Achieve Success in the PMI PMI-SP Exam: A Detailed PMI Scheduling Professional Guide

Communication channels are paths of communication with stakeholders in a project. The number of communication channels shows the complexity of a project's communication and can be derived through the formula shown below: Total Number of Communication Channels = n (n-1)/2 where, n is the number of stakeholders. Hence, a project having five stakeholders will have ten communication channels. Putting the number of stakeholders in the formula we can get the required communication channel for the project. It is (80 x 79)/2 for 3,160 communication channels.

An activity is the effort needed to complete a work package. The activities are linked to the work packages in the WBS. An activity is the element of work performed throughout the various stages of a project. It is a group of people, communications, processes, and work items that correspond to a joint effort to achieve a goal. An activity is a way to manage the work collectively with others in any organization. The create WBS process identifies the deliverables at the lowest level in the WBS, called the work package. Project work packages are divided into smaller elements known as activities, which correspond to the work required to complete the work package.

Answer option D is incorrect. This is a definition of all the work that the project team and manager must complete in order to complete the total activity list.

Answer options A and C are incorrect. These are not valid definitions of an activity.

Project document updates are not an output of the Define Activities process. Project document updates are the outputs for estimate activity resources. Project document updates include the following:

Activity list

Activity attributes

Resource calendars

Answer option A is incorrect. The activity list is an output of the define activities process.

Answer option C is incorrect. The activity attributes is an output of the define activities process.

Answer option B is incorrect. The milestone list is an output of the define activities process.

The schedule performance index is found by dividing the earned value by the planned value. For Holly's project, it would be as follows:

SPI = EV/PV

= (0.85*9,850,400)/(0.95*9,850,400)

=8,372,840/9,357,880

=0.89

Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule efficiency on a project. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following formula:

SPI = Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)

If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target.

Answer option D is incorrect. Ten percent is not a valid calculation for this question.

Answer option B is incorrect. 0.98 is the cost performance index.

Answer option A is incorrect. 1.07 is the to-complete performance index based on the BAC.

The performance measurement baseline, which can be comprised of cost, scope, and schedule, is the foundation for creating a performance report.

Answer option B is incorrect. The scope baseline will only reflect the performance of the scope, whereas performance reports typically need scope, time, and cost as its foundation.

Answer option A is incorrect. Cost variances and the cost performance index are cost values that must be considered along with the scope performance and schedule performance.

Answer option D is incorrect. Only reporting performance on the schedule is not enough for a performance report. Laura should also report on scope and cost at a minimum.

Cost performance index (CPI) is used to calculate performance efficiencies. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. CPI is the ratio of earned value to actual cost. The CPI is calculated based on the following formula: CPI = Earned Value (EV) / Actual Cost (AC) If the CPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The CPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. In this instances it is $270,000 divided by $335,000 for a CPI of .81.

Answer option B is incorrect. .67 is actually the schedule performance index.

Answer option D is incorrect. -$65,000 is the cost variance for the project.

Answer option A is incorrect. -$135,000 is the schedule variance of the project.

A milestone is simply a significant point or event in the project. It does not have to be assigned to a specific date, but is usually assigned to the completion of project phases. A milestone is the end of a stage that marks the completion of a work package or phase, typically marked by a high level event such as completion, endorsement or signing of a deliverable, document or a high level review meeting. In addition to signaling the completion of a key deliverable, a milestone may also signify an important decision or the derivation of a critical piece of information, which outlines or affects the future of a project. In this sense, a milestone not only signifies distance traveled (key stages in a project) but also indicates direction of travel since key decisions made at milestones may alter the route through the project plan. To create a milestone, enter 0 (zero) in the Duration field. The task will automatically be classified as a milestone.

Answer option C is incorrect. This is a project constraint.

Answer option B is incorrect. A project goal is an objective for time, cost, scope, and other metrics.

Answer option D is incorrect. All activities must be completed in order to complete the project work. Activities that are not completed are quality issues that prevent the project from completing the project scope.

The Develop Project Charter process documents the formal authorization of a project or a phase. It also documents initial requirements that satisfy the stakeholder's needs and expectations. It is used to validate the decisions made during the previous iteration of the Develop Project Charter process. The various inputs of this process are as follows: Project statement of work

Business case

Contract

Enterprise environmental factors

Organizational process assets

The output of the Develop project Charter process is as follows:

Project charter

Answer option A is incorrect. Procurement document is the input of the Identify Stakeholders process.

The scheduling tool is the only other tool that can help Winnie to create an updated project schedule. The scheduling tool is used in combination with manual methods or further project management software to carry out the schedule network analysis to produce an updated project schedule.

Answer option A is incorrect. The critical path method can be analyzed, but it is a part of the project management information system. In addition, the critical path is not better or worse than the critical chain method so by having both answers among the choices both answers are cancelled.

Answer option D is incorrect. The critical chain method can be analyzed, but it is the part of the project management information system. In addition, the critical path is not better or worse than the critical path method so by having both answers among the choices both answers are cancelled.

Answer option B is incorrect. The schedule management plan may need to be referenced to create a new project schedule, but it is not a tool that Winnie can use.

he schedule variance can be found by subtracting the planned value form the earned value. In this instance, it is $2,025,000 minus $2,250,000. SV = 2,025,000 - 2,250,000 = -225,000 Schedule variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance on a project. The variance notifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target.

Answer option A is incorrect. This is the cost variance for the project.

Answer option B is incorrect. 13 percent is not a valid answer.

Answer option D is incorrect. This is not a valid variance for this question; variances are typically negative numbers.