CAPM Practice: Determine how to document project controls of predictive, plan-based projects

Gold plating occurs when the project team adds unrequested features, capabilities, or quality enhancements beyond the defined scope — even with good intentions. It is a form of unauthorized scope addition that consumes time and resources not budgeted for in the project. Proper scope control prevents gold plating by requiring all additions to go through change control.

**Why not A:** Using premium resources to accelerate work describes resource optimization or crashing, not gold plating. Gold plating is about adding unauthorized scope, not about the quality or cost of resources used.

**Why not B:** Padding estimates to protect against schedule risk describes the concept of adding contingency or management reserve to estimates. This is a separate practice from gold plating, which specifically involves adding unauthorized features or enhancements.

**Why not D:** This is a literal misinterpretation of the term. Gold plating is a metaphorical term for adding unnecessary extras, not a reference to physical materials used in project deliverables.