easyMultiple Choice
PK0-005 Practice Question: A project manager is planning a software…
A project manager is planning a software development project and needs to determine the sequence of activities. The team will first gather requirements, then design the architecture, then develop the code, then test, and finally deploy. Which project life cycle model is being used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the sequential phase names with Agile or Iterative terminology, forgetting that Waterfall is defined by its strict linearity and lack of overlapping phases or feedback cycles.
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
✓
Waterfall
The Waterfall model (Option C) is correct because it follows a strictly sequential, phase-by-phase progression: requirements, design, development, testing, and deployment, with no overlap or iteration. This linear approach is characteristic of the Waterfall life cycle, where each phase must be completed before the next begins, as described in the PMBOK Guide for predictive life cycles.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Iterative
Why it's wrong here
Iterative development revisits requirements, design and build in repeated passes, refining the product each cycle. The stem instead shows each phase occurring once in a fixed linear order with no return to earlier stages. Iterative is tempting because it also delivers software incrementally, but it is chosen when feedback loops, not a single sequential flow, drive the work.
- ✗
Agile
Why it's wrong here
Agile delivers work in short iterations with continuous customer feedback and changing scope, rather than one linear pass through requirements, design, development, testing and deployment. It is tempting because Agile is common in software projects, yet the stem specifies a fixed, non-repeating sequence of phases, which matches the waterfall life cycle.
- ✓
Waterfall
Why this is correct
Waterfall suits this scenario because its sequential phases — requirements, design, development, testing, deployment — match the stem's fixed order exactly. Each phase completes before the next begins, with no overlap or iteration, satisfying the constraint that activities follow a predetermined linear sequence.
- ✗
Spiral
Why it's wrong here
Spiral repeats planning, risk analysis, engineering and evaluation in expanding cycles, so activities recur rather than flowing once through requirements, design, development, testing and deployment. It is tempting because risk analysis suits large, high-risk projects, but the stem describes a single sequential pass, which is the waterfall model.
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