CompTIA Project+ Test Review1

Q: Cathy is the project manager of the NNQ Project. She currently has completed 45 percent of the project but was scheduled to have 65 percent of the project completed. This project has a budget of $344,000 and was scheduled to last four months. Cathy has spent $198,998 to date on the project. Based on this information, what is the estimate at completion (EAC) for the NNQ Project if the estimate to complete (ETC) work is performed at the present CPI? Note: Assume that the budget is equally divided for the scheduled period.

A: $441,025.64 Planned Value (PV) = 65% of 344,000 = 223600 Earn Value (EV) = 45% of 344,000 = 154800 Actual Cost (AC) = 198,998 Cost Performance Index (CPI) = Earned Value / Actual Cost = .78 CPI .78 indicates that Cathy's project isn't doing too well. According to the question, Budget at Completion (BAC) = $344,000. The formula for EAC forecast for ETC work performed at the present rate is as follows: EAC = BAC / CPI By putting values in the formula, we get: EAC = BAC/CPI = 344000 / .78 = 441,025.64

Q: Andrew is the project manager of the HYG Project for the HYG Organization. This company relies on earned value management and management has asked Andrew to create report detail how much more the project is likely to need to reach its conclusion. Andrew reviews the project, which has an assigned budget $775,000 of which he has already spent $225,000. He is currently 25 percent with the project work though his schedule calls for him to be 35 percent complete. Based on this information what will Andrew provide as an estimate to complete the project?

A: $675,000 The question is asking for you to calculate the Estimate to Complete (ETC) value. The formula is as follows: ETC = Estimate at Complete (EAC) - Actual Costs (AC). Firstly, you will need to find the EAC value. EAC = Budget at Completion (BAC)/Cost Performance Index(CPI) You can find the CPI through the following formula: CPI = Earned Value (EV)/Actual Costs Earned value is the percentage of the project that's complete, in this instance 25 percent, which equates to $193,750. This question is an example of a nested formula where you'll need to know several formulas to arrive at an answer.

Q: Examine the figure given below: Which path is considered the critical path?

A: ACGIJ The critical path is the path in the project network diagram with the longest duration. In project management, a critical path is the sequence of project network activities which add up to the longest overall duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e. there is no float on the critical path). In this instance path ACGIJ is the longest as it takes 23 days.

Q: Jane is the project manager of the GBB project for her company. In the current project, a vendor has offered the project a ten percent discount based if they will order 100 units for the project. It is possible that the GBB Project may need the 100 units, but the cost of the units is not a top priority for the project. Jane documents the offer and tells the vendor that they will keep the offer in mind and continue with the project as planned. What risk response has been given in this project?

A: Acceptance Accepting happens when the risk is acknowledged, but it is not necessarily pursued in the project. Jane will accept the discount if the project needs the 100 units, but she is not ensuring that the order will happen. Acceptance response is a part of Risk Response planning process. Acceptance response delineates that the project plan will not be changed to deal with the risk. Management may develop a contingency plan if the risk does occur. Acceptance response to a risk event is a strategy that can be used for risks that pose either threats or opportunities. Acceptance response can be of two types: Passive acceptance: It is a strategy in which no plans are made to try or avoid or mitigate the risk. Active acceptance: Such responses include developing contingency reserves to deal with risks, in case they occur. Acceptance is the only response for both threats and opportunities.

Q: Micha is the project manager for her project. Micha is now ready to complete the scope verification process so that she can move the project into the project closing process. What is the primary purpose of the scope verification process?

A: Acceptance of the project deliverables Scope verification is a customer-driven process that inspects the project deliverables with a focus on accepting the project deliverables. Scope verification is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It is an inspection-driven process that the stakeholders will complete to inspect the project scope deliverables. It is typically performed at the end of every phase and at the end of the project.

Q: Linda works as a project manager for an IT project. She is getting new developers for completing her project. Which of the following processes is she involved in?

A: Acquire Project Team Obtaining the human resources needed to complete the project comes under the Acquire Project Team process, which is a part of Project Human Resource Management Knowledge Area. Project Human Resource Management is one of the nine Knowledge Area groups. It includes the processes that organize and manage the project team. The project team is comprised of the people who have assigned roles and responsibilities for completing the project. Project Human Resource Management is a group of the following processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project: Develop Human Resource Plan Acquire Project Team Develop Project Team Manage Project Team The project management team is a subset of the project team and is responsible for project management activities such as planning, controlling, and closing. This group can be called the core, executive, or leadership team. These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well. Fact Project management knowledge areas The project management knowledge areas are groupings that bring together processes that have things in common. For example, resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, etc., are part of the project cost management knowledge group. These processes may or may not be part of different or same process groups. Guide to the PMBOK identifies forty-two processes that are arranged in nine knowledge areas. The knowledge areas are as follows: Project integration management Project scope management Project time management Project cost management Project quality management Project human resource management Project communications management Project risk management Project procurement management

Q: Linda works as a project manager for an IT project. She is getting new developers for completing her project. Which of the following processes is she involved in?

A: Acquire Project Team Obtaining the human resources needed to complete the project comes under the Acquire Project Team process, which is a part of Project Human Resource Management Knowledge Area. Project Human Resource Management is one of the nine Knowledge Area groups. It includes the processes that organize and manage the project team. The project team is comprised of the people who have assigned roles and responsibilities for completing the project. Project Human Resource Management is a group of the following processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project: Develop Human Resource Plan Acquire Project Team Develop Project Team Manage Project Team The project management team is a subset of the project team and is responsible for project management activities such as planning, controlling, and closing. This group can be called the core, executive, or leadership team. These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well. Fact: Project management knowledge areas The project management knowledge areas are groupings that bring together processes that have things in common. For example, resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, etc., are part of the project cost management knowledge group. These processes may or may not be part of different or same process groups. Guide to the PMBOK identifies forty-two processes that are arranged in nine knowledge areas. The knowledge areas are as follows: Project integration management Project scope management Project time management Project cost management Project quality management Project human resource management Project communications management Project risk management Project procurement management

Q: You are the project manager for your organization. Marcy, a project team member, has identified an issue with a piece of hardware that could affect your project implementation. What should you do with this issue related to the hardware?

A: Add the issue to the project issue log for resolution. Issues, all issues, should be added to a centralized project issue log. It's possible to categorize the issues within the log, but this document identifies the issues and its conditions, an issue owner, and a date needed for a resolution.

Q: You have identified a new risk in your project that will likely cause serious delays to your project completion date. What should you first do with the newly identified risk?

A: Add the risk event to the project's risk register with any additional information you've discovered about the risk. Whenever a new risk is identified, it should first be added to the risk register to document the risk and its characteristics. Fact: Risk register A risk register is a document that contains the results of qualitative risk analysis, quantitative risk analysis, and risk response planning. Description, category, cause, probability of occurring, impact on objectives, proposed responses, owner, and the current status of all identified risks are put in the risk register.

Q: Which of the following cost estimation methods uses historical information from similar projects and expert judgment to determine the total project cost?

A: Analogous Analogous is an estimating technique that uses the values of parameter, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimation of the same parameter for a future activity. It is a top-down estimating technique and is a form of expert judgment. It provides a lower degree of accuracy than other estimating techniques. This technique is primarily used when there is a limited amount of detailed information about the project or program.

Q: Management is examining your project and comparing it a project that was recently finished in the organization. The previous project is somewhat similar to your project though your project scope is larger. Management is creating a rule for your project that you must match the past project's performance. Specifically you expect your project to have a cost performance index of .97 or better, a schedule performance index of .95 or better, and a cost variance of less than five percent of your total budget. By using the past model as a guide what quality planning approach is management using to set goals for your project?

A: Benchmarking Whenever you compare one project to the activities or performance of another project to create project goals you are benchmarking. Benchmarking is a process that involves comparing actual or planned project practices to those of other projects to generate ideas for improvement and to provide a basis by which to measure performance. Benchmarking can be done with activities, deliverables, resources, and more.

What are bidder conferences?

A: Bidder conferences (also called contractor conferences, vendor conferences, and pre-bid conferences) are meetings with prospective sellers prior to preparation of a bid or proposal. They are used to ensure that all prospective sellers have a clear, common understanding of the procurement. All potential sellers are given equal standing during this initial buyer and seller interaction to produce the best bid. The meeting can discuss the request for quote, request for proposal, or the invitation for bid - all dependent on what the customer has requested.

Q: Harold is the project manager of a large project in his organization. He has been actively communicating and working with the project stakeholders. One of the outputs of the manage stakeholder expectations process can actually create new risk events for Harold's project. Which output of the manage stakeholder expectations process can create risks?

A: Change requests The manage stakeholder expectations process can create change requests for the project, which can cause new risk events to enter into the project. Change requests are requests to expand or reduce the project scope, modify policies, processes, plans, or procedures, modify costs or budgets or revise schedules. These requests for a change can be direct or indirect, externally or internally initiated, and legally or contractually imposed or optional. A project manager needs to ensure that only formally documented requested changes are processed and only approved change requests are implemented.

Q: John is the project manager of the NHQ Project for his company. His project has 75 stakeholders, some of which are external to the organization. John needs to make certain that he communicates about risk in the most appropriate method for the external stakeholders. Which project management plan will be the best guide for John to communicate to the external stakeholders?

A: Communications management plan The communications management plan will direct John on the information to be communicated, when to communicate, and how to communicate with external stakeholders. The communications management plan aims to define the communication necessities for the project and how the information will be circulated. The communications management plan sets the communication structure for the project. This structure provides guidance for communication throughout the project's life and is updated as communication needs change. The communication managements plan identifies and defines the roles of persons concerned with the project. It includes a matrix known as the communication matrix to map the communication requirements of the project.

Q: You are the project manager for an important, high-profile project in your matrix structure. The project team members must work with a new technology that most of the team does not have experience with. What should you do in this scenario?

A: Consult with the project team to determine what type of training is needed. When the project team is lacking in competency, the project manager should ascertain the training to help the project team complete the project duties.

Q: The Project Procurement Management knowledge area focuses on which of the following processes? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose two.

A: Contract Administration Contract Closure Project Procurement Management is a group of processes to purchase or acquire the products, services, or results needed from outside the project team to perform the work. Following are the four processes that are part of Project Procurement Management: Plan Procurements Conduct Procurements Administer Procurements Close Procurements Project Procurement Management includes administering any contract issued by an outside organization (the buyer) that is acquiring the project from the performing organization (the seller), and administering contractual obligations placed on the project team by the contract.

Q: Which of the following processes involves monitoring the progress of the project to identify any variances in the project plan?

A: Controlling The controlling processes involve monitoring the progress of the project to identify any variances in the project plan.

Q: Which formula is used to calculate Cost Variance (CV)?

A: Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AC) Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance on a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: CV = Earned value (EV) - Actual cost (AC) A positive value means that spending is less than budgeted, whereas a negative value indicates that costs are higher than originally planned for the project. Fact: BCWP (or EV) Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) or earned value (EV) is the value of completed work. It is the budgeted amount for the work actually completed on the schedule activity during a given time period. Fact: ACWP (or AC) Actual cost of work performed (ACWP) or actual cost (AC) is the total costs actually incurred and recorded in accomplishing the work performed during a given time period for a schedule activity. It is the cost of the work to date, including direct and indirect costs. AC is money that has actually been expended to date.

Q: You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You have to measure the project spending till date and determine whether the changes have occurred to the cost baseline. Which of the following processes will you use to accomplish the task?

A: Cost control The Cost control process is used to measure the project spending till date. It helps in determining whether the changes have occurred to the cost baseline, and takes actions to deal with the changes. It monitors the budget and manages changes to the cost baseline.

Q: Which of the following are outputs of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Deliverables Work performance information Change requests Direct and Manage Project Execution is the process to perform the work defined in the project management plan to achieve the project's objective. Deliverables, Work performance information, and change requests are the prime outputs of this process. Apart from these, project management plan updates and project document updates are also defined as outputs of this process.

Q: Your project spans the entire organization. You would like to assess the risk of the project, but you are worried that some of the managers involved in the project could affect the outcome of any risk identification meeting. Your worry is based on the fact that some employees would not want to publicly identify risk events that could make their supervisors look bad. You would like to implement a method that would allow participants to anonymously identify risk events. What risk identification method could you use?

A: Delphi technique The delphi technique uses rounds of anonymous surveys to build consensus on project risks. Delphi is a technique to identify potential risk. In this technique, the responses are gathered via a questionnaire from different experts and their inputs are organized according to their contents. The collected responses are sent back to these experts for further input, addition, and comments. The final list of risks in the project is prepared after that. The participants in this technique are anonymous and therefore it helps prevent a person from unduly influencing the others in the group. The delphi technique helps in reaching the consensus quickly.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a result of completing a quality control activity?

A: Development of a Pareto diagram A Pareto diagram is one of the quality control tools and techniques. It is used to rank importance of a problem based on its frequency of occurrence over time. Fact: Pareto chart A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph, which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa. A Pareto chart is a histogram where items (such as number of defects) are ordered by frequency of occurrence, as shown in the below example: Example of a Pareto chart It is a type of chart that consists both bars and a line graph, where individual values are represented in descending order by bars, and the cumulative total is shown by the line.

Q: Ned is the project manager for a new project. Ned is determining what project team members should be recruited in the project that will likely last for eight months. All of the following are enterprise environmental factors that should be considered when acquiring project team members except for which one?

A: Duration as an employee You do not consider the duration of an employee when considering placing them on your project team. You can, however, also include experience and ability.

Q: You are the project manager for the NHQ Organization and are about to start a new project to create new software for your manufacturing facilities. Thomas, the VP of Manufacturing, is concerned with the earned value components of your project and wants to closely monitor the project's overall schedule performance. Thomas wants a metric that will help him gauge how closely the project is tracking to the original schedule baseline. What earned value formula will help you and Thomas track this key performance indicator?

A: EV/PV You and Thomas should track the schedule performance index (SPI), which shows how closely the project is tracking to the schedule baseline. The SPI is tracked by using the formula EV/PV. Fact: Schedule performance index (SPI) Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following formula: SPI = Earned value (EV) / Planned value (PV) If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. Fact: Cost performance index (CPI) Cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula: CPI = Earned value (EV) / Actual cost (AC) If the CPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The CPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. Fact: Cost variance (CV) Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance on a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: CV = Earned value (EV) - Actual cost (AC) A positive value means that spending is less than budgeted, whereas a negative value indicates that costs are higher than originally planned for the project. Fact Schedule variance (SV) Schedule variance (SV) is a earned value technique used for measuring the schedule performance on a project. The variance signifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned value (EV) - Planned value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target.

Q: Which of the following is a forecast of the cost of all remaining project work?

A: Estimate to complete (ETC) Estimate to complete (ETC) is a forecast of the cost of all remaining project work.

Q: Which of the following shows the relationships between the events and tasks, and how the events affect each other?

A: Event Chain Diagram Event Chain Diagram shows the relationships between events and tasks and how the events affect each other. Event Chain Diagrams are introduced as a part of Event chain methodology.

Q: Shawn is the project manager of the WHT Project for his company. In this project, Shawn's team reports that they have found a way to complete the project work for less cost than what was originally planned. The project team presents new software that will help to automate the project work. While the software and associated training cost $25,000, it will save the project nearly $65,000 in total costs. Shawn agrees to the software and changes to the project management plan accordingly. What type of risk response has been used in this instance?

A: Exploiting Exploiting happens when the project manager wants to ensure that an opportunity is realized. Amongst all the strategies used to negate risks or threats that appear in a project, exploit response is one that may be selected for risks with positive impacts where the organization wishes to ensure that the opportunity is realized. Exploiting a risk event provides opportunities for positive impact on a project. Assigning more talented resources to the project to reduce the time to completion is an example of exploit response.

Q: Sam is the project manager of the NHT Project. His project has stakeholders from the end users, server administrators, functional managers, external customers, technicians, and executive managers. In this high-profile project, which group of stakeholders is the most important?

A: External customers Customers, internal or external, are always considered to be the most important group of stakeholders in a project. Recall that a stakeholder is anyone that has a vested interest in the outcome of your project. Fact: Project stakeholders Project stakeholders are those entities within or without an organization, which: Sponsor a project or, Have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project. Examples of project stakeholders include the customer, the user group, the project manager, the development team, the testers, etc. A stakeholderis anyone who has an interest in the project. Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the project's objectives and outcomes. The project management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their requirements and expectations, and, to the extent possible, manage their influence in relation to the requirements to ensure a successful project.

Q: You have decided to allow two phases of a project to overlap. This is an example of what?

A: Fast tracking When two phases of a project are allowed to overlap, this is an example of fast tracking. Fast tracking is a frequently used technique to compress a project's schedule. It is often the most effective way to shorten the duration of a project. You fast-track a project by scheduling tasks that were originally scheduled to run in sequence, to run instead in parallel. It is the process of shortening the project schedule without reducing the project scope or compromising on quality. The problem with fast-tracking is that there is no free lunch. Additional resources pulled in to do the parallel tasks might make mistakes, or even seasoned resources could make mistakes, skip crucial steps, make assumptions because results from the necessary parallel step were as yet unavailable. If something goes wrong, your schedule could slip or the quality, scope, or budget could suffer. In general, the risks are small. However, to make the most of fast-tracking, look at the longest tasks on the critical path first. These provide the largest potential decrease in duration with the fewest number of risks to manage.

Q: Your project had a late start due to some approval for the stakeholders. The project sponsor, however, has asked that you implement a scheduling compression technique to keep the project moving towards its predetermined deadline. What approach could you implement without raising the costs of the project?

A: Fast tracking Fast tracking allows entire phases of the project to overlap. While this approach does not raise the costs of the project, it does often increase the project risk.

Q: Which of the following are valid types of floats?

A: Free float Total float Float, or slack, in project management terms, is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any subsequent activities. There are two types of floats: Free Float: Is the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following schedule activities. Total Float: Is the total amount of time that a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date, or violating schedule constraint. Float is calculated by using the critical path method technique.

Q: You are working in a functional organization and are managing the IHH Project. Your project will likely last for six months and has a budget constraint of $1,876,000. You'll be dealing with a functional manager to manage costs and resources in the project. Who will have authority over assigning the project team members to activities?

A: Functional manager In a functional structure, the project team and the project manager all work within one unit, department, or line of business, such as sales or IT. The functional manager has the most power over the project team in a functional structure.

Q: What percentage of a message is sent through nonverbal communications, such as facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language?

A: Greater than 50 percent More than 50 percent of a message is sent through nonverbal communications.

Q: Holly is the project manager for the NHQ Project which she created. She is having difficulty from some of the managers in the organization to assign resources to the NHQ Project. What is the most likely cause of the difficulty Holly is experiencing from some of the managers?

A: Holly does not have a project charter signed by someone with the authority over the resources. The most likely cause is that Holly does not have a project charter signed by someone with the appropriate authority over the resources. If Holly created the project, she may not have the correct sponsor backing the project. In order to use resources across the organization, she'll need the correct level of authority for the request. Fact: Project charter The project charter is the document that officially recognizes and acknowledges that a project exists. It helps define requirements and expectations to all involved in the project. A project charter is issued by the project sponsor. A project charter can be as simple as a one-page form for a very small project, briefly describing the project and listing the responsibilities and authority of the project manager. Charters can be much longer, however, depending on the size of the project. In addition to formally authorizing a project, the charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. Project charters are important to the success of a project. It's a good idea to have a project manager assigned to the project prior to the start of planning, and preferably while the project charter is being developed. Here's an example of a project charter.

Q: Your supervisor subscribes to Herzberg's Theory of Motivation. He has identified things such as your pay, insurance, vacation days, and overall satisfaction in your job in your current discussion. These things he has identified are all what part of Hertzberg's Theory?

A: Hygiene agents The hygiene seekers take comfort in things like health insurance policies, sick day allowance, pay, and the number of vacation days allowed per year. Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, also known as Two Factor Theory, was developed by Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist who found that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction acted independently of each other. Two Factor Theory states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. Two Factor Theory distinguishes between the following: Motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition, achievement, or personal growth. Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) which do not give positive satisfaction, although dissatisfaction results from their absence. These are extrinsic to the work itself, and include aspects, such as company policies, supervisory practices, or wages/salary. Essentially, hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied. Motivation factors are needed in order to motivate an employee to higher performance, Herzberg also further classified our actions and how and why we do them, for example, if you perform a work-related action because you have to, then that is classed as movement, but if you perform a work-related action because you want to, then that is classed as motivation.

Q: Complete the following sentence: Quality control is a(n)_______________ process while quality assurance is a(n)________________ process.

A: Inspection, prevention Quality control is considered an inspection-driven process because it is completed by inspecting the project work results. Quality assurance is considered a prevention-driven process because there is an effort to do the work properly the first time. Fact: Quality assurance Quality assurance is the application of planned, systematic quality activities to ensure that the project will employ all processes needed to meet requirements. It is a prevention-driven activity to reduce errors in the project and to help the project meet its requirements.

Q: Which of the following statements about a resource histogram is true?

A: It is a column chart that shows the number of resources assigned to a project over time. Resource histogram is a column chart that shows the number of resources assigned to a project over time. In order to plan project resource needs, project managers often create a resource histogram. Resource histogram reflects when individual employees, groups, or communities are involved in a project. It is often used by management to see when employees are most or least active in a project.

Q: You are the project manager of the NGH project for your organization. You want to create a cause-and-effect diagram to help discover the root causes of the risks within the project. Harold, the CIO, recommends that you create an Ishikawa diagram instead. What is an ishikawa diagram?

A: It is a diagram that shows the causes of a certain event. It is a diagram that shows the causes of a certain event. An ishikawa diagram is the same thing as a cause and effect diagram. This is also known as a fishbone diagram. The ishikawa diagram (or fishbone diagram or also cause-and-effect diagram) is a diagram that shows the causes of a certain event. A common use of the Ishikawa diagram is to identify potential factors causing an overall effect. It helps identify causal factors and root causes. It is known as a fishbone diagram because of its shape, similar to the side view of a fish skeleton. It is considered as a basic tool of quality management.

Q: You are coaching Mark, a junior project manager, on the processes of project management. Which one of the following statements best defines the process of creating a work breakdown structure (WBS)?

A: It is the subdivision of the project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the work and deliverables are defined to the work package level. The work breakdown structure breaks down the project deliverables into work packages. Work packages are the smallest element of the WBS. Fact: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a visual decomposition of the project scope. The project scope is taken and broken down into smaller, more manageable units. Each of these units can be broken down again and again until you define the smallest item in the WBS called the work package. Project groups and the project's discrete work elements are defined in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. A WBS element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control.

Q: Which of the following statements about Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) are true?

A: It provides a framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control. It defines a project and groups the project's discrete work elements in a way that helps to organize and define the total work scope of the project. It is an important project management tool. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering is a tool that defines a project and groups the project's discrete work elements in a way that helps to organize and define the total work scope of the project. A Work Breakdown Structure element may be a product, data, service, or any combination. The WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control. Additionally, the WBS is a dynamic tool and can be revised and updated as needed by the project manager.Answer option B is incorrect. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) can be revised and updated as needed by the project manager.

Q: Which of the following is the last deliverable at the close out meeting?

A: Lessons Learned The last deliverable at the close out meeting is lessons learned. Documenting lessons learned is the most important step of project closure. In this step, a project manager can identify where things went wrong, how he fixed them, and what would be considered as alternatives in the future. Lessons learned is useful for those who have a similar project. The lessons learned documentation is an important part of project closing. The lessons learned during the course of the project are documented so that they become part of the historical database for the project/program and the performing organization. It includes the causes of issues, the reasoning behind the corrective action chosen, what went well, what didn't, stakeholder management and more. The lessons learned are compiled, formalized, and presented to the entire project team and the stakeholders.

Q: You are the project manager of the NHY Project. Management has asked that you determine the cost to support your solution once your project deliverables move into operations. What is the cost commonly called?

A: Life cycle costing The life cycle costing expense describes the cost of maintaining the solution your project creates. Life cycle costing is a method of project evaluation. In this method, all costs from owning, operating, maintaining, and disposing off a project are considered imperative to any final decision in relation to a particular project/technology adoption. Therefore, it is a method for evaluating all relevant costs over a period of time of a project. It takes into account the initial cost, including capital, investment cost, purchase, and installation cost. It also includes energy cost, operating cost, maintenance cost, capital replacement cost, financing cost, and any resale salvage for disposal cost over a life time of a project/technology product. Fact: Direct costs Direct costs can be traced directly to a cost object such as a product. In other words, direct costs do not have to be allocated to a product, department, or other cost object. For example, if a company produces Chairs, the cost of the wood and the cost of the carpenter are direct costs. These costs are traceable by the production department. On the other hand, the rent of the production area, warehouse, and office is not a direct cost.

Q: You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc., which is a matrix organization. You have to assign tasks associated with the project to the employees. One of the employees wants to know about the characteristics of a matrix organization. What will be your reply?

A: Low to moderate authority for the project manager A mix of full time and part time project resources Better inter-departmental communication A matrix organization is characterized by: Low to moderate authority for the project manager A mix of full time and part time project resources Better inter-departmental communication

Q: You are the project manager of the NGG Project and are working with the project stakeholders. Tami, the sales manager, is trying to use her position within the company to affect decisions made already in the project about what the software, your project will create, can do. You know that Tami has an influential role in the company but the changes and requests, she's making based on her position in the company, have already been denied in the project scope. You need to carefully manage Tami 's requests and political ploys so as not to lose her as a positive stakeholder, but you also must balance the approved requirements for the project scope. What executing process is most appropriate for this scenario?

A: Manage stakeholder expectations The executing process, you should use, is the manage stakeholder expectations. Fact: Executing process group The executing process group is a stage or phase of a project. It starts after the planning phase of a project is over. It consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project management plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan. The executing process group utilizes the most project time and resources. Planning risk management is a planning process, not an executing process. Fact: Planning process group The planning process group is the second process group or stage of a project. After the Initiation stage, the system is designed. Occasionally, a small prototype of the final product is built and tested. Testing is generally performed by a combination of testers and end users, and can occur after the prototype is built or concurrently. The results of the design stage should include a product design that: satisfies the project sponsor, end user, and business requirements, functions as it was intended, can be produced within quality standards, and can be produced within time and budget constraints. Controls should be in place that ensures that the final product will meet the specifications of the project charter. Reporting performance is a monitoring and controlling process. Fact: Monitoring and controlling process group Monitoring and controlling is a process group or stage that starts when the project is in the executing stage. This process overlaps the executing stage. Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution, so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan. The monitoring and controlling process includes the following: Measuring the ongoing project activities (where we are) Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, etc.) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be) Identifying corrective actions to properly address issues and risks (How can we get on track again) Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control, so that only approved changes are implemented In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and controlling process also provides feedback between project phases in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Q: You are the project manager for the NQP Project. Your manager insists that you use earned value management and the communications bull's eye for determining if you'll need to communicate with management or not. Which term best describes the earned value management and the communications bull's eye for your project?

A: Management by exception The communications bull's eye means that the project manager will only communicate with management when the project drifts outside of predetermined earned value management rules. For example, the project must stay within a $2,000 cost, and the schedule variance and the cost performance index can never be lower than .96, and the schedule performance index can never be lower than .94. If the project moves outside of this "bull's eye", then the project manager is expected to communicate with the manager. It's called management by exception, because there's only management interaction when there's an exception to the project.

Q: Marsha is the project manager of the NHQ Project. There is a risk that her project team has identified, which could cause the project to be late by more than a month. Marsha does not want this risk event to happen so she devises extra project activities to ensure that the risk event will not happen. The extra steps, however, will cost the project an additional $10,000. What type of risk response is this approach?

A: Mitigation This is an example of risk mitigation. By taking extra steps and spending the extra funds, Marsha and her project team are ensuring that the risk event will not happen in her project. Fact: Risk mitigation Mitigation is a risk response planning technique associated with threats that seeks to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk to below an acceptable threshold. Risk mitigation involves taking early action to reduce the probability and impact of a risk occurring on the project. Adopting less complex processes, conducting more tests, or choosing a more stable supplier are examples of mitigation actions.

Q: You are the project manager of manufacturing process. Your project will focus on the creation of 987,600 handheld printers to be used in grocery stores around the world. The printers are manufactured largely by machine though there are several steps in the process where project team members will need to manually configure the devices. Management will be completing statistical sampling of the printers and they have established an upper control limit of 980 correct out of 1,000 and a lower control limit of 970 out of 1,000. Your expected mean is 975. On a control chart, which is what management expects you to create, what is it called should your results exceed 980 correct out of a 1,000 in any given measurements?

A: Out of control Whenever the results of a measurement exceed the upper or lower control it is considered out of control. This is also known as an assignable cause and can be analysed for more details.

Q: Julie is the project manager of the JUUY Project, which will create photography scanners for sale around the world. Her project team is tracking categories of failure for detailed analysis. Management has required in the project quality management plan that all defects be shown in a histogram for detailed evaluation. What type of a chart is management requesting?

A: Pareto chart Management is requesting the project manager to create a Pareto chart. A Pareto chart is a histogram that tracks the number of defects per category (a histogram is a bar chart). Fact: Pareto chart A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph, which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa. A Pareto chart is a histogram where items (such as number of defects) are ordered by frequency of occurrence, as shown in the below example: Example of a Pareto chart It is a type of chart that consists both bars and a line graph, where individual values are represented in descending order by bars, and the cumulative total is shown by the line.

Q: You are a project manager of a construction project. You are documenting project purchasing decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers. You are in which of the following processes?

A: Plan Procurements The Plan Procurements process involves documenting project purchasing decisions, specifying the approach, and identifying potential sellers. This process includes consideration of the risk involved with each decision. It also includes reviewing the type of contract planned to be used with respect to mitigating risks, sometimes transferring risks to seller.

Q: Violet is the project manager for her organization and she is working with Teddy on the quality control processes for their project. Teddy is confused on the difference between prevention and inspection, when it comes to quality and customer acceptance of the project deliverables. Which statement best defines quality and customer acceptance?

A: Prevention keeps errors out of the process. Inspection keeps errors out of the hands of the customer. This is directly from the PMBOK, in the opening discussion on quality control and customer acceptance in Chapter 8. Inspection is finding errors before the customer does. Prevention is keeping errors from entering the project processes.

Q: You are the program manager for your organization. You have created a program that will create things for the organization throughout the program not only at program closure. All of the following are elements that you may transfer to the organization throughout the program's life cycle except for which one?

A: Program personnel Program personnel generally stay on the program for the duration of the program. The program's transition plan defines what will be transferred to the organization and when the transfer may happen. Fact: What is a program transition plan? The program transition plan defines how the benefits your program creates will be moved from the program control to the control of the organization. Benefits can be moved from the program to operations throughout the program and not just at the program closure.

Q: You are a project manager in a matrix environment and management is concerned about the utilization of the resources on your project team and when you'll release them. What project management plan will guide how and when project resources will be released from the project team?

A: Project Staffing Management Plan The Project Staffing Management Plan will define how resources are brought onto the project team, how they are managed while on the project team, and how they may be released from the project team. The staffing management plan is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management plan and defines when project team members will be brought onto and released from the project. It describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. Depending upon the needs of the project, it can be formal or informal, highly detailed, or broadly framed. The staffing management plan may include the following items: staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

Q: Gary is the project manager of the NHQ Project, and this project is performing poorly. Gary is currently $15,900 over budget, and the project is running late by six weeks. Management has decided to cancel this project due to the overall performance. What project management process group controls the cancellation of a project?

A: Project closing Canceling a project for any reasons is a form of early project closure. When a project is closed, it should still move through its final processes and document the purpose of the project closure.

Q: Who is ultimately responsible for identifying and managing project risks?

A: Project manager The project manager is ultimately responsible for identifying and managing project risks. Fact: Risk management process Risk management is a decision-making process that involves the organization, users, and the project team. It deals with the uncertainties that might occur during the project. During this process, risks are identified and decisions are made about how to mitigate them. The process also involves various decisions about which risks deserve immediate attention. Steps involved in the Risk Management process: 1.To set up goals and identify the risks or impediments that might occur when implementing a project 2.To collect sufficient information, so that the project team and the organization can make decisions and prioritize the risks for mitigating them 3.To formulate various risk mitigating strategies, plans, and actions by scheduling time for risk planning in the project 4.To monitor the status of high-priority risks, and to report every progress of the plans to the project team and the key stakeholders 5.To control the risk management process by executing various risk mitigation plans and maintaining each and every progress of the program 6.To make proper documentation from the data being collected during the risk plans Identify risks - the project manager, the project team, and key stakeholders are consistently looking to identify risks that can help or hinder the project's success. Risks are recorded in the risk register and tracked throughout the project life cycle. Qualitative risk analysis: this is a fast and subjective review of the identified risks to determine if the risks are valid and should be analyzed in quantitative risk analysis. Quantitative risk analysis: this is a more in-depth study of the risk's probability and financial impact on the project. Quantitative risk analysis helps the project team and the project manager determine how the risks should be managed. Plan risk responses: based on the risk identification and analysis the risk responses are created. There are seven risk responses (three for negative risks, three for positive risks, and one for either): mitigation, transference, avoidance, enhance, exploit, share, and acceptance.

Q: Which of the following can be affected by a major change to the project scope? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Project objectives The schedule end date Risks Budget A major change to the project scope may impact the following: Project objectives The critical path The schedule end date Budget Project performance indicators Resources Risks Fact: What is project scope? Project scope defines what will or will not be included in a project. Therefore, the project scope is the number and complexity of tasks to be performed by a software solution. The scope comprises the overall project requirements and incorporates the constraints imposed on the project by resources, time, and other limiting factors.

Q: You are the project manager in a matrix structure. Your project team comes from all over the organization and many of your project team members report to several project managers besides you. There are total 89 project team members on your project that you need to communicate with - and you'll need to communicate with the other project managers and functional managers for each resource on the project team. What type of a chart can you create to help track the reporting relationships of all your project team members in this matrix structure?

A: Project organization chart A project organization chart tracks each of the project team members and their reporting relationships. Using this chart, you can track every team member and who they report in the project.

Q: Management wants Beth to create a project scope baseline as part of her project management plan. Beth reports that there is already a project scope baseline and it is comprised of three documents in the project plan. All of the following are part of the project scope baseline except for which one?

A: Project statement of work The project statement of work is often used during project initiation, especially when the project is part of a contractual relationship. The project statement of work, however, is not one of the three documents that create the scope baseline.

Q: You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You are working on some high level milestones and timelines for your project. One of your team members wants to know the goals of high level milestones and timelines. What will you reply?

A: Provide measurement, showing that tangible progress has been made on the project. Ensure validation and allow the project to move on to the next step if the milestone is met, or take corrective actions if the milestone is not met. Provide support for staff resource planning and budget preparation. The goals of high level milestones and timelines are to: Provide measurement, showing that tangible progress has been made on the project. Ensure validation and allow the project to move on to the next step if the milestone is met or take corrective actions if the milestone is not met. Provide support for staff resource planning and budget preparation.

Q: You and your project team have identified the project risks and now are analyzing the probability and impact of the risks. What type of analysis of the risks provides a quick and high-level review of each identified risk event?

A: Qualitative risk analysis Qualitative risk analysis is a high-level, fast review of the risk event. Qualitative risk analysis qualifies the risk events for additional analysis. Fact: Perform qualitative risk analysis Perform qualitative risk analysis is the process of prioritizing risks for further analysis and action. It combines risks and their probability of occurrences and ranks them accordingly. It enables organizations to improve the project's performance by focusing on high-priority risks. Perform qualitative risk analysis is usually a rapid and cost-effective means of establishing priorities for plan risk responses. It also lays the foundation for perform quantitative risk analysis.

Q: Andrew is the project manager of the NHQ Project. The project is currently in month four of 16 and is scheduled for a risk review of the project. In order to complete the risk review, Andrew gathers his project team and will need several other inputs too. All of the following are inputs to the monitor and control risks process except for which one?

A: Quality assurance results Quality assurance results are not inputs to the monitor and control risk process.

Q: You are the project manager of a high-priority project that will require the project team to work on the project for 18 months. The project cannot be late or the organization will face sizeable fines. You need a method to ensure that the project team will work towards the project with little defects and much accuracy to reach the project deadline. Which one of the following are methods for ensuring project team work accuracy in the project execution?

A: Recognition and rewards Recognitions and rewards are excellent methods to promote project performance. The link between quality, accurate deliverables and rewards for the project team is a logical, PMI-approved approach.

Q: The Project Communications Management knowledge area focuses on which of the following processes? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Report Performance Distribute Information Identify Stakeholders Project Communications Management is one of the nine Knowledge Areas. It employs the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information. The following processes are part of Project Communications Management: Identify Stakeholders Plan Communications Distribute Information Manage Stakeholder Expectations Report Performance The Project Communications Management processes provide the critical links among people and information that are necessary for successful communication. These processes interact with each other and with the processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well.

Q: Which of the following is a standardized list of personnel resources related by function and arranged in a hierarchical structure?

A: Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) Resource Breakdown Structure (RBS) is a standardized list of personnel resources related by function and arranged in a hierarchical structure. The Resource Breakdown Structure standardizes the Departments personnel resources to facilitate planning and controlling of project work. It defines assignable resources such as personnel, from a functional point of view. It identifies "who" is doing the work. The total resources define the Top Level, and each subsequent level is a subset of the resource category (or level) above it. Each lower level represents an increasingly detailed description of the resource until small enough to be used in conjunction with the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to allow the work to be planned, monitored, and controlled.

Q: You have been assigned as the Project Manager for a new project that involves deployment of a new software application to all your organization's users. As you are preparing the project schedule, you notice that your resources are being over allocated, and being assigned more activities than they could handle. Which of the following techniques would you use to make sure that your resources are not over allocated?

A: Resource Leveling Resource Leveling is a schedule network analysis technique applied to a schedule that has already been analyzed by the Critical path method. Resource Leveling is necessary when resources have been over allocated, and commonly involves changing the activity durations to match resource availability.

Q: Wendy is the project manager of the NHQ Project. This project is slated to last for eight months, and it must not be late or her company will incur a daily cost penalty for late delivery. Wendy would like to review when the project team is available for work and when the project team has scheduled vacations or other times away from the project. What should Wendy review in this instance?

A: Resource calendar The resource calendar will help Wendy determine when the project team has scheduled time away from the project. A resource calendar is used to make sure that work resources (people and equipment) are scheduled only when they are available for work. They affect a specific resource or category of resources. By default, the working time settings in the resource calendar are the same as in the project calendar. However, a user can customize the resource calendar to show individual schedule information, such as vacations, leaves of absence, or equipment maintenance time. Fact: The project calendar The project calendar is used to define the working and nonworking days and times for tasks. This calendar is usually used to represent an organization's traditional working hours. A project uses this calendar to schedule tasks that do not have resources assigned or that have a task type of fixed duration. By default, the Standard base calendar is used as the project calendar. A user can also reflect alternative schedules by using other base calendars. The working days and hours in the project calendar reflect the working days and hours for the whole project. A user can also specify special days off, such as company holidays. A user can also indicate other nonworking times to reflect periods when the whole team will be working on non-project activities, such as company meetings or department retreats.

Q: You are the project manager of the NGQ Project and are reviewing the assignments for your project team. You have decided to use a RACI chart as your responsibility assignment matrix. What does RACI mean?

A: Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform A RACI chart is a form of a responsibility assignment matrix that uses the legend of Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform. These responsibilities make up the term RACI.

Q: You work as a project manager for SoftTech Inc. You are working with the project stakeholders to begin the qualitative risk analysis process. Which of the following inputs will be needed for the qualitative risk analysis process in your project? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Risk register Organizational process assets Project scope statement Qualitative risk analysis uses the likelihood and impact of the identified risks in a fast and cost-effective manner. Qualitative risk analysis establishes a basis for a focused quantitative analysis or risk response plan by evaluating the precedence of risks with a concern to impact on the project's scope, cost, schedule, and quality objectives. Qualitative risk analysis is conducted at any point in a project life cycle. The primary goal of qualitative risk analysis is to determine proportion of effect and theoretical response. The inputs to the qualitative risk analysis process are: Organizational process assets Project scope statement Risk management plan Risk register

Q: Della works as a project manager for SoftTech Inc. She is working with the project stakeholders to begin the quantitative risk analysis process. For the quantitative risk analysis process, which of the following inputs will be needed in her project? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Risk register Risk management plan Cost management plan Explanation: The inputs to the quantitative risk analysis process are: Risk register Risk management plan Cost management plan Schedule management plan Organizational process assets

Q: You work as the project manager for Bluewell Inc. You are working on the NGQQ project for your company. You have completed the risk analysis processes for the risk events. You and the project team have created risk responses for most of the identified project risks. Which of the following risk response planning techniques will you use to shift the impact of a threat to a third party, together with the responses?

A: Risk transference Risk transference is a risk response planning technique that is used to shift the impact of a threat to a third party, together with the ownership of the response. Risk response planning is a method of developing options to decrease the amount of threats and make the most of opportunities. The risk response should be aligned with the consequence of the risk and cost-effectiveness. This planning documents the processes for managing risk events. It addresses the owners and their responsibilities, risk identification, results from qualification and quantification processes, budgets and times for responses, and contingency plans. The various risk response planning techniques are as follows: Risk acceptance: It indicates that the project team has decided not to change the project management plan to deal with a risk, or is unable to identify any other suitable response strategy. Risk avoidance: It is a technique for a threat which creates changes to the project management plan that are meant to either eliminate the risk or to protect the project objectives from this impact. Risk mitigation: It is a list of specific actions being taken to deal with specific risks associated with the threats and it seeks to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of risk below an acceptable threshold. Risk transference: It is used to shift the impact of a threat to a third party, together with the ownership of the response.

Q: Which of the following formulas is used to calculate schedule variance percent (SV %)?

A: SV % = Schedule Variance (SV) / Earned Value (EV) Schedule Variance % indicates how much a project is ahead or behind schedule in percentage terms. Schedule Variance % is calculated using the following formula: SV % = Schedule Variance (SV) / Earned Value (EV) Fact: Schedule variance (SV) Schedule variance (SV) is a earned value technique used for measuring the schedule performance on a project. The variance signifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned value (EV) - Planned value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target. Fact BCWP (or EV) Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) or earned value (EV) is the value of completed work. It is the budgeted amount for the work actually completed on the schedule activity during a given time period.

Q: Which of the following provides a method to track project progress during project execution against what was planned?

A: Schedule baseline Schedule baseline is a project schedule used in measuring project progress. It helps provide a comparison with the actual progress of work against the schedule and to determine if performance to date is within acceptable parameters. Any change caused by change in scope of the project invalidates the original schedule and requires a new baseline schedule.

Q: You are the project manager for your organization and are trying to determine which vendor your organization will use. You have determined that any vendor that would like to bid on your project work will need to have a Microsoft Certified System Engineer on staff, have eight years of Cisco experience, and have at least two references from similar projects. What have you created in this scenario?

A: Screening system for the vendors This is an example of a screening system for the vendors. If a vendor does not qualify for the project, then they'll be "screened" out of the selection process.

Q: You are the project manager of the NHO Project and are hosting a software development workshop to gather project requirements. In the workshop, what name is assigned to the person who records the workshop minutes?

A: Scribe The person that keeps the minutes in a workshop is commonly called a scribe. You may also know this individual as the recorder.

Q: You are the project manager of the HJK project for your organization. You and the project team have created risk responses for many of the risk events in the project. A teaming agreement is an example of what risk response?

A: Sharing Sharing response is where two or more entities share a positive risk. Risk sharing deals with sharing of responsibility and accountability with others to facilitate the team with the best chance of seizing the opportunity. Teaming agreements are good example of sharing the reward that comes from the risk of the opportunity.

Q: Which of the following activities are related to the closing processes of a project? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Signing off project documents Archiving of project documents Reviewing of lessons learned The closing processes include sign-off, archive of project documents, turn over to a maintenance group, release of project team members, and review of lessons learned.

Q: Which of the following are some of the parts of a project plan? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A: Team members list Project schedule Risk identification Risk analysis Following are some of the parts of a project plan: Project schedule Team members list Risk identification Risk analysis A project plan also includes the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and cost estimates. By doing a risk analysis, the project manager can identify the different risks linked to the project, to the method specified, to the schedule, to the people in the team, and to external circumstances. Fact: Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a visual decomposition of the project scope. The project scope is taken and broken down into smaller, more manageable units. Each of these units can be broken down again and again until you define the smallest item in the WBS called the work package. Project groups and the project's discrete work elements are defined in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. A WBS element may be a product, data, a service, or any combination. WBS also provides the necessary framework for detailed cost estimating and control along with providing guidance for schedule development and control.

Q: Who is responsible for defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

A: The Process Owner The Process Owner is responsible for defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The Process Owner executes the crucial role of process champion, design lead, supporter, instructor, and protector. The Process Owner should be a senior level manager with credibility, influence, and authority across the various areas impacted by the activities of the process. The Process Owner must have the ability to influence and make sure compliance to the policies and procedures put in place across the cultural and departmental silos of the IT organization.

Q: Frank is the project manager of the NH Project to install wireless networking equipment in a conference center. The wireless network is to provide access to the Internet and email for people attending conferences at the center. Frank must use some assumptions during the planning of the project scope. Which one of the following is NOT an assumption?

A: The firewall on the wireless network must block certain objectionable Web sites. This is an example of a scope requirement. Requirements and constraints can usually be identified by the nature of the demand for the objective. In this instance, the firewall must block certain objectionable Websites. Therefore, this cannot be an assumption.

Q: You are the project manager of the NHH Project and you have 22 project team members on the project. You need to identify a method to promote performance on your project and are examining Herzberg's Theory of Motivation. What will happen in this theory to your project team's motivation if you can remove the hygiene agents according to Herzberg's Theory?

A: The motivation of the team will decrease. Hygiene factors include things like employee pay, benefits, and a safe working environment. Removal of these things will de-motivate the project team.

Q: What document, created during the initiating process group, authorizes the project manager?

A: The project charter The project charter authorizes the project to exist within the organization and is signed by the project sponsor. The project charter is the document that officially recognizes and acknowledges that a project exists. It helps define requirements and expectations to all involved in the project. A project charter is issued by the project sponsor. A project charter can be as simple as a one-page form for a very small project, briefly describing the project and listing the responsibilities and authority of the project manager. Charters can be much longer, however, depending on the size of the project. In addition to formally authorizing a project, the charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. Project charters are important to the success of a project. It's a good idea to have a project manager assigned to the project prior to the start of planning, and preferably while the project charter is being developed. Here's an example of a project charter.

Q: Robert is the project manager of the NHQ Project, and he's coaching several junior project managers on the difference between the project management lifecycle and the project lifecycle. What is the project management lifecycle?

A: The project management lifecycle is universal to all projects and it describes the five process groups. The project management lifecycle is universal to all projects and is comprised of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. Fact: Project management processes Project management processes organize and describe the work of the project. The five process groups of a project are as follows: Initiation: Initiation is the first phase of a project. It grants the approval to commit the organization's resources to work on the project. Planning: Planning is the second phase of a project. It includes documenting requirements, budget, and work flow for the project. Executing: This is the prime phase of a project where all the planned work is executed. Controlling and monitoring: This process is somewhat overlapped with the executing phase. After the executing process is started, the controlling and monitoring process makes sure that the project progress is aligned to the planned documents. Closing: The last process group of the project management processes is closing. Contract closeout occurs in this phase of a project. During the closing process, formal acceptance and approval are obtained. These processes work as different phases of the project and are interrelated and dependent on one another.

Q: Mary is the project manager for her organization. She is working with the project team to define the project activities. She is concerned about some of the dependencies of the project work, which may affect the project schedule. Which one of the following is the best example of a project constraint that will likely affect the project's ability to finish by a given deadline?

A: The project must use the BGH company to deliver the software portion of the project. Of all the constraints listed only this is an external dependency, which can directly affect the project manager's control over the project work. If the BGH company is late delivering the software portion of the project, it will likely have an effect on the project's ability to complete the project on time.

Q: You are the project manager of a large project that is of high priority in the project. There are several negative risks that may affect the project's ability to complete on time. Should the project be late, your organization will face fines of $100,000 per day the project is past due. However, should your project complete early, your organization will receive $100,000 per day of early completion. Management has asked you to analyze the project to determine how early the project will be able to finish. What project plan and section of the plan can help you the most in this scenario?

A: The project schedule management plan and its float calculations The project schedule management plan and its float calculations can help you determine what the earliest date is for completing the project. Float, or slack, in project management terms, is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any subsequent activities. There are two types of floats: Free Float: Is the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following schedule activities. Total Float: Is the total amount of time that a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date, or violating schedule constraint. Float is calculated by using the critical path method technique.

Q: All project charters should include the high-level assumptions for the project. Which one of the following is an example of a high-level assumption for a software development project?

A: The software developers should be on the project from its launch to completion. An assumption is something that you believe to be true but it hasn't been proven to be true. Fact: What is a deadline date? A deadline date is a target date that indicates when a task has to be completed. If the deadline date passes and the task is not completed, an indicator is displayed in the indicator column. A deadline date can be set for a task to keep track of its finish date without putting an inflexible constraint on it. If a task finishes after its deadline date, then a symbol is displayed in the indicator column.

Q: What are the three constraints in the Iron Triangle of Project Management?

A: Time, cost, and scope The Iron Triangle of Project Management is an equilateral triangle that position time, cost, and scope along the three sides of the triangle. Fact: What is a constraint? A constraint is a restriction set on the start or finish date of a task. A user can specify that a task must start on or finish no later than a particular date. Constraints impose restrictions on the way that the task's start and finish dates are calculated. There are three types of constraints: Flexible: Flexible constraints are those constraints that do not have specific dates associated with them. When these constraints are set, they allow the tasks to start as early as possible or as late as possible with the task ending before the project finish date. Semi-flexible: Semi-flexible constraints are those constraints that require an associated date to control the earliest start or finish date for a task. These constraints allow a task to finish at any time as long as it meets the start or finish deadline. Inflexible: Inflexible constraints are those constraints that require an associated date to control the start or finish date of the task. These constraints are useful when a user needs to make the project schedule take into account external factors, such as the availability of equipment or resources, deadlines, contract milestones, and start and finish dates.

Q: Gary has identified a project risk that could injure project team members. He does not want to accept any risk where someone could become injured on this project, so he hires a professional vendor to complete this portion of the project work. This workaround to the risk event is known as what type of risk response?

A: Transference Transference is a strategy to mitigate negative risks or threats. In this strategy, consequences and the ownership of a risk is transferred to a third party. This strategy does not eliminate the risk but transfers responsibility of managing the risk to another party. Insurance is an example of transference. When Gary hires a professional vendor to manage that risk, the risk event does not go away, but the responsibility for the event is transferred to the vendor.

Q: You work as a project manager for uCertify Inc. You have to describe the ownership of project deliverables and authorize a person for the maintenance and upkeep of the deliverables. Which of the following plans will you use to accomplish the above task?

A: Transition plan The various objectives of a transition plan are as follows: Transition dates: There should be a defined date for the deliverables to be transferred to the organization; an account of the conditions for the deliverables to be moved from the management of the project to the management of operations. Ownership: When a project is completed and a set of deliverables have been created, someone must now be responsible for the management of deliverables. The transition plan describes the ownership of project deliverables and makes a person responsible for the maintenance and upkeep on the deliverables. Training: The project team should train the recipients of the deliverables and define how to use and maintain the deliverables. This can be made through training manuals, train-the-trainer sessions, hands on exercises, or a combination of knowledge transfer events. Extended support: There should be some extended support depending upon the type of project and the deliverable. The extended support entails the project team and the operation team to work together as the new technology is applied so that the operational team can learn from the project team about the project deliverables and implementation. Warranties: There must be some warranty information about the project deliverables if the project was completed by a vendor for a client. The warranty must be detailed in the project contract and talked about during the operation transfer.

Q: Which of the following are the components of vendor contract administration? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose three.

A: Vendor disputes Progress reporting Vendor delays The following are the components of vendor contract administration: Vendor disputes: Project manager should investigate and resolve disputes between team members and the vendor. Progress reporting: Project manager has to review regular process reports provided by the vendor as defined in statement of work. Vendor delays: Project manager has to analyze impacts on the project due to delays of deliverables. He should also communicate the impacts of delays on project baseline to the project stakeholders. Fact: Project stakeholders Project stakeholders are those entities within or without an organization, which: Sponsor a project or, Have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project. Examples of project stakeholders include the customer, the user group, the project manager, the development team, the testers, etc. A stakeholderis anyone who has an interest in the project. Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the project's objectives and outcomes. The project management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their requirements and expectations, and, to the extent possible, manage their influence in relation to the requirements to ensure a successful project. Fact: Statement of Work (SOW) A Statement of Work (SOW) is a document that captures and defines the work activities, deliverables and timeline that a vendor will execute against in performance of work for a customer. Detailed requirements and pricing are usually specified in it, along with many other terms and conditions. SOW is a narrative description of products or services to be supplied by the project. For internal projects, the project initiator or sponsor provides the Statement of Work based on business needs, product, or service requirements. For external projects, the Statement of Work can be received from the customer as part of a bid document.

Q: Samantha is the project manager of the KWK Project and she has completed the project deliverables. She needs the project customers to inspect the project work to gain their formal acceptance of what she and her project team have created. What process does Samantha need to initiate?

A: Verify scope Scope verification is the process of obtaining stakeholder's formal acceptance of the project deliverables. Scope verification is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It is an inspection-driven process that the stakeholders will complete to inspect the project scope deliverables. It is typically performed at the end of every phase and at the end of the project.

Q: Brent is the project manager of the NYE Project and he has just completed the first phase of the project. Before the project may move forward the project customer must inspect the project work to determine completeness of the work so far. This activity is part of the closing the project phase. What process will Brent and the project stakeholders do at the end of each project phase?

A: Verify scope Verify scope is a process to determine the completeness of the project work and to gain the customer's acceptance to move the project forward. Scope verification is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It is an inspection-driven process that the stakeholders will complete to inspect the project scope deliverables. It is typically performed at the end of every phase and at the end of the project.

Q: You have been hired for a project. You are working for quality control (QC) of the project. You are worried about the negative schedule variance (SV). Rick, your assistant, has charted down the reasons of schedule delay:

A: Virus attack According to Pareto's principle, you should take action to fix the problems that are causing the greatest number of defects first. Pareto's Law holds that a relatively small number of causes will typically produce a large majority of the problems or defects. This is commonly referred to as the 80/20 principle, where 80 percent of the problems are due to 20 percent of the causes. According to the question, the number of occurrences of virus attack is the highest among all other causes. Hence, you should target to remove that cause first. Fact: The Pareto principle The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80 percent of income in Italy went to 20 percent of the population. It is a common rule of thumb in business; e.g., "80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your clients." Pareto's law holds that a relatively small number of causes will typically produce a large majority of the problems or defects, where 80 percent of the problems are due to 20 percent of the causes.

Q: You work as a project manager for Honeywell Inc. You have been distributing performance information, including status reports, progress measurement, and forecasts to various stakeholders. A trainee of this company wants to know what are the inputs for generating performance reports. Which of the following are the necessary inputs? Each correct answer represents a part of the solution. Choose two.

A: WPI WPM According to the scenario, you can use the following inputs in order to generate performance reports: WPI: Work performance information is the data gathered on the status of the project schedule activities that are performed to accomplish the project work. This data is collected as part of the Direct and Manage Project Execution processes. WPI includes the following: Deliverables status Schedule Progress Costs incurred WPM: Work performance measurements are created from the work performance information. WPMs are an output of Control schedule, Control cost, and Control scope processes, which are monitoring and controlling processes. WPMs consist of planned versus actual performance indicators with respect to scope, schedule, and cost. They are documented and communicated to the stakeholders and are used to make project activity metrics, such as the following: Planned vs. Actual Technical performance and Scope performance Planned vs. Actual Schedule performance Planned vs. Actual Cost performance

Q: You are a new Project Manager who has been entrusted with a project. You have collected the requirements, defined the project scope statement, and have started creating the WBS. Your goal is to create the lowest level on your WBS that allows you to schedule, cost, monitor, and control. In this scenario, what is the lowest element on your WBS called?

A: Work Packages The planned work is contained within the lowest level WBS components, which are called work packages. A work package can be scheduled, cost estimated, monitored, and controlled.

Q: Robert is the project manager for his organization. Management has asked Robert to provide them with the metric he uses to measure deliverables status, costs incurred, and especially how he measures the schedule progress for schedule adherence. What project component could Robert provide for management?

A: Work performance measurements Work performance measurements are metrics that are defined to collect performance and progress of the project. Typical metrics are deliverables, schedule, and costs, though additional metrics, such as quality, can be added. Work performance measurements are created from the work performance information. WPMs are an output of Control schedule, Control cost, and Control scope processes, which are monitoring and controlling processes. WPMs consist of planned versus actual performance indicators with respect to scope, schedule, and cost. They are documented and communicated to the stakeholders and are used to make project activity metrics, such as the following: Planned vs. Actual Technical performance and Scope performance Planned vs. Actual Schedule performance Planned vs. Actual Cost performance

Q: You are the project manager for the NH Project and trying to determine if your organization should buy a software solution or create the solution in-house. You have determined that the cost for your project team to create the software is $17,500 and it will cost your organization $2,500 per month to support the solution. A vendor promises that they can create the same solution for $14,000, but their monthly solution will cost $2,800 to support. Which solution should you use?

A: You should create the software if the solution will be used for more than one year. To solve the buy versus build decision, you'll first need to determine the difference of the out-of-pocket expenses, and then divide this value by the difference of the monthly support fee. In this instance, you'll divide $3,500 by 300 for a value of 11.66 months. This means that in roughly a year, you'll have paid for your in-house solution. If you're going to use the solution for less than a year, then it's more cost effective to hire the vendor to provide the solution.

Q: Place the processes that are grouped under the Project Cost Management Knowledge Area in the image below.

Explanation: The project management knowledge areas are groupings that bring together processes that have things in common. For example, resource planning, cost estimating, cost budgeting, etc., are part of the project cost management knowledge group. These processes may or may not be part of different or same process groups. Guide to the PMBOK identifies forty-two processes that are arranged in nine knowledge areas. The knowledge areas are as follows: Project integration management Project scope management Project time management Project cost management Project quality management Project human resource management Project communications management Project risk management Project procurement management Project Cost Management includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget. It is a group of the following processes required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget: Cost Estimating Cost Budgeting Cost Control The activities in the Project Cost Management Knowledge Area establish estimates for costs and resources and keep watch over those costs throughout the project. These processes interact with each other and with processes in the other Knowledge Areas as well.