PMP Practice Exercises

Activity 1: You discover that one of your project team responsible for quality testing did not complete her test review. She wrote an email requesting that one of your team members drop everything to assist her with a problem that could have been avoided had she completed her test review. This employee reports to a stakeholder, not to the project team. All the project team and stakeholders are collocated. Since your team needs her to participate in an upcoming test, you decide to do which of the following?

A.

You decide to record the issue in the issue log and bring it up at the next status meeting. Every body can understand the importance of fulfilling their roles and responsibilities on the project. You decide to record the issue in the issue log and phone the stakeholder to explain what happened. You know speaking with the stakeholders is the most effective way to resolve issues. You decide to have face to face meeting with the stake holder because this is the most effective means for resolving issues with them. You decide to email the stake holder and explain what happened in a professional manner because this is the most effective means for resolving issues with them.

B.

C. D.

Answer 1: C
Face-to-face meetings are the most effective means for resolving stakeholders issues provided that these meetings are practical.

Activity 2: Analogous Cost Estimating uses which of the following:

A. B. C. D.

Expert Judgment Brainstorming 3 Point Technique Monte Carlo Analysis

Answer 2: A
Analogous Estimation uses Expert Judgement. Alternative Analysis use Brainstorming and Lateral Thinking. Brainstorming is normal to find out a new solution to a given problem. 3 point estimation is in Time Management Knowledge Area. Monte Carlo analysis happens in Risk Management Knowledge Area. Hence, Choice A is the correct one.

Activity 3: You are managing an engineering project. During a walkthrough you found out that your team has added a new feature to enable better experience for the client. However, the client did not ask for this feature. The team developed it on their own time because they wanted to make the client happy. You know this change would have never made it through change control. What is this an example of?

A. B. C. D.

Gold plating Work Variance Scope Creep Recommended Corrective Action

Answer 3: A
PMI advocates for do the work what is necessary and what has been defined in scope. Beyond that it is considered to be Gold Plating. Hence, Choice A is the correct one.

Activity 4: Cost Baseline is provided by which of the following Knowledge Area?

A. Cost Estimation B. Cost Budgeting

C. Cost Control
D. Cost Analysis

Answer 4: B
Only in Cost Budgeting the baseline is prepared. In Cost Estimation, for each activity the cost is found and then it is finally rounded up/added in Cost Budgeting. Cost Control is a part of Monitoring and Controlling group, hence budgeting is not done here. Cost Analysis is not knowledge area process. Hence, Choice B is the correct one.

Activity 5: You have been working as a project manager for a globally distributed team. Some parts of your development is being done another organization on a contract basis and it is located in a different country. You want to promote a top performing foreign team member to a leadership role. However, you are told by the contracting organization that in their country it is considered to be offensive by men to work under women. What will your BEST way to respond to this situation?

Do nothing, as it is their custom and culture and you should have any say in it. B. Request for sensitivity training for the entire team C. Inform the subcontractor that they must adopt a nondiscriminatory policy or you will be forced to terminate the contract. D. Promote another team member from your country, but try to find a different way to reward the woman for her work
A.

Answer 5: C
Workplace environment anywhere in the world should follow proper code of conduct and ethical practices to stop promotion of an employee based on caste, religion, sex or ethnicity is unethical. Hence, Choice C is the correct one.

Activity 6: You are the project manager for a construction project. Your project sponsor asked you for a forecast for the cost of project completion. The project has a total budget of $90,000 and CPI of .95. The project has spent $30,000 of its budget so far. How much more money do you plan to spend on the project?

A. $44,736 B. $54,736 C. $64,736 D. $74,736

Answer 6: C
The first step is to use the formula EAC = BAC / CPI. EAC = $90,000 / .95 = $94,736. Thats how much money youre likely to spend on the project. Now you can figure out ETC = EAC AC = $94,736 - $30,000 =$64,736.

Activity 7: You are considering two bids from companies on your qualified sellers list. However, you are on a very tight budget so the senior management asked you to consider cost as the main selection criteria. You know from past experience that the contractor with low bidding price has a lower quality service than the other contractor who has a good reputation of providing quality service. What will be the BEST way for you to handle this situation?

Select the company with the lowest bid though quality is not high B. Select the company with highest bid as quality is good C. Provide information to the manager from highest bidding company so that he can tailor his response to best meet your needs D. Rewrite the RFP and exclude them both from the list
A.

Answer 7: A
Project Managers operate with the triple constraints time, cost and scope. Though the quality of the highly priced vendor is good, it has been clearly indicated by the senior management to keep cost low. Choice C and D are unethical practices. Hence Choice-A is the best choice.

Activity 8: Which of the following conflict resolution techniques is the MOST effective?
Compromise B. Smoothing C. Withdrawal D. Confronting
A.

Answer 8: D
PMP advocates Confronting as the best form of conflict resolution. Rest of the techniques mentioned are considered to less effective. Hence, Choice D is the best answer.

Activity 9: You recently delivered certain features for your product to the client for acceptance. It is phase wise development effort and you have finished the first phase. However, the customer informed that one of the features in the product is missing and they are not happy with it. What is the BEST way to handle this situation? Call exit phase meeting and close the phase and informed the client on this B. Tell the client that you have delivered as defined in the scope and hence you can not rework on it C. Call a meeting with your team and find out where it exactly went wrong D. Ask you team to work on the feature right away and fix it.
A.

Answer 9: C
Even during the final phase, it must be found out first whether a particular scope implementation has been met. Hence, the project manager must call a meeting first to ascertain the details of the missing feature. Hence, Choice C is the best one.

Activity 10: You are a project manager for a product development company. You have delivered an initial cut of your product to your customer. During a weekly team meeting one of your team members, who is fresh recruit informs that there is serious risk which will create trouble for your first release. The customer is very much likely to find the risk and ask for a change. To you the risk seems to be out of scope, but it has a probability of getting approved by the Change Control Board. What should be your next BEST course of action?

Assign a new team member to fix the risk B. Ask the team member who raised the issue to work extra to fix the risk and for which you will find a suitable reward C. Add the issue to the risk register and do a P&I impact analysis D. Do nothing as the risk which will raise a change in feature is out of scope
A.

Answer 10: C
When you come across a new risk, the first thing you should do is document it in the risk register. After adding to the risk to the register, you make sure that you dont forget about any of them. Next you analyze the impact and probability of the risk. This is not a one time process, rather happens in during the middle of execution. So, Choice C is the correct one.

Activity 11: You are reporting the final status of the closed contract to the stakeholders. Which form of communication is MOST appropriate?
Formal written B. Formal verbal C. Informal written D. Informal verbal
A.

Answer 11: A
Status reporting is a formal reporting process and it must be done in a written format. So, Choice A is the correct one.

Activity 12: You are a project manager with several years of experience in project management. Youve accepted your first project in a foreign country. Youve been in the country for a week or two and are experiencing some disorientation. This is an example of?
Collocation B. Diversity shock C. Global culturing D. Culture shock
A.

Answer 12: D
Culture shock is the disoriented feeling that people may experience when working in a foreign country.

Activity 13: As a project manager, youre responsible for maintaining and ensuring integrity for all of the following except which one?
Personal integrity of others B. Project management process C. Personal integrity D. Product integrity
A.

Answer 13: A
You are not responsible for the personal integrity of others, however, as project manager you do have some influence over others such as your project team members.

Activity 14: All of the following are elements of inputs of the Identify Risks process that you should evaluate except which one?
Assumptions analysis B. Historical information C. Roles and responsibilities D. Industry information
A.

Answer 14: A
Assumptions Analysis is a tool and technique in the Identify Risks process.

Activity 15: Your hardware vendor sent you a note that your shipment delivery will be delayed due to a weather turbulence. You identified a risk response strategy for this new risk and asked from a local hardware company to lease you the equipment until yours arrive. This is an example of which risk response strategy?
Transfer B. Acceptance C. Mitigate D. Avoid
A.

Answer 15: C
Mitigation attempts to reduce the impact of a risk event should it occur. Making plans to arrange for the leased equipment reduces the consequences of risk.

Activity 16: Which tool and technique is used to create the WBS and Define Activities?
Nominal Group Technique B. Human Resource Assignment C. Brainstorming D. Decomposing
A.

Answer 16: D

Activity 17: Which of the following statements is not true?

Attribute sampling is the process of assessing whether results conform to specifications or not B. Prevention means keeping errors out of the process by applying actions before the process starts changing its input C. Variables sampling means that the result is classified into one of the 3 categories: acceptable, acceptable after rework, rejected D. Inspection is often mainly done to keep errors out of the hands of the customer rather than as a means of process control
A.

Answer 17: C

Activity 18: Cultural and social aspects to be considered by the project team include all of the following except which one?
Economic B. Occasional C. Educational D. Demographic
A.

Answer 18: B

Activity 19: One of the main advantages of a matrix

organization is:
Improved Project Manager control over resources B. More than one boss for project teams C. Communications are easier D. Reporting is easier
A.

Answer 19: A

Activity 20: A project manager is trying to complete a software development project but cannot get enough attention for the project. Resources are focused on completing process-related work and the project manager has little authority to properly assign resources. What form of organization must the project manager be working in: Functional B. Matrix C. Expeditor D. Coordinator
A.

Answer 20: A

Activity 21: All of the following are characteristics of a project EXCEPT:

Temporary B. Definite beginning and end C. Interrelated activities D. Repeats itself every month
A.

Answer 21: D

Activity 22: A project is plagued by changes to the project charter. Who has the primary responsibility to decide if these changes are necessary?
Project manager B. Project team C. Management D. Stakeholder
A.

Answer 22: C

Activity 23: Which of the following BEST describes the project managers role as an integrator?
Helping team members become familiar with the project B. Putting all the prices of a project into a cohesive whole C. Putting all the pieces of a project into a program D. Getting all team members together into a cohesive whole
A.

Answer 23: B

Activity 24: Company procedures require the creation of a lessons learned. Which of the following is the BEST use of a lessons learned?
Historical information for future project B. Planning record for the current project C. Informing the team about what the project manager has done D. Informing the team about the project plan
A.

Answer 24: A

Activity 25: You are a new project manager who has never managed a project before and you have been asked to plan a new project. It would be BEST in this situation to rely on _____________ during a planning in order to improve your chance of success.
Your intuition B. Your training C. Historical information D. Responsibility chart
A.

Answer 25: C

Activity 26: The project charter for a project was approved for planning and you have just been assigned as a project manager. Realizing that planning is an ongoing effort throughout the project life cycle, which processes are you MOST likely to combine?
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.

Answer 26: A

Activity 27: A particular stakeholder has a reputation for making many changes on projects. What is the BEST approach a project manager can take at the beginning of the project to manage this situation.
Say no to the stakeholder a few times to make him change his habits B. Get stakeholder involvement in the project as early as possible C. Talk to the stakeholders boss to find ways to direct the stakeholders activities to another project D. Ask that the stakeholder not be included in the stakeholder listing
A.

Answer 27: B

Activity 28: Which of the following is included in a project charter?

Identification of risks B. Task estimates C. Detailed resource estimates D. The business need for the project
A.

Answer 28: D

Activity 29: During a project team meeting, a team member suggests an enhancement to the scope of work that is beyond the scope of the project charter. The project manager points out that the team needs to concentrate on completing all the work and only the work required. This is an example of:
Change management process B. Scope management C. Quality analysis D. Scope decomposition
A.

Answer 29: B

Activity 30: If the optimistic estimate for a task is 12 days, pessimistic is 18 days, what is the most likely estimate?
15 days B. 13 days C. 16 days D. Unknown
A.

Answer 30: D

Activity 31: A Project Manager is using AOA to perform critical path analysis. The network diagram is represented as shown using below. Which of the following represents the path
Activity A C Duration Dependent on 3 3 none none

A. B. C. D.

ABIR CDHR CDGIR EFGIR

B
D E F G

2
5 2 4 3

A
C none E D,F

H
I R

1
2 0

D,F
B,G H,I

Answer 31: C
CDGIR represents the critical path. It is the longest path through the network with the duration of 13.

Activity 32: You have a project with the following tasks: Task A takes 40 hours and can start after the project starts. Task B takes 25 hours and should happen after the project starts. Task C must happen after task A and takes 35 hours. Task D must happen after tasks B and C and takes 30 hours. Task E must take place after task C and takes 10 hours. Task F takes place after task E and takes 22 hours. Which of the following is TRUE if task B actually takes 37 hours? The critical path is 67 hours B. The critical path changes to tasks B, D C. The critical path is A, C, E, F D. The critical path increases by 12 hours
A.

Answer 32: C

Activity 33: If Earned Value (EV) = 350, Actual Cost (AC) = 400, Planned Value (PV) = 325, what is Cost Variance (CV)?
350 B. -75 C. 400 D. -50
A.

Answer 33: D

Activity 34: Rearranging resources so that a constant number of resources are used each month is called:
Crashing B. Floating C. Leveling D. Fast tracking
A.

Answer 34: C

Activity 35: Which of the following represents the estimated value of the work actually accomplished?
EV B. PV C. AC D. ACWS
A.

Answer 35: A

Activity 36: The seller tells you that your activities have resulted in an increase in their costs. You should:
Issue a change to the project costs B. Have a meeting with management C. Ask the seller for supporting information D. Deny any wrongdoing
A.

Answer 36: C

Activity 37: A project manager has been overwhelmed with problems on this 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?
Pareto chart B. Conflict resolution techniques C. Fishbone diagram D. Trend analysis
A.

Answer 37: C

Activity 38: Halfway through a large, one-year project, you take the place of the previous project manager. The project involves four different sellers and a project team of 40 people. Where will you find information regarding the projects communications requirements and what technology is being used to aid in project communications?
Information distribution plan B. Project plan C. Communications management plan D. Gantt Chart
A.

Answer 38: C

Activity 39: As the project manager, you have three stakeholders with whom you need to communicate. As such, you have six channels of communication. A new stakeholder has been added that you also need to communicate with. How many communications channels do you have now?
7 B. 10 C. 12 D. 16
A.

Answer 39: B
A new stakeholder is added, therefore the total number of stakeholders is now 5 (PM + 4 stakeholders). To determine how many communication channels: n(n-1)/2 = 5(4)/2= 10.

Activity 40: All the following are factors in the assessment of project risk EXCEPT?
Risk event B. Risk probability C. Amount at stake D. Insurance premiums
A.

Answer 40: D

Activity 41: If a project has 60% chance of a US$100,000 profit and a 40% chance of a US$100,000 loss, the expected monetary value for the project is:
$100,000 profit B. $60,000 loss C. $20,000 profit D. $40,000 loss
A.

Answer 41: C
Expected Monetary Value is the summation of all the probabilities multiplied by its expected results. 0.6(+$100,000) + 0.4(-$100,000)= + $20,000

Activity 42: Which of the following activities occurs during procurement planning?
Make or buy decisions B. Answer sellers questions about the bid documents C. Creating the contract terms and conditions D. Creating the request for proposal or bid documents
A.

Answer 42: A

Activity 43: Project A has an NPV of $165K over three years. Project B has an NPV of $330K over six years. Project C has an NPV of $170K over six years. Which of the following would you select?
Project A B. Project B C. Project C D. Project A and C
A.

Answer 43: B
Project B is the most attractive project because it has the highest dollar amount. The years listed with the NPV are noise as they are already factored into the dollar amount of the project. Project A and C are of less value than Project B.

Activity 44: Activity A is worth $200, is 100% complete, and actually cost $200. Activity B is worth $75, is 90% complete, and actually cost $120 so far. Activity C is worth $200, is 75% complete, and has cost $175 so far. The total budget is $1000. What is the Cost performance index for the activities listed?
0.84 B. 0.88 C. 1.16 D. 1.12
A.

Answer 44: A
To calculate this, the Earned Value (EV) and Actual Cost (AC) need to be calculated first. To do this, multiply the percent complete of each activity by its Planned Value (PV); that will provide the Earned Value (EV) for each activity. Sum the Earned Value of each activity to determine the total Earned Value. Sum the Actual Cost of each activity to determine the total Actual Cost. The Earned Value of $417.50 is then divided by the Actual Cost of $495.00. This provides a CPI of 0.84. This means that the project is getting $0.84 cents value for every dollar it is spending.

Activity 45: Which of the following is an example of a Lag?

The latest a new system can be ordered from the manufacturer without delaying the project B. The Critical Path C. A delay after the sheetrock (wall board) is done in a house to allow it to dry before continuing work in that area D. The earliest a new system can be ordered from the manufacturer
A.

Answer 45: C
A delay after the sheetrock is done to allow it to dry before continuing work in that area is an example of a Lag. The delay is not part of either activity but happens between the activities. The other three answers are noise in this question.

Activity 46: Float is calculated by which of the following?

Late Finish-Early Finish (LF-EF) B. Late Start-Early Start (LS-ES C. Late Finish-Late Start (LF-LS) D. A and B
A.

Answer 46: D
Float is calculated by subtracting either the Late Finish (LF) from the Early finish (EF), or the Late Start (LS) from the Early Start (ES).

Activity 47: When determining if a project needs to continue or to be altered, what would be the number one question that a Project Manager should ask about the project?
What does the Project Management Plan say? B. What does the charter say? C. Why is the project being done or what is the business need? D. What does the statement of work say?
A.

Answer 47: C

Activity 48: A production process has been defined as part of an industrial equipment manufacturing project. The process is intended to produce steel bolts with a length of 20 cm. The control limits are 19.955 cm and 20.045 cm. The measurements made at the end of the process yielded the following results: 20.033 cm, 19.982 cm, 19,995 cm, 20.006 cm, 19.970 cm, 19.968 cm, 19.963 cm, 19.958 cm, 19.962 cm, 19.979 cm, 19.959 cm. What should be done? The process is under control. It should not be adjusted. B. A special cause should be identified, the process should be adjusted. C. The control limits should be adjusted. D. The measuring equipment should be recalibrated
A.

Answer 48: B

Activity 49: Your project management team includes two external consultants each from a different company. You found that repeated conflicts between the two consultants already slow down project progress and jeopardize achievement of objectives. Which stage of team development can be difficult to overcome in such a situation? Storming from Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing B. Panic from Enthusiasm, Panic, Hope, Solution C. Kickoff from Assignment, Kickoff, Training, Communicating D. Frustration from Direction, Frustration, Cooperation, Collaboration
A.

Answer 49: A

Activity 50: During a project Earned Value Analysis is performed and gives the following results: EV: 523,000; PV: 623,000; AC: 643,000. Which results are correct?
CV: +120,000; SV: +100,000 B. CV: +100,000; SV: +120,000 C. CV: -100,000; SV: -120,000 D. CV: -120,000; SV: -100,000
A.

Answer 50: D

Activity 51: You are considering whether to buy or make a software product. If you want to buy, the cost is $80,000, and the cost of procuring and integrating the product in your company is $1,000. If you want to build it yourself, the product will require seven engineers working for three months. The salary of each software engineer is $4,000 per month. The other related miscellaneous costs budget allocated to the project is $2,000. Which option will you choose?

Buy B. Build C. Neither build nor buy D. Need more information on suppliers to take a decision
A.

Answer 51: A
If you buy, the cost is: $80,000 + $1,000 = $81,000, If you build, the cost is: $4,000 x 7 x 3 + $2,000 = $86,000. So, it is preferable to buy.

Activity 52: Which of the following is NOT true of obtaining project plan approval?
Until you obtain plan approval, you dont need to put changes to it through change control. B. Change control makes sure that only approved changes can make it into the approved plan. C. Only one person needs to approve the Project Management Plan and thats the Project Manager. D. Its important for the entire team to buy into the Project Management Plan for it to be successful.
A.

Answer 52: C

Activity 53: You are managing a construction project to install new door frames in an office building. You planned on spending $12,500 on the project, but your costs are higher than expected, and now youre afraid that your project is spending too much money. What number tells you the difference between the amount of money you planned on spending and what youve actually spent so far on the project?

AC B. SV C. CV D. VAC
A.

Answer 53: C

Activity 54: A junior project manager at your company does not know how to perform earned value analysis. You spend a weekend with him to teach him how to do this. This is an example of:
Contributing to the project management body of knowledge B. Fraternizing, and should be discouraged C. Unpaid overtime D. Giving access to proprietary information, and should be reported to PMI
A.

Answer 54: A

Activity 55: Over half of conflicts on projects are caused by:

Bad habits, defects, technology B. Resources, priorities, schedules C. Budget, carelessness, personalities D. Technology, money, personalities
A.

Answer 55: B

Activity 56: Which of the following is NOT part of the Contract Closure process?
An audit to verify that all of the legal obligations have been met B. Obtaining formal acceptance of all deliverables from all stakeholders C. Making sure all invoices have been paid D. Writing down lessons learned
A.

Answer 56: B

Activity 57: Which of the following is NOT a stakeholder?

A project team member B. An attorney from your companys competitor C. A representative from your project teams union D. The project sponsors
A.

Answer 57: B

Activity 58: Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a project?

Constrained by limited resources B. Planned, executed, and controlled C. Creates a unique product or service D. Ongoing and repetitive
A.

Answer 58: D

Activity 59: In which document will you find the code of account identifier, description of work, responsible organization, and list of schedule milestones?
WBS B. WBS Dictionary C. PERT/CPM Charts D. Roles and Responsibilities Matrix
A.

Answer 59: B

Activity 60: You are the project manager of a sewage treatment plant. The government has mandated that you ensure that the neighborhood is not adversely impacted by your project plant. For your project, this directive is regarded as a/an:
Assumption B. Ethical practice C. Constraint D. Deliverable
A.

Answer 60: C
From a project management point of view, constraints are factors that will limit the project management teams options. Since this is a government mandate, it becomes a constraint for your project.

PMP Recommended Prep Tests & Books

Provider
PMBOK Guide, Fourth Edition Kim Heldman PMP Exam Study Guide, Fourth Edition Oliver Lehmann, 75 simulating + 175 free questions Prepare PM, 165 free questions Voight Project Solutions, 500 free questions PMP Question Bank, 200 free questions Head First Labs, 200 free questions PM Study, 200 free simulating questions Tutorials Point, 200 free questions

URL
www.pmi.org www.kimheldman.com www.oliverlehmann.com www.preparepm.com www.voightps.com Pmpbank.googlepages.com www.headfirstlabs.com www.pmstudy.com www.tutorialspoint.com