objective project management

Chapter 1

30% (3 out of 10 correct) The questions marked with symbol have not been graded.Responses to questions are indicated by the symbol.

1. The growing demand for a broad range of complex, sophisticated, customized goods and services would have which one of the following implications for the management of projects in modern organizations

A. Project managers are responsible for making detailed technical decisionsB. Project managers should rely on the use of teams to plan and execute projectsC. Most projects will be performed using subcontractorsD. The design of a project solution should always be frozen early in the planning

process

see p. 1Level: easy

2. Identify the example that would not usually be considered a project.A. Building a carB. Developing a computer software application programC. Designing a new productD. Installing new equipment in an existing production line

While it is true that automobiles have an element of customization, process management techniques are used to mass-produce the vehicles. Refer to the section titled Project Objectives.intermediate

3. According to the authors, the prime objectives of project management are cost, time and

A. ScheduleB. QualityC. Customer satisfactionD. Performance

Refer to Figure 1 -- 1.Level: easy

4. The term “program” refers to an exceptionally large, long-range objective that is broken down into a set of ________.

A. TasksB. ProjectsC. SubprojectsD. Campaigns

Refer to section 1.1.Level: easy

5. The five attributes that characterize a project are:A. Purpose, repetition, interdependencies, consistency, uncertaintyB. Lifecycle, schedule, cost, uncertainty, independenceC. Purpose, lifecycle, uniqueness, conflict, interdependenciesD. Purpose, lifecycle, conflict, certainty, independence


6. Rising client expectations during execution of a project may lead to a condition known as ________.

YOUR ANSWER: turtu

The suggested answer is scope creep. Refer to the section titled Project Objectives.easy

7. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a ________ product or service.

YOUR ANSWER: tryrty

The suggested answer is unique. Refer to section 1.1. This is the PMI definition of a project.Level: easy

8. Having incomplete information about a situation or outcome is known as ________.

YOUR ANSWER: tyrty

The suggested answer is uncertainty. Refer to the glossary.Level: easy

9. With respect to project goals throughout the project's lifecycle, early in the lifecycle, the project team's focus should be on how to achieve the required ________.

YOUR ANSWER: trytry

The suggested answer is performance. Refer to Figure 1.3 and section 1.3.Level: advanced

10. An important implication of the project lifecycle concept is that a project will resist ________ of its existence.

YOUR ANSWER: tyryry

The suggested answer is termination. Refer to section 1.3.Level: intermediate

11. Because the customer is not a member of the performing organization, the customer is not a stakeholder of the project.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to the section titled easy

12. The pattern of progress observed in every project lifecycle can be explained by the S-curve that exhibits a cumulative pattern of slow-rapid-slow progress.

A. TrueB. False

refer to section 1.3. Level: intermediate

13. The conventional project lifecycle can be described as a pattern of cumulative progress that is slow-rapid-slow progress.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to Figure 1 -- 3.Level: easy

14. Earned value is based on the concept that the percentage of project completion is closely correlated with cost or with the use of resources.

A. TrueB. False

refer to Figure 1.3 and section 1.3.Level: advanced

15. In a conventional project lifecycle, as work progresses uncertainty about the expected outcome should increase.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to Figure 1.7. Dispersion about the expected outcome will decrease as the results of the project become known.Level: easy

Chapter 2


1. The text identifies two basic types of project selection models. They areA. Biased and fairB. Iconic and analogC. Numeric and nonnumericD. Numeric and qualitative

Refer to section 2.3.Level: intermediate

2. If a system is being updated due to operating necessity, the project was selected because

A. The system is a sacred cow system that is not important to business successB. The system is worth saving at the estimated cost of the projectC. The dimension of cost is not relevant to execution of the projectD. The cost overruns can be hidden in someone else's budget

Refer to section 2.4, the operating necessity nonnumeric model.Level: easy

3. The payback period model fails to consider ________.A. Any cashflows generated by the projectB. Any cashflows generated during the project's executionC. Any cashflows generated after the project's execution has been completedD. Any cashflows beyond those required to recover the initial project investment

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models.Level: intermediate

4. If the NPV for a project is > 0, it indicates that the project willA. Report a profit lossB. Report a profit gainC. Cover its hurdle rateD. Fail to cover its hurdle rate

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models, discounted cash flow.Level: advanced

5. Identify the numeric model that usually does not account for cashflow.A. Internal rate of returnB. Average return on investmentC. Net present valueD. Payback period

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models.Level: easy

6. The process of modeling a problem seeks to carve away the ________ of a problem.

YOUR ANSWER: hgj

The suggested answer is unwanted reality. Refer to section 2.2.Level: intermediate

7. Reference to an external standard is necessary when taking an ________ measurement.

YOUR ANSWER: jgh

The suggested answer is objective. Refer to section 2.6, measurements.Level: advanced

8. If repetitions of a measurement produce results that vary from one another by less than a pre-specified amount, the measurement is said to be a ________ measurement.

YOUR ANSWER: ghjg

The suggested answer is reliable. Refer to section 2.6, measurements.Level: advanced

9. According to Wheelwright and Clark, ________ projects have objectives or deliverables that are only incrementally different in both product and process from existing offerings.

YOUR ANSWER: hgj

The suggested answer is derivative. Refer to section 2.7, step 2: identify project categories and criteriaLevel: intermediate

10. The RFP solicitation document includes information about price and ________.

YOUR ANSWER: jhgj

The suggested answer is methodology. Refer to section 2.8,Level: intermediate

11. For a project selected using nonnumeric models, operating necessity projects have priority over competitive necessity projects.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 2.4, nonnumeric models.Level: easy

12. In order to compute the internal rate of return for a project, the value for NPV must be greater than inflation in order to have a return on investment.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models, internal rate of return.Level: intermediate

13. Depreciation is an example of a non-cash expense that would be added to accounting income to determine cash flow from operations.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models.Level: advanced

14. Scoring models are used to overcome the inability of profitability models to account for multiple decision criteria.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 2.4, numeric models, scoring.Level: intermediate

15. The distinction between subjective and objective refers to the difference between an opinion and a fact.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 2.6, measurements.Level: advanced

Chapter 3


1. A project manager is responsible for planning, ________, budgeting, directing, organizing, and controlling the project.

A. DraftingB. FundingC. InsuringD. Staffing


2. The mechanism by which the people in organizations make decisions is known as ________.

A. PoliticsB. PersuasionC. Win-lose competitionsD. Strategy

Refer to section 3.2, acquiring adequate resourcesLevel: intermediate

3. According to the authors, a Type 2 project isA. Well understood but not routine

B. Well understood and routineC. Not well understood and not routineD. Not well understood but routine

Refer to section 3.2, failure and the risk and fear of failureLevel: easy

4. The project manager needs to possess technical and ________ credibility.A. InformalB. AdministrativeC. FormalD. Financial

Refer to section 3.3, credibilityLevel:

5. The project manager's responsibilities are broad and fall primarily into the three separate areas of responsibilities to the ________, to the project and the client, and to the members of the project team.

A. Parent organizationB. InvestorsC. IntervenersD. Special-interest groups

Refer to section 3.1, project responsibilitiesLevel: easy

6. During the ________ stage of the project lifecycle, there is no significant difference in the importance that project managers place on the three goals of cost, time, and performance.

YOUR ANSWER: cxbc

The suggested answer is Design or formation stage. Refer to section 3.2, making project goal trade-offsLevel: intermediate

7. A set of interrelated components that accept inputs and produce outputs in a purposeful manner is called a ________.

YOUR ANSWER: vcb

The suggested answer is system. Refer to section 3.1.Level: easy

8. During the build-up stage of a project lifecycle, __________is the dominant goal of many project managers.

YOUR ANSWER: vcbv

The suggested answer is schedule. Refer to section 3.2, making project goal trade-offs.Level: intermediate

9. Culture contains the four elements of technology, ________, language, and arts.

YOUR ANSWER: nvcv

The suggested answer is institutions. Refer to section 3.4Level: intermediate

10. Art is the aspect of culture that communicates the ________ of the culture.

YOUR ANSWER: cvn

The suggested answer is aesthetic values. Refer to section 3.4Level: easy

11. The functional manager is responsible for deciding what resources will be devoted to accomplishing the task.

A. TrueB. False


12. The project manager is usually a facilitator and a generalist possessing a reasonable level of technical knowledge.

A. TrueB. False


13. Type 1 projects usually fail because they are late or over budget.A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 3.2, failure and the risk and fear of failureLevel: intermediate

14. In a Type II project, the so-called planning problems usually result from an inability to plan unknown unknowns.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 3.2, failure and the risk and fear of failureLevel: intermediate

15. Drive to complete the task is the most important of all the characteristics desirable in a project manager.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 3.3, selecting the project manager.Level: easy

Chapter 5

1. The LRC is a specialized view of the action plan that focuses on ________.A. Who has what responsibility for each project taskB. Who must execute each project taskC. Who must approve each project taskD. Assigning cost centers for the organizational breakdown structure

Refer to chapter 5, introduction.Level: intermediate

2. Identify the statement that describes one of the three major objectives for systems integration.

A. Performance will be acceptable to the project managerB. The desired performance will be achieved by optimizing each component in the

systemC. Cost is a design parameter that can be minimized through value engineeringD. Project efficiency is of paramount concern


3. During the ________ process, it is important to ensure that managers do not mix outcomes (events) with the specific tasks (activities) needed to produce them.

A. BrainstormingB. Activity definitionC. Schedule developmentD. Even planning


4. In an X-bar control chart, the arithmetic mean of sample means is depicted asA. The UCLB. The LCLC. The centerlineD. The trend line

Appendix B.Level: advanced

5. A milestone is a significant event in the project lifecycle that ________.A. Has a very short duration and consumes limited resourcesB. Has zero duration but consumes resourcesC. Has zero duration and does not consume resourcesD. Indicates completion of intangible deliverables

PMBOK Guidelines glossary.Level: easy

6. Attributes such as reliability, quality, and maintainability describe aspects of ________ that reflect what a system does.

YOUR ANSWER: hfdgfg

The suggested answer is performance. Refer to section 5.2.Level: intermediate

7. When the relevant cost trade-offs can be estimated, ________ is the simple and consistent use of cost-effectiveness analysis to achieve the cost objectives for system integration.

YOUR ANSWER: jfh

The suggested answer is value engineering. Refer to section 5.2.Level: intermediate

8. The set of physical elements required to build a project are documented using a ________.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is bill of materials. Refer to the glossary.Level: easy

9. The ___________ displays how a statistic is changing over time compared to its average and extreme values.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is control chart Refer to the glossary.Level: intermediate

10. The ________ is a measure of project progress that has been made against baseline plans during execution of the project.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is earned value. Refer to the glossary.Level: intermediate

11. The project plan must be designed in such a way that the project outcome meets the criteria used to justify its selection.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to chapter 5, introduction.Level: easy

12. The success of the project launch meeting is dependent on the existence of a well-defined set of objectives for the project.

A. TrueB. False


13. The process of coordinating the work and timing of the different groups working on multidisciplinary teams is integration management

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 5.5Level: easy

14. The physical items to be delivered from a project are called milestones.A. TrueB. False

Refer to the glossary.Level: easy

15. The scope statement provides a description of a task that defines all the work required to accomplish it, including inputs and desired outputs.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to the glossary.Level: easy

CHAPTER 6


1. In a conflict scenario between two parties, when the level of frustration for the first party has been lowered to the point where no action against the second party is contemplated, the first party will usually be

A. Totally demoralized by the second party's dominationB. Satisfied with the outcomeC. Plotting future revenge against the second partyD. Dissatisfied with the outcome


2. Property rights and contractual obligations provide a major source of conflicts that involve the organization and ________.

A. Functional managersB. Project team membersC. External customersD. Internal customers


3. Within the organization, conflicts are viewed asA. Conflicts between opponentsB. Conflicts between alliesC. Trivial matters caused by personality differencesD. Important differences that should be suppressed


4. If a resource conflict arises between two high-priority projects, precedence is typically given to the project with the

A. Earliest due dateB. Fastest completion timeC. Biggest revenue streamD. Lowest cost to complete

Refer to section 6.2, scope change.Level: intermediate

5. Pressure to complete the project and anxiety about leaving the project will often generate ________ conflicts during project phaseout.

A. TechnicalB. AdministrativeC. Cost

D. Personality

Refer to section 6.3, project phaseout.Level:

6. During project formation, lack of ________ about the relative power/influence/authority of the PM and the functional managers is a major component of all conflicts involving technical decisions, resource allocation, and scheduling.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is clarity. Refer to section 6.3, project formation.Level: intermediate

7. The project should move from a general concept to a highly detailed set of plans during the project ________ phase.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is build-up. Refer to section 6.3, project buildup.Level: intermediate

8. During project build-up, the project manager seeks a commitment of people from the functional departments when the ________ matrix organizational structure is used to manage the project.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is strong. Refer to section 6.3, project buildup.Level: intermediate

9. During project build-up, the project manager seeks a commitment of work from the functional departments when the ________ matrix organizational structure is used to manage the project.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is weak. Refer to section 6.3, project buildup.

Level: intermediate

10. The need to manage technical interfaces and to correct incompatibilities is likely to create technical conflicts during the __________ phase of the project lifecycle.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is Main program Refer to section 6.3, main program.Level: intermediate

11. Technical problems are comparatively rare during project phaseout because most have been solved or bypassed earlier.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 6.3, project phaseout.Level: easy

12. Most conflicts arising in projects have to do with whether or not the project will be done.

A. True

B.

False


13. Negotiation is the process through which two or more parties seek an acceptable rate of exchange for items they own or control.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 6.1Level: easy

14. The general objective of a Pareto-optimal solution to conflict is to find a solution such that one party can be made better off by making another party worse off by the same amount or more.

A. TrueB. False


15. The total level of conflict in the project lifecycle is the highest during the project build-up stage.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to the summary.Level: intermediate

Chapter 7


1. Projects that produce waste and encourage slack management often do so because the project budget is ________.

A. Under fundedB. Properly fundedC. Over fundedD. Altered by change requests during execution of the plan


2. The project's budget shouldA. Associate earned value during execution with project revenuesB. Allow funds to be spent without linkage to achievementC. Reflect the timing of expenses associated with the use of resourcesD. Be changed whenever scope creep can be used to explain a cost variance

Refer to chapter 7, introductionLevel: easy

3. A fully costed work element would include ________ costs plus overhead and G&A charges.

A. BurdenB. PeriodC. DirectD. Indirect

Refer to section 7.1, work element costing.Level: easy

4. The two generic types of estimation error are ________.A. Small and largeB. Random and plannedC. Certain and uncertainD. Random and systematic

Refer to section 7.2, on making better estimatesLevel: easy

5. If the value of the running sum of forecast errors (RSFE) approaches ________, the estimator's errors are assumed to be random.

A. ZeroB. 1 standard deviationC. 50 percent of the running sum of forecasted valuesD. 100 percent of the running sum of forecasted values

Refer to section 7.2, on making better estimates.Level: advanced

6. __________budgeting aggregates income and expenditures across projects.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is Program-oriented. Refer to section 7.1, category/activity budgeting vs. program budgeting.Level: intermediate

7. The tracking signal, computed as TS = RSFE/MAD measures the estimator's ________.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is bias. Refer to section 7.2, on making better estimates.Level: easy

8. For projects that include repetitive tasks with significant human input, the ________ rate should be factored into the cost estimate.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is learning. Refer to the summary.Level: easy

9. The pattern of ________ in a budget embodies organizational policy.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is constraints. Refer to chapter 7, introduction.Level: intermediate

10. The learning rate suggests that each time the quantity of output ________, the worker hours per unit decrease to a fixed percentage of their previous value.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is doubles Refer to section 7.2, learning curve.Level: intermediate

11. If a project budget is underfunded, it will often inhibit accomplishment, frustrate committed stakeholders, and reduce costs.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to chapter 7, introduction. Under-funding projects will not usually lead to reduced costs.Level: easy

12. The budget is not an expression of organizational policy.A. TrueB. False

Refer to chapter 7, introduction.Level: intermediate

13. The traditional organizational budget is category-oriented or activity-oriented.A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 7.1, category/activity budgeting vs. program budgeting.Level: intermediate

14. If forecast errors are normally distributed, MAD is approximately 80% of a standard deviation.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 7.2, on making better estimates.Level: intermediate

15. Suppose that a person requires 48 minutes to complete a work element on the first attempt. On the second attempt, the work element is completed in 60 minutes. Therefore, the learning rate of this person is 80% for this work element.

A. True

B. False

60 / 48 = 125 percent, so the person is not learning anything yet or perhaps the learning rate may not be applicable to this activity.Level: intermediate

Chapter 8


1. In an AON diagram, ________ can be used to eliminate the potential for hanging tasks in the network.

A. Start and stop nodesB. Dummy activitiesC. Lags and leadsD. Loopbacks

Refer to section 8.2, terminology. IntermediateLevel:

2. In the AOA network, dotted-line arrows depictA. ActivitiesB. EventsC. Logical dependenciesD. Dummy activities

Refer to section 8.2, terminology.Level: easy

3. The project's master schedule contains only major tasks and is oriented toward _________.

A. Monitoring detailed progress of workB. Overall project management rather than precise control of detailed workC. Overall project management, including precise control of detailed workD. Detailed resource management

Refer to section 8.2, Gantt charts and Microsoft Project 2002.

Level:

4. Task F has duration of 12 days and an early start date of 30 days. Based on the given data, determine the early finish date for task F.

A. 12 daysB. 18 daysC. 30 daysD. 48 days

Refer to section 8.2, critical path and time.Level: easy

5. The critical time of the network is the ________ time in which the entire network can be completed

A. shortestB. most likelyC. medianD. longest

Refer to section 8.2, critical path and timeLevel: advanced

6. The authors recommend preparing a schedule for each ________ in the WBS.

YOUR ANSWER: nfh

The suggested answer is major task level. Refer to section 8.1.Level: easy

7. The calculation of the standard deviation for the ________ distribution is based on the assumption that the distribution's range is approximately equal to six standard deviations.

YOUR ANSWER: jfgh

The suggested answer is beta. Refer to section 8.2, calculating activity times.Level: intermediate

8. While performing a forward pass calculation to determine the critical path of a network, when multiple paths converge into a successor activity, the value carried forward to the early start of the successor activity is the ________ of the successor's immediate predecessors.

YOUR ANSWER:

The suggested answer is largest early finish. Refer to section 8.2, critical path and time.Level: easy

9. While performing a backward pass calculation for a network, when multiple paths converge into a predecessor activity, the value carried backward to the late finish of the predecessor activity is the ________ of the predecessor's immediate successors.

YOUR ANSWER: j,gbmj

The suggested answer is smallest late start. Refer to section 8.2, critical path and time, slack.Level: easy

10. In a statistical distribution, when an observation's value moves farther away from the distribution's mean, the z-score value willa) Increaseb) Remain the samec) Decreased) More data is needed

YOUR ANSWER: jhfjh

The suggested answer is a Refer to section 8.2, uncertainty of project completion time.Level: intermediate

11. The critical activities in real-world projects typically constitute no less than 25% of the total activities in the project.

A. True

B. False

Refer to section 8.2. The answer is no more than 10%.Level: easy

12. In a network, an activity can be shown as having neither a predecessor nor a successor.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 8.2, terminology. If neither a successor nor a predecessor is present, the activity is referred to as a hanging task. Level: easy

13. Most commercially available project management software applications use the AOA type of network.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 8.2, constructing the network AOA version.Level: easy

14. When using the beta distribution, the denominator of the formula for standard deviation should be adjusted by converting the range into the correct z-score value based on the probabilities given for the best case and worst case estimates.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 8.2, uncertainty of project completion time.Level: advanced

15. Milestones use resources.A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 8.2, terminology.Level: easy

Chapter 9


1. In CPM, two activity times and two ________ are specified.A. standard deviationsB. statistical variancesC. costsD. contingency plans

Refer to section 9.1, critical path method crashing a project.Level: intermediate

2. If deterministic time estimates are used and if project ________ are firm, there is a high likelihood that it will be necessary to crash the last few activities of most projects.

A. DeliverablesB. Cost objectivesC. DeadlinesD. Budgets

Refer to section 9.1, critical path method crashing a project.Level: easy

3. This schedule compression technique attacks (changes) the logical relationships in a network in order to expedite a project.

A. CrashingB. LeadingC. Fast-trackingD. Blitzing

Refer to section 9.1, fast-tracking.Level: easy

4. The ________ approach to constrained resource scheduling problems is the only feasible method of attacking the large, nonlinear, complex problems that tend to occur in the real world of project management.

A. Goal programmingB. HeuristicC. Optimization modelingD. Linear programming

Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.Level: easy

5. The ________ heuristic provides a general solution for critical path and time. It is usually the default rule for a schedule.

A. ASAPB. ALAPC. Minimum slack firstD. Shortest task first

Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.Level: easy

6. The standard practice with PERT/CPM is to estimate activity times under the assumption of resource loadings that are ________.

YOUR ANSWER: nbcv

The suggested answer is normal. Refer to section 9.1, critical path method crashing a project.Level: easy

7. When using heuristic solutions to schedule, ___________ will always take precedence.

YOUR ANSWER: nbv

The suggested answer is technological necessities. Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.

Level: easy

8. The usual purpose of the ________ scheduling heuristic is to delay cash outflows as long as possible.

YOUR ANSWER: mnv

The suggested answer is ALAP Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.Level: intermediate

9. A project task is said to be system constrained if it requires a fixed amount of ________ and known quantities of resources.

YOUR ANSWER: nv

The suggested answer is time Refer to section 9.2, the resource allocation problem.Level: intermediate

10. Resource leveling aims to minimize the period-by-period variations in resource loading by shifting tasks within their ________.

YOUR ANSWER: hf

The suggested answer is slack allowances Refer to section 9.4, resource leveling.Level: intermediate

11. The formula for computing the cost/time slope for each activity that can be crashed is (Crash cost - normal cost) / (crash time - normal time).

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 9.1, critical path method crashing a project.Level: intermediate

12. Most heuristic solution methods start with the master schedule and analyze resource

usage period by period, resource by resource.A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.Level: intermediate

13. If a date-constrained project is scheduled from the ending date constraint using the ALAP heuristic, each activity will have zero slack and be located on the critical path.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 9.5, heuristic methods.Level: advanced

14. A project is said to be properly chartered if all three variables --- time, cost, and specifications --- have been fixed by the project sponsor.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 9.2, the resource allocation problem. In any three-variable equation, only two of the quantities can be fixed.Level: easy

15. Resource leveling describes the amounts of individual resources an existing schedule requires during specific time periods.

A. TrueB. False

Refer to section 9.3, resource loading.Level: easy

objective project management

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