PM Test Center

You were assigned a twelve-person team on your project so you decide to bring a RAM to your kick-off meeting. When asked by an intern how the RAM would help, you explain that it:

A. Provides a diagram that decomposes all work.
B. Reduces overall project costs by eliminating all outsourcing.
C. Minimizes delays to the schedule by overlapping tasks.
D. Ensures that there is only one person who is ultimately responsible for a task.

Answer: D. Ensures that there is only one person who is ultimately responsible for a task.
A Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) is used to show team members and their roles/responsibilities on the project. Used early in the life cycle, this table can reduce confusion on activities throughout the project.

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.

You plan on using a project management information system (PMIS) to develop a Gantt chart. One drawback of using a Gantt chart is:

A. Finish dates for each project cannot be manually set
B. WBS outline cannot be represented
C. Relationships between tasks are not displayed
D. Only one resource can be assigned to a task

Answer: C. Relationships between tasks are not displayed
Although some PMIS tools do show relationships between tasks (e.g. Microsoft Project), traditionally, Gantt charts do not display them.

The purpose of a scope management plan is:

A. Identify requirements on the project
B. Break down the work into manageable pieces
C. Monitor scope on the project
D. Describe how scope will be managed on the project

Answer: D. Describe how scope will be managed on the project
As with any management plan, the key is to describe how something will be managed. The key word being ‘how’. You do not actually do anything with the scope at this point; rather simply documenting the process of managing scope. The other choices on the list refer to other scope processes.

Paula is creating a WBS for her project’s scope. However, she does not know the size of the work packages to break the work down to. As an experienced project manager, you tell her that one way to do it is to:

A. Ensure that no task is under 1 hour.
B. Drill down as far as she can.
C. Keep each work package between 8 and 80 hours.
D. Do what she feels is right.

Answer: C. Keep each work package between 8 and 80 hours.
As a general rule, work packages should be a manageable chunk. One method is to use the 8/80 rule. Usually, anything under a day of work can be managed by the resource and anything over two weeks should probably be broken down further.

While planning a project that has not been accomplished before at the company, your manager asks you to get a three point estimate from Shari, the lead designer. Shari provides you with an optimistic estimate (2 hours), a most likely estimate (4 hours), and a pessimistic estimate (12 hours). What must be the three point estimate for Shari’s task?

A. 5 hours
B. 6 hours
C. 10 hours
D. Not enough information and will need clarification from the manager

Answer: D. Not enough information and will need clarification from the manager
A three point estimate could be derived several ways. Two of the most common are the mean ((O+M+P)/3), which would give you 6 hours and PERT ((O+4M+P)/6), which would give you 5 hours. However, in this example, it is not clear what type of three point estimate to use.