PK0-005 Project Management Concepts Practice Question
A project manager is estimating effort for a data migration. The team has completed similar migrations before, so they use a weighted average of optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates for each work package. Which estimating technique is the project manager applying?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse three-point estimating with analogous or bottom-up estimating simply because past projects and work packages are mentioned.
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
✓
Three-point estimating
Combining optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values into a weighted average is the defining characteristic of three-point estimating, often expressed through the PERT beta distribution. Because the team has relevant historical experience, all three estimates are credible, and the weighted result captures uncertainty better than a single-point figure while remaining grounded in the work packages.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Bottom-up estimating
Why it's wrong here
Bottom-up estimating aggregates estimates from the lowest level of the work breakdown structure to produce a total. While the team is working at the work package level, the defining feature described is the weighted average of three point estimates, not the roll-up of detailed components. Naming bottom-up would ignore the uncertainty treatment central to the scenario.
- ✓
Three-point estimating
Why this is correct
Three-point estimating uses optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values to account for uncertainty. When those values are combined as a weighted average, the result is the beta or PERT distribution, which is exactly what the team is computing for each work package. This technique suits the scenario because prior experience makes all three estimates credible.
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Parametric estimating
Why it's wrong here
Parametric estimating multiplies a unit rate by a quantity, such as cost per migration record, to derive an estimate. The scenario describes combining optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values per work package rather than applying a statistical relationship to a unit metric. This option describes a technique that is not in use here.
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Analogous estimating
Why it's wrong here
Analogous estimating uses historical data from a similar past project, often at a high level, and is typically faster but less accurate. Here the team is calculating a weighted average from three estimates for each work package, which is a different technique. Labeling this as analogous would misrepresent both the inputs used and the resulting precision.
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Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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