PMI-SP Time Estimating & Resource Allocation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project manager uses the formula E = (O + 4M + P) / 6 for duration estimates. What estimating technique is being applied?
- Analogous estimating
- Parametric estimating
- Three-point estimating (PERT) (Correct answer)
- Bottom-up estimating
Correct answer: Three-point estimating (PERT)
The PERT formula E = (O + 4M + P) / 6 is the three-point estimating technique using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values.
Question 2: When resources are leveled on a schedule, which of the following is the most common result?
- The project finish date is compressed
- The critical path is eliminated
- The project duration is extended (Correct answer)
- Float is converted to free float
Correct answer: The project duration is extended
Resource leveling resolves over-allocations by delaying tasks, which typically extends the project's overall duration.
Question 3: A scheduler is asked to estimate activity durations for a new software module using historical data from a similar module completed last year. This is best described as:
- Parametric estimating
- Analogous estimating (Correct answer)
- Expert judgment
- Reserve analysis
Correct answer: Analogous estimating
Analogous estimating uses historical information from similar past projects or activities as the basis for the current estimate.
Question 4: Which resource allocation metric indicates how much work a resource has been assigned relative to its availability?
- Resource histogram
- Resource utilization rate (Correct answer)
- Cost performance index
- Schedule variance
Correct answer: Resource utilization rate
Resource utilization rate measures the percentage of a resource's available capacity that has been assigned to project work.
Question 5: During schedule development, a project manager discovers that a critical resource is assigned to two parallel tasks at 100% capacity each. The BEST first action is to:
- Crash the schedule to reduce overlap
- Fast-track the conflicting activities
- Perform resource leveling (Correct answer)
- Add a resource calendar for the resource
Correct answer: Perform resource leveling
Resource leveling is used to resolve over-allocation by adjusting task timing to match resource availability.
Question 6: What is the primary advantage of parametric estimating over analogous estimating?
- It requires no historical data
- It produces more accurate estimates when the relationship between variables is well-defined (Correct answer)
- It is faster to perform
- It eliminates the need for expert judgment
Correct answer: It produces more accurate estimates when the relationship between variables is well-defined
Parametric estimating uses a statistical relationship between historical data and variables to produce more accurate estimates when that relationship is valid.
Question 7: A resource calendar in a project schedule is used primarily to:
- Track actual hours worked by resources
- Define when a resource is available to perform project work (Correct answer)
- Calculate the cost of resource overtime
- Identify the critical path based on resource constraints
Correct answer: Define when a resource is available to perform project work
Resource calendars document the working days, shifts, holidays, and availability of specific resources for scheduling purposes.
PMI-SP Time Estimating & Resource Allocation 2
A project manager uses the formula E = (O + 4M + P) / 6 for duration estimates.
What estimating technique is being applied?