CAPM & PMP Practice Questions – Set 2

1. Reserve Analysis a technique not used in:
A. Estimate Costs
B. Estimating Activity Duration
C. Control Costs
D. Determine Budget
Answer: C
Explanation:
Reserve Analysis: Many cost estimators include reserves, also called contingency allowances, as costs in many schedule activity cost estimates. Reserve Analysis a technique not used in Control Costs.

2. A Project with a total funding of $70,000 finished with a BAC value of $60,000.
What term can best describe the difference of $10,000?
A. Management Contingency Reserve
B. Cost Variance
C. Schedule Variance
D. Management Overhead
Answer: A
Explanation:
The difference between the Cost Baseline and Funding requirement at Project completion is Management Contingency Reserve. BAC represents the revised Cost baseline for the project. So Management Contingency Reserve is true.

3. The positive value of conflict is underestimated. Properly managed, conflict is a valuable tool, particularly when
A. A diversion is needed
B. Conflict may cause a loss of status or position power
C. Conflictive situations are in their early stages and emotional involvement is low
D. Conflictive situations are in their late stages and emotional involvement is high

Answer: C

4. You are the project manager for a new website for the local zoo. You need to perform Qualitative Risk Analysis. When you’ve completed this process, you’ll produce all of the following as part of the risk register update output except which one?
A. Probability of achieving time and cost estimates
B. Watch list of low-priority risks
C. Priority list of risks
D. Risks grouped by categories
Answer: A
Explanation:
Probability of achieving time and cost estimates is an update that is produced from the
Quantitative Risk Analysis process.

5. A clear definition of the user’s needs serves as the direct basis for the:
A. Selection of personnel.
B. Termination decision.
C. Work breakdown structure.
D. Functional requirements.
E. Project cost estimate.
Answer: D

6. A summary WBS is usually developed in the
A. close-out phase
B. All of the other alternatives apply phases
C. implementation phase
D. planning phase
E. Conceptual phase
Answer: E

7. Many companies self insure against some risk. Problems which can arise from self-insurance include:
A. confusion of business risks with insurable risks.
B. Both 1) failure to reserve funds to handle worst case scenarios (low probability events) resulting in severe financial damage to the company, and 2) confusion of business risks with insurable risks.
C. stiff competition from insurance companies
D. All of the other alternatives apply.
E. failure to reserve funds to handle worst case scenarios (low probability events) resulting in severe financial damage to the company
Answer: B

8. You are a contract project manager working with the State of Bliss. Your latest project involves rewriting the Department of Revenue’s income tax system. As project manager, you have taken all the appropriate actions regarding confidentiality of data. One of the key stakeholders is a huge movie buff, and she has the power to promote you into a better position at the conclusion of this project. She’s reviewing some report data that just happens to include confidential information regarding one of her favorite movie superstars. What is the most appropriate response?
A. Do nothing, because she has the proper level of access rights to the data and this information showed up unintentionally.
B. Request that she immediately return the information, citing conflict of interest and violation of confidential company data.
C. Request that she immediately return the information until you can confirm that she has the proper level of access rights to the data.
D. Report her to the management team.
Answer: A
Explanation:
As project manager, it’s your responsibility to make sure the people you will be sharing data with have the proper permissions to see the data; this question indicated that you did that. In this case, D is not correct because it implies that you did not verify ahead of time that the stake-holder had the proper level of approvals to use the data.

9. Resource reallocation from non critical to critical activities is an example of which Project Scheduling technique:
A. Critical Path Method
B. Schedule Compression
C. Resource Leveling
D. What if Analysis
Answer: C
Explanation:
Resource Leveling: Allocate scare resources to critical path activities first.

10. Which of the following statements is in agreement with McGregor’s concepts concerning Theory X and Theory Y managers?
A. All of the other alternatives apply
B. Theory X managers tend to be autocratic whereas Theory Y managers are more likely to delegate responsibility
C. Both 1) Theory X managers view subordinates as being lazy, irresponsible, and resistant to change, and 2) Theory Y managers view subordinates as being imaginative, creative, and willing to accept responsibility
D. Theory Y managers view subordinates as being imaginative, creative, and willing to accept responsibility
E. Theory X managers view subordinates as being lazy, irresponsible, and resistant to change
Answer: A

11. Management by objectives assumes that the team
A. Both 1) is receptive to an unstructured environment, and 2) possesses a self-fulfillment philosophy
B. possesses a self-fulfillment philosophy
C. All of the other alternatives apply
D. is receptive to an unstructured environment.
E. does not require close supervision
Answer: B

12. An activity that consumes no time or resources and shows only that a dependency exists between two activities is called:
A. A milestone
B. A dummy activity
C. Both 1) A milestone and 2) A dummy activity
D. A hammock
Answer: B

13. A estimate prepared from layouts, sketches and flowsheets, should be accurate within (-10, +25%).
A. Parametric
B. Bottom up.
C. Budget
D. Top down.
E. Definitive.
Answer: C

14. What is the standard deviation for the estimates in the above problem?
A. 2
B. 0.5
C. 1.5
D. 0.6
Answer: D

15. Which of the following is most closely associated with pure risk:
A. profit and loss
B. personnel turnover
C. market fluctuations
D. insurance
E. Both 1) profit and loss and 2) market fluctuations.
Answer: D

16. Your company, Kick That Ball Sports, has appointed you project manager for its new Cricket product line introduction. This is a national effort, and all the retail stores across the country need to have the new products on the shelves before the media advertising blitz begins. The product line involves three new products, two of which will be introduced together and a third one that will follow within two years. Product number three will be elaborated in more detail closer to the product’s release date, while the first two products will be elaborated in great detail now. The scope management plan has just been completed. Which of the following is true? (Choose the best response.)
A. The WBS template from a previous project, a tool and technique of the Create WBS process, was used to create the WBS for this project. The WBS encompasses the major deliverables for the project.
B. Only the deliverables associated with the work of the project should be listed on the WBS. Since product number three isn’t being released until a later date it should not yet be included on the WBS.
C. The WBS encompasses the full scope of work for the project and the technique in the question is called rolling wave planning.
D. The WBS should be created next, and it encompasses the full scope of work for the project. Only the work of the project is listed on the WBS.
Answer: C
Explanation:
There isn’t enough information in the question to know whether “The WBS template from a previous project, a tool and technique of the Create WBS process, was used to create the WBS for this project. The WBS encompasses the major deliverables for the project.” is correct, although it could be. “The WBS should be created next, and it encompasses the full scope of work for the project. Only the work of the project is listed on the WBS.” is not correct because the next process after the scope management plan is created is the Scope Definition process. The WBS details the entire scope of the project and includes all deliverables. It is an output of the Create WBS process and the technique of elaborating some deliverables at a later date is called rolling wave planning.

17. The risk of accepting a lot of poor quality, in acceptance sampling, is referred to as:
A. type I error
B. producer’s risk
C. consumer’s risk
D. buyer’s risk
E. consumer’s risk and type I error
Answer: C

18. Parametric cost estimating involves
A. using a statistical model to estimate costs
B. calculating the individual estimates of work packages
C. defining the perimeters of the life-cycle
D. using the WBS to do bottom up estimates
E. Both 1) using the WBS to do bottom up estimate, and 2) calculating the individual estimates of work packages
Answer: A

19. You are a project manager for Picture Shades, Inc. It manufactures window shades that have replicas of Renaissance-era paintings on the inside for hotel chains. Picture Shades is taking its product to the home market, and you’re managing the new project. It will offer its products at retail stores as well as on its website. You’re developing the project schedule for this under-taking and have determined the critical path. Which of the following statements is true?
A. You calculated the early and late start dates, the early and late finish dates, and float times for all activities.
B. You calculated the optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely duration times and the float times for all activities.
C. You calculated the activity dependency and the optimistic and pessimistic activity duration estimates.
D. You calculated the most likely start date and most likely finish dates, float time, and weighted average estimates.
Answer: A
Explanation:
The CPM calculates a single early and late start date and a single early and late finish date for each activity. Once these dates are known, float time is calculated for each activity to determine the critical path. The other answers contain elements of PERT calculations.

20. Your project team has identified several potential risks on your current project that could have a significant impact if they occurred. The team examined the impact of the risks by keeping all the uncertain elements at their baseline values. What type of diagram will the team use to display this information?
A. Process flowchart
B. Tornado diagram
C. Influence diagram
D. Fishbone diagram
Answer: B
Explanation:
The question describes sensitivity analysis, which is a tool and technique of the Quantitative Risk Analysis process. Tornado diagrams are often used to display sensitivity analysis data.

21. Response Planning is the responsibility of the functional areas and considers
A. Deflection.
B. Contingency planning.
C. Unforeseen occurrences.
D. All of the other alternatives apply.
E. Mitigation.
Answer: D

22. Your project sponsor has requested a cost estimate for the project on which you’re working. This project is similar in scope to a project you worked on last year. She would like to get the cost estimates as soon as possible. Accuracy is not her primary concern right now. She needs a ballpark figure by tomorrow. You decide to use?
A. parametric modeling techniques
B. analogous estimating techniques
C. bottom-up estimating techniques
D. computerized modeling techniques
Answer: B
Explanation:
Analogous-or top-down-estimating techniques are a form of expert judgment. Since this project is similar to another recent project, you can use the cost estimates from the previous project to help you quickly determine estimates for the current project.

23. For communication to occur, there must be:
A. All of the other alternatives apply
B. a communication process
C. Two or more people involved
D. the transmittal of information
E. The transmittal of information and a communication process
Answer: A

24. Your company has asked you to be the project manager for the product introduction of its new DeskTop Rock media system. You recently published the project scope statement. Which of the following is not contained in the project scope statement?
A. Requested changes
B. Project configuration management requirements
C. Constraints
D. Project specifications
Answer: A
Explanation:
Requested changes are an output of the Scope Definition process. They are not part of the project scope statement.

25. You are working on a project that is similar in scope to a project performed last year by your company. You might consider which of the following?
A. Using the previous project’s alternatives identification as a template
B. Reusing the previous project’s product description when writing the scope statement
C. Using the previous project’s WBS as a template
D. Reusing the previous project’s cost-benefit analysis as justification for this project
Answer: C
Explanation:
WBSs from previous projects can be used as templates on projects that are producing similar products, services, or results. Some companies write WBS templates to be used for projects of a similar scope.