Practice Test Geeks(CSM) Certified Software Manager Practice Test
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Project Management & Resource Allocation Flashcards

7 cards from real CSM 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 Management & Resource Allocation flashcards as text

  1. A CSM is building a staffing management plan. Which input is MOST critical for determining when each role needs to be on the project?

    Answer: Project schedule and activity resource requirements

    The project schedule and activity resource requirements directly dictate when specific skills are needed, forming the foundation of the staffing plan.

  2. A project team consistently misses sprint commitments because developers are pulled into production support. This is best addressed by:

    Answer: Formally allocating a defined percentage of capacity to support in sprint planning

    Explicitly reserving capacity for known interruptions like support during sprint planning gives the team a realistic, achievable commitment.

  3. Which network diagram dependency type states that a successor cannot finish until its predecessor finishes?

    Answer: Finish-to-Finish (FF)

    Finish-to-Finish means the successor task cannot complete until the predecessor task has also completed.

  4. A software project has a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 1.2. What does this indicate?

    Answer: The project is progressing 20% faster than planned

    SPI = EV / PV; an SPI greater than 1.0 means more work is being accomplished than planned, indicating the project is ahead of schedule.

  5. In resource planning, a histogram showing resource demand versus availability over time is called a:

    Answer: Resource histogram

    A resource histogram visually displays resource demand versus capacity over time, making over-allocation and under-utilization immediately apparent.

  6. Which technique involves breaking project scope into smaller, more manageable components to improve cost and schedule estimates?

    Answer: Work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposition

    WBS decomposition breaks deliverables into work packages, enabling more accurate bottom-up estimation of cost, duration, and resource needs.

  7. A CSM must choose between two resource allocation approaches for a new feature: assigning a specialist who will be 100% utilized versus three generalists at 33% each. The MAIN advantage of the specialist approach is:

    Answer: Reduced coordination overhead and faster task completion

    A dedicated specialist minimizes context-switching and coordination overhead, typically resulting in faster, higher-quality output on focused tasks.