Deck 9: Project Scheduling: Networks,Duration Estimation,and Critical Path

Question 1

One of the defining points of a network,a junction point joined to some or all of the others by dependency lines,is called a(n):

A) Event.
B) Path.
C) Node.
D) Burst.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

A sequence of activities defined by the project network logic is a(n):

A) Event.
B) Path.
C) Node.
D) Route.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Hammock activities allow:

A) Project managers to streamline the linkage and sequencing between activities.
B) Project workers to effectively skip nonessential activities without compromising project quality.
C) The project team to better disaggregate the overall project network into subsets.
D) The project manager to identify float more quickly and leverage it more successfully for the overall success of the project.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

These can be located by doing a backward pass through a network.

A) Critical paths
B) Merge activities
C) Successors
D) Burst activities

Question 5

Activities C,D,and E in the project represented by the network are to be hammocked.What is the activity length of the hammock activity?

A) 20
B) 16
C) 13
D) 11

Question 6

There's an old saying,"The job is not finished until the paperwork is done." From an activity network standpoint,this does not necessarily mean that the paperwork can't begin until the last non-paperwork activity is completed.It might be possible to work on some paperwork as early activities are completed.In order to depict this in an activity network:

A) Hammock activities could be drawn.
B) Subroutines could be added.
C) Shortcuts can be added to the network.
D) Laddering could be used to redraw the network.

Question 7

Based on the activity network pictured,what is the BEST statement?

A) Activity C is a burst activity.
B) Activity E has one predecessor, Activity B.
C) Activity A and Activity C are merge activities.
D) There are no serial activities in this network.

Question 8

Summaries for some subsets of the activities identified in the overall project network are called:

A) Ladder activities.
B) Hammock activities.
C) Negative float activities.
D) Compressed activities.

Question 9

Based on the activity network pictured,what is the BEST statement?

A) Before starting Activity C, Activity A and Activity B must be completed.
B) Before starting Activity D, Activity A and Activity B need to be completed.
C) Before starting Activity E, Activity A and Activity B need to be completed.
D) Before starting Activity C, Activity A and Activity D must be completed.

Question 10

Draw a network of any size that has at least one of each of the following features: merge activity,burst activity,hammock activity,ladder activity,critical path,serial activities,concurrent activities,and float.Mark these features on your network.

Question 11

Network logic suggests that:

A) Activity D can start any time.
B) Activity A must be complete before Activity B can be done.
C) Activities A, B and C must be complete before Activity D can be done.
D) Activity C must begin before Activity B begins.

Question 12

Serial activities are those that:

A) Flow from one to the next in sequence.
B) Have sequential numbers.
C) Have the same numbers.
D) Should be performed simultaneously.

Question 13

The overall effect of laddering activities is to:

A) Streamline the linkage and sequencing between activities and keep project resources fully employed.
B) Summarize some subsets of the activities identified in the overall project network.
C) Allow the project team to disaggregate the overall project network into logical summaries.
D) Allow the project manager to more fully deploy resources and complete the project with zero slack.

Question 14

A backward pass is performed when it is necessary to undo some work that has been performed in order to complete it properly.

Question 15

The term ordered activity means:

A) Tasks must either precede or follow other tasks in project planning and management.
B) Tasks cannot be performed unless the project manager issues a specific command to perform the work.
C) Prior project planning removes the need for any rush so that tasks can be performed in a methodical fashion.
D) Tasks are not performed unless the customer issues a specific request to perform the work.

Question 16

What is the background of CPM and PERT? What are the differences between the two techniques?

Question 17

An activity has an expected duration and an expected cost.Another name for an activity is a(n):

A) Work package.
B) Node.
C) Critical path.
D) Event.

Question 18

Activities C,D,and E in the project represented by the network are to be hammocked.What are the early start and late finish times of the hammock activity?

A) 6, 20
B) 6, 26
C) 9, 20
D) 9, 26

Question 19

Concurrent activities are:

A) Activities that must be done one after the other.
B) Activities that can be performed at the same time.
C) Activities that use labor from the same group of workers.
D) Activities that use resources from the same resource pool.

Question 20

Which of these statements about this network is BEST?

A) Activities A and B are serial activities.
B) Activities B and C are serial activities.
C) Activities A and C are serial activities.
D) Activity D is a merge activity.

Question 21

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 25 days,a most likely estimate of 29 days,and a pessimistic estimate of 34 days.What is the expected duration of the activity?

A) Less than 31 days but greater than or equal to 29 days
B) Less than 29 days but greater than or equal to 27 days
C) Less than 27 days but greater than or equal to 25 days
D) Less than 25 days

Question 22

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A,B,C,and D for convenience (and lack of creativity).Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table.Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration.The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity.What is the expected completion time of the laddered project?

A) 34
B) 38
C) 42
D) 48

Question 23

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 17 days,a most likely estimate of 23 days,and a pessimistic estimate of 37 days.What is the variance of the activity?

A) 3.33
B) 6.66
C) 9.99
D) 11.11

Question 24

The variance of an activity is given by:

A) [1/6(b-a)]2.
B) 1/6[b-a].
C) [1/36(b-a)]2.
D) 1/36[b-a].

Question 25

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A,B,C,and D for convenience (and lack of creativity).Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table.Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration.The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity.What is the expected completion time of the laddered project?

A) 34
B) 38
C) 42
D) 48

Question 26

A merge activity has two or more immediate predecessors.

Question 27

What are hammock activities and when should they be used?

Question 28

At a merge point in a forward pass,the largest preceding early finish becomes the early start for that node.

Question 29

Preceding activities are those that must occur before others can be done.

Question 30

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 12 days,a most likely estimate of 16 days,and a pessimistic estimate of 22 days.What is the expected standard deviation of the activity?

A) Between 1 and 2 days
B) Between 2 and 3 days
C) Between 3 and 4 days
D) Between 4 and 5 days

Question 31

Prior to creating a network,it is important to:

A) Identify all loops through activities.
B) Identify the party responsible for each activity.
C) Calculate the float for each activity.
D) Understand the activity precedence.

Question 32

Activity Z has estimates a = 5,b = 12,m = 7; activity X has estimates a = 5,b = 11,m = 6; and activity Y has estimates a = 3,b = 11,m = 8.Which of the following statements is BEST?

A) Activity X is longer than Activity Y.
B) Activity X has a higher standard deviation than Activity Z.
C) Activity Z is shorter than Activity Y.
D) Activity Y has a smaller variance than Activity Z.

Question 33

Burst activities are those with two or more successor activities.

Question 34

An activity has a pessimistic time that is four times as long as its most likely time and six times as long as its optimistic time.If the activity variance is 12,what is the expected time?

A) About 8 days
B) About 9 days
C) About 10 days
D) About 11 days

Question 35

What does a network diagram illustrate and why are they important in project management?

Question 36

Ray's shipment of materials hit every red light and traffic jam on the way to the site.Upon arrival,half of the material was judged defective,necessitating a trip back to the supplier,and then the same arduous journey back to the site once the new materials were loaded.Traffic was a little better on the second round but the flat tire and subsequent repair caused as much if not more delay than the first trip.In the final analysis:

A) The project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the optimistic estimate.
B) The project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the most likely estimate.
C) The project activity of Material Delivery had a much higher variance than anticipated.
D) The project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the pessimistic estimate.

Question 37

Consider a project composed of activities X and Y having equal length and performed in that order.Both activities can be laddered such that the first half of each activity is the predecessor for its own second half,so X1 precedes X2 and Y1 precedes Y2.The first half of X1 is also the predecessor for Y1.If the laddering procedure were performed again activities X and Y would be divided in four parts each,with precedence working as it did in the first split.Derive an expression for the minimum length of the project as laddering increases.

Question 38

The length of time expected to complete an activity assuming that its development proceeds normally is called the:

A) Optimistic duration.
B) Pessimistic duration.
C) Most likely duration.
D) Normal duration.

Question 39

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 17 days,a most likely estimate of 22 days,and a pessimistic estimate of 32 days.What is the expected duration of the activity?

A) 22.83 days
B) 23.67 days
C) 24.33 days
D) 25.17 days

Question 40

At a burst point in a backward pass,the largest succeeding late start becomes the late finish for that node.

Question 41

You must know the mean of an activity in order to determine its standard deviation.

Question 42

What is the early start time for Activity D given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 7
B) 9
C) 11
D) 13

Question 43

Hammock activities break a task into greater levels of detail so that each task is represented as two or more subtasks that each have their own duration and precedence requirements.

Question 44

Use the information in the table to determine the late start time for Activity E.

A) Day 23
B) Day 26
C) Day 32
D) Day 17

Question 45

A gentleman farmer maniacally works on academic projects to raise funds for his true passion,farming.He has identified seven tasks and developed three time estimates (all in days)of the next big project on the farm,replacing the fence at the comedy pasture.Tasks,precedence requirements,and time estimates are shown in the table.What is the expected completion time of the project?

A) 32 days
B) 33 days
C) 34 days
D) 35 days

Question 46

The late start time should be calculated using a forward pass through the network.

Question 47

What is the early finish time for Activity F given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 15
B) 17
C) 19
D) 21

Question 48

Use the values in the table to calculate activity durations and variances for the project.Which path is critical? How closely should the other path be watched and why?

Question 49

Laddering is a technique that allows the project manager to redraw the network to more closely sequence project subtasks to make the overall network sequence more efficient.

Question 50

In assigning a value for the most pessimistic (b)duration,the project manager should estimate the duration of the activity to have a 99% likelihood that it will take b or less amount of time.

Question 51

Use the information in the table to determine the early start time for Activity B.

A) Day 10
B) Day 8
C) Day 9
D) Day 11

Question 52

What are three methods of duration estimation for project activities and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each method?

Question 53

What is the late start time for Activity B given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 11
B) 9
C) 7
D) 5

Question 54

What is the late finish time for Activity D given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 14
B) 13
C) 12
D) 11

Question 55

What is the late start time for Activity E given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 14
B) 15
C) 16
D) 17

Question 56

A gentleman farmer maniacally works on academic projects to raise funds for his true passion,farming.He has identified seven tasks and developed three time estimates (all in days)of the next big project on the farm,replacing the fence at the comedy pasture.Tasks,precedence requirements,and time estimates are shown in the table.What is the standard deviation of the project's critical path?

A) 1.33 days
B) 1.56 days
C) 1.25 days
D) 1.75 days

Question 57

What is the early start time for Activity G given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 22
B) 21
C) 20
D) 19

Question 58

Use the values in the table to calculate activity durations and variances for the project.Which path is critical? How closely should the other path be watched and why?

Question 59

What is the underlying theory to the three time estimates approach? What data distribution should be applied in this case and what confidence should a project manager place in the calculations associated with this technique?

Question 60

What is the earliest that Activity D can begin if Activity A takes 3 days,Activity B takes 5 days,and Activity C takes 7 days?

A) Day 15
B) Day 7
C) Day 5
D) Day 3

Question 61

Phoebe B.Beebee is constructing a canal for the annual canoe races and has identified eleven activities that are required to complete this important project.She calculated early and late start times and early and late finish times but spilled coffee all over her printout.Use the remaining information to reconstruct the table for Phoebe B.Beebee and her new canoe canal.

Question 62

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A,B,C,and D for convenience (and lack of creativity).Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table.Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration,so activity C in the original project becomes two activities,C1 and C2,each of which lasts 7 days.The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity.What is the difference in the late start time for activity C in the original project and activity C1 in the laddered project?

A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 9

Question 63

The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the finish of the project is the:

A) Delay.
B) Float.
C) Late start.
D) Late finish.

Question 64

Use the information in the table to sketch the network and compute early and late start times.

Question 65

Construct a network using the information in the table and identify the critical path.

Question 66

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early start time for activity D.

A) 8
B) 13
C) 14
D) 21

Question 67

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the late start time for activity F.

A) 21
B) 24
C) 26
D) 23

Question 68

What is the slack time for Activity B given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 10
B) 9
C) 8
D) 7

Question 69

A project has the precedence requirements and activity durations shown in the table.After he draws the network,the project manager decides that activities B,C,and D can be represented by a hammock activity.What are the early start and late finish times associated with this hammock activity?

A) 11, 30
B) 7, 24
C) 11, 24
D) 7, 36

Question 70

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the late finish time for activity C.

A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 15

Question 71

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early start time for activity D.

A) 8
B) 13
C) 14
D) 21

Question 72

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early finish time for activity G.

A) 26
B) 25
C) 24
D) 23

Question 73

Use the information in the table to sketch the network and compute early and late start times.

Question 74

A project has the precedence requirements and activity durations shown in the table.After he draws the network,the project manager decides that activities H and I can be represented by a hammock activity.What are the early start and late finish times associated with this hammock activity?

A) 13, 36
B) 13, 24
C) 24, 36
D) 7, 36

Question 75

A gentleman farmer maniacally works on academic projects to raise funds for his true passion,farming.He has identified seven tasks and developed three time estimates (all in days)of the next big project on the farm,replacing the fence at the comedy pasture.Tasks,precedence requirements,and time estimates are shown in the table.What is the late finish for the Plant Posts activity?

A) 13.3 days
B) 8 days
C) 20.83 days
D) 22 days

Question 76

Use the information in the table to determine the early finish time for Activity D.

A) Day 23
B) Day 26
C) Day 29
D) Day 32

Question 77

The least amount of float is found:

A) In a resource-limited schedule.
B) After a burst activity.
C) On the critical path.
D) After a merge activity.

Question 78

What is the slack time for Activity D given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

A) 2
B) 1
C) 0
D) 3

Question 79

Use the information in the table to determine the late finish time for Activity B.

A) Day 17
B) Day 20
C) Day 23
D) Day 26

Question 80

Compute early and late start and finish times for the network shown.