TEST-3-Oration Management all terms-by ME

Question 15. The EF of an activity is the -ES + Activity time. -Min{LS of all immediate following activities}. -LF-Activity time. -Max{EF of all immediate predecessors}.

Correct Answer: ES + Activity time. INCORRECT. This is the LF.

Which of the following is the universal business language most often utilized managing global projects? a. French b. Spanish c. English d. Chinese

D

CPM

If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have the same duration.

The estimated mean time for an activity with a most likely time (m) equal to 11 days, the optimistic time (a) equal to 6 days, and the pessimistic time (b) equal to 18 days is a. 9.67 days. b. 11 days. c. 11.33 days. d. 11.67 days.

C

The estimated mean time for an activity with a most likely time (m) equal to 12 weeks, an optimistic time (a) equal to 9 weeks, and a pessimistic time (b) equal to 18 weeks is a. 13.0 weeks. b. 12.75 weeks. c. 12.5 weeks. d. 9.0 weeks.

C

The longest path through a project network is referred to as the a. activity-on-node path. b. path of greatest slack. c. critical path. d. noncritical path

C

Using Table 9.1, the amount of slack associated with activity C is a. 0 weeks. b. 3 weeks. c. 6 weeks. d. cannot be calculated

C

Gantt charts

timeline for each activities but not adequately interrelationships of activities.

A ______________ breaks down a project into components, subcomponents, activities, and tasks. a. work breakdown structure (WBS) b. scope statement c. responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) d. organizational breakdown structure (OBS)

A

A(n) _______________ is a project team structure that includes members from different functional areas. a. matrix organization b. project network c. organizational breakdown structure d. work breakdown structure

A

For activities on a project's critical path a. earliest start time (ES) equals latest start time (LS). b. earliest start time (ES)is greater than latest start time (LS). c. earliest start time (ES) is less than latest start time (LS). d. earliest start time (ES) equals latest finish time (LF).

A

In general, the earliest finish time for an activity is equal to a. earliest start time + activity time estimate. b. earliest start time - activity time estimate. c. earliest start time - slack time. d. earliest start time + slack time

A

One disadvantage of Gantt charts, especially for large projects, is that it does not a. clearly show precedence relationships. b. indicate activity start times. c. indicate activity finish times. d. use bars to represent activities.

A

The _______________ is a document that provides a common understanding, justification, and expected result for a project. a. statement of work b. work breakdown structure c. scope statement. d. responsibility assignment matrix

A

The _______________ probability distribution is typically used to describe uncertain activity times in a project. a. beta b. normal c. binomial d. exponential

A

The following table of probabilistic time estimates (in weeks) and activity predecessors are provided for a project. TIME(WEEKS) ACTIVITY A M B ACTIVITY PREDEC A 3 5 7 -- B 4 8 10 A C 2 3 5 A D 6 9 12 B,C E 5 9 15 D Table 9.2 62. Using Table 9.2, the expected time to complete activity A is a. 5.00 weeks. b. 7.33 weeks. c. 7.67 weeks. d. 8.00 weeks.

A

Using Table 9.1, the latest start (LS) time for activity B is a. 5 weeks. b. 8 weeks. c. 13 weeks. d. 14 weeks.

A

Using Table 9.2, the probability that the project will take longer than 33 weeks to complete is approximately a. 0.19. b. 0.32. c. 0.68. d. 0.81.

A

For an activity-on-node (AON) network a. arrows represent activities and nodes represent events. b. nodes represent activities and arrows indicate precedence relationships. c. arrows represent events and nodes indicate precedence relationships. d. nodes indicate precedence relationships and arrows indicates the length of the activity time.

B

In general, the latest finish time for an activity is equal to a. latest finish time minus the activity time estimate. b. the minimum of the latest start times for the activities that immediately follow. c. the maximum of the latest start times for the activities that immediately follow. d. the average of the latest start times for the activities that immediately follow.

B

In project management the term slack refers to the amount of time a. to complete an activity without delaying the project. b. an activity can be delayed without delaying the project. c. needed to complete the entire project. d. required to complete the project's critical activities.

B

The estimated variance for an activity with a most likely time (m) equal to 11 days, the optimistic time (a) equal to 6 days , and the pessimistic time (b) equal to 18 days is a. 2 days. b. 4 days. c. 6 days. d. 11 days.

B

Using Table 9.1, the earliest start time for activity F is a. 30 weeks. b. 20 weeks. c. 14 weeks. d. 13 weeks.

B

Using Table 9.1, the time complete the entire project is a. 20 weeks. b. 30 weeks. c. 36 weeks. d. 39 weeks.

B

Using Table 9.2, how much slack is associated with activity C? a. 0 weeks. b. 4.50 weeks. c. 12.67 weeks. d. 31.00 weeks.

B

Using Table 9.2, the earliest finish time for activity C is a. 5.00 weeks. b. 8.17 weeks. c. 9.50 weeks. d. 12.67 weeks.

B

Using Table 9.2, the earliest start (ES) time for activity D is a. 8.17 weeks. b. 12.67 weeks. c. 18.33 weeks. d. 21.67 weeks.

B

Using Table 9.2, the variance of the project's total completion time is a. 5.472 . b. 5.222 . c. 4.872 . d. 3.752 .

B

Using Table 9.3, the earliest start (ES) time for activity B is a. 5 days. b. 6 days. c. 11 days. d. 14 days.

B

Using Table 9.3, the latest start (LS) time for activity D is a. 8 days. b. 11 days. c. 19 days. d. 12 days.

B

Using Table 9.3, the time to complete the entire project would be a. 23 days. b. 19 days. c. 17 days. d. 11 days.

B

Which of the following is not a general characteristic of a project? a. a project has a unique purpose b. a project has more certainty c. a project has more uncertainty d. a project often draws resources from various areas in the organization

B

PERT optimistic

is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.

PERT critical activities

CA Only contribute to the project variance.

Project

temporary and customization

What is the probability that a project with a mean completion time of 23.9 days and a variance of 6 days will be finished in 26 days? 0.80 0.20 0.63 0.37

Correct Answer: 0.80. 26-23.9/sq root of 6 =.85. Use chart .3023+.5 =.80 INCORRECT. Use the other half of the normal curve.

Question 12. Activities A and B are both 6 days long and the only immediate predecessors to activity C. Activity A has ES=8 and LS=8 and activity B has ES=7 and LS=10. What is the ES of activity C? 14 13 16 15

Correct Answer: 14 8+6=14. 7+6=13. INCORRECT. Activity B is not on the critical path.

Question 10. An activity has an optimistic time of 15 days, a most likely time of 18 days, and a pessimistic time of 27 days. What is its expected time? 20 days 19 days 18 days 60 days

Correct Answer: 19 days. (15+4(18)+27)/6 INCORRECT. This is the sum of all estimates.

Question 11. An activity has an optimistic time of 11 days, a most likely time of 15 days, and a pessimistic time of 23 days. What is its variance? 4 2 15.6 16.33

Correct Answer: 4. ((23-11)/6)sqrd INCORRECT. This is the average of the three estimates.

Which of the following is a direct responsibility of the project manager? -Calculating completion probabilities for all tasks in the project. -Drawing the network diagram. -Making sure that the people assigned to the project receive the motivation, direction, and information needed to do their jobs. -Performing all of the activities in the project.

Correct Answer: Making sure that the people assigned to the project receive the motivation, direction, and information needed to do their jobs. INCORRECT. The project manager is usually not obligated to do all of the work to complete the project.

Question 4. Which of the following is a basic assumption of PERT? -Only critical path activities in the network must be performed. -There is only one complete route from the start of a project to the end of a project. -No activity in the network must be repeated. -Activity completion times are known with certainty.

Correct Answer: No activity in the network must be repeated. There may be many routes from the start to end of a project.

predecessor

ES of an activity that has only one predecessor is simply the EF of that

critical path.

Every network has at least one-if multi CP in same duration we choose the longest path- CP The shortest time to complete pro-Delay in CP activity =delay in project

PERT/CPM

Gantt charts never used with

PERT rule

No activity in the network must be repeated

critical paths

On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration.

Scheduling

One phase of a large project is

Describe at least four of the ethical issues faced in project management.

Project managers may be offered gifts from current contractors or contractors hoping to be selected for work. Other ethical issues include pressure to alter status reports to mask the reality of delays, false reports for charges of time and expenses, pressures to compromise quality to meet bonus or penalty schedules, outright bribery, and bid rigging (divulging confidential information to some bidders to give them an unfair advantage).

What is the probability that this project is completed in 28 days? All activity lengths are given in days. Activity Predecessor Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic A -- 1 2 3 B A 2 4 6 C A 5 8 11 D A 3 4 5 E B 10 14 18 F D 6 8 10 G C, E, F 7 9 13

The routes through the network are ABEG=29.33 days; ACG=19.33 days; and ADFG=23.33 days. Route lengths are obtained by summing the expected times for each activity on the path. The variances for each route are ABEG=3.33; ACG=19.33; and ADFG=23.33. Path variances are computed similar to path lengths; sum the variance of each activity on the path to determine the overall path variance. You cannot add up activity standard deviations to get a path standard deviation, you must work with activity variances. To compute the probability of finishing within 28 days, compute a Z score for the critical path by subtracting the 29.33 from 28 and dividing the result by the standard deviation of path ADFG (the square root of the variance) which is 1.826. The resulting Z-score of -0.73 can be looked up in a normal table to reveal a probability of 0.23. The expected durations and variances for all activities are shown in the table below: Activity Mean Variance A 2 0.11 B 4 0.44 C 8 1 D 4 0.11 E 14 1.78 F 8 0.44 G 9.33 1

pessimistic time

The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is

Q5 Gantt charts are the best tool for showing interrelationships between activities and their resources. True False

Your Answer: False

Q6 The shortest completion time for a project is not the critical path. . True False

Your Answer: False

Q9 Early start (ES) and late start (LS) times are determined for each activity during the forward pass. True False

Your Answer: False

Question 10. The project's standard deviation is the sum of the standard deviations for all critical path activities. True False

Your Answer: False

Question 12. Microsoft Project uses activity on arc representation for network diagrams. True False

Your Answer: False

Question 2. The optimistic time is the greatest amount of time that could be required to complete an activity. True False

Your Answer: False

Question 3. The expected completion time of a PERT project is the sum of the most likely times of the activities on the critical path. True False

Your Answer: False

PERT requires three estimates of activity completion time, while CPM only requires a single estimate. True False

Your Answer: True

Q7 A network diagram drawn in AON style never needs a dummy activity. True False

Your Answer: True

Q8 There is never any slack on the critical path. True False

Your Answer: True

Question 11. The most cost-effective means of crashing a project would be to pay to expedite critical path activities. True False

Your Answer: True

Question 4. Work breakdown structure is the division of a project into more and more detailed components. True False

Your Answer: True

A project's critical path is composed of activities A, B, and C. Activity A has a standard deviation of 2, activity B has a standard deviation of 1, and activity C has a standard deviation of 2. What is the standard deviation of the critical path? 5 25 3 9

Your Answer: 3. 2sq+2sq+1sq=9. Square root of 9 is 3

Question 16. The ethical issue of divulging confidential information to some bidders to give them an unfair advantage is known as bid rigging. bribery. expense account padding. low balling.

Your Answer: bid rigging.

Q3 A dummy activity is required when Open Hint for Question 3 in a new window. -two or more activities have the same starting events. -the network contains two or more activities that have identical starting and ending events. -two or more activities have different ending events. -two or more activities have the same ending events.

Your Answer: the network contains two or more activities that have identical starting and ending events.

A contractor's project being analyzed by PERT has an estimated time for the critical path of 120 days. The sum of all activity variances is 81; the sum of variances along the critical path is 64. The probability that the project will take 130 or more days to complete is a. 0.1056 b. 0.1335 c. 0.8512 d. 0.8943 e. 1.29

a

If an activity whose normal duration is 13 days can be shortened to 10 days for an added cost of $1,500, the crash cost per period is a. $500 b. $750 b. $1,500 d. $13,000 e. $15,000

a

If an activity whose normal duration is 15 days can be shortened to 10 days for an added cost of $2,000, the crash cost per period is a. $400 b. $2,000 c. $10,000 d. $20,000 e. $30,000

a

Which of the following statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is false? a. "Project Crashing" shortens project duration by assigning more resources to critical tasks. b. Crashing sometimes has the reverse result of lengthening the project duration. c. Crashing must consider the impact of crashing an activity on all paths in the network. d. Activities not on the critical path can become critical after crashing takes place. e. All of the above are true.

b

A standard procedure for numerically measuring a project's progress is referred to as a(n) a. program evaluation and review technique (PERT). b. critical path method (CPM). c. Gantt chart. d. earned value analysis.

D

The estimated variance for an activity with a most likely time (m) equal to 12 weeks, an optimistic time (a) equal to 9 weeks, and a pessimistic time (b) equal to 18 weeks is a. 3.75 weeks. b. 1.50 weeks. c. 5.25 weeks. d. 2.25 weeks.

D

The project management process encompasses a. planning. b. scheduling. c. control. d. All of the above

D

Using Table 9.1, the critical path for this project consists of activities a. A-B-C-D-E-F. b. A-C-E-F. c. A-B-C-F. d. A-B-D-F.

D

Using Table 9.2, the variance for activity E is a. 1.291. b. 1.667. c. 2.582. d. 2.778

D

Using Table 9.3, the amount of slack associated with activity C is a. 4 days. b. 3 days. c. 2 days. d. 1 day.

D

Which of the following is NOT a basic element in a project plan? a. Objectives b. Personnel c. Contract requirements d. All the above are basic elements

D

Which of the following statements is generally true regarding the relationship between project crashing costs and indirect costs? a. both crashing costs and indirect costs are highest when the project is shortened b. only indirect costs increase when the project is shortened c. both are unaffected by the length of the project d. crashing costs increase when the project is shortened while indirect costs decrease when the project is shortened

D

Gantt charts are

visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project.

Manager is

coach-communicator-organizer

Project Management

crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network.

A PERT project has 45 activities, 19 of which are on the critical path. The estimated time for the critical path is 120 days. The sum of all activity variances is 64, while the sum of variances along the critical path is 36. The probability that the project can be completed between days 108 and 120 is a. -2.00 b. 0.0227 c. 0.1058 d. 0.4773 e. 0.9773

d

A network has been crashed to the point where all activities are critical. Additional crashing a. is unnecessary b. is impossible c. is prohibitively expensive d. may require crashing multiple tasks simultaneously e. can be done, but all critical tasks must be reduced in duration

d

Contract requirements state that a project must be completed within 180 working days, or it will incur penalties for late completion. Analysis of the activity network reveals an estimated project time of 145 working days with a project variance of 400. What is the probability that the project will be completed before the late-payment deadline? a. 0.0401 b. 0.4599 c. 0.8056 d. 0.9599 e. near 1.0000, or almost certain

d

Divulging information to some bidders on a project to give them an unfair advantage bid rigging

d

Gantt do not

do not illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources

Analysis of a PERT problem shows the estimated time for the critical path to be 108 days with a variance of 64. There is a .90 probability that the project will be completed before approximately day ______. a. 98 b. 108 c. 109 d. 115 e. 118

e

What was the name of the construction project to rebuild the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001? a. Project Panther b. Project Pit Bull c. Project Python d. Project Piranha e. Project Phoenix

e

manager rule

manage people individually and team-commitment-inform stakeholders-agreements-empower-encourage creativity

slack and CP

pinpoint activities that need to be closely watched.

Phases of Project Management

planning, scheduling, and controlling PSC

Gantt Chart

scheduling repetitive operations. schedule resources and allocate time. low-cost means of helping managers make sure that activities are planned

PERT Time Estimates

t = (a + 4m + b)/6.

PERT ,non-critical activities

that have little slack need to be monitored closely because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities

PERT activity analysis

the weighted average of a, m, and b, with m weighted 4 times as heavily as a and b

CPM

All activities on the critical path have their LS equal their predecessor's EF.

Complete this table of activity lengths and early and late start and finish times based on the indicated precedence requirements. All times are in days. Activity Predecessor Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish Length A -- 0 5 B A 11 11 C A 9 14 D B 18 18 7 E B, C 11 15 F D, E 3

Activities A and F must be on the critical path, so their early and late start times must be identical and their early and late finish times must also be identical. Activity A must be 5 days long based on its early start of 0 and early finish of 5 days. Activity B must be critical since its early and late finish times are both 11. Its late start is 5 and late finish is 11, so its duration is 11-5=6. Activity C has an early start of 5 from activity A and an early finish of 9 from the table, so its duration must be 9-5=4, and its late start must be 14-4=10. Activity D has identical early and late finish times, so it is on the critical path. It has a late start of 11 since it follows B, it must also have an early start of 11 since it is critical, which can be confirmed by subtracting its length of 7 from the LS and LF values. Activity E has an early start of 11 and an early finish of 15, so its duration is 15-11=4. Its late finish must be 18, from D's late finish. Activity E has a late start of 18-4=14. Activity F has a duration of 3 and identical early and late starts of 18, so its early and late finish must be 18+3=21. Activity Predecessor Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish Length A -- 0 5 5 0 5 B A 5 11 5 11 6 C A 5 9 10 14 4 D B 11 18 11 18 7 E B,C 11 15 14 18 4 F D,E 18 21 18 21 3

A bar graph displaying when activities are scheduled to start, when they will be finished, and where extra time is available is known as a a. PERT chart. b. work breakdown structure (WBS). c. Gantt chart. d. responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).

C

A project consists of the following activities: Activity Activity Predecessor Time (weeks) A - 5 B A 8 C A 3 D B 7 E C 6 F D,E 10 56. Using Table 9.1, the earliest finish (EF) time for activity D is a. 7 weeks. b. 13 weeks. c. 20 weeks. d. 30 weeks.

C

A project consists of the following four activities with activity times in days: Activity Predecessor Time A R 6 B A 5 C A 4 D B,C 8 Table 9.3 72. Using Table 9.3, the earliest finish (EF) time for activity C is a. 4 days. b. 6 days. c. 10 days. d. 11 days.

C

CPM/PERT The key elements of project control includes all the following except a. time management. b. cost management. c. material management. d. communication.

C

The slack time for an activity can be computed as a. latest start time (LS) - latest finish time (LF). b. earliest start time (ES) + earliest finish time (EF). c. latest start time (LS) - earliest start time (ES). d. latest finish time (LF) + earliest finish time (EF).

C

Using Table 9.2, the critical path for the project consists of activities a. A-B-C-D-E. b. A-B-C-E. c. A-B-D-E. d. A-B-C-D.

C

Using Table 9.2, the expected time to complete the project is a. 34.17 weeks. b. 33.23 weeks. c. 31.00 weeks. d. 21.67 weeks.

C

Using Table 9.2, the probability that the project could be completed in 34 weeks or less is approximately a. 0.86. b. 0.89. c. 0.91. d. 0.96.

C

Using Table 9.3, the critical path for this project is a. A-B-C. b. A-C-D. c. A-B-D. d. A-B-C-D.

C

Which of the following is not used to calculate probabilistic time estimates? a) optimistic b) most likely c) least likely d) pessimistic

C

Question 9. Which of the following is a limitation of PERT and CPM? -There is inherent danger of too much emphasis being placed on the critical path. -They are applicable to only a narrow variety of projects and industries. -They can be used only to monitor schedules. -The graphical nature of a network delays comprehension of the activity list's interrelationships.

Correct Answer: There is inherent danger of too much emphasis being placed on the critical path. INCORRECT. They can be used to monitor schedules and costs, which is an advantage.

Question 8. Dummy activities -cannot be on the critical path. -are used when two activities have identical starting and ending events. -are found in both AOA and AON networks. -have a duration equal to the shortest non-dummy activity in the network.

Correct Answer: are used when two activities have identical starting and ending events. INCORRECT. Dummy activities have no duration.

Question 2. With respect to PERT and CPM, slack -is a task or subproject that must be completed. -is the amount of time a task may be delayed without changing the overall project completion time. -is the latest time an activity can be started without delaying the entire project. -marks the start or completion of a task.

Correct Answer: is the amount of time a task may be delayed without changing the overall project completion time.

The critical path of a network is the Open Hint for Question 6 in a new window. -shortest time path through the network. -path with the fewest activities. -path with the most activities. -longest time path through the network.

Correct Answer: longest time path through the network. INCORRECT. Why would the shortest time path be critical?

Question 1. The three phases involved in the management of large projects are scheduling, designing, operating. scheduling, operating, evaluating. planning, scheduling, evaluating. planning, scheduling, controlling.

Correct Answer: planning, scheduling, controlling.

PERT analysis computes the variance of the total project completion time as - the variance of the final activity of the project. -the sum of the variances of all activities in the project. -the sum of the variances of all activities on the critical path. -the sum of the variances of all activities not on the critical path.

Correct Answer: the sum of the variances of all activities on the critical path. INCORRECT. This is a meaningless number; path variances are meaningful.

Use the crash costs, regular activity durations and precedence requirements in the table to determine the cheapest completion time and cost for this project if the project has a fixed cost of $1000 per day. All activity lengths are given in days. Activity Regular Time Minimum Time $/day crash fee Predecessor A 10 6 $500 -- B 6 5 $300 -- C 2 2 -- B D 4 2 $500 C E 6 3 $600 A F 8 5 $1200 D, E

The two routes through the network are AEF=24 days and BCDF=20 days; so with a duration of 24 days the initial project cost is $24,000. The first time/cost tradeoff should occur on the critical path AEF. The lowest cost per day is activity A at $500. Activity A can be shortened by 4 days for $2000, but this reduces the project by 4 days, saving $4000, for a total gain of $4000-$2000=$2000. Activity F costs more to crash than is saved in fixed costs, so it should not be expedited. Activity E costs $600 per day to expedite, but now the other path (BCDF) must be shortened equivalently. Activity B can be expedited for $300 per day, so the BE combination costs $900 to expedite while saving $1000 in fixed costs. Subsequent reductions in path BCDF in combination with activity E cost more than the $1000 per day fixed cost, so the shortest project is 19 days at a total cost of 19x$1000 (fixed) plus $2000 (activity A) plus $900 (activities B and E) for a total of $21,900.

A local project being analyzed by PERT has 42 activities, 13 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 105 days with a project variance of 25, the probability that the project will be completed in 95 days or less is a. -0.4 b. 0.0228 c. 0.3444 d. 0.9772 e. 4.2

b

A project being analyzed by PERT has 38 activities, 16 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 90 days with a project variance of 25, the probability that the project will be completed in 88 days or less is a. 0.0228 b. 0.3446 c. 0.6554 d. 0.9772 e. 18

b

A project whose critical path has an estimated time of 120 days with a variance of 100 has a 20% chance that the project will be completed before day ______ (rounded to nearest day). a. 98 b. 112 c. 120 d. 124 e. 220

b

Ethical issues p managment

bid rigging expense account padding compromised safety or health standards bribery

A project whose critical path has an estimated time of 820 days with a variance of 225 has a 20% chance that the project will be completed before day ______ (rounded to nearest day). a. 631 b. 689 c. 807 d. 833 e. 1009

c

Which of these statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is true? a. Crashing is not possible unless there are multiple critical paths. b. Crashing a project often reduces the length of long-duration, but noncritical, activities. c. Activities not on the critical path can never be on the critical path, even after crashing. d. Crashing shortens the project duration by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tasks. e. None of the above is true.

d

PERT/CPM

detailed cost breakdowns for each task. cost distribution tables. variance reports.

Project managers

have their own code of ethics, established by the Project Management Institute +quality