PK0-005 Project Life Cycle Practice Question
A project manager is planning a system migration with a fixed regulatory deadline. The sponsor asks how the team will know whether the project remains on track to finish by that date without waiting for the final status report. Which planning artifact should the project manager produce to answer this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse artifacts that assign ownership, track availability, or assess engagement with artifacts that actually measure progress against a deadline.
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
✓
A milestone list with the regulatory completion date flagged as a mandatory milestone.
Mandatory milestones are contractually or regulatorily required checkpoints, and recording them in the milestone list creates discrete go or no-go points. Comparing actual milestone achievement against planned dates gives the sponsor an early, objective indicator of schedule health, independent of narrative status reporting, and it highlights which checkpoint failure would jeopardize the regulatory date.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
A responsibility assignment matrix mapping each work package to an owner.
Why it's wrong here
A responsibility assignment matrix such as RACI clarifies who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for work packages. It answers ownership questions, not schedule progress questions. It does not establish checkpoints, durations, or dependencies, so it cannot reveal whether the team is on track to meet the regulatory deadline, and it provides no early warning signal of schedule drift.
- ✓
A milestone list with the regulatory completion date flagged as a mandatory milestone.
Why this is correct
A milestone list identifies significant checkpoints, and mandatory milestones are those required by contract or regulation. Flagging the regulatory date lets the team track progress against discrete, zero-duration checkpoints rather than only the final deliverable, so slippage is visible as soon as an intermediate milestone is missed, well before the closing status report is produced.
- ✗
A stakeholder engagement assessment matrix recording current and desired engagement levels.
Why it's wrong here
The stakeholder engagement assessment matrix compares current versus desired engagement for each stakeholder and guides engagement strategies. It addresses communication effectiveness and support, not schedule performance. It contains no dates, dependencies, or completion criteria, so it cannot demonstrate whether the migration is progressing toward the regulatory deadline or provide early warning of delay.
- ✗
A resource calendar showing availability and planned leave for each team member.
Why it's wrong here
A resource calendar documents working days, shifts, and planned absences for resources, which supports schedule development and staffing decisions. It is an input to scheduling rather than a progress-tracking mechanism. It would not tell the sponsor whether milestone dates are being achieved, and absences alone do not indicate whether the regulatory completion date remains achievable.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
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