TOPIC: Free PMP® Exam Sample Question of the Week

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With the start of project execution, a project manager needs to acquire the development team. However, the project sponsor indicates that of those developers who were planned for the project, one is unavailable as she is currently completing another project. What should the project manager do to understand the proposed team member's future availability?

A. Look at the project documents
B. Contact the team member's functional manager
C. Review the resource requirements
D. Examine the resource breakdown structure

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HINT: Which input to the Acquire Resources process identifies the working days and shifts upon which each specific resource is available?

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Answer and Explanation:
The correct answer is A.

The scenario implies that the project manager is about to start the Acquire Resources process and needs to understand the availability of the project team members. The project documents include the resource calendars which serve as an input to the Acquire Resources process. A resource calendar identifies the working days, shifts, start and end of normal business hours, weekends, and public holidays when each specific resource is available. Information on which resources are potentially available during a planned activity period is used for estimating resource utilization. Resource calendars also specify when and for how long identified team and physical resources will be available during the project. Of the available choices, looking at the project documents, which includes the resource calendars, provides the best source of information for the project manager about the availability of a particular team member to perform project work.

Details for each option:

A. Look at the project documents
Correct. The project documents include the resource calendars. Resource calendars specify when and for how long identified team and physical resources will be available during the project. Therefore, the project manager should look at the project documents, which includes resource calendars, to gain an understanding of when a particular team member will be available to perform project work.

B. Contact the team member's functional manager
Incorrect. Although the functional manager may be aware of a team member's availability, this is not the best source for information on availability. There is a good possibility that the functional manager would have to check the resource calendars to find out the requested availability, which is not a good use of the functional manager's time. The project manager should use the resources which are readily available before contacting the functional manager.

C. Review the resource requirements
Incorrect. The resource requirements are determined during project planning and identify which resources need to be acquired. However, the resource requirements do not have the availability of those resources.

D. Examine the resource breakdown structure
Incorrect. The resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of resources by category and type which is developed during project planning. However, the resource breakdown structure does not include resource availability.

Reference: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute Inc., 2017, Page(s) 331