PMP Practice Test 50 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your multinational project has team members in three time zones. The daily standup is held at 9 AM EST, but the Asia team complains it is 9 PM for them. The standup is becoming ineffective. Which TWO actions should you take to improve the situation?

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

Accepted Answer

Rotate the standup time to different time zones each sprint. Rotating the standup time shares the inconvenience across time zones, promoting fairness and team cohesion. Option D is correct because an asynchronous update via a shared tool allows team members who cannot attend the live standup to still provide and receive status updates, maintaining communication without requiring real-time attendance. Option B is incorrect because canceling the standup eliminates a key daily coordination event, reducing team alignment and collaboration. Option C is incorrect because holding separate standups for different regions silos information, leading to reduced transparency and potential misalignment. Option E is incorrect because requiring the Asia team to attend at 9 PM disregards work-life balance, likely causing dissatisfaction and disengagement.

Answer

Cancel the standup and rely on email updates

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Hold two separate standups: one for Americas and one for Asia

Answer

Require the Asia team to attend at 9 PM despite the inconvenience

Question 2

During a sprint review, the product owner expresses dissatisfaction with the delivered increment because it does not meet their expectations. The team followed the agreed-upon acceptance criteria. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and the team to clarify expectations and update the acceptance criteria for next sprint. The project manager's role in an Agile framework is to facilitate collaboration and ensure alignment between the product owner and the development team. Since the team met the agreed acceptance criteria, the gap is in the product owner's expectations, which must be clarified through direct conversation. Updating the acceptance criteria for the next sprint ensures future increments align with the product owner's vision without redoing work that was technically correct.

Answer

Inform the product owner that the work meets the agreed criteria and cannot be changed

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

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Ask the team to redo the work to meet the product owner's unstated expectations

Question 3

A key vendor has informed you that they cannot deliver a critical component for another two weeks, which will delay your project. The component is on the critical path. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register and review the response plan for this risk. The first action when a known risk materializes is to consult the risk register and execute the pre-defined response plan. Since the vendor delay is a risk that was likely identified and documented, updating the register and reviewing the planned response ensures a structured, data-driven approach rather than a reactive one. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on implementing risk responses as the immediate next step after risk occurrence.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to make up for the delay

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Penalize the vendor as per the contract

Answer

Immediately notify the sponsor and request a schedule extension

Question 4

Your project uses a hybrid approach with a fixed-price contract. Midway through, the client requests a significant scope change that would increase project duration by two months. The project manager has assessed the impact and believes the change is beneficial. However, the sponsor is reluctant because of the schedule extension. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Prepare a change request with impact analysis and submit it to the CCB for approval.. In a hybrid project with a fixed-price contract, any scope change must follow the formal change control process. The project manager has assessed the change as beneficial, but the sponsor's reluctance requires a documented impact analysis to enable an informed decision by the Change Control Board (CCB). Submitting a formal change request ensures contractual compliance, protects against scope creep, and provides a clear audit trail, which is critical when the schedule extension affects fixed-price terms.

Answer

Negotiate with the client to drop another requirement to keep the schedule.

Answer

Accept the change informally and adjust the schedule to accommodate it.

Answer

Reject the request because it will delay the project and risk penalties.

Question 5

Your project is in the planning phase, and you are building a virtual team across five countries. Which THREE factors are most important to address to ensure high team performance? (Choose THREE)

Accepted Answer

Conducting virtual team-building activities to foster trust. Option A is correct because virtual team-building activities deliberately build trust and interpersonal relationships, which are otherwise weakened by the lack of face-to-face interaction across five countries and are essential for high performance. Option D is correct because selecting collaboration tools that accommodate time zone differences (e.g., asynchronous messaging, shared repositories, and scheduling features) keeps distributed members productive without forcing inconvenient real-time meetings. Option E is correct because a team charter with clear norms and expectations establishes agreed communication protocols, roles, decision-making, and working hours, reducing ambiguity in a cross-cultural virtual team. Option B does not belong because identical technical certifications are not required for team performance and are irrelevant to the planning-phase factors that drive collaboration. Option C does not belong because a shared project calendar, while useful, is a single tactical artifact and is subsumed by the broader tooling and charter decisions rather than being one of the most important factors.

Answer

Ensuring all team members have the same technical certifications

Answer

Creating a shared project calendar

Question 6

You are managing a project where a key stakeholder requests a scope change that would add significant value but also increase risk and cost. Which TWO actions should you take FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Document the change request and submit it through the change control process. The PMBOK Guide requires that all scope changes be formally documented and submitted through the change control process, regardless of perceived value. This ensures traceability, stakeholder alignment, and proper evaluation before any action is taken. Option C is correct because analyzing the impact on scope, schedule, cost, and risk is a mandatory step within the integrated change control process to inform the decision-making body (e.g., CCB).

Answer

Reject the change because it introduces additional risk

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Accept the change because it adds value to the project

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Update the project baseline to include the new scope

Question 7

During project closure, the customer is satisfied with the deliverables and has signed off. However, the project team has not completed the lessons learned documentation. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Document the lessons learned based on your own observations and interview key stakeholders. Options C and E are correct because lessons learned should be documented as part of project closure. While the customer has signed off, the project is not fully closed until administrative closure is complete, which includes capturing lessons learned. Option C allows you to gather lessons learned through your own observations and interviews, ensuring key knowledge is captured even if the team hasn't completed documentation. Option E involves facilitating a session with the team, which is the best practice for comprehensive knowledge capture before final closure. Options A and D are incorrect because they ignore or postpone lessons learned, missing the opportunity for organizational improvement. Option B is incorrect as delaying closure solely for lessons learned is inefficient; closure can proceed while lessons learned are collected in parallel.

Answer

Proceed to close the project and archive the documents without lessons learned

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Delay project closure until lessons learned are completed

Answer

Close the project and submit lessons learned later

Question 8

Your project team includes members from diverse cultural backgrounds. During a team meeting, you notice that some members are not speaking up, while others dominate the conversation. The meeting is not productive. What should the project manager do to promote inclusion and improve meeting effectiveness?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to create team norms that include respectful communication and equal opportunity to speak. Establishing team norms through a facilitated session directly addresses the root cause of unproductive meetings—lack of agreed-upon communication protocols. This aligns with the PMP's 'People' domain, specifically leading diverse teams by creating a psychologically safe environment where all members have equal opportunity to contribute. The project manager uses facilitation skills to co-create rules that respect cultural differences, which is more sustainable than top-down mandates.

Answer

Assign each team member a specific time to speak during meetings

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Continue with the current approach and hope the team adapts over time

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Ask the dominant members to refrain from speaking and encourage the quiet members to contribute

Question 9

A project manager discovers that a team member has been working overtime for weeks to meet a deadline. The team member appears stressed and burnt out. The project manager is concerned about the team member's well-being and the sustainability of the project. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting to discuss the workload, express concern, and explore options for support or reprioritization. It aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and proactive stakeholder management. By scheduling a private meeting, the project manager demonstrates empathy, addresses the root cause of burnout, and collaboratively explores solutions like reprioritization or resource reallocation, which sustains both team well-being and project delivery.

Answer

Increase the project budget to hire additional help immediately

Answer

Warn the team member that overtime is not sustainable and require them to stop

Answer

Ignore the situation as long as deadlines are met

Question 10

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The sponsor asks you to cut costs by reducing the testing phase. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the budget variance and propose alternative cost-saving measures that minimize impact on quality. As a project manager, your primary responsibility is to manage the project constraints while protecting the project's value. Reducing the testing phase without analysis could introduce significant quality risks, leading to rework or failure. Instead, you should analyze the budget variance to identify root causes and propose alternative cost-saving measures that minimize impact on quality, such as optimizing resource allocation or renegotiating vendor contracts.

Answer

Implement a 10% across-the-board cost reduction on all activities

Answer

Submit a change request to increase the budget

Answer

Agree to reduce testing as requested to stay within budget

Question 11

A project manager is leading a software development project using Scrum. The product owner frequently changes priorities mid-sprint, causing the team to lose focus. What should the project manager do to address this?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner on the importance of stable sprint goals and managing changes through the product backlog. In Scrum, the product owner owns the backlog and its ordering, but sprint scope should remain stable once the sprint begins so the team can meet its sprint goal. The project manager (or Scrum Master) should coach the product owner on this principle and on managing new priorities through backlog refinement rather than mid-sprint disruption. This preserves the empirical process and protects the team's focus.

Answer

Ask the sponsor to replace the product owner

Answer

Let the product owner continue because they have authority over priorities

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Instruct the team to accept all changes as they come

Question 12

In an agile project, the team's velocity has dropped across three consecutive sprints. The project manager suspects that technical debt is causing slowdowns. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify impediments and create an action plan. In agile projects, declining velocity is a team-level signal best addressed through the retrospective, where the team itself identifies impediments such as accumulating technical debt and agrees on corrective actions. The PM's role is to facilitate this inspection-and-adaptation cycle rather than impose solutions. A retrospective directly targets the root cause by surfacing what is slowing the team down and producing a concrete improvement plan.

Answer

Replace the underperforming team members

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to give the team more time

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Report the velocity drop to the sponsor immediately

Question 13

You are managing a project where a key team member has been consistently missing deadlines. This has caused delays in dependent tasks. The team member has good technical skills but seems overloaded. What is the best course of action for the project manager?

Accepted Answer

Have a one-on-one meeting with the team member to discuss the challenges and offer support.. The PM should first understand the root cause of the missed deadlines. Option B is correct because it addresses the issue through communication and support.

Answer

Formally document the missed deadlines and issue a warning to the team member.

Answer

Reassign the team member's tasks to others to avoid further delays.

Answer

Replace the team member with a more productive resource.

Question 14

Your project team is co-located, but you notice that collaboration has decreased recently. Team members are working in silos, and communication is minimal. You suspect the team is not functioning as a high-performing team. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting to create or revise the team charter with collaboration norms. The team charter establishes shared expectations for collaboration, communication, and conflict resolution. Since the team is co-located but working in silos, the first step is to revisit or create the team charter to realign norms and rebuild a collaborative culture, which directly addresses the root cause of decreased collaboration.

Answer

Organize a team-building event to improve relationships

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Assign specific roles and responsibilities to each team member

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

Question 15

A team member has been consistently underperforming, missing deadlines, and delivering low-quality work. You have had informal conversations but no improvement. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Document the performance issues and initiate a formal performance improvement plan. After informal conversations have failed to resolve performance issues, the next step in progressive discipline is to formally document the issues and implement a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). This aligns with the PMI People domain, which emphasizes addressing performance gaps through structured, documented processes before considering escalation or removal.

Answer

Immediately escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Terminate the team member's assignment to the project

Answer

Reassign the team member to a less critical role on the project