Civil Engineering PE Project Planning and Estimating 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which scheduling technique is most appropriate when activity durations are uncertain and probabilistic estimates are needed?
- CPM (Critical Path Method)
- PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) (Correct answer)
- Gantt chart scheduling
- Linear scheduling method
Correct answer: PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
PERT uses three-point estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) to account for uncertainty and compute probabilistic project durations.
Question 2: A project manager wants to compress a schedule by adding resources to critical path activities. This technique is called:
- Fast-tracking
- Resource leveling
- Crashing (Correct answer)
- Schedule compression
Correct answer: Crashing
Crashing involves adding resources (labor, equipment) to critical path activities to reduce duration, typically at an increased cost.
Question 3: In a PERT analysis, an activity has an optimistic duration of 4 days, a most likely duration of 7 days, and a pessimistic duration of 16 days. What is the expected duration?
- 7.0 days
- 8.0 days (Correct answer)
- 9.0 days
- 7.5 days
Correct answer: 8.0 days
PERT expected duration = (O + 4M + P)/6 = (4 + 4×7 + 16)/6 = (4 + 28 + 16)/6 = 48/6 = 8 days.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a construction contingency allowance in a project estimate?
- To cover contractor profit margin
- To account for foreseeable but uncertain scope items (Correct answer)
- To pay for design changes requested by the owner
- To fund project overhead and administration
Correct answer: To account for foreseeable but uncertain scope items
Contingency allowances cover foreseeable but uncertain cost items within the defined scope, not scope changes or contractor profit.
Question 5: Which document formally authorizes a project and identifies the project manager's authority?
- Project scope statement
- Project charter (Correct answer)
- Work breakdown structure
- Project management plan
Correct answer: Project charter
The project charter is the formal document that authorizes the project and grants the project manager authority to apply resources.
Question 6: Life-cycle cost analysis for a bridge includes initial construction cost of $5M, annual maintenance of $50,000, and a major rehabilitation at year 25 costing $1.5M. Using a discount rate of 4%, which factor is needed to find the present worth of the year-25 rehabilitation?
- Uniform series present worth factor (P/A)
- Single payment present worth factor (P/F) (Correct answer)
- Capital recovery factor (A/P)
- Uniform gradient present worth factor (P/G)
Correct answer: Single payment present worth factor (P/F)
The single payment present worth factor (P/F, i, n) converts a future lump sum payment to its present worth.
Question 7: A project WBS is best described as a:
- Bar chart showing activity sequences and durations
- Deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of project scope (Correct answer)
- List of all project risks and their probabilities
- Network diagram showing critical path activities
Correct answer: Deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of project scope
A WBS is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition that defines the total scope of the project work.
Civil Engineering PE Project Planning and Estimating 3
Which scheduling technique is most appropriate when activity durations are uncertain and probabilistic estimates are needed?