Estimating Activity Durations Quiz

Effort does not equal Duration. Why could an activity that requires “3 Days of Work” have a duration of several weeks?

If the update cycle is every week, what would be an appropriate duration for near-term activities?

Imagine an Activity Owner said, “We have completed activities like this five times over the past year. Based on our recorded actual durations, we expect this will take a week and a half.” What estimating technique did they use?

Imagine an Activity Owner said, “I have consulted the industry standards for installing carpet. Based on the square footage we need to cover, we expect this activity to require two weeks.” What estimating technique did they use?

The “Normal Point” is the most efficient means of completing the activity. What is likely to happen to the duration after doubling the resources assigned to complete the activity?

What could happen to the duration and the cost of an activity when there are too many resources assigned?

Consider a low priority activity that will likely be interrupted several times before it can be completed. What is the likely duration for this activity?

Considering the Activity Time­-Cost Trade­off graph, what is the Normal Cost for an activity?

Considering the Activity Time­-Cost Tradeoff graph, what is the Normal Duration for an activity?

Considering the Activity Time-Cost Trade-Off graph, what is the Crash Duration for an activity?

Considering the Activity Time-Cost Trade­off graph, what is the Crash Cost for an activity?

What is the most likely reason for management to require everyone to work overtime on a project that is running behind schedule?

Imagine there is an experienced resource that can be assigned to a project activity. We estimate that it will take 5 hours for them to complete the activity and that they can make themselves available to work on it for 1 hour per day. Using the formula, Duration = Resource Requirements ÷ Resource Availability, what would be the duration of the activity?

Imagine there is an inexperienced resource that can be assigned to a project activity. We estimate that it will take 10 hours for them to complete the activity and that they can make themselves available to work on it for 5 hours per day. Using the formula, Duration = Resource Requirements ÷ Resource Availability, what would be the duration of the activity?

Given the last two questions, who should be assigned to work the activity, the experienced or inexperienced staff member?

Given everything we have discussed about estimating duration, which of these happens most frequently?