Deck 4: Projects

Question 1

Complex projects are often subdivided into a series of tasks that are typically configured to be not longer than several months in duration.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

CPM is an abbreviation for critical path method.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Gantt chart is an example of a project control chart.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The second step in managing a project is writing the statement of work.

Question 5

A disadvantage of a matrix project organizational structure is that a project manager is held responsible for successful completion of the project.

Question 6

Slack activity time is the difference between the early start and the late finish of a project activity time.

Question 7

One of the advantages of a functional project organizational structure is that a team member can work on several projects.

Question 8

A project may be defined as a series of related jobs directed toward some major output and requiring a significant period of time to perform.

Question 9

Upper-level management must decide between pure, functional, and matrix structures as ways to organize projects.

Question 10

In a CPM analysis, if you subtract the early start from the late start, the result is the activity's slack time.

Question 11

The fact that organizations are flattening is one of the reasons that project management is important.

Question 12

An event unit package is a subdivision of a project.

Question 13

A matrix project attempts to blend properties of functional and pure project structures.

Question 14

The critical path in a CPM analysis is always the shortest path through the network.

Question 15

A work breakdown structure is used in project management but it is not used when the critical path method is involved.

Question 16

In CPM, the late start time estimate is the latest time you can start an activity and still keep the entire project on schedule.

Question 17

In a CPM analysis, if you subtract the late finish from the early finish, the result is the activity's slack time.

Question 18

The critical path in a project is that sequence of activities that consume the longest amount of time in a project network of activities.

Question 19

One of the disadvantages of a pure project organizational structure is that the project manager has full authority over the project.

Question 20

The critical path of activities in a project is the sequence of activities that form the shortest chain in a project network of activities.

Question 21

The activity direct costs associated with a project might include giving workers overtime to complete a project in less than the expected time.

Question 22

Derivative projects have high levels of change.

Question 23

Earned value management (EVM) is a technique for measuring project progress in an objective manner.

Question 24

One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activities can be identified with clear beginning and ending points.

Question 25

Breakthrough projects are those that provide fundamental improvements to existing products.

Question 26

Derivative projects are those that address incremental changes to products or processes.

Question 27

Functional projects have high levels of team member motivation.

Question 28

You are managing a project and need to cut the cost of the project. You decide to transfer workers to another job to cut the project's costs. Costs associated with transferring the workers are an example of project indirect costs.

Question 29

The project indirect costs associated with a project include overhead, facilities, and resource opportunity costs.

Question 30

Calculating the early start and early finish times for each activity in a CPM analysis does not provide any useful information.

Question 31

In the time-cost CPM model, cost is assumed to be a linear function of time.

Question 32

With a pure project, team members report to multiple managers.

Question 33

One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activity sequence relationships can be specified and networked.

Question 34

Earned value management (EVM) has the capability to combine measurements of scope, schedule, and cost in a project.

Question 35

The critical path in a CPM analysis is found by locating the activities times with zero slack.

Question 36

The valuations in an earned value management analysis must be either profits or revenue.

Question 37

Pure projects suffer from duplication of resources.

Question 38

A project milestone is a specific event to be reached by a particular point in time.

Question 39

Using the time-cost CPM model, the crash time is the shortest possible time allowed for each activity in the project.

Question 40

When reducing the planned duration of a project using the time-cost CPM model, we select the activity to crash by determining the cost of each alternative and selecting the one whose cost is the greatest.

Question 41

Which of the following is a graphic project report used in project management?

A) Project proposal
B) Approved project plan
C) Humphrey chart
D) Equipment and supplies chart
E) Cost and performance tracking schedule

Question 42

A project can be subdivided into which of the following?

A) Job orders
B) Sub-jobs
C) Work packages
D) Sub-paths
E) Events and decisions

Question 43

Some of the advantages of a functional project where the project is housed in a functional division include which of the following?

A) The project manager has full authority over the project.
B) Team pride, motivation, and commitment are high.
C) A team member can work on several projects.
D) Needs of the client are secondary.
E) None of these choices are correct

Question 44

A simple project listing of five activities and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using CPM, which activities make up the critical path?

A) A, C, D, E
B) A, B, D, E
C) A, C, B, D, E
D) A, D, E
E) None of these choices are correct

Question 45

An advantage of a pure project where self-contained teams work full time on a project is which of the following?

A) Team members can work on several projects.
B) Functional area is a "home" after the project is completed.
C) There are duplicated resources.
D) Lines of communication are shortened.
E) Overall organizational policies and goals can be ignored.

Question 46

In a Gantt chart, the horizontal axis is usually which of the following?

A) Activities
B) Cost
C) Profit
D) Time
E) Milestones

Question 47

What is a work breakdown structure?

A) A list of the activities making up the higher levels of the project
B) A definition of the hierarchy of project tasks, subtasks, and work packages
C) A depiction of the activities making up a project
D) A Gantt chart
E) A structure that is incompatible with the critical path method

Question 48

A series of projects that are organized in such a way that each project utilizes people from different functional areas is using which of the following organizational structures?

A) Matrix project
B) Integrated task force
C) Functional project
D) Pure project
E) Cross-functional flexible team

Question 49

You have been placed in charge of a large project. Shortened communication lines are required to ensure quick resolution of problems as they arise. You recognize that the project is going to take a lot of time and require a lot of team pride, motivation, and commitment by all members. Which project management structure should you use in this situation?

A) Pure project
B) Task force
C) Matrix project
D) Functional project
E) PERT

Question 50

PERT is an abbreviation for which of the following methodologies?

A) Product evaluation, result, and treatment
B) Programming and evaluation realization technology
C) Program evaluation and review technique
D) Process evaluation and review technology
E) It is a name, not an abbreviation for anything.

Question 51

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities. The activities, their predecessors, and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using CPM, what is the latest finish time for the last activity in this project (i.e., the total time to complete the project)?

A) 9 days
B) 10 days
C) 11 days
D) 12 days
E) 13 days

Question 52

You have just been assigned to oversee a series of projects. Functional areas will loan you personnel for each project, and separate project managers will be responsible for separate projects. These project managers will report to you. Which project management structure is being used?

A) Pure project
B) Task force
C) Matrix project
D) Functional project
E) PERT

Question 53

A simple project listing of five activities, their predecessors, and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using CPM, what is the latest finish time for the last activity in this project (i.e., the total time to complete the project)?

A) 10 days
B) 7 days
C) 8 days
D) 12 days
E) 9 days

Question 54

A tracking Gantt chart superimposes the current schedule onto a baseline plan so deviations are easily noticed.

Question 55

If a single estimate of the time required to complete an activity is not reliable, the best procedure is to use a mean and standard deviation (or variance) for each activity.

Question 56

A simple project listing of five activities, their predecessors, and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using the CPM, which activities have slack in this project?

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
E) C and E

Question 57

A project starts out as which of the following?

A) A statement of work
B) Critical path method (CPM)
C) A series of milestones
D) A Gantt chart
E) A latest-start-time estimate

Question 58

Currently, there are only two major companies producing project management software, Microsoft, with Microsoft Project, and Primavera, with Primavera Project Planner.

Question 59

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities. The activities, their predecessors, and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using CPM, which activities make up the critical path?

A) A, B, D, F, G
B) A, C, E, F, G
C) A, C, B, F, E
D) A, D, E
E) None of these choices are correct

Question 60

You are looking at a chart that has the terms BCWS, BCWP, and AC indicating lines on the chart. What kind of chart are you looking at?

A) Gantt chart
B) PERT chart
C) Bar/milestone chart
D) Total program cost breakdown
E) EVM chart

Question 61

For an activity in a CPM analysis, the early finish time is 20 and the late finish time is 20. Which of the following statements is true?

A) The activity's late start must happen before its early start.
B) The activity is on the critical path.
C) The slack for this activity is 20.
D) The duration of this task is zero.
E) The duration of this task is 20.

Question 62

Here are the data for a time-cost CPM scheduling model analysis. The time is in days and the costs include both direct and indirect costs. What are the total time of this project and total normal cost?

A) Total time is 13 days, total cost is $1,200.
B) Total time is 12 days, total cost is $1,700.
C) Total time is 11 days, total cost is $1,600.
D) Total time is 10 days, total cost is $1,750.
E) Total time is 9 days, total cost is $1,700.

Question 63

You have collected the data for a time-cost CPM scheduling model analysis. The time is in days and the project "direct costs" are given here. The indirect costs for the project are determined on a daily duration basis. If the project lasts 16 days, the total indirect costs are $400; 15 days, they will be $250; 14 days, they will be $200; and 13 days, they will be $100. If you crash this project by one day,What is the total (i.e., direct and indirect) project cost?

A) $2,150
B) $2,300
C) $2,400
D) $2,450
E) $2,500

Question 64

A structure for organizing a project where a self-contained team works full time on the project is:

A) pure project
B) modified project
C) functional project
D) hybrid project
E) matrix project

Question 65

Popular project management software used in mid-sized projects is

A) Microsoft Word.
B) Microsoft Primavera.
C) Microsoft Project.
D) Microsoft Excel.
E) None of thesechoices are correct

Question 66

You have the following time and cost information for use in a time-cost CPM scheduling model. What are the three costs per unit of time to expedite each activity?

A) A = $300, B = $200, C = $300
B) A = $100, B = $200, C = $400
C) A = $200, B = $200, C = $200
D) A = $100, B = $400, C = $300
E) A = $200, B = $300, C = $400

Question 67

In this structure, each project uses people from different functional areas. A dedicated project manager decides what tasks need to be performed and when, but the functional managers control which people to use.

A) Pure project
B) Modified project
C) Functional project
D) Hybrid project
E) Matrix project

Question 68

For an activity in a CPM analysis, the early start time is 8 and the late start time is 10. Which of the following statements is true?

A) The late finish is 12.
B) The early finish is 10.
C) The slack for this activity is 2.
D) The duration of this activity is 2.
E) The activity is on the critical path.

Question 69

A listing of immediate predecessor activities is important information in a CPM analysis for which of the following reasons?

A) It specifies the relationships in the CPM network of activities.
B) It provides useful timing information.
C) It includes cost information.
D) It is the probability information required in the final step of CPM.
E) None of these choices are correct

Question 70

In this structure, team members are assigned from the functional units of the organization. The team members remain a part of their functional units and typically are not dedicated to the project.

A) Pure project
B) Modified project
C) Functional project
D) Hybrid project
E) Matrix project

Question 71

You know when you have arrived at the optimal solution in using the time-cost CPM scheduling model analysis when what happens?

A) You have found the critical path.
B) You have run out of crash time.
C) You no longer have a linear relationship with costs.
D) You have reached the minimum total cost.
E) You have run out of crash costs.

Question 72

In CPM analysis, it is generally expected that the relationship between activity direct costs and project indirect costs will be which of the following?

A) Positively related
B) Optimally related
C) Negatively related
D) Not related
E) Fractionally related

Question 73

You have just used the network planning model and found the critical path length is 60 days and there are two critical paths. The standard deviation of the first critical path is 10 days and the s.d. of the second critical path is 15 days. The probability that the project will be completed in 70 days or less is equal to (2 decimal accuracy).

A) 0.84
B) 0.25
C) 0.16
D) 0.75
E) 0.66

Question 74

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities. The activities, their predecessors, and their respective time estimates are presented here: Using CPM, which activities have slack in this project?

A) A, B, C
B) B, D
C) Only C
D) C, E
E) F, G

Question 75

You have just performed a CPM analysis and have found that more than one path through the project network has zero slack values. What can you conclude?

A) You have incorrectly performed the analysis.
B) You have multiple critical paths.
C) Only one path is optimal.
D) More than one path is optimal.
E) The project will not be completed by the desired time.

Question 76

You have just used the network planning model and found the critical path length is 30 days and the variance of the critical path is 25 days. The probability that the project will be completed in 33 days or less is equal to (2 decimal accuracy).

A) 0.73
B) 0.55
C) 0.12
D) 0.27
E) 0.60

Question 77

You have just used the network planning model for a county road resurfacing project and found the critical path length is 40 days and the standard deviation of the critical path is 10 days. Suppose you want to pick a time (in days) within which you will complete the project with 90% confidence level. What should be that time (in days and round to the nearest whole number)?

A) 40
B) 13
C) 37
D) 29
E) 53

Question 78

Which of the following is not an advantage of a pure project?

A) The project manager has full authority over the project.
B) Team members report to one boss.
C) A team member can work on several projects.
D) Decisions are made quickly.
E) Team motivation is high.

Question 79

You have collected the data for a time-cost CPM scheduling model analysis. The time is in days and the project "direct costs" are given here. The indirect costs for the project are determined on a daily duration basis. If the project lasts 16 days, the total indirect costs are $400; 15 days, they will be $250; 14 days, they will be $200; and 13 days, they will be $100.
At what day do we achieve the lowest total project cost (i.e., direct plus indirect costs)?

A) 16 days
B) 15 days
C) 14 days
D) 13 days
E) 12 days

Question 80

Here are the data for a time-cost CPM scheduling model analysis. The time is in days and the costs include both direct and indirect costs. If you crash this project to reduce the total time by one day, what is the total time of the project and total cost?

A) Total time is 13 days, total cost is $1,500.
B) Total time is 12 days, total cost is $2,000.
C) Total time is 12 days, total cost is $2,300.
D) Total time is 11 days, total cost is $1,850.
E) Total time is 11 days, total cost is $2,350.