APM-PFQ APM Project Fundamentals Qualification (PFQ) Questions and Answers

Who is going to be responsible for carrying out each of the projects activities.

How the benefits will be realised, measured and the stakeholders involved

What type of contract is going to be used to procure delivery of the project.

Which benefits should be realised first and then the subsequent order

The point in the life cycle where the estimate is being carried out.

The overall budgeted value of the project being estimated.

Whether the project is likely to proceed or not.

The amount of acceptable estimating tolerance that exists.

The individual group members use a statistical relationship between historic data and other variables to calculate an estimate.

The task of producing the estimates will be delegated to those who are actually going to deliver the individual pieces of work or work packages.

The individual group members, who are tasked with providing the estimates, do this in isolation from each other.

The individual group members identify a previously delivered project of the same size. complexity and delivery method.

Increase risk budget.

Apply change control.

Escalate analysis to project sponsor.

Assign actions to relevant team member.

Foundations.

Pre-project.

Concept.

Initiation.

It records risks. their impact and the responses being adopted.

It records risk ownership and how issues are being managed.

It assesses the impact and probability of risks taking place.

It directs the team in how the management of risk in the project should be conducted.

projects achieve specified benefits but business as usual has only vague benefits.

projects drive change whereas business as usual continues existing activities.

projects have tightly controlled budgets whereas business as usual does not.

projects have unclear deadlines but business as usual has multiple milestones

A level of technological expertise is required.

Body language can reinforce the message.

It is harder to maintain concentration.

There are increased costs of getting to the meeting.

stakeholder engagement.

funding for the project.

buy in from the project sponsor.

goods and services required for the project.

An approved omission from the agreed project scope.

The potential for agreed resources to be removed from the project.

A. requirement for extra expenditure to cover increased supplier costs.

The removal of work packages from the agreed project scope.

Independent reviews and quality audits form part of quality assurance to ensure the project manager delivers on time and to budget.

Quality assurance provides confidence to stakeholders that requirements for quality will be exceeded.

Quality control verifies that the project deliverables conform to specification, are fit for purpose and meet stakeholder expectations.

Quality planning enables the project manager to manage the trade-off between customer expectations and budget.

to schedule activities within the limits of their float.

to minimise the use of overtime and weekend working.

not to exceed the limits of resource available.

to increase the resource availability

Verification.

Request.

Closure.

Justification

Reduced schedule time.

increased cost.

Increased efficiency and flexibility.

Reduced risk

The Project Management Plan is developed by the project manager and team and owned by the sponsor.

A. draft of the Project Management Plan is developed by the sponsor at the same time as the business case.

The Project Management Plan is developed by the sponsor and owned by the project manager.

The Project Management Plan is developed by the project manager and team and owned by the project manager

It allows the detailed execution plans, to be defined, that are likely to be developed in order to deliver the project.

It is the only way in which the scope of the project can be identified and detailed in plans.

It identifies the problems, opportunities or business needs which may require some degree of response.

D It is the only form of detailed planning that can be carried out in the earliest phases of the project life cycle.

Producing an exception report to communicate A. project issue to the project board.

Publicising the project benefits to the business organisation.

Notifying team members of the project's progress at the weekly team meeting.

Formally notifying the status of the project to the project's stakeholders.

They have a lack of interest in what the project is they feel it doesn't really affect them.

They haven't been involved in project manager from the candidates available

They have misunderstood what the project is trying to achieve and have had very little communication from the project.

They are a in another project and time to perform the stakeholder role

the co-ordinated management of related projects, including related business-as-usual activities.

the formal process through which changes to the project plan are approved and introduced.

the identification of the benefits (of A. project or programme) at an organisational level and the tracking and realisation of those benefits.

the selection and management of all of an organisation's projects, programmes and related business-as-usual activities, taking into account resource constraints.

the response to a risk is valid.

a project is viable in line with the business case.

the project delivered against the success criteria.

lessons were effectively learned during the project.

change management committee,

change authority,

change control board.

change implementation group.

making unfair judgements.

able to bring expertise to the project team.

in a position to affect their careers.

for or against the project outcomes.

1, 2 and 4

2, 3 and 4

1, 3 and 4

1, 2 and 3

The cost to complete the project is greater than the value to be achieved.

The project is on schedule but spent less than expected

The is expected to yield greater value than stated in the business

The project manager has resigned and an immediate replacement is unavailable

overall project duration.

project cost.

the project management plan.

sub-contractor's responsibilities

It shows the benefits expected at the close of the project and the specific stakeholders who are involved.

It provides justification for undertaking the project and provides a rationale for the preferred solution.

It sets and clarifies the expectations of all stakeholders who are involved in the project delivery.

It identifies and establishes the most appropriate means of procuring the component parts or services for the project being delivered.

An action or set of actions to reduce the probability or impact of a threat, or to increase the probability or impact of an opportunity.

The plan of the response to risks.

An uncertain event or set of circumstances that if realised would have an effect on project objectives.

A risk identification workshop.

inspection, testing and measurement.

reviews and audits.

fitness for purpose of deliverables.

professionally-bound project reports.

Work Breakdown Structure.

Organisational Breakdown Structure.

Product Breakdown Structure.

Responsibility assignment structure.

deliver the benefits.

define the requirements.

sign off the business case.

implement the project plan

Creating a project cost breakdown structure.

Authoring the project management plan.

Creating a project work breakdown structure.

Owning the project business case.

The life cycle phases.

The logical order of tasks.

The scope of the project.

Project costs.

Definition, concept, design, implementation, transition.

Concept. definition, deployment. transition.

Planning, deployment, closing, learning, review.

Feasibility, planning, deployment, handover. review.

Cost breakdown structure

Procurement strategy

Business case

Project management plan

the quality manager.

the key users,

the project manager.

the business sponsor.

decision gate.

feasibility study.

milestone review.

evaluation review.

when the Project Management Plan is initiated.

at the time the Work Breakdown Structure is developed.

at the start of the project.

once the project concept is understood.

A means of stakeholder identification.

It provides a statement of the stakeholder communications plan.

To understand a stakeholder's position in relation to the project.

It presents an action plan for stakeholder management.

The phases in the project life cycle are always the same size.

The same processes are used in each of the project life cycle phases.

The project life cycle has a number of distinct phases.

The project budget is divided equally between each phase of the project life cycle.

Actively seeking some senior management support.

Measures by which the success of the project is judged.

Achievement of milestones.

A motivated project team.

1, 2 & 3

1, 2 & 4

1, 3 & 4

2, 3 & 4

Evaluation of the benefits of the project.

Identification of the problems that arose and their likely causes.

Review of the project's performance against the success criteria.

Review of how the team worked together to solve problems and issues.

An approximation of project time and cost targets, refined throughout the project life cycle.

A prediction of a future condition or event based on information or knowledge available now.

The value of useful work done at any given point in a project to give a measure of progress.

A situation that affects or influences the outcome of the project expressed in time or cost term

quality assurance.

quality planning.

quality control.

quality audit.

break the work into controllable blocks in terms of effort and size.

ensure the processes are properly maintained.

ensure that the workforce is certain of their individual roles.

provide a means Of producing overall project cost estimates.

at the post-project review.

not more frequently than monthly.

throughout the project.

only when assessing project risk.

risks

resources

milestones

activities

In the Definition Phase

In the Transition Phase

In the Concept Phase

In the Deployment Phase

Post project reviews are a prime source of estimating data.

An estimated cost for a project must be 10 per cent to be any use

If you cannot estimate task durations to within 20 per cent there is no point in developing a schedule.

The project manager should always add 10 cent to peoples duration estimates to allow for natural optimism

manager.

sponsor.

steering group (board).

senior user.

Using APM's Body of Knowledge 6th edition as a guide to all projects.

Employing a project manager who has undertaken similar projects.

Utilising team members who can work on a project full time.

Application of processes and methods throughout the project life cycle.

Project sponsor, project manager and quality manager.

Corporate management, project sponsor, quality manager and project office.

Sponsor, supplier representative and user representative.

D Sponsor, project manager and senior project team members.

Make use Of widely available templates and predefined structures to ensure a complete spectrum of stakeholders are identified.

Ask the most influential stakeholders to identify who else they think Should be involved in the project.

Analyse Other projects and who their stakeholders are and include them by default.

Question whose support or lack of it might significantly influence the success of the project

Reinforcing positive relationships.

Inspiring the individual.

Maintaining constant tight control.

Promoting the project vision.

Evaluate the change.

Advise the sponsor.

Update the change log.

Update the project plan.

the communication plan becomes unnecessary.

the stakeholders who oppose the project the most can be "cut off' to reduce their negative influence.

the communication requirements for each stakeholder Can be established.

the stakeholders can be removed from any of the decisions that are bang planned.

Scope is detailed in the business case.

Scope is the total work content of a project.

Scope is an outcome of the scheduling and estimating processes.

Scope defines what is NOT delivered by the project.

comparative estimating.

parametric estimating.

bottom-up estimating.

strategic estimating.

Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) shows costs assigned to:

individual work packages using the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

individual resources using the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

individual resources using the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM).

individual deliverables using the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

an approach that adds operational and termination phases to a linear life cycle.

an approach that adds adoption and benefits realisation phases to a linear life cycle.

a framework for conducting a cost-benefit analysis once a project has closed.

a framework for ensuring the re-deployment of assets post project.

To identify potential problems for the project team to solve.

To provide strategic direction and guidance to the sponsor.

To manage the project team in all daily activities.

To receive and consider daily reports from team members.

technical specification.

day-to-day requirement.

detailed timetable.

high-level approach.

decrease as a project progresses through its life cycle.

increase as a project progresses through its life cycle.

stay constant throughout the project life cycle.

vary independently of where the project is in its life cycle

Contingency budget for remedial work.

Equipment required for quality testing.

Staff qualified to undertake inspections.

Processes to obtain stakeholder approvals.

The agreed end date for the project.

A list of possible stakeholders.

The number of project phases necessary.

D The size of the project team required.

gate review.

feasibility study.

milestone review.

evaluation review

Analytical.

Comparative.

Parametric.

Strategic.

Within the end phase.

Within the initial phases.

Within the deployment phase.

Within each phase.

A. summary of the project acceptance criteria.

CVs of all the team members.

Details Of previous similar projects.

Resourcing details for quality reviews.

Business-as-usual activities cannot be improved.

Business-as-usual activities are more difficult to manage than projects.

Projects are transient endeavours that bring about change to business-as-usual.

A. project is always the starting point for operational refinement.

Adoption.

Transition.

Deployment.

Implementation.

accepted, rejected or deferred.

accepted and the project plan updated.

sent to the project sponsor for approval.

assessed to determine its potential impact.

defined.

quantified.

realised.

conceived.

The time order in which the issues occurred.

The impact on success criteria and benefits.

The relative seniority of the issue owner.

The relationship with A. relevant risk.

Five

One

Three

Four

is the sole author of.

represents.

implements.

is not involved with.

Benefits.

Quality.

Tolerance.

Controls.

Quality alignment.

Quality control.

Quality assurance.

Quality improvement.

A. detailed schedule of the project.

An outline of the project management team.

An outline of the estimated costs of implementing the project.

detailed breakdown of the scope of the project.

ensure that everyone is copied On all emails.

insist on a lower level of paper documents.

train project staff in the most up-to-date communication techniques

develop a communication plan.

Allow the project to have extra time to ensure that that there is enough capacity to realise benefits.

Allow upfront planning for any supplemental activities and incorporate additional considerations for benefits realisation.

Allow time for stakeholders to decide how they will use the output to best effect that will realise benefits.

Allow extra funding to be applied to the project to ensure that sufficient resources exist to maximise benefits realisation.

configuration control.

change management.

change control.

scope management.

Deployment.

Termination.

Adoption.

Transition.

provide confidence the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards.

determine a set of procedures and standards for project management.

inspect, measure and test deliverables and processes.

define the scope and specifics of a project's deliverables

An ongoing activity to maintain the company plant.

A. transient endeavour carried out to meet specificobjectives.

Continuous improvement of the company procedures.

Manufacturing components for a new technology.

Within the environment are the factors that influence and impact projects.

Only certain types of projects are influenced by the environment.

The project environment will only really impact the project at the start.

D There is no real way of determining the true project environment.

must take into consideration the internal and external environments.

need only deal with the internal environment since the sponsor will deal with the external environment.

should manage the external stakeholders and external environment.

D must liaise with regulating bodies to ensure requirements include the latest legislation.

External stakeholders.

The end users.

The finance director.

The project manager

An uncertain event that may or may not occur

An opportunity that occurs through change control

A problem that the project manager has to deal with on a day-to-day basis

A problem that needs to be escalated to the next level of management for resolution

It allows a thorough assessment of the factors that are most likely to affect the change.

It is A. means to justify to the customer variances from the original objectives.

It ensures that the delivered product most closely meets the needs of the customer.

It manages the impact of change to the project scope.

A. summary of all possible alternative resolutions of an issue.

A. summary of all the project issues, their analysis and status.

A. tool to ensure that a process is in place for capturing all issues.

A. tool to ensure that the issue management process is adhered to.

Steering group.

Risk owner.

Project sponsor.

Project manager

works with the project sponsor.

has no involvement.

must develop it themself.

works with the end user.

the process through which all requests to change the approved baseline of a project is captured. evaluated and then approved. rejected or deferred.

the system that ensures that all changes to configuration items are controlled and the interrelationships between items are identified.

the technical and administrative activities concerned with the creation, maintenance, controlled change and quality control of the scope of work.

A report of the current status and history of all changes to the configuration, together with a complete record of what has happened to the configuration to date.

The project team should not contribute to the writing of the PMP.

The PMP should be agreed and signed off by both the sponsor and the project manager as a minimum.

The sponsor should maintain ownership of the PM P.

The PMP is necessary for effective stakeholder management.

Deadline and duration.

Time and cost.

Scope and quality.

Budget and resources.

the reporting structure and current availability of all individuals in the project.

technical ability and line of communication for all individuals in the project.

lines of communication and responsibility for all the individual managers in the project.

the reporting structure and lines of communication for all individuals in the projects.

A. record of all risks, their impact and the actions taken to manage them.

A. record of the ownership of risk and issue management actions.

A. means of assessing the likelihood and impact of risks.

A. structured process for risk management.

whether the project manager and team are performing well.

if the project is on schedule and within budget.

if stakeholders are satisfied.

whether to continue with the project.

Risk manager.

Sponsor.

Project sponsor.

Risk owner.

Liaising with end users.

Managing suppliers.

Providing technical support.

Supporting the project sponsor.

A major problem that requires formal escalation.

A problem that the project manager has to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

An uncertain event that may or may not occur.

An opportunity that occurs through change control.

Quality management plan.

Financial feasibility analysis.

Risk management plan.

Details of scope.

the cost of a do-nothing option.

an analytical estimate.

high-level project costs.

a comparative estimate.

Ensure that stakeholders who oppose the project are not involved

Develop an environment where all stakeholder's needs are satisfied.

Develop ways of understanding the needs of stakeholders.

Ensure that the influence stakeholders have is reduced.

Define outputs.

Identify outputs.

Share outputs.

Control outputs

reporting.

control.

assurance.

planning.

Progress monitoring and implementation of change control.

Benefits realisation.

Identify options for deployment.

Prepare users for delivery of the output into operation.

The highlights of the change are communicated directly to the sponsor.

The actual impact of the change is assessed.

The next change requested should be reviewed as quickly as possible.

The related plans must be updated to reflect the change.

identify project risks and then manage them appropriately.

identify all project risks and transfer them immediately.

identify all the things that are threats or opportunities on a project.

satisfy the organisation's project management process.

Stakeholders may be for the change or against

Stakeholders may have little influence or lots

Stakeholders may be internal or external to your organisation

Stakeholders with high influence always have high interest in the project

Initiating, identifying, assessing, planning, responding.

Planning, identification, controlling, status accounting, auditing.

Scheduling, baselining, controlling, responding, closing.

Planning. auditing. monitoring, controlling, closing.

To define the hierarchy of deliverables that are required to be produced on the project.

To define how the products are produced by identifying derivations and dependencies.

To establish the extent of work required prior to project commissioning and the handover.

To identify the health and safety strategies and procedures to be used on the project.

definition and delivery.

time, cost and quality.

cost and scope.

budget, spend and contingency

decrease as a project progresses through its lifecycle.

increase as a project progresses through its lifecycle.

stay constant throughout the project.

vary independently of where the project is in its lifecycle

the work breakdown structure (WBS) with the organisational breakdown structure (OBS) to match resources to the tasks.

the organisational breakdown structure (OBS) with the cost breakdown structure (CBS) to assign A. cost to each resource.

the product breakdown structure (PBS) with the work breakdown structure (WBS) to assign activities to the products.

the organisational breakdown structure (OBS) with the product breakdown structure (PBS) to assign resources to deliverables.

Safety plan for the project.

Implementation options.

Stakeholder identification.

Business benefits.

The project is more likely to finish on time.

There will be greater adherence to the organisation's governance and standards.

The project will be less susceptible to uncontrolled change.

There will be more focus on what benefits the project will be delivering.

The number of products contained in the PBS,

The boundaries and interfaces with adjacent projects.

Who is going to perform the work.

When the work is going to be performed.