- A
The project is behind schedule and over budget
SPI<1 and CPI<1 indicate schedule delay and cost overrun.
- B
The project is ahead of schedule and under budget
Why wrong: Both metrics are unfavorable.
- C
The project is behind schedule but under budget
Why wrong: CPI<1 indicates over budget, not under.
- D
The project is ahead of schedule but over budget
Why wrong: SPI<1 indicates behind schedule, not ahead.
Question 489 of 892
PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of process — managing technical aspects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
Your project is a construction project with a fixed price contract. At the 40% progress point, earned value (EV) is $400,000, actual cost (AC) is $480,000, and planned value (PV) is $500,000. What does this indicate?
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
✓
The project is behind schedule and over budget
The project is behind schedule because the earned value (EV) of $400,000 is less than the planned value (PV) of $500,000, resulting in a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.80. It is over budget because the actual cost (AC) of $480,000 exceeds the earned value (EV) of $400,000, yielding a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.83. Both SPI and CPI below 1.0 confirm the project is underperforming in terms of schedule and cost.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The project is behind schedule and over budget
Why this is correct
SPI<1 and CPI<1 indicate schedule delay and cost overrun.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The project is ahead of schedule and under budget
Why it's wrong here
Both metrics are unfavorable.
- ✗
The project is behind schedule but under budget
Why it's wrong here
CPI<1 indicates over budget, not under.
- ✗
The project is ahead of schedule but over budget
Why it's wrong here
SPI<1 indicates behind schedule, not ahead.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse the relationship between EV and PV for schedule performance and EV and AC for cost performance, mistakenly thinking that if AC is less than PV the project is under budget, when in fact budget status is determined by comparing AC to EV.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Earned value management (EVM) integrates scope, schedule, and cost data to provide objective performance metrics. The SPI of 0.80 means only 80% of the planned work has been accomplished, while the CPI of 0.83 indicates that for every dollar spent, only $0.83 of value is earned. In a fixed-price contract, the seller bears the cost risk, so a CPI below 1.0 directly reduces profit margin, making cost control critical.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the PMP exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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Process — Managing Technical Aspects — study guide chapter
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PMP question test?
Process — Managing Technical Aspects — This question tests Process — Managing Technical Aspects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The project is behind schedule and over budget — The project is behind schedule because the earned value (EV) of $400,000 is less than the planned value (PV) of $500,000, resulting in a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.80. It is over budget because the actual cost (AC) of $480,000 exceeds the earned value (EV) of $400,000, yielding a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.83. Both SPI and CPI below 1.0 confirm the project is underperforming in terms of schedule and cost.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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.
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