PM 610 Final Exam – You are managing a large landscaping
PM 610 Final Exam (open book; open note)
Name: _ ____________________________ Grade: ____________
1. You are managing a large landscaping project in conjunction with you firm’s construction
of a custom home. Part of the project entails constructing a berm 15’ wide and 6’ high
and 250’ long along the back edge of the property. In addition, this berm is to be
landscaped with 25 trees 4”-6” in diameter at the base, ranging from $1000 to $3000
each. Shrubs and ground cover, as well as red cedar-bark mulch, are extra. The total
budget for trees is $55,000. Because of the size of this project you decide to treat it as a
separate project with its own timeline. Thus, you set aside $160,000 of your entire budget
for the landscaping work, and you set yourself a 2-month deadline. You set yourself a
front-loaded baseline, with $90,000 to be spent in the first six weeks on the berm,
$55,000 to be reserved for the planting of the trees in the last two weeks, $10,000 for the
shrubs, and $5,000 for a contingency fund. You have finished three weeks of work and
have spent $40,000 on actual landscaping work but have accomplished 50% of the
landscaping (not county trees and shrubs). Your project is:
a Behind schedule and under budget
b Over budget and on schedule
c. Under budget and on schedule
d. On schedule and at budget
2. Your earned value is:
a.
b.
c.
d. $50,000
$40,000
$45,000
$60,000 a.
b.
c.
d. 3. Your planned value is
$45,000
$50,000
$55,000
$60,000 a.
b.
c.
d. 4. Your actual costs are:
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
$55,000 5. Your budget at completion is:
a. $150,000
b. $ 90,000
c. $155,000 d. $160,000
6. Your cost performance index (CPI) is
a.
b.
c.
d. 1.1
1.12
.925
.90 a.
b.
c.
d. 7. Your estimate at completion is:
$164,500
$156,500
$140,250
$142,222 a.
b.
c.
d. 8. Your variance at completion is:
-$ 5400
+$ 3500
+$19,750
+$17,778
9. You work as a project manager for a company in which your commitment to any one
project is part-time, your resource availability is limited and your authority is limited.
According to the PMBOK, your organization is probably a
a.
b.
c.
d. Functional organization
Weak matrix
Balanced matrix
Strong matrix
10. Frustrated, you leave and take a position as a project manager at a different organization
which promises you a full-time project manager’s role with low to moderate authority
and low to moderate resource availability. If these promises are accurate, you will be
moving to
a.
b.
c.
d. Projectized organization
Strong matrix
Hierarchical organization
Balanced matrix 11. The idea that “quality is a cost without benefit” is
a.
b.
c.
d. Without merit and generally ignored by American management
A widely held view, especially by managers with accounting and financial backgrounds
An idea that is somewhat accurate but overused
A hallmark of Japanese auto manufacturers. The following table will be used in problems 12 through 16:
Network diagram problem:
Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K Duration
6
5
4
7
3
5
6
4
4
5
7 Construct the Network Diagram: 12.
a.
b.
c.
d. The duration of the project is: X
26
24
29
27 13.
a.
b. The critical path of the project is: X
ABDGJ
ABEHJ Dependencies
None
A
A
B
B.C
C
D
F.E
F
G.H
H.I c.
d. ACEHJ
ACFIK 14.
a.
b.
c.
d. The float on activity E is
3
4
6
2 15.
a.
b.
c.
d. The float on activity I is
4
3
2
5 16. (Questions 16-19) You are a project manager for the US government. After five years, you
complete your major weapons system project. It is behind schedule, and over budget, but it has
been a cost-plus incentive-fee contract, and the delays have resulted from required customer
upgrades in technology. As a result, you expect that the government customer will be
a.
b.
c.
d. Angry at you non-performance and will thus “ding” your award fee.
Demand that you carry the additional costs.
Impose a penalty for the busted schedule
Congratulate you and pay the costs on the sliding scale required by the contract. 17. Your functional manager calls you in prior to the final project closeout meeting and upbraids
you because he says you are over your point of total assumption. Your best strategy is to
a. Take the abuse and ignore the charges because there is no PTA in a cost-plus incentive fee
contract, then go to the closeout meeting with confidence.
b. Retort that if he knew anything about contracting, he would know that there is no PTA in
a cost-plus incentive fee contract.
c. Go to the meeting and ask the customer for consideration on the PTA issue.
d. Report your Functional Manager to HR for creating a “hostile work environment”.
18. After the closeout meeting, your project will most likely be handed off to a
a. configuration manager
b. functional manager
c. program manager
d. team manager
19. The EV (BCWP) is $75,000; the AC is $85,000; the PV (BCWS) is $65,000. The project is:
a. ahead of schedule and under budget
b. behind schedule and under budget. c. behind schedule and over budget.
d. ahead of schedule and over budget.
20. Monte Carlo method is used in
a.
b.
c.
d. Project cost control
Project quality forecasting
HR project management
Project risk management 21. Delphi method originated in post-World War II defense analysis and involves
a.
b.
c.
d. Simply qualitative guessing by team members
Applying the principles of probability embodied in gambling.
Establishing a consensus on risk probability by consulting independent experts
Hiring psychics to discern the future 22. For risk probability, the best analyses are based on
a.
b.
c.
d. Historical or actuarial data
Delphi method
Monte Carlo method
Gaming odds. 24. The most regressive type of contract from the standpoint of the seller is the
a.
b.
c.
d. Firm fixed price
Fixed price incentive fee
Time and materials
Firm fixed price plus penalty fee. 25. As a project manager, your admin staff is part-time, but your role is full-time. According to
the PMBOK, you are most likely to be in a
a.
b.
c.
d. Strong matrix
Functional organization
Balanced matrix
Weak matrix 26. Conflict resolution is the preferred methodology of
a. Project management
b. Integration management
c. HR Management
d. Classical management
27. The first step in building a PERT/CPM network is to: a.
b.
c.
d. Create a flow chart
Show task relationships
Build a schedule.
Create a work-breakdown structure 28. The project life-cycle can be best described as:
a.
Project concept, project execution, and project reporting.
b.
Project planning, work authorization, and project reporting.
c.
Project planning, project control, project definition, and project termination.
d.
A series of sequential project phases that vary by organization. 29. Functional managers have the greatest influence in the direction of the project in a
a.
b.
c.
d. Weak matrix
Balanced matrix
Strong Matrix
Projectized organization. 30. The major definition of a “program” used in this class is
a.
b.
c.
d. a grouping of related projects that are to be integrated into larger whole.
a unique undertaking having a definite time period.
a grouping of projects having no definite relationship to one another.
any project with a cost over $1 million. 31. Conflict management is the preferred methodology of
b.
c.
d.
e. Project management
Integration management
Configuration management
Classical management 32. The purpose of a dummy activity in an activity-on-arrow (AOA) diagram is to
a.
b.
c.
d. depict a dependency
indicate a milestone.
show a task that is not necessarily needed.
take the slack time into account. 33. A project can be defined as:
a.
b.
c.
d. A large complex undertaking with many objectives and no discernable endpoint.
A group of activities headed by a PM with entire responsibility for the end product.
A coordinated undertaking activities with a specific goal & finite life-span.
Related activities directed toward a specific goal accomplished in a year’s time. 34. The PMI teaches that the typical PM spends what percentage of time communicating?
a.
60%
b.
80%
c.
70%
d.
90%
35. The Project Charter MUST
a.
designate the PM and authorize him or her to draw funds and resources to plan
and execute the project
b.
establish the organizational structure within which the project will operate.
c.
specify the overall objectives and timeframes of the project.
d.
be developed by the project sponsor and signed by the project manager.
36. The purpose of building a PERT/CPM network is to:
a.
Determine the critical path
b.
Show task relationships
c.
Create a work-breakdown structure
d.
Create a flow chart
37. On internal projects, the project charter is authorized by….
a.
senior management.
b.
the customer.
c.
the project manager.
d.
the project stakeholders.
38. A work breakdown structure is most useful for …
a.
b.
c.
d. identifying individual activities, tasks and work packages.
scheduling the start of tasks.
developing a cost estimate.
developing risk estimates. 39. The Risk of NOT meeting project quality objectives:
a.
b.
c.
d. can be minimized through continuous monitoring.
is immaterial, since ‘quality is a cost without benefit’.
should be ignored, since it is ephemeral anyway.
is a concern of the QA officer, and not the PM. 40. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) measures:
a.
b.
c.
d. cost of work performed vs. planned costs.
work scheduled vs. planned work.
work performed vs. work scheduled.
work performed vs. actual costs 41. The estimate at completion (EAC) refers to
a. The initial project cost baseline
b. The planned value at any point in the project
c. The estimated final costs once the project has begun and the PM has real costs for
comparison
d. The estimate of the costs remaining to complete the project
42. The estimate at completion (EAC) is found by
a.
b.
c.
d. Dividing the CPI into the BAC
Dividing the SPI into the BAC
Multiplying the BAC by the CPI
Multiplying the BAC by the SPI 43. Risks classified as unknown unknowns (i.e., those which cannot be identified or evaluated):
a.
b.
c.
d. Should be covered by the management reserve
Should be handled via the contingency reserve.
Should be ignored, since they cannot be identified.
Should be ignored, since they are not covered in the Project Risk Assessment. 45. Contracting out to a third party represents which strategy for risk management:
a.
b.
c.
d. Transference/deflection
Avoidance
Acceptance
Sharing 46. A project appears to be both more profitable and far more costly after the initial feasibility
study. Your best strategy as the company’s PM would be to
a.
b.
c.
d. abandon the project
find a well-heeled partner to finance the project and share both the costs and the profits X
sub-contract out the project
take on the project, even though the additional costs will place your company in serious
financial risk. 47. Final risk quantification normally combines risk probabilities & impacts with contingency
costs and consolidates these into
a.
economic terms for analysis.
b.
schedule impacts.
c.
environmental impacts
d.
a contingency reserve 48. The basic document that identifies, prioritizes and quantifies risks is
a.
b.
c.
d. 49. Work breakdown structure
Milestone review and schedule technique
Cost/schedule control system
Risk Register Budgeted contingencies can be determined by:
a
Qualitative Risk Analysis
b.
Quantitative Risk Analysis
c.
combining the risk results and consolidating these with the contingency costs.
d.
Cost and Schedule Analysis. 50. Risks classified as unknown unknowns (i.e., those which cannot be identified or evaluated):
a.
b.
c.
d. Should be covered by the contingency reserve and managed by the PM
Should be handled via the management reserve and distributed by the sponsor.
Should be handled as a team effort and included in the project baseline
Should be ignored, since they are not covered in the Project Risk Assessment. ______________________
Extra Credit: 2 pts each
51. In a time and materials contract
a.
if the amount of the contract is exceeded, the seller is not obligated to continue.
b.
the contract is essentially a cost contract at a specified rate.
c.
the seller agrees to a best effort to fulfill the contract within the specified amount.
d.
the seller agrees to fulfill the terms at the established price.
52. Regarding project estimating, which of the following assertions is NOT true?
a. one always estimates as low as possible.
b. one starts with a high estimate & works towards a lower estimate with greater
accuracy.
c. one begins with a rough order of magnitude estimate and ends with a definitive
estimate.
d. even a definitive estimate is high, measuring from 15% above actual to 5% below
actual.
53. As the PM chairing a meeting, you must do all but which of the following:
a.
control irrelevant discussion
b.
negotiate contracts
c.
produce the meeting agenda
d.
determine who does and who does not get invited
