Mary is the project manager for her organization. She is working with the project team to define the project activities. She is concerned about some of the dependencies of the project work, which may affect the project schedule. Which one of the following is the best example of a project constraint that will likely affect the project's ability to finish by a given deadline?

Correct Answer:C
Of all the constraints listed only this is an external dependency, which can directly affect the project manager's control over the project work. If the BGH company is late delivering
the software portion of the project, it will likely have an effect on the project's ability to complete the project on time.
Answer option B is incorrect. While regulations may affect the project timing, this is not the best choice.
Answer option D is incorrect. The $1,250,000 is an example of cost constraint.
Answer option A is incorrect. This is only constraint if the project team members are not available, or do not have the required skills to complete the project work.

Jeff is the project manager of the GHY Project for his organization. He has created the project network diagram as shown in the figure:

Management is reviewing the network diagram, and they are concerned about the latest date that Activity I can finish. What is the latest day Activity I can finish without affecting the project end date?

Correct Answer:B
Activity I must finish by Day 22, so that Activity J can start by Day 23. If Activity I finishes later than Day 22, the project will be late.
Answer option D is incorrect. Day 19 is the earliest Activity I can finish. Answer option A is incorrect. Day 20 is the latest Activity I can start. Answer option C is incorrect. Day 17 is the earliest Activity I can start.

Maurice is the project manager of the NHQ Project and his project team has just finished the project activities. The quality control team reports that the project deliverables are perfect. The only thing left to in the project is to verify scope. This process will be performed by the project stakeholders. Maurice is required to submit a final project report and report on the project performance. Maurice's project had a budget of $234,000 but the project spent $245,000. In the final report management wants to know the project's cost performance index (CPI). What value should Maurice report?

Correct Answer:B
Cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula: CPI = Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC) If the CPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The CPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. In this instance, the earned value is $234,000 as the project work is 100 percent. The actual costs are $245,000.
Answer option D is incorrect. This is the schedule performance index value. Answer option A is incorrect. This is the variance at completion for the project. Answer option C is incorrect. There is enough information to find the answer.

You are the project manager of the NHQ project. Your project has a budget of $1,258,456 and is scheduled to last for three years. Your project is currently forty percent complete though it should be forty-five percent complete. In order to reach this point of the project, you have spent $525,000. Management needs a performance report regarding the NHQ project. What is the planned value for this project?

Correct Answer:A
The planned value is the percent complete that the project should have done. In this instance, it is: Planned value = 45% of $1,258,456 =$566,305
Answer option B is incorrect. This is the project budget.
Answer option D is incorrect. $503,382 is the earned value for this project.
Answer option C is incorrect. -$54,044 is the variance at completion for your project.

You are working with your project team to identify the project activities within your project. Which of the following is NOT a tool and technique that will be useful in defining the project activities?

Correct Answer:C
The precedence diagramming method is not a tool and technique that will be used during the activity definition process. Precedence diagramming method (PDM) is used in critical path methodology for building a project schedule network diagram that uses boxes or rectangles, referred to as nodes, to represent activities, and join each other with arrows that show the logical relationship that exists between them. The tools and techniques used in defining the activity process are as follows: Decomposition: It is used to further divide the project work package into a more smaller and convenient form called activities. Rolling Wave Planning: It is a form of progressive elaboration planning where the work to be
accomplished in the near term is planned in detail and future work is planned at a higher level of WBS. Templates: It is an activity list or a part of the activity list taken from the previous project and used in a new project. Expert Judgement: The skilled members in a project team or other experts who develop project scope statements can help provide knowledge in defining activities.

You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. You are going through a project with your project team. Some of your project team members are reporting that their activities are running late because there are lag times between activities that do not need to be there.
You examine the schedule and see that the lag times have been incorporated into the project schedule for quality control reviews. You also learn that the quality control reviews are not being completed as planned. What is the best approach in this scenario?

Correct Answer:B
The best answer is to make certain quality control happens in the project. This means reviewing past work and ensuring that future inspections are met.
Answer option A is incorrect. Removing the lag time does not solve the problem. It actually removes quality control requirements.
Answer option C is incorrect. Only inspecting future work for quality control ignores potential past quality issues in the project.
Answer option D is incorrect. While this answer is technically correct, it does not address the quality faults that may be creeping into the project deliverables.