PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Test 10 — 15 Questions

Question 1

In an agile project, the product owner frequently changes priorities within a sprint, causing the team to lose focus and velocity to drop. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective where the team can discuss the impact of changing priorities and agree on a process. The project manager should first facilitate a retrospective to allow the team to collaboratively analyze the impact of changing priorities and agree on a process to protect the sprint goal. This aligns with the agile principle of continuous improvement and empowers the team to address the root cause without escalating prematurely or violating sprint commitments.

Answer

Ask the team to accommodate the changes and work overtime to meet the original commitment

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Escalate to the project sponsor that the product owner is interfering with the team

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Tell the product owner that scope changes are not allowed during a sprint

Question 2

Your project is executing a major software upgrade. A key stakeholder requests a significant scope change that would require additional funding and extend the timeline. Which TWO actions should you take first?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board. Option E is correct because before any scope change can be approved or rejected, the project manager must perform an integrated impact analysis covering scope, schedule, cost, and quality, which is the foundation of the Perform Integrated Change Control process. Option C is correct because, once the impact is understood, the change must be formally documented and submitted as a change request to the change control board (CCB), which is the authorized body to approve, defer, or reject changes affecting baselines. Option A is wrong because adding the change to the backlog without formal approval bypasses the change control process and could allow unapproved work to enter the project. Option B is wrong because directing the team to start work immediately violates change control and risks committing funds and effort before the change is authorized. Option D is wrong because politely declining is premature; a change request should be evaluated through the CCB rather than rejected outright simply because the project is underway.

Answer

Add the change to the product backlog without formal approval

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Instruct the team to begin work on the change immediately

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Politely decline the request because the project is already underway

Question 3

In a hybrid project, the team is experiencing frequent interruptions from support requests that are not part of the project scope. The project manager wants to protect the team's focus. Which THREE actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Update the risk register to reflect the ongoing risk of interruptions. Options C, D, and E are correct. Updating the risk register (C) captures the ongoing risk of interruptions, making it visible and manageable. Working with the product owner to rebase the schedule (D) adjusts the plan to account for the time lost and communicates impact transparently. Documenting and escalating support requests (E) ensures they are handled by the appropriate team, freeing the project team. Option A is incorrect because reassigning a team member full-time may not be efficient and does not solve the root cause. Option B is incorrect because ignoring interruptions will continue to impact focus and productivity.

Answer

Reassign a team member to handle all support requests full-time

Answer

Ask the team to continue handling support requests as they come

Question 4

During project closure, the project manager is conducting lessons learned. The team identifies that poor communication with a remote team caused rework. Which THREE actions should the project manager take to ensure continuous improvement?

Accepted Answer

Update the organizational process assets with the lessons learned. Updating organizational process assets (OPA) with lessons learned ensures that the knowledge gained from this project is formally captured and available for future projects, which is a key requirement for continuous improvement in project management. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on transferring lessons learned to the OPA to benefit the organization's project management processes. The other correct options (C and D) also support continuous improvement by documenting the lessons in the register and recommending improvements to the communications management plan for future projects.

Answer

Update the current project's communications management plan to prevent further issues

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Facilitate a conflict resolution session between the remote and local teams

Question 5

A project manager is leading a construction project. The critical path has a total float of zero. A key supplier notifies you that a critical component will be delayed by two weeks, which will push the project beyond its deadline. The risk was identified and a mitigation plan exists. What should the PM do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Implement the mitigation plan from the risk register. The risk was already identified and a mitigation plan exists in the risk register. The project manager should implement the mitigation plan as the next step, per the PMBOK Guide's risk response process, before escalating or changing the schedule. This ensures a proactive, planned response rather than a reactive or costly one.

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Immediately escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Accept the delay and update the project schedule

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Crash the schedule by adding resources to other tasks

Question 6

During a daily standup, a developer mentions a technical issue that will likely delay a user story by three days. What is the BEST action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Record the impediment and work with the developer after the standup to resolve it. The Scrum Master's primary role is to remove impediments for the team. Recording the impediment and working with the developer after the standup ensures the daily standup remains a time-boxed synchronization event (15 minutes) and does not derail into a problem-solving session, which violates the Scrum Guide. The technical issue causing a three-day delay is an impediment that the Scrum Master must help resolve, not a task to delegate or escalate immediately.

Answer

Tell the developer to escalate to the project manager

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Ask the team to stay after the standup to solve the problem immediately

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Assign the issue to the product owner for prioritization

Question 7

A project manager is reviewing the earned value report. The SPI is 0.85 and the CPI is 0.90. The project is behind schedule and over budget. Several team members are working overtime to catch up. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a root cause analysis of the cost and schedule variances. The SPI of 0.85 and CPI of 0.90 indicate the project is both behind schedule and over budget. Before taking corrective action like requesting more budget or rebaselining, the PM must first understand why the variances occurred. Conducting a root cause analysis (B) aligns with the PMBOK's principle of analyzing performance data to identify the underlying issues, ensuring that any subsequent corrective or preventive actions are targeted and effective.

Answer

Mandate mandatory overtime for all team members

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Request additional budget from the sponsor

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Rebaseline the project schedule and budget

Question 8

Your project is in the execution phase. An executive stakeholder has been directly assigning tasks to team members without going through you. Several team members are confused about priorities. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Speak with the stakeholder privately to explain the impact of bypassing the PM and reinforce the communication plan. The correct first step is to speak privately with the stakeholder to explain the impact of bypassing the project manager and reinforce the established communication plan. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle of managing stakeholder engagement through direct, respectful communication to resolve issues at the lowest appropriate level before escalating. By addressing the root cause—the stakeholder's lack of awareness or disregard for the communication protocol—you can restore clarity on priorities without prematurely escalating or undermining the stakeholder's relationship.

Answer

Update the stakeholder engagement plan to reduce the stakeholder's influence

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Ignore the issue and try to align the team's priorities yourself

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Inform the sponsor about the stakeholder's behavior

Question 9

A project manager is working on a predictive project. A team member identifies a risk that was not previously identified. The risk has a low probability but high impact. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Add the risk to the risk register and assess its impact. In predictive project management, the first step upon identifying a new risk is to document it in the risk register and perform a qualitative analysis to assess its probability and impact. This ensures the risk is formally captured and prioritized before any further action, such as escalation or response planning, is taken. Option A correctly follows this standard risk management process.

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Escalate the risk to the project sponsor

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Accept the risk because it has low probability

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Implement a contingency plan immediately

Question 10

During a sprint retrospective, a team member complains that the daily standups are too long and unproductive. Several others agree. What is the BEST action for the Scrum Master to take?

Accepted Answer

Ask the team to propose improvements to the standup format and agree on changes. The Scrum Master serves the team as a facilitator and coach, not a directive manager. When the team raises a process concern, the BEST action is to empower the team to self-organize and solve the problem collaboratively. Asking the team to propose improvements and agree on changes respects Scrum's principle of self-management and ensures the solution is owned by those who must follow it. This approach also addresses the root cause (unproductive format) rather than imposing a superficial fix.

Answer

Enforce a strict 15-minute timebox for future standups

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Cancel the daily standups and replace them with written status reports

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Move the standup to a later time when team members are more focused

Question 11

A project manager is managing a hybrid project. The team is two weeks into a four-week iteration when the product owner asks to reprioritize the backlog to include a critical regulatory requirement that was just announced. The change will impact the current iteration goal. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Assess the impact of the change on the iteration goal and discuss with the product owner and team to decide on the best course of action. In a hybrid project, the project manager must balance agility with governance. When a critical regulatory requirement emerges mid-iteration, the first step is to assess its impact on the iteration goal and collaborate with the product owner and team to decide the best course of action. This aligns with the agile principle of responding to change while maintaining stakeholder alignment and ensuring the team can evaluate trade-offs before reprioritizing.

Answer

Tell the product owner that the current iteration commitment cannot be changed

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Immediately add the requirement to the iteration backlog and adjust the sprint goal

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Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 12

A project is 60% complete. The earned value (EV) is $120,000, the planned value (PV) is $150,000, and the actual cost (AC) is $130,000. What is the cost performance index (CPI) and what does it indicate?

Accepted Answer

CPI = 0.92; the project is over budget. The Cost Performance Index (CPI) is calculated as EV/AC = $120,000 / $130,000 = 0.92. A CPI less than 1.0 indicates that the project is over budget, meaning for every dollar spent, only $0.92 of value is earned. Option D correctly identifies both the CPI value and the over-budget status.

Answer

CPI = 0.80; the project is under budget

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CPI = 1.08; the project is under budget

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CPI = 0.92; the project is behind schedule

Question 13

A project manager discovers that a team member has been working on a feature that was not approved. The feature is not in the scope statement. What should the PM do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Stop the work immediately and assess the impact on the project. The correct first action is to stop the unauthorized work immediately to prevent further scope creep and resource waste. The project manager must then assess the impact on the project's schedule, budget, and quality before deciding on any corrective actions. This aligns with the PMBOK's guidance on managing scope changes and preventing gold plating.

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Allow the team member to finish the feature since it adds value

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Report the team member to HR for disciplinary action

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Add the feature to the project scope and update the scope statement

Question 14

Your project is using a predictive approach. The schedule baseline shows that the project should be 50% complete by now, but only 40% of the work is done. The critical path has been impacted. Several team members are idle because of a dependency conflict. What is the BEST scheduling technique to address this?

Accepted Answer

Apply resource leveling to resolve the resource conflict and optimize the schedule. Resource leveling is the best technique because the project has idle team members due to a dependency conflict, which is a resource constraint. By adjusting the schedule to resolve the conflict, you can reallocate resources to critical path tasks and optimize the overall schedule without necessarily adding resources or changing the baseline. This directly addresses the root cause of the delay—resource contention—rather than just compressing the schedule.

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Rebaseline the schedule to reflect the current progress

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Fast track the schedule by performing tasks in parallel

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Crash the schedule by adding resources to critical path tasks

Question 15

A project manager is closing a project. Several lessons learned were documented throughout the project. What should the PM do with the lessons learned?

Accepted Answer

Submit them to the PMO for inclusion in the organizational process assets. Lessons learned are a key input to organizational process assets (OPA). Submitting them to the PMO ensures they are formally captured, stored, and made available for future projects, enabling continuous process improvement. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on updating OPAs during project closure.

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Include them in the final project report and then discard them

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Archive them in the project file for reference only

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Distribute them to the project team for their personal development