PMP Certification Practice Exam

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PMP Certification Practice Exam

Studying for the PMP certification exam? Use this 50 question practice exam to gauge your readiness.
You must complete this exam within 1 hour and answer 40 questions correctly to pass. If you score lower
than that, then you should keep hitting the books.

1.

2.

3.

4.

The stakeholder analysis matrix is part of ...?

a.

Part of the Stakeholder Management Strategy - an output of identify stakeholders

b.

An output of Plan Communications

c.

Part of the stakeholder register

d.

Part of Performance Reporting

Which relationship model is most commonly used in the Precedence diagrams?

a.

start-to-start

b.

start-to-finish

c.

finish-to-start

d.

finish-to-finish

AOA activity diagrams are only represented using which representation?

a.

start-to-start

b.

start-to-finish

c.

finish-to-start

d.

finish-to-finish

Which of the following is not true about the Delphi technique?

5.

6.

7.

8.

a.

Individuals participating must know each other for Delphi technique to be successful.

b.

Delphi technique is most commonly used to obtain expert opinion.

c.

In Delphi technique participants are generally anonymous.

d.

Delphi technique has been in use for decades.

Typically, the signing of the project charter is the responsibility of

a.

Project Sponsor

b.

Senior Management

c.

Project Manager

d.

Project stake-holders

You are the project manager of ABC project. Mid-way through the project a key component was
found defective. This was not planned for. The team met after the event and managed to make the
product work without the defective component. This is an example of a.

Risk mitigation

b.

Transfer of risk

c.

Work-around

d.

Accepting the consequences passively.

Most common cause of conflict in a project is

a.

Schedules

b.

Technical opinions

c.

Personal Issues

d.

Project priorities

The most long-lasting conflict resolution is caused by which of these techniques?

a.

Smoothing

b.

Confrontation

9.

10.

11.

12.

c.

Compromising

d.

Forcing

You are the Project Manager of ABC project. The project is being executed in an earthquakeprone area. To take care of this you buy insurance for earthquakes. This is an example of
a.

Risk mitigation

b.

Transfer of risk

c.

Risk contingency planning

d.

Accepting the consequences passively.

Which of these is correct with respect to a product developed or a service performed.

a.

Bad quality is acceptable, but bad grade is not.

b.

Bad grade is acceptable, but bad quality is not.

c.

Neither bad grade nor quality is acceptable.

d.

Grade and quality is the same thing.

Which of the following theory was suggested by Deming?

a.

Apply continuous small improvements to reduce costs and ensure consistency.

b.

Marginal Analysis

c.

Expectancy theory - people expect to be rewarded for their efforts.

d.

Plan-do-check-act to improve quality.

Which of the following is not a tool for Perform Quality Control process.
a.

Inspection

b.

Benchmarking

c.

Flow charting

d.

Histogram

13.

14.

15.

You are the Project Manager for ABC project. You need to find out which issue has maximum
impact on the project. Which tool should you use?
a.

Pareto diagram

b.

Control chart

c.

Trend analysis

d.

Fishbone diagram

When analyzing quality for a project a Project Manager decides to use a tool that provides a
creative way to look at the causes or potential causes of a problem. Which tool is the Project
Manager planning to use?
a.

Pareto diagram

b.

Control chart

c.

Statistical sampling

d.

Ishikawa diagram

A Project Manager is using AOA to perform critical path analysis. The network diagram is
represented as shown using below. Which of the following represents the path:

Activity
A
C
B
D
E
F
G
H
I
R
16.

a.

ABIR

Duration
3
3
2
5
2
4
3
1
2
0

Dependent on
none
none
A
C
none
E
D,F
D,F
B,G
H,I

17.

18.

19.

20.

b.

CDHR

c.

CDGIR

d.

EFGIR

For the sequence diagram in question 15, what is the float of activity B
a.

b.

c.

d.

For the sequence diagram in question 15, what is the float of activity H
a.

b.

c.

d.

According to Herzberg which of these is not an example of hygiene factors?

a.

job security

b.

salary

c.

safe working conditions

d.

appreciation of work

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is the lowest level which must be met before
other levels can be met.
a.

Esteem

b.

Physiological

c.

Social

d.
21.

22.

23.

24.

Safety

Which of these is not a benefit measurement project selection method?

a.

Integer Algorithm

b.

Internal Rate of Return

c.

Scoring model

d.

Discounted cash flow

Which of these is a constrained optimization project selection method?

a.

Parallel algorithm

b.

Number programming

c.

Murder board

d.

Dynamic Programming

You are part of an expert committee deciding which project should be implemented by your
company. Your committee asks tough questions from the project teams and helps decide which
project your company should select. Which project selection technique are you using.
a.

Scoring Model

b.

Committee Selection

c.

Murder Board

d.

Defined Benefit

Which of these is a process in the Scope Management knowledge area

a.

Identify Scope

b.

Clarify Scope

c.

Control Scope

d.

Close Scope

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

You have just been made the Project Manager of the ABC project. You are trying to read the WBS
and are unable to understand some of the WBS components. Which should be your first step to
understand this?
a.

Refer to the WBS dictionary

b.

Refer to the scope statement

c.

Refer to the Project charter

d.

Contact the previous Project Manager

Who among the following is responsible for performing the scope validation
a.

Project Manager

b.

Senior Management

c.

The quality team

d.

The customer

You are planning to use PERT for the planning of your project. A task has a pessimistic estimate
of 24 days, a most likely estimate of 15 days and an optimistic estimate of 12 days. What is the
mean using the PERT technique?
a.

18 days

b.

25.5 days

c.

15 days

d.

16 days

Which of these is a process in the Project Procurement Management knowledge area?

a.

Select Sellers

b.

Control Procurements

c.

Control Contracts

d.

Plan Purchases and Acquisitions

Oligopoly refers to which of these

30.

31.

32.

33.

a.

There is only one qualified seller in the market.

b.

There are no sellers in the market, so you have to build the product in-house.

c.

There are few sellers and action of one seller will have impact on other sellers prizes.

d.

Your company prefers to contract with only one seller.

You are using straight line depreciation to compute the value of your computer after three years. If
the current cost is $1000, what will be the value after three years assuming that the computer's life
is five years.
a.

$0

b.

$400

c.

$500

d.

$600

Which of the following is not true about analogous estimating.

a.

Estimate is based on past projects.

b.

It is not very accurate.

c.

It uses bottom-up approach

d.

It is a form of an expert judgment

You have been asked to make an estimate for a project. The project involves manufacturing 1000
toys. You expect that as the team manufactures some toys, the time to make them will reduce.
Which estimation technique are you trying to use?
a.

Analogous Estimation

b.

Regression Analysis

c.

Bottom up Estimating

d.

Learning Curve

John is an excellent engineer. The management assumes that since he is a good technical
performer, he will be a good project manager too. Based upon this, John was promoted to Project
Manager. This is an example of

34.

35.

36.

37.

a.

Halo Effect

b.

Expectancy Theory

c.

McGregory Theory of X and Y

d.

Herzberg Theory

Which of these is an example of processes in the closing process group?

a.

Project Closure

b.

Scope Closure

c.

Close Project or phase

d.

Scope Validation

The authority to approve or deny a change request lies with

a.

Project Manager

b.

Customer

c.

Project Sponsor

d.

Configuration Control Board

You are the Project Manager of the XYZ project. You want to find the planned expenses for next
month. Which document do you need to refer to?
a.

Cost Management Plan

b.

Cost Baseline

c.

Cost Control Plan

d.

Cost Variance report

Which of the following is not true about the WBS report?

a.

b.

The WBS should focus in on the activities that must be performed in the project and
should not focus on the deliverables.
The project team must be involved in developing the WBS.

38.

39.

40.

41.

c.

As a rule of thumb, each activity of the WBS should take less than 80 hours.

d.

The WBS is usually represented in a hierarchical fashion.

Which of the following processes produces the WBS as an output?

a.

Plan Scope

b.

Initiate Project

c.

Define Activities

d.

Create WBS

Which process identifies the project manager?

a.

Develop Project Management Plan

b.

Develop Project Charter

c.

Define Scope

d.

Select Project Process

You are the Project Manager assigned to build a next generation vehicle. You identify a
dependency that the wheels must be designed and developed before the assembly of the vehicle
can be performed. This is an example of which type of dependency?
a.

External

b.

Discretionary

c.

Soft Logic

d.

Mandatory

You are the Project Manager assigned to build a next generation vehicle. You identify a
dependency that before the vehicle can be sold, it must be approved by a governmental regulatory
authority. This is an example of which type of dependency?
a.

External

b.

Discretionary

c.

Soft Logic

d.
42.

43.

44.

45.

Mandatory

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 foot. So you estimate that it will take 60
hours to paint the wall. Which estimation model are you using?
a.

Bottom-up

b.

Parametric modeling

c.

Analogous

d.

Expert judgment

The level of accuracy for order of magnitude estimation is

a.

-25% to +75%

b.

-25% to +50%

c.

-25% to +25%

d.

-25% to +10%

You are the project manager responsible for building a new web site. The project is running late.
To bring the project on schedule, you decide to add additional resources to the critical path. This is
an example of
a.

Fast-tracking

b.

Resource planning

c.

Crashing

d.

Schedule Management

You are the project manager of ABC project. One of the risks that has been identifies is attrition of
team members. Mid-way through the project you notice that the morale and motivation of the team
members is going down. You think that this is a precursor to people leaving the organization. For
this risk, low motivation is an example of
a.

work-around

b.

trigger

46.

47.

48.

c.

risk monitoring

d.

risk planning

You are working on the project of painting of your house. You identify a dependency that the
painting of roof should begin only after two days of completion of painting of walls. This is an
example of
a.

Lag

b.

Lead

c.

Slack

d.

Float

What percentage of Project Manager's time is spent on communicating?

a.

30

b.

50

c.

70

d.

90

You are the Project Manager for XYZ project. The scope of the project has been completed. You
receive a request for a new module to be developed as part of this project. What should you do
next?
a.

You should approach the Project sponsor and ask her for a new module to be developed
as part of this project.

b.

You should approach the Senior Management and ask them for a new module to be
developed as part of this project.

c.
d.

49.

You should send the request to Change Control Board for approval.
Since the project scope is completed you should inform the customer that this change
cannot be done as part of the project.

Perform Quality Assurance process is part of which phase?

a.

Planning

50.

51.

1.

b.

Execution

c.

Control

d.

Closure

You are managing the project of planning a party for your company employees. There is a risk
that the employees will not come to the party. You decide to not take any action against this as the
likelihood of this is low. Which risk response strategy are you following?
a.

Acceptance

b.

Avoidance

c.

Mitigation

d.

Transference

The process of Conduct Procurements is part of which phase?

a.

Planning

b.

Execution

c.

Control

d.

Closure

Answers
A It is part of the Stakeholder Management Strategy, which is an output of identify stakeholders.
PMBOK Guide, 5th edition, p. 396

2.

c. finish-to-start is the most commonly used relationship.

3.

c. AOA activity diagrams are represented using finish-to-start representation.

4.

a. Experts participating in the Delphi technique are anonymous.

5.

b. Senior Management is responsible for issuing the charter.

6.

7.

c. This was an unplanned event that happened. Work around refers to handling of risk that has
occurred but was not planned for.
a. Schedules are most common cause of conflicts.

8.

9.

b. Problem-solving or Confrontation is the best solution for resolving conflicts and leads to longlasting conflict resolution.
b. Insurance is an example of transferring risk.

10.

b. Grade refers to category or rank given to entities having same functional use but different
technical characteristics. As an example a basic $10K car belongs to a different grade when
compared to a $50K luxury car. Your expectations from the two cars and their performances will
differ because they belong to different grades.

11.

d. Continuous small improvements is part of Kaizen theory. Hence a is incorrect. The Plan-doCheck-Act doctrine was proposed by Deming.

12.
13.

14.

b. Benchmarking is not a tool for Quality Control process

a. Pareto chart is built on the 80:20 theory. 80% of the defects are caused due to 20% of the
issues. A Project Manager needs to focus on these 20% issues.
d. Ishikawa or Fish bone diagram is the tool that the Project Manager is planning to use.

15.

c. CDGIR represents the critical path. It is the longest path through the network with the duration
of 13.

16.

d. The path ABIR has duration of seven. Hence B can be delayed by six days before the next
event can begin.

17.

c. The path CDHR has duration of nine days. Hence H can be delayed by four days before the
next event can begin.

18.

d. Job security, salary, clean and safe working conditions are examples of hygiene factors.
Appreciation at work is not a hygiene factor, but instead a motivating factor.

19.

b. Physiological factors appear at the lowest level of Maslow's hierarchy triangle.

20.

a. The other three options are examples of benefit measurement method.

21.

d. Dynamic Programming is an example of Constrained Optimization method. Murder board is an

example of benefit measurement method.

22.

c. Murder board is a process where a committee asks questions from project representatives as
part of the project selection process.

23.

c. Control Scope process is part of scope management knowledge area.

24.

a. WBS dictionary is the best option. WBS Dictionary identifies all the components used in the
WBS

25.

d. Scope Validation is the process of the customer accepting the project deliverables.

26.

d. Mean for PERT is defined as (P+4M+O)/6 which comes out to be 16 days.

27.

b. Control Procurements is a process in the Project Procurement Management Knowledge area.

28.

c. In oligopoly, the action of one seller has an impact on other sellers, as there are very few
sellers.

29.

b. Each year $200 gets removed from the value of computer. After three years the value becomes
$400.

30.
31.

c. The others are true statements about analogous estimating.

d. Learning curve estimation uses the principal that the cost per unit will decrease as more units
of work are manufactured.

32.

a. The behavior described is an illustration of Halo's effect.

33.

c. Close Procurements and Close Project or phase are the two closure processes.

34.

d. The Configuration (or Change) Control Board has the authority to approve or deny change
requests.

35.

b. Cost baseline includes the project budget for each month.

36.

a. WBS should focus on deliverables.

37.

d. WBS is an output of the Create WBS.

38.

b. Project Manager is identified as part of the Develop Project Charter process.

39.

d. Mandatory dependency represents dependencies due to nature of work.

40.

a. This is an example of dependency to an external (outside) body.

41.

b. Parametric modeling is the best option.

42.

43.

a. The order of magnitude is preferred during initiation phase, and it has an accuracy range of
-25% to 75%
c. Crashing involves adding extra resources to reduce the project duration.

44.
45.

46.
47.

b. A risk trigger is an indication that the risk is about to occur or has occurred.
a. This is an example of lag. Lag is the amount of time after the completion of the predecessor
activity, when the successor activity can start.
d. According to PMBOK 90% of Project Managers time is spent in communicating.
d. As the scope is completed, the project is complete. Additional work should be done as part of a
new project.

48.

b. Perform Quality Assurance is part of Execution phase.

49.

a. This is an example of Acceptance risk response strategy.

50.

b. Conduct Procurements is part of execution phase.

Selection of questions courtesy of Richard Perrin, PMP