TEST BANK for Project Management: The Managerial Process 8th Edition by Erik Larson & Clifford Gray by StudyGuide

CHAPTER 1 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Accountants, architects, and attorneys are among professional people who excel at managing projects yet never have the title of project manager. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) The Project Management Institute has a certification for project managers known as Project Management Professional (PMP). ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) Project management is equally useful in ongoing, routine work as well as unique, onetime initiatives, because of its flexibility. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) The fact that projects are not confined to a single department but may involve several departments and professionals is a defining characteristic of projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) Specific time, cost, and performance requirements are among the characteristics that separate project management from other endeavors of the organization. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) Project management is a skill set that is transferable across most businesses and professions and is critical to many careers.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

7) For construction companies that build many buildings, all buildings built after the first do not fit the definition of a project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) As specified in a project life cycle, the first stage in the life cycle of a project is the concept stage. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) Programs are processes designed to accomplish goals that are common to a program over time. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) Project management is generally restricted to specialists because of the requirement for in-depth expertise. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) Agile PM is incremental, iterative development and delivery whereas traditional PM does not deliver nor elicit feedback from the customer until the project is nearly complete. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) One of the most significant driving forces behind the demand for project management is the ever increasing lengthening of the product life cycle.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

13) Project management appears to be ideally suited for a business environment requiring accountability, flexibility, innovation and repeatability. ⊚ ⊚

true false

14) At first glance, project managers perform the same functions as other managers. That is, they plan, schedule, motivate and control. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) The modus operandi (method) used for implementing organizational strategy is through projects. ⊚ ⊚

16)

true false

Project management skills are not needed in small projects within large organizations. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) The technical dimensions of project management is primarily what successful project managers focus on, specifically planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) The sociocultural dimension of project management includes managing relationships, motivating team members and negotiating project terms.

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⊚ ⊚

19)

A major driver of project management is small business development, among others. ⊚ ⊚

20)

true false

Project management is critically significant only for the electronics industry. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) The individual principles of project management are considered universal and applicable across most businesses and professions. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) Contrary to on-going duties and responsibilities of customary jobs, projects have a defined endpoint. ⊚ ⊚

23)

true false

Projects typically require the combined efforts of a variety of experts and specialists. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 24) Which of the following choices is a professional organization for project managers?

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A) B) C) D) E)

25)

Which of the choices listed below is NOT considered to be a characteristic of a project? A) B) C) D) E)

26)

Developing a new software program Designing a space station Preparing the site for the Olympic Games Production of automobile tires Developing a new advertising program

Which of the following activities is the best example of a project? A) B) C) D) E)

28)

An established objective A clear beginning and end Specific time, cost and performance requirements For internal use only Something never been done by a particular company before

Which of the choices listed below is NOT considered a project? A) B) C) D) E)

27)

PMI. AMA. MIS. IPM. PMBOK.

Processing insurance claims Producing automobiles Writing a policy manual Monitoring product quality Overseeing customer requests

Which of the following is NOT one of the stages of a project life cycle?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

29) In which stage of the project life cycle are project objectives established, teams formed, and major responsibilities assigned? A) B) C) D) E)

Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

30) In which stage of the project life cycle is a major portion of the actual project work performed? A) B) C) D) E)

Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

31) In which stage of the project life cycle are you more likely to find status reports, changes, and the creation of forecasts? A) B) C) D) E)

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Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

32)

In which stage of the project life cycle is the project’s schedule and budget determined? A) B) C) D) E)

Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

33) In which stage of the project life cycle is the product of the project delivered to the customer and resources are released from the project? A) B) C) D) E)

34)

Identifying Defining Planning Executing Closing

Which of the following is NOT typical of a project manager? A) B) C) D) E)

Managing a temporary activity Overseeing existing operations Managing a nonrepetitive activity Responsible for time, cost and performance trade-offs Work with a group of outsiders, including vendors and suppliers

35) Which of the following is NOT one of the driving forces behind the increasing demand for project management?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Compression of the product life cycle Knowledge explosion Increasing need for concurrent multi-project management Declining need for product customization More sustainable business practices

36) Project management is ideally suited for a business environment requiring all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

Accountability. Flexibility. Innovation. Speed. Repeatability.

37) Which dimension of project management centers on creating a temporary social system within a larger organizational environment that combines the talents of a divergent set of professionals working to complete the project? A) B) C) D) E)

38)

Communication Sociocultural Social Technical Scheduling

Which of the following statements is true?

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A) B) strategies. C) D) E)

39) they

Project management is far from a standard way of doing business. Project management is increasingly contributing to achieving organizational Project management is being used at a consistent percentage of a firm's efforts. Project management is a specialty that few organizations have access to. All of these statements are false.

People who are part of the project team need to understand project management because

A) Work with others to create a schedule and budget. B) Need to understand project priorities so they can make independent decisions. C) Need to be able to monitor and report project progress. D) Need to understand the project charter or scope statement that defines the objectives and parameters of the project. E) All of these are reasons it is important for project team members to understand project management.

40)

The two dimensions within project management processes are A) B) C) D) E)

41)

Technical and sociocultural. Cost and time. Planned and unexpected. Established and new. Unique and reoccurring.

Which of these is NOT part of the "technical dimension" of project management?

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A) B) C) D) E)

42)

WBS Budgets Problem solving Schedules Status reports

Which of these is NOT part of the "sociocultural dimension" of project management? A) B) C) D) E)

Negotiation Resource allocation Managing customer expectations Leadership Dealing with politics

43) Which of the following is NOT a reason why project management has become a standard way of doing business? A) B) C) D) E)

44)

Increased need for skilled management of stakeholders outside of organization. Projects need to be done faster. Organizations are doing more project work in-house instead of outsourcing. Organizations are executing more and more projects. Increased product complexity and innovation.

Which of the following is typically the responsibility of a project manager? A) B) C) D) E)

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Meeting budget requirements Meeting schedule requirements Meeting performance specifications Coordinating the actions of the team members All of these are typical responsibilities

45) A series of coordinated, related, multiple projects that continue over an extended time period and are intended to achieve a goal is known as a A) B) C) D) E)

46)

Strategy. Program. Campaign. Crusade. Venture.

Which of the following is NOT true about project management?

A) It is not limited to the private sector. B) Many opportunities are available for individuals interested in this career path. C) It improves one's ability to plan, implement and manage activities to accomplish specific organizational objectives. D) It focuses primarily on technical processes. E) It is a set of tools.

47) As the number of small projects increase within an organization's portfolio, what is a challenge an organization faces? A) B) C) D) E)

48)

Sharing resources Measuring efficiency Managing risk Prioritizing projects All of these are challenges

Which of the following is a good example of a program?

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A) B) C) D) E)

49)

Which of the following represents the correct order of stages within the project life cycle? A) B) C) D) E)

50)

building relationships. including a diverse set of talent. maintenance operations. building relationships and including a diverse set of talent. extensive testing only.

A project does not include A) B) C) D) E)

52)

Planning, Defining, Executing, Closing Closing, Planning, Defining, Executing Defining, Planning, Executing, Closing Executing, Defining, Planning, Closing Planning, Defining, Closing, Executing

Project Management is a style that places a premium on A) B) C) D) E)

51)

Planting a garden Developing a new residential area that includes six custom homes Developing a new marketing plan Taking notes each class meeting to prepare for the final Planning a wedding

unique elements. a specific objective. repetitive, same or similar work. creating a new product or service. developing a new process.

A project life cycle

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A) B) C) D) E)

53)

Project Managers are A) B) C) D) E)

54)

ultimately responsible for performance. not timid. a direct link to the customer. able to multitask. all of these.

Project management is being driven by A) B) C) D) E)

55)

will only ever consist of four phases. must be dogmatically followed. reduces the amount of planning necessary. can vary based on the industry. will always have a phase called ‘visioning’.

elevated profit motive. knowledge explosion. increased customer focus. more projects being done in-house. knowledge explosion and increased customer focus.

Project management is not limited to the __________ sector. A) B) C) D) E)

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universal private global international business and government

56) A project life cycle is characterized as made up of stages. The initial stage in the project life cycle is the __________ stage. A) B) C) D) E)

conceptual closing defining planning executing

57) A project life cycle is characterized as made up of stages. The final stage in the project life cycle is the __________ stage. A) B) C) D) E)

conceptual closing defining planning executing

58) Like many other professions such as accounting, marketing and finance, there is a professional organization for project managers. One professional organization for project managers has grown from 93,000 in 2002 to more than 565,000 currently and is the ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

Institute for Project Managers Society for Project Professionals and Project Managers Organization for Project Managers and Professionals Project Management Institute (PMI) The Union of Project Professionals

59) A project life cycle is characterized as made up of stages. A major part of the project work, both physical and mental, takes place in the ___________ stage of the project life cycle.

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A) B) C) D) E)

conceptual closing defining planning executing

60) Any project life cycle is made up of stages. The project's schedule and budget will be determined in the ___________ stage of the project life cycle. A) B) C) D) E)

conceptual closing defining planning executing

61) This first chapter introduced some of the most rudimentary aspects of the discipline, including definitions. A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result is a(n) _________. A) B) C) D) E)

project activity task undertaking All of these.

62) The product life cycle must be understood as totally different from the project life cycle. In today's high-tech industries the product life cycle is averaging _________ to 3 years.

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A) B) C) D) E)

1 year 6 months 18 months 3 months 9 months

63) For companies of moderate-to-large size, it is not unusual to have hundreds of small projects ongoing concurrently. The advent of many small projects has created the need for an organization that can support __________ management. A) B) C) D) E)

multi-project program concurrent portfolio product

64) In today’s customer-focused organizations, the customer is recognized as the final authority of what constitutes quality. Nevertheless, customer tastes and feature preferences vary from customer to customer. Increased competition has placed a premium on customer satisfaction and the development of __________ products and services. A) B) C) D) E)

unique quality customized creative consistent

65) Project managers employ lots of useful tools, many supported by software. WBS, schedules, and budgets are tools taken from the _________ dimension of the project management process.

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A) B) C) D) E)

sociocultural soft skills technical tools planning

66) Project managers must have many competencies, among them leadership, teamwork and negotiation. Leadership, teamwork, and negotiation are examples of the _________ dimension of the project management process. A) B) C) D) E)

67)

sociocultural soft skills technical tools planning

A professional organization for project managers is the ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

Project Management Institute (PMI) Institute for Project Managers Society for Project Professionals and Project Managers Organization for Project Managers and Professionals The Union of Project Professionals

68) One of the defining characteristics of a project is that it has a singular purpose, i.e., an established ________. A) B) C) D) E)

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vision objective goal mission purpose

69) Because projects have a defined beginning and end, the ________ is frequently used to manage the transitions of a project from start to completion. A) B) C) D) E)

product life cycle project life cycle development life cycle transition life cycle completion life cycle

70) The establishment of project goals, specifications, and responsibilities usually occurs in the ________ stage of project life cycle. A) B) C) D) E)

defining planning executing conceptual closing

71) Training the customer, releasing staff and resources occurs in the ________ stage of project life cycle. A) B) C) D) E)

defining planning executing conceptual closing

72) Project managers are expected to ensure that appropriate trade-offs are made between the time, cost, and __________ requirements of the project.

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A) B) C) D) E)

performance quality specifications functional scope

73) Life cycles are used to characterize how things change over time. The _____________ typically passes sequentially through four stages. A) B) C) D) E)

product life cycle project life cycle development life cycle transition life cycle completion life cycle

74) An increase in the complexity of projects, because projects typically include the latest advances, can be the result of a growth in new __________. A) B) C) D) E)

products knowledge services products and services processes

75) A(n) _________ is a series of coordinated, related multiple projects that continue over an extended time intended to achieve a goal. A) B) C) D) E)

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program portfolio product family process folder

76)

Agile PM is appropriate when _______. A) B) C) D) E)

project scope is unknown or unstable the technology to be used is well known the project scope is well known the processes to be used are well known projects of this type have been done many times before

77) Traditional project management focuses on thorough planning up front. Such planning requires ____. A) B) C) D) E)

thoroughness a planning schedule predictability a planning budget All of these alternatives are correct

78) When the project scope and/or technology are not fully known or stable, the best choice of method for such projects is A) B) C) D) E)

traditional project management. plan-driven project management. schedule-driven project management. agile-driven project management. budget-driven project management.

79) Agile project management involves ____ whereas traditional project management involves _______.

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A) B) C) D) E)

80)

Projects with high predictability are said to have ____. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

iterative and incremental delivery, upfront planning with high predictability high certainty, projects with unstable scope high uncertainty, projects with unknown requirements known and stable scope, unknown requirements projects with high predictability, project with unknown or unstable requirements

unknown or unstable scope unknown or unstable requirements the best circumstances for use of traditional project management the best circumstances for use of agile project management iterative and incremental delivery

Iterative and incremental delivery means ______.

A) the project uses the traditional method of project management B) the entire project product or service is delivered all at once at the end of the project C) the project documentation is completed and delivered after each milestone D) the components or features of the project product or service are delivered one at a time throughout the duration of the project E) product functionality is delivered all at once at the end of the project

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 82) Compare and contrast the Product Life Cycle and Project Life Cycle.

83)

Identify the five major characteristics of a project.

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84)

Identify and briefly describe the four stages of a project life cycle.

85) "Project managers perform the same functions as other managers." Agree or disagree, and support your decision.

86)

Identify and briefly describe the five current drivers of project management.

87) Even if you never aspire to be a "project manager," why is it important to know how to manage projects effectively? Explain your answer and use an example to support your answer.

88) Identify and briefly discuss the two key dimensions of managing actual projects. Explain why both are important to successfully manage a project. Use an example to support your answer.

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89)

What are the major differences between managing a process and managing a project?

90) Describe what it means that a project manager must work with a diverse group of characters?

91)

What is the difference between a project and a program?

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 01_8e 1) TRUE 2) TRUE 3) FALSE 4) TRUE 5) TRUE 6) TRUE 7) FALSE 8) FALSE 9) FALSE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) FALSE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) TRUE 16) FALSE 17) FALSE 18) TRUE 19) FALSE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) TRUE 23) TRUE 24) A 25) D 26) D Version 1

27) C 28) A 29) B 30) D 31) D 32) C 33) E 34) B 35) D 36) E 37) B 38) B 39) E 40) A 41) C 42) B 43) C 44) E 45) B 46) D 47) E 48) B 49) C 50) D 51) C 52) D 53) E 54) E 55) B 56) C Version 1

57) B 58) D 59) E 60) D 61) A 62) B 63) A 64) C 65) C 66) A 67) A 68) B 69) B 70) A 71) E 72) A 73) B 74) B 75) A 76) A 77) C 78) D 79) A 80) C 81) D 82) The Product Life Cycle deals with the time it takes to develop a product and the time it remains in the marketplace. The Project Life Cycle is the stages that a new product goes through while being developed.

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83) (1) An established objective; (2) A defined life span with a beginning and end; (3) Usually the involvement of several departments and professionals; (4) Typically, doing something that has never been done before; (5) Specific time, cost and performance requirements. 84) Defining stage: goals, specifications and objectives established; Planning stage: schedules, budgets, risks management and resource assignment; Executing stage: majority of physical and mental work, status reports, changes and forecasts; Closing stage: train customer, transfer documents, release resources, and lessons learned. 85) Many of the same basic management functions are performed by project managers; however, there are aspects of the project manager's job that make it unique. For example, they manage temporary, nonrepetitive activities to complete a fixed life project. 86) (1) Compression of the product life cycle; (2) Knowledge explosion; (3). Triple bottom line; (4) Increased customer focus; (5) Small projects represent big problems. 87) Even if you have no desire to be a project manager you may be a part of a project team where you will have a better understanding of the processes involved. In addition, there are many project management skills that can be applied to other professions and industries. 88) The technical includes schedules and status reports. The sociocultural dimension includes leadership, problem solving and negotiation. 89) At first glance project managers perform the same functions as other managers. That is, they plan, schedule, and control. However, what makes them unique is that they manage temporary, non-repetitive activities to complete a fixed life project.

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90) Project managers manage the tension between customer expectations and what is feasible and reasonable. They provide direction, coordination, and integration to the project team. They often must work with a diverse group of outsiders—vendors, suppliers, subcontractors— who do not necessarily share their project allegiance. 91) The terms are often used interchangeably in business; however, a program is considered to be a series of coordinated, related, and multiple projects that continue over an extended time intended to achieve a goal.

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CHAPTER 2 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Project management historically has been preoccupied solely with the planning and execution of projects while strategy was under the purview of senior management. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) Intermittent and infrequent scanning of the external environment is required when managing organization strategy. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) A written mission statement provides focus for decision making when shared by organizational managers and employees. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Project managers should not engage in organizational politics. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) Organizational objectives set targets for all levels of the organization not just for top management. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) Mission statements typically change frequently, responding to changes in the external environment. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) Strategy formulation ends with cascading objectives or projects assigned to lower divisions, departments, or individuals. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) If a proposed project does not meet one of the designated "must" objectives it should be immediately removed from consideration. ⊚ ⊚

The assessment of the external and internal environments is called the SWOT analysis. ⊚ ⊚

10)

true false

Objectives should be specific, marketable, assignable, realistic, and time related. ⊚ ⊚

11)

true false

Strategy is implemented through projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) Many organizations have three different kinds of projects in their portfolio: compliance, operational, and sacred cows. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

13) The first step in the Strategic Management Process is to set long-range goals and objectives. ⊚ ⊚

true false

14) One benefit of project portfolio management is that it can justify killing a project that doesn't support organization strategy. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) Opportunities and threats can be viewed as flip sides of each other; that is, a threat can be viewed as an opportunity, and vice versa. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) The information gap refers to the lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among top and middle-level managers. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) One way to offset the influence of politics on project management within an organization is to have a well-defined project selection model. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) Studies have shown that companies using predominantly financial criteria to prioritize projects yield unbalanced portfolios and projects that aren't strategically aligned. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

19) Generally, people working on several projects at the same time are more efficient than people working full-time on one project. ⊚ ⊚

20)

true false

The NPV financial model measures the time it will take to recover the project investment. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) A proposed project that ranks high on most criteria may not be selected because the organization's portfolio already includes too many projects with the same characteristics. ⊚ ⊚

22)

Multi-weighted scoring models include only quantitative criteria, not qualitative. ⊚ ⊚

23)

true false

Restricting project proposals within an organization may lead to missed opportunities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

24) In the phase gate model, a ‘gate’ is a point in time at which a decision about whether to cancel or continue with the project is made. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 25) Which of the following is NOT true about an organization's strategy?

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A) B) C) D) E)

26)

A project selection process that is strongly linked to strategy results in A) B) C) D) E)

27)

Strategy determines how an organization will compete. Strategy is implemented through projects. Only top management must understand strategy. Project selection should be clearly aligned with strategy. Project management plays a key role in supporting strategy.

the most profit. better utilization of the organization's resources. more projects. a larger and more diverse organization. stronger core competencies.

Which of the following is NOT true about organizational politics? A) B) C) D) E)

Project managers should not engage in organizational politics. Politics can have a significant influence on which projects receive funding. Politics exist in every organization. Politics can influence project selection. Politics can play a role in the aspirations behind projects.

28) Which of the following terms is often used to denote a project that a powerful, highranking official is advocating? A) B) C) D) E)

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Sacred cow Pet project Political necessity Special undertaking Strategic ploy

29)

Why do project managers need to understand their organization's mission and strategy?

A) To reduce project duration and increase the number of projects implemented B) So they can make appropriate decisions and adjustments and be effective project advocates C) It is only important for senior management to understand the organization's mission and strategy D) To get their job done and increase opportunities for promotion E) So that they can make sure the customer is satisfied

30) Project managers who understand the role that their project plays in accomplishing the organization's strategy will be inclined to do all of the following EXCEPT A) mission. B) C) D) E)

demonstrate to senior management how their project contributes to the firm's explain to team members why certain project objectives and priorities are critical. explain to stakeholders why certain project objectives and priorities are critical. be able to respond appropriately to delays and/or questions about product design. be able to focus on problems or solutions if the project is a low priority strategically.

31) All of the following are symptoms of organizations struggling with strategy disconnect and unclear priorities EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

frequent conflicts between managers. inadequate resources. confused employees regarding which projects are more important. not enough projects within the portfolio to make a profit. people are working on multiple projects and feel inefficient.

32) Which of the following problems refers to lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among top and middle-level managers? This also can result when top management formulates strategy and leaves implementation to functional managers.

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A) B) C) D) E)

33)

Multitasking Organization politics Implementation gap Resource conflicts Employee turnover

Which of the following is NOT true for strategic management?

A) It should be done once every few years just before developing the operating plan. B) It supports consistency of action at every level of the organization. C) It develops an integrated and coordinated long-term plan of action. D) It positions the firm to meet the needs of its customers. E) It involves responding to changes in the external market and allocating scarce resources to improve a competitive position.

34)

Which of the following is the correct order for the strategic management process? A) B) C) D) E)

35)

Strategies, mission, objectives, projects Objectives, projects, mission, strategies Mission, strategies, objectives, projects Objectives, mission, strategies, projects Projects, mission, strategies, objectives

Which of the following questions does the organization's mission statement answer? A) B) C) D) E)

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What are our long-term strategies? What are our long-term goals and objectives? How do we operate in the existing environment? What do we want to become? All of these are answered by the mission statement.

36) Which of the following is NOT one of the traditional components found in mission statements? A) B) C) D) E)

37)

Major products and services Profitability Target customers and markets Geographic domain Contribution to society

Which of the following is NOT one of the characteristics of effective objectives? A) B) C) D) E)

Realistic Assignable Flexible Specific Measurable

38) In order to formulate strategies that align with the mission, some of the activities the organization will need to perform are A) B) C) D) E)

39)

assess internal strengths and weaknesses. analyze competitors. examine the external environment. know their core competencies. All of these should be considered when formulating strategies.

The assessment of the external and internal environments is called _______ analysis.

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A) B) C) D) E)

40)

Which of the following would be classified as an organizational external threat? A) B) C) D) E)

41)

SWOT Competitive Industry Market Strategic

Slowing of the economy Excellent employees Poor product quality Declining facilities High labor costs

Which of the following would be classified as an organizational opportunity? A) B) C) D) E)

Low debt Excellent employees Increasing product demand Talented management Government regulation

42) Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements for successful implementation of strategies through projects? A) B) C) D) E)

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Allocation of resources Prioritizing of projects Motivation of project contributors Adequate planning and control systems Quality management

43) Which of the following is NOT a problem associated with the absence of a project portfolio system? A) B) C) D) E)

Organizational politics Lack of funding Resource conflicts Multitasking Implementation gap

44) Jack’s organization has many projects ongoing concurrently. He finds himself starting and stopping work on one task to go and work on another task, and then return to the work on the original task. Jack is experiencing A) B) C) D) E)

45)

poor scheduling. excess work burden. flexible tasking. multitasking. burnout.

Project selection criteria are typically classified as A) B) C) D) E)

financial and nonfinancial. short-term and long-term. strategic and tactical. required and optional. cost and schedule.

46) The __________ financial model measures the current value of all cash inflows using management's minimum desired rate of return.

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A) B) C) D) E)

CABB ARR IRS IRB None of these alternatives are correct

47) Projects are usually classified into all but one of the following categories. Which one is NOT one of the typical classifications? A) B) C) D) E)

Compliance and emergency Operational Strategic Political necessity All of these are typical classifications.

48) One who endorses and lends political support for the completion of a specific project is known as the A) B) C) D) E)

49)

Project manager. CEO. Project sponsor. Project lead. Sacred cow.

A project screening matrix typically contains all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

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the list of available projects. specific criteria. weights assigned to specific criteria. costs to complete each project. All of these are typically contained.

50) Regardless of the criteria differences among different types of projects, typically the most important criterion for project selection is A) B) C) D) E)

51)

Examples of nonfinancial criteria include all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

52)

capturing a larger market share. reducing dependency on unreliable suppliers. preventing government intervention and regulation. making it difficult for competitors to enter the market. calculating the time it will take to recover the project investment.

Which of the following is true of multi-weighted scoring models? A) B) C) D) E)

53)

how the project will balance risk within the project portfolio. the project's fit to the organization strategy. compliance. nonfinancial. profit.

Will include quantitative criteria. Will include qualitative criteria. Each criterion is assigned a weight. Projects with higher scores are considered more desirable. All of these are true.

Which of the following is NOT true when managing a portfolio system?

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A) The qualities of a particular project are assessed within the context of existing projects. B) It does not require a constant effort. C) Within a small organization it can be managed by a small group of key employees. D) It requires input from senior management. E) It involves monitoring and adjusting criteria to reflect the strategic focus of the organization.

54) The following are responsibilities of the governance team when managing a portfolio system EXCEPT A) deciding how organizational resources are allocated among the different types of projects. B) publishing the priority of every project and ensuring the process is open and free of power politics. C) evaluating the progress of the projects in the portfolio. D) constant scanning of the external environment to determine if organizational selection criteria need to be changed. E) communicating which projects are approved.

55)

When a prioritization team is balancing projects, they consider all factors except for A) B) C) D) E)

56)

Risk. Resource demand. Leadership style. Type of project. All of these alternatives are correct.

When it comes to project prioritization, senior management is responsible for

Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

57)

When creating a selection model, it is important to A) B) C) D) E)

58)

completely allocated staff. shrewd scheduling. optimized processes. project prioritization too many projects taken on at once.

Typically, a project sponsor is A) B) C) D) E)

60)

make it mathematically complex so it cannot be "gamed". not use it as the final determination for project selection. assure the objectivity of the model. make certain the units used in the model are not inconsistent. keep it secret from those submitting project proposals.

People within an organization working on multiple efforts concurrently is an indicator of A) B) C) D) E)

59)

setting the course for the organization. directing the organization to a strong future position. determining the priority of each project. developing a culture where everyone contributes to the goals of the organization. All of the these choices are correct.

instrumental in approving a project. key to support a project to its' completion. a lower-level staff member. key to support a project to its’ completion and a lower-level staff member. instrumental in approving a project and key to support a project to its' completion.

Project Priority Systems can resolve

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A) B) C) D) E)

61)

An operational project is one that A) B) C) D) E)

62)

lack of consensus and understanding among top and middle managers. internal political issues. over-sharing of resources. what to do next. All of the these alternatives are correct.

must be completed. supports an organizations’ long-run mission. can improve organizational performance. is completed to meet regulatory compliance. always is extremely relevant to the strategic vision of the organization.

A SWOT analysis provides the Project Manager with

A) a direct linkage to goals. B) an identifiable strategic alternative. C) potential critical issues facing the organization. D) an identifiable strategic alternative and potential critical issues facing the organization. E) a direct linkage to goals and an identifiable strategic alternative.

63)

The strategic activity that focuses on what needs to be accomplished is A) B) C) D) E)

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review and define the organizational mission. reflection and inquiry into the organization’s history of past projects. analyze and formulate strategies. set objectives to achieve strategy. implement strategies through projects.

64)

The management system that spans the lifetime of the project is called the ____. A) B) C) D) E)

lifetime cycle model project lifetime model phase gate model lifetime phase exit model lifetime model

65) The first part of the management system that spans the lifetime of the project is called the ____. A) B) C) D) E)

66)

project selection process project exit process project phase exit project kill process project gate process

The purpose of the management system that spans the lifetime of any project is _____.

A) ensure the project stays within budget B) ensure the project remains on schedule C) ensure the project stays within both budget and schedule D) ensure the project is worthwhile and is contributing to the goals and strategy of the organization E) All of these alternatives are correct

67)

At each gate a(n) _______ is made.

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A) B) C) D) E)

68)

assessment evaluation analysis decision judgement

Project proposals are employed when _____and are used to make ______decisions.

A) a project idea is considered worthwhile, project selection B) a project concept fails to get acceptance, project cost estimation C) a high-level organization official wishes to submit a proposal, project scheduling D) a project concept fails to gain acceptance, project cost and scheduling E) a high-level organization official wishes to submit a proposal, project cost and scheduling

69)

Three possible outcomes emanate from each gate. They are ____. A) B) C) D) E)

70)

continue, kill, enhance reduce scope, kill, increase scope proceed, cancel, or revise and submit encourage, discourage, pass allocate resources, reduce resources, cancel

If a preliminary proposal is approved, then ____.

A) the project is funded and execution begins B) a project manager and staff are assigned to develop a more comprehensive implementation plan C) the project is funded and formal detailed planning begins D) the project is funded or shelved awaiting funding E) the project is allocated limited resources

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71) The process of assessing "what we are" and deciding and implementing "what we intend to be and how we are going to get there" is ______________. A) B) C) D) E)

strategic management vision and mission setting reflection and inquiry goal and objective clarity mission assessment

72) ________ change infrequently and may require revision only when the nature of the business changes or shifts. A) B) C) D) E)

Vision statements Mission statements Lessons learned Goals Objectives

73) ________ translate the organization's strategy into specific, concrete, and measurable terms. A) B) C) D) E)

Vision statements Mission statements Lessons learned Goals Objectives

74) How strategies will be realized, given available resources, is answered through __________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

projects resource allocation implementation frameworks strategy formulation

75) High-ranking managers who endorse and lend political support for the completion of a specific project are known as project _________. A) B) C) D) E)

managers leaders politicians sponsors executives

76) A weighted scoring model typically uses several weighted selection criteria to evaluate project proposals. An example of this would be a(n) ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

project screening matrix selection criterion weighted score score multiplication project proposal

77) What the organization wants to become and the scope of the firm in terms of its product or service would be identified in the organization's ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

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values mission statement lessons learned goals objectives

78) In a SWOT analysis, good product quality, low debt, and an established supplier network are examples of internal ________. A) B) C) D) E)

weaknesses opportunities threats targets strengths

79) In a SWOT analysis, strong competition, reduced product demand, and a maturing product life cycle are examples of external __________. A) B) C) D) E)

80)

The assessment of the internal and external environments is known as a(n) ________. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

weaknesses opportunities threats targets strengths

SWOT analysis PDSA wheel Constraint-based reasoning Internal/external assessment Forecasting

Strategy is implemented through ________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

portfolios products projects policies people

82) A project that a powerful, high-ranking official is advocating is often termed a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

Bread-and-butter project Sacred cow Pearl Oyster White elephant

83) Starting and stopping work on one task to go and work on another project, and then returning to work on the original task is known as ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

multitasking concurrency parallelism start-and-stop confusion

84) The lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among top and middlelevel managers is known as the __________. A) B) C) D) E)

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priority confusion implementation gap lack of consensus lack of comprehension lack of comprehension and consensus

85) The financial model that measures the time it will take to recover the project investment is the __________ model. A) B) C) D) E)

break through recovery threshold investment payback

86) A financial model that measures the current value of all cash inflows and outflows using management's minimum desired rate of return is known as the _________ model. A) B) C) D) E)

Internal rate of return (IRR) Net present value (NPV) Return on investment (ROI) Return on assets (ROA) Inflow/outflow

87) In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio, projects that are typically those needed to meet regulatory conditions required to operate in a region are ___________ projects. A) B) C) D) E)

Strategic Conformance Compliance (must do) Operational Sacred cow

88) In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio, projects that are typically needed to support current operations are _________ projects.

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A) B) C) D) E)

Strategic Conformance Compliance (must do) Operational Sacred cow

89) In classifying the kinds of projects an organization has in its portfolio, projects that directly support the organization's long-term mission are ________ projects. A) B) C) D) E)

Strategic Conformance Compliance (must do) Operational Sacred cow

90) When considering criteria used to select projects, capturing a larger market share or reducing the dependency on unreliable suppliers would both be examples of __________ criteria. A) B) C) D) E)

Financial Nonfinancial Operational Supplier Multiple

91) In some cases, organizations will use a(n) __________ to solicit ideas for projects when the knowledge requirements for the project are not available in the organization. A) B) C) D)

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RFQ (Request for Quote) RFP (Request for Project) RFP (Request for People) RFP (Request for Proposal)

92) A list of potential projects, several criteria, weights for those criteria, and criteria scores for those projects are all typically included on a(n) ___________ matrix. A) B) C) D) E)

Multiple criteria Project screening Project selection Project elimination Project assessment

93) __________ the portfolio system involves monitoring and adjusting selection criteria to reflect the strategic focus of the organization. A) B) C) D) E)

Managing Designing Creating Inventing Devising

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 94) "Politics and project management should not mix." Agree or disagree and support your position.

95)

Why do project managers need to understand strategy?

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96) Why is it important that organizations develop a process to align selected projects with strategic goals?

97) The typical Strategic Management Process includes four activities. Identify and briefly describe each of those four activities.

98) The advantages of successful project portfolio management systems are becoming well recognized. Briefly describe three.

99)

Identify and briefly describe the five characteristics of effective objectives.

100)

What is a SWOT analysis and how does it relate to the Strategic Management Process?

101) What is the implementation gap and how does it impact project management? How can it be prevented?

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102) Identify and briefly discuss the three classes of projects usually found in an organization's project portfolio.

103) Management of a portfolio system requires two major inputs from senior management. What are they?

104) Why is profitability alone not an adequate measure of a project's value to an organization?

105)

What are the two major shortcomings of using the Checklist approach to select projects?

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 02_8e 1) TRUE 2) FALSE 3) TRUE 4) FALSE 5) TRUE 6) FALSE 7) TRUE 8) TRUE 9) TRUE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) FALSE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) TRUE 16) FALSE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) FALSE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) FALSE 23) TRUE 24) TRUE 25) C 26) B Version 1

27) A 28) A 29) B 30) E 31) D 32) C 33) A 34) C 35) D 36) B 37) C 38) E 39) A 40) A 41) C 42) E 43) B 44) D 45) A 46) E 47) D 48) C 49) D 50) B 51) E 52) E 53) B 54) A 55) C 56) E Version 1

57) B 58) E 59) E 60) E 61) C 62) D 63) C 64) C 65) A 66) D 67) D 68) A 69) C 70) B 71) A 72) B 73) E 74) C 75) D 76) A 77) B 78) E 79) C 80) A 81) C 82) B 83) A 84) B 85) E 86) B Version 1

87) C 88) D 89) A 90) B 91) D 92) B 93) A 94) Projects and politics invariably mix and effective project managers recognize that any significant project has political ramifications. A good project selection process will minimize the impact of internal politics. 95) Project managers need to understand strategy so they can make appropriate decisions and adjustments and so they can be effective project advocates. 96) A result of not having a process that aligns selected projects with strategic goals is poor utilization of resources. Companies that have developed this process have more cooperation across the organization, perform better on projects and have fewer projects. 97) (1) Review and define the organizational mission; (2) Analyze and formulate strategies that align with mission; (3) Set objectives to achieve the strategy; (4) Implement strategies through projects. 98) The following are all examples of acceptable answers: (1) Builds discipline into project selection process; (2) Links project selection to strategic metrics; (3) Prioritizes project proposals across a common set of criteria, rather than politics or emotion; (4) Allocates resources to projects that align with strategic direction; (5) Balances risk across all projects; (5) Justifies killing projects that do not support organization strategy; (6) Improves communication and supports agreement on project goals. 99) (1) Specific; (2) Measurable; (3) Assignable; (4) Realistic; (5) Time related Version 1

100) It is an assessment of the internal and external environments and is the link between reviewing the current mission statement and the development of goals and objectives that support organization strategy. 101) The implementation gap refers to the lack of understanding and consensus of organization strategy among top and middle-level managers. If managers lack a common understanding of the priority for a given set of projects, then the achievement of long-range goals will be impossible. A project portfolio system can go a long way to reduce or even eliminate this problem. 102) (1) Compliance (must do); (2) Operational; (3) Strategic 103) Senior management must provide guidance in establishing selection criteria that strongly align with the current organization strategies and they must decide how they wish to balance the available organizational resources among different types of projects. 104) Today management is interested in identifying the potential mix of projects that will yield the best use of human and capital resources to maximize return on investment in the long run. Factors such as researching new technology, public image, ethical position, protection of the environment, core competencies, and strategic fit might be important criteria for selecting projects. 105) The Checklist approach fails to determine the relative importance of the project to the firm and fails to compare projects to other potential projects.

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CHAPTER 3 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) While organization culture is important to the overall function of an organization, it has minor influence on its project management. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) There are often considerable differences in how projects are managed within certain firms, even when similar project management structures are being used. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) The projectized form of project management structure is commonly used when one functional area plays a dominant role in completing the project or has a dominant interest in the success of the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) The matrix form of project management structure is a good choice when resource usage needs to be optimized by having individuals work on multiple projects while still performing functional duties. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) A disadvantage of using the functional form of project management structure is that projects generally take longer to complete. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) The functional project team is usually physically separated from the parent organization and given the primary directive of accomplishing the objectives of the project. Version 1

⊚ ⊚

true false

7) In the projectized form of project management structure, there is limited technological expertise when compared to the functional or matrix organization. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) The projectized form of project management structure is a good choice when speed of completion is important and the project needs to be implemented without directly disrupting ongoing operations. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) One of the major disadvantages of the projectized form of project management structure is that it tends to be more expensive than other forms of organization. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) One advantage of a matrix project management structure is that it is fast and easy to implement. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) A matrix project management structure is a hybrid organizational form in which a horizontal project management structure is "overlaid" on the normal functional hierarchy. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) When three forms of the matrix project management structure are considered, all share the same advantages and disadvantages and at an equal level. Version 1

⊚ ⊚

true false

13) When determining the most appropriate project management structure, considerations need to be made at the organizational level and at the project level. ⊚ ⊚

true false

14) Generally, the more autonomy and authority the project manager and the project team need to be successful, the more appropriate to implement either a dedicated project team or a strong project management structure. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) As discussed in the text, the three forms of matrix project management are weak, mixed, and strong. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) Within a matrix project management structure, the extent to which the project manager has direct authority over project participants depends on whether the matrix is weak, balanced, or strong. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) In a balanced matrix form of project management, the project manager is responsible for defining what needs to be accomplished while the functional managers are concerned with how it will be accomplished. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

18) The matrix form of project management is notable for the tension it creates between functional managers and project managers who both bring critical expertise and perspectives to the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

19) Member identity refers to the degree to which work activities are organized around groups rather than individuals. ⊚ ⊚

true false

20) Control is the cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which management decisions take into account the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) Organizational culture refers to a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions which bind people together. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) Unit integration is the cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which units within the organization are encouraged to operate in a coordinated or independent manner. ⊚ ⊚

true false

23) There are strong connections among project management structure, organizational culture, and project success. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

24) Certain aspects of the culture of an organization support successful project management while other aspects deter or interfere with effective management. ⊚ ⊚

25)

true false

The ten primary characteristics of an organization’s culture all exist on a continuum. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 26) Organizational culture has a connection to projects. It (organizational culture) is best explained as organizational _____. A) B) C) D) E)

personality hierarchy reporting relationships background management style

27) Organization structures have a connection to projects. Which of the following is NOT true of project management structures? A) They provide a framework for launching and implementing projects. B) They appropriately balance the needs of both the parent organization and the project. C) In selecting a management structure, the culture of the organization is not a huge consideration. D) The project itself should be considered when determining which structure is best. E) They help determine who has most authority regarding managing the project.

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28) Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of organizing projects within a matrix arrangement? A) B) C) D) E)

Dysfunctional conflict between functional managers and project managers. Expensive. Infighting. Stressful. Longer project duration.

29) The arrangement that manages projects within the existing organizational structure is __________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

functional balanced matrix weak matrix strong matrix projectized

30) A young professional man is working on a project involving the upgrading of a management information system. The project is being managed by the information systems department with the coordination of other departments occurring through normal channels. This professional is working in a _________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

31)

functional balanced matrix weak matrix strong matrix projectized

Which of the following is an advantage of a functional project management organization?

Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

Maximum flexibility in the use of staff Good integration across functional units Shorter project duration Strong motivation of project team members Longer project duration

32) Which of the following is a disadvantage of a functional project management organization? A) B) C) D) E)

33)

Lack of motivation of project team members Longer project duration Lack of focus on the project Poor integration All of these are disadvantages of functional project management organization

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a projectized organization? A) B) C) D) E)

It is expensive Longer project duration Poor integration High complexity Lack of focus on the project

34) A project team that operates with a full-time project manager as a separate unit from the rest of the organization is structured using ________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

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functional balanced matrix weak matrix strong matrix projectized

35)

Which of the following combinations represents the extremes of project organization? A) B) C) D) E)

Strong matrix and balanced matrix Functional and projectized Projectized and balanced matrix Projectized and strong matrix Strong matrix and functional

36) A technology firm has assigned a project manager for each of the five new-product teams. The managers, as well as the project team members, work on the projects on a full-time basis. The structure being used is ________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

functional balanced matrix weak matrix strong matrix projectized

37) All of the following are organizational considerations when determining the right project management structure EXCEPT A) how important project management is to the success of the organization. B) what percentage of core work involves projects. C) resource availability. D) assess current practices and determine any changes that are needed to more effectively manage projects. E) budget constraints.

38) A project manager is considering how to structure a project team that will not directly disrupt ongoing operations. The project needs to be done quickly and a high level of motivation will be needed in order to do that. For this situation, the ______ organization would be the best choice.

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A) B) C) D) E)

functional balanced matrix weak matrix strong matrix projectized

39) At the project level, which of the following is a factor that should influence the choice of project management structure? A) B) C) D) E) structure

40)

The size of the project The novelty of the project Budget and time constraints The strategic importance of the project All of these are factors that should influence the choice of project management

Which are the three different matrix systems discussed in the text? A) B) C) D) E)

Functional, Weak, Strong Balanced, Functional, Projectized Weak, Strong, Balanced Neutral, Weak, Strong Functional, Neutral, Projectized

41) _________ organization is a hybrid form in which a horizontal project management structure is "overlaid" in the normal functional hierarchy. A) B) C) D) E)

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Functional Matrix Project Balanced Neutral

42) Which of the following is NOT true regarding organizing projects within a matrix arrangement? A) Its flexibility supports a strong project focus that helps alleviate stress among project team members. B) It is designed to optimally utilize resources by having individuals work on multiple projects as well as being capable of performing normal functional duties. C) There are usually two chains of command. D) Provides a dual focus between functional/technical expertise and project requirements that is missing in either the project team or the functional approach. E) It is a hybrid form of organization that combines characteristics of both dedicated project teams and functional organization.

43) In which of the following is the balance of authority strongly in favor of the functional managers? A) B) C) D) E)

44)

All of the following are functions culture plays in an organization EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

45)

Weak matrix Balanced matrix Strong matrix Matrix Neutral matrix

it provides a sense of identity. it helps legitimize the management system. it replaces the need for a project selection process. it helps create social order. it clarifies and reinforces standards of behavior.

How does someone learn more about an organization's culture?

Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

Read about the organization Interpret stories about the organization Observe how people interact within the organization Study the physical characteristics of the organization All of these are examples of how someone can learn more about an organization's

culture

46) Which organization's culture is NOT a culture a project manager has to be able to operate in or interact with? A) B) C) D) E)

The culture of their parent organization The culture of government and regulatory agencies The culture of vendors and subcontractors The culture of the project's customer or client All of these are cultures a project manager has to be able to operate in or interact

with

47) Which structure would be most appropriate for developing a new, highly innovative product that has strict time constraints? A) B) C) D) E)

48)

Functional organization Balanced matrix Dedicated project team Strong matrix Weak matrix

From the list below, which is NOT a primary characteristic of organizational culture?

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A) B) C) D) E)

49)

Control Team emphasis Profitability Conflict tolerance Risk tolerance

Factors in identifying cultural characteristics include all the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

Norms. Customs. Values. Attitude. All of these are factors in identifying cultural characteristics.

50) Who is responsible for determining how tasks will be done in a weak matrix project management structure? A) B) C) D) E)

The functional manager The project manager Both the functional manager and the project manager are responsible There is no rule established for who takes responsibility This is negotiated

51) Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which employees identify with the organization as a whole rather than with their type of job or field of professional expertise? A) B) C) D) E)

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Member identity Team emphasis Managerial focus Unit integration Control

52) Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which work activities are organized around groups rather than individuals? A) B) C) D) E)

Member identity Team emphasis Managerial focus Unit integration Control

53) Which of the following cultural characteristic relates to the degree to which rules, policies, and direct supervision are used to oversee and control employee behavior? A) B) C) D) E)

Member identity Team Emphasis Managerial focus Unit integration Control

54) Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which groups within the organization are encouraged to operate in a coordinated or independent manner? A) B) C) D) E)

Member identity Team emphasis Managerial focus Unit integration Control

55) Which of the following cultural characteristics relates to the degree to which management focuses on outcomes rather than on techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes?

Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

56)

Risk tolerance Reward criteria Conflict tolerance Means versus end orientation Open-systems focus

The personality of an organization is a simple explanation of ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

Organizational structure Organizational culture Organizational governance Organizational identity All of these

57) The approach to project management that uses the existing hierarchy of the organization to manage projects is ___________ organization and it uses no overlaid structure. A) B) C) D) E)

functional projectized dedicated project team balanced matrix weak matrix

58) No radical alteration in the design or operation of the parent organization is a major advantage of __________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

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projectized dedicated project team weak matrix strong matrix functional

59) Two of the major disadvantages of the ________ organizational approach are that projects may lack focus and it can take longer to complete projects. A) B) C) D) E)

projectized strong matrix functional dedicated project team weak matrix

60) Firms where projects are the dominant form of business and the entire organization is designed to support project teams are usually structured as a(n) _________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

projectized dedicated project team weak matrix strong matrix functional

61) A high level of motivation and the tendency for projects to get done more quickly are benefits of using the ________ organizational approach to project management. A) B) C) D) E)

dedicated project team weak matrix strong matrix functional projectized

62) High project costs and difficult post-project transition are two evident weaknesses of a(n) __________ organization.

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A) B) C) D) E)

dedicated project team weak matrix strong matrix functional projectized

63) In a(n) ________ system, there are usually two chains of command, one along functional lines and the other along project lines. A) B) C) D) E)

dedicated project team matrix unified functional projectized

64) The ________ structure is designed to optimally utilize resources by having individuals work on multiple projects as well as being capable of performing normal functional duties. A) B) C) D) E)

matrix unified functional projectized dedicated project team

65) A matrix in which the balance of authority is strongly on the side of the project manager is described as __________. A) B) C) D) E)

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weak strong functional projectized dedicated project team

66) A matrix in which the balance of authority is strongly on the side of the functional manager is described as _________. A) B) C) D) E)

weak unified strong projectized balanced

67) High levels of stress and dysfunctional conflict are disadvantages of a(n) _________ organization. A) B) C) D) E)

matrix unified functional projectized dedicated project team

68) The ________ matrix form of project organization is likely to enhance project integration, diminish internal power struggles, and ultimately improve control of project activities and costs. A) B) C) D) E)

weak unified strong projectized balanced

69) The ________ matrix form of project organization is likely to improve technical quality as well as provide a better system for managing conflict across projects because the functional manager assigns personnel to different projects.

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A) B) C) D) E)

weak unified strong projectized balanced

70) The ________ matrix form of project organization can achieve better equilibrium between technical and project requirements, but it is a very delicate system to create and manage. A) B) C) D) E)

weak unified strong projectized balanced

71) ________ project teams should be used for urgent projects in which the nature of the work requires people working steadily from beginning to end. A) B) C) D) E)

Weak Dedicated Strong Projectized Balanced

72) Conflict tolerance, risk tolerance, reward criteria and unit integration are all examples of cultural __________. A) B) C) D) E)

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attributes characteristics dimensions fundamentals considerations

73) Research suggests that there is a strong connection between project management structure, organizational ________, and project success. A) B) C) D) E)

governance personality culture values mission

74) Organization ________ refers to a system of shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions which bind people together, thereby creating shared meanings. A) B) C) D) E)

governance personality values culture mission

75) The more autonomy and authority the project manager and project team need to be successful, the more appropriate a dedicated project team or a(n) ________ matrix structure is to manage the project. A) B) C) D) E)

weak dedicated strong projectized balanced

76) When most of the project work can be done within a specified department and any coordination with other departments can be done easily through normal management channels, ___________ organization is most appropriate.

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A) B) C) D) E)

functional weak matrix balanced matrix strong matrix projectized

77) The cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which rewards such as promotion and salary increases are allocated according to employee performance rather than seniority, favoritism, or other nonperformance factors is known as _____________. A) B) C) D) E)

member identity team emphasis management focus unit integration reward criteria

78) The cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which employees are encouraged to air conflicts and criticisms openly is known as ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

open-systems focus team emphasis conflict tolerance unit integration reward criteria

79) The cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which the organization monitors and responds to changes in the external environment is known as ___________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

open-systems focus team emphasis conflict tolerance unit integration reward criteria

80) The cultural characteristic that refers to the degree to which employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative, and risk seeking is known as _____________. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

Growing pains can arise from implementing a matrix organization due to A) B) C) D) E)

82)

open-systems focus risk tolerance means versus ends orientation team emphasis control

influence from other organizations. the long lead time of implementation. cost and supply chain factors. types of projects an organization is attempting to accomplish. conflicts and tensions that arise.

Which of the below is a not considered a strength for a matrix organization? A) B) C) D) E)

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Strong project focus. Flexibility. Easier post-project transition. Streamlined project selection. Better resource sharing and utilization.

83) Identified weaknesses of high expense, conflict between the team and the organization, and difficult post-project transitions are typical of A) B) C) D) E)

84)

It is common to use the functional organizational model when A) B) C) D) E)

85)

matrixed teams. functional teams. dedicated teams. projectized teams. None of these.

there is direct influence from outside organizations. the project manager has functional authority over any of the department heads. project priority is high and an early, fast finish is required. one functional area plays a dominant role in the project. a technical organizational model will not work.

If you are considering moving to a matrixed organization, you will need A) B) C) D) E)

time. budget allocated. strong leadership. both time and budget allocated. both time and strong leadership.

86) There are four different models of a Project Management Office (PMO). Which of the following is not one of the four?

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A) B) C) D) E)

87)

Weather station. 911 call center. Control tower. Resource pool. Command and control center.

PMOs emerged in response to _____. A) calls for the same from project managers B) calls for the same from corporate executives C) a poor track record in finishing projects on time, within budget, and according to

plan D) a good track record in finishing projects on time, within budget, and according to plan E)

an excess of unused project personnel

88) Which of the following PMO types would address questions like ‘How are our projects progressing? Which ones are on track? Which ones are not? How are we doing in terms of cost? Which projects are over budget?’ A) B) C) D) E)

89)

Weather station. 911 call center. Control tower. Resource pool. Command and control center.

The primary function of the control tower PMO is to improve project ______.

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A) B) C) D) E)

90)

scheduling budgeting execution scheduling and budgeting quality of the resulting product

The goal of the resource pool PMO is to provide the organization with a cadre of ______. A) B) C) D) E)

resources tools templates resources, tools and templates trained project managers and professionals

91) Which of the following PMO types makes sure the project is aligned with business objectives and conforms to accepted practices? A) B) C) D) E)

Weather station. 911 call center. Control tower. Resource pool. Command and control center.

92) An indicator of project success within an organization is the strength of the ______ to support the project management structure. A) B) C) D) E)

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project manager program firm organization culture top management

93)

An important function of an organization’s culture is to A) B) C) D) E)

94)

help legitimize the management system. complete projects on budget and on schedule. provide emotional intelligence for decision making. determine the types of projects an organization is to accomplish. make the execution of complex projects easier.

In all cases of looking for an ideal project culture, there is always the need for A) B) C) D) E)

more funding. balance among multiple project dimensions. considerable support from all levels of management. a very strong project management office. a project sponsor

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 95) There are often considerable differences in how projects are managed within certain firms, even if the same project management structure is being used. Explain.

96) What is more important for project success, the formal project management structure or the culture of the parent organization?

97) Identify and briefly describe at least two advantages and two disadvantages of organizing projects within the functional organization. Version 1

98) Identify and briefly describe at least two advantages and two disadvantages of organizing project teams as dedicated project teams.

99) Identify and briefly describe at least two advantages and two disadvantages of organizing project teams using the matrix management approach.

100) Identify and briefly describe the three forms of organizing projects using the matrix management approach.

101) Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantage of a weak project management structure and a strong project management structure.

102) Identify and briefly describe three of the 10 primary characteristics of organization culture.

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103) Culture performs several important functions in organizations. Clarifying and reinforcing standards of behavior is one of these. Explain and provide an example.

104) Describe the difference between a "strong" or "thick" culture and a "thin" or "weak" culture.

105) Briefly describe two ways to diagnose the culture of an organization and give an example of each.

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 03_8e 1) FALSE 2) TRUE 3) FALSE 4) TRUE 5) TRUE 6) FALSE 7) TRUE 8) TRUE 9) TRUE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) FALSE 13) TRUE 14) TRUE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) FALSE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) FALSE 23) TRUE 24) TRUE 25) TRUE 26) A Version 1

27) C 28) B 29) A 30) A 31) A 32) E 33) A 34) E 35) B 36) E 37) E 38) E 39) E 40) C 41) B 42) A 43) A 44) C 45) E 46) E 47) C 48) C 49) D 50) A 51) A 52) B 53) E 54) D 55) D 56) B Version 1

57) A 58) E 59) C 60) A 61) E 62) E 63) B 64) A 65) B 66) A 67) A 68) C 69) A 70) E 71) B 72) B 73) C 74) D 75) C 76) A 77) E 78) C 79) A 80) B 81) B 82) D 83) C 84) D 85) E 86) B Version 1

87) C 88) A 89) C 90) E 91) E 92) D 93) A 94) B 95) Many researchers attribute these differences to the organizational culture. The organizational culture reflects the personality of the organization. 96) The culture of the parent organization is more important than the formal project management structure. The project management structure should derive from the culture of the organization. The culture should reveal what types of projects the organization will do and in turn will be reflected by the project management structure. 97) Advantages include no alteration in the design or operation of the parent organization, flexibility in use of staff, in-depth expertise, and easy post-project transition. Disadvantages include lack of focus, poor integration, longer project duration and lack of motivation and ownership. 98) Advantages include simplicity, shorter project duration, strong cohesiveness of project team members and cross-functional integration. Disadvantages include high cost, internal strife, limited technological expertise and difficult post-project transition. 99) Advantages include high efficiency, strong project focus, easier post-project transition and flexibility. Disadvantages include dysfunctional conflict, infighting, high levels of stress, and longer project duration.

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100) (1) Weak matrix; (2) Balanced matrix; (3) Strong matrix. In the weak matrix structure the functional manager has most authority and decision making, deciding how things will be done and who will do them. The project manager does scheduling, prepares budgets and facilitates the project. In the balanced matrix both project manager and functional manager share a delicate balance of authority and responsibility. In the strong matrix structure, the project manager has all of the responsibility and authority while the functional manager merely provides the human resources. 101) The strong matrix is likely to enhance project integration, diminish internal power struggles and improve control. However, technical quality may suffer. The weak matrix is likely to improve technical quality and provide better conflict management; however, there may be poor project integration. 102) Member identity, team emphasis, management focus, unit integration, unit integration, control, risk tolerance, reward criteria, conflict tolerance, means vs. end orientation and open system focus. 103) Culture defines what is permissible and what inappropriate behavior is. These standards span a wide range of behavior from dress code and working hours to challenging the judgment of superiors. 104) "Strong" or "thick" are adjectives used to denote a culture in which the organization's core values and customs are widely shared within the entire organization. Conversely, a "thin" or "weak" culture is one that is not widely shared or practiced within a firm. 105) (1) Study the physical characteristics of an organization; (2) Read about the organization; (3) Observe how people interact within the organization; (4) Interpret stories and folklore surrounding the organization.

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CHAPTER 4 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Scope creep occurs when your project is completed over-budget. ⊚ ⊚

true false

There is a strong correlation between project success and clear project scope definition. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) Project scope describes what you expect to deliver to your customers when the project is complete. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) One of the items included on a project scope statement or checklist is the acceptance criteria. ⊚ ⊚

An expected output over the life of a project would be classified as a target. ⊚ ⊚

true false

An activity that represents a major segment of work is a good example of a milestone. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) The fact that a new home being built must meet local building codes is an example of a limit and exclusion. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) If a project criterion should be optimized if at all possible, it is classified as being constrained. ⊚ ⊚

If the project time should be accepted, then the project must be completed on time. ⊚ ⊚

10)

true false

During the course of a project, it is possible that the project priorities may change. ⊚ ⊚

11)

true false

Profit, time and performance are all basic classifications of project priorities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) Integrating a project's work packages within the organization's management structure is known as work breakdown structure. ⊚ ⊚

true false

13) The highest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is the first major deliverable for the project and the lowest element is a work package.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

14) Process breakdown structures are used when the size and the scope of the project do not warrant an elaborate WBS or OBS. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) Responsibility matrices are used primarily with small and medium-sized projects and have limited use in large projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) A communication plan should include limits on who has access to certain kinds of information. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) The intersection of work packages and the organizational unit creates a project control point called a cost account. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) The project charter provides the project manager with written authority to use organizational resources for project activities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

19) For large companies, the organization breakdown structure is used rather than the work breakdown structure.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

20) The hierarchical work breakdown structure provides management with information appropriate to each level. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) The final step in defining a project is coding the organization breakdown structure or OBS for the information system. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) The use of "acceptance criteria" only refers to projects with external customers who are paying for the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

23) A typical responsibility matrix will include not only those responsible for a specific task but can also include those who supply support and assistance. ⊚ ⊚

true false

24) Creating a communication plan typically follows a process that begins with a stakeholder analysis. ⊚ ⊚

25)

true false

Responsibility Matrices are useful for assigning and organizing responsibilities.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

26) A Process Breakdown Structure is a replacement for the Work Breakdown Structure for projects with tangible outcomes. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 27) Scope definition is among the first tasks that must happen in projects. How is project scope defined? A) B) C) D) E)

The length of your project and how much it will cost The deliverables or outputs during the course of the project The range of resources you have available and their capabilities What you expect to deliver to your customer when the project is complete The range of customer expectations

28) A project professional is viewing a document that delineates the specific deliverables and sub-deliverables required to complete the writing of a technical support manual. He is most likely viewing the A) B) C) D) E)

29)

responsibility matrix. organization breakdown structure. work breakdown structure. priority matrix. work package.

Five steps are involved when defining a project. Which of the following is the first?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Establish project priorities Define the project scope Verify the budget available Assign team members to work on the project Determine the required completion date

30) A project professional has just been assigned manager of a project to develop a new advertising campaign for an established product. What is the second step the project manager should do? A) B) C) D) E)

Establish project priorities. Define the project scope. Verify the budget available. Assign team members to work on the project. Determine the required completion date.

31) Scope creep is a big issue when managing projects. Which of the following is NOT true regarding scope creep? A) B) C) D) E)

32)

It is the tendency for the project scope to expand over time. It is when the project budget is exceeded. It most likely caused by a scope statement that is too broad. It can have both positive and negative impacts on a project. It can lead to added costs and possible project delays.

An expected output over the life of a project would be classified as A) B) C) D) E)

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a target. a product. an end object. a deliverable. an objective.

33)

Within any project, the first step of project scope definition is to A) B) C) D) E)

analyze the strategic plan. analyze the current budget plan. meet with team members. select team members. define the overall objective to meet the customer's needs.

34) In reviewing the project plan, a project professional sees that the first prototype must be completed by October 12. This would be best classified as a A) B) C) D) E)

project target. limit item. milestone. project objective. critical goal.

35) The ability of a 911 emergency system to identify the caller's phone number and location is considered to be a A) B) C) D) E)

technical requirement. milestone. project limit. project exclusion. project deliverable.

36) You are writing a project scope definition document. Which of the following is NOT one of the items that would appear on a project scope statement or checklist?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Deliverables Technical requirements Project Objectives Work breakdown structure Limits and exclusions

37) "To construct a high-quality, custom home within five months at costs not to exceed $150,000" is best classified as A) B) C) D) E)

38)

a deliverable. a milestone. an objective. a limit. an exclusion.

There are 5 steps involved when defining a project; which of the following is the second? A) B) C) D) E)

Analyze the strategic plan Analyze the current budget plan Establish project priorities Select team members Define the major objectives to meet the customer's needs

39) One of the primary jobs of a project manager is to manage the trade-offs associated with the project. Which of the following is NOT one of the basic classifications of project priorities? A) B) C) D) E)

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Profit Cost Time Performance All of these are basic classifications.

40) After reviewing the project scope statement, the owner specifies that costs MUST stay within $400,000. This criterion is classified as A) B) C) D) E)

constrained. enhanced. accepted. limited. fixed.

41) You have just been given a project that has a specific completion date. After a discussion with top management you find that while the date is important the cost is more important and a slip in delivery would be acceptable if required to meet the cost targets. The completion date is best classified as A) B) C) D) E)

constrained. reduced. accepted. limited. optional.

42) The _________ is used to assist in making project trade-offs among schedule, budget, and performance objectives. A) B) C) D) E)

43)

responsibility matrix work breakdown structure project priority matrix work package criterion matrix

The lowest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is

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A) B) C) D) E)

44)

The highest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is A) B) C) D) E)

45)

a deliverable. a work package. a cost account. a lowest sub-deliverable. an object.

a work package. sub-deliverables. a cost account. major deliverables. the project.

All of the following are ways the WBS helps in managing projects EXCEPT

A) with cost and time estimates the WBS makes it possible to plan, schedule and budget the project. B) it provides management with information appropriate to each level. C) can be used to define communication channels. D) allows the project manager to establish the overall objective of the project. E) as it is developed, organizational units and individuals can be assigned responsibility of work packages.

46)

All of the following are usually included in a work package EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

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work to be done. the time needed to complete the work. a single person who is responsible for its completion. all the costs for the work package. All of these are included in a work package.

47) The integration of the lowest level of the WBS with the organizational units responsible for performing the work is known as A) B) C) D) E)

48)

responsibility matrix. organization breakdown structure. work breakdown structure. priority matrix. process breakdown structure.

There are 5 steps involved when defining a project; which of the following is the last? A) B) C) D) E)

Code the WBS for tracking Assign the cost account to a manager Assign the work package to a manager Develop the responsibility matrix All of these are included in the final step.

49) When work packages are integrated with organizational units, a control point is created called a A) B) C) D) E)

responsibility matrix. priority matrix. work package. cost account. project overlap.

50) The WBS is best suited for projects that have a tangible outcome. Which of the following is used when the final outcome of the project is less tangible or is a product of a series of steps or phases?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Responsibility matrix Organization breakdown structure A work breakdown structure is still effective for these types of projects. Priority matrix Process breakdown structure

51) If a project is small and does not require an elaborate system to assign tasks, which of the following is a good choice? A) B) C) D) E)

Responsibility matrix Organization breakdown structure Work breakdown structure Priority matrix Process breakdown structure

52) The project scope statement indicates that the client is responsible for training the people who will be using the equipment and that the project team will train the client's trainers. This is an example of A) B) C) D) E)

project objectives. deliverables. limits and exclusions. technical requirements. milestones.

53) The tendency for the project deliverables to expand over time—usually by changing requirements, specifications, and priorities—is called

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A) B) C) D) E)

54)

Which of the following is a good example of a Process Breakdown Structure? A) B) C) D) E)

55)

scope erosion. scope creep. project bloat. scope enhancement. project add-ons.

New car prototype New software program New instruction manual New sports stadium New project management book

Which of the following is least likely to be included in a work package? A) B) C) D) E)

How long the work package should take to complete A description of work to be performed Overhead expenses How much the work package should cost to complete The person responsible for the work package

56) Having a strong communication plan can go a long way toward mitigating project problems. A communication plan should address all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D)

when the information will be communicated. how information should be communicated and to whom. which methods will be used to gather and store information. what information needs to be collected and are there limits as to who has access to

all of these should be addressed in a communication plan.

it.

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57) A communication plan is a key component for giving guidelines on how to track project ____. A) B) C) D) E)

58)

issues. costs. defects. Both costs and defects. All of these choices are correct.

A “Dissemination Mode” is A) B) C) D) E)

how project schedules are version controlled. a description of what is important to project stakeholders. what defines how project communication is to occur. None of these choices are correct. All of these choices are correct.

59) A key aspect to communication plans are that they allow the project manager and the project team to A) B) C) D) E)

60)

meet deadlines more effectively. focus on defect resolution. effectively control costs on the project. actively control the flow of information. be more creative in their communications.

A Responsibility Matrix will clarify

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A) B) C) D) E)

tasks. supports. responsibilities. who supports and who is responsible. All of these alternatives are correct.

61) One way for a project manager to communicate the authority granted to individual project members is to publish a A) B) C) D) E)

work breakdown structure. project plan. project hierarchy of reporting authority. responsibility matrix. project communication plan.

62) A Process Breakdown Structure can provide a reasonable alternative to a Work Breakdown structure for an extensive development project if A) B) C) D) E)

phase exit criteria are firmly established. there are appropriate predecessor relationships in place. deliverables are tightly aligned to milestones. tangible products are being developed. risk planning is included early in the project.

63) A selective outline of the project that ensures the identification of all tasks and an understanding of what is to be done is called a(n) ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

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process breakdown structure work breakdown structure organization breakdown structure project breakdown structure product breakdown structure

64)

The first step in planning any project is to ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

establish project priorities create the project breakdown structure define the project scope create the product breakdown structure create the organization breakdown structure

65) The definition of the end result or mission of your project, or what you expect to deliver to your customer when the project is complete is the project ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

scope bill or invoice product test lessons learned

66) Significant events in a project that occur at a specific point in time, are natural control points, and are easily recognized by project participants are known as ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

tasks activities milestones due dates kill points

67) The need for a functioning computer in countries having different electrical systems is an example of a ________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

project objective electrical incompatibility justification acceptance criteria technical requirement

68) The agreement that training will be the responsibility of the customer and not the team is an example of a project ________. A) B) C) D) E)

product scope description limits and exclusions technical requirements acceptance criteria milestones

69) The last element of a project scope statement or checklist ensures an understanding and agreement of expectations. This is known as ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

deliverables acceptance criteria milestones limits and exclusions technical requirements

70) In regard to project priorities, if a project parameter such as the completion date or the cost of a project is fixed and must be met, it is considered ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

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enhanced accepted constrained static unchangeable

71) Taking advantage of opportunities to reduce costs or accelerate the schedule are examples of project criteria classified as ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

enhanced accepted constrained static unchangeable

72) In making project trade-offs, a criterion that is allowed not to meet the original target, for example, allowing the schedule to slip, is classified as ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

enhanced accepted constrained static unchangeable

73) A technique that clearly establishes priorities with customers and top management so as to create shared expectations and avoid misunderstandings is developing a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

work breakdown structure process breakdown structure organization breakdown structure project priority matrix responsibility matrix

74) The result of subdividing the work of a project into smaller and smaller work elements is called a(n) __________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

work breakdown structure process breakdown structure organization breakdown structure project priority matrix responsibility matrix

75) The most detailed element in the hierarchical breakdown of the project work to be accomplished is known as the __________. A) B) C) D) E)

deliverable subdeliverable work package lowest subdeliverable cost account

76) The intersection of work packages and the organizational unit creates a project control point called a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

deliverable subdeliverable work package lowest subdeliverable cost account

77) When specific work packages are assigned to a particular group or person within the organization, the result is called a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

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work breakdown structure process breakdown structure organization breakdown structure project priority matrix responsibility matrix

78)

The final step in defining a project is __________ the WBS for the information system. A) B) C) D) E)

validating the scope finalizing requirements integrating the WBS with the organization coding the WBS assigning each work package to a single person

79) The WBS is best suited for design and construction projects that have tangible outcomes. When the final outcome of the project is less tangible or it is the result of a series of steps or phases, some project managers choose to utilize a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Modified Process Breakdown Structure (PBS) Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS) Project Priority Matrix (PPM) Responsibility Matrix (RM)

80) Once the __________ has been established, it is the basis for making trade-off decisions later in the project. A) B) C) D) E)

work breakdown structure process breakdown structure organization breakdown structure project priority matrix responsibility matrix

81) The type of information that will need to be collected during a project and who will receive this information can be found in the project __________ plan.

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A) B) C) D) E)

communication requirements responsibility assignment creation and design

82) One tool that is used by project managers of small projects to summarize the tasks to be accomplished and who is responsible for what on a project is called a(n) __________. A) B) C) D) E)

task assignment table activity assignment matrix responsibility matrix task responsibility table activity responsibility table

83) A document that is issued by upper management and provides the project manager with written authority to use organizational resources for project activities is called a(n) __________. A) B) C) D) E)

84)

project charter statement of work requirements document project plan scope statement

Scope creep can be reduced by carefully writing a(n) __________. A) B) C) D) E)

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project charter statement of work requirements document project plan scope statement

85) One of the primary jobs of a project manager is to manage the trade-offs among time, cost, and performance. To do so, the project manager must define and understand the ___________ of the project. A) B) C) D) E)

project charter communications plan priorities requirements WBS

86) The gradual expansion of project requirements, specifications and priorities during the execution of project is known as ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

scope enhancement scope creep WBS vagueness an absence of scope control expanding requirements

87) A robust ______________ can go a long way to reducing project problems over the life of the project and will establish how, when and to whom information must be supplied. A) B) C) D) E)

project charter priorities matrix requirements doc communications plan WBS

88) Scope creep results in changes to requirements, specifications, and priorities and these in turn result in _____ and _____.

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A) B) C) D) E)

89)

Which of the following is not a common cause of scope creep? A) B) C) D) E)

90)

added costs, budgetary overruns project delays, schedule overruns increases in scope, compromised requirements cost overruns, delays None of these alternatives is correct.

Poor requirements analysis Not involving users early enough Underestimating project complexity Lack of change control Policy change

In many cases, the causes of scope creep reflect a misfit between ____.

A) traditional project management methods being applied to high uncertainty projects B) agile project management methods being applied to projects with stable, static scope C) traditional project management methods being applied to projects with high certainty D) agile project management methods being applied to projects with high predictability E) agile project management methods being applied to projects involving the application of uncertain technology

91) If the project scope needs to change, it is critical to have a sound _______ in place that records the change. A) B) C) D) E)

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requirements document project charter change control process WBS statement of work

92) Which of the following items on the Project Scope Checklist answers the question “What is the problem or opportunity the project is addressing?” A) B) C) D) E)

Project objective Product scope description Justification Deliverables Milestones

93) Which of the following items on the Project Scope Checklist answers the question “What end result is wanted?” A) B) C) D) E)

Project objective Product scope description Justification Deliverables Milestones

94) Which of the following items has to do with the expected measurable outputs over the life of the project? A) B) C) D) E)

Project objective Product scope description Justification Deliverables Milestones

95) Which of the following items has to do with the overall goal of meeting your customer’s needs?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Project objective Product scope description Justification Deliverables Milestones

96) Which of the following items has to do with significant events in the life of a project, such as completion of deliverables, at a specific point in time? A) B) C) D) E)

Project objective Product scope description Justification Deliverables Milestones

97) Which of the following items has to do with conditions that must be met before the deliverables are accepted? A) B) C) D) E)

Deliverables Milestones Technical requirements Limits and exclusions Acceptance criteria

98) Which of the following tools would you as project manager likely prefer if you are managing a medium-to-large software development project? Your project is driven by performance requirements, not by plans/blueprints.

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A) B) C) D) E)

WBS OBS PBS Responsibility matrix All of these alternatives are correct.

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 99) Identify and briefly describe the five steps in defining a project.

100) Identify and briefly describe the eight elements on the recommended project scope checklist.

101)

In terms of project management, what is a deliverable? Give an example.

102) A priority matrix helps project managers manage trade-offs among time, cost and performance or scope. This helps to identify which criterion is constrained, which should be enhanced and which can be accepted. Some argue that all of these criteria are always constrained. Agree or disagree? Explain why.

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103)

In project management terms, what is meant by "managing the trade-offs"?

104)

Identify the three categories used to classify the priority of major project parameters.

105) During the course of a project, project priorities may change impacting the project priority matrix. Give an example.

106)

What is meant by a work breakdown structure and how does it help manage projects?

107)

What is a work package and what information does it contain?

108)

What is a responsibility matrix and how would it be used in project management?

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109) Define scope creep. When is it good? When is it bad? Provide real-life examples of both cases.

110)

What is an organization breakdown structure and how would you use it to plan a project?

111) What are the major causes of scope creep? What can the project manager do to minimize scope creep within each of these causes?

112) Thinking systemically, how would you decide whether a particular function or feature is in or out of scope? What criteria would you use? Who is the ultimate stakeholder type that will decide this issue? How might their input be incorporated into the final decision?

113) How would you mark Time, Performance and Cost on a Project Priority Matrix if your software product had to be done for the trade show, should include as much functionality as possible without much concern for cost. Fill out the Project Priority Matrix below: Time

Performance

Cost

Constrain

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Enhance Accept

114) How would you mark Time, Performance and Cost on a Project Priority Matrix if you wanted to be first to market with your product to garner market share. You are willing to defer original scope requirements to later versions in order to get to the market first. Going over budget is acceptable but not desirable. Fill out the Project Priority Matrix below: Time

Performance

Cost

Constrain Enhance Accept

115) Describe as many different ways to define/describe/delineate scope as possible, as discussed in the chapter. Scope should be focused on the customer, the project objective, the end results, the deliverables, the milestones, the departments involved, the development team, which?

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 04_8e 1) FALSE 2) TRUE 3) TRUE 4) TRUE 5) FALSE 6) FALSE 7) FALSE 8) FALSE 9) FALSE 10) TRUE 11) FALSE 12) FALSE 13) FALSE 14) FALSE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) FALSE 20) TRUE 21) FALSE 22) FALSE 23) TRUE 24) TRUE 25) TRUE 26) FALSE Version 1

27) D 28) C 29) B 30) A 31) B 32) D 33) E 34) C 35) A 36) D 37) C 38) C 39) A 40) A 41) C 42) C 43) B 44) E 45) D 46) E 47) B 48) A 49) D 50) E 51) A 52) C 53) B 54) B 55) C 56) E Version 1

57) A 58) C 59) D 60) D 61) D 62) A 63) B 64) C 65) A 66) C 67) E 68) B 69) B 70) C 71) A 72) B 73) D 74) A 75) C 76) E 77) C 78) D 79) B 80) D 81) A 82) C 83) A 84) E 85) C 86) B Version 1

87) D 88) D 89) E 90) A 91) C 92) C 93) B 94) D 95) A 96) E 97) E 98) C 99) (1) Defining the project scope; (2) Establishing project priorities; (3) Creating the work breakdown structure; (4) Integrating the WBS with the organization; (5) Coding the WBS. 100) The eight items are: (1) Project objectives; (2) Product scope description; (3) Justification; (4) Deliverables; (3) Milestones; (4) Technical requirements; (5) Limits and exclusions; (6) Acceptance criteria. 101) A deliverable is an expected output that occurs during the life of a project. A deliverable could be a list of specifications, software code or a technical manual, even a prototype. 102) Disagree. If everything goes well on the project and no major problems arise then this argument might be valid; however, this situation is rare. Project managers are often forced to make tough decisions that benefit one criterion while compromising the other two. 103) During project execution decisions will be needed to balance the three success criteria: costs, schedule, and performance. Typically, one will be degraded in order to maintain or improve another. Thus, the criteria are traded off. Version 1

104) (1) Constrain (the parameter is fixed); (2) Enhance (the parameter should be optimized); (3) Accept (lower results are acceptable). 105) The customer may suddenly need the project completed one month sooner or new directives from top management may emphasize cost saving initiatives. 106) A work breakdown structure (WBS) is the logical subdividing of major activities into smaller elements. It is useful to ensure complete planning of a project as well as a basis for monitoring progress. 107) A work package is the lowest element in the WBS. It is the basic unit used for planning, scheduling and controlling the project. Work packages consist of what, how long, cost, resources, who is responsible, and identify monitoring points for measuring progress. 108) The responsibility matrix (RM) summarizes the tasks to be accomplished and who is responsible for what on a project. It is used to ensure that all participants understand and agree on their assignments. 109) Scope creep is the gradual expansion of project deliverables to the point that overall project constraints (costs and schedule) can no longer be met. It is good when the customer is happy and the project has been improved. It is bad when project duration is increased and costs become higher without creating any more value to the customer. 110) The organization breakdown structure (OBS) is the process of defining which organization units are responsible for performing the work outlined in the individual work packages. 111) The major causes of scope creep are poor requirements analysis, not involving the users early enough, underestimating project complexity, lack of change control, and gold plating. For each of these there is an obvious remedy that the project manager must apply.

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112) The stakeholder group that ultimately determines scope is the customer. Criteria would include asking a variety of questions to determine relevance to and alignment with the project objective. The importance and value of each feature/function to the customer must be determined. You could have the customer prioritize the list of functions/features by having them order the list in descending order from most important to least important. Then you would fund those functions/features that deliver the most value to the customer. Lowvalue features for which there is insufficient budget would get scrubbed. You could even calculate a value/cost ratio and prioritize features in descending order of that ratio. 113) The correct answer is the following: Time Constrain

Performance

Cost

XXX

Enhance

XXX

Time has to be constrained—there is no flexibility in terms of completion time—the product has to be ready by the trade show date. You want as much functionality as possible so you would endeavor to enhance performance. You will accept whatever cost consequences accrue as you work on the other two dimensions. 114) The correct answer is the following: Time Constrain Enhance

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Performance

Cost

XXX XXX

XXX

Time has to be enhanced—in this case reduced at all costs. Performance has to be constrained in order to enhance (reduce) time. You will accept whatever cost consequences accrue as you work on the other two dimensions. 115) Some of the documents/delineations mentioned in the chapter include project scope definition, statement of work, project charter, and, of course, the WBS. The stakeholder group that ultimately determines scope is the customer. Criteria would include asking the customer a variety of questions. You could have the customer prioritize the list of functions/features by having them order the list in descending order from most important to least important. Then you would fund those functions/features that deliver the most value to the customer. Lowvalue features for which there is insufficient budget would get scrubbed. You could even calculate a value/cost ratio and prioritize features in descending order of that ratio.

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CHAPTER 5 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Project estimates should be broken down into as much detail, and with as much accuracy, as possible. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) Cost, time, and budget estimates are the lifeline for control; they serve as the standard for comparison of the actual and the planned throughout the life of the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Past experience is almost always used primarily in the initial phases of estimating. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) After averaging out the underestimates and overestimates, a long-duration project is more likely to be on target than a short-term, small project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) The process of forecasting or approximating the time and cost of completing project deliverables is called planning. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) The project management structure chosen to manage the project will have little impact on the quality of estimates. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) As long as everyone in a project adds a little padding to reduce risk, the project duration and cost estimates will be more accurate. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Organization culture can significantly influence project time and cost estimates. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) If a project is internal to the company and relatively small, the bottom-up approach to estimating time and costs for the project is the best choice. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) If time and costs are important to a project the top-down approach to estimating time and costs for the project is the best choice. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) The ideal approach to estimating project time and costs is to use both the top-down and the bottom-up approach. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) Estimates that are typically based on estimates of elements found in the work breakdown structure are called bottom-up estimates. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

13) Top-down estimates usually are derived from someone who uses experience and/or information to determine the project duration and total cost. ⊚ ⊚

true false

14) Estimating the total cost of a house by multiplying the total square feet by cost per square foot is an example of the apportion method of estimating costs. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) Estimating the total cost of a project by multiplying each major function by a complexity factor is an example of the apportion method of estimating costs. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) Phase estimating is used when a project cannot be rigorously defined because of the uncertainty of design or the final product. ⊚ ⊚

17)

true false

All task time estimates need consistent time units. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) One guideline to follow when estimating time, cost and resources is to use several people to make the estimate for a task. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

19)

The consensus method of estimating costs is a bottom-up technique. ⊚ ⊚

true false

20) The salary of the project manager and her administrative assistant are classified as direct labor costs. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) General and administrative costs are usually allocated as a percent of the total of a direct cost which includes labor, materials, or equipment. ⊚ ⊚

22)

true false

Work package estimates should include allowances for contingencies. ⊚ ⊚

true false

23) Estimates are supposed to be based on normal conditions. While this is a good starting point, it rarely holds true in real life. ⊚ ⊚

24)

true false

Mega Projects often under deliver on expected benefits and cost more than expected. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

25) Repetition of a task generally results in a reduction of labor hours each successive time a worker performs that task. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 26) The process of forecasting or approximating the time and cost of completing project deliverables is called A) B) C) D) E)

27)

In practice, estimating processes are frequently classified as A) B) C) D) E)

28)

budgeting. predicting. estimating. planning. guesstimating.

top down/bottom up. rough/polished. precise/order of magnitude. draft/final. broad/specific.

What is the relationship between organizational culture and estimating? A) B) C) D) E)

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There is no relationship. Cultural norms affect the accuracy of estimates. Culture determines whether estimates are made. Estimating alters cultural norms. Estimating and culture are independent.

29)

A good starting point for developing time and cost estimates is A) B) C) D) E)

past experience. work packages. task analysis. time and motion studies. work breakdown structure.

30) Which of the following is NOT one of the factors that need to be considered to improve quality of estimates for project times and costs? A) B) C) D) E)

planning horizon people padding estimates profit project structure

31) A project manager is looking over the actual results of projects and comparing them to what was estimated. She notices that the projects that took six months or longer to complete were noticeably more off the estimates. Which of the following factors is she recognizing? A) B) C) D) E)

Padding estimates Planning horizon Project structure People Organization culture

32) A project leader is forecasting how much money his department needs to support a new project. He estimates that two people and $25,000 in expenses will cover his needs. Because management typically insists on reducing forecasts by 20 percent, he increases his estimates to allow for that reduction. Which of the following factors is illustrated in this situation?

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A) B) C) D) E)

33)

Which of the following is a good condition for top-down estimating? A) B) C) D) E)

34)

Padding estimates Planning horizon Project structure People Organization culture

Cost and time important Fixed price contract Customer wants details Internal, small project Large scale project involving several subcontractors

Which of the following is a good condition for bottom-up estimating? A) B) C) D) E)

When the project involves strategic decision making When the project is internal and small When there is a fixed price contract When there is high uncertainty involved in the project When there is an unstable scope

35) A home builder is collecting estimates for a house that he will have the funding to build in 12 months. Which of the following factors does he need to consider in regard to the quality of these estimates? A) B) C) D) E)

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Padding estimates Planning horizon Project structure People Project duration

36)

Which of the following does NOT help describe a bottom-up estimating approach?

A) They are made by someone who uses experience and/or information from someone else to determine overall project cost and duration. B) They establish low-cost, efficient methods for completing activities. C) They typically come from the people actually doing the work and who are most knowledgeable about the task at hand. D) Estimates are made at the work package level and then "rolled up" to determine estimates for major deliverables and for the project itself. E) They can take place after the project has been planned in detail.

37) Which of the following methods is NOT considered a top-down approach to estimating project time and cost? A) B) C) D) E)

Ratio Template Apportion Function point Learning curve

38) A construction estimator is forecasting project time and cost for constructing a new building by multiplying the total square footage by a given dollar amount. Which of the following methods is he using? A) B) C) D) E)

Ratio Template Apportion Function point Learning curve

39) A project manager is forecasting the time and cost of developing a customized software program by looking at the number of inputs, outputs, inquiries, files, and interfaces. Which of the following methods is he using? Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

Ratio Template Apportion Function point Learning curve

40) A project leader is estimating the time and cost of developing an intranet for a new customer. Her department has completed six such intranets for customers during the last two years. Although the proposed system is about the same size as the others, she estimates that it will take about 10 percent less time and money. Which of the following methods is she using? A) B) C) D) E)

41)

Learning curves are more likely to be applied in situations where most of the costs are A) B) C) D) E)

42)

Ratio Template Apportion Function point Learning curve

materials. labor. overhead. evenly spread over materials, labor, and overhead. labor and materials.

Which of the following describes the consensus method?

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A) Should be used only for projects that require the same task, group of tasks, or product to be repeated several times B) Uses several people with relevant experience regarding the task at hand to make time and cost estimates C) Uses pooled experience of senior and/or middle managers to estimate the total project duration and cost D) Uses the number of square feet to estimate the total cost and time of the project E) Uses weighted macro variables or major parameters such as the number of inputs or outputs to estimate the total cost and time of the project

43) Which of the following is NOT one of the bottom-up approaches to estimating project time and cost? A) B) C) D) E)

Parametric procedures applied to specific tasks Estimates for the WBS work packages Learning curve Template method Range estimates

44) Which of the following would be the best method for projects where the final product is not known and the uncertainty is very large? A) B) C) D) E)

Function point Template Learning curve Phase estimating Apportion

45) A scrum master is responsible for estimating a work package that has a significant amount of uncertainty associated with the time and cost to complete. Due to the uncertainty involved he will be making a low, an average and a high estimate. He is using which estimating approach?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Parametric procedures applied to specific tasks Template method Apportion method Range estimating Learning curve

46) Which of the following is NOT true in regard to the level of detail estimates should contain? A) It will vary with the complexity of the project. B) Detailed estimates are crucial to project success; therefore, an effort should be made to make estimates as detailed as possible for all projects. C) The more detailed the estimate is the more the estimate will cost to create. D) Inadequate detail might lead to estimates that fall short of their intended purpose. E) Excessive detail means unproductive paperwork and unnecessary expenditures.

47) The salary of the project manager would be an example of what type of cost found in a project? A) B) C) D) E)

48)

Labor Direct Direct project overhead General and administrative overhead Salary

Typical kinds of costs found in a project include all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

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direct costs. project overhead costs. general and administrative overhead costs. labor. All of these are examples of costs found in a project.

49) Accounting would be an example of which of the following costs typically found in a project? A) B) C) D) E)

50)

Labor Direct Direct project overhead General and administrative overhead Salary

Which of the following would best represent direct project costs? A) B) C) D) E)

Only labor Only materials Only equipment Both labor and materials Labor, materials and equipment

51) Which of the following is NOT one of the recommended guidelines for developing useful work package estimates? A) B) C) D) E)

Estimates should be made by those responsible for the work. Use several people to estimate the same work. Estimates should be based on normal conditions. Estimates should include a normal level of contingency. Estimates should be independent of other projects.

52) Companies are using which of the following for improving the estimating process for future projects?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Adjusting estimates based on individual forecasting abilities Benchmarking and using the experience of other companies Using time and motion studies Creating historical databases of previous projects Establishing an estimating training course for all employees

53) Reasons why estimating time and cost are important include all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

to schedule work. to determine how long the project should take and cost. to develop cash flow needs. to determine how well the project is progressing. to help establish a project selection process.

54) The bottom-up approach for estimating times and costs that uses costs from past projects that were similar to the current project is known as A) B) C) D) E)

detailed WBS work package estimates. template method. function point method. time-phased cost estimates. phase estimating.

55) Which of the following top-down methods is used when projects closely follow past projects in regard to features and costs of those features, and result in costs being assigned by percentages to major segments of the project?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Apportion Function point Phase estimating Learning curve Consensus

56) Refining estimates may be necessary for a number of reasons. For example, resource shortages, in the form of people, equipment, or materials, can extend original estimates. This is a good example of A) B) C) D) E)

hidden interaction costs. things going wrong on a project. normal conditions not applying. changes in project scope. the customer not being clear about their expectations.

57) Refining estimates may be necessary for a number of reasons. For example, people working on prototype development needing time to interact with the design engineers after the design is completed is a good example of A) B) C) D) E)

hidden interaction costs. things going wrong on a project. normal conditions not applying. changes in project scope. the customer not being clear about their expectations.

58) Refining Estimates may be necessary for a number of reasons. For example, a manager getting further into a project and obtaining a better understanding of what needs to be done to accomplish a project and meet the needs of the customer is an example of

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A) B) C) D) E)

hidden interaction costs. things going wrong on a project. normal conditions not applying. changes in project scope. there is never a good reason to refine estimates.

59) Refining estimates may be necessary for a number of reasons. For example, design flaws being revealed after the fact, extreme weather conditions, and accidents occurring are good examples of A) B) C) D) E)

60) as

hidden interaction costs. things going wrong on a project. changes in project scope. normal conditions not applying. uncertain, unstable requirements.

Large projects that have long time horizons and a very high complexity can be referred to

A) B) C) D) E)

mega projects. high risk. white elephants. mega projects or white elephants. None of these alternatives is correct.

61) While it may be true that Mega Projects are by nature extremely difficult to estimate, another factor identified in the consistent pattern of estimating difficulties is:

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A) B) C) D) E)

unidentified risks. deception. economic downturn. Both unidentified risks and economic downturn. None of these alternatives is correct.

62) An external view of a Mega Project based upon the outcome of similar projects undertaken in the past is known as: A) B) C) D) E)

63)

Pareto Charting. The Monte Carlo Method. Reference Class Forecasting. Big Data Analysis. White elephant.

Benefits of Reference Class Forecasting include A) B) C) D) E)

acts as a reality check. helps to avoid unsound optimism. provides a basis for contingency funds. leads to improved accountability. All of these alternatives are correct.

64) The pattern of improvement identified from a worker having performed a task multiple times is known as a A) B) C) D) E)

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reduced failure rate. optimistic estimate. learning curve. successive improvement. both reduced failure rate and successive improvement.

65)

Estimating can be challenged by A) B) C) D) E)

human nature. political dynamics. difficulty in predicting the future. size of the project. All of these alternatives are correct.

66) When work package estimates are made by individuals most knowledgeable about the work being performed and these estimates are then "rolled up" to find estimated costs for major deliverables and the project itself, ____________ estimating is being used. A) B) C) D) E)

top-down analogous bottom-up reference class professional estimation

67) When someone uses experience and/or information from others to determine the project duration and total cost, ____________ estimating is being used. A) B) C) D) E)

top-down experiential bottom-up reference class professional estimation

68) The estimating factor that considers the decreasing accuracy of estimates as one forecasts activities that are further into the future is known as ____________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

project complexity planning horizon people organizational culture padding estimates

69) The estimating factor that considers the skill level of participants doing the estimating is known as the ___________ factor. A) B) C) D) E)

project complexity planning horizon people organizational culture padding estimates

70) The estimating factor that considers the tendency to overestimate project time and cost in order to improve the likelihood of meeting the estimates is known as the ___________ factor. A) B) C) D) E)

project complexity planning horizon people organizational culture padding estimates

71) The estimating factor that considers the prevailing belief in some firms that detailed estimating takes too much time and is not worth the effort is an example of the ___________ factor.

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A) B) C) D) E)

project complexity planning horizon people organizational culture padding estimates

72) The preferred method for situations involving strategic decision making, projects with a high degree of uncertainty, and projects with an unstable scope is the ___________ approach to estimating project time and costs. A) B) C) D) E)

top-down experiential bottom-up reference class professional estimation

73) The preferred method for situations where the cost and time estimates are important, in a fixed contract situation, and when the customer wants a lot of detail is the ___________ approach to estimating project time and costs. A) B) C) D) E)

top-down experiential bottom-up reference class professional estimation

74) The information necessary to conduct a bottom-up estimate of project time and cost starts with the ___________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

level 4 elements of the WBS milestones work package planning horizon level 5 elements of the PBS

75) Project managers typically use ________, also called analogous estimating or the ______ method when there is a past history of similar projects and rough-cut estimates are needed for strategic purposes two-to-five years out because, as estimating methods go, it is faster and less expensive. A) B) C) D) E)

top-down, apportion bottom-up, range estimating bottom-up, learning curve top-down, phase estimating top-down, range estimating

76) A project estimator is working on estimates for a project that is very similar to a previous project, in that it has many of the same features and those features have similar costs. Each feature or deliverable will represent the same percentage of the total cost as it did for the previous project. He is using the _________ method of top-down estimating. A) B) C) D) E)

ratio consensus apportion function point learning curves

77) The top-down method for estimating project time and cost that uses weighted variables based on major parameters and is frequently used in the development of software is known as the ____________ method.

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A) B) C) D) E)

ratio consensus apportion function point learning curves

78) The top-down method of estimating project time and costs that is useful for projects requiring the same task, group of tasks, or product repeated several times, especially if it is labor intensive, is the ______________. A) B) C) D) E)

ratio consensus apportion function point learning curves

79) The bottom-up method of estimating where work package time and costs for past projects are used as a starting point for a new project and adjustments are made based on differences in the new project is known as the ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

range estimating parametric procedure template method phase estimating method WBS method

80) The top-down method of estimating when the pooled experience of senior and/or middle managers are used to estimate the total project duration and cost is the _________ method.

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A) B) C) D) E)

ratio consensus apportion function point learning curves

81) The approach to estimating project time and cost that begins with an overall estimate for the project and then refines estimates for various stages of the project as it is implemented is known as ____________. A) B) C) D) E)

range estimating parametric procedure template method phase estimating method WBS method

82) The estimating approach that is best to use on projects where there is an unusual amount of uncertainty surrounding the project and when it is impractical to estimate times and costs for the entire project is known as ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

range estimating parametric procedure template method phase estimating method WBS method

83) A way to improve estimates on future projects is to collect and archive data on past project estimates and actuals. Creating ___________ for estimating is a way to achieve this goal.

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A) B) C) D) E)

84)

time and cost databases history databases estimating and forecasting databases structured databases Any of these alternatives are correct.

Project costs such as labor and materials are typically classified as ___________ costs. A) B) C) D) E)

general and administrative overhead direct direct project overhead fixed interaction

85) The salary of the project manager and temporary rental space for the project team would be classified as __________ costs. A) B) C) D) E)

general and administrative overhead direct direct project overhead fixed interaction

86) Estimates should be made based on ___________ conditions, efficient methods, and a normal level of resources. A) B) C) D) E)

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abnormal above normal standard normal average

87) Costs that are associated with time devoted to the coordination in meetings and briefings as well as time necessary to resolve disconnects between tasks are known as ____________ costs. A) B) C) D) E)

direct interaction general and administrative (G&A) overhead costs things go wrong coordination

88) Costs that are not directly related to a specific project, such as advertising, accounting, and senior management's salary, are classified as _____________ costs. A) B) C) D) E)

89)

general and administrative overhead direct direct project overhead fixed coordination

A(n) __________ is something that is a valuable but burdensome possession. A) B) C) D) E)

mega-project white elephant yacht vacation home concorde

90) Mega projects are large-scale, complex ventures that typically cost _______ or more and take many ______ to complete.

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A) B) C) D) E)

$1 million, months $10 million, quarters $1 billion, years $10 billion, years $500,000, months

91) Consider a five-mile-long railroad tunnel. Tunnel experts and advocates estimate the total cost to be $200 million. What is the reference class for this project? But reference class projects in this area have been over-budget by 30%. So, what should the actual revised budget number be for this proposed five-mile tunnel project? A) B) C) D) E)

92)

The best way to __________________ is to collect and archive data on past projects. A) B) C) D) E)

93)

Past bridge projects, $230 million Past tunnel projects, $260 million Past highway projects, $200 million Past building projects, $230 million Past construction projects, $230 million

train estimators assist project managers improve estimates forecast project duration estimate project costs

Top-down methods are used for all but which of the following intended usages? A) B) C) D) E)

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Feasibility/conceptual phase Rough time/cost estimate Budgeting and scheduling Fund requirements Resource capacity planning

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 94) Identify and briefly describe the two major classifications of estimating project time and costs.

95) List and briefly describe four reasons why estimating time and cost are important to project management.

96) Identify and briefly describe three out of the six factors that should be considered to improve the quality of estimates for project times and costs.

97) Under what conditions would the top-down approach to estimating project times and costs be the best choice?

98) Under what conditions would the bottom-up approach to estimating project times and costs be the best choice?

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99) Describe the ideal approach for a project manager to develop optimal estimates for a project's time and costs.

100) Estimates should be based on normal conditions, efficient methods, and a normal level of resources. Explain.

101) Describe phase estimating. When should it be used and how is it different from all other top-down and bottom-up methods of estimating?

102)

Identify the drawbacks to an excessive detail in estimating project times and costs.

103)

Identify the three major categories of project costs and give an example of each.

104)

List and briefly explain two reasons why estimates may need to be refined.

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105) Beyond scope and complexity, what do mega projects have in common? Name at least three common characteristics.

106) When is it best to use a top-down estimate? When is a bottom-up estimate most appropriate?

107) Suppose you have entered into a fixed-price contract and the customer wants details as to how much each work package will cost, how long each work package will take time wise; in this case which approach would you use—bottom up or top down and why? Explain.

108) Two to five years prior to actual execution of a project, companies need rough-cut estimates as to total duration and cost of each of the projects they are considering from a strategic perspective. For these projects they have prior experience doing similar projects in the past. Which method will they use—top down or bottom up and why? Explain.

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109) A project to return Americans to the moon has been estimated to cost $100 billion and take five years to complete, but past similar projects have cost 30% more and taken 20% longer. What should the revised estimates for cost and time be? Because of the long duration, the effects of the time value of money should be taken into consideration—what does this do to the estimated budget and duration. Assume a 3% annual inflation rate.

110) Thinking holistically, suppose a never-before-done project is being estimated in which there is unstable scope. There is high uncertainty in the duration and cost of each work package. What impact will this have on the project schedule and budget? A bottom-up detailed estimate of total project duration, project schedule, project budget and cost is needed immediately prior to execution of the project. What method will you use, assuming a rough-cut top-down estimate of duration and cost already has been determined (perhaps months, years ago) for the entire project?

111) Thinking holistically, suppose a new, unique project is being estimated in which there is unstable scope. There is high uncertainty in the duration and cost of each work package. Uncertainty as to which work packages to include/exclude is abundant. A project of this type has never been done before and the customer is uncertain of what they want. There are no previous similar projects or a history data base of work package durations and costs to work from. Topdown estimates of total project cost and duration do not exist. You have a dedicated team of ten seasoned project professionals working for you. You worked hard to develop a well-structured WBS for the project. Each work package (there are ten) has been assigned (by you as project manager) to exactly one project professional to develop and complete. You wish to do a bottomup definitive determination of overall project duration and cost. The customer wants cost and duration details. Under such circumstances, how would you proceed? What assumptions would you have to make? How would you come up with estimates as to duration and cost for each work package?

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 05_8e 1) FALSE 2) TRUE 3) TRUE 4) FALSE 5) FALSE 6) FALSE 7) FALSE 8) TRUE 9) FALSE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) TRUE 13) TRUE 14) FALSE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) FALSE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) FALSE 23) TRUE 24) TRUE 25) TRUE 26) C Version 1

27) A 28) B 29) A 30) D 31) B 32) A 33) D 34) C 35) B 36) A 37) B 38) A 39) D 40) E 41) B 42) C 43) C 44) D 45) D 46) B 47) C 48) E 49) D 50) E 51) D 52) D 53) E 54) B 55) A 56) C Version 1

57) A 58) D 59) B 60) D 61) B 62) C 63) E 64) C 65) E 66) C 67) A 68) B 69) C 70) E 71) D 72) A 73) C 74) C 75) A 76) C 77) D 78) E 79) C 80) B 81) D 82) D 83) A 84) B 85) C 86) D Version 1

87) B 88) A 89) B 90) C 91) B 92) C 93) C 94) (1) Top-down estimates are made for the project as a whole and typically made by top management; (2) Bottom-up estimates are made at the work package level and by those responsible for completing the work packages. 95) Estimating time and cost are important to project management because they are needed to support good decisions, to schedule work, to determine how long the project should take and its cost, to determine whether the project is worth doing, to develop cash flow needs, to determine how well the project is progressing and to develop a timephased budget. 96) (1) Planning horizon; (2) Project duration; (3) People; (4) Project structure and organization; (5) Padding estimates; (6) Organization culture. 97) In the early stages of a project to help develop the initial plan, in making strategic decisions, in projects of high uncertainty, in small internal projects, or in projects with an unstable scope. 98) When low-cost, efficient estimates are needed, when time and cost are important, when working on a fixed price contract, or when the customer wants details, as per Table 5.1 in the text. 99) The ideal approach is to allow enough time and budget for both the top-down and bottom-up estimates to be worked out and included in the final plan.

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100) Normal conditions are sometimes difficult to discern, but it is necessary to have a consensus in the organization as to what normal conditions mean in this project. This establishes a certain level of accuracy. 101) This approach starts with a top-down estimate and then estimates are refined after each phase of the project. Some projects cannot be clearly defined because of their uncertainty. Phase estimating uses a two-estimate system over the life of the project. A detailed estimate is developed for the immediate phase and a macro estimate is made for the remaining phases of the project. 102) If the estimate reflects excessive detail, there is a tendency to break the work effort into department assignments. This tendency can become a barrier to success, since the emphasis will be on departmental outcomes rather than on deliverable outcomes. Excessive detail also means more unproductive paperwork. 103) (1) Direct costs (labor, materials, equipment, other); (2) Project overhead costs (salaries of project managers, rent on space to house the project, etc.); (3) General and administrative overhead costs (advertising, accounting, and senior management of the organization). 104) (1) Interaction costs are hidden in estimates; (2) Normal conditions do not apply; (3) Things go wrong on projects; (4) Changes occur in project scope and plans. 105) Mega projects tend to go way over budget and fall behind schedule. They also under-deliver on benefits they were to provide. Finally, the cost to maintain the resulting final structure exceeds the benefits received in dollars. Examples include the new Denver Airport that opened in 1995, had a cost overrun of 200 percent and was completed two years later than planned. Another even more perverse venture was the Boston Big Dig Project.

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106) Based on Table 5.1 in the text, top-down estimates are best used for strategic decision making because they are less expensive than bottomup methods. It’s also better to use top-down estimates when there is high uncertainty and unstable scope and the project is small. It’s best to use bottom-up estimates when the opposite is true, when cost and time details are important to the customer and when a fixed-price contract is used. 107) Based on Table 5.1 in the text, top-down estimates are best used for strategic decision making because they are less expensive than bottomup methods. It’s also better to use top-down estimates when there is high uncertainty and unstable scope and the project is small. It’s best to use bottom-up estimates when the opposite is true, when cost and time details are important to the customer and when a fixed-price contract is used. 108) Based on Table 5.1 in the text, top-down estimates are best used for strategic decision making because they are less expensive than bottomup methods. It’s also better to use top-down estimates when there is high uncertainty and unstable scope and the project is small. It’s best to use bottom-up estimates when the opposite is true, when cost and time details are important to the customer and when a fixed-price contract is used. 109) Based on Reference Class Forecasting, the revised budget should be $130 billion and the revised duration should be six years. Taking into consideration the long project duration and the time value of money, the revised budget would have to be in excess of $130 billion and the revised duration longer than 6 years.

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110) The estimates derived from a work package bottom-up calculation of project schedule and budget may be so inaccurate as to not be useful. There are several methods discussed in the chapter that could be applied. However, this seems to be a perfect fit for a hybrid phase estimating method. 111) The project manager can ask each project professional assigned to a work package how long it will take him or her to complete the work package. Based on the direct and indirect costs associated with a work package of x days in duration, a cost then be calculated. These work package costs and durations can then be rolled up in the purest of bottom-up approaches to come up with accurate project durations and costs. Project duration must be determined based on a Gantt Chart or Network diagram.

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CHAPTER 6 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) An activity can include only one work package. ⊚ ⊚

true false

A merge activity is one that merges with other activities into a succeeding activity. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) The WBS identifies dependencies, the sequencing of activities, and the timing of activities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) The critical path is the shortest path through a network and indicates activities that cannot be delayed without delaying the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

An activity is an element of the project that always requires time. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) If a network has more than one critical path but noncritical activities have very little slack, the network is considered to have a high level of sensitivity. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

The backward pass determines project duration. ⊚ ⊚

An activity cannot begin until ALL preceding connected activities have been completed. ⊚ ⊚

true false

In developing a project network, neither looping nor conditional statements are permitted. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) Experience suggests that when there are multiple starts, a common start node should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network. Similarly, a single project end node can be used to indicate a clear ending. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) Burst activities have more than one activity immediately following them (more than one dependency arrow flowing from them). ⊚ ⊚

12)

It is acceptable for arrows to cross one another in a network diagram. ⊚ ⊚

13)

true false

The forward pass through a project network determines the critical path. ⊚ ⊚

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true false 2

14) The backward pass through a project network determines slack or how long an activity can be delayed without impacting the completion date of the project. ⊚ ⊚

15)

true false

Different activities along the same path can have different total slack. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) If the project has a duration of 8 days, the project should be completed 8 days from the day it starts. ⊚ ⊚

17)

true false

It is possible for a project network to have more than one critical path. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) Using free slack does not delay any following activities and requires no coordination with managers of other activities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

19) Gantt charts are popular because they represent an easy-to-understand, clear picture on a time-scaled horizon. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

20) When completing a forward pass, you carry the early finish to the next activity where it becomes its early start unless the next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case you select the smallest early finish number of all its immediate predecessor activities. ⊚ ⊚

21)

Only activities that occur at the end of a chain of activities can have free slack. ⊚ ⊚

22)

true false

Within an Activity-on-Node network, the arrows depict activities to be accomplished. ⊚ ⊚

25)

true false

Even though a project network costs time and money to develop, it is worth the effort. ⊚ ⊚

24)

true false

Lags can be used to constrain the start and finish of an activity. ⊚ ⊚

23)

true false

Negative slack can be estimated. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 26) Information to develop a project network is collected from the

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A) B) C) D) E)

organization breakdown structure. work breakdown structure. budget. project proposal. responsibility matrix.

27) Which of the following represents an activity on an activity-on-node (AON) project network? A) B) C) D) E)

28)

Arrows on an activity-on-node (AON) project network represent A) B) C) D) E)

29)

An arrow A line A node Both an arrow and a line An arrow, a line and a node all represent activities

an activity. project flow. dependency. project flow and dependency. an activity and dependency.

When translated into a project network, a work package will become A) B) C) D) E)

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a single activity. one or more activities. a milestone. a critical path. an arrow.

30) Which of the following is provided by both the project network and the work breakdown structure? A) B) C) D) E)

31)

On a project network, the activity times are derived from the A) B) C) D) E)

32)

organization breakdown structure. work packages. budget. project proposal. responsibility matrix.

Which of the following does NOT help describe a project network? A) B) C) D) E)

33)

Dependencies Sequencing Interrelationships Activity duration Timing

A graphic display of the flow and sequence of work through the project Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment Gives the times when activities can start and finish and when they can be delayed Highlights major deliverables and identifies their completion dates Identifies critical activities

An activity that has more than one dependency arrow flowing into it is termed a(n) A) B) C) D) E)

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parallel activity. critical path. burst activity. merge activity. independent activity.

34)

The critical path in a project network is the A) B) C) D) E)

35)

shortest path through the network. longest path through the network. network path with the most difficult activities. network path using the most resources. network path with the most merge activities.

A(n) _________ activity has more than one dependency arrow flowing from it. A) B) C) D) E)

parallel critical path burst merge independent

36) Which of the following can be used without coordinating with managers of succeeding activities? A) B) C) D) E)

37)

Total slack Free slack Critical float Float pad Slip pad

Activities which can take place at the same time are termed

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A) B) C) D) E)

38)

parallel activity. critical path. burst activity. merge activity. independent activity.

A sequence of connected, dependent activities is termed a(n) A) B) C) D) E)

path of events. parallel path. activity chain. path. dependent chain.

39) A project manager is building a project network that involves testing a prototype. She must design the prototype (activity 1), build the prototype (activity 2), and test the prototype (activity 3). Activity 1 is the predecessor for activity 2 and activity 2 is the predecessor for activity 3. If the prototype fails testing, she must redesign the prototype; therefore, activity 3 is a predecessor for activity 1. This is an example of A) B) C) D) E)

Conditional statements. Looping. Having more than one start node. Good network development. Natural network flow.

40) Which of the following is NOT one of the basic rules to follow when developing project networks?

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A) B) C) D) activities. E)

41)

Networks flow from left to right.

________ activities must be completed immediately before a particular activity. A) B) C) D) E)

42)

An activity cannot begin until all preceding activities have been completed. Each activity must have a unique identification number. Conditional statements are allowed but looping statements are not allowed. An activity identification number must be larger than that of any preceding

Merge Burst Predecessor Successor Parallel

________ activities are to be completed immediately following a particular activity. A) B) C) D) E)

Merge Burst Predecessor Successor Parallel

43) The forward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

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earliest time an activity can begin. earliest time an activity can finish. duration of the project. the critical path. how soon the project can finish.

44) The backward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

45)

Which of the following correctly calculates the early finish for an activity? A) B) C) D) E)

46)

LS + DUR ES + DUR LF + DUR ES + SL LF + SL

Which of the following correctly calculates the late start for an activity? A) B) C) D) E)

47)

latest time an activity can begin. earliest time an activity can finish. the critical path. how long an activity can be delayed. latest time an activity can finish.

EF - DUR ES - DUR LF - DUR ES - SL LF - SL

The amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project is termed

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A) B) C) D) E)

48)

total slack. free slack. critical float. float pad. slip pad.

Which of the following will correctly calculate the total slack in an activity? A) B) C) D) E)

LS - ES LF - EF LS - LF LF - ES Either LS - ES or LF - EF

49) The likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated is referred to as A) B) C) D) E)

50)

flexibility. resilience. sensitivity. concurrent engineering. rigidity.

Which of the following is true about hammock activities?

A) project. B) C) D) E)

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They are used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of a They are a combination of Start to Start and Start to Finish lags. They are activities in which the costs are not subject to change. They are an alternative description for the critical path. They are highly sensitive.

51) If, for some reason, the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, which of the following actions would the project manager take first? A) B) C) D) E)

Check to see which activities cost the least. Check to see which activities have the longest duration. Check to see which activities are on the critical path. Check to see which activities have the most slack. Check to see which activities have the highest risk.

52) The assumption that all immediately preceding activities must be 100% complete is too restrictive in some situations. When an activity is broken down into smaller segments in order to start the succeeding activity sooner, this is called A) B) C) D) E)

hammock activities. concurrent engineering. a forward pass. dissecting. laddering.

53) If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, a common start node should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network. Without a common start node, each path is a A) B) C) D) E)

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critical path. parallel path. dangler path. multiple start path. confused path.

54) A purchasing agent is responsible for ordering hardware for a custom home his company is building. The contractor installing the hardware is scheduled to start in 5 working days, but the hardware is on backorder and will not arrive for another 9 working days. Fortunately, the purchasing agent has 10 days of slack; however, he shares this slack with the hardware installer. He will have to let the contractor know that the hardware will be ready 4 days later than expected and that the slack for the installer has been reduced by 4 days. The purchasing agent and the installer share 10 days of A) B) C) D) E)

free slack. shared slack. total slack. critical slack. functional slack.

55) The minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end is referred to as A) B) C) D) E)

hammock. laddering. lag. cushion. buffer.

56) The requirement for a freshly poured foundation to cure before beginning construction is an example of which of the following type of lag? A) B) C) D) E)

Start to Start Start to Finish Finish to Finish Finish to Start Any of these could be correct

57) Concurrent engineering, which has dramatically reduced the development time for new products, relies on what kind of lag? Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

Start to Start lags Start to Finish lags Finish to Finish lags Finish to Start lags Any of these could be correct

58) If testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype has been built, what type of lag exists? A) B) C) D) E)

Start to Start Start to Finish Finish to Finish Finish to Start Any of these could be correct

59) When completing a backward pass, you carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish the LF, unless the next preceding activity is a burst activity, in which case you select A) B) C) D) E)

the smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. the largest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. the average LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. the smallest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF. the largest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

60) System documentation cannot end until three days after testing has started. This is an example of which kind of lag? A) B) C) D) E)

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Start to Start Start to Finish Finish to Finish Finish to Start Any of these could be correct

61)

A project network provides the basis for A) B) C) D) E)

62)

When creating a project network, your primary input source will be the A) B) C) D) E)

63)

project charter. work packages. risk plan. communication plan. requirements document.

A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately following it. A) B) C) D) E)

64)

organizational authority. completing the effort on time and within budget. scheduling labor and equipment. hierarchical understanding of task relationships. understanding the structural relationships.

Burst Merge Parallel Slack Dangling

A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately preceding it. A) B) C) D) E)

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Burst Merge Parallel Slack Dangling

65) A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity taking place at the same time. A) B) C) D) E)

Burst Merge Parallel Slack Dangling

66) One piece of information that the arrows within the Activity-on-Node network can convey is A) B) C) D) E)

67)

the duration of an activity. the amount of risk inherent in an activity. how activities are related. ES and EF for the activity. LS and LF for the activity.

The amount of delay within a task that will not delay the overall project is known as a A) B) C) D) E)

total slack. estimated effort. opportunity cost. free slack. both total slack and free slack.

68) After the total slack for each activity is identified, the project manager can more easily identify the

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A) B) C) D) E)

69)

An element in the project that consumes time is a(n) ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

70)

event activity milestone network objective

The activity time estimates used to build a project network are derived from ________. A) B) C) D) E)

71)

earned value. critical path. earliest start date. total project slack. total budget.

project charter scope statement requirements doc work packages project plan

An activity that has more than one predecessor is a _________ activity. A) B) C) D) E)

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burst parallel merge critical dangling

72) The delaying of any activity on the __________ will delay the completion of the project by the same amount. A) B) C) D) E)

network critical path WBS gantt chart responsibility assignment matrix

73) For any activity that has one or more predecessors, the ________ time is always the largest early finish of any of its predecessors. If the early finish times of an activity’s predecessors were 85, 70 and 55, then this time would be the largest of these three early finish times or 85. A) B) C) D) E)

74)

A(n) _____________ calculates project duration. A) B) C) D) E)

75)

early finish late finish early start late start free slack

forward pass backward pass circular pass complete enumeration late finish

A(n) ________ activity has more than one successor activity.

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A) B) C) D) E)

76)

A(n) _____________ calculates how late an activity can start and finish. A) B) C) D) E)

77)

forward pass backward pass circular pass complete enumeration late finish

In a project network, recycling through a set of activities or __________ is not permitted. A) B) C) D) E)

78)

parallel merge burst critical dangling

looping forward pass backward pass circular pass late finish

In a project network, ________ indicate activity dependency and project flow. A) B) C) D) E)

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nodes arrows boxes labels slacks

79) ________ slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain. A) B) C) D) E)

Free Static Total Dynamic Flexible

80) Activities that must occur immediately before a given activity are called ________ activities. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

predecessor successor prior immediate concurrent or parallel

Activities that must immediately follow a given activity are called ________ activities. A) B) C) D) E)

predecessor successor prior immediate concurrent or parallel

82) Activities that can occur while another activity is taking place are called ________ activities.

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A) B) C) D) E)

83)

predecessor successor prior immediate concurrent or parallel

The ________ calculates the earliest times that activities can start or finish. A) B) C) D) E)

backward pass universal pass forward pass concurrent pass parallel pass

84) The ________ calculates the critical path and determines how long an activity can be delayed without delaying the project. A) B) C) D) E)

backward pass universal pass forward pass concurrent pass parallel pass

85) An activity has a duration of 10 days. Its early start is 5 and its late start is 8. This activity has _____ days of total slack. A) B) C) D) E)

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1 2 3 4 5

86) ________ slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following (successor) activity can never be negative. A) B) C) D) E)

Free Static Total Dynamic Flexible

87) A(n) ________ is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end. A) B) C) D) E)

saunter lag lead wane hobble

88) When an activity with a long duration is broken into smaller segments so that the following activities can begin sooner it is called __________. A) B) C) D) E)

89)

stair-casing waterfalling laddering stair-stepping segmentation

The longest path through a project network is called the _________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

project duration complete path calculated total path analytical path critical path

90) ___________ reflects the likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated. A) B) C) D) E)

Near-critical path Sensitiveness Sensitivity Reactivity Acuteness

91) A network has only one critical path and the slack for noncritical activities is high. This network would appear to have a _______ level of sensitivity A) B) C) D) E)

moderate high extreme low very high

92) The _________ lag is the most typical type of lag that is encountered in developing networks. A) B) C) D) E)

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finish-to-start start-to-start finish-to-finish start-to-finish developing lag

93) A(n) __________ activity is frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project. A) B) C) D) E)

Ham-lock Hammer Hamper Hammock Hamburger

94) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the critical path? A) B) C) D) E)

A-D-F-G A-D-E-G A-C-F-G A-B-E-G A-B-F-G

95) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node.

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Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network above to determine the following. What is the duration of the critical path? A) B) C) D) E)

26 27 28 29 30

96) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the late start time for activity E (how late can activity E start?)?

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A) B) C) D) E)

10 11 12 13 14

97) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the early start for activity A (how soon can activity A start)? A) B) C) D) E)

0 5 13 22 23

98) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the late finish time for activity G (what is the latest that activity G can finish)? A) B) C) D) E)

26 27 28 29 30

99) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the total slack for activity D?

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A) B) C) D) E)

0 1 2 3 4

100) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the total slack for activity F? A) B) C) D) E)

0 1 2 3 4

101) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What kind of activity is activity F? A) B) C) D) E)

Non-critical activity Critical activity Merge activity Burst activity Both critical activity and merge activity

102) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. Suppose activity D were to slip by two days, taking its duration from six to eight days. What would be the effect on overall project duration?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Cannot be determined Project duration would increase by two days. Project duration would remain the same. Project duration would decrease by two days. Project duration would increase by four days.

103) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. Considering the lengths of all the paths, this project is _____ with maximum slack associated with any one activity of ____ days. A) B) C) D) E)

insensitive, 2 sensitive, 2 insensitive, 10 sensitive, 28 insensitive, 28

104) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C, D

E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. Considering the lengths of all the paths, which of these paths is shortest and what is its length? A) B) C) D) E)

A-B-F-G, 28 A-D-E-G, 20 A-D-E-G, 25 A-C-E-G. 26 A-C-E-G, 28

105) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the critical path?

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A) B) C) D) E)

A-B-F-G A-B-E-G A-C-D-G A-C-E-G A-C-F-G

106) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network above to determine the following. What is the duration of the critical path? A) B) C) D) E)

60 58 45 43 28

107) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the late start time for activity E (how late can activity E start)? A) B) C) D) E)

10 20 25 30 50

108) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the early start for activity F (how soon can activity F start)? A) B) C) D) E)

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0 15 21 30 46

109) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the late finish time for activity G? A) B) C) D) E)

50 55 60 65 70

110) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the total slack for activity D? Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

0 2 4 15 17

111) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What is the total slack for activity F? A) B) C) D) E)

15 16 17 18 19

112) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. What kind of activity is activity B? A) B) C) D) E)

Non-critical activity Critical activity Merge activity Burst activity Both critical activity and burst activity

113) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the network associated with this table and determine the following. Suppose activity D was to slip by ten days, taking its duration from three to thirteen days. What would be the effect on overall project duration?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Cannot be determined Project duration would increase by ten days. Project duration would remain the same. Project duration would decrease by ten days. Project duration would increase by four days.

114) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C

D, E, F

Insensitive, 2 Sensitive, 2 Insensitive, 15 Sensitive, 15 Insensitive, 17

115) Consider the following table of activities A through G in which A is the start node and G is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C

D, E, F

A-B-F-G, 31 A-D-E-G, 22 A-D-E-G, 25 A-C-E-G. 20 A-C-D-G, 28

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 116) How does the WBS differ from the project network? How are WBS and project networks linked?

117) Briefly describe looping and conditional statements and explain why they are not allowed when developing project networks.

118) When completing the forward pass, the project duration is determined. A project duration of 45 days doesn't mean that if the project were to start today it would be complete in 45 days. Explain.

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119) In the network computation process what is a forward pass and what three things does it determine?

120) In the network computation process what is a backward pass and what four things does it determine?

121)

What is the difference between free slack and total slack?

122)

What is a Gantt chart and what advantages does it have over project networks?

123) When completing a forward pass, you carry the early finish to the next activity where it becomes its early start, unless the next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case you select the largest early finish number of all its immediate predecessor activities. Why do you select the largest early finish number?

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124)

What is a lag and give an example of when you would need to use one?

125)

What is a hammock activity and give an example?

126) What is the Concurrent Engineering Approach and why should project managers be aware of it?

127)

Identify the four types of lags giving an example for each type.

128) Briefly describe some of the useful benefits to the project manager that are derived from thorough development of a project schedule.

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129) Identify burst activities and merge activities in the following network. Determine the critical path, total slacks for each activity and project duration for the network represented by the following table. Discuss the degree of sensitivity embodied by the network. Activity

Predecessor

Duration (days)

100

150

200

F, C

150

G, I, H

120

J, L, M

130) On a piece of scratch paper, draw an early-start Gantt Chart for the following table. What does a Gantt Chart tell you that a network chart does not? Activity

Predecessor

Duration (days)

100

150

200

F, C

150

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G, I, H

120

J, L, M

131) Determine the critical path, total slacks for each activity and project duration for the network represented by the following table. Discuss the degree of sensitivity embodied by the network. Activity

Predecessor

Duration (days)

C,F

H,J,L

155

120

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 06_8e 1) FALSE 2) FALSE 3) FALSE 4) FALSE 5) TRUE 6) TRUE 7) FALSE 8) TRUE 9) TRUE 10) TRUE 11) TRUE 12) TRUE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) TRUE 16) FALSE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) TRUE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) TRUE 23) TRUE 24) FALSE 25) FALSE 26) B Version 1

27) C 28) D 29) B 30) D 31) B 32) D 33) D 34) B 35) C 36) B 37) A 38) D 39) B 40) C 41) C 42) D 43) D 44) B 45) B 46) C 47) A 48) E 49) C 50) A 51) C 52) E 53) C 54) C 55) C 56) D Version 1

57) A 58) C 59) A 60) B 61) C 62) B 63) A 64) B 65) C 66) C 67) A 68) B 69) B 70) D 71) C 72) B 73) C 74) A 75) C 76) B 77) A 78) B 79) C 80) A 81) B 82) E 83) C 84) A 85) C 86) A Version 1

87) B 88) C 89) E 90) C 91) D 92) A 93) D 94) E 95) C 96) E 97) A 98) C 99) C 100) A 101) E 102) C 103) B 104) C 105) B 106) A 107) D 108) D 109) D 110) E 111) B 112) B 113) C 114) E 115) E

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116) The network is developed from the information collected from the WBS and is a graphic flow chart of the project job plan. Networks provide the project schedule by identifying dependencies, sequencing, and timing of activities the WBS is not designed to do. 117) Looping is the attempt by the network designer to return to an earlier activity. If looping were allowed paths would continuously repeat themselves. Conditional statements are "if/then" statements. If conditional statements were allowed, the network would make little sense and would not be able to accomplish many of its objectives. 118) The project duration gives you an estimated number of working days necessary to complete the project. It doesn't consider weekends, holidays, overtime, etc. 119) Starting with the first activity, each path is traced forward through the network, adding times until the end of the project. This determines (1) how soon each activity can start, (2) how soon each activity can finish, and (3) how soon the entire project can be completed. 120) Starting with the last activity, each path is traced backward through the network, subtracting times until the beginning of the project. This determines (1) how late each activity can start, (2) how late each activity can finish, (3) the critical path, and (4) how long each activity can be delayed without changing the completion date. 121) Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and not delay the project. Use of total slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain. Free slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following activity. It requires no coordination with other managers.

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122) Gantt charts are bar charts where activities are displayed as horizontal bars on a horizontal time-scale. They are easy-to-read and provide a clear overview of the project schedule and progress against that schedule. It explicitly exhibits activity starting dates and stopping dates. This depiction is sometimes referred to as a schedule. It shows, for any given date, what activities are currently ongoing. Because a network chart does not have a timeline, it cannot show any dates. 123) Acknowledging that the finish number represents the activities' early finish, the largest early finish number is selected because all preceding activities must be completed before an activity can begin. If anything less than the largest number is chosen, there will not be enough time for all preceding activities to finish. 124) A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end. Lags occur during laddering and avoid delays and they are also used to constraint the start and finish of an activity. 125) A hammock activity identifies the use of a resource over a segment of the project. Thus, its duration is determined by the duration of other activities. The example used in the text was for a color copier during specific phases of a project. 126) The chainlike sequence of finish-to-start relationships is replaced by a series of start-to-start lag relationships as soon as meaningful work can be initiated for the next phase. The resulting overlap of tasks slightly increases risk but results in a much shorter schedule. 127) (1) Finish-to-Start; (2) Start-to-Start; (3) Finish-to-Finish; (4) Startto-Finish. 128) The project manager will learn many things:1) Total project duration2) The critical path3) Which tasks have slack and thus can be delayed4) How to shorten total project duration without additional costs5) The starting and stopping date for each task6) Where to place milestones7) Approximate human resource requirements Version 1

129) The burst activities are A, F and H. The merge activities are easy to identify from the table, They are the activities with more than one predecessor—H, J and N. The critical path is A—B—F—H—J—N and its length is 660 days—the duration of the project. Activities on the critical path all have 0 slack. Noncritical activities have the following slacks (shown in parenthesis): C(110), D(445), E(445), G(100), I(90), K(445), L(110), M(445). The slack amounts are all substantial—the smallest is at activity I where there are 90 days (three months) of slack. The project has only one critical path. This is not a network that has much sensitivity as there are no near critical paths or near-critical activities and only one critical path. 130) The Gantt Chart, because its horizontal axis is always a timeline, shows when (what day) each activity will start and end. 131) The burst activities are A, and C. The merge activities are easy to identify from the table, They are the activities with more than one predecessor—G and K. The critical path is A—B—F—G—H—K— M—N and its length is 480 days—the duration of the project. Activities on the critical path all have 0 slack. Noncritical activities have the following slacks (shown in parenthesis): C(15), D(65), E(65), I(65, J(65), L(40). The slack amounts are all substantial—the smallest is at activity C where there are 15 days of slack. This is not a network that has much sensitivity as there are no near critical paths or activities. There are only four paths through this network, the closest near critical path is A—C—G—H—K—M—N and its length is 465, only 15 days away. We would characterize this network as moderately sensitive and assign a team leader to watch near-critical path A—C—G—H—K— M—N to make certain that it does not exceed the critical path in length (i.e., go over its scheduled completion time by more than 15 days or become more than 15 days delayed at any time during the project).

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CHAPTER 7 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) The probability that a risk event will occur is higher during the initial stages of a project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) Risk events that occur in the early stages of a project will have a greater cost impact than those that occur in later stages. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) Risk management is a reactive approach that is designed to ensure that surprises are reduced and that negative consequences associated with undesirable events are minimized. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) One common mistake that is made early on in the risk identification process is to focus on consequences and not on the events that could produce consequences. ⊚ ⊚

The project being delayed is an example of a major risk that should be assessed. ⊚ ⊚

true false

The first step in the risk management process is risk assessment. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) A risk profile is a list of questions that have been developed and refined from previous, similar projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

The risk identification process should be limited to just the core project team. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) While a "can do" attitude is essential during implementation, project managers have to encourage critical thinking when it comes to risk identification. ⊚ ⊚

10)

Responses to all identifiable risks should be a top priority for the project manager. ⊚ ⊚

11)

true false

When considering risk value, the lower the value, the higher the level of risk. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) If, during risk response development, you successfully identify how you will respond to a risk, contingency planning is unnecessary. ⊚ ⊚

true false

13) Adopting proven technology instead of experimental technology is an example of mitigating a risk.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

14) A risk is an uncertain event that, if it occurs, can have a positive or negative effect on project objectives. ⊚ ⊚

15) risk.

Performance bonds, warranties, and guarantees are financial instruments used to share ⊚ ⊚

16)

true false

Fixed-price contracts are an example of transferring risk from an owner to a contractor. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) When developing a response to a risk by scheduling outdoor work in the summer, investing in up-front safety training, or choosing high-quality materials, these are examples of retaining a risk. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) Contingency reserves are set up to cover identified risks associated with specific segments of a project while management reserves are set up to cover unidentified risks associated with the total project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

19) Change management systems involve reporting, controlling, and recording changes to the project baseline. Version 1

⊚ ⊚

true false

20) Enhancing a risk is a tactic that seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with an opportunity to ensure that it definitely happens. ⊚ ⊚

21)

true false

Contingency funding is made up of contingency reserves and management reserves. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) Although most risks are presented as something not desirable, there can also be desirable risks called Opportunities. ⊚ ⊚

23)

true false

Opportunities identified within a project are treated very different from risks. ⊚ ⊚

true false

24) Having an environment where identified risks are treated professionally will lead to better control of risks. ⊚ ⊚

true false

25) A risk, which when analyzed, is discovered to have very modest downside but huge upside potential or opportunity. Such risks should be transferred, escalated and exploited. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 26) An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on project objectives is termed a A) B) C) D) E)

27)

The chances of a risk event occurring as a project proceeds through its life cycle tend to A) B) C) D) E)

28) to

random chance. disaster. risk. hazard. bad luck.

slowly rise. drop sharply and then level out. rise sharply and then level out. remain about the same. slowly drop.

The cost impact of a risk event occurring as a project proceeds through its life cycle tends

A) B) C) D) E)

rise sharply. drop sharply and then level out. rise sharply and then level out. remain about the same. slowly drop.

29) The attempt to recognize and manage potential and unforeseen trouble spots that may occur when a project is implemented is known as

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A) B) C) D) E)

30)

Which of the following is NOT one of the steps in the risk management process? A) B) C) D) E)

31)

Risk response development Risk assessment Risk identification Risk tracking Risk response control

The initial step in the risk management process is to A) B) C) D) E)

32)

risk forecasting. risk management. contingency planning. scenario analysis. disaster protection.

determine the level of acceptable risk. assess the risk potential. identify the risks. set aside funds for managing the risks. appoint a risk manager.

One common mistake made early in the risk identification process is to A) B) C) D) E)

not consider all possibilities. encourage participants be over optimistic. support participants being over pessimistic. focus on consequences and not on the events that could produce consequences. give too much attention to past events.

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33) Organizations use __________ in conjunction with work breakdown structures to help management teams identify and eventually analyze risk. A) B) C) D) E)

34)

risk breakdown structures contingency breakdown structures scenario analysis organizational breakdown structure risk assessment

Which of the following groups should NOT be a part of the risk identification process? A) B) C) D) E)

Project team Customers Subcontractors Vendors All of these groups can be included in the risk identification process

35) After your team has successfully identified potential risks that could affect the project, what is the next step? A) B) C) D) E)

36)

Create a risk breakdown structure Assess identified risks Create contingency plans Decide how to respond to all risks Mitigate risks

A list of questions that address traditional areas of uncertainty on a project is termed a

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A) B) C) D) E)

risk profile. questionnaire. research matrix. query. checklist.

37) _______________ focuses on how to respond to events that have a positive impact on a project. A) B) C) D) E)

38)

Tools such as a risk assessment form and a risk severity matrix are used to A) B) C) D) E)

39)

Risk management Opportunity management Value management Contingency management Prospect management

identify risks. control risks. assess risks. regulate risks. respond to risks.

Based on the following, which event should you be most concerned about?

Risk Event Bad weather Design flaw Accident Shipment delay Power outage

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Likelihood 2 3 1 2 1

Impact 3 5 5 2 5

A) B) C) D) E)

Bad weather Design flaw Accident Shipment delay Power outage

40) _____________ is a measure of how easy it would be to notice that a risk event was going to occur in time to take mitigating action, that is, how much warning you would have. A) B) C) D) E)

Detection difficulty Impact scaling Probability analysis Awareness level Warning assessment

41) Purchasing an accident insurance policy would be an example of responding to a risk by _____________ it. A) B) C) D) E)

mitigating retaining escalating transferring avoiding

42) The risk management tool that is divided into three color-coded zones representing major, moderate, and minor risks is the risk A) B) C) D) E)

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assessment form. responsibility matrix. scenario assessment. impact assessment. severity matrix.

43)

The risk assessment form contains all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

44)

likelihood of the risk event occurring. potential impact of the risk event. who will detect the occurrence of the risk event. difficulty of detecting the occurrence of the risk event. when the risk event may occur.

Risks are evaluated in terms of A) B) C) D) E)

likelihood and cost. cost and schedule. impact and cost. time and impact. likelihood and impact.

45) Adopting proven technology instead of experimental technology in order to eliminate technical failure would be an example of which risk response? A) B) C) D) E)

46)

Mitigating Retaining Escalating Transferring Avoiding

Which of the following activities might you consider adding a time buffer to?

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A) B) C) D) E)

47)

A fixed price contract is an example of A) B) C) D) E)

48)

Mitigating Retaining Ignoring Transferring Avoiding

Which of the following is NOT included in a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis? A) B) C) D) E)

50)

avoiding risk. transferring risk. accepting risk. escalating risk. mitigating risk.

Which of the following is NOT one of the potential responses to a specific risk event? A) B) C) D) E)

49)

Activities with severe risks Merge activities that are prone to delays Activities with scarce resources Noncritical activities with very little slack You might consider adding a time buffer to any of these activities.

Impact Probability Detection Risk value All of these are included

A Risk Response Matrix contains all of the following EXCEPT

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A) B) C) D) E)

51)

a contingency plan. a trigger. who is responsible. a response. when the risk will occur.

A key distinction between a risk response and a contingency plan is

A) a risk response is established only for moderate risks while contingency plans are established for major risks. B) a risk response is part of the actual implementation plan and action is taken before the risk can materialize, while a contingency plan goes into effect only after the risk has transpired. C) a risk response is only effective when you are able to assess the likelihood of the risk and its impact on the project; all other risks are covered by contingency planning. D) a risk response is created by the project team and the project manager while the project manager and the customer agree on the contingency plan. E) a risk response is action that is the response to a risk once it has happened and the contingency plan is created by the customer if the risk response fails.

52) The risk associated with the unlikelihood that one of the key members will be struck by lightning would most likely be handled by which of the following? A) B) C) D) E)

Mitigating Retaining Escalating Transferring Avoiding

53) Funds that are for identified risks that have a low probability of occurring and that decrease as the project progresses are called ______ reserves.

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A) B) C) D) E)

54)

Risks that can result in a system or process that will not work are known as A) B) C) D) E)

55)

management unidentified risk contingency padded just in case

technical risks. funding risks. schedule risks. cost risks. unnecessary risks.

One of the following five choices is NOT involved in risk control. Which choice is it? A) B) C) D) E)

Executing the risk response strategy Initiating contingency plans Establishing a change control system Establishing contingency funds Watching for new risks

56) One of the choices below refers to major unforeseen risks and endeavors to supply funds for the same. Which choice is it? A) B) C) D) E)

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Project reserves Management reserves Time buffers Activity reserves Contingency reserves

57)

Change management systems are designed to accomplish all of the following EXCEPT

A) track all changes that are to be implemented. B) review, evaluate, and approve/disapprove proposed changes formally. C) identify expected effects of proposed changes on schedule and budget. D) reflect scope changes in baseline and performance measures. E) All of these are examples of what change management systems are designed to accomplish.

58)

An unanticipated event that occurs which is beneficial to a project is known as a(n) A) B) C) D) E)

Management Reserve Success Factor Opportunity Risk Desirable event

59) This response is used to remove any uncertainty associated with an identified opportunity. A) B) C) D) E)

Exploit Share Enhance Accept Escalate

60) This response allocates some or all of the responsibility of realizing the identified opportunity for the project.

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A) B) C) D) E)

61)

This response is used to increase the potential effect of an identified opportunity. A) B) C) D) E)

62)

Exploit Share Enhance Accept Escalate

This response is used when an identified opportunity is not actively pursued. A) B) C) D) E)

Exploit Share Enhance Accept Escalate

63) A ____________ (responsible for the work package) involved in risk assessment and mitigation will help focus attention on all aspects of risk management. A) B) C) D) E)

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project manager line person stakeholder team leader project sponsor

64)

Including the change control system within the ________ is a key to a successful project. A) B) C) D) E)

65)

The implications of an identified change need to be assessed by A) B) C) D) E)

66)

work breakdown structure project baseline risk management plan work breakdown structure and project baseline project baseline and risk management plan

the primary project stakeholder. the chief fiscal officer. a person with expertise related to the change. the authorizing project manager. the program manager.

Most changes on a project are related to A) B) C) D) E)

scope changes. improvement changes. implementing contingency plans. customer-driven changes to requirements. All of these alternatives are correct.

67) An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on project objectives is known as a __________. A) B) C) D) E)

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milestone risk happening instant in time event whose probability of occurrence is unknown

68)

The likelihood of a risk occurring _____ as a project goes through its life cycle. A) B) C) D) E)

69)

Which of the following is the first step to risk management? A) B) C) D) E)

70)

Risk identification Risk assessment Risk response development Risk response control Risk qualitative/quantitative analysis

The significance of a risk is assessed in terms of the _____ and the ______ of the risk. A) B) C) D) E)

71)

increases decreases moderates amplifies becomes more probable

notoriety, visibility frequency, visibility impact, visibility likelihood, impact visibility, impact

A list of questions that address traditional areas of uncertainty on a project is known as a A) B) C) D) E)

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risk template risk profile risk questionnaire risk appraisal risk assessment

72) The measurement of how easy it would be to detect that the event was going to occur in time to take mitigating action (i.e., how much warning time we would have) is known as __________. A) B) C) D) E)

risk measurement mitigation risk assessment detection difficulty detection measurement

73) The ________ form identifies each risk event, the likelihood of it occurring, the potential impact, when it may occur, and the degree of difficulty in detecting it. A) B) C) D) E)

risk measurement mitigation detection difficulty risk assessment risk alleviation

74) The ________ matrix is divided into red, yellow, and green zones representing major, moderate, and minor risks. A) B) C) D) E)

risk measurement mitigation detection difficulty risk assessment risk severity

75) According to the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Impact × Probability × Detection = __________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

risk severity risk assessment risk value risk mitigation risk difficulty

76) When considering risk response development, reducing the likelihood that an event will occur and/or reducing the impact that an adverse event would have on a project is known as _________ the risk. A) B) C) D) E)

escalating mitigating avoiding transferring eliminating

77) When considering risk response development, changing the plan to eliminate the risk or condition is known as ____________ the risk. A) B) C) D) E)

transferring escalating avoiding retaining diminishing

78) When considering risk response development, passing risk to another party instead of changing it is known as ____________ the risk.

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A) B) C) D) E)

transferring escalating avoiding retaining diminishing

79) When considering risk response development, assuming the risk because the chance of such an event is slim is known as _________ the risk. A) B) C) D) E)

transferring mitigating avoiding retaining escalating

80) Testing a new project on a smaller isolated area prior to installing it for the entire organization is an example of ________ a risk. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

transferring escalating avoiding retaining mitigating

Performance bonds, warranties, and insurance are examples of ________ a risk. A) B) C) D) E)

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transferring escalating avoiding retaining mitigating

82) Choosing to move a concert indoors to eliminate the threat of bad weather is an example of ____________ a risk. A) B) C) D) E)

transferring escalating avoiding mitigating retaining

83) Flooding would be devastating to the project; however, it is very unlikely. The project manager is most likely to __________ this risk. A) B) C) D) E)

prepare for retain diminish distribute acknowledge

84) The event or point in time when a contingency plan will be implemented is called a(n) _________. A) B) C) D) E)

trigger milestone threshold contingency event execute event

85) ________ reserves are identified for specific work packages and are distributed by the project manager and the team members.

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A) B) C) D) E)

Incremental Contingency Additional Work package Incidental

86) Which of the following responses best characterizes how to respond to a risk that has considerable upside, or opportunity? A) B) C) D) E)

Mitigate risk Avoid risk Transfer risk Escalate risk Retain risk

87) ________ reserves are controlled by the project manager and the owner of the project and are used to cover major unforeseen risks to the entire project. A) B) C) D) E)

Management Contingency Budgetary Unforeseen Incidental

88) What is the risk value of a risk whose impact score is 5, whose probability score is 5 and whose detection score is 1? A) B) C) D) E)

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5 25 125 11 10

89) The lowest risk value that an identified risk can take is ________, while the highest risk value that an identified risk can take is ______. A) B) C) D) E)

1, 125 0, 1 × 10 to the 300 power 1, 25 0, 5 1, 5

90) A ____________ is an alternative that will be used if a possible foreseen risk event becomes a reality. A) B) C) D) E)

management plan risk management plan contingency plan alternative plan alternative risk plan

91) _____________ systems involve reporting, controlling, and recording changes to the project baseline. A) B) C) D) E)

92)

Proactive management Total management Change management Productive management Production management

Which verb best characterizes the concept of ‘Escalate’ when used as a risk response.

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A) B) C) D) E)

93)

Enhance Exacerbate Notify Increase Accelerate

Which of the following risks are likely to be retained? A) B) C) D) E)

Risks of high consequence Risks of low likelihood Risks of high likelihood Risks that are escalated Risks that are transferred

94) Just as contingency funds are established to absorb unplanned costs, managers use ______to cushion against potential delays.? A) B) C) D) E)

95)

Management reserves Time buffers Budget reserves Project buffers Project reserves

What kind of plan goes into place should a risk event actually occur? A) B) C) D) E)

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A project plan A risk response A mitigation plan A contingency plan An escalation and enhancement plan

96) The table that shows each risk event as rows while columns will identify the name of the risk, the response to the risk, the contingency plan and the trigger is called what? A) B) C) D) E)

Responsibility assignment matrix Risk response matrix Risk identification table Risk characterization table Risk assessment matrix

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 97) Describe the relationship between the likelihood of a risk event occurring and the cost of fixing the risk event as a project proceeds through its life cycle.

98)

Identify and briefly describe the four steps in the risk management process.

99) What is the difference between mitigating a risk and a contingency plan? Provide real life examples that illustrate the difference.

100) What is the purpose of using tools such as a risk assessment form and a risk severity matrix?

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101) Why might an organization be opposed to developing and implementing a thorough risk management process?

102) Give a real-life example of mitigating a risk, avoiding a risk, transferring a risk, escalating a risk and retaining a risk.

103)

What is a "trigger" and why is it important when planning contingencies?

104)

Identify and briefly describe the five ways to respond to identified risks.

105)

What is the difference between contingency reserves and management reserves?

106)

What is Change Control Management and what function does it perform?

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107) When considering risk management, what is an opportunity? List and briefly describe 5 different responses to an opportunity.

108) List the major response choices for negative risks. Do the same for positive risks (opportunities).

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 07_8e 1) TRUE 2) FALSE 3) FALSE 4) TRUE 5) FALSE 6) FALSE 7) TRUE 8) FALSE 9) TRUE 10) FALSE 11) FALSE 12) FALSE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) FALSE 18) TRUE 19) TRUE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) TRUE 23) FALSE 24) TRUE 25) FALSE 26) C Version 1

27) E 28) A 29) B 30) D 31) C 32) D 33) A 34) E 35) B 36) A 37) B 38) C 39) B 40) A 41) D 42) E 43) C 44) E 45) E 46) E 47) B 48) C 49) E 50) E 51) B 52) B 53) C 54) A 55) D 56) B Version 1

57) E 58) C 59) A 60) B 61) C 62) D 63) B 64) D 65) C 66) E 67) B 68) B 69) A 70) D 71) B 72) D 73) D 74) E 75) C 76) B 77) C 78) A 79) D 80) E 81) A 82) C 83) B 84) A 85) B 86) D Version 1

87) A 88) B 89) A 90) C 91) C 92) C 93) B 94) B 95) D 96) B 97) In the early stages of the project life cycle the probability of a risk event occurring is greater than at any other time and the cost to fix it is lower than at any other point. As time passes the probability of occurrence drops lower and lower while the cost rises. 98) (1) Risk Identification-all possible risks are identified; (2) Risk Assessment-risks are assessed in terms of importance and need for attention; (3) Risk Response Development-plans are developed to respond if the risk actually occurs; (4) Risk Response Control-the actual response to the risk and controlling changes associated with the risks. 99) The key distinction between a risk response or, for example, mitigating a risk, and a contingency plan is that a response is part of the actual implementation plan and action is taken before the risk can materialize, while a contingency plan is not part of the initial implementation plan and goes into effect only after the risk is recognized.

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100) These tools are used to assess risk. After risk identification there are many risks that are trivial and can be ignored. The risk assessment form and risk severity matrix help assess the probability of the event occurring and the impact of the event on the project. After assessment, responses are developed only for risks that pose serious threats to the welfare of the project. 101) Managing risk takes time and money, which may deter organizations from implementing a management process. Organizational culture may also play a role in how much an organization values risk management. 102) Mitigating a risk: duplicate systems, backup systems, alternate technology development. Avoiding a risk: moving a concert indoors to avoid potential negative weather conditions. Transferring risk: fixedprice contract, insurance. Escalating risk: notifying upper-level management of the risks possible through just a minor change to a product. Retaining risk: accept the risk of a lightning strike because the likelihood is so low. 103) A trigger is an event or point in time when the contingency plan will be implemented. It is not only important to know what you will do if a risk event actually occurs but at what point will it be implemented. This discourages implementing the plan too soon or waiting too long and potentially increasing the negative impact of the risk. 104) (1) Mitigate the risk-involves reducing the likelihood that the event will occur and/or reducing the impact that the adverse event would have on the project; (2) Avoid the risk-changing the project plan to eliminate the risk; (3) Transfer the risk-passing a risk to another party; (4) Retain the risk-making a conscious decision to accept the risk of an event occurring; (5) Escalating risk occurs when the project encounters a threat that is outside the scope of the project or the authority of the project manager. Version 1

105) Contingency reserves are controlled by team participants and have been identified for known risks that have a low chance of occurring and are directly associated with specific work packages. Management reserves are controlled by the project manager and the project "owner" and cover items which were unforeseen usually at the total project level. 106) Change Control Management is the formal process for making and tracking changes once a project has started. Any changes must be detailed and accepted by the project team. Risks associated with making changes are thus assessed and documented. 107) An opportunity is an event that can have a positive impact on project objectives. One can exploit an opportunity or seek to eliminate the uncertainty associated with it, share an opportunity or allocate some ownership of an opportunity to another party who is best capable of capturing it, enhance the opportunity or increase the probability and/or positive impact of an opportunity, escalate the opportunity by notifying the appropriate people within the organization, or accept the opportunity by taking advantage of it if it occurs, but not pursue it. 108) Negative risk choices: mitigate, avoid, transfer, escalate, retain. Positive risk choices: exploit, share, enhance, escalate, accept.

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CHAPTER 8 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) The fact that you must pour foundation before you frame the house and that you have to frame the house before you can put on the roof demonstrates scheduling constraints. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Too many parallel activities for one individual is an example of a resource constraint. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) The level of resources each activity will need to be completed in the given amount of time has been estimated; therefore, there are no resource constraints. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Resource leveling or smoothing is only used on projects which are resource constrained. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) Resource bottlenecks are one of the three more common problems encountered in managing multiproject resource schedules. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) The inability to fit more than two earth movers on a construction site at the same time when more are needed to complete the activity on time is an example of a physical constraint. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

In a resource-constrained project, the completion date is most likely to change. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) Having too few programmers and too many engineers is an example of a people resource constraint. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) If a project needs one earth mover six months from now in order to complete one activity, and the organization has four such machines, there is no equipment resource constraint. ⊚ ⊚

10)

A lack of readily available engineers is a technical constraint. ⊚ ⊚

11) it.

true false

Resource dependency takes priority over technological dependency but it does not violate ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) To determine if a project is time-constrained or resource-constrained you would consult the project priority matrix. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

13) Sequential activities hold just as much potential for resource conflicts as parallel activities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

14) All leveling techniques delay noncritical activities by using positive slack to smooth out the resource requirements. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) Since resource leveling or smoothing delays noncritical activities, a common result is a decrease in network sensitivity. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) Scheduling projects classified as resource-constrained focuses on completing the project as soon as possible under the given resource constraints. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) When resource constraints are added to technical constraints the original project network may change as well as the completion date. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) When scheduling activities in a resource-constrained project typically the activity scheduled first has the most amount of slack. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

19) A project budget report is showing our project as spending $82,000 against a budgeted amount of $85,000. We can assume that everything is going as planned and that we are under budget. ⊚ ⊚

true false

20) Splitting is a scheduling technique used to get a better schedule or better resource utilization and should be used without hesitation. ⊚ ⊚

21)

true false

Without a time-phased budget a good project schedule and cost control are impossible. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) If resources are truly limited and activity time estimates are accurate, the resourceconstrained schedule will materialize as the project is implemented, not the time-constrained schedule. ⊚ ⊚

23)

Project managers should always assign the best people to the most difficult tasks. ⊚ ⊚

24)

true false

Resource constraints can be overcome by creative and efficient scheduling. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

25) Project management software is important because it will manage the project for the project manager. ⊚ ⊚

true false

26) Comparing Planned Costs versus Actual Costs will give the project manager a quick understanding of the status of the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

27) Having individual staff members assigned to multiple simultaneous tasks is an efficient way to split tasks and get tasks accomplished more efficiently. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 28) Resources are adequate, but demand varies widely over the life of the project. Delaying noncritical activities to lower peak demand on resources is known as resource A) B) C) D) E)

29)

shifting. effectiveness. manipulating. smoothing. allocation.

If resources are not adequate to meet peak demands, the resulting reschedule is termed

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A) B) C) D) E)

resource-constrained scheduling. time-constrained scheduling. mandatory leveling. project resource adjustment. allocation.

30) Which of the following is NOT a potential consequence of failing to identify limited resources before project implementation? A) B) C) D) E)

Activity delays Project delays Difficulty in taking quick corrective action Increase costs Scope creep

31) When developing a new software package, logically, the software must be designed before the code is written, and the code must be written before it is tested. These activities are dependent on each other by _________ constraints. A) B) C) D) E)

physical technical resource schedule time

32) When considering the sequence and timing of activities, which of the following is NOT one of the types of project network constraints?

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A) B) C) D) E) network.

Physical Technical Resource Time All of these are types of constraints that could impact structure of the project

33) A project engineer has been scheduled to run the product system test at the same time as building a marketing prototype. This is an example of what type of resource constraint? A) B) C) D) E)

Physical Technical People Equipment Time

34) A test engineer is to conduct environmental testing but the chamber cannot hold all the equipment that needs to be tested. This is an example of a constraint that could impact the sequence and timing of activities in a project network. What type of constraint is it? A) B) C) D) E)

35)

Physical Technical Resource Scheduling Time

All of the following are types of resource constraints EXCEPT

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A) B) C) D) E)

materials. people. equipment. information. human.

36) A project purchasing agent is trying to order the concrete needed to continue the project. However, the supplier will not be able to deliver it until next week. This is an example of what kind of resource constraint? A) B) C) D) E)

Working capital People Equipment Information Materials

37) A special truck that is needed on the project has been assigned to another project. This is an example of what type of resource constraint? A) B) C) D) E)

Working capital People Equipment Information Materials

38) Most of the scheduling methods available today require the project manager to classify the project as either _______ constrained or ______ constrained.

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A) B) C) D) E)

time, quality quality, resource cost, time quality, cost time, resource

39) A project leader’s boss has indicated that their project is very important. If the critical path is delayed, the lead will be given whatever is needed to get it back on schedule. The project is classified as ________ constrained. A) B) C) D) E)

time quality cost performance resource

40) In reviewing the status of a project with top management, a team leader was told that there are only two programmers that can be used for the project. The project is classified as __________ constrained. A) B) C) D) E)

41)

time quality cost performance resource

All resource leveling techniques involve

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A) B) C) D) E)

delaying noncritical activities. delaying critical activities. using negative slack. delaying the project. adding resources.

42) Technical constraints have been carefully considered when developing a project network. Which of the following is true at this point? A) Resources have been assigned to each activity so they are adequate to complete the project on time. B) Technical dependencies between activities are known. C) The project completion date can be established. D) The project is ready to be implemented. E) All of these are true statements once technical constraints have been established.

43) A project scheduler is working on a project that technically allows three activities to be done at the same time. If they were to be implemented at the same time, the scheduler would need 5 contractors in order for the activities to be completed on time. There are only 3 available for the project. This is an example of what type of constraint? A) B) C) D) E)

44)

Technical People Equipment Physical Materials

Resource leveling or smoothing can have all the following results on a project EXCEPT

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A) B) C) D) E)

lower peak resource demand. reduced resource need over the life of the project. reduced fluctuations in resource demand. a longer project duration. a more sensitive network.

45) A project scheduler is trying to reallocate resources in a time-constrained project to create smoother resource utilization. The scheduler should first identify activities with the A) B) C) D) E)

46)

smallest duration. least slack. most slack. lowest identification number. highest cost.

In a resource-constrained project, which of the following is most likely to be changed? A) B) C) D) E)

The completion date The budget Project quality Resource levels Scope creep

47) In a resource-constrained project, the first, or primary, priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) B) C) D) E)

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smallest duration. least slack. most slack. lowest identification number. highest cost.

48) In a resource-constrained project the second priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) B) C) D) E)

smallest duration. least slack. most slack. lowest identification number. highest cost.

49) A project leader has realized that two activities in the project cannot be done at the same time because not enough resources are available. Activity 3 is critical and has a duration of 5 days. Activity 4 has 2 days of slack and a duration of 2 days. How will the project leader decide which activity should be scheduled first? A) B) C) D) E)

50)

The activity with the smallest duration The activity with the least slack The activity with the most slack The activity with the lowest identification number The activity with the highest cost

Splitting an activity can result in all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

more people working on the same activity. possible startup and shutdown costs. a resource being moved from one activity to another and then back. activity work being placed on hold for a period until more resources are available. a better project schedule.

51) All of the following are benefits of scheduling resources before project implementation EXCEPT

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A) it allows time for considering reasonable options if resource constraints do exist. B) the project completion date can be established. C) work packages can be time-phased. D) it allows managers to share resources with other project managers if it is requested without negatively impacting their project. E) it ensures low network sensitivity.

52) These are all guidelines a project manager should consider when assigning project work EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

select people with compatible work habits and personalities. always assign the best people to the most difficult tasks. when possible, team veterans up with new hires. select individuals with skillsets that complement each other. have people work together early so that they can become familiar with each other.

53) When a company will reduce the number of projects they have to manage internally to only core projects and send noncritical projects to contractors and consulting firms this is called A) B) C) D) E)

outsourcing. redistribution of projects. project allocation. task sharing. referring.

54) Which of the following is NOT one of the more common problems associated with scheduling multi-project resources?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Overall schedule slippage Inefficient resource utilization Decline in project quality Resource bottlenecks Delays in one project causing delays in other projects

55) In a resource-constrained project the third priority in assigning resources is usually given to activities with the A) B) C) D) E)

56)

Why is it necessary to have a time-phased budget baseline? A) B) C) D) E)

57)

smallest duration. least slack. most slack. lowest identification number. highest cost.

It allows proper resource allocation. It shows how much work was accomplished for the money spent. It reduces schedule slippage when scheduling multiproject resources. It is not necessary to have a time-phased budget baseline. It reduces fluctuations in cash flow during the project.

Project budgets are developed by time-phasing which of the following? A) B) C) D) E)

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Resource schedules Work packages The network diagram Critical activities None of these are time-phased to develop a project budget.

58) A project budget report is showing our project as spending $50,000 against a budgeted amount of $65,000. Which of the following is true? A) B) C) D) E)

We are spending less than we should for the project. We are doing a good job managing the project. We should check to see if all the bills have been paid. We have more money to put into budget reserves. We can't be sure how the project is going.

59) When there are not enough people, money, and/or equipment available for a project it is known as being A) B) C) D) E)

60)

When leveling schedules to overcome resource constraints, ___________ is increased. A) B) C) D) E)

61)

managerially resourceful. operationally successful. resource constrained. delayed without prejudice. project constrained.

impact of risks scheduling complexity cost amount of total slack amount of free slack

This is used to compare the cost accounts between organizational units and deliverables.

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A) B) C) D) E)

62)

When deciding which staff to team-up to work on work packages, factors to consider are: A) B) C) D) E)

63)

Chart of Accounts Earned Value Project Schedule Direct Labor Budget Rollup Comparison Audit

Work habits. Practical experience. Years of working in the company. Both work habits and practical experience. Both practical experience and years of working in the company.

While balancing assignments, a project manager must also balance: A) B) C) D) E)

Overall project cost. Talent development. Earned value. Work package slack. Project cost.

64) When looking at the critical path for a delayed project and the project manager sees that adding resources will reduce or remove the delay, the project manager knows that the project is: A) B) C) D) E)

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Over Allocated. Time-Constrained. Institutionally Challenged. Ahead of schedule. Unstable.

65) If resource demand varies widely over the life of the project, the project manager can try to use slack (delaying noncritical activities) to accommodate insufficient resources. This process is called____. A) B) C) D) E)

resource scheduling resource smoothing resource-constrained scheduling splitting resource accommodation

66) If it becomes necessary to delay one or several late starts to accommodate resource limitations, this is called: A) B) C) D) E)

Resource scheduling Resource smoothing Resource-constrained scheduling Splitting Resource accommodation

67) When developing project networks, which of the following is not a reason for delineating technical dependencies first before doing resource dependencies? A) The interrelationships and interactions among time and resource constraints are complex for even small project networks. B) Resource availability may not be known until the initial schedule is completed. C) Even if resources are known, one cannot assess the impact of limited resources until a resource-neutral schedule is created. D) An effort to examine the interactions between technical/logical constraints and resource limitations frequently uncovers surprising problems. E) All of these alternatives are reasons for delineating technical dependencies first before doing resource dependencies.

68) Which of the following questions does a project manager NOT have to address when considering resources allocated to a project? Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

69)

Will the assigned labor be adequate and available to deal with my project? Will outside contractors have to be used? Will scope have to be redefined/stabilized? Do unforeseen resource dependencies exist? How much flexibility do we have in using resources?

Which constraint category should be considered before all others? A) B) C) D) E)

Logical and technical constraints Human resource constraints Material resource constraints Equipment resource constraints Time constraints

70) Delaying noncritical activities to lower peak demand and, thus, increase resource utilization is called resource __________. A) B) C) D) E)

smoothing slack utilization switching re-scheduling overtime

71) A(n) ________ constraint addresses the sequence in which project activities must occur even after considering resource constraints. A) B) C) D) E)

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predecessor technical or logic successor serial hard

72) When only one person is responsible for performing several activities, all due at the same time, this is an example of a(n) ________ constraint. A) B) C) D) E)

equipment materials technical resource logical

73) Renovation of a small compartment in a houseboat or camping trailer that is too small for more than one person is an example of a(n) ________ resource constraint. A) B) C) D) E)

physical people material equipment budget

74) A shortage of software developers to create software is an example of a(n) ________ type of resource constraint. A) B) C) D) E)

physical people material equipment budget

75) The shortage of memory chips to produce a printed circuit motherboard is an example of a(n) ________ type of resource constraint.

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A) B) C) D) E)

physical people material equipment budget

76) If three copiers are needed to produce a final report on time and only two are available, the project is facing a(n) ________ type of resource constraint. A) B) C) D) E)

physical people material equipment budget

77) Resource dependency takes priority over the technological dependency but does not violate ___________ dependencies. A) B) C) D) E)

equipment time technical resource logical

78) In order that the new product is on the shelf for the Christmas buying season, the development of the new product would be classified as a(n) ________ -constrained project. A) B) C) D) E)

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equipment time technical resource logical

79) A project manager has two engineers assigned to the project and does not have access to more even if the result means extending the completion date on the project. The project manager is managing a(n) ________. A) B) C) D) E)

time-constrained project people-constrained project engineer-constrained project resource-constrained project human-constrained project

80) All leveling techniques delay noncritical activities by using ________ to reduce peak demand. A) B) C) D) E)

additional resources additional time positive risk additional people additional slack

81) When scheduling activities in a resource-constrained project, typically the activity scheduled first has the __________ amount of slack. A) B) C) D) E)

least most greatest maximum modest

82) Since resource leveling or smoothing delays noncritical activities, a common result is an increase in network ___________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

complexity density sensitivity paths nodes

83) When the work in an activity is interrupted to work on another activity and is then resumed at a later point in time, it is called _________. A) B) C) D) E)

prioritizing preempting overriding splitting All of these alternatives are correct.

84) In scheduling resource-constrained projects, _________ are typically used rather than optimum mathematical solutions. A) B) C) D) E)

project managers program managers project leaders heuristics team leaders

85) In terms of project classification, ________ constrained means that project duration is fixed and resources are flexible. A) B) C) D) E)

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time people material resource equipment

86) When classifying projects, ________ constrained means that the amount of a specific resource is fixed and the duration of the project is flexible. A) B) C) D) E)

time people material resource equipment

87) When using the _______ scheduling technique, startup and shutdown costs are major considerations. A) B) C) D) E)

splitting critical path method PERT laddering lags

88) After resource leveling or smoothing, one goal is that the amount of resources needed over the life of the project will be ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

constant increased reduced minimized maximized

89) Many companies are ________ project work to contractors and consultants as a means of dealing with the peaks and valleys of resource allocation among projects.

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A) B) C) D) E)

offshoring outsourcing spinning-off doing assigning

90) When a project is classified as resource-constrained, a resource constraint exists, and positive slack is insufficient, then the project duration is typically __________. A) B) C) D) E)

without slack fixed extended flexible static

91) In reality resource allocation generally occurs in a(n) ___________ environment where the demands of one project have to be reconciled with the needs of other projects. A) B) C) D) E)

92)

uncertain multiproject budget-constrained risky controlled

Without a __________ budget a good project schedule and cost control are impossible. A) B) C) D) E)

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time-phased project cost baseline definitive forecasted firm

93)

A project cost baseline is also called __________. A) B) C) D) E)

earned value (EV) actual cost (AC) planned value (PV) budget distribution budget allocation

94) __________ is a technique that can be used to quickly solve the combinational problem of resource allocation. A) B) C) D) E)

Rules Heuristics Methods Algorithms Optimizations

95) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, construct the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Given that the Month of May has 31 days, on what date is the project finished assuming sufficient resources?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Monday, May 25, 2020 Sunday, May 24, 2020 Friday, May 29, 2020 Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Monday, June 1, 2020

96) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart for the table above. What is the early-start date for activity D? A) B) C) D) E)

Monday, May 11, 2020 Saturday, May 9, 2020 Sunday, May 10, 2020 Tuesday, May 12, 2020 Wednesday, May 13, 2020

97) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Assume no working-day holidays during the months of May and June—no Memorial Day holiday, for example. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

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B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the Gantt Chart for the table above. Given that the Month of May has 31 days, what is the late start date for activity D? A) B) C) D) E)

Monday, May 18, 2020 Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Wednesday, May 20, 2020 Sunday, May 17, 2020 Saturday, May 16, 2020

98) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the Gantt Chart for the table above. What is the late start date for activity E? A) B) C) D) E)

Monday, May 18, 2020 Tuesday, May 19, 2020 Friday, May 22, 2020 Tuesday, May 26, 2020 Monday, May 25, 2020

99) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume the project starts on Monday, May 4, 2020 and no work is done on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). All activities require the same resource. Assume no workingday holidays during the months of May and June—no Memorial Day holiday, for example.

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Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table. Assume the project is resource-constrained but not time-constrained. Assume only one resource is available and that resource can only do one activity at a time. Given that the Month of May has 31 days, what would be the completion date for the project? A) B) C) D) E)

Monday, June 8, 2020 Wednesday, June 10, 2020 Friday, June 5, 2020 Thursday, June 11, 2020 Thursday, June 4, 2020

100) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume all activities require the same resource. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table and determine the following. Assume the project is resource-constrained but not time-constrained. Assume only one resource is available and that resource can only do one activity at a time. Activities B, C and D all have the same early start date (time). Since there is only one resource, only one of the activities B, C, D can be started on the early start date. Which should be started first?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Activity B Activity C Activity D Both activities B and D Either activity B or activity D

101) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. The project is time-constrained and the project manager wishes to minimize the number of resources required at any given time. Each activity requires a single resource. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

On a piece of scratch paper, draw the early-start Gantt Chart associated with this table and determine which activity should be delayed? A) B) C) D) E)

Activity B Activity C Activity D Both activities C and D Either activity B or activity D

102) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume all activities require the same resource. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

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Activity B Activity C Activity D Both activities C and D Either activity B or activity D

103) Consider the following table of activities A through E in which A is the start node and E is the stop node. Assume all activities require the same resource. Activity

Duration (days)

Predecessor

B, C, D

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Activity A Activity C Activity D Both activities A and D Either activity B or activity D

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 104) Identify and briefly describe the three types of project constraints that could impact or change the structure of project network.

105) What is the difference in project goals when using resource leveling on time-constrained projects and using it on resource-constrained projects?

106) Why is a schedule not a schedule until resources have been assigned? Provide a real-life example that illustrates your explanation.

107)

Identify and give an example of the three types of resource constraints.

108)

Identify and briefly describe two ways to classify projects with scheduling problems.

109)

List and briefly describe the disadvantages of resource leveling or smoothing.

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110)

What are the impacts of resource-constrained scheduling?

111) After constructing a project network based on technical constraints and reviewing resource requirements throughout the project, a project manager realizes many peaks and valleys in regard to resource usage. At one point the project manager needs 6 developers, but top management has made it very clear that she will not have access to more than 4. Classify this project in terms of the scheduling problem. What are the project manager’s options at this point?

112) When using resource-constrained scheduling, activities that were once scheduled to be completed at the same time now may have to be scheduled in sequence. What are the "rules of thumb" or heuristics that need to be followed to determine which activity is scheduled first?

113)

Why should project managers be cautious about using the splitting scheduling technique?

114) Why is it important to make efforts to identify resource scheduling problems before the project is implemented?

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115)

Why is it critical to form a time-phased budget?

116) If your project has spent $75,000 versus a budget of $70,000 and it is a week ahead of schedule, is it a certainty that your project is doing well? Explain why or why not.

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 08_8e 1) FALSE 2) TRUE 3) FALSE 4) FALSE 5) TRUE 6) TRUE 7) TRUE 8) TRUE 9) FALSE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) TRUE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) TRUE 18) FALSE 19) FALSE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) TRUE 23) FALSE 24) FALSE 25) FALSE 26) FALSE Version 1

27) FALSE 28) D 29) A 30) E 31) B 32) D 33) C 34) A 35) D 36) E 37) C 38) E 39) A 40) E 41) A 42) B 43) B 44) D 45) C 46) A 47) B 48) A 49) B 50) A 51) E 52) B 53) A 54) C 55) D 56) B Version 1

57) B 58) E 59) C 60) B 61) D 62) D 63) B 64) B 65) B 66) C 67) E 68) C 69) A 70) A 71) B 72) D 73) A 74) B 75) C 76) D 77) C 78) B 79) D 80) E 81) A 82) C 83) D 84) D 85) A 86) D Version 1

87) A 88) C 89) B 90) C 91) B 92) A 93) C 94) B 95) C 96) A 97) B 98) E 99) D 100) B 101) E 102) A 103) B 104) (1) Technical (logic)-the sequence that activities must be performed; (2) Resource-the absence of required people, materials, equipment, or working capital; (3) Physical-limitations based on space or environmental limits. 105) In time-constrained projects the goal is to smooth out the peaks and valleys and thus improve the utilization. In resource-constrained projects the goal is to achieve the shortest project duration given a limited supply of resources. 106) Before resources are assigned it is assumed that there will be adequate resources available once the project is implemented. Without assigning resources before implementation, resource constraints will be recognized during implementation and could have negative impacts on the project's deadline. Version 1

107) (1) People-by skill classification (engineer, programmer, salesperson); (2) Materials-paint, data, parts, etc.; (3) Equipmentcomputers, earth movers, office space. 108) (1) Time-constrained-the end date is fixed and needed resources are available; (2) Resource-constrained-the resources are fixed and the end date is flexible. 109) (1) Loss of flexibility; (2) Increased risk of project delay; (3) More critical or near critical activities. 110) Like leveling schedules, the limited resource schedule usually reduces slack, reduces flexibility by using slack to ensure delay is minimized, and increases the number of critical and near-critical activities. Since resources are not enough to accommodate the initial schedule, project duration is extended. 111) This project is classified as a resource-constrained project. The project manager can attempt the resource leveling or smoothing method. This may reduce the peak demand for resources, the fluctuations in resource demand, and it may even reduce the resources needed over the life of the project; however, if there is not enough slack to absorb the resource demand, The project manager will have to use resourceconstrained scheduling. With this method, the length of her project may be extended. 112) The first priority is to allocate resources to the activity with the least amount of slack, usually an activity on the critical path. If more than one activity has the same amount of slack, then select the activity with the smallest duration. If more than one activity has the same slack and the same duration, then select the activity that has the lowest identification number.

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113) The splitting technique is where an activity is interrupted and the resources are applied to another activity. The potential problems are in the additional shutdown and startup costs which are added as one moves from activity to activity prior to completing the original activity. 114) Failing to schedule limited resources can be costly and project delays will manifest themselves midway through the project when quick corrective action is difficult. Responding to scheduling issues early allows the project manager to establish a completion date and to prepare time-phased work package budgets. 115) Without a time-phased budget it is difficult to measure how much work has been done with the money spent. Without time phasing cost to match your project schedule, it is impossible to have reliable information for control purposes. 116) Not necessarily. You need more information to draw that conclusion. You do not know what work has been accomplished for the money spent.

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CHAPTER 9 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) There are more options available for reducing project time if you are not resource constrained. ⊚ ⊚

true false

An activity must be crashed on each critical path in order to reduce project duration. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) Managers have several effective methods for crashing specific project activities when resources are not constrained. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) Indirect costs generally represent overhead costs such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interest. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) The total cost for each time unit of a project is the sum of labor, materials, and equipment. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) Direct costs are so named because they can be assigned directly to a work package and activity. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) Because direct costs are assumed to be developed from "normal" methods and in a "normal" amount of time, any reduction in activity time should add to the costs of the activity. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) Total cost for specific project durations is computed and then compared with the benefits of reducing project time, before the project begins or while it is in progress. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) Incentive contracts can make the reduction of project time rewarding—usually for both the project contractor and owner. ⊚ ⊚

10)

Shortening an activity's duration is termed crashing. ⊚ ⊚

11)

true false

Brooks' law states that adding manpower to a software project helps keep it on schedule. ⊚ ⊚

13)

true false

When adding resources, there are limits as to how much speed can be gained. ⊚ ⊚

12)

true false

The cost slope of an activity is calculated by dividing the run by the rise.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

14) If indirect costs are a significant percentage of total project costs, reductions in project time can represent very real savings. ⊚ ⊚

15)

The higher the cost slope of an activity the lower the cost to reduce its duration. ⊚ ⊚

16)

true false

Crashing frequently results in over allocation of resources. ⊚ ⊚

19)

true false

Crashing a more expensive activity may be wise if fewer inherent risks are involved. ⊚ ⊚

18)

true false

When crashing an activity, you always crash to its crash point. ⊚ ⊚

17)

true false

Crashing can negatively impact the morale and motivation of the project team. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

20) When reducing project duration, there will always be an optimum cost-time point where the total cost of the project is less than it was when the project was initially planned under normal conditions. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) The accuracy of crash times and costs is frequently rough at best, when compared with normal time and cost. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) One of the advantages of using a project cost-duration graph is that it keeps the importance of indirect costs in the forefront of decision making. ⊚ ⊚

23)

Resources are frequently over-allocated when crashing a schedule. ⊚ ⊚

24)

true false

For most projects, the estimation of a crash time is relatively easy. ⊚ ⊚

true false

25) Crashing activities on a project network that is sensitive could increase the risk of the project being late. ⊚ ⊚

26)

true false

Insensitive networks are a rarity; Planning for a sensitive network is more practical.

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⊚ ⊚

true false

27) Making the decision to crash is the result of careful fiscal analysis and deep understanding of the project. ⊚ ⊚

28)

true false

The simplest way to reduce cost on a project is to reduce the scope of a project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 29) Without any formal planning, the president of a high-tech company remarks in a speech that new technologically advanced routers will be available in one year. This may lead to a project that must be done faster than anticipated. This is an example of reducing project duration caused by A) B) C) D) E)

imposed project deadlines. time to market. unforeseen project delays. high overhead. incentive contracts.

30) Intense global competition and rapid technological advances create pressure to develop projects rapidly. This is an example of reducing project duration caused by

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A) B) C) D) E)

imposed project deadlines. time to market. unforeseen project delays. high overhead. incentive contracts.

31) A construction contractor finished a bridge across a river 12 months early and received more than $5 million for the early completion. This is an example of reducing project duration caused by A) B) C) D) E)

imposed project deadlines. time to market. unforeseen project delays. high overhead. incentive contracts.

32) Design flaws, equipment breakdown and adverse weather can create negative slack. These are examples of the need for reducing project duration on successive critical activities that was caused by

A) B) C) D) E)

33)

imposed project deadlines. time to market. unforeseen project delays. high overhead. incentive contracts.

In a Project Cost-Duration Graph, total project costs are a sum of

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A) B) C) D) E)

34)

Which of the following is NOT considered a project indirect cost? A) B) C) D) E)

35)

labor, material and equipment costs. direct costs plus interest. direct labor costs and the project manager's salary. direct costs and the project manager's salary. direct and indirect costs.

Supervision Consultants Equipment Interest The project manager's salary

As a project is crashed and project duration is reduced, indirect costs typically A) B) C) D) E)

increase. become unstable. decrease. become unreliable. stay the same.

36) Before crashing, direct costs for an activity represent normal costs, which typically mean low-cost, efficient methods for completing the activity in a(n) ________ amount of time. A) B) C) D) E)

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normal budgeted optimized expected targeted

37) The shortest possible time an activity can be completed realistically is called ___---_____ time. A) B) C) D) E)

38)

expedited accelerated crash optimistic optimal

As a project is crashed and project duration is reduced, direct costs typically A) B) C) D) E)

increase. become unstable. decrease. become unreliable. stay the same.

39) The direct cost for completing an activity in the shortest time it can realistically be completed in is called its __________ cost. A) B) C) D) E)

40)

normal reserve crash accelerated expedited

An activity's crash cost includes ________ costs.

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A) B) C) D) E)

41)

Cost slope can be determined by dividing the A) B) C) D) E)

42)

run by the rise. rise by the run. crash cost by the normal cost. normal cost by the crash cost. indirect cost by direct cost.

The less steep the cost slope of an activity, the A) B) C) D) E)

43)

direct indirect overhead total normal

less it costs to shorten one time period. more it costs to shorten one time period. smaller the crash time is. larger the crash time is. cannot be determined by the information given.

Which of the following correctly calculates an activity's cost slope? A) B) C) D) E)

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(normal cost - crash cost)/(normal time - crash time) (crash cost - normal cost)/(normal time - crash time) (normal time - crash time)/(crash cost - normal cost) (normal time - crash time)/(normal cost - crash cost) (crash cost - normal cost)/(crash time - normal time)

44) Helen has just learned that she needs to reduce the duration of her project to meet an imposed deadline. She has calculated the crash cost per unit and knows the maximum units each activity can be reduced. What is the next step? A) B) C) D) E)

45)

Find the activity with the lowest crash cost Calculate the optimum cost-time point Calculate the crash point Identify the critical path Find the activity with the highest crash cost

In selecting the best activity to crash you would first select the activity with the A) B) C) D) E)

least steep slope. earliest start time. longest duration. most steep slope. largest crash time.

46) When reducing project duration, the duration for a project that is optimal is at the point where A) B) C) D) E)

direct costs are the lowest. indirect costs are the lowest. direct costs equal indirect costs. total project costs are the lowest. the project changes from time-constrained to resource-constrained.

47) When reducing project duration, the crash cost per unit has to be calculated and the maximum units each activity can be reduced must be known. After this, the critical path must be identified. What is the next step?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Find the activity with the lowest crash cost Calculate the optimum cost-time point Calculate the crash point Calculate indirect cost per time unit Find the activity with the steepest cost slope

48) When determining which activity to crash, there are other factors that should be assessed beyond cost. Which of the following is NOT one of these factors? A) The inherent risk associated with the activity B) How crashing will impact the morale and motivation of the individuals working on that activity C) Resource availability after crashing that activity D) The level of difficulty involved in completing the activity E) When during the project the activity will occur

49)

Reducing project duration A) B) C) D) E)

involves crashing all activities to their crash point. can only be done when resources are not constrained. is always more expensive. tends to increase network sensitivity. should be considered for all projects.

50) An activity's normal time and cost are 10 and $120, respectively. Its estimated crash time and cost are 7 and $180, respectively. What is this activity's crash cost per time unit? A) B) C) D) E)

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$20 $30 $40 $50 $60

51)

The relationship between the normal point and the crash point is assumed to be A) B) C) D) E)

linear. curvilinear. variable. conversely related. exponentially related.

52) When a project manager must reduce project duration but resources are constrained, creating a software program that will have less functionality than originally planned or building a house without the bonus room and the basement that the owner originally specified in the plans would both be examples of A) B) C) D) E)

53)

fast-tracking. use critical-chain project management. reduce project scope. compromise quality. do it twice—fast and correctly.

Which of the following is NOT a rational reason to reduce project duration? A) B) C) D) E)

Incentive contracts High network sensitivity Imposed deadlines High overhead costs Unforeseen delays

54) Sometimes very high __________ costs are recognized before a project begins and reducing these costs through shorter project durations becomes a high priority.

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A) B) C) D) E)

55)

labor direct project overhead interest

One way of reducing project costs is identifying tasks that _________ can do themselves. A) B) C) D) E)

vendors suppliers customers company employees project teams

56) Which of the following projects would be least benefited if additional resources were added? A) B) C) D) E)

Splitting and stacking a cord of wood Developing new software Harvesting a crop by hand Building a cabin Moving to a new house

57) Which of the following is NOT one of the more commonly used options for cutting project costs? A) B) C) D) E)

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Reduce project scope Have owner take more responsibility Move the completion date further out Brainstorm cost savings options Outsource project activities

58)

All of the following are disadvantages of scheduling overtime EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

overtime is associated with additional costs of coordination and communication. sustained overtime work by salaried employees may incur burnout. productivity is reduced the longer one is working. more hours results in higher expenses if paying workers hourly. continued overtime can lead to a higher turnover rate.

59) According to Brooks' Law, adding more people to a late project is most likely to have which of the following impacts? A) B) C) D) E)

Keep the project from slipping any further Get the project back on schedule Make the project slip further Lead to burnout Decrease team motivation

60) When it is necessary to reduce project duration and resources are constrained, which of the following is NOT a reasonable option? A) B) C) D) E)

Establish a core project team Fast-tracking Reduce project scope Compromise quality Use critical-chain project management

61) Which of the following is NOT a technique for accelerating project completion when resources are not constrained?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Assign additional staff and equipment Establish a core team Do it twice—fast and correctly Reduce project scope Compromise quality

62) When the project team is salaried, which of the following is the preferred choice for accelerating project completion? A) B) C) D) E)

Assign additional staff and equipment Subcontract work Schedule overtime Outsource project work Establish a core project team

63) It is going to cost $120,000 a day simply to house and feed a construction crew in the farthest reaches of northern Alaska. This would be an example of a situation requiring reducing the project duration due to A) B) C) D) E)

64)

imposed project deadlines. time to market. unforeseen project delays. high overhead. incentive contracts.

When crashing a schedule, this may set in when a least-cost method is used. A) B) C) D) E)

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Increased risk Fatigue and resentment Increased cost Decrease in available management reserve Reduced quality

65)

A project that has several near-critical or critical paths is said to be A) B) C) D) E)

66)

Compressing activities on a project with a sensitive project network will: A) B) C) D) E)

67)

Increase risk of delaying the project. Improve cost-time crashing success. Reduce scheduling flexibility. Increase risk of delaying the project and reduce scheduling flexibility. Increase risk of delaying the project but improve cost-time crashing success.

An insensitive project network has the benefit of: A) B) C) D) E)

68)

elastic. fully consumed. inherently risky. sensitive. insensitive.

Not increasing risk as activities are initially crashed. Having potential for real cost savings when crashed. Having potential for significant time savings when crashed. Having potential for flexible scheduling. All of these alternatives are correct.

Which of the following is not likely to result in an imposed deadline?

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A) B) C) D) packing.” E)

Design flaws. Marketing promises the product to the customer within three months. The president announces availability of the product in one year. The chief technology officer says, “finish the projects in six months or start Intense global competition.

69) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Which activity will you crash first? Activity

Normal duration (days) 10

$ 4,000

$ 6,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 10,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 4,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

Predecessors

Crash Normal cost Crash cost duration (days) 5 $ 1,000 $ 3,000

A B C D E

70) There are fewer options available for reducing project time if you are __________________ than if you can spend more than your original budget. Version 1

A) B) C) D) E)

time-constrained vision-limited schedule-constrained resource-constrained physically-constrained

71) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Which activity will you crash second? Activity

Normal duration (days) 10

$ 4,000

$ 6,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 10,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 4,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

72)

Predecessors

Crash duration (days) 5

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 3,000

A B C D E

The ________ project cost is the sum of the indirect and direct costs.

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A) B) C) D) E)

accumulated total budgeted time-phased estimated

73) Overhead costs such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interest are examples of ________ project costs. A) B) C) D) E)

direct budgeted accumulated indirect time-phased

74) Costs such as labor, materials, equipment, or sub-contractors are examples of ________ project costs. A) B) C) D) E)

75)

direct budgeted accumulated indirect time-phased

Direct costs are assignable directly to a particular ________. A) B) C) D) E)

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activity resource work package task milestone

76) Because direct costs are assumed to be developed from normal methods and in a normal amount of time, any reduction in activity time should ________ the direct cost of the activity. A) B) C) D) E)

decrease increase reduce expand approximate

77) In order to shorten the duration of a project the project manager should limit the choices of activities to just those that are on the __________. A) B) C) D) E)

shortest path path with the greatest variability critical path path with the least amount of resources required path with the most resources required

78) The ________ time for an activity represents low-cost, realistic, efficient methods for completing the activity under typical conditions. A) B) C) D) E)

79)

normal crash estimated accelerated completion

Reducing the duration of an activity is called ________.

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A) B) C) D) E)

80)

The direct cost for completing an activity as early as possible is called its ________ cost. A) B) C) D) E)

81)

reduction making smaller crashing re-assessment acceleration

budgeted time-limited crash minimal early completion

An activity's ________ is calculated by dividing the rise by the run. A) B) C) D) E)

run rate rise rate rise/run rate slope daily cost

82) When project managers know an activity's ________, they are able to compare which critical activities to shorten. A) B) C) D) E)

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importance resources duration customer-perceived value slope or crash cost per unit

83) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. How much reduction in project duration could you get from crashing activity C? Activity

Normal duration (days) 10

$ 4,000

$ 6,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 10,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 4,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

Predecessors

Crash Normal cost Crash cost duration (days) 5 $ 1,000 $ 3,000

0 1 2 3 4

84) When considering whether to move the project to its optimum cost-time position, the manager should also consider ________. A) B) C) D) E)

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resources budget team morale risk customers

85) An activity's normal time and cost are 12 and $150, respectively. Its estimated crash time and cost are 9 and $300, respectively. This activity's crash cost per time unit is ________. A) B) C) D) E)

$50 $100 $150 $300 $30

86) When you schedule ________ exclusively, you avoid the additional costs of coordination and communication when new people are added. A) B) C) D) E)

resources overtime contractors outsourcing activities

87) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Without causing the critical path to become noncritical or otherwise wasting money, by how many days max could you crash this project? Assume you can crash only one activity at a time and that crashing is necessary regardless of cost. You do not want to crash the critical path(s) beyond the point where it (they) is no longer critical as this will not reduce project duration. Activity

Normal duration (days) 10

$ 4,000

$ 6,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 10,000

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Predecessors

Crash duration (days) 5

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 3,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 4,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

88)

From 60 days to 50 days From 60 days to 40 days From 60 days to 30 days From 60 days to 20 days From 60 days to 10 days

As a project's duration is reduced, indirect costs are ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

increased decelerated accelerated compressed reduced

89) ____________ is the rearranging of the project network logic so that critical activities are done in parallel rather than sequentially. A) B) C) D) E)

Laddering Fast tracking Batching Concurrency Sequencing

90) Creation of the ___________ graph keeps the importance of indirect costs in the forefront of decision making.

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A) B) C) D) E)

network critical path project cost-duration release burndown risk breakdown

91) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Is this network sensitive? Suppose indirect costs are $550/day. For how many days could you crash this network and still be saving money because crash costs/day are less than the indirect costs/day that would be saved? Activity

Normal duration (days) 10

$ 4,000

$ 6,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 10,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 4,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

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Predecessors

Crash Normal cost Crash cost duration (days) 5 $ 1,000 $ 3,000

Yes, sensitive. 30 days. Yes, sensitive. 25 days. No, insensitive. 25 days. No, insensitive. 30 days. Neither sensitive nor insensitive. 35 days.

92) A reasonable, quick comparison between options for compressing activity times is based upon a _______________ assumption. A) B) C) D) E)

nonlinear additive divisibility linear quadratic

93) _________ is the first thing to consider when deciding whether or not an activity can be crashed. A) B) C) D) E)

Schedule risk Project impact Stakeholder impact Customer impact Inherent risk

94) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. What is the first activity you would crash? Activity

Normal duration (days) 5

$ 4,000

$ 7,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 8,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 5,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

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Predecessors

Crash duration (days) 3

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 4,000

A) B) C) D) E)

A B D F G

95) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Without causing the critical path to become noncritical or otherwise wasting money, by how many days could you reduce the first activity that you would crash? Activity

Normal duration (days) 5

$ 4,000

$ 7,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 8,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 5,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

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Predecessors

Crash duration (days) 3

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 4,000

0 day 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days

96) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. Without causing the critical path to become noncritical or otherwise wasting money, what would be the second activity you would crash and how many days can you crash it? Activity

Normal duration (days) 5

$ 4,000

$ 7,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 8,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 5,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

Predecessors

Crash duration (days) 3

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 4,000

A for 2 days B for 2 days C for 1 day B for 1 day A for 1 day

97) Consider the following table of activities that describes a project network. After all the crashing you can do is done (assuming you can crash only one activity at a time), how many paths are critical? Which activities remain noncritical? Would you characterize this network as sensitive or insensitive? Activity

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Predecessors

Normal duration (days) 5

Crash duration (days) 3

Normal cost

Crash cost

$ 1,000

$ 4,000

$ 7,000

$ 2,000

$ 4,000

B, C

$ 1,000

$ 2,000

B, C

$ 5,000

$ 8,000

B, C

$ 3,000

$ 5,000

D, E, F

$ 2,000

$ 5,000

A) B) C) D) E)

Two critical paths, only C is noncritical, insensitive Three critical paths, only E is noncritical, sensitive Four critical paths, only D is noncritical, sensitive Three critical paths, only C is noncritical, sensitive Two critical paths, only E is noncritical, insensitive

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 98) Identify and briefly describe three out of the six reasons given in the text for attempting to reduce the duration of a project.

99) Why should a project manager be cautious when adding resources to reduce project duration?

100) The easiest way to add more labor to a project is not to add more people, but to schedule overtime. What are the disadvantages of scheduling overtime?

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101) Why is the project duration with the lowest direct costs seldom the optimum duration for a project?

102) Given an equal level of risk and the need to reduce overall project duration, why would you NOT select the activity with the least slope, in the entire project network, to crash first?

103)

What is crashing? Include a discussion of crash time and crash cost.

104)

How would you calculate an activity's slope and what does it represent?

105) Given that an activity's normal time and cost are 9 days and $150, respectively, and its crash time and cost are 6 days and $210, respectively, what is the activity's slope?

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106) What does it mean to say that a project network is sensitive and why is that important to a project manager who needs to reduce the duration of his or her project?

107) When do you know you have crashed project activities enough? In other words, when you are crashing a project, how do you know you are finished?

108) What if cost, not time, is the issue? What are some options available to project managers? Identify and briefly describe three.

ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper. 109) How is the optimum cost-time point determined? What are the conditions that must exist for one to be present at a project duration other than the duration originally created under normal conditions?

110) The cost-time crashing method relies on choosing the cheapest method for reducing the duration of the project. What are other factors that should be assessed beyond simply cost?

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 09_8e 1) TRUE 2) TRUE 3) TRUE 4) TRUE 5) FALSE 6) TRUE 7) TRUE 8) TRUE 9) TRUE 10) TRUE 11) TRUE 12) FALSE 13) FALSE 14) TRUE 15) FALSE 16) FALSE 17) TRUE 18) TRUE 19) TRUE 20) FALSE 21) TRUE 22) TRUE 23) TRUE 24) FALSE 25) TRUE 26) FALSE Version 1

27) FALSE 28) TRUE 29) A 30) B 31) E 32) C 33) E 34) C 35) C 36) A 37) C 38) A 39) C 40) A 41) B 42) A 43) B 44) D 45) A 46) D 47) A 48) D 49) D 50) A 51) A 52) C 53) B 54) D 55) C 56) B Version 1

57) C 58) A 59) C 60) A 61) E 62) C 63) D 64) B 65) D 66) D 67) E 68) A 69) B 70) D 71) A 72) B 73) D 74) A 75) C 76) B 77) C 78) A 79) C 80) C 81) D 82) E 83) A 84) D 85) A 86) B Version 1

87) C 88) E 89) B 90) C 91) C 92) D 93) E 94) D 95) B 96) D 97) C 98) (1) Imposed durations made by top management; (2) Market demands created by competition and rapid technology advances; (3) Incentive contracts that pay for early project completion; (4) Recovery of unforeseen project delays; (5) To reduce project costs by reducing charges created by high overhead costs; (6) To reassign key resources to other projects. 99) There are limits as to how much speed can be gained by adding staff. Doubling the size of the workforce will not necessarily reduce completion time by half. Additional workers increase the communication requirements to coordinate efforts. 100) First, hourly workers are typically paid at least time and a half for overtime, increasing project costs. Sustained overtime work by salaried employees may incur intangible costs such as divorce, burnout, and turnover. It is also an oversimplification to assume that, over an extended period of time, a person is as productive during his or her eleventh hour at work as during his or her third hour of work. 101) Indirect costs, those accumulating each day, will at some point outweigh the reduction in direct costs leading to an increase in total costs. The Project Cost-Duration graph is a model that demonstrates this. Version 1

102) If it is not on the critical path crashing it will not reduce project duration. 103) Crashing is shortening an activity's duration. Crash time is the shortest realistic time that an activity can be completed in. Crash costs are the total costs associated with the crash time. 104) An activity's slope is the cost per unit of time to reduce its duration. It is calculated by dividing the rise by the run. 105) Crash cost per time unit equals the cost slope. Cost slope equals rise/run; therefore, (crash cost − normal cost)/(normal time − crash time) = ($210 − $150)/(9 − 6) = $20 per day. 106) A network is sensitive if it has several critical or near-critical paths. This is important because any delays on the critical path will delay the project. If a PM is reducing project duration, and the project is already sensitive, crashing could make it even more sensitive and the likelihood that the project will be delayed would rise. 107) When crashing, you will crash on all critical paths until all activities on at least one critical path have reached its crash point. 108) Reduce project scope, have owner take on more responsibility, outsource project activities or the entire project, and brainstorm cost savings options. 109) The optimum cost-time point is the point in the project when total costs (direct costs + indirect costs) are the least. As a project duration is reduced, direct costs increase and indirect costs will decrease each time unit. The savings from indirect costs must be larger than the increase in direct costs in order for an optimum cost-point to be present at a duration other than the duration originally created under normal conditions.

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110) The inherent risks involved in crashing particular activities need to be considered, the timing of activities need to be considered, resource over allocation caused by crashing needs to be analyzed, and the impact crashing would have on the morale of the team needs to be taken into account.

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CHAPTER 10 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Strong leadership, while usually desirable, is not always necessary to successfully complete a project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

2) The level of leadership required to successfully complete a project may depend on the level of uncertainty involved. ⊚ ⊚

In most cases, if someone can manage a project well, then they are also a great leader. ⊚ ⊚

true false

Successful project managers tend to adopt a hands-on approach to managing projects. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) One of the things that distinguish project management from regular management is the sheer breadth and complexity of the relationships that need to be managed. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) Customers define the scope of the project, and ultimately, project success rests in their satisfaction. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

7) One advantage of creating a dedicated project team is that it reduces dependencies, especially within the organization. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) A successful project manager must build a cooperative, mutually beneficial network generally governed by the law of reciprocity. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) Relationship-related currencies deal with the extent to which we can help others feel a sense of importance and personal worth by sharing tasks that increase their skills and abilities. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) Position-related currencies come directly from the project manager's ability to contribute to others' accomplishing their work. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) Relationship-related currencies have more to do with strengthening the relationship with someone than directly accomplishing the project tasks. ⊚ ⊚

true false

12) Inspiration-related currencies derive from people's burning desire to make a difference and add meaning to their lives. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

13) The first step to building a social network is identifying those on whom the project depends for success. ⊚ ⊚

14)

true false

Many poor-performing project managers are guilty of management by wandering around. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) Effective time management for project managers includes initiating contact with key stakeholders only when there is a valid issue to deal with. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) The old-fashioned view of managing projects emphasized directing and controlling subordinates; the new perspective emphasizes managing project stakeholders and anticipating change as the most important jobs. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) One important function of mapping dependencies and building a social network is to prevent project managers from being derailed because they were blindsided by someone whose position or power they had not anticipated. ⊚ ⊚

18)

true false

It is impractical for a subordinate to "manage" a superior. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

19) Through a project manager's behavior, he or she can influence how others act and respond to a variety of issues related to the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

20) As long as the culture of an organization acknowledges and condemns unethical behavior, ethical dilemmas are rare or trivial at the most. ⊚ ⊚

21)

true false

An individual's character alone is adequate to generate trust. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) Managing upward relationships involve project managers become skilled at the art of persuading superiors. ⊚ ⊚

true false

23) Optimism, integrity, and even being proactive are not developed easily if there is not already a predisposition to display them. ⊚ ⊚

true false

24) An effective project manager will choose to have an "open door policy" and use project management metrics to assure projects are running smoothly. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

25) The project manager should see the big picture while being willing to get their hands dirty. ⊚ ⊚

true false

26) Delivering accurate information is just as important as delivering bad news to a stakeholder. ⊚ ⊚

27)

true false

Ethics are an absolute – what is ethical for your organization will be ethical for all others. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 28) Project success or failure often is reliant upon the contributions of all the following groups of stakeholders EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

customers. suppliers. contractors. competitors. top management.

29) Managing a project and leading a project are two different things. Project leadership is about coping with

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A) B) C) D) E)

formulating plans and objectives. monitoring results against plans. change. taking corrective action when necessary. designing structures and procedures.

30) One difference between project management and project leadership is that project management includes A) B) C) D) E)

31)

A well-defined project that encounters no significant surprises would require little A) B) C) D) E)

32)

recognizing the need to alter direction. aligning people to meet new directions. monitoring results against plans. motivating people to meet new objectives. deviating from the plan.

management. leadership. monitoring. corrective action. controlling.

When engaging stakeholders, a project manager should

A) develop a hands-on approach. B) focus on the project team and their needs. C) understand how different stakeholders can affect the project and manage that dependency. D) manage and limit time negotiating with stakeholders outside of the organization. E) refuse to be pulled by the demands of people who are not directly involved in the project.

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33)

Which metaphor best captures the role of a project manager? A) B) C) D) E)

The conductor of an orchestra The point guard on a basketball team A programmer on a software development team A scout on an exploration A mathematics instructor

34) Which of the following groups of stakeholders place constraints on project work such as requiring permits to be secured, that work is built to code, or that safety standards are met? A) B) C) D) E)

Project sponsors Government agencies Project managers Customers Top management

35) Stakeholders such as human resources, information systems, purchasing agents, and maintenance are typically classified as A) B) C) D) E)

project managers. administrative support. functional managers. project sponsors. customers.

36) The closest relationships in a project network of relationships are between the project manager and

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A) B) C) D) E)

other project managers. project sponsors. top management. customers. project team members.

37) The second ring in the network of relationships for project managers includes all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

other project managers. customers. functional managers. top management. project sponsors.

38) The outer ring in the network of relationships for project managers includes all of the following EXCEPT A) B) C) D) E)

other organizations. customers. vendors/suppliers. government agencies. administrative support.

39) A high-ranking manager who advocates the project and uses her or his influence to gain approval of the project is a project A) B) C) D) E)

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promoter. champion. godfather. sponsor. advocate.

40) Which group of stakeholders defines the scope of the project and ultimately determines whether or not the project is successful? A) B) C) D) E)

41)

Customers Top management Project sponsors Project managers Project team

Networks are mutually beneficial alliances that are generally governed by the law of A) B) C) D) E)

supply-demand. Brooks' law. reciprocity. a squeaky wheel. risk-reward.

42) In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, being involved in a task that has a large significance and having a chance to do something important and do it well are examples of ______-related currencies. A) B) C) D) E)

task position inspiration relationship personal

43) In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, sharing personnel, undertaking unwanted tasks, and providing technical knowledge are examples of ______-related currencies.

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A) B) C) D) E)

task position inspiration relationship personal

44) In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, providing friendship, giving emotional backing, and listening to others' concerns and issues are examples of _______-related currencies. A) B) C) D) E)

task position inspiration relationship personal

45) In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, giving a task that could result in a promotion, acknowledging someone's effort and accomplishments, and providing opportunities for linking with others are examples of ______-related currencies. A) B) C) D) E)

task position inspiration relationship personal

46) In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, sharing tasks that increase someone's skills and abilities and letting others have ownership and influence are examples of _______-related currencies.

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A) B) C) D) E)

task position inspiration relationship personal

47) The following are necessary when mapping dependencies or building a social network EXCEPT A) identify those on whom the project depends for success. B) identify whose opposition would keep you from accomplishing the project. C) examine what sources of influence you have relative to those on whom you depend. D) focus on the relationships with project team members since they are doing the project work and you have most influence over them. E) diagnose another's point of view as well as the basis for their positions.

48) Which of the following is used at Hewlett-Packard for building relationships with key players that will determine a project's success? A) B) C) D) E)

MBO MBA GIGO MBWA PMI

49) Once you have established who the key players are that will determine success, then you initiate contact and begin to build a relationship with those players. Less effective managers

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A) spend the majority of their time outside their office. B) are able to stay in touch with what is really going on through face-to-face interactions. C) announce an open door policy and encourage others to see them when a problem or issue comes up. D) initiate contact to provide encouragement and to reinforce the objectives and vision of the project. E) talk with key stakeholders in attempt to keep abreast of developments and anticipate potential problems.

50) Research consistently points out that project success is strongly affected by the degree to which a project has the support of top management. The following are ways a project manager can manage upward relationships EXCEPT A) never ignore the chains of command. B) prove loyalty. C) pick the optimum time to appeal to top management. D) consistently follow through on requests. E) accept profound differences in perspective and become skilled at the art of persuading superiors.

51)

Which of the following is NOT one of the aspects of leading by example? A) B) C) D) E)

52)

Priorities Ethics Urgency Cooperation Power

The traits of successful project managers include all of the following EXCEPT

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A) B) C) D) E)

pessimist. proactivity. effective communication skills. effective time management. personal integrity.

53) When project managers recognize that if they want participants to exceed project expectations then they have to exceed others' expectations of a good project manager, they are leading by example through which of the following aspects? A) B) C) D) E)

54)

To provide greater clarity to business ethics, many companies and professional groups A) B) C) D) E)

55)

Urgency Problem solving Priorities Standards of performance Ethics

encourage managers to rely on their own personal sense of right and wrong. post consequences to unethical behavior. publish a code of conduct. conduct annual training seminars on business ethics. establish a reward system for those who display ethical behavior.

The key to exercising influence is A) B) C) D) E)

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to make few mistakes. to build trust. to build a network of top-level people. to understand the political connections within the organization. to make friends with everyone.

56) Which of the following would be defined as the ability to lead and manage yourself by establishing a sense for who you are, what you stand for and how you should behave? A) B) C) D) E)

Proactive Emotional intelligence Empathetic Optimism Personal integrity

57) Which of the following would be defined as the ability or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self and others? A) B) C) D) E)

58)

Emotional stability System thinking Emotional intelligence Personal integrity Management sensitivity

One way to build a supportive social network at work is to use A) B) C) D) E)

PMI. MBWA. ACWP. CAPM. EVA.

59) The one thing that can help establish your right to lead the project more than anything else is

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A) B) C) D) E)

60)

ability to balance the project budget. being visible to top management. being an active advocate for your project. having proper credentials. having the proper skillset for project management.

A key to being able to effectively persuade superiors is A) B) C) D) E)

constantly meeting deadlines. being visible to top management. establishing project ownership. proving loyalty. being a self-starter.

61) The largest source of tension between project managers and upper management typically comes from A) B) C) D) E)

lack of project resources. differences of perspective. budgeting exercises. not managing risk correctly. communication difficulties.

62) When having to have a difficult conversation with upper managers, you can increase success by A) B) C) D) E)

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framing the issue in familiar language. not asking for further budget allocation. making sure you have just met your last deadline. taking an adversarial position. taking an advocacy position.

63)

A side-effect of lack of trust in the other party is A) B) C) D) E)

64)

One of the ways to allow others to build trust in you is to A) B) C) D) E)

65)

celebrate staff birthdays on a regular basis. allow adequate time for staff training. never be late on a project. behave in a consistent manner. All of these alternatives are correct.

Management is about coping with complexity; ________ is about coping with change. A) B) C) D) E)

66)

increased cost to the project. excessive number of deadlines missed. often expending extra effort to understand the true meaning of communications. loss of interest in the project. None of these alternatives is correct.

engineering leadership a change control board execution closing

A popular metaphor for the role of a project manager is that of ________. A) B) C) D) E)

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pilot captain conductor major colonel

67) ________ naturally compete with each other for resources and support from top management. A) B) C) D) E)

68)

Project managers Administrative support groups Project sponsors Government agencies Outside organizations.

________ champion the project and use their influence to gain approval of the project. A) B) C) D) E)

Project sponsors Project managers Project team members Vendors/suppliers Functional managers

69) ________ define the scope of the project, and ultimate project success rests in their satisfaction. A) B) C) D) E)

70)

Customers Project managers Vendors/suppliers Functional managers Top management

Which of the following is not one of the five commonly traded organizational currencies?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Task-related currencies Position-related currencies Inspiration-related currencies Relationship-related currencies Innovation-related currencies

71) __________-related currencies come directly from the project manager's ability to contribute to others' accomplishing their work. A) B) C) D) E)

Task Position Inspiration Relationship Personal

72) _________-related currencies stem from the project manager's ability to enhance others' positions within the organization. A) B) C) D) E)

Task Position Inspiration Relationship Personal

73) _________-related currencies derive from people's burning desire to make a difference and add meaning to their lives. A) B) C) D) E)

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Task Position Inspiration Relationship Personal

74) _________-related currencies have more to do with strengthening the relationship with someone than directly accomplishing the project tasks. A) B) C) D) E)

Task Position Inspiration Relationship Personal

75) ________-related currencies enhance a colleague's sense of worth by sharing tasks that increase skills and abilities, delegating authority over work so that others experience ownership, and allowing individuals to feel comfortable stretching their abilities. A) B) C) D) E)

Task Position Inspiration Relationship Personal

76) People and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be positively or negatively affected by the project, are known as __________. A) B) C) D) E)

stakeholders government agencies project team members vendors contractors

77) Managers spend the majority of their time outside their offices in the ________ style of management.

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A) B) C) D) E)

78)

MBWA EVA PV MIS PMP

Mapping ____________ helps identify those on whom the project depends for success. A) B) C) D) E)

dependencies currencies values goals activities

79) Research consistently points out that project success is strongly affected by the degree to which a project has the support of ______. A) B) C) D) E)

government agencies IT manager vendors/suppliers top management functional managers

80) Once project managers have proven their _________ to upper management, senior management is much more receptive to their challenges and requests. A) B) C) D) E)

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trust subordination loyalty respect honesty

81) Experienced project managers recognize the need to build __________ before they need them. A) B) C) D) E)

relationships currencies credits wealth experience

82) A highly visible, interactive management style is when the project manager's behavior symbolizes how other people should work on the project. This is called __________ by example. A) B) C) D) E)

leading managing engaging adjusting assessing

83) To provide greater clarity to business _________, many companies and professional groups publish a code of conduct. A) B) C) D) E)

objectives ethics goals activities relationships

84) The first step to social network building is identifying those _______ on whom the project depends for success.

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A) B) C) D) E)

stakeholders relationships customers users managers

85) When project managers take action before it is needed to prevent small concerns from escalating into major problems they are being _______. A) B) C) D) E)

proactive risk-adverse risk-prone risk-neutral creative

86) When project managers have a can-do attitude and when they are able to maintain a positive attitude during a dismal day and keep others' attention positive as well, they are demonstrating ___________. A) B) C) D) E)

optimism leadership creativity positivism learning

87) The ability or skill to perceive, assess and manage the emotions of one's self and others is called _________ intelligence.

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A) B) C) D) E)

circumstantial mature emotional critical diverse

88) Using properly established and well-maintained professional relationships within a project, a project manager can be the __________ for information on the project. A) B) C) D) E)

center point central point focus focal point centroid

89) To help establish loyalty among team members, you should become an effective __________ for the project you are on. A) B) C) D) E)

adversary stakeholder consultant communicator advocate

SHORT ANSWER. Write the word or phrase that best completes each statement or answers the question. 90) "Managing a project and leading a project is essentially the same thing." Agree or disagree and support your conclusion.

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91) "Strong leadership is not always necessary to successfully complete a project." Agree or disagree and support your conclusion.

92) In regard to a network of stakeholders there are three "rings" or "tiers." Describe each ring and give an example of a group of stakeholders found in each.

93)

Identify and briefly describe the five commonly traded organizational currencies.

94) What is "management by wandering around" and why would it be useful to project managers?

95) Give two advantages gained when a project manager takes the time to map relationship dependencies.

96) Experienced project managers recognize the need to build relationships before they need them. Why is this important?

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97) Identify the key to exercising influence within an organization. Describe the two functions it is based upon.

98) Identify and give an example of three out of the six contradictions that an effective project manager must face.

99) Identify and briefly describe four of the eight traits associated with being a successful project manager.

100)

Identify two ways a project manager can manage "upward relationships."

101) "All the eight traits of being a good project manager can be taught and learned." Agree or disagree? Support your conclusion.

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Answer Key Test name: Chap 10_8e 1) TRUE 2) TRUE 3) FALSE 4) FALSE 5) TRUE 6) TRUE 7) TRUE 8) TRUE 9) FALSE 10) FALSE 11) TRUE 12) TRUE 13) TRUE 14) FALSE 15) FALSE 16) TRUE 17) TRUE 18) FALSE 19) TRUE 20) FALSE 21) FALSE 22) TRUE 23) TRUE 24) FALSE 25) TRUE 26) TRUE Version 1

27) FALSE 28) D 29) C 30) C 31) B 32) C 33) A 34) B 35) B 36) E 37) B 38) E 39) D 40) A 41) C 42) C 43) A 44) D 45) B 46) E 47) D 48) D 49) C 50) A 51) E 52) A 53) D 54) C 55) B 56) E Version 1

57) C 58) B 59) C 60) D 61) B 62) A 63) C 64) D 65) B 66) C 67) A 68) A 69) A 70) E 71) A 72) B 73) C 74) D 75) E 76) A 77) A 78) A 79) D 80) C 81) A 82) A 83) B 84) A 85) A 86) A Version 1

87) C 88) D 89) E 90) Disagree; they are very different. Managing is associated with the structure of the project (planning, organizing, controlling, and corrective action) whereas leading is needed when the objectives of the project require changing to meet outside demands. 91) Agree. Well-defined projects that encounter no significant surprises require little leadership. 92) First, there is the core group of specialists assigned to complete the project or the project team. Second, there are the groups of people within the performing organization who are either directly or indirectly involved with the project. These include other project managers, functional managers, administrative support, top management and project sponsors. The third group is outside the organization such as contractors, government agencies and the customer. 93) (1) Task-related-the ability to contribute to others accomplishing their work; (2) Position-related-the ability to enhance others' positions within their organization; (3) Inspiration-related-the ability to enhance people's desire to make a difference and add meaning to their lives; (4) Relationship-related-the ability to form relationships that transcend normal professional boundaries and extend into friendship; (5) Personalrelated-the extent to which one can help others feel a sense of importance and personal worth. 94) Management by wandering around (MBWA) is the spending of time outside the office and contacting key players to keep abreast of developments, anticipate potential problems, provide encouragement, and reinforce the objectives and vision of the project.

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95) Mapping dependencies helps lower the risk that the project will be derailed because project managers were blindsided by someone whose position or power they had not anticipated. You may begin to realize where potential problems lie—relationships in which you have a current debit and no convertible currency. Furthermore, acknowledging another's impact and view on the project will help you anticipate reactions and feelings about your decisions and actions. 96) Successful project managers initiate contact with key stakeholders at times when there are no outstanding issues or problems to avoid anxieties and suspicions. This also establishes credit in those relationships, which will allow them to deal with more serious issues down the road. 97) Trust is the key to exercising influence. Trust is an elusive concept and may be seen as a function of character (doing the right thing) and competence (knowing the right things to do and being able to do them). Both are needed and take time to build. 98) (1) Innovate and maintain stability; (2) See the big picture while getting your hands dirty; (3) Encourage individuals but stress the team; (4) Be hands-on/hands-off; (5) Be flexible but firm; (6) Manage team versus organizational loyalties. 99) (1) Effective communication skills; (2) Systems thinking; (3) Personal integrity; (4) Proactivity; (5) High emotional intelligence (EQ); (6) General business perspective; (7) Effective time management; (8) Optimism.

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100) Project managers have to accept profound differences in perspective and become skilled at the art of persuading superiors. They can do this most effectively after they have proved their loyalty. Project managers must show that they consistently follow through on requests and adhere to parameters established by top management. They have to cultivate strong ties with project sponsors and pick optimum times to appeal to top management. 101) Some traits of being a good project manager can be trained or acquired but qualities such as being an optimist, personal integrity, and being proactive are not easily developed unless there is a predisposition to display them.

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CHAPTER 11 TRUE/FALSE - Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) Synergy can be both negative as well as positive. ⊚ ⊚

true false

There is a high degree of internal conflict in the forming stage of team development. ⊚ ⊚

true false

3) The storming stage of team development is complete when conflicts are resolved and leadership roles are accepted. ⊚ ⊚

true false

4) The performing stage of team development is characterized by the development of close relationships and group cohesiveness. ⊚ ⊚

true false

5) The norming stage of team development is one in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. ⊚ ⊚

true false

6) Research indicates that high-performance teams are much more likely to develop when the manager hand-selects team members. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

Every project has the same potential to evolve into a high-performance team. ⊚ ⊚

true false

8) One important factor that a project manager must acknowledge when recruiting project members is the management structure being used to complete the project. ⊚ ⊚

true false

9) A project manager should be wary of people who know too much about a specific technology. ⊚ ⊚

true false

10) Co-location of team members, team names, and team rituals are common vehicles for establishing a team identity. ⊚ ⊚

true false

11) A project vision is an image a project team holds about how the project will look upon completion, how they will work together, and how customers will accept the project. It is important that everyone have the same vision. ⊚ ⊚

12)

true false

The first team meeting sets the tone for how the team will work together. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

13)

Most project managers advocate the use of group rewards rather than individual rewards. ⊚ ⊚

14)

true false

Lump-sum cash bonuses are the most effective group reward for project teams. ⊚ ⊚

true false

15) A general guideline for running effective meetings includes starting the meeting on time regardless of whether everyone is present. ⊚ ⊚

true false

16) Group decision making should be used when strong commitment to the decision is needed and when there is a low probability of acceptance if only one person makes the decision. ⊚ ⊚

true false

17) When facilitating group decision making, a project manager should identify a problem in terms of its alternate solutions so that team members can more easily reach a decision on how to solve the problem. ⊚ ⊚

true false

18) Team members can be upset and dissatisfied with conflict, but as long as the disagreement furthers the objectives of the project, then the conflict is functional. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

19) A project manager arbitrates conflict by intervening and attempting to negotiate a resolution by using reasoning, persuasion, and suggesting alternatives. ⊚ ⊚

true false

20) Groupthink refers to the tendency of members in highly cohesive groups to lose their critical evaluative capabilities resulting in quick decision making with little consideration of alternatives. ⊚ ⊚

true false

21) Two of the biggest challenges involved in managing a virtual project team are developing trust and effective patterns of communication. ⊚ ⊚

true false

22) Going native is when some project teams continually bypass the normal policies and procedures that everyone in the organization is supposed to follow. ⊚ ⊚

23)

true false

Conflict is inevitable and can be a desirable part of project work. ⊚ ⊚

true false

24) When a member of a team sees themselves as a high-performer and able to meet all the needs of the team, this is a characteristic of synergy. ⊚ ⊚

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true false

25) High performing teams typically and often meet many of the characteristics outlined in the text. ⊚ ⊚

26)

Over the course of a project, the sources of conflict often change. ⊚ ⊚

27)

true false

Overcoming cultural difference can pose a challenge to geographically distributed teams. ⊚ ⊚

true false

MULTIPLE CHOICE - Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 28) The essence of positive synergy can be found in the phrase, A) B) C) D) E) F)

29)

"Front of ship sink—back of ship sink." "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger." "There is no ‘I’ in team." "Two heads are better than one." "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts." "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger."

Which of the following is commonly associated with high-performing project teams?

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A) B) C) D) E)

Risk taking is controlled and not allowed to jeopardize the overall project. Roles and specific responsibilities are well-defined. A degree of competition among team members is encouraged. Mistakes are viewed as opportunities for learning. Team members are selected with similar talents to enhance cohesion.

30) During which stage of team development do members accept that they are part of a project group but resist the constraints that the project and the group put on their individuality? A) B) C) D) E)