Deck 13: Sales and Operations Planning

Question 1

Typically the resources required during a project's life are greatest in which stage of its life?

A)Planning
B)Definition
C)Completion
D)Execution

Answer 1

Execution

Question 2

Which of the following statements about projects and project management is NOT true?

A)A project is typically a one-time event.
B)Completing a project within budget is the most critical criterion for project success.
C)Projects are typically staffed with people from several different functional areas who may have more loyalty to their function than to the project.
D)None of the statements are true.

Answer 2

Completing a project within budget is the most critical criterion for project success.

Question 3

Joe Jones is a project manager on a major installation.He has been asked to provide weekly status reports on the project schedule.Joe should consider using which of the following?

A)Gantt chart
B)Crashing reports
C)WBS report
D)Network diagram

Answer 3

Gantt chart

Question 4

The network diagram below shows the five tasks required to complete a project and the associated times for those tasks. Which of the following identifies the critical path tasks?

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

Question 5

Colson Corp.has planned a simple project with four tasks.The task information for the project is shown below: Does any task have slack? If so,how much?

A)None of the tasks have slack.
B)Task B has three days of slack.
C)Task C has four days of slack.
D)Task D has two days of slack.
E)Task C has three days of slack.

Question 6

A project manager usually has the greatest ability to affect social and technical success factors of a project in what stage of the project?

A)Planning
B)Execution
C)Completion
D)A project manager has equal ability to affect success factors across all stages.

Question 7

The network diagram below shows the five tasks required to complete a project and the associated times for those tasks. What is the latest start date for task C?

A)Two weeks
B)Seven weeks
C)Six weeks
D)Five weeks

Question 8

The forward pass in a critical path algorithm involves:

A)Calculating the late finish and late start for each task.
B)Calculating the late finish and the earliest possible start times for each task.
C)Calculating the earliest possible start and finish times for each task.
D)Calculating the earliest possible start and late start for each task.

Question 9

Why does project management often involve the management of conflict?

A)Projects often compete with routine operations and other projects for resources and personnel.
B)Project managers are under greater pressures than other managers in a firm.
C)Projects are often staffed with the personnel who have the least expertise.
D)All items are correct.

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true of projects?

A)Projects usually involve greater unknowns and uncertainty than repeated routine operations do.
B)Projects are usually more important than repeated routine operations.
C)Once a project plan is made,it is impossible to simultaneously improve the speed,quality,and cost of a project.
D)Technological factors are almost always more important than social factors in affecting project success.

Question 11

The project organizational structure that provides the greatest balance between speed and efficiency is:

A)Matrix organizational structure.
B)Pure project structure.
C)Functional project structure.
D)Line and staff organization structure.

Question 12

Which of the following are factors affecting the success of a project?

A)Experience and authority of team members.
B)Equipment,facilities,and communications systems.
C)Organizational structure and reward systems.
D)All items are correct.

Question 13

"Crashing" in a project refers to:

A)Deciding to terminate a project.
B)Attempting to reduce the project scope.
C)Extending the deadline for completion of the project.
D)Speeding up an activity.

Question 14

The network diagram below shows the five tasks required to complete a project and the associated times for those tasks. Which task has the greatest amount of slack?

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

Question 15

A primary advantage of a functional project organizational structure is:

A)The needs of the project client are prioritized over the needs of the function.
B)A single project manager has full control over the entire project.
C)A functional manager controls both the budget and the schedule.
D)All project team members report to one boss.

Question 16

Zanda Corp.has decided that it needs a project team to implement a new ERP system.It wants the system implemented as soon as possible.Given this criterion,Zanda should choose a:

A)Matrix organizational structure.
B)Pure project structure.
C)Functional project structure.
D)Line and staff organization structure.

Question 17

The network diagram below shows the five tasks required to complete a project and the associated times for those tasks. What is the earliest completion of the project diagrammed?

A)23 weeks
B)24 weeks
C)28 weeks
D)37 weeks

Question 18

Nearly all projects seem to go through the same phases in the following sequence:

A)Planning,definition,execution,and completion
B)Definition,planning,delivering,and closing
C)Definition,planning,execution,and completion
D)Selection,planning,delivering,and completion

Question 19

Colson Corp.has planned a simple project with four tasks.The task information for the project is shown below: What is the estimated completion time for the project?

A)29 days
B)25 days
C)22 days
D)19 days

Question 20

What is a key factor that must be considered when an organization evaluates the potential of a project?

A)The project's fit with overall organizational strategy.
B)The availability of resources to execute the project.
C)The business justification for investing in the project.
D)All items are correct.

Question 21

Given the project plan shown below,what is the expected completion time for the critical path?

A)34 days
B)21 days
C)16 days
D)18 days

Question 22

Why do businesses often NOT pursue the best mix of projects in their project portfolio?

A)Projects are selected based on criteria that are not always consistent with the business strategy.
B)Businesses do not use enough financial metrics in selecting projects.
C)Too much emphasis is placed on feasibility.
D)Selection committees neglect to use a portfolio value matrix.

Question 23

Project manager Bill Jones has determined that task R has a high variation between "best case" and "worst case" estimated durations.Task R is probably a good candidate for:

A)Close monitoring and frequent status reporting.
B)Buffering.
C)Contingency planning.
D)All of these.

Question 24

Which of the following is a project?

A)The operation of a tollbooth on a highway.
B)The construction of a ship.
C)Balancing your checkbook at the end of each month.
D)Inspecting the quality of units being produced.

Question 25

Where in a project schedule is a good place to plan a buffer?

A)Immediately after a highly uncertain task.
B)Where scarce resources are needed.
C)At the end of the project.
D)All of these are good places to plan buffers.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT a good reason to kill a project?

A)Consistent budget and schedule overruns.
B)Inadequate resources to complete the project successfully.
C)Personnel problems on the project.
D)The project objectives are no longer of value to the firm.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a good reason to terminate (kill)a project?

A)Consistent budget and schedule overruns.
B)Changing organizational priorities.
C)Uncertainty regarding the project's outcomes.
D)Wrong resources assigned to the project.

Question 28

Spending more money to speed up a project is known as:

A)Speeding.
B)Crashing.
C)Splurging.
D)Pinching.

Question 29

Which of the following factors is NOT typically considered a best practice for creating a high-performing project team?

A)Team members are volunteers.
B)Team members serve on the project from beginning to end.
C)Team members are from the same functional area.
D)Team members are collocated.

Question 30

When developing risk mitigation plans,one should:

A)Be sure to plan for every possible thing that could go wrong.
B)Have a single person develop all risk scenarios.
C)Always use buffers as the primary risk mitigation technique.
D)Select mitigation plans that give the highest level of prevention or protection at the lowest investment.

Question 31

A method for estimating the impacts of uncertainty on project tasks is:

A)Rule of thumb estimates.
B)Best case estimates.
C)Probabilistic task duration estimates.
D)Risk-weighted estimates.

Question 32

Which of the following best describes the overall goal of project portfolio management?

A)Maximize support of business strategy while minimizing risk.
B)Maximize innovation at an affordable cost.
C)Ensure that all projects are selected using the same criteria.
D)Select projects that can easily be terminated if not successful.

Question 33

Task X is expected to take three days to complete.The maximum (latest)earliest finish date for any predecessors to task X is 10.Therefore,the earliest finish for task X is:

A)7
B)10
C)13
D)Cannot determine from the information given

Question 34

The figure below shows the tasks required to complete a project and the expected duration for each task. How long should we expect it to take to complete this project?

A)20 weeks
B)38 weeks
C)21 weeks
D)None of these are correct

Question 35

Given the project plan shown below,what is the latest start for Task B?

A)Zero days (must start immediately)
B)One day
C)Two days
D)Three days

Question 36

Which of the following items should be included in a business case for a project?

A)Fit with the organization's strategy and other projects.
B)Financial returns or other benefits.
C)Feasibility.
D)All of these items should be included in a business case.