Podcast
Questions and Answers
What type of estimating is typically conducted by senior management?
Which of the following is classified as a type of cost that is chargeable to a specific work package?
What estimating method is best suited for projects where significant uncertainty surrounds work packages?
Which factor does NOT influence the quality of project estimates?
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What is the difference between a detailed estimate and a macro estimate?
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Which of the following estimates can be affected by the project manager?
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What does project duration primarily impact in relation to estimating?
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Which estimate system is performed by the individuals executing the project work?
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What are overhead costs?
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Which estimating method uses pooled experience from senior project managers?
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What does the path in project management refer to?
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What is a critical path in project management?
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Which method is an extension of the ratio method for estimating costs?
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Which of the following describes parallel activities?
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Which term describes an element of the project that requires time?
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What is the purpose of a project network?
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What is the term for the longest path through the network that determines the minimum time required to complete a project?
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Which relationship indicates that the finish of one activity depends on the start of another activity?
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In project management, what is defined as the time an activity can be delayed without impacting any immediately following activities?
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What method uses an arrow to depict activities within a project network?
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What concept describes how likely the original critical path will change once a project is initiated?
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Which approach represents a scenario where each immediate preceding activity must be completely finished before the next can start?
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Which of the following best describes activities that can occur simultaneously?
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What type of relationship in project management typically allows both start-to-start and finish-to-finish combinations?
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Study Notes
Project Estimation
- A yardstick for project cost control.
- Forecasting or approximating the time and cost of a project.
- Classified as top-down (by senior management) and bottom-up (by the people doing the work).
Factors Influencing the Quality of Estimates
- Past experience is a good starting point for developing time and cost estimates.
- The quality of the estimate depends on the planning horizon.
- Project duration, implementing new technology, and the number of people involved can all introduce errors.
- Padding estimates can cause managers/owners to call for a 10-15% increase in the original budget.
- Organization culture can significantly influence project estimates.
Types of Costs
- Direct costs are chargeable to a specific work package and can be influenced by the project manager.
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Direct project overhead costs are resources of the organization being used in a project and can be tied to project deliverables.
- Direct overhead rates pinpoint which resources are being used.
- General and administrative (G&A) overhead costs are not directly linked to a specific project.
Phase Estimating
- Used when there is an unusual amount of uncertainty surrounding a project.
- It involves two estimate systems:
- Detailed Estimate: Developed for the immediate phase.
- Macro Estimate: Made for the remaining phases of the project.
Developing the Project Network
- The project plan defines project goals, objectives, specific tasks, and how goals will be achieved.
- The project network is a tool for planning, scheduling, and monitoring project progress.
Constructing a Project Network (Terminology)
- Activity: An element of the project that requires time.
- Merge activity: Has more than one activity preceding it.
- Parallel activities: Activities that can take place at the same time.
- Path: Connected, dependent activities.
- Critical path: Path(s) with the longest duration through the network.
- Event: Represents a point in time.
- Burst activity: Has more than one activity immediately following it.
- Start-to-finish relationship: The finish of an activity depends on the start of another activity.
- Combination of lag relationships: Usually start-to-start and finish-to-finish combinations tied to two activities.
Types of Network Diagrams
- Activity-on-node (AON) uses a node to depict an activity, sometimes called the precedence diagram method.
- Activity-on-arrow (AOR) uses an arrow to depict activity.
Determining Slack or Float
- Total slack: The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project.
- Free slack (float): The time an activity can be delayed without delaying any immediately following (successor) activity.
Practical Considerations
- Project network techniques must follow certain logic rules.
- The critical path determines the minimum time required to complete the project.
- Finish-to-start relationship is a method for showing relationships among activities.
- Laddering assumes that all immediately preceding activities must be 100% complete.
- Lag is the minimum amount of time a dependent activity must be delayed to begin or end.
- Hammock activities identify the use of fixed resources or costs over a segment of the project.
- Sensitivity is the likelihood that the original critical path will change once the project is initiated, a function of the number of critical or near-critical paths.
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Description
This quiz covers the key concepts of project estimation, focusing on cost control and the factors influencing the quality of estimates. It includes types of costs, such as direct and overhead costs, and how organizational culture affects project budgeting. Test your understanding of these crucial project management principles.
