Module 3: Data-informed decision-making

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In this post, I provide complete, accurate, and detailed explanations for the answers to Module 3: Data-informed decision-making of Course 4: Project Execution: Running the Project – Google Project Management: Professional Certificate.

Whether you’re preparing for quizzes or brushing up on your knowledge, these insights will help you master the concepts effectively. Let’s dive into the correct answers and detailed explanations for each question!

Test your knowledge: Prioritizing and analyzing data

Practice Assignment

1. As a project manager, you collect opinion-based feedback surveys in a text format as part of an effort to improve a product. What do you call this type of data?

  • Quantitative data
  • Qualitative data ✅
  • Projection data
  • Key performance indicator (KPI) data

Explanation:
Opinion-based feedback surveys in text format are a form of qualitative data. This type of data focuses on non-numerical information such as opinions, ideas, and feelings, which can provide insights into user experiences and areas of improvement.

2. As a project manager, you track the number of open and closed tasks per team member. What do you call this type of data?

  • Qualitative data
  • Observational data
  • Quantitative data ✅
  • Interview data

Explanation:
Tracking the number of open and closed tasks per team member involves numerical information, which is classified as quantitative data. This data type helps measure and analyze team performance and productivity objectively.

3. As a project manager, how can you help ensure the privacy of data collected from your users, stakeholders, and others for your projects? Select all that apply.

  • Anonymize data. ✅
  • Increase data privacy awareness. ✅
  • Use security tools. ✅
  • Collect as much data about your users as possible.

Explanation:
To protect the privacy of data, you should:

  1. Anonymize data to remove any personally identifiable information.
  2. Increase data privacy awareness by educating team members about best practices and potential risks.
  3. Use security tools such as encryption to safeguard sensitive information.
    Collecting excessive data is unnecessary and can compromise privacy, so it should be avoided.

4. Fill in the blank: During the _____ step of the data analysis process, you collect and store the data you will analyze.

  • ask
  • prepare ✅
  • process
  • analyze
  • share
  • act

Explanation:
During the prepare step of the data analysis process, data is collected and stored for further analysis. This step ensures that all required information is gathered and organized to enable effective processing and analysis later in the workflow.

Test your knowledge: Presenting and visualizing data

Practice Assignment

5. When crafting a story, what is the first step a project manager takes to think like the people they are presenting to and better understand their questions and concerns?

  • Define the audience. ✅
  • Collect the data.
  • Choose a visual representation.
  • Shape the story.

Explanation:
The first step in crafting a story is to define the audience. This helps the project manager understand the needs, questions, and concerns of the people they are presenting to, ensuring the story is relevant and engaging.

6. During what storytelling step does a project manager design an infographic or chart to present the data?

  • Gather the feedback.
  • Shape the story.
  • Choose a visualization representation. ✅
  • Collect the data.

Explanation:
Designing an infographic or chart occurs during the step where the project manager chooses a visualization representation. This step focuses on selecting the best way to visually communicate the data to the audience for clarity and impact.

7. During what storytelling step does a project manager vet data for credibility?

  • Filter and analyze the data. ✅
  • Choose a visual representation.
  • Define the audience.
  • Shape the story.

Explanation:
Vetting data for credibility is part of the filter and analyze the data step. This involves checking the accuracy, reliability, and relevance of the data before incorporating it into the story.

8. When turning data into a story, a project manager first defines their audience. What is the second step?

  • Choose a visual representation.
  • Collect the data. ✅
  • Shape the story.
  • Gather feedback.

Explanation:
After defining the audience, the second step in turning data into a story is to collect the data. This involves gathering relevant data that addresses the key questions or concerns of the audience. Shaping the story comes later in the process, after data collection and analysis.

Module 3 Challenge

Graded Quiz

9. Fill in the blank: During your project, you monitor the timelines and efficiency of your team. You collect data on how many tasks they complete, their quality of work, and the time it takes to complete the tasks. All of these are examples of using data to _____.

  • understand performance ✅
  • understand your users
  • reduce budget
  • solve problems

10. Which of the following are examples of productivity metrics? Select all that apply.

  • Issues
  • Durations ✅
  • Milestones ✅
  • Projections ✅

11. Which of the following are examples of quality metrics? Select all that apply.

  • number of changes ✅
  • cost variance ✅
  • tasks
  • issues ✅

12. Fill in the blank: A(n) ______ is an observable change that can help project managers determine the overall health of a project.

  • signal ✅
  • risk
  • issue
  • milestone

13. Fill in the blank: _____ is the process of collecting and organizing information to help draw conclusions.

  • Project management
  • Data analysis ✅
  • Risk analysis
  • Documentation

14. Fill in the blank: _____ is the process of turning facts into a narrative to communicate something to your audience.

  • Storytelling ✅
  • Statistics
  • Data analysis
  • Communication

15. Fill in the blank: A _____ is a measurable value or metric that demonstrates how effective an organization is at achieving important objectives.

  • key performance indicator (KPI) ✅
  • statistic
  • milestone
  • task deadline

16. Which of the following tactics may help you be memorable during a presentation? Select all that apply.

  • Confirm the audience has no questions before you start.
  • Pace yourself by using intentional pauses. ✅
  • Elevate the volume of your voice to emphasize key points. ✅
  • Make eye contact and use friendly facial expressions. ✅
  • Maintain an upright posture with hands at your side. ✅

17. As a project manager processing data, you avoid understanding ambiguous data as either positive or negative. This tactic helps avoid which data bias?

  • Sampling bias
  • Interpretation bias ✅
  • Observer bias
  • Confirmation bias

18. As a project manager analyzing data, you begin by inquiring about the current state of the problem, the ideal outcome, and the expectations of your stakeholders. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Prepare
  • Ask ✅
  • Analyze
  • Process
  • Share

19. As a project manager creating a story, you ask yourself questions like: “Is the content credible and trustworthy?”, “Are there any data points that skew the information”, and “What content can I eliminate?”. In what storytelling step should you ask these questions?

  • Filter and analyze the data ✅
  • Define the audience
  • Choose a visual representation
  • Find the data
  • Gather the feedback

20. How do graphs and charts help present data? Select all that apply.

  • Compare values and demonstrate how individual parts contribute to a whole ✅
  • Puzzle the audience to think more intensely and remember the data
  • Analyze trends and behaviors over set periods of time ✅
  • Inform the audience about a new trend or valuable piece of information ✅
  • Demonstrate the relationships between data sets ✅

21. In which of the following categories can project managers group metrics? Select all that apply.

  • Quality metrics ✅
  • Productivity metrics ✅
  • Documentation metrics
  • Reliability metrics

22. Fill in the blank: _____ is when the project manager determines how long it will take to complete a project based on resources available.

  • Planning
  • Prediction 
  • Projection ✅
  • Brainstorming

23. What is an observable change that helps determine health of a project and identify if something isn’t quite right?

  • milestone
  • signal ✅
  • Burnout chart
  • tasks

24. Fill in the blank: _____ data are statistical and numerical facts about a project.

  • Qualitative
  • Subjective
  • Mathematical
  • Quantitative ✅

25. Which of the following include visual representations of data? Select all that apply.

  • Charts ✅
  • Infographics ✅
  • Dashboards ✅
  • Statistics

26. You review your presentation slides and remove any content that dilutes your message. What presentation goal are you trying to achieve?

  • Being precise ✅
  • Being effective
  • Being flexible
  • Being memorable

27. What type of data represents information that could be used to directly identify, contact, or locate an individual?

  • Anonymous data
  • Opinions
  • Personally identifiable information ✅
  • Measurements 

28. After your final presentation to the stakeholders, they decide to take the insights and put it into action. What data analysis does this represent?

  • Prepare
  • Act ✅
  • Ask
  • Analyze

29. As a project manager creating a story, you ask yourself questions like: “Does this presentation make sense?”, “Is the presentation interesting?”, and “Which areas of the story are unclear or unmemorable?”. In what storytelling step should you ask these questions?

  • Filter and analyze the data
  • Gather the feedback ✅
  • Define the audience
  • Find the data

30. You are preparing a data presentation. To explain your data, you want to demonstrate a relationship between data sets by representing the values of two variables with individual data points (dots). Which data visualization tool should you use?

  • Bar graph
  • Scatter plot ✅
  • Line graph
  • Pie chart

31. Fill in the blank: Through _____, you will learn how to use data to draw conclusions and make predictions and improve performance.

  • data values
  • data analysis ✅
  • data charts
  • data departments

32. What tactics can project managers use to prioritize data? Select all that apply.

  • Align metrics to stakeholder priorities ✅
  • Align metrics to stakeholder priorities
  • Identify and respond to signals ✅
  • Prioritize tasks that contribute most to the project goal ✅

33. As a project manager, you are tasked with increasing the number of users for your phone application. The first step you take is to review the number of monthly users from last year. What type of data do you review in this step?

  • Qualitative
  • Quantitative ✅
  • Subjective 
  • Mathematical

34. What is the third step in storytelling that vets the data for credibility and filters the information?

  • Collect the data
  • Define the audience
  • Analyze the data ✅
  • Shape the story

35. As a project manager analyzing data, you create user surveys for your company to get more feedback on processes. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Analyze
  • Process
  • Ask
  • Prepare ✅

36. As a project manager, you create dashboards and consider new infographics for the project. What storytelling step are you in?

  • Define the audience
  • Choose a visual representation ✅
  • Find the data
  • Filter and analyze the data

37. You are preparing a data presentation. To explain your data, you need to compare trends and display changes in the data over a set period of time. Which data visualization tool should you use?

  • Scatter plot
  • Bar graph
  • Pie chart
  • Line graph ✅

38. From the project manager perspective, which of the following are benefits of using data? Select all that apply.

  • Increase the project timeline
  • Improve processes ✅
  • Make better decisions ✅
  • Understand your users ✅

39. Fill in the blank: A(n) _____ is a quantifiable measurement project managers use to track and assess a business objective.

  • test
  • daily scrum
  • metric ✅
  • survey

40. Fill in the blank: Using a(n) _____ keeps a record of any inconsistencies from the initial requirements of a project.

  • Issue log
  • Communication plan
  • Shared drive
  • Change log

41. Fill in the blank: _____ data are qualities or things that you can't measure with numerical data.

  • Client
  • Qualitative ✅
  • Objective
  • Quantitative

42. What is the fifth stage in the storytelling process that involves tying all of your data and visuals into one cohesive narrative?

  • Defining your audience
  • Choosing a visual representation
  • Shaping the story ✅
  • Filtering and analyzing the data

43. In data visualization, what is a type of user interface that provides a snapshot view of a project’s progress or performance?

  • KPI
  • Dashboard ✅
  • Maps
  • Charts

44. As a project manager analyzing data, you create data visualizations to organize your data in a format that is clear and digestible for your stakeholders. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Process
  • Share ✅
  • Prepare
  • Ask

45. You are a project manager preparing a data presentation. To explain your data, you need to present the composition of house sizes in a city. Which data visualization tool should you use?

  • Scatter plot
  • Bar graph
  • Line graph
  • Pie chart ✅

46. Which of the following is the total time it takes to complete a project from start to finish?

  • Issue
  • Task
  • Milestone
  • Duration ✅

47. After reviewing the metrics for a past conference, you notice the actual cost was over budget due to a higher number of attendees. What type of metric does this represent?

  • Milestone
  • Planned
  • Cost variance ✅
  • Projected

48. Project key stakeholders have concerns about meeting deadlines. Which of the following metrics do you need to focus on in order to prioritize the proper tasks? Select all that apply.

  • Charts
  • Time ✅
  • Performance
  • Scope ✅

49. Which of the following are ways to help you give an effective presentation? Select all that apply.

  • Be flexible ✅
  • Be memorable ✅
  • Be precise ✅
  • Be forceful

50. As a project manager analyzing data, you ensure the data is accurate by removing duplicate responses and inconsistencies, and confirm the data contains no typos or errors. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Prepare
  • Process ✅
  • Analyze
  • Ask

51. As a project manager creating a story, you ask yourself questions like: “Who are you presenting to?,” “What are their problems?,” and “What do they care about?”. In what storytelling step should you ask these questions?

  • Find the data
  • Filter and analyze the data
  • Define the audience ✅
  • Shape the story 

52. What is an important point in a project schedule to indicate completion of a deliverable or a phase?

  • Milestone ✅
  • Projection
  • Cost variance
  • Issue

53. What tactics can project managers use to prioritize data? Select all that apply.

  • Set hard deadlines
  • Prioritize tasks that contribute most to the project goal ✅
  • Identify and respond to signals ✅
  • Align metrics to stakeholder priorities ✅

54. You are practicing a trial run of a presentation with a co worker emphasizing posture, tone of voice, pace and eye contact. Which presentation technique is your current focus?

  • Being timely
  • Being Flexible
  • Being memorable ✅
  • Being precise

55. As a project manager, you are ensuring all team members are made aware of your organization's data security and privacy protocols. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Sampling bias
  • Anonymizing data
  • Increasing privacy awareness ✅
  • Using security tools

56. As a project manager creating a story, you are gathering data from reputable sources and leveraging relevant project resources. What step in the storytelling process are you enacting?

  • Find the data ✅
  • Define the audience
  • Choose a visual representation
  • Filter and analyze the data

57. You are a project manager preparing a data presentation. To explain your data, you need to use size contrasts to compare two or more values. Which data visualization tool should you use?

  • Pie chart
  • Scatter plot
  • Line graph
  • Bar graph, ✅

58. What best describes the goal of collecting data on the best selling product of the month to place new orders with your supplier?

  • To reduce product prices
  • To provide a team building experience for the company
  • To better understand team performance
  • To better understand user preferences and performance ✅

59. You are managing a conference and note the number of attendees increases by 200. What type of metric do you record this as?

  • Issue
  • Changelog
  • Projection
  • Milestone

60. What is a visual that measures time against the amount of work done and amount of work remaining on a project?

  • Data chart
  • A plan
  • Burnout chart ✅
  • Bar chart

61. What describes an item that contains visuals and summaries to present information quickly and clearly?

  • Line charts
  • Infographics ✅
  • Burndown charts
  • KPI

62. As a project manager, you are removing personal data in the project systems and documents. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Finalizing data presentations
  • Anonymizing data ✅
  • Increasing privacy awareness
  • Using security tools

63. As a project manager analyzing data, you review, transform, and organize the data you’ve collected. Then, you create graphs with the data to identify patterns and draw conclusions. Which data analysis best practice does this represent?

  • Ask
  • Process
  • Prepare
  • Analyze

64. Which of the following types of data sources can companies use to provide better services and create new products for customers? Select all that apply.

  • Customer budget
  • Customer demand ✅
  • Customer artifacts
  • Customer behavior ✅

Related contents:

Module 1: Introduction to project execution
Module 2: Quality management and continuous improvement
Module 4: Leadership and influencing skills
Module 5: Effective project communication
Module 6: Closing a project

You might also like:

Course 1: Foundations of Project Management
Course 2: Project Initiation: Starting a Successful Project
Course 3: Project Planning: Putting It All Together
Course 5: Agile Project Management
Course 6: Capstone: Applying Project Management in the Real World

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