Deck 13: Project Monitoring and Control

Question 1

The EV represents, at a given time:

A) the amount budgeted for project work as of that time
B) how much work has actually been done and the amount originally budgeted for that work
C) actual expenditures according to time cards and invoices
D) how much it will cost, according to the budget, to complete the project

Answer 1

how much work has actually been done and the amount originally budgeted for that work

Question 2

Suppose a project was originally estimated to cost $100,000, and as of a given date the EV is $80,000 and the CPI is 0.80. What is the forecast cost to complete the project?

A) $20,000
B) $25,000
C) $24,000
D) none of these

Answer 2

$25,000

Question 3

Which of the following might project managers employ to reduce schedule overruns? (circle all that apply):

A) adding time buffers to the schedule
B) multi-tasking
C) procrastination by workers

Answer 3

adding time buffers to the schedule

Question 4

Activity X has four immediate predecessors, three of which finish before their late finish date, one that finishes after its late finish date. What effect will this have on Actiivity X (circle one):

A) it will be delayed
B) it will be delayed only if the late predecessor is on the critical path
C) it will be able to start early if any of the early predecessors are on the critical path
D) none of these

Question 5

To implement a time buffer (circle one):

A) start with the early finish time, and move it up (make it earlier)
B) start with the early finish time, and move it back (make it later)
C) start with the late finish time, and move it up (make it earlier)
D) start with the late finish time, and move it back (make it later)

Question 6

Five days after starting a work task, the supervisor assesses that the task is 25% completed. If no other information is available, what is the estimated time remaining for the task:

A) 10 days
B) 15 days
C) 20 days
D) cannot be estimated

Question 7

Among important ways to assess the status of a project are (circle all that apply):

A) informal peer review meetings
B) daily standup meetings
C) post-completion project review meeting

Question 8

Which of the following are true about formal project review meetings (circle all that apply):

A) Their purpose is to prepare project plans, schedules, and budgets.
B) Their purpose is to identify deviations from the plan and to enable quick corrective action.
C) They are usually performed by members of the project team.
D) They can be performed by objective "outsiders."
E) Because they rely largely on observations and opinions, they tend not to be an effective way to monitor projects.

Question 9

In controlling projects, data on actual project performance is (circle all that apply):

A) tallied through the project cost accounting system
B) sent from the project manager to work package supervisors
C) accumulated for every work package
D) combined for several projects to determine an average level of performance
E) accumulated from time cards and invoices

Question 10

Often, the impact of changing system requirements late in the project is that it (circle all that apply):

A) greatly improves project performance
B) increases project costs
C) shortens the scheduled completed date
D) improves worker morale and relations between client and contractor
E) requires the contract to be re-negotiated

Question 11

Ways to control the adverse impact of changes in a project include (circle all that apply):

A) make sure that original plans and schedules are agreed to by everyone involved.
B) make sure all work exceeds specifications.
C) make many small changes on a continuous basis instead of a few big ones.
D) require that all changes be documented, reviewed, and approved.
E) put a freeze on changes as soon as the system is delivered to the customer.

Question 12

About the project control process (circle all that apply):

A) it puts one factor, cost, above all others as the focal point of control
B) to be effective, management must support and be willing to take firm action to resolve issues involving project control
C) to be effective, it must be impersonal, objective, and uniformly applied throughout all elements of the project
D) managers in charge of multiple projects must monitor and control them individually
E) it begins with thorough, comprehensive project planning

Question 13

How or where is work progress measured (circle all that apply):

A) tests and demonstrations
B) opinions of customers
C) design review meetings
D) opinions of work supervisors and managers
E) dollars spent thus far

Question 14

Work progress should be reviewed (circle all that apply):

A) more often than the average duration of the work packages
B) halfway and at the end of every task
C) only for tasks that are unfamiliar
D) often enough to be able to spot and resolve problems quickly

Question 15

Technical Performance Measurement (TPM) provides (circle all that apply):

A) an estimate of performance as of a given date
B) a way of determining which performance measures are the most reliable
C) a forecast of ultimate performance given the current rate of development
D) a way for managers to make systematic tradeoff decisions concerning the performance of subsystems and components

Question 16

Statement: Project planning and project control are independent and unrelated functions.

Question 17

Statement: Project control primarily involves monitoring performance, comparing performance to standards, and taking necessary corrective action.

Question 18

Statement: External project control refers to the objective monitoring and corrective actions taken by the project contractor.

Question 19

Statement: The concept of earned value is used to express the value of work actually completed as of a given date.

Question 20

Statement: There is little difference between project control procedures and the traditional variance analysis used in accounting practice.

Question 21

Statement: Earned value is expressed as the Budgeted Cost of the Work Performed (BCWP).

Question 22

Statement: A plus sign (+) before a schedule performance index (SPI) means that work is running ahead of schedule and a minus sign (-) before a cost performance index (CPI) means that the work is running over budget.

Question 23

Statement: By monitoring performance indexes and variances at the project level only, it is possible to determine if everything is going well in the project.

Question 24

Statement: The purpose of establishing variance limits is tell the project manager which project activities do not need to be tracked and controlled.

Question 25

Statement: The number of changes made during a project can often be reduced through better planning in the early stages.

Question 26

Statement: Configuration management refers largely to the process of using systematic procedures to track and control changes throughout all phases of the project.

Question 27

Statement: To reduce confusion and increase the accuracy of work progress assessment, it is better to use one method of assessment rather than several.

Question 28

Statement: The tendency for a project to grow or expand is referred to as scope creep.

Question 29

Statement: Quality control methods in projects seek to identify not only where requirements are not being met, but also why they are not being met.

Question 30

Statement: Quality control in projects begins with creating a quality management plan.

Question 31

Statement: A single-value estimate of the completion time or cost (EAC) accounts for the uncertainty in the project EV estimate.

Question 32

Statement: The primary purpose of formal reviews is for project planning and budgeting.

Question 33

Match the following formulas with their appropriate performance measures.

-EV/AC

A) AV
B) SV
C) CV
D) SPI
E) CPI

Question 34

Match the following formulas with their appropriate performance measures.

-EV - PV

A) AV
B) SV
C) CV
D) SPI
E) CPI

Question 35

Match the following formulas with their appropriate performance measures.

-PV - AC

A) AV
B) SV
C) CV
D) SPI
E) CPI

Question 36

Match the following formulas with their appropriate performance measures.

-EV - AC

A) AV
B) SV
C) CV
D) SPI
E) CPI

Question 37

Match the following formulas with their appropriate performance measures.

-EV/PV

A) AV
B) SV
C) CV
D) SPI
E) CPI

Question 38

The following chart to answer questions (a) through (e). Suppose the project is currently at the end of month 4.
a) When was the project originally scheduled for completion?
(b) What was the original budgeted cost of the project?
(c) As of month 4, how far (in months) is the project behind schedule in terms of the value of work completed? Show on the chart how this is determined.
(d) As of month 4, what is the forecast cost to complete the project, and the forecast cost at completion?
(e) As of month 4, what is the revised completion date for the project? Indicate this and the forecast cost at completion on the chart.

Question 39

Use the following information to perform an earned value analysis.
Summary analysis, as of "Status Date"
a. Complete the PV column.
b. Complete the EV column.
c. What is the value of the work remaining on the project?
d. What is the CPI as of the status date?
e. Given the value of the work remaining and the CPI, what is the estimated cost
to complete the project?
f. Given the actual cost as of the status date and estimated cost to complete, what is the
estimated cost at completion?

Question 40

Use the project below.
a. How long is the critical chain?
b. How long is the project buffer?
c. Given the task status updates in the table below, fill in the rest of the table
d. Based upon the percent CC consumed and percent buffer consumed as if week 16, can the project be completed within the CC + project buffer time? Please be specific.

Question 41

Issue management: circle all statements below that are true:

A) Is the practice of identifying in the definition phase of the project all potential issues and addressing them in the project plan
B) Addresses any emerging problem, risk, or change in the project that must be resolved
C) Refers to identifying and managing issues as they emerge throughout the project
D) Is exactly the same as risk management
E) Refers to keeping tracking of the version or release number of a product
F) In a typical project can be handled informally and requires no documentation.
G) Issues have little bearing on project completion since, often, they can be resolved after the project has been closed-out.