Question 1

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.

Accepted Answer

Straight definition of a Parallel Activity.

Question 2

When creating a project network, your primary input will be the
A)Project Charter.
B)Work Packages.
C)Risk Plan.
D)Communication Plan.

Accepted Answer

Work packages form the backbone of any project, no matter the size or complexity.

Question 3

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.

Accepted Answer

All of the work packages and tasks will give the project manager a solid basis for when and where people and physical resources will be needed.

Question 4

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.

Accepted Answer

Straight definition of a Merge Activity.

Question 5

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.

Accepted Answer

Hammock activities are frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project.Typical examples of hammock activities are inspection services, consultants, or construction management services.A hammock activity derives its duration from the time span between other activities.For example, a special color copy machine is needed for a segment of a tradeshow publication project.A hammock activity can be used to indicate the need for this resource and to apply costs over this segment of the project.

Question 6

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.

Accepted Answer

The relationship represents a situation in which the finish of an activity depends on the start of another activity.Here all the relevant information to complete the system documentation is produced after the first three days of testing, which is an example of a start to finish lag.

Question 7

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.

Accepted Answer

Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and not delay the project.The use of total slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain.

Question 8

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.

Accepted Answer

We use the term sensitivity to reflect the likelihood the original critical path(s)will change once the project is initiated.Sensitivity is the function of the number of critical paths and the level of slack for noncritical activities.

Question 9

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.

Accepted Answer

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 the smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

Question 10

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.

Accepted Answer

When the finish of one activity depends on the finish of another activity, a finish to finish lag exists.For example, testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype is complete.

Question 11

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.

Accepted Answer

Straight definition of a Burst Activity.

Question 12

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.

Accepted Answer

If for some reason the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, it is possible to select those activities, or combination of activities, that will cost the least to shorten the project.Similarly, if the critical path is delayed and the time must be made up by shortening some activity or activities on the critical path to make up any negative slack, it is possible to identify the activities on the critical path that cost the least to shorten.If there are other paths with very little slack, it may be necessary to shorten activities on those paths also.

Question 13

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.

Accepted Answer

A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

Total slack or float for an activity is simply the difference between the LS and ES (LS - ES = SL)or between LF and EF (LF - EF = SL).

Question 15

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.

Accepted Answer

Under the finish-to-start relationship, when an activity has a long duration and will delay the start of an activity immediately following it, the activity can be broken into segments and the network drawn as a laddering approach so the following activity can begin sooner and not delay the work.

Question 16

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.

Accepted Answer

If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, each path is a dangler path.The same is true if a project network ends with more than one activity.Dangler paths give the impression that that project doesn't have a clear beginning or ending.Using a common start or end node helps to identify the total planning period for all projects.

Question 17

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.

Accepted Answer

There are situations in which the next activity in a sequence must be delayed even when the preceding activity is complete.For example, removing concrete forms cannot begin until the poured cement has cured for two time units.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

You subtract activity times along each path starting with the project end activity (LF - DUR = LS).

Question 19

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.

Accepted Answer

Concurrent engineering basically breaks activities into smaller segments so that work can be done in parallel and the project expedited.Start-to-start relationships can depict the concurrent engineering conditions and reduce network detail.

Question 20

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.

Accepted Answer

Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project.Stated differently, total slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the project end date or an imposed completion date.

Quiz 6: Developing a Project Plan

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

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

A project network provides the basis for ________________________________ .

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

Which of the following is true about hammock activities?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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