The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is a widely recognized and valued credential across any industry. Preparing for the PMP certification has been a mix of excitement and challenge for me. The certification is highly valued across industries, and getting a glimpse of commonly asked questions has been crucial in my preparation for the exam.
In this article, Iāve compiled a list of Project management professional questions and answers for you that will help you understand different question types, how to tackle typical scenario-based, interpretative, and other questions as well as come up with strategies to answer them. Try enrolling in a course for PMP certification - it can further enhance your understanding and preparation for the exam by providing you with comprehensive knowledge and practical experience in project management methodologies and techniques.
PMP Exam Overview
The PMP exam tests the candidates' ability to manage the people, processes, and business priorities of a professional project in a complex and ever-changing environment. Preparing for this prestigious and valued certification entails a good amount of planning, determination, and a focused approach. PMI the administrator of this certification recommends its widely known and accepted PMBOK - Project management body of knowledge along with several other courses, books, and resources to prepare for this examination.
After the latest revision to the PMP examination, it now has 180 questions (instead of 200), 2 breaks of ten minutes each (instead of 1), and three phases/domains (instead of 5) among a few other changes following the latest exam content outline.
PMP Exam Question Types
Passing the PMP certification exam is no mean feat and requires guided preparation to be able to answer the trickiest PMP questions with response choices so closely matching with each other that more than one option may look convincing. The exam content outline published by PMI is the anchoring guide to understanding the PMP exam question types and spread of questions based on the 3 domains - at a quick glimpse one can understand the breadth and depth of the exam as follows:
- People - constitute about 42% of the exam and have questions relating to team leadership, setting up teams, mentoring people, managing conflict, and working in a VUCA environment among others
- Process - constitutes about 50% of the exam and has questions relating to budget management, project methodologies, skills of managing resources, schedules, and changes
- Business priorities - constitutes about 8% of the exam and has questions relating to core business-minded aspects such as compliance, organizational values, and changes, value-delivery mechanism among others.
It is important to note that even among the above categorizations and based on the latest ECO, half of the PMP certification exam is based on predictive approaches while the other half is focused on agile/hybrid approaches to project management. Among all of these, the question types of the PMP exam can be knowledge-based, formula-based, situational, or interpretation-based to test the knowledge as well as a practical application of knowledge of the candidate. Consider certification courses for project managers. offered by the PMI and requires passing a rigorous exam that tests knowledge and skills in various project management areas, the course should include practice exams, interactive exercises, and other learning tools to help students prepare for the exam.
Top 65 PMP Sample Exam Questions and Answers
1. You have just started to plan for a power station project that will generate 6000 Megawatts of power. Numerous stakeholders were involved in the project, and you have identified all of them. Which of the following statements about stakeholders influence on the project is TRUE?
- Stakeholders ability to influence the final characteristics of the project mostly depends on the type of project.
- Stakeholders' ability to influence the final characteristics of the project is the same throughout the life cycle of the project.
- Stakeholderās ability to influence the final characteristics of the project is lowest at the start of the project and increases as the project moves towards completion.
- Stakeholderās ability to influence the final characteristics of the project is highest at the start of the project and reduces as the project moves towards completion.
Explanation: Stakeholders ability to influence the final characteristics of the project is highest at the start of the project and reduces as the project moves towards completion.
2. After several brainstorming sessions with customers, Jim established various project deliverables in an IT project. Two weeks later, while reviewing the plan, Jim identifies two similar deliverables and determines to merge both of them into a single deliverable. What should Jim do next?
- Merge the deliverables and inform the customer
- None of the above
- Submit the need to merge to the customer
- Merge the deliverables but do not inform the customer
Explanation: The client should always be informed for any changes in the deliverables.
3. Being assigned as a project manager, you noticed during project execution that conflicts arise in the team on both technical and interpersonal levels. What is an appropriate way of handling conflicts?
- Conflicts distract the team and disrupt the work rhythm. You should always smooth them when they surface.
- A conflict should be handled in a meeting so that the entire team can participate in finding a solution.
- Conflicts should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach.
- You should use your coercive power to quickly resolve conflicts and then focus on goal achievement.
Explanation: Discussion and dialogue with the project team helps determine the most appropriate way to update and communicate project performance, and to respond to requests from stakeholders for information. Observation and conversation enables the project manager to identify issues within the team, conflicts between people, or individual performance issues.
4. _________ are usually not a manifestation of unique organizational cultures and styles.
- Shared visions, values, norms, beliefs and expectations.
- Individual traits and attitudes of co-workers.
- Views of authority relationships.
- Policies, methods, and procedures.
Explanation: Personality refers to the individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Personality characteristics or traits are not always an indication of the broader corporate culture.
5. You have just taken over as manager of a project that will create many benefits for the performing organization, but you sense a high level of resistance in various stakeholders right from the start. What is the most appropriate action to resolve the problem?
- Develop a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) which clearly shows the responsibility of each stakeholder for the various project activities and who needs to be consulted and informed.
- Develop an organization diagram, which places each of the stakeholders at an appropriate position inside the project and allows for certain lines of communication while disallowing others.
- Schedule a meeting with these stakeholders to present the project, discuss and establish ground rules, ensure their involvement and identify initial personal and organizational issues.
- Do not talk to these stakeholders too much at this time, instead create a "fait de complis", which will later force the stakeholders to support the project due to a lack of alternatives for them.
Explanation: Conflict is inevitable in a project environment. Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms, and solid project management practices, like communication planning and role definition, reduce the amount of conflict.
6. There are plenty of tools and techniques that project managers can utilize in order to create synergy in a project. Some of these skills cannot be developed by reading a book and must be learned on the job. Project managers need solid communication and negotiation skills primarily because:
- They must give presentations and briefings to senior management.
- Getting the best deals from vendors requires these skills.
- They might be leading a team with no direct control over the individual team members.
- They must be able to effectively share their technical expertise.
Explanation: Many projects are in a matrix environment where the project manager has limited authority over the resources as they are reporting to their functional managers.
7. Project human resource management includes numerous "soft" skills that are not easy to learn, and many project managers require additional training or development to effectively schedule and coordinate resources. Human resource planning includes all of the following, except:
- Team skills analysis.
- Staff acquisition.
- Team development.
- Organizational planning.
Explanation: Team skills analysis is not included in the human resource planning.
8. Oliver, a PMP, is working on a project with Trevor without a written agreement. Trevor has put in a lot of hours since his last payment, and suddenly and unexpectedly dies of a heart attack. Trevor's wife comes to Oliver to get the last payment. Oliver refuses, citing he has no legal obligation, because there was no contract. How would you characterize Oliver's behaviour?
- Unethical and subject to discipline by PMI via C1, stating that Oliver must meet all legal and ethical obligations.
- Although not nice, Oliver is perfectly within his rights to refuse payment to Trevor's wife.
- Oliver is a bad person and will get what is coming to him eventually.
- Oliver is a smart business person. Why pay, when he doesn't have to?
Explanation: It is not only the contractual obligations that have to be met but also the ethical ones.
9. You are the Project Manager of ABC project. There was a conflict between two key project members. The three of you meet and decide to use compromise as the conflict resolution technique. Compromise generally leads to:
- Win - win situation
- Win - Loose situation
- Loose - Loose situation
- None of these
Explanation: The compromising conflict style is often referred to as the ālose-loseā method. ... Ideally, after compromising on one or more minimal issues, both of the conflicting parties could then agree on the larger issue. This can foster short-term productivity, but it rarely completely solves the underlying problems.
10. Most common cause of conflicts in a project is:
- Schedules
- Technical opinions
- Personal issues
- Project priorities
Explanation: Schedules are considered one of the most common causes of conflict in a project.
11. Leadership in a project environment should demonstrate all of the following characteristics except:
- The focusing of the efforts of a group of people on achieving a common objective.
- High levels of respect and trust.
- The ability to get things done through others.
- A primary focus on external senior managers and other key stakeholders to ensure the project is a success through managing upwards.
Explanation: The best answer is D I Whilst managing upwards (or advising upwards) is a key skill of the project manager, it is not the primary focus of leadership.
12. The management style that cultivates team spirit, rewards good work, and encourages team to realize their potential is:
- Facilitating
- Promotional
- Conciliatory
- Authoritarian
Explanation: Promotional: Cultivates team spirit; rewards good work; encourages subordinates to realize their full potential.
13. A project manager has a problem with a team member's performance. What is best form of communication for addressing this problem?
- Formal written communication.
- Formal verbal communication.
- Informal written communication.
- Informal verbal communication.
Explanation: Informal verbal communication and activities can help in building trust and establishing good working relationships and it is the appropriate approach in this scenario.
14. As a project manager of a large product - you and your team have shipped the deliverables to your customer. However the customer has reported a number of serious issues in the quality of deliverables - as a result of which the cost of quality of your project is deemed high. In this scenario which type of cost would have caused the cost of quality to increase ?
- Less Rework
- Higher productivity
- Lower costs
- Increased stakeholder satisfaction.
Explanation: Options A , B and C are benefits of meeting Quality Requirements. The question states what has contributed to increased cost of Quality. As the stakeholder is not satisfied with the deliverables, there is rework involved. There is an impact on productivity and increases cost. It also decreases stakeholder satisfaction. So among the choices option D is the correct option.
15. You have a team of project managers reporting to you. Recently a new manager relatively inexperienced has joined your team. Considering his level of experience, you assigned him to a small project. Considering low complexity and few stakeholders involved - you envision the project to have no surprises or hiccups. You have identified the number of communication channels to be only 6. However with increase in scope of work 2 additional stakeholders who need to be communicated with join the team. You ask the manager to identify the number of communication channels now. The correct answer is :
- 6
- 10
- 8
- 15
Explanation: The communications channels formula is N * (N-1) / 2
16. Soliciting feedback from stakeholders is important to the success of a project. If the project manager does not include this as part of the project development process, she can encounter plenty of problems later. The process of soliciting feedback and incorporating stakeholder ideas into the project is called:
- Feedback loop
- Buy-in
- Progressive elaboration
- Project approval
Explanation: Facilitation is the ability to effectively guide a group event to a successful decision, solution, or conclusion. A facilitator ensures that there is effective participation, that participants achieve a mutual understanding, that all contributions are considered, that conclusions or results have full buy-in according to the decision process established for the project, and that the actions and agreements achieved are appropriately dealt with afterward.
17. Which of the following is generally not regarded as one of the three categories of culture that managers should master?
- National culture
- Organizational culture
- Project culture
- Functional culture
Explanation: There are three types of culture that can affect a virtual team: national, organizational, and functional. Each team member brings his or her culture, and, as the team evolves, the unique blend of team membersā national, functional, and organizational cultures create a unique team culture.
18. As a project manager, you must demonstrate transparency regarding:
- confidential information.
- proprietary information.
- distribution of unproven information and gossip.
- your decision-making processes.
Explanation: From PMI code of ethics : 4.2.1 We demonstrate transparency in our decision-making process.
19. To be successful, negotiating must be conducted in an atmosphere of:
- flexibility and understanding.
- sincerity and thoughtfulness.
- mutual respect and cooperation.
- sincerity and prudent caution.
Explanation: Negotiating to achieve mutually acceptable agreements between parties and reduce approval or decision delays is one of the 5 Cs of written communications.
20. The "halo effect" refers to the tendency to:
- promote from within.
- hire the best.
- move people into project management because they are good in their technical fields.
- move people into project management because they have had project management training.
Explanation: The halo effect (sometimes called the halo error) is the tendency for positive impressions of a person, company, brand or product in one area to positively influence one's opinion or feelings in other areas.
21. Active listening is:
- Being attentive when the speaker is talking.
- Asking questions when the speaker is not clear.
- Both A and B.
- Neither A nor B.
Explanation: Techniques of active listening involve acknowledging, clarifying and confirming, understanding, and removing barriers that adversely affect comprehension.
22. As part of a successful communication, the receiver is responsible for:
- Making sure the information is clear and complete, understood and acknowledged.
- Making sure the information is received in its entirety, understood correctly and acknowledged.
- Making sure the information is clear and complete, understood and agreed with.
- Listening actively to ensure all of the information is received.
Explanation: The receiver's task is to interpret the sender's message, both verbal and nonverbal, with as little distortion as possible. The process of interpreting the message is known as decoding.
23. According to the Tuckman Ladder model, what are the stages of team development?
- Forming, rejection, regression, acceptance, retry.
- Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.
- Tell, sell, consult, join.
- Direct, support, coach, delegate.
Explanation: One of the models used to describe team development is the Tuckman ladder, which includes five stages of development that teams may go through. Although it is common for these stages to occur in order, it is not uncommon for a team to get stuck in a particular stage or regress to an earlier stage. Projects with team members who worked together in the past might skip a stage. Forming. This phase is where the team members meet and learn about the project and their formal roles and responsibilities. Team members tend to be independent and not as open in this phase.
- Storming. During this phase, the team begins to address the project work, technical decisions, and the project management approach. If team members are not collaborative or open to differing ideas and perspectives, the environment can become counterproductive.
- Norming. In this phase, team members begin to work together and adjust their work habits and behaviors to support the team. The team members learn to trust each other.
- Performing. Teams that reach the performing stage function as a well-organized unit. They are interdependent and work through issues smoothly and effectively.
- Adjourning. In this phase, the team completes the work and moves on from the project. This typically occurs when staff is released from the project as deliverables are completed or as part of the Close Project or Phase process.
24. Which of the following project phases would result in a majority of updates to the cost, schedule, and scope baselines as a result of change requests?
- The closing phase.
- The executing phase.
- The planning phase.
- The monitoring and controlling phase.
Explanation: Monitor and Control Project Work is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the overall progress to meet the performance objectives defined in the project management plan. The key benefit of this process is that it allows stakeholders to understand the current state of the project, to recognize the actions taken to address any performance issues, and to have visibility into the future project status with cost and schedule forecasts.
25. You, as a project manager, are working with your financial expert to measure the life cycle cost of room cooling equipment to understand the likelihood of success of the product in the market. The life cycle cost is a good measure to know the profitability of a product. Which of the following statements about the life cycle cost is CORRECT?
- The life cycle cost is equal to the project cost.
- The life cycle cost is the sum of operational cost and maintenance cost.
- The life cycle cost is the sum of project cost, maintenance cost, and operational cost.
- Operational and maintenance costs are deducted from project cost to calculate the life cycle cost.
Explanation: Life cycle cost is the cost that is associated with the project from the beginning of the project to the end of its useful life and beyond. It includes the cost of acquiring the project, operating it, and disposing of it at the end of its useful life.
26. The project that you are leading is almost at the end of the executing phase. So far, the project budget and schedule are under control and you expect no deviation in the coming weeks. Recent changes to the organizational change management software has triggered a change in the configuration management system of your project. However, you may have to update the project management plan to incorporate those changes. Which of the following statement about changes to the project management plan are correct?
- The project management plan should be updated only after approval from the sponsor.
- The project management plan is progressively elaborated until project closure.
- The project management plan once prepared should not be changed.
- Any updates to the project management plan must be completed before executing phase of the project.
Explanation: The project management plan is developed through a series of integrated processes until project closure. This process results in a project plan that is progressively elaborated by updates and controlled and approved through the Perform Integrated Change Control process.
27. The judgmental forecasting methods used to predict the future project performance are based on opinions and probable cost and schedule estimates. Which of the following is NOT an example of a judgmental method?
- Scenario building
- Forecast by analogy.
- Delphi method
- Linear regression
Explanation: n statistics, linear regression is a linear approach for modelling the relationship between a scalar response and one or more explanatory variables (also known as dependent and independent variables). It is not related to judgmental methods.
28. In a car manufacturing industry because of their unique skills, some key resources do multi-tasking and support more than one activity at a time in different projects. So, a project manager must take their productivity into account when approximating the number of work periods for an activity. Sometimes, the project manager is required to apply more than one resource to one activity to quickly complete that activity. Also, he must take into account that some of the resources work only part-time every day. Many of such factors must be considered while:
- Creating a work breakdown structure.
- Creating a project management plan.
- Defining the activities.
- Estimating activity durations.
Explanation: Estimate Activity Durations is the process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.
29. Due to funding related issues, both the buyer and seller have reached a collective agreement and agreed to end the contract in an IT project. Ending a contract using a collective agreement is done during:
- The close agreements process.
- The control procurements process.
- The close project process.
- The close contract process.
Explanation: Control ProcurementsāThe process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, making changes and corrections as appropriate, and closing out contracts.
30. You are using control charts to perform quality control. Which of these situations does not indicate that the process is out of control and an assignable cause needs to be assigned. Assume that the control limits have been set to three sigma.
- One of the point is more than the mean + (3*sigma).
- Two points together are more than mean +(2*sigma), but less than mean + (3*sigma).
- Seven points together are on one side of the mean.
- All points within the control limits.
Explanation: Three-sigma limits is a statistical calculation where the data are within three standard deviations from a mean. In business applications, three-sigma refers to processes that operate efficiently and produce items of the highest quality.
31. You are required to estimate the time to paint a large wall. You know it takes two hours to paint one square foot of wall. The wall has an area of 30 square feet. So, you estimate that it will take 60 hours to paint the wall. Which estimation model are you using?
- Bottom-up
- Parametric
- Analogous
- Expert judgment
Explanation: Parametric estimating is an estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters. Parametric estimating uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (e.g., square footage in construction) to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as cost, budget, and duration.
32. Approximately, what percentage of Project Manager's time is spent on communicating?
- 30%
- 50%
- 70%
- 90%
Explanation: Research shows that top project managers spend about 90% of their time on a project in communicating.
33. Any numbering system that is used to monitor project costs by category such as labour, supplies, or materials, for example, is called:
- Chart of accounts
- Work breakdown structure
- Universal accounting standard
- Standard accounting practices
Explanation: A chart of accounts (COA) is an index of all the financial accounts in the general ledger of a company. In short, it is an organizational tool that provides a digestible breakdown of all the financial transactions that a company conducted during a specific accounting period, broken down into subcategories.
34. A chart of accounts (COA) is an index of all the financial accounts in the general ledger of a company. In short, it is an organizational tool that provides a digestible breakdown of all the financial transactions that a company conducted during a specific accounting period, broken down into subcategories.
- Parallel algorithm
- Number programming
- Murder board
- Dynamic Programming
Explanation: In a constrained optimization method, you make complex mathematical calculations to select a project. These mathematical calculations are based on various best and worst case scenarios, and probability of the project outcome. Some of them are murder board, parallel algorithm, number programming etc.
35. Which of these is correct with respect to a product developed or a service performed?
- Bad quality is acceptable, but bad grade is not.
- Bad grade is acceptable, but bad quality is not.
- Neither bad grade nor quality is acceptable.
- Grade and quality are the same thing.
Explanation: While a quality level that fails to meet quality, requirements is always a problem, a low-grade product may not be a problem. For example:
- It may not be a problem if a suitable low-grade product (one with a limited number of features) is of high quality (no obvious defects). In this example, the product would be appropriate for its general purpose of use.
- It may be a problem if a high-grade product (one with numerous features) is of low quality (many defects). In essence, a high-grade feature set would prove ineffective and/or inefficient due to low quality".
36. Your project is in the final test stage, the user acceptance test. It meets all the product specs and is under planned costs. In terms of schedule, this project is ahead. Your customer meets you and requested that he will not accept the product unless you make several changes. What you should do is:
- Get the list of the changes and estimate all of them. If the total cost is still within the baseline, you just do it.
- Estimate the costs and send this to your customer requesting contract modification.
- Ask the customer to file a change request.
- Sit with the customer to review the product specs and tell him/her that you have completed the project.
Explanation: A change request is a formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable, or baseline. In this case, the change control process should be followed and the client.
37. Variance/trend analysis is done during:
- Risk monitoring and control
- Risk response
- Risk analysis
- Risk mitigation plan
Explanation: Variance analysis reviews the differences (or variance) between planned and actual performance. This can include duration estimates, cost estimates, resources utilization, resources rates, technical performance, and other metrics.
Variance analysis may be conducted in each Knowledge Area based on its particular variables. In Monitor and Control Project Work, the variance analysis reviews the variances from an integrated perspective considering cost, time, technical, and resource variances in relation to each other to get an overall view of variance on the project. This allows for the appropriate preventive or corrective actions to be initiated.
38. Who is responsible for identifying and managing risk?
- Project manager
- Team members
- Project sponsor
- Functional manager
Explanation: The project manager is responsible for identifying and managing risk
39. The review of key deliverables and project performance at the conclusion of a project phase is called:
- phase exit
- kill point
- stage gate
- all of the above
Explanation: A phase gate, is held at the end of a phase. The projectās performance and progress are compared to project and business documents including but not limited to:
Project business case, Project charter, Project management plan, and Benefits management plan. A decision (e.g., go/no-go decision) is made as a result of this comparison to:
- Continue to the next phase,
- Continue to the next phase with modification,
- End the project,
- Remain in the phase, or
- Repeat the phase or elements of it.
Depending on the organization, industry, or type of work, phase gates may be referred to by other terms such as, phase review, stage gate, kill point, and phase entrance or phase exit.
40. Integrated Change Control includes all of the following tools and techniques except:
- Project management plan updates.
- Expert judgement
- Meetings
- A change control board to approve or reject changes.
Explanation: Tools & Techniques in perform integrated change control:
- Expert judgment
- Change control tools
- Data analysis
- Alternatives analysis
- Cost-benefit analysis
- Decision making
- Voting
- Autocratic decision making
- Multicriteria decision analysis
- Meetings
41. All of the following are true concerning expected monetary value (EMV) except:
- Decision tree analysis is more effective using net present values (NPV) in its calculations rather than EMV.
- The EMV of an opportunity is generally a positive value.
- EMV is a statistical concept that calculates the average value of a future scenario that may, or may not happen by multiplying the value of each possible outcome by the probability of it occurring and summing the products.
- The EMV of a threat is generally a negative value.
Explanation: The rules for finding the values of the chance and decision nodes are: The value of each chance node is found by multiplying the values of the uncertain alternatives by their probabilities of occurring and sum the results. This value is known as Expected Monetary Value (EMV).
42. A project is considered complete when the:
- BAC is equal to the PV
- The EV is equal to the AC
- The PV is equal to the AC
- The BAC is equal to the EV
Explanation: Budget at Completion (BAC). The sum of all budgets established for the work to be performed. Earned value (EV) is a measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget authorized for that work. It is the budget associated with the authorized work that has been completed.
43. Management reserve is for:
- Unknown unknowns
- by cost budget
- Both A and B
- Neither A nor B
Explanation: Management reserves are a specified amount of the project budget withheld for management control purposes and are reserved for unforeseen work that is within scope of the project. Management reserves are intended to address the unknown-unknowns that can affect a project.
44. A project manager would like to manage his project in such a way that he will be able to identify specific tasks that should be watched and managed more closely than others. The project manager should use which method?
- The PERT method
- The critical path method
- The GERT method
- The PCDM method
Explanation: The critical path method is used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of schedule flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model
45. Which of the following is not a Risk Identification tool or technique ?
- Risk Register
- Documentation Reviews
- Brainstorming
- Interviewing
Explanation: Identify Risks: Tools and Techniques: Expert judgement, Data Gathering (Brainstorming, Checklists, Interviews), Data Analysis (Root cause analysis, Assumption and constraint analysis, SWOT analysis, Document analysis) Interpersonal and team skills, Promt lists, Meetings
46. You are a project manager leading a cross-functional project team in a weak matrix environment. None of your project team members report to you functionally and you do not have the ability to directly reward their performance. The project is difficult, involving tight date constraints and challenging quality standards. Which of the following types of project management power will likely be the most effective in this circumstance?
- Referent
- Expert
- Penalty
- Formal
Explanation: There are numerous forms of power at the disposal of project managers. Power and its use can be complex given its nature and the various factors at play in a project. Various forms of power include but are not limited to:
- Positional (sometimes called formal, authoritative, legitimate) (e.g., formal position granted in the organization or team);
- Informational (e.g., control of gathering or distribution);
- Referent (e.g., respect or admiration others hold for the individual, credibility gained);
- Situational (e.g., gained due to unique situation such as a specific crisis);
- Personal or charismatic (e.g., charm, attraction);
- Relational (e.g., participates in networking, connections, and alliances);
- Expert (e.g., skill, information possessed; experience, training, education, certification);
- Reward-oriented (e.g., ability to give praise, monetary or other desired items);
- Punitive or coercive (e.g., ability to invoke discipline or negative consequences);
- Ingratiating (e.g., application of flattery or other common ground to win favor or cooperation);
- Pressure-based (e.g., limit freedom of choice or movement for the purpose of gaining compliance to desired action);
- Guilt-based (e.g., imposition of obligation or sense of duty);
- Persuasive (e.g., ability to provide arguments that move people to a desired course of action);
- And Avoiding (e.g., refusing to participate).
47. What percentage of the total distribution are 3 Sigma from the mean equal to?
- 68.26%
- 99.99%
- 95.46%
- 99.73%
Explanation: Common probability dictates that 99.73% of all outcomes will fall within 3 standard deviations of the mean (above or below); this is Three Sigma
48. A project manager holds the first risk meeting of the project team. The client is present at the meeting . At the meeting several risks are identified and assigned to members of the project team for evaluation and quantification. The result of the meeting is:
- Expected value of the risk events.
- Strategies for the risk events.
- A list of potential risk events.
- General statements about risks for the project.
Explanation: Identify Risks is the process of identifying individual project risks as well as sources of overall project risk, and documenting their characteristics. The primary output of this process is the risk register which is a document that records all of the organisation's identified risks, the likelihood and consequences of a risk occurring and the actions to be taken to reduce the impact of those risks.
49. In the Monte Carlo technique, what is the criticality index?
- The number of days the project will be late divided by the project duration.
- The percent of time a given activity will be on the critical path.
- The percent of time an activity will be late.
- The sum of the duration of the critical path activities divided by the project expected value for duration.
Explanation: For a quantitative schedule risk analysis, it is also possible to conduct a criticality analysis that determines which elements of the risk model have the greatest effect on the project critical path. A criticality index is calculated for each element in the risk model, which gives the frequency with which that element appears on the critical path during the simulation, usually expressed as a percentage. The output from a criticality analysis allows the project team to focus risk response planning efforts on those activities with the highest potential effect on the overall schedule performance of the project.
50. During project execution you found out that work is often not performed at the right time and in the right order. Deliverables are made by one team member that cannot be processed by another one. This already leads to timely rework and bad morale among team members. Which project management tool is most appropriate to deal with problems like this?
- Organization chart.
- RACI matrix.
- Communications management plan.
- Work authorization system.
Explanation: The PMBOK defines a work authorization system as "a collection of formal documented procedures that defines how project work will be authorized to ensure the work is done by the identified organization, at the right time, and in the proper sequence." This is most often a written authorization to begin a specific activity or work package that is part of the project plan.
51. You are in charge of a large software development project. As a part of the project schedule - it was planned to complete two core components by the end of October. You are now in August and you realize that the project is falling behind schedule. You do a quick review and decide that the schedule can be met by adding additional staff to the activities on the critical path. This is an example of :
- Fast Tracking
- Resource Levelling
- Crashing
- Scope Creep
Explanation: Crashing. A technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources. Examples of crashing include approving overtime, bringing in additional resources, or paying to expedite delivery to activities on the critical path. Crashing works only for activities on the critical path where additional resources will shorten the activity's duration. Crashing does not always produce a viable alternative and may result in increased risk and/or cost.
52. A system development project is nearing project closing when a previously unidentified risk is discovered. This could potentially affect the project's overall ability to deliver. What should be done next?
- Alert the project sponsor of potential impacts to cost, scope or schedule.
- Qualify the risk.
- Mitigate this risk by developing a risk response plan.
- Develop a workaround.
Explanation: Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis is the process of prioritizing individual project risks for further analysis or action by assessing their probability of occurrence and impact as well as other characteristics. The key benefit of this process is that it focuses efforts on high-priority risks. This process is performed throughout the project and usually after the identification of the risk.
53. Given a project which reports a CPI less than 1 - you have asked one of your managers to generate the TCPI - what formula should the project manager use in this case ?
- ( BAC - EV ) / ( BAC - AC )
- ( BAC - EV ) / ( EAC - AC )
- EV / AC
- EV / PV
Explanation: The TCPI to bring the project in on the BAC is the ratio of the value of the remaining project work, per PMI's definition [BAC minus earned value (EV)], all divided by the amount of the remaining funds [BAC minus actual cost (AC)]. This formula works out to be: TCPI = (BAC ā EV) Ć· (BAC ā AC).
54. You are managing a project that is responsible for setting up an alcohol distillery. Your team is in its eighth month of execution. One of the vendors informs you that the agitators delivery is going to be delayed by a week .You look up the project management plan and the schedule baselines and decide to set up all the reactors first. Based on your analysis by moving tasks around you see that there would be no impact to any of the performance measurement baselines. What should you do next ?
- Go ahead and execute the rescheduled tasks as there is no impact to any of the baselines.
- Write up a change request and submit to change control for approval.
- Analyze the impact of the change to the triple constraints and then submit a change request.
- Do nothing as this would cause changes to the baselines.
Explanation: Since there is no impact to baselines, the project manager can proceed and execute the rescheduled tasks.
55. A work breakdown structure, a status report, and a responsibility assignment matrix are frequently used throughout a project. However, their usage might be iterative. These are examples of:
- Project Management tools
- Work products
- Milestones
- Deliverables
Explanation: Deliverables are the quantifiable goods or services that need to be provided at the various steps of a project as well as at the end of a project.
56. You are managing a project related to building a skyscraper. However as per regulations no work can be started till the government body has approved and provided necessary clearance. This is an example of what kind of dependency?
- Mandatory Dependency
- Hard Logic
- Discretionary Dependency
- External Dependency
Explanation: External dependencies involve a relationship between project activities and non-project activities. These dependencies are usually outside of the project team's control. For example, the testing activity in a software project may be dependent on the delivery of hardware from an external source, or governmental environmental hearings may need to be held before site preparation can begin on a construction project. The project management team determines which dependencies are external during the process of sequencing the activities.
57. A project was assessed and the following earned value data have been found: PV: $750,000 EV: $750,000 AC: $900,000 What is the burn rate of the project?
- 1.2
- 1.1
- 1
- 0.83
Explanation: CPI =750000/900000 =0.833 Burn rate is Inverse of CPI (1/.833=1.20)
58. The three major causes of change on a project are:
- Replacement of the project manager or key project team members; changes in priorities by senior management; and contractual difficulties.
- Changes in the relative importance of time, resources, or cost ; new knowledge about the deliverable; and technological uncertainty.
- Errors in the initial assessment of how to achieve the goal of the project; new information about the project deliverable; and a new mandate.
- Unavailability of resources promised by the functional managers; cost overruns; and changes in customer requirements.
Explanation: Errors in the initial assessment of how to achieve the goal of the project; new information about the project deliverable; and a new mandate are considered three major causes of change on a project.
59. Rita is managing a project with an estimated budget at completion of $500,000. Her team should have completed 40% of the work by now according to the schedule. However, at the last status meeting, the team reported that 35% of the work has actually been completed. The team has already spent $225,000 so far on the project. As a supervisor to Rita's project how would you BEST describe the project?
- The project is ahead of schedule and over its budget
- The project is behind schedule and over its budget
- The project is behind schedule and within its budget
- The project is ahead of schedule and within its budget
Explanation: C is correct because SPI<1 & CPI<1.
60. Erin has identified an opportunity to potentially increase her project's value. Which of the following is an example of enhancing that opportunity?
- By taking additional proactive actions so that she is not in unforeseen trouble
- By taking out insurance from a company so that potential costs can be reduced
- By providing copyright statements so that materials or the final product of the project is not misused
- By forming a complementary partnership with another company so that the project's value is increased
Explanation: The enhance strategy is used to increase the probability and/or impact of an opportunity. Early enhancement action is often more effective than trying to improve the benefit after the opportunity has occurred. The probability of occurrence of an opportunity may be increased by focusing attention on its causes. Where it is not possible to increase probability, an enhancement response might increase the impact by targeting factors that drive the size of the potential benefit. Examples of enhancing opportunities include adding more resources to an activity to finish early.
61. Which of the following is a hygiene factor according to Herzberg's Motivation theory?
- Salary
- Responsibility
- Recognition and rewards
- Promotions
Explanation: Herzberg called the causes of dissatisfaction "hygiene factors." To get rid of them, you need to ensure that wages are competitive.
62. Successfully communicating technical concepts to another team member in a different country involves encoding, decoding and feedback. The lesser is the noise the more meaningful will be the message. But, the most efficient way of communication that ensures common understanding between participants is known as:
- Interactive communication
- Push communication
- Pull communication
- Personal communication
Explanation: Interactive communication is the most effective type of communication between two or more people in real time. It is a face to face communication type in which the project manager can receive direct feedback from the project team or stakeholders to understand their thoughts and provides them his ideas.
63. A key customer criticizes your project decision that has caused $20,000 loss to his division. He wants to remove you from the project and replace you with a new project manager. If you certainly know that the loss is not due to your decision, what should you do?
- Ask your senior manager to resolve this issue
- Conduct a meeting with the sponsor and the customer
- Conduct a stakeholder meeting to gain the support of other stakeholders
- Use a direct and collaborative approach to explain to the stakeholder
Explanation: Conflict should be addressed early, usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach.
64. The highest point of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is:
- Physiological satisfaction
- Attainment of survival
- Need for association
- Self actualization
Explanation: Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation which states that five categories of human needs dictate an individualās behavior. Those needs are physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Self-actualization needs: Self-actualization describes the fulfillment of your full potential as a person and sits at the highest point of hierarchy
65. You are the Project Manager of a project involving building a computer. Your team members follow what you tell them because you have the authority to provide negative feedback in their performance appraisal. This is an example of what type of power?
- Coercive
- Referent
- Formal
- Reward
Explanation: Coercive power is a formal power source, where influencing agents use the threat of force to gain compliance from targets of influence. The force can include social, emotional, physical, political, or economic means, and is not always recognized by the target.
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Strategies to Choose the Best Answer on PMP Exam Questions
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this exam, here are some useful tips and techniques that a candidate can employ to ensure selecting the right choice for the questions:
- Follow the elimination technique first to eliminate the wrong choices and zero down to the correct choice
- Focus on the answer based on PMBOK and not your real-time experience (i.e., answer the questions keeping the PMBOK in mind)
- Understand question types - out of the 4 question types, you should be able to ascertain what question type is being asked to understand and answer correctly
- For lengthy questions, read the last concluding question line and read the answers (PMI provides lengthy questions with text which may not be relevant so skim through and focus on the actual ask in the question)
- Choices that have absolute words such as all, everything, every time, never, none, only, etc. are most likely not the correct ones
- For formula-based question types - first, perform calculations while reading the question to get the figure in mind and then see the choices - will help eliminate wrong and confusing choices
- Use the review flag to skip and review or come back to questions after you have completed answering all of them once
- Finally, guessing an answer by your intuition can also yield the right answer as there is no negative marking but you have a chance to score if the guess is right.
Conclusion
PMP certification is a powerful credential that can open new opportunities and avenues to launch your career way ahead of the competition. The focus of this exam is not only based on your knowledge and skill but also on the psychological and physical stamina of the candidate to sit in this 4-hour examination and answer 180 questions in succession based on a lot of theoretical content, terminology, and situational scenarios. Following the top questions asked and getting the context of types of questions will help you differentiate as well as be better prepared to handle such questions. Finally, like any other examination, practice is of paramount importance, and answering different types of questions in the practice/simulated tests will be helpful during the actual exam. We wish you all the best in your preparation and hope you can use KnowledgeHut's PMP exam prep training and resources to go above and beyond in your preparation for the PMP exam to pass out with flying colors.
