CAPM Project Management Framework 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the PRIMARY purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?
- To assign responsibilities to team members for each activity
- To decompose total project scope into smaller, manageable components (Correct answer)
- To sequence project activities and determine their dependencies
- To estimate durations for all project tasks
Correct answer: To decompose total project scope into smaller, manageable components
The WBS decomposes the total scope of the project into smaller, more manageable work packages to facilitate planning and control.
Question 2: Stakeholder identification should FIRST occur during which process group?
- Planning
- Executing
- Initiating (Correct answer)
- Monitoring and Controlling
Correct answer: Initiating
Stakeholder identification is part of the Initiating process group and should be done as early as possible to engage stakeholders throughout the project.
Question 3: Which term describes work that is included in a project but was not authorized or planned, negatively affecting the schedule and cost?
- Gold plating
- Scope creep (Correct answer)
- Rework
- Progressive elaboration
Correct answer: Scope creep
Scope creep refers to uncontrolled expansion of project scope without corresponding adjustments to time, cost, and resources.
Question 4: A CAPM candidate reads that a project has a Cost Performance Index (CPI) of 0.85. What does this mean?
- The project is getting $1.00 worth of work for every $0.85 spent
- The project is getting $0.85 worth of work for every $1.00 spent (Correct answer)
- The project is 85% complete
- The project is 15% over schedule
Correct answer: The project is getting $0.85 worth of work for every $1.00 spent
A CPI of 0.85 means the project is only receiving $0.85 worth of value for each $1.00 spent, indicating a cost overrun.
Question 5: Which of the following BEST describes progressive elaboration in project management?
- Breaking the WBS into smaller and smaller detail until work packages are reached
- Continuously improving and detailing a project plan as more information becomes available (Correct answer)
- Assigning increasing levels of risk to activities as the project progresses
- Escalating project issues to higher management as they become more serious
Correct answer: Continuously improving and detailing a project plan as more information becomes available
Progressive elaboration means that planning is done in increasing detail as more information and greater accuracy becomes available throughout the project.
Question 6: A project manager is selecting between two risk response strategies. One eliminates the threat entirely; the other reduces its probability. Which terms match these strategies?
- Mitigate and Accept
- Transfer and Avoid
- Avoid and Mitigate (Correct answer)
- Exploit and Enhance
Correct answer: Avoid and Mitigate
Avoid eliminates the threat entirely by changing the plan, while Mitigate reduces the probability or impact of the risk to an acceptable level.
Question 7: The project management plan differs from project documents in that the project management plan:
- Is updated more frequently than project documents
- Is a single, approved document that guides project execution and control (Correct answer)
- Contains only the schedule baseline and cost baseline
- Is owned by the project sponsor, not the project manager
Correct answer: Is a single, approved document that guides project execution and control
The project management plan is the approved, integrated document that describes how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled.
CAPM Project Management Framework 4
What is the PRIMARY purpose of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)?