Study guide
18.2 Dependencies and What Drives the Schedule
APM Project Management Qualification PMQ
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1 Introduction & Exam Overview
1.1 Current Exam Facts 1.2 Exam Format & Question Types 1.3 How to Study for APM PMQ
2 Life Cycles
2.1 Linear Life Cycles and Why Work Is Phased 2.2 Iterative and Hybrid Life Cycles 2.3 Project Life Cycles and Extended Life Cycles 2.4 Choosing a Life Cycle: Context, Culture, Strengths and Limitations
3 Governance Arrangements
3.1 Functional, Matrix and Projectised Structures 3.2 Governance Frameworks, Policies and Delegated Responsibility 3.3 Life-Cycle Impact on Governance and Limits of Financial Authority 3.4 Project Roles and Responsibilities 3.5 Project Manager and Project Sponsor Through the Life Cycle 3.6 Linking Projects to Organisational Objectives
4 Sustainability
4.1 Sustainability Responsibilities, Principles and Impact 4.2 Monitoring and Reporting Sustainability Measures
5 Business Case
5.1 Business Case Fundamentals and Analysis Tools 5.2 The Business Case as Baseline and Reviewing Change
6 Procurement
6.1 Procurement Strategy: Purpose and Contents 6.2 Supplier Selection and Negotiation 6.3 Features of Different Contractual Relationships 6.4 Supplier Reimbursement Methods
7 Reviews & Assurance
7.1 Reviews, Decision Gates, Benefits Reviews and Audits 7.2 What Gets Reported and Informing Decisions 7.3 Why Activities Are Re-Planned After a Review 7.4 Project Assurance
8 Transition & Benefits Management
8.1 Transition Requirements and Business-as-Usual Readiness 8.2 Knowledge Transfer and Agreeing the Transition Plan 8.3 Benefits Management: Identification to Realisation 8.4 Aligning and Communicating Benefits
9 Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
9.1 Stakeholder Analysis, Influence and Engagement 9.2 The Communication Management Plan and Its Benefits 9.3 Managing Stakeholder Expectations 9.4 Communication Methods and Tailoring the Message 9.5 Factors That Help and Hinder Communication
10 Conflict Resolution
10.1 Sources and Impacts of Conflict 10.2 Addressing Conflict and the Thomas-Kilmann Model
11 Leadership
11.1 Leadership, Motivation and Team Performance 11.2 Changing Leadership Styles for the Situation 11.3 Coaching, Mentoring and Emotional Intelligence
12 Team Management
12.1 Team Development Stages and Models 12.2 Characteristics and Benefits of Effective Teams 12.3 Leading Virtual and Hybrid Teams
13 Diversity & Inclusion
13.1 Diversity Characteristics and the Equality Act 13.2 Incorporating Diversity and Diverse Thinking 13.3 Conscious and Unconscious Bias and Fair Treatment
14 Ethics, Compliance & Professionalism
14.1 Continuing Professional Development and Competence 14.2 Sources of Specialist Advice and Standards 14.3 The Legal and Regulatory Landscape
15 Requirements & Solutions
15.1 Establishing Scope Through Requirements Management 15.2 Managing Scope Through Configuration Management 15.3 Solutions Development and Prioritisation
16 Quality Management
16.1 Quality Planning, Indicators and the Business Case 16.2 Quality Control and Success Criteria
17 Integrated Planning
17.1 The Integrated Project Management Plan: Format and Contents 17.2 Why an Integrated Plan Matters
18 Schedule Management
18.1 Defining Scope and Breakdown Structures 18.2 Dependencies and What Drives the Schedule 18.3 Re-Estimating and Schedule Optimisation
19 Resource Management
19.1 Determining Resource Requirements and Availability 19.2 Organisational Breakdown Structure and RACI 19.3 Categorising and Allocating Resources 19.4 Resource Smoothing and Resource Levelling
20 Budgeting & Cost Control
20.1 Creating a Budget and Cost Types 20.2 Earned Value and Cost Forecasting 20.3 Monitoring and Reporting Financial Performance 20.4 Closing Down Project Finances
21 Risk & Issue Management
21.1 Benefits of Risk and Issue Management and Contingency Planning 21.2 The Risk and Issue Management Processes 21.3 Proactive and Reactive Risk Responses 21.4 Governance in Risk and Issue Management
22 Change Control
22.1 The Change Control Process and Its Stages 22.2 What a Change Request Must Capture 22.3 Assessing Options and the Impact of a Change 22.4 Recommending Decisions and Updating Plans
18.2 Dependencies and What Drives the Schedule
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Dependencies determine sequence, and a schedule with missing dependencies produces dates that cannot be achieved.
Business-as-usual constraints — operational freezes, seasonal peaks, shift patterns, and staff availability — routinely drive project dates more than internal logic does.
Cost constraints affect the schedule by limiting how much work can run in parallel and how much resource can be bought in.
Quality requirements affect the schedule through the time needed for testing, review, and rectification of defects.
Adding mandatory scope without changing the end date or removing other work is not a plan — it is an unresolved constraint that will surface as a late overrun.
Last updated: August 2026
Outcome 20b asks you to understand there are links and dependencies between activities within a project and business-as-usual activities , and states plainly that business-as-usual activities, costs, quality, risks and scope can all impact the schedule . The examinable idea is that a schedule is not an independent artefact — it is the place where every other constraint shows up.
Dependencies between project activities
A dependency is a logical or imposed relationship that constrains the order or timing of activities.
Common dependency types (conceptual)
- Type Meaning Simple example
- Finish-to-Start (FS) Successor cannot start until predecessor finishes Pour foundations → erect steel
- Start-to-Start (SS) Successor cannot start until predecessor starts Begin documentation when design starts
Finish-to-Finish (FF) Successor cannot finish until predecessor finishes Testing finishes with final defect fix delivery
Start-to-Finish (SF) Rare; successor finish constrained by predecessor start Specialised shift handover patterns
Most project logic is finish-to-start . Lags (delays) and leads (overlaps) refine timing (for example, cure time lag after concrete pour).
Internal vs external dependencies
- Category Description Management focus
- Internal (within project) Between project activities/teams Team coordination, integrated schedule
- External On suppliers, regulators, other projects, utilities Interface agreements, lead times, escalation
- Mandatory / hard logic Physical or contractual necessity Cannot "wish away"; plan around it
- Discretionary / soft logic Preferred practice or policy Challenge if optimisation needs re-sequence
Resource dependencies Same scarce people/equipment needed by parallel work Resource smoothing/levelling (resource LO)
Critical path (conceptual)
The critical path is the longest path of dependent activities through the network that determines the earliest project completion (for a given logic and durations). Activities on the critical path have zero (or least) total float — delay to them delays the end date unless logic or duration changes.
You do not need deep network mathematics for PMQ, but you must reason:
Adding scope or quality gates on the critical path extends duration unless compensated elsewhere.
Fast-tracking overlaps critical activities (more risk); crashing shortens critical durations (usually more cost) — next section.
Monitoring critical and near-critical paths is essential because float can disappear when reality changes.
Links and dependencies with BAU
Projects rarely run in a vacuum. BAU (operations) creates dependencies that pure project networks often miss:
- BAU interaction Schedule impact Example
- Blackout / peak periods Forbidden cutover windows No retail go-live before Christmas peak
Shared resources Operations staff needed for testing/training Clinic nurses cannot leave wards for five-day workshops
- Operational data / environments Access only in maintenance windows Night-only database migrations
- Regulatory / reporting cycles External calendars Year-end freeze on finance system changes
- Hypercare capacity Post-go-live support loading Cannot launch three sites the same week
- Parallel change Other projects contending for the same BAU Two programmes training the same call centre
- Scenario B — BAU dependency ignored
A hospital IT project schedules user acceptance testing in the first week of a major winter pressures period. Clinical BAU cannot release staff; testing slips four weeks and the critical path moves. Integrated schedule management would have treated clinical availability as an external dependency with a named operational owner and alternative windows — not as an infinite resource pool.
How cost, quality, risk, and scope impact the schedule
The schedule is not independent. Syllabus LO20b expects you to explain links among these factors.
Factor How it impacts schedule Reverse link (schedule → factor)
Scope More/less product or work changes activity count and path length Compressed dates force scope trade-offs or phased delivery
Cost / budget Funding profile and cash constraints delay starts; cheap slow methods vs expensive fast methods Acceleration usually increases cost (crashing, overtime, dual teams)
Quality Reviews, testing, rework loops, certifications add duration and dependencies Rushed schedules raise defect risk and rework (quality cost later)
Risk Risk response activities, contingency time, and threat materialisation alter forecasts Tight schedules increase risk exposure; float is a risk buffer when used deliberately
Resources Availability and skill constrain parallel work Schedule density drives resource peaks and conflict with BAU
Procurement Lead times and award dates set early constraints Late package definition pushes supply onto the critical path
Scenario C — quality and risk on the path
A medical device software release is scheduled for a fixed regulatory submission date. Scope growth adds features without extending test cycles. Quality risk rises: either defects escape or the submission slips. Integrated planning would re-estimate test effort, re-sequence or descope features, and escalate the scope–quality–schedule trade-off to the sponsor with options — not silently steal test float.
Scenario D — cost-driven delay
A capital project’s funding arrives in two financial years. Even if technical work could start now, the CBS/budget profile forbids major spend until April. The schedule must show constrained starts, not a fantasy early start that finance cannot fund.
Practical tips for PMQ long responses
When a scenario mentions late delivery or dependency failure:
Clarify outputs vs outcomes vs benefits relevant to the scope.
Use PBS / WBS / CBS language to show structure and missing work/cost.
Identify dependency types (internal, external, BAU, resource).
Discuss critical path conceptually: what is driving the end date?
Explain impacts from scope, cost, quality, and risk both ways.
Recommend integrated re-planning with named owners and governance.
That chain satisfies LO20a–b and sets up continuous re-estimating and schedule optimisation (LO20c) in the next section.