You are leading a hybrid infrastructure modernization project with a $5M budget and 18-month timeline. The cloud migration work is being executed in two-week sprints using Scrum, while the network infrastructure upgrades follow a predictive schedule due to regulatory requirements and vendor dependencies. You've established a burn-up chart for the adaptive work and an earned value management system for the predictive work. At the 9-month mark, the cloud migration is progressing well with 60% of planned story points completed, but the network infrastructure shows a CPI of 0.78 and SPI of 0.85. The infrastructure delays are now blocking three upcoming cloud migration sprints. The sponsor asks for a realistic forecast of the final cost and completion date. What should you do?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A. Hybrid projects require separate forecasting methods appropriate to each approach, then integration of those forecasts with consideration of dependencies between work streams (ECO Process Task 2.7: Plan and manage budget and resources). Predictive work should use EVM forecasting (EAC calculations), while adaptive work should use empirical data like velocity trends. The critical aspect is integrating these different forecasts while accounting for the dependencies—the infrastructure delays will impact cloud migration velocity. Option D is the main distractor because blending metrics from predictive and adaptive approaches into a single calculation masks important performance differences and loses the fidelity needed for accurate forecasting. Each approach tracks progress differently for valid reasons, and combining them mathematically produces misleading results. The difficulty lies in recognizing that hybrid forecasting requires maintaining separate metrics for different components while explicitly modeling their interactions and dependencies.

PMP Practice Question: Process — Hybrid, Hard

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