PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a sprint, you observe that a team member is consistently underperforming, missing tasks, and producing low-quality work. They have been a reliable performer in the past. What should you do FIRST?

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

Accepted Answer

Have a private, empathetic conversation with the team member to understand any personal or professional challenges. The first step in addressing a sudden performance decline from a previously reliable team member is to have a private, empathetic conversation to uncover root causes. This aligns with the PMP's servant leadership approach, which prioritizes understanding personal or professional challenges before taking corrective action. Jumping to documentation or reassignment without this dialogue violates the principle of leading with empathy and could damage trust and team morale.

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Escalate the issue to the functional manager for disciplinary action

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Formally document the underperformance and initiate a performance improvement plan

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Reassign their tasks to other team members to maintain sprint velocity

Question 2

Your project uses a hybrid approach. The team has been working remotely for six months, and you notice a decline in collaboration and an increase in misunderstandings. What is the BEST action to improve team cohesion?

Accepted Answer

Organize virtual team-building activities and encourage video calls for key meetings. Virtual team-building activities and encouraging video calls directly address the root cause of declining collaboration and misunderstandings in a remote team. Video calls enhance non-verbal communication cues and social presence, which are critical for building trust and reducing ambiguity in a hybrid project environment. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on developing the team and using virtual collaboration tools to foster cohesion.

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Increase the frequency of status meetings

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Request that team members relocate to a central office for the remainder of the project

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Send a detailed communication protocol to all team members

Question 3

Your project team is struggling with low morale due to a heavy workload and unclear priorities. As a project manager, which TWO actions would BEST help improve team motivation? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Recognize and celebrate team achievements publicly. Option B is correct because public recognition and celebration of achievements directly addresses low morale by satisfying the team's need for appreciation and visibility, which is a well-established intrinsic motivator in project management practice. Option E is correct because the scenario explicitly cites unclear priorities as a root cause of the morale problem, so clarifying priorities and removing non-essential tasks reduces the heavy workload and gives the team focus and a sense of control. Option A is not the best choice because monetary bonuses for deadlines can create short-term compliance rather than genuine motivation and may even increase pressure and unhealthy competition. Option C, while generally good for agile teams, does not directly resolve the stated issues of heavy workload and unclear priorities. Option D is inappropriate because mandating overtime worsens burnout and low morale rather than improving motivation.

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Offer monetary bonuses for meeting deadlines

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Empower the team to self-organize and make decisions

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Ask the team to work overtime to reduce the backlog

Question 4

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)

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.

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

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Increase the frequency of status reporting

Question 5

During a project retrospective, the team identifies that unclear roles and responsibilities have caused confusion and rework. Which TWO documents or tools would BEST help address this issue? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Team charter. The team charter (A) is correct because it formally documents the team's purpose, roles, responsibilities, and operating agreements, directly resolving the ambiguity about who does what. The responsibility assignment matrix (RACI) (D) is correct because it maps each task or deliverable to specific people as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed, eliminating confusion and rework over ownership. The work breakdown structure (B) only decomposes scope into deliverables and work packages; it does not assign roles or clarify accountability. The risk register (C) tracks identified risks, their analysis, and responses, not role clarity. The project schedule (E) sequences activities and dates but does not define who is responsible for each task.

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Work breakdown structure (WBS)

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Risk register

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Project schedule

Question 6

You are the project manager for a software development project using Scrum. During the daily stand-up, two senior developers get into a heated argument about the technical approach for a user story. The sprint goal is at risk. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Ask the developers to resolve the conflict after the meeting and escalate if they cannot. The Scrum framework empowers the development team to self-organize and resolve technical disagreements. The project manager should facilitate the team's autonomy by asking the developers to resolve the conflict after the stand-up, escalating only if they cannot reach a consensus, thus protecting the sprint goal without imposing a top-down decision.

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Report the conflict to the product owner and ask for a decision

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Intervene immediately and decide the technical approach to resolve the conflict

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Cancel the stand-up and schedule a separate meeting to resolve the issue

Question 7

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.

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Require all team members to work the same hours

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Assign a single point of contact in each time zone

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Implement a daily status report via email

Question 8

Midway through a construction project, a key vendor notifies you that they cannot deliver critical steel beams on time due to a factory fire. This risk was identified and included in the risk register. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the risk response that was documented in the risk register. Since the risk was already identified and documented in the risk register, the project manager must first follow the pre-planned risk response. This ensures a structured, timely reaction without unnecessary escalation or ad-hoc decisions. Option C is correct because the risk response plan is the authoritative source for the first action when a known risk occurs.

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Contact the vendor and negotiate a new delivery date

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Immediately place an order with a backup vendor

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Inform the sponsor and ask for instructions

Question 9

A team member has been consistently missing deadlines, causing the team to pick up the slack. The PM has had informal conversations, but the behavior persists. What should the PM do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Have a private meeting to discuss performance issues and establish a performance improvement plan. The PM should first address the performance issue directly with the team member through a private meeting to discuss the missed deadlines and collaboratively establish a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). This aligns with the PMI's focus on leading the team, using conflict resolution and performance management techniques before escalating. Informal conversations have failed, so a structured PIP provides clear expectations, measurable goals, and a timeline for improvement, which is the next logical step in the progressive discipline process.

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Ignore the behavior as the team is compensating

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Escalate to human resources for immediate termination

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Reassign the team member to less critical tasks

Question 10

A project manager is leading a hybrid project. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a significant scope change that would increase the product's value. The change does not affect the project's critical path. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and evaluate the impact on cost, schedule, and resources. In a hybrid project, any scope change—even one that adds value and doesn't affect the critical path—must go through a formal change control process. The project manager should submit a change request to evaluate the full impact on cost, schedule, and resources before approval. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's integrated change control and ensures that trade-offs are understood and documented.

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Refuse the change because the scope was already agreed upon

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Ask the team to implement the change immediately since it adds value

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Add the change to the product backlog for future prioritization without formal approval

Question 11

A project manager notices that during virtual team meetings, only a few members participate actively while others remain silent. The team is diverse and geographically distributed. What technique should the PM use to encourage participation?

Accepted Answer

Create a team charter that includes meeting etiquette and expectations for participation. A team charter establishes agreed-upon norms for meeting behavior, including expectations for participation, which proactively addresses the root cause of silence in a diverse, distributed team. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on creating a team charter to define ground rules and foster a collaborative environment, especially when virtual communication challenges exist.

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Reduce the frequency of meetings to avoid overwhelming the team

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Send meeting recordings to those who don't speak

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Call on silent members individually during meetings

Question 12

An executive stakeholder bypasses the project manager and directly instructs a team member to work on a new feature not in the project scope. The team member is confused. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Tell the executive stakeholder that they must go through the PM for all requests. The project manager must first address the governance breach by directly communicating with the executive stakeholder to reinforce the established communication management plan. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle that all formal requests should flow through the project manager to maintain scope control and prevent unauthorized work. The immediate action is to clarify the process, not to escalate or submit a change request without understanding the stakeholder's intent.

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Reprimand the team member for following instructions without consulting the PM

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Instruct the team member to ignore the executive's request

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Submit a change request for the new feature

Question 13

A project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The sponsor is concerned and asks the PM to reduce costs by cutting team training and team-building activities. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the importance of these activities and propose other cost-saving measures. The PM should protect the project's long-term success by explaining the critical role of team training and team-building in maintaining performance and morale, especially when the project is under budget pressure. Cutting these activities can lead to decreased productivity, higher turnover, and ultimately greater cost overruns. The PM should propose alternative cost-saving measures that do not compromise the team's capability or the project's quality.

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Agree to cut training and team-building to meet the sponsor's request

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Reduce the project scope to cut costs

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Escalate to the PMO for a decision

Question 14

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that communication breakdowns are causing delays. They propose a new collaboration tool. The project manager supports the idea but it requires additional budget. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Evaluate the tool's cost and benefits, then submit a change request for approval. The project manager must first evaluate the cost and benefits of the proposed collaboration tool to build a business case, then submit a formal change request to the change control board (CCB) for approval. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's integrated change control process, ensuring that budget adjustments are justified and authorized before any expenditure.

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Purchase the tool using the management reserve without approval

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Ask the team to continue without the tool to save money

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Authorize the purchase using the contingency reserve

Question 15

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.

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

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Ask the team to work overtime to compensate

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Extend the sprint duration to give the new member more time