PMP Practice Questions

You are managing a construction project with a 24-month timeline and a fixed budget of $8 million. During month 6, you calculate that the Earned Value (EV) is $2.1 million, the Planned Value (PV) is $2.4 million, and the Actual Cost (AC) is $2.3 million. The project sponsor asks you to forecast the final project cost based on current performance trends. What should you report as the Estimate at Completion (EAC) assuming current cost performance continues?

September 18, 2026

You are leading a software development project using a waterfall approach. The design phase has been completed and approved by stakeholders. As the development phase begins, a key stakeholder requests a significant change to the user interface that would require redesigning several approved components. The change would add value but was not included in the original scope. The stakeholder insists this is just a clarification of the original requirements. What is your BEST course of action?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a bridge construction project with a 36-month duration and multiple work packages. The project is in month 12, and you are conducting a quality audit. You discover that concrete testing procedures documented in the quality management plan have not been consistently followed by the construction subcontractor for the past two months. The subcontractor claims the alternative testing methods they used are equivalent and meet industry standards. No structural failures have occurred. What should you do?

September 18, 2026

During the execution phase of a pharmaceutical manufacturing project, you discover that a critical piece of equipment specified in the project scope has been discontinued by the manufacturer. Three alternative equipment options are available, each with different costs, lead times, and technical specifications. One option closely matches the original specifications but costs 30% more and has a 3-month longer lead time. Another option costs the same but has reduced capacity. A third option is cheaper and faster but requires modifications to the facility design. What should you do FIRST?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a manufacturing project to deliver 500 custom components over 10 months. After 4 months, you have delivered 180 components. The project budget is $500,000, and you have spent $195,000 so far. According to the baseline schedule, you should have delivered 200 components by now. Senior management wants to know if the project will meet its deadline. What is the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and what does it indicate about schedule performance?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a pharmaceutical product development project following a predictive lifecycle with strict regulatory requirements. During the testing phase, a critical test reveals unexpected results that require investigation before proceeding. This was not anticipated in the risk register. The project schedule has no float, and any delay will impact the launch date that has been publicly announced to investors. The quality manager insists on a thorough investigation that will take three weeks, while the sponsor pressures you to proceed with limited investigation to maintain the schedule. What should you do?

September 9, 2026

You are managing a manufacturing project using a predictive approach. During a quality inspection, you discover that 15% of the completed components do not meet the quality specifications defined in the quality management plan. The components are already installed, and removing them would require significant rework, causing a two-week delay and 20% cost increase. The defects are minor and do not affect functionality, but they do not meet documented specifications. Your team suggests accepting the components as-is. What should you do?

September 9, 2026

Your software development project is following a predictive lifecycle with detailed upfront planning. You are currently in the execution phase, and the project is on schedule and within budget. A key stakeholder who was minimally involved during planning now requests a significant feature addition that would provide substantial business value but was not included in the original scope. The stakeholder insists this feature is critical and should be added immediately without formal approval processes. What is the most appropriate action?

September 9, 2026

You are managing a construction project using a predictive approach. During the execution phase, a major supplier informs you that a critical material will be delayed by three weeks due to manufacturing issues. The project schedule shows this material is on the critical path, and the delay will impact the project completion date. You review the risk register and find this supplier delay was identified as a potential risk with a mitigation strategy documented. What should you do first?

September 9, 2026

You are managing a telecommunications infrastructure project using a predictive methodology. The project is 60% complete when you conduct an earned value analysis. The results show: PV = $800,000, EV = $720,000, AC = $780,000, BAC = $1,200,000. Based on these metrics, the project team is concerned about performance. The sponsor asks you to forecast the total cost at completion and explain the project's current performance status. What is the most accurate assessment?

September 9, 2026

Your organization is executing a portfolio of projects, and you are managing a critical ERP implementation with a 18-month timeline. At month 10, the portfolio review board redirects your two most experienced technical resources to a new executive priority project for the next 90 days. These resources are currently assigned to critical path activities for database migration and integration testing. Your resource manager can provide three junior resources as replacements, but they lack ERP experience. The portfolio manager states this is non-negotiable due to business priorities. Your analysis shows that using junior resources will likely cause 6-8 weeks of schedule delay and increase risk of integration defects. What should be your PRIMARY response?

September 9, 2026

You are managing a government defense project with a fixed-price contract and strict security protocols. At the 40% completion point, a new regulation is published requiring additional cybersecurity controls that were not in the original scope. Implementing these controls will add $1.2M to project costs and 4 months to the schedule. Your contracts team confirms this qualifies as a changes in law provision under the contract. However, the government client's project office indicates their fiscal year budget cannot accommodate the increase and suggests descoping other requirements to offset costs. Your technical lead warns that descoping any current requirements will likely fail the final security certification. What is the MOST appropriate next step?

September 9, 2026

You are managing a large infrastructure project with a 24-month timeline and a $15M budget. During month 14, your Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.89 and Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.92. The project has consumed $9.2M of the budget. Your sponsor is concerned about cost overruns and demands that you reduce spending immediately. The critical path activities for the next three months include foundation work that requires specialized equipment already procured and scheduled. What should be your PRIMARY response to the sponsor's demand?

September 9, 2026

You are leading a construction project that is 65% complete when a key subcontractor declares bankruptcy. This subcontractor was responsible for all electrical work, representing 20% of remaining project activities. Three alternative subcontractors have been identified: Vendor A can start immediately but costs 35% more; Vendor B matches the original cost but needs 45 days mobilization; Vendor C costs 15% more and needs 20 days mobilization. The electrical work is on the critical path, and contract penalties of $50,000 per week apply after the baseline completion date, which is 90 days away. Your analysis shows current electrical work would take 70 days. What is the BEST course of action?

September 9, 2026

Your pharmaceutical project is developing a new drug formulation with strict FDA validation requirements. The project is using a stage-gate approach with formal quality reviews at each phase. During the Phase 2 gate review, quality auditors identify that 12 of 47 deliverables from Phase 1 do not fully meet the documented acceptance criteria, though they passed initial reviews. Reworking these deliverables will cost $340,000 and delay the project by 6 weeks. The Phase 1 project manager, who has since left the company, approved these deliverables based on verbal agreements with stakeholders that differ from the documented requirements. What should you do FIRST?

September 9, 2026

You are leading a pharmaceutical research project with strict regulatory requirements. During a risk review meeting, your team identifies a new risk: a potential change in regulatory standards that could require significant protocol modifications. The probability is estimated at 30% and the impact would be a 4-month delay and $200,000 in additional costs. The change, if it occurs, would happen in approximately 6 months. Your risk response strategy includes creating a contingency plan. What should you do NEXT?

August 28, 2026

You are managing an infrastructure project with multiple external vendors. One vendor has consistently missed milestone dates, causing delays to dependent activities. You have documented these issues and discussed them in previous status meetings. The vendor's project manager claims their delays are due to incomplete information from your team, though your records show all required information was provided on schedule. The vendor is now 10 days behind on a critical path activity. What is the MOST appropriate next step?

August 28, 2026

Your manufacturing project is in the execution phase with a CPI of 0.92 and an SPI of 1.05. During a quality audit, the quality assurance team discovers that several deliverables do not meet the specifications defined in the quality management plan. The project sponsor is pleased with the schedule performance and is pressuring you to maintain the current pace. Rework to fix the quality issues would cost an additional $40,000 and require 2 weeks. What should you do?

August 28, 2026

You are managing a software development project following a waterfall methodology. The design phase has been completed and approved by stakeholders. During the development phase, the development team identifies that implementing a specific approved feature will require significant architectural changes that were not identified during design. The team estimates this will add 3 weeks to the schedule and $25,000 to the budget. The change would improve system performance but is not required to meet the original requirements. What is the BEST course of action?

August 28, 2026

You are managing a construction project using a predictive approach. During the execution phase, a key supplier notifies you that they cannot deliver critical materials on the originally agreed date due to manufacturing delays. This delay will impact activities on the critical path. The supplier offers to expedite shipping at an additional cost of $15,000, which would maintain the original schedule. Your project has a management reserve of $50,000 and a contingency reserve of $30,000. What should you do first?

August 28, 2026

You are leading a pharmaceutical research project to develop a new drug formulation. During risk identification workshops, your team identifies a risk that a key regulatory approval might be delayed by up to 6 months due to recent policy changes. The probability is assessed at 40% and the impact on project completion would be significant. What should you do with this information?

July 13, 2026

You are managing a product development project with a fixed budget of $500,000. At the end of month 3, your earned value analysis shows: Planned Value (PV) = $150,000, Earned Value (EV) = $120,000, and Actual Cost (AC) = $130,000. The project sponsor asks for a status update. What should you report about the project performance?

July 13, 2026

Your team is developing a project schedule for a manufacturing facility upgrade. You have identified all activities, sequenced them, and estimated their durations. Several team members have been assigned to multiple concurrent activities. What should you do next to complete the schedule development process?

July 13, 2026

You are managing a software implementation project using a waterfall approach. The testing phase has just begun, and the QA team reports that 15% of test cases are failing due to missing requirements that were not included in the requirements specification document approved three months ago. The client insists these requirements are essential. What is the best course of action?

July 13, 2026

You are managing a construction project to build a new office building. During the planning phase, you identify that specialized steel beams must be ordered from an overseas supplier with a 12-week lead time. The beams are needed in week 20 of the project schedule. Your team is currently in week 2 of the project. What should you do first?

July 13, 2026