Project Management Project Scheduling and Costing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project manager calculates the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) as 0.85. What does this indicate?
- The project is 15% under budget
- The project is behind schedule (Correct answer)
- The project is ahead of schedule
- The project has a 15% cost overrun
Correct answer: The project is behind schedule
An SPI less than 1.0 means the project is behind schedule, as less work was accomplished than planned.
Question 2: Which scheduling technique accounts for uncertainty by using optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely duration estimates?
- Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) (Correct answer)
- Gantt chart
- Resource leveling
Correct answer: Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
PERT uses three-point estimates (optimistic, pessimistic, most likely) to calculate expected durations and account for uncertainty.
Question 3: What is the purpose of a baseline in project cost management?
- To set the minimum acceptable quality level
- To define the approved version of the project budget used for comparison (Correct answer)
- To identify the lowest-cost vendors
- To establish the team's minimum performance standards
Correct answer: To define the approved version of the project budget used for comparison
The cost baseline is the approved time-phased budget against which actual project costs are compared and monitored.
Question 4: Fast-tracking a project schedule means:
- Reducing project scope to meet the deadline
- Adding more resources to critical path activities
- Performing critical path activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially (Correct answer)
- Using automated tools to speed up scheduling calculations
Correct answer: Performing critical path activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially
Fast-tracking overlaps activities that would normally be done sequentially, which compresses the schedule but may increase risk.
Question 5: A project has a Budget at Completion (BAC) of $200,000, Earned Value (EV) of $80,000, and Actual Cost (AC) of $100,000. What is the Cost Variance (CV)?
- -$20,000 (Correct answer)
- $20,000
- -$120,000
- $120,000
Correct answer: -$20,000
CV = EV – AC = $80,000 – $100,000 = –$20,000, indicating the project is over budget.
Question 6: Which type of dependency exists when one activity cannot start until another activity has started?
- Finish-to-Start (FS)
- Start-to-Start (SS) (Correct answer)
- Finish-to-Finish (FF)
- Start-to-Finish (SF)
Correct answer: Start-to-Start (SS)
A Start-to-Start dependency means the successor activity cannot begin until the predecessor activity has begun.
Question 7: What does the term 'float' (or slack) represent in project scheduling?
- The total project budget reserve
- The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish (Correct answer)
- The buffer added to estimates to account for uncertainty
- The difference between planned and actual costs
Correct answer: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish
Float is the amount of time a schedule activity can be delayed without impacting the project's critical path or end date.
Project Management Project Scheduling and Costing 2
A project manager calculates the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) as 0.85.
What does this indicate?