You are on page 1of 11

School of Engineering

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering


Semester: Fall 2012
IENG300 Engineering Project Management Midterm
Instructors: Mr. Ibrahim Serhan, Dr. Khaled Chahine, Mr. Ayman Dayekh, Dr. Refaat
Abdallah, Mr. Mohamad Negro, Dr. Bassam Hussein
Date: Monday, December 3rd, 2012
Time: 17:00 18:30 (90 minutes)
Student Name: _____________________

Student ID: _______________ Section: ____

There are 5 questions in the booklet; each has several parts. Please answer all parts of the
questions to the best of your ability.
Marking Scheme
Questions

Weight

Question 1

10 points

Question 2

15 points

Question 3

25 points

Question 4

20 points

Question 5

30 points

Total

100 points

Mark

1. This booklet contains 11 pages including this one. Make sure all these pages are
attached.
2. Closed book examination. Formulas are provided on the last page.
3. Do not take the staple out. The exam booklet must remain intact.
4. Cheating penalty will be an F grade on the exam.
5. Non-programmable calculators are allowed.
6. Mobile phones/devices are to be turned off and stowed away.
7. Students must sign out prior to leaving the exam room.

Good luck
Engineering Project Management

1/11

Question 1 (10 points):


Mark the following statements as either TRUE (T) or FALSE (F):
1. Because of its flexibility, project management is equally useful in ongoing, routine
work as well as unique, one-time projects.
2. A program is a task within a project.
3. One of the major disadvantages of the project form of project management structure is
that it tends to be more expensive than other forms of organizing.
4. A project manager must be flexible and creative and have the ability to adjust rapidly
to changes.
5.

The Pay Back method of project selection takes into consideration the time value of
money.

6. Responsibility matrices are used primarily with small and medium sized projects and
have limited use in large projects.
7. Once management has committed to a project, it is not possible for them to change the
funding allocated to the project, or to change the deadline of the project.
8. In developing a project network, each activity should have a unique identification
number that is smaller than the identification numbers of activities that follow it.
9. Resource leveling is only used on projects which are resource-constrained.
10. The risk is highest in the earliest phases of the project life cycle.

Engineering Project Management

2/11

Question 2 (15 points):


You work for a company which expects to earn at least 18 % on its investments. You
have to choose between two similar projects. Your analysts predict that inflation rate will
be a stable 3 % over the next 7 years. Below is the cash flow information for each project.
Which of the two projects would you fund if the decision is based only on financial
information? Why?
Omega
Year
Y0
Y1
Y2
Y3
Y4
Y5
Y6
Y7
Total

Inflow
0
0
$150,000
220,000
215,000
205,000
197,000
100,000
1,087,000

Outflow
$225,000
190,000
0
30,000
0
30,000
0
30,000
505,000

Engineering Project Management

Netflow
-225,000
-190,000
150,000
190,000
215,000
175,000
197,000
70,000
582,000

Alpha
Year
Y0
Y1
Y2
Y3
Y4
Y5
Y6
Y7
Total

Inflow
0
$50,000
150,000
250,000
250,000
200,000
180,000
120,000
1,200,000

Outflow
$300,000
100,000
0
50,000
0
50,000
0
30,000
530,000

Netflow
-300,000
-50,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
150,000
180,000
90,000
670,000

3/11

Engineering Project Management

4/11

Question 3 (25 points):

Given the project information summarized in the following table:

Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N

Predecessor Activity
A
A
A
B
B, C
C, D
D
F, G
F
E, J
G, H
F, H
I, K, L, M

Duration (days)
2
7
10
4
6
5
8
9
12
5
5
6
4
3

Using the following legend to represent the nodes:

1. Draw the Activity on Node (AoN) network.


2. Calculate the early start (ES), early finish (EF), late start (LS), late finish (LF) and
slack.
3. Find the critical path (CP).
4. Discuss the impact on the activities if the project target completion time was set to 30
days.

Engineering Project Management

5/11

Engineering Project Management

6/11

Question 4 (20 points)

iTech LAN Project


iTech is a small, information systems consulting firm located in Beirut. iTech has just been
hired by LIU to design and install a local area network (LAN) for the LIU Saida Campus to
extend existing IT labs. You are the manager for the project, which includes one iTech
professional resource and two intern students from LIU.
You have just finished a preliminary scope statement for the project (see below). You are
now brainstorming potential risks associated with the project.
a) Identify at least four potential risks associated with this project.
b) Using the provided risk matrix, analyze identified risks and outline how you would
deal with each of the risks.
c) What are some of the benefits of doing this exercise?

PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT


PROJECT OBJECTIVE
To design and install a local area network (LAN) within one month with a budget not to exceed $50,000 for
the LIU Saida campus IT labs.

DELIVERABLES

Twenty workstations and twenty laptop computers.


Server with dual-core processors.
Two color laser printers.
Windows 2008 R2 server and workstation operating system (Vista/Windows 7).
Four hours of introduction training for clients personnel.
Sixteen hours of training for client network administrator.
Fully operational LAN system.

MILESTONES

Hardware January 22.


Setting users priority and authorization January 26.
In-house whole network test completed February 1.
Client site test completed February 2.
Training completed February 16.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Workstations with 17-inch flat panel monitors, dual-core processors, 2 GB RAM, 8X DVD1RW,
wireless card, Ethernet card, 80 GB hard drive.
Laptops with 12-inch display monitor, dual-core processors, 2GB RAM, 8X DVD1RW, wireless
card, Ethernet card, 60 GB hard drive and weigh less than 41y2 lbs.
Wireless network interface cards and Ethernet connections.
System must support Windows Vista/Windows 7 platforms.
System must provide secure external access for field workers.

LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS

System maintenance and repair only up to one month after final inspection.
Warranties transferred to client.
Only responsible for installing software designated by the client 2 weeks before the project start.
Client will be billed for additional training beyond that prescribed in the contract.

Engineering Project Management

7/11

a)

b) Risk Matrix
ID

Likelihood

Impact

Response

Trigger

When

c)

Engineering Project Management

8/11

Question 5 (30 points)


Choose the correct answer. Only one answer may be marked. Questions with more than one
answer will automatically get a zero mark. Wrong answers do not penalize correct ones.
1. Which of the following activities is not considered a project?
a. Developing a new software program
b. Designing a space station
c. Preparing the site for the Olympic Games
d. Production of automobile tires
2. Which of the following choices is not one of the stages of a project life cycle?
a. Conceptualizing
b. Defining
c. Planning
d. Executing
3. Which of these is not part of the "science" of project management?
a. WBS
b. Budgets
c. Critical thinking
d. Progress reports
4. In reviewing the project plan, Adam sees that the first prototype is due by September
23rd. This would be best classified as a:
a. Project milestone
b. Project objective
c. Time-constraint project
d. Project goal
5. Project selection criteria are typically classified as:
a. Financial and non-financial
b. Short-term and long-term
c. Strategic and tactical
d. Required and optional
6. In which of the following is the balance of authority strongly in favor of the functional
managers?
a. Weak matrix
b. Balanced matrix
c. Strong matrix
d. Functional matrix
7. The activities that are to be completed immediately following a particular activity are
referred to as:
a. Merge
b. Burst
c. Predecessor
d. Successor

Engineering Project Management

9/11

8. The first step in creating the necessary information to manage a project is to:
a. Establish project priorities
b. Define the project scope
c. Verify the budget available
d. Assign team members to work on the project
9. The highest element in the hierarchical breakdown of the WBS is:
a. A work package
b. Sub deliverables
c. A cost account
d. The project
10. All of the following are true about work packages except:
a. Consume resources
b. Assigned to only one manager
c. Have medium to long duration
d. Definitive starts and stops dates
11. A good starting point for developing time and cost estimates is:
a. Past experience
b. Work packages
c. Task analysis
d. Time and motion studies
12. Maya is forecasting the time and cost of developing a customized software program by
looking at the number of inputs, outputs, inquires, files and interfaces. Which of the
following methods is she employing?
a. Template
b. Ratio
c. Function point
d. Apportion
13. The two scales of a risk severity matrix usually measure:
a. The cost and the schedule
b. The likelihood and the cost
c. The schedule and the impact
d. The likelihood and the impact
14. Which of the following is not one of the potential responses to a specific risk event?
a. Avoiding
b. Ignoring
c. Transferring
d. Sharing
15. The tendency for the project objectives to be changed with little or no discussion with
other parties actively engaged in the project is referred to as:
a. Scope reference
b. Scope creep
c. Effectiveness
d. Hierarchical planning

Engineering Project Management

10/11

FORMULAS
The payback formula:
Payback period (yrs) = Estimated Project Cost/Annual Savings

The net present value (NPV) formula:

AoN calculations formulas:

EF = ES + Duration
LS = LF Duration
SL = LS ES or SL = LF EF

Engineering Project Management

11/11

You might also like