QUIZ 1 - INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT

As a CAPM candidate you must have a firm grasp on what constitutes a project. Which one
of the following is not an attribute of a project?
Definite starting date
Has no definite end date
Creates a product, service, or result
Requires resources
A

Has no definite end date

A, C, and D are incorrect since projects do have a definite end date; Creates a product,
service, or result, and Requires resources
2

You are a project manager for Johnson Keyboards, Inc. Your organization has adapted the
PMBOK Guide as a standard tool for how projects should operate, and you are involved in
shaping the standardization for all future projects. In light of this information, what is the
recommended course of action for the processes and procedures in the PMBOK Guide?
Not all processes and procedures in PMBOK guide are required on all projects
All processes and procedures are to be followed as defined in PMBOK guide
Not all process and procedures are needed, unless PMBOK guide states the process or
procedure is required for project type
A

Not all processes and procedures in PMBOK guide are required on all projects. Not all
information in the PMBOK Guide should be applied uniformly to all projects. It is the
responsibility of the project management team to determine what practices are appropriate
for each project.
3

Your organization is considering launching a new project. Robert, the CEO, wants to know
what business value the proposed project will contribute. Which one of the following is not
an example of business value consideration for a new project?
Return on investment
New equipment
Skills obtained by doing the project
Risk assessments within the project
A

Risk assessments within the project. Risk assessments within the project is not a business
value, but a project management activity. Risks can be positive or negative, but the
assessment of the risk is not a business value element. Business value means that the
project is contributing something positive for the organization. A, return on investment is a
business value. B, new equipment can be a business value consideration because the
equipment will be owned as an asset by the organization and can be used in other
endeavors. C, skills obtained by doing the project, is a business value. C, By doing the project
the project team members may learn skills that can allow the organization to grow on future
projects and in operations
4

You are explaining to a junior engineer the difference between a project and operations.
Which one of the following is true only of operations?
They are performed by people
They are constraint by resources
They are ongoing
They utilize procurement
A

They are ongoing. A, B, and D are incorrect, projects and operations are performed by
people; are constrained by limited resources; and are planned, executed, and controlled,
both operations and projects can utilize procurement.
5

You are the project manager for your company, Mark Manufacturers. Your company has a
large client that has requested a special component be created for one of their test engines.
Your organization agrees and creates a standard contract with the customer, and your
manager assigns you to manage this project. The project was launched because of which
one of the following?
A customer request
A change in the technology your customer is creating
A legal requirement
An organizational need
A

A customer request. This project was launched because the customer requested the new
component. B is incorrect because the project is not a response to a change in technology,
but a customer request. C, a legal requirement, is not correct because this actually refers to
a law or mandated regulation that has been created. D, an organizational need, typically
refers to a project to improve the performance of the organization.
6

Project managers are not responsible for which one of the following in most organizations?
Identify project requirements
Select projects to be initiating
Balance the demands of time, scope, cost, and quality
Establish clear and achievable project objectives
A

Select projects to be initiating Project managers typically do not select which projects are to
be initiated. The project selection committee, customers, or project sponsors are typically
responsible for this. A, C, and D incorrect because the project manager is responsible for
these activities.
7

You and William, a project stakeholder, are discussing risks within your project. Which one
of the following best describes risk?
Any event that can cause a project to fail
Any event that may have positive or negative effect on your project team
An uncertain event that may have positive or negative effect on project
An event that will cause time and cost constraints to be broken
A

An uncertain event that may have positive or negative effect on project. Risk is an uncertain
event that can have positive or negative effects on your project. A, B, and D are
characteristics of risk, but the best choice is C because risk is uncertain and may have a
positive or negative effect on the project.
8

You are the project manager for a large software development project. You have concerns
that one of the components of the Iron Triangle is slipping. Your project sponsor, Jim Bob, is
not familiar with the Iron Triangle, so you explain the concept to him. What will be affected
if any angle of the Iron Triangle is not kept in balance?
Cost
Quality
Time
Scope
A
Quality. Cost, time,and scope are the three sides of the triangle. These three sides must be
kept in balance or quality will suffer. A, C, and D are incorrect because these are the three
sides of the Iron Triangle. These three sides must be kept in balance or quality will suffer.
9

Which knowledge area includes the creation of the project charter?

Project scope Management
Project cost Management
Project integration Management
Project communication Management
A

Project integration management, which focuses on the coordination of all components of

project management, includes the development of the project charter. A is incorrect
because project scope management focuses on the creation and control of the project
scope. B, project cost management, is incorrect because its role is to manage, control, and
respond to the financial concerns within the project. D, is incorrect, project communications
management, focuses on who needs what information, when is it needed, and in what
modality.
10

Beth is a project manager and she’s working with Karen the program manager. There is
some disagreement about the project management methodology Karen is requiring all
project managers to operate by. Who has authority over this decision in this scenario?
Project sponsor
Project manager
Program manager
A

Karen, the program manager, oversees the project managers and the approach they’ll take
in managing their individual projects. A is incorrect because the project sponsor would defer
to the program manager as this decision fits within Karen’s roles and responsibilities. C, is
incorrect; Beth may be the project manager, but she must follow Karen’s directives for
project management within the program.
11

Which one of the following is an example of a project life cycle phase?

Framing
Phase gate review
Project quality management
Executing
A

Of all the choices presented only framing is a project life cycle phase. A life cycle phase is
unique to a project and shows the type of work and expected deliverables achieved within
that phase. B is incorrect, Phase gate reviews happen at the end of a phase. C is incorrect,
Project quality management is a knowledge area, not a phase. D is incorrect, Executing is a
process group.
12

Smith Construction has won a contract to build a 77-story condominium building in

downtown Chicago. The building will have 650 condos, a parking garage, indoor and
outdoor pools, two floors for retail, two floors of offices, and several shared community
rooms. Mary Anne Kedzie has elected to create a program for the creation of the building.
Which one of the following best describes a program?
A standardized approach to project management within an organization
A standardized approach to project management with multiple projects coordinated
together
A collection of related projects managed in coordination to gain control that would not
necessarily be available if the project was managed independently
A collection of related projects all contributing to one deliverable
A

A collection of related projects managed in coordination to gain control that would not
necessarily be available if the project was managed independently. A program is a collection
of related projects managed and coordinated to gain a higher level of control. A, B, and D do
not accurately describe a program. Note that D is not the best answer because programs
typically create many deliverables and benefits—rarely just one deliverable.
13

Which one of the following statements best defines the difference between a program and
portfolios in regard to scope?
A. Programs do not have scopes because they are made up of projects. Portfolios have
organizational scope.
B. Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios have an organizational scope
C. Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios do not have scopes because they
are financial investments
D. Programs and portfolio can share the same scope because portfolio may have 2 or more
programs
A
C, Programs have larger scopes than projects. Portfolios have an organizational scope.
Portfolios have an organizational scope that reflects the strategic goals of the organization.
Programs have larger scopes than projects and may be part of portfolios. D is incorrect
because programs and portfolios won’t have the same scope. Programs may be part of a
portfolio, but portfolios have an organizational scope.
14

Who is usually responsible for portfolio management within an organization?

Project manager
Project sponsor
Stakeholder
Senior management
A

Senior management is responsible for portfolio management. A is incorrect because project

managers are responsible for a project’s success, but not for the portfolio. B is incorrect,
project sponsors, authorize projects. C, stakeholders, is incorrect because stakeholders is
too vague to be an acceptable answer
15

You are the project manager of a large project to install 1900 kiosks throughout college
campuses in North America. The kiosks will collect applications for credit cards, phone
services, and other services marketable to college students. The bulk of your project is
focused on the information technology integration, the wide area network (WAN)
connections from each kiosk, security of the data transferred, and the database of the
information gathered. For ease of management, you have hired local contractors to install
the kiosks that you will ship to each campus. The contractors on each campus will be
responsible for the WAN connection, the electrical connection, the security of the kiosk, and
all testing. The local contracted work could be called what?
Risk mitigation
Operations
Subprojects
Management by projects

Subprojects work that is subcontracted out for ease of management, as in this situation,
becomes a subproject. A is incorrect because risk mitigation describes the measures a
project manager takes to reduce or eliminate risks. The scenario did not provide enough
information to determine what risks would have been mitigated. B, operations, is incorrect
because it does not describe this scenario at all. D, Management by projects, is incorrect
because this term describes a company that operates through projects. There is no
indication that this is true with the scenario presented.
16

There are several different project life cycle approaches you’ll need to know and be familiar
with on your CAPM exam. Which life cycle approach defines the project scope, timeline, and
project costs early in the project?
Predictive
Iterative
Incremental
Adaptive
A

The predictive approach requires the project scope, the project time, and project costs to be
defined early in the project timeline. Predictive life cycles have predefined phases, where
each phase completes a specific type of work and usually overlaps other phases in the
project. B, C, and D are incorrect choices as these life cycles do not plan the project scope,
the project time, and the project costs early in the project.
17

Which of the following is likely to be part of an operation?

Providing electricity to a community
Designing an electrical grid for a new community
Building a new dam as a source of electricity
Informing the public about changes at an electrical company

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Providing electricity to a community. An electrical company’s primary operation is to

provide electricity. B and C are projects. Although D, providing information, could
potentially be part of an ongoing operation, A is still the best answer presented.
18

Of the following, which one is not part of project integration management?

The creation of the project plan
The interaction between project teams
The execution of the project plan
The documentation of changes to the project plan
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The interaction between project teams. Project integration management focuses on the
project plan and its implementation, not the interaction between project teams. Although B
could, in some instances, be considered accurate if the project plan had some interaction
with other project teams, the assumption cannot be made in this question. A, C, and D are
all part of project integration management, so they are not valid answers.
19

You are the project manager for the Fixture Installation Project in your organization. You’ve
just completed the second of three phases. What event will happen next?
Phase gate review
Initiating of the third phase
Project quality management activities
Phase closure

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Phase gate reviews happen at the end of each project phase and before the next phase will
begin. These are opportunity to review the project work so far and to confirm that the
project can and should move forward. B is incorrect; the third phase of the project will
commence after the phase gate review. C, project quality management activities, will
happen throughout the project, not just at the end of a phase. D isn’t a valid project
management term; the phase gate signals the end of the phase and allows the next phase to
begin if the project is allowed to move forward.
20

You are a new project manager in a company that uses a project management office. A new
technology has been released in the marketplace that will supersede the technology your
project is implementing. There are doubts that the project should continue. Martin, a
member of the project management office is considering the amount of funds already
invested in the project. What term is given to the monies you’ve already spent in the
project?
Capital losses
Return on investment
Sunk costs
In the red
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Sunk costs describe the funds already “sunk” into a project – and they should not be
considered when determining if the project should move forward or not. A is incorrect
because capital losses describe the money that is lost, never to be recouped. B is incorrect
because return on investment is the money earned after the project is completed and as a
result of the investment made in the project endeavor. D, in the red, is a term to describe a
project that is losing money. In the red is a financial slang for an endeavor that is not
profitable (in the black, means that your project is profitable).
21

What term best describes the raw data of a project, such as number of change requests and
actual duration?
Project data outcome
Work performance data
Work performance information
Work performance reports

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Work performance data is the raw data and facts about the project work. A is incorrect,
Project data outcomes is not a viable project management term. B is incorrect, Work
performance information is the result of analyzed data, not raw data. D is incorrect Work
performance reports are documents that communicate the information of the project.
22

The project manager typically devotes the most amount of time to which of the following
tasks?
Communication
Budget management
Project organization
Management by team negotiation

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A
It’s been said that project managers spend 90 percent of their time communicating. B, C,
and D are all incorrect because the project manager does not devote most of his time to
these tasks.
23

You have an excellent idea for a new project that can increase productivity by 20 percent in
your organization. Management, however, declines to approve the proposed project
because too many resources are already devoted to other projects. You have just
experienced what?
Parametric modeling
Management by exception
Project portfolio management
Management reserve

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Project portfolio management is the process of choosing and prioritizing projects within an
organization. An excellent project idea can still be denied if there aren’t enough resources to
complete the project work. Parametric modeling is a model to estimate costs, such as cost
per ton or cost per hour. Management by exception is a
management theory to manage people and problems. management reserve is an amount of
time and money reserved for projects running late or over budget.
24

Which one of the following documents is an analysis of the financial feasibility of a proposed
project?
Feasibility study
Business case
Feasibility case
Portfolio analysis review

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B is correct. Business case. Projects that are large in scope will likely be preceded by a
business case. A business case is an analysis of the financial feasibility and validity of the
proposed project. A, is incorrect, feasibility study, is a study of whether it is feasible for the
organization to undertake the proposed project. C, and D are incorrect because these are
not valid project management terms.
25

Of the following, which is the most important stakeholder involved with a project?
Project manager
Project sponsor
CEO
Customer

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D is correct. Customers, internal or external, are the most important stakeholders in a

project. A is incorrect because the project manager manages the project for the customer. B
is incorrect because the project sponsor authorizes the project. C is incorrect because the
CEO may not even know about the project—and even then she would be interested in the
success of the project for the customer.