Jenny is the project manager for her organization. Her project is not doing well on project schedule
performance, and management wants her to predict how the project schedule and cost will end.
Management has asked Jenny to report and forecast her project's performance based on the
Judgmental methods. Which of the following judgmental methods will Jenny use to accomplish the
task? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.
A. Forecast by analogy
B. Technology forecasting
C. Autoregressive moving average
D. Scenario building
s D, B, and
A.
Explanation: The judgmental forecasting method incorporates intuitive judgments, opinions and
subjective probability estimates. Some examples of
judgmental forecasting are as follows:
Composite forecasts
Surveys
Delphi method
Scenario building
Technology forecasting
Forecast by analogy
Answer option C is incorrect. Autoregressive moving average is an example of the
causal/econometric method.
Steve is the project manager for the POK Project. He is working with the project customers to
determine how frequently they'd like to receive the project information. The customers would like
weekly status reports on how the project is performing. Where should Steve document this
information?
A
Explanation: The communications management plan defines who needs what information, when the
information is needed, and the modality the
information is expected in.
Answer option C is incorrect. The project schedule could include project management activities such
as schedule communication, but the
communications management plan is the best answer as this information is absolutely documented
in this plan.
Answer option D is incorrect. The schedule management is not the best location for this information.
Answer option B is incorrect. The request for customer communication is not an issue, so this choice
is not the most appropriate.
You are the project manager for your organization. You want to record some details about the work
that the project team has to complete. You want to document the level of effort, where the work is
to be performed, and the person who will be responsible for completing the work. Which of the
following is the best place to document this information?
A. Activity attributes
B. Project management plan
C. Schedule Management Plan
D. Roles and Responsibilities Matrix
A
Explanation: The activity attributes initially include the Activity ID, WBS ID, and the Activity Name,
but it can evolve over time to include other components
about the work.
Activity attributes are an output of the Define Activity process. These attributes refer to the multiple
components that frame up an activity. The
components for each activity during the early stages of the project are the Activity ID, WBS ID, and
Activity name. At the later stages, the
activity attributes include Activity codes, Predecessor activity, activity description, logical
relationship, successor activity, leads and lags,
imposed dates, and constraints and assumptions. Activity attributes are used for schedule
development and for ordering, selecting, and
sorting the planned schedule activities in a number of ways within reports.
Answer option B is incorrect. A project management plan is a formal document that defines how the
project is being monitored, controlled, and
executed. It is not the best answer.
Answer option D is incorrect. The roles and responsibilities matrix records the work and the person
to record the work, but does not offer
additional information such as locale for the work, level of effort, and other information.
Answer option C is incorrect. The Schedule Management Plan defines how the schedule will be
created, executed, and controlled.
You are the project manager of the GHY Project. This project is scheduled to last for one year and has
a BAC of $4,500,000. You are currently 45 percent complete with this project, though you are
supposed to be at your second milestone, which accounts for half of the project completion. There
have been some errors in the project, which has caused you to spend $2,073,654. What is this
project's planned value?
D
Explanation: The planned value is the worth of the project if it were on time. In this instance, the
project should be 50 percent complete, so the planned
value is half of the project budget - $2,250,000.
Planned value (PV) is the authorized budget assigned to the schedule work to be accomplished for a
schedule activity or work breakdown
structure component. It serves as a baseline against which actual performance is measured. The
theory of planned value is of vital importance
to the project management team and it is important to keep careful track of this. The term planned
value can also be in some situations
referred to by the project management team and the project management team leader as the
budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS).
Answer option C is incorrect. This is the budget at completion.
Answer option A is incorrect. This is the earned value for the project.
Answer option B is incorrect. There is enough information to know.
You are the project manager of the NHQ project. This project is scheduled to last for six months and
will require $345,000 to complete. If the project completes earlier than scheduled, your organization
will receive a bonus of $5,000 per day for the early completion. Management has asked you to
develop an aggressive schedule to realize as much of the bonus as possible, but you must be careful
not to increase project risk beyond an acceptable level of risk exposure. Which of the following
approaches is most likely to increase project risk?
D
Explanation: Fast tracking allows entire phases of the project to overlap and this action does
increase risks. This is an approach that you would want to
avoid in your project.
Answer option B is incorrect. Crashing adds labor to the project and typically drives project costs.
Answer option A is incorrect. The critical chain method considers the availability of project resources
as part of its network diagramming
technique.
Answer option C is incorrect. Lead time allows project activities to overlap and may introduce
project risks, but not to the extent of using fast
tracking.
Which of the following is NOT an output of the control schedule process?
A. Organizational process assets
B. Change requests
C. Project termination request
D. Project document updates
C
Explanation: The project termination request is not an output of the control schedule. Early
termination of a project is a closing process and usually does
not stem from the project manager.
The outputs of the control schedule process are as follows:
Work Performance Measurements: The work packages and control accounts are documented and
communicated to the stakeholders.
Organizational Process Assets Updates: The assets that are updated are: corrective actions chosen
and the reasons, causes of
variance, and other types of lessons learned from project schedule control.
Change Requests: It is processed for reviews and disposition through the Perform Integrated Change
Control process.
Project Management Plan Updates: The elements that need to be updated are: schedule baseline,
schedule management plan, cost
baseline.
Project Document Updates: The elements that need to be updated in project document updates are:
schedule data and project
schedule.
A company hires a scheduler for one of its projects. What skills should he possess to efficiently work
with the project team? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose three.
A. Performance control
B. Execution scheduling
C. Leadership
D. Feasibility planning
s D, B, and
A.
Explanation: A scheduler schedules the constraints for the project into phases with respect to the
time and resources available. He can be hired from
outside a company, or from within a company. The basic roles of a scheduler are as follows:
Feasibility Planning: A scheduler is the time management expert who paints a picture of the project.
He develops a strategy for
delivery and to gain consensus.
Execution Schedule: A scheduler works with the project team to optimize and refine the schedule
until an agreed schedule has been
developed.
Performance Control: A schedule is maintained by the scheduler who optimizes outcomes and
instructs the project team on their
presentation. It is important that the scheduler be aware of the changes and trends related to the
project delivery.
Answer option C is incorrect. This is the skill possessed by the project manager.
What formula would you use if your project had a BAC of $450,000, you have spent $191,000, and
you are 40 percent complete though you are supposed to be 55 percent done and management
wants to know your project's schedule performance index?
C
Explanation: The schedule performance index can be found by dividing the earned value by the
planned value. In this instance, it is $180,000 / $247,500
for a value of .73.
Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is used in
trend analysis to predict future performance.
SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following
formula:
SPI = Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)
If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value
is less than 1, it shows poor
performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target.
Answer option D is incorrect. This is the schedule variance formula of EV-PV.
Answer option A is incorrect. This is the TCPI formula of 1.04.
Answer option B is incorrect. This is the VAC formula with a result of -$27,500.
Which of the following characteristics of conflict and the conflict management process should be
recognized by the project managers while handling conflict in a team environment? Each correct
answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.
s B, C, and A.
Explanation: The characteristics of conflict and the conflict management process recognized by the
project managers while handling conflict in a team
environment are as follows:
Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.
Openness resolves conflict.
Conflict resolution should focus on issues, not personalities.
Conflict is a team issue.
Conflict resolution should focus on the present, not the past.
You are the project manager of the HQQ Project. Your project is running late by ten percent of where
you should be at this time. Management is concerned and they'd like to know what your schedule
variance is. Considering that the project has a BAC of $567,899, you are thirty percent complete, and
you have spent $179,450. What is the schedule variance for this project?
B
Explanation: The schedule variance can be found by subtracting the planned value from the earned
value. In this instance, it is $170,370 minus $227,160.
SV = 170,370 - 227,160 = -56,790
Schedule variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance on a project. The variance notifies that
the schedule is ahead or behind what
was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following
formula:
SV = Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV)
If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater
than 0 shows that the project is ahead of
the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target.
Answer option A is incorrect. $45,789 is not a valid calculation.
Answer option D is incorrect. -$30,268 is the expected variance at completion.
Answer option C is incorrect. There is enough information to know.
You are the project manager of the GHQ Project. You are working with your project team to create
the project network diagram. You have created the PND and are identifying the critical path with
your team using your project management information system. All of the activities on the critical
path are showing in red in the software that you are using to evaluate the critical path. What are
schedule activities on the critical path called?
A
Explanation: Schedule activities on the critical path are called critical activities.
Critical activity is a specific schedule activity on the critical path that takes place within a project
schedule. Critical activities are mainly
determined during the execution and deployment of the critical path method. In project
management terms, critical activity refers to being on
the major critical path, the most important path of life of an activity.
Critical activity can also be defined as the work elements that must be carefully monitored,
documented, and managed to make the success of
an organization, program, or project. An activity that has a total float equal to zero is believed to be
a 'critical activity', which means if an
interruption in the finish time of an activity occurs, then the entire project will be delayed by the
same amount of time. A critical activity
generally has free float equal to zero.
Answer options D, C, and B are incorrect. These are not valid answers for this question.
Maurice is the project manager of the NHQ Project and his project team has just finished the project
activities. The quality control team reports that the project deliverables are perfect. The only thing
left to in the project is to verify scope. This process will be performed by the project stakeholders.
Maurice is required to submit a final project report and report on the project performance.
Maurice's project had a budget of $234,000 but the project spent $245,000. In the final report
management wants to know the project's cost performance index (CPI). What value should Maurice
report?
B
Explanation: Cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in
trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the
ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula:
CPI = Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC)
If the CPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value
is less than 1, it shows poor
performance. The CPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. In this instance, the
earned value is $234,000 as the project
work is 100 percent. The actual costs are $245,000.
Answer option D is incorrect. This is the schedule performance index value.
Answer option A is incorrect. This is the variance at completion for the project.
Answer option C is incorrect. There is enough information to find the answer.
Cathy is the project manager of the NNQ Project. She currently has completed 45 percent of the
project but was scheduled to have 65 percent of the project completed. This project has a budget of
$344,000 and was scheduled to last four months. Cathy has spent $198,998 to date on the project.
Based on this information, what is the estimate at completion for the NNQ Project?
C
Explanation: The estimate at completion (EAC) formula is the Budget at Completion (BAC)/Cost
Performance Index (CPI). In this instance, the CPI is .78 and
the BAC is $344,000. Cathy's project isn't doing too well.
Answer option D is incorrect. This value represents the estimate to complete for the project.
Answer option B is incorrect. This value represents the negative cost variance.
Answer option A is incorrect. This value represents the negative value the project will have once all
the work is completed.
Fill in the blank with an appropriate phrase.
The _______contains the schedule components and the rules for relating and using the components
to represent the process for completing a project.
Scheduling
tool
Explanation:
A scheduling tool consists of the schedule components and the rules for connecting and using the
components to characterize
the process for completing a project. It is used to gather the schedule model and provide the means
of adjusting various parameters and
components that are typical in a modeling process.
You are the project manager of the GUH project. You are using the critical chain scheduling method
as your approach to project scheduling. What two items can you compare in the critical chain
method to determine if corrective action is appropriate?
A. Amount of buffer remaining to the amount of resources available
B. Amount of buffer remaining to the amount of buffer used
C. Availability of project resources and project buffer
D. Amount of buffer needed to the amount of buffer remaining
D
Explanation: The difference between the buffer needed and the buffer remaining can determine
whether corrective action is appropriate.
Answer option C is incorrect. This is not an accurate description of how the critical chain determines
the need for corrective action.
Answer option B is incorrect. This is not an accurate description of how the critical chain determines
the need for corrective action.
Answer option A is incorrect. This is not an accurate description of how the critical chain determines
the need for corrective action.