CAPM Practice Test 35 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Match each conflict resolution technique to its description.

Accepted Answer

Withdraw/Avoid: Retreating from an actual or potential conflict situation. The correct matches are: Withdraw/Avoid (retreating), Smooth/Accommodate (emphasizing agreement), and Collaborate/Problem Solve (integrating perspectives). Common confusions include misattributing definitions to Force or Compromise.

Answer

Force/Direct: Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than areas of difference

Answer

Compromise/Reconcile: Retreating from an actual or potential conflict situation

Question 2

A project team is working on a software development project. The project manager notices that the team is spending too much time on unplanned work, resulting in delays to the critical path. What technique should the project manager use to reduce unplanned work and improve focus?

Accepted Answer

Implement critical chain project management.. Critical chain project management (CCPM) is specifically designed to protect the critical path from disruptions like unplanned work by inserting buffers (e.g., feeding buffers, project buffer) and enforcing a 'relay race' work ethic. This technique reduces multitasking and focuses the team on completing tasks in priority order, directly addressing the root cause of delays from unplanned work.

Answer

Apply crashing to the critical path activities.

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Perform resource leveling to smooth resource usage.

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Use fast tracking to overlap activities.

Question 3

Your organization is initiating a new mobile app development project. The product owner expects to release a minimum viable product (MVP) within three months, with subsequent iterations based on user feedback. The development team is experienced with agile methodologies. The project sponsor, however, is accustomed to traditional waterfall projects and insists on a detailed upfront plan covering all requirements and a fixed schedule. You need to select a project life cycle that balances the product owner's desire for iterative delivery with the sponsor's need for predictability. What is the most appropriate approach?

Accepted Answer

Use an iterative life cycle with a high-level plan and regular releases. An iterative life cycle allows for early delivery of an MVP and incorporates feedback, while providing some planning structure. Pure agile may be too flexible for the sponsor; waterfall is too rigid. The key is to combine predictability with iteration.

Answer

Combine agile and waterfall by using waterfall for planning and agile for execution

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Use a pure agile approach with no upfront planning beyond the MVP

Answer

Use a waterfall life cycle to create a detailed plan as the sponsor wants

Question 4

A project manager is creating the risk management plan. Which document should the project manager reference to identify the risk tolerance of stakeholders?

Accepted Answer

Project charter. The project charter contains high-level project risks and the risk appetite of the organization, which reflects stakeholders' risk tolerance. Therefore, it is the appropriate document to reference when creating the risk management plan.

Answer

Project scope statement

Answer

Stakeholder management plan

Answer

Risk register

Question 5

Which THREE of the following are core values of the Agile Manifesto?

Accepted Answer

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.. The Agile Manifesto explicitly values 'Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.' This means that while processes and tools are important, the people doing the work and how they communicate take precedence. The Manifesto emphasizes that collaboration and human factors drive project success more than rigid adherence to prescribed procedures.

Answer

Following a plan over responding to change.

Answer

Contract negotiation over customer collaboration.

Question 6

In a Kanban system, the team notices that work items are spending too much time in the 'In Progress' column. Which practice should the team adopt to improve flow?

Accepted Answer

Set a strict WIP limit for the 'In Progress' column.. Setting a strict Work In Progress (WIP) limit for the 'In Progress' column directly addresses the bottleneck by capping the number of items the team can work on simultaneously. This forces the team to finish existing work before pulling new items, reducing multitasking and cycle time. In Kanban, WIP limits are the primary mechanism to expose flow inefficiencies and improve throughput.

Answer

Use longer development cycles.

Answer

Increase the number of items allowed in the 'In Progress' column.

Answer

Remove the 'In Progress' column to simplify the board.

Question 7

A Scrum team has five members. During a Sprint, two members are pulled to work on a critical production issue. The remaining three are unable to complete all committed stories. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Let the Development Team decide how to adjust the Sprint Backlog.. In Scrum, the Development Team is self-organizing and responsible for managing its own work within the Sprint. When two members are pulled to a critical production issue, the remaining three team members have the authority to decide how to adjust the Sprint Backlog to reflect their reduced capacity. The Scrum Master should facilitate this self-management rather than imposing a solution, as option C respects the team's autonomy and the Scrum principle of self-organization.

Answer

Extend the Sprint by one week to complete the remaining work.

Answer

Ask the Product Owner to remove work from the Sprint Backlog.

Answer

Remove the least valuable stories from the Sprint Backlog.

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are components of the project charter?

Accepted Answer

Project purpose or justification. The project charter formally authorizes the project and the project manager. It includes the project purpose or justification (A) to establish the business need, a summary budget (B) to provide high-level financial constraints, and high-level risks (D) to identify potential uncertainties early. These are key components per the PMBOK Guide.

Answer

Detailed project schedule

Answer

Work breakdown structure

Question 9

Refer to the exhibit. Which critical element is missing from this business case?

Accepted Answer

Alternatives considered. The business case is missing a comparison of alternatives considered. A business case must justify why the selected approach is the best option, which requires evaluating at least one alternative (e.g., build vs. buy, different technical solutions). Without this, stakeholders cannot assess whether the recommended solution is optimal or cost-effective.

Answer

Project sponsor

Answer

Detailed schedule

Answer

Risk mitigation plan

Question 10

Which TWO of the following are responsibilities of the Product Owner in Scrum?

Accepted Answer

Prioritizing the Product Backlog items.. The Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the value of the product and the work of the Development Team. This includes clearly expressing Product Backlog items and ordering them to best achieve goals and missions, which is prioritizing the Product Backlog. Managing the Product Backlog, which encompasses ensuring its visibility, transparency, and understanding, is also a core responsibility of the Product Owner as defined in the Scrum Guide.

Answer

Facilitating the Daily Scrum.

Answer

Removing impediments for the team.

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Enforcing timeboxes for Sprint events.

Question 11

A project manager is assigned to a project that is in execution phase. The project has a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.8 and a schedule performance index (SPI) of 1.1. Which of the following best describes the current status of the project?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget but ahead of schedule.. A CPI of 0.8 means the project is earning only $0.80 for every $1.00 spent, indicating it is over budget. An SPI of 1.1 means the project is earning $1.10 for every $1.00 of planned work, indicating it is ahead of schedule. Therefore, the project is over budget but ahead of schedule, making option C correct.

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule.

Answer

The project is under budget and behind schedule.

Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule.

Question 12

A project manager is leading a software development project using a predictive plan-based methodology. The project is at 70% completion and the team has discovered a significant defect in a module that was completed two months ago. The defect was not identified during testing because the test cases were incomplete. The project schedule has a buffer of 5 days, and the defect is expected to take 10 days to fix. The project manager needs to determine the best course of action. Which of the following should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Follow the project's change control process to evaluate the impact on scope, schedule, and cost before deciding on corrective actions.. In a predictive project, changes should be managed through the formal change control process. This ensures that the impact on scope, schedule, and cost is evaluated before taking action. Simply assigning the fix without a change request bypasses controls, removing the module changes scope without analysis, and requesting additional resources without a plan is premature.

Answer

Update the project schedule with the 10-day fix and request additional resources to compress the schedule.

Answer

Immediately assign the team to fix the defect without any formal change request to save time.

Answer

Inform the customer and request a change to the scope to remove the defective module.

Question 13

A newly formed agile team is about to start their first sprint. The product owner has a well-groomed backlog and the team has done relative sizing using planning poker. The team is excited but unsure about the process. They ask the Scrum Master what the primary goal of the first iteration should be. The Scrum Master should explain that the most important goal of the first sprint is to deliver a potentially releasable increment of the product. However, some team members are worried they may not be able to deliver enough due to team formation and learning the codebase. The product owner wants to see a visible outcome. What should the Scrum Master recommend as the primary focus for the first sprint?

Accepted Answer

Deliver a small but complete user story that adds value to the product. In Scrum, the primary goal of every sprint, including the first, is to deliver a potentially releasable increment of the product. Option C is correct because delivering a small but complete user story that adds value ensures the team practices the full Scrum cycle—from backlog refinement to definition of done—while producing a tangible outcome that satisfies the product owner's need for visible progress. This approach balances team learning with value delivery, which is the core purpose of an agile iteration.

Answer

Create a detailed design document for the entire release

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Focus exclusively on setting up the development environment and CI/CD pipeline

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Skip the sprint goal to allow the team to learn without pressure

Question 14

A business analyst is conducting a feasibility study for a new project. Which TWO areas are typically assessed?

Accepted Answer

Market Feasibility. Standard areas in a feasibility study include technical and market feasibility. Scope, time, and quality are project management constraints typically addressed in later phases.

Answer

Scope Feasibility

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Time Feasibility

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Quality Feasibility

Question 15

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?

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.

Answer

The project's payback period is acceptable.

Answer

The project is expected to break even.

Answer

The project is not financially viable.