PMI-SP Schedule Development & Management 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project scheduler identifies a near-critical path with only 2 days of total float. What is the most appropriate action?
- Ignore it as it is not on the critical path
- Monitor it closely as it could become critical if delays occur (Correct answer)
- Add resources immediately to eliminate all float
- Convert its dependencies to mandatory constraints
Correct answer: Monitor it closely as it could become critical if delays occur
Near-critical paths with minimal float pose significant risk of becoming critical and require close monitoring.
Question 2: Which document formally authorizes the project and provides the project manager with authority to apply resources, but does not contain the project schedule?
- Project management plan
- Project charter (Correct answer)
- Scope baseline
- Schedule management plan
Correct answer: Project charter
The project charter formally authorizes the project but the schedule is developed later through the Develop Schedule process.
Question 3: A scheduler compresses a schedule using fast tracking. Which risk is most likely to increase?
- Cost overrun due to additional resources
- Rework risk due to overlapping activities (Correct answer)
- Scope creep from accelerated delivery
- Resource over-allocation across all activities
Correct answer: Rework risk due to overlapping activities
Fast tracking increases rework risk because activities that would normally wait for predecessor outputs are started early.
Question 4: When using parametric estimating for schedule development, durations are calculated by:
- Averaging expert opinions from multiple estimators
- Multiplying a unit rate by the quantity of work (Correct answer)
- Using historical project data to estimate the entire project
- Applying the PERT formula to three-point estimates
Correct answer: Multiplying a unit rate by the quantity of work
Parametric estimating multiplies a statistical relationship (unit rate) by the measured quantity of work to derive duration.
Question 5: Which component of the schedule management plan specifies the level of accuracy required for activity duration estimates?
- Variance thresholds
- Scheduling methodology
- Level of accuracy (Correct answer)
- Rules of performance measurement
Correct answer: Level of accuracy
The level of accuracy component defines the acceptable range used in activity duration estimates, such as ±10%.
Question 6: A project scheduler is reconciling resource demand against resource availability. Resource leveling results in the project end date being extended by 10 days. What should happen next?
- The leveled schedule becomes the new schedule baseline automatically
- The scheduler must evaluate the impact and seek approval for a schedule change (Correct answer)
- The project is terminated due to non-compliance
- The slack of non-critical activities must be redistributed
Correct answer: The scheduler must evaluate the impact and seek approval for a schedule change
Any change that extends the schedule must be evaluated and approved through the integrated change control process before updating the baseline.
Question 7: The critical path method (CPM) assumes that activity durations are:
- Probabilistic and variable
- Fixed and deterministic (Correct answer)
- Based on resource availability
- Derived from historical risk data
Correct answer: Fixed and deterministic
CPM uses single-point, deterministic duration estimates for each activity, unlike PERT which uses probabilistic estimates.
PMI-SP Schedule Development & Management 5
A project scheduler identifies a near-critical path with only 2 days of total float.
What is the most appropriate action?