Chapter 6
[Link] do you think schedule issues often cause the most conflicts on projects?
Many people are juggling many different tasks, both related to their jobs and their personal
l ives. It is difficult to schedule good meeting times for all project stakeholders, and face-to-
face meetings are still important in various aspects of projects. Many people also underesti
mate how long things will take and the degree to which certain tasks depend on other tasks
being completed. People do not like wasting time, and poor time management often wastes
time.
[Link] is activity definition the first process involved in project time management?
You cannot determine activity sequencing or develop good activity duration estimates unles
s you have a good understand of each activity, so you need to perform activity definition firs
t.
[Link] is it important to determine activity sequencing on projects? Discuss diagrams you
have seen that are similar to network diagrams. Describe their similarities and differences.
You cannot determine the critical path for a project unless you sequence activities. Several
different diagrams are similar to project network diagrams. In transportation modeling, for
example, you try to find the shortest route between two points. In those diagrams, however
, you only need to take one path. In a project network diagram, all activities must be comple
ted in order to complete the project.
[Link] does activity resource estimating affect estimating activity durations?
The duration of activities will vary based on the resources assigned to them. For example, an
expert at an activity should be able to do it in less time than a novice. The number of resour
ces assigned to an activity also affects its estimated duration.
[Link] the difference between activity duration estimating and estimating the effort
req uired to perform an activity.
The effort estimate related to how many hours will be spent performing an activity. The acti
vity duration estimate includes the effort as well as how much time passes on a calendar in o
rder to generate the project schedule. For example, an activity might only take 8 work hours
to complete, but if it is done one hour per workday, it will take more than a week on the pro
ject’s Gantt chart.
[Link] the following schedule development tools and concepts: Gantt charts, critical pat
h method, PERT, and critical chain scheduling.
A Gantt chart displays a project schedule in a calendar format. The critical path for a project
determines the earliest completion time for a project. PERT is a network analysis technique
where you apply a weighted average to determine the duration estimate for tasks. Critical c
hain scheduling accounts for resource constraints and suggests that you limit multitasking of
resources in creating project schedules and include project and feeding buffers to protect th
e project completion date.
[Link] can you minimize or control changes to project schedules?
Answers will vary. It is important to develop realistic schedules and use leadership and disci
pline to meet schedule deadlines.
[Link] some of the reports you can generate with Project 2007 to assist in project time
man agement.
Project 2007 includes overview reports of critical tasks and milestones reports, current activi
ties reports of unstarted tasks, tasks starting soon, tasks in progress, completed tasks, shoul
d have started tasks, and slipping tasks and an assignment report called who does what and
when.
[Link] is it difficult to use project management software well?
Project management software is very powerful. It also assumes that the user knows how t
o create a good WBS, enter task durations and dependencies, and understand basic concept
s of project management.
Assignment Name: Schwalbe, Information Technology Project Management 6e, Chapter 6
Which of the following processes of project time management involves identifying and documenting the relationships between project activities?
a. activity duration estimating
b. activity sequencing
1
c. activity definition
d. activity resource estimating
Activity resource requirements, a resource breakdown structure, requested changes, and updates to the activity attributes and resource calendars are the main outputs
of ________.
a. activity sequencing
b. activity resource estimating
2
c. activity definition
d. activity duration estimating
Which of the following processes of project time management involves identifying the specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform
to produce the project deliverables?
a. activity resource estimating
b. activity sequencing
3
c. activity duration estimating
d. activity definition
Which of the following processes of project time management involves estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities?
a. activity definition
b. activity duration estimating
4
c. activity resource estimating
d. activity sequencing
A(n) ________ on a project is a significant event that normally has no duration.
a. activity list
b. activity attribute
5
c. milestone
d. dependency
6 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. This is an
example of a(n) ________ dependency.
a. finish-to-finish
b. mandatory
c. external
d. discretionary
A(n) ________ dependency is inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project and is sometimes referred to as hard logic.
a. external
b. discretionary
7
c. finish-to-finish
d. mandatory
A ________ is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities.
a. network diagram
b. tracking Gantt chart
8
c. Gantt chart
d. critical path
Which of the following describes a relationship where the "from" activity must be finished before the "to" activity can be finished?
a. start-to-start
b. start-to-finish
9
c. finish-to-finish
d. finish-to-start
On several information technology projects, a group of activities all start simultaneously, such as the many tasks that occur when a new system goes live. This is an
example of which type of relationship?
a. finish-to-finish
b. start-to-start
10
c. start-to-finish
d. finish-to-start
A ________ is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type.
a. tracking Gantt chart
b. work breakdown structure
11
c. schedule baseline
d. resource breakdown structure
12 The planned schedule dates for activities are called the ________.
a. nodes
b. schedule baselines
c. milestones
d. baseline dates
________ is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration.
a. Activity sequencing
b. Critical chain scheduling
13
c. Critical path method (CPM)
d. Arrow diagramming method (ADM)
________ describes the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any immediately following activities.
a. Total slack
b. Crashing
14
c. Fast tracking
d. Free slack
In critical path analysis, a ________ determines the early start and early finish dates for each activity.
a. forward pass
b. backward pass
15
c. late finish date
d. late start date
Which of the following involves doing activities in parallel that you would normally do in sequence?
a. bursting
b. fast tracking
16
c. crashing
d. multitasking
17 ________ is a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date.
a. Activity duration estimating
b. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
c. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
d. Critical chain scheduling
There are many issues involved in controlling changes to project schedules. It is important first to ensure that the project schedule is ________.
a. detailed and specific
b. flexible
18
c. reliable
d. realistic
________ states that work expands to fill the time allowed.
a. PERT
b. Murphy's Law
19
c. Parkinson's Law
d. Theory of Constraints (TOC)
________ occurs when a resource works on more than one task at a time.
a. Merging
b. Fast tracking
20
c. Crashing
d. Multitasking