CAPM Practice Question: Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts
You are managing a software upgrade project for a financial institution. The project involves upgrading the core banking system to a new version. During user acceptance testing (UAT), the testers find that the new system does not handle certain legacy data formats correctly, causing errors. The project schedule has no buffer left, and the go-live date is fixed due to regulatory compliance. The team estimates it will take two weeks to fix the issue, but the go-live is in one week. The project manager has already used the contingency reserve for other issues. What should the project manager do next?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume the management reserve is always the next step for budget issues, but the PM must first exhaust internal options (like workarounds) and escalate to the sponsor before tapping into reserves, especially when the schedule is fixed and compliance is at stake.
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
✓
Evaluate the possibility of a partial fix or workaround to meet the go-live date, and escalate to the sponsor if needed.
The project manager must first evaluate feasible alternatives (like a partial fix or workaround) to meet the fixed go-live date, given that the contingency reserve is exhausted and the schedule has no buffer. Escalating to the sponsor is appropriate when the issue impacts regulatory compliance and requires a decision beyond the PM's authority. This aligns with the CAPM principle of managing stakeholder expectations and seeking sponsor guidance when constraints force trade-offs.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Ignore the issue and proceed with the go-live as planned, since the errors affect only legacy data.
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring the issue could lead to system failures and non-compliance, which is unacceptable.
- ✗
Request additional budget from the management reserve to hire external consultants to fix the issue faster.
Why it's wrong here
Management reserve requires approval; the project manager cannot unilaterally allocate it.
- ✓
Evaluate the possibility of a partial fix or workaround to meet the go-live date, and escalate to the sponsor if needed.
Why this is correct
The project manager should explore alternatives and escalate to the sponsor for a decision if the schedule cannot be met.
- ✗
Direct the team to fix the issue and delay the go-live, then inform the sponsor.
Why it's wrong here
Delaying without approval may violate regulatory requirements and is not in the project manager's authority.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.