Project Time Management

Practice Exam

1. To control the schedule, a project manager is reanalyzing the project to predict

project duration. She does this by analyzing the sequence of activities with the least
amount of scheduling flexibility. What techniques is she using?
A. Critical path method
B. Flowchart
C. Precedence diagramming
D. Work breakdown structure

2. A dependency requiring that design be completed before manufacturing can start is

an example of a:
A. discretionary dependency
B. external dependency
C. mandatory dependency
D. scope dependency

3. Which of the following are GENERALLY illustrated BETTER by bar charts than
network diagrams?
A. Logical relationship
B. Critical paths
C. Resource trade-offs
D. Progress or status

4. If the optimistic estimate for an activity is 12days, and the pessimistic estimate is
18days, what is the standard deviation of this activity?
A. 1
B. 1.3
C. 6
D. 3

5. A heuristic is best described as a:

A. control tool
B. scheduling method
C. planning tool
D. rule of thumb

6. Lag means:
A. the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish
date
B. the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start
date of its successor
C. waiting time
D. the product of a forward and backward pass

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7. Which of the following is the BEST project management tool to use to determine the
longest time the project will take?
A. WBS
B. Network diagram
C. Bar chart
D. Project charter

8. Which of the following is CORRECT?

A. A critical path can run over a dummy
B. There can be only one critical path
C. The network diagram will change every time the end date changes
D. A project can never have negative float

9. What is the duration of a milestone?

A. Shorter than the duration of the longest activity
B. Shorter then the activity it represents
C. There is no duration
D. Same length as the activity it represents

10. Which of the following BEST describes the relationship between standard deviation
and risk?
A. Nothing
B. Standard deviation tells you if the estimate is accurate
C. Standard deviation tells you how unsure the estimate is
D. Standard deviation tells you if the estimate includes a pad.

11. Monte Carlo analysis used to:

A. get an indication of the risk involved in the project
B. estimate an activity’s length
C. simulate the order in which activities occur
D. prove to management that extra staff is needed

12. The float of an activity is determined by:

A. performing a Monte Carlo analysis
B. the waiting time between activities
C. determining log
D. determining the amount of time the activity can be delayed before it delays the
critical path

13. A project has three critical paths. Which of the following BEST describes how this
affects the project?
A. It makes it easier to manage
B. It increases the project risk
C. It requires more people
D. It makes it more expensive

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14. If project time and cost are not as important as the number of resources used each
month, which of the following is the BEST thing to do?
A. perform a Monte Carlo analysis
B. fast track the project
C. perform resource leveling
D. analyze the life cycle costs

15. When would a milestone chart be used instead of a bar char?

A. project planning
B. reporting to team members
C. reporting to managers
D. risk analysis

16. Your project management plan results in a project schedule that is too long. If the
project network diagram cannot change but you have extra personnel resources, what is
the BEST thing to do?
A. fast track the project
B. level the resources
C. crash the project
D. Monte Carlo analysis

17. The precedence diagramming method (activity-on-node) is different from the arrow
diagramming method (activity-on-arrow) because a precedence diagram:
A. can use PERT.
B. has four relationships among activities
C. has only finish-to-finish relationships
D. may use dummy activities

18. Which of the following is the BEST thing to do to try to complete a project two
days earlier?
A. Tell senior management that the project’s critical path does not allow the
project to be finished earlier
B. Tell your boss
C. Meet with team and look for options for crashing or fast tracking the critical
path
D. Work hard and see what the project status is next month

19. In attempting to complete the project faster, the project manager looks at the cost
associated with crashing each activity. The BEST approach to crashing would also
include looking at the:
A. risk impact of crashing each activity
B. customer’s opinion of which activities to crash
C. boss’s opinion of which activities to crash and in which order
D. project life cycle phase in which the activity is due to occur

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20. A project manager is trying to coordinate all the activities on the project and has
determined the following:
Activity 1 can start immediately and has an estimated duration of one week.
Activity 2 can start after activity 1 is completed and has an estimated duration of four
weeks. Activity 3 can start activity 2 is completed and has an estimated duration of five
weeks. Activity 4 can start after activity 1 is completed and has an estimated duration
of eights weeks. Both activities 3 and 4 must be completed before the end of the
project. What is the duration of the critical path for this project?
A.10
B. 11
C. 14
D. 8

21. Based on the data in the question above, if the activity 4 takes 10 weeks, what is the
duration of the critical path?
A.10
B.11
C.14
D.8

22. Which of the following includes asking team members about the time estimates for
their activities and reaching agreement on the calendar date for each activity?
A. Activity sequencing
B. Schedule development
C. Scope definition
D. Creating a project charter

23. A project manager is in the middle of the executing process of a very large
construction project when he discovers that the time needed to complete the project is
longer than the time available. What is the BEST thing to do?
A. Cut product scope
B. Meet with management and tell them that the required date cannot be met.
C. Work overtime
D. Determine options for schedule compression and present management with
your recommended option

24. During project planning, you estimate the time needed for each activity and then
add the estimates to create the project estimate. You commit to completing the project
by this date. What is WRONG with this scenario?
A. The team did not create the estimate and estimating takes too long using that
method.
B. The team did not create the estimate and a network diagram was not used
C. The estimate is too long and should be created by management
D. The project estimate should be the same as the customer’s required completion
date.

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25. During activity definition, a team member identifies an activity that needs to be
accomplished. However, another team member believes that the activity is not part of
the project as he interprets the project scope statement. What is the BEST thing for the
project manager to do?
A. try to build the consensus of the team
B. make the decision herself
C. ask the sponsor for clarification
D. ask senior management for clarification

26. You are a project manager on a U.S. $5,000,000 software development project.
While working with your project team to develop a network disgram, you notice a
series of activities that can be worked in parallel but must finish in a specific sequence.
What type of activity sequencing method is required for these activities?
A. precedence diagramming method
B. arrow diagramming method
C. critical path method
D. operational diagramming method

27. You are a project manager on a U.S. $5,000,000 software development project.
While working with your project team to develop a network diagram, your data
architects suggest that quality could be improved if the data model is approved by
senior management before moving on to other design elements. They support this
suggestion with an article from a leading software development journal. Which of the
following BEST describes what this type of input is called?
A. mandatory dependency
B. discretionary dependency
C. external dependency
D. heuristic

28. Based on the following, if you need to shorten the duration of the project, what
activity would you try to shorten?

Activity Estimate (in

Weeks)
Start-A 1
Start-B 2
Start-C 6
A-D 10
B-E 1
C-E Dummy
C-F 2
F-End 3
E-End 9
D-End 1

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A. activity start-B
B. Activity A-D
C. Activity E-END
D. Activity C-E

29. You have a project with the following activities: Activity A takes 40 hours and can
start after the project starts. Activity B takes 25 hours and should happen after the project
Starts .Activity C must happen after activity A and takes 35 hours. Activity D must
happen after activity B and C and takes 30 hours. Activity E must take place after activity
C and takes 10 hours. Activity F takes place after Activity E and takes 22 hours.
Activities F and D are the last activities of the project. Which of the following is TRUE if
activity B actually takes 37 hours?
A. the critical path is 67 hours
B. the critical path changes to Start , B, D, End
C. the critical path is Start,A,C,E,F,End
D. the critical path increases by 12 hours

30. A project manager has received activity duration estimates from his team. Which of
the following does he need in order to complete schedule development?
A. change requests
B. schedule change control system
C. recommended corrective actions
D. reserves

31. A project manager is taking over a project from another project manager during the
planning process group. If the new project manager wants to see what the previous
project manager planned for managing changes to the schedule, it would be BEST to look
at the:
A. communications management plan
B. project management plan
C. staffing management plan
D. schedule management plan
32. A project manager is using weighted average duration estimates to perform schedule
network analysis. Which type of mathematical analysis is being used?
A. critical path method
B. PERT
C. Monte Carlo
D. resource leveling
33. The WBS, estimates for each work package, and the network diagram are completed.
Which of the following would be the NEXT thing for the project manager to do?
A. sequence the activities
B. verify that they have the correct scope
C. create a preliminary schedule and get the team’s approval
D. complete risk management

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34. A new product development project has four levels in the work breakdown structure
and has been sequenced using the arrow diagramming method. The activity duration
estimates have been received. What should be done NEXT?
A. create an activity list
B. begin the work breakdown structure
C. finalize the schedule
D. compress the schedule

35. You are a project manager for a new product development project that has four levels
in the work breakdown structure, and has been sequenced using the arrow diagramming
method. The duration estimates have been compressed and a schedule created. What time
management activity should u do NEXT?
A. begin schedule control
B. begin activity resource estimating
C. analogously estimate the schedule
D. gain approval

36. A team member from research and development tells you that her work is too creative
to provide you with a fixed single estimate for the activity. You both decide to use the
labor hours from the past projects to predict the future. This is an example of which of the
following?
A. parametric estimating
B. three-point estimating
C. analogous estimating
D. Monte Carlo analysis

37. An activity has an early start (ES) of day 3, a late start (LS) of day 13, an early finish
(EF) of day 9, and a late finish (LF) of day 19. The activity:
A. is on the critical path
B. has a lag
C. is progressing well
D. is not on the critical path

38. The project is calculated to be completed four days after the desired completion date.
You do not have access to additional resources. The project is low risk, the benefit cost
ratio (BCR) is expected to be 1.6, and the dependencies are preferential. Under these
circumstances what would be the best thing to do?
A. cut resources from an activity
B. make more activities concurrent
C. move resources from the preferential dependencies to the external
dependencies
D. remove an activity from the project

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39. A project manager for a small constructions company has a project that was budgeted
for U.S.$130,000 over a six week period. According to her schedule, the project should
have cost U.S.$60,000 to date. However, it has cost U.S.$90,000 to date. The project is
also behind schedule, because the original estimates were not accurate. Who has the
PRIMARY responsibility to solve this problem?
A. project manager
B. senior management
C. project sponsor
D. manager of the project management office

40. Your organization is having a difficult time managing all of its projects. You have
been asked to help senior management understand this. Which of the following types of
reports would help provide summary information to senior management?
A. detailed cost estimates
B. project management plans
C. bar charts
D. milestone reports

41. Rearranging resources so that a constant number of resources is used each month is
called:
A. crashing
B. floating
C. leveling
D. fast tracking

42. Which of the following is a benefit of an analogous project estimate?

A. estimate will be closer to what the work will actually require
B. it is based on a detailed understanding of what the work requires
C it gives the project team an understanding of management’s expectations
D. it helps the project manager determine if the project will meet the schedule

43. During project executing, a large number of changes are made to the project. The
project manager should:
A. wait until all changes are known and print out a new schedule
B. make approved changes as needed, but retain the schedule baseline
C. make only the changes approved by management
D. talk to management before any changes are made