BUS 395 Final Test With Complete Solution

Project Schedule Management - Answer involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project Main processes in Schedule Management - Answer - Plan Schedule Management - Define Activities - Sequence Activities - Estimate Activity Durations - Develop the Schedule - Control the Schedule Plan Schedule Management - Answer involves determining the policies, procedures, and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and controlling the project schedule main outputs: - Schedule Management Plan Defining Activities - Answer involves identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables main outputs: - activity list - activity attributes - milestone list Sequencing Activities - Answer involves identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities and the different types of dependencies. main outputs: - project schedules network diagram Estimating Activity Durations - Answer involves estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual tasks main outputs: - duration estimates - basis of estimates Develop the Schedule - Answer involves analyzing sequences, resource requirements, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule main outputs: - schedule baseline - project schedule - schedule data - project calendars Control the Schedule - Answer involves controlling and managing changes to the project schedule goals: -know the status of the schedule - influence the factors that cause schedule changes - determine that the schedule has been changed - manage changes when they occur main outputs: - work performance information - schedule forecasts Activity list - Answer a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule. it includes activity name, identifier or number, and a brief description Activity attributes - Answer information about each activity, such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, lead and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity Milestone - Answer a significant event that normally has no duration it often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete they're useful tools for setting schedule goals and monitoring progress. Types of Dependencies - Answer - Mandatory (hard logic) - Discretionary (soft logic) - External Mandatory dependencies - Answer inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project Discretionary dependencies - Answer defined by the project team and should be used with care since they may limit later scheduling options External dependencies - Answer involve relationships between project and non-project activities Network Diagrams - Answer a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities Arrow diagramming method (ADM) - Answer A network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities; also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) only shows finish-start dependencies Precedence diagramming method (PDM) - Answer network diagramming technique in which boxes represent activities Task Dependency Types - Answer - finish-to-start - start-to-start - finish-to-finish - start-to-finish Finish-to-Start - Answer Task B cannot start until Task A finishes Start-to-Start - Answer Task B cannot start until Task A starts Finish-to-Finish - Answer Task B cannot finish until Task A finishes Start-to-Finish - Answer Task B cannot finish until Task A starts Important tools and techniques for Schedule Development - Answer - Gantt charts - critical path analysis - critical chain scheduling - PERT analysis Critical Path Method (CPM) - Answer Network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration Critical path - Answer series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float Slack or Float - Answer the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date Calculating the Critical Path - Answer - First develop a good network diagram - Add the duration estimates for all activities on each path through the network diagram - The longest path is the critical path - If one or more of the activities on the critical path takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless the project manager takes corrective action Free Slack or Free Float - Answer the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities Total Slack or Total Float - Answer the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the planned project finish date Forward Pass - Answer A critical path method technique for calculating the early start and early finish dates by working forward through the schedule model from the project start date or a given point in time. Backward Pass - Answer A critical path method technique for calculating the late start and late finish dates by working backward through the schedule model from the project end date. Main techniques for shortening schedules - Answer - shortening durations of critical activities/tasks by adding more resources or changing their scope - crashing activities - fast tracking activites Crashing activities - Answer obtaining the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost Fast tracking - Answer activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration. Critical Chain Scheduling - Answer a method that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date Buffer - Answer additional time to complete a task Project Buffer - Answer additional time added before the project's due date Feeding Buffer - Answer additional time added before tasks on the critical path Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) - Answer a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates