FIT5057 Week 4: Scope, CPM & NPV Mastery Flashcards

Question 1

What is the formal definition of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?

Accepted Answer

A hierarchical, product-oriented "family tree" of deliverables that organizes and defines 100% of the project's total scope.

Question 2

What is the primary purpose of a WBS in scope management?

Accepted Answer

To deconstruct complex project goals into manageable, bite-sized deliverable components to maintain baseline control over costs, schedules, and changes.

Question 3

What does the WBS 100% (Summative) Rule state?

Accepted Answer

The work content of any parent element must equal exactly the sum of its subordinate child elements, capturing all planned project work.

Question 4

What is the scope implication if a deliverable is omitted from the WBS?

Accepted Answer

Under the 100% rule, if a piece of work is not captured in the WBS, it is completely out-of-scope and cannot be executed without formal change control.

Question 5

Why must WBS elements be written strictly as nouns or adjectives?

Accepted Answer

Because a WBS is product-oriented, focusing on physical or digital deliverables (nouns) rather than the processes or actions (verbs) used to create them.

Question 6

What is the grammatical indicator that a branch of the WBS is fully decomposed?

Accepted Answer

Decomposition is complete when the planning team naturally begins writing action verbs (activities) instead of nouns (deliverables).

Question 7

What is a Work Package in the context of a WBS?

Accepted Answer

The smallest, lowest-level unit of work in a WBS branch that can be realistically estimated, scheduled, budgeted, and controlled.

Question 8

What organizational rule ensures accountability for a WBS Work Package?

Accepted Answer

The Unity of Responsibility Rule, which states that every individual Work Package must be assigned to exactly one named team member.

Question 9

What components comprise the Project Scope Baseline?

Accepted Answer

The formally approved WBS, the WBS Dictionary, and the detailed Project Scope Statement.

Question 10

How is the WBS utilized as a baseline control tool?

Accepted Answer

It serves as the definitive reference point for measuring progress, calculating earned value, and validating or rejecting scope change requests.

Question 11

What is the psychological "Motivation by Involvement" principle in WBS creation?

Accepted Answer

The principle that involving team members in co-creating the WBS increases their personal ownership, motivation, and commitment to the project plan.

Question 12

Why is documenting the WBS with a precise coding structure essential?

Accepted Answer

To establish a shared, unambiguous communication tool so all stakeholders can refer to the exact same scope elements.

Question 13

Why are sequential or temporal relationships excluded from a WBS?

Accepted Answer

Because a WBS only maps hierarchical structure (what is built); logical sequences and durations are mapped exclusively in the Project Network Diagram (PND).

Question 14

What is the financial limitation of a WBS regarding corporate accounting?

Accepted Answer

A WBS should not be constrained as a standard corporate accounting ledger; its cost tracking should strictly support the Project Manager in measuring earned value.

Question 15

What is a project activity (task) and how does it differ from a WBS element?

Accepted Answer

An activity is a specific unit of work required to produce a deliverable; WBS elements are deliverables (nouns), while activities are processes (verbs).

Question 16

What syntax rule applies to writing project activities?

Accepted Answer

Activities must use a strict verb-noun syntax (e.g., "Install database API connectors") to ensure they are easily distinguishable on reports.

Question 17

What is a predecessor in a project network diagram?

Accepted Answer

An activity that immediately precedes and must be completed before a subsequent dependent activity (the successor) can begin.

Question 18

What is a successor in a project network diagram?

Accepted Answer

An activity that immediately follows and is logically dependent on the completion of its predecessor.

Question 19

What are the four types of logical relationships (dependencies) in a schedule?

Accepted Answer

Finish-to-Start (FS), Start-to-Start (SS), Finish-to-Finish (FF), and Start-to-Finish (SF).

Question 20

What is a Finish-to-Start (FS) dependency?

Accepted Answer

A relationship where the preceding activity (predecessor) must be 100% complete before the succeeding activity (successor) can begin.

Question 21

What is a Lag in project scheduling?

Accepted Answer

A planned, mandatory delay or wait time inserted between the completion of a predecessor and the start of a successor (e.g., waiting 3 days for concrete to dry).

Question 22

What is a Lead in project scheduling?

Accepted Answer

An acceleration of the successor activity, allowing it to start before its predecessor is fully completed.

Question 23

What is the Heads-Down Work Rule?

Accepted Answer

The planning assumption that in a standard 8-hour workday, only an average of 6.5 hours represents actual productive work, with the rest lost to administration and breaks.

Question 24

Why do planning models assume a 6.5-hour productive day instead of 8 hours?

Accepted Answer

To prevent over-optimistic scheduling and ensure durations are calculated using realistic, uninterrupted productive effort without hidden "padding".

Question 25

What is the formula to convert estimated work hours into calendar duration?

Accepted Answer

$	ext{Duration (Calendar Days)} = \frac{	ext{Estimated Work Hours}}{	ext{\% Dedication to Project} 	imes 6.5 	ext{ Daily Work Hours}}$.

FIT5057 Week 4: Scope, CPM & NPV Mastery

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