PRIMAVERA EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
CORRECT ANSWERS
Q1:What are the difference between free float, total float and what is different between
Float and Slack? - Answer-Free Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed
without delaying the successor activity
Total Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed without delaying the project
finish date
Float and slack are the two different words for the same meaning.
Q2:What is a constraint in primavera? - Answer-Constrains in primavera is to fix the
early or late start or finish date of an activity as per following options:
1) Project Must Finish by
2) Mandatory Start / Mandatory Finish
3) Start / Finish On or After
4) Start / Finish On or Before
5) Start / Finish On
6) Expected Finish
Q3:How can you define the Critical Path in primavera? - Answer-The sequence of
activities which describe the longest path from the data date to the end of the project. In
a schedule without any constraints, this will be all activities with zero total float.
(if you have constrains which force negative float, simply filtering on total float equal to
or less than zero can bring up activities which are not on the critical path)
Q4:What is WBS? - Answer-WBS means Work Breakdown Structure. it represents a
hierarchical breakdown of a Project into elements and deliverables.
Q5:What is an open end activity in primavera? - Answer-The open end activity is the
activity that does not have any successor. Normally open end activity is not accepted in
schedule because the total float will be calculate from the end of the project and these
entire activities late dates gather at the end of the project and can not be prepare a
logical late start plan.
,Q6:What is the difference between Retained Logic & Override Logic in progress
update? - Answer-If a project is generally running according to plan and activities are
not progressed out of sequence then there will be virtually no difference between the
two methods. BIG differences come when activities are progressed out of sequence.
I believe in retained logic. Invariably that will produce the longest critical path but if
activities have been progressed out of sequence, there could be some resulting illogical
dependencies remaining, in particular resulting from dependencies with durations.
Progress override invariably produces a shorter critical path and again there could be
some illogical lack of dependencies resulting from activities having been progressed out
of sequence.
Q7:How do u measure & compare the progress using primavera? - Answer-Progress is
measured primarily against the baseline. If the baseline has been loaded with cost
and/or resources, earned value management can be used for this purpose. If not,
progress is measured as variance to baseline dates.
Budget at Completion (BAC)
Planned Value (PV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Planned % Complete
Earned Value (EV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Actual% Complete
Actual Cost (AC) = No formula What you've actually spent on the project
Schedule Performance Index (SPl) =Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)
Schedule Variance (SV) =Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV)
Cost Performance Index (CPI) =Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC)
To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) =(Budget at Completion (BAC) - Earned Value
(EV) ) / (Budget at Completion (BAC) -Actual Cost (AC) )
Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) -Actual Cost (AC)
Q8:What is resource allocation and resource leveling? - Answer-Resource allocation is
assigning resources to activities,determine the amount of labor, equipment and money
required for any activity.
Resource leveling is Resource requirements of all scheduled activities are compared to
the maximum quantity available at the time of leveling.An activity is delayed if too few
resources are available at any time during the activity's duration.The maximum quantity
for a resource is determined through the Max units/time for a particular resource in the
Resources Tab.
Q9:What is an S - Curve and how to create S Curve in primavera? - Answer-An S-curve
is a graph showing cumulative cost or value (measured in terms of money or manhours)
against time. On a typical project, these graphs follow an "S" shape, hence the name.
Typical data to be plotted on an S-Curve includes:
Actual Cost (ACWP)
Planned Value (BCWS) -Early dates
Planned Value (BCWS) -Late dates
, Earned Value (BCWP)
Forecast Value -Early dates
Forecast value -Late dates
Forecast Cost -Early dates
Forecast cost -Late dates
Q10:What are the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera? -
Answer-Mile stone & flags both are events rather then activities. Some client likes to
use flags rather than mile stone due the following differences.
1- With the use of flags the logic of main event can be easily tracked as these can not
be created without predecessor as stand alone allocating the constraint.Where as mile
stone can.
2- Flags can not update manually as Primavera automatically update the status where
as milestone can be update manually.
3- Flags can not be constraint only driven by predecessor where as milestone can.
Q. What is an S - Curve and how to create S Curve in PRIMAVERA? - Answer-An S-
curve is the cumulative cost function plotted on a histogram, which can vaguely
resemble the letter S. BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP are frequently plotted and compared
on a histogram as separate and "shadowing" S-curves.
Use the Activity Usage Profile to view cost or unit values for activities in the open project
over time according to a timescale you specify. The Activity Usage Profile displays
resource allocations for all activities or for the activities you select in the Activity Table,
Activity Usage Spreadsheet, Gantt Chart, or the Activity Network.
Q. What are the early warning signs you look for when reviewing progress against a
schedule? - Answer-Despite many efforts a schedule can quickly spiral out of control
and this will determine if they have a plan to minimize avoidable gaps and delays.
Q. What is a good use of lag on a project? - Answer-Find out if your potential scheduler
knows proven best practices in planning and scheduling. Proven best practices across
construction discourage any use of LAG OR LEAD TIME on projects.
Q. If given someone else's schedule, how would you go about analyzing it? - Answer-
You'll discover how your candidate breaks large tasks into manageable pieces and how
they deal with abiguity. Are they confident enough to ask for help on the pieces that fall
outside their expertise? Do they have a system to follow for analyzing outside
schedules? WE DO.
Q. How do you communicate the monthly schedule analysis? - Answer-
- Answer-
CORRECT ANSWERS
Q1:What are the difference between free float, total float and what is different between
Float and Slack? - Answer-Free Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed
without delaying the successor activity
Total Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed without delaying the project
finish date
Float and slack are the two different words for the same meaning.
Q2:What is a constraint in primavera? - Answer-Constrains in primavera is to fix the
early or late start or finish date of an activity as per following options:
1) Project Must Finish by
2) Mandatory Start / Mandatory Finish
3) Start / Finish On or After
4) Start / Finish On or Before
5) Start / Finish On
6) Expected Finish
Q3:How can you define the Critical Path in primavera? - Answer-The sequence of
activities which describe the longest path from the data date to the end of the project. In
a schedule without any constraints, this will be all activities with zero total float.
(if you have constrains which force negative float, simply filtering on total float equal to
or less than zero can bring up activities which are not on the critical path)
Q4:What is WBS? - Answer-WBS means Work Breakdown Structure. it represents a
hierarchical breakdown of a Project into elements and deliverables.
Q5:What is an open end activity in primavera? - Answer-The open end activity is the
activity that does not have any successor. Normally open end activity is not accepted in
schedule because the total float will be calculate from the end of the project and these
entire activities late dates gather at the end of the project and can not be prepare a
logical late start plan.
,Q6:What is the difference between Retained Logic & Override Logic in progress
update? - Answer-If a project is generally running according to plan and activities are
not progressed out of sequence then there will be virtually no difference between the
two methods. BIG differences come when activities are progressed out of sequence.
I believe in retained logic. Invariably that will produce the longest critical path but if
activities have been progressed out of sequence, there could be some resulting illogical
dependencies remaining, in particular resulting from dependencies with durations.
Progress override invariably produces a shorter critical path and again there could be
some illogical lack of dependencies resulting from activities having been progressed out
of sequence.
Q7:How do u measure & compare the progress using primavera? - Answer-Progress is
measured primarily against the baseline. If the baseline has been loaded with cost
and/or resources, earned value management can be used for this purpose. If not,
progress is measured as variance to baseline dates.
Budget at Completion (BAC)
Planned Value (PV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Planned % Complete
Earned Value (EV) = budget at Completion (BAC) x Actual% Complete
Actual Cost (AC) = No formula What you've actually spent on the project
Schedule Performance Index (SPl) =Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)
Schedule Variance (SV) =Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV)
Cost Performance Index (CPI) =Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC)
To Complete Performance Index (TCPI) =(Budget at Completion (BAC) - Earned Value
(EV) ) / (Budget at Completion (BAC) -Actual Cost (AC) )
Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) -Actual Cost (AC)
Q8:What is resource allocation and resource leveling? - Answer-Resource allocation is
assigning resources to activities,determine the amount of labor, equipment and money
required for any activity.
Resource leveling is Resource requirements of all scheduled activities are compared to
the maximum quantity available at the time of leveling.An activity is delayed if too few
resources are available at any time during the activity's duration.The maximum quantity
for a resource is determined through the Max units/time for a particular resource in the
Resources Tab.
Q9:What is an S - Curve and how to create S Curve in primavera? - Answer-An S-curve
is a graph showing cumulative cost or value (measured in terms of money or manhours)
against time. On a typical project, these graphs follow an "S" shape, hence the name.
Typical data to be plotted on an S-Curve includes:
Actual Cost (ACWP)
Planned Value (BCWS) -Early dates
Planned Value (BCWS) -Late dates
, Earned Value (BCWP)
Forecast Value -Early dates
Forecast value -Late dates
Forecast Cost -Early dates
Forecast cost -Late dates
Q10:What are the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera? -
Answer-Mile stone & flags both are events rather then activities. Some client likes to
use flags rather than mile stone due the following differences.
1- With the use of flags the logic of main event can be easily tracked as these can not
be created without predecessor as stand alone allocating the constraint.Where as mile
stone can.
2- Flags can not update manually as Primavera automatically update the status where
as milestone can be update manually.
3- Flags can not be constraint only driven by predecessor where as milestone can.
Q. What is an S - Curve and how to create S Curve in PRIMAVERA? - Answer-An S-
curve is the cumulative cost function plotted on a histogram, which can vaguely
resemble the letter S. BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP are frequently plotted and compared
on a histogram as separate and "shadowing" S-curves.
Use the Activity Usage Profile to view cost or unit values for activities in the open project
over time according to a timescale you specify. The Activity Usage Profile displays
resource allocations for all activities or for the activities you select in the Activity Table,
Activity Usage Spreadsheet, Gantt Chart, or the Activity Network.
Q. What are the early warning signs you look for when reviewing progress against a
schedule? - Answer-Despite many efforts a schedule can quickly spiral out of control
and this will determine if they have a plan to minimize avoidable gaps and delays.
Q. What is a good use of lag on a project? - Answer-Find out if your potential scheduler
knows proven best practices in planning and scheduling. Proven best practices across
construction discourage any use of LAG OR LEAD TIME on projects.
Q. If given someone else's schedule, how would you go about analyzing it? - Answer-
You'll discover how your candidate breaks large tasks into manageable pieces and how
they deal with abiguity. Are they confident enough to ask for help on the pieces that fall
outside their expertise? Do they have a system to follow for analyzing outside
schedules? WE DO.
Q. How do you communicate the monthly schedule analysis? - Answer-
- Answer-
