Three Key Inputs to the Develop Schedule Process
Your project is in the planning phase, and you need to develop the schedule. You have identified the activities and their dependencies. The team estimates that the project will take 12 months. However, the sponsor requires completion in 10 months. The project has a fixed deadline. What should you do FIRST?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume adding resources to all activities (Option D) is a valid compression technique, but PMP emphasizes that only critical path activities should be crashed to avoid wasted effort and cost on non-critical tasks.
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
✓
Apply crashing or fast tracking to the critical path to try to meet the 10-month deadline.
The project has a fixed deadline, so the first step is to explore schedule compression techniques like crashing (adding resources to critical path activities) or fast tracking (performing activities in parallel) to meet the 10-month constraint without changing scope or quality. This aligns with PMBOK's guidance to analyze the critical path and apply compression before escalating or altering scope.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Inform the sponsor that the deadline is unrealistic and request a 12-month schedule.
Why it's wrong here
A project manager's initial responsibility is to analyze the project schedule and explore all feasible options to meet the established deadline before concluding it is unrealistic. Directly rejecting the deadline without first attempting schedule compression techniques or a thorough impact analysis demonstrates a lack of proactive problem-solving. Such an action could undermine stakeholder confidence and is not aligned with best practices for managing schedule constraints.
- ✗
Reduce the project scope without formal change control to shorten the schedule.
Why it's wrong here
This action is fundamentally flawed because any modification to the project scope, whether an increase or a reduction, must strictly adhere to the formal change control process. Unilaterally reducing scope without proper approval bypasses established governance, risks delivering a product that does not meet stakeholder requirements, and can lead to scope creep or gold plating issues later. It violates the integrity of the project management plan and stakeholder agreements.
- ✓
Apply crashing or fast tracking to the critical path to try to meet the 10-month deadline.
Why this is correct
This is the most appropriate action because crashing and fast tracking are recognized schedule compression techniques specifically designed to shorten the project duration when facing tight deadlines. By focusing these techniques on activities along the critical path, the project manager directly impacts the overall project completion date. This approach demonstrates proactive problem-solving within the planning phase, allowing for an attempt to meet the deadline while understanding and communicating potential impacts like increased cost or risk.
- ✗
Add more resources to all activities to reduce duration.
Why it's wrong here
Adding resources indiscriminately to all activities is an inefficient and potentially costly approach. Not all activities are on the critical path, meaning that shortening their duration will not necessarily reduce the overall project completion time. This action would lead to unnecessary expenditure, potential resource overallocation, and may not achieve the desired schedule compression, highlighting a lack of strategic resource planning and critical path understanding.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PMP
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A project manager is developing the schedule for a new product development project. Which TWO techniques can be used to compress the schedule?
medium- ✓ A.Fast tracking
- B.Monte Carlo analysis
- C.Critical chain method
- ✓ D.Crashing
- E.Resource leveling
Why A: Fast tracking (A) is a schedule compression technique in which activities that would normally be performed sequentially are done in parallel, shortening the overall duration (often at the cost of increased risk and rework). Crashing (D) is the other recognized schedule compression technique, adding resources or working overtime to shorten activity durations, typically increasing cost. Both are explicitly the two techniques PMBOK identifies for compressing a schedule. Monte Carlo analysis (B) is a quantitative risk/schedule simulation technique, not a compression method. The critical chain method (C) is a scheduling approach that adds buffers and manages resource constraints, not a compression technique. Resource leveling (E) adjusts start/finish dates to resolve resource over-allocation and usually lengthens, not shortens, the schedule.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP 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 PMP exam.