Project Management

What's an Organizational Process Asset (OPA)?

Process related assets that can be used to influence a projects success

You have been assigned to manage a project to renovate an office building. You need to determine how the project will be executed to achieve the project objectives. Who should you consult? A.Project manager B.Entire project team including project manager C.Project manager and senior management D.Just the planning department

B. Entire project team including project manager Planning - Integration Management The project management plan is the document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled. It is created by the entire project team, including the PM. Each member of the team should sign off on it, to ensure they are all on the same page.

Your project has just completed the training phase. During a lessons-learned workshop, the finance department contacts you about some details regarding your spending. In addition, they are interested in updating various financial templates for upcoming training projects, and they have asked you to outline the common cost elements they can expect to see on projects. Common project cost elements include which of the following? A. Labor and material B. Labor, material, other direct costs and overhead costs C. People, facility costs, materials, subcontractors D. Labor, materials, other direct costs

B. Labor, material, other direct costs and overhead costs Planning - Cost Management Common project cost categories are labor, material, other direct costs, and overhead costs.

Which method of risk analysis provides the project manager with a risk ranking? A.Quantitative B.Qualitative C.The utility function D.SWOT analysis

B. Qualitative Planning - Risk Management Qualitative risk analysis is a relatively fast and easy method to rank risks. The risk ranking is often shown as high, medium or low for each identified risk. Note that the urgency of the risk is also addressed (how quickly it is approaching).

You are talking with other project managers at a PMI local chapter dinner. The topic of work breakdown structures comes up and there is debate regarding the usefulness of this methodology. Why do projects have a work breakdown structure (WBS)? A. The WBS shows activities of the project. B. The WBS organizes and defines the project scope. C. The WBS identifies areas of the project that require additional planning. D. The WBS identifies the project.

B. The WBS organizes and defines the project scope. Planning - Scope Management The correct answer is B - the WBS organizes and defines the project scope.

You are reviewing the actual costs spent to date as they relate to the costs which were budgeted, and have found that you exceeded the budgeted amounts in many areas. You take the next step to determine what is causing the variances, and how they may be addressed. Which of the following processes are you performing? A. Estimate Costs B.B. Control costs Control costs C. Determine budget D. Earned value management

B.Control costs Monitoring - Cost Management Control Costs involves monitoring cost performance to detect cost variances from the budget and understand what is causing them. It is an ongoing process, and you will refer to the Cost Management Plan for guidance.

You are performing a measurement of a high performance screw to be used in the assembly of a new space rocket. The screw length will be measured and will either be in specification or out of specification. What is this known as? A. Variable sampling B. Statistical sampling C. Attribute sampling D. Binary sampling

C. Attribute sampling Monitoring - Quality Management A) If the measurement is on a continuous scale that measures the degree of conformity, it is known as variable sampling. Thus, choice A is incorrect. B) Statistical sampling is a method of selecting a few outputs from a larger lot to be inspected. Thus, choice B is incorrect. C) When a measurement has only two results - either conforms or does not conform - it is known as attribute sampling. D) There is no such thing as binary sampling, at least not for PMBOK purposes. Thus, choice D is incorrect.

You are the project manager for a large real estate company. You are currently managing a project to help clients buy and sell homes by emphasizing training, compensation, and a creative culture for its brokers. Which of the following is the most likely to be a project deliverable? A. A project charter B. A project status meeting C. A system integration test report D. A variance report

C. A system integration test report Executing - Integration Management Choice C is the best answer. Deliverables are usually a tangible item, but can sometimes be intangible like testing, etc.

Melinda has been the project manager for a multi-year global implementation. Unfortunately, one of the sellers with whom the project contracted had failed to meet contractual objectives. Which of the following may specify procedures for closing out a particular procurement? A. Procurement management plan B. Request for Proposal C. Contract terms and conditions D. Source selection methods

C. Contract terms and conditions Monitoring - Procurement Management Contract terms and conditions will often prescribe procedures for closing out a particular procurement, and should therefore be consulted during closure.

Which process ensures that assigned resources are available as planned? A.Monitor and Control Project Work B.Manage Resources C.Control Resources D.Plan Resource Management

C. Control Resources Monitoring - Resource Management The question asks which process ensures that assigned resources are available. Control Resources is the process of ensuring that the physical resources assigned and allocated to the project are available as planned. Monitor and Control Project Work is focused on integrating information collected by other monitoring and controlling processes. Plan Resource Management provides the framework for resource management. There is no "Manage Resources" process - be careful for made up processes like this.

You know your organization must choose projects that will be the most profitable for the company. This approach to project selection is based on which one of the following? A. Dynamic algorithms B. Opportunity cost C. Economic model D. Pareto diagramming

C. Economic model Initiating - Framework This is a simple economic model of choosing the most profitable project for the organization. Dynamic algorithms are an example of constrained optimization methods. While this question hints at opportunity cost, this is not the best choice. Opportunity costs describe the scenario when an organization has two or more projects to choose from and they can only do one project because of time or limited resources. Pareto diagraming is not a valid option for this question, as it pertains to quality matters.

You are a project manager in a consulting company. Quality is critical for project success. You have had some recent setbacks that you need to control and minimize. You are looking for a method that can demonstrate the relationship between events and their resulting effects. Which of the following is the best choice for accomplishing your objective? A. Histogram B. Pareto diagram C. Ishikawa diagram D. Control chart

C. Ishikawa diagram Monitoring - Quality Management An Ishikawa diagram, also called a cause and effect diagram or fishbone diagram, serves this purpose

A project manager is trying to convince management to use project management standards and has decided to start improving the company's project management process by creating a form project charter. After some push back from the PMO his idea appears to be gaining traction. Which of the following best describes why the project charter is needed? A. It describes the details of what needs to be done B. It lists the names of all team members C. It gives the project manager authority to influence resources D. It defines the project's scope in detail

C. It gives the project manager authority to influence resources Initiating - Integration Management The Project Charter is the authorizing document to initiate project. The Project charter gives the project manager her authority to carry out the work necessary to complete the project.

Your project expenses have been well above baseline for the past 3 months. You are interested in determining the root cause of the variance in your project financials. You have begun by looking at your direct costs to see if any key items stand out. A direct cost to a project could be ____? A.Corporate salaries B.Office cooling devices C.Materials D.Health insurance for company employees

C. Materials Planning - Cost Management Raw material is the only item that is likely to be a direct cost, meaning it is directly attributable to the project work. Corporate salaries, office cooling devices, and health insurance are known as general, indirect or overhead costs

To have a legally binding contract, which of the following items must be present? A. Offer and Consideration B. Offer and Acceptance C. Offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity by both parties to contract, and a legal purpose D. A meeting of the minds

C. Offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity by both parties to contract, and a legal purpose Planning - Procurement Management The elements of a binding contract are an offer, acceptance of the offer, consideration (exchange of value, i.e. money, goods or services), capacity by both parties to contract, and a legal purpose.

You are working on outlining procedures for staff acquisition and release, training, rewards and compliance as they pertain to your project team. Where will you document these procedures? A. Resource requirements B. Roles and responsibility charts C. Resource management plan D. Staffing requirements

C. Resource management plan

During the execution of your project, you are aware it is imperative to communicate and work with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations and foster their involvement. Feedback you have been receiving in the form of formal and informal conversations and meetings leads you to seek advice in understanding stakeholder reaction. The best person or group to assist would be? A. The project team B. The project management committee C. The project management team D. Steering committee

C. The project management team Executing - Communications Management The project management team is usually composed of leaders who work with the project manager in planning project activities and stakeholder engagement. The project team are the ones who perform the work of the project. This is not the job of the steering committee. There is no such thing as a project management committee.

You are in charge of the PMO at a consulting services company. You are creating a lunch-and-learn training session on Procurement, and it will include a section on contract negotiations. You want to make sure your junior project managers understand contract negotiations and the role that they play. For your content, what is the most important thing to focus on in contract negotiations? A. To negotiate the best price possible for your project. B. To maintain the integrity of the scope. C. To negotiate a deal that both parties are comfortable with. D. To make sure legal counsel or the contract administrator has approved your negotiating points.

C. To negotiate a deal that both parties are comfortable with.

You are the project manager for a seller who has been selected to construct an industrial kitchen for a large food service company. Before the contract negotiations, the buyer confides in you that design is not finalized, and they want you to begin work with incomplete specifications. What type of contract should you ask for in negotiations? A. Fixed price B. Cost plus incentive fee C. Time and materials D. Cost plus fixed fee

C.Time and materials Executing - Procurement Management The correct answer is choice C. The major clue here is that the scope of work is not completely defined and they want you to begin work anyway. In that case, the project is at a higher risk, and a time and materials contract shifts much of that risk back to the buyer.

You are the project manager for a large health care organization. You have been assigned a project to develop a new system for a hospital your firm recently acquired. You are working through the Resource Management knowledge area and are reviewing the Resource management plan. Which of the following should be included in this document? A. Staff acquisition, specific activities that they will work on, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance and safety B. Organizational chart, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance and safety C. RACI matrix, organizational chart, roles & responsibilities, resource calendars D. Staff acquisition and release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance and safety matters

D. Staff acquisition and release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance and safety matters Planning - Resource Management The resource management plan includes staff acquisition and release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, and compliance and safety matters

All of the following statements are true regarding the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) except for which one? A. The RBS is contained in the risk management plan. B. It describes risk categories, which are a systematic way to identify risks and provide a foundation for understanding for everyone involved in the project. C. The lowest level of the RBS can be used as a checklist, which is a tool and technique of the Identify Risk process. D. The RBS is similar to the WBS in that the lowest level of both are assigned to a responsible party or owner as soon as it is identified.

D. The RBS is similar to the WBS in that the lowest level of both are assigned to a responsible party or owner as soon as it is identified. Planning - Risk Management The RBS describes risk categories and the lowest level can be used as a checklist to help identify risks. Risk owners are not assigned from the RBS; they're assigned during the Plan Risk Response process.

A manufacturing project has a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.89 and a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.91. Generally speaking, what would be the best explanation for why this occurred? A. The scope was changed. B. A supplier went out of business and a new one needed to be found. C. Additional equipment was needed. D. A critical path activity took longer and needed more labor hours to complete than was expected.

D. A critical path activity took longer and needed more labor hours to complete than was expected. Monitoring - Cost Management To answer this question, you must look for a choice that would require more time and cost more. If you picked choice A, reread it. Though it would take time to handle the event described in choice B, the impacted activity might not be on the critical path, and thus might not affect time. Choice C would definitely add cost, but not necessarily time. Only choice D would negatively affect both time and cost.

You are the project manager in a health care company. Your organization is risk adverse. Your project team has completed identifying risks, ranking them, and planning responses to critical risks and secondary risks. What is the next step to be performed by the project manager? A. Completing the risk management plan B. Create responses to residual risks C. Create Risk Breakdown Structure D. Determining contingency reserves

D. Determining contingency reserves Planning - Risk Management Choice A is incorrect, because the risk management plan has already been created at this point. Choice B is incorrect, because you do not generally create responses for residual risks. Choice C is incorrect, because the risk breakdown structure is defined previously in the risk management plan. The correct answer is D, you would next determine contingency reserves.

You have discovered numerous quality defects on your project. You decide to create an Ishikawa diagram to do which of the following? A. Facilitate design of experiments B. Complete statistical analysis of defects C. Priorities the order of problems D. Perform cause-and-effect analysis

D. Perform Cause & Effect Analysis Monitoring - Quality Management An Ishikawa diagram (aka Fishbone Diagram or Cause and Effect Diagram) facilitates cause-and-effect analysis. It lists many potential factors which may be causing a particular outcome, and is heavily used in quality management.

You are in the planning stage of a large project that is scheduled to go live 18 months from now. You have determined how many teams must be established and the roles and responsibilities of the team members. The number of team members currently exceeds 100. You are trying to determine the most efficient way to utilize these team members and determine which resources will be needed at which times. Which document will you now be creating and updating to record this? A. Org Chart B. WBS C. Roles and Responsibilities Matrix D. Resource Management Plan

D. Resource Management Plan Planning - Resource Management A Resource Management Plan is used, among other things, to document which resources will be used at which times. The organizational chart shows the reporting relationship of team members, the WBS shows the work breakdown (not who is performing the work). The Roles and Responsibilities Matrix shows the Roles, Authority, Responsibilities and Competencies on the project, but would not necessarily address when the resources are needed.

You are working with the project team to create the WBS. Your project team can't break down the WBS any further. You and the team elect to break down these elements/items later in the project as more details become available. This approach to creating the WBS is also known as what? A. Decomposition B. Progressive elaboration C. Parkinson's law D. Rolling-wave planning

D. Rolling Wave Planning Planning - Scope Management Rolling wave planning involves fine-tuning the project plans in incremental steps, as you proceed further along in the project planning process and more information is known.

The late start of the successor activity is 12 and the early start of the predecessor activity is 2. The duration for this activity is 8. What is the late start of this activity? A. 4 B. 10 C. 6 D. 14

A. 4 Planning - Schedule Management Use backward pass to calculate the late start (Successor Activity Late Start - Duration of Current Activity = Late Start of Current Activity). Therefore 12 - 8 = 4.

When negotiating with functional managers for resources, you should consider personal characteristics, competency levels, and availability of the potential team members. Which of the following processes describes negotiations accurately? A. A tool and technique of Acquire Resources B. A tool and technique of Plan Resource Management C. A tool and technique of Develop Team D. A tool and technique of Management of Resources

A. A tool and technique of Acquire Resources Executing - Resource Management Negotiations are a tool and technique of the Acquire Resources process. The resource management plan will help you with the negotiations, because you should consider things such as competency levels, availability, and personal characteristics when negotiating with functional managers for resources.

You are the project manager in a large international aerospace company. Your projects are long and complex. You often have multiple sponsors and you have frequent change requests. To complicate matters you are funded by the government which has established strict schedule adherence policies to ensure payment. All of the following are addressed by the configuration management system except for which one? A. Change control system results and version control management B. Identification of deliverables and specifications C. Status accounting D. Verification and auditing

A. Change control system results and version control management Monitoring - Integration Management The three activities associated with configuration management include configuration identification, configuration status accounting, and configuration verification and auditing.

Which of the following best describes control charts? A. Graphic displays of process data over time, shown relative to established control limits B. Graphic tools used to uncover the source of variations C. Tools used to document the relationship between 2 variables D. Tools used to assist the project sponsor during the Validate Scope process

A. Graphic displays of process data over time, shown relative to established control limits Monitoring - Quality Management Control charts are a graphical display of process data over time and showed against established control limits. Control charts show defects, but inspection actually detects them.

Procurement documents seek responsive information from which party? A. Seller B. Procurements Director C. Buyer D. Sponsor

A. Seller

You have prepared a risk response plan for a particular risk event, however, the response cannot eliminate the impact of the occurrence completely. Which of the following describes the impact of the risk which remains, notwithstanding your response plan? A. Residual risk B. Secondary risk C. Acceptance D. Mitigation

A.Residual risk Planning - Risk Management Residual risk is the risk that remains even after you have implemented your response plan.

Alejandro is a world renowned art curator. He has been building out a WBS for his latest upcoming unveiling, and because of the global nature of the art collection for the museum, his project sponsor has requested that work be broken down by geographical location. As he considers all the scope elements involved and the locations that may apply, he begins the process of decomposition as a means to honor the sponsor request. Which of the following best describes decomposition? A. Waiting for a deliverable to finish so that it can be broken down into smaller tasks B. Taking a deliverable and breaking it down into the smaller work packages so that it can be better organized and planned C. Categorizing work packages D. Dividing work packages into deliverables that can be planned for.

B. Taking a deliverable and breaking it down into the smaller work packages so that it can be better organized and planned Planning - Scope Management Decomposition is the main tool used to create the WBS. It simply means breaking the work down into smaller and smaller components based on how your company does the work.

All of the following are true regarding the project charter, except for which one? A. The project charter is an official, written acknowledgement and recognition that a project exists. B. The project charter should be published under the name of the project manager. C. The project charter should be published under the name of a manager external to the project team. D. The project charter gives the project manager authority to assign organizational resources to the work of the project

B. The project charter should be published under the name of the project manager. Initiating - Integration Management Per the PMBOK Guide, the project charter should be published under the name of a manager external to the project team, which excludes the project manager. According to the PMBOK, the sponsor is considered to be external to the project team, and the charter is usually published under his or her name. The remaining answers (A, C, and D) all correctly describe elements of the project charter.

Your lead engineer estimates that a work package will most likely require 50 weeks to complete. It could be completed in 40 weeks if all goes perfectly, but it could also take 180 weeks in the worst case. What is the PERT estimate for the expected duration of the work package (using the traditional Beta distribution)? A. 65 weeks B. 70 weeks C. 75 weeks D. 80 weeks

B. 70 weeks Planning - Schedule Management PERT (using beta distribution) = (O + P + 4ML) / 6, (40 + 180 + 4*50) / 6; 420 / 6 = 70

This output of the Define Activities process should contain all the scheduling activities that will be performed for the project, with a scope of work description of each activity and an identifier code. A. Milestone List B. Activity List C. WBS Dictionary D. Resource Calendar

B. Activity List Planning - Schedule Management The Activity List contains all the activities of the project and a description of each activity. The Milestone List is an output of Define Activities, however, it outlines major accomplishments and documents whether the milestones are mandatory or optional. The remaining choices are not outputs of the Define Activities process.

You are planning your procurements and must find a seller that has a unique skill set, but who can also perform the work within the budget you have established. Unfortunately, there seems to be rather few sellers in your immediate area who are capable of performing the work, and thus your options seem somewhat limited. Which of the following should you use to help ensure you get the maximum number of responses to your invitation for bid? A. Bidders conference B. Advertising C. Letter of intent D. Single source order

B. Advertising Executing - Procurement Management You may employ advertisements in newspapers, magazines, trade journals or other mediums to help reach a broader group of potential sellers.

You are the project manager for a large retail company. You are currently managing a project to create an online grocery delivery service that sells nonperishable food items and household goods. You will be focusing on lower income households so you must be incredibly accurate with your activity estimating. Three ways to estimate the project costs are ____? A. Analogous, bottom-up, activity based costing B. Bottom-up, Parametric, or Analogous C. Level staffing cost, Monte Carlo, Bottom-up D. Analogous, Monte Carlo, Resource planning

B. Bottom-up, Parametric, or Analogous Planning - Cost Management Three methods of estimating costs are bottom up, parametric, and analogous estimating. Other methods include three-point estimates and expert judgment.

You are the project manager for a large utilities company. You are currently managing a project to significantly renovate an existing facility. Numerous options and ideas have been considered and you have finalized a Scope. Which of the following tools and techniques would you use to create a WBS? A. Organizational Process Assets, Project scope statement, and Project Scope management plan B. Decomposition C. WBS templates D. WBS dictionary, scope baselines, project scope management plan, and request changes

B. Decomposition Planning - Scope Management Decomposition and Expert Judgment are tools used during the Create WBS process to divide the total project scope into more manageable components.

Which of the following processes is concerned with identifying and documenting the specific activities required to produce the project deliverables? A.Define Scope B.Define Activities C.Create WBS D.Collect requirements

B. Define Activities Planning - Scope Management Identifying and documenting specific activities that must be performed to meet the project deliverables is known as Define Activities. It is an extension of the WBS, but is not part of that process.

You are the project manager on a large domestic utility project. You are working with your team to define your project and document your scope. You feel relatively comfortable about the scope but are concerned that you may have trouble completing the project on time. Which of the following processes results in an Activities List? A. Define scope B. Define activities C. Develop schedule D. Collect requirements

B. Define activities Planning - Schedule Management The Define Activities process uses decomposition of work packages to come up with a list of all activities on a project.

During Planning, you and your team performed risk analysis for your new product. One of the risks you identified, and for which you devised a mitigation, was the possibility of a shortage of a precious metal your product requires. That shortage has now occurred, and you must implement the risk response. You realize that in order to perform the response, you will need project documents that include the risk register, risk report and the: A. Overall risk report B. Lessons learned register C. Issue log D. Risk analysis matrix

B. Lessons learned register Executing - Risk Management While it may not seem like the obvious choice, the lessons learned register can be quite useful as the lessons learned in earlier phases can be applied in later phases. The issue log is an output of Direct and Manage Project Work, as well as a common document we find under 'Project documents updates' for various processes. Answer choices A and D do not exist. Watch out for made-up names that sound right. If you know your documents, you cannot get those wrong.

You're using techniques such as value engineering, value analysis and quality function deployment. What tool and technique of Define Scope are you utilizing? A. Benefit/cost analysis B. Product analysis C. Earned value analysis D. Benchmarking

B. Product Analysis Planning - Scope Management Product analysis is a tool and technique of Define Scope which uses techniques such as product breakdown analysis, systems engineering, value engineering, value analysis, function analysis, and quality function deployment, all in an effort to integrate the requirements most effectively into a deliverable.

ou are working on your Resource Management plan and are focusing specifically on the staffing management plan component. The HR department has just sent you the latest policy regarding on-boarding union employees onto your project along with helpful information about union organizational hierarchies, financial compensation constraints and work hour limits, and the locations of various employee skills databases. Which of the following should be addressed in the resource management plan? A. Technical capabilities B. Rewards and recognition C. Communications methods D. Reporting structure

B. Rewards and recognition Planning - Resource Management Rewards and recognition are important factors in project team motivation, and should be outlined in the resource management plan (along with things like hiring and release policies, safety, training, compliance with union regulations and pertinent laws, etc.).

You have taken over a project from a colleague who has moved to another department. One of the first issues you need to address is the concern of stakeholders not receiving timely reporting, leading them to make decisions based on faulty information. In order to best understand stakeholder expectations, the first thing you should do is: A. Ask the sponsor to communicate with key stakeholders B. Consult the Communications Management Plan C. Call an emergency meeting with key stakeholders D. Consult the Stakeholder Management Plan

B.Consult the Communications Management Plan Planning - Communications Management While this is an important issue, this not an emergency and there is no reason to call an emergency meeting or to involve the sponsor. The Communications management plan will provide information about stakeholders' needs, requirements, and expectations. There is no such document as the stakeholder management plan, this is an excellent example of a distractor answer loosely referring to the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

You are the project manager for a large food and beverage company. You are currently managing a project which distributes and imports craft beer, mead, and cider. You have a critical payment milestone that needs to be in your schedule. To make this important event more easily managed, you might place which dependency on it? A. Start no later than B. Mandatory start C. Finish no later than D. Resource leveling

C. Finish no later than Planning - Schedule Management Finish no later than may be used to ensure an important date is hit.

You are the project manager of a huge multinational project, which will span four continents around the world. You will need to consider all of the following characteristics of the international and political environment except for which one? A.International, national, regional and local laws B.Customs C.Customers D.Holidays

C. Customers Planning - Integration Management Customers are not part of the international and political environment. A, B, and D are part of this environment and must be accounted for during the planning and other processes.

You are the project manager for a manufacturing company that specializes in the production of telescopes. You are managing a project that will create a lens that is 3x as powerful and is the same cost of current lenses. You must ensure that the production has minimal defects and your company is ISO 9001 certified. Which of the following is not an input to the Manage Quality process? A. Project management plan B. Quality metrics C. Deliverables D. Quality control measurements

C. Deliverables Initiating - Quality Management Deliverables are not an input to the Manage Quality process; they are an input to the Control Quality process.

A project manager in Detroit is having difficulty getting the engineers in his company's Detroit office to complete design documents for his project. He has sent numerous requests to the VP of Engineering (also in Detroit) for assistance in getting the design documents, but so far his efforts have been unsuccessful. What kind of organization does this project manager work in? A. Strong Matrix B. Tight matrix C. Functional D. Projectized

C. Functional Executing - Resource Management The clue to this question is the project manager's low authority, which implies a functional organization. The PM must appeal to the head of the engineering department rather than making his request directly to the team members. In both a strong matrix and projectized organization, the project manager would have sufficient authority to directly manage the engineers. A tight matrix refers to co-location of a project team.

Manage Communications ensures timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management, monitoring and ultimate disposition of project information. The key benefit of this process is: A. It is a documented approach to effectively and efficiently engage stakeholders by presenting relevant information in a timely manner. B. It provides the optimal information flow as defined in the communications management plan and the stakeholder engagement plan. C. It enables an efficient and effective information flow between the team and stakeholders. D. It provides the optimal information flow as defined in the communications management plan and the stakeholder communications plan.

C. It enables an efficient and effective information flow between the team and stakeholders. Executing - Communications Management Answer A is the key benefit of Plan Communications and Answer B is the key benefit of Monitor Communications. D is very close to C but be careful. There is no such thing as the stakeholder communications plan.

A risk management technique which simulates the combined effects of individual project risks to evaluate their potential impact on achieving project objectives is known as: A.Sensitivity analysis B.Decision tree analysis C.Monte Carlo analysis D.Regression analysis

C. Monte Carlo Analysis Planning - Risk Management Monte Carlo analysis uses a computer model to run iterations of input values chosen at random, producing probability distributions and probabilistic branches that provide a range of possible outcomes for the project. Sensitivity analysis determines which individual project risks have the most potential impact on project outcomes. Decision tree is a diagramming and calculation technique for evaluating the implications of a chain of multiple options. Regression analysis is an analytical technique where input variables are examined in relation to output variables to develop a statistical relationship.

You are managing a project which has a large group of stakeholders, a large project team, and a complex set of deliverables. There have been numerous changes made, and you want to make sure you are properly tracking all changes and communicating them as effectively as possible, while also making sure only approved changes are implemented. Which of the following will be most useful for you to utilize in this regard? A. Change Log B. Change Control Board C. Project Management Information System D. Communication management plan

C. Project Management Information System Monitoring - Scope Management A PMIS assists the project manager in nearly all phases of the project, but will be especially useful in managing and communicating changes, especially with a large project team.

You are holding a weekly status meeting with stakeholders and are going through the to-do list and a list of actions items from the previous meeting. Some of the stakeholders are completely unaware of these actions items and start raising concern about how they suddenly appeared. Upon further questioning you realize that these stakeholders were absent during the last meeting due to scheduling conflicts. Which of these statements would best describe what should have been done to prevent this misunderstanding? A. You should have updated the Work Breakdown Structure with the follow-up tasks from the last meeting. B. You should have sent out an agenda prior to the meeting to clearly point out what the action items were from the previous meeting. C. You should have sent out meeting minutes after the last meeting to all stakeholders that were invited (whether or not they attended). D. You should have briefed the stakeholders that did not attend the last meeting just prior to the start of this meeting

C. You should have sent out meeting minutes after the last meeting to all stakeholders that were invited (whether or not they attended). Executing - Communications Management As part of effective communication, the project manager should always send out meeting minutes after a meeting to prevent occurrences such as this. That way anyone not in attendance will have an understanding of what was discussed so there are no surprises.

You are a project manager in a weak matrixed organization. A new functional manager seems to be confused regarding the difference between projects and operations, and has asked for your input. Which of the following would not be applicable to projects in weak matrixed organizations? A. Constrained by limited resources B. Planned, executed and controlled according to stakeholder needs C. Creates a unique product or service D. Led by the functional manager since it is a weak matrixed organization

D. Led by the functional manager since it is a weak matrixed organization Initiating - Framework A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. "Temporary" means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end, as opposed to operations, which are ongoing. A project is also constrained by limited resources and it is planned, executed and controlled. Answer D is the correct answer here because who manages the project does not determine if it is a project or not, regardless of the organizational structure.

You are a project manager for a major telecommunications network upgrade with a NPV of $1,000,000. You are heavily dependent on a third party vendor for your project and your contract office informs you that there is a 30% chance that the vendor will go out of business at the end of the quarter. If that occurs, your project will incur a $300,000 cost overrun due to rework. There is also a 30% chance that new legislation will pass that will decrease government oversight of your team's work. If this legislation passes, you estimate that your project will save $160,000 in time delays. Lastly, your technical lead indicates that there is a 20% chance that a new software package will be available by month's end that could save $180,000 in testing time. If available, the software will cost $50,000 to procure and install. What is the total expected monetary value? A.$164,000 B.$1,000,000 C.$990,000 D.($16,000)

D. ($16,000) Planning - Risk Management The formula for expected monetary value (EMV) is probability times impact. You first calculate the EMV for each event, then add them up to get the project EMV. Event 1: 30% x -300,000 = -90,000; Event 2: 30% x 160,000 = 48,000; Event 3: 20% x (180,000 - 50,000) = 26,000; EMV = -90,000 + 48,000 + 26,000; EMV = -16,000. Note that for risk event 3 we summed the impact first, then multiplied by the probability.

Your company just won a major new project. It will begin in three months and is valued at $72,600,000. You are the project manager for an existing project. What is the first thing you should do once you hear of the new project? A. Ask management how the new project will use resources B. Resource level your project C. Crash your project D. Ask management how the new project will affect your project

D. Ask management how the new project will affect your project Executing - Integration Management As you work on a project you need to constantly reevaluate the project objectives and how the project relates to other concurrent projects. Is your project still in line with corporate objectives? If the other project will impact yours, you need to be proactive and work on options now.

You are a project manager for a small start-up company. You have a tight budget and your organization needs to delivery your project on time. Also your organization leadership is risk averse. You need to brief your sponsor on how much work has been completed so far. Which of the following would best indicate the percentage of the planned work completed to date? A. AC / BAC B. EAC / BAC C. EV - AC D. EV / BAC

D. EV / BAC Monitoring - Cost Management AC = Actual cost of work performed. EAC = Estimate at Completion. BAC = Budget at Completion EV = Budgeted cost of work performed. EV/BAC indicates the ratio of budgeted cost of work performed to budgeted cost of total work. Therefore, this would give you the best indicator of how much of the planned work you have completed. AC/BAC is not relevant as it is a ratio of "actual costs" to "budget at completion"; it does not indicate value earned. Thus, choice A is incorrect. EAC/BAC would indicate projected performance with respect to the original budget. Thus, choice B is incorrect. EV - AC is cost variance. Thus, choice C is incorrect.

You are the project manager and have decided during one of your planning meetings that it would be helpful to develop risk categories as a way to systematically identify risks. You have determined that the best way to document the categories of risk is to develop a risk breakdown structure. In which process do you create the Risk Breakdown Structure? A. Identify Risk B. Plan Risk Response C. Perform Qualitative Analysis D. Plan Risk Management

D. Plan Risk Management Planning - Risk Management A) Choice A is incorrect. Identify Risk involves determining which risks might affect the project and documenting their characteristics. The RBS is not created at this stage. B) Choice B is incorrect as Plan Risk Response develops procedures and techniques to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives. C) Choice C is incorrect. Performing qualitative analysis of risks allows the project team to prioritize the effects of risks on project objectives by assessing their probability of occurrence and impact. D) The RBS is part of the Risk Management Plan. The RBS helps you to see how risks fit into categories so you can organize your risk analysis and response planning.