PMP General Paper -11

1. You have been requested to fill in for a scrum master during the upcoming sprint. As you get yourself
familiar with the project team, you feel that the team works as a well-organized unit and only needs you
when a decision is required to be made at a higher level within the organization. Based on your
observations, where is the team on the Tuckman ladder?

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D

2. As a project manager, you are in the process of obtaining team members. You lobbied for a particular
developer that has worked on similar projects; however. that developer is now committed to a different
project.

What should you do?

A. Update the project charter to list the developer as pre-assigned to your project

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B. Set up the project team as a virtual team to allow the developer to work on your project part-time

C. Add a recommendation in the lessons learned register to use pre-assignment as needed for future
projects

D. Include the developer's role and responsibilities in the project team assignments for your project

3. You are in the process of implementing the resources management plan for your technology
development project. The plan indicates that a team performance assessment should be conducted
monthly to support continuous improvement efforts. The project is characterized by high variability and
is following an agile lifecycle for product development.

How should you approach the team development strategy for this project?

A. Incorporate the use of attitudinal surveys into the daily standup meetings and apply the outcomes
derived from them to create the monthly team performance assessments

B. Conduct project retrospective to gain insights into how the team can improve their processes, and use
the knowledge gained to create the team performance assessments

C. Incorporate individual and team assessments into the existing iteration retrospective meetings and
use the information obtained to create the monthly team assessments

D. Submit a change request to remove the requirement for the monthly team assessments as agile teams
are self-organizing and work in the absence of centralized control

4. To enable osmotic communication, the project manager colocates the agile team members. This setup
works well until some of the developers start complaining about the chit-chat noise. preventing them
from focusing on some difficult programming tasks.

Which of the following tools would help the team in resolving the issue?

A. Caves and common

B. Tacit knowledge

C. Pair programming

D. Networking

5. A project to bring a new model of a product to market is in execution when a competitor files a lawsuit
claiming that the product violates several of their patents. The courts have sided with the competitor
and issued a cease and desist order.

What should the project manager do first?

A. Seek approval to terminate the project

B. Resort to alternative dispute resolution

C. Terminate the project for legal cause

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D. Update the business case as necessary

6. An organization that is steeped in a predictive project management approach has decided to adopt
hybrid methods as a transition strategy to agile project management. A pilot scrum project has been
chartered and scrum roles and responsibilities assigned. The project manager wants to ensure the
optimal delivery of value to the customer.

What should the project manager do next?

A. Assign story points to prioritize the product backlog

B. Request that the team use the MoSCoW method

C. Schedule scrum training for the product owner

D. Decompose the WBS into scrum user stories

7. An agile team meets with the customer and stakeholders to plan their upcoming agile project. The
participants are looking for a tool that would help them understand the sets of high-value features to be
created over time. identify omissions in the backlog, and effectively plan releases that will deliver value
to the customer in every iteration.

Which of the following tools would best meet the needs of the meeting participants?

A. User story mapping

B. Product backlog

C. Work breakdown structure

D. Kanban board

8. A product owner meets with the agile team and stakeholders to prioritize features in the product
backlog. Each feature is categorized based on the risk associated with its development and the value the
feature provides to the customer. Which features should the product owner prioritize to be developed
first in order to maximize the probability of project success?

A. Low-risk / high-value

B. High-risk / high-value

C. Low-risk / low-value

D. High-risk / low-value

9. The last project iteration has just begun. After reviewing the information radiators. the project
manager realizes that the team will be unable to complete all the remaining work planned for the

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project. It is evident that without adding more developers. either the schedule baseline will be
unattainable. or some work packages will have to be removed from the WBS.

What is the best course of action for the project manager?

A. Raise the issue with the team at the next iteration retrospective

B. Meet with the product owner and suggest crashing the schedule

C. Request that the scrum master find the root cause for the delay

D. Ask the team to work overtime to meet all the project objectives

10. Gold plating had been a recurring issue on your project as the team has been adding features they
think are useful for the customer even though the features were not included in the WBS. Change
requests have been submitted after the fact, and some of the features were eventually added to the
project scope. You are concerned about deviations from the plan.

What might you do to control scope better and prevent further gold plating?

A. Adopt an agile approach so the team can develop any features they deem valuable

B. Submit a change request to capture the gold plating problem in the issue log

C. Discuss the issue at the project retrospective and update the lessons learned register

D. Incorporate the agile practice of holding daily standup meetings with the team

11. A project manager has submitted a change request which was reviewed and approved by the change
control board (CCB). However, the committee chairperson overrules the decision and denies the change
request on the basis of its budget and schedule impacts. How can the project manager verify if the
chairperson has this authority?

A. Check the project team assignments

B. Review the responsibility assignment matrix

C. Research the work breakdown structure

D. Examine the change management plan

12. An agile coach has been assigned to a team that has already completed several iterations of their
agile project. By the tension within the group and some mean comments the team members exchange
with one another, the coach suspects that there are problems with the team's working relationships.

What is the agile coach's best course of action?

A. Observe the team's interactions over the next week

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B. Allow the team to work virtually to minimize interactions

C. Escalate the issue to the human resources manager

D. Ignore the problem as agile teams are self-managing

13. An agile project has entered its seventh sprint. Two days before the end of the sprint, the customer
informs the product owner that they forgot to include one feature in the sprint. A senior manager
overhears the conversation and states that including the feature represents scope creep and should not
be allowed.

What is the product owner's best course of action?

A. Work with the customer to prioritize the feature in the product backlog

B. Request that the customer submit a change request

C. Instruct the team to develop the feature in the current sprint

D. Reject the feature as instructed by the senior manager

14. A project involves a diverse group of stakeholders and team members from different cultures all
across the world. The project manager decides to use a social media tool to enhance communications on
the project. However, this would require everybody to create an account for the tool to interact with
others.

What is likely to be the biggest issue that the project manager will face?

A. The cost of the tool may be so high that it would negate the benefits of using the tool

B. The fact that everyone uses different computers and mobile devices for access

C .Social media tools should never be allowed as a platform for project communications

D. Some project stakeholders and team members would be reluctant to use the tool

15. A project manager is leading an infrastructure development project and is in the process of
comparing actual overall project performance against the performance objectives described in the
project management plan.

Which of the following activities is the project manager least likely to conduct during this process?

A. Analyzing individuals or groups affected by the project

B. Checking the status of individual project risks

C. Providing forecasts to update the current cost and schedule information

D. Monitoring implementation of approved changes as they occur

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16. You are in the process of developing approaches to involve stakeholders in your project. As you
review the classification of various stakeholders in the stakeholder register, you realize that while the
sponsor is highly enthusiastic about the project, his level of authority is insufficient to support and
promote the project within the organization.

Where would you display the current classification of the project sponsor on the power/interest grid?
(On the real PMP exam you may be asked to provide your answer by clicking the correct area in the
image. But here in the simulator, we are asking you to select the answer below.)

A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D

17. A company runs dozens of various projects covering a wide range of technical areas in multiple
countries. The company loses track of who has worked on various projects and might have highly
specialized knowledge that can be used in other projects.

Which of the following would address this issue?

A. A multi-media conferencing system

B. A common change control process managed by an appointed CCB

C. Monthly face-to-face meetings

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D. A centralized person responsible for knowledge management

18. After the project management plan and the performance measurement baseline have been
approved, the project begins its execution. The project team meets daily to discuss work completed,
work planned, and issues encountered. The project manager insists that key stakeholders also attend
these meetings.

What is the project manager trying to achieve?

A. Comparing the work completed vs. planned as specified in the baseline

B. Resolving the issues and impediments encountered by the team

C. Maintaining effective relationships with the key project stakeholders

D. Clarifying roles and responsibilities of the team and the stakeholders

19. To hire independent contractors for the project team, the project manager follows the resource
management plan and advertises the opportunity on social media. The response is overwhelming. After
narrowing down the list of applicants to those qualified for the project work, the project manager has a
much larger than anticipated candidate pool.

What should the project manager do next?

A. Apply the source selection criteria to the candidate pool

B. Submit a change request to update the resource management plan

C. Update the lessons learned repository

D. Use multicriteria decision analysis to select the independent contractors

20. During project execution, after investing in the training of your project team members, you notice
that one of them consistently exceeds expectations while performing her tasks. To have the project
benefit from the team member's skills and reduce the risk of missing defects in the project deliverables.
you have tasked the team member to handle the most advanced quality inspections.

Where would you record the new duties of this team member?

A. Resource calendar

B. Project team assignments

C. Risk register

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D. Quality inspection report

21. During project execution, the sponsor informs the project manager that a new influential stakeholder
has just joined the organization and will be responsible for a few aspects of the project.

What is the best course of action for the project manager to learn about the stakeholder's requirements
and expectations?

A. Revise the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix

B. Submit a change request to update the stakeholder engagement plan

C. Update the RACI chart with the responsibilities of the new stakeholder

D. Schedule a meeting with the new project stakeholder

22. You are facilitating a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss a new project that will be conducted
using an agile project management approach. One of the stakeholders is concerned about how the
project fits in with the company's overall organizational strategy.

What would you recommend to the stakeholder to address their concern?

A. Look at the benefits management plan

B. Review the assumption log

C. Examine the work breakdown structure

D. Ask the project sponsor

23. The first phase of your project was completed successfully. However, during execution of the second
phase, you receive questions about the phase objectives. and there seems to be confusion surrounding
stakeholder roles and responsibilities. You have also noticed that the commitment level of the
stakeholders has declined compared to the first phase.

What strategy should have been used to avoid this situation?

A. Conducting a kick-off meeting at the start of each phase

B. Carrying out a team-building exercise with the project stakeholders

C. Conducting the project in a single phase

D. Assigning a different project manager for each phase of the project

24. You are leading a project to develop a new smartphone. Since you are anticipating many changes in
requirements and continuous feedback from stakeholders to adjust the smartphone accordingly, the

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work will be done iteratively in small increments. However. the camera for the smartphone will be
developed by a vendor who refuses to collaborate in an incremental way. What project management
approach is best for you to select for this project?

A. Predominantly agile with some predictive components

B. Predominantly predictive with some agile components

C .Predictive during planning and agile during execution

D. Agile during planning and predictive during execution

25. During an iteration. a member of an agile team pulls the work item from the top of the iteration
backlog. The work item describes a feature to be developed next. As the team member reads the
description, she realizes that the information is insufficient to develop the feature. The team member
approaches the scrum master for advice.

What should the scrum master recommend?

A. Develop the feature based on the available information

B. Perform an architectural spike

C. Return the item to the backlog and select another one

D .Consult with the product owner

26. You are an executive in a large organization that considers a gradual transition from a predictive to
the agile project management approach. You hire an external consulting company to evaluate the
current practices and propose the best way for the transition. After observing your organization for
several months, the consultant lays out several options.

Which option would you least likely to select?

A. Developing the product in two- to four-week iterations

B . Incorporating daily standup meetings into the team's routine

C. Tracking the project progress using weekly meetings

D. Holding team retrospectives at the end of each iteration

27. To schedule team building activities, the project manager wants to find details on the availability of
the team members so that the meetings would have a minimal impact on the project team assignments.

What should the project manager do?

A. Look at the resource calendar

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B. Review the project team assignments

C. Check with the team members

D. Consult the project schedule

28. An urgent change request to a product increment is submitted. The product owner evaluates the
change and. based on its high value to the customer. recommends that the CCB approves the change.
The change is approved, and the product owner prioritizes it for the current iteration. However, when
the team attempts to implement the change, the product increment fails.

What should the product owner have done differently to avoid this situation?

A. Developed a risk response plan for the potential failure

B. Consulted with the team about technical dependencies

C. Approved the change without consulting with the CCB

D. Consulted with the project manager on other constraints

29. It has been decided that a project will be managed using an agile framework. The project is now in
execution. In this adaptive environment, what should be the focus of the project manager?

A. Performing detailed product planning and delivery

B. Building a collaborative decision-making environment

C. Holding the project team accountable for deadlines

D. Planning what will be accomplished during each iteration

30. An agile team is about to begin the first iteration of the project to develop a software application for
a customer. The sponsor requests that the team works in close collaboration with the customer to
increase the chances of the project's success.

Which of the following should the project manager encourage to support the sponsors request?

A. Negotiating with the customer to formulate comprehensive project agreements

B .Assigning work to the team members based on their motivation and trust them to get the job done

C. Ensuring that the customer and the team can maintain a constant pace indefinitely

D. Welcoming changing customer requirements, even late in the development of the product

31. Your project team is in the process of implementing the activities specified in the quality
management plan. The scope, schedule, and budget are clear and well defined. Therefore, you manage
this project using predictive methods. However, since your next project is agile. you want to start
experimenting with some agile practices already in your current project.

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What can you do to achieve your goal as part of the process performed by the team?

A. Suggest that the team use alternative analysis instead of document analysis

B. Encourage continuous stakeholder engagement with the team members

C. Incorporate team-building activities into product testing and inspection tasks

D. Limit stakeholder involvement to shield the team from external distractions

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