PMP Practice Questions

You are managing a product development project using a stage-gate approach. The project is approaching the gate review for Phase 2 completion. During quality inspections, you discover that three of the fifteen deliverables have minor defects that do not prevent functionality but fall slightly below the quality standards documented in the quality management plan. Correcting these defects would take two weeks and consume the remaining schedule buffer. The gate review is scheduled for next week, and senior management is eager to proceed to Phase 3. What should you do?

July 10, 2026

You are managing an infrastructure project with a detailed WBS and network diagram. A key stakeholder requests the addition of a new feature that was not included in the original scope baseline. The change would provide significant value to end users and has strong executive support. After analysis, you determine the change would add three weeks to the schedule and increase costs by 8%. The change control board (CCB) has approved the change request. What should you do next?

July 10, 2026

Your manufacturing project has a Cost Performance Index (CPI) of 0.85 and a Schedule Performance Index (SPI) of 1.10. The project is 60% complete with six months remaining until the planned completion date. During the monthly steering committee meeting, the CFO expresses concern about the budget overrun and asks whether the project can be completed within the approved budget. What should you present to the steering committee?

July 10, 2026

You are leading a software development project using a waterfall methodology. During the testing phase, the QA team discovers that 15% of the delivered functionality does not meet the acceptance criteria defined in the requirements document. The development team claims the requirements were ambiguous and their interpretation was reasonable. The testing phase is scheduled to end in one week, and any rework will delay the go-live date. What is the most appropriate action?

July 10, 2026

You are managing a construction project using a predictive approach. During the execution phase, a supplier informs you that a critical material will be delayed by three weeks due to manufacturing issues. This delay will impact the critical path and push the project completion date beyond the contractual deadline. You have already exhausted schedule reserves on previous delays. The project sponsor is highly concerned about contractual penalties. What should you do first?

July 10, 2026

You are managing a complex systems integration project following a predictive lifecycle. Three months before a major milestone delivery, your technical lead identifies that integrating two vendor systems will require an interface component that was not in the original design. Without this component, the systems cannot communicate, and the milestone deliverable cannot function. Analysis shows: developing the interface will cost $185K and take 8 weeks; the milestone is on the critical path; contingency reserve has $120K remaining; and both vendors claim the interface requirement was implied in the SOW but not explicitly stated. Your legal team is investigating liability. What should you prioritize as project manager?

July 8, 2026

Your construction project is in month 18 of a 30-month schedule. A new environmental regulation has been enacted that requires additional soil remediation procedures for your project site. The regulation applies retroactively to work already completed. Your legal team estimates compliance will add $1.2M in costs and 3 months to the schedule. You have management reserve of $800K and schedule reserve of 6 weeks. The contract includes a force majeure clause and regulatory change provisions. Your CFO wants to minimize financial impact, your customer is concerned about schedule, and your legal counsel advises documenting everything for potential claims. What is your best course of action as the project manager?

July 8, 2026

You are managing a government defense project with strict predictive controls and a fixed-price contract. During the testing phase, quality inspections reveal that 18% of manufactured units fail to meet specification tolerances defined in the quality management plan. Investigation shows the root cause is a calibration drift in manufacturing equipment that began gradually six weeks ago. The cost of rework is $340,000, and recalibrating will halt production for one week, impacting the critical path. Your quality manager wants to adjust acceptance criteria to pass more units, your operations manager wants to continue production and rework later, and your sponsor wants to understand the control implications. What should you do first?

July 8, 2026

Your pharmaceutical project is developing a new drug delivery system using a predictive approach. During the design phase, a critical supplier notifies you that a key component's lead time has increased from 8 weeks to 20 weeks due to raw material shortages. This component is needed for three activities on the critical path and two on a near-critical path (total float of 5 days). The project is currently on schedule, and regulatory submission deadlines are contractually fixed. Your team proposes four risk response strategies. Which response best addresses this threat while maintaining predictive project controls?

July 8, 2026

You are managing a complex infrastructure project with a 24-month timeline and a $15M budget. During month 14, earned value analysis shows: PV = $8.5M, EV = $7.2M, AC = $8.1M. The project has experienced significant scope changes, and three critical path activities are behind schedule. Your sponsor asks for a realistic forecast of final project cost and wants to understand if the current cost performance will continue. Considering the CPI trend has been declining over the past four months from 0.92 to 0.89, what is the most appropriate estimate at completion (EAC) to present?

July 8, 2026

You are managing a product development project using a predictive approach. The project management plan has been approved and execution has begun. During a team meeting, you realize that several team members are unclear about their specific responsibilities and who has decision-making authority for various project activities. This confusion is beginning to cause delays. What document should you reference or update to clarify these roles and responsibilities?

July 2, 2026

You are leading a predictive infrastructure project that is currently in the executing phase. A stakeholder who was not involved in initial planning requests a significant change to the project scope that would add new deliverables. The stakeholder insists the change is critical and wants it implemented immediately. What is the most appropriate action to take?

July 2, 2026

You are managing a manufacturing project to develop a new product line. During the execution phase, one of your team members discovers that a delivered component does not meet the specifications documented in the project requirements. The supplier claims the component meets industry standards, but it clearly does not match what was agreed upon in the procurement contract. What should be your first step?

July 2, 2026

You are planning a software implementation project for a financial services company. The project sponsor has approved a budget of $500,000. During cost planning, you need to establish a performance measurement baseline that will be used to monitor and control project costs throughout execution. The baseline should integrate scope, schedule, and cost to enable earned value management. What should you create?

July 2, 2026

You are managing a construction project to build a new office building. During the planning phase, you need to determine the total project duration by analyzing the sequence of activities and their dependencies. You have identified all activities, estimated their durations, and mapped out their logical relationships. What technique should you use to calculate the longest path through the project and identify the minimum project duration?

July 2, 2026

You are managing a complex engineering project with 47 identified risks in your risk register. During a risk audit, your PMO director challenges your risk response strategy for Risk #23, which has a probability of 35% and an impact of $180,000 if it occurs. You have allocated $45,000 from the contingency reserve to implement a mitigation strategy that will reduce the probability to 15% and the impact to $120,000. The mitigation work will take 3 weeks and consume resources from the critical path. The PMO director argues that this mitigation strategy is not cost-effective. What is the most valid justification for your mitigation approach?

June 12, 2026

You are managing a software implementation project for a financial services client using a predictive approach with a detailed WBS and network diagram. During the planning phase, you identified a critical dependency: the data migration activity (Activity M, 15 days duration) cannot start until both the database configuration (Activity D, 10 days) and the data cleansing validation (Activity V, 12 days) are complete. Activities D and V can occur in parallel and both start after user requirements approval (Activity R, 8 days). Activity M is followed by user acceptance testing (Activity T, 20 days). If Activity R starts on Day 1, what is the earliest day that user acceptance testing can be completed, and what type of dependency exists between Activities D and V relative to Activity M?

June 12, 2026

You are managing a government defense project operating under a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract with a target cost of $8 million and a fixed fee of $800,000. At the 60% completion point, you discover that a subcontractor has been misclassifying certain labor costs as direct project costs when they should have been indirect overhead costs. The misclassification has inflated your actual costs by $400,000. The client's auditor has identified this issue and is demanding corrective action. The contract includes a clause limiting reimbursable costs to 115% of target cost. What is your most appropriate immediate action as project manager?

June 12, 2026

During the execution phase of a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility construction project, a critical piece of specialized equipment arrives on-site three weeks late due to supply chain issues. The equipment installation is on the critical path and has zero float. Your project team has identified four potential corrective actions, each with different implications. The original schedule shows the equipment installation taking 4 weeks with 2 weeks of successor activities before the facility handover. What corrective action should you implement first to minimize overall project impact?

June 12, 2026

You are managing a large infrastructure project with a 24-month timeline and a fixed budget of $15 million. At the end of month 12, you conduct an earned value analysis and find: PV = $7.5M, EV = $6.8M, AC = $7.9M. The sponsor is concerned about cost overruns and asks whether the project can be completed within the original budget. Your team estimates that current performance trends will continue. What is the most accurate estimate at completion (EAC) you should report to the sponsor?

June 12, 2026

You have just been assigned as project manager for a new manufacturing project. During your first review of the project documentation, you find the project charter, stakeholder register, and several technical specifications. However, you cannot locate a document that clearly defines what is included and excluded from the project, along with the acceptance criteria for deliverables. Which document are you missing?

May 31, 2026

You are managing a pharmaceutical research project with a strict regulatory timeline. During a weekly team meeting, one of your scientists mentions that a required laboratory test is taking longer than expected due to equipment calibration issues. This task is on the critical path and any delay will impact the project completion date. What should you do first?

May 31, 2026

Your team has identified a risk that a key supplier might not deliver critical components on time, which would delay your project by two weeks. After analyzing the risk, you decide to order the components from a backup supplier who can guarantee delivery within your required timeframe, even though this will cost 15% more. What risk response strategy are you implementing?

May 31, 2026

You are leading a software development project using a predictive approach. The project has been ongoing for three months, and you need to report the current status to stakeholders. You calculate that the project has completed $150,000 worth of work, but you have actually spent $175,000. The planned value at this point was $160,000. What is the cost variance (CV) for this project?

May 31, 2026

You are managing a construction project to build a new office building. During the planning phase, you need to create a detailed breakdown of all the deliverables and work required to complete the project. Your sponsor has asked you to organize this information in a hierarchical structure that will serve as the foundation for planning, scheduling, and cost estimation. What should you create?

May 31, 2026