8. A project manager’s PDM network schedule gets audited by a scheduling expert.The expert tells the project manager to focus more on nodes with “path convergence,” also known as “sinks.” What is he referring to?

Nodes in a WBS, where several branches are brought back together.

Nodes in a decision tree, showing various branches with the same chance.

Nodes in a network logic diagram, which have multiple predecessors.

Nodes in a conditional network diagram, at which it becomes deterministic.

9. Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension of individualism refers to:

the identification with the gender role of an individual.

the tolerance for ambiguity or uncertainty in the workplace.

the significance of the person versus that of the group.

the degree of dependence relationships between individuals.

10. What is typical for critical chain project management?

Management of leads and lags

Management of buffers

Management of total floats and free floats

Management of resource over-allocations

11. What is not true for change requests?

Question 11 options:

Change requests are always a sign of bad planning and therefore, should be avoided.

Change requests surpassing the formal change control processes can lead to scope creep.

Professionally managed, change requests can help in improving a project and resolving emerging problems.

Change requests should always be handled in a controlled and integrative fashion.

12. While applying procurement management processes in your project, you identified the need to gain a more objective understanding of sellers’ capabilities in order to rank proposals and develop a negotiating sequence. Which technique may help avoid bias and subjective decisions best?

Question 12 options:

Weighting system

Letter of intent

Bidder conference

Oral contract

13. You are running a major project with four sub-projects. Each of the sub-project managers has developed a risk management plan, identified many risks, analyzed them, and planned for risk response. It is now two months later. What should you not do?

Question 13 options:

Make sure that the sub-project managers keep track of the identified risks and those on the watch list.

Ensure that they handle all risks to save you from project level risk control.

Make sure that the sub-project managers monitor their project work for new and changing risks.

Make sure that the sub-project managers monitor trigger conditions for contingency plans.

14. Which statement best describes the purpose of the communications management plan?

Question 14 options:

The communications management plan focuses on the use of communications technologies by the project management team.

The communications management plan describes rules of behavior and respect for communications in cross-cultural teams.

The project management plan is a subsidiary document of the overall communications management plan.

The communications management plan describes the information delivery needs including format and level of detail.

15. Product acceptance criteria should be laid down in which document?

Question 15 options:

Work breakdown structure

Resource assignments

Project scope management plan

Project scope statement

16. During execution of a project, you observe that the performance of some of your team members is dropping while others are doing a consistently good job. What should you try first to bring the team as a whole back to performance?

Question 16 options:

Organize a team meeting and discuss openly the bad performance of the weak team members. Try to find a joint solution during the meeting.

Introduce a system of formal and informal performance appraisals, research causes for bad performance, and solicit mutual feedback.

Introduce a competitive incentive system with a bonus for the 20% of your team that is performing better than the other 80%.

Do not interfere, but give the team some time to organize and sort the problem out by low-level conflict management.

17. How should change management be planned for?

Question 17 options:

Changes are generally not predictable; therefore, planning for change management cannot be reasonable.

Planning for change management should be done while the various change control processes are being applied.

Changes are a sign of bad planning. One should avoid changes during a project, thus eliminating the need to manage them.

Change management can be planned in a set of management plans or a specific change management plan.

18. During code inspection in a major software development project, a project management team identified frequent occurrences of critical programming errors. These errors are scattered across the code and occur without a discernible pattern. Which tool is most likely to help the team identify areas of error concentration in order to develop a prioritized response strategy?

Question 18 options:

Check sheet

Process decision program chart

Decision tree

Influence diagram

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Conflicting Viewpoints Essay – Part I

When looking for information about a particular issue, how often do you try to resist biases toward your own point of view? This assignment asks you to engage in this aspect of critical thinking by playing the “Believing Game.” The Believing Game is about making the effort to “believe” – or at least consider – the reasons for an opposing view on an issue.

In this assignment, you will first read a book excerpt about critical thinking processes: “The Believing Game and How to Make Conflicting Opinions More Fruitful” at http://www.procon.org/sourcefiles/believinggame.pdf. Next, you will review the Procon.org Website in order to gather information. Then, you will engage in prewriting to examine your thoughts.

Note: In Part II of the assignment (due Week 4), you will write an essay geared towards synthesizing your ideas.

Follow the instructions below for this activity.  Use complete sentences and adhere to standard rules of English grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and spelling.

Select one (1) of the approved topics from the www.procon.org Website and state your position on the issue.

From the Procon.org Website, identify three (3) premises (reasons) listed under either the Pro or Con section  — whichever section opposes your position.

For each of the three (3) premises (reasons) that oppose your position on the issue, answer these “believing” questions suggested by Elbow:

What’s interesting or helpful about this view?

What would I notice if I believed this view?

In what sense or under what conditions might this idea be true?”

The paper should follow guidelines for clear and organized writing:

Include an introductory paragraph and concluding paragraph.

Address main ideas in body paragraphs with a topic sentence and supporting sentences.

Adhere to standard rules of English grammar, punctuation, mechanics, and spelling.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA Style format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Create written work utilizing the concepts of critical thinking.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in critical thinking skills and informal logic.

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In this Assignment, you will be role-playing as a student. You are taking a college course that has the goal of teaching students about the cross-cultural influences in global cultures. The university wants students to investigate how cultures have mixed, changed, and influenced each other and the results.

For this Assignment, you will pretend that you are making an appeal to the administration to allow your class to visit either Brazil or India. There is fictional grant money available for certain class activities, and the money must be spent by the end of the year. This would solve the administration’s need to spend the budgeted funds, but you must persuade the administration that your trip would be a valuable use of that money. Your goal is to persuade the administration to fund your class trip. You may put together a presentation in either PowerPoint of Word. The presentation must be between 600–750 words and include at least two outside sources that are cited in APA style.

• First, decide if you will be encouraging a trip to either India or Brazil. You will need to conduct research on the country you select, including activities for tourists to do, popular trends in travel to this country, common sights for visitors, and the cultural influences and history.
• You will highlight at least three activities that students can participate in while in your selected country. Since students should be learning about cross-cultural influences in either India or Brazil, you will want to feature activities that highlight these elements in your trip. Aim to make the tour plausible. While there will be interesting opportunities all over the country, you should select three activities that can also be reached with ease. For example, you may have two activities in one city and make the third a day trip to a location that can be reached by bus or train.
• Be persuasive. Demonstrate for the administration how this would be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to communicate the course outcome. Since the money could be spend elsewhere, it is important to stress the importance of learning about cross-cultural influences firsthand. Encourage the administration by emphasizing both the entertainment and educational aspects of your trip. Think about what you would like to know as a potential tourist to either India or Brazil, and how you can make this relate to the fictional class’s course objective.

There is a template that you can follow for organizational tips. Remember to cite sources in APA style, as this college-level writing skill will impress the administrators considering your trip. Have fun with the Assignment and feel free to use images, narratives, and additional research.

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Question 1
What do you expect when you are submitting an invitation for bid to sellers?

Question 1 options:
Offers which are not primarily written to win against competition.
Offers which are similar enough to allow a selection based on price.
General information on a seller’s ability to provide the goods or services.
Offers which will differ significantly in solution approach and price.

Question 2
___________ are usually not a manifestation of unique organizational cultures and styles.
Question 2 options:
Views of authority relationships
Individual traits and attitudes of co-workers
Shared visions, values, norms, beliefs, and expectations
Policies, methods, and procedures

Question 3

During project execution, you found out that work is often not performed at the right time and in the right order. Deliverables are made by one team member that cannot be processed by another one. This already leads to timely rework and bad morale among team members. Which project management tool is most appropriate to deal with problems like this?
Question 3 options:
Communications management plan
Work authorization system
RACI matrix
Organization chart

Question 4
How should change management be planned for?
Question 4 options:
Planning for change management should be done while the various change control processes are being applied.
Question 4
Change management can be planned in a set of management plans or a specific change management plan.
Changes are generally not predictable; therefore, planning for change management cannot be reasonable.
Changes are a sign of bad planning. One should avoid changes during a project, thus eliminating the need to manage them

Question 5

Which statement best describes the purpose of the communications management plan?
Question 5 options:
The communications management plan focuses on the use of communications technologies by the project management team.
The project management plan is a subsidiary document of the overall communications management plan.
The communications management plan describes rules of behavior and respect for communications in cross-cultural teams.
The communications management plan describes the information delivery needs including format and level of detail

Question 6

A project manager’s PDM network schedule gets audited by a scheduling expert.
The expert tells the project manager to focus more on nodes with “path
convergence,” also known as “sinks.” What is he referring to?
Question 6 options:
Nodes in a WBS, where several branches are brought back together.
Nodes in a network logic diagram, which have multiple predecessors.
Nodes in a conditional network diagram, at which it becomes deterministic.
Nodes in a decision tree, showing various branches with the same chance

Question 7
You are running a major project with four sub-projects. Each of the sub-project managers has developed a risk management plan, identified many risks, analyzed them, and planned for risk response. It is now two months later. What should you not do?
Question 7 options:
Make sure that the sub-project managers monitor trigger conditions for contingency plans.
Make sure that the sub-project managers monitor their project work for new and changing risks.
Ensure that they handle all risks to save you from project level risk control.
Make sure that the sub-project managers keep track of the identified risks and those on the watch list.

Question 8
What should managers consider before conducting a performance-evaluation interview with a project team member?
Question 8 options:
How can discussion of the manager’s leadership style be avoided?
Has the employee been provided with sufficient instructions and work tools?
How can disputes related to unsatisfactory performance be avoided?
Which management fallacies can most easily be delegated to the worker?

Question 9
At the beginning of project execution, you notice different opinions between team members relating to project work and deliverables and to the level of overall complexity. What should you do right now?
Question 9 options:
Give your team members some time to develop a common understanding of the project scope and product scope. Upcoming interface problems may be resolved later.
Use interviews in private with each individual team member to inform them of your expectations and your requirements in an atmosphere of confidence.
Organize meetings to identify and resolve misunderstandings between team members in order to avoid interface problems, disintegration, and costly rework early in the project.
Use the risk management processes to identify and assess risks caused by misunderstandings and develop a plan with measures in order to respond to them.

Question 10

In configuration management, which of the following is necessary to maintain the integrity of baselines?
Question 10 options:
Analyzing variances by comparing baseline information with actual project data.
Ensuring transparency across all project management processes and activities.
Releasing only approved changes for incorporation into products or services.
Ensuring that team members adhere to a code of ethical conduct and behavior.

Question 11
Which of the following is generally not regarded as an element of active listening?
Question 11 options:
Paraphrasing
Making eye contact
Interrupting when appropriate
Interpreting the information

Question 12
Which statement describes best handling of assumptions during the initiating processes?
Question 12 options:
Organizational, environmental, and external assumptions should be addressed by the project charter.
Managing and organizing assumptions means avoiding risks right from the start of the project.
It is the responsibility of the sales person in charge to identify all risks related to a customer project.
Risks are a sign of uncertainty. Avoiding all uncertainties means that a project should have no risks at all.

Question 13

Which statement describes best handling of assumptions during the initiating processes?

For a project, the following earned value data have been assessed:
AC: $ 4,000,000
CV: $ -500,000
SPI: 1.12
BaC: $ 9,650,000
What is the earned value of the project?
Question 13 options:
$3,000,000
$5,650,000
$4,480,000
$3,500,000

EV = CV + AC = $ 4,000,000 – $ 500,000 = $3500,000
Question 14

During the execution of a project to build a complex defense system, your team has run into a deep crisis. The project’s goal and objectives have been challenging right from the start, but now you have discovered that your team members have become increasingly unaware of them. Being busy solving detail problems, they often fail to understand the overall requirements. Then they develop solutions that resolve issues in their area of limited responsibility while causing new problems at the interfaces with other system components. Meanwhile, the team members show signs of growing frustration, and time is running away. How can you help your team in this situation?
Question 14 options:
Ignore the low-level issues and focus on achieving the overall requirements. Details can be sorted out during test and handover.
If everybody simply does their jobs, then there should be no problem. Make sure that team members are fully aware of their accountability.
Problems of this dimension have their origin in fundamental personal incompatibilities between team members. You should replace them all.
Accompany your team members along a sequence of maturity levels from dependence through independence to interdependence.

Question 15
Which of the following are not common barriers to project team building?
Question 15 options:
Unclear project objectives/outcomes
Role conflicts
Excessive team member commitment
Differing outlooks, priorities, and interests

Question 16

What is not a reason for companies to organize lessons learned?
Question 16 options:
Lessons learned databases are an essential element of the organizational process assets.
Lessons learned should focus on identifying those accountable for errors and failures.
Phase-end lessons learned sessions provide a good team building exercise for project staff members.
Lessons learned sessions should bring about recommendations to improve future performance on projects.

Question 17

What is important for quality auditors?
Question 17 options:
They must be mandated by the auditee.
They must be properly trained.
They must be in-house personnel.
They must be third-party staff.

Question 18

The communications management plan is a document that includes descriptions of:
Question 18 options:
stakeholder communication requirements.
activity level status reports.
project level performance reports.
responsibility assignments.

Question 19

A customer is requiring a minor scope change and expects you to do this without delays and additional costs. You believe that you have adequate authorization to make the decision by yourself, but you are not quite sure. What should be your next steps?
Question 19 options:
A requested change is always an opportunity to get more money paid by the customer and to secretly solve schedule and quality problems. You should make some reasonable estimates on time, costs, risks, etc. and then add a nice margin on top of that to calculate the new price.
Customer satisfaction is your top priority. The customer gives you an opportunity to increase their satisfaction, which you should use to the maximum benefit. Most project managers have contingencies to cover risks; these can be used to pay the additional costs.
Handle the request according to the integrated change control processes described in your management plans. Then make a decision together with the appropriate change control body, whether the increased customer satisfaction will be worth the extra costs, work, risks, etc.
Before making a decision, you should have a look at the customer’s parking lot. If you find there to be many expensive, new automobiles, it is likely that you can use the requested change to increase the profit from the contract. Otherwise, you should reject the request.

Question 20

The cost baseline is developed during which process?
Question 20 options:
Estimate costs
Develop schedule
Determine budget
Perform integrated change control

Question 21

During a meeting, a discussion came up: To which degree does your project have to be compliant to the processes enumerated in the PMBOK Guide? What should be the guiding principle to answer this question?
Question 21 options:
The more processes the project team follows, the better the project’s performance will be.
The processes are meant as rough guidelines to which a team should only adhere if there is enough consensus.
The project team must select appropriate processes required to meet the project requirements.
Without alterations, the project manager must follow all 42 processes for project management

Question 22

What is typical for critical chain project management?
Question 22 options:
Management of leads and lags
Management of resource over-allocations
Management of total floats and free floats
Management of buffers

Question 23

The members of your project team have been assigned to your project with general availability levels of 50%. Yesterday, they reported to you that significant variances occurred during project execution. You have noted that the team members have been spending less than 50% of their time working on your project. Your project schedule is about to become heavily delayed, and deadlines are in jeopardy. What should you do?
Question 23 options:
Ignore the difficulties, adjust your schedule, and negotiate new deadlines according to the slower progress.
Talk with functional managers. Negotiate clear and written assignments with reliable scheduling priorities.
Focus on internal charges. Make sure that your project is not getting charged for more than the actual work.
Talk to your sponsor and try to get more resources assigned on similar conditions as the existing ones.

Question 24

The concept of (the) __________ states that changes related to one requirement—scope, time, or cost—will at least influence one other element.
Question 24 options:
three wise men
three-point estimation
triple constraint
three needs theory

Question 25

During code inspection in a major software development project, a project management team identified frequent occurrences of critical programming errors. These errors are scattered across the code and occur without a discernible pattern. Which tool is most likely to help the team identify areas of error concentration in order to develop a prioritized response strategy?
Question 25 options:
Check sheet
Decision tree
Influence diagram
Process decision program chart

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