Project Planning and Monitoring Schedule Management & Time Planning 2

Question 1

What does a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85 indicate?

Accepted Answer

The project is behind schedule — only 85% of planned work has been earned

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

SV = Earned Value − Planned Value; negative means behind schedule

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Adding resources to critical path activities to shorten their duration, typically at increased cost

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

A significant point or event in the project that has zero duration

Answer

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.

Project Planning and Monitoring Practice Test

Project Planning and Monitoring Practice Test

Project Planning and Monitoring Schedule Management & Time Planning 2