CAPM Practice Test 26 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a project, the team identifies a risk that could cause a 20% increase in cost. The project manager decides to accept the risk because the probability is low. What risk response strategy is being used?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

Accept. Accept means acknowledging the risk and taking no proactive action, though contingency reserves may be set aside. Avoid changes the plan to eliminate the risk, transfer shifts the impact to a third party, and mitigate reduces probability or impact.

Answer

Transfer

Answer

Avoid

Answer

Mitigate

Question 2

A project manager is assigned to a project in a matrix organization. Who typically has authority over resource assignment and prioritization?

Accepted Answer

Functional manager. In a matrix organization, functional managers have authority over resource assignment and prioritization, as they control the personnel and their availability. The project manager coordinates the project but does not directly manage resources. Option A is correct. Option B (project sponsor) provides funding and support but not direct resource authority. Option C (project manager) may request resources but does not have authority over them. Option D (customer) defines requirements but not resource allocation.

Answer

Project sponsor

Answer

Project manager

Answer

Customer

Question 3

Which THREE are common project constraints that must be balanced?

Accepted Answer

Time. The three common project constraints are time (option C), cost (option D), and scope (option E), collectively known as the triple constraint. Risk (option A) is an uncertainty factor, not a constraint, and quality (option B) is often considered an outcome or a constraint that is balanced within the triple constraint, but it is not one of the three primary constraints.

Answer

Risk

Answer

Quality

Question 4

Which of the following is a characteristic of the project life cycle?

Accepted Answer

Projects are temporary and unique. Projects are defined as temporary endeavors with a unique product, service, or result. Option A is incorrect because project phases can overlap in iterative or adaptive life cycles. Option C is incorrect because projects are unique and not repetitive; operations produce the same product repeatedly. Option D is incorrect because while projects have a defined end, the exact end date may be adjusted, but the key characteristic is temporary, not a fixed date.

Answer

Project phases are always sequential

Answer

Projects produce the same product repeatedly

Answer

Projects have a fixed end date

Question 5

A business analyst is verifying that all requirements have corresponding test cases. They find a requirement that has no linked test case. What should the BA do first?

Accepted Answer

Request a test case to be created for that requirement.. Request a test case to be created for that requirement. In business analysis, traceability ensures every requirement has a corresponding test case to verify it is implemented correctly. When a requirement lacks a test case, the BA should first request one to maintain coverage. Option A is incorrect because the project manager does not typically authorize test cases; the BA or QA team handles them. Option B is incorrect because ignoring the issue violates traceability best practices. Option D is incorrect because removing the requirement is premature without analysis; the BA should first try to create a test case.

Answer

Ask the project manager to approve the missing test.

Answer

Ignore it as it may not be critical.

Answer

Remove the requirement if it cannot be tested.

Question 6

A project manager is creating a risk response plan for a predictive construction project. One risk has a high probability and high impact. The team decides to purchase insurance to cover potential losses. Which risk response strategy is being used?

Accepted Answer

Transfer. Purchasing insurance transfers the financial impact of the risk to a third party (the insurer), which is the definition of the transfer strategy. Option A (Avoid) is incorrect because avoidance eliminates the risk entirely, e.g., by not performing the activity; insurance does not eliminate the risk. Option B (Accept) is incorrect because acceptance means acknowledging the risk and taking no proactive action, often setting aside a contingency reserve; purchasing insurance is an active response. Option C (Mitigate) is incorrect because mitigation reduces the probability or impact of the risk; insurance does not reduce the likelihood or severity of the loss, it only shifts the financial burden.

Answer

Avoid

Answer

Accept

Answer

Mitigate

Question 7

A mid-sized insurance company is implementing a new claims management system using a traditional waterfall approach. The business analyst (BA) spent three months gathering and documenting detailed requirements, which were signed off by stakeholders. However, during the development phase, the claims processing team requests frequent changes due to evolving regulatory requirements and customer feedback. The project manager is concerned about scope creep and budget overruns. The development team is frustrated because rework is affecting their velocity. The BA needs to recommend an approach that balances flexibility with control. The organization has limited experience with agile methods but is open to change. The BA should recommend:

Accepted Answer

Adopt a hybrid approach that retains the high-level scope from the waterfall document but uses iterative cycles with rolling wave planning for detailed requirements. It balances the need for flexibility with control by retaining the high-level scope from the signed-off waterfall document while using iterative cycles and rolling wave planning to detail requirements as the project progresses. This hybrid approach accommodates evolving regulatory requirements and customer feedback without abandoning the existing investment in requirements, and it mitigates scope creep by keeping the overall scope fixed while allowing detailed adjustments in short cycles.

Answer

Switch to a pure agile framework using user stories and a product backlog, abandoning the existing detailed requirements

Answer

Document every change request and ask the project sponsor for a budget increase to cover all rework

Answer

Continue with the waterfall approach but establish a strict change control board to evaluate all requests

Question 8

You are a senior business analyst on a multi-year program to overhaul the customer service operations. The program uses a tailored framework combining elements from BABOK and Agile. During the transition phase, you discover that the requirements traceability matrix is incomplete; many requirements are not linked to test cases or business objectives. The project manager is concerned about regulatory compliance and wants to ensure all requirements are validated. The testing team is falling behind schedule. As the business analyst, what is the most critical action to take?

Accepted Answer

Prioritize linking high-risk regulatory requirements to both test cases and business objectives first.. The most critical action because it addresses regulatory compliance by focusing on high-risk requirements first, linking them to both test cases and business objectives. This ensures that the most critical gaps are filled efficiently, without delaying the testing team unnecessarily. Option B is incorrect because ignoring business objectives undermines validation and traceability. Option C is too extreme; a full audit would halt progress and waste time. Option D passes the problem to the project manager without solving the immediate compliance risk.

Answer

Focus on linking all requirements to test cases and ignore business objectives for now.

Answer

Stop all work and conduct a comprehensive audit of the traceability matrix.

Answer

Ask the project manager to extend the schedule for testing to accommodate incomplete traceability.

Question 9

You are a business analyst on a project to upgrade the network infrastructure in a large organization. The project plan was created using a predictive approach, and requirements were gathered months ago. During implementation, the team discovers that some requirements conflict with a new company-wide security policy issued after the project started. The project manager says the scope is frozen and changes cannot be accommodated. The sponsor is not involved daily. As the business analyst, what is the most effective action to take?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact of the security policy on the project and present options to the sponsor for a decision.. The most effective action because as a business analyst, you should analyze the impact of the new security policy on the project and present options to the sponsor for decision. The sponsor has authority to approve changes, and since the project manager refuses to accommodate changes, escalating to the sponsor with impact analysis enables informed decision-making. Option A is ineffective because the project manager has already stated the scope is frozen, so reconvening the change control board without analysis may be premature. Option B is incorrect because ignoring the conflict and only noting it in lessons learned does not address the issue; it could lead to security non-compliance. Option C is wrong because updating requirements without formal approval violates the scope freeze and could lead to unauthorized changes.

Answer

Ask the project manager to reconvene the change control board to evaluate the conflicts.

Answer

Proceed with the original requirements and note the security conflicts in a lessons learned document.

Answer

Update the requirements to align with the new policy without formal approval to save time.

Question 10

A project manager is defining the business analysis approach for a new product development project. The stakeholders are distributed across different time zones and have varying levels of availability. The project manager needs to ensure that requirements are elicited efficiently and that all stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input. Which business analysis framework should the project manager recommend?

Accepted Answer

Agile framework. The Agile framework is the correct choice because it emphasizes iterative development, frequent stakeholder collaboration, and adaptive planning, which are ideal for a project with distributed stakeholders across time zones. Agile practices such as daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and backlog refinement allow for efficient requirements elicitation and ensure all stakeholders can provide input asynchronously or during synchronized ceremonies, accommodating varying availability.

Answer

Lean framework

Answer

Six Sigma framework

Answer

Waterfall framework

Question 11

Refer to the exhibit. Which risk requires the most immediate response attention?

Accepted Answer

R3. Risk R3 has both high probability and high impact, making it the highest priority risk requiring immediate response. The planned response for R3 is 'Avoid', which is appropriate for a high-high risk. In contrast, R1 and R2 have only one high dimension (e.g., high probability but low impact, or vice versa), and R4 has low probability and low impact. Therefore, R3 demands the most immediate attention.

Answer

R1

Answer

R2

Answer

R4

Question 12

An Agile team consistently completes only about 70% of the planned work each sprint. Which action is most likely to improve the team's ability to meet commitments?

Accepted Answer

Break down user stories into smaller, more granular items.. Breaking down user stories into smaller pieces improves estimation accuracy and reduces the risk of large unfinished items. Increasing team size (B) can cause communication overhead, adding a buffer (C) does not address estimation quality, and reducing sprint length (D) may increase overhead.

Answer

Increase the team size to add more capacity.

Answer

Add a buffer to the sprint backlog for unexpected work.

Answer

Reduce the sprint length to one week.

Question 13

Drag and drop the steps for managing project quality in the correct order.

Accepted Answer

Plan Quality Management, then Perform Quality Assurance, then Perform Quality Control. Quality management starts with planning, then assurance, control, metrics definition, and corrective actions.

Answer

Perform Quality Assurance, then Plan Quality Management, then Perform Quality Control

Answer

Perform Quality Control, then Plan Quality Management, then Perform Quality Assurance

Answer

Plan Quality Management, then Perform Quality Control, then Perform Quality Assurance

Question 14

Based on the exhibit, which requirement poses the greatest risk to the project if not addressed?

Accepted Answer

REQ-002, because it is still in Draft status. REQ-002 is still in Draft status, meaning it has not been approved. Unapproved requirements pose the greatest risk as they may change, cause rework, or lead to compliance issues. Option A is incorrect because REQ-001 is already verified and approved. Option B is incorrect because REQ-003 being verified indicates it has been tested and is less risky. Option C is incorrect because the draft status of REQ-002 makes it more risky than the others.

Answer

REQ-001, because it is not verified

Answer

REQ-003, because it is already verified

Answer

All requirements are equally risky

Question 15

Which THREE of the following are characteristics of a matrix organizational structure that impact project management?

Accepted Answer

Resource allocation involves negotiation between functional and project managers. In a matrix organizational structure, team members report to both a functional manager and a project manager, creating dual reporting lines (option D). Resource allocation involves negotiation between functional and project managers (option A). Communication flows both vertically (within functions) and horizontally (across projects), leading to complex communication (option C). Career advancement for team members is typically within the functional area, not the project, making option B incorrect. The project manager does not have full authority over the budget; authority is shared with functional managers, so option E is incorrect.

Answer

Career advancement for team members is primarily within the project

Answer

The project manager has full authority over the project budget