Project Life Cycle Phases

A project manager has obtained the customer's formal sign-off on all deliverables, and the final invoice from the vendor has been paid and the contract formally closed. The project team is still assigned to the project, and internal records remain open in the PMO system. Which activity should the project manager perform NEXT to properly complete the project?

During planning for a new office relocation project, the project manager estimates the move will take one weekend based on the belief that the building's freight elevator will be available on Saturday and Sunday. The facilities team has not yet confirmed this. Where should the project manager record this belief so it can be tracked and validated later?

A project manager is analyzing the schedule network diagram. An activity on a non-critical path has an early start of day 8 and a late start of day 12. The project sponsor asks how long this activity can be delayed without pushing back the project completion date. What is the correct answer?

During planning for an office relocation project, a project manager has finalized cost estimates for every work package in the WBS. The manager now aggregates these package-level costs, adds the contingency reserve for identified risks, and produces a time-phased spending curve that will be used to measure cost performance during execution. What is the manager producing?

During the discovery phase, an executive committee asks the project manager to provide a document that justifies the proposed project by comparing the expected costs, benefits, and return on investment against the organization's strategic goals. This document will be used to decide whether to fund the initiative. Which document should the project manager provide?

A project manager has received formal customer sign-off on all deliverables from an external vendor who supplied specialized equipment under a fixed-price contract. Before the project can be fully closed, the PM wants to ensure the procurement relationship is properly ended. Which action is MOST important to complete during contract closeout?

During the execution of a manufacturing project, the project manager receives a batch of 500 finished components from the production line. Before shipping them to the customer, she directs the team to measure a sample of the components against the documented dimensional tolerances to identify any defective units. Which activity is the project manager performing?

A project manager is halfway through the execution phase of a software rollout. During a status review, they compare the actual completion dates of tasks against the dates recorded when the schedule was approved by the sponsor. Several tasks are finishing later than originally documented. Which reference point is the project manager using to measure this timing discrepancy?

A steering committee is reviewing three proposed initiatives during the discovery phase. They want an objective way to compare each proposal by weighing the total anticipated financial returns against the estimated costs before deciding which one to authorize with a charter. Which tool should the project sponsor use to support this selection decision?

A project manager is reviewing earned value data at the end of month three. The earned value (EV) is $180,000 and the actual cost (AC) is $200,000. The sponsor asks whether the project is spending money efficiently relative to the work accomplished. Which calculation should the project manager present, and what does the result indicate?

A project manager is finalizing the schedule for a software rollout. The network diagram shows four possible paths from start to finish with the following total durations: Path 1 = 22 days, Path 2 = 30 days, Path 3 = 27 days, and Path 4 = 25 days. The sponsor asks the project manager which path the team must monitor most closely because any delay on it will directly push out the project completion date. Which path should the project manager identify?

During quantitative risk analysis, a project manager evaluates two vendor options for a critical component. Vendor A has a 30% chance of a $50,000 delay cost and a 70% chance of no additional cost. Vendor B has a 10% chance of an $80,000 delay cost and a 90% chance of no additional cost. Which vendor should the project manager select based on expected monetary value (EMV)?

A project has just received a signed charter authorizing it to begin. The sponsor asks the project manager what the immediate next step should be before any deliverable work is started. Which action best represents the correct transition from initiation into the next phase?

During the closure phase of a facility relocation project, the project manager is holding a final meeting where the customer walks through each delivered workspace against the agreed requirements and signs a document confirming the deliverables meet expectations. After this, the PM plans to archive documents and release the team. Which activity should the PM ensure is completed AFTER obtaining this signature but BEFORE fully closing the project?

During planning, a project manager has finalized the WBS and now needs to develop the project budget. The team estimates costs for each work package and aggregates them upward through the WBS levels to arrive at a total cost baseline. Which budgeting technique is the project manager using?

During planning, a project manager is reviewing the work breakdown structure with the team. A team member notices that the sum of all the deliverables and work packages in the WBS appears to represent slightly more scope than what the approved scope statement authorized. Which WBS principle has been violated?

A project manager has finalized the WBS and identified all work packages for a facility upgrade. The team now wants to build the project schedule. Before durations can be estimated or a network diagram created, what must the project manager do first with the work packages?

During planning for a new customer portal project, the project manager has finalized the approved project scope statement, the work breakdown structure (WBS), and the WBS dictionary. A team member asks what these three documents collectively represent going forward. What is the best answer?

A project manager is planning a new office relocation and has very little detailed information about the individual tasks. However, the organization completed a nearly identical relocation for a similar department 18 months ago. The PM needs a quick, high-level duration estimate to include in an early planning document. Which estimating technique is MOST appropriate?

A project manager is halfway through a construction project with a budget at completion (BAC) of $500,000. Current performance data shows the project is running consistently over budget due to higher-than-expected material prices, and this trend is expected to continue for the remainder of the project. The sponsor asks the PM for a realistic forecast of what the total project will cost by the time it is finished. Which calculation should the PM provide?