PMP Practice Test 32 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are leading an agile team that has experienced a drop in velocity over the last three sprints. The team attributes this to unclear requirements and frequent changes during the sprint. Which TWO actions would best address this?

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

Accepted Answer

Reinforce the sprint rule that no new work can be added once the sprint has started. In Scrum, once a sprint begins, the team commits to a set of work; allowing new requirements to be introduced mid-sprint disrupts focus and velocity. This rule protects the team from scope creep and ensures they can deliver a potentially shippable increment. Option E is correct because unclear requirements and frequent changes often stem from poorly refined user stories; working with the product owner to improve acceptance criteria and story refinement before sprint planning reduces ambiguity and stabilizes velocity.

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Increase sprint duration from two weeks to three weeks to allow more time

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Replace underperforming team members with new ones

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Take over the role of product owner to ensure clarity

Question 2

You are the project manager for a large infrastructure project. Two key stakeholders have conflicting requirements that cannot both be satisfied within the current budget. Which TWO actions should you take to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both stakeholders to discuss priorities and find a mutually acceptable solution. As a project manager, your role is to facilitate collaboration and guide stakeholders toward a mutually acceptable solution. By bringing both parties together to discuss priorities and trade-offs, you empower them to make an informed decision that aligns with project objectives, which is a core principle of stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution in the PMBOK Guide.

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Update the risk register to reflect the conflict

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a final decision

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Implement the requirement from the stakeholder with more authority

Question 3

During project closure, which THREE documents should be updated or finalized as part of the lessons learned process?

Accepted Answer

Organizational process assets. Organizational process assets (OPA) are updated during lessons learned because they store historical information, templates, and process improvements that benefit future projects. The lessons learned register captures specific knowledge gained, while the project final report summarizes overall project performance and includes lessons learned. These three documents ensure that knowledge is formally recorded and accessible for organizational improvement.

Answer

Project charter

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Stakeholder register

Question 4

Your agile team's velocity has been declining for the past three sprints. The team cites increasing technical debt and unclear requirements. As the project manager, which THREE actions should you take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Allocate time for the team to refactor code and reduce technical debt.. Allocating time for refactoring directly addresses the technical debt that is slowing the team down. By dedicating sprint capacity to code cleanup and improvement, the team can improve code maintainability, reduce future defects, and restore velocity. This is a standard agile practice to manage technical debt and sustain delivery pace.

Answer

Replace underperforming team members.

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Switch to a different agile framework, such as Kanban.

Question 5

During a daily standup, a developer mentions that they are blocked due to a missing API from a third-party vendor. The vendor had promised delivery two days ago. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Check the risk register for any identified risk response related to vendor delays.. The PM should first check the risk register to see if this vendor delay was identified as a risk, and review the planned response. This is a proactive step before taking further action.

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Contact the vendor to understand the delay and expedite delivery.

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Escalate the issue to senior management immediately.

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Ask the developer to work on other tasks until the API is available.

Question 6

Your project is using a predictive approach. A key vendor has informed you that they will be unable to deliver a critical component on time, which could delay the project by three weeks. You have identified this risk in the risk register. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Implement the risk response plan that was documented in the risk register. The risk was already identified and documented in the risk register with a response plan. Since the risk has materialized, the project manager should implement the pre‑planned risk response. Option A is incorrect because escalating to the sponsor without first executing the planned response bypasses proper risk management. Option B is incorrect; simply updating the register and monitoring is insufficient when the risk is occurring. Option C is incorrect because it bypasses the established risk management process by having the team find an ad‑hoc workaround without consulting the documented response.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor immediately without taking any action

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Update the risk register and continue monitoring, as the risk was expected

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Ask the team to find a workaround without consulting the risk register

Question 7

You are managing a hybrid project. The team is reporting that sprint velocity has been decreasing for the last three sprints. During the retrospective, the team attributes this to technical debt and unclear requirements. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Collaborate with the team to identify root causes and create an action plan to improve velocity. The best first step is to work with the team to identify root causes and implement improvements, such as clearer requirements and addressing technical debt. This aligns with agile principles of continuous improvement.

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Add more team members to increase capacity

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Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time

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Escalate the issue to the sponsor

Question 8

Your agile team has been consistently delivering high-quality increments. However, the product owner has been absent from the last two sprint reviews, and stakeholders are losing interest. What should you do as the scrum master?

Accepted Answer

Speak with the product owner to understand the issue and emphasize the importance of their attendance.. The product owner's involvement is crucial in agile. The scrum master should facilitate a conversation with the product owner to understand the reason for absence and encourage participation. This is a coaching role.

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Ask the stakeholders to provide feedback directly to the team instead of attending the review.

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Continue the sprint reviews without the product owner, as the team can self-organize.

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Cancel sprint reviews until the product owner can attend.

Question 9

In a large program using a hybrid approach, two senior developers have a conflict over the technical design of a critical component. The disagreement is causing delays and affecting team morale. As the program manager, what is the best first step?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both developers to discuss the pros and cons of each design and reach a consensus. The PM should facilitate a collaborative resolution by engaging both parties in a constructive discussion. This aligns with PMI's emphasis on conflict resolution and stakeholder engagement.

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Make a decision yourself based on your technical expertise to resolve the conflict quickly

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

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Replace one of the developers with a contractor to eliminate the conflict

Question 10

Your project is using a critical chain method. You have identified that the project buffer is being consumed faster than planned due to delays in several tasks. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the reasons for the delays and implement corrective actions to prevent further buffer erosion.. The PM should analyze the root causes of the delays and take corrective actions to protect the buffer. This may involve resource reallocation or schedule compression techniques.

Answer

Expedite the remaining tasks by adding more resources to critical chain tasks.

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Add more buffer to the project schedule to accommodate the delays.

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Inform stakeholders that the project will likely be delayed and request additional time.

Question 11

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a new feature that would add significant value but was not in the product backlog. The team estimates it will take two additional sprints. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request through the Integrated Change Control process. To submit a change request through the Integrated Change Control process to formally evaluate the impact on scope, schedule, and cost before any work begins.

Answer

Add the feature to the product backlog and prioritize it for a future sprint

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Ask the team to add the feature to the current sprint backlog to satisfy the product owner

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Tell the product owner that no changes are allowed after the sprint starts

Question 12

During project execution, a project manager discovers that a key stakeholder is dissatisfied with the team's communication. The stakeholder feels left out of decisions and receives information too late. Which THREE actions should the project manager take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Invite the stakeholder to relevant project meetings and decision points.. Inviting the stakeholder to relevant meetings and decision points directly addresses their feeling of being left out. This action ensures the stakeholder is included in the communication loop and can participate in decisions that affect them, which is a key aspect of stakeholder engagement in project management.

Answer

Wait until the next stakeholder feedback cycle to address concerns.

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Reduce the number of status meetings to avoid information overload.

Question 13

During a project, the sponsor asks you to skip the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase to save two weeks and meet an accelerated deadline. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping UAT and suggest reducing scope or adding resources instead. Skipping UAT compromises quality and may lead to higher costs later. The PM should explain the risks of skipping UAT and propose alternatives that maintain quality while addressing the schedule.

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Agree to skip UAT to meet the sponsor's deadline

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Escalate the issue to the PMO without discussing with the sponsor

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Skip UAT as requested but document the decision

Question 14

Your construction project is in the execution phase. You discover that a critical supplier will be unable to deliver steel beams for another three weeks due to a strike at their factory. This risk was identified and recorded in the risk register with a mitigation plan. What should you do next?

Accepted Answer

Implement the mitigation plan that was prepared for this risk.. Since the risk has occurred and a mitigation plan existed, the PM should implement the planned response. If it is insufficient, then additional responses should be developed. Communicating to stakeholders is also important but the immediate action is to implement the response.

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Update the risk register and escalate to the project sponsor.

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Meet with the supplier to negotiate an earlier delivery date.

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Immediately inform the project sponsor and stakeholders about the delay.

Question 15

You are leading a distributed agile team. Team members have expressed that they feel disconnected and unclear about project goals. Which THREE actions should you take to improve team cohesion and alignment?

Accepted Answer

Use video conferencing for all team meetings to enhance personal connection. Video conferencing adds a visual and non-verbal communication layer that significantly improves personal connection in distributed teams. This aligns with agile principles of face-to-face communication and helps reduce the sense of isolation, directly addressing the team's feeling of disconnection.

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Reduce the frequency of team meetings to give more time for work

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Implement a daily status email from each team member