Chapter 6: Project Time Management

TRUE/FALSE

1. Many information technology projects are failures in terms of meeting scope,

time, and cost projections.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 212

2. Managers often cite cost issues during the end phase of a project as one of their
biggest challenges and the main cause of conflict.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 212

3. Schedule performance can be estimated by subtracting the original time estimate

from how long it really took to complete the project.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 212

4. Individual work styles and cultural differences may cause schedule conflicts.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 212

5. Different cultures may have different perceptions of work ethic.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 212

6. The outputs to schedule development include activity duration estimates and

project document updates.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 213

7. The main outputs of estimating activity resources include the activity list and
attributes, project scope statement, milestone list, and organizational process assets.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 213

8. Most managers are unfamiliar with any forms of scheduling.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 214

9. Project schedules grow out of the basic documents that initiate a project.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 214

10. It only takes one activity to complete a milestone.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 215

11. Activity information is not a required input to the other time management
processes.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 215

 12. After defining project activities, the next step in project time management is
sequencing them or determining their dependencies.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 217

13. Even though the delivery of new hardware may not be in the scope of a project,
you should add an external dependency to it if required project activities depend on that delivery.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 217

14. Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity discretionary
dependencies.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 218

15. The arrows in a network diagram represent the activity sequencing or

relationships between tasks.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 218

16. It is not necessary to complete all of the activities on the network diagram in
order for the project to finish.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 218

17. Every item on the WBS needs to be on the network diagram.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 218

18. Start-to-finish relationships are the most common type of relationships.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 220

19. It is important that the people who help determine what resources are necessary
include people who have experience and expertise in similar projects and with the organization
performing the project.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 221

20. Duration only includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 222

21. In a Gantt chart created in Microsoft Project, a black diamond symbol represents
a milestone.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 224

22. A Tracking Gantt chart is based on the percentage of work completed for project
tasks or the actual start and finish dates.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 228

 23. Most projects have one path through a network diagram.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 228

24. The critical path always includes the most critical activities.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 229

25. A fast and easy way to determine early and late start and finish dates and free and
total slack amounts for activities is by using project management software.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 231

26. Fast tracking can end up lengthening the project schedule.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 233

27. By using the PERT weighted average for each activity duration estimate, the total
project duration estimate does not account for the risk or uncertainty in the individual activity
estimates.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 236

28. One of PERT’s main disadvantages is that it involves more work than CPM.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 237

29. Many projects, especially in information technology, have very unrealistic

schedule expectations.

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 238

30. Project management software does not have the capacity to automatically
generate network diagrams and calculate the critical path(s) for the project.

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 240

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. There are ____ main processes involved in project time management.

a. two c. six
b. four d. ten
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 213

2. ____ involves identifying the specific activities that the project team members
and stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables.
a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity
resources
b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity
durations
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 213

3. The main outputs of the ____ process are an activity list, activity attributes, and
milestone list.
a. defining activities c. resource estimating
activities
b. sequencing activities d. duration estimating
activities
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 213

4. ____ involves identifying and documenting the relationships between project

activities.
a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity
resources
b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity
durations
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 213

5. ____ involves estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete
individual activities.
a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity
resources
b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity
durations
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 213

6. ____ involves analyzing activity sequences, activity resource estimates, and

activity duration estimates to create the project schedule.
a. Estimating activity c. Controlling the
durations schedule
b. Developing the d. Estimating activity
schedule resources
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 214

7. ____ involves controlling and managing changes to the project schedule.

a. Estimating activity c. Controlling the
durations schedule
b. Developing the d. Estimating activity
schedule resources
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 214

8. Outputs from ____ include work performance measurements, organizational

process assets updates, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document
updates.
a. estimating activity c. controlling the
durations schedule
b. developing schedules d. estimating activity
resources
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 214

9. The ____ provide(s) schedule-related information about each activity, such as

predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints,
imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity.
a. activity list c. activity descriptions
b. milestones d. activity attributes
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 215

10. The goal of ____ is to ensure that the project team has complete understanding of
all the work they must do as part of the project scope so they can start scheduling the work.
a. defining activities c. estimating activity
resources
b. sequencing activities d. estimating activity
durations
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 215

11. ____ results in supporting detail to document important product information as

well as assumptions and constraints related to specific activities.
a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity
resources
b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity
duration
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 216

12. ____ involves evaluating the reasons for dependencies and the different types of
dependencies.
a. Defining activities c. Estimating activity
resources
b. Sequencing activities d. Estimating activity
duration
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 217

13. ____ dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a
project.
a. Mandatory c. External
b. Discretionary d. Internal
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 217

14. ____ dependencies are sometimes referred to as soft logic and should be used
with care since they may limit later scheduling options.
a. Mandatory c. External
b. Discretionary d. Internal
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 217

15. ____ dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project

activities.
a. Mandatory c. External
b. Discretionary d. Internal
 a. Mandatory c. External
b. Discretionary d. Internal
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 217

16. ____ occur when two or more activities follow a single node.
a. Combinations c. Merges
b. Conflicts d. Bursts
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 219

17. On a network diagram, all arrowheads should face toward the ____.
a. top c. right
b. left d. bottom
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 219

18. The ____ is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent

activities.
a. PDM c. ADM
b. AOA d. POA
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 219

19. In a ____ relationship, the “from” activity must finish before the “to” activity can
start.
a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish
b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 220

20. In a ____ relationship, the “from” activity cannot start until the “to” activity is
started.
a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish
b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 220

21. In a ____ relationship, one task cannot finish before another finishes.
a. start-to-start c. finish-to-finish
b. finish-to-start d. start-to-finish
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 220

22. A ____ is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project’s resources by

category and type.
a. work breakdown c. network diagram
structure
b. resource breakdown d. critical path analysis
structure
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 222

23. The activity list, activity attributes, activity resource requirements, resource
calendars, project scope statement, enterprise environmental factors, and organizational process
assets all include information that affect ____.
 a. definitions c. resource estimates
b. sequences d. duration estimates
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 223

24. The ultimate goal of ____ is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a
basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project.
a. defining activities c. developing the
schedule
b. sequencing activities d. estimating activity
duration
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 223

25. ____ provide(s) a standard format for displaying project schedule information by
listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format.
a. Gantt charts c. Critical chain
scheduling
b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 224

26. ____ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration.
a. A Gantt chart c. Critical chain
scheduling
b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 228

27. The critical path is the ____ path through a network diagram, and it represents
the ____ time it takes to complete a project.
a. longest; longest c. shortest; longest
b. longest; shortest d. shortest; shortest
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 228-229

28. ____ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early
start date of any immediately following activities.
a. Total slack c. Free time
b. Total float d. Free slack
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 230

29. ____ is the amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without
delaying the planned project finish date.
a. Total slack c. Total time
b. Free float d. Free slack
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 230

30. The ____ for an activity is the latest possible time an activity might begin
without delaying the project finish date.
a. early entry date c. late start date
b. late entry date d. early start date
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 230

31. ____ is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-offs to obtain the greatest
amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost.
a. Crushing c. Fast tracking
b. Crashing d. Expediting
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 233

32. ____ involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in
sequence.
a. Crushing c. Fast tracking
b. Crashing d. Expediting
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 233

33. ____ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a
project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
a. A Gantt chart c. Critical chain
scheduling
b. Critical path analysis d. PERT analysis
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 233

34. Critical chain scheduling protects tasks on the critical chain from being delayed
by using ____, which consist of additional time added before tasks on the critical chain that are
preceded by non-critical-path tasks.
a. critical paths c. dummy activities
b. feeding buffers d. fast tracking
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 235

35. ____ states that work expands to fill the time allowed.
a. Murphy’s Law c. Parkinson’s Law
b. Newton’s Law d. Moore’s Law
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 235

36. ____ use(s) probabilistic time estimates—duration estimates based on using

optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations—instead of one specific or
discrete duration estimate.
a. Critical Path Analysis c. Critical Chain
Scheduling
b. Gantt charts d. PERT
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 236

37. The goal of ____ is to know the status of the schedule, influence the factors that
cause schedule changes, determine that the schedule has changed, and manage changes when they
occur.
a. activity duration c. schedule control
estimating
b. schedule d. activity resource
development estimating
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 237

38. Project managers often illustrate progress with a ____ showing key deliverables
and activities.
a. Tracking Gantt chart c. network diagram
b. Gantt chart d. PERT chart
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 239

39. Project managers must use discipline to control ____.

a. project bursts c. project critical paths
b. project schedules d. project dependencies
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 239

40. Project management software highlights the critical path in ____ on a network
diagram.
a. blue c. green
b. yellow d. red
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 240

COMPLETION

1. ____________________ is the one variable in project scheduling that has the

least amount of flexibility.

ANS: Time

PTS: 1 REF: 212

2. _________________________ involves the processes required to ensure timely

completion of a project.

ANS: Project time management

PTS: 1 REF: 213

3. ______________________________ involves estimating how many people,

equipment, and materials a project team should use to perform project activities.

ANS: Estimating activity resources

PTS: 1 REF: 213

4. Outputs of ______________________________ include activity duration

estimates and project document updates.

ANS: estimating activity durations

PTS: 1 REF: 213

5. The ____________________ is a tabulation of activities to be included on a

project schedule.

ANS: activity list

PTS: 1 REF: 215

6. A(n) ____________________ on a project is a significant event that normally

has no duration.

ANS: milestone

PTS: 1 REF: 215

7. In the activity definition process, the project team should review the
____________________ and activity attributes with project stakeholders before moving on to the
next step in project time management.

ANS: activity list

PTS: 1 REF: 216

8. A(n) ____________________ is a schematic display of the logical relationships

among, or sequencing of, project activities.

ANS: network diagram

PTS: 1 REF: 218

9. In a network diagram, a(n) ____________________ is simply the starting and

ending point of an activity.

ANS: node

PTS: 1 REF: 218

10. In a(n) ____________________ relationship, the “from” activity must start

before the “to” activity can be finished.

ANS: start-to-finish

PTS: 1 REF: 220

11. ____________________ have no duration and no resources but are occasionally

needed on AOA network diagrams to show logical relationships between activities.

ANS: Dummy activities

PTS: 1 REF: 220

12. ____________________ is the number of workdays or work hours required to

complete a task.

ANS: Effort
PTS: 1 REF: 222

13. Duration estimates are often provided as a discrete number, such as four weeks,
or as a range, such as three to five weeks, or as a(n) ____________________.

ANS: three-point estimate

PTS: 1 REF: 223

14. To make milestones meaningful, some people use the ____________________

criteria to help define them.

ANS: SMART

PTS: 1 REF: 226

15. A(n) ____________________ Gantt chart compares planned and actual project
schedule information.

ANS: Tracking

PTS: 1 REF: 226-227

16. A white diamond on the Tracking Gantt chart represents a(n)

____________________.

ANS: slipped milestone

PTS: 1 REF: 227

17. A(n) ____________________ for a project is the series of activities that

determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed.

ANS: critical path

PTS: 1 REF: 228

18. A(n) ____________________ determines the early start and early finish dates for
each activity.

ANS: forward pass

PTS: 1 REF: 230

19. The ______________________________ is based on the fact that, like a chain

with its weakest link, any complex system at any point in time often has only one aspect or
constraint that limits its ability to achieve more of its goal.

ANS:
TOC
Theory of Constraints
Theory of Constraints (TOC)
TOC (Theory of Constraints)

PTS: 1 REF: 233

20. ____________________ occurs when a resource works on more than one task at
a time.

ANS: Multitasking

PTS: 1 REF: 234

21. ____________________ states that if something can go wrong, it will.

ANS: Murphy’s Law

PTS: 1 REF: 235

22. The main outputs of ____________________ include work performance

measurements, organizational process assets updates, such as lessons-learned reports related to
schedule control, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document
updates.

ANS: schedule control

PTS: 1 REF: 237

23. One of the first reality checks on scheduling that a project manager should make
is to review the ____________________ usually included in the project charter.

ANS: draft schedule

PTS: 1 REF: 238

24. Managers like to see progress made on projects approximately each

____________________.

ANS: month

PTS: 1 REF: 239

25. Many project management software programs come with

____________________ or sample files.

ANS: templates

PTS: 1 REF: 241

ESSAY

1. List and briefly describe the main processes involved in project time
management.

ANS:
Defining activities involves identifying the specific activities that the project team members and
stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables. An activity or task is an element of
work normally found on the work breakdown structure (WBS) that has an expected duration, a
cost, and resource requirements. The main outputs of this process are an activity list, activity
attributes, and milestone list.

Sequencing activities involves identifying and documenting the relationships between project
activities. The main outputs of this process include project schedule network diagrams and project
document updates.

Estimating activity resources involves estimating how many resources—people, equipment, and
materials—a project team should use to perform project activities. The main outputs of this
process are activity resource requirements, a resource breakdown structure, and project document
updates.

Estimating activity durations involves estimating the number of work periods that are needed to
complete individual activities. Outputs include activity duration estimates and project document
updates.

Developing the schedule involves analyzing activity sequences, activity resource estimates, and
activity duration estimates to create the project schedule. Outputs include a project schedule, a
schedule baseline, schedule data, and project document updates.

Controlling the schedule involves controlling and managing changes to the project schedule.
Outputs include work performance measurements, organizational process assets updates, change
requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates.

PTS: 1 REF: 213-214

2. What are the basic reasons for creating dependencies among project activities?
Describe each.

ANS:
Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project.
They are sometimes referred to as hard logic. For example, you cannot test code until after the
code is written.

Discretionary dependencies are defined by the project team. For example, a project team might
follow good practice and not start the detailed design of a new information system until the users
sign off on all of the analysis work. Discretionary dependencies are sometimes referred to as soft
logic and should be used with care since they may limit later scheduling options.

External dependencies involve relationships between project and non-project activities. The
installation of a new operating system and other software may depend on delivery of new
hardware from an external supplier. Even though the delivery of the new hardware may not be in
the scope of the project, you should add an external dependency to it because late delivery will
affect the project schedule.

PTS: 1 REF: 217

3. What is a network diagram? What formats exist for creating network diagrams?

ANS:
Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing. A network
diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project
activities. Some people refer to network diagrams as project schedule network diagrams or PERT
charts. The network diagram represents activities that must be done to complete the project. It is
not a race to get from the first node to the last node. Every activity on the network diagram must
be completed in order for the project to finish. Not every single item on the WBS needs to be on
the network diagram.

The activity-on-arrow (AOA) approach or the arrow diagramming method (ADM) is a

network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at
points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities. A node is simply the starting and
ending point of an activity. The first node signifies the start of a project, and the last node
represents the end of a project.

Even though AOA or ADM network diagrams are generally easy to understand and create, a
different method is more commonly used: the precedence diagramming method. The precedence
diagramming method (PDM) is a network diagramming technique in which boxes represent
activities. It is particularly useful for visualizing certain types of time relationships.

PTS: 1 REF: 218-219

4. Describe critical path analysis. How is the critical path calculated?

ANS:
Many projects fail to meet schedule expectations. Critical path method (CPM)—also called
critical path analysis—is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project
duration. This important tool will help you combat project schedule overruns. A critical path for
a project is the series of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be
completed. It is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or
float. Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a
succeeding activity or the project finish date. There are normally several tasks done in parallel on
projects, and most projects have multiple paths through a network diagram. The longest path or
path containing the critical tasks is what is driving the completion date for the project. You are not
finished with the project until you have finished all the tasks.

To find the critical path for a project, you must first develop a good network diagram, which, in
turn, requires a good activity list based on the WBS. Once you create a network diagram, you
must also estimate the duration of each activity to determine the critical path. Calculating the
critical path involves adding the durations for all activities on each path through the network
diagram. The longest path is the critical path. The critical path shows the shortest time in which a
project can be completed.

PTS: 1 REF: 228

5. What is the Theory of Constraints? What is Critical Chain Scheduling?

ANS:
The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management philosophy developed by Eliyahu M.
Goldratt and discussed in his books The Goal and Critical Chain. The Theory of Constraints is
based on the fact that, like a chain with its weakest link, any complex system at any point in time
often has only one aspect or constraint that limits its ability to achieve more of its goal. For the
system to attain any significant improvements, that constraint must be identified, and the whole
system must be managed with it in mind. Critical chain scheduling is a method of scheduling
that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect
the project completion date.

An important concept in critical chain scheduling is the availability of scarce resources. Some
projects cannot be done unless a particular resource is available to work on one or several tasks.
For example, if a television station wants to produce a show centered around a particular
celebrity, it must first check the availability of that celebrity. As another example, if a particular
piece of equipment is needed full time to complete each of two tasks that were originally planned
to occur simultaneously, critical chain scheduling acknowledges that you must either delay one of
those tasks until the equipment is available or find another piece of equipment in order to meet
the schedule. Other important concepts related to critical chain scheduling include multitasking
and time buffers.

PTS: 1 REF: 233-234