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Practice Questions
On
Project Management Framework
Aligned to PMBOK® Guide 4th Edition

Created by: Maneesh Vijaya, PMP

Of

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S. No. Questions
Answer: C
1. Since the project manager is filling out forms because of company
policy, this is a good example of an enterprise environmental factor.
Answer: B
2. A project doesn’t have to be strategic or critical. It only needs to be
temporary, have a specific result and be progressively elaborated.
Answer: A
3. Since the initiatives are being managed together because of a strategic
business goal, you can tell that this is a portfolio.
Answer: D
4. The sponsor is the person who pays for the project. The project
manager doesn’t usually play that role.
Answer: B
The process groups categorize all of the activities that a project goes
5.
through in its lifecycle. They are Initiatng, Planning, Executing,
Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing.
Answer: D
Initiating is a process group, not a knowledge area. The process groups
help you to think about all of the different stages a project goes through
6.
from the time it is first imagined until it is completed. The knowledge
areas are all the things you need to think about as your project goes
through those stages.
Answer: D
Since a portfolio can be a group of programs and projects, option D is
7.
the one that’s not true. It can be a group of programs, but it doesn’t
have to be.
Answer: A
Your knowledge of Earned Value Management techniques is how you
can predict that the project will be over budget. Knowing that could let
8.
you plan ahead to avoid further cost overruns. Minimally, it can help
you to reset expectations with your stakeholders so they have a better
idea of what’s coming.
Answer: C
This is a resource constraint, because the project manager’s resources
– in this case, the people who will be testing the software – are not
going to be available to her when she needs them. Yes, this will cause
9. problems with the quality, introduce risks, and cause schedule
problems. But they’re not schedule, time or risk constraints, because
there’s no outside limitation placed on the project quality, schedule or
risks. The only outside limitation is the resource availability. If they were
available, there wouldn’t be a problem!

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S. No. Questions
Answer: C
The way that the project manager interacts with the people on his team
interfered with his work getting done. This is a good example of how a
10.
lack of personal skills can lead directly to major project problems down
the line, and it’s why this particular project manager needs to work on
his personal skills.
Answer: B
11. Scale is not a project constraint. The constraints are Scope, Time, Cost,
Quality, Resource, and Risk.
Answer: C
There is no mention of the project being late or missing its deadlines in
the example. The project was over budget, which affects the project’s
12.
cost. The project won’t meet the stakeholder’s requirements, which is a
Quality problem. And the staff was more expensive than planned, which
is a resource problem.
Answer: A
13. Building a purchase order system for accounts payable is a project. It’s
a temporary effort that has a unique result.
Answer: D
14. When a stakeholder is negatively impacted by your project, you need to
manage his expectations and help him to buy into your project.
Answer: B
15. The stakeholder register is where you identify all of the people who are
impacted by your project.
Answer: D
A program is a group of projects that should be managed together
16.
because of interdependencies. A program charter fits the description in
this question.
Answer: C
17. A portfolio charter will give the business goal that a group of projects
and programs will accomplish as part of a portfolio.
Answer: A
Since the project manager has to ask permission from the functional
18.
manager and can’t overrule him, she’s working in a functional
organization.
Answer: C
The Project Manager in this scenario can overrule the functional
manager, so she’s working in a Strong Matrix organization. If it were a
19.
projectized organization, she wouldn’t have to get permission from the
functional manager at all because she’d be the person with authority to
assign resources to projects.

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S. No. Questions
Answer: C
20. The Executing process group is the one where the team does all the
work. You’ll get a good feel for the process groups pretty quickly!
Answer: D
One of the hardest things that a project manager has to do on a project
is figure out who all the stakeholders are. The project manager, the
team, the sponsor (or client), the customers and people who will use
21.
the software, the senior managers at the company—they’re all
stakeholders. Competitors aren’t stakeholders, because even though
they’re affected by the project, they don’t actually have any direct
influence over it.
Answer: C
The Procurement Management knowledge area deals with contracts,
22. contractors, buyers and sellers. If you’ve got a question about a type of
contract or how to deal with contract problems, you’re being asked
about a Procurement Management process.
Answer: A
People who will be directly affected by the project are stakeholders, and
23. when you’re creating a list of them you’re performing the Identify
Stakeholders process. That’s one of the two processes in the Initiating
process group.
Answer: A
The first things that are created on a project are the charter (which you
24. create in the Develop Project Charter process) and the Stakeholder
Register (which you create in the Identify Stakeholders process).
You do those things when you’re initiating the project.
Answer: C
The work of an IT support department doesn’t have an end date—it’s
25. not temporary. That’s why it’s not a project. Now, if that support team
had to work over the weekend to move the data center to a new
location, then that would be a project!
Answer: B
Agile development is a really good example of an iterative approach to
26. project phases. In an Agile project, the team will typically break down
the project into phases, where they work on the current phase while
planning out the next one.

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S. No. Questions
Answer: B
If there’s an increased risk of a project because one phase can’t start
until another one ends, that means your project phases aren’t
overlapping. When you’ve got overlapping phases, that means that you
typically have multiple teams that start their phases independently of
each other. Also, take another look at answer C, because it’s an
important point about overlapping phases. When your phases have an
27. overlapping relationship, there’s an increased risk of rework. This
typically happens when one team delivers the results of their project,
but made assumptions about what another team is doing as part of their
phase. When that other team delivers their work, it turns out that the
results that both teams produced aren’t quite compatible with each
other, and now both teams have to go back and rework their designs.
This happens a lot when your phases overlap, which is why overlapping
phases have an increased risk of rework.
Answer: D
28. In a projectized organization, the project manager has the power to
assign tasks, manage the budget, and release the team.
Answer: D
In a weak matrix, project managers have very limited authority. They
have to share a lot of responsibility with functional managers, and those
29.
functional managers have a lot of leeway to make decisions about how
the team members are managed. In an organization like that, the
project manager isn’t given a lot of responsibility.
Answer A
30. Remember that if the question doesn't state what it is comparing to, it
is comparing to a functional organization.
Answer A
The project coordinator reports to a higher-level manager and has
31.
authority to make some decisions. The project expediter has no
authority to make decisions.
Answer D
The main drawback of the projectized organization is that at the end of
32.
the project, the team is dispersed but they do not have a functional
department ("home") to which to return.
Answer A
In a functional organization, the project manager has the least support
33.
for the project and has little authority to assign resources. Choices C
and D are roles in a weak matrix organization.
Answer C
34. Because a project done in a matrix organization involves people from
across the organization, communications are more complex

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S. No. Questions
Answer B
35. In a functional organization, the functional manager is the team
member's boss and probably also the project manager's boss.
Answer A
36. In a projectized organization, the entire company is organized by
projects, giving the project manager the most power.
Answer D
Choice D implies that the whole project repeats every month.
37.
Generally, the only things that might repeat in a project are some
activities. The whole project does not repeat.
Answer A
38. Giving stakeholders extras is known as gold plating. This is not
effective stakeholder or quality management
Answer C
This is an example of a project expediter position because you are not
39. evaluating the change, looking for impacts, etc. You are merely
implementing others' requests. In this case, you are acting as the
project expediter.
Answer C
Some students may think this question has more than one right
answer. It does not. There are many things the project manager can do,
40. but what should be done? The company policies are managed by the
project management office and the project manager should make sure
the stakeholders have dear information by sending them directly to the
authority on company policies for project management.
Answer B
There are many things the project manager could do. Choice A is not
the best choice, as the other project manager might not be an
experienced mentor. His advice might not be adequate to help this
project manager. Choice C is reactive, while a project manager should
41.
be proactive. Choice D is not the best choice. It would be helpful, but
does not specifically address the issues in this situation. If the PMO is
contacted, the project manager can receive the knowledge of many
project managers, historical information from many projects, and have
the assistance of someone whose job it is to help.
Answer B
The project life cycle does incorporate 2 methodology—for doing the
work—so choice A cannot be best. It is the product life cycle that
42. spawns many projects, so choice C cannot be best. Project
management activities are described in the project management
process, so choice D cannot be best. The project life cycle is different
for each industry, so choice B is the best answer.

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S. No. Questions
Answer A
43.
The best answer is the need for management to support the objectives.
Answer C
44. Because orders are numerous and of short duration, this situation is a
process, not a project
Answer A
Choice B would help improve subsequent phases, but would do
nothing for control and deliverables. Choice C would help control each
phase, but would not control the integration of the phases into a
45.
cohesive whole. Choice D would help, but not help both control and
deliverables for each phase. Effective project management requires a
life cycle approach to running the project Choice A is the only answer
that covers both control and deliverables.
Answer B
This work has entered the manufacturing stage. Manufacturing is
46.
generally considered a process, not a project, as it is not temporary. A
project charter will not be appropriate here.
Answer C
Because the question talks about priorities among projects, this cannot
47.
be the role of the project manager (choice A), the project management
team (choice B). or the project team (choice D).
Answer B
48.
These are all reasons why projects are initiated.
Answer C
49.
Operational work is that which is ongoing to sustain an organization.
Answer A
Notice that this question asks about the use of a tool of project
management. Many people can learn from a book what a lesson
learned document is, but questions like this can more readily be
50. answered if you actually use the tool and know from experience its
value. Ask yourself about the other tools of project management. Why
are they beneficial? The BEST use of lessons learned is choice A.
There are other tools that are better for accomplishing the things listed
in the other choices.
Answer D
The best answer is stakeholders, as their input is critical for collecting
51.
all the lessons learned on each project. The term "stakeholders"
includes all the other groups.
Answer C
Remember the definition of a project: temporary and unique.
52. Operations and maintenance are considered on-going activities, not
temporary. Therefore, such work is not considered a project or part of a
project

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S. No. Questions
Answer B
53. Did you select choice C? If so, you missed the word "unrelated."
Programs are groups of related projects
Answer B
Lessons learned help to avoid future pitfalls and use the good ideas of
54.
past projects.
This leads to improvements in future projects.
Answer C
55. Notice the use of the word "detailed" Such a budget is created during
the planning process group.
Answer D
56. The project charter is needed before planning and execution of the
work can begin.
Answer C
Communications requirements and quality standards are needed
before risks (especially risks relating to communications and quality)
can be determined (choice A). Iterations (choice B) cannot begin until
the risks are identified, qualified, quantified, and responses developed.
57.
These then create the need to revise the WBS and other parts of the
project management plan. A bar chart (choice D) would have been
done during the creation of the schedule, so it cannot be the next thing.
Of the choices listed, determine communications requirements (choice
C) are the best.
Answer B
In the project management process, the project budget (choice A),
58. project management plan (choice C), and detailed risk assessment
(choice D) come after the schedule. The only answer that could be an
input is the WBS.
Answer A
59. The project manager should be named early in the project, during
project initiating if possible.
Answer D
Notice the question asks which is NOT an input to the initiating process
group. Did you read it correctly? The project scope statement (choice
60. D) is an output of the planning process group. Did you select choice A?
Companies should have processes in place for hiring resources,
reporting, and managing risks on projects [to name only a few}. Does
yours?

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