PMP Practice Test 47 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a large, distributed project using a hybrid methodology. The team is experiencing communication breakdowns and conflict between onshore and offshore members. Which THREE actions should you take to improve team collaboration and performance? (Choose three)

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

Accepted Answer

Establish regular video conference meetings for synchronous collaboration. Option A is correct because regular video conference meetings provide synchronous, high-bandwidth communication that lets distributed onshore and offshore members read tone, body language, and nuance, which directly reduces the misunderstandings driving the conflict. Option C is correct because a team charter codifies agreed-upon communication norms—such as response times, preferred channels, meeting cadence, and escalation paths—giving the hybrid team a shared, explicit set of behavioral expectations that prevents breakdowns. Option E is correct because publicly celebrating team milestones and individual achievements builds trust, motivation, and a shared identity across locations, counteracting the us-versus-them dynamic between onshore and offshore members. Option B is not correct because splitting the team into separate onshore and offshore sub-teams with their own leads reinforces silos and worsens the communication breakdown rather than improving collaboration. Option D is not correct because simply increasing the frequency of status reporting adds administrative overhead and one-way information flow without addressing the underlying communication norms, trust, or interaction quality.

Answer

Separate the team into onshore and offshore sub-teams with their own leads

Answer

Increase the frequency of status reporting

Question 2

During a project, a new regulation is introduced that will affect the project's deliverables. The regulation is mandatory and will require changes to the scope. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact of the regulation on scope, schedule, and cost, and then initiate a change request.. When a mandatory regulation impacts project deliverables, the project manager must first analyze the impact on scope, schedule, and cost to understand the full implications. This analysis provides the data needed to initiate a formal change request through the integrated change control process, ensuring the change is evaluated, approved, and documented before implementation. Option C correctly follows the PMBOK Guide's sequence of assess, then request change, rather than jumping to implementation or notification without analysis.

Answer

Update the risk register with the regulation as a new risk.

Answer

Inform the sponsor that the project will be delayed due to the new regulation.

Answer

Immediately implement the changes to comply with the regulation.

Question 3

During a project, an executive stakeholder bypasses you and directly assigns work to your team members. This has caused confusion and rework. What is the best action for you to take?

Accepted Answer

Speak directly to the executive and explain the impact of bypassing the project manager. The best action is to speak directly to the executive and explain the impact of bypassing the project manager, as this addresses the root cause through direct communication and preserves the relationship. This aligns with PMP principles of stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution. It also reinforces the project manager's authority and the agreed communication protocols.

Answer

Instruct the team to ignore any direct requests from the executive

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Escalate the issue to the sponsor without talking to the executive first

Answer

Update the communications management plan to prohibit direct stakeholder-to-team communication

Question 4

A project team is using a deployment tool to release an application. The deployment failed with an error indicating that a required component is missing from the target environment. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

A necessary environment configuration is missing or not specified in the deployment settings.. The error indicates a missing prerequisite in the deployment environment. This most commonly occurs when the environment's required configuration (such as a default resource or connectivity setup) is either absent or not explicitly specified in the deployment settings, causing the tool to fail.

Answer

The deployment environment is not compatible with the selected resource type.

Answer

The access credentials for the environment are invalid.

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The specified resource identifier is incorrect.

Question 5

A project team member from a different cultural background tends to avoid direct confrontation during disagreements, which frustrates other team members who prefer direct communication. As the project manager, which TWO actions should you take to improve team dynamics?

Accepted Answer

Introduce anonymous feedback tools for sensitive issues.. Option A is correct because anonymous feedback tools give team members from cultures that avoid direct confrontation a safe, low-risk channel to raise sensitive issues, which reduces the friction caused by differing communication norms while still surfacing problems to the project manager. Option D is correct because facilitating a team session on cultural diversity and communication preferences builds mutual awareness of different styles, letting the team agree on shared norms (for example, how and when to disagree) rather than forcing one cultural style on everyone. Option B is not appropriate because simply telling frustrated members to accept the differences dismisses their concerns and does nothing to establish workable team communication norms. Option C is wrong because requiring everyone to adopt direct communication styles imposes one culture's norms on the whole team and can further alienate or silence the member who avoids confrontation. Option E is wrong because this is a normal cross-cultural team dynamic that the project manager should address directly through facilitation, not escalate to HR as a formal complaint.

Answer

Tell the frustrated team members to accept the differences.

Answer

Require all team members to adopt direct communication styles.

Answer

Report the issue to human resources.

Question 6

A project team is distributed across three time zones. Communication delays are causing misunderstandings and rework. What is the BEST way to improve team collaboration?

Accepted Answer

Create a team charter that defines communication protocols and core overlap hours. A team charter that defines communication protocols and core overlap hours directly addresses the root cause of misunderstandings and rework by establishing clear expectations for how and when the team will communicate. In a distributed team, ambiguity around response times, preferred channels, and availability leads to delays and errors. By codifying core overlap hours, the team ensures real-time collaboration is possible daily, while protocols reduce ad-hoc, inconsistent communication. This is a proactive, inclusive approach that respects time zone differences and empowers the team to self-organize, aligning with PMP principles of team empowerment and ground rules.

Answer

Require all team members to work the same hours

Answer

Assign a single point of contact in each time zone

Answer

Implement a daily status report via email

Question 7

An executive stakeholder has been bypassing you and directly assigning tasks to team members. The team is confused about priorities and some tasks conflict with the project plan. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting with the executive to discuss the impact of bypassing the project manager. Option B is correct because a private, non-confrontational meeting with the executive is the professional way to surface the issue, explain how direct task assignments disrupt priorities, and negotiate a workable escalation and communication path. Option C is correct because revisiting and reinforcing the project communication plan gives all stakeholders an agreed, documented channel for requests and task assignments, preventing future bypassing. Option E is correct because clarifying roles and responsibilities with the team—specifically that assignments flow through the project manager—restores a single prioritization authority and reduces confusion about conflicting tasks. Option A is not appropriate because publicly correcting an executive in a team meeting damages the relationship and escalates conflict rather than resolving it. Option D is not appropriate because ignoring the situation allows priority conflicts and plan deviations to continue unchecked, which is a failure of the project manager's integration and communication duties.

Answer

Publicly remind the executive during a team meeting to follow the communication plan

Answer

Ignore the situation and let the team sort out priorities

Question 8

You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers, Maria and John, have a disagreement about the technical approach for implementing a critical feature. Their conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Meet privately with Maria and John to understand each perspective and facilitate a resolution. As the project manager using a hybrid approach, your first responsibility is to address the conflict directly by understanding each developer's perspective and facilitating a collaborative resolution. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and conflict management, ensuring that technical decisions are made based on merit and team consensus rather than authority or voting, which could undermine team cohesion and the hybrid model's flexibility.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the functional manager to resolve the technical disagreement

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Tell the team to vote on the technical approach and proceed with the majority decision

Answer

Reassign one of the developers to a different task to reduce friction

Question 9

A project manager is developing the project schedule and wants to determine the critical path. The activity network diagram shows multiple paths. Which technique should the project manager use?

Accepted Answer

Critical Path Method (CPM). The Critical Path Method (CPM) is the correct technique because it is specifically designed to identify the longest path through a project's activity network diagram, which determines the shortest possible project duration. By calculating early start, early finish, late start, and late finish dates for each activity, CPM reveals which activities have zero float and thus constitute the critical path. This directly answers the project manager's goal of determining the critical path from the network diagram.

Answer

Resource leveling

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Gantt chart

Answer

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

Question 10

During project execution, a key stakeholder requests a feature that is not in the scope. The project manager analyzes the request and determines it would add significant business value but also increase risk. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Initiate a change request and present the trade-offs to the change control board.. The PMBOK Guide mandates that any out-of-scope feature must go through the formal change control process. By initiating a change request, the project manager documents the trade-offs (business value vs. increased risk) and lets the Change Control Board (CCB) make an informed decision, ensuring alignment with project governance and stakeholder expectations.

Answer

Reject the request to avoid scope creep.

Answer

Accept the request and manage the risk with a contingency plan.

Answer

Ignore the request because it is out of scope.

Question 11

You are leading a project to develop a new product. The marketing department requests a last-minute change that would increase the project's scope significantly. The project is on track and within budget. Which TWO actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board. Any change that significantly increases scope must go through the formal change control process, even if the project is on track. The project manager must submit a change request to the Change Control Board (CCB) for evaluation and approval, ensuring proper governance and alignment with project objectives.

Answer

Reject the change because the project is on track

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Incorporate the change to satisfy the marketing department

Question 12

A project manager is conducting a lessons learned workshop at project closure. The team identifies that the project's success was hindered by unclear requirements and lack of stakeholder engagement. Which THREE actions should the PM recommend to improve future projects?

Accepted Answer

Involve stakeholders earlier in the requirements gathering process. Options A, D, and E are correct because they directly address the root causes identified in the lessons learned: unclear requirements and lack of stakeholder engagement. Involving stakeholders earlier (A) ensures their input is captured, reducing ambiguity. A clear decision-making framework with documented decisions (D) provides accountability and clarity. A formal requirements traceability matrix (E) links requirements to deliverables, ensuring nothing is missed. Option B is incorrect as simply increasing the budget doesn't fix requirement or engagement issues. Option C is counterproductive as reducing meetings likely worsens communication.

Answer

Increase the budget for future projects

Answer

Reduce the number of meetings to save time

Question 13

Your project is developing a new mobile app using Scrum. The team has consistently delivered 30 story points per sprint for the last three sprints. Suddenly, velocity drops to 20 story points in the current sprint. The team members report that they are spending extra time fixing defects from previous sprints. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes of defects and implement process improvements. A sudden velocity drop caused by rework from prior-sprint defects is a systemic process problem, and Scrum prescribes the retrospective as the inspect-and-adapt ceremony for exactly this. The Scrum Master/coach should facilitate a retrospective to surface root causes (e.g., insufficient testing, unclear acceptance criteria, technical debt) and drive process improvements. Addressing the cause preserves sustainable pace and quality rather than masking the symptom.

Answer

Reduce the definition of done to lower the quality bar

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Add more developers to the team to increase velocity

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Ask the team to work overtime to catch up

Question 14

A project manager is reviewing lessons learned from a completed project. The project delivered on time and on budget but did not achieve the expected market share increase. Which document would most likely explain this discrepancy?

Accepted Answer

Benefits realization plan. The benefits realization plan defines how and when the project's expected benefits (such as market share increase) will be achieved and measured. Since the project delivered on time and on budget but missed the market share target, the benefits realization plan would contain the specific metrics, assumptions, and measurement methods that explain why the expected business value was not realized despite successful delivery.

Answer

Work breakdown structure

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Project charter

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Risk register

Question 15

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. Option B is correct because when a significant cost variance threatens the budget, the project manager must transparently present the variance along with a corrective action plan to the sponsor, who is the key stakeholder responsible for approving budget-related decisions. Option E is correct because reviewing the cost baseline and calculating the Estimate at Completion (EAC) provides an accurate forecast of the final project cost, which is essential for informed decision-making and for communicating the true financial impact to the sponsor. Options A, C, and D are not appropriate: requesting additional budget immediately (A) without first analyzing the situation and proposing corrective actions is premature; using management reserve without informing the sponsor (C) violates governance and transparency requirements; and reducing scope (D) is a scope change that requires formal approval and should not be done unilaterally to fix a budget problem.

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