PMP Practice Test 39 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is leading a cross-functional team that includes members from different departments. Two senior developers have a conflict about the technical approach for a critical component. The conflict is causing delays. What should the project manager do FIRST?

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

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the developers to discuss the pros and cons of each approach and reach consensus. The project manager's first responsibility in a technical conflict is to facilitate collaboration and consensus-building among the team members, leveraging their expertise to resolve the disagreement. By guiding the developers to discuss pros and cons, the PM enables a data-driven decision that respects the team's autonomy and technical judgment, which is essential for maintaining ownership and commitment to the chosen approach.

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Escalate the issue to the functional managers of the developers

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Make the decision for the team to move forward

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Ask the team to vote on the technical approach

Question 2

During a daily standup, a developer mentions that a critical integration task will take longer than expected because of a technical dependency on another team. The project is on a tight schedule. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Help the team remove the impediment by coordinating with the other team's manager. Removing impediments is a key responsibility of the project manager or Scrum Master; coordinating with the other team's manager addresses the dependency promptly. Option C is correct because the product owner should reprioritize the backlog if the delay impacts the sprint goal, ensuring the team works on the most valuable items. Option E is correct because updating the risk register with the potential delay and mitigation actions is a standard risk management practice to track and communicate risks. Option B is incorrect because adding tasks does not resolve the delay and may overwhelm the team. Option D is incorrect because informing the sponsor of a delay is premature; the team should first assess the impact and explore mitigation options.

Answer

Add more tasks to the sprint to keep the team busy

Answer

Immediately inform the sponsor that the project will be delayed

Question 3

A project manager observes that a team member is consistently missing deadlines and producing low-quality work. The project manager suspects it is due to personal issues but the team member is reluctant to discuss. What is the best course of action?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private one-on-one meeting to discuss performance and offer support.. It aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and emotional intelligence. Addressing performance issues privately respects the team member's dignity, opens a safe space to discuss potential personal issues, and allows the project manager to offer support or resources without public embarrassment, which is critical for maintaining trust and motivation.

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Address the issue in the next team meeting to set expectations.

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Reassign the team member to less critical tasks.

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Report the team member to HR for performance improvement plan.

Question 4

Your project is in the planning phase, and you are developing the team charter. Which THREE elements should be included in the team charter to promote high performance?

Accepted Answer

Decision-making process and conflict resolution approach. The team charter is a foundational document that establishes how the team will operate, not what they will deliver. Including the decision-making process and conflict resolution approach ensures the team has clear protocols for collaboration and dispute resolution, which directly supports high performance by reducing ambiguity and fostering trust.

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The project schedule and key milestones

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Individual performance metrics and goals

Question 5

You are managing a large-scale project with multiple vendors. One vendor is consistently late in delivering critical components, jeopardizing the project schedule. The vendor blames the delays on your team's incomplete specifications. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a root cause analysis with the vendor and your team to identify underlying issues and develop a corrective action plan. As a project manager, your first step should be to investigate the root cause of the conflict before taking corrective action. Conducting a root cause analysis with both the vendor and your team aligns with the PMI's 'Manage Stakeholder Engagement' and 'Manage Team' processes, ensuring you address the underlying issue (incomplete specifications vs. vendor performance) rather than symptoms. This collaborative approach preserves the relationship and prevents recurrence, which is critical for a large-scale project with multiple vendors.

Answer

Request that your team rework the specifications to be more detailed and clear

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Replace the vendor with a new one that can meet the deadlines

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Formally notify the vendor of the delays and threaten legal action if performance does not improve

Question 6

During a project status meeting, a sponsor mentions that they have been directly assigning tasks to a team member without going through you. The team member is now confused about priorities. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the sponsor to review the communication management plan and roles. The first step in resolving a communication breakdown is to address the root cause: the sponsor is bypassing the project manager's authority and the established communication management plan. By scheduling a meeting with the sponsor to review the plan and their roles, you reaffirm the agreed-upon escalation and task assignment processes, which is a proactive, professional approach aligned with PMBOK's principles of managing stakeholder expectations and enforcing the project's governance framework.

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Report the sponsor's behavior to the PMO or senior management

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Tell the team member to ignore the sponsor's requests

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Update the team member's task list to include the sponsor's assignments

Question 7

Your project is in the execution phase. A team member reports that a supplier delivered a batch of raw materials that do not meet the quality specifications. The supplier insists the materials are acceptable and offers a discount. The project sponsor wants to accept the discount to save costs. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Reject the materials and require the supplier to provide conforming materials. The project manager must adhere to the quality plan and ensure that materials meet specified requirements. Accepting non-conforming materials, even with a discount, risks rework, customer dissatisfaction, and project failure. The sponsor's cost concern does not override quality standards. Option A is wrong because reducing testing does not mitigate the risk of using substandard materials. Option B is wrong because the decision should be based on the quality plan, not left to the team. Option D is wrong because cost savings do not justify compromising quality.

Answer

Accept the materials and reduce testing to offset the cost risk

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Let the team decide whether to use the materials

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Accept the discount and use the materials to save project costs

Question 8

You are leading a globally distributed agile team. During the daily stand-up, you notice that the team member in India consistently speaks little compared to others, while the US-based members dominate the conversation. What should you do to foster inclusion?

Accepted Answer

Implement a round-robin format where each team member shares updates in turn. Implementing a round-robin format ensures equitable participation by structurally requiring each team member to speak in turn, directly addressing the imbalance caused by time zone and cultural differences. This technique fosters inclusion by removing the dominance of louder voices and giving the quieter team member a dedicated, safe opportunity to contribute, which aligns with the agile principle of self-organizing teams and the PMI Talent Triangle's emphasis on leadership and team management.

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Let the team continue as is, as it is a natural dynamic

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Ask the quiet team member directly why they are not speaking

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Reduce the frequency of the daily stand-up to once a week

Question 9

A project is in execution phase, and a team member consistently misses deadlines, impacting the critical path. The project manager has had informal conversations, but the behavior continues. What should the project manager do next?

Accepted Answer

Initiate the formal performance management process as per organizational policy. Once informal coaching has failed to correct a performance issue that impacts the critical path, the project manager must escalate to the formal performance management process as defined in the organizational policy. This ensures due process, documentation, and alignment with HR and legal requirements, protecting both the project and the organization.

Answer

Reassign the team member to a less critical task

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Ignore the issue and hope it resolves on its own

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Replace the team member with a new resource

Question 10

A project manager discovers that a team member has been taking credit for another teammate's work during stakeholder meetings. This has created tension within the team. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Speak privately with the team member about the importance of recognizing others' contributions. The project manager should address the issue privately and directly with the team member, focusing on coaching and reinforcing the importance of recognizing others' contributions. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict resolution, where private feedback preserves trust and encourages behavioral change without public embarrassment or escalation.

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Publicly acknowledge the correct contributor in the next stakeholder meeting

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Ignore the situation as it may resolve on its own

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Report the behavior to HR for disciplinary action

Question 11

Sequence the steps for performing a qualitative risk analysis.

Accepted Answer

Identify risks, then assess probability and impact, then prioritize risks, then categorize risks, then update the risk register.. Qualitative analysis involves identifying risks, assessing probability and impact, prioritizing, categorizing, and updating the register.

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Assess probability and impact, then identify risks, then prioritize risks, then categorize risks, then update the risk register.

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Identify risks, then prioritize risks, then assess probability and impact, then categorize risks, then update the risk register.

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Identify risks, then assess probability and impact, then categorize risks, then prioritize risks, then update the risk register.

Question 12

You are the project manager for a large-scale data migration project from on-premises servers to AWS. The project involves migrating 50 terabytes of sensitive customer data. The team has completed the initial assessment and is now in the planning phase. The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has mandated that all data must be encrypted in transit and at rest. Additionally, the migration must minimize downtime and ensure data integrity. The project has a tight budget and schedule. During a planning meeting, the lead architect proposes using AWS Snowball Edge devices for the initial bulk transfer, followed by AWS DataSync for ongoing replication. However, the CISO is concerned about encryption key management and audit trails. As the project manager, what should you do first to address the CISO's concerns?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the security team and the architect to define encryption key management and audit trail requirements.. The CISO's concerns about encryption key management and audit trails are legitimate governance issues that must be addressed before proceeding. As the project manager, you need to facilitate a meeting between the security team and the lead architect to define clear requirements for key management (e.g., using AWS KMS with customer-managed keys) and audit logging (e.g., AWS CloudTrail for API calls and Snowball Edge device logs). This collaborative approach ensures that the proposed technical solution aligns with organizational security policies and compliance needs, which is critical before moving forward with the migration plan.

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Proceed with the architect's proposal and document that encryption is handled by AWS services.

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Update the risk register and accept the risk related to encryption key management.

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Inform the CISO that the proposed services meet all encryption requirements per AWS documentation.

Question 13

You are a project manager for a software implementation. The testing team reports that they have found several defects, but the project sponsor insists on releasing the product on the original date to meet a market opportunity. The product is not fully tested. What is the BEST response?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of releasing with defects and propose a compromise, such as releasing only critical features after testing. It balances the sponsor's market opportunity with the technical risk of releasing untested software. By proposing to release only critical features after targeted testing, the project manager applies a risk-based testing approach, ensuring that the highest-priority functionality is verified while deferring non-critical defects. This aligns with the PMI's emphasis on managing stakeholder expectations and making data-driven trade-offs between quality and schedule.

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Release the product as requested by the sponsor but document the known defects

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Refuse to release until all defects are fixed, regardless of the sponsor's request

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Escalate to the PMO for a decision on release criteria

Question 14

You are the project manager for a software development project using an agile methodology. The team is co-located and has been working together for three months. Recently, you notice that during daily stand-up meetings, the product owner often interrupts the team members to ask detailed technical questions, causing the meetings to run over the 15-minute timebox. Additionally, the team seems hesitant to share progress openly, and some members have started arriving late to the stand-up. The sprint backlog shows that velocity has dropped by 20% in the last two sprints. The product owner insists that the stand-up is the only time they have to get technical updates. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting.. The daily stand-up is a team synchronization event for inspecting progress toward the sprint goal, not a technical Q&A session. The product owner's interruptions violate the event's timebox and purpose, causing the team to withhold information and reducing velocity. The project manager should first coach the product owner privately on the Scrum Guide's definition of the daily stand-up, emphasizing that detailed technical discussions should be deferred to separate sessions.

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Extend the stand-up to 30 minutes to allow time for the product owner's questions.

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and request a replacement product owner.

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Remove the product owner from the daily stand-up and provide a written daily summary instead.

Question 15

You are the project manager for a large infrastructure project. The project's CPI is 0.85 and SPI is 0.9. The team is working hard, but the project manager suspects that the cost performance is due to inaccurate estimates rather than inefficiency. The project sponsor is concerned about the budget overrun and asks you to cut costs by reducing quality inspections. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain to the sponsor that reducing inspections could lead to higher rework costs and request a meeting to review the estimate accuracy instead. The PM should protect quality and address the root cause. CPI 0.85 and SPI 0.9 suggest cost and schedule pressure, but the PM suspects estimate inaccuracy rather than inefficiency. Cutting quality inspections is a classic PMP anti-pattern that trades short-term cost for long-term rework. The correct action is to explain the risk to the sponsor and propose reviewing estimate accuracy.

Answer

Agree to reduce inspections to satisfy the sponsor's request for cost savings

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Escalate the sponsor's request to the PMO for a decision

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Reduce inspections as requested, but increase them later if quality issues arise