CAPM Practice Test 28 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is reviewing the project charter and notices that the business case includes a cost-benefit analysis with a Net Present Value (NPV) of $50,000 and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 12%. The company's required rate of return is 10%. What should the project manager conclude about this project?

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

Accepted Answer

The project is financially viable.. The project is financially viable because the NPV is positive ($50,000), indicating that the present value of expected cash inflows exceeds the present value of cash outflows. Additionally, the IRR of 12% exceeds the company's required rate of return (10%), meaning the project's expected return is greater than the cost of capital. Both metrics independently confirm financial feasibility.

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The project's payback period is acceptable.

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The project is expected to break even.

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The project is not financially viable.

Question 2

A team is using Scrum and notices that the Product Owner frequently changes priorities during the Sprint, causing the team to rework tasks. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Coach the Product Owner on the Sprint Backlog rule and the impact of changes.. The Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to ensure Scrum is understood and enacted. The Product Owner is violating the Sprint Backlog rule, which states that once a Sprint starts, the Product Owner cannot change the Sprint Backlog items; only the team can modify the Sprint Backlog to meet the Sprint Goal. By coaching the Product Owner on this rule and the impact of changes (e.g., rework, loss of focus, and potential Sprint Goal failure), the Scrum Master addresses the root cause without disrupting the team's workflow.

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Shorten the Sprint duration to minimize rework.

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Ask the team to be flexible and accept the changes.

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Escalate to the project sponsor for resolution.

Question 3

A project team is identifying the business need for a new system. Which business analysis activity should be performed first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a needs assessment. A needs assessment is the foundational business analysis activity that identifies and defines the business problem or opportunity before any solution work begins. It establishes why the project exists, what business goals must be met, and what the gap is between current and desired state. All other activities — elicitation, validation, and solution scope definition — depend on the needs assessment output.

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Validate requirements

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Elicit requirements

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Define solution scope

Question 4

A team using Scrum consistently fails to complete all planned work in a sprint. What should the Scrum Master do first?

Accepted Answer

Help the team break down user stories into smaller pieces.. Breaking user stories into smaller pieces enables the team to estimate more accurately and complete work within the sprint. Option A is wrong because simply adding more team members does not address the root cause of incomplete work and can introduce communication overhead. Option C is wrong because the Product Owner is a vital participant in daily stand-ups to provide clarification and prioritize work; removing them hinders collaboration. Option D is wrong because increasing sprint length reduces feedback frequency and does not solve the underlying issue of work sizing or estimation.

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Add more team members.

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Remove the Product Owner from daily stand-ups.

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Increase the sprint length.

Question 5

Refer to the exhibit. A project administrator applies an organizational policy that requires a project charter signed by the sponsor and the functional manager before project work can commence. A project manager has not yet obtained these signatures. What is the effect on the project team's ability to start work?

Accepted Answer

The team cannot start work until both signatures are obtained.. The project charter is the document that formally authorizes the project and the project manager to apply organizational resources to project activities. Per PMBOK, the charter must be approved (signed) by the sponsor and any other required authorities named in the organizational policy before work can begin. Since the policy explicitly requires both the sponsor's and the functional manager's signatures, the team cannot commence work until both signatures are obtained.

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The team can start work as long as the sponsor has verbally approved.

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The team can start work because the functional manager's approval is optional.

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The team cannot start work regardless of dual approval; other conditions must also be met.

Question 6

In a predictive project, the project manager wants to ensure that the project team understands their roles and responsibilities. Which document is used to define roles and responsibilities?

Accepted Answer

Responsibility assignment matrix (RAM). The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) is the document that maps project activities to the people or teams responsible for completing them. In a predictive project, the RAM—often implemented as a RACI chart—clarifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task, directly defining roles and responsibilities. This ensures every team member understands their specific duties and reporting relationships.

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Work breakdown structure (WBS)

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Resource breakdown structure (RBS)

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Organizational breakdown structure (OBS)

Question 7

Which document formally authorizes the project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities?

Accepted Answer

Project charter. The project charter is the document that formally authorizes the project and gives the project manager the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It is issued by the project sponsor or initiating entity and serves as the project's official start.

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Project management plan

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Business case

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Project scope statement

Question 8

In an Agile framework, when should the business analyst perform backlog refinement?

Accepted Answer

Continuously throughout the project. In Agile frameworks, backlog refinement is an ongoing activity that occurs continuously throughout the project. It involves regularly reviewing and updating the product backlog to ensure items are ready for upcoming sprints. This continuous process allows the team to adapt to changing requirements and maintain a healthy backlog. The business analyst, as a key stakeholder, should participate in these sessions as needed, not just at specific events like sprint review or only when requested.

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During the sprint review

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Only when requested by the product owner

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Only at the start

Question 9

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.

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Avoid

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Accept

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Mitigate

Question 10

A product owner is writing user stories for a new feature. Which of the following is a best practice for ensuring the stories are well-formed?

Accepted Answer

Ensure each story is small enough to complete in one sprint. In agile practice, a well-formed user story must satisfy the INVEST criteria (Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, Testable). The 'Small' criterion requires that a story be sized so it can be completed within a single sprint iteration; this keeps feedback loops short, enables reliable velocity tracking, and prevents stories from becoming de facto epics. Stories that span multiple sprints cannot be marked 'Done' at sprint review, which breaks the transparency and empiricism Scrum depends on.

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Store all stories in a single document for traceability

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Assign each story to a specific developer for ownership

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Write stories after the sprint starts to ensure accuracy

Question 11

You are the business analyst for a project developing a mobile banking application. The project is in the requirements elicitation phase. One of the key stakeholders, the head of security, is on an extended leave and will not be available for three weeks. The project timeline is aggressive, and the project manager insists on completing requirements gathering within two weeks to stay on schedule. You have held initial interviews with other stakeholders, but the security requirements are critical because the app will handle sensitive financial data. The quality assurance lead suggests using a survey to collect security requirements from the security team, but the security team members are reluctant to provide input without their manager's approval. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Document assumptions about the security requirements and proceed with the rest of the elicitation, planning to validate with the head of security upon their return.. The best course of action is to document assumptions about the security requirements and proceed with the rest of the elicitation, planning to validate with the head of security upon their return. This balances the project timeline constraints with the need for security requirements. By documenting assumptions, the business analyst acknowledges the gap and creates a plan to validate later, reducing the risk of rework. It also allows other elicitation activities to continue, keeping the project on schedule.

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Delay all requirements elicitation until the head of security returns to ensure complete and accurate security requirements.

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Use existing security policies and industry standards as a proxy for the security requirements without further elicitation.

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Conduct a survey of the security team members to gather their requirements despite their reluctance.

Question 12

You are the project manager for a construction project using a predictive plan-based methodology. The project has a detailed scope baseline approved by stakeholders. During the execution phase, a key stakeholder requests an additional feature that would require significant changes to the scope. You estimate the impact will increase the project cost by 15% and extend the schedule by three weeks. The project charter clearly defines the original scope and budget. What is the BEST course of action?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact, present it to the stakeholder, and submit a formal change request to the change control board.. In a predictive/plan-based project, the scope baseline is formally approved and any change to it must go through Integrated Change Control. The project manager's responsibility is to assess the impact of the requested change on scope, schedule, and cost, then submit a formal change request to the change control board (CCB) for a decision. Option D correctly follows this process by analyzing the impact, informing the stakeholder, and routing the request through the proper approval channel.

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Ask the project sponsor to authorize the change verbally and proceed.

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Implement the change immediately to satisfy the stakeholder, then document it later.

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Reject the request because the scope baseline is already approved.

Question 13

A project manager is planning risk responses for a high-impact, low-probability risk. The team decides to purchase an insurance policy to cover potential losses. Which risk response strategy is being used?

Accepted Answer

Transfer. Purchasing an insurance policy to cover potential losses is an example of the Transfer risk response strategy. Transfer involves shifting the impact of a risk to a third party, such as an insurance company, without eliminating the risk itself.

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Avoidance

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Acceptance

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Mitigation

Question 14

A business analyst is evaluating the performance of a business analysis framework after project completion. Which metric best indicates the effectiveness of the requirements management process?

Accepted Answer

Number of requirements defects found post-implementation. The number of requirements defects found post-implementation directly reflects the quality and completeness of the requirements management process. A high number of defects indicates that requirements were poorly defined, ambiguous, or missed during elicitation and validation, making it the most relevant metric for evaluating the effectiveness of that process.

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Schedule variance

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Number of requirements traced to test cases

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Stakeholder satisfaction survey results

Question 15

An organization is transitioning from a traditional project management approach to Scrum. The project manager has been reassigned as a Scrum Master but continues to assign tasks to team members and track individual progress. The team is becoming demotivated. What should the Scrum Master do differently?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team to self-organize and take ownership of their work. A Scrum Master is a servant-leader who coaches the team toward self-organization and cross-functionality, not a task-assigning manager. By continuing to assign tasks and track individual progress, the project manager is preserving command-and-control behaviors that undermine the team's ownership and intrinsic motivation. The correct shift is to coach the team to pull work from the Sprint Backlog, self-organize around the Sprint Goal, and hold each other accountable as a collective.

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Continue assigning tasks but explain that it is necessary for accountability

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Switch to Kanban to reduce process overhead

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Ask the team to write daily status reports to increase visibility