PMP Exam Questions

What is not the purpose of configuration control when configuration management is applied in a project? A. Verification that the configuration identification for a configuration item is accurate, complete, and will meet specified program needs. B. Ensuring that proposed and approved changes to configuration items are fully analyzed. C. Ensuring that proposed and approved changes to configuration items are fully documented. D. Managing and controlling the frequently requested changes to a project by applying agreed rules.

A. Verification that the configuration identification for a configuration item is accurate, complete, and will meet specified program needs.

Which of the following is generally not regarded to be a motivator according to Frederick Herzberg? A. Working conditions and interpersonal relations B. Responsibility for enlarged task C. Interest in the task D. Recognition for achievement

A. Working conditions and interpersonal relations

If CPI=1.3, SPI=.8, what's the status of the project? a) Over budget and behind schedule b) Under budget and behind schedule c) Under budget and ahead of schedule d) Over budget and ahead of schedule

b) Under budget and behind schedule

What is true for prototypes? A. Prototyping causes significant costs and should be avoided wherever possible. B. They are tangible and allow for early feedback on requirements by stakeholders. C. Prototypes are mostly developed toward the end of a design or build phase. D. Prototypes increase the risk of misunderstandings between developers and users.

B. They are tangible and allow for early feedback on requirements by stakeholders.

Dummy activities are used in: a) Activity on arrow diagram b) Activity decomposition c) Activity list d) Activity duration estimates

a) Activity on arrow diagram

Low-priority risks should be: a) Added to a watch list and the risk register updated b) Removed from the watch list c) Removed from the risk register d) Informed to the customer

a) Added to a watch list and the risk register updated

Noise is: a) Any interference that might compromise the delivery of the message b) False information c) Highest in bad weather d) None of the above

a) Any interference that might compromise the delivery of the message

Theory Y assumes employees: a) Are self-motivated b) Have to be micro-managed c) Work only for money d) Are not ambitious

a) Are self-motivated

The four strategies used to deal with positive threats are: a) Exploit, share, enhance, accept b) Exploit, share, enhance, adjust c) Exploit, simulate, enhance, accept d) Exploit, share, prototype, accept

a) Exploit, share, enhance, accept

Liquidated damages (LDs) are contractually agreed payments in order to... 1. ...give the contractor an incentive to meet an aggressive schedule or challenging quality objectives. 2. ...penalize the contractor for late completion of a project or failure to meet specifications. 3. ...cover the customer's costs caused by late completion or failure to meet specifications by the contractor. 4. ...make a bid or proposal binding for the offerer while the customer has time to select among various bidders.

3. ...cover the customer's costs caused by late completion or failure to meet specifications by the contractor.

Which is an appropriate order in most project situations for the development of scope-related documents? A. 1. Project SOW (statement of work), 2. Project charter, 3. Project scope management plan, 4. Project scope statement, 5. WBS (work breakdown structure) and WBS dictionary. B. 1. Work breakdown structure, 2. Scope statement, 3. Project charter, 4. CSOW (contractual statement of work), 5. Contractual work breakdown structure C. 1. Feasibility study 3. Contract, 4. CWBS (contractual work breakdown structure), 5. Scope of work descriptions, 6. PID (project initiation document). D. 1. BOM (Bill of materials), 2. CAP (control account plan), 3. Project charter 4. Change management plan, 5. Scope baseline.

A. 1. Project SOW (statement of work), 2. Project charter, 3. Project scope management plan, 4. Project scope statement, 5. WBS (work breakdown structure) and WBS dictionary.

You want to perform active risk acceptance. What should you do? A. Create contingency reserves in resources, money and time. B. Develop a plan to minimize impact in case that an identified risk occurs. C. Develop a plan to minimize the probability of occurrence for identified risks. D. Make additional resources available to speed up the project.

A. Create contingency reserves in resources, money and time.

You are performing earned value technique on your project. After budget approval, an additional and unexpected cost item has been identified, which made the project more expensive some weeks ago. The item has meanwhile been paid by the project team, and it is expected that for the remaining duration of the project, costs will be as budgeted. In this case, which is the best formula to calculate EaC (Estimate at Completion)? A. EaC = BaC - CV B. EaC = BaC / CPI C. EaC = AC + BtC / CV D. You can not compute the EaC.

A. EaC = BaC - CV

You are the manager of your company's project management office. The company is running many concurrent projects; most of them share a resource pool of technical staff. Understanding how resources are utilized across projects has been found essential to overall project performance, including cost effectiveness and profitability. This morning you received a message that the resource pool members will be unable to perform as planned for the next months because the overall work load has grown too high and while delays are adding up, the morale of the staff is going down. What should you do next? A. Ensure that quantitative information for all projects is made available in a uniform and reliable fashion and verify that the project management methodology is adhered to. Then consolidate the information to get an understanding of the problems related with the use of shared resources. B. Implement an enterprise project management software solution which is able to level the human resources across the various projects and which has the capability to model resource assignment on a percentage level thus optimizing resource utilization for the overall organization. C. Do nothing related to the described problem unless you are explicitly requested by the organizations upper management. Supporting decision making on the level on which project portfolio management is done, is not the project management office's business. D. Evaluate project management software which supports planning and scheduling across enterprise-wide project portfolios. Avoid managing the availability of shared enterprise resources for the projects run by an organization because this is not the business of a project management office.

A. Ensure that quantitative information for all projects is made available in a uniform and reliable fashion and verify that the project management methodology is adhered to. Then consolidate the information to get an understanding of the problems related with the use of shared resources.

A project management team has subcontracted work to a service company. Which of the following tools is the best choice to assure that this company will be able to meet the quality requirements of the project? A. Quality audit B. Deliverable inspection C. Fixed price contract D. Service level agreement

A. Quality audit

A review to determine whether of project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures is commonly called A. Quality auditing B. Inspection C. Quality testing D. Reject screening

A. Quality auditing

What does the acronym RACI commonly stand for in project management? A. Responsible, Accountable, to be Consulted, to be Informed B. Remote, Attached, Connected, Integrated C. Risk Analysis and Caution Initiative D. Randomly Accessible Cashflow Information

A. Responsible, Accountable, to be Consulted, to be Informed

The scope baseline consists of what? A. Scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary B. Cost baseline, quality baseline and schedule baseline C. Configuration management plan and configuration identification document D. Procurement statement of work and project scope statement

A. Scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary

Network templates which contain only portions of a network are often referred to as A. Sub-networks or fragment networks B. Subprojects C. Programs D. WBS items

A. Sub-networks or fragment networks

During a company event, you had the opportunity to talk to a colleague project manager. He told you that in his current project actual costs are 15% under cumulated costs budgeted for today. What do you think? A. The information given to you by the colleague is not sufficient to assess project performance. B. The project will probably be completed with total costs remaining under budget until the end. C. A significant cost increase during the further course of the project will probably bring the costs back to baseline level. D. Original cost forecasting and budgeting for the project must have been poor to allow this variance.

A. The information given to you by the colleague is not sufficient to assess project performance.

A project is handled by departments of an organization and expedited by a project coordinator. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true? A. The performing organization is a weak matrix. B. The performing organization is doing "management by projects". C. The performing organization is a strong matrix. D. The performing organization is projectized.

A. The performing organization is a weak matrix.

You are project manager in a global project with a team consisting of people from various countries. What can you try to prevent misunderstandings due to cross-cultural differences? A. Use all communication methods available that are suitable for the team and follow up in writing when communicating verbally. Remember that cultural and individual diversity may help project teams solving unforeseen problems during the course of the project. B. When you are about to form a team for your project, keep in mind that some cultures are developed, others are more primitive. Some have values, some not. You should consequently avoid choosing members from countries with cultures that are not similar to your own. C. Cultural dilemmas can prevent any project from being successful. They should therefore be smoothed or suppressed so as to make sure that they cannot disrupt project work. Your effort should concentrate on communication that can help reach that goal. D. As norms regarding communication habits differ significantly across various cultures, communicating between people from different countries should only be done using language. The nonverbal dimension simply bears too many risks.

A. Use all communication methods available that are suitable for the team and follow up in writing when communicating verbally. Remember that cultural and individual diversity may help project teams solving unforeseen problems during the course of the project.

An output of the process Estimate activity resources is a document called "activity resource requirements". It identifies the types and quantities of resources... A. ...while the term resources is limited to equipment and materials. B. ...required for each activity in a work package. C. ...while the term resources is limited to human resources. D. ...to be obtained solely from the performing organization.

B. ...required for each activity in a work package.

Which of the following statement(s) on whistleblowing is/are not true? 1. It is a term used to define an employee's decision to disclose information on unethical, immoral or illegal actions at work to an authority figure. 2. An employee should always discuss the matter with people external to the company before following the "chain of command" and discuss it with the immediate superior. 3. The consequences of whistleblowing are often extreme and might include being branded as an owner of bad judgment, layoff, civil action and imprisonment. 4. Carefully performed whistleblowing can lead to the end of unethical business practices. A. 1 B. 2 C. 2,3 D. 3,4

B. 2

Which statement describes best the meaning of the term cost baseline? A. A cost baseline is always created by translating time-phased cost information into cost data on activity or work-package level. B. A cost baseline is an approved time-phased budget that will be used to measure and monitor cost performance on the project. C. Data to draw a cost baseline can be easily generated and updated as necessary from information related to actual project cost. D. A cost baseline is usually displayed in the form of an inverse S-curve drawn from the beginning of the project until data date.

B. A cost baseline is an approved time-phased budget that will be used to measure and monitor cost performance on the project.

What is a constructive change? A. A change request that helps improving the project and its product, service or result and is discussed generally in a friendly style. B. A direction by the buyer or an action taken by the seller that the other party considers an undocumented change to the contract. C. A field change or ad-hoc change mandated by the project customer in a public construction project. D. A change request which will lead to the re-construction of an older version of the project performance baseline by the contractor.

B. A direction by the buyer or an action taken by the seller that the other party considers an undocumented change to the contract.

A project management team wants to procure some customized products which are available in identical grade and quality from many vendors. What should be included in the procurement package to ensure that their offers will be comparable? A. A statement of work describing the needs of the project in sufficient detail to enable vendors to make suitable proposals B. A statement of work specifying attributes and metrics of the requested deliverables in detail to allow vendors submission of bids C. The approved project scope statement, the WBS which should be broken down to work package level and the WBS dictionary D. The risk management plan and the reports from those risk management reviews which have been made so far

B. A statement of work specifying attributes and metrics of the requested deliverables in detail to allow vendors submission of bids

What is a trigger in project risk management? A. An expected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur B. A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred C. An unexpected situation causing an identified risk to occur D. An unexpected situation causing an unidentified risk to occur

B. A warning sign that a previously identified risk might be occurring or has occurred

Which statement describes best why you should document assumptions? A. Assumptions might prove to be wrong. Knowing which assumptions were incorrect allows baseline adjustments in case of project crisis. B. Assumption analysis is a valuable tool and technique to explore the validity of assumptions during risk identification. C. Assumptions limit the project management team's options for decision making because they can not be controlled by the team. D. In case of schedule or budget overruns, the documentation of assumptions supports a clear assignment of responsibility.

B. Assumption analysis is a valuable tool and technique to explore the validity of assumptions during risk identification.

Which of the following becomes increasingly important in a virtual team environment? A. Requirements engineering B. Communication planning C. Formal procurements closure D. Network diagramming

B. Communication planning

Which statement on conflicts is true? A. Conflict resolution should focus on people, not issues. B. Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives. C. Conflict should always be handled in private and not in the team. D. Too much openness is a common cause of conflict.

B. Conflict is natural and forces a search for alternatives.

________ is typically not referred to as a buffer type in critical chain project management. A. Resource buffer B. Free buffer C. Feeding buffer D. Project buffer

B. Free buffer

Which of the following statements describes best the relationship between project phases and the project life cycle? A. The project life cycle includes the time when the project is performed and the expected product lifespan after that. B. In project management, the sequence of project phases and phase gates is often referred to as project life cycle. C. The project life cycle is regarded as a sequence of project activities while phases are defined to control overlapping activities. D. The project life cycle describes how iterations of project management processes are used when a project schedule is developed.

B. In project management, the sequence of project phases and phase gates is often referred to as project life cycle.

Which should be included in a requirements management plan? A. The document should trace requirements to project scope / WBS deliverables. B. It should describe how requirements activities will be planned, tracked, and reported. C. It should trace high-level requirements to more detailed requirements. D. It should trace requirements to business needs, opportunities, goals, and objectives.

B. It should describe how requirements activities will be planned, tracked, and reported.

Which is normally not regarded as an element of cost of quality? A. Prevention costs B. Maintenance cost C. Appraisal costs D. Failure costs

B. Maintenance cost

The project manager develops a process improvement plan to encourage continuous process improvement during the life of the project. Which of the following is a valid tool or technique to assist the project manager to assure the success of the process improvement plan? A. Change control system B. Process analysis C. Benchmarking D. Configuration management system

B. Process analysis

A project management team is evaluating the causes that might contribute to unsatisfactory performance and quality. Which of the following statements is not true? A. Normal process variation is attributable to random causes and sometimes also called "white noise". B. Special causes are easier to predict and handle than random causes (also called common causes). C. Special causes are unusual events which are difficult to foresee and often produce outliers. D. A process can be optimized to limit the bandwidth of variations due to random causes.

B. Special causes are easier to predict and handle than random causes (also called common causes).

You are performing a project management audit in your company and find that most of the project plans are neither consistent nor up-to-date. Which of the following statements is not true? A. Projects should never be executed without a valid, updated and working project management plan. B. The consistency of the project management plan is secondary because it is only the results that matter. C. A great deal of effort is required to develop and update a project plan, but the benefits include less pressure on all stakeholders and a resulting product that will satisfy the requirements. D. Poor planning and insufficient updating of project management plans are common reasons for cost and time overruns.

B. The consistency of the project management plan is secondary because it is only the results that matter.

You have been asked to calculate the internal rate of return (IRR) of a project? What will you assess? A. The time period needed to pay back the investment from a project when future income is discounted. B. The inherent discount rate or investment yield rate produced by the project's deliverables over a pre-defined period of time. C. The rate of negative risk that can be accepted for a project without turning the expected net present value negative. D. The expected benefit from a project's deliverable calculated as a percentage of the original investment over a specified time period.

B. The inherent discount rate or investment yield rate produced by the project's deliverables over a pre-defined period of time.

What is true for modern project management? Project managers need... A. ... to have a strict standing in negotiating B. ... to show experience in tricking business partners C. ... to be team players and facilitators instead of "bosses" D. ... to be strongly linked to local traditions

C. ... to be team players and facilitators instead of "bosses"

A project sponsor requested earned value data on two concurrent projects from the project managers. Both projects are regarded as equally important and strategically beneficial and have been finished by over 80%. He received the following information: Project A: PV: $1,800,000 EV: $2,300,000 AC: $2,100,000 Project B: PV: $2,000,000 EV: $1,500,000 AC: $1,600,000 The sponsor considers to shift some resources from project A to project B to speed up the second project which is currently behind schedule. What is the most likely outcome of such a measure? A. Changing team assignments during late course of a project typically increases cost efficiency. B. Changing team assignments during late course of a project typically increases time efficiency. C. According to the law of diminishing returns, the consolidated cost variance of the two projects will decrease. D. According to the law of diminishing returns, the consolidated cost variance of the two projects will increase.

C. According to the law of diminishing returns, the consolidated cost variance of the two projects will decrease.

You have used estimates made by your team members and applied the critical path method to compute a network logic diagram for your project. Then you found out that it cannot be sufficiently optimized for scarce resources and fast progress towards a given deadline. What should you do next? A. Apply resource leveling heuristics to uncritical activities only. B. Reduce estimates on duration and work efforts by an adequate percentage. C. Apply Three-point estimation and critical chain project management. D. Remove physical constraints and replace hard logic with soft logic.

C. Apply Three-point estimation and critical chain project management.

You are assigned as the project manager to a project which is executed for a customer under FP contract. Your customer informed you this morning that they insist on certain "refinements" of the project scope. You agree that the requested actions make really sense to the project, but believe that they constitute a major change increasing the project scope. What should you do next? A. Accept the request of the customer. Diligently document the additional costs and working hours spent by yourself and the team on the implementation of the change and invoice these to the customer at appropriate rates. B. Perform earned value analysis to assess the current status of the project and get all the numbers you need to communicate the case to the change control board which then will have to make the best decision regarding the customer request. C. Check the contract, the project charter, the scope statement and other documents related to the project and the contract. Implement ADR (alternative dispute resolution) procedures if the conflict cannot be resolved otherwise. D. Talk to the project sales department and find a joint solution with them how to best reject the request considering the commercial and strategic value of the customer to the organization you are working for.

C. Check the contract, the project charter, the scope statement and other documents related to the project and the contract. Implement ADR (alternative dispute resolution) procedures if the conflict cannot be resolved otherwise.

What is the meaning of a concept called the "Journey to Abilene"? A. Project managers should visit their customers far more often than what is usual in order to avoid misunderstandings and bad emotions. B. International projects may have an increased need for traveling which can lead to additional costs and troubles with time zones. C. Committee decisions can have the paradox outcome, that a jointly made or approved decision is not desired by any individual group member. D. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. Repeating it would be similar to making the same journey twice.

C. Committee decisions can have the paradox outcome, that a jointly made or approved decision is not desired by any individual group member.

You have recently been assigned as a project manager to a new B-O-T (build, operate, transfer) capital project. Reviewing the initial documentation you found out that it has been calculated with a very small margin during operations of its product for the shareholders. What should you do? A. As you are not responsible for lifecycle costing, you don't have to worry about operation profits. Focus on project costs from initiation through handover. B. Ensure maximum profits by buying the best and cheapest items, components and modules―potentially from a big number of different suppliers―and integrating them. C. Create a realistic plan broken down to a sufficient level of detail. Perform all risk management processes. Ensure real-time communications with all stakeholders. D. Try to get a second project manager assigned to share decision making and accountability to shareholders with the person.

C. Create a realistic plan broken down to a sufficient level of detail. Perform all risk management processes. Ensure real-time communications with all stakeholders.

Which of the following is true regarding the code of accounts? A. It allows one to easily identify the breakdown level of the item in the resource structure. B. It describes the coding structure used by the performing organization to report financial information in its general ledger. C. It is the collection of unique identifiers generally assigned to WBS items. D. It defines ethical behavior in the project and the responsibilities to the customer and the profession.

C. It is the collection of unique identifiers generally assigned to WBS items.

A change request in a project has been rejected some weeks ago. Yesterday, the project manager found out that it nevertheless has been implemented by the team members, who knew of the change request, but not of the rejection. In order to avoid such a situation, rejected change requests should be consistently communicated to stakeholders through which process? A. Report performance B. Verify scope C. Perform integrated change control D. Monitor and control risks

C. Perform integrated change control

When do bidder conferences normally take place? A. After the contract has been awarded to keep alternatives open. B. After submission of bid or proposal, but before contract award. C. Prior to the submission of a bid or proposal by the bidder. D. After technical meetings with bidders to discuss contract requirements.

C. Prior to the submission of a bid or proposal by the bidder.

In a software company a large number of simultaneously performed projects utilize the same groups of human and other resources. What is the term commonly used for this situation? A. Concurrent engineering B. Resource over-allocation C. Resource pooling D. Program management

C. Resource pooling

The project manager meets with the project team to review lessons learned from previous projects. In what activity is the team involved? A. Performance management B. Scope identification C. Risk identification D. Project team status meeting

C. Risk identification

What is defined by control limits? A. A measuring instrument solely used to describe process capability. The process is found capable if the ±3 sigma range is exceeded by not more than 0.3% of a tested sample lot. B. The limits of the six sigma area on either side of a control chart to plot measured values; data found outside the area are out of specification and can lead to rejection of an entire batch. C. The area consisting of typically three standard deviations on either side of a mean value of a control chart to plot measured values found in statistical quality control D. The area consisting of typically three standard deviations on either side of a mean value of a control chart to plot measured values found in quality assurance

C. The area consisting of typically three standard deviations on either side of a mean value of a control chart to plot measured values found in statistical quality control

Which of the following statements is not true? A. Attribute sampling is the process of assessing whether results conform to specifications or not. B. Prevention means keeping errors out of the process by applying actions before the process starts changing its input. C. Variables sampling means that the result is classified into one of the 3 categories: "acceptable" - "acceptable after rework" - "rejected". D. Inspection is often mainly done to keep errors out of the hands of the customer instead of as a means of process control.

C. Variables sampling means that the result is classified into one of the 3 categories: "acceptable" - "acceptable after rework" - "rejected".

According to the project plan, a contractor is scheduled to deliver some software components today afternoon. A regular payment is due to be made to this contractor tomorrow. You and your project team received a note this morning informing you that the software delivery will be delayed by 2 weeks. What should you do right now? A. You should delay the payment also for 2 weeks. B. You must immediately find a different contractor. C. You should conduct a meeting with the contractor to resolve the delivery issues before making the payment. D. You should make the payment and reschedule the project plan.

C. You should conduct a meeting with the contractor to resolve the delivery issues before making the payment.

In a traditionally drawn decision tree, a circle represents ___________. A. a chance to which no expected monetary value can be assigned so that a likely pay-off can not be shown. B. a decision to which no expected monetary value can be assigned so that a likely pay-off can not be shown. C. a chance to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off. D. a decision to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.

C. a chance to which an expected monetary value may be assigned to calculate the most likely pay-off.

You have been assigned as a project manager to a software project. While you and your team are working on a WBS (work breakdown structure), estimations for activity durations based on the activity list vary significantly. Which additional documents may help you clarify this situation? A. Milestone list and scope baseline. B. Project schedule network diagrams and human resource plan. C. Activity cost estimates and scope baseline. D. Activity attributes and project scope statement.

D. Activity attributes and project scope statement.

A prime contractor in a customer project under CPFF contract has run into unexpected technical problems. Fixing them will require a lot of additional work to be done. The company made a decision to book more staff and equipment from their subcontractors in order to adhere to the agreed timeline. The customer agreed to this decision. What will most likely happen? A. The contractor's indirect costs will increase and the customer's payment for them will increase, too. B. The contractor's indirect costs will increase, but the customer's payment for them will not increase. C. The contractor's indirect costs will not increase, but the customer's payment for them will. D. Both the contractor's indirect costs and the customer's payment for them will not increase.

D. Both the contractor's indirect costs and the customer's payment for them will not increase.

Your project is executed with a globally spread virtual team. The project progress has been found to be too slow. Which measure is most likely to immediately speed up the project? A. Technical training for all team members B. Daily phone conferences and detailed reporting C. A team meeting at a location convenient to all team members D. Collocation of team members at a suitable place

D. Collocation of team members at a suitable place

An accepted deadline for a project approaches. However, the project manager realizes only 75% percent of the work has been completed. The project manager then issues a change request. What should the change request authorize? A. Additional resources using the contingency fund B. Escalation approval to use contingency funding C. Team overtime to meet schedule D. Corrective action based on causes

D. Corrective action based on causes

Which tool and technique is used in the processes Create WBS and Define activities? A. Nominal group technique B. Human resource assignment C. Brainstorming D. Decomposition

D. Decomposition

What should not be covered by a risk management plan? A. Roles and responsibilities for handling project risks B. Timing of project risk management activities C. The methodological approach used for risk management D. Individual risks and potential responses to them

D. Individual risks and potential responses to them

You are the project manager in an engineering project and have recently signed a contract with a software vendor for the development of a complicated control solution. The software will be used to control machinery equipment which your project team is currently developing. The contract is a lump-sum contract. The contractor has target cost estimated which seem rather low to you. Which of the following statements is not true for this situation? A. It is the contractor's risk in this type of contract that their profit may vanish if costs have been underestimated. B. This form of contract should only be chosen when all the requirements for the building of the product are well-known by all parties involved. C. In a fixed-price contract, change requests can cause issues regarding additional time and extra costs for the changes to be applied. D. It is likely that your organization may have to assume any unexpected additional costs for the software development.

D. It is likely that your organization may have to assume any unexpected additional costs for the software development.

Which is not true in regard of RoI (return on investment) for a project? A. It defines the cumulated net income from an investment at a given point in time or during a defined period. B. It includes investment, direct and indirect costs and may include allowances for capital cost, depreciation, risk of loss, and/or inflation. C. It is most commonly stated as a percentage of the investment or as a dimensionless index figure. D. It is the time when cumulated net income is equal to the investment.

D. It is the time when cumulated net income is equal to the investment.

Which of the following statements describes best the relationship of quality and grade? A. Low grade is always a problem; low quality may be overcome by a good rework and repair process. B. Grade is a category or rank given to entities having different functional requirements but the same need for quality. C. Both quality and grade can often be improved through intelligent measuring, testing and examining. D. Low quality is always a problem as it bears on the ability of an item to meet requirements; low grade may sometimes be acceptable.

D. Low quality is always a problem as it bears on the ability of an item to meet requirements; low grade may sometimes be acceptable.

You have been criticized that certain specifications in your scope statement do not pass the test for SMART objectives. What are SMART objectives? A. Objectives specified in far more detail than necessary for a execution of a successful project. B. Easily achievable objectives which help you reducing the pressure on yourself and the team. C. Objectives that should be achieved in order to attain formal recognition by both the customer and the project sponsor. D. Objectives that are described using specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related specifications.

D. Objectives that are described using specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related specifications.

An estimation has been made that the construction of a residential home will cost a certain amount per square foot of living area. This is an example of what type of estimating? A. Analogous estimating B. Bottom-up estimating C. Top-down estimating D. Parametric estimating

D. Parametric estimating

During execution of a project which is performed for a customer on a T&M (time and material) contract base, a new project manager is taking over the assignment. He discovers that two members assigned to the project have charged time without performing any work for the project customer. Upon further investigation, he determines that this occurred because there have been no other project assignments open for these employees. The customer is unaware of these facts. What should the project manager do? A. Try to find some productive work for these staff members in the project and leave them on the team. B. The best thing is to do nothing. The customer will not realize the problem anyway. C. Try to find a responsible person for the over-assignment who can be made accountable. D. Take the two people off the team immediately and arrange for the refund of the excess charges to the customer.

D. Take the two people off the team immediately and arrange for the refund of the excess charges to the customer.

What is the S-curve in project management? A. A graph that is generated if a normal curve is integrated. B. A graph that is to be integrated to generate a normal curve. C. A metaphoric description of the short term uncertainties that are present in every project. D. The graph that describes the typical growth of earned value during the course of the project.

D. The graph that describes the typical growth of earned value during the course of the project.

Your construction project was damaged by an earthquake. Your contractor says that he cannot fulfil the terms of the contract due to a specific clause you both had signed in the contract. He is referring to the: a) Force majeure clause b) Fixed price clause c) Contract obligation terms d) None of the above

a) Force majeure clause

CPPC and fixed-price contracts are used in: a) PO with standard item b) PO with variable item c) Request for proposal d) Price-free contracts

a) PO with standard item

Scope management plan is an output of: a) Plan Scope management b) Define Scope c) Both a and b d) None of the above

a) Plan Scope management

Crosby's cost of quality theory of 'zero defects' is based on: a) Prevention b) Correction c) Conformance d) Fitness for use

a) Prevention

WBS is created in: a) Project Scope management b) Risk management process c) Planning process d) Monitor and control

a) Project Scope management

Develop Schedule produces the following output: a) Project schedule b) WBS c) Activity time d) Project plan

a) Project schedule

Some managers believe that people do not work willingly and must be watched and managed continuosly. They are of type: a) Theory X b) Theory Y c) Theory XY d) Theory V

a) Theory X

If a stakeholder has any questions about project deliverables, as the PM, you should direct him to the: a) WBS b) Project plan c) Preliminary Scope statement d) None of the above

a) WBS

In a fixed price contract, the risk: a) lies more with the seller b) lies more with the buyer c) is the same for seller and buyer d) Can't say

a) lies more with the seller

As a PM, you have identified some low priority risks. You should: a) Neglect them as they will mostly not occur b) Add them to a watch list within the risk register c) Plan detailed response plans d) None of the above

b) Add them to a watch list within the risk register

Your vendor has confirmed in writing that he will not be able to provide the products contracted to him, in the time mentioned in the contract. You can terminate the contract and sue for damages. This is a type of: a) Minor breach b) Anticipatory breach c) Material breach d) Fundamental breach

b) Anticipatory breach

A project you are managing is about to be completed. But there is a minor defect in the work produced by the contractor. You should: a) Neglect the defect if it is trivial b) Ask the contractor to fix according to SOW c) Submit a new RFP d) None of the above

b) Ask the contractor to fix according to SOW

As a PM, you manage multiple projects. One of your projects is over budget while the other is under budget. You decide to transfer money from the latter to the former and report both projects as within budget. This is against the PMI code of ethics and is called: a) Unethical management b) Budget tampering c) Fraudulent reporting d) Cost leveling

b) Budget tampering

Project scope statement is the output of: a) Plan Scope b) Define scope c) Collect requirements d) None of the above

b) Define scope

Email communication is: a) Formal style, written b) Informal style, written c) Both a and b d) Neither a nor b

b) Informal style, written

When estimating time for activities, a PM should: a) Use the best guess and estimate for all activities as there will be changes anyways as the project progresses and more information becomes available b) Involve people who will be doing the work to get estimates c) Estimate for what the cost will allow and not include buffers d) None of the above

b) Involve people who will be doing the work to get estimates

When an individual's lower level needs are met, the next level's needs are his motivation. This forms the basis of: a) Theory Y b) Maslow's hierarchy c) Theory X d) None of the above

b) Maslow's hierarchy

To motivate your team, you decided to reward a team member who performed well. This hurt cohesion in the team. You should: a) Reset award criteria b) Modify reward strategy to be win-win for the team c) Award only two people d) Declare that there will be no rewards going forward

b) Modify reward strategy to be win-win for the team

'Scope' of project is: a) Any work committed to orally with customer b) Only work that has to be completed to successfully finish project c) Any work that customer requires to be completed d) Only work that can be completed within project duration

b) Only work that has to be completed to successfully finish project

One of your team members' A's father was sick when you were in the planning stage of your project. A had informed you that he might have to leave to visit his father if the situation arose. You had planned for this and spoke to the functional manager of your group to provide a back-up resource, B to be used if necessary. Now, A has left to see his father and B is filling in for him. But B is taking more than expected time to get up to speed and this impacts project cost and schedule. This is an example of a: a) Residual risk b) Secondary risk c) Contingency plan d) None of the above

b) Secondary risk

In a time-materials contract, the possibility of a cost increase: a) lies more with the seller b) lies more with the buyer c) is the same for seller and buyer d) Can't say

b) lies more with the buyer

'Gold plating' is a) Beating customer expectations b) Producing excellent deliverables c) Addition of a feature not in the original scope plan d) All of the above

c) Addition of a feature not in the original scope plan

RBS stands for: a) Resource breakdown structure b) Risk breakdown structure c) Both a and b d) Neither a nor b

c) Both a and b

Change requests are the outputs of which process: a) Validate Scope b) Define Scope c) Control Scope d) Change Scope

c) Control Scope

When your client is ready to accept the product your project has produced, you should: a) Refer to the quality plan to see if the product meets specifications b) Refer to project management plan c) Obtain client sign off and follow administrative closure process d) Let go off the project resources and assign them to other projects

c) Obtain client sign off and follow administrative closure process

Your brother can influence bids in the vendor company that has been contracted for your project. You should: a) Disclose the bid price that is most likely to give him an advantage when bidding b) Reject other vendors and award him the contract c) Refrain from the decision-making process and make a full disclosure to stakeholders and wait for their decision before you proceed d) Hint to the stakeholders that your brother might be involved in bidding

c) Refrain from the decision-making process and make a full disclosure to stakeholders and wait for their decision before you proceed

If a stakeholder directly asks a team member to make changes and the team member accommodates it: a) Admonish the team member during the team meeting so that other team members are also aware b) Inform the stakeholder that he should not talk to your team member c) Talk to the stakeholder and team member in private, and emphasize gently that the Integrated Change Control process should be followed d) Pretend to not know about the change and let it happen

c) Talk to the stakeholder and team member in private, and emphasize gently that the Integrated Change Control process should be followed

A CPM critical path has: a) Non-zero float b) Negative free float c) Zero total float d) None of the above

c) Zero total float

Unclear scope definition in a project using Fixed price contract can lead to losses for: a) the buyer b) the vendor c) both buyer and vendor d) Neither as these are sunk costs

c) both buyer and vendor

Crashing: a) Is a schedule compression technique b) Increases cost c) Is achieved by adding resources d) All of the above

d) All of the above

Tools for Plan Quality Management are: a) Cost-benefit analysis b) Cost of quality c) Benchmarking d) All of the above

d) All of the above

Which of the following is true? a) RACI (Responsible-Accountable-Consult-Inform) is a type of RAM (Responsibility Assignment matrix) b) RAM shows the resources' responsibilities on the project c) RAM and RACI are matrix-based charts d) All of the above

d) All of the above

A project is behind schedule. Two senior resources are added to help speed up work. The result is (choose the best answer): a) Project will be completed on time b) Project cost will not increase c) Project may not be completed on time due to increased number of communication channels d) None of the above

d) None of the above