Pass the PMI PMI Certification PMI-SP Questions and answers with CertsForce

The critical path is the path with the longest duration to complete the project. It has no float and shows the earliest completion date and the latest completion date for the project. In this example, path ACFIJ takes 27 days and is the critical path.

ACFIJ= A(4)+C(8)+F(4)+I(7)+J(4)= 27

A critical path is the sequence of project activities, which add up to the longest overall duration. This determines the shortest time possible to complete the project. Any delay of an activity on the critical path directly impacts the planned project completion date (i.e. there is no float on the critical path). A project can have several, parallel, near critical paths. An additional parallel path through the network with the total durations shorter than the critical path is called a sub-critical or non-critical path. These results allow managers to prioritize activities for the effective management of project completion, and to shorten the planned critical path of a project by pruning critical path activities, by "fast tracking" (i.e., performing more activities in parallel), and/or by "crashing the critical path" (i.e., shortening the durations of critical path activities by adding resources).

Answer option A is incorrect. ABEHJ takes only 22 days to complete.

ABEHJ= A(4)+B(5)+E(2)+H(7)+J(4)= 22

Answer option C is incorrect. ABDHJ takes 21 days to complete.

ABDHJ= A(4)+B(5)+D(1)+H(7)+J(4)= 21

Answer option B is incorrect. ABDIJ takes 21 days to complete.

ABDIJ= A(4)+B(5)+D(1)+I(7)+J(4)= 21

The scope baseline is not an input to the estimate activity durations process. The project's scope statement is an input, but according to the PMBOK, the scope baseline is not. The seven inputs to this process are: activity list, activity attributes, activity resource requirements, resource calendars, project scope statement, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process assets.

Answer options C, B, and D are incorrect. These all are an input to the estimate activity durations process.

According to the question, you are required to calculate the cost performance index (CPI) of the project. Cost variance (CV) is a measure of cost performance on a project. The variance notifies if costs are higher than budgeted or lower than budgeted. The cost variance is calculated based on the following formula: CV = Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AC) A positive value means that spending is less than budgeted, whereas a negative value indicates that costs are higher than originally planned for the project. Now, putting the provided values in the formula: CV = EV - AC = 320 - 400 = -80 As the value of CV (which is -80) is negative, it shows that the costs are higher than that have been planned for the project. What is BCWP (or EV)? Budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) or Earned Value (EV) is the value of completed work. It is the budgeted amount for the work actually completed on the schedule activity during a given time period. What is BCWS (or PV)? Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS) or Planned Value (PV) is the authorized budget assigned to the scheduled work to be accomplished for a schedule activity or Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) component. What is ACWP (or AC)? Actual cost of work performed (ACWP) or Actual Cost (AC) is the total costs actually incurred and recorded in accomplishing work performed during a given time period for a schedule activity. It is the cost of the work to date, including direct and indirect costs. AC is money that has actually been expended to date.

The estimate at completion (EAC) formula is the Budget at Completion (BAC)/Cost Performance Index (CPI). In this instance, the CPI is .78 and the BAC is $344,000. Cathy's project isn't doing too well.

Answer option D is incorrect. This value represents the estimate to complete for the project.

Answer option B is incorrect. This value represents the negative cost variance.

Answer option A is incorrect. This value represents the negative value the project will have once all the work is completed.

The project's schedule performance index (SPI) can be found by using the formula; earned value/planned value. The earned value is the percent of the project completed times the BAC. The planned value is the percentage of where the project should be times the budget at completion. In this instance, the formula reads: $450,000/562500 = 0.80. Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following formula: SPI = Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV) If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target.

Answer option A is incorrect. This value is the project's Cost Performance Index (CPI).

Answer option D is incorrect. This value is the schedule variance for the project.

Answer option C is incorrect. $562,500 is the planned value for the project.

In severe cases, new schedule duration estimates with new forecasted start and finish dates are needed. In these instances, it is an example of using the control schedule process. Control schedule process is a method of monitoring the status of the project to update project progress and deal with the changes to the schedule baseline. It is concerned with:

Determining the current status of the project

Influencing the factors that create schedule changes

Determining that the project schedule has changed

Managing the actual changes as they occur

Control schedule is a component of the Perform Integration Change Control process.

Answer option D is incorrect. The activity resources would only address the addition or replacement of resources needed to complete the project work.

Answer option B is incorrect. This is a tempting choice, but new schedules are a part of the control schedule process.

Answer option A is incorrect. Develop schedule is not the best choice for this question.

Because this project needs the specific resource of Henry, the application developer, and Henry is not available, it is considered as a resource constraint. Recall that a constraint is anything that limits the project manager's option.

Answer option C is incorrect. A resource requirement is simply the need for an application developer.

Answer option B is incorrect. This is likely a matrix organization, but it is not the best answer for this question.

Answer option A is incorrect. While there may be some competition for skilled resources, such as Henry, the application developer, it is not the best answer for this question.

In order to ensure that the installation of the new materials is successful in the project, you should hire a subject matter expert to train the project team how to install the materials. This is the best preventive action that you can take in case the project team has never worked on the material.

Answer option C is incorrect as while this approach may work it's not the best corrective action as the project team isn't learning how to use the new materials.

Answer option B is incorrect as this approach practically encourages the team to waste materials without training them how to install the materials properly.

Answer option D is incorrect as the incentive program is flawed if the team doesn't understand how to install the new materials to begin with.

The project staffing management plan will define how resources are brought onto the project team, how they are managed while on the project team, and how they may be released from the project team. The staffing management plan is part of human resources plan. It is a subsidiary plan of the overall project management plan and defines when project team members will be brought onto and released from the project. It describes when and how human resource requirements will be met. Depending upon the needs of the project, it can be formal or informal, highly detailed or broadly framed. The staffing management plan may include the following items: Staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

Answer option D is incorrect. The communications management plan defines project communication requirements and expectations.

Answer option C is incorrect. This is not a valid project management plan.

Answer option A is incorrect. The project schedule management will define when resources are needed and scheduled. But it will not define how resources are allowed to be released from the project.

The best answer is to track actual durations to measure the actual progress of the project. Actual duration is the time, in the calendar units, between the actual start date of the schedule activity and either the data date of the project schedule if the schedule activity is in development or the actual finish date if the schedule activity is complete.

Answer option B is incorrect. The schedule baseline is not created based on actual durations.

Answer option A is incorrect. Process improvement is part of the quality management knowledge area, but it is not a reason to track actual durations.

Answer option D is incorrect. Quality control is the inspection of the project deliverables. It is not concerned with the actual durations of project work. The improvement of the project processes is defined in the Process Improvement Plan.