PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 5 — 15 Questions

Question 1

You are managing a virtual team across four time zones. Team members report feeling disconnected and communication is becoming fragmented. What is the BEST way to improve team cohesion?

Accepted Answer

Schedule weekly videoconference meetings with a clear agenda and time for informal discussion. It directly addresses the root cause of fragmentation in a virtual team: lack of personal connection. Weekly videoconferences with a clear agenda ensure structured communication, while informal discussion time builds rapport and trust, which are critical for team cohesion across time zones.

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Rotate meeting times to accommodate each time zone fairly

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Encourage team members to use email for all communication

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Assign a team member to act as a communication hub

Question 2

In a Scrum project, the development team consistently fails to meet the sprint goal. The product owner is frustrated, and the team is demotivated. During the retrospective, the team identifies that the sprint backlog is too ambitious. What is the BEST action for the Scrum Master?

Accepted Answer

Coach the team on how to estimate and commit to a realistic amount of work based on velocity. The Scrum Master's primary role is to coach the team in self-management and continuous improvement. Since the team identified that the sprint backlog is too ambitious, the best action is to coach them on estimating and committing to a realistic amount of work based on their historical velocity. This empowers the team to make accurate commitments, directly addressing the root cause of missed sprint goals and demotivation.

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Reduce the sprint backlog yourself to ensure the team can succeed

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Add more team members to increase capacity

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Extend the sprint duration to give the team more time

Question 3

Your project sponsor asks you to skip the testing phase to save time and meet the deadline, arguing that the team is experienced and the product is simple. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and suggest alternatives such as reducing test scope or increasing resources. Skipping testing violates quality management principles and introduces significant risk of defects reaching production, which can cause rework, cost overruns, and reputational damage. As a project manager, you must protect the project's quality baseline and stakeholder confidence. Option A correctly addresses this by explaining the risks and proposing viable alternatives like reducing test scope or adding resources, which aligns with the PMI's focus on proactive risk management and stakeholder negotiation.

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Skip testing but document the decision in the lessons learned

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Agree to skip testing to maintain a good relationship with the sponsor

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Escalate the issue to the PMO or steering committee

Question 4

You are managing a project using a hybrid approach. The team has a mix of senior and junior members. A senior developer is consistently dominating pair programming sessions, leaving the junior developer passive. The junior's performance is declining. What is the BEST action?

Accepted Answer

Coach the senior developer on effective mentoring techniques and the importance of allowing the junior to contribute. The root cause is the senior developer's behavior, not the junior's ability. Coaching the senior on effective mentoring techniques addresses the imbalance directly, fostering a collaborative environment where the junior can actively participate and learn. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and team development in a hybrid approach, where pair programming relies on balanced contribution for knowledge transfer and code quality.

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Ask the junior developer to speak up more during pairing

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Reassign the junior developer to work independently on simpler tasks

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Pair the junior developer with a different senior developer

Question 5

A project manager is leading a distributed team where members are in different time zones and have varying levels of experience. The team is struggling with knowledge sharing and collaboration. Which TWO tools or techniques should the project manager consider to improve the situation? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Use virtual pair programming sessions for complex tasks. Virtual pair programming sessions are correct because they enable real-time, collaborative problem-solving on complex tasks, directly addressing knowledge sharing and collaboration gaps in a distributed team. This technique fosters active learning and mentorship, which is especially valuable when team members have varying levels of experience and work across different time zones.

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Reduce the number of team meetings to minimize disruption

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Schedule daily 30-minute stand-up meetings at a fixed time

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Assign a single point of contact for all communication

Question 6

During a project transition, a key team member resigns unexpectedly. The project manager needs to ensure knowledge transfer and minimize impact. Which THREE actions should the project manager take? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Redistribute the departing member's tasks among the team based on capacity and skills, and update the work breakdown structure. Option A is correct because redistributing the departing member's tasks according to team capacity and skills ensures work continues efficiently, and updating the work breakdown structure keeps the project plan accurate and reflects the new task ownership. Option B is correct because having the departing member document key processes and create a handover document captures critical tacit knowledge before they leave, directly supporting knowledge transfer and reducing project disruption. Option E is correct because an exit interview documents the departing member's knowledge, insights, and lessons learned, which helps preserve institutional knowledge and informs future project decisions. Option C is not appropriate because simply asking remaining members to absorb tasks without assessing capacity or skills risks overload and quality issues. Option D is not appropriate because immediately hiring a replacement is not always feasible and does not by itself ensure knowledge transfer or minimize short-term impact.

Answer

Ask the remaining team members to absorb the departing member's tasks

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Immediately hire a replacement with similar skills

Question 7

An agile project team is in the middle of a sprint when the product owner introduces a high-priority change that was not part of the sprint backlog. The team is concerned about their ability to deliver the sprint goal. Which TWO options align with the Scrum framework? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

The product owner cancels the current sprint and starts a new sprint with the revised backlog. The Scrum framework explicitly allows the Product Owner to cancel a sprint if the Sprint Goal becomes obsolete, such as when a high-priority change emerges that invalidates the current goal. Cancelling the sprint and starting a new one with the revised backlog ensures the team focuses on the highest-value work without disrupting the sprint's time-box or overloading the team. Option E is correct because the Product Owner can add the new work to the Product Backlog and prioritize it for the next sprint, which respects the current Sprint's commitment and allows the team to complete the Sprint Goal without interruption.

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Replace the least important sprint backlog item with the new work and adjust the sprint goal accordingly

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Instruct the team to include the new work in the current sprint and extend the sprint duration

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Add the new work to the sprint backlog and ask the team to work overtime

Question 8

You are managing a hybrid project. During the last two sprints, velocity has dropped significantly. The team members complain about unclear priorities and frequent context switching. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Hold a retrospective with the team to identify root causes and improve processes. The first step in addressing a velocity drop caused by unclear priorities and context switching is to hold a retrospective. This aligns with the hybrid project management principle of continuous improvement and servant leadership, where the team collaboratively identifies root causes and adapts their processes. Reassigning the product owner or escalating prematurely bypasses the team's self-organization and fails to address the underlying issues.

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Reassign the product owner and replace with a more decisive person

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Escalate the velocity drop to the steering committee

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Ask the team to work extra hours to catch up on the velocity

Question 9

A project manager is leading a global virtual team. A conflict arises between two senior developers from different cultures. One feels the other is not respecting their time zone, while the other accuses the first of micromanaging. What is the best approach to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Mediate a meeting between the two developers to openly discuss their concerns. As a project manager leading a global virtual team, the best approach to resolve a conflict between two senior developers from different cultures is to mediate a meeting where they can openly discuss their concerns. This aligns with the PMP's focus on collaborative problem-solving and emotional intelligence, allowing both parties to express their perspectives on time zone respect and micromanagement, leading to a mutually agreed solution. Mediation fosters trust and understanding, which is critical for virtual team cohesion and productivity.

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Escalate the issue to human resources for a formal resolution

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Assign each developer to separate tasks to minimize interaction

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Decide on a compromise and inform both parties of the new rules

Question 10

A project team member, who is a key technical expert, has been consistently missing deadlines. The project manager has already discussed the issue informally, but performance has not improved. What should the project manager do next?

Accepted Answer

Have a formal meeting to discuss the issue and create a performance improvement plan. After informal discussions have failed, the project manager should follow a structured performance management process. Having a formal meeting to discuss the issue and create a performance improvement plan (PIP) documents the problem, sets clear expectations, and provides a timeline for improvement, which aligns with the PMI's emphasis on addressing performance issues systematically before considering escalation or replacement.

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Escalate the issue to the team member's functional manager

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Replace the team member with a more reliable resource

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Assign a mentor to help the team member catch up on missed deadlines

Question 11

During a sprint review, the product owner expresses dissatisfaction with the delivered increment because it does not meet their expectations. The team followed the agreed-upon acceptance criteria. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and the team to clarify expectations and update the acceptance criteria for next sprint. The project manager's role in an Agile framework is to facilitate collaboration and ensure alignment between the product owner and the development team. Since the team met the agreed acceptance criteria, the gap is in the product owner's expectations, which must be clarified through direct conversation. Updating the acceptance criteria for the next sprint ensures future increments align with the product owner's vision without redoing work that was technically correct.

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Inform the product owner that the work meets the agreed criteria and cannot be changed

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

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

Question 12

A project manager is leading a large, distributed team. Several team members have expressed feeling isolated and disconnected from the project's goals. The project manager wants to improve team cohesion and motivation. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Create a team charter with agreed-upon communication norms, shared values, and goals. Creating a team charter establishes a foundational agreement on communication norms, shared values, and goals, which directly addresses the root cause of isolation and disconnection in a distributed team. This aligns with the PMP People domain's emphasis on building a cohesive team environment through collaborative rule-setting before implementing tactical solutions.

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Implement daily stand-up meetings to increase communication

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Send a motivational email to the team emphasizing the project's importance

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Organize an in-person team-building event to boost morale

Question 13

A project manager is managing a hybrid project with both fixed-price and agile components. The sponsor asks the project manager to skip the testing phase for the agile portion to save time, assuring that the team is highly skilled and can deliver quality code without testing. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping testing and suggest alternatives such as automated testing or risk-based testing. The project manager has a fiduciary duty to protect the project from unnecessary risk. Skipping testing entirely, even with a highly skilled team, violates the principle of 'inspect and adapt' in agile and ignores the statistical certainty of defects in complex code. Suggesting automated testing or risk-based testing provides a pragmatic compromise that reduces time while maintaining quality assurance, aligning with the hybrid project's need for both speed and governance.

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Add a buffer in the schedule to compensate for potential rework from skipped testing

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Escalate the issue to the PMO for guidance

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Comply with the sponsor's request to save time and maintain a good relationship

Question 14

A new project manager is assigned to an ongoing project. The team seems demotivated because the previous PM did not recognize their contributions. What can the new PM do to motivate the team?

Accepted Answer

Publicly appreciate individual contributions and involve the team in key decisions. Recognizing individual contributions and involving the team in key decisions directly addresses the root cause of demotivation—lack of appreciation and empowerment. According to the PMBOK Guide's 'Manage Team' process, recognition and involvement in decision-making are key motivators under the 'People' domain, as they foster trust, ownership, and psychological safety. This approach aligns with Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory, where recognition and responsibility are true motivators, unlike hygiene factors such as team lunches or monetary bonuses.

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Organize a team lunch to get to know everyone

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Focus on project tasks and avoid discussing past issues

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Offer monetary bonuses for meeting milestones

Question 15

A project manager is leading a team in a country with a high power distance culture. The team members are reluctant to speak up in meetings or challenge the project manager's ideas. How should the project manager foster an inclusive environment?

Accepted Answer

Use anonymous surveys and one-on-one meetings to gather input and encourage participation. In high power distance cultures, direct confrontation or open disagreement with authority figures is often seen as disrespectful. Using anonymous surveys and one-on-one meetings allows the project manager to gather honest input without putting team members in a culturally uncomfortable position, thereby fostering an inclusive environment while respecting cultural norms.

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Tell the team that they must speak up and share their opinions openly

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Appoint a team representative who will speak on behalf of the group

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Ignore the behavior because it is culturally appropriate