Deck 13: Progress and Performance Measurement and Evaluation

Question 1

The cost variance for a project is calculated by:

A)EV-AC
B)AC-SV
C)PV-EV
D)CU-EV
E)EU-PV

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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, SU, and BAC
D)PV, EV, and AC
E)TCPI, EV, and PV

Answer 2

D
Explanation: Assessing the current status of a project using the earned value cost/schedule system requires three data elements-planned cost of the work scheduled (PV), budgeted cost of the work completed (EV), and actual cost of the work completed (AC).

Question 3

Adequate project controls have the advantage(s) of:

A)Holding people accountable
B)Prevents small problems from getting large
C)Keeping focus
D)Both A and B are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Answer 3

E

Question 4

he 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)None of these are correct

Question 5

The third step in the project control process of the measurement and evaluation of 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 6

The schedule variance for a project is calculated by:

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

Question 7

A typical project progress report would contain all of the following sections except:

A)Progress since last report
B)Problems and issues since last report
C)Current status of project
D)Corrective action planned
E)All of these are typical sections

Question 8

A typical tool used to communicate project status is a:

A)Project network diagram
B)Gantt Chart
C)A PERT chart
D)Both A and B are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 9

The method most frequently used in measuring project progress is the

A)0/100 percent rule
B)75/25 percent rule
C)50/50 percent rule
D)25/75 percent rule
E)Percent complete rule

Question 10

Baseline project budgets are derived from:

A)The organization's overall budget
B)Time-phasing the work packages
C)Top management directions
D)Both A and C are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 11

The second step in the project control process of the measurement and evaluation of 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 12

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

Question 13

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 14

A project monitoring system involves all of the following except:

A)Determining what date 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

Question 15

The first step in the project control process of the measurement and evaluation of 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 16

Generally the method for measuring accomplishments centers on comparing

A)Earned value with the expected schedule value
B)Earned value with the actual costs
C)Actual costs with budgeted costs
D)Both A and B are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 17

n Earned Value System used to monitor project progress includes comparison of

A)Actual costs versus budget
B)Schedule progress versus plan
C)Quality progress versus plan
D)Both A and B are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 18

The last step in the project control process of the measurement and evaluation of 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 19

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

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

Question 20

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

A)Materials
B)Equipment
C)Labor
D)A and C but not B
E)All of these are usually included

Question 21

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 22

Small refinements that eventually build to be major changes are known as:

A)Project erosion
B)Scope creep
C)Specification adjustments
D)Specification refinements
E)Continuous improvements

Question 23

Control charts are frequently used to monitor progress toward ________, which mark events and as such have zero duration.

Question 24

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

Question 25

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 26

________ is simply the percent complete, times the original budget.

Question 27

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

Question 28

Which of the following is not true regarding scope creep?

A)It is common 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)All of these are true

Question 29

Which of the following will calculate the To Complete Performance Index?

A)(VAC-EV)/(PV/AC)
B)(BAC-EV)/(EV/AC)
C)(PV/AC)/(VAC-EV)
D)(EV/AC)/(BAC-EV)
E)(BAC-EV)/(BAC-AC)

Question 30

The ________ is a tool used to monitor past project schedule performance and current performance and to estimate future schedule trends.

Question 31

An index 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 32

Which of the following will calculate the estimated cost to complete the project?

A)(VAC-EV)/(PV/AC)
B)(BAC-EV)/(EV/AC)
C)(PV/AC)/(VAC-EV)
D)(EV/AC)/(BAC-EV)
E)(BAC-EV)/(BAC-AC)

Question 33

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

Question 34

Usually status reports should take place every ________ weeks to be useful and allow for proactive correction.

Question 35

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

Question 36

A concept of ________ is necessary to get a realistic estimate of performance against a time-phased budget.

Question 37

The percent complete index that looks at percent complete in terms of actual amounts is calculated by which of the following?

A)EV/BAC
B)(EV-PV)/BAC
C)AC/EAC
D)(EV-AC)/BAC
E)(EV-PV)/EAC

Question 38

Scope creep affects:

A)The organization
B)The project team
C)The project suppliers
D)Both A and B are correct
E)A, B, and C are all correct

Question 39

The percent complete index that looks at percent complete in terms of budgeted amounts is calculated by which of the following?

A)EV/BAC
B)(EV-PV)/BAC
C)AC/EAC
D)(EV-AC)/BAC
E)(EV-PV)/EAC

Question 40

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

Question 41

The network chart is the most favored, used, and understandable option for reporting project progress to upper management.

Question 42

Control is one of the most neglected areas of project management.

Question 43

Measuring performance against budget is simply a case of comparing actual versus budget.

Question 44

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

Question 45

The best method for assigning costs to the baseline is to establish frequent __________ over the duration of the work package.

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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

Question 49

The ________ is the rule most frequently used by practicing project managers to both assign costs to the baseline and to measure progress using earned value.

Question 50

CPI and SPI are two types of indexes that measure ________.

Question 51

The ________ indexes compare the to-date progress to the end of the project.

Question 52

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

Question 53

The units of measure for SV or CV is in terms of ________.

Question 54

A positive variance in SV or CV indicates a ________ condition.

Question 55

Milestones are significant project events that mark major accomplishments.

Question 56

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

Question 57

In a project control chart, four observations trending in one direction indicate there is a very high probability that there is an identifiable cause.

Question 58

When measuring percent complete in the monitoring phase of the project, it is common to limit the amount earned to __________ until the work package is 100 percent complete.

Question 59

The best defense against scope creep is a __________.

Question 60

Cost variance tells us if the ________ costs are more or less than was planned at any point over the life of the project.

Question 61

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

Question 62

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

Question 63

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

Question 64

Overhead costs and profit are typically included in the project baseline.

Question 65

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

Question 66

The rule of using subjective estimated percent complete in combination with hard, tangible monitoring points works well on long-duration activities that can be broken into short discrete work packages.

Question 67

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

Question 68

Earned value is calculated by taking the percent complete times the original budget.

Question 69

The key to managing scope creep is change management.

Question 70

The best defense against scope creep is accepting only major changes.

Question 71

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

Question 72

Cost variance tells us the different estimates among vendors needed to complete the project over the life of the project.

Question 73

One method of estimating the costs to complete a project is to divide the work remaining by the CPI.

Question 74

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

Question 75

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

Question 76

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

Question 77

Identify and briefly describe the three percent complete rules for placing costs in baselines.

Question 78

The original earned value cost/schedule system was pioneered by the U.S.Department of Defense in the 1960s.

Question 79

Identify the steps in creating a control process that measure and evaluate project performance.

Question 80

Scope Creep refers to any significant changes made in the project once it is underway.