PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

During a project's execution phase, the project manager notices that two senior team members are in frequent conflict over technical approaches, causing delays. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?

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

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the two team members to discuss and resolve the conflict.. The project manager's role includes facilitating conflict resolution among team members to maintain team cohesion and project progress. By mediating a meeting, the PM addresses the root cause of the delays—technical disagreement—while empowering the team to find a mutually acceptable solution, which aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving.

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Escalate the issue to the sponsor without involving the team members.

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Immediately reassign one of the team members to another project.

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Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves on its own.

Question 2

A project manager is forming a new project team. The team includes members from diverse cultural backgrounds and different functional areas. Which team development model should the project manager use to guide the team through forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning?

Accepted Answer

Tuckman's stages of group development. Tuckman's stages of group development (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning) is the correct model because it directly maps to the sequence described in the question. This model is specifically designed to guide project managers through the predictable phases a team goes through when forming, especially when members come from diverse cultural backgrounds and functional areas.

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McClelland's theory of needs

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs

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Herzberg's two-factor theory

Question 3

A project manager is leading a virtual team distributed across three time zones. The team has been performing well, but recently two team members have missed deadlines and seem disengaged. The project manager suspects the cause is related to team member motivation. According to the PMBOK Guide, which theory suggests that people are motivated by achievement, recognition, and growth opportunities?

Accepted Answer

Herzberg's two-factor theory. Herzberg's two-factor theory (also known as the motivation-hygiene theory) distinguishes between hygiene factors (e.g., salary, work conditions) and motivators (e.g., achievement, recognition, growth opportunities). The question specifically points to motivation factors, which aligns directly with Herzberg's motivators. In a virtual team context, the project manager can address disengagement by providing challenging assignments, public recognition, and professional development paths.

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Expectancy theory

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs

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McGregor's Theory X

Question 4

A project team is in the storming stage of development. The project manager wants to help the team move to the norming stage. Which action would BEST support this transition?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team session to establish ground rules and clarify roles.. The storming stage is characterized by conflict and uncertainty about roles. Facilitating a session to establish ground rules and clarify roles directly addresses the root cause of storming by creating structure and mutual understanding, which is the key to moving into norming where collaboration begins. This action aligns with Tuckman's model and the PM's role as a servant leader.

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Enforce strict adherence to the project schedule to keep the team focused.

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Reassign team members who are causing conflict to different teams.

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Encourage team members to avoid discussing disagreements to maintain harmony.

Question 5

A project manager is leading a cross-functional team that includes members from different departments with conflicting priorities. The project is at risk of delays due to team members not collaborating effectively. What is the best approach for the project manager to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team-building session to align on shared project goals and improve collaboration.. Facilitating a team-building session directly addresses the root cause of the conflict—misaligned priorities—by fostering shared understanding and commitment to project goals. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on conflict resolution through collaboration and team charter development, which improves cross-functional cooperation without bypassing the team's autonomy.

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Escalate the issue to the functional managers to enforce collaboration.

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Reassign tasks to individuals based on their department strengths to minimize conflict.

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Request replacement of non-collaborative team members with more cooperative ones.

Question 6

A resource on a project has been consistently logging 12-14 hours of overtime per day for several weeks. Recently, the resource's productivity has declined and errors have increased. What is the MOST likely cause of the resource issue?

Accepted Answer

The resource is overworked due to excessive overtime.. The scenario describes a consistent pattern of the resource working excessive overtime hours over an extended period, leading to diminishing productivity and increased errors. This is a classic sign of overwork and burnout, not a one-time estimation inaccuracy (A) or unplanned scope changes (B). While being behind schedule (C) might cause overtime, the persistent overtime with declining quality indicates overwork as the primary cause rather than a reactive response to schedule pressure. Therefore, D is correct.

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The resource estimation was inaccurate for the tasks.

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Scope creep is causing additional unplanned work.

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The project is behind schedule, forcing overtime.

Question 7

You are the project manager for a software development project using an agile methodology. The team is co-located and has been working together for three months. Recently, you notice that during daily stand-up meetings, the product owner often interrupts the team members to ask detailed technical questions, causing the meetings to run over the 15-minute timebox. Additionally, the team seems hesitant to share progress openly, and some members have started arriving late to the stand-up. The sprint backlog shows that velocity has dropped by 20% in the last two sprints. The product owner insists that the stand-up is the only time they have to get technical updates. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Coach the product owner privately on the purpose of the daily stand-up and the importance of not interrupting.. The daily stand-up is a team synchronization event for inspecting progress toward the sprint goal, not a technical Q&A session. The product owner's interruptions violate the event's timebox and purpose, causing the team to withhold information and reducing velocity. The project manager should first coach the product owner privately on the Scrum Guide's definition of the daily stand-up, emphasizing that detailed technical discussions should be deferred to separate sessions.

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Extend the stand-up to 30 minutes to allow time for the product owner's questions.

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and request a replacement product owner.

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Remove the product owner from the daily stand-up and provide a written daily summary instead.

Question 8

Arrange the steps for developing a project charter in the correct order.

Accepted Answer

Step 1: Identify the sponsor, Step 2: Define the business case, Step 3: Draft the charter, Step 4: Obtain approval, Step 5: Communicate the charter.. The project charter is developed by identifying the sponsor, defining the business case, drafting the charter, obtaining approval, and then communicating it.

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Step 1: Define the business case, Step 2: Identify the sponsor, Step 3: Draft the charter, Step 4: Obtain approval, Step 5: Communicate the charter.

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Step 1: Identify the sponsor, Step 2: Define the business case, Step 3: Draft the charter, Step 4: Communicate the charter, Step 5: Obtain approval.

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Step 1: Draft the charter, Step 2: Identify the sponsor, Step 3: Define the business case, Step 4: Obtain approval, Step 5: Communicate the charter.

Question 9

Arrange the steps for controlling project changes.

Accepted Answer

Receive change request, Log change request, Evaluate change request, Submit to CCB, Implement if approved. Change control process: receive, log, evaluate, submit to CCB, and implement if approved.

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Log change request, Receive change request, Evaluate change request, Submit to CCB, Implement if approved

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Receive change request, Evaluate change request, Log change request, Submit to CCB, Implement if approved

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Receive change request, Log change request, Submit to CCB, Evaluate change request, Implement if approved

Question 10

Sequence the steps for managing stakeholder engagement.

Accepted Answer

1. Identify Stakeholders, 2. Analyze Stakeholders, 3. Plan Stakeholder Engagement, 4. Engage Stakeholders, 5. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement. The correct sequence for managing stakeholder engagement begins with identifying all stakeholders, then analyzing their interests, influence, and expectations. Based on this analysis, you plan appropriate engagement strategies, implement those strategies to engage stakeholders, and continuously monitor the effectiveness of engagement to make adjustments. This order ensures that stakeholder management is systematic and aligned with project objectives.

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1. Identify Stakeholders, 2. Plan Stakeholder Engagement, 3. Analyze Stakeholders, 4. Engage Stakeholders, 5. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

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1. Identify Stakeholders, 2. Analyze Stakeholders, 3. Engage Stakeholders, 4. Plan Stakeholder Engagement, 5. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

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1. Plan Stakeholder Engagement, 2. Identify Stakeholders, 3. Analyze Stakeholders, 4. Engage Stakeholders, 5. Monitor Stakeholder Engagement

Question 11

Match each project management process group to its primary purpose.

Accepted Answer

Initiating: Defines and authorizes the project or phase.. The five process groups are Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. Their correct purposes are as described in the correct options. Common confusions include swapping the definitions of Monitoring and Controlling and Closing.

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Monitoring and Controlling: Finalizes all activities to formally close the project or phase.

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Closing: Tracks, reviews, and regulates progress and performance.

Question 12

Match each project management artifact to its typical content.

Accepted Answer

Project Charter: Authorizes the project and assigns the project manager.. The project charter authorizes the project, while the WBS decomposes work. The risk register lists risks, and the change log records changes. Common confusions involve swapping definitions between these artifacts.

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Risk Register: Authorizes the project and assigns the project manager.

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Change Log: Hierarchical decomposition of work packages.

Question 13

During the execution phase of a construction project, two senior engineers have a heated disagreement over the technical approach for a critical structural component. The conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. As the project manager, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Meet with each engineer separately to understand their perspectives. The PM should first gather facts privately from each engineer to understand the root cause of the technical disagreement without escalating emotions. This aligns with the PMP's conflict resolution process, which starts with data collection before any collaborative or directive action. Addressing the conflict openly or unilaterally could damage trust and miss critical technical nuances.

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Call a team meeting to resolve the conflict openly

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Make a decision yourself based on your technical expertise

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Ask the sponsor to mediate the conflict

Question 14

You are managing an agile software development team. In the last three sprints, the team's velocity has dropped from 30 to 22 story points. The team members are experienced but seem demotivated. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a retrospective to identify and address the root causes of the drop. The team's velocity drop and demotivation are symptoms of underlying issues that need to be uncovered through a retrospective. In agile, the retrospective is the primary mechanism for continuous improvement, allowing the team to inspect its processes, identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements, or interpersonal friction), and adapt. Reassigning work or replacing team members would bypass the team's self-organization and likely worsen morale, while increasing sprint length treats a symptom without addressing the cause.

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Reassign work to individual contributors to increase accountability

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Increase the sprint length to give the team more time

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Replace two team members with more productive resources

Question 15

Your project is in the middle of execution when a key vendor informs you that they will be unable to deliver a critical component on time due to a raw material shortage. The component is on the critical path. The risk was identified and logged in the risk register with a mitigation plan. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan documented in the risk register. The risk was already identified and logged in the risk register with a documented mitigation plan. Since the component is on the critical path and the risk has materialized, the first action is to implement the pre-approved contingency plan to minimize schedule impact. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on executing risk responses as the immediate step when a risk occurs.

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Ask the vendor to expedite the delivery at no extra cost

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Immediately source an alternative vendor without formal approval

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Notify the sponsor and request a schedule extension