PMI Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) practice questions

A small project network has five activities. Activity A (3 days) and Activity B (6 days) both start the project. Activity C (8 days) follows A. Activity D (4 days) follows B. Activity E (5 days) starts only after both C and D finish, and E ends the project. Which path is the project's critical path?

• AA to C to E, with a total duration of 16 dayscheck_circle Correct
• BB to D to E, with a total duration of 15 days
• CA to C to E, with a total duration of 11 days
• DB to D to E, with a total duration of 18 days

Why A is correct: The critical path is the longest continuous path through the network. A to C to E sums to 3 plus 8 plus 5, which is 16 days, longer than the only other path B to D to E at 15 days, so it sets the earliest project finish and its activities have zero total float.

Why B is wrong: B to D to E is the near-critical path at 15 days and carries only 1 day of total float. It is tempting because it starts with the longest single activity, B at 6 days, but a longer path exists, so it is not critical.

Why C is wrong: This correctly names the longest path but miscalculates its length, most likely by dropping activity E from the sum. The path A to C to E actually totals 16 days, not 11, so the duration stated here is wrong.

Why D is wrong: This selects the near-critical path and also overstates its length, probably by adding an activity that is not on it. B to D to E totals 15 days, and in any case it is not the longest path, so it is not the critical path.

The Meridian mobile-banking team has a signed 40-page requirements document, but during the first two-week iteration the client watches the working login flow and asks for three material changes. The team lead argues that the contract fixes the scope and the changes should wait for a formal change request. Which position best reflects the values of the Agile Manifesto?

• ADefer the changes to a later release, because the signed requirements document is the team's contract and must govern the current iteration.
• BWelcome the client's changes now, because responding to change is valued over following a fixed plan when it delivers a better product.check_circle Correct
• CReject the changes outright, because customer collaboration tends to matter most at the start of the project when the scope is first agreed.
• DAccept the changes only after the client raises a formal written change request through the document-control process.

Why A is wrong: This treats comprehensive documentation and the plan as fixed authority, which inverts the Manifesto value that prioritises responding to change, so it is wrong.

Why B is correct: The Manifesto value 'responding to change over following a plan' supports adapting to the emerging requirement rather than deferring to the original scope document, so this is correct.

Why C is wrong: It is tempting because early scoping does matter, but the Manifesto values ongoing customer collaboration throughout delivery, not just at kickoff, so this is wrong.

Why D is wrong: A heavyweight change-control gate favours process and documentation over individuals and interactions and responding to change, so although it feels disciplined it conflicts with the values here.

The Harbourline mobile banking programme has stable, well-understood requirements, a fixed regulatory deadline, and a client who wants the full scope defined and signed off before any build starts. The sponsor asks which development approach best fits these conditions. Which approach should the project manager recommend?

• AA predictive approach, planning scope, schedule, and cost in detail before execution beginscheck_circle Correct
• BAn adaptive approach, so the team can reprioritise the backlog every iteration as feedback arrives
• CAn incremental approach, so a usable subset of features is released at the end of each short cycle
• DA hybrid approach, combining predictive planning with adaptive delivery for the same requirements

Why A is correct: Predictive life cycles fit stable, clearly defined requirements planned in full before work starts, which matches the fixed scope, signed-off requirements, and fixed deadline described here.

Why B is wrong: Adaptive approaches suit volatile requirements and frequent change, but this programme has stable, well-understood scope defined up front, so the flexibility adds overhead without benefit.

Why C is wrong: Incremental delivery is tempting because of the fixed deadline, but it is chosen to get working functionality into users' hands early, not because requirements are fully known and fixed at the outset.

Why D is wrong: Hybrid is useful when parts of the work are uncertain and parts are stable, but nothing here is described as uncertain, so blending approaches introduces complexity the situation does not call for.