hardMultiple Choice
PK0-005 Practice Question: During project execution, a team member reports…
During project execution, a team member reports that a critical deliverable is behind schedule due to an unexpected dependency. The project manager needs to update the project schedule and communicate the impact. Which tool should the project manager use first to assess the impact on the critical path?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse the risk register (which logs potential issues) with the need to assess actual schedule impact, forgetting that the Gantt chart is the primary tool for visualizing dependencies and the critical path in real time.
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
✓
Gantt chart
The Gantt chart is the correct tool because it visually displays task dependencies, durations, and the critical path. By reviewing the Gantt chart, the project manager can immediately see which tasks are on the critical path and how the delayed deliverable's dependency affects the overall project timeline, enabling an accurate impact assessment before updating the schedule.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Cost baseline
Why it's wrong here
The cost baseline holds the approved budget over time, containing no activity dependencies or float, so it cannot show critical-path slippage. It is tempting because schedule variance eventually affects cost, but that financial view is used for budget control, not dependency-driven schedule assessment.
- ✗
Change log
Why it's wrong here
A change log records change requests and their statuses, not schedule dependencies, so it cannot reveal which activities now drive the critical path. It is tempting because approved changes often trigger schedule updates, but that recording role belongs after impact analysis, not before it.
- ✓
Gantt chart
Why this is correct
A Gantt chart displays tasks against a calendar timeline with dependency links, so the project manager can immediately see which downstream activities the delayed deliverable feeds into and how far the critical path shifts. This directly satisfies the stem's need to assess schedule impact on the critical path before communicating it to stakeholders.
- ✗
Risk register
Why it's wrong here
The risk register tracks identified risks, owners and responses, not the logical network of activities, so it cannot recalculate which tasks now sit on the critical path. It is tempting because the unexpected dependency may be logged as a risk, but that documentation role differs from schedule modelling.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 954 original PK0-005 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. 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.