Project Management Project Scheduling and Costing 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project's To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) is 1.15. What does this mean?
- The project needs to spend $1.15 for every $1 of remaining work
- The project must perform at $1.15 worth of work for every $1 remaining in the budget (Correct answer)
- The project is 15% ahead of schedule
- The project has 15% of its budget remaining
Correct answer: The project must perform at $1.15 worth of work for every $1 remaining in the budget
TCPI > 1.0 indicates the project must improve efficiency to complete within budget, spending remaining budget more productively than planned.
Question 2: What is a milestone in project scheduling?
- A task with the longest duration on the critical path
- A significant point or event in the project with zero duration (Correct answer)
- A summary task that groups related activities
- A buffer added between critical tasks
Correct answer: A significant point or event in the project with zero duration
A milestone marks a significant project event or decision point and has no duration — it is a moment in time, not a task.
Question 3: Resource leveling is used to:
- Reduce project costs by cutting team size
- Adjust the schedule to resolve resource over-allocation, often extending the project duration (Correct answer)
- Standardize resource rates across the project
- Balance the project budget across fiscal quarters
Correct answer: Adjust the schedule to resolve resource over-allocation, often extending the project duration
Resource leveling adjusts activity dates to address resource constraints or over-allocation, often resulting in a longer schedule.
Question 4: Which document formally authorizes expenditure of project funds and serves as the approved budget for cost control?
- Project charter
- Cost management plan
- Cost performance baseline (Correct answer)
- Budget at Completion
Correct answer: Cost performance baseline
The cost performance baseline is the approved, time-phased budget used to measure and monitor project cost performance.
Question 5: In schedule network analysis, what is the 'near-critical path'?
- The second-longest path through the network with very little float (Correct answer)
- The path with the most activities
- The path identified by the critical chain method
- Any path involving external dependencies
Correct answer: The second-longest path through the network with very little float
The near-critical path has very little total float and can become critical if any of its activities are delayed, making it important to monitor.
Question 6: What does 'parametric estimating' involve?
- Estimating based on the most recent similar project
- Using statistical relationships between historical data and project parameters to calculate estimates (Correct answer)
- Summing detailed estimates from the bottom of the WBS
- Asking expert team members for their best guesses
Correct answer: Using statistical relationships between historical data and project parameters to calculate estimates
Parametric estimating uses statistical or mathematical models (e.g., cost per square foot, hours per line of code) to calculate estimates.
Question 7: A Finish-to-Finish (FF) dependency with a lag of 2 days means:
- The successor must start 2 days after the predecessor finishes
- The successor cannot finish until 2 days after the predecessor finishes (Correct answer)
- The successor must start 2 days before the predecessor finishes
- The successor must finish 2 days before the predecessor finishes
Correct answer: The successor cannot finish until 2 days after the predecessor finishes
FF with a 2-day lag means the successor activity must wait until 2 days after the predecessor finishes before it can complete.
Project Management Project Scheduling and Costing 4
A project's To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) is 1.15.
What does this mean?