Factor affecting project plans: technical issues

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A developer's laptop crashes and the unsaved code is lost. Is this a technical issue that can affect a project plan?

A Yes, lost files can delay tasks and force the plan to change

B No, technical issues only affect the final product, not the plan

2. Which is the best example of a contingency for technical issues?

A Adding extra features to the scope

B Regular backups and spare time in the schedule

3. An unexpected bug takes 3 days to fix, but the plan only allowed 1 day for it. What is the likely effect?

A Later tasks are pushed back and the plan must be adjusted

B The plan stays the same because bugs are not part of the schedule

4. Which of these is a tool failure?

A The code editor keeps crashing and stops work

B The client asks for a new feature halfway through

5. Which statement about technical issues is correct?

A They can always be predicted, so no contingency is needed

B They are often unexpected, so plans should allow for them

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Task 4 took 5 days instead of 2 because of an unexpected bug		AAn unexpected bug is a technical issue that makes a task run over time and delays later tasks
2Contingency: 2 spare days after testing		BA technical issue that delays tasks must be recorded and the plan adjusted. Ignoring it makes the plan inaccurate.
3A tool failure, such as a crashed IDE or broken laptop, stops work and forces tasks to be rescheduled		CA contingency is extra time or resources set aside so a technical issue does not derail the plan
4Lost files can be recovered if a backup or version control contingency was planned		DThere is no contingency, so any technical issue such as a bug or tool failure will push the whole project past its deadline.
5Plan: no spare time. Every task is scheduled back to back until the deadline.		ELog: Laptop failed on 12 May. Coding paused 3 days. Gantt chart updated.
6Technical issue: files were lost. Action: ignore it and keep the original plan unchanged.		Fgit push origin main # backup copy of the code stored on the remote repository

Definitions

technical issues

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

planned = 5 delay = 2 newdays = planned _ delay

down = True __ down: print("Use the backup server")

planned = 10 spare = 2 total = planned + _____

try: open("plan.txt") ______ FileNotFoundError: print("Backup")

delayed = ["build", "deploy"] count = ___(delayed) print(count)

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A planned = 5

B bug_delay = 2

C actual = planned - bug_delay

D print(actual)

Question 2

A tool_failed = True

B if tool_failed

C print('Use backup tool')

D print('Plan updated')

Question 3

A files = ['a.txt', 'b.py']

B backups = []

C for f in backups:

D backups.append(f)

Question 4

A planned = 10

B buffer = planned * 20

C total = planned + buffer

D print(total)

Question 5

A delay = '3'

B deadline = 20

C new_date = deadline + delay

D print(new_date)

Answer Key

Factor affecting project plans: technical issues

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Yes, lost files can delay tasks and force the plan to change

B — Regular backups and spare time in the schedule

A — Later tasks are pushed back and the plan must be adjusted

A — The code editor keeps crashing and stops work

B — They are often unexpected, so plans should allow for them

Section B: Match the Pairs

Task 4 took 5 days instead of 2 because of an unexpected bug → An unexpected bug is a technical issue that makes a task run over time and delays later tasks

Contingency: 2 spare days after testing → A contingency is extra time or resources set aside so a technical issue does not derail the plan

A tool failure, such as a crashed IDE or broken laptop, stops work and forces tasks to be rescheduled → Log: Laptop failed on 12 May. Coding paused 3 days. Gantt chart updated.

Lost files can be recovered if a backup or version control contingency was planned → git push origin main # backup copy of the code stored on the remote repository

Plan: no spare time. Every task is scheduled back to back until the deadline. → There is no contingency, so any technical issue such as a bug or tool failure will push the whole project past its deadline.

Technical issue: files were lost. Action: ignore it and keep the original plan unchanged. → A technical issue that delays tasks must be recorded and the plan adjusted. Ignoring it makes the plan inaccurate.

Section C: Definitions

technical issues — Problems like bugs, tool failures or lost files that delay tasks and force changes to a project plan. Contingencies (backups, spare time) reduce their impact.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

planned = 5
delay = 2
newdays = planned + delay

down = True
if down:
    print("Use the backup server")

planned = 10
spare = 2
total = planned + spare

try:
    open("plan.txt")
except FileNotFoundError: print("Backup")

delayed = ["build", "deploy"]
count = len(delayed)
print(count)

Section E: Spot the Error

C — An unexpected bug delays the task, so the delay must be added to the planned days, not subtracted. It should be actual = planned + bug_delay.

B — An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if tool_failed:.

C — The loop must go through files, the originals to copy. Looping over the empty backups list means nothing is backed up, so lost files could not be recovered. It should be for f in files:.

B — A contingency buffer of 20% is 0.2 of the planned days. Multiplying by 20 gives a huge, unrealistic buffer. It should be planned * 0.2.

A — '3' is a string, so adding it to the integer deadline causes a TypeError. The delay should be the number 3, not text.