PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your project is using a predictive approach, and you are in the execution phase. A key stakeholder requests a minor change that you believe will improve the product but is not in the scope. What should you do?

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

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and follow the Integrated Change Control process. In a predictive (waterfall) project, any change to the approved scope, even if minor and beneficial, must go through the formal Integrated Change Control (ICC) process. This ensures the change is evaluated for impacts on cost, schedule, quality, and risk before approval. Submitting a change request is the correct procedure to maintain control over the project baseline and avoid scope creep.

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Implement the change and document it later

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Refuse the change because the project is already in execution

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Approve the change yourself since it is minor and will improve the product

Question 2

During project execution, a risk event that was identified and listed in the risk register occurs. The risk response plan includes a mitigation strategy. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the risk response as defined in the risk register. The risk response plan is the approved course of action for handling identified risks. When a risk event occurs, the project manager should first implement the predefined mitigation strategy as documented in the risk register, ensuring a timely and controlled response without unnecessary delay.

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Re-evaluate the risk to see if the response is still valid

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Update the risk register and lessons learned

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Inform the sponsor immediately about the risk occurrence

Question 3

A project manager is leading a cross-functional team that includes members from different departments. Two senior developers have a conflict about the technical approach for a critical component. The conflict is causing delays. What should the project manager do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting between the developers to discuss the pros and cons of each approach and reach consensus. The project manager's first responsibility in a technical conflict is to facilitate collaboration and consensus-building among the team members, leveraging their expertise to resolve the disagreement. By guiding the developers to discuss pros and cons, the PM enables a data-driven decision that respects the team's autonomy and technical judgment, which is essential for maintaining ownership and commitment to the chosen approach.

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Escalate the issue to the functional managers of the developers

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Make the decision for the team to move forward

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Ask the team to vote on the technical approach

Question 4

Your project is a software implementation using a hybrid approach. The team has been facing scope creep due to informal change requests from stakeholders. Which TWO actions should you take to address this issue?

Accepted Answer

Implement a formal change control process and require all changes to go through it. Implementing a formal change control process ensures that all scope changes are evaluated, approved, and documented before being integrated into the project. This directly addresses the root cause of scope creep—informal requests—by enforcing a structured workflow that includes impact analysis, approval gates, and baseline updates. In a hybrid software implementation, this process aligns with both predictive and agile practices, preventing unauthorized changes from disrupting the development cycle.

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Reject all scope changes for the remainder of the project

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Add a contingency buffer to the schedule to absorb future changes

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Stop all work until the scope is re-baselined

Question 5

During project execution, you notice that the project's cost performance index (CPI) is 0.9 and schedule performance index (SPI) is 0.95. The project is currently 50% complete. Which THREE actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Communicate the current performance and planned corrections to stakeholders. The PMBOK Guide requires the project manager to communicate performance data and planned corrective actions to stakeholders as part of the Monitor and Control Project Work process. With a CPI of 0.9 (10% cost overrun) and SPI of 0.95 (5% schedule delay) at 50% completion, transparency is essential to maintain trust and enable informed decision-making. This aligns with the Manage Communications process, which ensures timely and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, and disposition of project information.

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Request additional budget from the sponsor to cover the cost overrun

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Crash the project schedule without considering cost impact

Question 6

A project manager is closing a project. Which THREE activities are essential to perform during project closure?

Accepted Answer

Conduct a lessons learned session and document findings. Conducting a lessons learned session and documenting findings (Option A) is essential during project closure because it captures knowledge about what went well and what could be improved, which is a key output of the Close Project or Phase process. This documentation becomes part of the organizational process assets and helps future projects avoid past mistakes and replicate successes. Without this step, the organization loses valuable experiential learning that could improve project management maturity.

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Update the project management plan for future projects

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Hold a sprint review to demonstrate the final product

Question 7

You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. During the sprint review, the product owner is satisfied with the deliverables, but one key stakeholder requests a significant change that would add a new feature. The team has already started planning the next sprint. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request to the change control board for evaluation and approval.. In a hybrid project, changes are managed through a formal change control process. The stakeholder's request for a new feature is a significant change that must be evaluated for impact on scope, schedule, and budget before any action is taken. Submitting a change request to the change control board (CCB) ensures proper governance and prevents unauthorized scope creep, which is critical when the team has already begun planning the next sprint.

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Refuse the change because the scope was already agreed upon during sprint planning.

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Ask the team to include the new feature in the next sprint since it's a high priority for the stakeholder.

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Advise the stakeholder to wait until the project is complete and then submit an enhancement request.

Question 8

Your project is 40% complete, and the earned value analysis shows CPI = 0.85 and SPI = 0.90. The project sponsor is concerned about the cost overrun. The original budget at completion (BAC) is $1,000,000. What is the Estimate at Completion (EAC) using the typical cost performance index (CPI) assumption?

Accepted Answer

$1,176,471. The typical CPI assumption means the cost performance to date will continue for the remainder of the project. The formula is EAC = BAC / CPI = $1,000,000 / 0.85 = $1,176,470.59, which rounds to $1,176,471. This assumes the same efficiency (CPI) for the remaining work, reflecting the current cost overrun trend.

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$850,000

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$1,000,000

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$1,111,111

Question 9

During a construction project, you discover that a subcontractor has delivered materials that do not meet the quality specifications outlined in the contract. The project is already behind schedule, and replacing the materials will cause further delays. You have a good relationship with the subcontractor, who offers a discount on future work if you accept the materials as-is. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Reject the materials and request that the subcontractor replace them according to the contract specifications.. Quality requirements are part of the contract and must be met. Accepting non-conforming materials would violate quality standards and could lead to future failures. The PM should follow the contract terms and require the subcontractor to remediate the issue. Negotiating a discount is not acceptable as it compromises quality.

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Issue a change order to modify the quality specifications to match the delivered materials.

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Accept the materials and the discount to maintain the relationship and avoid further delays.

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Inspect the materials yourself and if they appear safe, accept them to save time.

Question 10

Your agile team has been experiencing a decrease in velocity over the last three sprints. During the daily standup, team members seem disengaged and mention they are unsure of the sprint goals. As the scrum master, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a meeting with the team to review and clarify the sprint goal and ensure alignment.. The Scrum Master's first responsibility is to ensure the team understands and aligns on the sprint goal. The disengagement and confusion about sprint goals directly indicate a breakdown in shared understanding, which must be resolved through facilitation before any other action. Addressing this immediately restores focus and can prevent further velocity degradation.

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Add more user stories to the backlog to increase team motivation.

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Ask the product owner to speak with the team about the importance of the sprint goals.

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Report the velocity drop to senior management and ask for intervention.

Question 11

You are managing a project to develop a new mobile application. During a risk review meeting, the team identifies that a key third-party API may be deprecated before the project completes, which could cause significant rework. The probability is assessed as medium, and the impact is high. The team has identified alternative APIs. What is the BEST risk response strategy?

Accepted Answer

Mitigate the risk by developing a fallback plan using alternative APIs and testing integration early.. It proactively reduces both the probability and impact of the API deprecation risk by developing a fallback plan with alternative APIs and testing integration early. This allows the team to switch seamlessly if the primary API is deprecated, minimizing rework and schedule delays.

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Transfer the risk to the API provider by purchasing insurance.

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Accept the risk and take no action, as it may not happen.

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Avoid the risk by not using the API and building all functionality in-house.

Question 12

Your project is in the executing phase, and you receive a formal complaint from a team member that another team member is consistently late to daily standups and not completing tasks on time. This is causing friction in the team. You have discussed this with both individuals, but the behavior continues. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Document the issue in the issue log and escalate to the functional manager with a request for performance improvement.. The project manager has already attempted direct resolution with the team members, but the behavior persists. The next step is to formally document the issue in the issue log and escalate to the functional manager, who has authority over performance management. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's process for managing team conflicts and performance issues during the executing phase, where the project manager does not have direct authority to impose disciplinary actions.

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Immediately remove the late team member from the project to restore team harmony.

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Schedule a team-building workshop to improve collaboration.

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Ask the team to resolve the conflict themselves during the next retrospective.

Question 13

During a project to implement a new CRM system, the sponsor asks you to skip the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase to meet the go-live date, stating that the system has been thoroughly tested by the IT team. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping UAT and propose a compressed UAT focusing on critical functions.. As the project manager, your first responsibility is to address the sponsor's request by communicating the technical risks of skipping UAT—such as undetected integration failures, data migration errors, or workflow logic defects that IT testing alone cannot uncover—and proposing a compressed UAT that still validates critical business processes. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on proactive risk management and stakeholder communication, ensuring the system meets user requirements before go-live.

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Escalate the issue to the PMO for a decision.

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Agree to skip UAT to meet the deadline and update the project schedule.

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Proceed with the go-live and document the decision as a risk in the risk register.

Question 14

Your project is using a predictive lifecycle. A team member notices that a task on the critical path is taking longer than estimated, threatening the project completion date. What is the BEST action to take?

Accepted Answer

Analyze the situation and apply schedule compression techniques such as crashing or fast tracking.. In a predictive lifecycle, when a critical path task runs late, the project manager must first analyze the impact and then apply schedule compression techniques like crashing (adding resources with cost-benefit analysis) or fast tracking (performing tasks in parallel) to recover the schedule without unauthorized scope changes or premature escalation.

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Immediately add more resources to the task without analysis.

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Inform the sponsor that the project will be delayed and request a new deadline.

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Reduce the scope of the project to compensate for the delay.

Question 15

In a hybrid project, the development team is using Scrum, and the project manager is responsible for overall coordination. During a sprint, the product owner asks the team to add a high-priority user story that was not included in the sprint planning. The team is concerned about overcommitment. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Ask the product owner to add the story to the product backlog and prioritize it for the next sprint.. In a hybrid project using Scrum, the product owner should manage the product backlog and prioritize work for future sprints. Adding a new story mid-sprint violates the sprint commitment and can destabilize the team's velocity and sprint goal. The project manager should facilitate the product owner's decision to defer the story to the next sprint, preserving the integrity of the current sprint.

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Remove a lower-priority story from the sprint to make room for the new one.

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Allow the team to add the story if they can accommodate it without affecting the sprint goal.

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Escalate to the project sponsor to resolve the conflict.