Your organization wants to start a new project. The study shows that the new project will save organization approximately $200,000 per year. Now it is required to move forward with the project. Which of the following documents will define the project justification?
Correct Answer:B
The project charter defines the business needs, the project justification, the current requirements, and the new warehouse your organization wants to create. The project charter is the document that formally authorizes a project. The project charter provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. According to PMBOK Guide, the project charter should address the following information: Requirements that satisfy customer, sponsor, and other stakeholder needs, wants and expectations Business needs, high-level project description, or product requirements that the project is undertaken to address
Project purpose or justification
Assigned Project Manager and authority level Summary milestone schedule
Stakeholder influences
Functional organizations and their participation Organizational, environmental and external assumptions Organizational, environmental and external constraints
Business case justifying the project, including return on investment Summary budget
If required, it also authorizes the next project phase, and updates the charter. The project manager should always be assigned prior to the start of planning, and preferably while the project charter is being developed.
Answer option C is incorrect. The decomposition of the project scope results in the project's Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The work packages of the WBS will help the project manager and team create accurate time and cost estimates.
Answer option A is incorrect. The feasibility study is usually created before the project scope, though not always. This document defines the likelihood of the project being able to reach its objectives.
Answer option D is incorrect. The project scope defines all that the project should complete.
You're a project manager and you've completed your project schedule. The schedule will take 18 months to complete the project work. Throughout the schedule there are instances that the project work will require the project team members to work more than fifty hours per week. If you must adhere to a maximum of 45 hours of project work per team member, per week, what will likely happen to your project schedule as it stands right now?
Correct Answer:B
If a resource leveling heuristic, such as 45 hours maximum per time period, is enforced on the project, then the project schedule will take longer to complete. What is resource leveling heuristics? Resource leveling heuristics is a prioritization method that allocates inadequate resources to critical path activities first. It is a schedule network analysis technique useful to a schedule that has already been analyzed by the critical path method. It is used when shared or critical essential resources are only available at certain times, in limited quantities, or to keep resource usage at a constant level. It is a technique that resolves resource conflicts by delaying tasks within their slack allowances. Resource leveling is the process in which project teams come across problems when developing their project schedules. If a company has multiple projects running simultaneously that require the same resources, then problems can arise. It can often cause the critical path method to change.
Answer option A is incorrect. The 45-hour limit is a restriction on the project.
Answer option C is incorrect. The project will not take less time to complete because the project team members won't be able to complete as much work in the same amount of time.
Answer option D is incorrect. The project may require more resources if the project manager and management want the project to finish by a particular date. In this question, however, the focus is on what will happen to the project schedule, not the project staffing.
You are the project manager of a research project. Because much of the project work will be based on what is discovered in each stage of the project work, you are directing the project time to focus on creating time estimates for the most imminent research work and broad estimates for the project work that is coming later in the project. What type of planning are you using in this project?
Correct Answer:B
This is an example of rolling wave planning. Rolling wave planning focuses on the most imminent work in detail and creates estimates for the whole project and later work in broad estimates. Rolling wave planning is a form of progressive elaboration. Rolling wave planning is a technique for performing progressive elaboration planning where the work to be accomplished in the near future is planned in detail at a low level of the work breakdown structure. The work to be performed within another one or two reporting periods in the near future is planned in detail as work is being completed during the current period.
Answer option D is incorrect. Decomposition describes the breakdown of the project scope into work packages, and then the work packages are broken down into project activities. Answer option C is incorrect. Phase gates describe the review process associated with the end of project phases.
Answer option A is incorrect. Milestone planning defines the project milestones, not the activities required to reach the milestones.
You are the project manager for your organization. Your project is doing fine on time and cost, but management wants to address the project performance for future accomplishment. Management has asked you to begin reporting and forecasting your project's health based on a moving average, extrapolation, trend estimation, and growth curve. What type of forecasting method is management asking you to use?
Correct Answer:C
These are examples of a time series method for forecasting project performance. Another method that fits with the time series method of forecasting is earned value management. Forecasting is the process of estimating or predicting in unknown situations. Forecasting is about predicting the future as accurately as possible with the help of all the information available, including historical data and knowledge of any future events that might impact forecasts. The forecasting methods are categorized as follows: Time series method: It uses historical data as the basis for estimating future outcomes. Causal/econometric method: This forecasting method is based on the assumption that it is possible to identify some factors that might influence the variable that is being forecasted. If the causes are understood, projections of the influencing variables can be made and used in the forecast. Judgmental method: Judgmental forecasting methods incorporate intuitive judgments, opinions, and subjective probability estimates. Other methods: Other methods may include probabilistic forecasting, simulation, and ensemble forecasting.
Answer option B is incorrect. Causal/econometric methods do not use the moving average, but models such as linear regression and non- linear regression.
Answer option A is incorrect. Judgmental methods for forecasting are based on intuition, opinions, and probability estimates.
Answer option D is incorrect. The estimate at completion method is an earned value management formula, which is part of the time series method for reporting and forecasting performance.
You are the project manager of a software development project. Your project team will be creating a web-based software application that will allow your company's customers to browse your website, search inventory, and place orders among other things. Your project team will, on a regular basis, need to update their computer virus prevention software, update their operating systems, and perform other maintenance on their computers in order to complete the project. This maintenance work is not directly tied to the project deliverables, but it is needed in order for the project to be completed. What term best describes this maintenance work?
Correct Answer:C
The level of effort term describes the ongoing maintenance associated with the project work, but not a contribution to the deliverables of the project work. Level of Effort (LOE) is a project activity which must be done to support other work activities or the entire project effort. It usually consists of short amounts of work which must be repeated periodically. LOE is used to define the amount of work performance within a period of time and is measured in man days or man hours per day/week/month.
Answer option B is incorrect. Discrete effort describes the activities that can be linked directly to the project work packages.
Answer option A is incorrect. Project management overhead is an example of apportioned effort.
Answer option D is incorrect. The cost of conformance to quality describes the dues, such as the subscription for the anti-virus software that must be spent, so the project can reach its objectives.
Which of the following individuals performs various management roles within an administrative or functional area of the business, such as human resources, finance, accounting, or procurement?
Correct Answer:C
The role of a functional manager is to perform various management roles within an administrative or functional area of the business, such as human resources, finance, accounting, or procurement. He is assigned his own permanent staff to carry out the ongoing work. He should have a clear directive to manage all tasks within his functional area of responsibility.
Answer option D is incorrect. A project manager is an expert in the field of project management. He is responsible for the entire project from inception to completion. The project manager leads the team and helps negotiate the multiple relationships within any project whether with clients, team members, firm principals or any variety of partners and functions as the hub of a project.
Answer option A is incorrect. Seller is also known as a vendor, supplier or contractor. They are external company's elements that enter into a contractual agreement to provide components or services necessary for the project.
Answer option B is incorrect. The role of operations manager is to perform various management roles in a core business area, such as research and development, design, manufacturing, provisioning, testing, or maintenance. The operations manager directly deals with constructing and maintaining the saleable products or services of the enterprise.