Practice Free PMP Exam Online Questions
While sizing a user story in planning poker, one team member believes the user story should be 8 points. Another believes the story should be 2 points.
What should the scrum master do?
- A . Determine the average of the two estimates and assign that amount.
- B . Ask the product owner to rewrite the story so the final estimate can be agreed upon.
- C . Consult the lessons learned for insight into the correct estimate.
- D . Select the junior member’s estimate since they will most likely be doing the work.
B
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
Significant estimation discrepancies often indicate a lack of clarity. The story may be ambiguous or too broad. In agile practices, the team should ask the product owner to refine the story so it can be better understood and estimated with greater accuracy. A (averaging) is not an agile practice.
C may be helpful but not sufficient in real time.
D is arbitrary and ignores team consensus.
B supports agile practices like backlog refinement.
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, Chapter 5 C Estimation and Planning Scrum Guide C User Story Definition and Refinement
Negotiations are underway to secure an agreement with a critical supplier for the project. The negotiation situation has become contentious as it is becoming apparent that both parties will not receive everything they want and that a compromise might be necessary to avoid project delays, cost overruns, and damage to reputations.
What should the project manager do to help ensure a successful outcome for the project?
- A . Collaborate with stakeholders to complete an analysis of priorities with ranked objectives.
- B . Withhold from revealing the priorities and objectives until midway through negotiations.
- C . Begin the negotiation process with predetermined objectives to guide the discussions.
- D . Adjust priorities and objectives based on real-time developments during the negotiation process.
A
Explanation:
When entering contentious negotiations, it’s critical to understand and prioritize what objectives are most important and which areas have flexibility. Collaborating with stakeholders to develop ranked priorities helps the project manager negotiate effectively and make trade-offs without compromising essential outcomes.
This aligns with PMI’s guidance on effective procurement and stakeholder engagement―where strategic preparation improves outcomes.
Option B is counterproductive to collaboration.
Option C is useful, but without stakeholder input, the objectives may be misaligned.
Option D is reactive and risky without stakeholder agreement.
Reference: PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Stakeholder and Procurement Performance Domains
PMI Practice Standard for Project Procurement Management
Negotiations are underway to secure an agreement with a critical supplier for the project. The negotiation situation has become contentious as it is becoming apparent that both parties will not receive everything they want and that a compromise might be necessary to avoid project delays, cost overruns, and damage to reputations.
What should the project manager do to help ensure a successful outcome for the project?
- A . Collaborate with stakeholders to complete an analysis of priorities with ranked objectives.
- B . Withhold from revealing the priorities and objectives until midway through negotiations.
- C . Begin the negotiation process with predetermined objectives to guide the discussions.
- D . Adjust priorities and objectives based on real-time developments during the negotiation process.
A
Explanation:
When entering contentious negotiations, it’s critical to understand and prioritize what objectives are most important and which areas have flexibility. Collaborating with stakeholders to develop ranked priorities helps the project manager negotiate effectively and make trade-offs without compromising essential outcomes.
This aligns with PMI’s guidance on effective procurement and stakeholder engagement―where strategic preparation improves outcomes.
Option B is counterproductive to collaboration.
Option C is useful, but without stakeholder input, the objectives may be misaligned.
Option D is reactive and risky without stakeholder agreement.
Reference: PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Stakeholder and Procurement Performance Domains
PMI Practice Standard for Project Procurement Management
A virtual project team is working on a multinational project with a risk management strategy. An unexpected situation occurs in one of the project countries, creating the possibility that project operations will shut down for at least two months.
What should the project manager do to address this risk?
- A . Relocate the project to another country that is not shutting down.
- B . Evaluate the possibility of having another country complete the task.
- C . Identify additional team members who are able to complete the task.
- D . Determine if the project has built-in slack to remain on schedule.
A virtual product development team is working well together and is on schedule. One team member wants to take 1 week off to attend a training.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Decline the team member’s request as it might jeopardize the schedule.
- B . Approve the team member’s request as it will increase motivation.
- C . Decline the team member’s request since the goal is not individual team member advancement.
- D . Approve the team member’s request on condition they work additional hours when they return from training.
The project stakeholders represent diverse organizational functions and have differing opinions about project goals. The project has been approved, but change requests could result if the stakeholders do not align on the functionality needed and the minimum viable product (MVP).
What should the project manager do?
- A . Inform the stakeholders that the project goals are in the business case and change requests must be submitted.
- B . Secure approval from the most influential stakeholders on the project goals and the needed functionality.
- C . Host requirements gathering meetings where all of the stakeholders can identify their project goals until agreement is reached.
- D . Develop a list of project goals, secure sponsor approval, and then socialize them with the direct and indirect stakeholders.
C
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
When multiple stakeholders have differing expectations, it is best to bring them together in collaborative sessions such as requirements workshops or facilitated discussions. This ensures alignment on goals and scope and helps define a clear MVP to minimize future change requests.
* A is rigid and may create resistance.
* B risks alienating less-influential stakeholders.
* D lacks the collaborative element required in complex stakeholder environments.
* C promotes inclusion and consensus-building, key for stakeholder alignment.
Reference:
* PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Stakeholder Engagement and Planning Performance Domains
* Agile Practice Guide C Chapter on Product Visioning and MVP Definition
A project manager leads an agile development project. During the sprint planning meeting, the development team expresses concerns that the proposed scope of the next sprint is much larger than expected given the current resource allocation. The project manager believes the scope is essential to meet the project milestones.
How should the project manager approach negotiating an agreement with the team to ensure the project remains on track?
- A . Allocate additional resources to the development team to ensure the original scope can be completed on time.
- B . Suggest prioritizing the most critical features for the next sprint as well as reevaluating the remaining scope.
- C . Agree on reducing the scope to match the team’s resources and plan to add the removed items to future sprints.
- D . Insist on keeping the original scope and explain the importance of meeting all the project milestones on time.
B
Explanation:
In Agile, scope is flexible, and time and resources are generally fixed per sprint. Therefore, when scope seems unmanageable, prioritization is the correct approach. The Scrum team―including the Product Owner―must decide which items provide the most value and can fit within the sprint.
Option B aligns with Agile principles by focusing on value delivery and continuous negotiation. This maintains flexibility while aiming to achieve business objectives.
Option A contradicts Agile team principles by injecting resources mid-sprint.
Option C is partially correct but lacks the negotiation and prioritization step.
Option D contradicts Agile’s principle of team-driven planning and adaptive scope.
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, Chapter 5: “Agile Planning Concepts”
The Scrum Guide (2020), Section: “Sprint Planning”
PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Performance Domain: Planning and Delivery
A sales director is upset that progress has been slow on the delivery of critical features to the customer. After consulting with the team, the project manager learns that a subject matter expert (SME) on the customer side is not cooperative in providing the input needed to complete the definition of ready (DoR).
What should the project manager do to avoid the same problem in future projects?
- A . Review the responsibility matrix at the customer kick-off meeting.
- B . Rely on internal SMEs for expert input on implementing the user stories.
- C . Include a contractual penalty for delays created by the customer.
- D . Require customer SMEs to attend at least half of the daily meetings.
A key stakeholder of a project wants to include additional work before completion.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Request the additional work through governance.
- B . Meet with the stakeholder and explain that additional work cannot be added.
- C . Prioritize the additional work in the backlog.
- D . Collaborate immediately with the stakeholder to complete the additional work.
A
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
When stakeholders request additional scope during project execution, the project manager should not make unilateral changes. Instead, the proper course is to process the change request through the approved governance or change control process. This ensures alignment with scope, budget, and timeline.
Reference:
* PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Performance Domain: Delivery and Governance
* Change Control Process per PMI Standards
A project manager was assigned to lead a global project with a virtual team that is globally dispersed.
The project manager has difficulties communicating with the team members and there seems to be frequent misunderstandings and conflicts.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Ask the team members to refamiliarize themselves with the communications management plan.
- B . Organize effective communication training for team members.
- C . Listen to team members actively and change the communication practices accordingly.
- D . Model servant leadership by adapting to team requirements.
C
Explanation:
Comprehensive and Detailed
In global virtual teams, active listening and adaptability are key leadership traits. By engaging the team, understanding their communication challenges, and adjusting practices accordingly, the project manager demonstrates empathy and responsiveness―essential for building trust and reducing conflict.
* A is passive and may be perceived as blaming.
* B is useful but not the first response.
* D is a leadership principle but too broad without specific action.
* C addresses the root issue and aligns with servant leadership behaviors.
Reference:
* PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Communication and Team Performance Domains
* PMI’s Leadership and Communication Skills Competency Framework
Here are the verified answers and full explanations for PMP Questions 1835 to 1838, formatted as requested: