International Organisation for Professional Qualifications

CPMA
Certified Project Management Analyst

Practice Questions

Extend your knowledge of leading a project to success

1.

The duration of the whole project will be fixed by the time taken to complete the largest path through the network. This path is called the ____________and activities on it are known as _______________. Activities on the critical path must be started and completed on timae, otherwise the total project time will be extended. A. B. C. D. critical critical critical critical path, critical activities way, critical works fact, critical activities act, works

2.

PRINCE methodologies have three separate progress assurance roles, which includes all of the following EXCEPT A. B. C. D. The business The Business Assurance Co-ordinator (BAC) ensures that the project meets the organisations mission. The specialist The Technical Co-ordinator is responsible for ensuring that the project does not have technical problems. The user The User Assurance Co-ordinator represents the user throughout the process. The manager The Project Co-ordinator organises and leads the team.

3.

An assessment of social feasibility will address a number of areas, among those is: A. B. C. D. Selecting jobs Building industrial relations Management policies Motivation

4.

Any project will have economic costs and economic benefits. Economic feasibility has all three strands BUT NOT necessarily A. B. C. D. The The The The benefits must justify the costs. project must be the 'best' option from those under consideration for its particular purpose. project must compete with projects in other areas of the business for funds. costs, benefit and funding should be always be justified in pre-determined parameter

5.

Many people working on projects find managing unreasonable expectations from sponsors to be the most difficult. However, practicing _____________________ can result in a more focused project. A. B. C. D. careful obedience intelligent disobedience careful disobedience intelligent obedience

6.

It is important to understand who has an interest in a project, because part of the responsibility of the project manager is ________________________________. A. B. C. D. communication and the management of expectations confirmation and management by exceptions communication and management of conflict confirmation and management of exploitation

7.

Although the composition of the project team is critical, project managers often find it is not possible to assemble the ideal team, and have to do the best they can with the personnel available. If the project manager feels the best available team does not possess the skills and talent required, the project should be_________________. A. B. C. D. abandoned or delayed abandoned rather than delayed delayed rather than abandoned first delayed and then abandoned

8.

Which is FALSE for scalable methodology? A. B. C. D. This approach recognises the differences in project size, risk and complexity, and allows a customized best practice management approach for each project. This approach builds on the Project Management Institutes PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge), This approach identifies differences between minor and major projects on nine dimensions and their impact on project management. This approach enables management and stakeholder involvement at critical times in the project

9.

Which of the following approaches was developed for IT projects, however, its focus and flexibility made it appropriate for marketing projects? A. B. C. D. Prince2 Scalable Adaptive Project Framework (ADF) Predictive Project Framework (PDF)

10. The WBS will go down through a series of levels until the project tasks produce manageable outputs. These are called___________________. A. B. C. D. work packages tangible outputs lowest level products deliverables

11. A very important aspect of project planning is the determination of dependencies and interactions. Careful analysis of dependencies is a major step towards a workable project plan, since it provides _____. A. B. C. D. an order in which things must be tackled a sequence in which procedures are executed a combination of methodologies an alternative way-out to resist loss

12. Functional organisation structures are simple and almost intuitive in their operation. However, they tend to promote insularity of thought and even distrust between functions. Achieving full co-ordination of the work of the various departments can be very difficult. This sort of problem leads to the _______ structure. A. B. C. D. matrix complex analytic vertical

13. __________________ structured organisations can undertake projects successfully, partly, because they are able to provide in-depth expertise to project managers by allocating expert staff from appropriate functions. However, such staff can suffer from lack of focus if they still have a major functional role to play and it can be difficult to integrate their efforts properly. A. B. C. D. Globally Functionally Matrix Ce-metrical

14. Primary functions in a manufacturing company might NOT be A. B. C. D. production sales finance warehousing

15. Sub-departments of marketing might NOT be A. B. C. D. selling advertising distribution finance

16. The ____________ structure imposes an extra layer of cross-functional management on top of the___________ structure in order to improve co-operation and integration of effort by granting authority to project managers. Typically, the superimposed structure will be concerned with individual products or product groups. A. B. C. D. matrix, functional functional, matrix team based, functional project based, team based

17. Following is an excerpt from the text: "This approach is very flexible and easy to use; it tends to complete projects quickly if the discipline of project management is well-understood. In particular, it requires clear project definition if control is to be effective and comprehensive project review if longerterm learning is to take place." Which approach does the excerpt refer to? A. B. C. D. Project-based Functional Team-based Matrix

18. A high level of motivation is common and the integration of specialist work is eased by commitment to project delivery. Staff may work on several projects at the same time and thus have responsibilities to several project managers. In which structure of organisation is the above mentioned situation TRUE? A. B. C. D. Project-based Functional Team-based Matrix

19. In the feasibility studies of IS projects, the number of stages "Option Evaluation" has is: A. B. C. D. 3 4 5 6

20. Typically, four stages exist within a project life cycle. It may help you to remember the four stages if you think of them as the four Ds. Which is TRUE? A. B. C. D. The project definition stage may also include the procedures required for project selection. The project design phase will include detailed planning for activity, cost, quality and time. The project delivery phase does not necessarily include all the work required to deliver the planned project outcomes. Longer-term review will examine the project outcomes after the passage of time to establish its overall degree of success, but should be avoided because of time and cost consuming.

21. Performance driver analysis is essentially a _____________________ technique. The essence of the technique is to identify two groups of performance-related influences: those that enable good performance and those that hinder or prevent it. A. B. C. D. calculating and communication risk minimising and motivation brainstorming and presentation consulting and harmonisation

22. Saunders et al (2005) undertook research on the screening and evaluation criteria for new product development (NPD) research. They found that criteria for acceptance or rejection of product concepts vary through the NPD process. At the initial screening stage, there is a focus on the ______________ criteria. A. B. C. D. marketing projecting commercial financial

23. The decision to terminate a project is not the end of the project management process, which ends after the ________________. A. B. C. D. project project project project analysis supervision cancellation evaluation

24. ________________ determines how well the project met its objectives, including time, cost and quality, and how well the needs of its stakeholders were met. A. B. C. D. Evaluation Supervision Communication Formulation

25. Small projects may have informal reviews, but larger projects need formal reviews. Although evaluation takes place throughout the project, an integrated evaluation at the end of the project reflects on reasons for success and failure that may be missed in operational management. Project _______ are rigorous reviews, using a structured approach, and often undertaken by an independent party. A. B. C. D. audits frauds missions tasks

26. The project manager should be aware of the following matters for each stakeholder or stakeholder group EXCEPT A. B. C. D. Goals Past attitude and behaviour Expected future behaviour Reaction to possible past developments

27. Project management as a discipline developed because of a need to __________________ to obtain desired results within a set timeframe. Common project management tasks include establishing goals and objectives, developing a work-plan, scheduling, budgeting, co-ordinating a team and communicating. A. B. C. D. co-ordinate resources cooperate mechanisms construct business logic conduct business analysis

28. The consideration of project management will first address the types of projects (_____________), how these are undertaken (_______________) and why they do it (______________). A. B. C. D. activities, strategic goals & competitive position, people and processes people and processes, activities, strategic goals & competitive position strategic goals & competitive position, people and processes, activities activities, people and processes, strategic goals & competitive position

29. Project management in its widest sense is fundamental to much strategy. This is because very few organisations are able to do the same things in the same ways year after year. ___________________ change forces many organisations to include extensive processes of adaptation into their strategies. A. B. C. D. Continuing environmental Policies Management discretion Organisational structure

30. The product managers may each have their own ________________; in which case the _______________department itself would be small or non-existent. The authority of product managers may vary from organisation to organisation. A. B. C. D. marketing team, marketing finance team, finance hr team, hr IT team, IT

31. The _________ organisation structure is now regarded as rather old-fashioned, since it is essentially a complex way of retaining the basic functional structure by adding extra resources to overcome its disadvantages. More modern approaches seek fundamental improvements and tend to focus on processes and projects. A. B. C. D. matrix team-based project-based functional

32. In the project management plan, the project manager will submit the final product and any interim deliverables to the ________________ for formal acceptance. A. B. C. D. Standards Project Team (SPT) Standards Performance Team (SPT) C.Standards Program Team (SPT) Standards Planning Team (SPT)

33. While the discipline of a Project Portfolio Management approach is perfectly logical, it must be recognised that the ____________ are often not. A. B. C. D. steps conditions outcomes methodologies

34. Identifying the work packages forms the foundation for developing schedules, budgets and resource requirements, and also forms the foundation for assigning _____________. A. B. C. D. adhoc tasks responsibilities workflows package work

35. _________________ can be split into activities or tasks that are used to create a workflow. These contrast with activities and tasks, which are about what is involved in doing work. A. B. C. D. Work Work Work Work functions packages statuses tasks

36. A very important aspect of ________________ is the determination of dependencies and interactions. At any level of WBS analysis, some tasks will be dependent on others; that is to say, a dependent task cannot commence until the task upon which it depends is completed. A. B. C. D. project project project project terminating implementing planning initiating

37. __________________are the artefacts used to manage the project. They include the project management organisation structure, planning documentation, reports and so on. A. B. C. D. Technical products Quality products Mature products Management products

38. In contrast to the multitude of such small events, modern organisations are likely to undergo _______________ change far less often, but sufficiently frequently and with developments that have sufficiently long lives for project management to be an important aspect of strategic implementation. A. significant B. specific C. sporadic D. minor

39. _____________ is the term when work is added to the project after the scope has been established and agreed. A. Scope change B. Scope creep C. Strategic scope D. Strategic scope change

40. Monitoring cannot make a project successful it is a neutral part of the project process. However, timely monitoring (followed by effective control) can help identify and avoid if necessary the three Cs constrictions that challenge projects, which DOES NOT include: A. B. C. D. Crises Catastrophes constraint Change Complexity

41. _________________ is usually the responsibility of the project co-ordinator and may be carried out informally (through weekly briefs) or through routine review of the project documents. A. B. C. D. Project planning Monitoring Estimating Delayering

42. Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. Relationship Management could give significant shorter-term returns. B. Relationship Management could give significant longer-term returns. C. Relationship Management could give insignificant shorter-term returns. D. Relationship Management could give insignificant longer-term returns.

43. Initiating tasks are carried out by the ___________________. A. project stakeholder B. project charter C. project manager D. project sponsor

44. Some project managers have the job title 'Project Manager'. Which is TRUE about them?

A. B. C. D.

These These These These

people people people people

usually usually usually usually

have have have have

one one one one

major responsibility: major responsibility: major responsibility: major responsibility:

the project planning. the project. the project monitoring. the project initiating.

45. Project management is the combination of ________________and _______________used to control and monitor activities undertaken within the project. A. B. C. D. systems techniques, people machine, technicians software, programmer techniques, project managers

46. A project will be deemed successful if it is completed at the specified level of quality _______and ______.

A. B. C. D.

by the manager, in time on time, within budget within budget, before planned time on time, in minimal budget

47. The way in which a project manager co-ordinates a project from initiation to completion, using project management and general management techniques, is known as the ____________________.

A. B. C. D.

Project Project Project Project

Management Management Management Management

system technique process coordination

48. An effective project management process helps project managers maintain _________________and meet their responsibilities.

A. B. C. D.

adjusting projects control of projects ad hoc tasks cost of projects

49. Project management techniques encourage ______________________by identifying, from the outset, those activities which might threaten successful completion of a project. A. B. C. D. management of action management by section management by exception managing from direction

50. The ideal project team achieves project completion on time, within budget and to the required specifications with the minimum amount of ________________from the project manager. A. B. C. D. direct supervision indirect supervision complex supervision mix supervision

51. The project team will comprise individuals with___________________________. The project manager should choose a balanced team that takes advantage of each team member's skills and compensates elsewhere for their weaknesses. A. B. C. D. equal skills and education differing skills and personalities various experiences and complexions same age and equal abilities

52. The project manager should keep in touch with the relationships of team members and act as a ___________________ if necessary. A. B. C. D. conciliator facilitator substitute mentor

53. ______________________refers to the number of subordinates or team members responsible to a person. A. B. C. D. Span of management Area of management Focus of management Circle of management

54. __________________ is accountable for the resources invested into the project and responsible for the achievement of the project's business objectives.

A. B. C. D.

Project Project Project Project

vendor manager stakeholder sponsor

55. One approach to stakeholders dispute management strategy is to organise affairs in a way that minimises exposure to the___________________. A. B. C. D. risk risk risk risk of of of of disputes control management functions

56. Conflict between project stakeholders may be resolved by all EXCEPT A. B. C. D. Negotiation Partnering Mediation Bargaining

57. Meredith and Mantell (2003) state that success or failure of a project is based on whether they have achieved targets on the following EXCEPT A. B. C. D. Required performance No. of projects Cost Due date

58. Project managements contribution is now widely recognised as important within the _______________areas of organisations. A. B. C. D. business management departmental functional

59. For project planning is fundamental to project success, ________________________must be established, use of shared resources must be planned and, most fundamental of all, jobs must be done in a sensible sequence. A. B. C. D. prudent management and online support practical understanding and trained-up team realistic timescales and resource requirements quick reviews and suitable locations

60. Models such as Kerzners are a guide to progress; in particular they indicate ____________________for project managers. A. B. C. D. leading challenges organisational changes departmental progress career development routes

61. Project management is a way of making ___________________ more deliberate and therefore betterconsidered. A. B. C. D. competitive strategy policy changes ad hoc strategy management style changes

62. According to Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2008), the ________________________of knowledge requires effective systems to link the people who have knowledge with the applications that need it. A. B. C. D. collection and dissemination creation and exploitation achievement and allocation moderation and storage

63. Functional structures of organisations are simple and almost intuitive in their________________. A. B. C. D. operation implementation application synchronization

64. The matrix structure is now regarded as rather _______________, since it is essentially a _______________way of retaining the basic functional structure. A. B. C. D. latest, simple old, modern old-fashioned, complex classical, traditional

65. The permeability of a project is the extent to which its ___________________________are subject to influences outside the control of the project manager. The extent of these influences might be very limited in a short, simple project of a well-understood type.

A. B. C. D.

objectives and solutions solutions and processes objectives and processes management and solutions

66. Paisley Ltd plans to purchase a machine costing 13,500. The machine will save labour costs of 7,000 in the first year. Labour rates in the second year will increase by 10%. The estimated average annual rate of inflation is 8% and the company's real cost of capital is estimated at 12%. The machine has a two-year life with an estimated actual salvage value of 5,000 receivable at the end of Year 2. All cash flows occur at the year end. What is the NPV (to the nearest 10) of the proposed investment? Note: The present value at a discount rate of 11%: Period 1 2 3 Discount Rate 1.0000 0.8267 0.6835

What is the NPV (to the nearest 10) of the proposed investment? A. B. C. D. 1,150 970 770 550

67. A fishbone is also known as: A. B. C. D. Poka-yoke diagram Kaizen diagram Taguchi diagram Ishikawa diagram

68. Project managers often use control chart to view overall progress of projects against planned schedule. Following is a typical project schedule control chart demonstrating progress of a software programme development of Sansung i-Phone:

Days Ahead of schedule

4

3 2

1
0 1

2
3 4

Days behind of schedule

Reporting Period

What should be interpreted from this control chart? A. B. C. D. By the end of period 3, the project had fallen behind by almost one and a quarter day. By the end of period 3, the project had fallen behind by almost one and a half days. By the end of period 3, the project had fallen behind by almost two days. By the end of period 3, the project had fallen behind by almost one day.

69. Maclan Motors is undertaking a project for upgrading its sports car engine. At the initial stage the project team has developed a fish bone diagram to aid them focus in areas on priority basis. How a fish bone diagram may help the project team in this respect? A. B. C. D. Fish bone diagram itself is an essential tool to the process of analysis. Fish bone diagram will arrange key areas in a chronological manner. Fish bone diagram forms a good medium forbrainstorming a problem and for presenting the eventual results. Fish bone diagram helps in constructing scenario for upgraded model of sports engine only.

70. Project managers often view resource diagram in order to know: A. B. C. D. The time scale and to estimate resource requirements. Resource requirement, usage and availability throughout the whole process. Resource requirements, usage and availability for a known time. How to plan and control projects.

71. Milestone slip chart compares planned and actual progress towards project milestones. Shown below is a typical milestone chart:

2 3

State what is indicated by milestone 4? A. B. C. D. Planned and actual progress towards milestones was achieved. Planned and actual progress towards milestones was not achieved. Planned progress was faster than actual progress but repetition is not expected. Planned progress was faster than actual progress but repetition is not possible.

72. Which of the following is FALSE regarding control charts? A. B. C. D. Values above the upper and lower control limits indicate points out of adjustment. Control charts are built so that retrospective data can be quickly compared to past performance data. Control charts graphically present data. Control charts plot data over time.

73. When a sample measurement falls inside the control limits, it means that A. B. C. D. each unit manufactured is good enough to sell the process limits cannot be determined statistically the process output exceeds the requirements if there is no other pattern in the samples, the process is in control

74. If a sample of parts is measured and the mean of the measurements is outside the control limits the process is A. B. C. D. in control, but not capable of producing within the established control limits out of control and the process should be investigated for assignable variation within the established control limits with only natural causes of variation d. monitored closely to see if the next sample mean will also fall outside the control limits

75. The following is a project network diagram. (The numbers in parenthesis represent hours.)
A (6) D (3) G (2) E (6)

B (4) Start (0) )

End (0)

F (4) C (8)

The length of the critical path from A is: A. B. C. D. 14 hours 5 hours 6 hours 11 hours

76. Which of the following statements is correct for a project with a positive Net Present Value (NPV)? A. B. C. D. Internal rate of return (IRR) exceeds the cost of capital Accepting the project has an indeterminate effect on shareholders The discount rate exceeds the cost of capital The profitability index equals one

77. Which of the following capital budgeting methods states the project return as a percentage? A. B. C. D. Payback period Net present value Internal Rate of Return Discounted payback period

78. What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of a project that costs $100, 000 and returns $45, 000 annually for three years if the cost of capital is 14%? Number of periods 1 2 3 Discount factor 0.877 0.769 0.675

A. B. C. D.

$16, 100.00 $35, 000.00 $3, 397.57 $4, 445.00

79. Following is a simple network diagram that illustrates a typical computer installation project in one of the factory of super motor car company Bintally Motor Works.

D1 A3 START E6

F3

G3

END

B5

C2

Can activity D be delayed without delaying the completion of the project? If so, how many days? A. B. C. D. Yes, 4 days No, 4 days Yes, 8 days No, 8 days

80. Following is a simple network diagram that illustrates a typical computer installation project in one of the factory of super motor car company Bintally Motor Works.

D1 A3 START E6

F3

G3

END

B5

C2

What is the duration of the critical path for this project? A. B. C. D. 7 days 12 days 10 days 4 days

81. Following is a simple network diagram that illustrates a typical computer installation project in one of the factory of super motor car company Bintally Motor Works.

D1 A3 START E6

F3

G3

END

B5

C2

What is the earliest start time for Activity G? A. B. C. D. 3 9 6 7 days days days days

82. Following is a simple network diagram that illustrates a typical computer installation project in one of the factory of super motor car company Bintally Motor Works.

D1 A3 START E6

F3

G3

END

B5

C2

What is the latest start time for Activity F? A. B. C. D. 3 days 4 days 7 days 9 days

83. A Gantt chart is used to: A. B. C. D. Show how activities are related Show when activities take place Enable the critical path to be evaluated Show resources used over time

84. A resource histogram is used to: A. B. C. D. Show how activities are related. Show when activities take place. Enable the critical path to be evaluated. Show resources used over time.

85. Crashing is the term used when: A. B. C. D. The project time has to be at minimum extra cost. Insufficient resources are available for the project to be completed on time. The cost of a project has to be reduced. The project time has to be at minimum cost.

86. If the earliest start time and latest start time of an activity are 8 and 9 respectively, the float for this activity is: A. B. C. D. Zero 1 17 3

87. A project manager wishes to identify abnormality in his project. Which of the following tools would aid him in this respect? A. B. C. D. Control charts Scatter diagram Histograms Pareto charts

88. Mr. MacDowell is considering of selling tickets of education programmes. He is determined that the attendants will vary on the personality and popularity of the professor making speech in the programme. It is not possible to arrange speech of well-known professor throughout the year. Mr. MacDowell cannot sort out any probable outcome from the relationship between personality of professor and the attendees. Which of the following technique may help Mr. MacDowell as a better planning tool for his project of selling tickets of education programmes? A. B. C. D. A Gantt Chart PERT Resource Histogram Scatter Graph diagram

Answers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

A D D D B A A D C A A A B D D A A A B A C D D A A

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

D A D A A A C C B B C D A B D B B C B A B C B C A

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75

B A A D A D B D C D C B A C C B D C C C C B D B D

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88

A C D C B B D B D A B A B