40 Questions - Practice Test

1. You recently took over a relatively new project expected to last another seven years. The previous project manager completed most of the WBS. When you begin to define the project activities, you realize that the WBS work packages expected to occur in the next year are planned in detail, but the work packages for later in the future (three years or more) are not planned with much detail, if any detail at all. You determine— a. It is a major problem. The WBS is incomplete and you need to redefine the project scope to complete the project schedule. b. It is a problem that must be resolved quickly. The previous project manager was not done with the WBS, and you must stop the project to complete the WBS in sufficient detail. c. It is not a problem at this time. The previous project manager was using the rolling wave planning technique, so you are able to continue defining the activities. d. It is not a problem at this time. You can only plan what you know. You plan to communicate to the project sponsor that the WBS is not sufficient to plan the whole project and that the sponsor can worry about the details.

1. c. It is not a problem at this time. The previous project manager was using the rolling wave planning technique, so you are able to continue defining the activities. Rolling wave planning provides progressive detailing of the work to be accomplished throughout the life of the project. Decomposition is a tool and technique in Create WBS and recognizes rolling wave planning may be needed for deliverables or subcomponents that will not be accomplished until much later in the project. In this case, the team waits until more information about the deliverable or subcomponent is available. This approach is rolling wave planning. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 160

10. In addition to providing support to the project, Manage Quality also provides an umbrella for— a. Plan-do-check-act b. Improvement of quality planning c. Project management maturity d. Work performance information

10. a. Plan-do-check-act The plan-do-check act cycle is the basis for quality improvement and efficiency. It was defined by Shewhart and modified by Deming. Quality Management focuses on quality improvement, which also includes total quality management, Six Sigma, and Lean Six Sigma. These techniques improve project management quality and the quality of the product, service, or result. Quality improvement methods are a tool and technique in Manage Quality. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 275, 296

100. Communications develops the relationships for successful project outcomes. They can vary from short e-mails to formal meetings and presentations. There are two parts to successful communications. The first part is— a. Preparing the communications management plan b. Determining whether stakeholders are internal or external c. Assessing cultural differences d. Developing a communications strategy

100. d. Developing a communications strategy A communications strategy is the first step. It is based on the project's needs and those of the stakeholders. Once the strategy is determined, then the communications management plan is prepared, which among other things ensures stakeholders receive messages in various formats and means as defined by the strategy. These messages constitute the planning process, which is the second part for successful communications. Using the communications strategy and the communications management plan then provide the foundation to monitor the effect of communications and hopefully avoid misunderstandings and mis-communications. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 362

11. As you manage the railroad switching station project, you are concerned that the business analyst who was responsible for preparing the WBS may have overlooked some parts of the project. In order to see if the WBS requires enhancements you decide to— a. Perform a cause-and-effect diagram b. Meet with your sponsor c. Use an affinity diagram d. Review the accompanying WBS Dictionary with a member of the PMO

11. c. Use an affinity diagram In Manage Quality, an affinity diagram is a data representation tool and technique. This diagram is used to generate ideas that can be linked to form organized patterns of thought about a problem. Using them in project management, one can enhance the creation of the WBS by using it to give structure to the decomposition of scope. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 293

12. Assume that you are managing a project in which 80% has been outsourced to various sellers. In terms of contract administration, a key aspect is— a. Having a contract administrator assigned to your core team and reports to you b. Ensuring there are few, if any, claims c. Considering the sellers as members of the project team d. Managing the interfaces among the sellers

12. d. Managing the interfaces among the sellers The Control Procurements process involves managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, and making changes and corrections to contracts as needed. On a large project with multiple sellers as in this question, a major aspect is managing the interfaces among the sellers. Many organizations have contract administration as an administrative function separate from the project organization. While a procurement administrator may be on the core team, typically this person reports to someone other than the project manager in a different department. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 494

13. Manual and automated tools can support configuration management and change management. The use of the specific tools supports project stakeholder needs, which include organizational and environmental consideration and/or constraints. Since your project involves the development of flying cars in congested urban areas, you believe you should use both configuration and change control. In configuration control, your last step is to— a. Determine specific responsibilities b. List the approved configuration identification c. Perform verification and audit on each configuration item d. Ensure the composition of a project's configuration items is correct

13. c. Perform verification and audit on each configuration item Configuration management is an integral part of the Perform Integrated Change Control process. The first step is to identify the specific configuration item. The next step is to record and report the status of each configuration item. The answer is the last step. The verification and audits ensure the project's configuration item is correct. It also ensures any corresponding changes are registered, assessed, approved, tracked and implemented correctly. The purpose is to ensure the functional requirements defined in the formal configuration documents are met. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 118

14. You need to outsource the testing function of your project. Your subcontracts department informed you that the following document must be prepared before conducting the procurement— a. Make-or-buy analysis b. Procurement management plan c. Evaluation methodology d. Contract terms and conditions

14. b. Procurement management plan The procurement management plan contains the activities to be done in the procurement process regardless of whether it is an international, national, or local bid. If it is financed externally, the funding sources and availability should be aligned with the procurement management plan and project schedule. It may be formal or informal, detailed or broadly framed based on the project needs. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 475

15. Assume you are working to Monitor and Control Project Work. A useful tool and technique is— a. Monitoring and reporting methods b. Requirements traceability matrix c. Variance analysis d. Influence diagrams

15. c. Variance analysis Variance analysis reviews the differences or variances between planned and actual performance it also can be conducted in each of the Knowledge Areas, but in Monitor and Control Project Work, it reviews variances from an integrated perspective considering cost, time, and resource variance in relationship to each other. The objective is to have an overview view of variance on the project such that if required preventive or corrective action can be taken. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 111

16. You are pleased to be managing a project to enhance and upgrade the landfill system in your city. Nothing has changed since it was first created more than 20 years ago. You prepared your business case along with your sponsor, and the project is authorized because of a— a. Sustainability b. Customer request c. Social need d. Ecological impact

16. d. Ecological impact The business case is created in this question primarily as a result of an ecological need. Answer b refers to a customer request such as an electrical utility authorizing a project to build a new substation to serve a new industrial park. Answer c relates to a social need such as a non-governmental organization in a developing country to provide portable water systems plus other items to communities suffering from high rates of cholera. Other reasons are a market demand, an organizational need, a technological advance, competitive forces, material issues, stakeholder demands, political changes, economic changes, business process improvements, or a legal requirement. Sustainability does not apply. The business case is an input to the Develop Project Charter process. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 9, 78

17. To identify inefficient and ineffective policies, processes, and procedures in use on a project, you should conduct— a. An inspection b. A process analysis c. Benchmarking d. A quality audit

17. d. A quality audit A quality audit is a tool and technique in the Manage Quality process. It is primarily used to determine whether the project team is complying with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures. It identifies good and best practices being implemented; areas of nonconformity, gaps, and shortcomings; good practices introduced or implemented in similar projects or in the industry; ways to offer assistance positively to improve process implementation to help the team increase productivity; and highlights of the audit are placed in the lessons-learned repository. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 247

18. Your project management office implemented a project management methodology that emphasizes the importance of integrated change control. It states that change requests may include— a. Indirect changes b. Defect repairs c. Informal from executives d. Ones that do not impact baselines

18. b. Defect repairs Change requests are an input to the Perform Integrated Change Control process. They also may include corrective action and preventive action and updates to formally controlled documents or deliverables if they reflect additional ideas or content. Sometimes performance against baselines may be affected, but the project manager is responsible for making these decisions. If the change requests do affect baselines, additional information is required. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 117

19. Since projects involve change, change requests then will be needed. Every documented change request must be approved by a responsible person, who is— a. The project manager or the sponsor b. A member of the CCB c. Identified in the change management plan d. Identified in the project management plan

19. d. Identified in the project management plan Usually, the project manager or the project sponsor can approve or reject a documented change request. At times, a Change Control Board (CCB) is used, which later may require customer or sponsor approval unless they are on the CCB. Regardless, the responsible person is identified in the project management plan or by organizational procedures. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 96

2. You are managing a project to transform your organization into one that is more customer centric as your executives realize they no longer can assume existing customers will stay with your firm given offerings by the competition. You and your team identified over 300 stakeholders and classified them. You realize 45 are influential but negative to the project. You then prepared your stakeholder engagement plan. Now, you find you are addressing concerns from these stakeholders plus others, and it consumes most of your time. However, it is important because— a. You want to increase their support and minimize resistance b. The stakeholders only wish to work with you c. You need committed stakeholders to ensure your project continues d. You realize your project has the greatest chance for success if it operates in a projectized environment, and stakeholder support is paramount

2. a. You want to increase their support and minimize resistance During the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process, its benefit is that it enables the project manager to increase support and minimize resistance from stakeholders. This process involves communicating and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 523

20. A number of tools and techniques are helpful in the Perform Integrated Change Control process. You have a CCB on your project, and with it, you plan to use— a. Configuration management software b. A project management information system c. Project status review meetings d. Change control meetings

20. d. Change control meetings Meetings, referred to as change control meetings, are a tool and technique in Integrated Change Control. Often, a project will set up a CCB, which has the responsibility for meeting and reviewing the change requests, and approving, rejecting, or deferring them. Assessing the impact of the change is part of the meeting, and alternatives may be discussed and proposed. Finally, the decision of the CCB is communicated to the required user or group. The CCB also may review configuration management activities. Decisions of the board are documented and agreed upon by appropriate stakeholders and are documented in the change management plan. The CCB decisions are documented to stakeholders for information and follow-up actions. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 120

21. Having worked previously as a software project manager, you were pleased to be appointed as the project manager for a new systems integration project designed to replace the existing air traffic control system in your country. You found a requirements traceability matrix to be helpful on software projects, so you decided to use it on this systems integration project. Using such a matrix helps to ensure that each requirement— a. Adds quality and supports the organization's quality policy b. Adds business value as it links to business and project objectives c. Sets forth the level of service, performance, safety, security, and compliance d. Shows the impact to other organizational areas and to entities outside of the performing organization

21. b. Adds business value as it links to business and project objectives The requirements traceability matrix is a grid that links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the life cycle. It is an output in Collect Requirements. This approach helps to ensure that each requirement adds value as it links to the business and project objectives. It also tracks requirements during the life cycle to help ensure that the requirements listed in the requirements document are delivered at the end of the project. It provides a structure to manage changes to product scope. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 148

22. You are working on a complex project in the medical device field. You have about 55 internal stakeholders and a very large number of external stakeholders with the regulatory and consumer interest groups along with the medical profession. You need to be aware of their risk tolerances as they are examples in the Direct and Manage Project Work process of— a. The need to review the stakeholder management plan early in the process b. Enterprise environmental factors c. Organizational process assets d. The importance of classifying stakeholders as to interest and influence

22. b. Enterprise environmental factors They are an input to the Direct and Manage Project Work process, and as an example, the stakeholder risk tolerances are allowable percent of cost overruns. Other examples of enterprise environmental factors are organizational, cultural, management practices and sustainability; and infrastructure such as existing facilities and capital equipment. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 93

23. Working in the Perform Integrated Change Control process, you want to study the impact of the change on the project's scope. Therefore, you need to consider the— a. Scope change control system b. Basis of estimates c. Requirements traceability matrix d. Performance management baseline

23. c. Requirements traceability matrix Three project documents to consider since they are inputs to Perform Integrated Change Control are the basis of estimates [another possible answer to this question], the risk report, and the requirements traceability matrix. It is useful because it helps assess the impact of the change on the project's scope. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 116

24. Your company has over the past two years changed its methodologies and now is using agile. You are working to Manage Quality on your project. Therefore, your focus is on— a. Using Pareto analysis b. Concentrating on small batch systems c. Analyzing cost-benefit periodically d. Determining quality metrics

24. b. Concentrating on small batch systems Agile methods involve frequent quality and review steps that are built into the project. They focus on small batch systems in order to uncover inconsistencies and quality issues as early in the project as possible when the overall life cycle costs are low. A number of retrospectives also are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the quality processes, so improvement can be made. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 276

25. You are working to validate the scope of your project to ensure it meets acceptance criteria. You also are working on Control Quality. Therefore, you want to— a. Ensure processes are performed completely in parallel b. Both processes only use inspection as a tool and technique c. Ensure Control Quality is concerned with meeting quality requirements for the deliverables d. Ensure Validate Scope typically precedes Control Quality

25. c. Control Quality is concerned with meeting the quality requirements for the deliverables Validate Scope focuses on accepting project deliverables. Control Quality is one way to ensure the correctness of the deliverables and meeting the quality specifications for the deliverables, which is why Control Quality typically is done before Validate Scope. Further, the verified deliverables obtained from Control Quality have been reviewed with the customer or sponsor to ensure they are completely satisfied and have received formal acceptance from the customer or sponsor. In the Validate Scope process, verified deliverables are a tool and technique used to ensure project deliverables are completed and checked for correctness through Control Quality. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 164-165

26. There are a number of activities for administrative closure of the project or a phase. The first one is— a. Transitioning the product or service to end users, the customer, or an operations group b. Measuring the completeness of the project's deliverables against the requirements c. Making sure all the activities necessary to satisfy exit criteria for a phase or the entire project are followed d. Holding a lessons-learned session with interested stakeholders

26. c. Making sure all the activities necessary to satisfy exit criteria for a phase or the entire project are followed Administrative activities are necessary to close the project or a phase. The answer is the first activity to do to satisfy completion of the exit criteria for the phase or the project. The second administrative activity is to ensure contractual agreements are completed; followed by transferring the project's products, services, or results to the next phase or productions or operations; collecting suggestion for improving organizational policies and procedures; and last but not least measuring stakeholder satisfaction. [Closing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 123

27. You are in the process of performing managing quality on your project's product and find that some requirements are not as complete as they should be, which causes rework and adds costs to your overall project. One approach to decide your next steps is— a. Determining the cost of quality b. Using a checklist c. Finding solutions for these issues and other challenges d. Comparing the cost of rework to the life-cycle costs of the project

27. c. Finding solutions for these issues and other challenges Problem solving is a tool and technique in Manage Quality. It involves finding solutions for issues or challenges. It includes gathering additional information, using critical thinking, being creative, and using quantitative and logical approaches. Often, problems can arise from Control Quality or through audits. They may be associated with a process or a deliverable. Problem solving with a structured approach tends to result in a long-lasting solution. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 295

28. Assume you are working on a complex project, with team members located in four countries. Your company is striving to be the first to market with a new medical device that if a patient requires a stent, he or she will never require another one. Your project is in the top three in the company's portfolio, and executives are reviewing it closely. You have a number of unknown unknowns on this project, which means— a. You are conducting assumptions analysis using a subject matter expert. b. You are holding bi-weekly reviews to identify emergent risks. c. You are analyzing variability risks. d. You have added an expert in risk management to your team.

28. b. You are holding bi-weekly reviews to identify emergent risks. Project resilience is an emerging trend in risk management with the increase in unknown unknowns. These risks are recognized after they occur, which means the best way to handle them is through project resilience. One way to do so especially in the Monitor Risks process is to have frequent reviews of early warning signs such that any emergent risks can be identified and then managed as soon as possible. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 399

29. Assume your organization has changed its project management methodology so it is focused on an agile/adaptive environment. This change took time to implement since people tend to resist change, but now some are recognizing its value. You decided that since you had your PMP to become certified as well in agile. Now you are using an agile approach on your project. In this approach, you— a. Need to spend less time defining requirements early on your project b. Use affinity diagrams to capture a variety of requirements and then categorize them in the later stages c. Use business analyst in which this person has complete requirements responsibility d. Apply approaches such as ensuring requirements are stable from the start

29. a. Need to spend less time defining requirements early on your project In an agile environment, especially if the requirements are evolving, the scope may not be understood at the beginning of the project. Using agile methods then less time is spent trying to define and agree on scope early in the project. More time instead is spent in establishing the process for ongoing discovery and refinement. This approach tends to mean there is a gap between the real business requirements and the business requirements that were stated when the project was approved. With agile, it focuses on building and reviewing prototypes and release versions to refine requirements. Scope then is defined and redefined throughout the project, and requirements constitute the backlog. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 133

3. On your project to construct a new runway for your City's airport, you are in the process of selecting sellers for various parts of this project. You have conducted your make-or-buy analysis and have issued Requests for Proposals. Before accepting a proposal, you decide to— a. Review invoicing and payment information b. Set up a multi-disciplinary review team c. Use analytical techniques d. Establish a system to control claims

3. a. Review invoicing and payment information Invoicing and payment information as well as financial policies and procedures are one of the organizational process assets to review as an input to Conduct Procurements. The selected seller(s) will want to know how to submit invoices and also know when they will be paid, often dictated by the terms and conditions in the type of agreement. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 486

30. You are executing your organizational transformation project to move toward a managing-by-project culture. To do so effectively, you want to connect people to people, so they can work together and create new knowledge as this project continues. Your goal is to share tacit knowledge and also integrate the knowledge of your diverse team. It is an innovative and complex project. To help you in this area, you decide to use— a. Lessons learned register b. Work shadowing c. Employee development and training records d. Organizational learning

30. b. Work shadowing There are a number of tools and techniques in Manage Project Knowledge. Some key words in this question are diversity, innovation, and complexity. Therefore, since the project represents a new way of working, work shadowing is an excellent tool and technique to use. In it you or a member of your team can observe how a key stakeholder does his or her work under the current policies and procedures to learn what they will need to do to change to the new methods and the person's level of resistance involved. The other answers are from inputs to this process or other tools and techniques in it. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 103

31. An approach to provide insight into the health of the project and to identify any areas that require special attention is to— a. Conduct periodic status reviews b. Prepare regular status and progress reports c. Prepare forecasts of the project's future d. Continuously monitor the project

31. d. Continuously monitor the project The Monitor and Control Project Work process is performed throughout the project. Monitoring includes collecting, measuring, and disseminating performance information and assessing measurements and trends to effect process improvement. Continuous monitoring is important because it provides insight into the project's health, highlighting areas that may require special attention. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 107

32. Although your company's project life cycle does not mandate when a project review should be conducted, you believe it is important to review performance at the conclusion of each phase. The objective of such a review is to— a. Determine how many resources are required to complete the project according to the project baseline b. Adjust the schedule and cost baselines based on past performance c. Obtain customer acceptance of project deliverables d. Determine whether the project should continue to the next phase

32. d. Determine whether the project should continue to the next phase The review at the end of a project phase is called a phase gate. It also may be called a stage gate, phase review, kill point, or phase entrance or phase exit. In this review, the project's performance and progress are compared to the project and business documents such as the business case, project charter, project management plan, and the benefits management plan. The purpose of this review is to determine whether the project should continue to the next phase, continue with modification, end the project, stay in the phase, or repeat the entire phase or parts of it. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 21

33. In the performing project stage of team development, it now is time for the project manager to— a. Evaluate performance b. Empower the team c. Celebrate success d. Improve trust

33. b. Empower the team In the performing stage of team development according to the Tuckman model, the team functions as a well-organized group. They work interdependently and work through issues smoothly and effectively. The project manager then can empower the team to participate in decision making and take ownership of the decisions to improve team productively and achieve more effective and efficient results. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 338

34. Assume that your actual costs are $1,000; your planned value is $1,200; and your earned value is $1,500. Based on these data, what can be determined regarding your schedule variance? a. At −$300, the physical progress is being accomplished at a slower rate than is planned, indicating an unfavorable situation. b. At +$300, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished ahead of your plan. c. At +$500, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished at a lower cost than was forecasted. d. At −$300, you have a behind-schedule condition, and your critical path has slipped.

34. b. At +$300, the situation is favorable, as physical progress is being accomplished ahead of your plan. Schedule variance is calculated as EV - PV, or $1,500 - $1,200 = +$300. Because the SV is positive, physical progress is being accomplished at a faster rate than planned. It is a useful metric as it can indicate when a project is failing behind or is ahead of its baseline schedule and should be used along with critical path analysis. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 226

35. You are concerned because when you did your stakeholder engagement assessment matrix, one of the stakeholders you classified as leading seems to now lack interest in your project. This stakeholder, your Chief Financial Officer, is someone you consider critical to success. You have been monitoring stakeholder engagement throughout the project. You realize you need to meet with this stakeholder personally and have a meeting scheduled. You want to see if the Chief Financial Officer feels you need to modify your stakeholder engagement strategies and plan. During this meeting you plan to— a. Focus on whether he feels too much or not enough information is provided b. Ask open-ended questions and use active listening c. Inform him of the project's cost status to ensure he still will provide the funds needed in your cost management plan d. Make a presentation about the entire project

35. b. Ask open-ended questions and use active listening The Monitor Stakeholder Engagement process is ongoing throughout the project. This situation shows a leading stakeholder, the Chief Financial Officer, has lost interest. The process suggests a number of interpersonal and team skills to use, one of which is active listening. At the meeting with this key stakeholder, the project manager should formulate some open-ended questions to ask. Then, he or she uses active listening to reduce any misunderstandings and any miscommunication. Since the goal is to continue to ensure this stakeholder is in the leading category, as a next step the project manager should request another meeting and explain strategies to modify the stakeholder engagement strategy to accommodate the Chief Financial Officer's concerns. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 534

36. The CPI on your project is 0.44, which means that you should— a. Place emphasis on improving the timeliness of the physical progress b. Reassess the life-cycle costs of your product, including the length of the life-cycle phase c. Place emphasis on improving the productivity by which work was being performed d. Recognize that your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation

36. d. Recognize that your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation CPI = EV/AC. It is considered the most critical earned value management metric since it measures the cost efficiency for the completed work. The CPI is useful for determining project status and provides a basis to estimate project cost and schedule outcomes. A CPI of 0.44 means that for every dollar spent, you are only receiving 44 cents of progress. Therefore, something is not correct with how you planned your project, or your original estimates were fundamentally flawed, and your project is in an atypical situation. You might want to reconsider a formal "replan" and/or take a new baseline of your project. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 263

37. Assume your organization is adopting the use of agile, but before it is used on all projects, you are testing its use on your project. Even though agile has different methods, you must prepare a cost estimate. The best approach to use is— a. Agile release planning b. An analogous estimate c. A high-level cost forecast d. Guidelines from the project's governance committee

37. c. A high-level cost forecast Projects with a high degree of uncertainty or if the scope is not fully defined may not benefit from detailed cost calculations because there are frequent changes. In an agile environment, lightweight estimates can be used to generate a high-level cost of project labor costs, which can be adjusted when changes are made. A detailed estimate is then used for a short-term planning horizon. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 235

38. Which of the following tools and techniques is used in the Close Project or Phase process? a. Project management methodology b. Work performance information c. Expert judgment d. Project management information system

38. c. Expert judgment Expert judgment is used as a tool and technique in Close Project or Phase to consider individuals or groups with specialized knowledge or training in management control, audit, legal and procurement, and legislation and regulation. [Closing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 126

39. Assume you have prepared your cost estimate to update the technology for your liquefied natural gas pipeline, which was constructed ten years ago. Now, you are working to develop you budget. But you have some funding limits to consider as you do so, which means you— a. Follow your financial framework b. Have imposed date constraints c. Acquire additional funds from outside sources d. Use retained earnings to cover short-term gaps

39. b. Have imposed date constraints In the Develop Budget process, funding limit reconciliation is a tool and technique. In it the expenditure of funds is reconciled with the commitment of funds for the project. If there is a variance between the funding limits and the planned expenditures, it may mean the rescheduling of some work to level out the expenditures. It is accomplished by placing imposed date constraints on work in the project's schedule. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 253

4. Requirements always are a concern to ensure stakeholder needs are met. Your organizational leaders even have noted the importance of capturing the right requirements to help ensure project success. They have set up a business analysis group, and everyone in it is certificated in business analysis. Since your project is one that has captured your senior manager's attention, the importance of collecting the right requirements and avoiding scope creep is emphasized by your sponsor and other key stakeholders. A business analyst is working with you and your team in collaborative way. As you wok to collect requirements you first focus on— a. Involving as many key stakeholders as possible through interviews and questionnaires b. Recognizing the appropriate level of service requirements c. Determining problems and identifying business needs d. Performing the requirements activities quickly

4. c. Determining problems and identifying business needs A greater focus on requirements is an emerging trend in project management. Increasingly in the global world in which project work is done, more organizations are using business analysts to help define, manage, and control requirements activities. A business analyst is assigned to this team in this question. For success, the business analyst and the project manager need to work collaboratively and understand each other's role. Through this collaboration, the first step is to determine the problems and understand the business needs. It is followed by identifying and recommending solutions. Then, the requirements are elicited, documented, and managed, and finally the goal is to implement them successfully. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 132

40. Your company, noted for its use of innovative technology in its work, is also noted for exceeding its budget. On your project, you have been asked by the executive team to keep costs under control. You are focusing your attention on— a. Informing your stakeholders of approved change requests and their costs b. Using earned value and following the 50/50 rule c. Focusing on work performance information as you begin your work to control your project costs d. Involving stakeholders to ensure change requests are decided as quickly as possible

40. a. Informing your stakeholders of approved change requests and their costs A number of activities are involved in the Control Costs process. The key to its effectiveness is in managing the approved cost baseline and any changes to it. Since change is inevitable on projects, it is a best practice each time there is an approved change to notify stakeholders of the costs to implement it, which tracks to this question as management is interested in a focus on controlling costs. Often stakeholders wish to see a cost forecast using the EAC. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 209

41. While managing a large project in your organization, you realize that your project team requires training in contract administration because you will be awarding several major contracts. After you analyze your project requirements and assess the expertise of your team members, you decide that your team will need a one-week class in contract administration. This training should— a. Commence following guidelines in the resource management plan b. Commence as scheduled and stated as part of the procurement management plan c. Be scheduled if necessary after performance assessments are prepared and after each team member has had an opportunity to serve in the contract administrator role d. Commence as scheduled and stated in the team development plan

41. a. Commence following guidelines in the resource management plan Training is a tool and technique for the Develop Project Team process. The resource management plan has a section on training in terms of training for team members. Training includes activities designed to enhance team member competencies, as in this example in contract administration. A variety of types of training methods can be used. Scheduled training takes place according to the resource management plan. Unplanned training also can be used. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 342

42. Assume that on your project, you are using earned value management. You also are conducting performance reviews. You recognize, though, that an important aspect of cost control is determining the cause and variance compared to the cost baseline. You have found that— a. The most frequently analyzed measurements are CPI and SPI b. The milestone method is the most accurate way to assess performance using earned value c. Graphical techniques will enhance how the information is received d. The range of acceptable variances will tend to decrease over time

42. d. The range of acceptable variances will tend to decrease over time Variance analysis, along with trend analysis, is examples of performance reviews, a tool and technique in Control Costs. The most frequently analyzed measurements are cost and schedule variances. Cost performance measurements are used to assess the magnitude of variation to the original cost baseline. It is necessary to determine the cause and degree of variance relative to the baseline, but over time, the percentage range of acceptable variation will decrease as stakeholders see more work is being accomplished. They also will be less likely to terminate the project recognizing its sunk costs and the work completed to date. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 262

43. Your project sponsor has asked you, "What do we now expect the total job to cost?" Given that you are using earned value, you should calculate the— a. To-complete performance index b. Estimate to complete c. Estimate at completion d. Budget at completion

43. c. Estimate at completion EAC is the expected total cost to complete all work expressed as the sum of the actual costs to date and the estimate to complete [ETC] or the expected cost to finish all remaining work. It can be calculated several different ways. To use it effectively the project team must predict what it will take for the ETC based on experience to date. It may differ from the budget at completion. It is a data analysis tool and technique in this process. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 264-265

44. One key reason that the Develop Project Charter process is so important is that it— a. Documents the boundaries of the project b. States the methods for acceptance of the project's deliverables c. Describes the project's characteristics d. Links the project to the organization's strategic objectives

44. d. Links the project to the organization's strategic objectives The project charter not only authorizes a project, it shows how the project is linked to the strategic objectives of the organization, creates an ongoing record of the project, and shows the organization is committed to the project. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 75

45. Your company has been awarded a contract for project management consulting services for a major government agency. You were a member of the proposal writing team, are PMP® certified, and you are the project manager. You are now working to prepare your project management plan, which is to be submitted in one week. You decided to use some interpersonal and team skills to help develop your plan. While a number are possible, you selected— a. Conflict management b. Active listening c. Networking d. Political awareness

45. a. Conflict management Interpersonal and team skills are a tool and technique in the Develop Project Management Plan process. Other examples are facilitation and meeting management. In conflict management the objective is to bring diverse stakeholders into alignment on all parts of the project management plan. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 86

46. Assume you had a phase gate meeting with your Governance Board for your project to develop the next generation radar system as part of the nation's airspace modernization program. At this meeting, the Board approved your project management plan. However, as you begin to execute your plan, an organizational process asset to consider is— a. Sustainability b. Cost and budget management c. Legislation and regulations d. Performance management data base

46. d. Performance measurement data base The performance measurement data base is an organizational process asset that is used to collect and make available measurement data on processes and products. The other answers are examples of enterprise environmental factors or expert judgment, other inputs to Direct and Manage Project Work. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 94

47. Consider the data in the table below. Assume that your project consists only of these three activities. Your estimate at completion is $4,400.00. This means you are calculating your EAC by using which of the following formulas?a. EAC = AC/EV × BAC b. EAC = AC/EV × [work completed and in progress] + [actual (or revised) cost of work packages that have not started] c. EAC = AC + Bottom-up ETC d. EAC = % complete × BAC

47. c. EAC = AC + Bottom-up ETC This formula assumes that all of the remaining work is independent of the burn rate incurred thus far. AC is $2,900 + [$500 + $1,000]. The $500 is from Activity B, and the $1,000 is from Activity C. This bottom-up approach builds on the actual costs and experience incurred for the work completed and requires a new estimate to complete the remaining work. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 264-265

48. Assume you are preparing your stakeholder engagement plan. As you do so, you want to make sure in the decisions you make that you— a. Hold meetings with your stakeholders b. Organize as much information as you can find about each stakeholder c. Use prioritization/ranking d. Use voting based on multi-criteria analysis

48. c. Use prioritization/ranking Decision making is a tool and technique in Plan Stakeholder Engagement. Prioritization/ranking is used as an approach to ensure stakeholder requirements are prioritized and ranked. The purpose is to make sure the stakeholders with the most interest and highest influence are prioritized at the top of the list. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 521

49. The lessons learned documentation is an output from the— a. Identify Stakeholders process b. Develop Project Management Plan process c. Manage Communications process d. Plan Communications Management process

49. c. Manage Communications process Lessons learned documentation is an output of the Manage Communications process as the lessons-learned register. It includes information on communications challenges encountered and how they could have been avoided and approaches that worked well and areas that need improvement in managing communications. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 387

5. The project life cycle, management reviews, and the development approach in the Develop Project Management Plan process are— a. Enterprise environmental factors b. Organizational process assets c. Part of the project management plan d. Part of the organization's management practices

5. c. Part of the project management plan Most of the components in the project management plan are produced in other processes than in Project Integration Management. These three are ones that are prepared during this part of Project Integration Management. The project life cycle describes the phases in the project from initiating to closing; the development approach describes whether it is one that is predictive, iterative, agile, or a hybrid; and the management reviews are the times in the project in which the project manager and other stakeholders will review progress to see if performance is as expected or if preventive or corrective action is needed. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 88

50. Your experience has taught you that inappropriate responses to cost variances can produce quality or schedule problems or unacceptable project risk. When leading a team meeting to discuss the importance of cost control, you note that cost control is concerned with— a. Influencing the factors that create change to the authorized cost baseline b. Developing an approximation of the costs of the resources needed to complete the project c. Allocating the overall cost estimate to individual work items d. Establishing a cost performance baseline

50. a. Influencing the factors that create change to the authorized cost baseline The Control Costs process is concerned with ensuring that requested changes have been acted upon, managing actual changes if and when they occur, ensuring cost expenditures do not exceed authorized funding, monitoring cost and work performance, preventing unapproved changes from being included in the reported cost or resource use, informing stakeholders of all approved changes and their costs, and bringing expected cost overruns within acceptable limits. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 259

51. You are pleased to be the project manager for a new video conferencing system for your global organization. You want it to be one that is easy to use and is state of the art. As the project manager, you also are the project leader. You want to create an environment to facilitate team work and motivate the team with challenges and opportunities. As you do so, you want to concentrate on— a. Agreement and trust b. Political and cultural awareness c. Negotiation and influencing d. Decision making

51. a. Agreement and trust In the Acquire Team process, the project manager is identifying, motivating, maintaining, leading and inspiring the team to meet project objectives. Teamwork is a critical factor in project success. High team performance is characterized by agreement and trust among team members. The project manager can promote working relationships in a climate of mutual trust. Feelings of trust and agreement among the team members raises morale, lowers conflict, and increases teamwork. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 337-338

52. You are developing the next generation of your financial management system. In preparing your project management plan, you decided that you would use an agile approach rather than the typical waterfall approach your organization has used in the past. Agile is— a. Easier to control as the team is co-located b. An enterprise environmental factor c. An organizational process asset d. Useful in obtaining the views of those on the project team

52. b. An enterprise environmental factor Enterprise environmental factors can influence how the project management plan is developed. While there are several to consider, one is the project management body of knowledge for the vertical market such as construction or a focus area - in this case agile software development. Other examples in this category are environmental, safety, or risk as a focus area. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 84

53. Your company is in the project management training business. In addition, the company publishes several exam study aids for the PMP® and CAPM® exam. You have your PMP®, and you have been appointed as the project manager to make sure your company's training materials are updated to be aligned with the new PMBOK® Guide. You must complete your project in six months. Your schedule is complete, and you are working now to monitor and control it. Your company is testing agile on your project to consider whether all of its projects should use it. You need to be concerned about— a. Revising your schedule baseline b. Reprioritizing the remaining work plan c. Adjusting leads and lags d. Using modeling techniques

53. b. Reprioritizing the remaining work plan There are a number of areas in Control Schedule if agile is used. While one is the answer to this question, others are: comparing the project's current status by comparing the total amount of work delivered and accepted against the estimated amounts of work for the time cycle; conducting retrospectives or lessons learned to correct processes and possibly make improvements; determining the rate deliverables are produced, validated, and accepted in a given time per iteration; determining if the project schedule has changed; and managing actual changes as they occur. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 224

54. You are trying to determine whether or not to conduct 100% final system tests of 500 ground-based radar units at the factory. The historical radar field failure rate is 4%; the cost to test each unit in the factory is $10,000; the cost to reassemble each passed unit after the factory test is $2,000; the cost to repair and reassemble each failed unit after factory test is $23,000; and the cost to repair and reinstall each failed unit in the field is $350,000. Using decision tree analysis, what is the expected value if you decide to conduct these tests? a. $5.5 million b. $5.96 million c. $6.42 million d. $7 million

54. c. $6.42 million Test: $5M + $960K + $460K = $6.42M; Don't Test: $7M. Decision tree analysis is a tool and technique as part of Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis to elect the best of several alternative courses of action. It is evaluated by calculating the expected monetary value. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 435

55. Motivation is dynamic and complex. The overall success of the project depends on the team's commitment to it, which is directly related to motivation. On your project, you want to create an environment to meet project objectives, but you want to motivate your team to— a. Recognize why decisions are made b. Encourage independent work c. Provide a high quality of information exchange d. Promote job satisfaction

55. b. Encourage independent work In the Develop Team process, motivation is one of the interpersonal and team skills to use. Although people are motivated differently, the objective of motivation in this process is to provide a reason for someone to act. Teams are motivated if they can be empowered to participate in decision making and if they are encouraged to work independently. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 341

56. Each time you meet with your project sponsor, she emphasizes the need for cost control. To address her concerns, you should provide— a. Work performance information b. Cost baseline updates c. Resource productivity analyses d. Trend analysis statistics

56. a. Work performance information The project's work performance information includes information as to how the project work is performing compared to the cost baseline. Variances in the work performed and the cost of the work are evaluated at the work package and the control account levels. It documents and communicates the CV, CPI, EAC, TCPI, and VAC in work performance reports. It is an output of Control Costs. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 268

57. One output of the Control Costs process is cost forecasts, which is when— a. Modifications are made to the cost information used to manage the project and are communicated to stakeholders b. Trend analyses are performed and communicated to stakeholders c. A budget update is required and communicated to all stakeholders d. A calculated EAC value or a bottom-up EAC value is documented and communicated to stakeholders

57. d. A calculated EAC value or a bottom-up EAC value is documented and communicated to stakeholders Cost forecasts are another output of Control Costs, and the EAC is used to show the expected total costs of completing all work expressed as the sum of the actual cost to date and the estimate to complete. The EAC is a calculated value or a bottom-up EAC is used. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 269 PMI® PMP Examination Content Outline, 2015, Monitoring and Controlling, 9, Task 1

58. You work for an electrical utility company and will be managing a project to build a new substation that will serve a new industrial park. This project was authorized because of a business need, and you have a defined business case for it. Not to be overlooked in the early stage of this project is the— a. Benefits management plan b. Options to address the business problem c. Identification of critical success factors d. Decision criteria for various courses of action

58. a. Benefit management plan The other answers are covered in the business case and its development. The benefit management plan is critical as it describes how and when the project's benefits will be delivered and ways to measure them. Benefits are outcomes of actions, behaviors, products, services, or results, which provide value to the organization and the project's intended beneficiaries. Developing this plan is done early in the project's life cycle to define the target benefits to be realized. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 69

59. You are about to close your project. In doing so you are using trend analysis, which is— a. A form of data analysis b. A way to show corrective actions taken on the project c. A method of assessing the usefulness of causal analysis d. An approach that also involves expert judgment

59. a. A form of data analysis Data analysis techniques are tools and techniques used in Close Project or Phase. Trend analysis is an example of one approach as it can be used to validate the models used in the organization to improve performance on future projects. [Closing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 126

6. You are managing a project that has five subcontractors. You must monitor contract performance, make payments, and manage provider interfaces. One subcontractor submitted a change request to expand the scope of its work. You decided to award a contract modification based on a review of this request. All these activities are part of— a. Control Procurements b. Conduct Procurements c. Form Contract d. Configuration Management

6. a. Control Procurements The purpose of Control Procurements is to ensure that the contractual requirements are met by the seller. This objective is accomplished by managing procurement relationships, monitoring contract performance, making changes and corrections to contracts if appropriate, and closing contracts. In this process, change requests are an output and are processed for review and disposition through the Perform Integrated Change Control process. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 499

60. In order to manage risk appropriately on your project, you want to know the thresholds of your key stakeholders for risk, which is— a. Stated in the risk register b. The risk appetite c. Explained in the risk report d. Used to prepare the RBS

60. b. The risk appetite The risk appetite is an output from Plan Risk Management. It is also recorded in the risk management plan. It is significant as it states the stakeholders' measurable risk thresholds around each project objective. These individual thresholds then determine the acceptable level of overall risk thresholds around a project objective. They also are used in defining the probability and impact definitions used to evaluate and prioritize individual project risks. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 407

61. You are following a collaborative approach as you lead you team and are conducting a team assessment in addition to individual assessments. The performance of a successful team is measured in terms of— a. Project commitment b. Achieving project objectives c. Enhanced ability to work as a team d. Effective decision making

61. b. Achieving project objectives Team assessments are an output of Develop Team. After some development efforts, such as training, and team building are implemented, the project manager conducts informal or formal team assessments of the team's effectiveness. Expected team development activities are supposed to increase the team's performance, which then leads to the likelihood of meeting the project's objectives. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 343

62. Your project is considered very risky. You plan to perform numerous what-if scenarios on your schedule using simulation software that will define each schedule activity and calculate a range of possible durations for each activity. The simulation then will use the collected data from each activity to calculate a distribution curve (or range) for the possible outcomes of the total project. Your planned approach is an example of which of the following techniques? a. PERT b. Monte Carlo analysis c. Linear programming d. Concurrent engineering

62. b. Monte Carlo analysis Simulation is a tool and technique for the Develop Schedule process as it models the combined effects of individual project risks and any other sources of uncertainty to help evaluate the probability of achieving the project's objectives. Monte Carlo analysis is the most commonly used simulation technique. When it is used, risks and other sources of uncertainty are used to calculate possible schedule outcomes for the project. It calculates multiple work package durations with different sets of activity assumptions, constraints, issues, or scenarios using probability durations to determine the probability of achieving a certain project finish date. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 213-214

63. In Monitor Communications, you want to ensure the communications needs of stakeholders are met. It then is useful to— a. Review the communications strategy b. Negotiate with stakeholders c. Conduct ad hoc meetings d. Establish a knowledge management repository

63. d. Establish a knowledge management repository Even if the origination has a defined project management methodology to follow, each project is unique. A tailoring consideration is knowledge management. It is useful in the Monitor Communications process to set up a knowledge repository. Setting it up is the easy part. For it to be used, it needs up-to-date content that is easy to locate. Also, in Monitor Communications, the project management information system is a tool and technique. The knowledge repository can be part of it since it consists of standard tools for the project manager to capture, store, and distribute information to stakeholders following guidelines in the communications management plan. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 365, 382

64. You and your team are preparing your program management plan. While much of your plan reflects plans developed in other processes, one plan that often is overlooked is the— a. Benefit realization plan b. Knowledge management plan c. Staffing management plan d. Configuration management plan

64. d. Configuration management plan This plan is one that is prepared during the Develop Project Management Plan process and is an additional component to the plan. It is used to describe how information about the project items, and which items, will be recorded and updated. The purpose is to ensure the product, service, or result of the project is consistent and/or operative. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 88

65. Lessons learned are important throughout project management. In fact, your lessons-learned register is updated as an output of the manage stakeholders engagement process, so it contains— a. Root causes of issues b. Effective conflict management approaches c. Effective and ineffective approaches d. Approved changes

65. c. Effective and ineffective approaches In the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process, a lessons-learned register is an output. This register is updated with both effective and ineffective approaches used in managing stakeholder engagements. It purpose also is to use it on this project and future projects. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 539

66. Each project is unique. Assume you are managing a project and are in the process of developing your schedule for it. However, your Enterprise Project Management Office has mandated a detailed methodology that must be followed on all projects. You have asked for a waiver as you are managing a project in which you need specific subject matter experts available at specific times. In the Estimate Activity Duration process, you need to consider— a. Adding more lags b. Doubling the number of needed resources c. Use of resource leveling d. Use of resource smoothing

66. b. Doubling the number of needed resources The Estimate Activity Duration process provides an estimate of the amount of work to complete an activity and the resources estimated to do so. In this question, you know you need key SMEs to be available at certain times, and resources tend to be scarce when specialization is concerned. In estimating durations, the number of resources needed must be considered. While increasing the number of resources to twice the original number can be done, it may not always reduce the time by half; it may even require extra time because of risk. Additionally, at some point too many resources may even increase duration because of knowledge transfer, the learning curve, additional coordination, and possibly other factors. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 197

67. As stakeholders engage with the project, your goal is to monitor stakeholder relationships and tailor strategies by modifying engagement strategies and plans. As the project manager, this means you should— a. Revise the stakeholder matrix b. Review the roles of the stakeholders c. Update the project management plan d. Update the stakeholder engagement plan

67. c. Update the project management plan If there are changes to the stakeholder engagement strategy and plans, as an output of the Monitor Stakeholder Engagement process, affected sections of the project management plan are updated because of these changes. Examples are the resource management, communications management, and stakeholder engagement plans. In the resource management plan, team responsibilities for stakeholder engagement may need updates. In the communications management plan, the communications strategy may need updates and in the stakeholder engagement plan, information about the stakeholder community may need updates as different stakeholders are interested in different phases of the project. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 535

68. Once you were appointed project manager and worked to prepare your charter and project management plan, you realized monitoring and controlling transcended the project. You realized change is common on projects, and you wanted to exploit and embrace it. This meant you— a. Required configuration management b. Updated the cost baseline c. Updated the project management plan d. Could use a project management information system (PMIS)

68. c. Updated the project management plan In the Monitor and Control Project Work process, updates to the project management plan are one of its outputs. Changes identified in this process may affect the overall project plan. If updates to this plan are needed, they are processed with a change request [another output] through the organization's change control process. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 97

69. Assume you are new to your company and you are working as a project manager to make your IT department more customer centric. You worked with you team and identified the key stakeholders. Now, you are preparing your stakeholder engagement plan. You realize additional information about the environment in which the company works would be helpful, so you decide to— a. Review the organizational process assets b. Consult the communications management plan c. Ask some experts d. Use your supportive stakeholders from the stakeholder engagement matrix

69. c. Ask some experts The key words in the question are new to the company. Expert judgment then is a useful tool and technique in Plan Stakeholder Engagement. While the experts can provide advice on a variety of topics, they are especially helpful in the power and politics structures inside and outside the organization and in the environmental and cultural inside and outside of the organization. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 131

7. Your project management plan has been approved, and since your company follows a stage-gate approach, you are now in the executing phase. You have collected a lot of data, and these data are viewed as— a. Ones set forth in the PMIS b. The lowest level of detail to derive information c. Ones recommended through a survey of your stakeholders to assess their key communications requirements d. A major part of the project management plan

7. b. The lowest level of detail to derive information Work performance data are an output of the Direct and Manage Project Work process. They are the raw observations and measurements identified during activities being performed to do the project work. Therefore, they are often viewed as the lowest level of detail from which to derive information by other processes. The data are gathered and then passed to the controlling processes of each process area for further analysis. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 95

70. Assume your project is to last three years. You know you will have a lot of stakeholders who are interested in just one phase of your project, and also during this time, you expect some team members will move to advance their careers, and new team members will join the project. As you prepare your project management plan— a. Once it is complete, you next will baseline it b. It needs to be robust c. You need to ensure it has a stakeholder threshold d. It needs to be comprehensive since it is prepared one time

70. b. It needs to be robust The project management plan is the document used to define the project work. It therefore needs to be robust enough to respond to changes in the project environment, which probably will occur in this situation since the project is to last three years. This agility may result in more information as the project progresses, and the project management plan is not baselined immediately as updates to this plan may be required many times. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 83

71. Activity attributes are used to extend the description of the activity and to identify its multiple components. In the early stages of the project, an example of an activity attribute is— a. Activity classification b. Activity description c. Predecessor and successor activities d. Activity name

71. d. Activity name Activity attributes are an output of the Define Activity process. The components for each activity evolve over time. In the initial stages of the project, they include the activity ID, WBS ID, and the activity name. Later, when completed, they may include activity codes, description, predecessor and successor activities, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, imposed dates, constraints, and assumptions. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 186

72. You are working on a new project in your city to construct an environmentally friendly landfill. The existing site is so undesirable that many residents have moved to other neighboring cities because of their proximity to it. However, even though the project has the support of the public, you need to have a number of hearings with the city's government before you are authorized to begin work. As you are in the planning phase of the project, you are waiting for these hearings to be scheduled and held before you can begin site preparation. These hearings are an example of— a. A milestone b. An external dependency c. An item to be scheduled as a fragnet d. A mandatory dependency

72. b. An external dependency Some dependencies are external ones, and they involve a relationship between project activities and non-project activities. In sequencing activities, the project management team must determine which dependencies are external as they are usually outside of the team's control. Other examples of dependencies, a tool and technique in Sequence Activities, are mandatory, discretionary, and internal. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 191-192

73. You are working on a project and want to know how many activities in the previous month were completed with significant variances. You should use a(n)— a. Control chart b. Inspection c. Scatter diagram d. Trend analysis

73. d. Trend analysis Trend analysis is used in many control processes in project management. As a tool and technique in the data analysis category in Control Schedule, trend analysis examines the performance of the project over time to determine whether performance is improving or deteriorating. Graphical analysis techniques are valuable in trend analysis to understand performance to date and to compare it to future performance goals in the form of completion dates. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 227

74. During your project, designed to last three years, to produce flying automobiles in certain parts of your country to avoid extreme traffic congestion, you know team members will not be on your project the entire time. Therefore, your goal with your team members and your contractors is to focus on managing project knowledge. You want to avoid a misperception, which is— a. Using tangible deliverables b. Creating an atmosphere of trust c. Focusing on codified explicit knowledge d. Realizing it is essential to have a co-located team

74. c. Focusing on codified explicit knowledge In the Manage Project Knowledge process, it is a common misperception that the key to managing project knowledge is to only document it, so it can be shared. Another misperception is managing project knowledge consists solely of only codified, explicit knowledge can be shared in this way; however, codified explicit knowledge lacks context and then can easily lead to different interpretations as to its meaning and usefulness. While it can be shared, it may not be understood or applied as desired. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, has context built into it, but it is difficult to codify. This means it resides in the heads of the people involved and is then shared through conversations and interactions between them. Surveys, if well-constructed by the knowledge management specialist and the people involved, and one-on-one discussions between the knowledge management specialist and the people involved are other methods to use. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 100

75. Two of your team members, who are subject matter expert in Cloud computing, are having a technical conflict. While you lack their detailed level of expertise in this area, you do know enough about it to discuss their concerns and hopefully resolve the conflict they are having. Your goal is to harmonize relationships meaning you are using which conflict resolution approach? a. Avoiding b. Accommodating c. Compromising d. Collaborating

75. b. Accommodating Accommodating or smoothing is the preferred conflict resolution approach in this situation. In it, areas of agreement are emphasized rather than areas of difference. By doing so, one's position is conceded to that of the needs of the other person in this situation with the goal of maintaining harmony and relationships, the key words in this question. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 349

76. Assume after working for a year with a team of four people to assist you, your project to convert all of the organizational process assets in the company to ones that can be easily accessed electronically is complete. You are now closing your project. As you do so, you realize many project documents will be updated. Of particular importance is the— a. Assumption log b. Lessons learned register c. Issue log d. Risk register

76. b. Lessons learned register In closing the project, the first output is project document updates. They may be marked as final versions since the project is closed. The lessons learned register is the one of particular importance since it is then finalized and includes information on the project, as in this example, or phase closure. This final lesson learned register may include information on benefits management, accuracy of the business case, project and development life cycles, risk and issue management, and stakeholder engagement. [Closing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 127

77. You are working on a mega construction project located in the middle of a jungle. Much of the work is outsourced. Your company is known for being a leader in the field and also in project management. You are using the Building Information Model. This means you— a. Can award contracts quickly b. Are able to manage the Conduct Procurements process more effectively c. Can reduce construction claims d. Will not require warranties

77. c. Can reduce construction claims There are numerous advances in tools in procurement management. Online tools are more prevalent and helpful for the buyer and the seller. In the construction and infrastructure field, the building information model is a software tool that has proven to save significant amounts of time and money. It enables a substantial reduction in construction claims, which then reduces the schedule and budget set aside for claims. Many organizations and governments throughout the world are mandating its use. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 463

78. You are beginning a new project staffed with a virtual team located across five different countries. To help limit conflict and misunderstandings concerning the justification, objectives, and high-level requirements of the project among your team members and their functional managers, you ask the project sponsor to prepare a— a. Memo to team members informing them that they work for you now b. Project charter c. Memo to functional managers informing them that you have authority to direct their employees d. Human resource management plan

78. b. Project charter Although the project charter cannot stop conflicts from arising, it can provide a framework to help resolve them, because it describes the project manager's authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It is prepared by the project sponsor, as in this situation, and often in collaboration with the project manager as hopefully the project manager has been assigned and can participate. Regardless it is developed prior to the start of project planning. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 77, 81

79. You want to make sure that when you complete your project to merge two large government agencies in your country that everyone will be pleased with your overall result. While this project is a major undertaking, and many people fear they will lose their jobs in the process, your goal is to have a quality project once you and your team finish the work. Quality is everyone's responsibility. To best Control Quality, you need to— a. Detect and control any defects or issues before you finish the project b. Maintain engagement with all stakeholders during the project c. Start by preparing system or process flowcharts and then use them d. Ensure the culture of the two organizations is committed

79. a. Detect and control any defects or issues before you finish the project There are five levels of increasingly effective quality management. The answer is the second one as you want to detect and control defects before deliverables are given to the customer. This is done as part of Control Quality. The Control Quality process has related costs, which primarily are appraisal costs and internal failure costs. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 275

8. Assume you are managing a small project with a budget of $50,000 to redesign how training is conducted in your organization. Your team has three people who work on the project part time and are subject matter experts. Your project charter has been approved, and now you are working on your project management plan. You know a best practice is to have a kick-off meeting so you— a. Use it to involve your team in the planning process b. Use it when the plan is approved, and you move into the executing phase c. Use it to discuss team skills and roles and responsibilities d. Use it at the beginning of each phase in the project for team building

8. a. Use it to involve your team in the planning process Meetings are a tool and technique in the Develop Project Management Process when the project management plan is prepared. A kick-off meeting tends to be used when the plan is complete, and the executing process begins. However, in this situation, it is a small project. The kick-off meeting thus is recommended shortly after initiating is complete since there is usually only one team responsible for planning and executing. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 66

80. Many different factors can influence the project team. As the project manager and leader, one should be aware of a. Staffing management methods b. Options broadening c. Organizational change management d. Multiplying options by shuttling between the specific and the general

80. c. Organizational change management Organizational change management can influence team behavior. Change is not only limited to changes at the project level but also to changes at the organizational level. Rather than being concerned about solely managing changes to scope, time, cost, and quality, the project manager must embrace a broader approach and be aware of changes at the organizational level. These changes are strategic and may mean a change in the project's priority because of a new strategic objective that makes it less important; mergers or acquisitions such as the new company may have a similar project under way or recently completed; and the constant need to do more with less meaning the need to cut the budget or the number of resources, to list a few. The project manager needs to broaden his or her sphere of influence and work closely with members of the portfolio group or the strategic planning group to learn about any possible changes and then how to exploit and adapt them to benefit the project rather than taking a negative view. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 309

81. Recently, your company introduced a new processing system for its products. When you did so, you outsourced 75% of the work as you and your team focused on involving the internal stakeholders in the process and preparing them for the changes. To handle the outsourcing successfully, you need to— a. Use inspections b. Focus on short-term gains, so stakeholders can see value c. Create value for your team and for the suppliers d. Ensure supplier conform to requirements

81. c. Create value for your team and for the suppliers Quality is everyone's responsibility including suppliers. The work done by suppliers must be of the highest possible quality. Your goal to achieving success in this area is to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the suppliers ideally with long-term relationships. This mutually beneficial relationship then reduces your work to Control Quality and is an emerging practice in quality management. It enhances the ability for your organization and that of the suppliers' organizations to create value for each other, enhances joint responses to customer needs and expectations, and optimizes costs and resources. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 275

82. As the project manager, you are negotiating with functional managers and other project managers to staff your project with the required levels of expertise. To determine the most appropriate criteria to select your team, you decided to— a. Use expert judgment b. Establish a virtual team c. Set clear expectations d. Use multi-criteria decision analysis

82. d. Use multi-criteria decision analysis As a tool and technique in Acquire Resources, this approach enables criteria to be able to be developed and used to rate or score potential team members. The criteria are weighted given the team's requirements including items such as availability, cost, experience, ability, knowledge, skills, attitude, and international factors. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 332

83. On your manufacturing project, management realizes that immediate corrective action is required to the material requirements planning (MRP) system to minimize rework. You lack the needed resources and costs are now overrunning the budget. To implement the necessary changes, you should follow— a. The resource acquisition policy b. The resource management plan c. Agreements d. A defined integrated change control process

83. d. A defined integrated change control process During the Control Resources process, change requests are an output. If changes occur in this process or when recommended corrective or preventive actions impact components of the project management plan, the project manager issues a change request. It is processed as defined in the Perform Integrated Change Control process. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 306

84. You are the project manager on a project to improve traffic flow in the company's parking garage. Increasingly a lot of accidents have occurred as people are in a hurry, and often there has been road rage. Your plan is to achieve customer satisfaction with your new approach. You do not want problems after your work is complete and you decide to— a. Help anticipate how problems occur b. Use questionnaires and surveys c. Show the results of your process d. Forecast future outcomes

84. b. Use questionnaires and surveys In Control Quality, questionnaires and surveys are a data gathering technique. They are used to obtain data about customer satisfaction after the product or service is finished. Costs identified in these questionnaires and surveys may be considered external failure costs in the cost of quality, and if they occur, they then can have cost implications for the organization [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 303

85. You are working on an international project in which some of your 25 team members will be working in a country in which your company lacks previous experience. As you work to negotiate for people to work on your project, since you work in a matrix structure, you realize you need to— a. Provide special consideration to external policies b. Assess the culture of this new country c. Review personnel administration policies d. Focus on communications planning

85. a. Provide special consideration to external policies Interpersonal and team skills are a tool and technique in the Acquire Resources process. They are primarily focused on negotiation as the project manager must negotiate with functional managers for resources. In this situation, part of your team will be located in a new country to your company. Given that no one has worked there before, special consideration is given to external negotiating policies, practices, processes, guidelines, and legal criteria. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 332

86. Schedule control is one important way to avoid delays. While planning and executing schedule recovery, one tool available to you for Control Schedule is— a. Changing the schedule management plan b. Immediately rebaselining c. Adjusting leads and lags d. Holding performance reviews

86. d. Holding performance reviews Performance reviews are a data analysis tool and technique in Control Schedule. Their purpose is to measure, compare, and analyze schedule performance against the schedule baseline. They may review actual start and finish dates, percent complete, and remaining schedule duration for work that is under way. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 227

87. You have been the project manager for your nuclear submarine project for four years. While you did not assume this position until the project management plan had been prepared and approved, you find you spend a significant amount of time collecting data and communicating. You also spend time reviewing the impact of project changes and implementing ones that have been approved. Often you have had to modify a non-conforming product, which means you are spending time on— a. Corrective actions b. Updating the project's requirements c. Updating the traceability matrix d. Defect repair

87. d. Defect repair During the Direct and Manage Project Work process, work performance data are collected, actioned, and communicated. This process requires review of the impact of project changes and the implementation of proposed changes, one of which is defect repair. It is an intentional activity to modify a nonconforming product or project component. Work performance information is an output of this process; other examples are work completed, KPIs, technical performance resources, actual start and finish dates of schedule activities, story point compiled, deliverable status, schedule, process, number of change requests, actual costs incurred, and actual durations. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 95

88. You were assigned recently as the project manager of a program management office project to implement a new enterprise-wide scheduling system for use throughout your company. You identify the need for a project charter to provide you with appropriate authority for applying resources, completing the project work, and formally initiating the project. Who should issue the project charter? a. The project manager—you b. The customer c. Someone external to the project d. A member of the training and development department as they will own the training on the new system

88. c. Someone external to the project The charter is issued by an entity external to the project, such as a sponsor, a program manager, a PMO, or a portfolio management chair or an authorized representative. The initiator or sponsor should be at a level such that he or she can provide funding and commit to the project. [Initiating] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 77

89. Your customer has expressed an interest in becoming more involved on your project, and you believe it would be desirable, so the customer and his representatives get to know you and your team better and can establish a great working relationship. You have decided to— a. Include your customer as you gather requirements b. Provide your customer with copies of the plans for your project before the governance board approves them c. Invite your customer and his team to project meetings d. Use a social media approach with a common platform

89. c. Invite your customer and his team to project meetings An emerging trend in communications management is to include stakeholders in project meetings. In this approach, external stakeholders, such as the customer, are invited as well as other stakeholders inside the organization. It is also a practice common in agile processes in which during the daily stand-up meetings, any achievements and issues from the previous day are discussed, and the team discusses plans for the current day. Customer involvement may be useful in resolving issues that have occurred. [Executing] PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 364

9. While working as the project manager on a new project to improve overall ease of use in the development of a railroad switching station, you have decided to add a subject matter expert who specializes in ergonomics to your team. She has decided to observe the existing approach as you and your team work to define requirements for the new system. This method is also called— a. Mentoring b. Coaching c. Job shadowing d. User experimentation

9. c. Job shadowing Observation/conversation are an interpersonal and team skill tool and technique in the Collect Requirements process. They provide a way to view individuals in their environment and to see how they perform their jobs or tasks and carry out processes. It is helpful in situations in which people may have difficulty or are reluctant to state their requirements. Another term for this approach is job shadowing and usually is done by an observer viewing the person performing his or her job. It can also be done by a 'participant observer' who is performing a process or procedure to experience how it is done to uncover hidden requirements. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 145

90. You are managing a construction project located in a desert to build a new way to generate electrical power. It is in this remote location as stakeholders will not know about it and become negative toward it if it were near their homes. To ensure physical resources arrive as specified, the project manager must— a. Avoid a large expenditure of resources b. Follow the project schedule c. Specify in detail the problem and use problem solving to solve it d. Identify and deal with resource shortages

90. d. Identify and deal with resource shortages The Control Resources process is concerned with physical resources and is performed throughout the project. Updating resource allocation requires knowing the actual resources that have been used, and the resources that still are needed. The project manager reviews performance to date. He or she then identifies resource shortages in a timely way. Since much of the physical resources are acquired through contracts/agreements, including leasing, the project manager also tracks the resources that are no longer required to close the contract or end the lease. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 355

91. You are working to control resource use on your manufacturing project, which requires different types of physical resources. You want to allocate and use the necessary materials in a timely and effective way. Fortunately, your organization specializes in this area and has a knowledge repository available, which is easy to access and use. It includes— a. Process analysis b. Industry-specific resources c. Resource configurations d. Total productive maintenance

91. c. Resource configurations Controlling physical resources involves allocating and using material, equipment, and supplies needed for the project for its successful completion. Organizations that use a large amount of physical resources should have data on resources needed now and in the future. They also should have resource configurations, the answer to this question, that will be required to meet the demands and the supply of the resources. Successful project manager are ones who can manage and control needed physical resource effectively; otherwise, it is a source of risk to the project. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 310

92. You are preparing your cost estimate for your project in robotics. Already, some competitors have learned about this product, and they want to be possible purchasers of the project when it is complete. You consider this to be an opportunity, which means— a. Your cost estimate's accuracy rate should be from −5% to +10% b. You need to reduce activity costs as much as possible c. Your estimate should include the cost of financing d. You should include indirect costs in your estimate

92. b. You need to reduce activity costs as much as possible This question shows an opportunity has been recognized, which means the risk register is being used as it is an input in project documents to the Estimate Costs process. It should be reviewed to as it contains details of project risks that have been identified and prioritized and need risk responses, which tend to involve costs. It provides detailed information that can be used to estimate costs. Risks, whether threats or opportunities, have an impact on both activity and overall project costs. In this example, it is a potential opportunity that can benefit the business depending on the response action selected as it may reduce directly activity costs or accelerate the schedule. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 242

93. You are planning a project and want to account for how the project will be managed in the future. While building your cost performance data, you want to provide guidance for when the project is later executed, because you know that different responses are required depending upon the degree of variance from the baseline. For example, a variance of 10 percent might not require immediate action, whereas a variance of 20 percent will require more immediate action and investigation. You decide to include the details of how to manage the cost variances in the— a. Cost management plan b. Change management plan c. Performance measurement plan d. Variance management plan

93. a. Cost management plan The management and control of costs focuses on variances. The cost management plan includes control thresholds, also called variance thresholds. Certain variances are acceptable, and others, usually those falling outside a particular range, are unacceptable. The actions taken by the project manager for all variances are described in the cost management plan. These thresholds are typically expressed as percentage deviations from the baseline plan. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 239

94. Assume that you are managing a project team. Your team is one in which its members confront issues rather than people, establish procedures collectively, and is team oriented. As the project manager, which of the following represents your team's stage of development? a. Storming b. Norming c. Adjourning d. Performing

94. b. Norming There are four stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing in the original team development model developed by Tuckman; later adjourning was added as a fifth stage. In the norming stage team members begin to work together, adjusting their work habits and behaviors to support the team. The team members learn to trust each other. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 33

95. You are finalizing your project and after two years, you are ready to close it. Before doing so, you need to— a. Manage knowledge transfer b. Ensue you met your planned success criteria c. Conduct a review with your three contractors d. Resolve all risks

95. a. Manage knowledge transfer As you close your project, you cannot overlook the importance of knowledge transfer. Each person on the project brings knowledge assets and acquires others as he or she works on the project. By managing knowledge transfer, you are focusing on sharing knowledge for other projects under way or to be done in the future. It differs from collecting lessons learned, also important in closing, as its focus is on knowledge transfer and sharing knowledge, not hoarding it. [Closing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 123

96. You are working on a project and want to identify the cause of problems you are having as you Control Scope. You wonder if you need to tailor some of the processes in your organization to better meet your project's ability to be a success. You realize in the area of Control Scope it is not necessary as— a. More inspections can be done b. Informal scope control related practices are used c. You have work performance information to review d. You can use walkthroughs

96. b. Informal scope control related practices are used In this situation you are wondering whether you need to tailor some approaches in your project management methodology as they may not be needed. Tailoring considerations in Scope Management need to consider several areas, one of which is validation and control. In this area, the organization may have existing formal or informal validation and control related policies, procedures, and guidelines so tailoring is not needed. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 133

97. You are working on a construction project in a city different from your headquarters' location. You and your team have not worked in this city, City B, previously, and you lack knowledge of the local building codes. You had a team member review the codes, and he said they were in far greater detail than those in your city, City A. In addition, your new project in City B is to take three years to complete and will use some unproven technology. Plus, your company wants you to follow agile, so you decided to collect requirements in user stories. In this situation, your best scheduling approach is— a. Agile release planning b. On-demand scheduling c. Iterative scheduling with a backlog d. Critical chain

97. c. Iterative scheduling with a backlog Iterative scheduling with a backlog is an emerging trend in developing a schedule. It is a form of rolling wave planning based on an adaptive life cycle and an agile approach in product development. Requirements are documented in user stories and are prioritized and refined before construction. Product features use time-based periods of work. Multiple teams can work concurrently to develop a large number of features with few interconnected dependencies. This approach also is open to changes throughout the development life cycle. [Planning] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 177

98. Assume that you are managing a project that once completed will take your company into new markets. Since it is so significant, it has the interest of executive managers and other key internal stakeholders. You know for success, the marketing department will play a key role. You and your team identified them as key stakeholders. You met with the Chief Marketing Officer, and she indicated she would support the project. However, each time you have had a status review meeting with the executive group, except for the first meeting, the Chief Marketing Officer has not attended subsequent meetings. She also has not sent someone from her staff. This situation shows the importance of— a. Executive support b. The need to escalate this issue to your sponsor c. Maintaining the stakeholder register d. Engaging stakeholders at certain stages

98. d. Engaging stakeholders at certain stages While the other answers are good practices, this answer is part of the Manage Stakeholder Engagement process. It shows the necessity of engaging stakeholders at appropriate project stages to obtain, confirm, and maintain their continual commitment to the project. If a key stakeholder is missing meetings, it is critical for the project manager to meet with this stakeholder and find out his or her concerns and actively listen. If the stakeholder has concerns, then the project manager should address them and see if he or she can regain the stakeholder's support. [Executing] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 524

99. The nature of project work is such that it inevitably changes. You know this is the case on your software project as you were about 50% done when the company announced all software work was to be done using agile, even work in progress, and your project was using waterfall. You now believe it is time to ensure your stakeholders have not changed, and you want to monitor and assess stakeholder engagement levels. You decide to— a. Review work performance information b. Hold some meetings c. Use subject matter experts d. Reevaluate your power/interest grid

99. b. Hold some meetings In the Monitor Stakeholder Engagement process, meetings are a tool and technique. They include status meetings, standup meetings retrospectives, and any others listed in the stakeholder engagement plan. These meetings are held to monitor and assess stakeholder engagement levels. They can be face to face or virtual. [Monitoring and Controlling] PMI®, PMBOK® Guide, 2017, 535