Deck 3: Project Management

Question 1

PERT, but not CPM, has the ability to consider the precedence relationships in a project.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Shortening the project's duration by deleting unnecessary activities is called "project crashing."

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The fundamental difference between PERT and CPM is that PERT uses the beta distribution for crashing projects while CPM uses cost estimates.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One phase of a large project is scheduling.

Question 5

Every network has at least one critical path.

Question 6

A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional areas.

Question 7

By their very nature, projects have a limited lifetime, and that sets project management apart from the management of more traditional activities.

Question 8

Ethical issues which can arise in projects include gifts from contractors, pressure to mask delays with false status reports, and pressure to compromise project quality for cost or time savings.

Question 9

Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.

Question 10

The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.

Question 11

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

Question 12

In project management, crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network.

Question 13

Project managers have their own code of ethics, established by the Project Management Institute.

Question 14

The PERT pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.

Question 15

Work Breakdown Structure is a useful tool in project management because it addresses the timing of individual work elements.

Question 16

Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.

Question 17

The critical path can be determined by use of either the "forward pass" or the "backward pass."

Question 18

One responsibility of a project manager is to make sure that the project meets its quality goals.

Question 19

In PERT analysis, the identification of the critical path can be incorrect if a noncritical activity takes substantially more than its expected time.

Question 20

The standard deviation of project duration is the average of the standard deviation of all activities on the critical path.

Question 21

A project manager is interested in crashing a project with variable activity times. Which of the following tools should he/she employ?

A) PERT
B) CPM
C) Gantt Chart
D) either PERT or CPM
E) PERT, CPM, or a Gantt chart are fine

Question 22

A project organization

A) is effective for companies with multiple large projects
B) is appropriate only in construction firms
C) often fails when the project cuts across organizational lines
D) is formed to ensure that programs (projects) get proper management and attention
E) A and D are both true

Question 23

Match the following steps in Microsoft's development of Windows 7 to their respective WBS level. Step Level
Develop Windows 7 OS ?
System Testing ?
Compatible with Windows XP ?
Develop GUI's ?
Module Testing ?

A) Level 1, Level 2, Level 4, Level 3, Level 3
B) Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5
C) Level 0, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4
D) Level 0, Level 2, Level 2, Level 3, Level 3
E) None of the above patterns is correct.

Question 24

Which of the following statements regarding CPM is true?

A) The critical path is the shortest of all paths through the network.
B) The critical path is that set of activities that has positive slack.
C) Some networks have no critical path.
D) All activities on the critical path have their LS equal to the maximum EF of all immediate predecessors.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 25

Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true?

A) The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
B) Some activities on the critical path may have slack.
C) Every network has only one critical path.
D) On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration.
E) The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network.

Question 26

Which of the following statements about Bechtel is true?

A) Even though Bechtel is over 100 years old, the Kuwaiti oil fields was its first "project."
B) Bechtel is the world's premier manager of massive construction and engineering projects.
C) Bechtel's competitive advantage is supply-chain management.
D) While its projects are worldwide, its network of suppliers is largely in the U.S.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 27

Which of the following is not one of the three phases of project management?

A) planning
B) scheduling
C) controlling
D) All of the above are project management phases.
E) Both A and C are not project management phases.

Question 28

The phases of project management are

A) planning, scheduling, and controlling
B) planning, programming, and budgeting
C) planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling
D) different for manufacturing projects than for service projects
E) GANTT, CPM, and PERT

Question 29

The main difference between PERT and CPM is that

A) PERT is more accurate than CPM
B) PERT assumes that activity durations are known
C) PERT ignores activity costs
D) CPM assumes that activity durations can vary
E) None of the above are true

Question 30

WBS stands for which of the following project management tools?

A) Work Break Schedule
B) Work Breakdown Status
C) Work Breakdown Schedule
D) Work Breakdown Structure
E) None of the above

Question 31

Which of the following statements regarding project management is false?

A) Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.
B) A project organization works best for a project that is temporary but critical to the organization.
C) A project organization works well when the work contains simple, independent tasks.
D) Gantt charts and PERT/CPM are never used together.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 32

A combination of effective Gantt chart use and other tactics allowed Delta to cut the average time for a plane layover by what % of the original 60 minute duration?

A) 33%, to 40 minutes
B) 50%, to 30 minutes
C) 20%, to 48 minutes
D) 25%, to 45 minutes
E) 40%, to 36 minutes

Question 33

Which of the following statements regarding Gantt charts is true?

A) Gantt charts give a timeline and precedence relationships for each activity of a project.
B) Gantt charts use the four standard spines of Methods, Materials, Manpower, and Machinery.
C) Gantt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project.
D) Gantt charts are expensive.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 34

Which of the following statements regarding Bechtel is true?

A) Its competitive advantage is project management.
B) Bechtel was the construction contractor for the Hoover Dam.
C) While helping to rebuild Iraq, Bechtel's crews had to travel under armed escort.
D) Bechtel's procurement program is global in nature.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 35

Which of the following projects were completed by Bechtel?

A) Hoover Dam
B) Boston Central Artery/Tunnel
C) Rebuilding Kuwait after Iraq's invasion in 1990
D) Rebuilding Iraq after the U.S. invasion, starting in 2003
E) All of the above were Bechtel projects

Question 36

A code of ethics especially for project managers

A) has been established by the Project Management Institute
B) has been formulated by the Federal government
C) has been formulated by the World Trade Organization
D) is inappropriate, since everyone should use the same guidance on ethical issues
E) does not exist at this time

Question 37

The difference between AON and AOA networks is that

A) AOA networks sometimes require dummy activities
B) nodes consume no resources or time in AOA networks
C) both are acceptable in practice, however Microsoft Project uses AON
D) in AON nodes designate activities, in AOA arrows designate activities
E) All of the above are true.

Question 38

Ethical issues that may arise in projects large and small include

A) gifts from contractors
B) exaggerated expense reports
C) compromised safety or health standards to save time or reduce costs
D) pressure to mask delays with false status reports
E) all of the above

Question 39

A project organization that becomes permanent is often referred to as a __________.

A) fixed project organization
B) matrix organization
C) normal organization
D) standard organization
E) none of the above

Question 40

The project organization works best when which of the following conditions are satisfied? I. Work can be defined with a specific goal and deadline.
II. The job is typical and familiar to the existing organization.
III. The work contains interrelated tasks requiring specialized skills
IV. The project is temporary but unimportant to long-term organizational success
V. The project cuts across organizational lines.

A) I,II,III,IV,V
B) None of the above conditions need to be satisfied
C) I,III,V
D) I,II,III,V
E) I,III,IV,V

Question 41

A project being analyzed by PERT has 60 activities, 13 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 214 days with a project variance of 100, the probability that the project will take 224 days or more to complete is

A) near zero
B) 0.0126
C) 0.1587
D) 0.8413
E) 2.14

Question 42

Which of the following statements concerning CPM activities is false?

A) The early finish of an activity is the early start of that activity plus its duration.
B) The late finish is the earliest of the late start times of all successor activities.
C) The late start of an activity is its late finish less its duration.
D) The late finish of an activity is the earliest late start of all preceding activities.
E) The early start of an activity is the latest early finish of all preceding activities.

Question 43

The critical path for the network activities shown below is __________ with duration __________.

A) A-C; 12
B) A-D-E; 19
C) B-E; 13
D) A-B-C-D-E; 29
E) none of the above

Question 44

A simple CPM network has three activities, A, B, and C. A is an immediate predecessor of B and of C. B is an immediate predecessor of C. The activity durations are A=4, B=3, C=8.

A) The critical path is A-B-C, duration 15.
B) The critical path is A-C, duration 12.
C) The critical path is A-B-C, duration 13.5
D) The critical path cannot be determined without knowing PERT expected activity times.
E) The network has no critical path.

Question 45

The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is

A) the optimistic time
B) the pessimistic time
C) the activity variance
D) the minimum time
E) exactly twice as long as the expected time

Question 46

Which of the following statements regarding CPM networks is true?

A) There can be multiple critical paths on the same project, all with different durations.
B) The early finish of an activity is the latest early start of all preceding activities.
C) The late start of an activity is its late finish plus its duration.
D) If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have the same duration.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 47

In a PERT network, non-critical activities that have little slack need to be monitored closely

A) because PERT treats all activities as equally important
B) because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities
C) because slack is undesirable and needs to be eliminated
D) because they are causing the entire project to be delayed
E) because they have a high risk of not being completed

Question 48

A simple CPM network has five activities, A, B, C, D, and E. A is an immediate predecessor of C and of D. B is also an immediate predecessor of C and of D. C and D are both immediate predecessors of E.

A) There are two paths in this network.
B) There are four paths in this network.
C) There are five paths in this network.
D) There are 25 paths through this network.
E) None of these statements is true.

Question 49

The critical path for the network activities shown below is __________ with duration __________.

A) A-B-D; 10
B) A-B-E; 11
C) C-E; 12
D) A-D-E; 13
E) A-B-C-D-E; 22

Question 50

The critical path for the network activities shown below is __________ with duration __________.

A) A-D-E; 5
B) B-E; 6
C) B-D-E; 7
D) A-C-E; 10
E) B-C-E; 12

Question 51

The Beta distribution is used in project management to

A) calculate slack on activities not on the critical path
B) calculate the probability that a project will be completed within its budget
C) calculate pessimistic and optimistic activity times
D) determine which activity should be crashed
E) none of the above

Question 52

Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true?

A) The expected time is an estimate of the time an activity will require if everything goes as planned.
B) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C) The expected time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b)/6.
D) The pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
E) The most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.

Question 53

The __________ distribution is used by PERT analysis to calculate expected activity times and variances.

A) Normal
B) Beta
C) Alpha
D) Gaussian
E) Binomial

Question 54

The expected activity time in PERT analysis is calculated as

A) the simple average of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times
B) the weighted average of a, m, and b, with m weighted 4 times as heavily as a and b
C) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times
D) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times, divided by six
E) the sum of the activity variances, divided by six

Question 55

Activity D on a CPM network has predecessors B and C, and has successor F. D has duration 6. B's earliest finish is 18, while C's is 20. F's late start is 26. Which of the following is definitely true?

A) B is a critical activity.
B) C is completed before B.
C) D has no slack but is not critical.
D) D is critical and has zero slack.
E) F is critical and has zero slack.

Question 56

A simple CPM network has three activities, D, E, and F. D is an immediate predecessor of E and of F. E is an immediate predecessor of F. The activity durations are D=4, E=3, F=8.

A) The critical path is D-E-F, duration 15.
B) The critical path is D-F, duration 12.
C) Slack at D is 3 units.
D) Slack at E is 3 units.
E) Both A and C are true.

Question 57

Which of the following statements regarding PERT analysis is true?

A) Each activity has two estimates of its duration.
B) Project variance is the sum of all activity variances.
C) Project standard deviation is the sum of all critical activity standard deviations.
D) Only critical activities contribute to the project variance.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 58

Activity R on a CPM network has predecessors M and N, and has successor S. R has duration 5. N's late finish is 18, while M's is 20. S's late start is 14. Which of the following is definitely true?

A) R is critical and has zero slack.
B) R has no slack but is not critical.
C) The set of given times cannot all be possible.
D) N is a critical activity.
E) S is a critical activity.

Question 59

Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true?

A) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
B) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C) The probable time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b).
D) Pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
E) Most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.

Question 60

The Beta distribution is used in project management to

A) determine which activity should be crashed
B) calculate the probability that a project will be completed within its budget
C) calculate expected activity times
D) calculate slack for activities on the critical path
E) none of the above

Question 61

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 2, most likely = 5, and pessimistic = 10. Its expected time is

A) 5.00
B) 5.33
C) 5.67
D) 17.00
E) none of these

Question 62

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 false.

Question 63

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

Question 64

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

Question 65

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 2, most likely = 3, and pessimistic = 8. Its expected time and variance (if it is a critical activity) are

A) 3.67; 1
B) 3.67; 6
C) 4.33; 1
D) 4.33; 6
E) none of these

Question 66

Two critical path activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below. To cut one day from the project's duration, activity _________ should be crashed first, adding _________ to project cost.

A) B; $2,000
B) B; $8,000
C) C; $1,000
D) C; $2,000
E) C; $6,000

Question 67

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.

Question 68

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

Question 69

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

Question 70

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 1, most likely = 2, and pessimistic = 5. Its expected time is

A) 2.00
B) 2.33
C) 2.67
D) 8.00
E) none of these

Question 71

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

Question 72

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

Question 73

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

Question 74

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

Question 75

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

Question 76

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

Question 77

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) 0.1057
B) 0.1335
C) 0.8512
D) 0.8943
E) 1.29

Question 78

Two critical path activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below. To cut one day from the project's duration, activity __________ should be crashed first, adding __________ to project cost.

A) One; $400
B) One; $6,800
C) Two; $1,000
D) Two; $5,000
E) One or two should be crashed; $1,400

Question 79

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) $1,500
C) $750
D) $13,000
E) $15,000

Question 80

__________ is an organization formed to ensure that programs (projects) receive the proper management and attention.