Practice Test Geeks(CST) Certified Scheduling Technician Practice Test
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CPM & PERT Schedule Development Flashcards

7 cards from real CST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 CPM & PERT Schedule Development flashcards as text

  1. In PERT analysis, the Beta distribution is used because it:

    Answer: Can model skewed distributions with defined minimum and maximum bounds

    The Beta distribution is favored in PERT because it accommodates skewness and is bounded by the optimistic and pessimistic estimates.

  2. A project network has activities A→C, A→D, B→D, C→E, D→E. Which activities constitute the longest path if durations are A=3, B=2, C=4, D=1, E=5?

    Answer: A→C→E with duration 12

    Path A→C→E = 3+4+5 = 12, which is longer than A→D→E (3+1+5=9) and B→D→E (2+1+5=8).

  3. When performing a forward pass in CPM, the Early Start of a successor activity with multiple predecessors is determined by:

    Answer: The maximum Early Finish among all predecessors

    An activity cannot start until all predecessors are complete, so its Early Start equals the maximum Early Finish of all predecessors.

  4. In a Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) network, a Finish-to-Start relationship with a lag of 5 days means:

    Answer: The successor starts at least 5 days after the predecessor finishes

    A positive lag on an FS relationship delays the successor's start by the lag duration after the predecessor finishes.

  5. Which of the following best describes 'free float' in CPM scheduling?

    Answer: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying any successor's Early Start

    Free float is the delay an activity can absorb without pushing out the Early Start of any of its immediate successors.

  6. A scheduler uses PERT and calculates the standard deviation of the critical path as 3 days. What is the probability the project finishes within the expected duration?

    Answer: 50%

    The PERT expected duration corresponds to the mean of the distribution, so the probability of finishing by that date is 50%.

  7. In CPM, 'negative float' on an activity indicates:

    Answer: The schedule cannot be logically completed without violating a constraint or deadline

    Negative float means the current schedule violates a constraint (such as a must-finish-by date), and the project is already behind that target.