2. Introduction
The following slides contain 15 random questions similar to
what you might find in the PMP® Exam. For each question, I
include the answer, and a brief explanation from our PM
Exam Simulator, http://exam.pm-exam-simulator.com
This is a very small subset of what is available from our PM
Exam Simulator and those available from other sources.
The questions and answers should provide you a sense of
typical questions you will encounter on the PMP® Exam. It
is far more important to learn, understand, and be able to
apply project management concepts, processes including
inputs and outputs, and tools and techniques to the
situation or question posed than to simply memorize the
contents of the PMBOK®Guide.
3. Question 1
Andy spent a considerable amount of his childhood in France. He now works
for a US-based organization in Ohio. The people in his current organization
are aware of the fact that Andy grew up in France. However, no one knows
that Andy only has limited proficiency with French language as he studied in
an English-speaking boarding school. The company has just begun a huge
project that requires extensive interaction with the customers based in
France. The customers do not speak English. Given his background, Andy
appears the obvious choice for the project manager position. Andy would be
required to move to France for the entire duration of the project. He sees this
as a good opportunity and at once decides to take up the assignment. He
does not disclose anything about his level of French language proficiency to
the stakeholders. Did Andy act appropriately?
A. Yes. He can always hire a local translator so it is not really a big issue.
B. Yes. In any case, Andy does have a basic grasp of the French language so
there is nothing unethical about his decision.
C. No. Andy should have informed the stakeholders about his limited French
language proficiency.
D. Yes. It was wise of Andy to have grabbed a wonderful opportunity.
4. Answer 1
C) No. Andy should have informed the stakeholders about his limited French
language proficiency.
The primary reason that the stakeholders selected Andy to lead this project
was their assumption that he was fluent in French. Andy should have
informed them about this gap, so that they could have made an informed
decision regarding his suitability for the position. A good project manager
should only accept assignments consistent with his/her background, skills,
and qualifications.
5. Question 2
Which of the following does Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI)
currently not address?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Product and service development
Service establishment, management, and delivery
Product and service acquisition
Requirement collection and tracking
6. Answer 2
D) Requirement collection and tracking
Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) is a process improvement
approach that helps organizations improve their performance. CMMI can
be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an
entire organization. CMMI currently addresses three areas of interest:
Product and service development - CMMI for Development (CMMI-DEV)
Service establishment, management, and delivery - CMMI for Services
(CMMI-SVC). Product and service acquisition - CMMI for Acquisition
(CMMI-ACQ)
7. Question 3
You are conducting an electrical network and fixtures installation project.
During project execution, your quality auditors highlighted some defects in
the work performed. You analyze the situation and determine that these
are genuine defects that need to be fixed. You submit a change request,
which is approved and the team performs the necessary defect repairs.
Which of the following is incorrect regarding this scenario?
A.
B.
C.
D.
You have followed the change control system
You have performed the Monitor and Control Project Work process
You have performed the Integrated Change Control process
You should document these defect repairs in the Project Management
Plan
8. Answer 3
D) You should document these defect repairs in the Project Management
Plan
We are looking for the statement that is NOT true. Because you were able
to identify the defects, you have performed the Monitor and Control
Project Work process. Similarly, as you were able to remove the defects,
you have performed the Integrated Change Control process as well.
As you have performed both processes, you have followed the change
control system. All of the choices so far are true about the situation. The
only statement that is not true is the fact that details of defect repairs are
not documented in the Project Management Plan. These details are
documented in the Change Request Log.
9. Question 4
You are managing a house renovation project. There is a dependency
between two tasks; you can only start to paint the walls once the paint
foundation has been applied to the walls and cures. In the current
schedule the tasks have a Start-to finish dependency with the foundation
being applied to the all the walls first followed by painting. Furthermore the
same resource is being used to accomplish both tasks in series. Suddenly
your customer asks you to complete work on his home one week earlier
than scheduled. In order to accommodate this new schedule constraint,
you can use schedule crashing to start the painting activity as soon as the
paint foundation applied to the first room is dry. It takes a day per room to
complete the paint foundation. Which of the following task dependency
will accommodate the customer’s request?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Start-to-start with a lag of a day
Start-to-finish with a lead of a day
Finish-to-finish with a lag of a day
Finish-to-start with a lead of a day
10. Answer 4
A) Start-to-start with a lag of a day
If we simplify the question, it says you need to break a discretionary
dependency so that the two tasks can be performed simultaneously.
However, the second task can only start with a lag of a day following the
first task. As defined by the PMBOK Guide, schedule crashing is a
technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental
cost by adding resources. In this case, with more manpower, it is possible
to work on more than 1 room at a time. E.g. Day 1: Resource A lays the
foundation in Room 1, Day 2: Resource A lays the foundation in Room 2
while Resource B paints Room 1, etc. This is an example of a Start-tostart dependency with a lag of one day.
11. Question 5
Which of the following regarding the Identify Risks process is correct?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Identify Risks process belongs to the Initiating Process Group
Identify Risks process identifies all the known and unknown risks
Identify Risks process documents a suitable response for each risk
Identify Risks process is an iterative process
12. Answer 5
D) Identify Risks process is an iterative process
The Identify Risks process belongs to the Planning Process Group and it
tries to document all of the known risks. Unknown risks cannot be
identified because they are unknown. The Identify Risks process does not
document risk responses, it only identifies them. Risk identification is an
iterative process as new risks arise regularly; planning for them iteratively
is the best way to deal with them.
13. Question 6
Even if a project is managed by a highly ethical and professional project
manager with complete power and authority over the project, which of the
following is inevitable?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Scope creep
Gold plating
Bribes
Change
14. Answer 6
D) Change
Scope creep and gold plating refer to uncontrolled changes and
unauthorized additions to project scope respectively. Both of these are
usually controlled by a professional project manager who has power and
authority over the project. However, change is something that is always
unavoidable. The PMBOK®Guide mentions this fact many times.
And we really hope that you didn't select "bribes"...
15. Question 7
What did Philip B. Crosby propose in regard to quality on projects?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Fitness for use
Zero defects
Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
Continuous improvement
16. Answer 7
B) Zero defects
Philip B. Crosby devised the zero defects practice, which basically means
do it right the first time. Crosby says that costs will increase when quality
planning isn't performed up front, which means you'll have to engage in
rework, thus affecting productivity. Prevention is the key to Crosby's
theory. If you prevent the defect from occurring in the first place costs are
lower, conformance to requirements is easily met, and the cost
measurement for quality becomes the cost of nonconformance rather than
the cost of rework.
17. Question 8
Which of the following Depreciation Methods provides for a higher writeoff early on as compared to other methods?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Straight-Line Depreciation
Declining Balance
Sum-of-Years' Digits
Units of Time Depreciation
18. Answer 8
C) Sum-of-years' digits
Sum-of-years' digits is a depreciation method that results in a more
accelerated write-off than the straight-line method, and typically it is also
more accelerated than the declining balance method. It can also be said
that this method allows you to write off higher depreciation expenses in
the earlier years of useful life and lower depreciation in later years.
19. Question 9
Which information source from the Project Management Plan is used to
control project scope?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Requirements Documentation
Work Performance Data
Requirements Traceability Matrix
Scope Baseline
20. Answer 9
D) Scope Baseline
The Scope Baseline is compared to actual results to determine if a
change, corrective action, or preventive action is necessary. The Change
Management Plan defines the process for managing project changes. The
Configuration Management Plan defines those items that are configurable,
those items that require formal change control, and the process for
controlling changes to such items. All of these documents are used to
control the project scope.
21. Question 10
Your seller performed some change requests that were not approved by
you. You and the seller cannot reach an agreement on compensation for
the changes. In this case, which of the following is the best method to use
to resolve the dispute?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Begin court litigation
Engage Third Party Resolution
Pay outstanding amount due to seller
Get your project team's advice
22. Answer 10
B) Engage Third Party Resolution
We recognize the following ways of resolving a dispute:
Litigation
Arbitration
Mediation
Negotiation
In order to resolve a dispute, we usually begin at the bottom of the list and
work our way up. The scenario describes that initial negotiations have
taken place but failed and that very likely, we need to move one level up
the list from negotiation to mediation. Although litigation & paying the
seller may resolve the dispute, it is usually best to try other ways first. It is
therefore best to continue with mediation, which is also known as Third
Party Resolution.
23. Question 11
You are managing a construction project and halfway through the project
you notice that your project is going over budget. You want to calculate
your project's new Estimate to Complete (ETC) with the assumption that
you will get back to the original planned rate. For the measurements given
below, what will be your project EAC?
BAC = $80 Million
PV = $30 Million
AC = $35 Million
EV = $25 Million
A.
B.
C.
D.
$80 Million
$90 Million
$112 Million
$115 Million
24. Answer 11
B) EAC=$90 Million
The EAC forecast for ETC work performed at the budgeted rate can be
calculated using the equation EAC = AC + BAC - EV. Therefore, EAC =
$35 Million + $80 Million - $25 Million = $90 Million.
Note: This formula should be used under the assumption that the current
variances are not typical and that the original budget is more reliable,
which is what is outlined in the question.
25. Question 12
You notice that some project team members are not performing to agreed
standards. You've issued several warnings but there has been no
improvement. Because both the project and team morale are suffering you
decide to replace the resources with other internal employees. Which
statement below is true for the project team?
A. The team will start all over again with the Storming stage
B. The team will start all over again at the Storming stage but quickly
progress to the Performing stage
C. The team will continue in the Performing stage
D. The team will start all over again with the Forming stage
26. Answer 12
D) The team will start all over again with the Forming stage
The correct order of the team building stages is: Forming - Storming Norming - Performing – Adjourning. By introducing new team members to
the team you are "resetting" the team building process and it starts from
the beginning. Therefore "The team will start all over again with the
Forming stage" is the only correct answer to this question.
The fact that the resources you are introducing are internal resources
does not change the answer.
27. Question 13
You are managing an airport construction project. You are a worried that
the risks involved may be too high for the project to be successful. You are
conducting this project for your local government's aviation authority and
this will be the first airport in your city. In addition, this is the first time that
your company has managed this type of project. You now want to identify
as many risks as possible so that you have a concrete risk management
plan up front. Which of the following would be the best resource to consult
in order to identify the maximum number of risks?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Your sponsor
Local authority
Subject matter experts
Project team members
28. Answer 13
C) Subject Matter Experts
As you and your company are managing this type of the project for the
first time, neither your sponsor nor your project team members can
provide you with any substantial risk information. Similarly, this will be the
first airport for your local government authority so they do not have any
experience determining risks for this type of project. You should consult
subject matter experts for this information.
29. Question 14
The project you are working on has over 20 suppliers. Most of the material was
obtained from suppliers outside of your country. The procurement process was
complex and included frequent specification changes, late deliveries and poor
quality issues. You are finalizing the account of 'Tim & J. Supplies', which has
submitted a claim for $17,500. Part of this claim is due to last minute changes in
your team's specifications and part of it is due to misunderstanding by the
supplier's staff, which was later corrected. In addition, a small part of this claim can
be attributed to changes in local custom import duty rates.
You went to speak to your purchasing manager to get his help in finalizing the
claim. He worked with you for over two hours and finalized a claim totaling
$15,300. When you sent this updated claim to the supplier, the supplier still insists
on receiving the full claim amount of $17,500 that they originally requested. What
is your best course of action now?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Find a clause in the contract that will settle the issue without the need for a
claim
Finalize the claim at $15,300
Finalize the claim at $17,500
Negotiate with the supplier
30. Answer 14
D) Negotiate with the supplier
Trying to find a clause in the contract that would make the situation go
away will probably lead to a lengthy legal battle, costing more than the
amount in question (lose-lose). Settling on one of the two available
amounts means that one party loses (win-lose) and this will probably
close the door for any future procurements between the two parties. In this
particular scenario, it is best to pick up the phone and call the supplier to
discuss and negotiate a solution together (win-win).
31. Question 15
While working for a software development project in a foreign country, a
key stakeholder approaches you for additional features that could
potentially benefit a company owned by his brother. He tries to offer a free
cruise trip if you allow these additional changes. What should be your
response?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Reject the free offer but allow changes
Reject the free offer but ask him to open a change request
Reject the offer but ask your team to work on the changes
Accept the free offer after getting permission from the sponsor
32. Answer 15
B) Reject the free offer but ask him to open a change request
You cannot incorporate changes as a result of what is effectively a bribe. It
is unethical. Every change request must be initiated and processed
through the Perform Integrated Change Control process. You cannot favor
a key stakeholder by ignoring this process. Therefore, you must reject the
offer, but let him open a change request for additional features.
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34. Disclaimer
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or representation, expressed or implied as to the accuracy or content.
Every attempt has been made by OSP International LLC to ensure that
the information presented in this publication is accurate and can serve as
preparation for the PMP certification exam. However, OSP International
LLC accepts no legal responsibility for the content herein. This document
should be used only as a reference and not as a replacement for officially
published material. Using the information from this document does not
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