Practice Questions #1
You are the Project Manager of a project involving designing a computer system. Your team members follow what you tell them because you have the authority to provide negative feedback in their performance appraisal. This is an example of which type of power? Coercive Referent Formal Reward
A. When the team is afraid of the Project Manager, the power yielded is of type Coercive.
An approved change request just increased the scope of your project. This could result in all of the following except? A change to the scope baseline A change to a new project manager A change to the cost baseline A change to the schedule baseline
B - A change in scope can impact any of the triple constraints. The potential loss of the PM might be a risk but not a CR.
Project roles and responsibilities can be graphically represented in what is called a...? RBS: Resource breakdown structure RAM: Responsibility assignment matrix RARG: Roles and responsibility grid RAAM: Random access assignment matrix
B - Answer A is incorrect - it shows the resource hierarchy but not responsibility level. Answers C and D are made-up terms.
The ability of the project manager to expend funds and allocate resources on a project is a function of? The charter The organizational structure Correct project management principles The responsibilities of the PMO
A - Answer A is correct. It is the most commonly described benefit of the charter. Answers B and D are partly true but do not apply. Answer C is misdirection.
The wages of hourly workers on a time and materials project is considered a/an_________________ cost. Direct/variable Direct/fixed Indirect/variable Indirect/fixed
A - It is a direct cost because it is attributable to your project. It is also a variable cost because the hourly workers could put in 30, 40, or 50 hours a week.
Rolling wave planning is__________________. Planning near term work in detail Critical chain project management Critical Path method Precedence diagramming
A - Rolling wave planning details the work to be performed in the near term while planning future work at a higher level in the WBS.
The lowest level of the WBS addresses__________________. Deliverables Control accounts Activities Level of effort
A - The lowest level of decomposition in the WBS is the work package, which is deliverable focused.
All of the following statements about change are true except...? The project manager can approve or reject any or all change requests A change in any one Knowledge Area can impact all the other Knowledge Areas A delay in implementing a critical CR can negatively affect time, cost, or the feasibility of a change An impact assessment of a change request must be documented
A - The project manager can approve or reject change requests only if explicitly granted this authority by the charter, the customer, and the integrated change control system. Answers B, C, and D are true.
You are developing a project statement of work for your current project. To what level of detail is the statement of work developed? It is only as detailed as the WBS Only a narrative description of products or services It is tied in lockstep with the requirements traceability matrix Is created only when the detailed scope statement has been completed
B - The project statement of work is a high-level narrative that is an input to developing the project charter, an initiating process. PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, p.75
In which process of the Project Risk Management knowledge area are numeric values assigned to probabilities and impact of risks Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis Perform Numeric Risk Analysis Plan Risk Response
B. A numeric value is assigned to risks impact and probability during the Quantitative Risk Analysis process.
Senior management brought you in to run a project as an 'execution' project manager. The timeline and the budget were already established by senior management and you have been asked to simply bring the project in on time and on budget. You do a thorough examination of the project parameters and discover that there is no way the current project can be completed for the budget and the time allotted. In fact, your calculation shows the project will cost 40% over the authorized budget and will take six months longer to complete. What should you do? Give management a reality check, offer some recommendations, and ask them how they would like to proceed Agree to the current project parameters and look for ways you can fast-track the project Refuse to take on the project as the deliverable dates and dollars are not realistic Negotiate for a reduced scope to bring in the project on time and on budget
A - Your job is to report honestly to management and to the best of your ability. While the last answer might be a recommended option, you must first give management the reality check
Which of the following best describes Plan Stakeholder Management process? Creating and maintaining relationships between the project team and stakeholders Preventing negative stakeholders from derailing theproject Striking a balance between stakeholder needs and project needs Focusing on from the creation of the stakeholder management strategy
A - stakeholder management is about the creation and maintenance of relationships between the project team and stakeholders. Under specific circumstances, answers B and C may be partially or. Answer D is incorrect: what is created as the stakeholder management plan, not the stakeholder management strategy. PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, p. 400
You are managing a project in which various stakeholders are for or against a specific change in the project. The best tool to identify the reasons for or against the change is _______________. Force field analysis Design of experiments Benchmarking Statistical Sampling
A - the force field analysis shows the pros and cons of an idea.
The life cycle of a product or service begins with...? An assessment of the business need and benefit to the organization The manufacturing of a product or service The identification of stakeholders The development of the project scope statement and work breakdown structure
A -The PMBOK Guide states, "Many facets of the product life cycle lend themselves to being run as projects, for example, performing a feasibility study conducting a product trial and a market, etc."
The buyer has established a CPFF vehicle for the current procurement activity. What is the buyer most concerned about? Risk Cost Specifications Vendor expertise
A For a cost plus contract vehicle, the biggest concern is Risk from the buyer's perspective
One of your project team members approached you visibly upset. It appears the team member overheard a director and another project manager discussing an apparent scheme to defraud the company. What is the FIRST thing that you should do as the project manager? Validate and substantiate the claim Inform human resources of the attempted fraud If the breach is serious enough, inform local law enforcement. You are protected by whistleblower statutes Casually mention the details of the attempted fraud to the other project manager to see if it elicits a response
A The PMI Code of Ethics mandatory standard states that ethics complaints may only be filed when first substantiated by fact
Which of the following is not true about the Close Project or Phase process? Contract closeout must be performed after the Administrative Closeout. The risk is the lowest at this stage of the project. The probability of completion is the highest at this stage of the project. Stakeholders have least amount of influence at this stage.
A. Contract Closeout is performed before administrative Closeout
The communication plan is developed based on which of the following elements? The communications model employed and risk factors The project's organizational structure and external stakeholder requirements Standard communications heuristics and constraints The project management structure and performing team requirements
B - The project's organizational structure and external stakeholder requirements. New PMP Task Classifications. Domain 2, Task 6. PMI, 2011
The Procurement Statement of Work is an output of which of these processes? Plan Procurements Conduct Procurements Control Procurements Close Procurements
A. Procurement statements of work is an output of Plan Procurements process.
You are working on a project to build a bridge. You have reached the planned half way mark. The total planned cost at this stage is five hundred dollars. The actual physical work that has been completed at this stage is worth $400. You have already spent one thousand dollars on the project. What is the Schedule Variance? -100 100 -600 600
A. SV=EV-PV. 400 minus 500 is -100.
Describing stakeholders based on their power (ability to impose will), urgency (need for immediate attention), and legitimacy (their involvement), describes what type of grid or model? Power/Influence grid Salience Model Influence/Impact grid Power model
B - This exactly describes the Salience model. PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, p. 396
A finish to finish relationship is defined as which of the following? Both activities have to finish at the same time The predecessor has to finish before the successor can finish Both activities are on the critical path The predecessor has a defined lead while the successor has a defined lag
B - This is the definition of a finish to finish relationship: I must complete activity 'a' before I complete Activity 'b'
According to PMI, the PMO is not responsible for...? Centralized and coordinated management of projects Providing accurate reporting of project metrics Helping to align projects with the strategic goals of the organization Administrative support, project methodologies, and policies
Answer B describes one of the responsibilities of the project manager, not the project management office.
You decide to conduct a quality audit of the cryogenic capable hardware being manufactured by your company during project execution. The quality audit will identify all of the following, except...? Whether the planned quality process and standards were followed by the project team Whether the product will be formally accepted by the sponsor Whether the product is fit for use The improvement opportunities for the existing product
Answer B is correct because the quality audit is focused on "whether project activities comply with organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures." Acceptance of the deliverable is the key output of the Validate scope process in Project Scope Management. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 247.
You are thinking of purchasing a software product from a relatively young organization - they have been in business less than two years. This is a cutting edge financial product that would put you at least 18 months ahead of all competitors in your market space. However, your concern is that if you purchase software from them, there is a possibility that they may go out of business and you would lose the investment in the software. You ask the company to outright purchase the software code, but the company has rejected this as an option. What is your best option moving forward if the company's survivability is an issue? Contract it as a work made for hire Set up a code escrow arrangement Offer to buy the company Look for viable alternatives
B - A code escrow arrangement will protect the seller and the buyer. If the seller goes out of business, the buyer will have access to the code for continuing support of the product. Otherwise the code stays in escrow
The essential difference between cost and price is...? Price includes cost-of-living adjustment and cost does not Cost is the expenses incurred by the project; price is what the customer is charged for the work Price minus cost equals the benefit cost ratio (BCR) for the project Cost is what the customer is charged for the project work; price is based on the retail value of the project work
B - Answer A: the cost-of-living adjustment is cost based, not price based. C is wrong - the BCR is more complex than a simple price minus cost calculation. D is made up.
Which of the following would be least important on the risk register? Risk owner Who identified the risk Triggers Residual and secondary risks
B - Who identified a risk is not a part of the risk register.
You are assessing two projects for risk. Project #1 has a most likely duration of 95 days with a standard deviation of 10 days, and Project #2 has a most likely duration of 110 days with a standard deviation of 5 days. All of the following statements are true except...? Project #1 is riskier than Project #2 because its standard deviation is larger Project #2 is riskier than Project #1 because its most likely duration is longer The maximum possible duration of Project #1 estimated at a 99 percent probability is longer than the most likely duration of Project #2 Both projects can potentially be completed within 105 days.
B - Answer B is not true; a longer duration does not necessarily translate to higher risk. A is true, because a larger standard deviation indicates a riskier estimate. C is true because the maximum estimate for Project A at 95 percent probability is 115 days, whereas the most likely estimate for Project B is 110 days. D is true because the minimum range within 2 standard deviations for project #1 is 75-115 days and for project #2 is 100-120 days.
Which of the following is not part of the Control Communications process? Issue log Communication models Change requests Work performance information
B - Communications models are a tool and technique of Plan Communications. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 288
Training needs, recognition and rewards, and regulation or contract compliance are all items that are addressed as part of the... The project charter The staffing management plan The project scope statement The resource management plan
B - PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, pp. 265-66.
You are dealing with the stakeholder that views your project as a significant negative. What will you use to help minimize negative stakeholder impact on the project? Stakeholder register Stakeholder management plan Risk tolerance indicator Stakeholder analysis
B - PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition p. 404
While executing the project it becomes obvious that you're not going to hit your end date. The project may be delayed by at least two months. This may impact the start date of another project that was due to start right after yours completed. What type of float best describes this situation? Total float Project float Free float Slack float
B - Project float is the delay a project can incur without delaying a succeeding project. Total float addresses delaying the project and date. Free float addresses the early start of a successor activity. Slack float is a made-up term
The feature set for your company's newest jet-ski line contains fewer features than those normally produced by the company. The QC manager is discussing this with the PM and is complaining that the design does not meet standard company production guidelines. His argument is that the limited feature set is inconsistent with the company's established quality policy. What is the best way for the PM to respond to the QC manager? The PM states that the QC manager may have a point The PM states that the QC manager is confusing quality with grade The PM states that the issues will be addressed with the engineering department The PM states that the QC manager is missing the 'voice of the customer'
B - Quality is defined as "the degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfill requirements" (PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 228) while grade is "a category assigned to products or services having the same functional use but different technical characteristics." (PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition). Absence of the 'standard' feature set does not automatically imply low quality. The customer may have requested a high-quality product but with fewer features at a better price point.
Project Scope Management defines the work required to complete the project successfully_______________. Along with the creation of a scope management plan No more, no less In the eyes of all key stakeholders At least one time in each project
B - Scope management is, "...the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required" is completed successfully.
Management from the customer side wants to bring in a project one month earlier than they had originally planned. Based on the current project timeline, product testing will have to be cut short. You have reviewed several options with the customer; they have decided that crashing the schedule would be the best approach to bringing in the project earlier. As a result of customer's decision, what is your biggest concern using this approach? Additional expense Availability of additional resources to perform testing in a shorter time frame Customer buy-in Developing an adequate reward system to address the overtime that will be needed to bring in this project one month early
B - Since the customer has decided that crashing is an option, answer 'A' has already been taken into consideration as well as answer 'C'. Answer 'D' is a complete unknown at this point. Of the four answers, the biggest concern is whether the testing resources are actually available to do the job
What does an SPC chart set the upper and lower control limits? +/- 2 sigma +/- 3 sigma +/- 6 sigma +/- 1 sigma
B - The SPC chart sets upper and lower control limits at +/- 3 sigma
You have been authorized by the contract administrator in your organization to handle specific changes in the contract should the need arise. The vendor on this particular procurement has indicated a need for a change in the current specification. You discuss the change with the vendor, verbally agree to it, and implement the change via the standard change request process, as specified in the contract. At an invoice audit several months later, the purchasing organization refuses to pay for the work that was entered in the change system. What has the project manager forgotten to do in this instance? Consult the technical team prior to implementing the change Implement a formal written change to the contract Verify that the change was within the project manager's responsibility from the contract administrator Update the configuration documents on the project
B - The contract is the final arbiter of what gets paid and what does not. Only a formal written change to the contract, specifying that the change would be paid for, is legally binding
Your company makes a product that a potential buyer is very interested in. After several discussions, the potential buyer issues a letter of intent to purchase the product within the next two months. Your company president takes this letter of intent (LOI) to the local commercial bank in the hopes of obtaining a short-term loan to purchase the necessary equipment to deliver on this potentially lucrative contract. The bank turns him down flat, even though the seller's finances are in good order. Why do you think this is the case? Issues with the buyer's reputation The LOI is not a legal document The LOI does not contain enough money to cover the loan The seller has not reached the minimum funding limits for loans of this type
B - The letter of intent is not a legal document and does not obligate the buyer to follow through
Cost overruns on a project are usually caused by some combination of the following with the exception of? Inadequate budget from management Stakeholder disagreement Poor technical performance Scope creep
B - stakeholder disagreement is common on all projects and must be addressed by the skill of the project manager to facilitate an acceptable resolution for the stakeholders in conflict. It rarely, if ever, results in a cost overrun. Fleming and Koppelman, Earned Value Management, Third Edition, PMI 2005
The quality control team has raised concerns about the quality of the output of a specific manufacturing process consisting of 3 steps. The quality control team leader reports that there is a 99% probability step #1 will produce a defect free part, a 98% probability that step #2 will produce a defect free part and a 96% probability step #3 will produce a defect free part. At the end of the third step, what is the approximate probability that an article chosen at random will be defect free? 99% 93% 91% 96%
B -Answer B is correct because the cumulative probability is calculated by multiplying the percentages by each other: .99 x .98 x .96 will yield slightly over 93%. The concept is known as RTY: Rolled Throughput Yield.
One of the risks identified in the project's risk register has a probability of 85%. As the project manager what would you do first upon making this discovery? Make the risk a #1 priority in the risk register Move the 'risk' to the issue log Risk data validation Raise a red jeopardy on a stoplight report
B At this point, this 'risk' is an issue that will have to be addressed. A is premature - while we know the probability, we don't know the impact. C is incorrect: if you are performing a thorough risk assessment, it is assumed you are validating the risk data before it is entered in the log. D might be correct if the impact of the risk is high, but at this point it is an unknown
You have just created the scope management plan for your current project. As the project manager, what is the next thing that you should do? Sit down with your customer to perform a risk assessment Ask your customer about their wants and needs for the project Determine the detailed scope of the project Create a detailed work breakdown structure that details all the work packages for the project
B The next step in the Planning process group for scope is to determine the customer's requirements. Answer A is performed in the Risk Management knowledge area, and answers C and D are performed after the requirements are collected.
Vocal inflection accounts for how much understanding of verbal communication? 55 percent 38 percent 100 percent 7 percent
B Vocal inflection contributes approximately 38 percent of our understanding of a verbal communication. From Hidden Messages by Albert Mehrabian, 1972.
Which of the following statements about earned value is true? Actual cost can never exceed earned value Planned value can never exceed earned value Planned value can never exceed actual cost Expected price can never exceed earned value
B You cannot earn more value on a project than you planned to spend. The actual cost could be higher or lower than earned value or planned value.
Your vendor just shipped you 100,000 parts. What is the best quality tool to use given that you do not have the time or the workers available to check each part? Pareto Chart Statistical Sampling Control Chart Scatter diagram
B a random statistical sample will tell you approximately what percentage of defects you'll find in the hundred thousand parts.
Which type of procurement document is most appropriate for a cost reimbursable contract? IFB (invitation for bid) RFP (request for proposal) RFB (request for bid) RFQ (request for quote)
B the most appropriate form of contract for a cost plus/cost reimbursable contract is the RFP because you are buying expertise. The statement of work may not be completely understood at the start of the project.
Cost baseline is usually represented using which curve or line? a Slanted line an S-curve a Z curve a PQ curve
B. An S-curve is typically used to represent a cost baseline. The cost is low in the beginning and end, and high during the middle of the project.
You are performing Earned Value Reporting for your project. The project's CPI is 0.9 and the budget at completion is one thousand dollars. What is the estimated cost at completion? Nine hundred dollars One thousand one hundred and eleven dollars One thousand dollars One thousand and one hundred dollars
B. EAC = (BAC/CPI).
Which of these is a tool for Develop Project Charter process? Project selection methods Project management methodology Expert Judgment Earned Value Technique
C. Expert judgment is a tool for the Develop Project Charter process.
You are using control charts to perform quality control. Which of these situations does not indicate that the process is out of control and an assignable cause needs to be assigned. Assume that the control limits have been set to three sigma. One of the point is more than the mean + (3*sigma) Two points together are more than mean +(2*sigma), but less than mean + (3*sigma) Seven points together are on one side of the mean. Six points together are on one side of the mean.
B. The others are conditions that indicate the process is out of control.
Which of the following is not a leadership style in the Hersey/Blanchard situational leadership model? Telling Facilitative Dictatorial Coaching
C - All of the other answers are leadership approaches of the situational continuum theory.
In the Influence/Impact grid, the best management technique for stakeholders who are high in influence and high in impact is to...? Keep satisfied Monitor Manage closely Keep informed
C - Answer A is for stakeholders who are high in influence and low in impact; B is for those stakeholders who are low in influence and low in impact; D is for stakeholders who are low in influence and high in impact. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 396.
Project Communications Management involves the appropriate generation, election, dissemination, storage, and occasional disposition of project information. The overall focus of project communication is to...? Ensuring that project stakeholders have been given an opportunity for input Ensuring project stakeholder expectations are met Deliver the requested information to the correct person or group of people at the correct time Deliver the requested information to senior management when needed
C - Answer C is most correct. All the answers are somewhat correct, but all can be subsumed within answer C: get the required information to the right person when it is needed or requested. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 287.
If you add two more people to a team of five people, how many additional lines of communication will be created? 15 10 11 4
C - By straight calculation: [N x (N - 1)]/2 For five people, the number of communication links would be: [5 x (5 - 1)]/2 = 20/2 = 10. For seven people, the number of communication links would be: [7 x (7 - 1)]/2 = 42/2 = 21. 21 - 10 yields 11 additional lines of communication.
Expert judgment is a tool and technique of all of the following processes except...? Identify stakeholders Plan stakeholder management Manage stakeholder engagement Control stakeholder engagement
C - Expert judgment is not a tool and technique of Manage Stakeholder Engagement. PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, p. 398
Assessing how a stakeholder is likely to react in a given situation is described in ______________? Stakeholder management strategy Stakeholder register Stakeholder analysis Stakeholder power/interest grid
C - It is the 3rd step in the stakeholder analysis. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 396
What costs are the most important costs that need to be considered when making a purchase decision for a product or service? All development costs The purchase price The life-cycle costs The purchase price + failure costs
C - Life-cycle costs are the inclusive costs that include purchase price, maintenance and support and warranty costs. This is your ultimate cost for the product or service
Reward power means that the project manager can issue rewards. Examples of rewards can include bonuses or comp time. PMI regards reward power as...? One of the worst forms of authority Unimportant One of the best forms of authority Subject to frequent misuse
C - PMI considers expert and reward power as the two best forms of project manager authority.
The hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory developed by: Category: Group HR Herzberg McGregor Maslow McClelland
C - The hierarchy of needs was developed by Abraham Maslow
John needs to visit many countries as part of his job. He has learned that he needs to avoid being ethno-centric. What does ethnocentrism mean? Not being friendly to strangers Unable to get adjusted to the food of a new place Belief that ones culture is superior to others. Initial shock of landing in a new country.
C. Ethnocentrism refers to belief that one's culture is superior to other cultures.
Which of the following best describes a stakeholder? Someone who is thinking about buying your product A reviewer of your product in an industry trade journal A project team member The CFO in another division of your company
C - The team member is the stakeholder. Answer A describes a potential stakeholder. Answer B gets paid to review the product whether they use it or not (although their opinion may impact your sales!). Answer D is probably working to her own P&L, has nothing to do with your product and probably hasn't heard of it.
Since you had indicated that unavailability of resources was a risk on your project, you had a contingency strategy in place that allowed for a temporary staff augmentation. Management signed off on this approach. This risk was realized and you implemented the contingency plan, however the new staff may take longer to get up to speed in the environment than originally thought. What does this new situation describe? Residual risk Risk trigger Secondary risk Passive risk response
C - This is a classic example of a secondary risk: A new risk that is identified as a direct outcome of implementing a risk response.
Your project is well underway, and the project management plan as well as subsidiary plans have been baselined and work is proceeding apace. A key project stakeholder has just approached you with a problem: a requirement was missed by the business in the requirements gathering process and they want it inserted into the project plan without having to go through the formal change request process. They would consider it a huge favor if you did so and would be willing to reciprocate at some later date. What should you do next? Talk to the stakeholder's manager about the stakeholder's request for a breach in the formal corporate change management process Since the stakeholder has key resources on the project, it may pay off in the long run to agree to the stakeholder's request Perform an impact assessment on the requested change and submit to the CCB for approval Agree to the request only if the stakeholder is willing to remove a less important feature of equal effort so as not to impact the costs or the timeline on the project
C - This is an ethics question dressed up as a stakeholder management question. What happens next is an impact assessment. Under the mandatory Responsibility section: "We inform ourselves and uphold the policies, rules, regulations and laws that govern our work..."
A series of stakeholder meetings were called to address the needs of stakeholders for the upcoming project. A list of 150 requirements was drawn up. After reviewing the list and developing a high level estimate, the PM reported back to the stakeholder group that due to the budget limitations on the project, it would be possible to deliver only 75 of these requirements. A new meeting was called to cull the list from 150 to 75. The stakeholders were going through the list, when there was serious contention about a group of requirements. The disagreement escalated to a shouting match, and several stakeholders left the meeting infuriated. What risk tool would have best prevented this situation? Brainstorming SWOT analysis Delphi Technique Nominal Group technique
C - With the Delphi technique, participants remain anonymous to each other so that they can simply focus on the facts without having to deal with the emotional components of the problem
To understand the requirements for the product of your current project, you have conducted a systems analysis, a requirements analysis, a product breakdown and a value analysis. These activities define what is known as a...? Product verification Process analysis Product analysis Scope verification
C - these are elements of a product analysis.
One of the goals of your current project is to automate a current process that is currently done manually. What is the best quality tool to use in this situation? Flowchart Histogram Cost-benefit analysis Cost of quality
C Because you want to be sure if the automation will reduce costs, you want to perform a cost-benefit analysis.
You have determined your project will optimistically take 24 weeks to complete, with a most likely completion date of 36 weeks and a pessimistic completion date of 72 weeks. Based on this three point estimate what is the likely completion timeline for the project? 38.4 weeks 39.6 weeks 40 weeks 42.4 weeks
C By straight PERT calculation - (O + 4*ML + P)/6. (24 + 4*36 + 72) / 6 yields 240/6 = 40
You identified the possibility of several high-impact risks on your current project at the last stakeholder meeting. A senior VP was in attendance and immediately announced, "We're looking for 'can-do' people for this project. If you can't handle it, I'll find someone who can!" What would be the best response to this statement? Immediately resign from the project, stating that the VP himself constitutes the largest risk on the project Offer to discuss the VP's concerns, offline State that the risk assessment is necessary to help ensure the success of the project Tell the VP that you are simply following what PMI recommends and that it is not mandatory
C Failure to address risk is one of the leading causes of troubled projects that suffer from negative scope, cost or scheduling issues. It can also lead to project failure or early termination. PMI considers that failure to perform an adequate risk assessment on a project is a plan-to-fail scenario.
The five elements of the sender-receiver model in communications are ...? Encode, filter, feedback, medium, noise Encode, decode, feedback, filter, noise Encode, message and feedback, medium, noise, decode Encode, message, recode, medium and noise, feedback
C PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, pp. 293-94.
During the Executing and the Monitoring and Controlling phases, project managers frequently engage in replanning activity due to discovery or a change in customer needs. The term used to describe this process is called? Regression testing Progressive planning Progressive elaboration Project elaboration
C Regression testing is a red herring. The correct PMI term for this activity is progressive elaboration.
Which of the following statements about risk is the most correct? All risks should be avoided Accept only the risks for which you can purchase insurance If the project has no risk, it is not really a project Only accept projects with upside risks
C Since a project is an endeavor that creates something unique, there will be unknowns and uncertainties on the project. Therefore, projects automatically carry risk due to the existence of unknowns/uncertainties. If there is no risk, then there is no uncertainty; i.e. if all elements are known, your 'project' is fundamentally an operational process.
The mechanical engineering manager has reported to you, a PMP, that the work due at the end of this week is going to be two weeks late. Your manager has requested that you do not report this to senior management. What does the PMI Code of Ethics require you to do? Because the manager is a friend, you do not report the slip, and help him get the work back on schedule. Bury the issue in a revised status report that does not show the work slippage clearly. Report the status accurately. Wait until the work is completed; then report the slippage. At that point it's a fait acomplis.
C The PMI code of ethics and professional responsibility states: "We do not engage in or condone behavior that is designed to deceive others, including but not limited to, making misleading or false statements, stating half-truths, providing information out of context or withholding information that, if known, would render our statements as misleading or incomplete." This means, tell the truth whether the news is positive or negative.
The two basic standards that define the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct are: Government and industry Anticipated and required Aspirational and mandatory Intended and compulsory
C The standards are broken out into 2 categories: Aspirational standards and mandatory standards
You are the Project Manager of ABC project. There was a conflict between two key project members. The three of you meet and decide to use compromise as the conflict resolution technique. Compromise generally leads to Win-win situation Win-Lose situation Lose-Lose situation None of these
C. According to PMI, Compromise is an example of a lose-lose situation.
Which of the following is an output of the Identify Risks process. Lessons Learned Checklists Risk Register SWOT Analysis
C. Risk Register is the only output of the Risk identification process.
You are planning to use a screening system for source selection process to select a vendor for supplying food for your company? Which of these is a good example of a screening system? You interview all the vendors and decide based upon the interviews. You negotiate with all the vendors and select the one that provides the best price. You only consider those vendors who have revenue of ten million dollars in the last financial year. You select the vendor who responds first to your advertisement.
C. Screening system are predefined criteria that are used to short- list vendors for source selection
You are the Project Manager of a car manufacturing company. As part of Quality Control you decide to check only 5% of the cars assembled for environmental check. Which technique are you using? Pareto Diagram Control Charts Statistical Sampling Sample Selection
C. Statistical Sampling is the standard technique that is used to test only A small sample of products instead of all the products manufactured.
Which of the following best describes the purpose of a war room? A war room is used for meetings between the Project Manager and the customer. A war room is used for important meetings between the Project team and the senior management. A war room is used for collocation Whenever there is a resource conflict between different Project Managers, they meet in a war room.
C. War room is used for collocation to facilitate communication within the team.
Stakeholders are generally classified based on their ________________________? Impact, influence, urgency Influence, immediacy, interest Power, impact, interest Interest, influence, involvement
D "Stakeholders should be classified according to their interest, influence, and involvement..." PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 394.
What do confronting, compromising, and forcing all describe? Team building activities Temporary solutions to project issues Negotiation tactics Conflict resolution techniques
D - Confronting, compromising, and forcing are all forms of conflict resolution techniques. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 283.
On your current project, you have spent a week with the project team and the stakeholders defining the activities that will be executed to complete the product of the project. What is the next step you will perform in this process? Deliver an estimate on how long each activity will take to complete Work with your stakeholders to determine what skill sets are needed to complete each activity and who should be selected for these jobs Determine the costs for each of the activities Create a network diagram
D - In the time management process, after the activity definitions have been established, we then sequence the activities and create network diagrams.
Validate Scope is part of what process group? Planning Executing Closing Monitoring and Controlling
D - Monitoring and Controlling is the only correct answer. PMBOK Guide 6th ed. p. 61
The manner in which individual resources, teams, and entire organizational units behave can be described by...? Chaos theory Theory Y Management by objectives Organizational theory
D - PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 263
Project managers are frequently performing activities to control the budget, timeline, output and deliverables on a project. What does PMI mean by 'control'? Predictable and repeatable processes Meeting quality standards Conforming to requirements and meeting stakeholder expectations Comparing actual performance to planned performance and recommending corrective action
D - PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 430.
The purpose of a change request resulting in a recommended preventive action is to...? Improve SPI Improve project flexibility Increase the probability of a negative CPI Reduce the probability of future negative performance
D - Recommended preventive actions are implemented to reduce the probability of a negative future event.
The risk register usually includes all of the following, except...? List of risks Events and Impacts List of potential risk responses Risk breakdown structure (RBS)
D - The RBS is part of the Risk Management Plan.
The Monitoring and Controlling phase of project management involves measuring your performance against the plan, looking for changes and variances, and how to bring future performance in line with the project plan. Which term best describes this type of action? Iterative actions Defect repairs Responsive actions Corrective actions
D - When changes or variances to the original plan are discovered, the project manager and the team should take corrective action. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 83.
Your customer is having difficulty verbalizing the requirements for the upcoming project. The key stakeholder has stated to you "We want it to work sort of like this - I can't really describe it but I'll know it when I see it..." In this instance, what would be the most effective project lifecycle to implement? Sequential Overlapping Waterfall Iterative
D - the iterative lifecycle is used for projects in which the project elements may not be clearly defined or are uncertain. Per PMBOK® Guide, p. 22.
The project has been running smoothly; initiation phase is complete and the team is working on all aspects of planning. You had meetings with stakeholders several times to collect requirements and as a result, requirements documentation is almost complete, as are high-level and detailed design documents. As construction begins on the project, several stakeholders have indicated the need for changes to the requirements set. They are claiming these elements were missed in the initial requirements collection process, and they want you to add these elements to the project immediately. You perform an impact assessment and get it back to them only to hear that they are not going to allow any changes in the project budget or the timeline to complete these additional elements. What is the most effective tool that you could use to prevent this instance of scope creep? Change control system Configuration management system Murder Board Work Authorization System
D One of the defined uses of a work authorization system is for the control of scope creep. It insures the right work is performed at the right time and in the correct sequence.
A SIPOC diagram is a type of...? Checklist Run Chart SPC chart Flowchart
D SIPOC diagram is a type of flowchart. PMBOK Guide®, 6th edition, p. 236.
On your current project, EV = $45,000, AC = $50,000, PV = $40,000. What is the schedule variance as a percentage of the work accomplished at this point in time? 90% +90.5% -85% +88.8%
D the formula for schedule variance is SV = EV - PV. Therefore the schedule variance as a percentage of the work accomplished is PV/EV or +88.8%
Which of the following indicate that the project is doing well? Select the best option. A negative Cost Variance An SPI of less than one A negative Schedule Variance A CPI of greater than one.
D. A CPI of greater than one indicates you are taking less money than planed to do the project.
You are working on a project to build a bridge. You have reached the planned half way mark. The total planned cost at this stage is five hundred dollars. The actual physical work that has been completed at this stage is worth $400. You have already spent one thousand dollars on the project. What is the CPI? 0.8 1.2 0.5 0.4
D. CPI = EV/AV. EV=400, AC = 1000, PV=500.
Which of these is not an example of a project? Buying clothes from the store on a special sale. Planning for your friends wedding. Building a bridge across the Amazon river. Cleaning the office building every day.
D. Cleaning the building is a repetitive task that is done everyday. Hence it is not an example of a project.
Which of the following is a true statement about risks? If a risk is identified in a risk response plan, then that means that risk has already happened. Once a risk has happened, you refer to the risk management plan to determine what action needs to be taken. A risk that was not planned but has happened is called a trigger. Risk identification happens in all the phases of the project.
D. This is the only correct statement.
Which of the following is not an input to the Conduct Procurements process? Source selection criteria Make-or-buy decisions Organizational process assets WBS
D. WBS is not an input to the Conduct Procurements process.
You are in the process of Source Selection for a contract for your project. You are planning to use weighing process for source selection. There are four vendors being considered. There are two deciding factors price (weightage 40), quality (weightage 60). The scores of four vendors that your team has computed are displayed in the table below. Which vendor among these four should be chosen? Vendor 1 Price 8 Quality 12 Vendor 2 Price 10 Quality 10 Vendor 3 Price 12 Quality 8 Vendor 4 Price 11 Quality 11 Vendor 1 Vendor 2 Vendor 3 Vendor 4
D. We need to compute the following for all the vendors - (0.4*Price + 0.6*Quality). The scores come out to be vendor 1 - 10.4, vendor 2 - 10, vendor 3 - 9.6, and vendor 4's 11. Since vendor 4 has the highest score, it should get selected.