Deck 14: Determining Project Progress and Results

Question 1

Monitoring and controlling project work refers to the processes of tracking,reviewing and reporting progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project plan.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Some scope changes start as proposed changes to cost or schedule,just as some changes to cost or schedule start as proposed scope changes.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

When project managers authorize work,they should empower others to the extent possible,yet control them to the extent necessary.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Control quality is the forward-looking process of using and improving the quality plan and policy to perform tasks that will most likely lead to creating project outputs to customers' satisfaction.

Question 5

The Schedule Performance Index (SPI)is a schedule performance measure expressed as the ratio of earned value (EV)to planned value (PV).

Question 6

On agile projects,because communication is frequent and rapid,a directional indicator showing that things are getting better or worse in some manner is more valuable than a more detailed and polished report.

Question 7

Two types of control are used extensively on projects and both compare actual performance against the plan: steering control and go/no go control.

Question 8

Self-directed teams on agile projects are largely empowered to decide what work to do and when to do it,consistent with the prioritizing of deliverables by the product owner.

Question 9

Quality control charts are helpful in answering the question "how big of a change is big enough to count?" 

Question 10

When using earned value techniques,Actual Cost (AC)refers to the total of costs incurred in accomplishing work on the activity during a given period.

Question 11

The control quality process deals with using correct policies and convincing stakeholders that the project team is capable of producing good output.

Question 12

When reporting performance to sponsors and management,it is often helpful to organize the information in terms of three time horizons: past,current and future.

Question 13

In a control chart,a point that occurs above the upper control limit typically means that some sort of special cause is creating the variation and requires a specific intervention.

Question 14

In order to determine that a project is progressing adequately,a project manager could use a balanced scorecard approach to evaluate the organization along supplier,external business,risk and human resource perspectives.

Question 15

A quality audit is a project management and quality tool that is a structured process to ensure project activities comply with organizational policies.

Question 16

Earned Value (EV)is the approved value of the work to be completed in a given time.

Question 17

Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis is the process of adhering to the risk response plan of tracking identified risks,identifying new risks,monitoring residual risks,and evaluating the effectiveness of the risk response process throughout the project.

Question 18

For risk events outside project control,resolution strategies include working with clients to reprioritize cost,schedule,scope or quality and carefully escalate problems.

Question 19

The Cost Variance (CV)is a cost performance measure expressed as the ratio of earned value (EV)to actual cost (AC).

Question 20

The purpose of a check sheet is to quickly understand the primary causes of a particular problem using the 80/20 rule.

Question 21

In which of the following tools would a normal or bell-shaped curve be expected if no special conditions are occurring?​ 

A) flow chart 
B) cause and effect diagram 
C) check sheet 
D) histogram

Question 22

One useful method of process improvement involves consideration of how another organization performs a process,identifying and analyzing best practices for improvement ideas.This method is known as:​ 

A) comparative improvement 
B) benchmarking 
C) root cause analysis 
D) voice of the customer

Question 23

Quality control activities generally include all of the following EXCEPT:​ 

A) Management by objectives 
B) Deliverable peer reviews 
C) Inspection 
D) Testing

Question 24

Which of the following measures is best suited for determining whether the project is on,ahead or behind schedule?​ 

A) Estimate to Complete (ETC) 
B) Schedule Variance (SV) 
C) To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) 
D) Schedule Compliance (SC)

Question 25

This is the process of reviewing all change proposals,estimating their impact on project goals wherever appropriate,approving or declining changes,and managing changes to deliverables,schedules,budgets and the project management plan: ​ 

A) Perform project monitoring. 
B) Perform variance analysis and control. 
C) Perform integrated change control. 
D) Perform configuration management

Question 26

Figure 14.1 Drug Surveillance Aircraft Project - Monthly Performance Report?(October 31, 20XX)
Consider the project performance report presented in figure 14.1.What valid conclusion can you draw regarding the project cost performance as of October 31,20XX?​ 

A) The project is $8,000 over budget. 
B) The project is $18,000 over budget. 
C) The project is on budget. 
D) The project is $26,000 under budget.

Question 27

Which of these is NOT one of the typical questions that a project manager might ask in order to collect information on executed work and work in progress? 

A) How well is the entire project progressing in terms of time and budget? 
B) To what extent does the quality of this work meet requirements? 
C) What information should be covered in the project kick-off meeting? 
D) What methods have we used that need to be improved before we do that type of work again?

Question 28

Figure 14.1 Drug Surveillance Aircraft Project - Monthly Performance Report?(October 31, 20XX)
Consider the project performance report presented in figure 14.1.Your analyst has determined that your estimate to complete (ETC)is $226,000.Based on your performance to date and assuming future performance will proceed at the same level of efficiency as past performance,what is your estimate at completion (EAC)?​ 

A) $542,000 
B) $550,000 
C) $568,000 
D) It can not be determined from the information provided.

Question 29

While the manage communications process is underway,effective information distribution often requires the project manager and team to accomplish all of the following activities EXCEPT:​ 

A) determine any information needs not already uncovered 
B) collect information on executed work and work in progress 
C) develop responses to identifies risks 
D) report progress to all stakeholders

Question 30

Figure 14.1 Drug Surveillance Aircraft Project - Monthly Performance Report?(October 31, 20XX)
Consider the project performance report presented in figure 14.1.As a project manager,these results should lead you to...​ 

A) take actions to understand and remedy the schedule performance on the active avionics work packages. 
B) take actions to understand and resolve budgetary overruns on the active communications work packages. 
C) take actions to understand and remedy the schedule performance on the active training work packages. 
D) notify the project owner that you will not require all of the funding currently budgeted for this project.

Question 31

All of the following accurately apply to project performance reporting EXCEPT:​ 

A) Progress report meetings are a great way to capture lessons learned. 
B) Performance can be reported at fixed time intervals or at key project milestones. 
C) Progress can be reported at varying degrees of frequency depending on the stakeholders. 
D) The same report format should be used for all stakeholders

Question 32

With respect to performance reporting,which of these are the actual and raw observations and measurements gathered during execution of project activities? 

A) Work performance information 
B) Work performance data 
C) Work performance reports
D) Work performance analysis

Question 33

Figure 14.1 Drug Surveillance Aircraft Project - Monthly Performance Report?(October 31, 20XX)
Consider the project performance report presented in figure 14.1.What valid conclusion can you draw regarding the project schedule performance as of October 31,20XX?​ 

A) The project is $18,000 behind schedule. 
B) The project is $26,000 behind schedule. 
C) The project is 18 days behind schedule. 
D) The project is $26,000 ahead of schedule.

Question 34

This Agile project reporting tool is useful to Scrum Masters as it projects how close to plan the team is within a given time box,by providing a graphical representation of work effort remaining in an iteration versus the days left in an iteration.​ 

A) Control chart 
B) Burndown chart 
C) Run chart 
D) Progress report

Question 35

Some organizations rely upon a formal group authorized and responsible for reviewing,evaluating,approving,delaying,or rejecting any changes to any aspect of the project plan by following a formal communication method of documenting the decision process.This group is typically known as a:​ 

A) stakeholder review board. 
B) change control board. 
C) project evaluation committee. 
D) steering committee

Question 36

Work to be performed can come from the work package level of the work breakdown structure as well as other sources.Which of these is NOT a source of authorized work to be performed?​ 

A) Corrective actions 
B) Preventive actions 
C) Scope creep 
D) Defect repairs

Question 37

The Budget at Completion (BAC)is the sum of all budgets established for the work to be performed on a project.As such it is equivalent to:​ 

A) the total planned value of the project. 
B) the total earned value of the project. 
C) the total actual cost of the project. 
D) the total value of the work completed to date

Question 38

During schedule and cost control,when comparing performance to the schedule and cost baselines,if schedule or budget has changed these changes should be:​ 

A) formally recommended and managed through the integrated change control system 
B) added to the original baselines, and baseline changes made to reflect the new status 
C) reviewed with the customer or sponsor to obtain approval for additional funding 
D) implemented immediately and reported as variances from baseline in the next status report

Question 39

Change control is a process wherein change proposals to various project planning elements are:​ 

A) acknowledged, formally documented, and either approved or declined after review. 
B) uniformly approved, documented and sent to the team for re-baselining and implementation. 
C) uniformly denied, but documented for lessons learned. 
D) documented and sent to the team, where the proposed changes will be voted on.

Question 40

All of the following accurately describe earned value management EXCEPT:​ 

A) It is used to make predictions concerning the project schedule and cost control until the project's conclusion. 
B) It enables a project team to understand progress in terms of both cost and schedule. 
C) It is good for performance reporting but not for forecasting 
D) It is used as a decision-making tool.

Question 41

Describe the three different categories of risk events that occur during the Monitor Risks process,and some of the risk resolution strategies that might be used for each.

Question 42

Define integrated change control and briefly explain how it is accomplished in an organization.

Question 43

Describe how you would adopt a balanced score card approach to evaluate your project performance.Your response should identify specific measures you would use as well as the approach you would take to obtain the measures you identify.

Question 44

Your most recent project performance report indicates that your cumulative Schedule Performance Index (SPI)is .85 and your cumulative Cost Performance Index (CPI)is .90.What conclusions can you draw from these performance indices? What actions might you take to address project performance based on these results?