PMI-SP Resource Leveling & Optimization 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Resource leveling is primarily used to resolve which type of scheduling conflict?
- Float consumption on critical activities
- Over-allocation of resources beyond availability limits (Correct answer)
- Inaccurate duration estimates on summary tasks
- Incorrect predecessor-successor relationships
Correct answer: Over-allocation of resources beyond availability limits
Resource leveling addresses over-allocation by adjusting activity start and finish dates so no resource is assigned beyond its maximum availability.
Question 2: Which of the following is the most significant consequence of applying resource leveling to a schedule?
- Activity durations are automatically shortened
- The project end date may be extended beyond the original baseline (Correct answer)
- Float on non-critical activities is always eliminated
- The critical path is always shortened
Correct answer: The project end date may be extended beyond the original baseline
Resource leveling often extends the project end date because activities must be delayed to resolve resource over-allocations.
Question 3: In PMI scheduling terminology, what distinguishes resource leveling from resource smoothing?
- Resource leveling maintains project end date; resource smoothing may extend it
- Resource smoothing maintains project end date; resource leveling may extend it (Correct answer)
- Resource leveling applies only to critical path activities
- Resource smoothing is used only on fixed-duration tasks
Correct answer: Resource smoothing maintains project end date; resource leveling may extend it
Resource smoothing adjusts activities only within available float and does not extend the project end date, while resource leveling may push the end date.
Question 4: A scheduler notices that a senior engineer is assigned 14 hours of work on a single day with an 8-hour availability. What is the BEST first step?
- Immediately crash the activity to reduce duration
- Analyze float on conflicting activities before deciding to level or smooth (Correct answer)
- Remove the resource from one activity without analysis
- Report the conflict to the sponsor and await direction
Correct answer: Analyze float on conflicting activities before deciding to level or smooth
Before applying leveling or smoothing, the scheduler should evaluate available float to determine which technique best resolves the conflict without unnecessary schedule impact.
Question 5: Which scheduling technique delays non-critical activities within their float to reduce peak resource demand without changing the project end date?
- Resource leveling
- Fast tracking
- Resource smoothing (Correct answer)
- Schedule compression
Correct answer: Resource smoothing
Resource smoothing uses available float on non-critical activities to redistribute resource demand while preserving the project end date.
Question 6: When performing resource leveling, which priority rule assigns resource availability first to the activity with the least total float?
- Latest start priority
- Minimum float priority (least float first) (Correct answer)
- Resource criticality index
- Most resources first
Correct answer: Minimum float priority (least float first)
The minimum float (least float first) heuristic prioritizes activities closest to becoming critical, preserving schedule flexibility for less constrained activities.
Question 7: A project schedule shows a resource histogram with a spike of 150% utilization for two days. The scheduler decides to split an activity to resolve this. What must the scheduler verify after splitting?
- That the activity's WBS code is updated
- That the split does not create a new critical path or violate logic constraints (Correct answer)
- That the resource is notified before the schedule is updated
- That the baseline is re-issued to all stakeholders
Correct answer: That the split does not create a new critical path or violate logic constraints
Splitting an activity can inadvertently create new critical paths or conflict with existing schedule logic, so the scheduler must validate the network after any split.
PMI-SP Resource Leveling & Optimization 1
Resource leveling is primarily used to resolve which type of scheduling conflict?