Deck 13: Project Evaluation and Control

Question 1

The classic S-curve is a plot of cumulative cost versus elapsed time in weeks.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Five weeks in the semester you have completed 0% of your project management class under the 0/100 rule.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

A(n)________ identifies the stage of completion each task has attained by a specified date within the project.

Answer 3

tracking Gantt chart

Question 4

The earned value of a project is the cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various work packages.

Question 5

Positive variance on an S-curve represents significant project progress.

Question 6

One strength of S-curve analysis is that it provides real-time tracking information.

Question 7

The schedule performance index is the ratio of the actual cost to the earned value.

Question 8

A(n)________ is an event or stage of the project that represents a significant accomplishment towards project completion.

Question 9

The project implementation profile assesses the performance of the project team with respect to 10 critical success factors and can be used on an ongoing project.

Question 10

Your organization is in the midst of a project in uncharted waters;nothing you have attempted before comes close to many of the activities that are necessary to bring this project to completion.Your earned value management should probably be tracked closely with a percentage complete rule in increments of 5 to 10 percent.

Question 11

It is possible to measure both positive and negative deviations from the schedule baseline with the tracking Gantt chart.

Question 12

The total project cost plotted against the elapsed time in weeks is known as the ________.

Question 13

Since a project may get ahead of or fall behind schedule,a calendar date cannot be a milestone.

Question 14

The project control cycle is continuous.

Question 15

The project control cycle begins with ________.

Question 16

A project manager needs the work breakdown structure and a time-phased project budget to establish the project baseline.

Question 17

Earned value directly links all three primary project success metrics (cost,schedule,and customer satisfaction).

Question 18

Gap analysis refers to any measurement process that first determines the goals and then the degree to which the actual performance lives up to those goals.

Question 19

If the actual cost line on an S-curve undercuts the budgeted cost line,the project has a(n)________ variance.

Question 20

The one factor that earned value management considers that an S-curve does not include is performance.

Question 21

The real budgeted cost of the work that has been performed divided by the cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various project work packages is the ________.

Question 22

The budgeted cost of the work that has been performed to date is the ________.

Question 23

Use the S-curve where the solid line is actual cost and the dashed line is budgeted cost to choose the best statement.

A)The project is further ahead of budget from weeks 36 through 40 than from weeks 8 through 12.
B)The project never experiences negative variance.
C)The project is further behind budget from weeks 0 through 16 than from 24 through 40.
D)The project is in a constant state of positive variance.

Question 24

If significant deviations from the project plan are detected,corrective action is taken and then:

A)the monitoring and control cycle begins anew.
B)project goals are adjusted to reflect current reality.
C)the project stakeholders are informed of the budget or time difficulties.
D)the critical chain is reviewed for task dependency.

Question 25

The ________ is the expected total cost of the project when it is done based on performance across the various tasks up to the status date.

Question 26

Project goal setting includes setting a baseline plan,which is predicated on:

A)the progress measurement.
B)an accurate work breakdown structure.
C)the type of gap analysis the project team plans to use.
D)the budget and schedule limitations.

Question 27

Of the three classic metrics of project performance,project S-curve analysis and Gantt charts both consider ________.

Question 28

Once an activity has been started,it is immediately valued at 50% completed under the ________.

Question 29

Use the S-curve where the solid line is actual cost and the dashed line is budgeted cost to choose the best statement.

A)The project never experiences negative variance.
B)With regards to budget,the project starts badly but finishes well
C)With regards to budget,the project starts well but finishes badly.
D)The project is in a constant state of positive variance.

Question 30

The degree to which anyone who will be ultimately making use of the product of the project is personally involved in the implementation process is the ________ critical success factor in the Project Implementation Profile.

Question 31

Use the S-curve to choose the best statement about the project it describes.The horizontal axis is in weeks.

A)More time passes from weeks 5 to 10 than from weeks 20 to 25.
B)More time passes from $50,000 to $60,000 than from $5,000 to $10,000.
C)More money is spent from weeks 0 to 10 than from weeks 30 to 40.
D)The total amount spent on the project at the end of the 40th week is approximately $110,000.

Question 32

The Project Implementation Profile allows teams to make mid-course correction and improvement of the ________.

Question 33

Earned value management allows a project manager to monitor the project's ________,________,and ________.

Question 34

The classic project S-curve is a plot of:

A)labor hours versus money expended.
B)money expended versus elapsed time.
C)elapsed time versus labor hours.
D)number of personnel versus days behind schedule.

Question 35

The data collected from the various evaluation and control techniques represents important ________ measures of the project.

Question 36

Under the ________,the farmer didn't count his chickens until all of them had hatched.

Question 37

Use the S-curve to choose the best statement about the project it describes.The horizontal axis is in weeks.

A)The total project costs in week 10 are less than budgeted.
B)The total project costs in week 10 exceed the budgeted cost.
C)The project cost more from weeks 25 through 30 than it did in weeks 10 through 15.
D)The total amount spent on the project at the end of the 20th week is approximately $30,000.

Question 38

Measurement mechanisms should include a clear definition of:

A)the project baseline.
B)the reporting relationships among members of the project team.
C)what to measure.
D)trigger points.

Question 39

The first step in the control cycle is:

A)setting a goal.
B)measuring progress.
C)comparing actual with planned performance.
D)taking action.

Question 40

A measurement process that determines the project goals and then the degree to which the actual performance lives up to these goals is:

A)a metric system.
B)goal-performance linkage.
C)five degrees of separation.
D)gap analysis.

Question 41

Which of these tools allows a project team to make future projections of project status based on its current state?

A)tracking Gantt chart
B)milestone chart
C)S-curve
D)earned value management

Question 42

An excellent way to coordinate schedules with vendors and suppliers is through the use of:

A)milestones.
B)S-curves that plot expenditures against time.
C)S-curves that plot planned expenditures against time.
D)a tracking Gantt chart.

Question 43

Take the factors considered by earned value analysis and subtract those considered by project S-curves.The factor(s)you have remaining are:

A)performance and cost.
B)cost and schedule.
C)time.
D)performance.

Question 44

The earned value to date divided by the planned value of work scheduled to be performed is the:

A)cost performance index.
B)budgeted cost at completion index.
C)budget efficiency index.
D)schedule performance index.

Question 45

A tracking Gantt chart does NOT show:

A)the reason an activity has slipped.
B)which activities are ahead of schedule.
C)which activities are on schedule.
D)which activities are behind schedule.

Question 46

Earned value is:

A)the total budget for the project.
B)a cost estimate of the budgeted resources across the project's life cycle.
C)the real budgeted value of the work that has actually been performed to date.
D)the cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various project work packages.

Question 47

Planned value is:

A)the total budget for the project.
B)a cost estimate of the budgeted resources across the project's life cycle.
C)the real budgeted value of the work that has actually been performed to date.
D)the cumulative total costs incurred in accomplishing the various project work packages.

Question 48

An S-curve CANNOT be used to:

A)determine whether the project is ahead of budget.
B)determine when the project is behind budget.
C)determine the cause of positive variance.
D)determine whether there is negative variance.

Question 49

A project manager can calculate the projected budget to completion by using the:

A)budgeted cost at completion index.
B)budget efficiency index.
C)cost performance index.
D)schedule performance index.

Question 50

A tracking Gantt chart:

A)monitors costs and budget expenditures.
B)identifies key points in the project's progress.
C)identifies the stage of completion for each task.
D)identifies the performance to budget for the overall project by a certain date.

Question 51

It is possible to measure:

A)only positive deviations from the schedule baseline with a tracking Gantt chart.
B)only negative deviations from the schedule baseline with a tracking Gantt chart.
C)both positive and negative deviations from the schedule baseline with the tracking Gantt chart.
D)both positive and negative deviations from the budget with the tracking Gantt chart.

Question 52

Earned value management is also known as:

A)the golden triangle method (GTM).
B)the achieved value method (AVM).
C)the program evaluation and review method (PERM).
D)earned value analysis (EVA).

Question 53

Earned value management jointly considers the impact of:

A)time,cost,and planned cost.
B)project performance,planned performance,and cost.
C)performance,cost,and time.
D)planned cost,planned performance,and time.

Question 54

Milestones are generally considered to be:

A)demotivators for the project team.
B)key project review gates.
C)the end of the project for all team members except the project manager.
D)points where two or more activities merge.

Question 55

Take the factors considered by earned value analysis and subtract those considered by tracking Gantt charts.The factor(s)you have remaining are:

A)cost.
B)cost and schedule.
C)schedule and performance.
D)performance.

Question 56

A project manager can calculate the projected schedule of the project to completion by using the:

A)cost performance index.
B)schedule performance index.
C)budgeted cost at completion index.
D)budget efficiency index.

Question 57

How does a tracking Gantt chart's appearance differ from a standard Gantt chart?

A)The tracking Gantt chart has a plot against time on the X1 axis and shows progress against budget on the X2 axis.
B)The tracking Gantt chart is composed of dollar signs that show the relative expense of the activity in comparison with other activities.
C)Each bar in the tracking Gantt chart shows who is responsible for completion of the activity in question.
D)Each bar in the tracking Gantt chart varies from 100% solid if the activity is completed to 100% alternative pattern if the activity has not begun.

Question 58

A tracking Gantt chart does NOT allow for:

A)looking at today's activity progress and determining whether a single activity is behind schedule.
B)future projections of the project's status.
C)looking at today's activity progress and determining whether the entire project is behind schedule.
D)looking at today's activity progress and determining whether a single activity is ahead of schedule.

Question 59

The earned value divided by the actual,cumulative cost of the work to date is the:

A)cost performance index.
B)budgeted cost at completion index.
C)budget efficiency index.
D)schedule performance index.

Question 60

A project manager that uses milestones as a project control device is using a:

A)proactive control system.
B)predictive control system.
C)feedback control system.
D)reactive control system.

Question 61

Use the earned value table for Project Terrace to determine their schedule variance if all dollar amounts are in hundreds.

A)$100
B)$120
C)$1,200
D)$200

Question 62

Use the data to calculate the earned value for the project.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)$38,500
B)$43,250
C)$54,750
D)$100,000

Question 63

Use the data to calculate the earned value for the project.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)$38,500
B)$46,550
C)$56,750
D)$61,125

Question 64

At the end of week 10,this project has cost $9,000 and has an earned value as indicated in the table.Use the data to calculate the cost performance index for the project.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)2.5
B)2.1
C)1.8
D)1.5

Question 65

Use the earned value table to determine the estimated cost to completion (to the nearest hundred dollars)given the indicated state of the project.

A)$9,600
B)$7,800
C)$8,100
D)$10,500

Question 66

Use the data to calculate the schedule performance index for the project for the end of week 20.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)1.14
B)0.88
C)0.94
D)0.81

Question 67

At the end of week 20,this project has cost $79,000 and has an earned value as indicated in the table.Use the data to calculate the cost performance index for the project.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)1.11
B)0.82
C)0.94
D)0.90

Question 68

The first step in earned value management is to:

A)create the activity and resource usage schedules.
B)develop a time-phased budget that shows expenditures across the project's life.
C)total the actual costs of doing each task to arrive at the actual cost of work performed.
D)clearly define each activity that will be performed including its resource needs and budget.

Question 69

Use the earned value table for Project Terrace to determine the earned value (all dollar amounts are in hundreds).

A)$325
B)$7600
C)$4800
D)$3250

Question 70

Use the data to calculate the earned value for the project.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)$65,500
B)$69,550
C)$71,100
D)$76,125

Question 71

In earned value management analysis,the cumulative amount of the budget becomes the:

A)planned value.
B)scheduled value.
C)cost basis.
D)cost driver.

Question 72

Use the earned value table to determine the estimated time to completion given the indicated state of the project.

A)52 days
B)49 days
C)58 days
D)43 days

Question 73

Use the data to calculate the schedule performance index for the project for the end of week 10.All amounts are in thousands of dollars.

A)1.24
B)0.93
C)0.81
D)0.76

Question 74

The project baseline is established by combining data from the:

A)work breakdown structure and the project budget.
B)time-phased project budget and the PERT chart.
C)S-curve and the project budget.
D)time-phased project budget and the work breakdown structure.

Question 75

Use the earned value table to determine the schedule performance index given the indicated state of the project.

A)0.59
B)0.81
C)0.92
D)1.18

Question 76

The budget variance is calculated as:

A)earned value minus planned value.
B)planned value minus actual cost.
C)earned value minus actual cost.
D)cost minus planned value.

Question 77

Use the earned value table (all amounts indicated are dollars)to determine the earned value to the nearest hundred dollars given the indicated state of the project.

A)$7,800
B)$9,600
C)$8,400
D)$6,900

Question 78

In earned value management,schedule variance is defined as:

A)the difference between the earned value and the actual cost.
B)the difference between the earned value and the planned value.
C)the difference between the actual cost and the planned value.
D)the difference between the cost and schedule performance indices multiplied by the budgeted cost at completion.

Question 79

Project Terrace has an actual cost of $3,000,but their earned value (all dollar amounts are in hundreds)table appears below.What is their cost variance?

A)$250
B)-$250
C)1.08
D)0.92

Question 80

Use the earned value table to determine the cost performance index given the indicated state of the project.

A)0.92
B)0.81
C)1.18
D)1.03