CAPM - Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts (36% of the exam) - Section 1.1

Demonstrate understanding of the various project life cycles and processes, distinguishing predictive, iterative, incremental, adaptive, and hybrid approaches.

Distinguish a predictive (plan-based) life cycle from iterative, incremental, adaptive, and hybrid life cycles, and recognise the project phases and process groups that organise the work. Identify when a development approach should be selected based on the degree of change, uncertainty, and stakeholder involvement a project faces.

Project life cyclePredictive vs adaptiveProcess groupsDevelopment approach

Practice question for this objective

Free sampleProject Management Fundamentals and Core Conceptseasy

The Northwind data-centre project uses a predictive life cycle for its physical construction work but runs the accompanying software configuration using short adaptive iterations. Which term best describes a life cycle that combines predictive and adaptive approaches within one project?

AA purely predictive life cycle, because the overall project still finishes with one planned handover to operations.
BA fully adaptive life cycle, because any project that includes iterations is classified as adaptive overall.
CAn incremental life cycle, because delivering in parts automatically means the two approaches have been merged.
DA hybrid life cycle, because it deliberately combines predictive and adaptive approaches within the same project. Correct

Identify a life cycle that intentionally combines predictive and adaptive approaches within one project as a hybrid approach. A hybrid development approach uses a combination of predictive and adaptive approaches within the same project, applying a predictive approach to well-understood work and an adaptive approach to work with uncertainty. This deliberate blend is what distinguishes hybrid from a purely predictive or fully adaptive life cycle.

Why A is wrong: A single planned handover does not make the life cycle purely predictive when part of the work is run in adaptive iterations, so this ignores the mixed approach.

Why B is wrong: Tempting because iterations feature in adaptive work, but including some iterations does not reclassify the whole life cycle as fully adaptive when part remains predictive.

Why C is wrong: Incremental describes delivering usable functionality in successive pieces; it does not mean combining predictive and adaptive approaches, so it mislabels the blend.

Why D is correct: Correct: a hybrid life cycle blends predictive and adaptive elements, applying each where it best suits the type of work in the project.

See more CAPM practice questions, answers explained.

Exam traps in Project Management Fundamentals and Core Concepts

Answers that look right on this material and are not. Each one is a distractor from a different question in the CAPM bank for this domain.

Predictive, because a project that includes construction with a fixed design should generally be run as plan-driven.
Why it is wrong: Tempting because the construction portion is predictive, but forcing the whole project into one approach ignores the deliberately adaptive software portion described.
A purely predictive approach, because the whole project follows one baselined plan
Why it is wrong: A purely predictive approach would plan everything up front, but the software here is deliberately run in adaptive cycles, so the project is not purely predictive.
Predictive, because the whole project should follow one detailed baseline plan
Why it is wrong: Predictive work would plan everything in detail up front, but the software here is built in adaptive iterations, so treating the whole project as predictive ignores half of it.

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