Questions and Answers of Project Management

Quantitative Risk Assessment. Assume the following information for an IT project:Calculate the overall risk factor for this project. Would you assess this level of risk as low, moderate, or high?
Go to www.informationweek.com/whitepaper/Management/ROI-TCO/managing-risk-an-integrated-approacwp1229549889607?articleID=54000027 and access the article on “Managing Risk: An Integrated
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is responsible for mitigating or responding to natural disasters within the United States. Go to
Go to www.project-management-podcast.com/index.php/podcast-episodes/episode-details/109-episode-063-how-do-risk-attitudes-affect-your-project to access the podcast on risk attitudes on projects. What
The project manager has just met with her team to brainstorm some of the problems that could occur on the upcoming project. Today’s session was intended to generate possible issues that could arise
Todd is working on resource scheduling in preparation for the start of a project. There is a potential problem in the works, however, as the new collective bargaining agreement with the company’s
A small manufacturer has won a major contract with the U.S. Army to develop a new generation of satellite phone for battlefield applications. Because of the significant technological challenges
Suppose your organization used a qualitative risk assessment matrix with three levels each of probability and consequences (high, medium, and low). In evaluating a project’s risks, you determine
Sanjay is managing a multi-million-dollar construction project that is scheduled to take nearly three years to complete.During the planning phase, he discovers a serious threat to the project
You are managing a project when an unanticipated risk event occurs. You meet with your project team and company experts and figure out a workaround to keep the project on schedule. In what process
A probability and impact matrix is useful for:a. Quantitative risk analysisb. Qualitative risk analysisc. Risk Identificationd. Control and Documentation
A workaround is:a. A technique for managing conflictb. A non-critical path (one with extra float) through the network diagramc. An adjustment to the project budgetd. A response to an unplanned risk
A fixed-price contract offers the seller (contractor):a. A higher risk than the buyer (client)b. The same risk as that of the buyer (client)c. A lower risk than the buyer (client)d. Guaranteed
The Olympics happen every two years and the focus is usually centered mostly on the athletes, but 2014 proved to be different. Instead, topics of overspending, terroris threats, graft and corruption
In recent years there has been a surge in the construction of large dams in both developing and developed countries including Brazil, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and China. There are several reasons for this
Evaluate the difference between direct and indirect costs when considering a project budget. What other common project costs can you identify?
Describe some of the benefits of developing budget contingencies for projects. Is it advantageous for project managers to apply contingency to every project? Justify your answer.
Calculate the fully loaded cost of labor for Sally, your project assistant, using the following data:Hourly rate: $25/hr Hours needed: 260 Overhead rate: 65%
Assume that your senior managers have allocated a labor cost of $30,000 for your project. Using the following data, calculate the fully loaded labor costs for each person. What is the total cost? Can
Calculate the fully loaded cost of labor for a project team member using the following data:Hourly rate: $52/hr Hours needed: 120 Overhead rate: 60%
It took MegaTech, Inc., 100,000 labor-hours to produce the first of several oil-drilling rigs for Antarctic exploration.Your company, Natural Resources, Inc., has agreed to purchase the fifth (steady
Problem 8.21 identified how long it should take to complete the fifth oil-drilling platform that Natural Resources plans to purchase. How long should all five oil-drilling rigs take to complete?The
As the manager of the IT group at your insurance firm, you have been asked to develop a cost estimate for upgrades to the computerized accident-reporting and claims adjustment system you have in
Go to http://pmworldlibrary.net/ and type “case studies” in the search window. Select a project and report on it from the perspective of its cost estimation, budgeting, and (if applicable)
Go to http://www.osp.gatech.edu/budget and click on “Sample Budget.” Reproduce the summary project budget worksheet. After examining the various elements in the budget, what are the main cost
Go to www.stickyminds.com/articles.asp and click on “Stickyminds.com Original Articles.” Search for and click on the article by Karl Wiegers, “Estimation Safety Tips.” In the article (found
The project administrator is preparing a preliminary budget for a project and adds in the cost of a new computer for the project team to use. What type of cost would this computer purchase
The project manager for a large project being developed in northern Ontario recognizes that it will be necessary for her to maintain a close presence at the construction site during its development,
A project budget identifies $5,000 budgeted for programming costs. The actual amount for programming costs is$5,450. Which of the following statements is correct?a. The $450 represents a negative
The project planning phase is moving forward. The project team has solicited the opinions of some senior project managers with experience in similar types of projects to try and develop a cost
John is putting together his budget for the project and as part of this process, he is actively discussing and soliciting estimates from each member of the project team for the overall budget. He
The majority of a project’s budget is expended on:a. Project charter creationb. Project plan developmentc. Project executiond. Project termination activities
All the following are needed for creating the project budget except:a. Deliverablesb. Work breakdown structurec. Activity cost estimatesd. Cost management plan
Cost estimating should occur:a. Before the work breakdown structure is created and before the budget is developedb. Before the work breakdown structure is created and after the budget is developedc.
Any approved budget increase should be:a. Added to the project contingency fund and only used as a last resortb. Added to the project’s cost baselinec. Added to the project’s lessons learnedd.
Cost management activities consist of all the following except:a. Data collectionb. Cost accountingc. Cost controld. Account reconciliation
What are the main benefits of constructing a network diagram for a project? Why is it a useful project management tool?
What options are available to reduce the critical path on a project? What considerations would you need to make in choosing an appropriate option?
You are a project manager for a medium-sized charitable organization. You are required to plan an outdoor fundraiser that needs to be publicized, with the target of attracting 300 people to the
What is the time estimate of an activity in which the optimistic estimate is 4 days, pessimistic is 12 days, and most likely is 5 days? Show your work.
Using the following information, develop an activity network for Project Alpha: Activity Preceding Activities A ( BCDEFGH A A B, C B D C E, F, G
What is the time estimate of an activity in which the pessimistic time is 68 hours, optimistic time is 24 hours, and likely time is 48 hours? Show your work.
Construct a network activity diagram based on the following information: Activity Preceding Activities A B C | A A A D DEFGH J B C, D E, F F G, H I
You have a partial network for your project, and you are about to conduct a forward pass through it. Explain why the early start (ES) for activity G is 23 days, not 19 days.Remember, activity G is a
Referring to the figure in Problem 9.12, suppose that Activity G was the last activity in the network and you were about to start a backward pass.a. What is the project’s duration? (Hint: complete
Referring to the figure shown below, suppose that Activity O was the last activity in the network and you were about to start a backward pass.a. What is the project’s duration? (Hint: complete the
Go to www.gamedev.net/page/resources/_/business/business-and-law/critical-path-analysis-and-scheduling-for-game-r1440 and click around the site. There are several articles on how to run your own
In 2003, the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria, Australia, initiated a AU$323 million project to develop HealthSMART, an integrated IT system that would deliver resource management,
Mega Tech, Inc. designs and manufactures automotive components. For years, the company enjoyed a stable marketplace, a small but loyal group of customers, and a relatively predictable environment.
Describe the features of a project. How do they differ from day-to-day processes within an organization?
One of the newest thrill rides to open in the Walt Disney World Resort may just be the most impressive. As Disney approached its 50th anniversary, the company wanted to celebrate in a truly special
Consider the case on the BBC’s Digital Initiative Media in this chapter. What do you think were the main problems associated with the BBC’s approach to project management?What challenges did the
The largest professional project management organization in the world is the Project Management Institute (PMI).Go to its Web site, www.pmi.org, and examine the links you find. Which links suggest
Your company is planning to upgrade a key piece of software that is used daily across the organization. Identify the potential stakeholders for this project and discuss some of the reasons why these
Imagine the value of cornering the technological market in personal computing. How much would a five-year window of competitive advantage be worth to a company today? It could easily mean billions in
I recently worked with an organization that adopted a mind-set in which it was assumed that the best way to keep project team members working hard was to unilaterally trim their task duration
Widgets ’R Us (WRU) is a medium-sized firm specializing in the design and manufacturing of quality widgets.The market for widgets has been stable. Historically, WRU has had a functional
The chapter presents three basic forms of organizational structure: functional, project, and matrix. Suppose you are responsible for advising an IT company on changes to an organizational structure
Compare and contrast the organizational cultures at Amazon and Google. Imagine if you were in charge of a project team at both companies. How might your approach to managing a project, developing
You are a member of the senior management staff at XYZ Corporation. You have historically been using a functional structure setup with five departments: finance, human resources, marketing,
Wegmans has been consistently voted one of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States by Fortune magazine.In fact, in 2005 it was ranked number 1, and in 2016 it was ranked number 4. Go
Go to the Web site www.projectstakeholder.com and analyze some of the case studies found on the Web site. What do these cases suggest about the importance of assessing stakeholder expectations for a
Go to a corporate Web site of your choice and access the organizational chart. What form of organization does this chart represent: functional, project, matrix, or some other form? Based on our
Access the corporate Web site for Fluor-Daniel Corporation and examine its “Compliance and Ethics” section at www.fluor.com/sustainability/ethics_compliance/Pages/default.aspx. What does the list
What is the main role of the functional manager?a. To control resourcesb. To manage the project when the project manager isn’t availablec. To define business processesd. To manage the project
What is the typical role of senior management on a project?a. Support the projectb. Pay for itc. Support the project and resolve resource and other conflictsd. Resolve resource and other conflicts
What is an organization that controls project managers, documentation, and policies called?a. Project management officeb. Strong matrixc. Functionald. Pure project
A business analyst has a career path that has been very important to her throughout the 10 years of her career.She is put on a project with a strong matrix organizational structure. Which of the
The functional manager is planning the billing system replacement project with the newest project manager at the company. In discussing this project, the functional manager focuses on the cost
In a functional organization:a. Power lies mainly with the project managerb. Power lies mainly with the functional managerc. Power is equally divided between the project and functional managersd.
A project manager is meeting resistance from a functional manager in getting resources assigned to the project team.Which would be the most appropriate to help resolve this situation?a. Senior
In a weak matrix organization:a. More power resides with the project managerb. More power resides with the functional managerc. Power is equally divided between the project and functional managersd.
A Project Management Office (PMO) that is intended to function primarily as a tracking and monitoring device is often referred to as:a. A resource poolb. A control towerc. A weather stationd. A matrix
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently announced the cancellation of a major Information Technology(IT) project intended to update their vast broadcast operations. The project, called
Go to the PMI Web site and examine the link “Membership.”What do you discover when you begin navigating among the various chapters and cooperative organizations associated with the PMI? How does
Go to http://www.pmi.org/business-solutions/casestudies and examine some of the cases included on the Web page. What do they suggest about the challenges of managing projects successfully? The
Using your favorite search engine (Google, Yahoo!, etc.), type in the keywords “project” and “project management.”Randomly select three of the links that come up on the screen. Summarize what
Go to the Web site for the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University at https://resources.sei.cmu.edu/asset_files/SpecialReport/1994_003_001_16265.pdf and access the software
The majority of the project budget is expended upon:a. Project plan development.b. Project plan execution.c. Project termination.d. Project communication.
Which of the following is the most critical component of the triple constraint?a. Time, then cost, then quality.b. Quality, then budget, then time.c. Scope.d. They are all of equal importance unless
Which of the following best describes a project stakeholder?a. A team member.b. The project manager.c. Someone who works in an area affected by the project.d. All of the above are stakeholders.
All of the following are elements in the definition of a project, except:a. A project is time-limited.b. A project is unique.c. A project is composed of unrelated activities.d. A project is
All of the following distinguish project management from other process activities, except:a. There are no fundamental differences between project and process management.b. Project management often
Although the name Rolls-Royce is inextricably linked with its ultra-luxurious automobiles, the modern Rolls-Royce operates in an entirely different competitive environment.A leading manufacturer of
In recent years, Keflavik Paper Company has been having problems with its project management process.Several commercial projects, for example, have come in late and well over budget, and product
Your firm has the opportunity to invest $75,000 in a new project opportunity but due to cash flow concerns, your boss wants to know when you can pay back the original investment. Using the discounted
Pracht, a popular cosmetics company in Germany, has been performing favorably and growing at a constant rate, with profits exceeding $900,000 in the last financial year. The company now wants to
What are the benefits and drawbacks of assessing a project’s viability by determining its payback period?
Describe the six important issues that managers should consider when evaluating screening models.
Your firm is trying to decide whether to invest in a new project opportunity based on the following information. The initial cash outlay will total $250,000 over two years. The firm expects to invest
The IT implementation project is bogging down and falling behind schedule. The department heads are complaining that the project cannot help them if it is not implemented in a reasonable time frame.
“This isn’t what I need!” objected the admissions officer at Northwest Regional Hospital.Judy sighed, “But this is the software you asked us to create for you.”“I don’t care what I said
Assume the network diagram shown in Figure 11.19. Megan is responsible for activities A and C. Use the critical chain methodology to resource-level the network. What are two options for redrawing the
Develop a Gantt chart with the following information. What is the expected duration of the project? What is the critical path? Activity Expected Duration Predecessors A BL 12 8 None None C 5 None D
Given the following information, answer the questions about this project:a. Draw the network as a Gantt chart.b. What is the critical path? Which activities have slack time?c. What would happen if
Suppose that you are a project manager asked to develop the network activity diagram and identify the critical path for a project based on the following information. Draw the activity network as a
Reconfigure the Gantt chart in Problem 10.13 to include some different predecessor relationships. Optional: Solve this problem with Microsoft Project.a. Assume that activities B and C are linked with
Consider a project with the following information. Construct the project activity network using AOA methodology and label each node and arrow appropriately. Identify all dummy activities required to
You are considering whether or not to crash your project.After asking your operations manager to conduct an analysis, you have highlighted the “precrash” and “postcrash”activity durations and
Suppose you are considering crashing a project. The project’s network is as follows, along with a table identifying its critical activities and the crash costs for all tasks.a. What is the cost of

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