CAPM Practice Question: Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts
A project is behind schedule. Which schedule compression technique involves adding additional resources to critical path activities?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the confusion between crashing and fast-tracking; candidates must remember crashing adds resources to critical path activities, while fast-tracking overlaps activities and increases risk.
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
✓
Crashing
Crashing is the schedule compression technique that adds additional resources to critical path activities to shorten duration, typically at increased cost. It is used when the project must be accelerated and cost is acceptable. Resource leveling, by contrast, adjusts start/finish dates based on resource constraints and often extends duration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Resource leveling
Why it's wrong here
Resource leveling resolves over-allocation by delaying tasks within their float, which typically extends duration and cannot compress a late schedule. It is tempting because it also manipulates resourcing, but its purpose is smoothing demand, not shortening the critical path by adding people.
- ✗
Monte Carlo simulation
Why it's wrong here
Monte Carlo simulation models schedule risk probabilistically by running many iterations; it never adds resources. It is tempting because it quantifies schedule uncertainty and completion-date confidence, which is its actual purpose, but the stem demands crashing — extra resources on critical path activities.
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Rolling wave planning
Why it's wrong here
Rolling wave planning progressively elaborates work as details emerge; it does not add resources. Adding resources to critical path activities is crashing, so rolling wave planning is tempting as a scheduling technique but addresses uncertainty, not duration compression.
- ✓
Crashing
Why this is correct
Crashing shortens the critical path by adding resources, such as extra staff or overtime, to critical activities. It trades increased cost for reduced duration, directly addressing the behind-schedule constraint where activities sit on the critical path.
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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 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.