CAPM : Certified Associate in Project Management (PMI-100) : Part 25

CAPM : Certified Associate in Project Management (PMI-100) : Part 25

1. Change requests, project management plan updates, project document updates, and organizational process assets updates are all outputs of which project management process?

   • Plan Risk Responses
   • Manage Stakeholder Expectations
   • Define Scope
   • Report Performance

2. Which process involves identifying and documenting the logical relationships between project activities?

   • Develop Schedule
   • Sequence Activities
   • Create WBS
   • Applying leads and lags

   Explanation:
   Process: 6.3 Sequence Activities
   Definition: The process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities.
   Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.
   Inputs
   1. Schedule management plan
   2. Activity list
   3. Activity attributes
   4. Milestone list
   5. Project scope statement
   6. Enterprise environmental factors
   7. Organizational process assets
   Tools & Techniques
   1. Precedence diagramming method (PDM)
   2. Dependency determination
   3. Leads and lags
   Outputs
   1. Project schedule network diagrams
   2. Project documents updates

3. Which of the following is an example of the simplest fixed-price contract?

   • Purchase requisition
   • Purchase order
   • Verbal agreement
   • Request for quote

4. Which technique helps to determine the risks that have the most potential impact on a project?

   • Cost risk simulation analysis
   • Expected monetary value analysis
   • Modeling and simulation
   • Sensitivity analysis
   Explanation:

   11.4.2.2 Quantitative Risk Analysis and Modeling Techniques
   Commonly used techniques use both event-oriented and project-oriented analysis approaches, including:

   • Sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity analysis helps to determine which risks have the most potential impact on the project. It helps to understand how the variations in project’s objectives correlate with variations in different uncertainties. Conversely, it examines the extent to which the uncertainty of each project element affects the objective being studied when all other uncertain elements are held at their baseline values.

5. Labor, materials, equipment, and supplies are examples of:

   • Resource attributes.
   • Resource types.
   • Resource categories.
   • Resource breakdown structures (RBS).
   Explanation:
   6.4.3.2 Resource Breakdown Structure
   The resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of resources by category and type. Examples of resource categories include labor, material, equipment, and supplies. Resource types may include the skill level, grade level, or other information as appropriate to the project. The resource breakdown structure is useful for organizing and reporting project schedule data with resource utilization information.

6. Analogous cost estimating relies on which of the following techniques?

   • Expert judgment
   • Project management software
   • Vendor bid analysis
   • Reserve analysis
   Explanation:
   4.1.2.1 Expert Judgment
   Definition: Expert judgment is often used to assess the inputs used to develop the project charter. Expert judgment is applied to all technical and management details during this process. Such expertise is provided by any group or individual with specialized knowledge or training and is available from many sources, including:
   – Other units within the organization,
   – Consultants,
   – Stakeholders, including customers or sponsors,
   – Professional and technical associations,
   – Industry groups,
   – Subject matter experts (SME), and
   – Project management office (PMO).

7. A method to manage stakeholder expectations in the scope statement is to clearly:

   • state the guiding principles of the organization.
   • identify alternatives to generate different approaches.
   • state what is out of scope.
   • outline the results of the Delphi technique.

8. Which type of management focuses on ensuring that projects and programs are reviewed to prioritize resource allocation?

   • Project
   • Functional
   • Program
   • Portfolio
   Explanation:
   1.4.2 Portfolio Management
   A portfolio refers to projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives. The projects or programs of the portfolio may not necessarily be interdependent or directly related. For example, an infrastructure firm that has the strategic objective of “maximizing the return on its investments” may put together a portfolio that includes a mix of projects in oil and gas, power, water, roads, rail, and airports. From this mix, the firm may choose to manage related projects as one program. All of the power projects may be grouped together as a power program. Similarly, all of the water projects may be grouped together as a water program.
   Thus, the power program and the water program become integral components of the enterprise portfolio of the infrastructure firm.

9. One of the tools and techniques of the Manage Project Team process is:

   • organization charts.
   • ground rules.
   • organizational theory,
   • conflict management.
   Explanation:

   9.4.2.3 Conflict Management
   Conflict is inevitable in a project environment. Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms, and solid project management practices, like communication planning and role definition, reduce the amount of conflict.
   Successful conflict management results in greater productivity and positive working relationships. When managed properly, differences of opinion can lead to increased creativity and better decision making. If the differences become a negative factor, project team members are initially responsible for their resolution. If conflict escalates, the project manager should help facilitate a satisfactory resolution. Conflict should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach. If disruptive conflict continues, formal procedures may be used, including disciplinary actions.
   The success of project managers in managing their project teams often depends a great deal on their ability to resolve conflict. Different project managers may utilize different conflict resolution methods. Factors that influence conflict resolution methods include:
   • Relative importance and intensity of the conflict,
   • Time pressure for resolving the conflict,
   • Position taken by persons involved, and
   • Motivation to resolve conflict on a long-term or a short-term basis.
   There are five general techniques for resolving conflict. As each one has its place and use, these are not given in any particular order:
   – Withdraw/Avoid. Retreating from an actual or potential conflict situation; postponing the issue to be better prepared or to be resolved by others.
   – Smooth/Accommodate. Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than areas of difference; conceding one’s position to the needs of others to maintain harmony and relationships.
   – Compromise/Reconcile. Searching for solutions that bring some degree of satisfaction to all parties in order to temporarily or partially resolve the conflict.
   – Force/Direct. Pushing one’s viewpoint at the expense of others; offering only win-lose solutions, usually enforced through a power position to resolve an emergency.
   – Collaborate/Problem Solve. Incorporating multiple viewpoints and insights from differing perspectives; requires a cooperative attitude and open dialogue that typically leads to consensus and commitment.

   Process: 9.4 Manage Project Team
   Definition: The process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing changes to optimize project performance.
   Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it influences team behavior, manages conflict, resolves issues, and appraises team member performance.

   Inputs
   1. Human resource management plan
   2. Project staff assignments
   3. Team performance assessments
   4. Issue log
   5. Work performance reports
   6. Organizational process assets
   Tools & Techniques
   1. Observation and conversation
   2. Project performance appraisals
   3. Conflict management
   4. Interpersonal skills
   Outputs
   1. Change requests
   2. Project management plan updates
   3. Project documents updates
   4. Enterprise environmental factors updates
   5. Organizational process assets updates

10. The process of monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline is:

    • Control Schedule.
    • Quality Control.
    • Perform Integrated Change Control.
    • Develop Schedule.
    Explanation:

    6.6.3.1 Schedule Baseline
    A schedule baseline is the approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results. It is accepted and approved by the appropriate stakeholders as the schedule baseline with baseline start dates and baseline finish dates. During monitoring and controlling, the approved baseline dates are compared to the actual start and finish dates to determine whether variances have occurred. The schedule baseline is a component of the project management plan.

    Process: 6.7 Control Schedule
    Definition: Control Schedule is the process of monitoring the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides the means to recognize deviation from the plan and take corrective and preventive actions and thus minimize risk.

    Inputs
    1. Project management plan
    2. Project schedule
    3. Work performance data
    4. Project calendars
    5. Schedule data
    6. Organizational process assets

    Tools & Techniques
    1. Performance reviews
    2. Project management software
    3. Resource optimization techniques
    4. Modeling techniques
    5. Leads and lags
    6. Schedule compression
    7. Scheduling tool

    Outputs
    1. Work performance information
    2. Schedule forecasts
    3. Change requests
    4. Project management plan updates
    5. Project documents updates
    6. Organizational process assets updates

11. Changes to formally controlled documentation, plans, etc. to reflect modified or additional ideas or content are known as:

    • updates.
    • defect repairs.
    • preventive actions.
    • corrective actions.
    Explanation:

    4.3.3.3 Change Requests
    A change request is a formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable, or baseline. An approved change request will replace the associated document, deliverable, or baseline and may result in an update to other parts
    of the project management plan. When issues are found while project work is being performed, change requests are submitted, which may modify project policies or procedures, project scope, project cost or budget, project schedule, or project quality. Other change requests cover the needed preventive or corrective actions to forestall negative impact later in the project. Requests for a change can be direct or indirect, externally or internally initiated, and can be optional or legally/contractually mandated, and may include:

    – Corrective action—An intentional activity that realigns the performance of the project work with the project management plan;
    – Preventive action—An intentional activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is aligned with the project management plan;
    – Defect repair—An intentional activity to modify a nonconforming product or product component;
    – Updates—Changes to formally controlled project documents, plans, etc., to reflect modified or additional ideas or content.

12. Which provides the basic framework for managing a project?

    • Project life cycle
    • Work breakdown structure (WBS)
    • Enterprise environmental factors
    • Project initiation
    Explanation:
    Project Life Cycle. The series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure.

13. A tool and technique used during the Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis process is:

    • risk data quality assessment.
    • variance and trend analysis.
    • data gathering and representation techniques.
    • risk audits.
    Explanation:

    11.3.2.3 Risk Data Quality Assessment
    Risk data quality assessment is a technique to evaluate the degree to which the data about risks is useful for risk management. It involves examining the degree to which the risk is understood and the accuracy, quality, reliability, and integrity of the data about the risk.
    The use of low-quality risk data may lead to a qualitative risk analysis of little use to the project. If data quality is unacceptable, it may be necessary to gather better data. Often, the collection of information about risks is diffcult, and consumes more time and resources than originally planned.

    Process: 11.3 Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
    Definition: The process of prioritizing risks for further analysis or action by assessing and combining their probability of occurrence and impact.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it enables project managers to reduce the level of uncertainty and to focus on high-priority risks.

    Inputs
    1. Risk management plan
    2. Scope baseline
    3. Risk register
    4. Enterprise environmental factors
    5. Organizational process assets
    Tools & Techniques
    1. Risk probability and impact assessment
    2. Probability and impact matrix
    3. Risk data quality assessment
    4. Risk categorization
    5. Risk urgency assessment
    6. Expert judgment
    Outputs
    1. Project documents updates

14. In the Estimate Activity Durations process, productivity metrics and published commercial information inputs are part of the:

    • enterprise environmental factors
    • organizational process assets
    • project management plan
    • project funding requirements
    Explanation:

    6.5.1.9 Enterprise Environmental Factors
    Described in Section 2.1.5. The enterprise environmental factors that can influence the Estimate Activity Durations process include, but are not limited to:
    – Duration estimating databases and other reference data,
    – Productivity metrics,
    – Published commercial information, and
    – Location of team members.

    Process: 6.5 Estimate Activity Durations
    Definition:  The process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete, which is a major input into the Develop Schedule process.

    Inputs
    1. Schedule management plan
    2. Activity list
    3. Activity attributes
    4. Activity resource requirements
    5. Resource calendars
    6. Project scope statement
    7. Risk register
    8. Resource breakdown structure
    9. Enterprise environmental factors
    10. Organizational process assets

    Tools & Techniques
    1. Expert judgment
    2. Analogous estimating
    3. Parametric estimating
    4. Three-point estimating
    5. Group decision-making techniques
    6. Reserve analysis
    Outputs
    1. Activity duration estimates
    2. Project documents updates

15. The milestone list is an input to which process from the Planning Process Group?

    • Define Activities
    • Estimate Activity Durations
    • Estimate Activity Resources
    • Sequence Activities
    Explanation:

    6.2.3.3 Milestone List
    A milestone is a significant point or event in a project. A milestone list is a list identifying all project milestones and indicates whether the milestone is mandatory, such as those required by contract, or optional, such as those based upon historical information. Milestones are similar to regular schedule activities, with the same structure and attributes, but they have zero duration because milestones represent a moment in time.

    Process: 6.3 Sequence Activities
    Definition: The process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.

    Inputs
    1. Schedule management plan
    2. Activity list
    3. Activity attributes
    4. Milestone list
    5. Project scope statement
    6. Enterprise environmental factors
    7. Organizational process assets
    Tools & Techniques
    1. Precedence diagramming method (PDM)
    2. Dependency determination
    3. Leads and lags
    Outputs
    1. Project schedule network diagrams
    2. Project documents updates

16. Quality metrics are an output of which process?

    • Plan Quality Management
    • Perform Quality Control
    • Perform Quality Assurance
    • Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
    Explanation:

    8.1.3.3 Quality Metrics
    A quality metric specifically describes a project or product attribute and how the control quality process will measure it. A measurement is an actual value. The tolerance defines the allowable variations to the metric. For example, if the quality objective is to stay within the approved budget by ± 10%, the specific quality metric is used to measure the cost of every deliverable and determine the percent variance from the approved budget for that deliverable. Quality metrics are used in the perform quality assurance and control quality processes. Some examples of quality metrics include on-time performance, cost control, defect frequency, failure rate, availability, reliability, and test coverage.

    Process: 8.1 Plan Quality Management
    Definition: The process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables, and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with relevant quality requirements and/or standards.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and validated throughout the project.

    Inputs
    1. Project management plan
    2. Stakeholder register
    3. Risk register
    4. Requirements documentation
    5. Enterprise environmental factors
    6. Organizational process assets
    Tools & Techniques
    1. Cost-benefit analysis
    2. Cost of quality
    3. Seven basic quality tools
    4. Benchmarking
    5. Design of experiments
    6. Statistical sampling
    7. Additional quality planning tools
    8. Meetings
    Outputs
    1. Quality management plan
    2. Process improvement plan
    3. Quality metrics
    4. Quality checklists
    5. Project documents updates

17. The purpose of inspection in Perform Quality Control is to keep errors:

    • in line with a measured degree of conformity.
    • out of the hands of the customer.
    • in a specified range of acceptable results.
    • out of the process.

18. An input to the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process is the:

    • quality management plan.
    • project management plan.
    • communications management plan.
    • schedule management plan.
    Explanation:

    6.1.3.1 Schedule Management Plan
    A component of the project management plan that establishes the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. The schedule management plan may be formal or informal, highly detailed or broadly framed, based upon the needs of the project, and includes appropriate control thresholds.
    For example, the schedule management plan can establish the following:
    – Project schedule model development. The scheduling methodology and the scheduling tool to be used in the development of the project schedule model are specified.
    – Level of accuracy. The acceptable range used in determining realistic activity duration estimates is specified and may include an amount for contingencies.
    – Units of measure. Each unit used in measurements (such as staff hours, staff days, or weeks for time measures, or meters, liters, tons, kilometers, or cubic yards for quantity measures) is defined for each of the resources.
    – Organizational procedures links. The WBS (Section 5.4) provides the framework for the schedule management plan, allowing for consistency with the estimates and resulting schedules.
    – Project schedule model maintenance. The process used to update the status and record progress of the project in the schedule model during the execution of the project is defined.
    – Control thresholds. Variance thresholds for monitoring schedule performance may be specified to indicate an agreed-upon amount of variation to be allowed before some action needs to be taken. Thresholds are typically expressed as percentage deviations from the parameters established in the baseline plan.
    – Rules of performance measurement. Earned value management (EVM) rules or other physical measurement rules of performance measurement are set. For example, the schedule management plan may specify:
    ○○ Rules for establishing percent complete,
    ○○ Control accounts at which management of progress and schedule will be measured,
    ○○ Earned value measurement techniques (e.g., baselines, fixed-formula, percent complete, etc.) to be employed (for more specific information, refer to the Practice Standard for Earned Value Management) [9],
    ○○ Schedule performance measurements such as schedule variance (SV) and schedule performance index (SPI) used to assess the magnitude of variation to the original schedule baseline.
    – Reporting formats. The formats and frequency for the various schedule reports are defined.
    – Process descriptions. Descriptions of each of the schedule management processes are documented.

    Process: 11.4 Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
    Definition: The process of numerically analyzing the effect of identified risks on overall project objectives.
    Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it produces quantitative risk information to support decision making in order to reduce project uncertainty.

    Inputs
    1. Risk management plan
    2. Cost management plan
    3. Schedule management plan
    4. Risk register
    5. Enterprise environmental factors
    6. Organizational process assets
    Tools & Techniques
    1. Data gathering and representation techniques
    2. Quantitative risk analysis and modeling techniques
    3. Expert judgment
    Outputs
    1. Project documents updates

19. When large or complex projects are separated into distinct phases or subprojects, all of the Process Groups would normally be:

    • divided among each of the phases or subprojects.
    • repeated for each of the phases or subprojects.
    • linked to specific phases or subprojects.
    • integrated for specific phases or subprojects.

20. A project has a current cost performance index (CPI) of 1.25. To date, US$10,000 have been spent on performing the project work. What is the earned value of the work completed to date?

    • US$5000
    • US$9500
    • US$10,000
    • US$12,500
    Explanation:

    CPI = EV / AC

    US$12,500/US$10,000 = 1.25