In PMP exam. most of the questions require little concentration to pick the right choice. While 25-30% questions drag you to battle with the provided options. How to tackle this situation to become a PMP in a first attempt?
First try to read the question carefully word by word from start to end. At least read the whole question for 2-3 times depending upon the complexity of the question. Then read the options from down to up. Never jump to a conclusion while staring at one option. Also, consider (It also works) to read the complete question first, followed by a quick scan of the options, then again read the question to have a clear idea. Let’s have a look into the following questions:
Q-1 In the past, you used bar charts when presenting project status to management because they are easy for everyone, even senior management, to understand. The project office issued a new procedure to project managers to prepare milestone charts and update them every two weeks. Unlike bar charts, Milestone charts show:
Schedule start or completion of major deliverables or key events
Expected durations
Dependencies
Activity start and end dates
Answer:
Schedule start or completion of major deliverables or key events
Why?
Apparently, it seems question belongs to ‘Quality Management Knowledge Area’, but the scenario is different after reading the whole question! Only the last sentence ‘Unlike bar charts, Milestone charts show’ is the actual question. While the rest of the question is to divert the attention. In order to justify why option ‘a’ is right? Let me explain the features of milestone:
It has Zero (0) duration +.
It shows start or completion of major deliverables or key events
It is used to communicate with top management regarding project status.
Only option ‘a’ fully satisfies the question so it is the correct answer.
Q-2 In the Monte Carlos technique, What is the Criticality Index?
The percent of time a given activity will be on a critical path
The sum of the duration of critical path activities divided by project expected
value of duration
The number of days the project will be late by the project duration
The percent of time an activity will be late
Answer:
The correct answer is option ‘a’.
It is a bit tricky question and requires exposure and experience of the Monte Carlos Technique to answer it. First, I would like to define what is Monte Carlos Technique and criticality index?
“Monte Carlos simulation (Technique) is used to have probabilistic output. It is widely used to determine overall project risk, risk impacts on the project activities and the probability of finishing the project on a specific or target date etc.”
“Criticality Index is mainly used in risk analysis. The Criticality Index of an activity can be expressed as a ratio (between 0 and 1) or expressed in percentage (0-100%). It is calculated by the Monte Carlo simulation software. It calculates how many times any critical activity remains or leaves the critical path for any given iteration.”
Criticality Index definition eradicates other options. Therefore, option ‘a’ is the right answer. Saving Changes...
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George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
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1 reply by Yasir Masood
May 05, 2016 10:42 PM
Yasir Masood
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