PMPPracticeExam3

Question 1

Which one of the following options best describes the contents of the Scope Baseline?

A. Project scope management plan and WBS
B. Project scope statement in addition to schedule and cost baselines
C. Project scope management plan and project scope statement
D. Project scope statement and WBS

Answer 1

D. Project scope statement and WBS

According to the PMBOK® Guide (6th Edition) the scope baseline includes the WBS, WBS dictionary, and the project scope statement.

Question 2

You are managing a software development project with a set of preplanned milestones. Your team has completed all milestones and you are now verifying that the product meets the specifications outlined in the project management plan. What process group are you currently in?

A. Closing
B. Monitoring and Controlling
C. Executing
D. Planning

Answer 2

B. Monitoring and Controlling

Verifying that a product meets specifications is part of Monitoring and Controlling.

Question 3

Your construction project is located in an area which is prone to overnight burglaries. Since this is a problem that you cannot solve it, your project team has decided to do nothing for this risk other than just taking out an insurance policy. Which type of risk response planning is this?

A. Transference
B. Avoidance
C. Sharing
D. Acceptance

Answer 3

A. Transference

The use of insurance to shift the negative impact of a risk, in this case burglary, is an example of risk transference.

Question 4

In which one of the following organizations does the project manager have more power?

A. Strong Matrix
B. None, the project manager has always less power than the functional manager.
C. Weak Matrix
D. Functional

Answer 4

A. Strong Matrix

The project manager has more power in a strong matrix organization. In a strong matrix organization the project managers have authorities comparable to that of functional managers and normally they are not under the supervision of the functional managers. In a weak matrix organization the project manager is organizationally under the supervision of a functional manager who is given the project responsibilities.

Question 5

Tom is managing a project that was contracted on a time and material basis and during the project execution he finds that some of the tasks have been taking less time than planned. On average each team member has required only 25 hours to accomplish work which was planned for 37.5 hours during the week. What is the best thing that Tom can do in this situation?

A. Report this accurately on the status report and ensure that activities are re-estimated as necessary, to keep the team completely occupied.
B. Report the accurate status to your manager and send a separate report stating that each team member was busy for 37.5 hours.
C. Report on the status report that each team member was busy for 37.5 hours, and use the time saved for other activities not related to the project.
D. Avoid mentioning these kinds of savings on status reports.

Answer 5

A. Report this accurately on the status report and ensure that activities are re-estimated as necessary, to keep the team completely occupied

You would need to report the status accurately to the customer even if it means losing some revenue. Reporting that each team member has spent 37.5 hours a week is both inaccurate and ethically wrong.

Question 6

Which structured technique in the Manage Quality process involves finding a long-lasting solution for a discovered issue?

A. Problem solving
B. Design for X
C. Performance reviews
D. Root cause analysis

Answer 6

A. Problem solving

Performance reviews is a tool and technique of Control Quality. Design for X, Root cause analysis and Problem solving are all Manage Quality techniques however Design for X involves optimizing around an identified variable and Root cause analysis helps reveal the issue but does not go so far as to work towards and define a solution. Problem solving involves finding a long-lasting solution to a problem by identifying it, analyzing it, choosing the best solution of the alternatives and putting the solution into action.

Question 7

Your team is currently in the process of controlling and verifying the quality of the deliverables on your project. Which TWO tools would they not be utilizing to accomplish this?

A. Quality audits
B. Statistical sampling
C. Design for X
D. Control charts

Answer 7

A. Quality audits
C. Design for X

Quality audits and design for X would not be used during control quality. Instead, they would be utilized during the manage quality process.

Question 8

As the project manager of a manufacturing facility construction project, you have needed to estimate certain activity durations before all project team members were acquired. During the acquisition of the project team, you find that the actual competency levels of the team members are much lower than what you had anticipated when you were estimating the activity durations. What would be the best course of action in this situation?

A. Inform the stakeholders that the project is behind schedule.
B. Modify the activity duration estimations and the schedule considering the actual competency levels.
C. Keep the schedule as it is because no delay has happened yet.
D. Ask the project team members to work overtime in order to compensate for their low level of competency.

Answer 8

B. Modify the activity duration estimations and the schedule considering the actual competency levels.

The best course of action is to fully understand the consequences of the lower competency of the team members. That is only possible if you incorporate the changed level of competency in the activity duration estimations and the project schedule accordingly. Keeping the schedule as it is would not solve the problem. It is too soon to ask for overtime or inform the stakeholders about the delay, considering that the project is in its early stages and you still don’t know the exact effects of the lower competency of the team members on the schedule.

Question 9

Your company’s vice president just informed your division that it would be utilizing a change-driven Agile project delivery method going forward for all new projects. Which quality may negatively impact the success of this initiative?

A. The evolution of internal processes
B. Cross-department collaboration
C. The use of organizational change management techniques
D. An emphasis on not failing

Answer 9

D. An emphasis on not failing

With Agile, it is assumed that many things are not going to be correct upfront. Therefore, there will be a failure, but adapting and making corrections is appropriate. If a team focuses on getting things correct before acting, then they will lose the speed and agility in the method. All of the other answers are important qualities in a change to an agile mentality.

Question 10

You are currently implementing the risk management process of your project. There are a number of risks that have been identified in your project, however the team has elected not to change the project plan to deal with the risk, but they have established a contingency reserve in the event that some of these risks are triggered. This is an example of what type of risk mitigation technique?

A. Avoidance
B. Passive acceptance
C. Active acceptance
D. Contingent response strategy

Answer 10

C. Active acceptance

Recognizing the risk and not changing the plan, but making some contingencies in the event the risk is triggered, is an example of active acceptance. Passive acceptance would be if no contingencies were put in place and avoidance would be correct if the project plan were modified to accommodate the risks.

Question 11

On a control chart, a source of variation that is intermittent, not inherent in the system, and is not predictable is known as:

A. Common or typical Cause
B. Specific Assignment
C. Normal or Common Cause
D. Special or Assignable Cause

Answer 11

D. Special or Assignable Cause

On a control chart, a source of variation that is intermittent, not inherent in the system, and not predictable, is called a Special or Assignable Cause which is an unusual event.

Question 12

You are in the process of closing your project and you are looking at different documents which you have in your archive as the project manager. There is an untitled document in which throughout various project meetings you have documented differences in opinion, situations to be investigated, and emerging or unanticipated responsibilities. If you want to pick a title for this document, which one of the following it would be?

A. Meeting Minutes
B. Risk Register
C. Issue Log
D. Project Performance Report

Answer 12

C. Issue Log

The issue log is a tool used in the Manage Team process. According to the PMBOK® Guide (6th Edition), an issue log is used to document and monitor who is responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date.

Question 13

You are going to start your fifth project as the manager at your company. From your past experience, you know that one of the stakeholders has always made a lot of changes in the projects. What would be your best approach to manage this particular stakeholder in the beginning of the project?

A. Try to get this stakeholder eliminated from your project
B. Escalate the problem to the stakeholder’s manager to direct his activities to other projects
C. Resist against the changes that this stakeholder initiates so he/she realizes that you do not accept any changes
D. Get the stakeholder involved in the project as early as possible

Answer 13

D. Get the stakeholder involved in the project as early as possible

Changes are not bad! Changes normally come from lack of input at the beginning of the project. If we begin effective communication with this stakeholder early, we stand a much better chance of discovering their changes during the planning process when they will have less of an impact on the project. Trying to eliminate the stakeholder is the wrong approach.

Question 14

Large fluctuations in the periodic expenditure of funds are undesirable for organizational operations. Therefore, the expenditure of funds is frequently reconciled with the disbursement of funds for the project. This is known as:

A. Disbursement Reconciliation
B. Expenditure Reconciliation
C. Funding Limit Reconciliation
D. Budget Reconciliation

Answer 14

C. Funding Limit Reconciliation

Funding limit reconciliation is one of the tools and techniques used in the Determine Budget process. This will reconcile the availability of funds with their expenditure and it will necessitate the scheduling of work to be adjusted to smooth or regulate the expenditures.

Question 15

Match the Descriptions with the Leadership Styles.

Descriptions
- Combines transactional, transformational and charismatic qualities to suit the group dynamics
- Leads through empowerment and coaching. The focus is on relationships and collaboration.
- Performance focused. Goal and objective-oriented.
- Energetic and passionate about convictions but may be motivated by personal goals.
- Empowers, encourages, and inspires.
- Allows team to make their own decisions.

Styles
- Transformational
- Transactional
- Servant-Leader
- Laissez-faire
- Interactional
- Charismatic

Answer 15

• Combines transactional, transformational and charismatic qualities to suit the group dynamics (Interactional)
• Leads through empowerment and coaching. The focus is on relationships and collaboration. (Servant Leader)
• Performance focused. Goal and objective-oriented. (Transactional)
• Energetic and passionate about convictions but may be motivated by personal goals. (Charismatic)
• Empowers, encourages, and inspires. (Transformational)
• Allows team to make their own decisions. (Laissez-faire)

Question 16

You are working on a project where a negative risk has occurred. However, you have no contingency plan for this risk. You call a meeting and a solution is devised to change the workflow until a permanent solution can be implemented. This is an example of?

A. Recovery plan
B. Workaround
C. Reserve plan
D. Risk Response plan

Answer 16

B. Workaround

According to the PMBOK® Guide (6th Edition), a workaround is a response to a threat (or problem) that has occurred for which a prior response had not been planned or was not effective. Therefore, any time there is no contingency plan in place, but the risk which happened must be addressed, the response is called a workaround.

Question 17

The project sponsor gives you a project charter and asks you to start working on the project immediately and to provide him with a schedule. What should you do first?

A. Begin creating a project scope statement
B. Create an activity list
C. Acquire the project team and start working
D. Begin estimating the activities required to complete the scope of work

Answer 17

A. Begin creating a project scope statement

There’s no mention in the question that the schedule is required on an urgent basis, so you need to follow the steps to get to a project schedule. The project scope statement and other planning activities must be completed before a schedule can be created.

Question 18

Your project is running slightly over budget. You mention this to another project manager, who suggests you shift some of your expenses to indirect costs that are not charged to your project budget. What do you do?

A. According to the other project manager, examine project expenses to see if any are indirect expenses that could be taken off your project.
B. Crash the project.
C. Re-estimate the project costs.
D. Use your contingency reserves.

Answer 18

D. Use your contingency reserves.

Re-estimating of the project costs is probably required, but it is not a direct response to the budget overrun problem. Indirect expenses are costs associated with the project and it is not truthful to get them off the project reports. Crashing is not relevant in this situation because there’s no mention of schedule delays. Therefore, you should use your project reserves to cover the budget overruns.

Question 19

What is the last thing that should be done in the Close Project process?

A. Record the project lessons learned
B. Project financial closure
C. Release the project resources
D. Project formal acceptance

Answer 19

C. Release the project resources

Outputs of the Close Project or Phase process include archives, lessons learned, and project closure. However, some project resources (people, computers, telephones) must be used to perform these closing activities. Once completed, the project can release its resources.

Question 20

Which is a technique that the project manager can use during the Implement Risk Response process to enable action when those who are responsible for executing the risk response are outside of the project team?

A. Influencing
B. Contingent response strategies
C. Active listening
D. Colocation

Answer 20

A. Influencing

Influencing is an Interpersonal and Team skill used by Implement Risk Responses and is helpful when those responsible for carrying out the risk response are not part of the project team or have other demands on their time. The other techniques are not used by the Implement risk response process.

Question 21

As a project manager in the middle of project execution you realize that completing the project will take longer than the original plan. What is the best course of action to take?

A. Meet with your managers and inform them that the project cannot be completed on time.
B. Increase the working hours of the project staff.
C. Cut some of the product scope.
D. Investigate to find schedule compression options and then present your managers with those options.

Answer 21

D. Investigate to find schedule compression options and then present your managers with those options.

The most reasonable and responsible way of facing such a problem would be to find a solution to overcome the project late completion. Of course in the next step, if you find that there’s no schedule compression possible, you might choose another option.

Question 22

Yesterday you met with the customer on your current project and presented the progress on the deliverables for the new widget you are building them. Unfortunately, they were disappointed with what they saw and remarked that what was being built was not exactly what they asked for. They asked you to rectify it, and since it was your mistake, they would not expect the schedule or budget to be impacted.

You are not clear why there were crossed signals since everything had been signed off on until now. What should you do next?

A. Gather the team together with all the project documents and plans and do a root cause analysis.
B. Since your team made a mistake, you must put a plan in place to rework the project.
C. You should schedule a meeting with the customer and let them know that all the designs and plans had been signed off on by them, so there couldn’t be a mistake on your end.
D. You should work according to plan since you are confident the customer will be happy with the end product regardless of their comments.

Answer 22

A. Gather the team together with all the project documents and plans and do a root cause analysis.

The first step in a misunderstanding is to determine the root cause of the misunderstanding. If there was an error in the design, then this will cascade to other areas. If there wasn’t an error, then you can walk the customer through all of the project artifacts and determine where there may have been a misunderstanding. Once everyone agrees on what happened, then a path forward can be planned.

Question 23

All of the following statements regarding a project manager are correct, EXCEPT which one?

A. The project manager is accountable for the project’s ultimate success or failure
B. The project manager may initiate changes to the project scope
C. The project manager is assigned after the project charter is created
D. The project manager is responsible for managing stakeholders’ expectations

Answer 23

C. The project manager is assigned after the project charter is created

A project charter is created during project initiating. A project manager is assigned during project initiating, not after it.

Question 24

As a project manager you work under the supervision of a project division director who oversees several other projects. During a company meeting you are present when your manager is presenting a status report of all the projects being run in his division. He reports that all projects are within budget and none of them is behind the schedule. However, you know that your status reports for the last several weeks have been reporting a delay in the schedule. What do you do in this situation?

A. Notify the appropriate management immediately.
B. Do nothing because your manager is responsible for the information that he has provided to his managers.
C. Ask your manager if that information was simply a typographical error.
D. Quit the company because you might be blamed for presenting false information.

Answer 24

A. Notify the appropriate management immediately.

You should notify the appropriate management immediately that incorrect information has been presented for your project. The PMI Code of Ethics requires that managers report the errors of others, and provide accurate and truthful information to project stakeholders at all times. Doing nothing or quitting the company are both passive and unethical.

Question 25

You are preparing for your meeting with the customer so they can validate the work done so far. What do you need to ensure is ready and completed before the meeting begins?

A. The work deliverables have been accepted.
B. A list of change requests is available.
C. The deliverables have been tested and verified.
D. The organization’s process assets are available.

Answer 25

C. The deliverables have been tested and verified.

You need to ensure that the deliverables have been tested and verified. The idea is that you never want to show the customer a deliverable that hasn’t first been tested and shown to meet its requirements before asking them to accept it.

Question 26

You are manager of a sports complex construction project. During the planning phase of the project one of the team members who is asked to prepare activity duration estimates sends you an email including duration estimates for two activities as follows: Activity A: 15 days + a lag of 4 days; Activity B: 1 month + a lead of 2 weeks. What would be your possible objection to these estimates?

A. The Activity Duration Estimate should have also mentioned the predecessor or successor activity to which the lag or lead is attached.
B. The team member should have presented the standard deviation of the estimations.
C. Activity duration estimates should not include any lag or lead information.
D. All the estimates should have the same units of measure.

Answer 26

C. Activity duration estimates should not include any lag or lead information.

Activity duration estimates are quantitative assessments of the likely work periods to complete an activity. They should not include any lag or lead information.

Question 27

You are close to the project’s end when a group of stakeholders demands that some requirements be changed now that they see what the impact will be. This is obviously a problem because you have not accounted for the time and cost of these requirements in the project’s original plans. What is the best thing to do to prevent such problems in the future?

A. Do a more thorough job of estimating
B. Do a better job on stakeholder management
C. Consider a larger contingency reserve to compensate for such happenings
D. Review the project charter more thoroughly, examining the business case for shortcomings

Answer 27

B. Do a better job on stakeholder management

The only choice that correctly addresses the problem at hand is the one that includes stakeholder expectation management.

Question 28

Tom, as the project manager, is in the middle of project execution when his boss tells him that he should release one of his team members for another project. Assuming that all of his project resources have similar capabilities and each resource is working on only one activity at a time, which activity would be impacted the least if that resource were released?

Activity - A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H
Duration - 4-8-2-6- 1-2-8- 3
Float - 3-2-0-2- 0-5-0- 3

Answer 28

Activity F

In order to be on the safe side, the best option is to choose the resource who is working on the activity with the greatest float. This is activity F.

Question 29

You are a software development project manager and most of your team members operate from remote locations without the benefit of face-to-face contact. One of your major concerns is to build trust among the team members. Which of the following will help you the most in doing so?

A. Co-Location
B. Team-building activities
C. Training
D. Establishing Ground Rules

Answer 29

B. Team-building activities

Team Building activities help develop trust and help establish good working relationships. Ongoing communications are a part of Team Building Activities. It is a tool used in Develop Team. Especially when the teams become remote, the importance of ongoing communication increases in building trust among the team members.

Question 30

A colleague of yours who is currently managing a project is retiring and you are going to be his substitute. During the handover meetings he tells you that the project is on schedule and within budget, but only because he has pushed the project team so hard. What should be your first course of action?

A. Meet with the team and review your expectations
B. Develop a management strategy
C. Check the CPI
D. Check the SPI

Answer 30

B. Develop a management strategy

By developing a management plan it will dictate the rest of your actions, such as meeting with your team. You will also need a management plan before checking CPI and/or SPI.

Question 31

Which conflict resolution method does not have long-term effects?

A. Forcing
B. Compromise
C. Problem Solving
D. Smoothing

Answer 31

D. Smoothing

Smoothing is a method that only aims at minimizing the severity of the conflict, but it does not try to eliminate the source of conflict or find a permanent solution. Forcing is one of the worst methods of conflict resolution. However, it has long-term effects.

Question 32

You are going to be a construction project manager to build a new pharmaceutical plant. The project requires that governmental hearings about the end product of the plant be held prior to site preparation. What kind of a dependency is this?

A. Soft logic
B. Mandatory dependency
C. Discretionary dependency
D. External dependency

Answer 32

D. External dependency

This is called an external dependency. It involves a relationship between project and non-project activities.

Question 33

You are managing a construction project. After you have created the schedule performance baseline, your project customer, which is external to your company, approaches you about adding some new items to the project scope. You will ask the customer to issue which one of the following documents?

A. Change request
B. Project scope baseline
C. Project charter
D. Project scope statement

Answer 33

A. Change request

Since this is an external customer, the only document that it can create is a change request. The rest of the options are in the responsibility of the project manager or project sponsor. Changes must be formally controlled using the change control system.

Question 34

When are risk identification activities performed?

A. During the Plan Risk Management process
B. During the Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis process
C. During the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process
D. Ongoing throughout the project

Answer 34

D. Ongoing throughout the project

The process of Identify Risks is originally categorized as a planning process. However, this process is iterative because unknown risks can be discovered throughout the life cycle of the project.

Question 35

You are the project manager for the production of a commercial complex construction project. You have completed the Define Scope process for your project. Which of the following may be generated through this process?

A. Project scope statement, WBS
B. WBS, Updates to Requirements traceability matrix
C. Project scope statement, Updates to Requirements traceability matrix
D. Project scope statement, Project charter

Answer 35

C. Project scope statement, Updates to Requirements traceability matrix

The Define Scope process will result in the development of the Project Scope statement and updates to project documents such as the stakeholder register, requirements documentation, and the requirements traceability matrix.

Question 36

As the manager of an IT project, you have utilized 360-degree feedback techniques for your information gathering and are in the process of giving formal feedback to team members. You will be setting specific goals for employees for the remainder of the project. Which technique are you utilizing?

A. Individual and Team Assessments
B. Observation and Conversation
C. Co-location
D. Influencing

Answer 36

A. Individual and Team Assessments

Individual and Team Assessments are a technique of the Develop Team process. In such an assessment, team members receive feedback from project managers. Managers can gather information from those who interact with the team member using 360-degree feedback principles.

Question 37

You are managing a software development project budgeted at $360,000 according to the earned value analysis report which you have on your desk. As of today you have spent $110,000 and the earned value is $120,000. However, according to the project schedule you should have spent $150,000. Which one of the following options best describes your project status?

A. Not enough information
B. Behind schedule
C. Ahead of schedule
D. On schedule

Answer 37

B. Behind schedule

EV= $120,000
AC= $110,000
PV= $150,000
SPI= EV/PV
SPI= 120,000/150,000
SPI= 0.8

Since SPI is less than 1 we can conclude the project is behind schedule.

Question 38

Which of the following organizational types has many features of a functional organization and gives the project manager more of a coordinator or expeditor role than a manager?

A. Projectized
B. Strong Matrix
C. Weak Matrix
D. Hybrid

Answer 38

C. Weak Matrix

The description is one of a weak matrix organization where the project manager does not have much power. In a weak matrix organization the project manager has a role which is closer to a coordinator or expeditor than a manager.

Question 39

You are managing a multi-disciplinary project when the functional manager of a project resource responsible for a critical path task informs you that the resource will be out on sick leave for the next two weeks. There will be a day to day slip on the project until the resource returns, as there is not an alternative resource that can be used. What do you do?

A. Fast track the project
B. Notify the project stakeholders immediately
C. Crash the project
D. Cover the delay with your schedule reserves

Answer 39

B. Notify the project stakeholders immediately

Notify the stakeholders immediately that there is project delay due to a resource that is no longer available. Once the stakeholders are aware of the situation and its impact to the project, a path forward can be developed. Project managers are required to provide timely and accurate project information at all times, and to follow all project processes and policies, as per the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Making contingency plans without input from the stakeholders is a violation of this code.

Question 40

Your project has completed and the final deliverables have already been sent to the customer, but the customer refuses to give the project final acceptance. What would you do in this situation?

A. Document the situation
B. Inform your management about the issue
C. Ask the project team to recheck the deliverables
D. Talk to the company lawyer to start the legal process

Answer 40

A. Document the situation

The first thing to do is to understand the situation. In order to do that you need to document the situation and find out the reasons why the customer is not signing off. After doing so, you should inform your management.

Question 41

You are explaining resource leveling to one of your team members. You can tell any of the following statements about resource leveling, EXCEPT?

A. Resource leveling is necessary when some resources have been over-allocated.
B. Resource Leveling can increase the length of the critical path.
C. The primary purpose of resource leveling is to keep resource usage at a constant level.
D. Resource leveling is applied to a schedule before it has been analyzed by the critical path method.

Answer 41

D. Resource leveling is applied to a schedule before it has been analyzed by the critical path method.

Resource leveling is a schedule network analysis technique. It is applied to a schedule that has already been analyzed by the critical path method.

Question 42

You are managing a project for a customer that has offered an incentive for meeting all deadlines. At this time, the project is running on a compressed schedule, but is continuing to have regular quality meetings to ensure the output of the project meets the customer’s requirements. Your manager, however, is concerned that the meetings will cause further project delays and missed deadlines, which will in turn result in the loss of potential incentive payments. He insists that the meetings be stopped immediately and that all project effort be focused on making on-time deliveries. What do you do?

A. Cancel all meetings
B. Refuse the request
C. Add project resources
D. Further compress the schedule

Answer 42

B. Refuse the request

Refuse the request and explain to your manager that you are obligated to adhere to all quality management plans for the project. Failing to do so would not only deliver a possibly defective product to the customer, but is also a violation of the PMI Code of Ethics. The Code requires project managers to follow all project processes and polices.

Question 43

As a senior project manager you have been assigned as mentor for a newly hired junior project manager. You want to explain where the control limits are located on a control chart. Which option will you tell him?

A. Inside the normal distribution curve
B. Within the specification limits
C. Above and below the specification limits
D. Close to the statistical independence point

Answer 43

B. Within the specification limits

The control limits are the dashed lines above and below the mean. ‘Within the specification limits’ is the only answer to address this correctly. Since control limits are the measure you use to determine quality, it follows that your quality should exceed your customer’s need. Otherwise you probably would not do the work. To exceed customer needs, the control limits should fall within the specification limits which are determined according to the customer’s needs.

Question 44

Place the following actions in the correct sequence for what to do when a change is requested by the customer. Drag and drop the actions to sort them first to last.

• Communicate the status of the change to relevant stakeholders
• Perform the Integrated Change Control Process
• Determine the costs and benefits of the change
• Update the project management plan and project documents
• Submit a change request
• Document the change and analyze it for feasibility

Answer 44

Step One => Document the change and analyze it for feasibility

Step Two => Determine the costs and benefits of the change

Step Three => Submit a change request

Step Four => Perform the Integrated Change Control Process

Step Five => Update the project management plan and project documents

Step Six => Communicate the status of the change to relevant stakeholders

Question 45

As a new project manager in the company, you have been sent to a training course. During the course you hear the instructor using the expression “halo effect”. You don’t understand the expression and ask from the instructor about the meaning. He explains that “halo effect” refers to the tendency to:

A. hire the best.
B. move people into project management because they have had project management training.
C. promote from within.
D. move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields.

Answer 45

D. move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields.

The “halo effect” refers to the tendency to move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields. This happens frequently, especially in technical companies.

Question 46

Your company has an emergency and needs contracted work done as soon as possible. Under these circumstances, which of the following would be the helpful to add to the contract?

A. Requirements as to which subcontractors can be used
B. Incentives
C. A force majeure clause
D. A clear contract statement of work

Answer 46

B. Incentives

It is clearly mentioned that this is an emergency situation, and normally there is not enough time in emergency situations to have a clear statement of work or subcontractors requirements. Instead, you probably need to use a cost plus contract with some incentives to motivate the contractor for on-time delivery without expanding the scope.

Question 47

During the Sequence Activities process, your project team has identified several dependencies to a few related projects that will provide major and critical deliverables to your project. Some of those projects are very similar to your project in terms of their scope and deliverables. In this situation, which of the following processes you should be most concerned about?

A. Sequence Activities
B. Validate Scope
C. Plan Risk Response
D. Control Scope

Answer 47

C. Plan Risk Response

Since there are dependencies to the external projects and those projects should provide you with critical and major deliverables, the biggest concern must be the risks that other projects may cause to yours. It would be better to prevent those problems in the Plan Risk Response process than to just spend effort controlling or validating scope.

Question 48

As the project manager you are in the middle of the project execution phase when a team member informs you of a cost overrun on a specific work package. What should be your first action in this situation?

A. Implement the change control process
B. Inform the stakeholders
C. Determine the budgeted cost
D. Find the cause of cost overrun

Answer 48

D. Find the cause of cost overrun

The first action should be to analyze the situation. Finding the cause of the cost overrun is the only one of the options that is relevant to analyzing the situation.

Question 49

You are going to be hired in a company as a project manager, but you are told in the first interview that according to your capabilities, you will be given a coordinator or expeditor role. How is a project expeditor role different from a project coordinator role?

A. A project coordinator cannot make any decisions
B. A project expeditor reports to a higher-level manager
C. They are both the same and they have lower authority than a project manager
D. A project coordinator has some authority and can make some decisions

Answer 49

D. A project coordinator has some authority and can make some decisions

According to the PMBOK® Guide (6th Edition), the project coordinator reports to a higher-level manager and has authority to make some decisions. The project expeditor has no authority to make decisions.

Question 50

For the first time in your career you are assigned as the manager of a project with 250 stakeholders. You have never dealt with this number of stakeholders in a project. What would be your best course of action in this situation?

A. Find an effective way to gather the requirements of all stakeholders.
B. Not all stakeholders are really important, so eliminate some of them to increase your efficiency.
C. Collect the requirements of the most influential stakeholders.
D. Try to find the most important stakeholders and make sure to satisfy them.

Answer 50

A. Find an effective way to gather the requirements of all stakeholders.

As a project manager you cannot eliminate some stakeholders or consider their requirements according to their degree of importance or influence. You have to consider the requirements of all stakeholders.