PK0-005 Project Life Cycle Practice Question
A project manager is using a predictive life cycle for a regulatory compliance project with fixed milestones imposed by law. The sponsor now wants to introduce iterative development so requirements can be refined as regulations are clarified. Which project life cycle characteristic best supports combining these needs?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming the choice is binary between predictive and adaptive, overlooking that a hybrid life cycle is designed for exactly this mix.
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 hybrid life cycle that keeps fixed compliance milestones while delivering regulatory analysis in iterative increments.
A hybrid life cycle combines predictive control of fixed, externally imposed milestones with iterative delivery of evolving requirements. It preserves the legal compliance dates while allowing regulatory interpretations to be refined in increments. Fully adaptive, fully predictive, and fragmented multi-project structures each satisfy only one of the two needs.
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 phased life cycle that delivers each regulation as a separate project with its own charter and sponsor.
Why it's wrong here
Splitting the work into separate projects with individual charters fragments governance and multiplies overhead without providing iterative requirement refinement. It also risks inconsistent compliance interpretation across the resulting projects, so it does not meet the sponsor's stated goal of combining fixed milestones with iterative development.
- ✓
A hybrid life cycle that keeps fixed compliance milestones while delivering regulatory analysis in iterative increments.
Why this is correct
A hybrid life cycle deliberately blends a predictive approach for fixed external milestones with iterative or incremental delivery for evolving requirements. This preserves the legally mandated dates while allowing the team to refine regulatory interpretations in short cycles, matching exactly the sponsor's request without abandoning the compliance constraints.
- ✗
A purely predictive life cycle that freezes requirements at the start and manages all changes through formal change control.
Why it's wrong here
A predictive life cycle freezes scope early and handles change through integrated change control, which does not accommodate the iterative refinement of requirements the sponsor requested. It addresses the compliance milestones but fails the second half of the requirement, so it is incomplete for this scenario.
- ✗
A purely adaptive life cycle that replaces the fixed milestones with prioritized backlog items.
Why it's wrong here
Fully adaptive approaches prioritize a backlog and welcome changing requirements, but they do not guarantee fixed externally imposed milestone dates. Replacing legal compliance dates with backlog priorities would violate the regulatory constraints, so a purely adaptive life cycle cannot satisfy the sponsor's need to preserve the mandated schedule.
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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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