PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your construction project is experiencing resource levelling issues because a key piece of equipment is shared between two critical path activities. What is the best approach to resolve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse resource levelling with resource smoothing, assuming that delaying an activity (Option D) is acceptable, but the question specifically asks for the 'best approach' to resolve the issue without extending the schedule, making parallel execution via additional equipment the optimal choice.
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
✓
Rent additional equipment to run both activities in parallel
Renting additional equipment allows both critical path activities to run in parallel, eliminating the resource conflict without impacting the project schedule. This approach directly addresses the resource levelling issue by increasing resource availability, which is a common technique in resource optimization when the critical path cannot be compressed.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Rent additional equipment to run both activities in parallel
Why this is correct
Renting additional equipment directly addresses the resource constraint by increasing the available capacity. This allows the project to execute both activities requiring the specific equipment concurrently, thereby preventing delays that would arise from sequential execution due to a single resource bottleneck. This proactive resource acquisition is a common and effective resource leveling technique to maintain the project schedule.
- ✗
Ask the team to work overtime to complete one activity faster
Why it's wrong here
Asking the team to work overtime is generally ineffective for resolving equipment-specific resource constraints. While it increases human labor hours, it does not accelerate the operational speed or availability of a bottlenecked piece of equipment. The fundamental limitation remains the equipment's capacity, meaning additional human effort will not resolve the core issue and may only lead to team burnout.
- ✗
Remove one activity from the critical path by re-sequencing
Why it's wrong here
Re-sequencing activities to remove one from the critical path is a schedule compression technique, not primarily a resource leveling strategy. This approach often requires altering logical dependencies, which can be highly problematic if activities have mandatory or technical relationships. Such a significant change could introduce new risks, violate project constraints, or even be infeasible without compromising the project's scope or quality.
- ✗
Delay one of the activities until the equipment is available, which may extend the project schedule
Why it's wrong here
Delaying an activity until the required equipment becomes available is a passive form of resource leveling that explicitly accepts a potential extension of the project schedule. While it resolves the resource conflict, it is generally considered a last resort when other proactive measures, such as acquiring additional resources or adjusting within existing float, are not viable. A PMP should prioritize solutions that mitigate schedule impacts before resorting to schedule extensions.
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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.