PMI PMI Certifications PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 261:

  Nancy is the project manager of the JJJ Project. This project has recently been approved by the project customer as complete so Nancy must now finalize the administrative closure. Nancy needs to create the final project report to report the successes and failures in the project. Who should Nancy deliver this final project report to if she is participating in a projectized structure?

  A. Functional Management

  B. Project sponsor

  C. Whomever the communications management plan directs her to

  D. Project customer

  Correct Answer: C

  The communications management plan will define who will receive what information. Answer option B is incorrect. The project sponsor may be a recipient but the project communications management plan is the best selection.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Functional management is not the best choice in a projectized structure. Answer option D is incorrect. The project customer may receive a copy of the report, but the project communications management plan

  should direct the communications.

• Question 262:

  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

  Correct Answer: B

  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 263:

  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.

  Correct Answer: B

  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 264:

  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

  Correct Answer: C

  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 265:

  Fred is the project manager of the NHA project. This project has a BAC of $2,456,900 and is sixty percent complete. Fred has crashed the project, which has driven the project costs to date to $1,525,140, but his project is five percent more complete than what was planned. What is the cost variance for this project that Fred needs to report to management?

  A. $122,845

  B. -$51,000

  C. -$85,000

  D. Zero

  Correct Answer: B

  The cost variance for the project is -$51,000. You can find the cost variance by using the formula earned value minus planned value. In this instance, it is: CV = EV - AC = (0.60* 2,456,900) - 1,525,140 = -51,000 Answer option C is incorrect. -$85,000 is the project's variance at completion. Answer option A is incorrect. $122,845 is the project's schedule variance. Answer option D is incorrect. There is a cost variance on this project of -$51,000.

• Question 266:

  Which of the following documents is a narrative description of products or services to be supplied by the project and has detailed requirements and pricing specified on it?

  A. Scope of statement

  B. Project charter

  C. Statement of work (SOW)

  D. WBS

  Correct Answer: C

  A statement of work (SOW) is a document that captures and defines the work activities, deliverables and timeline that a vendor will execute against in performance of work for a customer. Detailed requirements and pricing are usually specified in it, along with many other terms and conditions. SOW is a narrative description of products or services to be supplied by the project. For internal projects, the project initiator or sponsor provides the statement of work based on business needs, product, or service requirements. For external projects, the statement of work can be received from the customer as part of a bid document. Answer option A is incorrect. Scope of statement gives the narrative description of the project scope. Answer option B is incorrect. Project charter is a document that formally authorizes a project manager to work on a project. Answer option D is incorrect. WBS is a tool that defines a project and groups the project discrete work in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope.

• Question 267:

  The figure given below demonstrates the communication model for a project. What role does the component E play in the communications model?

  

  A. Static

  B. Deterrent

  C. Noise

  D. Barrier

  Correct Answer: C

  Noise is anything that disrupts the communication method such as static on the telephone line, distracting conversations, or misunderstandings.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Static is an example of noise, but it is not part of the communication model. Answer option D is incorrect. A barrier to communication is when communication cannot happen under the present conditions.

  Answer option B is incorrect. A deterrent is not a valid part of the communication model.

• Question 268:

  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 variance?

  A. -$48,654

  B. 13 percent

  C. -$225,000

  D. 0.98

  Correct Answer: C

  he schedule variance can be found by subtracting the planned value form the earned value. In this instance, it is $2,025,000 minus $2,250,000. SV = 2,025,000 - 2,250,000 = -225,000 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. Answer option A is incorrect. This is the cost variance for the project. Answer option B is incorrect. 13 percent is not a valid answer. Answer option D is incorrect. This is not a valid variance for this question; variances are typically negative numbers.

• Question 269:

  You have been hired as a project manager for Tech Perfect Inc. You are studying the documentation of planning of a project. The documentation states that there are twenty-five stakeholders with the project. What will be the number of communication channels for the project?

  A. 300

  B. 50

  C. 600

  D. 25

  Correct Answer: A

  According to the question, the project has twenty-five stakeholders. Communication channels are paths of communication with stakeholders in a project. The number of communication channels shows the complexity of a project's communication and can be derived through the formula shown below: Total Number of Communication Channels = n (n-1)/2 where, n is the number of stakeholders. Hence, a project having five stakeholders will have ten communication channels. Putting the value of the number of stake holder in the formula will provide the number of communication channels: Number of communication channel = (n (n-1)) / 2 = (25 (25-1)) / 2 = (25 x 24) / 2 = 600 / 2 = 300 Who are project stakeholders? 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 270:

  John is the project manager for his organization. He has created a status dashboard for his stakeholders. What is a status dashboard?

  A. It is a report that details the current status of risks and issues.

  B. It is a software application that allows stakeholders to view the project manager's performance.

  C. It is a web-based tool to inspect the project deliverables for performance.

  D. It is a report that reflects the overall performance of scope, schedule, quality, cost, or other project performance metrics.

  Correct Answer: D

  Of all the choices, the best is that a dashboard is a report for quick review of the project's performance metrics. While there are some software solutions, they still focus on the key performance criteria of the project.

  Answer option C is incorrect. This answer defines the definition of quality control, not the dashboard's review of project performance.

  Answer option B is incorrect. Dashboards focus on the performance of the project's key performance factors, not the project manager.

  Answer option A is incorrect. A status report could include the details of the project's risks and issues, but usually not the dashboard.