Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
Chapter 1: PM Overview – Main Text Book / H. Kerzner Ph. D.

Focus of chapter is understanding project management

Again – What is a project?

“A project can be considered to be any series of activities and tasks that:

Have a specific objective to be completed within certain specifications

Have defined start and end dates

Have funding limits (if applicable)

Consume human and non human resources (i.e. money, people, equipment)

Are multifunctional (i.e. cut across several functional lines)”
PMBOK 1.2 – “A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result”
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
Chapter 1: PM Overview – Main Text Book / H. Kerzner Ph. D.

Successful project management can be defined as having
achieved the project objectives:

Within time

Within cost (budget)

At the desired performance / technology level

While utilizing the assigned resources effectively

Accepted by the customer
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
1.3 PM – Line Manager Interface
The PM must control company resources within time, cost, and
performance. Most companies have 6 resources:
1. Money
2. Manpower
3. Equipment
4. Facilities
5. Materials
6. Information / Technology
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
1.3 PM – Line Manager Interface
What are some of the challenges of interfacing with line
management?
How are they most often overcome?
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
1.4 Defining the PM Role
The PM is responsible for coordinating and integrating activities
across multiple, functional lines. The integration activities
include:
 Integrating the activities to develop a project plan
 Integrating the activities to execute the plan
 Integrating the activities to make changes to the plan
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
1.9 The PM is THE Planning Agent
 THE Major responsibility of the project manager is
PLANNING. You must:
 Complete task definition (WBS / work packages)
 Resource requirements
 Major timetable milestones
 Define the end item quality and reliability requirements
 The basis for performance measurement
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Review of week 1 material . . .
1.11 Question  Is there a downside to project management?
1.14 Question –
 Can the principles of project management be applied to ANY
type of project and in ANY type of industry?
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
Project Manger’s Tools and Skills
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
Chapter 19: Contracts and Procurement
 Generally within the US business process the following major
cycles are conducted:
 The Requirements cycle: Definition of project boundaries
 The Requisition cycle: Analysis of Sources
 The Solicitation cycle: The bidding process
 The Award cycle: Select Contractor / Vendor & award work
 The Contract Admin cycle: Managing the subcontractor until
completion of the contract.
PMBOK Chapter 12
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Application of Project Management
PY 674 – Session 2
19.6: Types of Contracts

Generally there are 5 types of contracts within the US business
process:
 Fixed Price (FP)
 Cost-Plus fixed fee (CPFF) or percentage fee (CPPF)
 Guaranteed Max- shared savings (GMSS)
 Fixed-Price incentive fee (FPIF)
 Cost-Plus incentive fee (CPIF)
PMBOK Chapter 12
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
1. Estimate at completion (EAC) is a periodic evaluation of:
A. Cost of work completed
B. Value of work performed
C. Anticipated total cost at project completion
D. What it will cost to finish the job

Answer – C, When you look at earned value, many of the
terms have similar definitions. This could get you into trouble.
Since the EAC means the estimate at completion, choice C
must be the best answer. Choice D is the definition of ETC,
estimate to complete.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
2. Rearranging resources so that a constant number of resources
are used each month is called:
A. Crashing
B. Floating
C. Leveling
D. Fast tracking

Answer – C, The key to this question is the phrase “constant
number used each month.” Only leveling, choice C, has such
an effect on the schedule.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
3. Double declining balance is a form of:
A. Decelerated depreciation
B. Straight line depreciation
C. Accelerated depreciation
D. Life cycle costing

Answer – C, we need to know that double declining balance is
a form of depreciation. That eliminates choice D. We also
know that double declining balance is a form of accelerated
depreciation. Therefore C is the best choice.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
4. Which of the following is not needed in order to come up with a
project estimate?
A. WBS
B. Network diagram
C. Risks
D. Change control procedures

Answer – D, A change control procedure is not required to
obtain estimates, but without the other three, you cannot
develop the estimates. You need the WBS to define the tasks,
the network diagram to see the dependencies and the risks to
determine contingency.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
5. Which of the following is an example of a parametric estimate?
A. Dollars per module
B. Learning bend
C. Bottom-up
D. CPM

Answer – A, Parametric estimates use mathematical model to
predict project cost or time.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
6. A customer has given you a scope of work for a complex, eight-month
project that has a few unknowns. The customer has asked you to just
“get it done” and only wants to see you at the end of eight months
when you deliver the finished project. Under these circumstances,
which of the following is the BEST thing to do?
A. Complete the project as requested, but verify its scope with the
customer occasionally throughout the project
B. Complete the project within eight months without contacting the
customer during this time
C. Ask management to check in with the customer occasionally
D. Complete the project, but document that the customer did not
want contact

Answer – A, It is unethical to ignore scope verification, as it will ad
risk that the project will not meet the customer’s needs. Therefore
choice A is the best answer. If this is a real world situation, one would
probably work with the customer to effectively handle verification so
as to cause as little disruption as possible.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
7. During project execution, a project team delivers a project
deliverable to the customer. However, the customer neither
acknowledges the deliverable nor replies to the project
manager’s request for verification. What is the BEST thing to
do?
A. Continue with the project
B. Document the situation
C. Contact management for help
D. Call a meeting of the team

Answer – C, In this case, you need to bring in bigger guns.
Without scope verification at the end of the project phase, you
may well be creating the “wrong thing.” This is where
management can protect the project.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
8. Which of the following BEST describes the relationship
between standard deviation and risk?


A. Nothing

B. SD tells you if the estimate is accurate

C. SD tells you how unsure the estimate is

D. SD tells you if the estimate includes a pad
Answer – C, Choice D can’t be the best answer since there is
no such thing as a pad in project management. An estimate
might be inflated but it is because of risks, not padding. An
estimate can have a wide range (choice B) and still be accurate
if the item estimated includes risks. Choice A is not best, as the
standard deviation tells you the amount of uncertainty or risk
involved in the estimate for the work package or task.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
9. A project has three critical paths. Which of the following
BEST describes how this affects the project?
A. It makes it easier to manage
B. It increases project risk
C. It requires more people
D. It makes it more expensive

Answer – B, Though having three critical paths COULD later
cost more (choice D) or require more people (choice C) the
best answer, or the answer that is always definitely true, is B.
Because you need to manage three critical paths, there is more
risk that something could happen to delay the project.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003
Practice Of Project Mgt.
PY 674 – Session 2
10. Which of the following includes asking team members about
the time estimates for their tasks and developing agreement on
the calendar date for each task?
A. Activity sequencing
B. Scheduling development
C. Scope definition
D. Initiation

Answer – B, By the time this activity is taking place, initiation,
scope definition and activity sequencing would already be
accomplished.
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Copyright © The Conestoga Group 2003