Deck 6: Allocating Resources to the Project

Question 1

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with profit maximization.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Projects often compete with each other for the same resources.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The amount of resources a project can use depends in part on the timing of the allocation.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

Question 5

Often it is beneficial to crash activities not on the critical path.

Question 6

A project that must be completed by a fixed time is referred to as resource constrained.

Question 7

The time to complete a task with normal or standard-practice resource usage is referred to as the crash duration.

Question 8

The variance of the normal time can be quite different from the variance of the crash time.

Question 9

For resources that are consumed when used, the problem is which project gets to use the resource first and which must wait.

Question 10

Fast-tracking a project is used primarily in the pharmaceutical industry.

Question 11

Trade-offs must be made in order to optimize the use of limited resources.

Question 12

When crashing a task, the usual assumption is that a task is crashed the full amount or none at all.

Question 13

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

Question 14

The CPM method cannot be used when task durations are probabilistic.

Question 15

Good project managers are able to estimate project task times with absolute certainty.

Question 16

All projects are carried out under conditions of uncertainty.

Question 17

All tasks can be crashed to some extent.

Question 18

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with cost minimization.

Question 19

When the work is routine, fast-tracking rarely causes serious problems.

Question 20

It is considered good management to crash the least costly activities before the more costly ones.

Question 21

According to research minimum slack rule is the overall best priority rule.

Question 22

Applying "line balancing" techniques to balance the capacity of a project typically yields significant benefits.

Question 23

Pools of like resources from which labor can be added temporarily to projects tend to increase costs for the firm as a whole.

Question 24

The shortest duration task first rule minimizes the number of tasks that can be completed by a system in a given time period.

Question 25

Crashing non-critical activities will influence project duration.

Question 26

Pools of like workers are most useful when labor is subdivided into highly specialized subtasks.

Question 27

In general, steady state demand for human resources is highly desirable.

Question 28

A resource allocation decision may be intended to avoid a future problem rather than correct a current problem.

Question 29

The as late as possible priority rule is considered the standard scheduling rule.

Question 30

The task duration with standard-practice resource usage is referred to as the…

A) expected task duration
B) nominal task duration
C) crash duration
D) normal task duration
E) planned task duration

Question 31

A task's duration is a function of both the amount of labor required to complete the task as well as the calendar time required to complete it.

Question 32

Activities that have duration but do not require resources are referred to as pseudoactivities.

Question 33

A limitation associated with traditional approaches to project management is that the dependency between resources and tasks is often ignored.

Question 34

A project that must be completed by a specific time is considered…

A) time constrained
B) schedule constrained
C) resource constrained
D) performance constrained
E) critically constrained

Question 35

One limitation of Microsoft Project is that all resources must share the same availability calendar.

Question 36

Allocating specific, limited resources to specific activities is called…

A) resource allocation
B) resource leveling
C) resource tracking
D) expediting a project
E) crashing a project

Question 37

Microsoft Project allows the project manager to create an individual availability calendar for each resource on the project

Question 38

A task has a normal duration of 9 days and a crash duration of 7 days. Its normal cost is $40 and its crash cost is $100. What is the crash cost per day?

A) $140
B) $70
C) $50
D) $40
E) $30

Question 39

The process of line balancing is when individual production lines are made to generate the required amount of product with a little excess capacity as possible.

Question 40

The primary cause of concern in resource allocation is…

A) labor cost
B) resource scarcity
C) lack of solution methodologies
D) parallel activities
E) equipment downtime

Question 41

Victoria, a project manager, has undertaken a project similar to one she did earlier. Owing to her team's familiarity with the processes that are required to complete the project, Victoria is able to produce the required deliverable ahead of schedule. She achieves this by simultaneously completing two phases of work. In this scenario, which of the following does Victoria use to complete the project?

A) A standard operating procedure
B) Fast-tracking
C) Micromanagement
D) Crashing
E) Resource leveling

Question 42

According to research, the best overall priority rule is…

A) as soon as possible
B) as late as possible
C) shortest task duration first
D) minimum slack first
E) most critical successor

Question 43

Vanessa, a student, has to submit two assignments, A and B, on the same day. Each assignment is divided into three tasks. She has to write the first draft, check it for accuracy, and let her friend review it before submission. Each of these tasks takes 5 hours. In order to multitask effectively, Vanessa should:

A) complete the first two tasks of assignment A and start on assignment B while her friend reviews assignment A.
B) complete both assignments simultaneously for her friend to review.
C) complete the first task for each assignment before moving on to the second task and so on.
D) complete assignment B after assignment A has been reviewed.
E) complete assignment A after assignment B has been reviewed.

Question 44

Arthur, a project manager, has multiple projects under him, and his team members are multitasking between these projects. When he planned these projects, Arthur asked his team members the number of hours they will take to complete their respective tasks. However, they are taking longer than discussed, which is preventing Arthur from taking on more projects. According to Goldratt, which of the following should Arthur do to fix this issue?

A) Hire more team members for new projects.
B) Increase the time allotted to projects that are taking longer.
C) Focus on completing the most resource-intensive projects first.
D) Focus on completing the least resource-intensive projects first.
E) Reduce the number of projects each team member is working on simultaneously.

Question 45

Starting the building phase before the design and planning phases is called…

A) operations overlapping
B) concurrent engineering
C) fast-tracking
D) concurrent construction
E) construction overlapping

Question 46

Mark, the chief editor of a magazine, needs to create a list of all the in-house writers, designers, and freelancers who will be working on the next issue of the magazine. He also needs to list their activities, their schedules, and their cost per hour. In the context of project management, which of the following should Mark use to create this list?

A) Project crashing
B) Project chartering
C) Standard buffering
D) Fast-tracking
E) Resource loading

Question 47

Which of the following rules maximizes the number of tasks that can be completed by a system in a given period of time?

A) as soon as possible
B) as late as possible
C) shortest task duration first
D) minimum slack first
E) most critical successor

Question 48

Which of the following is a measure of the amount by which a project is delayed by application of a leveling rule?

A) schedule inflation
B) schedule progression
C) schedule efficacy
D) schedule efficiency
E) schedule slippage

Question 49

Alice, a project manager, has undertaken a project to build an irrigation canal. Based on the resources allocated to her, she makes an initial estimate that the time required to dig the canal would be 20 days. She also prepares an alternative estimate by adding an additional resource that will allow the project to be completed in 10 days. This alternative estimate that Alice prepares is referred to as the _____.

A) crash duration
B) standard duration
C) slope duration
D) buffer duration
E) critical duration

Question 50

Walter, a project manager in a design agency, is using a project management software to manage his project. The agency he works for is currently prioritizing other projects and needs to conserve scarce resources. In the context of priority rules for allocating resources, which of the following rules should Walter use?

A) Longest task duration first
B) As soon as possible
C) As late as possible
D) Most critical followers
E) Least successors

Question 51

Which of the following priority rules makes resources available so that activities start on their LSTs whenever possible without increasing the project's duration?

A) as soon as possible
B) as late as possible
C) shortest task duration first
D) minimum slack first
E) most critical successor

Question 52

The safety time added to chains other than the critical chain is called…

A) feeding buffer
B) project buffer
C) path buffer
D) critical buffer
E) team buffer

Question 53

The practice of assigning project team members to multiple projects is called…

A) concurrent engineering
B) parallel activities
C) fast-tracking
D) project crashing
E) multitasking

Question 54

What is fast-tracking a project?

Question 55

Renly, a project manager in a construction company, has undertaken a project to construct a house. He estimates that the house will take 5 months to complete with his team of 10 workers. He also prepares a second estimate that allows the house to be completed in 2 months if 10 more workers are added to the team. Renly's second estimate is referred to as the _____.

A) crash duration
B) standard duration
C) slope duration
D) buffer duration
E) critical duration

Question 56

A project that must be completed within the specified performance requirements is considered…

A) time constrained
B) schedule constrained
C) resource constrained
D) performance constrained
E) critically constrained

Question 57

All of the following are criteria available to help choose the priority rule mentioned in the textbook except;

A) Schedule slippage
B) Project cost
C) resource utilization
D) in-process inventory

Question 58

Lauren, a project manager, has a workload of 24,000 hours that needs to be completed in 30 weeks. She has a team of 20 people who work five 8-hour days per week. She notices that in the 30-week period, there are five holidays and 5 members have each requested 10 days off. Given this information, Lauren is _____ short of completing her workload.

A) 1,200 hours
B) 2,500 hours
C) 2,000 hours
D) 1,500 hours
E) 3,800 hours

Question 59

William, a project manager, is trying to figure out how many hours his team can work in a period of three months. After accounting for weekends, he notes that each member of the team can work for five 8-hour days per week. After consulting his calendar, he realizes that there are three public holidays in the next three months and two employees have each requested two separate weeks off. His team consists of 15 people. Given this information, William can allocate approximately _____ of work to his team.

A) 7,200 hours
B) 6,120 hours
C) 7,600 hours
D) 6,680 hours
E) 5,500 hours

Question 60

Hamid, a project manager, has a workload of 24,000 hours that needs to be completed in 75 workdays. He has a team of 40 people who work for five 8-hour days per week. In those 75 days, 20 people have each requested three days off at different times. In this scenario, the workload is _____ of capacity

A) 80 percent
B) 102 percent
C) 95 percent
D) 75 percent
E) 150 percent

Question 61

Why are scarce resources referred to as "Walts"?

Question 62

What is resource leveling? Why is it needed?

Question 63

What is resource loading?

Question 64

What is the student syndrome? In what ways can it create problems for a project?

Question 65

Explain how the commonly made assumption of known activity times can lead to unrealistic project deadlines.

Question 66

List and briefly explain five priority rules used to assign preference to activities when allocating scarce resources.

Question 67

Explain how you would choose a priority rule.

Question 68

Explain the concept of a project buffer.

Question 69

Briefly overview Goldratt's common chain of events.

Question 70

Explain the concept of a feeding buffer.