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31 Cards in this Set
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All of the following are forms of power derived from the project manager's position EXCEPT: A. Formal. B. Reward. C. Penalty. D. Expert. |
Answer D Explanation When someone is given the job of project manager, he or she will have formal reward, and penalty power. But just having the position does not make the project manager eithera technical or project management expert. Expert power has to be earned. |
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The highest point of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is: A. Physiological satisfaction. B. Attainment of survival. C. Need for association. D. Esteem. |
Answer D Explanation This question is asking which of the FOLLOWING is the highest. Self-actualizationis not listed, so the next best choice is esteem. |
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The halo effect refers to the tendency to: A. Promote from within. B. Hire the best. C. Move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields. D. Move people into project management because they have had project management training. |
Answer C Explanation The halo effect refers to the tendency to move people into project managementbecause they are good in their technical fields. Just because a person is good in a technical fielddoes not mean he or she will also be a good project manager. |
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The sponsor's role on a project is BEST described as: A. Helping to plan activities. B. Helping to prevent unnecessary changes to project objectives. C. Identifying unnecessary project constraints. D. Helping to develop the project management plan. |
Answer B Explanation Although the sponsor may help plan some of the activities, it is not his or herexclusive duty. Some project constraints come from the sponsor, but they should be considerednecessary. The project management plan is created by the team and approved by the sponsorand other management. Since the project objectives are stated in the project charter, and it isthe sponsor who issues the project charter, helping to prevent unnecessary changes to projectobjectives is the correct answer. |
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Which of the following conflict resolution techniques will generate the MOST lasting solution? A. Forcing B. Smoothing C. Compromise D. Problem solving |
Answer D Explanation Problem solving (also referred to as collaborating) normally takes more time, but itgets buy-in from everyone, generating a more lasting solution. |
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The MOST common causes of conflict on a project are schedules, project priorities, and: A. Personality. B. Resources. C. Cost. D. Managemet |
Answer B Explanation Know the top four sources of conflict on projects (schedules, project priorities,resources, and technical opinions) so you can answer questions such as this one. Don't be fooledbecause "personality" is on the list. It is not a major cause of conflict. |
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What conflict resolution technique is a project manager using when he says, "I cannot deal with the issues now!". A. Problem Solving B. Forcing C. Withdrawal D. Compromising |
Answer C Explanation Delaying the issue is called withdrawal. |
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What does a resource histogram show that a responsibility assignment matrix does not? A. Time B. Activities C. Interrelationships D. The person in charge of each activity |
Answer A Explanation The responsibility assignment matrix maps specific resources to the work packagesfrom the WBS. On a resource histogram, the use of resources is shown individually or by groupsover time. |
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You have just been assigned as project manager for a large telecommunications project. This oneyearproject is about halfway done. The project team consists of 5 sellers and 20 of your company'semployees. You want to understand who is responsible for doing what on the project. Wherewould you find such information? A. Responsibility assignment matrix B. Resource histogram C. Bar chart D. Project organization chart |
Answer A Explanation The resource histogram shows the number of resources used in each time period. In its pure form, a bar chart shows only activity and calendar date. The organizational chart shows who report to whom. The responsibility assignment matrix shows who will do the work. |
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During project planning in a matrix organization, the project manager determines that additionalhuman resources are needed. From whom would she request these resources? A. The PMO manager B. The functional manager C. The team D. The project sponsor |
Answer B Explanation In a matrix organization, power is shared between the functional manager and the project manager, so the project manager needs to negotiate with the functional manager for the resources. |
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A project manager must publish a project schedule. Activities, start/end times, and resources areidentified. What should the project manager do NEXT? A. Distribute the project schedule according to the communications management plan. B. Confirm the availability of the resources. C. Refine the project management plan to reflect more accurate costing information. D. Publish a bar chart illustrating the timeline. |
Answer B Explanation The project schedule remains preliminary until resource assignment are confirmed. |
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During every project team meeting, the project manager asks each team member to describe thework he or she is doing, and the project manager assigns new activities to team members. Thelength of these meetings has increased because there are many different activities to assign. Thiscould be happening for all the following reasons EXCEPT: A. Lack of a WBS. B. Lack of a responsibility assignment matrix. C. Lack of resource leveling. D. Lack of team involvement in project planning. |
Answer C Explanation The lack of a WBS, responsibility assignment matrix, or team involvement inplanning could contribute to excessively long meetings to assign resources to activities. Resourceleveling refers to maintaining the same number of resources on the project for each time periodand would not impact the length of meetings. |
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You are project manager leading a cross-functional project team in weak matrix improvement. None of your project team member report to you functionally and you do not have the ability to directly reward their performance. The project is difficult, involving tight date constraint and challenging quality standards. Which of the following types of project management power will likely be the MOST effective in this circumstance? A. Referent B. Expert C. Penalty D. Formal |
Answer B Explanation Reward and expert are the best types of power to use in such a circumstance.Reward is not listed as a choice, and the question says the project manager has limited ability toreward the team members. Therefore, expert power is the correct answer. |
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A team member is not performing well on the project because she is inexperienced in systemdevelopment work. There is no one else available who is better qualified to do the work. What isthe BEST solution for the project manager: A. Consult with the functional manager to determine project completion incentives for the teammember. B. Obtain a new resource more skilled in development work. C. Arrange for the team member to get training. D. Allocate some of the project schedule reserve. |
Answer C Explanation The job of the project manager includes providing or obtaining project-specifictraining for team members. This kind of training may be a direct cost of the project. |
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A project has several teams. Team Chas repeatedly missed deadlines in the past. This has causedteam D to have to crash the critical path several times. As the team leader for team D, you shouldmeet with: A. The leader of team C. B. The project manager. C. The project manager and management. D. The project manager and the leader of team C. |
Answer D Explanation Those involved in the problem should resolve the problem. Having had to crash thecritical path several times implies that team D has already tried to deal with this problem. In thiscase, the two team leaders need to meet. The extent of this situation requires the project manager'sinvolvement as well. |
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The new project is exciting to both the project manager and the team. This is the project manager'sfirst assignment as project manager. The team feels they will be able to complete work that hasnever been tried before. There are 29 people contributing to the product description, and the teamconsists of 9 experienced experts in their field. Part of the way through planning, three highly skilled technical team members are disagreeingabout the scope of two of the deliverables. One is pointing to the draft WBS and saying that twoadditional work packages should be added. Another is saying that a particular work packageshould not even be done. The third team member agrees with both of them. How should theproject manager BEST deal with the conflict? A. He should listen to the differences of opinion, determine the best choice, and implement thatchoice. B. He should postpone further discussions, meet with each individual, and determine the bestapproach. C. He should listen to the differences of opinion, encourage logical discussions, and facilitate anagreement. D. He should help the team focus on agreeable aspects of their opinions and build unity by usingrelaxation techniques and common-focus team building. |
Answer C Explanation Do not get confused by the wordiness of the question. Ask yourself what is thebest way to resolve any conflict, and you can get the answer. Most of the situation is a distracter.Problem solving (collaborating) and compromising are the two most important conflict resolutiontechniques. Conflict management is a key general management skill. |
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The project is just starting out and consists of people from 14 different departments. The projectcharter was signed by one person and contains over 30 major requirements that must be met onthe project. The sponsor has informed the project manager that the SPI must be kept between0.95 and 1.1. A few minutes of investigation resulted in the identification of 34 stakeholders, andthe schedule objective on the project are constrained. The project manager has been hired. Which of the following type of project management power will BEST help the project manager gain the cooperation of others? A. Formal B. Referent C. Penalty D. Expert |
Answer A Explanation Generally, the best forms of power are reward or expert. The project manager hasnot had time to become a recognized expert in the company and reward power is not included asa choice here. This leaves formal power as the only logical answer. |
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A project manager is trying to settle a dispute between two team members. One says the systems should be integrated before testing, and the other maintains each system should be tested beforeintegration. The project involves over 30 people, and 12 systems need to be integrated. Thesponsor is demanding that integration happen on time. What is the BEST statement the project manager can make to resolve the conflict?
A. Do it my way. B. Let's calm down and get the job done. C. Let's deal with this again next week after we all calm down. D. Let's do limited testing before integration and finish testing after integration. |
Answer DExplanation Doing limited testing before integration and finishing testing after integration is anexample of compromising. This is the best way for the project manager to resolve the conflict inthis situation. |
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A project is in the middle of the executing effort when a stakeholder suggests a major new change.This change will cause the third major overhaul of the project. At the same time, the projectmanager discovers that a major work package was not completed because a team member's bossmoved him to another project that had a higher priority. Which of the following is the BESTperson for the project manager to address these issues with? A. The team B. Senior management C. The customer D. The sponsor |
Answer D Explanation It is the sponsor's role to prevent unnecessary changes and to set priorities among project . The situation described in this question implies that such work is not being done and the project manager must therefore go to the roots of the problem: the sponsor. |
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What theory proposes that employees' efforts will lead to effective performance and the employeeswill be rewarded for accomplishments? A. Conditional reinforcement B. Maslow's hierarchy C. McGregor's D. Expectancy |
Answer D Explanation Expectancy theory states that employees who believe their effort will lead to effective performance and who expect to be rewarded for their accomplishment will stay productive as rewards meet their expectations. |
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The installation project has a CPI of 1.03 and an SPI of 1.0. There are 14 team members, and eachteam member had input into the final project management plan. The customer has accepted thethree deliverables completed so far without complaint, and the responsibility assignment matrixhas not changed since the project began. The project is being completed in a matrix environmentand there are no contracts needed for the project. Although the sponsor is happy with the status of the project, one of the team members is alwayscomplaining about how much time his project work is taking. Which of the following would bethe BEST thing for the project manager to do? A. Review the reward system for the project. B. Try to improve schedule performance of the project. C. Meet with the customer to try to extend the schedule. D. Gain formal acceptance in writing from the customer. |
Answer A Explanation Improving schedule performance relates to getting the project completed sooner.Although it would seem to be a good idea to improve schedule performance, this project'sperformance is fine. The schedule has been approved as it is. It would be better for the projectmanager to spend more time controlling the project to make sure it finishes according to planthan to improve schedule performance. If you chose attempting to extend the schedule, look at the SPI. There is nothing wrong with theschedule performance of the project that would require an extension. Gaining formal acceptance from the customer will need to be done, as it provides an opportunityfor the team to check if everything is going well. This action will not affect the team member'sdissatisfaction, however. The only real problem presented in this situation is that the team member is complaining. If youread the situation completely, you will notice that the team member was involved and approved theproject management plan, including his own involvement in the project. Since the responsibilityassignment matrix has not changed, the team member has not even been assigned different dutiessince the project began. There must be something else causing the team member to complain. Theproject manager should investigate and find out if the reward system is ineffective. |
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The project has been challenging to manage. Everyone has been on edge due to pressure tocomplete the project on time. Unfortunately, the tension has grown to the point where teammeetings have become shouting matches and little work is accomplished during the meetings.One team member asks to be excused from future team meetings, as all the shouting upsets him.Meanwhile, the sponsor has expressed interest in attending future team meetings in order tobetter understand how the project is going and the issues involved in completing the project, andthe customer has started discussions about adding scope to the project. In this situation, it wouldbe BEST for the project manager to: A. Ask the sponsor if the information needed could be sent in a report rather than have herattend the meetings. B. Inform the team member who asked to be excused from the meetings of the value ofcommunication in such meetings. C. Involve the team in creating ground rules for the meetings. D. Hold a team-building exercise that involves all the team members. |
Answer C Explanation Here is a situation where all four choices could be done, but there is one BESTanswer. Asking the sponsor if the information could be sent in a report does not solve the rootcause of the problem described. Informing the team member of the value of communication inmeetings merely dismisses the concerns of the team member and might cause anger. A teambuildingexercise would take planning and so could not be done right away. Remember, thesponsor might be attending the next meeting and at least one team member might not attendbecause of past problems. The best thing to do would be to set up new ground rules governingteam behavior and then plan a team-building exercise. |
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Project performance appraisals are different from team performance assessments in that projectperformance appraisals focus on: A. How an individual team member is performing on the project. B. An evaluation of the project team's effectiveness. C. A team-building effort. D. Reducing the staff turnover rate. |
Answer A Explanation Questions like this can drive people crazy on the exam because it is easy to getconfused. The best thing to do is to look at the two terms used here (project performanceappraisals and team performance assessments) and review in your mind what each meansBEFORE looking at the choices. Team performance assessments evaluate the project team'seffectiveness as a whole. Project performance appraisals deal with how each team member isperforming on the project. |
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A project manager had a complex problem to solve and facilitated a team decision about whatneeded to be done. A few months later, the problem resurfaced. What did the project managerMOST likely NOT do? A. Perform proper risk analysis B. Confirm the decision solved the problem C. Have the project sponsor validate the decision D. Use an Ishikawa diagram |
Answer B Explanation Notice the phrasing of this question, "most likely NOT do:' Expect to see questionsworded on the exam in ways that can cause you to misinterpret them. You will also see questionsabout things we forget to do in the real world. "Who has time", you might say, "to determine if each problem is really solved?" One could respond with, "Who has time not to do this? Who has time to deal with the same problem twice?" The final steps of problem solving include: implement a decision, review it, and confirm that decision solved the problems. |
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The project cost performance index (CPI) is 1.02, the benefit cost ratio is 1.7, and the latest roundof performance reviews identified few needed adjustments. The project team was colocated in anew building when the project started. Everyone commented on how excited they were to haveall new facilities. The sponsor is providing adequate support for the project, and few unidentifiedrisks have occurred. In an attempt to improve performance, the project manager spends part ofthe project budget on new chairs for the team members and adds the term "senior" to each teammember's job title. Which of the following is the MOST correct thing that can be said of this project or the project manager? A. The project manager has misunderstood Herzberg's theory. B. The project is slowly spending more money that is should. The project manager should begin to watch cost more carefully. C. The performance review should be handled better to find more adjustment. D. The project manager should use good judgement to determine which variances are important |
Answer A Explanation The option of the project manager watching cost more closely includes the concept ofcost to trick you into selecting it if you are unsure of the real answer. There is no indication that thecosts are trending in any particular direction. There is no reason to think that performance reviewsshould turn up more adjustments. The project manager should always use good judgment butnothing in this question talks about judgment regarding variances, so this cannot be the best choice.In this situation, the project manager is making great working conditions better by buying newchairs and enhancing the team members' titles. According to Herzberg's theory, fixing bad workingconditions will help motivate the team, but making good ones better will not improve motivation.The project manager needs to focus on the motivating agents and not the hygiene factors. |
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You just found out that a major subcontractor for your project consistently provides deliverable late. The subcontractor approaches you and asks you to continue accepting late deliverable in exchange for a decrease in project costs. This offer is an example of: A. Confronting. B. Compromise. C. Smoothing. D. Forcing. |
Answer B Explanation Both parties are giving up something. This is a compromise. |
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The management theory that states that people can direct their own efforts is: A. TheoryY. B. Herzberg's theory. C. Maslow's hierarchy. D. TheoryX. |
Answer A Explanation Theory Y is the belief that people can direct their own efforts. Know the differencebetween Theory X and Theory Y for the exam. |
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During the first half of the project, five team members left for other projects without beingreplaced, two team members went on vacation without informing you, and other team membersexpressed uncertainty about the work they were to complete. In this situation, it is BEST if youcreate a __________ for the second half of the project. A. Work breakdown structure B. Resource histogram C. Staffing management plan D. Responsibility assignment matrix |
Answer C Explanation The resource histogram shows the resources used per time period, but wouldprovide limited benefit in this situation. The responsibility assignment matrix cross- referencesresources with the activities or work packages they are to accomplish, but it does not show whenthey will be required to do their work. The staffing management plan describes when resourceswill be brought onto and taken off the project, and would provide the most benefit for this project. |
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The project manager is looking at the project's resource needs and lessons learned from pastprojects. This information causes the project manager to be concerned about the ability to acquireenough resources for the project in six months. Which of the following would be the LEASTeffective preventive action? A. Make sure functional managers have a copy of the resource histogram. B. Show the sponsor the data, and explain the project manager's concern. C. Determine metrics to use as an early warning sign that resources will not be available. D. Ask functional managers for their opinions. |
Answer A Explanation Sending data without pointing out the issue does not mean the communication willbe adequately decoded by the recipient. The other choices describe more effective communicationin this instance. |
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A large project is underway when one of the team members reviews the project status report. Hesees the project is currently running late. As he looks at the report further, he notices the delay willcause one of his activities to be scheduled during a time he will be out of the country and cannotwork on the activity. This is of great concern to the team member because he is very committedto the success of the project and he does not want to be the cause of the project being furtherdelayed. What is the BEST thing for him to do? A. Contact the project manager immediately to provide the project manager with his schedule. B. Include the information on the next report. C. Request the issue be added to the project issue log. D. Recommend preventive action |
Answer D Explanation Notice that this question asks what the team member should do. It is importantfor the project manager to understand the team member's role and possibly even instruct teammembers on how to work on projects and what is expected of them. Providing the projectmanager with his schedule, including the information in a report, and requesting that the issuebe added to the issue log have one thing in common. They involve the team member askingthe project manager to do something. In reality, it may very well be the team member who willcome up with a solution (such as decreasing the scope of the activity, fast tracking, or specificsuggestions about changes to predecessor activities). Therefore, recommending preventive actionis the best choice for the team member. Note that recommended corrective or preventive actionscan come from the team or stakeholders in addition to the project manager. |
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There have been many work packages completed successfully on the project, and the sponsor hasmade some recommendations for improvements. The project is on schedule to meet an aggressivedeadline when the successor activity to a critical path activity suffers a major setback. Thehas 14 days of float and is being completed by four people. There are two other team memberswith the skill set to assist the troubled activity, if needed. The project manager receives a call that three other team members are attempting to be removedfrom the project because they do not feel the project can be successful. When the project managerpursues this, he discovers that those team members have issues that have not been addressed.Which of the following is the BEST thing to do to improve the project? A. Have the team members immediately assist the troubled activity. B. Investigate why the project schedule is aggressive. C. See who can replace the three team members. D. Create an issue log.© |
Answer D Explanation Sometimes complex problems are caused by not doing simple things. The data inthe first paragraph, once you read the choices, is completely extraneous. The troubled activity has float and so does not need immediate attention. It may not be necessary for additional teammembers to assist the troubled activity, but none of the choices suggest investigating whether theamount of float is enough to cover any delay caused by the trouble. Rather, the choices take you indifferent directions. Investigating why the schedule is so aggressive should have been done before the project began.Replacing team members does not solve the root cause of the problem. Could there be somethingthe project manager is doing wrong, or could be doing that he is not, that would solve the problemwithout losing resources? Wouldn't it be more effective to discover the root cause of those teammembers' concerns so the problem does not surface again later? The creation of an issue logwill let the troubled team members know their concerns have been heard, are noted, and will beresolved. This might be enough to stop them from leaving and avoid the resultant project delaysand confusion if new team members must be added. |
