CAPM Predictive Plan-Based Methodologies Practice Question
A project manager is planning a data-center migration that will use a predictive life cycle. The project has a hard regulatory deadline, and the sponsor wants confidence that the schedule is achievable before authorizing funding. The project manager has already decomposed all work packages and estimated activity durations and resource requirements. Which action should the project manager take NEXT to determine whether the deadline can realistically be met?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that late dates or baselining can be produced before the forward pass and network analysis establish total duration and float.
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
✓
Develop the schedule model by sequencing activities and applying the critical path method to determine total project duration.
Because decomposition, duration estimating, and resource estimating are complete, the missing element is the schedule network analysis itself. Sequencing activities and applying the critical path method yields total duration and float, which directly answers whether the fixed regulatory deadline can be achieved. This analysis must precede baselining, change requests, or execution, since those actions depend on knowing the schedule is feasible.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Perform a backward pass to calculate late start and late finish dates for each activity.
Why it's wrong here
A backward pass is part of the critical path method, but it cannot be performed in isolation before the forward pass has established early start and early finish dates. Running it first would produce late dates with no float baseline to compare against, so it would not tell the sponsor whether the regulatory deadline is achievable. It is a subsequent step within schedule network analysis, not the next action here.
- ✗
Submit a change request to revise the regulatory deadline so the schedule can be met.
Why it's wrong here
The regulatory deadline is an external constraint that the project cannot unilaterally renegotiate, and no schedule has yet been produced showing that it is infeasible. Raising a change request before analyzing the network would waste the sponsor's time and bypass the planning work already completed. Constraints of this nature are treated as fixed inputs, not as variables the project team can adjust.
- ✗
Baseline the schedule and begin execution so that progress can be measured against the deadline.
Why it's wrong here
Baselining requires an approved, analyzed schedule, which does not yet exist because activities have not been sequenced or run through the critical path method. Beginning execution without validating feasibility would commit the organization to a deadline that may be impossible and would make later variance analysis meaningless. The sponsor specifically wants confidence before authorizing funding, so execution is premature.
- ✓
Develop the schedule model by sequencing activities and applying the critical path method to determine total project duration.
Why this is correct
With work packages decomposed and durations and resource requirements estimated, the project manager has the inputs needed to sequence activities, build the schedule network, and apply the critical path method. This produces the total project duration and identifies float, which is exactly the evidence required to judge whether the regulatory deadline is realistic before funding is authorized. It is the logical next step in the Develop Schedule process.
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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
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