Questioning Assessment

Candidate Instructions

You will complete questions for purposes of formal assessment as per the questions outlined in the questioning record
below, and any additional probing or clarification questions required by the assessor.
The Knowledge Activity is designed to confirm your competency for all the required knowledge in the unit of competency.

Task Details
There is no restriction on the length of the question responses, or time restriction in completing the assessment. It is
anticipated however that the assessment will take approximately 2 hours to complete, and word limit is unit as a
guide only.

The assessment may be re-attempted on two further occasions (maximum three attempts in total). All
assessments must be resubmitted 3 days within receiving your unsatisfactory grade. You must clearly
indicate “Re-submission” on your resubmitted work.

You must complete all questions unassisted by the assessor or other personnel but may refer to reference material as
may be needed.

All questions must be answered satisfactorily for the assessment to be completed satisfactorily.
For any assessment conducted that is incomplete, or without satisfactory performance, the assessment will need to
be completed again after further training support. This may be simply to focus on question areas not achieved in the
prior assessment.

Evidence to be collected

Answer the activity in as much detail as possible, considering your organisational requirements.
In undertaking this assessment task, you as the candidate are providing consent for your work to be reviewed for the
purposes of formal assessment in the unit(s) of competency. If you have concern regarding this permission, please
discuss this with your assessor prior to undertaking the task.

To provide you with an opportunity to show you have the required

Objective
knowledge for this unit.
 Candidate Declaration

Candidate name: Patricia Aguilar

Trainer’s name: Prem Srinivasan

01-06-19
Date:
Assessment I declare that no part of this assessment has been copied from another
declaration: person’s work, except where clearly noted on documents or work
submitted.
I declare that no part of this assessment has been written for me by
another person. I understand that plagiarism is a serious offence that
may lead to disciplinary action.
Candidate signature:

Your trainer and assessor will be grading your work and provide you with constructive feedback on
Canvas.
 Task 1: Knowledge Questions

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using the following

estimation techniques to determine the duration of tasks and the required
resources:
Question 1
 Analogous estimating
 Bottom-up analysis
 Reserve analysis. (approx. 60 words)
Answer:
Analogous estimating:
Analogous estimation is a better way of estimation in the initial stages of the project
when very few details are known, but the big disadvantage is that is not accurate
because doesn't always use current data.
Bottom up analysis:
this is made by estimating potential sales in order to determine a total sales gure. This
evaluates where products can be sold, the sales of comparable products, and the slice of
current sales you can carve out. While it takes a lot more effort, the result is usually
much more accurate.
Reserve analysis:
this is made to establish an estimated reserve that can be used for the purposes of
establishing a schedule duration, any and all estimated costs, the budget, as well as the
complete funds assigned or allocated to the project.

Explain how you would identify the critical path within a project schedule.
Question 2
(approx. 50 words)
Answer:
The critical path is the longest sequence of activities in a project plan which must be
completed on time for the project to complete on due date. An activity on the critical
path cannot be started until its predecessor activity is complete; if it is delayed for a
day, the entire project will be delayed for a day unless the activity following the
delayed activity is completed a day earlier. The way to identify the critical path is
using the relationships and durations from your network diagram, you will need to
calculate the earliest possible start date and nish date for each task. Determine the
latest possible start and nish date for each task. The sequence of tasks with identical
date for earliest and latest start is the critical path.
Question 3 What are the primary reference points for setting a project baseline?
Answer:
assigned responsibility.
Assigned schedule-management responsibilities
charted milestones
contingency plans
project schedule and sub schedules
critical path analysis
resource assignment to task
schedule-management strategies and actions

Explain what a variance table is and how it can be used in relation to the
Question 4
project baseline. (approx. 50 words)
Answer:

variance is a measurable change from a known standard or baseline. In other words, is

the difference between what is expected and what is actually accomplished. Variance
table is key to project management and needs a logical approach. The project mangers
identify the variance thresholds and develop a plan in case it happens.

Identify the four phases of a project lifecycle and explain what each phase
Question 5
means or involves?
Answer:

Initiation
In the initiation phase of the project, we identify a business need, problem, or
opportunity and brainstorm ways that the team can meet this need, solve this problem,
or seize this opportunity.

Planning
In this phase, we break down the larger project into smaller tasks, build your team, and
prepare a schedule for the completion of assignments.

Execution
Once is received the business approval, developed a plan, and built your team, is
execution phase, which means turn the plan into action.

Closure
Once the work is completed on a project, we start closure phase, in which we provide
nal deliverables, release project resources, and determine the success of the project.
Question 6 Outline what is meant by the following time management methodologies. For
each, how would you use it and explain their advantages and disadvantages.
 Activity log
 Action plan
 Task list.
Answer:

Activity Log:
Activity logs are written records of how time is spent in a business, and they can can be
used to measure how much time you and your employees spend on certain tasks.Some of
the benets are: increase productivity, address weaknesses, improve time management,
minimize low value task.

Action plan:
Planning is an important per-requisite for attaining the cherished goals of a business
enterprise. Of all the managerial activities, it comes rst because of the following
benets: leads to more effective and faster achievements in any organization, it gives
an added strength to the business for its steady growth and continuous prosperity, It
secure unity of purpose, direction and effort by focusing attention on the objectives. At
the same time, Time, money and effort are required in the collection and analysis of data
and in the formulation and revision of plans. It is a time consuming process. It is an
expensive process. Planning is useful only when the expected gains from it exceed its
costs. Often it is remarked that the cost of planning is in excess of its actual
contribution.

Task List:
One of the fundamental tools for time management is that list of things you need to get
done. It consolidates all your tasks in one place. From there you can prioritise them and
tackle the important ones rst.

Question 7 Explain how the following project scheduling tools and techniques function:
 PERT chart
 Gantt chart
 Critical chain management.
Answer:
Pert Chart: Program Evaluation Review Technique chart. A PERT chart can be used to
schedule, organise and coordinate the tasks within a project. Using a network diagram,
it presents a graphic illustration of a project.
• Gantt Chart : is a visual representation of a project schedule that shows what has to
be done within the project and when it needs to be done by. By laying out the project
tasks and events in the order they should be completed in, the Gantt chart helps to
sequence those events and tasks.
• Critical chain management: This method builds on the analysis that is done using
critical path and resource levelling techniques and it is used when these levelling
techniques have delayed the end date of your project. Chain management reprioritises
the project work and provides simple tracking principles that can accelerate your
project. Within this method, the tracking approach is shifted to concentrate on the
critical resource.
Question 8 What is a WBS and how can it be applied to project schedule?

Answer:
The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a tool used within project management that
aims to capture the project tasks in a visual, organised manner. It is a decomposition of
your project into smaller components and it organises your project into smaller, more
manageable sections. The WBS can be applied to project schedules because it provides
the project manager with an opportunity to predict outcomes based on a particular
scenario. This ensures that the decision-making process is effective. A WBS can also be
used to help identify potential risks within your project.