PMP Practice Exam 3 — 20 Questions

Question 1

Your project is in the execution phase when a key risk event from the risk register occurs: a critical team member resigns unexpectedly. You need to minimize the impact on the project. Which THREE actions should you take?

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

Accepted Answer

Implement the planned risk response from the risk register. The risk register contains a pre-planned risk response for this identified risk event. Implementing that response is the most efficient and effective way to minimize impact, as it was designed and approved during risk planning. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on executing risk responses during the execution phase.

Answer

Inform the sponsor and ask for a project extension

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Immediately hire a replacement with the same skills

Question 2

A project team is composed of members from diverse cultural backgrounds. The PM notices that some team members are not voicing their opinions in meetings due to cultural norms. What is the BEST approach to foster inclusion?

Accepted Answer

Implement anonymous polling or virtual collaboration tools for input. It addresses the root cause of the issue—cultural norms that discourage direct verbal participation—by providing an alternative, low-pressure channel for input. Anonymous polling and virtual collaboration tools (e.g., real-time chat, shared documents) allow team members to contribute without violating their cultural norms, thereby fostering inclusion without forcing confrontation. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on adapting communication styles and leveraging technology to create a psychologically safe environment.

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Pair team members from similar cultures to encourage participation

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Document the issue and ignore it if it does not affect project outcomes

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Ask each team member directly for their opinion during meetings

Question 3

A project manager is forming a new project team. To build a high-performing team, the project manager wants to establish clear expectations for behavior and communication. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team charter workshop to collaboratively define ground rules, values, and communication protocols. A team charter workshop is a collaborative, facilitated process where the team collectively defines ground rules, values, and communication protocols. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on building a high-performing team through mutual agreement and shared ownership, which fosters trust and reduces ambiguity in behavior and communication from the start.

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Create a detailed project schedule and assign tasks immediately

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Ask each team member to submit a list of their personal expectations

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Send an email listing team rules and ask for acknowledgment

Question 4

Your agile team's velocity has dropped for three consecutive sprints. The team says they are overwhelmed by the number of user stories and that the definition of 'done' keeps changing. As the Scrum Master (project manager), what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a sprint retrospective to identify the causes of the velocity drop and collaboratively develop an improvement plan. The Scrum Master's first responsibility is to facilitate a retrospective to uncover the root causes of the velocity drop and the changing definition of 'done.' This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on leading the team through collaborative problem-solving rather than imposing top-down solutions. The team's feedback about being overwhelmed and the shifting 'done' criteria indicates a process breakdown that requires team-driven improvement.

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Reduce the sprint backlog to lower the team's workload

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Ask the functional manager to add more developers to the team

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Ask the product owner to prioritize fewer stories in the next sprint

Question 5

Your project team is experiencing conflict between two senior members who have different opinions on the technical approach. The conflict is starting to affect the entire team's morale. Which THREE actions should you take to resolve the conflict effectively?

Accepted Answer

Use a collaborative problem-solving approach to find a win-win solution. Collaborative problem-solving directly addresses the root cause of the conflict by seeking a win-win solution that satisfies both senior members' technical concerns. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on conflict resolution techniques that preserve team relationships and leverage diverse expertise to improve the technical approach. By focusing on mutual gains, you avoid the morale damage of a win-lose outcome and foster a culture of shared ownership.

Answer

Escalate the conflict to the project sponsor for resolution

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Make a unilateral decision on the technical approach to end the conflict quickly

Question 6

During a sprint planning meeting, the product owner proposes a user story that the team believes is too vague and lacks clear acceptance criteria. The product owner insists it must be included in the sprint to meet a stakeholder deadline. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to refine the story with the product owner and team, and suggest splitting it. The Scrum Master's primary responsibility is to facilitate collaboration and ensure the team works with clear, actionable items. By facilitating a discussion to refine the story and suggesting splitting it, the Scrum Master helps the team achieve a shared understanding and create acceptance criteria, while still addressing the stakeholder deadline. This approach aligns with the Agile principle of delivering value incrementally and avoids committing to vague work that could lead to rework or failure.

Answer

Accept the story as is to meet the deadline

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Escalate to the project sponsor

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Remove the product owner from the meeting

Question 7

A project team member has been underperforming for several weeks. You have had informal conversations with them, but performance has not improved. What should you do next?

Accepted Answer

Initiate a formal performance improvement plan with clear expectations and milestones. After informal coaching has failed, the project manager must follow a structured performance management process. Initiating a formal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) with clear expectations, measurable milestones, and a defined timeline aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principles for leading the team and managing performance issues. This approach provides the underperforming team member with a documented opportunity to improve while protecting the project's objectives.

Answer

Ignore the underperformance and hope it resolves on its own

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Immediately replace the team member with a new resource

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Escalate the issue to human resources for termination

Question 8

You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a significant change to a feature that has already been accepted in a previous sprint. The change would require rework and impact the critical path. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and evaluate the impact on the project constraints. In a hybrid project, changes to accepted deliverables must follow a formal change control process. Submitting a change request (Option B) ensures the impact on the critical path, schedule, and budget is evaluated before any rework begins, aligning with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on integrated change control.

Answer

Add the change to the product backlog for a future sprint without formal approval

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Instruct the team to implement the change immediately to maintain stakeholder satisfaction

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Reject the change because the feature was already accepted

Question 9

A project manager is leading a large, distributed team. Several team members have expressed feeling isolated and disconnected from the project's goals. The project manager wants to improve team cohesion and motivation. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Create a team charter with agreed-upon communication norms, shared values, and goals. Creating a team charter establishes a foundational agreement on communication norms, shared values, and goals, which directly addresses the root cause of isolation and disconnection in a distributed team. This aligns with the PMP People domain's emphasis on building a cohesive team environment through collaborative rule-setting before implementing tactical solutions.

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Implement daily stand-up meetings to increase communication

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Send a motivational email to the team emphasizing the project's importance

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Organize an in-person team-building event to boost morale

Question 10

Your project is using a hybrid approach with both predictive and agile elements. The team is working on a critical feature that has a high degree of uncertainty. The product owner wants to use a time-boxed sprint to explore the feature. However, the sponsor insists on a detailed upfront plan. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the sponsor and product owner to agree on a hybrid approach that includes both planning and exploration. The project manager must facilitate a collaborative resolution between the sponsor and product owner to define a hybrid approach that balances upfront planning with iterative exploration. This aligns with the PMI's principle of stakeholder engagement and adaptive planning, where the team uses a time-boxed sprint (e.g., a 2-week spike) to reduce technical uncertainty while still producing a lightweight roadmap for the sponsor. The hybrid model allows for a high-level plan (e.g., a release plan with milestones) and a detailed backlog for the exploratory sprint, satisfying both parties without sacrificing agility.

Answer

Escalate the disagreement to senior management

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Follow the sponsor's directive and create a detailed plan

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Use a time-boxed sprint without informing the sponsor

Question 11

In a large-scale project using a predictive approach, you discover that a key team member, who is critical for the next deliverable, has been consistently missing deadlines and producing low-quality work. The project is already behind schedule. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting with the team member to discuss performance issues and offer support. As a project manager, your first responsibility is to address performance issues directly with the team member through a private, supportive conversation. This aligns with the PMI People domain's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict resolution, allowing you to understand root causes (e.g., unclear requirements, personal challenges) before taking corrective action. In a predictive project, reassigning tasks or escalating prematurely can damage trust and team morale, while ignoring the issue risks further schedule slippage.

Answer

Reassign the critical tasks to other team members to keep the project on schedule

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Immediately escalate to the team member's functional manager and request a replacement

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Document the missed deadlines in the performance log and ignore for now

Question 12

A new team member from a different cultural background joins your global project team. Some team members are struggling to adapt to his communication style, and misunderstandings are increasing. As the project manager, what should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Organize a team-building session focused on cross-cultural communication and establish a team charter that respects diverse styles. The first step in resolving cross-cultural communication issues is to foster understanding and collaboration within the team, not to escalate or impose changes. By organizing a team-building session focused on cross-cultural communication and establishing a team charter that respects diverse styles, you address the root cause—lack of awareness and shared norms—while empowering the team to adapt collectively. This aligns with the PMI People domain, emphasizing servant leadership and proactive conflict resolution.

Answer

Escalate the issue to human resources for diversity training

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Remove the new member from the team and assign him to a less critical role

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Ask the new team member to adapt his communication style to match the team's norms

Question 13

During a daily standup meeting, a team member mentions that they are blocked because a dependency on another team's work is not yet complete. The Scrum Master is present. What should the Scrum Master do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Help remove the impediment by coordinating with the other team. In Scrum, the Scrum Master is responsible for removing impediments that hinder the team's progress. When a team member is blocked due to an incomplete dependency from another team, the Scrum Master's first action should be to help remove that impediment by coordinating with the other team. This aligns with the Scrum Guide's directive that the Scrum Master facilitates the resolution of blockers to ensure the Development Team can meet the Sprint Goal.

Answer

Add the blocker to the risk register as a new risk

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Ask the team member to work on something else and ignore the blocker

Question 14

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The team is working well, but the variance is due to inaccurate cost estimates. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Perform a root cause analysis to understand why estimates were inaccurate and develop a corrective action plan. The project manager should first perform a root cause analysis to understand why the cost estimates were inaccurate, as this addresses the fundamental issue rather than applying a superficial fix. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle of identifying the root cause of a variance before taking corrective action, ensuring that the corrective action plan targets the actual problem and prevents recurrence.

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Reduce the scope of remaining work to bring costs back in line

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Inform the team to cut costs wherever possible

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Request additional budget from the sponsor to cover the overrun

Question 15

During a sprint review, stakeholders express dissatisfaction with the functionality delivered. The product owner insists the team met the acceptance criteria defined in the sprint. The team feels demotivated. As the project manager, what should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and stakeholders to clarify expectations and document any gaps. The immediate priority is to resolve the disconnect between the stakeholders' expectations and the product owner's acceptance criteria. By facilitating a meeting, you enable a collaborative discussion to clarify requirements, identify gaps in the definition of done, and align on what constitutes acceptable functionality. This approach follows the Agile principle of stakeholder collaboration and prevents rework based on assumptions.

Answer

Direct the team to rework the functionality until the stakeholders are satisfied

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Reassure the team that they did a good job and that stakeholder expectations were unrealistic

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Escalate to the project sponsor immediately

Question 16

Your project sponsor asks you to skip the testing phase of a software release to meet a tight deadline. What is the best response?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing, including potential defects and rework, and propose alternatives such as reducing test scope. Skipping testing is a quality risk. The PM should explain the risks and follow the change control process if the decision is to proceed without testing.

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Refuse the sponsor's request outright because testing is mandatory

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Skip testing but add a buffer for post-release defect fixes

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Agree to skip testing to meet the deadline and document the decision

Question 17

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. The project has a fixed price contract with a strict deadline. Midway through, the customer requests a significant change that would increase the scope by 20%. You have already used all management reserve. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board to assess the impact on cost, schedule, and contract terms. In a hybrid project with a fixed-price contract, any significant scope change must follow the formal change control process. Since the management reserve is exhausted, the change request must be submitted to the change control board (CCB) to evaluate the impact on cost, schedule, and contract terms before any decision is made. This ensures compliance with the contract and protects both parties from unauthorized scope creep.

Answer

Refuse the change because the project is already over budget and behind schedule

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Ask the project sponsor for additional funding to cover the cost of the change

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Implement the change since the customer is requesting it and the project has a fixed deadline

Question 18

Two senior developers on your hybrid project have a conflict over the technical approach for a critical feature. The conflict is causing delays. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting where each developer presents their approach and the team evaluates pros and cons against project objectives. The PM should facilitate a collaborative resolution by encouraging the team to evaluate options based on objective criteria, such as impact on project goals.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the sponsor for a final decision

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Make the decision yourself to save time and end the conflict

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Separate the developers to work on different features to avoid further conflict

Question 19

A project manager is leading a large construction project. The sponsor requests that the team skip a mandatory quality inspection to save two weeks on the schedule. The project manager knows that skipping the inspection could compromise safety and violate regulations. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the regulatory and safety implications to the sponsor and recommend against skipping the inspection. The project manager has a fiduciary and ethical duty to prioritize safety and regulatory compliance over schedule pressure. Skipping a mandatory quality inspection violates regulations and could lead to legal liability, project shutdown, or harm. The PM must clearly communicate these risks to the sponsor and recommend against the action, as per the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Answer

Document the sponsor's request and proceed with the inspection as planned without further discussion

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Comply with the sponsor's request to maintain a good relationship

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Propose reducing the inspection scope rather than skipping it entirely

Question 20

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The earned value (EV) is $500,000, actual cost (AC) is $575,000, and planned value (PV) is $550,000. The project sponsor is concerned and asks for an estimate at completion (EAC). Assuming the cost performance index (CPI) will continue as is, what is the EAC?

Accepted Answer

$1,265,000. CPI = EV/AC = $500,000 / $575,000 ≈ 0.8696. BAC is derived from the midpoint: PV = $550,000 at 50% planned completion, so BAC = $550,000 × 2 = $1,100,000. EAC = BAC / CPI = $1,100,000 / 0.8696 ≈ $1,265,000. Option A is the BAC; Option B uses an incorrect formula; Option C would result from using AC + (BAC - EV) which assumes future work at planned rate, but the assumption is CPI continues.

Answer

$1,100,000

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$1,200,000

Answer

$1,175,000