PM Test Center

As the project manager with a time conscience sponsor, you have been monitoring earned value throughout the year long project. At the halfway point, you report that the SPI is 0.8. This means that the project is:

A. Ahead of schedule
B. Under budget
C. Behind schedule
D. Over budget

Answer: C. Behind schedule
The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) determines how much ahead or behind schedule you are. An SPI of 1.0 means you are on target. Therefore, an SPI of 1.5 means that you are progressing at 150% of the baseline, which is a good thing. Conversely, an SPI of 0.8 represents only moving at 80% of the baseline, not so good. In short, over 1.0 is good, under 1.0 is bad.

Which of the following organization types does the project manager have the least power?

A. Functional
B. Weak matrix
C. Strong matrix
D. Projectized

Answer: A. Functional
Projectized organizations grants project managers with total control of their projects. That means team members report directly to the project manager. Functional organizations, conversely, provides project managers with the least amount of power since the team members report to a functional, or line of business, manager.

Your company secured a contract with a client overseas and you are expected to bring your entire team with you for six weeks. The culture of your client’s country is very different from yours. What is the best way to prepare your team?

A. Arrive a few days early to get acclimated
B. Hold as many teleconference meetings as possible with the client leading up to the trip
C. Provide culture awareness training
D. Do nothing since your team will adapt as they live and work there

Answer: C. Provide culture awareness training
Training is usually the best way to prepare anyone heading into an unfamiliar situation.

Your company secured a contract with a client overseas and you are expected to bring your entire team with you for six weeks. The culture of your client’s country is very different from yours. What is the term that describes their anxiety of potential difficulties in assimilating in a new locale?

A. Culture shock
B. Adjustment phase
C. Disorientation
D. Known unknowns

Answer: A. Culture shock
Culture shock refers to feelings felt when people have to function in an unfamiliar social environment. Much of it has to do with not knowing what is generally accepted or appropriate.

Ouchi developed Theory Z as a hybrid organization. This concept states that management deems workers as trustworthy and capable of working without close supervision because:

A. Workers are motivated by a hierarchy of needs.
B. Management provides a supportive environment with lifetime employment.
C. Workers are threatened with job loss.
D. The government demands it from their people.

Answer: B. Management provides a supportive environment with lifetime employment.
Theory Z is a philosophy on collective responsibility, often times associated with a life-long commitment. It is based on trust so threats and demands are not part of the equation while a hierarchy of needs describe Theory X (low levels) and Theory Y (high levels).

Your company is in the process of deciding whether to continue with Project A or terminate it and begin Project B instead. You have already invested 12 months and $100,000 on Project A. It will take another 24 months and $50,000 to complete it. Project B is actually a better solution since the end product will result in a greater long-term savings. However, it will take 18 months and $250,000 to complete. Additionally, all time and money spent on Project A already would be wasted. Which project should the company chose?

A. Project A because the company has already spent 12 months and $100,000
B. Project A because it is still more inexpensive than Project B
C. Project B because time and money spent on Project A is irrelevant to the decision
D. Project B because it can be completed in less time than Project A

Answer: C. Project B because time and money spent on Project A is irrelevant to the decision
When a decision is being made from a cost perspective, expended (or sunk) costs are ignored. The goal is to make the best decision regardless of what paths were taken prior to that point in time.

For your new software project, you decide you need to use a Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT) network diagram. When asked by an intern why you chose to use GERT, you explain that one of the main advantages is that you can:

A. Be more accurate than using a PERT
B. Use hammock activities
C. Assign multiple resources
D. Create loops between tasks

Answer: D. Create loops between tasks
GERT allows for conditions or loops between tasks. For projects with iterative tasks, GERT will often tell a better story.

Resource leveling typically results in a:

A. Project cost overrun
B. Project cost savings
C. Project duration longer than the baseline
D. Project duration shorter than the baseline

Answer: C. Project duration longer than the baseline
When resource leveling, work scheduled for resources that are over-allocated will be spread over a longer period of time. As a result, this smoothing out process will usually cause the project to take longer.

While reviewing your weekly report, you notice that two of your resources are over-allocated. One way to solve this is to:

A. Level resources
B. Use PERT
C. Add lag
D. Crash the schedule

Answer: A. Level resources
Of the choices, only leveling resources is the only method that will relieve over-allocated resources. Leveling will take the extra work and move it to a different date so the resources will not exceed their maximum per day.

What is a key deliverable of the Verify Scope process?

A. Approved requirements
B. Customer acceptance
C. Product that passed quality tests
D. Completed WBS

Answer: B. Customer acceptance
The primary output of the Verify Scope process is an accepted deliverable. That means that the deliverable has met acceptance criteria and was formally signed off by the customer or sponsor.