Free PMP practice questions, every option explained

A construction company's hybrid project has a fixed-price subcontract for structural steel. The subcontractor claims that design changes by the owner caused extra costs. The owner's representative says the changes were minor. The contract provides for mediation after 30 days of failed negotiation, and negotiations have gone on for 35 days. What should the project manager do NEXT?

• AInitiate mediation as the contract provides
  Correct. The contractual sequence has reached the mediation step; following it keeps the process fair and avoids litigation.
• BContinue negotiating until an agreement is reached
  The runner-up: talks may continue, but the contract sets mediation as the next step after 30 days.
• CRequest an independent cost review of the claim before any next step
  Useful evidence for mediation, but the contract already sets mediation after 30 days of failed negotiation. Delaying the agreed step is not needed.
• DRefer the claim to arbitration, since negotiation has failed
  Arbitration comes after mediation in the agreed sequence. Skipping a step ignores the contract.

A Scrum team at a health insurer has missed its sprint goal three times because each release must wait up to ten days for a security review by a separate department. The team has started skipping some security checks to save time. What should the project manager do?

• AReport the security department's delays to the sponsor as the cause of the misses
  Escalating before working with security directly blames instead of solving.
• BLengthen the sprint to four weeks so the review fits inside it
  A reasonable runner-up, but it adapts to the impediment instead of removing it and slows feedback.
• CRaise the skipped checks in the next retrospective so the team can find a fix
  A retrospective fits team process issues, but an active compliance gap cannot wait for the next sprint boundary; the checks must be restored now.
• DRestore the skipped checks and work with security to fit reviews into the flow
  Correct. Skipped checks are a compliance gap that must stop now. The review delay is an impediment outside the team's control, which the servant leader removes with security, for example through earlier involvement or agreed standards.

A contractor delivers a warehouse fit-out for an external client. The shelving meets every item in the signed specification, but the client's logistics manager says it does not fit his forklift routes and he is unhappy. What should the project manager do FIRST?

• ASubmit a change request to redesign the layout
  Premature: the cause and the right response are still unknown.
• BRework the shelving layout at the contractor's cost
  Acts before analysis and may give away money for a change the client should pay for.
• CPoint out that the deliverable meets the signed specification
  Technically true but ignores customer satisfaction and the possibility of a requirements gap.
• DMeet him to understand the gap and trace it to the requirements
  Correct. The PM must first understand whether the gap comes from a missed requirement, a misunderstanding or a new need before choosing a response.

A software testing group plans to use an AI tool to generate test cases, which could reduce manual test effort. Infrastructure follows a fixed plan, and the app is built in sprints. What should the project manager do before changing the resource plan?

• APilot the tool, validate its output and check it against policy
  Correct. The effect on resource needs should be based on evidence from a governed pilot, not assumptions.
• BLower the test effort estimate by the vendor's quoted saving
  Replans on a vendor claim, not evidence from this team's own governed pilot.
• CWait for the PMO to publish an AI policy before considering the tool
  Overly passive: the PM can run a governed pilot under current policy and gather evidence now.
• DLet each tester decide whether to use the tool however they like
  Unmanaged use ignores policy, data privacy and consistency.

Which artifact BEST shows an agile team's completed work against the total release scope, including scope changes, over time?

• ARelease burnup chart
  Correct. A burnup chart shows completed work and the total scope line separately, so scope changes are visible.
• BKanban board
  A board shows current work status, not trends over time.
• CProduct roadmap
  A roadmap shows planned themes, not completed work.
• DSprint burndown chart
  A sprint burndown covers one sprint only.

A predictive ship-refit project has a BAC of $2,000,000. The team reports that the work is 60% complete, and actual costs to date are $1,500,000. What is the cost variance?

• A-$800,000
  This is EV - BAC (1,200,000 - 2,000,000), which compares the value earned with the total budget instead of with the actual cost.
• B+$300,000 (favorable)
  The sign is reversed. AC is higher than EV, so the variance is negative: the project is over budget.
• C-$500,000
  This subtracts AC from BAC. Cost variance compares the value earned so far with the cost so far.
• D-$300,000
  Correct. EV = 60% x 2,000,000 = 1,200,000. CV = EV - AC = 1,200,000 - 1,500,000 = -300,000.

A media company is building a new subscription platform with Scrum teams. Corporate finance asks the project manager how development costs should be classified, because some costs may be capitalized and others expensed. What should the project manager do?

• AAsk the team to log hours by task and let finance classify them
  Data reaches finance, but task logs do not map to the policy's categories, so classification stays unreliable.
• BRefer the question to the external auditors
  Auditors review the result; finance owns the policy and must agree the approach with the project.
• CAgree with finance how sprint work is tagged under the accounting policy
  Correct. Capitalization rules belong to finance and accounting policy. The PM's job is to agree a practical way for the team's work to be tagged so costs are classified correctly.
• DClassify each backlog item yourself from its description
  Wrong owner: classification follows finance's accounting policy, which the PM applies but does not decide.

A predictive construction project has a contractual sustainability requirement to reduce embodied carbon. Which TWO methods BEST support compliance? (Choose TWO.)

• AOffset all carbon at the end without changing materials
  Offsets alone may not meet a reduction requirement.
• BSpecify low-carbon materials in procurement documents
  Correct. Procurement is where material choices are fixed.
• CReport carbon only in the final report
  End-only reporting removes the chance to correct.
• DTrack embodied carbon against the target at each milestone
  Correct. Tracking allows correction before it is too late.
• ELeave carbon reduction to the contractor's discretion
  Without requirements and tracking, compliance is uncertain.

The steering committee of a hybrid national-ID program has 30 minutes each month and wants to understand risk at a glance. What should the project manager provide?

• AA one-page list of the top 10 risks with their current scores
  Concise, but it shows neither how the risks are trending nor which decisions the committee needs to make.
• BA heat map of top risks with trends and decisions needed
  Correct. Senior audiences need concise, tailored information: the most important risks, how they are moving, and where their help is needed.
• CThe full risk register of 140 risks with all columns and every comment from the team
  The full register is too detailed for a 30-minute steering committee.
• DOnly the risks that have already turned into issues
  Showing only issues hides future exposure that the committee could still influence.

An agile team at a regional airline keeps waiting for decisions because the product owner, a senior manager, attends only one meeting a month. The backlog is not refined, and the team is building on assumptions. What should the project manager do FIRST?

• AEscalate to the sponsor to replace the product owner
  Escalation before talking directly with the PO is premature.
• BAct as product owner and make backlog decisions
  The PM taking over the PO's authority confuses roles and governance.
• CLet the team prioritize the backlog themselves
  The team lacks the business authority to set value priorities.
• DDiscuss the impact and options directly with the product owner
  Correct. The first step is a direct conversation about the effect of the PO's absence and options such as delegating authority to a proxy.