CHAPTER 9
Project Resource Management
In this chapter, you will
• Define the six project management processes in the Project Resource Management knowledge area
• Identify the inputs, tools, techniques, and outputs defined in the six processes in Project Resource Management
• Identify key concepts and trends in Project Resource Management, including tailoring and special considerations for agile/adaptive environments
• Identify techniques for developing a team, managing conflict, and resolving resource-related problems
• Understand the components of a resource management plan and data representation techniques for managing project resources
Every project needs resources, both human and physical. The art and science of managing project resources center on the project manager’s ability to use a set of finite resources to create the deliverables that have been committed to through the project goals while remembering that a good portion of the resources are human beings that have needs of their own. The Project Resource Management process group contains six processes that focus on determining what resources a project needs, acquiring the resources, and then managing the acquired resources to the best advantage of the project. Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) candidates are tested on five objectives that emphasize the candidate’s knowledge of acquiring and managing a team, as well as considering the planning needed to identify the human and physical resources required in a project.
The 24 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. Which process are you carrying out if you are deciding how to estimate time that will be needed by the quality testing group for the integrating testing phase of your project?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Plan Resource Management
D. Project Procurement Management
2. In which Project Resource Management process does a project manager compare the planned usage of a resource to its actual usage?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
3. Which two processes take place during the Planning process group?
A. Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders
B. Control Schedule and Control Costs
C. Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources
D. Direct and Manage Project Work and Acquire Resources
4. Which two processes require that a project manager know how to use techniques like expert judgment to create estimates?
A. Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources
B. Develop Team and Estimate Activity Resources
C. Manage Team and Estimate Activity Resources
D. Control Resources and Estimate Activity Resources
5. Which process in the Project Resource Management process group is concerned with tracking team member performance and resolving team issues?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Direct and Manage Work
C. Develop Team
D. Manage Team
6. One tool of project management is a table that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages. What is this table known as?
A. Resource calendar updates
B. Activity attribute updates
C. Resource breakdown structure
D. Activity resource requirements
7. Which document is presented in a tabular form and includes the schedule milestones, documented assumptions and constraints, resource requirements by time period, and alternative schedules?
A. Project schedule
B. Schedule data
C. Resource schedule
D. Project bar chart
8. Which tool is a visual representation that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule?
A. Work breakdown structure
B. Task network diagram
C. Resource histogram
D. Detailed Gantt chart
9. Which input to Plan Resource Management identifies the deliverables that drive the types and quantities of resources, which the project manager will need to manage?
A. Quality management plan
B. Resource management plan
C. RACI chart
D. Scope baseline
10. Which process creates the resource breakdown structure?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
11. Which of the following is beneficial during the Planning phase in order to include relevant expertise and strengthen commitment to the project?
A. The RACI chart
B. Hiring an external consultant
C. Identifying key performance indicators for requirements
D. Participation of team members
12. As leader and manager of the project team, which of the following should the project manager be aware of as external project factors that may influence the project team?
A. Names of the project sponsor and business analyst
B. Quantitative and qualitative project risks
C. Internal and external politics
D. Business requirements and functional requirements
13. As the project manager, if you place an order for low-quality material in order to stay within the project budget, what is the exposure to the project or project team?
A. There is risk that quality of the product may be compromised causing rework.
B. There is a risk that deadlines may not be met.
C. There is a risk that the project team will require training.
D. There is a risk that the project sponsor will initiate a change request.
14. What are teams called that function with an absence of centralized control?
A. Specialists
B. Subject matter experts
C. Self-organizing
D. Self-sufficient
15. In a matrix management situation, which process is used to prevent unauthorized or conflicting assignments for team members between tasks for the functional manager and tasks for the project team?
A. Monitor and Control Project Work
B. Perform Integrated Change Control
C. Control Resources
D. Control Human Resources
16. Your company is undergoing a 12 percent reduction in workforce, and the project you are managing is affected. What should you do next?
A. Carefully monitor and control the scarce resources.
B. Request a preassigned contractor for needed resources.
C. Suggest that a contracting officer representative (COR) be used for all project procurements.
D. Use MoSCoW to reprioritize the work in your project.
17. Which estimation technique performs the estimation at the activity level and then aggregates up to develop estimates for work packages, control accounts, and summary project levels?
A. Expert judgment
B. Bottom-up estimating
C. Analogous estimating
D. Parametric estimating
18. Which process monitors and measures resources to ensure committed resources are made available and allocated according to the project management plan?
A. Control Staffing
B. Control Team
C. Control Scope
D. Control Resources
19. Your current project is in trouble per reports from the company’s project steering committee, with many of the project issues stemming from a lack of resources. What should you do immediately?
A. Tell the steering committee you have analyzed the work performance data, and the work performance reports are wrong.
B. Start with general and background information about the project’s performance.
C. The problems from lack of resources have been noted in variance and trend analysis reports, which you are bringing to the project steering committee to justify more resources.
D. You now need to re-baseline the project’s schedule because of the resource shortage.
20. Which problem-solving technique focuses on achieving a win-win situation?
A. Compromise/reconcile
B. Collaborate/problem solve
C. Force/direct
D. Smooth/accommodate
21. Which data representation shows the company’s existing departments, units, or teams together with project activities as work packages listed under each department?
A. Hierarchical charts
B. Work breakdown structure
C. Organizational breakdown structure
D. Resource breakdown structure
22. Which Project Resource Management group process uses multiple data representations as a technique for carrying out the process?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
23. Given that multiple methods are available to document team member roles as a part of the Project Resource Management process, what are the shared objectives of all of the methods?
A. Ensure each work package has an ambiguous owner.
B. Ensure team members have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
C. Create an organizational breakdown structure.
D. Create a resource breakdown structure.
24. Which of the following will lead to the project manager tailoring the approach to Project Resource Management?
A. Knowing whether the requirements will be captured with a formal or informal framework
B. Identifying the risk threshold of the project sponsor
C. Identifying the risk threshold of the project customer
D. Knowing whether the team resources will be full-time or part-time
QUICK ANSWER KEY
1. C
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. D
7. B
8. C
9. D
10. C
11. D
12. C
13. A
14. C
15. C
16. A
17. B
18. D
19. B
20. B
21. C
22. D
23. B
24. D
A ANSWERS
1. Which process are you carrying out if you are deciding how to estimate time that will be needed by the quality testing group for the integrating testing phase of your project?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Plan Resource Management
D. Project Procurement Management
C. The Plan Resource Management process in the Project Resource Management process group is concerned with how to estimate, acquire, manage, and make use of both physical and team resources, which would include time with the quality testing group for integrating testing.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the Acquire Resources process in the Project Resource Management process group is the work to acquire; however, the question is asking about planning. B is incorrect because the Control Resources process in the Project Resource Management process group is about ensuring the assigned and allocated resources are available as planned in addition to monitoring usage versus planned. D is incorrect because Project Procurement Management is the process group concerned with creating acquisition relationships with vendors of goods and services external to the company.
2. In which Project Resource Management process does a project manager compare the planned usage of a resource to its actual usage?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
B. Monitoring the planned versus actual use of resources is done during Control Resources, and if there is a variance that needs to be corrected, corrective actions are taken as a part of Control Resources as well.
A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because Acquire Resources is about obtaining human and physical resources for the project and happens before any actual usage information can be captured. C is incorrect because Estimate Activity Resources is about estimating time for team members as well as type and quantity for physical resources for the project, and this happens before any actual usage information can be captured. D is incorrect because Plan Resource Management precedes all other Project Resource Management process and well before any actual usage information can be captured.
3. Which two processes take place during the Planning process group?
A. Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders
B. Control Schedule and Control Costs
C. Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources
D. Direct and Manage Project Work and Acquire Resources
C. Both Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources take place as a part of the Planning Process Group.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders are part of the Initiating Process Group. B is incorrect because Control Schedule and Control Costs are part of the Monitoring and Controlling process group. D is incorrect because Direct and Manage Project Work and Acquire Resources are part of the Executing Process Group.
4. Which two processes require that a project manager know how to use techniques like expert judgment to create estimates?
A. Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources
B. Develop Team and Estimate Activity Resources
C. Manage Team and Estimate Activity Resources
D. Control Resources and Estimate Activity Resources
A. Both Plan Resource Management and Estimate Activity Resources require the project manager to use tools and techniques for estimation. Expert judgment includes past experiences and past projects and is a valuable tool used in both of these processes.
B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because Develop Team does not use expert judgment or estimation. C is incorrect because Manage Team does not use expert judgment or estimation. D is incorrect because Control Resources does not use expert judgment or estimation.
5. Which process in the Project Resource Management process group is concerned with tracking team member performance and resolving team issues?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Direct and Manage Work
C. Develop Team
D. Manage Team
D. The Manage Team process includes tracking team member performance, providing feedback to the team, helping to resolve issues, and managing any changes to the team to optimize project performance.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because Acquire Resources is about obtaining the team members and is too early in the process to look at performance. B is incorrect because Direct and Manage Work is the executing process that directly carries out project work but does not look at team performance. C is incorrect because Develop Team focuses on improving competencies and team member interaction.
6. One tool of project management is a table that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages. What is this table known as?
A. Resource calendar updates
B. Activity attribute updates
C. Resource breakdown structure
D. Activity resource requirements
D. The set of activity resource requirements is a list that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A and B are incorrect because although both are updates to outputs of the resource estimating activity, neither includes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages. C is incorrect because the resource breakdown structure provides a decomposition of each resource for the project but does not include a type or quantity.
7. Which document is presented in a tabular form and includes the schedule milestones, documented assumptions and constraints, resource requirements by time period, and alternative schedules?
A. Project schedule
B. Schedule data
C. Resource schedule
D. Project bar chart
B. The schedule data includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and documented assumptions and constraints, as well as resource requirements by time period, alternative schedules, and scheduling of contingency reserves.
A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the project schedule is a detail of activity start and end dates. C is incorrect because the resource schedule does not show weekends and vacations. D is incorrect because the project bar chart does not show the working days and shifts.
8. Which tool is a visual representation that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule?
A. Work breakdown structure
B. Task network diagram
C. Resource histogram
D. Detailed Gantt chart
C. A chart that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule is known as a resource histogram.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because a WBS does not show weekly allocation. B is incorrect because a task network diagram is not used to show schedule information for resources. D is incorrect because a Gantt chart shows only task schedule information.
9. Which input to Plan Resource Management identifies the deliverables that drive the types and quantities of resources, which the project manager will need to manage?
A. Quality management plan
B. Resource management plan
C. RACI chart
D. Scope baseline
D. The task Plan Resource Management takes only two inputs: the quality management plan and the scope baseline. The scope baseline identifies the deliverables from which you derive the type and quantity of resources required to create the deliverables.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because although it is one of the two inputs to the Plan Resource Management process, it is the scope baseline input that identifies the deliverables that drive which resources will be needed on the project. B is incorrect because the resource management plan is an output from the Plan Resource Management process. C is incorrect because RACI details roles and responsibilities of project stakeholders but does not identify resources needed.
10. Which process creates the resource breakdown structure?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
C. The Estimate Activity Resources process has the resource breakdown structure as an output.
A, B, and D are incorrect. Only the Estimate Activity Resources process has the resource breakdown structure as an output.
11. Which of the following is beneficial during the Planning phase in order to include relevant expertise and strengthen commitment to the project?
A. The RACI chart
B. Hiring an external consultant
C. Identifying key performance indicators for requirements
D. Participation of team members
D. Although specific roles and responsibilities for project team members may exist, involving the entire team in project planning and decision making gives them a chance to add their expertise and results in strengthening their commitment to the project.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because although specific roles and responsibilities for project team members may exist and participating in planning may not be a specific role and responsibility, involving the team shares ownership for the result. B is incorrect because hiring an external consultant may bring in expertise but will also usually result in the team members needing to be coached into high-performance mode. C is incorrect because identifying key performance indicators for the requirements portion of the project is specific to the Collect Requirements process and will not strengthen the commitment of all team members, just the business analysts.
12. As leader and manager of the project team, which of the following should the project manager be aware of as external project factors that may influence the project team?
A. Names of the project sponsor and business analyst
B. Quantitative and qualitative project risks
C. Internal and external politics
D. Business requirements and functional requirements
C. Internal and external politics are factors outside the team that can influence team performance.
A, B, and D are incorrect. Each of these represents aspects that are internal to the project; the question asks about factors external to the project.
13. As the project manager, if you place an order for low-quality material in order to stay within the project budget, what is the exposure to the project or project team?
A. There is risk that quality of the product may be compromised causing rework.
B. There is a risk that deadlines may not be met.
C. There is a risk that the project team will require training.
D. There is a risk that the project sponsor will initiate a change request.
A. A choice in ordering low-quality materials can result in the risk that the materials could fail or cause rework. This is an example of failing to manage and control resources efficiently.
B, C, and D are incorrect. Although each is a project risk, none are directly related to the choice to order low-quality materials.
14. What are teams called that function with an absence of centralized control?
A. Specialists
B. Subject matter experts
C. Self-organizing
D. Self-sufficient
C. Agile approaches have made self-organizing teams popular, with a central tenet of these teams being that they rely on one another and function without a central authority or control.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because a self-organizing team can consist of generalized specialists, but a specialist by itself is not representing the entire team. B is incorrect because subject matter experts are more typical in predictive (nonadaptive) projects. D is incorrect because self-sufficient is actually not sufficient; a good team makes use of all available resources, including those where talent is needed from outside the team.
15. In a matrix management situation, which process is used to prevent unauthorized or conflicting assignments for team members between tasks for the functional manager and tasks for the project team?
A. Monitor and Control Project Work
B. Perform Integrated Change Control
C. Control Resources
D. Control Human Resources
C. Ensuring that the assigned resources are available to the project at the right time and in the right place is a key goal of the Control Resources process.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because the Monitor and Control Project Work process is concerned with comparing actual project performance against the project management plan. B is incorrect because the process of coordinating changes across the entire project, including changes to cost, quality, schedule, and scope, is the Perform Integrated Change Control process. D is incorrect because there is no task involving human resources (HR) in the PMBOK; HR is typically a functional area within an organization.
16. Your company is undergoing a 12 percent reduction in workforce, and the project you are managing is affected. What should you do next?
A. Carefully monitor and control the scarce resources.
B. Request a preassigned contractor for needed resources.
C. Suggest that a contracting officer representative (COR) be used for all project procurements.
D. Use MoSCoW to reprioritize the work in your project.
A. Projects need resources, and in this question resources are scarce. The task therefore lies with the project manager to determine the proper timing of those resources within the project schedule.
B, C, and D are incorrect. B is incorrect because preassignment allows you to select team members in advance, before the project starts. Team members may be assigned in the Develop Project Charter process. C is incorrect because not every project has a COR. D is incorrect because the MoSCoW method is not the only technique for prioritizing work in a project. MoSCoW = Must have, Should have, Could have, and Won’t have.
17. Which estimation technique performs the estimation at the activity level and then aggregates up to develop estimates for work packages, control accounts, and summary project levels?
A. Expert judgment
B. Bottom-up estimating
C. Analogous estimating
D. Parametric estimating
B. Bottom-up estimation is done by taking estimates from team and physical resources at the activity level and then summing and averaging them to develop estimates for work packages as well as control accounts and summary project information.
A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because expert judgment information is used together with estimates from experts but not directly for work packages. C is incorrect because analogous estimating uses a similar project to form estimates for the current project. D is incorrect because parametric estimation involves using a parameter value as part of a calculation for an estimate.
18. Which process monitors and measures resources to ensure committed resources are made available and allocated according to the project management plan?
A. Control Staffing
B. Control Team
C. Control Scope
D. Control Resources
D. Control Resources is the process of measuring and monitoring all project resources, and their associated costs, according to the project management plan. It is the process of managing resources to ensure the committed resources are made available to the project consistent with the commitments, resources are allocated within the project according to the plan, and resources are released from the project as dictated by the plan.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A and B are incorrect because Control Staffing and Control Team are not phrases used in the PMBOK Guide. C is incorrect because Control Scope monitors project and product status and maps changes to the scope baseline.
19. Your current project is in trouble per reports from the company’s project steering committee, with many of the project issues stemming from a lack of resources. What should you do immediately?
A. Tell the steering committee you have analyzed the work performance data, and the work performance reports are wrong.
B. Start with general and background information about the project’s performance.
C. The problems from lack of resources have been noted in variance and trend analysis reports, which you are bringing to the project steering committee to justify more resources.
D. You now need to re-baseline the project’s schedule because of the resource shortage.
B. Presenting a chart of the project’s performance over time will show how the performance is deteriorating because of scarce resources.
A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because work performance data is the raw measurement of start and finish dates of schedule activities. Work performance information, such as the status of deliverables, is represented in work performance reports. You may use the documents to raise awareness of the resource problem after you show the impact over time of the resource problem. C is incorrect because the responsibilities of a project steering committee (PSC) in a project management setting include project priority setting and resource allocation, which are usually done after the PSC understands the resource allocation situation. D is incorrect because you have re-baselined the project’s schedule and identified the corrective or preventive action required each time a due date is missed.
20. Which problem-solving technique focuses on achieving a win-win situation?
A. Compromise/reconcile
B. Collaborate/problem solve
C. Force/direct
D. Smooth/accommodate
B. The conflict resolution technique of collaborating and problem solving, which incorporates multiple viewpoints and insights from differing perspectives, requires a cooperative attitude and open dialogue. The goal is to obtain consensus and commitment that results in a win-win situation.
A, C, and D are incorrect. Collaboration/problem solving leads to a win-win situation by incorporating differing viewpoints and insights more so than compromise or reconciliation, forcing or directing, or smoothing or accommodating.
21. Which data representation shows the company’s existing departments, units, or teams together with project activities as work packages listed under each department?
A. Hierarchical charts
B. Work breakdown structure
C. Organizational breakdown structure
D. Resource breakdown structure
C. The organizational breakdown structure (OBS) shows organizational units such as departments, units, or teams and the project activities for each organizational unit.
A, B, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because an organizational breakdown structure is an example of the category of hierarchical charts so the more specific answer of organizational breakdown structure is the better answer. B is incorrect because a work breakdown structure shows how project deliverables decompose into work packages. D is incorrect because the resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical team list that also includes physical resources with categories and resource types.
22. Which Project Resource Management group process uses multiple data representations as a technique for carrying out the process?
A. Acquire Resources
B. Control Resources
C. Estimate Activity Resources
D. Plan Resource Management
D. Only the Plan Resource Management process in the Project Resource Management process group includes data representations as a tool and technique. Histogram charts such as the WBS, OBS, and RBS are indicated for this process.
A, B, and C are incorrect. Only the Plan Resource Management process in Project Resource Management includes data representations as a tool and technique.
23. Given that multiple methods are available to document team member roles as a part of the Project Resource Management process, what are the shared objectives of all of the methods?
A. Ensure each work package has an ambiguous owner.
B. Ensure team members have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
C. Create an organizational breakdown structure.
D. Create a resource breakdown structure.
B. All data representations in Project Resource Management have two goals: ensure each work package has an unambiguous owner, and ensure team members have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
A, C, and D are incorrect. A is incorrect because each work package should have an unambiguous owner. C and D are incorrect for the same reason: each of these is a data representation technique, and neither by itself states the goal for all data representations.
24. Which of the following will lead to the project manager tailoring the approach to Project Resource Management?
A. Knowing whether the requirements will be captured with a formal or informal framework
B. Identifying the risk threshold of the project sponsor
C. Identifying the risk threshold of the project customer
D. Knowing whether the team resources will be full-time or part-time
D. Knowing whether the team resources will be full-time or part-time will help the project manager decide how to acquire resources for the project.
A, B, and C are incorrect. A is incorrect because formal or informal approaches to requirements will tailor the approach to the Collect Requirements process but will not directly influence the Project Resource Management processes. B and C are incorrect because risk thresholds are important but will not directly influence the Project Resource Management processes.