PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your project's cost performance index (CPI) is 0.8, and the schedule performance index (SPI) is 1.1. The project is in the execution phase. What is the most likely reason for these indices?
⚠ Common exam trap
PMP often tests the interpretation of EVM indices — candidates may confuse the direction of CPI and SPI or attribute the combination to efficiency rather than crashing, missing that crashing trades cost for schedule.
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 manager used crashing to meet a deadline, adding resources and increasing costs
A CPI of 0.8 means the project is over budget (costing more than planned per unit of work), while an SPI of 1.1 means the project is ahead of schedule (progressing faster than planned). Crashing is a schedule compression technique that adds resources to critical path activities to shorten duration, which increases costs. This perfectly explains being ahead of schedule but over budget.
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 team had to rework deliverables due to quality issues
Why it's wrong here
Rework due to quality issues directly increases the actual cost (AC) incurred to achieve the same earned value (EV), thereby decreasing the Cost Performance Index (CPI) to below 1.0. Simultaneously, rework consumes additional time, causing delays and reducing the rate at which planned value (PV) is converted into earned value, which would result in a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) less than 1.0. This scenario would lead to both cost overruns and schedule delays, which contradicts the likely favorable schedule performance implied by the correct answer.
- ✗
The project is experiencing scope creep
Why it's wrong here
Scope creep, where additional work is performed without formal approval or baseline adjustment, typically leads to an increase in actual costs (AC) and a longer duration to complete the project. This would result in a Cost Performance Index (CPI) less than 1.0 due to the unbudgeted expenditures. Furthermore, the unapproved additional work would consume more time than originally planned, causing the project to fall behind schedule and resulting in a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) less than 1.0. This contradicts the scenario where the project is ahead of schedule.
- ✗
The team is working more efficiently than planned
Why it's wrong here
If the team were working more efficiently than planned, they would be completing work (earning value, EV) at a lower actual cost (AC) and in less time than budgeted. This improved efficiency would manifest as a Cost Performance Index (CPI) greater than 1.0, indicating cost savings, and a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) greater than 1.0, indicating being ahead of schedule. The given CPI of 0.8, which signifies a cost overrun, directly contradicts the notion of improved efficiency.
- ✓
The project manager used crashing to meet a deadline, adding resources and increasing costs
Why this is correct
Crashing is a schedule compression technique that involves adding resources, such as overtime or additional personnel, to accelerate activities and meet an earlier deadline. While effective in shortening the project duration and thus improving the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) to above 1.0, crashing inherently increases the actual cost (AC) of the project. This increased expenditure for faster completion directly leads to a Cost Performance Index (CPI) less than 1.0, indicating a cost overrun. This perfectly aligns with a project that is ahead of schedule but over budget.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official PMI exam blueprint
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.