PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 25 — 15 Questions

Question 1

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

Answer

Accept the change because it adds value to the project

Answer

Update the project baseline to include the new scope

Question 2

Your project team includes members from different departments, and there is a conflict between two team leaders over resource allocation. One leader insists their tasks are higher priority. Which THREE actions should you take to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with both leaders to discuss priorities and find a compromise. Option C is correct because facilitating a meeting with both leaders to discuss priorities and find a compromise is the standard collaborative/confronting conflict-resolution approach, allowing the parties to surface interests and agree on trade-offs before imposing a solution. Option E is correct because reviewing the project schedule and resource allocation provides objective data (critical path, float, resource histograms, utilization rates) that grounds the priority decision in facts rather than opinion. Option D is correct because escalation to the appropriate management level is the proper next step when the conflict cannot be resolved at the team level, following the project's escalation path rather than letting the dispute persist. Option A is not appropriate as a first action because immediately involving the project sponsor to enforce a decision is an avoiding/forcing shortcut that bypasses the team's ability to resolve the issue and can damage trust. Option B is not the best choice because unilaterally deciding based on your own judgment, without input from the leaders or objective schedule/resource analysis, is a forcing approach that may miss relevant constraints and reduce buy-in.

Answer

Immediately involve the project sponsor to enforce a decision

Answer

Make a decision yourself based on which tasks contribute more to the project objectives

Question 3

You are managing a hybrid project with a co-located core team and remote subject matter experts. Two senior developers argue daily about the technical approach for a critical module. The conflict is delaying sprint planning and affecting team morale. Which TWO actions should you take first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a private meeting between the two developers to understand their perspectives and guide them toward a resolution. Option B is correct because a private facilitated meeting is the standard first step in conflict management: it lets the two senior developers air their perspectives in a safe setting and lets the project manager guide them toward a collaborative resolution, which directly addresses the sprint-planning delay and morale problem. Option E is correct because reviewing and reinforcing the team charter re-anchors the team on agreed behavioral norms and ground rules, which is a preventive, team-level action appropriate when recurring interpersonal friction threatens team cohesion. Option A is not appropriate as a first action because reassigning a developer merely avoids the conflict, removes a key contributor from a critical module, and does not resolve the underlying technical disagreement. Option C is wrong because ignoring conflict lets it escalate and further damage morale and schedule. Option D is premature: escalating to the sponsor for a decision bypasses the project manager's responsibility to facilitate resolution and undermines team ownership.

Answer

Reassign one developer to a different module to reduce interaction

Answer

Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves on its own

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 4

Your project has a diverse team with members from different cultural backgrounds. A conflict arises because some team members feel their ideas are not being heard during meetings. Which THREE actions should you take to foster inclusion and collaboration?

Accepted Answer

Provide training on cultural diversity and inclusive communication. Option B is correct because cultural diversity and inclusive-communication training builds awareness of differing communication norms (e.g., high-context vs. low-context styles) and gives the team shared vocabulary and techniques to prevent misunderstandings and reduce bias. Option C is correct because anonymous idea submission tools decouple idea evaluation from speaker identity, mitigating status, accent, or cultural bias so quieter or minority-viewpoint members can contribute without social pressure. Option D is correct because a round-robin technique structurally guarantees each member a turn to speak, preventing dominant voices from monopolizing discussion and directly addressing the complaint that some ideas are not being heard. Option A is not appropriate because forcing one direct communication style suppresses cultural differences and can alienate team members rather than foster inclusion. Option E is not appropriate because simply declaring conflict 'normal' and leaving the team to resolve it abdicates the project manager's responsibility to actively facilitate inclusion and constructive resolution.

Answer

Require all team members to communicate in the same direct style

Answer

Tell the team that conflicts are normal and they should work it out themselves

Question 5

You are the project manager for a construction project. A key vendor notifies you that they cannot deliver a critical component for another two months, which would delay the critical path. Which TWO actions should you take first?

Accepted Answer

Meet with the vendor to explore alternatives, such as partial delivery or substitute components. The first step in managing a vendor delay is to engage directly with the vendor to explore alternatives such as partial delivery or substitute components. This collaborative approach aligns with the PMP's emphasis on stakeholder engagement and problem-solving before escalating or invoking penalties. Option E is correct because analyzing the impact on the critical path and identifying schedule compression options (e.g., crashing or fast-tracking) is a core project management action to mitigate delays before communicating externally.

Answer

Invoke the penalty clause in the vendor contract

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor to negotiate with the vendor

Answer

Immediately inform the sponsor and stakeholders about the delay

Question 6

You are leading an agile team that has experienced a drop in velocity over the last three sprints. The team attributes this to unclear requirements and frequent changes during the sprint. Which TWO actions would best address this?

Accepted Answer

Reinforce the sprint rule that no new work can be added once the sprint has started. In Scrum, once a sprint begins, the team commits to a set of work; allowing new requirements to be introduced mid-sprint disrupts focus and velocity. This rule protects the team from scope creep and ensures they can deliver a potentially shippable increment. Option E is correct because unclear requirements and frequent changes often stem from poorly refined user stories; working with the product owner to improve acceptance criteria and story refinement before sprint planning reduces ambiguity and stabilizes velocity.

Answer

Increase sprint duration from two weeks to three weeks to allow more time

Answer

Replace underperforming team members with new ones

Answer

Take over the role of product owner to ensure clarity

Question 7

An executive stakeholder has been bypassing you and directly assigning tasks to team members. The team is confused about priorities and some tasks conflict with the project plan. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting with the executive to discuss the impact of bypassing the project manager. Option B is correct because a private, non-confrontational meeting with the executive is the professional way to surface the issue, explain how direct task assignments disrupt priorities, and negotiate a workable escalation and communication path. Option C is correct because revisiting and reinforcing the project communication plan gives all stakeholders an agreed, documented channel for requests and task assignments, preventing future bypassing. Option E is correct because clarifying roles and responsibilities with the team—specifically that assignments flow through the project manager—restores a single prioritization authority and reduces confusion about conflicting tasks. Option A is not appropriate because publicly correcting an executive in a team meeting damages the relationship and escalates conflict rather than resolving it. Option D is not appropriate because ignoring the situation allows priority conflicts and plan deviations to continue unchecked, which is a failure of the project manager's integration and communication duties.

Answer

Publicly remind the executive during a team meeting to follow the communication plan

Answer

Ignore the situation and let the team sort out priorities

Question 8

During a project audit, a new regulatory requirement is discovered that affects your project's deliverables. The compliance team says it must be implemented immediately. Your project is already behind schedule. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Communicate the situation to key stakeholders, including the sponsor and compliance officer. Option A is correct because when a new regulatory requirement emerges, the project manager must promptly communicate the situation to key stakeholders such as the sponsor and compliance officer, ensuring transparency and enabling informed decision-making. Option D is correct because any change to project baselines, including regulatory requirements, must go through the formal change control process via a change request to be properly evaluated, approved, and integrated. Option E is correct because before implementing any change, the project manager must analyze its impact on scope, schedule, and cost to understand the consequences and support the change control decision. Option B is incorrect because implementing a requirement without formal approval bypasses the change control process and can lead to unauthorized scope changes. Option C is incorrect because ignoring a regulatory requirement is never acceptable, as it can result in legal and compliance consequences.

Answer

Instruct the team to implement the requirement immediately without formal approval

Answer

Ignore the requirement until the next phase to avoid further delay

Question 9

Your project is 50% complete, and you realize it is 15% over budget due to unforeseen material cost increases. The sponsor is concerned about the budget variance. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Present the variance and your corrective action plan to the sponsor. Option B is correct because when a significant cost variance threatens the budget, the project manager must transparently present the variance along with a corrective action plan to the sponsor, who is the key stakeholder responsible for approving budget-related decisions. Option E is correct because reviewing the cost baseline and calculating the Estimate at Completion (EAC) provides an accurate forecast of the final project cost, which is essential for informed decision-making and for communicating the true financial impact to the sponsor. Options A, C, and D are not appropriate: requesting additional budget immediately (A) without first analyzing the situation and proposing corrective actions is premature; using management reserve without informing the sponsor (C) violates governance and transparency requirements; and reducing scope (D) is a scope change that requires formal approval and should not be done unilaterally to fix a budget problem.

Answer

Request additional budget from the sponsor immediately

Answer

Use management reserve without informing the sponsor

Answer

Reduce the project scope to bring costs back in line

Question 10

Your agile team is self-organizing, but a team member is consistently missing sprint commitments. The rest of the team is frustrated. As a Scrum Master, which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team member individually to understand the root cause of the missed commitments. Option B is correct because a Scrum Master serves the team by coaching individuals; a private one-on-one conversation is the appropriate way to uncover the root cause (e.g., unclear acceptance criteria, impediments, skill gaps, or personal issues) behind the missed sprint commitments. Option C is correct because Scrum relies on team self-organization and empiricism; the retrospective is the inspect-and-adapt event where the team can surface the problem and propose its own solutions, which the Scrum Master facilitates rather than dictates. Option D is correct because if the root cause is a capability or knowledge gap, providing targeted training or pairing the member with a senior developer is a legitimate coaching/development action that supports the individual while protecting the team's delivery. Option A is not appropriate because unilaterally reassigning simpler tasks undermines self-organization and treats a symptom rather than the cause. Option E is not appropriate because removing and replacing a team member is a destructive, management-level decision that contradicts the Scrum Master's servant-leadership role and should only follow genuine, documented inability to improve.

Answer

Assign simpler tasks to the team member to increase their success rate

Answer

Remove the team member from the team and replace them with a more capable person

Question 11

A risk event that was identified in the risk register has occurred. The risk response plan involves implementing a contingency plan. Which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register with the actual outcome and actions taken. When a risk event occurs, the risk register must be updated to document the actual outcome, the effectiveness of the response, and any lessons learned. This ensures the project's risk history is accurate and supports future risk analysis. Option E is correct because the contingency plan was already defined in the risk register as the agreed-upon response; implementing it directly is the proper execution of the risk response plan without needing a new change request.

Answer

Submit a change request to initiate the contingency plan

Answer

Develop a new risk response plan from scratch

Answer

Wait to see if the risk impact materializes further before acting

Question 12

Your project is using a hybrid approach. Mid-project, the sponsor asks you to skip the testing phase to save time and meet the deadline. The team is concerned about quality. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Consult with the team to identify the most critical tests that can be performed within the remaining time. Option A is correct because consulting the team to identify the most critical tests allows the project to prioritize high-risk, high-impact areas within the remaining time, preserving essential quality checks despite the schedule pressure. Option D is correct because the project manager must transparently communicate the consequences of skipping testing—such as increased defects, rework, warranty costs, and reputational damage—so the sponsor can make an informed risk-based decision. Option E is correct because proposing alternatives like reducing test scope or applying risk-based testing offers a constructive compromise that balances the sponsor's deadline with the team's quality concerns. Option B is not appropriate because escalating to the PMO or steering committee without first discussing the issue with the sponsor bypasses proper stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution. Option C is incorrect because simply agreeing to skip testing ignores the team's quality concerns and the project manager's responsibility to manage risks and protect deliverable integrity.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the PMO or steering committee without further discussion

Answer

Agree to skip testing to meet the sponsor's request

Question 13

A new team member from a different country joins your project. They seem hesitant to speak up during meetings and often defer to others. Which TWO actions would best help them integrate?

Accepted Answer

Pair them with a buddy who can help them navigate team dynamics and norms. Pairing the new team member with a buddy directly addresses cultural unfamiliarity by providing a safe, one-on-one channel to learn team norms and communication styles, which is a core practice in cross-cultural team integration under the PMBOK Guide's 'Manage Team' process. Option E is correct because scheduled one-on-one check-ins allow the project manager to understand the team member's communication preferences and provide tailored feedback, fostering psychological safety and gradual integration without public pressure.

Answer

Ask them to present their background and culture to the team

Answer

Assign them a leadership role immediately to boost confidence

Answer

Criticize their lack of participation to encourage them to speak up

Question 14

You are leading a project to implement a new CRM system. The project sponsor has asked you to provide a detailed plan for how you will manage and lead the project team. Which of the following best describes the primary focus of the 'Leading' function within the PMI Talent Triangle?

Accepted Answer

Guiding, motivating, and inspiring the team to achieve high performance.. Leading within the PMI Talent Triangle focuses on the people domain, which includes guiding, motivating, and inspiring the team. It involves soft skills such as emotional intelligence, team building, and conflict resolution. The other options describe technical or strategic competencies, which are separate domains of the Talent Triangle.

Answer

Applying earned value management to track project performance.

Answer

Developing a detailed work breakdown structure to define scope.

Answer

Aligning project objectives with organizational strategy.

Question 15

You are leading a cross-functional project team. Two team members, Alex and Jamie, have a disagreement over the technical approach for a critical deliverable. The conflict has escalated, and other team members are taking sides, affecting team cohesion. As the project manager, you decide to use a collaborative conflict resolution technique. What is the primary benefit of this approach?

Accepted Answer

It leads to a win-win solution and strengthens team relationships.. Collaboration is a conflict resolution technique that seeks a win-win outcome by addressing the concerns of all parties. It fosters open communication, builds trust, and strengthens relationships, which are critical for team performance. The other techniques, such as forcing, smoothing, or avoiding, may provide temporary relief but do not achieve the same level of mutual commitment.

Answer

It ensures that the project manager's authority is respected.

Answer

It allows the project manager to make a quick decision and move forward.

Answer

It avoids the conflict temporarily so the team can focus on work.