IPA IP 2021 Question 50

Topic: Project Management

A question IPA Japan published in 令和3年度 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問50, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.

Same question on ITPEC: Oct 2025 Q56 +1 more

The PC on one’s desk and the printer in a shared space are started by a single person under the conditions shown in the figure below. Each operation/processing needs to be performed sequentially, but during automatic processing of one device, it is possible for the person to move or operate the other device in parallel. What is the minimum time required (in seconds) for the person to start the PC startup at his/her desk, then move, start and end the printer startup, return to his/her desk, and end the PC startup?

[Conditions]
PC on one’s deskPrinter in a shared spaceMovement: 60seconds one way

Flow of PC startup

Operation/​processingTimerequiredProcessingtype
(Start of startup)
A: Turn on the power3 secondsManualoperation
B: Login screen startup150 secondsAutomaticprocessing
C: Login operation10 secondsManualoperation
D: Application startup     after login60 secondsAutomaticprocessing
(End of startup)

Flow of printer startup

Operation/​processingTimerequiredProcessingtype
(Start of startup)
E: Turn on the power3 secondsManualoperation
F: Startup60 secondsAutomaticprocessing
(End of startup)

Explanation

223 seconds — the printer trip fits inside the PC's 150-second login-screen startup, so the PC's own steps set the total.

Timeline in seconds from the start:

  • •0–3: A, turn on the PC (manual); B, the login-screen startup, then runs by itself until 153
  • •3–63: walk to the printer
  • •63–66: E, turn on the printer (manual); F, the printer startup, then runs by itself until 126
  • •66–126: walk back to the desk while F runs
  • •126–153: wait for B to finish
  • •153–163: C, login operation (manual)
  • •163–223: D, application startup, ends at 223

The PC's chain alone takes 3 + 150 + 10 + 60 = 223 seconds, and the person's trip, 60 + 3 + 60 = 123 seconds after turning the PC on, is over before B ends, so it adds nothing.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

  • •(b) 256 — waits at the printer until F ends at 126 before walking back, arriving at 186; C and D then end at 186 + 10 + 60 = 256. The person may move while a device processes automatically
  • •(c) 286 — 3 + 150 + 10 + 60 + 3 + 60: every operation and processing time in series, with only the walking left out; the automatic processing is meant to overlap other work
  • •(d) 406 — 286 + 60 + 60: everything in series, both walks included, with no overlap at all

Key rule: Draw one timeline per resource: manual steps occupy the person, automatic steps occupy only the device, and the total is set by the longest chain of steps that must follow one another.

Project Management · AI-written, may contain errors

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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.