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 leading a hybrid project to modernize a manufacturing execution system. The data migration component follows a waterfall approach due to regulatory validation requirements, while new features are developed using Kanban. Three months into the project, your organization announces a merger that will require integrating data from the acquired company's systems - significantly expanding the data migration scope. The Kanban team has been delivering features steadily, but these features depend on the data migration being complete. The project budget is fixed, and the regulatory validation timeline cannot be compressed. Senior management wants to know how you will handle this change without delaying time-to-market. What is the BEST approach?

September 18, 2026

You are managing a hybrid product development project where the hardware components follow a predictive approach with a 12-month timeline, while the software team operates in 2-week sprints. The hardware team has just informed you that a critical component will be delayed by 6 weeks due to supply chain issues. This delay will impact the integration phase where both teams must work together. The software team has already completed 60% of their planned features and is on track. Several stakeholders are pressuring you to maintain the original go-live date. What should be your FIRST action to address this situation?

September 16, 2026

You are managing a pharmaceutical product launch project using a hybrid approach. Clinical trials and regulatory submissions follow a stage-gate predictive model due to FDA requirements, while the marketing campaign and digital presence are developed using Scrum. The regulatory team has just learned that the FDA will require an additional study, delaying approval by 9 months. Meanwhile, the Scrum team has completed the e-commerce platform, mobile app, and digital marketing materials scheduled for the original launch date. The program sponsor is concerned about losing competitive advantage and wants options for generating value from the completed digital work. What is the MOST appropriate strategy?

September 16, 2026

Your hybrid construction and technology project involves building a new data center facility (predictive) while simultaneously developing the cloud management platform (agile). The construction phase has clearly defined milestones tied to building permits and inspections. The software team works in 3-week sprints and has been delivering features ahead of schedule. A major stakeholder from the facilities group has started attending sprint reviews and is now requesting detailed Gantt charts for the software deliverables, claiming they need predictability to coordinate facility operations planning. The software team feels this contradicts agile principles and will slow them down with unnecessary documentation. The stakeholder insists they cannot plan operations without concrete dates. What should you do to resolve this conflict?

September 16, 2026

Your organization is implementing a new customer portal using a hybrid approach. The infrastructure and security components are being delivered predictively with detailed requirements and regulatory compliance needs, while the user interface and customer-facing features are developed using Scrum. During the third sprint review, the Product Owner accepts several UI features, but the security team identifies that these features cannot be deployed to production because the underlying security framework (managed predictively) won't be ready for another two months. The development team is frustrated that completed work cannot be released, and the Product Owner is concerned about demonstrating value to stakeholders. How should you address this situation going forward?

September 16, 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

Your hybrid project team includes contractors who are deeply familiar with the legacy system (managed predictively) and permanent employees who are newer but working on the agile modernization effort. During planning, you notice the contractors dominate technical discussions and the permanent employees defer to them, even though the employees will maintain the new system long-term. The contractors are scheduled to roll off in three months. Knowledge transfer was included in the project plan but hasn't been prioritized due to schedule pressure. What should you do?

September 11, 2026

You're managing a product development project using a hybrid approach where UX research follows Kanban while engineering uses Scrum. Two team members—a UX researcher and a software engineer—have had escalating disagreements about research timing and findings. The researcher believes the engineer dismisses user insights, while the engineer feels research is delivered too late to influence sprint planning. Both are technically excellent but their conflict is creating tension in cross-functional planning sessions. Other team members are starting to take sides. What is the most effective way to address this conflict?

September 11, 2026

Your hybrid project combines agile development sprints with stage-gated regulatory approvals. A high-performing senior developer has become increasingly disengaged after being denied a promotion due to budget constraints. She has begun missing daily standups and her code review quality has declined. Other team members have noticed and morale is affected. The predictive workstream manager suggests documenting performance issues formally. You have a 1-on-1 scheduled with her tomorrow. What is your best approach?

September 11, 2026

You're leading a hybrid transformation project where 40% of team members are co-located and 60% are distributed across three time zones. During retrospectives, the remote team members have been unusually quiet, and anonymous feedback reveals they feel their opinions are less valued than those of co-located staff. The co-located team leads tend to have side conversations that exclude remote participants. Despite this, sprint commitments are being met. A key stakeholder suggests this isn't a priority since delivery metrics are satisfactory. How should you respond?

September 11, 2026

You are managing a hybrid project where the development team uses Scrum while the infrastructure team follows a predictive approach. Recently, several infrastructure team members have expressed frustration that they are being excluded from sprint reviews and feel disconnected from the product vision. The development team argues that including infrastructure in reviews slows down their feedback cycles. Team velocity has started declining, and integration issues are increasing. What should you do first to address this situation?

September 11, 2026

You are managing a manufacturing equipment installation project with team members from multiple countries and cultures. During status meetings, you notice that team members from some cultures rarely speak up or challenge ideas, even when asked directly for input. Meanwhile, team members from other cultures dominate discussions. You need full team participation to identify risks and issues early, as the project follows a sequential phase-gate approach. What should you do to improve team participation?

September 10, 2026

You are managing a pharmaceutical project in the execution phase with a fixed timeline due to regulatory requirements. A critical team member who holds specialized knowledge about regulatory compliance has requested a two-week leave for personal reasons during a crucial project phase. No other team member has equivalent expertise. The team member has been highly dedicated and this is their first leave request. According to your resource management plan, coverage for key roles should be identified. What is the best course of action?

September 10, 2026

Your construction project has a detailed resource management plan and established team ground rules. A new senior engineer has joined the team and immediately begins suggesting process changes and questioning established procedures during team meetings. While some suggestions have merit, the constant challenges are creating tension among team members who have been following the agreed-upon processes. Several team members have privately expressed frustration to you. What should you do?

September 10, 2026

You are leading a software development project using a waterfall methodology. One of your key developers, who has been with the project since initiation, has been consistently high-performing. Recently, you notice their work quality declining and they seem disengaged during team meetings. The project is currently in the detailed design phase with tight deadlines. When you ask about their performance, they mention feeling unchallenged by repetitive tasks. What is the best approach to address this situation?

September 10, 2026

You are managing a large infrastructure project using a predictive approach. During the execution phase, you notice that two senior engineers from different functional departments are having frequent disagreements about technical specifications, which is causing delays in deliverables. Both engineers report to different functional managers, not to you. The project schedule shows that their collaboration is critical for the next three months. What should you do first?

September 10, 2026