PMP Practice Test 36 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a sprint planning meeting, the product owner wants to add a high-priority user story that the team believes is too large to complete in one sprint. What should the team do?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to break the story down into smaller, manageable pieces. The team should collaborate with the product owner to decompose the large user story into smaller, manageable pieces that can be completed within a single sprint. Option A is wrong because accepting a story that is too large and working overtime leads to burnout and poor quality. Option B is wrong because having the product owner attend daily standups does not solve the sizing issue. Option D is wrong because outright refusal is not collaborative; the team should work with the product owner to find a solution.

Answer

Accept the story and work overtime to complete it

Answer

Ask the product owner to attend the daily standups for this sprint only

Answer

Refuse to accept the story because it is too large

Question 2

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that velocity has dropped due to too many interruptions. What agile technique should the Scrum Master recommend to address this?

Accepted Answer

Implement a Work in Progress (WIP) limit to reduce multitasking. Implementing a Work in Progress (WIP) limit reduces multitasking by limiting the number of tasks team members work on simultaneously, directly addressing interruptions. Option A (adding buffer time) does not prevent interruptions. Option C (more frequent retrospectives) is a ceremony and not a direct countermeasure. Option D (increasing sprint duration) does not reduce interruptions.

Answer

Add buffer time to each task estimate

Answer

Conduct more frequent retrospectives

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to accommodate interruptions

Question 3

A project is nearing completion. The project manager is preparing for project closure. Which of the following is the most important activity to complete during project closure?

Accepted Answer

Obtain formal acceptance of the project deliverables from the customer.. Obtaining formal acceptance from the customer is a key closure activity. Option A is correct because it ensures the deliverables meet requirements and the project is officially closed.

Answer

Archive all project documents and lessons learned.

Answer

Conduct a final team meeting to celebrate the project's success.

Answer

Update the project management plan to reflect final status.

Question 4

Your project is a large infrastructure build. You have completed the planning phase, but the sponsor has put pressure on you to start construction before all approvals are obtained. The schedule is tight, and any delay could result in penalties. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks to the sponsor and refuse to start until approvals are obtained. The project manager must adhere to regulatory and compliance requirements. Starting construction without necessary approvals exposes the project to legal, safety, and schedule risks. The PM should explain these risks to the sponsor and refuse to proceed until approvals are obtained. Option A is wrong because even non-critical activities may require approvals or set a dangerous precedent. Option C is wrong because documentation alone does not mitigate the risk of non-compliance. Option D is wrong because the PM must not blindly follow the sponsor's request when it violates governance policies.

Answer

Begin construction on non-critical activities while waiting for approvals

Answer

Document the sponsor's request and begin work

Answer

Proceed as requested by the sponsor

Question 5

Your project is 50% complete, and you realize it is 15% over budget due to unforeseen material cost increases. The sponsor is concerned about the budget variance. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Present the variance and your corrective action plan to the sponsor. As a project manager, you must transparently communicate the variance to the sponsor along with a corrective action plan to address the root cause (unforeseen material cost increases). This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principles of stakeholder engagement and proactive cost management, ensuring the sponsor is informed and can make decisions based on your proposed recovery steps.

Answer

Request additional budget from the sponsor immediately

Answer

Use management reserve without informing the sponsor

Answer

Reduce the project scope to bring costs back in line

Question 6

During a project status meeting, a key stakeholder expresses dissatisfaction with the quality of deliverables. The team believes they have met all acceptance criteria. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Arrange a meeting with the stakeholder to understand their concerns and review the acceptance criteria. When a stakeholder expresses dissatisfaction despite meeting acceptance criteria, the project manager should first understand the stakeholder's concerns and review the acceptance criteria to ensure alignment. This approach fosters collaboration and may reveal uncommunicated expectations or misunderstandings about the criteria. Option B is incorrect because dismissing feedback to lessons learned without resolution fails to address the immediate issue and can damage stakeholder relationships. Option C is incorrect because initiating a formal quality audit is reactive and escalates the situation unnecessarily before attempting to understand the stakeholder's perspective. Option D is incorrect because dismissing the stakeholder's concerns and insisting on acceptance can harm trust and may lead to future conflict, even if the deliverables technically meet criteria.

Answer

Add the stakeholder's feedback to the lessons learned and move on

Answer

Initiate a formal quality audit to verify compliance with requirements

Answer

Explain that the deliverables meet the agreed criteria and ask the stakeholder to accept them

Question 7

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a new feature that was not in the backlog. The team estimates it will take 5 days to implement. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and assess the impact on the project baseline.. In a hybrid environment, scope changes must still follow a defined change control process to prevent uncontrolled scope creep and maintain baseline integrity. Option A is correct because submitting a change request allows for impact assessment on cost, schedule, and resources before approval. Option B is too rigid; changes can be allowed but through proper governance. Option C bypasses formal approval and risks integrating unapproved work. Option D adds work without assessing impact, violating change control principles.

Answer

Tell the product owner that no changes are allowed until the project is completed.

Answer

Ask the team to include it in the next sprint and inform the product owner.

Answer

Add the feature to the current sprint as it's small and the team can handle it.

Question 8

A project manager is leading a hybrid project. The sponsor requests a significant scope change that will alter the project's business case. Which THREE actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the change on the project's schedule, cost, and quality.. The correct actions are to assess the impact (B), submit a change request (D), and update the business case (C) to reflect the new scope. Option A is incorrect because the project should not proceed without approval. Option E is premature without change approval.

Answer

Instruct the team to start working on the change immediately.

Answer

Communicate the change to all stakeholders before approval.

Question 9

You are forming a new project team with members from different departments. To ensure a shared understanding of team values and expectations, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team charter workshop to define roles, responsibilities, and norms. The first step in forming a new project team is to establish a shared understanding of values and expectations. A team charter workshop accomplishes this by collaboratively defining roles, responsibilities, and norms, which aligns the team and reduces ambiguity. Option A is too passive and does not engage the team in co-creating expectations. Option B lacks initial alignment and can lead to confusion. Option C builds relationships but does not directly address rules and expectations.

Answer

Send a team introduction email with the project plan

Answer

Assign individual tasks and let the team figure out collaboration

Answer

Conduct a team-building event

Question 10

In a Scrum project, the product owner wants to add a new high-priority story to the current sprint, but the sprint is already full. The team is concerned about overcommitment. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs. The Scrum Master should protect the team from overcommitment and facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team. Option A is not the Scrum Master's role. Option B violates the sprint commitment. Option C may not be feasible.

Answer

Extend the sprint duration to accommodate the new work

Answer

Remove a lower-priority story to make room for the new one

Answer

Add the story to the sprint and ask the team to work overtime

Question 11

A project is halfway through its schedule. The earned value (EV) is $50,000, planned value (PV) is $60,000, and actual cost (AC) is $70,000. The project manager calculates the cost performance index (CPI) and schedule performance index (SPI). Based on these metrics, what is the most likely situation?

Accepted Answer

The project is over budget and behind schedule.. CPI = EV/AC = 50,000/70,000 = 0.71 (over budget), SPI = EV/PV = 50,000/60,000 = 0.83 (behind schedule). The project is both over budget and behind schedule.

Answer

The project is under budget but behind schedule.

Answer

The project is under budget and ahead of schedule.

Answer

The project is over budget but ahead of schedule.

Question 12

Your project is using a hybrid approach. During a sprint, the team realizes that a critical dependency from another project will not be ready on time, impacting the critical path. The dependency was not identified in the risk register. What is the BEST action?

Accepted Answer

Add the dependency to the issue log, assess the impact on the schedule, and engage the other project manager.. The best action is to first document the unexpected dependency as an issue in the issue log, assess its impact on the schedule, and then engage the other project manager to coordinate a resolution. This follows the proper issue management process of identifying, analyzing, and responding. Option A (crashing) is premature without impact analysis; Option B (escalation) bypasses direct communication; Option C (workaround) assumes a solution without understanding the impact.

Answer

Crash the schedule by adding resources to the dependent task.

Answer

Escalate to the project management office for resource reallocation.

Answer

Ask the team to find a workaround to bypass the dependency.

Question 13

You are managing a large-scale construction project. A critical vendor has informed you that they will be delayed by two months due to a raw material shortage. This risk was identified and recorded in the risk register with a contingency plan to use an alternative vendor. However, the alternative vendor's materials are more expensive and will increase project costs by 10%. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Request a change request to update the cost baseline and budget.. First, implement the contingency plan as it was pre-approved. Then, assess the cost impact to update the cost baseline through change control. Finally, communicate the situation to stakeholders. These steps align with PMI's risk and communication management.

Answer

Instruct the team to work overtime to recover the schedule.

Answer

Reject the vendor's notice and demand they meet the original deadline.

Question 14

You are managing a large, complex project with multiple vendors. A critical vendor is consistently late on deliveries, impacting the project's critical path. The vendor contract includes penalties for delays. Which TWO actions should the project manager take FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the vendor to discuss the delays and explore corrective actions.. The first step in managing a vendor delay is to open a collaborative dialogue to understand the root cause and explore corrective actions before escalating or penalizing. Option B is correct because the project manager must first review the contract to understand the specific penalty clauses, escalation procedures, and legal remedies available before taking any formal action. This aligns with the PMI approach of addressing issues at the lowest level first and using contractual terms as a guide.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for intervention.

Answer

Issue a formal notice of non-compliance and invoke penalty clauses.

Answer

Immediately terminate the contract and find a new vendor.

Question 15

You are managing a project using a hybrid approach. During the execution phase, one of your key team members, a senior engineer, resigns unexpectedly. This engineer was responsible for critical path tasks. What is the FIRST thing you should do?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact on the critical path and overall schedule. The PM should first evaluate the impact on the schedule and critical path before taking further action. Options A, B, and C are premature without understanding the impact.

Answer

Immediately request a replacement from HR

Answer

Update the risk register and plan for a schedule delay

Answer

Reassign the engineer's tasks to other team members