Project and Program Managmement Flashcards

A project is a time-bound effort constrained by performance specifications, resources, and budget to create a unique product or service.

a. True

b. False

Operations consist of the ongoing work needed to ensure that an organization continues to function effectively.

a. True

b. False

A project manager needs to be concerned with achieving desired scope and quality (often called performance), subject to constraints of time and cost.

a. True

b. False

Many different project life cycle models are used for different types of projects, such as information systems, improvement, research and development, and construction.

a. True

b. False

Generally,the pace of work and amount of money spent remains consistent from one life cycle stage to another.

a. True

b. False

The name and number of phases in a project life cycle are determined by the organization(s) involved in the project.

a. True

b. False

Communications Management, one of the ten PMBOK Guide Knowledge Areas, entails the processes to identify the people, groups, or organizations, that could impact or be impacted by the project, analyze their expectations and impact, and develop strategies for engaging them in project decisions and execution.

a. True

b. False

The only critical measures of project success are completing the project on schedule and on budget.

a. True

b. False

In agile projects, the customer representative role is passive, and their involvement is typically limited to the early stages of the project.

a. True

b. False

The Project Management Office (PMO) is comprised of the top leader in the organization (CEO or other officer) and his or her direct reports.

a. True

b. False

Which of the following examples is NOT a typical or appropriate situation to employ project management?

a. installing a new accounting application on a server

b. improving a soldering process in an assembly line

c. developing a new medical device for use by clinics

d. processing deposits and withdrawals in a bank

In an adaptive or change - driven project life cycle:

a. early results lead into planning later work.

b. the product is well understood.

c. all planning precedes all executing.

d. the waterfall approach is commonly used.

Which of the following statements correctly describes project management?

a. Project management only relies upon checklists to plan and execute the work.

b. Project management uses knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet stakeholder needs and expectations

c. Project management's goal is to maintain efficiency of ongoing operations.

d. Project management should not involve trade offs between scope, schedule and cost.

Which of the following statements regarding project life cycles is most accurate?

a. The project life cycle is the same for the diverse types of projects managed by an organization.

b. All research and development projects use the same four-stage project life cycle model.

c. Project life cycles are very similar regardless of the industry.

d. Many different project life cycle models are used for different types of projects.

Which of the ten knowledge areas defined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge includes the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully?

a. Communications management

b. Scope management

c. Stakeholder management

d. Quality management

Achieving project success is determined by all of the following EXCEPT:

a. completing the project on schedule and on budget

b. providing outputs that please the project's customers

c. involving only important key stakeholders

d. creating deliverables that include all required features

Projects are considered successful for all of the reasons below EXCEPT:

a. organizational learning takes place and is captured for future projects

b. members of the team learn new skills and/or refine existing skills

c. the performing organization reaps business-level benefits.

d. the team has used heroics to meet project objectives

Project failure can result from all of the following causes EXCEPT:

a. inadequate planning

b. adequate support from executive management

c. incomplete or unclear requirements

d. unrealistic time demands

A project manager in agile projects who serves and leads in a collaborative, facilitating manner is called a:

a. program manager

b. scrum master

c. sponsor

d. functional manager

From an agile project management perspective, which of these constraints are considered to be fixed?

a. Customer satisfaction

b. Resources and schedule

c. Quality and value

d. Scope and time

The project charter serves as a formal legal contract between the project team and the project sponsor.

a. True

b. False

In contrast to a legal contract, the parties to a signed project charter feel obligated to the spirit (as opposed to the letter) of the charter since the project details have not yet been worked out and the specifics will certainly change.

a. True

b. False

A charter can be used to quickly screen out obviously poor projects.

a. True

b. False

A project charter can vary in its length from one-page to multiple pages, depending on the size and complexity of the project.

a. True

b. False

A well-written business case should persuade decision-makers to support the project and inspire the project team members and key stakeholders to work hard towards successful completion of the project.

a. True

b. False

The project business case provides a high-level description of what the project will accomplish and how it will be done.

a. True

b. False

The project master network is a high-level plan that indicates a few significant accomplishments that are anticipated over the life of the project.

a. True

b. False

A key concept in agile projects is that something of value will be delivered at each iteration.

a. True

b. False

Risks, assumptions and constraints are included in the project charter so that key participants will be aware of what could prevent them from successfully completing the project.

a. True

b. False

During project charter creation there is typically a very general understanding of the project, so any budget included is approximate and should be called a preliminary budget with a corresponding confidence level for this estimate.

a. True

b. False

The project charter grants the project team the right to:

a. write a detailed business case

b. create a detailed project plan

c. develop the project mission statement

d. begin project execution

The project charter serves all of the following purposes EXCEPT:

a. quickly screens out obviously poor projects

b. authorizes the project manager to proceed

c. describes skill sets needed for the project

d. helps develop a common understanding between the project manager, sponsor and assigned team members

During iteration planning in an agile project, agreement is reached regarding:

a. the length of the next sprint.

b. positive and negative risks.

c. the definition of done.

d. detailed stakeholder requirements.

Which of the following charter elements defines the project purpose and justifies the necessity of the project?

a. scope control plan

b. business case

c. scope overview

d. acceptance criteria

The milestone schedule in the project charter:

a. is a summary-level schedule that shows how major project tasks are sequenced.

b. is a high-level plan that indicates a few significant accomplishments anticipated over the life of the project.

c. is a schedule that provides detailed data for when each project activity should begin.

d. is a detailed schedule that shows the planned duration for every activity in the project.

Project charters typically include all of the following elements EXCEPT:

a. project constraints

b. detailed resource requirements

c. negative and positive risks

d. project assumptions

Team operating principles are sometimes included in a project charter to enhance team performance. Which of the following statements accurately describes the value of establishing team operating principles?

a. Operating principles identify the rules along with the punishments to be administered when the rules are broken.

b. Operating principles describe the specific work each team member will perform.

c. Operating principles increase team effectiveness and ensure that all parties are aware of what is expected.

d. Operating principles are especially helpful for a routine project where participants have worked together before.

A project sponsor is wise not to sign a project charter authorizing work until the project manager and team show that they have ____:

a. reviewed lessons learned from recently completed projects in order to avoid similar mistakes.

b. prepared a comprehensive schedule and budget.

c. gathered requirements from key stakeholders.

d. learned to work together well.

Which of the following statements accurately describes the responsibilities typically associated with the development of the project charter?

a. the project sponsor typically prepares the detailed first draft of the charter.

b. the customer typically prepares and signs the charter.

c. more often than not, the project manager writes the draft project charter.

d. the project manager typically prepares the business case and scope overview.

On agile projects the first iteration is planned as a milestone with acceptance criteria. However, subsequent milestones and acceptance criteria are determined on a ___:

a. need-to-know basis

b. just in time (JIT) basis

c. first come first served basis

d. first in first out (FIFO) basis

In a projectized organization the functional manager has complete, or very close to complete, power over the project team.

a. True

b. False

In a functional organization workers can learn readily from others in their discipline and keep their skills sharp.

a. True

b. False

In a projectized organization the project manager has extensive authority for budgets, personnel and other decision-making issues.

a. True

b. False

A form of matrix organization in which the functional manager and project manager have equal amounts of power is called a weak matrix.

a. True

b. False

Organizational culture consists of values, social rituals, symbols, work ethics, organizational behavior, beliefs, and practices that are shared among members of the organization and are taught to new members.

a. True

b. False

If the project scope is hard to define early in the project and/or much change is expected, an Agile project management approach often works better.

a. True

b. False

In "personal cultures" people display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating.

a. True

b. False

When the project sponsor and manager are determining how to create the project culture, ethics should be an important consideration.

a. True

b. False

A project manager demonstrates integrity in ways that include making honest decisions, protecting people, defending core values, leading major change, showing respect, establishing a culture of honesty, and displaying total commitment to project and people.

a. True

b. False

Team members on agile projects need strong direction from the sponsor and project manager.

a. True

b. False

Which of the following is an advantage associated with managing projects in a functional organization?

a. Combines task focus with technical capability.

b. Traditional department barriers are reduced.

c. Unity of command - all workers understand clearly what they need to do because only one "boss" is giving them instructions.

d. Rapid communication between the various functions working on the project.

All of the following are advantages associated with managing projects in a projectized organization EXCEPT:

a. One boss - the project manager

b. Departmental barriers are reduced.

c. Workers know they will still have a job when they finish work on a project.

d. Response times and decision making are swift.

Which of the following organizational structures runs contrary to the unity of command principle - that each employee works for a single supervisor?

a. functional organization

b. siloed organization

c. projectized organization

d. matrix organization

When trying to understand a corporate culture, it is helpful to understand the types of power that are used. In "power cultures":

a. workers closely follow their appointed roles.

b. more deference is paid to knowledge than to formal authority.

c. display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating.

d. supervisors exert a great deal of economic and political power.

Some organizational culture characteristics make project success more likely. These characteristics include all of the following EXCEPT:

a. engagement of stakeholders

b. lack of appreciation for project management

c. teamwork across cultures

d. collaboration to meet organizational goals

The project life cycle where project teams plan in short bursts (generally of one to four weeks), often called sprints or iterations, is referred to as _________:

a. Adaptive, change-driven project life cycle

b. Process improvement life cycle

c. Construction project life cycle

d. Predictive, plan-driven project life cycle

In agile projects, the individual who leads in a collaborative manner by guiding teams and removing obstacles to their progress is called the:

a. facilitator

b. sponsor

c. scrum master

d. project manager

Which of the following executive roles is responsible for overall priority setting, project selection and prioritization, general guidance and encouragement?

a. Sponsor

b. Project Management Office

c. Steering Team

d. Chief Projects Officer

In agile projects, overall planning is at a high level, and only the near-term work is planned in detail. The project work is conducted in iterations (sprints) that are normally:

a. no more than one calendar year

b. a variable length depending on project scope

c. a fixed length of two or four weeks

d. assigned to one person on the team

Which of the following roles and attributes do NOT describe the core team members on a project?

a. Core team members often make project decisions jointly with the project manager.

b. Core team members join the project on a temporary basis to perform specific project activities as necessary.

c. Core team members may supervise the work of subject matter experts who are brought in on an as-needed basis.

d. Core team members are the small group of people who are usually on the project from start to finish.

The ideal time to on-board core team members is when the project charter is being written.

a. True

b. False

All project teams progress uniformly through five stages of team development.

a. True

b. False

Synergy results in a team having a collective capability that exceeds the sum of individual capabilities.

a. True

b. False

The "relationship" topics within team ground rules, such as "discuss openly and protect confidentiality" and "avoid misunderstandings", should eliminate the need for the team to address how to handle conflict.

a. True

b. False

A project manager understands the importance of understanding individual motives, and takes the time to ask each team member what he or she personally wants from being involved in the project.

a. True

b. False

A project manager's referent power is described as persuading others based upon giving them something.

a. True

b. False

The adoption of specific ground rules that specify acceptable behaviors by project team members can improve working relationships, effectiveness, and communication.

a. True

b. False

When a project team member is not performing, rewards may not prove as effective as a coercive approach that threatens the team member with undesired consequences.

a. True

b. False

Conflict over ideas on how to proceed with a project can lead to more creative approaches.

a. True

b. False

The negotiation process involves several steps such as: preparing for negotiation; knowing your walk-away point; and working towards a common goal.

a. True

b. False

It is argued that project teams progress through five stages of team development. Which of the following sequences best represents this progression?

a. forming, performing, reforming, norming, adjourning

b. forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning

c. forming, norming, storming, performing, reforming

d. forming, storming, norming, performing, reforming

uring which stage of team development do team members attempt to jockey for power, ask many questions and establish dubious goals?

a. norming

b. forming

c. storming

d. performing

Agile teams require motivated members with a higher level of commitment, and agile teams have all of the following desirable traits EXCEPT:

a. Fail their way to success

b. Argue about everything

c. Deliver value

d. Question everything

Which two project team success factors have shown the strongest correlation to successful project performance as perceived by senior managers?

a. Clear project plans created by the team, and effective communications

b. Mutual trust, respect, and credibility and cross-functional cooperation

c. Stimulating work environment and opportunity for team and individual recognition

d. Clearly defined project and team objectives, and use of task and relationship behaviors to resolve conflicts

All of the following are among the methods project managers can use to develop individual and team capabilities EXCEPT:

a. utilize coercive powers

b. teach personal responsibility

c. demand situational leadership

d. demonstrate personal leadership

All of the following represent common methods for making decisions on contemporary project teams EXCEPT:

a. The project manager or sponsor makes the decision.

b. The steering team reviews the project data and makes the decision.

c. The project team votes to make the decision.

d. One or two team members recommend or make the decision.

Frequently, project managers lack legitimate power based upon position and instead resort to persuading others based upon personal relationships. This type of power is known as:

a. referent power

b. connection power

c. coercive power

d. positional power

Which of the following styles of handling conflict is most appropriate whenever there is enough time, trust can be established, the issue is important to both sides and buy-in is needed?

a. compromising

b. smoothing / accommodating

c. forcing / competing

d. collaborating / problem solving

Which of these is NOT among the common task-related sources of project conflict?

a. priorities

b. personalities

c. technical approach

d. schedule

All of the following are among the steps of the negotiation process EXCEPT:

a. clarify and confirm agreements

b. work toward a common goal

c. clarify both parties' interests

d. use "good cop / bad cop" technique

A project manager must use effective communications to set and manage expectations of all stakeholders as well as to ensure that project work is completed properly and on time.

a. True

b. False

Stakeholders include people who have their routines disrupted by the project.

a. True

b. False

A stakeholder is anyone who will use, will be affected by or could impact the project.

a. True

b. False

Project managers should purposefully plan and carry out relationship-building activities with stakeholders that lead to respect and trust.

a. True

b. False

The communications management plan is finalized during project planning, and should only be changed through a formal change control process.

a. True

b. False

Common purposes for project communications include status reporting and efforts to obtain approval of project outputs.

a. True

b. False

Contemporary project communications typically include both push methods such as blogs, and pull methods such as e-mail.

a. True

b. False

The plan-do-check-act (PDCA) process improvement model can be applied specifically to improving project meetings.

a. True

b. False

An issue log is a document that identifies the specific issues that must be resolved before a particular project management meeting adjourns.

a. True

b. False

During the Manage Communications process, project managers must continuously monitor relationships, communications, and lessons learned in order to manage stakeholder expectations.

a. True

b. False

________ is the process of the project team communicating and working with stakeholders to satisfy their needs (and additional desires, when possible), handle issues quickly and encourage active stakeholder participation throughout.

a. Plan Stakeholder Engagement

b. Analyze Stakeholders

c. Identify Stakeholders

d. Manage Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholders include all of the following people EXCEPT:

a. those who work on the project

b. those whose routines may be disrupted by the project

c. those who provide people or resources for the project

d. those who will not be impacted by the project

Which of these is NOT one of the three methods of communication that will be documented in a communication plan?

a. Interactive methods

b. Push methods

c. Pull methods

d. Virtual methods

Project stakeholders can be prioritized based upon their level of power, legitimacy and urgency plus a number of additional criteria that might include:

a. fame

b. tenure

c. personality

d. impact

The stakeholder register information can be used to evaluate the interests of different stakeholder groups by performing a _______ analysis to identify where there may be common areas of interest between the groups.

a. MBWA (management-by-wandering-around)

b. PDCA (plan-do-check-act)

c. ITSFWI (if-the-shoe-fits-wear-it)

d. WIIFT (what's-in-it-for-them)

In the Plus-Delta method of evaluating project meetings, the "delta" column is used for team members to offer their opinion about one aspect of the meeting that ________.

a. Was poor and could be avoided (changed) in future meetings

b. Was good and should be repeated

c. Was an issue raised in the meeting should be followed up before the next meeting

d. Involves the behavior of one of the team members

A principal idea in agile is that the length of daily stand-up meetings should be ___________.

a. 10 minutes or less

b. 15 minutes or less

c. 45 minutes or less

d. 30 minutes or less

In order to plan for a project meeting, project managers should develop an agenda. Which of the statements below is NOT accurate with respect to a project meeting agenda?

a. the agenda should only be shared with senior management.

b. the agenda should list the major topics of the meeting in the order in which they will be covered.

c. the project manager should assure the agenda is prepared and distributed ahead of time.

d. the agenda should state the purpose of the meeting.

A situation that requires a decision to be made, but one that the team that cannot make now, usually due to needing more information or time, is called a(n) _____:

a. assumption

b. constraint

c. risk

d. issue

Once the project is underway, the project manager and team need to manage communications by doing all of the following activities EXCEPT:

a. Communicate effectively, taking actions to ensure the receiver understands the communication and acts appropriately.

b. Communicate thoroughly, copying all stakeholders on all e-mails and team status reports.

c. Communicate promptly, providing information soon enough so that it is useful to recipients and facilitates timely decisions.

d. Communicate accurately, presenting information in a manner that people are likely to interpret correctly.

The project scope is the work that must be performed to deliver a product, service or result with the required features and functions.

a. True

b. False

The priority of the product in agile is more significant than in traditional project management, as the outcome, or product, will drive the elaboration of the project.

a. True

b. False

The project scope statement establishes the project boundaries by stating what features and work elements are included (in scope) and which are excluded (out of scope).

a. True

b. False

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is normally developed by listing deliverables - major deliverables first and then progressively smaller ones until the team feels that every deliverable has been identified.

a. True

b. False

A Work Breakdown Structure must be decomposed at least four levels in order to be effective.

a. True

b. False

A WBS dictionary is a document that defines each of the terms used in the project scope statement.

a. True

b. False

When a project team needs to construct a WBS, it needs to include in its planning team a subject matter expert (SME) who understands how each segment of the work will be accomplished.

a. True

b. False

A "top-down" approach to creating a WBS is typically used when a project is unique and different from previous projects.

a. True

b. False

It is important to assign a unique name and a unique number to every component in the project Work Breakdown Structure.

a. True

b. False

Once the plan baseline has been approved and the project is underway, project teams deal with change by establishing and using a change control system to receive and review change proposals and accept or reject them after evaluating their impact on project scope, cost and schedule.

a. True

b. False

All of the following elements should be included in a project scope statement EXCEPT:

a. final and intermediate deliverables with acceptance criteria

b. project boundaries or exclusions

c. constraints imposed on the project, and assumptions made during planning

d. names of the project team members

On agile projects, the scope definition begins with :

a. work packages

b. large chunks of work, or features

c. stories and personas

d. requirements

It is helpful to list requirements and supporting information in a requirements traceability matrix. When requirements are complete, they should meet all of these criteria EXCEPT:

a. Identified with the stakeholder(s) who needs it

b. Prioritized according to value, cost, time, risk, or mandate so trade-off decisions can be made if needed

c. Qualified by measurable conditions

d. Assigned to a team member who will be the requirement owner

The method of dividing the project scope into many parts that, when combined, would constitute the project deliverable is called _____:

a. decomposition

b. requirements traceability

c. rolling wave planning

d. collect requirements

A _______ is the approved project plan mainly consisting of scope, schedule, and cost that is not normally altered unless a formal change control request is approved for modifying these plans.

a. component.

b. baseline.

c. requirement.

d. benchmark.

Which of the following is NOT a format that is typically used to represent a Work Breakdown Structure?

a. Hierarchical or "org chart"

b. Requirements Traceability Matrix

c. Free format

d. Indented outline

The overall project is considered to be the first level of the WBS. All of the following methods can be used to organize the second level of the WBS EXCEPT:

a. Organized by project phase.

b. Organized by work function./ subproject

c. Organized by design components / deliverables.

d. Organized by activities and tasks

This technique is an iterative process that identifies and defines the work to be completely accomplished in the near term, and plans the future work at a higher level.

a. Traceability

b. Rolling wave planning.

c. Decomposition.

d. Agile

The work component at the lowest level of the WBS for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed is called the ______:

a. activity

b. control account

c. work package

d. work element

A _________ is a written request or formal proposal to propose changes to any project planning component such as a document, project deliverable, or baseline (scope, cost, and time).

a. change request

b. scope statement

c. request for proposal (RFP)

d. project charter

The first process in developing a project schedule is to identify all the resources available to work on the project.

a. True

b. False

While the lowest level of decomposition in a WBS is the work package, work packages can still be decomposed further into work activities.

a. True

b. False

A successor activity is the schedule activity that follows a predecessor activity, as determined by their logical relationship.

a. True

b. False

The most common type of logical dependency to determine the sequence of project activities is "finish-to-finish" (FF).

a. True

b. False

A mandatory dependency is a logical relationship between activities that must happen - usually due to a physical or legal demand.

a. True

b. False

If the project manager changes an activity on the critical path to start at a later date, then the whole project will end at a later date.

a. True

b. False

To use the enumeration method of determining the critical path, we list or enumerate all of the paths through the network.

a. True

b. False

When developing a project schedule, total float refers to the amount of time a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project end date.

a. True

b. False

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows each work activity on a separate line with the bar placed from the early start date to the early finish date for each activity on a timescale.

a. True

b. False

GANTT refers to the Generalized Activity Network Tracking Technique which was developed to better understand how variability in the duration of individual activities impacts the expected project duration.

a. True

b. False

During which of the following Project Schedule Management processes does the team estimate the number of work periods that will be required to complete a schedule activity, usually expressed as workdays or workweeks?

a. Develop schedule

b. Sequence activities

c. Estimate activity durations

d. Define activities

aced with significant schedule challenges, the project manager has an ethical responsibility to do all of the following EXCEPT:

a. persuade all stakeholders that the schedule makes sense

b. determine a schedule that is possible to achieve

c. deliver the project according to the agreed-upon schedule

d. willingly accept end dates dictated by customers or sponsors

Milestones are important points in a project schedule that can serve as check points for project managers and sponsors. Which of the following could be a reason to identify a milestone during project schedule planning?

a. weekly team status meetings

b. completion of a major deliverable

c. completion of the WBS

d. signing of the project charter

Which of the following responses identifies a common type of logical dependency used to sequence project activities?

a. last-in; first-out

b. finish-to-start

c. last-in; last-out

d. first-in; first-out

This term is defined as the total number of work periods (not including holidays or other non-work periods) required to complete a schedule activity, usually expressed as workdays or workweeks:

a. elapsed time

b. effort

c. duration

d. resource days

Agile project schedules are limited to the amount of work the assigned resources can handle.

a. True

b. False

Estimate Activity Resources focuses exclusively upon the identification of the number of human resources required to perform each scheduled activity.

a. True

b. False

When constructing a responsibility matrix or "RACI" chart, it is important to ensure that only one person has primary accountability for any activity.

a. True

b. False

When determining resource availability, project managers need only consider full-time, internal resources.

a. True

b. False

When recruiting resources to support a project, it is helpful to bring core team members and key subject matter experts on board as early as possible, to help plan the project and develop the project culture.

a. True

b. False

When resource overloads are extreme, project managers may need to consider the acquisition of additional resources, reductions in scope or extensions to the project schedule.

a. True

b. False

Critical chain project management is an alternate scheduling technique that modifies the project schedule by taking resource constraints into account.

a. True

b. False

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) attempts to keep the most highly demanded resource busy on critical chain activities, but not overloaded.

a. True

b. False

Crashing is a project schedule compression technique that expedites a project by executing activities at the same time that ordinarily would be done one after the other.

a. True

b. False

An example of fast tracking a project schedule would be to overlap the design and production phases for a design-to-production project, where the conventional approach would be to move on to construction only after completing the design phase.

a. True

b. False

Which of these is NOT an issue to be considered when selecting team members?

a. co-located teams

b. virtual teams

c. cross functional teams

d. stages of team development

A common tool project teams use is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). Typically, this chart will depict:

a. the early start and early finish, and late start and late finish, of each schedule activity.

b. the hierarchical organizational reporting structure.

c. the duration of each activity.

d. all the work packages and the resources assigned for various responsibilities regarding each work package.

The components (principles) of Critical Chain Project Management include which of the following?

a. Add a comfortable buffer to every project activity

b. Adhere strictly to completion deadlines - rather than finishing early or late.

c. Avoid multi-tasking.

d. Estimate activity durations generously

Project managers must often face the challenge of compressing the project schedule. All of the following actions can be taken to reduce the duration of the critical path EXCEPT:

a. Overlap sequential activities using finish-to-finish, start-to-start, or start-to-finish relationships.

b. Partially overlap sequential activities by using time leads.

c. Use the float in critical path activities

d. Reduce the project scope and /or quality.

Plan Cost Management is the process to determine how to plan, estimate, and control project costs.

a. True

b. False

Cost estimating is linked very closely with scope, schedule and resource planning.

a. True

b. False

Fixed costs remain the same regardless of the size or volume of work, while variable costs vary directly with volume of use.

a. True

b. False

The project scope does not come into play when considering fixed and variable cost choices.

a. True

b. False

Regardless of what method is used to estimate project costs, supporting detail should be provided.

a. True

b. False

A contingency reserve is money assigned to the project and allocated for identified risks for which contingent responses are developed.

a. True

b. False

Analogous estimating is the most detailed, time consuming and accurate way to estimate.

a. True

b. False

Vendor bid analysis is used to determine whether the price being asked by the vendors appears to be reasonable.

a. True

b. False

Value engineering is aimed at increasing the value or productivity of a work element while minimizing the cost.

a. True

b. False

A project manager needs to ensure that the cumulative amount of cash coming into the project either from internal budgeting or from customer payments meets or exceeds the demands for paying cash out.

a. True

b. False

Projects often include indirect costs that are necessary to keep the organization running, but are not associated with one specific project. Which of the following items are most typically considered to be indirect costs?

a. executive salaries, utilities and insurance

b. costs associated with material and purchased parts

c. the cost of labor provided by project team members, consultants and subcontractors

d. travel cost for the project team

Costs that repeat as project work continues such as the cost of writing code or laying bricks are appropriately classified as:

a. fixed costs.

b. indirect costs.

c. nonrecurring costs.

d. recurring costs

Which of the following terms best describes extra money in the project budget to be used if necessary - usually if a risk event occurs?

a. padding

b. discretionary fund

c. reserve

d. insurance

Which estimating technique uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (e.g., square footage in construction, lines of code in software development) to calculate an estimate for scope, cost and duration?

a. analogous estimating

b. bottom-up estimating

c. Monte Carlo estimating

d. parametric estimating

All of the following factors must be in place in order to develop an analogous estimate effectively EXCEPT:

a. An organization must know details behind the time value of money.

b. An organization must know how and to what extent the proposed project differs from the previous project.

c. An organization must know how much previous projects actually cost.

d. An organization must have experience in performing similar projects.

The documentation of a project cost estimate generally requires substantial supporting detail to include all of these EXCEPT:

a. a description of scope.

b. assumptions and constraints.

c. the estimating methods and a range of possible outcomes.

d. management reserve needs

There are many causes of variation in project costs. Which of the following accurately describes the nature of this variation?

a. Variation occurs in all work processes and the novelty associated with most projects creates many opportunities for variation.

b. Normal cause variation is when something out of the ordinary occurs

c. Variation is generally greater on projects that use well-known technology and an experienced project team.

d. Special cause variation comes from many small causes that are inherent in a work process.

All of the following items describe an aspect of life cycle costing EXCEPT:

a. Life cycle cost includes the cost of both creating the project and of using the result of the project during its useful life.

b. Many project selection decisions are made based upon life cycle cost.

c. Project managers may need to consider disposal costs of the product after its useful life is complete to calculate total life cycle cost.

d. Life cycle cost only includes the project cost from initiating through closing

The _________is the approved budget, usually in a time distribution format, that is used to estimate, monitor, and control the overall cost performance of the project.

a. control account

b. management baseline.

c. cost baseline.

d. cost benchmark

The purpose of risk management is to eliminate all project risk.

a. True

b. False

When the impact of an event is negative, it is considered a risk; when the impact is positive, the event is considered an opportunity.

a. True

b. False

The cost per risk for risks discovered early in the project is often more than the cost per risk for risks discovered late because there is more opportunity for the risk to impact several dimensions of the project.

a. True

b. False

When complete, the risk register presents the results of both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis as well as risk response planning.

a. True

b. False

In Agile projects early risk planning, assessment and response planning is done at a high level, and more detailed and timely risk management occurs during the planning of each subsequent iteration, in daily stand-up meetings, and in retrospectives at the end of each iteration.

a. True

b. False

The primary questions project teams use in qualitative risk analysis are "how likely is this risk to happen?", and "if it does happen, how big will the impact be?"

a. True

b. False

Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis is the process of numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives.

a. True

b. False

In some cases, project teams will elect to reduce a threat to a level that a sponsor and other stakeholders deem acceptable, rather than eliminate it completely.

a. True

b. False

Risk response strategies such as accept risk and research risk apply to both threats and opportunities.

a. True

b. False

Risk response strategy decisions should reflect a thorough understanding of the priorities that key stakeholders have for cost, schedule, scope, and quality.

a. True

b. False

A ________ presents a hierarchical organization of risks based on categories such as operational, strategic, finance, external, and project management.

a. Risk Register

b. Risk Management Plan

c. Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS)

d. Decision Tree

All of the following criteria can be used to categorize project risks EXCEPT:

a. when it occurs in the project life cycle

b. whether the risk is internal or external to the performing organization

c. whether the risk is a known known

d. the project objective that may be impacted by the risk (cost, schedule, scope and / or quality)

Which of the following describes the activities appropriately performed by the project team during Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis?

a. Team members define how to conduct risk management activities for the project.

b. Team members identify potential risk events.

c. Team members assess the probability of occurrence and severity of impact for identified risks.

d. Team members develop contingency plans for all risks to avoid adverse impacts to project objectives

All of the following describe the appropriate application of Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis in project management EXCEPT:

a. Large, complex and expensive projects stand to benefit from the additional rigor of quantitative risk analysis techniques.

b. Quantitative techniques are used when it is critical to predict the probability of completing a project on time or within budget with confidence.

c. Decision Tree Analysis and Simulation techniques such as Monte Carlo Analysis are examples of useful quantitative risk analysis techniques.

d. Brainstorming techniques are used by the team and other stakeholders to identify as many project risks as possible. Hide Feedback

Which of the following describes how the team uses a cause-and-effect diagram to support project risk analysis?

a. The project team begins by identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

b. The team organizes assumptions and constraints in a fishbone pattern.

c. The team lists the risk as the "effect" in a box at the head of a fish, then names the big bones.

d. Team members are encouraged to keep asking "when?" to break down risks into more detailed causes.

Which of the following quantitative risk analysis techniques is used to determine which risks have the most powerful impact on the project, with results displayed in the form of a tornado diagram?

a. Sensitivity Analysis

b. Simulation Techniques such as Monte Carlo Analysis

c. Expected Monetary Value (EMV)

d. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

All of the following describe an appropriate application of Plan Risk Responses in project management EXCEPT:

a. The expectations of the sponsor and key stakeholders should influence the risk responses that are developed.

b. Responses should be created for every identified project risk, regardless of the risk score.

c. Risk response planning should address both opportunities and threats.

d. Often multiple strategies are identified for a single risk.

All of the following are among the classic risk response strategies EXCEPT:

a. enhance an opportunity

b. avoid a threat

c. transfer a threat

d. share a threat

Which of the following activities illustrates a risk response strategy designed to research a threat or an opportunity?

a. establish triggers and update them frequently

b. establish time or cost contingencies

c. identify a risk owner to each high priority risk

d. construct a prototype to learn more about a candidate solution

Monitoring and controlling project work refers to the processes of tracking, reviewing and reporting progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project plan.

a. True

b. False

Self-directed teams on agile projects are largely empowered to decide what work to do and when to do it, consistent with the prioritizing of deliverables by the product owner.

a. True

b. False

A quality audit is a project management and quality tool that is a structured process to ensure project activities comply with organizational policies.

a. True

b. False

On agile projects, because communication is frequent and rapid, a directional indicator showing that things are getting better or worse in some manner is more valuable than a more detailed and polished report.

a. True

b. False

Control quality is the forward-looking process of using and improving the quality plan and policy to perform tasks that will most likely lead to creating project outputs to customers' satisfaction.

a. True

b. False

The purpose of a check sheet is to quickly understand the primary causes of a particular problem using the 80/20 rule.

a. True

b. False

In a control chart, a point that occurs above the upper control limit typically means that some sort of special cause is creating the variation and requires a specific intervention.

a. True

b. False

When reporting performance to sponsors and management, it is often helpful to organize the information in terms of three time horizons: past, current and future.

a. True

b. False

Earned Value (EV) is the approved value of the work to be completed in a given time.

a. True

b. False

The Cost Variance (CV) is a cost performance measure expressed as the ratio of earned value (EV) to actual cost (AC).

a. True

b. False

This Agile project reporting tool is useful to Scrum Masters as it projects how close to plan the team is within a given time box, by providing a graphical representation of work effort remaining in an iteration versus the days left in an iteration.

a. Progress report

b. Burndown chart

c. Control chart

d. Run chart

This is the process of reviewing all change proposals, estimating their impact on project goals wherever appropriate, approving or declining changes, and managing changes to deliverables, schedules, budgets and the project management plan:

a. Perform variance analysis and control.

b. Perform project monitoring.

c. Perform integrated change control.

d. Perform configuration management

Some organizations rely upon a formal group authorized and responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving, delaying, or rejecting any changes to any aspect of the project plan by following a formal communication method of documenting the decision process. This group is typically known as a:

a. project evaluation committee.

b. steering committee

c. change control board.

d. stakeholder review board.

With respect to performance reporting, which of these are the actual and raw observations and measurements gathered during execution of project activities?

a. Work performance data

b. Work performance analysis

c. Work performance reports

d. Work performance information

One useful method of process improvement involves consideration of how another organization performs a process, identifying and analyzing best practices for improvement ideas. This method is known as:

a. root cause analysis

b. comparative improvement

c. voice of the customer

d. benchmarking

During schedule and cost control, when comparing performance to the schedule and cost baselines, if schedule or budget has changed these changes should be:

a. reviewed with the customer or sponsor to obtain approval for additional funding

b. formally recommended and managed through the integrated change control system

c. added to the original baselines, and baseline changes made to reflect the new status

d. implemented immediately and reported as variances from baseline in the next status report

All of the following accurately describe earned value management EXCEPT:

a. It enables a project team to understand progress in terms of both cost and schedule.

b. It is good for performance reporting but not for forecasting

c. It is used as a decision-making tool.

d. It is used to make predictions concerning the project schedule and cost control until the project's conclusion.

The Budget at Completion (BAC) is the sum of all budgets established for the work to be performed on a project. As such it is equivalent to:

a. the total value of the work completed to date

b. the total planned value of the project

c. the total actual cost of the project.

d. the total earned value of the project.

Which of the following measures is best suited for determining whether the project is on, ahead or behind schedule?

a. Schedule Compliance (SC)

b. To Complete Performance Index (TCPI)

c. Estimate to Complete (ETC)

d. Schedule Variance (SV)