Project Management Test 2.8

Front 1

With the exception of Gantt charts, the most common approach to project scheduling is the use of network techniques such as __________.

Back 1

PERT and CPM

Front 2

In the AOA network, dotted-line arrows depict __________.

Back 2

dummy activities

Front 3

Task F has duration of 12 days and an early start date of 30 days. Based on the given data, determine the early finish date for task F.

Back 3

42 days

Front 4

The critical time of the network is the __________ time in which the entire network can be completed.

Back 4

shortest

Front 5

A schedule is the conversion of a __________ into an operating timetable.

Back 5

work breakdown structure

Front 6

It is a good practice to create a schedule for every __________ in the WBS that will cover the work packages.

Back 6

major task level

Front 7

A(n) __________ is an identifiable end state, which does not use any resources, occurring at a particular time.

Back 7

event

Front 8

A __________ is an activity that immediately precedes another activity.

Back 8

predecessor

Front 9

The authors recommend preparing a schedule for each __________ in the WBS.

Back 9

termination

Front 10

The calculation of the standard deviation for the __________ distribution is based on the assumption that the distribution’s range is approximately equal to six standard deviations.

Back 10

termination

Front 11

When determining the chance of meeting a schedule deadline, project managers can use a formula to calculate __________, which is the number of standard deviations of a normal distribution.

Back 11

termination

Front 12

The critical activities in real-world projects typically constitute about 25% of the total activities in the project.

Back 12

False

Front 13

In a network, an activity that does not have a duration and does not use resources is referred to as a dummy activity.

Back 13

True

Front 14

Most commercially available project management software applications use AOA networks.

Back 14

False

Front 15

One of the benefits of a Gantt chart is that they are easy to understand and maintain.

Back 15

True

Front 16

Milestones typically have a long duration.

Back 16

False

Front 17

Total slack is defined as the time an activity can be delayed without affecting the start time of any successor activities.

Back 17

False

Front 18

Parkinson’s law indicates that work expands to fill the allotted time.

Back 18

True

Front 19

All project activities need to be scheduled at the same level of detail.

Back 19

False

Front 20

PERT was developed by Henry Gantt in 1917.

Back 20

False

Front 21

The authors recommend preparing a schedule for each ________.

Back 21

Major task level in the WBS

Front 22

In application, PERT has primarily been used for ________ projects.

Back 22

Research and development

Front 23

The critical activities in real-world projects typically constitute no more than ________% of the total activities in the project.

Back 23

10 percent

Front 24

In a network, an activity can be shown in one of three conditions. Identify the statement that does not correctly describe one of the three possible conditions.

Back 24

The activity may have neither a predecessor nor a successor

Front 25

In an AON diagram, when there are multiple activities without predecessors and there are multiple activities having no successors, ________ are used to eliminate the potential for hanging tasks in the network.

Back 25

Start and stop nodes

Front 26

In the AOA network, circles depict ________.

Back 26

Events

Front 27

Most commercially available project management software applications use the ________ type of network.

Back 27

AON

Front 28

The Gantt chart is intended to monitor the detailed progress of work, whereas the master schedule contains only major tasks and is oriented toward ________.

Back 28

Overall project management rather than precise control of detailed work

Front 29

The calculation of the standard deviation for the beta distribution is based on the assumption that ________.

Back 29

The range is approximately equal to six standard deviations

Front 30

Task F has duration of 10 days and an early start date of 20 days. Based on the given data, determine the early finish date for task F.

Back 30

30 days

Front 31

The shortest time in which the entire network can be completed is referred to as ________.

Back 31

The critical time of the network

Front 32

While performing a forward pass calculation to determine the critical path of a network, when multiple paths converge into a successor activity, the value carried forward to the early start of the successor activity is ________.

Back 32

The largest early finish of the successor's immediate predecessors

Front 33

While performing a backward pass calculation for a network, when multiple paths converge into a predecessor activity, the value carried backward to the late finish of the predecessor activity is

Back 33

The smallest late start of the predecessor’s immediate successors

Front 34

In a statistical distribution, when an observation’s value moves closer to the distribution’s mean, the z-score value will ________.

Back 34

Decrease

Front 35

When using the beta distribution, the denominator of the formula for standard deviation should ________.

Back 35

Be adjusted by converting the range into the correct z-score value

Front 36

A ________ is the conversion of the project action plan into an operating timetable.

Back 36

schedule

Front 37

The authors, when discussing networks, describe ________ as a specific task or set of tasks that are required by the project, use up resources, and take time to complete.

Back 37

activity

Front 38

The authors, when discussing networks, describe an ________ as the result of completing one or more activities. It is an identifiable end state occurring at a particular time. It does not use resources.

Back 38

event

Front 39

The arrangement of all activities (and, in some cases, events) in a project arrayed in their logical sequence and represented by arcs and nodes, is called a ________.

Back 39

network

Front 40

In a network, a ________ is a series of connected activities (or intermediate events) between any two events in a network.

Back 40

path

Front 41

In a network, if the delay of an activity will delay completion of the project, the activity is called ________.

Back 41

critical

Front 42

In AOA networks, an activity of zero duration is called a ________.

Back 42

dummy activity

Front 43

The ________ chart shows planned and actual progress for a number of tasks displayed against a horizontal timescale.

Back 43

Gantt

Front 44

Given project task E and estimates of 10 days for the optimistic time, 20 days for the pessimistic time, and 12 days for the most likely time, the expected time using the beta statistical distribution is ________ days.

Back 44

13

Front 45

________ law suggests that work expands to fill the allotted time.

Back 45

Parkinson's

Front 46

Given project task E and estimates of 10 days for the optimistic time, 20 days for the pessimistic time, and 12 days for the most likely time, the standard deviation for time using the beta statistical distribution is ________ days.

Back 46

1.67

Front 47

Task H has duration of 5 days, an early start of 25 days, an early finish of 30 days, a late start of 20 days, and a late finish of 30 days. There are ________ days of slack for task H.

Back 47

0 days

Front 48

Any time two or more paths of a network come together, the probability of both paths being on time is the product of the probabilities for the individual paths. This scenario is referred to as ________.

Back 48

merge bias

Front 49

Assume that task J has a most likely duration of 20 days, an optimistic duration of 13 days, and a pessimistic duration of 30 days. If the optimistic and pessimistic durations are 95 percent estimates, the standard deviation for task J is ________ days.

Back 49

5.15

Front 50

Using precedence diagramming methods, activity B must not start until after activity A has been completed. Moreover, the outcome of activity A cannot be used until 3 days after its completion. The type of relationship that exists between activities A and B is correctly labeled as ________.

Back 50

FS + 3d or FS + 3ed

Front 51

In CPM, an activity can be conducted at a normal pace or an expedited pace, known as ________, at a greater cost.

Back 51

crashing

Front 52

An activity or event that, if delayed, will delay project completion is ________.

Back 52

critical

Front 53

A clearly identifiable point in a project or set of activities that commonly denotes a reporting requirement or completion of a large or important set of activities is called a ________.

Back 53

milestone

Front 54

A ________ is a combination of interrelated activities and events depicted with arcs and nodes.

Back 54

network

Front 55

A ________ is an intersection of two or more lines or arrows, commonly used for depicting an event or activity.

Back 55

node

Front 56

Describe the benefits of forming a network of activity and event relationships that graphically portrays sequential relations between tasks in a project.

Back 56

The benefits of such a network include: the interdependence of all tasks, work package, and network elements is documented, it can be used to determine the expected project completion date, it identifies the critical activities that if delayed will delay the project completion time, it identifies activities with slack that can be used should schedule compression become necessary on the critical path, and it can be used to schedule resources.

Front 57

Explain why it is important to evaluate noncritical paths that possess large variances and/or path times that are close to critical in duration.

Back 57

Assuming that the project is stable and under control, random uncertainty present in the network will exhibit cumulative interactions reflecting the inherent randomness of independent activities within the network. Therefore, an activity having only a relatively small amount of slack could potentially exceed the critical time calculated from the expected critical path. Moreover, as statistical variances rise in relation to expected duration, the range of uncertainty in near critical paths will exhibit wider dispersion. When interdependencies are present in the network, simulation is an effective technique for modeling the random interactions on critical and near critical paths.

Front 58

Describe the differences between GERT and PERT/CPM network models.

Back 58

In GERT, branching from a node is probabilistic whereas in PERT/CPM branching from a node is deterministic. GERT provides flexibility in node realization while the PERT/CPM method does not. GERT allows loopback to earlier events but PERT/CPM does not. The arrows in GERT can represent time, costs, reliability, and other relevant variables. In PERT/CPM, the arrows can only represent time. PERT/CPM is comparatively easy to use as a control tool during execution of a project. GERT is difficult to use as a control tool during project execution.

Front 59

Explain the meaning of slack in a network.

Back 59

Slack is synonymous with float. Slack is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying completion of the project. In order to have slack, the activity will not be located on the critical path of the network. An activity with slack can be classified as a near critical activity because the amount of slack is small in relation to the time required to complete the path it is in. Should it become necessary to crash a project, it may be possible to borrow resources from activities that have slack.

Front 60

Describe the process for determining the critical path in a network.

Back 60

Draw the network and determine the logical relationships between the activities in it. Determine the duration for each activity. Perform the forward pass calculation to determine the critical time for the network. Perform the backward pass calculation to establish the slack for each activity in the network. If an activity has 0 slack, then it is a critical activity. The critical path is composed of the critical activities identified in this manner. It is possible to have more than one critical path in a network.