PMP People — Leading Projects — Timed 10 Questions

Question 1

A project team is experiencing low morale due to high workload and unclear priorities. The project manager wants to improve motivation. Which TWO actions are most effective according to motivational theories?

10 minute time limit — choose an answer to begin.

Accepted Answer

Recognize individual contributions in team meetings.. Recognizing individual contributions in team meetings directly addresses the esteem needs in Maslow's hierarchy and provides positive reinforcement per Herzberg's motivator factors. This action boosts morale by validating effort, which is critical when workload is high and priorities are unclear. Involving the team in reprioritizing the backlog directly addresses the 'unclear priorities' and 'high workload' issues by providing autonomy, ownership, and clarity. This aligns with Herzberg's motivator factors (responsibility, achievement) and theories emphasizing intrinsic motivation like McGregor's Theory Y and Pink's Drive (autonomy, purpose), making it highly effective for improving motivation.

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Increase oversight to ensure no tasks are missed.

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Conduct a blame-free review of recent failures.

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Offer a bonus for meeting deadlines.

Question 2

Which TWO actions are effective for improving team performance in a virtual environment? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Schedule daily stand-up meetings via video conference.. Daily stand-up meetings via video conference foster regular communication, alignment, and accountability in a virtual team, which is a key practice in agile project management. Video adds non-verbal cues that improve engagement and trust, directly addressing the isolation common in remote work. Additionally, organizing virtual team-building activities monthly helps to strengthen team bonds, improve morale, and build psychological safety, which are crucial for collaboration and performance in a remote setting.

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Increase meeting duration to cover all topics in one session.

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Replace synchronous meetings with email updates.

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Encourage team members to record their contributions for later review.

Question 3

A project manager is leading a globally distributed team with members in different time zones. The team is experiencing communication breakdowns and missed deadlines. Which TWO actions should the project manager take to improve team performance? (Choose two)

Accepted Answer

Implement a shared collaboration tool that highlights time zones.. A shared collaboration tool that highlights time zones (A) directly addresses the challenge of coordinating across different time zones. By making time zone differences visible, team members can schedule meetings and deadlines more effectively, reducing communication breakdowns and missed deadlines. This is a practical, technology-enabled solution that supports asynchronous collaboration. Establishing clear communication protocols and expectations (B) is fundamental for any team, but especially critical for globally distributed teams. It provides a framework for how, when, and where communication should occur, reducing ambiguity, preventing misunderstandings, and ensuring information flows efficiently, thereby addressing communication breakdowns and contributing to meeting deadlines.

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Increase the frequency of status meetings to daily.

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Require all team members to work in a single time zone.

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Assign a single point of contact for each location to relay information.

Question 4

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. Redistributing the departing member's tasks based on team capacity and skills (A) is a proactive resource management action that maintains project continuity and minimizes impact. Updating the work breakdown structure (WBS) ensures the project scope and task assignments are accurately reflected. Arranging for the departing member to document key processes and create a handover document (B) is crucial for formal knowledge transfer, especially during a transition. Conducting an exit interview focused on documenting knowledge (E) provides another opportunity to capture critical information and insights from the departing team member. These three actions collectively address both minimizing immediate impact and ensuring knowledge transfer, leveraging existing resources and capturing vital information before the member departs. Options C and D are less effective; simply 'absorbing tasks' (C) without considering capacity can lead to overload, and 'immediately hiring' (D) is not a quick fix for immediate knowledge gaps or task continuity due to the time required for recruitment and onboarding.

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

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Immediately hire a replacement with similar skills

Question 5

As a project manager, you want to motivate your team to achieve high performance. Which TWO techniques are most aligned with PMI's recommended practices for motivating team members?

Accepted Answer

Provide opportunities for professional development and learning. PMI's leadership model emphasizes that providing opportunities for professional development and learning (Option A) is a key motivator that aligns with the 'Servant Leadership' approach. This practice fosters intrinsic motivation by helping team members grow their skills, which directly supports high performance and retention. It is grounded in PMI's current skill framework (Ways of Working, Power Skills, and Business Acumen) and the principle of empowering the team through continuous improvement. Additionally, recognizing individual and team achievements publicly (Option E) is a powerful non-monetary motivator that builds morale, reinforces positive behaviors, and fosters a culture of appreciation and high performance, aligning with PMI's focus on building collaborative and engaged teams.

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Assign more challenging tasks to stretch their capabilities

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Implement a penalty system for missed deadlines

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Offer monetary bonuses for early completion of milestones

Question 6

A project manager is leading a distributed team with members in three different countries. The team has been struggling with miscommunication and missed deadlines. The project manager wants to improve team performance. Which TWO actions should the project manager take? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Implement a daily stand-up meeting at a rotating time to accommodate all time zones. A daily stand-up meeting at a rotating time ensures that all team members across different time zones have an equal opportunity to participate, fostering regular communication and alignment. This directly addresses miscommunication and helps prevent missed deadlines by creating a predictable, inclusive cadence for sharing progress and blockers. Additionally, creating a team charter is a foundational step for any team, especially a distributed one. It explicitly defines communication channels, establishes clear meeting times, and sets response time expectations, which directly tackles the root cause of miscommunication and provides a framework for accountability to avoid missed deadlines.

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Increase sprint length to four weeks to give more time for tasks

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Allow team members to communicate directly with stakeholders without involving the project manager

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Require all team members to work the same hours regardless of time zone

Question 7

A project manager is leading a complex software development project using a hybrid approach. A new regulatory requirement has been discovered that affects the project's scope. The requirement is mandatory and must be implemented before the project can close. Which THREE actions should the project manager take? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Communicate the new requirement to the project team and relevant stakeholders. When a new, mandatory regulatory requirement affecting project scope is discovered in a hybrid project, the project manager must take several critical steps. First, it is essential to communicate the new requirement to the project team and relevant stakeholders (Option B) to ensure awareness and alignment. Simultaneously, or immediately following initial communication, the project manager must analyze the impact of the new requirement on the project's schedule, budget, and resources (Option D) to understand the full implications. Finally, because it's a scope change, especially a mandatory one, a formal change request must be initiated through the Integrated Change Control process (Option E) to ensure it is properly reviewed, approved, and documented before any implementation begins. Options A and C are incorrect because they advocate for immediate action without proper analysis and formal change control, which is contrary to PMP best practices for managing changes, even mandatory ones.

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Immediately adjust the project budget and schedule to accommodate the requirement

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Assign the new requirement to the development team to start work immediately

Question 8

A project manager is leading a team that is newly formed and includes members from different functional areas. The team is experiencing low trust and reluctance to share ideas. The project manager wants to build a high-performing team. Which THREE actions should the project manager take? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Set clear team goals and define success criteria together. Setting clear team goals and defining success criteria together (Option C) is correct because it aligns the team around a shared purpose, which is essential for building trust and collaboration in a newly formed, cross-functional team. This action ensures that all members understand what they are working toward and how their contributions fit into the bigger picture, directly addressing the reluctance to share ideas by creating a common ground.

Facilitating a team charter workshop (Option D) is crucial for establishing shared values, norms, and ground rules for interaction. This proactive step helps define acceptable behaviors, communication protocols, and decision-making processes, which are fundamental for building psychological safety and trust, thereby encouraging members to share ideas without fear.

Organizing team-building activities focused on collaboration and trust (Option E) directly addresses the low trust and reluctance to share. These activities provide opportunities for team members to interact in a low-stakes environment, learn about each other's strengths, and build rapport, fostering a sense of camaraderie and psychological safety necessary for a high-performing team.

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Provide individual rewards for top performers to motivate competition

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Assign a mentor from outside the team to guide team members

Question 9

A key vendor informs you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time due to a supply chain disruption. This risk was identified and included in the risk register. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan that was defined for this risk. Since the risk was identified and included in the risk register, a contingency plan should have been defined. The correct first action is to implement that pre-planned contingency plan to address the supply chain disruption, as it is the most efficient and proactive response to a known risk.

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Escalate the issue to the steering committee for guidance

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Brainstorm new solutions with the team since the risk was not anticipated

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Wait to see if the vendor can resolve the issue before taking action

Question 10

You are leading a virtual team across multiple time zones. Team members report feeling disconnected and communication is becoming less effective. Which TWO actions should you take to improve team cohesion and collaboration?

Accepted Answer

Create a team charter that defines communication norms, meeting times, and preferred collaboration tools. A team charter (Option A) establishes clear communication norms, meeting times, and collaboration tools, which directly addresses the root cause of disconnection in a virtual team. By defining these expectations upfront, the charter reduces ambiguity and ensures all members are aligned on how and when to communicate, fostering cohesion. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on creating a team charter to set ground rules and improve team performance. Additionally, scheduling regular virtual team-building activities and informal coffee chats (Option B) directly addresses the 'feeling disconnected' aspect by fostering personal connections and trust among team members, which are crucial for effective collaboration and team cohesion in a virtual environment.

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Encourage team members to use instant messaging for all communication

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Increase the frequency of status reports to ensure everyone is updated

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Require all team members to work the same hours regardless of time zone