PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Test 9 — 15 Questions

Question 1

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

Answer

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

Answer

Assign the issue to the product owner for prioritization

Question 2

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

Answer

Request additional budget from the sponsor

Answer

Rebaseline the project schedule and budget

Question 3

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

Answer

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

Answer

Inform the sponsor about the stakeholder's behavior

Question 4

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.

Answer

Escalate the risk to the project sponsor

Answer

Accept the risk because it has low probability

Answer

Implement a contingency plan immediately

Question 5

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 retrospective is the appropriate place to discuss process improvements. The Scrum Master should facilitate a discussion to modify the standup format based on the team's feedback.

Answer

Enforce a strict 15-minute timebox for future standups

Answer

Cancel the daily standups and replace them with written status reports

Answer

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

Question 6

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

Answer

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

Answer

Escalate to the project sponsor for a decision

Question 7

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

Answer

CPI = 1.08; the project is under budget

Answer

CPI = 0.92; the project is behind schedule

Question 8

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.

Answer

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

Answer

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

Question 9

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.

Answer

Rebaseline the schedule to reflect the current progress

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Fast track the schedule by performing tasks in parallel

Answer

Crash the schedule by adding resources to critical path tasks

Question 10

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.

Answer

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

Question 11

A project manager is planning a hybrid project. The team is new to agile and there is resistance to adopting agile ceremonies. Which TWO actions should the PM take to address this?

Accepted Answer

Start with a subset of ceremonies and introduce others gradually. Training helps the team understand the value of agile ceremonies. Starting with a few ceremonies and gradually introducing others eases the transition.

Answer

Mandate participation in all ceremonies without exception

Answer

Replace ceremonies with written status reports

Answer

Eliminate ceremonies that the team dislikes

Question 12

A project is behind schedule due to a key vendor delivering late. The contract includes penalties for late delivery. The project manager is considering options. Which THREE actions are most appropriate per PMI?

Accepted Answer

Negotiate a revised delivery schedule with the vendor to minimize impact. Reviewing the contract helps understand remedies. Enforcing penalties may compensate for delays. Negotiating a revised schedule with the vendor is collaborative and may recover time.

Answer

Document the issue in the issue log and escalate to senior management

Answer

Terminate the contract and find a new vendor

Question 13

You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. During a sprint review, the product owner requests a significant change to a feature that has already been accepted in a previous sprint. The change would require rework and impact the critical path. What should you do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request and evaluate the impact on the project constraints. In a hybrid project, changes to accepted deliverables must follow a formal change control process. Submitting a change request (Option B) ensures the impact on the critical path, schedule, and budget is evaluated before any rework begins, aligning with the PMBOK Guide's guidance on integrated change control.

Answer

Add the change to the product backlog for a future sprint without formal approval

Answer

Instruct the team to implement the change immediately to maintain stakeholder satisfaction

Answer

Reject the change because the feature was already accepted

Question 14

Your construction project is 40% complete, and you have just learned that a key supplier will be unable to deliver critical steel beams for another six weeks due to a factory fire. The beams are on the critical path, and the project has zero float. The risk register had identified a potential supplier delay, with a planned response to use an alternative supplier. What should you do NEXT?

Accepted Answer

Implement the contingency plan to use the alternative supplier. The risk register already identified the supplier delay and planned a contingency response (use an alternative supplier). Since the risk has occurred, you must implement the contingency plan per the risk management plan. This is the immediate next step to mitigate the impact on the critical path with zero float.

Answer

Initiate a change request to adjust the schedule baseline

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Update the risk register and close the risk

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and request additional budget

Question 15

During a daily standup meeting, a team member mentions that they are blocked because a dependency on another team's work is not yet complete. The Scrum Master is present. What should the Scrum Master do FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Help remove the impediment by coordinating with the other team. In Scrum, the Scrum Master is responsible for removing impediments that hinder the team's progress. When a team member is blocked due to an incomplete dependency from another team, the Scrum Master's first action should be to help remove that impediment by coordinating with the other team. This aligns with the Scrum Guide's directive that the Scrum Master facilitates the resolution of blockers to ensure the Development Team can meet the Sprint Goal.

Answer

Add the blocker to the risk register as a new risk

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Escalate the issue to the project sponsor

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Ask the team member to work on something else and ignore the blocker