Question 1

When crashing a task, the usual assumption is that a task is crashed the full amount or none at all.

Accepted Answer

Crashing a task typically involves reducing its duration by allocating additional resources, but it doesn't necessarily mean crashing it the full amount or none at all. It can be done incrementally, based on the project's needs and the diminishing returns of adding more resources.

Question 2

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with profit maximization.

Accepted Answer

If resources were not scarce, there would be no need to allocate them efficiently, and companies could focus solely on maximizing profit without any constraints. However, in reality, resources are limited, which makes the resource allocation problem a complex issue that requires careful consideration of various factors, such as cost, availability, and alternative uses.

Question 3

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with cost minimization.

Accepted Answer

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would not exist since there would be no need to allocate scarce resources efficiently. Therefore, the problem would not be concerned solely with cost minimization.

Question 4

Projects often compete with each other for the same resources.

Accepted Answer

Since resources such as budget, personnel, and time are often limited, multiple projects may need to vie for the use of these resources. As a result, projects can compete with each other.

Question 5

All projects are carried out under conditions of uncertainty.

Accepted Answer

Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of projects, as they often involve complex and unpredictable environments, diverse stakeholders, and unknown outcomes. Effective project management requires the ability to anticipate, analyze, and address uncertainty through risk management, contingency planning, and adaptive strategies.

Question 6

Trade-offs must be made in order to optimize the use of limited resources.

Accepted Answer

This is a fundamental principle of economics, also known as the concept of opportunity cost. When resources are limited, individuals, businesses, and governments must make choices about how to allocate those resources. Since resources can only be used for a finite number of purposes, choosing to allocate them to one particular use means that they cannot be used for something else. This means that in order to optimize the use of resources, trade-offs must be made.

Question 7

Often it is beneficial to crash activities not on the critical path.

Accepted Answer

Crashing activities not on the critical path does not reduce the overall project duration because the critical path determines the shortest time in which a project can be completed. Crashing non-critical activities may increase costs without any benefit to the project completion time.

Question 8

When the work is routine, fast-tracking rarely causes serious problems.

Accepted Answer

Fast-tracking is when the schedule is accelerated by overlapping phases of a project that would normally be done sequentially. This approach is often used when project timelines are tight. When the work is routine and predictable, fast-tracking may not cause serious problems as the risks are generally lower. However, when there is a higher degree of uncertainty, or when critical steps are missed or not properly executed, fast-tracking can lead to serious problems such as cost overruns, delays, and quality issues.

Question 9

The time to complete a task with normal or standard-practice resource usage is referred to as the crash duration.

Accepted Answer

The time to complete a task with normal or standard-practice resource usage is referred to as the normal duration. The crash duration refers to the minimum possible time to complete a task by adding additional resources or taking other measures to expedite the process.

Question 10

Good project managers are able to estimate project task times with absolute certainty.

Accepted Answer

While good project managers are able to make educated estimates based on their experience and knowledge, there is always a degree of uncertainty and risk involved in estimating task times. Factors such as unexpected obstacles, changes in resources, and human error can all impact the accuracy of task time estimates.

Question 11

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

Accepted Answer

Resource loading involves specifying the amount of resources needed for certain tasks at certain times.

Question 12

Fast-tracking a project is used primarily in the pharmaceutical industry.

Accepted Answer

While fast-tracking is commonly associated with the pharmaceutical industry, it can be used in any industry to expedite the completion of a project.

Question 13

The CPM method cannot be used when task durations are probabilistic.

Accepted Answer

The CPM (Critical Path Method) can be adapted to handle probabilistic task durations through techniques like PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique), which incorporates uncertainty by using optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely duration estimates for tasks.

Question 14

All tasks can be crashed to some extent.

Accepted Answer

Not all tasks can be crashed; some tasks are already at their minimum duration or are constrained by factors that do not allow for crashing, such as fixed schedules, resource limitations, or dependencies on other tasks.

Question 15

The amount of resources a project can use depends in part on the timing of the allocation.

Accepted Answer

The amount of resources available for a project can vary depending on when they are allocated, as resources may only be available at certain times or in certain amounts.

Question 16

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Resource loading refers to the amounts of...

Question 17

The variance of the normal time can be quite different from the variance of the crash time.

Accepted Answer

The normal time and crash time are often modeled as different probability distributions, which can result in different variances for each.

Question 18

It is considered good management to crash the least costly activities before the more costly ones.

Accepted Answer

This is because crashing activities typically involve increasing costs and resources, so it is more cost-effective to first crash the activities that have a lower impact on the final project cost before moving on to the more expensive activities.

Question 19

A project that must be completed by a fixed time is referred to as resource constrained.

Accepted Answer

A project that must be completed by a fixed time is referred to as time-constrained, whereas a project limited by available resources (like manpower or materials) is called resource-constrained.

Question 20

For resources that are consumed when used, the problem is which project gets to use the resource first and which must wait.

Accepted Answer

The answer of For resources that are consumed when used,...

Quiz 6: Allocating Resources to the Project

When crashing a task, the usual assumption is that a task is crashed the full amount or none at all.

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with profit maximization.

If resources were not scarce, the resource allocation problem would be concerned solely with cost minimization.

Projects often compete with each other for the same resources.

All projects are carried out under conditions of uncertainty.

Trade-offs must be made in order to optimize the use of limited resources.

Often it is beneficial to crash activities not on the critical path.

When the work is routine, fast-tracking rarely causes serious problems.

The time to complete a task with normal or standard-practice resource usage is referred to as the crash duration.

Good project managers are able to estimate project task times with absolute certainty.

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

Fast-tracking a project is used primarily in the pharmaceutical industry.

The CPM method cannot be used when task durations are probabilistic.

All tasks can be crashed to some extent.

The amount of resources a project can use depends in part on the timing of the allocation.

Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific times.

The variance of the normal time can be quite different from the variance of the crash time.

It is considered good management to crash the least costly activities before the more costly ones.

A project that must be completed by a fixed time is referred to as resource constrained.

For resources that are consumed when used, the problem is which project gets to use the resource first and which must wait.