© Practical PM Pty Ltd, 2009 1

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Free PMI-SP Questions

1

a Dummy.

b Finish-to-Start.

c As Soon As Possible.

d Start-to-Finish. ?

2

a AC + (BAC – EV)

b (BAC - EV)/(BAC - AC)

c

d (BAC - EV)/(EAC - AC) ?

3

a

b No, a negative SV indicates that planned work was not planned appropriately.

c

d Yes, a negative SV only get worse over time. ?

4

a

b

c The precedence diagramming method (PDM) is used for dependency determination.

d?

For more information on Mosaic's PMI-SP training options and additional copies of this free spreadsheet, visit:

http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Free_PMI-SP_Questions.html

Answer each question with an A, B, C or D (replace the ?). When you have finished there is a link at the bottom of the last page to download the free answer sheet.

These questions should take you around 30 minutes to complete at the PMI-SP exam pace. Good luck!

Your Answer

What is the most commonly used relationship in a PDM (Precedence Diagramming Method) network?

Which calculation is correct for the To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) based on the Estimate At Completion (EAC)?

BAC/CPIcum

Is a negative schedule variance (SV) an indicator that the project will not finish as scheduled?

Yes, a negative SV indicates that the actual progress of the project master schedule is behind the planned progress.

No, a negative SV only indicates that all of the planned work has not been accomplished; other information is needed to assess the forecast project finish date.

You are managing a project to develop a new training course. Which of the following statements is true regarding the tools and techniques used in activity sequencing?

The precedence diagramming method (PDM) uses nodes to represent the activities and arrows to connect the nodes and show dependencies.

Leads and lags allow for the delaying and acceleration of successor activities respectively.

The two type of dependency determination are mandatory dependencies (hard logic) and discretionary dependencies (soft logic).

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5

a Very Low, low, moderate, high and very high.

b Avoid, transfer, mitigate, neutral and accept.

c Very high, high, moderate, low and very low.

d Accept, neutral, mitigate, transfer and avoid. ?

Your qualitative risk assessment matrix uses the following values on each axis: 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9. This is a linear scale, what descriptions are most likely to be assigned to these values?

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6

a 1.333.

b 13.33.

c 14

d 12.66. ?

7 Typical causes of unfavourable cost variances include all but the following except:

a Poor Planning.

b Under staffing because of labour shortage.

c Re-work.

d Scope Creep. ?

8

a A summary bar chart.

b The schedule network diagram.

c A Gantt Chart.

d A Milestone Chart. ?

9

a Reporting.

b Documentation.

c Communication.

d Influencing. ?

10 Which of the following is true concerning the work breakdown structure (WBS)?

a

b The WBS is the same as the organisational breakdown structure (OBS).

c

d The WBS is the bill of materials (BoM) needed to accomplish the work of the project.

?

11

a The likely changes you expect to occur based on your experience.

b

c All authorised changes that affect the budget.

d Only approved change requests. ?

Assuming a 'Modified Beta' distribution, calculate the expected value given the following three point estimate: optimistic = 8, most likely = 14, pessimistic = 16?

Your steering committee chair has asked you for a report that highlights the start and finish of each of key project deliverables. What is the best report format to use?

When distributing information to the project stakeholders, the project manager is responsible for making the information clear and complete so the recipient can easily understand it. This competency is best described as a part of the project manager's _____________ skills.

The PMI WBS and PRINCE2 product breakdown structure (PBS) are effectively the same thing.

The WBS is a deliverable oriented, hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team.

You are managing a critically important project that is experiencing a high level of change. On-time delivery is vital! Which of the following best describes the changes you will incorporate into the schedule for the team?

The seller receives a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of the initial estimated project cost.

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12

a Project A.

b Project B.

c Project C.

d Project D.. ?

13 Analogous estimating when applied to a duration is:

a

b Used when there is a limited amount of detailed information available.

c A calculation based on a three point estimate using a modified BETA distribution.

d The same as ‘bottom up’ estimating. ?

14 Who is responsible for identifying risks in a project?

a The Project Manager.

b Any project personnel including stakeholders.

c The Project Planner.

d The main stakeholders including the sponsor. ?

15

a Change request.

b Corrective action.

c Schedule baseline update.

d Preventative action. ?

16

a -0% to +0%.

b -5% to +5%.

c -10% to + 10%.

d -50% to +50%. ?

17

a PDM is more accurate then ADM.

b PDM networks use the CPM (critical path method), ADM networks do not.

c PDM networks are developed from the WBS, ADM networks are not.

d The way the network is drawn. ?

You are compiling a monthly summary for your PMO reports. There are 4 projects reporting the following data: Project A has an EV of $500 and an AC of $505; Project B has a CPI of 1.08, Project C has an EV of $455 and an AC of $450; and Project D has a CPI of 0.98. Which project is the most cost efficient?

Based on expert judgement and is consequently more accurate than standard critical path estimating.

You are managing a project that is running late. You propose corrective actions that will affect the schedule baseline. This proposal is called a:

The level of information on your project has improved significantly since the original estimates were completed, and a part of the planning process you have been asked to review the cost estimate and produce the definitive estimate for the project baseline. What would be a reasonable range for you to achieve?

The primary difference between an Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) network and a Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) network is:

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18

a Ignore the situation; you are not responsible for the approval of purchase orders.

b Record the information in your project records.

c Adjust your purchasing practices to keep all purchases under $10,000.

d Document the information in your Lessons Learned. ?

19

a Analogous Estimating.

b Using Historical Records.

c Expert Judgement.

d Approximation. ?

20 The Control Costs process includes all of the following except:

a Informing appropriate stakeholders of all approved changes and associated costs.

b Influencing factors that create changes in the authorised cost baseline.

c Developing the cost performance baseline.

d Acting to bring expected cost overruns within acceptable limits. ?

21

a Performance review.

b Performance measurement.

c Earned Value assessment.

d Critical path analysis. ?

22

a Rework.

b Rate Variance.

c Schedule Slippage.

d Labour Shortage. ?

You are working on a major project and after the first couple of months you realise it takes an extra two weeks to get approvals on any purchase order over $10,000. What should you do?

You are not sure how long the commission will take on your project so you review several completed projects and decide to use the duration required to complete a similar commissioning process on a completed project. What is this called?

One of your team has been asked to gather information on the actual start and finish date of activities and the remaining duration of any activities that are still in progress. This work is a part of the projects ________________________ process.

Based on the information below, what is the most likely cause of the cost variance in this Work Package?PV Labour Hours = 1000PV Labour cost = $100,000EV Labour Hours = 1000EV Labour cost = $100,000AC Labour Hours = 1000AC Labour cost = $125,000

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23

a The project completion would increase by 1.

b The project completion would increase by 4.

c Task C would no longer be critical.

d Task B would become critical. ?

24

a Mitigation.

b Work around.

c Contingent.

d Emergency. ?

What would be the consequence of increasing the duration of task B to 4 days in the above schedule?

For some of the risks identified in the project risk register you decide to develop a response plan that will be implemented when certain predefined conditions are observed. This approach is called a(n) _________________ response strategy?

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25

a Activity resource requirements.

b Work breakdown structure (WBS) dictionary.

c Activity attributes.

d Resource breakdown structure. ?

26

a

b

c

d?

27 When managing the schedule, what does the term 'variance analysis' mean?

a

b

c

d Recording the actual start and finish dates of the critical activities in the schedule.?

28 The responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) shows:

a The connections between activities and project team members.

b

c Accountabilities to assist in team performance appraisals.

d The sequence of activities a named resource is responsible for accomplishing. ?

29 Rolling wave planning assumes:

a

b

c

d Planning information is available for some phases in detail but there are gaps. ?

30 Which of the following represent a discretionary dependency?

a Not starting design until all of the approvals have been received.

b

c Applying a start-to-start link between two tasks in a PDM network.

d Applying a lag of 4 days between two tasks. ?

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For help and questions about the questions, email:

Which of the following deliverables identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all of the project work packages?

If not budgeted, what would the likely effect be on the cost variance and schedule variance of asking the team to work additional overtime?

There may be a negative impact to the cost variance; potentially a positive improvement to the schedule variance.

There will be no impact to the cost variance; potentially a positive improvement to the schedule variance.

There will be a negative impact to the cost variance; potentially no impact on the schedule variance.

There will be a negative impact to the cost variance; and a positive improvement to the schedule variance.

Calculating the difference between the Total Float and Free Float with reference to the original contract calendar.

Plotting the actual dates and baselines dates for each activity in a comparative bar chart.

Determining the cause of a difference between the baseline finish date and the scheduled finish date of an activity.

The delegation of responsibility through the hierarchically organised management structure.

The team is likely to have accurate and detailed information for the short-term and less information further out.

Planning is performed for the project, and then as more information is available progressive elaboration is used to adjust and finalise.

Planning will require the stakeholders to engage with key groups first, then rippling out to more remote groups.

Waiting the specified 72 hours before stripping formwork from a newly poured concrete slab.

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