PMP Practice Questions

You are managing a predictive IT infrastructure project. During a scheduled performance review, one of your team members expresses frustration about not having opportunities for professional growth and mentions feeling underutilized despite having advanced certifications. This team member has been consistently meeting expectations but hasn't been challenged. The project has several complex upcoming tasks that could benefit from this person's advanced skills. How should you respond?

August 11, 2026

You are managing a predictive engineering project with team members from three different countries across multiple time zones. During the first month of execution, you notice that team members in the Asia-Pacific region are not participating actively in status meetings held at 9 AM Eastern Time, and their updates are often brief or submitted via email. The project communication management plan specifies weekly synchronous team meetings. Project deliverables from the Asia-Pacific team are on schedule but there are increasing integration issues with other regional teams. What should you do?

August 11, 2026

You are managing a predictive software development project with a team of 12 members. During the executing phase, you notice that two senior developers frequently disagree on technical approaches during team meetings, causing delays in decision-making. The disagreements are becoming more personal, and other team members are starting to take sides. The project schedule shows that critical path activities are beginning to slip. What should you do first to address this situation?

August 11, 2026

You are leading a construction project using a predictive approach. The project management plan includes a resource management plan with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. A key team member, who is responsible for quality inspections on the critical path, has requested a two-week leave during a crucial phase of the project. This absence was not anticipated in the resource plan. The team member has unique expertise that is difficult to replace. What is the best course of action?

August 11, 2026

You are managing a manufacturing project following a predictive lifecycle. During the planning phase, you identified that the project requires specialized skills in industrial automation that your current team lacks. You have submitted a resource request to functional managers three weeks ago, but they have not yet assigned the required specialist. The project is scheduled to begin the execution phase in two weeks, and this resource is needed for activities on the critical path. What should you do?

August 11, 2026

During sprint planning, your cross-functional agile team is struggling with significant disagreement about story point estimates. Your senior architect insists a complex integration story is 5 points based on his experience, while two developers argue it's at least 13 points because they'll be doing the actual implementation and foresee multiple technical challenges. The product owner is pressuring for the lower estimate to fit more stories in the sprint. The tension is escalating, with team members becoming defensive and the meeting has already run 30 minutes over. How should you handle this situation?

August 3, 2026

You're managing an agile project for a healthcare application where the development team has been consistently high-performing with a velocity of 45-50 points per sprint. During the current sprint, you discover that two team members, both senior developers, have been involved in a personal conflict that has been escalating over the past month. The conflict began with disagreement over architectural decisions but has become personal, with both individuals now refusing to pair program together and making passive-aggressive comments in team channels. Other team members are starting to take sides, and you notice work items requiring both developers' expertise are being delayed. In yesterday's standup, one developer made a sarcastic comment about the other's code quality in front of the entire team. What should you do?

August 3, 2026

Your distributed agile team spans three time zones (US West Coast, US East Coast, and India). Team members in India have been increasingly quiet during sprint ceremonies and retrospectives. Your scrum master in India privately shares that the Indian team members feel their opinions aren't valued because decisions seem to be made during US hours, and they're frustrated with being woken up for 'urgent' calls at 2 AM their time. Meanwhile, US team members complain about slow response times and feel the India team isn't collaborative. Team morale is declining and your last sprint failed to meet its goals. What should be your priority action?

August 3, 2026

You are coaching a newly formed agile team that includes Maria, a product owner who came from a traditional project management background. She has been writing detailed requirement documents (15-20 pages) for each feature, specifying exact UI layouts, error messages, and technical implementation approaches before bringing them to the team. The team is overwhelmed and sprint planning takes 6-8 hours because they must read through extensive documentation. Developers are becoming disengaged, and one told you privately that 'we're just code monkeys implementing Maria's designs.' Maria believes she's helping the team by being thorough. What is your best approach?

August 3, 2026

You are leading an agile transformation for a traditional organization. Your team of 9 members includes 3 developers who consistently resist attending daily standups, claiming they are 'a waste of time' and that they work better independently. These developers are highly skilled and deliver quality code, but their absence is creating information silos and frustrating other team members who rely on their updates. Team velocity has dropped 15% over the last two sprints, and you notice integration issues emerging late in sprints. What should you do first?

August 3, 2026

You are leading a construction project using a predictive approach. One of your senior engineers has been consistently completing tasks ahead of schedule with high quality. However, during a recent team meeting, you noticed other team members seem reluctant to collaborate with this engineer and engagement has decreased. A junior team member privately mentions that the senior engineer is dismissive of others' ideas and takes credit for team contributions. What is the best course of action?

August 3, 2026

You are three months into a twelve-month predictive project developing a new financial system. Your project team includes members from four different countries across three time zones. You've noticed that team members in the Asia-Pacific region rarely speak up during the weekly status meetings held at 9:00 AM EST, though they submit thorough written reports. Decisions made in meetings sometimes need to be revisited because important input was missing. What is the best way to improve team engagement and decision quality?

August 3, 2026

You are managing an infrastructure project using a waterfall approach. During the execution phase, you receive feedback from the functional manager that one of the team members you requested has performance issues in their home department. However, this team member has been performing well on your project tasks and meeting all commitments. The functional manager suggests replacing this person. What is the most appropriate response?

August 3, 2026

Your manufacturing project team of 15 members has been working together for four months following a detailed project plan. You notice that decision-making has become slower, with team members frequently seeking your approval even for minor issues within their assigned responsibilities. Team members appear capable but hesitant to act independently. The project is on schedule, but you are concerned about sustainability. What should you do to improve this situation?

August 3, 2026

You are managing a predictive software implementation project with a planned duration of 18 months. During the planning phase, you identify that three critical team members with specialized technical skills will be needed for months 6-12, but they are currently assigned to other projects. The resource manager indicates these team members might not be available when needed. What should you do first to address this constraint?

August 3, 2026

Your construction project team has been working for four months following a detailed WBS and schedule baseline. You notice during status meetings that one of your experienced engineers consistently provides optimistic progress reports, but when you review actual deliverables, the work is 2-3 weeks behind what was reported. Other team members have begun making comments about this engineer's reliability. The engineer is technically competent and has delivered quality work in the past. What is the most appropriate action?

August 3, 2026

You are managing a product development project using a predictive lifecycle. During the execution phase, you notice that one of your team members, who is typically highly productive, has shown a significant decline in performance over the past three weeks. Deliverables are late, quality has decreased, and the team member seems disengaged during meetings. This is affecting dependent tasks on the critical path. You have a positive working relationship with this individual. What is your best course of action?

August 3, 2026

Your infrastructure project is following a detailed project management plan with strict phase gates. During the design phase, you discover that two team members from different functional departments have incompatible work styles: one prefers detailed documentation and formal reviews before proceeding, while the other favors quick iterations with minimal documentation. Both approaches have merit, but their conflict is delaying deliverables by two weeks. The work requires their collaboration. What should you do?

August 3, 2026

You are leading a manufacturing project with a clearly defined scope and a 12-month timeline. Three months into execution, a senior team member who has been with the company for 15 years frequently challenges your decisions in team meetings, often referencing 'how we've always done things.' This behavior is starting to influence other team members and slow down decision-making. The team member's technical expertise is valuable, but the resistance is affecting team cohesion. How should you address this situation?

August 3, 2026

You are managing a predictive software development project with a fixed timeline of 18 months. During the planning phase, you identify that two critical team members with specialized database expertise will be needed for months 8-12, but they are currently assigned to another project. The resource manager indicates they might become available, but cannot guarantee it. Your project schedule shows these resources on the critical path. What should you do first?

August 3, 2026

Your pharmaceutical project team of 30 specialists is executing a predictive plan to develop regulatory submission documentation. You have one team member, a senior regulatory expert with 20 years of experience, who possesses unique knowledge critical to project success but consistently demonstrates poor mentoring skills, dismisses junior team members' questions as 'basic,' and has caused two junior regulatory writers to request transfers. The junior members are necessary for document production volume, but the senior expert's specialized knowledge of FDA interactions cannot be easily replaced. Your HR business partner has documented complaints but states the expert has not violated any policies. The project is at the midpoint and approaching critical regulatory milestones. What is your best approach?

July 27, 2026

You are leading a construction project that is 60% complete. During a routine team performance assessment, you discover that your site supervisor has been consistently inflating progress reports to make their team appear more productive. Upon investigation, you learn the supervisor was responding to intense pressure from the construction manager to meet aggressive milestones, and feared their team would be viewed negatively. The actual progress indicates the project is approximately 3 weeks behind schedule. The construction manager is unaware of the misreported data and is making decisions based on the inflated reports. What should you do?

July 27, 2026

You are managing a government defense project with strict security clearance requirements and a hierarchical organizational structure. A high-performing team member has been consistently delivering excellent technical work but has begun circumventing the established approval chain by directly contacting the client's technical lead to expedite decisions. While this has accelerated some approvals, your project sponsor has received a formal complaint from the client's program manager about protocol violations. The team member argues their actions have saved the project two weeks of schedule delays. How should you address this situation?

July 27, 2026

Your predictive project is entering month 8 of a 14-month schedule. Three team members who were critical resources for the design phase have been reassigned to other organizational priorities by their functional managers, despite your resource management plan identifying them as needed through month 10. The remaining team has the technical skills but lacks the institutional knowledge these members possessed. The project sponsor is pressuring you to maintain the original schedule. Performance reviews show current team morale is declining. What is your best course of action?

July 27, 2026

You are managing a large infrastructure project with a team of 45 members across engineering, procurement, and construction disciplines. During the execution phase, you notice that two senior engineers who must collaborate on critical path activities have fundamentally different working styles—one prefers detailed documentation and formal approvals, while the other favors quick decisions and minimal paperwork. Their conflict is causing delays in design reviews that are impacting the project schedule. The procurement lead suggests reassigning one engineer to a different work package. What should you do first?

July 27, 2026