CNIT 480 EXAM 2 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+ 2026
Schedule Development - ANS Use results of the other time management processes (activity
definition, sequencing, estimating) to determine the start and end date of the project
Determines the planned start and completion dates for each activity listed on the WBS
Schedule Development deliverable - ANS project schedule
Tools used for schedule development - ANS o PERT
o Critical Path Method (CPM)
o Critical Chain Method (CCM)
o Resource Leveling
Schedule Benefits - ANS · Creates a consistent framework which can be followed from project
to project and during the execution of the project
· Illustrates the interdependencies of each activity on the WBS
· Facilitates communication within the project team and between the team and stakeholders
· Aides in the identification of "Critical" activities
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,· Aides the project manager to evaluate all alternatives and their impact when making
scheduling changes during the project
· Reduces the amount of resource scheduling conflicts
· Provides visibility to those tasks that can or must be run in parallel to keep the project on track
· Facilitates "what if" analysis (Mandatory/discretionary activities)
The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) - ANS · Developed by the U.S. Navy in
cooperation with the consulting firm Booz-Allen Hamilton for the Polaris missile/submarine
project in 1958 to help organize the activities of 11,000+ contractors
· Uses a weighted average approach or beta probability distribution to capture the three-point
estimates discussed in previous lecture (optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic) for activity
duration
· The weighted averages for each activity are added to the network diagram to show the start
dates and finish dates for each and the final project end date
Critical Path Method (CPM) - ANS · Uses the sequence and duration of activities to determine
the total project duration
· A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which
the project can be completed
· Produces two key pieces of information:
1) the amount of slack or also referred to as float for each activity in the schedule and
2) the longest path through the schedule or said another way - the shortest time the project can
be completed
Slack - ANS · The difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest
time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of the project
· In most projects of any size, there is typically one critical path which means that all of the
other paths have tasks with slack but,
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
,o Theoretically a project can have multiple critical paths
Free Slack - ANS The difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest
time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of any successor task
2 Method to Finding the Critical Path - ANS 1. Calculate slack for each activity on the WBS
using a network diagram, or
2. Find the longest path through the network diagram
Calculating ES, EF, LS, LF - ANS · The calculation is performed for each activity in two passes
through the entire network diagram for each path
o The first pass through starts at the begin node and moves to the end node through each path
calculating the ES and EF
o The second pass through starts at the end node and moves to the beginning node through
each path calculating LS and LF
· Those activities with zero slack are on the critical path
Critical Path Info - ANS · If one or more activities on the critical path takes longer than planed,
the whole project schedule will slip unless corrective action is taken
o Misconceptions:
§ The critical path is not the one with all the critical activities; it only accounts for time
§ The critical path(s) can change as the project progresses
Techniques for shortening a Project Schedule - ANS · Knowing the critical path helps you
make schedule trade-offs:
o Shortening durations of critical tasks by adding more resources or changing their scope
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
, o Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least
incremental cost
o Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or overlapping them
Importance of updating critical path data - ANS · The critical path may change as you enter
actual start and finish dates during project execution
· As soon as you know the project completion date will change, negotiate/communicate with
the project sponsor
Critical Chain Scheduling - ANS · Developed by Eliyahu Goldratt in his book The Goal
· Technique that addresses the challenge of meeting or beating project finish dates and an
application of the Theory of Constraints (time, resources, cost, scope, etc.), one aspect that
limits a project's ability to achieve more of its goals, looking for weakest links
· Critical chain is a method of scheduling that takes constraints into account when creating a
project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date unlike CPM which
is only based on time
Buffers and Critical Chain - ANS · A buffer is additional time to complete a task
· Murphy's Law states that if something can go wrong, it will, and Parkinson's Law states that
work expands to fill the time allowed. In traditional estimates, people often add a buffer and
use it if it's needed or not
· Critical chain schedule removes buffers from individual tasks and instead creates
o A project buffer, which is additional time added before the project's due date
o Feeding buffers, additional time added before tasks on the critical path
Critical Chain Scheduling - ANS · Powerful tool that involves:
o Critical path analysis
o Resource constraints, and
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
4
ANSWERS GRADED A+ 2026
Schedule Development - ANS Use results of the other time management processes (activity
definition, sequencing, estimating) to determine the start and end date of the project
Determines the planned start and completion dates for each activity listed on the WBS
Schedule Development deliverable - ANS project schedule
Tools used for schedule development - ANS o PERT
o Critical Path Method (CPM)
o Critical Chain Method (CCM)
o Resource Leveling
Schedule Benefits - ANS · Creates a consistent framework which can be followed from project
to project and during the execution of the project
· Illustrates the interdependencies of each activity on the WBS
· Facilitates communication within the project team and between the team and stakeholders
· Aides in the identification of "Critical" activities
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,· Aides the project manager to evaluate all alternatives and their impact when making
scheduling changes during the project
· Reduces the amount of resource scheduling conflicts
· Provides visibility to those tasks that can or must be run in parallel to keep the project on track
· Facilitates "what if" analysis (Mandatory/discretionary activities)
The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) - ANS · Developed by the U.S. Navy in
cooperation with the consulting firm Booz-Allen Hamilton for the Polaris missile/submarine
project in 1958 to help organize the activities of 11,000+ contractors
· Uses a weighted average approach or beta probability distribution to capture the three-point
estimates discussed in previous lecture (optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic) for activity
duration
· The weighted averages for each activity are added to the network diagram to show the start
dates and finish dates for each and the final project end date
Critical Path Method (CPM) - ANS · Uses the sequence and duration of activities to determine
the total project duration
· A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which
the project can be completed
· Produces two key pieces of information:
1) the amount of slack or also referred to as float for each activity in the schedule and
2) the longest path through the schedule or said another way - the shortest time the project can
be completed
Slack - ANS · The difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest
time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of the project
· In most projects of any size, there is typically one critical path which means that all of the
other paths have tasks with slack but,
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
,o Theoretically a project can have multiple critical paths
Free Slack - ANS The difference between the earliest time an activity can begin and the latest
time an activity can begin without changing the completion date of any successor task
2 Method to Finding the Critical Path - ANS 1. Calculate slack for each activity on the WBS
using a network diagram, or
2. Find the longest path through the network diagram
Calculating ES, EF, LS, LF - ANS · The calculation is performed for each activity in two passes
through the entire network diagram for each path
o The first pass through starts at the begin node and moves to the end node through each path
calculating the ES and EF
o The second pass through starts at the end node and moves to the beginning node through
each path calculating LS and LF
· Those activities with zero slack are on the critical path
Critical Path Info - ANS · If one or more activities on the critical path takes longer than planed,
the whole project schedule will slip unless corrective action is taken
o Misconceptions:
§ The critical path is not the one with all the critical activities; it only accounts for time
§ The critical path(s) can change as the project progresses
Techniques for shortening a Project Schedule - ANS · Knowing the critical path helps you
make schedule trade-offs:
o Shortening durations of critical tasks by adding more resources or changing their scope
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
, o Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least
incremental cost
o Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or overlapping them
Importance of updating critical path data - ANS · The critical path may change as you enter
actual start and finish dates during project execution
· As soon as you know the project completion date will change, negotiate/communicate with
the project sponsor
Critical Chain Scheduling - ANS · Developed by Eliyahu Goldratt in his book The Goal
· Technique that addresses the challenge of meeting or beating project finish dates and an
application of the Theory of Constraints (time, resources, cost, scope, etc.), one aspect that
limits a project's ability to achieve more of its goals, looking for weakest links
· Critical chain is a method of scheduling that takes constraints into account when creating a
project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date unlike CPM which
is only based on time
Buffers and Critical Chain - ANS · A buffer is additional time to complete a task
· Murphy's Law states that if something can go wrong, it will, and Parkinson's Law states that
work expands to fill the time allowed. In traditional estimates, people often add a buffer and
use it if it's needed or not
· Critical chain schedule removes buffers from individual tasks and instead creates
o A project buffer, which is additional time added before the project's due date
o Feeding buffers, additional time added before tasks on the critical path
Critical Chain Scheduling - ANS · Powerful tool that involves:
o Critical path analysis
o Resource constraints, and
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
4
