1. Project success or failure often depends upon the contributions of all of the following except:
E. Competitors
2. Project leadership is about coping with:
A. Change
3. In conducting meetings an effective project manager will take the role of a:
E. Conductor
4. Groups such as human resources, information systems, purchasing agents, and maintenance are
typically classified as:
A. Administrative support
5. The old-fashion view of managing projects emphasized which of the following?
D. Both B and C are correct
6. The new perspective of project management emphasizes which of the following?
B. Managing project stakeholders
7. In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, vision, excellence, and ethical correctness are
part of ______ related currencies.
C. Inspiration
In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, resources, assistance, cooperation, and
information are part of ______ related currencies.
B. Task
In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, acceptance, personal support, and
understanding are part of _______ related currencies.
E. Relationship
In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, advancement, recognition, visibility, and
networks are part of ______ related currencies.
B. Position
In terms of commonly traded organizational currencies, learning, ownership, and gratitude are part of
______ related currencies.
C. Personal
Which of the following is not one of the aspects of
leading by example?
a. Priorities
b. Ethics
c. Urgency
d. Cooperation
e. Power
E. Power
13. The traits of successful project managers include all of
the following except:
a. Pessimist
b. Proactive
c. Skillful politician
d. Effective time management
e. Personal integrity
a. Pessimist
Unlike project leadership, project management is about
coping with:
a. Change
b. Aligning people to any new directions
c. Monitoring results against plans
d. Recognizing the need to alter plans
e. All of these are part of project management
C. Monitoring results against plans
The key to exercising influence is:
a. To make few mistakes
b. To build trust
c. To build a network of top level people
d. To understand the political connections within the
organization
e. To make friends with everyone
B. To build trust
The
higher the degree of uncertainty encountered on a project, the more management
is required.
False
Successful
project managers tend to adopt a hands-on approach to managing projects
False
One of the things that distinguish project management from
regular management is the sheer breadth and complexity of the relationships
that need to be managed.
True
In
some projects subcontractors may do all the work with the project team merely
coordinating their contributions.
True
The first step to building a social network is identifying
those on whom the project depends for success.
True
When
giving a status report to superiors, project managers must present the most
positive image possible including, if necessary, stretching the truth.
False
To
be effective, project managers must "walk the talk", i.e.; lead by
example.
True
In
the planned style of managing product development, the project manager provides
focus and structure, striving to direct team efforts and link project and
organizational goals.
True
"Managing
a project and leading a project is essentially the same thing." Agree or
disagree and support your conclusion.
Disagree, they are very different. Managing is associated
with the structure of the project (planning, organizing, controlling, and
corrective action) where leading is needed when the objectives of the project require
changing to meet outside demands.
What
is "management by wandering around" and why would it be useful to
project managers?
MBWA
is the spending of time outside the office and making contact with key players
to keep abreast of developments, anticipate potential problems, provide
encouragement, and reinforce the objectives and vision of the project.
Identify
five of the six aspects of leading by example.
1. standards of performance, 2. ethics, 3. urgency, 4.
problem solving, 5. priorities, and 6. cooperation.
"All
the eight traits of being a good project manager can be trained." Agree or
Disagree and support your conclusion.
Some can be trained or acquired but items such as being an
optimist, personal integrity, and being proactive are not easily developed
unless there is a predisposition to display them.
Which of the following is commonly associated with
high-performing project teams?
a. Risk taking is controlled and not allowed to jeopardize
the overall project
b. Roles and specific responsibilities are well-defined
c. A degree of competition among team members is encouraged
d. Mistakes are viewed as opportunities for learning
e. All of these are associated with high-performing teams
D. Mistakes are viewed as opportunities for learning
Experience and research indicate that high-performance
project teams are much more likely to develop under all the following
conditions except:
a. Members are assigned to the project full time
b. Members report solely to the project manager
c. There are 10 or fewer members per team
d. Team members are selected by their managers e. The project involves a compelling objective
D. Team members are selected by their managers
Which of the following are considered very important in the
recruiting of project members?
a. The budget available
b. The importance of the project
c. The management structure for the project team
d. Both B and C are correct
e. A, B, and C are all correct
D. Both B and C are correct
Which of the following is not one of the considerations that
need to be factored into the project team recruitment process?
a. Political connections
b. Problem-solving ability
c. Ambition, initiative, and energy
d. High degree of technological expertise
e. Availability
D. High degree of technological expertise
Which of the following is not one of the major issues that
successful project managers must address in the early stages of a project?
a. Relationship Decisions
b. Managing Change Decisions
c. Tracking Decisions
d. Planning Decisions
e. All of these need to be addressed
E. All of these need to be addressed
All of the following have been found to be good for running
effective project meetings except:
a. Start meetings on time regardless of whether everyone is
present
b. Identify an adjournment time
c. Thoroughly document all decisions
d. Prepare and distribute an agenda prior to the meeting e.
All of these are good for effective meetings
E. All of these are good for effective meetings
The essential qualities of an effective vision include all
of the following except:
a. All team members have the same vision
b. The vision should be communicated to all
c. The vision has to make strategic sense
d. The project manager has to believe in the vision
e. The vision should be a source of inspiration to others
A. All team members have the same vision
The first step in facilitating group decision making is
to:
a. Call a meeting to discuss the problem
b. Identify the problem
c. Agree that there is a problem
d. Quantify the problem
e. Generate alternatives
B. Identify the problem
Which of the following is not one of the steps in
facilitating group decision making?
a. Identifying the problem
b. Analyzing the situation
c. Generating alternatives
d. Reaching a decision e. Follow-up
B. Analyzing the situation
During the last two phases of a project's life cycle, the
most significant source of conflict is:
a. Schedules
b. Priorities
c. Technical
d. Procedures e. Costs
A. Schedules
Two of the biggest challenges involved in managing a virtual
project team are:
a. The language barriers and time management
b. Time management and developing trust
c. The language barriers and developing effective patterns
of communication
d. Developing trust and effective patterns of
communication
e. Time management and developing effective patterns of
communication
D. Developing trust and effective patterns of communication
Which of the following is not one of the tips for
alleviating communication problems of virtual teams?
a. Include face-to-face time if at all possible
b. Keep team members informed on how well the overall
project is going
c. Share the pain
d. Establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing
assumptions and conflicts e. Establish a code of conduct to avoid delays
A. Include face-to-face time if at all possible
A
project manager should always look for people with good problem-solving
ability.
False
A
project manager should be wary of people who know too much about a specific
technology.
True
A
project vision is an image a project team holds in common about how the project
will look upon completion, how they will work together, and how customers will
accept the project.
True
Group decision making should be used when strong commitment
to the decision is needed and there is a low probability of acceptance if only
one person makes the decision.
True
A
project manager should identify a problem in terms of its alternate solutions
so that team members can more easily reach a decision on how to solve the
problem.
False
Team
members can be upset and dissatisfied with conflict, but as long as the
disagreement furthers the objectives of the project, then the conflict is
functional.
True
Two
of the biggest challenges involved in managing a virtual project team are
developing trust and effective patterns of communication.
True
Identify
the four major areas for establishing ground rules on how the project team will
operate.
Identify
and briefly discuss the four major steps in facilitating the group decision
making process.
1.
Problem identification, 2. Generate alternatives, 3. Reach a decision, and 4.
Follow-up
Identify
the five strategies to manage conflict.
1. Mediate the conflict, 2. Arbitrate the conflict, 3.
Control the conflict, 4. Accept the conflict, and 5. Eliminate the conflict
Identify
and briefly describe the four common pitfalls that project teams may be
subjected to.
1.
groupthink, 2. bureaucratic bypass syndrome, 3. team infatuation, and 4. going
native
The driving motive for increasing the use of outsourcing on
projects was:
a. Reducing the trade deficit
b. Reducing costs
c. Improving international sales
d. Making products more international in design e. Securing technology that was not available
domestically
B. Reducing costs
Key practices in partnering relationships include:
a. Single project contracting
b. Goals and objectives are similar
c. Access to each other's organizational resources
d. Both B and C are correct e. A, B, and C are all correct
C. Access to each other's organizational resources
Which of the following is not a key to successful partnering
relationships?
a. Mutual trust
b. Jointly shared risk
c. Total company involvement
d. Independent project teams e. Long-term commitment
D. Independent project teams
The traditional project process includes all of the
following except:
a. Independent project teams
b. Shared goals and objectives
c. Single project teams
d. Risk is transferred to the other party e. Limited objectivity
B. Shared goals and objectives
Best practices in outsourcing project work include all the
following except:
a. Well defined requirements and procedures
b. Training and teambuilding activities
c. Well established conflict management processes
d. Frequent reviews and status updates e.
All of these are best practices
E. All of these are best practices
To make sure that an outsourcer thoroughly understands your
requirements you should:
a. Document your conversations in writing
b. Insist that the outsourcer write the requirements in
their own words
c. Request they build a prototype
d. Both A and C are correct e.
A, B, and C are all correct
E. A, B, and C are all correct
To avoid problems with schedules and deadlines you should:
a. Develop detailed schedules
b. Hold frequent status reviews
c. Add a penalty clause to the contract
d. Hold frequent conversations with the outsourcer e. Build extra time into the schedules that the
outsourcer is not aware of
C. Add a penalty clause to the contract
Long-term partnerships will provide all the following
except:
a. Improved communication
b. More efficient utilization of resources
c. Reduced need for total number of partnerships
d. Lower administrative costs e. Improved innovation
B. More efficient utilization of resources
Which of the following would be included in best practices
in outsourcing project work?
a. Establishing long-term relationships
b. Include financial incentives
c. Reduce costs by using tried and true methods
d. A and B are both correct e. A, B, and C are all correct
D. A and B are both correct
Which of the following is not one of the key points of principled
negotiation?
a. Use objective criteria when possible
b. Be honest and forthright
c. Focus on interests, not positions
d. Separate the people from the problem e. Invent options for mutual gain
B. Be honest and forthright
Customer satisfaction can be quantitified by:
a. Perceived performance divided by actual performance
b. Actual performance divided by expected performance
c. Perceived performance divided by expected
performance
d. Actual performance divided by perceived performance e. Expected performance divided by actual
performance
C. Perceived performance divided by expected performance
Regarding customer relations, advice passed on by veteran
project managers includes:
a. Speak with one voice
b. Speak in precise terms
c. Speak the language of the customer
d. Both A and B are correct e.
Both A and C are correct
E. Both A and C are correct
Which of the following is reflected in the saying "Seek
first to understand, then to be understood"?
a. Separate people from the problem
b. Be honest
c. Focus on interests, not positions
d. Invent options for mutual gain e. When possible, use objective criteria
C. Focus on interests, not positions
Increased
conflict and loss of coordination are typical disadvantages of outsourcing
project work.
True
Trust
can be difficult to forge when interactions are limited and people come from
different organizations.
True
In
some countries, laws are considered to be guidelines that are not necessarily
followed.
True
For
people in some countries, a written, signed contract is merely a suggestion.
True
A
prime consideration in choosing outsourcing vendors is to assess the fit with
their project management system.
True
Team-building
workshops with outsourcing vendors is usually led by an outside consultant who
is an expert in designing and facilitating such workshops.
True
Principled
Negotiation emphasizes developing win/win solutions while protecting yourself
against those who would take advantage of your forthrightness.
True
What
is partnering and why has it become popular for managing projects?
Partnering
is a method of transforming contractual relationships into a cohesive,
cooperative project team with a single set of goals and established procedures
for resolving disputes in a timely manner. It is popular because the old way,
built on an adversarial premise, was not working.
Identify
the four strategies offered by Dr. Adam Kolawa for overcoming poor
communication with outsourcers.
1.
recognize cultural differences, 2. choose the right words, 3. confirm your
requirements, and 4. Set deadlines
Identify
the three steps you should take to confirm that the outsourcer thoroughly
understands your requirements.
1.
document your requirements, 2. insist that the outsourcer re-document your
requirements, and 3. request a prototype
What
is principled negotiation and what are the four key points it is based upon?
Principled negotiation is an approach to negotiation that emphasizes developing win/win solutions while protecting yourself against those who would take advantage of your forthrightness.
1. separate the people from the problem, 2. focus on interests, not positions, 3. invent options for mutual gain, and 4. When possible use objective criteria
A typical project progress report would contain all of the
following sections except:
a. Progress since last report
b. Problems and issues since last report
c. Current status of project
d. Corrective action planned
e. All of these are typical sections
E. All of these are typical sections
The first step in the project control process of the
measurement and evaluation of project performance is to
a. Set a baseline plan
b. Determine the project objectives
c. Determine the project deliverables
d. Analyze the project budget
e. Review the project priority matrix
A. Set a baseline plan
The second step in the project control process of the
measurement and evaluation of project performance is to:
a. Review the baseline plan with top management
b. Analyze inputs to control system
c. Compare plan against actual
d. Measure progress and performance
e. Review spending with team members
D. Measure progress and performance
The third step in the project control process of the
measurement and evaluation of project performance is to:
a. Review the baseline plan with top management
b. Analyze inputs to the control system
c. Compare the plan against actual performance
d. Measure both progress and performance
e. Review spending with team members
C. Compare the plan against actual performance
The last step in the project control process of the
measurement and evaluation of project performance is to:
a. Take appropriate action
b. Prepare a report to top management
c. Follow up on corrective action
d. Measure progress and performance
e. Review spending with team members
A. Take appropriate action
In monitoring project time (schedule) performance actual
performance should be compared to:
a. Budgets for the current year
b. Top management's targets
c. Project network schedule derived from the WBS/OBS
d. Progress on similar past projects e. Previous status reports
C. Project network schedule derived from the WBS/OBS
A tool used to monitor past project schedule performance,
current performance, and to estimate future schedule trends is a simple line
chart known as a:
a. Project schedule control chart
b. Gantt chart
c. PERT chart
d. Network diagram
e. Milestone chart
A. Project schedule control chart
The earned value of a project is the:
a. Project cost to date adjusted for project scope changes
b. Total project cost to date
c. Cost incurred minus the planned cost
d. Percent of the original budget that has been
earned by actual work e. None of these are correct
D. Percent of the original budget that has been earned by actual work
Baseline project budgets are derived from:
a. The organization's overall budget
b. Time-phasing the work packages
c. Top management directions
d. Both A and C are correct e. A, B, and C are all correct
B. Time-phasing the work packages
Of the following costs, which are not included in baseline?
a. Materials
b. Equipment
c. Labor
d. A and C but not B e.
All of these are usually included
E. All of these are usually included
Generally the method for measuring accomplishments centers
on comparing
a. Earned value with the expected schedule value
b. Earned value with the actual costs
c. Actual costs with budgeted costs
d. Both A and B are correct e. A, B, and C are all correct
D. Both A and B are correct
An index value less than one indicates that the project is
a. Under cost or behind schedule
b. Over cost or ahead of schedule
c. Under cost or ahead of schedule
d. Over cost or behind schedule e. On cost or on schedule
C. Under cost or ahead of schedule
Project managers should allow scope changes only if
a. The project will fail without the change
b. The project will be improved significantly with the
change
c. The customer wants the change and will pay for it
d. Both A and B are correct e.
A, B, and C are all correct
E. A, B, and C are all correct
Small refinements that eventually build to be major changes
are known as:
a. Project erosion
b. Scope creep
c. Specification adjustments
d. Specification refinements
e. Continuous improvements
B. Scope creep
The baseline is derived from merging information from the work packages with the
project network.
True
Milestones are significant project events that mark major accomplishments.
