Deck 3: Project Management

Question 1

Project managers have their own code of ethics, established by the Project Management Institute.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Work Breakdown Structure is a useful tool in project management because it addresses the timing of individual work elements.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

One responsibility of a project manager is to make sure that the project meets its quality goals.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Every network has at least one critical path.

Question 5

Shortening the project's duration by deleting unnecessary activities is called "project crashing."

Question 6

Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.

Question 7

In project management, crashing an activity must consider the impact on all paths in the network.

Question 8

In PERT analysis, the identification of the critical path can be incorrect if a noncritical activity takes substantially more than its expected time.

Question 9

By their very nature, projects have a limited lifetime, and that sets project management apart from the management of more traditional activities.

Question 10

The standard deviation of project duration is the average of the standard deviation of all activities on the critical path.

Question 11

The PERT pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.

Question 12

Ethical issues which can arise in projects include gifts from contractors, pressure to mask delays with false status reports, and pressure to compromise project quality for cost or time savings.

Question 13

The critical path can be determined by use of either the "forward pass" or the "backward pass."

Question 14

The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.

Question 15

A project organization works best for an organization when the project resides in only one of its functional areas.

Question 16

The fundamental difference between PERT and CPM is that PERT uses the beta distribution for crashing projects while CPM uses cost estimates.

Question 17

One phase of a large project is scheduling.

Question 18

The ES of an activity that has only one predecessor is simply the EF of that predecessor.

Question 19

PERT, but not CPM, has the ability to consider the precedence relationships in a project.

Question 20

Slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project.

Question 21

Which of the following statements regarding critical paths is true?

A) The shortest of all paths through the network is the critical path.
B) Some activities on the critical path may have slack.
C) Every network has only one critical path.
D) On a specific project, there can be multiple critical paths, all with exactly the same duration.
E) The duration of the critical path is the average duration of all paths in the project network.

Question 22

The main difference between PERT and CPM is that

A) PERT is more accurate than CPM.
B) PERT assumes that activity durations are known.
C) PERT ignores activity costs.
D) CPM assumes that activity durations can vary.
E) they differ in terminology and in the construction of the network.

Question 23

The phases of project management are

A) planning, scheduling, and controlling.
B) planning, programming, and budgeting.
C) planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling.
D) different for manufacturing projects than for service projects.
E) GANTT, CPM, and PERT.

Question 24

Match the following steps in Microsoft's development of Windows 7 to their respective WBS level. Step Level
$\begin{array}{lc}\text { Step } & \text { Level } \\\text { Develop Windows 10 OS } & ? \\\text { System Testing } & ? \\\text { Compatible with } 8 \text { OS } & ? \\\text { Develop GUI's } & ? \\\text { Module Testing } & ?\end{array}$

A) Level 1, Level 2, Level 4, Level 3, Level 3
B) Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5
C) Level 0, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4
D) Level 0, Level 2, Level 2, Level 3, Level 3
E) Level 0, Level 1, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3

Question 25

The difference between AON and AOA networks is that

A) AOA networks often require dummy activities, while AON networks sometimes add dummy activities for convenience.
B) nodes consume no resources or time in AOA networks.
C) both are acceptable in practice, however Microsoft Project uses AON.
D) in AON nodes designate activities, in AOA arrows designate activities.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 26

A project organization that becomes permanent is often referred to as a

A) fixed project organization.
B) matrix organization.
C) normal organization.
D) standard organization.
E) mixed-function organization.

Question 27

Which of the following statements regarding Gantt charts is true?

A) Gantt charts give a timeline and precedence relationships for each activity of a project.
B) Gantt charts use the four standard spines of Methods, Materials, Manpower, and Machinery.
C) Gantt charts are visual devices that show the duration of activities in a project.
D) Gantt charts are expensive.
E) Gantt charts identify the critical path.

Question 28

A project manager is interested in crashing a project with variable activity times. Which of the following tools should he/she employ?

A) PERT
B) CPM
C) Gantt Chart
D) either PERT or CPM
E) PERT, CPM, or a Gantt chart are fine

Question 29

Which of the following statements about EllisDon is true?

A) They accept contracts for projects only if they are the builder.
B) They will only work on very large (mega-) projects.
C) They have built a network of expertise in the construction industry.
D) They will accept contracts for projects in Canada.
E) They are located in Alberta because most of their projects are there.

Question 30

EllisDon work with all of the following except

A) workers.
B) sub-contractors.
C) construction professionals.
D) engineers.
E) EllisDon works with all of the above.

Question 31

Which of the following statements regarding EllisDon is false?

A) Its competitive advantage is project management.
B) It is a Canadian leader in engineering and construction project management.
C) EllisDon believes in becoming deeply involved in each project.
D) EllisDon believes in a hands-off approach to project management.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 32

Which of the following is one of the three phases of project management?

A) forward-passing
B) scheduling
C) organising
D) constructing
E) crashing

Question 33

A simple CPM network has three activities, A, B, and C. A is an immediate predecessor of B and of C. B is an immediate predecessor of C. The activity durations are A = 4, B = 3, C = 8.

A) The critical path is A-B-C, duration 15.
B) The critical path is A-C, duration 12.
C) The critical path is A-B-C, duration 13.5.
D) The critical path cannot be determined without knowing PERT expected activity times.
E) The network has no critical path.

Question 34

The project organization works best when which of the following conditions are satisfied?

A) Work can be defined with a specific goal and deadline.
B) The job is typical and familiar to the existing organization.
C) The work contains simple tasks requiring no special skills.
D) The project is temporary but unimportant to long-term organizational success.
E) The project is confined to one functional area.

Question 35

Ethical issues that may arise in projects large and small due to

A) fair selection of contractors.
B) accurate expense reports.
C) enforcement of safety or health standards.
D) pressure to mask delays with false status reports.
E) adherence to quality standards.

Question 36

Which of the following statements regarding project management is false?

A) Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project's activities, but they do not adequately illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.
B) A project organization works best for a project that is temporary but critical to the organization.
C) A project organization works well when the work contains simple, independent tasks.
D) Gantt charts and PERT/CPM are never used together.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 37

A code of ethics especially for project managers

A) has been established by the Project Management Institute.
B) has been formulated by the Federal government.
C) has been formulated by the World Trade Organization.
D) is inappropriate, since everyone should use the same guidance on ethical issues.
E) does not exist at this time.

Question 38

Which of the following statements regarding CPM is true?

A) The critical path is the shortest of all paths through the network.
B) The critical path is that set of activities that has positive slack.
C) Some networks have no critical path.
D) All activities on the critical path have their LS equal to the maximum EF of all immediate predecessors.
E) The critical path is that set of activities that has negative slack.

Question 39

A project organization

A) is effective for companies with multiple large projects.
B) is appropriate only in construction firms.
C) often fails when the project cuts across organizational lines.
D) is only appropriate for technical projects.
E) is especially useful for small project.

Question 40

WBS stands for which of the following project management tools?

A) Work Break Schedule
B) Work Breakdown Status
C) Work Breakdown Schedule
D) Work Breakdown Structure
E) Week Breakdown Schedule

Question 41

The critical path for the network activities shown below is ________ with duration ________. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Activity } & \text { Duration } & \begin{array} { c } \text { Immediate } \\\text { Predecessors }\end{array} \\\hline \text { A } & 10 & - - \\\hline \text { B } & 8 & - - \\\hline \text { C } & 2 & \text { A } \\\hline \text { D } & 4 & \text { A } \\\hline \text { E } & 5 & \text { B, C, D } \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) A-C; 12
B) A-D-E; 19
C) B-E; 13
D) A-B-C-D-E; 29
E) A-B-C; 20

Question 42

In a PERT network, non-critical activities that have little slack need to be monitored closely

A) because PERT treats all activities as equally important.
B) because near-critical paths could become critical paths with small delays in these activities.
C) because slack is undesirable and needs to be eliminated.
D) because they are causing the entire project to be delayed.
E) because they have a high risk of not being completed.

Question 43

The critical path for the network activities shown below is ________ with duration ________. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Activity } & \text { Duration } & \begin{array} { c } \text { Immediate } \\\text { Predecessors }\end{array} \\\hline \text { A } & 2 & - \\\hline \text { B } & 4 & - \\\hline \text { C } & 6 & \text { A, B } \\\hline \text { D } & 1 & \text { A, B } \\\hline \text { E } & 2 & \mathrm {~B} , \mathrm { C } , \mathrm { D } \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) A-D-E; 5
B) B-E; 6
C) B-D-E; 7
D) A-C-E; 10
E) B-C-E; 12

Question 44

A simple CPM network has five activities, A, B, C, D, and E. A is an immediate predecessor of C and of D. B is also an immediate predecessor of C and of D. C and D are both immediate predecessors of E.

A) There are two paths in this network.
B) There are four paths in this network.
C) There are five paths in this network.
D) There are 25 paths through this network.
E) There is no critical path in this network.

Question 45

The critical path for the network activities shown below is ________ with duration ________. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Activity } & \text { Duration } & \begin{array} { c } \text { Immediate } \\\text { Predecessors }\end{array} \\\hline \text { A } & 4 & - \\\hline \text { B } & 2 & \text { A } \\\hline \text { C } & 7 & - \\\hline \text { D } & 4 & \text { A } \\\hline \text { E } & 5 & \text { B, C, D } \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) A-B-D; 10
B) A-B-E; 11
C) C-E; 12
D) A-D-E; 13
E) A-B-C-D-E; 22

Question 46

Which of the following statements concerning CPM activities is false?

A) The early finish of an activity is the early start of that activity plus its duration.
B) The late finish is the earliest of the late start times of all successor activities.
C) The late start of an activity is its late finish less its duration.
D) The late finish of an activity is the earliest late start of all preceding activities.
E) The early start of an activity is the latest early finish of all preceding activities.

Question 47

A project being analyzed by PERT has 60 activities, 13 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 214 days with a project variance of 100, the probability that the project will take 224 days or more to complete is

A) near zero.
B) 0.0126.
C) 0.1587.
D) 0.8413.
E) 2.14.

Question 48

The Beta distribution is used in project management to

A) calculate slack on activities not on the critical path.
B) calculate the probability that a project will be completed within its budget.
C) calculate pessimistic and optimistic activity times.
D) determine which activity should be crashed.
E) none of the above.

Question 49

Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true?

A) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
B) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C) The probable time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b).
D) Pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
E) Most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.

Question 50

The expected activity time in PERT analysis is calculated as

A) the simple average of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times.
B) the weighted average of a, m, and b, with m weighted 4 times as heavily as a and b.
C) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times.
D) the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times, divided by six.
E) the sum of the activity variances, divided by six.

Question 51

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 2, most likely = 5, and pessimistic = 10. Its expected time is

A) 5.00.
B) 5.33.
C) 5.67.
D) 17.00.
E) 0.533.

Question 52

Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true?

A) The expected time is an estimate of the time an activity will require if everything goes as planned.
B) The optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C) The expected time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b)/6.
D) The pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
E) The most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.

Question 53

Which of the following statements regarding PERT analysis is true?

A) Each activity has two estimates of its duration.
B) Project variance is the sum of all activity variances.
C) Project standard deviation is the sum of all critical activity standard deviations.
D) Only critical activities contribute to the project variance.
E) Only non-critical activities contribute to the project variance.

Question 54

The ________ distribution is used by PERT analysis to calculate expected activity times and variances.

A) Normal
B) Beta
C) Alpha
D) Gaussian
E) Binomial

Question 55

Activity D on a CPM network has predecessors B and C, and has successor F. D has duration 6. B's earliest finish is 18, while C's is 20. F's late start is 26. Which of the following is definitely true?

A) B is a critical activity.
B) C is completed before B.
C) D has no slack but is not critical.
D) D is critical and has zero slack.
E) F is critical and has zero slack.

Question 56

The time an activity will take assuming very unfavorable conditions is

A) the optimistic time.
B) the pessimistic time.
C) the activity variance.
D) the minimum time.
E) exactly twice as long as the expected time.

Question 57

The Beta distribution is used in project management to

A) determine which activity should be crashed.
B) calculate the probability that a project will be completed within its budget.
C) calculate expected activity times.
D) calculate slack for activities on the critical path.
E) calculate slack for activities on the shortest path.

Question 58

Activity R on a CPM network has predecessors M and N, and has successor S. R has duration 5. N's late finish is 18, while M's is 20. S's late start is 14. Which of the following is definitely true?

A) R is critical and has zero slack.
B) R has no slack but is not critical.
C) The set of given times cannot all be possible.
D) N is a critical activity.
E) S is a critical activity.

Question 59

Which of the following statements regarding CPM networks is true?

A) There can be multiple critical paths on the same project, all with different durations.
B) The early finish of an activity is the latest early start of all preceding activities.
C) The late start of an activity is its late finish plus its duration.
D) If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have the same duration.
E) If a specific project has multiple critical paths, all of them will have negative slack.

Question 60

A simple CPM network has three activities, D, E, and F. D is an immediate predecessor of E and of F. E is an immediate predecessor of F. The activity durations are D = 5, E = 4, F = 9.

A) The critical path is D-E-F, duration 18.
B) The critical path is D-F, duration 14.
C) Slack at D is 4 units.
D) Slack at E is 4 units.
E) The network has two critical paths.

Question 61

A project being analyzed by PERT has 50 activities, 12 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 176 days with a project variance of 144, the probability that the project will take 194 days or more to complete is

A) near zero.
B) 0.0126.
C) 0.0668.
D) 0.9332.
E) 2.00.

Question 62

Analysis of a PERT problem shows the estimated time for the critical path to be 108 days with a variance of 64. There is a .90 probability that the project will be completed before approximately day

A) 98.
B) 108.
C) 109.
D) 115.
E) 118.

Question 63

A project whose critical path has an estimated time of 120 days with a variance of 100 has a 20% chance that the project will be completed before day (rounded to nearest day)

A) 98.
B) 112.
C) 120.
D) 124.
E) 220.

Question 64

Two critical path activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below. To cut one day from the project's duration, activity ________ should be crashed first, adding ________ to project cost. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Activity } & \text { Normal Time } & \text { Normal Cost } & \text { Crash Time } & \text { Crash Cost } \\\hline \text { One } & 8 \text { days } & \$ 6,000 & 6 \text { days } & \$ 6,800 \\\hline \text { Two } & 10 \text { days } & \$ 4,000 & 9 \text { days } & \$ 5,000 \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) One; $400
B) One; $6,800
C) Two; $1,000
D) Two; $5,000
E) One or two should be crashed; $1,400

Question 65

If an activity whose normal duration is 15 days can be shortened to 10 days for an added cost of $2,000, the crash cost per period is

A) $400.
B) $2,000.
C) $10,000.
D) $20,000.
E) $30,000.

Question 66

A PERT project has 45 activities, 19 of which are on the critical path. The estimated time for the critical path is 120 days. The sum of all activity variances is 64, while the sum of variances along the critical path is 36. The probability that the project can be completed between days 108 and 120 is

A) -2.00.
B) 0.0227.
C) 0.1058.
D) 0.4773.
E) 0.9773.

Question 67

A contractor's project being analyzed by PERT has an estimated time for the critical path of 120 days. The sum of all activity variances is 81; the sum of variances along the critical path is 64. The probability that the project will take 130 or more days to complete is

A) 0.1057.
B) 0.1335.
C) 0.8512.
D) 0.8943.
E) 1.29.

Question 68

Two critical path activities are candidates for crashing on a CPM network. Activity details are in the table below. To cut one day from the project's duration, activity ________ should be crashed first, adding ________ to project cost. $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Activity } & \text { Normal Time } & \text { Normal Cost } & \text { Crash Time } & \text { Crash Cost } \\\hline \text { B } & 4 \text { days } & \$ 6,000 & 3 \text { days } & \$ 8,000 \\\hline \text { C } & 6 \text { days } & \$ 4,000 & 4 \text { days } & \$ 6,000 \\\hline\end{array}$$

A) B; $2,000
B) B; $8,000
C) C; $1,000
D) C; $2,000
E) C; $6,000

Question 69

A project being analyzed by PERT has 50 activities, 12 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 176 days with a project variance of 144, the probability that the project will take 194 days or less to complete is

A) near zero.
B) 0.0126.
C) 0.0668.
D) 0.9332.
E) 2.00.

Question 70

Which of the following statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is false?

A) "Project Crashing" shortens project duration by assigning more resources to critical tasks.
B) Crashing sometimes has the reverse result of lengthening the project duration.
C) Crashing must consider the impact of crashing an activity on all paths in the network.
D) Activities not on the critical path can become critical after crashing takes place.
E) All of the above are false.

Question 71

If an activity whose normal duration is 55 days can be shortened to 50 days for an added cost of $45,000, the crash cost per period is

A) $9,000.
B) $500.
C) $900.
D) $4,500.
E) $45,000.

Question 72

A network has been crashed to the point where all activities are critical. Additional crashing

A) is unnecessary.
B) is impossible.
C) is prohibitively expensive.
D) may require crashing multiple tasks simultaneously.
E) can be done, but all critical tasks must be reduced in duration.

Question 73

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 2, most likely = 3, and pessimistic = 8. Its expected time and variance (if it is a critical activity) are

A) 3.67; 1.
B) 3.67; 6.
C) 4.33; 1.
D) 4.33; 6.
E) 43.3; 1.

Question 74

A local project being analyzed by PERT has 42 activities, 13 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 105 days with a project variance of 25, the probability that the project will be completed in 95 days or less is

A) -0.4.
B) 0.0228.
C) 0.3444.
D) 0.9772.
E) 4.2.

Question 75

An activity on a PERT network has these time estimates: optimistic = 1, most likely = 2, and pessimistic = 5. Its expected time is

A) 2.00.
B) 2.33.
C) 2.67.
D) 8.00.
E) 23.3.

Question 76

Which of these statements regarding time-cost tradeoffs in CPM networks is true?

A) Crashing is not possible unless there are multiple critical paths.
B) Crashing a project often reduces the length of long-duration, but noncritical, activities.
C) Activities not on the critical path can never be on the critical path, even after crashing.
D) Crashing shortens the project duration by assigning more resources to one or more of the critical tasks.
E) None of the above are true.

Question 77

A project being analyzed by PERT has 38 activities, 16 of which are on the critical path. If the estimated time along the critical path is 90 days with a project variance of 25, the probability that the project will be completed in 88 days or less is

A) 0.0228.
B) 0.3446.
C) 0.6554.
D) 0.9772.
E) 18.

Question 78

Contract requirements state that a project must be completed within 180 working days, or it will incur penalties for late completion. Analysis of the activity network reveals an estimated project time of 145 working days with a project variance of 400. What is the probability that the project will be completed before the late-payment deadline?

A) 0.0401
B) 0.4599
C) 0.8056
D) 0.9599
E) near 1.0000, or almost certain

Question 79

A project whose critical path has an estimated time of 820 days with a variance of 225 has a 20% chance that the project will be completed before day (rounded to nearest day)

A) 631.
B) 689.
C) 807.
D) 833.
E) 1009.

Question 80

If an activity whose normal duration is 13 days can be shortened to 10 days for an added cost of $1,500, the crash cost per period is

A) $500.
B) $1,500.
C) $750.
D) $13,000.
E) $15,000.