Quiz 4 - Hybrid Project Management

Your project is halfway through the execution phase. The project is progressing well and is on schedule when one of the vendors calls you to inform you that there will be a delay in his shipment delivery.

Which of the following documents would best capture the impact of the delay on the project schedule?

• Network Diagram
• Procurement Management Plan
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Risk Register

Answer explanation

A project schedule network diagram captures the project schedule and would be the best document to reflect the impact of a delay on a vendor deliverable. The work breakdown structure shows what work is in the project, but doesn't focus on how long it should take. The risk register would show an increase in project risk, but wouldn't help to determine the impact of a delay on the project schedule.

You manage an IT project under contract in the final phase of project execution. Your project status is well within the budget and achieving the schedule and quality objectives. During the final testing phase of the project, you realize that the performance of the product can be increased significantly by doing minor code changes in two modules.

This change would require some additional days of work. What should you do NEXT?

• Analyze the various alternatives and do a detailed impact analysis before proceeding with the change
• Update the change management form and send it to change control board for consideration
• Discuss the change and impact with customer and seek his approval
• Ignore the change as it is gold plating and should be avoided

Answer explanation

This is an example of gold plating because this requirement is not actually part of the contract. Such additions are usually based on a perceived notion of what the customer would like rather than a specific requirement from the customer. Gold plating is defined in simple words as adding more to the system than is specified in the requirements. Gold plating can increase operation and maintenance costs, as well as reduce quality.

A major stakeholder in the project wants to know his role and responsibility in the scheduling process of the project. He also wants to understand how the schedule baseline is established for the project and which scheduling methodologies are used in the project. Which document should the project manager ask him to refer to?

• Project Management Plan
• Project Schedule Baseline
• Stakeholder Register
• Schedule Management Plan

Answer explanation

The schedule management plan establishes how the schedule management will be carried out in the project. It serves as guidance for the scheduling process and defines the roles and responsibilities for stakeholders, along with scheduling methodologies, schedule change control procedures, etc.

As a project manager, you have been asked by the customer to give an overview of the project status using milestone charts. Which of the following statement is not true about milestone charts?

• Milestones have zero duration
• Milestone charts are similar to bar charts but only show major events
• Milestone charts can be used to capture the status of project schedule
• Milestones are only used to define the phases of a project

Answer explanation

Milestone charts capture the major milestone in the project which represents the beginning or completion of a deliverable, work package, phase, or project. A milestone is a zero duration activity and these charts are commonly used to present project status to senior management or a customer.

You are managing a construction project which is nearing completion when a major stakeholder points out a flaw in the design which could make the entire structure weak. He suggests a change which would provide the necessary support. You are worried that this change could impact the schedule and cost of the project significantly. What is your BEST response to the stakeholder?

• Refuse him as the project is already nearing completion and it's not possible to make any changes at this stage
• Do a root cause analysis with the team to determine how this design flaw could have been missed and if there could be more potential problems with the design
• Proceed with the change and communicate the impact on project schedule and cost to the customer
• Use a schedule compression technique as part of integrated change control to investigate and minimize the adverse impact of the change

Answer explanation

Schedule compression technique is useful not only during project planning to see if the desired completion date can be met but also during integrated change control to look at the schedule impacts of changes to time ,cost ,scope, or risk . The root cause analysis though seems to be in good faith, but doesn't address the immediate problem. Communicating the impact should be done once all the alternatives are explored to minimize the adverse effect of the change on the project schedule and other constraints.

Which of the following is the estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between the historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for an activity?

• Analogous Estimating
• Parametric Estimating
• Three Point Estimating
• Monte Carlo technique

Answer explanation

Parametric estimating is an estimation technique which utilizes the statistical relationship that exists between a series of historical data and a particular delineated list of other variables. E.g. square footage in a construction project, the number of lines or code that exist in a software application.

You are managing a software project. During a walkthrough of newly implemented functionality, your team shows you a new feature that they have added to help make the workflow in the product easier for your client. The client didn’t ask for the feature, but it does look like it will make the product easier to use. The team developed it on their own time because they wanted to make the client happy. You know this change would have made it very probably not through change control. What is this an example of?

• Gold plating
• Scope creep
• Schedule Variance
• Scope variance

Answer explanation

Gold plating is when you or your team add more work to the project that was not requested by the sponsor or client.

Which of the following is NOT a tool or technique of Estimate Costs?

• Cost aggregation
• Bottom-up
• Analogous
• Parametric

Answer explanation

Cost Aggregation is used to build your budget, but it is not a tool for cost estimation. Bottom-up, Parametric, 3-Point-, and Analogous estimation techniques are used for both cost and time estimates.

You are managing a large project. When is the BEST time to have project kick-off meetings?

• When each deliverable is created
• At the beginning of the project
• At the beginning of project execution
• At the start of each phase

Answer explanation

f your project is broken up into phases, you should have a kickoff meeting at the start of each phase. You use that meeting to establish the way people will communicate as the project work goes on and to set the scene for the actual phase. The first kick off meeting is at the beginning of the initial phase. The planning ends with a kick off meeting to start the project execution

You just have been hired by a contractor, who wants you to manage an agile project for one of their clients. The project team has been working for six weeks. You need to determine whether the team is ahead of or behind schedule. Which of the following tools and techniques is the BEST one for you to consult?

• Iteration burndown chart
• Sprint planning
• Critical path method
• Schedule Baseline

Answer explanation

Iteration burndown chart is what you’re using when you look at the work that the team is performing in order to determine whether the project is ahead or behind schedule.