Top 10 Primavera Interview questions and Model Answers:

the most common questions for primavera interview and what is the model answer
to all of them
Q1:What are the difference between free float, total float and what is different
between Float and Slack?
Float and slack are the two different words for the same meaning.
Top 10 Primavera Interview questions and Model Answers
Top 10 Primavera Interview questions and Model Answers
Free Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed without delaying the su
ccessor activity
Total Float : amount of time , an activity can be delayed without delaying the p
roject finish date.
Q2:What is a constraint in primavera?
Constrains in primavera is to fix the start or finish date as per following opti
ons:
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?

Its the longest path through the project with the least amount of float,Filter t
he activities with total float equal to or less than 0
Q4:What is WBS?
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?
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 c
alculate from the end of the project and these entire activities late dates gath
er 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 up
date?
If a project is generally running according to plan and activities are not progr
essed 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 p
ath but if activities have been progressed out of sequence, there could be some
resulting illogical dependencies remaining, in particular resulting from depende

ncies with durations.

Progress override invariably produces a shorter critical path and again there co
uld 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?
progress can be measured using EVM earned value management as per the following
terms:
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)
For more information see this article:EVM earned value management
Q8:What is resource allocation and resource leveling?
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 compa
red to the maximum quantity available at the time of leveling.An activity is del
ayed 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 fo
r a particular resource in the Resources Tab.
Q9:What is an S
Curve and how to create S Curve in primavera?
An S-curve is the cumulative cost function plotted on a histogram, which can vag
uely resemble the letter S. BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP are frequently plotted and comp
ared 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 th
e Activity Network.
Q10:What are the difference between flag and milestone activity in primavera?
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 wh
ere as milestone can be update manually.
3- Flags can not be constraint only driven by pre