Project Planning and Estimating Flashcards
7 cards from real Civil Engineering PE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Project Planning and Estimating flashcards as text
Which scheduling technique is most appropriate when activity durations are uncertain and probabilistic estimates are needed?
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.
A project manager wants to compress a schedule by adding resources to critical path activities. This technique is called:
Answer: Crashing
Crashing involves adding resources (labor, equipment) to critical path activities to reduce duration, typically at an increased cost.
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?
Answer: 8.0 days
PERT expected duration = (O + 4M + P)/6 = (4 + 4×7 + 16)/6 = (4 + 28 + 16)/6 = 48/6 = 8 days.
What is the primary purpose of a construction contingency allowance in a project estimate?
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.
Which document formally authorizes a project and identifies the project manager's authority?
Answer: Project charter
The project charter is the formal document that authorizes the project and grants the project manager authority to apply resources.
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?
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.
A project WBS is best described as a:
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.