Rita-Quality Management

12. Standard deviation is a measure of: A. How far the estimate is from the highest estimate B. How far the measurement is from the mean C. How correct the sample is D. How much time remains in the project

12. Answer B Explanation: Standard deviation is the measurement of a range around the mean.

1. When a product or service completely meets a customer's requirements: A. Quality is achieved. B. The cost of quality is high. C. The cost of quality is low. D. The customer pays the minimum price.

1. Answer A Explanation: As a general rule, one cannot say that quality (as defined in the question) is either of high or low cost. Quality provides what the customer wanted, which may not be the highest or lowest cost. When a product or service completely meets a customer's needs, quality is achieved.

10. Testing the entire population would: A. Take too long B. Provide more information than wanted C. Be mutually exclusive D. Show many defects

10. Answer A Explanation: The length of time it takes to test a whole population is one of the reasons to test a sample of the deliverables, rather than all of them. The sample size and frequency of measurements are determined as part of the Plan Quality Management process, and the actual sampling is done in Control Quality.

11. Cost has been determined to be the highest priority constraint on a project to design and produce a new tool that will be used in restaurant kitchens. The project team has included random sampling of' these tools in their quality plan. Although cost is a key factor, the product must also meet high quality standards. All the following are examples of the cost of nonconformance except: A. Rework B. Quality training C. Scrap D. Warranty costs

11. Answer B Explanation: Quality training is a cost of conformance to quality. All the other choices are costs of nonconformance to quality.

13. All the following result from quality audits except: A. Determination of whether project activities comply with organizational policies B. Improved processes to increase productivity C. Creation of quality metrics D. Confirmation of the implementation of approved change requests

13. Answer C Explanation: Quality metrics are an output of the Plan Quality Management process. They are an input to the Manage Quality process, the process in which quality audits take place.

14. A control chart shows seven data points in a row on one side of the mean. What should the project manager do? A. Perform a design of experiments. B. Adjust the chart to reflect the new mean. C. Find an assignable cause. D. Nothing. This is the rule of seven and can be ignored.

14. Answer C Explanation: The rule of seven applies here. If you have seven data points in a row on the same side of the mean, statistically the mean has shifted, calling for action to correct the problem.

15. You are managing a project in a just in time environment. This will require more attention because the amount of inventory in such an environment is generally: A. 45 percent B. 10 percent C. 12 percent D. 0 percent

15. Answer D Explanation: In a just in time environment, supplies are delivered when you need them and not before. Therefore, you have little or no inventory.

16. There are several executing activities underway on your project. You are beginning to get concerned about the accuracy of the progress reporting your team members are doing. How could you verify whether there is a problem? A. Perform a quality audit. B. Create risk quantification reports. C. Perform regression analysis. D. Perform Monte Carlo analysis.

16. Answer A Explanation: Quality audits are a necessary part of the Manage Quality process. They help yon assess whether the processes are being followed correctly on the project.

17. A project manager and team from a firm that designs railroad equipment are tasked to design a machine to load stone onto railroad cars. The design allows for 2 percent spillage, amounting to over two tons of spilled rock per day. In which of the following does the project manager document this for the project? A. Quality management plan B. Quality policy C. Control charts D. Quality audit documentation

17. Answer A Explanation: The defined level of acceptable spillage would be documented in the quality management plan. The quality policy and control charts are components of a quality management plan. Quality audit documentation is created m Manage Quality, while the work of the project is being done. The amount of acceptable spillage would have been determined in the Plan Quality Management process.

18. During a team meeting, the team adds a specific area of extra work to the project because they have determined it would benefit the customer. What is wrong in this situation? A. The team is not following the project management plan. B. These efforts shouldn't be done in meetings. C. Nothing. This is how to meet and exceed customer expectations. D. Nothing. The project manager is in control of the situation.

18. Answer A Explanation: This is an example of gold plating. The team should provide only what was included in the approved project management plan. The team does not know if their change will provide benefit to the customer. Any such changes must be evaluated in integrated change control. Instead of adding extras, the team should focus their efforts on fulfilling the requirements.

19. The project team has created a plan for how they will implement the quality policy, addressing responsibilities, procedures, and other details. If this plan changes during the project, which of the following plans will also change? A. Quality assurance plan B. Quality management plan C. Project management plan D. Quality control plan

19. Answer C Explanation: The plan described is the quality management plan. Since the quality management plan is included in the project management plan, changing the quality management plan will also change the project management plan. The other choices are not actual plans.

2. To what does the following definition refer? "A type of analysis focused on finding the point at which the benefits or revenue to be received from improving quality equals the incremental cost to achieve that quality." A. Quality control analysis B. Marginal analysis C. Standard quality analysis D. Conformance analysis

2. Answer B Explanation: This is the definition of marginal analysis. Know the term so you will be able to answer questions that deal with this concept. The other choices may sound good, but they are made-up terms.

20. You are a project manager for a major information systems project. Someone from the quality department comes to see you about beginning a quality audit of your project. The team, already under pressure to complete the project as soon as possible, objects to the audit. You should explain to the team that the purpose of a quality audit is: A. To check whether measurements of project deliverables are within specification limits B. To check if the customer is following the quality process C. To identify inefficient and ineffective policies D. To check the accuracy of costs submitted by the team

20. Answer C Explanation: Control charts show whether measurements of project deliverables are within specification limits, and are used in the Control Quality process. The seller cannot generally control or review the customer's quality process. Checking the accuracy of costs submitted by the team is more representative of a cost audit than a quality audit, so that option cannot be the best choice. Manage Quality of which an audit is part, focuses on processes, procedures and standards. One purpose of a quality audit is to identify inefficient and ineffective policies.

21. You are in the middle of a major facility construction project. The structural steel is already in place, and the heating conduits are being put into place when a senior manager informs you that he is worried the project will not meet the quality standards. What should you do in this situation? A. Assure senior management that during the Plan Quality Management process, it was determined that the project would meet the quality standards. B. Analogously estimate future results. C. Involve the quality team. D. Check the results from the last quality management plan.

21. Answer C Explanation: Assuring management that it was determined in planning that the project would meet quality standards is not productive, since it does not solve the problem. An analogous estimate looks at the past history of other projects. This would not be appropriate to determine how the current project is going. The quality management plan does not provide results. The quality team could help to determine whether the team is following the correct process to satisfy the relevant quality standards.

22. You are asked to select tools and techniques to supplement existing quality control activities. Which of the following would not be appropriate for this purpose? A. Performance reviews B. Statistical sampling C. Pareto diagrams D. Focus groups

22. Answer D Explanation: Focus groups are a tool of the Collect Requirements process, and would not be useful in Control Quality. The other choices are all tools and techniques of the Control Quality process.

23. The new software installation project is in progress. The project manager is working with the quality department to improve stakeholders' confidence that the project will satisfy the quality standards. Which of the following must they have before they start this process? A. Quality problems B. Quality improvement C. Quality control measurements D. Rework

23. Answer C Explanation: Although quality problems may lead to quality improvement efforts, they are not a prerequisite for quality improvement. Quality improvement is a result of Manage Quality and Control Quality, not an input. Rework (or requested defect repair) can be an output of Control Quality. That leaves only quality control measurements, which are inputs to the Manage Quality process.

24. A project manager has just taken over the project from another project manager during project executing. The previous project manager created a project budget, determined communications requirements, and went on to the complete work packages task. What should the new project manager do next? A. Coordinate completion of work packages. B. Identify quality standards. C. Begin the Identify Risks process. D. Validate scope.

24. Answer B Explanation: Completion of work packages is done after project planning. Since Validate Scope is a monitoring and controlling process, that is not next. Identify Risk sounds like a good choice; however, identifying quality standards occurs before the Identify Risks process. You may have misread the question and assumed communication planning was complete, but notice it only says that communications requirements have been determined. Communications planning still needs to be completed, as do other aspects of planning. Identify quality standards is the best answer choice offered.

25. An experienced project manager is working with a team chartered to build a bridge near the Arctic Circle. In addition to the usual concerns of safety and longevity, the team must also take into account the extreme weather conditions and their potential impact on the bridge. The sponsor meets with the project manager regarding her progress on this work. The sponsor is pleased to learn that the project manager is planning to conduct a design of experiments as part of quality planning. Design of experiments: A. Identifies which variables will have the most influence on a quality outcome B. Helps to identify the root cause of quality problems C. Determines what a quality outcome is D. Determines methods to be used for research and development

25. Answer A Explanation: Design of experiments is performed in quality planning, and uses experimentation to determine statistically what variables will improve quality. It allows the project manager to focus attention on the factors that are most important. Design of experiments is also used in Manage Quality to help decrease the time and effort required to discover the optimal conditions in which to produce a quality deliverable.

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

26. Answer B Explanation: The unexpected functionality reported by the project manager is outside the scope of the project. Adding extra functionality is the definition of gold plating. Gold plating a project wastes time and probably cost. It makes the project unsuccessful.

27. During project executing, a project team member informs the project manager that a work package has not met the quality metric, and that she believes it is not possible to meet it. The project manager meets with all concerned parties to analyze the situation. Which part of the quality management process is the project manager involved in? A. Manage Quality B. Perform Integrated Change Control C. Control Quality D. Plan Quality management

27. Answer C Explanation: Measuring is part of the Control Quality process. Perform Integrated Change Control is an integration management process. It is likely that the scenario described will result in a change request submitted to Integrated Change Control.

28. The project manager notices that the project activities being completed by one department are all taking slightly longer than planned. To date, none of the activities in the work packages have been on the critical path. The project manager is bothered by the problem, since four of the next five critical path activities are being completed by this department. After making three calls, the project manager is finally able to talk with the department manager to determine what is going on. Thee conversation is slow because both speak different native languages and they are trying to converse in French, a shared language. To make communication easier, the project manager frequently asks the department manager to repeat back what has been said. The department manager communicates that his staff is following a company policy that requires two levels of testing. During the conversation, the department manager also makes a comment that leads the project manager to believe the policy may include excessive work. This is the fourth time the project manager has heard such a comment. What is the best thing to do? A. Create a better communications management plan that requires one universal language on the project and have translators readily available on a moment's notice. B. Contact someone else in the department who speaks the project manager's native language better to confirm the department manager's opinion. C. Find out if the upcoming activities should be reestimated. D. Work on increasing the effectiveness of the performing organization by recommending continuous improvement of the policy in question.

28. Answer D Explanation: Changing the communications management plan may not be needed, and it does not deal with the problem at hand-the policy that is slowing things down. Confirming the department manager's opinion with someone else in the department is not the best choice, as the project manager already has heard the opinion on many other occasions. It is already confirmed. Determining whether upcoming activities should be reestimated is just being reactive. A good project manager will find the root cause and deal with that, even if it means attempting to improve the company's policies and processes. Yes, recommending improvement of the policy is the best answer. This is continuous improvement. Because there are several activities affected by the policy, it would best serve the project to get to the root cause of the problem and solve it.

29. As the project manager, you are preparing your quality management plan. You are looking for a tool that can demonstrate the relationship between events and their resulting effects. You want to use this tool to depict the events that cause a negative effect on quality. Which of the following is the best choice for accomplishing your objective? A. Scatter diagram B. Pareto diagram C. Why-why diagram D. Control chart

29. Answer C Explanation: All reports and diagrams are communications tools. This question asks you to pick the most appropriate quality tool to help communications. A why-why diagram, also called a cause-and-effect or Ishikawa diagram, is more appropriate than a Pareto diagram since you are trying to determine the causes. Once causes are known and you have data on occurrences, the data can be displayed in a Pareto diagram.

3. Who is ultimately responsible for quality management on the project? A. The project engineer B. The project manager C. The quality manager D. The team member

3. Answer B Explanation: Although each person working on the project should check their own work, the project manager ultimately has the responsibility for quality on the project as a whole.

30. Which of the following explains why quality should be planned in and not inspected in? A. It reduces quality and is less expensive. B. It improves quality and is more expensive. C. It reduces quality and is more expensive. D. It improves quality and is less expensive.

30. Answer D Explanation: Look for the proactive approach. When we plan for quality, we define the appropriate level of quality needed, which will approve quality overall and will likely be less expensive in the long run. NOTE: You may spend more initially on determining the right level of quality and doing the work to produce the required level of quality, but you will save through reduced rework, waste, and scrap.

31. Work on a project is ongoing when the project manager overhears two workers arguing over what a set of instructions means. The project manager investigates and discovers that the instructions for the construction of the concrete footings currently being poured were poorly translated between the different languages in use on the project. Which of the following is the best thing for the project manager to do first? A. Get the instructions translated by a more experienced party. B. Look for quality impacts of the poor translation of the instructions for the footings. C. Bring the issue to the attention of the team, and ask them to look for other translation problems. D. Inform the sponsor of the problem in the next project report.

31. Answer B Explanation: Although all these choices are correct things to do, the question asks what to do first. What is the most immediate problem? Getting the instruction translated by a more experienced party could be done, but it does not address the critical concern of the footings that have already been poured according to the poorly translated instructions. Asking the team to look for other translation issues is an excellent idea. However, it does not address the immediate problem. Informing the sponsor is also not taking action to solve the problem. Isn't it most urgent to find out whether the concrete footings meet your project requirements? Are they adequate? Only the option of looking for quality impacts of the poor translation will help you determine that.

32. While performing quality planning for the design and manufacture of a new medical device, the team has identified the need to keep variances to a minimum because the end product must be of the highest quality possible. They are researching the practices of comparable projects for ideas on how to achieve this requirement. The team is using which of the following techniques? A. Benchmarking B. Pareto analysis C. Design for X D. Cost-benefit analysis

32. Answer A Explanation: The team is using the benchmarking technique to review methodologies used by comparable projects or organizations to establish quality metrics and acceptable variance ranges, and to measure quality.

33. Which of the following would generally lead to the least amount of quality improvement? A. Total quality management B. Quality planning C. Implementing an ISO 9000 standard D. Inspection

33. Answer D Explanation: Quality cannot be inspected in; you must plan for and execute a quality strategy. Increasing inspection is the only answer that is not proactive.

34. In a meeting to gain approval of the quality management plan, a stakeholder points out what he believes to be an error in the plan. He notes that the plan includes using some of the same techniques in more than one of the quality processes. Which of the following quality management techniques can be used in two of the three quality management processes? A. Cause-and-effect diagrams B. Interviews C. Checksheets D. Logical data model

34. Answer A Explanation: Interviews are used in Plan Quality Management to identify existing standards, processes, and metrics-or to create new ones. A logical data model is also used in Plan Quality Management. Its purpose is to help the team understand the requirements, and define the appropriate quality management processes. Checksheets are used in Control Quality to track data such as the type and frequency of quality problems uncovered during inspections. Cause-and-effect diagrams are used in Manage Quality to confirm that the policies, procedures, and metrics are adequate to produce the required level of quality in project deliverables. In Control Quality, cause-and-effect diagrams can be used to uncover the root cause of a variation in the quality of deliverables.

4. A project has faced major difficulties in the quality of its deliverables. Management now states that quality is the most important project constraint. If another problem with quality were to occur, what would be the best thing for the project manager to do? A. Fix the problem as soon as possible. B. Allow the schedule to slip by cutting cost. C. Allow cost to increase by fixing the root cause of the problem. D. Allow risk to increase by cutting cost.

4. Answer C Explanation: If a problem with quality were to occur again, many people would opt to fix the problem as soon as possible. It is proactive, but some other project constraint(s) must change to accommodate fixing the root cause of the problem. It may not be necessary to allow the schedule to slip, because the project manager might be able to compress the schedule in other areas. Cutting cost does not necessarily cause the schedule to slip, nor would that necessarily fix the problem at hand. Allowing risk to increase by cutting cost is not the best choice, because a quality problem is most likely to create additional cost, rather than cut cost. Allowing the cost to increase by fixing the root cause of the problem addresses both the need to find the cause and the probable impact of dealing with the problem

5. A manager notices that a project manager is holding a meeting with some of the team and some stakeholders to discuss the quality of the project. The project schedule has been compressed, and the CPI is 1.1. The team has worked hard on the project and has been rewarded according to the reward system the project manager put in place. Overall, there is a strong sense of team. The manager suggests that the project manager does not have enough time to hold meetings about quality when the schedule is so compressed. Which of the following best describes why the manager is wrong? A. Improved quality leads to increased productivity, increased cost effectiveness, and decreased cost risk. B. Improved quality leads to increased productivity, decreased cost effectiveness, and increased cost risk. C. Improved quality leads to increased productivity, increased cost effectiveness, and increased cost risk. D. Improved quality leads to increased productivity, decreased cost effectiveness, and decreased cost risk.

5. Answer A Explanation: Did you notice there is a lot of data not relevant to answering the question? Expect distractors to appear in many questions on the exam. Quality efforts should produce a decrease rather than an increase in cost risk as a result of less rework. Quality efforts should also provide increased cost effectiveness due to less rework. This leaves the best answer: "Improved quality leads to increased productivity, increased cost effectiveness, and decreased cost risk.'"

6. Quality is: A. Meeting and exceeding the customer's expectations B. Adding extras to make the customer happy C. The degree to which the project meets requirements D. Conformance to management's objectives

6. Answer C Explanation: There can be cost impact (as well as an impact on other project constraints) of exceeding expectations or adding extras. Quality is the degree to which the project meets requirements.

7. All the following are tools and techniques of Control Quality except: A. Inspection B. Cost of quality C. Histogram D. Cause-and-effect diagram

7. Answer B Explanation: Inspection, histograms, and cause-and-effect diagrams are all tools that can be used in Control Quality. Cost of quality is part of Plan Quality Management, making sure the project is not spending too much to achieve a particular level of quality.

8. A project manager is experiencing a great deal of frustration because a lot of rework has been required. It seems as though the team has significant differences of opinion related to interpretation of the requirements. The project manager is trying to determine what changes need to be made to meet the quality requirements and reduce future rework. He seeks the advice of his manager, who asks if he has created a histogram. Histograms help the project manager: A. Focus on the most critical issues to improve quality. B. Focus on stimulating thinking. C. Analyze the cause of a quality problem. D. Determine if a process is out of control.

8. Answer A Explanation: Cause-and-effect (or why-why) diagrams are often used to stimulate thinking and to analyze the cause of quality problems. Determining whether a process is out of control is a function of control charts. Only focusing on critical issues to improve quality related to histograms.

9. A control chart helps the project manager: A. Focus on the most critical issues to improve quality. B. Focus on stimulating thinking. C. Analyze the cause of a quality problem. D. Determine if a process is functioning within established metrics.

9. Answer D Explanation: Focusing on the most critical issues to improve quality relates to histograms. Stimulating thinking and analyzing the cause of quality problems relate to cause-and-effect diagrams. Only determining if a process is functioning within established metrics relates to control charts.