Practice Free PMP Exam Online Questions
A newly assigned team member immediately begins questioning operating procedures. This new team member wants the team to follow operating procedures that the team member had used previously. During assignments, the new team member begins using some of those processes and procedures and suggests these practices to other team members.
What action should the project manager take?
- A . Organize a training for the new team member on the processes the team is currently using.
- B . Speak with the new team member at the retrospective and discuss potential improvements.
- C . Formalize the new processes and implement the team member’s proposed changes.
- D . Hold a team meeting on governance, operating policies, procedures, and practices.
A company wants to show the commercial advantages of a product in a competitive market. They commissioned a project team to create a prototype. The team is building the prototype incrementally.
What should the project manager set as a priority?
- A . Implement the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle.
- B . Deliver business value as soon as possible.
- C . Emphasize the use of Kanban methods.
- D . Ensure that the project sponsor knows the schedule.
B
Explanation:
Agile and incremental delivery focuses on delivering value early and frequently. Since the prototype is being built incrementally, the project is likely following an adaptive or hybrid lifecycle. In such cases, delivering business value as soon as possible is the key objective. This enables faster feedback, early realization of benefits, and improved customer satisfaction.
According to the PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition (Value Delivery System), one of the key goals of a project is to maximize value delivery. The Agile Practice Guide emphasizes iterative delivery and prioritizing features with the highest business value early in development.
Option A (PDCA) is a general continuous improvement method, not specific to value delivery prioritization.
Option C (Kanban) is a scheduling method that may help visualize flow but is not the primary priority here.
Option D (informing the sponsor of the schedule) is good practice but not the highest priority in this context.
Reference: PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Value Delivery System
Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.2: Delivering Frequently and Iteratively
A project manager is leading a software development team to upgrade a banking software. During a sprint review, the product owner suggested a small addition to the process that might necessitate a change to the sprint.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Review the proposed change with the team and consult the project sponsor for approval.
- B . Evaluate the product owner’s proposed change alone and consult the project sponsor for approval.
- C . Submit the proposed change to the change control board (CCB) to evaluate and approve.
- D . Accept the product owner’s suggested change and notify the project sponsor of the acceptance.
A project manager is leading a project with strict time constraints. In team meetings, one of the team members is always silent. The project manager determines that this team member is not knowledgeable about the technology solution. The project manager is concerned that this problem will impact productivity.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Assign an experienced team member to work with this member on a daily basis in order to become knowledgeable about the technology.
- B . Arrange formal training for this member to gain sufficient knowledge to reduce the impact on team performance.
- C . Let this team member understand the urgency and encourage them to spend extra time to become knowledgeable about the technology.
- D . Let the team lead the meeting discussions so that every member has a chance to prepare and speak up.
B
Explanation:
In a situation where a team member is not knowledgeable about the technology solution, it is essential to address this knowledge gap to prevent any negative impact on the project’s productivity, especially under strict time constraints. Option B is the most suitable as it provides a structured approach to learning and ensures that the team member gains the necessary knowledge in a formal setting. This approach is more likely to result in a thorough understanding of the technology, which is critical for the project’s success.
: The answer is supported by the best practices outlined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), which suggests that project managers should develop their team’s competencies to enhance project performance. Additionally, the Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) reference materials emphasize the importance of training and skill development to equip team members with the necessary tools and knowledge to contribute effectively to the project.
A project has completed design activities ahead of schedule. Suddenly, the project manager is informed by a vendor that a deliverable may not meet the agreed delivery time frame due to a resource shortage. The internal team asked if they should continue to deliver as per the schedule.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Discuss with the team the need for longer hours to minimize the impact.
- B . Inform the project team that they may proceed at a more relaxed pace.
- C . Inform the project team that some of them will work for the vendor.
- D . Discuss with the project team alternative options to deliver as planned.
D
Explanation:
When faced with a potential delay due to a vendor’s resource shortage, the project manager should engage the project team to explore alternative options to adhere to the schedule. This aligns with the principles of project management, which emphasize proactive problem-solving and collaboration to maintain project momentum. The PMBOK® Guide highlights the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement in managing project risks, including those associated with vendor deliverables. By discussing alternative options, the project manager can facilitate a solution-oriented approach that may involve re-allocating resources, adjusting work priorities, or finding other ways to mitigate the delay without compromising the project’s objectives or quality standards.
: PMBOK® Guide and the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) resources on project risk management and stakeholder engagement12.
An agile project is in its ninth of 10 iterations. The team is delivering the work as expected. In the planning session, the team identifies a dependency with another project in the organization.
What should the scrum master do in order to accomplish the iteration goal?
- A . Ask the product owner to collaborate with the other team about the dependency.
- B . Recommend that the product owner change the priority of the dependency.
- C . Initiate collaboration with the other project team working on the dependency.
- D . Ask a team member to interact with the other team to complete the dependency.
C
Explanation:
One of the primary responsibilities of the Scrum Master is to remove impediments that may block the team from achieving its sprint or iteration goal. If a dependency is discovered late in the project, swift and direct collaboration is required to ensure delivery continuity. Initiating communication with the dependent team aligns with the Scrum Master’s role as a servant leader and facilitator.
According to the Agile Practice Guide (Chapter 3 C Agile Roles), the Scrum Master works across teams and organizational boundaries to resolve external dependencies that may block the team. It is not the sole responsibility of the Product Owner or individual team members to manage these external issues.
Option A shifts responsibility inappropriately to the Product Owner.
Option B doesn’t resolve the dependency but merely postpones or reorders work.
Option D fails to address the systemic coordination needed; it may be helpful later but isn’t the primary step.
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, Section 3.1 C Scrum Master Responsibilities
PMBOK® Guide C Seventh Edition, Team Performance Domain
A project manager is managing the transition to operations. The project sponsor wants to ensure that good support is provided to the end users.
What should the project manager do?
- A . Ensure that the user guide is detailed and has clear instructions.
- B . Ensure that comprehensive documentation is handed over.
- C . Ask the project team to provide operational support for 1 year.
- D . Ensure that knowledge is transferred to the operations team.
D
Explanation:
During the transition to operations, it is crucial for the project manager to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to the operations team. This ensures that the team is well-equipped to support the end users effectively. The knowledge transfer can include training sessions, documentation, and hands-on support during the initial phase of operations. This approach aligns with the best practices for project handoffs, which emphasize the importance of preparing the operations team to handle the project deliverables independently1.
Reference: “Project Handoffs C Transitioning a Project to Operations Support” from px3.tech1.
Discussions from ExamTopics on PMP topic 1 question 7082.
“How to Transition from Project to Operation” from ProjectSkillsMentor3.
Professional in Business Analysis Reference Materials from PMI4.
An agile team is required to address a technical, complex requirement that has no visual deliverable to show the customer.
What guidance should the product manager provide to improve the requirement development?
- A . Discuss this with the team and reprioritize the backlog to deliver maximum value by including a portion of the complex work.
- B . Reprioritize the product backlog by lowering the priority of the complex activity, so it will be worked on later in the project.
- C . Allow the team to focus and complete the complex work because it will reduce the risk of finding issues later in the project.
- D . Inform the customer that there will not be any deliverable due to the complexity involved in the requirement.
C
Explanation:
For an agile team facing a technical, complex requirement with no visual deliverable, it is important to focus on completing the work to mitigate risks associated with the complexity. This approach aligns with agile principles, which prioritize working software over comprehensive documentation. By allowing the team to concentrate on the complex work, they can ensure that the technical aspects are addressed properly, reducing the likelihood of issues arising later in the project. This strategy is supported by agile methodologies that emphasize continuous attention to technical excellence1.
Reference: Agile project management with formal requirements and test case management – PMI1 Agile Practice Guide – Project Management Institute2 Exam PMP topic 1 question 345 discussion – ExamTopics3
A customer’s technical lead discussed a new feature with the project manager. The project manager believes the new feature will boost performance significantly and adds it as a high-priority item in the sprint backlog. At the end of the sprint, all of the planned stories were not completed because the new feature took more time.
What should the project manager do next?
- A . Agree with the project team to modify and delete some of the stories in the current sprint backlog
- B . Obtain approval from the project team and add the new story to the product backlog
- C . Receive an agreement from the product owner and add the new story to the product backlog
- D . Negotiate with the scrum master before adding the new story to the sprint backlog
C
Explanation:
In Agile project management, particularly Scrum, the product owner is responsible for the product backlog, which includes prioritizing features and user stories based on value and necessity. When a new feature is identified that could significantly enhance performance, it should be discussed with the product owner. If the feature is agreed upon, it is then added to the product backlog1. The product backlog is a dynamic list that evolves as new insights and requirements emerge. It is the product owner’s role to ensure that the backlog items are well-defined and prioritized for future sprints2. This process ensures that the development team can focus on completing the items in the sprint backlog without overloading the current sprint with new,
During sprint planning, the product owner wants to prioritize items with high business value. However, the project team is concerned about technical debt and infrastructure dependencies to deliver the expected value.
How should the project manager handle this issue?
- A . Support the project sponsor so the decision is made top-down and the team follows the provided direction.
- B . Support a voting exercise so all team members can express their opinion and the reason behind their vote.
- C . Support the product owner so only items with high business value are included in the next sprint.
- D . Support the project team so technical debt and infrastructure dependencies are included in the next sprint.
B
Explanation:
In Agile and Scrum practices, it is essential to foster collaboration and communication between the product owner and the project team to find a mutually acceptable solution. Facilitating a discussion to balance technical debt and infrastructure dependencies with items of high business value is crucial. A voting exercise allows all team members to express their opinions and reasons behind their votes, helping the team find a compromise and identify items that provide both business value and address technical debt and infrastructure dependencies. This approach aligns with the Agile principle of valuing individuals and interactions over processes and tools, promoting team collaboration and self-organization.
: (Based on the information from the PMI’s PMP and Professional in Business Analysis reference materials and discussions from the Agile community.)
