Udemy 4 Flashcards
Question 155:
An organization assigned an agile coach to assist a project manager and their team with the transition to Scrum project management. During a training session, the agile coach explained the nature of the relationship between the development team and the customer along with both parties’ responsibilities in a Scrum project, stating that:
The development team is responsible for determining which features should be addressed first
The customer is responsible for determining how to carry on the project work
The customer is responsible for defining value and assessing the user experience
The development team is responsible for prioritizing features
The development team is responsible for determining which features should be addressed firstThe customer is responsible for determining how to carry on the project workCorrect answerThe customer is responsible for defining value and assessing the user experienceThe development team is responsible for prioritizing featuresOverall explanationThe Scrum framework explicitly defines the role and responsibilities of the development team, the product owner, the customer, and other stakeholders. The customer or the product owner are the ones responsible for defining the product scope and features, prioritizing the derived user stories according to their values, and deciding which will be generated first. The development team, on the other hand, is responsible for determining how to carry out the work (the approaches and the techniques that will be implemented and followed for the development process). Upon completing and delivering the development work, it is up to the customer to review and assess the user experience in order to confirm whether the delivered product meets their needs and expectations.
Question 156:
A team member was assigned to add an “upload” button to a website’s support page so that users can attach files when reporting any issues. During the iteration review, the team member proudly demonstrated that they did not only add the button, but also included the possibility of uploading files through “drag and drop”. How do you describe the team member’s behavior?
This is “delivering value”, which should be encouraged
This is “customer obsession”, which should be encouraged
This is “scope creep”, which should be avoided
This is “gold plating”, which should be avoided
This is “delivering value”, which should be encouragedThis is “customer obsession”, which should be encouragedThis is “scope creep”, which should be avoidedCorrect answerThis is “gold plating”, which should be avoidedOverall explanationGold plating entails adding more features that are not included or agreed upon in the scope or product backlog, in order to please the customer. This does not involve scope creep because the customer didn’t request the change. Customer obsession consists of hyperfocus on customers’ requirements through consistently collecting their feedback to improve their user experience. The product owner should foreground what customers want by prioritizing their requirements in the product backlog. The iterative and incremental aspects of the agile approach ensure the continuous delivery of value to the customer.
Question 157:
One of the cross-functional team members took an urgent unplanned leave, putting the rest of the team under a lot of pressure in order to meet the sprint goal. How should the agile project manager address this issue?
Ask team members to take their time finishing tasks with no need to rush
Ask the functional manager to assign a replacement for the leaving team member
Ask team members to work extra hours
Ask the product owner to extend the sprint duration in order to give the team more time to finish the sprint backlog
Correct answerAsk team members to take their time finishing tasks with no need to rushAsk the functional manager to assign a replacement for the leaving team memberAsk team members to work extra hoursAsk the product owner to extend the sprint duration in order to give the team more time to finish the sprint backlogOverall explanationEmergency leaves are a common risk that can occur anytime in any type of project. Taking into consideration that agile promotes a work-life balance, team members should be encouraged to work according to their available capacity to keep everyone motivated and avoid draining their energy. Therefore, working extra hours is not an option. Asking for a replacement won’t be practical for a short period of time since it’ll take them more time to learn about the project. Sprint duration is time-boxed and should not be extended.
Question 158:
In predictive projects, the scope baseline, which is usually used as a basis for future comparisons, can only be modified through formal change control procedures. What are the components of the scope baseline?
Scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary
Scope management plan and WBS
WBS and WBS dictionary
Project charter and Scope management plan
Correct answerScope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionaryScope management plan and WBSWBS and WBS dictionaryProject charter and Scope management planOverall explanationScope Baseline is the approved version of a scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), and its associated WBS dictionary (PMBOK 7th edition, page 188).
Question 159:
When working on the WBS, a project manager disagrees with the project team about whether to use numbers or letters when indicating the highest level of the Work Breakdown Structure. The project manager believes that with a lot of levels in the WBS, A.1.2.2 will be more clear and easier to read than 1.1.2.2. What is this disagreement mainly about?
Code of accounts
Control accounts
Work packages
Scheduling software
Correct answerCode of accountsControl accountsWork packagesScheduling softwareOverall explanationCode of accounts is the identifier of the WBS components. Control accounts, planning packages, and work packages are components of the WBS rather than identifiers. Control accounts present the highest level of the WBS, while work packages are the lowest level.
Question 160:
A project manager had already assembled a team for a new project when they got promoted to a portfolio manager position. The project manager informed their successor that the majority of the team needs training. In order to be able to provide the team members with the suitable type of training, the succeeding project manager should refer to:
Resource Management Plan
Responsibility Assignment Matrix
Work performance reports
Work Breakdown Structure
Correct answerResource Management PlanResponsibility Assignment MatrixWork performance reportsWork Breakdown StructureOverall explanationThe Resource Management Plan covers staffing acquisition, timetable, training needs, recognition and rewards, release criteria, compliance, and safety. On the other hand, the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) is a useful tool for ensuring a clear division of roles and expectations. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
Question 161:
A team has 100 story points in the product backlog and a velocity of 30 points per iteration. Taking into consideration that the iteration is two weeks long, how many weeks does the team need to complete the backlog?
4 weeks
6 weeks
8 weeks
10 weeks
4 weeks6 weeksCorrect answer8 weeks10 weeksOverall explanationIt will take the project team 3.3 iterations to complete the backlog work items (100 story points / 30 story points = 3.3 iterations). It would take 4 iterations to complete the work because the timebox of the iteration shouldn’t be changed. Since the question specifically asks how many weeks are needed for completing work, then 8 weeks is the right answer.
Question 162:
A project manager is leading a Hybrid project using a Kanban board for executing activities. During a regular monthly retrospective meeting, a new team member stated that the cycle time is high compared to the last project they worked on. What does the team member mean by “cycle time”?
The duration of the project iterations
The time required to review a task
The time from the moment the team starts working on a task to the moment they complete it
The time from the moment a task is added to the kanban board to the moment it’s completed
The duration of the project iterationsThe time required to review a taskCorrect answerThe time from the moment the team starts working on a task to the moment they complete itThe time from the moment a task is added to the kanban board to the moment it’s completedOverall explanationThe cycle time is how long it takes for the team to complete a task. It’s measured from the time they start working on the task. Lead time, on the other hand, starts from the moment the task is added to the board (Agile Practice Guide, page 64).
Question 163:
A project manager is trying to control the costs of the project they are working on. Thus, the project manager decides to calculate the _______________ in order to define the value of the completed work, based on its pre-approved assigned budget.
Planned Value
Earned Value
Schedule Variance
Cost Variance
Planned ValueCorrect answerEarned ValueSchedule VarianceCost VarianceOverall explanationEarned Value (EV) refers to the value of completed work, based on the approved budget assigned to that work. Cost Variance (CV) is the amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time, expressed as the difference between the earned value and the Actual Cost (AC). Schedule Variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance expressed as the difference between the earned value and the Planned Value (PV).
Question 164:
An organization intends to form a change control board for assessing and managing change requests. What is the most appropriate selection of members to form the change control board?
Project sponsor and product owner
Project manager and project team members
Project sponsor, project manager, and project team members
Product owner and scrum master
Project sponsor and product ownerProject manager and project team membersCorrect answerProject sponsor, project manager, and project team membersProduct owner and scrum masterOverall explanationThe change control board is established within an organization to review all change requests and decide whether to approve or reject them. The appropriate board structure should involve the project manager, project team members, and the sponsor. Along with these members, the change control board (CCB) could also include key stakeholders such as subject matter experts and consultants. The product owner and Scrum master are roles under the scrum framework, which doesn’t include a change control board.
Question 165:
A project manager is leading a construction project that consists in adding a number of bungalows to a seaside hotel. Since they need to procure the required construction materials, the project manager is responsible for issuing all of the following documents, except:
Proposals
Source selection criteria
Request for quotes
Purchase order
Correct answerProposalsSource selection criteriaRequest for quotesPurchase orderOverall explanationAs the buyer, the project manager is responsible for issuing the source selection criteria, Request For Quotes (RFQ), and Purchase Order (PO) as procurement documents. Proposals, which involve all information required in the request for quotes, are created by the seller. Source selection criteria are set by the buyer and used to choose the most convenient provider. A request for quote (RFQ) is used to solicit selected suppliers to submit quotes and bids for certain tasks or products. A purchase order (PO) is issued by the buyer for the seller in order to indicate the ordered products or services’ quantity, type, and prices.
Question 166:
A project manager works in an IT company that strictly complies with the Agile Software Development Manifesto. All of the following are values of the Agile Manifesto, with the exception of:
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Following an iteration over following a plan
Individuals and interactions over processes and toolsWorking software over comprehensive documentationCustomer collaboration over contract negotiationCorrect answerFollowing an iteration over following a planOverall explanationThe correct value is “Responding to Change over Following a Plan”. All of the other alternatives are the right values of the Agile Manifesto (Agile Practice Guide, page 8).
Question 167:
After shortlisting vendors, a project manager is in the process of preparing the contract. What type of contract should the project manager opt for if they want to terminate the project in case they’re not satisfied with the delivered incremental shippable product?
Fixed Price
Cost Reimbursable
Fixed Price with Incentive
Time & Materials (T&M)
Fixed PriceCost ReimbursableFixed Price with IncentiveCorrect answerTime & Materials (T&M)Overall explanationThe project manager should choose a Time and Materials (T&M) contract. This type of agreement allows them to only pay the contractor for the actual cost of the invested time (usually involves specific hourly rates), as well as the actual cost of the used materials and equipment.
Question 168:
A project manager is leading a project with some remote team members. The project manager recently received a complaint from these members, claiming that they are being treated as second-class employees. What should the project manager do next?
Review team charter
Conduct a performance survey to evaluate the efficiency of remote work
Invest more in collaboration tools
Perform a root cause analysis
Review team charterConduct a performance survey to evaluate the efficiency of remote workInvest more in collaboration toolsCorrect answerPerform a root cause analysisOverall explanationIdentifying the main cause of the issue by performing a root cause analysis is what the project manager should do in the first place, as there is no mention in this scenario of why remote team members feel like they are treated as second-class employees. For instance, they might be feeling isolated due to a lack of collaborative tools or they might be feeling discriminated against due to cultural differences. After finding out the root cause of the issue, the project manager can discuss the matter with the concerned members to come up with an appropriate solution.
Question 169:
Which of the following is an example of an information radiator?
Prototype
Milestone
Kanban board
Brainstorming
PrototypeMilestoneCorrect answerKanban boardBrainstormingOverall explanationInformation radiators, such as the Kanban board, are a visible display of up-to-date information concerning the team’s work status. A milestone is a point or an event in the project that does not display status information. Brainstorming, on the other hand, is a data-gathering technique, whereas a prototype is a method of getting early feedback on requirements.
Question 170:
During the sprint, the scrum master asked two senior members whether the remaining work in the sprint backlog could be completed to achieve the sprint goal. The team members replied by saying that they were not supposed to track such data. What should the scrum master do next?
Take disciplinary action against them
Take charge of tracking the sprint backlog progress
Inform team members that tracking sprint backlog is the responsibility of the agile team and guide them through the process
Ask them about the sprint backlog progress during the next standup instead
Take disciplinary action against themTake charge of tracking the sprint backlog progressCorrect answerInform team members that tracking sprint backlog is the responsibility of the agile team and guide them through the processAsk them about the sprint backlog progress during the next standup insteadOverall explanationThe scrum master needs to coach the two senior team members and bring to their attention that the scrum team is responsible for tracking the total work remaining in the sprint backlog as an indicator of whether or not they will achieve the sprint goal. They can also attend the standup meeting in order to detect any bottlenecks and help tackle and remove them. In order to get a clear idea about the sprint backlog progress, the scrum master can simply check the burndown chart, but it’s not their responsibility to continuously track the sprint backlog work progress.
Question 171:
A new project manager was excited to lead a project for the first time. However, their enthusiasm faded away as soon as they realized that, despite their position, they had limited control over the project. In which type of organization would the project manager have the most control as a project manager?
Projectized organization
Weak matrix organization
Balanced matrix organization
Strong matrix organization
Correct answerProjectized organizationWeak matrix organizationBalanced matrix organizationStrong matrix organizationOverall explanationA projectized organization allows project managers to have the most control over their projects. In this type of organization, the project manager is responsible for making practically all of the decisions as all organizational units report directly to the project manager. Furthermore, most of the organization’s resources are fully dedicated to project work.
Question 172:
A project manager is working on a project for creating and testing a new piece of software. The project is following a predictive approach and is currently behind schedule and under budget. The project manager estimated that it will take another 2 weeks to complete the testing activity. The program manager asked the project manager to only dedicate one week to the testing activity. What should the project manager do in this situation?
Crash the project to complete the testing activity in one week
Fast-track the project to complete testing in one week
Submit a change request to complete testing in one week
Complete the testing activity in two weeks as planned and inform the program manager that they cannot compromise the testing phase
Correct answerCrash the project to complete the testing activity in one weekFast-track the project to complete testing in one weekSubmit a change request to complete testing in one weekComplete the testing activity in two weeks as planned and inform the program manager that they cannot compromise the testing phaseOverall explanationSince the project is already behind schedule and under budget, the project manager can consider crashing it by compressing the testing phase and adding more resources. If this is not feasible due to any potentially arising complexity or lack of resources, they need to decline the program manager’s request and complete the testing in two weeks as they previously planned. The project manager shouldn’t submit a change request to squeeze testing activities in one week as it will result in lowering the product quality. Even if it means completing the project behind its initial schedule, it is important to perform all of the project aspects that were agreed upon by the customer. Fast-tracking means performing multiple activities concurrently, so it’s not intended to reduce a certain activity’s duration.
Question 173:
A Change Control Board (CCB) is composed of 4 members: two members representing the performing organization: the project manager and the functional manager, and two members representing the client: the product manager and the sponsor. During the last week of the project, the product manager and the sponsor requested a change. What should the project manager do next?
Refuse to implement the change since it was requested late in the project’s life span
Evaluate the change with the project team, then decide whether to proceed with it or not
Evaluate and discuss the change internally, then call for a CCB meeting
Discuss the change with the functional manager, then decide whether to proceed with it or not
Refuse to implement the change since it was requested late in the project’s life spanEvaluate the change with the project team, then decide whether to proceed with it or notCorrect answerEvaluate and discuss the change internally, then call for a CCB meetingDiscuss the change with the functional manager, then decide whether to proceed with it or notOverall explanationNo matter how late a change request is made, it should be considered as long as the project is still running. Refusing or accepting is beyond the project manager’s authority; it falls under the Change Control Board (CCB) responsibilities. The project manager should evaluate and discuss the change request with relevant stakeholders before presenting it to the CCB in order to argue whether it should be implemented or refused.
Question 174:
A project sponsor assigned a product owner to an agile project. After a few iterations, the sponsor announced that since the product owner seemed to be oblivious to their role and responsibilities, they will be replaced by someone else. What did the first product owner probably do wrong?
Tell the agile team what work they should do
Tell the agile team how they should do their work
Tell the agile team when the work needs to be done
Tell the agile team why the work is needed
Tell the agile team what work they should doCorrect answerTell the agile team how they should do their workTell the agile team when the work needs to be doneTell the agile team why the work is neededOverall explanationIt’s not among the product owner’s responsibilities to tell a self-organizing agile team how to do their work. However, it’s among their responsibilities to let them know what they should do through defining requirements and user stories, when they should do it by defining priorities, and why they do it by defining a vision.
Question 175:
An organization decides to develop an innovative system to control the quality of its products. The project manager assigned to the project opted for an Agile approach. Why did the project manager make this choice?
To avoid change requests as much as possible
To avoid scope creep as much as possible
To get feedback as early as possible
To complete the project as early as possible
To avoid change requests as much as possibleTo avoid scope creep as much as possibleCorrect answerTo get feedback as early as possibleTo complete the project as early as possibleOverall explanationSince it’s based on short development iterations, Agile approaches allow for early and frequent feedback by delivering a working piece of the product at the end of each iteration to the customer. Since traditional projects can only obtain customer feedback at the end, it is often too late to incorporate the feedback or fix any issues at that stage, unlike Agile projects where new changes are welcomed and integrated into the product development process.
Question 176:
Agile team members are estimating a complex user story. Which of the following items the agile team should not include in their estimations?
Research time
Troubleshooting time
Testing time
Waste time
Research timeTroubleshooting timeTesting timeCorrect answerWaste timeOverall explanationWaste time involves the time lost due to interruptions, unproductive meetings, low internet speed, server connection latency, etc. User story estimates should not include waste time; they should only include all known activities needed to complete the story such as research, execution, troubleshooting, testing, etc.
Question 177:
A scrum master is leading a project with two-week sprints. The cross-functional team, which is composed of five members, had a disagreement about the maximum duration of a standup meeting. While some believe it should be 15 minutes, others think that 10 minutes are sufficient. The scrum master interfered to inform them that the maximum duration of the daily standup is:
10 minutes, since each team member needs 2 minutes for their status update
10 minutes, since it’s a 2-week sprint and they should dedicate 5 minutes for each week
15 minutes, since 3 minutes should be allocated for each team member
15 minutes, regardless of the team size and iteration length
10 minutes, since each team member needs 2 minutes for their status update10 minutes, since it’s a 2-week sprint and they should dedicate 5 minutes for each week15 minutes, since 3 minutes should be allocated for each team memberCorrect answer15 minutes, regardless of the team size and iteration lengthOverall explanationThe duration of a daily Scrum meeting is time-boxed as 15 minutes; it does not change depending on the length of a Sprint or the size of the team (Agile Practice Guide, page 53).
Question 178:
During a training session, and in order to clearly explain what a project can be, a project management coach gave their trainees the following example:
Saving an endangered species of rhinos from extinction
A weekly clean-up of the local park
A shoe factory that produces 1000 pairs monthly
Preparing pasta for your family every Monday
Correct answerSaving an endangered species of rhinos from extinctionA weekly clean-up of the local parkA shoe factory that produces 1000 pairs monthlyPreparing pasta for your family every MondayOverall explanationSaving an endangered species of rhinos from extinction is the only correct example of a project since it has a unique outcome and a limited time frame. Governments and NGOs usually lead this kind of project which can take years. However, activities occurring after the project is complete, such as routinely keeping track of the endangered species population, could be considered operations. Periodically cleaning the local park, cyclically producing shoes, or routinely preparing dinner are all examples of operations rather than projects.
Question 179:
A project manager is pitching an innovative project idea in an entrepreneurial event to get the needed investment. To ensure that they engage both the audience and the jury during the pitch, the project manager should:
Point her finger
Make eye contact
Wave her hands
Stand up straight
Point her fingerCorrect answerMake eye contactWave her handsStand up straightOverall explanationIn order to establish a proper connection with the audience and jury, the project manager should make eye contact. It is critical to maintain eye contact with the receiving part of the communication process. The project manager should confidently look at the audience, without focusing on one person. Instead, they should make a sweeping glance at the audience from the left to the right and from the front to the back of the room to try and hold the attention of each member of the audience.
Question 180:
A scrum master suggested facilitating the first backlog refinement session since the product owner and some of the development team are new to the agile method. After a quick intro, what should the scrum master ask the participants to do?
Only add more details to the product backlog items
Only add initial estimates and more details to the product backlog items
Only add more details to the product backlog items and define their priorities
Add initial estimates and more details to the product backlog items and define their priorities
Only add more details to the product backlog itemsOnly add initial estimates and more details to the product backlog itemsOnly add more details to the product backlog items and define their prioritiesCorrect answerAdd initial estimates and more details to the product backlog items and define their prioritiesOverall explanationDuring backlog refinement, the team helps the product owner create or review emergent product backlog items as well as progressively refine larger ones. The team also estimates the size of product backlog items and helps the product owner prioritize them. As a general rule, the development team should allocate up to 10% of its time in each sprint to assisting the product owner with refinement activities (Essential Scrum by Rubin, Kenneth S, page 106).
Question 1:
While reviewing an important Epic, members of the self-organizing team had different interpretations of how it should be broken down, which revealed a lack of common understanding of the project’s purpose. What should the project manager do?
Ask the team to check the release plan
Ask the team to check the acceptance criteria of the Epic
Remind the team of the sprint goal
Remind the team of the project vision
Ask the team to check the release planAsk the team to check the acceptance criteria of the EpicRemind the team of the sprint goalCorrect answerRemind the team of the project visionOverall explanationThe project manager should remind the team of the project’s vision since the team seems to lack a common understanding of the project’s purpose. The sprint goal only states and clarifies the vision of the iteration, not the overall project vision. Likewise, referring to the release plan can only help the team understand the goal of that specific release. Epic’s acceptance criteria are the conditions that have to be met to be approved by the product owner. Even though these conditions can help the team understand the Epic and how to break it down, they can’t help them get a clear understanding of the project’s purpose.
Question 2:
After 8 years of experience in the same position, a project manager gets promoted to a Portfolio manager role. A portfolio is:
A number of projects, programs, or operations that are all managed as a collection with the aim to achieve the organization’s strategic goals
Analyzing IT requirements and ensuring regulatory requirements are followed
Following methods, processes, and tools to ensure that projects are managed as designed
Creates a common vision and helps senior management to see the potential strategic implications of corporate decisions
Correct answerA number of projects, programs, or operations that are all managed as a collection with the aim to achieve the organization’s strategic goalsAnalyzing IT requirements and ensuring regulatory requirements are followedFollowing methods, processes, and tools to ensure that projects are managed as designedCreates a common vision and helps senior management to see the potential strategic implications of corporate decisionsOverall explanationA portfolio is a grouping of projects and programs. A portfolio’s purpose is to establish centralized management and oversight for a number of projects and/or programs. It also helps establish standardized governance across the organization. By creating and managing a portfolio, you’re ensuring that the organization is choosing the right projects that align with its values, strategies, and goals (PMBOK 7th edition, page 244).
Question 3:
A junior marketing consultant aspires to be a project manager. However, she often gets confused about what project management involves. To clear up the confusion, her mentor tells her that project management is:
An undertaken temporary endeavor to create a unique service, product, or result
The application of a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements
The collection of programs that have been grouped to achieve strategic business goals
An organizational structure that aims to standardize project-related governance processes
An undertaken temporary endeavor to create a unique service, product, or resultCorrect answerThe application of a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirementsThe collection of programs that have been grouped to achieve strategic business goalsAn organizational structure that aims to standardize project-related governance processesOverall explanationProject management involves applying a set of processes, skills, knowledge, experience, and methods, to attain a number of predefined project objectives and requirements according to predetermined acceptance criteria (PMBOK 7th edition, page 17).
Question 4:
A project manager performs a cost-benefit analysis before embarking on a new project to assess its potential costs and revenues. The analysis results will determine whether the project will be profitable or whether the organization should choose another project instead. The project manager finds out that the project’s Benefit-Cost Ratio is 1.3. What does this mean?
The project’s revenue is 1.3 times its profit
The project’s cost is 1.3 times its profit
The project’s profit is 1.3 times its cost
The project’s revenue is 1.3 times its cost
The project’s revenue is 1.3 times its profitThe project’s cost is 1.3 times its profitThe project’s profit is 1.3 times its costCorrect answerThe project’s revenue is 1.3 times its costOverall explanationA benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is a monetary or qualitative metric that shows the relationship between potential project costs and benefits. If the BCR is greater than 1.0, its revenue will potentially outweigh its cost and if it’s less than 1.0, the costs outweigh the gains (PMBOK 7th edition, page 102). The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) formula is as follows: the sum of the project’s benefits divided by the sum of its costs. In this situation, 1.3 means that revenue is 1.3 times the cost. The term “benefit”, in the Benefit-Cost Ratio, refers to all the cash flow or income generated from the project, unlike “profit” which represents the net income after deducting all expenses and operating costs.
Question 5:
In a weak matrix organization, employees work across multiple projects and with various departments within the company to increase employee interaction and promote teamwork spirit. In the event that additional employees are needed, who is in charge of the hiring process under this matrix?
The project manager
The sponsor
The project team
The functional manager
The project managerThe sponsorThe project teamCorrect answerThe functional managerOverall explanationThe functional manager is the one in charge of managing resources under a weak matrix. This matrix form has a huge resemblance to a traditional workplace hierarchy. A functional manager is a project’s main decision-maker as they supervise all of its aspects. Although the project manager also serves as a point of authority, they primarily report back to the functional manager.
Question 6:
A project manager is assigned to lead a digital marketing project. Some stakeholders don’t support the project, and others want the entire project to be planned out before it starts. The sponsor, on the other hand, is looking for a quick win to get the support of the majority of stakeholders and ensure the project’s continuation. What approach should the project manager adopt in such circumstances?
An agile approach, as it would please the majority of stakeholders
An agile approach, as it would produce functioning deliverables quickly
A predictive approach, as it would give more clarity to the project
A predictive approach, since agile is only used for software development projects
An agile approach, as it would please the majority of stakeholdersCorrect answerAn agile approach, as it would produce functioning deliverables quicklyA predictive approach, as it would give more clarity to the projectA predictive approach, since agile is only used for software development projectsOverall explanationSince the sponsor is looking for a quick win, then the project manager should adopt an agile approach. The agile approach introduces working functionalities early in the project, which could help the project manager/sponsor win the stakeholders’ support and avoid project discontinuation. Certain stakeholders wanted the entire project to be planned out before it starts, so they would be pleased with using a predictive approach for the project implementation. This approach gives more clarity to the work scope. However, the risk of losing stakeholders’ support along the way is very high since the project manager won’t be able to introduce tangible results until the end of the project (PMBOK 7th edition, page 46). Finally, agile is applicable to various fields, not just in the software industry (Agile Practice Guide, page 1).
Question 7:
A project manager was assigned to develop a mobile app with a team of five members. Which of the following project life cycles can be adopted by the project manager?
Initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing
Wireframing, prototyping, designing, developing, testing, and deploying
Development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline
Forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
Initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closingCorrect answerWireframing, prototyping, designing, developing, testing, and deployingDevelopment, introduction, growth, maturity, and declineForming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourningOverall explanationThe project life cycle that can be adopted for developing a mobile app project is: Wireframing, prototyping, designing, developing, testing, and deploying. A project life cycle comprises the different development phases that a project goes through from its start to its completion. Depending on different factors, a project lifecycle often includes Feasibility, Design, Build, Test, Deploy, and Close phases (PMBOK 7, pages 33 - 42). Initiation, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing are process groups rather than project lifecycle phases. Forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning are team development phases according to Tuckman’s theory.
Question 8:
An organization went through a transformation to adopt the Kanban approach for managing its new projects. The Kanban board includes four columns: To do, Doing, Testing, and Done. How should the project manager deal with the items on these different lists?
Limit the items in the To-do list
Limit the items in the Testing list
Increase the number of items in the Testing list
Increase the number of items in the Doing list
Limit the items in the To-do listCorrect answerLimit the items in the Testing listIncrease the number of items in the Testing listIncrease the number of items in the Doing listOverall explanationIn Kanban, the project manager should limit Work In Progress (WIP), meaning work under the “Doing” and “Testing” columns. This helps boost performance, which automatically leads to increasing items in the “Done” list. On the other hand, items on the ”To do” list should be increased so the team won’t be blocked waiting for the next items to work on.
Question 9:
A few days after introducing a new release to the market, the Product Owner received a complaint from a user, claiming that the product has an annoying defect. What should the Product Owner do next?
Create a task to fix the defect, add it to the product backlog, then prioritize it
Ask the development team to fix the defect immediately since the product is already released
Estimate the effort required to fix the defect, then decide what to do accordingly
Ask the development team to roll back the last release in order to work more on exploring undetected defects
Correct answerCreate a task to fix the defect, add it to the product backlog, then prioritize itAsk the development team to fix the defect immediately since the product is already releasedEstimate the effort required to fix the defect, then decide what to do accordinglyAsk the development team to roll back the last release in order to work more on exploring undetected defectsOverall explanationIn Scrum, any change request, whether to implement a new requirement or fix a defect, should be inserted in the Product Backlog and then prioritized by the Product Owner. If the defect is critical, the Product Owner can prioritize it to be tackled in the upcoming sprint. The fact that the product is already on the market doesn’t mean that discovered defects should be immediately fixed. Additionally, going to an older version (i.e., rollback) is not a wise decision taking into consideration that only one defect was detected. Finally, the product owner is not the one responsible for estimating efforts; it’s the responsibility of the development team.
Question 10:
Halfway through a sprint, the development team realized that they planned for more work than they could possibly complete. What should the project manager advise the development team to do next?
Ask the product owner to remove some work items from the sprint backlog
Collaborate with the product owner to reprioritize the product backlog items
Continue work and put off discussing this issue to the sprint retrospective
Inform the product owner during the sprint review that some features could not be completed
Correct answerAsk the product owner to remove some work items from the sprint backlogCollaborate with the product owner to reprioritize the product backlog itemsContinue work and put off discussing this issue to the sprint retrospectiveInform the product owner during the sprint review that some features could not be completedOverall explanationFirst, the development team should collaborate with the product owner in order to remove some work items from the sprint backlog. The sprint backlog is a living artifact that should be updated whenever something new is learned or discovered. Afterward, in the sprint retrospective, the team should discuss how they can improve their estimations. The agile team should be proactive and should not wait for the sprint review in order to inform the product owner that they couldn’t complete the affected work. Reprioritizing the product backlog items won’t help solve this problem. This activity is often undertaken during the refinement sessions with the purpose of making user stories ready for the following iterations.
Question 11:
A project manager is leading a software project. The project team finished all of the tasks in the iteration backlog early and decided to work on code clean-up for the rest of the iteration. In spite of their intention to decrease technical debt, which will save the customer maintenance fees in the future, neither the customer nor the project manager seems to be happy. What could be the reason behind the customer’s dissatisfaction?
They wanted to avoid scope creep
They wanted to avoid gold plating
They wanted to prioritize the scope
They wanted to minimize costs by ending the iteration earlier
They wanted to avoid scope creepThey wanted to avoid gold platingCorrect answerThey wanted to prioritize the scopeThey wanted to minimize costs by ending the iteration earlierOverall explanationThe probable reason for customer dissatisfaction is there are more prioritized items in the product backlog that the team could have worked on instead of the code clean-up activity. Stakeholders are the ones responsible for defining and prioritizing the scope and requirements for the project team (PMBOK 7th edition, page 14). Since the customer didn’t ask for the code clean-up work, then it could not be considered scope creep. What the team did is “gold plating”, which implies doing additional activities that were neither agreed upon nor included in the iteration backlog, with the intention to please the customer. By definition, gold plating entails providing extra value to the customer. However, the customer can get more value by prioritizing the product backlog. In such a scenario, the customer expects to get notified when the project team completes all of the iteration backlog items. In an adaptive approach, the scope is variable while the project cost and schedule are fixed. Consequently, the customer would not be interested in ending a pre-approved iteration earlier.
Question 12:
A contracted project manager is leading a project using a predictive approach. The project sponsor is disappointed with the progress so far, claiming that a critical deliverable has been overlooked. Although they approved all project stages to date, they asked the project manager to put the project on hold until they reassess the situation. To reach an agreement, the project manager decided to use arbitration and mediation as: (Select two)
Dispute resolution techniques
Coaching techniques
Assisted negotiation techniques
Direct negotiation techniques
Correct selectionDispute resolution techniquesCoaching techniquesCorrect selectionAssisted negotiation techniquesDirect negotiation techniquesOverall explanationArbitration and mediation imply reaching an agreement through the intervention of an arbitrator or a mediator. When direct negotiation fails to produce a satisfactory result, indirect or assisted negotiation methods like mediation or arbitration should be considered. An arbitrator examines the legal aspect of a dispute while a mediator attempts in good faith to narrow discrepancies. Litigation is another dispute resolution technique that involves going to court as a last resort when every other resolution method fails. Arbitration and mediation are not coaching techniques; they’re rather used to help others be more effective and productive at work by setting an example, giving praise, providing constructive criticism, etc.
Question 13:
Shortly after joining a new organization, a project manager noticed a lack of collaboration within the team. What is the best course of action for creating a cooperative work environment?
Conducting soft skills development training
Opting for a pull-based system for work assignments
Organizing team-building activities
Adopting an agile work approach
Conducting soft skills development trainingOpting for a pull-based system for work assignmentsCorrect answerOrganizing team-building activitiesAdopting an agile work approachOverall explanationTeam-building activities foster a cooperative working environment when continuously implemented throughout the project lifecycle and especially in its early stages when barely any relationships among team members are developed. Carrying out soft-skills training could improve your team’s ability to better communicate and collaborate, but it’s less effective compared to team-building activities. Opting for a pull-based system for work assignments, i.e., a lean or a Kanban method, has the main purpose of improving productivity and decreasing delivery times rather than promoting collaboration. Plus, following an agile approach should not be done just to increase collaboration among team members, as the project may not be suitable for such an approach in the first place.
Question 14:
A project manager strives to build a work environment that promotes creativity, innovation, and ideas sharing. They set up regular meetings with the team to discuss project risks and issues. What type of leadership is the project manager applying?
Transactional
Interactional
Transformational
Laissez-faire
TransactionalInteractionalCorrect answerTransformationalLaissez-faireOverall explanationTransformational leadership is when the project manager empowers the team by encouraging their ideas and creating an atmosphere that promotes innovation and creativity. A transactional leader, however, is in favor of rules and procedures as they rely on the reward and punishment powers to run the team. Interactional leadership is a hybrid of transformational and transactional leadership. Laissez-faire leaders, on the other hand, adopt a hands-off approach by fully trusting and relying on the team to set their own rules and make decisions on their own.
Question 15:
A project manager works for a kitchen equipment manufacturer. Their superiors decided to adopt Lean practices, informing the project manager to start preparing for this transition. What type of power is being used by the project manager’s superiors?
Legitimate
Referent
Expert
Situational
Correct answerLegitimateReferentExpertSituationalOverall explanationLegitimate power (aka formal, authoritative, or positional) is derived from someone’s position or formal title. The project manager’s superiors’ decision stems from their position as there are no indications that they used other forms of power in the described situation. Referent power implies a leader’s ability to influence their followers through admiration, respect, or identification with the leader. Expert power, however, is based on employees’ perception that the leader has a high level of knowledge or a specialized set of skills making him/her an expert. On the other hand, situational power implies being appreciated and respected for stepping up and saving the project or the team in a certain situation.
Question 16:
The table below presents a number of techniques used for collecting project requirements. What techniques correspond to A, B, C, and D respectively?
Focus groups, Nominal group, Brainstorming, Benchmarking
Focus groups, Brainstorming, Nominal group, Benchmarking
Nominal group, Focus groups, Brainstorming, Benchmarking
Nominal group, Brainstorming, Focus groups, Benchmarking
Focus groups, Nominal group, Brainstorming, BenchmarkingCorrect answerFocus groups, Brainstorming, Nominal group, BenchmarkingNominal group, Focus groups, Brainstorming, BenchmarkingNominal group, Brainstorming, Focus groups, BenchmarkingOverall explanationA. Focus groups involve an interactive group discussion facilitated by a moderator
B. Brainstorming is a group discussion to quickly generate a large number of ideas
C: Nominal group is a group discussion to produce ideas and prioritize them through voting
D: Benchmarking involves a comparison of ideas, products, processes, practices, etc.
Question 17:
In a retrospective meeting, a development team expressed their desire to get training in Python programming. The project manager was checking some well-known training providers when they found a new provider that offers the same training for really interesting prices. The project manager was hesitant about getting the training from this new provider since they weren’t sure about the quality. What should the project manager do in order to mitigate the risk?
Enroll one developer to assess the training quality before enrolling the rest of the team
Share the risk with senior management and let them decide
Look for another accredited training agency that has a good reputation
Get the training for all of the team since it’s not expensive
Correct answerEnroll one developer to assess the training quality before enrolling the rest of the teamShare the risk with senior management and let them decideLook for another accredited training agency that has a good reputationGet the training for all of the team since it’s not expensiveOverall explanationTo mitigate the risk, the project manager can enroll one developer to assess the training quality before enrolling the rest of the team. Sharing the risk with senior management and letting them decide is considered as risk escalation. Looking for another accredited training agency that has a good reputation is considered as risk avoidance. Getting the training for all of the team since it’s not expensive is considered as risk acceptance.
Question 18:
A project has been hampered by many quality issues, putting the project at risk. Which meeting should the project manager conduct with the team to figure out how to avoid or deal with such problems in the future?
Kick-off
Lessons learned
Risk review
Team building
Kick-offCorrect answerLessons learnedRisk reviewTeam buildingOverall explanationLessons learned meetings are collaborative retrospective sessions for discussing, documenting, and soliciting feedback about the project’s successes and missteps. These meetings are a must for the project team to learn from previous mistakes and improve future processes and projects. Lessons learned meetings should be held whenever needed, to review the way a project has been progressing, note important learnings, and set new ways for amelioration. Team building activities aim to increase collaboration among team members. Kick-off meetings are meant for communicating the objectives of the project and ensuring the stakeholders’ commitment to the project. Risk review meetings are used to verify the status of existing risks and identify new ones (PMBOK 7th edition, page 180). However, capturing lessons learned from current or closed risks commonly happens in the lessons learned meetings.
Question 19:
A project experienced a significant team conflict during the final sprint. Nonetheless, the agile team succeeded in delivering a product that was accepted by the customer. What should the project manager do at the end of the sprint?
Conduct a retrospective meeting with the team to discuss what happened
Meet individually with the involved team members to express concerns regarding their behavior
Disregard the conflict since the project is coming to an end
Disregard the conflict since the team succeeded to achieve the project goals
Correct answerConduct a retrospective meeting with the team to discuss what happenedMeet individually with the involved team members to express concerns regarding their behaviorDisregard the conflict since the project is coming to an endDisregard the conflict since the team succeeded to achieve the project goalsOverall explanationEven though the project is going to be closed soon, the project manager should hold a retrospective meeting to openly discuss what happened during the last sprint. This allows the agile team to understand what went well and what actions to take in the future to improve work processes and collaboration. Lessons learned is an important process not only for the ongoing project but also for the organization. Thus, the project manager should openly discuss the conflict, rather than disregard it.
Question 20:
During a retrospective meeting, some agile team members stated that it sometimes gets confusing to check who is working on each work item and at what stage they are. What can the project manager do to solve this problem?
Coach the team on how to be more attentive during the daily standup meeting
Guide the team on how to use the kanban board and update it regularly
Send a daily status report to all team members to remove the impediment
The project manager shouldn’t do anything since agile teams are self-organizing
Coach the team on how to be more attentive during the daily standup meetingCorrect answerGuide the team on how to use the kanban board and update it regularlySend a daily status report to all team members to remove the impedimentThe project manager shouldn’t do anything since agile teams are self-organizingOverall explanationIn the case of unclear work assignments or work progress, the project manager should help their team by using a Kanban board to display the flow of work (Agile Practice Guide, page 58). A kanban board could be already used, but team members might not be updating it properly; they’re not self-assigning tasks or they’re not moving work items to the right column. The project manager should ensure that all team members know how to properly handle the kanban board. Even though the problem raised by the team is considered an impediment, it’s not practical for the project manager to solve it by sending a daily status report to everyone. It’s also not sufficient to coach the team to pay more attention during standups, as it’s difficult to keep in mind the status of all items throughout the day, thus an up-to-date information radiator is needed. Self-organizing teams work autonomously by assuming responsibility for achieving the product increment. However, they still need the project manager’s help to adjust work processes and support them so that they can focus on achieving deliverables without interruptions or hindrances.
Question 21:
The project team is suffering from low morale since the departure of a key project stakeholder, who was a big support and motivation source for them. What should the project manager do first?
Understand the team’s needs and what motivates them
Perform team building activities to strengthen team bonds
Try to prevent the departure of the key stakeholder
Set objectives and encourage the team to attain them
Correct answerUnderstand the team’s needs and what motivates themPerform team building activities to strengthen team bondsTry to prevent the departure of the key stakeholderSet objectives and encourage the team to attain themOverall explanationThe project manager should first identify the incentives of their team members. Knowing what each team member needs will help the project manager provide them with the necessary conditions to reach their potential, create a productive work environment, and keep them encouraged in the long run. In most cases, the project manager cannot prevent the departure of a stakeholder if they decide to. Instead, the project manager should set a long-term motivation policy to avoid having their team’s morale depend on the presence of certain members or factors. Setting objectives or performing team-building activities won’t probably solve this team’s issue since they might be missing other motivational factors that the key stakeholder was providing, such as recognition for instance.
Question 22:
In order to ensure that their agile team is cross-functional, a project manager hires a new team member who is more inclined towards testing tasks. After a few days, the new member informs the project manager that they are unable to do their work properly because they don’t have the necessary permission to access a portion of the code. What should the project manager do next?
Ask the team member to raise the issue during the retrospective meeting
Tell the team member to adjust the acceptance criteria of their pending tasks and then inform the product owner
Explain to the team member that they cannot access the whole code due to security restrictions
Reach out to the appropriate stakeholder to either confirm or update the team member’s privilege
Ask the team member to raise the issue during the retrospective meetingTell the team member to adjust the acceptance criteria of their pending tasks and then inform the product ownerExplain to the team member that they cannot access the whole code due to security restrictionsCorrect answerReach out to the appropriate stakeholder to either confirm or update the team member’s privilegeOverall explanationBeing a servant leader, the project manager should reach out to the appropriate stakeholder in order to verify why the new member doesn’t have access to that portion of the code. It could be for security reasons, or because the concerned stakeholder is unaware of the nature of the new member’s duties. In an Agile work environment, a project manager should listen to their team members and act to solve the impediments they’re facing. If the new member’s permission can’t be changed, the project manager should explain this to them and to the product owner in order to update the tasks’ acceptance criteria. Retrospective meetings are set up to improve processes rather than remove impediments.
Question 23:
Mid-sprint, an agile team encountered too many impediments to the point it became impossible to produce any working increments by the end of the sprint. What should the project manager do next?
Cancel the sprint
Proceed with resource leveling or smoothing
Ask the development team to work on the less difficult work items first
Continue supporting the development team even though the sprint goal will not be achieved
Cancel the sprintProceed with resource leveling or smoothingAsk the development team to work on the less difficult work items firstCorrect answerContinue supporting the development team even though the sprint goal will not be achievedOverall explanationIn agile, the project manager should be a servant leader. Therefore, the right course of action in the described scenario is to support the development team by helping them remove existing and new impediments, regardless of being able to achieve the sprint goal or not. However, the project manager should not dictate what the agile team should work on during the sprint. The project manager cannot cancel the sprint either, since it’s up to the product owner to take such a decision. Resource leveling or smoothing are two schedule compression techniques used in a predictive work environment.
Question 24:
A scrum team initiates a sprint zero to perform some preliminary work before the actual start of their new project. All of the following items can be defined by the scrum team during this stage, except:
Baselined product backlog
Product roadmap
Product vision statement
Release plan
Correct answerBaselined product backlogProduct roadmapProduct vision statementRelease planOverall explanationThere are no baselines in agile since the scope is variable by nature. Baselining is used in the predictive approach to refer to a finalized plan (cost, schedule, scope, etc.) that would be followed during project execution and used for evaluating the actual performance. During sprint zero, the scrum team can work on the product vision statement, product roadmap, product backlog, and release plan.
Question 25:
When an agile team was discussing the technical choices of their new project during the zero sprint, a senior team member recalled a similar past project that went through some big challenges and ended up being over budget and behind schedule. What should the project manager do next?
Look for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)
Look for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF)
Look for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the issue log
Since the mentioned past project followed a predictive approach, its performance details are irrelevant
Correct answerLook for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the Organizational Process Assets (OPAs)Look for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF)Look for the performance details of the mentioned past project in the issue logSince the mentioned past project followed a predictive approach, its performance details are irrelevantOverall explanationOrganizational Process Assets (OPAs) include organizational processes and procedures, and corporate knowledge base. To know more about the past project’s performance, the project manager could check the concerned project files such as its scope, schedule, cost, and quality baselines, in addition to its administrative documentation, stakeholder register, issue log, and any other relevant documents. These form the corporate knowledge base, and only checking the issue log might not be sufficient to figure out why the previous project went through a lot of difficulties. Additionally, you cannot find the details of the past project’s performance in the Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) since the latter represent the conditions that have an influence on the project but are beyond the team’s control. Even though the new project is agile and the previous one is predictive, it’s recommended to take advantage of its documented lessons learned. Eventually, the challenges that the previous project went through might not be even linked to its adopted approach.
Question 26:
In the project initiation phase, the sponsor asked the project manager to provide an approximate cost estimate for the project by the end of the day. What should the project manager do in this situation?
Create the product backlog items, estimate how many iterations are required to complete the items, then sum up the cost estimate of each iteration
Create the WBS and sum up the cost estimate of each work package
Create the cost management plan
Provide an estimate based on similar past projects
Create the product backlog items, estimate how many iterations are required to complete the items, then sum up the cost estimate of each iterationCreate the WBS and sum up the cost estimate of each work packageCreate the cost management planCorrect answerProvide an estimate based on similar past projectsOverall explanationSince the sponsor requested the cost estimate on short notice, in an early stage of the project with little to no information available to conduct cost estimations, the most practical method for the project manager to respond to the sponsor’s query is to rely on similar past projects’ data to estimate their current project cost. This entails using analogous estimating to calculate the project costs based on the known costs of a similarly completed project. Along with historical data, this technique relies on the project manager’s expert judgment. The only person responsible for creating the product backlog items is the product owner, so the first option can’t be realized by the project manager. Developing the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is not an option too, since it requires the project team’s involvement in the process and it’s improbable for it to be done in one day.
Question 27:
In one of the project initial meetings, a stakeholder informed the project manager that the video editing software they plan to develop should include a free subscription plan. They explained that this plan should only allow users to edit videos of less than 5 minutes and that all of their exported videos should be watermarked. Where should this information be captured? (Select two)
Project charter
Product backlog
Project scope statement
Scope management plan
Project charterCorrect selectionProduct backlogCorrect selectionProject scope statementScope management planOverall explanationSince the described scenario does not include any indication as to which approach is being used for the project implementation, both possibilities should be considered: If it’s an adaptive approach, then the stakeholder requirements should be incorporated in the product backlog. All product features, changes, bug fixes, and all other types of activities that the team should work on to deliver the final outcome should all be added to the product backlog. However, if the project is following a predictive approach, then the communicated requirements should be included in the project scope statement. This document should comprise all project scope elements such as requirements, assumptions, acceptance criteria, etc. The project charter is the document that officially authorizes the existence of the project, and it only includes a high-level description of the project rather than detailed requirements or features. The scope management plan describes how the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and validated, rather than what’s in the scope.
Question 28:
At the end of a sprint retrospective, a team member stated that the meeting output is almost the same as the previous ones and suggested canceling it or at least reducing its frequency. What should the Scrum Master do in this case?
Extend the sprint timebox in order to allow for more improvements to be discussed in the retrospective
Reduce the frequency of retrospectives to once every two sprints
Go with voting, and if all team members agree, then skip retrospectives
Keep the same frequency of retrospectives and reflect on how to make them more relevant and actionable
Extend the sprint timebox in order to allow for more improvements to be discussed in the retrospectiveReduce the frequency of retrospectives to once every two sprintsGo with voting, and if all team members agree, then skip retrospectivesCorrect answerKeep the same frequency of retrospectives and reflect on how to make them more relevant and actionableOverall explanationThe sprint retrospective is one of the main scrum events, which aims to help the team adjust and improve their work processes over time. The scrum master’s role is to maintain scrum practices, therefore they should neither cancel the retrospective meeting nor reduce its frequency. On the other hand, extending the sprint timebox denotes smoothing the problem rather than trying to solve it. Instead, the scrum master should reflect on why the retrospective meeting is not driving the intended value to the team. The scrum master may need to better facilitate the meeting, engage team members, solicit and collect more feedback, check various metrics, and use different investigation techniques such as the why-why method to help them take future actionable measures accordingly. The scrum master can also use ESVP, for instance, which is a short activity for assessing participants’ engagement. This technique entails asking team members to describe anonymously their attitude toward the retrospective as being an Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, or Prisoner.
Question 29:
A project manager selected a seller to provide certain services. Both parties agree to use a Fixed Price Incentive Fee contract (FPIF). What should be defined next? (Select two)
The extra financial incentive the seller will get and when they will get it
How much the seller will get for their predetermined services
What hourly, daily, or weekly rate the seller will charge
What legitimate costs will be reimbursed by the buyer
Correct selectionThe extra financial incentive the seller will get and when they will get itCorrect selectionHow much the seller will get for their predetermined servicesWhat hourly, daily, or weekly rate the seller will chargeWhat legitimate costs will be reimbursed by the buyerOverall explanationThe Fixed Price Incentive Fee contract (FPIF) implies that the buyer pays the seller a predetermined fixed fee, plus a bonus if the seller meets a defined set of performance criteria (PMBOK 7th edition, page 335). In Time & Materials contracts (T&M), the two parties discuss and set the seller’s hourly, daily, or weekly rate. In Cost-Reimbursable contracts (CR), the two parties determine which legitimate costs are to be reimbursed by the buyer.
Question 30:
A scrum master is facilitating a retrospective meeting when a team member suggested changing the sprint timebox from three weeks to two weeks. What should the scrum master do?
Investigate the cause behind the team member’s suggestion to tailor the process
Accept the implementation of any suggestion provided by self-organizing team members
Decline the team member’s suggestion since it can reduce the team’s velocity
Decline the team member’s suggestion since the sprint timebox is set at the beginning of the project and should never be changed
Correct answerInvestigate the cause behind the team member’s suggestion to tailor the processAccept the implementation of any suggestion provided by self-organizing team membersDecline the team member’s suggestion since it can reduce the team’s velocityDecline the team member’s suggestion since the sprint timebox is set at the beginning of the project and should never be changedOverall explanationThe scrum master should investigate the cause behind the team member’s suggestion to tailor the process. This might reveal other problems that the team is facing that can be fixed by taking a different action rather than changing the sprint timebox. The scrum master’s role is to create and maintain good working processes. Therefore, they should examine and challenge new ideas along with the team members before moving on with their implementation. Changing the sprint timebox is possible during the project, but it should not be frequently done. Such a decision should be made thoroughly and should involve the product owner too since the scrum events’ frequency will be changed too. Often, the higher the risk and the unpredictability, the shorter the sprint should be. Consequently, rejecting or accepting such a decision should not be based on the team’s velocity.
Question 31:
During one of the meetings with their remote team, a project manager was not able to clearly hear a particular team member. At first, the project manager thought that it was an internet or equipment issue. But when asked, the team member turned off their cooling fan and the voice became more clear. What kind of knowledge is being used by the team member to fix the problem? (Select two)
Implicit knowledge
Explicit knowledge
Codified knowledge
Tacit knowledge
Correct selectionImplicit knowledgeExplicit knowledgeCodified knowledgeCorrect selectionTacit knowledgeOverall explanationTacit knowledge, aka implicit knowledge, is the know-how embedded knowledge that the team member acquires through experience, insights, intuitions, etc. Unlike explicit knowledge, this type of knowledge is difficult to extract and codify.
Question 32:
A project manager is assigned to lead a huge construction project. When conducting procurements, they wanted to ensure that all potential providers fully and clearly understand the project procurement requirements and specifications. How can the project manager achieve this?
Conduct face-to-face meetings with each seller
Conduct a negotiation meeting with each seller
Conduct a virtual meeting with each seller
Conduct a bidder conference
Conduct face-to-face meetings with each sellerConduct a negotiation meeting with each sellerConduct a virtual meeting with each sellerCorrect answerConduct a bidder conferenceOverall explanationThe best way to clearly explain a project’s procurement needs and how the whole process is going to take place is through a bidder conference. This event allows all potential providers to get a better common understanding of the project as well as clarifications to any of their inquiries, allowing them to submit properly prepared proposals. Bidder conferences ensure that all sellers have an equal chance to win the contract. Therefore, individual or virtual meetings contradict the conference’s main goal, along with being less practical and efficient. Negotiation meetings are conducted with the selected provider to discuss their contract terms.
Question 33:
A stakeholder added a user story to the product backlog. The user story seemed clear to the scrum team. However, during execution, the assigned member gets confused about one of its implementation scenarios. What should the development team member do in this case?
Ask the stakeholder for clarification
Ask the product owner for clarification
Convey their confusion to the scrum master, who will help get clarification from the product owner
Wait for the next standup meeting to report the issue to the scrum master or product owner if they do attend the meeting
Ask the stakeholder for clarificationCorrect answerAsk the product owner for clarificationConvey their confusion to the scrum master, who will help get clarification from the product ownerWait for the next standup meeting to report the issue to the scrum master or product owner if they do attend the meetingOverall explanationDuring sprint execution, the product owner should be available to respond to questions raised by the development team. The product owner represents the customer and stakeholders, which means that the development team should refer only to the product owner if they have any inquiries. Since the blocker concerns the clarification of a user story, the development team can reach out directly to the product owner without the intermediation of the scrum master. In agile, the development team is self-organizing, thus they’re responsible for ensuring the achievement of the sprint work. Waiting till the next standup meeting to get clarifications is not proactive and can reflect a lack of ownership.
Question 34:
During the planning phase, the project manager speculated that there will be no changes in the composition of the project steering committee. But, since any change could be very critical to the project, the project manager assigned a team member to monitor for triggers. Where should the name of the person responsible for monitoring the steering committee be recorded?
Risk register
Issue log
Change log
Stakeholder register
Correct answerRisk registerIssue logChange logStakeholder registerOverall explanationA risk register contains a list of all identified risks, their description, planned responses, probability, impact, risk owner, etc. (PMBOK 7th edition, page 185). In the described scenario, the change in the composition of the steering committee is considered a risk and the name of the person responsible for managing it should be noted in the risk register. Once the risk occurs, it becomes an issue. Since the described situation doesn’t involve any issues yet, the issue log is not the correct answer. The situation doesn’t involve any change requests either. Therefore, a change log is not the right option. The stakeholder register includes information about the project stakeholders and their classification. Unlike the stakeholder engagement plan, the stakeholder register doesn’t contain action items for when, how, and who should monitor and engage stakeholders.
Question 35:
A senior software engineer has recently been assigned to manage a project using the Agile approach. To ensure that they successfully deliver the project, the project manager should first:
Identify all risks
Determine all of the sprints’ activities
Define the project success criteria
Define quality metrics
Identify all risksDetermine all of the sprints’ activitiesCorrect answerDefine the project success criteriaDefine quality metricsOverall explanationTo ensure the successful delivery of the project, the project manager should first define success criteria with the sponsor. Agreeing upon the project’s success criteria will reduce the possibilities of its failure and reinforce its success odds. When determining the project success criteria, you should avoid using unclear and general terms and focus on being precise and clear. It’s recommended to be specific by saying, for instance: “the product should be completed by November 30th” instead of saying “the product should be completed as soon as possible”.
Question 36:
In order to ensure that the project is performed in accordance with the organization’s requirements, the project manager carries out a tailoring process. Under this context, Tailoring is:
The knowledge and practices which are applicable to most projects in most cases
The application of a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the project activities in order to meet its requirements
The selection of the appropriate processes, inputs, tools, techniques, and life cycle phases for managing a project
The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques needed for meeting a program’s requirements
The knowledge and practices which are applicable to most projects in most casesThe application of a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to the project activities in order to meet its requirementsCorrect answerThe selection of the appropriate processes, inputs, tools, techniques, and life cycle phases for managing a projectThe application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques needed for meeting a program’s requirementsOverall explanationTailoring involves the selection of the appropriate processes, related inputs and outputs, techniques, and life cycle phases in order to manage a project (PMBOK 7th edition, page 6). Project management is the application of a set of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. Program management, on the other hand, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the program requirements.
Question 37:
A project member notices that certain members of the team confuse projects and operations and oftentimes consider operations to be ongoing projects. Therefore, the project manager explains that there’s no such thing as an ongoing project, emphasizing the difference between a project and an operation by defining operations as:
An undertaken temporary endeavor with the aim of making a distinctive product, service, or result
The application of a set of skills, knowledge, tools, and techniques in a project to meet its requirements
A collection of programs that have been grouped to achieve strategic business goals
Ongoing endeavors that generate repetitive outputs
An undertaken temporary endeavor with the aim of making a distinctive product, service, or resultThe application of a set of skills, knowledge, tools, and techniques in a project to meet its requirementsA collection of programs that have been grouped to achieve strategic business goalsCorrect answerOngoing endeavors that generate repetitive outputsOverall explanationOperations are ongoing endeavors that produce repetitive outputs. Operations are the continuous execution of activities according to an organization’s procedures to produce the same result or a recurrent service. Operations are permanent in nature as they involve all of the common business functions: production, manufacturing, and accounting are examples of operations.
Question 38:
A project manager is attending a meeting to present her project to the company’s committee for approval. The committee members, including senior managers and subject matter experts, are asking her tough and critical questions. Which project selection technique does this scenario describe?
Brainstorming
Scoring model
Murder board
Benefit analysis
BrainstormingScoring modelCorrect answerMurder boardBenefit analysisOverall explanationA murder board is a committee of experts that critically evaluates project proposals. Project representatives have to answer the critical questions raised by the committee members in what looks like an oral exam. The murder board scrutinizes the project by looking for and pointing out reasons why the project should not be considered. The main responsibility of the murder board is to critically and aggressively review the proposed project, while it’s the proposer’s mission to reply to each and every query of the board members to prove the worth of the project.
Question 39:
An Agile team wants to examine the visual overview of all of the product’s required features and functionality. Thus, the project manager suggests they look at:
Themes
Epics
Product backlog
Story map
ThemesEpicsProduct backlogCorrect answerStory mapOverall explanationA story map is used by the agile team to get a visual overview of the product development “Big Picture” including an outline of its features and functionalities (PMBOK 7th edition, page 285). The Product Backlog lists all of the product’s required features and functionalities, but they’re not displayed visually. Themes and epics only represent high-level requirements with no specification of the exact features that will be developed.
Question 40:
An agile project manager is concerned about the amount of time their team spends on planning. Which of the following planning activities the team shouldn’t be involved in?
Iteration planning
Daily planning
Release planning
Portfolio planning
Iteration planningDaily planningRelease planningCorrect answerPortfolio planningOverall explanationAgile teams should not be involved in portfolio planning since it falls under the sponsor or product owner’s responsibilities. Portfolio planning or portfolio management involves determining which projects are a good fit for the organization, in which sequencing they’re going to be managed, and for how long. Agile teams are only concerned with these three levels of work planning: Release planning, iteration planning, and daily planning. Release planning handles user stories that will be developed in the new release of the product. The next level is iteration planning which is conducted at the start of each iteration. Finally, daily planning or daily stand-up meetings are used to coordinate work and synchronize daily efforts.
Question 41:
During the process of hiring an electrical engineer, a project manager only conducted one behavioral interview. Later on, they discovered that the candidate’s technical skills do not meet the job requirements. Therefore, they decided that henceforth they will support the recruitment process with a technical test and an additional technical interview. What risk response strategy did the project manager apply?
Mitigate
Accept
Transfer
Avoid
Correct answerMitigateAccept Transfer Avoid Overall explanationIn the described scenario, hiring an unqualified engineer is the risk. Since they were aware of this risk, the project manager took measures to mitigate it. Mitigation involves decreasing the probability of a risk occurrence, or lowering its impact when it does occur (PMBOK 7th edition, page 123). Even with the addition of a technical test and an interview, there is still a chance that the candidate might not meet the job requirements (the test could be too easy or generic for instance), that’s why “Avoid” can’t be the right answer.
Question 42:
A project manager was asked to lead a project of a flight booking website development. The airline requested that the website should be able to support one thousand visitors per hour. This condition is also known as a(n): (Select two)
Requirement
Scope
Acceptance criterion
Deliverable
Correct selectionRequirementScopeCorrect selectionAcceptance criterionDeliverableOverall explanationThe condition of supporting one thousand visitors per hour is considered a requirement and an acceptance criterion for the project. A requirement is defined as “a condition or capability that is necessary to be present in a product, service, or result to satisfy a business need.” (PMBOK Guide 7th edition, page 82). Acceptance criteria are conditions required to be met before deliverables are accepted. This condition cannot be considered a deliverable or scope on its own. Deliverables refer to quantifiable products or services that must be delivered by the end of the project, i.e., the flight booking website. The project scope, on the other hand, represents the overall amount of work required to achieve the project’s main objectives.
Question 43:
In order to gather end-user feedback, a senior project manager of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project discusses several ideas with the project team and then they draw the following diagram. What tool are they using?
Mind map
Affinity diagram
Decision tree
Data representation
Correct answerMind mapAffinity diagram Decision tree Data representationOverall explanationThe project manager and their team used the mind mapping technique. In a mind map, several options get discussed and then visually organized. The illustrated diagram is not a decision tree because it doesn’t display or help the team choose the best decision among the different alternatives for gathering end-user feedback. On the other hand, this diagram is not an affinity diagram either, as it does not classify a large number of ideas into groups. Options A, B, and C are all data representation methods, which makes option D “Data representation” too generic to be considered the correct answer.
Question 44:
After releasing the product, the organization faced poor quality claims from the customer. What kind of non-conformance costs the organization might incur?
Internal costs
Appraisal costs
External costs
Risks and issue response costs
Internal costsAppraisal costsCorrect answerExternal costsRisks and issue response costsOverall explanationMoney spent during or after the project execution due to poor quality is referred to as the Cost of Non-Conformance. Internal and External Failure Costs fall under Non-Conformance Costs. Internal failure costs are failure costs that are associated with defects found by the project team before the product gets released, such as Rework or Scrap costs. External Failure Costs, on the other hand, are failure costs associated with defects found by the customer, meaning costs incurred after the product is delivered to the customer, such as costs of Warranty work, Liabilities, Lost business, etc.
Question 45:
A project manager is leading a high-risk project that has recently suffered from fluctuating performance and a high defect rate. During a meeting, the sponsor asks for an overview of work performance and where the project is currently standing. Which of the following documents should the project manager send to the sponsor?
Quality report
Status report
Risk report
Project management plan
Quality report Correct answerStatus reportRisk report Project management planOverall explanationThe status report is a work performance report that includes information on the project’s progress and status (PMBOK 7th edition, page 190). Even though the project is at high risk and is encountering quality issues, the sponsor didn’t explicitly request a detailed risk or quality report. The sponsor asked for work performance information to help them gain insight into the project situation and make better decisions. A status report can include information about Earned Value (EV), trend lines and forecasts, reserve burndown charts, defect and risk summaries, etc. The project management plan is not a reporting document; it’s a planning document that is elaborated in the project planning phase.
Question 46:
Astral Bank is well-known for offering excellent online services to its customers. As part of their new project, customers will be able to electronically submit a loan request. Three weeks into project execution, the project manager discovers that an important resource has been over-allocated. This project is in need of:
Resource leveling
Resource smoothing
Resource calendar
Resource loading
Correct answerResource levelingResource smoothingResource calendarResource loadingOverall explanationResource leveling is the process of balancing resource use in order to address resource over-allocation. Resource smoothing, on the other hand, is performed to achieve a more consistent resource utilization over a period of time. Even though resource leveling and resource smoothing are both resource optimization techniques, they are used for different reasons. If the Astral Bank project should not exceed certain predefined resource limits, then smoothing would be the right technique to use. A Resource calendar showcases team members’ availability. Resource loading is the total assigned hours of work divided by the number of hours required to complete it. In the described scenario, the key resource is over-allocated, so their load is over 100%. The project manager could use a resource calendar and resource loading as tools and techniques to help them achieve resource leveling.
Question 47:
An experienced project manager never initiates a project without conducting a kick-off meeting. What’s the purpose of conducting such a meeting?
Informing and engaging stakeholders to ensure their commitment
Obtaining approval to proceed with project execution
Ensuring the allocation of the required project resources
Reassuring the stakeholders that execution is on track
Correct answerInforming and engaging stakeholders to ensure their commitmentObtaining approval to proceed with project executionEnsuring the allocation of the required project resourcesReassuring the stakeholders that execution is on trackOverall explanationA project kickoff meeting is an opportunity to get the project team, sponsor, and stakeholders all on the same page. Its purpose is to communicate the objectives of the project, ensure the team’s commitment to the project, and explain the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder (PMBOK 7th edition, page 179). In a large project, the kick-off meeting is usually associated with the end of the planning phase and the start of project execution. However, for small projects, this meeting can take place shortly after initiation, in the Planning Process Group. It’s an informational rather than a decisional meeting, which means that the project manager doesn’t seek approval to proceed with the execution during this meeting.
Question 48:
A product owner selected a number of user stories with a total of 110 points for the next release. Knowing that the team’s velocity is 20 story points, what’s the estimated duration to complete the release?
5 sprints
5.5 sprints
6 sprints
It’s not possible to calculate the estimated number of sprints to complete a release in Agile
5 sprints5.5 sprintsCorrect answer6 sprintsIt’s not possible to calculate the estimated number of sprints to complete a release in AgileOverall explanationA release of 110 story points takes 6 sprints to be completed by a team that has 20 story points’ velocity. Even though dividing 110 by 20 equals 5.5 sprints, the number of iterations should be an integer since the predetermined timebox of a sprint should not be changed. In Scrum, it’s possible to calculate the estimated number of sprints as long as the velocity of the team and the estimation of the workload are known. But, you need to keep in mind that this is an estimation rather than a commitment since changes could happen along the way.
Question 49:
To see where each team member stands regarding a certain decision, a project manager uses the fist of five voting technique. When the team starts voting, one member holds up five fingers. What does it mean?
They want to intervene in order to further discuss the decision
They are totally against the decision
They totally support the decision
They want to refrain from taking part in the voting
They want to intervene in order to further discuss the decisionThey are totally against the decisionCorrect answerThey totally support the decisionThey want to refrain from taking part in the votingOverall explanationThe fist of five or fist to five is a voting technique that agile teams use to help them achieve consensus during decision-making meetings or sessions. This method is used as follows: The facilitator states the decision or action the team is going to vote on and then asks each one of the attendees to hold up a number of fingers that corresponds to their level of support for the stated decision. A closed fist signifies full objection whereas five fingers mean full support for the decision. Until everyone holds up three or more fingers, the voting goes through multiple rounds to achieve consensus.
Question 50:
A product owner who’s new to the agile approach created the following user story: “As a customer, I want a new functionality so that I can achieve a 50% increase in sales”. The project manager found the user story to be deficient. So, they reached out to the product owner to explain to them that:
The user story should follow a common structure
The user story should be specific and testable
The user story should not include financial values
The user story should be time-bounded
The user story should follow a common structureCorrect answerThe user story should be specific and testableThe user story should not include financial valuesThe user story should be time-boundedOverall explanationThe user story written by the product owner is not specific and cannot be tested. Even if it’s written in a user story format it’s vague and unclear. The product owner must specify what new functionality they were looking to develop. It’s possible to include financial values in a user story as long as they contribute to making it more clear and more understandable. A goal can be time-bound, i.e., a SMART goal, but a user story is not bounded by time.
Question 51:
A project manager is examining the investment efficiency of two potential projects. Knowing that the discount rate is unknown, what should the project manager do?
Select the project with the highest ROI
Select the project with the lowest ROI
Select the project with the highest NPV
Select the project with the lowest NPV
Correct answerSelect the project with the highest ROISelect the project with the lowest ROISelect the project with the highest NPVSelect the project with the lowest NPVOverall explanationCalculating a project’s Net Present Value (NPV) requires knowing its discount rate (i):
Net Present Value (NPV) = Future payment (F) / [ (1 + Discount rate (i) ) ^ number of periods in the future the cash flow is (n) ]. Since this is not an option in the described scenario, the project manager should rely on the Return On Investment (ROI) and pick the project with the highest value.
Question 52:
A project manager is leading an agile project using a virtual team. Their daily 15-minute standup is at 9 am. In the last meeting, the project manager noted a 5-minute delay. Then, the team spent another 5 minutes chit-chatting before they actually started the meeting. At the end of the standup, an additional 5 minutes were spent brainstorming an issue that had surfaced the day before. What is the total cycle time of this event?
10 minutes
15 minutes
25 minutes
30 minutes
10 minutes15 minutes25 minutesCorrect answer30 minutesOverall explanationCycle time is the total elapsed time it takes one unit to get through a process (PMBOK 7th edition, page 58). The cycle time of the standup event in the described scenario is 30 minutes (5 minutes delay + 5 minutes chatting + 15 minutes standup meeting + 5 minutes problem solving).
Question 53:
After facing multiple quality issues, the project manager decided to identify top priority defects by applying the 80/20 rule (aka the Pareto Chart). What should the project manager do next?
Find out the impact of each quality issue
Find out the frequency of each quality issue
Find out the urgency of each quality issue
Find out the cause of each quality issue
Find out the impact of each quality issueCorrect answerFind out the frequency of each quality issueFind out the urgency of each quality issueFind out the cause of each quality issueOverall explanationA Pareto diagram is a histogram that ranks issues from the ones with the highest frequency to the ones with the lowest frequency. The diagram is created according to Pareto’s Law, which states that 80 percent of the problems come from 20 percent of the issues (also known as the 80/20 rule).
Question 54:
A project manager is leading a project using an adaptive approach. During the sprint review, the product owner asks for an acceptance document to sign off in order to demonstrate their approval of the deliverables. What should the project manager do?
Create an acceptance document and share it with the product owner to sign off
Ask the product owner to create a task in the product backlog and prioritize it, so that the development team can create the acceptance document
Ask the product owner to create the acceptance document and sign it off
Inform the product owner that an acceptance document is unnecessary
Create an acceptance document and share it with the product owner to sign offAsk the product owner to create a task in the product backlog and prioritize it, so that the development team can create the acceptance documentAsk the product owner to create the acceptance document and sign it offCorrect answerInform the product owner that an acceptance document is unnecessaryOverall explanationA sprint review is conducted to demonstrate the accomplished work, solicit feedback, and foster collaboration rather than seeking formal approval through an acceptance document sign-off (Essential Scrum by Rubin, Kenneth S, page 372). Besides, formal approvals are more common in predictive environments.
Question 55:
A project manager is leading a team that is not familiar with the adaptive approach. After several weeks, the project has reached a point where there is an accumulation of Work In Progress (WIP). What should the project manager do to figure out whether the team is properly following procedures?
Perform a process evaluation
Review the notes of the previous retrospective meetings
Check the Kanban board
Check relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Correct answerPerform a process evaluationReview the notes of the previous retrospective meetingsCheck the Kanban boardCheck relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Overall explanationProcess evaluation involves quality assurance activities and process audits to ensure procedures and processes are being followed and are generating the intended outcomes (PMBOK 7th edition, page 72). Process evaluation can also include reviewing the notes of the previous retrospective meetings as they can reflect the type of issues that were encountered in the past and how they were handled. Therefore, process evaluation involves more than just reviewing the previous retrospective meetings’ notes. KPIs and the Kanban board can only determine whether WIP is beyond the acceptable level, without identifying the causes. Finally, process evaluation can take place during a retrospective meeting or a lessons learned session, and it can require further investigation that could go beyond those meetings.
Question 56:
An organization asked the project manager to send a report on the cost of quality. The report stated that the total cost was $30,000, detailed as follows:
According to the above table, how much is the appraisal cost of the project?
$2,000
$3,000
$5,000
$10,000
$2,000$3,000Correct answer$5,000$10,000Overall explanationAppraisal costs, also known as inspection costs, are part of the Cost of Conformance as they represent the costs of identifying defective products before they are delivered to clients. This comprises testing, inspecting, auditing, evaluating, and measuring the deliverables, product, or service the project is producing. Appraisal costs are set up to implement a series of activities to determine work results’ degree of conformance to quality requirements. Meaning the project appraisal cost involves inspection costs which are $5,000. Training falls under prevention activities. Rework and scrap costs, on the other hand, are part of the Internal Failure Costs, whereas Warranty charges fall under External Failure Costs.
Question 57:
Mid-project, a project manager is notified by the information security department that they just came to know about the design changes that were made lately. They also expressed their concern about these changes’ compliance with the organization’s standards since they did not take part when these changes were made. What should the project manager do to overcome this issue?
Undo all design changes since the information security department wasn’t involved in the process
Allow the information security department team to attend all of the following daily stand-ups to ensure all made changes comply with security requirements
Ask the information security department to raise the issue to the product owner
Conduct a meeting with the information security department to go over all design changes and ensure their compliance with the organization’s standards
Undo all design changes since the information security department wasn’t involved in the processAllow the information security department team to attend all of the following daily stand-ups to ensure all made changes comply with security requirementsAsk the information security department to raise the issue to the product ownerCorrect answerConduct a meeting with the information security department to go over all design changes and ensure their compliance with the organization’s standardsOverall explanationThe project manager should first try to resolve the issue through collaboration by conducting a meeting with the information security department to go over the design changes and implement the appropriate process to ensure their compliance with security requirements. If certain design changes are found to be critical and unfixable, then those should be reverted. The product owner could be involved in the problem resolution process, but transferring the issue to them wouldn’t work since compliance with the organization’s standards requires understanding security concerns and setting up the appropriate processes by the project manager and their team. Standup meetings are used for daily work synching between team members, not for examining changes.
Question 58:
During the sprint review of the project’s last iteration, the product owner expressed their satisfaction with the product and described it as “fit for purpose”. However, a senior team member stated that another iteration is needed to fix some bugs and improve the user experience. The sponsor, who is also attending the meeting, said that further work on the product will resume if they get more funding in the next quarter. What should the project manager do next?
Close the project, but keep one developer to fix any major bugs
Keep the project open since work could be resumed in the next quarter
Continue work on fixing bugs to satisfy the client, then close the project
Release all resources
Close the project, but keep one developer to fix any major bugsKeep the project open since work could be resumed in the next quarterContinue work on fixing bugs to satisfy the client, then close the projectCorrect answerRelease all resourcesOverall explanationSince the client requested the project closure, even though they are aware of the bugs and the required improvements, the project manager should proceed with the decision. Properly closing the project entails releasing all resources. Continuing work on bugs after the project closure is inappropriate. Plus, working on bugs to satisfy the client is considered gold plating. A project cannot be kept open until receiving new funding. It should be closed and, when funding is obtained, a new project should be launched in the next quarter to fix bugs and do whatever the customer requires.
Question 59:
The project sponsor informed the project manager that they have doubts about whether the resulting product will satisfy business demands. Therefore, they are looking to keep costs to a minimum. What should the project manager do?
Identify and implement the requirements for making a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Gather all requirements and execute the project using an incremental approach
Exclude certain stakeholders from the scope definition process in order to limit requirements
Sign with the sponsor a fixed cost contract in order to limit project costs
Correct answerIdentify and implement the requirements for making a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)Gather all requirements and execute the project using an incremental approachExclude certain stakeholders from the scope definition process in order to limit requirementsSign with the sponsor a fixed cost contract in order to limit project costsOverall explanationThe Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is used to define the scope of the first release by identifying the requirements that would deliver value to customers (PMBOK 7th edition, page 243). An incremental approach is not suitable for the described scenario since the client won’t get a usable product until the end of the project. It’s not appropriate to exclude certain stakeholders in order to limit requirements. The project manager should involve all stakeholders in the process of collecting and prioritizing product features. Finally, a fixed-cost contract will not solve the problem in the described scenario since the main concern of the sponsor is verifying the product’s business demand.
Question 60:
Mid-project, the project manager noticed that stakeholders’ engagement was fading out and felt the need to measure their satisfaction. What tools or techniques could the project manager use? (select two)
Net Promoter Score
Mood chart
Power/interest grid
Engagement assessment matrix
Correct selectionNet Promoter ScoreCorrect selectionMood chartPower/interest gridEngagement assessment matrixOverall explanationStakeholder satisfaction can be measured with surveys or by looking at related metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Mood chart (PMBOK 7th edition, page 103). The Net Promoter Score is a numerical measure of the stakeholder’s satisfaction with your product, service, or workplace and their willingness to recommend it to others. The score ranges from -100 to +100. A high promoter score reflects high business loyalty and job satisfaction. Mood charts, on the other hand, are used to track the daily mood of certain key stakeholders, where they can use colors, emojis, or numbers to express how they’re feeling. This method can help the project manager anticipate and identify potential issues and work on improving certain areas, such as in the described scenario where engagement is fading. The power/interest grid is created in order to categorize stakeholders based on their power or influence levels and has nothing to do with measuring their satisfaction. The Engagement Assessment Matrix is a stakeholder management technique that is used to monitor the engagement levels of stakeholders and therefore identifies involvement issues. This tool might have helped the project manager detect the stakeholders’ engagement problem but it can’t help them figure out satisfaction levels.
Question 61:
A project manager is leading the second phase of a project using a hybrid approach. In order to build a common ground between involved stakeholders and appease any differences, the project manager proceeds with defining the project requirements through:
Sending a questionnaire to all of the involved stakeholders in order to determine the project requirements
Setting up a meeting with each stakeholder to identify their needs
Inviting all concerned stakeholders to a requirements workshop to develop user stories
Conducting a survey of the project’s current users
Sending a questionnaire to all of the involved stakeholders in order to determine the project requirementsSetting up a meeting with each stakeholder to identify their needsCorrect answerInviting all concerned stakeholders to a requirements workshop to develop user storiesConducting a survey of the project’s current usersOverall explanationThe project manager is collecting requirements for the second phase of the hybrid project. So, requirements could be captured in the form of user stories. Facilitating a workshop is the best option in this situation to identify the project requirements and appease stakeholder differences. The interaction occurring during a workshop can help the project manager build a common ground between the stakeholders and establish consensus. Sending a questionnaire, setting up one-on-one meetings, and conducting surveys could help collect data and get insights, but stakeholders should communicate with one another to bridge any disagreements.
Question 62:
Halfway through the project, the sponsor designates an inspector to check the quality of the deliverables so far. The project manager doesn’t know the inspector in person, but they overheard that they are not flexible and working with them is usually hard. What is the best way for them to handle the situation?
Ask the sponsor to designate another inspector
Ignore the inspector’s designation since they are an external stakeholder
Collaborate with the inspector and provide them assistance when needed
Use their soft skills to talk the inspector into looking past any quality issues and not reporting them to the sponsor
Ask the sponsor to designate another inspectorIgnore the inspector’s designation since they are an external stakeholderCorrect answerCollaborate with the inspector and provide them assistance when neededUse their soft skills to talk the inspector into looking past any quality issues and not reporting them to the sponsorOverall explanationWhen a new stakeholder is identified, they should be analyzed, prioritized, engaged, and then monitored (PMBOK 7th edition, page 12). In the described situation, the project manager should engage the inspector by collaborating with them. Regardless of the situation, stakeholders should never be ignored. On the other hand, it’s not appropriate to ask the sponsor to replace the inspector without a solid reason. Plus, the project manager should certainly avoid influencing the inspector’s work or decisions as it can undermine the project quality and lead to corruption.
Question 63:
A customer informed their project manager that they are going to launch a new project and they will assign it to the same product owner of the current ongoing project. How should the project manager react in response to the customer’s decision?
Ask the customer to reconsider their decision since a product owner should handle one product at a time
Ask the customer to reconsider their decision to avoid a conflict of interests situation
It’s ok to have the same product owner for both products as long as they can fulfill their duties
Ask the customer to add another product owner to the current project as a backup
Ask the customer to reconsider their decision since a product owner should handle one product at a timeAsk the customer to reconsider their decision to avoid a conflict of interests situationCorrect answerIt’s ok to have the same product owner for both products as long as they can fulfill their dutiesAsk the customer to add another product owner to the current project as a backupOverall explanationA product should only have one product owner, considering they’re the one responsible for deciding which features to build and in which order (Essential Scrum by Rubin, Kenneth S, page 15). When there are multiple products being developed, it’s possible to either have a product owner for each of them or have one product owner for all of them. This depends on the projects’ size as well as other factors such as the connection between projects. But, in all cases, the product owner should fulfill their role and be available to respond to queries from the development teams.
Question 64:
During product validation, a key stakeholder refuses to sign off the acceptance document, claiming that some of the functionalities do not meet their expectations. What should the project manager have done to avoid this situation?
Involve the key stakeholder during the quality control phase
Involve the key stakeholder during the project initiation phase
Involve the key stakeholder during the planning phase
Involve the key stakeholder during all project phases
Involve the key stakeholder during the quality control phaseInvolve the key stakeholder during the project initiation phaseInvolve the key stakeholder during the planning phaseCorrect answerInvolve the key stakeholder during all project phasesOverall explanationStakeholders need to get involved early on during project planning and sometimes during the project initiation as well. Key stakeholders should also be involved during the quality control phase so that they can assess the project deliverables and recommend any changes before the official acceptance. Since the concerned key stakeholder is responsible for signing off the acceptance document, their power is considered high. Therefore, stakeholders who are identified to have high power using the power/interest grid should be managed closely and/or kept satisfied throughout the whole project.
Question 65:
While working on identifying risks, a project manager noticed that there is a disagreement among team members concerning the appropriate way to execute an important work item. What can the project manager do to mitigate this risk?
Outsource the concerned work item
Enroll the team in a training about the technologies related to executing that work item
Let the team self-organize and figure out how to execute the work item
Escalate the issue to the functional manager
Outsource the concerned work itemCorrect answerEnroll the team in a training about the technologies related to executing that work itemLet the team self-organize and figure out how to execute the work itemEscalate the issue to the functional managerOverall explanationProviding training on technologies related to the work item will help the team fully understand how it should be executed. This strategy aims to mitigate the risk by reducing conflict between team members. The other options involve either avoiding the risk by outsourcing the work item, accepting it by letting the team figure out a solution on their own, or escalating the risk to the functional manager.
Question 66:
A project manager is in charge of a software development project that follows an Agile approach. During the project execution, they receive a request from the customer to alter a requirement. What should the project manager do?
Block the change request
Welcome the change request
Avoid the change request
Take the change request to the Change Control Board (CCB)
Block the change requestCorrect answerWelcome the change requestAvoid the change requestTake the change request to the Change Control Board (CCB)Overall explanationFlexibility is one of the most important aspects of the Agile approach; the scope of work can change in response to new requirements. An Agile, adaptive, or change-driven approach encourages collecting feedback from stakeholders on a regular basis. Unlike the predictive approach, the Agile approach doesn’t involve a Change Control Board (CCB).
Question 67:
A project manager joins a project to replace the former project manager who has abruptly left the organization. During the first week, they notice that team members do not trust or support each other’s ideas and that the work climate is counterproductive. According to Tuckman’s model, at which development stage is this team?
Adjourning
Norming
Forming
Storming
AdjourningNormingFormingCorrect answerStormingOverall explanationThe project manager’s team is in the storming phase. Tuckman’s team development ladder identifies five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (PMBOK 7th edition, page 166). Storming is the most difficult and critical stage a team can go through. Different personalities emerge during this phase, resulting in conflict and rivalry. At this point, the team’s performance will suffer tremendously since their energy is diverted to disputes and arguments. Forming is the first stage of a team’s development where members are starting to know each other and form first impressions. Team members usually avoid controversies or conflicts in this phase. The norming stage comes after storming; this is when team members begin to work together and trust each other. In the performing phase, teams begin to function as a unit; they get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflicts or the need for supervision. In the adjourning phase, tasks are completed, the team breaks up, and members move on to other assignments.
Question 68:
A project manager is in charge of leading a ground-breaking medical research project. During a meeting with the sponsor, the project manager discusses how he’s going to handle the project, explaining that he wants to encourage self-awareness, listening, and coaching. The project manager adds that helping the project team grow is among his top priorities. What type of leadership does the project manager intend to adopt?
Servant leadership
Authentic leadership
Transactional leadership
Transformational leadership
Correct answerServant leadershipAuthentic leadershipTransactional leadershipTransformational leadershipOverall explanationThe project manager intends to adopt a servant leadership style. The Agile Practice Guide distinguishes servant leadership with the following characteristics: promoting self-awareness, listening, serving teammates, assisting people in their development and growth, coaching rather than controlling, and promoting security, respect, and trust. Servant leaders prioritize the needs of others, helping them reach their best performance and potential (PMBOK 7th edition, pages 17-18). Authentic leaders focus on the self-development of themselves and their followers. Transactional leaders, on the other hand, focus on supervision, organization, and performance, using incentives and penalties as motivation tools. Transformational leaders focus on motivation as well as creating an atmosphere of innovation and creativity.
Question 69:
A project manager who works in a national bank decides to use the power/interest grid to plan stakeholder engagement. How should he deal with an interested stakeholder with little authority?
Monitor
Manage closely
Keep informed
Keep satisfied
Monitor Manage closelyCorrect answerKeep informedKeep satisfiedOverall explanationThe project manager should keep stakeholders with high interest and low authority informed. He should proactively plan how to regularly communicate the project status to this group of stakeholders and check in with them to make sure they are not experiencing any issues or problems. Additionally, the project manager should closely manage stakeholders with high levels of power and interest, keep stakeholders with high power and low interest satisfied, and monitor stakeholders with low levels of power and interest.
Question 70:
A project manager is managing a branding project for a fast-food restaurant chain. During the project, two team members have an argument about a design task. The project manager decides to have a meeting with the two members. Upon discussing the issue, they all come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be outsourcing this activity. Which conflict resolution technique did the project manager use?
Forcing
Collaborating
Compromise
Smoothing
ForcingCorrect answerCollaboratingCompromiseSmoothingOverall explanationSince the project manager chose to meet with the concerned team members to discuss their conflict and make the best decision accordingly, then the situation implies problem-solving or collaboration, which leads to a win-win situation (PMBOK 7th edition, page 168).
Other problem-solving techniques include:
Forcing: which leads to a win-lose situation.
Smoothing: which leads to a yield-lose situation.
Withdrawing: which leads to a lose-leave situation.
Compromising: which leads to a lose-lose situation.
Reference: Guan, D. (2007). Conflicts in the project environment. Paper presented at PMI Global Congress 2007.
Question 71:
Organizations often attempt to deliver projects with limited budgets and incomprehensive requirements. An Agile approach can be adopted to address such complexities. However, without proper communication, this approach won’t achieve its goals. Under this context, how should a project manager communicate?
Informally
Formally
Frequently
Daily
InformallyFormallyCorrect answerFrequentlyDailyOverall explanationAgile frameworks are known for their frequent and straightforward communication where a project manager is continuously checking in with the team to accordingly decide what could be alternatively done to improve the work pace and boost the team’s morale. Daily communication should not be confused with daily standup. Daily standup meetings are held by the agile team members who follow a scrum framework. The project manager or scrum master is not required to attend this meeting, but even if they do, the daily standup meeting should not be their only channel of communication with the team. Whether you adopt a predictive or an adaptive approach for your project, you have to use formal and informal communication according to the situation.
Question 72:
A senior project manager works for a medical devices firm, which has recently undergone significant organizational changes. A key team member expresses her concerns to the project manager about a new member, whom she believes lacks the technical proficiency to properly accomplish their assigned work. Since the project manager has confidence in the team member’s judgment, what should they do about this new team member?
Release the new team member
Nothing should be done since the concerned team member has already been assigned
Provide the new member with training and mentoring
Keep the new team member, but reassign their tasks to someone else
Release the new team memberNothing should be done since the concerned team member has already been assignedCorrect answerProvide the new member with training and mentoringKeep the new team member, but reassign their tasks to someone elseOverall explanationThe project manager should provide the new member with the needed training and mentoring. When you realize a team member lacks the required competencies or skills, the first step is to use mentorship and training in order to improve their competencies (PMBOK 7th edition, page 18). Doing nothing or reassigning their tasks to someone else will not help the team member improve their competency; it will only lead to their demotivation and negatively impact the project. Releasing the team member should be the last resort when every other option fails to put them on track.
Question 73:
Shortly after starting a new project, a project manager noticed that a team member who was on their last project is not as productive as she used to be. The project manager invited her to a one-on-one meeting, where she admitted that her frustration is due to the fact that she had expected a performance bonus in the last project, but did not receive it. What theory is manifested in this situation?
Theory X
Theory Y
Anticipation Theory
Expectancy Theory
Theory XTheory YAnticipation TheoryCorrect answerExpectancy TheoryOverall explanationThe Expectancy Theory states the following: employees believe that when they make more effort, their performance will improve, leading to being rewarded, which they value, and this motivates them to continue being productive. However, if they don’t get rewarded, such as in the described case, they lose their incentive to be productive. Theory X states that employees are incompetent, lazy, and untrustworthy. Theory Y, on the other hand, recognizes employees as being competent, responsible, and trustworthy. The situation describes neither Theory X nor Y since the team member is described as being competent, but her performance declined as a result of not getting the bonus she was expecting. Anticipation theory is a made-up term.
Question 74:
One month into project execution, the project manager notices that the sponsor is always late for their weekly meetings. However, the project manager chooses not to address the sponsor’s behavior. Instead, they document the frequent tardiness in the meetings’ notes. Which conflict resolution technique is the project manager using?
Problem-solving
Smoothing
Information recording
Withdrawal
Problem-solvingSmoothingInformation recordingCorrect answerWithdrawalOverall explanationThe unwillingness to deal with a conflict is referred to as withdrawing. This conflict resolution technique is acceptable when some time to cool off is needed in order to achieve a better understanding of the situation, or when the other party is unassailable or uncooperative (PMBOK 7th edition, page 169). The situation does not imply problem-solving since the project manager didn’t point out the issue to the sponsor in order to find a solution. The project manager didn’t smooth the conflict either since there was no discussion with the sponsor to diminish their differences. Information recording, taking notes, or documenting the situation is not a conflict resolution technique.
Question 75:
A project manager is in charge of an educational project. After analyzing the power level of each of the project’s four stakeholders, they find out that Monica and Markus have high power, while Ravi and Sergio have low power. For a deeper insight, the project manager created the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix below.
Based on this analysis, which stakeholder should be prioritized in terms of engagement?
Monica
Markus
Ravi
Sergio
MonicaCorrect answerMarkusRaviSergioOverall explanationThe priority in engagement should be given to stakeholders with a high level of power (PMBOK 7th edition, page 12). Monica and Markus have high power, but Monica is Neutral, while Markus is unaware. Having an unaware stakeholder with a high level of power is more dangerous than a neutral stakeholder with a high level of power since the first type can cause a lot of trouble when they become aware at a late stage of the project. The project manager should prioritize engaging Markus by sharing the project details with him. Then, they should try to win his support and bring him to the leading level if possible. Monica and Sergio should be the project manager’s second priority. It’s preferable to have either supportive or leading high-power stakeholders. So, the project manager needs to make more effort to bring Monica to one of these two levels. On the other hand, even though Sergio has low power, the project manager needs to work on moving him out from the resistant level since his level of power can change at any time throughout the project.
Question 76:
An organization in need of accounting software conducts a make or buy analysis. The organization decides to go for in-house development since the analysis shows a payback period of fewer than 3 years. However, when acquiring resources, the project manager finds out that the developer’s rate included in the make-or-buy analysis is only half the current rate in the market. What should the project manager do first?
Submit a change request
Inform the sponsor about their findings
Nothing; as long as the project’s SPI and CPI are on track, this shouldn’t be a problem
Update the make-or-buy analysis report
Submit a change requestCorrect answerInform the sponsor about their findingsNothing; as long as the project’s SPI and CPI are on track, this shouldn’t be a problemUpdate the make-or-buy analysis reportOverall explanationThe project manager should notify the sponsor of any identified risks that may impact the business value of the project. Business value measurements are used to ensure that the project deliverables remain consistent with the business case and benefits realization plans. Business value can be financial or non-financial (PMBOK 7th edition, page 102). A make-or-buy analysis is considered a tool for measuring financial business value. The sponsor can determine whether to continue the investment or not if the payback period turns out to be more than 3 years after updating the make-or-buy analysis. The project manager should not update the make or buy analysis report without consulting or referring to the sponsor first. If the project is following a predictive approach, it can show assuring SPI and CPI, especially at the beginning of its execution. However, since the developer’s rate was underestimated, the project will get off-track in terms of cost later on. If the sponsor agrees to carry on the project and increase its budget according to the new findings, then a change request should be issued. However, when following an adaptive approach, no change requests, SPI, or CPI are used. In this case, the project manager should inform the sponsor or the product owner about their findings and discuss whether it’s still possible to achieve the project goals or not.
Question 77:
Two agile teams are working on developing the same product. Team A is made of 5 members and uses 2-week sprints, while Team B involves 4 members and uses 3-week sprints. Team A completed all sprint backlog items with a velocity of 50 story points. Team B, on the other hand, reached 70 story points, without completing all of the sprint’s backlog. Which team has better performance?
Team A, since they completed all sprint backlog items
Team A, taking into consideration their velocity, they can achieve 75 story points in a 3-week sprint, which is better than what team B achieved
Team B, since they have a better velocity
Team B, since they achieved more story points with fewer team members
Correct answerTeam A, since they completed all sprint backlog itemsTeam A, taking into consideration their velocity, they can achieve 75 story points in a 3-week sprint, which is better than what team B achievedTeam B, since they have a better velocityTeam B, since they achieved more story points with fewer team membersOverall explanationThe team that has better performance is the team that fulfills its sprint engagement by completing all of its backlog items. This means that the performance of team A was better than the performance of team B. Velocity should not be used to compare teams’ performance. Likewise, the number of completed user stories per sprint and team size can not indicate whether a team’s performance is good or not.
Question 78:
During a project status meeting, the project manager updated the sponsor on the project performance by informing them that the SPI is 0.75 and the CPI is 1.05. What does this indicate?
The project is over budget but on schedule
The project is within budget but behind schedule
The project is on schedule and within budget
The project is behind schedule and over budget
The project is over budget but on scheduleCorrect answerThe project is within budget but behind schedule The project is on schedule and within budgetThe project is behind schedule and over budgetOverall explanationA Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of less than 1 indicates that the project is behind schedule. A Cost Performance Index (CPI) greater than 1 means that the project is within the predetermined budget.
Question 79:
A product owner and team members have different interpretations of a particular user story. To resolve the disagreement, the project manager suggests the creation of personas. What’s the most probable reason for creating personas?
To use it as a wireframe to help clarify project outcomes
To engage stakeholders who don’t know much about the project
To help the development team empathize with the users of the solution
To identify and describe real users of the solution
To use it as a wireframe to help clarify project outcomesTo engage stakeholders who don’t know much about the projectCorrect answerTo help the development team empathize with the users of the solutionTo identify and describe real users of the solutionOverall explanationA persona is a fictional representation of the ideal potential users of a product or service. This description helps the team understand and empathize with the users’ need for the solution. Thus, the team can better adapt the solution to help and satisfy its users in real-life situations. Persona does not have a role in stakeholder engagement, nor is it a wireframe for clarifying project outcomes. Even though a persona involves a set of real-life characteristics, it does not identify or describe the real users of the solution.
Question 80:
After introducing a new foreign developer to the team, the project manager noticed that a certain senior team member seems to be avoiding any interaction with them. What should the project manager do about this issue?
Talk to the senior team member privately to try and find out the reason behind their behavior while making it clear that discrimination is neither tolerated nor accepted
Notify the functional manager of the senior team member’s behavior and ask them to take the appropriate disciplinary action
Look past the senior team member’s behavior since no conflict between the two has occurred and work seems to be going just fine
Address the issue in the next team meeting by scolding the senior team member and lecturing everyone about the importance of an inclusive work environment
Correct answerTalk to the senior team member privately to try and find out the reason behind their behavior while making it clear that discrimination is neither tolerated nor acceptedNotify the functional manager of the senior team member’s behavior and ask them to take the appropriate disciplinary actionLook past the senior team member’s behavior since no conflict between the two has occurred and work seems to be going just fineAddress the issue in the next team meeting by scolding the senior team member and lecturing everyone about the importance of an inclusive work environmentOverall explanationThe project manager should talk to the senior project manager privately to get to know the reason behind their behavior. Besides, the project manager should be clear about not tolerating any kind of discriminating behavior towards the new team member and the potential consequences and disciplinary procedures the senior team member will face in case their behavior persists. The project manager should talk directly to the concerned party with no need for escalating the issue to the functional manager at this stage. Such behavior should not be ignored, even when it seems to have no tangible impact on work progress. On the other hand, it’s not appropriate nor professional to scold a team member in a meeting and in the presence of their colleagues, regardless of their behavior.
Question 81:
An organization recently transitioned to the agile approach. However, project team members always wait for the project manager to assign them work. How can the project manager help their team be self-organized?
Take a few weeks off to force the team to act on their own
Mentor the team on how to make their own decisions
Ensure that the team includes different functional expertise
Support the team by removing encountered impediments
Take a few weeks off to force the team to act on their ownCorrect answerMentor the team on how to make their own decisionsEnsure that the team includes different functional expertiseSupport the team by removing encountered impedimentsOverall explanationThe project manager can help their team get self-organized by mentoring them on how to make their own decisions. This will empower them to pick their own tasks without waiting for assignments or asking for permission or direction from the project manager every time. Taking a vacation is a passive approach to dealing with the problem and it won’t solve it since the team will get back to relying on the project manager as soon as they come back. Ensuring that the team includes different functional expertise will help the team be cross-functional rather than self-organizing. Supporting the team by removing encountered impediments is part of the agile project manager’s duties and won’t help make the team self-organizing.
Question 82:
A project manager is leading a multi-year software project. After a few months, a senior team member started losing motivation and complaining that their assigned work can be easily done by a junior team member. What should the project manager do in this case?
Incentivize the senior team member by increasing their salary or rate
Increase the engagement of the senior team member by holding team-building activities
Be proactive and start looking for a replacement for the senior team member
Find more challenging tasks for the senior team member to tackle
Incentivize the senior team member by increasing their salary or rateIncrease the engagement of the senior team member by holding team-building activitiesBe proactive and start looking for a replacement for the senior team memberCorrect answerFind more challenging tasks for the senior team member to tackleOverall explanationThe reason behind the team member’s demotivation is intrinsic. The senior team member is looking for challenging work and will respond well to stretch goals and problem solving (PMBOK 7th edition, page 25). Increasing their salary or holding team-building activities will not help address the original problem. Looking for a replacement should be the last resort if all other options fail to motivate the concerned team member.
Question 83:
A project manager is facilitating a meeting attended by his project team as well as key stakeholders to prioritize all product backlog items according to their business value and risk level. Where should each items’ category be placed in the product backlog (from top to bottom)?
A, B, C, D
B, A, D, C
A, B, D, C
D, C, B, A
A, B, C, DB, A, D, CCorrect answerA, B, D, CD, C, B, AOverall explanationItems of high priority and high risk should be on top as completing them sooner generates more new knowledge, which eliminates uncertainty and reduces risk. Items of high value and low risk should be tackled next. These items are great for achieving quick wins. The project team can then consider working on low-value and low-risk items. Finally, items of low value and high risk should be put off and placed at the bottom of the product backlog since they are not worth the effort. To sum up, the right order is: A, B, D, and then C from top to bottom.
Question 84:
A project manager is contractually engaged to present a monthly report on what was done the previous month and what preventive measures will be taken the following month. The project manager used to deliver the status update presentation themselves, but now that they are on vacation, a team member has volunteered to replace them. Later, the project manager received feedback from key stakeholders saying that the latest presentation was not good. What should the project manager do to address the situation with their team member?
Reproach the team member to let them know how disappointed they are
Send an email to the team member to use their reply as a justification for any ulterior decisions
Ask the team member what happened with the presentation that resulted in the stakeholders’ dissatisfaction
Ignore the issue since it only occurred once and it won’t happen again now that they’ll be back to delivering the upcoming status presentations
Reproach the team member to let them know how disappointed they areSend an email to the team member to use their reply as a justification for any ulterior decisionsCorrect answerAsk the team member what happened with the presentation that resulted in the stakeholders’ dissatisfactionIgnore the issue since it only occurred once and it won’t happen again now that they’ll be back to delivering the upcoming status presentationsOverall explanationThe best way to address this issue is to have an informal discussion with the team member to understand what happened and provide them with the appropriate guidance. Since the issue is neither severe nor recurrent, it does not necessitate formal communication. It’s not appropriate for the project manager to reproach the team member and express their disappointment. They also shouldn’t ignore the situation because it’s their responsibility as the project manager to develop, coach, and mentor their team.
Question 85:
During the last three daily standup meetings with the team, the project manager notices that a new team member is struggling with one of their assigned tasks as they seem to be making no progress towards completing it. What should the project manager do?
Ask an experienced team member to take over the task
Check whether other team members can help their new colleague with the task after the standup meeting
Express their disappointment to the new team member and encourage them to make more effort
Ask the new team member to check the team ground rules
Ask an experienced team member to take over the taskCorrect answerCheck whether other team members can help their new colleague with the task after the standup meetingExpress their disappointment to the new team member and encourage them to make more effortAsk the new team member to check the team ground rulesOverall explanationAsking another team member to help mentor the new member and guide them through getting their task completed and overcoming the challenging aspects of their assignment is the right course of action. Since the member is new and they might lack certain skills or experience dealing with certain types of tasks, they will get the chance to learn and overcome any impediments by collaborating with more experienced team members. Assigning someone else to get the task done will only have a bad impact on their self-esteem and motivation and make them miss out on a learning opportunity. Similarly, expressing their disappointment at the new member’s performance will do more harm than actually resolving the issue. Checking the team ground rules is irrelevant to this situation.
Question 86:
A project manager is leading a project within a functional organization. Halfway through the project implementation, a team member left the organization. What should the project manager do first?
Collaborate with the functional manager to get a replacement
Update the project’s resource breakdown structure
Reassign their workload to the project team member
Evaluate the impact of the team member’s departure on the project
Collaborate with the functional manager to get a replacementUpdate the project’s resource breakdown structureReassign their workload to the project team memberCorrect answerEvaluate the impact of the team member’s departure on the projectOverall explanationFirst, the project manager should understand the impact of the team member’s departure on the project. It might have a big impact therefore the leaving member needs to be promptly replaced with an experienced member. Or, their departure might have a limited impact and the project can proceed without their contribution. Based on the evaluation findings, a decision should be taken on whether to get a replacement or reassign the workload. The project’s resource breakdown structure should be updated later on to reflect the new changes.
Question 87:
Before starting the project, and after identifying all of the individuals and groups involved or affected by the project, the project manager took a step further by classifying stakeholders according to their level of power, interest, and influence. This step is referred to as:
Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder identification
Stakeholder monitoring
Stakeholder engagement
Correct answerStakeholder analysisStakeholder identificationStakeholder monitoringStakeholder engagementOverall explanationSince the question states that stakeholders were already identified and that the project didn’t start yet, stakeholder analysis is the right answer. Stakeholder analysis refers to the classification of all project stakeholders in order to ensure efficient engagement later on. Stakeholder engagement takes place in the execution process group and it involves: communicating and collaborating with stakeholders to meet their expectations, addressing issues, and fostering appropriate stakeholder involvement. Stakeholder monitoring implies assessing stakeholders’ satisfaction and whether their engagement plan is effective or it needs to be updated (PMBOK 7th edition, pages 11-12-14).
Question 88:
A project manager is developing the business case of a green transportation project. To do so, they decide to use the SWOT technique. How should the project manager apply this technique?
Follow a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA Cycle)
Assess the business model using expert judgment
Identify the project’s strengths and weaknesses
Conduct a benefit/cost analysis
Follow a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle (PDCA Cycle)Assess the business model using expert judgmentCorrect answerIdentify the project’s strengths and weaknesses Conduct a benefit/cost analysisOverall explanationSWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It’s a tool that project managers use to assess the opportunities and threats they might face, as well as their projects’ strengths and weaknesses (PMBOK 7th edition, page 177). Assessing the project’s business model or conducting a benefit/cost analysis could be part of developing the business case, but both methods have a different purpose from the SWOT technique. The PDCA cycle is a quality management technique to control and continuously improve processes and products.
Question 89:
A project manager is managing an online e-learning platform. The project team is following the Scrum framework and every few weeks they release a new version that includes more features, user interface changes, bug fixes, security patches, etc. In order to avoid confusing users with the continuous changes, the project manager decides to make all release information accessible to the platform members under the “News” section on the website. What type of communication is the project manager intends to use?
Push communication
Interactive communication
Pull communication
Proactive communication
Push communicationInteractive communicationCorrect answerPull communicationProactive communicationOverall explanationThe described scenario involves an example of pull communication. PMBOK defined three types of communication: interactive, push, and pull. Proactive communication is a made-up term. Pull communication is a communication type where access to the information is provided, however, the receiver must proactively seek out and retrieve this information. When the communication is solely for informative purposes, pull communication should be used. It will have little to no impact on the project if the recipients do not read it. According to the PMBOK guide: “Pull communication is used for large complex information sets, or for large audiences, and requires the recipients to access the content at their own discretion subject to security procedures. These methods include web portals, intranet sites, e-learning, lessons learned databases, or knowledge repositories.” (PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition, page 374).
Question 90:
A project manager canceled a Lessons learned review meeting due to time constraints. The potential consequences of this decision might implicate:
Issues faced through the project could reoccur due to the missed opportunity to identify preventive actions
Project management will get more difficult
Project cost will be greater
The project may not be accepted by the Project Management Office (PMO)
Correct answerIssues faced through the project could reoccur due to the missed opportunity to identify preventive actionsProject management will get more difficultProject cost will be greaterThe project may not be accepted by the Project Management Office (PMO)Overall explanationThe knowledge acquired from the process of carrying out a project is referred to as “lessons learned.” This covers both the positive and negative aspects. The aim is to replicate good practices and avoid repeating errors. By failing to examine or go over past lessons learned, the project manager risks making the same errors as in previous projects. Therefore, the earlier the lessons are identified and embedded into a project, the more value they will provide. So ideally, a project manager should conduct reviews on an ongoing basis to allow for continuous improvement. Such a review will capture in-depth inputs from the project team, sponsors, stakeholders, etc. Capturing and going over lessons learned on a regular basis helps keep the project on track. In the long term, it will also help organizations continuously develop and enhance the way they conduct projects.
Question 91:
Even though the project management plan was perfectly elaborated, the project manager thinks that unforeseen events could have a big impact on the whole project. What should the project manager do next?
Identify these events and update the project management plan
Ensure that a management reserve is allotted
Discuss these events with the sponsor in order to develop a fallback plan
Perform a qualitative risk assessment to define the priority of each of these events
Identify these events and update the project management planCorrect answerEnsure that a management reserve is allottedDiscuss these events with the sponsor in order to develop a fallback planPerform a qualitative risk assessment to define the priority of each of these eventsOverall explanationUnforeseen events are “unknown unknowns”, meaning that they cannot be previewed or identified beforehand. Therefore, it is not possible to discuss or prioritize these events. The only action to take against this type of risk is to set up a management reserve to respond to these events when they occur.
Question 92:
During a planning session, a project management team determined that they need to purchase new equipment in November. The project manager thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of Black Friday’s discounts since it takes place in the last week of November. How should the project team deal with this opportunity?
Exploit
Share
Enhance
Accept
Correct answerExploitShareEnhanceAcceptOverall explanationThe project team should exploit this opportunity by taking specific actions and preparing the required conditions to take advantage of the opportunity (PMBOK 7th edition, page 220). For example, before Black Friday, the project team can prepare a list of sellers, contact them to verify if they’re planning to have any Black Friday discounts, subscribe to their newsletters to be notified of any opportunities, etc. The project team can exploit this opportunity without having to share it with a third party. Since the project team doesn’t have any control over the opportunity, they cannot enhance it by increasing its occurrence probability or impact. Finally, accepting the opportunity without taking any action means that the team can end up buying the equipment at any time during November and they can miss the opportunity, i.e., the Black Friday discounts.
Question 93:
An agile team is working on developing an innovative digital product. The product owner added a user story in the product backlog and noted that it should be implemented in the next release. During a refinement session with the product owner, the development team stated that they are not sure about the user story implementation since it requires particular inputs from the current release. What should the development team do next?
Further study the different implementation scenarios of the user story
Prioritize the user story since it involves a high level of ambiguity and risk
Stop spending more time trying to figure out how to implement the user story until they collect more information
Give the user story a final estimation based on the current understanding and available information
Further study the different implementation scenarios of the user storyPrioritize the user story since it involves a high level of ambiguity and riskCorrect answerStop spending more time trying to figure out how to implement the user story until they collect more informationGive the user story a final estimation based on the current understanding and available informationOverall explanationThe agile approach follows Lean principles. Among these principles is “deciding as late as possible”; when it’s difficult to make a decision or plan an activity, you should delay it or postpone it until you have enough information or data for you to be able to make an educated decision. This practice is known as the last responsible moment concept. In this case, since determining how to implement the concerned user story requires inputs from the current release, the development team should wait until they’re able to know more about these inputs. Final estimates are usually assigned during sprint planning, or whenever the user story implementation is clearly decided upon. On the other hand, the product owner is the one responsible for prioritizing work. Needless to say that prioritizing user stories should be based on values in addition to their ambiguity or risk.
Question 94:
A project manager is leading a project with remote team members in different geographical areas. During a virtual fortnightly retrospective meeting, the project manager finds out that some members either forgot, missed, or did not fully understand what was discussed in the previous meeting. What can the project manager do to address this issue? (Select two)
Ask all team members to try to speak English with an American accent
Create a new group norm requiring meeting attendees to raise their hands when they don’t understand something
Record meeting sessions and send the recordings to everyone involved
Change the meeting frequency to weekly rather than fortnightly so that team members do not forget what has been discussed
Ask all team members to try to speak English with an American accentCorrect selectionCreate a new group norm requiring meeting attendees to raise their hands when they don’t understand somethingCorrect selectionRecord meeting sessions and send the recordings to everyone involvedChange the meeting frequency to weekly rather than fortnightly so that team members do not forget what has been discussedOverall explanationTo solve the issue, the project manager can create a group norm inciting attendees to raise their hands when they have questions. They can also record meeting sessions and send recordings to all attendees. Raising hands is practical in physical meetings as well as in video conferences. If a team member raises their hand to ask a question and still didn’t understand a particular point, or if they missed part of the discussion, they can refer back to the recording. The project manager cannot force team members to speak with an American accent. If someone has an unclear accent, then the project manager could offer to provide them with training, if the team member is willing, in order to improve their accent. The meeting frequency should not be changed just because participants tend to forget meeting outputs. Meeting minutes and recordings are effective tools to address such an issue.
Question 95:
A PMP-certified project manager has a wide knowledge of project management and over 20 years of experience as a designer in the automotive industry. Her last assignment consisted in managing a group of designers to develop a new design for a futuristic car model. Knowing that the team trusts her decisions, which of the following powers does the project manager possess?
Referent
Expert
Formal
Persuasive
ReferentCorrect answerExpertFormalPersuasiveOverall explanationThe project manager possesses expert power. Being PMP-certified and having years of experience in the automotive design field demonstrate that she has an advanced level of knowledge that prompts the team’s respect. Other forms of power include referent, formal, and persuasive. Referent power is when team members respect or admire the leader for their personal qualities, such as their kindness or intelligence. Followers tend to admire these qualities, making them consider the leader a role model. Formal power is derived from the position that one holds in the organization. Persuasive power implies a person’s ability to provide arguments that influence people to take a particular decision or action.
Question 96:
Since switching to the agile approach, a project manager has been encouraging their team to be self-organizing by allowing them to decide on how to execute their assigned work. What is the main aspect of a self-organizing team?
It gives more responsibility to the project manager
It gives more responsibility to the Agile team
It allows the team to deliver a working product without external dependencies
It gives team members higher visibility of the product
It gives more responsibility to the project managerCorrect answerIt gives more responsibility to the Agile teamIt allows the team to deliver a working product without external dependenciesIt gives team members higher visibility of the productOverall explanationUnlike conventional teams, self-organizing teams do not wait for their supervisors to assign them tasks. Instead, they determine which tasks must be accomplished, prioritize those tasks, and handle their schedules and deadlines on their own. Self-organizing teams tend to have a greater sense of ownership, engagement, and responsibility (PMBOK 7th edition, page 249). A Cross-functional team, on the other hand, consists of team members with all the needed skills to produce a working product without external dependencies. Higher visibility of the product could only be developed by the product owner through backlog refinement.
Question 97:
A project manager works for an organization that uses extrinsic motivators to improve team morale and productivity. What incentives should the project manager offer the team in order to comply with the company’s policy? (Select three)
Create an “Employee of the month” award
Offer a $10,000 bonus for the most performant team members
Allow team members to work on tasks they enjoy
Praise team members for their hard work
Correct selectionCreate an “Employee of the month” awardCorrect selectionOffer a $10,000 bonus for the most performant team membersAllow team members to work on tasks they enjoyCorrect selectionPraise team members for their hard workOverall explanationExtrinsic motivation is described as actions motivated by external factors such as grades, popularity, money, and praise. This form of motivation arises from external factors, as opposed to intrinsic motivation, which comes from within the person. Allowing each team member to work on things that they genuinely love to do presents a form of intrinsic motivation (PMBOK 7th edition, page 24).
Question 98:
Now that the project is nearly finished, a key stakeholder asked the project manager whether they were nervous about the project deliverables approval process, to which the latter replied that they were confident that the customer will be satisfied with the result. What can ensure the satisfaction of the project’s customer?
The project’s low running costs
How good the project manager’s relationship is with the project’s end-users and stakeholders
The efficiency of the warranty service
Delivering value and conforming to project requirements
The project’s low running costsHow good the project manager’s relationship is with the project’s end-users and stakeholdersThe efficiency of the warranty serviceCorrect answerDelivering value and conforming to project requirementsOverall explanationIt’s not enough to complete a project on time and under budget. You need to deliver value by creating a suitable product for your stakeholders’ needs. Customer satisfaction is about making sure that the people who are paying for the end product are happy with what they ultimately get. Conformance to requirements and usability of deliverables is the basis of customer satisfaction as they allow you to measure how well your product meets expectations.
Question 99:
4 months into project execution, the project manager noticed that the performance of some of the team members was deteriorating, while others continued to perform well. What should the project manager do to get the whole team back on track?
Openly discuss the poor performance of certain team members with the whole team in order to come up with a joint solution
Motivate underperforming team members by incorporating a competitive reward system that offers a bonus for top performers
Avoid interfering in order to give team members a chance to improve their performance
Identify the causes of bad performance, solicit systematic feedback and implement adequate solutions based on findings
Openly discuss the poor performance of certain team members with the whole team in order to come up with a joint solutionMotivate underperforming team members by incorporating a competitive reward system that offers a bonus for top performersAvoid interfering in order to give team members a chance to improve their performanceCorrect answerIdentify the causes of bad performance, solicit systematic feedback and implement adequate solutions based on findingsOverall explanationThe project manager’s objective should be to understand why a once competent team member is now struggling. They should first recognize the symptoms, reach out to the underperforming team members, talk to them to try to find out the cause, offer whatever help they can, monitor and measure progress, and be sure to share their feedback.
Question 100:
A project manager presented a stadium construction project that they believe will benefit the community tremendously. Despite the mayor’s agreement to carry out the project, the project manager encountered strong resistance from various stakeholders since the beginning. What should the project manager do to resolve this problem?
Create a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) to indicate which stakeholder is responsible for what aspects of the project and who needs to be consulted or informed
Create an organizational diagram to assign each stakeholder to the appropriate project role, allowing or disallowing certain lines of communication
Schedule a meeting with the concerned stakeholders to thoroughly explain the project, discuss and establish ground rules, ensure their involvement, and identify any personal or organizational issues that might surface later on
Avoid contacting these stakeholders at the start of the project and instead create a “faits accomplis” to pressure them to support the project due to a lack of alternatives
Create a Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) to indicate which stakeholder is responsible for what aspects of the project and who needs to be consulted or informedCreate an organizational diagram to assign each stakeholder to the appropriate project role, allowing or disallowing certain lines of communicationCorrect answerSchedule a meeting with the concerned stakeholders to thoroughly explain the project, discuss and establish ground rules, ensure their involvement, and identify any personal or organizational issues that might surface later onAvoid contacting these stakeholders at the start of the project and instead create a “faits accomplis” to pressure them to support the project due to a lack of alternativesOverall explanationThe project manager should schedule a meeting with the concerned stakeholders to present the project, discuss and establish ground rules, ensure their involvement and identify any personal or organizational issues. The project manager can overcome stakeholder resistance by simply listening to their concerns. The purpose is to see things from their perspective. The project manager should understand what drives and motivates the stakeholder in order to establish common ground and understand the reason behind such resistance.
Question 101:
A project involves dozens of stakeholders. Most of them need high-level information and updates about the project status, while the rest need more detailed information and frequent updates. To respond to these different requirements, what should the project manager create?
Power/interest grid
Salience Model
Stakeholder engagement plan
Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix
Power/interest gridSalience ModelCorrect answerStakeholder engagement planStakeholder engagement assessment matrixOverall explanationA stakeholder engagement plan sets up strategies and actions to ensure the positive and effective involvement of all stakeholders in the project (PMBOK 7th edition, page 187). The power/interest grid, Salience Model, and stakeholder engagement assessment matrix are tools and techniques to analyze stakeholders and assess their level of engagement. Unlike the stakeholder engagement plan, these tools do not generate or comprise practical information on how to engage and monitor stakeholders such as the frequency of official meetings, recipients of status reports, communication channels, etc.
Question 102:
During the sprint review, the product owner informs the scrum team that the meeting is being recorded in order to send it to a key stakeholder. A day later, the stakeholder contacted the product owner to express their disappointment with the product, claiming that it is nothing like what they had in mind. What should the scrum master do next?
Facilitate a meeting between the product owner and the concerned stakeholder
Meet the stakeholder to review the product backlog items
Ask the development team to have more frequent backlog refinement sessions with the product owner
Ask the development team to collaborate with the key stakeholder
Correct answerFacilitate a meeting between the product owner and the concerned stakeholderMeet the stakeholder to review the product backlog itemsAsk the development team to have more frequent backlog refinement sessions with the product ownerAsk the development team to collaborate with the key stakeholderOverall explanationSince the product doesn’t meet the expectation of the key stakeholder, then there is no alignment between the product owner and the stakeholder. The product owner is responsible for gathering and prioritizing requirements. The feedback of the stakeholder indicates that the product owner didn’t involve them enough in the process. As an agile project manager or scrum master, you can help the product owner, who is the stakeholder representative, while also protecting your team from dealing with such issues. Additionally, the development team should collaborate with the product owner, who in turn should review the product backlog items with the key stakeholder, being their point of contact in the project. Plus, it’s not the scrum master’s responsibility to review the product backlog items.
Question 103:
A project manager is leading an adaptive project using an online project management system that displays the real-time progress of the iterations and the overall project through different charts. However, a key stakeholder prefers to receive an email with the weekly status report instead. What should the project manager do in this case? (Select two)
Add a small recurring task of “1” story point in the product backlog to send the weekly report
Take this in charge in order to let the team focus on achieving deliverables
Check if there is a way to automatically send the weekly report through the project management system
Ignore the stakeholder request since they have access to the online system and therefore can easily check the project status
Add a small recurring task of “1” story point in the product backlog to send the weekly reportCorrect selectionTake this in charge in order to let the team focus on achieving deliverablesCorrect selectionCheck if there is a way to automatically send the weekly report through the project management systemIgnore the stakeholder request since they have access to the online system and therefore can easily check the project statusOverall explanationThe project manager should remove impediments that slow down the team’s progress towards achieving the iteration goal. This can be done by taking this task in charge, whether by sending the status reports manually or by finding a way to automate it. Furthermore, the project manager can remind the key stakeholder that they have real-time access to the project status. Their request to receive weekly status reports by email should not be ignored or dismissed since it’s critical to particularly engage key stakeholders by using whatever communication channels they prefer.
Question 104:
A project manager keeps receiving negative feedback concerning one of the project suppliers. The conflicts between the project team and the supplier’s team are getting worse recently and are starting to have a negative impact on the project. What should the project manager do next?
Send an email to the supplier’s team manager explaining the alarming situation
Meet with the supplier’s team manager to discuss the issue
Call the supplier’s team manager and urge them to commit to the procurement agreement
Proceed with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Send an email to the supplier’s team manager explaining the alarming situationCorrect answerMeet with the supplier’s team manager to discuss the issueCall the supplier’s team manager and urge them to commit to the procurement agreementProceed with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)Overall explanationWhen you want to resolve a conflict, a face-to-face meeting is always the best first step. Hence, the project manager should meet with the manager of the supplier’s team to discuss the issue and try to find a solution. Other communication methods, such as sending an email or having a phone call, are less effective than an in-person meeting. If direct negotiation fails, then the project manager should proceed with Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), such as mediation or arbitration.
Question 105:
During the planning of a call center project, a stakeholder mentions that since the used internet cable (DSL) can be slow, it should be considered a high risk to the project. However, based on their previous projects, the project manager thinks that the cable internet would work just fine for the project. Another stakeholder intervenes to explain that the internet cable speed and reliability vary depending on the geographical location. What should the project manager do next?
Analyze and prioritize the risk by using a probability and impact matrix
Set a contingency reserve to install fiber Internet cables if the threat occurs
Perform a qualitative risk analysis by developing a risk mitigation plan
Perform a quantitative risk analysis to determine the risk exposure
Correct answerAnalyze and prioritize the risk by using a probability and impact matrixSet a contingency reserve to install fiber Internet cables if the threat occursPerform a qualitative risk analysis by developing a risk mitigation planPerform a quantitative risk analysis to determine the risk exposureOverall explanationThe project manager should first perform a qualitative risk analysis to assess risk occurrence, probability, and impact. After that, they should further analyze the prioritized risks using quantitative risk analysis. With this type of risk analysis, the project manager will be able to determine the risk exposure level, develop a risk mitigation plan, or define a contingency reserve. Option C is incorrect because qualitative risk analysis is performed by using a probability and impact matrix, not by developing a risk mitigation plan.
Question 106:
A project manager receives a document from the customer containing the new project’s requirements. When going through the document, the project manager finds it difficult to understand certain requirements, outputs, and most importantly the project’s ultimate goal. What should the project manager do next?
Ask the customer for clarifications
Reject the new project as it involves a lot of ambiguity
Start planning the first iteration
Acquire a team to help analyze the project requirements
Correct answerAsk the customer for clarificationsReject the new project as it involves a lot of ambiguityStart planning the first iterationAcquire a team to help analyze the project requirementsOverall explanationIn case of ambiguity, the project manager should first ask for clarifications from the customer before making any further decisions. The project involves unclear requirements and objectives. Thus, it’s not appropriate to start planning project work or acquire a team without first creating a clear vision of what the project consists of.
Question 107:
During project execution, the project team had an issue with an unreliable vendor. Since the incident had a high impact on the project scope, the project manager decided to terminate the vendor’s contract and never deal with them again in the future. Where should the project manager record this issue?
Lessons learned register
Change log
Risk register
Issue log
Lessons learned registerChange logRisk registerCorrect answerIssue logOverall explanationThe Issue Log is a project document where all information concerning faced issues is recorded and monitored (PMBOK 7th edition, page 336). Even though the described scenario involves lessons learned (never to deal with the unreliable vendor in the future), the question only inquires about where to record the issue.
Question 108:
As part of his job, and through his multiple visits to many countries, a project manager learned that he needs to avoid being ethnocentric. What does ethnocentrism mean?
Being unfriendly to strangers
Inability to get adjusted to the culture of a new place
The belief that your own culture is superior to others
The initial shock of arriving in a foreign country
Being unfriendly to strangersInability to get adjusted to the culture of a new placeCorrect answerThe belief that your own culture is superior to othersThe initial shock of arriving in a foreign countryOverall explanationEthnocentrism plays a significant role in the tension and division that exist among members of various ethnicities, races, and religious groups. It is the presumption that one’s racial group is superior to another. Ethnocentric people feel they are superior to others because of their ethnic heritage. Clearly, this practice results in racism and prejudice problems.
Question 109:
A team member has shown exceptional technical skills and an ability to complete all their tasks in a timely manner. As a result, the company’s CEO decided to promote the team member to a project manager role. The CEO’s behavior is an example of the:
Herzberg Theory
Expectancy Theory
McGregor’s Theory of X and Y
Halo Effect
Herzberg TheoryExpectancy TheoryMcGregor’s Theory of X and YCorrect answerHalo EffectOverall explanationThe CEO’s behavior is an illustration of the Halo effect. The Halo Effect implies making a decision based on a person’s attribute or performance in one specific area. The team member has great technical skills which gave the CEO the impression that they can be a great project manager. Apart from their technical skills, there is no tangible evidence proving that the team member is able to lead a project. Herzberg’s Theory recognizes two categories of worker satisfaction factors: hygiene agents and motivating agents. The expectancy Theory states that people behave based on what they expect as a result of their behavior. McGregor’s theory states that management believes there are two types of workers: Y represents those who are self-motivated and enjoy their work and X represents those who dislike their work.
Question 110:
A project manager makes sure that their team has a healthy work environment by providing safe working conditions, job security, and rewarding salaries, with an emphasis on work appreciation. According to Herzberg, which of the following options are examples of hygiene factors? (Select three)
Job security
Salary
Safe working conditions
Appreciation
Correct selectionJob securityCorrect selectionSalaryCorrect selectionSafe working conditionsAppreciationOverall explanationAccording to Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model (aka Two Factor Theory), there are two catalysts for creating job satisfaction: hygiene factors and motivating factors. Hygiene factors don’t encourage employees to work harder but their absence causes employees to become unmotivated. Hygiene factors include clean and safe work conditions, salary or paycheck, and job security (PMBOK 7th edition, page 158). Appreciation is not a hygiene factor, it’s considered a motivating factor.
Question 111:
A project manager attended a meeting to finalize a procurement that was still in the negotiation stage. However, they noticed that discussions tend to drift to various irrelevant topics, with attendees occasionally going back to the meeting’s main topic. What is this meeting missing? (Select two)
Minutes
An agenda
An objective
A facilitator
MinutesCorrect selectionAn agendaAn objectiveCorrect selectionA facilitatorOverall explanationThe meeting probably does not have either a clear agenda or a facilitator. An agenda organizes and structures a meeting’s discussions, while a facilitator ensures that the agenda is being followed and respected. Minutes of Meeting, aka MoM, is a summary of what happened during a meeting. MoM serve as a written record for future reference, thus they cannot be what caused this meeting to be chaotic. The meeting already has an objective; concluding a procurement in the negotiation phase. But, since no one is assigned to facilitate the meeting, it’s probable that the objective was not appropriately communicated to all attendees in the first place, resulting in the described chaos.
Question 112:
Match each communication method with its corresponding advantages in the table below:
Asynchronous, Virtual, Written, Face-to-face
Asynchronous, Face-to-face, Written, Virtual
Written, Virtual, Face-to-face, Asynchronous
Face-to-face, Asynchronous, Written, Virtual
Asynchronous, Virtual, Written, Face-to-faceCorrect answerAsynchronous, Face-to-face, Written, VirtualWritten, Virtual, Face-to-face, AsynchronousFace-to-face, Asynchronous, Written, VirtualOverall explanationA. Asynchronous communication: Increases flexibility and reduces pressure
B. Face-to-face communication: Builds connections and leads to more engagement
C. Written communication: Decreases ambiguity and ensures commitment
D. Virtual communication: Saves costs and limits interruptions
Question 113:
A project manager is leading a pharmaceutical manufacturing project that follows a predictive approach. The project management team regularly communicates with stakeholders to collect their feedback and assess their engagement. In which process group do stakeholders have the most influence over the project?
Initiating
Planning
Executing
Closing
Correct answerInitiatingPlanningExecutingClosingOverall explanationStakeholders have the most influence and impact on a predictive project at its early stages. Stakeholder influence is mostly perceived in the early stages of the project. The project is flexible at this stage and can be changed and stakeholders generally take advantage of this. Once it starts to progress, the project takes on momentum and power of its own, thus, the cost of stopping it or altering its direction becomes very high (Vogwell, D. (2003). Stakeholder management).
Question 114:
Upon the client’s request, a project manager of an e-commerce website development project agreed to extend the scope while committing to the same delivery date. In order to achieve that, the project team must work 24/7. What’s the best course of action for the project manager?
Starting a night shift for the collocated team members
Hiring virtual teams that work in different time zones and schedules
Crashing the project
Using the resource leveling technique
Starting a night shift for the collocated team membersCorrect answerHiring virtual teams that work in different time zones and schedulesCrashing the projectUsing the resource leveling techniqueOverall explanationThe project manager can rely on virtual teams that work in different time zones and on different days of the week. Hiring resources from different geographical zones allows the project to operate 24/7 without overworking the team. Since the project involves creating an e-commerce website, having virtual teams on the project is functional and practical. Constructing or manufacturing projects, on the other hand, can’t take advantage of hiring a virtual team. However, they can opt for night shifts as a workable alternative. Crashing the project is used to add more resources in order to simultaneously work on different activities. The project manager will certainly crash the project since they intend to accomplish more work within the same duration. But, crashing the project doesn’t necessarily mean that the project will be running 24/7, which makes this choice imprecise. Finally, the resource leveling technique implies distributing workload based on resources’ constraints. This technique is typically used in the schedule planning phase of a predictive project.
Question 115:
An agile coach was invited to assist an organization in its transition to the Scrum framework. After examining the current situation, the agile coach finds out that the cross-functional team lacks a Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) to refer to in case they have any questions about the product. Which of the following roles is missing in this situation?
Scrum Master
Sponsor
Product Owner
Project Manager
Scrum MasterSponsorCorrect answerProduct OwnerProject ManagerOverall explanationThe Product Owner, also known as the “voice of the customer,” is the one in charge of ensuring that the cross-functional team creates value. The Product Owner ensures that the product specifications are clearly communicated to the team, through the definition of Acceptance Criteria and ensuring that those criteria are met and satisfied. A Scrum team comprises three main roles: cross-functional team members, product owner, and team facilitator. The latter is also known as the project manager, scrum master, team lead, or team coach (Agile Practice Guide, pages 40-41).
Question 116:
A project manager is managing a project using a hybrid approach. After one week of the first iteration, the customer informs the project manager that they were dissatisfied with the deliverables. What should the project manager do next?
Ask the customer to submit a change request so that their dissatisfaction can be addressed
Use soft skills to convince the customer that the deliverables conform to project specifications
Investigate the cause of dissatisfaction and verify the deliverables
Implement adjustments and improvements in the next iteration
Ask the customer to submit a change request so that their dissatisfaction can be addressedUse soft skills to convince the customer that the deliverables conform to project specificationsCorrect answerInvestigate the cause of dissatisfaction and verify the deliverablesImplement adjustments and improvements in the next iterationOverall explanationThe first thing the project manager should do is listen to the customer, take note of the reasons behind their dissatisfaction, and verify the deliverables. Once this is done, the project manager will be equipped with all of the needed information to make the best decision. If they realize that it’s just a misunderstanding or the customer is missing some details regarding the project deliverables, then they can simply use their soft skills to explain and convince them that the deliverables are good. However, if the deliverables do not meet specifications or require improvement, then they should plan to implement changes in the upcoming iterations according to the priorities set by the customer. Since the project is hybrid, the project manager may also need to ask the customer to submit a change request if out-of-scope work is requested.
Question 117:
The project team includes the following members:
Member A: excited about the project and eager to put in more effort if required
Member B: always exceeds expectations
Member C: well-liked by the customer and is willing to put in more effort as needed
Member D: consistently achieves the project’s requirements
Who is the most valuable resource to the project?
Member A
Member B
Member C
Member D
Member AMember BMember CCorrect answerMember DOverall explanationTeam member D is the best project resource since they regularly meet project requirements. Even if Member A is excited and eager to put in more effort (Member A), exceeding expectations by spending additional time working on the project (Member B), or being well-liked by the customer (Member C), doesn’t mean that these team members can meet the project criteria.
Question 118:
At the end of the iteration, a graphic designer for a dairy brand informs the project manager that she wasn’t able to finish one of her assigned tasks due to an issue with her laptop. In order to prevent such a situation from occurring in the future, the project manager should:
Discuss the issue during the demonstration session
Address the issue during the following iteration planning meeting
Handle the issue during the next daily standup meeting
Discuss the issue during the retrospective meeting
Discuss the issue during the demonstration sessionAddress the issue during the following iteration planning meetingHandle the issue during the next daily standup meetingCorrect answerDiscuss the issue during the retrospective meetingOverall explanationAn Agile retrospective meeting takes place at the end of each iteration during which the team discusses what happened during the iteration and determines improvement areas for future iterations. The retrospective allows issues to be identified and discussed along with ideas for improvements. Retrospectives are a primary tool for managing project knowledge and developing the team through discussing what went well and what needs to be improved (PMBOK 7th edition, page 71).
Question 119:
During the planning phase, and in order to acquire physical resources, a project manager of a high-tech project received many proposals from qualified suppliers with whom they worked in previous projects, along with proposals from other suppliers. To compare the different suppliers and make the best choice, which of the following tools or techniques should the project manager use?
Procurement performance review
Selection criteria
Procurement audit
Make or buy analysis
Procurement performance reviewCorrect answerSelection criteriaProcurement auditMake or buy analysisOverall explanationIt’s essential for both the project manager and the project team to create selection criteria to rate and score proposals from the suppliers. In the case of a bid or quote, the price offered by the seller represents the main evaluation criterion. In other cases involving proposals, the evaluation criteria can include various aspects such as the seller’s experience, references, certifications, etc. In this scenario, the project manager has received proposals, so a make-or-buy analysis should have been already carried out at this point. An audit or a performance review should take place at a later stage to verify that all procurement processes were respected and that the purchased items conform to requirements.
Question 120:
Upon receiving vendors’ proposals for the new project they’re managing, and in order to minimize the effect of their personal prejudice on source selection, a project manager uses a quantifying method for qualitative data. This method is referred to as:
Weighting system
Screening system
Selecting system
All of the above
Correct answerWeighting systemScreening systemSelecting systemAll of the aboveOverall explanationA Weighting System is a method for quantifying qualitative data, which is often used to minimize any personal prejudice or judgment effect on the process of source selection. This method works as follows: the project manager assigns a numerical weight to each of the evaluation criteria, then rates the potential sellers according to each criterion. Next, they multiply the weight by rating and calculating the total of the resultant products to finally get an overall score for each seller. The weighing system method guarantees the award of the contract to the best seller. A screening system is usually used to short-list vendors based on predefined go/no-go criteria. A selecting system is a made-up term.
Question 121:
While monitoring the performance of a construction project, the project manager notices that the project is likely to drift away from the planned schedule. Therefore, they implement ______________ in order to ensure that the project is fully aligned with the agreed-upon project baselines.
Preventive actions
Corrective actions
Change request
Defect repairs
Correct answerPreventive actionsCorrective actionsChange requestDefect repairsOverall explanationWhen the project is likely to deviate from the planned scope, schedule, cost, or quality requirements, preventive actions must be taken. Such actions are based on a variance and trend analysis and they’re proactive in nature. Corrective actions, however, are reactive and are taken in order to bring the project performance back to the baseline when the project has already deviated from the scope, schedule, cost, or quality plan. Defect repair is implemented to adjust a nonconforming product or component. A change request, on the other hand, can be a corrective action, a preventive action, or even a defect repair (PMBOK 6th edition, page 96).
Question 122:
Managing an electric car manufacturing project, a project manager is facing a complicated quality problem that they don’t understand its source and causes. They set a meeting with their team to discuss the matter and to initially trace the problem source back to its root cause. For that, they use:
Pareto diagram
Chain diagram
Scatter diagram
Why Why diagram
Pareto diagramChain diagramScatter diagramCorrect answerWhy Why diagramOverall explanationThe Why Why diagram, known also as the Cause and effect diagram, fishbone diagram, or Ishikawa diagram, helps determine the primary or root cause of the problem by breaking down the causes of the issue into distinct branches. (PMBOK 6th edition, page 293).
Question 123:
A project manager was assigned to organize a national chess tournament. The tournament project has been planned and approved for execution. Three months separate the project manager from the big event, during which they will follow the scrum approach with 2-week long sprints. Before starting any work, they hold a meeting with the sponsor, project team, stakeholders, and key contractors. What kind of meeting did the project manager hold?
Sprint planning meeting
Kick-off meeting
Status meeting
Scoping meeting
Sprint planning meetingCorrect answerKick-off meetingStatus meetingScoping meetingOverall explanationA Project Kick-Off Meeting is considered the formal announcement of the project approval for execution. This meeting takes place at the beginning of the project, once the plan and the project itself get approved but before executing or starting any work (PMBOK 7th edition, page 179). The Project Kick-Off Meeting is usually attended by the sponsor, other managers, the project team, as well as contractors and vendors (Effective Project Management Traditional, Agile, Extreme, Hybrid by Robert K. Wysocki Pages 272, 273). The sprint planning meeting can’t be the correct answer for the given situation because the sponsor, stakeholders, and key contractors do not usually attend this meeting. The status meeting, on the other hand, is used to track project progress, when execution has already started. And finally, the scoping meeting is used to define the deliverables of the project, which in this case, should have already taken place since the tournament has been planned and approved for execution as mentioned.
Question 124:
A project manager is managing a project that consists in implementing an accounting application for a pet store. During a project performance review meeting, they presented the following figures:
AC = $4,000, PV = $5,000, and EV = $5,500. What does that indicate about the project?
Since both the CV and SV are positive, the project is under budget and ahead of schedule
These numbers are insufficient to calculate the project SPI and CPI
Since the CV is negative, the project manager has probably spent more than they initially planned to
Since the SV is negative, the project is behind schedule
Correct answerSince both the CV and SV are positive, the project is under budget and ahead of scheduleThese numbers are insufficient to calculate the project SPI and CPISince the CV is negative, the project manager has probably spent more than they initially planned toSince the SV is negative, the project is behind scheduleOverall explanationSince SV = EV – PV and CV = EV – AC then SV = $5,500 – $5,000 = $500 and CV = $5,500 – $4,000 = $1,500.
The Cost Variance (CV) is positive, which means that the project is under budget, and since the Schedule Variance (SV) is positive too, that means the project is also ahead of schedule.
Question 125:
An organization is deliberating over two potential projects that have exactly the same payback period. After doing a benefit measurement analysis, the project manager finds out that project A has a lower Internal Rate of Return (IRR) than project B. What project should the organization choose?
Project A
Project B
There is no difference
The available information is not enough to make a decision
Project ACorrect answerProject BThere is no differenceThe available information is not enough to make a decisionOverall explanationThe Internal Rate of Return is the annual rate of growth a project is expected to generate. The higher the IRR, the more desirable an investment is. Project B has a higher IRR, thus it will obviously be selected over Project A.
Question 126:
Which statement is true about the following chart?
The figure represents a burnup chart of the remaining story points
Throughout the iteration, the completed story points are always more than projected
The team planned 14 story points for the iteration which they completed
3 story points are unfinished at the end of the iteration
The figure represents a burnup chart of the remaining story pointsThroughout the iteration, the completed story points are always more than projectedThe team planned 14 story points for the iteration which they completedCorrect answer3 story points are unfinished at the end of the iterationOverall explanationAt the end of the seven-day iteration, 3 story points are left undone. The team planned 14 story points, but they were only able to finish 11. The figure represents a burndown chart and not a burnup chart. When the actual progress line of the chart is above the projected progress, it indicates that the team is finishing fewer story points than what they initially committed to.
Question 127:
A project manager is leading a complex project with a very demanding sponsor. The sponsor wants to stay on top of every project progress update as well as all planned subsequent work. What’s the best way for the project manager to communicate with the sponsor?
Send a comprehensive monthly report detailing all project progress aspects regarding scope, schedule, cost, risks, etc.
Schedule a monthly face-to-face meeting to discuss the project status
Schedule a meeting once or twice a week and let the sponsor know that they can also attend daily standups
Schedule a fortnightly meeting and give the sponsor access to the project management software so they can check real-time updates concerning the project status
Send a comprehensive monthly report detailing all project progress aspects regarding scope, schedule, cost, risks, etc.Schedule a monthly face-to-face meeting to discuss the project statusCorrect answerSchedule a meeting once or twice a week and let the sponsor know that they can also attend daily standupsSchedule a fortnightly meeting and give the sponsor access to the project management software so they can check real-time updates concerning the project statusOverall explanationSince the project is complex, frequent communication is required. Therefore, the best option is to schedule regular meetings once or twice a week, with the possibility of attending standup meetings to get daily updates. Monthly meetings, even if they’re face-to-face, are not efficient for complex projects. Giving access to the project management software is considered pull communication since the sponsor has to seek information themself. Pull communication might not be sufficient for high-power demanding stakeholders.
Question 128:
A project manager has just taken over an ongoing project for creating a newborns’ essentials brand. Items made of fabric are manufactured by external vendors. To get to know all vendors involved in the project, the project manager should check out:
RFQs
Stakeholder register
Vendors’ proposals
Stakeholder engagement plan
RFQsCorrect answerStakeholder registerVendors’ proposalsStakeholder engagement planOverall explanationThe stakeholder register document contains all relevant information concerning the project stakeholders including their influence, interest, involvement, and potential impact on the project’s success. External vendors are considered project stakeholders and therefore they should take part in the stakeholder register. The project manager should refer to this document whenever they need any information concerning both internal and external stakeholders.
Question 129:
An agile project manager noticed that several stakeholders have lost interest in the project; they rarely provide inputs, give feedback, or attend meetings. What can the project manager do to resolve this problem? (Select two)
Send a reminder before each meeting
Inform stakeholders that they can provide their feedback anonymously
Value and show appreciation of everyone’s ideas
Demonstrate the working increments
Send a reminder before each meetingInform stakeholders that they can provide their feedback anonymouslyCorrect selectionValue and show appreciation of everyone’s ideasCorrect selectionDemonstrate the working incrementsOverall explanationMost probably, stakeholders are losing interest in the project because their input or feedback is being disregarded, or they are not seeing any tangible progress. The project manager has to engage stakeholders by taking their feedback into consideration to show them that their ideas are valued. The project manager should also demonstrate working increments as early in the project lifecycle as possible. This is considered one of the advantages of the agile approach that stakeholders expect and appreciate. Sending reminders before each meeting or allowing for anonymous feedback does not yield more engagement as both options don’t address the root cause of the problem.
Question 130:
As part of the project, an outdoor ceremony event is planned. However, one day prior to the event, forecasts showed that it would be raining all week. Knowing that it’s not possible to change the event’s date, what can the project manager do to turn around the situation? (Select two)
Apply the risk response previously elaborated in the risk register
Get waterproof tents
Change the event location to an indoor space and inform all invitees of the new location
Ask all invitees to take the needed precautions by bringing their raincoats, umbrellas, etc.
Apply the risk response previously elaborated in the risk registerCorrect selectionGet waterproof tentsCorrect selectionChange the event location to an indoor space and inform all invitees of the new locationAsk all invitees to take the needed precautions by bringing their raincoats, umbrellas, etc.Overall explanationThe project manager can get waterproof tents or relocate the event to an indoor location. Turnaround is a response to an unplanned event. Consequently, a risk response was not elaborated in the risk register. Asking invitees to bring their raincoats is not a practical solution for spending hours in an outdoor ceremony event on a rainy day.
Question 131:
During the risk identification process, attrition of resources was identified as a major risk. As a response, the project manager decided to opt for financial incentives to motivate their team members. What type of risk response are they following?
Acceptance
Mitigation
Transference
Avoidance
AcceptanceCorrect answerMitigationTransferenceAvoidanceOverall explanationThe project manager is mitigating the risk of resource attrition. This type of risk response aims to diminish the probability and/or impact of a threat (PMBOK 7th edition, page 123).
Question 132:
A project manager got assigned to a new project. Prior to the project kick-off, the sponsor introduces the project manager to the organization’s C-level executives and reassures them that the project is bound to be a success. Who assumes responsibility for the project’s success?
Project sponsor
C-level executives
Project manager
All of the above
Project sponsorC-level executivesCorrect answerProject managerAll of the aboveOverall explanationWhile the project sponsor and eventually c-suite executives are accountable for the project, it is the project manager who assumes responsibility for achieving the project’s objectives and overall success.
Question 133:
A project manager is leading an agricultural project involving three stakeholders with high authority. By analyzing each of these stakeholders, the project manager identifies Stakeholder A as the one who has the most interest in the project. What strategy should the project manager use for managing Stakeholder A?
Manage closely
Keep satisfied
Keep informed
Monitor
Correct answerManage closelyKeep satisfiedKeep informedMonitorOverall explanationAccording to the power/interest grid, stakeholders with high power and high interest should be managed closely.
Question 134:
A project manager is in charge of a construction project. When they first started acquiring resources, the project manager asked the talent acquisition manager to conduct an MBTI (Myers–Briggs Type Indicator) Personality Test for the procurement manager position. The project manager requested that the talent acquisition manager only considers candidates who are comfortable approaching providers and communicating with them. Which personality type is the project manager referring to?
INFP
INFJ
ISTJ
ESTP
INFPINFJISTJCorrect answerESTPOverall explanationSince a procurement manager position requires an Extravert, ESTP would be a good fit. ESTP stands for Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving. ESTP indicates a person who enjoys spending time with others (Extraverted), focuses on facts and details rather than ideas and concepts (Sensing), uses logic and reasoning to make decisions (Thinking), and prefers to be spontaneous and flexible rather than planned and organized (Perceiving). On personality trait measures, ESTPs score as Dominant, Flexible, Demanding, and Sociable. INFP stands for Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving. INFPs prefer spending time alone, as they are often offbeat and unconventional. INFJ stands for Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, and Judging. INFJs are sensitive and reserved as they are of a private sort. They’re also selective about sharing intimate thoughts and feelings and they prefer to be planned and organized rather than spontaneous and flexible. ISTJ stands for Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging. ISTJs are neat and orderly and are most comfortable in familiar surroundings. They often enjoy tasks that require them to use step-by-step reasoning to solve a problem.
Question 135:
Communication is key to the success of any project. It is particularly important when it comes to building positive stakeholder relationships. Which is the best communication method to maintain and improve relationships with stakeholders?
Interactive communication
Written communication
Pull communication
Push communication
Correct answerInteractive communicationWritten communicationPull communicationPush communicationOverall explanationInteractive communication is the most effective communication method to maintain and improve relationships with stakeholders. Interactive communication is a real-time, dynamic, two-way flow of information. On the other hand, push communication is delivered by the sender to the receiver. It is recommended when the sender sends information that does not need an immediate response from the receiver. Emails are an example of this type of communication. Pull communication, such as blog posts, is delivered from the sender to a large audience. Here information is available for people to access when they need to. Written communication is used to exchange formal or detailed information such as decisions, statistics, facts, etc.
Question 136:
Despite being experienced, a project manager is managing a remote team for the first time. During meetings, the project manager has to sometimes repeat what they’re saying due to a bad Internet connection or headphones issues. In a typical communication context, elements interfering with the transmission and understanding of the project manager’s message are called:
Medium
Noise
Decode
Constraint
MediumCorrect answerNoiseDecodeConstraintOverall explanationIn a typical communication context, and according to the sender-receiver model, anything that obstructs the transmission and comprehension of a message is called noise. The key components of the communication process also include encoding thoughts or ideas, a message as the output of encoding, a medium to transmit the message, and decoding the message back into meaningful information.
Question 137:
A project manager is in charge of New York’s new bridge construction project. They were informed by one of the subject matter experts that, next July, all of the bridge construction work will need to stop taking into consideration the past history of river flooding due to hurricane season. Thus, they agree with the expert and arrange to stop the work during that month. This decision is considered as:
Acceptance
Transfer
Mitigation
Avoidance
AcceptanceTransferMitigationCorrect answerAvoidanceOverall explanationThe project manager’s decision to stop construction work during July means that they’re trying to avoid the risk rather than accept it. The project manager made the safe decision to stop all construction work during hurricane season to avoid the risk of financial loss or putting the project staff in danger. This risk response is suitable for threats of high priority, high probability of occurrence, and a considerable negative impact. The decision can not be to mitigate because mitigation implies that the project manager would attempt to reduce the threat’s probability of occurrence and/or impact, which can’t be done since they have no control over river floods, nor did they take any prior action to mitigate its damage if it does occur (PMBOK 7th edition, page 123).
Question 138:
A project manager collaborates with the project team to create the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) for their project. What purpose does this document serve? (Select two)
Help the project team define the project scope
Help the project team visualize the project work
Help the project team organize the project scope
Help the project team identify the project requirements
Help the project team define the project scopeCorrect selectionHelp the project team visualize the project workCorrect selectionHelp the project team organize the project scopeHelp the project team identify the project requirementsOverall explanationThe purpose of creating the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is to both organize and visualize the project scope. This document organizes work into work packages and assigns each package a code of accounts. Besides, as a visual tool, the WBS helps the team check the overall work plan, see how the project should progress, and appropriately manage the project workflow. The WBS is developed after identifying the project requirements and defining its scope.
Question 139:
While examining their project progress, a project manager finds out that the schedule variance is $0.00. Which of the following statements is true about this project?
The project’s CPI equals 1
The project’s EV equals its PV
The project’s cost variance is $0.00 too
The project’s EAC equals its BAC
The project’s CPI equals 1Correct answerThe project’s EV equals its PVThe project’s cost variance is $0.00 tooThe project’s EAC equals its BACOverall explanationSchedule variance (SV) measures whether your project is on track by calculating its actual progress against expected progress to determine how ahead of or behind schedule the project work is. SV equals the difference between your project’s earned value and planned value: SV = EV – PV. Therefore, an SV of $0.00 means that the project’s EV equals its PV.
Question 140:
3 months into project execution, the sponsor gets into a financial crisis and asks the project manager to immediately end the project. What should the project manager do next?
Try to persuade the client to complete the project
Talk to their management about the situation
Start the close procurement process
Start the close project process
Try to persuade the client to complete the projectTalk to their management about the situationStart the close procurement processCorrect answerStart the close project processOverall explanationWhen the project is closed or terminated for any reason, the project manager should start the close process. Procurement closure is part of the “Close project” process. The situation in the question requires project termination, so the correct answer implies executing the process that addresses the situation, i.e. the Close Project process. Plus, there is no indication in the question that the project has procurements.
Question 141:
A project manager is in charge of a children’s hospital construction project. The project manager receives an email from the quality control team stating that they’re having numerous issues with one of the project vendors. What should the project manager do about it?
Penalize the vendor
Set up a meeting with the vendor and the control quality team
Terminate the contract and discuss with the control quality team the selection criteria of a new vendor
Raise the issue to the sponsor
Penalize the vendorCorrect answerSet up a meeting with the vendor and the control quality teamTerminate the contract and discuss with the control quality team the selection criteria of a new vendorRaise the issue to the sponsorOverall explanationFirst and foremost, the project manager should be proactive and try to resolve the conflict between the quality control team and the vendor and work out a solution. If this doesn’t work, and the conflict still continues to exist, the project manager should consider other options such as taking disciplinary actions or even terminating the contract to avoid potential future damage. Raising the issue to the sponsor is not an appropriate course of action since it’s the project manager’s responsibility to deal with conflicts and problems encountered throughout the project. Yet, an exception can be made when the decision is beyond the project manager’s authority and power, which is not the case here.
Question 142:
A project manager was notified by Management that they’re sending a team of experts to conduct a risk audit. Even though the project manager had already completed a risk review process without finding any shortcomings, the management insisted on proceeding with the risk audit. Which of the following statements are true about risk audits and risk reviews? (Select two)
A risk audit is conducted to examine the risk response plan
A risk review is conducted to examine the risk response plan
A risk audit is conducted to investigate whether the risk response plan is being followed
A risk review is conducted to investigate whether the risk response plan is being followed
A risk audit is conducted to examine the risk response planCorrect selectionA risk review is conducted to examine the risk response planCorrect selectionA risk audit is conducted to investigate whether the risk response plan is being followedA risk review is conducted to investigate whether the risk response plan is being followedOverall explanationA risk audit checks the risk management effectiveness and whether the correct procedures are being followed; risk audits look backward at what has occurred. On the other hand, a risk review examines the effectiveness of the risk management plan to reevaluate the risk environment, as well as risk events and their relative probability and impact (PMBOK 6th edition, pages 456 - 457).
Question 143:
One of the project team’s key members leaves the project for personal reasons. The project manager did not plan for such a scenario but they managed to get a replacement with the help of a staffing agency. However, they have to pay them a higher salary. This will result in extra costs which fall under the project’s:
Contingency reserve
Cost
Management reserve
Budget
Contingency reserveCostCorrect answerManagement reserveBudgetOverall explanationManagement reserve involves the dedicated budget or time reserve for handling unidentified risks or unknown unknowns (unknown = unidentified, unknowns = risks). This type of reserve is not a calculated budget and does not take part in the cost baseline. Therefore, anytime an unknown risk occurs, the project manager will need permission to use this reserve. On the other hand, a contingency reserve is used for identified risks with predetermined risk response strategies, aka known-unknowns (known = identified, Unknowns = risks) (PMBOK 7th edition, page 127).
Question 144:
Since leadership is crucial for project success, a project manager joins a training program to learn how to become a good leader. Which of the following activities should the project manager learn to apply in order to become the leader they aspire to be?
Guiding, motivating, and directing the project team
Improving their project’s performance
Learning more about the specific domain of their project to be able to technically support the project team
Learning more about project management by obtaining a PMP certification
Correct answerGuiding, motivating, and directing the project teamImproving their project’s performanceLearning more about the specific domain of their project to be able to technically support the project teamLearning more about project management by obtaining a PMP certificationOverall explanationLeadership skills involve the ability to guide, motivate, and direct a team. This skill set may also include negotiation, assertiveness, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills (PMBOK 7th edition, pages 23-25). All other options can make the project manager a better manager rather than a better leader.
Question 145:
A project manager manages a project with remote team members located all around the world. The project introduces cutting-edge technology that has never been used before. In this scenario, what is the key benefit of having a virtual team?
Widens the potential resource pool
Reduces the cost of setting up a workplace
Promotes cultural inclusiveness
Allows work to continue around the clock
Correct answerWidens the potential resource poolReduces the cost of setting up a workplacePromotes cultural inclusivenessAllows work to continue around the clockOverall explanationWhile employing virtual teams has many advantages, in this particular case, the project manager takes advantage of the specialized skills a virtual team can offer. Without the use of virtual teams, the project would not have been feasible or cost-effective due to relocating team members or frequent travel. As a result, virtual teams expand the available resource pool.
Question 146:
A project manager uses different power forms to gain support from project stakeholders. Which of the following are forms of power? (Select three)
Relational
Situational
Coercive
Seeking consensus
Correct selectionRelationalCorrect selectionSituationalCorrect selectionCoerciveSeeking consensusOverall explanationSeeking consensus is not a type of power, it’s rather an interpersonal skill used during conflict management or negotiation. The sixth edition of the PMBOK Guide recognizes 14 types of power that a project manager can hold: Formal or Legitimate Power, Reward Power, Punishment Power, Expert Power, Relational Power, Informational Power, Persuasive Power, Ingratiating Power, Personal Power, Situational Power, Pressure-Based Power, Guilt-Based Power, Avoiding Power, and Referent Power (PMBOK 6th edition, page 63).
Question 147:
A project manager is assigned to lead a megaproject that requires experts and resources from different countries. Unable to predict worldwide epidemics, the project team is worried about facing another event like CoronaVirus that might cause delays and cost overruns. What should the project manager do during the risk planning phase? (Select two)
Add the risk to the risk register
Perform a qualitative risk analysis
Add the risk to the issue log
Monitor the development of the risk
Correct selectionAdd the risk to the risk registerCorrect selectionPerform a qualitative risk analysisAdd the risk to the issue logMonitor the development of the riskOverall explanationThe project team should perform a qualitative risk analysis. If they find that the risk must be prioritized, a detailed risk response should be then developed. All identified risks should be added to the risk register. During the project execution, all occurring issues are noted in the issue log. Monitoring the risk development is undertaken during the execution phase too, not the planning phase.
Question 148:
A project manager is leading a maintenance project for an energy supply company. During project execution, an engineer finds out that a spare part should be immediately changed to avoid an imminent power outage. However, it will take a lot of time to get a new spare part following the organization’s procurement process. What should the project manager do in this case?
Buy the spare part without following the procurement process
Follow the procurement process, regardless of the risk results
Update the organization’s procurement process in order to be able to get the spare part as soon as possible
Escalate the problem to the project sponsor
Buy the spare part without following the procurement processFollow the procurement process, regardless of the risk resultsUpdate the organization’s procurement process in order to be able to get the spare part as soon as possibleCorrect answerEscalate the problem to the project sponsorOverall explanationThe appropriate strategy to deal with this threat is escalation since changing or exceptionally skipping the organization’s procurement process is outside the scope of the project or beyond the project manager’s authority (PMBOK 7th edition, page 123). In the described scenario, avoiding one risk means accepting the other; buying the spare part without adhering to the procurement process might not be tolerated by the organization while following the procurement process can lead to high exposure to the critical risk of electricity outage.
Question 149:
Mid-sprint, the development team’s work was disrupted by a sudden issue concerning a dysfunctioning software feature. During the following retrospective meeting, the project manager decides to use the Five Whys method in order to investigate the problem. Why did the project manager choose to use this specific technique?
To identify the five main factors that caused the issue
To identify the root cause of the issue
To identify the five members responsible for the issue
To identify the five steps to take to resolve the issue
To identify the five main factors that caused the issueCorrect answerTo identify the root cause of the issueTo identify the five members responsible for the issueTo identify the five steps to take to resolve the issueOverall explanationAs a problem-solving technique, the Five whys is used to explore the underlying cause of a defect or an issue. By asking successive “Why?” questions, the team digs deep to figure out what went wrong and thus be able to determine how to properly address the problem and how to avoid similar issues in the future.
Question 150:
A project manager has made certain that all of the required tasks have been accomplished. However, upon an external post-completion audit, a significant penalty was imposed on the performing organization. What could the project manager have done differently to make sure that no liabilities arose following the audit?
Verify that all of the tasks indicated in the scope statement were completed
Verify that all identified defects were fixed
Ensure that all documents were updated before closing the project
Ensure that all closing formalities were followed as per the defined contractual procedures
Verify that all of the tasks indicated in the scope statement were completedVerify that all identified defects were fixedEnsure that all documents were updated before closing the projectCorrect answerEnsure that all closing formalities were followed as per the defined contractual proceduresOverall explanationIn the project closing phase, the project team including the project manager, should implement the associated processes to formally complete or close a project (PMBOK 7th edition, page 171). It’s important that the closing process is done formally by following the defined procedures to avoid any future liabilities. Procedures are either established by the organization for internal projects or mutually determined by the customer and the provider in the project contract or master-level agreement (PMBOK 7th edition, page 76). Completing project work by accomplishing all tasks in the scope, fixing defects, or updating documents, is not sufficient to avoid penalties. These activities, among others, should be formally approved by the customer first.
Question 151:
A construction project manager signed a firm-fixed contract with a supplier to procure various construction materials. On the agreed delivery date, the supplier delivered all materials to the construction site. What should the project manager do next?
Inspect the materials to ensure their compliance with the requirements stipulated in the contract
Start work using the provided materials to avoid having any delays
Start work using part of the materials while inspecting the rest
Pay the supplier and close the contract
Correct answerInspect the materials to ensure their compliance with the requirements stipulated in the contractStart work using the provided materials to avoid having any delaysStart work using part of the materials while inspecting the restPay the supplier and close the contractOverall explanationBefore using any of the procured materials, the project manager and the project team have to conduct an inspection to ensure their compliance with the specifications and standards stipulated in the contract. If the materials pass the inspection, then the supplier should be paid and the contract should be closed.
Question 152:
A project manager is leading a team of engineers to build a packaging machine. The machine went through exhaustive internal verification. But when the client received it, they gave the project manager a call asking whether the machine meets requirements or not. What should the project manager do next?
Confirm that the product was internally tested and formally close the project
Perform the control quality process and use the contingency reserve to fix any detected issues
Collaborate with the client to get their formal approval that the product complies with the requirements
Send an engineer to the client’s site to double-check the product requirements
Confirm that the product was internally tested and formally close the projectPerform the control quality process and use the contingency reserve to fix any detected issuesCorrect answerCollaborate with the client to get their formal approval that the product complies with the requirementsSend an engineer to the client’s site to double-check the product requirementsOverall explanationAt this stage, the main objective of the validate scope process is to work with stakeholders to get their formal approval of the project scope and deliverables. Confirming that the product has been internally tested on your part is not sufficient since the client should validate that the product does meet their requirements. Scope and quality control are supposed to be performed before the product is shipped. In this situation, the client just asked whether the product met the requirements or not and didn’t report any problems. Thus, the proper next step is to go over all of the product specifications with the client to formally validate them before closing the project.
Question 153:
Foretheta is a Seattle-based IT company. Its latest project involves creating a mobile App for online training. The project manager decides to build a prototype for the App. What added value do prototypes provide? (Select two)
Allow for early feedback on the requirements
Reduce project cost
Allow the project to be completed faster
Help to address ambiguities
Correct selectionAllow for early feedback on the requirementsReduce project costAllow the project to be completed fasterCorrect selectionHelp to address ambiguitiesOverall explanationPrototyping is a technique used to collect early feedback on the requirements for further refinement and clarification, along with clarifying ambiguities (PMBOK 7th edition, page 246). The development of a prototype can either increase the project cost and duration or reduce them depending on its results.
Question 154:
A project manager is leading a project using a hybrid approach. During a cost management planning meeting attended by the project sponsor and the CFO, the project manager stated that they will document that they are rounding to the nearest thousand and that they will be using weeks for resource estimation. The project manager statement describes two elements of the cost management plan, which are:
Units of measure & Control thresholds
Level of accuracy & Rules of performance
Units of measure & Rules of performance
Level of accuracy & Units of measure
Units of measure & Control thresholdsLevel of accuracy & Rules of performanceUnits of measure & Rules of performanceCorrect answerLevel of accuracy & Units of measureOverall explanationThe project manager’s statement describes the level of accuracy and units of measure: The rounding precision represents the level of accuracy, i.e., the nearest thousand, while the units of measure depict how to measure resources, i.e., weeks. In the described situation, the project manager didn’t set any control threshold or rule of performance.
Question 155:
A project manager is managing a shopping center construction project. Following an inspection, the customer rejected some of the deliverables due to non-conformance to the acceptance criteria. What should the project manager do next?
Assess the impact on project constraints
Document the reasons for nonacceptance
Issue a Change Request
Use their soft skills to convince inspectors to accept the deliverables
Assess the impact on project constraintsCorrect answerDocument the reasons for nonacceptanceIssue a Change RequestUse their soft skills to convince inspectors to accept the deliverablesOverall explanationFirst, the project manager should document the reasons for non-acceptance. Then, they must meet with the project team to assess the impact of the deliverables rejection on the project constraints, e.g., schedule and budget, and eventually issue a change request in order to align those nonconforming deliverables with the predefined acceptance criteria. It’s not appropriate to try to influence the inspectors’ decision.
Question 156:
Working in a predictive environment, a project manager has decided to use a three-point estimation with a beta distribution to measure the cost of project activities. Which of the following formulas will they use?
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + Most likely) ÷ 3
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (2 × Most likely)) ÷ 4
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (3 × Most likely)) ÷ 5
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4 × Most likely)) ÷ 6
(Optimistic + Pessimistic + Most likely) ÷ 3(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (2 × Most likely)) ÷ 4(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (3 × Most likely)) ÷ 5Correct answer(Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4 × Most likely)) ÷ 6Overall explanationThe three-point estimation formula using a beta (weighted average) distribution is as follows: (Optimistic + Pessimistic + (4 × Most likely)) ÷ 6. In contrast, the three-point estimation formula that uses a triangular distribution (simple average) is as follows: (Optimistic + Pessimistic + Most likely) ÷ 3.
Question 157:
An organization assigned a new project manager to replace the one who recently left. What should the new project manager do first?
Consult the issues log and the lessons learned register to check if there is any serious problem
Consult the project charter to understand the project goals and its business case
Consult the project management plan to learn about the project baselines
Consult the stakeholders register to start interacting with the different parties involved in the project
Consult the issues log and the lessons learned register to check if there is any serious problemCorrect answerConsult the project charter to understand the project goals and its business caseConsult the project management plan to learn about the project baselinesConsult the stakeholders register to start interacting with the different parties involved in the projectOverall explanationFirst and foremost, the project manager has to understand why the project is being created in the first place; aka its business case. Moreover, the project manager should be aware of the project’s predefined goals. These two elements along with the main deliverables are all defined in the project charter.
Question 158:
A product owner creates a release plan based on an estimated team velocity of 50 story points. However, in the first two sprints, the team achieved 37 and then 35 story points. What can the agile project manager do in this case? (Select two)
Inform the product owner that, based on available empirical data, the release plan could not be achieved
Use their leadership skills to motivate their team to reach the estimated velocity
Extend the duration of the sprint until completing 50 story points
Study with the product owner the possibility of adding more resources to the team
Correct selectionInform the product owner that, based on available empirical data, the release plan could not be achievedUse their leadership skills to motivate their team to reach the estimated velocityExtend the duration of the sprint until completing 50 story pointsCorrect selectionStudy with the product owner the possibility of adding more resources to the teamOverall explanationScrum uses empirical data to measure work progress, therefore the project manager should let the product owner know that, based on current performance, the release plan is not feasible. The product manager can update the release plan or study with the project manager the possibility of adding more resources to the team. The capacity of the team is around 36 story points, and it wouldn’t be possible to motivate the team to consistently reach 50 points on each sprint. Besides, a sprint has a timeboxed duration which should not be extended for any reason.
Question 159:
After completing a release, the Scrum team is examining its burndown chart. Even though there were no changes in estimates, the chart shows an increase in story point value during the 3rd sprint. How can this be explained?
The team’s velocity decreased
The team’s velocity increased
Work was added to the Product Backlog
Work was removed from the Product Backlog
The team’s velocity decreasedThe team’s velocity increasedCorrect answerWork was added to the Product BacklogWork was removed from the Product BacklogOverall explanationWhen work related to a release is added to the Product Backlog, the release story points naturally increase. If work was not added to the product backlog, the team should have expected the total of story points to decrease according to their velocity on sprint 3. This is independent of whether their velocity increased or decreased compared to the anterior sprints.
Question 160:
A project manager is leading a team of engineers to perform a two-year project. After a few months, the project manager notices that the team is becoming less interested in the project. What can the project manager do to maintain motivation?
Offer a bonus at the end of the project
Offer an immediate salary raise
Align work assignments with the team members’ personal ambitions
Align the project with the organization’s goals
Offer a bonus at the end of the projectOffer an immediate salary raiseCorrect answerAlign work assignments with the team members’ personal ambitionsAlign the project with the organization’s goalsOverall explanationThe project manager should understand the team members’ ambitions and create a link between the project’s activities and goals and their personal objectives. Offering a bonus at the end of the project may not have an immediate effect since it’s intended to be done in the future. Offering an immediate salary raise, on the other hand, may prove to be an efficient short-term solution, but it can’t engage team members for long. Aligning the project with the organization’s goals does not answer the question of “what’s in it for me?” for the team members.
Question 161:
Even though they create an agenda and timebox for the meetings they’re facilitating, the project manager can’t seem to engage all attendees. What can they do to address this issue?
Make meetings shorter to prevent boredom
Limit the interventions of the most talkative attendees to allow others to participate
Change to remote meetings to make everyone feel more comfortable
Encourage all attendees to participate and share their thoughts by asking for their opinions on the discussed matters
Make meetings shorter to prevent boredomLimit the interventions of the most talkative attendees to allow others to participateChange to remote meetings to make everyone feel more comfortableCorrect answerEncourage all attendees to participate and share their thoughts by asking for their opinions on the discussed mattersOverall explanationAs a facilitator, the project manager must ensure that all attendees take part in the meeting by encouraging them to share their ideas and opinions and engaging them in the discussed topics. It’s among their responsibilities as a facilitator to ensure that everyone takes part in the decision-making, problem-solving, brainstorming, etc. activities that take place during meetings. Promoting participation and maintaining the ideas and discussions flow during such events is an indication of efficient facilitation. Changing meetings from face-to-face to virtual or limiting their duration does not guarantee more engagement or participation. Moreover, limiting the intervention of talkative participants will only result in more inactive attendees.
Question 162:
A project manager is leading a team with distributed members across different countries. Apart from cultural barriers, the team seems disconnected, leading to multiple rework cases. What could the project manager do to improve communication within the team?
Collaborate with senior management to co-locate the team
Request from the team to only use emails for communication to avoid any misunderstanding or misinterpretation
Hold short daily meetings with all team members to sync on what’s everyone is doing
Offer team members training about overcoming cultural barriers
Collaborate with senior management to co-locate the teamRequest from the team to only use emails for communication to avoid any misunderstanding or misinterpretationCorrect answerHold short daily meetings with all team members to sync on what’s everyone is doingOffer team members training about overcoming cultural barriersOverall explanationShort daily meetings are referred to as daily standup meetings which represent a framework for sharing what each member has accomplished, what they will be doing next, and what blockers they’re facing. This type of meeting helps build a connection between team members, improves communication, and as a result reduces rework. Co-location can resolve this issue too. However, team members are dispersed in different countries, making it difficult to assemble them in one location. Offering team members training about cultural differences could only help them overcome cultural barriers, but it can’t help them sync their work to avoid rework. Written, asynchronous communication such as emails does not promote bonding or building connections in comparison to verbal synchronous channels such as virtual meetings.
Question 163:
During a workshop about the Agile approach, the project manager stated that Agile teams should be cross-functional and self-organizing, explaining that:
Each member of the team should be cross-functional and self-organized
The Agile team should have all the required skills to deliver the product on their own
The Agile team should have complementary skill sets and be able to organize the backlog by themselves
The Agile team should self-organize to acquire the necessary skills to be cross-functional
Each member of the team should be cross-functional and self-organizedCorrect answerThe Agile team should have all the required skills to deliver the product on their ownThe Agile team should have complementary skill sets and be able to organize the backlog by themselvesThe Agile team should self-organize to acquire the necessary skills to be cross-functionalOverall explanationA cross-functional team is a group of individuals who acquire different substantial skill sets that are enough to accomplish their common goal proficiently. A self-organizing team is autonomous in the sense that it does not rely on any outsiders to figure out how to best accomplish its work. This does not mean that each team member possesses all of the necessary skills for delivering the product; rather, they just need to be competent in their area of expertise.
Question 164:
Due to a financial crisis, an organization decided to pause all internal projects to an undefined date. Knowing that a project manager within this organization has a weekly meeting with a subcontractor who provides the majority of the project’s physical resources, what is the best type of communication to inform this subcontractor of the contract discontinuation decision?
Informal written
Formal written
Informal verbal
Formal verbal
Informal writtenCorrect answerFormal writtenInformal verbalFormal verbalOverall explanationWhen dealing with complex issues, such as updating a plan or dealing with legal matters, it would be best to document such discussions and decisions using a formal written format. According to the PMBOK 6th edition (Page 499): “The buyer, usually through its authorized procurement administrator, provides the seller with formal written notice that the contract has been completed. Requirements for formal procurement closure are usually defined in the terms and conditions of the contract”.
Question 165:
A project manager is managing a biodegradable packaging project. One of the team members informs the project manager that she identified a risk, the printing machine may need maintenance before the end of the project. The project manager estimates the risk’s probability of occurrence as 10% and its cost as $5,000. This risk’s expected monetary value is:
$500
-$500
$4,500
-$4,500
$500Correct answer-$500$4,500-$4,500Overall explanationAs a statistical technique, the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) is used to quantify risks and calculate the contingency reserve for risk management purposes. The formula for calculating the expected monetary value is multiplying the probability with the impact of the concerned risk (PMBOK 7th edition, page 176). Keeping in mind that opportunities are expressed as positive values and threats or costs as negative values, incorporating the values gives the following result: 10% × -$5,000 = -$500.
Question 166:
A project manager is responsible for running the project quality assurance report. While reviewing a control chart, they observe nine data points in a row on one side of the mean. What should they do in this case?
Carry out a design of experiments
Make the necessary changes to the chart to reflect the new mean
Identify the assignable cause
This is the rule of seven, meaning it can be disregarded
Carry out a design of experimentsMake the necessary changes to the chart to reflect the new meanCorrect answerIdentify the assignable causeThis is the rule of seven, meaning it can be disregardedOverall explanationThe rule of seven states that if seven or more consecutive measurements are on one side of the mean, then there’s an assignable cause that needs investigation.
Question 167:
A senior project manager joins an ongoing project following the resignation of its former project manager. What should the new project manager do first?
Review the project budget to determine if more funding is required
Go through the issue log to check the previous and current difficulties the project is facing
Examine the project charter to understand the project goals and deliverables
Add a new activity to the project schedule concerning knowledge transfer
Review the project budget to determine if more funding is requiredGo through the issue log to check the previous and current difficulties the project is facingCorrect answerExamine the project charter to understand the project goals and deliverablesAdd a new activity to the project schedule concerning knowledge transferOverall explanationIn order to effectively lead the project, the project manager should be fully aware of the project’s purpose, priorities, and deliverables. After examining the goals and deliverables included in the project charter, the project manager should create a transition plan to help the project team cope with the unexpected change, check the project logs and reports, reassess what has been accomplished so far, and maintain the team’s commitment to the project goals and priorities.
Question 168:
A project manager is in charge of a mobile app development project. After facing some quality issues, the project team decides to use a(n) _______________ in order to prioritize quality problems.
Pareto chart
Ishikawa diagram
Control chart
Scatter diagram
Correct answerPareto chartIshikawa diagramControl chartScatter diagramOverall explanationPareto diagram consists of a vertical bar chart mainly used to highlight the most important sources of a problem out of the total number of effects, aiming to take appropriate measures to improve a certain issue or situation. Typically, these sources are organized into categories that measure either their frequencies or consequences.
Question 169:
A project manager is leading a project outside of her expertise field. During a planning meeting, two team members engage in a heated debate concerning the suitable way to implement a certain project requirement. What should the project manager do in this situation?
Put an end to the discussion to avoid getting the meeting out of control
Help team members decide the best way to implement the concerned requirement
Inform team members that the final decision should be taken by her after listening to their opinions
Let the most experienced team member decide
Put an end to the discussion to avoid getting the meeting out of controlCorrect answerHelp team members decide the best way to implement the concerned requirementInform team members that the final decision should be taken by her after listening to their opinionsLet the most experienced team member decideOverall explanationTaking into consideration the project manager’s lack of technical knowledge, she should not interfere in the decision-making process when it comes to the best way to implement the concerned project requirement. The project manager should let subject matter experts, i.e team members decide since they have the needed knowledge and experience to make the right decision. However, the project manager should not side with a particular team member and let them decide on their own. The project manager only facilitates this type of meeting in order to keep it on track and reach a consensus, thus she should not stop the discussion in order to take control.
Question 170:
A project manager is in the phase of identifying and evaluating the risks of a construction project. One of the identified risks is so complex and ambiguous that the project manager decides to transfer it to the program manager so the latter can make the appropriate decision. How did the project manager respond to the risk?
Transfer
Mitigate
Escalate
Avoid
TransferMitigateCorrect answerEscalateAvoidOverall explanationIn the described scenario, the project manager has escalated the risk to the program manager. When a threat is considered to be outside the project scope or when the appropriate response exceeds the project manager’s authority, risk escalation is the suitable risk response strategy (PMBOK 7th edition, page 123). Risk escalation involves passing the risk to the right owner (the program manager in this case) to ensure that it is recognized, understood, and managed appropriately. Avoiding the risk means eliminating the threat or protecting the project from its impact. Risk mitigation implies decreasing the threat probability of occurrence and/or impact. And finally, transferring the risk entails shifting the threat ownership and responsibility to a third party which may involve payment of a risk premium to the third party assuming the threat.
Question 171:
A project manager is leading a project that follows a hybrid approach. Even though they made sure that all iterations have a balanced workload, the project manager notices that a particular team member was getting overwhelmed, while other members seem to be doing fine. How should the project manager address this issue?
Inform upper management and request additional resources for the project
Personally meet with the stressed team member to discuss ways to better manage their time
Raise the issue with the team in the daily stand-up meeting
Track the stressed team member’s tasks in a separate backlog for additional analysis and reporting
Inform upper management and request additional resources for the projectCorrect answerPersonally meet with the stressed team member to discuss ways to better manage their timeRaise the issue with the team in the daily stand-up meetingTrack the stressed team member’s tasks in a separate backlog for additional analysis and reportingOverall explanationOne of the key qualities of effective managers is their ability to actively listen to those around them. In this situation, the project manager has to step into their leadership role and offer guidance to the team member who seems to be overwhelmed. If this team member is unable to manage their workload, the project manager should encourage them to prioritize their work to be more efficient. Ultimately, if the member can’t keep up with a realistic workload, a personal improvement plan should be put in place, including training if needed. This process should be fully documented. On the other hand, the daily standup is dedicated to syncing work between team members and removing any impediments. So, it’s not a suitable frame for addressing individual performance issues. A product should have only one backlog, so a separate backlog should not be created for any purpose.
Question 172:
Place the following project budget components in the right position in the figure below: Project budget, cost baseline, contingency reserve, and management reserve.
A = Management reserve, B = Project budget, C = Contingency reserve, D = Cost baseline
A = Management reserve, B = Cost baseline, C = Project budget, D = Contingency reserve
A = Contingency reserve, B = Management reserve, C = Cost baseline, D = Project budget
A = Cost baseline, B = Project budget, C = Management reserve, D = Contingency reserve
Correct answerA = Management reserve, B = Project budget, C = Contingency reserve, D = Cost baselineA = Management reserve, B = Cost baseline, C = Project budget, D = Contingency reserveA = Contingency reserve, B = Management reserve, C = Cost baseline, D = Project budgetA = Cost baseline, B = Project budget, C = Management reserve, D = Contingency reserve Overall explanationThe project total amount is composed of the management reserve and the project budget, which in turn is composed of the cost baseline and contingency reserve (PMBOK 7th edition, page 63). Therefore, A = Management reserve, B = Project budget, C = Contingency reserve, and D = Cost baseline.
Question 173:
While working on a new feature, a team member finds out that the original code does not comply with the organization’s coding standards. What should the team member do in this case?
Ignore the code compliance work as it will be considered as Gold Plating
Ask the Product Owner to get a new item added to the product backlog dedicated to technical debt
Start refactoring the code and update the time estimate of the feature
Discuss with the rest of the team members and add a new technical task to the sprint backlog
Ignore the code compliance work as it will be considered as Gold PlatingCorrect answerAsk the Product Owner to get a new item added to the product backlog dedicated to technical debt Start refactoring the code and update the time estimate of the featureDiscuss with the rest of the team members and add a new technical task to the sprint backlogOverall explanationThe team member should discuss the matter with the Product owner and get technical debt added to the product backlog as an item. Not doing anything is considered low ownership, while doing the changes right away, by including them in the sprint backlog, will compromise the current iteration since the work is not planned beforehand. Gold plating consists in implementing “nice to have” features or functionalities that were not requested by the customer. In this case, code compliance is considered a technical debt that should be addressed in order to avoid bigger future quality issues. Communicating the issue to the product owner so that it can be prioritized, rather than doing it right away prevents it from being classified as gold plating or scope creep.
Question 174:
A project manager is carrying out a project using the agile approach with two-week sprints. One week into the current sprint, the team hasn’t completed any of the sprint backlog items, making it impossible to achieve the sprint goal. What should the project manager do?
Cancel the sprint, hold an early retrospective meeting, and start over with a new energy
Discuss with the self-organizing team the root cause of their poor performance, during the standup meeting
Discuss with the product owner the possibility of updating the sprint goal to make it more achievable
Complete the sprint even though it will not achieve its goal, and help the team overcome the encountered problems
Cancel the sprint, hold an early retrospective meeting, and start over with a new energyDiscuss with the self-organizing team the root cause of their poor performance, during the standup meetingDiscuss with the product owner the possibility of updating the sprint goal to make it more achievableCorrect answerComplete the sprint even though it will not achieve its goal, and help the team overcome the encountered problemsOverall explanationBeing unable to achieve the sprint goal is not a reason to cancel it and start it over. Stand-up meetings are not a suitable framework for addressing and identifying the root cause of any occurring problem. The sprint goal is a brief explanation of what the team plans to achieve during the sprint, therefore updating it has no impact on the sprint workload and on whether the team will be able to complete it or not.
