PMP Practice Test 17 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The variance is due to unforeseen technical challenges. You have identified a potential solution that would reduce costs but might affect scope. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact of the solution on scope, schedule, and cost, then present a change request to the CCB. Option C is correct because the PMBOK Guide requires that any potential solution affecting scope must first be analyzed for its impact on the triple constraint (scope, schedule, cost) before submitting a formal change request to the Change Control Board (CCB). This ensures that the decision is based on objective data and follows the established change control process, which is critical when the project is already over budget due to unforeseen technical challenges.

Answer

Ask the sponsor for additional budget to cover the overrun

Answer

Continue as planned and hope to recover the budget later

Answer

Implement the solution immediately to control costs

Question 2

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.. Option C is correct because 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 3

Your agile project has seen sprint velocity drop for the past three sprints. The team attributes it to increasing technical debt. As the project manager, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion with the product owner to allocate time for refactoring in the next sprint. Option D is correct because the first step when technical debt impacts velocity is to collaborate with the product owner to prioritize refactoring. As the project manager, you should facilitate a discussion to allocate dedicated time in the next sprint for addressing technical debt, ensuring the team can sustainably improve velocity without compromising quality or overworking.

Answer

Bring in external consultants to fix the technical debt

Answer

Reduce the scope of future sprints to compensate

Answer

Ask the team to work extra hours to maintain velocity while addressing debt

Question 4

During a project, a new regulation is introduced that affects your project's compliance requirements. The team will need to complete additional documentation and training. What is the FIRST thing you should do?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the regulation on the project and submit a change request. A new regulation is a change that could impact scope, schedule, and cost. The first step is to assess the impact and then submit a change request to follow the change control process.

Answer

Instruct the team to begin working on the new requirements immediately to ensure compliance

Answer

Inform the sponsor and ask for a budget increase

Answer

Update the risk register and continue with the current plan

Question 5

A new team member has joined your project and seems reluctant to share ideas during meetings. You suspect they are experiencing cultural adjustment issues. Which TWO actions would best help integrate them into the team? (Choose TWO)

Accepted Answer

Encourage a safe environment where all ideas are welcomed without judgment. Option C is correct because creating a psychologically safe environment encourages open communication and reduces the fear of judgment, which is critical for team members experiencing cultural adjustment. This aligns with the PMI Talent Triangle's 'People' domain, emphasizing emotional intelligence and team building.

Answer

Ask them directly why they are not participating

Answer

Assign them a complex task to prove their abilities

Answer

Require them to present an idea in the next meeting

Question 6

Your project team includes members from diverse cultural backgrounds. During a meeting, you notice that some team members are not contributing ideas, while others dominate the discussion. What should you do to foster inclusive participation?

Accepted Answer

Establish a team charter with ground rules that encourage equal participation. Option D is correct because establishing team norms for meetings promotes respect and inclusion. Option A is wrong because mandating contributions may intimidate quiet members. Option B is wrong because addressing individuals publicly can cause discomfort. Option C is wrong because allowing domination undermines team dynamics.

Answer

Allow the meeting to proceed naturally as it is a cultural difference

Answer

Require each team member to speak at least once per meeting

Answer

Privately ask the dominant members to speak less

Question 7

Your agile team has recently formed and is struggling to agree on work methods and communication norms. Several team members are frustrated with the lack of consistency. What should you do as the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a workshop to develop a team charter that defines working agreements and communication norms. Option C is correct: PMI recommends creating a team charter early to establish norms and expectations. Option A is passive. Option B punishes the team without solving the root cause. Option D is unnecessary; the team can self-organize with a charter.

Answer

Let the team work out the issues on their own since they are self-organizing

Answer

Assign a team lead to make decisions on work methods

Answer

Replace the frustrated team members with more collaborative ones

Question 8

An executive stakeholder has been directly assigning tasks to your agile team members without going through you or the product owner. Team members are confused about priorities and the sprint goal is at risk. What is the best first step?

Accepted Answer

Request a meeting with the executive to clarify roles and the importance of adhering to the prioritization process. The PM should engage the stakeholder privately to reiterate the project's governance and the importance of following the established communication and prioritization process.

Answer

Tell the team members to ignore the stakeholder's requests

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor immediately

Answer

Update the stakeholder management plan to classify the executive as 'keep satisfied'

Question 9

During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned work from other departments. The project manager wants to improve team focus. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Meet with other department managers to negotiate dedicated team time and establish a process for handling requests. Option D is correct because it addresses the root cause of the team's frustration by negotiating dedicated team time with other departments and establishing a formal process for handling unplanned work requests. This aligns with the servant leadership approach in the People domain, where the project manager acts as a buffer and facilitator to protect the team's focus and productivity, rather than imposing a technical fix that ignores the systemic issue.

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to accommodate unplanned work

Answer

Tell the team to ignore unplanned work requests

Answer

Add a daily stand-up to discuss unplanned work

Question 10

During a project retrospective, the team identifies that their velocity has plateaued due to excessive context switching and unclear priorities. Which THREE actions should the project manager take to address these issues?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to prioritize the backlog and reduce ambiguity. Option A is correct because the product owner is responsible for backlog prioritization, and reducing ambiguity in user stories directly addresses unclear priorities. By clarifying requirements, the team can focus on high-value work without wasting time interpreting vague tasks, which helps restore velocity.

Answer

Add more features to the sprint backlog to increase challenge

Answer

Increase the sprint length to give the team more time to complete work

Question 11

During a project, a new regulation is introduced that will affect the project's deliverables. The regulation is mandatory and will require changes to the scope. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact of the regulation on scope, schedule, and cost, and then initiate a change request.. When a mandatory regulation impacts project deliverables, the project manager must first analyze the impact on scope, schedule, and cost to understand the full implications. This analysis provides the data needed to initiate a formal change request through the integrated change control process, ensuring the change is evaluated, approved, and documented before implementation. Option C correctly follows the PMBOK Guide's sequence of assess, then request change, rather than jumping to implementation or notification without analysis.

Answer

Update the risk register with the regulation as a new risk.

Answer

Inform the sponsor that the project will be delayed due to the new regulation.

Answer

Immediately implement the changes to comply with the regulation.

Question 12

During a sprint review, the product owner rejects a user story because it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The developer who completed the story argues that the functionality is sufficient and that the criteria were too strict. Both parties escalate to you. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with both parties to review the acceptance criteria and discuss expectations. The acceptance criteria are part of the definition of done agreed upon with the product owner. The PM should clarify expectations and facilitate a conversation to reach a mutual understanding, potentially updating the criteria if needed.

Answer

Ask the team to redo the story to strictly meet the criteria without further discussion

Answer

Accept the story as is and move on to avoid delaying the sprint

Answer

Support the developer and ask the product owner to relax the criteria

Question 13

Your agile team has been experiencing a decline in sprint velocity over the past three sprints. During the retrospective, the team identifies unclear requirements and frequent interruptions as root causes. Which TWO actions should you take to address these issues?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to improve user story refinement and ensure acceptance criteria are clear. Option A (user story refinement) addresses unclear requirements by ensuring stories are well-defined before sprints. Option D (protect from interruptions) helps the team maintain focus and velocity.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to compensate for lost velocity

Answer

Add more team members to the next sprint to increase capacity

Answer

Reduce the sprint length to increase accountability

Question 14

You are managing a project using a predictive approach. A key team member has expressed that they feel micromanaged by you and wants more autonomy. The team member's performance is satisfactory. How should you respond?

Accepted Answer

Gradually delegate more responsibility and trust the team member to manage their own tasks. Option D is correct because it directly addresses the team member's need for autonomy while maintaining project control. In a predictive (waterfall) approach, delegating responsibility gradually allows the team member to demonstrate self-management without risking project deliverables, aligning with the PMI talent triangle's leadership principle of empowering team members.

Answer

Reassign the team member to a less critical task to minimize risk

Answer

Explain that your management style is necessary to keep the project on track

Answer

Ask the team member to provide a detailed plan of how they will manage their own work

Question 15

A key vendor has notified you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time due to a raw material shortage. This component is on the project's critical path. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the impact on the project schedule and identify possible alternatives, such as sourcing from another vendor. Option D is correct because the first step in any project management issue is to analyze the impact and explore alternatives before taking action. Since the component is on the critical path, any delay directly affects the project finish date, so you must evaluate schedule impact and identify options like sourcing from another vendor to mitigate the risk.

Answer

Initiate legal proceedings against the vendor for breach of contract

Answer

Crash the schedule by adding resources to other tasks to compensate for the delay

Answer

Immediately escalate the issue to the project sponsor