PMP Question Bank – Set 2
Question 1:
A project manager is leading a complex software development project with a cross-functional team spread across multiple time zones. The sponsor has asked for bi-weekly status reports on key deliverables, but some team members are resistant to documenting their progress, claiming it distracts from the work. The project manager wants to balance sponsor requirements with team efficiency. What should the project manager do first?
A) Inform the team that status reports are mandatory and must be submitted as per the sponsor’s request.
B) Schedule a meeting with the sponsor to discuss reducing the frequency of status reports.
C) Implement automated reporting tools to reduce the burden on the team.
D) Review the communication management plan and adapt it to the needs of both the sponsor and the team.
Question 2:
During a sprint review meeting, the product owner expresses dissatisfaction with a feature that was delivered, even though it met the previously agreed-upon acceptance criteria. The product owner argues that the feature doesn’t align with the overall vision for the product. What should the project manager do in this situation?
A) Ask the product owner to formally change the acceptance criteria for future sprints.
B) Organize a follow-up meeting to gather feedback and revisit the product vision.
C) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for clarification on the vision.
D) Remind the product owner that the team followed the criteria and ask them to accept the work.
Question 3:
A project team is using an Agile approach to develop a new mobile app. Midway through the project, the customer requests a major change to the app’s core functionality. This will significantly impact the project scope and timeline. How should the project manager handle this situation?
A) Ask the customer to submit a formal change request and assess the impact on scope, time, and cost.
B) Refuse the change request, as it will delay the project and disrupt the team’s progress.
C) Incorporate the change into the current sprint to avoid additional delays.
D) Collaborate with the team and product owner to evaluate the change and adjust the backlog accordingly.
Question 4:
A project manager has identified a major risk that could potentially delay the project by two months. After conducting a qualitative risk analysis, the project manager ranks the risk as high probability and high impact. What should the project manager do next?
A) Escalate the risk to senior management and request additional resources to mitigate the impact.
B) Develop a risk response plan that includes both preventive actions and contingency reserves.
C) Update the risk register and continue to monitor the risk in future project meetings.
D) Transfer the risk to a third party through a contractual agreement.
Question 5:
A project manager overseeing a construction project realizes that key project milestones are being delayed due to frequent change orders from the client. What is the best way to manage these ongoing changes while maintaining project progress?
A) Implement a strict change control process and reject any further changes.
B) Assign a change control board to review, approve, or reject changes based on their impact.
C) Accept all changes as long as they are within the project’s budget and time constraints.
D) Ask the client to limit change requests to avoid further delays.
Question 6:
A new project manager has been assigned to a project that is nearing completion. However, the stakeholders are unhappy with some of the deliverables. The project manager wants to ensure that these issues are addressed without delaying the project further. What should the project manager do first?
A) Conduct a stakeholder analysis to understand their expectations and concerns.
B) Initiate a formal change request to rework the problematic deliverables.
C) Review the project’s acceptance criteria to ensure alignment with stakeholder expectations.
D) Meet with the project sponsor to discuss how to handle the situation.
Question 7:
A project is in its final phase, and a key vendor is unable to deliver critical materials on time due to a supply chain issue. This delay will push the project past its deadline. What should the project manager do?
A) Escalate the issue to senior management and request an extension of the project deadline.
B) Work with the procurement team to identify alternative suppliers and mitigate the delay.
C) Issue a change request to update the project schedule and communicate the delay to stakeholders.
D) Negotiate with the vendor to expedite the delivery at an additional cost.
Question 8:
A project manager is working with a geographically dispersed team using Agile practices. Some team members are having difficulty attending daily stand-ups due to time zone differences. What is the best way to address this issue?
A) Record the stand-up meetings so team members can review them later.
B) Schedule separate stand-up meetings for each time zone.
C) Use asynchronous communication tools and allow team members to update their progress at different times.
D) Rotate the meeting time every week to accommodate all team members.
Question 9:
In the middle of a project, the project manager realizes that a key stakeholder has not been actively involved in recent discussions, and their input is critical for the project’s success. How should the project manager address this situation?
A) Contact the stakeholder directly and request their immediate involvement.
B) Review the stakeholder engagement plan and adjust strategies to re-engage the stakeholder.
C) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor to gain the stakeholder’s attention.
D) Continue the project without the stakeholder’s input and document their absence.
Question 10:
A project manager is leading a project to upgrade a company’s IT infrastructure. Halfway through the project, a significant technological advancement is announced that could make the current project solution obsolete. What should the project manager do?
A) Ignore the new technology and continue with the current project plan.
B) Immediately halt the project and propose adopting the new technology.
C) Perform an impact analysis to evaluate how the new technology could affect the project.
D) Consult the project sponsor and recommend canceling the project.
Question 11:
During a project, the team realizes that one of the key tasks on the critical path has been delayed, jeopardizing the project’s delivery date. The team suggests fast-tracking some activities to recover lost time. What is the primary risk of fast-tracking in this situation?
A) Increased costs due to additional resources.
B) Increased likelihood of rework and quality issues.
C) Reduced team morale due to the increased workload.
D) Additional risks from overlapping project activities.
Question 12:
A project is ahead of schedule, and the sponsor suggests reassigning some resources to another critical project. The project manager is concerned that removing resources could impact future work. How should the project manager respond?
A) Accept the sponsor’s request and reassign the resources immediately.
B) Conduct a resource leveling analysis to assess the impact of reassigning resources.
C) Request that the sponsor delay reassigning resources until the project is complete.
D) Reject the sponsor’s request to ensure that the project remains ahead of schedule.
Question 13:
A project manager is leading a high-priority project, and the customer has requested that all deliverables meet a specific set of quality standards. The team has had trouble meeting these standards, resulting in frequent rework. What should the project manager do to address this issue?
A) Increase the frequency of quality audits to catch issues early.
B) Review the quality management plan and provide additional training to the team.
C) Add more resources to the project to help with quality control.
D) Negotiate with the customer to relax the quality standards.
Question 14:
A project manager is leading a multi-year project, and the client has recently introduced a requirement for all project deliverables to comply with a new set of regulatory standards. How should the project manager handle this new requirement?
A) Reject the new requirement, as it was not part of the original project scope.
B) Submit a change request and assess the impact on the project scope, schedule, and budget.
C) Modify the deliverables to meet the new standards without formal approval.
D) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and ask for additional funding.
Question 15:
A project sponsor informs the project manager that a key regulatory requirement was missed during the project planning phase, and the project must now be delayed to address it. How should the project manager respond?
A) Accept the delay and update the project schedule to reflect the new requirement.
B) Initiate a root cause analysis to identify how the requirement was missed.
C) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor and request additional resources to avoid delays.
D) Perform a risk analysis to assess the impact of incorporating the requirement.
Question 16:
During a project to develop a new product, the customer requests additional features that were not part of the original scope. These features will require a significant amount of additional work. What should the project manager do first?
A) Reject the request, as it is outside the original scope.
B) Submit a change request and assess the impact on scope, time, and cost.
C) Incorporate the additional features into the current work to keep the customer happy.
D) Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate the customer’s request.
Question 17:
A project manager is using earned value management (EVM) to track project performance. The project’s cost performance index (CPI) is 0.85, and the schedule performance index (SPI) is 0.95. What do these values indicate about the project?
A) The project is under budget and slightly behind schedule.
B) The project is over budget and slightly behind schedule.
C) The project is under budget and slightly ahead of schedule.
D) The project is over budget and slightly ahead of schedule.
Question 18:
The project team is using a Kanban board to manage their work. Recently, the board has been cluttered with tasks, and the team is struggling to prioritize their work. What should the project manager do?
A) Limit the work in progress (WIP) to prevent overload.
B) Remove low-priority tasks from the board to reduce clutter.
C) Implement daily stand-ups to help the team manage their tasks.
D) Assign a team member to monitor the board and reassign tasks as necessary.
Question 19:
A project sponsor is concerned about potential delays in a software development project due to dependencies on external vendors. The project manager wants to minimize the risk of vendor delays impacting the critical path. What should the project manager do?
A) Add extra float to activities that depend on vendor deliverables.
B) Use procurement contracts that include penalties for late delivery.
C) Schedule regular meetings with vendors to monitor their progress.
D) Negotiate with vendors to ensure that all critical tasks are completed early.
Question 20:
During a project review, the project manager discovers that the project’s burn-down chart shows a steady decline in work completed, and the team is not meeting their sprint goals. What should the project manager do?
A) Increase the number of team members to speed up work completion.
B) Reevaluate the team’s capacity and adjust the sprint goals accordingly.
C) Conduct a root cause analysis to determine why the team is not meeting their goals.
D) Shorten the sprint length to improve the team’s focus on tasks.
Question 21:
A project manager is leading a software development project using Scrum. The team is struggling to complete the user stories within the sprint. The project manager wants to improve the team’s velocity. What should the project manager do?
A) Break down user stories into smaller tasks that can be completed within a sprint.
B) Add more team members to increase the team’s capacity.
C) Extend the sprint length to give the team more time to complete their work.
D) Reduce the number of user stories included in each sprint.
Question 22:
During a project to develop a new product, the customer has expressed concerns about the project’s direction and requested frequent updates on progress. How should the project manager handle this request?
A) Increase the frequency of formal status reports to keep the customer informed.
B) Schedule regular meetings with the customer to provide updates and gather feedback.
C) Assign a team member to be the main point of contact for customer updates.
D) Implement a change control process to manage the customer’s requests.
Question 23:
A project manager is working with a team to develop a new feature for an existing product. Midway through the project, the customer requests that the feature be completely redesigned. What should the project manager do?
A) Explain to the customer that the redesign will delay the project and impact the budget.
B) Submit a change request and assess the impact of the redesign on the project’s scope, schedule, and cost.
C) Proceed with the redesign and adjust the project plan to accommodate the changes.
D) Refuse the redesign request, as it is outside the original scope.
Question 24:
A project is in its early stages, and the project manager is working with the team to develop a risk management plan. What is the primary purpose of a risk management plan?
A) To identify potential risks that could impact the project.
B) To define how risks will be monitored and controlled throughout the project.
C) To outline risk response strategies for known risks.
D) To create a risk register that will be updated throughout the project.
Question 25:
A project is behind schedule, and the project manager has requested that the team work overtime to catch up. However, the team is already experiencing low morale due to high workloads. What should the project manager do?
A) Continue with the overtime request to meet the project deadline.
B) Reevaluate the project schedule and consider extending the deadline.
C) Hire additional resources to relieve the workload on the team.
D) Schedule a team-building activity to improve morale before continuing with overtime.
Question 26:
During a project’s execution phase, a team member identifies an opportunity to improve a process that could reduce costs by 15%. However, implementing this improvement will require a temporary halt in production, which could delay the project by one week. How should the project manager handle this?
A) Approve the process improvement as the cost savings outweigh the delay.
B) Submit a change request to assess the impact of the delay on the overall project.
C) Reject the suggestion, as the project is already under a tight deadline.
D) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for approval.
Question 27:
A project manager is working on a project to develop new software for a client. During the testing phase, the team identifies several defects that will require rework. This rework will push the project past the agreed-upon delivery date. What should the project manager do first?
A) Inform the client about the defects and negotiate a new delivery date.
B) Instruct the team to work overtime to meet the original deadline.
C) Perform an impact analysis to determine how the defects will affect the schedule.
D) Add additional resources to the project to accelerate the rework.
Question 28:
A project manager is managing a large construction project, and a major stakeholder is consistently requesting changes to the project scope. These changes are small but frequent and are starting to affect the project schedule. What should the project manager do?
A) Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution.
B) Update the schedule to reflect the impact of each change request.
C) Enforce the change control process to manage and assess each request’s impact on time and cost.
D) Accept the changes as long as they do not affect the project’s critical path.
Question 29:
A project manager is leading a high-profile project with multiple stakeholders who have conflicting interests. The project sponsor asks the project manager to prioritize one stakeholder’s requests over others to meet an aggressive deadline. What should the project manager do?
A) Comply with the sponsor’s request to maintain a good relationship with the sponsor.
B) Balance the requests of all stakeholders and ensure that no stakeholder is favored.
C) Escalate the issue to senior management to resolve the conflict between stakeholders.
D) Facilitate a stakeholder meeting to discuss the conflicting interests and seek alignment.
Question 30:
A project team is in the execution phase of a software development project. The project sponsor has requested several features that were not included in the original scope, and the project manager is concerned about scope creep. What is the most appropriate action for the project manager to take?
A) Add the requested features to the project to keep the sponsor happy.
B) Use the change control process to evaluate the impact of the new features on the project’s scope, schedule, and cost.
C) Refuse the request, as it falls outside of the agreed-upon scope.
D) Accept the sponsor’s request and adjust the project baseline accordingly.
Question 31:
A project manager is overseeing a project that involves multiple vendors. One vendor has consistently delivered their work late, causing delays in the project. What should the project manager do to address this issue?
A) Terminate the contract with the vendor and find a replacement.
B) Work with the vendor to create a recovery plan to get the project back on track.
C) Escalate the issue to senior management and request additional resources.
D) Negotiate a penalty clause in the contract to hold the vendor accountable for future delays.
Question 32:
A project manager notices that the project team is frequently missing deadlines for completing tasks, despite the schedule being realistic. Upon investigation, the project manager finds that team members are unclear about their responsibilities. What should the project manager do to address this issue?
A) Review and clarify roles and responsibilities with the team to ensure alignment.
B) Conduct a performance review to identify underperforming team members.
C) Implement a stricter reporting process to monitor task completion more closely.
D) Reassign tasks to ensure they are completed by more experienced team members.
Question 33:
During a project status meeting, the project manager realizes that several high-priority risks identified in the risk register have not been addressed. What should the project manager do next?
A) Update the risk register and continue monitoring the risks during future meetings.
B) Escalate the unaddressed risks to the project sponsor and request additional resources.
C) Review the risk response strategies and assign team members to address the high-priority risks immediately.
D) Add additional contingency reserves to the project budget to mitigate the risks.
Question 34:
A project manager is working on a project with a tight deadline. The team suggests using a new, untested technology that could speed up delivery but may introduce unforeseen risks. How should the project manager proceed?
A) Approve the use of the new technology to meet the tight deadline.
B) Reject the suggestion and stick with the current technology to avoid risks.
C) Perform a risk analysis to evaluate the potential impact of using the new technology.
D) Present the suggestion to the project sponsor for final approval.
Question 35:
A project is experiencing frequent changes to the scope, which is causing delays and increasing costs. The project manager wants to improve control over these changes. What is the best approach to manage this situation?
A) Implement a more rigid change control process to evaluate the impact of changes.
B) Ask the customer to limit the number of changes to avoid further delays.
C) Escalate the issue to senior management to request additional resources.
D) Review the project scope and re-baseline the schedule to accommodate future changes.
Question 36:
A project manager is leading a cross-functional team, and some team members are consistently completing their tasks late. These delays are causing bottlenecks in other areas of the project. What should the project manager do to address this situation?
A) Implement a stricter deadline policy for team members who are missing deadlines.
B) Use a team-building activity to improve collaboration and communication.
C) Meet with the team members individually to understand the root causes of the delays and provide support.
D) Assign additional resources to the tasks that are consistently late to meet the deadlines.
Question 37:
A project manager is using earned value management (EVM) to track project performance. The cost variance (CV) is negative, and the schedule variance (SV) is also negative. What does this indicate about the project?
A) The project is under budget but behind schedule.
B) The project is over budget but ahead of schedule.
C) The project is over budget and behind schedule.
D) The project is under budget and ahead of schedule.
Question 38:
A project manager is preparing for a project kick-off meeting. One of the key stakeholders is unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts. What should the project manager do?
A) Postpone the meeting until the stakeholder is available.
B) Hold the meeting as scheduled and provide the stakeholder with the meeting minutes.
C) Reschedule the meeting with a smaller group of stakeholders.
D) Hold a separate meeting with the stakeholder after the kick-off meeting.
Question 39:
A project manager is managing a project in a highly regulated industry, and new regulations are introduced midway through the project. How should the project manager respond to this change?
A) Perform a risk analysis to assess how the new regulations will impact the project.
B) Immediately update the project’s scope to include compliance with the new regulations.
C) Request additional funding from the project sponsor to cover the cost of compliance.
D) Escalate the issue to senior management for guidance on how to proceed.
Question 40:
A project manager is leading a project to develop a new product. During a sprint review, the customer expresses dissatisfaction with the progress and requests changes that would significantly alter the project’s scope. How should the project manager respond?
A) Implement the requested changes to satisfy the customer and avoid conflict.
B) Explain the impact of the changes and submit a change request to evaluate the impact on scope, time, and cost.
C) Reject the changes, as they fall outside of the agreed-upon scope.
D) Ask the team to accommodate the changes without delaying the project.
Question 41:
A project manager is managing a project with both predictive and Agile components. The team is struggling to balance the two approaches, and progress is slow. What is the best way for the project manager to address this challenge?
A) Prioritize the predictive components to ensure progress on critical tasks.
B) Increase the frequency of Agile ceremonies to improve team communication.
C) Use hybrid project management techniques to integrate the best practices of both approaches.
D) Assign a separate team to handle the Agile components while the main team focuses on the predictive tasks.
Question 42:
A project manager is leading a project to develop a new IT system. The customer has requested several enhancements to the system, but the team is already struggling to meet the original schedule. How should the project manager handle this situation?
A) Reject the enhancements to avoid further delays.
B) Submit a change request and assess the impact on the project’s schedule and budget.
C) Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate the enhancements.
D) Incorporate the enhancements into the project and adjust the schedule later if needed.
Question 43:
A project manager has identified a critical risk that could potentially delay the project by several months. The project team has proposed several risk response strategies, but there is no consensus on the best approach. What should the project manager do?
A) Select the response that minimizes cost, as long as it also reduces the risk impact.
B) Facilitate a risk response meeting with key stakeholders to evaluate the options.
C) Choose the most conservative approach to minimize the impact of the risk.
D) Implement all proposed responses to ensure the risk is fully mitigated.
Question 44:
A project is nearing completion, and the project manager is preparing for the project’s closeout phase. However, the customer has requested a few additional changes that were not included in the original contract. What is the best course of action for the project manager?
A) Implement the changes to maintain a positive relationship with the customer.
B) Submit a change request and assess the impact on the project’s cost and schedule.
C) Refuse the changes, as they fall outside the original scope and contract.
D) Negotiate with the customer to defer the changes to a future project.
Question 45:
A project manager is conducting a lessons learned session at the end of a project. Several team members are reluctant to provide feedback due to fear of criticism. How can the project manager encourage open and constructive feedback?
A) Ensure that the feedback session is anonymous to protect team members.
B) Invite only key team members to the session to limit negative comments.
C) Encourage team members to focus only on positive aspects of the project.
D) Reassure the team that the feedback is for learning and improvement, not for assigning blame.
Question 46:
A project manager is working on a complex project with a large number of deliverables. The customer has asked for early delivery of one critical deliverable, but the project is already behind schedule. What should the project manager do?
A) Prioritize the critical deliverable and allocate additional resources to ensure early delivery.
B) Inform the customer that early delivery is not possible due to the project’s current status.
C) Submit a change request to assess the impact of delivering the critical deliverable early.
D) Negotiate with the customer to extend the overall project timeline in exchange for early delivery of the critical deliverable.
Question 47:
A project manager is managing a project using Scrum. During the daily stand-ups, the team frequently brings up issues that are not related to the sprint goal. This is causing the stand-ups to go over time. What should the project manager do?
A) Limit the discussion in the stand-up to issues directly related to the sprint goal.
B) Extend the time allocated for the stand-up to allow for additional discussion.
C) Allow the team to discuss all issues to promote open communication.
D) Schedule a separate meeting for non-sprint-related issues.
Question 48:
A project is facing significant delays due to a key team member leaving the project unexpectedly. What should the project manager do first?
A) Hire a replacement immediately to avoid further delays.
B) Assess the impact of the team member’s departure on the project schedule and budget.
C) Reassign tasks to other team members to keep the project on track.
D) Inform the project sponsor and request additional resources.
Question 49:
A project manager is preparing a project management plan and needs to determine the appropriate level of detail for the work breakdown structure (WBS). What is the most important factor to consider when determining the level of detail?
A) The complexity of the project tasks.
B) The experience level of the team members.
C) The time available to complete the WBS.
D) The project’s budget constraints.
Question 50:
A project is using a hybrid methodology with both predictive and Agile components. The project manager is finding it difficult to balance the needs of the two approaches. What should the project manager do to improve project execution?
A) Focus on the predictive components to ensure that all planned work is completed.
B) Use Agile principles to increase flexibility and adaptability in all areas of the project.
C) Create a hybrid project management plan that integrates the strengths of both approaches.
D) Assign a separate team to handle the Agile components to avoid delays in the predictive work.
