PMP Practice Exams: Set One

Question 1

Question 1: You are a project manager for the BBB Project, and you’re working with Allen, a business analyst, to determine the problems and identify the business needs for the BBB Project. The project scope has been created, but there are some recent requests for additions to the project scope. The request for changes need to be tested and reviewed before being implemented. In this scenario, who is responsible for the requirement-related activities of the project scope considering the project has just started?

1. You the project manager
2. Allen, the business analyst
3. Project customer
4. Project sponsor

Answer 1

Answer: Allen, the business analyst

Explanation
If a business analyst is assigned to a project, requirement-related activities are the responsibility of that role. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that requirements-related work is accounted for in the project management plan and that requirements-related activities are performed on time and within budget and deliver value. The project sponsor and the project customer are not responsible for requirements-related activities.

Question 2

Question 2: A risk has been identified in your project that will likely cause the project to fail. You meet with the project sponsor to discuss the risk and its high probability of occurring. Which one of the following is a risk response that could address this high-probability and high-impact risk event?

1. Accelerate
2. Avoidance
3. Withdrawal
4. Mitigation

Answer 2

Answer: Avoidance

Explanation
The best option is avoidance. To avoid the risk may mean to shut down the project altogether or to trim part of the scope to avoid the project. Mitigation is the second-best choice as this approach can reduce the possibility and/or the impact of the risk event.

Question 3

Question 3: You are the project manager of the GGG Project for your organization and are leading a recently chartered project that will affect much of the organization. You’re about to meet with the project team and several key stakeholders to complete stakeholder identification. Because of the size of the project you want the meeting participants to come prepared with a list of stakeholders prior to stakeholder identification meeting. What’s the best approach to this scenario?

1. Create a web survey and distribute it to the entire company to gauge who is, and who is not, a stakeholder.
2. Complete stakeholder identification on your own and then compare your results to the meeting outcomes.
3. Have the participants complete brainwriting before the stakeholder identification meeting
4. Have the team investigate potential stakeholders before the meeting

Answer 3

Answer: Have the participants complete brainwriting before the stakeholder identification meeting

Explanation
Brainwriting is similar to brainstorming, but participants will create a list of stakeholders they believe to exist in the project before the meeting. The other choices are not feasible and don’t involve the entire meeting participants coming prepared with a list of stakeholders for the stakeholder identification meeting.

Question 4

Question 4: Management has asked you, the project manager of the JHK Project, to create a project website dashboard that will allow stakeholders to query the project status, check milestones, and other project information at any time. You task Gene, a project team member, with creating this website. What type of communication are you creating for stakeholders?

1. One-to-one
2. Pull
3. Receiver-only
4. Persistent

Answer 4

Answer: Pull

Explanation
This is simply a pull communication model. The stakeholders will pull information from the web server as they require. The other terms are distractors and are not communication management terms for your exam.

Question 5

Question 5: You need to purchase materials from a vendor, but you prefer a particular vendor you’ve worked with in the past. This vendor is slightly more than its competitors, but they always deliver on time, are easy to work with, and offer excellent support. Your desire to work with this one vendor is best described as what type of market condition?

1. Single source
2. Oligopoly
3. Preferred source
4. Sole source

Answer 5

Answer: Single source

Explanation
This is a single source marketplace. Single source means that there are many different vendors, but you prefer to work with a particular vendor. Sole source means that there is only one vendor available to choose from. Oligopoly means that market conditions are so tight that the actions of one vendor affect the actions of the other vendors, such as airline fees. Preferred source isn’t a valid choice.

Question 6

Question 6: You are a project manager for the IT Department in your organization and you’re working with the project team to define all the constraints and assumptions in your new project. You know that you should record all assumptions in an assumption log. What project management process creates the assumption log document?

1. Define project scope
2. Develop project charter
3. Create the project management plan
4. Identify risks

Answer 6

Answer: Develop project charter

Explanation
The assumption log is a document where you will record all assumptions identified in the project. The assumption log is created as an output of the Develop Project Charter process early in the project. The assumption log is not created by the define project scope process, the identify risks process, or while creating the project management plan.

Question 7

Question 7: You are the project manager for your organization. You are leading a project that will utilize resources from the IT department. Nancy, the Director of IT, is not allowing her resources to be utilized on your project and this is causing a major disruption to get things moving forward. What is the most likely cause of the problem?

1. You do not a budget to pay for the resources
2. You do not have a project charter
3. You do not have permission to use her resources
4. You do not have a schedule

Answer 7

Answer: You do not have a project charter

Explanation
All projects need a charter signed by a person with the correct amount of authority over all the project resources. Nancy is likely not allowing you to use her resources because you do not have a project charter that requires her to do so.

Question 8

Question 8: Benji is the project manager of the BBB Project for his organization. The planned value for the project work at this point is $450,000, but his actual costs for the project is ten percent more than what was planned. The project’s earned value is $417,000. Management is considering canceling this project due to performance. Based on this information, what is the sunk cost of the project?

1. $450, 000
2. $495, 000
3. Not enough information to know for certain
4. $417, 000

Answer 8

Answer: $495,000

Explanation
Sunk costs describe the total amount of funds invested into the project. In this example, the actual costs are the sunk costs. The project’s planned value is $450,000 and the actual costs are ten percent more than that value, or $495,000.

Question 9

Question 9: You are a project manager for your organization. Your current project has a budget of $1,250,650 and is currently 65 percent done. Due to some errors by the project team, however, you were supposed to 75 percent as of today. In your project, you have spent $847,500 – slightly more than what was planned. Management has asked for to report your cost performance index. What’s the best answer?

1. 0.96
2. 1
3. 1.1
4. 0.75

Answer 9

Answer: 0.96

Explanation
The cost performance index is found by using the formula of earned value divided by actual costs. In this scenario that would be $812,923/847,500 for a CPI of .96. The other answers are incorrect calculations of the cost performance index.

Question 10

Question 10: Jeffrey is the project manager of the OPO Project for his organization and a portion of his project will be contracted with a vendor. Kelly, the project sponsor of the OPO Project, tells Jeffrey to utilize a screening system for the vendors to help sort out unqualified vendors. Which one of the following is the best example of a screening system?

1. Bids must accompany a detailed proposal with timeline
2. Vendors must be licensed and bonded in the US state where the work will take place
3. Bids must be under $250, 000
4. Vendors must attend the bidders conference

Answer 10

Answer: Vendors must be licensed and bonded in the US state where the work will take place

Explanation
Of all the choices the requirement of vendors to be licensed and bonded in a specific US state is the best example of a screening system. While the other answers could be a screening system, they are not as restrictive as the bonded and licensing requirement.

Question 11

Question 11: Quincy is the project manager of the GHY Project and he’s working with the project team to build out the project cost estimates. One of the first resources Quincy recommends using is the project charter. The team doesn’t understand why the charter is needed at this point of the project since they are now clearly in planning activities. Why would Quincy need the project charter at this point?

1. The charter defines who has budget approval
2. The charter defines the total costs of work packages for the project
3. The charter defines a summary budget for the project costs
4. The charter defines who has authority over project cost

Answer 11

Answer: The charter defines a summary budget for the project costs

Explanation
The project charter includes a summary and the preapproved financial commitments for the project expenses, so it is a key input to the project cost estimating activities.

Question 12

Question 12: You are a project manager for your organization. Your current project has a budget of $1,250,650 and is currently 65 percent done. Due to some errors by the project team, however, you were supposed to 75 percent as of today. In your project you have spent $847,500 – slightly more than what was planned. It has just come to your attention, however, that a major defect will cost the project an additional $29,700. What is your cost performance index now?

1. 0.93
2. 0.9
3. 0.87
4. 1.03

Answer 12

Answer: 0.93

Explanation
The cost performance index is found by using the formula of earned value divided by actual costs. In this scenario that would be $812,923/877,200 for a CPI of .93. The other answers are incorrect calculations of the cost performance index.

Question 13

You are the project manager of the IHI Project for your organization. You are considering outsourcing a portion of the project to a vendor. You are interested in the price of the vendor completing the writing of the technical manual for the software your project team is creating. What documents should you send to vendors?

1. Bid and SOW
2. RFP and invitation to bidders conference
3. IFB and SOW
4. RFP and SOW

Answer 13

Answer: IFB and SOW.

Explanation
Because you are only wanting a price, you will send the vendors an Invitation to Bid and the Statement of Work. An IFB requests a price only and the SOW defines the project work. The other items are incorrect as an RFP asks for a proposal. You wouldn’t send a bid the vendor, but the vendor will reply with a bid.

Question 14

Brad is the project manager of the JL Project for his organization. This project has recently been cancelled due to a change in the technology involved. What should Brad do next?

1. Write a final project report
2. Nothing. the project is done
3. Return to operations
4. Move onto the next project

Answer 14

Answer: Write a final project report

Explanation
Even though the project has been cancelled, he should still write the final project report as part of closing the project. The final project report defines the summation of the project, what was achieved, why the project was cancelled, and becomes part of historical information for the organization.

Question 15

You are the project manager for a construction project in your organization. Your project team has identified a project risk that is too dangerous for the project team members to take on, so you elect to use the transference risk response. Mary, a project team member, then identifies that the vendor managing the risk could cause delays in the project even though the contract may have repercussions for missed deadlines. This new risk, albeit small in probability and impact, is documented in the risk register. What type of risk is the possibility of a missed deadline by the vendor?

1. Residual
2. Accepted
   Non-Conforming
3. Aggravated

Answer 15

Answer: Residual

Explanation
This is an example of a residual risk as the risk response creates a new, smaller risk that must still be managed. This risk event could also be considered a secondary risk if the probability and/or impact were more significant.

Question 16

You are a project manager for the BNB Consulting Group. You are working with the project team to create a project management plan for a software development project for a new client. The client has defined all of the requirements for the project and has also provided a statement of work that defines exactly what’s expected of your organization. Your project team is planning all the work, and only the required work, to satisfy the project objectives for this new software. What project management approach are you utilizing in this scenario?

1. Adaptive project management life cycle
2. Agile project management
3. Adaptive planning
4. Predictive project management lifecycle

Answer 16

Answer: Predictive project management lifecycle

Explanation
Because all the planning is being done at the beginning of the project, this is an example of a predictive project management lifecycle. Project life cycles can range along a continuum from predictive approaches at one end to adaptive or agile methods at the other. In a predictive life cycle, the project deliverables are defined at the beginning of the project and any changes to the scope are progressively managed. In an adaptive or agile life cycle, the deliverables are developed over multiple iterations where a detailed scope is defined and approved for each iteration when it begins.

Question 17

You are the project manager for your organization which is a weak matrix. The project sponsor, a functional manager, wants you to create a strategy to define the stakeholders’ current level of engagement and how you may maintain or improve their engagement level. What document is the project sponsor actually looking for in this environment?

1. Stakeholder mapping
2. Communications management plan
3. Stakeholder engagement plan
4. Stakeholder directory

Answer 17

Answer: Stakeholder engagement plan

Explanation
The project sponsor is looking for a stakeholder engagement plan. This plan defines how changes to the project may affect stakeholders, stakeholders’ engagement levels, relationships among the stakeholders, information needs of the stakeholders, the timing of communication, and how the plan will be updated and maintained.

Question 18

Ned is a project manager for his organization and he’s working with the project team to create a schedule for the project work. Ned learns that some of the project team members have vacations scheduled that will affect the project schedule. Where should Ned record information about the project team members’ vacations?

1. Risk log
2. Project schedule
3. Project calendar
4. Resource calendar

Answer 18

Answer: Resource calendar

Explanation: Vacations and planned time off for project resources are recorded in the resource calendar. The project calendar describes the general working hours and days for the project, not the individual schedules such as vacations.

Question 19

A solution that your team is creating will cost $568,000 and will cost $25,000 a month to support. A vendor reports that they can offer you the same solution for no out-of-pocket costs and .08 per transaction. You know that there will be approximately 450,000 transactions per month. What should you do?

1. Hire the vendor if you’ll keep the solution longer than five years
2. Hire the vendor if you’ll keep the solution less than four years
3. Complete the solution in-house if you’ll keep the solution less than four years
4. Complete the solution in-house if you’ll keep the solution more than one year.

Answer 19

Answer: Hire the vendor if you’ll keep the solution less than four years

Explanation
The vendor’s solution will cost you $36,000 per month and nothing out-of-pocket. You’ll need to find the difference between the initial costs, which is $568,000 and then find the difference between the monthly fees, which is $11,000. Then you’ll divide the $568,000 by $11,000 to find that in just over 51 months your in-house solution is more cost-effective. If you’ll keep the solution less than four years, which is 48 months, it is more cost-effective than building and maintaining the solution in-house.

Question 20

Jon is the project manager of the JKJ Project for his organization and he’s meeting with a large group of stakeholders next week to identify the project risks. Jon knows that some of the risks identified in this meeting are important for the project, but may be sensitive to some of the managers and stakeholders involved. He wants to avoid some of the stakeholders not identifying risks because of politics or fear or backlash. What should Jon do next?

1. Establish quiet writing to capture risks in the project meeting
2. Divide the group to avoid the conflicts but to still capture the risks
3. Utilize a moderator and project meeting rules to keep conflicts down
4. Implement the Delphi Technique for the participants

Answer 20

Answer: Implement the Delphi Technique for the participants

Explanation
The Delphi Technique uses rounds of anonymous surveys to identify risks, allow participants to respond, and for the group to reach consensus on the risks. The Delphi Technique takes out the fear of backlash and allows everyone to speak their mind about the risks in the project.

Question 21

Kelly is a project team for your project and she’s trying to predict how long her activity will take. You ask Kelly what’s the optimistic estimate, most likely duration, and the worst-case duration for the task. She considers the question and the reports that the best case is 45 hours, the most likely will be 60 hours, and the worst-case will be 90 hours. Using triangular distribution, what do you expect the duration of the task to be?

1. 65 hours
2. 90 hours
3. 105 hours
4. 45 hours

Answer 21

Answer: 65 hours

Explanation
Triangular distribution is just the average of the three estimates provided. In this case, 45, 60, and 90 averages to be 65 hours.

Question 22

You are the project manager for the HJL Project for your organization and you’re discussing the quality requirements with your project team. The team insists that they need high-quality materials for the installation piece of the project. What is the team more likely to need than high-quality materials?

1. Confirmed materials
2. Correct materials
3. Quality -accepted material
4. High-grade materials

Answer 22

Answer: High-grade materials

Explanation
Grade and quality are not the same things. High quality isn’t a valid term as quality is quality, there are not rankings of quality, but rankings of materials. Ranking of materials is grade, and that’s the best answer presented for this scenario.

Question 23

There are five levels of quality management that any project manager should recognize. Of the five levels, which one is the most expensive?

1. Find the defect through quality control
2. Let the customer find the defects
3. Prevent defects through quality assurance programs
4. Plan and design quality from the beginning of the project

Answer 23

Answer: Let the customer find the defects

Explanation
The most expensive level of quality management is to allow the customer to find the defect as it can result in loss of sales, diminished reputation, and other negative costs of poor quality.

Question 24

Sam is a project manager in his organization, and he is working with the project sponsor to develop the project charter. This new project will implement a new email program that will allow end users to access their email on their phones and their laptops. The project charter’s primary goal in this scenario is to do what?

1. Define the end users
2. Authorize the resources to work on the project team
3. Define the success factors for the project
4. Authorize the project to exist

Answer 24

Anwers: Authorize the project to exist

Explanation
Developing the project charter is the process of developing a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. The primary purpose of the project charter is to authorize the project, then to authorize the project manager to have control over project resources.

Question 25

You are a project manager for the BGF Organization and the project sponsor has approved the scope baseline for your project. A customer of the project, however, approaches you and requests for three additional items to be added to the project scope. The items are small and no work has yet been done of the project as the scope baseline was just approved. What’s the best way to manage this scenario?

1. Reject the change
2. Changes will now flow through formal change control procedures
3. Allow the changes to be added to the scope as no work has yet been completed
   Ask the customer to present the change for the project sponsor to approve

Answer 25

Answer: Changes will now flow through formal change control procedures

Explanation
The baseline has been approved and approved baselines can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison while performing Validate Scope and Control Scope processes as well as other controlling processes. The other options are not valid answers as the approved baseline must now be managed through the formal change control procedures.