PMP · Question #396
The project velocity has recently slipped, and a decision was made to skip testing to increase the momentum and bong the project back on track. What will the project manager need to focus on as a resu
The correct answer is C. Increased technical debt. Skipping testing to accelerate a project will inevitably lead to increased technical debt, as defects and design flaws accumulate, requiring more effort and cost to fix later.
Question
The project velocity has recently slipped, and a decision was made to skip testing to increase the momentum and bong the project back on track. What will the project manager need to focus on as a result of this decision?
Options
- AIncreased bum rate
- BIncreased cost
- CIncreased technical debt
- DDecreased efficiency
How the community answered
(49 responses)- A4% (2)
- B12% (6)
- C82% (40)
- D2% (1)
Why each option
Skipping testing to accelerate a project will inevitably lead to increased technical debt, as defects and design flaws accumulate, requiring more effort and cost to fix later.
'Bum rate' is not a recognized project management or agile metric; the correct term 'burn rate' relates to spending money, not directly to skipping testing.
While skipping testing can lead to increased cost later due to rework, 'increased technical debt' is a more direct and precise consequence of consciously choosing to defer quality activities like testing.
Skipping testing to accelerate a project creates technical debt. This means defects, design flaws, or non-functional issues that would have been identified and resolved during testing are instead carried forward, requiring more effort and cost to fix later, thus increasing the project's overall technical debt.
Skipping testing might temporarily appear to increase efficiency by speeding up immediate delivery, but it compromises long-term efficiency by introducing defects that will slow down future development and maintenance.
Concept tested: Technical debt consequence of skipping quality
Source: https://martinfowler.com/bliki/TechnicalDebt.html
Topics
Community Discussion
8
Zlatan X.Nov 14, 2025C is correct. Skipping testing to boost velocity creates technical debt because the team is borrowing speed now against future rework and defect resolution. From a program perspective, that deferred quality becomes a liability that downstream components inherit, and it will eventually slow the whole delivery pipeline when bugs surface in integration or production. The other options sound plausible, but technical debt is the specific term for quality compromises made in the name of short-term velocity.
Brenda K.Nov 15, 2025Solid explanation and C is right, but on the real exam do not overthink this one, it is a 20-second quick win because the phrase "borrowing speed now" basically hands you the answer, flag it and move on fast.
Grace U.Nov 6, 2025C is right. Skipping testing now creates technical debt that must be paid back later.
Brenda K.Nov 24, 2025Leaned toward D first, then skipped testing is the textbook definition of technical debt, pick C and move on.
Prof. SaraNov 24, 2025C is solid and I confirmed it on my exam last month, but remember the clean phrasing is taking shortcuts to deliver faster, which creates debt later, so if you see an option that says shipping without documentation, that is also technical debt, not just skipped testing.
Prof. SaraDec 10, 2025Skipping tests to boost velocity accrues technical debt, C is correct.
Brenda K.Dec 13, 2025Co-sign on C, but watch your clock here because the velocity keyword is a dead giveaway, so lock it in under 30 seconds and bank that time for the drag-and-drop chaos later.
Hiroshi T.Nov 26, 2025C is correct, and the PMI Agile Practice Guide is clear on this: skipping testing to boost velocity does not eliminate the work, it defers it, and that deferred rework is the textbook definition of technical debt. Saw this on my exam last spring and almost talked myself into B, but the key phrase was "skip testing" which maps directly to technical debt accumulation, not immediate cost.