PMP Practice Test 26 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a sprint review, the product owner is dissatisfied with the increment and wants to revert to a previous version of a feature. The development team believes the current version meets the acceptance criteria. As Scrum Master, what should you do FIRST?

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

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to clarify the acceptance criteria and expectations. Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and team to clarify expectations. Option B is reactive and may not be needed after discussion. Option C escalates prematurely. Option D bypasses collaboration.

Answer

Escalate to the program manager to resolve the conflict

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Instruct the team to revert the feature as requested

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Update the issue log with the product owner's concern

Question 2

Two senior developers on your agile team have a conflict about the technical approach for a user story. This conflict is causing delays. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the developers to discuss and resolve the conflict collaboratively. PMI recommends conflict resolution through collaboration. The PM should facilitate a discussion to reach a consensus that aligns with project goals.

Answer

Ask the product owner to prioritize the story and bypass the developers' discussion

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Decide the technical approach yourself and assign it to the developers

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Separate the developers onto different teams to avoid further conflict

Question 3

In a hybrid project, the team has been using both Kanban and traditional planning. The product owner requests that the team focus on completing all work in the current iteration before taking on new tasks. However, the team has been pulling new work as capacity allows. What is the BEST action for the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the team to agree on the workflow and update the process accordingly. In a hybrid project, the project manager's role is to facilitate alignment between the product owner's request and the team's workflow. Option D is correct because it promotes collaboration and process improvement by having the product owner and team agree on how to handle work-in-progress limits and iteration boundaries, which is essential for maintaining both Kanban's pull-based flow and traditional iteration commitments.

Answer

Instruct the team to follow the product owner's request immediately

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Allow the team to continue as they are, since they are productive

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Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 4

During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned support requests from the operations department. The product owner agrees this is impacting velocity. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer for them.. The immediate priority is to manage the unplanned work that is disrupting the sprint. By working with the product owner to prioritize support requests and allocate a dedicated buffer (e.g., a fixed capacity within the sprint backlog), the project manager ensures that the team can handle operational interruptions without derailing planned work. This aligns with the Agile principle of protecting the team's focus and using empirical data to adjust the process, rather than escalating or deferring action.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to negotiate with operations.

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Ask the team to track the time spent on support requests and report it at the next retrospective.

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Instruct the team to handle support requests as they come to maintain stakeholder satisfaction.

Question 5

You are managing a construction project using a predictive approach. A key vendor informs you that they will not be able to deliver a critical component for another two weeks, which will delay the project. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the impact on the project schedule and identify possible mitigation strategies. The first step in managing a schedule delay is to analyze the impact on the project schedule and identify potential mitigation strategies. According to the PMBOK Guide's 'Manage Communications' and 'Control Schedule' processes, you must assess the situation before escalating or taking corrective action. This aligns with the principle of 'analyze before act' in predictive project management.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to make up for the delay

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Initiate a change request to extend the project schedule

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Immediately notify the sponsor about the delay without further analysis

Question 6

You are managing a marketing campaign project. A key stakeholder, the VP of Marketing, frequently bypasses you and gives direct instructions to team members. This has caused confusion and rework. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the VP to discuss the communication management plan and roles. The first step in resolving a stakeholder bypassing the project manager is to address the issue directly with the stakeholder through a scheduled meeting. This allows you to clarify roles, reinforce the communication management plan, and ensure all instructions flow through the proper channels to prevent confusion and rework. By discussing the plan, you align expectations and maintain project governance without escalating prematurely or undermining authority.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Politely remind the team to ignore instructions that don't come through you

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Update the stakeholder engagement plan without informing the VP

Question 7

During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration about unclear requirements from the product owner. The project manager wants to improve the situation. Which action aligns with the Agile principle of self-organizing teams?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the team and product owner to co-create a solution.. It aligns with the Agile principle of self-organizing teams, where the team collaborates with the product owner to co-create a solution for unclear requirements. The project manager acts as a facilitator, empowering the team to resolve the issue collectively rather than imposing a top-down process or ignoring the problem. This approach fosters ownership, collaboration, and continuous improvement, which are core to Agile frameworks like Scrum.

Answer

Define a new process for requirement clarification and enforce it.

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Tell the team to adapt as best they can with the current requirements.

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Ask the product owner to provide more detailed user stories.

Question 8

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that the daily standups are taking too long and are not focused. Several team members suggest canceling them to save time. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to identify ways to make the standups more focused and time-boxed. The Scrum Master's role is to facilitate the Scrum process and remove impediments. Canceling the daily standup would eliminate a key inspection and adaptation opportunity. Instead, the Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion to help the team improve the focus and time-boxing of the standup, addressing the root cause of the issue.

Answer

Agree to cancel the daily standups as the team suggests

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Keep the standups as they are and remind the team of their importance

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Enforce the timebox strictly without discussion

Question 9

During a daily standup, a developer mentions that a risk identified in the risk register has occurred and is causing a one-day delay. The risk response plan includes a mitigation strategy that can be implemented immediately. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the planned risk response as documented in the risk register. When a risk occurs and a pre-planned mitigation strategy exists in the risk register, the project manager should implement that strategy immediately to minimize impact. In this scenario, the risk response plan already accounts for the one-day delay, so executing the documented mitigation is the most efficient and proactive action, aligning with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on risk response implementation.

Answer

Update the issue log and inform stakeholders of the delay

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Escalate the issue to the sponsor for guidance

Answer

Conduct a new risk assessment to determine the best response

Question 10

A project manager is leading a project that is aligned with the organization's strategic goal to increase market share. However, during execution, a competitor releases a similar product, reducing the expected benefits. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Update the business case and present the revised benefits to the steering committee for a go/no-go decision.. The project manager must reassess the business case when external market changes (like a competitor's product launch) reduce expected benefits. Updating the business case with revised benefits and presenting it to the steering committee ensures an informed go/no-go decision based on current strategic alignment and value, as per PMBOK Guide's business case management and benefits realization processes.

Answer

Immediately stop the project to avoid further losses.

Answer

Continue the project as planned because the strategic goal has not changed.

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Add more features to differentiate the product from the competitor's.

Question 11

Your project is 80% complete, and the sponsor asks you to skip the final testing phase to release the product early and capture market share. The testing phase is critical for quality. What is the BEST response?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and propose a compromise, such as testing the most critical functions first. It demonstrates proactive risk management and stakeholder negotiation. By explaining the risks of skipping testing and proposing a compromise—such as testing critical functions first—you address the sponsor's urgency while preserving the project's quality objectives. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on managing technical aspects through iterative validation and risk-based testing prioritization.

Answer

Agree to skip testing to accommodate the sponsor's request

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Refuse the request and insist on full testing as planned

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Update the risk register and proceed with the release

Question 12

A new regulatory requirement has been discovered mid-project. This requirement will affect the project scope and schedule. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the new requirement on scope, schedule, and cost. A new regulatory requirement discovered mid-project must be assessed for its impact on the triple constraint (scope, schedule, cost) before any action is taken. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's Perform Integrated Change Control process, where the project manager evaluates the effect of a change on all project baselines. Without this assessment, you cannot determine the feasibility or the necessary adjustments to the project plan.

Answer

Ignore the requirement until the next project phase

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Implement the requirement immediately to ensure compliance

Question 13

A project manager is managing a hybrid project. The team is two weeks into a four-week iteration when the product owner asks to reprioritize the backlog to include a critical regulatory requirement that was just announced. The change will impact the current iteration goal. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the change on the iteration goal and discuss with the product owner and team to decide on the best course of action. In a hybrid project, the project manager must balance agility with governance. When a critical regulatory requirement emerges mid-iteration, the first step is to assess its impact on the iteration goal and collaborate with the product owner and team to decide the best course of action. This aligns with the agile principle of responding to change while maintaining stakeholder alignment and ensuring the team can evaluate trade-offs before reprioritizing.

Answer

Tell the product owner that the current iteration commitment cannot be changed

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Immediately add the requirement to the iteration backlog and adjust the sprint goal

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Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 14

You are the project manager for a software development project that is using a hybrid approach. A key team member informs you that they have identified a new risk that could cause a two-week delay. The risk is not in the risk register. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register with the risk and perform qualitative analysis.. When a new risk is identified that is not in the risk register, the first action is to document it in the risk register and perform qualitative analysis to assess its probability and impact. This aligns with the iterative risk management process in a hybrid approach, where risks are continuously identified and analyzed before deciding on a response. Updating the register ensures the risk is formally tracked and prioritized for further action.

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Immediately implement a contingency plan to mitigate the risk.

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Ignore the risk until it occurs, as it may not materialize.

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Inform the sponsor and ask for additional budget to handle the risk.

Question 15

Your project uses a hybrid approach. The team has been working remotely for six months, and you notice a decline in collaboration and an increase in misunderstandings. What is the BEST action to improve team cohesion?

Accepted Answer

Organize virtual team-building activities and encourage video calls for key meetings. Virtual team-building activities and encouraging video calls directly address the root cause of declining collaboration and misunderstandings in a remote team. Video calls enhance non-verbal communication cues and social presence, which are critical for building trust and reducing ambiguity in a hybrid project environment. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on developing the team and using virtual collaboration tools to foster cohesion.

Answer

Increase the frequency of status meetings

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Request that team members relocate to a central office for the remainder of the project

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Send a detailed communication protocol to all team members