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

Question 14 of 85 in Demonstrate an understanding of a project management plan schedule

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A project manager is creating the project schedule and realizes that Activity C cannot start until Activity A is 50% complete. This relationship is BEST described as:

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Correct answer: Start-to-Start with a positive lag

Explanation

A Start-to-Start (SS) dependency with a positive lag is the correct characterization. SS means B cannot start until A starts; the lag (50% of A's duration) means B must wait until A is 50% complete before starting. This allows overlapping activities while enforcing a minimum completion of the predecessor.

**Why not A:** A Finish-to-Start with a negative lag (lead) would mean Activity C starts before Activity A finishes. While this creates overlap, it is modeled from the finish of Activity A, not from its start. The scenario describes a relationship based on A's start and partial completion.

**Why not C:** A Start-to-Finish dependency means the successor cannot finish until the predecessor starts. This is a rare dependency type that does not describe the situation where Activity C waits for Activity A to reach 50% completion before starting.

**Why not D:** A Finish-to-Start with a positive lag means Activity C waits a fixed time after Activity A finishes. The scenario states Activity C starts when Activity A is 50% complete — while A is still in progress — which is a start-based relationship, not a finish-based one.

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).

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