WGU C722- Project Management (PHEO) - Objective Assessment Study Guide.

A firm begins its strategic business initiative of developing a new business model that will allow the firm to deliver an efficient, tailored service to its customers. To accomplish this, the firm initiates a business management project. Which aspect of project management applies to this firm's project?

Interdependent tasks

A firm begins its strategic business initiative of developing a new business model to enhance its competitiveness. What can be identified as a strategic business initiative for this firm?

Improvement in product design

A firm begins a strategic business initiative of developing a new business model that will allow the firm to deliver an efficient, tailored service to its customers.

Project sponsor

Which group is included in the five process groups?

Closing process group

What does PRINCE2 stand for?

PRojects IN a Controlled Environment

Which PMBOK process group is described as the delivery part of project management where the main activity happens?

Executing

Which advantage does the functional (departmentalized) organizational structure provide for a firm with multiple projects?

Lines of authority are clear

Which two organizations are examples of organizations with the functional organizational structure?

Microsoft

The U.S. Department of State

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The U.S Department of Energy

Google Inc.

(1) The U.S. Department of State and (2) The U.S Department of Energy

An organization expects to use a project management office (PMO) to support multiple projects that will be implemented within a projectized organizational structure. Which implied effect is a benefit to this organization?

Project team members gain access to historical data from other projects

Regardless of the organizational structure used to manage a project, an organization elects to use a project management office (PMO). Which benefit will this organization gain?

Projects will coordinate resource usage by monitoring the status of shared resources.

During a certain project phase, specific blueprints are drawn and approved, materials and labor costs are estimated, prototypes are created, and work activities and tasks are identified. Also, quality expectations, measurements, and costs are defined. During which project phase do these activities occur?

Planning

Place the project activities in order of occurrence from first (1) to last (5).

(1) Collecting customer requirements (2) Developing the work breakdown structure (3) Working to produce project deliverables (4) Customers evaluating the project outcomes (5) Capturing lessons learned

During which life cycle phase is the vast majority of the actual work to produce the project's deliverables completed?

Executing

What is the correct term for an intermediate outcome of project work, such as a signed contract or obtaining a construction permit?

Deliverable

Which deliverable from a work breakdown structure (WBS) is not specific enough to measure its completion at project closure?

User training

The following table shows the Level 1 work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project A.

WBS ID Description

0.0 Project A

1.0 Project started

2.0 Feasiblity

3.0 Design

4.0 Development

5.0 Manufacturing

6.0 Distribution

7.0 Project completed

Which approach did the project manager use to structure the WBS?

Sequence of project phases

For the following collapsed work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project O, the project manager must complete the scope baseline. In addition to the WBS, the scope baseline will contain two additional documents.

WBS ID Description

0.0 Project O

1.0 Project started

2.0 Feasibility

3.0 Design

4.0 Development

5.0 Manufacturing

6.0 Distribution

7.0 Project completed

What are the other two documents that belong in the scope baseline?

WBS dictionary and project scope statement

For the following collapsed work breakdown structure (WBS) for Project O, the project's steering committee held a phase gate review of the Feasibility results. That review determined that the project's proposed design would be obsolete before it would reach the marketplace.

WBS ID Description

0.0 Project O

1.0 Project started

2.0 Feasibility

3.0 Design

4.0 Development

5.0 Manufacturing

6.0 Distribution

7.0 Project completed

Which action should the project manager initiate?

Terminating the project as soon as possible and releasing the project's resources

A project is an operational necessity to repair a design flaw in the date field that constrains the year number to two digits, instead of permitting the year to be indicated with four digits. If the project is not completed before December 31, 1999, many legacy programs are expected to fail or produce unpredictable outcomes. The marketing department wants to upgrade its existing computer equipment and have the costs included in the budget for this project. The project team implemented the marketing department's request without completing the formal change control procedures.

What has happened to the scope baseline in this scenario?

Scope updates have caused an unaffordable scope variance

Scope creep has caused a scope variance.

Scope upgrade has caused a scope variance.

Scope risks have caused a smaller scope variance.

Scope creep has caused a scope variance

A general contractor is managing a highway construction project that will repair a flood-damaged road. The project was documented in a cost-plus-incentive fee contract that specified a completion date of June 30. The Department of Transportation has offered an incentive for early completion of the repairs.

Which triple-constraint baseline remains unchanged by the effects of the incentive?

Scope

In Project A, the contract specifies that time is very important. All of the scope must be completed, or the project will fail. The project's objective requires the project team to work as quickly as possible.

Which triple constraint can be adjusted to permit the project team to work as quickly as possible?

Cost

In Project B, all of the scope must be completed, or the project will fail. The work is important but not urgent.

Which triple constraint can be adjusted if the project's objective requires the project team to work at the lowest possible cost?

Time

A project manager is discussing the latest financial reports of a project to construct a grocery store and is approximately 90% into the planning phase. The project manager has been told by a project team member that other grocery stores in the area have an automated teller machine (ATM) for visitors. An ATM has not been discussed or incorporated into the planning of this project nor have any been incorporated into prior grocery store services. The leader calls for the immediate addition of an ATM into all prior grocery stores.

Which non-numeric model is this leader using?

Competitive necessity

An organization has a surplus of project dollars in the operating budget. The senior leader's decision is to fund one more project with the remaining funds. Of the three projects proposed, one of the projects was selected without evaluation of feasibility or viability.

Which non-numeric model is this leader using?

Sacred cow

Each project team member generated a series of questions to evaluate three projects. The checklist was compiled into one list based on frequency of question content, such as personnel, materials, experience, and time. The more frequent the question content, the more likely the questions would be asked first.

Which two benefits result from this checklist approach?

Operational impact has been built in.

Strategic impact has been integrated.

Biases have been reduced.

Priorities of senior leadership are met.

(1) Operational impact has been built in (2) Strategic impact has been integrated.

Each project team member generated a series of questions to evaluate three projects. A checklist was then compiled into one list based on the frequency of question content, such as personnel, materials, experience, and time.

What is a disadvantage of using this checklist approach?

Biases have not been eliminated

To calculate money's worth today compared to in the future

Time value of money

To calculate future cash flows using time and interest rate

Internal rate of return

To calculate whether revenue tomorrow is greater than costs today

Net present value

To calculate the alternative use of money

Opportunity cost

What is the time value of money?

The concept that a dollar today is worth a dollar, but a dollar in a year will be worth less than a dollar

What is internal rate of return?

The discount amount when present value of cash intake equals the original investment

Which two processes are considered iterative processes?

Initiating

Planning

Operating

Executing

Closing

(1) Planning (2) Executing

Which activity is accomplished as part of the planning process of a project?

Finalizing the project budget

Which activity is accomplished as part of the planning process of a project?

Finalizing the project schedule

Which activity is accomplished during the closing process of a project?

Reconciling the vendor accounts

Which activity is performed during the creating part of the initiating process?

Drafting the project charter

Which activity is accomplished as part of the executing process of a project?

Implementing the project plan

Which process involves determining who the project's stakeholders are?

The initiating process

What information does this resource histogram display that can help during the planning phase of the project?

Opportunities to level resource usage patterns

Which tool could a project manager use to ensure that the project team will address the items that are important when developing and defining the project's scope?

Checklist

A project manager wants to understand and document the approvals that must be obtained for each work package in the work breakdown structure (WBS).

Which tools document the approval requirements for each work package?

Project charter

Project statement of work (SOW)

Request for proposal (RFP)

Resource breakdown structure (RBS)

Requirements traceability matrix (RTM)

Organizational breakdown structure (OBS

(1) Project statement of work (SOW) (2) Requirements traceability matrix (RTM)

The general manager of a hotel has asked for a project to put in new landscaping around the building. The project manager has constructed a high-level work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project, which is provided below.

WBS ID Description

1.0 Landscaping

1.1 Plans

1.2 Site preparation

1.3 Sprinklers

1.4 Sidewalks and curbing

1.5 Planting

Which activity would it be logical to add to the approved high-level WBS to provide more detail on the work to be accomplished?

1.5.1 Lay sod

The World Fabrication Corporation is launching a project that calls for the heavy use of copper-clad bolts. The cost of these bolts fluctuates daily and it is difficult to estimate the project cost over several weekly purchases of bolts. The threat of cost increases is highly probable with a potentially significant budget impact. The company has decided to contract with the supplier to buy the bolts at a fixed price for the expected duration of the project.

What risk response strategy is World Fabrication Corporation using?

Risk Avoidance

A state college is launching a library building project. The project manager has constructed a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. A few elements from the WBS are shown in the table below (the WBS ID numbers and indentations of the descriptions are intentionally omitted).

WBS ID Description

? Library project

? Facility needs

? Academic plan

? Stakeholder input

? Building proposal

? Siting

? Fundraising

? Potential donor list

? U.S. donors

? Florida donors

Which two WBS elements of this project are on the same level as each other?

Choose 2 answers

(1) Building proposal (2) Fundraising

Consolidated Systems, Inc. is initiating a project to develop a new Inventory system with a specific system launch date and fixed budget. The company had planned to use a software development tool it has used for past projects but is now considering instead using new state-of-art software that has the potential to speed development. The available staff is familiar with the old software development tool.

What can the company do to avoid the risk of project delays?

Continue using the old software tool

Bantam Electronics, a leader in mobile communications, has fallen behind in technology. Competitors have introduced products using the latest technology. Resources with expertise in this technology are scarce since there are very few universities offering training in the technology. Bantam's market share has fallen from 70 % to under 50%.

What can Bantam do to mitigate the risk of losing further ground in technology?

Hire technical staff from the competition

What are the three categories of risk in the project risk register?

External, technical, or organizational

A project manager is creating a list of anticipated project tasks while building a calendarized budget.

What is the key component of this budget called?

Activity estimates

A project manager has identified activities in a calendarized budget.

What is the appropriate next planning action this project manager should take to utilize the cost, duration, and sequencing information for these activities?

Creating project schedules

Which output is needed prior to using the bottom-up estimating technique?

Work breakdown structure

A project team is gathered together to begin the planning process for a large office building. It is discussing estimates of each activity in the schedule. For all of the plumbing-related work, the team will use the information obtained from the plumber-in-residence in its organization.

What estimating technique will be used?

One-point

A project team is gathered together to begin the planning process to create a new website for its client. Discussions have turned to website capacity. Some team members believe the bandwidth of the site needs to be higher to avoid the website freezing. Others believe the bandwidth is too high as it is right now. A finite capacity needs to be determined to define the estimated time to complete this task.

What estimating technique will be used?

Three-point

The project team is determining the duration for upgrading the software on the app used on its mobile devices. An experienced technician took 15 minutes to complete the task. Two other new technicians will be assisting. They have performed a few upgrades on mobile devices, desktop computers, and laptop computers, which took one technician approximately 25 minutes and the other 20 minutes to upgrade.

Using three-point estimating, how many minutes will it take for each upgrade performed?

20

The project team is determining the duration for upgrading the software on the app used on its mobile devices. An experienced technician took 10 minutes to complete the task. Two other new technicians will be assisting and have little experience in software upgrades on mobile devices or desktop and laptop computers. One technician took approximately 28 minutes, while the other technician took 31 minutes to complete the task.

Using three-point estimation, how many minutes will it take for each upgrade performed?

23

In the work breakdown structure given for a software development, which component is the starting point for developing the project schedule?

Determine data format

A company specializes in high quality home improvements and remodels. The project for a living room consists of six primary tasks. As soon as the demolition is completed, the floor installation and electrical work can begin. The cabinet installers and painters may begin their work after the floor is installed. Finally, the interior decorators can finish up the project after the paint has dried.

Which network diagram correctly represents this living room remodeling project?

B

A company specializes in high quality home improvements and remodels. The project for a living room consists of six primary tasks. As soon as the demolition is completed, the floor installation and electrical work can begin. The cabinet installers and painters may begin their work after the floor is installed. Finally, the interior decorators can finish up the project after the paint has dried.

Which Gantt chart correctly represents this living room remodeling project?

A

A project manager is working on a large two-year IT project. At the end of the first year, the project is two months behind schedule because the interface programming is taking longer than planned. The sponsor will not extend the deadline or the budget but is willing to eliminate an interface.

Which schedule compression technique can the project manager use?

Scope reduction

A project manager is working on a large two-year IT project. At the end of the first year, the project is two months behind schedule because the interface programming is taking longer than planned. The sponsor will not extend the deadline or reduce the scope. The project manager decides to crash the schedule to meet the project deadline.

What is the risk of this decision?

Reduced quality of deliverables

A project was authorized as an operational necessity to repair a design flaw in the date field on a computer system that constrains the year number to two digits instead of permitting the year to be indicated with four digits. During execution of the activity concerned with identifying the affected software, five relevant software modules were discovered that had not been included in the scope baseline. The project team must adjust the baselines to include the omitted scope.

Which change management phase does this scenario describe?

Preparing for the change

A general contractor is managing a highway construction project that will repair a flood-damaged road. The Department of Transportation offered an incentive fee if the repairs are completed early. Therefore, the project manager has established a rewards and recognition program and has communicated this program to the project team members. The project's recognition program will reward project team members who add value by accelerating the project while maintaining its ability to deliver the completed scope correctly.

Which change management phase does this scenario describe?

Reinforcing the change

A general contractor is managing a construction project that will add a new conference room to an existing office building. The project was documented in a fixed-price contract that specified a completion date. The contract includes a damages clause imposing a late completion penalty if the conference room is not ready for use by the due date. One month into the implementation, the customer wants to modify the room's lighting equipment. The requested change will delay the project's critical path by three months.

Which process should be used to maintain the existing baseline?

Using a change management system to influence performance

A general contractor from Germany is managing a construction project in Norway that will add a new conference room to an existing office building. The project needs to collect requirements from the client prior to developing plans to build the new conference room.

Which two actions would prove useful to plan the project's quality?

Defining traceable and verifiable requirements that can be validated at project closure

Establishing metrics that describe what to measure and how to measure it

Using inventory to protect against defects during project implementation

Changing the work plan to account for the project experiencing common variation

Using slogans and numerical quotas to exhort resources to work harder

(1) Defining traceable and verifiable requirements that can be validated at project closure (2) Establishing metrics that describe what to measure and how to measure it

What is the purpose of the cost performance index (CPI)?

To measure a project's cost efficiency

What is the purpose of the schedule performance index (SPI)?

To determine a project's time efficiency

What is the purpose of cost variance (CV) analysis?

To determine if a project is meeting budget expectations

What is the name for the closing task where all project activities are reviewed to determine what went right and what went wrong?

Lessons learned review

What is another name for the lessons learned review that is often used by the military and other uniformed services?

After action report

The customer of a project validates that scope has been completed for the second of three segments of the project.

Which closure practice does this describe?

Stage completion

The customer of a project validates that the project scope has been completed, all invoices have been paid, and the expected benefits have been realized.

Which closure practice does this describe?

Deliverable completion

What is the critical path of this network diagram?

1.0 - 3.0 - 5.0 - 6.0

In which of the following organizations do subject matter experts from different functions directly report to the project manager for a specific project?

Project Management Office

Projectized Organization

Matrix Organization

Functional Organization

Projectized Organization

Which of the following reports are often updated in an online collaboration tool and published weekly?

Team status reports

Which organizational structure is most often represented in corporation shareholder reports and organizational reports?

Functional

Which of the following describes the on-going, daily activities of an organization that produces revenue and expense?

Operations

Which of the following are typically determined by the project sponsor and are intended to be very specific in order to appropriately communicate project expectations?

Project objectives

Which of the following is an advantage of the projectized organization?

The organizational structure is simple, flexible, and easy to understand

Which of the following completes this statement: A project is successful if it meets the triple constraints of scope, ________, and budget?

Schedule

Which of the following items is an example of a product that a project creates?

Buildings

In which structure does the PM have complete authority over all administrative matters?

Projectized

Which of the following is a disadvantage of the projectized organization?

Policies and procedures may be applied inconsistently

According to the ____________, a project manager should avoid controlling tasks that take less than eight hours and should not let more than two weeks go by without checking in.

8 and 80 Rule

Projects are important to organizations because they provide organizations with the opportunity to:

Create or improve products and services

Which of the following is an activity or group of activities to generate a new, unique product, service, or results to support a program?

Project

Which of the following is a challenge to effective project management?

Lack of clear and direct strategic

alignment with the specific project

Which of the following statements about project manager responsibilities is true?

A project manager must manage people at all organizational levels as well as costs, expectations, procurement, and partners.

A project manager needs to focus solely on managing project costs.

A project manager's primary responsibility is to manage organizational expectations.

A project manager's main concern is managing expectations.

Which of the following represents an important business need or issue and provides an opportunity for others to create an appropriate, valuable solution?

Business scenario

The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines what as "the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities"?

Project management

Which of the following is important to understanding what others are saying both verbally and nonverbally and for effective project management?

Active listening

Which of the following are temporary endeavors with a specified start and end date that exist to develop a unique product, service, or result?

Projects

Which of the following is the process of communicating and interacting with stakeholders in a way that keeps them interested and focused on their involvement in the project?

Stakeholder engagement

Every ____________ and project manager should be aware of the impact of project management challenges and anticipate how to avoid them in order to ensure the success of their projects.

Project sponsor

Which of the following does not present a project management challenge?

Achievement of business results

At which level of the project management maturity model (OPM3) are there no formal standards, processes, methods, procedures, or staff to constitute a project management discipline?

Level 1

Which of the following is made up of the activities, methods, tactics, etc. that will be employed to meet business goals?

A business strategy

Project objectives should be ____________, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based.

Specific

PMI's ____________ provide frameworks and processes in the areas of project, program and portfolio management and the Organizational Project Management Maturity (OPM3).

Foundational standards

Which of the following is an advantage of the functional organization?

There is flexibility in the use of staff

Which of the following is a process for determining the level of documentation and best practices followed in a project?

Project maturity model