PM Test Center

Adam wants to show his stakeholders defect types ranked by frequency of occurrence. What tool should he use?

A. Pareto chart
B. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
C. Control chart
D. Cause and effect diagram

Answer: A. Pareto chart
Pareto charts are based on the Pareto Law (the 80/20 principle). This type of histogram shows categories of defects in order of frequency of occurrence. By ranking defect types this way, you could visually see which 20% of the causes to address in order to solve 80% of the problems.

The project you are managing is nearing its end. Your testing team is currently inspecting the final deliverable. Which process is your project on?

A. Verify Scope
B. Control Scope
C. Perform Quality Assurance
D. Perform Quality Control

Answer: D. Perform Quality Control
According to the PMBOK®, Quality Control is the process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. In short, inspection! Do not confuse quality control with scope verification, the latter involving a formal sign-off by the customer.

Six months into a year-long project your CPI is 0.8. However, your SPI is 1.2. This means that the project is:

A. Ahead of schedule and under budget
B. Ahead of schedule and over budget
C. Behind schedule and under budget
D. Behind schedule and over budget

Answer: B. Ahead of schedule and over budget
For both Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Schedule Performance Index (SPI), 1.0 is exactly as planned, over 1.0 is good and under 1.0 is bad. So in this case, the CPI is bad and SPI is good. In this example, the CPI means you are getting $0.80 of value out of every $1 spent (see CPI — what is it trying to tell me?) while the SPI means you are progressing at 120% (i.e. 20% better than planned) of the baseline.

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

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

Answer: D. Over budget
The Cost Performance Index (CPI) determines how much value you are earning per $1 spent. A CPI of 1.0 means you are on target and means that for every $1 you are putting into the project, you are getting $1 of value in return. Therefore, a CPI of 1.5 means that you are getting $1.50 for every $1 you put in, which is a good thing. Conversely, a CPI of 0.8 represents only getting $0.80 per $1, not so good. In short, over 1.0 is good, under 1.0 is bad.

As the project manager responsible for creating forecasts, you tend to utilize time series methods for predicting outcomes. Reports you typically use are:

A. Monte Carlo simulation, P&I matrix
B. Linear regression analysis, non-linear regression analysis
C. Probability estimates, Delphi method
D. Earned value, moving average

Answer: D. Earned value, moving average
Examples of time series methods are earned value, moving average, extrapolation, linear prediction, trend estimation, and growth curve.

When using a control chart, which of the following tells you that the process is out-of-control?

A. The UCL is higher than the LCL.
B. The highest and lowest plots are more than 1% apart.
C. There are seven or more consecutive plots on either side of the mean.
D. The LCL is lower than zero.

Answer: C. There are seven or more consecutive plots on either side of the mean.
When there are seven or more consecutive plots either above the mean or below the mean, the process out-of-control and should be investigated.

The main output of the Report Performance process is:

A. Performance reports
B. Stakeholder register
C. Project charter
D. Communications management plan

Answer: A. Performance reports
Performance reports provide status and progression for the project to various stakeholders.

If EV = 25,000, PV = 30,000, and AC = 29,000, what is the SPI?

A. 0.83
B. 0.86
C. 1.16
D. 1.20

Answer: A. 0.83
SPI (Schedule Performance Index) is calculated by EV (Earned Value)/PV (Planned Value). The 0.83 means that the project is progressing at 83% of the baseline.

If EV = 25,000, PV = 30,000, and AC = 29,000, what is the CPI?

A. 0.83
B. 0.86
C. 1.16
D. 1.20

Answer: B. 0.86
CPI (Cost Performance Index) is calculated by EV (Earned Value)/AC (Actual Cost). The 0.86 means that the project is getting 86 cents out of every dollar.

You are halfway through your project and your sponsor would like to know how much more the project is expected to cost from now until the end. What earned value metric should you use?

A. CV
B. AC
C. EAC
D. ETC

Answer: D. ETC
ETC (Estimate to Complete) tells you that the project is expected to cost x dollars to complete. This is derived from how much the project is expected to cost currently (EAC) and how much was already spent (AC).