What is the general judgment about an overestimate of time by a senior typist on probation when downstream schedules are affected?

What is the general judgment about an overestimate of time by a senior typist on probation when downstream schedules are affected?

• A. Unimportant; overestimation is harmless.
• B. Shows good planning.
• C. Bad because schedules and plans for other parts of the project may have been based on her false estimate.
• D. Neutral; it has no effect on the project.

Answer: (C)

When estimating how long a task will take, downstream schedules live or die by that estimate. If a senior typist on probation overestimates the time needed, planners build the rest of the project timeline around that assumption. When the actual work ends up sooner (or later) than planned, other tasks that were scheduled to start or finish based on her timing get out of sync, causing delays, misallocated resources, and cascading schedule shifts. That risk is exactly why the judgment is that this is bad—the plans for other parts of the project may have been based on her false estimate, so the whole timeline can wobble. The other options don’t fit because overestimation isn’t harmless, it isn’t indicative of good planning, and it isn’t neutral to the project’s schedule.

When estimating how long a task will take, downstream schedules live or die by that estimate. If a senior typist on probation overestimates the time needed, planners build the rest of the project timeline around that assumption. When the actual work ends up sooner (or later) than planned, other tasks that were scheduled to start or finish based on her timing get out of sync, causing delays, misallocated resources, and cascading schedule shifts. That risk is exactly why the judgment is that this is bad—the plans for other parts of the project may have been based on her false estimate, so the whole timeline can wobble. The other options don’t fit because overestimation isn’t harmless, it isn’t indicative of good planning, and it isn’t neutral to the project’s schedule.