Certified Associate in Project Management (PMI-100) v1.0 (CAPM)

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Total 1155 questions

Which process determines the risks that may affect the project and documents their characteristics?

  • A. Control Risks
  • B. Plan Risk Management
  • C. Plan Risk Responses
  • D. Identify Risks

Answer : D


Process: 11.2 Identify Risks -
Definition: The process of determining which risks may affect the project and documenting their characteristics.
Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is the documentation of existing risks and the knowledge and ability it provides to the project team to anticipate events.

Inputs -
1. Risk management plan
2. Cost management plan
3. Schedule management plan
4. Quality management plan
5. Human resource management plan
6. Scope baseline
7. Activity cost estimates
8. Activity duration estimates
9. Stakeholder register
10.Project documents
11.Procurement documents
12.Enterprise environmental factors
13.Organizational process assets

Tools & Techniques -
1. Documentation reviews
2. Information gathering techniques
3. Checklist analysis
4. Assumptions analysis
5. Diagramming techniques
6. SWOT analysis
7. Expert judgment

Outputs -
1. Risk register Risk Register
The primary output from Identify Risks is the initial entry into the risk register. The risk register is a document in which the results of risk analysis and risk response planning are recorded. It contains the outcomes of the other risk management processes as they are conducted, resulting in an increase in the level and type of information contained in the risk register over time. The preparation of the risk register begins in the Identify Risks process with the following information, and then becomes available to other project management and risk management processes:
✑ List of identified risks. The identified risks are described in as much detail as is reasonable. A structure for describing risks using risk statements may be applied, for example, EVENT may occur causing IMPACT, or If CAUSE exists, EVENT may occur leading to EFFECT. In addition to the list of identified risks, the root causes of those risks may become more evident. These are the fundamental conditions or events that may give rise to one or more identified risks. They should be recorded and used to support future risk identification for this and other projects.
✑ List of potential responses. Potential responses to a risk may sometimes be identified during the Identify Risks process. These responses, if identified in this process, should be used as inputs to the Plan Risk Responses process.

An example of a group decision-ma king technique is:

  • A. Nominal group technique.
  • B. Majority.
  • C. Affinity diagram.
  • D. Multi-criteria decision analysis.

Answer : B

A risk response strategy in which the project team shifts the impact of a threat, together with ownership of the response, to a third party is called:

  • A. mitigate
  • B. accept
  • C. transfer
  • D. avoid

Answer : C

Explanation: Strategies for Negative Risks or Threats
Three strategies, which typically deal with threats or risks that may have negative impacts on project objectives if they occur, are: avoid, transfer, and mitigate. The fourth strategy, accept, can be used for negative risks or threats as well as positive risks or opportunities. Each of these risk response strategies have varied and unique influence on the risk condition. These strategies should be chosen to match the riskג€™s probability and impact on the projectג€™s overall objectives. Avoidance and mitigation strategies are usually good strategies for critical risks with high impact, while transference and acceptance are usually good strategies for threats that are less critical and with low overall impact. The four strategies for dealing with negative risks or threats are further described as follows:
✑ Avoid. Risk avoidance is a risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to eliminate the threat or protect the project from its impact. It usually involves changing the project management plan to eliminate the threat entirely. The project manager may also isolate the project objectives from the riskג€™s impact or change the objective that is in jeopardy. Examples of this include extending the schedule, changing the strategy, or reducing scope. The most radical avoidance strategy is to shut down the project entirely. Some risks that arise early in the project can be avoided by clarifying requirements, obtaining information, improving communication, or acquiring expertise.
✑ Transfer. Risk transference is a risk response strategy whereby the project team shifts the impact of a threat to a third party, together with ownership of the response. Transferring the risk simply gives another party responsibility for its managementג€"it does not eliminate it. Transferring does not mean disowning the risk by transferring it to a later project or another person without his or her knowledge or agreement. Risk transference nearly always involves payment of a risk premium to the party taking on the risk. Transferring liability for risk is most effective in dealing with financial risk exposure. Transference tools can be quite diverse and include, but are not limited to, the use of insurance, performance bonds, warranties, guarantees, etc. Contracts or agreements may be used to transfer liability for specified risks to another party. For example, when a buyer has capabilities that the seller does not possess, it may be prudent to transfer some work and its concurrent risk contractually back to the buyer. In many cases, use of a cost-plus contract may transfer the cost risk to the buyer, while a fixed-price contract may transfer risk to the seller.
✑ Mitigate. Risk mitigation is a risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to reduce the probability of occurrence or impact of a risk. It implies a reduction in the probability and/or impact of an adverse risk to be within acceptable threshold limits. Taking early action to reduce the probability and/or impact of a risk occurring on the project is often more effective than trying to repair the damage after the risk has occurred. Adopting less complex processes, conducting more tests, or choosing a more stable supplier are examples of mitigation actions. Mitigation may require prototype development to reduce the risk of scaling up from a bench-scale model of a process or product. Where it is not possible to reduce probability, a mitigation response might address the risk impact by targeting linkages that determine the severity. For example, designing redundancy into a system may reduce the impact from a failure of the original component.
✑ Accept. Risk acceptance is a risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and not take any action unless the risk occurs.
This strategy is adopted where it is not possible or cost-effective to address a specific risk in any other way. This strategy indicates that the project team has decided not to change the project management plan to deal with a risk, or is unable to identify any other suitable response strategy. This strategy can be either passive or active. Passive acceptance requires no action except to document the strategy, leaving the project team to deal with the risks as they occur, and to periodically review the threat to ensure that it does not change significantly. The most common active acceptance strategy is to establish a contingency reserve, including amounts of time, money, or resources to handle the risks.

An output of the Plan Quality Management process is:

  • A. A process improvement plan.
  • B. Quality control measurements.
  • C. Work performance information.
  • D. The project management plan.

Answer : A

Process: 8.1 Plan Quality Management
Definition: The process of identifying quality requirements and/or standards for the project and its deliverables and documenting how the project will demonstrate compliance with quality requirements and/or standards.
Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how quality will be managed and validated throughout the project.

Inputs -
1. Project management plan
2. Stakeholder register
3. Risk register
4. Requirements documentation
5. Enterprise environmental factors
6. Organizational process assets

Tools & Techniques -
1. Cost-benefit analysis
2. Cost of quality
3. Seven basic quality tools
4. Benchmarking
5. Design of experiments
6. Statistical sampling
7. Additional quality planning tools
8. Meetings

Outputs -
1. Quality management plan
2. Process improvement plan
3. Quality metrics
4. Quality checklists
5. Project documents updates

A project manager should document the escalation path for unresolved project risks in the:

  • A. Change control plan
  • B. Stakeholder register
  • C. Risk log
  • D. Communications management plan

Answer : D

Explanation: Communications Management Plan
The communications management plan is a component of the project management plan that describes how project communications will be planned, structured, monitored, and controlled. The plan contains the following information:
✑ Stakeholder communication requirements;
✑ Information to be communicated, including language, format, content, and level of detail;
✑ Reason for the distribution of that information;
✑ Time frame and frequency for the distribution of required information and receipt of acknowledgment or response, if applicable;
✑ Person responsible for communicating the information;
✑ Person responsible for authorizing release of confidential information;
✑ Person or groups who will receive the information;
✑ Methods or technologies used to convey the information, such as memos, e-mail, and/or press releases;
✑ Resources allocated for communication activities, including time and budget;
✑ Escalation process identifying time frames and the management chain (names) for escalation of issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff level;
✑ Method for updating and refining the communications management plan as the project progresses and develops;
✑ Glossary of common terminology;
✑ Flow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows with possible sequence of authorization, list of reports, and meeting plans, etc.; and
✑ Communication constraints usually derived from a specific legislation or regulation, technology, and organizational policies, etc.
The communications management plan can also include guidelines and templates for project status meetings, project team meetings, e-meetings, and e-mail messages. The use of a project website and project management software can also be included if these are to be used in the project

Which process in Project Time Management includes reserve analysis as a tool or technique?

  • A. Estimate Activity Resources
  • B. Sequence Activities
  • C. Estimate Activity Durations
  • D. Develop Schedule

Answer : C

Process: 6.5 Estimate Activity Durations
Definition: The process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.
Key Benefit: The key benefit of this process is that it provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete, which is a major input into the Develop
Schedule process.

Inputs -
1. Schedule management plan
2. Activity list
3. Activity attributes
4. Activity resource requirements
5. Resource calendars
6. Project scope statement
7. Risk register
8. Resource breakdown structure
9. Enterprise environmental factors
10.Organizational process assets

Tools & Techniques -
1. Expert judgment
2. Analogous estimating
3. Parametric estimating
4. Three-point estimating
5. Group decision-making techniques
6. Reserve analysis

Outputs -
1. Activity duration estimates
2. Project documents updates Reserve Analysis
Duration estimates may include contingency reserves, sometimes referred to as time reserves or buffers, into the project schedule to account for schedule uncertainty. Contingency reserves are the estimated duration within the schedule baseline, which is allocated for identified risks that are accepted and for which contingent or mitigation responses are developed. Contingency reserves are associated with the ג€known-unknowns,ג€ which may be estimated to account for this unknown amount of rework.
As more precise information about the project becomes available, the contingency reserve may be used, reduced, or eliminated. Contingency should be clearly identified in schedule documentation.
Estimates may also be produced for the amount of management reserve of time for the project. Management reserves are a specified amount of the project duration withheld for management control purposes and are reserved for unforeseen work that is within scope of the project. Management reserves are intended to address the ג€unknown-unknownsג€ that can affect a project. Management reserve is not included in the schedule baseline, but it is part of the overall project duration requirements. Depending on contract terms, use of management reserves may require a change to the schedule baseline.

Which risk management strategy seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with a particular upside risk by ensuring that the opportunity is realized?

  • A. Enhance
  • B. Share
  • C. Exploit
  • D. Accept

Answer : C

Explanation: Strategies for Positive Risks or Opportunities
Three of the four responses are suggested to deal with risks with potentially positive impacts on project objectives.
The fourth strategy, accept, can be used for negative risks or threats as well as positive risks or opportunities. These strategies, described below, are to exploit, share, enhance, and accept.
✑ Exploit. The exploit strategy may be selected for risks with positive impacts where the organization wishes to ensure that the opportunity is realized. This strategy seeks to eliminate the uncertainty associated with a particular upside risk by ensuring the opportunity definitely happens. Examples of directly exploiting responses include assigning an organizationג€™s most talented resources to the project to reduce the time to completion or using new technologies or technology upgrades to reduce cost and duration required to realize project objectives.
✑ Enhance. The enhance strategy is used to increase the probability and/or the positive impacts of an opportunity. Identifying and maximizing key drivers of these positive-impact risks may increase the probability of their occurrence. Examples of enhancing opportunities include adding more resources to an activity to finish early.
✑ Share. Sharing a positive risk involves allocating some or all of the ownership of the opportunity to a third party who is best able to capture the opportunity for the beneft of the project. Examples of sharing actions include forming risk-sharing partnerships, teams, special-purpose companies, or joint ventures, which can be established with the express purpose of taking advantage of the opportunity so that all parties gain from their actions.
✑ Accept. Accepting an opportunity is being willing to take advantage of the opportunity if it arises, but not actively pursuing it.

Payback period, return on investment, internal rate of return, discounted cash flow, and net present value are all examples of:

  • A. Expert judgment.
  • B. Analytical techniques.
  • C. Earned value management.
  • D. Group decision-making techniques.

Answer : B

Explanation: Analytical Techniques
Developing the cost management plan may involve choosing strategic options to fund the project such as: self-funding, funding with equity, or funding with debt. The cost management plan may also detail ways to finance project resources such as making, purchasing, renting, or leasing. These decisions, like other financial decisions affecting the project, may affect project schedule and/or risks.
Organizational policies and procedures may influence which financial techniques are employed in these decisions. Techniques may include (but are not limited to): payback period, return on investment, internal rate of return, discounted cash flow, and net present value.

The definition of when and how often the risk management processes will be performed throughout the project life cycle is included in which risk management plan component?

  • A. Timing
  • B. Methodology
  • C. Risk categories
  • D. Budgeting

Answer : A

Explanation: Risk Management Plan
The risk management plan is a component of the project management plan and describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed. The risk management plan includes the following:
✑ Methodology. Defines the approaches, tools, and data sources that will be used to perform risk management on the project.
✑ Roles and responsibilities. Defines the lead, support, and risk management team members for each type of activity in the risk management plan, and clarifes their responsibilities.
✑ Budgeting. Estimates funds needed, based on assigned resources, for inclusion in the cost baseline and establishes protocols for application of contingency and management reserves.
✑ Timing. Defines when and how often the risk management processes will be performed throughout the project life cycle, establishes protocols for application of schedule contingency reserves, and establishes risk management activities for inclusion in the project schedule.

When a backward pass is calculated from a schedule constraint that is later than the early finish date that has been calculated during a forward pass calculation, this causes which type of total float?

  • A. Negative
  • B. Zero
  • C. Positive
  • D. Free

Answer : C

A reward can only be effective if it is:

  • A. Given immediately after the project is completed.
  • B. Something that is tangible.
  • C. Formally given during project performance appraisals.
  • D. Satisfying a need valued by the individual.

Answer : D

Which tool or technique allows a large number of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis?

  • A. Nominal group technique
  • B. Idea/mind mapping
  • C. Affinity diagram
  • D. Brainstorming

Answer : C

Explanation: Group Creativity Techniques
Several group activities can be organized to identify project and product requirements. Some of the group creativity techniques that can be used are:
✑ Brainstorming. A technique used to generate and collect multiple ideas related to project and product requirements. Although brainstorming by itself does not include voting or prioritization, it is often used with other group creativity techniques that do.
✑ Nominal group technique. A technique that enhances brainstorming with a voting process used to rank the most useful ideas for further brainstorming or for prioritization.
✑ Idea/mind mapping. A technique in which ideas created through individual brainstorming sessions are consolidated into a single map to reflect commonality and differences in understanding, and generate new ideas.
✑ Affinity diagram. A technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis.
✑ Multicriteria decision analysis. A technique that utilizes a decision matrix to provide a systematic analytical approach for establishing criteria, such as risk levels, uncertainty, and valuation, to evaluate and rank many ideas.

Using values such as scope, cost, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous similar project as the basis for estimating the same parameter or measurement for a current project describes which type of estimating?

  • A. Bottom-up
  • B. Parametric
  • C. Analogous
  • D. Three-point

Answer : C

Sending letters, memos, reports, emails, and faxes to share information is an example of which type of communication?

  • A. Direct
  • B. Interactive
  • C. Pull
  • D. Push

Answer : D

Explanation: Communication Methods
There are several communication methods that are used to share information among project stakeholders.
These methods are broadly classifed as follows:
✑ Interactive communication. Between two or more parties performing a multidirectional exchange of information. It is the most effcient way to ensure a common understanding by all participants on specified topics, and includes meetings, phone calls, instant messaging, video conferencing, etc.
✑ Push communication. Sent to specific recipients who need to receive the information. This ensures that the information is distributed but does not ensure that it actually reached or was understood by the intended audience. Push communications include letters, memos, reports, emails, faxes, voice mails, blogs, press releases, etc.
✑ Pull communication. Used for very large volumes of information, or for very large audiences, and requires the recipients to access the communication content at their own discretion. These methods include intranet sites, e-learning, lessons learned databases, knowledge repositories, etc.
The choices of communication methods that are used for a project may need to be discussed and agreed upon by the project stakeholders based on communication requirements; cost and time constraints; and familiarity and availability of the required tools and resources that may be applicable to the communications process.

Which earned value management (EVM) metric is a measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources expressed as a ratio of earned value (EV) to actual cost
(AC) and is considered a critical EVM metric?

  • A. Cost variance (CV)
  • B. Cost performance index (CPI)
  • C. Budget at completion (BAC)
  • D. Variance at completion (VAC)

Answer : B


CPI = EV / AC -

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Total 1155 questions