You’re a project manager and you’ve completed your project schedule. The schedule will take 18
months to complete the project work. Throughout the schedule there are instances that the project
work will require the project team members to work more than fifty hours per week. If you must
adhere to a maximum of 45 hours of project work per team member, per week, what will likely
happen to your project schedule as it stands right now?
A.
Nothing, the 45 hours limit is a guideline.
B.
The project will take longer to complete.
C.
The project will take less time to complete.
D.
The project will require more resources.
Explanation:
If a resource leveling heuristic, such as 45 hours maximum per time period, is enforced on the
project, then the project schedule will take longer to complete. What is resource leveling
heuristics? Resource leveling heuristics is a prioritization method that allocates inadequate
resources to critical path activities first. It is a schedule network analysis technique useful to a
schedule that has already been analyzed by the critical path method. It is used when shared or
critical essential resources are only available at certain times, in limited quantities, or to keep
resource usage at a constant level. It is a technique that resolves resource conflicts by delaying
tasks within their slack allowances. Resource leveling is the process in which project teams come
across problems when developing their project schedules. If a company has multiple projects
running simultaneously that require the same resources, then problems can arise. It can often
cause the critical path method to change.
Answer option A is incorrect. The 45-hour limit is a restriction on the project.
Answer option C is incorrect. The project will not take less time to complete because the project
team members won’t be able to complete as much work in the same amount of time.
Answer option D is incorrect. The project may require more resources if the project manager and
management want the project to finish by a particular date. In this question, however, the focus is
on what will happen to the project schedule, not the project staffing.