PMP Practice Test 21 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a construction project. The sponsor has requested that you skip the testing phase to save time and meet an aggressive deadline. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and propose alternatives. As the project manager, your first responsibility is to assess and communicate the impact of skipping the testing phase. Testing is a critical technical process that validates system functionality, performance, and security. By explaining the risks (e.g., undetected defects, integration failures, or non-compliance with quality standards) and proposing alternatives (e.g., risk-based testing or parallel testing), you fulfill your duty to manage the project's technical aspects and make an informed decision with the sponsor.

Answer

Reduce testing scope without informing the sponsor

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Agree to skip testing to meet the deadline

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor's manager

Question 2

A team member has been consistently missing deadlines, causing delays in dependent tasks. During a one-on-one meeting, you discover they are struggling with a new technology. What is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Arrange for training or mentoring to help them acquire the necessary skills. The root cause of the missed deadlines is a skill gap with the new technology, not a lack of effort or willful non-compliance. As a servant leader, the project manager should first support the team member by providing training or mentoring to close the competency gap, which directly addresses the cause and enables the team member to meet future deadlines. This approach aligns with the PMI People domain, which emphasizes developing the team and removing obstacles.

Answer

Escalate the performance issue to the functional manager

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Reassign the tasks to another team member who is more experienced

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Issue a formal warning about the missed deadlines

Question 3

Your project is 40% complete and the earned value metrics show: PV = $500,000, EV = $450,000, AC = $520,000. What is the most accurate interpretation of the project's performance?

Accepted Answer

Project is behind schedule and over budget. The project is behind schedule because the Earned Value (EV) of $450,000 is less than the Planned Value (PV) of $500,000, resulting in a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 0.90. It is over budget because the Actual Cost (AC) of $520,000 exceeds the EV, yielding a Cost Performance Index (CPI) of 0.865. This combination of SPI < 1 and CPI < 1 indicates the project is both behind schedule and over budget.

Answer

Project is on schedule and over budget

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Project is ahead of schedule and under budget

Answer

Project is behind schedule and under budget

Question 4

You are the project manager for a large infrastructure project. The sponsor frequently bypasses you and gives direct instructions to the team leads. This has caused confusion and conflicting priorities. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting with the sponsor to clarify roles and the importance of following the project communication plan. The most effective first step in resolving a communication breakdown with a sponsor is to address the issue directly and privately. By scheduling a meeting to clarify roles and reinforce the project communication plan, you maintain a professional relationship, uphold the project manager's authority, and ensure that all directives flow through the established channels to prevent conflicting priorities. This approach aligns with the PMI's emphasis on proactive stakeholder management and conflict resolution at the lowest appropriate level.

Answer

Update the stakeholder engagement plan to document the sponsor's behavior

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Escalate the issue to the PMO or senior management

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Instruct the team leads to ignore instructions from the sponsor unless they come through you

Question 5

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers have a recurring conflict about coding standards, which is causing delays in code reviews and affecting team morale. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both developers to discuss the conflict and agree on coding standards.. In a hybrid project environment, the project manager should first facilitate a collaborative discussion between the conflicting parties to resolve the issue at the lowest level. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on conflict resolution techniques, specifically 'collaborating/problem-solving,' which seeks a win-win outcome. By directly addressing the coding standards conflict, you preserve team autonomy and ownership, which is critical for maintaining morale and productivity in a hybrid approach where Agile principles like self-organization are valued.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the functional managers of both developers.

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Reassign the developers to different modules to minimize interaction.

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Decide on a set of coding standards yourself and mandate them.

Question 6

A project manager is leading a globally distributed team with members in four time zones. During a virtual sprint retrospective, two senior developers accuse each other of not completing tasks on time, causing delays. Emotions are high, and the rest of the team is watching. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private video call with both developers to listen to their perspectives and mediate a solution. The immediate priority for a project manager is to de-escalate the conflict privately and understand each developer's perspective before making any decisions. This aligns with the PMI People domain principle of servant leadership and conflict resolution, where the first step is to listen and mediate in a safe, private environment to preserve team trust and psychological safety.

Answer

Reprimand both developers publicly during the retrospective for unprofessional behavior

Answer

Escalate the issue to the functional managers of both developers

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Ask the team to ignore the conflict and focus on the upcoming sprint goals

Question 7

Your construction project is ahead of schedule but over budget. The earned value metrics are: EV = $500,000, PV = $450,000, AC = $550,000. What is the cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI)?

Accepted Answer

CPI = 0.91, SPI = 1.11. The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is calculated as EV/AC = $500,000/$550,000 = 0.91, indicating cost overrun. The Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is EV/PV = $500,000/$450,000 = 1.11, indicating ahead of schedule. Option B correctly matches these values.

Answer

CPI = 1.11, SPI = 0.91

Answer

CPI = 1.10, SPI = 0.91

Answer

CPI = 0.91, SPI = 0.91

Question 8

During a construction project, a key vendor informs you that a critical component will be delayed by three weeks due to a raw material shortage. The component is on the project's critical path. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Check the risk register for the pre-planned risk response and implement it. The correct first action is to check the risk register for a pre-planned risk response. Since the component is on the critical path, any delay directly impacts the project completion date. A well-managed project would have identified this risk (raw material shortage) during planning and documented a response strategy (e.g., alternative sourcing, buffer stock). Implementing that pre-planned response is the most efficient and proactive step, aligning with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on executing risk responses.

Answer

Immediately inform the sponsor and ask for more budget to expedite the component

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Negotiate with the vendor to shorten the delay without additional cost

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Update the project schedule and inform stakeholders of the delay

Question 9

During a sprint review, the product owner rejects a completed user story because it does not meet their expectations, even though it meets the acceptance criteria defined in the sprint planning. The team is frustrated. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the team and product owner to clarify expectations and update the acceptance criteria for the next sprint. The Product Owner's rejection indicates a misalignment between the acceptance criteria and their actual expectations. As a servant leader, the Scrum Master should facilitate a meeting to clarify these expectations and update the acceptance criteria for future sprints, ensuring the Definition of Done reflects true business value. This approach maintains team morale while improving the process, rather than forcing rework or escalating unnecessarily.

Answer

Ask the team to redo the story to meet the product owner's expectations without changing the acceptance criteria

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Escalate to the project sponsor to mediate the disagreement

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Support the team and insist that the story is complete according to the agreed criteria

Question 10

Midway through a construction project, a key vendor notifies you that they cannot deliver critical steel beams on time due to a factory fire. This risk was identified and included in the risk register. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the risk response that was documented in the risk register. Since the risk was already identified and documented in the risk register, the project manager must first follow the pre-planned risk response. This ensures a structured, timely reaction without unnecessary escalation or ad-hoc decisions. Option C is correct because the risk response plan is the authoritative source for the first action when a known risk occurs.

Answer

Contact the vendor and negotiate a new delivery date

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Immediately place an order with a backup vendor

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Inform the sponsor and ask for instructions

Question 11

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. 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

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Continue as planned and hope to recover the budget later

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Implement the solution immediately to control costs

Question 12

Your project is using a predictive lifecycle. A team member notices that a task on the critical path is taking longer than estimated, threatening the project completion date. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the situation and apply schedule compression techniques such as crashing or fast tracking.. In a predictive lifecycle, when a critical path task runs late, the project manager must first analyze the impact and then apply schedule compression techniques like crashing (adding resources with cost-benefit analysis) or fast tracking (performing tasks in parallel) to recover the schedule without unauthorized scope changes or premature escalation.

Answer

Immediately add more resources to the task without analysis.

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Inform the sponsor that the project will be delayed and request a new deadline.

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Reduce the scope of the project to compensate for the delay.

Question 13

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that their velocity has been declining over the last three sprints. They attribute it to increasing technical debt and lack of automated testing. As the Scrum Master, what is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate the team in developing an action plan to reduce technical debt and improve testing. D is correct because the Scrum Master's primary role is to facilitate the team's continuous improvement. By guiding the team to create an action plan to reduce technical debt and improve automated testing, you address the root cause of declining velocity—poor code maintainability and lack of regression safety—rather than just treating the symptom. This aligns with the Scrum principle of self-organization and the empirical process control of inspect and adapt.

Answer

Ask the product owner to reduce scope in future sprints

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Report the velocity decline to senior management

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Add more stories to the next sprint to increase velocity

Question 14

Your agile team's velocity has dropped for three consecutive sprints. Upon investigation, you discover that the product owner has been adding unplanned work directly to the sprint backlog without consulting you or the team. What is the most appropriate action?

Accepted Answer

Discuss the issue with the product owner and remind them that scope changes should go through the backlog refinement process. The product owner is violating the Scrum framework by adding unplanned work directly to the sprint backlog, which undermines the team's commitment and velocity. The appropriate action is to discuss the issue with the product owner and remind them that all scope changes must go through the backlog refinement process to ensure the sprint goal remains achievable. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on stakeholder engagement and maintaining team autonomy within agile practices.

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Tell the team to accept the extra work to keep the product owner happy

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Allow the product owner to continue as they are the voice of the customer

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Immediately escalate the issue to the project sponsor

Question 15

A project manager is leading a Scrum team. The product owner frequently changes priorities mid-sprint, causing the team to lose focus and miss sprint goals. The team is frustrated. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner on Scrum rules and the impact of mid-sprint changes on team focus. In Scrum, the product owner should not change priorities during a sprint; the sprint backlog is frozen once the sprint starts. The project manager, acting as a servant leader, should coach the product owner on Scrum rules and explain how mid-sprint changes disrupt team focus and jeopardize sprint goals. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on stakeholder management and agile principles.

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Add a buffer in the sprint to accommodate potential changes

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Ask the team to accommodate the changes since the product owner has authority

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to intervene