MBA / MIS 683 PROJECT MANAGEMENT HOMEWORK SUMMER 2016 Chapter1 1. Which of the following is not considered to be a characteristic of a project? A. An established objective B. A clear beginning and end C. Complex tasks D. Only for internal use D E. Never been done before 2. A common rule of thumb in the world of high-tech product development is that a six-month project delay can result in a loss of product revenue share of ___ percent. The waste on failed projects and cost overruns is estimated in the neighborhood of A. 10 B. 20 C. 33 C D. 45 E. 50 3. Which of the following is the first step in developing a set of strategies designed to best meet the needs of customers? A. Market Research B. Define the Integrated Project Management System C. Environmental Analysis C D. Project Selection E. All of the above are correct 4. Two dimensions within the project management process are A. Technical and sociocultural A B. Cost and time C. Planned and unexpected D. Established and new E. Unique and reoccurring 5. Which of these is not part of the "sociocultural dimension" of project management? A. Negotiation B. Resource allocation B C. Customer expectations D. Leadership E. Politics 1 Chapter 2 6. Which of the following is not true for strategic management? A. It should be done once each year just before developing the operating plan B. It supports consistency of action at every level of the organization C. It develops an integrated and coordinated long-term plan of action D. It positions the firm to meet the needs of its customers E. All of these are true statements 7. Which of the following is not one of the traditional components found in mission statements? A. Major products and services B. Profitability B C. Target customers and markets D. Geographic domain E. Contribution to society 8. Which of the following is not one of the requirements for successful implementation of strategies through projects? A. Allocation of resources B. Prioritizing of projects C. Motivation of project contributors D. Adequate planning and control systems E E. All of these are requirements 9. Susie's department is implementing many projects. She finds herself starting and stopping work on one task to go and work on another task, and then return to the work on the original task. Susie is experiencing A. Poor scheduling B. Excess work burden C. Flexible tasking D. Multitasking E. Burnout 10. Which of the following financial models are typically included in project selection? A. Payback B. Net present value C. Internal rate of return D. Both A and B are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct E ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Chapter 3 11. Organizational culture is best explained as organizational A. Personality A B. Hierarchy C. Reporting relationships D. Background E. Management style 12. The structure that manages projects within the existing organizational structure is __________ organization. A A. Functional B. Balanced matrix C. Weak matrix D. Strong matrix E. Project 13. A project team that operates with a full-time project manager as a separate unit from the rest of the organization is structured as a ________ organization. A. Functional B. Balanced matrix C. Weak matrix D. Strong matrix E. Projectized 14. Elizabeth is considering how to structure a project team that will not directly disrupt ongoing operations. The project needs to be done quickly and a high level of motivation will be needed in order to do that. For this situation, the ______ organization would be the best choice. A. Functional B. Balanced matrix C. Weak matrix D. Strong matrix E. Project 15. The Organizational Culture Diagnosis Worksheet classifies cultural characteristics into all of the following except: A. Physical characteristics B. Public documents C. Behavior D. Folklore E. Ethics 3 Chapter 4 16. Linda has just been assigned a project to develop a new advertising campaign for an established product. Her first step should be to A. Establish project priorities B. Define the project scope C. Verify the budget available D. Assign team members to work on the project E. Determine the required completion date 17. In reviewing the project plan, Susan sees that the first prototype is due by October 12. This would be best classified as a A. Project target B. Limit item C. Milestone D. Project objective E. Critical goal 18. The second step in the defining of a project would be to A. Analyze the strategic plan B. Analyze the current budget plan C. Establish project priorities D. Select team members E. Define the major objectives to meet the customer's needs 19. If a project criterion indicates that the project must meet a specific date, that criterion is classified as A. Constrained B. Enhanced C. Accepted D. Limited E. Fixed 20. The lowest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is A. A deliverable B. A work package C. A cost account D. A lowest sub deliverable E. An object 4 Chapter 5 21. A typical statement in actual practice is that estimates should have a probability of being met ______ of the time. A. 100% B. 98% C. 95% D. 90% E. 80% 22. Which of the following is a good condition for top-down estimating? A. Cost and time important B. Fixed price contract C. Customer wants details D. Internal, small project E. All of these are good conditions for top-down estimating 23. Project costs are typically viewed from all of the following except: A. Scheduled B. Sunk C. Actual D. Committed E. All of these are correct 24. Which of the following would be considered a direct project cost? A. Labor B. Materials C. Equipment D. Both A and B are direct costs E. A, B, and C are all considered direct costs 25. A manager getting further into a project and obtaining a better understanding of what needs to be done to accomplish a project is an example of: A. Hidden interaction costs B. Things going wrong on a project C. Normal conditions not applying D. Changes in project scope E. None of these are correct 5 Chapter 6 26.. On a project network, the activity times are derived from the A. Organization breakdown structure B. Work packages C. Budget D. Project proposal E. Responsibility matrix Work packages from the WBS are used to build the activities found in the project network. An activity is an element in the project that consumes time???for example, work or waiting. 27. Part of a project is to Develop Product Specifications. This is best classified as a(n) A. Event B. Path C. Activity D. Node E. Milestone Activities usually represent one or more tasks from a work package. Descriptions of activities should use a verb/noun format: for example, develop product specifications. 28. The critical path in a project network is the A. Shortest path through the network B. Longest path through the network C. Network path with the most difficult activities D. Network path using the most resources E. Network path with the most merge activities When this term is used, it means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network; if an activity on the path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time. 29. Which of the following correctly calculates the early finish for an activity? A. LS + DUR B. ES + DUR C. LF + DUR D. ES + SL E. LF + SL 30. Using a special color copy machine for a tradeshow publication illustrates the concept of A. Laddering B. Hammock activities C. Critical path D. Concurrent engineering E. Forward pass --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Chapter 7 31. Which of the following is not one of the steps in the risk management process? A. Risk response development B. Risk assessment C. Risk identification D. Risk tracking E. Risk response control 32. Which of the following would not be considered a threat? A. Inflation B. Meeting the project schedule C. International disruptions D. Economic conditions E. Competition 33. The two scales of a risk severity matrix measure A. Time, cost B. Cost, schedule C. Impact, cost D. Time, impact E. Likelihood, impact 34. Funds that are for identified risks that have a low probability of occurring and that decrease as the project progresses are called ______ reserves. A. Management B. Budget C. Contingency D. Padded E. Just in case 35. Which of the following is identified to cover major unforeseen risks and, hence, are applied to the total project? A. Budget reserves B. Management reserves C. Time buffers D. Both B and C are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 Chapter 8 36. Which of the following is not one of the types of project constraints? A. Physical B. Technical C. Resource D. Time E. All of these are types of project constraints 37. Sam is trying to order the concrete needed to continue his project. However, the supplier won't be able to deliver it until next week. This is an example of a _______ constraint. A. Working capital B. People C. Equipment D. Information E. Materials 38. Most of the scheduling methods available today require the project manager to classify the project as either _______ constrained or ______ constrained. A. Time, quality B. Quality, resource C. Cost, time D. Quality, cost E. Time, resource 39. All resource leveling techniques involve A. Delaying noncritical activities B. Delaying critical activities C. Using negative slack D. Both A and C are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct 40. Jan is trying to reallocate resources in a time-constrained project to create smoother resource utilization with a low level of risk. She should move to activities with the A. Smallest duration B. Least slack C. Most slack D. Lowest identification number E. Highest cost --------------------------------------------- 8 Chapter 9 41. Which of the following is not considered a project indirect cost? A. Supervision B. Consultants C. Equipment D. Interest E. All of these are considered project indirect costs 42. Cost slope can be determined by dividing the A. Run by the rise B. Rise by the run C. Crash cost by the normal cost D. Normal cost by the crash cost E. Both B and C are correct 43. A common method for shortening the project time is to: A. Adding resources B. Schedule overtime C. Subcontract an activity D. Both A and B are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct 44. One way of reducing project costs is identifying tasks that _________ can do themselves. A. Vendors B. Suppliers C. Customers D. Company employees E. Project teams 45. Which of the following is not one of the more commonly used options for cutting project costs? A. Reduce project scope B. Have owner take more responsibility C. Moving the completion date further out D. Brainstorming cost savings options E. Outsourcing project activities ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 Chapter 10 46. Project leadership is about coping with: A. Formulating plans and objectives B. Monitoring results against plans C. Change D. Taking corrective action when necessary E. All of these are part of leadership 47. Well-defined projects that encounter no significant surprises require little: A. Management B. Leadership C. Monitoring D. Corrective action E. All of these are only required to a minor extent 48. Which of the following requires more management rather than leadership? A. Taking corrective action B. Changes in project scope C. Technological stalemates D. Breakdowns in coordination between people E. All of these require the same level of management 49. In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, vision, excellence, and ethical correctness are part of ______ related currencies. A. Task B. Position C. Inspiration D. Relationship E. Personal 50. Which of the following is not one of the aspects of leading by example? A. Priorities B. Ethics C. Urgency D. Cooperation E. Power -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 Chapter 11 51. Experience and research indicate that high-performance project teams are much more likely to develop under all the following conditions except: A. Members are assigned to the project full time B. Members report solely to the project manager C. There are 10 or fewer members per team D. Team members are selected by their managers E. The project involves a compelling objective 52. Which of the following is not one of the considerations that need to be factored into the project team recruitment process? A. Political connections B. Problem-solving ability C. Ambition, initiative, and energy D. High degree of technological expertise E. Availability 53. The first step in facilitating group decision making is to: A. Call a meeting to discuss the problem B. Identify the problem C. Agree that there is a problem D. Quantify the problem E. Generate alternatives 54. Two of the biggest challenges involved in managing a virtual project team are: A. The language barriers and time management B. Time management and developing trust C. The language barriers and developing effective patterns of communication D. Developing trust and effective patterns of communication E. Time management and developing effective patterns of communication 55. Which of the following is not one of the tips for alleviating communication problems of virtual teams? A. Include face-to-face time if at all possible B. Keep team members informed on how well the overall project is going C. Share the pain D. Establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing assumptions and conflicts E. Establish a code of conduct to avoid delays ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Chapter 12 56. Advantages of outsourcing project work may likely include all of the following except A. Shortened project completion B. Reduced costs C. Higher level of expertise D. Reduced conflict E. Increased flexibility 57. Key practices in partnering relationships include: A. Single project contracting B. Goals and objectives are similar C. Access to each other's organizational resources D. Both B and C are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct 58. To avoid problems with schedules and deadlines you should: A. Develop detailed schedules B. Hold frequent status reviews C. Add a penalty clause to the contract D. Hold frequent conversations with the outsourcer E. Build extra time into the schedules that the outsourcer is not aware of 59. Long-term partnerships will provide all the following except: A. Improved communication B. More efficient utilization of resources C. Reduced need for total number of partnerships D. Lower administrative costs E. Improved innovation 60. Which of the following is not one of the key points of principled negotiation? A. Use objective criteria when possible B. Be honest and forthright C. Focus on interests, not positions D. Separate the people from the problem E. Invent options for mutual gain 12 Chapter 13 61. A typical tool used to communicate project status is a: A. Project network diagram B. Gantt Chart C. A PERT chart D. Both A and B are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct 62. The earned value of a project is the: A. Project cost to date adjusted for project scope changes B. Total project cost to date C. Cost incurred minus the planned cost D. Percent of the original budget that has been earned by actual work E. None of these are correct. 63. The cost variance for a project is calculated by: A. EV-AC B. AC-SV C. PV-EV D. CU-EV E. EU-PV 64. Scope creep affects: A. The organization B. The project team C. The project suppliers D. Both A and B are correct E. A, B, and C are all correct 65. Which of the following is not true regarding scope creep? A. It is common late in projects B. It is frequently unnoticed until time delays or cost overruns are observed C. It wears down team motivation and cohesiveness D. Project suppliers resent frequent changes E. All of these are true --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Chapter 14 66. What is not a wrap-up closure activity? A. Facilities B. Vendors C. Customer D. Profit report E. Report 67. Releasing the project team typically occurs _________ during the closure phase. A. Gradually B. Rarely C. Without bombast D. Rapidly E. All at once 68. Closing out _________ is often messy and filled with untied ends. A. Project review meetings B. Reports C. Invoices D. Teams E. Contracts 69. Corrective actions that should take place (such as shifting to more resilient building material) would typically appear in the _____ section of the final project report. A. Analysis B. Recommendations C. Classification of project D. Lessons learned E. Strategic objectives 70. The most common circumstance for project closure is: A. Premature completion with some features eliminated B. Project completion meeting costs, schedule, and quality C. Project completion after modification of costs, schedule, or quality D. Project termination due to technical difficulties E. Perpetual projects that seem to go on and on before completion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 14 Chapter 15 71. The major issues dealing with international project management include all of the following except: A. Selection and training of personnel for international projects B. Foreign currency exchange rates C. Location of international expansion D. Environmental factors E. Challenge of working in a foreign culture 72. Concern about the local restrictions on toxic waste is classified as which of the following environmental factors? A. Economic B. Geographic C. Legal/political D. Infrastructure E. Culture 73. Needs for a project could include telecommunications, transportation, power, and availability of technically skilled talent. This is an example of which of the following environmental factors? A. Geographic B. Infrastructure C. Economic D. Legal/political E. Cultural 74. American project managers have earned a reputation abroad for being very good at understanding technology but not good at understanding: A. Cultures B. People C. Local traditions D. Local business practices E. Laws 75. In France, which of the following factors is considered much more important than in the U.S? A. Social class B. Agreement on issues C. Professional accomplishments D. Being open during negotiations E. Dedication to project completion 15 Chapter 16 76. The term that is used to reflect how organizations oversee their project management systems is: A. Project administration B. Fiduciary responsibility C. Management D. Oversight E. Project regulation 77. The centralized management of projects to ensure that the allocation of resources to projects is directed toward projects that contribute the greatest value to organization goals is known as: A. Portfolio Project Management B. Project Office Management C. Project Management Optimization D. Project Priority Matrix Management E. Resource Allocation Optimization 78. Project offices are known to result in positive benefits such as: A. A bridge between senior management and project managers B. Support integration of all project management processes C. Training to support a higher level of project management maturity D. Both A and B are correct E. All of these are correct See list on page 568. 79. During which of the following phase gates would the question of "Does this project align with our strategic direction?" be answered? A. Proposal B. Screening and selection C. Implementation D. Progress E. Closure 80. During which of the following phase gates would the question of "Are time, costs, and scope performances within acceptable limits?" be answered? A. Proposal B. Screening and selection C. Implementation D. Progress evaluation E. Closure 16