PMI PMI-SP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

PMI PMI-SP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 291:

  You work as a scheduler for your organization. You are developing a schedule and its constraints for the SAP project. There are nine inputs to develop a project schedule. Which of the following is NOT an input to the schedule development process?

  A. Work breakdown structure
  B. Activity attributes
  C. Resource calendars
  D. Activity list
  A. Work breakdown structure

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  The WBS is not an input, directly, to the develop schedule process. Technically, you will need the scope baseline, which does include the WBS. The inputs in developing a schedule process are of nine types, which are as follows:

  Activity list

  Activity attributes

  Project schedule network diagrams

  Activity resource requirements

  Resource calendars

  Activity duration estimates

  Project scope statement

  Enterprise environmental factors

  Organization process assets

• Question 292:

  You are creating a status report to show how your project is progressing. Management is interested in several key activities and their status. You need to report work performance information to management. All of the following are example of work performance information you should include in your report except for which one?

  A. How the project is performing on its schedule.
  B. Performance of the selected project vendors
  C. Which activities have been started and which activities have been finished.
  D. Percent of completion for the in-progress activities
  B. Performance of the selected project vendors

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  Vendor performance, while important, is not part of the work performance information. Management is interested in the how well the project is performing, what activities are currently underway, and what's been completed to date. Answer option A is incorrect the project's performance on schedule should be reported Answer option C is incorrect as management is interested in what activities have been started and finished. Answer option D is incorrect as management does want to know the percent of completion for the in- progress activities

• Question 293:

  Billy is the project manager of the PQW Project and she has an assigned project budget of $655,000. Currently she is 80 percent complete with the project though she was scheduled to be 90 percent done by this date. She has spent $490,000 to date. What should Billy report as her cost performance index (CPI)for this project?

  A. .07
  B. 1.07
  C. $34,000
  D. .89
  B. 1.07

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  Cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula: CPI =

  Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC) If the CPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The CPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on

  target. In this instance the earned value is $524,000 and the actual costs are $490,000. In this project Billy has spent less than what the work is worth - a good thing. This could be because of a cost savings, such as travel or shipping, or

  because a risk event didn't come into play. This causes the positive CPI - something which does not happen very often.

  Answer option A is incorrect. .07 is an incorrect calculation for the cost performance index for the project. Answer option D is incorrect. .89 represents the schedule performance index. Answer option C is incorrect.

  $34,000 is the cost variance of the project.

• Question 294:

  Holly is the project manager for her organization. She is creating the activity list and would like to tag those activities that are comprised of discrete effort. What is discrete effort?

  A. It is a term used to describe activities whose effort cannot be directly measured to the project objectives.
  B. It is a term used to describe activities whose effort can be directly measured and linked to the project objectives.
  C. It is a term used to describe activities that are supportive of the project work, but not linked to the project deliverables.
  D. It is a term used to describe activities that are core project management processes, but not core project activities.
  B. It is a term used to describe activities whose effort can be directly measured and linked to the project objectives.

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  Discrete effort is a term used to describe the work that can be measured and traced to the components in the work packages. It is the actual work to create the project deliverables. Discrete effort refers to the particular work effort that can be

  identified and traced as having a direct tie to the final completion of the project- related work breakdown structure components and the deliverables. It is necessary that all the efforts have a specific measurable end product or end result.

  Answer options A, D, and C are incorrect.

  These are not valid definitions of discrete effort.

• Question 295:

  You are the project manager for your organization. You are discussing an upcoming project with management and they would like you to begin decomposing the project work packages into activities as soon as possible. You have explained to the management that you would like to involve your roject team before the decomposition of the work packages begins. Why would you want your project team to involve in this activity?

  A. To understand the exact type of work the project team will be completing
  B. To help the activity go faster
  C. To get better and more accurate results through the decomposition
  D. To create assignments for the project team as the activities are discussed
  C. To get better and more accurate results through the decomposition

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  Involving the project team is needed as part of the work package decomposition to get better and more accurate results. The project team comprises the people completing the work and often the experts that can direct the discussion and decomposition efforts. The decomposition technique is used to further divide all project deliverables into smaller component activities. Activities correspond to the effort required to complete a work package. Each and every work package in the WBS is decomposed into the activities needed to create the work package deliverables. Involving team members in the decomposition technique results in better and more precise outcomes. Answer option B is incorrect. While the team may help the activity decomposition go faster, this is not the best choice for this question. Answer option A is incorrect. Through the decomposition process, the project manager will learn about the project work, but this is not the primary reason to involve the project team. Answer option D is incorrect. It is possible to create assignments while completing the activity list, but usually all of the activities are defined and sequenced, and then resources are assigned to manage availability and utilization.

• Question 296:

  Holly is a new project manager in your organization. She is working with you on the JHG project and she is confused as to why the project needs a schedule management plan and a schedule baseline. What is the difference between the schedule management plan and the schedule baseline?

  A. The schedule management plan describes how the schedule will be managed and controlled. The schedule baseline is used to compare with actual results to determine if a change, corrective action, or preventive action is needed.
  B. The schedule management plan describes how the schedule will be managed and controlled. The schedule baseline is used to determine how accurate the schedule management plan has been throughout the project execution.
  C. The schedule baseline describes how the schedule will be managed and controlled. The schedule management plan is used to compare with actual results to determine if a change, corrective action, or preventive action is needed.
  D. The schedule management plan describes how the schedule will be created. The schedule baseline is used to compare with actual results with what the project manager intended.
  A. The schedule management plan describes how the schedule will be managed and controlled. The schedule baseline is used to compare with actual results to determine if a change, corrective action, or preventive action is needed.

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  The schedule management plan is the intent of the project manager. It defines how the schedule will be managed and controlled. The schedule baseline is a benchmarking tool to compare actual results against the planned results. Answer options C, D, and B are incorrect. These are not valid definitions of the schedule management plan and the schedule baseline.

• Question 297:

  Which of the following techniques is used to perform progressive elaboration planning where the work to be accomplished in the near future is planned in detail at a low level of the work breakdown structure?

  A. Imminent activity management
  B. Predecessor-only diagramming
  C. Rolling wave planning
  D. Decomposition
  C. Rolling wave planning

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  Rolling wave planning is a technique to plan and do the most imminent project work before moving onto the details that are far off in the project schedule and project plan. Rolling wave planning is a technique for performing progressive

  elaboration planning where the work to be accomplished in the near future is planned in detail at a low level of the work breakdown structure. The work to be performed within another one or two reporting periods in the near future is planned

  in detail as work is being completed during the current period.

  Answer options B and A are incorrect. These are not valid project management terms. Answer option D is incorrect. Decomposition is the process of breaking down work packages into the activity list.

• Question 298:

  Amy works as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. Her organization wants her to create a new warehouse. Which of the following documents will she create to define the business needs, the project justification, and the current requirements?

  A. Project scope
  B. Feasibility study
  C. Project charter
  D. Work breakdown structure
  C. Project charter

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  The project charter defines the business needs, the project justification, and the current requirements for the new warehouse that an organization wants to create. The project charter is the document that formally authorizes a project. The project charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. According to PMBOK Guide, the project charter should address the following information: Requirements that satisfy customer, sponsor, and other stakeholder needs, wants and expectations Business needs, high-level project description, or product requirements that the project is undertaken to address Project purpose or justification Assigned Project Manager and authority level Summary milestone schedule Stakeholder influences Functional organizations and their participation Organizational, environmental and external assumptions Organizational, environmental and external constraints Business case justifying the project, including return on investment Summary budget If required, it also authorizes the next project phase, and updates the charter. The project manager should always be assigned prior to the start of planning, and preferably while the project charter is being developed. Answer option A is incorrect. The decomposition of the project scope results in the project's Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The work packages of the WBS will help the project manager and team create accurate time and cost estimates. Answer option B is incorrect. The feasibility study is usually created before the project scope, though not always. This document defines the likelihood of the project being able to reach its objectives. Answer option D is incorrect. The project scope defines all that the project should complete.

• Question 299:

  Lily works as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. She has recorded the following duration estimates for an activity in her project: optimistic 35, most likely 50, and pessimistic 95. What time will she record for this activity?

  A. 48
  B. 55
  C. 54
  D. 40
  B. 55

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  This is an example of three-point estimate. A three-point estimate records the optimistic, most likely, and the pessimistic duration and then records an average for the predicted duration Three-point estimate is a way to enhance the accuracy

  of activity duration estimates. This concept is originated with the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). PERT charts the following three estimates:

  Most likely (TM): The duration of activity based on realistic factors such as resources assigned, interruptions, etc. Optimistic (TO): The activity duration based on the best-case scenario Pessimistic (TP):

  The activity duration based on the worst-case scenario The expected (TE) activity duration is a weighted average of these three estimates: TE = (TO + 4TM + TP) / 6 Duration estimates based on the above equations (sometimes simple

  average of the three estimates is also used) provide more accuracy.

  Here, it is, TE = ( 35 + 50*4 + 95) / 6 = 330/6 = 55

• Question 300:

  You are the project manager of the NHQ project. This project is currently running about 15 percent behind schedule and the management has asked you to rectify the problem. You have elected to crash the project. What does this term mean?

  A. Reject all proposed change requests for the project.
  B. Add resources to the project work.
  C. Add cost to the project budget.
  D. Cut non-value added activities to the project.
  B. Add resources to the project work.

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  Crashing means that the project manager will add resources to the project to complete effort-driven activities in the project. This schedule compression technique adds costs to the project. What is crashing? Crashing is a schedule

  compression technique to obtain the greatest amount of compression for the least incremental cost. Crashing works for activities where additional resources will shorten the duration. Approving overtime, bringing in additional resources,

  paying to expedite delivery to activities on the critical path are examples of crashing.

  Answer option C is incorrect. Crashing does generally add costs to the project because of the labor added, but this is not the best choice for the question. Answer options D and A are incorrect. These are not the valid definitions of crashing.