EXAM PREP:

PLEASE POINT OUT THE ANSWERS I GOT WRONG AND PROVIDE THE RIGHT ANSWERS TO THEM: Mycurrent score is 20/25

1. A project manager is estimating the project duration and finds that the only information available to him is a previous project that was quite different from the current one. However, some portions of the previous project were similar to the current one. Which of the following tools is the project manager likely to use?

a. Three-point estimates

b. PERT

c. Parametric estimates

d. Analogue estimating (MY Answer)

2. A technique that iterates the project schedule many times to calculate a distribution of possible project completion dates is called:

a. Pareto cost analysis

b. Deming analysis

c. Monte carlo analysis (MY Answer)

d. Monteford analysis

3. In a finish-to-start relationship between predecessor and successor activities, a project manager decides to schedule a successor activity five days before its predecessor is complete. This is accomplished by providing five days of:

a. Load

b. Fast tracking

c. Lag

d. Lead (MY Answer)

4. Lag means

a. The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor.

b. The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date.

c. Waiting time(MY Answer)

d. The product of a forward and backward pass.

5. What is the best method of estimating time for an activity that has never been done by your company before?

a. Parametric analysis

b. Three point estimating(MY Answer)

c. Monte Carlo analysis

d. Analogous estimating

6. Which of the following is correct?

a. Fast tracking will result in fewer parallel activities than crashing the project.

b. Fast tracking often results in rework, and crashing often results in increased cost.(MY Answer)

c. Crashing always shorten the timeline but often increase risk.

d. Crashing is only a viable alternative if earned value analysis indicates that the project is ahead of schedule and under budget.

7. Which of these is accurate regarding the Develop Schedule process?

a. The critical path method is a schedule network analysis technique that is performed using the schedule model. (MY Answer)

b. Schedules are optimized such that all non-critical path activities have a zero total float.

c. Schedule network analysis is a technique that is carried out once the schedule is approved.

d. Schedule compression shortens the project schedule while changing the project scope.

8. A project manager for a global business expansion project lost a key resource on the project due to sudden illness. The resource is expected to recover in three weeks. Luckily the resource needs to start working on a deliverable exactly after three weeks. What is the BEST option for the project manager?

a. Take no action. Just keep in touch with the resource. (MY Answer)

b. Call the resource and let him know the importance of getting back on time

c. Immediately ask for a replacement resource

d. Add a three week contingency to the project schedule to cover up for absence.

9. A project manager working on highway extension project finds out that noise barriers are required to be approved by the provincial highway authority before the work can proceed. The company does have a defined process and forms to go through the approval process. This defined process can be called as _______.

a. Enterprise environmental factor

b. A project (MY Answer)

c.. Government requirement

d. A program

10. A work breakdown structure was created for the auto parts plant manufacturing project. The team reached a point where they were able to identify 75 work packages. The work package information was sent to various departments for review. All departments were content with the level of detail for their work package but the stores department objected that the work packages are too high level and should be subdivided into smaller manageable packages so that accurate estimate can be prepared and detailed schedule can be developed. The team identified a technique to fulfill this request. Which technique is it?

a. Analogue estimating followed by parametric estimating

b. Rolling wave planning(MY Answer)

c. Work package by type of resource instead by department

d. Discretionary planning

11. An organization uses a desktop scheduling software for project scheduling. What would be this software considered as?

a. Integrated change control system

b. Project management office(MY Answer)

c. Enterprise Environmental factor

d. Organizational process asset

12. One of the resources on your project asks you that she has been assigned two tasks that have a 5 days lag between them and have a start-to-start relationship. What does that mean?

a. Successor task will start 5 days after the predecessor task finishes

b. Successor task will start 5 days after the predecessor task starts(MY Answer)

c. Successor task will start 5 days before the predecessor task finishes

d. Successor task will finish 5 days after the predecessor task starts

13. The project schedule that you had submitted to the customer is not acceptable because the product delivery date is two months farther out than what the customer wants. Your company has a deep expertise in the subject area and several more resources are available that can be engaged by the project. What will you do?

a. Estimate activity resources.

b. Resource leveling

c. Fast track the project schedule

d. Crash the project schedule (MY Answer)

14. What is the advantage the precedence diagramming method has over other network techniques?

a. It is the most commonly used technique

b. It provides a graphical view of dependencies among activities(MY Answer)

c. It shows the project start and finish dates

d. It shows the project progress at any point in time

15. When will the parametric estimating be considered most reliable?

a. When estimating is done at higher level and distributed down to activities

b. When estimating is done at activity level and then summed up for the project

c. When considerable historical data is taken into account(MY Answer)

d. When expert judgement is used

16. Which of the following is NOT a tool and technique for control schedule process?

a. Schedule compression(MY Answer)

b. Resource leveling

c. PERT analysis

d. What-if scenario analysis

17. Which technique will you use to engage a very hard to find expensive resource so that you can maximize the value?

a. Resource Leveling(MY Answer)

b. What if scenario

c. Fast tracking

d. Pareto analysis

18. You are mentoring a new project manager who recently started her career in project management. She wants to know which deliverable will provide her the criteria and guidelines to create and manage the project schedule. What will be your reply?

a. Resource management plan

b. Schedule management plan(MY Answer)

c. Schedule baseline

d. Activity management plan

19. You are starting a new project as project manager. While talking to various resources you found that one full-time resource will be on vacation for four weeks during project execution. What will you do?

a. Update activity attributes of activities for which this person is a resource.

b. Update the resources calendar with the information (MY Answer)

c. Modify schedule baseline and critical path.

d. Inform the resource that he cannot go away for four weeks in the middle of the project.

20. You are the senior manager on a new product development project. Your project management team includes a resource manager, a reporting manager, and a scheduler. You have advised the scheduler to build the schedule with the most common activity to activity relationship. What relationship among the following are you referring to?

a. Start to start

b. Finish to start (MY Answer)

c. Finish to finish

d. Start to finish

21. You being the project manager of fertilizer plant extension project are reviewing the schedule developed for your project. Your goal is to determine the project end date based on schedule analysis of least flexible activities. Which tool are you using to perform this analysis?

a. Critical chain method

b. Critical path method(MY Answer)

c. Precedence diagramming method

d. Ishikawa diagram

22. You have realized that you have to crash a few tasks in order to meet the external deadline. What is going to be your approach?

a. Crash as many tasks as I can to reduce overall effort

b. Crash tasks on critical path(MY Answer)

c. Crash tasks that have the highest cost associated with them

d. Crash non-critical tasks to remove wasted time

23. Your colleague has been working as project manager on Human Resource Information system project. From the first month the project schedule started to slip and this has been the trend for the past six months. Almost all deliverables have been late and the sponsor and end users are all disappointed. He told you, over a cup of coffee, that his reputation is on line and does not know what to do. You worked with him and used what if scenario to identify factors that impacted the schedule. After that you recommended to him to:

a. Add new activities into the schedule to cover the identified factors.

b. A change request to update the schedule baseline and follow integrated change control procedures.

c. Redevelop schedule with ample float to manage the identified factors.

d. Send the list of factors to the sponsor and end-user with an explanatory note. (MY Answer)

24. Your management has asked you to review a troubled project and suggest the best course of action. The project is expected to be completed one week later than the baseline completion date. Though the project has a low risk, the internal rate of return is expected to be 15% which is promising. A closer review of the schedule reveals that most dependencies built are discretionary. You asked management about resource availability to find out if more resources can be engaged to speed up the work but was told that no resources are available. What do you suggest?

a. Change discretionary dependencies to lags.

b. Remove few non-critical activities to reduce the schedule.

c. Fast track the schedule (MY Answer)

d. Move resources from non-important activities to major activities.

25. Project variance is computed based on variances associated with all project activities.

a. True (MY Answer)

b. False