PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
Your project's Earned Value (EV) is $45,000, Planned Value (PV) is $50,000, and Actual Cost (AC) is $55,000. The project is at the midpoint. What is the most accurate assessment of the project's status?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse the direction of variance: they may think a lower EV than PV means 'under budget' because less work was done, but EV is compared to AC for cost, and a lower EV than AC means cost overrun, not savings.
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
With EV=$45,000, PV=$50,000, and AC=$55,000, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI = EV/PV) is 0.90, indicating the project is behind schedule. The Cost Performance Index (CPI = EV/AC) is approximately 0.818, showing the project is over budget. Since both SPI and CPI are less than 1.0, the correct assessment is behind schedule and over budget, which matches option D.
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 ahead of schedule and under budget
Why it's wrong here
This option is incorrect because the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is calculated as Earned Value (EV) divided by Planned Value (PV), which is 0.9 ($45,000 / $50,000). Since SPI is less than 1, the project is actually behind schedule, not ahead. Furthermore, the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.82 ($45,000 / $55,000), indicating the project is over budget, not under budget.
- ✗
The project is behind schedule and under budget
Why it's wrong here
While the project is indeed behind schedule, as evidenced by an SPI of 0.9 (EV/PV < 1), this option incorrectly states it is under budget. The Cost Performance Index (CPI), calculated as Earned Value (EV) divided by Actual Cost (AC), is 0.82 ($45,000 / $55,000). A CPI value less than 1 definitively signifies that the project has spent more than planned for the work accomplished, meaning it is over budget.
- ✗
The project is on schedule and over budget
Why it's wrong here
This option is incorrect because the project's Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.9, which is less than 1. An SPI value below 1 unequivocally indicates that the project has completed less work than planned by this point, meaning it is behind schedule, not on schedule. Although the project is correctly identified as over budget due to a CPI of 0.82, the inaccurate schedule status renders this option invalid.
- ✓
The project is behind schedule and over budget
Why this is correct
This option accurately describes the project's status. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.9 (Earned Value of $45,000 / Planned Value of $50,000), indicating that the project is behind schedule because less work has been completed than planned. Concurrently, the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.82 (Earned Value of $45,000 / Actual Cost of $55,000), signifying that the project is over budget as more money has been spent than the value of the work accomplished.
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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.