PMP Practice Test 29 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your project is using a hybrid approach. During the execution phase, you notice that the cost performance index (CPI) is 0.8 and the schedule performance index (SPI) is 1.1. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget and ahead of schedule. CPI = 0.8, which is less than 1, indicates that the project is over budget (cost performance is unfavorable). SPI = 1.1, which is greater than 1, indicates that the project is ahead of schedule (schedule performance is favorable). Therefore, the project is over budget and ahead of schedule, which corresponds to option C. Option A is incorrect because being under budget would require CPI > 1, and behind schedule would require SPI < 1. Option B is incorrect because it claims behind schedule but SPI > 1. Option D is incorrect because it claims under budget but CPI < 1.

Answer

The project is under budget and behind schedule

Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule

Question 2

Your project has multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests. The project sponsor wants to prioritize speed, while the quality assurance manager insists on thorough testing. The product owner wants to add more features. Which THREE techniques can help manage these conflicting stakeholder expectations?

Accepted Answer

Develop a communications management plan to ensure consistent messaging.. Effective stakeholder management includes communication planning, negotiation, and using a stakeholder engagement assessment matrix to understand and address expectations. The issue log documents conflicts but doesn't resolve them directly.

Answer

Create an issue log to document all stakeholder concerns.

Answer

Escalate all conflicts to the project sponsor for decision.

Question 3

Your agile team's velocity has dropped over the last three sprints. During the retrospective, the team cites increasing technical debt and lack of automated testing. Which TWO actions should you take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Allocate time each sprint to address technical debt and improve code quality.. To improve velocity, the team should allocate time to reduce technical debt (e.g., refactoring) and implement automated testing to improve efficiency.

Answer

Reduce the definition of done to skip testing.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to complete more story points.

Answer

Add more developers to the team to increase capacity.

Question 4

Your project is in execution phase. The earned value metrics show: EV = $400,000, PV = $500,000, AC = $450,000, BAC = $1,000,000. Which THREE actions should you take to address the project's performance?

Accepted Answer

Re-estimate the estimate at completion (EAC) based on current performance. The project is behind schedule (EV < PV) and over budget (EV < AC). The correct actions are to re-estimate the EAC to reflect current performance (A), analyze root causes of variances (B), and identify and implement corrective actions (D). Crashing the critical path (C) is a potential schedule recovery technique but should not be done without first analyzing the causes; it may increase costs. Escalating to sponsor (E) is premature without attempting corrective actions first.

Answer

Immediately crash the critical path to recover schedule

Answer

Escalate the performance issues to the sponsor with a request for additional budget

Question 5

Match each project management process group to its primary purpose.

Accepted Answer

Initiating: Defines and authorizes the project or phase.. The five process groups are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Their correct purposes are as described in the correct options. Common confusions include swapping the definitions of Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

Answer

Monitoring and Controlling: Finalizes all activities to formally close the project or phase.

Answer

Closing: Tracks, reviews, and regulates progress and performance.

Question 6

In an agile project, the product owner frequently changes priorities within a sprint, causing the team to lose focus and velocity to drop. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective where the team can discuss the impact of changing priorities and agree on a process. The project manager should first facilitate a retrospective to allow the team to collaboratively analyze the impact of changing priorities and agree on a process to protect the sprint goal. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous improvement and empowers the team to address the root cause without escalating prematurely or violating sprint commitments.

Answer

Ask the team to accommodate the changes and work overtime to meet the original commitment

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor that the product owner is interfering with the team

Answer

Tell the product owner that scope changes are not allowed during a sprint

Question 7

You are the project manager for a software upgrade project. The team is using a hybrid approach with two-week sprints. During sprint planning, the product owner wants to include a user story that the team believes is too large to complete in one sprint. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate breaking the story down into smaller, manageable stories for the sprint. Options C and D are correct. In a hybrid approach with sprints, user stories that are too large should be broken down into smaller, manageable pieces to fit within a sprint (C). This aligns with agile principles of decomposition and iterative delivery. Additionally, documenting the product owner's request and managing expectations through the change control process ensures that any changes to scope or priorities are properly managed (D). Option A is incorrect because removing the story from the backlog is premature; it should be refined first. Option B is incorrect because adjusting sprint duration defeats the purpose of time-boxed sprints. Option E is incorrect because forcing the team to commit to an oversized story leads to poor quality and unmet commitments.

Answer

Remove the story from the backlog since it cannot be completed in one sprint

Answer

Accept the story without changes and adjust the sprint duration

Answer

Insist that the team commit to the story to satisfy the product owner

Question 8

Your project is in the execution phase when an executive stakeholder bypasses you and gives direct orders to the team to add a new feature. This feature is not in the scope. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the new feature on scope, schedule, and cost in preparation for a formal change request. Options A and D are correct. The PM should first meet privately with the executive to explain the importance of following the change control process and to prevent future bypasses, then formally assess the impact of the requested feature on scope, schedule, and cost via a change request. Option B is premature escalation without attempting direct communication. Option C is confrontational and may damage stakeholder relationships. Option E violates change control and could lead to scope creep.

Answer

Immediately escalate the issue to the project sponsor

Answer

Tell the team to ignore the executive's request

Answer

Ask the team to implement the feature as requested by the executive

Question 9

Your project is using a hybrid approach with both predictive and agile elements. Mid-project, a key stakeholder requests a significant scope change that would affect the critical path. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact on the critical path, schedule, cost, and quality.. PMI requires following the change control process: formally submit a change request, evaluate the impact on the critical path and project constraints, and communicate the impact to stakeholders before approval.

Answer

Add the change to the product backlog to be addressed in a future iteration.

Answer

Implement the change immediately since the stakeholder is key to project success.

Question 10

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that the daily standup meetings are not effective because they are too long and lack focus. Which THREE actions should the Scrum Master take to improve the standup?

Accepted Answer

Time-box the standup to 15 minutes and enforce it. To improve daily standups, the Scrum Master should enforce time-boxing, encourage focused updates, and perhaps change the format or location to keep them concise. Assigning a rotating facilitator can also help.

Answer

Cancel the standup and replace it with written reports

Answer

Encourage team members to give detailed status reports

Question 11

You are managing a project that is using a hybrid approach. An executive stakeholder has requested a significant change to the project scope. The change has been approved by the change control board (CCB). Which THREE actions should you take next?

Accepted Answer

Communicate the approved change and its impact to all relevant stakeholders. The correct actions after a CCB-approved scope change are: A) Communicate the approved change and its impact to all relevant stakeholders to ensure awareness and buy-in; B) Update the project management plan (including any affected subsidiary plans) to reflect the change; and E) Update the project baselines (scope, schedule, cost) to incorporate the change so future performance is measured against the revised plan. Instructing the team to start work immediately (C) bypasses proper planning and baseline updates. Rejecting the change (D) is inappropriate because it has already been approved.

Answer

Instruct the team to begin working on the change immediately to avoid delays

Answer

Reject the change if it will delay the project beyond the original deadline

Question 12

You are managing a project where the team is experiencing conflict between two senior developers over technical approach. The conflict is affecting team morale and productivity. Which TWO actions should you take? (Select exactly two.)

Accepted Answer

Escalate the conflict to the functional managers of the developers. The PM should first address the conflict directly by facilitating a meeting between the developers to discuss and resolve the technical disagreement (C). If the conflict cannot be resolved within the team, the PM may escalate it to the functional managers (A) as a next step. Publicly reprimanding (D) is not constructive; ignoring (B) is not proactive; reassigning (E) should be a last resort after other efforts fail.

Answer

Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves on its own

Answer

Reprimand both developers publicly for causing disruption

Answer

Reassign one of the developers to another project

Question 13

You are the project manager for a software development project using Scrum. During the sprint, the product owner requests a change that would significantly increase the value of the product but also expands scope. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to prioritize the change for a future sprint. In Scrum, the product owner can change the backlog, but the project manager should first assess the impact on the current sprint and, if accepted, ensure the change is added after the current sprint unless it is an emergency. The correct actions are to assess impact and work with the product owner to prioritize the change for a future sprint.

Answer

Add the change to the current sprint immediately to maximize value

Answer

Reject the change because it was not in the original plan

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor for approval

Question 14

Your project is using a hybrid approach with both predictive and agile elements. The team is struggling with the daily standup because some members treat it as a status report for management. Which THREE actions should you take to improve the standup?

Accepted Answer

Enforce the 15-minute timebox to keep the meeting efficient. Timeboxing the standup to 15 minutes maintains efficiency and prevents the meeting from becoming a lengthy status report. Option C is correct because coaching the team to emphasize impediments and collaboration aligns the standup with its true purpose: team coordination and problem-solving. Option D is correct because clearly communicating that the standup is for the team, not for management reporting, helps reset expectations. Option A is incorrect because canceling the daily standup removes a key communication cadence, and a weekly meeting is insufficient for timely coordination. Option E is incorrect because the standup should be facilitated by the team (often a rotating role), not by the product owner, whose presence is as an attendee to hear updates.

Answer

Cancel the standup and replace it with a weekly status meeting

Answer

Ask the product owner to run the standup to keep it focused

Question 15

In a hybrid project, the team is experiencing frequent interruptions from support requests that are not part of the project scope. The project manager wants to protect the team's focus. Which THREE actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register to reflect the ongoing risk of interruptions. Options C, D, and E are correct. Updating the risk register (C) captures the ongoing risk of interruptions, making it visible and manageable. Working with the product owner to rebase the schedule (D) adjusts the plan to account for the time lost and communicates impact transparently. Documenting and escalating support requests (E) ensures they are handled by the appropriate team, freeing the project team. Option A is incorrect because reassigning a team member full-time may not be efficient and does not solve the root cause. Option B is incorrect because ignoring interruptions will continue to impact focus and productivity.

Answer

Reassign a team member to handle all support requests full-time

Answer

Ask the team to continue handling support requests as they come