CST Scheduling Fundamentals & Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which scheduling technique calculates the latest allowable start and finish times for each activity without delaying the project?
- Forward pass
- Backward pass (Correct answer)
- Resource leveling
- Monte Carlo simulation
Correct answer: Backward pass
The backward pass computes Late Start (LS) and Late Finish (LF) by working from the project end date back to the start.
Question 2: A project has a Planned Value (PV) of $50,000 and an Earned Value (EV) of $40,000. What is the Schedule Variance (SV)?
- $10,000
- -$10,000 (Correct answer)
- $90,000
- -$90,000
Correct answer: -$10,000
SV = EV - PV = $40,000 - $50,000 = -$10,000, indicating the project is behind schedule.
Question 3: What does a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) value of 0.85 indicate?
- The project is 15% ahead of schedule
- The project is earning $0.85 for every $1.00 of planned work (Correct answer)
- The project has 85% float remaining
- The project has a cost overrun of 15%
Correct answer: The project is earning $0.85 for every $1.00 of planned work
SPI = EV/PV, so 0.85 means only $0.85 of work is being accomplished for every $1.00 of work that was planned.
Question 4: Which network diagramming method uses nodes to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies?
- Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
- Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) (Correct answer)
- Gantt chart
- PERT chart
Correct answer: Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
PDM (also called Activity-on-Node) places activities in boxes/nodes and uses arrows solely to represent logical relationships.
Question 5: The technique of shortening the project schedule by overlapping activities that would normally be performed sequentially is called:
- Crashing
- Fast-tracking (Correct answer)
- Resource smoothing
- Schedule compression
Correct answer: Fast-tracking
Fast-tracking overlaps sequential activities in parallel, accepting increased risk, while crashing adds resources to critical path activities.
Question 6: Which type of dependency represents a required, contractual, or physical limitation between activities?
- Discretionary dependency
- External dependency
- Mandatory dependency (Correct answer)
- Internal dependency
Correct answer: Mandatory dependency
Mandatory dependencies (hard logic) are inherent in the nature of the work or required by contract and cannot be changed.
Question 7: A Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship with a lag of +5 days means:
- Successor starts 5 days before predecessor finishes
- Successor cannot start until 5 days after predecessor finishes (Correct answer)
- Predecessor must finish 5 days early
- Successor has 5 days of total float
Correct answer: Successor cannot start until 5 days after predecessor finishes
A positive lag on an FS relationship delays the start of the successor by the specified number of days after the predecessor finishes.
CST Scheduling Fundamentals & Techniques 2
Which scheduling technique calculates the latest allowable start and finish times for each activity without delaying the project?