PMP-RMC Super Exam-3 Failed questions with complete solutions.

(33)* Question ID: 483 As per the chart, the team member completing activity E is not performing very well. After much argument, the functional manager agrees to assign a different person to activity E, but this will increase activity E's duration to seven months. What is the effect of this change? A. The project will be delayed because activity E is on the critical path. B. None, because activity E is not on the critical path. C. None, because activity E has float of four. D. The project will be delayed because activity E has float of five. The correct answer is C. For activity E before the change, the ES is 7 and the LS is 11. After the change, the ES is 7 and the LS is 9. The change will use two of the four months of float for activity E, but will not affect the critical path. The best answer not only recognizes activity E was not originally on the critical path, it considers the float of the activity both before and after the adjustment has been made. Even after the adjustment, activity E still has float, and thus is still not on the critical path. Knowledge Area: Schedule Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 243 (64)* Question ID: 1649 Your project is one of several in a program. At a program-level meeting, you learn information regarding the solution that another project is implementing. You believe you've identified some problems with the proposed solution. This is especially concerning to you because your project has dependencies on this other project's solution. You approach the project manager for this other project and share your concerns. The other project manager thanks you for your input, but you eventually discover he proceeded with the solution as planned. What should you do? A. Record the issue in the issue log. B. Ask for a meeting with the program manager to express your concerns about the other project's solution. C. Add the other project's deliverables to your risk register. D. Ask for a meeting with the other project manager's functional manager and express your concern. The correct answer is C. Recording the issue in the project's issue log doesn't actually do anything to solve the potential problems that the other project's deliverables could create for your project work and goal attainment. At some point it may be appropriate to speak to the other project manager and his functional manager, but this is not a proactive solution at this time. The best answer of the ones provided is to add the newly identified risks to the risk register; you would then need to follow the risk management process to see if changes to the project are required. Note that just expressing your concerns to the program manager is not sufficient, as the more immediate need is to record and manage the risk. That said, as the project manager, you should let the program manager know that you have analyzed the potential impact of the other project's deliverables on your project, the options of how to deal with any problems, the risks to your project, and how any necessary changes may impact other projects in the program. Knowledge Area: PM Framework/Processes Process Group: Initiating Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 27 (137) Question ID: 338 You have been evaluating the interim deliverables of a software system development project. Testing went well, and the system was accepted by the customer. The system has subsequently been found to give unexpected results. Which of the following best describes what the project manager should do first? A. Change the activity sequencing. B. Review the Validate Scope process. C. Apologize to the customer. D. Review the customer's inspection process. The correct answer is B. A project manager cannot be responsible for the customer's inspection process, only his own. Network diagram changes will not affect the root cause of this problem. An apology might be in order later, after the root cause is found. The best choice of those provided is to review the Validate Scope process, as that process deals with acceptance by stakeholders. Knowledge Area: Scope Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 206 (140) Question ID: 347 You are the project manager at a software development company, leading a project to develop an innovative application for a client. The project has followed a strict software engineering process. The requirements have been specified in detail, resulting in extensive functional and technical specification documents. Your project team member delivers an interim project deliverable to the buyer. However, the buyer refuses the deliverable, stating it does not meet the requirement on page 300 of the technical specifications. You review the document and find that you agree. What is the best thing to do? A. Issue a change order. B. Explain that the contract is wrong and should be changed. C. Review the requirements, and meet with the responsible team member to review the WBS dictionary. D. Call a meeting of the team to review the requirement on page 300. The correct answer is C. This question is written from the perspective of the seller. The contract could be wrong, or the customer could be wrong, but this should have been discovered earlier if proper project management was followed. A seller cannot issue a change order (although they could request one). Did you select calling a meeting of the team? If so, remember that proper project management does not mean making every decision with all the team members. The best choice involves reviewing the requirements documentation and meeting with the appropriate team member. If such a problem has arisen, it could mean something was wrong in the WBS dictionary, or in how the team member completed the work. Knowledge Area: Procurement Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 544 (144) Question ID: 1572 At the end of a project, a project management output for the organization should be: A. Work package composition standards B. Improved requirements C. Improved processes D. Improved quality The correct answer is C. Because of efforts reflected in the lessons learned at the end of a project, the entire organization has the opportunity to benefit from improved processes uncovered during the project. Knowledge Area: Quality Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 332 (148) Question ID: 202 You have taken over a project from another manager who left the firm. This is a functional organization, and the different units are often rather hostile to each other. The project is a large one, involving activities the organization has never done before. You find the project has what appears to be adequate documentation, including an agreed-upon project charter, project management plan, WBS, etc. The project is on schedule and within budget. However, the atmosphere in meetings with the project team often seems tense, and offhand comments made by participants seem to indicate a high level of dissatisfaction with the project. You review all the major project documents with the key stakeholders and get agreement that they are still accurate, but this does not seem to solve the problem. What is the most likely explanation for this situation? A. Stakeholders have very different expectations about what the project is supposed to accomplish. B. The organizational structure and dynamics prevent people from working together effectively. C. The project does not have an effective sponsor and thus is not viewed as a high priority. D. There are personality conflicts among the project team members that you need to uncover and resolve. The correct answer is A. When answering a question like this one, look at the different parts of the situation to determine which, if any, are problems. In this case, the project charter was agreed upon; that is excellent. It looks like project planning was also done well. You have even checked to make sure stakeholders still agree to the plan. Ask yourself, what problem could remain? We know personality conflicts are the least frequent sources of conflict, so that cannot be the best. An effective sponsor and a high priority project do not necessarily relate to each other, although the statement indicates that they do. This should be a warning that this choice is not the best. If the organizational structure and dynamics prevent people from effectively working together, management plans should have accounted for this and eliminated or dramatically reduced the problem. Expectations are unspoken requirements and are often more critical to a project's stakeholders than the stated ones. Unless these expectations are identified and managed, there is likely to be a high level of dissatisfaction with the project. Knowledge Area: Stakeholder Process Group: Executing Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 574 (153) Question ID: 1290 What would be the best explanation for the following: Both the cost variance and schedule variance are negative, but the cost variance is lower than the schedule variance. A. The project underspent because all work was not completed, but overspent for work that was done. B. The project overspent due to increased costs and yet completed some activities faster. C. The project activities took longer than expected, but costs were lower. D. The project underspent, because costs were lower than planned and activities were easier to complete than planned. The correct answer is A. Remember, for variances, negative is bad. In this situation, both the variances are negative. To answer the question, first look at which of the four choices exhibit negative variances for both cost and schedule. Since the project underspent because all work was not completed, but overspent for work that was done, both the cost and schedule variances are negative. Knowledge Area: Cost Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 294 (162) Question ID: 531 A project manager for a large information technology consulting firm was assigned to manage a software integration project for an important client. The schedule was already established. Management at the client site responsible for the project then informed the project manager the project duration was too long. Changing market pressures require the project to be brought in one month earlier than scheduled. They had already reviewed the scope of the project and nothing could be cut. They requested that the project manager cut each activity duration estimate by 10 percent in order to accomplish the goal. What is the most appropriate thing for the project manager to do in this situation? A. Do more critical path activities in parallel. B. Initiate change control processes, explain that the project schedule needs to stand, and review the risks involved. C. Meet with the team and evaluate how each activity can be cut by 10 percent to accomplish the goal. D. Meet with management to review the original project management plan and discuss scope changes that would reduce project timeline. The correct answer is A. You know that cutting all activities by 10 percent is not good project management; doing so is obviously an incorrect choice. Meeting with management to review scope would be of no help, since this has already occurred. The best alternative is fast tracking, or doing activities in parallel. This provides focus on the critical path. Knowledge Area: Schedule Process Group: Monitoring & Controlling Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 252 (165) Question ID: 1531 Your project to measure the factors that influence algae's ability to create a biofuel with the richest hydrocarbons includes 1000 separate ponds. You want to determine which factors yield the highest percentage of burnable hydrocarbon. The ponds are kept at different temperatures, some are fed a different nutrient combination, others receive different amounts of shade, and others get a daily four-hour session of baroque music. Some of the ponds get a variety of these treatments. These activities are an example of: A. Refined control limits B. Nonlinear control analysis C. The process of elimination D. Design of experiments The correct answer is D. Design of experiments attempts to combine variables to determine which combination of variables produces the required level of quality. The quality measure here is the percentage of burnable hydrocarbons. Knowledge Area: Quality Process Group: Executing Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 333 (170) Question ID: 992 There is a probability of 0.1 that your prototype will be destroyed in transit to a facilitated workshop where it is to be analyzed. If this occurs, it will result in a loss of US $10,000; the cost of rebuilding it. The insurance cost for this event is US $700, with a deductible amount of US $250. Should the project buy this insurance? A. No, since $1,250 > $1,000. B. Yes, since $1,000 > $700. C. Yes, since $1,000 > $725. D. No, since the deductible amount changes the expected monetary value of the risk event. The correct answer is C. EMV = P x I. In this case, expected monetary value is 0.1 x $10,000, or $1,000. The insurance cost ($700) plus the expected monetary value of the deductible amount (0.1 x $250 = $25) are less than the expected monetary value of the risk event. Knowledge Area: Risk Process Group: Planning Source: PMP® Exam Prep Page: 461