Project Planning and Monitoring Schedule Management & Time Planning 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85 indicate?
- The project is 15% under budget
- The project is 15% ahead of schedule
- The project is behind schedule — only 85% of planned work has been earned (Correct answer)
- The project has consumed 85% of its total float
Correct answer: The project is behind schedule — only 85% of planned work has been earned
SPI = EV ÷ PV; an SPI below 1.0 means the project has earned less value than planned at this point, indicating it is behind schedule.
Question 2: How is Schedule Variance (SV) calculated, and what does a negative result mean?
- SV = Actual Cost − Budget at Completion; negative means over budget
- SV = Earned Value − Planned Value; negative means behind schedule (Correct answer)
- SV = Planned Value − Actual Cost; negative means under budget
- SV = Budget at Completion − Estimate at Completion; negative means cost overrun
Correct answer: SV = Earned Value − Planned Value; negative means behind schedule
SV = EV − PV; a negative schedule variance means the project has accomplished less work than planned at that point in time.
Question 3: What is 'fast tracking' as a schedule compression technique?
- Reducing project scope to meet an earlier deadline
- Performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially (Correct answer)
- Adding more resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration
- Eliminating non-critical activities from the schedule entirely
Correct answer: Performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially
Fast tracking overlaps sequentially planned activities, which can reduce overall project duration but increases risk due to parallel execution.
Question 4: What does 'crashing' a schedule involve?
- The unplanned failure of the schedule due to missed milestones
- Adding resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration, typically at increased cost (Correct answer)
- Removing lower-priority activities from the schedule to save time
- Accepting schedule overruns and reporting them to the sponsor
Correct answer: Adding resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration, typically at increased cost
Crashing compresses the schedule by adding resources (people, equipment, overtime) to critical path tasks, which typically increases cost to buy back time.
Question 5: What defines a project milestone in schedule management?
- A task requiring significant resource allocation and extended effort
- A significant point or event in the project that has zero duration (Correct answer)
- A group of related activities that together form a project phase
- The midpoint of the overall project timeline
Correct answer: A significant point or event in the project that has zero duration
Milestones are significant schedule events (such as phase completions or key deliverable approvals) that have no duration — they mark a point in time, not a period of work.
Question 6: What is rolling wave planning?
- A technique that plans all project activities in full detail at project initiation
- A planning approach where near-term work is planned in detail and future work at a higher level, with detail added progressively (Correct answer)
- A method of updating the schedule baseline after each project phase is closed
- The process of revising the entire schedule baseline on a quarterly basis
Correct answer: A planning approach where near-term work is planned in detail and future work at a higher level, with detail added progressively
Rolling wave planning is an iterative approach that plans imminent work in detail while leaving future work at a summary level, adding detail as more information becomes available.
Question 7: Which corrective action is most appropriate when a project's SPI is 0.78 at the midpoint?
- Immediately reduce project scope without consulting stakeholders
- Analyze the critical path and apply schedule compression techniques such as fast tracking or crashing (Correct answer)
- Request an immediate budget increase to cover additional resources
- Close the current project and re-baseline with an extended end date
Correct answer: Analyze the critical path and apply schedule compression techniques such as fast tracking or crashing
An SPI of 0.78 signals significant schedule slippage; the correct first step is to analyze the critical path and apply appropriate compression techniques to recover the schedule.
Project Planning and Monitoring Schedule Management & Time Planning 2
What does a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85 indicate?