Level 2 exam — Microsoft Project

Exam — fresh questions

12 questions to validate level 2 with Meriem, project manager at an engineering & construction (BTP) company in Algiers: resources, assignments, task types, budget and availability.
Answer everything, then click Check: your score and explanations will appear.

2 · Recall

1. What do you list in the Resource Sheet?

The project resources, with their types, rates and capacities The project tasks, with their durations and links The project reports, with their filters and sorts The project milestones, with their target dates

The Resource Sheet lists resources (work, material, cost) with rate, maximum capacity and calendar: the foundation for assigning, costing and spotting overloads.

2 · Application

2. Meriem must represent the concrete consumed in m³ on site. What type of resource does she create?

A work resource, consumed in hours A material resource, consumed in quantity A cost resource, entered as an amount A work resource assigned at 50%

Concrete is consumed in quantity (m³) at a unit cost: it is a material resource. A cost resource would be a one-off expense entered as an amount.

2 · Arbitration

3. Meriem hesitates: create one resource per person or one resource per trade. What does she favour?

Always one resource per person, whatever the project One resource per trade only, never a person A consistent level: per person for close tracking, per team otherwise No resource at all, entering rates directly on tasks

You choose the level according to the granularity you want: per person to track individual overloads, per trade/team for an overall schedule. The important thing is to stay consistent.

2 · Recall

4. Which relationship governs resource assignments in Project?

Cost = Duration + Units Duration = Work + Cost Number of tasks = Resources × Milestones Work = Duration × Units

The Work/Duration/Units triangle: effort (person-days) = calendar time × amount of resource assigned.

2 · Application

5. Meriem assigns a resource at 50% to a task with 8 h of work. What happens?

The 8 h spread over 2 days, at 4 h per day The work doubles, rising to 16 h in total The task keeps the same duration and the same work The cost is automatically halved

At 50%, the same 8 h workload spreads over 2 days (4 h/day): the effort stays constant, the duration increases.

2 · Application

6. Meriem wants to show that an engineer devotes only part time to a task. What units value does she set?

400%, to cover twice the workload 50%, for part time on the task 0%, so as not to overload him 150%, to allow a safety margin

100% = full time, 50% = part time, 200% = two people. Part time is therefore set to 50%.

2 · Recall

7. What does the 'task type' decide in Project?

The bar colour in the Gantt chart The displayed name of the task in the Entry table Which variable stays fixed during a recalculation The default printer for the project report

The type (Fixed Units, Fixed Duration, Fixed Work) decides which variable stays constant when another changes, governing the Work = Duration × Units recalculation.

2 · Arbitration

8. Meriem must plan a training course whose duration is imposed at 3 days. Which type does she choose?

Fixed Units, to keep the units constant Fixed Work, to freeze the total effort Effort-driven scheduling without a defined type Fixed Duration, so that the 3-day deadline does not move

When duration is imposed, you choose Fixed Duration: changing work will then adjust units, not the deadline.

2 · Application

9. Meriem's costs are at zero despite assigned resources. What is the most likely cause?

The resources have no rate entered There are too many tasks in the project The Cost table is read-only The Gantt chart hides the amounts

Work cost is calculated as rate × work: without a rate in the Resource Sheet, it stays at zero. Also check that you display the Cost table.

2 · Arbitration

10. Meriem wants a lump-sum machine rental expense attached to a single task. What does she do?

She creates a cost resource reusable across the whole project She enters a fixed cost on that specific task She increases the units of the work resource She changes the task duration to absorb the amount

A lump-sum expense specific to a task is entered as a fixed cost; a cost resource would be used for a one-off expense reusable across several tasks.

2 · Recall

11. How does Meriem model a person working part time or on leave?

By removing them from the schedule during their absence By changing the colour of their tasks in the Gantt chart Through their resource calendar and their capacity/availability By replacing them with a material resource

You set the maximum capacity (part time) and declare leave as exceptions in 'Change Working Time': the project calendar and the resource calendar combine.

2 · Application

12. An engineer goes on leave for two weeks in August. How does Meriem include this in the schedule?

She shifts the task by hand, without declaring anything She deletes the tasks concerning her in August She assigns the resource at 0% across the whole project She sets a leave exception in her resource calendar

Declaring the absence as an exception in 'Change Working Time' is far more reliable than fiddling with dates: Project then automatically shifts the affected tasks.

What's next?

Score ≥ 80%: move on to Level 3 — critical path, progress tracking and mastering overloads with Meriem.
Score between 50% and 80%: go back over the section(s) you failed (2.1 resources, 2.2 assignments, 2.3 task types, 2.4 costs, 2.5 availability), reread the lesson, then retake the test.
Score < 50%: reread the whole level 2 while applying each 48h challenge (drawing up the resource table, assigning at 100% then 50%, setting task types, reading the Cost table, declaring an unavailability) before trying again.
And after that? Keep Meriem's BTP resource table, task type settings and budget sheet: level 3 connects them to the critical path, the baseline and progress tracking.