PMP Practice Test 1 — 25 Questions

Question 1

During a sprint review, the product owner rejects a completed user story because it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The developer argues that the story is functionally complete and the product owner is being too strict. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and developer to clarify the acceptance criteria. Option C is correct. In Scrum, the product owner is responsible for defining and validating acceptance criteria. When a disagreement arises, the scrum master should facilitate a discussion to ensure clarity and alignment, not impose a decision or take sides. Option A is incorrect because simply accepting the product owner's decision without discussion may miss opportunities to resolve misunderstandings and improve collaboration. Option B is incorrect because removing the story from the sprint backlog avoids accountability and undermines the sprint review's purpose. Option D is incorrect because supporting the developer against the product owner would escalate conflict and ignore the product owner's authority over scope and quality.

Answer

Ask the team to accept the product owner's decision and move on

Answer

Remove the story from the sprint backlog and skip it in the review

Answer

Support the developer by telling the product owner the story is complete

Question 2

During a daily standup, a developer mentions she is blocked by a dependency from another team. The issue was not previously identified. As the project manager, what is the BEST action?

Accepted Answer

Add the blocker to the issue log and work with the other team to resolve it.. The correct action is to document the blocker in the issue log and collaborate with the other team to resolve it. This ensures the issue is tracked and addressed appropriately. Option A is wrong because reassigning work does not resolve the dependency; Option B delays resolution without proper documentation; Option C bypasses the project manager's role in facilitating cross-team coordination.

Answer

Remove the dependency by reassigning the work to a different developer.

Answer

Ask the developer to find a workaround and report back tomorrow.

Answer

Tell the developer to escalate the issue to the other team's manager directly.

Question 3

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 4

Your project is a large infrastructure build. You have completed the planning phase, but the sponsor has put pressure on you to start construction before all approvals are obtained. The schedule is tight, and any delay could result in penalties. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks to the sponsor and refuse to start until approvals are obtained. Option B is correct because the project manager must adhere to regulatory and compliance requirements. Starting construction without necessary approvals exposes the project to legal, safety, and schedule risks. The PM should explain these risks to the sponsor and refuse to proceed until approvals are obtained. Option A is wrong because even non-critical activities may require approvals or set a dangerous precedent. Option C is wrong because documentation alone does not mitigate the risk of non-compliance. Option D is wrong because the PM must not blindly follow the sponsor's request when it violates governance policies.

Answer

Begin construction on non-critical activities while waiting for approvals

Answer

Document the sponsor's request and begin work

Answer

Proceed as requested by the sponsor

Question 5

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a new feature that was not in the backlog. The team estimates it will take 5 days to implement. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and assess the impact on the project baseline.. In a hybrid environment, scope changes must still follow a defined change control process to prevent uncontrolled scope creep and maintain baseline integrity. Option A is correct because submitting a change request allows for impact assessment on cost, schedule, and resources before approval. Option B is too rigid; changes can be allowed but through proper governance. Option C bypasses formal approval and risks integrating unapproved work. Option D adds work without assessing impact, violating change control principles.

Answer

Tell the product owner that no changes are allowed until the project is completed.

Answer

Ask the team to include it in the next sprint and inform the product owner.

Answer

Add the feature to the current sprint as it's small and the team can handle it.

Question 6

Your agile project has been experiencing declining velocity over the last three sprints. During the retrospective, the team identifies that they are spending too much time on unplanned work and technical debt. The product owner wants to maintain the current scope. Which THREE actions should the project manager take? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Allocate a portion of each sprint to address technical debt. Options B, C, and E are correct. B: Allocating a portion of each sprint to address technical debt directly reduces the accumulation of unplanned work and improves velocity. C: Shielding the team from external interruptions minimizes distractions, allowing more focus on planned work. E: Improving the 'definition of ready' ensures that user stories are sufficiently refined before a sprint begins, reducing ambiguity and rework. Option A is incorrect because reducing scope does not address the root cause of declining velocity (technical debt and unplanned work). Option D is incorrect because adding more developers can increase coordination overhead and may not solve the underlying issues.

Answer

Ask the product owner to reduce the scope of the next sprint

Answer

Add more developers to the team to increase capacity

Question 7

During a project, a risk you identified in the risk register occurs. Your response plan was to mitigate by purchasing backup equipment. However, you discover the backup equipment is not available due to a supplier issue. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan or develop a new response given the change in circumstances. The correct first action is to implement the contingency plan if one exists, or develop a new response (Option C). When a risk occurs and the planned mitigation fails, the project manager should immediately apply the fallback plan or create an alternative response. Option A (escalating to sponsor) is premature because escalation should be considered only after response options are exhausted. Option B (adding a new risk) is not the immediate action; addressing the current risk takes priority. Option D (updating the risk register) is insufficient without taking proactive steps to handle the realized risk.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for guidance

Answer

Add a new risk to the risk register about supplier reliability

Answer

Update the risk register to reflect that the mitigation is ineffective

Question 8

You are managing a marketing campaign project using an agile approach. During the daily standup, a developer mentions they have started working on a feature that was not agreed upon in sprint planning. The product owner is not aware of this work. What should you do as the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Remind the team that only items from the sprint backlog should be worked on, and ask the developer to stop and discuss with the product owner after the standup. Option B is correct because the Scrum Master's role is to ensure the team adheres to Scrum practices, including focusing only on the sprint backlog during the sprint. Unauthorized work can lead to scope creep and undermine sprint goals. The developer should stop and discuss with the product owner after the standup to determine if the feature should be added to the product backlog for future consideration. Option A is wrong because allowing unplanned work without stakeholder agreement disrupts the sprint plan. Option C is wrong because it still permits unplanned work without proper prioritization by the product owner. Option D is wrong because adding the feature to the product backlog should be done only after discussion with the product owner, not ignored, and the team should not continue working on it during the current sprint.

Answer

Allow the developer to continue because the feature might add value

Answer

Ask the developer to work on the feature after the current sprint

Answer

Add the feature to the product backlog and ignore it for now

Question 9

You are managing a project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint, the development team discovers a critical security vulnerability that was not identified during risk planning. The fix will require significant rework and will cause the sprint goal to be missed. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Perform an impact analysis and submit a change request to address the vulnerability. Option A is correct because the project manager should first assess the impact of the security vulnerability on scope, schedule, and cost, then submit a change request to formally address the issue. Option B is incorrect because bypassing change control violates project governance, especially in a hybrid approach where change management processes are defined. Option C is incorrect because requiring overtime to achieve the sprint goal ignores the rework impact and could lead to burnout and quality issues. Option D is incorrect because delaying the fix leaves the vulnerability unaddressed, which is unacceptable for a critical security issue.

Answer

Instruct the team to fix the vulnerability immediately without formal change control

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to fix the vulnerability while still achieving the sprint goal

Answer

Allow the team to continue with the sprint and address the vulnerability in a future sprint

Question 10

You are the project manager for a marketing campaign launch. The project has a tight deadline. During a status meeting, a team member announces that they have completed a task two days early. However, you notice that the quality of the deliverable is below the acceptance criteria. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Reject the deliverable and ask the team member to rework it to meet the acceptance criteria. Option B is correct because the deliverable does not meet the acceptance criteria, so the project manager should reject it and request rework to ensure quality standards are met. Option A is incorrect because ignoring quality issues sets a bad precedent and may lead to further problems. Option C is incorrect because lowering acceptance criteria without stakeholder approval violates the project scope and quality management plan. Option D is incorrect because accepting a substandard deliverable with the intent to improve later is not effective; deliverables should meet criteria upon completion.

Answer

Thank the team member for the early completion and move on to the next task

Answer

Lower the acceptance criteria to match the deliverable's quality to save time

Answer

Accept the deliverable since it was completed early and the team can improve it later

Question 11

In a Scrum project, the team's velocity has been declining over the last three sprints. The project manager (also the Scrum Master) notices that team morale seems low. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify the root causes of the decline. The correct answer is B: Facilitate a retrospective to identify the root causes of the decline. As the Scrum Master, the project manager should use the retrospective to allow the team to openly discuss issues affecting velocity and morale. This aligns with the Agile principle of continuous improvement and self-organization. Option A is wrong because replacing team members should be a last resort and does not address the underlying issues. Option C is wrong because adding more tasks would likely worsen morale and further reduce velocity. Option D is wrong because monitoring by a senior developer undermines the team's self-organization and autonomy.

Answer

Replace the underperforming team members

Answer

Add more tasks to the backlog to increase the team's focus

Answer

Assign a senior developer to monitor the team's work

Question 12

Order the steps for closing a project or phase.

Accepted Answer

Verify deliverables → Report on project performance → Obtain sign-off → Release resources → Review lessons learned. Project closure: verify deliverables, report, obtain sign-off, release resources, and review lessons.

Answer

Obtain sign-off → Release resources → Verify deliverables → Report on project performance → Review lessons learned

Answer

Review lessons learned → Verify deliverables → Report → Obtain sign-off → Release resources

Answer

Verify deliverables → Obtain sign-off → Report → Release resources → Review lessons learned

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Identify deliverables, then Decompose deliverables, then Assign codes, then Verify decomposition, then Create WBS dictionary. The WBS process starts with identifying deliverables, decomposing them, coding, verifying, and documenting in the dictionary.

Answer

Decompose deliverables, then Identify deliverables, then Assign codes, then Verify decomposition, then Create WBS dictionary

Answer

Identify deliverables, then Assign codes, then Decompose deliverables, then Verify decomposition, then Create WBS dictionary

Answer

Identify deliverables, then Decompose deliverables, then Verify decomposition, then Assign codes, then Create WBS dictionary

Question 14

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 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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