• Home
• Sample Assignments
• Scheduling projects chapter 7

Scheduling projects chapter 7

Chapter 7 - Scheduling Projects

TRUE/FALSE

1. In order for activities to be useful as schedule building blocks, they should have tangible output that can be verified.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: Intro

2. There is often terrific pressure to complete a project as quickly as possible. To confront this pressure, a project manager should quickly promise to meet the deadlines requested by the sponsor and then assemble a team to create the corresponding schedule.

ANS: F DIF: Average REF: 7.4

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

ANS: F DIF: Challenging REF: 7.5

4. While the lowest level of decomposition in a Work Breakdown Structure is the work package, work packages can still be decomposed further into project activities.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.5

5. Except in rare circumstances, project teams should not attempt to decompose work packages into project activities because work packages provide sufficient detail to develop a project schedule.

ANS: F DIF: Challenging REF: 7.5

6. A successor activity follows a predecessor activity based on their logical relationship.

ANS: T DIF: Easy REF: 7.6

7. The most common type of logical dependency to determine the sequence of project activities is “finish-to-finish”.

ANS: F DIF: Average REF: 7.6

8. The “start-to-start” logical relationship used in activity sequencing applies to the case where initiation of the successor activity depends upon initiation of the predecessor activity.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.6

9. The length of time to perform an activity is often dependent upon who will do that work.

ANS: T DIF: Easy REF: 7.7

10. Prioritizing projects and carefully authorizing the start of non-critical activities can serve as remedies for multi-tasking.

ANS: T DIF: Challenging REF: 7.7

11. The critical path is the sequence of activities that form the shortest path through the project network and determine the duration of the project.

ANS: F DIF: Average REF: 7.8

12. If a project manager delays the start of an activity on the critical path, then the expected completion date of the project will occur at a later date than originally planned.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.8

13. The enumeration method of determining the critical path relies upon identification of all paths through the project network.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.8

14. When developing a project schedule, slack refers to the time between the start and the finish of a planned activity.

ANS: F DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

15. Even small delays on “near-critical” activities can change the critical path of a project.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.8

16. PERT refers to the Program Evaluation and Review Technique which was developed to better understand how variability in the duration of individual activities impacts the expected project duration.

ANS: T DIF: Average REF: 7.9

17. 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.

ANS: F DIF: Easy REF: 7.9

18. The primary advantage of PERT is that it removes uncertainty from the estimates of activity durations, thereby increasing confidence in the reliability of a project schedule.

ANS: F DIF: Challenging REF: 7.9

19. Monte Carlo Analysis is a technique that computes activity durations based on three time estimates: one optimistic, one pessimistic and one most likely.

ANS: F DIF: Easy REF: 7.9

20. A Gantt chart is a tool that can be used to communicate a project schedule.

ANS: T DIF: Easy REF: 7.10

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Estimating the number of work periods that will be needed to complete individual schedule activities characterizes which of the following time management processes?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.1

2. Creating a realistic schedule is often an iterative process because several factors can limit how fast a project can be completed. Which of the following factors can limit how fast a project can be scheduled and completed?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.4

3. Faced with significant schedule challenges, the project manager has several responsibilities. Which of the following are among the project manager’s responsibilities?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.4

4. Which of the following items can provide useful assistance to a project team to define the activities of a project?

ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: 7.5

5. Milestones are important points in a project schedule that can serve as check points for project managers and sponsors. Which of the following reasons might justify the decision to establish a milestone?

ANS: D DIF: Challenging REF: 7.5

6. A scheduled activity that determines when a logical successor activity can begin and end is known as:

ANS: B DIF: Average REF: 7.6

7. The sequencing of activities is often based upon dependencies between the activities. The dependencies that should guide activity sequencing can be either:

ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: 7.6

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

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.6

9. The total number of work periods (not including holidays or other non-work time) required to complete a schedule activity is known as:

ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: 7.7

10. Which of the following strategies can help a project team to develop realistic time estimates for project activities?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.7

11. Which of the following problems contributes to difficulty in estimating activity durations accurately?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.7

12. Which of the following remedies may reduce the likelihood of omissions when developing activity duration estimates.

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.7

13. Which of the following statements correctly describes the critical path?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.8

14. The total amount of time a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date is known as:

ANS: B DIF: Average REF: 7.8

15. Despite the insights that PERT provides, there are still practical limitations that impact its usefulness. Which of the following difficulties are associated with the use of PERT?

ANS: D DIF: Challenging REF: 7.9

16. Which of the following statements correctly describes an advantage or disadvantage associated with the use of Monte Carlo Analysis?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.9

17. Consider the Assembly Project depicted in Figure 7-1. Based on the information provided, what is the early start date for activity D - “Attach Modules 1 & 2”?

ANS: D DIF: Average REF: 7.8

18. Consider the Research Project depicted in Figure 7-2. Based on the information provided, what is the late start date for activity C - “Review Reports”?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.8

19. Consider the Research Project depicted in Figure 7-2. Based on the information provided, what is the late start date for activity A - “Plan Research”?

ANS: A DIF: Average REF: 7.8

20. Consider the Research Project depicted in Figure 7-2. Based on the information provided, which activity can you delay by one day without impacting the expected completion date for the project?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.8

21. Consider the Research Project depicted in Figure 7-2. Based on the information provided, what is the slack associated with activity C - “Review Reports”?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.8

22. Consider the System Integration Project depicted in Figure 7-3. Based on the information provided, what is the expected duration of this project?

ANS: C DIF: Average REF: 7.8

23. Consider the System Integration Project depicted in Figure 7-3. Based on the information provided, which activities constitute the critical path for this project?

ANS: A DIF: Average REF: 7.8

24. Consider the System Integration Project depicted in Figure 7-3. Based on the information provided, which activities can be delayed one day without impacting the expected project completion date?

ANS: C DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

25. Consider the System Integration Project depicted in Figure 7-3. Based on the information provided, how many days can you delay the purchase of software (Activity C), without impacting the expected project completion date?

ANS: B DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

26. Consider the Lab Experiment Project depicted in Figure 7-4. Based on the information provided, what is the expected duration of this project?

ANS: B DIF: Average REF: 7.8

27. Consider the Lab Experiment Project depicted in Figure 7-4. Based on the information provided, identify the critical path(s) for this project?

ANS: D DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

28. Consider the Lab Experiment Project depicted in Figure 7-4. Based on the information provided, which activity can be delayed one day without impacting the expected project completion date?

ANS: B DIF: Average REF: 7.8

29. Consider the Lab Experiment Project depicted in Figure 7-4. Based on the information provided, how many days can you delay the calibration of the instrumentation (Activity B), without impacting the expected project completion date?

ANS: A DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

30. Consider the activity duration estimates presented in Figure 7-5. Based on the information provided and adopting the PERT conventions to calculate expected activity durations, what is the expected duration of Activity D - “Package Item”?

ANS: B DIF: Challenging REF: 7.9

31. Consider the network scheduling data provided in Figure 7-6. Which activities constitute the critical path for this project network?

ANS: D DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

32. Consider the network scheduling data provided in Figure 7-6. What is the expected duration of this project?

ANS: C DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

33. Consider the network scheduling data presented in Figure 7-6. How many days of slack are associated with activity F?

ANS: C DIF: Challenging REF: 7.8

ESSAY

1. Projects are often completed late. Describe the techniques you would use as a project manager to improve the accuracy and reliability of your project schedule.

ANS: Answers will vary.

DIF: Challenging

2. Describe “slack” and how you can use slack to your advantage in managing a project.

ANS: Answers will vary.

DIF: Challenging

3. Describe how you would use the members of your project team to develop and execute a project schedule.

ANS: Answers will vary.

DIF: Challenging