CAPM Project Scheduling & Critical Path 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which type of dependency is defined by contract requirements or the nature of the work and cannot be changed?
- Discretionary dependency
- External dependency
- Mandatory dependency (Correct answer)
- Internal dependency
Correct answer: Mandatory dependency
Mandatory dependencies (hard logic) are inherent in the nature of the work or legally required and cannot be altered by the project team.
Question 2: A project schedule shows that Activity X has free float of 4 days. What does this mean?
- Activity X can be delayed 4 days without delaying the project end date
- Activity X can be delayed 4 days without delaying the early start of any successor (Correct answer)
- Activity X requires 4 additional days of resources
- Activity X is 4 days behind schedule
Correct answer: Activity X can be delayed 4 days without delaying the early start of any successor
Free float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the early start of its immediate successor activities.
Question 3: Resource leveling is applied to a project schedule. What is the most likely result?
- The project duration is shortened
- Resource conflicts are resolved but the project duration may increase (Correct answer)
- The critical path changes to a shorter path
- All activities gain additional float
Correct answer: Resource conflicts are resolved but the project duration may increase
Resource leveling resolves over-allocation by delaying activities until resources are available, which often extends the overall project duration.
Question 4: Which schedule compression technique involves adding resources, such as overtime or additional personnel, to critical path activities?
- Fast tracking
- Resource leveling
- Crashing (Correct answer)
- Schedule smoothing
Correct answer: Crashing
Crashing adds resources (people, equipment, overtime) to shorten activity durations on the critical path, typically at increased cost.
Question 5: What is a milestone in a project schedule?
- An activity with the longest duration
- A significant point or event in the project with zero duration (Correct answer)
- The start of a new project phase requiring approval
- A mandatory dependency between two activities
Correct answer: A significant point or event in the project with zero duration
A milestone is a significant event or decision point in the schedule that has zero duration and is used to track major achievements.
Question 6: On a project network, an activity has an Early Finish of day 20 but a Late Finish of day 20. What can be concluded?
- The activity has 20 days of float
- The activity is on the critical path with zero float (Correct answer)
- The activity is behind schedule
- The activity can be delayed by 20 days
Correct answer: The activity is on the critical path with zero float
When Early Finish equals Late Finish (and Early Start equals Late Start), float is zero, meaning the activity is on the critical path.
Question 7: Which process in PMBOK is responsible for finalizing the activity sequences, durations, and resource requirements to create the schedule model?
- Define Activities
- Sequence Activities
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Develop Schedule (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Develop Schedule
Develop Schedule integrates all sequencing, duration estimates, and resource information to produce the project schedule model and schedule baseline.
CAPM Project Scheduling & Critical Path 4
Which type of dependency is defined by contract requirements or the nature of the work and cannot be changed?