The Project Schedule Management knowledge area accounts for 9 percent (27) of the questions on the CAPM exam. The PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition, Sections 6.1 through 6.6, cover the six processes in the Project Schedule Management knowledge area.

This chapter focuses on the topic of project schedule (time) management. Project Schedule Management, like the other knowledge areas, begins with a process of planning that produces a schedule management plan. Then there is an iterative, or repeating, process that produces and updates the project schedule. Then, as with all other knowledge areas except for the Project Resource Management knowledge area, there is a controlling process that seeks to measure planned versus actual progress in relation to the schedule (time) and deal with any changes or corrective or preventive actions.

You may need to pay attention in this chapter to those activities that lead up to the construction of the network diagram, because there is quite a bit of technical information that you will need to learn.

Project Schedule Management is focused upon the processes of developing a schedule management plan, preparing your project schedule, ensuring that the project progresses as planned and that milestones are reached on the communicated schedule, and influencing and assessing any changes to the project schedule.

Apart from the Control Schedule process, the processes contained in this knowledge area present what appears to be a wonderfully logical and sequential flow of information, from defining the activities through to development of the project schedule. Estimating durations for activities and the overall project is done in the Project Resource Management knowledge area.

The 27 practice questions in this chapter are mapped to the style and frequency of question types you will see on the CAPM exam.

Q QUESTIONS

1.   What is the correct order of processes in the Project Schedule Management knowledge area?

A.   Define Activities, Sequence Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Develop Schedule

B.   Define Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Sequence Activities, Develop Schedule

C.   Sequence Activities, Define Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Develop Schedule

D.   Define Activities, Sequence Activities, Develop Schedule, Estimate Activity Durations

2.   What is the document that provides additional information about activities identified on the activity list?

A.   Project charter

B.   Activities attributes

C.   Resource breakdown structure

D.   Scope statement

3.   What is the best definition of rolling wave planning?

A.   It is the breakdown of work packages into activities.

B.   It is a form of progressive elaboration that focuses on defining work in the immediate future in more detail than work further off.

C.   It is the process of first defining, then sequencing, then estimating durations in the preparation of the project schedule.

D.   It is the process of comparing actual progress against planned progress.

4.   What is the name of the document that will guide the definition, documentation, execution, and control of the project schedule?

A.   Project management plan

B.   Scope statement

C.   Organizational process assets

D.   Schedule management plan

5.   Why are activity resources generally estimated before activity durations?

A.   Because that is the way the PMBOK Guide sets them out.

B.   Because to estimate activity durations, you must know what sequence they occur in.

C.   Because you need to know how many resources are available to complete an activity, because this will affect how fast the activity can be completed.

D.   They do not; it is better to estimate activity durations first, then estimate activity resources.

6.   What is the form of estimating that uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics?

A.   Analogous estimating

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   The Delphi technique

7.   What sort of estimating technique are you using when you are obtaining information from a group of experts about your project durations, and each expert is being asked individually for their opinion without knowing who else is being interviewed?

A.   Alternatives analysis

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   The Delphi technique

8.   Which of the following estimating techniques is part of the PERT technique?

A.   Analogous estimating

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   Bottom-up estimating

9.   If a successor activity cannot start until its predecessor activity has started, what sort of relationship is this?

A.   Finish-to-start

B.   Start-to-start

C.   Finish-to-finish

D.   Start-to-finish

10.   What is the name of the process of considering whether an additional amount of time should be provided based on quantitative risk analysis?

A.   Expert judgment

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Reserve analysis

D.   Monte Carlo analysis

11.   The path, or paths, through a project schedule network that represent the most risk because there is no total float is called what?

A.   Critical chain

B.   Network diagram

C.   Gantt chart

D.   Critical path

12.   If you are compressing the project schedule by using a technique that generally does not increase project costs, which of the following techniques are you using?

A.   Fast tracking

B.   Crashing

C.   Resource optimization

D.   Resource leveling

13.   The amount of time a successor activity must wait after the completion of its predecessor activity is known as what?

A.   Lead

B.   Resource leveling

C.   Lag

D.   Float

14.   Which of the following is not contained in the activity list?

A.   Milestone list

B.   Scope of work description

C.   All schedule activities required on the project

D.   Activity identifier

15.   Which of the following is the most commonly used type of precedence relationship that you will use?

A.   Start-to-start

B.   Start-to-finish

C.   Finish-to-finish

D.   Finish-to-start

16.   You have scheduled two activities in your project so that the successor activity is able to start a week before the predecessor activity. What is this an example of?

A.   Lag

B.   Lead

C.   Slack

D.   Float

17.   You are completing the sequence of activities and note that one of your activities cannot proceed until consent is granted by the local government agency. This is an example of what sort of dependency?

A.   Discretionary

B.   External

C.   Environmental

D.   Mandatory

18.   What sort of information is included in your resource calendar?

A.   The length of time the project will require input from external resources

B.   The dates of annual holidays for project team members

C.   The duration of each activity in the project resource diagram

D.   When and how long project resources will be available during the project

19.   As a result of a brainstorming session, your team determines that the most likely duration of an activity will be 8 days, the optimistic duration is 6 days, and the pessimistic duration is 16 days. What is the expected activity duration?

A.   10 days

B.   5 days

C.   9 days

D.   30 days

20.   To estimate the amount of time it will take to install 500 meters of cable on your project, you divide the number of meters required by how many meters an hour the person laying the cable can lay. This is an example of which sort of tool or technique?

A.   Three-point estimating

B.   Bottom-up estimating

C.   Analogous estimating

D.   Parametric estimating

21.   What is the PMBOK Guide process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and scheduled constraints to create the project schedule?

A.   Project Schedule Development

B.   Create Project Schedule

C.   Develop Schedule

D.   Schedule Management

22.   Of the following which best describes a Gantt chart?

A.   The best tool to view activity sequencing

B.   A chart that shows activities and their levels of effort

C.   A chart that represents daily activities

D.   A tool to view the sequence of low-level activities

23.   You are using a methodology that calculates the amount of float on various paths in the network diagram to determine the minimum project duration. What tool or technique are you using?

A.   Critical path method

B.   Critical chain method

C.   Parametric estimating

D.   Three-point estimating

24.   You are using a computer-based modeling technique that examines the possible outcomes based on a range of potential probabilities if a particular situation occurs. What is this technique called?

A.   Parametric estimating

B.   Schedule compression

C.   Critical chain method

D.   What-if scenario analysis

25.   What is the name of the process in the PMBOK Guide that monitors the status of the project to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline?

A.   Develop Schedule

B.   Monitoring and Controlling

C.   Verify Schedule

D.   Control Schedule

26.   What does a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.9 mean?

A.   The amount of buffer in your critical chain methodology is less than optimal.

B.   The project network diagram was incorrectly put together.

C.   The project is behind schedule and in need of schedule compression.

D.   The project is ahead of schedule.

27.   Yvette has requested that each team member determine the estimates by multiplying the quantity of work to be performed by the known historical productivity rate of the individual department. What is this technique called?

A.   Parametric estimating

B.   Analogous estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   Expert judgment

QUICK ANSWER KEY

1. A

2. B

3. B

4. D

5. C

6. B

7. D

8. C

9. B

10. C

11. D

12. A

13. C

14. A

15. D

16. B

17. B

18. D

19. C

20. D

21. C

22. D

23. A

24. D

25. D

26. C

27. A

A ANSWERS

1.   What is the correct order of processes in the Project Schedule Management knowledge area?

A.   Define Activities, Sequence Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Develop Schedule

B.   Define Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Sequence Activities, Develop Schedule

C.   Sequence Activities, Define Activities, Estimate Activity Durations, Develop Schedule

D.   Define Activities, Sequence Activities, Develop Schedule, Estimate Activity Durations

  A. First define activities, then estimate durations, then sequence them, then develop the schedule.

  B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because Estimate Activity Durations generally occurs after Sequence Activities in the Project Resource Management knowledge area. C is incorrect because Sequence Activities occurs after Define Activities. D is incorrect because Develop Schedule occurs after Estimate Activity Durations.

2.   What is the document that provides additional information about activities identified on the activity list?

A.   Project charter

B.   Activities attributes

C.   Resource breakdown structure

D.   Scope statement

  B. The activities attributes document provides additional detail about identified activities.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the project charter contains high-level information. C is incorrect because the resource breakdown structure provides a breakdown of categories and types of resources required on the project. D is incorrect because the scope statement describes all the work to be done on the project.

3.   What is the best definition of rolling wave planning?

A.   It is the breakdown of work packages into activities.

B.   It is a form of progressive elaboration that focuses on defining work in the immediate future in more detail than work further off.

C.   It is the process of first defining, then sequencing, then estimating durations in the preparation of the project schedule.

D.   It is the process of comparing actual progress against planned progress.

  B. It is a form of progressive elaboration that focuses on defining work in the immediate future in more detail than work further off.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the breakdown of work packages into activities is the process of Decomposition. C is incorrect because the process of first defining, then sequencing, then estimating durations in the preparation of the project schedule broadly outlines the Time Management processes. D is incorrect because the process of comparing actual progress against planned progress is Variance Analysis.

4.   What is the name of the document that will guide the definition, documentation, execution, and control of the project schedule?

A.   Project management plan

B.   Scope statement

C.   Organizational process assets

D.   Schedule management plan

  D. The schedule management plan defines how the project schedule will be developed, executed, and controlled.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because the project management plan is the plan containing many subsidiary plans and documents. B is incorrect because the scope statement defines the work to be done on the project. C is incorrect because the organizational process assets are process polices, templates, and methodologies the wider organization owns and are used to assist project management.

5.   Why are activity resources generally estimated before activity durations?

A.   Because that is the way the PMBOK Guide sets them out.

B.   Because to estimate activity durations, you must know what sequence they occur in.

C.   Because you need to know how many resources are available to complete an activity, because this will affect how fast the activity can be completed.

D.   They do not; it is better to estimate activity durations first, then estimate activity resources.

  C. You need to know how many resources are available to complete an activity because this will affect how fast the activity can be completed.

  A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the PMBOK Guide is not prescriptive. B is incorrect because this answer links two processes that are separated by the Estimate Activity Resources process (which is in the Project Resource Management knowledge area). D is incorrect because generally, it’s better to estimate activity resources (which is in the Project Resource Management knowledge area) first and then estimate activity durations.

6.   What is the form of estimating that uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics?

A.   Analogous estimating

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   The Delphi technique

  B. Parametric estimating uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because analogous estimating uses a similar activity to estimate the resources or duration of a current activity. C is incorrect because three-point estimating uses a weighted average of an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate. D is incorrect because the Delphi technique solicits information from experts anonymously.

7.   What sort of estimating technique are you using when you are obtaining information from a group of experts about your project durations, and each expert is being asked individually for their opinion without knowing who else is being interviewed?

A.   Alternatives analysis

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   The Delphi technique

  D. The Delphi technique solicits information from experts anonymously.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because alternatives analysis considers a range of alternative approaches to determine the most appropriate one. B is incorrect because parametric estimating uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics. C is incorrect because three-point estimating uses a weighted average of an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate.

8.   Which of the following estimating techniques is part of the PERT technique?

A.   Analogous estimating

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   Bottom-up estimating

  C. Three-point estimating uses a weighted average of an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate and is part of the program evaluation and review technique (PERT).

  A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because analogous estimating uses a similar activity to estimate the resources or duration of a current activity. B is incorrect because parametric estimating uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics. D is incorrect because bottom-up estimating aggregates low-level estimates and rolls them up to obtain higher-level estimates.

9.   If a successor activity cannot start until its predecessor activity has started, what sort of relationship is this?

A.   Finish-to-start

B.   Start-to-start

C.   Finish-to-finish

D.   Start-to-finish

  B. A start-to-start relationship means a successor activity cannot start until its predecessor activity has started.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because a finish-to-start relationship means the successor cannot start until the predecessor finishes. C is incorrect because a finish-to-finish relationship means the successor cannot finish until the predecessor finishes. D is incorrect because a start-to-finish relationship means the successor cannot finish until the predecessor starts.

10.   What is the name of the process of considering whether an additional amount of time should be provided based on quantitative risk analysis?

A.   Expert judgment

B.   Parametric estimating

C.   Reserve analysis

D.   Monte Carlo analysis

  C. Reserve analysis considers whether an additional amount of time should be provided based on quantitative risk analysis.

  A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because expert judgment is a technique for getting information from acknowledged experts. B is incorrect because parametric estimating uses known quantities and multiplies them by known metrics. D is incorrect because Monte Carlo analysis uses sophisticated mathematical modeling to forecast future states from observed data.

11.   The path, or paths, through a project schedule network that represent the most risk because there is no total float is called what?

A.   Critical chain

B.   Network diagram

C.   Gantt chart

D.   Critical path

  D. The critical path is the path, or paths, through a project schedule network that represent the most risk because there is no total float.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because the critical chain method places time buffers around high-risk activities to mitigate any potential adverse impact on the project duration. B is incorrect because the network diagram is a graphical representation of the project activities and the relationship between them. C is incorrect because the Gantt chart is a graphical representation of the project schedule.

12.   If you are compressing the project schedule by using a technique that generally does not increase project costs, which of the following techniques are you using?

A.   Fast tracking

B.   Crashing

C.   Resource optimization

D.   Resource leveling

  A. Fast tracking schedules activities in parallel that would normally be done in sequence.

  B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because crashing adds more resources to an activity to shorten its duration, but it usually costs money. C is incorrect because resource optimization is a technique of making most efficient use of resources on a project. D is incorrect because resource leveling is a type of resource optimization.

13.   The amount of time a successor activity must wait after the completion of its predecessor activity is known as what?

A.   Lead

B.   Resource leveling

C.   Lag

D.   Float

  C. The lag is the amount of time a successor activity must wait after the completion of its predecessor activity.

  A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because lead is the amount of time a successor can start before completion of the predecessor activity. B is incorrect because resource leveling is a type of resource optimization. D is incorrect because the float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed before it has an impact upon successor activities or the total project duration.

14.   Which of the following is not contained in the activity list?

A.   Milestone list

B.   Scope of work description

C.   All schedule activities required on the project

D.   Activity identifier

  A. The milestone list would be found in your WBS dictionary.

  B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because the scope of work description is contained in the activity list. C is incorrect because all schedule activities required on the project are contained in the activity list. D is incorrect because activity identifiers are contained in the activity list.

15.   Which of the following is the most commonly used type of precedence relationship that you will use?

A.   Start-to-start

B.   Start-to-finish

C.   Finish-to-finish

D.   Finish-to-start

  D. Finish-to-start means that the successor activity can’t start until its predecessor activity is finished. Most activities have this sort of relationship.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because start-to-start is not the most common type of relationship. B is incorrect because very few activities have start-to-finish relationships, which means that the successor activity cannot finish until its predecessor activity starts. C is incorrect because finish-to-finish is not the most common type of relationship.

16.   You have scheduled two activities in your project so that the successor activity is able to start a week before the predecessor activity. What is this an example of?

A.   Lag

B.   Lead

C.   Slack

D.   Float

  B. A lead means that one activity can get started before its predecessor finishes even though it has a finish-to-start relationship. It would be shown on a network diagram as having a finish-to-start relationship with a week lead time.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because lag refers to the amount of time a successor activity must wait after the end of its predecessor before it can start. C is incorrect because slack refers to the amount of time that an activity can be delayed before it affects successor activities’ start dates. It is one of the few instances in the PMBOK Guide where two terms, slack and float, are interchangeable. D is incorrect because float refers to the amount of time that an activity can be delayed before it affects successor activities’ start dates. It is one of the few instances in the PMBOK Guide where two terms, slack and float, are interchangeable.

17.   You are completing the sequence of activities and note that one of your activities cannot proceed until consent is granted by the local government agency. This is an example of what sort of dependency?

A.   Discretionary

B.   External

C.   Environmental

D.   Mandatory

  B. An external dependency means that you are waiting on work being done by people or organizations outside of the project.

  A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because a discretionary dependency is one where a successor should come after the predecessor but there is some discretion, particularly if a schedule requires compression to shorten duration. C is incorrect because there is no such term as environmental dependency in the PMBOK Guide. D is incorrect because mandatory dependency means that the successor must come after the predecessor. A mandatory dependency is also one that is internal, not external, to the project.

18.   What sort of information is included in your resource calendar?

A.   The length of time the project will require input from external resources

B.   The dates of annual holidays for project team members

C.   The duration of each activity in the project resource diagram

D.   When and how long project resources will be available during the project

  D. Your resource calendar is a useful input into the Estimate Activity Resources process, and it clearly shows when and where resources will be available to the project.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because the length of time the project will require input from external resources is not shown in the resource calendar. This would be part of the information shown in the network schedule. B is incorrect because the dates of annual holidays for project team members would be a part of the information included in the resource calendar, but it is not the best answer available. C is incorrect because the resource calendar does not show the duration of each activity. This would be shown in the network schedule.

19.   As a result of a brainstorming session, your team determines that the most likely duration of an activity will be 8 days, the optimistic duration is 6 days, and the pessimistic duration is 16 days. What is the expected activity duration?

A.   10 days

B.   5 days

C.   9 days

D.   30 days

  C. Using three-point estimating, the expected duration is: (6 + (8 × 4) + 16)/6 = 9 days.

  A, B, and D are incorrect because, using three-point estimating, the expected duration is: (6 + (8 × 4) + 16)/6 = 9 days.

20.   To estimate the amount of time it will take to install 500 meters of cable on your project, you divide the number of meters required by how many meters an hour the person laying the cable can lay. This is an example of which sort of tool or technique?

A.   Three-point estimating

B.   Bottom-up estimating

C.   Analogous estimating

D.   Parametric estimating

  D. Parametric estimating uses numbers and quantifiable measures to estimate. Remember, if you see the word metric, it means number or measure.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because this is not an example of three-point estimating. Three-point estimating uses the optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic estimates to calculate a weight average. B is incorrect because this is not an example of bottom-up estimating. Bottom-up estimating breaks down work packages and activities into the smallest possible piece of work and then adds up the time and cost for each to get a total project cost or duration. C is incorrect because this is not an example of analogous estimating. Analogous estimating involves using information from similar projects (i.e., an analogy) to estimate elements of your project and is generally less costly and time consuming than other techniques.

21.   What is the PMBOK Guide process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and scheduled constraints to create the project schedule?

A.   Project Schedule Development

B.   Create Project Schedule

C.   Develop Schedule

D.   Schedule Management

  C. This is the final stage in the Planning process group for the Project Time Management knowledge area. It takes all the previous information from the previous planning processes and makes the project schedule. This process will be quite iterative because at the start of the project the information you have available is less accurate.

  A, B, and D are incorrect because they are not the name of PMBOK Guide processes.

22.   Of the following which best describes a Gantt chart?

A.   The best tool to view activity sequencing

B.   A chart that shows activities and their levels of effort

C.   A chart that represents daily activities

D.   A tool to view the sequence of low-level activities

  D. A Gantt chart is a chart used to track day-to-day activities. It can also be called a bar chart.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because the best tool to view activity sequencing is a network precedence diagram. B is incorrect because a Gantt chart shows activities on the vertical axis, dates on the horizontal axis, and activity durations are shown on horizontal bars placed according to start and finish dates. C is incorrect because a Gantt chart represents activities, durations, and dates.

23.   You are using a methodology that calculates the amount of float on various paths in the network diagram to determine the minimum project duration. What tool or technique are you using?

A.   Critical path method

B.   Critical chain method

C.   Parametric estimating

D.   Three-point estimating

  A. Critical path methodology focuses on the amount of float in network paths to determine the critical path through a project. The critical path has no float associated with it and as such represents the greatest risk to the project duration.

  B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because the critical chain method is a schedule network analysis technique that modifies a project schedule to account for limited resources by deliberately adding in nonworking time buffers, which is intended to protect the target finish date from slippage along the critical chain. C is incorrect because parametric estimating is a process that multiplies known quantities by known financial rates. D is incorrect because three-point estimating uses the pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic estimates to get a weight average.

24.   You are using a computer-based modeling technique that examines the possible outcomes based on a range of potential probabilities if a particular situation occurs. What is this technique called?

A.   Parametric estimating

B.   Schedule compression

C.   Critical chain method

D.   What-if scenario analysis

  D. A what-if scenario analysis runs through all the different outcomes if a particular scenario occurs. This level of information can assist with many types of estimating to get the full range of possibilities. The most comprehensive type of what-if scenario analysis is a Monte Carlo analysis.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because this is not an example of parametric estimating. Parametric estimating is a process that multiplies known quantities by known financial rates. B is incorrect because schedule compression involves using fast tracking or crashing to reduce the project duration. C is incorrect because the critical chain method is a schedule network analysis technique that modifies a project schedule to account for limited resources by deliberately adding in nonworking time buffers, which is intended to protect the target finish date from slippage along the critical chain.

25.   What is the name of the process in the PMBOK Guide that monitors the status of the project to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline?

A.   Develop Schedule

B.   Monitoring and Controlling

C.   Verify Schedule

D.   Control Schedule

  D. Control Schedule is the only time management knowledge area process that appears in the Monitoring and Controlling process group.

  A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because the Develop Schedule process produces the project schedule and schedule baseline. B is incorrect because Monitoring and Controlling is a process group, not an individual process. C is incorrect because it is a made-up process name.

26.   What does a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.9 mean?

A.   The amount of buffer in your critical chain methodology is less than optimal.

B.   The project network diagram was incorrectly put together.

C.   The project is behind schedule and in need of schedule compression.

D.   The project is ahead of schedule.

  C. An SPI of 1 means the project is on schedule, less than 1 means behind schedule, and greater than 1 means ahead of schedule.

  A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because this calculation does not immediately tell you if your amount of buffer is less than optimal. B is incorrect because this calculation does not immediately tell you if your network diagram was incorrectly put together. D is incorrect because an SPI of 1 means the project is on schedule, less than 1 means behind schedule, and greater than 1 means ahead of schedule.

27.   Yvette has requested that each team member determine the estimates by multiplying the quantity of work to be performed by the known historical productivity rate of the individual department. What is this technique called?

A.   Parametric estimating

B.   Analogous estimating

C.   Three-point estimating

D.   Expert judgment

  A. Parametric estimating is an estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters.

  B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because analogous estimating uses an analogy from a previous project and extrapolates from that an estimate for a current project. The question presents an example of parametric estimating. C is incorrect because three-point estimating uses the pessimistic, realistic, and optimistic estimates to get a weighted average. D is incorrect because expert judgment uses the experience of experts to assist in preparing estimates.