PMPMock50

You overhear a casual conversation between two team members in which one confides to the other some problems he is having in completing his part of the project work. You realize that the work being discussed is on the project's critical path and that the information you overheard could mean a significant delay for your project. What should you do? A. Let the team member know that you heard his conversation and discuss the work problems with him immediately. B. Begin analyzing ways to compress the project schedule in anticipation of the potential delay. C. Ask a third team member to get involved immediately and encourage the two other team members to come to you with the delay. D. Ask human resources for help in resolving the problem.

A. Another bias of PMI is that you should confront situations directly whenever possible. If you see a choice that represents things like confront, problem-solve, or deal with the situation directly, that is a good hint that you may be on the right answer. In this case, all of the other choices do not deal with the actual problem. Although the first choice may not be pleasant in real life, you should deal with the situation head on and solve the problem.

Which of the following is NOT a type of contract? A. Cost-revisable. B. Fixed-price. C. Cost-reimbursable. D. Time and materials.

A. Cost-revisable is not a valid choice (and from the sound of the name, it does sound particularly safe to either party)! Choices 'B', 'C, and 'D' are all valid contract types.

Which of the following is NOT an input into Scope Definition? A. Accepted deliverables. B. Organizational process assets. C. Project charter. D. Requirements documentation.

A. Hopefully your instincts kicked in here and said "this wont happen until later." If so, then you were right. Accepted deliverables are an output of Verify Scope. During Define Scope, you are still trying to determine what the scope will include.

Your company's CIO has requested a meeting with you and two other project managers for a status update on your various projects. What is the BEST document you can bring with you to this meeting: A. The milestone chart for this project. B. The network diagram for this project. C. Copies of the most recent status reports from the team members. D. The project charter.

A. Milestone charts are useful for communicating high-level status on a project. This represents the best of the 4 choices. 'B' would be far too much detail for an executive status meeting. 'C' would not be a bad thing to bring, but it would not be the best document for showing status. 'D' would not provide the status that the CIO seeks.

During testing, multiple defects were identified in a product. The project manager overseeing this product's development can best use which tool to help prioritize the problems? A. Pareto diagram. B. Control chart. C. Variance analysis. D. Order of magnitude estimate.

A. Pareto charts are column charts that rank defects based on the number of occurrences from highest to lowest. Because this tool is based on frequency, it prioritizes the most common causes. 'B' is used to determine whether or not a process is in control. 'C' is used to measure the difference between what was planned and what was done, and 'D' is a type of estimate used in cost management.

The schedule activity list: A. Serves as an extension of the work breakdown structure. B. Is synonymous with the work breakdown structure. C. Is used to create the project scope statement. D. Is included in the project charter.

A. The activity list is a decomposition of the WBS. It takes the work packages and breaks them down into activities that can be sequenced, estimated, and assigned.

If a task has been estimated at O = 4 days, P = 9 days, and M = 7, what is the standard deviation? A. 5/6 of a day. B. 6.83 days. C. 1/3 of a day. D. 1/2 of a day.

A. The formula for standard deviation on a PERT estimate is (P-O) ÷ 6. This equates to 5/6. If you guessed 'B', you were probably thinking of the formula for a PERT estimate.

In which group of processes should the project manager be assigned his or her role in the project ? A. Initiating. B. Planning. C. Executing. D. Controlling.

A. The project manager is officially named and assigned in the project charter, which is one of the outputs of Develop Project Charter, an initiating process.

What does the standard deviation tell about a data set? A. How diverse the population is. B. The mean of the population as it relates to the median. C. The specification limits of the population. D. The range of data points within the population.

A. The standard deviation measures how diverse the population is. It does this by averaging all of the data points to find the mean, then calculating the average of how far each individual point is from that mean. For a very diverse population, you will have a high standard deviation. For a highly similar population, your standard deviation will be low.

The activity duration estimates should be developed by: A. The person or team doing the work. B. The project manager. C. Senior management. D. The customer.

A. This is frequently missed because people do not fully understand the role of the team in planning. The team should help estimate and should support those estimates. If possible, the person who will be doing the work should have a say in the estimate. 'B' is incorrect because the project manager cannot possibly estimate all of the activities on the project, nor should he even try. 'C' and 'D' are incorrect since management and the customer are probably not aware of all of the low-level details needed, and their estimates would not be accurate.

In which of the following documents could the sponsor find work package descriptions? A. The work breakdown structure dictionary. B. The project charter. C. The scope management plan. D. The project scope statement.

A. Work package descriptions are contained in the WBS dictionary.

One of your team members has discovered a way to add an extra deliverable to the project that will have minimal impact on the project schedule and cost. The project cost performance index is 1.3 and the schedule performance index is 1.5. The functionality was not included in the scope. How should you proceed? A. Conform to the project scope and do not add the deliverable. B. Deliver the extra work to the customer since it will not increase their costs. C. Reject the deliverable because you are behind schedule. D. Ask senior management for a decision.

A. You should not add the deliverable. The reason is that this represents "gold plating," or adding functionality over and above the scope. It is not a good idea since this introduces risk and a host of other potential problems on the project. 'B' is incorrect because you do not know how it will affect risk, quality, or other factors. 'C' is incorrect, because you are ahead of schedule with an SPI of 1.5- 'D1 is incorrect because it is the project manager's job — not the role of senior management — to deal with this kind of change request.

The Delphi technique is a way to: A. Analyze performance. B. Gather expert opinion. C. Resolve conflict. D. Estimate durations.

B . The Delphi technique is a way to solicit expert opinion by hiding the identities of group members from each other. This prevents the group from forming a single opinion or from letting one person dominate the group.

Analogous estimating uses A. Estimates of individual activities rolled up into a project total. B. Actual costs from a previous project as a basis for estimates. C. Computerized estimating tools. D. Parametric modeling techniques.

B. Analogous estimates, also called top-down estimates, use previous project costs as a guideline for estimating.

Float refers to: A. A method for decreasing risk on a project. B. How long an activity can be delayed without affecting the critical path. C. A time lapse between a project communication and the response that follows. D. The difference between the budgeted cost and actual cost.

B. Float is how long an activity may be delayed without delaying the project. Choice 'B' is the only one that fits this definition.

You and your spouse both work for large companies in different industries. However, one day you learn that your company will be soliciting bids for a project and your spouse's company intends to bid. Your spouse will not be involved in the bidding process or any of the work it might produce if won. What should you do? A. Request to be transferred off the project. B. Inform management of the situation. C. Say nothing and go on with the bidding process. D. Say nothing but set up a system of checks and balances to ensure that your team selects the contractor impartially.

B. In the code of conduct, PMPs are instructed to avoid conflicts of interest. Your strategy in selecting answer 'B' should have been to look for the one choice that both solved the problem and avoided the conflict of interest. 'A' is incorrect because leaving the project represents avoidance and does not deal with the issue directly. 'C' is incorrect because the conflict of interest remains. 'D' is incorrect because by saying nothing, you are not dealing with the situation directly.

Your team has identified a component that they need for a project. There is some concern that they have never constructed a component like this one, but there are similar components available from sellers. Which of the following procurement activities would be MOST appropriate to perform? A. Solicitation. B. Make-or-buy analysis. C. Benefit/cost analysis. D. Conduct procurements.

B. In this case, make-or-buy analysis is the most appropriate. It is where you decide whether your organization should create the product or whether you should go through procurement. Choice 'A' would be an activity that was performed later in the process. Choice 'C' is a tool for measuring whether a project is worth pursuing and is performed in initiation. Choice 'D' is also an activity performed after the decision has been made to go through procurement.

The person or group that formally accepts the project's product is: A. The quality team. B. The customer. C. The project team. D. Senior management.

B. Many people may formally accept the product, but in this list, the customer is the only one that fits the definition.

Resources are estimated against which project entity: A. The work packages. B. The schedule activities. C. The scope baseline. D. The level set by the project office.

B. Resource requirements should be developed against the schedule activities. This is a level below the work packages. That is why they are properly called "activity resources requirements."

The work authorization system makes sure that: A. All the work and only the work gets performed. B. Work gets performed in right order and at the right time. C. Work is done completely and correctly. D. Functional managers are allowed complete control over who is assigned and when.

B. The definition of the work authorization system (WAS) is found in chapter 2 and the glossary. It is a system used to ensure that work gets done at the right time and in the right sequence.

The majority of the project budget is expended on: A. Project plan development. B. Project plan execution. C. Integrated change control. D. Project communication.

B. The majority of a projects budget is expended in the execution of the work packages. You may have guessed 'A' due to the number of processes that occur as part of planning, but most projects do not involve as many people or resources in planning as they do in execution. Choice 'D' is incorrect because, while a project manager spends 90% of his time communicating, that does not take most of the team's time or the project budget

You are assigned to replace a project manager on a large software project for a telecommunications company in the middle of executing the work. Portions of the software are being supplied by subcontractors working at your company's offices. You would like to know what performance metrics are going to be tracked for these contract workers. Where could you find such information? A. The project charter. B. The procurement management plan. C. The work breakdown structure. D. The organizational chart.

B. The procurement management plan, which is created in the Plan Procurements process, includes performance reporting specifications. If one of the choices had been "the communications management plan", that might have been a better selection, but given the choices provided, 'B' was the best one.

A project charter should always include: A. Historical information. B. The business need underlying the project. C. A detailed budget. D. The scope management plan.

B. The project charter is a document, and that document should include the business need behind the project. This is a general description of why the project was undertaken.

Your project team has just received the sponsor's approval for the scope statement. What is the NEXT step that needs to be taken? A. Develop the product description. B. Create a work breakdown structure. C. Hold the kickoff meeting. D. Create the network diagram.

B. The scope statement is an output of Define Scope. The next step is the Create WBS process, and the output of that is the work breakdown structure (WBS).

You are producing a training video for your company's human resource department. After the project is underway, a member of senior management requests that you use a copyrighted piece of music as background in the video. This video will not be sold or viewed outside of your company. As the project manager, you should: A. Use the song as requested by management. B. Investigate obtaining permission from the music publisher to use the song. C. Submit the request to the change control board. D. Produce the video without the song as specified in the project plan.

B. This best choices here may be narrowed down to 'B' and 'D'. Think of this senior management request as a change request. Why would you simply ignore it without investigating further? 'B' is the better of the two answers since it solves the problem. If 'D' appears to be a better choice, consider that it actually represents conflict avoidance, which is almost never a good choice.

Corrective action is: A. Fixing past anomalies. B. Anything done to bring the project's future performance in line with the project management plan. C. The responsibility of the change control board. D. An output of project plan execution.

B. This is a very important definition. Corrective action is making adjustments to avoid future variances. 'A' is more in line with the definition of rework. 'C' is incorrect since there may or may not be a change control board, and their job would be to approve or reject change requests that have been forwarded by the project manager. 'D' is incorrect because corrective action does not come out of execution, but out of various control processes

Project integration is primarily the responsibility of: A. The project team. B. The project manager. C. Senior management. D. The project sponsor.

B. This is an important point. The project manager is the one responsible for integration. 'A' is incorrect because the team should be doing the work. 'C' is incorrect since senior management is not involved in integration management. 'D' is incorrect since the sponsor pays for the project but is not directly involved in integration.

Quality management theory is characterized by which of the following statements: A. Inspection is the most important element for ensuring quality. B. Planning for quality must be emphasized. C. Contingency planning is a critical element of quality assurance. D. Quality planning quantifies efforts to exceed customer expectations.

B. This is the best answer. Modern quality management stresses planning and prevention over inspection. This is based on the theory that it costs less to prevent a problem than it does to fix one. 'A' is incorrect, since prevention is stressed over inspection. 'C' is incorrect since contingency planning is part of risk management — not quality management. 'D' is incorrect since Quality Planning seeks to satisfy the quality standards. It is not focused on exceeding customer expectations.

The process in which project deliverables are reviewed and accepted is called: A. Plan scope. B. Verify scope. C. Initiation. D. Control scope change.

B. Verify scope is the process where the customer and sponsor verify that the deliverables match what was in the scope.

An end user has just requested a minor change to the project that will not impact the project schedule. How should you, the project manager, respond? A. Authorize the change quickly to ensure that the schedule can truly remain unaffected. B. Deny the change to help prevent scope creep. C. Evaluate the impact of the change on the other project constraints. D. Submit the change request to the customer for approval.

C . Any of the words "evaluate,", "investigate," "understand," or "assess" should automatically put that answer at the top of your list to evaluate. 'D' is incorrect because the customer has hired you to evaluate and approve or reject change.

Outputs of Direct and Manage Project Execution include: A. Deliverables and performance reports. B. Deliverables and corrective action. C. Deliverables and work performance information. D. Performance reports and change requests.

C . This is the only one where both parts of the answer fit the definition. 'A' is incorrect since performance reports do not come out of the execution process. 'B' is incorrect since corrective action typically comes out of monitoring and controlling processes. 'D' is incorrect because performance reports do not come out of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process.

You are the manager of an aircraft design project. A significant portion of this aircraft will be designed by a subcontracting firm. How will this affect your communications management plan? A. More formal verbal communication will be required. B. Performance reports will be more detailed. C. More formal written communication will be required. D. Official communication channels will significantly increase.

C. Because this is being done under contract, you will need to use more formal, written communication. Many people incorrectly guess 'D' on this one, but official channels of communication could just as easily decrease since you are using another company and will probably have a single point of contact as opposed to your own team of many people doing the work. 'B' is not correct, since performance reports should be detailed regardless of who is doing the work.

Which of the following is NOT a purpose that Create WBS serves? A. To increase the accuracy of estimates. B. To help facilitate roles and responsibilities. C. To document the relationship between the product and the business need. D. To define a baseline for project performance.

C. Documenting the relationship between the product and the business takes place before Define Scope. A justification of the business need is included in the project charter. 'A', 'B', and 'D' all fall under the definition of Define Scope.

If a project scope requires goods or services that must be obtained outside the project organization, what management process will be used in obtaining them? A. Project contract management. B. Project solicitation management. C. Project procurement management. D. Project source management.

C. Procurement management is used when you go outside of the project for components of the project.

What officially creates the project ? A. The project initiation document. B. The kickoff meeting. C. The project charter. D. The statement of work.

C. The charter is the document that officially creates the project, names the project manager, and gives him authority on the project.

The project plan should be all of the following EXCEPT: A. A formal document. B. Distributed to stakeholders in accordance with the communications management plan. C. Approved by all project stakeholders. D. Used to manage project execution.

C. The stakeholders do not have to approve the project plan. They may be very interested in the final product, but the actual plan cannot undergo approval by all stakeholders. Some stakeholders may never approve of the plan since they may be against the project! 'A' is incorrect because the project plan must be formal. 'B' is incorrect because the communications management plan will specify to whom you should communicate the plan. 'D' is incorrect since the purpose of the project plan is to guide execution and control.

A commercial real-estate developer is planning to build a new office complex. He contracts with a construction firm to build one of the buildings for the actual cost of providing the materials and services plus a fixed fee for profit. What type of contract does this scenario represent? A. Independent vendor. B. Fixed price. C. Cost-reimbursable. D. Time and materials.

C. This meets the definition of a cost-reimbursable contract. 'A' is a made-up term. 'B' is incorrect since the price is not fixed. 'D' is also incorrect. If you selected this one, you should review the difference between the time and materials and cost- reimbursable contracts.

The activity list serves as an input to: A. Create WBS. B. Define Activities. C. Estimate Activity Durations. D. Plan Resources.

C. With activities, the important order is define—order — estimate. The activity list is an input in Estimate Activity Durations.

You have been asked to take charge of project planning for a new project, but you have very little experience in managing projects. What will be the best source of help for you? A. Your education. B. Your on-the-job training. C. Historical information. D. Your functional manager.

C. Your best source of help would be the information you can use from past projects. 'A' is incorrect since education may or may not be applicable to this project, and although it is good, education is principally theoretical, while historical information contains practical, hard data. 'B' is incorrect, since much practical experience only reinforces bad practices. 'D' is incorrect since functional managers have expertise in domains but not necessarily in the management of projects.

If a project manager is unsure who has the authority to approve changes in project scope, she should consult: A. The customer. B. The scope statement. C. The sponsor. D. The scope management plan.

D . The scope management plan is the document that specifies how changes to the scope will be managed.

Refer to the table at right. What is the critical path? Task Dependency Duration Start..None...0 A......Start..3 B......A......2 C......B......2 D......Start..4 E......D......1 F......Start..5 G......F......7 H......B,E....3 I......C,G,H..4 Finish..I.....0 A. Start-A-B-C-I-Finish. B. Start-A-B-H-I-Finish. C. Start-D-E-H-I-Finish. D. Start-F-G-I-Finish.

D . This problem should be solved in 3 steps. First, draw out the network diagram based on the table. Your representation should resemble the one below The next step is to list out all of the possible paths through the network. In this example, they are: Start-A-B-C-I-Finish Start-A-B-H-I-Finish Start-D-E-H-I-Finish Start-F-G-I-Finish The last step is to add up the values associated with each path. Using the paths above, they are: Start-A-B-C-I-Finish =11 units Start-A-B-H-I-Finish = 12 units Start-D-E-H-I-Finish = 12 units Start-F-G-I-Finish = 16 units The critical path is the longest one, in this case, Start-F-G-I- Finish.

Refer to the table at the right. If task H were increased from 3 to 7, what impact would this have on the project? Task Dependency Duration Start..None...0 A......Start..3 B......A......2 C......B......2 D......Start..4 E......D......1 F......Start..5 G......F......7 H......B,E....3 I......C,G,H..4 Finish..I.....0 A. The project would finish later. B. The project would finish earlier. C. The schedule risk would decrease. D. The critical path would change, but the finish date would not change.

D. At first glance, many people think that the wording of answer 'D' is impossible, but it is the correct choice. This problem should be solved in the usual 3 steps with one additional step at the end. (Did you notice that this was the same project network diagram as shown earlier? This is not uncommon on the PMP.) First, draw out the network diagram based on the table. Your representation should resemble the one below: The next step is to list out all of the possible paths through the network. In this example, they are: Start-A-B-C-I-Finish Start-A-B-H-I-Finish Start-D-E-H-I-Finish Start-F-G-I-Finish The third step is to add up the values associated with each path. Using the paths above, they are: Start-A-B-C-I-Finish = 11 Start-A-B-H-I-Finish = 12 Start-D-E-H-I-Finish = 12 Start-F-G-I-Finish =16 The final additional step is to increase the value of H from 3 to 7 and evaluate the impact. That would change the list to: Start-A-B-C-I-Finish = 11 Start-A-B-H-I-Finish = 16 Start-D-E-H-I-Finish = 16 Start-F-G-I-Finish = 16 The answer, therefore, is that the critical path would change (there are now 3 critical paths), but the end date remains the same. Moving from 1 critical path to 3 increases the schedule risk considerably, invalidating choice 'C'.

What is the most important function the project manager serves ? A. Staffing. B. Motivating. C. Team building. D. Communicating.

D. Communication is the most important activity because the project manager spends an estimated 90% of his time communicating.

All of the following are needed for creating the project budget except: A. The cost estimates. B. The schedule. C. The contract. D. The cost performance baseline.

D. The cost performance baseline is another term for the budget. 'A', 'B', and 'C' are all inputs into the process of Determine Budget, where the budget is created.

The key function of the project manager's job in project integration is: A. Minimizing conflict to promote team unity. B. Making key decisions about resource allocation. C. Communicating with people of various backgrounds. D. Problem-solving and decision-making between project subsystems.

D. The project manager's job during integration is to solve problems and make decisions. It is not the team's job to do this! Their job should be to execute the work packages. The project manager should be fixing the problems that come up and keeping the team focused on the work.

A statement of work is: A. A type of contract. B. A description of the project's product. C. Necessary for every project. D. A description of the part of a product to be obtained from an outside vendor.

D. The statement of work (SOW) describes the pieces of the project that are to be performed by an outside vendor. It often starts off general and is revised as the project progresses. 'A' is incorrect because the SOW does not meet the strict qualifications of a contract. 'B' is incorrect because it is too broad — the SOW is only about the pieces that will be outsourced. 'C' is incorrect because an SOW is not needed for all projects — only those that will be procuring parts.

Which of the following is NOT used in initiating a project ? A. Project statement of work. B. The contract. C. Enterprise environmental factors. D. Earned value analysis.

D. This question was very hard, but there was a way to reason out the answer. When initiating a project, you are essentially performing two processes: Develop Project Charter and Identify Stakeholders. During those processes, it makes sense that you might use the projects statement of work, the contract, and the enterprise environmental factors. 'D' earned value analysis, would probably not be useful until (much) later when the work was being performed.

Your original plan was to construct a building with six stories, with each story costing $ 150,000. This was to be completed in four months; however, the project has not gone as planned. Two months into the project, earned value is $400,000. What is the budgeted at completion? A. 450,000 B. 600,000 C. 800,000 D. 900,000

D. This type of question often appears on the PMP. It is easier than it first appears. Did you think the question was asking for the estimate at completion (EAC)? It is the originally budgeted amount, or budgeted at completion (BAC) that the question wants. That is calculated simply by taking 6 stories and multiplying it by $150,000/story. This yields the total project amount, which is $900,000.

Your team is hard at work on their assigned project tasks when one team member discovers a risk that was not identified during risk planning. What is the FIRST thing to do? A. Halt work on the project. B. Update the risk management plan. C. Look for ways to mitigate the risk. D. Assess the risk.

D. Typically you should assess, investigate, understand, and evaluate before acting. There may be exceptions to this rule, but in general you probably want to select the answer that lets you get all of the information. If there is a series of answers and you are asked what to do FIRST (as in this example), selecting the answer that allows you to be fully informed is usually best. 'A' is incorrect because halting work would probably send risks skyrocketing. 'B' is a good thing to do, but not until you have fully evaluated the risk. 'C' is something you may or may not choose to do, but you should not take action until you have fully assessed the risk

If the optimistic estimate for an activity is 15 days and the pessimistic estimate is 25 days, what is the realistic estimate? A. 19 days. B. 20 days. C. 21 days. D. Unknown.

D. You cannot calculate the three-point estimate without knowing values for optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic. In this case, you are only provided with 2 of the 3 numbers, therefore the answer is unknown.