DPO Project Planning & Scheduling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a project network diagram, which path determines the minimum project duration?
- The longest path through all activities (Correct answer)
- The path with the most activities
- The shortest path from start to finish
- The path with the highest resource requirements
Correct answer: The longest path through all activities
The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent activities and sets the earliest possible project completion date.
Question 2: What does 'total float' represent in network scheduling?
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any successor
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date (Correct answer)
- The difference between planned and actual durations
- The buffer added to the critical path
Correct answer: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date
Total float is the maximum time an activity can be delayed without pushing the overall project finish date.
Question 3: A Finish-to-Start (FS) dependency with a lag of 3 days means:
- Activity B can start 3 days before Activity A finishes
- Activity B cannot start until 3 days after Activity A finishes (Correct answer)
- Activity A must finish within 3 days of Activity B starting
- Both activities overlap by 3 days
Correct answer: Activity B cannot start until 3 days after Activity A finishes
A positive lag on an FS relationship adds a mandatory waiting period between the predecessor finishing and the successor starting.
Question 4: During DP project planning, a vessel mobilization activity has Early Start day 5 and Late Start day 9. What is its total float?
- 14 days
- 9 days
- 4 days (Correct answer)
- 5 days
Correct answer: 4 days
Total float equals Late Start minus Early Start (or Late Finish minus Early Finish), so 9 − 5 = 4 days.
Question 5: Which dependency type allows a successor activity to begin before its predecessor is complete?
- Finish-to-Finish (FF)
- Start-to-Start (SS)
- Finish-to-Start (FS) with negative lag (lead) (Correct answer)
- Start-to-Finish (SF)
Correct answer: Finish-to-Start (FS) with negative lag (lead)
A negative lag (lead) on an FS relationship allows the successor to start before the predecessor finishes, effectively overlapping activities.
Question 6: In Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM), activities are represented by:
- Arrows connecting event nodes
- Boxes (nodes) with arrows showing dependencies (Correct answer)
- Milestone diamonds only
- Horizontal bars on a timeline
Correct answer: Boxes (nodes) with arrows showing dependencies
PDM (Activity-on-Node) places each activity in a node/box, with arrows between nodes indicating dependency relationships.
Question 7: Free float differs from total float in that free float measures how long an activity can be delayed without affecting:
- The project end date
- Any predecessor activity
- The early start of any immediate successor (Correct answer)
- Management reserve
Correct answer: The early start of any immediate successor
Free float is the delay an activity can absorb without pushing back the earliest start of any of its direct successors.
DPO Project Planning & Scheduling 2
In a project network diagram, which path determines the minimum project duration?