What Do You Know About Project Management? Quiz

1. One of the stakeholders of the project you are managing asks why you consider the project scope statement so important inyour project management methodology. You answer her question with which of the following?

It is mandatory to consult the plan before authorizing any change.

Project managers must document any changes before approving or declining them.

The project scope helps the project manager determine if a change is within or outside of scope.

The project plan and earned value management (EVM) work together to assess the risk involved with proposed changes.

C. The project scope statement can help the project management team determine if a proposed change is within or outside of the project boundaries.

Explanation

C. The project scope statement can help the project management team determine if a proposed change is within or outside of the project boundaries.

2. You are working with your project team to schedule activities for your construction project. You have scheduled the painting activity to be completed before the carpet installation activity may begin. The relationship between the painting activity and carpet installation activity can be best described as which one of the following?

Lag

Lead

Finish-to-start

Start-to-finish

C. The painting must finish first, then carpet installation activity can begin

Explanation

C. The painting must finish first, then carpet installation activity can begin

3. You and the project team have created the work breakdown structure based on the project scope and requirements. Your next step is to create the project's activity list. Which on of the following will NOT be included in the activity list created with the project management team?

Activities that are not part of the project scope

Quality control activities

Activities to create the work packages

Physical terms, such as linear feet of pipe to be installed

A. Activity list must not include any activities that are not part of the project scope.

Explanation

A. Activity list must not include any activities that are not part of the project scope.

4. You are the project manager for the JHG Project. Your project is to create a new product for your industry. You have recentlylearned that your competitor is also working on a similar project, but their offering will include a computer-aided program andweb-based tools, which your project does not offer. You have implemented a change request to update your projectaccordingly. This is an example of which of the following?

A change due to an error and omission in the initiation phase

A change due to an external event

A change due to an error or omission in the planning phase

A change due to a legal issue

B. External Event- The event being the product your competitor has in their project.

Explanation

B. External Event- The event being the product your competitor has in their project.

5. You are the project manager of a large project for your organization. Much of the project will center on new software which you'll be installing on 4500 laptops in stages. Because of the likelihood of change, you've recommended a rolling wave plan approach. Which of the following is the best example of rolling wave planning?

Using expert judgement for the current project

Using a portion of the activity list from a previous project

Breaking down of project scope

Planning the immediate portions of the project in detail and the future project portions at a higher level

D. Rolling wave planning is the planning of immediate portions of the project in detail and the future work at a higher level.

Explanation

D. Rolling wave planning is the planning of immediate portions of the project in detail and the future work at a higher level.

6. Consider a project that is to begin work on a Monday and a project team that will not work any weekends. The critical path of the project is 17 days. On what day of the week will the project be completed?

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

B. The project will complete on a Tuesday

Explanation

B. The project will complete on a Tuesday

7. You are the project manager for a large construction project. The architect has provided your project team with blueprintsdetailing the exact layout of the building your team will be creating. He insists that the team follow the blueprints as he'sdesigned them. The blueprints are an example of which one of the following?

Project specifications

Approval requirements

Project constraints

Initially defined risks

A. Blueprints are an example of the project specifications.

Explanation

A. Blueprints are an example of the project specifications.

8. You are the project manager of a large project. Your project sponsor and management have approved you to outsourceportions of the project plan. What must be considered if a change request affects the procured work?

The project sponsor

The contractual agreement

Vendor(s)

The cause of the change request

B. If a change to the project scope affects the procedure work, the project manager must consider the contract. This is because the change may affect the existing contract the project manager and the vendor have entered into.

Explanation

B. If a change to the project scope affects the procedure work, the project manager must consider the contract. This is because the change may affect the existing contract the project manager and the vendor have entered into.

9. A project team member has asked you what a scope statement is. Which of the following is a characteristic of a project scopestatement?

Defines the scope baseline for the project

Defines the requirements for each project within the organization

Defines the roles and responsibilities of each project team member

Defines the project deliverables and the work needed to create those deliverables

D. The project scope statement defines the project deliverables and the associated work to create those deliverables.

Explanation

D. The project scope statement defines the project deliverables and the associated work to create those deliverables.

10. You are working with your project team to respond to some delays in the project schedule. You have elected to crash the project schedule and management wants to know what effect this will have on the project as a whole. What happens when a project manager elects to crash a project?

Project ends early

Project ends on time

Project costs will increase

Project team morale will decrease

C. Crashing adds cost to the project because labor costs money

Explanation

C. Crashing adds cost to the project because labor costs money

11. You are the project manager of a construction project scheduled to last 24 months. You have elected to rent a piece of equipment for the duration of a project, even though you will need the equipment only periodically throughout the project. The costs of the equipment rental per month are $890. This is an example of __________________________.

Fixed costs

Parametric costs

Variable costs

Indirect costs

A. This is a fixed cost expense of $890 per month—regardless of how often the piece of equipment is used

Explanation

A. This is a fixed cost expense of $890 per month—regardless of how often the piece of equipment is used

12. You are the project manager of the Carpet Installation Project for a new building. Your BAC is $600,000. You have spent $270,000 of your budget. You are now 40 percent done with the project, though your plan called for you to be 45 percent done with the work at this time. What is your CPI?

100

89

.89

.79

C is the correct answer. The EV of $240,000 is divided by the AC of $270,000 for a value of .89.

Explanation

C is the correct answer. The EV of $240,000 is divided by the AC of $270,000 for a value of .89.

13. You are the project manager of the Network Upgrade Project for your company. Management has asked that you create a cost estimate of the project so they can determine the project funding. You gather the inputs for the cost estimate and begin the process of cost estimating. Of the following cost-estimating inputs, which one is the least reliable?

Team member recollections

Historical information

Project files

Cost-estimating templates

A. Team member recollections are the least reliable input to cost estimating.

Explanation

A. Team member recollections are the least reliable input to cost estimating.

14. You are the project manager of the PJG Project for your company. This project is similar to a project you completed a few months ago and you'd like to reference the older project for information. Which estimating technique uses a similar project to predict how long the current project will take to complete?

Analogous estimating

Parametric estimating

Organizational process assets

Bottom-up estimating

A. Analogous estimating uses an analogy between similar projects to determine the current project's duration

Explanation

A. Analogous estimating uses an analogy between similar projects to determine the current project's duration

15. You are working with your project team to break down the [project work into activities. Which component in the WBS must be broken down to get to the schedule activities?

Project Scope

Work packages

Planning packages

Product scope

B. The work packages are broken down into schedule activities.

Explanation

B. The work packages are broken down into schedule activities.

16. You can purchase pea gravel for your project at $437 per metric ton. You need four tons of the pea gravel, so you predict your costs will be $1,748. This is an example of which cost-estimating approach?

Parametric

Analogous

Bottom-up

Top-down

A

Explanation

A

17. A project had a budget of $750,000 and was completed on time. The project expenses, however, were 15 percent more than what the project called for. What is the variance at completion for this project?

Impossible to know-not enough information

$112,500

$637,500

$750,000

B. Variance at completion minus the actual costs for the project

Explanation

B. Variance at completion minus the actual costs for the project

18. The framing activity cannot begin until the concrete has cured for 36 hours. The time between the concrete activity and the framing activity is best described as which one of the following?

Hard logic

Lag time

Lead time

Finish-to-start relationship

B. Framing activity cannot begin immediately after the concrete activity; there is waiting time, which is commonly known as lag time.

Explanation

B. Framing activity cannot begin immediately after the concrete activity; there is waiting time, which is commonly known as lag time.

19. Which schedule development tool does not consider the availability of the project resources only when the work may take place in the project?

Critical path method

Critical chain method

Schedule compression

Arrow on the node method

A. Critical path method only considers when the work may take place and not the availability of the resources

Explanation

A. Critical path method only considers when the work may take place and not the availability of the resources

20. You are the project manager for the CSR Training Project, and 21,000 customer service reps are invited to attend the training session. Attendance is optional. You have calculated the costs of the training facility, but the workbook expense depends on how many students register to the class. For every 5000 workbooks created the cost is reduced a percentage of the original printing cost. The workbook expense is an example of which one of the following?

Fixed costs

Parametric costs

Variable costs

Indirect costs

C. This is an example of variable costs. The more students that register to take the class the more the cost of the books will be.

Explanation

C. This is an example of variable costs. The more students that register to take the class the more the cost of the books will be.

21. Mike, a project manager in your company, is falling behind on the project schedule. He has elected to crash the project. What is crashing?

Adding lag time between all project activities.

Adding lead time between all project activities

Adding additional project resources to the project work

Removing all unneeded project deliverables

C. Crashing is when a project manager elects to add resources to the project work in an attempt to compress the project schedule. Crashing adds cost to the project.

Explanation

C. Crashing is when a project manager elects to add resources to the project work in an attempt to compress the project schedule. Crashing adds cost to the project.

22. Management has requested that you complete a defensive cost estimate for your current project. Which one of the following must exist in order to complete this estimate?

Project scope statement

Work breakdown structure

Project team

Expert judgement

B. The WBS is needed because it is the most accurate estimate type, but it also takes the longest to complete.

Explanation

B. The WBS is needed because it is the most accurate estimate type, but it also takes the longest to complete.

23. You are using a three-point estimate for your project. Howard reports that his optimistic estimate is 16 hours, his most likely estimate is 24 hours, and the pessimistic estimate is 65 hours. What is the estimated duration for Howard's activity?

You won't know until Howard actually does the work

105 hours

24 hours

35 hours

D. A three-point estimate takes the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimate and divides by three.

Explanation

D. A three-point estimate takes the sum of the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimate and divides by three.

24. You have just started a project for a manufacturer. Project team members report they are 30 percent complete with the project. You have spent $25,000 of the project's $250,000 budget. What is earned value for this project?

10 percent

$75,000

$25,000

Not enough information to know

B. The earned value is found by multiplying the percentage of the project that is completed by the project's budget at completion.

Explanation

B. The earned value is found by multiplying the percentage of the project that is completed by the project's budget at completion.

25. It's important for you, the project manager, to understand what each of the project management processes create. One of thekey processes you'll do is scope control throughout your project. Which of the following is an output of scope control?

Work-around

Change request for a corrective action

Transference

Risk assessment

B. Change requests for corrective actions are an output of scope control. This is because the project team may be doing work outside of the project scope. Corrective action would stop the extraneous work and bring the project team members' actions back into the work within the project scope.

Explanation

B. Change requests for corrective actions are an output of scope control. This is because the project team may be doing work outside of the project scope. Corrective action would stop the extraneous work and bring the project team members' actions back into the work within the project scope.

26. You are the project manager for a consulting company. Your company has two possible projects to manage, but they can only choose one. Project WQQ is worth $217,000, while Project LB is worth $229,000. Management elects to choose Project LB. The opportunity cost of this choice is which of the following?

$12,000

$217,000

$229,000

Zero, because project LB is worth more than WQQ

B. The opportunity cost is the amount of the project that the organization cannot do.

Explanation

B. The opportunity cost is the amount of the project that the organization cannot do.

27. Complete this sentence: Project scope management is primarily concerned with defining and controlling ____________________.

What is and is not included in the project

What is and is not included in the product

Changes to the project scope

Changes to the configuration management system

A. Project scope management is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and what is not included in the project.

Explanation

A. Project scope management is primarily concerned with defining and controlling what is and what is not included in the project.

28. Mary has created an activity list with her project team. She has included activity attributes for each of the activities in her project activity list. Of the following, which one is not an example of an activity attribute that Mary likely included?

Scope verification process

Predecessor activities

Leads and lags

Geographic are where the work must take place

A. Scope verification leads to acceptance decisions with the project customer, but it is not part of the activity attributes.

Explanation

A. Scope verification leads to acceptance decisions with the project customer, but it is not part of the activity attributes.

29. You are the project manager of the HGF Project. You would like to use a portion of the activity list from the HGB project, which is similar to your current project. The portion of the activity list from the HGB Project is best described as which of the following?

Rolling Wave Planning

Analogous estimating

A template

Expert judgment

C.

Explanation

C.

30. Management has asked you to create the schedule management plan to identify the different processes and procedures your project will require. During the creation of the plan, you need to identify schedule control and its components. ASchedule control is part of which project management process?

Change control

Cost Control

WBS refinements

. Integrated change control

D. Schedule control is part of the integrated change control process.

Explanation

D. Schedule control is part of the integrated change control process.

31. A project team member has, on his own initiative, added extra vents to an attic to increase air circulation. The project plan didnot call for these extra vents, but the team member decided they were needed based on the geographical location of thehouse. The project team's experts concur with this decision. This is an example of:

Cost control

Ineffective change control

Self-led teams

Value-added change

B. Even though the change is agreed upon, this is an example of ineffective change control. The team member should follow the change control process as defined in the project scope management plan.

Explanation

B. Even though the change is agreed upon, this is an example of ineffective change control. The team member should follow the change control process as defined in the project scope management plan.

32. You are the project manager for a new technology implementation project. Management has requested that your estimates be as exact as possible. Which one of the following methods of estimating will provide the most accurate estimate?

Top-down estimating

Top-down budgeting

Bottom-up estimating

Parametric modeling

C. Bottom up estimating provides the most accurate estimates. The project manager starts at zero, the bottom, and accounts for each cost within the project.

Explanation

C. Bottom up estimating provides the most accurate estimates. The project manager starts at zero, the bottom, and accounts for each cost within the project.

33. You need to procure a highly specialized chemical for a research project. There is only one vendor available that provides the materials you need. This scenario is an example of what market condition?

Constraint

Single source

Sole source

Oligopoly

C. Sole source because it describes the marketplace condition in which only one vendor can provide the goods or services your project requires.

Explanation

C. Sole source because it describes the marketplace condition in which only one vendor can provide the goods or services your project requires.

34. You have created a cost estimate for a new project that you'll be managing in your organization. All of the following should be included in your cost estimate except for which one?

Description of the schedule activity's project scope of work

Assumptions made

Constraints

Team members the project will utilize

D. Not included in the cost estimate

Explanation

D. Not included in the cost estimate

35. Marty is the project manager of a software development project. He has reviewed the project's costs and progress and he realizes that he has a cost variance of $44,000. He needs to complete what type of report?

Status report

Exceptions report

Forecast report

Lessons learned

B. Because Marty has variance, he needs to complete a variance report.

Explanation

B. Because Marty has variance, he needs to complete a variance report.

36. You are a construction manager for a construction project. The project will be using a new material that the project team has never worked with before. You allot $10,000 to train the project team on the new materials so that the project will operate smoothly. The $10,000 for training is known as what?

Cost of quality

Cost of poor quality

Sunk costs

Contingency allowance

A. Training for the project team is knows as the cost of quality.

Explanation

A. Training for the project team is knows as the cost of quality.

37. A project had a budget of $750,000 and was completed on time. The project expenses, however, were 15 percent more than what the project called for. What is the earned value of this project?

Impossible to know-not enough information

$112,500

$637,500

$750,000

D. Earned value is % complete times the BAC. Budget = $750,000, 100% complete, = $750,000

Explanation

D. Earned value is % complete times the BAC. Budget = $750,000, 100% complete, = $750,000

38. Your project team agrees that the server's operating system must first be installed before the application can be installed. This best describes which of the following?

Hard logic

Soft logic

Start-to-start relationship

Finish-to-finish relationship

A. The operating system must be installed before the application, example of hard logic

Explanation

A. The operating system must be installed before the application, example of hard logic

39. You are using a previous similar project to predict the costs of the current project. Which of the following best describes analogous estimating?

Regression analysis

Bottom up estimating

Organizational process assets

Enterprise environmental factors

C. Analogous estimating is based on historical information, which is part of organizational process assets.

Explanation

C. Analogous estimating is based on historical information, which is part of organizational process assets.

40. Terry is the project manager of the network update project and the project stakeholders have requested that four new servers be added to the project. This addition will cause changes in the project costs and schedule. Which system can manage changes to the project schedule?

Change control system

Schedule change control system

Integrated change control

Change control board

B. The only system that deals directly with schedule is in choice B, the schedule change control system

Explanation

B. The only system that deals directly with schedule is in choice B, the schedule change control system

41. Amy is the project manager for her company and she's working with the project team to determine the effect of a proposed change on the project's budget. When Amy looks at the change, she tells the team that the change will pass through project's cost change control system. What does the cost change control system do?

A. It defines the methods to change the cost baseline.

It defines the methods to create the cost baseline.

It evaluates changes to the project costs based on changes to the project scope.

This is not a valid change control system.

A. The cost change control system defines how changes to the cost baseline may be approved.

Explanation

A. The cost change control system defines how changes to the cost baseline may be approved.

42. Linda is the project manager of a construction project. The budget for her project is $275,000. The project team made a mistake early in the project that cost $34,000 in added materials. Linda does not believe the mistakes will likely happen again because the team is 30 percent complete with the project and things are once again going smoothly. Her sponsor wants to know how much more funding Linda will likely need on the project. What should Linda tell the sponsor?

$192,500

$241,000

$309,000

$275,000

A. Initial budget of the project = 275000 Extra cost incurred due to mistake = 34000 Percentage of project completed = 30% Percentage of project left = 100-30 = 70% More funding needed = 70%*275000 = 192500

Explanation

A. Initial budget of the project = 275000 Extra cost incurred due to mistake = 34000 Percentage of project completed = 30% Percentage of project left = 100-30 = 70% More funding needed = 70%*275000 = 192500

43. You and your project team are about to enter a meeting to determine project costs. You have elected to use bottom-up estimating and will base your estimates on the WBS. Which one of the following is not an attribute of bottom-up estimating?

People doing the work create the estimates

Creates a more accurate estimate

More expensive to do than other methods

Less expensive to do than other methods

D. Using bottom-up estimating is not less expensive to do.

Explanation

D. Using bottom-up estimating is not less expensive to do.