Palgrave Macmillan - Business - Project Management

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What is the progressive detailing of a project plan often called?
1. Rolling wave planning
2. Continuous planning
3. Team planning
4. Detail planning
Any measurable, tangible, verifiable item that must be produced to complete the project is called which of the following?
1. A deliverable
2. A task
3. A project phase
4. All of the above
Which of the following is correct?
I A project charter is a document prepared by the project manager that provides the project manager with the authority to apply organisational resources
II A project charter is a document prepared by the senior management/project sponsor that provides the project manager with the authority to apply organisational resources
III A project charter is a document prepared by the customer that provides the project manager with the authority to apply organisational resources
1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II only
4. III only
What is the totality of all of the products and services to be provided as a project called?
1. The scope of the project
2. The deliverables of the project
3. The project charter
4. The management plan
Scope changes on a project are inevitable; however, scope changes can be minimised by which of the following?
I Spending more time developing the scope baseline
II Spending more time analysing the estimates
III Asking the sponsor to actively participate in the planning
1. I only
2. II only
3. I, II and III
4. I and II only
Which of the following is correct? A deliverable-oriented grouping of project elements is a:
1. detailed plan
2. responsibility chart
3. work breakdown structure
4. cost account coding system
Which of the following is correct? The "control points" in the work breakdown structure used for assignments to resource units are referred to as:
1. work packages
2. subtasks
3. activities
4. integration points
Which of the following is correct? In preparing a good project definition, experienced project managers will:
I concentrate mainly on the end product, rather than on costs or benefits
II understand that a project definition/plan is a dynamic rather than static tool, and thus subject to change
III try to express objectives in quantifiable terms
1. I only
2. II only
3. III only
4. I, II, and III
Which of the following is correct? Using the WBS shown below, a typical work package would be:
I software development
II systems design
III coding

1.0.1.1 Software development
1.0.1.2 Systems design
1.0.1.2.1 Hardware development
1.0.1.2.2 Flowcharting
1.0.1.3 Coding
1.0.1.3.1 Language selection
1. I only
2. II only
3. III only
4. None of the above
A project manager believes that modifying the scope of the project may provide added value for the customer. What should the project manager do?
1. Change the scope baseline
2. Prepare a variance report
3. Call a meeting of the change control board
4. Change the projects objectives
Which of the following statements are true.
I. Project meetings can be used to facilitate teambuilding.
II. Project meetings should last about one hour.
1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II
4. None
Which of the following statements are true.
I. Consensus is not required for all decisions relating to the project.
II. A good rule of thumb is to keep the client well away from team meetings.
1. I only
2. II only
3. I and II
4. None
A team of industrial engineers presented their plans for re-organising a production department to a group of shop floor supervisors for approval. After the presentation the plans were approved without any questions. Which of the following is most likely to be true?
1. The presentation communicated all the implications and benefits of the change.
2. The presentation did not communicate all the implications and benefits of the change.
3. The plans proposed satisfied the supervisors' requirements for change.
4. The plans proposed did not satisfy the supervisors' requirements for change.
You have received tenders from eight contractors for the design and construction of a laboratory for testing new products. Three of the tenders seem to meet all the specifications required and provide the necessary flexibility during implementation. The prices of the three short-listed tenders are: £6.8m, £5.4m, and £3.2m. Which of the following is correct?
1. All three tenders meet the requirements, therefore, award the contract to the lowest bidder as this would minimise the cost of the project to the firm and to the shareholders .
2. The pricing of the third tender is unrealistically low compared to the others and may be based on a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the costs involved.
3. The second tender should be selected as it represents a good compromise, avoiding the risks of the lowest bid and making savings against the highest priced bid.
4. None of the tenders can be trusted, it would be better to conduct a feasibility study and then go out to tender a second time.
Read the following dialogue between Rita (project manager),Gavin and Julie then decide which stage in the team life cycle the team is at.
Rita: Now that we've discussed all the options let's agree a course of action.
Gavin: That's not difficult. There was only one option which met all the client expectations.
Julie: Well that's not how I see it; and if you mean your idea, it's impractical, will take longer to implement and costs too much. The client won't approve it. At the very least, I think we should discuss all three options with the client.
Rita: Well, that can't do any harm. Gavin, are you in on this?
Gavin: I still think we should recommend one course of action above the others - even if we let the client see all the choices.
Rita: Julie?
Julie: Whatever.
Rita: Good. Now we can get on with the real work.
Next day
Rita to Gavin: What time should we expect the client today?
Gavin: Why are you asking me - Julie arranges the meetings.
Rita to Julie: Gavin said you arranged today's meeting.
Julie: No-one asked me to do it - I know I did it last time, but its not my role to arrange all the meetings . . . Anyway I still think we should hold back on recommending one option above the others until the client has seen all of them first.
Which stage of the team life cycle best represents the above dialogue?
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing

Chapter 8 material - Self-assessment review questions and answers for Chapter 8