IPA FE Subject A sample Question 44
A question IPA Japan published in 基本情報技術者試験 科目A サンプル問題 問44, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
What is the minimum number of days required from the start to the end of the project that has the schedule plan in the arrow diagram?
Explanation
12 days — the minimum duration from start to end is the length of the longest path through the arrow diagram, the critical path.
Each path from the first milestone to the last:
J cannot start until both H and I are finished: H ends on day 8 and I on day 7, so J runs from day 8 to day 12. G ends on day 9, earlier. The critical path is A → B → E → H → J.
Answer (d)
Why not others:
- •(a) 9 — the length of A → D → G, the shortest path; the project has to wait for its longest one
- •(b) 10 — the length of no path in the diagram
- •(c) 11 — the length of A → C → F → I → J, which J's start does not wait for alone: H finishes a day after I
Key rule: The minimum project duration is the longest path through the arrow diagram; where arrows merge, the next activity starts at the latest of their finish times.
Project Management · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.