CST Milestone & Constraint Management 2

Question 1

A project manager wants to mark a contractual delivery date in the schedule without adding duration. Which activity type is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Milestone

Answer

A milestone is a zero-duration activity used to mark significant events or contractual dates in the schedule.

Question 2

Which constraint type forces a task to start on a specific date regardless of its predecessors' finish dates?

Accepted Answer

Must Start On (MSO)

Answer

Must Start On (MSO) is a hard constraint that locks the task start to an exact calendar date, overriding logic-driven dates.

Question 3

In a CPM network, which milestone serves as the official beginning reference point for all downstream logic?

Accepted Answer

Project start milestone

Answer

The project start milestone anchors the network and serves as the source node from which all forward-pass calculations begin.

Question 4

A CST candidate reviews a schedule where a milestone has a Total Float of -5 days. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The milestone is behind schedule by 5 days relative to its target

Answer

Negative total float on a milestone means it is currently projected to occur 5 days later than its constrained or target date.

Question 5

What is the primary risk of overusing hard constraints (MSO, MFO) throughout a schedule?

Accepted Answer

Logic-driven date calculations are suppressed, hiding real delays

Answer

Excessive hard constraints prevent the CPM algorithm from propagating actual delays through the network, masking true schedule risk.

(CST) Certified Scheduling Technician Practice Test