PMP Practice Test 35 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a distributed team with members in different time zones. A team member complains that they feel isolated and uninformed about project decisions. What should you do FIRST to address this?

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

Accepted Answer

Implement daily stand-up meetings and use a collaboration platform to share updates. It addresses the root cause of isolation and lack of information by establishing regular communication (daily stand-ups) and a shared collaboration platform. Option A is insufficient because weekly emails are too infrequent and passive. Option C unfairly shifts responsibility to the team member rather than improving team processes. Option D provides individual support but does not solve the systemic communication issue for the entire distributed team.

Answer

Send weekly email summaries of decisions

Answer

Advise the team member to be more proactive in seeking information

Answer

Assign the team member to a local mentor

Question 2

You are managing a software upgrade project. A senior executive bypasses you and directly instructs a team member to include a new feature in the release. The team member is confused and asks for your direction. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Speak with the executive to explain the change control process and the impact of the request.. The correct first action is to speak with the executive to explain the change control process and the impact of the request. This directly addresses the bypass, reinforces proper procedures, and allows the PM to discuss the implications without escalating prematurely. Option A is wrong because submitting a change request without assessment circumvents the process. Option B is wrong because following the instruction would bypass change control and could lead to scope creep. Option C is wrong because immediate escalation is not the first step; the PM should first attempt to resolve the issue with the executive directly.

Answer

Submit a change request on behalf of the executive without assessment.

Answer

Advise the team member to follow the executive's instruction.

Answer

Escalate the situation to the executive's manager immediately.

Question 3

Your agile project is experiencing a drop in velocity for the third consecutive sprint. The team reports that they are spending too much time in unplanned meetings and dealing with frequent requirement changes. Which TWO actions should you take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Implement a process to control scope changes during the sprint.. Limiting work-in-progress (WIP) can reduce context switching and improve focus. Implementing a change control process for scope changes during a sprint helps stabilize requirements. Both address root causes of velocity drop.

Answer

Encourage the team to work overtime to catch up.

Answer

Add more team members to increase capacity.

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time.

Question 4

In a project using a hybrid approach, the team is developing a new product. During sprint planning, the product owner wants to add several new user stories that were not in the release plan. The team is concerned that adding these stories will overload the sprint. What should the scrum master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a negotiation between the product owner and the team to prioritize and possibly swap stories.. The scrum master should facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate scope. This encourages collaboration and respects the team's capacity. Option B correctly describes this action, as it allows the team and product owner to prioritize and possibly swap stories to fit within the sprint's capacity.

Answer

Add the stories to the product backlog and defer them to a future sprint.

Answer

Accept the new stories and ask the team to work overtime.

Answer

Reject the new stories because they were not planned.

Question 5

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The team is motivated, but the sponsor is concerned. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a variance analysis to identify the reasons for the overspend. Understanding the root cause of the variance is essential before taking corrective action. Option C involves analyzing the variance to determine if it's a trend or one-time issue.

Answer

Immediately reduce team resources to cut costs

Answer

Request the team to work overtime without additional pay

Answer

Ask the sponsor for additional funding

Question 6

Your project is 50% complete, and your earned value analysis shows: EV = $200,000, PV = $220,000, AC = $240,000. Based on this data, what is the most accurate assessment of the project's performance?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule. CPI = EV/AC = 200,000/240,000 = 0.833 (over budget); SPI = EV/PV = 200,000/220,000 = 0.909 (behind schedule). The project is both over budget and behind schedule.

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule

Answer

The project is over budget but ahead of schedule

Answer

The project is under budget but behind schedule

Question 7

Your project is using a predictive approach to build a mobile app. During testing, the team discovers a critical security vulnerability that was not identified during planning. Fixing it will require two additional weeks and $50,000, which is within the contingency reserve. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to use the contingency reserve for the fix.. The contingency reserve is intended for such risks; using it requires a change request. Option A is incorrect because the contingency reserve should be used through formal process. Option C is incorrect as approval is needed. Option D is incorrect; the PM cannot authorize use of contingency reserves without following the plan.

Answer

Document the vulnerability in the issue log and proceed without fixing it.

Answer

Inform the sponsor and ask for approval to use the contingency reserve.

Answer

Use the contingency reserve to fix the vulnerability immediately.

Question 8

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that they are consistently overcommitting during sprint planning, leading to incomplete work. Which action should the project manager take to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Encourage the team to use historical velocity data to set sprint goals. Using historical velocity data allows the team to make realistic commitments based on past performance, addressing the root cause of overcommitment. Option A is wrong because the project manager should not set sprint goals; the team self-organizes. Option B is wrong because increasing hours leads to burnout and does not solve overcommitment. Option C is wrong because reducing sprint length without analyzing data does not address the planning issue.

Answer

Assign the project manager to set sprint goals for the team

Answer

Increase the number of working hours per day for the team

Answer

Reduce the sprint length to force the team to be more focused

Question 9

You are the project manager for a hybrid project. Midway through, you discover that a key stakeholder has been giving direct instructions to the development team, causing confusion and rework. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the stakeholder privately to clarify their role and reinforce the communication channels defined in the project management plan. The first step is to address the issue directly with the stakeholder, clarifying their role and reinforcing the communication channels defined in the plan. Option A is wrong because updating the plan without addressing the behavior is reactive and may not resolve the underlying issue. Option B is wrong because involving the sponsor immediately may escalate unnecessarily; direct communication should be attempted first. Option C is wrong because instructing the team to ignore the stakeholder is confrontational and may damage relationships.

Answer

Update the communications management plan to restrict stakeholder access to the team

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore instructions from anyone other than you

Question 10

You are managing a project using a hybrid approach. Midway through, a new regulatory requirement is introduced that will affect the project scope. The change is mandatory and must be implemented. What is the FIRST step?

Accepted Answer

Initiate a change request to formally document the new requirement and assess its impact on scope, schedule, and cost. Even mandatory changes should go through the change control process to assess impact. Option A is correct. Option B implements without analysis. Option C bypasses planning. Option D is premature.

Answer

Notify stakeholders of the new requirement and proceed with implementation

Answer

Instruct the team to incorporate the new requirement immediately due to its mandatory nature

Answer

Update the risk register to reflect the new regulatory requirement

Question 11

Your project is using a predictive approach. The schedule baseline shows that the project should be 50% complete by now, but only 40% of the work is done. The critical path has been impacted. Several team members are idle because of a dependency conflict. What is the BEST scheduling technique to address this?

Accepted Answer

Apply resource leveling to resolve the resource conflict and optimize the schedule. Resource leveling is the best technique because the project has idle team members due to a dependency conflict, which is a resource constraint. By adjusting the schedule to resolve the conflict, you can reallocate resources to critical path tasks and optimize the overall schedule without necessarily adding resources or changing the baseline. This directly addresses the root cause of the delay—resource contention—rather than just compressing the schedule.

Answer

Rebaseline the schedule to reflect the current progress

Answer

Fast track the schedule by performing tasks in parallel

Answer

Crash the schedule by adding resources to critical path tasks

Question 12

Your project is 60% complete. The CPI is 1.05 and SPI is 0.92. You have received a change request from the customer that would add scope but also increase the budget. The change request is currently under review. What should you do while the change request is being evaluated?

Accepted Answer

Continue with the current project work as planned until the change is approved. The project should continue with the current work as planned until the change request is formally approved and integrated into the project plan. Implementing changes before approval violates change control processes and PMI best practices. Options B, C, and D are incorrect: B is premature and biased, C violates the change control process, and D updates the plan without approval.

Answer

Inform the customer that the change request will likely be rejected due to cost

Answer

Instruct the team to begin work on the change to avoid schedule delays

Answer

Update the project management plan to include the change and inform stakeholders

Question 13

Your agile project has been experiencing decreasing velocity over the last three sprints. The team is frustrated and morale is low. The product owner is pressuring for more features. What is the BEST action for the project manager to take?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a retrospective to identify impediments and improvement actions.. The PM should facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of decreasing velocity and address team morale. Option A is correct because it uses agile ceremonies to collaboratively find improvements. Option B adds pressure without solving root issues; option C ignores team dynamics; option D changes process without understanding impediments.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to catch up on velocity.

Answer

Replace the underperforming team members with new resources.

Answer

Increase the sprint length to give the team more time.

Question 14

You are managing a portfolio of projects. One project has a high probability of missing its deadline, which will impact the organization's strategic goals. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact on strategic goals and communicate with the sponsor and steering committee. The portfolio manager should analyze the situation and communicate the issue to stakeholders to align on corrective actions or reprioritization.

Answer

Add more resources to the project to try to meet the deadline

Answer

Ignore the issue because it is only one project in the portfolio

Answer

Immediately cancel the project to reallocate resources

Question 15

Your project is a software implementation using a hybrid approach. The team has been facing scope creep due to informal change requests from stakeholders. Which TWO actions should you take to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Implement a formal change control process and require all changes to go through it. Implementing a formal change control process ensures that all scope changes are evaluated, approved, and documented before being integrated into the project. This directly addresses the root cause of scope creep—informal requests—by enforcing a structured workflow that includes impact analysis, approval gates, and baseline updates. In a hybrid software implementation, this process aligns with both predictive and agile practices, preventing unauthorized changes from disrupting the development cycle.

Answer

Reject all scope changes for the remainder of the project

Answer

Add a contingency buffer to the schedule to absorb future changes

Answer

Stop all work until the scope is re-baselined