CAPM Practice Question: Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts
A software development project is facing high uncertainty in requirements. The team is experienced and prefers frequent feedback. Which project life cycle approach is most appropriate?
⚠ Common exam trap
CAPM often tests the distinction between iterative (refining the same solution) and adaptive (embracing change and frequent feedback), so candidates who see 'frequent feedback' and pick iterative miss the uncertainty dimension that points to adaptive.
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
✓
Adaptive (agile) life cycle
An adaptive (agile) life cycle is designed for environments with high uncertainty and evolving requirements, delivering value through short iterations with frequent stakeholder feedback. Because the team is experienced and prefers frequent feedback, agile approaches like Scrum or Kanban fit best — requirements are refined continuously rather than baselined upfront. This aligns with PMBOK's guidance that adaptive life cycles are chosen when change is expected and rapid delivery of value is prioritized.
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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Incremental life cycle
Why it's wrong here
Incremental life cycles deliver functionality in successive slices, but each slice is planned against a known overall scope, so requirements are largely defined upfront. With high uncertainty and a preference for frequent feedback, the team needs scope re-planned each cycle, which incremental delivery does not provide.
- ✓
Adaptive (agile) life cycle
Why this is correct
An adaptive life cycle delivers work in short iterations with continuous stakeholder feedback, letting requirements emerge as understanding grows. This suits high uncertainty combined with an experienced team that prefers frequent feedback, unlike predictive or hybrid approaches.
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Iterative life cycle
Why it's wrong here
Iterative life cycles deliver a working increment each iteration but re-plan scope progressively rather than freezing it, so they handle uncertain requirements well. The stem's high uncertainty and appetite for frequent feedback point to an adaptive approach; iterative is adaptive, so this is not the failing option here.
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Predictive life cycle
Why it's wrong here
Predictive life cycles fix scope, schedule and cost early, then execute against that baseline, so late requirement changes trigger costly change control. It suits stable, well-understood work with low uncertainty. Here requirements are highly uncertain and the team wants frequent feedback, which predictive delivery cannot accommodate.
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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.