PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
During project execution, a team member reports that a critical path activity is delayed by two days because a required component failed quality inspection. The project has no schedule contingency. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?
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 schedule compression techniques such as crashing or fast tracking to recover the two days
Delaying a critical path activity threatens the project end date. The project manager should first evaluate schedule compression techniques like crashing (adding resources) or fast tracking (performing activities in parallel) to recover the two-day delay without automatically changing scope, baseline, or escalating. Option A (reduce scope) requires a change request and may not be necessary if compression works. Option B (update baseline) is premature; baseline changes should only occur after recovery options are exhausted. Option C (escalate to sponsor and request budget) is an overreaction; escalating for budget before trying compression is not best practice.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reduce the scope of the next deliverable to compensate for the lost time
Why it's wrong here
Scope reduction requires change control and is not the first action.
- ✗
Update the schedule baseline to reflect the delay and inform stakeholders
Why it's wrong here
Updating the baseline without attempting to recover the delay is not proactive.
- ✗
Escalate the issue to the sponsor and request additional budget for overtime
Why it's wrong here
Escalation should come after attempting internal solutions.
- ✓
Evaluate schedule compression techniques such as crashing or fast tracking to recover the two days
Why this is correct
The PM should first see if the delay can be recovered using schedule compression techniques.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every PMP question from scratch — 800 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.