Deck 10: Monitoring and Information Systems

Question 1

ETC + AC = __________.

A)BAC
B)EAC
C)SPI
D)CPI

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The most common mistake made when monitoring data is to gather information that is clearly related to project performance but __________.

A)is so volatile that trends cannot be detected
B)has little or no probability of changing significantly between collection periods
C)is too unusual to use
D)cannot be captured in the mechanized PMIS

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to the authors, the project manager can tolerate almost any kind of behavior, EXCEPT __________.

A)tardiness
B)negative attitude
C)unpunctuality
D)dishonesty

Answer 3

D

Question 4

According to the authors, the key items to be planned, monitored, and controlled are __________.

A)time, cost, and financial stability
B)time, quality, performance, and customer satisfaction
C)schedule, budget, and feasibility
D)time, cost, and performance

Question 5

In earned value analysis, if the cost variance is (-$10,000), __________.

A)the cost variance is favorable
B)the cost variance is unfavorable
C)the scheduled variance is favorable
D)the scheduled cost avoidance is unfavorable

Question 6

The first step in setting up a monitoring system is to __________.

A)collect existing data to see what data is relevant and available
B)collect every available piece of information so it can be analyzed
C)use whatever information is available
D)identify the key factors to be controlled

Question 7

Microsoft's PMIS product is referred to as Microsoft __________.

A)Project
B)Excel
C)Office Tools
D)Access

Question 8

In earned value analysis, the 0 - 100 percent rule allows __________.

A)100 percent credit before starting work and 0 percent credit after the completion
B)0 percent credit when work begins and 100 percent credit when the project is complete
C)0 percent credit when work begins and 100 percent credit at completion of the activity
D)0 percent credit at completion of the activity and 100 percent credit at formal acceptance during scope verification

Question 9

According to the authors, in the planning - monitoring - controlling cycle, the directions of the flows indicate that __________.

A)information flows from the top to bottom and authority flows from the bottom to the top
B)information flows from the bottom to the top and authority flows from the top to the bottom
C)authority flows from the bottom to the top
D)information flows from the top to the bottom

Question 10

__________ is when individuals are overwhelmed with too many reports, too much detail, and too much data.

A)Information overload
B)PMIS verification
C)Project isolation
D)Computer paralysis

Question 11

One of the most common errors when collecting data is __________.

A)collecting rapidly changing data frequently
B)collecting data infrequently because data collection is so time consuming
C)collecting data that rarely changes
D)reporting to management after collecting data.

Question 12

If CPI = 1.05, then __________ is favorable.

A)time variance
B)schedule variance
C)cost variance
D)performance variance

Question 13

In earned value analysis, the 50-50 rule assumes that __________.

A)50 percent is earned when the task is half done and 50 percent is earned at completion
B)50 percent is earned when the task begins and 50 percent is earned at completion
C)50 percent is earned when the task begins and 50 percent is earned at the halfway stage
D)50 percent is earned when the project is planned and 50 percent is earned when the project is over

Question 14

__________ may not be constant over the project's life because they can be changed by the parent organization, the client, or the community.

A)Performance criteria
B)Data collection procedures
C)Standards
D)Project goals

Question 15

Monitoring, as an activity, should be kept distinct from __________, which is the process of making judgments about the quality and effectiveness of project performance.

A)collecting
B)reporting
C)evaluation
D)recording

Question 16

Monitoring, as an activity, should be kept distinct from __________, which uses data supplied by monitoring to bring actual performance into approximate congruence with planned performance.

A)recording
B)controlling
C)collecting
D)reporting

Question 17

For each factor to be measured during monitoring; performance criteria, standards, and __________ must be established.

A)Data collection procedures
B)Mechanized systems
C)Automated systems
D)Audit checks

Question 18

Secondary uses for monitoring include __________.

A)auditing, learning from mistakes, and reporting progress and status
B)exercising effective control over the project
C)evaluating current status of the project
D)fixing the blame when things go wrong

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a common difficulty in the design of project reports?

A)Providing too much detail
B)Having too many interface modules
C)Poor correspondence to the parent firm's reporting system
D)Poor correspondence between the planning and monitoring systems

Question 20

A large proportion of all data collected takes one of the following forms EXCEPT __________.

A)indicators
B)verbal measures
C)raw numbers
D)individual perceptions

Question 21

In general data are biased by __________ advertently or inadvertently.

Question 22

Reports for __________ have a need for detailed information about individual tasks and the factors affecting such tasks.

A)top executives
B)lower-level personnel
C)all the stakeholders
D)project managers

Question 23

Ordinal rankings of performance are examples of a __________ type of measure.

Question 24

The project control process should be viewed as a __________, with revised plans and schedules (if warranted)following corrective actions. The project control process should run continuously until the project is completed.

Question 25

__________ are used when some aspect of system performance cannot be measured directly.

Question 26

The best sources of items to be monitored are the project risk management plan, change of scope orders, and __________.

Question 27

__________ is collecting, recording, and reporting information concerning any and all aspects of project performance that the project manager or others in the organization wish to know.

Question 28

Measuring characteristics such as "quality of team member cooperation" and "morale of team members" generally takes the form of __________characterizations.

A)verbal
B)raw number
C)indicative
D)oral

Question 29

__________ can often give the project manager early warning signals of potential problems in a project and help understand the relationships of individual tasks to one another and to the overall project.

Question 30

In earned value analysis, the __________ is computed as the earned value minus the actual cost of work performed.

Question 31

A(n)__________ is a simple tally of the occurrence of an event. This type of measure is easy to collect and is often reported as events per unit of time or reported as events as a percent of a standard number.

Question 32

The project __________ describes what is being done, when and the planned level of resource usage for each task, work-package or element in the project.

Question 33

In earned value analysis, EAC refers to the __________.

Question 34

The earned value rule that divides the actual task time-to-date by the scheduled time for the task to calculate percent complete is called the __________ rule.
 

Question 35

EV - PV = __________.

Question 36

In earned value analysis, BAC refers to the __________.

Question 37

When collecting raw project data, it is important to make sure that all data are collected from sources that operate on the same __________ and with the same rules for data collection.

Question 38

A(n)__________ can be used to deal with issues of honesty related to the monitoring system.

Question 39

Which of the following conventions has the characteristic of the project always seeming to be running late, until the very end when it seems to suddenly catch up?

A)The 50-50 rule
B)The 0-100 percent rule
C)Critical input use rule
D)The proportionality rule

Question 40

Management by exception has the disadvantage of being __________.

A)too expensive
B)too difficult to implement
C)a quantitative approach
D)an "after the fact" type of approach

Question 41

Identify the main complaints associated with meetings.

Question 42

(BAC + EV)/ CPI = __________.

Question 43

Identify some of the benefits when timely reports are delivered to the proper people by the project management information system.

Question 44

Excessive computer involvement with computer activity replacing project management; loss of touch with the project and its realities, is referred to as __________.

Question 45

Suggest some practical measures that can be used to improve the perception about the benefits of meetings.

Question 46

Conceptually, EAC represents the amount spent to date plus __________.

Question 47

Describe the three common difficulties in designing project reports.

Question 48

When using earned value analysis, identify the three conditions that can exist with respect to the completion of activity in a project.

Question 49

If EV = $500, AC = $475, PV = $450; SV = $________.

Question 50

If EV = $500, AC = $450, PV = $475; CPI = __________.

Question 51

List the four conventions used to aid in estimating percent completion.

Question 52

In earned value analysis, (CPI)(SPI)= __________.

Question 53

If CSI is less than 1, it is indicative of a(n) __________.