1. Consider the expected cash flows from the following 5 projects.

Projects A, C, E are
mutually exclusive projects and Projects B and D are independent. Which of the following
projects should be selected, assuming a 10% discount rate?

A) B, C, D

B) B, D, E

C) C, D

D) A, B, E

 [Ans: A]

For mutually exclusive projects, the NPV (Net Present Value) method should be used for
evaluating projects. Specifically, the project with the highest NPV should be selected
amongst the mutually exclusive projects. Since Projects A, C, E are mutually exclusive,
Project C should be selected since it has the highest NPV ($1,148.58).

For projects which are independent, any project which has a positive NPV should be
selected. Since Projects B, D are independent, both Project B and Project D should be
selected since they both have positive NPV.

2. You have been recently hired to be a project manager at a bio-tech company to develop a
new drug to treat pancreatic cancer. This project requires significant coordination across multiple
departments, from R&D to Manufacturing.

You've attempt to gain the cooperation of the Chief Scientist (who reports to the V.P. of R&D)
within the R&D department. You need her assistance to answer some questions regarding the
clinical testing process of this new drug.

However, the Chief Scientist is un-interested in your project and provides little or no feedback to
your questions. Since your project is NOT one of her priorities, she's been rather unresponsive to
your questions.
What should you do in this situation?

A) Inform the VP of R&D of the performance issues. Establish the expectations of the Chief
Scientist by communicating your project requirements to the VP of R&D. Cooperation from the
VP of R&D is necessary in order to ensure performance from the Chief Scientist.

B) Communicate to the Chief Scientist that you'll be reporting her performance to the VP of
R&D at the completion of the project.

C) Clearly define and establish the Chief Scientist duties and communicate to her that you are
expecting her to meet expectations. Inform the Chief Scientist of the impact on lost customers
and declining company revenues if she misses her deadlines.

D) Negotiate with the VP of R&D to establish expectations of the Chief Scientist and request to
participate in the Chief Scientist's annual performance review.

 [Ans: D]

Many projects require team members from various departments in the organization to
work together on different aspects of the project. Unfortunately, resources can be scarce
when multiple projects are competing for the same resources. In such cases, team
members will likely remain loyal to their supervisor / functional manager.

Since the functional supervisor often writes the performance reviews, team members will
often have greater loyalty to the functional supervisor than to the project manager. In
order to remedy this, the project manager can negotiate with the functional supervisor in
contributing to the employee's performance review.

To say the least, it takes skillful, diplomatic abilities to navigate through the
organizational politics. Although project managers have little authority in functional
organizations, with the right knowledge, they can succeed at their projects.

3. You are the project manager at XYZ Software Corp, a U.S. software company developing
enterprise Human Resources Applications. You've been asked to reduce the Company's
engineering costs by developing an off-shore software development center.

Recently, the Senior VP of Engineering has expressed concerns over the project plan. His
concern is that if the project is implemented as planned, he'll have to layoff a substantial portion
number of US-based software engineers. The organizational impact of the layoffs is substantial
and was not taken into consideration during the project planning.

However, the project sponsor wants you to continue as originally planned. The project sponsor
insists that any deviation from the plan would result in poor product quality, and would cause
customers to suffer.

As the project manager, what should you do?

A) Since the impact of the layoffs was not taken into account during project planning, the project
should be indefinitely postponed until the impact can be thoroughly examined. The project plan
should be revised to accommodate for the organizational impact of the layoffs.

B) Based on the input from the Senior VP, you should file a change request item to adjust the
project plan accordingly.

C) The conflict between the project sponsor and Senior VP should be resolved in favor of the
project sponsor.

D) The conflict between the project stakeholders should be resolved in favor of the customer.

 [Ans: D]

Managing stakeholder expectations may be difficult because stakeholders often have very
different perspectives and objectives that may come into conflict. In general, differences
between or among stakeholders should be resolved in favor of the customer.

However, this does NOT mean that the needs of stakeholders should be disregarded.
Instead, a project manager should identify the stakeholders and assess their needs as early
as possible in the project.

4. You have been recently been assigned to provide an accurate project schedule for a large
construction project. You are evaluating the network diagram for the construction project.

Using Three Point Estimating techniques, your lead engineer has given you the following
completion estimates for several critical path activites, assuming a beta distribution model.
Based on the table below, which of the following statements are true?

A) There is approx. a 50 percent chance that the project will complete between 64 days and 78
days

B) There is approx. a 95 percent chance that the project will complete between 64 days and 78
days

C) There is approx. a 99 percent chance that the project will complete between 64 days and 78
days
D) There is approx. a 95 percent chance that the project will complete between 57 days and 85
days

 [Ans: D]

Three-Point Estimating is a technique for estimating and planning large projects. One of
its advantages is the ability to manage probabilities associated with the project. Three-
Point Estimating utilizies simple statistical mathematics in order to construct a
probability distribution for the completion dates of the project milestones.

Without getting too involved in the statistics and mathematics, a project will have a 68.26
percent chance of being completed within one standard deviation from the mean. The
project will have a 95.44 percent chance of being completed within two standard
deviation from the mean. And the project will have a 99.73 percent chance of being
completed within three standard deviation from the mean.

Specifically, to calculate the the probability distribution for the completion dates of the
project, one needs to calculate the expected value / mean and standard deviation for
the entire project.

The expected value / mean of the project is simply the sum of the individual expected
values for each of the activities.

Task A (EV)- 10.50 days

Task B (EV) - 41.50 days

Task C (EV) - 19.17 days

Total Expected Project Duration = 71.17 days

The standard deviation for the project can be calculated by calculating the standard
deviation of each activity, adding up the squares of each activity's standard deviation,
and then taking the square root of this sum.

Task A (SD Squared) = 4.69

 Task B(SD Squared) = 30.25

Task C(SD Squared) = 14.69

Total (SD Squared) = 49.64

Standard Deviation Of Project = SquareRoot (Total [SD Squared]) = SquareRoot

(49.64) = 7.04

Hence, there is a 68.26 percent that the project will complete in one standard deviation
from the mean, which is between 64.13 days (71.17-7.04) and 78.21 days (71.17 + 7.04)

There is a 95.44 percent that the project will complete in two standard deviations from
the mean, which is between 57.09 days (71.17 - (2*7.04)) and 85.25 days (71.17 +
(2*7.04))

There is a 99.73 percent that the project will complete in three standard deviations from
the mean, which is between 50.05 days (71.17 - (3*7.04)) and 92.29 days (71.17 +
(3*7.04))

5. Which of the following is the MOST effective tool to observe trends and results over a
specified period of time?

A) Control Chart

B) Run Chart

C) Gantt Chart

D) Scatter Diagram

 [Ans: B]

A run chart is a line graph that shows how a variable changes over a specified period of
time. For example, a run chart may show the seasonal period where employees take the
most vacation days off.
On the other hand, a control chart illustrates a chart with upper and lower control limits
on which values of some statistical measure for a series of samples or subgroups are
plotted. For example, a control chart may chart the volatility of a stock.

In contrast, a Gantt chart is a graphic display of the duration of a set of activities in a

project's cycle.
 Finally, a scatter diagram is a graph that shows the relationship between two variables
by showing individual results on the x axis and y axis as each incrementally changes. For
example, an organization might evaluate the correlation between their increasing stock
price and turnover rates to determine the value of options to employees.

6. One of your friends is a project manager at a computer security company. He is managing a

project for the development of a NAC (network admissions control) appliance that uses the
network infrastructure to enforce security policy compliance on all devices seeking to access
network computing resources, thereby limiting damage from emerging security threats. The
NAC appliance will provide rapid deployment with self-contained endpoint assessment, policy
management, and remediation services. The company had performed a similar project a couple
years ago.

This is a critical project for the company and he is under tremendous pressure to deliver the
project. Unfortunately, he is new to the company and the project is growing in size every day. He
is starting to feel overwhelmed by the project.

What is his BEST course of action?

A) Ask the previous project manager for assistance

B) Obtain the historical records and guidance from the PMO

C) Ask for additional resources from his supervisor

D) Contract with an outside vendor to provide the necessary technical expertise

 [Ans: B]

Although the project manager could perform any of the actions mentioned above, the
BEST course of action is to contact the PMO (Project Management Office) to obtain the
historical records and ask for guidance and assistance.

The PMO helps provide guidance, gathers and disseminates lessons learned, and can
provide resources for the project. By contacting the PMO, the project manager can
receive the assistance of other project managers and gather historical information for
similar projects.

On the other hand, asking the previous project manager for assistance is NOT the best
course of action. The previous project manager might not be an experienced mentor and
may not provide adequate advice or guidance.

Asking for additional resources from the supervisor is also NOT the best course of action.
Not enough information is available to determine whether additional resources are
required for the project.

Lastly, hiring an outside vendor to provide the necessary technical expertise is premature.
Not enough information is provided to determine whether additional technical expertise
is required for the project.

How to Prepare for Your Certification Exam

Do your palms start to sweat at the thought of taking a technical certification test? If that’s the
case, don’t fear: you’re in good company. Prepping for a test (especially your first one) is
intimidating for everyone. Here are some tips to help you get ready for the big day.

1. Take every practice test you can get your hands on.

I’ve taken many certification tests over the years, and in my opinion, this is the No. 1 thing you
can do to help your chances of passing.

Not only does working through practice tests reinforce your knowledge of the subject, it puts you
in an environment similar to what you’ll face on test day. You will start to understand how the
test-writers think, and see the way in which questions are asked.

Practice tests can be found in books, on CDs, and all over the Internet. Find them. Take them.
2. Time your tests.

You may not want to time your tests at first, but eventually, make it a habit. If you spend four
hours taking a practice test that you will only have two hours to do in the testing center, you’ll be
in for a big shock when you run out of time halfway through your exam.

Use a watch, kitchen timer, or your cell phone’s stopwatch function. Just make sure you do it.
Taking a test under time pressure is completely different than strolling through the test, making
sure you analyze each question for 10 minutes before deciding on an answer.

3. Use multiple prep methods.

Don’t rely on just one certification book. Go to forums on websites like certcities.com,
mcpmag.com and brainbuzz.com and talk to others who have taken the test recently. Find out
what their experience was like. Try out computer-based training from companies like CBT
Nuggets. Having multiple sources of information gives you a much better idea of what to expect.

4. Get plenty of sleep the night before the test.

Does this sound obvious? Well, you’d be surprised at how many people spend the night before a
certification test cramming, and show up at the test center bleary-eyed with their minds in a fog.

Studies have shown that being well-rested is a key factor in doing well on a test. Your mind is
clear and refreshed, and you can focus and concentrate better, and for longer. Cramming is good;
just do it in the days preceding the test, not the night before. That’s the time to recharge your
internal batteries to go out and ace the exam.

5. Find a study group.

Remember how well study groups worked in college? They work just as well when studying for
a certification exam. Find a group of fellow techies at work who might be working on the same
test and study during lunch, or on social sites like Craigslist. Also check out the forums on sites
from certification vendors like Microsoft, Cisco, Red Hat, CompTIA and others.

6. Don’t take the test until you’re ready.

What I mean by this is that you shouldn’t consider taking a certification exam until you have
real-world experience with the technology being tested. Are you trying for a certification like
CISSP? Make sure you have several years of daily security experience.

Potential employers can usually sniff out “paper” certification holders a mile away. Those are
certified individuals with no real-world experience; they passed the exam by studying books or
videos, or taking a class. Paper certification holders are not only unlikely to get hired -- if they do
somehow get a job, they’ll be completely unprepared to perform their job duties, because they’ve
never done it in a live environment.