PMI PMI Certifications PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 191:

  You work as a Project Manager for Dreams Unlimited Inc. You are looking for performance efficiencies of a project. The related key values are provided in the table below: MeasurementsValues BCWP (or EV)325 BCWS (or PV) 300 ACWP (or AC)410 What is the schedule variance (SV) of the project at the current point of time?

  A. +110

  B. -25

  C. -110

  D. +25

  Correct Answer: D

  According to the question, you are required to find out the schedule variance (SV) of the project. Schedule variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance on a project. The variance notifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target. Now, putting the provided values on the formula: SV = EV - PV = 325 - 300 = 25 As the value of SV (which is 25) is a positive number, it means that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. What is BCWP (or EV)? Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) or Earned Value (EV) is the value of completed work. It is the budgeted amount for the work actually completed on the schedule activity during a given time period. What is BCWS (or PV)? Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) or Planned Value (PV) is the authorized budget assigned to the scheduled work to be accomplished for a schedule activity or Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) component. What is ACWP (or AC)? Actual cost of work performed (ACWP) or Actual Cost (AC) is the total costs actually incurred and recorded in accomplishing work performed during a given time period for a schedule activity. It is the cost of the work to date, including direct and indirect costs. AC is money that has actually been expended to date.

• Question 192:

  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

  Correct Answer: D

  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 193:

  You are working with your project team to identify the project activities within your project. Which of the following is NOT a tool and technique that will be useful in defining the project activities?

  A. Decomposition

  B. Rolling wave plan

  C. Precedence diagramming method

  D. Templates

  Correct Answer: C

  The precedence diagramming method is not a tool and technique that will be used during the activity definition process. Precedence diagramming method (PDM) is used in critical path methodology for building a project schedule network diagram that uses boxes or rectangles, referred to as nodes, to represent activities, and join each other with arrows that show the logical relationship that exists between them. 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 194:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. You would like to crash your project to help the project schedule to get back on track. What is the primary danger of crashing?

  A. Crashing increases project costs.

  B. Crashing is a top-down approach to project completion.

  C. Crashing restricts resource utilization.

  D. Crashing always increases project risks.

  Correct Answer: A

  Crashing adds project resources and usually increases costs - though it may also increase some project risks. 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 D is incorrect. Crashing does not always increase project risks. Answer option C is incorrect. Crashing does not restrict resource utilization - that is resource leveling. Answer option B is incorrect. This is not a valid definition or

  description to crashing the project.

• Question 195:

  Examine the figure given below:

  

  You are the project manager of this project. Tom, a project team member, reports that Activity D will be delayed by 12 days due to the unavailability of the resources from the vendor. What will this delay do to your project completion, if you allow the delay to enter into the project?

  A. The project will be one day late.

  B. The float for activity D will be consumed.

  C. The project can still finish on time.

  D. The project will be seven days late.

  Correct Answer: A

  The project will be just one day late due to this delay. The path ADGJ takes a total of 15 days. If Activity D takes a total of 13 days (i.e. 12 + 1), then the path will now take 27 days to complete. This causes the critical path to shift to ADGJ and the project will end on day 27 rather than day 26. Answer options D, B, and C are incorrect. These are not the valid answers, as the project will now take 27 days to complete, rather than 26.

• Question 196:

  Which of the following is an output of the Identify Stakeholders process?

  A. Scope baseline

  B. Project scope statement

  C. Project charter

  D. Stakeholder register

  Correct Answer: D

  The Identify Stakeholders process identifies all people or organizations that are impacted by the project. It also documents relevant information regarding their interests, involvement, and impact on project success. Stakeholder register and stakeholder management strategy are outputs of this process. Answer option C is incorrect. Project charter is one of the inputs of the Identify Stakeholders process. Answer option A is incorrect. Scope baseline is one of the outputs of the Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) process. Answer option B is incorrect. Project scope statement is one of the outputs of the Define Scope process.

• Question 197:

  Allen works as a project manager of the NHY project. This project is scheduled to last for two years and has a BAC of $5,400,000. He is currently 45 percent complete with this project, though he is supposed to be at his second milestone, which accounts for half of the project completion. There have been some errors in the project, which have caused Allen to spend $2,093,754. What is this project's schedule variance?

  A. - $210,000

  B. - $720,000

  C. - $250,000

  D. - $270,000

  Correct Answer: D

  The schedule variance can be found by subtracting the planned value from the earned value. In this instance, it is EV = (0.45 * 5,400,000) = 2,430,000 PV = (0.50 * 5,400,000) = 2,700,000 SV = EV - PV = 2,430,000 - 2,700,000 = - $270,000 Schedule variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance on a project. The variance notifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target.

• Question 198:

  You are the project manager for your company. You are currently working with your project team to begin sequencing the activity list. You will need organizational process assets and four other documents as inputs to this process. Which of the following is NOT one of the four documents you will need for activity sequencing?

  A. Project scope statement

  B. Milestone list

  C. Project schedule network diagrams

  D. Activity list

  Correct Answer: C

  The project schedule network diagram is an output of the sequence activity process, not an input. This process uses five inputs: the activity list, the activity attributes, milestone list, the project scope statement, and the organizational process assets. The project schedule network diagram is an output of the sequence activity process. It represents a schematic display of the project's schedule activities and the logical relationship among them. This diagram can be produced manually or by using the project management software. It consists of complete project details, or one or more summary activities. Answer options D, B and A are incorrect. These are inputs to the process.

• Question 199:

  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.

  Correct Answer: A

  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 200:

  You are the project manager of a research project. Because much of the project work will be based on what is discovered in each stage of the project work, you are directing the project time to focus on creating time estimates for the most imminent research work and broad estimates for the project work that is coming later in the project. What type of planning are you using in this project?

  A. Milestone planning

  B. Rolling wave planning

  C. Phase gates

  D. Decomposition

  Correct Answer: B

  This is an example of rolling wave planning. Rolling wave planning focuses on the most imminent work in detail and creates estimates for the whole project and later work in broad estimates. Rolling wave planning is a form of progressive elaboration. 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 option D is incorrect. Decomposition describes the breakdown of the project scope into work packages, and then the work packages are broken down into project activities. Answer option C is incorrect. Phase gates describe the review process associated with the end of project phases. Answer option A is incorrect. Milestone planning defines the project milestones, not the activities required to reach the milestones.