PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✓

  Fast-tracking: performing activities in parallel that were originally sequential

  Why this is correct

  Fast-tracking is a schedule compression technique where activities or phases that would normally be performed sequentially are instead performed in parallel or with some overlap. This strategy aims to shorten the overall project duration by starting subsequent activities before their predecessors are fully completed. While it can significantly reduce the project timeline, fast-tracking inherently increases project risk due to potential rework if early assumptions prove incorrect, and it often demands more intense communication and coordination.

• ✓

  Crashing: adding resources to critical path activities

  Why this is correct

  Crashing is a schedule compression technique focused on shortening the project duration by adding or increasing resources to critical path activities. This typically involves deploying more personnel, equipment, or working overtime to accelerate tasks that directly impact the project's end date. Although effective for reducing schedule, crashing almost always results in increased project costs due to the additional resources, and there's a point of diminishing returns where adding more resources no longer yields proportional time savings.

• ✗

  Adding buffers to the schedule

  Why it's wrong here

  Adding buffers to the schedule involves incorporating extra time, or contingency reserves, into the project timeline to account for uncertainties, risks, or unforeseen delays. While a prudent risk management practice, buffers are designed to absorb variations and protect the project's completion date, thereby extending the planned duration rather than shortening it. Consequently, this action directly counteracts any effort to compress the project schedule, making it an inappropriate response to significant schedule delays when compression is desired.

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  Resource leveling: smoothing resource demand to avoid peaks

  Why it's wrong here

  Resource leveling is a schedule optimization technique used to adjust the project schedule to balance resource demand with available supply, particularly when resources are over-allocated or when a constant level of resource usage is desired. This process often involves delaying non-critical activities to smooth out resource peaks, which typically results in an extended project duration. Therefore, while beneficial for resource management and avoiding burnout, resource leveling is not a schedule compression technique and usually lengthens the project timeline.

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  Reducing scope: removing non-critical deliverables

  Why it's wrong here

  Reducing scope involves formally removing non-critical deliverables or features from the project's agreed-upon requirements. While a reduction in scope might indirectly lead to a shorter schedule by eliminating associated work, it is fundamentally a scope management action that requires a formal change request and stakeholder approval. It is not classified as a direct schedule compression technique, which specifically focuses on accelerating existing work within the defined scope rather than altering the scope itself.

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