Deck 10: Monitoring and Information Systems

Question 1

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

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

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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

Answer 2

B

Question 3

For project management,there are three distinct types of reports.Which of the following would be used in response to a special problem?

A)Daily
B)Routine
C)Exception
D)Special analysis

Answer 3

D

Question 4

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 5

Vague or incomplete project requirements are an example of which telltale sign that a project is in trouble?

A)Muddy waters
B)Mysterious stakeholders
C)Unconstrained constraints
D)Scope creep

Question 6

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.

A)WBS
B)risk management plan
C)schedule
D)quality report

Question 7

An appropriate and common secondary user for monitoring includes __________.

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 8

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.

A)50-50
B)0-100 percent
C)critical input use
D)proportionality

Question 9

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

Question 10

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

A)data collection procedures
B)mechanized systems
C)automated systems
D)audit checks

Question 11

Unfortunately,it is common to focus monitoring activities on data that are easily __________ but not necessarily important.

A)gathered
B)purchased
C)analyzed
D)reported

Question 12

A status report that is vague or contains overly optimistic language like "very soon" or "marginal increase" in costs is referred to as

A)suspicious
B)paralyzed
C)incomplete
D)risky

Question 13

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 14

For project management,there are three distinct types of reports.Which of the following is not one of those three types?

A)Daily
B)Routine
C)Exception
D)Special analysis

Question 15

What is the most likely project report to be issued periodically?

A)Milestone report
B)Resource report
C)Variances report for senior financial management
D)Progress reports for senior management

Question 16

What is the relationship between management level and report details?

A)Senior management receives more reports than lower levels
B)Senior management receives the reports as lower levels
C)Senior management receives fewer reports than lower levels
D)There is no relationship

Question 17

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

A)closed loop system
B)open loop system
C)open environment
D)earned value plan

Question 18

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

A)schedule
B)WBS
C)quality report
D)resource report

Question 19

__________ 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.

A)Initiating
B)Planning
C)Controlling
D)Monitoring

Question 20

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 21

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 22

In earned value Analysis,EAC refers to the __________.

A)estimated cost at completion
B)estimated actual cost
C)eliminated annual cost
D)estimated annual cost

Question 23

In earned value analysis,(EV / AC)(EV / PV)= __________.

A)CV
B)TPI
C)CSI
D)SV

Question 24

If CPI = 1.05,then __________ is favorable.

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

Question 25

There are several conventions used to aid in estimating percentage completion.Which of the following is the most conservative?

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

Question 26

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

A)$50
B)$25
C)90%
D)95%

Question 27

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

A)1)05
B)1)11
C))95
D))90

Question 28

There are several conventions used to aid in estimating percentage completion.Which of the following is the most popular?

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

Question 29

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

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

Question 30

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

A)-$50
B)$50
C)90%
D)95%

Question 31

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 32

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 33

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

A)1)05
B)1)11
C))95
D))90

Question 34

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 35

__________ 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.

A)Detailed and timely reports
B)Executive summaries
C)Scope change reports
D)The WBS

Question 36

EV - PV = __________.

A)SV
B)CV
C)CPI
D)TV

Question 37

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

A)problem
B)good project
C)efficient project
D)budget error

Question 38

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

A)CV
B)TPI
C)CSI
D)SV

Question 39

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 40

In earned value Analysis,BAC refers to the __________.

A)budgeted annual cost
B)budget at completion
C)budget at close-out
D)big annual cost

Question 41

(BAC + EV) / CPI = __________.

A)EAC
B)TPI
C)CPI
D)ETC

Question 42

Identify the main complaints associated with meetings.

Question 43

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

Question 44

Alderton suggests telltale signs of project trouble.Match these terms for these signs with their descriptions.

A)Muddy waters
B)Unconstrained constraints
C)Suspicious status reports
D)Discord and drama
1)Knowing how much leeway there is in your schedule and budget for each task,and where delays or cost overruns can be made up,keeps a project out of trouble.
2)Vague or overly optimistic language such as "very soon" or "marginal increase" in costs also indicates trouble ahead.
3)Unhappy team members can cause major trouble in the project.
4)The scope is not well defined or well understood." Vague or incomplete project requirements are a major red flag.

Question 45

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

Question 46

Describe the three common difficulties in designing project reports.

Question 47

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

Question 48

There are several conventions used to aid in estimating percent completion.Match each rule with its description.

A)50-50 rule
B)0-100 percent rule
C)Critical input use
D)Proportionality
1)This commonly used rule is also based on percentages,but uses time (or cost)as the critical input.
2)This rule assigns task progress according to the amount of an important input that has been used.
3)This rule allows no credit for work until the task is complete.
4)Fifty percent completion is assumed when the task is begun,and the remaining 50 percent when the work is complete.

Question 49

ST-AT =

A)TV
B)EV
C)CV
D)SV

Question 50

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

Question 51

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

A)the delay costs
B)BAC
C)CV
D)ETC

Question 52

List and describe five telltale signs of project trouble it is wise to monitor.

Question 53

ETC + AC = __________.

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