PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Test 17 — 15 Questions

Question 1

In a daily standup, a developer mentions that a task is taking longer than expected due to an unfamiliar technology. The sprint goal may be at risk. As a Scrum Master, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the developer and team to find a solution or pair with an expert. The Scrum Master's first responsibility is to facilitate the team in self-organizing to remove impediments. In this scenario, the developer is blocked due to unfamiliar technology; the Scrum Master should coach the team to collaborate, such as through pair programming or knowledge sharing, to keep the sprint goal on track. Option A is incorrect as it undermines the team's self-organization and imposes a command-and-control approach. Option B is premature; descoping should only be considered after the team has attempted to resolve the issue internally and determined it's not feasible. Option D delays the issue unnecessarily; the Scrum Master should address impediments immediately, not defer them to a risk register.

Answer

Assign the task to a more experienced developer

Answer

Escalate to the product owner to descope the task

Answer

Add the issue to the risk register for future sprints

Question 2

Midway through your project, a key vendor informs you that they cannot deliver a critical component on time, which will impact the critical path. The risk was identified in the risk register with a 'mitigate' response. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan that was developed for this risk. Since the risk was already identified and a 'mitigate' response was planned, the correct first action is to implement the contingency plan that was developed for this risk. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's risk response execution process, where pre-planned actions are taken immediately when the risk trigger occurs, without waiting for additional approvals or negotiations.

Answer

Inform the sponsor of the delay and request additional budget

Answer

Issue a change request to update the project schedule

Answer

Meet with the vendor to negotiate an expedited delivery

Question 3

During a sprint review, the product owner is dissatisfied with the increment and wants to revert to a previous version of a feature. The development team believes the current version meets the acceptance criteria. As Scrum Master, what should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a discussion to clarify the acceptance criteria and expectations. Facilitate a conversation between the product owner and team to clarify expectations. Option B is reactive and may not be needed after discussion. Option C escalates prematurely. Option D bypasses collaboration.

Answer

Escalate to the program manager to resolve the conflict

Answer

Instruct the team to revert the feature as requested

Answer

Update the issue log with the product owner's concern

Question 4

Your project's Earned Value (EV) is $45,000, Planned Value (PV) is $50,000, and Actual Cost (AC) is $55,000. The project is at the midpoint. What is the most accurate assessment of the project's status?

Accepted Answer

The project is behind schedule and over budget. With EV=$45,000, PV=$50,000, and AC=$55,000, the Schedule Performance Index (SPI = EV/PV) is 0.90, indicating the project is behind schedule. The Cost Performance Index (CPI = EV/AC) is approximately 0.818, showing the project is over budget. Since both SPI and CPI are less than 1.0, the correct assessment is behind schedule and over budget, which matches option D.

Answer

The project is ahead of schedule and under budget

Answer

The project is behind schedule and under budget

Answer

The project is on schedule and over budget

Question 5

A team member has been consistently late completing tasks. When you discuss this, they mention personal issues affecting their work. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Offer support, such as adjusting workload or providing resources. Show empathy and explore solutions together. Option A ignores the human aspect. Option B is punitive. Option D escalates prematurely without trying to resolve at the team level.

Answer

Escalate to human resources for disciplinary action

Answer

Reassign the tasks to another team member

Answer

Document the issue in the performance report

Question 6

During a project audit, you discover that the quality assurance (QA) team has not been conducting planned inspections, but the quality control (QC) logs show no major defects. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Investigate why QA inspections were skipped and reinforce the importance of preventive activities. QA inspections are preventive and process-oriented; skipping them increases risk even if QC passes now. Option B is reactive. Option C is premature. Option D ignores the root cause.

Answer

Accept the situation since QC shows no defects

Answer

Update the risk register to document this as a low-priority risk

Answer

Ask the team to double-check the QC logs for accuracy

Question 7

Your project uses a hybrid methodology. An executive stakeholder emails the development team directly requesting a new feature without going through the product owner. The team starts working on it. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Tell the team to stop work on the feature and meet with the stakeholder to explain the proper process. The first action is to stop the unauthorized work by telling the team to pause. Then, you must meet with the stakeholder to explain the proper process and ensure all requests go through the product owner. This protects the team from scope creep and maintains the defined workflow. Option D alone without stopping work may not prevent further unauthorized work.

Answer

Ask the product owner to include the feature in the backlog

Answer

Reprimand the team for working on unauthorized work

Answer

Inform the stakeholder that all requests must go through the product owner

Question 8

In a project closure phase, you are preparing the lessons learned report. The project performed well, but some stakeholders were dissatisfied with the communication frequency. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Document the communication issue and recommend a more frequent communication plan for future projects. The lessons learned report is the appropriate repository for capturing stakeholder feedback on communication frequency, and recommending a more frequent communication plan for future projects directly addresses the root cause of dissatisfaction. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on using lessons learned to improve organizational process assets, particularly in the context of project communications management.

Answer

Add the feedback to the issue log for resolution

Answer

Focus only on technical successes and omit the communication issue

Answer

Explain to stakeholders that communication was adequate and disregard their feedback

Question 9

During a sprint retrospective, the team identifies that velocity has dropped due to too many interruptions. What agile technique should the Scrum Master recommend to address this?

Accepted Answer

Implement a Work in Progress (WIP) limit to reduce multitasking. Implementing a Work in Progress (WIP) limit reduces multitasking by limiting the number of tasks team members work on simultaneously, directly addressing interruptions. Option A (adding buffer time) does not prevent interruptions. Option C (more frequent retrospectives) is a ceremony and not a direct countermeasure. Option D (increasing sprint duration) does not reduce interruptions.

Answer

Add buffer time to each task estimate

Answer

Conduct more frequent retrospectives

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to accommodate interruptions

Question 10

Your project's sponsor requests that you skip user acceptance testing (UAT) to recover schedule delays. The team has already performed thorough internal testing. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Explain the risks of skipping UAT and propose a compressed UAT schedule. Skipping UAT violates the project's quality management plan and risks delivering a product that does not meet user needs, even if internal testing passed. The first step is to communicate the risks of skipping UAT to the sponsor and propose a compressed schedule as a compromise, which aligns with the PMI's emphasis on stakeholder communication and risk management. This approach balances schedule recovery with maintaining quality assurance through user validation.

Answer

Skip UAT and add a warranty period to address any issues after release

Answer

Proceed with UAT as planned without informing the sponsor

Answer

Agree to skip UAT to accommodate the sponsor's request

Question 11

Your project is running behind schedule. You need to compress the schedule without significantly increasing cost. Which TWO techniques should you consider?

Accepted Answer

Add resources from non-critical path activities to critical path tasks. Adding resources from non-critical path activities to critical path tasks is a form of resource leveling or resource optimization that can compress the schedule without significant cost increase, as it reallocates existing resources rather than hiring new ones. Option B is correct because fast-tracking involves performing activities in parallel that were originally planned sequentially, which can reduce the project duration without adding costs, though it may increase risk.

Answer

Eliminate non-essential deliverables without approval

Answer

Reduce quality standards to save time

Answer

Reduce project scope without change control

Question 12

During a project, two senior developers have a conflict regarding the technical approach. As project manager, which TWO actions should you take?

Accepted Answer

Encourage both developers to collaborate and find a mutually acceptable solution. The project manager should facilitate collaboration between the two senior developers to resolve the technical conflict, which aligns with the PMP's emphasis on conflict resolution through collaboration and problem-solving. This approach leverages the team's expertise to find a mutually acceptable solution, which is more effective than imposing a decision or escalating prematurely. Documenting the conflict and resolution in the issue log (Option E) is also correct as it ensures transparency and provides a record for future reference, which is a key practice in project management.

Answer

Decide on the technical approach yourself

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision

Answer

Reassign one developer to another project to avoid further conflict

Question 13

During a daily standup, a developer mentions that a critical integration task is blocked because the API documentation from an external vendor is incomplete. The sprint ends in three days, and this task is on the critical path. What should the scrum master do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Work with the vendor to obtain the missing documentation and update the team.. The Scrum Master's first responsibility is to remove impediments. Since the task is on the critical path and the sprint ends in three days, the Scrum Master should directly engage with the external vendor to obtain the missing API documentation, thereby unblocking the developer. This action aligns with the Scrum Master's role as a servant leader and facilitator of technical progress.

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor immediately.

Answer

Ask the developer to create the missing documentation themselves.

Answer

Inform the product owner and ask them to reprioritize the backlog.

Question 14

You are managing a marketing campaign project. The sponsor asks you to skip the quality review of the final deliverables to meet the deadline. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the potential risks of skipping the review and propose alternatives to compress the schedule without sacrificing quality.. The project manager should communicate the risks of skipping quality reviews and work with the sponsor to find ways to meet the deadline without compromising quality, such as fast tracking or crashing. Option A is incorrect as it violates quality standards and increases risk. Option B is too aggressive; escalation should be a last resort after discussion. Option C is inappropriate as it involves deception and does not address the underlying issue.

Answer

Agree to skip the review to meet the deadline as requested by the sponsor.

Answer

Refuse the request and immediately escalate to the PMO.

Answer

Skip the review but perform it after the deadline without telling anyone.

Question 15

You are the project manager for a software development project using Scrum. For the past three sprints, the team's velocity has dropped from 30 story points to 20. The team cites increasing technical debt and unclear requirements. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and implement process improvements.. The first step when facing a drop in velocity due to technical debt and unclear requirements is to understand the root causes. Facilitating a retrospective allows the team to analyze the issues and collaboratively identify process improvements. Option A is incorrect: reducing sprint length may increase overhead but does not address underlying causes. Option B is incorrect: adding developers often disrupts team dynamics and does not solve technical debt. Option D is incorrect: stricter timeboxing for standups does not resolve unclear requirements or technical debt.

Answer

Reduce the sprint length to two weeks to increase focus.

Answer

Add more developers to the team to increase velocity.

Answer

Ask the scrum master to enforce stricter timeboxing for daily standups.