Student name: __________

1) Scope definition is among the first tasks that must happen in projects. How is project
scope defined?
A) The length of your project and how much it will cost
B) The deliverables or outputs during the course of the project
C) The range of resources you have available and their capabilities
D) What you expect to deliver to your customer when the project is complete
E) The range of customer expectations

2) A project professional is viewing a document that delineates the specific deliverables and
sub-deliverables required to complete the writing of a technical support manual. He is most
likely viewing the
A) responsibility matrix.
B) organization breakdown structure.
C) work breakdown structure.
D) priority matrix.
E) work package.

3) Five steps are involved when defining a project. Which of the following is the first?
A) Establish project priorities
B) Define the project scope
C) Verify the budget available
D) Assign team members to work on the project
E) Determine the required completion date

4) A project professional has just been assigned manager of a project to develop a new
advertising campaign for an established product. What is the second step the project manager
should do?
A) Establish project priorities.
B) Define the project scope.
C) Verify the budget available.
D) Assign team members to work on the project.
E) Determine the required completion date.

5) Scope creep is a big issue when managing projects. Which of the following is NOT true
regarding scope creep?

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 A) It is the tendency for the project scope to expand over time.
B) It is when the project budget is exceeded.
C) It most likely caused by a scope statement that is too broad.
D) It can have both positive and negative impacts on a project.
E) It can lead to added costs and possible project delays.

6) An expected output over the life of a project would be classified as

A) a target.
B) a product.
C) an end object.
D) a deliverable.
E) an objective.

7) Within any project, the first step of project scope definition is to

A) analyze the strategic plan.
B) analyze the current budget plan.
C) meet with team members.
D) select team members.
E) define the overall objective to meet the customer's needs.

8) In reviewing the project plan, a project professional sees that the first prototype must be
completed by October 12. This would be best classified as a
A) project target.
B) limit item.
C) milestone.
D) project objective.
E) critical goal.

9) The ability of a 911 emergency system to identify the caller's phone number and location
is considered to be a
A) technical requirement.
B) milestone.
C) project limit.
D) project exclusion.
E) project deliverable.

10) You are writing a project scope definition document. Which of the following is NOT one
of the items that would appear on a project scope statement or checklist?

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 A) Deliverables
B) Technical requirements
C) Project Objectives
D) Work breakdown structure
E) Limits and exclusions

11) "To construct a high-quality, custom home within five months at costs not to exceed
$150,000" is best classified as
A) a deliverable.
B) a milestone.
C) an objective.
D) a limit.
E) an exclusion.

12) There are 5 steps involved when defining a project; which of the following is the second?
A) Analyze the strategic plan
B) Analyze the current budget plan
C) Establish project priorities
D) Select team members
E) Define the major objectives to meet the customer's needs

13) One of the primary jobs of a project manager is to manage the trade-offs associated with
the project. Which of the following is NOT one of the basic classifications of project priorities?
A) Profit
B) Cost
C) Time
D) Performance
E) All of these are basic classifications.

14) After reviewing the project scope statement, the owner specifies that costs MUST stay
within $400,000. This criterion is classified as
A) constrained.
B) enhanced.
C) accepted.
D) limited.
E) fixed.

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15) You have just been given a project that has a specific completion date. After a discussion
with top management you find that while the date is important the cost is more important and a
slip in delivery would be acceptable if required to meet the cost targets. The completion date is
best classified as
A) constrained.
B) reduced.
C) accepted.
D) limited.
E) optional.

16) The _________ is used to assist in making project trade-offs among schedule, budget,
and performance objectives.
A) responsibility matrix
B) work breakdown structure
C) project priority matrix
D) work package
E) criterion matrix

17) The lowest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is

A) a deliverable.
B) a work package.
C) a cost account.
D) a lowest sub-deliverable.
E) an object.

18) The highest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is

A) a work package.
B) sub-deliverables.
C) a cost account.
D) major deliverables.
E) the project.

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19) All of the following are ways the WBS helps in managing projects EXCEPT
A) with cost and time estimates the WBS makes it possible to plan, schedule and budget
the project.
B) it provides management with information appropriate to each level.
C) can be used to define communication channels.
D) allows the project manager to establish the overall objective of the project.
E) as it is developed, organizational units and individuals can be assigned responsibility
of work packages.

20) All of the following are usually included in a work package EXCEPT
A) work to be done.
B) the time needed to complete the work.
C) a single person who is responsible for its completion.
D) all the costs for the work package.
E) All of these are included in a work package.

21) The integration of the lowest level of the WBS with the organizational units responsible
for performing the work is known as
A) responsibility matrix.
B) organization breakdown structure.
C) work breakdown structure.
D) priority matrix.
E) process breakdown structure.

22) There are 5 steps involved when defining a project; which of the following is the last?

A) Code the WBS for tracking

B) Assign the cost account to a manager
C) Assign the work package to a manager
D) Develop the responsibility matrix
E) All of these are included in the final step.

23) When work packages are integrated with organizational units, a control point is created
called a
A) responsibility matrix.
B) priority matrix.
C) work package.
D) cost account.
E) project overlap.

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24) The WBS is best suited for projects that have a tangible outcome. Which of the following
is used when the final outcome of the project is less tangible or is a product of a series of steps or
phases?
A) Responsibility matrix
B) Organization breakdown structure
C) A work breakdown structure is still effective for these types of projects.
D) Priority matrix
E) Process breakdown structure

25) If a project is small and does not require an elaborate system to assign tasks, which of the
following is a good choice?
A) Responsibility matrix
B) Organization breakdown structure
C) Work breakdown structure
D) Priority matrix
E) Process breakdown structure

26) The project scope statement indicates that the client is responsible for training the people
who will be using the equipment and that the project team will train the client's trainers. This is
an example of
A) project objectives.
B) deliverables.
C) limits and exclusions.
D) technical requirements.
E) milestones.

27) The tendency for the project deliverables to expand over time—usually by changing
requirements, specifications, and priorities—is called
A) scope erosion.
B) scope creep.
C) project bloat.
D) scope enhancement.
E) project add-ons.

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28) Which of the following is a good example of a Process Breakdown Structure?
A) New car prototype
B) New software program
C) New instruction manual
D) New sports stadium
E) New project management book

29) Which of the following is least likely to be included in a work package?

A) How long the work package should take to complete
B) A description of work to be performed
C) Overhead expenses
D) How much the work package should cost to complete
E) The person responsible for the work package

30) Having a strong communication plan can go a long way toward mitigating project
problems. A communication plan should address all of the following EXCEPT
A) when the information will be communicated.
B) how information should be communicated and to whom.
C) which methods will be used to gather and store information.
D) what information needs to be collected and are there limits as to who has access to it.
E) all of these should be addressed in a communication plan.

31) A communication plan is a key component for giving guidelines on how to track project
____.
A) issues.
B) costs.
C) defects.
D) Both costs and defects.
E) All of these choices are correct.

32) A “Dissemination Mode” is

A) how project schedules are version controlled.
B) a description of what is important to project stakeholders.
C) what defines how project communication is to occur.
D) None of these choices are correct.
E) All of these choices are correct.

33) A key aspect to communication plans are that they allow the project manager and the
project team to

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 A) meet deadlines more effectively.
B) focus on defect resolution.
C) effectively control costs on the project.
D) actively control the flow of information.
E) be more creative in their communications.

34) A Responsibility Matrix will clarify

A) tasks.
B) supports.
C) responsibilities.
D) who supports and who is responsible.
E) All of these alternatives are correct.

35) One way for a project manager to communicate the authority granted to individual
project members is to publish a
A) work breakdown structure.
B) project plan.
C) project hierarchy of reporting authority.
D) responsibility matrix.
E) project communication plan.

36) A Process Breakdown Structure can provide a reasonable alternative to a Work

Breakdown structure for an extensive development project if
A) phase exit criteria are firmly established.
B) there are appropriate predecessor relationships in place.
C) deliverables are tightly aligned to milestones.
D) tangible products are being developed.
E) risk planning is included early in the project.

37) A selective outline of the project that ensures the identification of all tasks and an
understanding of what is to be done is called a(n) ____________.
A) process breakdown structure
B) work breakdown structure
C) organization breakdown structure
D) project breakdown structure
E) product breakdown structure

38) The first step in planning any project is to ___________.

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 A) establish project priorities
B) create the project breakdown structure
C) define the project scope
D) create the product breakdown structure
E) create the organization breakdown structure

39) The definition of the end result or mission of your project, or what you expect to deliver
to your customer when the project is complete is the project ___________.
A) scope
B) bill or invoice
C) product
D) test
E) lessons learned

40) Significant events in a project that occur at a specific point in time, are natural control
points, and are easily recognized by project participants are known as ___________.
A) tasks
B) activities
C) milestones
D) due dates
E) kill points

41) The need for a functioning computer in countries having different electrical systems is an
example of a ________.
A) project objective
B) electrical incompatibility
C) justification
D) acceptance criteria
E) technical requirement

42) The agreement that training will be the responsibility of the customer and not the team is
an example of a project ________.
A) product scope description
B) limits and exclusions
C) technical requirements
D) acceptance criteria
E) milestones

43) The last element of a project scope statement or checklist ensures an understanding and
agreement of expectations. This is known as ____________.

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 A) deliverables
B) acceptance criteria
C) milestones
D) limits and exclusions
E) technical requirements

44) In regard to project priorities, if a project parameter such as the completion date or the
cost of a project is fixed and must be met, it is considered ____________.
A) enhanced
B) accepted
C) constrained
D) static
E) unchangeable

45) Taking advantage of opportunities to reduce costs or accelerate the schedule are examples
of project criteria classified as ____________.
A) enhanced
B) accepted
C) constrained
D) static
E) unchangeable

46) In making project trade-offs, a criterion that is allowed not to meet the original target, for
example, allowing the schedule to slip, is classified as ___________.
A) enhanced
B) accepted
C) constrained
D) static
E) unchangeable

47) A technique that clearly establishes priorities with customers and top management so as
to create shared expectations and avoid misunderstandings is developing a(n) ___________.
A) work breakdown structure
B) process breakdown structure
C) organization breakdown structure
D) project priority matrix
E) responsibility matrix

48) The result of subdividing the work of a project into smaller and smaller work elements is
called a(n) __________.

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 A) work breakdown structure
B) process breakdown structure
C) organization breakdown structure
D) project priority matrix
E) responsibility matrix

49) The most detailed element in the hierarchical breakdown of the project work to be
accomplished is known as the __________.
A) deliverable
B) sub-deliverable
C) work package
D) lowest sub-deliverable
E) cost account

50) The intersection of work packages and the organizational unit creates a project control
point called a(n) ___________.
A) deliverable
B) subdeliverable
C) work package
D) lowest subdeliverable
E) cost account

51) When specific work packages are assigned to a particular group or person within the
organization, the result is called a(n) ___________.
A) work breakdown structure
B) process breakdown structure
C) organization breakdown structure
D) project priority matrix
E) responsibility matrix

52) The final step in defining a project is __________ the WBS for the information system.
A) validating the scope
B) finalizing requirements
C) integrating the WBS with the organization
D) coding the WBS
E) assigning each work package to a single person

53) The WBS is best suited for design and construction projects that have tangible outcomes.
When the final outcome of the project is less tangible or it is the result of a series of steps or
phases, some project managers choose to utilize a(n) ___________.

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 A) Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Modified
B) Process Breakdown Structure (PBS)
C) Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)
D) Project Priority Matrix (PPM)
E) Responsibility Matrix (RM)

54) Once the __________ has been established, it is the basis for making trade-off decisions
later in the project.
A) work breakdown structure
B) process breakdown structure
C) organization breakdown structure
D) project priority matrix
E) responsibility matrix

55) The type of information that will need to be collected during a project and who will
receive this information can be found in the project __________ plan.
A) communication
B) requirements
C) responsibility
D) assignment
E) creation and design

56) One tool that is used by project managers of small projects to summarize the tasks to be
accomplished and who is responsible for what on a project is called a(n) __________.
A) task assignment table
B) activity assignment matrix
C) responsibility matrix
D) task responsibility table
E) activity responsibility table

57) A document that is issued by upper management and provides the project manager with
written authority to use organizational resources for project activities is called a(n) __________.
A) project charter
B) statement of work
C) requirements document
D) project plan
E) scope statement

58) Scope creep can be reduced by carefully writing a(n) __________.

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 A) project charter
B) statement of work
C) requirements document
D) project plan
E) scope statement

59) One of the primary jobs of a project manager is to manage the trade-offs among time,
cost, and performance. To do so, the project manager must define and understand the
___________ of the project.
A) project charter
B) communications plan
C) priorities
D) requirements
E) WBS

60) The gradual expansion of project requirements, specifications and priorities during the
execution of project is known as ____________.
A) scope enhancement
B) scope creep
C) WBS vagueness
D) an absence of scope control
E) expanding requirements

61) A robust ______________ can go a long way to reducing project problems over the life
of the project and will establish how, when and to whom information must be supplied.
A) project charter
B) priorities matrix
C) requirements doc
D) communications plan
E) WBS

62) Scope creep results in changes to requirements, specifications, and priorities and these in
turn result in _____ and _____.
A) added costs, budgetary overruns
B) project delays, schedule overruns
C) increases in scope, compromised requirements
D) cost overruns, delays
E) None of these alternatives is correct.

63) Which of the following is not a common cause of scope creep?

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 A) Poor requirements analysis
B) Not involving users early enough
C) Underestimating project complexity
D) Lack of change control
E) Policy change

64) In many cases, the causes of scope creep reflect a misfit between ____.
A) traditional project management methods being applied to high uncertainty projects
B) agile project management methods being applied to projects with stable, static scope
C) traditional project management methods being applied to projects with high certainty
D) agile project management methods being applied to projects with high predictability
E) agile project management methods being applied to projects involving the
application of uncertain technology

65) If the project scope needs to change, it is critical to have a sound _______ in place that
records the change.
A) requirements document
B) project charter
C) change control process
D) WBS
E) statement of work

66) Which of the following items on the Project Scope Checklist answers the question “What
is the problem or opportunity the project is addressing?”
A) Project objective
B) Product scope description
C) Justification
D) Deliverables
E) Milestones

67) Which of the following items on the Project Scope Checklist answers the question “What
end result is wanted?”
A) Project objective
B) Product scope description
C) Justification
D) Deliverables
E) Milestones

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68) Which of the following items has to do with the expected measurable outputs over the
life of the project?
A) Project objective
B) Product scope description
C) Justification
D) Deliverables
E) Milestones

69) Which of the following items has to do with the overall goal of meeting your customer’s
needs?
A) Project objective
B) Product scope description
C) Justification
D) Deliverables
E) Milestones

70) Which of the following items has to do with significant events in the life of a project,
such as completion of deliverables, at a specific point in time?
A) Project objective
B) Product scope description
C) Justification
D) Deliverables
E) Milestones

71) Which of the following items has to do with conditions that must be met before the
deliverables are accepted?
A) Deliverables
B) Milestones
C) Technical requirements
D) Limits and exclusions
E) Acceptance criteria

72) Which of the following tools would you as project manager likely prefer if you are
managing a medium-to-large software development project? Your project is driven by
performance requirements, not by plans/blueprints.
A) WBS
B) OBS
C) PBS
D) Responsibility matrix
E) All of these alternatives are correct.

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90) Scope creep occurs when your project is completed over-budget.
⊚ true
⊚ false

91) There is a strong correlation between project success and clear project scope definition.
⊚ true
⊚ false

92) Project scope describes what you expect to deliver to your customers when the project is
complete.
⊚ true
⊚ false

93) One of the items included on a project scope statement or checklist is the acceptance
criteria.
⊚ true
⊚ false

94) An expected output over the life of a project would be classified as a target.
⊚ true
⊚ false

95) An activity that represents a major segment of work is a good example of a milestone.
⊚ true
⊚ false

96) The fact that a new home being built must meet local building codes is an example of a
limit and exclusion.
⊚ true
⊚ false

97) If a project criterion should be optimized if at all possible, it is classified as being

constrained.
⊚ true
⊚ false

98) If the project time should be accepted, then the project must be completed on time.

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 ⊚ true
⊚ false

99) During the course of a project, it is possible that the project priorities may change.
⊚ true
⊚ false

100) Profit, time and performance are all basic classifications of project priorities.
⊚ true
⊚ false

101) Integrating a project's work packages within the organization's management structure is
known as work breakdown structure.
⊚ true
⊚ false

102) The highest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is the first major
deliverable for the project and the lowest element is a work package.
⊚ true
⊚ false

103) Process breakdown structures are used when the size and the scope of the project do not
warrant an elaborate WBS or OBS.
⊚ true
⊚ false

104) Responsibility matrices are used primarily with small and medium-sized projects and
have limited use in large projects.
⊚ true
⊚ false

105) A communication plan should include limits on who has access to certain kinds of
information.
⊚ true
⊚ false

106) The intersection of work packages and the organizational unit creates a project control
point called a cost account.
⊚ true
⊚ false

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107) The project charter provides the project manager with written authority to use
organizational resources for project activities.
⊚ true
⊚ false

108) For large companies, the organization breakdown structure is used rather than the work
breakdown structure.
⊚ true
⊚ false

109) The hierarchical work breakdown structure provides management with information
appropriate to each level.
⊚ true
⊚ false

110) The final step in defining a project is coding the organization breakdown structure or
OBS for the information system.
⊚ true
⊚ false

111) The use of "acceptance criteria" only refers to projects with external customers who are
paying for the project.
⊚ true
⊚ false

112) A typical responsibility matrix will include not only those responsible for a specific task
but can also include those who supply support and assistance.
⊚ true
⊚ false

113) Creating a communication plan typically follows a process that begins with a stakeholder
analysis.
⊚ true
⊚ false

114) Responsibility Matrices are useful for assigning and organizing responsibilities.
⊚ true
⊚ false

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115) A Process Breakdown Structure is a replacement for the Work Breakdown Structure for
projects with tangible outcomes.
⊚ true
⊚ false

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 lOMoARcPSD|20538838

Project Management The Managerial Process Chap 06 Test

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Project Management (American University of Sharjah)

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Chapter 06 Developing a Project Plan Answer Key

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Information to develop a project network is collected from the

A. Organization breakdown structure.

B. Work breakdown structure.
C. Budget.
D. Project proposal.
E. Responsibility matrix.
The project network is developed from the information collected for the work breakdown structure
(WBS) and is a graphic flow chart of the project job plan.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

2. Which of the following represents an activity on an activity-on-node (AON) project network?

A. An arrow
B. A line
C. A node
D. Both an arrow and a line
E. An arrow, a line and a node all represent activities
The two approaches used to develop project networks are known as activity-on-node (AON) and
activity-on-arrow (AOA). Both methods use two building blocks-the arrow and the node. Their names
derive from the fact that the former uses a node to depict an activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-1
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3. Arrows on an activity-on-node (AON) project network represent

A. An activity.
B. Project flow.
C. Dependency.
D. Project flow and dependency.
E. An activity and dependency.
The node depicts an activity, and the arrow shows dependency and project flow.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

4. When translated into a project network, a work package will become

A. A single activity.
B. One or more activities.
C. A milestone.
D. A critical path.
E. An arrow.
Work packages from the work breakdown structure (WBS) are used to build the activities found in the
project network. An activity can include one or more work packages. The activities are placed in a
sequence that provides for orderly completion of the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

5. Which of the following is provided by both the project network and the work breakdown structure?

A. Dependencies
B. Sequencing
C. Interrelationships
D. Activity duration
E. Timing
Project networks are developed from the work breakdown structure (WBS). The project network is a
visual flow diagram of the sequence, interrelationships, dependencies and timing of all the activities that
must be accomplished to complete the project. Both the WBS and the work packages will include the
duration of the activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

6-2
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McGraw-Hill Education.

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6. On a project network, the activity times are derived from the

A. Organization breakdown structure.

B. Work packages.
C. Budget.
D. Project proposal.
E. Responsibility matrix.
Work packages from the work breakdown structure (WBS) are used to build the activities found in the
project network. An activity is an element in the project that consumes time-for example, work or
waiting.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

7. Which of the following does NOT help describe a project network?

A. A graphic display of the flow and sequence of work through the project
B. Provides the basis for scheduling labor and equipment
C. Gives the times when activities can start and finish and when they can be delayed
D. Highlights major deliverables and identifies their completion dates
E. Identifies critical activities
The work breakdown structure (WBS) will highlight major deliverables. Since major deliverables are a
summary of the tasks below them, they do not directly consume time or resources; therefore, they are
not included in the network.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

8. An activity that has more than one dependency arrow flowing into it is termed a(n)

A. Parallel activity.
B. Critical path.
C. Burst activity.
D. Merge activity.
E. Independent activity.
Merge activity is an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it (more than one
dependency arrow flowing to it).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.

6-3
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Topic: Constructing a Project Network

9. The critical path in a project network is the

A. Shortest path through the network.

B. Longest path through the network.
C. Network path with the most difficult activities.
D. Network path using the most resources.
E. Network path with the most merge activities.
When the critical path term is used, it means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network.
If an activity on the critical path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

10. A(n) _________ activity has more than one dependency arrow flowing from it.

A. Parallel
B. Critical path
C. Burst
D. Merge
E. Independent
Burst activity is an activity that has more than one activity immediately following it (more than one
dependency arrow flowing from it).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

11. Which of the following can be used without coordinating with managers of succeeding activities?

A. Total slack
B. Free slack
C. Critical float
D. Float pad
E. Slip pad
Free slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any succeeding activity. It
only occurs at the end of a chain of activities where you have a merge activity and requires no
coordination with managers of succeeding activities unless all the available free slack is used.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.

6-4
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Topic: Network Computation Process

12. Activities which can take place at the same time are termed

A. Parallel activity.
B. Critical path.
C. Burst activity.
D. Merge activity.
E. Independent activity.
Parallel activities are activities that can take place at the same time, if the manager wishes. However, the
manager may choose to have parallel activities not occur simultaneously.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

13. A sequence of connected, dependent activities is termed a(n)

A. Path of events.
B. Parallel path.
C. Activity chain.
D. Path.
E. Dependent chain.
A path is a sequence of connected, dependent activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

14. Bill is building a project network that involves testing a prototype. He must design the prototype
(activity 1), build the prototype (activity 2), and test the prototype (activity 3). Activity 1 is the
predecessor for activity 2 and activity 2 is the predecessor for activity 3. If the prototype fails testing,
Bill must redesign the prototype; therefore, activity 3 is a predecessor for activity 1. This is an example
of

A. Conditional statements.
B. Looping.
C. Having more than one start node.
D. Good network development.
E. Natural network flow.
This is an example of looping or recycling through a set of activities and cannot take place within a
well-structured project network. One important reason is that it inhibits its ability to establish a
completion date.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6-5
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Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

15. Which of the following is NOT one of the basic rules to follow when developing project networks?

A. An activity cannot begin until all preceding activities have been completed.
B. Each activity must have a unique identification number.
C. Conditional statements are allowed but looping statements are not allowed.
D. An activity identification number must be larger than that of any preceding activities.
E. Networks flow from left to right.
Conditional statements are not allowed (that is, this type of statement should not appear: If successful,
do something; if not, do nothing).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

16. ________ activities must be completed immediately before a particular activity.

A. Merge
B. Burst
C. Predecessor
D. Successor
E. Parallel
Which activities must be completed immediately before this activity? These activities are called
predecessor activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

17. ________ activities are to be completed immediately following a particular activity.

A. Merge
B. Burst
C. Predecessor
D. Successor
E. Parallel
Which activities must immediately follow this activity? These activities are called successor activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember

6-6
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Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

18. The forward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT

A. Earliest time an activity can begin.

B. Earliest time an activity can finish.
C. Duration of the project.
D. The critical path.
E. How soon the project can finish.
The forward pass starts with the first project activity(ies) and traces each path (chain of sequential
activities) through the network to the last project activity(ies). It calculates how soon an activity can
start, how soon it can finish and the project duration or how soon the project will be finished.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

19. The backward pass in project network calculations determines all of the following EXCEPT

A. Latest time an activity can begin.

B. Earliest time an activity can finish.
C. The critical path.
D. How long an activity can be delayed.
E. Latest time an activity can finish.
The backward pass calculates how late an activity can start, how late it can finish, the critical path or
longest path through the network and how long an activity can be delayed without delaying the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

20. Which of the following correctly calculates the early finish for an activity?

A. LS + DUR
B. ES + DUR
C. LF + DUR
D. ES + SL
E. LF + SL
The early finish for activity = ES + DUR.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium

6-7
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Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

21. Which of the following correctly calculates the late start for an activity?

A. EF - DUR
B. ES - DUR
C. LF - DUR
D. ES - SL
E. LF - SL
You subtract activity times along each path starting with the project end activity (LF - DUR = LS).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

22. The amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project is termed

A. Total slack.
B. Free slack.
C. Critical float.
D. Float pad.
E. Slip pad.
Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project. Stated
differently, total slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting
the project end date or an imposed completion date.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

23. Which of the following will correctly calculate the total slack in an activity?

A. LS - ES
B. LF - EF
C. LS - LF
D. LF - ES
E. Either LS - ES or LF - EF
Total slack or float for an activity is simply the difference between the LS and ES (LS - ES = SL) or
between LF and EF (LF - EF = SL).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.

6-8
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Topic: Network Computation Process

24. The likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated is referred to as

A. Flexibility.
B. Resilience.
C. Sensitivity.
D. Concurrent engineering.
E. Rigidity.
We use the term sensitivity to reflect the likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the
project is initiated. Sensitivity is the function of the number of critical paths and the level of slack for
noncritical activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

25. Which of the following is true about hammock activities?

A. They are used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of a project.
B. They are a combination of Start to Start and Start to Finish lags.
C. They are activities in which the costs are not subject to change.
D. They are an alternative description for the critical path.
E. They are highly sensitive.
Hammock activities are frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of
the project. Typical examples of hammock activities are inspection services, consultants, or construction
management services. A hammock activity derives its duration from the time span between other
activities. For example, a special color copy machine is needed for a segment of a tradeshow publication
project. A hammock activity can be used to indicate the need for this resource and to apply costs over
this segment of the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

6-9
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26. If, for some reason, the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, which of the following actions
would the project manager take first?

A. Check to see which activities cost the least.

B. Check to see which activities have the longest duration.
C. Check to see which activities are on the critical path.
D. Check to see which activities have the most slack.
E. Check to see which activities have the highest risk.
If for some reason the project must be expedited to meet an earlier date, it is possible to select those
activities, or combination of activities, that will cost the least to shorten the project. Similarly, if the
critical path is delayed and the time must be made up by shortening some activity or activities on the
critical path to make up any negative slack, it is possible to identify the activities on the critical path that
cost the least to shorten. If there are other paths with very little slack, it may be necessary to shorten
activities on those paths also.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

27. The assumption that all immediate preceding activities must be 100% complete is too restrictive in
some situations. When an activity is broken down into smaller segments in order to start the succeeding
activity sooner, this is called

A. Hammock activities.
B. Concurrent engineering.
C. A forward pass.
D. Dissecting.
E. Laddering.
Under the finish-to-start relationship, when an activity has a long duration and will delay the start of an
activity immediately following it, the activity can be broken into segments and the network drawn as a
laddering approach so the following activity can begin sooner and not delay the work.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

6-10
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28. If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, a common start node
should be used to indicate a clear project beginning on the network. Without a common start node, each
path is a

A. Critical path.
B. Parallel path.
C. Dangler path.
D. Multiple start path.
E. Confused path.
If a project has more than one activity that can begin when the project is to start, each path is a dangler
path. The same is true if a project network ends with more than one activity. Dangler paths give the
impression that that project doesn't have a clear beginning or ending. Using a common start or end node
helps to identify the total planning period for all projects.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

29. Tom is responsible for ordering hardware for a custom home his company is building. The contractor
installing the hardware is scheduled to start in 5 working days, but the hardware is on backorder and
will not arrive for another 9 working days. Fortunately, Tom has 10 days of slack; however, he shares
this slack with the hardware installer. He will have to let the contactor know that the hardware will be
ready 4 days later than expected and that the slack for the installer has been reduced by 4 days. Tom and
the installer share 10 days of

A. Free Slack.
B. Shared Slack.
C. Total Slack.
D. Critical Slack.
E. Functional Slack.
Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and not delay the project. The use of
total slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-11
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30. The minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end is referred to as

A. Hammock.
B. Laddering.
C. Lag.
D. Cushion.
E. Buffer.
A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

31. The requirement for a freshly poured foundation to cure before beginning construction is an example of
which of the following type of lag?

A. Start to Start
B. Start to Finish
C. Finish to Finish
D. Finish to Start
E. Any of these could be correct.
There are situations in which the next activity in a sequence must be delayed even when the preceding
activity is complete. For example, removing concrete forms cannot begin until the poured cement has
cured for two time units.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

32. Concurrent engineering, which has dramatically reduced the development time for new products, relies
on what kind of lag?

A. Start to Start lags

B. Start to Finish lags
C. Finish to Finish lags
D. Finish to Start lags
E. Any of these could be correct.
Concurrent engineering basically breaks activities into smaller segments so that work can be done in
parallel and the project expedited. Start-to-start relationships can depict the concurrent engineering
conditions and reduce network detail.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation

6-12
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Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

33. If testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype has been built, what type of
lag exists?

A. Start to Start
B. Start to Finish
C. Finish to Finish
D. Finish to Start
E. Any of these could be correct.
When the finish of one activity depends on the finish of another activity, a finish to finish lag exists. For
example, testing cannot be completed any earlier than four days after the prototype is complete.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

34. When completing a backward pass, you carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish the LF,
unless the next preceding activity is a burst activity, in which case you select

A. The smallest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
B. The largest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
C. The average LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
D. The smallest ES of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
E. The largest LS of all its immediate successor activities to establish the LF.
When completing a backward pass, you carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish the LF,
unless the next preceding activity is a burst activity, in which case you select the smallest LS of all its
immediate successor activities to establish the LF.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-13
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35. System documentation cannot end until three days after testing has started. This is an example of which
kind of lag?

A. Start to Start
B. Start to Finish
C. Finish to Finish
D. Finish to Start
E. Any of these could be correct.
The relationship represents a situation in which the finish of an activity depends on the start of another
activity. Here all the relevant information to complete the system documentation is produced after the
first three days of testing, which is an example of a start to finish lag.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

36. A project network provides the basis for ________________________________ .

A. organizational authority
B. completing the effort on time and within budget
C. scheduling labor and equipment
D. None of these choices are correct.
All of the work packages and tasks will give the project manager a solid basis for when and where
people and physical resources will be needed.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

37. When creating a project network, your primary input will be the

A. Project Charter.
B. Work Packages.
C. Risk Plan.
D. Communication Plan.
Work packages form the backbone of any project, no matter the size or complexity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

6-14
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38. A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately following it.

A. Burst
B. Merge
C. Parallel
D. None of these choices are correct.
Straight definition of a Burst Activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

39.
A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity immediately preceding it.

A. Burst
B. Merge
C. Parallel
D. None of these choices are correct.
Straight definition of a Merge Activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

40.
A _________ activity is one that has more than one activity taking place at the same time.

A. Burst
B. Merge
C. Parallel
D. None of these choices are correct.
Straight definition of a Parallel Activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-15
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41.
One piece of information that the arrows within the Activity-on-Node network can convey is

A. the duration of an activity.

B. the amount of risk inherent in an activity.
C. how activities are related.
D. None of these choices are correct.
Arrows within an Activity-on-Node network convey relationship and the sequence in which the
activities need to be accomplished.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

42. The amount of delay within a task that will not delay the overall project is known as a

A. Total Slack.
B. Estimated Effort.
C. Opportunity Cost.
D. Both Total Slack and Opportunity Cost are correct.
The total amount of time can an effort can be delayed without affecting the overall project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-04 Identify and understand the importance of managing the critical path.
Topic: Network Computation Process

43. After the total slack for each activity is identified, the project manager can more easily identify the
__________________.

A. Earned Value
B. Critical Path
C. Earliest Start Date
D. Total Project Slack
With the amount of time necessary to complete tasks now calculated, the critical path(s) are much more
evident due to being able to quickly add up the least amount of slack on each path through the network.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-04 Identify and understand the importance of managing the critical path.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-16
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Fill in the Blank Questions

44. An element in the project that consumes time is a(n) ___________.

activity

An activity is an element of the project that requires time. It may or may not require resources.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

45. The activity time estimates used to build a project network are derived from ________.

work packages

A work package is defined independently of other work packages, has definite start and finish points,
requires specific resources, includes technical specifications, and has cost estimates for the package.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

46. An activity that has more than one predecessor is a _________ activity.

merge

A merge activity is an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it (more than one
dependency arrow flowing to it).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

47. The delaying of any activity on the __________ will delay the completion of the project by the same
amount.

critical path

Critical path means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network. If an activity on the
critical path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-17
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48. Activities that can take place at the same time if the manager wishes them to are called ________
activities.

parallel

Parallel activities are activities that can take place at the same time, if the manager wishes. However, the
manager may choose to have parallel activities not occur simultaneously.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

49. A(n) _____________ calculates project duration.

forward pass

The forward pass calculates how soon an activity can start and finish. It also calculates how soon the
project will be finished.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

50. A(n) ________ activity has more than one successor activity.

burst

Burst activity has more than one activity immediately following it (more than one dependency arrow
flowing from it).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

51. A(n) _____________ calculates how late an activity can start and finish.

backward pass

The backward pass calculates how late an activity can start and finish. It also determines the critical
path and how long activities can be delayed without delaying the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-18
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McGraw-Hill Education.

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52. In a project network, recycling through a set of activities or __________ is not permitted.

looping

Looping is not allowed (in other words, recycling through a set of activities cannot take place).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

53. In a project network, ________ indicate activity dependency and project flow.

arrows

The wide availability of personal computers and graphics programs has served as an impetus for use of
the activity-on-node (AON) method (sometimes called the precedence diagram method). The
dependencies among activities are depicted by arrows between the rectangles (boxes) on the AON
network. The arrows indicate how the activities are related and the sequence in which things must be
accomplished.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

54. ________ slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain.

Total

Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the
project end date or an imposed completion date. Total slack also must be coordinated with all
participants in the activities that follow in the chain.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

55. Activities that must occur immediately before a given activity are called ________ activities.

predecessor

Activities that must be completed immediately before an activity are called predecessor activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-19
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56. Activities that must immediately follow a given activity are called ________ activities.

successor

Activities that must immediately follow an activity are called successor activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

57. Activities that can occur while an activity is taking place are called ________ activities.

parallel or concurrent

Activities that can occur while an activity is taking place are known as concurrent or parallel activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

58. The ________ calculates the earliest times that activities can start or finish.

forward pass

The forward pass describes how soon the activity can start (early start-ES) and how soon the activity
can finish (early finish-EF).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

59. The ________ calculates the critical path and determines how long an activity can be delayed without
delaying the project.

backward pass

The backward pass determines which activities represent the critical path. The critical path is the longest
path in the network which, when delayed, will delay the project and determines how long the activity
can be delayed without delaying the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-20
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60. An activity has a duration of 10 days. Its early start is 4 and its late start is 6. This activity has _____
days of total slack.

Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project. Stated
differently, total slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting
the project end date or an imposed completion date. It is calculated by subtracting the late start from the
early start. In this case, this activity has 2 days of slack.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

61. ________ can never be negative and applies only to the last activity in a single chain of activities.

Free slack

Free slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following
(successor) activity. Or, free slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date
without affecting the early start date of any successor(s). Free slack can never be negative.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

62. A(n) ________ is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

lag

A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

6-21
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63. When an activity with a long duration is broken into smaller segments so that the following activities
can begin sooner it is called __________.

laddering

The assumption that all immediate preceding activities must be 100 percent complete is too restrictive
for some situations found in practice. This restriction occurs most frequently when one activity overlaps
the start of another and has a long duration. Under the standard finish-to-start relationship, when an
activity has a long duration and will delay the start of an activity immediately following it, the activity
can be broken into segments and the network drawn using a laddering approach so the following
activity can begin sooner and not delay the work.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

64. The longest path through a project network is called the _________.

critical path

The critical path is the network path that has the least slack in common. It is the longest path through
the network and its duration determines the duration of the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

65. ___________ reflects the likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity reflects the likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once the project is initiated.
Sensitivity is a function of the number of critical or near-critical paths.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

66. A network has only one critical path and the slack for noncritical activities is high. This network would
appear to have a _______ level of sensitivity.

low

Network sensitivity is a function of the number of critical paths and the level of slack for noncritical
activities. Since this project has only one critical path and the level of slack for noncritical activities is
high, it would appear to have a low level of sensitivity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6-22
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Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

67. The _________ lag is the most typical type of lag that is encountered in developing networks.

finish to start

The finish-to-start relationship represents the typical, generic network; however, there are situations in
which the next activity in a sequence must be delayed even when the preceding activity is complete.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

68. A(n) __________ activity is frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a
segment of the project.

hammock

Hammock activities are frequently used to identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of
the project. Typical examples of hammock activities are inspection services, consultants, or construction
management services. A hammock activity derives its duration from the time span between other
activities. For example, a special color copy machine is needed for a segment of a tradeshow publication
project. A hammock activity can be used to indicate the need for this resource and to apply costs over
this segment of the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

True / False Questions

69. An activity can include only one work package.

FALSE
Activities usually represent one or more tasks from a work package.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-23
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70. A merge activity is one that merges with other activities into a succeeding activity.

FALSE
A merge activity is an activity that has more than one activity immediately preceding it (more than one
dependency arrow flowing into it).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

71. The WBS identifies dependencies, the sequencing of activities, and the timing of activities.

FALSE
Networks provide the project schedule by identifying dependencies, sequencing, and timing of
activities, which the WBS is not designed to do.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

72. The critical path is the shortest path through a network and indicates activities that cannot be delayed
without delaying the project.

FALSE
Critical path means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network. If an activity on the
critical path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

73. An activity is an element of the project that always requires time.

TRUE
An activity is an element of the project that requires time. It may or may not require resources.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-24
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74. If a network has more than one critical path but noncritical activities have very little slack, the network
is considered to have a high level of sensitivity.

TRUE
Network sensitivity is a function of the number of critical paths and the level of slack for noncritical
activities. Since this network has more than one critical path and the level of slack for noncritical
activities is low, it would appear to have a high level of sensitivity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

75. The backward pass determines project duration.

FALSE
The forward pass determines the early start and finish for activities. It also determines the early finish of
the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

76. An activity cannot begin until ALL preceding connected activities have been completed.

TRUE
All preceding activities must be completed before an activity can begin.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

77. In developing a project network, neither looping nor conditional statements are permitted.

TRUE
Looping is not allowed (in other words, recycling through a set of activities cannot take place). Also
conditional statements are not allowed (that is, this type of statement should not appear: If successful,
do something; if not, do nothing).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-25
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78. Experience suggests that when there are multiple starts, a common start node should be used to indicate
a clear project beginning on the network. Similarly, a single project end node can be used to indicate a
clear ending.

TRUE
Experience suggests that when there are multiple starts, a common start node can be used to indicate a
clear project beginning on the network. Similarly, a single project end node can be used to indicate a
clear ending. This helps to identify the total planning period of the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

79. Burst activities have more than one activity immediately following them (more than one dependency
arrow flowing from them).

TRUE
Burst activities have more than one activity immediately following them (more than one dependency
arrow flowing from them).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

80. It is acceptable for arrows to cross one another in a network diagram.

TRUE
Arrows on networks indicate precedence and flow. Arrows can cross over each other.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

81. The forward pass through a project network determines the critical path.

FALSE
The forward pass starts with the first project activity(ies) and traces each path (chain of sequential
activities) through the network to the last project activity(ies). The forward pass assumes every activity
will start the instant in time when the last of its predecessors is finished. It determines the early start and
early finish for activities and the project duration. The backward pass determines the critical path.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-26
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82. The backward pass through a project network determines slack or how long an activity can be delayed
without impacting the completion date of the project.

TRUE
The backward pass represents the critical path. The critical path is the longest path in the network,
which, when delayed, will delay the project and determines how long the activity can be delayed
without delaying the project.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

83. Different activities along the same path can have different total slack.

TRUE
If slack of one activity in a path is used, the ES for all activities that follow in the chain will be delayed
and their slack reduced. Use of total slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that
follow in the chain.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

84. If the project has a duration of 13 days, the project should be completed 13 days from the day it starts.

FALSE
After determining a project's duration, you will need to assign calendar dates to your project. You will
need to consider weekends and holidays when determining the completion date.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

85. It is possible for a project network to have more than one critical path.

TRUE
Critical path means the path(s) with the longest duration through the network. If an activity on the
critical path is delayed, the project is delayed the same amount of time. A network may have multiple
critical activities resulting in multiple critical paths.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

6-27
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86. Using free slack does not delay any following activities and requires no coordination with managers of
other activities.

TRUE
Free slack is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following
(successor) activity. Or, free slack is the amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date
without affecting the early start date of any successor(s).

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

87. Gantt charts are popular because they represent an easy-to-understand, clear picture on a time-scaled
horizon.

TRUE
Gantt charts are used for planning, resource scheduling and status reporting. The format is a two-
dimensional representation of the project schedule, with activities down the rows and time across the
horizontal axis.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

88. When completing a forward pass, you carry the early finish to the next activity where it becomes its
early start unless the next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case you select the smallest
early finish number of all its immediate predecessor activities.

FALSE
When completing a forward pass, you carry the early finish to the next activity where it becomes its
early start unless the next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case you select the largest early
finish number of all its immediate predecessor activities. This makes sense because all preceding
activities must be complete before an activity can start.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

89. Only activities that occur at the end of a chain of activities can have free slack.

TRUE
Free slack occurs at the last activity in a chain of activities. Using this slack does not have to be
coordinated with managers of succeeding activities.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand

6-28
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Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

90. Lags can be used to constrain the start and finish of an activity.

TRUE
Lags are used when activities of long duration delay the start or finish of successor activities. The
network designer normally breaks the activity into smaller activities to avoid the long delay of the
successor activity. Using lags can avoid such delays and reduce network detail. Lags can also be used to
constrain the start and finish of an activity.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

91. Even though a project costs time and money to develop, it is worth the effort.

TRUE
This is true in the value that it adds for planning and understanding how the project is proceeding. The
only time it is not valuable is when the project is very short in duration or considered trivial.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

92. Within an Activity-on-Node network, the arrows depict activities to be accomplished.

FALSE

Activity-on-Node networks have the activities on the node, whereas the dependencies are indicated by
the arrows.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-02 Diagram a project network using AON methods.
Topic: Constructing a Project Network

93. Negative slack can be estimated.

FALSE

Negative slack can only be calculated once the critical path has been delayed.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

6-29
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Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation

Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-04 Identify and understand the importance of managing the critical path.
Topic: Network Computation Process

Short Answer Questions

94. How does the WBS differ from the project network? How are WBS and project networks linked?

The network is developed from the information collected from the WBS and is a graphic flow chart of
the project job plan. Networks provide the project schedule by identifying dependencies, sequencing,
and timing of activities the WBS is not designed to do.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-01 Understand the linkage between WBS and the project network.
Topic: From Work Package to Network

95. Briefly describe looping and conditional statements and explain why they are not allowed when
developing project networks.

Looping is the attempt by the network designer to return to an earlier activity. If looping were allowed
paths would continuously repeat themselves. Conditional statements are "if/then" statements. If
conditional statements were allowed, the network would make little sense and would not be able to
accomplish many of its objectives.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

96. When completing the forward pass, the project duration is determined. A project duration of 90 days
doesn't mean that if the project were to start today it would be complete in 90 days. Explain.

The project duration gives you an estimated number of working days necessary to complete the project.
It doesn't consider weekends, holidays, overtime, etc.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.
Topic: Network Computation Process

6-30
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97. In the network computation process what is a forward pass and what three things does it determine?

Starting with the first activity, each path is traced forward through the network, adding times until the
end of the project. This determines (1) how soon each activity can start, (2) how soon each activity can
finish, and (3) how soon the entire project can be completed.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

98. In the network computation process what is a backward pass and what four things does it determine?

Starting with the last activity, each path is traced backward through the network, subtracting times until
the beginning of the project. This determines (1) how late each activity can start, (2) how late each
activity can finish, (3) the critical path, and (4) how long each activity can be delayed without changing
the completion date.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

99. What is the difference between free slack and total slack?

Total slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and not delay the project. Use of total
slack must be coordinated with all participants in the activities that follow in the chain. Free slack is the
amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following activity. It
requires no coordination with other managers.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

100. What is a Gantt chart and what advantages does it have over project networks?

Gantt charts are bar charts where activities are displayed as bars on a horizontal time-scale. They are
easy-to-read and provide a clear overview of the project schedule and progress against that schedule.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium

6-31
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Learning Objective: 06-05 Distinguish free slack from total slack.

Topic: Network Computation Process

101. When completing a forward pass you carry the early finish to the next activity where it becomes its
early start, unless the next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case you select the largest
early finish number of all its immediate predecessor activities. Why do you select the largest early finish
number?

Acknowledging that the finish number represents the activities' early finish, the largest early finish
number is selected because all preceding activities must be completed before an activity can begin. If
anything less than the largest number is chosen, there will not be enough time for all preceding activities
to finish.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Analyze
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-03 Calculate early, late, and slack activity times.
Topic: Network Computation Process

102. What is a lag and give an example of when you would need to use one?

A lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end. Lags occur
during laddering and avoid delays and they are also used to constraint the start and finish of an activity.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

103. What is a hammock activity and give an example?

A hammock activity identifies the use of a resource over a segment of the project. Thus its duration is
determined by the duration of other activities. The example used in the text was for a color copier
during specific phases of a project.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

6-32
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104. What is the Concurrent Engineering Approach and why should project managers be aware of it?

The chainlike sequence of finish-to-start relationships is replaced by a series of start-to-start lag

relationships as soon as meaningful work can be initiated for the next phase. The resulting overlap of
tasks slightly increases risk but results in a much shorter schedule.

AACSB: Reflective Thinking

Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

105. Identify and briefly describe the four types of lags giving an example for each type.

(1) Finish-to-Start; (2) Start-to-Start; (3) Finish-to-Finish; (4) Start-to-Finish.

AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 06-06 Demonstrate understanding and application of lags in compressing projects or constraining the start or finish of
an activity.
Topic: Extended Network Techniques to Come Closer to Reality

6-33
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McGraw-Hill Education.

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