Deck 13: Progress and Performance Measurement and Evaluation

Question 1

In monitoring project time (schedule)performance,actual performance should be compared to

A) Budgets for the current year.
B) Top management's targets.
C) Project network schedule derived from the WBS/OBS.
D) Progress on similar past projects.
E) Previous status reports.

Answer 1

C
Explanation: A major goal of progress reporting is to catch any negative variances from plan as early as possible to determine if corrective action is necessary.Fortunately,monitoring schedule performance is relatively easy.The project network schedule,derived from the WBS/OBS,serves as the baseline to compare against actual performance.

Question 2

A project monitoring system involves all of the following EXCEPT

A) Determining what data to collect.
B) Determining how,when,and who will collect the data.
C) Adjusting the data.
D) Analysis of the data.
E) Reporting current progress.

Answer 2

C
Explanation: A project monitoring system involves determining what data to collect;how,when,and who will collect the data;analysis of the data;and reporting current progress.

Question 3

Nancy tells her supervisor that as of right now,$1.05 worth of work has been accomplished for each $1 worth of scheduled work.Nancy got this information from viewing the

A) SV.
B) TCPI.
C) CPI.
D) SPI.
E) PCIB.

Answer 3

D
Explanation: The SPI would tell Nancy that $1.05 worth of work has been accomplished for each $1 worth of scheduled work.

Question 4

A ___________ Gantt chart is a simple and effective way to depict progress on a project.

A) Baseline
B) Control
C) Variance
D) Tracking
E) Simple

Question 5

The second step in the project control process for measuring and evaluating project performance is to

A) Review the baseline plan with top management.
B) Analyze inputs to control system.
C) Compare plan against actual.
D) Measure progress and performance.
E) Review spending with team members.

Question 6

Which performance index is the most potentially misleading?

A) CPI
B) EV
C) CV
D) SV
E) EAC

Question 7

Which of the following methods of variance analysis is the best indicator of how far off the budget a project will be at completion?

A) BAC
B) EAC
C) ETC
D) VAC
E) TCPI

Question 8

Jessica just received the following information on her project: PV = 200,EV = 300,AC = 250,BAC = 1500,EAC = 1208.In terms of cost at completion.

A) The project will currently finish under budget.
B) The project will currently finish over budget.
C) The project will currently finish on budget.
D) The project will currently finish behind schedule.
E) There is insufficient information to draw conclusions.

Question 9

Of the following costs,which are NOT included in baseline?

A) Suppliers
B) Equipment
C) Labor
D) Budget reserves
E) Contractors

Question 10

The first step in the project control process for measuring and evaluating project performance is to

A) Set a baseline plan.
B) Determine the project objectives.
C) Determine the project deliverables.
D) Analyze the project budget.
E) Review the project priority matrix.

Question 11

The final step in the project control process for measuring and evaluating project performance is to

A) Take appropriate action.
B) Prepare a report to top management.
C) Follow up on corrective action.
D) Measure progress and performance.
E) Review spending with team members.

Question 12

The schedule variance for a project is calculated by:

A) EV - AC
B) AC - SV
C) PV - EV
D) CV - EV
E) EV - PV

Question 13

When someone familiar with each task estimates what percent of the task has been completed or how much of the task remains,they are creating a method for assigning costs to the baseline called the

A) 0/100 percent rule.
B) Task complete rule.
C) Degree complete rule.
D) Work complete rule.
E) Percent complete rule.

Question 14

A tool used to monitor past project schedule performance and current performance,and to estimate future schedule trends is a simple line chart known as a

A) Project control chart.
B) Gantt chart.
C) PERT chart.
D) Network diagram.
E) Milestone chart.

Question 15

Which of the following are required to assess the current status of a project using the earned-value cost/schedule system?

A) BAC,EAC,and ETC
B) VAC,EAC,and BAC
C) CV,SV,and BAC
D) PV,EV,and AC
E) TCPI,EV,and PV

Question 16

The cost variance for a project is calculated by

A) EV - AC.
B) AC - SV.
C) PV - EV.
D) CV - EV.
E) EV - PV.

Question 17

Baseline project budgets are derived from

A) The organization's overall budget.
B) Time-phasing the work packages.
C) Top management directions.
D) The total direct,direct project overhead and G&A overhead costs.
E) The earned value system.

Question 18

The third step in the project control process for measuring and evaluating project performance is to

A) Review the baseline plan with top management.
B) Analyze inputs to the control system.
C) Compare the plan against actual performance.
D) Measure both progress and performance.
E) Review spending with team members.

Question 19

The earned value of a project is the

A) Project cost to date adjusted for project scope changes.
B) Total project cost to date.
C) Cost incurred minus the planned cost.
D) Percent of the original budget that has been earned by actual work.
E) The planned time-phased baseline of the value of work scheduled.

Question 20

The earned value system starts with the time-phased costs that provide the project baseline,which is called the

A) Planned budgeted value of work scheduled.
B) Planned budgeted value of work completed.
C) Earned value of work scheduled.
D) Scheduled value of work scheduled.
E) Scheduled value of work completed.

Question 21

Jim receives the following information on his project: PV = 1000,EV = 1200,AC = 800,BAC = 2000,EAC = 1333.How is the project doing in terms of schedule?

A) More work has been done than planned
B) Less work has been done than planned
C) The same amount of work has been done than planned
D) The project has cost less than planned
E) There is not enough information to draw a conclusion

Question 22

Because of their easy-to-understand visual format,________ charts are the most favored,used,and understandable tool used to report project schedule status.

Question 23

The value that tells you the planned value of the actual work completed is ___________.

Question 24

Which of the following methods will measure the scheduling efficiency of the work accomplished to date?

A) SV/CV
B) EV/PV
C) EV/AC
D) AC/SV
E) AC/CV

Question 25

Sally receives the following information on her project: PV = 100,AC = 75,EV = 100.How well is the project doing in terms of budget?

A) Right on budget
B) 25 under budget
C) 25 over budget
D) 50 under budget
E) 50 over budget

Question 26

________ is simply the percent complete times the original budget.

Question 27

A project manager notices that $1,000 worth of work that was scheduled to be completed at this time has not been accomplished.They know this by looking at the

A) EV.
B) TCPI.
C) SV.
D) PCIB.
E) EAC.

Question 28

Which of the following methods will measure the cost efficiency of the work accomplished to date?

A) SV/CV
B) EV/PV
C) EV/AC
D) AC/SV
E) AC/CV

Question 29

The indicator that tells you the amount each remaining dollar must earn in order for the project to stay within budget is the

A) PCIC.
B) VAC.
C) CPI.
D) SPI.
E) TCPI.

Question 30

The ________ variance is the difference between the earned value and the actual costs for the work completed to date.

Question 31

The value that tells you the planned value of work that has actually been completed is the

A) SV.
B) PV.
C) EV.
D) AC.
E) CV.

Question 32

A project manager learns that the project is only earning $.90 of planned work for each dollar spent by looking at the

A) EV.
B) BAC.
C) SV.
D) SPI.
E) CPI.

Question 33

________ holds people accountable,prevents small problems from mushrooming into large problems,and keeps focus.

Question 34

The first step in creating a project control system for measuring and evaluating project performance is to set a ________.

Question 35

When someone familiar with each task estimates what percent of the task has been completed or how much of the task remains,they are creating a method for assigning costs to the baseline called the ____________ rule.

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT true regarding scope creep?

A) It commonly occurs late in projects
B) It is frequently unnoticed until time delays or cost overruns are observed
C) It wears down team motivation and cohesiveness
D) Project suppliers resent frequent changes
E) Scope changes can represent significant opportunity

Question 37

The indicator that tells you the planned time-phased value of the work that is scheduled is the _______________.

Question 38

Baseline project budgets are derived from time-phasing the work ________.

Question 39

A CPI or SPI value less than one indicates that the project is

A) Under cost or behind schedule.
B) Over cost or ahead of schedule.
C) Under cost or ahead of schedule.
D) Over cost or behind schedule.
E) On cost or on schedule.

Question 40

The ________ variance is the difference between the earned value to date and the baseline schedule.

Question 41

A negative CV indicates the project is ________ budget.

Question 42

The _________ index measures the project percent complete in relation to the resources that were budgeted.

Question 43

Because of their easy-to-understand visual format,tracking Gantt charts are the most favored,used,and understandable option for reporting project status.

Question 44

The baseline is derived from merging information from the work packages with the project network.

Question 45

Given that the AC = 300,PV = 400 and EV = 500,this project is _________ budget.

Question 46

Given a BAC of 5,500 and an EAC of 6,000,the project is expected to be completed _________ budget.

Question 47

Schedule variance measures progress in time units.

Question 48

Although it is very difficult to measure,measuring ________ performance is as important as measuring schedule and cost performance.

Question 49

The only accurate method for determining the true time progress of the project is to compare the project network schedule against the actual network schedule to measure if the project is on time.

Question 50

Earned value is defined as the budgeted cost of the actual work performed.

Question 51

The ratio that measures the amount of value each remaining dollar in the budget must earn to stay within the budget is the _________.

Question 52

The PCIC index measures the project percent complete in relation to the resources that have actually been used so far on the project.

Question 53

The project network schedule is derived from the _______ and it serves as the baseline to compare against actual performance.

Question 54

In some cases,conditions or scope can change,which,in turn,will require a change in the baseline plan to recognize new information.

Question 55

Conditions or scope can change,which,in turn,will require a change to the __________ plan to recognize the new information.

Question 56

An SPI index of 1.22 indicates that the project is ________ of schedule.

Question 57

When revising the estimated cost at completion,there are two approaches.The EAC_re is determined by experts in the field and the EAC_f is a mathematical approach which assumes the CPI as the basis for forecasting cost at completion.

Question 58

The final step in the project control process for measuring and evaluating project performance is to take appropriate ________.

Question 59

The PV,AC and CV are all required to assess the current status of the project.

Question 60

The ________ rule assumes credit is earned for having performed the work once it is completed.This rule is usually used for work packages having very short durations.

Question 61

Identify the steps in creating a control process that measures and evaluates project performance.

Question 62

A project control system allows for comparing actual performance against plan to identify deviations;however,the system doesn't impact the quality of communication between stakeholders.

Question 63

A project manager would be glad to see a TCPI of 1.07.

Question 64

Although it is very difficult to measure,measuring technical performance is as important as measuring schedule and cost performance.

Question 65

A CPI index of 0.97 indicates that the project has spent less money than budgeted.

Question 66

Most changes will not result in serious scope changes and should be absorbed as positive or negative variances.

Question 67

What is the difference between a baseline Gantt chart and a tracking Gantt chart?

Question 68

A "rubber baseline" occurs when,in an effort to disguise poor performance,the baseline changes to constantly match results.

Question 69

A project manager learns that her project has an EV of 1200,AC of 1100 and PV of 1000.What can the project manager report regarding this project?

Question 70

An undesirable schedule variance always indicates that the project is running behind schedule.

Question 71

In calculating schedule variance and cost variance,a negative variance indicates a desirable condition,and a positive variance suggests problems.

Question 72

Baseline costs typically include labor,equipment,materials and direct overhead cost.

Question 73

Two major reasons for creating a baseline are to monitor and report progress and to estimate cash flow.

Question 74

Rachel notices that the current EV for her project is higher than both the PV and the AC.Rachel has reason to be concerned.

Question 75

Deciding what data to collect,actually collecting the data and analyzing it,and reporting this data are all parts of structuring a project monitoring information system.

Question 76

A negative VAC indicates that the project will be completed over budget.

Question 77

The best method for assigning costs to the baseline under the 50/50 rule is to establish frequent checkpoints over the duration of the work package and assign completion percentages in dollar terms.

Question 78

Progress and performance can be measured quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

Question 79

All scope changes that result in increased costs should be avoided.

Question 80

Conducting an earned value analysis requires three data elements.Identify the acronyms for each and describe what they are.