Test 3

T3 - 4. During the initiating process group, a project manager is studying the laws and regulations, including labor laws, country standards, guidelines, and statutory laws. Which of the following is the manager studying? A. Applicable laws and regulations B. Project quality best practices and standards C. Regulatory requirements D. Quality assurance and control techniques

^ Correct Option: A Applicable laws and regulations include labor laws, country standards, guidelines, and statutory laws. Project quality best practices and standards provide the mechanism to align to the industry or government standards. Regulatory requirements include government and industry standards which may impact the project outcome. Environmental factors include weather conditions, infrastructure, and economic factors which can impact the planning. Quality assurance and control techniques help in ensuring the process is carried out per the expectation; It involves identifying best practices and measuring the project output to see that the deliverables are meeting the expected standards. These techniques are newly added in the examination content outline.

T3 - 196. Which of the following is the correct formula for calculating the present value of a business or organization? Note: R = interest rate, n = time periods A. Present Value = Future Value/(1+R)^n B. Present Value = Future Value/(1-R) C. Present Value = Future Value (1+R) D. Present Value = Future Value (1-R)^n

^ Correct Option: A The correct formula for calculating present value is Present Value = Future Value/(1+R)^n

T3 - 18. Which of the following best describes any measurable, tangible, or verifiable item that must be produced to complete the project? A. Deliverable B. Data item list C. Work package D. Code of accounts

Correct Option: A A deliverable is a measurable, tangible, and verifiable item that must be produced to complete the project.

T3 - 117. A team member is showing up late to work and leaving early. This is negatively affecting the project. The project manager decides that the team member must be reprimanded. Which of the following is the BEST way to handle this situation? A. In a one-on-one meeting with the team member B. At the next team meeting C. In a private meeting with the team member and his functional manager D. Over email

Correct Option: A A project manager should correct a team member for poor behavior always one-on-one, in person, and in private

T3 - 61. As a project manager, you are explaining to your project team the difference between a resource histogram and a responsibility assignment matrix. What does a resource histogram show that a responsibility assignment matrix does not? A. Time B. Activity C. Inter-relationships D. Person in charge of each activity

Correct Option: A A responsibility assignment matrix gives the picture of who is responsible for doing what on the project (it states the specific resources against the work packages from the WBS). On a resource histogram, the use of resources is shown over time.

T3 - 142. What should the project manager use to examine project results over a period of time to analyze the improvement in performance? A. Trend Report B. Forecasting Report C. Status Report D. Variance report

Correct Option: A A trend report is the best option to plot the performance measurements over a period of time and to see if there is any improvement

T3 - 81. If an employee is working towards the satisfaction of his/her safety needs, which of the following is the highest need that he/she has already satisfied? A. Physiological B. Need for approval from the society C. Need for self-esteem D. Social

Correct Option: A According to Maslow's theory, once the physiological needs are satisfied, a person looks into the next level of needs, which are safety needs.

T3 - 41. _____ extends the description of the activity by identifying the multiple components associated with each activity. A. Activity attributes B. An activity identifier C. The work breakdown structure D. The product backlog

Correct Option: A Activity attributes extend the description of the activity by identifying the multiple components associated with each activity.

T3 - 166. A project should be terminated for all of the following reasons EXCEPT: A. lack of team synergy B. the project no longer meets the company's objectives C. the resources are not available to complete project activities D. project funding has been significantly reduced

Correct Option: A All of the mentioned options can be reasons for project termination, but not lack of team synergy

T3 - 122. Which of the following BEST describes when you perform the monitor and control project work process? A. Continuously throughout the project B. As soon as every deliverable is completed C. At scheduled milestones or intervals during the project D. At the end of every project phase

Correct Option: A As a project manager, you need to constantly monitor the project for changes and take the appropriate action whenever you make a change.

T3 - 186. Which type of leadership style is most appropriate when managing large numbers of low-skilled workers? A. Autocratic B. Paternalistic C. Democratic D. Consultative

Correct Option: A Autocratic is the right type of leadership style for managing large numbers of low skilled workers

T3 - 111. Your project has a virtual team. Half of your team members are located in another country where they are working for a subcontractor. The subcontractor's team members speak a different dialect of English than your team does. After a conference call, two of your team members make jokes about the way your subcontractor's team members speak. What is the BEST way to handle this situation? A. Correct the team members individually and hold a training session for your team to help remove communications barriers B. Immediately correct the two people in front of the rest of the team C. Report the team members to senior management and recommend that they be punished D. Remove noise from the communication by contacting the subcontractor and requesting that the team adjust the way they speak

Correct Option: A Correct the team members individually and hold a training session for your team to help remove communications barriers. As per PMI, it's unacceptable to belittle anyone based on how they speak, the way they dress, or any other aspect of their cultural background. If you see a member of your team doing this, it is your responsibility to do what is necessary to correct the behavior and prevent it from happening in the future

T3 - 55. Which of the following is also known as failure costs? A. Cost of poor quality B. Internal costs C. Prevention costs D. Cost of defects

Correct Option: A Cost of quality is the cost incurred to ensure quality. Failure costs include costs to rework products, components, or processes that are non-compliant, costs of warranty, work and waste, and loss of reputation.

T3 - 23. Which processes are in the Initiating process group? A. Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders B. Develop Project Charter and Develop Project Management Plan C. Develop Project Charter and Collect Requirements D. Develop Project Charter and Manage Stakeholder Engagements

Correct Option: A Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders belong to the Initiating process group.

T3 - 134. You are the project manager of the ABC project which has an allocated budget of $650,000. You have completed 30% of the work with an expenditure of $26,000 against your plan of 45%. What is the earned value? A. 195000 B. 292500 C. 26000 D. -26000

Correct Option: A Earned value is calculated by multiplying the percentage of completion, 30% by the BAC, i.e. $650,000, for a value of $195,000

T3 - 189. According to the Utility Theory, what are the dimensions on the X and Y axis? A. X-axis denotes money at stake and y-axis denotes utility B. X-axis denotes utility and y-axis denotes money at stake C. X-axis denotes performance and y-axis denotes money at stake D. X-axis denotes money at stake and y-axis denotes performance

Correct Option: A In the Utility Theory, the X-axis denotes money at stake and y-axis denotes utility.

T3 - 154. As a project manager of a research project which is in the middle of execution, you realize that your original estimates were flawed and are no longer valid. Which formulas would help you to develop a forecasted Estimate to Complete (EAC)? Here AC is the Actual Cost, EV is the Earned Value, ETC is Estimate to Complete, CPI is Cost Performance Index, and BAC is Budget at Completion. A. EAC = AC + Bottom up ETC B. EAC = AC + (BAC-EV) C. EAC = BAC/CPI D. EAC = AC + (EV- BAC)

Correct Option: A In this scenario, the new forecasts for Estimate to Complete (EAC) would be based on new estimates to complete the remaining work or ETC. The most common EAC forecasting approach is a manual, bottom-up summation by the project team. Please refer to the PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Project Cost Management, page number 264 for more details

T3 - 138. Johnny is the project manager of the Galaxy Project. Quality audits of the deliverables show there are several problems with the product. The organization has asked Johnny to create a chart showing the distribution of problems and their frequencies. Which of the following is the right tool to assist Johnny? A. Pareto diagram B. Ishikawa chart C. Control chart D. Flowchart

Correct Option: A Johnny needs to create a Pareto diagram. A Pareto diagram maps out the causes of defects and illustrates their frequency. Option C is incorrect because a control chart does not identify the problems

T3 - 43. When should lead or lag be used during sequencing? A. When it is necessary to achieve a realistic and achievable project schedule B. For every task C. When sequencing, a decision should be made to use either lead or lag, but not both D. None of the above

Correct Option: A Lead or lag should be used during sequencing when it is necessary to achieve a realistic and achievable project schedule.

T3 - 20. You are participating in development of the project charter for a new project. Which of the following is NOT a part of the enterprise environmental factors? A. Lessons learned from previous projects B. Knowledge of which departments in your company typically work on projects C. The work authorization system D. Government and industry standards that affect your project

Correct Option: A Lessons learned are part of the organizational process assets, not enterprise environmental factors.

T3 - 7. What form of organization is used in large, modern corporations? A. Matrix B. Composite C. Functional D. Projectized

Correct Option: A Most of the large corporations use matrix structure. Refer to PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page 47 to know about different organizational structures.

T3 - 94. In the project environment, there are four general categories of communication: formal written, informal written, formal verbal, and informal verbal. Which of the following is NOT an example of a formal written communication? A. To do list written on the whiteboard B. Changes to the project management plan C. Time sheet submitted by the team members D. Leave application due to ill health

Correct Option: A Of all the listed options, "to do list written on the whiteboard" is not a formal written communication.

T3 - 36. A project manager is using a single duration estimate to calculate activity duration. Which type of mathematical analysis is being used? A. Critical Path Method (CPM) B. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) C. Monte Carlo D. Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)

Correct Option: A PERT uses three duration estimates namely, "pessimistic estimate," "optimistic estimate," and "most likely estimate," whereas Critical Path Method (CPM) uses only one duration estimate.

T3 - 133. As a project manager, you are ensuring that project cost control is done on your project. All of the following are mostly true about project cost control except: A. The cost baseline is updated all the time B. Appropriate stakeholders are informed about the approved changes to the project cost C. All the changes to the project cost are recorded pre and post their approval D. Cost performance is monitored to detect the variance between the cost base line and actual cost performance

Correct Option: A Per the PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition, the cost baseline should not be updated frequently. The cost baseline updates should be done only based on the approved changes. See page 254 of PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition.

T3 - 33. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the kickoff meeting? A. Kickoff meeting is conducted not only to inform but also to engage and gain commitment from stakeholders B. Just to get the commitment C. Just to inform D. Just to inform and engage stakeholders

Correct Option: A Per the new examination content outline, kickoff meeting is conducted to communicate the start of the project, the key milestones, and other information to inform and engage stakeholders and gain their commitment.

T3 - 120. A Project team is working on how better or faster it can carry out the work and what optimization it can make within the project. Which of the following techniques/knowledge/skills are being used? A. Process analysis techniques B. Performance measurement techniques like KPI, key success factors C. Project quality best practices and standards like (ISO, CMMI) D. Lean and efficiency principles

Correct Option: A Process analysis techniques help understand how better or faster you can carry out the work and what optimization you can make. Performance measurement techniques like KPI and key success factors decide the acceptance/rejection/satisfaction criteria. Project quality best practices and standards like (ISO, CMMI) provide the mechanism to align to the industry or government. Lean is reducing the waste and efficiency is how better or faster one can achieve the result.

T3 - 13. You are a project manager in your organization. Joe, a trainee, wants to know when a project manager needs to be assigned to a project. What would be your BEST answer? A. During the initiation stage B. During the Planning stage C. When the stakeholders approve the budget D. After the project is proven feasible

Correct Option: A Project Managers are assigned during the initiation process of the project. This is the best answer choice.

T3 - 143. Senior management needs to be informed regarding the progress of your project. You will be making progress reports based on the scope, schedule, and cost details provided in which of the following options? A. Project Management Plan B. Project Charter C. Earned Value calculations D. PERT and CPM

Correct Option: A Project management plan is the basis for project execution. Hence, progress reports are prepared on the scope, schedule, and cost details provided in the project management plan

T3 - 71. The project sponsor wants a 10% reduction in costs estimates prepared by the project team. The motive is to improve the IT infrastructure downtime Service Level Agreement (SLA) by 3%. Which of the following would be the best course of action for the project manager? A. Provide an accurate estimate with supporting documentation B. Resubmit reduced estimates and make mitigation plans to manage consequential risk C. Brainstorm with the team to identify potential cost reduction D. Prepare a plan for improving SLA by 5%

Correct Option: A Provide details of an accurate estimate with supporting documentation. While options B and C appear likely to be exercised under the situation, a professional project manager would stand by accurate estimates and secure the approval of management.

T3 - 16. Rocky is the Project Manager of LFV project. As part of the Initiation process group, he participated in developing the project charter and is now in the process of identifying people or organizations impacted by his project. He is working on the creation of a document that contains all the details related to the identified stakeholders. Which formal document is Rocky working on? A. Stakeholder Register B. Stakeholder Analysis C. Stakeholder document D. Stakeholder management strategy

Correct Option: A Rocky is currently in the "Identify stakeholders" process. The main output of this process is the stakeholder register which contains all the details related to the identified stakeholders and includes identification information, assessment information, and stakeholder classification.

T3 - 100. Which activity from the following should a project manager perform when confronted with a situation in which a payment to facilitate an activity is advised by a liaison agent for a project with a foreign country? A. Seek legal advice to ensure that the payment is not a bribe B. Do not make the payment C. Make the payment D. Insist for documentation

Correct Option: A Seek legal advice to ensure that the payment is not a bribe. When a project manager is not clear about the business processes in a foreign country, it is necessary to seek legal advice to make sure that such payments are legitimate and not construed as a bribe or illegal practices.

T3 - 119. Your company has a policy of having every software project reviewed and approved by the Architecture Review Board prior to the construction phase of a project. You need to ensure that the project design is cleared by the Architecture Review Board. This is an example of which of the following? A. Stage Gate that can be a Milestone B. Milestone that cannot be a Stage Gate C. New scope for the project D. Project integration

Correct Option: A Stage Gate or Phase Exit or Kill Points are known as "Phase-end-Review" which is what the scenario explains. Refer to PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page 21.

T3 - 22. A project manager is working on a set of activities to be carried out to achieve not only the project deliverables but also benefit realization to meet the organization goals. Which of the following techniques is the manager working on? A. Strategic management B. Stakeholder management planning C. Customer satisfaction metrics D. Benefits realization

Correct Option: A Strategic management is a set of activities to be carried out to achieve not only the project deliverables but also benefit realization to meet the organization goals. Stakeholder management planning includes the different strategies to be adopted to engage the stakeholders. Customer satisfaction metrics refer to identification of parameters which helps to measure and check whether the customer fulfillment is achieved or not. Benefits realization is a set of processes defined to ensure that project deliverables are in alignment with organizational strategies and are creating value. These techniques are newly added in the examination content outline.

T3 - 165. Instead of rejoicing at the end of a project, the stakeholders are breathing a sigh of relief. None of them were confident that the project would meet the end date. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that this project had difficulty? A. Lack of a payback period B. Lack of milestones C. Lack of a communication plan D. Lack of a stakeholder management plan

Correct Option: A The "payback period" is a project selection criterion and not a document or plan to measure the performance

T3 - 159. An example of scope validation is: A. Reviewing the performance of an installed software module B. Managing changes to the project schedule C. Decomposing the WBS to a work package level D. Performing a benefit/cost analysis to determine if we should proceed with the project

Correct Option: A The Scope validation is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. It includes reviewing deliverables with the customer or sponsor to ensure that they are completed satisfactorily. It also includes obtaining formal acceptance of deliverables by the customer or sponsor

T3 - 156. Which of following tools is NOT used in the Control Quality process? A. Quality Audit B. Checksheet C. Ishikawa Diagrams D. Inspection

Correct Option: A The audit is a technique under manage quality process. All the other options listed are tools used in the Control Quality process

T3 - 78. What do you call the capability to identify, assess, and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people as well as the collective emotions of groups of people? A. Emotional intelligence B. Expert judgment C. Generational sensitivity and diversity D. Meeting management technique

Correct Option: A The capability to identify, assess, and manage the personal emotions of oneself and other people as well as the collective emotions of groups of people is called emotional intelligence. Expert judgment is judgment provided based upon expertise in an application area, knowledge area, discipline, industry, and so on, as appropriate for the activity being performed. Understanding the team with age boundaries within the environment and culture of the team including language and skill is Generational sensitivity and diversity. Preparing an agenda and dealing with conflicts are the meeting management techniques. These techniques are newly added in the examination content outline.

T3 - 98. A contractor is hired on a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract. The estimated cost of the contract is $200,000; however at completion, the contract costs total $225,000. The agreed upon percentage fee paid to the contractor is 20%. How much will the contractor receive? A. 265000 B. 225000 C. 40000 D. 185000

Correct Option: A The contractor will receive in a CPFF contract the cost, $225,000 plus the percentage fee of 20% of the estimated cost of the contract ($200,000) = $40,000. Hence the total amount the contractor will receive is $225,000+$40,000=$265,000.

T3 - 64. There are five stages of development that teams may go through. Which of the following is the correct order in which these stages occur? A. Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning B. Norming, Storming, Forming, Performing, Adjourning C. Forming, Norming, Performing, Storming, Adjourning D. Forming, Performing, Norming, Storming, Adjourning

Correct Option: A The correct order in which these five stages of development occur are Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning. Refer to PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page 338.

T3 - 199. Which is the best way of selecting a project, when other things are being constant? A. Project with highest IRR B. Project with lowest Payback period C. Project with lowest NPV D. Project with lowest BCR

Correct Option: A The criteria for selection with regard to NPV and BCR should be that projects with higher values should be selected, hence options C and D are ruled out. Compared to payback period, IRR is a more reliable measure since it considers time value of money, so A is a better option than B

T3 - 38. Rolling wave planning is a form of progressive elaboration planning where the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, and future work is planned at a higher level of the WBS. Which process uses rolling wave planning as a tool and technique? A. Define Activities B. Sequence Activities C. Estimate Activity Resources D. Develop Schedule

Correct Option: A The define activities process uses rolling wave planning as a tool and technique.

T3 - 97. A cost-plus-incentive-fee (CPIF) contract has an estimated cost of $150K with a predetermined fee of $15K and a share ratio of buyer to seller equal to 70/30. The actual cost of the project is $120K. How much savings did the seller make in total, and out of the total savings how much did he make because of the incentive? A. $30K, $9K B. $55K,$30K C. $32K, $27K D. $15K,$3K

Correct Option: A The estimated cost of project is $150K, and the actual cost of project is $120K. This implies a net savings of $30K. The sharing ratio is 30% for the seller which is $9K. The total value of the amount received by seller is $120K+$9K+15K = $144K (actual cost + incentive + fixed fee).

T3 - 147. Calculate the point of total assumption using the following data: Target cost = $100,000, Target profit = $20,000, Target Price = $120,000, Buyer/Share ratio = 70/30, Ceiling price = 140,000. A. 128571.43 B. 122142.86 C. 135000 D. 115714.29

Correct Option: A The formula PTA = [(Ceiling price - target price)/Buyer share +Target cost] = $128,571.43. The point of total assumption (PTA) is a point on the cost line of the profit-cost curve determined by the contract elements associated with a fixed price plus incentive (FPI) contract above which the seller effectively bears all of the costs of an overrun.

T3 - 24. Which of the following is an output from the "identify stakeholder" process? A. Stakeholder Register B. Stakeholder plan C. Stakeholder Management Strategy D. Stakeholder identification document

Correct Option: A The output of identify stakeholder process is a document, which is the stakeholder register, and it lists the stakeholders and their interest in the project.

T3 - 2. Name the project constraints defined by PMI®. A. Scope, Quality, Schedule, Budget, Resources, and Risk B. Quality, Procurement, Schedule, Budget, Resources, and Risk C. Scope, Quality, Communication, Budget, Resources, and Risk D. Scope, Quality, Schedule, Budget, Communication, and Risk

Correct Option: A The project constraints defined by PMI are Scope, Quality, Schedule, Budget, Resources and Risk. Refer PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page 542.

T3 - 8. In defining a project, which of the following can be identified as problems? A. The project goals may not be agreeable to all the parties B. The plan was "too loose," thus allowing priorities to change C. Low turnover of project personnel D. Too much communication between the client and the project personnel

Correct Option: A The project goals may not be agreeable to all the parties. Conflicts in the goal itself account greatly for the problems in defining the project.

T3 - 168. Which of the following is an input to the plan procurement management process? A. Project management plan B. Procurement Management Plan C. Procurement Statement of Work D. Source Selection Criteria

Correct Option: A The project management plan is an input to the close procurement process. For more information, please refer to PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page No. 466.

T3 - 60. You are the Project Manager for the Moon project. As part of quality management, you have listed the cost of quality, both for conformance and non-conformance. Which of the following is NOT an attribute of the cost of non-conformance? A. Safety measures B. Downtime C. Loss of customers D. Rework

Correct Option: A The question is about the factors attributing to the cost of conformance (not an attribute to the cost of non-conformance). Downtime, loss of customers, and rework are factors attributing to the cost of non-conformance, while safety measures attributes to the cost of conformance.

T3 - 104. Recently, your organization received resumes for the post of Technical Lead. The HR department has shortlisted certain resumes and wants you to take the interview. While reviewing the resume of one candidate, you see a discrepancy in the number of years that person attended college. What should you do? A. Report this discrepancy to Human Resources B. Refuse to consider the candidate for the position C. Ask the candidate to clarify the information D. Let it remain as the candidate has relevant experience

Correct Option: A The resume has been sent to you by the HR department, so you need to report the discrepancy to the HR department rather than clarifying with the candidate directly. Refusing the assignment immediately should not be done without clarifying the matter. The reason for the discrepancy needs to be understood in order to make the right decision.

T3 - 183. The major type of standard warranty that is used in the business environment is: A. Express and Implied B. Normal and Extended C. Default and Customized D. Formal and Informal

Correct Option: A The two types of warranties are express and implied. Express involves an actual promise specifically stated or expressed in a contract or an agreement. Implied means the terms of the warranty are created by the law regardless of the words of the parties in the contract or the agreement.

T3 - 62. In a matrix organization, two projects have a concurrent need for a certain skill set. However, there is limited availability of resources with the required skill set. Who is responsible for resolving this conflict over resources? A. Senior Management B. Sponsor C. Project Manager D. Functional Manager

Correct Option: A This is a conflict over resource assignments that needs to be addressed based on project priorities. Project priorities are decided by the senior management of the organization. Functional managers, Project Managers, and sponsors do not decide the priorities of different projects.

T3 - 102. You are a PMP trainer, and your organization has scheduled you to give training at the organization where your spouse works. Your organization is not aware of this situation. Per your organization's deal, you need to teach one of the project management software tools to 18 people who have been scheduled for this training. Your spouse's manager knows you, so they request you to allow an additional five people to attend your training. Another five people would add a revenue of $50,000, but you agree to let them attend the class as it is requested by your spouse's manager. Which of the following is true in this scenario? A. This is an example of conflict of interest B. This is not a problem as it may help your spouse get some benefits during the appraisal process C. You can always justify that you were trying to build a good marketing relationship with the customer D. You should go to the management and show how well you have presented your organization's image and should ask for a promotion based on this

Correct Option: A This is surely a conflict of interest as you are favoring your spouse's organization at the cost of your organization's business. Per PMI, you have to ensure that a conflict of interest does not interfere with your professional judgment and disclose circumstances that could be interpreted as a conflict of interest.

T3 - 197. You are a project manager and in charge of a seminar and training session with approximately 2,000-2,500 employees attending. You have rented a hall for the seminar; however, you are unsure exactly how many people will attend. Moreover, the number of tables required will change depending on attendance. The cost of the furniture should be considered as: A. Variable cost B. Direct cost C. Fixed cost D. Transient cost

Correct Option: A This should be considered as variable cost as the cost will vary depending on the number of attendees

T3 - 29. Which of the following is true regarding scope baselines for high technology R and D projects where creativity cannot be planned? A. They need to be developed as much as possible B. Do not plan C. Depends on assumption D. Cannot be developed

Correct Option: A Though R and D projects involve creativity, they cannot be planned properly and need to be progressively elaborated until they reach a stage where scope baselines can be defined to a near perfect level.

T3 - 116. Tom is a project manager on an industrial design project. He is always watching when his team members come into the office, when they take their breaks, and when they leave. He periodically walks around the office to be sure that everyone is doing work when they are at their desks and he insists that he makes every project decision, even minor ones. What kind of manager is he? A. Theory X B. Theory Y C. Cost Cutter D. Effective

Correct Option: A Tom is Theory X manager as he believes that employees need to be watched all of the time and that all of his team members are selfish and unmotivated.

T3 - 129. Given the following values, calculate the variance at completion for the project : PV=300, AC=358, EV=324, EAC=454, and BAC=420 A. Negative variance at 34 B. Positive variance at 130 C. Positive variance at 34 D. Negative variance at 130

Correct Option: A Variance at Completion(VAC)=BAC-EAC

T3 - 84. While assessing the performance of your team members, you found that some of them are not strong enough to handle the tasks assigned. You will : A. Communicate the improvement needs and establish a performance review and monitoring schedule B. Assign double the work and tell them to report the progress at the beginning and end of the day C. Return the team members to the functional department and warn the functional head D. Wait for them to fail so that you can prove your point and in the meantime start hiring additional resources

Correct Option: A You need to communicate the improvement needs and establish a performance review and monitoring schedule. This is a very specific situation where internally one would be expected to prove his/her point in such circumstances

T3 - 121. You are the project manager for a construction company. You are currently working on a project for building a new dam across a river. A recent change in a law governing ecological preservation will impact your project and change your project scope. As a project manager what should you do? A. Proceed as planned, and ignore the change in the law B. Create a documented change request C. Consult with the project sponsor and the stakeholders D. Stop all project work until the issue is resolved

Correct Option: B A formal, documented change request is the best course of action for a change request stemming from a law or regulation. Option A is incorrect, as the law or regulation will likely override any existing project implementation. Option C is incorrect, as the project manager and the stakeholder can do little by consulting rather than complying with the law in terms of putting through a change management request

T3 - 139. You are a project manager who is currently in the monitoring process group. You and your team are trying to identify the relationship between an independent variable and the dependent variable by plotting their values on a diagram. One of your team members asks you what is this diagram known as? A. Control chart B. Scatter diagram C. Cause and Effect diagram D. Statistical sampling

Correct Option: B A scatter diagram displays the relationship between two elements as points on the graph. These elements are the dependent and the independent variables.

T3 - 123. John is the project manager of a new product development project. His team is getting the project deliverables accepted per the specified project acceptance criteria. Why does the team need acceptance criteria for the project's final deliverables? A. To complete project records B. To ensure customer satisfaction C. To know what to create D. To abide by the project manager's rule

Correct Option: B Acceptance criteria defines the process and criteria for accepting completed deliverables. It helps in ensuring customer satisfaction. Project records (Option A) are completed as part of the closure activity, and they can be done whether deliverable acceptance criteria are specified or not. Product specifications (Option C) tell what to create, and acceptance criteria helps to establish whether the deliverables are meeting the specified product specifications or not. Option D is wrong as there is no such project management rule

T3 - 163. You have just been informed by the project sponsor that the customer intends to terminate the project in the middle of the execution process group. Which of the following will you do FIRST as a project manager? A. Share this information with all stakeholders by email B. Evaluate the impact of project closure C. Initiate the Close Project or phase process D. Meet the sponsor to discuss the course of actions

Correct Option: B As a project manager, the FIRST thing that the you should do is evaluate the impact of the termination on the stakeholders, organization, subcontractors, and project activities. This will enable you to define a course of action to perform

T3 - 130. At what level of the WBS should the budget be estimated to assist in budget control during the monitoring and controlling process group? A. Highest B. Lowest C. Third D. Major work effort

Correct Option: B By having the WBS at its lowest level, more information is available to make a more accurate cost estimate

T3 - 110. Anne is a project manager who is managing a project where there will be a number of people working together. She wants to enhance the ability of the team to work together and perform as a team. What can she do to maximize the ability of the team to do this? A. Cohabitation B. Co-location C. Staffing plan D. Work Breakdown structure

Correct Option: B Co-location involves placing many (or all of the most active) project team members in the same physical location to enhance their ability to perform as a team.

T3 - 76. Company expenses such as auditing costs, supervision, office supplies, building rent, and maintenance are elements of which of the following ? A. Capital budgeting process B. Overhead rates C. Contracts and administration costing system D. Fringe benefits package

Correct Option: B Company expenses, such as auditing costs, supervision, office supplies, building rent, and maintenance are not specific to a project, but to all the projects of the company. They are an example of the overhead cost.

T3 - 101. A university has contacted you to help it in its research. They have asked you to provide them with some of the client data from your files. What should you do? A. Release the information but remove all references to the client's name B. Contact your client and seek permission to disclose the information C. Disclose the information D. None of the above

Correct Option: B Contact your client and seek permission to disclose the information. Never disclose the information without the permission of the owner of the information. Per the professional responsibility and ethics, you should maintain the confidentiality of the information.

T3 - 148. In your organization, a project management team has subcontracted work to a service company. The process of ensuring that this service company's performance meets contractual requirements is called: A. Plan Procurement Management B. Control Procurements C. Close Procurements D. Staffing Management Plan

Correct Option: B Control procurements is the process of managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, and making changes and/or corrections as needed

T3 - 44. ____ are allowances for unplanned but potentially required changes that can result from realized risks identified in the risk register. A. PERT reserves B. Contingency reserves C. Buffers D. None of these

Correct Option: B Cost estimates may include contingency reserves to account for cost uncertainty. Contingency reserves are often viewed as part of the budge intended to address the known-unknowns that can affect a project.

T3 - 141. A customer has been consistently late with approvals on design documentation. George, the project manager, has raised the subject in the past, but the practice of delayed approval has not changed. George has been documenting the delays. Which conflict resolution technique is he following? A. Collaborating B. Withdrawal C. Smoothing D. Compromising

Correct Option: B Documenting the delays is not an attempt to solve the problem. This demonstrates avoidance or withdrawal as the Project Manager's response to the situation. Collaborating involves attempting to solve the problem for deriving an extent of satisfaction to the parties involved in the issue. The situation described here does not indicate any such attempt

T3 - 182. There are two basic types of warranties. What warranty type relates to "merchantability" or "fitness for particular purpose"? A. Express B. Implied C. Guarantee D. Selective

Correct Option: B Implied represents merchantability or fitness for particular purpose

T3 - 86. You are managing a project and cannot get enough attention for your project. Resources are working on more than one project at the same time and their priorities keep changing. You are most likely working in what form of organization? A. Matrix B. Functional C. Expeditor D. Coordinator

Correct Option: B In a functional organization, the project does not get enough attention. The project manager has little or no authority, and the functional manager has more authority.

T3 - 50. The standard deviations for the four tasks on the critical path are 3, 5, 10, and 3. What is the standard deviation for the entire critical path? A. You cannot determine the standard deviation on critical path. B. 11.95 C. 5.8 D. 143

Correct Option: B In order to calculate the standard deviation for the entire critical path, we need to take the square root of the sum of the squares of each tasks' standard deviation. This is explained mathematically by: (3^2)+(5^2)+(10^2)+(3^2) = 9+25+100+9=143. Taking the square root of 143 is 11.95.

T3 - 90. The organization's CEO intends to convey some complex, detailed information to the "Moonstar" project stakeholders. Which of the following is the best method of communicating this kind of information? A. Verbal B. Written C. Vertical D. Lateral

Correct Option: B In order to communicate complex and detailed information with the project stakeholders, the best method of communication is written.

T3 - 87. George is working on an international project which involves 150 team members and the project budget is $1,400,000. The weekly status meeting is conducted worldwide and is scheduled for Wednesday at 5:00 PM and the duration of the meeting is two hours. All of the team members globally communicate using the video conferencing unit at their location. What kind of communication method is this? A. Push communication B. Interactive communication C. Pull communication D. Push Pull communication

Correct Option: B Interactive communication is the most efficient way to ensure a common understanding by all participants on specified topics and is performed between two or more parties performing a multidirectional exchange of information. It includes meetings, phone calls, video conferencing to name a few.

T3 - 54. You are the project manager for an international project which has more than 45 key stakeholders. Management has asked you to ensure that the project's completion cost should not be more than $34 million. You have to identify the key constraints of this globally important project. Which one of following will you identify? A. Internationalization constraint B. Budget constraint C. Management constraint D. Hard logic

Correct Option: B It is the Budget constraint. This is an international project, but that is not a constraint (option A). Management constraint (option C) is not a used terminology in PMBOK Guide - Sixth Edition®. Hard logic (option D) is used in for defining dependencies.

T3 - 152. Due to a lack of employee training and proper production controls, defects in a production run cause rework which costs the company $250,000. How much of this cost is directly attributable to the employees on the production line? A. $75,000 B. $37,500 C. $2,12,500 D. $1,45,000

Correct Option: B Management is directly responsible for 85% of those factors influencing the quality of a product or $212,500. This leaves the employees with the responsibility for the remainder of the cost or $37,500

T3 - 14. You are going to be the Project Manager for an LMS project, so you are looking for all possible information before the project initiation process group. Which is the best source of information for your project? A. Business plans B. Organizational process assets C. Work breakdown structure D. Project charter

Correct Option: B Organizational process assets include process-related assets from all of the organizations involved in the project that can be used to influence the project's success.

T3 - 105. Ashley orders batteries for her project from a new supplier who appears to offer the lowest cost. After delivery of the batteries, the sales representative calls Ashley to thank her for the order. She also sends her an expensive laptop as a thank you gift for her order. What should Ashley do? A. Accept the gift. It did not influence her decision to purchase the batteries B. Refuse the gift to avoid the appearance of impropriety C. Report the batteries company to the police for a case on bribery D. Ensure the gift becomes a company asset and not a personal asset

Correct Option: B Per PMI's ethical standards, Ashley should refuse to accept the gift to avoid a case of impropriety.

T3 - 35. Which of the following statements is correct regarding project management plan? A. Present it only to key stakeholders B. Present it only to key relevant stakeholders C. Don't present anything as the stakeholders are part of project management plan development D. Present to the customer

Correct Option: B Per the new examination content outline, key stakeholders, if required, is replaced with relevant stakeholders. Project manager needs to identify those relevant stakeholders.

T3 - 181. Which of the following constitutes Juran's "quality trilogy"? A. Planning, inspection, control B. Planning, improvement, control C. Planning, organizing, control D. Product, price, customer

Correct Option: B Planning, improvement, control constitute Juran's "quality trilogy."

T3 - 59. An international project consists of 150 project team members around the world. Each project team will be upgrading a piece of software in different facilities. The project manager needs to address the quality of the overall delivery. Which is the most suitable quality planning tool? A. Work Breakdown Structure B. Quality Checklists C. PND D. WBS Dictionary

Correct Option: B Quality Checklists are simple and effective quality management tools that the project manager can use to ensure the team completes the work with the required quality.

T3 - 149. While performing the earned value calculations for your project, you realize that you have exhausted your project's budget, but the project work has not finished. You are directed by senior management to route the existing work as an essential change feature while discussing with the client how to claim additional funding. What should you do? A. Follow instructions B. Refuse to follow their instructions and if necessary, leave the project C. Do not do anything D. Tell the client everything truthfully and tell them to file a case against your organization

Correct Option: B Refuse to follow their instructions, and if necessary, leave the project. Per PMI's ethical standards, you should be truthful with your customer in all situations

T3 - 118. You are managing an accounting project when a new CFO is hired at your company. He will be affected by all of the accounting projects in your company. What's the BEST thing for you to do? A. Show him the Project Charter so that he knows that you are in charge of the project B. Work with him to understand the current requirements and determine if he has new ones to add to the project C. Keep working on the project and get his feedback when he can review the finished product D. Add him to the communications plan

Correct Option: B Since the CFO is affected by your project, that means he's a stakeholder. The best thing you can do in this situation is get the new stakeholder's opinion incorporated into current and future projects

T3 - 1. Which of the following is NOT true about a project life cycle? A. Cost and staffing levels are low at the start, but they peak as the work is carried out, and they drop rapidly as the project draws to a close B. Stakeholder influences are stronger toward the end of the project C. Risk and Uncertainty are greatest at the start of the project D. Cost of changes increases as the project approaches completion

Correct Option: B Stakeholder influences are the stronger at the beginning of the project.

T3 - 9. You are a Project Manager explaining the correct application of standards and regulations to your team. Which of the following statements is true regarding standards and regulations? A. Standards are mandatory while regulations are not mandatory B. Standards are not mandatory, but regulations are mandatory 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 part of Enterprise environmental factors that the project management team need to plan for the project

Correct Option: B Standards are not mandatory

T3 - 180. You discover that one of your team members is telling people that he is PMP certified. You thought he had not taken the test yet. What should you do? A. Have him removed from the project B. Talk to him in person and attempt to clarify the status C. Ignore it D. Tell other team members that he is not being honest about this

Correct Option: B Talk to him in person and attempt to clarify the status. Option A should not be considered unless being a PMP certified professional is a prerequisite for the project. Ignoring the misrepresentation by your team member (option C) will be unethical. Telling other team members (option D) will negatively influence his image and will not resolve the issue

T3 - 85. Which of the following is NOT an appropriate reason to provide additional training to the members of your project team? A. The team's overtime is beyond acceptable limits B. The feedback about your team members from other Project Managers C. The inclusion of a new technology in the project D. Project deliverables not meeting the performance standards

Correct Option: B The feedback provided to you by other project managers about your team members will not give you the information about the gaps in the team's skillsets and the work allocated to them. Hence, it is not an appropriate reason to provide team members with additional training based on feedback from other Project Managers.

T3 - 26. Your project has just been approved by the management. The project stakeholders identify and develop the project charter. The information from the initiating process group acts as input to a process. Identify the process. A. Executing B. Planning C. Controlling D. All of the project phases

Correct Option: B The initiating processes serve as direct inputs to the planning processes. Options (a), (c), and (d) are incorrect as initiating processes do not directly serve as an input to the executing, controlling, or closing processes.

T3 - 175. A film making project has just come to an end and the movie is released. Which of the following is the MOST relevant metric to evaluate the success or failure of the project? A. Schedule variance B. Revenue from ticket sales during the first 3 weeks C. Cost variance D. Amount of time correcting editing errors

Correct Option: B The most relevant metric in this case is ticket sales, as that is the ultimate validation of customer satisfaction

T3 - 80. You are a project manager for a major systems integration project. The quality department personnel discusses with you about conducting a quality audit of your project. The team, already under pressure to complete the project within demanding deadlines, objects to the audit. You explain to the team that the purpose of a quality audit is: A. Part of an ISO 9000 investigation B. To identify lessons learned that can improve performance on project C. To check if customer is following quality process D. To check accuracy of costs submitted by the team

Correct Option: B The objective of quality audit is to identify inefficient, ineffective policies and procedures used in the project. An audit can identify the lessons learned and thereby improve the performance of the project. Option A states the organizational quality policy that may not necessarily hold true for the project. Option C is incorrect since a quality audit is not conducted for the customer's organization's processes. Correctness of the cost estimations, as stated in Option D can be ascertained in the Control Quality process.

T3 - 10. The Project Manager could not get an approval for his project's charter. His boss has instructed that the project begin immediately or the project deadlines will not be achieved. Which of the following should the Project Manager do? A. Set up an integrated change control process B. Push to get the charter signed C. Perform an impact analysis D. Start work on only the critical path tasks

Correct Option: B The project charter should be approved as it involves approval for finances, resources, and timelines which should be available to the Project Manager to avoid any discrepancies in the project deliverables

T3 - 83. Post the mid review of your project, EV is 42% against PV of 50%. The project manager intends to make up for the 5%. The project sponsor has set aside Rs.100,000 as management reserve. Instead of using it to hire temporary labor or pay overtime, the project manager is using it as an incentive for the team to catch up in 60 days. If the team achieves the deadlines, the money will be used to take the team members and their guests to Miami for an all-expenses paid weekend. What type of power is the project manager referencing? A. Referent B. Reward C. Coercive D. Expert

Correct Option: B The project manager is rewarding the team by taking them on an all expenses trip to Miami for a weekend and exhibiting his reward power.

T3 - 68. The performing organization has an air travel policy that specifies a particular airline be used for certain destinations. However, the project manager has a frequent flier program with another airline which also flies to the particular destination that he is required to travel to. What should the Project Manager do? A. Make his own travel arrangements B. Travel by the company approved airline C. Secure an approval for travel by his preferred airline D. Get the organization to make an arrangement with the airline of his choice

Correct Option: B The project manager must travel by the company approved airline. One should adhere to the policies of the organization. Making policy changes is the prerogative of the organization. While the project manager can provide inputs on constraints or available alternatives, the decisions made by the organization would be binding to all who are a part of the organization.

T3 - 69. During an emergency project review meeting, the project manager learns about the current funding problems from the sponsor of the project. Which of the following would be the best recourse for the project manager under these circumstances? A. Inform the senior management of the impending risks B. Submit a change request to reduce the scope of work and initiate closure C. Submit change request to extend the schedule and to allow for improvement in funds' situation of the sponsor D. Continue with work, as planned

Correct Option: B The project manager needs to submit change request to reduce the scope of work and initiate closure. Business ethics dictate that deliverables that are closer to the milestone payments should be completed and should enter closure to protect the interests of both the sponsor and the performing organization.

T3 - 70. You are managing a project that has one year duration. During the middle of the project, it is found that the quality of the project is not as planned or expected. Who is responsible for this situation? A. Project champion B. Project team C. Stakeholders D. Customers

Correct Option: B The project team (the individuals completing the project work) is responsible for the quality of the project deliverables. Option A is incorrect; the project champion may review the work, but the responsibility to meet the quality does not lie with him/her.

T3 - 73. James is the operations manager and has contracted an outside firm to develop a new billing system for his project. Overall, he is satisfied with their performance, but in some meetings, he feels they are going beyond the scope of the project as originally defined. It's a time and materials contract that is signed with this outside firm. James wants to be sure that only the work that is defined in the project scope is what gets done. Which project documentation should he ask the Project Manager for? A. Minutes of the kickoff meeting where the project scope was discussed B. The scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS) C. Project charter D. Organizational process assets

Correct Option: B The scope statement, work breakdown structure (WBS), WBS dictionary, and any approved changes should be asked for. Scope baseline (project scope statement, WBS, WBS dictionary) is primarily going to state the agreed upon project scope. Any approved changes during the project lifecycle may add to the baseline scope.

T3 - 21. A project manager is employed by a construction company and is responsible for furnishing the completed building. The sponsor is developing a document which authorizes the project manager. Which is this document? A. Work breakdown structure B. Project charter C. Project baseline D. Project plan

Correct Option: B The sponsor first gets the project charter created and authorizes it. This will assign the project manager to the project and define the high level scope, risks, constraints, and assumptions of the project.

T3 - 137. For the company review meeting, you have to prepare graphical charts to show the project performance trends. Which two charts will help you to do that? A. Pareto chart and control chart B. Control chart and run chart C. Gantt chart and control chart D. Histogram and run chart

Correct Option: B These would be ideal as the project performance has to be presented. The control chart maps the trend or run of the processes on one side of the mean. The run chart is a line graph that shows data points plotted in the order in which they occur and show trends in variation, decline, or improvement in the process over time. Pareto diagrams will not be the ideal choice as they are specific types of histogram which are ordered by frequency. This holds that a relatively smaller number of causes will typically produce a majority of the problems or defects

T3 - 82. Two team members were arguing about a design problem. The project manager, a technical expert himself, reviewed the issue and gave them clear directions about the design approach. This is an example of: A. A theory Y manager B. Forcing C. A team at the "performing" stage D. Building team competency

Correct Option: B This is an example of "Forcing" as an approach of conflict resolution.

T3 - 109. George is a project manager and has to hire many new team members for a new project. He creates an RFP and requests HR staffing companies to respond to it, so that he can select the right HR partner for his project. His wife also runs an HR staffing organization and wants to respond to this RFP. What should George do? A. Leave his position as a project manager B. Update his selection board about his wife also being one of the bidders and request them to treat her proposal objectively like any other proposal C. Suggest the rate that his wife can put in the proposal, so that she wins the contract D. Ask his wife not to respond to this RFP as it may create a possible conflict of interest

Correct Option: B Update the selection board about his wife being one of the bidders and request them to treat her proposal objectively like any other proposal. This is a common occurrence in real life. In such cases, the best option is to let the selection committee know that his wife is also a bidder. If the selection committee has any objections, they can reject the bid, but if she runs a reputed staffing company, why not let her submit her bid?

T3 - 45. Validate scope is concerned with _____. A. Correctness of deliverables B. Acceptance of deliverables C. Correctness and acceptance of deliverables D. None of the above

Correct Option: B Validate scope is primarily concerned with the acceptance of the deliverables, while control quality is primarily concerned with correctness of the deliverables and meeting the quality requirements specified in the deliverables.

T3 - 173. Which of the following is NOT part of closing processes? A. Formally closing all the supplier contracts B. Verifying the deliverables C. Collecting sign-offs from the customer and other stakeholders D. Lessons learned documentation

Correct Option: B Verifying that the product meets the requirements comes under control quality and is a part of Controlling process

T3 - 115. Your company's quality assurance department has performed a quality audit on your project. They have found that your team has implemented something inefficiently that could lead to defects. What is the NEXT thing that should happen on your project? A. You work with the quality department to implement a change to the way your team does their work B. You document recommended corrective actions and submit them to the change control board C. You add the results of the audit to the lessons learned D. You meet with the manager of the quality assurance department to figure out the root cause of the problem

Correct Option: B You should document recommended corrective actions and submit them to the change control board. Quality audits happen when the company reviews your project to see if you are following its processes. The idea is to figure out if there are ways to improve project process and reduce defects

T3 - 96. A contract is a promise to do or not to do something in exchange for some form of consideration. A negotiated contract is one where both parties agree on the basis of the principal considerations of: A. The period of performance and the specifications for the project B. How the work will be performed, at what time, and for what price C. The services to be rendered by one party and the price to be paid by the other party D. Who will perform the work and who will pay for the work

Correct Option: C A negotiated contract is on the basis of the services to be rendered by one party and the price to be paid by the other party. A contract has three parts: an offer, an acceptance, and the consideration to be paid in return for the service the seller delivers.

T3 - 125. You are listing down the possible reasons that can cause scope change in your project. Which one of the following will NOT be a valid reason for scope change? A. Customer has changed the specifications for the deliverables B. Change in government regulations C. Change in the estimation approach from top down to bottom up D. A change in the design as new technology needs to be implemented

Correct Option: C All of the options stated above will have impact on the scope, but change in the estimation approach from top down to bottom up (Option C) will not have any impact on the change to the scope

T3 - 144. You have to ensure that appropriate tools and techniques are used for performing the process of monitor risks. Which of the following is NOT a tool and technique for this process? A. Meetings B. Audits C. Risk Register D. Technical Performance Analysis

Correct Option: C All of the stated options are tools and techniques for the "monitor risks" process, while risk register is an input to this process

T3 - 162. When work on the first phase of the project is finished, what should the project manager ensure as part of closing before beginning the next phase? A. Define the project objectives for the next phase B. Identify the stakeholders for the next phase C. Ensure that there has been formal acceptance of the deliverables of the first phase D. Perform a kick off meeting for the next phase

Correct Option: C As part of the closing of the first phase, the project manager must ensure that there has been formal acceptance of the deliverables of the first phase. Thereafter, only the project manager can initiate activities for the next phase

T3 - 135. You are the Project Manager of the ABC project which has an allocated budget of $550,000. You have completed 80% of the work with an expenditure of $480,000 against your plan of 90%. What is the cost performance index? A. 0.88 B. 0.8 C. 0.916 D. 1.09

Correct Option: C BAC=$550,000, AC = $480,000 and EV(80% of $550,000) = $440,000. Hence CPI = EV/AC = 440,000/480,000 =0.916

T3 - 200. You are managing a construction project. You have to decide between renting a digger or buying it for the project. You would require the digger for 7 days of work and the following are the costs involved. Cost of digger is $1,400, daily cost of operation = $50, daily rental of the digger= $250. Which of the following is true? A. It is more economical to buy the digger B. It is more economical to take the digger on rent C. Both are equally economical D. Can't determine with the limited data

Correct Option: C Both are equally economical. Buying option: Cost of digger+(7days*daily cost of operation)=$1400+(7*$50)=$1750. Renting the digger= 7days*daily rental=7*$250=$1750. So both are equal.

T3 - 39. What are the primary outputs from the identify risks process? A. List of identified risks B. List of risk responses C. Both of these D. Neither of these

Correct Option: C Both of these. Both the list of identified risks and potential responses are the two primary outputs of the identify risks process.

T3 - 170. A project team working on an important project was suddenly informed by the customer that the budget for the project was revoked and the customer can no longer make payments. What should the project manager do? A. Calculate the penalty for abnormal closure and send an invoice to the customer B. Release the team for other billable projects C. Enter into closure processes D. Inform senior management in your organization and await their directions

Correct Option: C Closure processes will need to be invoked regardless of any other action that might be taken subsequently. Hence option C is the best answer.

T3 - 193. The swiftest and most effective communication occurs among people who have: A. Advanced professional degrees B. Dissimilar interests C. Common points of view D. The ability to reduce perception barriers

Correct Option: C Communication proves to be the swiftest and the most effective when people with common viewpoints communicate

T3 - 75. Your project involves the construction of a flyover that is estimated to cost $1.5 Million. It has to be completed in 2.5 years. The project involves a new technology on which neither the project resources nor you have worked in the past. As a project manager, you have done the best estimation, but some of the activities based on the new technology have shown negative slack during the execution process. If you do not complete these activities on time, the project finish date will get delayed. The sponsor informs you that the deadline has to be met, even though the project cost may be overrun. Out of the following, which will NOT assist you in achieving your deadline? A. You crash the project by adding more resources B. You define Start-to-Start and Finish-to-Finish dependencies among the task C. You define more Finish-to-Start dependencies D. Negotiate with the customer about reducing the scope

Correct Option: C Defining more Finish-to-Start dependencies implies introducing more serial dependencies. This will not assist you in achieving your project deadline. All the other options will help you to achieve the deadline by crashing (option A) or fast tracking (option B) or reducing the scope (option D).

T3 - 150. Raymond has developed a business case for a new project, but the return on investment (ROI) is negative. His manager has asked him to change the forecast to show a positive 10%, so the project can get approved. What should Raymond do? A. Change the forecast to get the positive ROI, and demonstrate loyalty B. Refuse to modify the data, and risk losing his position C. Explain that the ROI might not be the only consideration for the approval of the project, and ask his manager to focus on the strategic nature of the project rather than changing the ROI D. Modify the data, as his manager requested, and add a disclaimer to the report that he disagrees

Correct Option: C Explain that the ROI might not be the only consideration for the approval of the project, and ask his manager to focus on the strategic nature of the project rather than changing the ROI. ROI is one of the parameters, but a project could bring in more direct and indirect benefits to the organization such as a new domain expertise, acquiring a good image for the organization, and improvement in people skill level

T3 - 17. Earned value implementations can be scaled along the dimensions of granularity and frequency to achieve the degree of rigor required by the significance and the uncertainty of the project. Which of the following truly explains granularity? A. Risk Rigor relationship B. Time interval at which project performance is assessed C. Level of detail to which the project work scope is broken down using a WBS D. Total Budget

Correct Option: C Granularity refers to the level of detail to which the project work scope is broken down using a WBS.

T3 - 114. Which of the following is a "hygiene factor" under Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory? A. Recognition for excellent work B. Self-actualization C. Good relations with coworkers and managers D. Clean clothing

Correct Option: C Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory states that people need things like good working conditions, a satisfying personal life, and good relations with the boss and coworkers—these are called "hygiene factors." Until people have them, they generally don't care about "motivation factors" like achievement, recognition, personal growth, or career advancement

T3 - 185. You are the project manager for an IT project located in the UK, and your project team includes people from Australia, Netherlands, Singapore, and India. You are working on a software development project. When the project is 75 percent complete, your sponsor decides to close the project and move the team to a new project of strategic importance. Which type of closing does this refer to? A. Starvation B. Extinction C. Integration D. Addition

Correct Option: C Integration implies that if a project is closed due to any reasons, then the activities stated in the closing process should be performed. In case of starvation (option A), a project is closed because resources are cut from the project and are no longer available for the project. In case of addition (option D), a project is closed because projects are evolved into ongoing operations. In case of Extinction (option B) project is completed and is accepted by the stakeholders.

T3 - 113. The supplier to your project is refused access by the security staff of your company to certain locations that are required for executing the assignment. As a project manager you should: A. Let the supplier sort out the security related issues B. Remind the supplier that it is their responsibility to provide timely delivery C. Contact your security department and try to sort out the matter D. Bring the work back in-house

Correct Option: C It is your responsibility to make sure that the supplier has all the facilities and accesses needed to get the work done

T3 - 153. By the rule of seven, a process is said to be out of control if a run of seven samples is found on one side of the process mean. What is the probability that a run of seven occurs on either side of the mean due to random variation? A. 0.02 B. 0.035 C. 0.0156 D. 0.0273

Correct Option: C Let the first sample be on any one side of the mean. The probability that the subsequent sample is on the same side is A, the probability that the third sample is on the same side is again 1/2 A, and so on. The probability for the seventh sample on the same side is also A. Therefore the probability that all the six subsequent points are on the same side as the first is 1/2A * 1/2A * 1/2A * 1/2A * 1/2A * 1/2A = 1/64 = 0.0156 => 1.56%

T3 - 91. As a project manager, you chair a weekly exchange of information meeting among team leaders. This is an example of communication that is: A. Internal, formal, and horizontal B. External, informal, and vertical C. Oral, internal, and informal D. Oral, external, and formal

Correct Option: C Meeting with team leaders is oral, internal, and informal.

T3 - 151. For the monthly status meeting with the project's key stakeholders, you have prepared your project report using earned value calculations. Your project shows a CPI<1 and SPI<1 and you are worried that the stakeholders may be unhappy with the project performance. One of your friends suggests you alter the data, so you form a near perfect performance curve. What should you do? A. Follow your friend's suggestion B. Take a leave that day and ask one of your team members to attend the meeting C. Provide true information about the project performance and explain the reasons D. Provide true information about the project performance and put the entire blame on one of your team members in the meeting

Correct Option: C Per the PMI's professional responsibility guidelines, you should provide accurate and truthful representations in your reports

T3 - 179. Risks can be divided into two basic types: business risk and pure or insurable risk. Of the following, which one falls under business risk? A. Personnel Loss B. Machine Breakdown Loss C. Profit Loss D. Property Value Depreciation

Correct Option: C Profit loss is always considered a business risk

T3 - 176. You are a project manager in the IT industry. You have been asked to perform a cost benefit analysis for two proposed projects. Project A costs $2.4 million with potential benefits of $12 million and future operating costs of $3 million. Project B costs $2.8 million with potential benefits of $14 million and future operating costs of $2 million. Which project should you recommend? A. Project A, as the cost to implement is cheaper than project B B. Project A, as the potential benefits plus the future operating costs are less in value than the same calculation for Project B C. Project B, as the potential benefits minus the implementation and future operating costs are greater in value than the same calculation for Project A D. Project B, as the potential benefits minus the costs to implement are greater in value than the same calculation for Project A

Correct Option: C Project B, as the potential benefits minus the implementation and future operating costs are greater in value than the same calculation for Project A. Project B's cost benefit analysis is $9.2 million benefit to the company compared to $6.6 million for Project A. Cost-benefit analysis takes into consideration the initial costs to implement and future operating costs

T3 - 51. You are managing a project in which your team members are uncertain as to how much time will be needed for each activity. Which of the following techniques is considered the most useful in this case? A. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) B. Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) C. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) D. Critical Path Method (CPM)

Correct Option: C Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is the technique used for time measurement in case of uncertainties. Optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely are taken into consideration.

T3 - 140. Tom is a project manager who is trying to understand different project selection method and different parameters like PV, NPV, IRR, etc., different types of costs and the earned value techniques. Which of the following technique/skill/knowledge is he working on? A. Lessons learned management techniques B. DIKW model C. Project finance principles D. Benefit analysis

Correct Option: C Project finance principles help in understanding different project selection methods and different parameters like PV, NPV, IRR, etc., different types of costs and the earned value techniques. Lessons learned management techniques refer to the knowledge gained during a project which shows how project events were addressed or should be addressed in the future with the purpose of improving future performance. DIKW is Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom and comes under knowledge management. Benefit analysis helps in justifying the business case. It results in taking the decision to start and/or continue the project or not. These techniques are newly added in the examination content outline

T3 - 192. Which of the following is NOT a measure of the profitability of a project or program? A. Return on original investment B. Net present value C. Depreciation D. Discounted cash flow

Correct Option: C Return on original investment, net present value, and discounted cash flow are measures of the profitability of a project or program. Depreciation is the loss of value of an asset due to its usage, so this is not a measure of the profitability of a project or program

T3 - 112. A customer, in the later part of project execution, wants to add scope to the project. Tom, the project manager, discusses this change with the customer and raises a written change request. He then evaluates if this change can be addressed through project reserves and explores alternatives. He finds that this addition would result in missing the next milestone delivery. What should he do NEXT? A. Evaluate the impact of the change on other factors of triple constraint - cost and time B. Perform Integrated Change Control C. Get an approval from the Change Control Board D. Update the project baseline and inform the customer

Correct Option: C Since the project affects the milestone deliverables, it is best to gain approval from the change control board. The board would have the responsibility to review change requests to determine if additional analysis is warranted. Perform integrated change control is the process to evaluate the impact analysis and approve or reject the change request. Change control board is a group of people who will take the decision to approve or reject the change request. Change control tool will be used to carry out change control.

T3 - 77. You are concerned about the inspection process of micro satellites. The manufacturing is going for the production of new micro satellites. Each satellite takes about three days to manufacture and costs US $125,000. The satellites are so small that inspection would destroy them. Under these circumstances, what should you do? A. Outsource the inspection to another firm with more expertise B. Evaluate the attributes of the population C. Inspect a sample of the satellites D. Decrease the costs of quality

Correct Option: C Statistical sampling or sample testing is the best way to extrapolate the results. It involves choosing part of a population of interest for inspection.

T3 - 37. You are examining the network paths for your project. Path A's duration is: 1-2-3-5-8; Path B's duration is 1-3-5-6-7; Path C's duration is 1-2-5-4-9; and Path D's duration is 2-3-4-4-8. Which of the following is the critical path for this project? A. Path B's duration is 1-3-5-6-7 B. Path C C. Path B D. Path A

Correct Option: C The duration of Path A is 19, the duration of Path B is 22, the duration of Path C is 21, and the duration of Path D is 21. Therefore, Path B (answer C) is the critical path since it's the longest path on the project.

T3 - 34. After a huge effort, the project team has finally determined the specifications for a major scope change to be made in the project. In light of this, what should the Project Manager do FIRST? A. Look for other changes B. Gain sign off on this change C. Calculate the risks associated with the project D. Start execution of the project

Correct Option: C The first step that the Project Manager should do is to find out the impact of the change, in terms of risk management.

T3 - 177. Project A has an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 20%, Project B has an IRR of 12%, Project C has an IRR of 22%, and Project D has an IRR of 10%. Which of these would be the BEST project? A. Project A B. Project B C. Project C D. Project D

Correct Option: C The higher the IRR, the greater the financial return. Since Project C has the highest IRR among the stated projects, Project C is the best

T3 - 164. The procurement process can be a challenge if your vendors are not responsive to customer requests for information. Part of this procurement process might include an audit. What is the objective of an audit? A. To determine whether the vendor has been overcharging B. To expose errors of the vendor C. To carry out a strucutred review of the procurement activities and adjust the deviations, if any D. To get the best possible rates from the vendor

Correct Option: C The objective of the audit is to check if all the work is carried out according to the contract. If there are any deviations, they should be adjusted through discussions

T3 - 30. Paul, a project manager, has just been assigned a new project from the oil and gas domain. He has been provided the project scope. Recently, he passed the PMP® exam and wants to apply his project management knowledge to his project to avoid schedule delays and cost overruns as much as possible. What is the FIRST thing that Paul should do? A. Create a project plan using the WBS B. Form a team to create the procurement plan C. Confirm that all the stakeholders have provided their inputs to the scope of work D. Create a network diagram

Correct Option: C The project manager has to ensure that all of the stakeholders needs, wants, and expectations have been fully captured as part of the project scope, so that his project will be successful.

T3 - 136. In the project environment, the individual ultimately responsible for quality control is: A. The line workers who must strive "to do things right the first time" to avoid quality problems. B. The company's quality control manager who must work with the project members to ensure the quality control program is effective C. The project manager is ultimately responsible for quality control, as well as the project as a whole D. The customer must ensure that the vendor provides a quality product

Correct Option: C The project manager is ultimately responsible for quality control, as well as the project as a whole. The Project Manager should ensure that the quality of the project meets expectations

T3 - 11. A project is plagued by changes to the project charter. Who has the primary responsibility to decide if these changes are necessary? A. Project Manager B. Project Team C. Project Sponsor D. Stakeholder

Correct Option: C The project sponsor has the primary responsibility of deciding the changes that need to be made to the project charter.

T3 - 52. The duration of an activity has the following estimates - optimistic: 25 days, most likely: 48 days, and pessimistic: 65 days. Which of the following is the time estimate of this activity based on the beta distribution? A. 43 days B. 49 days C. 47 days D. 48 days

Correct Option: C The time estimate required according to PERT is: [(P+O)+(4*M)]/6 = [(65+25)+(48*4)]/6 = 47 days.

T3 - 194. You are managing a healthcare project which requires compliance to certain FDA standards. This is part of the product acceptance criteria stated by the customer. You and your team have studied the requirements and have created a plan to implement the deliverables with the required level of quality. This process is called: A. Control Quality B. Manage quality C. Plan Quality Management D. Process Improvement Plan

Correct Option: C These activities are part of the Plan Quality Management process. It involves identifying the quality standards that are relevant to the project and determining how to meet them

T3 - 126. What is the MOST important thing that a project manager should ensure during the "Validate scope" process? A. Accuracy B. Timeliness C. Acceptance D. Completeness

Correct Option: C Validate Scope involves formal acceptance of the work deliverables

T3 - 124. Validate scope is the process of formalizing acceptance of the completed project deliverables. When should this process be done? A. At the beginning of the project B. During the Planning processes C. At the end of each phase of the project D. At the end of the project

Correct Option: C Validate scope is a monitoring and controlling process which is performed at the end of each phase of the project to achieve the formal acceptance of the completed project deliverables

T3 - 72. WBS for your project has been prepared and distributed to the project team members. When execution begins, which document will provide the detailed descriptions of the WBS elements? A. Scope Statement B. Project Management Plan C. WBS Dictionary D. Project Statement of Work

Correct Option: C WBS dictionary provides detailed descriptions about the deliverables listed in the WBS.

T3 - 32. John has been promoted to a Project Manager from his technical post and has also been assigned a small sized project. He is very excited about managing and delivering this project. The management has asked Midas, who has more than 15 years of project management expertise, to mentor him. Midas has asked John to create the work breakdown structure. Which of the following should Midas tell John while explaining why the WBS should be used? A. To show the activities on the project and their sequence B. To show the functional managers the work of each project team member C. To assist in communicating with the customer D. To show when each milestone is being met

Correct Option: C WBS graphically displays the work to be done on the project. It can also be shared with the customer to confirm understanding and to fine-tune the project and product scope.

T3 - 27. The calculation of pricing for a project can be extremely complex with regard to valid cost estimates and price quotes from vendors. Which of the following facilitates the pricing of a project by a structured decomposition of the total effort into individual activities and by defining cost elements of labor, material, and equipment? A. Cost Estimation Plan B. Cost Management Plan C. Work breakdown structure D. Bottom up estimating

Correct Option: C Work breakdown structure (WBS) uses the decomposition tool to have the activities identified which in turn identifies the resources needed.

T3 - 58. You are in charge of developing a new product for an organization. Your quality metrics are based on the 17th percentile of the last three products developed. This is an example of: A. Statistical Sampling B. Metrics C. Benchmarking D. Operational definitions

Correct Option: C You have a reference defined as the 17th percentile of each of the last 3 products, so this is an example of benchmarking.

T3 - 49. James, a project manager, is explaining to his team the importance and usage of the Gantt chart and Milestone chart. One of the team members is asked to create a summary of the lecture delivered by James. Help the team member choose the correct statement. A. A Gantt chart depicts what was planned against what actually occurred B. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against the work that has been completed C. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against each resource's calendar D. A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against a calendar

Correct Option: D A Gantt chart depicts the work in the project against a calendar. A Gantt chart is a bar chart that represents the duration of activities against a calendar. The lengths of the bars represent the length of activities, while the order of the bars represent the order of activities on the project. Options A and B are incorrect as they provide descriptions of a tracking Gantt. Option C is incorrect as this does not describe a Gantt chart.

T3 - 56. George, a project manager, has recently earned his PMP certification and is planning project quality standards with his team. Which of the following quality planning tools will NOT be required to plan for his project? A. Matrix diagrams B. Benchmarking C. Cost Benefit Analysis D. Scope Baseline

Correct Option: D All the above mentioned options except option (d), Scope baseline, are tools and techniques for planning quality. Scope baseline is an input to this process. For more details, please refer to page 277, PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition, section Additional Quality Planning Tools.

T3 - 19. James has been assigned as a Project Manager by the sponsor and is participating in the creation of the project charter. As a mentor, what would you suggest James NOT to define as part of the document? These should be based on the current environment, historical data, and/or expert judgment. A. Key deliverables B. High level assumptions and constraints C. High level risks D. High level procurements

Correct Option: D As a project manager, James is expected to define the key deliverables of the project based on the business and compliance requirements. He must also define the high level risks, constraints, and assumptions based on the current environment, historical data, and/or expert judgment.

T3 - 99. During the execution of a project, the project manager is developing the project team to higher levels of competency and performance. Which of the following techniques is he working on? A. Mentoring B. Training C. Motivation D. Coaching

Correct Option: D Coaching is developing the project team to higher levels of competency and performance. Mentoring is guiding the less experienced people to reach to the next level. Training is formal or informal way of enhancing the competencies of the people. Motivation is creating an environment to achieve the project objectives by satisfying the team. These techniques are newly added in the examination content outline.

T3 - 107. You are the project manager for a project that supplies water to various areas. Recent tests indicate that there are contaminants in the water. Upon inquiry, you are told there is an extremely low risk for causing any sickness. What should you do? A. Inform the public that a detailed examination has been ordered to determine the extent to which the problem exists B. Do nothing as the reports indicate low risk except for minor effects on small children and the elderly people C. Inform all the team members to keep the report extremely confidential D. Educate the public that there are chances of sickness for small children and elderly people, so they need to boil the water before they drink it and continue doing so until the problem is completely resolved by the project team

Correct Option: D Educate the public that there are chances of sickness for small children and elderly people, so they need to boil the water before they drink it and continue doing so until the problem is completely resolved by the project team. The scenario explains the responsibility of the project manager who is taking the best interests of society, public safety, and the environment into account

T3 - 66. Which of the following coordinates the project resources to carry out the project per the project plan? A. Resource planning B. WBS C. Monitoring work progress D. Executing process group

Correct Option: D Executing process group is the correct answer

T3 - 74. At the annual general meeting, the CEO announced to the shareholders that the end date for the project that you are managing will be the end of next year. This happens to be 6 months earlier than the scheduled project end date. You approach the project sponsor with this information. He tells you that it is too late to speak to the CEO and rectify the mistake as the shareholders are expecting implementation by the announced date. As a Project Manager, how can you deliver the project deliverables by the earlier date? A. Crashing the project B. Asking the sponsor to get additional funds approved so that part of the project can be outsourced C. Utilizing your influence and negotiation skills to convince the project sponsor to persuade the CEO to announce a correction to the announcement D. Examining the project plan to identify if any of the phases can be fast-tracked and revise the project plan to reflect the compression of the schedule

Correct Option: D Fast-tracking is the best option in this scenario, and the project manager has to examine the project plan to identify if any of the phases can be fast-tracked.

T3 - 198. Which of the following determines if a project idea is realistic? A. Matrix study B. Demand study C. Case project study D. Feasibility study

Correct Option: D Feasibility study determines if a project is realistic or not.

T3 - 132. Construction project estimates tend to be more accurate than IT project estimates due to the historical data that is available to builders and designers. Which of the following is the way the PMBOK® defines estimate at completion (EAC)? A. Same as AC B. Same as EVA C. It is a forecast of most likely total project costs based on previous projects' performance D. It is a forecast of most likely total project costs based on current project performance

Correct Option: D It is a forecast of most likely total project costs based on current project performance. Estimate at Completion (EAC) is the estimate that is based on the project's performance to date

T3 - 92. You are aware that filtering happens while the message is communicated between sender and receiver. What is NOT considered as one of the causes of filtering? A. Semantics B. Language C. Culture D. Distance

Correct Option: D Of all the stated options, distance is not considered as one of the causes for filtering.

T3 - 188. Portfolio management is the responsibility of the senior management team of an organization or business unit. Which of the following is NOT a technique that is used to support the portfolio management process? A. Heuristic model B. Scoring technique C. Visual or mapping techniques D. Grid technique

Correct Option: D Of the following listed techniques, the grid technique is not used to support the portfolio management process

T3 - 103. Your organization has recently been awarded a building construction project. One of your friends is the primary vendor for supplying construction material and offers you some personal rewards for influencing your company on this bid. You should: A. Accept the reward B. Ignore the conversation C. Call a press conference to expose the offer D. Refuse the offer and report the incident to your manager

Correct Option: D Option A is a conflict of interest and unethical. Option C is overstated. Option D is the most ethical response and will also warn the manager about the unethical practices of this vendor.

T3 - 131. Which activities deserve your immediate attention the most? A. AC=3000 EV=2900 B. PV=3000 EV=2900 C. AC=3000 EV=3200 D. EV=3000 AC=2400

Correct Option: D Option a : AC=3000, EV=2900 : Looking at only these two values and assuming all others are as planned, work done is less and money spent is more, but is nominally more. Option b : PV=3000, EV=2900 : Looking at only these two values and assuming all others are as planned, work planned is nominally higher than work completed. Option c : AC=3000, EV=3200 : Looking at only these two values and assuming all others are as planned, work done is more and money spent is less. Option d : AC=2400, EV=3000 : Looking at only these two values and assuming all others are as planned, again work done is more and money spent is less. Compare CPI of options 'c' and 'd', which are CPI=1.06 and CPI=1.25 respectively. Since the CPI for option 'd' is higher, it is the correct answer

T3 - 88. A senior scientist is informing the laboratory technicians about a new project which will be starting soon, along with the type of work that the lab personnel will be expected to do. Which of the following is NOT a barrier under communication management that could hinder the lab personnel's ability to convey the information? A. Language and semantics B. Organizational culture and values C. Intelligence and knowledge base D. Relative distance of the lab to the scientist's office

Correct Option: D Options A, B and C, "language and semantics," "organizational culture and values," and "intelligence and knowledge base" are barriers to effective communication and can be considered as factors that lead to filtering. Option D, "relative distance of the lab to the scientist's office," is not a barrier to communication.

T3 - 167. Archival of the documents and materials has to happen according to which element? A. Communication management plan B. Quality management plan C. Project charter D. Generally accepted practices

Correct Option: D Per the new examination content outline, archival of the documents and materials should happen according to the generally accepted practices

T3 - 40. When can project cost management include predictions and analysis on prospective financial performance? What additional processes and techniques do they address? A. Discounted cash flow (DCF) B. Return on investment (ROI) C. Investment payback analysis D. All of the above

Correct Option: D Project cost management can include predictions and analysis on prospective financial performance. They address additional processes and techniques including return on investment, discounted cash flow, and investment payback analysis.

T3 - 161. Which of the following is NOT an output of the Control Costs process? A. Work performance information B. Cost forecasts C. Change requests D. Project funding requirements

Correct Option: D Project funding requirements is an input and not an output of the Control costs process. All other options are outputs of this process

T3 - 5. One of the functional managers in your organization argues that operations and projects are the same and therefore require similar planning techniques. What would be your best argument to emphasize your view that the two are different? A. Resources consumed by operations are different than the resources consumed by projects B. Projects incur large expenses in comparison to operations C. Projects are done by combining the efforts of various departments while the operations are done only by one department D. Projects have a definite start and end date while operations do not

Correct Option: D Projects have a definite start and end date while operations do not. Of the given answer choices, option D states the best answer. Projects always have a definite start and definite end while operations do not have a definite end.

T3 - 157. Forecasting is the process of predicting future project performance based on the actual performance to date. Forecasting methods may be classified in the following categories EXCEPT : A. Judgmental methods B. Delphi technique C. Causal methods D. Cost series methods

Correct Option: D The Forecasting methods are classified in the following categories—judgmental methods, Delphi technique, causal methods, time series methods

T3 - 145. You are the project manager for an office setup project. As part of the project, you are required to purchase the hardware, software, and furniture. You have signed contracts with the customer and various vendors. Halfway through the project, the customer decides to add features to the workflow software. This addition of features will require changes to the signed contract. Who has the authority to change the contract? A. Sponsor B. Project Manager C. Customer D. Contract Administrator

Correct Option: D The contract administrator has the authority to change the contract

T3 - 127. You, as a project manager, are in the process of midway review at the end of the first year of a $50K project. The earned value analysis shows that the PV is $25K, the EV is $20K, and the AC is $15K. What can be determined from these figures? A. The project is behind schedule and over budget. B. The project is ahead of schedule and under budget. C. The project is ahead of schedule and over budget. D. The project is behind schedule and under budget.

Correct Option: D The data provided in this question is :-BAC=$50K, EV=$20K, PV=$25K, AC=$15K. SV = (EV-PV)=$20K-$25K=--$5K. CV = (EV-AC)=$20K-$15K=$5K. Looking at the data, it is evident that the project is behind schedule and is also under budget

T3 - 190. Which statements are NOT true regarding the cash flow analysis technique? A. The discounted cash flow technique compares cash inflows as a total, while NPV calculates cash inflows period by period and then totals the present value of each period B. The discounted cash flow technique and the NPV technique both take the time value of money into consideration C. NPV is the most conservative cash flow analysis technique and assumes reinvestment at the cost of capital D. The discounted cash flow technique may use future value and present value formulas to determine the value of the investment or return. It's the least precise of all of the cash flow calculations

Correct Option: D The discounted cash flow technique may use future value and present value formulas to determine the value of the investment or return. It is the least precise of all of the cash flow calculations

T3 - 48. What is the float of activity B in the sequence diagram? A. 2 B. 3 C. 5 D. 6

Correct Option: D The path ABIR has duration of seven. Hence B can be delayed by six days before the next event can begin.

T3 - 12. The senior management asks a project manager to start working on a process improvement project to improve productivity. What should the project manager first ensure? A. A meeting with the functional manager is arranged to get resources B. A meeting with the stakeholders is arranged to establish requirements C. Work on the project plan needs to be initiated D. The project charter is made and signed off by the senior management thus authorizing the project manager to deploy organizational resources to complete the project

Correct Option: D The project charter is made and signed off by the senior management thus authorizing the project manager to deploy organizational resources to complete the project. A project manager should ensure that the right project management practices are followed. A project needs a project charter to list the objectives of the project, the high-level deliverables, and empower the project manager to spend organizational resources. Professional responsibility requires the project manager to secure the authority necessary to manage the project successfully.

T3 - 63. The resource management plan is one of the subsidiary plans under the project management plan. Which of the following is NOT a part of resource management? A. Staff acquisition B. Resource calendars C. Compliance D. Work Items

Correct Option: D The resource management plan may include staff acquisition, resource calendars, staff release plan, training needs, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

T3 - 95. What action should a project manager FIRST take when an unidentified risk event occurs? A. Inform the customer of the possible consequences B. Inform the senior management of the possible consequences C. Redo the risk identification process to get prepared for other "known unknowns" D. Create a workaround

Correct Option: D The right project management practice dictates that a workaround should be created as a response to an event. Options A and C, "inform the customer of the possible consequences" or "redo the risk identification process to get prepared for other known unknowns" are parts of reporting and not actions required to recover from the event. Option B, which states that "inform the senior management of the possible consequences" also needs to be implemented, but after fixing the response to the event for recovery.

T3 - 195. You are a project manager who is contemplating outsourcing a software development activity versus building it in-house. Which of the following factors would LEAST influence your decision to outsource? A. Requirements of project schedule B. Risks involved in the activity C. Technical skill of the vendor D. Physical location of the vendor

Correct Option: D This is an example of deriving answers through the process of elimination. All of the other factors are critical and should be considered during the make or buy analysis. Since this is a software development project, the physical location of the vendor is not critical

T3 - 93. You are managing a project to develop the marketing strategy for launching a new body freshener. Recently you found out that a couple of your client representatives made some disparaging remarks regarding your progress reports as they seem to be written in a language that they do not understand. How could you have avoided this situation? A. Perform more rigorous status progress meetings with the client's representatives B. Hire an expert writer who can translate the reports in the required format C. Take their names out of the mailing list if possible, otherwise ignore them after all you cannot satisfy everyone involved in the project D. Develop a communication management plan

Correct Option: D This scenario shows the absence of a communication management plan. The communication management plan describes the communication needs and expectations for the project, how and in what format information will be communicated, when and where each communication will be made, and who is responsible for providing each type of communication.

T3 - 65. You are the project manager for the ABC Project. Initially, you identified 5 stakeholders for your project. As the project moved ahead, 5 more stakeholders got involved in the project. Assuming that they all need to communicate with each other, how many additional communication channels should be there? A. Depends on the number of project team members B. 5 C. 45 D. 35

Correct Option: D Using the formula N(N-1)/2, where N represents the number of stakeholders, there are 35 communication channels. Initially there were 5 stakeholders which made 10 channels. An addition of 5 more members means the team has 10 members and 45 channels. Therefore, the additional communication channels are 45-10=35.

T3 - 172. You have just delivered a product to your client for acceptance when you get a call that some features they were expecting are missing. What is the first thing you should do? A. Get your team together and reprimand them for building a product that does not meet user expectations B. Tell the client that the product passed all of your internal quality inspections and scope verification processes, so it must be fine C. Tell the team to start building the missing features into the product right away D. Call a meeting with the client to understand exactly what is unacceptable in the product and try to figure out what went wrong along the way

Correct Option: D You should meet with the client to get a better understanding of what went wrong and why the product is not meeting their needs

T3 - 31. During the planning phase of your project, your project team has discovered another method to complete a part of the project scope. This method is more secure, but will be an additional cost to the client. This is an example of : A. Risk assessment B. Alternatives generation C. Alternative selection D. Product analysis

Correct Option: B Alternatives generation is a planning technique used to generate different approaches to execute and perform the work of a project.

T3 - 67. In whose favor should the differences between requirements be BEST resolved? A. Sponsor B. Customer C. Managing Director D. Project Manager's Boss

Correct Option: B Differences should always be resolved in favor of the Customer.

T3 - 158. Which of the following is a tool and technique used in "Monitor Communications" process? A. Change Requests B. Meetings C. Issue Logs D. Stakeholder Register

Correct Option: B Meetings are a tool and technique used in "Monitor Communications" process.

T3 - 42. ____ activity duration estimates are based on the resources who are likely to be assigned, their productivity, realistic expectations of availability for the activity, dependencies on other participants and interruptions. A. Optimistic B. Most likely C. Most reasonable D. Pragmatic

Correct Option: B Most likely activity duration estimates are based on the resources who are likely to be assigned, their productivity, realistic expectations of availability for the activity, dependencies on other participants and interruptions.

T3 - 108. For your project, you sent a request to the procurements department for purchase of 1000 modems. A few days later, you are told that the PO has been issued in the favor of XYZ Inc. You inform Mandy, one of your friends who work for this organization, about this transaction. Per PMI is there a violation of professional responsibility? A. Yes; you have informed Mandy about the transaction. Therefore, there is violation of professional responsibility as confidential information has been leaked. B. No, you informed Mandy after the PO was issued. Therefore, there is no violation of professional responsibility because confidential information has not been leaked. C. Yes D. Can't say

Correct Option: B No, you informed Mandy after the PO was issued. Therefore, there is no violation of professional responsibility as confidential information has not been leaked. Since the PO has already been issued and the transaction is public now, there is no confidential information being leaked. If the transaction had been shared prior to the issuance of the PO, then it would have been a violation of responsibility.

T3 - 106. As a project manager for the FLR project, you recently added a new member to your project team. This new team member was hired from a competitor, has offered to share confidential information about projects from the previous company. This information will obviously be of great importance to you and for your organization's future business. What should you do? A. Accept the information and agree to keep it confidential between you and the new hire B. Review the condition of employment with the new hire and advise to reconsider the offer of sharing information C. Review the information and accept only the information that may have a direct impact on the project's financial status D. Ignore the offer to share and move forward with the project

Correct Option: B Review the condition of employment with the new hire and advise to reconsider the offer. Options b and c are quite close to be the correct answer, but option b appears more relevant since it is from the organization's perspective and not just from the project's perspective.

T3 - 25. As a project manager, you need to manage the stakeholders for your project. What is NOT true for stakeholders? A. Individuals and organizations involved in the project are stakeholders B. Individuals and organizations that are not related to the project are stakeholders C. Individuals and organizations that are affected by the project are stakeholders D. Individuals and organizations that provide financing for the project are stakeholders

Correct Option: B Stakeholders are individuals or organizations that are involved in or affected by the project outcome.

T3 - 184. During negotiations, the seller tells you that he wants to work with you, but if he does not have a signed contract by the next day, he will not be able to obtain the equipment needed to meet your due date. In view of this, which of the following should you issue? A. Contract B. Letter of Intent C. Change Order D. Agenda

Correct Option: B The "letter of intent" is an expression of intention and can be used to start the work

T3 - 46. Whose signature authorizes the project? A. Project manager B. Project sponsor C. Scrum master D. Portfolio manager

Correct Option: B The PMBOK Guide lists the initiator or the project sponsor as the person whose signature authorizes the project.

T3 - 191. Which of the following are addressed by the project managers? A. Long-range/strategic planning (5 years or more) B. Intermediate-range planning (1 to 5 years) C. Ongoing - indefinite D. Repetitive

Correct Option: B The Project Managers address intermediate-range planning (1-5 years) and short-range/tactical planning (1 year or less). Since only intermediate range is provided as an option, B is the correct answer

T3 - 146. A request, demand, or assertion of rights by a seller against a buyer for consideration, compensation, or payment under a legally binding contract, such as a disputed change, is often referred to as a: A. Trial B. Claim C. Refinement D. Audit

Correct Option: B The above statement is the definition of a claim. Please read the PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Glossary, Page No. 700

T3 - 178. The payback period needs to be calculated for your project that will be completed in 3 years. The internal rate of return (IRR) is 7% and the annual savings expected are $500K per year. The total cost of the project is $3,000K. What is the payback period? A. 3 years B. 6 years C. 7.5 years D. 12 years

Correct Option: B The payback period states how soon the project can recover its investment. In this project, $3000/$500=6 years, which is the period for the project to recover its cost.

T3 - 174. Which of the following is NOT an input of the close project or phase process? A. Project management plan B. Project management methodology C. Accepted deliverables D. Organizational process assets

Correct Option: B The project management methodology describes the process (or lifecycle) that you use to manage your project

T3 - 47. A project manager is using AOA to perform critical path analysis. In the network diagram, which of the following represents the critical path? A. ABIR B. CDHR C. CDGIR D. EFGWHO'S

Correct Option: C CDGIR represents the critical path. It is the longest path through the network with a duration of 13 days.

T3 - 171. How does the Close Project or Phase process differ from closed procurements? A. Procurement closure involves verification that all work and deliverables are acceptable, whereas Close Project or Phase does not B. Close Project or Phase is only a subset of Closed Procurement C. Closed procurements is the output of control procurements process where as close project or phase is the process carried out at the end of every phase and at the end of the project D. Procurement closure is performed by the seller

Correct Option: C Closed procurement is the output of control procurement process which is introduced in PMBOK Guide - Sixth Edition. Close project or phase is under closing process group and should be carried out at the end of every phase

T3 - 57. As a Project Manager, you need to ensure that quality standards are followed on your project. In which PMBOK® process is the quality standards that need to be followed identified? A. Develop Project Charter B. Collect Requirements C. Plan Quality Management D. Manage Quality

Correct Option: C Plan Quality Management defines what quality standards should be chosen for the project and how to satisfy them.

T3 - 3. Whose job is it to determine the priorities among projects in a company? A. Project Manager B. Sponsor C. Senior Management D. Project Team

Correct Option: C Senior management determines the project priorities, and it is their responsibility to determine the priorities among projects in an organization.

T3 - 79. A project manager learned that a corrective action was taken by a team member and was not documented. What should the project manager do FIRST? A. Report the violation to the functional manager B. Clarify the reasoning behind the team member's action C. Assess if the action should be documented D. Find out who caused the problem

Correct Option: C Since the corrective action is not documented, the next step is to document. The Project Manager needs to assess if the action should be documented.

T3 - 15. As part of stakeholder analysis, one of the steps involves identifying the potential impact or support each stakeholder could generate, so you need to prioritize the stakeholders to ensure adequate effort to communicate and manage their expectations. Out of the following, which is NOT the classification model available to assist in performing stakeholder analysis? A. Power/Interest Grid B. Power/Influence Grid C. Influence/Interest Grid D. Salience Model

Correct Option: C There are 4 models available to assist in performing stakeholder analysis: Power/Interest Grid, Power/Influence Grid, Influence/Impact Grid, and Salience Model. Please refer to PMBOK® Guide - Sixth Edition Page 512.

T3 - 53. As a project manager, you want a detailed cost estimation developed for your project. Which techniques are you most likely to use? A. Analogous estimating B. Expert Judgment C. Bottom up estimating D. Numerical estimating

Correct Option: C When a schedule activity cannot be estimated with a reasonable degree of confidence, the work within the schedule activity is decomposed into detail. Bottom-up estimating is the detailed method of performing such estimations. Option A, analogous estimation and option B, expert judgment, are the techniques used when there is not enough time to do a detailed estimation. There is no such technique called numerical estimating (option D).

T3 - 155. At the end of the project, the quality control team goes through a series of tests and answers a series of questions before the product can be approved for release. What input is being used here? A. Fishbone Diagram B. Pareto Chart C. Control Charts D. Quality Checklists

Correct Option: D A pre-release quality checklist is being used to verify if the product is release worthy

T3 - 187. Which of the following is NOT true about affinity diagrams? A. Also known as KJ method B. Helps to synthesize large amounts of data by finding relationships between ideas C. Aids in solving a problem or analyzing a situation D. Are Schedule Management tools

Correct Option: D Affinity diagrams are not Schedule Management tools. Affinity diagrams aid in solving a problem or analyzing a situation. They are also known as the KJ method after its developer Kawakita Jiro. An affinity diagram helps to synthesize large amounts of data by finding relationships between ideas. The information is then gradually structured from the bottom up into meaningful groups. This allows you to clearly "see" what you have, so you can begin your analysis or come to a decision.

T3 - 28. A project has been initiated, and the project manager is in the process of defining and documenting stakeholders' needs that are required to meet the project objectives. The project manager is very careful in performing this process as the project's success is directly influenced by the effort taken in capturing and managing project and product requirements. Which of the following is NOT a tool or technique in preparing the requirements documentation? A. Facilitated workshops B. Group decision making C. Prototypes D. A-beta technique

Correct Option: D All of the above are tools and techniques for this process except A-beta technique.

T3 - 89. Project information may be distributed using a variety of methods including project meetings, hard copy document distribution, shared access to networked electronic databases, fax, electronic mail, voice mail, video conferencing, and electronic tools for project management. What are they known as? A. Project controls B. Push and Pull communications C. Project distribution systems D. Information Management Systems

Correct Option: D All of the methods stated in the question are commonly known as information management systems.

T3 - 128. Which of the following project(s) have the best burn rate? A. Project 1: EV is $130K and AC is $110K B. Project 2: AC is $130K and EV is $110K C. Project 3: EV is $110K and AC is $150K D. Project 4: AC is $110K and EV is $150K

Correct Option: D CPI is evaluated as EV/AC. Using this formula, the burn rate for the different projects are: Project 1 - 1.18, Project 2 - 0.846, Project 3 - 0.73, and Project 4 - 1.36. We can see that Project 4 has the highest burn rate which indicates for every $1 of work being done, the value is $1.36

T3 - 169. During control procurements, audit does NOT include: A. Reviewing the contract terms to ensure that they have all been met B. Identifying successes and failures that should be recognized C. Documenting lessons learned D. Understanding the disputes and approaching court if necessary

Correct Option: D Dispute addressing happens through claims administration technique and not in the technique audit

T3 - 6. One of the functional managers in your organization argues that operations and projects are the same and therefore require similar planning techniques. What would be your best argument to emphasize your view that the two are different? A. Resources consumed by operations are different than the resources consumed by projects B. Projects incur large expenses in comparison to operations C. Projects are done by combining the efforts of various departments while the operations are done only by one department D. Projects have a definite start and end date while operations do not

Correct Option: D Projects have a definite start and end date while operations do not. Of the given answer choices, option D states the best answer. Projects always have a definite start and definite end while operations do not have a definite end.

T3 - 160. Your most recent project status report contains the following information: EV = 3,000, AC = 3,500, and PV = 4,000. The schedule variance is: A. 1000 B. 500 C. -500 D. -1000

Correct Option: D Schedule Variance, SV = EV - PV = 3000-4000 = -1000