PMP Question Series: Integration Management

(1) A work authorization system can be used to

manage what time and in what sequence work is done

(2) A project is plagued by changes to the project charter. Who has the primary responsibility to decide if the changes are necessary?

Project sponsor

(3) You are taking over a project during the planning process group and discover that 6 individuals have signed the project charter. What should concern you most?

Spending more time on configuratin management

(4) Are the following the responsibility of the project manager?

develop schedule,
estimate cost,
define activity,
estimate activity resource

NOTE: team members can make some contribution, but all the above should be done by PM

(5) If a project team member delivers a corrective action without going through formal process and documenting the action. What do you do as PM?

Add the implemented corrective action to historical records, discuss the value of documentation at the next team meeting

(6) The client demands changes to the product specification. What is the best thing to do?
consult with the sponsor about options


The process of making changes:

(1) prevent the root cause of changes
(2) identify changes
(3) evaluate the impact to all seven project constraints
(4) create a change request
(5) perform integrated change control:
5a): see if the change fall within the project charter?
5b): look for options such as crashing, fast tracking, cutting scope etc
5c): get change request approved or rejected
5d): update the status of changes in change control system
(6) update the pmp, project documents, and baselines
(7) manage stakeholders' expectation by inform the stakeholders of the changes

Scope management:
a stakeholder requiring to add scope to the project that is not related to the project was initiated should be rejected

how to facilitate the resolution of competing requirement:

priority in selecting competing requirements:
business case, project chart, project chart, project scope statement, project constraint


Questions:
(1) The need for --- is one of the major driving force for communication in a project
(a) integrity (b) integration (x)

(2) after a great deal of effort, the project team has finally determined the specifications for a major scope change to the project. In light of this, what should be the PM do first?
a) look for other changes
b) calculate the risks associated with this change (x) ( identify impacts to other project constraints)

(3) Your project team is spending so much time reviewing potential changes to a project that you do not have time to complete project work. Which of the following is the least reason for this problem?
a) no change control board
b) a poor communication management plan (x)

(4) Who should be responsible for defining project objectives:
a) stakeholders
b) sponsor (x)

(5) The PM's role during the executing process group of the project can best be described as a:
a) leader
b) integrator (x)

(6) When is it most important that integration is performed?
a) during project planning
b) during project execution
c) at key interface points (x)

(7) You are taken to lunch by one of your sellers who has become a friend. He gives you an opportunity to participate in a new venture in association with his company, unrelated to your current employment. What should you do?
a) refuse to participate
b) request your employer's consent for your participation (x)

(8) During what part of the project management process is most of a project's budget expended?
--> Executing process
NOTE: executing process requires most time and money

(9) What is the difference between control scope process and perform integrated change control process?
-> control scope focuses on controlling the scope of the project and perform integrated change control focuses on determining the impact of a change of scope on time, cost, quality, risk, resource, and customer satisfaction

(10) Which of the following best describe the project manager's role regarding project changes?
a) prevent changes that affect the project scope (you can't prevent all changes that affect scope)
b) discover changes as early as possible (x)

(11) If a PM is concerned with gathering, integrating, and disseminating the outputs of all project management processes, she should concentrate on creating a better:
a) communication management plan
b) project management information system (x)

(12)
NOTE: a common practice in other country does not automatically make the practice a fair business practice. This is not a measure that determines if it is unethical or violating basic human right.

(13) You are a new project manager who has never managed a project before. It would be best in this situation to rely on historical information to improve your chance of success

(14) The client demands changes to the product specification that will add only two weeks to the critical path. Which of the following is the best thing to do?
a) advise the client of the impact
b) consult the sponsor about the options (x)
NOTE: scope change needs to be handled:
a) evaluate impact b) create option c) gain approval internally d) gain approval from customer

(15) A team member notifies you that she has added extra functionality to the project. She tells you there was no impact on the cost or schedule. What should be done as a result of this change?
a) Instruct the team member to remove the change
b) Understand what functionality was added (x)

NOTE: b) is the first step of integrated change control. Analyze it first.

(16) A work authorization system can be used to:
-> manage when and in what sequences work is done

(17) Your organization is having a difficult time managing all of its projects. You have been asked to help senior management get a better understanding of the problems. What do you do first?
a) review the project charters and bar charts for all projects
b) Meet with individual project managers to get a better sense of what is happening (x) (problem solving)

(18) A project is considered closed when :
a) client accepts the product
b) lesson learned are completed
c) archive are completed
d) releasing resources

NOTE: archive happen after lesson learned and the last thing to do is releasing resource

(19) In most of the cases, a change control board is involved to approve changes. However, some changes get automatic approval and do not need a change control board's approval. For example, an emergency

(20) All of the following should be done by the project manager during the monitoring and controlling process group except:
a) determine that a change has occurred
b) make sure all changes are approved by management (x)
-> NOTE: some changes are approved by PM

(21) The customer requested a change during user testing. As PM, how should you best address this issue?
-> create a formal change request

(22) when managing a project, which of the following is the best order to deal with problems?
a) go to resource manager, go to management, go to customer
b) resolve the problem with resources you control, go to the resource managers, go to the
customer (x)

(23) You are given a new project to manage and a brief project scope statement. The project sponsor tells you that there is no required completion date for the project. The best thing to do is:
a) Ask for better definition of project scope before accepting the project
b) plan the project as you would a normal project, but build in schedule flexibility (x)
NOTE: a brief scope statement may be good enough

(24) What does it mean by "influencing the factors that affect change"?
-> determine the sources of changes and fixing the root causes

(25) which of the following best describes what a project charter may be used for when the work is being completed?
-> to help determine if a scope change should be approved

(26) During the executing process group of the project, you realize the subcontractor are working with incomplete and different project scope statement. As PM, what should you do first?
a) check the work completed against the correct project scope statement (you need some effort to get a "correct project statement" )
b) review the scope with the stakeholders (x)

(27) Many more changes were made to the project during the project executing processes than had been expected. What is the best thing for the PM to do now?
-> Make the changes as needed, but maintain a schedule baseline

(28) The buyer asks the PM or the status of the project. What is the best way to determine the status of a project?
a) compare the earned value to the planned value (This is about cost performance only)
b) compare the project performance against project baselines (x) This is about scope, time, cost

(29) You are assigned as PM in a project. You discovered that a deliverable will be late. Your analysis shows that the item can be purchased from another seller at a higher price without affecting the schedule. What is the best thing to do?
a) evaluate the impact of the decision
b) discuss the impact with the customer and ask for a decision (x)

NOTE: the impact: delay of schedule and higher price to purchase the item is already evaluated.

(30) What does a benefit cost ratio (BCR) of 2.1 mean?
-> The payback is 2.1 times of the cost

(31) All of the following are purpose of the project charter except:
a) establish the project
b) gives the PM authority
c) includes stakeholder's requirements
d) identifies the product acceptance criteria (x) -> in project scope statement

(32) An activity needs more time because an identified risk has occurred. The PM determined that there is enough reserve to accomodate the change. Who needs to approve the change?
a) management
b) project manager (x)
NOTE: It is PM's responsibility to manages the project scope completion within budge and reserves.

(33) Which of the following is correct concerning a change managment plan?
a) it should be created during executing process group (actually in planning group)
b) it should include a method for controlling schedule (x)

(34) Documents that serve as historical records for future projects are archived:
a) throughout the project
b) during closure (x)

(35) You are a new PM for company B. Your previously worked for company A which had an extensive project management practice. Company B has its own procedure. but you are more familiar with those from company A. You should:

--> use the forms from company B and begin to instruct them on ways to upgrade them.

(36) work authorization system ensure work is done at right time and in the right sequence.

(37) You are assigned as a project manager to lead a new quality improvement project. management is asking for a project management plan. Which of the following should you create first?
a) a quality management plan
b) a project scope statement (x)

(38) Your project no longer ties into the company's objectives. What would be the best thing to do?
a) decrease the cost
b) change the target opportunity cost
c) extend the schedule(x)
--> extends the schedule and allow flexibility to accommodate the delays and other risks a lower priority adds to the project


(39) This is a tricky question
During project executing, you find that the customer has requested a change to the scope of work even though it was previously not approved. The are no objections to the cost of the change. Whaat should you do first?
a) evaluate the document the risks that might result from this change
b) follow the change control process (x)

(40) A new project manager works on a relatively low priority project, and you feel that the project manager is planning too many project control meetings. Which of the following would be the best thing to tell her?
-> Strike a balance between the extent of the control system and the risk of unfavorable project outcomes.

(41) Which of the following could happen during project executing as a result of fast tracking the project?
-> subsequent activities will have additional risk.