CPP Project Planning & Scheduling 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project manager identifies that the project schedule has a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85. What does this indicate?
- The project is 15% ahead of schedule
- The project is accomplishing only 85 cents of planned work for every dollar scheduled (Correct answer)
- The project has overspent by 15%
- The project will finish 15% early
Correct answer: The project is accomplishing only 85 cents of planned work for every dollar scheduled
An SPI of 0.85 means the project is behind schedule, earning only $0.85 of planned value for every $1.00 of scheduled work.
Question 2: Which scheduling technique compresses the project schedule by performing activities in parallel that would normally be done sequentially?
- Crashing
- Fast-tracking (Correct answer)
- Resource leveling
- Schedule compression via scope reduction
Correct answer: Fast-tracking
Fast-tracking overlaps activities that were planned sequentially, which can reduce schedule duration but increases risk and may require rework.
Question 3: The Rolling Wave Planning technique is best described as:
- Planning all project activities in detail at project initiation
- Elaborating near-term work in detail while future work is planned at a higher level (Correct answer)
- Updating the schedule only when changes are formally approved
- Planning each wave of a phased project independently without reference to prior phases
Correct answer: Elaborating near-term work in detail while future work is planned at a higher level
Rolling wave planning is an iterative approach where near-term activities are planned in detail and future activities are progressively elaborated as more information becomes available.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a milestone list in project scheduling?
- To document all WBS work packages and their owners
- To identify significant events or decision points that mark key achievements or deliverables (Correct answer)
- To list all project resources and their availability calendars
- To record lessons learned at the end of each project phase
Correct answer: To identify significant events or decision points that mark key achievements or deliverables
A milestone list identifies significant points or events in the project schedule, often used for stakeholder reporting and governance checkpoints.
Question 5: Which input to the Develop Schedule process provides information about the working hours, holidays, and resource availability for scheduling purposes?
- Activity list
- Project calendars (Correct answer)
- Scope baseline
- Risk register
Correct answer: Project calendars
Project calendars define working days and shifts available for scheduled activities, directly influencing when activities can be performed.
Question 6: In schedule network analysis, a 'near-critical path' is significant because:
- It has the most float and represents the safest path through the project
- It has little float and could become the critical path if activities are delayed (Correct answer)
- It is always the longest path when resource constraints are applied
- It represents the path with the highest risk-adjusted duration
Correct answer: It has little float and could become the critical path if activities are delayed
Near-critical paths have minimal float, meaning small delays on those paths could make them critical and jeopardize the project end date.
Question 7: Which technique adds time buffers to a project schedule to manage uncertainty, placing a single project buffer at the end rather than padding individual activities?
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
- Critical Chain Method (CCM) (Correct answer)
- Monte Carlo simulation
- Schedule reserve analysis
Correct answer: Critical Chain Method (CCM)
Critical Chain Method protects the project end date by removing individual activity padding and consolidating it into a single project buffer at the end of the chain.
CPP Project Planning & Scheduling 3
A project manager identifies that the project schedule has a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85.
What does this indicate?