Project Mngt Chapter 9

Preceding activities are those that must occur before others can be done.

A backward pass is performed when it is necessary to undo some work that has been performed in order to complete it properly.

A merge activity has two or more immediate predecessors.

Float is always measured in exactly the same way as slack.

The PERT technique assumes that durations are more deterministic

Burst activities are those with two or more successor activities.

You must know the mean of an activity in order to determine its standard deviation.

In assigning a value for the most pessimistic (b) duration, the project manager should estimate the duration of the activity to have a 99% likelihood that it will take b or less amount of time.

The late start time should be calculated using a forward pass through the network.

Negative float exists when a project's critical path has been completed more quickly than anticipated.

The term ordered activity means:
A) tasks must either precede or follow other tasks in project planning and management.
B) tasks cannot be performed unless the project manager issues a specific command to perform the work.
C) prior project planning removes the need for any rush so that tasks can be performed in a methodical fashion.
D) tasks are not performed unless the customer issues a specific request to perform the work.

A sequence of activities defined by the project network logic is a(n):
A) event.
B) path.
C) node.
D) route.

One of the defining points of a network, a junction point joined to some or all of the others by dependency lines, is called a(n):
A) event.
B) path.
C) node.
D) burst.

These can be located by doing a backward pass through a network.
A) critical paths
B) merge activities
C) successors
D) burst activities

An activity with two or more immediate predecessors is a(n):
A) merge activity.
B) burst activity.
C) float activity.
D) event.

The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the finish of the project is the:
A) delay.
B) float.
C) late start.
D) late finish.

The least amount of float is found:
A) in a resource-limited schedule.
B) after a burst activity.
C) on the critical path.
D) after a merge activity.

Prior to creating a network, it is important to:
A) identify all loops through activities.
B) identify the party responsible for each activity.
C) calculate the float for each activity.
D) understand the activity precedence.

Serial activities are those that:
A) flow from one to the next in sequence.
B) have sequential numbers.
C) have the same numbers.
D) should be performed simultaneously.

Concurrent activities are:
A) activities that must be done one after the other.
B) activities that can be performed at the same time.
C) activities that use labor from the same group of workers.
D) activities that use resources from the same resource pool.

Which of these statements about this network is best?

A) Activities A and B are serial activities.
B) Activities B and C are serial activities.
C) Activities A and C are serial activities.
D) Activity D is a merge activity.

Network logic suggests that:

A) Activity D can start any time.
B) Activity A must be complete before Activity B can be done.
C) Activities A, B and C must be complete before Activity D can be done.
D) Activity C must begin before Activity B begins.

What is the earliest that Activity D can begin if Activity A takes 3 days, Activity B takes 5 days, and Activity C takes 7 days?

A) day 15
B) day 7
C) day 5
D) day 3

Based on the activity network pictured, what is the best statement?

A) Before starting Activity C, Activity A and Activity B must be completed.
B) Before starting Activity D, Activity A and Activity B need to be completed.
C) Before starting Activity E, Activity A and Activity B need to be completed.
D) Before starting Activity C, Activity A and Activity D must be completed.

Based on the activity network pictured, what is the best statement?

A) Activity C is a burst activity.
B) Activity E has one predecessor, Activity B.
C) Activity A and Activity C are merge activities.
D) There are no serial activities in this network.

The length of time expected to complete an activity assuming that its development proceeds normally is called the:
A) optimistic duration.
B) pessimistic duration.
C) most likely duration.
D) normal duration.

Ray's shipment of materials hit every red light and traffic jam on the way to the site. Upon arrival, half of the material was judged defective, necessitating a trip back to the supplier, and then the same arduous journey back to the site once the new materials were loaded. Traffic was a little better on the second round but the flat tire and subsequent repair caused as much if not more delay than the first trip. In the final analysis:
A) the project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the optimistic estimate.
B) the project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the most likely estimate.
C) the project activity of Material Delivery had a much higher variance than anticipated.
D) the project activity of Material Delivery was pretty close to the pessimistic estimate.

The variance of an activity is given by:
A) [1/6(b-a)]2.
B) 1/6[b-a].
C) [1/36(b-a)]2.
D) 1/36[b-a].

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 15 days, a most likely estimate of 24 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 40 days. What is the expected duration of the activity?
A) less than 27 days but greater than or equal to 26 days
B) less than 26 days but greater than or equal to 25 days
C) less than 25 days but greater than or equal to 24 days
D) less than 24 days

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 15 days, a most likely estimate of 24 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 40 days. What is the variance of the activity?
A) 4.17
B) 25.17
C) 17.36
D) 10.33

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 7 days, a most likely estimate of 12 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 20 days. What is the expected duration of the activity?
A) 13 days
B) 13.5 days
C) 12 days
D) 12.5 days

An activity has an optimistic time estimate of 7 days, a most likely estimate of 12 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 20 days. What is the expected standard deviation of the activity?
A) between 2 and 3 days
B) between 3 and 4 days
C) between 4 and 5 days
D) between 5 and 6 days

An activity has a pessimistic time that is three times as long as its most likely time and five times as long as its optimistic time. If the activity variance is 10, what is the expected time?
A) about 10 days
B) about 14 days
C) about 19 days
D) about 23 days

Activity Z has estimates a = 5, b = 10, m = 7; activity X has estimates a = 4, b = 11, m = 6; and activity Y has estimates a = 3, b = 12, m = 8. Which of the following statements is best?
A) Activity X is longer than Activity Y.
B) Activity X has a higher standard deviation than Activity Z.
C) Activity Z is shorter than Activity Y.
D) Activity Y has a smaller variance than Activity Z.

What is the early start time for Activity D given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 5 --
B 8 A
C 4 A
D 5 B, C

A) 5
B) 9
C) 13
D) 18

What is the late start time for Activity B given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 5 --
B 8 A
C 4 A
D 5 B, C

A) 18
B) 9
C) 13
D) 5

What is the late start time for Activity E given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 15

What is the late finish time for Activity D given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 14
B) 13
C) 12
D) 11

What is the early start time for Activity G given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 14
B) 15
C) 16
D) 17

What is the early finish time for Activity F given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 17
B) 12
C) 13
D) 26

What is the slack time for Activity B given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 7
B) 6
C) 5
D) 4

What is the slack time for Activity C given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 4 --
B 7 --
C 8 A
D 2 A
E 4 B
F 5 C, D
G 9 E, F
H 7 G

A) 2
B) 1
C) 0
D) 3

What is the float start time for Activity C given the activity times and precedence requirements shown in the table?

Activity Time Predecessor
A 5 --
B 8 A
C 4 A
D 5 B, C

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Use the information in the table to determine the late start time for Activity E.

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) day 23
B) day 26
C) day 32
D) day 17

Use the information in the table to determine the early start time for Activity B.

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) day 10
B) day 8
C) day 9
D) day 11

Use the information in the table to determine the early finish time for Activity D.

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) day 23
B) day 26
C) day 29
D) day 32

Use the information in the table to determine the late finish time for Activity B.

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) day 17
B) day 26
C) day 20
D) day 23

Use the information in the table to determine the slack time for Activity B.

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) 6 days
B) 4 days
C) 2 days
D) 0 days

What is the slack time for activity E?

Task Predecessor Duration Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish
A -- 8
B A 14
C A 23 8
D C, B 6 23 26
E C 32
F D, E 32 38

A) 1 day
B) 0 days
C) 2 days
D) 4 days

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early start time for activity D.

A) 8
B) 13
C) 14
D) 21

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the late start time for activity F.

A) 21
B) 24
C) 26
D) 23

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early finish time for activity G.

A) 26
B) 25
C) 24
D) 23

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the late finish time for activity C.

A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 15

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the slack time for activity D.

A) 3
B) 2
C) 1
D) 0

Use the network diagram and activity lengths in the nodes to determine the early start time for activity D.

A) 8
B) 13
C) 14
D) 21

There's an old saying, "The job is not finished until the paperwork is done." From an activity network standpoint, this does not necessarily mean that the paperwork can't begin until the last non-paperwork activity is completed. It might be possible to work on some paperwork as early activities are completed. In order to depict this in an activity network:
A) hammock activities could be drawn.
B) subroutines could be added.
C) shortcuts can be added to the network.
D) laddering could be used to redraw the network.

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A, B, C, and D for convenience (and lack of creativity). Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table. Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration. The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity. What is the expected completion time of the laddered project?

Activity Length Predecessor
A 10 --
B 18 A
C 14 A
D 20 B, C

A) 34
B) 38
C) 42
D) 48

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A, B, C, and D for convenience (and lack of creativity). Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table. Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration. The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity. What is the expected completion time of the laddered project?

Activity Length Predecessor
A 10 --
B 18 A
C 14 A
D 20 B, C

A) 34
B) 38
C) 42
D) 48

Project Test Bank is composed of activities we will refer to as A, B, C, and D for convenience (and lack of creativity). Durations and precedence requirements are shown in the table. Each of these activities can be conveniently laddered into two sub-activities of equal duration, so activity C in the original project becomes two activities, C1 and C2, each of which lasts 7 days. The first half of each activity serves as the predecessor to its second half and the first half of the original following activity. What is the difference in the late start time for activity C in the original project and activity C1 in the laddered project?

Activity Length Predecessor
A 10 --
B 18 A
C 14 A
D 20 B, C

A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 9

A gentleman farmer maniacally works on academic projects to raise funds for his true passion, farming. He has identified seven tasks and developed three time estimates (all in days) of the next big project on the farm, replacing the fence at the comedy pasture. Tasks, precedence requirements, and time estimates are shown in the table. What is the expected completion time of the project?

Activity Optimistic time Most Likely time Pessimistic time Predecessor
Corner Posts 4 5 6 --
String Line 7 8 9 --
Dig Holes 10 12 14 Corner Posts
Plant Posts 11 14 17 String Line
Weld Top Bar 8 11 14 String Line
Paint 9 11 13 Dig Holes, Plant Posts
Tack Wire 9 12 16 Weld Top Bar

A) 32 days
B) 33 days
C) 34 days
D) 35 days