CAPM Practice: Demonstrate an understanding of a project management plan schedule

Crashing adds cost to the project. Before committing to $45,000 in additional expenditure, the project manager should present the trade-off to the sponsor: the cost of crashing versus the cost/consequences of being late. The sponsor, as the business decision-maker, should approve the additional cost before it is incurred.

**Why not A:** Seeking alternative compression methods could be explored, but the question states the project can only meet its deadline by crashing these three activities. The PM has already done the analysis; the next step is to get approval for the cost, not to continue searching for alternatives.

**Why not C:** Deferring the schedule decision until the next status report delays action on a known problem. The analysis is complete and the cost-schedule trade-off is clear. Waiting another reporting period wastes time that could be used for schedule recovery.

**Why not D:** Implementing the crashing immediately without sponsor approval commits $45,000 in additional expenditure without authorization. Budget changes of this magnitude require formal approval from the sponsor or appropriate authority before the additional cost is incurred.