Deck 8: Managing Project Stakeholders and Communication

Question 1

Budget At Completion (BAC) is the total planned cost of a project.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A cost variance (CV) can be positive or negative, but never zero.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The purpose of a project review is to not only show evidence that the project work is being completed, but also that the work is being completed according to various standards or agreed upon requirements.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Earned value provides a performance measurement that tells us how much of the budget we really should have spent for the work completed so far.

Question 5

One attribute of a good project metric is that it should be subjective so that a stakeholder can understand the project manager's personal opinion or insight as to how the project is progressing.

Question 6

Given the advances that have been made in telecommunications and IT technology in general, there is little value or necessity today for Face-to-Face (F2F) meetings.

Question 7

The Estimate At Completion (EAC) is a project metric that can be used to estimate the most likely total or final cost of the project based on the project's performance and any risks that should be considered.

Question 8

A good project metric should be understandable, quantifiable, cost effective, proven, and be effective.

Question 9

If a stakeholder has been judged to adversarial and having a vested interest in the failure of your project, it would probably be wise to keep him/her out of the communication loop.

Question 10

Which of the following is not likely a characteristic of a good project metric?:

A) Understandable
B) Quantifiable
C) Cost Effective
D) Subjective
E) High Impact

Question 11

The project communications plan may be informal depending on the needs of the project stakeholders and the size of the project.

Question 12

The project manager must have a clear picture of how the actual progress or work compares to the baseline plan in order to make well-informed decisions, take appropriate actions, or to make adjustments to the project plan.

Question 13

All of the project stakeholders should receive exactly the same information regarding the project's progress in order to eliminate any miscommunication.

Question 14

The schedule variance (SV) shows the difference between the current progress of the project and its original or planned value.

Question 15

The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) for our project is greater than one (1) and so we would anticipate that all other things being equal, our project will finish ahead of schedule.

Question 16

Generally, the more metrics one adopts, the greater the project control.

Question 17

A project metric should be obtained from observable, quantifiable data that allows the team and other stakeholders to gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of the work being done.

Question 18

Planned value (PV) is the planned or budgeted cost of work scheduled for an activity or component of the WBS.

Question 19

The Expected Time Complete (ETC) provides an estimate for completing the scheduled work that remains.

Question 20

As a project manager, you would be pleased see a Cost Performance Index CPI less than one (1) for your project.

Question 21

Schedule Variance (SV) is __________

A) how much time it took to complete the work
B) how long we expected the task to take
C) how much time we have left to complete the project
D) how much time it should have taken to complete the task
E) the difference between the current progress and the original schedule

Question 22

Barring a change in project scope and given a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) that is greater than 1, the most reasonable inference to draw is that:

A) The project will likely finish earlier than planned.
B) The project will likely finish later than planned.
C) The project will likely cost more than planned.
D) The project will likely cost less than planned.
E) The project will likely be on time and on budget.

Question 23

The cost incurred for completing a scheduled task or WBS component is the

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Question 24

A _________ is a formal or informal meeting that shows evidence of project work that has been completed and work and provides a forum for surfacing issues, problems, decision-making.

A) Budget report
B) Project review
C) Progress report
D) Forecast report
E) News report

Question 25

Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value - ___________.

A) Budget at Completion (BAC)
B) Budgeted cost of remaining work (BCRW)
C) Schedule Variance (SV)
D) Actual Cost (AC)
E) None of these

Question 26

A _________ shows how the scope, features or functionality, or work is being completed over time.

A) Budget report
B) Status report
C) Progress report
D) Forecast report
E) Burn-down Chart

Question 27

The metric that provides an estimate of the most likely total or final cost of the project based on the project's performance and any risks that should be considered is the:

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Question 28

The total planned cost of the project is computed before the project work begins. This metric is called the:

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Question 29

Budget At Completion (BAC) is __________

A) how much we actually spent for work completed
B) how much we budgeted to spend at the beginning of the project
C) how much of the budget we have left to spend on the project
D) how much of the budget we really should have spent on the work completed so far
E) None of these

Question 30

EV-AC =

A) Cost performance index (CPI)
B) Scheduled performance index (SPI)
C) Cost Variance (CV)
D) Minimum funds needed (MFN)
E) None of these

Question 31

If you hired a consulting firm to develop a system which is estimated to take four months to complete with the tasks evenly divided over the four months and you agree to pay for the project with equal monthly installments, those payments would be called:

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Earned Value (EV)
E) None of these

Question 32

The budgeted cost of work scheduled for an activity or component of the WBS is the _____.

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Question 33

Cost Variance (CV) is __________

A) how much we actually spent for work completed
B) how much we budgeted to spend at the beginning of the project
C) how much of the budget we have left to spend on the project
D) how much of the budget we really should have spent on the work completed so far
E) the difference between the estimated cost and how much we have actually spent

Question 34

Earned Value tells us __________

A) how much we actually spent for work completed
B) how much we budgeted to spend at the beginning of the project
C) how much of the budget we have left to spend on the project
D) how much of the budget we really should have spent on the work completed so far
E) None of these

Question 35

Expected Time to Completion (ETC) is __________

A) how much time it took to complete the work
B) how long we expected the task to take
C) how much time we have left to complete the project
D) how much time it should have taken to complete the task
E) how much longer it will take to complete the project

Question 36

Barring a change in project scope and given a Cost Performance Index (CPI) that is less than 1, the most reasonable inference to draw is that:

A) The project will likely finish earlier than planned.
B) The project will likely finish later than planned.
C) The project will likely cost more than planned.
D) The project will likely cost less than planned.
E) The project will likely be on time and on budget.

Question 37

A metric that provides an estimate for completing the scheduled work that remains once the project is started is called the

A) Planned Value (PV)
B) Budget At Completion (BAC)
C) Actual Cost (AC)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Estimate at Completion (EAC)

Question 38

Actual Cost (AC) is __________

A) how much we actually spent for work completed
B) how much we budgeted to spend at the beginning of the project
C) how much of the budget we have left to spend on the project
D) how much of the budget we really should have spent on the work completed so far
E) None of these

Question 39

If we know the Actual Cost of a WBS component, what other value do we need to know in order to calculate the cost performance index (CPI)?

A) Budget at Completion (BAC)
B) Budget costs of remaining work (BCRW)
C) Schedule Variance (SV)
D) Expected Time Complete (ETC)
E) Earned Value (EV)

Question 40

Estimate at Completion (EAC) is __________

A) how much we actually spent for work completed
B) how much we budgeted to spend at the beginning of the project
C) how much of the budget we have left to spend on the project
D) how much of the budget we really should have spent on the work completed so far
E) how much we spent to complete the project

Question 41

Describe how the SPI and CPI can be used to forecast the final cost of a project.

Question 42

What is a project review and what purpose does it serve?

Question 43

Describe the concept of earned value.

Question 44

Why is communications among project stakeholders so important?

Question 45

What is a forecast report?

Question 46

Why is effective and efficient communication vital to a project?

Question 47

What is Planned Value (PV)?

Question 48

What is the purpose of a project communications plan? What kinds of things should this plan address?

Question 49

What is Actual Cost (AC)?

Question 50

What is a progress report?

Question 51

Describe the qualities of a good project metric.

Question 52

What are project metrics?

Question 53

A _________ predicts the future status or progress of the project.

A) Budget report
B) Status report
C) Progress report
D) Forecast report
E) News report

Question 54

Why would a project manager be unwilling to share bad news about unexpected problems with senior management or other high profile stakeholders?

Question 55

Sketch out a table with headings that represent the essential elements of a project communications plan.Fill in a hypothetical entry under each heading.

Question 56

A _________ describes the present state of the project and provides compares the project's actual progress to the baseline plan.

A) Budget report
B) Status report
C) Progress report
D) Forecast report
E) News report

Question 57

What is a status report?

Question 58

What is Budget at Completion (BAC)?

Question 59

Why should a project manager be concerned with monitoring a project's progress?

Question 60

Information distribution includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Face-To-Face Meetings
B) Telephone, e-mail, and other wireless devices
C) Web-based technologies
D) None of these are examples of information distribution
E) All of these are examples of information distribution

Question 61

How is the Cost Performance Index calculated and what can one learn from computing it?

Question 62

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the major information distribution channels covered in the text?

Question 63

What are the characteristics of a good project metric?

Question 64

Briefly describe the common categories of project reporting.

Question 65

How is the Schedule Performance Index calculated and what can one learn from computing it?

Question 66

Explain the concept of Earned Value and illustrate it with hypothetical values.