CPE Project Baseline & Change Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a project baseline in the context of project planning and control?
- The initial budget approved before any spending occurs
- The approved version of a project plan used as a basis for comparison and control (Correct answer)
- The final cost and schedule reported at project completion
- A forecast of future project performance
Correct answer: The approved version of a project plan used as a basis for comparison and control
A baseline is the approved, time-phased plan against which actual performance is measured and compared throughout the project lifecycle.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST describes a Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB)?
- The original project charter approved by the sponsor
- The sum of all management reserves in the project budget
- The time-phased budget plan against which project performance is measured (Correct answer)
- The final approved schedule after all changes have been incorporated
Correct answer: The time-phased budget plan against which project performance is measured
The PMB is the integrated scope, schedule, and cost plan used to measure earned value and assess project performance.
Question 3: A formal change control process is PRIMARILY designed to:
- Reduce the number of stakeholder meetings required
- Ensure all changes are evaluated, approved, and documented before implementation (Correct answer)
- Eliminate all scope changes during project execution
- Accelerate the approval of changes to avoid schedule delays
Correct answer: Ensure all changes are evaluated, approved, and documented before implementation
Change control ensures that changes are properly evaluated for impact, approved by appropriate authorities, and documented to maintain baseline integrity.
Question 4: When is it appropriate to issue a formal baseline revision (rebaseline) on a project?
- Whenever actual costs exceed the baseline by more than 10%
- After every monthly status report to reflect current performance
- When the original baseline is no longer a valid measure of performance due to approved scope changes (Correct answer)
- Whenever the schedule slips beyond the planned completion date
Correct answer: When the original baseline is no longer a valid measure of performance due to approved scope changes
Rebaselining is justified when approved changes have made the original baseline obsolete as a meaningful performance benchmark.
Question 5: Which document formally authorizes a change to the project scope, schedule, or cost baseline?
- Project Status Report
- Risk Register Update
- Change Control Log
- Approved Change Order or Engineering Change Notice (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Approved Change Order or Engineering Change Notice
An approved Change Order (or equivalent document such as an Engineering Change Notice) is the formal authorization required before modifying any project baseline.
Question 6: In project controls, what is the primary purpose of maintaining a change log?
- To track all proposed and approved changes for audit and transparency (Correct answer)
- To automatically update the project schedule in the planning software
- To calculate the earned value of change work
- To replace the need for a formal change control board
Correct answer: To track all proposed and approved changes for audit and transparency
A change log provides a traceable, auditable record of all change requests, their status, approval decisions, and impacts to the baseline.
Question 7: What is 'scope creep' in project management?
- A planned expansion of project scope approved by stakeholders
- The gradual, unauthorized expansion of project scope without formal change control (Correct answer)
- A risk response strategy for managing undefined work
- The process of adding contingency reserves to the project budget
Correct answer: The gradual, unauthorized expansion of project scope without formal change control
Scope creep refers to uncontrolled additions to project scope that occur without formal approval, typically leading to cost and schedule overruns.
CPE Project Baseline & Change Management 1
What is a project baseline in the context of project planning and control?