PMP Practice Questions

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

You are managing a government IT project following predictive methodologies. During a phase gate review at the end of the design phase, the project governance board expresses concern that several technical risks identified in the risk register have not been actively managed, though none have materialized yet. The board notes that risk response plans were documented during planning but asks for evidence of ongoing risk monitoring activities. Your risk register has not been updated in six weeks. How should you address this situation moving forward?

May 28, 2026

You are managing a 12-month infrastructure project using a predictive approach. At the end of month 4, you review the project dashboard and notice that planned value (PV) is $400,000, earned value (EV) is $350,000, and actual cost (AC) is $380,000. Several team members report that they have been working on activities that were not originally scheduled for this period because they had available time. What is the PRIMARY issue this situation reveals about project management processes?

May 28, 2026

You are leading a pharmaceutical software implementation project following a predictive approach. The project has completed the planning phase, and you have a detailed WBS, activity list, and resource assignments. During the first month of execution, three team members inform you they will be pulled away for two weeks to support an urgent regulatory audit. This was not anticipated during planning and affects activities on the critical path. What should be your FIRST action as the project manager?

May 28, 2026

Your manufacturing equipment upgrade project is in the executing phase. A key vendor has submitted deliverables for the third milestone, but during the inspection process, your quality assurance team identifies that 15% of the components do not meet the specifications outlined in the procurement contract. The vendor claims the specifications were ambiguous and requests additional payment to remake the components. This is causing a potential two-week delay. What is the BEST course of action?

May 28, 2026

You are managing a construction project with a fixed budget of $2.5 million and a 14-month timeline. During month 6, you conduct an earned value analysis and discover that the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.85 and the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.92. The project sponsor asks you to forecast the final project cost and determine what actions are needed. Using the current performance trends, what is the most appropriate estimate at completion (EAC) if you believe current variances are atypical and future work will be performed at the planned rate?

May 28, 2026