Microsoft Project Certification Exam – Quiz 01

In Microsoft Project, to filter the tasks and show only the critical tasks, you go to the View tab, click on “Filter,” and select “Critical.” This filters the tasks in the Gantt Chart to display only those tasks that are critical. Understanding how to navigate and customize views is essential for effective project management, allowing the project manager to focus on crucial aspects of the project.

Setting up the Project Calendar is crucial as it defines the working days, hours, and non-working days for the project. This calendar affects how tasks are scheduled and how resources are allocated. The Project Start Date and Task Mode can be set later, but the calendar must be established first to ensure accurate scheduling from the beginning.

Creating a “New Project from Template” allows Emily to use an existing template that includes predefined tasks, resources, and settings that match the previous project. This saves time and ensures consistency in project setup. Templates can be customized and reused for similar projects, making them a valuable tool for project managers.

Creating a resource calendar for each team member allows David to specify the working hours and non-working times for each individual, accommodating different time zones. This ensures accurate scheduling and resource allocation based on each team member’s availability. Project calendars set overall project timelines, but resource calendars are necessary for handling diverse work schedules.

Summary Tasks allow Maria to organize tasks into phases and sub-phases. Summary Tasks can group related tasks together, making it easier to manage and report on different sections of the project. Using Summary Tasks enhances clarity and provides a hierarchical structure that simplifies tracking and analysis.

Finish-to-Start (FS) is the most common type of dependency where Task B (the successor) cannot start until Task A (the predecessor) has finished. This type of dependency ensures that tasks are sequenced correctly based on their logical relationships, which is essential for accurate scheduling and project planning.

The “Finish No Later Than” (FNLT) constraint ensures that the task is scheduled to finish on or before the specified date. This helps in managing critical tasks and ensuring that deadlines are met without compromising the project schedule. Using constraints effectively allows project managers to enforce important deadlines while maintaining flexibility for other tasks.

In Microsoft Project, staff (people) should be assigned as Work Resources, while equipment should be categorized as Material Resources. Work Resources are used for tasks requiring human effort, and Material Resources are used for physical items consumed during the project. Correctly categorizing resources ensures accurate tracking and management.

Creating individual Resource Calendars for each part-time team member allows Jessica to accurately define their availability. This ensures that the project schedule reflects the actual working hours of each team member, preventing overallocation and scheduling conflicts. Resource Calendars are crucial for managing diverse availability within a project.

Configuring the Project Calendar is essential as it defines the default working and non-working days for the entire project. This setting impacts how tasks are scheduled and how resources are allocated. Ensuring that the Project Calendar aligns with organizational standards is a foundational step in setting up the project environment.

Reassigning tasks to other available resources who have the required skills (option b) is the best approach to manage resource over-allocation without extending the project timeline. This method helps balance the workload among team members and ensures the project remains on schedule. Increasing work hours (option a) can lead to burnout, splitting tasks (option c) might not always be feasible, and reducing the project scope (option d) is often not acceptable.

Setting a baseline in Microsoft Project is done using the “Set Baseline” feature under the Project tab (option C). This creates a snapshot of the project’s current state, including task start and finish dates, durations, and costs, allowing you to track progress and variances over time. Saving the project file, taking a screenshot, or creating a report does not provide the same functionality for ongoing performance comparison.

Updating the tasks’ percent complete in the Tracking Gantt view (option c) is the most efficient method. This view allows you to see both the planned and actual progress side by side, making it easier to make accurate updates. Manually adjusting task bars (option a) can be error-prone, and entering dates directly (option b) may not accurately reflect the progress. The Task Update feature (option d) is useful but not as comprehensive as the Tracking Gantt view.

The Cost Table in Gantt Chart view (option b) is the best feature to identify tasks contributing to cost variances. It provides detailed information on planned, actual, and remaining costs for each task, helping to pinpoint where the overspending is occurring. The Resource Sheet (option a) shows resource-related information, the WBS (option c) is a hierarchical decomposition of the project scope, and the Network Diagram (option d) focuses on task sequencing.

The Tracking Gantt view (option c) is specifically designed to compare the baseline plan with actual progress. It visually displays baseline start and finish dates alongside actual and current planned dates, making it easy to see variances and track progress. Calendar view (option a), Resource Usage view (option b), and Task Sheet view (option d) do not provide the same level of comparison between baseline and actual progress.

In Fixed Duration tasks (option a), changing the task duration affects the allocation percentages of the resources while keeping the total work constant. Fixed Units (option b) keeps the resource allocation constant, and changing duration affects the work. Fixed Work (option c) keeps the work constant, and changing duration adjusts the resource allocation. Effort-Driven (option d) means that total work effort remains constant as resource allocation changes.

The Task Inspector in Microsoft Project provides detailed information about task predecessors, constraints, and other factors that may be causing delays (option b). It helps project managers understand the drivers behind task scheduling and identify issues that need to be addressed. Resource names and rates (option a) and budget details (option c) are not part of Task Inspector’s focus. The list of completed tasks (option d) does not provide insight into current delays.

The Resource Usage view (option d) is the best place to identify over-allocated resources quickly. It displays resources and their assigned tasks, along with indicators for over-allocation. The Resource Sheet (option a) provides basic information about resources, the Resource Graph view (option b) shows graphical representations but not detailed allocation issues, and the Gantt Chart view (option c) focuses on task scheduling.

Creating a resource pool and linking it to all project files (option a) is the most efficient way to manage resources across multiple projects. This approach allows for centralized resource management and ensures that allocations are balanced. Manually entering resource data (option b) is time-consuming and error-prone. Using separate resource sheets (option c) and external spreadsheets (option d) do not provide the same level of integration and efficiency.

Using multiple cost rate tables for each resource (option b) allows you to manage different cost rates efficiently. Each resource can have up to five different cost rate tables, which can be applied to tasks as needed. Assigning a single cost rate (option a) does not accommodate variations. Manually adjusting cost rates (option c) is not efficient for large projects, and creating separate resource entries (option d) can lead to data duplication and confusion.

Bottom-Up Estimating involves estimating the cost of individual tasks and then summing them up to get the total project cost. This method is known for its accuracy because it considers detailed estimates of each component. Unlike Analogous Estimating (which uses historical data) or Parametric Estimating (which relies on statistical relationships), Bottom-Up Estimating provides a more granular and precise estimation. Three-Point Estimating, while useful for considering uncertainties, still might not be as detailed as Bottom-Up Estimating.

Implementing cost control measures is the best approach to manage cost variance. This involves analyzing the cause of the variance, implementing corrective actions, and regularly monitoring the costs. Increasing the budget or re-baselining the project are last resorts and can affect stakeholder confidence. Ignoring the variance is not advisable as even small variances can accumulate over time, leading to significant budget issues.

A Cost Performance Index (CPI) value of less than 1 indicates that the project is over budget. CPI is calculated as the ratio of Earned Value (EV) to Actual Cost (AC). If the CPI is less than 1, it means the project is costing more than anticipated for the work completed. A CPI greater than 1 indicates the project is under budget, and a CPI of 1 indicates the project is exactly on budget.

The Report Designer in Microsoft Project allows users to create custom reports by selecting specific project metrics and data. Built-in Report Templates are pre-defined and may not include all required metrics. Visual Reports use Excel or Visio to create data-driven charts, but they may not offer the same level of customization as the Report Designer. Custom Fields can be used to add specific data to tasks or resources but are not used for designing reports.

Visual Reports in Microsoft Project allow users to create visually appealing reports and dashboards using data from the project. These reports can be generated in Excel or Visio, making it easier to visualize key performance indicators. The Timeline View, Gantt Chart, and Task Sheet are useful for tracking project progress but are not specifically designed for creating comprehensive visual reports.

The View menu in Microsoft Project allows users to customize views and tables. This includes modifying existing views or creating new ones to display specific project data. The File menu is used for general project management tasks such as opening and saving files. The Task and Resource menus are used for managing tasks and resources, respectively, but do not provide customization options for views and tables.

The Critical Path Filter in Microsoft Project allows users to filter and highlight tasks that are on the critical path. This helps focus on tasks that directly impact the project’s finish date. Task Inspector provides detailed information about individual tasks, while Group by Resource organizes tasks by the assigned resource. Highlight Tasks can be used to emphasize certain tasks, but it requires specifying criteria manually.

The Export Wizard in Microsoft Project guides users through the process of exporting project data to Excel. This feature ensures that the data is accurately transferred and formatted correctly for further analysis. Save As is used for saving the project file in different formats. Import is used to bring data into Microsoft Project, and Copy and Paste may not preserve the data structure and formatting.

Publishing the project plan to Project Online ensures that the project data is synchronized and available for real-time collaboration with team members. Saving locally does not update the online version. Emailing or printing the plan provides static copies that do not reflect real-time updates.

Team Collaboration Tools in Project for the Web provide features like task assignments, comments, and real-time updates that facilitate effective collaboration among team members. The Project Schedule and Calendar View help in tracking timelines and deadlines, while the Roadmap provides a high-level overview but does not directly support collaboration activities.