PMP General Paper-12

1. A software development project is in planning. After applying all available schedule compression techniques to
the max, the project manager squeezes the schedule into 18 months duration and submits the project management
plan for approval. However, the client rejects the plan saying its unacceptable that the project will not deliver any
value for 18 months.

What is the best course of action for the project manager?

A. Apply fast-tracking to tasks that reside on the critical path

B. Incorporate incremental product development within a predictive model
C. Crash the schedule by hiring additional software developers
D. Submit a change request to update the project management plan

2. Your software development project is in initiation. The sponsor wants to take advantage of early revenue from
incremental delivery and pushes to use an agile approach.

However, the team is strongly opposed to agile due to strife among the team members. They insist on a predictive
approach so they can work independently with individual task assignments. What is your best course of action to
address these conflicts?

A. Apply an agile project management approach as requested by the sponsor

B. Recommend to lead the project using a hybrid project management approach

C. Select a predictive approach to avoid conflict among the team members

D. Adopt an XP framework since it is agile, but team members work independently

3. An agile leader wants to ensure that the team follows the Agile Manifesto value of working software over
comprehensive documentation. What should the agile leader recommend to the team?

A. Create only those documents that are legally required

B. Apply refactoring to documentation after it has been created

C. Add must-have documentation user stories to the backlog

D. Develop only software without creating any documentation

4. Project team members develop a document that describes values that are important to the team's success such
as sharing best practices. listening to each other with an open mind, and communicating respectfully during
meetings.

What would be the result of the team's effort?

A. Team management plan

B. Team charter

C. Resource management plan

D. Resource requirements

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5. You are managing a hotel construction project, and you have asked your project team to calculate the current
earned value metrics to determine the project performance. Your team reports back that the projects to-complete
performance index (TCPI) is 0.9 based on the budget at completion (BAC). Which of the following is true regarding
your project's current situation as reflected by this TCPI value?

A. The project is within budget

B. The project is over budget

C. The project is behind schedule

D. The project is ahead of schedule

6. During your most recent conference call, the key stakeholders suggest that it would be more helpful to them if
the status reports were sent via email instead of the weekly call.

What area of communications management will you have to change to address the stakeholders' request?

A. The communication method

B. The communication model

C. The project communications

D. The communication channels

7. A multi-phase project will deliver a self-driving car. Most phases have well-defined requirements. a clear cost
structure, and a fixed schedule. The prototype phase is characterized by high variability. To maximize focus and
collaboration, the project manager decides that the prototype phase will be performed by a self-organizing team of
generalizing specialists.
Which of the following is the project manager trying to avoid by putting together this collaborative team?

A. Improved communication

B. Increased time for decision making

C. Better knowledge sharing

D. Higher flexibility of work assignments

8. The latest aeration in the project went far better than the first iteration. Some claim it was the increased
communication. Others credit the change in the social media strategy. While others feel it was due to the inclusion
of a training course. What should the project manager do to make the next iteration even more successful?

A. Include another training course in the next iteration

B. Update the lessons learned register with what worked well

C. Double the communications in the next iteration

D. Increase the usage of the social media tools in the next iteration

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9. Due to the worldwide outbreak of a new deadly virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) issues a bid for
pharmaceutical companies to develop a vaccine against the virus. The goal is clear -preventing the virus from
spreading. The solution. though. is far from being defined. However, once the vaccine is developed. the approval
process is very formal and structured.

What project management approach is best for this project?

A. Hybrid

B. Agile

C. Predictive

D. Any

10. After several iterations, some of the stakeholders from your software development project have begun to raise
concerns about the product your team has developed so far. The stakeholders claim the product is not what they
had envisioned at the beginning of the project when you interviewed them as part of the Collect Requirements
process.

What did you likely miss earlier?

A. Planning a response to the risk of building a wrong product

B. Conducting targeted brainstorming sessions

C. Creating a detailed WBS during project initiation

D. Developing adequate prototypes

11. A project has been chartered with so many unknowns and little clarity as to how the products are to be built and
designed even though it is extremely clear to all that something has to be done and fast.

What is the best approach for the project manager to take?

A. Ensure all stakeholders are in agreement on the product and project scope at the start, then progress towards
one solution

B. Establish an evolving product roadmap, then define and refine the scope as the project progresses

C. Stabilize the primary project requirements before any project team members are acquired

D. Create a program of different projects to see which one works best

12. The project is struggling. The project team looks to you for leadership. What should you do?

A. Work with the executives to reduce stress from the team

B. Offer help in analyzing and resolving technical issues

C. Provide guidance. motivation, and direction to the team

D. Apply the strategic and business industry expertise

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13. A project manager has just received formal acceptance and final payment from a client for a software
development project. The project manager needs to begin preparing the final project report. Which of the following
will be most useful in creating the final report?

A. Stakeholder register

B. Communications management plan

C. Project charter

D. Closing report register

14. Your agile project needs specialists that are not available locally. You find the needed resources across the globe.
but due to various constraints. cannot colocate them for the duration of the project. You decide to organize the
team in a virtual environment. The kick-off meeting is in a few weeks from now, and the company allows only one
quarterly in-person meeting.

What is your best course of action to have the team attend the kick-off?

A. Have the team members connect to the video conference during the meeting

B. If possible. bring the team members to attend the kick-off meeting in person

C. Record the kick-off meeting on a video and send the recording to the team

D. Do nothing since agile teams are empowered to make their own decisions

15. As a scrum master, you are leading a user story relative sizing exercise, when two developers begin screaming at
each other over the number of points that should be assigned to a particular user story. You separate the two
developers before the argument becomes physical.

Considering this is not the first such incident, what should you do to try and resolve the conflict?

A. Dismiss the meeting and meet with the developers afterward

B. Average the story point estimates provided by the two team members

C. Allow the developers to work out the issue on their own

D. Use the ideal time estimation method instead of story points

16. A vendor did not perform as contracted, so you are withholding payment as stipulated by the contract. The
vendor started using foul language and is calling you names. Your team members are furious, and some of them
have responded similarly. Even though you are angry as well. you stay calm and handle the situation with respect.

Which of the following have you demonstrated by responding to the situation in this way?

A. Conducted yourself in a professional manner

B. Proved to be loyal to the vendor

C Protected team members from the fight

D. Boosted team morale

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17. A defense contractor has been engaged by the government to develop an anti-missile system to intercept
missiles launched from neighboring countries. The contractor completed similar projects in the past using an
established predictive project methodology. However, due to the new type of missiles used by the attackers, the
solution for the anti-missile system is unclear.

A combination of what project management approaches would work best for this project?

A. Predictive and traditional

B. Traditional and agile

C. Agile and incremental

D. Incremental and adaptive

18. You and your project team hold a meet-and-greet with stakeholders from a different country. Feedback after the
meeting indicates that your project team felt the stakeholders were distant and aloof as they kept stepping back
when engaged in conversation. Whereas, some of the stakeholders thought the project team was too pushy and did
not respect their personal space. What could have helped you to avoid these perceptions?

A. Better cultural awareness

B. Improved political awareness

C. Conducting the meeting virtually

D. Applying conflict management skills

19. You are leading a project to develop a software application. The application is being built incrementally using a
scrum framework. Due to low stakeholder engagement, you submit a change request to update the stakeholder
engagement plan with an invitation for key project stakeholders to participate in sprint planning and retrospectives.
What tool or technique are you planning to use?

A. Expert judgment

B. Meetings

C. Communication skills

D. Stakeholder register

20. A project manager is in the execution stage of a construction project. Poor weather conditions that have
hampered progress on the project caused the project to fall behind schedule. Additionally. two of the vendors have
been unable to perform as contracted. The project manager now needs to implement the responses planned for
these risks.

What tool or technique will be most valuable to the project manager in this scenario?

A.Influencing to encourage risk owners to take necessary action

B. Facilitation to improve the effectiveness of risk responses

C. Networking to interact with project stakeholders and develop contacts

D. Probability and impact matrix to assess the odds that the risk responses will be successful
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21. You have just taken over a project in the middle of the fourth of five phases. The project is running behind
schedule which is attributed to poor performance of the project team. You want to improve their performance and
avoid repeating past mistakes.

What should you do first?

A. Review the project team assignments

B. Examine the lessons learned register

C. Check out the team charter

D. Meet with the team and ask for their input

22. A project manager is informed by a project stakeholder that the newest project team member has, on more than
one occasion, arrived to work more than 30 minutes late. This news comes as a surprise as you haven't had any
similar issues with the project team previously.

What may have prevented this situation?

A. Training for the project team on cultural awareness

B. Conflict management training for the project team members

C. Capturing the issue in the issue log

D. Reviewing the team charter periodically with the team

23. A project manager is leading a project. which has experienced greater than anticipated weather-related delays.
To keep the project on schedule, the project manager will need to access the contingency reserves allocated for this
risk.

What should the project manager do next?

A. Submit a change request to access the contingency reserves

B . Escalate the issue to the key project stakeholders

C. Access the contingency reserves as needed to meet the project objectives

D. Send a request to the project management office (PMO)

24. Your boss is giving you a rough outline of the scope. constraints, and risks involved in a prospective clients
project. The project is highly similar to the project you are currently closing. The sponsor wants to know how long
this project would take your team to complete. You think your team may need two months, but what should your
answer be?

A. "Let me run some numbers in a simulation, and get back to you tomorrow."

B. "Give us two months. We will knock it out just like the project that we are closing now."

C. "If it truly resembles this project we are closing, it could be six to ten weeks."

D. "Considering the uncertainty in scope, I estimate three months."

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25. A project management plan for a multi-phase project is under development. As part of the Define Activities
process. the project manager creates the activity list. All but one phase, the development of the product. will be
managed traditionally. The product development phase will be carried out using agile techniques.

How should the activity list be handled during the product development phase?

A. Reprioritized during the daily standup meetings

B. Updated periodically as the phase progresses

C. Revised at the beginning of each project phase

D. Kept unchanged for the duration of the project

26. A project manager is leading a project that recently transitioned from a predictive phase to an agile phase that
will utilize Scrumban. As the development team reviews the Kanban board, they begin arguing over who will
complete the required user stories. At an impasse, the project manager begins assigning the user stories to specific
team members.

What might the project manager have done differently?

A. Facilitated an update to the team charter for the agile phase of the project

B. Avoided different project management approaches for different phases

C. Used eXtreme Programming framework instead of the Scrumban method

D. Nothing could have been done differently since conflict is unavoidable.

27. During project execution, some of the project team members are working in different cities. It has come to the
attention of the project manager that these team members are multitasking during video conference calls and
missing vital information. As a result, team cohesion is lacking which has caused the project to fall behind schedule.

What tool or technique could the project manager use to address the issue and get the project back on schedule?

A. Colocation

B. Virtual team

C. Communication technology

D. Cross-functional team

28. An agile project manager has contracted with a vendor to develop some of the deliverables required for the
project. The vendor is also using an agile project management approach to deliver their work.

How should the progress of the vendor be assessed?

A. By reviewing the weekly progress reports from the vendor

B. By attending the vendor team's daily stand up meetings

C. By conducting procurement audits of the vendors processes

D. By reviewing the released versions of the vendors work

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29. You have just finalized the project management plan for your project. The plan is ready to be approved.

What should you do to obtain approval?

A. Nothing. The project management plan does not require formal approval.

B. Go ahead and use your own authority as the project manager to approve the project management plan.

C. Request the project sponsor to approve the project management plan.

D. Present the project management plan to relevant stakeholders according to applicable policies and procedures.

30. As the project progresses. you notice that controlling the schedule becomes more and more challenging. The
variance between the schedule baseline and actual project performance changes with each completed iteration. You
realize that the traditional methods you are using to control the schedule are not well suited for the way the product
is developed.

Which of the following practices should you avoid for the remainder of the project?

A. Reprioritizing the backlog

B. Conducting retrospectives

C. Determining the velocity

D. Evaluating the critical path

31. A project manager is leading an agile project with a dispersed development team. To bridge the geographical
divide, the project manager has provided the team with video conferencing and online collaboration tools. Despite
these efforts. a significant misunderstanding was uncovered during the recent iteration review that caused four days
of rework.

What might the project manager have done differently to avoid this situation?

A. Incorporated periodic round-robin check-ins

B. Utilized digital communication tools

C. Taken a waterfall approach instead of agile

D. Raised the issue at the project retrospective

32. You meet with your team to determine the life cycle for your project. After analyzing the best way to define and
manage requirements, develop deliverables. handle changes, control risk and cost, and engage key stakeholders, the
decision is made to select a hybrid life cycle.

With the project life cycle selected, how will the change be managed?

A. Constrained as much as possible

B. Incorporated at periodic intervals

C. Postponed until after project completion

D. Incorporated as often as necessary

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33. Project execution is just getting underway, and the project team is still in the forming stage of team
development.

What might the project manager do first?

A. Create the team charter for the team

B. Create the project resource management plan

C. Schedule a team building meeting

D. Move the team to the performing stage of team development

34. One of your project team members, who was responsible for several key deliverables, has suddenly left the
company. You overhear a heated debate among the team members over what to do next. It sounds as if the team is
split - half want to hire a new team member: the other half want to contract out the work. As the project manager.
you want to resolve this conflict in a way that solves the problem and keeps the team unified.

Which of the following approaches should you take?

A. Tell the team that you are in charge and will take disciplinary action if a consensus is not reached

B. Agree with the team that a resource is needed, and urge one side to back down for the sake of agreement

C. Ask the team members to find a compromise that would be acceptable to both sides

D. Work with team to research different options, present options, present ideas and come up with a solution

35. As a project execution begins, high winds prevent a team from installing the windows as scheduled. These
weather conditions were accounted for in planning, but no one anticipated that the speed of the wind would be that
strong. What tool or technique would the project manager use to determine if he will be able to complete the
project according to the project management plan?

A. Reserve analysis

B. Quality audit

C .Pareto diagram

D. Tornado diagram

36. During an iteration planning meeting, an agile team is having difficulty estimating the work required to develop
the product increment because the approach selected to develop the increment involves new technology, with
which the team is unfamiliar. The use of this technology also represents a potential risk to the entire project if the
approach fails.

What should the team do to determine the impact of using the new technology?

A .Perform an interruption

B . Swarm on the technology

C. Conduct a spike

D. Run exploratory testing

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37. As part of the process to develop the quality management plan. the project manager establishes the roles and
responsibilities for the quality of the deliverables. The project manager decides that quality management will be
performed by all team members throughout the project rather than being the responsibility of specific team
members at the end of the project.

What is the project manager trying to achieve in this scenario?

A. Incorporating traditional quality management practices into an agile project

B. Avoiding responsibility in case the deliverables do not meet quality specifications

C. Determining the areas of strengths and weaknesses of the team members

D. Incorporating agile quality management practices into a traditionally lead project

38. You are leading a traditional waterfall project that incorporates Kanban to manage the software development
workflow. As the project team works to complete the user stories captured on the Kanban board, the testers are
getting into arguments with the programmers regarding the completeness of work submitted for testing, causing an
increase to work in progress. What might you do to address the conflict?

A. Update the project schedule

B. Have the team revise their team charter

C. Update the resource calendar

D. Revise the team management plan

39. A project management plan has been approved. and the project is now in execution. The project manager would
like to communicate project status to the stakeholders.

Which of the following should the project manager send to stakeholders to achieve her immediate goal?

A.Work performance report

B. Work performance data

C. Communications management plan

D. Project management plan

40. During project initiation. the project manager had provided an initial estimate of $250,000 with a range of -25%
to +75%. The project is now in planning, and. as part of the Estimate Costs process. the project manager has to
refine this estimate to a much narrower range.

How should the project manager determine the estimating methods that can be used and the accuracy required for
the cost estimate?

A. Review the cost management plan

B. Examine the basis of estimates

C. Contact the finance department

D. Check the project charter

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41. Your company's project management office maintains checklists and forms for project management activities
which are stored in the corporate digital database and organized in folders with the following labels: verified
deliverables. project exit criteria, close procurements. administrative closure. You need guidelines on how to
transfer ownership of the final output of your project to the operations team.

Which folder will help you the most?

A. Verified deliverables

B. Project exit criteria

C. Closed procurements

D. Administrative closure

42. A project is re-roofing five houses in a staggered timeline using different teams. Each team properly documented
all the issues and solutions. The first two houses are complete. Both experienced problems with the installation of
the flashing, which required rework. Now, the project manager sees the same issue for the third house. which is
delaying the project. What might be going wrong?

A. The customer is causing scope creep.

B. The rental company defined their requirements wrong.

C. The project teams are not reviewing the project documentation.

D. The scope management plan needs to be correct to reflect the right flashing.

43. A manufacturer of medical devices has just initiated a new project for a client. The project is similar to past
projects performed by the company. with most of the project constraints. such as cost. schedule. quality. and risks
being known upfront. The scope. however. is not clearly defined since the client is new to the market and cannot
provide detailed specifications. In these circumstances, what should the project team focus on?

A. Working with the client during early project planning to get as detailed specifications as possible

B. Establishing the process for ongoing discovery and refinement of the scope and specifications

C. Reporting the status of the known project constraints. such as cost. schedule. quality. risks

D . Categorizing project stakeholders using the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

44. After several meetings with the customer, various project stakeholders. project team, and subject matter
experts. you realize that the nature of the project and the product to be delivered require a hybrid project
management approach. You have several options on the table.

Which option would be the best one for you to chose to comply with the selected approach?

A. Developing the product using Scrum, but controlling the budget using the cost baseline

B. Developing deliverables using Kanban, but limiting WIP based on the team's throughput

C. Developing the scope using WBS, but controlling the schedule using the scope baseline

D. Outsourcing the work to a vendor, but controlling procurements using inspections

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45. You are preparing the plan for the acquisition of the team, which will manufacture product prototypes. Given the
highly regulated nature of the work, you will need assistance in ensuring compliance with all the various government
and union regulations.

What tool or technique is most useful in this situation?

A. Expert judgment

B. Project management information systems (PMIS)

C. Variance analysis

D. Analogous estimating

46. You are an executive in a large organization that considers a gradual transition from a predictive to the agile
project management approach. You hire an external consulting company to evaluate the current practices and
propose the best way for the transition. After observing your organization for several months, the consultant lays
out several options.

Which option would you select?

A. Increasing the level of detail during the initial project planning

B. Incorporating standup meetings into the daily routine of the project teams

C. Sharing project progress with as many stakeholders as possible

D.Assigning tasks to the project team members based on their experience

47. An organization has decided to gradually transition from traditional methods to hybrid and then agile. A
consulting firm has been hired to lead the process and advise management. To start the process. the consultant
emphasizes that with this transition, the role of project leaders will have to change from command and control top-
down approach to agile servant leadership.

What will this transition mean for the project leaders in their day-to-day work?

A. Assigning tasks to the team, monitoring and controlling project work

B .Managing user stories and tasks specified in the product backlog

C. Setting the direction for the team, providing guidance, facilitating work

D. No change will be required since the leader's role remains the same

48. As a result of extensive training and development activities specified in the resource management plan, all of the
teams working on the project perform at their best. However. as the project progresses. one of the teams sees
substantial turnover. You realize that the team will need specific training and coaching to align its performance with
the rest of the teams.

What is the best approach for you to take in this situation?

A. Conduct individual and team assessments

B. Repeat the training regime for the team

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C. Create project work performance reports

D. Review the resource management plan

49. The equipment that is used to connect parts has broken. The maintenance crew has begun repairs and ordered
replacement parts per the response plan. The crew expects the equipment to be down for at least three days.

What should the project manager do next?

A. Submit a change request to update the procurement management plan

B. Inform all affected stakeholders of the situation and the response plan

C. Order extra parts to store in the warehouse in case the machine breaks again

D. Document the knowledge gained in the lessons learned register

50. A company is running an agile project for an external customer. After the sprint review meeting where the team
demonstrated the new capabilities of the web user interface. a stakeholder approaches the product owner and
suggests an improvement to one of the screens. The stakeholder insists this improvement would make it easier for
the user to navigate the interface. What is the product owner's best course of action?

A. Implement the stakeholders request in the next sprint because it will enhance customer experience

B. Discuss the stakeholders request with the customer and decide if and when it should be implemented

C. Create a user story for the stakeholder's request and place it at the very bottom of the product backlog

D. Discuss the stakeholders request at the daily standup meeting and let the team decide on how to proceed

51. After checking the internal resources, the project manager realizes that the company does not have developers
who are experienced in the programming language required for the project. What should the project manager do
next?

A. Build a virtual team with internal resources

B. Recommend terminating the project

C. Seek help from the project sponsor

D. Acquire the resources externally

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