SPM Chapter 6

Many project management software programs come with ____________________ or sample files.

templates

Duration estimates are often provided as a discrete number, such as four weeks, or as a range, such as three to five weeks, or as a(n) ____________________.

three-point estimate

It only takes one activity to complete a milestone.

False

Managers often cite cost issues during the end phase of a project as one of their biggest challenges and the main cause of conflict.

False

Most managers are unfamiliar with any forms of scheduling.

False

Most projects have one path through a network diagram.

False

Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity discretionary dependencies.

False

Project management software does not have the capacity to automatically generate network diagrams and calculate the critical path(s) for the project.

False

Start-to-finish relationships are the most common type of relationships.

False

The critical path always includes the most critical activities.

False

The main outputs of estimating activity resources includes the activity list and attributes, project scope statement, milestone list, and organizational process assets.

False

The outputs to schedule development include activity duration estimates and project document updates.

False

To make milestones meaningful, some people use the ____________________ criteria to help define them.

SMART

____ involves evaluating the reasons for dependencies and the different types of dependencies. a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity duration

Sequencing activities

____ involves identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities. a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity durations

Sequencing activities

Project managers must use discipline to control ____. a. project bursts c. project critical paths b. project schedules d. project dependencies

project schedules

Project management software highlights the critical path in ____ on a network diagram. a. blue c. green b. yellow d. red

red COMPLETION

A ____ is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type. a. work breakdown structure c. network diagram b. resource breakdown structure d. critical path analysis

resource breakdown structure

On a network diagram, all arrowheads should face toward the ____. a. top c. right b. left d. bottom

right

The goal of ____ is to know the status of the schedule, influence the factors that cause schedule changes, determine that the schedule has changed, and manage changes when they occur. a. activity duration estimating c. schedule control b. schedule development d. activity resource estimating

schedule control

Managers like to see progress made on projects approximately each ____________________.

month

A(n) ____________________ is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities.

network diagram

In a network diagram, a(n) ____________________ is simply the starting and ending point of an activity.

node

The main outputs of ____________________ include work performance measurements, organizational process assets updates, such as lessons-learned reports related to schedule control, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates.

schedule control

____ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date. a. A Gantt chart c. Critical chain scheduling b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis

Critical chain scheduling

____ occur when two or more activities follow a single node. a. Combinations c. Merges b. Conflicts d. Bursts

Bursts

____ involves controlling and managing changes to the project schedule. a. Estimating activity durations c. Controlling the schedule b. Developing the schedule d. Estimating activity resources

Controlling the schedule

____ is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost. a. Crushing c. Fast tracking b. Crashing d. Expediting

Crashing

____ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration. a. A Gantt chart c. Critical chain scheduling b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis

Critical path analysis

____ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following activities. a. Total slack c. Free time b. Total float d. Free slack

DFree slack

____ involves identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables. a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity durations

Defining activities

____ results in supporting detail to document important product information as well as assumptions and constraints related to specific activities. a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity duration

Defining activities

____ involves analyzing activity sequences, activity resource estimates, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule. a. Estimating activity durations c. Controlling the schedule b. Developing the schedule d. Estimating activity resources

Developing the schedule

____ dependencies are sometimes referred to as soft logic and should be used with care since they may limit later scheduling options. a. Mandatory c. External b. Discretionary d. Internal

Discretionary

____ dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project activities. a. Mandatory c. External b. Discretionary d. Internal

External

Activity information is not a required input to the other time management processes.

False

By using the PERT weighted average for each activity duration estimate, the total project duration estimate does not account for the risk or uncertainty in the individual activity estimates.

False

Duration only includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity.

False

Every item on the WBS needs to be on the network diagram.

False

It is not necessary to complete all of the activities on the network diagram in order for the project to finish.

False

____ involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence. a. Crushing c. Fast tracking b. Crashing d. Expediting

Fast tracking

____ provide(s) a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format. a. Gantt charts c. Critical chain scheduling b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis

Gantt charts

____________________ occurs when a resource works on more than one task at a time.

Multitasking

____________________ states that if something can go wrong, it will.

Murphy's Law

The ____ provide(s) schedule-related information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity. a. activity list c. activity descriptions b. milestones d. activity attributes

activity attributes

In the activity definition process, the project team should review the ____________________ and activity attributes with project stakeholders before moving on to the next step in project time management.

activity list

The ____________________ is a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule.

activity list

Outputs from ____ include performance measurements, organizational process assets updates, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates. a. estimating activity durations c. controlling the schedule b. developing schedules d. estimating activity resources

controlling the schedule

A(n) ____________________ for a project is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed.

critical path

The goal of ____ is to ensure that the project team has complete understanding of all the work they must do as part of the project scope so they can start scheduling the work. a. defining activities c. estimating activity resources b. sequencing activities d. estimating activity durations

defining activities

The main outputs of the ____ process are an activity list, activity attributes, milestone list, and requested changes. a. defining activities c. resource estimating activities b. sequencing activities d. duration estimating activities

defining activities

____________________ have no duration and no resources but are occasionally needed on AOA network diagrams to show logical relationships between activities.

Dummy activities

____________________ is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task.

Effort

____ involves estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities. a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity resources b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity durations

Estimating activity durations

____________________ involves estimating how many people, equipment, and materials a project team should use to perform project activities

Estimating activity resources

____ dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project. a. Mandatory c. External b. Discretionary d. Internal

Mandatory

The ____ is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities. a. PDM c. ADM b. AOA d. POA

PDM

____ use(s) probabilistic time estimates—duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations—instead of one specific or discrete duration estimate. a. Critical Path Analysis c. Critical Chain Scheduling b. Gantt charts d. PERT

PERT

____ states that work expands to fill the time allowed. a. Murphy's Law c. Parkinson's Law b. Newton's Law d. Moore's Law

Parkinson's Law

____________________ involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project.

Project time management

The ____________________ is based on the fact that, like a chain with its weakest link, any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or constraint that limits its ability to achieve more of its goal.

TOC - Theory of Constraints - Theory of Constraints (TOC)

____________________ is the one variable in project scheduling that has the least amount of flexibility.

Time

____ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date. a. Total slack c. Total time b. Free float d. Free slack

Total slack

A(n) ____________________ Gantt chart compares planned and actual project schedule information.

Tracking

Project managers often illustrate progress with a ____ showing key deliverables and activities. a. Tracking Gantt chart c. network diagram b. Gantt chart d. PERT chart

Tracking Gantt chart

A Tracking Gantt chart is based on the percentage of work completed for project tasks or the actual start and finish dates.

True

A fast and easy way to determine early and late start and finish dates and free and total slack amounts for activities is by using project management software.

True

After defining project activities, the next step in project time management is sequencing them or determining their dependencies.

True

Different cultures may have different perceptions of work ethic.

True

Even though the delivery of new hardware may not be in the scope of a project, you should add an external dependency to it.

True

Fast tracking can end up lengthening the project schedule.

True

In a Gantt chart created in Microsoft Project, a black diamond symbol represents a milestone.

True

Individual work styles and cultural differences may cause schedule conflicts.

True

It is important that the people who help determine what resources are necessary include people who have experience and expertise in similar projects and with the organization performing the project.

True

Many information technology projects are failures in terms of meeting scope, time, and cost projections.

True

Many projects, especially in information technology, have very unrealistic schedule expectations.

True

One of PERT's main disadvantages is that it involves more work than CPM.

True

Project schedules grow out of the basic documents that initiate a project.

True

Schedule performance can be estimated by subtracting the original time estimate from how long it really took to complete the project.

True

The arrows in a network diagram represent the activity sequencing or relationships between tasks.

True

The ultimate goal of ____ is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project. a. defining activities c. developing the schedule b. sequencing activities d. estimating activity duration

developing the schedule

One of the first reality checks on scheduling that a project manager should make is to review the ____________________ usually included in the project charter.

draft schedule

The activity list, activity attributes, activity resource requirements, resource calendars, project scope statement, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets all include information that affect ____. a. definitions c. resource estimates b. sequences d. duration estimates

duration estimates

Outputs of ____________________ include activity duration estimates and project documentation updates.

estimating activity durations

Critical chain scheduling protects tasks on the critical chain from being delayed by using ____, which consist of additional time added before tasks on the critical chain that are preceded by non-critical-path tasks. a. critical paths c. dummy activities b. feeding buffers d. fast tracking

feeding buffers

In a ____ relationship, one task cannot finish before another finishes. a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish

finish-to-finish

In a ____ relationship, the "from" activity must finish before the "to" activity can start. a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish

finish-to-start

A(n) ____________________ determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity.

forward pass

The ____ for an activity is the latest possible time an activity might begin without delaying the project finish date. a. early entry date c. late start date b. late entry date d. early start date

late start date

The critical path is the ____ path through a network diagram, and it represents the ____ time it takes to complete a project. a. longest; longest c. shortest; longest b. longest; shortest d. shortest; shortest

longest; shortest

A(n) ____________________ on a project is a significant event that normally has no duration.

milestone

There are ____ main processes involved in project time management. a. two c. six b. four d. ten

six

A white diamond on the Tracking Gantt chart represents a(n) ____________________.

slipped milestone

In a(n) ____________________ relationship, the "from" activity must start before the "to" activity can be finished.

start-to-finish

In a ____ relationship, the "from" activity cannot start until the "to" activity is started. a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish

start-to-start