PMI PMI Certification PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 311:

  You are the project manager of the GHT Project. Ben, one of your project team members, does not understand the idea of a milestone. Which of the following best describes what a milestone is?

  A. A significant point in the project

  B. A goal of reaching a significant delivery of project benefits by an identified date

  C. An imposed date for the project to reach a given point

  D. The completion of a project activity that is crucial to project completion

  Correct Answer: A

  A milestone is simply a significant point or event in the project. It does not have to be assigned to a specific date, but is usually assigned to the completion of project phases. A milestone is the end of a stage that marks the completion of a work package or phase, typically marked by a high level event such as completion, endorsement or signing of a deliverable, document or a high level review meeting. In addition to signaling the completion of a key deliverable, a milestone may also signify an important decision or the derivation of a critical piece of information, which outlines or affects the future of a project. In this sense, a milestone not only signifies distance traveled (key stages in a project) but also indicates direction of travel since key decisions made at milestones may alter the route through the project plan. To create a milestone, enter 0 (zero) in the Duration field. The task will automatically be classified as a milestone. Answer option C is incorrect. This is a project constraint. Answer option B is incorrect. A project goal is an objective for time, cost, scope, and other metrics. Answer option D is incorrect. All activities must be completed in order to complete the project work. Activities that are not completed are quality issues that prevent the project from completing the project scope.

• Question 312:

  Examine the figure given below:

  

  If Activity B takes eight days to complete instead of five days as schedule, how long can you now delay Activity H?

  A. Three days

  B. One day

  C. Four days

  D. Zero days

  Correct Answer: B

  Activity B is not on the critical path and it has a total of four days of float. If Activity B takes a total of eight days, it will consume three days of float. However, the total duration of the path ABEHJ may not exceed 26 days, as this is the total duration for the project. Although Activity H has a total of four days of float available, the consumption of three days of float on this path will reduce the total float for Activity H to just one day. If Activity H is delayed by more than one day, then the project will be late. Answer option D is incorrect. There is one day of float still available for Activity H. Answer options A and C are incorrect. These are not the valid answers, as there is just one day of float available for Activity H.

• Question 313:

  The Define Activities process is the first process in the project time management knowledge are a. The Define Activities process creates just three outputs as a result of decomposition, rolling wave planning, templates, and expert judgment. Which one of the following is not an output of the Define Activities process?

  A. Activity list

  B. Milestone list

  C. Activity attributes

  D. Project document updates

  Correct Answer: D

  Project document updates are not an output of the Define Activities process. Project document updates are the outputs for estimate activity resources. Project document updates include the following: Activity list Activity attributes Resource calendars Answer option A is incorrect. The activity list is an output of the define activities process. Answer option C is incorrect. The activity attributes is an output of the define activities process. Answer option B is incorrect. The milestone list is an output of the define activities process.

• Question 314:

  Your project team is executing the project plan and things are going well. Your team has reached its first milestone and is now in the second phase of the project. The project stakeholders have requested that you find a method to reduce the duration of the project. They will reward you and your project team with a 25 percent bonus of the project costs if you can finish the project thirty days earlier than what was already planned. The stakeholders, however, will not approve any additional labor costs as part of the agreement. Which approach could you use to shorten the duration of the project?

  A. Perform resource leveling for the project.

  B. Crash the project schedule.

  C. Fast track the project.

  D. Remove things from the project scope.

  Correct Answer: C

  Fast tracking is a technique for compressing project schedule. In fast tracking, phases are overlapped that would normally be done in sequence. It is shortening the project schedule without reducing the project scope. It does not add any additional labor but it can introduce project risks. Answer option D is incorrect. Removing things from the project scope can reduce the project duration, but it will not satisfy the requirements the stakeholders have identified. Answer option A is incorrect. Resource leveling can actually increase the project duration. Answer option B is incorrect. Crashing can reduce the project duration but it increases the labor expense, something the stakeholders won't approve.

• Question 315:

  You are the project manager of the NHGQ project for your company. You must create and distribute performance reports every week to your key project stakeholders. What communication technique do you normally use to distribute reports?

  A. Push technique

  B. Many-to-many

  C. One-to-one

  D. Pull technique

  Correct Answer: A

  Performance reports are distributed through the push technique. This means that the project manager distributes the reports regularly through a mechanism, such as email. Answer option C is incorrect. One- to-one technique describes a conversation between two people. Answer option B is incorrect. Many-to- many technique describes a conversation between many people. Answer option D is incorrect. A pull technique describes the recipients of the report "pulling" the information, such as from a Website.

• Question 316:

  Which of the following scheduling techniques identifies the successor activities and the predecessor activities to assist the project manager in sequencing the project work?

  A. Precedence Diagramming Method

  B. Schedule network template

  C. Dependency determination

  D. Activity on the Node

  Correct Answer: A

  The Precedence Diagramming Method uses both predecessors and successors as nodes in the project network diagram. The PDM approach is the most common network diagram approach used. Answer option C is incorrect. Dependency determination identifies the order of the project work. Answer option B is incorrect. The schedule network template is a tool that uses a previous project network diagram as a base for the current project network diagram. Answer option D is incorrect. Activity on the node places activities on circles within a network diagram. It is an example of the precedence diagramming method.

• Question 317:

  Once the project's WBS has been created what process may happen next?

  A. Estimate activity resources

  B. Define activities

  C. Estimate activity durations

  D. Sequence activities

  Correct Answer: B

  The define activities process is the process that may begin once the project's WBS has been completed and approved. It is possible, in some projects, to complete the WBS and the activity list at the same time. Answer option D is incorrect.

  Sequencing the activities cannot happen until the activity list has been created.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Estimating activity resources is dependent on the activity list, so this choice is not valid.

  Answer option C is incorrect. Estimate activity durations are dependent on the activity list, so this choice is not valid.

• Question 318:

  Fill in the blank with an appropriate phrase.

  The __________ includes a description of any collateral services required, such as performance reporting or post-project operational support for the procured item.

  Correct Answer: procurement SOW

  The procurement SOW consists of a description of some collateral services required, such as performance reporting or post- project operational support for the procured item. The procurement SOW is revised and refined as required when it moves through the procurement process until incorporated into a signed contract award.

• Question 319:

  Fill in the blank with the appropriate word. When activities are logically linked, they become the__________

  Correct Answer: Schedule

  An activity is an individual element of work that is logically linked to other activities to form the schedule. Its primary characteristics include an overall duration based upon the resources applied to it (manpower, material, and equipment), as well as a start and completion date that is tied to a work calendar. It also has a relationship with other activities (predecessors and successors).

• Question 320:

  Fill in the blank with an appropriate phrase. The_____ allows the project team to look at the performance of the project to date, and use that data to make more accurate projections about the future.

  Correct Answer: Schedule model

  The main function of the schedule model is to provide a useful 'road map' that can be used by the project manager and the project team to assist them in completing the project fruitfully. A well-developed schedule model is an active tool used to predict at what time the project work that remains to be completed can reasonably be completed. The schedule model allows the project team to look at the performance of the project to date, and use that data to make more accurate projections about the future.