Deck 16: Managing Service Projects

Question 1

Time variance is calculated by subtracting actual time used for work performed from scheduled time for work performed.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The term Late Finish refers to the latest time an activity can begin without delaying the completion of the project.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A project can be defined as a set of complex interrelated tasks with different requirements regarding activity time and resources, but with a high degree of repetitiveness.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Developing a project network is the only major concern for implementing critical path analysis.

Question 5

It is possible to delay the start of a non-critical activity and, in the process, make a following activity critical.

Question 6

The term calendar is used in project management to keep track of the days and hours required for completion of projects.

Question 7

When delays occur owing to technical difficulties, performance becomes the source of unexpected project management problems.

Question 8

The single important attribute of a project manager is leadership ability.

Question 9

A major flaw in critical path analysis with uncertain activity times is the conservative nature of the expected project completion time.

Question 10

The critical path refers to the sequence of activities that represent the longest time path through a project network.

Question 11

Merge node bias occurs where the project network contains non-critical paths with small total slack times.

Question 12

Schedule variance is the difference between budgeted cost for work performed and actual cost of work performed.

Question 13

The term total slack refers to the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the start of a subsequent activity.

Question 14

Total slack for an activity can be shared with following activities.

Question 15

Gantt charts fail to indicate the interdependence among project activities.

Question 16

A major assumption in project network analysis is that sufficient resources are available to perform many activities concurrently.
Multiple Choice

Question 17

When crashing activities for construction projects, the contractor's minimum cost duration might not coincide with the client's target completion date.

Question 18

The critical path for a project with uncertain activity times is not known for certain until after the project is completed.

Question 19

Estimates of project expected completion time and variance usually are not biased when based on the single critical path.

Question 20

Before calculating a Late Start time for an activity, the Late Finish time must be known.

Question 21

A major weakness with project completion time analysis with uncertain activity times is the:

A) possibility that more than one critical path might exist.
B) need to solicit three time estimates for each activity.
C) assumption that the project completion time is normally distributed.
D) bias associated with the expected project completion time.

Question 22

For a project with uncertain activity times, the probability of project completion exceeding the expected time calculated for the critical path is:

A) 25 percent.
B) 50 percent.
C) 75 percent.
D) none of the above.

Question 23

The four sequential stages of team development include all but one of the following:

A) forming.
B) storming.
C) coalescing.
D) performing.

Question 24

Which one of the following is not a critical time estimate for a Beta distribution?

A) optimistic time.
B) pessimistic time.
C) most likely time.
D) expected time.

Question 25

Which of the following is not true about a critical path in a project network with certain activity times?

A) Activities on the critical path have the least slack.
B) The longest activity in the project must lie on the critical path.
C) There can be several critical paths in a project network.
D) The first activity in the network is always on the critical path.

Question 26

Implementing critical path analysis is faced with all but one of the following problems:

A) availability of project management software.
B) agreement on the project network.
C) eliciting time estimates for activities.
D) introduction of bias in activity time estimates.

Question 27

Which oneof the following is not considered a source of unexpected project management problems?

A) cost.
B) time.
C) economy.
D) performance.

Question 28

A project history report should include all but one of the following items:

A) project performance.
B) organization structure.
C) project success and failures.
D) project and administrative team.

Question 29

The Beta distribution is useful in network analysis because it:

A) provides formulas for calculating the activity mean and variance.
B) can be approximated by a normal distribution.
C) provides probability estimates for project completion time.
D) requires only three time estimates to describe uncertain activity duration.

Question 30

Which one of the following attributes is not considered in the selection of a project manager?

A) credibility.
B) originality.
C) sensitivity.
D) ability to handle stress.

Question 31

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the completion of the project is referred to as:

A) total slack.
B) late finish.
C) late start.
D) free slack.

Question 32

Gantt project charts are useful for all but one of the following reasons:

A) visual presentation is appealing.
B) they show interdependence of activities.
C) they are easy to understand.
D) they assist in planning construction forces.

Question 33

Which one of the following is not considered a source of variance on the earned value chart?

A) time.
B) cost.
C) schedule.
D) none of the above.

Question 34

Which one of the following allows the manager to make probability statements with regard to meeting project objectives?

A) Gantt chart.
B) CPM.
C) PERT.
D) earned-value chart.

Question 35

Monte Carlo simulation of project networks is not recommended when:

A) activity times are deterministic.
B) more than one critical path exists.
C) bias in project completion time is important.
D) activity time distributions are Beta.

Question 36

Projects are terminated for all but one of the following reasons:

A) subtraction.
B) addition.
C) integration.
D) starvation.

Question 37

Which one of the following makes performance a source of unexpected project management problem?

A) delays owing to technical difficulties.
B) unexpected technical problems.
C) unforeseen government regulations.
D) increase in the scope of work.

Question 38

A resource-leveled schedule would have all but one of the following characteristics:

A) the project duration could be longer than normal.
B) slack time is used to begin some activities later than their early start time.
C) the critical path may be changed.
D) a more balanced use of labor resources would be exhibited.

Question 39

Which one of the following is not an objective of activity crashing?

A) reduce the total cost of completing a project.
B) complete a project in less time than normally expected.
C) create multiple critical paths.
D) prepare a contract bid.

Question 40

A key assumption underlying project networks is:

A) dummy activities take up no time.
B) the critical path is known with certainty.
C) an activity begins only after all predecessors are completed.
D) a project network is cyclic.