e. Increase productivity through fast-tracking and crashing procedures
B
The outputs from schedule control include all except: a. Schedule updates b. Revisions c. Corrective action d. Lessons learned
B
The primary components of quality management are quality ________. a. inspections, certifications, and validations b. philosophy, assurance, and control c. form, fit, and function d. reliability, maintainability, and availability e. insurance, assurance, and warranty
B
The primary customer of a project has requested an application change during user testing. As project manager, how should you address this issue? a. Develop a risk mitigation plan b. Through a formal change request c. Inform the project sponsor of changes to scope, cost, and schedule d. Ensure that scope change complies with all relevant contractual provisions
B
The project manager's role during execution of the project can BEST be described as a(n): a. Director. b. Integrator. c. Coordinator. d. Leader.
B
The project schedule is a dynamic document that is maintained in computer systems and that initially reflects the baseline plan. As the schedule is updated to correct errors, change the scope, or reflect actual duration, the baseline schedule ________. a. becomes the current schedule with all changes b. is maintained as the original baseline for post-project evaluations c. is deleted as being unusable and unneeded to manage the project d. is amended to remove any errors but maintained for post-project evaluations
B
Time-limited scheduling is best used when a. there is negative total float b. resources can be better utilized by taking advantage of existing free float c. a finish-to-start relationship exists d. fast-tracking e. b and c
B
To decrease the total project duration for the least cost is called a. Duration compression b. Crashing c. PERT d. ADM or PDM forward and backward pass to determine the critical path e. Fast Tracking
B
What are the four parts of the communications model? a. Sending, Receiving, Decoding, and Comprehending b. Sender, Message, Medium, Receiver c. Communicator, Message, Receiver, Decoder d. Communicating, Transmitting, Receiving, Comprehending
B
What is the name of the process required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, and disposal of project information? a. Quality management b. Communications management c. Procurement management d. Scope management
B
What is used to facilitate communication among stakeholders, to document alternatives considered, and to define the content of key management reviews? a. Project risk response plan b. Project plan c. Integrated change control plan d. Earned value management plan
B
When a project manager is engaged in negotiations, non-verbal communication skills are of: a. Little importance. b. Major importance. c. Importance only when cost and schedule objectives are involved. d. Importance only to ensure you win the negotiation.
B
When is most of a project's budget expended? a. Project planning b. Project execution c. Project control d. Project closing
B
When properly managed and used, float (slack) in a schedule provides some flexibility in a schedule. The ownership of float on a major contract may be questioned by the owner (buyer), prime contractor, and subcontractors. Therefore, it is best to include the float ownership in ________. a. the project management plan b. the contract(s) c. the project charter d. a separate agreement e. the master schedule
B
When should a project baseline be changed? a. When a major delay occurs b. When an official change is made c. When a cost increase occurs d. Changes should never be made in the baseline.
B
Which of the following includes the processes required ensuring the project includes all the work and only the work required to complete the project successfully? a. Cost management b. Scope management c. Time management d. Customer satisfaction management
B
Which of the following is/are an appropriate reason(s) to use financial incentives in a contract? a. To increase overall schedule. b. To reduce overall cost of the project c. To attain the minimum performance required by the contract. d. All of the above
B
Which term describes those costs that are traceable to or caused by a specific project work effort? a. Variable b. Direct c. Indirect d. Fixed e. Semi-variable
B
While the project is being completed, management requests a change. What is the FIRST thing the project manager should do? a. Comply with the request if possible b. Obtain a complete understanding of the scope of the change c. Tell the customer that a change will be coming d. Ask the team to accept the change
B
You have just been assigned as project manager for a large manufacturing project. This one-year project is about halfway done. It involves five different sellers and 20 members of your company on the project team. You want to quickly review where the project now stands. Which of the following reports would be the MOST helpful in finding such information? a. Task status b. Progress c. Forecast d. Communication
B
You take over a project that is in a lot of trouble. There are apparently problems with the team dynamics, scope, sponsors, and timeline. The project has a CPI of .75 and SPI of 1.2. The FIRST step you should take is to: a. Meet with the project sponsors. b. Review all the project deliverables. c. Meet with the team. d. Meet with each team member individually.
B
_____________ includes the process required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. a. Project plan update b. Project scope management c. Scope change control d. Product description
B
A milestone is best described as a. A combination of related activities and events b. An intersection of two or more lines or arrows commonly used for depicting an event or activity c. An identifiable point in a project that denotes a reporting requirement or completion of an important activity d. A specific project task that requires resources and time to complete e. The last stage leading to project completion
C
A project is plagued by changes to the project charter. Who has the primary responsibility to decide if these changes are necessary? a. Project manager b. Project team c. Project sponsor d. Stakeholder
C
A project team member tells you that she went to her project manager with a good idea for a useful change to the project. Instead of giving her approval to make the change, the project manager asked her to write a report describing the benefits of the change. What is the MOST appropriate advice for the situation? a. The project manager is being unreasonable and should do that kind of work herself. b. Remind the project manager that the cost benefit analysis was done during project planning. c. A project manager must be able to weight the benefits of the change versus the costs and compare them to other possible changes. The team member should do what was asked. d. The team member should do what was asked because this sort of information must be given to the project sponsor to make the change.
C
A work authorization system is a _________________ for sanctioning project work to ensure that work is done at the right time and in the proper sequence. a. Informal procedure b. Exchange procedure c. Formal procedure d. Monitoring procedure
C
By which means is a contractor able to control costs overruns due to changing requirements? a. Project Data review b. Change order c. Change Control d. Contract negotiations
C
From the project manager's perspective, quality management is ______________ limited to assessing the attributes of the tools provided to do the work. a. always b. usually c. not d. seldom e. intermittently
C
If the Early Start Date = October 10th, the Late Start Date = October 12th, the Early Finish Date = October 12th and the Late Finish Date = October 14th, and all days that week are working days available to the project, compute the number of slack days for this task. a. 0 b. 1 c. 2 d. 3 e. 4
C
In what way does free float differ from total float? a. Free float is the amount of Total float that does not affect the end date, whereas total float is the accumulated amount of Free float. b. There is no difference - the two terms are functionally equivalent c. Free float affects only the early start of any immediately following activities d. Free float is commonly referred to as slack time where as total float is commonly referred to as float time.
C
Inputs to risk management include a. Project charter, project plan, defined roles and responsibilities, stakeholder risk tolerance, templates for the organization's risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure b. Project plan, organizational risk management policies, defined roles and responsibilities, stakeholder risk tolerance, templates for the organization's risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure c. Project charter, organizational risk management policies, defined roles and responsibilities, stakeholder risk tolerance, templates for the organization's risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure d. Project charter, organizational risk management policies, responsibility assignment matrix, stakeholder risk tolerance, templates for the organization's risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure
C
Materials management is crucial to the success of the project when resources are needed at a specified time and place to ensure continued progress. An assessment of the materials costs should consider not only the cost of purchase but also ________. a. transportation, deterioration, and storage b. storage, damage, and deterioration c. transportation, storage, and shortage d. transportation, storage, and loss e. quantities, storage, and damage
C
Originally, your project had five team members. Now the scope has expanded, and there are a total of eight people on the project team. How many more communication channels have been added? a. 9 b. 10 c. 18 d. 28
C
Potential contract changes should be a. Postponed as long as possible to protect the budget b. Viewed as negative, quantified, and tabulated c. Quantified and fed back through the project planning and procurement processes d. Reviewed by senior management and the buyer e. Submitted for bids to the relevant vendor list
C
Project Integration Management a. Describes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required to complete the project successfully b. Describes the processes required to ensure timely completion of the project c. Describes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken d. Describes the processes required to ensure that the various elements of the project are properly coordinated
C
Project coordination is enhanced through progress reporting, variance reporting, and cross-team meetings. These are all forms of: a. Stakeholder management. b. Risk management and reporting. c. Quality management. d. Communications management.
C
Recognition of personnel achievements is an important building block to the attainment of a superior quality program. The form of recognition should be ________. a. an annual bonus increase paid at the end of the year b. an immediate cash award that is commensurate with the deed c. a nonmonetary award presented in a public forum as soon as the deed is identified d. a nonmonetary award presented in private e. a combination of monetary and nonmonetary award presented in private
C
Smoothing out resource requirements from period to period is called resource ______________. a. Allocation b. Partitioning c. Leveling d. a and b e. None of the above
C
The concept of quality is based on a. Meeting luxury goods standards. b. Producing excellent products that are superior to other similar items. c. conforming to the requirements specifications d. maintaining uniformity of design
C
The concept of quality is based on a. Meeting luxury goods standards. b. Producing excellent products that are superior to other similar items. c. conforming to the requirements specifications d. maintaining uniformity of design e. a and c
C
The integration of cost and schedule to provide measures of the project's performance is the earned value system, or contract performance measurement. The baseline for the earned value system is depicted as a slight S curve because ________. a. there are fewer costs at project initiation until the work force is fully staffed b. there are workers who have not been paid, so the expense is not shown on the chart c. there are more expenses to get a project started than are required on a normal operating basis d. this is just a traditional method of plotting the costs and has no relationship to the actual expenditures e. this approximation has proven to be nearly correct when all costs and expenditures have been accounted for at project completion
C
The major difference(s) between time-limited scheduling and resource leveling is (are) a. Time-limited scheduling reschedules based on late start dates, while resource leveling reschedules based on late finish dates b. Time-limited scheduling considers total float but resource leveling does not c. Time-limited scheduling reschedules activities according to resource availability while resource leveling attempts to smooth out resource requirements by rescheduling d. a and c e. all of the above
C
The need for ____ is one of the major driving forces for communication in a project. a. Optimization b. Integrity c. Integration d. Differentiation
C
The process of conferring with others to come to terms or reach an agreement is called a. Win-win b. Getting to yes c. Negotiation d. Arbitration e. Confrontation
C
The process of monitoring contract performance, making payments, and awarding contract modifications occurs during a. The pre-award phase b. The award phase c. Contract administration d. Contract formation e. Contract resolution
C
The project manager has changed the scope without communicating the change to the rest of the project team. The project is now over budget. What action would prevent this from happening in the future? a. Adjust the resource allocation b. Improve budget estimating c. Follow the communication plan d. Hold more meetings
C
The project manager has changed the scope without communicating the change to the rest of the project team. The project is now over budget. What should the project manager do now? a. Call the customer immediately b. Analyze the impact and request more budget c. Analyze impact to cost and schedule, review and implement contingency plans d. Call a team meeting, apologize and get a quick agreement on a solution
C
The project manager is responsible for all the activities within a project and interfaces with external functions, all of which consume his/her time. Therefore, when a contract administrator is assigned to the project, the project manager ________ the contract. a. does not need to manage b. can transfer all responsibility to the contract administrator for matters related to c. must still manage all major aspects of d. must know only the general contents of e. is not concerned with the management of
C
The specification for a particular part is 10 0.015. The associated process produces parts with the mean of 10 and a standard deviation of 0.002. The process capability index is: a. 0.0002 b. 1.0 c. 2.5 d. Cannot be calculated with above data.
C
There are usually two types of reserves in a project's budget. The ________ reserve is for cost variances from the plan because of inaccurate estimates or pricing and costs overruns, while the ________ is to accommodate costs for project work that were not included in the plan through error or oversight. a. project; budget overrun allowance b. engineering; management allowance c. management; contingency allowance d. management; mismanagement allowance e. planned; unplanned work allowance
C
Two people are arguing about what needs to be done to complete a task. If the project manager wants to know what is going on, she should pay MOST attention to: a. What is said. b. What is being discussed according to those arguing. c. Physical mannerisms. d. The pitch and tone of the voices.
C
Which of the following is considered a cost of prevention? a. Rework costs b. Mass inspection c. Creating quality control charts d. All of the above.
C
Which of the following is correct in regard to scope change control? a. Scope change control is never integrated with other control processes. b. Controlling cost is the most effective way of controlling scope. c. Scope change control must be integrated with other control processes. d. Controlling schedule is the most effective way of controlling scope.
C
Which of the following is true about the critical path in a network diagram? a. The critical path represents the shortest single path through the network b. Activities on the critical path hold the greatest risk for the project c. Activities on the critical path have their early start date equal to their late start date if the shortest possible duration of the project is to be achieved d. Activities on the critical path have their early start date equal to their late finish date if the earliest end date of the project is to be achieved e. Activities on the critical path can never have float
C
Which term describes the failure by either the buyer or seller to perform part or all of the duties of a contract? a. Termination of contract b. Partial performance c. Breach of contract d. Contract litigation e. Contract waiver
C
You are a project manager of a construction project that is financially challenged and behind schedule. A foreman fails to deliver a phase of the project on time as promised. You need to address the issue with the foreman. How should you approach the foreman? a. You are the project manager responsible for the whole of the project. To ensure you have control you remain firm and reprimand the foreman and the team to ensure they do not slow down. b. You disregard the issue, acknowledging that what is done is done, and develop a plan for moving forward. c. You meet with the foreman inquiring about what happened, and seek to understand and solve the problem. d. You reprimand the foreman in private and ask that he keep you better informed in the future.
C
You are given a new project to manage and a brief scope of work. Your manager tells you that there is no required completion date for the project. The BEST thing to do is to: a. Ask for better definition of the scope of work before accepting the project. b. Accomplish the project as time allows. c. Plan the project as you would a normal project, but build in schedule flexibility. d. Make a list of tasks that need to be done.
C
You are the project manager on an information technology project. An information specialist on your team, after having lunch with a low ranking customer representative working with him on a software project, learns that a simple alteration in the display would be a great addition to the project. You and the project sponsor have already signed off the scope. The information specialist installs the change with no negative affect to the project schedule and at no additional cost. What management action should be taken? a. The information specialist should be recognized for exceeding customer expectation without affecting project cost or schedule. b. The project manager should add a task to the project plan with no associated time. c. The information specialist should be told that his behavior was unacceptable, as it may have negatively affected the overall project. d. The project manager should create a change control form, and have the customer sign since the change is already made.
C
Your new project to outsource work has been going badly. The project deliverables have changed three times, the functional managers keep removing people from the team, and the project baseline schedule has been adjusted four times in the first week. This is MOST likely due to a lack of: a. A stakeholder management plan. b. A signed charter. c. Clear management direction. d. A scope management plan.
C
A project has just begun when one of the stakeholders asks the project manager about making a change to the format of the deliverable for task Y. She wants to know how to go about submitting the change for review. The project manager should direct her to: a. The change control board. b. The communication plan. c. The sponsor. d. the change control plan
D
The best way to manage the costs of change requests is to ________. a. accept them orally b. allow them to happen in ad hoc fashion c. impose change unilaterally d. document and authorize all changes e. use the earned value system
D
A project manager has finished the project. He knows that all the scope has been completed and is within cost and time objectives set by the sponsor. The sponsor, however, says that the project is a failure, because the original schedule was for 27 weeks and the project was completed in 33 weeks. If the project baseline was 33 weeks, the project is a success because: a. It only had six weeks of changes. b. There were so few changes. c. There was good communication control. d. It was completed within the baseline.
D
A project manager is appointed to head a highly technical project in an area with which this person has limited familiarity. The project manager delegates schedule development, cost estimating, selection of tasks, and assignments to work activities to various project team members, and basically serve as an occasional referee and coordinator of activities. The results of this approach are likely to be: a. A team functioning throughout the project at a very high level and demonstrating creativity and commitment. b. A team that initially experiences some amounts of confusion, but that after a period of time becomes a cohesive and effective unit. c. A team that is not highly productive, but that stays together because of the work environment created by the project manager. d. a team that is characterized by poor performance, low morale, high levels of conflict, and high turnover
D
A project manager is managing a fixed price contract. She thinks that a large customer requested change might impact the schedule of the project. What should she do FIRST? a. Meet with the stakeholders b. Meet with the team c. Renegotiate the remainder of the contract d. Follow the change control system
D
A project manager on a multinational web site implementation project is at a party and talks to friends who will be heavy users of this new web site when the project is complete and the site is rolled out. They convey some annoying aspects with the current web site. She takes this feedback back to the project sponsor, and encourages design and scope changes. Which of the following BEST describes what the project manager has done? a. Scope containment b. Sponsor management c. Configuration management d. Stakeholder management
D
After a large amount of effort, the project team has finally determined the specifications for a major scope change to the project. In light of this, what should the project manager do FIRST? a. Look for other changes b. Notify the stakeholders about the new scope c. Gain sign off on this change d. Calculate the risks associated with this change
D
An input to project plan execution includes the: a. Cost plan. b. Risk plan. c. Schedule. d. Project plan.
D
Barriers can influence communication when sending or receiving information. Which of the following is NOT a barrier? a. Prejudices b. Attitudes and emotions c. Personalities and interests d. Feedback
D
Communication is often enhanced when the sender ___ the receiver? a. speaks up to b. uses more physical movements when talking to c. talks slowly to d. shows concern for the perspective of
D
Contract administration change requests may include all of the following EXCEPT a. Modifications to the terms of the contract b. Termination of the contract if the seller's work is unsatisfactory c. Modification to the description of the product or service to be provided d. Seller invoices e. Contracted changes
D
During project implementation the client interprets a clause in the contract to mean the he is entitled to a substantial refund for work recently completed. You review the clause and disagree with the client's conclusion. As the project manager which of the following actions should be taken? a. Disregard the customer's conclusion and continue to process invoices interpretations and disputes b. Advise the customer that ambiguous information in contracts is always interpreted in favor of the contractor c. Immediately correct the clause to remove any possible misinterpretation by the customer d. Document the dispute and refer to the provisions of the contract that address
D
During the course of your project, you notice that most of the changes occurring on the project come from the research department. What should the project manager do? a. Assign a team member to work solely with the research department b. Change your communication plan, so only you are assigned to interact with the research department c. Ask the research department to assign one person to be your liaison d. Talk to the research department to understand the reasons for the changes
D
Fast-tracking is also known as a. overtime and contracting b. utilizing additional resources c. crashing d. concurrent engineering e. all of the above
D
In the project environment, the individual ultimately responsible for quality control is a. The line workers who must strive to do things right the first time' to avoid quality problems b. The company's quality control manager who must work with the project members to ensure the quality control program is effective c. The head of the production department who retains ultimate quality control responsibility for all the company's projects d. The project manager who has ultimately responsibility for the entire project e. The customer who must ensure that he is receiving a quality product from the vendor
D
Inputs to Integrated Change Control include: a. Project plan, performance reports and lessons learned b. Project plan, project reports and change request c. Product plan, performance reports and change request d. Project plan, performance reports and change request
D
Just-in-time (JIT) is the concept of reducing inventories to a. 25% of former stock. b. Less than half of former stock. c. 75% of peak stock. d. Zero stock. e. 15% of the cost of the product for a planned stock
D
Just-in-time (JIT) is the concept of reducing inventories to a. 25% of former stock. b. Less than half of former stock. c. 75% of peak stock. d. Zero stock. e. 15% of the cost of the product for a planned stock.
D
Originally a project had four team members. Now the scope has expanded, and there are a total of six people on the project team. How many communication channels does the project have? a. 6 b. 9 c. 12 d. 15
D
Performance reports should address all the needs of: a. Management. b. Team members. c. The project manager. d. Stakeholders.
D
Quality is one part of the three major parameters of a project. When the quality in a project exceeds the specifications it is called ________. a. excellence b. superior quality c. deviation plus quality d. gold plating e. silver plating
D
The ISO 9000 series is a. A set of instructions for preparing control charts. b. A set of guidelines for quality. c. A set of forms and procedures to ensure quality. . d. An international standard that describes a recommended quality system. e. intended to be applied only to manufactured products
D
The client demands changes to the product specification that will add two weeks to the critical path. The project manager should: a. Crash the project to recover the two weeks. b. Fast track the project to recover the two weeks. c. Consult management before proceeding. d. Advise the client of the impact of the change.
D
The effective management of the use of time in a project is usually critical to the successful accomplishment of the project's objectives. There are several types of time management tools (called scheduling systems or project management systems) that fall into three categories referred to by the abbreviations CPM, PERT, and PDM. Respectively, these three abbreviations stand for ________. a. critical path means, program evaluation and repetitive technology, probabilistic decision method b. critical path method, program evolution and review timing, probability design method c. critical planning method, program evaluation and review technique, program detail method d. critical path method, program evaluation and review technique, precedence diagramming method e. critical plotting method, program evaluation review technique, precedence diagramming method
D
The most important element necessary for project control is a. Upper management commitment b. Responsibility over resources c. A labor distribution reporting system d. Clear requirements e. Sufficient management reserve
D
The process of determining that technical processes and procedures are being performed in conformance with scope requirements and quality plans is called quality a. Management. b. Assurance. c. Process review. d. Control. e. Checks
D
The project manager has just received a change from the customer that does not affect project time and is easy to complete. What should the project manager do FIRST? a. Make the change happen as soon as possible b. Contact the project sponsor for permission c. Go to the change control board d. Evaluate the other components of the triple constraint
D
The project status meeting is not going well. Everyone is talking at the same time, there are people who are not participating, and many topics are being discussed at random. Which of the following rules for effective meetings is NOT being adhered to? a. Courtesy and consideration of each other b. Schedule meetings in advance c. Have a purpose for the meeting d. Create and publish an agenda
D
What are the inputs to project Plan Execution? a. Project plan, work breakdown structure, organizational policies, preventive action and corrective action b. Project plan, work results, change requests, preventive action and corrective action c. Project skills, supporting detail, organizational policies, preventive action and lessons learned d. Project plan, supporting detail, organizational policies, preventive action and corrective action
D
What is a project management information system? a. Computerized status tracking system b. Manual status tracking system c. Method to determine and archive how the project is doing d. Method to gather, integrate, and disseminate what and how the project is doing
D
When it comes to changes, the project manager's attention is BEST spent on: a. Making changes. b. Racking and recording changes as they happen. c. Informing management of changes. d. Preventing unnecessary changes.
D
Which of the following is an element of procurement management? a. Inspection b. Purchasing & Expediting c. Estimating d. a & b
D
You are assigned to be the project manager in the middle of the project. The project is within tolerances for the baseline, but the customer is not happy with the performance of the project. What is the FIRST thing you should do? a. Discuss it with the project team b. Recalculate baselines c. Renegotiate the contract d. Meet with the customer
D
You are having a very difficult time keeping the project schedule on track. The project is 13 months long and requires 220 people to complete. You have just fixed all the project problems to your satisfaction, but the SPI is currently .67, the CPI is 1.26, there are over 23 tasks on the critical path, and the project PERT duration is 26. In creating the monthly status report, you should report: a. That the project is doing well. b. That the project will be late. c. That the project cost is behind budget. d. The issues and options.
D
Your company just won a major new project. It will begin in three months and is valued at US $2,000,000. You are the project manager for an existing project. What is the FIRST thing you should do once you hear of the new project? a. Ask management how the new project will use resources b. Resource level your project c. Resource level your project d. Ask management how the new project will affect your project
D
_____________ is controlling changes to the budget. a. Resource planning b. Cost estimating c. Cost budgeting d. Cost control
D
Fast-tracking requires more sophisticated schedule and control methods because it is a practice that ________ the schedule to place the system in operation at ________. a. increases; a later date b. stabilizes; an earlier date c. increases; minimum cost d. moderates; the first opportunity e. compresses; an earlier date
E
Increasing resources on the critical path activities may not always shorten the length of the project because: a. Certain activities are time-dependent rather than resource-dependent. b. Safety, OSHA and EPA may have placed restriction on the number of people used on certain activities or in the physical location of the project. c. The skill level of the added resources might not be appropriate for the activities to be performed. d. Adding more resources may create additional work and produce inefficiencies e. All of the above.
E
Many resource leveling algorithms are available to project schedulers. Which of the following is not used as a basis for resource leveling? a. Slack b. Early dates c. Late dates d. Critical path priority e. Resource production rate
E
Suppose a subcontractor informs the project manager that there is a slippage on the schedule of his/her work by at least two weeks. This work is on the critical path and will negatively impact the project by two weeks if nothing is done. The project manager should ________. a. review the contract to determine the subcontractor's obligation to meet the current schedule b. review the subcontractor's schedule to determine whether there is an actual two-week delay c. review the situation to determine why the subcontractor believes s/he is going to be two weeks late d. review the project master schedule to determine if there is going to be a two-week impact on the project if the subcontractor delays his/her schedule e. all of the above
E
Susie has just told Diane, the project manager, that she hasn't started working on her planned activity that was supposed to start a week ago. Which factors will influence Diane's decision whether to escalate to Susie's manager? a. If the delay is within the amount of free float b. If the activity has negative float c. If time-limited scheduling was used d. If Susie has a reputation for being undependable e. All of the above
E
The affect of additional resources on the critical path a. is likely to reduce the project end date by creating parallel tasks b. is likely to require that a revised network diagram be created c. is negligible d. has the same effect as crashing this path e. a, b and d
E
The buyer has negotiated a cost-plus-incentive fee contract with the seller. The contract has a target cost of $300k, a target fee of $40K, a share ration of 80/20, a maximum fee of $60K, and a minimum fee of $10K. If the seller has actual costs of $380K, how much fee will the buyer pay? a. $104K b. $56K c. $40K d. $30K e. $24K
E
The overall duration of the project schedule is influenced by all of the following except a. Using mandatory dependencies as constraints b. Using discretionary dependencies as constraints c. The availability of the resources which are assigned to perform the work d. The capabilities of the resources which are assigned to perform the work e. Using the ADM instead of the PDM of scheduling
E
The schedule duration of a project is dependent upon the available time until delivery of the system/product. In addition to time, a major contributor to the duration of a project is the ________. a. skill of the scheduler b. cost of labor for planners c. type of automated scheduling system used d. frequency of updates to the schedule e. availability of resources for the project
E
To relieve pressure on the project schedule, Diane decided to fast-track and hires a contractor to do part of the work. Which form of contract(s) should she consider? a. None. Fast-tracking is a very poor time to consider a contractor. b. Fixed lump sum c. Cost plus incentive d. Cost plus percentage of cost e. c and d
E
Which of the following is not a process of Project Communications Management? a. Administrative Closure b. Performance Reporting c. Information Distribution d. Communications Planning e. Conflict Resolution
E