easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PK0-005 Practice Question: A project manager at a marketing firm is using…
A project manager at a marketing firm is using Microsoft Project to manage a campaign launch. The project has 15 tasks with several dependencies, including finish-to-start and start-to-start. Team members update their task progress daily. After a week, the project manager notices that some tasks are not reflecting updated finish dates even though dependencies are marked as complete. For example, Task 4 (Design finalization) has a finish-to-start dependency on Task 3 (Concept approval), which was completed three days ago, but Task 4's start date remains unchanged, causing the entire schedule to appear delayed. The project manager has verified that all task links are correctly set in the software. What should the project manager do first?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume the issue is a broken dependency link or a need for manual override, when in fact the root cause is the missing actual finish date—a subtle but critical detail in how Microsoft Project calculates the schedule.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Recalculate the schedule after verifying that all dependencies are correctly set and that completed tasks have actual finish dates entered.
The most likely cause of the issue is that the actual finish dates for completed tasks (like Task 3) have not been entered in Microsoft Project. Without actual finish dates, the scheduling engine cannot calculate the successor task's start date, even if dependencies are correctly set. Recalculating the schedule after verifying and entering actual dates forces the tool to update the forward pass and reflect the true project status.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Recalculate the schedule after verifying that all dependencies are correctly set and that completed tasks have actual finish dates entered.
Why this is correct
Recalculating the schedule forces the tool to update dates based on actual progress and dependencies.
- ✗
Reassign Task 4 to a different team member to speed up its start.
Why it's wrong here
The issue is with scheduling logic, not resource assignment.
- ✗
Ignore the discrepancy because the overall schedule variance is still within the acceptable threshold of 5%.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the issue may lead to larger variances and loss of schedule integrity.
- ✗
Manually adjust the start date of Task 4 to align with the completion of Task 3.
Why it's wrong here
Manual adjustments bypass the scheduling engine and can cause inconsistencies.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PK0-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PK0-005 exam.