MGMT 640 Project Management

If task duration estimates are carefully made, the project manager needs to only examine the critical path when conducting a risk analysis.

False

____________is defined as the time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start time of any successor activity.

Free slack

The shortest time to complete a network is equal to the duration of the longest path through the network.

True

Developing Work Package Estimates

use people familiar with the tasks use several people to make estimates assume normal conditions use consistent time units assume tasks are independent make NO allowance for contingencies include a risk assessment

__________Can serve as a check on cost elements in the WBS by rolling up the work packages and associated cost accounts to major deliverables at the work package level.

•Bottom-Up Approach

Top-Down Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs

•Consensus methods •Ratio methods (sometimes called parametric) •Apportion method •Function point methods for software and system projects •Learning curves

-Costs incurred that are directly tied to project deliverables or work packages. •Salary, rents, supplies, specialized machinery

•Direct (Project) Overhead Costs

Costs that are clearly chargeable to a specific work package. •Labor, materials, equipment, and other

•Direct Costs

-Organization costs indirectly linked to a specific package that are apportioned to the project.

•General and Administrative Overhead Costs

Three Steps of the Reference Class Forecasting (RCF) Process

•Select a reference class of projects similar to your potential projects. •Collect and arrange outcome data as a distribution. Create a distribution of cost overruns as a percentage of the original project estimate. •Use the distribution data to arrive at a realistic forecast. Compare the original cost estimate for the project with the reference class projects.

Bottom-Up Approaches for Estimating Project Times and Costs

•Template methods •Parametric procedures applied to specific tasks •Range estimates for the WBS work packages •Phase estimating: A hybrid

Estimating Time and Cost Is Important because

•To support good decisions •To schedule work •To determine how long the project should take and its cost •To determine whether the project is worth doing •To develop cash flow needs To determine how well the project isprogressing

The start-to-finish linkage is used in situations where is it desirable for two or more activities to finish at the same time.

False

The tasks of project planning, project budgeting, and project scheduling are largely separable from one another.

False

To manage a project successfully, the project manager need only pay close attention to tasks on the critical path.

False

When it was originally developed, PERT used certain (deterministic) methods to estimate activity duration.

False

________________are not adequate replacements for networks. They are complementary scheduling and control devices.

Gantt chart

A project schedule is a project action plan converted into a timetable.

True

A situation where two or more activities have the same starting and finishing nodes or where a single activity connects to two or more nodes is called a dummy task

True

AON and AOA networks can both be used to depict any project network.

True

Events in a project consume no resources or time.

True

Float refers to the amount of time a noncritical task can be delayed without causing a delay in the entire project.

True

Standard Pert/CPM networks can be use to resolve probabilistic concerns.

True

Technical dependencies are often harder to see on a Gantt chart than on a PERT/CPM network.

True

The actual project duration will be known with certainty after the project is completed.

True

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start time of any successor activity is known as free slack.

True

The difference between LFT and EFT is called slack.

True

The difference between the LST and EST is called slack.

True

The formula for the expected time of an activity in a network assumes that the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely time estimates have a Beta distribution.

True

The simulation approach is generally preferred over the statistical method.

True

The four methods of linking steps in a project using precedence diagramming are

finish to start, start to start, finish to finish, and start to finish.

The term _________ is used to describe a situation in which two or more paths in a network join.

merger

The amount of time a noncritical task can be delayed without delaying the project is called? a) surplus b) flop c) slack d) critical time e) safety

slack

When two or more paths through a network join, even at the end of the network, paths that have little __________ may become critical simply by chance.

slack and/or high variance

The amount of time a noncritical task can be delayed without delaying the project is called__________

slack or float

MinksetBlu, a textile company, wants to improve its sales over a span of four years. In the first year, the company installs new looming machines that improve the production cost. However, it takes two years for the company to establish a liaison with online retailers to improve the accessibility of its products. This delays the company's goal of improving sales by a year. In the context of the language of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), the set of activities that cause the delay are part of _____. a) the Smith chart b) the Portolan chart c) the critical path d) the throughput process e) the control chart

the critical path

The difference between EST and LFT is called slack.

False

The difference between LST and LFT is called slack.

False

The movement from left to right through the network beginning with the start node that calculates the LS and LF for each activity is known as "FORWARD PASS"

False

A diagram of nodes connected by directional arcs that defines the project and illustrates the technical of all activities is referred to as a network.

True

Networks are usually drawn with a "Start" node to the right and a "Finish" node to the left.

False

Technical dependencies are generally easier to see on a Gantt chart than on PERT/CPM networks.

False

The two types of Estimates are:

-Top-down (macro) estimates -Bottom-up (micro) estimates

What is the standard deviation of a task with optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times of 3, 4, and 7 days respectively assuming the estimates were made at the 99% plus level? a) .444 b) .667 c) 1.212 d) 1.469 e) 1.540

.667

Consider a project network that begins with activity A and is followed by activity B. Activity A takes 6 days to finish. If the earliest start time for activity B is 6 days and the latest start time for it is 10 days, activity B has a slack of _____. a) 16 days b) 4 days c) 10 days d) 2 days e) 12 days

4 days

What is the expected time to complete a task with an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic times of 3, 4, and 7 days respectively? a) 3 b) 4 c) 4.3 d) 4.7 e) 7

4.3

NessageMique, a niche fashion boutique, displays its production process by using a network of nodes and arrows. The nodes are used to depict the state of completion of various activities and the arrows are used to depict their order of precedence. Which of the following project networks is NessageMique using in the given scenario? a) An event-on-arrow network b) A time-on-arrow network c) An activity-on-node network d) A time-on-node network e) An activity-on-arrow network

An activity-on-arrow network

Miros Inc., a recording studio, displays its recording process by using a network of nodes and arrows. The nodes are used to depict the activities involved in recording a song, such as setting up the instruments, and the arrows are used to depict the order of precedence of the activities. Which of the following project networks is Miros using in the given scenario? a) A time-on-node network b) An activity-on-arrow network c) A time-on-arrow network d) An activity-on-node network e) An event-on-node network

An activity-on-node network

__________is the set of activities on a path from the project's start event to its finish event that, if delayed, will delay the completion date of the project.

Critical path

________is the process of forecasting or approximating the time and cost of completing project deliverables

Estimating

A Gantt chart cannot depict a critical path, only a PERT/CPM chart can

False

A disadvantage of Gantt charts is that they are hard to draw.

False

A disadvantage of using beta distribution to approximate activity times is that it is generally less flexible than the normal distribution.

False

A start-to-finish linkage is the most common way of linking to successive task.

False

An event is a series of connected activities.

False

Another name for total slack is free slack.

False

It is easiest to see lead and lag time in a project task on a PERT/CPM networks.

False

Milestones are not depended upon the predecessor activities in the project plan.

False

Milestones cannot be identified on a Gantt Chart.

False

Slack is calculated as? a) LFT - EST b) LFT - LST c) LST - LFT d) LFT - EFT e) EFT - EST

LFT - EFT

Estimating Projects: Preferred Approach

Make rough top-down estimates Develop the WBS/OBS Make bottom-up estimates Develop schedules and budgets Reconcile differences between top-down and bottom-up estimates

Technical dependencies on a project plan are easiest to see on a: a) Gantt chart b) Cost chart c) PERT/CPM chart d) Work Breakdown Structure e) RACI Matrix

PERT/CPM chart

Factors Influencing the Quality of Estimates

Planning horizon, project duration, people, project structure and organization, padding estimates, organization culture, other (nonproject) factors

A Term not used in the discussion of PERT/CPM analysis is a) Activity b) Events c) Critical Path d) Sensitivity path e) networks

Sensitivity path

____________is an excellent device to aid in monitoring a project and/or in communicating information on its current state to others

The Gantt chart

The task of balancing expectations of stakeholders and need for control while the project is implemented is _________

The estimating process

_________Are sometimes made by top managers who have little knowledge of the processes used to complete the project.

Top-Down Esmt

_________________Are usually derived from someone who uses experience and/or information to determine the project duration and total cost.

Top-Down Estimates

"Merger" is a term used to describe the situation in which two or more paths in a network join together.

True

A big advantage of AON networks is that they are easier to draw.

True

_________chart displays project activities as bars measured against a horizontal time scale. It is the most popular way of exhibiting sets of related activities in the form of schedules.It is easily constructed and read. It can contain a considerable amount of information and is an excellent communication device about the state of a project.

a Gantt chart

Which of the following terms is most closely associated with a task required by the project? a) activity b) event c) milestone d) network e) path

activity

An identifiable state resulting from the completion of one or more activities is called? a) an event b) an activity c) a milestone d) a path e) the critical path

an event

Top-down (macro) estimates includes

analogy, group consensus, or mathematical relationships

Consider a project network that begins with activity X and is followed by activity Y. The earliest start time for activity X is 5 days and it will take 3 days to be completed. The earliest start time for activity Y is 12 days. Given this information, activity X has _____ of free slack. a) 20 days b) 4 days c) 12 days d) 9 days e) 15 days

b) 4 days

Organ Bennett Inc., a public relations firm, is working on a project to improve the brand image of Sizil, a client firm, over a period of a year. The project requires Organ Bennett to organize a press conference to announce the launch of Sizil's new product. The project members need to invite reporters for the same. In the context of the language of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), inviting reporters is most likely a(n) _____. a) event b) activity c) network d) milestone e) float

b) activity

Ben is part of a new project in his company. He is asked to complete a task within two days, but he is only able to finish it in three days. Since the task assigned to him is noncritical in nature, the extra day taken by Ben does not cause a delay in the project. In this scenario, the additional day taken by Ben is known as _____. a) flow time b) throughput c) slack d) critical time e) flowgrind

c) slack

Bottom-up (micro) estimates includes

estimates of elements of the work breakdown structure

VeritaNist, an automobile company, sought to improve the production time and quality of its products within a year. In the first month, the company installed five new assembling machines. This reduced the production time by 15 percent. In the context of the language of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), this decrease in the production time of VeritaNist's products is an example of a(n) _____. a) task b) activity c) critical path d) event e) throughput

event

Rico Gen, a sports apparel manufacturing company, maintains a target of increasingits sales by 20 percent per month to achieve its goal of expanding its business in the international market. In the context of the language of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), the monthly targets achieved by Rico Gen are known as _____. a) activities b) floats c) activity slacks d) milestones e) paths

milestones

PERT was originally used for what type of project? a) construction b) R & D c) military d) computer software development e) advertising

military

Paul, the marketing manager of a food company, created a diagram of nodes to represent the marketing process for a new product of the company. Each node represented an activity in the marketing process, and an arc joined each node. He used this diagram to demonstrate the objectives of the marketing process. In the context of the language of the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM), the diagram used by Paul is known as a _____. a) network b) flowchart c) Gantt chart d) Smith chart e) control chart

network

Critical path tasks always have zero slack.

true