PMP Practice Test 26 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is leading a team that includes members from different departments. One team member frequently misses team meetings and fails to update task status. What should the project manager do?

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

Accepted Answer

Schedule a one-on-one meeting to discuss the issue and understand any challenges. The PM should first address performance issues privately to understand root causes, such as personal challenges or workload conflicts, before taking any formal action. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive conflict resolution, ensuring the team member feels supported and can improve without public embarrassment.

Answer

Bring up the issue in the next team meeting to encourage accountability

Answer

Remove the team member from the project

Answer

Report the issue to the team member's functional manager

Question 2

Sequence the steps for conducting a procurement process.

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Statement of Work (SOW), Step 2: Procurement Documents (e.g., RFP), Step 3: Evaluation of Proposals, Step 4: Contract Signing, Step 5: Contract Administration and Closure. Procurement follows: SOW, documents, evaluation, contract signing, and administration/closure.

Answer

Step 1: Procurement Documents, Step 2: Statement of Work, Step 3: Evaluation, Step 4: Contract Signing, Step 5: Contract Administration and Closure

Answer

Step 1: Evaluation, Step 2: Statement of Work, Step 3: Procurement Documents, Step 4: Contract Signing, Step 5: Contract Administration and Closure

Answer

Step 1: Statement of Work, Step 2: Contract Signing, Step 3: Procurement Documents, Step 4: Evaluation, Step 5: Contract Administration and Closure

Question 3

A project manager is leading a hybrid project. The team is co-located but the project manager observes that some team members are reluctant to share opposing views during discussions, leading to groupthink. Which TWO actions should the project manager take to foster a culture of constructive debate?

Accepted Answer

Assign one team member to play the 'devil's advocate' in each meeting to challenge ideas. Assigning a 'devil's advocate' systematically introduces constructive challenge, directly countering groupthink by ensuring every idea is tested. Option C is correct because establishing ground rules that reward respectful disagreement creates a psychological safety net, encouraging team members to voice opposing views without fear of reprisal.

Answer

Implement anonymous voting for all decisions

Answer

Make decisions quickly to avoid prolonged debates

Answer

Only ask for opinions from senior team members to streamline discussions

Question 4

You are a project manager for a marketing campaign project. A team member has proposed a new approach that could improve the campaign's effectiveness but would require additional budget and extend the timeline. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request with an analysis of the benefits, costs, and risks. As a project manager, you must follow the formal change control process when a proposed change affects the project's budget and timeline. Submitting a change request with a thorough analysis of benefits, costs, and risks ensures that the change is evaluated based on objective data and approved by the appropriate stakeholders, maintaining project governance and alignment with business objectives.

Answer

Encourage the team member to implement the new approach informally

Answer

Approve the change since it improves effectiveness

Answer

Reject the proposal to stay within the original plan

Question 5

A company is implementing a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. The project manager wants to ensure that the project delivers value aligned with the organization's strategic goals. Which document should the project manager reference to confirm the alignment?

Accepted Answer

Business case. The business case documents the justification for the project, including alignment with organizational strategy, expected benefits, and ROI. For a CRM implementation, the business case would confirm that the system supports strategic goals like improving customer retention or sales efficiency, making it the correct reference for value alignment.

Answer

Project management plan

Answer

Scope statement

Answer

Project charter

Question 6

Your project team is struggling with collaboration due to cultural and language differences. As project manager, you want to foster a more inclusive and effective team environment. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Establish a team charter that includes communication protocols and cultural norms.. A team charter establishes agreed-upon communication protocols and cultural norms, which directly addresses collaboration issues caused by cultural and language differences by creating a shared framework for interaction. Option E is correct because diversity and inclusion training educates team members on cultural awareness and effective cross-cultural communication, fostering a more inclusive environment that mitigates misunderstandings.

Answer

Schedule all meetings during a single time zone's business hours to reduce confusion.

Answer

Pair team members from similar cultural backgrounds to work together.

Answer

Assign a single language (e.g., English) and require all team members to use it exclusively.

Question 7

You are managing a project where a risk identified in the risk register has occurred. The risk response plan calls for mitigation, but the mitigation action will delay the critical path by 2 weeks. The project has no schedule reserve. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the risk response as planned and then submit a change request for the schedule delay. The risk response should be implemented as planned to address the risk; then the PM should assess the impact and submit a change request for the schedule delay (since no reserve). Option A is wrong because ignoring the risk response could have negative consequences; the response must be implemented. Option B is wrong because schedule compression techniques may be considered after the impact is known and after implementing the response, not before. Option D is wrong because the PM should first implement the response and assess impact before escalating; escalation is premature at this point.

Answer

Avoid implementing the risk response to protect the schedule

Answer

Use schedule compression techniques to offset the delay before implementing the response

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 8

Your project's Earned Value (EV) is $45,000, Planned Value (PV) is $50,000, and Actual Cost (AC) is $55,000. The project is at the midpoint. What is the most accurate assessment of the project's status?

Accepted Answer

The project is behind schedule and over budget. With EV=$45,000, PV=$50,000, and AC=$55,000, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI = EV/PV) is 0.90, indicating the project is behind schedule. The Cost Performance Index (CPI = EV/AC) is approximately 0.818, showing the project is over budget. Since both SPI and CPI are less than 1.0, the correct assessment is behind schedule and over budget, which matches option D.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and under budget

Answer

The project is behind schedule and under budget

Answer

The project is on schedule and over budget

Question 9

A new regulation impacting your construction project was announced. The compliance team says the project must incorporate additional safety inspections, which will require extra resources and extend the schedule. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for decision. The first step is to escalate the new regulation to the project sponsor because it introduces a critical constraint that may affect the project's viability, scope, or business case. The sponsor has the authority to make high-level decisions about how to proceed, including whether to allocate additional resources or accept changes to the schedule. Submitting a change request (Option B) should come after the sponsor has provided direction. Options C and D are clearly wrong because they either bypass proper governance or ignore legal requirements.

Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board to assess the impact and obtain approval

Answer

Instruct the team to start implementing the additional inspections immediately

Answer

Ignore the regulation since it was not part of the original project scope

Question 10

A project manager is leading a global team with members in different time zones. The team is experiencing delays because some members are not responding to emails promptly. What is the best course of action to improve communication?

Accepted Answer

Create a communication management plan with agreed-upon response times.. A communication management plan is the correct approach because it proactively defines expectations for response times, communication channels, and escalation paths, addressing the root cause of delays without imposing rigid schedules. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on planning communication to meet stakeholder needs, especially in distributed teams where asynchronous communication is common.

Answer

Escalate the issue to functional managers.

Answer

Require all members to work overlapping hours.

Answer

Increase the frequency of status meetings.

Question 11

You are managing a project to build a new mobile application. An executive stakeholder has been bypassing you and giving direct instructions to team members, causing rework and confusion. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the executive stakeholder to discuss the importance of following the communication plan.. The PM should address the issue directly with the stakeholder to clarify roles and communication protocols. This is a stakeholder management and communication issue that requires a proactive conversation.

Answer

Send an email to all stakeholders reminding them to communicate through the project manager.

Answer

Update the communications management plan to include stricter protocols.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to intervene.

Question 12

A project manager is leading a global team with diverse cultural backgrounds. Two team members from different cultures have a misunderstanding that is causing tension. The project manager wants to promote inclusivity and resolve the issue. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Arrange a mediation session where both parties can share perspectives and learn about each other's cultural norms. It directly addresses the root cause of the conflict—cultural misunderstanding—by facilitating open dialogue and mutual learning. This aligns with the PMP's focus on emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership, as the project manager acts as a mediator to foster understanding rather than imposing rules or assigning blame.

Answer

Create a policy requiring all team members to communicate in a standard way

Answer

Determine which team member is at fault and counsel them individually

Answer

Advise the team to avoid discussing cultural differences to prevent further conflict

Question 13

Your project is a construction project with a fixed price contract. At the 40% progress point, earned value (EV) is $400,000, actual cost (AC) is $480,000, and planned value (PV) is $500,000. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The project is behind schedule and over budget. The project is behind schedule because the earned value (EV) of $400,000 is less than the planned value (PV) of $500,000, resulting in a schedule performance index (SPI) of 0.80. It is over budget because the actual cost (AC) of $480,000 exceeds the earned value (EV) of $400,000, yielding a cost performance index (CPI) of 0.83. Both SPI and CPI below 1.0 confirm the project is underperforming in terms of schedule and cost.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and under budget

Answer

The project is behind schedule but under budget

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule but over budget

Question 14

A risk that was identified and in the risk register has occurred. The risk response plan involves outsourcing a component, but the vendor is now unable to deliver on time. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the fallback plan or contingency reserves as defined in the risk register. The risk has materialized and the risk response plan (outsourcing) has failed. The project manager must immediately execute the pre-defined fallback plan or use contingency reserves as documented in the risk register. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on implementing risk responses when the primary response is no longer viable.

Answer

Wait to see if the vendor can resolve the issue

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for guidance

Answer

Reassign the work to an internal team

Question 15

Your project is behind schedule due to underestimated task durations. The critical path has been identified. Which TWO schedule compression techniques are MOST appropriate to get the project back on track?

Accepted Answer

Fast tracking. Fast tracking (C) is appropriate because it involves performing critical path activities in parallel that were originally planned in sequence, which can shorten the project schedule without adding resources. Crashing (D) is appropriate because it adds resources to critical path activities to reduce their duration, directly addressing the underestimated task durations that caused the delay. Both techniques focus on the critical path, which is identified in the question, making them the most suitable compression methods.

Answer

Critical chain method

Answer

Resource leveling

Answer

Monte Carlo simulation