RPLS Project Planning and Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A surveying firm uses a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for project planning. The PRIMARY purpose of a WBS is to:
- Assign blame when errors occur
- Decompose the project into manageable tasks and deliverables (Correct answer)
- Determine employee vacation schedules
- List equipment serial numbers
Correct answer: Decompose the project into manageable tasks and deliverables
A WBS hierarchically decomposes the total scope of work into smaller, manageable components to facilitate planning, scheduling, and cost estimation.
Question 2: A client requests a change to add a drainage easement survey after the original contract is signed. The proper procedure is to:
- Absorb the extra work into the existing contract as a courtesy
- Execute a written change order before performing the additional work (Correct answer)
- Complete the project then bill for extras without prior notice
- Decline to do any additional work under any circumstances
Correct answer: Execute a written change order before performing the additional work
A written change order documents scope additions, adjusted fees, and schedule impacts before extra work begins, protecting both parties.
Question 3: Quality control (QC) in survey project management PRIMARILY involves:
- Marketing the firm's services to new clients
- Reviewing data and deliverables against project standards before submission (Correct answer)
- Ordering supplies and equipment
- Scheduling employee performance reviews
Correct answer: Reviewing data and deliverables against project standards before submission
QC ensures that fieldwork, computations, and deliverables meet the specified accuracy standards and client requirements before final delivery.
Question 4: When developing a fee proposal for a boundary survey, a surveyor should PRIMARILY base the estimate on:
- What the client claims to be a fair price
- Historical production rates, anticipated complexity, and required deliverables (Correct answer)
- The fee charged by the cheapest competitor
- A flat rate applied to all boundary surveys regardless of conditions
Correct answer: Historical production rates, anticipated complexity, and required deliverables
Accurate fee proposals rely on analyzing project-specific complexity, past production data, and all required deliverables to ensure profitability.
Question 5: Which scheduling technique is BEST suited for identifying dependencies between survey project tasks?
- Gantt chart with no dependency lines
- Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) / network diagram (Correct answer)
- Random task assignment
- Alphabetical task listing
Correct answer: Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) / network diagram
PDM network diagrams explicitly show task relationships (finish-to-start, start-to-start, etc.) and dependencies, enabling critical path analysis.
Question 6: A land surveyor discovers during fieldwork that actual conditions differ significantly from the scope assumed in the proposal. The CORRECT action is to:
- Continue work silently and hope the client does not notice cost overruns
- Stop work immediately and walk off the project without notice
- Notify the client promptly, document changed conditions, and negotiate a scope adjustment (Correct answer)
- Falsify field notes to match original assumptions
Correct answer: Notify the client promptly, document changed conditions, and negotiate a scope adjustment
Prompt written notification and documented changed conditions allow for transparent renegotiation, maintaining professional and contractual integrity.
Question 7: In project management, a 'milestone' on a survey project schedule represents:
- A physical monument set in the field
- A significant event or completion point with zero duration (Correct answer)
- A daily production quota for field crews
- The midpoint of a traverse leg
Correct answer: A significant event or completion point with zero duration
In scheduling, a milestone is a zero-duration event marking a key project achievement, such as completion of field data collection or delivery of a draft plat.
RPLS Project Planning and Management 3
A surveying firm uses a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for project planning.
The PRIMARY purpose of a WBS is to: