PK0-005 Project Management Concepts Practice Question
During a project, a stakeholder requests additional features that were not in the original scope. The project manager adds these features without formal change control. This is an example of:
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap is confusing scope creep with gold plating; candidates must note that scope creep involves stakeholder-requested changes without change control, while gold plating is team-initiated extra work.
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
✓
Scope creep
Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes or additions to a project's scope without going through the formal change control process. By adding features without formal change control, the project manager is allowing scope creep, which can lead to schedule delays, cost overruns, and resource issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Value engineering
Why it's wrong here
Value engineering deliberately improves functionality or cost within agreed scope through analysis, not by accepting uncontrolled stakeholder additions. It is tempting because both alter deliverables, and it would be correct if the team reworked a design to cut cost while still meeting the approved requirements.
- ✓
Scope creep
Why this is correct
Scope creep is uncontrolled expansion of project scope, typically through unapproved additions. Adding stakeholder-requested features without formal change control bypasses the integrated change control process, which is precisely the definition of scope creep in the stem.
- ✗
Quality assurance
Why it's wrong here
Quality assurance covers process audits and testing against standards, not the unauthorised addition of features. It is tempting because both concern how work is controlled, and QA would be the right answer if the question asked how conformance to defined processes is verified.
- ✗
Gold plating
Why it's wrong here
Gold plating is the team adding extra features voluntarily for perceived value, whereas here the stakeholder requested them and the manager simply skipped change control. It is tempting because scope is added without approval, and it would fit if developers added unrequested functionality on their own initiative.
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 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
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.