Project Planning & Execution Flashcards

During project execution, a team member raises a concern that a deliverable does not meet the specified requirements. The project manager should first:

Answer: Review the quality standards and verify the requirements against the deliverable

The project manager should verify the issue by comparing the deliverable to documented requirements before taking escalation or corrective action.

Which scheduling tool visually shows tasks as horizontal bars across a timeline, making it easy to see task duration and overlap?

Answer: Gantt chart

A Gantt chart uses horizontal bars on a calendar timeline to represent each task's duration and its position relative to other tasks.

In the context of project risk management, a 'risk response strategy' of acceptance means:

Answer: Acknowledging the risk and deciding not to change the plan to address it

Risk acceptance means the project team acknowledges the risk exists but chooses not to act proactively, often because the cost of response outweighs the impact.

A project team is in the 'Norming' stage of Tuckman's model. This means the team is:

Answer: Resolving differences and beginning to work cohesively

In the Norming stage, team members resolve interpersonal differences, establish norms, and begin collaborating more effectively.

To Estimate at Completion (EAC) using actual performance trends, a project manager would calculate:

Answer: BAC / CPI

EAC = BAC / CPI uses the current cost performance index to forecast the total cost if current spending efficiency continues.

Which communication model component refers to anything that interferes with the transmission or understanding of a message?

Answer: Noise

Noise includes any distortion, distraction, or interference—physical or psychological—that reduces the clarity of a communicated message.

A project manager applies 'crashing' to compress the project schedule. The primary trade-off of this technique is:

Answer: Increased project cost

Crashing adds resources (people, equipment) to shorten critical path activities, which compresses the schedule but increases costs.