Free PMP questions

1. You are in the planning stages of a new project to implement an industry-wide B2B (business-to-
business) site for the air cargo industry. Your team is quite experienced and knowledgeable
concerning projects like this, so you want to utilize all its expertise when collecting input for
developing the WBS. However, your team is spread throughout the world. What is an effective way to
gather input from everyone?
A. Monte Carlo simulation
B. The Delphi technique
C. Management by objectives
D. Mind mapping

2. Which of the following is a characteristic of a portfolio?

A. It is managed to achieve strategic objectives.
B. The projects or programs it contains must be interrelated.
C. It is temporary, with a definite start and end date.
D. It produces a unique product, service, or result.

3. You are new to Corporation Alpha and have been named the project manager of Very Important
Project. You learn that a functional manager controls the budget of your project. Which organizational
environment are you operating in?
A. Strong matrix organization
B. Weak matrix organization
C. PMO organization
D. Project-oriented organization

4. The project manager is preparing a report on the causes of defects in her project. Which type of
diagram would be most appropriate to show the number of defects resulting from each of the
identified causes?
A. Control chart
B. Histogram
C. Fishbone diagram
D. Process map

5. After project work has begun, the project manager recognizes that it is possible to more accurately
estimate costs. Based on this realization, the project manager needs to:
A. Conduct regression analysis
B. Continue using the old estimates for consistency
C. Refine the original plan to include these more accurate estimates
D. Conduct a quality audit

6. The project team has worked long and hard on a complex procurement statement of work for a
significant purchase. After many reviews, all have agreed that the procurement statement of work is
complete. But the project manager still has some concerns about whether it addresses all the project
needs in sufficient detail to avoid contract disputes later. She asks a peer for advice about what to do
during the upcoming bidder conference. The best advice the peer can give is to:
A. Double check to ensure that all project scope is negotiated
B. Ask the project sponsor to handle the bidder conference, so that you can focus on the negotiation
sessions
C. Delegate the bidder conference management to the contracts manager
D. Ensure that all potential bidders have sufficient time to ask all of their questions
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7. There are currently five people on the project. Next week, there will be 10 people on the project. How
many more communication channels will the project manager need to account for once there are 10
people on the project?
A. 35
B. 45
C. 5
D. 10

8. The project team has identified risks and added them to the risk register. Which type of risks should
the team put on its watch list for future monitoring?
A. High probability and high impact risks
B. Risks for the near term
C. Low priority risks
D. Unknown risks

9. The project manager for a software implementation project needs to determine whether to outsource
user training or develop it in-house. Some of the considerations the project manager needs to
account for include budget estimates, the direct and indirect costs of each option, and the contract
type (if outsourcing is chosen). Which technique should the project manager use?
A. Market research
B. Expert judgment
C. Make-or-buy analysis
D. Make-or-buy decision

10. An organization has recently adopted project management practices, and an inexperienced project
manager and project team are developing a WBS for their first project. The team lacks a good
understanding of the scope of the project, but they have invited stakeholders to their WBS
development meeting to help them brainstorm. Which of the following approaches should the team
take to develop the WBS?
A. Bottom-up approach
B. Top-down approach
C. 100 percent approach
D. Tight matrix approach

11. The project team hired to develop a line of commercial cooking devices needs to demonstrate to the
customer that the griddle plate they have manufactured meets the agreed-upon acceptance criteria.
The plate must be made of A36 steel, be 1 inch thick, 24 inches wide, and 36 inches long. Which of
the following tools or techniques would best help the project team?
A. Approved change requests review
B. Ishikawa diagram
C. Prevention
D. Inspection

12. The project manager has received several complaints from managers about not knowing what is
going on with the project. Which tool should the project manager use to better understand who needs
to be informed about project work?
A. Communications management plan
B. RAM (responsibility assignment matrix)
C. Stakeholder register
D. Gantt chart
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13. A project manager is preparing to lead a project in an adaptive environment for which the
requirements are not well understood and likely to evolve. Which of the following approaches would
be best for the project manager to take?
A. Delay the start of work until the scope is precisely defined.
B. Prepare detailed cost calculations for the project’s deliverables.
C. Plan to build and review multiple prototypes.
D. Avoid short iterations when developing the schedule.

14. One of the project’s stakeholders is a senior executive who appears unconcerned with the goals of
the project. This executive possesses a great deal of authority in the organization, however, and is
capable of removing resources from the project that are critical to its success. How should the project
manager rank this stakeholder?
A. High power/high interest
B. High power/low interest
C. Low power/low interest
D. Low power/high interest

15. The project team has reviewed project documentation for indicators of risk, brainstormed risks, and
interviewed stakeholders and SMEs to learn their thoughts about uncertainty surrounding the project.
They begin to fill in the risk register with .
A. Lists of identified risks and potential responses
B. Expected monetary values for all identified risks
C. Tornado diagrams
D. Risk breakdown structure

16. The project manager for a project undertaken to bring a new diabetes medication to market needs to
make available a large volume of information to a very large audience. Which of the following
communication methods would be the most appropriate in this situation?
A. A face-to-face meeting
B. A conference call
C. An intranet site
D. An email

17. A project manager leading an office renovation project is estimating how long it will take to paint the
office. She knows that there are 1,000 square feet to paint, and the two painters who will be doing the
job can each paint approximately 100 square feet per hour. The project manager uses this data to
arrive at an estimate of five hours. Which of the following estimating methods has the project
manager used?
A. Three-point estimating
B. Analogous estimating
C. PERT estimating
D. Parametric estimating

18. The project team is in the middle of executing a project that is now projected to run three weeks too
long. Which of the following actions would allow the project to be delivered more quickly?
A. Substitute a less experienced programmer for a more experienced one.
B. Move resources from a noncritical task to a critical path task.
C. Modify the purchase of new equipment to less expensive equipment.
D. Allow a tester on the project to temporarily reduce the level of testing.
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19. A new project manager is told that one of his responsibilities is to analyze project performance and
then recommend preventive actions based upon his analysis. The purpose of these activities is to:
A. Reduce the probability of positive schedule float
B. Reduce the probability of future negative performance
C. Increase the probability of a negative CPI
D. Improve the chances of project closure

20. The mechanical engineering manager has reported to you, a project manager, that the work due at the
end of this week is going to be two weeks late. Your manager has requested that you do not report this
to senior management. What should you do?
A. Because the manager has helped you in the past, you do not report the slip, and hope that the
work gets back on schedule in the near future.
B. Issue a revised status report that does not show the work so that the slippage will not be noticed.
C. Wait until the work is complete, and then report the slippage.
D. Report the status timely and accurately.

21. Using the decision tree, determine the expected value of each decision node and decide which
product the company should pursue.

A. EMV for Product A = $100,000; EMV for Product B = $150,000; Make Product B
B. EMV for Product A = $50,000; EMV for Product B = $70,000; Make Product B
C. EMV for Product A = $670,000; EMV for Product B = $77,500; Make Product A
D. EMV for Product A = $1,050,000; EMV for Product B = $225,000; Make Product A

22. You have just been hired by an accounting firm to take over an existing project. The previous project
manager has managed the project since its inception and dutifully collected weekly activity reports
from all team members. In reviewing the reports, you notice that
CV = –$1,938, CPI = 0.74, AC = $8,338, EV = $6,400, and BAC = $36,000, then determine that ETC
= $32,658 when you come to understand that past project assumptions are flawed. You prepare your
first presentation to senior management. What is the EAC you will report?
A. $48,649
B. $34,062
C. $37,938
D. $40,996

23. While analyzing defects, the project team is attempting to isolate the cause of a quality problem on a
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 project. After exhausting other speculations, they theorize the problem may be centered around the
impact of one variable on another. Which of the following quality control techniques will confirm a
relationship between the variables and why?
A. Either a run chart or control chart because these clearly show both the mean of all the desired
outcomes and valuable trend indicators. If the mean and trends align, that shows a relationship.
B. A Pareto diagram because it shows the percentages of each defect’s occurrence, and therefore it
logically follows that the defects that have near the same percentage are related.
C. A scatter diagram because it shows the relationship between independent and dependent
variables. This would allow the team to study and identify possible relationships between the
variables.
D. A RAM because it will show what resources are working on more than one task in the project.
The fact that a particular resource is doing work on more than one task will lead to the origin of
the problem.

24. A project undertaken to create a video game is almost complete when a key stakeholder requests
that the game offer multiplayer capability, a feature not included in the scope statement. What should
the project manager do?
A. Refuse to include the feature because it wasn’t included in the requirements documentation.
B. Create a change request and take it through the change control process.
C. Include the feature.
D. Convince the stakeholder that the feature is too expensive to include.

25. A project team working to design and install lighting for a sports stadium has purchased 50,000 light
bulbs from a vendor with whom they have not previously worked. The bulbs either work or they do
not, and before accepting the lot, the team wants to test the bulbs. There is not enough time in the
schedule to test each individual bulb. Which of the following would be the best action for the project
team to take?
A. Conduct attribute sampling on a small percentage of the bulbs and decide to accept or reject the
lot based on the results.
B. Conduct variables sampling on a small percentage of the bulbs and decide to accept or reject the
lot based on the results.
C. Insist on inspecting every bulb, regardless of the impact on the schedule.
D. Reject the entire lot.

26. The project manager leading a project to design and manufacture a new model of luxury car has been
presented with a change request to use a higher grade of leather in the interior. The project manager
estimates that the change will cost an extra $150 per car and add one month to the production
schedule for every 1,000 cars. The project calls for the production of 5,000 cars. What is the impact
of this requested change?
A. $750,000 and 5 months
B. $500,000 and 5 months
C. $150,000 and 3 months
D. The requested change has zero impact.

27. The project manager for a construction project undertaken to build a factory has determined that the
CPI for the project is 1.15 and SPI is 0.9. Which of the following is the most likely explanation?
A. Costs of raw materials increased by 15 percent since the project was planned.
B. A subcontractor was able to complete a work package on the critical path ahead of schedule.
C. The project manager fast tracked the project.
D. An unexpected snowstorm caused a work stoppage.

28. You are conducting benefit analysis with stakeholders as part of developing the business case. The
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 project requires an initial investment of $500,000, and the product of the project is expected to
generate $125,000 annually for at least the next five years. What is the payback period for this
project?
A. 4 years
B. 5 years
C. 1 year
D. 3.5 years

29. The project manager for a home restoration project has learned that the vendor he had contracted to
provide slate shingles will be unable to deliver them for several weeks. The project manager had
planned for this risk, however, and identified an alternate supplier who could provide shingles on time.
Once the roofers started installing the shingles from the new vendor, it became clear that the shingles
were a lower grade than the original vendor had agreed to supply and now there is a risk that more
shingles than planned for will break over the course of the installation. This is a .
A. Residual risk
B. Secondary risk
C. Unidentified risk
D. Minor risk

30. Near the end of a phase in the middle of a project, the project manager holds a meeting to review
what went right, what went wrong, and what could be done differently. The primary purpose of such a
meeting is to .
A. Determine if the phase was a success or failure
B. Assign credit or blame to those responsible for the success or failure
C. Improve future performance in later phases and on subsequent projects
D. Introduce the project team to the customer