PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A key stakeholder insists on bypassing the change control process and demands that a minor scope change be implemented immediately to meet a regulatory deadline. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the importance of the change control process and initiate a change request. The correct answer is A because the project manager must uphold the change control process to ensure all changes, even minor ones, are properly evaluated for impact on scope, schedule, cost, and quality. Bypassing the process could lead to undocumented changes that violate regulatory compliance or introduce risks. Initiating a change request allows the stakeholder's urgent need to be formally assessed and approved through the proper governance framework.

Answer

Implement the change and document it later

Answer

Refuse the request outright, stating that no changes are allowed

Answer

Comply with the stakeholder's request to maintain a good relationship

Question 2

Your project team is newly formed, and you notice that members are hesitant to share ideas during meetings. To build a high-performing team, what should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Encourage the team to develop a team charter that defines norms and expectations. A is correct because a team charter is a foundational tool in project management that establishes shared norms, expectations, and ground rules. By collaboratively developing the charter, the team builds psychological safety and clarity, which directly addresses the hesitation to share ideas. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on forming a high-performing team through agreed-upon behaviors and communication protocols.

Answer

Assign a note-taker to record all ideas

Answer

Tell the team that all ideas are welcome and no one will be judged

Answer

Start each meeting with an icebreaker

Question 3

A project is in execution phase, and a team member consistently misses deadlines, impacting the critical path. The project manager has had informal conversations, but the behavior continues. What should the project manager do next?

Accepted Answer

Initiate the formal performance management process as per organizational policy. Option B is correct because once informal coaching has failed to correct a performance issue that impacts the critical path, the project manager must escalate to the formal performance management process as defined in the organizational policy. This ensures due process, documentation, and alignment with HR and legal requirements, protecting both the project and the organization.

Answer

Reassign the team member to a less critical task

Answer

Ignore the issue and hope it resolves on its own

Answer

Replace the team member with a new resource

Question 4

During a sprint review, the product owner expresses dissatisfaction with the feature delivered, stating it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The team disagrees, claiming it meets the definition of done. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with the product owner and the team to review the acceptance criteria and define done. Clarifying expectations by reviewing the acceptance criteria together resolves the misunderstanding and aligns both parties.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Answer

Support the team's position and ask the product owner to accept the deliverable

Answer

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

Question 5

You are managing a virtual team where members are in different time zones. Some team members feel left out of decision-making because meetings are scheduled at times convenient for the majority. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Rotate meeting times to accommodate different time zones periodically. Option D is correct because rotating meeting times periodically ensures equitable access to synchronous decision-making for all team members, directly addressing the core issue of inclusion in a virtual team with diverse time zones. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and stakeholder engagement by proactively mitigating the negative impact of time zone differences on team cohesion and participation.

Answer

Schedule all meetings during the time zone of the project manager

Answer

Record meetings and ask those who cannot attend to comment later

Answer

Use asynchronous communication tools for all decisions

Question 6

The project sponsor asks you to skip the quality testing phase to meet an aggressive deadline, arguing that the team is experienced and can deliver without it. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and propose alternatives such as reducing scope or extending the schedule. Option C is correct because as a project manager, you must balance the sponsor's request with your ethical duty to deliver a quality product. Skipping quality testing introduces significant risk of defects and rework, which could ultimately delay the project further. By explaining these risks and proposing alternatives like reducing scope or extending the schedule, you demonstrate proactive leadership and adherence to the PMI Code of Ethics, specifically the responsibility to make data-driven decisions.

Answer

Comply with the sponsor's request to avoid conflict

Answer

Refuse the request and insist on following the original plan

Answer

Agree to skip testing but document the sponsor's request for future reference

Question 7

A new team member joins your agile project. They have no experience with Scrum and seem overwhelmed. What should you do to onboard them effectively?

Accepted Answer

Assign them a mentor and provide training on agile principles. Option B is correct because onboarding a new team member with no Scrum experience requires a structured approach that combines mentorship with formal training on agile principles. This ensures they understand the Scrum framework, roles, events, and artifacts, which is critical for them to contribute effectively and reduce overwhelm. Simply pairing them for coding tasks (A) or leaving them to observe (D) neglects the foundational knowledge needed to participate in Scrum ceremonies and collaborate with the team.

Answer

Pair them with a senior developer only for coding tasks

Answer

Give them the project documentation and ask them to read it

Answer

Let them learn by observing the team for the first few sprints

Question 8

During a project, you discover that a team member is being excluded from social interactions by others because of cultural differences. The team member has not complained, but you sense low morale. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Organize a team session on cultural awareness and inclusion. Option A is correct because the PMBOK Guide emphasizes proactive leadership in fostering an inclusive team environment. By organizing a cultural awareness session, you address the root cause of exclusion without waiting for a formal complaint, which aligns with the 'Servant Leadership' principle and the 'Manage Team' process. This approach prevents escalation and improves team cohesion, directly tackling low morale.

Answer

Reprimand the team members who are excluding the individual

Answer

Ignore it since no one has complained

Answer

Speak privately with the team member to see if they are bothered

Question 9

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The team is motivated, but the sponsor is concerned. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a variance analysis to identify the reasons for the overspend. Understanding the root cause of the variance is essential before taking corrective action. Option C involves analyzing the variance to determine if it's a trend or one-time issue.

Answer

Immediately reduce team resources to cut costs

Answer

Request the team to work overtime without additional pay

Answer

Ask the sponsor for additional funding

Question 10

Your project team is experiencing low sprint velocity for three consecutive sprints. The team cites unclear requirements and frequent interruptions. Which TWO actions should you take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Implement a policy to minimize interruptions during the sprint. Improving backlog refinement and limiting work-in-progress are effective agile practices to increase velocity and reduce interruptions.

Answer

Add more team members to the sprint

Answer

Replace underperforming team members

Answer

Increase the sprint length to give the team more time

Question 11

A key vendor informs you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time, which will delay the project. You need to decide on next steps. Which THREE actions are most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Update the project management plan with the new delivery date. Updating the project management plan with the new delivery date is correct because it formally documents the revised schedule baseline, which is a key output of the integrated change control process. This ensures all project artifacts reflect the current reality, enabling accurate tracking and communication. Without this update, the plan becomes obsolete and misaligns with actual project execution.

Answer

Ask the team to work overtime to compensate for the delay

Answer

Immediately terminate the vendor contract

Question 12

You are leading a distributed agile team. Team members have expressed that they feel disconnected and unclear about project goals. Which THREE actions should you take to improve team cohesion and alignment?

Accepted Answer

Use video conferencing for all team meetings to enhance personal connection. Option C is correct because video conferencing adds a visual and non-verbal communication layer that significantly improves personal connection in distributed teams. This aligns with agile principles of face-to-face communication and helps reduce the sense of isolation, directly addressing the team's feeling of disconnection.

Answer

Reduce the frequency of team meetings to give more time for work

Answer

Implement a daily status email from each team member

Question 13

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, two senior developers get into a heated argument about the technical design of a feature. The argument is causing tension and delaying the review. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Intervene calmly, acknowledge both viewpoints, and suggest discussing the matter offline after the review. Option B is correct because the immediate priority is to de-escalate the conflict and allow the review to continue. A PM should address the conflict privately after the meeting to avoid public embarrassment and to facilitate a constructive discussion. Option A is wrong because it delays resolution and may escalate the issue. Option C is wrong because it escalates prematurely without giving the team a chance to resolve. Option D is wrong because it ignores the conflict, which can fester.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution

Answer

End the meeting early and schedule a separate session to resolve the conflict

Answer

Ignore the argument and continue the review, hoping it resolves on its own

Question 14

You are leading a globally distributed agile team. During the daily stand-up, you notice that the team member in India consistently speaks little compared to others, while the US-based members dominate the conversation. What should you do to foster inclusion?

Accepted Answer

Implement a round-robin format where each team member shares updates in turn. Option B is correct because implementing a round-robin format ensures equitable participation by structurally requiring each team member to speak in turn, directly addressing the imbalance caused by time zone and cultural differences. This technique fosters inclusion by removing the dominance of louder voices and giving the quieter team member a dedicated, safe opportunity to contribute, which aligns with the agile principle of self-organizing teams and the PMI Talent Triangle's emphasis on leadership and team management.

Answer

Let the team continue as is, as it is a natural dynamic

Answer

Ask the quiet team member directly why they are not speaking

Answer

Reduce the frequency of the daily stand-up to once a week

Question 15

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The sponsor asks you to skip the testing phase in the next sprint to save costs. The project follows a hybrid approach with both predictive and agile elements. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Perform a cost-benefit analysis and present alternative cost-saving measures to the sponsor. Option C is correct because, as a project manager, you must balance cost constraints with quality and risk. Skipping testing entirely introduces unacceptable technical debt and quality risks, especially in a hybrid project where testing is a critical control point. Performing a cost-benefit analysis allows you to objectively evaluate the impact of skipping testing and present data-driven alternatives, such as reducing test coverage in low-risk areas or deferring non-critical tests, while maintaining the integrity of the deliverable.

Answer

Reduce the scope of testing but not eliminate it entirely

Answer

Inform the sponsor that testing cannot be skipped under any circumstances

Answer

Agree to skip testing to meet the sponsor's request