PMI PMI-SP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

PMI PMI-SP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 201:

  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
  B. Define activities

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  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 202:

  You have created the project network diagram for your project. Management is reviewing the network diagram and they are curious as to why you have included levels of effort activities as start-to-start and finish-to-finish successor activities for work that uses particular manufacturing equipment. You explained that the levels of effort activities are maintained for the equipment. This relationship and scheduling scenario is also known as what term?

  A. Project management overhead
  B. Hammock activity
  C. Subproject
  D. Finish-to-Start
  B. Hammock activity

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  This is also known as a hammock activity, as the SS and FF relationship hangs off of the activities in the project network diagram. A hammock activity is a schedule or project planning term for grouping of subtasks that "hangs" between two

  end dates it is fixed to. It groups subtasks that are not related in the hierarchical sense of a Work Breakdown Structure. It also groups subtasks that are not related in a logical sense of a dependency where one subtask must wait for another.

  A hammock activity usually refers to report information that is time-dependent and lasts from the initial to the latest date of the activities it encompasses. By using a hammock activity, the top management is able to see an overview of the

  project without being besieged by details.

  Answer option D is incorrect. Finish-to-start is the most common relationship between project activities in the project network diagram.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Project management overhead describes the work that supports the project objectives, but is not linked directly to the project deliverables. Answer option C is incorrect. A subproject is a discrete set of work that

  contributes to the project, but branches off the primary project work. A subcontract portion of the project is an example of a subproject.

• Question 203:

  You are working as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. Which of the following tools and techniques of the Define Activity process will help you in identifying the typical schedule milestones?

  A. Expert Judgment
  B. Decomposition
  C. Rolling Wave Planning
  D. Templates
  D. Templates

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  Templates are used to identify the typical schedule milestones in the Define Activity process. The tools and techniques used in defining the activity process are as follows: Decomposition: It is used to further divide the project work package

  into a more smaller and convenient form called activities. Rolling Wave Planning:

  It is a form of progressive elaboration planning where the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail and future work is planned at a higher level of WBS. Templates: It is an activity list or a part of the activity list taken from

  the previous project and used in a new project. Expert Judgement: The skilled members in a project team or other experts who develop project scope statements can help provide knowledge in defining activities.

• Question 204:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. There have been changes to the project scope in your project. These changes will cause the project schedule to change as well, so you will need to update the schedule and the schedule baseline. The schedule baseline is a component of what?

  A. Project calendar
  B. Project constraints
  C. Project objectives
  D. Project management plan
  D. Project management plan

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  The schedule baseline is a required component of the project management plan. Project management plan is a formal, agreed document that defines how the project is executed, monitored and controlled. It may be summary or detailed and may be composed of one or more subsidiary management plans and other planning documents. The objective of a project management plan is to define the approach to be used by the project team to deliver the intended project management scope of the project. The project manager creates the project management plan with the inputs from the project team and key stakeholders. The plan should be agreed and approved by at least the project team and its key stakeholders. Answer option C is incorrect. The schedule baseline is not a project objective. Answer option A is incorrect. The project calendar defines when the project will take place. Answer option B is incorrect. Project constraints are restrictions imposed on the project, such as time, cost, and scope.

• Question 205:

  You are the project manager for your organization. You are managing a project to create new software for your clients. During the project execution, there have been some unforeseen delays that will require your attention. You will need four inputs to the control schedule process. Which of the following documents would not be an input for the control schedule process?

  A. Project schedule
  B. Work performance information
  C. Project management plan
  D. Earned value management results
  D. Earned value management results

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  The results of earned value management are not an input to the control schedule process. The fourth input is organizational process assets. The inputs of schedule control process are as follows: Project Management Plan Project Schedule Work Performance Integration Organizational Process Assets Answer option C is incorrect. The project management plan is an input to the control schedule process. Answer option A is incorrect. The project schedule is an input to the control schedule process. Answer option B is incorrect. The work performance information is an input to the control schedule process.

• Question 206:

  You are the project manager of the HQQ Project. Your project is running late by ten percent of where you should be at this time. Management is concerned and they'd like to know what is your schedule performance index. Considering that the project has a BAC of $567,899, you are thirty percent complete, and you have spent $179,450, what is the SPI for this project?

  A. $227,140
  B. 0.75
  C. 0.95
  D. -$56,789
  B. 0.75

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  The schedule performance index is found by dividing the earned value by the planned value. In this instance, the planned value is ten percent more than where the project is forty percent of the budget at completion. Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following formula: SPI = Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV) If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. Answer option C is incorrect. 0.95 is the project's cost performance index. Answer options A and D are incorrect. An index is a decimal value.

• Question 207:

  You are the project manager of the NHL Project for your organization. You are working with your project team to create the schedule baseline for this project. According to you, which of the following statements describes how the schedule baseline is created?

  A. It is derived from the constraints of the project.
  B. It is assigned to the project by management.
  C. It is created by the stakeholders.
  D. It is developed from the schedule network analysis.
  D. It is developed from the schedule network analysis.

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  The schedule baseline is a specific version of the project schedule developed from the schedule network analysis. It is built by networking individual work elements and verifying the path or paths with the longest total duration. That path is then compared against the project due date, or it may serve as the determinant of the project end date. Schedule baseline is a project schedule used in measuring project progress. It helps provide a comparison with the actual progress of work against the schedule and to determine if performance to date is within acceptable parameters. Any change caused by change in scope of the project invalidates the original schedule and requires a new baseline schedule. Answer option A is incorrect. Management may impose constraints on the project, but according to the PMI, the baseline is developed from schedule network analysis. Answer option B is incorrect. Constraints on the project typically include time, cost, and scope (among others), but the schedule baseline is only concerned with the time limits of the project. Answer option C is incorrect. Project stakeholders are those entities within or without an organization, which: Sponsor a project or, Have an interest or a gain upon a successful completion of a project. Examples of project stakeholders include the customer, the user group, the project manager, the development team, the testers, etc. Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest in the project. Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the project's objectives and outcomes. The project management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their requirements and expectations, and, to the extent possible, manage their influence in relation to the requirements to ensure a successful project.

• Question 208:

  Thomas works as a contract-based project manager for BlueWell Inc. Management has hired Thomas to manage a high-risk project because Thomas has years of experience with this technology and similar project. Thomas would like to use his own templates for the project schedule, quality, and risk management approach. Management is fine with this, except after reviewing the template they had preferred Thomas to use 24-hour time periods for his project calendar rather than the 8-hour time periods as indicated. Thomas agrees, but now he has to update what document in his project management plan?

  A. Project calendar
  B. Activity attributes
  C. Resource calendar
  D. Schedule management plan
  A. Project calendar

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  The project calendar needs to be updated to reflect the 24-hour time period rather than the 8-hour time period. The project calendar is used to define the working and nonworking days and times for tasks. This calendar is usually used to represent an organization's traditional working hours. Project uses this calendar to schedule tasks that do not have resources assigned or that have a task type of fixed duration. By default, the Standard base calendar is used as the project calendar. A user can also reflect alternative schedules by using other base calendars. The working days and hours in the project calendar reflect the working days and hours for the whole project. A user can also specify special days off, such as company holidays. A user can also indicate other nonworking times to reflect periods when the whole team will be working on nonproject activities, such as company meetings or department retreats. Answer option D is incorrect. The schedule management plan will reference to the project calendar and the resource calendar. It does not need to be updated directly as a result of the time period change. Answer option C is incorrect. The resource calendar does not need to be updated as this document defines when resources are available. Answer option B is incorrect. The activities of the project are not changing, only the time periods of the project calendar.

• Question 209:

  Steve is the project manager for the POK Project. He is working with the project customers to determine how frequently they'd like to receive the project information. The customers would like weekly status reports on how the project is performing. Where should Steve document this information?

  A. Communications management plan
  B. Issues log
  C. Project schedule
  D. Schedule management plan
  A. Communications management plan

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  The communications management plan defines who needs what information, when the information is needed, and the modality the information is expected in. Answer option C is incorrect. The project schedule could include project

  management activities such as schedule communication, but the communications management plan is the best answer as this information is absolutely documented in this plan.

  Answer option D is incorrect. The schedule management is not the best location for this information. Answer option B is incorrect. The request for customer communication is not an issue, so this choice is not the most appropriate.

• Question 210:

  Harry is the project manager of a large network installation project. This project requires Harry to add network cable to each office and cubicle of a 14-story office building. Harry will receive a bonus for good time and cost performance in this project. What law of economics would prevent Harry from exponentially adding labor to the project work in an effort to complete the work in a very small amount of time?

  A. Parkinson's Law
  B. Law of Diminishing Returns
  C. Law of Economics
  D. Moore's Law
  B. Law of Diminishing Returns

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  The law of diminishing returns state that the user cannot exponentially add labor to a project to reduce the amount of time required to complete the project work. In other words, Harry cannot keep doubling the workforce on this project to reduce the project duration down to just a few minutes. The law of diminishing returns state that "the user will get less and less output when he add additional doses of an input while holding other inputs fixed. In other words, the marginal product of each unit of input will decline as the amount of that input increases holding all other inputs constant." Diminishing returns mean that the extra labor causes output to fall, which means that the MPL is negative. In other words, the change in output per unit increase in labor is negative and total output is falling. Answer option C is incorrect. This is not a valid project management term. Answer option A is incorrect. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to the amount of time allotted to it. Answer option D is incorrect. Moore's Law is based on Intel's Gordon Moore who stated that processor speeds generally double in power every 18 months.