Prep-Cast CAPM Domain#2 Predictive

A project manager is leading a project with a predictive life cycle. Detailed plans were provided by the requesting organization before the start of the project.

What will be the focus of the project manager?

• Controlling the schedule by successively adding functionality until the deadline is reached

• Controlling scope to meet schedule and budget

• Determining the scope before the start of each iteration

• Revising cost and time estimates as the project team's understanding of the product increases

Answer explanation

In a predictive life cycle, the project scope, time, and cost are determined in the early phases of the life cycle. Any changes to the scope are carefully managed.

You have been hired midway into project execution to replace the previous project manager. The project is in disarray: discussions on changes frequently become shouting matches between the project team members, no one seems to take responsibility, and the project management plan is incomplete. As a result, the project is far behind schedule.

What is your best course of action?

• Use management reserves to cover for the lost time

• Seek help from the project management office (PMO)

• Fire the project team members and outsource the work

• Revise the project management plan and have it approved

Answer explanation

To manage the project, it is vital for you, as a project manager, to have a complete and approved project management plan.

You are leading a project to renovate a sports stadium. The project has a hard deadline as the work must be completed before the start of the games season. Upon developing and optimizing the schedule, the total float for the project is negative. The project sponsor is adamant that the project must be completed on time at any cost. As you try to find the solution, you realize that none of the activities can be overlapped.

What is your best course of action?

• Schedule some activities on the critical path to be performed in parallel instead of in sequence

• Do nothing as negative float implies the schedule is adequate to complete the project on time

• Perform resource smoothing to bring the schedule into alignment with project goals

• Shorten the schedule duration by the least incremental cost by adding resources

Answer explanation

Correct. This answer choice describes the schedule compression technique known as crashing. Crashing can be used to shorten the critical path and bring the schedule into alignment with project objectives. Crashing typically results in higher costs. According to the scenario, the sponsor is not price-sensitive. Therefore, shortening the schedule duration by the least incremental cost by adding resources, i.e., crashing the schedule, is your best course of action.

After a few weeks of observation, an agile coach that was hired to guide a company through its transition from a waterfall to an agile project management approach told the company's management that the company still used waterfall methods to carry out its projects.

Which of the following did the agile coach most likely notice that led them to reach that conclusion?

• A predictive life cycle was used to carry out project activities.

• Project teams delivered product increments in small batch hand-offs.

• Management supported empowerment and decentralized control.

• A product vision statement was mandated for each project.

Answer explanation

A predictive life cycle is associated with traditional or waterfall project management. In contrast, agile life cycles are iterative and incremental in nature. Predictive life cycles expect high certainty around firm requirements, a stable team, and low risk. The usage of a predictive life cycle is an indication that the company uses waterfall methods.

A company charters a project to redesign a process used to manufacture the company products. The new process is supposed to roll out at the end of the project. To support its transition to agile, the company decides to use a two-week delivery cadence. After several sprints, the company is unpleasantly surprised to see that no business value was produced.

What, if any, mistakes did the company most likely make?

• Selected an incorrect delivery cadence

• Used sprints instead of iterations

• Did not assign a dedicated agile coach

• The company made no mistakes

Answer explanation

The scenario implies that the company selected a periodic deliveries cadence, while the project was supposed to produce a single delivery at its end - a new process. Therefore, the most likely mistake the company made was selecting an incorrect delivery cadence, making this choice the best answer for the question asked.

Midway into project execution, a stakeholder approaches the project manager requesting a change to one of the project deliverables.

In what order should the project manager take the following steps to process the stakeholder's request? (Drag and drop the items from right to left.)

• Evaluate the change

• Step-3

• Look for the alternatives

• Step-2

• Make a decision

• Step-5

• Implement the change

• Step-4

• Submit change request

• Step-1

Answer explanation

Understanding the first step in the process of handling change requests is typically the most difficult thing for a PMP aspirant. Our team had an extensive debate on the subject of change requests and the sequence of steps involved in this process. The reason being is that the PMBOK® Guide does not do a good job of explaining the exact process in detail. We have discussed the sequence of steps among our team of certified project management professionals and have concluded that the first thing that should be done when a change is requested on a project is the physical (or digital) creation of the change request form, a document if you wish. In other words, submitting a change request, i.e., filling out a form, is the first thing that should be done when a change is requested on the project. Otherwise, on what basis would the project manager, the project team, the change control board (CCB), and other relevant stakeholders spend time evaluating a request that is not even documented?

A large construction project is in execution. According to the project schedule, today the project manager has individual mentoring sessions with three stakeholders that are new to the project.

When mentoring these stakeholders, which of the following project management processes might the project manager be performing? (Choose two.)

• Develop Project Charter

• Plan Communications Management

• Identify Stakeholders

• Manage Communications

• Develop Team

Answer explanation

D. Feedback is among the communication techniques associated with the Manage Communications process. Feedback supports interactive communication between the project manager, team, and all other project stakeholders. Mentoring is one example of feedback that might be used in support of the Manage Communications process.

E. Mentoring is a technique that might be used as part of training a new project team member. Since project team members are stakeholders, it is possible that one or more of the new stakeholders is a member of the project team, justifying an iteration of the Develop Team process.

You are a project manager who is currently performing the process of identifying quality requirements for the project. As you work with your project team to develop the quality management plan, the newest team member asks you to explain the benefit of performing this process.

How should you respond to the team member?

• Provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and verified throughout the project

• Ensures that the degree, type, and visibility of risk management are proportionate to both risks and the importance of the project to the organization and other stakeholders

• Verifies that the project deliverables and work meet the requirements specified by key stakeholders for final acceptance

• Increases the probability of meeting the quality objectives as well as identifying ineffective processes and causes of poor quality

Answer explanation

Provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and verified throughout the project

Correct. This answer choice describes the key benefit of the Plan Quality Management process, which is the process you are performing in the scenario, making this choice the best answer to the question asked.

Which is an example of a positive schedule variance?

• The ratio of work completed to work planned is greater than 1.0

• The ratio of work planned to work completed is greater than 1.0

• The actual costs of the project are lower than the work performed

• The actual costs of the project are lower than the work planned

Answer explanation

The ratio of work completed to work planned is greater than 1.0

Correct. The schedule performance index (SPI) is a ratio. A number greater than 1.0 indicates that there is more work being completed than planned at this point in the project. The

schedule variance (SV) is a difference: SV = EV - PV. When (EV) is greater than (PV), the difference (SV) is positive.

A project is broken down into four phases: design, build, test, deploy. At the end of the design phase, the project manager would like to determine if the project should be terminated or proceed to the build phase.

What should the project manager do next?

• Hold a phase gate

• Schedule a retrospective

• Facilitate a meeting with the project team

• Convene the change control board (CCB)

Answer explanation

Hold a phase gate

Correct. A phase gate may be held to review project performance and determine if the project should be terminated or proceed to the next phase.