CPA HW 6

Chapter 10 Q & A

Q1. You are the project manager of the BlueSky Network Upgrade Project. You have 15 project team members and you’re speaking with them about the importance of communication. You show them the communication model and give examples of each of the components of the model. One of the project team members asks for an example of noise. Of the following, which one is an example of noise?

D. Noise is anything that interferes with the transmission and understanding of the message. Distance is an example of noise.

Q2. You are the project manager for the JHG Project. Management has requested that you create a document detailing what information will be expected from stakeholders and to whom that information will be disseminated. Management is asking for which one of the following?

C. Management is requesting a communications management plan, which details the requirements and expectations for communicating information among the project stakeholders.

Q3. Which of the following will help you, the project manager, complete the needed communications management plan by identifying the stakeholders’ communication needs?

D. Lessons learned and historical information from a previous project are ideal inputs to communications planning.

Q4. You are the project manager for the JGI Project. You have 32 stakeholders on this project. How many communication channels do you have?

B. Using the formula N(N – 1)/2, where N represents the number of stakeholders, gives us 496 communication channels.

Q5. You are the project manager for the KLN Project. You had 19 stakeholders on this project and have added three team members to the project. How many more communication channels do you have now compared with before?

C. This is a tough question, but typical of the CAPM and PMP exams. The question asks how many more communication channels exist. You’ll have to calculate the new value, which is 231, and then subtract the original value, which is 171, for a total of 60 new channels.

Q6. A memo has been sent to you, the project manager, the project team members, and the project customers from the project sponsor. In this instance, who is the sender?

A. The project sponsor is the source of the memo, since this is the sender of the message.

Q7. Beth is a project manager for her organization and she is working with the stakeholders to develop a communications management plan. She wants to acknowledge the assumptions and constraints in the project. Which one of the following is an example of a project communication constraint?

D. Team members who are not located physically close together can be a communications constraint, since it can be tougher to communicate when distance between team members exists.

Q8. Project managers can present project information in many different ways. Which one of the following is not a method a project manager can use to present project performance?

D. RACI charts do not show project performance, but instead accountability of the resources involved in the project.

Q9. There are many terms that you’ll need to know for your PMI examination that deal with project communications. Of the following, which term describes the pitch and tone of an individual’s voice?

A. Paralingual is a term used to describe the pitch and tone of a voice.

Q10. You are the project manager of the KMH Project. This project is slated to last eight years. You have just calculated EVM and have a cost variance (CV) of –$3,500, which is outside of the acceptable thresholds for your project. What type of report is needed for management?

B. An exception report is typically completed when variances exceed a given limit. A is incorrect. Progress reports describe the progress of the project or phase.

Q11. You are presenting your project performance to your key stakeholders. Several of the stakeholders are receiving phone calls during your presentation, and this is distracting people from your message. This is an example of what?

A. Noise is the correct answer, since their phone calls are distracting from your message.

Q12. You are the project manager for the OOK Project. You will be hosting project meetings every week. Of the following, which one is not a valid rule for project meetings?

B. Project meetings should have a set time limit.

Q13. What percentage of a message is sent through nonverbal communications, such as facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language?

A. Greater than 50 percent of a message is sent through nonverbal communications.

Q14. Gary is the project manager of the HBA Update Project and his company has hired you as a project management consultant. Gary is confused about the timing of some of the project management processes. In particular, Gary doesn’t understand the concept, purpose, and timing of the lessons learned documentation. He asks for your help. When does lessons learned identification take place?

C. Lessons learned takes place throughout the project life cycle, not just at the end of the project or its phases.

Q15. Gary is the project manager of the HBA Update Project and his company has hired you as a project management consultant. Gary is confused about the timing of some of the project management processes. He now has a good understanding of the lessons learned purpose, but he’s still confused about why you’ve recommended that the project team participate in the lessons learned documentation, too. Why should a project team complete lessons learned documentation?

D. Lessons learned documentation helps future project teams complete their projects with more efficiency and effectiveness.

Q16. You are the project manager for the PMU Project. Your project has 13members. You have been informed that next week your project will receive the seven additional members you requested. How many channels of communication will you have next week?

C. The project currently has 13 team members, and next week, seven additional team members will come aboard, thus making a total of 20 team members. Using the formula N(N – 1)/2, where N is the number of identified stakeholders, the communication channels equal 190.

Q17. Performance reporting should generally provide information on all of the following except for which one?

C. Labor issues are not part of performance reporting.

Q18. You are the project manager of a project that will last 18 months and includes three different countries. As part of your communications management plan you’ve scheduled face-to-face meetings with the project team and you’re utilizing web conferencing software for the virtual team. Based on this information, the process of sending information from the project manager to the project team is called what?

D. When information is sent, it is considered to be transmitted regardless of the technology involved.

Q19. George is the project manager of the 7YH Project. In this project, George considers the relationship between himself and the customer to be of utmost importance. Which one of the following is a valid reason for George’s belief in the importance of this relationship?

D. George and the customer’s relationship can allow clearer communication on the project objectives than what may be expressed in the project contract. The contract should take precedence on any issues, but direct contact is often the best way to achieve clear and concise communication.

Q20. You are the project manager for your company and you’re working with the project team to develop the project’s communication management plan. The project team is confused about some of the communication terms. Basically, they want to know how communication actually happens and how you can prove the communication was effective. Which one of the following means that communications occur?

A. The transfer of knowledge is evidence that communication has occurred. Band C do not necessarily mean the knowledge has originated from the source and been transferred to the recipient.

Chapter 11 Q &A:

Q1. Mary and Thomas are project managers for their organization and they’re discussing risk management and risk responses. Thomas insists that an organization should never accept a project risk and Mary says that sometimes it’s okay. They’ve called on you, a project management expert, to help with this decision. When is it appropriate to accept a project risk?

D. Risks that are in balance with the reward are appropriate for acceptance. Risk acceptance as a response planning technique to an identified risk is appropriate when the cost of a mitigation strategy is equal to or greater than the cost of the risk event to the project should the risk event occur.

Q2. Frances is the project manager of the LKJ Project. Which of the following techniques will she use to create the risk management plan?

C. Planning meetings are used to create the risk management plan. The project manager, project team leaders, key stakeholders, and other individuals with the power to make decisions regarding risk management attend the meetings.

Q3. You are the project manager of the GHK Project. You and the manufacturer have agreed to substitute the type of plastic used in the product to a slightly thicker grade should there be more than 7 percent error in production. The thicker plastic will cost more and require the production to slow down, but the errors should diminish. This is an example of which of the following?

A. An error value of 7 percent represents the threshold the project is allowed to operate under. Should the number of errors increase beyond 7percent, the current plastic will be substituted.

Q4. You are a project manager consultant for the Allen T1 Company and you’re helping them create a risk management plan for their project management office. You’re explaining the concept of risk tolerance and how it affects the risk management policies. An organization’s risk tolerance is also known as what?

A. The utility function describes an organization’s willingness to tolerate risk.

Q5. The customers of the project have requested additions to the project scope. The project manager notifies you that additional risk planning will need to be added to the project schedule. Why?

B. When the scope has been changed, the project manager should require risk planning to analyze the changes for risks to the project’s success.

Q6. Jason is the project manager for his organization and he’s working with his project team to identify and analyze project risks. Jason begins to create a risk register as part of this process, but his team doesn’t understand what a risk register is or its purpose. Which one of the following best describes the risk register?

A. The risk register documents all of the outcomes of the other risk management processes.

Q7. You are a project management consultant for the Steinberg Organization and you’re helping them categorize risks they may encounter in their projects. For starters, you identify some basic risk categories but your client wants to see some examples of these categories. You tell them, for example, that _______________________ include(s) fire, theft, or injury, and offer(s) no chance for gain.

B. Pure risks are the risks that could threaten the safety of the individuals on the project.

Q8. Complete this sentence: A project risk is a(n) ______________________occurrence that can affect the project for good or bad.

C. Risks are not planned; they are left to chance. The accommodation and the reaction to a risk can be planned, but the event itself is not planned. If risks could be planned, Las Vegas would be out of business.

Q9. Bradley is the project manager for his organization and he’s working with his project team to identify risks. Some of the project team members are confused as to when risk identification should happen in the project. When should risk identification happen?

D. Risk identification is an iterative process that happens throughout the project’s life cycle.

Q10. You are the project manager of the KLJH Project. This project will last two years and has 30 stakeholders. How often should risk identification take place?

C. Risk identification happens throughout the project. Recall that planning is iterative: as the project moves toward completion, new risks may surface that call for identification and planned responses.

Q11. Ruth is a project management expert and consultant for businesses creating project management offices. Ruth’s current client wants help to better identify risks. Which one of the following is an acceptable tool for risk identification?

C. The Delphi Technique, an anonymous risk identification method, is the correct answer.

Q12. You are the project manager for a project that will create a new and improved web site for your company. Currently, your company has over 8 million users around the globe. You would like to poll experts within your organization with a simple, anonymous form asking about any foreseeable risks in the design, structure, and intent of the web site. With the collected information, subsequent anonymous polls are submitted to the group of experts. This is an example of _________________________________.

D. An anonymous poll that allows experts to freely submit their opinion without fear of backlash is an example of the Delphi Technique.

Q13. Alice is a project manager for her organization and she’s working with the project team to identify project risks and rank them by impact and probability. Which risk analysis technique provides the project manager with a risk ranking?

B. The risk ranking is based on the very high, high, medium, low, and very low attributes of the identified risks.

Q14. A table of risks, their probability, impact, and a number representing the overall risk score is called a ____________________________.

B. A table of risks, their probability, and impact equate to a risk score, and is a risk probability-impact matrix.

Q15. What is the EMV for Risk Event 3?

D. Risk Event 3 has a probability of 45 percent and an impact cost of –$300, which equates to –$135.

Q16. Based on the preceding numbers, what is the amount needed for the contingency fund?

C. The calculated amount is 117,150.

Q17. The water sanitation project manager has determined that the risks associated with handling certain chemicals are too high. He has decided to allow someone else to complete this portion of the project, and so has out sourced the handling and installation of the chemicals and filter equipment to an experienced contractor. This is an example of which of the following?

D. Because the risk is not eliminated but transferred to someone else or another entity, it is considered transference.

Q18. A project manager and the project team are actively monitoring the pressure gauge on a piece of equipment. Sarah, the engineer, recommends a series of steps to be implemented should the pressure rise above 80 percent. The 80percent mark represents what?

B. The 80 percent mark is a threshold.

Q19. What would Risk Event 6 be, based on the following information: Marty is60 percent certain that he can get the facility needed for $45,000, which is$7,000 less than what was planned for.

C. Marty is 60 percent certain that he can save the project $7,000. The $4,200represents the 60 percent certainty of the savings.

Q20. You are the project manager for your organization and you’re working with the project team to identify the project risks, rank the risks on probability and impact, and then create a risk contingency reserve. As part of these processes you want to explore multiple scenarios of risk events in the project so you’re utilizing different tools to analyze the project risk. Based on this information, which of the following can determine multiple scenarios, given various risks and the probability of their impact?

B. The Monte Carlo technique can reveal multiple scenarios and examine the risks and probability of impact.