Skip to content
CAPMHard

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

Question 57 of 85 in Demonstrate an understanding of a project management plan schedule

Pick an answer below — you'll get the explanation instantly, no signup.

A project manager is creating a schedule for a 6-month construction project. She has defined 120 activities, estimated all durations, identified dependencies, and loaded resources. The initial schedule shows the project finishing in 8 months — 2 months over the required deadline. What is the CORRECT sequence of actions to compress the schedule?
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: Identify critical path activities; evaluate crashing (cost/benefit) and fast tracking (risk/benefit) options; apply the most cost-effective combination to reduce duration by 2 months; verify all resource constraints after compression

Explanation

Schedule compression in a predictive project follows a structured process: (1) Identify the critical path (only critical path activities affect project end date); (2) Evaluate crashing options — calculate cost to crash each critical activity (cost/day saved); (3) Evaluate fast tracking — identify which activities can overlap and assess rework risk; (4) Apply the optimal combination that achieves the 2-month reduction with acceptable cost and risk; (5) Verify that compression doesn't create new resource over-allocations.

**Why not A:** Reducing quality standards to speed up activities compromises deliverable quality and violates the quality management plan. Schedule compression should focus on crashing and fast tracking critical path activities, not degrading quality standards.

**Why not C:** Removing 25% of activities arbitrarily cuts scope without proper analysis. Activities exist because they are needed to produce deliverables. Removing activities without understanding their impact could eliminate essential work and compromise project deliverables.

**Why not D:** Switching to agile mid-project in a construction context is impractical. The project has defined activities, dependencies, and resource assignments suited to predictive methodology. Construction projects have physical constraints that require sequential planning and execution.

Key Concept

This question covers Demonstrate an understanding of a project management plan schedule under Demonstrate an understanding of a project management plan schedule (Predictive, Plan-Based Methodologies).

Share:

All 1,500+ CAPM questions are free

Sign up to track your progress, see detailed analytics, and get personalized study recommendations.

Sign Up Free