PMP Practice Test 14 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your construction project is in the execution phase. A key vendor informs you that a critical material will be delayed by 3 weeks due to a strike at their factory. This delay will push the project beyond the required completion date. The risk was identified and documented in the risk register with a planned response. What should you do FIRST?

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

Accepted Answer

Implement the pre-defined risk response as documented in the risk register.. The planned risk response should be executed as per the risk management plan. Option A is correct because the response is already defined. Option B is reactive; Option C skips the planned response; Option D may be needed later but is not first.

Answer

Inform the sponsor and ask for additional budget to expedite shipping.

Answer

Crash the schedule by adding extra resources to other tasks to recover time.

Answer

Update the risk register and escalate to the steering committee.

Question 2

During a project, a risk event that was identified in the risk register occurs. The risk response plan had a mitigation strategy, but it is not fully effective. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan or develop a workaround and update the risk register. The project manager should implement the contingency plan or develop a workaround, then update the risk register and communicate with stakeholders.

Answer

Notify the sponsor and request additional time and budget

Answer

Ignore the risk because the mitigation strategy was already implemented

Answer

Escalate the risk to the steering committee for resolution

Question 3

Your project team is distributed across three time zones. You notice that the daily stand-up meetings are poorly attended, and team members complain about meeting fatigue. What is the BEST way to address this situation?

Accepted Answer

Rotate the meeting time so no time zone is always inconvenienced.. Rotating meeting times distributes the inconvenience fairly and shows servant leadership. Option A ignores the issue; Option B may not be sufficient; Option D discourages communication.

Answer

Reduce the stand-up to twice per week.

Answer

Record the stand-up for later viewing by those who can't attend.

Answer

Mandate attendance by linking it to performance reviews.

Question 4

During a construction project, you discover that a subcontractor has delivered materials that do not meet the quality specifications outlined in the contract. The project is already behind schedule, and replacing the materials will cause further delays. You have a good relationship with the subcontractor, who offers a discount on future work if you accept the materials as-is. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Reject the materials and request that the subcontractor replace them according to the contract specifications.. Quality requirements are part of the contract and must be met. Accepting non-conforming materials would violate quality standards and could lead to future failures. The PM should follow the contract terms and require the subcontractor to remediate the issue. Negotiating a discount is not acceptable as it compromises quality.

Answer

Issue a change order to modify the quality specifications to match the delivered materials.

Answer

Accept the materials and the discount to maintain the relationship and avoid further delays.

Answer

Inspect the materials yourself and if they appear safe, accept them to save time.

Question 5

You are managing a marketing campaign project using an agile approach. During the daily standup, a developer mentions they have started working on a feature that was not agreed upon in sprint planning. The product owner is not aware of this work. What should you do as the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Remind the team that only items from the sprint backlog should be worked on, and ask the developer to stop and discuss with the product owner after the standup. The Scrum Master's role is to ensure the team adheres to Scrum practices, including focusing only on the sprint backlog during the sprint. Unauthorized work can lead to scope creep and undermine sprint goals. The developer should stop and discuss with the product owner after the standup to determine if the feature should be added to the product backlog for future consideration. Option A is wrong because allowing unplanned work without stakeholder agreement disrupts the sprint plan. Option C is wrong because it still permits unplanned work without proper prioritization by the product owner. Option D is wrong because adding the feature to the product backlog should be done only after discussion with the product owner, not ignored, and the team should not continue working on it during the current sprint.

Answer

Allow the developer to continue because the feature might add value

Answer

Ask the developer to work on the feature after the current sprint

Answer

Add the feature to the product backlog and ignore it for now

Question 6

During a sprint review, the product owner rejects a completed user story because it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The developer argues that the story is functionally complete and the product owner is being too strict. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and developer to clarify the acceptance criteria. In Scrum, the product owner is responsible for defining and validating acceptance criteria. When a disagreement arises, the scrum master should facilitate a discussion to ensure clarity and alignment, not impose a decision or take sides. Option A is incorrect because simply accepting the product owner's decision without discussion may miss opportunities to resolve misunderstandings and improve collaboration. Option B is incorrect because removing the story from the sprint backlog avoids accountability and undermines the sprint review's purpose. Option D is incorrect because supporting the developer against the product owner would escalate conflict and ignore the product owner's authority over scope and quality.

Answer

Ask the team to accept the product owner's decision and move on

Answer

Remove the story from the sprint backlog and skip it in the review

Answer

Support the developer by telling the product owner the story is complete

Question 7

A project manager is reviewing the quality metrics of a software development project. The testing team has found that the defect rate has increased significantly in the last two builds. What is the first action the project manager should take?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a root cause analysis to identify why the defect rate increased.. According to the quality management process, the project manager should first investigate the root cause of the increased defect rate before taking any corrective action. Conducting a root cause analysis (option A) allows the team to identify underlying issues, such as process changes, training gaps, or tool problems, and then implement appropriate corrective actions. Options B, C, and D are premature; increasing testing resources may not address the root cause, redoing builds wastes effort without fixing the process, and escalation to the sponsor should occur after analysis shows the issue is beyond the team's control.

Answer

Increase the testing resources to catch more defects.

Answer

Ask the development team to redo the last two builds.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor.

Question 8

During a quality audit, it is discovered that a deliverable does not meet the specified quality standards. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Document the nonconformance, perform root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions. The first step upon discovering a nonconformance is to document it, perform root cause analysis to identify the underlying cause, and then implement corrective actions to prevent recurrence. This aligns with the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and quality management best practices. Option B is incorrect because escalation to the sponsor is premature before analysis and corrective action. Option C is incorrect because immediate rework without root cause analysis may address symptoms but not root causes, leading to recurrence. Option D is incorrect because accepting a nonconforming deliverable violates quality standards and could harm project objectives.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

Answer

Instruct the team to rework the deliverable immediately to meet standards

Answer

Accept the deliverable as is since the customer may not notice

Question 9

Your agile team is working on a mobile app. The product owner wants to add a new feature that was not in the original backlog. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Ask the product owner to submit a change request for formal evaluation. Following change control and prioritizing the new feature against existing work are appropriate. Directly adding or ignoring are not.

Answer

Tell the team to work overtime to include the feature

Answer

Add the feature to the current sprint backlog because the product owner requested it

Answer

Ignore the request because it was not in the original scope

Question 10

During a retrospective, the team identifies that the root cause of low morale is the project manager's micromanagement style. The team wants more autonomy. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Acknowledge the feedback and agree to transition to a more empowering leadership style. The PM should acknowledge the team's feedback and adapt their leadership style to empower the team, which aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and fostering autonomy. Micromanagement undermines trust and morale, so transitioning to a more empowering approach directly addresses the root cause identified in the retrospective.

Answer

Increase oversight to ensure the team stays on track

Answer

Explain that micromanagement is necessary to ensure quality

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for guidance

Question 11

During a project, an executive stakeholder bypasses you and directly assigns work to your team members. This has caused confusion and rework. What is the best action for you to take?

Accepted Answer

Speak directly to the executive and explain the impact of bypassing the project manager. The project manager should communicate with the executive to clarify the proper communication channels and reinforce the project management plan. This aligns with PMI's emphasis on stakeholder engagement and communication.

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore any direct requests from the executive

Answer

Escalate the issue to the sponsor without talking to the executive first

Answer

Update the communications management plan to prohibit direct stakeholder-to-team communication

Question 12

Which THREE of the following are effective techniques for motivating a project team according to PMI?

Accepted Answer

Empower team members with autonomy and decision-making authority.. Empowering team members with autonomy and decision-making authority is a core motivation technique in PMI's leadership framework. It aligns with the 'Servant Leadership' approach, where the project manager enables the team by removing impediments and trusting them to own their work, which increases engagement and accountability.

Answer

Offer competitive salaries and bonuses.

Answer

Closely monitor team members' work to ensure compliance.

Question 13

You are the PM for a highway construction project. A key vendor informs you that they cannot deliver the steel beams on time due to a factory fire. This risk was identified in the risk register with a mitigation plan to have a backup supplier. However, the backup supplier's price is 20% higher. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Inform the sponsor about the cost increase and request a budget adjustment. When the identified risk materializes, the contingency plan (backup supplier) should be executed, but the associated cost increase must be communicated to the sponsor and a budget adjustment should be requested. Option D is correct because the previously planned contingency plan is to engage the backup supplier, which is the appropriate immediate action. Option B is incorrect because the vendor's failure is not a new risk—it is the occurrence of an already identified risk. Option C is incorrect because sourcing alternative materials locally would bypass the established contingency plan and could introduce new risks without proper evaluation. Option E is incorrect because changing the construction method would require a formal change request and is not the immediate response to the risk occurrence.

Answer

Add the vendor's failure to the risk register as a new risk

Answer

Authorize the team to source alternative materials locally

Answer

Update the project management plan to use a different construction method

Question 14

Two senior developers on your project have a heated disagreement about the technical approach for implementing a key feature. They both have strong arguments, and the conflict is delaying the sprint. As the project manager, what is the BEST first step to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives before facilitating a joint discussion. It follows the PMI conflict resolution principle of 'collaborate/problem-solve' by first gathering individual perspectives privately before facilitating a joint discussion. This approach ensures each developer feels heard, reduces emotional tension, and allows the project manager to identify the underlying technical merits of each argument without group bias. It is the best first step because it addresses the root cause of the conflict—differing technical opinions—before attempting any resolution or escalation.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Answer

Tell the developers to set aside their differences and move forward with the current plan

Answer

Choose the approach that aligns with the project's objectives and instruct the team to implement it

Question 15

Match each project document to its description.

Accepted Answer

Project Charter: Documents the business case, high-level scope, and key stakeholders.. The correct matches are: Project Charter (business case and authorisation), Scope Statement (detailed scope and acceptance criteria), WBS (work decomposition), and Risk Register (risk tracking). Common confusions involve swapping the project charter with the scope statement or risk register.

Answer

Project Charter: A document that lists all project risks and their mitigation strategies.

Answer

Scope Statement: A document that authorizes the project to begin.