Deck 8: Lean Systems

Question 1

To calculate the probability of completing a project by a certain date,

A) the variance of the distribution of project completion times is taken to be one- sixth the difference between the latest finish time and the earliest finish time of the last activity in the project.
B) we assume that the activity durations are independent of each other so that the normal distribution can be used.
C) the expected completion time of the project is taken to be the sum of the activity times on the shortest path.
D) we only need the parameters of the beta distribution for the finish node of the diagram.

Answer 1

we assume that the activity durations are independent of each other so that the normal distribution can be used.

Question 2

Assuming a beta distribution is being used, if the most optimistic time for an activity decreases by 12 days, what will happen to the expected time for that activity?

A) It will decrease by 12 days.
B) It will increase by 2 days.
C) It will decrease by 2 days.
D) It will remain the same.

Answer 2

It will decrease by 2 days.

Question 3

In making an estimate of the most pessimistic time for an activity, a manager deliberately estimates this time too high (i.e., longer than it should be). What is the result of this action, assuming the beta distribution is being used to make time estimates?

A) The expected time for this activity will be larger than it should be.
B) The beta distribution will be symmetric around its mean.
C) The most likely time for this activity will be larger than it should be.
D) The variance of the activity will be smaller than it should be.

Answer 3

The expected time for this activity will be larger than it should be.

Question 4

Which one of the following conditions violates the assumptions of PERT/CPM networks?

A) Two activities tied together by an arc are overlapping and can be worked on simultaneously.
B) Costs increase linearly as activity time is reduced below its normal time.
C) There can be more than one critical path in a network.
D) Some activities can have zero variance.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT one of the five steps involved in planning projects?

A) Analyzing cost- time trade- offs
B) Diagramming the network
C) Monitoring resource usage during the execution phase
D) Developing the schedule

Question 6

When using the beta probability distribution to estimate activity times, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) The use of most optimistic, most likely, and most pessimistic times for an activity will result in a determination of the expected times for that activity.
B) The beta distribution is used as a way of approximating a normal probability distribution for time estimates.
C) The larger the difference between most pessimistic time and most optimistic time for an activity, the smaller the variance of that time estimate.
D) The project manager is usually the only person involved in making time estimates, since obtaining estimates from workers involved in the activities would result in inconsistent estimates.

Question 7

Activity slack is defined as

A) earliest finish time minus latest finish time.
B) earliest start time minus latest start time.
C) latest start time minus earliest start time.
D) latest finish time minus earliest start time.

Question 8

Which one of the following statements about network diagrams is TRUE?

A) In an activity- on- arc diagram, the arcs depict the activities as well as the precedence relationships.
B) In an activity- on- node diagram, "events" are used to denote the end points of arcs.
C) In an activity- on- arc diagram, there is never a need to use "dummy" activities.
D) In an activity- on- node diagram, the nodes depict precedence relationships as well as activities.

Question 9

In a network diagram, an "activity"

A) is the smallest unit of work effort consuming both time and resources that a project manager can schedule and control.
B) must always have a single, precise estimate for the time duration.
C) should always be something the company has had experience with.
D) is the largest unit of work effort consuming both time and resources that a project manager can Schedule and control.

Question 10

If a project has multiple critical paths, which of the following variances should be used in analyzing project completion time probabilities?

A) the sum of the variances for all critical paths
B) the critical path with the smallest variance
C) the average variance of the critical paths
D) the critical path with the largest variance

Question 11

Following are four sets of most optimistic, most likely, and most pessimistic times (in weeks) for an activity. Which one of the four sets will have a mean estimated time equal to the most likely time?

A) 1, 9, 9
B) 1, 1, 9
C) 1, 5, 5
D) 1, 5, 9

Question 12

A project has three paths. A- B- C has a length of 25 days. A- D- C has a length of 15 days. Finally, A- E- C has a length of 20 days. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) A- B- C has the most slack.
B) The expected duration of this project is 25 days.
C) The expected duration of this project is 25 + 15 + 20 = 60 days.
D) A- D- C is the critical path.

Question 13

The earliest start time for an activity is equal to the

A) smallest earliest finish time of all of its immediate predecessors.
B) largest earliest finish time of all of its immediate predecessors.
C) largest late finish time of all of its immediate predecessors.
D) smallest late start time of any of its immediate predecessors.

Question 14

Which one of the following best describes the critical path of a PERT/CPM network?

A) the sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that has the maximum amount of activity slack.
B) the set of activities that has no precedence relationships.
C) the sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that takes the longest time to complete.
D) the sequence of activities that has the lowest normal activity cost.

Question 15

If the sum of the variances on the critical path (and all other network paths) is equal to zero, what is the probability that the project will be completed by its earliest expected completion date?

A) 50 percent
B) 100 percent
C) 95 percent
D) It cannot be determined.

Question 16

Assuming a beta distribution is being used, if the most pessimistic time for an activity increases by 6 weeks, what will happen to the expected time for that activity?

A) It will increase by 6 weeks.
B) It will decrease by 1 week.
C) It will increase by 1 week.
D) It will remain the same.

Question 17

Which of the following statements concerning the critical path in project network is FALSE?

A) The critical path is the sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that takes the longest to finish.
B) Activities on the critical path have zero slack.
C) Delaying an activity on the critical path delays the entire project.
D) There is always only one critical path in a project network.

Question 18

Before beginning to create a PERT/CPM network model for a project, the project must be described in general terms. Two types of information that must be defined are

A) activities and precedence relationships.
B) crash times and manpower allocation.
C) slack time and activities.
D) manpower allocation and project due date.

Question 19

In an activity- on- node (AON) network, the nodes represent whereas the arcs represent .

A) precedence relationships; time
B) activities; time
C) activities; precedence relationships
D) events; activities

Question 20

Which one of the following situations is more appropriate for the application of project management?

A) The need for coordination among various functional areas is low.
B) The project is guaranteed to be successful.
C) When none of the tasks involved in the project can be done simultaneously.
D) The need for coordination among various functional areas is high.

Question 21

________ is the shortest time in which an activity can be completed, if all goes exceptionally well.

Question 22

What are the benefits of using CPM/PERT?

Question 23

The________ is a statement of all work that has to be completed.

Question 24

The difference between the earliest start (ES) and the earliest finish (EF) times for any activity in a project network is the

A) estimated duration of the activity.
B) latest finish time for the activity.
C) activity total slack time.
D) activity free slack time.

Question 25

The ________ is the probable time required to perform an activity.

Question 26

The probability that a project will be completed by its earliest expected completion date is

A) 100 percent.
B) 95 percent.
C) 50 percent.
D) impossible to determine.

Question 27

________ is the smallest unit of work effort consuming both time and resources that the project manager can schedule and control.

Question 28

The additional cost associated with reducing an activity time is called ________ .

Question 29

Resource allocation is an attempt to shift _________ from activities with slack to those on the critical path where resources are overloaded.

Question 30

________ is an attempt to reduce the peaks and valleys in resource needs by shifting the schedules of conflicting activities within their earliest and latest start dates.

Question 31

Why is knowing the critical path in a project important?

Question 32

A(n) ________ is an interrelated set of activities that have a definite starting and ending point and that result in a unique outcome for a specific allocation of resources.

Question 33

What options do project managers have to alleviate resource problems? Briefly describe each method.

Question 34

________ is the maximum length of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.

Question 35

________ refers to a network planning method created for the U.S. Navy's Polaris missile project.

Question 36

When using the beta distribution for estimating activity times,

A) the most likely time estimate can be positioned anywhere between the optimistic and pessimistic time estimates.
B) the most likely time estimate becomes the mean of the distribution.
C) we assume that the standard deviation is one- third the range between the optimistic and pessimistic time estimates.
D) an advantage is that the mode of the distribution is always equidistant from the end points of the distribution.

Question 37

The ________ cost refers to the additional cost associated with reducing an activity time in a project network.

Question 38

Many small incremental changes to project objectives, which in total significantly expand the scope are referred to as ________ .

Question 39

A(n) ________ determines the sequence for undertaking activities.

Question 40

Why do managers want to know the slack of activities?

Question 41

A(n) ________ chart is a project schedule that superimposes project activities, with their precedence relationships and estimated duration times, on a time line.

Question 42

What are the five steps involved in planning a project?

Question 43

The crash cost is the additional cost associated with reducing the time required to complete an activity in a project.

Question 44

________ simply adds more of an overloaded resource to maintain the schedule of an activity.

Question 45

The activities along the critical path determine the completion time for the project.

Question 46

The network diagram is a planning method that is designed to depict the relationships between activities.

Question 47

There are major differences between the program evaluation and review technique (PERT) and the critical path method (CPM) for network planning.

Question 48

The ________ is the longest estimated time required to perform an activity.

Question 49

Standard computerized scheduling packages are rarely used for project management.

Question 50

What characteristics should project manager possess?

Question 51

________ is a measure of the probability and consequence of not reaching a defined project goal.

Question 52

The new service or product development process is a core process that fundamentally shapes the supply chain.

Question 53

The ________ is the shortest time in which an activity can be completed if all goes exceptional well.

Question 54

In monitoring a project, negative slack indicates how much an activity has been pushed beyond its planned latest start dates.

Question 55

For controlling projects, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) equals the cost of the work that was scheduled to have been completed by a particular date based on the original budget and project plan.

Question 56

An activity that includes writing final reports, completing remaining deliverables, and compiling the team's recommendations for improving the project process is called________
.

Question 57

Project managers should be able to organize a set of disparate activities.

Question 58

A(n) ________ depicts the relationships between activities, which consists of nodes (circles) and arcs (arrows).

Question 59

Deviations from the project plan are often referred to as ________ .

Question 60

The ________ is the sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that takes the longest time to complete.

Question 61

Activity slack refers to how much time an activity's completion time must be reduced by in order to shorten the critical path.

Question 62

The new service/product development process begins with the old item and ends with the launch of the new offering.

Question 63

The critical path method (CPM) is a network planning method initially developed as a means to schedule maintenance shutdowns at chemical plants.

Question 64

Projects often cut across organizational lines.

Question 65

Typically activities along the critical path have more slack than activities not on the critical path.

Question 66

Of the four major phases in project life cycles, typically the execution stage requires the most resources.

Question 67

All activities on the critical path must be crashed, or expedited, in order to reduce the overall project completion time.

Question 68

A hierarchical approach to developing a work breakdown structure (WBS) for a project involves breaking major work tasks down into smaller tasks.

Question 69

Projects cannot have more than one critical path.

Question 70

Scope creep refers to all activities that have yet to be completed in a project.

Question 71

Risk is a measure of the probability and consequences of not reaching a defined project goal.

Question 72

If one activity along the critical path is delayed, the entire project will be delayed.

Question 73

The duration of an entire project is determined by the earliest finish time (EF) for the last activity on the critical path.

Question 74

The earliest start time (ES) for an activity is the maximum of the earliest finish (EF) times for all the activities that immediately precede the activity.

Question 75

The correct sequence of the four major phases in projects life cycle is; organization, planning, execution and closeout.

Question 76

For controlling projects, the Cost Performance Index (CPI) measures the ratio of the budgeted cost of the work completed to date divided by the actual cost for that same work.

Question 77

Each activity in the work breakdown structure must have an "owner" who is responsible for doing the work.

Question 78

The critical path is the sequence of activities between a project's start and finish that take the shortest time to complete.

Question 79

A project is an interrelated set of activities that has a definite starting and ending point.

Question 80

Total slack for an activity is calculated by adding up the time required to complete all activities that follow the activity in the project.