Question 1

What is the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

Accepted Answer

The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the project scope into smaller, manageable work packages. Each level represents a finer breakdown of work. The 100% rule requires that the WBS captures all project work — no more, no less.

Question 2

What is the critical path in a project schedule?

Accepted Answer

The critical path is the longest sequence of dependent tasks from project start to finish. Tasks on the critical path have zero float — any delay directly delays the project end date. Identifying and managing the critical path is essential to meeting the project deadline.

Question 3

An activity has an Early Start (ES) of day 5, Early Finish (EF) of day 9, Late Start (LS) of day 8, and Late Finish (LF) of day 12. What is the float?

Accepted Answer

Float = LS - ES = 8 - 5 = 3 days (or LF - EF = 12 - 9 = 3 days). Float represents the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date. Activities on the critical path have 0 float.

Question 4

In agile, what is the purpose of a sprint retrospective?

Accepted Answer

The sprint retrospective is an internal team meeting to inspect how the last sprint went (processes, tools, collaboration) and create a plan for improvements. The sprint review (demo) presents completed work to stakeholders. Sprint planning selects backlog items for the next sprint.

Question 5

What is scope creep?

Accepted Answer

Scope creep is the unauthorized, uncontrolled expansion of project scope — adding features or work without formal change control. It is one of the most common causes of project failure. Prevention requires a clearly defined scope baseline and a robust change control process.

Question 6

The 100% rule in WBS development states that:

Accepted Answer

The 100% rule means the WBS must include ALL the work defined in the project scope statement — and only that work. Work packages not in the WBS are not authorized project work (preventing scope creep), and missing work creates schedule and cost risk.

Question 7

Three-point estimating uses optimistic (O), most likely (M), and pessimistic (P) estimates. In PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique), the weighted average is calculated as:

Accepted Answer

The PERT formula weights the most likely estimate four times: (O + 4M + P) / 6. This gives greater weight to the realistic estimate while accounting for extreme scenarios. The simple average (O + M + P) / 3 is used in triangular distribution estimation.

Question 8

A project manager compresses the schedule by adding resources to critical path activities to reduce duration. This technique is called:

Accepted Answer

Crashing adds resources (overtime, additional staff, equipment) to critical path activities to shorten their duration — at increased cost. Fast tracking overlaps activities that would normally be sequential. Resource leveling adjusts resource assignments to resolve over-allocation, often extending the schedule.

Question 9

Scope creep is best prevented by:

Accepted Answer

Scope creep — unauthorized or uncontrolled scope expansion — is prevented by a well-defined scope baseline (scope statement, WBS, WBS dictionary) and a formal integrated change control process that evaluates and approves all scope changes before work begins.

Question 10

Which scheduling tool shows the dependencies between activities as a network diagram with nodes representing activities?

Accepted Answer

The Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM), also called Activity-on-Node (AON), represents activities as boxes (nodes) connected by arrows showing logical dependencies (FS, FF, SS, SF). It is the foundation for calculating the critical path and schedule network analysis.

Scope and Schedule Management Practice Questions

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