EVM Assessment – The program level Integrated Baseline Review

EVM Assessment

EVM Assessment

1. The program level Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) is conducted for which performing organization

_____ a) The Prime Contractor

_____ b) The client Program/Product Manager

_____ c) The sub-contractor

___ d) All of the above

2. The purpose for conducting an Integrated Baseline Review (IBR) is to

_____ a) lay a solid foundation for mutual understanding of risk

_____ b) define the tools, processes and procedures for Earned Value Management (EVM)

______c) integrate traditional program management processes with technical measures

_____ d) establish a management control point for cost, schedule and technical performance

3. The Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) is a key process artifact used to organize the program because:

_____ a) The OBS must be exactly the same as the Organization Structure

_____ b) The OBS defines the organization that will manage and oversee the work done under contract

_____ c) The OBS defines specific resources down to individual work assignments

_____ d) The OBS is a functionally organized grouping of participating organizations

4. Earned Value Management practices for the U.S government are defined by:

_____ a) OMB Circular A-11

_____ b) The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

_____ c) The NDIA Intent Guide, based on the EIA-748 standard

_____ d) All of the above

5. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) measures

_____ a) The value of work accomplished (EV) against the planned value of work (PV)

_____ b) The value of the actual cost (AC) against the planned value of work (PV)

_____ c) The cumulative value of work accomplished (EV) against the cumulative actual cost (AC)

_____ d) None of the above

6. The Earned Value methodology uses these core metrics to calculate program performance:

_____ a) Planned value (PV), earned value (EV), and actual costs (AC)

_____ b) Cost variance (CV), schedule variance (SV), and variance at completion (VAC)

_____ c) Cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI)

_____ d) Estimate to complete (ETC) and to complete performance index (TCPI)

7. You have been hired to plant trees for 10 days. You are supposed to plant 10 trees per day and you are paid $10 for each tree planted. After 4 days, you planted 50 trees and you were paid $500. What are the SPI and CPI for the project?

_____ a) SPI=0.8, CPI=1.0

_____ b) SPI=1.25, CPI=1.0

_____ c) SPI=1.0, CPI=0.8

_____ d) SPI=1.0, CPI=1.25

8. Which IPMR format is a narrative report used to explain significant cost and schedule variances and other identified contract problems and topics?

_____ a) Format 1

_____ b) Format 3

_____ c) Format 4

_____ d) Format 5

9. Which of the following is one of the Integrated Program Management Report (IPMR) formats?

_____ a) Format 8 – Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

_____ b) Format 9 – Contract Budget Base (CBB)

_____ c) Format 5 – Explanations and Problem Analysis

_____ d) All of the above

10. When budget value earned with elapsed time and is always equal to the monthly planned value

describes which earned value technique?

_____ a) Weighted Milestone

_____ b) Level of Effort

_____ c) Percent Complete

_____ d) Apportioned Effort

11. Work that “cannot be measured” or is characterized as indirect, supporting or sustaining work is

measured by which earned value technique?

_____ a) Weighted Milestone

_____ b) Level of Effort

_____ c) Percent Complete

_____ d) Apportioned Effort

12. A program manager who is concerned about how efficiently the program is meeting cost and

schedule objectives should look principally at

_____ a) Percent Spent and Percent Complete

_____ b) Cost Variance, Schedule Variance and Variance At Complete

_____ c) Cost Performance Index and Schedule Performance Index

 

_____ d) Variance Analysis

 

EVM Assessment

 

Student Name:

 

13. A cost performance index (CPI) greater than 1.0 indicates:

_____ a) Favorable cost performance

_____ b) Unfavorable cost performance

_____ c) Neutral cost performance

_____ d) None of the above

14. Which of the following process artifacts s considered to be the foundation for defining project

scope, developing plans and reporting program status?

_____ a) Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)

_____ b) Organization Breakdown Structure (OBS)

_____ c) Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

_____ d) Business Case Analysis Report (BCAR)

15. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

_____ a) Ensures all work is identified and defines “what” the program is doing

_____ b) Provides the project sponsor with a time-phased task summary

_____ c) Allocates cost to work packages

_____ d) Assigns responsibility and instills accountability

16. The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) integrates the:

_____ a) the project OBS and WBS

_____ b) the budget and Control Accounts

_____ c) the project scope and schedule.

_____ d) Control Accounts and the manager.

17. Which is NOT an example of earned value management (EVM) graphical trend analysis?

_____ a) Estimates at complete (EAC)

_____ b) Cost performance Index (CPI)

_____ c) Risk cost performance index trend

_____ d) Cost and schedules variances

 

18. Your project has entered the detail design phase. The engineering manager tells you that your

 

senior engineer will be leaving the program in 1 month to work on a troubled project for several

months. You should:

_____ a) Anticipate that will have to report both a cost and schedule variance for the time that your

senior engineer is not available.

_____ b) Ask the senior engineer if she can work overtime on your project without charging her time

because she can charge her normal time to the other project.

_____ c) Revise your ETC downward since you will not have to pay the engineer’s salary

_____ d) Revise your ETC upward since you need to replace the senior engineer and train the new

person

19. The project’s major subassembly has failed its acceptance test. The next step should be to

_____ a) Compute an EV based EAC to determine the cost of additional testing

_____ b) Determine the cause of the failure and perform replanning to address the work required

_____ c) Transfer the BCWP (EV) for conducting the test in the next month’s report

_____ d) Increase the BCWS (PV) for the test since it was more difficult than planned

20. After schedule update, the float is computed to be less than zero (i.e., negative float). This tells

you that

_____ a) The project will complete late unless action is taken to recover the schedule

_____ b) The project team can take some time off

_____ c) The critical path work is ahead of schedule but the other work is behind schedule

_____ d) The most recently completed task took less time than planned

21. A control account has a negative cost variance (CV) of 550 staff hours. Which of the following

statements is TRUE?

_____ a) The control account is not using EVM because the CV is in staff hours and should be

calculated in dollars

_____ b) The staff hours should be converted to dollars using direct labor rates

_____ c) The control account has too many people assigned

_____ d) The control account CPI will be less than 1.0

22. The Control Account Manager (CAM) is responsible for maintaining the CAM notebook which

contains the following elements:

_____ a) Programmatic records that provide a history of the Control Account, including EV process

artifacts

_____ b) The IMP, the IMS, the execution level schedule, the milestone schedule, and the risk

schedule

_____ c) The Quality Management Plan

_____ d) The Program Management Information System (PMIS)

23. The _________ is the authorizing document that serves as the agreement between the program

manager and the Control Account Manager (CAM):

_____ a) contract

_____ b) Responsibility Authorization Document (RAD)

_____ c) Baseline Change Document (BCD)

_____ d) Work Authorization Document (WAD)

24. The responsibilities of the Control Account Manager (CAM) include:

_____ a) Establish and maintain detailed schedules and cost plans

_____ b) Monitor performance and assess earned value

_____ c) Perform day-to-day management of the control account

_____ d) All of the above

25. A control account is a major control point for:

_____ a) cost summation

_____ b) scope description

_____ c) variance analysis and reporting

_____ d) all of the above

26. The benefits derived from using an EVMS to manage major programs include

_____ a) Facilitates improved planning

_____ b) Provides for objective measurement of work accomplishment

_____ c) Managers are better able to identify appropriate resources to accomplish the work

_____ d) All of the above

27. A project’s Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) includes which of the following?

_____ a) Control Accounts

_____ b) Undistributed Budget

_____ c) Management Reserve

_____ d) A and B

28. The Performance Measurement Baseline can only be changed:

_____ a) when the Estimate To Complete (ETC) changes

_____ b) by anyone desiring Management Reserve (MR) to cover a loss

_____ c) through formal change control procedures

_____ d) None of the above

29. Which of the following is NOT a component of the Performance Measurement Baseline?

_____ a) Control Accounts

_____ b) Undistributed Budget

_____ c) Management Reserves

_____ d) Planning Packages

30. EVM “triple constraints” are:

_____ a) Schedule, cost, and requirements

_____ b) Cost, schedule, and risk

_____ c) Cost, scope/performance, and schedule

_____ d) Schedule, resource, and cost

31. In support of the program management and EVM, the accounting system must:

_____ a) perform financial accounting according to GAAP standards

_____ b) obtain information for performance management purposes

_____ c) accumulate costs at the control account or lower of the WBS

_____ d) both a and c

32. Earned Value formulas and indices provide:

_____ a) variance analysis

_____ b) measures of project health with respect to cost, schedule, and technical performance

_____ c) the fundamental cause of the variance

_____ d) recommended corrective action

33. Which function is not one of the elements of the Earned Value Management Process?

_____ a) Organization

_____ b) Planning, Scheduling, and Budgeting

_____ c) Revisions and Data Maintenance

_____ d) Legal contract reviews

34. Retroactive changes

_____ a) should only be allowed in extraordinary circumstances.

_____ b) define how much money was charged to the project.

_____ c) are allowed at any time for any reason.

_____ d) control how baseline changes are incorporated

35. Baseline changes may occur as the result of all of the following except:

_____ a) contractual changes/modifications

_____ b) application of undistributed budget

_____ c) the use of management reserve

_____ d) to eliminate reporting of legitimate overruns

36. The _______________ lays out the total scope of the project from beginning to end, down to the

control account level, and includes key milestones and decision points:

_____ a) Detail schedule

_____ b) Supplementary schedule

_____ c) Integrated Master Schedule

_____ d) Master Plan

37. You can find key information about industry and government best practices for EVM in the

following documents

_____ a) GAO Cost Estimating Guide

_____ b) NDIA EVM Implementation Guide

_____ c) Mil Std 881

_____ d) All of the above

38. The programmatic management processes of Risk and Earned Value are integrated in what

practical ways?

_____ a). EV metrics related to Variance and Performance Indices indicate potential risks.

_____ b). IPMR reporting requirements include explicitly addressing risk in Format 5

_____ c). The “Risk Register” is a deliverable artifact in both risk and earned value management

_____ d). All of the above

39. The programmatic management processes of Change Control and Earned Value are integrated in

what practical ways?

_____ a). Any re-baseline of the PMB must follow established change control rules.

_____ b). IPMR reporting requirements include explicitly including corrective actions in Format 5

_____ c). Change control documents are deliverable artifacts in both change and earned value

management

_____ d). All of the above

40. Key indicators for the health and executability of schedule performance include:

_____ a). Baseline Execution Index (BEI) and Critical Path Length Index (CPLI).

_____ b). Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Schedule Variance

_____ c). Schedule Risk Assessment

_____ d). All of the above

41. Predictive Earned Value Management Metrics include:

_____ a). To Complete Performance Index, TCPIEAC and TCPIBAC

_____ b). Estimate to Complete (ETC) and Estimate at Complete (EAC)

_____ c). Root Cause Analysis using the “5 Whys” technique

_____ d). A and B only

42. Which of the following conditions is not correct.

_____ a). The acronym EV, or Earned Value, is functionally the same as BCWP, or Budgeted Cost

of Work Performed

_____ b). Estimate to Complete (ETC) is the same as Estimate at Complete (EAC)

_____ c). The acronym PV, or Planned Value, is functionally the same as BCWS, or Budgeted Cost

of Work Scheduled

_____ d). The acronym AC, or Actual Costs, is functionally the same as ACWP, or Actual Cost of

Work Performed

43. Earned value measurement techniques allow for discrete measurement of work. The 0/100

technique of measurement is a preferred method because

_____ a). The measurement of the work can be spread over longer time periods, ideally at least 6

Months.

_____ b). Largely irrelevant because it is too granular with respect to measurement.

_____ c). The work is either done or not, ideally within the current reporting month.

_____ d). A and C above.

44. The Critical Path in a schedule can be defined as

_____ a). The determinant of the overall duration of the project as planned (i.e., the shortest time to

complete the project as planned)

_____ b). Where the calculation for Total Float is less than or equal to a specified value, usually zero.

_____ c). The only activities that need to be intensively managed to complete the project/program

_____ d). A and B above.

45. The concept of Float (aka, Slack) includes the following characteristic(s):

_____ a). Total float is the amount of time by which a task on the Critical Path can be delayed

without delaying the finish of the project

_____ b). Free slack is the amount of time (usually calculated in days) by which a task can be

delayed without delaying the schedule for any subsequent task

_____ c). Conceptually, gives an idea for the degree of flexibility in the schedule’s task dependencies

_____ d). All of the above

46. Well-constructed Control Accounts typically have the following attributes.

_____ a). clearly define the measurement technique for each work package

_____ b). are comprised of at least 1 or more work packages, plus planning packages as necessary

_____ c). the intersection of the lowest level of controlling organization where a manager can be

assigned, to the lowest level of WBS element where formal reporting is required.

_____ d). All of the above

Questions 47-50

You are the newly appointed Program Manager of a government software development program.

You are attending your first, quarterly Program Management Review (PMR) with your prime

commercial contractor who is performing a major portion of the effort associated with your total

program. During the PMR, the contractor flashes the slide below which displays information about

the program.

The contractor then asserts, “These are our Earned Value metrics which indicate a highly positive

“Green” status, so there is no need to waste any time on this,” and proceeds to advance to the next

slide. Your Program EV Analyst leans over and whispers to you, “Boss, there are some issues here. I

recommend you go back to the last slide and question the contractor in more detail.”

47. Which one of the following conditions is most likely to apply?

_____ a. The project is ahead of schedule and over-running.

_____ b. The cumulative cost is under-running

_____ c. The EAC is calculated from the cumulative SPI and CPI

_____ d. None of the above

48. Which one of the following conditions is most likely to apply?

_____ a. If the cost performance trend continues, the project will finish ahead of schedule

and under-run budget

_____ b. The EAC is statistically not probable based on the variance between CPI and TCPIEAC.

_____ c. Based on the cumulative actuals, the EAC should be adjusted to $10,612

_____ d. None of the above

49. Which one of the following conditions is most likely to apply?

_____ a. Because the project is ahead of schedule, the EAC will be less than the BAC

_____ b. The earned value metrics are mostly positive and the small variance is easily recoverable by

the next reporting period

_____ c. There is a labor shortage

_____ d. None of the above. The project is over-running.

50. The calculated EAC using a formula that is based on the cumulative cost and schedule

performance indexes is?

_____ a. $10,612

_____ b. $10,429

_____ c. $9,467

_____ d. $9,803

Question 51

Given: The sum of all Work Packages is $3,143.500. All of the work has been planned in detail so

there are no planning packages at any level. There is $65,000 set aside for Management Reserve.

Also, $200,000 is currently being held as Undistributed Budget within the existing Performance

Measurement Baseline. The fixed price contract has a profit/fee of $300,000.

Task: Calculate the Program Budget Elements for the program budget that is diagrammed below (i.e.,

populate the Yellow/shaded boxes where the budget dollar amount $______ is missing).

Question 52

Given:

1. The Network Diagram below with dependency relationships as indicated 2. The Duration for each task

Task: Identify the tasks that are on the Critical Path.

Note 1: You will need to calculate: Early Start, Late Start, Early Finish, Late Finish, and

Float for each task.

Note 2: Populate the empty boxes of standard portrayal of a network diagram.