Deck 6: Developing a Project Plan

Question 1

The forward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT

A)Earliest time an activity can begin.
B)Earliest time an activity can finish.
C)Duration of the project.
D)The critical path.
E)How soon the project can finish.

Answer 1

D
Explanation: The forward pass starts with the first project activity(ies)and traces each path (chain of sequential activities)through the network to the last project activity(ies).It calculates how soon an activity can start, how soon it can finish and the project duration or how soon the project will be finished.

Question 2

Bill is building a project network that involves testing a prototype.He must design the prototype (activity 1), build the prototype (activity 2), and test the prototype (activity 3).Activity 1 is the predecessor for activity 2 and activity 2 is the predecessor for activity 3.If the prototype fails testing, Bill must redesign the prototype; therefore, activity 3 is a predecessor for activity 1.This is an example of

A)Conditional statements.
B)Looping.
C)Having more than one start node.
D)Good network development.
E)Natural network flow.

Answer 2

B
Explanation: This is an example of looping or recycling through a set of activities and cannot take place within a well-structured project network.One important reason is that it inhibits its ability to establish a completion date.

Question 3

Which of the following represents an activity on an activity-on-node (AON)project network?

A)An arrow
B)A line
C)A node
D)Both an arrow and a line
E)An arrow, a line and a node all represent activities

Answer 3

C
Explanation: The two approaches used to develop project networks are known as activity-on-node (AON)and activity-on-arrow (AOA).Both methods use two building blocks-the arrow and the node.Their names derive from the fact that the former uses a node to depict an activity.

Question 4

A(n)_________ activity has more than one dependency arrow flowing from it.

A)Parallel
B)Critical path
C)Burst
D)Merge
E)Independent

Question 5

Which of the following does NOT help describe a project network?

A)A graphic display of the flow and sequence of work through the project
B)Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment
C)Gives the times when activities can start and finish and when they can be delayed
D)Highlights major deliverables and identifies their completion dates
E)Identifies critical activities

Question 6

The critical path in a project network is the

A)Shortest path through the network.
B)Longest path through the network.
C)Network path with the most difficult activities.
D)Network path using the most resources.
E)Network path with the most merge activities.

Question 7

When translated into a project network, a work package will become

A)A single activity.
B)One or more activities.
C)A milestone.
D)A critical path.
E)An arrow.

Question 8

The backward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT

A)Latest time an activity can begin.
B)Earliest time an activity can finish.
C)The critical path.
D)How long an activity can be delayed.
E)Latest time an activity can finish.

Question 9

Which of the following can be used without coordinating with managers of succeeding activities?

A)Total slack
B)Free slack
C)Critical float
D)Float pad
E)Slip pad

Question 10

On a project network, the activity times are derived from the

A)Organization breakdown structure.
B)Work packages.
C)Budget.
D)Project proposal.
E)Responsibility matrix.

Question 11

Information to develop a project network is collected from the

A)Organization breakdown structure.
B)Work breakdown structure.
C)Budget.
D)Project proposal.
E)Responsibility matrix.

Question 12

Activities which can take place at the same time are termed

A)Parallel activity.
B)Critical path.
C)Burst activity.
D)Merge activity.
E)Independent activity.

Question 13

Which of the following correctly calculates the early finish for an activity?

A)LS + DUR
B)ES + DUR
C)LF + DUR
D)ES + SL
E)LF + SL

Question 14

A sequence of connected, dependent activities is termed a(n)

A)Path of events.
B)Parallel path.
C)Activity chain.
D)Path.
E)Dependent chain.

Question 15

________ activities must be completed immediately before a particular activity.

A)Merge
B)Burst
C)Predecessor
D)Successor
E)Parallel

Question 16

Which of the following is provided by both the project network and the work breakdown structure?

A)Dependencies
B)Sequencing
C)Interrelationships
D)Activity duration
E)Timing

Question 17

Arrows on an activity-on-node (AON)project network represent

A)An activity.
B)Project flow.
C)Dependency.
D)Project flow and dependency.
E)An activity and dependency.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the basic rules to follow when developing project networks?

A)An activity cannot begin until all preceding activities have been completed.
B)Each activity must have a unique identification number.
C)Conditional statements are allowed but looping statements are not allowed.
D)An activity identification number must be larger than that of any preceding activities.
E)Networks flow from left to right.

Question 19

An activity that has more than one dependency arrow flowing into it is termed a(n)

A)Parallel activity.
B)Critical path.
C)Burst activity.
D)Merge activity.
E)Independent activity.

Question 20

________ activities are to be completed immediately following a particular activity.

A)Merge
B)Burst
C)Predecessor
D)Successor
E)Parallel

Question 21

A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity taking place at the same time.

A)Burst
B)Merge
C)Parallel
D)None of these choices are correct.

Question 22

When creating a project network, your primary input will be the

A)Project Charter.
B)Work Packages.
C)Risk Plan.
D)Communication Plan.

Question 23

A project network provides the basis for ________________________________ .

A)organizational authority
B)completing the effort on time and within budget
C)scheduling labor and equipment
D)None of these choices are correct.

Question 24

A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately preceding it.

A)Burst
B)Merge
C)Parallel
D)None of these choices are correct.

Question 25

Which of the following is true about hammock activities?

A)They are used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of a project.
B)They are a combination of Start to Start and Start to Finish lags.
C)They are activities in which the costs are not subject to change.
D)They are an alternative description for the critical path.
E)They are highly sensitive.

Question 26

System documentation cannot end until three days after testing has started.This is an example of which kind of lag?

A)Start to Start
B)Start to Finish
C)Finish to Finish
D)Finish to Start
E)Any of these could be correct.

Question 27

Tom is responsible for ordering hardware for a custom home his company is building.The contractor installing the hardware is scheduled to start in 5 working days, but the hardware is on backorder and will not arrive for another 9 working days.Fortunately, Tom has 10 days of slack; however, he shares this slack with the hardware installer.He will have to let the contactor know that the hardware will be ready 4 days later than expected and that the slack for the installer has been reduced by 4 days.Tom and the installer share 10 days of

A)Free Slack.
B)Shared Slack.
C)Total Slack.
D)Critical Slack.
E)Functional Slack.

Question 28

The likelihood the original critical path(s)will change once the project is initiated is referred to as

A)Flexibility.
B)Resilience.
C)Sensitivity.
D)Concurrent engineering.
E)Rigidity.

Question 29

When completing a backward pass, you carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish the LF, unless the next preceding activity is a burst activity, in which case you select

A)The smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
B)The largest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
C)The average LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
D)The smallest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
E)The largest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

Question 30

If testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype has been built, what type of lag exists?

A)Start to Start
B)Start to Finish
C)Finish to Finish
D)Finish to Start
E)Any of these could be correct.

Question 31

A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately following it.

A)Burst
B)Merge
C)Parallel
D)None of these choices are correct.

Question 32

If, for some reason, the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, which of the following actions would the project manager take first?

A)Check to see which activities cost the least.
B)Check to see which activities have the longest duration.
C)Check to see which activities are on the critical path.
D)Check to see which activities have the most slack.
E)Check to see which activities have the highest risk.

Question 33

The minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end is referred to as

A)Hammock.
B)Laddering.
C)Lag.
D)Cushion.
E)Buffer.

Question 34

Which of the following will correctly calculate the total slack in an activity?

A)LS - ES
B)LF - EF
C)LS - LF
D)LF - ES
E)Either LS - ES or LF - EF

Question 35

The assumption that all immediate preceding activities must be 100% complete is too restrictive in some situations.When an activity is broken down into smaller segments in order to start the succeeding activity sooner, this is called

A)Hammock activities.
B)Concurrent engineering.
C)A forward pass.
D)Dissecting.
E)Laddering.

Question 36

If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, a common start node should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network.Without a common start node, each path is a

A)Critical path.
B)Parallel path.
C)Dangler path.
D)Multiple start path.
E)Confused path.

Question 37

The requirement for a freshly poured foundation to cure before beginning construction is an example of which of the following type of lag?

A)Start to Start
B)Start to Finish
C)Finish to Finish
D)Finish to Start
E)Any of these could be correct.

Question 38

Which of the following correctly calculates the late start for an activity?

A)EF - DUR
B)ES - DUR
C)LF - DUR
D)ES - SL
E)LF - SL

Question 39

Concurrent engineering, which has dramatically reduced the development time for new products, relies on what kind of lag?

A)Start to Start lags
B)Start to Finish lags
C)Finish to Finish lags
D)Finish to Start lags
E)Any of these could be correct.

Question 40

The amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project is termed

A)Total slack.
B)Free slack.
C)Critical float.
D)Float pad.
E)Slip pad.

Question 41

Activities that can take place at the same time if the manager wishes them to are called ________ activities.

Question 42

Activities that must immediately follow a given activity are called ________ activities.

Question 43

Activities that can occur while an activity is taking place are called ________ activities.

Question 44

The amount of delay within a task that will not delay the overall project is known as a

A)Total Slack.
B)Estimated Effort.
C)Opportunity Cost.
D)Both Total Slack and Opportunity Cost are correct.

Question 45

________ slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain.

Question 46

An activity that has more than one predecessor is a _________ activity.

Question 47

A(n)_____________ calculates project duration.

Question 48

In a project network, recycling through a set of activities or __________ is not permitted.

Question 49

The delaying of any activity on the __________ will delay the completion of the project by the same amount.

Question 50

The ________ calculates the earliest times that activities can start or finish.

Question 51

In a project network, ________ indicate activity dependency and project flow.

Question 52

A(n)_____________ calculates how late an activity can start and finish.

Question 53

One piece of information that the arrows within the Activity-on-Node network can convey is

A)the duration of an activity.
B)the amount of risk inherent in an activity.
C)how activities are related.
D)None of these choices are correct.

Question 54

A(n)________ activity has more than one successor activity.

Question 55

After the total slack for each activity is identified, the project manager can more easily identify the __________________.

A)Earned Value
B)Critical Path
C)Earliest Start Date
D)Total Project Slack

Question 56

An activity has a duration of 10 days.Its early start is 4 and its late start is 6.This activity has _____ days of total slack.

Question 57

Activities that must occur immediately before a given activity are called ________ activities.

Question 58

An element in the project that consumes time is a(n)___________.

Question 59

The activity time estimates used to build a project network are derived from ________.

Question 60

The ________ calculates the critical path and determines how long an activity can be delayed without delaying the project.

Question 61

In developing a project network, neither looping nor conditional statements are permitted.

Question 62

Burst activities have more than one activity immediately following them (more than one dependency arrow flowing from them).

Question 63

An activity can include only one work package.

Question 64

An activity is an element of the project that always requires time.

Question 65

A(n)__________ activity is frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project.

Question 66

When an activity with a long duration is broken into smaller segments so that the following activities can begin sooner it is called __________.

Question 67

A merge activity is one that merges with other activities into a succeeding activity.

Question 68

An activity cannot begin until ALL preceding connected activities have been completed.

Question 69

A network has only one critical path and the slack for noncritical activities is high.This network would appear to have a _______ level of sensitivity.

Question 70

________ can never be negative and applies only to the last activity in a single chain of activities.

Question 71

It is acceptable for arrows to cross one another in a network diagram.

Question 72

The _________ lag is the most typical type of lag that is encountered in developing networks.

Question 73

The longest path through a project network is called the _________.

Question 74

___________ reflects the likelihood the original critical path(s)will change once the project is initiated.

Question 75

A(n)________ is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

Question 76

Experience suggests that when there are multiple starts, a common start node should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network.Similarly, a single project end node can be used to indicate a clear ending.

Question 77

The backward pass determines project duration.

Question 78

The WBS identifies dependencies, the sequencing of activities, and the timing of activities.

Question 79

If a network has more than one critical path but noncritical activities have very little slack, the network is considered to have a high level of sensitivity.

Question 80

The critical path is the shortest path through a network and indicates activities that cannot be delayed without delaying the project.