PMP Practice Questions

Your agile project team has been using two-week sprints successfully for six months. A new regulatory requirement has been introduced that mandates monthly compliance reports with detailed documentation of all work completed. The compliance officer suggests moving to four-week sprints to align with the reporting cycle, arguing it will reduce administrative overhead. The team is concerned this will reduce their ability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. How should you address this situation?

September 21, 2026

During a sprint, your development team discovers that implementing a user story as currently defined would require significant technical debt due to integration with a legacy system. The story is high priority for the product owner and represents 8 story points of the 40-point sprint commitment. Refactoring to avoid technical debt would increase the effort to 13 story points. The team is currently on day 3 of a 10-day sprint. What should happen next?

September 21, 2026

Your agile team is developing a customer portal and has received feedback from the product owner that the last three increments did not meet customer expectations, despite meeting acceptance criteria. The team followed all documented requirements and the product owner approved each user story before development. Customers are frustrated that features don't solve their actual problems. What should the team do to prevent this in future sprints?

September 21, 2026

You are managing an agile software development project with a distributed team across three time zones. During sprint planning, the team commits to 45 story points, which is significantly higher than their historical average of 32 story points per sprint. When you question this, the team explains they want to impress the new executive sponsor who will attend the sprint review. The product owner supports the ambitious commitment. What is the BEST action to take?

September 21, 2026

Your agile team has completed three sprints on a mobile application project. During the sprint retrospective, several team members mention that the Definition of Done (DoD) has become unclear, as some user stories are being marked complete without proper testing documentation. The product owner suggests loosening the DoD to improve velocity metrics. Team members are divided on this approach. What should you do as the Scrum Master?

September 21, 2026

You are managing a 14-month product development project currently in month 8. The project has a documented communications management plan that specifies monthly status reports to stakeholders. A key stakeholder who rarely attended review meetings or responded to status reports suddenly expresses strong dissatisfaction with the project direction during a chance meeting with your sponsor. The sponsor is now questioning your stakeholder management approach. Upon investigation, you discover this stakeholder's engagement level has dropped from 'supportive' to 'resistant' without your awareness. What should you have done differently?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a software development project using a predictive approach. During a quality audit, the quality assurance team identifies that 15% of the deliverables from the development phase contain defects that meet the defined acceptance criteria but fall short of industry best practices for security standards. The project quality management plan specifies conformance to acceptance criteria as the measure of quality. Fixing these issues would require additional time and budget not currently allocated. What should you do?

September 18, 2026

Your manufacturing project is in the execution phase. A critical supplier informs you that a key component will be delayed by three weeks due to material shortages. This component is on the critical path and was scheduled to be delivered in two weeks. You review your risk register and find that supplier delays were identified as a risk, with a mitigation strategy to identify alternate suppliers. However, no alternate suppliers were pre-qualified. What should you do first?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a construction project with a 12-month timeline and a fixed budget of $2.5 million. During the fourth month, you conduct an earned value analysis and find that the Cost Performance Index (CPI) is 0.85 and the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is 0.92. The sponsor asks you to forecast the final project cost assuming current performance continues. What is the most appropriate estimate to provide?

September 18, 2026

Your project team has completed the work breakdown structure (WBS) for a complex infrastructure project. During the activity definition process, a senior team member suggests that some work packages are still too large and should be decomposed further into smaller activities. Another team member argues that further decomposition is unnecessary and will create excessive administrative overhead. The work packages in question represent approximately 120 hours of work each. How should you proceed?

September 18, 2026

A project manager is leading a predictive ERP implementation project for a financial services company. During execution, a major cybersecurity breach occurs at a competitor, resulting in significant regulatory scrutiny across the industry. The regulatory body issues new data security requirements that affect how customer information must be encrypted and stored. These requirements were not part of the original project scope or compliance assessment. The changes would add 2 months and $500,000 to the project. What is the most appropriate course of action?

September 18, 2026

A manufacturing company is executing a predictive project to build a new production facility. The project is 40% complete when the organization announces a merger with another company. The merged entity's executive team requests a review of all capital projects to ensure alignment with the new corporate strategy, which emphasizes sustainability and carbon neutrality by 2030. The current facility design meets all contracted requirements but uses conventional energy systems. What should the project manager do?

September 18, 2026

A project manager is overseeing a predictive construction project to build a new corporate headquarters. The local economy has been experiencing significant inflation, and the central bank has raised interest rates three times in the past six months. The project has a fixed-price contract with the general contractor, but several subcontractors are requesting price increases citing increased material costs and higher borrowing costs for equipment. The project is 30% complete with 18 months remaining. The contingency reserve is 8% and has not yet been used. What should the project manager do?

September 18, 2026

A project manager is overseeing a government infrastructure project using a predictive approach. Six months into the 24-month project, a new political administration takes office and announces a comprehensive review of all ongoing infrastructure projects. The review is expected to take 3 months, during which all project expenditures must be approved on a weekly basis rather than monthly. The project has sufficient budget allocated, but the change in approval frequency could impact the critical path. How should the project manager respond to this external environmental change?

September 18, 2026

A project manager is leading a predictive project to develop a new medical device. During the planning phase, the sponsor informs the project manager that a competitor has just announced a similar product launch in 12 months. The original project schedule was 18 months, with significant regulatory approval milestones at months 6, 12, and 15. The sponsor wants to know if the project can be accelerated to match the competitor's timeline without compromising regulatory compliance. What should the project manager do first?

September 18, 2026

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

Your organization is executing a predictive software implementation project across five international offices. The project is 40% complete when the organization announces a merger with another company. The merged entity will have overlapping systems, and there is uncertainty about which technology platforms will be retained. Your executive sponsor has been reassigned to merger integration activities, and no replacement has been named. Team morale is declining due to uncertainty about job security and project continuation. What should be your priority action?

September 16, 2026

You are managing a predictive government infrastructure project with a 24-month timeline and fixed budget. Six months into execution, a new environmental regulation is enacted that requires additional environmental impact assessments for all projects in your sector. The regulation will add 3 months to your schedule and increase costs by 15%. Your sponsor is concerned about the project's viability. What should you do first?

September 16, 2026

You are leading a predictive construction project to build a new office facility. During the execution phase, a competing company announces plans to build a larger, more modern facility in the same business district, expected to complete 6 months before your project. Your sponsor is concerned this may affect the organization's ability to attract tenants and achieve the projected occupancy rates that justified the project. The sponsor asks for your recommendation on how to proceed. What should you recommend?

September 16, 2026

You are managing a 18-month product development project for a manufacturing company. The project is tracking on schedule and budget at month 9. Your organization's CFO announces that due to market downturn, all project budgets will be reduced by 20% effective next quarter, and the executive team is reviewing the project portfolio for potential cancellations. Your project's business case showed a 3-year ROI with NPV of $2.5M. Market conditions suggest the ROI period may now extend to 5 years. What is your best course of action?

September 16, 2026

Your organization is executing a predictive ERP implementation project. During the planning phase, you identified a key vendor as critical to success. Now, three months before a major milestone, you learn through industry news that this vendor is being acquired by a competitor. The vendor assures you there will be no service disruption, but you have concerns about potential changes to pricing, support levels, and strategic direction. The vendor represents 30% of your project budget. How should you address this situation?

September 16, 2026