PMI PMI-SP Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

PMI PMI-SP Online Questions & Answers

• Question 61:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. According to you, which of the following is an output of the Sequence Activities process?

  A. Project scope statement
  B. Project schedule network diagram
  C. Activity list
  D. Organizational process assets
  B. Project schedule network diagram

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  Sequence Activities is one of the twenty processes of the Planning Process group. It is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. Inputs Following are the inputs to this activity:

  Activity list

  Activity attributes

  Milestone list

  Project scope statement

  Organizational process assets

  Outputs Following are the outputs of the sequence activities process:

  Project schedule network diagrams

  Project document updates

• Question 62:

  You are the project manager for the NHQ Project. Management has asked you to create a time estimate for this project although you have only just received the project charter. They would like some idea of how long the project will take based on the information in the project charter. While you are uncomfortable giving any type of estimate at this point, you work with your assigned project to create a quick time estimate. What type of estimate have you created for management?

  A. Analogous estimate
  B. Broad estimate
  C. Rough order of magnitude
  D. Expert judgment
  C. Rough order of magnitude

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  The rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate is used early in the project when there is not much information available to create a time estimate. Rough order of magnitude estimates can have a range of variance as large as -25% to +75 percent. While ROM is mostly used with cost estimates, it can be used with time estimates too. Rough order of magnitude (ROM), also known as ball park estimate, is a rough approximation, made with a degree of knowledge and confidence that the estimated figure falls within a reasonable range of values. ROM range can vary from half to twice (-50 to +100) the actual cost. Answer option B is incorrect. Broad estimate is not a valid time estimating type. Answer option D is incorrect. Expert judgment is what the project manager used in this scenario to create the time estimate, but it is not a time estimating type. Answer option A is incorrect. An analogous estimate is based on historical information from a similar project. For example, Project A took 8 months to complete and Project B, while similar but larger, will take 10 months to complete.

• Question 63:

  Gary is the project manager for his organization. At each weekly status meeting with his project team, Gary collects information on the work that has been completed and reviews the work that is remaining in the project. Alice, one of Gary's project team members, consistently reports that she's late on her project work. After the meeting, Gary and Alice discuss why the work is late as it is causing other delays in the project. What is the review of the late work commonly called?

  A. Variance analysis
  B. Leadership
  C. Quality control
  D. Discipline
  A. Variance analysis

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  Variance analysis is the study to determine why a variance in the project exists. Alice's late work may be for a number of reasons so Gary needs to determine why in order to address the problem. Variance analysis is a process that examines

  the dissimilarities between the planned and the actual budget or schedule in order to discover unacceptable risks to the budget, schedule, quality, or scope of the project. It is a method for resolving the total variance in the set of scope,

  schedule, and cost variables into particular component variances that are associated with defined factors affecting the cost, scope and schedule variables.

  Answer option D is incorrect. Discipline is not the best answer as Gary, at this point, is simply reviewing the situation to determine why the variance exists. Answer option C is incorrect. Quality control is the inspection of the work results to

  prove the existence of quality and to prevent mistakes from reaching the customer. Answer option B is incorrect. This may be a type of leadership, but it is not the best answer for the question.

• Question 64:

  Mary is the project manager for her organization. She is working with the project team to define the project activities. She is concerned about some of the dependencies of the project work, which may affect the project schedule. Which one of the following is the best example of a project constraint that will likely affect the project's ability to finish by a given deadline?

  A. The project must use internal team members to complete the project work.
  B. The project must adhere to several regulations.
  C. The project must use the BGH company to deliver the software portion of the project.
  D. The project must not exceed $1,250,000.
  C. The project must use the BGH company to deliver the software portion of the project.

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  Of all the constraints listed only this is an external dependency, which can directly affect the project manager's control over the project work. If the BGH company is late delivering the software portion of the project, it will likely have an effect on the project's ability to complete the project on time. Answer option B is incorrect. While regulations may affect the project timing, this is not the best choice. Answer option D is incorrect. The $1,250,000 is an example of cost constraint. Answer option A is incorrect. This is only constraint if the project team members are not available, or do not have the required skills to complete the project work.

• Question 65:

  You are the project manager for your organization. You are working on creating the activity list so that you can create the project schedule. This current project is similar to a project you have completed for your company. You and the project team decide to use the previous project as a template for your current project. A template can help you and the project team do all of the following except for which one?

  A. Identify typical schedule milestones.
  B. Create parametric estimates for repetitive activities.
  C. Save time creating activity duration estimates.
  D. Import activity attributes.
  B. Create parametric estimates for repetitive activities.

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  Parametric estimates are created for repetitive tasks, such as four hours per unit installed; 1,000 units to install would equate to 4,000 hours. A template does not address this type of time estimating directly. A template for time estimating is an analogous estimate type. A template for any project is an activity list or a part of the activity list from a previous project. The template contains the activity attributes information and other vivid information that are helpful to define activities. It is also used to classify schedule milestones. Answer option D is incorrect. Templates can include activity attribute information. Answer option A is incorrect. Templates do indicate milestones. Answer option C is incorrect. Templates can save time for the project manager and the project team.

• Question 66:

  Tom is the project manager of the GHQ Project for his organization. He is working on recovering the project schedule. As Tom examines his schedule he is especially aware of project activities with soft logic. What is soft logic?

  A. Soft logic describes activities that do not have particular resources assigned to them.
  B. Soft logic describes activities that can be completed in any order.
  C. Soft logic describes activities that can have lead time added to them.
  D. Soft logic describes activities that can be crashed because they are effort-driven.
  B. Soft logic describes activities that can be completed in any order.

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  Soft logic can be completed in any order without affecting the outcome of the deliverables. Soft logic is also known as preferential logic, preferred logic, and discretionary dependency. It is defined on the basis of knowledge of best practices and standard procedures for the particular application area. Soft logic is defined by the project management team based on well- known practices in a specific desired sequence. Answer options A, D, and C are incorrect. These are not valid definitions of soft logic.

• Question 67:

  You are the project manager of the GHE Project. You have identified the following risks with the characteristics as shown in the following figure:

  

  A. Communications bull's eye
  B. Performance goals
  C. Earned value management goals
  D. Project exception report
  A. Communications bull's eye

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  The graphic shown in the figure is a communications bull's eye. The project manager must keep the project within the boundaries defined by the bull's eye or he will need to generate a performance report. This is an example of management by exception because the project manager only communicates with management when there is an exception, or variance, within the project. Answer options C, B, and D are incorrect. These are not valid terms for the communications bull's eye.

• Question 68:

  Allen is the project manager for his organization. He is reviewing the resource requirements for his organization. He has discovered that his project needs Henry, the application developer, for two months, but Henry has a conflict and is already scheduled with another project manager in the organization. This is an example of which of the following?

  A. Resource competition
  B. Matrix organization
  C. Resource requirement
  D. Resource constraint
  D. Resource constraint

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  Because this project needs the specific resource of Henry, the application developer, and Henry is not available, it is considered as a resource constraint. Recall that a constraint is anything that limits the project manager's option.

  Answer option C is incorrect. A resource requirement is simply the need for an application developer. Answer option B is incorrect. This is likely a matrix organization, but it is not the best answer for this question.

  Answer option A is incorrect. While there may be some competition for skilled resources, such as Henry, the application developer, it is not the best answer for this question.

• Question 69:

  You are the project manager of the GHY Project. This project is scheduled to last for one year and has a BAC of $4,500,000. You are currently 45 percent complete with this project, though you are supposed to be at your second milestone which accounts for half of the project completion. There have been some errors in the project which has caused you to spend $2,073,654. What is this project's schedule performance index?

  A. 1.02
  B. 0.98
  C. 0.90
  D. -$108,120
  C. 0.90

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  The schedule performance index shows how well the project is performing on its schedule goals. The SPI can be found by dividing the earned value by the planned value. In this instance, it is $2,025,000 divided by $2,250,000 for .90. The closer to 1, the better the performance. 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 B is incorrect. 0.98 is the cost performance index. Answer option A is incorrect. 1.02 is the to-complete performance index. Answer option D is incorrect. -$108,120 is the variance at completion based on current performance.

• Question 70:

  You are the project manager for your project. Your project is scheduled to last for one year and you are currently forty percent complete with the project. Based on your current performance measurements you have an SPI of .95 and a cost variance of -$24,000. You need to report this information to the management, but you will also need a solution to present with the variance information. Which one of the following can you present to the management as a part of the control schedule tools and techniques for variances?

  A. Work performance measurements
  B. Corrective actions
  C. Trim the project scope
  D. Causes of variances
  B. Corrective actions

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  The only tool and technique for controlling the schedule is a corrective action. You should always report problems to management, the project customers, or key stakeholders as defined in the Communications Management Plan, but you should also always present a solution to the problem. A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are implemented in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels of internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or adverse or unstable trends in product and process monitoring such as would be identified by SP C. It is method of identifying and eliminating the causes of a problem, thus preventing their reappearance. Examples of a corrective action are : Improvements to maintenance schedules Improvements to material handling or storage Answer option C is incorrect. Trimming the project scope, which is a change request, is not a tool and technique for control the scheduling. It is, however, an output of the control schedule process and is sometimes a valid decision if the project is slipping on schedule performance. Answer option A is incorrect. Work performance measurements are not a tool and technique for controlling the project schedule. Answer option D is incorrect. The causes of the variance can help you determine the best action to take, but it is not a tool and technique for schedule control.