Scheduling Fundamentals & Techniques Flashcards

Which scheduling technique calculates the latest allowable start and finish times for each activity without delaying the project?

Answer: Backward pass

The backward pass computes Late Start (LS) and Late Finish (LF) by working from the project end date back to the start.

A project has a Planned Value (PV) of $50,000 and an Earned Value (EV) of $40,000. What is the Schedule Variance (SV)?

Answer: -$10,000

SV = EV - PV = $40,000 - $50,000 = -$10,000, indicating the project is behind schedule.

What does a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) value of 0.85 indicate?

Answer: The project is earning $0.85 for every $1.00 of planned work

SPI = EV/PV, so 0.85 means only $0.85 of work is being accomplished for every $1.00 of work that was planned.

Which network diagramming method uses nodes to represent activities and arrows to show dependencies?

Answer: Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

PDM (also called Activity-on-Node) places activities in boxes/nodes and uses arrows solely to represent logical relationships.

The technique of shortening the project schedule by overlapping activities that would normally be performed sequentially is called:

Answer: Fast-tracking

Fast-tracking overlaps sequential activities in parallel, accepting increased risk, while crashing adds resources to critical path activities.

Which type of dependency represents a required, contractual, or physical limitation between activities?

Answer: Mandatory dependency

Mandatory dependencies (hard logic) are inherent in the nature of the work or required by contract and cannot be changed.

A Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship with a lag of +5 days means:

Answer: Successor cannot start until 5 days after predecessor finishes

A positive lag on an FS relationship delays the start of the successor by the specified number of days after the predecessor finishes.