PMI-SP Schedule Development & Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project scheduler uses resource leveling on a project with a fixed end date. What is the most likely outcome?
- The project end date is extended beyond the constraint
- Resource peaks are smoothed without changing the end date
- Resource usage is optimized while the end date may slip (Correct answer)
- Activities are split to stay within the fixed deadline
Correct answer: Resource usage is optimized while the end date may slip
Resource leveling may extend the project schedule or change the end date to resolve resource over-allocations.
Question 2: Which output of the Develop Schedule process provides the start and finish dates for project activities?
- Schedule baseline
- Project schedule (Correct answer)
- Schedule management plan
- Activity list
Correct answer: Project schedule
The project schedule is the output that contains planned start and finish dates for all activities.
Question 3: A scheduler identifies that two activities on the critical path have a total float of zero. A third activity has total float of +3 days. What does this indicate?
- The third activity is also on the critical path
- The third activity can be delayed up to 3 days without delaying the project (Correct answer)
- The third activity has 3 days of free float
- The critical path has a 3-day buffer
Correct answer: The third activity can be delayed up to 3 days without delaying the project
Total float of +3 days means the activity can be delayed up to 3 days without delaying the project end date.
Question 4: When applying the critical chain method, buffers are placed at which locations?
- Before each critical path activity
- At the end of the project and at feeding chain junctions (Correct answer)
- After each milestone
- Distributed evenly across all activity durations
Correct answer: At the end of the project and at feeding chain junctions
Critical chain method uses a project buffer at the end and feeding buffers where non-critical chains merge into the critical chain.
Question 5: A PMI-SP candidate reviews a schedule and notices the early finish of an activity is later than its late finish. This means the activity has:
- Positive total float
- Free float
- Negative total float (Correct answer)
- Zero float
Correct answer: Negative total float
When early finish exceeds late finish, total float is negative, indicating the activity is behind schedule.
Question 6: Which technique compresses the schedule by adding resources to activities on the critical path?
- Fast tracking
- Resource smoothing
- Crashing (Correct answer)
- Schedule compression
Correct answer: Crashing
Crashing adds resources to critical path activities to shorten durations, typically increasing cost.
Question 7: During schedule development, a project manager discovers that two activities with a Finish-to-Start dependency have a lag of 5 days. This means:
- The successor can start 5 days before the predecessor finishes
- The successor must wait 5 days after the predecessor finishes before starting (Correct answer)
- Both activities must overlap by 5 days
- The predecessor has 5 days of free float
Correct answer: The successor must wait 5 days after the predecessor finishes before starting
A lag in a Finish-to-Start relationship means the successor cannot start until a specified time after the predecessor finishes.
PMI-SP Schedule Development & Management 2
A project scheduler uses resource leveling on a project with a fixed end date.
What is the most likely outcome?