Which statement about program cost and schedule impacts is most accurate?

Which statement about program cost and schedule impacts is most accurate?

• A. Unstable requirements and management emphasis on cost and schedule have no effect on program outcomes.
• B. Stable requirements always cause delays.
• C. Strong upfront cost controls guarantee on-time delivery.
• D. Unstable requirements and management emphasis on cost and schedule can negatively impact cost and schedule.

Answer: (D)

When requirements are unstable and management focuses tightly on cost and schedule, the program is highly exposed to overruns and delays. Unstable requirements drive frequent scope changes, which lead to design churn, rework, integration challenges, and the need to redo work that was already planned and funded. Each change pushes the schedule out and increases effort and costs beyond the baseline. At the same time, a strong emphasis on cost and schedule can push teams to cut corners in areas like testing, risk mitigation, or architectural investment, or to defer difficult trade-offs, which raises the likelihood of defects, late discoveries, and additional rework later. The combination creates a negative impact on both cost and schedule, making this the most accurate statement. The other options overlook the clear effect of changing scope, wrongly claim inevitabilities about delays with stable requirements, or assume guarantees from upfront cost controls, which aren’t reliable in practice.

When requirements are unstable and management focuses tightly on cost and schedule, the program is highly exposed to overruns and delays. Unstable requirements drive frequent scope changes, which lead to design churn, rework, integration challenges, and the need to redo work that was already planned and funded. Each change pushes the schedule out and increases effort and costs beyond the baseline. At the same time, a strong emphasis on cost and schedule can push teams to cut corners in areas like testing, risk mitigation, or architectural investment, or to defer difficult trade-offs, which raises the likelihood of defects, late discoveries, and additional rework later. The combination creates a negative impact on both cost and schedule, making this the most accurate statement. The other options overlook the clear effect of changing scope, wrongly claim inevitabilities about delays with stable requirements, or assume guarantees from upfront cost controls, which aren’t reliable in practice.