Chapter 5 Scope Management

25. Complete the list of group decision-making techniques: Unanimity,Majority,Consensus,Plurality... A. Agreement. B. Dictatorship. C.Solidarity. D. Coalition.

Answer B.

6. The main point of Create WBS is to: A. Decompose the scope of the product. B. Decompose the scope of the project. C. Create a baseline of the entire scope. D. Define all of the scope performed.

Answer C.

14. A project team has a dedicated scoping phase for their project where all subject matter experts are meeting together with a trained facilitator.They have interviewed each person in the room to gather ideas for functionality and are now voting on them to put them in order of priority.This list will be used to feed requirements to the project team.The group's activities are an example of: A. The Nominal Group Technique. B. Brainstorming. C. The Borda Method. D. Tuckman's Model .

Answer A

8. The most important part of Validate Scope is: A. Gaining formal acceptance of the project deliverables from the customer B. Checking the scope of the project against stakeholder expectations C. Verifying that the project came in on time and on budget D. Verifying that the product met the quality specifications

Answer A It is important to understand the processes and their inputs and outputs! Whereas all of these choices may be important, the only one that is listed as a part of Verify Scope is to get customer acceptance of the product. The other activities may be done during the project, but they aren't part of the Verify Scope process. 'D' is close, but that is formally part of the Perform Quality Control process.

17. The product you have delivered has been reviewed carefully against the scope and is now being brought to the customer for formal acceptance. Which process is the project in? A. Verify Scope B. Audit Scope C. Close Scope D. Control Scope

Answer A The customer accepts the scope of the product in Verify Scope.

24. A project manager has been managing a project for six months and is nearing completion of the project; however, change requests are still pouring in. The project is ahead of schedule but over budget. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. The project manager should influence the factors that cause change B. Changes should only be evaluated after the original scope baseline has been delivered and accepted C. Changes introduced at this point in the project represent an unacceptable level of risk D. Changes should be evaluated primarily on the basis of how much value they deliver to the customer

Answer A The project manager needs to be proactive and influence the root causes of change. 'B' would be ridiculous in the real world. Imagine getting a change request near the end of the project that is good for the project and refusing to do it until you completed the original scope. Some change is good! 'C' is incorrect because although some change may introduce an unacceptable level of risk, all change certainly does not. Some changes could dramatically reduce the project risk and help the project. 'D' is incorrect, because value is not the primary criterion for evaluating change. A change may deliver high value, but also introduce too much risk or cost, or delay the project unacceptably.

2. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding a work breakdown structure? A. Activities should be arranged in the sequence they will be performed B. Every item should have a unique identifier C. The work breakdown structure represents 100% of the work that will be done on the project D. Each level of a work breakdown structure provides progressively smaller representations

Answer A You don't tackle activity sequencing as part of the work breakdown structure. That part comes later. The WBS has no particular sequence to it, not to mention that it is not decomposed to activity level. 'B' is incorrect since every WBS element does have a unique identifier, 'C' is incorrect since the WBS is the definitive source for all of the work to be done. Remember - if it isn't in the WBS, it isn't part of the project. Choice 'D' is incorrect because the WBS is arranged as a pyramid with the top being the most general, and the bottom being the most specific. The lowest level of the WBS would also be the smallest representation of work

22. Which of the following activities is done FIRST? A. Creation of the requirements documentation B. Creation of the work breakdown structure C. Creation of the activity list D. Creation of the scope baseline

Answer A The requirements documentation is typically created quite early on the project. In this case, it would be created well before the work breakdown structure and the scope baseline (which is made up of the scope statement, the WBS, the WBS dictionary). The activity list would be created last in this list, so the order of creation of the documents listed would be A, B, D, and C.

10. Which of the following is NOT part of the scope baseline? A. The requirements documentation B. The project scope statement C. The work breakdown structure D. The WBS dictionary

Answer A is the only choice that is not part of the scope baseline. It is used to help create the baseline, but it is not a part of it. 'B', 'C', and 'D' represent the three components of the scope baseline.

18. You are working with stakeholders, using the Nominal Group Technique to help promote creativity. Which choice represents the MOST likely results of your work? A. The requirements documentation and the project scope statement B. The requirements documentation and the requirements management plan C. The work breakdown structure and the WBS dictionary D. Accepted deliverables and change requests.

B The Nominal Group Technique is a method used to promote creativity in the Collect Requirements process, and the two outputs that match that process are the requirements documentation and the requirements management plan.

9. The organizational process assets would include all of the following except: A. Templates B. Financial control procedures C. Standardization guidelines D. The project management information system

D This question was not easy. Organizational process assets include things like templates, financial control procedures, and standardization guidelines; however, the PMIS (project management information system) is classified as an enterprise environmental factor since it is generally part of your environment.

1. Your project team is executing the work packages of your project when a serious disagreement regarding the interpretation of the scope is brought to your attention by two of your most trusted team members.How should this dispute be resolved? A. The project team should decide on the resolution. B. The dispute should be resolved in favor of the customer. C. The dispute should be resolved in favor of the senior management. D. The project manager should consult the project charter for guidance.

Answer B In general, disagreements should be resolved in favor of the customer. In this case, the customer is the best choice of the four presented. 'A' is not a good choice because it is your job to keep the team focused on doing the work and out of meetings where they are arguing about the scope. Besides, the team brought you this problem, so their ability to resolve it is already in question. 'C' is incorrect because all things being equal, project disputes should be resolved in favor of the customer and not in favor of senior management. Since you don't have enough information to steer you toward senior management, resolving it in favor of the customer was the right choice here. 'D' is incorrect because the project charter is a very general and high-level document. As it is issued before either the scope statement or the work breakdown structure is created, it would be of little use in resolving an issue of scope dispute that occurred during execution.

13. The project manager and the customer on a project are meeting together to review the product of the project against the documented scope. Which tool would be MOST appropriate to use during this meeting? A. Verification analysis B. Inspection C. Gap analysis D. Feature review

Answer B The project manager and customer are involved in the Verify Scope process, and the tool used here is inspection. The product is inspected to see if it matches the documented scope. 'A','C', and 'D' are not documented as part of the processes.

3. Mark has taken over a project that is beginning the construction phase of the product; however, he discovers that no work breakdown structure has been created. What choice represents the BEST course of action? A. He should refuse to manage the project B. He should stop construction until the work breakdown structure has been created C. He should consult the WBS dictionary to determine whether sufficient detail exists to properly manage construction D. He should document this to senior management and provide added oversight on the construction phase

Answer B. In this situation, you cannot simply skip the WBS, as you may be tempted to do. Mark should take time to create the WBS, which is usually not a lengthy process. 'A' may sound good, but in reality a PMP needs to be ready to work to solve most problems. You might refuse to manage a project if there is an ethical dilemma or a conflict of interest, but not in other circumstances. 'C' is incorrect since the WBS dictionary cannot be created properly unless the WBS was created first. If there is WBS dictionary and no WBS, that would be a big red flag. 'D' is incorrect since merely documenting that there is a serious problem is not a solution. Additionally, providing more oversight would not solve the problem here. The real problem is that the WBS has not been created, and that will trickle down to more serious problems in the future of the project.

23. Which of the following statements is TRUE concerning functionality that is over and above the documented scope? A. It should be channeled back through the change control board to ensure that it gets documented into the project scope B. Additional functionality should be leveraged to exceed customer expectations C. The final product should include all the functionality and only the functionality documented in the scope baseline D. Additional functionality should be reviewed by the project manager for conformity to the product description

Answer C Answers 'A', 'B', and 'D' are all incorrect, since they encourage adding or keeping the additional functionality. It is important not to add extras to the project for many reasons. The final product should be true to the scope. If you missed this, reread the section on scope management and gold plating.

12. What is the function of the project sponsor? A. To help manage senior management expectations B. To be the primary interface with the customer C. To fund the project and formally accept the product D. To help exert control over the functional managers

Answer C It is the sponsor's job to pay for the project and to accept the product. Choice 'A' is really the project manager's job. 'B' is the project manager's job as well. It is not a clearly defined job for the sponsor. 'D' is not a function of the sponsor. If more control were needed over the functional managers, that would be the role of senior management.

16. A team member makes a change to a software project without letting anyone else know. She assures you that it did not affect the schedule, and it significantly enhances the product. What should the project manager do FIRST? A. Find out if the customer authorized this change B. Submit the change to the change control board C. Review the change to understand how it affects scope, cost, time, quality, risk, and customer satisfaction D. Make sure the change is reflected in the requirements management plan

Answer C Notice the use of the word 'FIRST'. 'A' is wrong because the customer should never bypass the project manager to authorize changes directly. It is the project manager's job to authorize changes on the project. 'B' is incorrect since all changes might not go to the change control board. Even if a change control board exists on the project, the project manager doesn't automatically just send everything their way. The project manager should deal with it first. 'D' is incorrect because the requirements management plan is not even the place this would be reflected. The scope baseline would need to be updated, but only after the change had been properly evaluated to see if it even belonged.

4.The project has completed execution, and now it is time for the product of the project to be accepted. Who formally accepts the product ? A. The project team and the customer B. The quality assurance team, senior management, and the project manager C. The sponsor, key stakeholders, and the customer D. The project manager, senior management, and the change control board

Answer C The project manager verifies the product with the key stakeholders, the sponsor, and the customer.

5. Creating the project scope statement is part of which process? A. Project Scope Management B. Collect Requirements C. Define Scope D. Verify Scope

Answer C The project scope statement is created as part of the Define Scope process. You should have narrowed your guesses down to 'B' and 'C' quickly, since the project scope statement is a planning output, and 'B' and 'C' are the only two planning processes. 'A' is incorrect because it is the name of a knowledge area and not a process, and 'D' represents a monitoring and controlling process, which usually results in outputs such as change requests but never planning documents.

7. The project scope statement should contain: A. The work packages for the project B. A high level description of the scope C. The level of effort associated with each scope element D. A detailed description of the scope

Answer D The project scope needs to include a detailed description of the scope of work to be performed. Choice 'A' is incorrect as the WBS is created later as part of the Create WBS process. 'B' is tricky, but it is incorrect. The preliminary scope statement contains a high level description of the scope, but the project scope statement is detailed. 'C' is incorrect, because the level of effort is estimated after the scope has been defined.

15. You have just assumed responsibility for a project that is in progress. While researching the project archives, you discover that the WBS dictionary was never created. Which of the following problems would LEAST likely be attributable to this? A. Confusion about the meaning of specific work packages. B. Confusion about who is responsible for a specific work package C. Confusion about which account to bill against for a specific work package D. Confusion about how to change a specific work package

Answer D is the best choice here. The WBS dictionary contains attributes about each work package such as an explanation of the work package (which invalidates choice 'A'), who is assigned responsibility for the work package (which invalidates choice 'B'), and a cost account code (which invalidates choice 'C'). If a work package were changed, that would most likely alter the scope baseline, and information on how to go about this would be found in the scope management plan and not the WBS dictionary.

19. Sara and Eric are two project managers having a discussion about which metrics to use to gauge project performance. They agree that bench marking is a preferred approach,but Eric maintains that the best metrics should come from industry standards published by their industry group.Sara believes that they should benchmark within their own organization to see how well other departments are performing and base their own projections from those.In the context of their discussion, which of the following is true?

Answer c

11. You have taken over as project manager for a data warehouse project that is completing the design phase; however, change requests that affect the requirements are still pouring in from many sources, including your boss. Which of the following would have been MOST helpful in this situation: A. A project sponsor who is involved in the project B. A well-defined requirements management plan C. A change control board D. A change evaluation system

B This one is tricky. If you missed it, don't feel bad, but it is important to know that questions like this are on the exam. The reason 'B' is correct is that the requirements management plan contains a plan for how changes will be handled. If too many changes are pouring in, it is likely that the requirements management plan was not well defined. 'A' is incorrect because it is not the sponsor's role to control change. He or she is paying you to handle that. 'C' is incorrect because if the change control board exists on your project, it only evaluates changes. The board is almost always reactive, not proactive. 'D' is incorrect since the change evaluation system is a made up term not found in PMI's processes.

20. A large defense contractor to the government is facilitating an inspection of their project's product with their customer when the customer notices a feature that was not requested or documented.The project manager for the defense contractor points out that this feature adds significant value,but the customer is concerned that it may also introduce risk.Can the customer accept the product? A. Only if the new feature passes inspection. B. No. The new feature has to be evaluated for its impact on the project. C. No. The new feature is outside of the documented scope,and that is unacceptable. D. Yes, as long as the product scope has been fulfilled.

B. No. The new feature has to be evaluated for its impact on the project.

21. You are the project manager for a large construction project, and you identify two key areas where changing the scope of the product would deliver significantly higher value for the customer. Which of the following options is MOST correct? A. Make the changes if they do not extend the cost and timeline B. Make the changes if they do not exceed the project charter C. Discuss the changes with the customer D. Complete the current project and create a new project for the changes

C Choices 'A' and 'B' are no-nos on the PMP Exam. You don't just make changes because they "add value." Does the customer want the change? Does the change increase the project risk or put the quality in jeopardy? Between 'C' and 'D', the best answer is 'C'. The reason is that just because the project manager thinks this is a good piece of functionality doesn't mean that he should automatically add it. The customer should have input into this decision as well. Choice 'D' might be correct in limited circumstances if you knew that you were at or near the end of the project, but changes on a project rarely require the automatic initiation of a new project.