PMP Practice Exam 1 — 20 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is leading a digital transformation initiative. Midway through the project, a new regulation is introduced that affects the product's compliance requirements. The project sponsor is concerned about potential scope creep and delays. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct an impact analysis of the regulation on the project. D is correct because the first step when a new regulation emerges is to analyze its impact on the project's scope, schedule, cost, and compliance. Without an impact analysis, the project manager cannot determine whether a change request, risk update, or escalation is appropriate. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's 'Perform Integrated Change Control' process, which requires assessing the effects of any proposed change before taking further action.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for direction

Answer

Update the risk register with the new regulation as a threat

Answer

Submit a change request to modify the project scope

Question 2

Order the steps for closing a project or phase.

Question 3

Sequence the steps for performing a qualitative risk analysis.

Question 4

Arrange the steps for controlling project changes.

Question 5

Order the steps for performing project quality assurance.

Question 6

Order the steps for creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

Question 7

Order the steps for developing a project schedule.

Question 8

A project has a critical path of 120 days with a standard deviation of 5 days. The project sponsor wants to know the probability of completing the project within 130 days. Using the normal distribution, what is the approximate probability?

Accepted Answer

97.5%. The critical path duration is 120 days with a standard deviation of 5 days. Completing within 130 days is 2 standard deviations above the mean (130 - 120 = 10, 10/5 = 2). In a normal distribution, approximately 95% of data falls within ±2 standard deviations, so the probability of being at or below +2σ is 50% + (95%/2) = 97.5%.

Answer

95%

Answer

84%

Answer

68%

Question 9

A project manager is using earned value management. At month 6 of a 12-month project, the EV is $50,000, PV is $60,000, and AC is $55,000. What is the cost performance index (CPI)?

Accepted Answer

0.91. The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is calculated as EV / AC. Here, EV = $50,000 and AC = $55,000, so CPI = 50,000 / 55,000 = 0.909, which rounds to 0.91. A CPI less than 1 indicates the project is over budget, as the cost incurred ($55,000) exceeds the value of work performed ($50,000).

Answer

0.83

Answer

1.20

Answer

1.10

Question 10

Which TWO are inputs to the Control Schedule process? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Project management plan. The Control Schedule process monitors the status of project activities and manages schedule changes. The project management plan (B) is a key input because it contains the schedule management plan, which defines how the schedule will be controlled, including thresholds for variance and reporting formats. Work performance data (C) provides the raw observations and measurements of actual start/finish dates and progress against the schedule baseline, which is essential for calculating schedule variance.

Answer

Schedule data

Answer

Organizational process assets

Answer

Schedule forecasts

Question 11

Which THREE are tools and techniques used in the Plan Risk Management process? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Meetings. Meetings (B) are a key tool and technique in the Plan Risk Management process because they bring stakeholders together to define the risk management approach, establish risk categories, and agree on risk thresholds. These meetings produce the risk management plan, which outlines how risk activities will be structured and performed throughout the project.

Answer

Probability and impact matrix

Answer

Risk categorization

Question 12

A project manager is reviewing the schedule performance index (SPI) and cost performance index (CPI). The current values are SPI = 0.85 and CPI = 1.10. What is the most likely conclusion about the project?

Accepted Answer

The project is behind schedule and under budget.. An SPI of 0.85 indicates the project is behind schedule (less than 1.0), while a CPI of 1.10 indicates the project is under budget (greater than 1.0). Therefore, the project is behind schedule but under budget, making option B correct.

Answer

The project is behind schedule and over budget.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and over budget.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and under budget.

Question 13

During project execution, a key stakeholder requests a change that will increase the scope. The project manager follows the formal change control process. What is the first step the project manager should take?

Accepted Answer

Document the change request in the change log.. Option C is correct because the first step in the formal change control process, as defined by the PMBOK Guide, is to document the change request in the change log. This ensures that all proposed changes are formally recorded and tracked before any analysis or approval activities occur. Without this initial documentation, there is no official record of the request, which undermines the integrity of the change control system.

Answer

Communicate the change to the project team.

Answer

Submit the change request to the change control board (CCB).

Answer

Analyze the impact on the project constraints.

Question 14

Refer to the exhibit. The project's S3 bucket policy allows read access only from the internal IP range (10.0.0.0/8) and denies access if not using HTTPS. A developer reports that they can access the bucket from a machine with IP 10.0.0.5 using HTTPS. However, they cannot access it from a machine with IP 10.0.0.6 using HTTP. What is the most likely reason?

Accepted Answer

The Deny statement for HTTP overrides the Allow statement.. The correct answer is A because in AWS IAM policy evaluation logic, an explicit Deny always overrides any Allow. The policy includes a Deny statement that blocks access when HTTPS is not used. Since HTTP access from 10.0.0.6 triggers this Deny, it overrides the Allow statement that permits access from the internal IP range, resulting in denied access.

Answer

The policy requires both IP and HTTPS conditions to be met simultaneously.

Answer

The IP address 10.0.0.5 is not in the allowed range.

Answer

The IP address 10.0.0.6 is not in the allowed range.

Question 15

Which TWO are key components of a project management plan? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Scope management plan. The project management plan is a formal, approved document that defines how the project is executed, monitored, and controlled. The scope management plan and schedule management plan are subsidiary plans that are key components of the overall project management plan, as they detail the processes for defining, developing, monitoring, controlling, and verifying the project's scope and schedule.

Answer

Stakeholder register

Answer

Project charter

Answer

Work performance data

Question 16

A project team is developing a new software feature. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a change that would increase the scope significantly. The team has already committed to the current sprint backlog. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Ask the product owner to prioritize the change and add it to the product backlog for a future sprint.. In agile, the sprint backlog is a commitment for the current iteration. Adding a significant scope change mid-sprint violates the sprint goal and destabilizes the team's velocity. The correct action is to capture the change in the product backlog and prioritize it for a future sprint, preserving the integrity of the current sprint and allowing the product owner to manage the product backlog as the single source of truth for requirements.

Answer

Add the change to the current sprint to satisfy the product owner.

Answer

Proceed with the change but extend the sprint duration.

Answer

Ignore the request until the next project phase.

Question 17

A project manager notices that the project's cost performance index (CPI) is 0.8 and the schedule performance index (SPI) is 1.1. What is the MOST likely cause of this situation?

Accepted Answer

The project is ahead of schedule but over budget, possibly due to crashing.. A CPI of 0.8 indicates the project is over budget (earning only $0.80 for every $1.00 spent), while an SPI of 1.1 indicates it is ahead of schedule (completing 110% of planned work). Crashing is a schedule compression technique that adds resources to critical path activities, increasing cost to gain schedule performance, which directly explains this combination of metrics.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and under budget.

Answer

The project is behind schedule and over budget.

Answer

The project is behind schedule and under budget.

Question 18

A project is in the planning phase. The team has identified 50 risks. The project manager wants to prioritize risks for further analysis. Which tool or technique is BEST suited for this?

Accepted Answer

Probability and impact matrix. The probability and impact matrix is the best tool for prioritizing risks because it combines the likelihood of each risk occurring with its potential impact on project objectives, allowing the project manager to rank risks by their overall severity. This prioritization is essential during the planning phase to focus further qualitative or quantitative analysis on the most critical risks.

Answer

Risk register

Answer

SWOT analysis

Answer

Decision tree analysis

Question 19

Which THREE of the following are common causes of project change requests?

Accepted Answer

Regulatory changes. Regulatory changes are a common cause of project change requests because new laws or compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS) can mandate modifications to project scope, deliverables, or processes. These external mandates often require immediate adjustments to avoid legal penalties, making them a frequent trigger for formal change requests in technology projects.

Answer

Team member vacation

Answer

Budget surplus

Question 20

A project is in the planning phase. The project manager wants to ensure that all stakeholders have a common understanding of the project scope. Which document should be used as the primary reference?

Accepted Answer

Project scope statement. The project scope statement is the primary reference for ensuring all stakeholders have a common understanding of the project scope because it formally documents the project's boundaries, deliverables, acceptance criteria, and constraints. Unlike the project charter, which authorizes the project at a high level, the scope statement provides the detailed scope description needed during planning to align stakeholder expectations.

Answer

Project charter

Answer

Work breakdown structure

Answer

Schedule management plan