Task 6: Plan and manage schedule

During a project retrospective, the team identifies that they consistently underestimate the effort required for integration testing. Historical data shows their estimates are typically 40% lower than actual effort. The team wants to improve their estimation accuracy for the next iteration. What should the project manager recommend FIRST?

A project has the following network diagram with activity durations:<br/><br/>Activity A: 4 days (no predecessors)<br/>Activity B: 6 days (predecessor: A)<br/>Activity C: 3 days (predecessor: A)<br/>Activity D: 5 days (predecessors: B, C)<br/>Activity E: 2 days (predecessor: D)<br/><br/>What is the total project duration in days? (Enter numbers only)

A project manager is leading an agile project where the team has been consistently missing sprint commitments. Analysis shows that the team tends to overcommit during sprint planning and underestimate the complexity of user stories. The team wants to improve their commitment reliability. Which TWO actions should the project manager recommend?

A project has the following three-point estimates for a critical activity:<br/><br/>Optimistic (O): 8 days<br/>Most Likely (M): 12 days<br/>Pessimistic (P): 22 days<br/><br/>Using the PERT formula, what is the expected duration for this activity? (Round to one decimal place, enter numbers only)

A project manager is leading an agile project where the team has been struggling with estimation accuracy. Sprint after sprint, the team commits to more work than they can complete, leading to incomplete sprints and stakeholder disappointment. The team wants to improve their estimation and commitment reliability. Which TWO practices should the project manager recommend?

A project has the following earned value data at the end of month 8:<br/><br/>- Planned Value (PV): $400,000<br/>- Earned Value (EV): $350,000<br/>- Actual Cost (AC): $380,000<br/><br/>What is the Schedule Performance Index (SPI)? (Round to two decimal places, enter numbers only)

A project has a three-point estimate for a critical path activity:<br/>- Optimistic (O): 8 days<br/>- Most Likely (M): 12 days<br/>- Pessimistic (P): 22 days<br/><br/>Using the PERT formula, calculate the expected duration for this activity. Round to one decimal place and enter numbers only (e.g., 12.5).

A project has the following network diagram with activity durations:<br/>Activity A: 5 days (no predecessors)<br/>Activity B: 8 days (predecessor: A)<br/>Activity C: 6 days (predecessor: A)<br/>Activity D: 4 days (predecessors: B, C)<br/>Activity E: 7 days (predecessor: D)<br/><br/>What is the total project duration in days? Enter numbers only.

A project has the following earned value data at the end of month 6:<br/>- Planned Value (PV): $180,000<br/>- Earned Value (EV): $150,000<br/>- Actual Cost (AC): $165,000<br/><br/>Calculate the Schedule Performance Index (SPI). Round to two decimal places and enter numbers only (e.g., 0.85).

A project manager is working on an agile project where the product owner has been making priority decisions without consulting the development team about technical dependencies and effort implications. This has led to inefficient sprint planning and frustrated developers. What should the project manager do?

A project team is using a Kanban board to track work items. The board shows:<br/>- To Do: 15 items<br/>- In Progress: 8 items<br/>- Testing: 6 items<br/>- Done: 25 items<br/><br/>The team has a Work-in-Progress (WIP) limit of 12 items for all active work (In Progress + Testing). What is the current WIP limit utilization as a percentage? Round to the nearest whole number and enter numbers only (e.g., 85).

A project manager is developing a schedule for a complex software implementation that involves multiple interdependent workstreams: data migration, system configuration, user training, and testing. The client has requested an aggressive timeline, but the project manager's initial estimates suggest the timeline is unrealistic. Historical data from similar projects shows significant variability in task durations. What should the project manager do FIRST?

A project has the following earned value metrics at month 10:<br/>- Budget at Completion (BAC): $1,200,000<br/>- Earned Value (EV): $720,000<br/>- Actual Cost (AC): $800,000<br/>- Planned Value (PV): $840,000<br/><br/>Calculate the Schedule Performance Index (SPI). Round to two decimal places and enter numbers only (e.g., 0.86).

A project manager is developing a schedule for a complex system integration involving multiple vendors and internal teams. The work includes data migration, system configuration, testing, and user training with significant interdependencies. Initial estimates from different teams vary widely, and historical data shows high variability in similar integration tasks. The client has requested a firm delivery date. What should the project manager do FIRST?

A project has the following activity durations and dependencies:<br/>- Activity A: 4 days (no predecessors)<br/>- Activity B: 6 days (predecessor: A)<br/>- Activity C: 3 days (predecessor: A)<br/>- Activity D: 5 days (predecessors: B, C)<br/>- Activity E: 2 days (predecessor: D)<br/><br/>What is the total project duration in days? (Enter numbers only)

A project manager is developing a project schedule for a software development project with the following constraints: the development team is only available part-time, there are dependencies on external vendor deliverables, and the client has requested specific milestone dates for stakeholder reviews. What should the project manager do FIRST when creating the schedule?

A project manager is developing a schedule for a complex software project with multiple dependencies. The team has provided optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates for key activities. Activity A has estimates of 5, 15, and 8 days respectively. What is the expected duration for Activity A using the PERT formula?

A project manager is developing a schedule for a software project with the following activities on the critical path: Analysis (5 days), Design (8 days), Development (12 days), Testing (6 days), and Deployment (2 days). If Development can be started 3 days after Design begins (fast-tracking), what is the new critical path duration?

A project manager is developing a schedule for a complex integration project. The critical path includes: Requirements Analysis (4 days), System Design (10 days), Development (15 days), Integration Testing (8 days), and User Acceptance Testing (5 days). If Integration Testing can begin 3 days before Development is complete (fast-tracking), what is the new critical path duration?