PMP Practice Test 43 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A project manager is leading a software development project using agile methodology. The team has completed 3 sprints, but the product owner is dissatisfied because the delivered features do not meet the expected business value. The team claims they followed the prioritized backlog. What should the project manager do?

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

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective with the product owner and team to review the definition of done and acceptance criteria. The core issue is a misalignment between what the team delivered and what the product owner expects, despite following the prioritized backlog. The project manager should facilitate a retrospective to review the definition of done and acceptance criteria, as this ensures both parties have a shared understanding of what constitutes a completed, valuable feature. This aligns with agile principles of continuous improvement and stakeholder collaboration, directly addressing the root cause of the dissatisfaction.

Answer

Create a detailed report showing the team's velocity and completed stories

Answer

Replace the product owner with someone who has better domain knowledge

Answer

Ask the team to add more features to the next sprint to increase value

Question 2

You are leading a virtual team across multiple time zones. During daily stand-ups, you notice that team members from one region are consistently quiet and not contributing. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with a few members of that region to ask about their experience and any barriers. The first step in addressing a participation issue in a virtual team is to understand the root cause through direct, private conversations. This aligns with the PMP principle of 'servant leadership' and the 'People' domain, where you must first investigate barriers (e.g., time zone fatigue, cultural norms, or tool discomfort) before implementing solutions. A one-on-one meeting builds psychological safety and gathers specific feedback, which is essential for an effective corrective action.

Answer

Implement a new communication tool to encourage engagement

Answer

Send a team-wide email reminding everyone of the importance of participation

Answer

Assign speaking turns to ensure everyone participates

Question 3

You are managing a hybrid project using Scrum for development and a predictive approach for regulatory deliverables. During the daily standup, two senior developers disagree strongly on the technical approach to implement a user story. The disagreement is causing tension and slowing progress. As the project manager, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the two developers to understand both perspectives and reach a consensus. In a hybrid project, the project manager must first facilitate conflict resolution among team members to maintain team cohesion and ensure progress. Option B aligns with the PMI's emphasis on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving, as it addresses the root cause of the disagreement without bypassing the team's autonomy or escalating prematurely.

Answer

Assign the story to another developer who can work without conflict

Answer

Make the technical decision yourself based on your experience

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 4

Your Agile team's velocity has dropped for the third consecutive sprint. The team cites increasing technical debt and unclear requirements. As a servant leader, what is the BEST course of action?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop an improvement plan. As a servant leader, the best course is to facilitate a retrospective to collaboratively identify root causes of the velocity drop, such as technical debt and unclear requirements, and then develop an improvement plan. This aligns with the Agile principle of continuous improvement and empowers the team to address issues at their source rather than applying top-down fixes.

Answer

Reduce the scope of the project to match the current velocity

Answer

Ask the team to increase their velocity by working overtime

Answer

Schedule additional daily standups to increase communication

Question 5

A project manager is closing a phase of a large project. What is the most important activity to perform during phase closure?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a lessons learned session with the team and document findings.. Conducting a lessons learned session and documenting findings is the most important activity during phase closure. This ensures that knowledge gained from the current phase is captured and can be applied to improve processes in subsequent phases or future projects. In the context of managing technical aspects, this includes documenting technical decisions, architectural changes, and integration issues that arose during the phase, which directly informs the technical planning for the next phase.

Answer

Release all project resources to new assignments.

Answer

Update the project management plan for the next phase.

Answer

Obtain formal acceptance of deliverables from the customer.

Question 6

In a large-scale project, the project manager notices that sprint velocity has been declining over the last three sprints. The team is demotivated and blaming each other for missed commitments. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop improvement actions. The first step in addressing declining sprint velocity and team demotivation is to facilitate a retrospective. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving, allowing the team to identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements) and co-create improvement actions, which restores ownership and morale.

Answer

Reassign tasks to the highest-performing team members

Answer

Replace the Scrum Master with a more experienced one

Answer

Meet with the product owner to reduce the scope of upcoming sprints

Question 7

Two senior developers on your project have a heated disagreement about the technical approach for implementing a key feature. They both have strong arguments, and the conflict is delaying the sprint. As the project manager, what is the BEST first step to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives before facilitating a joint discussion. It follows the PMI conflict resolution principle of 'collaborate/problem-solve' by first gathering individual perspectives privately before facilitating a joint discussion. This approach ensures each developer feels heard, reduces emotional tension, and allows the project manager to identify the underlying technical merits of each argument without group bias. It is the best first step because it addresses the root cause of the conflict—differing technical opinions—before attempting any resolution or escalation.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Answer

Tell the developers to set aside their differences and move forward with the current plan

Answer

Choose the approach that aligns with the project's objectives and instruct the team to implement it

Question 8

During a sprint retrospective, a team member complains that the daily standups are too long and unproductive. Several others agree. What is the BEST action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Ask the team to propose improvements to the standup format and agree on changes. The Scrum Master serves the team as a facilitator and coach, not a directive manager. When the team raises a process concern, the BEST action is to empower the team to self-organize and solve the problem collaboratively. Asking the team to propose improvements and agree on changes respects Scrum's principle of self-management and ensures the solution is owned by those who must follow it. This approach also addresses the root cause (unproductive format) rather than imposing a superficial fix.

Answer

Enforce a strict 15-minute timebox for future standups

Answer

Cancel the daily standups and replace them with written status reports

Answer

Move the standup to a later time when team members are more focused

Question 9

During project execution, a key stakeholder repeatedly bypasses the formal communication channels and directly contacts team members for status updates. This is causing confusion and rework. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the stakeholder to understand their concerns and reiterate the agreed process. Option C is correct because meeting with the stakeholder to understand their underlying concerns and then reiterating the agreed communication process addresses the root cause of the bypassing while restoring adherence to the plan. Option D is correct because reinforcing the communication management plan and explaining why following it matters directly re-establishes the formal channels that the stakeholder is circumventing, reducing confusion and rework. Option A is wrong because ignoring the behavior allows the confusion and rework to continue and undermines the communication plan. Option B is wrong because blocking access is punitive, damages the stakeholder relationship, and is not a legitimate stakeholder engagement technique. Option E is wrong because escalating to the sponsor should be a last resort after direct engagement, not the first response to a stakeholder communication issue.

Answer

Ignore the behavior as it is not causing major issues

Answer

Block the stakeholder's access to team members until they comply

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to enforce compliance

Question 10

A key stakeholder has been bypassing the project manager and giving direct instructions to team members, causing confusion about priorities. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the stakeholder to discuss the importance of following the communication plan.. The first step in resolving stakeholder interference is to address the issue directly with the stakeholder through a meeting, reinforcing the communication plan established during project planning. This aligns with PMI's principle of proactive stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution at the lowest appropriate level, ensuring clarity on roles and reporting structures without escalating prematurely.

Answer

Update the stakeholder management plan to include this stakeholder.

Answer

Report the stakeholder's behavior to the project sponsor.

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore any instructions from the stakeholder.

Question 11

A new team member joins a high-performing agile team. The existing team members are concerned that the new member's pace is slower. What should the project manager do to integrate the new member effectively?

Accepted Answer

Pair the new member with a senior team member for mentoring and knowledge sharing. Pairing the new member with a senior team member leverages mentoring and knowledge sharing, which aligns with agile principles of collaboration and continuous learning. This approach helps the new member ramp up efficiently while maintaining team cohesion and velocity, as the senior member can provide real-time guidance on the team's coding standards, architecture, and workflow.

Answer

Assign less complex tasks to the new member until they catch up

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to compensate

Answer

Extend the sprint duration to give the new member more time

Question 12

You are managing a project using a hybrid approach. The team has a mix of senior and junior members. A senior developer is consistently dominating pair programming sessions, leaving the junior developer passive. The junior's performance is declining. What is the BEST action?

Accepted Answer

Coach the senior developer on effective mentoring techniques and the importance of allowing the junior to contribute. The root cause is the senior developer's behavior, not the junior's ability. Coaching the senior on effective mentoring techniques addresses the imbalance directly, fostering a collaborative environment where the junior can actively participate and learn. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and team development in a hybrid approach, where pair programming relies on balanced contribution for knowledge transfer and code quality.

Answer

Ask the junior developer to speak up more during pairing

Answer

Reassign the junior developer to work independently on simpler tasks

Answer

Pair the junior developer with a different senior developer

Question 13

You are managing a project to upgrade a company's network infrastructure. The project is on schedule, but you discover that the network cables purchased do not meet the required specifications. The procurement team bought a cheaper alternative without your knowledge. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Document the non-conformance and assess the impact on quality and project objectives. The first step in quality management when a non-conformance is discovered is to document it and assess its impact on quality and project objectives. This aligns with the PMBOK principle of 'Manage Quality' and 'Control Quality' — you must understand the scope of the problem before deciding on corrective action. Documenting the non-conformance creates a record for change control and ensures the project team can evaluate options such as rework, replacement, or acceptance with a waiver.

Answer

Report the procurement team to the legal department for breach of contract

Answer

Continue using the cables if they are cheaper and seem to work in tests

Answer

Ignore the issue since the project is on schedule and the cables are already purchased

Question 14

You are the project manager for a multinational project with team members from diverse cultural backgrounds. You notice that some team members are hesitant to speak up during meetings due to cultural norms. Which TWO actions would best foster an inclusive environment?

Accepted Answer

Use round-robin or other structured techniques to ensure each person has an opportunity to contribute. Structured techniques like round-robin ensure every team member has an equal opportunity to contribute, directly addressing cultural norms where speaking up unprompted is discouraged. This method creates a safe, predictable space for participation without putting individuals on the spot, fostering inclusivity by respecting diverse communication styles.

Answer

Provide language training to non-native speakers

Answer

Require each team member to speak at least once per meeting

Answer

Encourage open discussion and let the most vocal members lead

Question 15

A project team member, who is a key technical expert, has been consistently missing deadlines. The project manager has already discussed the issue informally, but performance has not improved. What should the project manager do next?

Accepted Answer

Have a formal meeting to discuss the issue and create a performance improvement plan. After informal discussions have failed, the project manager should follow a structured performance management process. Having a formal meeting to discuss the issue and create a performance improvement plan (PIP) documents the problem, sets clear expectations, and provides a timeline for improvement, which aligns with the PMI's emphasis on addressing performance issues systematically before considering escalation or replacement.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the team member's functional manager

Answer

Replace the team member with a more reliable resource

Answer

Assign a mentor to help the team member catch up on missed deadlines