Chapter 6: Project Time Management

(Questions and Exercises are derived or transcribed from my copies of

Head First PMP, Greene & Stellman and from PMP Exam Prep, Rita Mulcahy)
QUESTION 1
Youre the project manager for a highway construction project. Youve analyzed the work that
has to be done and come up with a list of activities. You consulted with the project sponsor in
order to find out any important milestones you need to meet. Whats the next thing that you do?
A. Create the project schedule
B. Perform the activity definition process
C. Consult your project management plan to figure out how to handle any schedule change
D. Figure out the dependencies between activities and create a network diagram
FOR QUESTIONS 2-4
Kathleen is planning Rebeccas wedding.
QUESTION 2
Kathleen guesses that 70% of the invitees will RSVP. Instead of waiting for all of the RSVPs to
come in, she goes ahead and reserves the tables and chairs now. What is she doing?
A. Compressing the critical path
B. Fast-tracking the project
C. Crashing the schedule
D. Balancing the plan
QUESTION 3
Rebecca is taking a really long time to choose the decorations so Kathleen brings in a
professional decorator to help. What is she doing?
A. Compressing the critical path
B. Fast-tracking the project
C. Crashing the schedule
D. Balancing the plan
QUESTION 4
Kathleen needs to get the invitations out quickly, so she hires two temps to come in and help her
stuff envelopes. What is she doing?
A. Compressing the critical path
B. Fast-tracking the project
C. Crashing the schedule
D. Balancing the plan
EXERCISE 1
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a) For each activity, complete the chart for Expected Duration using the three point
estimation formula (pg 150, 6.4.2.4).
For extra credit, for each activity,
b) calculate the standard deviation = (P-O)/6,
c) the variance = ((P-O)/6))**2 (deviation squared)
d) and the estimate range (Expected plus or minus the standard deviation)
e) Do (b), (c) and (d) for the Project (the sum of all activities)
RULE: You can never add standard deviations to get the standard deviation of the series. You
must first add the variances, and then take the square root of that value.
Activity

A
B
C
D
All
(A+B+C+D)

14
41
39
29
--

27
60
44
37
--

47
89
48
42
--

Expected
Duration

Activity
Standard
Deviation

Activity
Variance

Estimate
Range

EXERCISE 2
Draw a PDM diagram for this list of nodes:
NODE NAME
START
A
B
C
D
E

PREDECESSOR
-START
A
B
START
D

NODE NAME
F
G
H
I
END

PREDECESSOR
B
C,F
D
H
G,I

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EXERCISE 3
For this PDM,
a) Find the critical path
b) Find the duration of the critical path
c) Find the total number of paths
d) Find the duration of all non-critical paths
e) Find the float for each activity
(The activity duration is the number and the activity is the letter in each box.)
4
A
Start
5
D

1
C

3
B

2
G
End

6
F

4
E
4
H

2
I

EXERCISE 4
Draw an ADM diagram for this list of nodes:
NODE
START-1
1-2
1-4
2-3
START-5

DUMMY?
no
no
YES
YES
no

NODE
5-4
4-3
3-END
5-6
6-END

DUMMY?
no
no
no
no
no

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EXERCISE 5
For this ADM,
a) Find the critical path,
b) Find the duration of the critical path
c) Find the total number of paths
d) Find the duration of all non-critical paths

A
2 wks

B
3 wks

2
3

C
5 wks

F
1 wk

Start

E
4 wks

D
1 wk
5

End

4
G
5 wks

F
1 wk
6

EXERCISE 6
Draw an ADM diagram for this list of nodes:
ACTIVITY
START-A
START-B
A-C
B-C
B-E

ESTIMATE
3
9
3
DUMMY
2

ACTIVITY
C-D
C-E
E-END
D-END

ESTIMATE
2
1
4
2

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EXERCISE 7
For this ADM,
a) Find the critical path
b) Find the duration of the critical path
c) How many non-critical paths are there?
d) Find the duration of all non-critical paths
e) If the duration of Activity C-E changes to 2, what is the effect on the project?
f) What activity / activities must be completed before Activity C-D begins?
g) If management tells you to complete the project two weeks early, what is the project
float? Does the critical path change?

3 wks

2 wks
D

3 wks

2 wks

1 wk

End

Start
4 wks
9 wks

2 wks

EXERCISE 8
For this PDM,
a) Find all early start and early finish
b) Find all latest start and latest finish
(The activity duration is the number and the activity is the letter in each box.)

8
D

3
B
Start

3
A

4
E

End

6
C

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ANSWER QUESTION 1
D, figure out the dependencies between activities and create a network diagram because
analyzed the work means youve used decomposition and created an activity list. These are
both part of the Activity Definition process. And milestones that you need means its an input
youve seen before. So answer D describes Activity Sequencing, which happens after Activity
Definition and takes the Activity List and Milestone List as inputs.
Its not A, create the project schedule, because the Schedule Development process needs more
than an activity list and resource availability.
And not B, perform the activity definition process, since youve already done the Activity
Definition process as given in the question.
And not C, consult your project management plan to figure out how to handle any schedule
changes because you only do this during Schedule Control, but since theres no schedule yet,
theres nothing to control.

ANSWER QUESTION 2
B. Fast-tracking the project. She is starting a dependent activity before the predecessor has
finished. Fast tracking does not add cost. It adds risk.

ANSWER QUESTION 3
C. Crashing the schedule. She is bringing in more resources. Crashing always adds cost. It can
reduce but not eliminate risk.

ANSWER QUESTION 4
C. Crashing the schedule. She is bringing in more resources. Crashing always adds cost. It can
reduce risk but does not eliminate risk.

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ANSWER EXERCISE 1
Activity

14

27

47

41

60

39

29

All
e)

a) Expected
Duration
(P+4M+O)/6
28.167

b) Activity
Standard
Deviation
(P-O)/6
5.500

c) Activity
Variance
((P-O)/6))**2
30.250

89

61.667

8.000

64.000

44

48

43.833

1.500

2.250

37

42

36.500

2.167

4.694

170.167

10.060

101.194

d) Estimate
Range
22.667 to
33.667
53.667 to
69.667
42.333 to
45.333
34.333 to
38.667
160.107 to
180.226

170.167 = Sum of expected durations

101.194 = Sum of variances, so 10.060 = square root of 101.194

ANSWER EXERCISE 2
See the diagram for Exercise 3. You could not know the durations from the table, but the
diagram shows the correct dependencies.

ANSWER EXERCISE 3
a) Critical Path = START D E F G END
b) Duration of Critical Path = 5 + 4 + 6 + 2 = 17
c) Total Number of Paths = 3
d) Non-critical paths and durations:
1. START A B C G END, Duration: 4 + 3 + 1 + 2 = 10
2. START D H I END, Duration: 5 + 4 + 2 = 11
e) Float:
1. D, E, F, G = float 0
2. H, I = float 6
3. A,B,C = float 7
Calculating Float:
Critical Path (longest): Duration = 17, Float is always 0 for critical path

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#2 is second longest with duration = 11. D was already counted in critical path. Float for
remaining activities = critical path duration (17) minus this path duration (11) which is 6. So
Float for H and I is 6.
#1 is third longest with duration = 10. G was already counted in critical path. Float for
remaining activities = critical path duration (17) minus this path duration (10) which is 7. So
Float for A, B and C is 7.

Critical Path = 17,

Next longest path = 11
Float = 0
Float = critical-11 = 17-11 = 6
D,E,F,G
D,H,I
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I

0
0
0
0

Next longest path = 10

Float = critical-11 = 17-10 = 7
A,B,C,G
7
7
7

(already assigned column 1)

(already assigned column 1)
6
6

ANSWER EXERCISE 4
See the diagram for Exercise 5. You could not know the durations from the table, but the
diagram shows the correct dependencies.

ANSWER EXERCISE 5
a) Critical Path = START-5, 5- 4, 4-3, 3-END
b) Duration of Critical Path = 1 + 4 + 1 + 5 = 11
c) Total Number of Paths = 4
f) Non-critical paths and durations:
1. START-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-END
Duration: 2 + 3 + (dummy) + 5 = 10
2. START-1, 1-4, 4-3, 3-END
Duration: 2 + (dummy) + 1 + 5 = 8
3. START-5, 5-6, 6-END
Duration: 1 + 5 + 1 = 7

ANSWER EXERCISE 6
See the diagram for Exercise 7. This time you should be able to put in the durations.
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ANSWER EXERCISE 7
a) The critical path is START-B, B-E, E-END
b) Duration of critical path = 9 + 2 + 4 = 15
c) Total Number of Paths = 5 (Did you find all 5?)
d) Non-critical paths and durations
a. START-A, A-C, C-D, D-END, Duration: 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 = 10
b. START-A, A-C, C-E, E-END, Duration: 3 + 3 + 1 + 4 = 11
c. START-B, B-C, C-E, E-END, Duration: 9 + (dummy) + 1 + 4 = 14
d. START-B, B-C, C-D, D-END, Duration: 9 + (dummy) + 2 + 2 = 13
e) If C-E changes from 1 to 2, the critical path(s) and durations would be:
a. START-B, B-E, E-END, Duration: 15
b. START-B, B-C, C-E, E-END, Duration: 15
Yes, you can have more than one critical path. What is the effect on the project? The
project is riskier. Always check for a second or more critical path whenever you answer a
question that changes the critical path.
f) START-A, A-C, and START-B. Remember, B-C is a dummy, not an activity.
g) The project float is -2 and the critical path would not change. The question is about
PROJECT float. Project float compares the project length to an external due date.
There is an assumption on the exam that the project was on time before any situation
described in the exam question. At that time, there was a zero project float. Asking for a
due date 2 weeks sooner makes the project two weeks late, so you now have a -2 weeks
float. Yes, you can have a negative float if the project is behind an imposed external date,
or when an activity is late, etc.
ANWER EXERCISE 8
(The activity duration is the number and the activity is the letter in each box)
-

Critical path is the path with darker/thicker arrows

Upper left corner of box is earliest start (ES)
Upper right corner of box is earliest finish
Lower left corner of box is latest start
Lower left corner of box is latest finish
Float is Latest Earliest, either LS-ES or LF-EF.

ES |
| EF
Duration
Activity
Float
I start with 0 as the initial value from start so that
I end with the critical path value. Or you can
LS|
| LF
start with 1. Just be consistent.
3|

|6
3
B
0

3|

|6

6|

|14
8
D
0

6|

Page 9 of 10
|14

0|

|3
3
A
0

Start
0|

|3

3|

|9

14 | |18
4
E
0
14 | |18

End

6
C
5
8|

|14

Calculating Earliest values:

Start with critical path going forward, followed by other paths going forward
Calculate Earliest Start first, then Earliest Finish
ES = previous activity EF + previous activity float
EF = current activity ES + current activity duration
Activity Duration
A
3
B
3
D
8
E
4
C
6

Float
0
0
0
0
5

ES
Start = 0
EF(a) + F(a) = 3+0 = 3
EF(b) + F(b) = 6+0 = 6
EF(d) + F(d) = 14+0 = 14
EF(a) + F(a) = 3+0 = 3

EF
ES(a) + D(a) = 0+3 = 3
ES(b) + D(b) = 3+3 = 6
ES(d) + D(d) = 6+8 = 14
ES(e) + D(e) = 14+4 = 18
ES(c) + D(c) = 3+6 = 9

Calculating Latest values:

Start with critical path going backward, followed by other paths going backward
Calculate Latest Finish first, then Latest Start
LF = previous activity LS previous activity float
LS = current activity LF current activity duration
Activity Duration
E
4
D
8
B
3
A
3
C
6

Float
0
0
0
0
5

LF
End = 18
LS(e) F(e) = 14-0 = 14
LS(d) F(d) = 6-0 = 6
LS(b) F(b) = 3-0 = 3
LS(e) F(e) = 14-0 = 14

LS
LF(e) D(e) = 18-4 = 14
LF(d) D(d) = 14-8 = 6
LF(b) D(b) = 6-3 = 3
LF(a) D(a) = 3-3 = 0
LF(c) D(c) = 14-6 = 8

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