PMP SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS (2020) | Schedule Management - PMBOK | PMP Exam Questions and Answers

hi guys welcome to another video on how to solve situational questions in the PMP exam in this video today we will pick some situational questions which are of similar difficulty level that you can expect in your PMP exam to solve these situational questions we'll be using this framework that we have learned in this video ok so make sure you watch that video first before you come back and start solving the situational questions that we'll be discussing in this video and you will never face any difficulty to solve these type of questions in your PMP exam so my fellow p.m. piece let's get started with question number 1 [Music] question number one guys pause the video read the question carefully and try to answer it okay we will start answering the question so step number one is ensuring the positive bias and making sure that we read each option very carefully and reject an option only on solid grounds okay so step number two is checking the question stem to categorize it as a type one or type two question now if you see the question stem here it says that what should you do next or what should the project manager do next which gives us the indication that this is a type two question moving on to step three we identify which knowledge area or process group this question is referring to now if you see here that you are reviewing a schedule and you see that the schedule is behind by four weeks and you are trying to address it so you are somewhere between the execution and the monitoring and controlling phase and you are more about in the control schedule phase okay with that we move on to step four and try to read every option analyze it with the context of what we have identified so far and try to eliminate it on solid grounds okay so option a crashed the project okay we will hold this option for a while we will come back to it later maybe crashing the project reduces the schedule of a project so this can be an option okay resource level the project okay we can hold this option as well let's come back to it cut scope for the project okay now this is out right or wrong option guys so you can eliminate it totally now because cutting the scope of the project is not something which a project manager should do outright okay so whenever you cut the scope of the project there is of change management which needs to be initiated and it needs to be aligned with all the stakeholders etc etcetera so you should follow the proper steps when you cut the scope okay so this is a wrong option moving on to option number D fast-tracking the project okay we will hold this option as well so maybe fast-tracking the project can be a right option because once you FasTrak the project you actually are using scheduled compression technique to get the project back in schedule now we are left with option a B and D now let's go back to option a crashing the project now if you see the definition of crashing the project guys crashing is a technique which is used to shorten the schedule okay but you should also note that it may result in increased cost or increased risk now in this question it says that your CPI of the project is 1 and you do not have the luxury of hiring extra resources okay so you cannot hire extra resources from outside and also if you see this line that there is a severe resource crunch in your organization as well so you cannot crash the project by hiring extra resources either from within your organization or externally so crashing the project is a wrong option for that reason and also crashing the project generally increases cost but since your CPI is at 1 you can't afford to increase your cost okay so crashing the project is a wrong option now resource leveling the project so if you go to the definition of resource leveling you will see that it is only used when resources are over allocated or generally when you have resources which is assigned to two or more activities and it often results in the original critical path to change and generally when you do resource leveling the critical path of the project increases now if you go back to the question you are not looking for an option to increase the critical path of the project you are looking to get the project done on schedule ok so that is the reason why resource leveling the project here will not help because at the end of the day even if you level the resources of the project your actual project will be off track in terms of your schedule so resource leveling of the project is also a wrong option ok which gives you option D as the correct option for this question because once you fast track the project what you essentially do is you try to organize any activities which were initially planned in series to go in parallel and that is why you go with option D which is fast tracking the project and this is right option before moving on to the next question I'll recommend that you visit my website PMP with Raycom to sign up for my email series I have discussed a lot of tips for the PMP exam such as what should be the study plan what are the resources that you can use in the PMP exam what to expect on the exam day and a lot more through my email series so make sure you sign up for that one okay now let's move on to question number two question number two guys read the question read the options carefully and try to answer it before moving at okay so we will start with step number one we will ensure that we have the positive bias while we analyze any option and only reject based on solid grounds step number two we check for the question stem so if you see the question stem here it is asking what's the best course of action as a project manager so it is essentially indicating to the ideal project manager we have your framework and that is why this is a type 1 question so with that we move on to step number three that we start to analyze the options with the ideal project manager behavior framework and try to reject any option on solid grounds okay so option a implement your contingency plan so now this option is very vague guys so if you see implement your contingency plan it doesn't essentially say that what that plan is there can be a thousand and one plans which you can implement here as contingency so you can get extra resources from outside you can escalate it to your sponsor you can work it out with the functional manager you can cut scope you can cut qualities so there are a lot of things you can look into it while implementing your contingency plan but here this option specifies none of the contingency plans okay so it's a very vague option and that is why we eliminate this option right away option B escalate the issue to functional managers boss and ensure your project gets priority okay that is also a wrong option guys because if you see the ideal project manager behavior framework you will see that a good project manager always owns up issues and problems himself rather than delegations escalation is the last resort for him and here in this option what you are essentially trying to do is escalating as a first step which is not recommendable so that is why this option is outright a wrong option okay so option a and option B are eliminated we go to option C negotiate with the functional manager to help allocate alternate resources okay we will hold this option because that seems like a reasonable option that you can negotiate with the functional manager and ask him to allocate any alternate resources if he has to keep your project going so we will hold this option for a while option D start resource leveling and resource smoothing operations to get back on track okay this can also be a correct option you can use resource leveling you can use resource modeling as well so we have eliminated option a and B but we are left with option C and option D and so now what we do is we go back and hit edit the full process and look at option C and option D once again okay now if you look at option D guys it is saying that starting resource leveling and resource smoothing operations now this actually goes against your project manager behavior framework so if you see point number 12 of our ideal project manager behavior framework you will see that it mentions a project manager knows and exercises his authority and credibility in the right way to ensure the best interests of all now with that now with the reference of that behavior if you see option D you see here that the project manager here is not exercising any of his authority or credibility so whenever your project manager you should always remember that any project happens with the best interest of the company so a functional manager cannot come and outright take the resources away without providing any additional help or any additional negotiations to plan for any alternatives okay now if you let your resources goal just like that anybody will come to you and take your resources away from your project okay now here you need to put your step ahead and work as a more inclusive project manager and work with the functional manager to identify whether there are any alternative options left or not you cannot just let your resources go and jump right on to the other steps such as resource leveling or resource smoothing that way you are not behaving as I do project manager and that is why this option which is option D is a wrong option so we have option C which is the correct option and that is negotiating with the functional manager to help allocate alternate resources to your project and that is the best course of action you can take as an ideal project manager for this question before moving on to the next question I would like to thank you all for the amazing words of appreciation that I have received from you guys over emails and comments these are the ones that really keep me going guys so thank you thank you thank you for that and now let's move on to question number three question number three guys pause the video read the question and try to answer it before moving forward okay so we'll start answering the question step number one we will ensure positive bias while we read the options and reject an option only if we get a very solid reason to reject it okay and with that we move on to step number two to identify the stem of the question so it's saying that as a project manager what should you communicate to your sponsor as a result of doing this so that essentially is indicating towards a type 1 question which is based on the ideal project manager behavior framework and with that we move on to step 3 which is we will start analyzing the options with the ideal project manager behavior framework and reject any one of them on solid grounds so option number one activities will be performed in parallel ok so this is a good option guys we can hold this option for now because if you perform the activities in parallel it essentially is saying that in a way or the other you may be doing a fast tracking of your project so this can be a right option let's hold it for now option B scope will get revised okay so this is outright a wrong option because if you look at point number two of our ideal project manager behavior framework it says that good project manager should hold the scope of the project sacrosanct so advising the scope is the last resort and it goes to a formal change management procedure which is approved by the CCB and the sponsor okay so this question is not indicating anything towards it so this option B gets eliminated option C rework will result hmm now this is a very broad option guys it doesn't really say that what kind of free work will result and essentially if you are trying to expedite a project that does not necessarily mean that rework will always result okay you can still accelerate a project without resulting in any rework if you plan it meticulously okay so it does not have to be necessarily true that whenever you accelerate the project reworks will result so this is also a quite broad option and that is why we eliminate option C as well costs and risks will increase that's option D okay now this is also a possible option guys because whenever you do fast-tracking or crashing or any kind of scheduled acceleration it always carries some risks and some costs with it okay so we have eliminated option B and option C and we are left with option A and option D now if you look at option a guys it is saying that activities will be performed in parallel now here most of the students will mock option a and option a is the wrong answer guys so I will tell you why listen very carefully activities being performed in parallel does not necessarily mean that you were doing fast-tracking okay it is actually the reverse that is when you are doing fast-tracking it means that you have to perform some activities in parallel but it does not mean that whenever you are performing activities in parallel you are doing fast-tracking so it's not the other way round which is very important and if you see here it is only telling activities right it is not telling that critical activities be very careful now when you do fast tracking of a project it is mainly on the critical activities it is not just done on any activity right so even if you do fast tracking on any one of the activities if it is not on critical path it will not help you you're scheduled to accelerate so option a is a very close option and is beautifully written to just fool you or to trick you into selecting the option which will be a wrong option okay so with that we say that option a is also wrong option because it does not give any detail in terms of which activities will be performed in parallel so the correct answer is option D which is costs and risks will increase so if you read the PMBOK read the part of the fast tracking and crashing and you will see that it is written that whenever you do any scheduled accelerations or any scheduled compression techniques your costs and risks will increase and that is also very true for real-life projects and that is why option D is the correct option for this question I hope today's video was useful and you are one step ahead towards becoming a master in solving situational questions in your PMP exam don't forget to Like subscribe and share this video and also recommend this video to your peers and your colleagues okay so thank you for watching today's video and I'll see you again soon in another video like this bye bye

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Id: UlPUTlzh9Do

Length: 15min 25sec (925 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 11 2020