PMP Practice Test 20 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your project team has been working remotely for the past six months. You notice that collaboration has decreased, and team members seem isolated. What is the BEST action to improve team cohesion?

Accepted Answer

Schedule weekly virtual coffee chats and informal team events. It directly addresses the root cause of decreased collaboration and isolation by creating informal, low-pressure opportunities for team members to connect socially. In a remote environment, formal meetings often fail to build the interpersonal bonds necessary for team cohesion, so virtual coffee chats and informal events are a proven technique from the PMBOK Guide's 'Team Building' and 'Virtual Team Management' practices. This action fosters trust and communication without imposing additional work-related pressure, which is essential for remote teams.

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Send a survey to ask team members what they want, then decide later

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Require all team members to work from the office two days a week

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Increase the frequency of status meetings to ensure accountability

Question 2

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. Midway through the project, the product owner requests a new feature that requires changing the scope and schedule. The team is currently working on a critical path activity. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and evaluate the impact on scope, schedule, cost, and quality. In a hybrid project, any change that impacts scope, schedule, cost, or quality must follow the formal change control process. Submitting a change request allows the project manager to evaluate the impact on the critical path, resource allocation, and overall project constraints before any work begins. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on integrated change control, ensuring that the change is assessed against the project management plan and baselines.

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Tell the product owner the request cannot be considered because the project is already underway

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Add the new feature to the sprint backlog without formal approval

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Ask the team to start working on the feature immediately to save time

Question 3

Your agile team's velocity has dropped for the past three sprints. During the retrospective, team members mention they are overburdened with work from other departments. The project manager is not the team's direct manager. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the functional managers to reduce the team's external workload. The correct first step is to address the root cause of the velocity drop—the team's overburden from external work. As the project manager lacks direct authority, you must collaborate with the functional managers who control the team members' assignments to negotiate a reduction in external workload. This aligns with the PMI principle of servant leadership and removing impediments, which is the immediate priority before adjusting plans or escalating.

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Re-estimate the backlog to reflect the lower velocity

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Ask the team to work faster and increase their hours

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Report the velocity drop to the project sponsor

Question 4

During project execution, a key stakeholder requests a change that will increase project scope by 15% but will also reduce operational costs by 20% after deployment. The project is currently on schedule and under budget. The project manager should FIRST:

Accepted Answer

Document the change request and analyze its impact on the project constraints.. Per the PMBOK Guide, the project manager must first document any change request and analyze its impact on the project constraints (scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, and risk) before any decision is made. Even though the change appears beneficial, the formal change control process requires a documented impact analysis to ensure the trade-offs are fully understood and the change is properly evaluated against the project's baselines.

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Implement the change as it provides clear business value.

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Reject the change because it increases scope beyond the approved baseline.

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Present the change to the Change Control Board (CCB) for approval.

Question 5

You are managing an agile software development team. In the last three sprints, the team's velocity has dropped from 30 to 22 story points. The team members are experienced but seem demotivated. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a retrospective to identify and address the root causes of the drop. The team's velocity drop and demotivation are symptoms of underlying issues that need to be uncovered through a retrospective. In agile, the retrospective is the primary mechanism for continuous improvement, allowing the team to inspect its processes, identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements, or interpersonal friction), and adapt. Reassigning work or replacing team members would bypass the team's self-organization and likely worsen morale, while increasing sprint length treats a symptom without addressing the cause.

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Reassign work to individual contributors to increase accountability

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Increase the sprint length to give the team more time

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Replace two team members with more productive resources

Question 6

An organization is transitioning from a traditional waterfall approach to agile. The project manager is tasked with leading a pilot agile project. During sprint planning, the product owner prioritizes features based on stakeholder feedback. However, the team is concerned that the prioritized features do not align with the organization's strategic goals. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with the product owner and key stakeholders to realign priorities. The project manager's role in an agile transition includes ensuring alignment between the sprint backlog and the organization's strategic goals. By facilitating a meeting with the product owner and key stakeholders, the PM enables a collaborative re-prioritization that respects both stakeholder feedback and strategic objectives, which is a core agile principle of continuous stakeholder engagement.

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Request a change to the project charter

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Tell the team to trust the product owner's decisions

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

Question 7

During project closure, what is the most important activity the project manager should perform?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a lessons learned session and document findings for future projects. The most important activity during project closure is to capture lessons learned and document them for future projects. This ensures that knowledge gained from the project's technical execution, such as challenges with specific technologies or processes, is preserved and can improve future project performance. Without this, the organization loses valuable insights that could prevent repeating mistakes or enhance efficiency.

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Archive all project documents without review

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Release all project resources immediately

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Celebrate the team's success with a party

Question 8

During a sprint review, the product owner requests a significant change to a feature that was just completed. The change would improve user experience but would require reworking two sprints' worth of work. The project is already behind schedule. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Document the change request and assess its impact on the project constraints before submitting for approval. The project manager must first follow the formal change control process by documenting the change request and assessing its impact on the triple constraints (scope, schedule, cost) before any approval or rejection. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's Integrated Change Control process, which ensures that changes are evaluated systematically to avoid uncontrolled scope creep, especially when the project is already behind schedule.

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Agree to the change since it improves user experience and ask the team to start rework

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Reject the change because the project is already behind schedule

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Add the change to the product backlog for a future release without adjusting the current sprint

Question 9

Your project sponsor asks you to skip the testing phase to save time and meet the deadline, arguing that the team is experienced and the product is simple. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and suggest alternatives such as reducing test scope or increasing resources. Skipping testing violates quality management principles and introduces significant risk of defects reaching production, which can cause rework, cost overruns, and reputational damage. As a project manager, you must protect the project's quality baseline and stakeholder confidence. Option A correctly addresses this by explaining the risks and proposing viable alternatives like reducing test scope or adding resources, which aligns with the PMI's focus on proactive risk management and stakeholder negotiation.

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Skip testing but document the decision in the lessons learned

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Agree to skip testing to maintain a good relationship with the sponsor

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Escalate the issue to the PMO or steering committee

Question 10

A team member has informed you that they are feeling burnt out due to the high pace of the project. The project is on schedule and within budget. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Discuss workload distribution with the team and consider adjusting assignments.. The project manager should first assess and address the workload imbalance that is causing burnout, which is a key responsibility under the 'Manage Team' process. By discussing workload distribution with the team and considering adjustments, the PM uses a collaborative approach to optimize resource utilization without compromising the project's schedule or budget. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive team management.

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Tell the team member to take a short vacation and return refreshed.

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Remove the team member from the project to protect their health.

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Reduce the project scope to lower the pace.

Question 11

Your project is using a predictive approach. A key vendor notifies you that they will be unable to deliver a critical component for another four weeks. This component is on the critical path, and you have no schedule reserve left. You have identified that a different vendor can deliver in two weeks at a 20% higher cost. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Perform a quantitative analysis comparing the cost of the alternative vendor versus the cost of delay, then submit a change request. In a predictive (waterfall) project with no schedule reserve and a critical path delay, the first step is to perform a quantitative analysis to compare the cost of the alternative vendor (20% higher) against the cost of schedule delay (e.g., liquidated damages, lost revenue, or penalties). This analysis provides objective data to support a change request, which is the formal process to alter the project baselines. Option B aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on data-driven decision-making before taking corrective action.

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Immediately contract the alternative vendor to avoid further delay

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Ask the original vendor to expedite delivery at no extra cost

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Update the risk register and accept the four-week delay

Question 12

In your agile project, the team's velocity has been declining over the past three sprints from 30 to 25 to 20 story points. The team members report feeling overworked and demotivated. The daily standup meetings are running long, and the product owner is adding too many stories each sprint. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop improvement actions. The correct first step is to facilitate a retrospective (Option B) because the team's declining velocity, overwork, and demotivation indicate systemic issues that require collaborative root-cause analysis. In agile, the retrospective is the primary mechanism for inspecting and adapting processes; jumping to solutions without understanding the underlying technical and workflow problems would violate the empirical process control principles of Scrum. The project manager must empower the team to identify impediments—such as excessive story churn from the product owner or inefficient standups—and co-create actionable improvements.

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Ask the product owner to reduce the number of stories per sprint

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Reduce the sprint length to create urgency and improve focus

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Mandate that the team must increase velocity to 30 story points next sprint

Question 13

You are managing a global project with team members in three time zones. A key team member from the India office has been consistently missing deadlines, impacting the project's critical path. In a one-on-one meeting, you discover she is struggling with the work-from-home setup and lack of collaboration tools. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the team member and IT to provide necessary tools and support. The correct first step is to address the root cause of the performance issue by providing the necessary tools and support. As a project manager, your primary responsibility is to remove impediments and enable the team member to succeed, especially when the issue is environmental (lack of collaboration tools) rather than a lack of skill or will. This aligns with the PMI's focus on servant leadership and proactive problem-solving.

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Initiate a formal performance improvement plan

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Reassign her tasks to other team members

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Escalate to the functional manager to reassign the team member

Question 14

Your project team has members from diverse cultural backgrounds. During a conflict resolution session, you notice that some team members are hesitant to express their opinions due to cultural norms. What is the BEST approach to foster an inclusive environment?

Accepted Answer

Establish a team charter that includes ground rules for respectful communication and encourages diverse perspectives. Establishing a team charter with ground rules for respectful communication proactively addresses cultural norms by creating a safe, agreed-upon framework for participation. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on team charter development as a tool to set expectations, reduce ambiguity, and foster psychological safety, which is essential for inclusive environments in diverse teams.

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Provide training materials on conflict resolution to all team members

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Ask the hesitant members directly for their opinions during meetings

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Decide on solutions yourself to avoid prolonged discussions

Question 15

You are managing a hybrid project with both predictive and agile components. A key risk from the risk register materializes: a critical vendor may go bankrupt, threatening delivery of a hardware component needed for the predictive phase. The risk response plan includes 'mitigate by identifying alternative vendors.' However, the only alternative vendor quotes a price that would exceed the project cost baseline by 10%. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Initiate a change request to increase the cost baseline, documenting the risk response and vendor selection. When a risk response (mitigate by identifying alternative vendors) is executed and the chosen response causes a cost overrun, the correct next step is to initiate a change request to formally update the cost baseline. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's change control process, ensuring the project's budget reflects the approved risk response and maintains traceability. Option B is correct because it follows the formal change management process required for any deviation from the cost baseline.

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Proceed with the alternative vendor and inform the sponsor of the cost overrun after the fact

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Accept the risk and hope the vendor recovers, avoiding the cost increase

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Escalate to the sponsor for a decision on whether to cancel the project