Deck 16: Project Management

Question 1

The longest connected route through the path network is the ______________________.

A)planning matrix
B)final deliverable
C)crash path
D)connector
E)critical path

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which phase in the project life cycle involves identifying the need for the project?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which phase in the project life cycle involves analyzing the project risk?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What does AON stand for?

A)action-oriented-network
B)activity-on-network
C)activity-on-node
D)activity-oriented-network
E)activity-overrun-network

Question 5

Which of the following is not a benefit of network planning techniques?

A)graphical display of the project, including the relationships and sequence of activities
B)estimate of the expected project length
C)resources are clearly identified
D)identification of activities that are critical to the timely completion of the project
E)identification of the amount of slack associated with individual activities

Question 6

Which phase in the project life cycle involves carrying out the activities that make up the project?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Question 7

Which phase in the project life cycle involves analyzing the work to be done and developing time estimates for completing each of the activities?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Question 8

Which phase in the project life cycle involves evaluating expected costs, benefits, and risks?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Question 9

Which of the following is not a step involved in using network planning techniques?

A)define deliverables
B)describe the project
C)diagram the network
D)monitor the project's progression
E)estimate the project's completion time

Question 10

Actions that consume resources and/or time are project ______________________.

A)events
B)activities
C)nodes
D)arrows
E)tasks

Question 11

Two type of network diagramming notation include:

A)AON and AOA
B)AON and Node
C)AON and NOA
D)Node and AOA
E)Node and Arrow

Question 12

If a delay in an activity will delay completion of the whole project, the activity ____________________.

A)is on the critical path
B)has slack
C)is costly
D)is a dummy
E)is represented by a node

Question 13

Project managers use network planning techniques to ________________________.

A)evaluate costs
B)assign resources to activities
C)estimate how long it will take to assign activities
D)calculate the expected completion time of the project
E)invert activities

Question 14

Which of the following is not characteristic of a project?

A)has a specific objective
B)has multiple activities
C)typically performed by external consultants
D)activities have defined precedence relationships
E)to be completed in a specified time period

Question 15

Which phase in the project life cycle involves ending the project?

A)conception
B)feasibility analysis or study
C)planning
D)execution
E)termination

Question 16

Which of the following is not characteristic of a project?

A)has a life cycle
B)uses no resources
C)involves a unique, one-time event
D)consists of several tasks
E)typically some activities may be done simultaneously

Question 17

The critical path is the sequential path of interrelated activities which has the ____________________.

A)most activities
B)longest time
C)most nodes
D)most events
E)most arrows

Question 18

What is a unique, one-time event that is intended to achieve an objective in a given time period?

A)a project
B)a job
C)a task
D)an activity
E)an event

Question 19

Which of the following would probably not benefit from the use of critical path scheduling?

A)constructing a new bridge over the Mississippi River
B)moving the company's credit card center to a new city
C)building a new natural gas pipeline
D)receiving orders for the company's products by phone
E)developing a new computer system for financial planning

Question 20

_____________________ structure the sequencing of activities.

A)Evaluation of costs
B)Crashings
C)Work breakdowns
D)Backschedules
E)Precedence relationships

Question 21

Given this information about an activity: ES = 10, EF = 20, LS = 29, and LF = 39. The amount of slack associated with the activity is ____________________.

A)29
B)9
C)19
D)38
E)10

Question 22

The sum of the activity times on the critical path determines _____________________.

A)total slack available
B)total labor time required for the project
C)minimum time to complete the project
D)the number of milestones
E)amounting of crashing that needs to be done

Question 23

With probabilistic time estimates for activities, (o)denotes the _______________________.

A)median time
B)original time
C)optimistic time
D)pessimistic time
E)most likely time

Question 24

The process of calculating LS and LF _____________________________.

A)requires only a forward pass through the network
B)requires only a backward pass through the network
C)requires both a forward and backward pass through the network
D)cannot be accomplished until slack is first determined
E)is sufficient for calculating the critical path

Question 25

In making a backward pass through a network, activity L has an activity time of 4 and immediately precedes activities M, P, and T. The late start times for activities M, P, and T are 22, 17, and 27, respectively. The late finish times for activities M, P, and T are 29, 27, and 33, respectively. What is the late start time for activity L?

A)13
B)17
C)22
D)33
E)37

Question 26

Activities on the critical path _______________________________________.

A)are the ones with the longest activity times
B)always are connected directly to dummy activities
C)have LS equal to LF
D)have ES equal to EF
E)have no slack

Question 27

In making a forward pass through a network, activities L, M, and P are immediate predecessors for activity T, which has an activity time of 7. The early start times for activities L, M, and P are 22, 17, and 27, respectively. The early finish times for activities L, M, and P are 29, 27, and 33, respectively. What is the early finish time for activity T?

A)17
B)24
C)27
D)33
E)40

Question 28

The process of calculating ES and EF ______________________________.

A)requires only a forward pass through the network
B)requires only a backward pass through the network
C)requires both a forward and backward pass through the network
D)cannot be accomplished until slack is first determined
E)is sufficient for calculating the critical path

Question 29

With probabilistic time estimates for activities, (p)denotes the _______________________.

A)median time
B)probable time
C)optimistic time
D)pessimistic time
E)most likely time

Question 30

Which of the following can be calculated for an activity once ES, EF, LS, and LF have been calculated for the activity?

A)expected project duration
B)slack time
C)potential for crashing
D)variance in project duration
E)the relative time position for when the activity will be completed

Question 31

In making a forward pass through a network, activities L, M, and P are immediate predecessors for activity T, which has an activity time of 7. The early start times for activities L, M, and P are 22, 17, and 27, respectively. The early finish times for activities L, M, and P are 29, 27, and 33, respectively. What is the early start time for activity T?

A)17
B)24
C)27
D)33
E)40

Question 32

Given this information about an activity: ES = 10, EF = 18, LS = 28, and LF = 36. The amount of slack associated with the activity is ____________________.

A)38
B)8
C)18
D)26
E)10

Question 33

We use _____________________ time estimates when we can make a reliable estimate.

A)variable
B)probabilistic
C)estimated
D)deterministic
E)cumulative

Question 34

In critical path scheduling, slack is computed as the difference between ______________________.

A)latest and earliest times
B)optimistic and pessimistic times
C)mean and modal times
D)finish and start times
E)observed and predicted times

Question 35

Given this information about an activity: ES = 10, EF = 15, LS = 26, and LF = 31. The amount of slack associated with the activity is ____________________.

A)32
B) 5
C)21
D)16
E)11

Question 36

When we are unsure about the duration of project activities, we use _____________________ time estimates.

A)variable
B)probabilistic
C)estimated
D)deterministic
E)cumulative

Question 37

In making a forward pass through a network, three activities are immediate predecessors for activity T. What is the early start time for activity T?

A)the smallest ES for the three activities that are immediate predecessors for activity T
B)the largest ES for the three activities that are immediate predecessors for activity T
C)the smallest EF for the three activities that are immediate predecessors for activity T
D)the largest EF for the three activities that are immediate predecessors for activity T
E)the activity time for activity T

Question 38

In making a backward pass through a network, activity L has an activity time of 4 and immediately precedes activities M, P, and T. The late start times for activities M, P, and T are 22, 17, and 27, respectively. The late finish times for activities M, P, and T are 29, 27, and 33, respectively. What is the late finish time for activity L?

A)13
B)17
C)22
D)33
E)37

Question 39

The last project activity ES and LS times are:

A)different
B)calculated using termination rules
C)the same
D)required probabilistic calculations
E)involving risk analysis

Question 40

In making a backward pass through a network, activity T immediately precedes three activities. What is the late finish time for activity T?

A)the smallest LS for the three activities that activity T immediately precedes
B)the largest LS for the three activities that activity T immediately precedes
C)the smallest LF for the three activities that activity T immediately precedes
D)the largest LF for the three activities that activity T immediately precedes
E)the activity time for activity T

Question 41

Joe's tower fabrication company client would like to know what the probability is of completing the project in 60 days rather than the 58 estimated days. Based on Z values what is the probability that Joes' tower fabrication will be able to meet the request if the variance is 1.25?

A)-1.6
B)1)6
C)-1.79
D)1)79
E)2

Question 42

There are four activities on the critical path, and they have standard deviations of 1, 2, 4, and 2. The standard deviation of the critical path is ______.

A)3
B)5
C)9
D)16
E)25

Question 43

In calculating the estimated probability of completion value a negative number is obtained. This means:

A)your calculation is wrong.
B)the project will be delayed.
C)the specified completion time is later than the expected completion time.
D)the specified completion time is earlier than the expected completion time.
E)the variance is incorrect.

Question 44

Crashing a schedule is reducing a project completion time by ___________________.

A)renegotiating with management
B)realign tasks in parallel
C)rearranging all tasks
D)throwing additional resources to the critical path
E)throwing less resources to the critical path

Question 45

An activity in a network diagram has an optimistic time estimate of seven days, a most likely time estimate of 11 days, and a pessimistic time estimate of 19 days. Its variance is _________.

A)2
B)4
C)6
D)12
E)24

Question 46

With probabilistic time estimates, when we calculate the expected time for an activity, we treat each activity time estimate as a random variable derived from a ______________ probability distribution.

A)normal
B)beta
C)gamma
D)Poisson
E)uniform

Question 47

Shortening a project is called ______________ the project.

A)reducing
B)crashing
C)cutting short
D)wrecking
E)shaking

Question 48

The formula to calculate an activity's probabilistic expected time is

A)ET = ( M+4*O+P)/6
B)ET = ( P+4*O+M)/6
C)ET = ( P+4*M+O)/6
D)ET = ( P+3*M+O)²/6
E)ET = ( M+3*O+P)/4

Question 49

There are four activities on the critical path, and they have variances of 1, 2, 4, and 2. The variance of the critical path is _______.

A)3
B)5
C)9
D)16
E)25

Question 50

For projects whose activities have probabilistic time estimates, the probability of completing the project in a specified amount of time is determined by __________________________.

A)the expected time for the critical path only
B)the standard deviation for the critical path only
C)the expected time and standard deviation for the critical path only
D)the expected times for all paths
E)the expected times and standard deviations for the critical path and paths whose expected times are close to that of the critical path

Question 51

Which of the following information about activities is not needed in determining how to crash a project?

A)the normal cost
B)the crash cost
C)the crash time estimate
D)the normal time estimate
E)how many dummy activities there are

Question 52

An activity in a network diagram has an optimistic time estimate of five days, a most likely time estimate of seven days, and a pessimistic time estimate of 15 days. Its expected time is _________________.

A)5 days
B)7 days
C)8 days
D)10 days
E)15 days

Question 53

You may be able to speed up completion of a project by _______________________.

A)reducing the standard deviation of activities
B)recalculating the critical path
C)making additional resources available
D)adding slack to critical activities
E)redoing some of the activities

Question 54

Which of the following is not a valid reason for reducing the time spent finishing a particular project?

A)deadlines
B)promised completion dates
C)penalty clauses for late completion
D)the project started too early
E)the need to put resources on a new project

Question 55

The probability of completing a project in a specified amount of time is being calculated. For a particular path through the project, the ______________ shows the path's number of standard deviations that the specified time is past the expected path completion time.

A)m-value
B)z-value
C)sigma-value
D)s-value
E)alpha-value

Question 56

Shortening the total time for completing a project by incurring higher costs from shortening activities is ________.

A)normal cost
B)backward pass
C)crashing
D)leveling
E)project control

Question 57

What can be used to display graphically the scheduled times for activities?

A)an AOA network diagram
B)an AON network diagram
C)a project structure tree
D)a Gantt chart
E)an affinity diagram

Question 58

Which of the following is not an example of a method that can be used to reduce the time to complete an activity?

A)work on other activities
B)faster shipments of materials
C)use special equipment
D)work overtime
E)work around the clock

Question 59

Which functional group is not concerned with project management outcomes?

A)Marketing
B)Operations
C)Purchasing
D)Administration
E)Information Systems

Question 60

In monitoring the progress of a project, it is important to focus on _____________________________.

A)activities on the critical path
B)activities with long completion times
C)activities with large slacks
D)initiating events
E)terminating events

Question 61

Which of the following is not included in the approach for crashing projects?

A)Determine which activity requires the most time.
B)Crash the least expensive activity first.
C)Determine how much the project needs to be reduced.
D)Calculate the total costs associated with crashing the project.
E)Determine which activities on the critical path can be reduced.

Question 62

Which of the following is not characteristic of adding safety time in the critical chain approach?

A)Probability and statistics provide no insights into the adding of safety time.
B)It can be added by basing time estimates on pessimistic experiences.
C)It is added at the end of the critical path.
D)It can be added by having more safety factors added at each level of management.
E)It can be added to offset possible global reductions in project length made by top management

Question 63

CPM was originally developed to conceive and plan maintenance projects in chemical plants.

Question 64

An activity has eight weeks allotted to it, but we should be able to do it in five weeks. Waiting three weeks before getting started on it is an example of the _____________________.

A)project buffer approach
B)common sense approach
C)professor approach
D)academic approach
E)student syndrome

Question 65

Who is responsible for the success and failure of a project?

A)CEO
B)Program Manager
C)Project Manager
D)Project Sponsor
E)Functional Manager

Question 66

An approach for getting projects done faster and more consistently at or before the project due date is ____________________.

A)business process reengineering
B)PERT
C)project inversion
D)backcasting
E)the critical chain approach

Question 67

Which of the following represents a way to waste safety time?

A)dependencies between activities
B)multitasking
C)student syndrome
D)waiting until the last minute to do a task
E)all of these answer choices are correct

Question 68

A project is a unique, one-time event that is intended to achieve an objective in a given time period.

Question 69

Removing safety time from the individual activities and putting the total safety time at the end of the critical path creates a(n)___________________.

A)project safety net
B)project buffer
C)overconfident project manager
D)activity shortage
E)larger number of activities

Question 70

The termination phase in the project life cycle involves identifying the need for the project.

Question 71

The two kinds of network diagrams are activity-on-arrow and activity-on-node.

Question 72

Project managers use network planning techniques to assign resources to activities.

Question 73

One way of wasting safety time in the critical chain approach is multitasking, which involves ___________.

A)waiting until the last minute to start a project
B)interaction among project activities
C)having the computer operating system do everything
D)using a person or resource for more than one project
E)reversing the order of the activities

Question 74

In the critical chain approach, the focus is on _______________________.

A)deliverables
B)making activity times certain
C)project milestones
D)the final due date of the project
E)individual activities

Question 75

Which of the following is not characteristic of the critical chain approach?

A)It can help get projects done faster and more consistently at or before the project due date.
B)The focus is on project milestones.
C)The idea is that project activities are uncertain.
D)Safety time is added to project time estimates.
E)Safety time is placed at the end of the critical path.

Question 76

A feeding buffer protects a ______ path from delays in a __________.

A)shortest, buffer overflow
B)noncritical, critical path
C)critical, noncritical path
D)critical, longest variance
E)noncritical, longest variance

Question 77

In network diagramming, dashed lines represent precedence relationships.

Question 78

PERT is credited with reducing the duration of the Polaris missile project by _________________.

A)one year
B)two years
C)three years
D)four years
E)five years

Question 79

Precedence relationships structure the sequencing of activities.

Question 80

Planning consists of adjusting the concept to meet the demand.