PMP Practice Test 29 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a project, the team identifies a risk that could cause a major delay. The probability is high and the impact is high. The project manager decides to hire an external expert to manage the risk. Which risk response strategy is being used?

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

Accepted Answer

Transfer. Hiring an external expert to manage the risk transfers the financial and managerial responsibility for that risk to a third party. This is a classic Transfer strategy because the project retains the risk but shifts the liability and response execution to the expert via a contract or service agreement. In technical projects, this often involves outsourcing specialized tasks like penetration testing or cloud migration to a vendor.

Answer

Mitigate

Answer

Accept

Answer

Avoid

Question 2

Two senior developers have a conflict over which technical approach to use for a module. The disagreement is delaying the sprint. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with the developers to discuss the pros and cons of each approach and help them reach a consensus. The project manager's first responsibility in a technical conflict is to facilitate collaboration and consensus-building between the developers. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict resolution techniques like 'collaborating' or 'problem-solving' within the team, especially when the disagreement directly impacts sprint delivery. By guiding a structured discussion of pros and cons, the PM preserves team autonomy and leverages the developers' expertise to find the best technical solution.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

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Assign the module to a different developer to avoid the conflict

Answer

Decide on the approach yourself based on your experience

Question 3

A project manager is assigned to a complex project with a team distributed across three time zones. The project requires high collaboration and frequent decision-making. The project manager wants to select a team structure that maximizes communication and efficiency. Which organizational structure is most suitable?

Accepted Answer

Establish a virtual team with core overlap hours and use collaboration tools.. A virtual team with core overlap hours and collaboration tools directly addresses the challenge of a distributed team across three time zones. This structure maximizes communication by synchronizing work during overlapping hours and leverages technology (e.g., Slack, Zoom, Jira) for asynchronous collaboration, ensuring frequent decision-making without requiring physical co-location.

Answer

Use a functional structure where each team works independently.

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Co-locate all team members in a single location.

Answer

Implement a matrix structure with dual reporting.

Question 4

Your project is using a predictive approach, and you are in the execution phase. A key stakeholder requests a minor change that you believe will improve the product but is not in the scope. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and follow the Integrated Change Control process. In a predictive (waterfall) project, any change to the approved scope, even if minor and beneficial, must go through the formal Integrated Change Control (ICC) process. This ensures the change is evaluated for impacts on cost, schedule, quality, and risk before approval. Submitting a change request is the correct procedure to maintain control over the project baseline and avoid scope creep.

Answer

Implement the change and document it later

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Refuse the change because the project is already in execution

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Approve the change yourself since it is minor and will improve the product

Question 5

A project manager notices that the team's velocity has decreased over the last two sprints. Retrospectives have not identified clear causes. The project manager suspects that team members are overworked and possibly experiencing burnout. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Schedule individual meetings to discuss workload and well-being.. The first step when suspecting burnout is to engage directly with team members to understand their individual workloads and well-being. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive people management, as it addresses the root cause before taking further action. Individual meetings allow the project manager to gather specific data on overwork, which retrospectives failed to surface, enabling a targeted response.

Answer

Continue monitoring; the velocity may recover naturally.

Answer

Reduce the project scope to lower pressure.

Answer

Add more team members to distribute the workload.

Question 6

A project manager is forming a new team for a complex software development project. The sponsor insists on using a co-located team for better communication. However, the best available resources are located in different countries. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Propose a hybrid model with core team co-located and remote members integrated via collaboration tools.. It balances the sponsor's preference for co-location with the practical reality of distributed talent. A hybrid model allows a core team to be co-located for high-bandwidth collaboration while integrating remote members via collaboration tools (e.g., video conferencing, shared repositories, and agile boards). This approach aligns with PMI's emphasis on stakeholder negotiation and adaptive leadership, ensuring the project benefits from the best resources without sacrificing communication quality.

Answer

Accept the sponsor's requirement and hire local contractors.

Answer

Relocate the remote resources to the project location.

Answer

Replace remote resources with local ones who have similar skills.

Question 7

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 8

You are managing a distributed team across three time zones. A team member from the Asia office reports that they feel excluded from decision-making because key meetings are held during their late evening hours. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Rotate meeting times so that no single region is always disadvantaged. It directly addresses the root cause of exclusion by implementing a fair rotation of meeting times, ensuring no single time zone is consistently disadvantaged. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on stakeholder engagement and team cohesion, particularly for distributed teams where time zone equity is critical to maintaining inclusion and collaboration.

Answer

Tell the team member that they can catch up by reading meeting minutes

Answer

Schedule all meetings at the same time regardless of time zones

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Record meetings and require the team member to watch them

Question 9

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. Midway through, the customer requests a new feature that was not in the original scope. The team estimates it will add two weeks to the schedule. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and conduct an impact analysis. In a hybrid project, changes to scope must follow a formal change control process. Option D is correct because submitting a change request and conducting an impact analysis ensures the feature's effect on cost, schedule, and quality is evaluated before any action is taken, aligning with both predictive and agile governance.

Answer

Refuse the request, as the scope was already finalized

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Ask the team to start working on the feature to keep the customer happy

Answer

Add the feature to the product backlog and prioritize it for the next release

Question 10

In a Scrum team, the product owner frequently changes priorities during the sprint, causing the team to lose focus. The team has raised this concern in the retrospective. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner on the importance of stable sprint goals.. The Scrum Master is responsible for ensuring the Scrum framework is followed. Changing priorities mid-sprint violates the principle of a stable Sprint Goal, which protects the team from disruption and allows them to deliver a potentially releasable increment. Coaching the Product Owner on this principle directly addresses the root cause without bypassing Scrum rules or escalating prematurely.

Answer

Allow the changes if they add value, and adjust the sprint backlog.

Answer

Update the definition of done to accommodate changes.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor.

Question 11

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?

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 12

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 13

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

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Make decisions quickly to avoid prolonged debates

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Only ask for opinions from senior team members to streamline discussions

Question 14

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 15

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