Initiation

A project team is working on a project to manufacture a new product for market, but they
are having difficulty creating a project charter. What is the BEST description of the real
problem?
A. They have not identified the project objectives.
B. They are working on a process and not a project.
C. The end date has not been set.
D. They have not identified the product of the project.

Answer is B

In order to complete initiation, a project manager needs the project charter and:
A: constraints.
B: work breakdown structure.
C: scope statement.
D: scope management plan.

Answer: A Output of Initiation: Project charter, project manger assigned, constrains and
assumptions

Which of the following does NOT assess the value project management brings to an
organization?
A: Benefit/cost analysis
B: Net present value
C: Value analysis
D: Needs assessment

Answer: C Value Analysis--- Find a less costly way to do the same scope of work

The CEO of the company has assigned a project manager to a project that the CEO has
wanted to do for a long time. What should the project manager do?
A: Assist the CEO in putting together a benefit/cost analysis to show the need for the
project
B: Work with the CEO to get buy-in from the other stakeholders
C: Produce a ranking of all feasible projects, including the assigned project, in a weighted
scoring of decision variables
D: Guide the creation of a project charter

A: D Not all process is needed on all projects?

Identifying project performance criteria, defining project strategy and determining

product description are all part of WHICH project management phase?
A: Initiation
B: Planning
C: Control
D: Execution
A: A

Your customer has asked for a 2000 call capacity for the new call center project.
However, one of your company's technical experts believes a 3000 call capacity can be
reached. Another thinks that based on the technical needs of the customer, the capacity
needs to be only 1500 calls. What is the BEST thing to do?
A: Meet with the customer to better understand the reasons behind the 2000 call capacity
B: Set the goal at 3000 calls
C: Meet with the technical experts and help them to agree on a goal
D: Set the goal at 2000 calls

A: A The fact that such a discussion is occurring indicates a lack of clarity as to why the
customer requested the 2000 call capacity. Generally, a difference in objectives is
resolved in favor of the customer. However, it is the PM’s responsibility to inform the
customer of other options.

What does a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.6 indicate?

A: Payback is 2.6 times the cost of the project
B: Profit is 2.6 times the cost of the project.
C: Cost is 2.6 times the payback.
D: Cost is 2.6 times the profit.

A: A It compares the payback to cost, NOT jut the smaller figure of profit!!!

A market demand, a business need and/or legal requirements are examples of:
A: reasons to hire a project manager.
B: reasons projects are authorized.
C: reasons people or businesses become stakeholders.
D: reasons to sponsor a project.

A: B Project should meet company objectives; these are the reasons to begin a project

A project manager in a predominantly hierarchical organization has been assigned a

major project with aggressive timelines. The BEST approach for developing an initial
project charter in this environment is to:
A: create a charter using brainstorming sessions with potential team members and
stakeholders.
B: create and present a draft project charter to potential team members and stakeholders
to solicit their input.
C: create a project charter jointly with management for distribution to potential team
members and stakeholders.
D: create a charter with the functional managers and present it to the sponsor for
signature.
A: C The organization has a direct influence on the project. A participative approach
will probably not as effective in a hierarchical organization.

Which of the following statements BEST describes the reason that a project which was
originally scheduled for completion in six months has been ongoing for two years?
A: Too many tasks can mean the project never is completed.
B: The project needs only one project sponsor.
C: The WBS is a good way to determine project tasks.
D: A project is something that is temporary.

A: D Choice C is correct but does not relate to the question presented. There is no reason
to suspect there were too many tasks or more that one sponsor, but letting project
continue to expand violates choice D.

Who determines the requirements of a new project?

A: Customer
B: Stakeholders
C: PM
D: Senior Management

A: B The stakeholders determine the project requirements and decide whether the
project was a success.

Which of the following statements BEST describes why stakeholders are necessary
on a project?
A: They determine the project schedule, deliverables and requirements.
B: They help to determine the project constraints and product deliverables.
C: They supply the resources and resource constraints on the project.
D: They help provide assumptions, the WBS and the management plan.

A: B The stakeholders do not determine the schedule, nor do they help create the
management plan. These are the project manager's responsibilities. In choice C,
stakeholders do not supply ALL the resources.

Which statement about project deliverables is correct?

A: They are determined after the work is completely defined
B: They are described during project planning and improved over time
C: They are defined at project onset with the input of project stakeholders
D: They are determined by the project sponsor

A: C

The role of each stakeholder is determined by:

A: the stakeholder and the sponsor.
B: the project manager and the sponsor.
C: the team and the project manager.
D: the project manager and the stakeholder.

A: D Notice that the stakeholders have input into what they will be contributing to the
project. The role of PM is NOT to tell people what to do.

The policies, methodologies and templates for managing projects within the organization
should be supplied by the:
A: project sponsor.
B: management
C: PM
D: Project office

A: D

Which of the following techniques is the BEST way to determine project objectives?
A: Delphi
B: Earned value
C: Expert interviews
D: Pareto

A: A Pareto is a quality tool, and earned value is a progress reporting tool. Expert
interviews provide information while Delphi leads to consensus.

The previous project manager for your project managed it without much project
organization. There is a lack of management control and no clearly defined project
deliverables. Which of the following would be the BEST choice for getting your project
better organized?
A: Adopt a life cycle approach to the project
B: Develop lessons learned for each phase
C: Develop specific work plans for each phase of the project
D: Develop a description of the product of the project

A:A Choice D will help, but not help both control and deliverable for each phase. Choice
C would help control each phase but would not control the integration of the phases into a
cohesive whole. Choice B would help improve subsequent phases but would do nothing
for control the deliverables. Effective project management requires a life cycle approach
to running the project. Choice A is the only answer that covers both control and
deliverables.

All the following must be performed in initiation EXCEPT:

A: identify and document business needs.
B: create a scope statement.
C: define the phases of the project life cycle.
D: accumulate and evaluate historical information.
A: B A scope statement is generally created after initiation, after the project charter
is created. The charter contains a brief description of the project, not the full scope
statement.

Your boss, the vice president of research at your electronic system development firm,
defines success on the project as providing "state-of-the-art" development. The vice
president of marketing defines it as "world-class practices." The vice president of
engineering, who is the customer for this project, is primarily concerned with new
features. Which of the following BEST describes what you should do?

A: Make sure the requirements are defined in measurable terms.

Requirement must be measurable to ensure they are understood and reachable. This is
even more important than resolving a difference of requirements in favor of the customer,
because you can not meet the customer’s needs if the requirements are ambiguous.

You are the CEO of a large publishing house and desire to improve project management
practices in your company. What is the BEST thing to do in order to manage the
publication of each issue?
A: Clearly define the work to be supplied by other companies
B: Retain the functional organizational structure
C: Set up a project office
D: Identify all the stakeholders for this project

A: B A project is temporary and unique. This is an example of a business process that is

ongoing and repeatable. Such processes are best managed in a functional organization.
 Framwork
The customer responsible for overseeing your project asks you to provide a written cost
estimate that is 30% higher than your estimate of the project's cost. He explains that the
budgeting process requires managers to estimate pessimistically to ensure enough money
is allocated for projects. What is the BEST way to handle this?
A: Add the 30% as a lump sum contingency fund to handle project risks
B: Add the 30% to your cost estimate by spreading it evenly across all project tasks
C: Create one cost baseline for budget allocation and a second one for the actual project
plan
D: Ask for information on risks that would cause your estimate to be too small

A: D
Presenting anything besides your original estimate to allocate more to the budget is
inaccurate and calls into question your competence and integrity as a project manager.
The customer should list potential changes and risks to your estimate. If the costs and
risks are justified, you can increase the budget.

Which of the following is NOT a measure that determines whether a business practice
used by another country is an unfair business practice?
A: It hurts the right to physical movement.
B: t is a common practice in the other country.
C: It does not supply a decent wage for the country and the type of work.
D: It discriminates against women.

A:B
A common practice in another country does not make it a fair practice.

A project manager has a problem with a team member's performance. What is

BEST form of communication for addressing this problem?
A: Formal written communication
B: Formal verbal communication
C: Informal written communication
D: Informal verbal communication

A:D The best choice is D. If informal verbal communication does not solve the
problem, choice A is the next best choice. This does not mean that you do not keep
records of the problem, but this question is asking about communication between
two parties.

Your company wants to open a plant in a country where the law stipulates that
women can earn only 50% of what men earn. Under these circumstances, what
should you recommend to your company?
A: Do not open the plant.
B: Your company should meet with government officials and try to get a waiver that
equalizes the rate between men and women.
C: Do not hire women.
D: Provide the women you hire with extra work to increase their salary.

A: A
Working under these rules would be a clear violation of the fundamental right to
nondiscriminating treatment. You should not open the plant in that location.

You are working on the new oil purification project in a foreign country. A person
informs you that you will have to pay him a "transfer fee" for the permit to move heavy
equipment through the city. What is the FIRST thing you should do?
A: Pay the fee but only to the city
B: Do not pay the fee
C: Make sure the person is really a government official
D: Negotiate openly with the city officials

A:C
Only government officials can collect routine government fees.

While working on a project in another country, you are asked to make a "facilitating"
payment so the country officials will issue a work order. What should you do?
A: Make the payment
B: Ask the person for proof the payment is required
C: Seek legal advice on whether such a payment is a bribe
D: Do not pay and see what happens

A:C
Whenever you are uncertain whether a payment is a bribe, you should discuss the
situation with legal counsel.

You are making another trip to a country and have been invited to a holiday celebration.
During the celebration, you discover that all of the subcontracted work for the project has
been given to one of the team member's brothers. What should you do?
A: Do nothing if the project is progressing on schedule.
B: Evaluate the cost of the subcontracted work.
C: Determine what the common practices are in that country.
D: Tell the team member that such actions are not allowed.

A:C This is not a case of doing nothing (choice A). But neither can you jump in and start
looking at cost or determine that the practice is not allowed without first identifying the
common practices in that country.

A project has a tight budget when you begin negotiating with a seller for a piece of
equipment. The seller has told you that the equipment price is fixed. Your manager has
told you to negotiate the cost with the seller. What is your BEST course of action?
A: Make a good faith effort to find a way to decrease the cost
B: Postpone negotiations until you can convince your manager to change their mind
C: Hold the negotiations but only negotiate other aspects of the project
D: Cancel the negotiations

A: A There is always a way to decrease costs in the project. How about offering to
feature the seller in your next television ad? Therefore, the best choice is A.

A project manager is assigned to an environmental engineering project in Oregon

chartered to build a reverse flow fish ladder on the Columbia River. An environmental
group is performing the project. This type of project has never been done before. The
project manager has decided to build a basic project schedule and to detail the work of
each phase as the current phase nears completion. What BEST describes what the project
manager is doing?
A: The controlling process of ensuring that project objectives are met by taking
corrective action when necessary
B: The process of planning change control
C: The progressive process of rolling wave planning
D: The core planning process of reiterating a plan in the same order from project to
project

A: C The progressive detailing of a project plan is often called rolling wave planning,
indicating that planning is an interactive and ongoing process.

You have designed an improved system for a consumer product that could decrease
repair cost for the consumer. Management has been impressed with your idea but has
decided to wait until next year to implement it. What is the BEST thing to do?
A: Advise government officials that there is a better alternative that could save the public
money
B: Wait until next year
C: Go to one of your competitors with the idea in order to save consumers cost
D: Tell everyone you come in contact with that you have a better design

A:B You need to wait until management approves the effort.

During project execution, one of the electrical engineers informs the project manager that
the life cycle cost of the new heating and air conditioning system is higher than the life
cycle cost of another heating and air conditioning system. What should the project
manager do?
A: Determine if there is room in the project budget for the additional cost
B: Select the product with the lower life cycle cost
C: Select the product with the best life cycle cost to earned value ratio
D: Select the product with the lowest maintenance cost to life cycle cost ratio

A: B Generally, the lower life cycle cost should be selected. The ratios in choices C and
D are fictitious. Choice A is not the answer because the concept of life cycle cost looks
at project costs and operation and maintenance (O & M) costs. If the overall cost is
lower, there is justification for increasing the project budget and decreasing the O & M
costs.
You are a public executive working on your fourth project to order new buses for a
transportation route between two cities. You include a government official as a
stakeholder and plan to include meetings with him in the WBS. Your manager objects to
such activities as unnecessary. The BEST response is to inform your manager that:
A: the government official can negatively impact the project.
B: the government official knows the end-users better than either of us.
C: the government official is a stakeholder since the buses will be used in his city.
D: the government official is a stakeholder because he will be using the buses.

A:A This question tests two areas: 1) your knowledge of stakeholders; and 2) your
understanding of the level of stakeholder involvement that would justify including him in
meetings. The government official could be a stakeholder, but that is not a definitive
reason to include him in meetings. Only choice A justifies the time necessary for such
meetings.

You have just been assigned to take over a project that your management has told you is
"out of control." When you asked your management what the problems were, they had
no specifics, but said that the project was behind schedule, over budget and the client was
dissatisfied. Which of the following should be of the MOST concern to you?
A: The project is over budget and behind schedule.
B: There is very little documentation related to the project.
C: The client is very dissatisfied with the project's progress.
D: Your management is looking for rapid and visible action on this project to rectify the
problems.

A: B Without adequate documentation, it is impossible to know what was agreed upon

and the status of the project.

A company puts a new product into the marketplace without any reports of problems.
However, your internal research indicated that there is a possibility of two serious injuries
per year and would cost US $20,000,000 to fix. What should you do?
A: Make the modifications necessary in current products
B: Recall all existing product
C: Wait until an injury to verify the impact
D: Obtain insurance to cover the anticipated damages

A: B Although insurance would cover the risk, it is best to recall the product and fix the
problem in all instances.

You signed an agreement with your client that the integration plan and other documents
they provided would remain confidential. You needed these documents to complete the
project. Another company contacts you because you're an expert in the field. They ask
you for samples of integration plans, which they want to include in a book they are
writing. They promise you a "thank you" fee of 300 British Pounds, but they need the
information today. What should you do?
A: Say no
B: Try to get permission from the customer
C: Use the material provided by the customer, but remove all company specific
references
D: Create new material based on the confidential material

A: B hese professional responsibility questions are getting tough, aren't they? Think
about what you should be doing. Choice B is the most ethical.

An employee approaches you and asks if he can tell you something in confidence. He
advises you that he has been performing illegal activities within the company for the last
year. He is feeling guilty about it and is telling you to receive advice as to what he
should do. What should you do?
A: Ask for full details
B: Confirm that the activity is really illegal
C: Inform your manager of the illegal activity
D: Tell the employee to inform their boss

A:C You must report the activities.

A seller has withdrawn from a project midway though execution and another seller is
taking over. The project manager meets with the replacement seller and his crew. In this
meeting, what should the project manager do FIRST?
A: Introduce team members
B: Communicate the objectives of the project
C: Assert authority
D: Create a communications plan

A:A It is important that the new seller understands who is who on the project.

You are doing business in a foreign country and you are advised by your local contact
that it will be necessary to make payments to certain officials in order to get the contract.
Such payments are expected in the other country, but are illegal for people from your
country. What should you do?
A: Have the local contact make payments
B: Refuse to make the payment and hope to get the contract solely based on your
company's abilities
C: Call your government officials and ask for direction
D: Amend your price increasing the cost to reflect the payments to be made to local
officials

A: B Since it is illegal for you to do it, ethically you must refuse to make the payment.

A manager has been given responsibility for a project that has the support of senior
management. From the beginning, you have disagreed with the manager as to how the
project should proceed and what the deliverables should be. You and she have disagreed
over many issues in the past. Your department has been tasked with providing some key
tasks for the project. What should you do?
A: Provide the manager with what she needs
B: Inform your manager of your concerns to get her support
C: Sit down with the manager at the beginning of the project and attempt to describe why
you object to the project and discover a way to solve the problem
D: Ask to be removed from the project

A: A We assume that proper project management was followed and your opinion was
considered during project initiation. Therefore, the best choice would be choice A. You
need to provide the work as approved by management.

Important aspects of a product include the maintenance and on-going operations. They
should:
A: be included as activities in the project WBS.
B: not be viewed as part of a project.
C: be undertaken as separate projects under a mutual program.
D: not be broken out as separate phases in the project life cycle.

A: B he definition of a project is temporary and unique. O&M are considered on-going

activities, not temporary. Therefore they are not considered a project.

You take over a project that is in a lot of trouble. There are apparently problems
with the team dynamics, scope, sponsor and timeline. The project has a CPI of 0.75
and SPI of 1.2. The FIRST step you should take is to:
A: meet with the project sponsor.
B: review all the project deliverables.
C: meet with the team.
D: meet with each team member individually.

A:B Look again at this question. It does not provide details of what is wrong. A
project manager must understand what led to problems with team dynamics, scope,
etc., in order to decide what to do and with whom to meet to resolve the problem.
Only choice B deals with evaluation. If you got this one wrong, you should
understand this for two reasons. First, many project managers jump to action
without evaluating first. Second, you will see other questions you get wrong for the
same reason.

You are a new project manager for company B. You previously worked for company A
that had an extensive project management practice. Company B has its own procedures,
but you are more familiar with those from company A. You should:
A: use the practices from company A but include any forms from company B.
B: use the forms from company B and begin to instruct them on ways to upgrade their
own.
C: talk about changes to the change control board of company B
D: interact with others in an ethical way by sharing the good aspects of company A's
procedures.

A: B You need to follow company B's procedures while you try to influence the
improvement via the change management processes.

You are a project manager working on a multimillion-dollar project. As the project has
progressed, you have become friends with the general contractor. You are working on a
US $100,000 change request. She has offered to let you use her boat on Lake Superior
this weekend while she is away in Mexico. What should you do?
A: Accept the offer with thanks
B: Decline the offer
C: Decline the offer and report it to your supervisor
D: Ask your boss to approve your use of the boat

A:C Here you should decline the offer. You would also want to report the offer to your
boss to avoid any indication of impropriety. Choice C is the best answer.

Over lunch with another project manager, you discuss ways to identify risks on your
project. The next day the other project manager sends you risk identification software
created by her company with a copyright date of 1998. What should you do?
A: Find out if using an old format would be acceptabl
B: Obtain approval from your legal department
C: Share some of your templates with her to improve her company's abilities
D: Send the software back

A:D You cannot adapt copyrighted software to your use without the permission of the
owners.

Your company has just presented its new five-year strategic plan. You have received a
new product request from a customer that is in line with the previous five-year strategic
plan, but it does not meet the objectives of the new plan. The product description seems
to have a valid business driver and to be a straightforward development effort. As project
manager, what is the BEST course of action?
A: Do a benefit/cost analysis of the project and submit it for management approval
B: Submit the product to management for review and approval before proceeding
C: Inform the customer of the change in corporate direction and ask him/her to take
another look at the project
D: Request a project charter from management and begin a WBS

A: B Management determines if a product meets company objectives and can authorize

exceptions to projects not linked to the strategic plan.

While staffing a project in another country, the project leader from that country comes to
you with a suggested team consisting of members of the project leader's family. Your
FIRST course of action should be to:
A: inquire if hiring only through family lines is common practice for the project leader's
country.
B: review the resumes of the individuals to see if they are qualified.
C: ask the project leader to provide additional names of people unrelated to him/her.
D: use a different project leader to prevent problems later in the project.

A:A All other actions are predicated on determining if this is a common practice in the
country. If it is, you would handle the situation differently than if it is not.

Your project team has been informally meeting with sellers to discuss the sellers' "best
practices" relative to upcoming potential work from your company. During one of these
sessions, a seller offers to give you tickets to a sporting event if you will tell him the
names of other companies you have been meeting with. What is the BEST response?
A: Ignore the question and refuse to meet with him again
B: Answer the question, but respectfully refuse the offe
C: Ask him why he needs to know
D: Refuse to answer the question and remove the company from consideration for future
work

A:D You need to protect your company's interests and limit sellers from gaining
information that can be used to their advantage in subsequent negotiations. You might
also wonder what other confidential information the company may try to acquire if you
were to work with them.

During project closure, a stakeholder complains that the project did not increase the
department's knowledge of Java programming and therefore, the project is not complete.
The customer has accepted the project. The project manager determines that all stated
objectives and deliverables have been met. He does not find evidence that Java
programming was an objective. A review of project correspondence shows no mention
of the deliverable. The project manager should:
A: begin project closure.
B: re-plan the project to include the new objective.
C: meet with the team to discuss the issue and find a resolution.
D: get the project stakeholders involved to help resolve the issue

A:A Anything not specifically included in the deliverables is excluded. The full and
satisfactory delivery of project deliverables marks the end of the work and the beginning
of closure.

A good friend at work tells you that when his wife was diagnosed with cancer, he stole
items from work and sold them, using the money for her treatment. He since paid back
the money taken in ways that kept his theft secret. Ethically, what should you do?
A: Advise your friend to tell his company and do nothing
B: Report him to his manager
C: Talk with a lawyer to see if this can be justified
D: Attempt to gather evidence to determine whether or not the theft in fact occurred
A:B All theft must be reported.
The stakeholders' role and when they will be involved on the project is included in the:
A: staffing management plan.
B: quality plan.
C: resource histogram.
D: communication plan.

A:A Most project managers never engage all the stakeholders in the project, let alone
create a plan for their involvement.

A project manager is completing the WBS with the project team, but the session is hard
to manage. There are 200 people in the room representing four different departments.
Some of the people who will be working on the project later are talking about other
things while earlier work is discussed. Which of the following BEST describes the real
problem?
A: The project sponsor should be leading this kind of meeting.
B: They are not following the project communication plan.
C: There are too many departments involved in the project.
D: The project manager is really managing a program.

A:D The project sponsor should not be in charge of the WBS creation (choice A), and
there is no indication that there are problems with the charter or that there are too many
departments (choice C). Because there are so many people on the team and because the
work is apparently broken up into major components that have little to do with each
other, this project is most likely a program (choice D).

Which of the following rules should apply to international dealings on your project?
A: You have your way, I have mine.
B: Do not violate any basic fundamental human rights.
C: Always apply the business practices of your own country.
D: Do whatever it takes to manage the project successfully.

A:B

You are a project manager for a large installation project when you realize that there are
over 200 potential stakeholders on the project. Which of the following would be the
BEST course of action for you to take?
A: Eliminate some stakeholders
B: Contact your manager and ask which ones are more important
C: Gather the needs of all the most influential stakeholders
D: Find an effective way to gather the needs of all stakeholders

A:D
You are considering creating a project office (PO) at your firm and have solicited the
opinions of some of the senior management in your company. The first representative
recommends that the PO should manage all projects in the firm. The second believes that
the PO should handle large projects budgeted over a defined dollar amount. The third
thinks a PO should simply provide support to the department project managers. What
should the project manager do?
A: Go with the first representative's opinion because a project office is intended to be a
central repository for all project information and management of all projects
B: Go with the second representative's opinion because it is not practical for the project
office to manage all projects. The most important projects should be managed by a
focused group of trained project professionals
C: Get other opinions from the representatives' employees
D: Begin the process of gaining authority and formal approval for implementing all three
choices

A:D The project office can be established to offer services ranging from basic support to
total management of all projects.

Your company has just presented its new five-year strategic plan. You have received a
new product request from a customer that is in line with the previous five-year strategic
plan, but it does not meet the objectives of the new plan. The product description seems
to have a valid business driver and to be a straightforward development effort. As project
manager, what is the BEST course of action?
A: Do a benefit/cost analysis of the project and submit it for management approval
B: Submit the product to management for review and approval before proceeding
C: Inform the customer of the change in corporate direction and ask him/her to take
another look at the project
D: Request a project charter from management and begin a WBS

A:B Management determine if a product meets company objectives and can authorize
exceptions to projects not linked to the strategic plan.

A team member comes to you (the project manager) privately and informs you that an
employee of your customer is making unwelcome advances. The team member has
repeatedly requested that this person stop, but the advances continue. What is the BEST
course of action?
A: Privately confront the customer employee and threaten legal action if the advances do
not stop
B: Suggest that the team member avoid contact with the customer employee
C: Contact the employee's manager to arrange a meeting to discuss the matter
D: Facilitate a meeting with the team member, the customer employee and yourself, to
allow the two to work it out amicably

A:C Contacting the employee’s manager and arranging a meeting is the best way to
handle this discreetly and effectively. This does not consist of project related activities so
is not within the jurisdiction of the PM
Your company has a policy that only a certain hotel chain may be used for business
travel. You discover that a more expensive hotel is offering a discount on the days you
need to be in town. What should you do?
A: Ask your manager for permission to use the other hotel chain
B: Contact the hotel chain to negotiate a better rate
C: Use the company's hotel chain
D: Provide justification on your expense report for using the other hotel chain

A:C
Integration Management

All of the following are part of an effective change control system EXCEPT?
A: Procedures
B: Standards for reports
C: Meetings
D: Lessons learned

A:D A change control system consists of the processes and procedures that allow smooth
evaluation and tracking of changes. Lessons learned are reviews of the processes and
procedures to improve them; they are not part of the system.

You are a project manager who was just assigned to take over a project from another
project manager who is leaving the company. The old project manager tells you that the
project is on schedule, but only because he has constantly pushed the team to perform.
What is the FIRST thing you should do as the new project manager?
A: Check risk status
B: Check cost performance
C: Determine a management strategy
D: Tell the team your objectives

A:C Before you can do anything else, you have to know what YOU are going to do.
Developing the management strategy will provide the framework for all the rest of the
choices presented and the other activities that need to be done.

Corrective action is an input to:

A: scope control.
B: project plan execution.
C: integrated change control.
D: project plan development.

A: B Corrective action is an output, not an input of most of the control functions (choices
A and C). It cannot occur before the project plan is developed (choice D). As an input to
project plan execution, it completes the feedback loop needed to ensure effective PM
The primary customer of a project has requested an application change during user
testing. As project manager, how should you address this issue?
A: The primary customer of a project has requested an application change during user
testing. As project manager, how should you address this issue?
B: Through a formal change request
C: Inform the project sponsor of changes to scope, cost and schedule
D: Ensure that scope change complies with all relevant contractual provisions

A: B The first step would be to formally document the requirements and then follow the
project change control process.

All of following should be done by the project manager during project control EXCEPT?
A: Determine that a change has occurred
B: Ensure that a change is beneficial
C: Make sure all changes are approved by management
D: Manage changes as they occur

A:C Management does not need to approve all changes. That is why they hired you as
the project manager.

The project charter for a project was approved for planning, and you have just been
assigned as project manager. Realizing that planning is an ongoing effort throughout the
project life cycle, which processes are you MOST likely to combine?
A: Scope definition and activity definition
B: Activity duration estimating and schedule development
C: Resource planning and cost estimating
D: Cost estimating and cost budgeting

A:A Scope definition consists of subdividing major project deliverables (scope) into
smaller, more manageable activities. Activity definition defines the activities that must
take place to produce those deliverables.

There have been numerous changes on your project. All approved changes should be
reflected in the:
A: There have been numerous changes on your project. All approved changes should be
reflected in the:
B: change management plan.
C: quality assurance plan.
D: project plan.

A:D Changes via the change control system will be documented in some part of the
project plan. The change management plan outlines how changes are going to be
handled, but it doesn't list project changes.

The customer wants to expand the project scope after the performance measurement
baseline has been established. The customer will need to follow which procedures?
A: Scope control
B: Configuration management
C: Time management
D: Cost control

A: B Configuration management procedures document the physical characteristics of

formal project documents and steps required to control changes to them.

A project has just begun when one of the stakeholders asks the project manager about
making a change to the format of the deliverable for task Y. She wants to know how to
go about submitting the change for review. The project manager should direct her to:
A: the change control board.
B: the communication plan.
C: the sponsor.
D: the change control plan.

A:D The change control plan should already have methods of making changes described.

What do project planning documents help to establish?

A: Project charter
B: Framework for performance measurement
C: Project budget
D: Personnel pay scale

A:B The planning documents establish a baseline from which to track the performance of
the project.

At a critical milestone in a development project, it is determined that implementation is

two months behind schedule. The project manager is also concerned about conformance
to requirements in the design of the new billing system. It is suggested that an audit be
performed to verify conformance of the items included in the billing system. The
proposed audit will require an additional one week delay and is:
A: a luxury to be avoided at this stage.
B: a legitimate application of configuration management.
C: an example of benefit/cost analysis.
D: an example of performance measurement.

A: B Configuration management includes auditing the items and system to verify

conformance to requirements.

You have accepted a position at a company where you will manage a group of projects in
a coordinated way. This organization specifically hired you to help it develop a more
structured approach to project management. What should you do FIRST?
A: Study the history of the organization
B: Study the organization's strategic plan
C: Meet with key stakeholders to better understand the organization and projects
D: Focus on communications with your boss and other senior managers

A: C As with any project, you need to focus on the needs of the stakeholders. By
understanding their needs, you will be far ahead in developing a structured approach that
fits their needs.

You are taking over a project during the planning phase and discover that six individuals
have signed the project charter. Which of the following should MOST concern you?
A: The charter was created during planning
B: Spending more time on configuration management
C: Getting a single project sponsor
D: Determining the reporting structure

A: B This situation implies that there are six areas concerned with this project. In
addition to added communications requirements, you should be concerned with
competing needs and requirements impacting your efforts on configuration
management.

When should the project baseline be changed?

A: It should not be changed
B: Only for changes that have been approved by the change control board
C: At each project team meeting
D: For all implemented changes

A: D Sometimes certain classifications of changes get automatic approval on a project

and do not need a change control board's approval.

Closure includes all the of the following EXCEPT:

A: determining performance measures.
B: appraisal reviews of team members.
C: documenting the degree to which each project phase was properly closed after its
completion.
D: documenting the final project scope.

A:A Performance measures are determined earlier in the project so they can be used to
measure progress during the project.

During the execution of a project, many changes are made to the project. What
should the project manager do now?
A: Wait until all changes are known, print out a new schedule and revise the
baseline
B: Make changes as needed, but maintain a schedule baseline
C: Make only the changes approved by management
D: Talk to management before any changes are made
A:B The baseline is there for you to determine how the project is progressing.
Follow your change management process and continue to track against your
baseline.

As part of integrated change control, a project manager wants to involve the stakeholders.
Which of the following would be the BEST way accomplish this?
A: Have the stakeholders periodically review the list of project requirements
B: Invite the stakeholders to attend project status meetings
C: Send the status report to the stakeholders
D: Constantly update the stakeholders on the status of all project changes

A:A It seems like all of these are good ideas, but the first one discovers changes earlier.

You have taken over a project from another manager who left the firm. This is a
functional organization and the different units are often rather hostile to each other. The
project is a large one involving activities that the organization has never done before.
You find that the project has what appears to be adequate documentation, including an
agreed-to project charter, project plan, WBS, etc. The project is on schedule and within
budget. However, the atmosphere in meetings with the project members often seems
tense, and offhand comments made by participants seem to indicate a high level of
dissatisfaction with the project. You review all of the major project documents with the
key stakeholders and get agreement they are still accurate, but this does not seem to solve
the problem. What is the MOST likely explanation of this situation?
A: There are personality conflicts among the project team members that you need to
uncover and resolve.
B: The project does not have an effective executive advocate and thus is not viewed as a
high priority.
C: Stakeholders have very different expectations about what the project is supposed to
accomplish.
D: The organizational structure and dynamics prevent people from working together
effectively.

A:C Expectations are unspoken requirements, and are often more critical to a project's
stakeholders than the stated ones. Unless these expectations are identified and recorded,
there is likely to be a high level of dissatisfaction with the project.

A project manager learned that corrective action was taken by a team member and was
not documented. What should the project manager do next?
A: Report the violation to the functional manager
B: Clarify the reasoning behind the team member's actio
C: Add the corrective action to the historical record
D: Find out who caused the problem

A:C Such actions should be documented. Since such documents become part of the
historical database, choice C is correct.
Your project team has identified dependencies on six related projects that are providing
major deliverables to your project. Some of these projects have a very similar scope and
may overlap with your deliverables. In light of this, which of the following should you
be MOST concerned about?
A: Scope change control
B: Scope verification
C: Risk response planning
D: Communications planning

A:C The biggest concern must be the risks that other projects may cause to yours. It
would be better to prevent those problems in risk response planning (choice C) than to
just spend effort controlling scope (choice A).

When is integration performed?

A: Project planning
B: Project execution
C: At key interface points
D: At the end of each project management phase

A:C When you reach key interface points in the project, you must orchestrate(to compose
or arrange (music) for an orchestra) the coming together of the results.

A lessons learned is BEST completed by:

A: Project manager
B: Team
C: Management
D: Stakeholders

A:D The best answer is stakeholders, as their input is critical for collecting all the lessons
learned on each project. Stakeholders include all the other groups.

Scope
Which of the following is an output of scope planning?
A: Scope management plan
B: Constraints
C: Work breakdown structure
D: Scope changes

A:A The scope needs to be planned before you can create a plan for managing it. The
WBS is an output of scope definition, scope changes an output of scope change control
and constraints an output of initiation.

During a walk-through of a task, you discover that a team member is completing the
work differently than stated in the WBS dictionary. How should you deal with this?
A: Replace the team member
B: Determine if the alternative way is acceptable to the functional manager
C: Ask the team member if the changes are necessary
D: Determine if the changes also change the scope of the work package

A: D A team member should have flexibility at the task level to make some changes as
long as they are within the overall scope of the WBS dictionary.

Product verification is different than scope verification in that product verification:

A: occurs during the execution phase.
B: verifies that the correct products have been used.
C: obtains customer sign-off.
D: makes sure all work is completed.

A:D Scope verification focuses on customer acceptance while product verification is

focused on making sure all the work is completed.

A project manager is in the process of scope verification of a deliverable with the

customer. What is the MOST important thing the project manager should ensure?
A: Accuracy
B: Timeliness
C: Acceptance
D: Completeness

A:C The key aspect of scope verification is acceptance of the deliverable.

A project manager receives a deliverable from one of the team members to provide to the
customer. While looking at the deliverable, the project manager notices the document is
smaller than what he expected and does not contain what he thought it should. The
project manager should FIRST:
A: discuss it with the team member.
B: contact the team member's manager to get that person additional training.
C: audit the development process.
D: complete product verification.

A:D Such a review compares the deliverable to the requirements. The project manager
might have misunderstood and it would be best to check before talking to the team
member.

Which of the following is done during scope verification?

A: Verify product correctness
B: Create work breakdown structure
C: Inspection
D: Performance measurement

A:C Correctness is quality control while performance measurement is a tool used in

scope change control.
A team member notifies the project manager after the fact that certain project
deliverables have been attained without performing all the associated work packages in
the WBS. What should the project manager do?
A: Immediately communicate the changes to all team members and stakeholders
B: Change the project plan
C: Change the project performance measurement baselines
D: Change the reporting process to get information sooner

A:B The project performance measurement baselines should generally change only in
response to a scope or deliverable change.

A project manager on a multinational website implementation project is at a party and

talks to friends who will be heavy users of this new website when the project is complete
and the site is rolled out. They describe some annoying aspects of the current web site.
She takes this feedback back to management, and encourages design and scope changes.
Which of the following BEST describes what the project manager has done?
A: Scope containment
B: Management
C: Configuration management
D: Stakeholder management

A:D The project manager must identify the stakeholders, determine their needs and
expectations, then manage and influence expectations to ensure project success.

Halfway through the project, the client considers cancelling the remaining work and the
contract. It would be BEST to look at which of the following to determine the purpose
for the project?
A: The goals, objectives and business case in the charter
B: The WBS dictionary to verify that the scope is correct
C: The risk response plan to evaluate alternatives
D: The chart of accounts to determine the estimate at completion

A:A The project charter documents the goals, objectives and business case or value to the
client

A project manager discovers that two team members discussed what was needed to
complete an activity on the project and made many scope changes. The deliverable is
now completed and the team members are planning to go on to the next task. In looking
at what was done, the project manager determines that the work does NOT meet the
requirements of the project. What is the BEST course of action for the project manager?
A: Add another task, formatted with the correct scope, to the project
B: Refuse the submittal of the task
C: Have the team begin the task again and include the incident in their performance
review
D: Ask the team member's manager to assign different people to the task
A:B A submittal that does not meet the requirements should not be accepted.

During the execution phase of the project, you realize the subcontractors are working
with incomplete and different scope statements. As the project manager, what should
you do FIRST?
A: Check the work completed against the correct scope statements
B: Review the scope of work with the stakeholders
C: Document the inconsistencies to management, calculating the cost of nonconformance
D: Stop all activities until the scope of work is complete

A:B This is a question about problem solving which begins with defining the causes of
the problem. Only choice B relates to defining the causes of the scope problem.

Management has provided you with a project charter, and you are in the process of
creating a scope statement. You have asked the team for input to ensure that the scope
statement is complete. However, the team is struggling with defining the scope. Which
of the following BEST describes the problem?
A: A WBS was not completed before the scope statement was begun.
B: The team is working on the scope statement without the benefit of product analysis
and stakeholder agreement on what the project will deliver.
C: The team is in the scope definition process and needs the scope statement as an input.
D: The project objectives were not identified before the scope statement was begun.

A:B In scope planning, the charter, product analysis and benefit/cost analysis are required
before the scope statement can be completed.

A project manager is concerned about the amount of gold plating that has occurred on
past projects. All the following would not be of use in controlling gold plating EXCEPT:
A: a staffing management plan.
B: a project charter.
C: a work breakdown structure dictionary
D: a risk management plan.

A:C If you picked project charter, remember that the charter is a high-level document.
Because the WBS dictionary is much more detailed, it would provide more help with
gold plating.

Where should a new project manager look to determine resource requirements?

A: Resource leveling chart
B: Resource Gantt chart
C: Work breakdown structure
D: Project schedule

A:C Choices A and B make use of already determined resource requirements. Resources
are determined based on the needs of the project and those needs are in the WBS.
What is the major aspect of scope verification?
A: It ensures the project deliverable is completed on time.
B: It makes sure the project is on track by ensuring the customer's acceptance of the
deliverable.
C: It shows the deliverable meets specifications.
D: It provides a chance for differences of opinion to come to light.

A:B The key aspect of scope verification is customer acceptance of project deliverables.

All of the following are outputs of scope change control EXCEPT?

A: Scope changes
B: Adjusted baseline
C: Corrective action
D: Formal acceptance

A:D Formal acceptance is an output of scope verification.

A new project manager is planning a complex hardware installation project. The

team consists of 13 people who are experts in their fields. The project manager does
not want to micromanage the project. How far should he decompose the work?
A: As small as possible because the work is complex
B: As large as possible because he is dealing with experts
C: To 1000-hour tasks because he is dealing with experts
D: To about 80-hour tasks because it will make the work less complex

A:D he heuristic (rule of thumb) we use in project decomposition is 80 hours. It

doesn't matter how experienced the team members are. You need this level of
reporting to manage the project effectively.

You have been assigned to manage a portion of a larger project that is supposed to be
finished within a two-week period. You have met with the leadership of the area to
gather requirements, and you have a project charter, scope statement and project plan that
have been approved by these individuals. You are told to meet with the actual user of the
results of the project to demonstrate how the system will work. When you give the
demonstration, it is clear that the user's requirements are very different from the ones you
were initially given and to which both you and the client agreed. What is the BEST thing
for you to do now?
A: Generate a change request for the user's requirements
B: Convene another meeting with the leadership of the area and the user to generate a
revised set of requirements
C: Attempt to meet as many of the user's requirements as possible within the project's
established budget and schedule
D: Complete the work as originally specified and formulate a new project to meet the
user's requirements
A:A
A:A A change request is the most effective way of handling the disconnect between what
users actually want and what management thinks they want.

The preparation of the scope baseline involves the:

A: functional managers.
B: project team.
C: all the stakeholders.
D: project expeditor.

A:B After the customer's input to the SOW, the performing organization's project team is
responsible for scope baseline preparation.

Your project is approximately 66% complete and has progressed according to plan. There
are nine teams working on implementation and testing activities. You receive notification
that two teams are falling behind relative to the others. The MOST likely reason for this
is:
A: the scope of work has changed.
B: a weak matrix project organization.
C: unidentified risks.
D: low morale due to compensation issues.

A:B Choice B (a weak matrix project organization) is the most likely reason the two
teams are falling behind because functional managers are pulling resources away to
perform nonproject- related tasks.

The product manager for the product your project is developing notifies you that she has
decided the product should be able to be used by an additional market. You should:
A: immediately notify the project sponsor that there is a project scope change.
B: notify the project change control board that the project scope will have to change.
C: inform the product manager that you will review the potential impact to the project
scope.
D: do nothing as this is an example of progressive elaboration.

A:C This is an example of progressive elaboration and usually implies a change in

product scope, not in project scope. But it should still be investigated for the specific
project.

All the following are needed to create the WBS EXCEPT?

A: Historical information
B: Project charter
C: Assumptions
D: Scope statement

A: B The project charter is not an input to creating the WBS.

Your project no longer ties into the company's objectives. What would be the BEST
thing to do?
A: Decrease the cost
B: Extend the schedule
C: Change the CP
D: Change the target opportunity cost

A:B No, this answer is not incorrect! Be very careful, as this simple question may
uncover many gaps in your knowledge. Did you assume that the project should no longer
be done? The question says that it no longer meets objectives, implying a lower priority
only, it does not say do not do the project. You still have a project charter. To deal with
this situation, the best choice of those available is to increase the project schedule. Why
not cut costs, as in choice A? Nothing in the question says that the project would not be
needed and that the scope has changed. It really just says that the project is less
important. Choice D is a made up term. One cannot change the CPI, as in choice C; if
you improve the performance of the project you would thereby change the CPI.

During execution, you find that the customer has changed the scope of work even though
it was previously approved. There are no objections to the cost of the change. What
should you do FIRST?
A: Follow the change control process
B: Discuss the change with the customer
C: Meet with the team and plan alternatives
D: Evaluate and document the risks that might result from this change

A:A In this case, all the choices are "correct." You would need to evalute the change
(choice D). Depending on the change, you may need to meet with the team (choice C).
There is not enough information provided about the change to do the other choices so
meeting with the customer to obtain more information (choice B) is also a good choice.
Since all these actions should be part of the change control process, the best anwer is
choice A.

A design scope of work contains the:

A: detailed project requirements.
B: functional requirements.
C: performance requirements.
D: summary requirements.

A:A A design scope of work is used for fixed price contracts. You need detailed
definition or the cost will increase because there is increased risk for the seller.

All of the following are outputs of scope change control EXCEPT?

A: Change requests
B: Scope changes
C: Corrective action
D: Lessons learned
A:A Change requests are the input not output of the change control

Your project team is spending so much time reviewing potential changes to a project that
you do not have time to complete project work. Which of the following is the LEAST
likely reason for this problem?
A: No change control board
B: Not enough of an effort to determine who are the stakeholders
C: A poor communication management plan
D: Unclear project charter

A:C A poor communication management plan is not likely to cause the volume of
changes in this instance.

Which of the following is an output of scope planning?

A: Scope management plan
B: Constraints
C: Work breakdown structure
D: Scope changes

A:A The scope needs to be planned before you can create a plan for managing it. The
WBS is an output of scope definition, scope changes an output of scope change control
and constraints an output of initiation.

If a project team is subdividing project work packages into smaller, more

manageable components, they are:
A: creating a WBS.
B: decomposing.
C: network diagramming.
D: activity sequencing.

A:B The important words here are "project work packages." If it said "project
deliverables," the answer would have been choice A.

Commuciation
If a project manager wants to report on the actual project results planned, he would use a:
A: trend report.
B: forecasting report.
C: status report.
D: variance report.

A:D The situation describes the need to “compare”. A trend report shows performance
over time, A status report is generally static (relating to a moment in time). A forecasting
report looks only to the future. The only choice that compares project results is a
variance analysis.
A major stakeholder has requested that the project manager issue reports on the amount
of testing done throughout the life of the project. However testing is only a minor aspect
of the quality control plan. It would be best for the project manager to:
A: issue the report as this is a major stakeholder. Their needs would have been included
in the staffing management plan.
B: not issue the report. Project resources should be expended on communicating
information that contributes to success.
C: request details of the information the stakeholder needs in the report. Provide that
information to those handling the quality control function on the project.
D: have the stakeholder meet with the project sponsor to get the sponsor's agreement that
project fund should be expended on this effort.

A:B The overriding measurement of what information to accumulate and communicate

on a project is whether that information contributes to the success of the project. The
requested information would take time away from the project and not provide added
value.

You have just been assigned as project manager for a large manufacturing project. This
one-year project is about halfway done. It involves five different sellers and twenty
members of your company on the project team. You want to quickly review where the
project now stands. Which of the following reports would be the MOST helpful in
finding such information?
A: Task status
B: Progress
C: Forecast
D: Communications

A:B The key word is quickly. The progress report will summarize project status. The
task status (A) is too detailed for a quick look. A forecast report (C) only looks into the
future.

Which of the following is a common problem in administrative closure?

A: Retaining resources to complete the project
B: Completing the quality assurance plan
C: Obtaining scope verification
D: Completing a project charter

A:A

Administrative closure is different than contract closeout in that:

A: administrative closure occurs at project end while contract closeout occurs during
execution.
B: contract closeout involves updating employee skills in their records while
administrative closure does not deal with resources.
C: administrative closure involves analyzing success while contract closeout involves the
gaining of formal acceptance.
D: contract closeout includes an audit while administrative closure does not.

A:D Choice C is realy saying that admistrative closure does not involve formal
acceptance and contract closeout does not analyzing success. This is not true. Only
contract closeout involves an audit, so the answer must be D.

A project team has members in five different locations with varying information
systems. The project manager works with the project team to determine how
stakeholders should be managed. These methods are detailed in which document?
A: Overall project plan
B: Scope statement
C: Communications management plan
D: Staffing management plan

A:D A concerted effort must be made to determine how to best use stakeholders on
the project. The management of this asset is defined in the staffing management
plan. The staffing management plan becomes part of the project plan.

In their pure state, project reports are a method to:

A: plan communications.
B: distribute information.
C: report performance.
D: manage resources.

A:B Reports help distribute information, not just report on progress.

All technical work is completed on the project. Which of the following remains to be
done?
A: Scope verification
B: Risk response plan
C: Staff management plan
D: Lessons learned

A:D Scope verification (A) was done during control. The other plans (B&C) were
created earlier in the project. But the lessons learned (D) needs the input of the team and
can only be completed after the work is completed.

A project is not completed until?

A: The work is completed
B: Formal acceptance is received
C: The customer is satisfied
D: Lessons learned are completed

A:B A project is not completed until administrative closure is completed and formal
acceptance is received. The best choice is B.
When is the earliest time administrative closure should be completed?
A: At the end of each project phase
B: At the end of the project
C: Whenever a deliverable is complete
D: Whenever a new project manager takes over a project

A:A This question tests whether you realize that project closure can occur at the end of
each project phase ( if you have them) as well as at end of the project.

All of the following are part of administrative closure EXCEPT?

A: Update employee skills
B: Record the reasons for termination
C: Transfer information from one phase to the next phase
D: Scope verification

A:D Scope verification occurs during the control phase of the project, not at the end. A
similar activity during closure is product verification.

The project team has just completed the initial project schedule and budget. The
NEXT thing to do is:
A: Begin risk identification
B: Begin iterations
C: Determine communications requirements
D: Create a Gantt chart

A: C A Gantt chart (choice D) would have been done during the creation of the schedule
so it cannot be the next thing. Iterations (choice B) cannot begin until the risks are
identified, qualified, quantified and responses developed. These then create the need to
revise the WBS and other parts of the project plan. Communication requirements
(choice C) and quality standards are needed before risk (especially risks relating to
communications and quality) can be determined (choice A).

When is it BEST to perform administrative closure?

A: At the end of project planning
B: During project closure
C: At the end of each project phase
D: At the beginning of the project with verification throughout the project

A:C You want to capture data at the end of each phase of a project. If you wait till the
end, you may forget importanct information.

Documents that serve as historical records for future projects are archived:
A: throughout the project.
B: before the end of planning.
C: before the end of execution.
D: during closure.
A:D They are collected throughout the project but are only archived during closure.

You are project manager leading a US $3,000,000 chemical engineering project. To date,
you've been leading the other 11 people who comprise the overall project team. Lately
you've noticed that you are spread too thin and the schedule is being negatively impacted.
Because the project is date constrained, you convinced senior management to accept a
cost variance and add a senior quality assurance analyst to the project team. This new
resource will work directly with the three project team members who comprise the testing
sub-team. How many more communication channels will there be on the project team?
A:12
B:
C:
D:

A:A The fact that the analyst will be working directly with the testing sub-team does not
reduce the number of communication channels.

Which of the following regarding performance reporting is correct?

A: It is done during planning and execution.
B: It is done during planning and control.
C: It is done during control and closure.
D: It is done during execution and control.

A:C Performance reporting is a control feature and is alos done during closure to report
the final performance of the project.

Inputs to communications planning include all the following EXCEPT:

A: communications requirements.
B: technology available to transfer information.
C: constraints.
D: description of information to be distributed.

A:D You will need to consider the communication requirements of all the stakeholders
and how you can distribute the information. The description is an output of the planning
process.

You are a project manager for a US $3,000,000 product development project. Your
project is well into the execution phase and remains on time, on budget and on
specification. This morning, your project sponsor called to express concern about the
project. Based on the schedule baseline, the project should be nearing implementation,
but the sponsor does not know the current status of the project. You remind the sponsor
that your team produces a detailed status report weekly and distributes it via e-mail. The
sponsor indicates that e-mail is too impersonal and verbal updates are preferred. This
situation suggests problems with which of the following project management processes?
A: Communications planningB:
C:
D: Stakeholder management

A:A Communication planning involves identifying communication requirements and

stakehoulder analysis, including identification of any communication preferences. In the
situration, the information is bening communicated according to the plan, but the plan
does not reflect the needs of this stakeholder.

The project manager is working to clearly describe the level of involvement expected
from everyone involved in the project in order to prevent rework, conflict and
coordination problems. Which of the following BEST describes the project manager's
efforts?
A: Integration management, control, communications planning
B: Smoothing, control, goodwill, gold plating
C: Scope verification, quality control, execution
D: Risk assessment, scheduling, lessons learned, stakeholder management

A:A Coordination equals integration. Prenventing rework is part of control. Conflict

related to communication plans.C

HR

Which motivational theory says that what motivates people is the work itself including
such things as responsibility, self-actualization and professional growth?
A: Maslow
B: Deming
C:McGregor
D:Herzberg

A: D This is the essence of Herberg/s hygiene facotrs

Conflict on projects is usually caused by:

A: schedules, priorities, technical opinions and resources.
B: schedules, personalities, priorities and resources.
C: schedules, personalities, priorities and technical opinions.
D: schedules, cost, priorities and resources.

A:A PMP Exam prep 199 Personalities are the least common source of conflict so
choices B and C are not correct. See the PMP® Exam Prep book for a discussion on the
major sources of conflict.

Which of the following is the BEST method to make reward systems MOST effective?
A: Pay a large salary increase to the best workers
B: Give the team a choice of rewards
C: Make the link between performance and reward clear
D: Present notification of rewards within the company
A:C Linkage is very important to make the reward valuable to both the receiver and those
who did not receive. This is more important than presenting the reward in public and
giving a choice of reward. Don't forget that according to Herzberg's Theory, salary is not
a motivating agent.

A project manager works in a company that has a matrix organizational structure. A

server administrator is assigned to the project manager's project team. The server
administrator is not taking direction from the project manager and the delay in the server
administrator's tasks is causing a negative variance to schedule. The server administrator
works for the director of server administration. Who is primarily responsible for solving
this problem?
A: The project manager
B: The server administrator
C: The director of server administration
D: The one over all of them, the sponsor

A:C Performance issues are senior and functional management's responsibility--usually

the manager who supervises the resource.

A project team member has been having a big disagreement with another team member
for over two months when the other team members become involved. The issues are
complex, but you have specific experience in the area and know what needs to be done.
The BEST choice would be to:
A: make the decision yourself.
B: strive for fair resolution of the issue.
C: ask the other team members to stay out of the issue.
D: bring the team together and work out the issue to a win-win solution.

A:B Conflicts need to be resolved by those experiencing the problem, not the whole
team. Resolving and putting closure to the issue is the professional responsibility of the
project manager.

The engineering resource group, a matrixed organization of which a project manager's

project team is a part, has a policy of no bonus for project work. The project manager's
current project has an aggressive timeline and a difficult technical obstacle to overcome.
A new product offering is dependent on this project's success in the current timeline. The
project manager has heard grumbling from his team about the fact that they cannot be
rewarded for their effort. What is the FIRST thing the project manager should do?
A: The project manager should evaluate if other team members from another department
can help with the project.
B: The project manager should talk to management about changing the bonus policy or
allow this project to have its own bonus system to reduce risk on his project.
C: The project manager should negotiate a less aggressive schedule from the client.
D: The project manager should talk with the team about the importance of getting this
done on time and explain the company policy.
A:B Projects often need their own reward systems to affect employee performance.
Project managers should work to influence the organization accordingly.

A project involves arranging for the closing of the company office where the team works
and relocating everyone to a new city. The BEST thing the project manager can do is:
A: spend time carefully creating the work breakdown structure.
B: have a strong quality control plan.
C: decrease the fringe benefits.
D: carefully consider the reward system for the project.
A:D

At the end of a two-year project, the key stakeholders agree that the project has met all its
goals and objectives outlined in the project charter and further defined in the scope and
statement of work. The project is within budget and has finished on time. The
management of one of the functional areas is quite upset because over half of his staff
quit during the project citing long hours and lack of management support. What is the
MOST correct statement about this project?
A: The project was within budget and time and achieved its objectives. Upper
management is responsible for providing adequate resources, and the project manager
successfully managed the project with available resources.
B: The project should be measured against how successfully it met its charter. This was
not done during this project.
C: The project manager did not obtain adequate resources and did not set a realistic
deadline based on resources available.
D: The functional manager is responsible for his staff and obtaining adequate resources to
meet the schedule once it has been set. The project and project manager achieved all of
its goals set forth in the charter.

A:C The project manager is responsible for obtaining upper management buy-in to
provide adequate resources, setting realistic schedules and team building.

A project team is scattered across North America, South America and Europe. There are
seven companies working on the project and 67 core team members. Which of the
following would have the GREATEST impact on making the situation easier to manage?
A: A list of resource requirements
B: A resource histogram
C: A staffing management plan
D: A resource management plan

A:C

During every project team meeting, the project manager asks each team member to
describe the work he or she is doing, and the project manager assigns new tasks to team
members. The length of these meetings has increased because there are many different
tasks to assign. This could be happening for all the following reasons EXCEPT?
A: Lack of a WBS
B: Lack of a responsibility matrix
C: Lack of resource leveling
D: Lack of team involvement in project planning

A:C Resource leveling refers to maintaining the same number of resources on the project
for each time period. Leveling has nothing to do with assigning tasks or managing
meetings.

In which phase of the project management life cycle is the project manager likely to be
more coaching?
A: Initiating
B:Planning
C: Executing
D:Controlling

A:C During executing the project is mostly defined, the team knows what to do and the
team has helped define what has already been done. Therefore, the project manager does
more coaching.

A project manager is assigned to a new project and is supplied with a preselected team.
What is the FIRST thing the project manager should find out about the team?
A: Each team member's favorite color
B: Each team member's project objectives
C: Each team member's project tasks
D: Each team member's role in the project plan

A:B It is important to understand people's motivations so you can effectively manage

them. This is part of team development. Choices C and D occur later in the project
management process. Choice A is to see if you are still laughing about this exam.

A project team is worried that the integration of the components of the project will result
in uncovering flaws. Instead of continuing their work, they are constantly looking for
flaws to try to prevent their system from being the only one found to have flaws during
integration. It might be BEST for the project manager to:
A: smooth the situation.
B: compromise the situation.
C: tell the team to create quality testing plans.
D: let management know of the concern.

A:A Quality plans (choice C) should already be in place, and informing management will
not help the situation.

What does a project manager use to indicate when resources should be allocated to tasks?
A: Resource Gantt chart
B: Resource histogram
C: Responsibility matrix
D: Pareto chart

A:A "When" involves a calendar/task relationship and the resource Gantt chart is the tool
to display this information.

You have just learned that one of your team members has not been adequately
trained to complete project tasks as assigned to him. How would you handle this
situation?
A: Replace this team member with someone more qualified
B: Request proper training be provided through the functional manager
C: Revise the schedule to account for the decreased effectiveness of this resource
D: Mentor this resource during the remainder of project duration

A:D It is the project manager's responsibility to recognize development

opportunities regardless of project circumstances.

A new testing center is going to be constructed over the next two years. The project
sponsor and project manager have been identified and high-level estimates begun. It is
expected that the project can be completed within budget and on schedule. The only
difficulty is in acquiring the number of resources with the correct expertise to complete
the work. Under these circumstances, the project manager should spend more time
creating a:
A: risk analysis.
B: responsibility assignment matrix.
C: responsibility chart.
D: resource-limited schedule.

A:D A risk analysis may help but not as much as choice D. A responsibility assignment
matrix shows who is responsible for what as does a responsibility chart. They will not
help you manage the project with limited resources. Only D will help.

What leadership style should you employ during the first two weeks of project planning?
A: Coaching
B: Directing
C: Supporting
D: Facilitating

A:B The key words here are "first two weeks." When you first organize a team, you need
to provide the direction. After they become self-motivated, you could use one of the
other leadership styles.

What does a staffing management plan describe?

A: When and how resources will be added to the team
B: How resources will be leveled
C: What resources will be used on the project
D: What skills are necessary on the project

A:A D is part of A

You are planning a project. The functional managers will not commit any particular
people to your project, because it will not begin for a few months. All of the following
methods could be used to handle this situation EXCEPT?
A: Use the average productivity factor for each departmen
B: Use the average daily rate of the resources in each department times the number of
resources needed of each resource type
C: Use the results of the Delphi technique for the number of hours
D: Use the average probability of successful completion multiplied by the number of
resources needed each day

A:D The only choice here that does not make sense is choice D. Probability would not be
appropriate in the situation as described.

A resource histogram includes which two data points?

A: Resource and time estimate
B: Resource and calendar date
C: Task and resource
D: Resource and usage

A:D The histogram is a set of bars that depict when a resource is being used, and to what
level.

Two team members are having a big disagreement about how to accomplish a task. The
project is low risk and is taking place in a strong matrix environment with 34 team
members. To resolve this dispute, the project manager should:
A: make the decision.
B: send the team members to their managers for advice on resolving the dispute.
C: ask for a benchmark analysis.
D: have the team members compromise.

A:B

A project manager has been working on a project for six months with the same team, yet
the team still shows a lack of support for the project. The BEST thing the project
manager can do to obtain the team's support for the project is to:
A: reevaluate the effectiveness of the reward system in place.
B: talk to each team member's boss with the team member present.
C: find someone else to be project manager.
D: tell the team he/she needs its support, and ask them why they do not support the
project.
A:A Although you may feel like quitting, you must go on. One of the powers you can use
as project manager is reward power. Rewards, used properly, bring the objectives of the
team in line with the projects.

Which of the following can you usually expect if you use people from other countries on
your project?
A: Added costs due to shoddy or incomplete work
B: Language or cultural differences that preclude effective team work
C: Increased organizational planning and coordination activities
D: Team building activities become impractical, and the cost is prohibitive

A:C Diversity can enhance a project if planned and coordinated throughout the project.

You are in the execution phase of a major project with an estimated cost of US $22
million. Two team members are having a disagreement over the potential sellers of a
project component, and the project manager has offered to help. The project manager
suggests a compromise, and the team members want to solve the problem. Who should
decide on the BEST course of action?
A: Management
B:Team member
C: Project Manager
D:Customer

A:B Within reason, the technical experts (generally the team members) should resolve
the issue

You are a project manager for a large electrical system implementation. One of
your key resources has started to miss deadlines and work quality is beginning to
suffer as well. You are confident that this person is well aware of the work
deadlines and required quality specifications. What action should you take?
A: Report the problem to HR for corrective action
B: Reassign some work to other team members until performance starts to improve
C: Meet with the employee in private and try to determine the factors impacting
performance
D: Escalate the situation to the employee's functional manager and ask for
assistance

A:D Senior and functional management are responsible for addressing individual
performance problems.

Which of the following needs to be completed before resources can be finalized for the
project?
A: Work breakdown structure
B: Estimates
C: Resource Gantt chart
D: Scope verification
A:A Remember that the WBS is the basis for making estimates and assigning resources.
Therefore, the WBS is the correct answer.

To help the project team function more efficiently on complex and interrelated tasks, the
project manager decides to use a war room. What does this mean?
A: All the project records are kept in many locations.
B: The tools needed to accomplish the work are kept in one place with easy access by the
team from various locations.
C: The entire team is located in one area.
D: The project's entire senior management team is located in one area.

A:C Will it improve efficiency to have the records in many locations? Then Choice A is
not correct. Choice B only talks about the tools, a war room refers to the team. In choice
D, only senior management is together, a war room is for the team.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, self-actualization means self-fulfillment, growth and:

A:affection
B:learning
C:security
D:stability

A:B The other choices all relate to items lower in the hierarchy.

A project manager needs to determine the resources needed for the project. Select the
primary tool from the following choices.
A: Work breakdown structure
B: Schedule
C: Expert advice from functional managers
D: Expert advice from management

A:A The WBS is the basis for our work as a PM. This question is trying to see if you
understand this concept.

During the first half of the project, five team members left for other projects without
being replaced, two team members went on vacation without informing you, and other
team members expressed uncertainty about the work they were to complete. In this
situation, it is BEST if you create a __________ for the second half of the project.
A: work breakdown structure
B: resource histogram
C: staffing management plan
D: responsibility matrix

A:C The staffing management plan describes when resources will be brought onto and
taken off the project.
In which phase of the project management life cycle is the project manager likely to do
more directing?
A: initiating
B:planning
C: executing
D: controlling

A:B During planning the project manager informs the team about what will be done for
project management planning. In initiating, they receive information. In executing, they
assist the team and during controlling they make sure the project is completed according
to plan.

The BEST reason to focus on team development is to enhance the ability of the _____ to
contribute.
A: Stakeholders
B: Team
C: Management
D: Project Manager

A: A Team development involves enhancing the abilities of the stakeholders, not just the
team.

Which of the following is an output of team development?

A: Management plan
B: Staffing management plan
C: Performance improvements
D: Reward system

A:C By team development, we are talking about training and other activities that make
team members more capable of doing their jobs. Therefore, you expect performance
improvements to result.

Cost

A cost management plan is an output of which cost management process area?

A: Resource planning
B: Cost estimating
C: Cost budgeting
D: Cost control

A:B You would need to know what your costs are in order to come up with a plan to
manage them (the cost management plan).

You just completed a cost estimate on the project, and you're assuming there's a 15%
chance you will exceed this estimate. You are:
A: below the mean.
B: above the mean.
C: above the median.
D: below the median.

A:B Fifty percent would be at the mean. At 85% you are above the mean.

Which of the following are inputs to estimating?

A: An estimate from management, a work breakdown structure and a project plan
B: An estimate from management, a risk assessment and a team
C: A team, a work breakdown structure and historical records
D: A team, a project plan and a risk assessment

A:C Remember the project life cycle and where things fall into the process. The project
plan and the risk assessment require that estimates already be complete. Therefore, C is
the correct answer.

The Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of a project is 3.22. This indicates that:
A: payback is 3.22 months.
B: payback is $3.22 for each dollar spent.
C: cost is 3.22 greater than the profit.
D: profit is $3.22 for each dollar spent.

A:B To compute this number, you divide the project benefits by the project costs. A
number greater than one means the benefits are greater than the costs. The higher the
number the better.

Your project has a medium amount of risk and is not very well defined, yet you are asked
to come up with a cost estimate. What is the BEST method to handle this?
A: Build an estimate in the form of a range of possible results
B: Ask the team members to help estimate the cost
C: Based on the information you have, calculate a parametric estimate
D: Provide an analogous estimate

A:A Some of the choices are not blatantly wrong, but it is always best to estimate in a
range.

An estimate at completion is an output of which cost management process?

A: Resource planning
B: Cost estimating
C: Cost budgeting
D: Cost control

A:D An estimate at completion is an estimate used in earned value management. Earned

value management is a part of the cost control process.

What does a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.1 mean?

A: The costs are 2.1 times the benefits.
B: The profit is 2.1 times the costs
C: The payback is 2.1 times the costs
D: The cost is 2.1 times the profit.

A: C This formula measures benefits to costs, not just profit. Payback is equated to
benefits here.

During the conceptual phase of a pipeline project, the project engineer estimates the
following. The cost of the materials to be most likely US $100,000, optimistically US
$90,000 and pessimistically US $120,000. The cost for labor most likely US $80,000,
optimistically US $70,000 and pessimistically US $100,000. The cost for equipment
most likely US $60,000, optimistically US $50,000 and pessimistically US $70,000; The
cost for construction management fees most likely US $30,000, optimistically US
$20,000 and pessimistically US $40,000. What is the probability of the project coming in
under US $270,000?
A: Zero
B: Less than 50%
C: Exactly 50%
D: Over 50%

A:B You use the PERT calculation (P+4M+O)/6) to compute a weighted average of the
totals, which in this case equals $273,333. This number represents the mean (or 50%
point). Therefore the probability of the project coming in at $273,333 is 50%. The
probability of $270,000 (since it is less than the mean) is less than 50%.

The project's sponsor has just informed you that the budget for your project has been
reduced. What should you do FIRST?
A: Discuss the budget change with the project's team members
B: Inform the sponsor that budget changes are detrimental to the success of the project
C: Inform the sponsor of the project management triple constraint
D: Accept the budget changes and begin looking for supplemental funding

A:A A project manager should evaluate budget changes with the project team to
determine if they are beneficial.

All the following are components of cost management EXCEPT:

A: resource planning.
B: analogous estimating.
C: earned value management.
D: mathematical analysis.

A:D Resource planning (choice A) is the first step in cost management. Analogous
estimating (choice B) is a tool for cost estimating. Earned value management (choice C)
is a tool in cost control. By the process of elimination, mathematical analysis is the
correct response, not part of cost management.
Which of the following is an example of a parametric estimate?
A: Dollars per module
B: Learning bend
C: Bottom-up
D: CPM

A:A Parametric estimates use a mathematical model to predict project cost or time.

A project manager needs to analyze the project costs to find ways to decrease costs. It
would be BEST if the project manager looks at:
A: variable costs and fixed costs.
B: fixed costs and indirect costs.
C: direct costs and variable costs.
D: indirect costs and direct costs.

A:C Choice C describes costs that are directly attributable to the project or that vary with
the amount of work accomplished.

You are a project manager working on a project that requires 100 widgets to be built in
five weeks. You have just begun week three, with an overall budget of US $10,000. To
date, you have spent US $2,000 with 40 widgets successfully built. What does the cost
variance tell you in this circumstance?
A: The project is proceeding at 100% of the expected rate.
B: The project is $2000 under budget.
C: The project is on budget.
D: The project is getting $2 of work for every dollar spent.

A:B EV is determined from a total budget of $10,000 and a five-week duration. Each
week would be $2,000. Therefore for two weeks we have an EV of $4,000. CV= EV-
AC, CV = $4000-$2000 = $2,000. Positive means you are under budget.

While planning the project, you discover that an expert resource might be available to
work on your project. However, the resource manager will not commit to the resource
being on your team at the present time. The BEST thing to do would be to estimate the
task:
A: as if the expert resource were available.
B: as though you had an average resource doing the task.
C: as if you had an inexperienced resource.
D: using the Delphi method.

A:D The Delphi method gains a consensus of expert opinions. In this case it would be
better than using an average, which is what many people choose.

If a project manager is concerned with factors that create changes to the cost baseline,
which of the following would it be BEST to concentrate on?
A: Document the basis for the estimate
B: Indicate the range of possible results
C: Perform bottom-up estimating
D: Document assumptions

A:B Only choice B deals directly with control.

Your department is currently working on four urgent projects when it is assigned a major
new project. To staff the new project, one of the four urgent projects needs to be
terminated. The Benefit Cost Ratios (BCRs) for the four projects are listed. Which
would you select for termination?
A:0.8
B: 1.1
C: 0.9
D: 1.9

A:A The lowest BCR should be selected for termination.

You are in the middle of project execution and find that you are running out of money
due to unanticipated changes. What is the BEST thing to do?
A: Crash or fast track the project
B: Reevaluate the risk analysis and contingency funding
C: Ask for a change to the project budget
D: Use resources that do not charge against the project

A:B Choices A and C do not solve the underlying problem. Choice D is unethical.
Choice B includes looking at the problem and anticipating similar future problems.

A parking lot fencing project was bid at US $11 per foot, and one company is doing all
the work. The parking lot has four equal sides of 125 feet and requires the installation of
a six-foot diameter culvert on one side. Fencing should take 100 feet per day. The
culvert installation will cost US $500 and take one day to complete. The culvert must be
installed before work can begin on that side of the fence. After three days of work, and a
cost of $2700, one side is complete, another has 75 feet installed, and the culvert is
completely installed. What is the current status of the project?
A: The budget is neutral with a cost variance of $0.0.
B: It is over budget, with a cost variance of -$1,100.
C: It is under budget, with a cost variance of +$500 due to the completion of the culvert
installation.
D: It is over budget with a cost variance of +125.

A:A V would be the value of the work completed. In this case, one side is done ($11x125
= $1,375), 75 feet of the second side is done ($11x75 = $825) and the culvert is complete
($500) for a total of $2,700. Since the AC is $2,700, CV = 0. You are budget neutral.

All the following are relevant for analyzing a cost overrun EXCEPT:
A: labor rates.
B: resources used.
C: communication plan.
D: lag.

A:D Lag relates to waiting time.

Which of the following is necessary to estimate costs for a project?

A: Earned value
B:Project plan
C:Team
D:Budget

A:C Yes, it is the team. PMI® wants the team to participate to get their buy-in.

Your company is undergoing a change in ownership and the new owners are looking at
the total cost of all projects. Which of the following would provide the BEST indicator of
your total product costs?
A: Estimate at complete
B: Life cycle cost
C: Earned value
D: Net present value

A: B The life cycle cost will provide the picture of the total cost for the product. It
includes project costs and operations and maintenance costs.

Which of the following is a KEY way to improve cost estimates?

A: Use historical data
B: Let management create the cost estimate
C: Base estimates on the upper and lower control limits
D: Let the project manager create the task cost estimate

A:A PMI® feels it is very important for project managers to use historical data in their
cost estimates. This is one of the PMI®isms.

A project manager has completed a WBS and cost estimates for each work package. To
create a cost estimate from this data, the project manager would:
A: use the highest level of the WBS to estimate analogously.
B: sum up the work package and risk reserve estimates.
C: roll up work package estimates into a project total.
D: gain expert opinions of the project total costs.

A:B An estimate must include a reserve for risks. Such a reserve could be for time or
cost.

You have a choice of four ongoing projects that you can take over as project manager.
Project 1 has a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.4, is a high priority project and has a
critical path length of 16 months. Its Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 1.2. Project 2 has
a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 1.1, is using three critical resources, has a low
priority and has a BCR of 1.1. Project 3 has a CPI of 1.2, and SPI of .893, a BCR of 1.6
and a critical path length of 19 months. Project 4 has a CPI of 0.82, a task with 33 days
of float, a resource that is hard to get assigned to task L and a priority of keeping cost
low. Based on the above, which project would you prefer to take over?
A: Proj 1
B: Proj 2
C: Proj 3
D: Proj 4

A:A The larger BCR, SPI and CPI the better. A project with high priortiy normally holds
more senior commitment.

A cost management plan contains a description of:

A: all the costs.
B: how resources are allocated
C: the budgets and how they were calculated.
D: how cost variances will be managed.

A:D The exam will ask you what tools of project management contain in order to
test if you reallly understand them. This questions is almost impossible to guess
correcly.

An analysis shows that you will have a cost overrun at the end of the project. Which of
the following should you do?
A: Evaluate options to crash or fast track the project and then evaluate options
B: Meet with management to find out what to do
C: Meet with the customer to look for costs to eliminate
D: Add a reserve to the project

A:A The first thing to do is evaluate (A). Once that is done, a PM could meet with
management or the customer (B &C). A reserve (D) is created before costs are incurred,
not when they occur.

If a project manager is completing detailed estimating, which type of estimating is MOST

likely being using?
A: Bottom-up
B: Analogous
C: Parametric
D: 50/50 rule

A:A Bottom-up refers to estimating based on the details of the tasks.

You are in the middle of project execution and find that you are running out of money
due to unanticipated changes. What is the BEST thing to do?
A: Crash or fast track the project
B: Reevaluate the risk analysis and contingency funding
C: Ask for a change to the project budget
D: Use resources that do not charge against the project

A:B Choices A and C do not solve the underlying problem. Choice D is unethical.
Choice B includes looking at the problem and anticipating similar future problems.

Which estimating method tends to be MOST costly for creating a project cost estimate?
A: Bottom-up
B: Analogous
C: Parametric
D: 50/50 rule

A:A Because one needs project details to estimate this way, the effort expended will be
greater with bottom-up estimating.

Your company is undergoing a change in ownership and the new owners are looking at
the total cost of all projects. Which of the following would provide the BEST indicator of
your total product costs?
A: Estimate at complete
B: Life cycle cost
C: Earned value
D: Net present value

A:B The life cycle cost will provide the picture of the total cost for the product. It
includes project costs and operations and maintenance costs.

Procurement

A contract has just been signed with a construction company to complete a remodeling
project within three months. Due to force majeure, the project will be delayed by an
additional three months. The construction company has asked for an early termination of
the contract due to lack of resources. What is the MOST appropriate thing to do in this
situation?
A: Seek legal advice
B: Complete administrative closure
C: Complete contract closeout
D: Renegotiate the contract

A:C If there is an uncontrollable risk like force majeure, the right thing to do is begin
contract closeout.

What phase is a project in when the project team has completed all the work specified in
the contract scope of work and the final deliverable has been sent to the client?
A: Completion
B: Closure
C: End of execution
D: Scope verification

A:B he project is not complete because formal acceptance has not been achieved and
other closure activities performed. At best, the project is in closure.

In planning a project, you notice that some of the materials required on the project are
only available from a seller that owns a patent on the material. What should be one of
your main concerns?
A: Seller bankruptcy
B: Applicable laws
C: Type of contract to use
D: Seller competition

A:A If the seller goes bankrupt, you will no longer have a source for that material. You
must deal with this risk.

Which of the following should the procurement audit include?

A: A complete list of the contract as built drawings
B: Customer's evaluation of the scope of work
C: Team's evaluation of the contract type selected
D: Evaluations of what went right and wrong

A:D A procurement audit includes what went right and wrong for the purposes of
creating historical records and improving future performance.

All of the following are reasons to terminate a contract EXCEPT?

A: Breach
B: Nonpayment
C: Material breach
D: Default

A:B Choice B does not refer to nonpayment of all payments due, just nonpayment.
Perhaps the buyer objects to one item in an invoice and does not make payment on the
item. It's not a justifiable reason for the seller to try to terminate the contract.

An output to procurement planning, the procurement management plan is also an input

for:
A: solicitation.
B: contract administration.
C: source selection.
D: solicitation planning.

A:D Solicitation uses procurement documents, contract administration uses the contract
and source selection uses proposals. D is the only correct response.
A seller is working on a cost reimbursable contract when the buyer decides he would like
to expand the scope of services and change to a fixed price contract. All of the following
are the sellerµs options EXCEPT:
A: Completing the original work on a cost reimbursable basis and then negotiating a
fixed price for the additional work
B: Completing the original work and rejecting the additional work
C: Negotiating a fixed price contract that includes all the work
D: Start over with a new contract

A: D The seller does not have the choice to start over. The contract that exists is binding.
Both parties could agree to start over but this is a drastic step.

During project execution, conflicts can arise between the contracting officer and the
project manager because the contracting officer:
A: is the only one who can change the contract.
B: works for a different department.
C: needs to obtain the project manager's approval to make project changes.
D: has a different approach to creating a contract.

A:A Choice D is not correct because the question is talking about the execution of a
contract, not its creation. Choice C is not correct because the most common situation is
the opposite of what is described. Although a contracting officer works for another
department (choice B), that should not account for the situation presented in this
question.

During a routine walk-through, you discover that a seller has neglected to properly
produce a major component of its deliverable. What should you do?
A: Insist that the seller follow their quality assurance plans
B: Insist that the contract be adhered to via correspondence
C: Schedule a meeting to discuss the discrepancy
D: Inform the project sponsor of the discrepancy

A:B This is NOT a quality issue, but a contract/procurement issue.

A seller has failed to make delivery on a major item for your project. What should you
do?
A: Have the contracting officer terminate the contract for default
B: Work with the seller to correct the problem
C: Negotiate a change to the contract
D: Hire another seller to work side by side with the original seller

A:A Though the contracting officer must be the one to execute the termination, the
project manager must make sure it happens quickly so as to decrease the effect on the
project.
In managing a project, you notice that a deliverable mentioned in the general conditions
of the contract has not yet been received. The seller, however, says the special provisions
of the contract specifically void that deliverable. What should you do?
A: Require the deliverable as in the contract
B: Do nothing
C: Contact the contract manager
D: Send a letter requiring the deliverable be met

A:B Special provisions take precedence over general provisions.

A project manager is working on his first project with outside sellers. He is familiar with
project control systems, but not contract control systems. In explaining how a contract
control system differs from a project control system, it is BEST to point out that a
contract control system:
A: includes procedures.
B: includes trend analysis.
C: requires more signoffs.
D: requires less documentation.

A:C Both systems include procedures, so choice A is not correct. A contract control
system requires more, not less, documentation, so choice D is not correct. A trend
analysis (choice B) is not usually part of either system. This leaves only choice C.

Part of the project objectives for your company was to acquire additional expertise
completing a large scale project. The project is mostly completed when your client
terminates the contract. A change in their business means the work is no longer needed.
What is the MOST effective thing to do?
A: Stop work immediately
B: Complete the project, but do not charge the client for the time
C: Tell the client that work will stop after it is completed
D: Move on to closure

A:B Based on what is described, completing the project will meet your company
objectives and gain you the experience. The second best choice is to move to closure.

A project team is meeting to determine what the evaluation criteria will be for the project
procurement. What step of the procurement process are they in?
A: Solicitation planning
B: Solicitation
C: Source selection
D: Contract administration

A:A The evaluation criteria are created during solicitation planning.

You receive 25 new computers from the seller, but were expecting only 20. In looking at
the contract, you see that it says "seller to provide twenty (25) computers." What should
you do FIRST?
A: Issue a change order through the contract manager
B: Return the five extra computers
C: Make payment for the 25 computers
D: Call the seller and ask for clarification

A:B The contract says 20. Words are more binding than numbers.

While working on your contract, you receive a claim from the seller for additional costs
for the reports the team members have requested. You know that the reports are not in
the contract and you were not aware that the team needed the information. What should
you do?
A: Deny the claim and investigate why they were requested
B: Pay the claim and institute better procedures
C: Let the contracting officer know that you had not required reports
D: Amend the contract to include the reports

A:B The team members should not be requesting deliverables from the seller. However,
since they did, you must pay for them and review the procedures with the team.

Your client has additional unspent budget at the end of the calendar year. He asks you to
invoice him for the remainder of the project, which will be completed next year. What is
the MOST appropriate thing to do?
A: Bill the client now for the remainder of the project price
B: Calculate the accelerated cash flow to determine if billing ahead is advantageous for
your firm
C: Ask the client to set aside the extra budget for the project deliverables committed next
year and only invoice for work performed this year
D: Tell the client that it would be unethical to bill in advance

A:A There is nothing wrong with invoicing in advance if the client requests it.

What is the BEST technique to ensure proper contract closeout?

A: Contract documentation
B: Procurement audits
C: Scope change control
D: Formal acceptance

A:B Procurement audits are the major tool for contract closeout.

Which of the following is an output of procurement planning?

A: Statement of work
B: Procurement documents
C: Proposals
D: Contract

A:A The statement of work (choice A) is correct. Procurement documents (choice B) is

an output of solicitation planning. Proposals (choice C) are an output of solicitation.
Contracts (choice D) are an output of source selection.

All of the following need NOT be present to have a contract EXCEPT:

A: Detailed scope of work
B: Acceptance
C: Address of the seller
D: Buyers' signatures

A:B One set of signatures (choice D) is not enough; you must have sign-off (i.e.,
acceptance) from both parties. Though a scope of work is required, a detailed one (choice
A) is not required in order to have a contract. The address of the seller (choice C) is also
not required.

A project manager is working on a complex project with people from around the world.
The project schedule is set, but the tasks require detailed integration with other tasks
being done by the buyer. What is the BEST thing the project manager could use to
control this situation?
A: Work authorization system
B: Configuration management
C: Historical information
D: Change control board

A:A Only a work authorization system helps with integrating tasks into a whole. A work
authorization system helps ensure that work is done at the right time and in the right
sequence.

What type of output do bidders' conferences create during solicitation?

A: Corrections to the statement of work
B: Proposals
C: A clear and common understanding
D: Contract

A:C Bidders’ conferences are held to provide all bidders a clear and common
understanding of the work required.

A seller has withdrawn from your project. A new seller has been selected and his/her
labor forces are arriving at the job site tomorrow. What is the FIRST thing you should
do?
A: Establish yourself as the authority in charge
B: Bring your team in for introductions and establish a communications exchange
C: Take the new team on a tour of the site and show them where they will be working
D: Bring out the project plan
A: A The best answer here is to establish roles and responsibilities for the project. Those
arriving at the job site do not know who is who - they were probably not part of any
negotiations for the contract. Based on what is written in this question, the FIRST choice
would be A, followed closely by B.

In the middle of the project, a seller tells you that he cannot get the resources to complete
the project. Generally, what is the BEST thing to do?
A: The contract has been breached, contact your lawyer
B: Try to help uncover more resources, but continue the project
C: Remind the seller of the penalties for not meeting the next deliverable due date
D: Move the project into closure and begin closure activities

A:B The seller is not in breach of the contract until they miss a deliverable. Therefore, at
this point it would be best to help them find resources as you continue the project.

You are in the process of having work crews dig a trench to lay fiber for a high-speed
internet connection. All of the work permits have been obtained and funding has been
approved. There have been several weather related delays, but due to perseverance of the
entire team, the project is on time. It is the customer's responsibility to provide entrance
facilities so the connection into the building can be made. You discover the customer
does not have adequate facilities and will not have them in time. What should you do?
A: Slow down the work, allowing the team time off but ensuring that you will be
completed before the customer finishes their portion of the work.
B: Continue working according to your contract. Remind the customer both verbally and
in writing of the customer's responsibilities. Provide the customer with an estimate of the
impact if they do not meet their responsibilities.
C: Continue working with your company's portion of the work according to the contract.
As a project manager, your job is done once this work is completed.
D: Stop all work and request that the customer contact you when they have fulfilled their
responsibilities.

A:B If you are under contract, you can generally never stop work so choice D is not
acceptable. Choice A would have a cost and lost profit impact on your company. Choice
C is not ethical. The project manager needs to be proactive in ensuring that everyone
completes his or her tasks (including the customer). Since your company is under
contract to provide a product, you will need to ensure that your contractual obligations
are fulfilled. In contract situations it is best to follow up serious verbal discussions with a
letter.

Your company is receiving a shipment of goods from the seller when you get a call from
the contracting officer who tells you that the shipment does not meet the requirements of
the contract. You look at the shipment yourself and determine that the shipment meets
the needs of the project. What should you do?
A: Send the shipment back
B: Accept the shipment
C: Issue a change order to change the contract specifications
D: Expect to receive a claim from the seller

A:A The project manager must uphold the terms and conditions of the contract.

You have just completed the design phase for a client's project and are about to enter the
implementation phase. All of the following need to be done EXCEPT?
A: Lessons learned
B: Updating records
C: Formal acceptance
D: Completion of the product of the project

A:D The product of the project is completed at the end of the project.

You are managing a construction project that was contracted on a fixed price plus
incentives basis. The additional incentives for completing the project early are very large.
A not-for-profit cultural organization in the community has raised some concern that the
construction site might overlap with an archeological site. As the project manager, you
should:
A: contact the city council. It is the responsibility of the city council to monitor social or
environmental impacts.
B: stop the project immediately until the site can be validated.
C: change the facility design to incorporate the archaeological site.
D: quickly research the situation, understanding that your organization is accountable for
social or economic impacts resulting from a project.

A:D Organizations are accountable for many social and economic impacts that result
from a project, and a project manager should always assess a risk before responding to it.

A parking lot fencing project was bid at $11 per foot. The parking lot has four equal
sides of 125 feet and requires installing a six-foot diameter culvert on one side. Fencing
should take 100 feet per day, and the culvert installation will cost $500 and take one day
to complete. The culvert must be installed before work can begin on that side of the
fence. After three days of work, one side is complete, another has 75 feet installed, and
the culvert is completely installed. At this point, the client tells you that the culvert needs
to be increased to a seven-foot diameter. You determine that this will cost $1000 and
require two additional days. What should you do FIRST?
A: Call a team meeting and determine if schedule and cost alternatives can maintain the
current cost and schedule requirements
B: Review the scope of work for mention of the diameter of the culvert
C: Ask for a change order to cover the change
D: Renegotiate the contract

A:B The first thing you should do is refer to the contract to determine what it states about
the diameter of the culvert. Then ask for a change order.
Which of the following statements represents a fixed price award fee contract?
A: Pay $1,000,000
B: Pay all the costs plus $10,000 fee
C: Pay the costs plus $10,000 for every month the project is finished earlier than June 14
D: Pay $1,000,000 plus $10,000 for every designated incremental quality level reached

A:D An award fee contract apportions a "bonus" to the seller based on performance.

Which of the following BEST describes the project manager's role during the contracting
process?
A: Project manager has only minor involvement
B: Project manager should be the negotiator
C: Project manager should supply an understanding of the risks of the project
D: Project manager should tell the contract manager how the contracting process should
be handled

A:C As the project manager, you are the only one who knows what the project risks are.
You need to make sure that provisions are included to address these risks.

All of the following are inputs to the procurement process EXCEPT?

A: Scope statement
B: Market conditions
C: Product description
D: Statement of work

A:D The statement of work is created during the procurement planning phase and is an
output of that phase.

A seller is giving you so much trouble that your time available allocated to the project has
gone from 20% to over 80% for this small piece of the overall project. Most of the
seller's deliverables are late and inadequate and you have little confidence in his
company's ability to complete the project. What should you do?
A: Terminate the seller for convenience and hire another seller
B: Assign a group within your team to meet with the seller and reassign project work so
that the seller has easier work to accomplish
C: Meet with the seller to discover the cause of the problem
D: Provide some of your own staff to augment the seller's staff

A:A Because this is a small piece of the project, and you have a low confidence level, it
would be best to remove the seller from the project.

Which of the following is an output of procurement planning?

A: Statement of work
B: Procurement documents
C: Proposals
D: Contract
A:A The statement of work (A) is correct. Procurement documents (B) is an output of
solicitation planning. Proposal (C) is an output of solictation. Contract (D) are an output
of source selection.

Your company has an emergency and needs contracted work done as soon as possible.
Under these circumstances, which of the following would be the MOST helpful to add to
the contract?
A: A clear scope of work
B: Requirements about which subcontractors can be used
C: Incentives
D: A force majeure clause

A:C A clear scope of work (choice A) helps by eliminating some confusion, but the best
answer is incentives. Incentives help to bring the seller's objectives in line with the
buyer's.

A project manager for a large international bank has a project team that just implemented
an electronic funds project involving four large vendors. The project manager struggled
through every phase of the procurement process since the bank had a weak internal
contracts department. What would be the MOST appropriate thing to do to ensure the
problems are resolved for future projects?
A: Document all of the issues in a memo and schedule a meeting with the head of the
contract office
B: Include an agenda item in the project closedown to discuss these issues in a
nonthreatening manner
C: Address this through contract change control
D: Conduct a procurement audit

A:D A procurement audit is a structured review that would flush out issues and set up
lessons learned.

A project team is analyzing its needs for an upcoming, long-term subcontract. They need
to have a system analyzed and fixed, but they do not have the expertise to tell the
subseller exactly what should be done. What type of contract should they use?
A: CPFF (Cost plus fixed fee)
B: T&M (Time and materials)
C: FP (Fixed price)
D: FPEPA (Fixed price with an economic price adjustment)

A:A

Your seller on the project has not performed and you are terminating the contract. Which
of the following is the BEST thing to do?
A: Follow the contract closeout procedures
B: Meet with the seller, explain the problem, and obtain the seller's agreement on
termination
C: Review change requests
D: Report the seller to the state agency in charge of inspection

A:A A procurement audit is a structured review that would flush out issues and set up
lessons learned.

The primary objective of contract negotiations is to:

A: get the most from the other side.
B: protect the relationship.
C: get the highest monetary return.
D: define objectives and stick to them.

A:B As a project manager, you want to develop a relationship during negotiations that
will last throughout the project.

A routine audit of a cost reimbursable contract determines that overcharges are being
made to the contract. If the contract does not specify corrective action, the buyer should:
A: continue to make project payments.
B: halt payments until the problem is corrected.
C: void the contract and start legal action to recover overpayments.
D: change the contract to require more frequent audits.

A:A Choice D does not solve the problem presented. Choice C is too severe and cannot
be done unilaterally. Notice that choice B is really saying “halt ALL payments.” Halting
all payments would be a breach of contract on the buyer’s part. A choice that said, “Halt
payments on the disputed amount” would probably be the best answer, but it is not
offered. The best answer is A.

Bidders' conferences can have a negative effect on the project if the project manager does
not remember to make sure:
A: all questions are put in writing and sent to all sellers.
B: all sellers get answers to their questions only.
C: to hold separate meetings with each bidder to ensure you receive proprietary data.
D: there is room in the meeting for all sellers.

A:A Remember that the procurement process is more formal and thus requires more
formal processes. Ensuring all bidders receive the same information in writing eliminates
the problem of bias in presenting the bid.

In a fixed price contract, which of the following might NOT be an output of contract
administration?
A: Resource approvals
B: Payment requests
C: Contract changes
D: Documentation

A:A

Your contract states that the maximum charge for services from the seller will be US
$50K/month. However the actual invoices have been US $100,000 for the past three
months. Stopping the seller's service will impact the project schedule. Under these
circumstances, the BEST thing to do is to review the:
A: contract change control system
B: scope change control system.
C: performance reporting system.
D: cost change control system.

A:A Only A & C are contract administration techniques. The contract change control
system defines resolution and change control procedures.

You have just finished most of the work on a new systems integration project when the
seller comes to you with detailed procedures for closeout of the contract. The contract
included closeout procedures. What should you do?
A: Revise the closeout procedures after getting management's approval
B: Get a change order
C: Create new procedures that are more complete
D: Assess the quality of the seller's new detailed procedures and if they are better than the
current procedures, use them

A:B

During the source selection process of procurement, your objective is to obtain the
best price possible. The tool that you will MOST heavily rely upon will be a(n):
A: weighting system.
B: screening system.
C: independent estimate.
D: past performance history.

A:C The independent estimate is most concerned with cost, comparing cost
estimates with in-house estimates or with outside assistance.

You have decided to terminate a contract because you no longer need the work from the
seller. What is the BEST way to communicate this to the seller?
A: Call the seller immediately
B: Send the seller a notification by e-mail
C: Send the seller a stop work order by overnight mail
D: Hold an immediate meeting with the seller

A:C Such communications must be in writing as they are changes to the contract.
During project execution you discover that you are working on a task requested by the
customer but not included in the contract. The customer is already upset about the cost of
several items she claims your company left out of the contract. No one in your company
wants to discuss the change with the customer for fear of losing the contract. What is the
BEST course of action?
A: Have a meeting with the customer to identify all the items she thinks were left out of
the contract
B: Contact your senior management and contract department to determine options. Then,
schedule a meeting with management and the customer to discuss these options.
C: Look for ways to save time on other tasks so the new work can be done
D: Renegotiate a new scope of work and new contract

A:D When a contract no longer serves the needs it was intended to serve, it can be
renegotiated if the appropriate parties agree to this. This is the best choice.

The seller on your project abruptly goes out of business. What should you do?
A: File for a portion of the company's assets
B: Hire a new seller immediately under a time and materials contract
C: Terminate the project
D: Terminate the contract

A:B For quick action, a time and materials contract is best.

You are the seller to develop the software needed for your client's new product. The
project is in execution when you discover that the client is going to make a major change.
This change will dramatically change the software requirements. What is the BEST thing
to do?
A: Stop work on the software and await instructions
B: Inform the client of the impact to the project of making such a change
C: Ask the client when the change will be finalized and manage the project accordingly
D: Stop work on parts of the project that will not change

A:B Sellers are generally required under contract to keep working unless told otherwise.
This rule makes choice B instead of choice D best.

The project manager is about to make a decision about how to proceed on an exciting
new project for which a team has just gathered information and requirements. Which one
of the following should be disregarded at this point?
A: A make or buy analysis
B: Expert judgment from a variety of resources including industry groups, consultants
and other divisions of your organization
C: Contract type selection including fixed price unit price and cost reimbursable contracts
D: A statement of work

A:D Tools and techniques for procurement planning include make-or-buy analysis,
expert judgment and contract type selection.
A project manager has just been notified of a cost increase by a seller. The project
manager should FIRST determine if:
A: there is enough reserve to handle the change.
B: another seller can provide it at the original cost.
C: another task can save money.
D: the task is on the critical path.

A:A

The final deliverables have been sent to the client and have been formally accepted. The
balance of closure activities have been completed when a procurement audit turns up a
problem. The project is considered to be:
A: incomplete until the problem is resolved.
B: complete.
C: still to be in closure until the problem is resolved.
D: incomplete until formal acceptance is accomplished.

A:B As long as the audit has been done, any results will not change the status of the
project from being complete.

Your program manager has come to you, the project manager, for help with a bid
for her newest project. You want to protect your company from financial risk. You
have limited scope definition. What is the BEST type of contract to choose?
A: FP (Fixed price)
B: CPPC (Cost plus percent of cost)
C: T&M (Time and materials)
D: CPFF (Cost plus fixed fee)

A:D Of the options given, the only contract that limits fees for large projects with
limited scope definition is cost plus fixed fee.

During which step of procurement management would you use expert judgment?
A: Solicitation
B: Source selection
C: Contract closeout
D: Solicitation planning

A:D You would need experts to assist in creating the terms and conditions of the contract
and other experts to finalize the scope of work. These activities are done during
solicitation planning.

The company is taking a vote to see if the contracts department should be split up and
reassigned to projects or remain intact. A contract professional might not want this split
to occur because they would lose ___________ in a decentralized contracting
environment.
A: standardized company project management practices
B: loyalty to the project
C: a clearly defined career path
D: expertise

A:D n a decentralized contracting situation there is less focus on maintaining the skill or
expertise of the contracting department.

While completing a project, a worker strike in the seller's city has resulted in the required
deliverable being late. What is generally the BEST thing for the project manager to do?
A: Extend the contract for the length of the delay
B: Remind the seller that they are under contract to complete the project by the due date
or be in default on the project
C: Investigate ways to shorten other parts of the project in order to meet the seller's
project completion date
D: Tell the seller to stop work on the project until the strike is settled

A:A The situation described is probably a force majeure. If you picked choice B, it was
probably because you remember that any time the seller does not perform to the contract
a letter should be sent. However, this is an exception where it is not the seller's fault. If
you picked choice C, reread it. The situation described is a deliverable due date. If one is
included in the contract it may mean that the due date is not flexible. If it is not met, the
project is already impacted. Not only is choice C not the project manager's job (it is the
seller's project manager's job) it is also not practical for the situation.

You are a project manager working on a large software integration project involving
multiple sellers. One of your key sellers has informally requested a change to its
statement of work to account for some requirements she neglected to address. You are
relatively certain that the requested changes will add time and cost to the project. What
should you do in response to the seller's request?
A: Work with your procurement office to obtain new bids from other sellers on the scope
of work
B: Analyze the requested changes and feed them back through project planning and
procurement processes
C: Negotiate a compromise with the seller
D: Reject the change request and insist that the seller perform to the contract they signed

A:B Any suggested changes must go through planning processes such as cost and activity
duration estimating.

A major concern about a time and material contract is that:

A: the scope of work needs to be complete.
B: there is profit in every hour worked.
C: the cost is known.
D: the seller has the cost risk.
A:B Profit is factored into the hourly rate. Therefore, profit is increased for each
hour worked. If many hours are used, profit can be higher than a fixed bid
contract.

You are assigned a US $2 million project with the standard deviation of the
estimated costs of $200,000. What type of contract do you recommend?
A: Firm fixed price
B: Cost plus fixed fee
C: Fixed price plus incentive
D: Cost plus percentage fee

A:B A cost plus percentage fee is probably the worst type of contract to use, as there
is no incentive for the seller to control costs. The fixed price options are not
appropriate, as the cost cannot be fixed. This leaves only a cost plus fixed fee
contract.

From the seller's point of view, the contract is considered closed when:
A: scope of work is complete.
B: lessons learned is complete.
C: the archives are completed.
D: final payment is made.

A:D From the buyer's perspective, the first three choices are required to consider the
contract closed. However, from the seller's perspective, the correct answer is when final
payment is made.

A company has just contracted with a well-known software developer to provide services
during planning and design phases of your project. Invoicing requirements were
specifically defined within the contract, but expense limits were overlooked. As the
project manager, which form of corrective action should you take?
A: Modify the terms of the contract
B: Define acceptable limits to be adhered to
C: Proceed in good faith
D: Terminate the contract

A:A Contract documentation includes requested and approved contract changes. A

contract change is required to put in place the new limits.

A company asks one of the project managers to lead a project to create a substantially
improved version of one of the company's best selling products. The project manager is
given total freedom of decision and resources, including whether to utilize contractor
services and/or the company's resource pool. Under these circumstances, which of the
following would be the BEST way for the project manager to build the team?
A: She should choose her team from the top developers and fabrication workers in the
company.
B: She should create a team of company line workers and contract the development
services under a "cost reimbursable" contract with provisions to protect confidentiality.
C: She should contract the entire team utilizing a "cost plus incentive fee" type of
contract.
D: She should contract selected team members on an ad hoc and as needed basis utilizing
a "time and materials" type of contract.

A:A

What is the BEST technique to ensure proper contract closeout?

A: Contract documentation
B: Procurement audits
C: Scope change control
D: Formal acceptance

A:B Procurement audits are the major tool for contract closeout.

You are negotiating with a seller. Time is of the essence but you have a limited budget,
and the seller knows this. What is your BEST negotiating strategy under these
circumstances?
A: Focus the negotiation on seller's profit margin in order to decrease the project cost
B: Negotiate to get the work done even sooner than necessary in order to add a reserve
C: Negotiate identified risks
D: Arrange to reschedule the negotiation until you can acquire information that the seller
is not aware of

A:C

A seller has failed to make delivery on a major item for your project. What should
you do?
A: Have the contracting officer terminate the contract for default
B: Work with the seller to correct the problem
C: Negotiate a change to the contract
D: Hire another seller to work side by side with the original seller

A:A Though the contracting officer must be the one to execute the termination, the
project manager must make sure it happens quickly so as to decrease the effect on
the project.

A seller on your project tells you that he no longer thinks the project will provide the
benefits he wanted when he signed the contract. Because of this, he no longer thinks it is
in his best interest to continue. What should you do FIRST?
A: Remind him that you have a contract, and he is required to continue
B: Document his issues
C: Send a letter to terminate the contract
D: Hold a meeting to determine the details of the problem
A:A In a contracted situation it is best to remind him that he must continue performance,
otherwise your project schedule and other aspects of the triple constraint will not be met.

While completing work on your contract, the seller is refused access to the facility by
your company's security force. If access to the facility is stipulated in the contract, what
should the project manager do?
A: Let the seller work with security to obtain the access
B: Issue a change order to change the contract
C: Expect to receive a claim for additional time and cost
D: Delete the site access from the project

A:C You have breached a part of the contract.

An output to procurement planning, the procurement management plan is also an input

for:
A: solicitation.
B: contract administration.
C: source selection.
D: solicitation planning.

A:D Solicitation uses procurement documents, contract administration uses the contract
and source selection uses proposals. D is the only correct response.

In a performance scope of work, the requirements describe:

A: the functionality desired by the customer.
B: precisely what work is to be done.
C: the end result and deliverables required during the project.
D: what the product of the project should be able to accomplish.

A:D A performance scope of work describes the performance required by the

customer, not the functionality, nor does it describe exactly everything that needs to
be done.

After the contract has been signed for the upgrade of 8,000 workstations, a project
manager is assigned. The proposal manager is relatively new and doesn't have as much
related knowledge as the project manager. The cost analyst works from home and his
price estimates are based on the details outlined in the contract. The project manager
thinks there was a flaw in the logic determining the number of workstations that can be
upgraded via remote electronic software distribution. Which of the following is the
BEST thing for the project manager to do?
A: Determine if the contingency budget will cover the additional cost of more expensive
visits
B: Meet with the cost analyst and the proposal manager to determine how they can
amend the contract to accurately reflect the work that will have to be done
C: Meet with the appropriate project team members to choose the best solution
D: Meet with the vendor to adjust the contract for the chang

A:C A project manager must always evaluate the situation and identify options before a
decision can be made. Since the first two steps are not options, C is the best choice.

Your project has just been fast tracked and you are looking to bring in a subcontractor
quickly. There is no time to issue an RFP, so you choose to use a company you have
used many times before. A PRIMARY concern in this situation is:
A: collusion between subcontractors.
B: the subcontractor's qualifications.
C: the subcontractor's evaluation criteria.
D: holding a bidders' conference.

A:B

Time
During the planning phase, Task G was estimated to take five days. Task G is on the
critical path. On day two, it became clear that Task G would take 15 days, which will
impact the imposed project end date. The project team meets to perform root cause
analysis to identify the cause of the variance and to plan schedule recovery with activities
performed later in the schedule. What should be the output of this meeting?
A: Corrective action
B: WBS updates
C: Activity list updates
D: Schedule updates

A:A Corrective action is anything done to bring expected future schedule performance in
line with the project plan.

Based on table A, some of the identified risks do not occur and therefore task B gets done
in three. What is the effect on the project?
A: The project is complete.
B: There will be three critical paths.
C: Task A will have more slack.
D: The project will complete sooner if task F starts immediately.

A:D A cannot be correct because task F still needs to be done. B is definitely not correct
because there is only one critical path. C cannot be correct because A will actually lose
slack with a change to B. This leaves only choice D. In this exercise, the critical path had
been C, D, E, B for a total of 18. If B gets finished in 3 instead of 5, then the length of
that path is now 16. Path C, D, E, F is also 16. Therefore, with the change to B, the path
would be completed in 16 instead of 18.

You need to shorten the project by exactly four months, but spend no more than US
$22,000 to do it. Based on the information in table G, you would include task AB as
part of the solution. However, during planning, the resource completing task AB
strongly argued for a particular method of completing the scope of work in order to
agree to be on the team. His scope of work was accepted because his expertise was
needed on the project. The BEST way to crash this project would be to crash which
task (s)?
A: Tasks AB and GH
B: Task FD
C: Task CF and GH
D: Task BC

A:B If you crashed BC or FD you would spend $20,000. However with task BC your
would save five rather than the four requested. Answer B is the best answer.

An activity-on-node diagram is different from an activity-on-arrow diagram because an

activity-on-node diagram:
A: can use PERT.
B: has four relationships among tasks.
C: has only finish-to-finish relationships.
D: may use dummy activities.

A:B The other choices all apply to activity-on-arrow diagrams.

A project manager has increased project costs by US $100,000, but completed the
project four weeks earlier than planned. What tool is BEST described here?
A: Resource leveling
B: Duration compression
C: Crashing
D: Fast tracking

A:B Duration compression looks for ways to shorten project schedule without
changing project scope. It is a superset of crashing and fast tracking, making it the
better choice.

As the project manager, you are considering tools and techniques to help control changes
to the project schedule. Which of the following would be acceptable options?
A: An online system that routes change requests to the appropriate levels for
authorization
B: A paper form that requires a project stakeholder to submit the request in duplicate to
the project manager for approval
C: A system that allows rapid approval of all submitted changes
D: An online system that routes changes manually to each required approver followed by
impact analysis

A:A A schedule change control system can include the paper, systems and approvals for
authorizing changes. The project manager is normally not the approval authority, nor are
all changes approved. Impact analysis should be done before approval.
A project is seriously delayed. Earned value analysis shows that the project needs to be
completed 10% faster than the work has been going. To get the project back on track,
management wants to add 10 people to a task currently assigned to one person. The
project manager disagrees, noting that such an increase will not produce an increase in
speed. This is an example of:
A: law of diminishing returns.
B: fast tracking.
C: earned value.
D: life cycle costing.

A:A Don't be confused by the early discussion of fast tracking. The question is asking if
adding resources provides a constant increase in work effort. The law of diminishing
returns says that for each additional resource, you will NOT realize the same increase in
benefit that you realized from the previous resource.

Based on table D, while completing the project, a team member tells you that the team
forgot something during planning. Task D-F needs the results of task START-E before it
can start. If task E-D were added to this project to account for this new dependency,
what would the effect on the project be?
A: It would increase the critical path.
B: Communication would be more complex.
C: There would be no effect.
D: It would delay task D-F.

A:B Did the distracters in this question trick you? You are adding a dummy, so choices
A and D are incorrect. In this case there would be no effect on the critical path with this
change, but that is not what the question asked. It wants to know the effect on the
PROJECT. More interdependencies on a project increase the need for communication.

A team member from research and development tells you that her work is too creative to
provide you with a fixed single estimate for the task. You both decide to use the average
time the task has taken for past projects to predict the future. This is an example of
which of the following?
A: Parametric estimating
B: PERT
C: CPM
D: Monte Carlo

A:A Past history is being used to calculate an estimate. Monte Carlo (choice D) is a
simulation of the schedule, not a task. One could use past history to come up with the
estimate for CPM or PERT (choices B and C) but the BEST answer is choice A because
using past history is a chief characteristic of parametric estimates.

How is PERT related to risk?

A: It is not related.
B: It indicates whether the risk estimate is acceptable
C: It indicates the estimate's degree of uncertainty.
D: It indicates the risk variance.

A:C The wider the range between the optimistic and pessimistic estimates, the greater the
risk of missing our estimate.

During schedule development, which of the following would BEST provide the basis for
the most likely activity duration estimate?
A: Labor productivity rates published by a professional association
B: A consultant's estimate of the overall labor man-hours required
C: The initial estimate used to budget the project
D: The schedule for a similar project at the same facility completed two years earlier

A:D This recent historical data provides the most unbiased and least subjective basis for
the development of the initial project schedule.

The WBS, estimates for each work package and network diagram are completed. Which
of the following would be the NEXT thing for the project manager to do?
A: Sequence the activitie
B: Verify that they have the correct scope of work
C: Create a preliminary schedule and get the team's approval
D: Complete risk management

A:C Choice A is the same thing as create a network diagram. Choice B is done during
controlling, not during planning. Since a schedule is an input to risk management, choice
D comes after choice C and so it is not the "next thing to do." The only remaining choice
is C.

A task has an early start of day three, a late start of day thirteen, an early finish of day
nine and a late finish of day nineteen. The task:
A: is on the critical path.
B: has a lag.
C: is progressing well.
D: is not on the critical path

A:D he task described has slack because there is a difference between the early start and
late start. A task that has slack is probably not on the critical path. There is no
information presented about progress or lag, so choice D is the best answer.

A project is 50% complete when a schedule constraint is identified. Which of the

following should be done FIRST?
A: Revisit all tasks that have not yet started
B: Use a simulation technique such as the Monte Carlo analysis, to calculate a
distribution of probable results for the total project
C: Rebaseline the project plan to determine impacts to schedule, cost and scope
D: Level resources on the remaining activities to determine resource variances
A:B Simulations can be used to assess the feasibility of schedule under adverse
conditions

A new product development project has four levels in the work breakdown structure and
has been sequenced using the arrow diagramming method. The activity duration
estimates have been received. What should be done NEXT?
A: Create an activity list
B: Begin the work breakdown structure
C: Finalize the schedule
D: Compress the schedule

A: D The question is really asking, "What is done after activity duration estimating?" A
and B are done before activity duration estimating. Duration compression occurs before
finalizing the schedule, and is, therefore the best answer.

A task has an early start of day three, a late start of day thirteen, an early finish of
day nine and a late finish of day nineteen. What is the duration of this task?
A:3
B:6
C:7
D:10

A:C Using the early start and finish, the task would begin at the start of day three
and end at the end of day nine. It would take all of day three, four, five, six, seven,
eight and nine, or seven days' duration.

As a project manager, you have been given responsibility for a project that is behind
schedule. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate technique to compress the
project in order to meet the original target date and budget?
A: PERT
B: Redo the plan
C: Crashing
D: Fast tracking

A:D Executing activities in parallel will bring the project within the original target date,
assuming all risks brought by fast tracking can be mitigated.

Originally a project has seven activities: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. A, B and D can start

anytime. A takes three weeks, B takes five weeks, and D takes 11 weeks. A and B must
be completed before C can start. C takes six weeks to complete. B, C and D must be
completed before E can start, and E takes two weeks. F can start as soon as C completes
and has a duration of four weeks. G takes three weeks and cannot start until E is
completed. F and G must be completed for the project to be completed. However,
during project execution, a dependency was discovered between activity E and F. What
is the BEST thing to do?
A: Tell management that the project will take longer than 18 weeks
B: Redo schedule development
C: Call a team meeting and determine if crashing or fast tracking are possible solutions to
meeting the original schedule
D: Call a meeting of stakeholders and communicate schedule risks

A:B You do not know if you have a problem until you reexamine the detailed schedule,
including the new development, and see if the original schedule can still be met.

When the project manager completes the initial project schedule, it would be MOST
important to get it approved by the:
A: project sponsor.
B: team.
C: functional managers
D: customer.

A:C he biggest problem most project managers have is keeping resources. If

functional managers knew what each of their people were doing, the timeframe and
when they were on the critical path, such problems would not occur as frequently.
The other options might take place, but choice C provides the most benefits. This is
part of the real meaning of schedule development.

A multi-year construction project experienced weather-related schedule delays during the

first winter of the project that all the local parties involved described as typical for this
area. What should the project manager do to integrate this information into the project
schedule?
A: Lengthen the estimated activity duration for all activities scheduled to occur the
following winter
B: Reevaluate the revised schedule to determine the potential impact
C: Leave the current project schedule unchanged and work the issues as they arise next
year
D: Make changes to the project plan in order to maintain the current project schedule

A:B Adjusting the project schedule work calendar will provide the most reasonable and
fastest estimate of the potential future weather-related schedule impact, allowing the
project manager to perform a reasonable risk analysis of the potential problem.

During activity definition, the team discovers that they do not know enough to define the
activities for a work package. What would be the BEST course of action?
A: Ask the end-user
B: Ask the sponsor
C: Define the work package activities at a later date
D: Make a decision based on the information available at the appropriate time

A:C This is a common discovery and in this case, it is not bad to define the work
packages later.
Your project plan results in a project schedule that is too long. If the project network
diagram cannot change but you have extra personnel resources, what is the BEST thing to
do?
A: Fast track the project
B: Level the resources
C: Crash the project
D: Perform a value analysis

A:C To answer this question you need to look for the choice that focuses on resource use
instead of cost or time. Choice D deals with cost. Choices A and B focus on schedule.
Choice C focuses on resources and therefore is the best answer.

Management wants to look at how a project is doing. To make a valid judgment,

management should compare this project to:
A: benchmarks
B: flowcharts.
C: Gantt charts.
D: PERT charts.

A:A Benchmarks are the results of past projects of this type. They provide a means to
compare your project to past history. Remember that PMI® emphasizes historical
records..

Which of the following is emphasized in Critical Path Method (CPM) estimating?

A: Controlling cost and leaving the schedule flexible
B: A range of estimates for each task
C: Meeting schedules with flexibility on costs
D: Requiring the use of Monte Carlo analysis

A:A CPM only uses one time estimate. CPM does not consider risks to project
duration to be as important as cost.

What is the duration of the near critical path based on figure H?

A:33
B:44
C:31
D:43

A:D The near critical path is the path closest in length to the critical path, in this case A,
B, F, G, H, J, K.

In order to provide one of your team members with a reward for excellent performance,
you are going to allow him to acquire the new skill he is interested in. Assuming that any
task shown in table B would provide the team member with the benefit, which task would
you assign him to?
You are managing a two-year project involving staff from several departments. The
project is on schedule and within budget. A key team member leaves for a four week
vacation without completing a highly technical and specialized task assigned to him (task
A). The project team cannot begin task B and task E (a critical path task) until task A is
completed. Task A has three days slack and is not on the critical path. A team member,
a vendor and a non-team member work overtime to complete task A within its slack time.
You need to reimburse the non-team member's department and pay the vendor at an
overtime rate. What action should you take?
A: Send a complaint letter to the team member's boss, and ask him to fund the extra cost
expended
B: Reevaluate your communications management plan
C: Thank the others for filling in but tell them not to waste time on non-critical path tasks
D: Pay the cost out of your project reserves

A:B Although the task was not on the critical path, it will impact a critical path task if it
is not completed within its three day slack. Therefore, choice C is not correct. The best
choice is to discover why the problem happened so you can prevent similar situations in
the future. Only choice B looks at the causes of the problem.

A detailed project schedule can be created only after creating the:

A: project budget.
B: work breakdown structure.
C: project plan.
D: detailed risk assessment.

A:B In the project management life cycle, the project budget, project plan and detailed
risk assessment come after the schedule. The only answer that could be an input is the
WBS.

All of the following relate to controlling the schedule EXCEPT:

A: value analysis.
B: crashing.
C: slack.
D: mandatory dependencies.

A:A Crashing changes the resources on the project. Knowing where the project has slack
and what the mandatory dependencies are helps to move resources and thus decreases
schedule.

Which of the following BEST explains why the team needs to approve the final
schedule?
A: To ensure tasks can be completed as scheduled
B: To enhance team buy-in and loyalty
C: To get a better cost estimate
D: To improve communications
A:A The estimates we have to date are based on "how much or how long will it take." It
is also important to check "when" on a calendar basis the work can be done.

What is the BEST method of estimating the time for a task that has never been done by
your company before?
A:CPM
B:PERT
C:Monte Carlo Analysis
D:Activity definition

A:B you have no historical data for similar tasks, it is better to use the three estimates in
the PERT method rather than just one estimate in CPM.

A project has experienced significant delays due to equipment problems, staff attrition
and slow client reviews. The project is 40% complete and has used 60% of the available
calendar time. What is the FIRST thing you should do?
A: Rebaseline the schedule to reflect the new date
B: Analyze the critical path activities for potential to fast track or crash the schedule
C: Document the lack of progress and associated issues to management
D: Identify tasks that have required more time than planned

A:D Rebaselining (choice A) hides performance problems rather than managing issues as
they occur in a visible manner. Identifying the causes of the delay (choice D) will help
determine what to do about them. Choice B is not a bad choice but D is better. Choice C
may need to be done but it is not proactive.

You have a project with four tasks as follows: Task 1 can start immediately and has
an estimated duration of one. Task 2 can start after task 1 is completed and has an
estimated duration of four. Task 3 can start after Task 2 is completed and has an
estimated duration of five. Task 4 can start after Task 1 is completed and must be
completed when Task 3 is completed. The estimate for Task 4 is ten. What is the
shortest amount of time in which the project can be completed?
A:10
B:9
C:18
D:11

A:D The two paths you have in this question are 1-2-3 and 1-4. Path 1-2-3 would
take 1+4+5 days or ten days to complete. Path 1-4 would take 1+10 days or eleven
days to complete. Carefully draw the network diagram, list all the possible paths,
and then determine how much time each path would take.

Which of the following does NOT need to be done if there is a major delay on a non-
critical path activity?
A: Investigate the delay
B: Reevaluate which path is critical
C: Change the project schedule
D: Review slack time for the task

A:C When you identify that there is no change to the critical path, you also determine
that there is no required change to the project schedule.

During execution, a functional manager asks you to use a model C generator instead of
model B on your project. The functional manager says that model C will solve the needs
of the project and provide some benefits to the manufacturing department. You look at
the cost associated with model C and discover that it is substantially higher than model B.
If you are not sure you can justify the more expensive model, what do you do?
A: Review the specification of each to validate the manager's claims
B: Measure the differences in using each model and present them to senior management
C: Use model C and cut other tasks to make up for the added cost
D: Do a life cycle analysis and present the results to your boss

A:B Choices B and D are close, but B is the better choice. Because this is an issue that
goes across the organization, it is up to senior management to make the decision and up
to the project manager to provide the information for the decision to be made. This is an
example of evaluating the decision before making a decision.

The calculated duration for a project is 28.166. The standard deviation is 5.5. What
technique would you use to compute the probability of completing a project on a specific
day?
A: PERT formula
B: Monte Carlo simulation
C: Probability analysis
D: Variance analysis

A:B A Monte Carlo simulation provides the ability to compute the probability of
completing a project on a specific day.

Company A is developing a project similar to one it delivered nearly 12 months earlier.

What is the MOST likely approach to defining project activities?
A: Review what activities were actually required on the previous project
B: Add similar, if not the same, skill sets to the project team
C: Gather the team for a brainstorming session
D: Hire a third-party expert to avoid mistakes that were encountered during previous
projects

A:A Historical information about previous projects should be considered during scope
definition, especially information about errors and omissions on previous projects.

A project manager is involved in the ABC project. Timelines have slipped for project
ABC and he feels there could have been a mistake in the initial time estimate of this
project. The following are assumptions that he made when doing the initial schedule
using the Critical Path Method (CPM). Which one is incorrect?
A: The project manager estimated each task with a single time estimate.
B: The CPM can have no dummies.
C: The CPM uses only an activity-on-arrow (AOA) diagram.
D: The CPM helps to emphasize cost control and schedule flexibility.

A:B It is possible for CPM to have dummies.

Which of the following BEST describes the primary use of project management
software?
A: Managing a project
B: Creating and controlling a schedule
C: Creating a complete project plan
D: Creating a work breakdown structure

A:B Project management software is not designed to do a good job creating a WBS. It
cannot create a complete project plan with all its sub-plans nor can it manage a complete
project. It is designed to create and control schedules.

Using table C, the resource completing task E is not performing very well. After much
argument, the functional manager agrees to assign a different resource to task E, but it
will increase task E's duration to seven months. What is the effect of this change?
A: None, because task E is not on the critical path.
B: The project will be delayed because task E is on the critical path.
C: The project will be delayed because task E has float of five.
D: None, because task E has float of four.

A:D For task E before the change, the ES is eight and the LS is 12. After the change, ES
is 8 and LS is 10. The change will use two of the four days of float for task E but will not
affect the critical path. Answer D is the better of A and D.

A project deadline has been imposed for the end of the year. The project consists of
two tasks. Task A has duration of two months and task B has duration of three
months. Tasks A and B can be performed concurrently. The start date for the
project is set for the beginning of July. What is the total duration for the critical
path?
A: 2 month
B: 3
C: 5
D: 6

A:D The total critical path can have float depending on imposed deadlines.
A project has experienced significant delays due to equipment problems, staff attrition
and slow client reviews. The project is 40% complete and has used 60% of the available
calendar time. What is the FIRST thing you should do?
A: Rebaseline the schedule to reflect the new date
B: Analyze the critical path activities for potential to fast track or crash the schedule
C: Document the lack of progress and associated issues to management
D: Identify tasks that have required more time than planned

A:D

A project manager knows that she can delay the start of certain activities within the
project schedule to coincide with the mitigation of a known risk. She knows exactly the
mitigating task and duration needed, should the risk event occur. She is confident that
the finish date will not be impacted by the time delay. Which of the following aspects of
schedule development has the project manager used in this situation?
A: The reliance on her certainty that, for risk planning purposes, assumptions are
considered to be true, real or certain.
B: That GERT probability factors provide her with certainty that there will be activities in
the current schedule that will not be performed at all.
C: Her CPM float calculations have revealed those activities that allow sufficient time for
the inserted task.
D: The project manager's risk management plan was to build in task buffer time to all the
project tasks during schedule development in order to cover any risk event occurrence.

A:C Float is the time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the
project finish date. Building in buffer time to the project would not be cost effective.
Float will occure naturally as part of the dependency relationships among project tasks.
Take advantage of float to mitigate potential risks.

What is the BEST method of estimating the time for a task that has never been done by
your company before?
A:CPM
B:PERT
C: Monte Carlo Analysis
D:Activity definition

A:B
All of the following are inputs to schedule development EXCEPT?
A: Vacation schedules
B: Need for delay between ordering equipment and installing it
C: Assumption that the software will be released without any damaging bugs
D: Planned start and finish dates for each activity

A:D

A detailed project schedule can be created only after creating the:

A: project budget.
B: work breakdown structure.
C: project plan.
D: detailed risk assessment.

A:B In the project management life cycle, the project budget, project plan and detailed
risk assessment come after the schedule. The only answer that could be an input is the
WBS.
Thank you for sharing the photos! The house is going to gorgeous! Get ready for the

Quality

Where are control limits located on a control chart?

A: Near the assignable cause
B: Above the statistical independence point
C: Within the specification limits
D: Above the normal curve

A:C The control limits are the dashed lines above and below the mean. They are within
the specification limits so that if the process is “ out of control” it could still be within the
spec limits.

All of the following are outputs of quality planning EXCEPT?

A: Quality management plan
B: Acceptance decisions
C: Creation of checklists
D: Metrics

A:B Acceptance decisions are an output of quality control.

All of the following are part of quality control EXCEPT?

A: Cost of quality
B: Inspection
C: Control charts
D: Flowcharting

A: Tools and techniques for quality control include trend analysis, flowcharting,
statistical sampling, Pareto diagrams, control charts and inspection.

A project is considered out of control and the previous project manager has quit. You are
assigned as the new project manager. You are asked to verify the quality level of the
project and to take corrective action. What do you do FIRST?
A: Review the project plan.
B: Meet with the team.
C: Draw a control chart.
D: Create a risk mitigation plan.
A:C Your task is to determine whether the project is really out of control, so the first
thing to do is to create a control chart.
A project is in progress and the project manager is working with the quality assurance
department to improve stakeholders' confidence that the project will satisfy the quality
standards. Which of the following is an output of this process?
A: Quality problems
B: Checklists
C: Quality improvement
D: Quality audits

A:C This question is similar to others in this program, but not exactly the same. You may
also see this occur on your exam. Carefully read the questions! In this case, an output of
quality assurance is quality improvement (choice C). Since the purpose of quality
management is to improve quality, quality problems (choice A) could not be an output of
any of the quality processes. Choice B is an input to quality assurance and choice D is
what is occuring in quality assurance, not an output of it.

The project team has created a plan for how they will implement the quality policy. If
this changes during the project, it will also be a change to?
A: The project plan
B: The quality control plan
C: The quality assurance plan
D: The quality management plan

A:A The plan described is the quality management plan. Changing this plan will also
change the project plan as it is included as part of a project plan.

Evaluating overall project performance regularly is part of:

A: quality management.
B: quality assurance.
C: quality planning.
D: quality control.

A:B The key word here is "overall." Quality control is wrong because we are not
addressing the specific performance of a task.

What might historical records used as an input to activity definition include?

A: activities
B: resources
C: tasks
D: schedule

A:A his question is worded strangely! Get used to it because you will have many
instances where it will take you two minutes to figure out what the question is asking, let
alone come up with the best answer.

Who is ultimately responsible for quality management in the project?

A: Project engineer
B: Project manager
C: Quality manager
D: Team member

A:B Though each person working on the project should check their own work as part of
any project, the project manager ultimately has the responsibility for quality on the
project as a whole.

From the project perspective, quality attributes:

A: determine how effectively the performing organization supports the project.
B: provide the basis for judging the project's success or failure.
C: are specific characteristics for which a product is designed and tested.
D: are objective criteria that must be met.

A:C Quality attributes are the measurements that determine if the product is acceptable.
They are based on the characteristics of the product for which it was designed.

The project team has created a plan describing how they will implement the quality
policy. It addresses the organizational structure, responsibilities, procedures and other
information about plans for quality. If this changes during the project, which of the
following plans will also change?
A: Quality assurance
B: Quality management
C: Project
D: Quality control

A:C The plan described is the quality management plan. Since this plan is included in
the project plan, changing the quality management plan will also change the project plan.

A project manager is using a cause-and-effect diagram with the team to determine how
various factors might be linked to potential problems. In what step of the quality
management process is the project manager involved?
A: Quality analysis
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality control
D: Quality planning

A:D The key words here are “potential problems.” They are looking into the future and,
therefore, must be in quality planning.

All the following are not examples of quality assurance EXCEPT?

A: Inspection
B: Team training
C: Pareto diagram
D: Fishbone diagram
A:B Choice A is done as part of quality control. Choices C and D are done as part of
quality planning or control (depending on how they are used). This leaves only choice B,
which must be the best answer, as team training could be taken to mean that all parties
are trained on the quality requirements for the project. Watch out for “double-negative”
questions like this on the exam!

Which statement is TRUE of quality planning?

A: Quality planning should be performed regularly throughout the project.
B: Quality planning is done to compile a risk response plan.
C: Quality planning is done only during project planning.
D: Quality planning is not considered during project execution.

A:A Quality planning is performed regularly and in parallel with other planning
processes.

A project manager has access to a tremendous amount of historical information on

projects and wants to use this information to mathematically forecast the future outcome
of projects. Which of the following is the project manager MOST likely to use?
A: Benchmarking
B: Trend analysis
C: Variance analysis
D: Decision trees

A:B Trend analysis examines project results over time to evaluate performance.

You are in the middle of a major new facility construction project. The structural steel is
in place, and the heating conduits are going into place when the senior management
informs you that he is worried that the project will not meet the quality standards. What
should you do in this situation?
A: Assure senior managment that during quality planning it was determined the project
would meet the quality standards
B: Analogously estimate future results
C: Form a quality assurance team
D: Check the results from the last quality management plan

A:C The quality management plan (choice D) does not provide results. Choice A is not
productive since it does not solve the problem. An analogous estimate (choice B) looks at
past history of other projects. This would not be appropriate to determine how the current
project is going. Quality assurance (choice C) helps to determine if the project will satisfy
the relevant quality standards.

Which of the following is an example of quality planning?

A: Fishbone diagrams used to evaluate a defect
B: Quality audits
C: Control charts
D: Benchmarking
A:D n quality planning you are defining quality for the project and determining how
quality will be measured. Benchmarking looks at past projects for improvement ideas
and sets guidelines from which to measure quality performance.

A project manager is using a cause-and-effect diagram to determine how specific factors

might be linked to potential problems. The project manager would be involved in which
step of the quality management process?
A: Quality assurance
B: Quality control
C: Quality planning
D: Quality tools

A:C The topic being addressed is potential problems. They must therefore be in quality
planning.

The acceptable range of variation of a process is the ___________ on a control chart?

A: mean
B: specification limit
C: rule of seven
D: upper and lower control limit

A:D The control limits are set based on the company's quality standard and indicate the
acceptable range.

A project manager has to resolve two problems. However, both problems can occur in a
single trial. In this situation, what is the BEST action the project manager can take?
A: Develop a solution for each problem
B: Develop a solution that solves both problems
C: Use a statistically independent trial
D: No solution is needed, the two problems cancel each other out

A:A The question indicates the two problems are unrelated. Therefore, they require
separate solutions.

A project manager takes over an existing project only to find that there are no quality
standards. What part of the quality process is the project manager in?
A: Quality planning
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality analysis
D: Quality control

A:A Determining what standards to use is part of quality planning. Don't get fooled that
this situation is occurring during execution.

All of the following are part of quality planning EXCEPT?

A: Flowcharting
B: Benefit/cost analysis
C: Inspection
D: Design of experiments

A:C Choice C (inspection) is an aspect of quality control rather than quality planning.

A project manager has just taken over the project from another project manager during
the executing phase. The previous project manager created a project budget, determined
communications requirements and went on to complete work packages. What should the
new project manager do NEXT?
A: Coordinate performance of work packages
B: Identify quality standards
C: Begin risk identification
D: Execute the project plan

A:B Since the previous project manager did not finish planning, choice D should not be
the next activity. Risk identification (choice C) sounds like a good choice, however,
choice B occurs before choice C. Performance of work packages (choice A) is done after
planning. The best answer is B.

A project manager is determining which factors might influence specific quality

variables. He has chosen to analyze what combination of color and size will best
contribute to the functionality of the new product. What step of the quality management
process is the project manager in?
A: Design of experiments
B: Quality planning
C: Quality assurance
D: Quality control

A:B The project manager is involved in design of experiments and design of experiments
is included in quality planning.

All of the following are inputs to the quality process EXCEPT?

A: Project work results
B: Quality policy
C: Scope statement
D: Project charter

A:D Do not take the PMBOK® Guide literally. Charter is an input to all the project
management processes. Only work results are not inputs.

Senior management does a regular evaluation of project performance in order to be more

confident in quality product standards. This is an example of:
A: quality assurance.
B: quality control.
C: quality management.
D: quality planning.

A:A Any instance where there is an evaluation of the quality standards is part of quality
assurance.

If two events cannot both occur in a single trial, they are:

A: false events.
B: mutually exclusive.
C: statistically independent.
D: just in time.

A:B Choice A is not correct because they are true events. Choice C is incorrect because
statistical independence deals with two events not being linked. Choice D is incorrect
because just in time refers to inventory levels. Choice B is correct because, by definition,
two events that are mutually exclusive cannot happen on the same trial.

You are asked to select tools and techniques to implement a quality assurance program to
supplement existing quality control activities. Which of the following would you
choose?
A: Quality audits
B: Statistical sampling
C: Pareto diagrams
D: Trend analysis

A:A Choice A is a structured review of quality management activities performed to

identify lessons learned that can be applied to this and other projects. The other choices
are tools and techniques that apply to quality control rather than quality assurance.

A team member notifies the project manager that a quality measurement for the project
cannot be met. What should the project manager do?
A: Notify management
B: Hold a team meeting
C: Look for alternative ways to meet the quality level
D: Ask management to come up with options

A:C Caution for choice B here. It says call a meeting, it does not say consult with the
team to determine the impact and possible solutions. You need to find alternative ways
to meet the requirements.

A project is facing a major change to its project deliverables. If the project manager is
involved in determining which quality standards are relevant to the change, the project
manager must be involved in:
A: quality management.
B: quality assurance.
C: quality planning.
D: quality control.
A:C Although quality planning usually occurs during planning, it can occur during
executing when there is a change.

The testing results for the new computer modulation project have arrived from the seller.
The results indicate the project is not meeting the overall quality requirements. If the
project manager meets with team members to analyze the problem, the project manager is
involved in:
A: quality management.
B: quality assurance.
C: quality planning.
D: quality control.

A:B The key word here is "overall." Quality control is wrong because we are not
addressing the specific performance of a task.

A new software development project is in progress and the project manager is working
with the quality assurance department. They want to improve everyone's confidence that
the project will satisfy the quality standards. Which of the following MUST they have
before they start this process?
A: Completed checklists
B: Quality improvement
C: Results of quality control measurements
D: Rework

A:C he only choice listed that makes sense and is an official input to quality assurance is
choice C. This question is similar to others in this program but not exactly the same. You
may also see this occur on your exam. Carefully read the questions!

Which of the following methods is used to provide a standard to measure performance?

A: Benchmarking
B: Sampling
C: Estimating
D: Leveling

A:A Benchmarking is the common term for a performance measurement standard.

Sampling might be a way to obtain this benchmark.

During project execution, a new ISO version of standard 9000 is issued. The project
team meets with the quality department to determine how the standard will apply to the
project. Which part of the quality process is this?
A: Quality analysis
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality control
D: Quality planning
A:D Determining what standards to use is part of quality planning.
A project manager is having problems with how two of the parts fit together on the new
computer and the software uploads to the system. To plan a strategy for resolving these
problems, it is BEST to determine if the problems are:
A: nonconforming.
B: statistically independent.
C: impacting quality.
D: normally distributed.

A:B Choices A and C are already stated because the two items are listed as problems.
They may be true, but they are not answers to the question. It would be best to determine
if the problems are related (choice B) before planning what to do about them.

A project manager and his team are trying to determine how various factors might be
linked to potential problems using an Ishikawa diagram. The project manager would be
involved in which step of the quality management process?
A: Quality planning
B: Quality tools
C: Quality assurance
D: Quality control

A:A

A project manager is determining the factors that might influence specific quality
variables. He has chosen to analyze the color/size combination that will contribute most
to the functionality of the new product. In what part of the quality management process
is the project manager involved?
A: Quality analysis
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality control
D: Quality planning

A:D Although the project manager is involved in the design of experiments, this is not
what the question asked. Design of experiments is included in quality planning.

Nonrandom data points that are still within the upper and lower control limit of a control
chart are:
A: specification limits.
B: out of control.
C: in control.
D: gold plated.

A:B The key to this question is "non-random." It is referring to the rule of seven.

During project execution, a project team member comes to the project manager to tell her
that, based on what he sees of the project, the project cannot meet the quality standards
set for the project. The project manager meets with all the relevant parties to analyze the
situation. Which step of the quality management process is the project manager in?
A: Quality planning
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality analysis
D: Quality control

A:B Determining if the quality standards are valid is part of the quality assurance
process.

A data point on a control chart that requires investigation is called:

A: an assignable cause.
B: gold plated.
C: a rule of seven.
D: a specification limit.

A:A A data point that requires you to determine the cause of the problem calls for an
assignable cause (choice A). Gold plating (choice B) is providing the customer more that
what they asked for. A rule of seven (choice C) is not just a single data point and thus not
correct, even though it also requires an assignable cause. A specification limit (choice D)
is the customer-defined requirements for quality.

All of the following are part of the quality control process EXCEPT?
A: Trend analysis
B: Control charts
C: Inspection
D: Quality audits

A:D Quality audits are part of quality assurance.

Which of the following CANNOT be used as a quality control tool?

A: Pareto diagram
B: Sampling
C: Work breakdown structure
D: Life cycle costing

A:D You can use the WBS in many ways to control quality. The other choices are
official quality control tools except for D, which has nothing to do with quality.

Identifying ways to eliminate the causes of unsatisfactory performance is part of:

A: quality management.
B: quality assurance.
C: quality planning.
D: quality control.

A:D
A project team has invited many of the project stakeholders to help them inspect quality
on the project. Which of the following would NOT be an output of this activity?
A: Quality management plan
B: Quality improvement
C:Rework
D: Process adjustments

A:A Inspection is part of quality control. A quality management plan is not an output of
quality control.

The widget production project is well underway. The requirements are clear that
each widget must weigh between 0.320 and 0.325 ounces. The first day of test
production resulted in 1247 widgets. Of the widgets inspected 47% fell within the
acceptable weight range. This is an example of?
A: Variable sampling
B: Attribute sampling
C: Control charting
D: Flowcharting

A:B Attribute sampling measures whether or not the result conforms to

specifications. Variables are characteristics you want to measure (size, shape,
weight, etc.). An attribute is what you are measuring.

A project manager is trying to figure out which factors might influence specific quality
variables. She has chosen to analyze which combination of size and shape will best
contribute to the new product's functionality. Which step of the quality management
process is the project manager in?
A: Quality assurance
B: Quality control
C: Design of experiments
D: Quality planning

A:D Though the project manager is involved in design of experiments, this is not what
the question asked. Design of experiments is included in quality planning.

All of the following are part of the quality control process EXCEPT?
A: Inspection
B: Control charts
C: Trend analysis
D: Checklists

A:D Checklists are an output of quality planning.

The new software installation project is in progress. The project manager is working
with the quality assurance department to improve everyone's confidence that the project
will satisfy the quality standards. Which of the following MUST they have before they
start this process?
A: Quality problems
B: Quality improvement
C: Quality control measurements
D: Rework

A:C This question is similar to others in this program, but not exactly the same. You may
also see this occur on your exam. Carefully read the questions! Though quality problems
(choice A) MAY lead to quality assurance efforts, they are not a MUST. Choice B is an
output of quality assurance, not an input. Choice D is an output of quality control. That
leaves only choice C, which is an input to quality assurance.

A new software development project is in progress and the project manager is working
with the quality assurance department. They want to improve everyone's confidence that
the project will satisfy the quality standards. Which of the following MUST they have
before they start this process?
A: Completed checklists
B: Quality improvement
C: Results of quality control measurements
D: Rework

A:C

A project manager is working with quality professionals in the quality assurance phase of
the project. Which of the following activities is being performed?
A: Quality control
B: Determining if the right quality standards are being used
C: Determining what quality standards should be used
D: Evaluating quality against the standards

A:B This is the phase in which we do quality audits to make sure we are using the correct
measurements. C is quality planning and D is quality control.

A project manager has been overwhelmed with problems on his project. He would like to
identify the root cause of the problem in order to determine where to focus his attention.
Which of the following tools would be BEST for the project manager to use?
A: Pareto chart
B: Conflict resolution techniques
C: Fishbone diagram
D: Trend analysis

A:C
During project execution, a new ISO version of standard 9000 is issued. The project
team meets with the quality department to determine how the standard will apply to the
project. Which part of the quality process is this?
A: Quality analysis
B: Quality assurance
C: Quality control
D: Quality planning

A:D Determining what standards to use is part of quality planning.

Risk
A project manager has completed creating a risk response plan. She was planning to go
on to risk monitoring and control when she found out from another project manager that
she forgot to do something important in this step. Which of the following did she forget?
A: She has not created an overall risk ranking for the project.
B: She has not analyzed secondary risks.
C: She has not created workarounds.
D: She has not created a prioritized list of quantified risks.

A:B The only choice that is part of the same step as risk response planning.

You have a US $100,000,000 project that has 34 team members in four different
countries. At the completion of project planning, you have identified six risks, 225 tasks,
13 stakeholders and seven phases to the project life cycle. What part of this project plan
needs to be revisited?
A: Risk response plan
B: Staffing management plan
C: Network diagram
D: Communications management plan

A:A There is no indication that any other areas have a problem. For such a project, the
project manager should have identified more than six risks.

A project manager is quantifying risk for her project. Several of her experts are off-site,
but wish to be included in the risk assessment portion of the project. How can this be
done?
A: Use Monte Carlo simulation using the Internet as a tool
B: Apply the critical path method
C: Determine options for corrective action
D: Apply the Delphi technique

A:D The Delphi Technique is most commonly used to obtain expert opinions on
technical issues, the necessary scope of work, or the risks.

A list of risks for additional study is an output of:

A: risk identification.
B: risk management planning.
C: qualitative risk analysis.
D: quantitative risk analysis.

A:C Some risks output from qualitative risk analysis will be candidates for further study
in quantitative risk analysis.

The project manager has completed determining risk response strategies with the team.
The team's manager has asked for the amount of risk reserves needed for the project.
What is the FIRST thing the project manager should do?
A: Create the risk reserves
B: Prioritize the list of risks
C: Create the overall risk rating for the project
D: Determine secondary risks

A:D The only other factor to help determine risk reserves that would come after risk
response strategies would be the determination of secondary risks.

According to the project manager's earned value analysis of a software development

project on June first, the CPI computes to 1.0 and the schedule variance is zero. On June
third, the banks of the nearby river overflow and flood the development computer room,
shutting down all operations for two weeks. This project has been struck by a(n):
A: unknown-unknown risk.
B: known-unknown risk.
C: known risk.
D: foreseen risk.

A:B A known-unknown is a risk that we can identify as possibly happening. Risk

identification for a business within the flood zone of a river should include the possibility
of a flood.

An output from risk response planning is:

A: residual risks.
B: risks identified.
C: prioritized list of risks.
D: impacts identified.

A:A Impacts (choice D) are generally created during risk quantification. Prioritized risks
(choice C) are created during qualification and quantification. Risks are identified (choice
B) during risk identification. The best answer is A.

A project is facing the following risks: 20% chance a part is not available creating an
additional fee of US $30,000; 10% chance the team requires additional training for a cost
of US $12,000; 25% chance the second planned quality test costing US $8,000 is
unnecessary. What is the expected value of these risks?
A: $50,000
B:5,200
C:42,000
D:72,00

A:B Expected value is probability times impact. Take into account all risks including
positive ones. The calculation is: (0.2x $30,000) + (0.1x$12,000) - (0.25x$8,000).

A project manager has assembled the project team, identified 56 risks on the project,
determined what would trigger the risks, ranked them on a risk rating matrix, tested their
assumptions and measured the precision of the data used. The team is continuing to
move through the risk management process. What has the project manager forgotten?
A: Simulation
B: Risk mitigation
C: Overall risk ranking for the project
D: Involvement of other stakeholders

A:D The process they have used so far is fine, except the input of other stakeholders is
needed in order to identify risks.

A person who has been working as a project expeditor for the past three years has just
been named as project manager for a construction project in a neighboring state. The
construction crew has worked together for a number of years. One of the project
manager's tasks is to pursue all of the historical risk information available, but he doesn't
have enough time to access all available sources. The project manager would be best
served by relying LEAST on which of these sources?
A: Project files
B: Published benchmarking reports
C: Project team knowledge
D: Lessons learned databases

A:C Recollections are less reliable than other documented results.

A project manager asked various stakeholders to determine a probability and impact of a

number of risks. He then tested assumptions and evaluated the precision of the risk data.
He is about to move to the next step of risk management. Based on this information,
what has the project manager forgotten to do?
A: Evaluate trends in risk analysis
B: Identify triggers
C: Provide a standardized risk rating matrix
D: Create a fallback plan

A:C The activities of qualitative risk analysis are probability and impact definition,
assumption testing, data precision ranking and risk ranking matrix development.
As project manager of a project, you just encountered a risk event that impacted the
project cost and schedule. Because the impact is 15% of total project cost, what is the
MOST appropriate action?
A: Control the cost
B: Inform appropriate stakeholders
C: Act to bring the cost of the event within acceptable limits
D: Update the project budget

A:B Because cost increase has already occurred, it makes more sense to inform
stakeholders of actual events.

During the implementation of a contingency plan, a team member notices that the plan
worked only marginally. There were three similar contingency plans developed for other
risks that have not yet happened. He should recommend which of the following?
A: A workaround
B: A project change request
C: A new risk rating matrix
D: A risk responsibility chart review

A:B The project plan can be changed as a result of the actions needed to manage changes.

Developing alternative activity sequences is an example of:

A: risk transfer.
B: risk aversion. (avoid)
C: risk identification.
D: contingency planning.

A:D If a risk event happens, how will we deal with it and continue with the project? We
may need to identify alternative ways of sequencing the work. These alternatives are
described in the contingency plan.

Risk tolerances are determined in order to help:

A: the team rank the project risks.
B: the project manager estimate the project.
C: the team schedule the project.
D: management know how other managers will act on the project.

A:A

During risk planning, your team cannot come up with an effective way to mitigate or
insure against a risk. It is not a task that could be outsourced, nor could it be deleted.
What would be the BEST solution?
A: Accept the risk
B: Continue to investigate ways to mitigate the risk
C: Look for ways to avoid the risk
D: Look for ways to transfer the risk
A:A

During risk identification a project manager identifies a risk that a fire could occur in the
building during the testing. It would be BEST to ______ the risk.
A: deflect
B:accept
C:avoid
D:migigate

A:A turn aside

Which of the following techniques incorporates a form of risk assessment?

A: Arrow diagramming method
B: Network diagramming
C: Critical path method
D: Program evaluation and review technique

A:D

During initiation, a project manager is planning the upcoming project execution team
meetings. What should the project manager include in these meetings that would have
the biggest impact on the project?
A: Review of the action item list
B: Review of identified risks
C: Assignment of tasks to team members
D: Estimating costs

A:B

Probabilistic analysis of the project, probability of achieving the project cost and time and
sensitivity analysis are all completed during:
A: risk identification.
B: qualitative risk analysis.
C: quantitative risk analysis.
D: risk response planning.

A:C

You are a project manager for a major new manufacturing plant that has never been done
before. The project cost is estimated at US $30,000,000 and will make use of three
sellers. Once begun, the project cannot be cancelled, as there will be a large expenditure
on plant and equipment. As the project manager, it would be MOST important to
carefully:
A: review all cost proposals from the sellers.
B: examine the budget reserves.
C: complete the project charter.
D: perform an identification of risks.

A:D Though a charter and good cost proposals are important, a risk identification would
be the most proactive reponse and also have the greatest positive impact on the project.

During project execution, a risk occurs and has a greater impact on the project than was
anticipated. The BEST thing to do would be to:
A: execute the contingency plan.
B: create a workaround.
C: perform additional risk response planning.
D: create a risk transference plan.

A:C Risk response planning can be done during risk monitoring and control

Once a risk response is created, which of the following statements BEST describes the
project manager's role regarding risks while the project work is being completed?
A: Take actions when identified risks occur
B: After a risk event, reassess risk rankings
C: Implement planned workarounds
D: Make sure that risk owners are assigned to identify risks

A:B There are many things that the PM must be during this step. However, the risk
owners are the ones to take action when an identified risk occurs (A), workarounds are
not planned (C) and risk owners do not identify tasks(D)

If a project manager has developed a contingency plan, which risk response strategy is
being applied?
A:Avoidance
B: Mitigation
C: Acceptance
D:Transference

A:C Active acceptance may include developing a contingency plan to execute, should a
risk occur.

Which part of the risk management process uses risk categories as an input?
A: Risk identification
B: Qualitative risk analysis
C: Quantitative risk analysis
D: Risk response planning

A:A Risk identification uses riks categories

A project manager has completed the task estimating process and then runs a Monte
Carlo simulation to determine the amount of risk reserve needed on the project. Why is
this incorrect?
A: The risks per task have not been identified.
B: The critical path was not calculated.
C: The network diagram was not used.
D: The schedule was not developed.

A:A A full risk identification may include a Monte Carlo simulation but it must also
include an analysis of the individual risks involved. A monte carlo analysis makes use of
the network diagram and the estimates.

A project team is creating a project plan when management asks them to identify project
risks and provide some form of qualification output as soon as possible. What should the
project team provide?
A: Overall risk ranking for the project
B: Risk triggers
C: Contingency reserves
D: Probability of achieving the time and cost objectives

A:A This question essentially asks “What is an output of risk qualification?” Only choice
A meets that criteria.

There is a probability of 0.1 that a given risk will occur in a project. If it occurs, it will
result in a loss of $10,000. The insurance cost for this event is $700, with a deductible
amount of $250. Should a rational project manager buy this insurance?
A: Yes, since $1,000 > $950
B: Yes, since $1,000 > $700
C: No, since the deductible amount changes the expected value of the risk event
D: No, since $1,250 > $1,000

A:A

All of the following are examples of a benefit from a risk response plan EXCEPT?
A: You are in control of the project as it progresses with few surprises.
B: By managing the plan, you are able to avoid some risks while mitigating the effects of
others.
C: The need for workarounds is minimized.
D: The need for contingency reserves is minimized.

A:D Risk can be effectively managed but not completed eliminated

You have just been assigned as the project manager for a new telecommunications
project. There appear to be many risks on this project, but no one has evaluated them to
assess the range of possible project outcomes. What needs to be done?
A: Risk identification
B: Risk quantification
C: Risk response planning
D: Risk monitoring and control

A:A This is a new project and even though assessing the range of possible outcomes is
done in a later step, risk identification should be done first.

You have finished the risk response planning process and are left with residual risks.
What should you do with them?
A: Document them and revisit them during project execution
B: Deal with them as they arise during project execution
C: Include them as part of the contingency plans
D: Perform a sensitivity analysis on them

A:A

Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of poor risk management?
A: Inadequate risk response planning
B: Poor risk monitoring and control
C: Lack of a prioritized list of risks
D: Lack of detail in the scope statement

A:C Risk management can not proceed without a prioritized list of risks.

Which of the following is the BEST way to describe the outputs of risk identification?
A: A list of risks
B: A list of triggers
C: A list of the risk owners
D: An understanding of the project risks

A:D

Which of the following BEST describes when the team and stakeholders identify risks?
A: During scope verification
B: After the charter is received and before the work breakdown structure is created
C: Whenever there is a change to the project
D: Before the project charter is created

A:C Generally, project risks are identified after you have a WBS, the charter is created
and before scope verification. It must happen after each change.

While preparing your risk responses, you identify additional risks. What should you do?
A: Apply reserves to try to compensate
B: Document the unknown risk items and calculate the expected monetary value based on
probability and impact that result from the occurrences
C: Determine the unknown risk events and the associated cost, then add the cost to the
project budget as a reserve
D: Add a 10% contingency

A:A D: it is better to calculate a reserve based on detailed risks. C: only talks about
costs, not schedule. B: does not go far enough. It involved calculating, but not using the
results.

Determining cost and schedule reserves, identifying risks requiring the most attention and
determining the overall project risk exposure are all part of qualitative risk analysis,
quantitative risk analysis, and:
A: risk response planning.
B: risk monitoring and control.
C: risk identification.
D: risk management planning.

A:A

A construction project has an activity that could result in fatalities or long term
disabilities with losses of over $2 million. The company has had a clean record in the
past and has won several safety awards. An appropriate risk mitigation strategy is to:
A: post a sign that describes the number of injuries to date and remind everyone to be
careful.
B: insure against the risk.
C: add classroom training on safety for the project team.
D: not do the task.

A:D

Which of the following is a true statement about a risk rating matrix?

A: It should be changed for every project.
B: It should never be used on a large project.
C: It should be standardized between projects.
D: It should be developed by the project manager.

A:C

Your project team has identified a major project risk. After talking to management, they
determine that a reserve on the project is not necessary. What is the NEXT step?
A: List the time or cost overrun expected on the project in your project plan
B: Develop risk transference strategies
C: Create a risk response plan that includes the risk
D: Ignore the risk until it happens

A:C A and B are included in C

Assuming that the ends of a range of estimates are +/- 1 sigma from the mean, which of
the following range of estimates involves the LEAST risk?
A: 30 days, plus or minus five days
B: 22 to 30 days
C: Optimistic = 26 days, most likely = 30 days, pessimistic = 33 days
D: About 28 days

A:C

All of the following statements about workarounds are correct EXCEPT?

A: They are unplanned responses to risks.
B: They are responses only to risks that were identified.
C: They are incorporated into the project plan.
D: They may result in a project change request.

A:B

Which of the following is the BEST way to describe the outputs of risk qualification?
A: A risk ranking for the project
B: A determination of which risks to process further and which to simply document
C: Probabilistic analysis of the project and identification of risk triggers
D: Trends in qualitative risk analysis

A:B

You have assumed responsibility for a complex, business-critical project involving new
technology and approaches. All of the project's stakeholders have emphasized to you that
this is a high-risk effort, and that you are responsible for effectively identifying and
addressing the project's risks. There are a number of risk management tools and
approaches you have been encouraged to use, but there is no agreement from the
stakeholders as to which is the superior approach. The organization sponsoring the
project has recommended risk management methodologies and templates, but does not
consistently or effectively use them. In addressing risk management planning for this
project, what is the MOST important consideration you should keep in mind?
A: Ensure all risks have been identified and mitigation strategies have been developed for
the most important ones
B: Complete at least a moderately thorough examination of available risk management
tools and methodologies to select the best ones for the project
C: Create a high quality risk management plan and risk response plan
D: Tailor the level, type and visibility of risk management to match the risks associated
with the project and the project's importance

A:D

If a risk event has a 90% chance of occurring, and the consequences will be US $10,000,
what does US $9,000 represent?
A: Risk value
B: Present value
C: Expected value
D: Contingency budget

A:C

During project execution, a major problem occurs that you did not include in your risk
response plan. You should:
A: create a workaround.
B: reevaluate the risk identification process.
C: look for any unexpected effects of the problem.
D: tell management.

A:A

Which part of the risk management process uses data precision as an input?
A: Risk management
B: Qualitative risk analysis
C: Quantitative risk analysis
D: Risk response planning

A:B

A Monte Carlo analysis is used to:

A: get an indication of the risk involved in the project.
B: estimate a task's length.
C: simulate the order in which tasks occur.
D: prove to management that extra staff is needed.

A:A

The risks identified for the project must be analyzed to be able to rely on them during the
rest of the risk management process. It would be MOST important for the project
manager to complete which of the following?
A: Trigger data analysis
B: Data precision ranking
C: A risk rating matrix
D: Analyze trends in qualitative risk analysis

A:B

Which of the following MUST be an agenda item at all team meetings?

A: Discussion of project risks
B: Status of current tasks
C: Identification of new tasks
D: Review of project problems

A:A

A project manager has been instructed to use the project charter to help identify risks on
the project. This does not make sense to him. If you were asked to explain the reason the
project charter is used in this way, what is the BEST explanation?
A: The project charter describes the business needs of the project.
B: Reviewing what is said and not said in the charter will help determine risks.
C: The project charter is issued by management.
D: Reviewing the charter will help determine a description of the product of the project.

A:B

"An uncommon state of nature, characterized by the absence of any information related
to a desired outcome," is a common definition for:
A: an act of God.
B: an amount at stake.
C: uncertainty.
D: risk aversion.

A:C

The project manager has worked closely with the team to come up with contingency
plans. Which of the following BEST describes contingency plans?
A: Planned responses to risk events
B: Planned risk control procedures
C: Planned workarounds
D: Planned responses based on probability analysis

A:A

During project execution, the project manager is spending a lot of time solving problems
that arise. It would be BETTER for the project manager to be:
A: having the team solve the problems.
B: executing the risk management plan.
C: implementing risk response plans.
D: performing sensitivity analysis.

A:C The risk management plan is the plan for how the risk process will be performed.
The team should not solve ALL problems and sensitivity analysis is done during
quantitative risk analysis.

The CPI of a project is 0.6 and the SPI is 0.71. The project has 625 tasks and is being
completed over a four year period. The team members are very inexperienced and the
project received little support for proper planning. Which of the following is the BEST
thing to do?
A: Update the risk identification and analysis
B: Spend more time improving the cost estimates
C: Remove as many tasks as possible
D: Reorganize the responsibility matrix

A:A “When the project deviates significantly from the baseline, updated risk
identification and analysis should be performed”

A system development project is nearing closure when an unidentified risk is identified.

This could potentially affect the project's overall ability to deliver. What should be done
NEXT?
A: Alert the project sponsor of potential impacts to cost, scope or schedule
B: Qualify the risk
C: Mitigate this risk by developing a risk response plan
D: Develop a workaround

A:B

You are performing an audit of one of your project manager's projects and notice that she
did not consider the network diagram as part of the risk identification process. Which
one of the following is the BEST explanation for this situation?
A: The project manager probably forgot some tasks in her risk evaluation.
B: The project manager probably forgot task precedence in her risk evaluation.
C: The project manager probably forgot some path convergence issues in her risk
evaluation.
D: The project manager probably forgot some stakeholders in her risk evaluation.

A:C bottleneck

Which part of the risk management process receives input from risk owners?
A: Risk identification
B: Qualitative risk analysis
C: Quantitative risk analysis
D: Risk response planning

A:D Risk response planning receives input from the risk owners.

Risks will be identified during which phase of the project management life cycle?
A:
B: Planning
C:
D: All phases

A:D
You are finding it difficult to evaluate the exact cost impact of risks. You should
evaluate on a:
A: quantitative basis.
B: numerical basis.
C: qualitative basis.
D: econometric basis.

A:C If you cannot determine an exact cost impact to the event, use qualitative estimates
such as Low, Medium, High, etc.

All of the following are factors in the assessment of project risk EXCEPT?
A: Risk even
B: Risk probability
C: Amount at stake
D: Insurance premiums

A:D Insurance premiums come into play when you determine which mitigation method
you will use.

During the project, a team member tells you that a major risk identified by the team has
occurred. However, it is not as serious as previously thought. What is the FIRST thing
you should do?
A: Increase the quality standard
B: Present this finding to the project team and ask them to verify the team member's
finding
C: Investigate changing the contingency plan
D: Notify management

A:C Since the impact of the risk has changed, you need to ensure that the response is still
appropriate for the situation.

A project manager's main risk-handling strategy is to accept risks. The project manager
is therefore:
A: a risk assumption tester.
B: risk averse.
C: risk seeking.
D: a risk deflector.

A:C If you accept risks, you are a risk taker.

What is the purpose of decision trees?

A: They demonstrate the path of events in a project
B: They calculate the probability of an outcome
C: They determine what events may take place
D: They take into account future events for today's choices
A:D A decision tree allows you to make an informed decision today based on probability
and impact analysis. You can decide based on the expected value of each of your
options.
Plan
The process of creating a work breakdown structure results in:
A: a project schedule.
B: team buy-in.
C: a project completion date.
D: a list of risks.

A:B WBS is used as input for all these choices. However, team buy-in is a direct
result of WBS creation process while others require further input to complete.

A task has an early start of day three, a late start of day thirteen, an early finish of day
nine and a late finish of day nineteen. What is the duration of this task?
A:6
B:7
C:
D:

A:B

Which of the following is done during scope definition?

A: Product analysis
B: Project selection
C: Decomposition
D: Alternative definition

A:C

Your project team has identified dependencies on six related projects that are providing
major deliverables to your project. Some of these projects have a very similar scope and
may overlap with your deliverables. In light of this, which of the following should you
be MOST concerned about?
A: Scope change control
B: Scope verification
C: Risk response planning
D: Communications planning

A:C The biggest concern must be the risks that other projects may cause to yours. It
would be better to prevent those problems in risk response planning (choice C) than to
just spend effort controlling scope (choice A).

A plan for managing schedule variances and identifying schedule change control
procedures and performance measures is part of the:
A: schedule management plan.
B: communication plan.
C: project management information system.
D: scope management plan.

A:A
The engineering department has uncovered a problem with the cost accounting system
and has asked the systems department to analyze what is wrong and fix the problem.
You are a project manager working with the cost accounting programs on another project.
Management has issued a change request to the change control board to add the new
work to your project.

Your existing project has had a CPI of 1.2 and a SPI of 1.3 so you have some room to add
work without delaying your existing project or going over budget. However, you cannot
see how the new work fits within the project charter for your existing project. After some
analysis, you determine that the new work and existing work do not overlap and can be
done concurrently. They also require different skill sets. Which of the following is the
BEST thing to do?
A: Create the high-level scope of work and develop the product description
B: Re-estimate the project schedule with input from the engineering department
C: Perform scope verification on the new work with the help of the stakeholders
D: Identify specific changes to the existing work

A:A Treat it as a new project. How long did it take you to read this question? Expect
long-winded questions on the exam. Take another look at the choices before you continue
reading. Did you notice that each of the choices occurs during a different phase of the
project management process?

This question is essentially asking if the new work should be added to the existing
project. There may be many business reasons to try to do this, but from a project
management perspective, major additions to the project are generally discouraged. In this
case, the question is trying to imply that the new work is a self-contained unit of work,
has no overlap with the existing work and needs a different skill set. Therefore, it is
generally best to make it a new project.

A project manager is completing the WBS with the project team, but the session is hard
to manage. There are 200 people in the room representing four different departments.
Some of the people who will be working on the project later are talking about other
things while earlier work is discussed. Which of the following BEST describes the real
problem?
A: The project sponsor should be leading this kind of meeting.
B: They are not following the project communication plan.
C: There are too many departments involved in the project.
D: The project manager is really managing a program.
A:D The project sponsor should not be in charge of the WBS creation (choice A), and
there is no indication that there are problems with the charter or that there are too many
departments (choice C). Because there are so many people on the team and because the
work is apparently broken up into major components that have little to do with each
other, this project is most likely a program (choice D).

The risks identified for the project must be analyzed to be able to rely on them during the
rest of the risk management process. It would be MOST important for the project
manager to complete which of the following?
A: Trigger data analysis
B: Data precision ranking
C: A risk rating matrix
D: Analyze trends in qualitative risk analysis

A:B The purpose of data precision ranking is to test the value of the data. A risk rating
chat only helps identify probability and impact.

design scope of work contains the

A: detailed project requirements
A:
B: functional requirements
C: performance requirements.
D: summary requirements.

A:A A design scope of work is used for fixed price contracts. You need detailed
definition or cost will increase because there is increased risk for the seller.

Which of the following is the BEST way to describe the outputs of risk qualification?
A: A risk ranking for the project
B: A determination of which risks to process further and which to simply document
C: Probabilistic analysis of the project and identification of risk triggers
D: Trends in qualitative risk analysis

A:B Though A and D are technically correct, the best description is B. C is done during
risk quantification and not risk qualification.

Management has provided you with a project charter, and you are in the process of
creating a scope statement. You have asked the team for input to ensure that the scope
statement is complete. However, the team is struggling with defining the scope. Which
of the following BEST describes the problem?
A: A WBS was not completed before the scope statement was begun.
B: The team is working on the scope statement without the benefit of product analysis
and stakeholder agreement on what the project will deliver.
C: The team is in the scope definition process and needs the scope statement as an input.
D: The project objectives were not identified before the scope statement was begun.
A:B In scope planning. The charter, product analysis and benefit/cost analysis are
required before the scope statement can be completed.

Which of the following can you usually expect if you use people from other countries on
your project?
A: Added costs due to shoddy or incomplete work
B: Language or cultural differences that preclude effective team work
C: Increased organizational planning and coordination activities
D: Team building activities become impractical, and the cost is prohibitive

A:C Diversity can enhance a project if planned and coordinated throughout the project.

A Monte Carlo analysis is used to:

A: get an indication of the risk involved in the project.
B: estimate a task's length.
C: simulate the order in which tasks occur.
D: prove to management that extra staff is needed.

A:A Monte Carlo can be used to prove things to management (choice D), but its
main focus does not deal with staff, but with time. Monte Carlo is a simulation
(choice C) but it simulates time not order of tasks. Monte Carlo could help you
know that an estimate for a task needs to change, but not what the task estimate
should be (choice B). Notice how many choices are half right? Risk can be assessed
using Monte Carlo analysis (choice A). By considering the inputs to the PERT
estimates and the network diagram, you can obtain a better overview of the overall
project risk.

When the project manager completes the initial project schedule, it would be MOST
important to get it approved by the:
A: project sponsor.
B: team.
C: functional managers.
D: customer.

A:C The biggest problem most project managers have is keeping resources. If functional
managers knew what each of their people were doing, the timeframe and when they were
on the critical path, such problems would not occur as frequently. The other options
might take place, but choice C provides the most benefits. This is part of the real
meaning of schedule development.

You are a seller with unclear directions and scope documentation. Time and cost are
important considerations and the buyer wants to be in full control. What is the BEST
contract to use?
A: Fixed price
B: Time and material
C: Purchase order
D: Cost reimbursable

A:B Due to the lack of detailed scope, you should not select a fixed price contract.
Because the buyer wants to be in full control, time and material is the best option.

Which of the following is the BEST way to describe the outputs of risk identification?
A: A list of risks
B: A list of triggers
C: A list of the risk owners (output of risk responds planning)
D: An understanding of the project risks

A:D The output of this step are certainly a list of risks and triggers, however it is an
understanding of the risks that is important to be able to quality and or quantify them.

A cost management plan contains a description of:

A: all the costs.
B: how resources are allocated.
C: the budgets and how they were calculated.
D: how cost variances will be managed.

A:D

What risk management process affects the project plan?

A: Risk identification
B: Qualitative risk analysis
C: Risk response planning
D: Risk monitoring and control

A:C Inputs to a revised project plan are one of the outputs of risk response planning.

A detailed project schedule can be created only after creating the:

A: project budget.
B: work breakdown structure.
C: project plan.
D: detailed risk assessment.

A:B In the project management life cycle, the project budget, project plan and detailed
risk assessment come after the schedule.

Which of the following BEST explains why the team needs to approve the final
schedule?
A: To ensure tasks can be completed as scheduled
B: To enhance team buy-in and loyalty
C: To get a better cost estimate
D: To improve communications
A:A

Your project team has identified a major project risk. After talking to management, they
determine that a reserve on the project is not necessary. What is the NEXT step?
A: List the time or cost overrun expected on the project in your project plan
B: Develop risk transference strategies
C: Create a risk response plan that includes the risk
D: Ignore the risk until it happens

A:C A and B are included in choice C.

All of the following are inputs to the quality process EXCEPT?

A: Quality policy
B: Project charter
C: Checklists
D: Quality policy

A:C Checklists is the output.

All the following are needed to create the WBS EXCEPT?

A: Historical information
B: Project charter
C: Assumptions
D: Scope statement

A:B

A cost management plan is an output of which cost management process area?

A: Cost estimating
B: Cost budgeting (output: cost baseline)
C: Cost control
D: Resource planning

A:A

A project team has members in five different locations with varying information systems.
The project manager works with the project team to determine how stakeholders should
be managed. These methods are detailed in which document?
A: Overall project plan
B: Scope statement
C: Communications management plan
D: Staffing management plan

A:D A concerted effort must be made to determine how to best use stakeholders on the
project. The management of this asset is defined in the staffing management plan. The
staffing management plan becomes part of the project plan.
Identifying alternative approaches is part of what step of the scope management
process?
A: Initiation
B: Scope planning
C: Scope definition
D: Scope verification

A:B

Inputs to communications planning include all the following EXCEPT:

A: communications requirements.
B: technology available to transfer information.
C: constraints.
D: description of information to be distributed.

A:D You will need to consider the communication requirment of all the
stakeholders and how you can distribute the info. The description is an output of
the planning process.

What is the duration of the near critical path based on figure H?

A:
B:
C:
D:

A: The near critical path is the path closest in length to the critical path.

What is used to facilitate communication among stakeholders, to document alternatives

considered and to define the content of key management reviews?
A: Project risk response plan
B: Project plan
C: Integrated change control plan
D: Earned value management plan

A:B

You are a project manager on a US $5,000,000 software development project. While

working with your project team to develop a network diagram, you notice a series of
activities that can be worked in parallel but must finish in a specific sequence. What type
of activity sequencing method is required for these activities?
A: Precedence diagramming method
B: Arrow diagramming method
C: Critical path method
D: Conditional diagramming method
A:A The question implies finish-to-finish relationships between tasks. The arrow
diagramming method (choice B) does not support these types of relationships. Choice C
is not a diagramming method and choice D is a made up term.

The preparation of the scope baseline involves the:

A: functional managers.
B: project team.
C: all the stakeholders.
D: project expeditor.

A:B After the customer's input to the SOW, the performing organization's project team is
responsible for scope baseline preparation

A project manager has increased project costs by US $100,000, but completed the project
four weeks earlier than planned. What tool is BEST described here?
A: Resource leveling
B: Duration compression
C: Crashing
D: Fast tracking

A:B Duration compression looks for ways to shorten project schedule without changing
project scope. It is a superset of crashing and fast tracking, making it the better choice.

Which of the following is an output of procurement planning?

A: Statement of work
B: Procurement documents
C: Proposals
D: Contract

A:A The statement of work (choice A) is correct. Procurement documents (choice B) is

an output of solicitation planning. Proposals (choice C) are an output of solicitation.
Contracts (choice D) are an output of source selection.

A team member from research and development tells you that her work is too creative to
provide you with a fixed single estimate for the task. You both decide to use the average
time the task has taken for past projects to predict the future. This is an example of
which of the following?
A: Parametric estimating
B:PERT
C: CPM
D: Monte Carlo

A:A Past history is being used to calculate an estimate. Monte Carlo (choice D) is a
simulation of the schedule, not a task. One could use past history to come up with the
estimate for CPM or PERT (choices B and C) but the BEST answer is choice A because
using past history is a chief characteristic of parametric estimates.
If a project manager is concerned with gathering, integrating and disseminating the
outputs of all project management processes, she should concentrate on creating a better:
A:WBS
B: communication plan.
C: project management information system.
D: scope management plan.

A:C The only choice that addresses gathering, integrating and disseminating information
is choice C.

A project team has members in five different locations with varying information systems.
The project manager works with the project team to determine how stakeholders should
be managed. These methods are detailed in which document?
A: Overall project plan
B: Scope statement
C: Communications management plan
D: Staffing management plan

A:D A concerted effort must be made to determine how to best use stakeholders on the
project. The management of this asset is defined in the staffing management plan. The
staffing management plan becomes part of the project plan.

Risks will be identified during which phase of the project management life cycle?
A: Initiation
B:Planning
C:Executing
D:All phase

A:D

Professional Responsibility
During project execution, one of the electrical engineers informs the project manager that
the life cycle cost of the new heating and air conditioning system is higher than the life
cycle cost of another heating and air conditioning system. What should the project
manager do?
A: Determine if there is room in the project budget for the additional cost
B: Select the product with the lower life cycle cost
C: Select the product with the best life cycle cost to earned value ratio
D: Select the product with the lowest maintenance cost to life cycle cost ratio

A: B
You are reviewing the expense reports for one of your team members when you
notice a payment he made in another country. You think the payment is a bribe.
What is your FIRST course of action?
A: Seek legal advice
B: Contact the payee in the other country and ask if the payment was a bribe
C: Ignore the problem; it is in the past
D: File a permit authorizing the team to make such payments

A:A In this situation the company might have to pay large fines. It is best to ask for legal
advice.

Your company has just presented its new five-year strategic plan. You have
received a new product request from a customer that is in line with the previous
five-year strategic plan, but it does not meet the objectives of the new plan. The
product description seems to have a valid business driver and to be a
straightforward development effort. As project manager, what is the BEST course
of action?
A: Do a benefit/cost analysis of the project and submit it for management approval
B: Submit the product to management for review and approval before proceeding
C: Inform the customer of the change in corporate direction and ask him/her to take
another look at the project
D: Request a project charter from management and begin a WBS

A:B Management determines if a product meets company objectives and can authorize
exceptions to projects not linked to the strategic plan.

Which of the following leadership traits is MOST important for a project manager?
A: Communication
B: Team building
C: Technical expertise
D: Project control

A:A

Another project manager has a family emergency and must leave. He has asked you to
fill in for him during a team meeting to discuss a minor problem with the project. He has
already distributed a detailed agenda and provided you with a copy. When you attend the
meeting, several members of the team are laughing about the absent project manager's
ethnic heritage. Your company does not have a formal diversity policy covering such
behavior. What should you do?
A: Because your company does not have a written diversity policy, there is nothing you
can do.
B: Report the incident to the other project manager.
C: Hold the meeting as if nothing happened.
D: Begin the meeting with a discussion of diversity and professional behavior.
A:D Choice B does not problem solve, it is more like withdrawal.

While preparing your risk responses, you realize that you have not planned for unknown
risk events. You need to make adjustments to the project to compensate for unknown
risk events. These adjustments are based on your past project experience when unknown
risk events occurred and knocked the project off track. What should you do?
A: Apply a general contingency to try to compensate
B: Document the unknown risk items and calculate the expected monetary value based on
probability and impact that result from the occurrence
C: Determine the unknown risk events and the associated cost, then add the cost to the
project budget as reserves
D: Add a 10% contingency

A:A ollowing the right process is part of professional responsibility. Project managers
may address unknown risks by applying a general contingency based on past experience.

Look again at this question. It does not provide details of what is wrong. A project
manager must understand what led to problems with team dynamics, scope, etc., in order
to decide what to do and with whom to meet to resolve the problem. Only choice B deals
with evaluation. If you got this one wrong, you should understand this for two reasons.
First, many project managers jump to action without evaluating first. Second, you will
see other questions you get wrong for the same reason.
A: meet with the project sponsor.
B: review all the project deliverables.
C: meet with the team.
D: meet with each team member individually.

A:B Look again at this question. It does not provide details of what is wrong. A project
manager must understand what led to problems with team dynamics, scope, etc., in order
to decide what to do and with whom to meet to resolve the problem. Only choice B deals
with evaluation. If you got this one wrong, you should understand this for two reasons.
First, many project managers jump to action without evaluating first. Second, you will
see other questions you get wrong for the same reason.

You are taken to lunch by one of your sellers who has become a friend. He gives you an
opportunity to participate in a new venture in association with his company, unrelated to
your current employment. What should you do?
A: Refuse to participate
B: Participate
C: Participate but advise your employer of the offer
D: Request your employer's consent for your participation

A:D
Your organization is having a difficult time managing all of its projects. You have been
asked to help senior management get a better understanding of the problems. What do
you do FIRST?
A: Meet with individual project managers to get a better sense of what is happening
B: Send a formal memo to all project managers requesting their project plans
C: Meet with senior managers to help them develop a new tracking system for managing
projects
D: Review the project charters and Gantt charts for all projects

A:A This is a question about problem solving. The project manager needs to analyze the
problems and identify what caused them before making a decision.