PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 8 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A team member has been consistently missing deadlines for the past three sprints. Their work quality is also declining. You have had informal conversations with them, but the problem persists. What is the BEST next step for the project manager?

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

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting to discuss the performance issues, identify underlying causes, and agree on an improvement plan. The PMBOK Guide emphasizes addressing performance issues through direct, collaborative communication. A private meeting allows the project manager to explore root causes (e.g., skill gaps, personal challenges, or unclear requirements) and co-create a performance improvement plan, which aligns with the 'Manage Team' process and the principle of servant leadership.

Answer

Escalate the issue to human resources to initiate a replacement process

Answer

Reassign the team member to less critical tasks to minimize impact

Answer

Ignore the issue for now and hope the team member improves on their own

Question 2

In a large-scale digital transformation project, the executive sponsor has been bypassing you and giving direct instructions to the development team. The team is confused about priorities and feels caught between the sponsor's requests and the project plan. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting with the sponsor to discuss the issue and agree on a proper communication channel. The first step in resolving a conflict with a powerful stakeholder like an executive sponsor is to address the issue privately and collaboratively. By scheduling a private meeting, the project manager can discuss the impact of the bypassing behavior, clarify the confusion it causes, and agree on a proper communication channel that respects both the sponsor's authority and the project's governance. This aligns with PMI's principle of engaging stakeholders proactively and using conflict resolution techniques like 'confronting' or 'collaborating' to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Answer

Update the stakeholder engagement plan to include a communication protocol and ask the sponsor to review it

Answer

Send an email to the sponsor and the team clarifying that all instructions must go through you

Answer

Advise the team to ignore the sponsor's instructions and follow the project plan

Question 3

Your project is running 15% over budget at the midpoint. The project sponsor asks you to reduce costs by cutting the quality assurance phase. As a servant leader, what is the BEST response?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping QA and propose other cost-saving options, such as reducing scope or using less expensive resources. As a servant leader, your primary responsibility is to protect the project's value and stakeholder interests. Cutting the quality assurance phase introduces significant technical debt and risk of defects, which could lead to rework, schedule delays, and higher costs later. By explaining these risks and proposing alternatives like scope reduction or resource optimization, you demonstrate ethical leadership and a focus on long-term project success.

Answer

Agree to the sponsor's request to reduce costs, as the sponsor has authority over the budget

Answer

Update the risk register to reflect the sponsor's request and proceed without QA

Answer

Refuse to cut QA and continue with the current project plan

Question 4

A new government regulation has been announced that will affect your project's deliverables. The regulation will take effect in three months, and your project is scheduled to complete in six months. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the regulation and submit a change request to address necessary adjustments. The PMBOK Guide requires the project manager to first assess the impact of any external change, such as a new regulation, on the project's scope, schedule, cost, and quality before taking action. Only after this analysis should a change request be submitted through the formal integrated change control process to adjust the project plan. Ignoring the regulation or acting without analysis violates the principle of proactive risk management and the change control system.

Answer

Inform the team and continue with the current plan, assuming the regulation may not affect the project

Answer

Fast-track the project to complete before the regulation takes effect

Answer

Ask the legal department to interpret the regulation and wait for their response before acting

Question 5

Your agile team's velocity has dropped for three consecutive sprints. The team says they are overwhelmed by the number of user stories and that the definition of 'done' keeps changing. As the Scrum Master (project manager), what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a sprint retrospective to identify the causes of the velocity drop and collaboratively develop an improvement plan. The Scrum Master's first responsibility is to facilitate a retrospective to uncover the root causes of the velocity drop and the changing definition of 'done.' This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on leading the team through collaborative problem-solving rather than imposing top-down solutions. The team's feedback about being overwhelmed and the shifting 'done' criteria indicates a process breakdown that requires team-driven improvement.

Answer

Reduce the sprint backlog to lower the team's workload

Answer

Ask the functional manager to add more developers to the team

Answer

Ask the product owner to prioritize fewer stories in the next sprint

Question 6

During a project status meeting, a stakeholder requests a change that would improve the product but significantly impact the critical path. The project manager has not yet evaluated the change. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Document the change request, assess the impact, and submit it to the change control board for approval. The PMBOK Guide mandates that all change requests must be formally documented and assessed for impact on constraints like the critical path before any decision is made. Submitting the evaluated change to the Change Control Board (CCB) ensures proper governance and prevents unauthorized scope creep, even if the stakeholder is influential.

Answer

Accept the change to satisfy the stakeholder and update the project plan immediately

Answer

Reject the change because it impacts the critical path and would delay the project

Answer

Inform the stakeholder that the change will be considered after the current phase is complete

Question 7

You are leading a virtual project team with members in four countries. A team member from one location complains that another team member from a different location is not responding to emails and messages promptly, causing delays. Upon investigation, you find that the second team member feels their work hours are not respected and they are expected to respond outside their working hours. The team charter does not address communication hours. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team meeting to update the team charter with agreed communication protocols, including response time windows and respect for working hours. The PM should facilitate a team discussion to update the team charter with agreed communication norms, including response time expectations and respect for working hours. This fosters collaboration and prevents future conflicts.

Answer

Ask the second team member to respond to messages within 2 hours during their working hours

Answer

Transfer the second team member to a different project if they are unable to meet communication expectations

Answer

Establish a new policy that all team members must be available during a common overlapping time zone

Question 8

Your project team includes members from diverse cultural backgrounds. During a team meeting, you notice that some members are not speaking up, while others dominate the conversation. The meeting is not productive. What should the project manager do to promote inclusion and improve meeting effectiveness?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a session to create team norms that include respectful communication and equal opportunity to speak. Establishing team norms through a facilitated session directly addresses the root cause of unproductive meetings—lack of agreed-upon communication protocols. This aligns with the PMP's 'People' domain, specifically leading diverse teams by creating a psychologically safe environment where all members have equal opportunity to contribute. The project manager uses facilitation skills to co-create rules that respect cultural differences, which is more sustainable than top-down mandates.

Answer

Assign each team member a specific time to speak during meetings

Answer

Continue with the current approach and hope the team adapts over time

Answer

Ask the dominant members to refrain from speaking and encourage the quiet members to contribute

Question 9

Your project team is co-located, but you have noticed a lack of collaboration and trust among members. Which TWO actions would BEST help build a high-performing team? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Organize team-building activities to improve relationships. Team-building activities directly address the lack of collaboration and trust by fostering interpersonal relationships and psychological safety, which are foundational for a high-performing team. Option E is correct because a team charter establishes shared values, norms, and goals, providing a clear framework for collaboration and accountability, which aligns with PMI's emphasis on creating a team environment that promotes high performance.

Answer

Assign team members to work independently on separate tasks to avoid conflict

Answer

Immediately address any underperformance with formal warnings

Answer

Conduct one-on-one meetings with each team member to discuss their concerns

Question 10

As a project manager in an agile environment, you need to empower the development team to self-organize. Which THREE practices support this goal? (Choose three)

Accepted Answer

Provide the team with clear goals and boundaries, then trust them to deliver. Empowering a self-organizing team in agile requires providing clear goals and boundaries (e.g., sprint goals and Definition of Done) and then trusting the team to determine the best way to achieve them. This aligns with the Agile Manifesto's principle of 'build projects around motivated individuals' and the Scrum Guide's emphasis on self-management, where the team decides how to accomplish its work within the sprint.

Answer

Make all final decisions on technical approaches to maintain control

Answer

Assign specific tasks to each team member to ensure efficiency

Question 11

Your project is in the execution phase and a key vendor has notified you that they will be unable to deliver a critical component on time due to a labor strike. Which TWO actions should the project manager take? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan that was documented in the risk register. The risk register should contain a contingency plan for identified risks, such as a vendor labor strike. Implementing that plan is the appropriate proactive response to mitigate the delay's impact. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on executing risk responses during the execution phase.

Answer

Travel to the vendor's site to negotiate directly with the labor union

Answer

Wait for the strike to end before taking any action

Answer

Ask the vendor to find an alternative supplier without additional cost

Question 12

You are leading a global software development project with team members in three different time zones. Recently, two senior developers from different locations have been in conflict over the design approach for a critical component. The conflict has started to affect team morale and productivity. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a meeting with both developers to discuss the issue and find a mutually agreeable solution.. As the project manager, your first responsibility is to address interpersonal conflicts directly and collaboratively. Scheduling a meeting with both developers to discuss the issue and find a mutually agreeable solution aligns with the PMI's emphasis on conflict resolution techniques like 'collaborating/problem-solving,' which seeks a win-win outcome. This approach preserves team morale and productivity by involving the stakeholders in the decision, rather than imposing a solution or avoiding the problem.

Answer

Decide on the design approach yourself to end the conflict quickly.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the sponsors and ask them to intervene.

Answer

Reassign the developers to different tasks to avoid further conflict.

Question 13

During a sprint review, the product owner expresses dissatisfaction with a feature delivered by the team, stating it does not meet the acceptance criteria. The team insists they followed the requirements as written. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and the team to clarify the acceptance criteria.. The immediate priority is to resolve the misunderstanding between the product owner and the team. The project manager should facilitate a conversation to clarify the acceptance criteria, ensuring both parties have a shared understanding before any rework or documentation changes occur. This aligns with the PMP's focus on stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution within the 'People' domain.

Answer

Ask the team to redo the feature to meet the product owner's expectations.

Answer

Update the project documents to reflect the product owner's new requirements.

Answer

Refer to the project charter to determine the original scope.

Question 14

Your project uses a hybrid approach with a fixed-price contract. Midway through, the client requests a significant scope change that would increase project duration by two months. The project manager has assessed the impact and believes the change is beneficial. However, the sponsor is reluctant because of the schedule extension. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Prepare a change request with impact analysis and submit it to the CCB for approval.. In a hybrid project with a fixed-price contract, any scope change must follow the formal change control process. The project manager has assessed the change as beneficial, but the sponsor's reluctance requires a documented impact analysis to enable an informed decision by the Change Control Board (CCB). Submitting a formal change request ensures contractual compliance, protects against scope creep, and provides a clear audit trail, which is critical when the schedule extension affects fixed-price terms.

Answer

Negotiate with the client to drop another requirement to keep the schedule.

Answer

Accept the change informally and adjust the schedule to accommodate it.

Answer

Reject the request because it will delay the project and risk penalties.

Question 15

You are managing a project where a team member consistently misses deadlines, affecting the team's velocity. You have had informal conversations with the team member, but the behavior continues. What is the BEST next step?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting to discuss the challenges and offer support to help improve performance.. As a project manager, your first formal step should be to understand the root cause of the performance issue through a private, supportive conversation. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and addressing people problems with empathy before escalating to punitive measures. The goal is to identify obstacles (e.g., skill gaps, resource constraints, personal challenges) and collaboratively develop a plan to improve velocity, which is more effective than immediate reprimand or task reassignment.

Answer

Formally reprimand the team member and put them on a performance improvement plan.

Answer

Inform the team that delays are unacceptable and expect improvement.

Answer

Reassign the team member to less critical tasks to minimize impact.