Project Management Critical Path Method 4

Question 1

In which industry was the Critical Path Method (CPM) originally developed in the late 1950s?

Accepted Answer

Construction and chemical manufacturing

Answer

CPM was developed jointly by DuPont and Remington Rand in 1957 for managing chemical plant maintenance and construction projects.

Question 2

A project activity has ES=5, EF=12, LS=8, LF=15. What is the activity's total float and duration?

Accepted Answer

Float=3, Duration=7

Answer

Duration = EF - ES = 12 - 5 = 7 days; Total Float = LS - ES = 8 - 5 = 3 days (or LF - EF = 15 - 12 = 3 days).

Question 3

When performing schedule compression using 'crashing,' a project manager should first target activities that:

Accepted Answer

Are on the critical path with the lowest cost slope (cheapest to crash)

Answer

Crashing should prioritize critical path activities with the lowest cost-per-unit-of-time-saved (cost slope) to minimize the additional cost of compression.

Question 4

What is the 'near-critical path' in CPM scheduling?

Accepted Answer

A path with very little total float that could easily become critical if delays occur

Answer

Near-critical paths have minimal total float and pose significant schedule risk because small delays can turn them into the critical path.

Question 5

In CPM, what does it mean when two activities are said to have a 'Finish-to-Finish (FF)' dependency with a lag of 3 days?

Accepted Answer

Activity B cannot finish until 3 days after Activity A finishes

Answer

An FF+3 dependency means the successor activity's finish must be at least 3 days after the predecessor's finish.

Project Management Practice Test

Project Management Practice Test

Project Management Critical Path Method 4