CAPM Predictive Plan-Based Methodologies Practice Question
A government IT project is being managed using a predictive lifecycle. The project must comply with numerous regulatory standards, including data privacy and security. The project manager developed a comprehensive quality management plan that includes regular quality audits by an independent team. At the first milestone quality audit, the auditor identifies three non-conformances related to documentation and testing procedures. The project manager is under pressure from the sponsor to stay on schedule. The project manager needs to address the non-conformances effectively while minimizing schedule impact.
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the tendency to choose extreme actions like halting work or re-baselining, when the correct answer is to apply root cause analysis and corrective actions.
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
✓
Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions for the non-conformances.
Performing root cause analysis and implementing corrective actions directly addresses the non-conformances while allowing the project to continue, minimizing schedule impact. This approach aligns with quality management principles in predictive projects, where non-conformances must be corrected to meet regulatory and quality standards. It also avoids unnecessary work stoppage and re-baselining, which would have larger schedule and cost implications.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Immediately halt all work until the non-conformances are resolved.
Why it's wrong here
Halting all work ignores the plan's provision for containment and corrective action, and it needlessly consumes schedule the sponsor is protecting. It tempts as a zero-risk response to compliance breaches, but a full stop is warranted only when non-conformances threaten safety or regulatory validity.
- ✗
Ignore the non-conformances and proceed with the schedule, as they are minor.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the findings leaves the documentation and testing defects in place, so the milestone audit's non-conformances persist and later audits will escalate them. It tempts when the sponsor pressures for schedule, yet unresolved regulatory non-conformances in a government project carry compliance and rework costs.
- ✓
Perform root cause analysis and implement corrective actions for the non-conformances.
Why this is correct
Root cause analysis identifies why documentation and testing non-conformances arose, then corrective actions eliminate the source rather than the symptom. This satisfies the regulatory compliance requirement while preventing recurrence, and targeted fixes limit schedule impact better than halting work.
- ✗
Re-baseline the quality management plan to eliminate the problematic requirements.
Why it's wrong here
Re-baselining to delete requirements breaches the regulatory standards the project must meet, so the non-conformances would remain unresolved. It tempts as a way to remove the findings and protect the schedule, but a quality management plan cannot be amended to discard mandatory data privacy and security obligations.
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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 PMI exam blueprint
This CAPM practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI 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 CAPM exam.