CPD CPD Resource Management & Team Development 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a resource histogram used for in project management?
- Mapping stakeholder influence
- Displaying resource utilization over time to identify over-allocation or gaps (Correct answer)
- Calculating earned value
- Documenting lessons learned
Correct answer: Displaying resource utilization over time to identify over-allocation or gaps
A resource histogram visually displays resource demand over the project timeline, making it easy to spot periods of over-allocation or underutilization.
Question 2: A project director notices a critical team member is consistently working 60-hour weeks. What is the BEST course of action?
- Continue as-is since the project is on schedule
- Conduct resource leveling to redistribute workload and prevent burnout (Correct answer)
- Replace the team member immediately
- Reduce the project scope unilaterally
Correct answer: Conduct resource leveling to redistribute workload and prevent burnout
Resource leveling adjusts the schedule and assignments to create a more sustainable workload, protecting team health and long-term productivity.
Question 3: Which team development stage, according to Tuckman's model, is characterized by conflict and competition among team members?
- Forming
- Storming (Correct answer)
- Norming
- Performing
Correct answer: Storming
During the Storming stage, team members compete for roles and challenge each other, and the project director must facilitate conflict resolution to move the team forward.
Question 4: What is the primary advantage of using a competency framework when building a project team?
- It reduces project costs automatically
- It ensures team members are selected and developed based on defined skills and behaviors needed for success (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for performance reviews
- It guarantees faster project delivery
Correct answer: It ensures team members are selected and developed based on defined skills and behaviors needed for success
A competency framework defines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviors required, enabling objective selection, development, and performance assessment.
Question 5: A project director is managing a virtual team across three US time zones. What is the MOST effective strategy for team cohesion?
- Require all meetings at the project director's local time
- Establish regular communication rhythms, overlapping hours, and shared collaboration tools (Correct answer)
- Limit communication to email only to avoid scheduling conflicts
- Relocate all team members to one location
Correct answer: Establish regular communication rhythms, overlapping hours, and shared collaboration tools
Structured communication schedules, overlapping work hours, and shared tools build trust and cohesion in geographically distributed teams.
Question 6: What does the term 'resource smoothing' mean in project scheduling?
- Eliminating all resource constraints from the schedule
- Adjusting resource usage within float to prevent exceeding limits without changing the critical path (Correct answer)
- Replacing expensive resources with cheaper ones
- Compressing the project schedule
Correct answer: Adjusting resource usage within float to prevent exceeding limits without changing the critical path
Resource smoothing uses available float to level resource demand without altering the critical path or project end date.
CPD CPD Resource Management & Team Development 1
What is a resource histogram used for in project management?