CAPM : Certified Associate in Project Management (PMI-100) : Part 31
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Fast tracking is a schedule compression technique used to shorten the project schedule without changing project scope. Which of the following can result from fast tracking?
- The risk of achieving the shortened project time is increased.
- The critical path will have positive total float.
- Contingency reserves are released for redeployment by the project manager.
- Duration buffers are added to maintain a focus on planned activity durations.
Explanation:
Fast tracking is a compression technique that increases risk and potentially causes rework. Fast tracking is starting two projects previously scheduled to start one after the other at the same time. -
Requirements documentation, requirements management plan, and requirements traceability matrix are all outputs of which process?
- Control Scope
- Collect Requirements
- Create WBS
- Define Scope
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Which of the following is a strategy to deal with positive risks or opportunities?
- Mitigate
- Transfer
- Exploit
- Avoid
Explanation:
11.5.2.2 Strategies for Positive Risks or Opportunities
Three of the four responses are suggested to deal with risks with potentially positive impacts on project objectives.
The fourth strategy, accept, can be used for negative risks or threats as well as positive risks or opportunities. These strategies, described below, are to exploit, share, enhance, and accept.
– Exploit. The exploit strategy may be selected for risks with positive impacts where the organization wishes to ensure that the opportunity is realized. This strategy seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with a particular upside risk by ensuring the opportunity definitely happens. Examples of directly exploiting responses include assigning an organization’s most talented resources to the project to reduce the time to completion or using new technologies or technology upgrades to reduce cost and duration required to realize project objectives.
– Enhance. The enhance strategy is used to increase the probability and/or the positive impacts of an opportunity. Identifying and maximizing key drivers of these positive-impact risks may increase the probability of their occurrence. Examples of enhancing opportunities include adding more resources to an activity to finish early.
– Share. Sharing a positive risk involves allocating some or all of the ownership of the opportunity to a third party who is best able to capture the opportunity for the beneft of the project. Examples of sharing actions include forming risk-sharing partnerships, teams, special-purpose companies, or joint ventures, which can be established with the express purpose of taking advantage of the opportunity so that all parties gain from their actions.
Accept. Accepting an opportunity is being willing to take advantage of the opportunity if it arises, but not actively pursuing it. -
What are the identified risks for doing excessive decomposition in a WBS?
- Insufficient project funding and disqualification of sellers
- Insufficient project funding and ineffective use of resources
- Disqualification of sellers and non-productive management efforts
- Non-productive management effort and inefficient use of resources
Explanation:
5.4.2.1 Decomposition
Decomposition is a technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts. The work package is the work defined at the lowest level of the WBS for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed. The level of decomposition is often guided by the degree of control needed to effectively manage the project. The level of detail for work packages will vary with the size and complexity of the project. Decomposition of the total project work into work packages generally involves the following activities:
– Identifying and analyzing the deliverables and related work;
– Structuring and organizing the WBS;
– Decomposing the upper WBS levels into lower-level detailed components;
– Developing and assigning identification codes to the WBS components; and
– Verifying that the degree of decomposition of the deliverables is appropriate. -
Which statement is true about the project management body of knowledge?
- Recognized by every project manager
- Constantly evolving
- The sum of all knowledge related to project management
- A sum of knowledge that should be applied on every project
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The initial development of a Project Scope Management plan uses which technique?
- Alternatives identification
- Scope decomposition
- Expert judgment
- Product analysis
Explanation:
4.1.2.1 Expert Judgment
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). -
Which of the following is a project constraint?
- Twenty-five percent staff turnover is expected.
- The technology to be used is cutting-edge.
- Project leadership may change due to volatile political environment.
- The product is needed in 250 days.
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An input to the Estimate Activity Resources process is:
- Activity resource requirements.
- Published estimating data.
- Resource calendars.
- Resource breakdown structure (RBS).
Explanation:Process: 6.4 Estimate Activity Resources
Definition: The process of estimating the type and quantities of material, human resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity.
Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it identifies the type, quantity, and characteristics of resources required to complete the activity which allows more accurate cost and duration estimates.Inputs
1. Schedule management plan
2. Activity list
3. Activity attributes
4. Resource calendars
5. Risk register
6. Activity cost estimates
7. Enterprise environmental factors
8. Organizational process assets
Tools & Techniques
1. Expert judgment
2. Alternative analysis
3. Published estimating data
4. Bottom-up estimating
5. Project management software
Outputs
1. Activity resource requirements
2. Resource breakdown structure
3. Project documents updates -
The project budget is set at $150,000. The project duration is planned to be one year. At the completion of Week 16 of the project, the following information is collected: Actual cost = $50,000, Plan cost = $45,000, Earned value = $40,000. What is the cost performance index?
- 0.8
- 0.89
- 1.13
- 1.25
Explanation:
CPI = EV / AC -
Which technique is utilized in the Control Schedule process?
- Performance measure
- Baseline schedule
- Schedule network analysis
- Variance analysis
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What happens to a stakeholder’s project influence over time?
- Increases
- Decreases
- Stays the same
- Has no bearing
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Which is one of the determining factors used to calculate CPI?
- EV
- SPI
- PV
- ETC
Explanation:
CPI = EV / AC -
Which process requires implementation of approved changes?
- Direct and Manage Project Execution
- Monitor and Control Project Work
- Perform Integrated Change Control
- Close Project or Phase
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Which quality control technique illustrates the 80/20 principle?
- Ishikawa diagram
- Control chart
- Run chart
- Pareto chart
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At the end of the project, what will be the value of SV?
- Positive
- Zero
- Negative
- Greater than one
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The process of identifying specific actions to be performed to produce project deliverables is:
- Define Activities.
- Create WBS.
- Define Scope.
- Develop Schedule.
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What is project management?
- A logical grouping of project management inputs, outputs, tools, and techniques
- Applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements
- Launching a process that can result in the authorization of a new project
- A formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled
Explanation:1.3 What is Project Management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the appropriate application and integration of the 47 logically grouped project management processes, which are categorized into fve Process Groups. These five Process Groups are:
– Initiating,
– Planning,
– Executing,
– Monitoring and Controlling, and
– Closing. -
Resource calendars are included in the:
- staffing management plan.
- work breakdown structure (WBS).
- project communications plan.
- project charter.
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Expected monetary value (EMV) is computed by which equation?
- Value of each possible outcome multiplied by probability of occurrence
- Value of each possible outcome multiplied by probability of non-occurrence
- Multiplying the value of each possible outcome by the probability of occurrence and adding the products together
- Multiplying the value of each possible outcome by the probability of non-occurrence and adding the products together
Explanation:
EMV = Probability * Impact in currency
Expected Monetary Value (EMV) Analysis. A statistical technique that calculates the average outcome when the future includes scenarios that may or may not happen. A common use of this technique is within decision tree analysis. -
An input to the Collect Requirements process is the:
- stakeholder register.
- project management plan.
- project scope statement.
- requirements management plan.
Explanation:5.2.1.5 Stakeholder Register
Described in Section 13.1.3.1. The stakeholder register is used to identify stakeholders who can provide information on the requirements. The stakeholder register also captures major requirements and main expectations stakeholders may have for the project.13.1.3.1 Stakeholder Register
The main output of the Identify Stakeholders process is the stakeholder register. This contains all details related to the identified stakeholders including, but not limited to:
– Identification information. Name, organizational position, location, role in the project, contact information;
– Assessment information. Major requirements, main expectations, potential influence in the project, phase in the life cycle with the most interest; and
– Stakeholder classification. Internal/external, supporter/neutral/resistor, etc.The stakeholder register should be consulted and updated on a regular basis, as stakeholders may change—or new ones identified—throughout the life cycle of the project.
Process: 5.2 Collect Requirements
Definition: The process of determining, documenting, and managing stakeholder needs and requirements to meet project objectives.
Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides the basis for defining and managing the project scope including product scope.
Inputs
1. Scope management plan
2. Requirements management plan
3. Stakeholder management plan
4. Project charter
5. Stakeholder register
Tools & Techniques
1. Interviews
2. Focus groups
3. Facilitated workshops
4. Group creativity techniques
5. Group decision-making techniques
6. Questionnaires and surveys
7. Observations
8. Prototypes
9. Benchmarking
10. Context diagrams
11. Document analysis
Outputs
1. Requirements documentation
2. Requirements traceability matrix