PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 15 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a construction project using a traditional approach. The sponsor asks you to skip the quality inspection phase to save two weeks and meet an aggressive deadline. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping quality inspections and discuss alternatives to meet the deadline. Option C is correct because, as a project manager, your first responsibility is to address the sponsor's request professionally by communicating the risks of skipping quality inspections—such as potential rework, safety failures, and cost overruns—and then collaboratively exploring alternatives (e.g., parallel testing, reduced sampling) to meet the deadline without compromising quality. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on stakeholder engagement and proactive risk management, not blind compliance or refusal.

Answer

Agree to skip the inspections to satisfy the sponsor's request

Answer

Refuse outright because quality cannot be compromised

Answer

Proceed with inspections but report that they were completed

Question 2

Your agile team's velocity has dropped for the past three sprints. During the retrospective, team members mention they are overburdened with work from other departments. The project manager is not the team's direct manager. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the functional managers to reduce the team's external workload. The correct first step is to address the root cause of the velocity drop—the team's overburden from external work. As the project manager lacks direct authority, you must collaborate with the functional managers who control the team members' assignments to negotiate a reduction in external workload. This aligns with the PMI principle of servant leadership and removing impediments, which is the immediate priority before adjusting plans or escalating.

Answer

Re-estimate the backlog to reflect the lower velocity

Answer

Ask the team to work faster and increase their hours

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Report the velocity drop to the project sponsor

Question 3

A new regulatory requirement has been discovered that affects your project's deliverables. The project is halfway through its schedule. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to assess the impact on scope, schedule, and cost. D is correct because the PMBOK Guide mandates that any change, including a new regulatory requirement, must first be processed through a formal change request to evaluate its impact on scope, schedule, and cost. Since the project is already halfway through its schedule, the project manager must follow the integrated change control process to ensure the change is assessed before any action is taken. This prevents unauthorized changes that could disrupt project baselines.

Answer

Ignore the requirement because the project is already underway

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Inform the team to start incorporating the new requirement immediately

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Update the project management plan directly to include the change

Question 4

You are managing a large project with multiple stakeholders. One executive stakeholder has been bypassing you and giving direct instructions to the team, causing confusion. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the stakeholder privately to clarify the communication plan and request they go through you. Option C is correct because the PM must first address the stakeholder directly to reinforce the established communication plan and authority structure. Bypassing the PM violates the project's governance and can lead to scope creep, conflicting priorities, and team confusion. A private meeting allows the PM to professionally assert their role as the single point of contact for the team, as defined in the communications management plan.

Answer

Tell the team to follow the stakeholder's instructions

Answer

Update the communication plan to include the stakeholder's direct involvement

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Report the stakeholder to the project sponsor

Question 5

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The variance is due to unforeseen technical challenges. You have identified a potential solution that would reduce costs but might affect scope. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the impact of the solution on scope, schedule, and cost, then present a change request to the CCB. Option C is correct because the PMBOK Guide requires that any potential solution affecting scope must first be analyzed for its impact on the triple constraint (scope, schedule, cost) before submitting a formal change request to the Change Control Board (CCB). This ensures that the decision is based on objective data and follows the established change control process, which is critical when the project is already over budget due to unforeseen technical challenges.

Answer

Ask the sponsor for additional budget to cover the overrun

Answer

Continue as planned and hope to recover the budget later

Answer

Implement the solution immediately to control costs

Question 6

In a Scrum project, the product owner wants to add a new high-priority story to the current sprint, but the sprint is already full. The team is concerned about overcommitment. What should the Scrum Master do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team to negotiate trade-offs. Option D is correct because the Scrum Master should protect the team from overcommitment and facilitate a discussion between the product owner and the team. Option A is not the Scrum Master's role. Option B violates the sprint commitment. Option C may not be feasible.

Answer

Extend the sprint duration to accommodate the new work

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Remove a lower-priority story to make room for the new one

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Add the story to the sprint and ask the team to work overtime

Question 7

You are forming a new project team with members from different departments. To ensure a shared understanding of team values and expectations, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team charter workshop to define roles, responsibilities, and norms. Option A is correct because a team charter establishes ground rules and expectations. Option B is not the first step. Option C is not as comprehensive. Option D may be part of the charter but is not the first step.

Answer

Send a team introduction email with the project plan

Answer

Assign individual tasks and let the team figure out collaboration

Answer

Conduct a team-building event

Question 8

A risk that was identified and in the risk register has occurred. The risk response plan involves outsourcing a component, but the vendor is now unable to deliver on time. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the fallback plan or contingency reserves as defined in the risk register. Option A is correct because the risk has materialized and the risk response plan (outsourcing) has failed. The project manager must immediately execute the pre-defined fallback plan or use contingency reserves as documented in the risk register. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on implementing risk responses when the primary response is no longer viable.

Answer

Wait to see if the vendor can resolve the issue

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for guidance

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Reassign the work to an internal team

Question 9

Your agile team is distributed across four countries. During the daily stand-up, some team members are not speaking, and others dominate the conversation. The project manager wants to improve collaboration. What is the BEST approach?

Accepted Answer

Implement a round-robin format where each team member takes turns speaking. Option C is correct because using agile techniques like round-robin ensures equal participation. Option A is too rigid. Option B may not address the root cause. Option D relies on the team without support.

Answer

Send a written report after each stand-up

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Require everyone to keep their cameras on during meetings

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Ask the dominating members to speak less

Question 10

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. Option C is correct because 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

Answer

Incorporate the change to satisfy the marketing department

Question 11

Your project team is experiencing low morale due to unclear roles and responsibilities. As a project manager using a servant leadership approach, which THREE actions would BEST address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Organize team-building activities to improve trust and communication. Option B is correct because team-building activities directly address low morale by improving trust and communication among team members, which aligns with the servant leadership principle of fostering a collaborative and supportive environment. Unclear roles and responsibilities often stem from poor interpersonal dynamics, and team-building helps rebuild the foundation for clearer collaboration.

Answer

Assign roles and responsibilities yourself to avoid confusion

Answer

Increase supervision and hold daily status meetings

Question 12

Your project is using a hybrid approach. The development team has completed the deliverables, but the testing team is overwhelmed and behind schedule. The project manager needs to address this resource constraint. Which THREE actions are most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Negotiate with the functional manager to prioritize testing resources. Options A, B, and D are correct. Option A optimizes resources. Option B uses conflict management to prioritize. Option D provides support. Option C ignores the issue. Option E escalates prematurely without internal efforts.

Answer

Ask the testing team to work overtime without additional compensation

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor immediately

Question 13

You are managing a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers have a recurring conflict about coding standards, which is causing delays in code reviews and affecting team morale. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both developers to discuss the conflict and agree on coding standards.. In a hybrid project environment, the project manager should first facilitate a collaborative discussion between the conflicting parties to resolve the issue at the lowest level. This approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on conflict resolution techniques, specifically 'collaborating/problem-solving,' which seeks a win-win outcome. By directly addressing the coding standards conflict, you preserve team autonomy and ownership, which is critical for maintaining morale and productivity in a hybrid approach where Agile principles like self-organization are valued.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the functional managers of both developers.

Answer

Reassign the developers to different modules to minimize interaction.

Answer

Decide on a set of coding standards yourself and mandate them.

Question 14

Your project team is distributed across three time zones. You notice that the daily stand-up meetings are poorly attended, and team members complain about meeting fatigue. What is the BEST way to address this situation?

Accepted Answer

Rotate the meeting time so no time zone is always inconvenienced.. Option C is correct because rotating meeting times distributes the inconvenience fairly and shows servant leadership. Option A ignores the issue; Option B may not be sufficient; Option D discourages communication.

Answer

Reduce the stand-up to twice per week.

Answer

Record the stand-up for later viewing by those who can't attend.

Answer

Mandate attendance by linking it to performance reviews.

Question 15

A junior team member consistently misses deadlines, affecting the project schedule. You have spoken to them twice about the issue, but performance has not improved. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the team member privately to explore any obstacles or personal challenges.. Option B is correct because the PM should first seek to understand the root cause of the performance issue through a private, supportive conversation. This aligns with the PMP's 'People' domain, emphasizing servant leadership and emotional intelligence. Exploring obstacles or personal challenges addresses potential underlying factors (e.g., unclear requirements, resource constraints, or personal stress) before escalating or reassigning work.

Answer

Reassign the tasks to another team member.

Answer

Escalate the matter to the team member's functional manager.

Answer

Ignore the issue to avoid conflict.