PCC Performance Monitoring & Reporting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a Control Account in an EVM system?
- To serve as a management control point where scope, schedule, and cost are integrated (Correct answer)
- To track individual work package budgets separately from the PMB
- To record actual costs at the project level only
- To document change requests before PMB updates
Correct answer: To serve as a management control point where scope, schedule, and cost are integrated
Control Accounts are the primary management control points where performance is measured by integrating scope, schedule, and cost.
Question 2: Which EVM technique credits earned value when a work package is exactly 50% complete upon start and 100% upon finish?
- 50/50 rule (Correct answer)
- 0/100 rule
- Percent complete
- Units complete
Correct answer: 50/50 rule
The 50/50 rule assigns 50% credit when the task begins and the remaining 50% upon completion.
Question 3: A project report shows EAC = $1,200,000 and BAC = $1,000,000. What is the Variance at Completion (VAC)?
- -$200,000 (Correct answer)
- +$200,000
- $0
- -$1,200,000
Correct answer: -$200,000
VAC = BAC - EAC = $1,000,000 - $1,200,000 = -$200,000, indicating a projected cost overrun.
Question 4: Which reporting frequency is most appropriate for a critical path activity with high schedule risk?
- Weekly or more frequently (Correct answer)
- Monthly
- Quarterly
- Only at major milestones
Correct answer: Weekly or more frequently
High-risk critical path activities require frequent monitoring to enable timely corrective action before variance compounds.
Question 5: What distinguishes a management reserve from contingency reserve in project cost control?
- Management reserve covers unknown unknowns and is not in the PMB; contingency covers known risks (Correct answer)
- Management reserve is included in the PMB; contingency is held outside
- Both are included in the cost baseline and tracked via EVM
- Contingency is for unknown unknowns; management reserve is for scope changes
Correct answer: Management reserve covers unknown unknowns and is not in the PMB; contingency covers known risks
Management reserve is held above the PMB for unforeseen scope, while contingency is in the PMB for identified risks.
Question 6: An Integrated Program Management Report (IPMR) Format 5 provides which type of information?
- Problem analysis including significant variances and corrective actions (Correct answer)
- Staffing resource data by period
- Funding profile and authorization status
- WBS dictionary and technical scope descriptions
Correct answer: Problem analysis including significant variances and corrective actions
IPMR Format 5 (formerly CPR Format 5) focuses on explanations of significant variances and management corrective actions.
Question 7: Which metric directly measures how efficiently the project team is progressing through planned work?
- Schedule Performance Index (SPI) (Correct answer)
- Cost Performance Index (CPI)
- To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI)
- Variance at Completion (VAC)
Correct answer: Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
SPI = EV / PV and measures schedule efficiency by comparing work accomplished to work planned.
PCC Performance Monitoring & Reporting 3
What is the primary purpose of a Control Account in an EVM system?