PFQ knowledge

Question 1

1. The purpose of project management is to:

a) Organise management plans.
b) Keep all stakeholders happy.
c) Control change initiatives.
d) Effect beneficial change.

Answer 1

Effect beneficial change

Question 2

2. One difference between a project and business as usual is:

a) Projects achieve specified benefits but business as usual has only vague benefits.

b) Projects drive change whereas business as usual continues existing activities.

c) Projects have tightly controlled budgets whereas business as usual does not.

d) Projects have unclear deadlines but business as usual has multiple milestones.

Answer 2

Projects drive change whereas business as usual continues existing activities.

Question 3

Which of the following is a project?
a) Introducing a new information technology system.
b) Operating a national rail network.
c) Organising ongoing catering in the armed forces.
d) Managing day-to-day security for senior politicians.

Answer 3

Introducing a new information technology system.

Question 4

Portfolio management includes prioritising:
a) Projects and/or programmes that contribute directly to the organisation’s strategic objectives.
b) Projects with exceptionally high returns on investment.
c) Projects and programmes over business as usual.
d) Projects which maximise change over those which maximise investment.

Answer 4

Projects and/or programmes that contribute directly to the organisation’s strategic objectives.

Question 5

What is meant by the term programme management?

a) The management of a group of projects or activities that have a common business aim.
b) The line management of a team of programme managers.
c) The management of a functional area used by a number of different projects.
d) The management of the programme of activities identified in the project plan.

Answer 5

The management of a group of projects or activities that have a common business aim.

Question 6

Which one of the following best describes a programme?

a) A group of projects collected together that have a common purpose.
b) A group of projects collected together for management convenience.
c) A group of projects collected together because of their use of common resources.
d) A group of projects collected together because of their relationship to business-as-usual.

Answer 6

a) A group of projects collected together that have a common purpose.

Question 7

Which of the following best describes a project environment?

a) The type of organisation concerned with implementation.
b) The structured method used to control the project.
c) The context within which a project is undertaken.
d) An understanding of the risks involved in the project.

Answer 7

C. The context within which a project is undertaken.

Question 8

Which one of the following is NOT typically associated with a project’s context?

a) The issues and areas that matter to stakeholders.
b) Technical, social or political considerations.
c) The environment in which the project is being carried out.
d) The sequence and dependencies of activities.

Answer 8

d) The sequence and dependencies of activities.

Question 9

A project manager might use a PESTLE analysis in order to:

a) mitigate all possible risks to the project.
b) identify and mitigate factors that may affect the project.
c) control technological change during the project.
d) consider team social roles in early stages of the project.

Answer 9

b) identify and mitigate factors that may affect the project.

Question 10

Which of the following are phases in an iterative project life cycle? 1) Concept 2) Feasibility 3) Deployment 4) Development
a) 3 and 4 only
b) 1, 2 and 3
c) 1 and 2 only
d) 2, 3 and 4

Answer 10

d) 2, 3 and 4

Question 11

A project life cycle which combines approaches from the linear and iterative life cycles is known as _________ project life cycle. a) A hybrid.
b) An extended.
c) A reduced.
d) A combined.

Answer 11

b) an extended

Question 12

An extended project life cycle can be defined as:

a) An approach that adds operational and termination phases to a linear life cycle.
b) An approach that adds adoption and benefits realisation phases to a linear life cycle.
c) A framework for conducting a cost–benefit analysis once a project has closed.
d) A framework for ensuring the re-deployment of assets post project

Answer 12

b) An approach that adds adoption and benefits realisation phases to a linear life cycle.

Question 13

Which of the following is a responsibility of the project sponsor?

a) Creating a project cost breakdown structure.
b) Authoring the project management plan.
c) Creating a project work breakdown structure.
d) Owning the project business case

Answer 13

c) Creating a project work breakdown structure.

Question 14

Which of the following is the responsibility of a project manager?

a) Ensuring a project is aligned to the organisation’s strategy.
b) Focusing on project benefits and aligning priorities.
c) Achieving the project’s success criteria.
d) Improving process, tools and techniques used in a project.

Answer 14

c) Achieving the project’s success criteria.

Question 15

Which one of the following is a responsibility of the governance board?

a) To identify potential problems for the project team to solve
b) To provide strategic direction and guidance to the Project Sponsor
c) To manage the project team in all daily activities
d) To receive and consider daily reports from team members.

Answer 15

b) To provide strategic direction and guidance to the Project Sponsor

Question 16

Which of the following defines the term ‘deployment baseline’?

a) The starting point for creating a resource histogram.
b) The basis for creating an organisational breakdown structure.
c) The starting point for the monitoring of project risks.
d) The basis for progress monitoring.

Answer 16

d) The basis for progress monitoring.

Question 17

2. Which of the following is a purpose of an estimating funnel?

a) Keeping resource usage toa minimum to help reduce costs.
b) Supporting the production of comparative estimates.
c) Identifying where costs can be minimised when preparing a budget.
d) Representing increasing levels of estimating accuracy achieved through the life cycle.

Answer 17

d) Representing increasing levels of estimating accuracy achieved through the life cycle.

Question 18

Which of the following statements refers to how scope is managed in a linear project but not an iterative project?

a) Teams can act on new knowledge to change the scope.
b) Teams can re-prioritise requirements within the scope.
c) The scope of work is the starting point for the implementation of change control.
d) Scope definition is assumed to be fixed for the whole project.

Answer 18

d) Scope definition is assumed to be fixed for the whole project.

Question 19

The definition of benefits management includes which key activities?

a) Planning, analysis and integration of project benefits.
b) Justification, validation and acceptance of project benefits.
c) Identification, tracking and realisation of project benefits.
d) Realisation, acceptance and integration of project benefits.

Answer 19

c) Identification, tracking and realisation of project benefits.

Question 20

Establishing success criteria is important at the start of the project, as they:

a) Indicate how the stakeholder needs will be met.
b) Ensure adequate resource allocation.
c) Indicate what is important in supplier selection.
d) Ensure comprehensive risk analysis.

Answer 20

a) Indicate how the stakeholder needs will be met.

Question 21

One purpose of a typical project business case is to:

a) Carry out earned value analysis.
b) Allocate resources to the project.
c) Analyse cost–benefit of the project.
d) Plan project work packages.

Answer 21

c) Analyse cost–benefit of the project.

Question 22

Suppliers are stakeholders of a project management plan because they:

a) Contribute to the project’s procurement strategy.
b) Help satisfy the project’s resource requirements.
c) Provide acceptance certificates based on quality of resources supplied.
d) Determine the quality requirements of goods supplied.

Answer 22

b) Help satisfy the project’s resource requirements.

Question 23

Which one of the following best describes a project stakeholder?

a) A party who is concerned about the project going ahead.
b) A party with an interest or role in the project or is impacted by the project.
c) A party who has a vested interest in the outcome of the project.
d) A party who has a financial stake in the organisation managing the project.

Answer 23

b) A party with an interest or role in the project or is impacted by the project.

Question 24

Stakeholder analysis supports effective stakeholder engagement by:

a) Identifying stakeholders with high levels of power and interest.
b) Ensuring stakeholder acceptance of project deliverables.
c) Justifying the preferred project option to stakeholders.
d) Providing information to all stakeholders.

Answer 24

a) Identifying stakeholders with high levels of power and interest.

Question 25

Product breakdown structures illustrate the required scope of work by a hierarchical structure itemising the: a) Components of each product. b) Budget of each product. c) Benefits of each product. d) Risks of each product.

Answer 25

a) Components of each product.

Question 26

Which of the following is not a key element of project scope management? a) Define outputs. b) Identify outputs. c) Share outputs. d) Control outputs.

Answer 26

c) Share outputs

Question 27

A project manager would use a cost breakdown structure to produce: a) The cost of a do-nothing option. b) An analytical estimate. c) High-level project costs. d) A comparative estimate.

Answer 27

b) An analytical estimate.

Question 28

Which of the following is a part of change control? a) Requests for change are realised. b) Requests for change are mitigated. c) Requests for change are evaluated. d) Requests for change are resolve.

Answer 28

c) Requests for change are evaluated.

Question 29

Which of the following is an activity in a typical change control process? a) Recommendation. b) Justification. c) Planning. d) Continuous improvement.

Answer 29

a) Recommendation.

Question 30

Who is primarily responsible for ensuring the implementation of formal change control? a) Key stakeholders. b) The Project Manager. c) The Project Sponsor. d) The project team.

Answer 30

b) The Project Manager.

Question 31

Configuration management is best described as? a) Control in the implementation of changes to project schedules. b) An organisation to review proposed changes to the project deliverables. c) Quality control of project deliverables and documentation. d) The technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled change of the project deliverables.

Answer 31

d) The technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance and controlled change of the project deliverables.

Question 32

When an item goes through change control, which of the following must happen as part of a robust configuration management process? a) Costs associated with the change are evaluated and documented. b) Risks associated with the change are monitored to avoid delays to the project. c) The item is approved or declined in line with stakeholder expectations. d) Documents are updated to include any approved changes.

Answer 32

d) Documents are updated to include any approved changes.

Question 33

Which of the following is an activity in a typical configuration management process? a) Evaluation. b) Identification. c) Registration. d) Justification.

Answer 33

b) Identification.

Question 34

Which of the following statements about scheduling is false? a) Defines the sequence of activities. b) Considers work calendars and time contingency. c) Provides a baseline for safety considerations. d) Quantifies the required resources.

Answer 34

c) Provides a baseline for safety considerations.

Question 35

Which of the following is not an output of a critical path analysis? a) Total and free float. b) Earliest start time and latest finish time of activities. c) Project completion time. d) Cost–benefit analysis.

Answer 35

d) Cost–benefit analysis.

Question 36

The primary purpose of a milestone in a project is to show: a) Significant events. b) Resource constraints. c) Task dependencies. d) Critical path highlights

Answer 36

a) Significant events

Question 37

Which technique could be used by a project manager when resources are limited? a) Resource aggregation. b) Resource estimation. c) Resource levelling. d) Resource expansion.

Answer 37

c) Resource levelling.

Question 38

Which one of the following statements best describes resource scheduling? a) A process which identifies activities that will need project resources. b) A process to assign roles to project resources. c) A process that identifies when resources are needed. d) A process to estimate the project resources.

Answer 38

c) A process that identifies when resources are needed.

Question 39

Resource levelling seeks: a) To schedule activities within the limits of their float. b) To minimise the use of overtime and weekend working. c) Not to exceed the limits of resource available. d) To increase the resource availability.

Answer 39

c) Not to exceed the limits of resource available.

Question 40

Procurement strategy can be defined as the high-level approach for securing: a) Stakeholder engagement. b) Funding for the project. c) Buy in from the project sponsor. d) Goods and services required for the project.

Answer 40

d) Goods and services required for the project.

Question 41

Which one of the following is NOT considered in resource management? a) Identifying resources. b) Influencing resources. c) Assigning resources to activities. d) Matching resources to the schedule.

Answer 41

b) Influencing resources.

Question 42

Which one of the following would NOT typically be part of procurement? a) Estimating. b) Engagement of external suppliers. c) Definition of items to be acquired. d) Bidding.

Answer 42

a) Estimating.

Question 43

One purpose of risk management is to: a) Adapt the plan to resolve problems. b) Minimise threats and maximise opportunities. c) Continually improve the project teams’ efficiency. d) Manage variations in a controlled way.

Answer 43

b) Minimise threats and maximise opportunities.

Question 44

Which of the following is not a stage in an issue resolution process? a) Share the issue with stakeholders. b) Track the issue to closure. c) Escalate to the sponsor. d) Apply change control.

Answer 44

a) Share the issue with stakeholders.

Question 45

The purpose of a risk register is to provide a: a) Structured process for risk identification. b) Record of the ownership of risk and issue management actions. c) Means of assessing the likelihood and impact of all of the risks. d) Record of risks, their impact and the actions taken to manage them.

Answer 45

d) Record of risks, their impact and the actions taken to manage them.

Question 46

One aspect of quality planning is to: a) Plan the audit of a project to provide assurance to the project board. b) Provide confidence that a project will achieve its objectives in the required time frame. c) Specify the acceptance criteria used to validate the outputs are fit for purpose. d) Confirm routes for reporting to ensure effective communication.

Answer 46

c) Specify the acceptance criteria used to validate the outputs are fit for purpose.

Question 47

Which of the following defines quality? a) The fitness for purpose of outputs and processes. b) The value for money of a product. c) The satisfaction of the stakeholders. d) The thoroughness of the management plan.

Answer 47

a) The fitness for purpose of outputs and processes.

Question 48

The purpose of quality assurance is to: a) Provide confidence the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards. b) Determine a set of procedures and standards for project management. c) Inspect, measure and test deliverables and processes. d) Define the scope and specifics of a project’s deliverables.

Answer 48

a) Provide confidence the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.

Question 49

An important aim of a post-project review is to: a) Validate overall progress to date against the budget and schedule. b) Capture learning and document it for future usage. c) Ensure acceptance of all permanent documentation, signed by the sponsor. d) Establish that project benefits have been identified.

Answer 49

b) Capture learning and document it for future usage.

Question 50

The purpose of a decision gate is to decide whether: a) The response to a risk is valid. b) A project is viable in line with the business case. c) The project delivered against the success criteria. d) Lessons were effectively learned during the project.

Answer 50

b) A project is viable in line with the business case.

Question 51

The purpose of project progress reporting is to: a) Ensure a simpler critical path. b) Enable the tracking of project deliverables. c) Ensure stakeholder acceptance of project deliverables. d) Provide an increased total float.

Answer 51

b) Enable the tracking of project deliverables.

Question 52

One of the benefits of developing communication plans in projects is that this ensures: a) The power and influence of stakeholders is understood. b) That all communication is delivered face to face. c) Your message is understood. d) Clear reporting lines for the project.

Answer 52

c) Your message is understood.

Question 53

Communication includes: 1) Exchanging information 2) Managing stakeholders 3) Confirming there is a shared understanding 4) Building relationships within your team a) 2 and 3 only. b) 1 and 4 only. c) 1 and 3 only. d) 2 and 4 only.

Answer 53

c) 1 and 3 only.

Question 54

One advantage of virtual communications is: a) That nonverbal signals can have an impact on discussions. b) It is easy to detect signs of conflict within the project team. c) Access to a wider resource pool for the project. d) That the project team will always be co-located.

Answer 54

c) Access to a wider resource pool for the project.

Question 55

Which of the following define leadership? 1) Ability to establish vision and direction 2) Developing team skills that enhance project performance 3) Empowering and inspiring people to achieve success 4) Ability to influence and align others towards a common purpose a) 1, 2 & 4 b) 1, 2 & 3 c) 2, 3 & 4 d) 1, 3 & 4

Answer 55

d) 1, 3 & 4

Question 56

At which stage, in the Tuckman team development model, are team members clear and comfortable with their roles and responsibilities, and the project manager starts to see signs of the team working together? a) Storming. b) Forming. c) Norming. d) Performing.

Answer 56

c) Norming.

Question 57

A project manager requires a team member to focus on the team’s objectives and draw out other team members. Which of the Belbin’s team roles is most appropriate? a) Shaper. b) Monitor evaluator. c) Specialist. d) Co-ordinator.

Answer 57

d) Co-ordinator.