CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1

Project Management Road Trip 1 Chapter 1: Self-test

Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
1. Which best describes the project sponsors responsibilities?
a. Ensure adequate funding and resources; resolve conflicts between stakeholders or project team;
create the project budget.
b. Ensure adequate funding and resources; provide risk mitigation strategies; create the project
budget.
c. Ensure adequate funding and resources; provide support for the project within the organization.
d. Ensure adequate funding and resources; provide support for the project within the organization;
provide project communication to senior management.
2. Which of the following is not a reason for a project to end?
a. The need no longer exists.
b. The objective cannot be met.
c. The project manager says the project is completed.
d. The objective has been met.
3. Which statement below regarding phases is true?
a. Phases are activities that connect the start and end of the project life cycle.
b. Phases are standardized activities that describe the product life cycle.
c. Phases are activities that connect the start and end of the product life cycle.
d. Phases are standardized activities that describe the project life cycle.
4. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of a project?
a. It is performed by systems.
b. Has a beginning and ending date
c. Is constrainted by a limit on resources
d. Is performed by people
Self-test
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 2 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
5. Saji is trying to explain to his project team why they need to remain aware of the product scope even
though their project will deliver only one component of it. Which one response would be best?
a. The product scope contains the work required for the project team to produce the component.
b. Their project is part of a program of projects related to the product, so the product scope is where
the teams attention should be.
c. Decisions made that impact one scope can have ramifications to the other scope.
d. The product scope also contains the project scope, so it provides the better overall direction for
the project.
6. Deliverables are the output of which one of the following?
a. Phases
b. Product scope
c. Project scope
d. Alternatives analysis
7. Jayne is spending time identifying the stakeholders on her project, and shes included some people on
her list that she knows are opposed to the project. Her project sponsor has asked her to remove these from
the list and not include them in the planning meetings. What would be Janes best response?
a. She should leave them on the list and explain to the sponsor that giving them a chance to discuss
their concerns will benefit the project.
b. She should remove them from the list because its the project sponsors responsibility to identify
which stakeholders are to be included.
c. She should remove the stakeholders from this initial list because including negative stakeholders
too soon could derail the project.
d. She should remove them from the list but later meet with them privately.
8. Which statement best describes progressive elaboration?
a. Plans are elaborated and unfolded to stakeholders in an incremental manner
b. Planning is initially done only at a high level for items later in the project schedule and then
revisited as they get closer.
c. Developed in steps and further defined in increments
d. Planning is done in phases that get progressively more complex during the project life cycle
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 3 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
9. Overall project quality is impacted by:
a. Project budget
b. Time, cost, scope
c. Testing phases
d. Project life cycle
10. Tom is looking at a collection of projects with different individual goals but which all relate his
organization reaching a larger, strategic goal. What best describes what he's looking at?
a. A portfolio of projects
b. A multi-phased project
c. A program of related projects
d. A project with subprojects
11. Mel has just joined a company as a new project manager. Where can he turn to find information on
the companys project management methodology and what project management templates might be
available?
a. PMIS
b. PMO
c. Project management team
d. Senior management
12. Which of the following best describes the project initiator?
a. The entity that will be the consumer of the project's product, service, or result.
b. The one outside of the project team who proposed the project.
c. The person who supports the project and ensures it receives adequate resources.
d. The one who's to ensure the project is planned, executed, and managed.
13. Paul has been approached for a new project to replace his companys telephone infrastructure with an
Internet-based phone system. The current phone system continues to perform well and meet the
organizations needs, but its nearly ten years old and its getting difficult to maintain and can not be
expanded. Which of the following is the primary driver for this project?
a. Legal compliance
b. Customer request
c. Market demand
d. Technology advance or obsolescence
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 4 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
14. The primary difference between a product scope and a project scope is:
a. A product scope describes the features and characteristics of the product while the product scope
describes the features and characteristics of the project phases.
b. A product scope describes the features and characteristics of the product life cycle while the
project scope describes the features and characteristics of the project life cycle.
c. The product scope describes the work required to create the product while the project scope
describes the features and characteristics of the product.
d. A product scope describes the features and characteristics of the product while the project scope
describes the work required to create the product.
15. Bob is a new project manager in an organization that has adopted management by projects. Hes
asked Sanya, an experienced PMP, how to know when to manage an operational item as a project. Which
would be Sanyas best response?
a. Operations are not projects and should never be managed or thought of as projects.
b. Anything that takes more than X number of people or Y number of hours should be managed as a
project.
c. Anything that would benefit by applying project management methods to it should be managed as
a project.
d. Anything involving senior management should be managed as a project.
16. Within project management, the customer is best described by which statement?
a. The entity purchasing the projects deliverable.
b. The entity who uses the projects deliverable.
c. The entity performing the project work.
d. The entity who initiated the project.
17. Which of the following describes the three elements of the triple constraint?
a. Time, cost, scope
b. Time, effort, scope
c. Schedule, budget, deliverables
d. Schedule, cost, deliverables
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 5 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
18. Jan is trying to better manage her departments large variety of projects with different objectives.
She's grouping them into subcategories, such as Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger,
and Inventory Control. She thinks this will help her better prioritize and report on them to management.
What is Jan creating?
a. Program
b. PMO
c. Portfolio
d. PMIS
19. Which one of the following assumptions is generally true regarding the project life cycle?
a. Staffing and costs are higher in the initiating phases.
b. Stakeholders have the most influence in the late stages of the project.
c. Risk and uncertainty are lowest in the early phases.
d. A project is most likely to fail in its early phases.
20. Thereses project involves an upgrade to manufacturing software, and in order for it to be
implemented there will need to be two hours of downtime in her companys manufacturing equipment.
The plant manager wants to stagger some shifts on that day for its affected hourly workers, and will even
offer incentive pay for those who agree. But this situation isnt covered in the union contract and will
require discussions with union representatives. Which best describes the unions role in this project?
a. Senior management
b. Customer
c. Stakeholder
d. Project team
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 6 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
1. C: The project sponsors only official responsibilities are to ensure that the project has adequate
funding and access to resources and to provide political support for the project within the organization.
The sponsor may take on additional responsibilities that he or she chooses, but even when that occurs the
other responsibilities mentioned in the incorrect choices are the ultimate responsibility of the project
manager.
2. C: Projects end when the objective has been, the objective cannot be met, or the need for the project no
longer exists.
3. A: Phases are activities that make up the project life cycle, connecting its starting point to its ending
point.
4. A: A project is a temporary endeavor that results in a unique product, service, or result.
5. C: The product scope and project scope are dependent upon each other because decisions and changes
made to one can have an impact to the other. The other choices contain statements that are not true.
6. A: Deliverables are the outputs of phases.
7. A: While including negative stakeholders raises difficult issues, ignoring them can set the stage for
project failure. The best choice is to include them in the project management activities.
8. C: The project is developed in steps and continues to be refined through increments.
9. B: Project quality is impacted by time, cost, and scope.
10. C: This is a program. A program is multiple projects which all are necessary to reach a larger
objective. A portfolio contains projects whose goals are not directly related together but they are
categorized together for better management, usually by profit centers, departments, etc.
11. B: The Project Management Office (PMO) provides training, methodology development, templates,
guidance, and coordinated planning and prioritization of projects.
12. B: The project initiator is the one who initially proposes the project.
13. D: The phone system is going to be replaced because of outdated technology.
14. D: The product scope describes attributes of the product while the project scope is focused on the
work required, and only the work required, to create the product or component of the product that is the
projects deliverable.
15. C: While operations are not projects, management by projects is an approach where project
management methods are applied to operational endeavors to improve their effectiveness.
16. B: The customer is the entity wholl be using the projects product, service, or result. This may be
different than the entity whos actually paying for the project, so the final customer may be someone
different.
Self-test answers
CHAPTER 1: PROJECT ESSENTIALS 1
Project Management Road Trip 7 Chapter 1: Self-test
Copyright 2009, J. Alex Sherrer
17. A: The triple constraint first represents that time, cost, and scope are the three elements that impact
the quality of a project. Secondly, the triple constraint shows that a change to any element will impact one
or more of the other elements.
18. C: She is creating a portfolio, which is a collection of projects that are not directly dependent upon
each other and have different objectives. A program is a collection of projects that are dependent upon
each other and ultimately helps meet larger strategic objectives.
19. D: A project is most likely to fail in its early phases because risk and uncertainty are highest early in
the life cycle. Cost and staffing levels are lowest early in the project, peak during the middle phases, and
then drop off rapidly in later phases. Stakeholder influence is higher early in the project but decreases as
the cost of incorporating changes increases as the project progresses.
20. C: The unions role is best categorized as a stakeholder in this project. It is not senior management,
and the question doesnt provide enough information for us to determine who the customer is. The project
team is composed only of the people or groups working on the project, and though the union is affected in
the project, they are not performing any project work.