PMP Practice Test 42 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your organization is adopting SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) to improve alignment across multiple agile teams. As a project manager, you are responsible for ensuring that the transformation is successful. Which THREE actions should you take to support the agile transformation?

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

Accepted Answer

Ensure that value streams are identified and aligned with the organization's strategic goals. Option A is correct because SAFe is built around value streams, and identifying and aligning them with strategic goals ensures that the flow of value delivery is directly connected to the organization's business objectives, which is foundational to a successful transformation. Option C is correct because SAFe adoption requires a shared mindset and common language; training team members and stakeholders on agile and SAFe principles builds the knowledge needed to apply the framework consistently and reduces resistance. Option E is correct because Communities of Practice are a recognized SAFe practice that enables continuous knowledge sharing, collaboration, and improvement of practices across teams and roles. Option B is incorrect because command-and-control management contradicts agile and SAFe principles of decentralized decision-making, self-organizing teams, and servant leadership. Option D is incorrect because reducing communication between teams undermines the cross-team coordination, alignment, and transparency that SAFe explicitly promotes through events like PI Planning and Scrum of Scrums.

Answer

Implement a command-and-control management style to enforce consistency

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Reduce communication between teams to minimize distractions

Question 2

During a project, a new regulation is enacted that requires additional compliance testing. The project is in the execution phase. Which THREE actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register with the new regulatory requirement as a threat.. The new regulation is an external event that introduces uncertainty and potential negative impact on the project, so the project manager should record it in the risk register as a threat (B), which is the standard tool for tracking and managing such risks throughout the project. Because the regulation affects scope, schedule, and cost, the project manager must communicate its impact to stakeholders (C) so they can understand the consequences and make informed decisions. Since the compliance testing adds work not in the original scope, the project manager should submit a change request (D) to formally evaluate and approve the scope change through the integrated change control process. Option A is wrong because ignoring a legal requirement is never acceptable and would expose the project to compliance and legal risk. Option E is wrong because starting work without formal approval bypasses the change control process and violates the project manager's responsibility to manage scope changes properly.

Answer

Ignore the regulation because it was not in the original project plan.

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Instruct the team to start compliance testing immediately without formal approval.

Question 3

A project manager is leading a multicultural team where some members are from high-context cultures (e.g., Japan) and others from low-context cultures (e.g., Germany). Misunderstandings have occurred due to differing communication styles. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Provide cross-cultural communication training and establish clear communication norms.. Cross-cultural communication training directly addresses the root cause of misunderstandings by educating team members on different communication styles (e.g., high-context vs. low-context), while establishing clear norms creates a shared framework that respects both styles without forcing one to dominate. This aligns with PMI's emphasis on cultural intelligence and proactive team management in the 'Manage Team' process.

Answer

Assign a liaison from each culture to mediate communications.

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Standardize all communication to be direct and explicit.

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Ask team members from low-context cultures to adapt to high-context styles.

Question 4

You are leading a virtual team using a hybrid methodology. A team member from another country consistently arrives late to daily stand-ups, disrupting the flow. The team member has not responded to private messages about the issue. What should you do next?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private video call to discuss the challenges and find a mutually agreeable solution. As a project manager, you should first seek to understand the root cause of the behavior through a private, empathetic conversation. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and conflict resolution, especially in a virtual, cross-cultural team where time zones or personal challenges may be the issue. Scheduling a private video call allows you to discuss challenges and find a mutually agreeable solution without escalating prematurely.

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Issue a formal warning to the team member for not adhering to team norms

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Remove the team member from the project for non-compliance

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Change the stand-up time to accommodate the team member without consulting the rest of the team

Question 5

Your project's sponsor requests that you skip user acceptance testing (UAT) to recover schedule delays. The team has already performed thorough internal testing. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping UAT and propose a compressed UAT schedule. Skipping UAT violates the project's quality management plan and risks delivering a product that does not meet user needs, even if internal testing passed. The first step is to communicate the risks of skipping UAT to the sponsor and propose a compressed schedule as a compromise, which aligns with the PMI's emphasis on stakeholder communication and risk management. This approach balances schedule recovery with maintaining quality assurance through user validation.

Answer

Skip UAT and add a warranty period to address any issues after release

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Proceed with UAT as planned without informing the sponsor

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Agree to skip UAT to accommodate the sponsor's request

Question 6

Your project is running behind schedule. You need to compress the schedule without significantly increasing cost. Which TWO techniques should you consider?

Accepted Answer

Add resources from non-critical path activities to critical path tasks. Adding resources from non-critical path activities to critical path tasks is a form of resource leveling or resource optimization that can compress the schedule without significant cost increase, as it reallocates existing resources rather than hiring new ones. Option B is correct because fast-tracking involves performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially, which can reduce the project duration without adding costs, though it may increase risk.

Answer

Eliminate non-essential deliverables without approval

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Reduce quality standards to save time

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Reduce project scope without change control

Question 7

You are managing a hybrid project with a critical deliverable due in two weeks. Two senior developers on your team have a strong disagreement over the technical approach. They have stopped speaking to each other, and the team's progress has stalled. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a joint discussion. As a project manager, your first responsibility in a conflict is to understand each party's perspective individually and then facilitate a collaborative resolution. This approach aligns with the PMP's 'Manage Conflict' process, which emphasizes direct, respectful communication before escalating or imposing solutions. By meeting separately and then jointly, you address the root cause—the technical disagreement—while preserving team cohesion and ownership of the solution.

Answer

Enforce a team policy that all technical decisions must be approved by you

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

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Reassign the work to other team members to avoid further conflict

Question 8

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. In project management, when a critical resource leaves, the first step is to assess the impact on the critical path and overall schedule before taking any corrective action. This aligns with the PMBOK principle of evaluating before acting, ensuring decisions are based on data rather than reaction.

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Immediately request a replacement from HR

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Update the risk register and plan for a schedule delay

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Reassign the engineer's tasks to other team members

Question 9

Your project team is spread across three continents. You notice that the daily stand-ups are becoming less interactive, and team members are not raising blockers. What should you do first to improve team collaboration?

Accepted Answer

Organize virtual team-building exercises and encourage open communication. The core issue is declining team interaction and psychological safety, which directly impacts collaboration in a distributed team. Virtual team-building exercises and encouraging open communication address the root cause by rebuilding trust and engagement, which is essential for effective daily stand-ups and raising blockers. This aligns with the PMP focus on servant leadership and fostering a collaborative team environment.

Answer

Assign a team lead to monitor participation

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Implement a mandatory weekly status report

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Threaten to report underperformance to management

Question 10

You are managing a project that is behind schedule. The project sponsor has asked you to explore schedule compression techniques. Which TWO options are valid schedule compression techniques that can be applied without changing scope? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Crashing: adding resources to critical path activities.. Crashing (B) is a valid schedule compression technique because it shortens the critical path by adding resources (people, equipment, or overtime) to critical path activities, thereby reducing duration while keeping the project scope unchanged. Fast tracking (E) is also valid because it compresses the schedule by overlapping activities that were originally planned to run sequentially, again without altering scope. Reducing scope (A) is not a compression technique but scope reduction, which changes the project's deliverables and is therefore excluded. Resource leveling (C) adjusts dates to resolve resource over-allocation and typically extends, not compresses, the schedule. Adding contingency time (D) is a risk response that buffers the schedule rather than compressing it.

Answer

Reducing scope: eliminating non-essential deliverables.

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Resource leveling: adjusting start and finish dates to address resource constraints.

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Adding contingency time to activities.

Question 11

In an agile project, the team has missed their sprint commitment for the third consecutive sprint. During the retrospective, team members cite unclear requirements and frequent interruptions from stakeholders. As the project manager, what is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to refine user stories and shield the team from external interruptions. The best action is to address the root causes: unclear requirements and frequent interruptions. Working with the product owner to refine user stories ensures the team has clear, actionable work, and shielding the team from external interruptions allows them to focus during the sprint. This is a servant-leadership approach that removes impediments and improves the team's ability to meet commitments.

Answer

Require the team to commit to fewer story points next sprint

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Add more developers to the team to increase velocity

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Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time

Question 12

You are managing a project where the team has been working overtime for several weeks to meet a milestone. The milestone is achieved, but the team is exhausted. What should you do to sustain the team's performance?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a retrospective to identify causes of overtime and implement improvements. A retrospective directly addresses the root cause of unsustainable overtime, enabling the project manager to implement process improvements that prevent recurrence. Sustaining team performance requires addressing systemic issues, not just short-term relief. This aligns with the PMI talent triangle's emphasis on leadership and team motivation through continuous improvement.

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Reward the team with a bonus and move on to the next phase

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Encourage the team to take a few days off to recover

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Increase the team's resources for the next milestone

Question 13

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 correct first step is to meet with the stakeholder privately to clarify their role and reinforce the communication channels defined in the project management plan. This addresses the root cause—role confusion and bypassing of formal communication pathways—through direct, respectful dialogue, which is consistent with PMP principles of stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution. Escalation or unilateral action should only be considered if the private discussion fails to resolve the issue.

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

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

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Instruct the team to ignore instructions from anyone other than you

Question 14

You are managing a project to develop a new mobile app. During the testing phase, the quality assurance team discovers a critical bug that could delay the release by two weeks. The product owner insists on releasing on the original date to meet a market opportunity. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Present the impact of the bug to the product owner and recommend either fixing it or accepting the risk of releasing with the bug. As the project manager, you must surface the impact of the critical bug to the product owner and present options: fix it (delaying release) or accept the risk of releasing with the bug. This respects the product owner's authority over scope and schedule while ensuring they make an informed decision based on accurate impact analysis. It also aligns with PMP principles of transparency, stakeholder engagement, and risk management.

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Agree to release on time and fix the bug in the next update

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Release as planned but skip the regression testing to save time

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Delay the release without consulting the product owner to fix the bug

Question 15

A new team member from a different country joins your project. They seem hesitant to speak up during meetings and often defer to others. Which TWO actions would best help them integrate?

Accepted Answer

Pair them with a buddy who can help them navigate team dynamics and norms. Pairing the new team member with a buddy directly addresses cultural unfamiliarity by providing a safe, one-on-one channel to learn team norms and communication styles, which is a core practice in cross-cultural team integration under the PMBOK Guide's 'Manage Team' process. Option E is correct because scheduled one-on-one check-ins allow the project manager to understand the team member's communication preferences and provide tailored feedback, fostering psychological safety and gradual integration without public pressure.

Answer

Ask them to present their background and culture to the team

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Assign them a leadership role immediately to boost confidence

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Criticize their lack of participation to encourage them to speak up