CAPM Predictive Plan-Based Methodologies Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During project execution, a key stakeholder requests a change that will increase the project scope. The project manager evaluates the impact and determines it will require additional budget and time. What is the first step the project manager should take?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board. In predictive (waterfall) project management, any change that impacts scope, budget, or schedule must follow the formal integrated change control process. The project manager's first step after evaluating the impact is to submit a change request to the change control board (CCB) for approval or rejection. This ensures that all changes are documented, assessed for risks, and aligned with the project baseline before implementation.

Answer

Reject the change due to budget and time constraints

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Implement the change and document it later

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Approve the change because the stakeholder is key

Question 2

A project manager is using a predictive approach for a construction project. The team has completed 40% of the work, but the actual cost is $500,000 against a planned value of $450,000. The project manager calculates the cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI). Which conclusion is correct?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule. The project has completed 40% of the work, so the earned value (EV) is 40% of the total budget. With actual cost (AC) of $500,000 and planned value (PV) of $450,000, the CPI = EV/AC = (0.4 * BAC)/500,000. Since AC > PV and EV < PV (because only 40% of work is done vs. 45% planned), both CPI and SPI are less than 1.0, indicating the project is over budget and behind schedule.

Answer

The project is over budget but ahead of schedule

Answer

The project is on budget and on schedule

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule

Question 3

Which TWO of the following are outputs of the Define Activities process?

Accepted Answer

Activity list. The Define Activities process identifies and documents the specific actions required to produce the project deliverables. Its key outputs are the activity list, activity attributes, and the milestone list. Option C is correct because the activity list is a primary output that enumerates all scheduled activities. Option E is correct because the milestone list, which identifies significant events or decision points, is also a direct output of this process.

Answer

Project charter

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Work breakdown structure

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Resource breakdown structure

Question 4

Based on the exhibit, what is the critical path duration of the project?

Accepted Answer

12 days. The critical path is the longest path through the project network diagram, determining the shortest possible project duration. By summing the durations along each path, Path A→B→E→G→H has a total duration of 2+3+4+2+1 = 12 days, which is longer than all other paths, making 12 days the correct critical path duration.

Answer

10 days

Answer

11 days

Answer

13 days

Question 5

You are managing a predictive project to build a new office building. The project is in the execution phase. During a weekly progress meeting, the electrical contractor reports that a critical piece of switchgear has a 6-week lead time, but it was not ordered because the team assumed it would be procured later. The project schedule shows the switchgear installation activity is supposed to start in 4 weeks. The project manager reviews the procurement management plan and realizes the procurement process was not followed. The project has a tight deadline and cannot accommodate a 6-week delay. What is the best course of action for the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Expedite the procurement process by contacting the supplier to negotiate a faster delivery and simultaneously fast-track remaining activities to recover time.. Option B is correct because the project manager must first attempt to recover the schedule by expediting procurement and fast-tracking remaining activities before considering formal changes. This aligns with the iterative nature of the execution phase, where the focus is on corrective action within the existing constraints. The procurement management plan was not followed, so the PM must now apply a workaround to mitigate the delay without immediately escalating to a change request.

Answer

Submit a change request to the CCB to extend the project schedule by 6 weeks.

Answer

Crash the project schedule by adding resources to other activities to offset the delay.

Answer

Implement a change request to reduce the scope of work, eliminating the need for the switchgear.

Question 6

A project manager is leading a construction project with a fixed budget and strict deadline. During execution, a key supplier notifies that a critical material will be delayed by two weeks, which will push the project past the deadline. The project manager reviews the schedule and identifies that the delay can be compensated by fast-tracking two subsequent activities that are currently planned sequentially. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Assess the risks of fast-tracking the two activities.. The correct first step is to assess the risks of fast-tracking the two activities (Option B). Fast-tracking involves performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially, which can introduce new risks such as rework, resource conflicts, or quality issues. The PMBOK Guide emphasizes that before implementing a schedule compression technique, the project manager must evaluate the associated risks and determine if the benefits outweigh the potential negative impacts. Since the project has a fixed budget and strict deadline, a risk assessment ensures informed decision-making before proceeding.

Answer

Accept the delay and update the project schedule accordingly.

Answer

Submit a change request to extend the deadline.

Answer

Immediately add resources to the delayed activity to catch up.

Question 7

A project manager is developing the project schedule using a predictive approach. The project involves multiple dependencies and a critical path that has been identified. Which TWO of the following are valid techniques for schedule compression that can be applied to activities on the critical path?

Accepted Answer

Crashing - adding resources to critical path activities to reduce duration.. Crashing is a schedule compression technique that involves adding resources to critical path activities to reduce their duration, directly shortening the overall project schedule. This is valid because it focuses on the critical path, where any duration reduction directly impacts the project end date.

Answer

Resource leveling - adjusting start and finish dates based on resource constraints.

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Monte Carlo simulation - analyzing probable schedule outcomes.

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Critical chain method - adding buffers to protect the schedule.

Question 8

Based on the exhibit, which activity has the highest risk of delaying the project if it is delayed by one day?

Accepted Answer

Activity B. Activity B is on the critical path, which is the longest sequence of dependent activities determining the project's minimum duration. Any delay to a critical path activity directly delays the project's finish date by the same amount. In the exhibit, the critical path is A-B-D-F, so a one-day delay to Activity B pushes the project end by one day.

Answer

Activity C

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Activity E

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Activity A

Question 9

Drag and drop the steps for controlling project changes according to the integrated change control process.

Question 10

Drag and drop the steps for managing project communications in the correct order.

Question 11

Match each project management methodology to its characteristic.

Question 12

Match each project constraint to its typical trade-off.

Question 13

During the planning phase of a predictive project, the project manager notices that the project schedule does not include all required deliverables. What is the most appropriate action to address this gap?

Accepted Answer

Review the work breakdown structure (WBS) to ensure all deliverables are represented.. Option B is correct because the work breakdown structure (WBS) decomposes deliverables into work packages, ensuring all are captured. Option A is wrong because increasing resources would not identify missing deliverables. Option C is wrong because the schedule is derived from the WBS, not vice versa. Option D is wrong because updating the schedule without first updating the WBS would create an incomplete baseline.

Answer

Update the schedule to include the missing deliverables directly.

Answer

Request a change to the project charter to accommodate the missing deliverables.

Answer

Review the scope statement and add more resources to the project.

Question 14

A project team is troubleshooting a delay in the critical path. The project manager identifies that a non-critical activity has slipped by five days but the project end date remains unchanged. What is the most likely reason for this?

Accepted Answer

The slipped activity has sufficient total float to absorb the delay without affecting the critical path.. Option C is correct because activities not on the critical path have total float; a slip within float does not affect the end date. Option A is wrong because crashing would compress the schedule, not explain unchanged end date. Option B is wrong because if it were on the critical path, the end date would change. Option D is wrong because fast tracking overlaps activities, but that is a technique to compress, not a natural outcome.

Answer

The team used crashing to accelerate the non-critical activity.

Answer

The slipped activity is actually on the critical path and the end date was recalculated incorrectly.

Answer

The project manager applied fast tracking to overlap the slipped activity with its successor.

Question 15

A project manager is evaluating cost performance using earned value management (EVM). The project has a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.85 and a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.90. Which conclusion is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule.. Option B is correct because CPI < 1 indicates cost overrun, and SPI < 1 indicates schedule delay. Option A is wrong because only SPI is <1 for schedule delay. Option C is wrong because CPI=0.85 means cost overrun, not underrun. Option D is wrong because both indexes are less than 1, showing both issues.

Answer

The project is over budget but ahead of schedule.

Answer

The project is behind schedule but on budget.

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule.