Deck 4: Supplement: Project Management

Question 1

18)If an activity cannot be shortened,then ______.

A)the crashing costs are equal to the average of the crashing costs for other activities
B)no crashing cost can be calculated
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Answer 1

B

Question 2

14)In calculating the time-cost trade-off combinations for a project's crash options,the slope for each activity is given by ______.

A)the ratio of the (crash cost less normal cost)to (normal time less crash time)
B)the ratio of the (normal time less crash time)to (crash cost less normal cost)
C)the product of the (crash cost less normal cost)and (normal time less crash time)
D)the sum of (crash cost less normal cost)and (normal time less crash time)

Answer 2

A

Question 3

19)When we consider crashing a project,we need to be aware that ______.

A)as we crash each activity the overall project budget decreases
B)there may be little to be gained by crashing all activities
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Answer 3

B

Question 4

13)We may need to consider noncritical activities in estimating a project's overall duration if ______.

A)the noncritical activities have little slack time
B)the noncritical activities have a high variance
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 5

12)If the standard deviation is 2.78 and the Z value is 1.65,then ______.

A)the expected date of completion is 34.59 weeks if the due date for project completion is 30 weeks
B)the due date for project completion is 34.59 weeks if the expected date of completion is 30 weeks
C)the due date for project completion is 30 weeks if the expected date of completion is 24.51weeks
D)the due date for project completion is 24.51 weeks if the expected date of completion is 30 weeks

Question 6

20)Which of the following statements is true of the earned value management (EVM)method?

A)It helps us see how the project is truly performing.
B)It links the project's schedule and costs with the work actually completed on it.
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 7

11)The Z value corresponding to a probability of 95% is close to ______.

A)1.65
B)1.95
C)2.65
D)2.95

Question 8

3)The formula for the expected duration of an activity under these circumstances is ______.

A)(a + 4m + b)/6
B)(a + 2m + b)/6
C)(a + 4m + b)/3
D)(a + 2m + b)/3

Question 9

2)Which of the following is NOT one of the types of probabilistic estimates used in PERT?

A)optimistic
B)historical
C)most likely
D)pessimistic

Question 10

16)If the cost slope for an activity is $10,000 per week,this means ______.

A)the activity will cost $10,000 for each week that it is accelerated
B)the primary firm will pay the contractor $10,000 for each week that the project is completed ahead of schedule
C)the contractor will have to pay the primary firm $10,000 for each week beyond the expected date of completion
D)the project leader will incur a penalty of $10,000 for each week that the project takes beyond expected date of completion

Question 11

9)Let us say that x is an observation,a value,in a sample.Then,the Z value for x is ______.

A)the number of standard deviations x lies from the sample mode
B)the number of variances x lies from the sample mode
C)the number of standard deviations x lies from the sample mean
D)the number of variances x lies from the sample mean

Question 12

6)If the most optimistic and pessimistic times for a task are 3 and 11 days respectively,then the variance for the duration of the activity ______.

A)= (3 - 11)/ 6)raised to 2
B)= (11 - 3)/ 6)raised to 2
C)= (11 - 3)/ 3)raised to 2
D)= (3 - 11)/ 3)raised to 2

Question 13

4)In the formula for the expected duration of an activity,______.

A)b represents the historical time to complete the activity
B)c represents the most pessimistic time to complete the activity
C)a represents the most optimistic time to complete the activity
D)a represents the most pessimistic time to complete the activity

Question 14

7)The variance for a project's duration is given by ______.

A)the sum of the variances for all its activities
B)the sum of the variances for all its critical activities
C)the sum of the standard deviations for all its activities
D)the sum of the standard deviations for all its critical activities

Question 15

10)A Z value of 0.72 corresponds to ______.?(Hint: Use a normal distribution table).

A)a probability of 0.7642
B)a probability of -0.7642
C)an expected value of 0.7642
D)an expected value of -0.7642

Question 16

5)The formula for the variance of the duration of an activity is ______.

A)the square root of [1/6(b - a)]
B)[1/6(a - b)] raised to the power of 2
C)[1/6(b - a)] raised to the power of 2
D)the square root of [1/6(a - b)]

Question 17

17)Whether we should crash an activity or not depends on ______.

A)crashing costs per day
B)whether the activity is on a critical path
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 18

1)According to the operations profile at the beginning of Supplement 3,Manchester in England ______.

A)is the smallest city in England
B)has a population of nearly 2 million people in the metro and surrounding areas
C)has one of the busiest airports in England
D)is best known for its bobsled team

Question 19

15)An Activity X has a duration of 5 weeks and is budgeted to cost $12,000.The crash time for this activity is 3 weeks and is expected to cost $32,000.The cost slope for Activity X is given by ______.

A)(32,000 - 12,000)divided by (5 - 3)
B)(5 - 3)divided by (32,000 - 12,000)
C)32,000 divided by 5
D)12,000 divided by 3

Question 20

8)A project's standard deviation is ______.

A)the square of the project's variance
B)the mean of the project's variance
C)the square root of the project's variance
D)the mode of the project's variance

Question 21

24)Establishing the project's baseline requires ______.

A)the work breakdown structure
B)a time-phased budget for the project
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 22

39)The slope for each activity gives ______.

A)combinations of times and costs for a project's crash options
B)combinations of scheduled and actual times for a project's crash options
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 23

38)In considering whether we should crash a project,we should ______.

A)assess the costs associated with each of the project's activities
B)accelerate those tasks that will have the most impact on the schedule for the least cost
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 24

35)Projections about how much the project will finally cost can be calculated based on ______.

A)the actual cost (AC)of the work performed to date and the earned value (EV)to date
B)the planned cost (PC)of the work performed to date
C)either A or B
D)neither A nor B

Question 25

29)Which one of the following is a more serious concern in terms of an adverse variance from budget?

A)a negative variance of $10,000 in budget expenditures
B)a $10,000 shortfall in value earned on the project to date
C)a positive variance of $10,000 in budget expenditures
D)a $10,000 surplus in value earned on the project to date

Question 26

22)Which of the following correctly pairs the terminology used in the earned value management (EVM)method with its description?

A)schedule performance index: the earned value to date divided by the planned value of work scheduled to be performed (EV/PV)
B)cost performance index: the earned value divided by the planned cumulative cost of the work performed to date (EV/AC)
C)both A and B are correct
D)neither A nor B is correct

Question 27

40)In project management,PERT (program evaluation and review technique)______.

A)uses a weighted average of optimistic,pessimistic,and most likely estimates to calculate the expected duration for an activity
B)uses a deterministic approach to calculate the expected duration for an activity
C)use a simple average of optimistic,pessimistic,and most likely estimate to calculate the expected duration for an activity
D)uses a most likely estimate to calculate the expected duration for an activity

Question 28

23)Project overhead costs ______.

A)are also known as the "level of effort"
B)can include a variety of variable costs
C)both A and B are correct
D)neither A nor B is correct

Question 29

31)The proportion of the total budget allocated to each task across a project's life cycle is shown by ______.

A)the activity schedule
B)the resource schedule
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 30

34)The SPI is ______.

A)the stochastic performance index
B)the ratio of the EV to the PV
C)the basis on which the project will be determined to be successful or not
D)the ratio of project milestones actually met to milestones scheduled to be met

Question 31

36)The cost of the project is given by ______.

A)multiplying the project's original budget by the reciprocal of the CPI
B)multiplying the project's original budget by the CPI
C)adding the project's original budget to the reciprocal of the CPI
D)adding the project's original budget to the CPI

Question 32

30)The work breakdown structure identifies ______.

A)each of the project's activities
B)human resources assigned to the project
C)material resources assigned to the project
D)all of these

Question 33

33)Value generated by a project is ______.

A)the product of planned expenditures and percentage of tasks completed
B)the ratio of planned expenditures to percentage of tasks completed
C)the sum of planned expenditures divided by number of tasks scheduled for completion
D)the ratio of actual expenditures and percentage of tasks scheduled for completion

Question 34

26)The time-phased budget ______.

A)identifies the correct sequencing of tasks
B)enables the project team to determine when budgeted money is likely to be spent on completion of tasks
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 35

32)Planned value is ______.

A)the total budget
B)a way to identify the expenditures at any one stage in the project
C)a cost estimate of the budgeted resources scheduled across the project's life cycle (cumulative baseline)
D)the real budgeted cost,or value,of the work actually performed to date

Question 36

21)Which of the following does NOT correctly pair the terminology used in the earned value management (EVM)method with its description?

A)planned value: a cost estimate of the resources used across the project's life cycle
B)earned value: the value of the work actually performed to date
C)actual cost of the work performed: the cumulative total cost of completing the project's work packages
D)budgeted cost at completion: the total budget for a project at its completion

Question 37

28)Which of the following statements is true in comparing the standard S-curve evaluation with the EVM variance?

A)Unlike the standard S-curve evaluation,the EVM variance is meaningful because it is based not simply on the budget spent but on value earned.
B)Unlike the EVM variance,the standard S-curve evaluation is meaningful because it is based simply on the budget spent.
C)Both the standard S-curve evaluation and the EVM variance are based on the budget spent.
D)Both the standard S-curve evaluation and the EVM variance are based on the value earned.

Question 38

25)The work breakdown structure ______.

A)identifies the individual work packages necessary to accomplish the project
B)identifies the individual tasks necessary to accomplish the project
C)clarifies the hierarchy of tasks
D)all of these

Question 39

37)In calculating the probability of a project being completed on time,applying the relevant formulas for expected time and variance allows us to calculate ______.

A)the most likely time for each activity
B)the expected cost for the project
C)the actual cost for the project
D)the start date for the project

Question 40

27)The project's baseline ______.

A)is the standard against which we compare project performance,project cost,and project schedule
B)shows how the project has actually progressed
C)both A and B
D)neither A nor B

Question 41

43)If a project has an expected completion time of 15 weeks with a variance of 4 weeks,the probability that the project will be completed in 18 weeks is ______.

A)less than 34%
B)between 44% and 68%
C)between 69% and 83%
D)more than 93%

Question 42

46)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 21 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 90 days?

A)between 5% and 10%
B)between 15% and 20%
C)between 25% and 30%
D)none of these

Question 43

60)In considering crashing activities,we first want to crash activities that are ______.

A)the least costly to crash
B)the most costly to crash
C)easiest to crash
D)most difficult to crash

Question 44

54)A project's variance is ______.

A)the sum of the variances of all of its critical activities
B)the average of the variances of all of its critical activities
C)the maximum of the variances of all of its critical activities
D)the minimum of the variances of all of its critical activities

Question 45

42)If a project has an expected completion time of 15 weeks with a variance of 4 weeks,the probability that the project will be completed in 15 weeks is ______.

A)close to zero
B)half
C)more than 75%
D)less than 25%

Question 46

49)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 21 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 50 days?

A)0%
B)0.39%
C)50%
D)100%

Question 47

50)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 9 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 50 days?

A)0%
B)between 5% and 10%
C)between 15% and 30%
D)over 35%

Question 48

48)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 21 days,what due date will give us a 99% likelihood of project completion?

A)in 75 days
B)in 77 days
C)in 79 days
D)in 81 days

Question 49

44)If a project has an expected completion time of 15 weeks with a variance of 4 weeks,there is a 95% likelihood that the project will be completed by what time?

A)by 17.5 weeks
B)by 16.5 weeks
C)by 15.5 weeks
D)by 14.5 weeks

Question 50

55)The probability that a project will be completed within a specified period of time can be calculated using the standard normal equation,which is ______.

A)(due date - expected date of completion)/ the project's standard deviation
B)(expected date of completion - due date)/ the project's standard deviation
C)the project's standard deviation / (due date - expected date of completion)
D)the project's standard deviation / (expected date of completion - due date)

Question 51

41)If a project has an expected completion time of 15 weeks with a variance of 4 weeks,the probability that the project will be completed in 12 weeks is ______.

A)about 6.7%
B)about 43.3%
C)about 29.1%
D)about 54.3%

Question 52

58)The normal activity duration of Activity X is 5 weeks and is budgeted to cost $12,000.The crash time for this activity is 3 weeks and is expected to cost $32,000.The cost slope for Activity X is ______.

A)$32,000 per week
B)$18,000 per week
C)$20,000 per week
D)$10,000 per week

Question 53

59)Which of the following is NOT one of the questions we should ask in determining whether an activity should be accelerated?

A)What costs are associated with accelerating other project activities?
B)What are the gains versus losses in accelerating the activity?
C)How will the project manager benefit from crashing the project?
D)Is the activity critical?

Question 54

45)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 21 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 50 days?

A)less than 1%
B)between 5% and 10%
C)between 15% and 30%
D)over 35%

Question 55

52)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 9 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 90 days?

A)85%
B)90%
C)95%
D)100%

Question 56

47)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 21 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 70 days?

A)between 35% and 40%
B)between 45% and 50%
C)between 55% and 60%
D)between 65% and 70%

Question 57

53)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 9 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed between 63 to 70 days?

A)100%
B)95%
C)90%
D)70%

Question 58

56)If project completion times are normally distributed,then which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)The due date of a project is to the left of the mean.
B)The mean of project completion times is in the middle of the distribution.
C)There is a 50% chance that the project will be completed before the mean of project completion times.
D)There is a 50% chance that the project will be completed after the mean of project completion times.

Question 59

51)If a project is expected to be completed in 68 days with a project variance of 9 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed within 70 days?

A)about 45%
B)about 55%
C)about 65%
D)about 75%

Question 60

57)The normal activity duration of Activity X is 5 weeks and is budgeted to cost $12,000.The crash time for this activity is 3 weeks and is expected to cost $32,000.The cost slope for Activity X is calculated as ______.

A)(32,000 - 12,000)/ (5 - 3)
B)(12,000 - 32,000)/ (5 - 3)
C)(32,000 - 12,000)/ (3 - 5)
D)(12,000 - 32,000)/ (3 - 5)

Question 61

75)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.37 and 0.51.

A)5.07%
B)4.10%
C)17.23%
D)19.99%

Question 62

73)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.17 and 3.81.

A)43.24%
B)14.46%
C)15.98%
D)12.32%

Question 63

72)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 1 and 0.83.

A)4.46%
B)5.98%
C)2.32%
D)7.33%

Question 64

64)An activity was given a planned budget of $10,000.If 80% of that activity was completed,what was the resulting value?

A)$80,000
B)$8,000
C)$800
D)$80

Question 65

66)If the most optimistic and pessimistic times for a task are 3 and 15 days respectively,then the variance for the duration of the activity is ______.

A)3.00
B)4.00
C)5.00
D)6.00

Question 66

74)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.99 and 2.63.

A)15.68%
B)13.24%
C)14.46%
D)19.80%

Question 67

67)The most pessimistic time for a task is 28 days.The most optimistic time for the same task is one fourth of the pessimistic time.Calculate the variance for the duration of the activity.

A)8.75
B)12.25
C)14.85
D)10.50

Question 68

68)The most pessimistic time for a task is 9 months.The most optimistic time for the same task is 7 months.What is the variance,in months,for the duration of the activity?

A)0.01
B)0.11
C)1.01
D)2.31

Question 69

69)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.78 and 1.63.

A)16.61%
B)50.12%
C)8.43%
D)21.44%

Question 70

63)A project's baseline represents ______.

A)our best understanding of how the project should progress
B)how the project actually progresses
C)the costs actually incurred in a project
D)the costs budgeted for a project

Question 71

77)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.4 and 0.53.

A)4.65%
B)5.07%
C)13.10%
D)21.10%

Question 72

61)Which of the following statements is FALSE with regard to costs of crashing activities in a project?

A)As each project activity is crashed in order,the overall project budget increases.
B)It is usually necessary to crash all activities in a project.
C)Crashing additional activities beyond a point merely adds costs to the budget.
D)It may not be possible to crash all activities in a project.

Question 73

62)In establishing the project's baseline,the time-phased budget ______.

A)allows us to identify the correct sequencing of tasks
B)enables the project team to determine the points in the project when actual costs are likely to exceed budgeted costs
C)identifies the individual work packages and tasks necessary to complete the project
D)provides the managerial responsibilities for tasks in a project

Question 74

76)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.89 and 2.14.

A)17.06%
B)14.99%
C)18.23%
D)42.30%

Question 75

78)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.05 and 2.03.

A)45.89%
B)47.88%
C)1.99%
D)15.87%

Question 76

71)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.01 and 2.5.

A)48.98%
B)42.32%
C)17.33%
D)26.53%

Question 77

80)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.65 and 2.07.

A)23.86%
B)18.11%
C)29.72%
D)31.44%

Question 78

79)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.16 and 2.88.

A)43.45%
B)14.99%
C)18.23%
D)42.30%

Question 79

65)If the most optimistic and pessimistic times for a task are 6 and 21 days respectively,then the variance for the duration of the activity is ______.

A)5.25
B)6.25
C)7.25
D)8.25

Question 80

70)Find the area under the normal curve between the Z values 0.19 and 2.98.

A)42.32%
B)17.33%
C)26.53%
D)69.23%