CEP Project Management & Scheduling 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a Schedule Baseline in project management?
- To list all project risks
- To serve as the approved version of the schedule for measuring performance (Correct answer)
- To identify resource conflicts
- To document cost estimates for each activity
Correct answer: To serve as the approved version of the schedule for measuring performance
The schedule baseline is the approved project schedule used as the reference point against which actual performance is measured and reported.
Question 2: In Earned Value Management, the formula for Estimate at Completion (EAC) when the original estimate is no longer valid is:
- BAC / CPI (Correct answer)
- AC + ETC
- EV − AC
- PV × SPI
Correct answer: BAC / CPI
When the original budget is unreliable, EAC = BAC / CPI, assuming future performance will continue at the current cost efficiency rate.
Question 3: A three-point estimate uses optimistic (O), most likely (M), and pessimistic (P) durations. What is the PERT formula for expected duration?
- (O + M + P) / 3
- (O + 4M + P) / 6 (Correct answer)
- (O + 2M + P) / 4
- (O + 3M + P) / 5
Correct answer: (O + 4M + P) / 6
The PERT weighted average formula is (O + 4M + P) / 6, which weights the most likely estimate four times more than the optimistic or pessimistic values.
Question 4: Which scheduling method links activities using arrows to represent relationships and nodes to represent events, making it an activity-on-arrow network?
- Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
- Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) (Correct answer)
- Graphical Evaluation Review Technique (GERT)
- Critical Chain Method
Correct answer: Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
The Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) uses arrows for activities and nodes for events, representing only Finish-to-Start dependencies.
Question 5: In Critical Chain Project Management, buffers are added primarily to protect:
- Each individual task duration
- The project completion date and feeding paths (Correct answer)
- The project budget
- Resource assignments
Correct answer: The project completion date and feeding paths
Critical Chain uses project buffers at the end and feeding buffers where non-critical chains feed the critical chain, protecting overall delivery.
Question 6: Which metric represents the efficiency of the remaining project work and is calculated as (BAC − EV) / (BAC − AC)?
- Cost Performance Index (CPI)
- To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) (Correct answer)
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
- Variance at Completion (VAC)
Correct answer: To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
TCPI measures the cost efficiency needed for remaining work to meet the BAC, calculated as remaining work divided by remaining budget.
Question 7: When a project schedule is developed using Monte Carlo simulation, the output is best described as:
- A single deterministic completion date
- A probability distribution of possible completion dates (Correct answer)
- A resource-leveled Gantt chart
- A ranked list of schedule risks
Correct answer: A probability distribution of possible completion dates
Monte Carlo simulation runs thousands of iterations using variable activity durations to produce a range of possible project outcomes with associated probabilities.
CEP Project Management & Scheduling 3
What is the primary purpose of a Schedule Baseline in project management?