CRS Research Project Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A research project manager notices that actual costs are running 20% over budget at the halfway point. What metric should be calculated first?
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- Cost Variance (CV) and Cost Performance Index (CPI) (Correct answer)
- Net Present Value (NPV)
- Break-even point
Correct answer: Cost Variance (CV) and Cost Performance Index (CPI)
Cost Variance and CPI from Earned Value Management directly quantify how much the project is over budget relative to work completed.
Question 2: Which stakeholder register element is most important for determining how to communicate research findings to external funders?
- Stakeholder identification number
- Communication requirements and preferred format (Correct answer)
- Organizational chart position
- Conflict of interest disclosure
Correct answer: Communication requirements and preferred format
Communication requirements and preferred formats guide how to tailor research outputs for each stakeholder group.
Question 3: In a multi-phase research project, what is the primary function of a phase gate (stage gate) review?
- To provide team members with performance bonuses
- To formally assess whether criteria are met before proceeding to the next phase (Correct answer)
- To archive completed documents in the research repository
- To renegotiate the contract with the research sponsor
Correct answer: To formally assess whether criteria are met before proceeding to the next phase
Phase gate reviews are decision points where project leadership evaluates readiness to proceed, modify, or terminate a project phase.
Question 4: Which conflict resolution approach is MOST appropriate when a research team has a disagreement that requires a quick decision to meet an IRB deadline?
- Smoothing (accommodating)
- Forcing (directing) (Correct answer)
- Collaborating (problem-solving)
- Avoiding
Correct answer: Forcing (directing)
Forcing is appropriate when a decision must be made quickly and timeliness outweighs the benefit of full consensus.
Question 5: A research project is described as having high complexity and low clarity of objectives. Which leadership style is MOST effective in this context?
- Delegating — give the team full autonomy
- Directing — provide clear step-by-step instructions
- Coaching — guide team while building consensus on goals (Correct answer)
- Laissez-faire — let problems resolve naturally
Correct answer: Coaching — guide team while building consensus on goals
Coaching combines guidance with collaborative goal-setting, which is most effective when objectives are unclear and complexity is high.
Question 6: When closing a research project, which activity ensures organizational learning is captured for future projects?
- Releasing team members to other projects
- Conducting a lessons-learned session and updating the knowledge base (Correct answer)
- Archiving raw data in cold storage
- Submitting the final invoice to the sponsor
Correct answer: Conducting a lessons-learned session and updating the knowledge base
Lessons-learned sessions identify what worked and what did not, creating reusable knowledge for future research projects.
Question 7: A researcher wants to track whether field data collection is on schedule across multiple sites. Which tool provides the clearest visual comparison of planned vs. actual progress?
- Fishbone diagram
- Gantt chart with baseline tracking (Correct answer)
- Pareto chart
- Affinity diagram
Correct answer: Gantt chart with baseline tracking
A Gantt chart with a baseline overlay visually displays planned versus actual task completion across time.
CRS Research Project Management 3
A research project manager notices that actual costs are running 20% over budget at the halfway point.
What metric should be calculated first?