Deck 3: Project Management

Question 1

Upper level management must decide between pure,functional and matrix structures as ways to organize projects.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The Gantt chart is an example of a project control chart.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A matrix project attempts to blend properties of functional and pure project structures.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In CPM the late start time estimate is the latest time you can start an activity and still keep the entire project on schedule.

Question 5

One of the disadvantages of a pure project organizational structure is that the project manager has full authority over the project.

Question 6

CPM is an abbreviation for Critical Path Method.

Question 7

The critical path in a CPM analysis is always the shortest path through the network.

Question 8

An event is a subdivision of a project.

Question 9

The fact that organizations are flattening is one reason that projects are more crucial and project management is important as a way to get things done.

Question 10

A disadvantage of a matrix project organizational structure is that a project manager is held responsible for successful completion of the project.

Question 11

The second step in managing a project is writing the Statement of Work (SOW).

Question 12

The critical path of activities in a project is the sequence of activities that form the shortest chain in a project network of activities.

Question 13

Project Management can be defined as planning,directing and controlling resources to meet the technical,cost and time constraints of the project.

Question 14

A matrix project structure may be referred to as a "skunk works".

Question 15

A work breakdown structure is used in project management but not in the critical path method.

Question 16

Complex projects are often subdivided into a series of tasks that are typically configured to be not longer than several months in duration.

Question 17

Most project work is controlled by PERT or CPM and thus team leadership is less crucial than in other parts of an organization.

Question 18

One of the advantages of a functional project organizational structure is that a team member can work on several projects.

Question 19

The critical path in a project is that sequence of activities that consume the longest amount of time in a project network of activities.

Question 20

The work breakdown structure (WBS)defines a hierarchy of project tasks,subtasks and work packages.

Question 21

One of the assumptions of CPM is that project activity times can be estimated accurately.

Question 22

The "Z" value used to calculate the probabilities in CPM analysis is based on the Beta probability distribution.

Question 23

The expected time estimate in a CPM three time estimate procedure is a weighted average formula.

Question 24

Slack activity time is the difference between the early start and the late finish of a project activity time.

Question 25

In the Time-Cost CPM model,cost is a linear function of time.

Question 26

In a CPM analysis if you subtract the late finish from the early finish the result is the activity's slack time.

Question 27

When reducing the planned duration of a project using the Time-Cost CPM model we select the activity to crash by determining the cost of each alternative and selecting the one whose cost is the greatest.

Question 28

One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activities can be identified with clear beginning and ending points.

Question 29

The critical path in a CPM analysis is found by locating the activities times with zero slack.

Question 30

To calculate the variances of activity times in CPM analysis we must use all three time estimates (i.e. ,optimistic,most likely and pessimistic time estimates).

Question 31

Calculating the early start and early finish times for each activity in a CPM analysis does not provide any useful information.

Question 32

The activity direct costs associated with a project might include giving workers overtime to complete a project in less-than the expected time.

Question 33

When the time estimates in a CPM analysis vary into optimistic,most likely and pessimistic,we should use the single time estimate CPM procedure.

Question 34

In calculating the probabilities in a CPM analysis the desired time is determined by calculating the expected time for the project as a whole.

Question 35

You are managing a project and need to cut the cost of the project.You decide to transfer workers to another job to cut the project's costs.Costs associated with transferring the workers are an example of project indirect costs.

Question 36

In a CPM analysis if you subtract the early finish from the late finish the result is the activity's slack time.

Question 37

The "Z" distribution used to calculate the probability of completing a project on time is only useful in calculating probabilities where the desired time is greater than the expected time.

Question 38

We assume in CPM analysis that the activity times are independent and therefore the sum of the variances of the activities along the critical path is the variance of the expected time to complete the path.

Question 39

The project indirect costs associated with a project include overhead,facilities and resource opportunity costs.

Question 40

Using the Time-Cost CPM model,the crash time is the shortest possible time allowed for each activity in the project.

Question 41

Some of the advantages of a functional project where the project is housed in a functional division include which of the following?

A)The project manager has full authority over the project
B)Team pride,motivation and commitment are high
C)A team member can work on several projects
D)Needs of the client are secondary
E)None of the above

Question 42

A series of projects that are organized in such a way that each project utilizes people from different functional areas is using which of the following organizational structures?

A)Matrix project
B)Integrated Task Force
C)Functional project
D)Pure project
E)Cross-functional flexible team

Question 43

If each activity time is known with certainty in a CPM analysis,which of the following methodologies can be used to analyze the project?

A)Single Time Estimate
B)Three Activity Time Estimates
C)Expected Activity Time
D)Probability Analysis
E)None of the above

Question 44

An advantage of a pure project where self-contained teams work full time on a project is which of the following?

A)Team members can work on several projects
B)Functional area is a "home" after the project is completed
C)There are duplicated resources
D)Lines of communication are shortened
E)Overall organizational policies and goals can be ignored

Question 45

PERT is an abbreviation for which of the following methodologies?

A)Product Evaluation Result and Treatment
B)Programming and Evaluation Realization Technology
C)Program Evaluation and Review Technique
D)Process Evaluation and Review Technology
E)It is a name,not an abbreviation for anything

Question 46

A project can be subdivided into which of the following?

A)Job orders
B)Subjobs
C)Work Package
D)Sub-paths
E)Events and decisions

Question 47

In a Gantt chart the horizontal axis is usually which of the following?

A)Activities
B)Cost
C)Profit
D)Time
E)Milestones

Question 48

Project management software available today combines CPM and other scheduling aids,like Gantt charting,to aid in tracking progress of project completion.

Question 49

Which of the following is a reason that project management is important?

A)Organizations do not allow hastily planned projects
B)Organizational hierarchies are becoming more robust
C)The firm's reputation is not a concern since projects are invisible to the outside world
D)Projects are a way to promote effective leadership
E)It is usually more important to complete a project on time than to complete it correctly

Question 50

A project starts out as which of the following?

A)A Statement of Work (SOW)
B)Critical Path Method (CPM)
C)A Series of Milestones (SOM)
D)A Gantt chart
E)A latest-start-time estimate

Question 51

A simple project listing of five activities and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Immediate Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { A } & \text { None } & 1 \\\hline \text { B } & \text { A } & 2 \\\hline \text { C } & \text { A } & 1 \\\hline \text { D } & \text { B and C } & 3 \\\hline \text { E } & \text { D } & 2 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,which activities make up the critical path?

A)A,C,D,E
B)A,B,D,E
C)A,C,B,D,E
D)A,D,E
E)None of the above

Question 52

Which of the following is a graphic project report used in project management?

A)Project proposal
B)Approved project plan
C)Humphrey chart
D)Equipment and supplies chart
E)Cost and performance tracking schedule

Question 53

You have been placed in charge of a large project.Shortened communication lines are required to insure quick resolution of problems as they arise.You recognize that the project is going to take a lot of time and require a lot of team pride,motivation and commitment by all members.Which project management structure should you use in this situation?

A)Pure Project
B)Task force
C)Matrix Project
D)Functional Project
E)PERT

Question 54

A project milestone is a specific event to be reached by a particular point in time.

Question 55

Breakthrough projects are those that provide fundamental improvements to existing products.

Question 56

What is a work breakdown structure?

A)A list of the activities making up the higher levels of the project
B)A definition of the hierarchy of project tasks,subtasks and work packages
C)A depiction of the activities making up a project
D)A Gantt chart
E)A structure that is incompatible with the Critical Path Method

Question 57

You have just been assigned to oversee a series of projects.Functional areas will loan you personnel for each project and separate project managers will be responsible for separate projects.These project managers will report to you.Which project management structure is being used?

A)Pure Project
B)Task force
C)Matrix Project
D)Functional Project
E)PERT

Question 58

Derivative projects are those which address incremental changes to products or processes.

Question 59

One of the assumptions made using CPM is that project activity sequence relationships can be specified and networked.

Question 60

One of the criticisms of CPM analysis is that projects tend to change and develop over time,making the use of formulas for combining together the optimistic,most likely and pessimistic values useless.

Question 61

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities.The activities,their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline & & \text { Immediate } & \\\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Designation } & \text { Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { Break down both machines } & \text { A } & \text { None } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 1 } & \text { B } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 2 } & \text { C } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 1 } & \text { D } & \text { B } & 4 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 2 } & \text { E } & \text { C } & 2 \\\hline \text { Re-calibrate both machines } & \text { F } & \text { D and E } & 1 \\\hline \text { Final test } & \text { G } & \text { F } & 1 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,which activities have slack in this project?

A)A,B,C
B)B,D
C)Only C
D)C,E
E)F,G

Question 62

If you have an optimistic time of 4 weeks,a most likely time of 6 weeks and a pessimistic time of 8 weeks on an activity in a CPM managed project,what is the expected time for this activity?

A)4 weeks
B)5 weeks
C)6 weeks
D)7 weeks
E)8 weeks

Question 63

If the pessimistic duration of an activity is 24,the most likely duration is 15 and the optimistic duration is 6,what is the variance for the activity time when using CPM analysis?

A)6
B)8.333
C)9
D)10.4
E)12

Question 64

For an activity in a Single Time Estimate CPM analysis,the Early Finish time is 8 and the Late Finish time is 10.Which of the following statements is true?

A)The Late Start Time is 4
B)The Early Start Time is 4
C)The slack for this activity is 2
D)The duration of this activity is 2
E)The activity is on the critical path

Question 65

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities.The activities,their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline & & \text { Immediate } & \\\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Designation } & \text { Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { Break down both machines } & \text { A } & \text { None } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 1 } & \text { B } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 2 } & \text { C } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 1 } & \text { D } & \text { B } & 1 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 2 } & \text { E } & \text { C } & 2 \\\hline \text { Re-calibrate both machines } & \text { F } & \text { D and E } & 1 \\\hline \text { Final test } & \text { G } & \text { F } & 2 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,what is the Latest Finish Time for the last activity in this project (i.e. ,the total time to complete the project)?

A)9 days
B)10 days
C)11 days
D)12 days
E)13 days

Question 66

A simple project listing of five activities,their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Immediate Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { A } & \text { None } & 2 \\\hline \text { B } & \text { A } & 2 \\\hline \text { C } & \text { A } & 1 \\\hline \text { D } & \text { B and C } & 3 \\\hline \text { E } & \text { D } & 1 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,which activities have slack in this project?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)C and E

Question 67

You have just performed a Single Time Estimate CPM analysis and have found that more than one path through the project network has zero slack values.What can you conclude?

A)You have incorrectly performed the analysis
B)You have multiple critical paths
C)Only one path is optimal
D)More than one path is optimal
E)The project will not be completed by the desired time

Question 68

You have the following time and cost information below for use in a Time-Cost CPM Scheduling model. $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Normal Time } & \text { Crash Time } & \text { Normal Cost } & \text { Crash Cost } \\\hline \text { A } & 3 & 2 & \$ 400 & \$ 600 \\\hline \text { B } & 5 & 3 & \$ 600 & \$ 1200 \\\hline \text { C } & 4 & 1 & \$ 300 & \$ 1500 \\\hline\end{array}$
What are the three costs per unit of time to expedite each activity?

A)A=$300,B=$200,C=$300
B)A=$100,B=$200,C=$400
C)A=$200,B=$200,C=$200
D)A=$100,B=$400,C=$300
E)A=$200,B=$300,C=$400

Question 69

You have just computed a Z=2.55 in a CPM analysis of a critical path for a project.Based on this Z value what is the probability of completing this project on time?

A)0.76543
B)0.67543
C)0.99061
D)0.99461
E)You cannot tell based on the information given

Question 70

A listing of immediate predecessor activities is important information in a single time estimate CPM analysis for which of the following reasons?

A)It specifies the relationships in the CPM network of activities
B)It provides useful timing information
C)It includes cost information
D)It is the probability information required in the final step of CPM
E)None of the above

Question 71

A company wants to use CPM analysis to manage their project.One of the activities that make up the project has an uncertain duration.Three estimates have been given to determine this activity's duration.The estimates are optimistically 1 hour,most likely 5 hours and pessimistic 6 hours.Using the three activity time estimation procedure for CPM,what is the expected time this activity will take?

A)2.5 hours
B)3.5 hours
C)4.5 hours
D)5.5 hours
E)None of the above

Question 72

A simple project listing of five activities,their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|}\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Immediate Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { A } & \text { None } & 3 \\\hline \text { B } & \text { A } & 2 \\\hline \text { C } & \text { A } & 1 \\\hline \text { D } & \text { B and C } & 3 \\\hline \text { E } & \text { D } & 4 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,what is the Latest Finish Time for the last activity in this project (i.e. ,the total time to complete the project)?

A)10 days
B)7 days
C)8 days
D)12 days
E)9 days

Question 73

You ask your subordinates how long it will take to complete the job they are working on.The subordinates say,"If everything goes right it will take 6 hours,most likely it will take 8 hours and if everything goes wrong it will take until the end of tomorrow or another 16 hours".Since this job is a part of a larger project you must estimate the expected time it will take to complete the job.Using the three activity time estimation procedure for CPM,what is the expected time for this job?

A)8 hours
B)9 hours
C)10 hours
D)11 hours
E)12 hours

Question 74

Below are the data for a Time-Cost CPM Scheduling model analysis.The time is in days and the costs include both direct and indirect costs. $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|l|l|}\hline & \text { Immediate } & \text { Normal } & \text { Crash } & \text { Normal } & \text { Crash } \\\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Predecessor } & \text { Time } & \text { Time } & \text { Cost } & \text { Cost } \\\hline \text { A } & \text { None } & 3 & 2 & \$ 200 & \$ 400 \\\hline \text { B } & \text { A } & 4 & 3 & \$ 300 & \$ 600 \\\hline \text { C } & \text { A } & 1 & 1 & \$ 200 & \$ 200 \\\hline \text { D } & \text { B and C } & 3 & 2 & \$ 500 & \$ 550 \\\hline \text { E } & \text { D } & 2 & 1 & \$ 500 & \$ 900 \\\hline\end{array}$
What are the total time of this project and total normal cost?

A)Total time is 13 days,total cost is $1,200
B)Total time is 12 days,total cost is $1,700
C)Total time is 11 days,total cost is $1,600
D)Total time is 10 days,total cost is $1,750
E)Total time is 9 days,total cost is $1,700

Question 75

You are working on a project that has 12 activities and want to perform a CPM analysis on the project.You determine the critical path consists of only five activities.You then compute the variances for the five critical path activities and these variances are 3,4,2,1 and 6 days.If the desired completion date for the project is 50 days and the expected completion date for the project is 40 days,what is the probability that the project will be completed by the desired completion date?

A)0.99379
B)0.99180
C)0.99772
D)0.91924
E)0.67364

Question 76

You have determined the critical path in a CPM analysis.You would like to determine the probability of completing the project is a desired period of time.One of the activities on the critical path has an optimistic time of 5 minutes,a most likely time of 6 and a pessimistic time of 17.What is the variance estimate of this activity?

A)0.5
B)1
C)2
D)3
E)4

Question 77

If you have an optimistic time of 4 weeks,a most likely time of 6 weeks and a pessimistic time of 14 weeks on an activity in a CPM managed project,what is the expected time for this activity?

A)4 weeks
B)5 weeks
C)6 weeks
D)7 weeks
E)8 weeks

Question 78

For an activity in a Single Time Estimate CPM analysis the Early Finish time is 20 and the Late Finish time is 20.Which of the following statements is true?

A)The activity's late start must happen before its early start
B)The activity is on the critical path
C)The slack for this activity is 20
D)The duration of this activity is zero
E)The duration of this activity is 20

Question 79

A company must perform a maintenance project consisting of seven activities.The activities,their predecessors and their respective time estimates are presented below: $\begin{array}{|l|l|l|l|}\hline & & \text { Immediate } & \\\hline \text { Activity } & \text { Designation } & \text { Predecessor } & \text { Time in Days } \\\hline \text { Break down both machines } & \text { A } & \text { None } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 1 } & \text { B } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Clean machine 2 } & \text { C } & \text { A } & 3 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 1 } & \text { D } & \text { B } & 4 \\\hline \text { Re-set machine 2 } & \text { E } & \text { C } & 2 \\\hline \text { Re-calibrate both machines } & \text { F } & \text { D and E } & 1 \\\hline \text { Final test } & \text { G } & \text { F } & 2 \\\hline\end{array}$
Using the Single Time Estimate CPM procedure,which activities make up the critical path?

A)A,B,D,F,G
B)A,C,E,F,G
C)A,C,B,F,E
D)A,D,E
E)None of the above

Question 80

If the pessimistic duration of an activity is 10 and the optimistic duration is 4,what is the variance for the activity time when using CPM analysis?

A)1
B)2.333
C)4.777
D)10.4
E)12