project management

All of these would typically be included in a mission statement EXCEPT: a. Organization's core values b. Organization's beliefs c. Organization's financial goals d. Organization's customers

C. Financial Goals

In addition to predecessor-successor relationships, what does critical chain project management (CCPM) factor into its scheduling?

Calculations on resource availability

Which of these is NOT one of the roles of key project stakeholders represented in a RACI Chart? a. R = Responsible b. A = Accountable c. C = Control d. I = Inform

Control

The processes to receive and review change proposals and accept or reject them after evaluating their impact on project scope, cost and schedule is managed through _________:

Control Change System

A professor who always grades on a curve cannot finish scoring the midterm exams until all of the students have completed taking the test. What kind of relationship is this? a. Start-to-start (SS) b. Start-to-finish (SF) c. Finish-to-start (FS) d. Finish-to-finish (FF

FF

What type of costs do NOT depend on the size of the project?

Fixed costs

Which of these is NOT a typical section in a change request form? a. Impact on project scope. b. Impact on budget. c. Impact on other projects. d. Impact on deadline dates.

Impact on other projects

For a construction project, the house is the _______ deliverable, and the how-to instructions are the _____ deliverable.

Product, project

Which of these is an example of an expedited cost?

Production work is halted in the factory due to lack of inventory, and management pays for overnight delivery of additional material.

The rough draft of the project charter is typically written by _______.

Project Manager

Which of these is NOT one of the three ways to organize a WBS? a. The WBS is organized by PMBOK Knowledge Area. b. The WBS is organized by project phase. c. The WBS is organized by design components / deliverables. d. The WBS is organized by work function / subproject.

a. The WBS is organized by PMBOK Knowledge Area.

What is the first step in developing a project scope management plan? a. Identify stakeholders. b. Create a Work Breakdown Structure. c. Create a project Scope Statement. d. Collect requirements.

Identify Stakeholders

RAM stands for:

Responsibility Assignment Matrix

In the Build Green Home example of a SWOT analysis, factors including existing thinking on green building and its niche focus, building schedule, and community (location) rumors are all examples of __________.

Threats

Which of these is NOT one of the actions that should be completed during the Two-Pass Method of determining the critical path? a. List all of the paths through the network b. Complete the backward pass through the network c. Complete the forward pass through the network d. Calculate float and the critical path

a. List all of the paths through the network

A project charter is similar to a contract in many ways, but there are some differences between the two documents. How are project charters different from contracts? a. One party cannot arbitrarily change a contract, whereas the project sponsor does have the authority to change the charter. b. Contracts and project charters are entered into freely. c. In both a project charter and a contract there is something of value for both parties. d. Both the charter and contract are living documents that can evolve with changing conditions.

a. One party cannot arbitrarily change a contract, whereas the project sponsor does have the authority to change the charter.

What is another name for the Activity-on-Node (AON) network diagramming technique? a. Activity on Arrow (AOA) b. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) c. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) d. Critical Path Method (CPM)

b. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

Near the end of the project, timing issues regarding team members must be addressed. Which of the answers below is NOT one of the three "r" end-of-project activities related to project team members? a. Recognizing team members b. Retrospective meetings with team members c. Releasing team members d. Rewarding team members

b. Retrospective meetings with team members

All of these are advantages of using a WBS EXCEPT: a. To encourage a systematic planning process. b. To ensure all dates assigned to schedule activities are within the overall project timeline. c. To reduce the possibility of omission of key elements. d. To simplify the project by dividing it into manageable units.

b. To ensure all dates assigned to schedule activities are within the overall project timeline.

Which of these is NOT one of the three reasons that project managers and teams should look at risk when creating the project charter? a. A positive risk is an opportunity to complete the project better faster, and/or at a lower cost or to capitalize upon the project in additional ways. b. Sometimes there is more risk to the organization if the project is not undertaken. c. It is important for the project manager and team to identify all risks to the project during the creation of the charter. d. Any negative risk that is a threat that may inhibit successful project completion needs to be identified.

c. It is important for the project manager and team to identify all risks to the project during the creation of the charter.

which of these is NOT an advantage of using Monte Carlo analysis for predicting a project schedule? a. It allows for more realistic estimates. b. It is flexible, and allows for an entire range of possible time estimates to be used for any activity. c. It uses three time estimates - Optimistic, Pessimistic, and Most Likely. d. It can provide extensive information about individual activities and different paths through the project.

c. It uses three time estimates - Optimistic, Pessimistic, and Most Likely.

All of the statements below accurately describe what an effective project charter should accomplish, EXCEPT: a. Helps the project manager, sponsor, and team members develop a common understanding. b. Authorizes the project manager to proceed. c. Provides the detailed project scope, schedule and budget to be completed by the team.term-17 d. Quickly screens out obviously poor projects.

c. Provides the detailed project scope, schedule and budget to be completed by the team.

All of these could be common causes of scope creep EXCEPT: a. The project scope is not clearly defined and agreed upon. b. The team adds more work to the project without realizing that more time and resources will be required. c. The team defines project and product scope as well as exclusions, constraints and assumptions in a project scope statement. d. A customer is so excited about project progress that they ask for a new not previously requested project deliverable.

c. The team defines project and product scope as well as exclusions, constraints and assumptions in a project scope statement.

A fixed cost is described as _________

cost that remains the same regardless of the size or volume of work.

A Staffing Management Plan addresses all of the areas below EXCEPT: a. How to identify potential internal and/or external human resources for the project. b. How to determine the availability of the internal and/or external human resources for the project c. How to handle timing issues with regard to building up, developing, rewarding, and releasing the project team. d. How to record resource assignments in a project scheduling tool such as MS Project.

d. How to record resource assignments in a project scheduling tool such as MS Project.

All of these are tasks that comprise the "define scope" process EXCEPT: a. List deliverables and acceptance criteria. b. Establish project boundaries. c. Create a scope description. d. Identify work packages.

d. Identify work packages.

The benefit of performing a sensitivity analysis while using a scoring model to choose projects is:

d. It allows management to examine what would happen to a decision if factors were to change

A basic Gantt Chart can be helpful in project planning in all of these ways EXCEPT: a. It provides a visual representation of the project schedule b. It is easy to understand when each activity should be performed c. It shows the critical path activities in red or boldface d. It shows predecessor-successor relationships, late start dates, etc.

d. It shows predecessor-successor relationships, late start dates, etc.

Which of these four most common types of logical dependencies would be represented by the situation "the carton must be sealed and labelled before the package can be shipped?" a. Start-to-start (SS) b. Start-to-finish (SF) c. Finish-to-start (FS) d. Finish-to-finish (FF)

finish to start

The signing of the project charter marks the transition between which two phases of the project life cycle?

initiating and planning

Tracy is working with the project sponsor to create the project charter for a small to medium sized project. In the Milestone Schedule with Acceptance Criteria section of the project charter, how many intermediate milestones should she and the team include?

three to eight

The right length for a typical project charter is generally _________. a. 1 to 2 pages b. 1 to 4 pages c. 5 to 8 pages d. 8 to 10 pages

1-4 pages

During risk analysis for a routine project, ____ percent of money should be put into management reserves, while for an unusual project, ____ percent should be reserved.

5 percent, 30 percent

What is the definition of a project charter?

A short document that grants the project team the right to continue into the more detailed planning stages of the project.

A lead is a change in the logical relationship that results in the _____ of the successor activity.

Acceleration

Aisha, an experienced project manager, has successfully managed many new build-outs of office space for her east coast company. Her manager announced today that they will be expanding operations to the Midwest. The company had already signed a lease for 5,000 square feet of office space in Cincinnati, and the offices had to be up and running in 3 months. He asked Aisha for a cost estimate for this construction by the end of the day. How can she come up with a credible estimate so quickly?

Ask the manager questions about the new office space to understand the impacted departments that will be located there, the level of finishes desired, etc. then use the budgets of previous similar projects as a guideline.

In the Scheduling Options section under the Schedule file tab, changing the "new tasks created" option to _____________ will cause the program to calculate the projects' running schedule based on task start and finish dates.

Auto Scheduled

Which of these is NOT a typical situation for creating a project schedule milestone? a. Time just before a large amount of money needs to be committed to the project b. Time for weekly project meetings c. Merging point in the schedule where multiple project activities need to be completed d. Completion of a critical activity

B. Time for weekly project meetings

A ________ is the approved project plan for scope, schedule, and cost that is not altered unless a formal change request is approved.

Baseline

Hector and his team were preparing a RACI chart for the major project work packages and activities. In each row they only assigned an "A" for Accountable to a single resource. Why did they feel it was necessary for only one person to be assigned the accountability for each activity?

Because if more than one person has accountability, it is too easy for them to blame each other when something goes wrong.

In regard to resource leveling, why are noncritical path activities generally the first to be delayed?

Because they have available slack / float.

In addition to technical skills, a project manager must have _________ skills in order to successfully resource a project.

Behavioral

Which of these methods of estimating can produce the most accurate estimate?

Bottom-up

All of these are advantages of using a scoring model for selecting projects EXCEPT: a. Scoring models are useful whenever there are multiple projects and several criteria to be considered. b. Scoring models help ensure alignment with the organization's strategic goals. c. By comparing expected project costs to expected benefits, scoring models can be used to make project investment decisions. d. Scoring models can define mandatory decision criteria for project selection

C. By comparing expected projects costs to expected benefits, scoring models can be used to make project investment decisions

Which of these is NOT an example of types of projects that the organization might include in their portfolio of projects? a. High-and low-risk projects b. Short and long-term projects c. Projects with positive and negative net present value (NPV) d. Projects to create new products and projects to incrementally improve existing products

C. Projects with positive and negative NPV

Contractor companies might perform a quick SWOT analysis prior to bidding on a potential project, including all of the considerations below EXCEPT: a. How well the potential project meets contractor objectives b. Risks of pursuing vs. not pursuing the project c. Weighted score for the project d. The contractor's capability to perform the work if awarded

C. Weighted score for the project

What is used to compare actual project spending with planned expenditures to determine if corrective action is needed?

Cost Baseline

The schedule activity that follows a predecessor activity, as determined by their logical relationship, is called a ________. a. Lag b. Predecessor activity c. Lead d. Successor activity

D. Successor Activity

Which of these is NOT a disadvantage of using a financial model for project evaluation and selection? a. Payback period (PP) models do not consider the amount of profit that may be generated after the costs are paid. b. BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio) does not account for intangible benefits and costs that cannot be determined in financial terms. c. Internal Rate of Return (IRR) can favor smaller projects that create less total value for the firm but have high percentage returns. d. Use of financial models ensures that selected projects make sense from a cost and return on investment perspective.

D. Use of financial models ensures that selected projects make sense form a cost and return investment perspective

According to PMI, after planning schedule management, the next process in project time management is to ___________.

Define Activities

An example of a nonrecurring cost is _________.

Developing a design that guides the team, once approved

The time value of money is relevant to project management because:

Discounting the value of future revenue and cost streams enables better project decisions.

Who should be involved in identifying potential projects?

Employees at all levels

During which phase of a project life cycle do recurring costs typically occur?

Executing

______ is defined as "the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of immediately following schedule activities."

Free Float

Scope definition is a critical part of project planning. Which of these PMBOK Knowledge Areas does NOT use the defined scope as the foundation for their planning processes?

Identify Stakeholders.

Jim, a project manager for a manufacturing company, is responsible for getting bids for two sophisticated pieces of equipment that will be installed on the factory floor. He has distributed the detailed specifications to a number of vendors, and is waiting for the bid responses. When analyzing the vendor's bids, Jim can do all of the following to determine if the vendor's bid prices appear to be reasonable EXCEPT:

Implement activity-based costing.

In order to be useful as schedule building blocks, activities should have certain characteristics. Which of these is NOT one of the characteristics that an activity should have? a. Tangible output that can be verified b. It is the element at the lowest level of the WBS and has a deliverable associated with it c. Resources, other costs, and schedule that can be estimated and controlled d. Clear starting and ending points

It is the element at the lowest level of the WBS and has a deliverable associated with it

If an activity on the critical path falls behind schedule, what effect will this have on the entire project?

It will increase the length of the entire project by the amount of schedule slippage for the activity

If a painted room must dry for four hours before work can continue, the result is a delay in the successor activity. The wait for paint to dry is an example of a __________.

Lag

Examples of these types of project selection criteria include government regulations and clear safety or security situations.

Mandatory Criteria

What are the four columns in a milestone schedule?

Milestone, Completion Date, Stakeholder Judge, Acceptance Criteria

The most widely accepted financial model for selecting projects is _________:

Net Present value (NPV)

All but one of these is a type of resource that might be included in the Resources Needed section of the charter. Which type of resource would typically NOT be included? a. Money b. Office Supplies c. People d. Space

Office Supplies

Which of the scenarios below is NOT an example of an assumption that may arise when estimating the cost of direct labor? a. Workers will be paid for 40 hours per week whether or not there is enough work for them to do. b. Workers are already familiar with the technology being used on the project. c. Workers will be paid at the prevailing wage rate of $14 per hour. d. Only in-house workers will be used.

Only in-house workers will be used.

Source selection criteria for selecting a contractor might include: production capacity, business size and type, past performance, and references. These are all examples of typical criteria within which category?

Operational

__________ estimates are often used to seek initial project charter approval.

Order of Magnitude

Why is it important to involve workers in the planning phase of a project when possible?

People are more likely to be enthusiastic about performing work they helped to plan.

Which of these is NOT a technique for reducing the critical path and compressing a project's schedule?

Perform a forward pass and a backward pass through the network.

If several projects have close scores as the result of a scoring model, what can be done to break the virtual tie?

Perform a sensitivity analysis to examine what would happen to the decision if factors changed

In a project scoring model, each decision criterion is given a __________.

Relative Weight

The planning technique of identifying and defining the work to be accomplished in the near term completely, and planning the future work at a higher level, is called ___________:

Rolling Wave Plan

Potential problems can occur with activity duration estimating when omissions are made. All of these are potential remedies for this problem EXCEPT: a. Rolling wave planning b. Checklists, templates, devil's advocate c. Refining scope and WBS d. Lessons learned

Rolling Wave Planning

Which of these is NOT an example of supporting detail pertaining to cost estimates? a. Description of the project scope b. Method used to create the estimate c. Assumptions and constraints d. Schedule milestones

Schedule Milestones

This is defined as an incremental increase in the work of a project without corresponding adjustments to resources, budget or schedule.

Scope Creep

Uncontrolled change is known as:

Scope Creep

This element of the project charter can be considered to define the project boundaries - it states what is included and what is not included, at a fairly high level.

Scope Overview

Which of these would NOT be one of the things that may be negotiated between a client company and a contractor company? a. Schedule b. Quality standards c. Personnel to be assigned to the project d. Source selection criteria

Source Selection Criteria

With whom may the project manager and team need to negotiate when creating the charter?

Sponsor

Adding a background section to a project charter would be helpful in what way?

The background statement provides more detail to understand the rationale and purpose behind the Scope Overview and the Business Case statements.

Whom should the project manager consult if there is a severe resource overload and they are considering alternative actions such as reducing the project scope, assigning activities to other workers, splitting activities, reordering activities or resource leveling?

The project Sponsor

__________ is defined as a formal, structured process that is aimed at increasing the value or productivity of a work element while minimizing the cost.

Value engineering

The first part of setting strategic direction for an organization is to analyze the external and internal environments by preparing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. Once the SWOT is complete, the next step is to create a clear and compelling statement describing the inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization's work, called a __________.

Vision Statement

A document that provides more information about each work package by documenting details about the associated deliverable, activity, scheduling information, person responsible, resources required, etc. is called a ________:

WBS dictionary

When crashing a project schedule, the two questions to be asked when deciding which activities to speed up are ________ and _________.

Which activities are on the critical path, and which critical path activity costs the least on a per-day basis to speed up?

What does the acronym WBS stand for?

Work Breakdown Structure

The lowest level of a WBS is known as a _________:

Work Package