Which factor is listed as a cause of program cost increases and schedule slips?

Which factor is listed as a cause of program cost increases and schedule slips?

• A. Changes to user capability needs
• B. Changes to market demand
• C. Improved vendor pricing
• D. Reduced project scope

Answer: (A)

When user needs change, it commonly drives cost increases and schedule slips. If what the users require in terms of functionality, performance, or reporting evolves after work has begun, you often have to reboot parts of the project. That means reworking designs, adding or modifying features, adjusting data flows, and updating documentation and training. All of this extra work adds labor hours, stretches timelines, and increases resource use, which can push the budget overages and push the schedule out. In preventive medicine program work, user needs might be frontline clinicians, program staff, or public users who discover additional data elements, new reporting requirements, or different workflow needs. These changes ripple through the project: you may need new requirements, retesting, and retraining, each of which contributes to delays and higher costs. Changes to market demand can shift priorities or funding but don’t inherently create the same amount of rework in the delivered product. Improved vendor pricing would tend to reduce costs, not increase them. Reducing project scope typically reduces both cost and schedule, not cause overruns.

When user needs change, it commonly drives cost increases and schedule slips. If what the users require in terms of functionality, performance, or reporting evolves after work has begun, you often have to reboot parts of the project. That means reworking designs, adding or modifying features, adjusting data flows, and updating documentation and training. All of this extra work adds labor hours, stretches timelines, and increases resource use, which can push the budget overages and push the schedule out.

In preventive medicine program work, user needs might be frontline clinicians, program staff, or public users who discover additional data elements, new reporting requirements, or different workflow needs. These changes ripple through the project: you may need new requirements, retesting, and retraining, each of which contributes to delays and higher costs.

Changes to market demand can shift priorities or funding but don’t inherently create the same amount of rework in the delivered product. Improved vendor pricing would tend to reduce costs, not increase them. Reducing project scope typically reduces both cost and schedule, not cause overruns.