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IS333 MST Trial Answers 2017

Project management (The University of the South Pacific)

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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________

IS333: Project Management

Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment
School of Computing, Information and Mathematical
Sciences

TRIAL MST
SEMESTER 1 2017

Duration of Exam: 1 Hour and 50 Minutes

Reading Time: 10 minutes
Writing Time : 100 minutes
Total mark: 50

INSTRUCTIONS
 This exam has two sections:
o Section A : Multiple Choice - 12 marks
o Section B : Short Answer Questions - 38 marks
o
 Answer all questions in sections A and B. There are no choices.
 Answer multiple choice questions on the template provided.
 For section B write your answers in the space provided.
 You may use calculators. Programmable calculators however are NOT
allowed.


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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________


Section A

Q1) Multiple Choice Questions (12 marks)

(1) Activity A has an early start time of 12 and length of 8. Activity B

has an early start time of 14 and a length of 8. Activity C has an early
start time of 11 and a length of 10. Both of A and C activities are
immediate predecessors of Activity D, which has a length of 12. What
is the early finish time of Activity D?

A) 32

B) 33

C) 34

D) 35

Answer B

(2)The following are the normal and crash times and cost for an
activity.

Normal Time : 60 days, Crash Time = 45 days, Normal Cost = $6,500

and Crash Cost = $11,750. The crash cost per day is

A) $150
B) $250
C) $350
D) $450

Answer C

(3) Below is the AoA diagram for a project.

E=2
6 H=2
3

B=2 F=3 I=5

A=2
C=3 K=2
1 2 4 8 9
7

J=1
D=4 5 G=6

What is the project completion time?

A) 10
B) 12

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C) 14
D) 16
E) 18

Answer D

Consider the following project:

Activity Immediate Optimistic Most likely Pessimistic

predecessor(s) time (days) time (days) time (days)

A - 7 11 9
B - 6 8 10
C A, B 4 6 8
D B 3 7 11
E C, D 1 4 13

Table 1 - Time Estimates

(4) Using the data in Table 1 to calculate the expected time and variance for each activity,
which of the following statements is true?
A) The expected time for activity C is 10.00.
B) The variance for activity D is 1.87.
C) The largest expected time occurs for activity B.
D) The largest variance is for activity E.

Answer E

(5) Using the data in Table 1, what is the total project duration?
A) 19
B) 20
C) 21
D) 22

Answer C

(6) For the project given in Table 1, what is the critical path?
A) B-C-E
B) A-C-E
C) B-D-E
D) A-D-E

Answer B

Suppose we had a project with 9 activities, as illustrated in table 2.

Duration (weeks) Predecessor

Activity Activity

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A 1 -
B 2 -
C 3 -
D 4 A
E 5 B
F 6 B
G 6 A,C
H 6 D,E
i 2 G
J 3 F,H,T

Tas
k
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
d

(7) The critical path of the above project is

A) C-F-H-I
B) B-F-G-I
C) B-E-H-J
D) C-G-I-J

Answer C

(8) The float of activity C is

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3

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D) 4

Answer B

(9) Activity with the highest float is

A) A
B) C
C) D
D) F
E) G

Answer D

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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________

(10) Which of the activities described in the table below could be delayed by the highest
amount of time without delaying the completion of the project ?

Table 3

Activity Time ES EF LS LF
A 4 0 4 8 12
B 5 0 5 0 5
C 3 4 7 10 13
D 8 5 13 5 13
E 3 5 8 14 17
F 2 13 15 17 19
G 5 13 18 16 21
H 2 12 14 17 19

A) A
B) C
C) E
D) G
E) H

Answer C

11) A(n) ____ is a good tool for monitoring the progress of a project as it moves along.
A. entity‐relationship diagram (ERD)
B. work breakdown structure
C. Gantt chart
D. Requirements breakdown structure

Answer C

12) Which of the following statements regarding PERT times is true?

A) Optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
B) Optimistic time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.
C) The probable time estimate is calculated as t = (a + 4m + b)/6.
D) Pessimistic time estimate is an estimate of the minimum time an activity will require.
E) Most likely time estimate is an estimate of the maximum time an activity will require.

Answer A

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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________

Q2 Network Diagrams and Critical Path Analysis (14 Marks)

a) Draw an AoA diagram representing the following logic: (3 marks)

As the project starts, activities A and B can be performed concurrently. When activity A is finis
hed,
activities C and D can start. When activity B is finished, activities E and F can start. When acti
vities D and
E are finished, activity G can start. The project is complete when activities C, F and G are finis
hed.

A small IT department has been asked to set up an online enquiry database system. The IT
manager (who will act as project manager) has drawn up an initial plan of the work involved:
Activity Weeks

A elicit requirements from the intended users, and draw up a specification 3

B design the underlying database 2
C build and test the input and data validation software 7
D build and test the enquiry software 5
E build and test the reports software 4
F integration testing 2
G write the user manuals 3
H system testing by the end users 2

Task B must follow A

Tasks C, D and E can run concurrently, but must follow B
Tasks F and G can run concurrently, but cannot start until all three tasks C, D and E have been
completed
H must follow tasks F and G

b) Draw an Activity on Node network diagram for this project, showing the earliest and latest
start and finish dates, and the float, for each node. Use week numbers as the time units.
(8 marks)

c) Highlight the critical path on the diagram and state the minimum duration for the project.
(3 marks)

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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________

Question 3: Project Scheduling Using PERT (12 marks)

Consider the following project:

Activity Immediate Optimistic Most likely Pessimistic

predecessor(s) time (days) time (days) time (days)

A - 4 5 6
B - 3 6 9
C A 2 4 6
D A 1 3 5
E A 1 1 1
F E 2 4 6
G D,F 10 14 18
H B,C 8 12 16
I G,H 1 2 3

(a) Draw an activity on arrow (AOA) network to represent this project. Display the expected time
and variance of the activities along the arrows (5 marks)

(b) Identify all project paths and their lengths. Determine the critical path(s). What is the expected
project completion time and its variance? (3 marks)

Activity b-a Expected Variance

time (days)

A 2 5 0.11
B 6 6 1
C 4 4 0.44
D 4 3 0.44
E 0 1 0
F 4 4 0.44
G 8 14 1.78
H 8 12 1.78
I 2 2 0.11

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The project completion time = 26 weeks
The variance = 0.11+0+0.44+1.78+0.11 = 2.44

(c) By making use of the N(0,1) tables provided calculate:

I. The probability that the project will be completed within 30 days. (2 marks)

II. By what date is management 95 percent sure completion will occur? (2 marks)

Question 13: Project Crashing 8 marks)

Suppose we had a project with 9 activities, as illustrated in table 2. The table also shows our
calculated normal activity durations and costs and crashed durations and their costs. Assume
the project cost listed includes both fixed and variable costs for each activity. The project has
the network diagram shown in Figure 1.

Activity Crash Norma Crash Normal Crash

Norma Time l Cost Cost Duration Cost Duration Cost
l Time
A 4 days 0 days $50 -
B 5 days 2 days $70 $220
C 5 days 4 days $80 $120
D 4 days 2 days $40 $120
E 5 days 3 days $60 $150
F 5 days 4 days $50 $90
G 4 days 3 days $79 $100
H 4 days 3 days $80 $110
I 3 days 0 days $50 -

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Name: ________________________ID Number: __________

Table 2

Figure 1 – Network Diagram

(i) Calculate the crash cost per day for each activity (3.5 marks).

Activity Crashing Cost (per day)

A -
B 50
C 40
D 40
E 45
F 40
G 30
H 30
I -

ii) How fast can the project be completed considering normal time and what would be the
total cost? (1.5 marks)
Specify the critical path(s).
21 days
$550.00
Critical Paths
A-B-F-G-I
A-C-E-H-I

iii) To crash the project one day, what activity(s) would be crashed, and what would it cost?
(2 marks )

To Crash for one day

Activities G and H, with a cost of $60.00 (30+30)

iv) If there is a bonus of $100 per day for finishing early, how fast would the project be
completed before the crash cost per days starts exceeding the bonus per day? What will be
your profit? (5 marks)

For the Second Day:

Crash F
Crash C
Total cost: $80.00 (40 + 40)

For the third day

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Crash B
Crash E
Total cost: $95.00 (50 + 45)

Total crash cost over 3 days: 235 (60+80+95)

Project is to be completed in 18 days.
Bonus 300
Profit: 65.00

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