practice questions
What is the future value, if the present value is $100,000, the interest rate is 36% and the number of time periods is 3?
$251,545.60
The software activity was initially allocated a budget of $50,000. The period of performance for the activity is 20 days. What is the planned value for day 15?
(50,000/20)*15= 37,500
A project manager is leading a process improvement project for a factory operation. Currently, the project manager and the team are performing the Monitor and Control Project Work process. Which of the following activities might the project manager and the team conduct during this process? 1. Comparing actual project performance against the project management plan 2. Implementing approved change requests to achieve the project's objectives 3. Analyzing change requests and either approving or rejecting them 4. Gaining formal acceptance of the deliverables by the customer or sponsor
1. Comparing actual project performance against the project management plan the others are for perform integrated change control monitor and control project work is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting overall progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan.
Services are still being billed to the project even though no additional services are required or requested. What is the best option for the project manager to take? 1. Confirm that no more services are needed and the procurement agreements are closed 2. Close all agreements with all service providers engaged with the project 3. Forward the service bills to the project management office for further review and approval 4. Continue paying the bills until the project is formally closed to avoid claims
1. Confirm that no more services are needed and the procurement agreements are closed
You are employed by a software development company as a project manager. Your company has a policy that a change control board (CCB) reviews all of the change requests for every project in your organization, and the CCB follows all the recommended activities outlined in the PMBOK® Guide. You and your project team do not serve as members of the CCB. Based on this scenario, which of the following activities might be performed by members of the CCB? 1. Creating a change request 2. Implementing approved change requests to achieve the project's objectives 3. Evaluating changes to project artifacts not specified in the configuration management plan 4. Monitoring implementation of approved change requests as they occur
1. Creating a change request the CCB is a formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and approving, deferring, or rejecting change requests. The CCB can include project stakeholders, and a change may be requested by any stakeholder involved in the project. Therefore, it is possible for a member of the CCB to create and submit a change request.
With a parking garage construction project underway, you are currently creating the risk management plan. In support of this process, you need to determine the acceptable level of overall project risk exposure. What should you do first? 1. Determine the risk appetites of key project stakeholders 2. Consult the risk exposure register within the organizational process assets 3. Facilitate a brainstorming meeting to develop a comprehensive list of project risks 4. Develop a set of responses to individual project risks to mitigate overall project risk
1. Determine the risk appetites of key project stakeholders Risk management plan is an OUTPUT of the Plan Risk management Process. Stakeholder risk appetite is one of the elements which may be included in the plan. Everything else would not be included as part of the development of risk management plan
You are a project manager planning a project to develop a new payroll system, and you are currently in the process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives. A project stakeholder has suggested that it would be helpful to have a visual depiction showing how people and other systems will interact with the new payroll system. You like the idea and want to address it. What is the best way to implement the stakeholder's suggestion? 1. Develop a context diagram 2. Design an affinity diagram 3. Create a fishbone diagram 4. Build a matrix diagram
1. Develop a context diagram The question suggests that the project manager is performing the Collect Requirements process, which is the process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives. A context diagram is one of the tools and techniques that might be used during the Collect Requirements process. A context diagram is a visual depiction of the product scope showing a business system (process, equipment, computer system, etc.), and how people and other systems (actors) interact with it. Of the available choices, developing the context diagram is the best way to implement the stakeholder's suggestion.
A project team performs monthly risk audits for a project in which a large number of identified risks have been realized. So far, the risk responses have been appropriate, and reserves are sufficient. An executive for the requesting organization chides the project manager for doing risk audits improperly, stating that like all audits, outside independent resources need to perform risk audits. How should the project manager respond? 1. Explain that risk audits can be performed either internally or externally as long as they follow the project management plan 2. Agree with the executive and submit a change request to update the project management plan to have the audits conducted externally 3. Follow the guidance provided by the executive and hire a team of external auditors to conduct the risk audits going forward 4. Explain that if the current risk audits are not sufficient, then a comprehensive project audit should be carried out
1. Explain that risk audits can be performed either internally or externally as long as they follow the project management plan
During an inspection of a project deliverable, the team detects the same defect in the deliverable that has already been identified during a previous inspection. The project manager is confused how this could have happened since a change request was approved to correct the defect. After discussing the issue with the team, the project manager learns that the team never implemented the approved change request. What could have helped prevent this situation? 1. Holding an approved change requests review 2. Conducting a retrospective meeting 3. Performing a root cause analysis 4. Creating a quality report
1. Holding an approved change requests review inspections carried out as part of the Control Quality process may uncover defects or areas of noncompliance with project requirements, which, in turn, may generate change requests. It is the responsibility of the project team to ensure that those approved change requests are implemented and properly tested, completed, and certified. In this scenario, the PM learns that an approved CR was never implemented. Retrospectives, root cause analysis, and quality reports would not have prevented this issue but could have been used to help the team avoid such a mistake in the future. An approved CR review would have provided the PM and team a mechanism for verifying that the approved CR was implemented and is therefore the best answer.
You are managing a software upgrade project for your company. Your project sponsor has a great deal of authority regarding project decisions, but you recently discovered that he doesn't have much interest in your project. To complete the project successfully, you need your project sponsor's continuous support. What stakeholder management strategy should you use with your project sponsor? 1. Keep the sponsor satisfied 2. Manage the sponsor closely 3. Monitor the sponsor's actions 4. Keep the sponsor informed
1. Keep the sponsor satisfied A power/interest grid is a classification model used for stakeholder analysis and management that groups the stakeholders based on their level of authority (power) and their level of concern (interest) regarding project outcomes. The classification and recommended management strategies are as follows: Low-power/low-interest: monitor only Low-power/high-interest: keep informed High-power/low-interest: keep satisfied High-power/high-interest: manage closely Based on this scenario, the sponsor can be classified as high-power and low-interest; therefore, the correct answer is to keep the sponsor satisfied.
With the start of project execution, a project manager needs to acquire the development team. However, the project sponsor indicates that of those developers who were planned for the project, one is unavailable as she is currently completing another project. What should the project manager do to understand the proposed team member's future availability? 1. Look at the project documents 2. Contact the team member's functional manager 3. Review the resource requirements 4. Examine the resource breakdown structure
1. Look at the project documents This scenario implies you are about to start Acquire Resources and need to understand the availability of project team members. The project documents include the resource calendars which serve as an input to the Acquire Resources process.
You are managing a project to update the packaging and digital media for a popular snack food to promote a charity fundraiser. The project is well underway, and you are currently actively collecting and storing information about each deliverable team's progress, creating forecasts for your sponsor, distributing work performance reports and planning presentations to key stakeholders, and verifying delivery. Which process are you performing? 1. Manage Communications 2. Monitor Communications 3. Manage Stakeholder Engagement 4. Plan Communications Management
1. Manage Communications To answer this, first determine under which knowledge area the described activities fall. With the references to sponsors and stakeholders, you may guess that it is Stakeholder Management. However, activities of collection, creation, distribution, storage, and monitoring the project information fall under Communications Management. NEXT determine what process group is related to these activities. A good clue is you are distributing work performance reports, which is an output or Direct and Manage Project Work process in the Integration knowledge area, in the Executing Process Group. Therefore, the correct answer is that these activities fall under Manage Communications.
The project manager is trying to get sign off for a series of marketing materials. The work is rejected by the stakeholders responsible for sign off because of incorrect use of marketing standards. What should the project manager do before sending materials to the stakeholders again? 1. Perform quality control checks before validating the scope 2. Validate the scope before performing quality control 3. Create a work breakdown structure before validating the scope 4. Validate scope before communicating the project status
1. Perform quality control checks before validating the scope This scenario invovles both Validate Scope and Control Quality. They are linked by verified deliverables: an OUTPUT of Control Quality and an INPUT to Validate Scope. Accepted deliverables are an OUPUT of Validate scope.
A project manager is about to start planning a software development project. The project sponsor would like to review any project risks that have been identified at this point. Which document should the project manager recommend the sponsor to review? 1. Project charter 2. Issue log 3. Risk register 4. Risk report
1. Project charter Ideally, to learn about all identified risks on the project, the sponsor would review the risk register. However, the PM is about to start Planning Process so only the Initiating Process has been completed. Risk register is created during the Identify Risks Process so it's not yet available. At this point only the Project Charter can serve the needs of the sponsor as it contains a list of high level risks.
You have recently been assigned to lead a project that is halfway into execution. The project has many stakeholders, and you are trying to determine how to engage them effectively. Which of the following will best help you in this effort? 1. Project management plan 2. Project charter 3. Work performance reports 4. Procurement documents
1. Project management plan Scenario implies you are performing Manage Stakeholder Engagement process which is concerned with communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs, address issues, and foster involvement. The Project Management plan is an INPUT to this process. Specifically, the Stakeholder engagement plan contains info on how to manage stakeholder expectations.
You are planning a project to construct a luxury condominium complex that will include jacuzzi tubs among its numerous features. Due to technical constraints, it has been decided to eliminate the jacuzzi tubs from the final project requirements. You document the jacuzzi tubs as an explicit scope exclusion in the project scope statement as well as update the requirements documentation to reflect this change. What should you do next? 1. Reflect the scope exclusion in the requirements traceability matrix 2. Document the status of the change in the change log 3. Record the elimination of the jacuzzi tubs as an issue in the issue log 4. Capture the exclusion of the jacuzzi tubs in the exclusion register
1. Reflect the scope exclusion in the requirements traceability matrix Scenario suggests you are in the Define Scope process developing the scope statement. Updating project docs such as the Requirements Traceability matrix is and OUTPUT of Define Scope process.
You are working with your team on estimating how much time each activity will take. One of the documents you are using contains information on categories of labor, material, and equipment required to complete your project. You are also interested to see skill levels of your labor, any certifications required, and grade levels of your supplies. Which of the following documents would you primarily refer to for this purpose? 1. Resource breakdown structure 2. Organizational breakdown structure 3. Work breakdown structure 4. Risk breakdown structure
1. Resource breakdown structure RBS is an input to Estimate Activity Durations RBS is a hierarchical list of team and physical resources related by category and resource type that is used for planning, managing, and controlling project work. Each descending level reps an increasingly detailed descrip of the resource until the info is small enough to be used in conjunction with the WBS to allow the work to be planned, monitored, and controlled.
A project to construct a new subway line is underway, and the tunnel boring machine has slowed due to unexpected changes in rock composition. It has been decided to implement the planned risk response by increasing the speed of the machine to 100% of rated capacity. The team believes that the additional strain on the machine will not cause more downtime for its maintenance thus negating the benefit of faster boring. What should the project manager do first? 1. Revise the assumption log 2. Order another machine as a backup 3. Update the schedule baseline 4. Update the lessons learned register
1. Revise the assumption log Control Resources is the process of ensuring physical resources assigned and allocated the project are available as planned. The beliefs of the team on the strain here are assumptions so the log should be updated.
As a project manager, you are developing a resource management plan for your software development project, and you need to find a way to document and communicate the detailed descriptions of the team members' roles and responsibilities. What tool will best meet your needs? 1. Role-responsibility-authority form 2. RACI chart 3. Resource breakdown structure 4. Hierarchical chart
1. Role-responsibility-authority form RACI is a not detailed enough, just a table. Because 1 is text-oriented format there is more flexibility
The agile project team members are all working in an open office space arrangement. There are many conversations happening concurrently throughout the day. Which of the following is the best option for the project manager? 1. Schedule frequent team checkpoints and post project artifacts in a transparent fashion 2. Request team members to hold off their conversations until formal meeting times 3. Record the conversations and post them in a shared repository 4. Designate afternoons as quiet work times
1. Schedule frequent team checkpoints and post project artifacts in a transparent fashion
The project manager and the team decide that the project will be divided into five-week iterations with two weeks in between for retrospectives and iteration planning. Where is this documented? 1. Schedule management plan 2. Agile Practice Guide 3. Schedule network diagrams 4. Project charter
1. Schedule management plan
A project team member runs an earned value analysis (EVA) report. There is an unexpected spike in actual costs over the last three weeks. The team member shows the report to the project manager and based on her analysis presents four possible reasons for the spike. Which reason is most probable? 1. Soaring steel prices have impacted the fixed price with economic price adjustments procurement contracts 2. There was a strike at the loading dock which delayed many needed steel shipments until today 3. Fewer employees are showing up for work the past two weeks causing a backlog of unfinished work 4. Much higher than expected quarterly bonuses were given to executives during that three week period
1. Soaring steel prices have impacted the fixed price with economic price adjustments procurement contracts the other 3 don't directly impact the actual costs of the project
You are assigned to a software development project, and you are conducting a product review with an important client. Although the deliverables were previously verified, the client detects a defect and rejects one of the deliverables. What should you do? 1. Submit a change request to fix the deliverable 2. Refund the customer for the value of the deliverable 3. Ask the project team to repair the defect 4. Begin the claims administration process
1. Submit a change request to fix the deliverable Because the product already passed Control Quality you need to submit a CR.
An international project is entering its final phase. Some work in this phase must be done in the foreign country. Unsure if company policy requires a full-time employee onsite for project work in that country, which project artifact should the project scheduler reference? 1. Team management plan 2. Stakeholder engagement plan 3. Stakeholder register 4. Resource breakdown structure
1. Team management plan this is the best answer other good answers not shown: resource requirements documents, OPA for policies about work in foreign countries
You are managing a hotel construction project, and you have asked your project team to calculate the current earned value metrics to determine the project performance. Your team reports back that the project's to-complete performance index (TCPI) is 0.9 based on the budget at completion (BAC). Which of the following is true regarding your project's current situation as reflected by this TCPI value? 1. The project is within budget 2. The project is over budget 3. The project is behind schedule 4. The project is ahead of schedule
1. The project is within budget TCPI is a measure of the cost performance that is required to be achieved with the remaining resources in order to meet a specified management goal, expressed as the ratio of the cost to finish the outstanding work to the remaining budget. TCPI =1 -> right on budget, as long you maintain present CPI, you should not exceed the budget TCPI > 1 -> need to take a stricter cost management approach or you will exceed BAC TCPI <1 -> you are within budget and doing a great job
A new project manager is brought on the project. She wants to understand the process by which this particular project formally accepts deliverables. Which of the following will she have to reference? 1. The scope management plan 2. The stakeholder management plan 3. The quality management plan 4. The requirements management plan
1. The scope management plan
A project manager is facilitating a first brainstorming session to identify individual risks as well as sources of overall project risk. The meeting attendees are struggling with the task, and the meeting is becoming unproductive. What action might the project manager take to get the meeting back on track? 1. Use the RBS as a prompt list 2. Consult the risk register 3. Adjourn the meeting 4. Call in the project sponsor
1. Use the RBS as a prompt list Question suggest IDENTIFY RISKS is underway. Prompt lists are a tool/technique associated with this process. Assumes Risk Register has not been created yet. RBS= risk breakdown structure. Risk categories in the lowest level of the RBS can be used as a prompt for individual project risks.
During a project's review, an executive states the project manager failed to forecast future outcomes based on past results, review how other projects addressed the similar issues, and analyze alternative solutions to issues. What has the project manager most likely overlooked with his intuitive manner of running the project? 1. Using analytical techniques 2. Conducting document analysis 3. Performing alternatives analysis 4. Utilizing trend analysis
1. Using analytical techniques this is the most comprehensive answer. the other choices only address 1 of the concerns
The project is not getting the marketing team to update the content of the online magazine website as scheduled. The outdated content is causing confusion among readers. What can the project manager do to engage the marketing team and make the needed changes as soon as possible? 1. Force the marketing manager to make the changes immediately 2. Communicate the importance and urgency of the change 3. Assign any another project team member to perform the work 4. Complain to other managers about the lack of response time
2. Communicate the importance and urgency of the change
A key stakeholder has been resistant to the project's objectives, and the support of this stakeholder is vital to the success of the project. The project manager has employed various engagement strategies which have been ineffective and needs to determine the underlying reason that stakeholder engagement is not having the planned effect. What should the project manager do next? 1. Develop a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix 2. Conduct data analysis 3. Submit a change request to update the stakeholder engagement plan 4. Perform an alternatives analysis
2. Conduct data analysis Scenario suggests you are in Monitor Stakeholder Engagements and you found a variance. You need to do an analysis, the question here asks about root cause analysis which can be done with data analysis. If root cause analysis was listed it would be the best answer.
A project manager is conducting the initial process of identifying stakeholders for a new infrastructure development project. The project manager has just compiled a list of potential stakeholders' names. What should the project manager do next? 1. Invite the identified stakeholders to the project kick-off meeting 2. Conduct stakeholder analysis 3. Complete the Project Stakeholder Management process 4. Develop the stakeholder engagement plan
2. Conduct stakeholder analysis In this scenario we are Initiating on the initial iteration of Identify Stakeholders. With only a list of names the next step is to perform stakeholder analysis
In a pharmaceutical project, human trials are to start soon. The CEO is thrilled about the success of the trials up to this point. She announces that the size of the patient pool for the trials should double from the one originally planned and results tracked in the new system launching this week. What should the project manager do first? 1. Ramp up production to match the demand of the CEO 2. Consider what might be included in a change request 3. Adjust the scope baseline to reflect the increased trial size 4. Communicate the change of direction with the stakeholders
2. Consider what might be included in a change request A CEO declaration does not substitute performing the change control process.
Sharing of project information is of utmost importance to the organization. Project knowledge is shared on multiple systems, services, and apps. The array of locations is becoming overwhelming for some of the project team members. What is the best option for the project manager to manage the project knowledge in this situation? 1. Close down some of the systems that the project team notes as burdensome 2. Consolidate or streamline sharing processes where possible 3. Compromise with the team to allow each to post in the tool they find most productive 4. Coordinate a weekly meeting to post all the team's knowledge at once
2. Consolidate or streamline sharing processes where possible
A project manager for a software development project has collected the work performance data and used the requirements documentation and requirements traceability matrix to generate the work performance information regarding variances in the project work compared to the baseline. What process is the project manager performing? 1. Validate Scope 2. Control Scope 3. Manage Quality 4. Direct and Manage Project Work
2. Control Scope Work performance data produced in EXECUTING Work performance info is an OUTPUT of MONITOR AND CONTROL answers 3 and 4 are in executing
The project has reached a stage where work is being done in seven countries. Project team members need to know in which currency they are to report their cost data. Which of the following should they reference? 1. Cost baseline 2. Cost management plan 3. Cost estimates 4. Cost breakdown structure
2. Cost management plan
You are facing problems decomposing the testing work package into the final activities required to complete the work package. Detailed testing plans and activities cannot be determined until the system is at least 50% developed and more details become available. The system development work package will take at least three months to complete. What is the best way to resolve this problem? 1. Use product analysis techniques such as product breakdown and systems analysis to decompose the system testing work package 2. Decompose the system development work package now and decompose the system testing work package later 3. Break down the project into multiple phases so that the system testing work package goes into the second project phase 4. Consult the project management plan to determine what to do in this situation
2. Decompose the system development work package now and decompose the system testing work package later Delaying the decomposition of the system testing work package until later in the project is an example of rolling wave planning. Rolling wave planning is an iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level. Decomposition may not be possible for a deliverable or subcomponent that will be accomplished far into the future. The project management team usually waits until the deliverable or subcomponent is agreed on, so the details of the work breakdown structure (WBS) can be developed. Therefore, the best approach is to use rolling wave planning and decompose the system development work package now and then decompose the system testing work package later, when more project information becomes available.
A project manager is leading a project to streamline the manufacturing process of modular homes. The project manager researches and discovers a set of technical guidelines that will make the homes easier and cheaper to manufacture without compromising quality. The team incorporates these guidelines by designing a new modular home that reduces the total number of parts and uses more standard and multi-functional components. This is an example of: 1. Problem solving 2. Design for X 3. Change request 4. Data gathering
2. Design for X DfX is a set of technical guidelines that may be applied during the design of a product for the optimization of a specific aspect of the design. In this scenario, technical guidelines are being applied to design a new modular home that optimizes its manufacturability. DfX provides the most accurate and precise def of the technique being used in this scenario and is therefore, of the avail choices, the best answer.
Your company was recently awarded a software development project, and you have just completed the scope management plan. The sponsor reviews the plan and states that the client specified the use of Scrum, while the plan indicates a waterfall approach. Which component of the project management plan did you most likely overlook while developing the scope management plan? 1. Project life cycle description 2. Development approach 3. Requirements management plan 4. The contract with the client
2. Development approach Scope management plan is an output of Plan Scope Management process. Development approach is an INPUT.
A project is six months into its nine-month projected duration, and the project manager is reporting that the project is at least three months behind schedule because certain key stakeholders were resistant to any changes that might occur as outcomes of the project. What might have been done differently during project planning to have avoided this situation? 1. Better execution of the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process 2. Development of a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix 3. Creation of a comprehensive stakeholder register 4. Establishment of a more robust communications management plan
2. Development of a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix Need to narrow down to only activities in the PLANNING process. So 1 and 3 are out.
A new project is starting, and the team members come from all over the world. The project manager has concerns about communications. What should the project manager do first? 1. Implement an online tool to enable the team members to chat among themselves 2. Enroll the project team members in cultural training to raise cultural awareness 3. Nothing; the business world has been multicultural for so long that there should be no issues 4. Funnel all communications through the project manager to avoid miscommunication
2. Enroll the project team members in cultural training to raise cultural awareness Hint is the project team comes from all around the world. Suggests there will likely be cultural differences that can impact communications.
A dashboard viewable by all project stakeholders displays various statuses using the industry standard of red, yellow, and green colors. Throughout project execution, to meet the needs of the project and some of the project stakeholders, the project manager has been adding more colors to reflect additional statuses. This situation has created confusion among some of the stakeholders over the status naming conventions and meanings. What should the project manager do? 1. Revert the status to an industry standard of red, yellow, green 2. Explain the meaning of the new statuses to the stakeholders 3 .Remove statuses from the dashboard to avoid confusion 4. Add a simpler status for the stakeholders who are confused
2. Explain the meaning of the new statuses to the stakeholders
The project is nearing its end. The executives are anxious to assign the project manager to other projects. However, before moving on, the project manager has to deliver the final product to the customer. What should the project manager do first? 1. Reassign resources to other projects 2. Obtain stakeholder approval 3. Close the project 4. Present a list of quality concerns to the customer
2. Obtain stakeholder approval Implies you are in CLOSING. Prior to delivering final deliverables to customer, formal acceptance of all relevant stakeholders must be obtained.
Recently, you promoted your star programmer, Sam, to lead the development team. Sam was a fantastic software coder, and you thought the promotion would mean that he could now share his expertise with the other development team members. However, you are surprised to learn that the performance of Sam in his new role is not meeting your expectations. Which empirical rule did you forget while considering the promotion of Sam? 1. Expectancy theory 2. Peter principle 3. Pareto concept 4. Murphy's law
2. Peter principal The Peter Principle states "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his/her level of incompetence." Most project team members are motivated by an opportunity to grow, accomplish, and apply their professional skills to meet new challenges. Their achievements continuously promote them within an organization to a certain level until they are unable to perform. Sam might have risen to his incompetency level.
You are a project manager for a new product development project that is in the planning stages. Your project team has just finished creating the activities list and is now in the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. While meeting with your project team, you notice that a series of activities can be done in parallel but must finish in a specific sequence. Your team is debating which type of activity sequencing method to use. What would you tell them? 1. Activities diagramming method 2. Precedence diagramming method 3. Project schedule network diagram 4. Critical path method
2. Precedence diagramming method Based on the question you are in Sequence Activities. PDM is TOOL used for scheduling to show the sequence in which activities will be performed. Project schedule network diagram is an OUTPUT of sequence activities
Your risk report shows that project risk exposure overall has grown close to a negative threshold. Before the next regular meeting, you ask risk owners to present any risks and opportunities that may affect short-term activities. In the meeting, it becomes clear that risk owners from less engaged departments did not implement some of the previously approved responses. What should you do now to reduce risk exposure? 1. Submit a change request to exploit an opportunity that potentially makes up for the undone risk responses 2. Privately confront the risk owners with the issue and collaborate to remove any impediments to the risk responses 3. Reassign the risk ownership to team members who are in departments that are more engaged in the project 4. Escalate the issue by calling a meeting with the risk owners and their managers to discuss disciplinary measures
2. Privately confront the risk owners with the issue and collaborate to remove any impediments to the risk responses Project charter grants PM a level of authority. PM should use that in combo with interpersonal and team skills to influence ppl. Interpersonal and team skills are also tools/techniques to Implement Risk Responses Never a public confrontation, always choose private
You and your team have compiled your project's activity list, determined how the activities should be performed and analyzed the schedule. You are preparing information for the project sponsor to highlight the identified activities that may create a delay in the overall project schedule. Which of the following would be most useful in this situation? 1. Activity attributes 2. Project network diagrams 3. Duration estimates 4. Project calendars
2. Project network diagrams network diagrams would best serve to provide information concerning activities that would be possibly create schedule delays
During a recession, a project manager posts a positive risk that in the current economic environment, cheaper resources may become available. On the way into work, the project manager hears about a competitor going out of business and contacts the competitor to acquire some equipment, materials, and supplies at a fraction of their normal value. What is the project manager doing? 1. Executing a mitigation plan 2. Reacting to a contingency plan trigger 3. Transferring an identified risk 4. Sharing a realized positive risk
2. Reacting to a contingency plan trigger Some risk responses are designed for use only if certain events occur. Risk responses identified using this technique are often called contingency plans or fallback plans and included identified triggering events that set the plans into place. If EXPLOITING the REALIZED RISK was an answer choice it would have been better
As a project manager, you are in the process of establishing a knowledge management system for your project. Which of the following actions will be the least beneficial in this process? 1. A review of the lesson learned register 2. Reading the requirements documentation 3. An examination of the resource breakdown structure 4. Studying the project team assignments
2. Reading the requirements documentation Question is asking for LEAST beneficial document. Requirements documentation provides a description of how individual requirements meet the business need for the project. The Lessons Learned register, RBS, and project team assignments are useful in determining what is required for a knowledge management system.
The product trade show is approaching. The project team must produce functional prototypes for the event. The team is also tasked with many other competing project tasks. What can the project manager do in the next iteration planning? 1. Remove the other competing tasks from the schedule 2. Reprioritize the remaining work in the product backlog 3. Crash the project schedule by adding more resources 4. Move the prototype work to be on the critical path
2. Reprioritize the remaining work in the product backlog Assumes you are concerned with Control Schedule in an agile project.
As a project manager for a small university, you are currently in the process of selecting a vendor to develop a textbook and other training materials for a new course. Several vendors are interested in bidding on the contract. During a bidder conference, one of the prospective suppliers asks about ownership of the intellectual property that will be created from the project. Which project document should have this information at this stage of the project? 1. Seller proposals 2. Requirements documentation 3. Source selection criteria 4. Procurement contract
2. Requirements documentation You are in CONDUCT procurements. This info can be found in the requirements documentation that is an INPUT to this. Since you are in a bidder conference you can assume no contracts have been awarded so #4 is out.
A project manager is leading the construction of a new office building. The project sponsor asks the project manager to email him a project document that was presented during the last project status meeting. The project sponsor states that he has forgotten the name of the document, but he remembers it contained the description, owner, source, priority, and status of product requirements. Which project document is the project sponsor requesting? 1. The requirements management plan 2. The requirements traceability matrix 3. The scope management plan 4. The work breakdown structure (WBS)
2. Requirements traceability matrix In this scenario, the project sponsor requested a document that provides specific information about the product requirements of your current project. The requirements traceability matrix is a grid that links product requirements from their origin to the deliverables that satisfy them. Typical attributes used in the requirements traceability matrix may include a unique identifier, a textual description of the requirement, the rationale for inclusion, owner, source, priority, version, current status, and status date. Additional attributes to ensure that the requirement has met stakeholders' satisfaction may include stability, complexity, and acceptance criteria.
An apartment building construction project is currently in the planning stage. The project manager has decided to use analogous estimating to create the resource requirements and resource breakdown structure. What should the project manager do first? 1. Create estimates for the team and physical resources at the activity level 2. Research the organizational process assets 3. Develop the algorithm which will be used to calculate resource quantities 4. Review the lessons learned register
2. Research the organizational process assets Analogous = looking at previous projects You are in Estimate Activity Resources and need a TOOL/TECHNIQUE
You are managing a project in Alaska to extend an existing oil pipeline, and you are about to start project planning. Due to the large size of the project along with the regulatory and environmental considerations, the development of a detailed project management plan will be critical. As a starting point for initial project planning, what is the first thing you should do? 1. Conduct a project kick-off meeting to inform and engage stakeholders and gain commitment 2. Review the project charter to understand the high-level information about the project 3. Begin the process of identifying stakeholders so they can be engaged as necessary for project planning 4. Share the project scope statement with the project team for a common understanding of project deliverables
2. Review the project charter to understand the high-level information about the project The question states that project planning is about to begin which suggests that project initiation has been completed. The project charter is created during the Develop Project Charter process as part of project initiation. The project team uses the project charter as a starting point for initial project planning. The type and amount of information in the project charter varies depending on the complexity of the project and the information known at the time of its creation. At a minimum, the project charter should define the high-level information about the project that will be elaborated in the various components of the project management plan.
Two new team members have just joined the project you are leading. The project is large and involves many stakeholders. You want to get the new team members up to speed with the overall dynamics of the project and engage effectively with the project stakeholders. What should you do? 1. Ask the team members to record any issues they encounter into the issue log 2. Review the stakeholder register with the new team members 3. Schedule a meeting with the new team members and all project stakeholders 4. Submit a change request to update the stakeholder engagement plan
2. Review the stakeholder register with the new team members Stakeholder register is a project document that includes stakeholder identification, assessment, and classification. Used to maintain info about the stakeholder's expectations and interests with the project. By reviewing this with the new team members, the PM can provide them with the info about each stakeholder, politics surrounding the project, and other relevant details about the project/stakeholders that may help get them up to speed with the overall dynamics and engage effectively.
As a project manager, you are leading a software development project where the developers are colocated within rented office space. Writing the code is taking longer than anticipated, and you have contacted the office facility to ensure the office will be available for another week. Unfortunately, the office is already booked, so you need to find another solution. After capturing the problem in the project documents, what should you do next? 1. Record the issue in the issue log 2. Revise the resource management plan 3. Update the schedule baseline 4. Request additional funds
2. Revise the resource management plan Contacting the office space facility to ensure the resource will be avail for another week is a function of the Control Resources process. Control resources is the process of ensuring that the physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned, as well as monitoring the planned versus actual utilization of resources and performing corrective action as necessary. As a result of Control resources the resource management plan may be updated as an output.
You are leading a project to construct a new runway at an existing commercial airport. After completion of the project, the residents under the flight path of the new runway are making noise complaints and want the airport to compensate them for the diminished values of their homes. What might you have missed earlier in the project? 1. Including in the stakeholder register those with a contribution stake in the project 2. Stakeholder analysis including consideration for those with an interest stake in the project 3. A thorough review of the agreements prior to the development of the stakeholder register 4. The inclusion of the affected homeowners in the project charter
2. Stakeholder analysis including consideration for those with an interest stake in the project Implies the impact on homeowners was not considered or disregarded.
You are managing a project to develop a new robot for a mining rescue company. You are currently performing a monitoring and controlling project activity, and you have discovered that some of the project work has not been performed according to the plan. If these issues are not fixed before the next customer inspection, your project might be canceled. You have analyzed the situation, and the corrective action will only require a minor adjustment to a configuration element. What should you do first? 1. Implement the corrective actions 2. Submit a change request 3. Consult the project sponsor 4. Delay the scheduled customer inspection
2. Submit a change request Question is asking what you should do FIRST. Although you have already analyzed the situation and you know what corrective actions are required, you must follow the proper change control procedure. A configuration element is a project artifact that has been placed under configuration control. Any change to a configuration artifact should be formally controlled and will require a change request. Since the question describes a situation requiring a change to a configuration element, the first thing you should do is submit a change request and have it approved before you can implement the changes.
A project is underway to construct a 50 story office building. With construction nearly complete, a government inspector has issued a stop order because one of the cranes failed inspection. The schedule reserves are inadequate to cover the resulting delay from the unavailability of the key resource. What should the project manager do next? 1. Update the resource management plan 2. Submit a change request to update the schedule baseline 3. Submit a change request to update the cost baseline 4. Terminate the project since the project objectives cannot be met
2. Submit a change request to update the schedule baseline Control resources is the process of ensuring the physical resource assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned. As a result of Control Resources process the schedule baseline may be updated to reflect the actual vs planned availability of assigned resources. Because the schedule reserve is inadequate the schedule baseline must be revised.
In a steering committee meeting for a project to build a new state-of-the-art communications device, the committee chair reprimands the project manager for not using the company's file sharing system as required by the organization. The project manager explains that the project team chose a newer tool for the project, as it was much better. What most likely caused this situation? 1. The project manager did not research the enterprise environmental factors 2. The project manager did not review the organizational process assets 3. The project team did not investigate communication tools 4. The project manager did nothing wrong
2. The project manager did not review the organizational process assets File sharing = OPA
You are managing an engineering design project. The vendor has created 50 engineering drawings. Since the project is on a tight schedule and budget, checking every drawing for accuracy and completeness would be impossible. You direct the team to randomly select 20 drawings for inspection. This exercise can best be described as an example of: 1. Inspection 2. Statistical sampling 3. Attribute sampling 4. Control charting
2. statistical sampling since it involves selecting 20 out of 50 drawing at random to measure accuracy and completeness
A project manager is currently in the process of prioritizing individual project risks by assessing their detectability, proximity, and impact value. The project manager would like to create a graphical representation of these three dimensions. What is the best course of action? 1. Generate a RACI chart 2. Prepare a requirements traceability matrix 3 .Develop a bubble chart 4. Create a probability and impact matrix
3 .Develop a bubble chart Question implies you are in perform Qualitative Risk Analysis. All of the other charts can only display 2 parameters. Only bubble can do 3.
Your boss is giving you a rough outline of the scope, constraints, and risks involved in a prospective client's project. The project is highly similar to another project you are currently closing. The sponsor wants to know how long this project would take your team to complete. You think your team may need two months, but what should your answer be? 1. "Let me run some numbers in a simulation, and get back to you tomorrow." 2. "Give us two months. We will knock it out just like the project that we are closing now." 3. "If it truly resembles this project we are closing, it could be six to ten weeks." 4. "Considering the uncertainty in scope, I estimate three months."
3. "If it truly resembles this project we are closing, it could be six to ten weeks." Considering your immediate experience of a similar project, you should give an estimate range.
You are the project manager for the construction of a new thin-crust pizza vending machine. You take all the information gathered in the project management plan to date and begin to develop a project schedule. When you reach the activity labeled as 6.5.3, you are unsure if a refrigeration specialist is needed for the installation of the cooling mechanism for the pizza dough. What project document would you reference in order to get information on the resources required for installing the cooling mechanism? 1. Resource calendar 2. Resource management plan 3. Activity attributes 4. Procurement management plan
3. Activity attributes You are in the task Develop Schedule, only 1 and 3 are inputs to this. Activity attributes contains resource requirements for a particular activity. Resource requirements would also be a good answer choice. Resource calendar doesn't make sense because it's the days, dates and time a particular resource (human resources/machines/etc.) will work.
You are developing a project management plan for a project that is part of a program. You have just been informed that a new procedure has been added to the program management plan. The procedure requires that all changes that exceed $10,000 in cost have to be reviewed by the change control board (CCB). What should you do? 1. Nothing; the program management plan and the project management plan are not correlated. 2. Submit a change request to the CCB to add the new procedure to the project management plan 3. Add the new procedure to the project management plan 4. Add an addendum to the project charter to reflect the new procedure
3. Add the new procedure to the project management plan because Pm plan is part of program management plan it doesn't need a CR
Your company has just been awarded the contract for an important research project. The CEO of your company has asked you, as the project manager, to create the project charter and send it to her so that she can review and approve it. To create the project charter, you need the project's statement of work (SOW). What should you do? 1. Create the SOW yourself since you are the project manager 2. Look for the SOW in your organizational process assets (OPAs) 3. Ask your customer to provide you with the SOW 4. Ask your CEO to provide you with the SOW
3. Ask your customer to provide you with the SOW Since your company has been awarded the contract, you would need the project's procurement SOW agreed upon in the Conduct Procurements process for selecting a seller or in the contract, if there is a signed agreement in place. Among the four answer choices, the best option is to ask the customer for the SOW. Asking the customer (i.e., the buyer) for the SOW ensures you have the version that was approved from the customer's perspective. In addition, collaborating with the initiating company allows you to have a better understanding of the project purpose, objectives, and expected benefits that will help in crafting the project charter.
You work with your team to sequence activities on the project you are leading. You are looking for the factors, constraints, and potential dependencies among project activities that can influence the way activities are sequenced, as well as help you understand the relationship between activities and the need for leads and lags. Where could you find this information? 1. Basis of estimates 2. Work breakdown structure 3. Assumption log 4. Project schedule
3. Assumption log Scenario states you are performing Sequence Activities process. The Assumption Log is an INPUT to this process. No other answers are an input to Sequence Activities
You are developing the communications management plan for a construction project. You want to determine the information needs of the project stakeholders, specifically focusing on the type and the format of information that will be required to communicate with the stakeholders. What is your best course of action? 1. Develop the stakeholder register 2. Review the requirements documentation 3. Conduct a communication requirements analysis 4. Consult the stakeholder engagement plan
3. Conduct a communication requirements analysis This question implies that you are performing Plan Communications Management process with the dev of the communications management plan. Communication requirements is one of the tools/techniques. Analysis of communication requirements determines the info needs of the stakeholders. The requirements are defined by combining the type and format of info needed with an analysis of the value of that info.
You are in the process of developing an approximation of the monetary resources needed to complete project work for a large-scale multinational project which will take at least seven years to complete. Your previous projects have all been domestic with short timeframes. As part of the process you are currently performing, what might you need to do differently compared with your past projects? 1. Create a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix 2. Develop a more robust risk management plan 3. Consider additional enterprise environmental factors 4. Include additional organizational process assets
3. Consider additional enterprise environmental factors You are conducting Estimate Costs. Answer choices that relate to other activities can be ruled out.
You are leading a project to develop a new web application. Together with your project team you reprioritize the product backlog, determine velocity for the past iterations, and adapt your work plans accordingly. Additionally, you facilitate retrospectives every two weeks. Which of the following processes describes the work you are performing? 1. Monitor Risks 2. Manage Quality 3. Control Schedule 4. Develop Schedule
3. Control Schedule This scenario is for an adaptive life cycle such as adaptive. We know its an agile project because of the use of retrospectives, backlog, and iterations. In agile projects Control Schedule is concerned with conducting retrospectives to correct and improve processes, reprioritizing the backlog, determining the velocity in the current iteration, and adjusting the plans accordingly.
Not all team members are properly checking out resources used in the project. What is the best option for the project manager? 1. Wait until there is a need or the team is impacted 2. Direct noncompliant team members to read the project management plan 3. Discuss the checkout rationale with the team 4. Remove the obstacle of checking out resources
3. Discuss the checkout rationale with the team
Up until now, your project team has allowed the use of flextime where project team members may take time off during regular business hours and make up the time during the evening hours or weekends. Recently, excessive use of flextime has become a roadblock as some team members are not available when needed. The team feels they should set a standard that flextime is only to be used for personal emergencies. How should you handle this situation? 1. Contact the human resources department to update the corporate policies to prohibit flextime 2. Submit a change request to update the team charter based on the team's inputs 3. Discuss the issue with the team and update the team charter accordingly 4. Do nothing as the team has already agreed to use flextime for personal emergencies only
3. Discuss the issue with the team and update the team charter accordingly No CR needed for team charter updates. The team develops and contributes to it. Team charter records the teams values, agreements, and operating guidelines, as well as establishing clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by team members.
You are conducting the source selection analysis for an office building renovation project. One project requirement involves setting up the WiFi system once the hardware has been installed. The value of this procurement is relatively small, and you have decided that a full selection process does not make sense. With three prospective vendors listed as pre-approved sellers, what is the best course of action? 1. Utilize a sole source for the procurement 2. Use a firm fixed price contract 3. Establish a qualifications only selection method 4. Conduct a bidder conference
3. Establish a qualifications only selection method You use this method when time and cost of a full selection process would not make sense because the value of the procurement is fairly small.
A project manager is leading a project to investigate the feasibility of constructing a dam to generate hydroelectric power. The project needs to be analyzed from technical, economic, and social points of view. The project manager has created the project charter on behalf of the project sponsor, and it is now approved. Which of the following processes should be performed next? 1. Develop Project Management Plan 2. Identify Risks 3. Identify Stakeholders 4. Develop Project Charter
3. Identify Stakeholders The Identify Stakeholders process is the process of identifying all people or organizations impacted by the project and documenting relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, and impact on project success. Both the Develop Project Charter process and the Identify Stakeholders process are part of the Initiating Process Group which should be completed before proceeding to the processes in the Planning Process Group. In this scenario, since the project charter has been developed and approved, the Identify Stakeholders process should be performed next.
You are leading a project to build an oil pipeline in a foreign country, and you are looking for local contractors to outsource some of the construction work. You are in the process of preparing the bid package for prospective sellers. Which of the following documents would you leave out of the package? 1. Request for proposal 2. Statement of work 3. Independent cost estimates 4. Source selection criteria
3. Independent cost estimates Preparing the bid package implies you are in Plan Procurement Management. The outputs of this process are: bid documents (with the RFP), SOW, source selection criteria, independent cost estimates. These docs are also the inputs to Conduct procurements process. However, not all of these are provided by the buyer to the prospective seller. Independent cost estimates are developed to benchmark procurements. Either done internally or externally. Not provided to prospective sellers since a benchmark range may prejudice the sellers intro proposing prices that do not actually work for their business or resources.
The updated version of the product is to be at the customer's location by the end of the week, but the team realizes they will be unable to complete the deliverable by then. The project manager and the team have looked for solutions to resolve this issue but there is nothing to avert missing the deadline. The deployment team who is supposed to install the product at the customer site is under a lot of stress to meet their deadline and are going to be furious that the update will not be there at the end of the week. What is the project manager's best action? 1. Wait until the deadline hoping the team eventually makes it 2. Send the status report to the customer 3. Make the phone call to the customer to inform them of the delay 4. Cancel the installation at the customer site
3. Make the phone call to the customer to inform them of the delay
A project manager is leading an infrastructure development project and is just starting the process of prioritizing individual project risks for further analysis. A stakeholder has expressed concern that the existing information about individual project risks may not be accurate and reliable. What is the best course of action? 1. Perform the Identify Risks process again 2. Capture the concern in the stakeholder register 3. Perform a risk data quality assessment 4. Conduct a risk probability and impact assessment
3. Perform a risk data quality assessment Question implies you are in perform Qualitative Risk Analysis. Perform risk data quality assessment is an example of the data analysis technique that can be used in this process.
A project manager is developing a cost management plan and needs to determine the best source of funding for a project that is dictated by a legal requirement. The cost of capital is estimated at 9.7% for non-dividend paying equity, 6.7% for debt, and 5.1% for self-funding. The NPV of the project is $500,000 with an opportunity cost of $750,000. What is the project manager's best course of action? 1. Fund the project with equity since there are no dividend obligations 2. Select the self-funding option since it provides the lowest cost of capital 3. Perform an alternatives analysis since there are multiple factors to consider 4. Recommend the termination of the project since another project has a higher NPV
3. Perform an alternatives analysis since there are multiple factors to consider You are in plan cost management developing the plan. data analysis is a TOOL/TECHNIQUE
A team member has been tasked to send the request for proposal (RFP), source selection criteria, and procurement statement of work (SOW) to potential sellers. The documentation is stored digitally on the corporate computer network. Which folder from the project directory is most likely to include these documents? 1. Bid documents 2. Requirements documentation 3. Procurement documentation 4. Test and evaluation documents
3. Procurement documentation Question suggest you are in CONDUCT Procurements. Only number 3 has all of the elements specified in the question.
A project to build a new water treatment plant is in the planning stage. The project manager is starting the project management process of Plan Risk Management. The project sponsor is risk averse, and this will affect the risk management plan. In preparing the risk management plan, the project manager is seeking a high-level understanding of the project description and boundaries, high-level requirements, and risks. Where is the best place for the project manager to find this information? 1. Probability and impact matrix 2. Risk breakdown structure (RBS) 3. Project charter 4. Statement of work (SOW)
3. Project charter You are in the planning phase. The charter has all of this info and is an INPUT to plan risk management
A project has been initiated to search a large area for debris from an explosion of a failed prototype. The project is now in planning, and there is a debate among the team members on the type and quantity of resources needed to complete this activity. What should the project manager do first? 1. Select any resource and quantity to complete the task by the due date 2. Request the team to vote and make a decision based on majority 3. Research various levels of resource capability and skills, types, and sizes 4. Utilize a PMIS to manage resource pools and allocate resources
3. Research various levels of resource capability and skills, types, and sizes In PLANNING task Estimate Activity resources. Data Analysis is a TOOL/TECHNIQUE
The project requires frequent input from the senior management team. Some of the past projects succeeded to engage the team, however, most failed as senior management is notorious throughout the organization of responding slowly and not attending meetings. What is the best strategy for the stakeholder engagement plan of the current project? 1. Patiently wait until management indicates that they are available to provide their input 2. Schedule regular, short update meetings at a constant time and convenient location 3. Review lessons learned from other projects involving the management stakeholders 4. Require one senior management representative to attend meetings or the project will be halted
3. Review lessons learned from other projects involving the management stakeholders Scenario says you are in Plan Stakeholder Engagement. Lessons Learned is an OPA INPUT for this.
After taking over a project that is in the middle of execution, you are looking for information about the quality management issues that have been escalated by the team and any corrective actions that have been recommended and/or implemented. What should you do? 1. Look at the issue log 2. Check the quality management plan 3. Review the quality reports 4. Talk to the previous project manager
3. Review the quality reports In this scenario you are looking for info about the QM issues that have been escalated by the team and any corrective actions that have been recommended and/or implemented. This is the description of a QUALITY REPORT. Issue log is wrong because it tracks ALL issues not QM specific
Wendy is a project manager for an IT data center installation in a country that recently established independence. The country is in a strategic location for fiber optic communications, but the political climate is highly unstable. In order to keep the data center in the country but avoid unnecessary influence from the political dynamics, Wendy has negotiated with the U.S. Department of State to establish the data center in the basement of the U.S. Consulate in the capital city. This is an example of: 1. Risk transfer 2. Risk avoidance 3. Risk mitigation 4. Risk acceptance
3. Risk mitigation 2 is not correct because she is not avoiding or eliminating the threat entirely.
A project manager is meeting with Sally, the program manager, to review the decomposed deliverables for a new product. Sally reviews the work breakdown structure and requests it to be arranged in the order the work should be performed. Is Sally correct saying that the work breakdown structure should be ordered according to how the work will be performed? 1. Sally is wrong. Work is decomposed and sequenced in the Define Activities process. 2. Sally is correct. Since she has superiority, the WBS should be ordered the way she wants it to be done. 3. Sally is wrong. The chronological order of tasks is defined in the Sequence Activities process. 4. Sally is correct. When decomposing the work, the order of tasks must be considered.
3. Sally is wrong. The chronological order of tasks is defined in the Sequence Activities process. Work packages are further decomposed into schedule activities that are then sequenced to obtain greatest efficiency WBS doesn't involve sequencing
During a bidder conference, a supplier asks why a section is missing from the request for quotation (RFQ). The project manager, realizing that an aspect of the project is indeed missing, becomes flustered and stumbles through a brief reply. When the seller responses were received, all but three fail to address the missing section. What is the best course of action? 1. Hold the bidder conference again, and explain the importance of the point that was initially missed 2. Select from the three vendors that submitted complete proposals 3. Send a revised RFQ to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals 4. Extend the deadline and allow all of the vendors to resubmit their proposals
3. Send a revised RFQ to all prospective suppliers and allow them the opportunity to resubmit their proposals This is the fairest option. It may not be practical or cost effective to conduct another bidder conference. Re-issuing the RFQ also ensures that requirements are understood which makes the bids more viable.
A project manager is identifying stakeholders for a new product development project. Which of the following activities is the project manager least likely to perform in the creation of the stakeholder register? 1. Assess any available project documentation and lessons learned from past projects 2 .Perform stakeholder analysis to develop a list of stakeholders with relevant information 3. Submit a change request to update the stakeholder engagement plan 4. Categorize the stakeholders' stakes including interest, rights, ownership, and contribution
3. Submit a change request to update the stakeholder engagement plan Create stakeholder register = FIRST iteration of Identify Stakeholders so we are in Initiating
A project manager notifies the project sponsor that the mitigation strategy for a major risk did not work. The sponsor states that the same risk response was implemented a few months ago on a similar project with the same result. How might this situation have been avoided? 1. The project manager should have researched the lessons learned register for knowledge gained throughout similar past projects 2. The project manager should have applied the avoidance risk response strategy because the risk had been seen before in past projects 3. The project manager should have researched the lessons learned repository for knowledge gained throughout similar past projects 4. The project manager could not have avoided this situation since it is impossible to determine in advance the effectiveness of a risk response
3. The project manager should have researched the lessons learned repository for knowledge gained throughout similar past projects
You are part of a cross-functional organizational development team, piloting an adaptive approach to project management in an organization that has traditionally used a predictive approach. You realize that you have to tailor the template of the schedule management plan. Which of the following components of the template are you likely to tailor the most? 1. The rules of performance measurement, the summary milestones, and the key deliverables 2. The organizational procedures links, the units of measure, and the project organization charts 3. The schedule model development, the release and iteration length, and the reporting formats 4. The project schedule model maintenance, the level of accuracy, and the level of precision
3. The schedule model development, the release and iteration length, and the reporting formats Scenario suggests you are carrying out Plan Schedule Management (establishing the criteria and activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule). Of all the answers choices, only schedule model development, release/iteration length, reporting formats are all components of the schedule management plan.
Managing the project team for an agile based project, the project manager takes a servant role and allows the team to be self-organizing. Why is this possible? 1. The team relies on the project manager's leadership and assignments. 2. The team is comprised of subject matter experts that have specific roles and skills. 3. The team is comprised of generalists and able to support each other fluidly. 4. The team is larger than one project manager can put in one meeting room.
3. The team is comprised of generalists and able to support each other fluidly.
While looking at the project cost baseline graph shown below, a project manager sees that the stair-step line's last point is higher than the estimate at completion (EAC). What does this relationship mean for the project? 1. The project is running over budget 2. The management reserve is too large 3. Total funding for the project exceeds the project's anticipated needs 4. The project is behind schedule
3. Total funding for the project exceeds the project's anticipated needs
What is the return on investment if the gain is $57,500 and the initial investment is $13,675?
320%
A project manager is in the process of creating the quality management plan for a product development project. Currently, the project manager needs to understand and then estimate the cost of quality for a particular process. What is the best course of action? 1. Develop a RACI chart 2. Create a fishbone diagram 3. Construct a RAM 4. Build a SIPOC model
4. Build a SIPOC model Looking for a TOOL/TECHNIQUE. In QM planning so can rule out 1 and 3 (RAM= Responsibility Assignment Matrix). SPIOC is a flowchart useful in understanding and estimating cost and quality for a process.
A company has been awarded a software development project which requires the development team to work at the client's office. The client has assigned each developer a cubicle from which to perform their work. During a daily standup meeting, a developer states that the team members are too isolated and colocating the team in a war room would increase productivity and quality. What should the project manager do first? 1. Explain to the team that colocation would impede productivity due to the inevitable distractions 2. Explain to the team that a war room was not specified in the contract 3. Negotiate with the client to make a war room available to the team 4. Capture a description of the developer's concern in the issue log
4. Capture a description of the developer's concern in the issue log 3 is right but it should come after 4.
The project you have been managing for several years is now moving towards completion. Some of the project deliverables have been contracted to vendors. You begin to close the project and want to make sure all activities necessary for project closure are properly completed. Which of the following activities would you not perform as part of this process? 1. Reviewing the project exit criteria 2. Measuring stakeholders' satisfaction 3. Ensuring all costs are charged to the project 4. Closing procurements with vendors
4. Closing procurements with vendors Question if for which one you would NOT perform and it implies you have begun the Closing Project or Phase process. The planned work is completed, project info is archived, and resources are reallocated. All answer choices except close procurements with vendors represent activities performed during project closure. Closing procurements with vendors happens in CONTROL PROCUREMENTS.
You are establishing the relative priorities of individual project risks that have been identified earlier in the project. Which of the following tasks are you least likely to perform? 1. Review the assumption log 2. Examine the risk register 3. Research the stakeholder register 4. Create the risk report
4. Create the risk report The question implies you are performing QUALITATIVE RISK ANALYSIS. The assumption log, risk register, and stakeholder register are all inputs to this process.
As part of project planning, you and your project team are developing a comprehensive list of individual project risks and sources of overall project risk. You want to analyze the validity of assumptions and constraints to determine which pose a risk to the project. Which technique will be the most helpful for you? 1. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis 2. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis 3. Cost-benefit analysis 4. Data analysis
4. Data analysis You are performing IDENTIFY RISKS. Assumption and constraint analysis is a data analysis TECHNIQUE. 1 and 2 come after Identify Risks.
Tom is a project manager for a large software project. During project risk planning, Tom and his team are trying to decide whether to invest $10 million to develop new software or to instead invest $5 million to upgrade the existing software. The team is uncertain how strong demand will be for their product and, therefore, must account for this uncertainty in their analysis. What would be the best tool for the project manager to use in this case? 1. Tornado diagram 2. Monte Carlo analysis 3. Influence diagram 4. Decision tree analysis
4. Decision tree analysis Question implies you are in Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis. Decision tree is a data analysis TECHNIQUE used here.
As part of the process to develop the scope statement for the project you are leading, you specify the deliverables for the project, include the requirements under which the deliverables will be accepted, and explicitly state what is out of project scope. What should you do next? 1. Obtain approval of the project scope statement 2 .Include the acceptance criteria in the scope statement 3. Determine who decides the project is successful 4. Describe product scope in the scope statement
4. Describe product scope in the scope statement Project scope statement is an output of the define scope process. project scope statement has: description of project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints.
Stakeholders are not sure what to do about the multiple failures the project has been experiencing recently. Changes need to be made quickly otherwise the project may be terminated as consistently missing its objectives. What should the project manager do first? 1. Recommend terminating the project as its objectives cannot be met 2. Consult with the project sponsor due to the urgency and the severity of the situation 3. Implement the most promising change immediately and transparently 4. Facilitate a discussion amongst the stakeholders on what should be changed
4. Facilitate a discussion amongst the stakeholders on what should be changed Assumes you are perform integrated change control
You have completed a nine-month project, and you are in the closing stage. The project completed on time and under budget and everyone in your department has congratulated you on your achievement. The vice president of your company heard about the success of your project and wants a summary overview of project performance so that he can talk about your success at the next board meeting. What should you provide to him? 1. Lessons learned repository 2. Project closure documents 3. Final lessons learned register 4. Final report
4. Final report OUTPUT of close project/phase Key word = summary Provides a summary level description of the project, risks/issues encountered, final product, final results
During the project's iterations, the daily standup meetings have been held at 9 AM every day. Three of the project team members have missed or been late to the last seven meetings because they are running tests in another building each of those days. These tests will most likely continue for the rest of the iteration. What is the project manager's best action? 1. Start the meeting once everyone is present 2. Cancel the meetings 3. Start the meeting at different times every day until a particular time gets full attendance 4. Move the meeting to a set time later in the day
4. Move the meeting to a set time later in the day
Midway into project execution, one of your senior project team members is leaving the company. Due to a delay in filling the position, you have decided to assign the affected tasks to two less experienced employees. Which factor would most strongly affect the duration of their assigned tasks? 1. Parkinson's law 2. Student syndrome 3. Law of diminishing returns 4. Number of resources
4. Number of resources In the estimate activity duration process, a change to the assigned resource will usually affect the duration; but this isn't a straight-line or linear relationship. Parkinson's Law and Student Syndrome deal with motivation of staff Of the choices provided, number of resources is likely the factor that would most strongly affect the duration of the assigned tasks
You are leading a project to design a high-efficiency solar cell. The materials that you are acquiring for this project include copper, silver, and silicon among others, and you have also ordered custom built manufacturing equipment. Additionally, you have secured permission from the landlord to install a solar array on the roof of the corporate office for testing, and reserved a conference room for daily stand-up meetings. What is the result of your efforts? 1. Resource histogram 2. Resource management plan 3. Resource assignment matrix 4. Physical resource assignments
4. Physical resource assignments Question assumes you are executing doing Acquire Resources. Physical resource assignments is and OUTPUT of this. The rest are INPUTS.
The project has to produce 10,000 new parts. The inspection points and their frequency along production must be determined. The part specifications and inspection modes to be used also need to be decided. In which process are these project plans defined? 1. Plan Resource Management 2. Create WBS 3. Manage Stakeholder Engagement 4. Plan Quality Management
4. Plan Quality Management This process determines quality requirements and standards for the project and it's deliverables
You are managing the development of a new smartphone in an extremely competitive market. You are planning the must-have features of the smartphone in detail so that work can begin and the product can be released to the market as early as possible. The future features are unknown at the moment and will depend on what the competitors release. You will plan these features in greater detail later on. As you and your team create the work breakdown structure (WBS), what will you use to indicate the future features? 1. Control accounts 2. Rolling wave planning 3. Work packages 4. Planning packages
4. Planning packages The planned work is contained in work packages, the lowest level of WBS. The scenario describes rolling wave planning where decomposition may not be possible for deliverables that will be completed later in the project. When more info is avail the planning packages will be decomposed into work packages.
The project sponsor is concerned about possible ethics violations between the project and vendors. What independent review can the sponsor order? 1. Team assessment 2. Performance review 3. Monte-Carlo analysis 4. Procurement audit
4. Procurement audit Scenario implies control procurements should be carried out to determine if any ethics violations took place.
You are managing the development of a new blood pressure cuff for a customer who provided you with the objectives and description of the cuff. You and your team are decomposing the customer's high-level requirements to the level of detail needed to design the blood pressure cuff and therefore define the scope of the product. In what activity are you involved? 1. Technical performance analysis 2. Create WBS 3. Define Activities 4. Product analysis
4. Product analysis This scenario implies you are in Define Scope process. Product analysis is one of the tools/techniques of this process and can be used to define products and services.
You are a project manager for a national consumer goods retailer. Currently, you are about to start the development of the assumption log for a project to build a new retail store. What should you do first? 1. Examine the project management plan 2. Start the Identify Stakeholders process as the assumption log is an output of this process 3. Review the project scope statement 4. Read the project business case
4. Read the project business case Assumption log is an OUTPUT of Develop Project Charter so you don't have the project management plan, or scope statement (both done in Initiating). Assumption log is not an output of identify stakeholders process. Assumption log is used to record all assumptions through the project life cycle. Project Business Case is the best source of info to use in the development of the Assumption log. High level strategic and operational assumptions and constraints are normally identified in the business case before project is initiated and flow into the project charter .
John is the project manager for a large construction project. He has just completed a Monte Carlo analysis simulation when he learns from a team member that some of the cost estimates used in the simulation were incorrect. John is highly risk-averse and concerned about this issue, so he meets with his team to discuss options for how to move forward. Based on this information, which choice below best describes what the team would likely do with the results from the Monte Carlo analysis? 1. Use the results; the simulation data can still be of value because incorrect estimates are accounted for in the algorithm 2. Reject the results and use the triangular distribution technique instead 3. Use the results but set aside additional contingency reserves to address the project risks 4. Reject the results; the Monte Carlo results would be inaccurate and should not be used
4. Reject the results; the Monte Carlo results would be inaccurate and should not be used Accurate cost estimates are the most important part of a Monte Carlo analysis
A project manager had originally planned to use both of the company's industrial 3D printers simultaneously for a project but has just learned that one of them will be unavailable. The project manager adjusts the schedule so that the components are created sequentially using the one remaining 3D printer. Unfortunately, this action affects the critical path and delays the planned finish date of the project. What tool or technique has the project manager used in this situation? 1. Fast tracking 2. Resource smoothing 3. Crashing 4. Resource leveling
4. Resource leveling This is a resource optimization technique in which start and finish techniques are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing the demand for resources with the available supply. Can often cause critical path to change as in the example.
You have just taken over a project to overhaul the company's telecommunications network. During your first week, you determine that the engineers spend at least 80% of their time responding to unexpected requests for information from different project stakeholders. Because of these interruptions, your engineers cannot focus on their assigned project activities, which is resulting in frequent network outages. What should you do first? 1. Immediately tell the engineers to stop responding to unexpected requests since it is not their responsibility 2. Push the engineers to respond to all the requests faster so that they can perform their assigned project activities 3. Ask the engineers to forward all stakeholder inquiries to you so that they can focus on their originally planned tasks 4. Review the communications management plan to understand how stakeholder requests should be handled
4. Review the communications management plan to understand how stakeholder requests should be handled Monitor Communications is the process of monitoring and controlling communications throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the info needs of the project and stakeholders are met. in this scenario, the stakeholders are reaching out directly to your project engineers, which is not the most effective use of their time. To determine why this is happening, you need to review the communications management plan to determine how stakeholder inquiries are to be managed. With this info, you can best judge whether the stakeholders are violating that agreement and process to make whatever changes are needed to shield the project engineers form the time-consuming requests for info and develop a better communications protocol for stakeholder information requests.
You are leading a project team with a technology upgrade project within a project-oriented organizational structure. You were recently informed that one of your project team members falsified required certifications on their resume', and you have verified the information as accurate. You want to terminate the team member's employment. What should you do first? 1. Refer the issue to the employee's functional manager 2. Seek guidance from the resource management plan 3. Immediately terminate the employee for cause 4. Review the enterprise environmental factors
4. Review the enterprise environmental factors HR policies = EEFs that would give you guidance on steps to be taken to terminate someone HR polices are an EEF that influence Develop Team
As a project manager, you will need the assistance of other stakeholders in order to identify the risks associated with your project. You want to determine who are the individuals that might participate in the process of identifying risks to the project, as well as those who are available to act as risk owners. Where should you look? 1. Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) 2. Project charter 3. Risk breakdown structure (RBS) 4. Stakeholder register
4. Stakeholder register You are in the task IDENTIFY RISKs to which the stakeholder register is an INPUT
A project manager is leading a project to build a new model of all-terrain vehicle (ATV). The initial plan called for the suspension parts to be painted. However, in response to an issue captured in the issue log, it has been recommended to use powder coating instead of paint for better corrosion resistance. As it pertains to the acquisition of resources, what should be done next? 1. Deny the recommendation as it represents gold plating 2. Follow the resource management plan 3. Purchase the powder coating equipment and supplies 4. Submit a change request
4. Submit a change request Using powder instead of pain is a corrective action. An approved CR to the resource management plan will be needed to permit the acquisition of the new material.
You are part of the project team designing a new type of subway car. You have completed the last work package for the braking system; however, you are not sure what the acceptance criteria are for this particular work package. Where can you find that information? 1. The project management plan 2. The project scope statement 3. The requirements documentation 4. The WBS dictionary
4. The WBS dictionary WBS dictionary should include acceptance criteria
While working to determine the budget for an avionics project, the company decides to hire a highly reputable financial analyst that has worked in the aviation industry for three decades. Halfway through the project, a series of unanticipated risk events occur, and the project cannot pay its invoices. What is most likely to be the cause? 1. The control accounts were not correctly established 2. The analyst did not identify risks properly 3. Funding limit reconciliation was done incorrectly 4. The management reserves were exhausted
4. The management reserves were exhausted Management reserves are for UNKNOWN risks
A project manager has just learned that the customer is not showing up to requirements meetings saying they have other more important tasks. Since this behavior has already been identified as a risk earlier in the project, the project manager escalates the issue to the stakeholder who is the risk owner responsible for communicating with the customer in such situations. The stakeholder is shocked to find out she is the assigned risk owner. What most likely went wrong? 1. The stakeholder register had the wrong risk owner 2. The project manager did not follow the risk management plan 3. The stakeholder has not read the risk register 4. The project manager did not notify the stakeholder that they were the risk owner
4. The project manager did not notify the stakeholder that they were the risk owner It is the PM's job to ensure all risk owners in the risk register are aware of their roles
A previously unknown risk surfaces on a project and creates an issue that is estimated to cost $50,000. The project manager submits a change request to adjust the schedule baseline and uses the already approved contingency reserves to address the cost. What did the project manager do wrong? 1. The project manager should not have submitted the change request since the risk was unknown. 2. The project manager did not account for all possible risks during project planning. 3 .The project manager should not have included the schedule baseline in the change request. 4. The project manager used contingency reserves instead of management reserves.
4. The project manager used contingency reserves instead of management reserves. PM is performing MONITOR RISKS UNKNOWN RISK = MANAGEMENT RESERVES Using contingency reserves for unknown risks adversely affects the cost baseline; management reserves are not included in cost baseline
If CPI is 1.03 and AC is $6,000, how much is EV?
CPI= EV/AC 1.03= EV/6,000 EV= $6,180 OR could invert EV=CPI*AC
You have a project that is worth 100,000 USD. To date, you have spent 30,000 USD and 25% of the work is completed. What is the Cost Performance Index (CPI)?
Cost Performance Index = (Earned Value) / (Actual Cost) CPI = EV / AC Earned Value = 25% of 100,000 = 25,000 Actual Cost = 30,000 USD Therefore, CPI = 25,000 / 30,000 = 0.833
The earned schedule is 4 months. The actual time is 3 months. The total budget is $30,000 and the period of performance is 8 months. What is the estimated final duration?
EFD= PD/SPI(t) PD=8 SPI(t)= 1.333 8/1.333= 6months
The earned schedule is 4 months. The actual time is 3 months. The total budget is $30,000 and the period of performance is 8 months. What is the SPI(t)?
SPI=EV/PV EV= 4mo PV= 3mo 4/3= 1.333
The software activity was initially allocated a budget of $50,000. The period of performance for the activity is 20 days. What is the schedule variance ($) when the project earned value is 30% complete and the planned value is for day 12?
SV= EV-PV PV= 12*2500= 30000 EV= 50,000*.3= 15,000 SV= 15,000-30,000 SV= -15,000
You have a project worth 100,000 USD. To date, you have spent 30,000 USD, and 25% of the work is completed. For the above project, which statement is correct? a) The project is under budget. b) The project is over budget. c) The project is ahead of schedule. d) The project is behind schedule.
Since the CPI is less than one, the project is over budget.
During a bidding conference, you notice that a bidder is your friend. What will your next step be? a) You will help your friend. b) You will not tell anyone. c) You will disclose it. d) You will not attend the conference.
There can be a conflict of interest, and in this case, your first step is to reveal your friendship to management. Hence, the correct answer is "c."
You have a project with a BAC of 100,000 USD and a duration of 12 months. 6 months have passed, and you have spent 60,000 USD. Upon closer view, you find that only 40% of the work has been completed. Your project is expected to perform with the same cost. Find the Estimate to Complete (ETC) for this project.
To determine the ETC, you need the EAC. And, EAC = BAC / CPI CPI= EV/AC EAC= 100,00/ (40,000/60,000)= 100,000/.67= 149,253 ETC= EAC-AC= 149,253-60,000=89,253 Answer= $89,253
There are 20 stakeholders on a project. What is the total number of potential communication channels in this project?
formula: n*(n-1) / 2 20*19/2 = 190