PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 13 — 15 Questions

Question 1

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?

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

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 2

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. Options B and E are correct. Recognizing and celebrating team achievements (B) directly boosts morale through positive reinforcement, a key motivator according to Herzberg's theory. Clarifying priorities and removing non-essential tasks (E) reduces confusion and workload stress, addressing the root cause of low morale. Option A (monetary bonuses) is not the best here because financial incentives are often short-term and less effective for ongoing motivation. Option C (empowering self-organization) is generally beneficial but does not directly solve the immediate issues of unclear priorities and heavy workload. Option D (overtime) would worsen morale by increasing the workload and stress.

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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 3

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. Establishing regular video conference meetings (A) is correct because it enables synchronous, face-to-face communication, which is critical for bridging cultural and time-zone gaps in distributed teams. Video conferencing reduces misunderstandings by allowing non-verbal cues and real-time clarification, directly addressing the communication breakdowns described in the scenario.

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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 4

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 5

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. Establishing a team charter with communication guidelines sets expectations for availability, response times, and meeting times, which directly addresses the issue.

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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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

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 13

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

Question 14

A project manager discovers that a team member has been taking credit for another teammate's work during stakeholder meetings. This has created tension within the team. What should the PM do?

Accepted Answer

Speak privately with the team member about the importance of recognizing others' contributions. The project manager should address the issue privately and directly with the team member, focusing on coaching and reinforcing the importance of recognizing others' contributions. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and conflict resolution, where private feedback preserves trust and encourages behavioral change without public embarrassment or escalation.

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Publicly acknowledge the correct contributor in the next stakeholder meeting

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Ignore the situation as it may resolve on its own

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Report the behavior to HR for disciplinary action

Question 15

A project team is composed of members from diverse cultural backgrounds. The PM notices that some team members are not voicing their opinions in meetings due to cultural norms. What is the BEST approach to foster inclusion?

Accepted Answer

Implement anonymous polling or virtual collaboration tools for input. It addresses the root cause of the issue—cultural norms that discourage direct verbal participation—by providing an alternative, low-pressure channel for input. Anonymous polling and virtual collaboration tools (e.g., real-time chat, shared documents) allow team members to contribute without violating their cultural norms, thereby fostering inclusion without forcing confrontation. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on adapting communication styles and leveraging technology to create a psychologically safe environment.

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Pair team members from similar cultures to encourage participation

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Document the issue and ignore it if it does not affect project outcomes

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Ask each team member directly for their opinion during meetings