hardMultiple Choice
PK0-005 Practice Question: At a certain point in the project, the earned…
At a certain point in the project, the earned value (EV) is $500, the planned value (PV) is $600, and the actual cost (AC) is $400. What is the schedule performance index (SPI)?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between SPI (EV/PV) and CPI (EV/AC), and the trap here is that candidates mistakenly use AC in the denominator for SPI, leading to the incorrect 1.25 answer (Option B).
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
✓
0.83
The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is calculated as EV / PV. With EV = $500 and PV = $600, SPI = 500 / 600 = 0.8333, which rounds to 0.83. An SPI less than 1.0 indicates the project is behind schedule because less value has been earned than planned.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
0.83
Why this is correct
Dividing EV by PV ($500 ÷ $600) yields 0.83, the schedule performance index. An SPI below 1.0 signals the project is behind schedule, since earned value lags the planned value at this point. This satisfies the stem's requirement to calculate SPI from the given EV, PV and AC figures.
- ✗
1.25
Why it's wrong here
1.25 is the cost performance index, calculated as EV divided by AC ($500/$400). SPI uses EV divided by PV, giving 0.83 here. Confusing the two indices is the trap; CPI measures cost efficiency, SPI measures schedule efficiency.
- ✗
0.67
Why it's wrong here
0.67 inverts the ratio, dividing PV by EV ($600/$500) rather than EV by PV. SPI is defined as EV/PV, which yields 0.83, indicating the project is behind schedule. The inverted figure describes nothing meaningful in earned value analysis.
- ✗
1.20
Why it's wrong here
An SPI of 1.20 would require EV to exceed PV, indicating ahead-of-schedule progress. Here EV ($500) is below PV ($600), so the project is behind schedule. This value is tempting because it equals EV divided by AC — that is the cost performance index, which would be the correct calculation if the question asked about cost efficiency.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PK0-005 question is part of Courseiva's 954-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
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.