Plan parts and project documents
| Artifact | What it holds | How it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Project management plan | How the project will be executed, monitored, controlled and closed: subsidiary plans plus the baselines | Formal change control once approved |
| Product management plan | The product across its whole life, including what happens after the project ends | Owned by product management, outside the project |
| Scope baseline | Scope statement, WBS and WBS dictionary | Approved change request only |
| Assumption log | Assumptions and constraints written down so they can be checked | Updated as each one is confirmed or disproved |
| Risk register | Each identified risk with its owner, analysis and planned response | Updated whenever risks are reviewed |
| Stakeholder register | Who the stakeholders are and what is known about each | A working document, kept current |
| Milestone list | Significant points in the schedule, each of zero duration | Updated with the schedule |
How to read a planning question
Step 1
Name the artifact’s job
Is the thing in the stem approved and measured against, a method, or a running record? That alone removes options.
Step 2
Check the life cycle
Predictive work sets baselines early. Adaptive work keeps near-term detail fine and later work coarse, so the right artifact may be a backlog rather than a fixed plan. The background is on life cycles and portfolios.
Step 3
Watch the word FIRST
Several options can be sensible eventually. Rank them by order of action, and treat anything that commits money or people before the facts are known with suspicion.
Step 4
Follow the approval route
When an option changes something that was approved, ask who approved it in the first place. A baseline moves through change control; a working document does not need a board’s signature.
Plans, registers and handover
These cards ask which document holds what, what to do first when a plan meets reality, and what a clean finish looks like.
Practice cards here are written for study, not taken from PMI. The real CAPM mixes multiple choice with drag-and-drop, hot spot, comic-strip and video items.
Card 01 of 20 · 0 done · 0 right
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Card 01 of 20
Which of the following is a component of the project management plan rather than a project document?
Note on A
The stakeholder register is a project document listing stakeholders, not a component of the project management plan.
Note on B
The risk register is a project document that changes often during the project.
Note on C
The issue log is a project document used to track and resolve issues.
Note on D
Correct: The scope baseline is an approved component of the project management plan that changes only through change control.
Card 02 of 20
A project manager must document the scheduling methodology, the units of measure, and the control thresholds for schedule variances. Which component of the project management plan holds this?
Note on A
The project schedule shows activity dates; it does not set the rules for managing the schedule.
Note on B
A network diagram shows the logical sequence of activities, not methodology or thresholds.
Note on C
The schedule baseline is the approved version of the schedule used for comparison, not the rules for scheduling.
Note on D
Correct: The schedule management plan sets the scheduling method, units of measure, and variance thresholds used to control the schedule.
Card 03 of 20
Which activity is part of transitioning a finished product to operations at the end of a project?
Note on A
The scope baseline is a project planning tool, not something operations needs at handover.
Note on B
Quality checks happen before acceptance; transition is about moving the accepted product into use.
Note on C
Correct: Transition prepares operations to run the product, which includes handing maintenance procedures to the support staff.
Note on D
Rebaselining the schedule at the end has no value for operations and is not part of transition.
Card 04 of 20
A retail store opening schedule contains the following entries. Which entry should be shown as a milestone?
Note on A
Correct: A milestone marks a significant point or event, such as the permit being granted, with no duration.
Note on B
Configuring the point-of-sale system takes time and effort, so it is an activity.
Note on C
Conducting an inspection is work that takes time, so it is an activity.
Note on D
Preparing an application is work with duration, so it is an activity.
Card 05 of 20
During a sprint review, a key stakeholder complains that the project scope is constantly changing and accuses the team of uncontrolled scope creep. The project manager clarifies that the team is simply refining details as the project continues. Which concept is the project manager describing?
Note on A
Unmanaged variance is what the stakeholder fears; the project manager is describing planned refinement.
Note on B
Correct: Progressive elaboration means adding detail to plans and requirements as more is learned, which is expected rather than scope creep.
Note on C
Schedule compression shortens the timeline and has nothing to do with refining scope details.
Note on D
Continuous integration is an engineering practice for merging code, not a way to describe scope refinement.
Card 06 of 20
An activity needs four specialized technicians for three weeks, but resource calendars show only two are available in that period. What should the project manager do FIRST?
Note on A
Keeping the same duration with half the technicians is unrealistic and builds a delay into the plan.
Note on B
Correct: The first step is analysis: look at options such as rescheduling the activity, adjusting dependencies, or acquiring more technicians.
Note on C
Baselining a schedule with a known resource gap locks in a plan that cannot be met.
Note on D
Escalating for budget before analyzing options skips the project manager’s own problem solving.
Card 07 of 20
A regulatory authority’s influence over a public-sector project changes from low to high. Where should the project manager record the authority’s new level of influence?
Note on A
Correct: The stakeholder register records each stakeholder’s influence and assessment, so it is updated when influence changes.
Note on B
The engagement plan sets strategies for engaging stakeholders; it may be revised next, but the assessment itself lives in the register.
Note on C
The communications management plan defines how information flows, not each stakeholder’s level of influence.
Note on D
Higher influence may create risks, but the risk register is not where stakeholder influence is recorded.
Card 08 of 20
The project manager is preparing a milestone schedule for the steering committee. Which entries should it contain?
Note on A
Work packages are too detailed for a steering committee view and are not events.
Note on B
Critical path activities are work with durations, which is more detail than a milestone schedule shows.
Note on C
Summary activities with durations belong in a summary schedule, not a milestone schedule.
Note on D
Correct: A milestone schedule shows only key events, such as design approval, which gives the steering committee a high-level view.
Card 09 of 20
An adaptive product development project has a clear product vision but many unresolved features, and the team refines detailed plans only as new information becomes available. In which situation is rolling-wave planning most appropriate?
Note on A
A fixed-price contract that needs a full baseline up front is a reason for detailed upfront planning.
Note on B
Estimating every deliverable in detail during planning is the opposite of rolling-wave planning.
Note on C
Correct: Rolling-wave planning details near-term work and keeps later work high-level until more is known.
Note on D
If scope and schedule can be fully defined at the start, detailed upfront planning is practical and rolling waves are not needed.
Card 10 of 20
In the activity list, a team member records the duration of ‘Install shelving’ as ‘4 technicians.’ How should the project manager correct this?
Note on A
Duration is not one day per technician; that mixes up a resource count with time.
Note on B
Correct: ‘4 technicians’ is a resource requirement, so it is recorded as resource quantity and the duration is estimated separately in time units.
Note on C
Effort in person-days still needs an estimate of the work; the entry gives only the number of people.
Note on D
Duration is measured in work periods such as hours or days, not in numbers of people.
Card 11 of 20
A team member has assigned 10 days of labor to the milestone ‘Regulatory approval received.’ What is the BEST correction?
Note on A
Lag is waiting time between activities, not labor; replacing the milestone with lag loses both the event and the work.
Note on B
Turning the milestone into a work package confuses a point in time with the work that leads to it.
Note on C
Correct: The effort belongs in an activity that precedes the milestone, and the milestone stays a zero-duration point with no work.
Note on D
A milestone should carry no work; keeping labor on it still misrepresents the schedule.
Card 12 of 20
The draft schedule assumes a key engineer is available, but the engineer is committed to another project during the same weeks. What should the project manager do FIRST?
Note on A
Asking for the engineer’s release may come later, but first the project manager should understand availability and options.
Note on B
Correct: Checking resource calendars and capacity confirms the conflict and shows options before the schedule is changed or the conflict escalated.
Note on C
Baselining a schedule with a known conflict locks in a plan that will not work.
Note on D
Escalating before analyzing the conflict skips the project manager’s own analysis.
Card 13 of 20
An activity requires 24 person-days of effort and must be finished in 6 working days. Each available worker can spend only half of each day on it. How many workers are needed?
Note on A
16 workers would supply 48 person-days, twice the effort needed.
Note on B
Correct: Each worker gives 0.5 x 6 = 3 person-days over the six days, so 24 / 3 = 8 workers are needed.
Note on C
2 workers would provide only 6 person-days, far short of the 24 required.
Note on D
4 workers would be enough only at full days; at half days they provide just 12 person-days.
Card 14 of 20
On a predictive project, which artifact gives executives a high-level, roadmap-like view of the key delivery points over time?
Note on A
The risk register lists risks and responses, not key delivery points over time.
Note on B
The WBS breaks down scope into deliverables and does not show timing.
Note on C
A product backlog is an ordered list of work for agile teams, not a predictive executive view.
Note on D
Correct: A milestone schedule shows the key delivery points over time at a level suited to executives.
Card 15 of 20
A completed inventory system is ready to move to operations. What should the project manager hand over together with the system?
Note on A
Schedules and performance reports describe how the project ran; support staff need to know how to run the system.
Note on B
Resource calendars and assignments are project information with no use for operations.
Note on C
Correct: Handover includes the documentation and training support staff need to operate and maintain the system.
Note on D
Change records belong in the project archives; they do not prepare operations to support the system.
Card 16 of 20
The sponsor has accepted a new product, but no operations group has agreed to support it. What should the project manager do?
Note on A
Correct: Transition needs a receiving owner, so the project manager settles who will support the product before handing it over.
Note on B
Project teams are temporary, so making them permanent support is outside the project’s purpose and authority.
Note on C
Sponsor acceptance does not complete transition; handing over without a support owner leaves the product unsupported.
Note on D
Recording a lesson does not solve the gap, and closing now leaves the product without support.
Card 17 of 20
The project manager wants to compare each stakeholder’s current level of engagement with the level needed for project success. Which tool is MOST appropriate?
Note on A
A responsibility assignment matrix shows who does what, not stakeholder engagement levels.
Note on B
The stakeholder register lists stakeholders and their details but is not built to compare current and desired engagement.
Note on C
A power/interest grid classifies stakeholders by influence and interest, not by engagement level.
Note on D
Correct: This matrix marks where each stakeholder is now (unaware, resistant, neutral, supportive, leading) and where they need to be, exposing the gaps to close.
Card 18 of 20
A project manager wants a chart that shows each activity in a phase as a bar against a calendar, with actual progress drawn against the plan, to spot which activities are slipping. Which tool should be used?
Note on A
A milestone chart shows key events, not each activity as a bar with progress.
Note on B
A network diagram shows dependencies between activities, not bars against a calendar with progress.
Note on C
A resource histogram shows resource use over time, not activity progress.
Note on D
Correct: A Gantt chart shows activities as bars against a calendar and can show actual progress against the plan to reveal slippage.
Card 19 of 20
A project manager takes over an urban development project in execution. Stakeholders are complaining, procurement is behind and environmental concerns are growing. What should the project manager do FIRST?
Note on A
Escalating before understanding the situation passes problems up without analysis.
Note on B
Replanning everything from scratch is premature and disruptive before knowing what is wrong.
Note on C
Replacing contractors at once is a drastic step taken without first understanding the causes.
Note on D
Correct: A new project manager first reviews the plan and key documents, such as the issue and risk logs, to understand the situation before acting.
Card 20 of 20
Early in initiation, with little detail available, a business analyst estimates elicitation effort by using the actual effort from a similar past project. Which estimating technique is this?
Note on A
Three-point estimating uses optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic values, not a single past project.
Note on B
Correct: Analogous estimating uses actual data from a similar past project, which suits early phases with little detail.
Note on C
Parametric estimating scales a statistical rate, such as hours per interview, by the amount of work.
Note on D
Bottom-up estimating sums detailed estimates of small pieces of work, which needs detail not yet available.
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Where this comes from
- PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline, 2023 Exam Update www.pmi.org — Task 1.2, Understand project management planning, and the Domain I weight of 36%. Paraphrased; checked October 30, 2026.
- PMI, Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification page www.pmi.org — Current outline link and exam overview; checked October 30, 2026.