22 Predictive, Plan-Based Delivery Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. Which project situation most strongly indicates that a predictive, plan-based approach is the right choice?

   • A.A project built on an unproven technology whose final technical solution is still unknown.
   • B.A project whose stakeholders expect to discover requirements by using early versions of the product.
   • C.A project whose sponsor wants usable functionality released in small increments for feedback.
   • D.A project with requirements approved before work starts, a mature technology, and little expected change.✓ Answer

   A predictive approach commits scope, schedule and cost to approved baselines early, so it only works when those commitments are likely to hold: requirements understood and approved up front, technology the organisation already knows how to use, and a low expected rate of change. The other three situations describe uncertainty that is resolved by building something, showing it and adapting, which a fixed baseline actively obstructs.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, predictive plan-based approach suitabilityReport a problem with this question

2. 2. Which characteristic of a project most strongly signals that a predictive, plan-based approach is NOT appropriate?

   • A.Requirements must satisfy a regulator that audits the approved written specification.
   • B.Requirements will change substantially as stakeholders review the earliest results.✓ Answer
   • C.Requirements are fixed by a firm fixed-price agreement signed before any work begins.
   • D.Requirements come from a design the organisation has already delivered many times.

   A high expected rate of change is the clearest counter-indication for a predictive approach, because every change to an approved baseline must pass through formal integrated change control, so frequent change turns into constant administrative rework and delayed feedback. Regulatory audit of a written specification, a repeatedly delivered design and a fixed-price agreement all point the other way, toward predictive.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, choosing a development approachReport a problem with this question

3. 3. A contractor will build a facility to a design already approved by a safety regulator, under a fixed-price agreement. Which approach fits best, and why?

   • A.Predictive, because the approved design fixes scope and every change must pass formal control.✓ Answer
   • B.Predictive, because a fixed-price agreement removes the need to plan responses to known risks.
   • C.Adaptive, because regulators generally prefer working increments over documented specifications.
   • D.Adaptive, because a fixed-price agreement lets the team reorder scope freely in each iteration.

   Two conditions here both push toward predictive delivery: a regulator has approved a specific design, and a fixed-price agreement commits the contractor to a defined scope for a defined amount. Scope is therefore settled before execution and any deviation has both contractual and regulatory consequences, which is exactly what formal change control exists to manage. A fixed price does not remove risk; it makes up-front risk planning more important, not less.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, predictive plan-based approach suitabilityReport a problem with this question

4. 4. Which description best fits a hybrid delivery approach?

   • A.An iterative lifecycle in which all deliverables are formally accepted only at project closure.
   • B.A predictive lifecycle in which the schedule baseline is replaced by a continuously reordered backlog.
   • C.A predictive lifecycle followed later by a separate, unrelated project that is run adaptively.
   • D.A predictive overall lifecycle in which one uncertain component is developed in short iterations.✓ Answer

   A hybrid approach deliberately combines both worlds inside one project: the overall lifecycle, governance and baselines stay predictive, while a part of the scope whose requirements are still uncertain is produced in iterations so feedback can shape it. Two separate projects run one after another are not a hybrid, and abandoning the schedule baseline altogether is simply an adaptive project.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, hybrid delivery approachesReport a problem with this question

5. 5. Most of an initiative is a well-understood facility upgrade, but one new customer-facing software component has uncertain requirements. What makes a hybrid approach sensible here?

   • A.Stable parts are delivered first so change control can be waived for everything that follows.
   • B.Stable parts are replanned iteration by iteration so the whole effort shares one cadence.
   • C.Stable parts absorb the uncertain work, so a single delivery approach still covers everything.
   • D.Stable parts keep their baselines while the uncertain part is built and reviewed in increments.✓ Answer

   The delivery approach should be tailored to the uncertainty of the work, not applied uniformly out of habit. Where scope is stable, baselines and formal change control give predictability and contractual protection; where requirements are still emerging, incremental delivery with review lets stakeholders shape the result before too much is built. Change control is never waived on the predictive part of a hybrid.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, hybrid delivery approachesReport a problem with this question

6. 6. What is the purpose of the review held at the end of a phase in a predictive project?

   • A.To transfer ownership of every deliverable produced so far to the customer's operations team.
   • B.To let the team correct technical defects before any quality control measurement is taken.
   • C.To reset the project's baselines automatically so they match the performance achieved so far.
   • D.To decide whether the project continues into the next phase, is changed, or is stopped.✓ Answer

   A predictive project is divided into phases, each ending with a defined deliverable and a decision point sometimes called a phase gate or stage gate. Its purpose is governance: performance and the continuing business justification are reviewed and an explicit go, change or stop decision is made before further money is committed. Baselines are never reset automatically; they change only through approved change requests.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, project phases and phase-end reviewsReport a problem with this question

7. 7. What does progressive elaboration mean on a predictive project?

   • A.Detail is added to the charter each time the team refines an estimate or a technical design.
   • B.Detail is removed from plans so the team can act on change without seeking formal approval.
   • C.Detail is added to the deliverables whenever stakeholders request extra features during execution.
   • D.Detail is added to plans and estimates as more is known, within the scope already approved.✓ Answer

   Progressive elaboration refines the accuracy and detail of plans and estimates as information becomes available, but it does not enlarge what the project has been approved to deliver. That distinction is what separates it from scope creep: elaborating detail inside an approved scope is normal planning, while adding new deliverables without approval is uncontrolled change.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, progressive elaboration and rolling wave planningReport a problem with this question

8. 8. A project manager plans the coming quarter in detail and leaves later work at a high level, to be detailed as it approaches. How should this be judged?

   • A.Rolling wave planning, and unacceptable, because an approved baseline must be fully detailed.
   • B.Scope creep, and unacceptable, because undecomposed work lets scope grow without control.
   • C.Fast tracking, and acceptable, because later phases are overlapped with current phase work.
   • D.Rolling wave planning, and acceptable, because near-term work is elaborated as detail matures.✓ Answer

   Rolling wave planning is a legitimate form of progressive elaboration inside a predictive frame: imminent work is decomposed and scheduled in detail, while distant work is held at a summary level until enough is known to plan it well. The total scope is still bounded and baselined, so nothing is added without approval, which is what separates rolling wave from scope creep.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, progressive elaboration and rolling wave planningReport a problem with this question

9. 9. In a predictive project, what makes up the approved scope baseline?

   • A.The project charter, the business case and the benefits management plan for the work.
   • B.The requirements documentation, the traceability matrix and the stakeholder register.
   • C.The activity list, the milestone list and the project schedule network diagram.
   • D.The project scope statement, the work breakdown structure and the WBS dictionary.✓ Answer

   The scope baseline is the approved version of three things together: the scope statement that describes what is and is not included, the work breakdown structure that decomposes that scope, and the WBS dictionary that details each component. Because it is a baseline it can be changed only through approved change requests, and it is the reference against which delivered work is later compared.

   Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, scope baseline and the project management planReport a problem with this question

10. 10. A project manager combines the approved scope, schedule and cost baselines into one reference used to measure execution. What is that reference called, and what is it for?

    • A.The project management plan, used to record the current status of every open issue.
    • B.The change log, used to compare approved changes with those still awaiting a decision.
    • C.The performance measurement baseline, used to compare actual work and cost with plan.✓ Answer
    • D.The milestone chart, used to compare forecast completion dates with contractual dates.

    Integrating the scope, schedule and cost baselines produces the performance measurement baseline, the single approved plan against which execution is measured. Comparing actual results with it is what makes variance analysis possible, and it changes only through approved change requests, so a variance always means real deviation rather than a moved goalpost.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, performance measurement baselineReport a problem with this question

11. 11. An approved change adds scope to a predictive project. What happens to the affected baselines?

    • A.They are rebuilt from actual performance to date at the project manager's discretion.
    • B.They are updated only at the next phase gate, once the added scope has been delivered.
    • C.They stay unchanged, so the original commitment remains visible in every status report.
    • D.They are updated to reflect the approved change, so later variances are measured fairly.✓ Answer

    Once a change request is approved, the baselines and the affected parts of the project management plan are updated and the change is communicated, so that from then on performance is measured against a plan that includes the new work. Leaving the baseline stale would report a false variance, while rebuilding it from actual results at the project manager's discretion would destroy the control value of a baseline altogether.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, integrated change controlReport a problem with this question

12. 12. A stakeholder asks the project manager to add a feature that is not in the approved scope. What should the project manager do first?

    • A.Record the request and analyse its effect on scope, schedule, cost, quality and risk.✓ Answer
    • B.Add the feature to the schedule at once, because the requester is an important customer.
    • C.Refuse the request outright, because approved baselines cannot be altered once signed.
    • D.Forward the request to the change control board without any preliminary impact analysis.

    Integrated change control runs in a fixed order: the request is documented, its impact is analysed across the competing constraints, the designated approver or change control board decides, and only then are baselines updated and the change implemented. Acting on the request immediately is uncontrolled change, refusing outright ignores a legitimate process, and sending it forward without analysis leaves the decision makers no basis for a decision.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, integrated change controlReport a problem with this question

13. 13. A developer adds an extra reporting screen that no stakeholder asked for, expecting the customer to be pleased. How should this be classified?

    • A.Fast tracking, because parallel work adds effort that the schedule baseline never funded.
    • B.Gold plating, because unrequested work consumes budget and adds risk without approval.✓ Answer
    • C.Scope creep, because the customer's request bypassed the documented change process.
    • D.Progressive elaboration, because added detail always enlarges the approved scope baseline.

    Gold plating is extra work the delivery team adds on its own initiative, beyond what was requested and approved. Even when well intended it is a defect in control: it spends budget and time that were baselined for approved scope, introduces untested functionality and risk, and may not be wanted at all. Scope creep differs in origin, being change that arrives from outside the team without passing through change control.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, scope creep and gold platingReport a problem with this question

14. 14. Over several months a project's deliverables grow through many small, informal additions that were never submitted for approval. What is this, and what failed?

    • A.Scope creep, and the failure is change entering the project outside formal change control.✓ Answer
    • B.Rolling wave planning, and the failure is detailing later work only as it draws nearer.
    • C.Variance analysis, and the failure is measuring delivered work against an outdated baseline.
    • D.Gold plating, and the failure is the team deliberately exceeding the stated requirements.

    Scope creep is the uncontrolled expansion of scope by changes that were never assessed, approved or reflected in the baselines. Each addition may look small, but because none was impact-analysed the schedule and cost baselines silently stop matching the work actually being done, and the project appears to be failing against a plan that no longer describes it.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, scope creep and gold platingReport a problem with this question

15. 15. Which statement correctly distinguishes the project management plan from a project document such as the issue log?

    • A.The plan is baselined and changed by approved change; documents are updated as work proceeds.✓ Answer
    • B.The plan is written by the sponsor; documents are written and owned solely by the customer.
    • C.The plan is optional on small projects; documents are required on projects of every size.
    • D.The plan is a single narrative; documents are appendices attached to it at project closure.

    The project management plan is an integrated whole made of subsidiary management plans and the approved baselines, and it is under change control, so it is revised only when a change request is approved. Project documents such as the issue log, risk register, lessons learned register and change log are working records that the team updates continuously as the project runs, without a change request.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, scope baseline and the project management planReport a problem with this question

16. 16. What does the project management plan consist of on a predictive project?

    • A.The project charter together with the business case that justified the investment.
    • B.The subsidiary management plans for each area together with the approved baselines.✓ Answer
    • C.The detailed schedule together with the resource calendars kept by functional managers.
    • D.The signed agreement together with the purchase orders issued to each selected supplier.

    The project management plan integrates the subsidiary plans that describe how each aspect will be managed, such as scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement and stakeholder engagement, together with the approved scope, schedule and cost baselines. The charter authorises the project rather than forming part of the plan, and contracts and calendars are inputs or documents, not the plan itself.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, scope baseline and the project management planReport a problem with this question

17. 17. A monthly status report shows that less work was completed than the plan called for. What does variance analysis contribute at this point?

    • A.It measures the gap against the baseline and identifies causes so action can follow.✓ Answer
    • B.It confirms the deliverables are acceptable to the customer and can be handed over.
    • C.It moves accountability for the gap to the functional managers who supplied the staff.
    • D.It replaces the baseline with actual performance so that the reported gap disappears.

    Variance analysis compares actual results with the approved baseline, sizes the difference and looks for its root cause, which is what allows a corrective or preventive action to be chosen rather than guessed at. It is a monitoring and controlling activity; it neither reassigns blame nor moves the baseline, since the baseline changes only through approved change requests.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, variance analysis and status reportingReport a problem with this question

18. 18. A team records raw measurements of hours spent and units completed; these are then analysed against the baseline and finally summarised for stakeholders. Which sequence names these three things?

    • A.Work performance data, then work performance information, then work performance reports.✓ Answer
    • B.Work performance information, then work performance data, then work performance reports.
    • C.Work performance reports, then work performance data, then work performance information.
    • D.Work performance metrics, then work performance baselines, then work performance forecasts.

    Raw observations and measurements collected during execution are work performance data. Once analysed in context, for example compared with the baseline, they become work performance information. When that information is compiled into status or progress documents for a decision-making audience, it becomes work performance reports. The order always runs data, then information, then reports.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, work performance data, information and reportsReport a problem with this question

19. 19. A deliverable has passed internal inspection and measurement against its quality requirements. What still has to happen before it counts as complete?

    • A.The customer or sponsor formally accepts it against the agreed written acceptance criteria.✓ Answer
    • B.The team inspects it again to confirm the recorded measurements were transcribed correctly.
    • C.The project manager updates the cost baseline to match the effort the deliverable consumed.
    • D.The quality auditor reviews the process that produced it before the deliverable can ship.

    Controlling quality is internal and product-focused: it inspects and measures the deliverable to confirm correctness, producing a verified deliverable. Validating scope comes afterwards and is external: the customer or sponsor reviews the verified deliverable against the agreed acceptance criteria and formally accepts it. Verification alone does not make a deliverable complete, because only the acceptor can confirm it meets the need.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, validating scope and controlling qualityReport a problem with this question

20. 20. Late in a predictive project the team must confirm that every approved requirement was built and tested. Which document supports this most directly?

    • A.The change log, which links each submitted change to its decision and resulting update.
    • B.The traceability matrix, which links each requirement to its origin and to its test.✓ Answer
    • C.The issue log, which links each open problem to an owner and a target resolution date.
    • D.The risk register, which links each identified risk to an owner and a planned response.

    A requirements traceability matrix connects each approved requirement forward to the deliverable and the test that satisfies it, and backward to the business need or objective that justified it. That two-way linkage is what lets the team demonstrate coverage, show that nothing approved was dropped and show that nothing unapproved was added.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, requirements traceabilityReport a problem with this question

21. 21. Why does a predictive project obtain formal, documented sign-off on its deliverables?

    • A.It allows the project to be closed without archiving the lessons learned that were captured.
    • B.It records agreement that acceptance criteria were met, reducing later disputes over completion.✓ Answer
    • C.It permits the team to skip the remaining quality checks planned for those deliverables.
    • D.It transfers all remaining project risk to the customer's operations and support organisation.

    Formal sign-off creates a documented record that the accepting party agreed the deliverable met its acceptance criteria at a specific point. That record is what makes completion demonstrable later, which matters most where scope is contractual or subject to audit. It does not transfer risk wholesale, waive planned quality activity, or excuse the project from archiving its lessons learned at closure.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, formal acceptance and project closureReport a problem with this question

22. 22. A predictive project's cost baseline includes money set aside for risks that were identified and analysed during planning. What is this money called, and how is it governed?

    • A.Management reserve, which sits inside the cost baseline and is spent by the project manager.
    • B.Contingency reserve, which sits outside the cost baseline and is released by senior management.
    • C.Contingency reserve, which sits inside the cost baseline and is spent by the project manager.✓ Answer
    • D.Management reserve, which sits outside the cost baseline and is spent without extra approval.

    Contingency reserve covers identified risks that were analysed during planning, so it is estimated, included in the cost baseline and drawn on by the project manager when one of those risks occurs. Management reserve covers unforeseen work, sits outside the cost baseline within the overall project budget, and requires management approval to release, which is why using it changes the cost baseline.

    Source: PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, contingency and management reservesReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline and standard project-management and business-analysis concepts. CAPM, PMP and PMBOK are marks of the Project Management Institute; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by PMI. PMI sets and periodically revises the exam's length, scoring and eligibility requirements — read the current CAPM handbook and Exam Content Outline on PMI's site before you apply or test. About the CAPM exam →