A project manager is using the PERT technique to estimate the duration of a critical activity. The optimistic estimate is 10 days, and the pessimistic estimate is 22 days. What is the standard deviation for this activity?
4 days
1 day
2 days
3 days
The correct answer is 2 days. The standard deviation in PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) is calculated using the formula: σ = (Pessimistic - Optimistic) / 6. In this case, we have:
σ = (22 - 10) / 6 = 12 / 6 = 2 days
This calculation is important because it helps project managers understand the variability in their estimates. A higher standard deviation indicates more uncertainty in the activity duration. In this case, a standard deviation of 2 days suggests a moderate level of uncertainty in the estimate.
The other answers are incorrect because they either use the wrong formula or misapply the given information. For example, 4 days would result from not dividing by 6, while 1 day and 3 days are arbitrary values that don't correspond to the correct calculation.
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