PMI-SP Schedule Compression 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project manager is comparing the cost of crashing with the penalty for being late. Crashing costs $5,000 per day and the late penalty is $8,000 per day. What is the BEST decision?
- Do not crash because it increases project cost
- Crash the schedule because it is cheaper than the late penalty (Correct answer)
- Fast track instead to avoid all costs
- Extend the deadline to eliminate the penalty
Correct answer: Crash the schedule because it is cheaper than the late penalty
When the crash cost ($5,000/day) is less than the late penalty ($8,000/day), crashing is cost-justified.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of applying crashing to a software development project?
- Starting system testing while coding is still in progress
- Hiring additional programmers to complete coding faster (Correct answer)
- Removing low-priority features to reduce total work
- Reassigning developers from a non-critical path activity to a critical one without adding headcount
Correct answer: Hiring additional programmers to complete coding faster
Hiring additional programmers is classic crashing — adding resources to shorten the critical path duration at increased cost.
Question 3: After applying fast tracking, the project manager notices the schedule risk has increased substantially. Which tool should be used to quantify this new risk?
- Earned Value Analysis
- Monte Carlo simulation (Correct answer)
- Critical Path Method recalculation only
- Resource histogram review
Correct answer: Monte Carlo simulation
Monte Carlo simulation models schedule uncertainty probabilistically, making it ideal for quantifying the increased risk introduced by fast tracking.
Question 4: A PMI-SP candidate learns that crashing an activity beyond its 'crash limit' is not possible. What does the crash limit represent?
- The maximum budget approved for compression
- The minimum possible duration for an activity regardless of resources added (Correct answer)
- The point at which float becomes negative
- The schedule variance threshold triggering corrective action
Correct answer: The minimum possible duration for an activity regardless of resources added
The crash limit is the shortest duration achievable for an activity no matter how many resources are added.
Question 5: A project manager is presented with two compression options: (1) crash activity A for $3,000 saving 2 days, or (2) fast track activities B and C saving 2 days with a 20% rework risk. Which factor should MOST influence the decision?
- The project sponsor's preference for cost vs. risk
- The total number of resources available on the project
- Whether activity A is on the critical path (Correct answer)
- The length of the project schedule baseline
Correct answer: Whether activity A is on the critical path
Crashing only reduces project duration if the activity being crashed is on the critical path; otherwise it provides no schedule benefit.
Question 6: Which statement about schedule compression and the project baseline is CORRECT?
- Applying compression automatically updates the approved schedule baseline
- The compressed schedule must be re-approved through change control before it becomes the new baseline (Correct answer)
- Fast tracking never requires a baseline change because no resources are added
- Crashing updates the cost baseline only, not the schedule baseline
Correct answer: The compressed schedule must be re-approved through change control before it becomes the new baseline
Any change to the approved baseline—including schedule compression—must go through the formal change control process before the new baseline is adopted.
Question 7: A project has three critical paths of equal length. The project manager wants to crash the schedule by 3 days. How many paths must be shortened simultaneously?
- Only the original critical path
- One path, then re-evaluate
- All three critical paths must be compressed by 3 days each (Correct answer)
- Two of the three paths
Correct answer: All three critical paths must be compressed by 3 days each
When multiple equal-length critical paths exist, all must be compressed simultaneously to achieve any overall schedule reduction.
PMI-SP Schedule Compression 4
A project manager is comparing the cost of crashing with the penalty for being late.
Crashing costs $5,000 per day and the late penalty is $8,000 per day.
What is the BEST decision?