Project Initiation & Planning Flashcards

Which technique is used to IDENTIFY risks by examining assumptions made during project planning?

Answer: Assumption and constraint analysis

Assumption and constraint analysis tests the validity and stability of planning assumptions to surface potential risks if they prove false.

The project sponsor asks why a project manager is spending time creating a stakeholder register during initiation. The BEST response is:

Answer: It identifies who can impact the project and how to engage them effectively

The stakeholder register captures stakeholder interests, involvement, and influence so the PM can plan appropriate engagement strategies.

A project manager uses analogous estimating for the project schedule. This technique relies on:

Answer: Expert judgment and historical project data

Analogous estimating uses actual duration or cost data from previous similar projects combined with expert judgment.

What is the critical path in a project network diagram?

Answer: The longest path through the network that determines project duration

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities, and any delay on it directly delays the project end date.

During project planning, team members consistently provide optimistic time estimates. What technique helps correct this bias?

Answer: Three-point estimating (PERT)

PERT uses optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates to calculate a weighted average, balancing out systematic optimism bias.

A project charter has been signed. What is the NEXT logical step?

Answer: Develop the project management plan

After charter approval, the project moves into planning where the project management plan and all subsidiary plans are developed.

Which output of the planning process group serves as the baseline for measuring cost performance?

Answer: Cost baseline

The cost baseline is the approved, time-phased budget used to compare against actual costs and measure cost performance variances.