PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, Third Edition (Certification Press)

1. 

You are the project manager of the JHG Project. This project has 32 stakeholders and will require implementation activities in North and South America. You have been requested to provide a duration estimate for the project. Of the following, which will offer the best level of detail in your estimate?

1. WBS

2. Order of magnitude

3. Requirements document

4. Stakeholder analysis

2. 

Michael is the project manager of the 78GH Project. This project requires several members of the project team to complete a certification class for another project the week of November 2. This class causes some of the project activities on Michael's activities to be delayed from his target schedule. This is an example of which of the following?

1. Hard logic

2. External dependencies

3. Soft logic

4. Conflict of interest

3. 

Which of the following best describes GERT?

1. PDM

2. Network template

3. Conditional diagramming methods

4. ADM

4. 

As the project manager for the DFK Project, you are reviewing your project's network diagram (as shown in the following illustration):

Given the diagram, what is the relationship between tasks F and G?

1. FS

2. SS

3. FF

4. SF

5. 

You are the project manager for the LLL Project. Steven, a project team member, is confused about network diagrams. Specifically, he wants to know what the critical path is in a network diagram. Your answer is which one of the following?

1. The critical path is the network that hosts the activities most critical to the project success.

2. The critical path is the path with the longest duration.

3. The critical path is always one path that cannot be delayed or the entire project will be delayed.

4. The critical path is the path from start to completion with no deviation from the project plan.

6. 

What is the difference between PDM and ADM?

1. ADM places activities on arrows; PDM places activities on nodes.

2. ADM is also known as AOA, while PDM is also known as GERT.

3. ADM hosts activities on nodes, while PDM hosts activities on arrows.

4. PDM can have two types of relationships between tasks, while ADM can have only type of relationship between tasks.

7. 

The purpose of using GERT is which of the following?

1. Allows for float to be distributed across all paths to completion

2. Allows for loops and conditional branches

3. Requires all paths to completion to intersect at quality audits

4. Requires all paths to completion to intersect at scope verification checkpoints

8. 

Where is a project manager most likely to experience a subnet?

1. WBS

2. Kill points

3. GERT charts

4. Network template

9. 

You are the project manager for the POL Project. This project will use PERT to calculate the estimates for activity duration. For activity D, you have the following information: P=9, O=4, M=5. What is the result of PERT?

1. 18 weeks

2. 5.5 weeks

3. 33.33 days

4. 3 weeks

10. 

You are the project manager for the YKL Project. This project will impact several lines of business at completion. Each milestone in the project is scheduled to end so the work does not impact current business cycles. This is an example of which one of the following?

1. Constraint

2. Expert judgment

3. WBS scheduling

4. Soft logic

11. 

You are the project manager for the MNB Project. You and your project team are about to enter into the activity duration estimating process. Which of the following will not be helpful in your meeting?

1. Constraints

2. Assumptions

3. The project charter

4. Identified risks

12. 

You are the project manager for a new training program at your customer's site. This program will require each of the customer's employees to attend the half-day class and complete an assessment exam. You will be completing the training at the customer's facility, and will need a trainer for the duration of the training, which is six months. This is an example of which of the following?

1. Resource requirements

2. Assumption

3. Cost constraint

4. A human resource issue

13. 

You are the project manager for a construction company. Your firm has been contracted to complete the drilling of a well for a new cabin in Arkansas. The specification of the well is documented, but your company has little experience in well drilling in Arkansas. The stakeholder is concerned your time estimates are not accurate as the soil and rock in Arkansas are much different than the soil in your home state. Which one of the following can you use to ensure your project estimates are accurate?

1. Order of magnitude

2. Commercial duration estimating databases

3. Local contractors

4. Soil samplings from the Arkansas government

14. 

You are the project manager for your organization. You and your project team are in conflict on the amount of time allotted to complete certain activities. Several of the team members are wanting to bloat the time associated with activities to ensure they will have enough time to complete their tasks should something go awry. The law of economics that these tasks may suffer from is which one of the following?

1. Parkinson's Law

2. The law of diminishing returns

3. Hertzberg's theory of motivation

4. Oligopoly

15. 

You are the project manager for your organization. You and your project team are in conflict on the amount time allotted to complete certain activities. Several of the team members are wanting to bloat the time associated with activities to ensure they will have enough time to complete their tasks should something go awry. Instead of overestimating their project activities, the project team should use which of the following?

1. Capital reserve

2. Contingency plans

3. Contingency reserve

4. Assumptions of plus or minus a percentage

16. 

Which of the following is not an output from the activity duration estimating process?

1. WBS

2. Activity list updates

3. Basis of estimates

4. Duration estimates

17. 

You are the project manager for the 987 Project. Should this project run over schedule, it will cost your organization $35,000 per day in lost sales. With four months to completion, you realize the project is running late. You decide, with management's approval, to add more project team members to the project plan to complete the work on time. This is an example of which of the following?

1. Crashing

2. Fast tracking

3. Expert judgment

4. Cost benefit analysis

18. 

You are the project manager for the 987 Project. Should this project run over schedule, it will cost your organization $35,000 per day in lost sales. With four months to completion, you realize the project is running late. You decide, with management's approval, to change the relationship between several of the work packages so they begin in tandem rather than sequentially. This is an example of which one of the following?

1. Crashing

2. Fast tracking

3. Expert judgment

4. Cost benefit analysis

19. 

Chris, a project manager for his company, is explaining the difference between a Gantt chart and a milestone chart. Which of the following best describes a Gantt chart?

1. A Gantt chart depicts what was planned against what actually occurred.

2. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against the work that has been completed.

3. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against a calendar.

4. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against each resource's calendar.

20. 

Which of the following is a correct attribute of the critical path?

1. It determines the earliest completion date

2. It has the smallest amount of float

3. It has the most activities in the PND

4. It is the path with the most expensive project activities

21. 

You are the project manager for a construction project. Your foreman informs you that, due to the humidity, the concrete will need to cure for an additional 24 hours before the framing can begin. To accommodate the requirement, you add _______________ time to the framing activity.

1. Lead

2. Lag

3. Delay

4. Slack

22. 

A heuristic is a ________________________?

1. Rule of thumb

2. Regulation

3. A regulation internal to an organization

4. A best method of implementing an activity

23. 

You are the project manager for a project with the following network diagram.

Studying the diagram, which path is the critical path?

1. ABCD

2. EBCD

3. EFH

4. EGH

24. 

Bertha is the project manager for the HAR Project. The project is behind schedule and Bertha has elected, with management's approval, to crash the critical path. This process adds more what? (Choose the best answer.)

1. Cost

2. Time

3. Risk

4. Documentation

25. 

Bertha is the project manager for the HAR Project. The project is behind schedule and Bertha has elected, with management's approval, to fast track the critical path. This process adds more what? (Choose the best answer.)

1. Cost

2. Time

3. Risk

4. Documentation

1. 

þ A. The WBS is the best choice for this scenario.

ý B is incorrect because the order of magnitude provides little information for accurate estimating. C, while tempting, is incorrect because the requirements document lists the high-level deliverable, while the WBS provides more detail. D is incorrect because stakeholder analysis does not provide enough information to accurately predict when the project will end.

2. 

þ B. Before the work can begin, the certification class must be completed.

ý   A is incorrect; hard logic is the mandatory sequencing of particular events. C is incorrect because there is no preferential logic. D is incorrect because it does not apply to this scenario.

3. 

þ C. GERT, Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique, allows for conditional advancement.

ý A, B, and C are all incorrect because these describe other network diagrams.

4. 

þ A. G is slated to start immediately after F, so this is a finish-to-start relationship. In other words, F must finish so G may start.

ý B, C, and D are all incorrect relationships.

5. 

þ B. The critical path is always the path with the longest duration.

ý A is incorrect because the critical path hosts the activities, not a network. C is a distracter and is incorrect because there can be more than one critical path in a network diagram. D is incorrect because it does not adequately describe the critical path.

6. 

þ A. ADM, the Arrow Diagramming Method, is also known as 'Activity-on-Arrow,' while PDM, the Precedence Diagramming Method, places activities on nodes. PDM is also known as 'Activity-on-Nodes.'

ý B and C are incorrect because they do not accurately describe ADM and PDM. D is incorrect because PDM is allowed four different relationship types: FS, SF, FF, and SF.

7. 

þ B. GERT allows for branching and loopbacks.

ý A, C, and D are all incorrect because they do not accurately describe GERT.

8. 

þ D. Subnets are often included in network templates to summarize common activities in a project.

ý A, B, and C do not use subnets.

9. 

þ B. The formula for pert is (P+4M+O)/6. In this instance, the outcome is 5.5 weeks.

ý A, C, and D are incorrect calculations, so they are incorrect.

10. 

þ D. Soft logic allows the project manager to make decisions based on conditions outside of the project, best practices, or guidelines.

ý A is incorrect because this is not an example of constraints since the project manager is not required to use soft logic. B and C are incorrect; they do not describe the scenario fully.

11. 

þ C. The project charter is not an input to the activity duration estimating process.

ý Choices A, B, and D are all correct choices because they are inputs to activity duration estimating.

12. 

þ A. The trainer is required for the project for six months.

ý B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not describe the resource requirement of the trainer on the project.

13. 

þ B. Commercial duration estimating databases are valid resources to confirm or base time estimates upon.

ý A is incorrect because order of magnitude offers very little detail on time estimates. C is incorrect because local contractors are not the best source for confirming time estimates; the question does not define if the contractors are local to Arkansas or to your home state. D is incorrect because commercial duration estimating databases are much more reliable in this scenario.

14. 

þ A. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to fulfill the time allotted to it.

ý Bloated tasks will take all of the time allotted. Management reserve should be used instead. B is incorrect because this describes the relationship between effort, duration, and the maximum yield. C is incorrect because it describes personalities and worker motivation. D is incorrect because an oligopoly is a procurement issue where there are few vendors available to choose from; the vendors may seemingly have checks and balances with each other.

15. 

þ C. Rather than bloat activities, projects should use contingency reserve. Contingency reserve is a portion of the project schedule allotted for time overruns on activities.

ý A is incorrect because it does not describe the scenario. B is incorrect because contingency plans are a response to risk situations. D is incorrect because it describes a range of variance.

16. 

þ A. The WBS is not an output of activity duration estimating.

ý Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because they are outputs of activity duration estimating.

17. 

þ A. When more resources are added to a project to complete the work on time, this is called crashing.

ý B is incorrect; fast tracking is the process of changing the relationship between activities to allow tasks to overlap. C is incorrect because expert judgment is not used in this scenario. D is incorrect; cost benefit analysis may be part of the process to decide the value of adding more workers to the schedule, but it is not the process described.

18. 

þ B. Fast tracking allows activities to operate in tandem with each other rather than sequentially.

ý A is incorrect; when more resources are added to a project to complete the work on time, this is called crashing. C is incorrect, because expert judgment is not used in this scenario. D is incorrect; cost benefit analysis may be part of the process to decide the value of fast tracking the schedule, but it is not the process described.

19. 

þ C. A Gantt chart is a bar chart that represents the duration of activities against a calendar. The length of the bars represent the length of activities while the order of the bars represent the order of activities in the project.

ý A and B are incorrect because this describes a tracking Gantt. D is incorrect because this does not describe a Gantt chart.

20. 

þ A. Of all the choices presented, A is the best description of the critical path. The critical path is the path with the longest duration. There can be instances, however, when the project's expected end date is well beyond the duration of the scheduled work. In such cases, the critical path is considered the path with the least amount of float.

ý Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because they are false descriptions of the critical path. The critical path has no float, has the longest duration, and does not necessarily have the most expensive activities.

21. 

þ B. You will add lag time to the framing activity. Lag is waiting time.

ý A is incorrect; lead time allows activities to overlap. C is not the correct choice. D is also incorrect because slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the scheduled start date of dependent activities.

22. 

þ A. Heuristic is simply a rule of thumb.

ý B, C, and D are all incorrect; these choices do not describe heuristics.

23. 

þ B is the critical path because EBCD is the longest path to completion at 18 days.

ý A, C, and D are incorrect because these paths have float.

24. 

þ A. Crashing involves adding resources, which typically increases cost.

ý B is incorrect because crashing is an effort to reduce time, not add it. C may be correct, but it is not the best answer. D is incorrect.

25. 

þ C. Fast tracking adds risk as tasks are allowed to overlap.

ý A may be correct in some instances, but it is not the best choice here. B is incorrect because Bertha wants to remove time, not add it. D is also incorrect.