PMI PMI Certifications PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 91:

  Paula works as a project manager for her organization. She is working with the project team to define the activity attributes. Which of the following is NOT a valid activity attribute?

  A. Activity Name

  B. Activity ID

  C. Risk event

  D. WBS ID

  Correct Answer: C

  Risk events are not associated with the activity attributes, but are recorded in the project risk register. Risk events are the distinct and particular occurrence that negatively affects a decision or a plan. Activity attributes are an output of the Define Activity process. These attributes refer to the multiple components that frame up an activity. The components for each activity during the early stages of the project are the Activity ID, WBS ID, and Activity name. At the later stages, the activity attributes include Activity codes, Predecessor activity, activity description, logical relationship, successor activity, leads and lags, imposed dates, and constraints and assumptions. Activity attributes are used for schedule development and for ordering, selecting, and sorting the planned schedule activities in a number of ways within reports.

• Question 92:

  You are project manager of HHK project. Examine the network diagram given below:

  

  A vendor reports that he will be four days late on the materials you'll need in order to complete Activity

  A. Based on the project network diagram, how many days can Activity E be delayed?

  B. Four days

  C. Six days

  D. Five days

  E. Zero, it is on the critical path.

  Correct Answer: A

  Activity E has four days of float. The entire project will take 19 days to complete. Float, also called slack, is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any subsequent activities. There are two types of floats available: Free Float: It is the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following schedule activities. Total Float: It is the total amount of time that a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date, or violating schedule constraint. Float is calculated by using the critical path method technique. Answer option D is incorrect. Activity E is not on the critical path. Answer options C and B are incorrect. These are incorrect calculations of the amount float available for Activity E.

• Question 93:

  In which of the following group decision making techniques does the largest block in a group decide the group decision even if a bulk is not achieved?

  A. Majority

  B. Unanimity

  C. Dictatorship

  D. Plurality

  Correct Answer: D

  The various techniques of group decision making are as follows: Unanimity: In this technique, everyone agrees on a single course of action. Majority: In this technique, more than 50% of the members of the group support the decisions. Plurality: In this technique, the largest block in a group decides even if a bulk is not achieved. Dictatorship: In this technique, one individual makes the decision for the group.

• Question 94:

  There are seven inputs to the estimate activity durations process. Which one of the following is NOT an input to this process?

  A. Scope baseline

  B. Activity attributes

  C. Activity list

  D. Activity resource requirements

  Correct Answer: A

  The scope baseline is not an input to the estimate activity durations process. The project's scope statement is an input, but according to the PMBOK, the scope baseline is not. The seven inputs to this process are: activity list, activity attributes, activity resource requirements, resource calendars, project scope statement, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets. Answer options C, B, and D are incorrect. These all are an input to the estimate activity durations process.

• Question 95:

  Your project team has identified a project risk that must be responded to. The risk has been recorded in the risk register and the project team has been discussing potential risk responses for the risk event. The event is not likely to happen for several months but the probability of the event is high. Which one of the following is a valid response to the identified risk event?

  A. Risk audit

  B. Technical performance measurement

  C. Earned value management

  D. Corrective action

  Correct Answer: D

  Corrective actions include contingency plans and workaround plans, which are valid risk responses. Answer option B is incorrect. The technical performance measurement may be part of the analysis of the risk, but not part of the response.

  Answer option A is incorrect. A risk audit may be appropriate once the risk event and response has been identified.

  Answer option C is incorrect. The impact of the risk event may affect earned value management calculations, but EVM in and of itself is not a valid risk response.

• Question 96:

  What component of the change management system is responsible for evaluating, testing, and documenting changes created to the project scope?

  A. Scope Verification

  B. Configuration Management System

  C. Project Management Information System

  D. Integrated Change Control

  Correct Answer: B

  The change management system is comprised of several components that guide the change request through the process. When a change request is made that will affect the project scope. The Configuration Management System evaluates the change request and documents the features and functions of the change on the project scope. What is Configuration Management System? Configuration Management System is a subsystem of the overall project management system. It is a collection of formal documented procedures used to identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a product, result, service, or component of the project. It also controls any changes to such characteristics, and records and reports each change and its implementation status. It includes the documentation, tracking systems, and defined approval levels necessary for authorizing and controlling changes. Audits are performed as part of configuration management to determine if the requirements have been met. Answer option D is incorrect. Integrated Change Control, part of the change control system, does not document changes to the features and functions of the project scope. It evaluates the change's impact on eight knowledge areas: scope, time, cost, quality, human resources, communication, risk, and procurement. What is Perform Integrated Change Control? Perform Integrated Change Control is the process of reviewing all change requests, approving changes, and controlling changes to the deliverables and organizational process assets in a project. Perform Integrated Change Control has to do with influencing the things that cause change, determining that the change is required or has happened, and managing the change. Answer option A is incorrect. Verify scope is a process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It is an inspection- driven process the stakeholders will complete to inspect the project scope deliverables. It is typically performed at the end of the phase and at the end of the project. Answer option C is incorrect. The Project Management Information System (PMIS) is an information system consisting of the tools and techniques used to gather, integrate, and disseminate the outputs of project management processes. It is used to support all aspects of the project from initiating through closing, and can include both manual and automated systems. It is the parent of the change control process. It is a system that includes all of the change control processes for scope, time, cost, and procurement. Configuration management is part of the PMIS.

• Question 97:

  All of the following statements about the critical path are false except for which one?

  A. The critical path cannot be crashed.

  B. The critical path is the shortest path in the project network diagram.

  C. The critical path is always one path with the longest duration.

  D. The critical path shows the project's earliest date for completion.

  Correct Answer: D

  The only statement that is true is that the critical path shows the project's earliest date for completion. A critical path is the sequence of project activities, which add up to the longest overall duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e. there is no float on the critical path). A project can have several, parallel, near critical paths. An additional parallel path through the network with the total durations shorter than the critical path is called a sub-critical or non-critical path. These results allow managers to prioritize activities for the effective management of project completion, and to shorten the planned critical path of a project by pruning critical path activities, by "fast tracking" (i.e., performing more activities in parallel), and/or by "crashing the critical path" (i.e., shortening the durations of critical path activities by adding resources). Answer option C is incorrect. There can be more than one critical path, as two paths in the project network diagram can both take the same amount of time and be longer than any other paths in the project. Answer option A is incorrect. The critical path can be, and often is, crashed with extra resources in an attempt to recover the project schedule. Answer option B is incorrect. The critical path is the longest path to project completion.

• Question 98:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. Which of the following tools/techniques will you use to demonstrate how a process behaves over time, and when a process is subject to special cause variation, resulting in an out-of-control condition?

  A. Pareto Chart

  B. Ishikawa Diagram

  C. Scatter Chart

  D. Control Chart

  Correct Answer: D

  You should use the control charts to demonstrate how a process behaves over time, and when a process is subject to special cause variation, resulting in an out-of-control condition. Control charts are graphical representations of different processes. These charts contain the maximum and minimum values allowed. Control charts are used to determine whether or not a process is stable or has predictable performance. A process is considered out of control when a data point exceeds a control limit or if seven consecutive points are above or below the mean. Answer option B is incorrect. The Ishikawa diagram (or fishbone diagram or also cause-and-effect diagram) are diagrams, that shows the causes of a certain event. A common use of the Ishikawa diagram is to identify potential factors causing an overall effect. It helps identify causal factors and contributing causes.

  

  It is known as a fishbone diagram because of its shape, similar to the side view of a fish skeleton. It is considered as a basic tool of quality management.

  Answer option A is incorrect. A Pareto chart is a special type of bar chart where the values being plotted are arranged in descending order. The graph is accompanied by a line graph, which shows the cumulative totals of each category, left to

  right. The chart is named after Vilfredo Pareto, and its use in quality assurance was popularized by Joseph M. Juran and Kaoru Ishikawa. Answer option C is incorrect. A scatter chart is a type of display using Cartesian coordinates to display values for two variables for a set of data. The data is displayed as a collection of points, each having the value of one variable determining the position on the horizontal axis and the value of the other variable determining the position on the vertical axis. A scatter diagram shows the pattern of relationship between two variables. This tool allows the quality team to study and identify the possible relationship between changes observed in two variables. Dependent variables versus independent variables are plotted. The closer the points are to a diagonal line, the more closely they are related.

• Question 99:

  Ned is the project manager for his organization. Ned is using a standard tool to capture, store, and distribute information to the stakeholders about the project costs, schedule, and performance. What term is assigned to this communication tool?

  A. Project management information system

  B. Table reporting

  C. Reporting system

  D. Communications management system

  Correct Answer: C

  This is simply an example of a reporting system. It can be part of the project management information system, but for your examination, the PMBOK acknowledges this tool directly as part of project performance reporting. Reporting system is

  a tool and technique used for reporting performance. It is a standard means to store, capture, and give out the information to the stakeholders about the project costs, performance, and schedule.

  Answer option A is incorrect. The project management information system does more than just communicating the performance. It is a tool to help the project manager plan and monitor the project. Answer option D is incorrect. The PMBOK

  does not mention a communications management system. Answer option B is incorrect. Table reporting is one output of a reporting system, not the entire system.

• Question 100:

  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

  Correct Answer: B

  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.