PMP Schedule Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project manager is analyzing the critical path and finds that a non-critical activity has a total float of 0 days but free float of 5 days. What does this indicate?
- The activity is on the critical path
- Delaying this activity will delay its successor but not the project end date
- The activity can be delayed 5 days without affecting any successor (Correct answer)
- The activity has a finish-to-start dependency with lag
Correct answer: The activity can be delayed 5 days without affecting any successor
Free float of 5 days means the activity can be delayed 5 days without delaying its immediate successor.
Question 2: During schedule compression, the project manager decides to overlap phases that were originally planned sequentially. This technique is called:
- Resource leveling
- Fast tracking (Correct answer)
- Crashing
- Schedule baseline revision
Correct answer: Fast tracking
Fast tracking involves performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially, accepting increased risk.
Question 3: A project has a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.85. What does this tell the project manager?
- The project is over budget
- The project is ahead of schedule
- The project is behind schedule and only accomplishing 85% of planned work (Correct answer)
- The project will finish 15% over budget
Correct answer: The project is behind schedule and only accomplishing 85% of planned work
An SPI below 1.0 means the project is behind schedule, accomplishing less work than planned for the time elapsed.
Question 4: Which scheduling method calculates the earliest and latest start and finish dates without resource constraints to identify schedule flexibility?
- Resource leveling
- Critical Chain Method
- Critical Path Method (Correct answer)
- Monte Carlo simulation
Correct answer: Critical Path Method
The Critical Path Method (CPM) uses forward and backward passes to determine float and schedule flexibility without considering resource constraints.
Question 5: A project manager is creating a schedule network diagram. Activity B cannot begin until Activity A has been 50% complete. This is best represented as:
- Finish-to-start with lag
- Start-to-start with lag (Correct answer)
- Finish-to-finish dependency
- Start-to-finish dependency
Correct answer: Start-to-start with lag
A start-to-start relationship with a lag of 50% of Activity A's duration represents Activity B starting after Activity A is half complete.
Question 6: The project sponsor requests an updated Estimate to Complete (ETC) for schedule recovery. The team used 120 days to complete work planned for 100 days. What approach should the PM use for ETC calculation?
- Multiply remaining work by original productivity rate
- Divide remaining work by the actual SPI (Correct answer)
- Use the original schedule baseline unchanged
- Subtract elapsed time from the total project duration
Correct answer: Divide remaining work by the actual SPI
ETC based on current efficiency divides the remaining planned value by the current SPI, reflecting real team performance.
Question 7: Which tool in schedule management helps visualize resource allocation over time and identify periods of over- or under-allocation?
- Network diagram
- Resource histogram (Correct answer)
- Gantt chart
- RACI matrix
Correct answer: Resource histogram
A resource histogram displays resource usage (hours or units) over time, making over- and under-allocation visible.
PMP Schedule Management 2
A project manager is analyzing the critical path and finds that a non-critical activity has a total float of 0 days but free float of 5 days.
What does this indicate?