PMBOK 6th Edition Questions

PMBOK 6th Edition Questions and Answers

PMP Questions - 1 to 40

Question 1:

An assessment of your project's situation suggest that the current market place conditions, suppliers and unique local requirements will have a significant influence the project's Procurement Management Plan that you are in the process of developing. These factors are collectively called:

A. Project constraints.

B. External environmental factors.

C. Enterprize environment factors.

D. Risks and assumptions.

Answer: C

Enterprize Environment Factors (EEF) are the conditions that are not under the control of the project team, they include internal and external factors, some of which may be constraints (eg, legislation you are obliged to comply with) and some of which may be uncertain and feed into the risk assessment processes (eg, future contract rates or resource availability).

Question 2:

Key project management skills include all of the following except:

A. Leading

B. Technical expertise

C. Communicating

D. Negotiating

Answer: B

Technicians require technical skills, managers require management skills. All of the above are important, leading, communicating and negotiating are key interpersonal management skills. The project manager needs adequate technical knowledge to manage the project, but does not need to be the technical expert. The manager of a $500 million oil project needs to be an expert manager, capable of managing a wide range of technical experts.

Question 3:

Senior management’s role on a project is best described as:

A. Developing the project plan.

B. Helping to prevent unnecessary changes to project objectives.

C. Identifying unnecessary project constraints.

D. Assisting in risk assessment and mitigation.

Answer: B

The project team develop the project plan, which includes risk identification and planning. The team may seek the assistance of senior management and the results are approved by senior management but the development remains the project’s responsibility. Similarly, only some of the project constraints will come from or be controlled by management. The project team is responsible for identifying and documenting all constraints.

Minimising unnecessary changes to the project objectives is the exclusive responsibility of 'senior management', which includes the sponsor . They develop and sign off on the business case and project charter, which establishes the objectives of the project is the responsibility of senior management (portfolio management, sponsor, etc).

Question 4:

The "halo effect" (or the effect of the "Peter Principle") refers to the tendency to:

A. Move people into project management because they have project management qualifications.

B. Move people into project management because they are good in their technical field.

C. Hire people from leading educational institutions because they are seen to the best.

D. Promote from within.

Answer: B

These terms refer to an assumption often made during staff acquisition that demonstrated competence in one area will automatically flow through to competence in other unrelated areas, however, a person who is good in technical role may not be good at a management role.

For example: "You are our best business analyst; therfore you will be a great Project Manager!". These effects seem to be innate biases that can affect decision making.

Peter Principle - in a bureaucracy people are promoted to their level of incompetence.

Halo Effect - the tendency to rate high or low on all factors based on performance in one factor.

Question 5:

In a discussion between two team members you notice one of them is making positive gestures, nodding in agreement and asking questions.

This is commonly called ______________ and it constitutes ____% of communication.

A. Active listening, 30%.

B. Non verbal, 50% to 60%.

C. Para lingual communication, 40%.

D. Feedback, 20%.

Answer: A

Active listening involves being expressive, using body language and acknowledging the speaker (Plus paraphrasing, asking questions, etc).

Non verbal communication usually relates to the physical aspect of transmitting a message. Para lingual relates to the way you speak (ie pitch and tone).

Feedback is only a part of active listening, other aspects include, making positive gestures, nodding in agreement and asking questions.

Finally, there is no defined 'percent-ages' in communication - different authorities have different values so as long as the value looks reasonable don't worry if it is different to something you have seen elsewhere.

Question 6:

The processes used to create the project's deliverables and meet the project's defined objectives fall into two general categories:

A. Planning processes and Execution processes.

B. Project Management processes and product-oriented or service-oriented processes.

C. Project Management processes and production processes.

D. Soft processes and hard processes.

Answer: B

The project is managed by appropriately applying the project management processes defined in the PMBOK Guide. The work of the project is accomplished by applying product-oriented or service-oriented processes.

Question 7:

Which of the following is not an output from the Control Scope process?

A. Scope changes.

B. Corrective action.

C. Lessons learned.

D. Work performance information.

Answer: A

Scope changes (and any other approved change) are an output fromthe Perform Integrated Change Control process (4.6), the outtput from any knowledge area control process is a 'change request'. Change requests can include both preventative and corrective actions. Updates to the Lessons Learned Register are part of the 'Document Updates'.

Question 8:

An organisation's culture?

A. Is indesribable and variable.

B. Should be ignored when implementing PMBOK processes.

C. Often has a direct influence on the project.

D. Is unlikely to impact the project.

Answer: C

Most organisations have developed unique and describable cultures that often have a direct influence ont he project. The organisation's culture is on the Enterprise Environment Factors (EEF) that constrain and infuence the project.

Question 9:

All of the following are true about resource levelling expect:

A. It can change the critical path.

B. It is used to improve the accuracy of the WBS.

C. It frequently results is increased project duration.

D. It can be used to prevent the usage of selected resource exceeding specified levels.

Answer: B

Whilst the resources planned to be used for work packages may be included in the WBS dictionary, the outputs from Develop Schedule are not an input to Create WBS. The WBS work packages are the primary input to the start of Project Schedule Management - the work pacakages are used to define the activities.

Question 10:

Which of the following statements is not true?

A. Standards and regulations are mandatory.

B. According to ISO, standards are not mandatory, but regulations are.

C. Standards often begin as guidelines that are not mandatory. With later widespread adoption, they can become de facto regulations.

D. Standards and regulations are socio-economic influences on a project.

Answer: A

Standards are not mandatory as of right; they represent guidance on standards to be achieved in products or processes to be deemed compliant. The force of law supports/enforces regulations. However, conformance to a specific standard (or standards) may be a contractual requirement, mandating its use on a particular project and regulations (laws) may reference standards.

Question 11:

Data gathering and group creativity techniques can include all of the following expect:

A. Root cause analysis.

B. Nominal group technique.

C. Affinity diagrams.

D. Multi criteria decision analysis.

Answer: A

Root cause analysis is a analytical technique typically used to identify the cause of a problem. The other options are group creativity techniques used to gather requirement or other types of data.

For more on root cause analysis see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/WhitePapers/WP1085_Root_Cause_Analysis.pdf

For more on multi criteria decision making see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/WhitePapers/WP1062_Ranking-Requirements.pdf

Question 12:

Which type of leadership is best for optimizing a project team's performance?

A. Democratic leadership

B. Participative leadership

C. Autocratic leadership

D. Benevolent authoritative leadership

Answer: B

The Project Manager needs to display an open style of leadership that invites input from the project team whilst retaining the authority to make decisions as and when needed. Democratic leadership, referring everything to the team for a consensus/vote, is inappropriate. Autocratic/authoritative leadership, the Project Manager knows best, may be useful in an emergency but can disenfranchise and demotivate the project team. All of the above are some of the other "other style of leadership" mentioned in the PMBOK.

Question 13:

There is a significant amount of activity on your project and lots of interactions between team members from a range of organisations. You notice there is a verbal communication block between two key team members. The most likely barrier is:

A. A hostile attitude displayed by one or both of the people

B. The fact they are not co-located

C. A partition between desks

D. The phone, which keeps ringing

Answer: A

The communication process requires the sender to transmit the message and receiver to actively receive and verify the message. Barriers (or blockers) to verbal communication would include one or both parties being unwilling (or unable) to send and/or receive messages because there is some form of conflict between them. The other options are excuses for not being able to send/receive message but not barriers/blockers to the process.

Question 14:

What are 'workarounds' in project management?

A. Workarounds are essentially the same as rework

B. Workarounds are alternative strategies

C. Workarounds are unplanned responses to emerging risks that were previously either unidentified or accepted

D. Workarounds are activities performed according to applicable contingency plans

Answer: C

Workarounds and rework are both forms of 'corrective action' dealing with an issue that has arisen in the work of the project. Unplanned responses to a risk event occurring are 'workarounds' - they focus on mitigating the effect of a risk after it has emerged and can involve all sorts of different activities. Whereas rework is focused on correcting a non-conformance in a product (literally redoing work that was not done properly). Pre-planned responses to potential risk events are called contingent response strategies.

Question 15:

You have to determine the most important project related to the upgrade of your organisational intranet system. The four options are: Server upgrade, Network upgrade, Storage upgrade and improved backup and recovery. Which technique is likely to be the most effective for prioritizing these projects?

A. Develop numeric weightings

B. Pairwise comparison

C. Monte Carlo Simulation

D. Regression analysis

Answer: B

Pairwise comparison is the only technique that directly answers the question and can be used to chose between different option, it is a form of multi-criteria decision analysis. Numeric weightings are used in a number of techniques including a Selection Matrix, but simply developing a set of weightings does not solve the problem. Numeric weightings are best used when you are choosing between similar options, eg the responses to a tender. The other two are statistical processes, not decision support tools.

Question 16:

All of the following processes form part of the Executing process group
except:

A. Performing activities in accordance with the project management plan.
B. Managing changes to the deliverables.
C. Completing the work in accordance with the defined quality framework and
specification.
D. Coordinating people and resources.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Table 3-1 p61

Answer: B
Managing changes is part of Integrated Change Control; this is part of
the Monitoring and Controlling process group. The Executing process group consists of those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications. An output from Integrated Change Control is updates to the project
management plan to incorporate approved changes.

Question 17:

Which calculation is correct for the To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) based on the Estimate At Completion (EAC)?

A. AC + (BAC – EV)
B. (BAC - EV)/(BAC - AC)
C. BAC/CPIcum
D. (BAC - EV)/(EAC - AC)

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p221 Sect 7.4.2.3

Answer: D
TCPI is the projection of the future cost performance that must be achieved on the remaining work to achieve a management goal such
as the original Budget At Completion (BAC) or a calculated Estimate At Completion (EAC).
All of these formula use standard Earned Value Management acronyms:
Option ‘a’ calculates EAC based on future work being performed at budgeted rates
Option ‘b’ calculates TCPI based on BAC (the question asked for EAC)
Option ‘c’ calculates EAC based on future work being performed at the same CPI as the completed work.

Question 18:

A Pareto diagram shows:

A. The 80% of the work that is important.
B. The qualitative improvement trend demonstrated by implementing a Six Sigma initiative.
C. A histogram ordered by frequency of occurrence.
D. The 20% of the work that is causing the most issues.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p237 Section 8.1.2.3

Answer: C
A Pareto diagram is a specific type of histogram, ordered by frequency of occurrence. It is used to show how many defects were generated by each
category of identified cause to allow remedial action to be focused on the most significant. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) is different, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Question 19:

Integrated Change Control includes all of the following tools and techniques except:

A. Project management plan updates.
B. Expert judgement.
C. Meetings.
D. A change control board to approve or reject changes.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p.98-99 Sect:4.5.2

The best answer is A

Project plan updates are an output from Integrated Change Control. Expert judgement and the change control meetings, of the change
control board are the defined tools and techniques for this process.

Question 20:

All of the following are true concerning expected monetary value (EMV) except:

A. Decision tree analysis is more effective using net present values (NPV) in its calculations rather than EMV.
B. The EMV of an opportunity is generally a positive value.
C. EMV is a statistical concept that calculates the average value of a future scenario that may, or may not happen by multiplying the value of each
possible outcome by the probability of it occurring and summing the products.
D. The EMV of a threat is generally a negative value.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p339 Sect: 11.4.2.2

Answer: A
EMV is calculated by EMV = probability * impact. If there are several different possibilities, the EMV is calculated for each option and the EMVs added together to give an overall, value. Decision tree analysis is based on EMV.

Question 21:

Co-location is one of the techniques used to:

A. Ensure effective control over the work of the project team.
B. Develop the project team.
C. Define the organisation structure.
D. Acquire the project team.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p277 Sect: 9.3.2.5

Answer: B
Co-location involves placing the active project team members in one location to enhance their ability to perform as a team. This is one of the tools and techniques listed in the Develop Project Team process. Co-location may assist in improving the coordination and control of the project’s work but this is a secondary benefit and consequently not the best answer from the PMBOK’s perspective.

Question 22:

When managing a complex, cross functional project; which of the following structures will give the project manager the most authority?

A. Balanced matrix.
B. Strong matrix.
C. Functional.
D. Weak matrix.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p22-26 Sect:2.1.3

Answer: B

Strong matrix organisations provide the project manager with a similar high level of authority to a projected organisation and full time
project administration staff. Matrix organisations include both functional and projectized management structures.

Question 23:

Leadership in a project environment should demonstrate all of the following characteristics except:

A. The focusing of the efforts of a group of people on achieving a common objective.
B. High levels of respect and trust.
C. The ability to get things done through others.
D. A primary focus on external senior managers and other key stakeholders to ensure the project is a success through managing upwards.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Appendix X3.1, p513

Answer: D
Whilst managing upwards (or advising upwards) is a key skill of the project manager, it is not the primary focus of leadership.The primary focus of project leadership is on developing the project team and empowering them to achieve the project outcomes.

Question 24:

The processes included in project communication management are:

A. Collect Requirements, Plan Communications, Distribute Information and Control Communications.
B. Identify Stakeholders, Collect Requirements, Plan Communications, Distribute Information, Manage Stakeholder Expectations and Report
Performance.
C. Plan Communications Management, Manage Communications and Control Communications.
D. Collect Requirements, Plan Communications Management, Manage Communications and Control Communications.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p287

Answer: C
This is a common type of question. Collect Requirements is a Scope Management process. Update project documentation is an output from a range of processes.

Question 25:

Which of the following is true concerning the work breakdown structure (WBS)?

A. The PMI WBS and PRINCE2 product breakdown structure (PBS) are effectively the same thing.
B. The WBS is the same as the organisational breakdown structure (OBS).
C. The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team.
D. The WBS is the bill of materials (BoM) needed to accomplish the work of the project.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p126 Sect: 5.4

Answer: C
The difference between the PBS and the WBS is the PBS only contains the products to be delivered, the WBS contains all of the work needed to achieve the project’s objectives including all of the deliverables (not just the ‘product’). Non-product elements in the WBS include project management work, safety and hygiene work, etc. The OBS is the document that defines the lines of management responsibility within the project. The point where the OBS and WBS intersect is known as a ‘control account’ and defines the manager responsible for a section of the project work.
The BoM only describes the materials used in the work, not the other elements of the project (eg, labour). The WBS defines all of the work
and consequently all of the costs.

Question 26:

All of the following are true of cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) contracts, except:

A. The seller is reimbursed for all allowable costs incurred performing the
contract work.
B. The seller receives a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of the initial
estimated project cost.
C. The fee does not change based on the performance of the seller.
D. The seller receives a fee calculated as a fixed percentage of the actual project cost.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p364 Sect: 12.1.1.9

Answer: D

CPFF contracts pay a fixed fee to the seller based on the initial estimated value of the work. All allowable costs are reimbursed by the buyer.
The only time the fee will change is if the buyer changes the scope of the work.

Question 27:

During a meeting with some of your project's stakeholders, you are asked to add to the project's scope of work. The project records contain
correspondence from before the Charter was signed in which the project sponsor specifically declined the work being requested by these
stakeholders.

The BEST thing for you to do is:

A. Tell the stakeholders the work cannot be added.
B. Evaluate the cost and time impacts of adding the work.
C. Add the work if it can be accommodated within the existing budget.
D. Talk to the sponsor and let her know of the request.

Answers Reference: PMI Code of Professional Conduct

Answer: A
PMI expects the project manager to manage! The best thing to do first is try to resolve the problem with the stakeholders. Only is that fails
should the problem be escalated to the sponsor. Whilst planning and evaluation are normal 'first steps' in assessing a
change, this work was formally excluded from the project before the Charter was signed. Therefore it should not be added without the
sponsor's prior approval.

Question 28:

Analogous estimating when applied to a duration is:

A. Based on expert judgement and is consequently more accurate than
standard critical path estimating.
B. Used when there is a limited amount of detailed information available.
C. A calculation based on a three point estimate using a modified BETA
distribution.
D. The same as ‘bottom up’ estimating.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p169 Sect: 6.5.2.2

Answer: B
Analogous estimating uses the duration from a similar completed activity or project as the basis for the current estimate. This is a ‘top
down’ estimating technique used when there is little detailed information available. The critical path method is a precise set of calculations applied to the schedule (including the estimated durations). It is not an estimating process. The PERT technique uses three point estimates and a modified BETA
distribution to assess the probability of completing the project in a given time frame.

Question 29:

The code of accounts:

A. Is the system used to keep track of purchases and contracts.
B. Is any numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure.
C. Links the work breakdown structure to the schedule task identifier.
D. Is the alpha-numeric reference used in the organisations accounts system to identify cost centres.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Glossary p531

Answer: B

The chart of accounts refers to the accounting system, the code of accounts to the WBS. Whilst these should be linked, they are not the
same. Links between the WBS and the activities in the schedule are required; however, this information is usually in a code field or a text
field, not the Task ID. There are likely to be several activities to each WBS element and the WBS code of accounts is a fixed structure.

Question 30:

A procurement audit will consider all of the following except:

A. The changes in market conditions between the contract date and the current time.
B. Any successes or failures in the process that warrant recognition.
C. The complete procurement process from initial planning through to the administration of the procurement.
D. Any lessons learned that can be applied to future procurement processes.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p388 Sect: 12.4.2.1

Answer: A
PMBOK audits are focused on process improvement. They review how the system is working to learn lessons to apply to future procurements both within the project and on other projects within the organisation.

Question 31

The Delphi technique has all of the following characteristics except:

A. It is a technique to reduce bias and prevent any one person from exerting
undue influence.
B. It is a way to reach a consensus of experts.
C. It is an Oracle® database application used to optimise future outcomes.
D. Individual experts are unaware of who else is participating in the process.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p324 sect:11.2.2.2

Answer: C

The Delphi technique is a facilitated process to reach a consensus of experts using questions and feedback. Only the facilitator is aware of who is participating. No PMI question is likely to have a proprietary tool as the correct answer.

Question 32:

The code of accounts:

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Glossary p531

Answer: B
The chart of accounts refers to the accounting system, the code of accounts to the WBS. Whilst these should be linked, they are not the same.
Links between the WBS and the activities in the schedule are required; however, this information is usually in a code field or a text field, not the Task ID. There are likely to be several activities to each WBS element and the WBS code of accounts is a fixed structure. Task IDs can change.

Question 33:

A procurement audit will consider all of the following except:

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p388 Sect: 12.4.2.1

Answer: A

PMBOK audits are focused on process improvement. They review how the system is working to learn lessons to apply to future procurement both within the project and on other projects within the organisation.

Question 34:

The Delphi technique has all of the following characteristics except:

A. It is a technique to reduce bias and prevent any one person from exerting undue influence.
B. It is a way to reach a consensus of experts.
C. It is an Oracle® database application used to optimise future outcomes.
D. Individual experts are unaware of who else is participating in the process.

Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p324 sect:11.2.2.2

Answer: C
The Delphi technique is a facilitated process to reach a consensus of experts using questions and feedback. Only the facilitator is aware of who is participating. No PMI question is likely to have a proprietary tool as the correct answer.

Question 35:

A binding contract is legally created when:

A. The formal contract documents are signed by your senior management.
B. When your legal department advises the contract is acceptable.
C. The formal contract documents are signed by official representatives of both parties.
D. There is an offer, acceptance, performance and consideration.

Answers Reference: Contract Law + PMBOK® Guide p377 sect:12.2.3.2

Answer: D
Contracts do not have to be in writing or signed. Whilst it is difficult to enforce the terms of a verbal contracts the law will recognize the validity of the agreement.
ii The four basic requirements for a contract are:
- Someone makes an offer to do something,
- The offer is accepted unconditionally,
- There is an intention or actual performance of the offer,
- There is an intention or actual transfer of a valuable consideration (the consideration does not have to be money, just of value).
iii There are many additional factors that can influence this basic starting
point that project managers and administrators need to be aware of.

Question 36:

A manager and the head of engineering discuss a change to a major work package. After the meeting, the manager contacts you and tells you to complete the paperwork to make the change. This is an example of:

A. Management attention to scope management.

B. Management planning.

C. A project expediter position.

D. A change control system.

Answer: C

In this situation, project manager acts as the secretary of the project and does the paper work. So this is an example of project expediter position where project manager does not have any authority and power. Project manager does only paper work.

Knowledge Area: Organizational Influences and Project Lifecycle

Question 37:

During a team meeting, a team member asks about the measurements that will be used on the project to judge performance. The team member feels that some of the measures related to activities assigned him are not valid measurements. The project is BEST considered in what part of the project management process?

A. Initiating

B. Executing

C. Monitoring & Controlling

D. Closing

Answer: B.

Executing. Questions states that team member feels some of the measures on his activities are not valid. Therefore, he must be working during the executing phase of the project where project deliverables are produced and project members perform most of the work they should do.

Knowledge Area: Project Management Processes

Question 38:

Your company just won a major new project. It will begin in three months and is valued at 2m USD. You are the project manager for an existing project. What is the FIRST thing you should do once you hear of the new project?

A. Ask management how the new project will use resources

B. Resource level your project

C. Crash your project

D. Ask management how the new project will affect your project

Answer: D

Ask management how the new project will affect your project. Since this is another project that your company is going to execute, you need to be sure whether it will impact your project.

Knowledge Area: Integration Management Knowledge Area

Question 39:

You are a new project manager who has never managed a project before. It would be BEST in this situation to rely on _____ during planning in order to improve your chance of success.

A. Your intuition and training

B. Stakeholder analysis

C. Historical information

D. Configuration management

Answer: C

Historical information. First thing to explore before starting a new project is the historical information about similar projects in the organizational process assets library of the organization.

Knowledge Area: Integration Management Knowledge Area

Question 40:

During project executing, a team member comes to the project manager because he is not sure of what work he needs to accomplish on the project. Which of the following documents contain detailed descriptions of work packages?

A. WBS Dictionary

B. Activity List

C. Project scope statement

D. Scope management plan

Answer: A.

WBS Dictionary. Work packages in a Work Breakdown Structure contain only nouns or a couple of words regarding a work or deliverable. Detailed information on what needs to be done, responsible, prerequisites, successors, due date etc. are included in the Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary.

Knowledge Area: Scope Management Knowledge Area

Question 41:

During a meeting with some of the project stakeholders, the project manager is asked to add work to the project scope. The project manager had access to correspondence about the project before the project charter was signed and remembers that the project sponsor specifically denied funding for the scope mentioned by these stakeholders. The BEST thing for the project manager to do is to:

A. Let the sponsor know of the stakeholders’ request.

B. Evaluate the impact of adding the scope.

C. Tell the stakeholders the scope cannot be added.

D. Add the work if there is time available in the project schedule

Answer: C

Tell the stakeholders the scope cannot be added. After the scope of a project is finalized and scope baseline is determined, it can be changed only with the approved changed requests. If there is not an approved change request, existing scope baseline must be valid and project team must work on to deliver that scope only. In the scenario, scope is defined already but some stakeholders ask to add new work to the scope. This cannot be done unless there is an approved change request. Therefore, stakeholders must be informed that this new work cannot be added.

Knowledge Area: Scope Management Knowledge Area

Question 42:

Your project management plan results in a project schedule that is too long If the project network diagram cannot change but you have extra personnel resources, what is the BEST thing to do?

A. Fast track the project.

B. Level the resources.

C. Crash the project.

D. Monte Carlo analysis.

Answer: C

Because, in first sentence, it is mentioned that schedule is too long, therefore the aim is making a shorter schedule. And in the second sentence it is mentioned that you have extra personnel resources. If you have resources, you can put more resources in an activity to complete it in a shorter time. And this is actually a description of crashing an activity or crashing the project. If you look to the other options, fast tracking was performing activities in parallel instead of series, therefore it is irrelevant. Leveling the resources was for fixing the over-allocation of resources and distributing the tasks to all your resources uniformly. And Monte Carlo analysis was another estimating tool which is irrelevant choice as well. Therefore, here the best answer is C.

Knowledge Area: Time Management Knowledge Area

Question 43:

An activity has an early start (ES) of day 3, a late start (LS) of day 13, an early finish (EF) of day 9, and a late finish (LF) of day 19. The activity:

A. Is on the critical path.

B. Has a lag.

C. Is progressing well.

D. Is not on the critical path.

Answer: D

Because if you look to the early start and late start values of the activity, you can find the float or the slack of activity’s time by subtracting early start, 3 days, from the late start, 13 days. And it gives 10 days of float for this activity. You will find the same result if you go through subtracting the early finish, 9 days, from the late finish, 19 days. Since the float of activity or the slack of the activity is greater than zero, it’s not on the critical path. Remember the critical path activities was having zero float, therefore the answer is D.

Knowledge Area: Time Management Knowledge Area

Question 44:

Early in the life of your project, you are having a discussion with the sponsor about what estimating techniques should be used. You want a form of expert judgment, but the sponsor argues for analogous estimating. It would be BEST to:

A. Agree to analogous estimating, as it is a form of expert judgment

B. Suggest life cycle costing

C. Determine why the sponsor wants such an accurate estimate

D. Try to convince the sponsor to allow expert judgment because it is typically more accurate.

Answer: A

Agree to analogous estimating, as it is a form of expert judgment. Since analogous estimating is a type of expert judgment you can accept it. This is a tricky question.

Knowledge Area: Cost Management Knowledge Area

Question 45:

A schedule performance index, SPI, of 0.75 means:

A. Project is over budget.

B. Project is ahead of schedule.

C. Project is progressing at 75% of the rate originally planned

D. Project is progressing at 25% of the rate originally planned

Answer: C

Project is progressing at 75% of the rate originally planned. A, is irrelevant because SPI is a schedule performance index. We cannot derive any conclusion about budget performance of the project with this index. B, is not correct because SPI is less than one, therefore, the project is behind schedule. And D, says that you have completed 25% of the work that you have originally planned, so it’s not correct. The correct answer here is C, because SPI 0.75 means, you have completed 75% of your work that you have originally planned.

Knowledge Area: Cost Management Knowledge Area

Question 46:

You are the program level manager with several project activities underway. In the executing process group, you begin to become concerned about the accuracy of progress reports from the projects. What would BEST support your opinion that there is a problem?

A. Quality Audits

B. Risk Quantification Reports

C. Regression Analysis

D. Monte Carlo Analysis

Answer: A

If you read the second sentence again, it says that you are concerned about the accuracy of progress reports from the project. In order to check whether the standards of your organization have been applied in the projects that you are responsible of, you can conduct a quality audit and find out whether there is really a problem. Therefore, here the best answer is A, Quality Audits.

Knowledge Area: Quality Management Knowledge Area

Question 47:

You are a project manager for a major information systems project. Someone from the quality department comes to see you about beginning a quality audit of your project. The team, already under pressure to complete the project as soon as possible, objects to the audit. You should explain to the team that the purpose of a quality audit is:

A. Part of an ISO 9000 investigation

B. To check if the customer is following its quality process

C. To identify inefficient and ineffective policies

D. To check the accuracy of costs submitted by the team

Answer: C

B and D are irrelevant options because quality audit is done in order to check whether you are meeting the quality standards, whether you are following the quality procedures of your company. Therefore, it’s not related whether the customer is following its quality processes. Or it is not related about accuracy of costs submitted by the team.

Knowledge Area: Quality Management Knowledge Area

Question 48:

During every project team meeting, the project manager asks each team member to describe the work he or she is doing, and the project manager assigns new activities to team members. The length of these meetings has increased because there are many different activities to assign. This could be happening for all the following reasons EXCEPT:

A. Lack of a WBS

B. Lack of a responsibility assignment matrix

C. Lack of resource leveling

D. Lack of team involvement in project planning

Answer: C

If you read the clauses again, here the problem is the activities or the tasks that need to be performed in the project are not clear. So, the reasons of these ambiguities, or these unclear points about the tasks that will be performed can be lack of a WBS. If you could not decompose your project activities and creation of WBS, then this might be causing the ambiguities in your project tasks. Also, if you do not have a clear and concise responsibility assignment matrix, then the resources of your project will have unclarity about who will do what in the project. Also, if the team was not involved in project planning, maybe you could not have identified the required steps, required tasks, activities that need to be performed in the project. So, options A, B, and D are the possible reasons for this case mentioned in the question. However, lack of resource leveling might be causing a scheduling problem. Resource leveling is a technique used in schedule management knowledge area, which was enabling the uniform distribution of tasks and activities in a project.

Knowledge Area: Human Resource Management Knowledge Area

Question 49:

Conflict resolution techniques that may be used on a project include confronting, smoothing, forcing, and:

A. Withdrawing

B. Directing

C. Organizing

D. Controlling

Answer: A

Withdrawing, or in other words, avoiding. The other three are directing, organizing, and controlling, are not types of conflict resolution techniques. Therefore, the answer is A.

Knowledge Area: Human Resource Management Knowledge Area

Question 50:

All of the following about communication models is true EXCEPT:

A. Sender encodes his thoughts and sends to receiver.

B. Information is sent by the sender to receiver with the assistance of medium.

C. Receiver acknowledges if he agrees with the information he received.

D. Message is decoded by the receiver into thoughts.

Answer: C

Receiver acknowledges if he agrees with the information he received. If you remember, acknowledgement was saying that the receiver got the message, but it does not mean that he or she agrees with the received message. Acknowledgement means only that the message sent by the other party has been received. Therefore, it does not mean an agreement, and here the best answer is C.

Knowledge Area: Communications Management Knowledge Area

Question 51:

Which of the following is NOT true for a project?

A. Projects are constrained by limited resources

B. Projects are planned, executed, and controlled

C. Projects create a unique product or service

D. Projects are ongoing and repetitive

Answer: D

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates a definite beginning and ending.

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 3

Question 52:

In the context of a desirable model of communication between a sender and a receiver, all the following statements are correct EXCEPT:

A. Noise should be at minimum level.

B. Receiver must reply the message after decoding the message.

C. Receiver should acknowledge first and then agree with the message sent by the sender.

D. Receiver should send a feedback message to the sender.

Answer: C

As part of the communications process, the sender is responsible for the transmission of the message, ensuring the information being communicated is clear and complete, and confirming the communication is correctly understood. The receiver is responsible for ensuring that the information is received in its entirety, understood correctly, and acknowledged or responded to appropriately. However, receiver may not agree on received message.

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 294

Question 53:

John is a project manager of a complicated project. When he started creating a work breakdown structure for his project, he realized that it is too complex to complete work breakdown structure on a single sheet. You, as a colleague of John, recommend using a work breakdown structure numbering system to John to:

A. Determine the complexity of the project

B. Help in automating the WBS using appropriate software

C. Provide a hierarchical structure for each WBS element

D. Present risks of the project

Answer: C

The WBS is finalized by assigning each work package to a control account and establishing a unique identifier for that work package from a code of accounts. These identifiers provide a structure for hierarchical summation of costs, schedule, and resource information.

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 132

Question 54:

You are trying to establish a cost performance baseline for your project in Determine Budget Process. You can use the following tool and techniques EXCEPT:

A. Cost aggregation

B. Bottom-up estimating

C. Expert judgment

D. Historical relationships

Answer: B

Tools and techniques used in Determine Budget Process are:
•Cost aggregation
•Reserve analysis
•Expert judgment

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 208

Question 55:

Which of the following techniques includes measuring,examining and validating whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria?

A. Workshops

B. Surveys

C. Expert judgement

D. Inspection

Answer: D

Inspection includes activities such as measuring, examining, and validating to determine whether work and deliverables meet requirements and product acceptance criteria.

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 135

Question 56:

You are a project manager in a bicycle manufacturing company. Rubber for brake mechanism for your bicycles supplied by RuBrake Inc could not reach due to flood affected the transportation routes. This was a risk you thought it could happen since it happens each year on same season. So, as per your risk response plan, you started to use rubbers delivered one year ago. However, this response brought another risk –old rubbers have higher breaking risk during implementation to the brake system.This new risk can also be called:

A. Secondary risk

B. Residual risk

C. Contingency plan

D. Unmanageable risks

Answer: A

Secondary risks are risks that arise as a direct result of implementing a risk response

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 343

Question 57:

All of the following are hygiene factors according to Herzberg’s Theory EXCEPT:

A. Salary

B. Professional Growth

C. Security

D. Relationships at work

Answer: B

According to Herzberg’s Theory, there are hygiene factors and motivating agents. Inadequate Hygiene factors may destroy motivation but sufficient hygiene factors itself are not enough to motivate people. Hygiene factors are:
•Working card
•Salary
•Personal Life
•Relationships at work
•Security
•Status

Professional growth is a motivating agent based on Herzberg’s Theory.

Question 58:

You are expected to manage stakeholder’s expectations as a project manager. All of the following are interpersonal skills that you should apply EXCEPT:

A. Building trust

B. Resolving conflict

C. Risk taking

D. Active listening

Answer: C

The project manager applies interpersonal skills to manage stakeholder’s expectations. For example:
•Building trust
•Resolving conflict
•Active listening
•Overcoming resistance to change

Reference: PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition, Page 407

Question 59:

There has been several changes in your project and this affected your cost and schedule estimates. This has invalidated the original estimating assumptions. What is the estimate at completion (EAC) for your project based on following parameters?

•BAC = $ 360,000
•AC = $ 120,000
•EV = $ 180,000
•CPI = 1.2
•ETC = $ 145,000

A. $ 300.000

B. $ 265.000

C. $ 325.000

D. $ 360.000

Answer: B

BAC = AC + ETC = $ 120.000 + $ 145.000 = $ 265.000

Question 60:

Your Company has entered into a joint venture with Service Company to develop a software program. Which of the following should be cooperatively prepared by both the buyer and the seller during teaming agreement process?

A. Contract

B. Contract, Procurement statement of work

C. Request for proposal

D. Human Resource Plan

Answer: B

In some cases, the seller may already be working under a contract funded by the buyer or jointly by both parties. The effort of the buyer and seller in this process is to collectively prepare a procurement statement of work that will satisfy the requirements of the project. The parties will then negotiate a final contract for award.

Question 61:

Portfolio managers are responsible of managing:

A. Dependency of different projects

B. Operational projects only

C. Projects, programs and operations

D. Functional work and projects

Answer: C

The relationship among portfolios, programs, and projects is such that a portfolio refers to a collection of projects, programs, subportfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives.

Question 62:

There are three projectsthat are possible to be executed in your company:
•Project A: Payback period= 6 years & NPV =$ 3,000,000
•Project B: Payback period=4 years & NPV =$ 2,000,000
•Project C: Payback period=2 years &NPV =$ 1,000,000

Based on Net Present Value (NPV) criterion, which project should be selected?

A. Project A

B. Project B

C. Project C

D. None of them

Answer: A

Project A has highest NPV of $ 300,000. Time value of money is already taken into account when calculating NPV of a project. Since Project A has the highest NPV, it should be selected.

Question 63:

You are trying to gather ideas related to project and product requirements. Which technique is appropriate for this?

A. Brainstorming

B. Nominal Group Technique

C. Affinity Diagram

D. Multi-criteria Decision Analysis

Answer: A

A technique used to generate and collect multiple ideas related to project and product requirements.

Question 64:

Your colleague Wayne, a project manager, completed a mp3 player development project. While he was telling his experiences from his project, he mentioned that they delivered “adjustable screen timeout duration” feature, without a deviation from the plan, although the customer did not require and was not in scope of the project. He added that customer was very surprised and happy when they saw this additional feature at the end of the project. Which of the following is correct about this story?

A. Gold plating was done in the project

B. Customer satisfaction increased with an additional feature which they did not expect

C. Change request has been delivered successfully

D. Unnecessary risk has been taken by adding a new feature to product.

Answer: A

Gold plating refers to continuing to work on a project or task well past the point where the extra effort is worth the value it adds (if any). After having met the requirements, the assigned works on further enhancing the product, thinking the customer would be delighted to see additional or more polished features, rather than what was asked for or expected.

Question 65:

You have documented all possible risks that can affect your project with appropriate risk responses when they occur in your risk management plan. All other remaining risks are called as:

A. Risk Triggers

B. Unmanageable Risks

C. Residual Risks

D. Accepted Risks

Answer: C

Residual risks that are expected to remain after planned responses have been taken, as well as those that have been deliberately accepted.

Question 66:

You are working as a project manager in a company. You have the highest degree of authority, you are working full-time for your project and you manage the budget of the project. What is the organization structure in your company?

A. Strong Matrix

B. Projectized

C. Functional

D. Balanced Matrix

Answer: B

In a projectized organization structure, project manager has the highest level of authority, works full-time and manages the budget of the project.

Question 67:

You are the project manager of a software project team consisting of 2 analysts, 4 software developers and 3 test engineers. One new test engineer will join the team in two weeks. What will be the number of communication channels after new test engineer joins the team?

A. 55

B. 50

C. 45

D. 36

Answer: A

The total number of potential communication channels is n(n-1)/2, where n represents the number of stakeholders. Your team has 10 team members already (2 analysts, 4 software developers, 3 test engineers, and you as a project manager). After new test engineer joins, there will be 11 team members.

Number of communication channels = 11*(11-1)/2=11*10/2 = 55

Question 68:

All of the following are tools and techniques that can be used in Identify Stakeholders process EXCEPT:

A. Expert Judgment

B. Stakeholder Register

C. Meetings

D. Stakeholder Analysis

Answer: B

Stakeholder analysis, Expert Judgment and Meetings are tools and techniques that can be used in Identify Stakeholders process. Stakeholder Register is an output of Identify Stakeholders process.

Question 69:

The seller`s project is undertaken on contract and you are an employee of the seller. Since you earlier worked with XYZ Factory, the buyer, you happen to be aware of the evaluation criteria used in XYZ Factory to select sellers. You understand that this could be a potential conflict of interest situation. How do you propose to act?

A. Do nothing and continue to work as before

B. Take appropriate person in XYZ Factory into confidence and discuss this issue with her

C. Disclose the evaluation criteria to your (seller) organization and help their business growth

D. Remove yourself from the project

Answer: B

Answer B is the correct answer. Since the evaluation criteria are proprietary information of XYZ Factory, it is important for you to discuss the matter directly with the appropriate person in the XYZ Factory.

Question 70:

During project planning phase, which of the following steps come latest compared to others?

A. Hold kick-off meeting

B. Gain formal approval of the plan

C. Develop Budget

D. Develop Schedule

Answer: A

Following is the order of steps in planning phase:

Develop schedule
Develop budget
Gain formal approval of the plan
Hold kick-off meeting
Kick-off meeting is the last step of planning phase.

Question 71:

A project planning methodology may be:

A. Upper management advice or involvement.

B. Work authorisations.

C. Microsoft project.

D. Standard forms or templates

Answer: D

A project management methodology is a set of documented process (forms / templates / procedures) that defines how the work of managing the project will be done, eg. PRINCE2. The 'project planning methodology' can be a subset of the overall methodology, or a standalone set of documents that aide the project management team in developing the project management plan. These documents are part of the Organizational Process Assets (but is not called a ‘methodology’ in the PMBOK). A scheduling tool cannot be a methodology (but its use in a particular way may be required by the methodology).

Question 72:

The work of managing communications to satisfy the needs of the project's stakeholders, resolve issues and identify risks and needs is usually the responsibility of:

A. Project manager.

B. Everyone in the project team.

C. Communication manager.

D. Project sponsor.

Answer: A

Everyone on the list, and everyone else in the project team, has responsibilities to undertake effective communication within defined parameters. However, the ultimate responsibility for managing the project, including managing the overall communication effort is the responsibility of the project manager.

Question 73:

What is primary purpose of stakeholder analysis?

A. To identify negative stakeholders and implement effective communication and risk mitigation strategies.

B. Systematically gathering and analysing quantitative and qualitative information about stakeholders to determine the project’s communication requirements.

C. To systematically gather and analyse quantitative and qualitative information about stakeholders to determine whose interests should be taken into account throughout the project.

D. To identify supportive and negative stakeholders and implement effective communication and stakeholder management strategies.

Answer: C

Stakeholder analysis is part of the stakeholder identification process, the primary output is the stakeholder register. Planning and implementing the management of stakeholder expectations follows this process and should be focused on meeting the needs of key stakeholders, whilst acknowledging the rights of all stakeholders.

Question 74:

A project manager discovers that a corrective action taken by a team member was not documented. What should she do next?

A. Clarify the reasons behind the team member’s actions.

B. Report the violation to the functional manager.

C. Find out the cause of the problem.

D. Add the corrective action to the project documentation.

Answer: D

The only essential action is to update the project's documentation because these will become part of the historical information in the organisation's knowledge management system and should be complete and accurate. Options (a) and/or (c) may be appropriate in some circumstances but they do not address the questions (completing the documentation) and can happen later.

Question 75:

The work breakdown structure (WBS) numbering system allows project staff to:

A. Identify the level at which individual elements are found.

B. Systematically estimate the cost and duration of WBS elements.

C. Make effective use of project management software.

D. Provide project justification and verification

Answer: A

The exam rarely assumes the use of software so whilst making use of software may be true in some circumstances this is not the best answer. The numbering system in most WBSs is hierarchal and allows the level and location of the element to be determined and links the elements to the WBS dictionary.

Question 76:

In making an investment in a project, investors require compensation for which of the following?

A. The risk-free rate of return, plus a risk premium plus a premium for inflation.

B. Sacrifice of immediate use of cash for consumption or other investments, plus an allowance for the impact of inflation and risk.

C. Payback period in years x investment x (1 + discount rate) periods.

D. Inflation and depreciation.

Answer: B

This is the most complete answer. It is sometimes calculated by taking the risk-free rate of return plus a risk premium plus a premium for inflation, however, this may provide inadequate compensation for opportunities foregone. All projects should generate a positive value (but the value may not be financial).

Question 77:

The sender’s responsibilities in any communication process include all of the following except:

A. Confirming the information has been properly understood.

B. Making the information clear and complete.

C. Ensuring the receiver agrees with the information being communicated.

D. Selecting the most appropriate communication process.

Answer: C

The senders responsibilities include: making the information clear and complete and confirming that it has been properly understood. These requirements cannot be achieved if the communication process is inappropriate. The receiver’s responsibilities are making sure the information ‘has been received in its entirety and understood correctly’. However, receiving and understanding a message does not mean the receiver agrees with the information in the message (but it helps both parties to know the receiver has an accurate understanding what he/she is disagreeing with…).

Question 78:

A project with a total budget of $100,000 finished with a BAC value of $90,000. What term can best describe the difference of $10,000?

A. Cost Variance.

B. Profit.

C. Management Reserve.

D. Contingency Reserve.

Answer: C

The difference between the Cost Baseline and total funding requirement for a project (the budget) is the Management Reserve. The BAC (Budget At Completion) represents the authorised cost baseline for the project; management reserves are held outside of this baseline to cove the costs of any unforeseen risk events (unknown-unknowns). Contingency reserves are included in the cost baseline (BAC) to cover the costs of identified risk events (known-unknowns) and form part of the project manager's responsibilities to manage. Project management control systems only deal with the cost aspects of a project, any profit included in the project sale price is additional to the project budget.

Question 79:

During which process are the specific activities that must be performed to produce the deliverables in the WBS identified and documented?

A. Decompose WBS.

B. Define Activities.

C. Develop Schedule.

D. Work package decomposition.

Answer: B

Activity definition is: The identification and documentation of the specific activities (tasks) that must be performed to produce the deliverables defined in the WBS. This process will generally expand the ‘work package’ from the WBS into the schedule activities. These activities then form the basis for duration estimating, scheduling, executing and monitoring and controlling the project work to meet the project objectives.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition 6.2

Question 80:

The document that describes how the project scope will be managed and how scope changes will be integrated into the project is the:

A. Project plan.

B. Change control plan.

C. Scope management plan.

D. Scope statement.

Answer: C

The scope management plan describes how the project’s scope will be defined and managed through to verification and hand over, including the way project’s objectives and deliverables will be achieved. The scope management plan is incorporated as part of the overall project management plan.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition 5.1.3.1

Question 81:

To find out the critical path duration in a simple network:

A. It is sufficient to perform the forward pass only.

B. It is necessary to check if the free float of each activity is equal to zero.

C. It is necessary to perform both forward pass and the backward pass.

D. It is necessary to know the contractual completion time fixed by the Client.

Answer: A

The forward pass calculates the earliest dates each activity an be performed and the earliest the project can be completed. This is all that is needed for the duration of the critical path to be determined. The back pass calculates how late activities can be finished without delaying the completion of the project or violating a constraint. Both the forward pass and the back pass are needed to calculate activity float.

Question 82:

In which type of organisation(s) is the project manager's role most likely part-time?

A. Functional.

B. Strong and Balanced Matrix.

C. Weak Matrix.

D. Functional and Weak Matrix.

Answer: D

The project manager's role is seen to be part time in functional and weak matrix organisations and full time in strong matrix and projectised organisations. Similarly, the project manger's level of authority increases from virtually none in functional organisations to 'high to almost total' in projectised organisations. The role of the project manager in functional or weak matrix organisations is typically a co-ordinator who may have some limited decision making authority.

Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition 2.4.4.1 Table 2-1

Question 83:

You have just joined a new company and you are to replace a project manager who retired 3 months ago. The most recent project status report reveals that schedule performance index is 1.0 and the cost performance index is 1.1. The report also indicates that the customer is not happy with the performance of the project and is requesting urgent changes. What is the first thing you should do?

A. Discuss with the project team.

B. Discuss with the retired project manager.

C. Renegotiate the contract.

D. Meet with the customer

Answer: A

The information provided tells you the project is technically successful (on-time and on-budget) but is failing to meet the requirements of the customer. Resolving this problem will require negotiations with the customer either to reframe their expectations or to adjust the project so that it meets their requirements. However, meeting with the customer without being fully briefed FIRST is unprofessional - you will lack the knowledge needed to contribute to the discussion sensibly.

Any negotiation / discussion requires thorough preparation before opening the conversation. If you are not thoroughly prepared, you will have no idea if the customer is being reasonable or unreasonable in her requests and ‘perceived unhappiness’ and you will have no idea what can be considered to alleviate the unhappiness. The first step in your preparation for the meeting with the customer is to be fully briefed by the people available (ie, the team), you will then be in a position to know if seeking a meeting the the retired project manager is necessary (or feasible); then when fully prepared the final step is to open discussions with the customer with a view to achieving a win-win outcome.

Question 84:

You would like to add a row at the top of your project schedule that rolls up, or sums up, all the information below. What is the easiest way to do this?

A. Insert a Summary Task at the top of the schedule and indent all tasks below it.

B. Insert a task at the top of the schedule and establish the successors appropriately.

C. Insert a task at the top of the schedule and establish the predecessors appropriately.

D. Enable the Project Summary Task through Project tab and Project Information.

Answer: A

There are many different ways to incorporate a summary task in the project schedule. Come tools have an automated option to enable a 'Project Summary Task' through the Format tab, other require 'Hammocks' or WBS roll ups. Option A is the best answer because it is generally correct, Option D is only correct if the tool has this specific capability and is therefore not as good. Options B and C are incorrect - good practice dictates that schedules are linked at the detail level, not at the summary level.

Directive Communication Psychology

PMBOK 6th Edition Questions and Answers

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