Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                

Examtips Merged

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 197

Scope Mgmt Flow Develop Project Charter Plan Scope Management

Project Charter Scope Management Plan

Requirements Management Plan


High level Scope & Non-Scope

Create WBS Define Scope Collect Requirements

WBS Project Scope Statement Requirements Documentation

WBS Dictionary Requirement Traceability Matrix


Product Scope

Project Scope
Scope Baselline

WBS+WBS Dictionary+Project Scope Statemement

Direct & Manage Project Work Control Quality Validate Scope Close Project /Phase

Deliverables Verified Deliverables Accepted Deliverables


Project Trigger
to Project Project Trigger Needs Assessment
Charter
1. Business Idea 1. Preliminary Analysis

2. A Problem to Solve
Is the Project Strategically Alligned?
3. A new business Oppurtunities High level Analysis of Threats & Oppurtunities

High level Goal / Target Definition

Is it worth to do Pursue or perform Deep Dive Analysis?

Develop Project Charter Business Documents

Project Charter Business Case

Assumptions Log
What are the Various options to start the Project?

Analysis Perfformed

Economic Analysis

PV

NPV
HTB
IRR

ROI

PBP LTB

Non-Economic Analysis

Justification to start a Project

Recommend Which Option is preffered based on Analysis

What is expected from the Project

Benefit Management Plan


Team Development:
1. PM must ensure he and his team to understand/ reach out SME appropriately and get trained if
required, to respect and adhere to follow the law of the lands, culture, customs etc (especially while
working in diverse environment)
2. Remember diversity breed conflict, PM need to take proactive actions in terms of empowering
members with cross cultural training, customs, team bonding related activities.
3. When there is a conflict between team members,
o Determine the source and stage of conflict, stay vigilant and sensitive to the situation, don’t
intervene and impulse to act.
o If you find stages of conflict are getting worse in terms of denting relationship b/w team
members or negatively impacting project objective, request members to review team charter
for resolution or recommend updates to team charter appropriately.
o Further when things aggravate negatively, pitch in preferably to collaboratively identify and
perform RAC to de-escalate the stages of conflict.
4. Wherever possible, prefer to have co-located team before virtual team.
o Remember Osmotic communication is good, to know project scenario & its impact better. It
may also reduce the need for redundant formal communications.
o Informal communication might improve team bonding.
▪ When team members do not perform well, exercise informal communication to
provide feedback first rather than formal written or oral communication.

5. Remember Project team per PMI, encompass members of customer, vendor, project staff & project
management staff, etc. when there is any conflict for meeting time zone, negotiate or recommend
options to accommodate overlapping time zones & common language suitable for all.
6. Assigning work:
o PM assign works to team (in predictive)
o Team self-organize and self-assign work(in adaptive)
7. Inclusion to be viewed as PM’s proactive action for the project team members to feel that they are
respected, valued and they are part of the whole team. Increase team’s collaborative involvement
wherever possible to identify or elicit requirements, prepare project estimates (resource, task,
schedule, Cost etc.) and arrive at the right technical solution.

Leadership Skill:

1. Enforcing decision and directive leadership could be opted as least priority. Always figure out
prioritizing options which foster inclusiveness, consultative or collaborative decision-making with the
team.
2. Even if there may be negative consequences or difficult to do, PM always need to be honest and
encourage/ ensure others to do so.
3. PM should not receive perks, Gifts, etc. if its not acceptable per company policy or customs or culture
or law of the land.
4. PM should not take bribe at any cost.
5. Any conflict of interest, bribery, unlawful practice, racism must be reported to the concerned
authority.
6. If anyone (be it your relative or colleague or friends) falsely cheats that he is PMI certified managers
or reveals that he did forgery in PMI application or certification process, it must be reported to PMI
with evidence.
7. Figure out to attune to servant leadership first.
8. Ensure to avoid favoritism, nepotism, conflict of interest while selecting the vendor. If any of your
friends or family members participate in bidding, ensure to notify the panel/ sponsor to get their
directions and avoid bias in vendor selection.
9. SM to coach appropriately when
• Team members violate Team charter (prepared by team),
• when identified with anti-patterns like
o extending the meeting beyond the timebox for each ceremony,
o Information radiators are NOT updated by the team properly,
o when team members are not self-organized and if it impacts the project
o frequently slip of deadlines,
o Team member’s poor participation in Retro,
o Customer or PO not attending Sprint review.

Exam Tips:
10. Pay attention to extreme words in your answers, such as always, must do, Only xxx(option/ Way) –
this may be potential answer to eliminate.
11. Pay attention to negation words like NOT, Except, WITHOUT etc which might be used in the question
and answer appropriately.
12. Never opt to choose those answer options which compromise ethics, compliance, with drawing
customer support (which were agreed earlier), not meeting intended business value(both tangible &
intangible), not adhering to process or procedures guided by respective planning document, not
intend.
13. Pay attention to scenario-based questions like
o What should PM do or what is the best course of action?
▪ Think holistically & strategically, impersonate the best senior manager you worked
with, to choose the right option.
o What should you do first / do next/ do immediately?
▪ These tests your tactical knowledge, this prompts for consulting or updating the
respective document (logs/ register/ planning document).

Escalation:
14. Ensure escalation to steering committee or sponsor only when situations reach beyond threshold of
project manager, only after analyzing the situation, RCA the problem and solution options profoundly.
15. When you need any resource or have concerns with your project members and cannot resolve,
reach out to their respective functional manager.

Change Mgmt:
16. When changes are requested or identified, consult the respective planning document, perform RCA
with the team, engage conversation with customer to arrive at the best solution before escalating to
sponsor.
17. Remember PM is called Change maker. He should support & act as a steward to evangelize
organizational changes.
18. Remember to take team members & their functional managers’ buy in before training the respective
team members.
19. In Predictive, if any changes to baselined artifacts are needed, ensure to submit CR, capture in change
log, perform preliminary analysis like strategic fitment, alignment to goals defined for the project,
review change log to check whether the same was requested earlier and why it got rejected, then
appropriately perform impact assessments from scope, schedule, cost, quality, resource perspective
etc., then reach out CCB for approval, then communicate the updated changes to appropriate
stakeholders and perform changes and update status in change log.

20. When your project is impacted severely due to either of the constraints: Scope, Schedule, Cost,
Resources, Quality, never skip steps/ process/ procedure, perform RCA with SME or take team’s help
to sort out first and if it’s not possible explore waiver approval on sizing down scope / extension of
schedule or increase in funding.

Process:
21. When the identified risk manifest as an issue, consult the risk response plan from your risk register &
follow through that risk response plan.

22. Identification of Stakeholders & risk need to be done throughout the project and those need to be
assessed and logged in respective registers. Also, respective planning documents need to be updated
to stay current per recent project situation according to change management plan.

23. When there is a problem, ensure to consult your team, perform RCA before taking any resolution
steps.
24. Be it an internal or external customer, deliverables need to ultimately meet the quality requirements
agreed with the customer. Potential conflict could happen on unstated or implicit requirements or if
customer is not engaged early with proper scope baselines, prototypes, MVP, story boards, wire
frames, etc. Early or periodic release to customers for feedback, increasing feedback loops helps to
reduce or eliminate the quality issues or risks.

25. Remember PM is not trusted for his skills on legal or financial or procurement or compliance related,
always involve or take inputs from the respective functional departments or SME while making
decisions.

26. While engaging with vendors, always explore on long lasting bilateral relationships with vendor. Do
not negatively exploit the vendor. Be open & transparent to vendors with right inputs especially on
FPP contract where Seller is at high risk.

27. Ensure you involve the procurement manager in bidder conference. If any updates to be made in
SOW/ RFP after bidder conference, ensure to update & circulate to all vendors who participated in
bidder conference or potential vendors.

28. ALWAYS PO prioritize the product backlog, but at times team might update the PBL as low priority use
stories with PO’s consent.

29. In any scrum project, PO & SM can never be the same person.

30. PO has the only authority to accept the user stories as done (per Acceptance criteria/ DOD), Prioritize
the product backlog, what features to get in to release and at what time, cancelling the sprint etc.

31. Never update user stories in active sprint backlog. If it demands exceptionally PO only can do. PO
needs to be invited for Retro meeting to avoid such exceptional cases in future.
PMP
®

Project Management Professional (PMP) ®

Examination Content Outline – January 2021


Project Management Institute

Project Management Professional (PMP)®


Examination Content Outline

For January 2021 Exam Update

May 2020
Published by: Project Management Institute, Inc.
14 Campus Boulevard
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3299 USA.
Phone: +610-356-4600
Fax: +610-356-4647
Email: customercare@pmi.org
Internet: PMI.org

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

"PMI," the PMI logo, "PMP," the PMP logo, "PMBOK," "PgMP,” “Project Management Journal," "PM Network,"
and the PMI Today logo are registered marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. The Quarter Globe Design is
a trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of PMI marks, contact the PMI
Legal Department.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

Exam Content Outline …………………………………………………………………….... 2

Domains, Tasks, and Enablers ..................................................................................... 3

Domain I: People .......................................................................................................... 4

Domain II: Process ....................................................................................................... 7

Domain III: Business Environment .............................................................................. 10


INTRODUCTION
The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a professional certification for project managers, known as
the Project Management Professional (PMP)®. PMI’s professional certification examination development
processes stand apart from other project management certification examination development practices.
PMI aligns its process with certification industry best practices, such as those found in the Standards for
Educational and Psychological Testing. The PMP® certification is also accredited against the internationally
recognized ISO 17024 standard.1
A key component of this process is that organizations wishing to offer valid and reliable professional
credentialing examinations are directed to use a Role Delineation Study (RDS) or Job Task Analysis (JTA)
as the basis for the creation of the examination. This process utilizes knowledge and task-driven guidelines
to assess the practitioner’s competence, and determine the levels of salience, criticality, and frequency of
each of the knowledge, tasks and skills required to perform to the industry-wide standard in the role of a
project manager.
In this year’s update to the PMP, PMI conducted a Global Practice Analysis market research study, which
produced a number of trends in the profession previously unaddressed in the PMP exam. These trends
were used as inputs into the Job Task Analysis and ensure the validity and relevance of the PMP
examination. Validation assures the outcome of the exam is, in fact, measuring and evaluating
appropriately the specific knowledge and skills required to function as a project management practitioner.
Thus, the Job Task Analysis guarantees that each examination validly measures all elements of the project
management profession in terms of real settings.
PMP certification holders can be confident that their professional certification has been developed
according to the best practices of test development and based upon input from the practitioners who
establish those standards.
The PMP examination is a vital part of the activities leading to earning a professional certification, thus it
is imperative that the PMP examination reflect accurately the practices of the project management
practitioner. All the questions on the examination have been written and extensively reviewed by qualified
PMP certification holders and tracked to at least two academic references. These questions are mapped
against the PMP Examination Content Outline to ensure that an appropriate number of questions are in
place for a valid examination.
PMI retained Alpine Testing Solutions to develop the global PMP Examination Content Outline. Alpine
Testing Solutions provides psychometric, test development, and credential management solutions to
credentialing and educational programs.
Finally, there are noticeable differences between this updated PMP Examination Content Outline and A
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. While there are
some commonalities, it is important to note that the volunteer taskforce involved in the study described
previously were not bound by the PMBOK® Guide. The taskforce members were charged with outlining
critical job tasks of individuals who lead and direct projects based on their experience and pertinent
resources.

1
Published jointly by the American Education Research Association, National Council on Measurement in Education, and
American Psychological Association. The PMP certification is also accredited by the American National Standards Institute
(ANSI) against the internationally recognized ISO/IEC 17024 standard: Conformity Assessment—General Requirements for
Bodies Operating Certification of Persons.

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
1
EXAM CONTENT OUTLINE

The following table identifies the proportion of questions from each domain that will appear on the
examination.

Domain Percentage of Items on Test


I. People 42%

II. Process 50%

III. Business Environment 8%

Total 100%

Important note: The research conducted through the Job Task Analysis validated that today’s project
management practitioners work in a variety of project environments and utilize different project approaches.
Accordingly, the PMP certification will be reflective of this and will incorporate approaches across the value
delivery spectrum. About half of the examination will represent predictive project management
approaches and the other half will represent agile or hybrid approaches. Predictive, agile, and hybrid
approaches will be found throughout the three domain areas listed above and are not isolated to any
particular domain or task.

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
2
DOMAINS, TASKS, AND ENABLERS

In this document you will find an updated structure for the PMP Examination Content Outline. Based on
feedback from customers and stakeholders, we have worked on simplifying the format so that the PMP
Examination Content Outline is easier to understand and interpret.
On the following pages you will find the domains, tasks, and enablers as defined by the Role Delineation
Study.
 Domain: Defined as the high-level knowledge area that is essential to the practice of project
management.
 Tasks: The underlying responsibilities of the project manager within each domain area.
 Enablers: Illustrative examples of the work associated with the task. Please note that enablers are
not meant to be an exhaustive list but rather offer a few examples to help demonstrate what the
task encompasses.

Following is an example of the new task structure:

Task statement Manage conflict

 Interpret the source and stage of the conflict


Enablers  Analyze the context for the conflict
 Evaluate/recommend/reconcile the appropriate conflict resolution solution

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
3
Domain I People—42%

Task 1 Manage conflict


 Interpret the source and stage of the conflict
 Analyze the context for the conflict
 Evaluate/recommend/reconcile the appropriate conflict resolution solution

Task 2 Lead a team


 Set a clear vision and mission
 Support diversity and inclusion (e.g., behavior types, thought process)
 Value servant leadership (e.g., relate the tenets of servant leadership to the team)
 Determine an appropriate leadership style (e.g., directive, collaborative)
 Inspire, motivate, and influence team members/stakeholders (e.g., team contract,
social contract, reward system)
 Analyze team members and stakeholders’ influence
 Distinguish various options to lead various team members and stakeholders

Task 3 Support team performance


 Appraise team member performance against key performance indicators
 Support and recognize team member growth and development
 Determine appropriate feedback approach
 Verify performance improvements

Task 4 Empower team members and stakeholders


 Organize around team strengths
 Support team task accountability
 Evaluate demonstration of task accountability
 Determine and bestow level(s) of decision-making authority

Task 5 Ensure team members/stakeholders are adequately trained


 Determine required competencies and elements of training
 Determine training options based on training needs
 Allocate resources for training
 Measure training outcomes

Task 6 Build a team


 Appraise stakeholder skills
 Deduce project resource requirements
 Continuously assess and refresh team skills to meet project needs
 Maintain team and knowledge transfer

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
4
Task 7 Address and remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
 Determine critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
 Prioritize critical impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
 Use network to implement solutions to remove impediments, obstacles, and
blockers for the team
 Re-assess continually to ensure impediments, obstacles, and blockers for the team
are being addressed

Task 8 Negotiate project agreements


 Analyze the bounds of the negotiations for agreement
 Assess priorities and determine ultimate objective(s)
 Verify objective(s) of the project agreement is met
 Participate in agreement negotiations
 Determine a negotiation strategy

Task 9 Collaborate with stakeholders


 Evaluate engagement needs for stakeholders
 Optimize alignment between stakeholder needs, expectations, and project
objectives
 Build trust and influence stakeholders to accomplish project objectives

Task 10 Build shared understanding


 Break down situation to identify the root cause of a misunderstanding
 Survey all necessary parties to reach consensus
 Support outcome of parties' agreement
 Investigate potential misunderstandings

Task 11 Engage and support virtual teams


 Examine virtual team member needs (e.g., environment, geography, culture,
global, etc.)
 Investigate alternatives (e.g., communication tools, colocation) for virtual team
member engagement
 Implement options for virtual team member engagement
 Continually evaluate effectiveness of virtual team member engagement

Task 12 Define team ground rules


 Communicate organizational principles with team and external stakeholders
 Establish an environment that fosters adherence to the ground rules
 Manage and rectify ground rule violations

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
5
Task 13 Mentor relevant stakeholders
 Allocate the time to mentoring
 Recognize and act on mentoring opportunities

Task 14 Promote team performance through the application of emotional intelligence


 Assess behavior through the use of personality indicators
 Analyze personality indicators and adjust to the emotional needs of key project
stakeholders

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
6
Domain II Process—50%
Execute project with the urgency required to deliver business value
Task 1
 Assess opportunities to deliver value incrementally
 Examine the business value throughout the project
 Support the team to subdivide project tasks as necessary to find the minimum
viable product

Manage communications
Task 2
 Analyze communication needs of all stakeholders
 Determine communication methods, channels, frequency, and level of detail for all
stakeholders
 Communicate project information and updates effectively
 Confirm communication is understood and feedback is received

Assess and manage risks


Task 3
 Determine risk management options
 Iteratively assess and prioritize risks

Engage stakeholders
Task 4
 Analyze stakeholders (e.g., power interest grid, influence, impact)
 Categorize stakeholders
 Engage stakeholders by category
 Develop, execute, and validate a strategy for stakeholder engagement

Plan and manage budget and resources


Task 5
 Estimate budgetary needs based on the scope of the project and lessons learned
from past projects
 Anticipate future budget challenges
 Monitor budget variations and work with governance process to adjust as
necessary
 Plan and manage resources

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
7
Plan and manage schedule
Task 6
 Estimate project tasks (milestones, dependencies, story points)
 Utilize benchmarks and historical data
 Prepare schedule based on methodology
 Measure ongoing progress based on methodology
 Modify schedule, as needed, based on methodology
 Coordinate with other projects and other operations

Plan and manage quality of products/deliverables


Task 7
 Determine quality standard required for project deliverables
 Recommend options for improvement based on quality gaps
 Continually survey project deliverable quality

Plan and manage scope


Task 8
 Determine and prioritize requirements
 Break down scope (e.g., WBS, backlog)
 Monitor and validate scope

Integrate project planning activities


Task 9
 Consolidate the project/phase plans
 Assess consolidated project plans for dependencies, gaps, and continued business
value
 Analyze the data collected
 Collect and analyze data to make informed project decisions
 Determine critical information requirements

Manage project changes


Task 10
 Anticipate and embrace the need for change (e.g., follow change management
practices)
 Determine strategy to handle change
 Execute change management strategy according to the methodology
 Determine a change response to move the project forward

Plan and manage procurement


Task 11
 Define resource requirements and needs
 Communicate resource requirements
 Manage suppliers/contracts
 Plan and manage procurement strategy
 Develop a delivery solution

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
8
Manage project artifacts
Task 12
 Determine the requirements (what, when, where, who, etc.) for managing the
project artifacts
 Validate that the project information is kept up to date (i.e., version control) and
accessible to all stakeholders
 Continually assess the effectiveness of the management of the project artifacts

Determine appropriate project methodology/methods and practices


Task 13
 Assess project needs, complexity, and magnitude
 Recommend project execution strategy (e.g., contracting, finance)
 Recommend a project methodology/approach (i.e., predictive, agile, hybrid)
 Use iterative, incremental practices throughout the project life cycle (e.g., lessons
learned, stakeholder engagement, risk)

Establish project governance structure


Task 14
 Determine appropriate governance for a project (e.g., replicate organizational
governance)
 Define escalation paths and thresholds

Manage project issues


Task 15
 Recognize when a risk becomes an issue
 Attack the issue with the optimal action to achieve project success
 Collaborate with relevant stakeholders on the approach to resolve the issues

Ensure knowledge transfer for project continuity


Task 16
 Discuss project responsibilities within team
 Outline expectations for working environment
 Confirm approach for knowledge transfers

Plan and manage project/phase closure or transitions


Task 17
 Determine criteria to successfully close the project or phase
 Validate readiness for transition (e.g., to operations team or next phase)
 Conclude activities to close out project or phase (e.g., final lessons learned,
retrospective, procurement, financials, resources)

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
9
Domain III Business Environment—8%
Plan and manage project compliance
Task 1
 Confirm project compliance requirements (e.g., security, health and safety,
regulatory compliance)
 Classify compliance categories
 Determine potential threats to compliance
 Use methods to support compliance
 Analyze the consequences of noncompliance
 Determine necessary approach and action to address compliance needs (e.g.,
risk, legal)
 Measure the extent to which the project is in compliance

Evaluate and deliver project benefits and value


Task 2
 Investigate that benefits are identified
 Document agreement on ownership for ongoing benefit realization
 Verify measurement system is in place to track benefits
 Evaluate delivery options to demonstrate value
 Appraise stakeholders of value gain progress

Evaluate and address external business environment changes for impact on


Task 3
scope
 Survey changes to external business environment (e.g., regulations, technology,
geopolitical, market)
 Assess and prioritize impact on project scope/backlog based on changes in
external business environment
 Recommend options for scope/backlog changes (e.g., schedule, cost changes)
 Continually review external business environment for impacts on project
scope/backlog

Support organizational change


Task 4
 Assess organizational culture
 Evaluate impact of organizational change to project and determine required
actions
 Evaluate impact of the project to the organization and determine required actions

©2019 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.


PMI PMP Examination Content Outline – June 2019
10
POWERING THE PROJECT ECONOMY ™

PMI.org
© 2020 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. “PMI”, the PMI logo, “CAPM”, “PMP”, “PfMP”, “PgMP”, "PMI-ACP", “PMI-PBA”, “PMI-RMP”, “PMI-SP” and
“Powering The Project Economy” are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc. (4/20)
The PMI Registered Education Provider logo
is a registered mark of the
Project Management Institute, Inc.

PMP® Certification Training


Lesson 02: Professional and Social Responsibility

This course is based on the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK® Guide—Sixth Edition.
PMP, PMI, and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Objectives

Describe values that support the Code of Ethics and


Professional Conduct

Explain aspirational and mandatory standards of the Code of


Ethics

Explain how to ensure individual integrity


Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
The PMI® has established a set of guidelines for the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct for
certified PMP professionals. It describes the expectations that the project managers should have of
themselves and of their fellow practitioners in the global project management community.

Project managers hold a great deal of responsibility over:


• The projects they undertake
• The solutions provided
• The management of costs
• The impact of projects on the organization
• Any impacted environments or groups
• Dollars spent
• Vendors/contractors hired

PMI expects project managers to display a high standard of integrity.

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Values That Support the Code of Ethics
• PMI has identified four core values across the global project management community that are most
important to project managers.
o Responsibility
o Respect
o Fairness
o Honesty

• Each section of the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct includes both aspirational and mandatory
standards.

• The aspirational standards describe the conduct that the project managers strive to uphold as practitioners.

• Although adherence to the aspirational standards is not easily measured, it is expected that project
management professionals adhere to them. These are not optional.

• The mandatory standards establish firm requirements and, in some cases, limit or prohibit practitioner
behavior. Practitioners who do not conduct themselves
Source: PMI Code in accordance
of Ethics and Professional Conduct with these standards will be subject
Responsibility: Definition

Responsibility is your duty to take ownership for the decisions


you make or fail to make, the actions you take or fail to take,
and the resultant consequences.

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Responsibility: Aspirational Standards

Aspirational standards include:


• Making decisions and taking actions based on the best interests of the:
o Society
o Public safety
o Environment
• Undertaking assignments consistent with your background, experience, skills, and
qualifications
• Fulfilling the commitments undertaken—”We do what we say we will do”
• Owning and correcting errors or omissions promptly
o Errors must be communicated immediately to the appropriate body
o Accountability must be accepted along with the resulting consequences
• Ensuring any and all proprietary and/or confidential information is protected
• Upholding ethical code

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Responsibility: Mandatory Standards

Mandatory standards include:


• Being informed about the regulations and legal requirements
• Upholding the policies, rules, regulations, and laws that govern your work
and professional and volunteer activities
• Reporting unethical or illegal conduct to the appropriate management and,
if necessary, to those affected by the conduct

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Responsibility: Mandatory Standards (Contd.)
ETHICS COMPLAINTS

This section includes reporting violations of the PMI Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct by other project managers.

Ethics complaints must adhere to the following PMI standards:


• Bring violations of the code to the attention of the appropriate body for
resolution
• File ethics complaints when they are substantiated by facts
• Pursue disciplinary action against an individual who retaliates against a
person raising ethical concerns

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Respect: Definition

• Respect is your duty to show a high regard for yourself and resources
entrusted to you.
• These resources include people, money, reputation, the safety of others, and
natural or environmental resources.
• An environment of respect promotes trust, confidence, and excellence in
performance by fostering mutual cooperation.
• It generates an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged and
valued.

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Respect: Aspirational Standards

Aspirational standards include:


• Being informed about the norms and customs of others and avoiding
engagement in behavior that might be considered disrespectful
• Listening to others’ points of view and seeking to understand them
• Directly approaching those persons with whom you have a conflict or
disagreement
• Conducting yourself in a professional manner, even when it is not
reciprocated

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Respect: Mandatory Standards

Mandatory standards include:


• Negotiating in good faith
• Not exercising the power of your expertise or position to influence the
decisions or actions of others in order to benefit personally
• Not acting in an abusive manner toward others
• Respecting the property rights of others

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Fairness: Definition

• Fairness is your duty to make decisions and act impartially and objectively.
• Your conduct must be free from conflicting self-interest, prejudice, and
favoritism.

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Fairness: Aspirational Standards

Aspirational standards include:


• Demonstrating transparency in decision-making process
• Constantly reexamining your impartiality and objectivity and taking corrective
action when required
• Providing equal access to information to those authorized to have it
• Providing equal opportunities to qualified candidates

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Fairness: Mandatory Standards

Mandatory standards include:


• Proactively and fully disclosing any real or potential conflict of interest to
appropriate stakeholders
• Refraining from engaging in the decision-making process or from
influencing outcomes when real or potential conflict of interest is realized
• If there is real or potential conflict of interest, participating only when:
o Full disclosure is made to the affected stakeholders
o Approval on complete mitigation plan is received
o Consent of stakeholders to proceed is obtained

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Fairness: Mandatory Standards (Contd.)
FAVORITISM AND DISCRIMINATION

Mandatory standards include:


• Not hiring or firing, rewarding or punishing, or awarding or denying contracts
based on personal considerations, which include favoritism, nepotism, or
bribery
• Not discriminating against others based on gender, race, age, religion,
disability, nationality, or sexual orientation
• Applying the rules of the organization (as given by employer, Project
Management Institute, or any other group) without favoritism or prejudice

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Honesty: Definition

• Honesty is your duty to understand the truth and act in a truthful manner
both in your communications and conduct.

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Honesty: Aspirational Standards

Aspirational standards include:


• Earnestly seeking to understand the truth
• Being truthful in communications and conduct
• Providing accurate information in a timely manner
• Making commitments and promises, implied or explicit, in good faith
• Striving to create an environment in which others feel safe to tell the
truth

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Honesty: Mandatory Standards

Mandatory standards include:


• Not engaging in or condoning behavior that is designed to deceive others,
which includes but is not limited to:
o Making misleading or false statements
o Stating half-truths
o Providing information out of context
o Withholding information that, if known, would render your statements
as misleading or incomplete
• Not engaging in dishonest behavior with the intention of personal gain or at
the expense of another

Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


Ensuring Individual Integrity

Project managers need to ensure their own individual integrity while managing a project.
This means:
• Always reporting the truth regardless of negative consequences
• When conflict occurs, dealing with it directly
• Treating everyone with respect
• Avoiding discrimination
• Following all rules and regulations governing the project
• Reporting any unethical or dishonest behavior
• Not factoring personal gains into a decision in any way
• Always doing the right thing and following the right process
Ensuring Individual Integrity (Contd.)

Project managers need to ensure their own individual integrity while managing a project.
This means:

• Never divulging company information to unauthorized parties


• Respecting intellectual property rights
• Following the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Code of
Ethics and Professional Conduct. This can be found on the PMI
website.

Understand the individual integrity required in project managers to answer questions that test
professional and ethical responsibility.
Business Scenario 1: Problem Statement

• You are the project manager for a global project. The project is being delivered in another
country, and most of your team members are spread out across multiple regions. Your
project sponsor is confident in your team’s ability to finish the project under budget and
ahead of schedule. To encourage you and your team, an early completion incentive has
been linked to the project.
• After using parametric estimates in the planning process and developing a well-documented
basis of estimates, you are confident that you can deliver the project within its budget and
on schedule.
• After you hold an on-site meeting with local officials about the status of the project, one of
the officials pulls you aside to have a conversation. He tells you that he can get an important
government approval immediately, which will ensure that the next phase of the project is
completed ahead of schedule. However, he asks you to pay him $250 in US currency as an
“administration fee.” What would you do as a project manager?
Business Scenario 1: Solution

• You deny the request to pay $250 to the official.


• You want to keep your project on a positive path to ensure success. Further, your project
team would like to earn an incentive for their hard work. However, paying the official
money would be considered a bribe.
• Therefore, the next step for you, as the project manager, is to meet with the sponsor and
report the offer made by the official.
Contributing to the Project Management Knowledge Base

Project managers can contribute to the project management knowledge base


in the following ways:
• Share the best practices learned during your project with other project
managers in your organization
• Mentor junior team members on project management related topics
• Write a white paper or blog on project management or participate in project
management discussion groups
• Actively participate in analyzing past project data, and compile project
management related metrics to be used within the organization
• Participate in volunteer activities with PMI
Enhancing Professional Competence

Project managers should do the following to enhance their professional competence:

• Analyze their strengths and weaknesses


• Look for a senior project manager to mentor them on areas where they are
not very competent
• Actively look for ways to apply their project management knowledge on
projects
• Read project management books for new ideas or techniques
• Listen to or participate in webinars and online learning efforts
• Join a local chapter of PMI and participate with other project managers
• Discuss the challenges faced on their projects, with other project managers
Business Scenario 2: Problem Statement

• Three months ago, you wrapped up a project that produced spare parts for one of your
customers. You successfully gained final acceptance by the customer on the deliverable.
• Managing the project went well because the spare parts consistently met the quality
metrics, passed fitness for use tests, and adhered to all control charts. There was no
indication of issues with quality and grade that would prompt a need for change.
• A fellow project manager in the company is preparing for a similar project with a
different customer, and they want to meet with you to glean insight on what to expect.
• During your meeting, you discover an error in the results communicated in the
deliverable that may potentially turn into a safety issue in the future, which could affect
thousands of customers. Although the risks involved with these newly discovered safety
issues are very low, they could have a serious impact. How would you manage this?
Business Scenario 2: Solution

• You should first get in touch with your old project sponsor and management to
communicate your findings both verbally and in writing (formally). Then you and/or the
sponsor should communicate your findings to the customer.
• According to PMI’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, you must uphold the policies,
rules, regulations, and laws that govern your work and professional and volunteer
activities.
Promoting Stakeholder Collaboration

Project managers should encourage stakeholder collaboration so that stakeholders are aware of the
true benefits of the project and help in whatever way they can to make it successful.

The project managers should perform the following activities to


promote stakeholder collaboration:
• Resolve competing interests
• Take charge and deal with conflicting scenarios
• Respect cultural differences that occur when projects span
geographies
• Always keep stakeholders informed about the true status of their
projects
Business Scenario 3: Problem Statement

• ACME Technologies, Inc. takes pride in its excellent customer service and high-quality technology
implementations. This brand strategy has served the company well as they maintain a strong
customer loyalty record. The area that hurts them, at times, is the fact that some of their system
implementations take longer than forecast.
• Jim is a project manager at the company, and he is leading a desktop upgrade for one of their
repeat customers. The project is nearing its completion date, and it is time to check the
correctness of the computer build-out. During the evaluation, it is brought to Jim’s attention that
the desktops are not fast enough for the company’s core financial software to function as
designed. A team member suggests they increase the system’s speed by 10% with additional
RAM as a courtesy to the customer since they have excess parts from another project, and it will
not cost the company any additional dollars. In addition, the company had faced some issues on
the previous project for this customer, and this would be a great way to make up for the past
problems. What should Jim do?
Business Scenario 3: Solution

• The additional speed would make a huge difference and allow ACME to meet their defined
quality metrics and fitness for use requirements. The fact that the software will not be able
to perform on the system to meet established requirements would be a the point of failure
for the project.
• Jim should document both the issues and the recommendations to present to the project
sponsor. Identifying the performance concerns is required as he has now been made
aware of the issue.

Study the business scenarios to get familiar with questions that test professional and ethical
responsibility.
Key Takeaways

Project managers must always follow the Project


Management Institute’s Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct.

The values of PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct


include:
o Responsibility

o Respect

o Fairness

o Honesty
There are aspirational and mandatory standards for each of
the values.
Project managers can contribute to the project management
knowledge base by actively analyzing past project’s data and
compiling metrics related to project management to be used
within the organization.

The project managers should always keep stakeholders


informed about the true status of their projects to promote
stakeholder collaboration.
Adjust project charter development based on
project scale and complexity.

Adapt stakeholder identification and analysis Tailor stakeholder engagement in the


methods to project scope and complexity. development of the project management plan.

Tailor stakeholder engagement strategies to fit Modify the project work based on varying
diverse stakeholder groups and needs. Integration Management project and organizational governance
structures.
Customize communication and interaction
approaches for different stakeholder types.
Stakeholder Management Adjust the level of oversight and control for
project work based on project risks and
changes.
Adjust stakeholder engagement plans based on
project phase and changes.
Tailor the closing process to align with specific
project needs and organizational procedures.
Vary the techniques for managing stakeholder
expectations and resolving conflicts.

Adapt requirements collection methods to suit


the project's nature and stakeholder needs.
Tailor procurement strategies based on project
size, complexity, and market conditions.
Tailor the scope definition and WBS (Work
Breakdown Structure) creation to project
Customize contract types and terms based on
complexity.
project risks and procurement objectives.
Customize scope validation and control
Adjust supplier selection and evaluation criteria
to align with project requirements. Procurement Management Scope Management processes based on project and stakeholder
requirements.
Vary procurement processes and controls
Adjust the level of detail in the scope baseline
based on organizational policies and project
depending on project size and complexity.
needs.
Vary scope change controls based on project
Customize stakeholder engagement and
lifecycle and change management plans.
communication in the procurement process.

Tailor schedule development and control


Adapt risk identification and analysis
processes based on project duration and
techniques to the project’s scale and
complexity.
complexity.
Adapt the level of granularity in schedule
Customize risk response strategies to align with
planning to the project's size and phase.
project objectives and stakeholder tolerance.
Customize resource allocation and leveling
Tailor risk monitoring and control processes
based on the evolving project environment.
Risk Management Schedule Management techniques based on project resources and
constraints.
Vary the use of qualitative and quantitative risk
Vary the use of scheduling methods (e.g.,
analysis methods as needed.
critical path, rolling wave planning) as needed.
Adjust risk management practices to fit Exam Tips on Adjust the frequency and methods of schedule
organizational culture and project needs.
Tailoring monitoring and updating based on project
dynamics.

Tailor communication methods and channels


based on stakeholder needs and project
Adapt cost estimating methods to the project’s
environment.
scale and complexity.
Adapt the frequency and format of
Tailor budgeting processes to align with
communication based on project phase and
organizational accounting practices.
complexity.
Customize cost control measures based on
Customize stakeholder engagement and
Communications Management Cost Management project risk and financial constraints.
information distribution strategies.
Vary the level of detail in cost baseline
Adjust communication plans to align with
depending on project size and duration.
organizational culture and project requirements.
Adjust cost management tools and techniques
Vary the level of detail in communication based
to suit the project and stakeholder
on stakeholder roles and project status.
requirements.

Customize team development and management


Tailor quality standards and metrics based on
strategies to suit team dynamics and project
project deliverables and stakeholder
needs.
expectations.
Tailor resource allocation and optimization
Adapt quality assurance activities to the
based on project scope and resource
project’s complexity and quality requirements.
availability.
Customize quality control measures to the
Adjust team training and skill development
Resource Management Quality Management specific types of project deliverables.
approaches based on project requirements.
Adjust the use of continuous improvement
Vary the techniques of motivation and team
processes based on project phase and
building according to team composition.
outcomes.
Customize conflict resolution and problem-
Vary quality auditing techniques and frequency
solving strategies to fit team and project
based on project size and quality risks.
context.
PMI-ACP® Pairwise Connections
SCRUM Sprint

Agile Complex, uncertain

Ceremony Meeting, event

Artifact Project deliverable

XP Planning game

Retrospective Team only, improvement

Refactor Reorganize, optimize

Task Last

Point Size, effort

Lean Eliminate waste, amplify learning

Release Deliver

Modeling Barely enough

Affinity Similar

Relative Compare

Kanban WIP

Smell Problem

Disaggregate Decompose

Velocity Percentage

Ideal No interruptions

NPV Multi-year

Active Listening Understand

Emotional Intelligence Relate to

PMI and ACP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

© Copyright 2015, Simplilearn. All rights reserved. Page | 1


PMI-ACP® - ACPisms
It’s all about the team

Think effort, not time

W5H creates vision

Everything is ideal

Everyone plans

Avoid time and cost

Value is huge

Complex and uncertain

PMI and ACP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

© Copyright 2015, Simplilearn. All rights reserved. Page | 1


Earned Value Calculations Summary Table
Abbreviation Name Lexicon Definition How Used Equation Interpretation of result

PV Planned The authorized budget assigned to The value of the work planned to be
Value scheduled work completed to a point in time, usually the
data date, or project completion

EV Earned Value The measure of work performed The planned value of all the work completed EV = sum of the
expressed in terms of the budget (earned) to a point in time, usually the data planned value of
authorized for that work date, without reference to actual costs completed work

AC Actual Cost The realized cost incurred for the The actual cost of all the work completed to
work performed on an activity during a point in time, usually the data date
a specific time period

BAC Budget at The sum of all budgets established The value of total planned work, the project
Completion for the work to be performed cost baseline

CV Cost Variance The amount of budget deficit or The difference between the value of work CV = EV – AC Positive = Under planned
surplus at a given point in time, completed to a point in time, usually the cost
expressed as the difference between data date, and the actual costs to the same Neutral = On planned cost
the earned value and the actual cost point in time Negative = Over planned
cost

SV Schedule The amount by which the project is The difference between the work completed SV = EV – PV Positive = Ahead of
Variance ahead or behind the planned delivery to a point in time, usually the data date, and schedule
date, at a given point in time, the work planned to be completed to the Neutral = On schedule
expressed as the difference between same point in time Negative = Behind schedule
the earned value and the planned
value

VAC Variance at A projection of the amount of budget The estimated difference in cost at the VAC = BAC - EAC Positive = Under planned
Completion deficit or surplus, expressed as the completion of the project cost
difference between the budget at Neutral = On planned cost
completion and the estimate at Negative = Over planned
completion cost

CPI Cost A measure of the cost efficiency of A CPI of 1.0 means the project is exactly on CPI = EV/AC Greater than 1.0 = Under
Performance budgeted resources expressed as the budget, that the work actually done so far is planned cost
Index ratio of earned value to actual cost exactly the same as the cost so far. Other Exactly 1.0 = On planned
values show the percentage of how much cost
costs are over or under the budgeted Less than 1.0 = Over
amount for work accomplished planned cost

SPI Schedule A measure of schedule efficiency A SPI of 1.0 means that the project is exactly SPI = EV/PV Greater than 1.0 = Ahead of
Performance expressed as the ratio of earned on schedule, that the work actually done so schedule
Index value to planned value far is exactly the same as the work planned Exactly 1.0 = On schedule
to be done so far. Other values show the Less than 1.0 = Behind
percentage of how much costs are over or schedule
under the budgeted amount for work
planned

EAC Estimate at The estimated total cost of If the CPI is expected to be same for the EAC = BAC/CPI
Completion completing all work expressed as the remainder of the project, EAC can be
sum of the actual cost to date and calculated using:
estimate to complete If future work will be accomplished at the
planned rate, use: EAC = AC + BAC –
If the initial plan is no longer valid, use: EV
If both the CPI and SPI influence the
remaining work, use:
EAC = AC + Bottom-
up ETC
EAC = AC + [(BAC-
EV)/(CPI x SPI)]

ETC Estimate to The expected cost to finish all the Assuming work is proceeding on plan, the ETC = EAC – AC
Complete remaining project work cost of completing the remaining authorized
work can be calculated using:
Re-estimate the remaining work from the
bottom up ETC = Re-estimate

TCPI To Complete A measure of the cost performance The efficiency that must be maintained in TCPI = (BAC-EV) / Greater than 1.0 = Harder to
Performance that must be achieved with the order to complete the plan. (BAC-AC) complete
Index remaining resources in order to meet Exactly 1.0 = Same to
a specified management goal, complete
expressed as the ratio of the cost to Less than 1.0 = Easier to
finish the outstanding work to the complete
budget available
The efficiency that must be maintained in TCPI = (BAC-EV) / Greater than 1.0 = Harder to
order to complete the current EAC. (EAC-AC) complete
Exactly 1.0 = Same to
complete
Less than 1.0 = Easier to
complete
Memorization Chart—Template

2001 Agile Manifesto

I ndividuals and interactions o P rocesses and tools

W orking software v C omprehensive documentation

C ustomer collaboration e C ontract negotiation

R esponding to change r F ollowing a plan

12 Guiding Principles

S atisfy with early and continuous delivery P rimary measure of progress is working software

W elcome change M aintain constant pace indefinitely

D eliver working software frequently C onstantly deliver technical excellence

B usiness people and developers collaborate daily S implify my maximizing work not done

B uild around motivated individuals S elf-organize

C onvey information via face to face R etrospect regularly

SCRUM Extreme Programming (XP)

Pillars Roles Values Roles

V isibility S crum Master S implify C oach

I nspect P roduct Owner C ommunication C ustomer

A dopt T eam F eedback P rogrammer

C ourage T ester

R espect T racker

User Stories

© Copyright 2015, Simplilearn. All rights reserved. Page | 1


T heme I ndependent P olitical R ole

E pic N egotiable E conomic F eature

U ser story V aluable S ocial B enefit

T ask E stimable T echnical

S mall

T estable

Product Backlog Test-Driven Development (TDD) Retrospectives

D etailed Test First Development (TFD) S et the stage

E stimatable T est R ed G ather data

E mergent C ode G reen G ather insights

P rioritized R efactor R efactor D ecide what to do

D eliver C lose

Conflict Coaching PDCA Cycle (Shewhart/Deming)

P roblem to solve M eet half a step ahead P lan

D isagreement S afety D o

C ompetition P artner with management C heck

C rusade C reate positive regard A ct

W ar

Goals Success

S pecific S hipped

M easureable L eadership intact

A ttainable D o again

© Copyright 2015, Simplilearn. All rights reserved. Page | 3


R elevent

T imely

Value Stream Mapping Total (Final) Cost Earned Value Analysis


Total Value Add Time
Cycle = + ( T x R ) + other costs EV = Points completed
Time Non-Value Add [T = Time R = Rate]
Time
Process Total Value Add Planned Value Points
Time
Completed
Cycle = -----------------------
SPI = ----------------------
-----
Velocity x Points ---
Efficiency Total Cycle
Points Planned
Time

PMI and ACP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

© Copyright 2015, Simplilearn. All rights reserved. Page | 3


Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition,
Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017

INITIATING PLANNING

Bus. Case / Contract


Plan Cost Plan Scope Plan Schedule Plan Risk
Management Management Management Management
Develop Project
Charter
Cost Scope Schedule Risk
Project Charter Management Plan Management Plan Management Plan Management Plan

Collect Identify Risks


Identify
Requirements
Stakeholders

Stakeholder Register Requirements


Documents Risk Register

Perform
Define Scope Plan Procurement Qualitative
Plan Stakeholder Management
Engagement Risk Analysis

Scope Statement Perform


Stakeholder Procurement
Management Plan Quantitative
Management Plan Risk Analysis

Plan Create WBS


Communications Plan Risk
Management Responses
Scope Baseline
Communications
Management Plan Risk Register
Updates
Plan Quality Determine
Estimate Costs Define Activities
Management Budget

Quality Mgt. Plan Activity Cost Cost Baseline Activity List


---------

Process Improv. Plan Estimates

Sequence Estimate Activity Plan Resource Estimate Activity Develop


Activities Resources Management Durations Schedule

Activity Resource Human Resource Activity Duration


Network Diagrams Project Schedule
Requirements Plan Estimates

Planning Outputs Develop Project PM Plan


Management Plan

@Simplilearn. All rights reserved


Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition,
Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017

EXECUTING MONITORING AND CONTROLLING


Direct and
Deliverables WPI Monitor and Control
Manage Project ---------

Work WPD Project Work

Acquire Project
Acquire Resource Calendars Control
Team
Resources
---------
Scope
Staff Assignments
Change
Team Control Schedule Requests
Develop Project Performance
Develop Team
Team Assessments Control
Perform
Costs
Integrated
Manage Project Change Control
Manage Team OPA Updates Monitor Risks
Team
WPD WPI
Control Approved or
Perform Quality Communications Rejected Change
OPA Updates
Assurance Requests
Monitor
Stakeholder Engmt
Manage
OPA Updates Procurement
Communications Control
Procurements Documents

Manage QC Measurements
Stakeholder OPA Updates Control Quality ---------

Verified Deliverables
Expectations
Accepted
Validate Scope
Conduct Deliverables
Agreements
Procurements

Risk Register

CLOSING
Manage Project Lessons Learned Close Project or
Knowledge Phase

Final Product
---------

OPA Updates

@Simplilearn. All rights reserved


Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition,
Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017

Earned Value Management PERT Std Dev


𝑂 + 4𝑀 + 𝑃 𝑃−𝑂
EV = BAC * %C 6 6
CV = EV - AC Task Var Proj Std Dev
2
SV = EV - PV (𝑃 − 𝑂)
( ) √𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑉𝑠
CPI = EV / AC 6

SPI = EV / PV Expected Comm Chan


Monetary
EAC = BAC / CPI Value (EMV) 𝑁(𝑁 − 1)
ETC = EAC - AC Prob X Impact 2

VAC = BAC - EAC Present Val Normal


Distribution
BAC - BAC - 𝐹𝑉
TCPI = / 1 σ = 68.26%
EV AC (1 + 𝑟)𝑛
2 σ = 95.46%
BAC = Original Budget r = Int. Rate 3 σ = 99.73%
PV = Money planned spent at given n = # of periods 6 σ = 99.99%
point in time.

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) ― Sixth Edition.

PMP, PMI, and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

@Simplilearn. All rights reserved


Glossary: PMP Exam Prep (2021 Update)
100-point method: A prioritization method which requires each stakeholder to distribute their 100
points, as votes, across available work items.

5 Whys technique: A technique to find the root cause for a particular problem by repeatedly asking the
question "Why?" It is an iterative and interrogative technique which is aimed at finding the cause and
effect of a particular problem.

80/20 rule: See Pareto principle.

A3: Either a process for solving a particular problem, or a general way of looking at things, in which the
pertinent information is limited to what will fit on a single sheet of paper. Named for the standard A3-
size sheet of paper.

AC: See actual cost.

acceptance criteria:

1. A set of conditions that are to be met before deliverables are accepted. See also deliverable.

2. A formal list of predefined requirements or conditions that should be satisfied in order to mark the
deliverable as complete.

acceptance test-driven development: Abbreviated as ATDD, a development method where team


members with different perspectives collaborate early on to develop acceptance test criteria that
capture the requirements of work items.

activity: A distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project.

activity code: An alphanumeric value assigned to each activity that enables classifying, sorting, and
filtering. See also activity identifier and activity label.

activity identifier: A unique alphanumeric value assigned to an activity and used to differentiate that
activity from other activities. See also activity code and activity label.

activity label: A phrase that names and describes an activity. See also activity code and activity
identifier.

actual cost: Abbreviated as AC, the realized cost incurred for the work performed on an activity during a
specific time-period. See also budget at completion, earned value, estimate at completion, estimate to
complete, and planned value.

adaptation: Changes done in product or process as soon as the need surfaces, to reduce the practical
problems or any deviations that can give rise to risks or issues.

adaptive planning: A technique in which high-level planning is done at the beginning. As a project
progresses, detailed planning is done considering the latest changes. This allows for accommodation of
changes in the requirements, even late into the development process.
affinity estimate: A technique used for conducting high-level estimations for work items. Work items
are compared and grouped together based on their size, then a high-level relative estimation is done for
each of the work items. This is simple yet fast.

Agile: A term used to describe a mindset of values and principles aimed at flexibility, communication,
collaboration, and simplicity based on short iterations and continuous feedback from the customer as
set forth in the Agile Manifesto. Agile is an iterative and incremental approach to deliver values to the
customer early and continuously. See also Agile Manifesto.

Agile coach: An individual with knowledge and experience in agile who can train, mentor, facilitate, and
guide organizations and teams through their agile transformation.

Agile life cycle: An approach that is both iterative and incremental to develop and refine work items and
deliver frequently.

Agile Manifesto: Published in 2001 by a group of 17 software developers as the Manifesto for Agile
Software Development, the document that lays out the original values and principles that led to the
initiation of Agile development methods such as Scrum and Kanban.

Agile mindset: Thinking and practicing the core Agile values and principles in spirit, as laid out in the
Agile Manifesto, to continuously deliver value to the customer and adapt as needed.

Agile practitioner: Also known as an Agilist, someone who collaborates with cross-functional teams in
line with Agile techniques and concepts.

Agile principles: The twelve principles for project delivery enumerated in the Manifesto for Agile
Software Development. See also Agile Manifesto.

Agile Unified Process: A simplified process framework for developing business application software
using agile techniques and concepts that are modeled on the Rational Unified Process (RUP).

Agilest: See Agile practitioner.

analogous estimating: A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using
historical data from a similar activity or project. See also bottom-up estimating, parametric estimating,
program evaluation and review technique, and three-point estimating.

anti-pattern: A known, flawed pattern of work that is not advisable.

apportioned effort: An activity where effort is allotted proportionately across certain discrete efforts
and not divisible into discrete efforts. Apportioned effort is one of three earned value management
types of activities used to measure work performance. See also discrete effort and level of effort.

artifacts: The tangible by-products, specific to a project, that represent the work and value, helping
bring transparency. Artifacts form a basis for inspection and adaptation. Examples are product vision,
product backlog, project (product or service) increment, and design document.

assumption: A factor in the planning process considered to be true, real, or certain, without proof or
demonstration.

ATDD: See acceptance test-driven development.


audit: A structured and independent process used to assess and verify if the activities in a project
conform to the standard policies, process, and procedures defined at the organizational and project
levels.

automated code quality analysis: Scripted analysis of code to ensure functionality, spot vulnerabilities,
and style consistency, which assumes greater significance when working collaboratively on code.

BAC: See budget at completion.

backlog: See product backlog.

backlog grooming: See backlog refinement.

backlog refinement: Also known as backlog grooming, the progressive elaboration of project
requirements or the ongoing activity in which the team collaboratively reviews, updates, and writes
requirements to satisfy the need of the customer request.

backward pass: A critical path method technique for calculating the late start and late finish dates by
working backward through the schedule model from the project end date. See also critical path method
and forward pass.

baseline: The approved version of a work product that can be changed using formal change control
procedures and is used as the basis for comparison to actual results. See also cost baseline, performance
measurement baseline, schedule baseline, and scope baseline.

BCR: See benefit cost ratio.

BDD: See behavior-driven development.

behavior-driven development: An Agile test-first methodology that focuses on the actual behavior of a
work item from the end user’s perspective.

benefit cost ratio: Also known as BCR, an indicator used in cost benefit analysis to present the
comparison between the proposed costs and expected benefits of a proposed project. Proposed benefit
is divided by proposed cost to derive BCR. If a project has a BCR greater than 1.0, then it is considered
advisable.

blended Agile: The combined use of two or more Agile frameworks, methods, elements, or practices, as
opposed to a hybrid Agile approach, which employs some traditional predictive elements.

blocker: See impediment.

bottom-up estimating: A method of estimating project duration or cost by aggregating the estimates of
the lower-level components of the work breakdown structure.

BRD: See business requirements document.

broken comb: Refers to a person with various depths of specialization in multiple skills required by the
team. Also known as Paint Drip. See also T-shaped and I-shaped.
budget at completion: Abbreviated as BAC, the sum of all budgets established for the work to be
performed. See also actual cost, earned value, estimate at completion, estimate to complete, and
planned value.

burndown chart: A chart that graphically conveys the work remaining relative to the time remaining in
the timebox.

burnup chart: A graphical representation of the work completed toward the release of a product.

business requirements document: A list of all requirements for a specific project.

cadence: A rhythm of execution. See also timebox.

cause-and-effect diagram: Also known as a fishbone diagram or Ishikawa diagram, a visual tool that
helps identify, sort, and display possible causes of a specific problem or quality characteristic.

caves and common: Collaborative working spaces for the team. Caves would be an area for team
members to work alone or in isolation. Common is an area for working in groups and collaborating.

CFD: See cumulative flow diagram.

change control: A process whereby modifications to documents, deliverables, or baselines associated


with a project are identified, documented, approved, or rejected. See also change control board and
change control system.

change control board: A formally chartered group responsible for reviewing, evaluating, approving,
delaying, or rejecting changes to the project, and for recording and communicating such decisions. See
also change control and change control system.

change control system: A set of procedures that describes how modifications to project deliverables and
documentation are managed and controlled. See also change control and change control board.

change request: A formal proposal to modify any document, deliverable, or baseline.

CI: See continuous integration.

coarse-grained requirements: A set of requirements defined at a high level. See also fine-grained
requirements.

code of accounts: A numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work
breakdown structure.

collective code ownership: A project acceleration and collaboration technique whereby any team
member is authorized to modify any project work product or deliverable, thus emphasizing team-wide
ownership and accountability.

collocated team: A team where project team members work from the same location, mostly in the
same room, close to each other. It helps in real-time interactions.

communications management plan: A component of the project, program, or portfolio management


plan that describes how, when, and by whom information will be administered and disseminated. See
also project management plan.
complex user story: A fundamentally large or big work item that cannot be further decomposed into
smaller subparts to create multiple independent simple stories.

compound user story: Also known as an epic, a large user story which comprises multiple shorter user
stories; a big chunk of work that can be decomposed into smaller subparts as features or user stories.

configuration management system: A collection of procedures used to track project artifacts and
monitor and control changes to these artifacts.

constrained optimization: A project selection method which uses mathematical algorithms for large
projects that require complex and comprehensive calculations.

constraint: A limiting factor that affects the execution of a project, program, portfolio, or process.

contingency plan: A document describing actions that the project team can take if predetermined
trigger conditions occur.

contingency reserve: Time or money allocated in the schedule or cost baseline for known risks with
active response strategies. See also management reserve and project budget.

continuous delivery: Delivering small increments of work to customers quickly and often making use of
the automation technology.

continuous integration: Abbreviated as CI, a practice in which each team member's work product is
frequently integrated and validated by one another. Typically, teams configure CI to include compilation,
source control integration, and unit test execution.

control account: A management control point where scope, budget, actual cost, and schedule are
integrated and compared to earned value for performance measurement.

control chart: A visual representation that systematically plots the readings of a parameter of a process
or product that is being inspected.

COQ: See cost of quality.

corrective action: An intentional activity that realigns the performance of the project work with the
project management plan. See also preventive action.

cost baseline: The approved version of work package cost estimates and contingency reserve that can
be changed using formal change control procedures. Used as the basis for comparison to actual results.
See also baseline, performance measurement baseline, schedule baseline, and scope baseline.

cost management plan: A component of a project or program management plan that describes how
costs will be planned, structured, and controlled. See also project management plan.

cost of quality: Abbreviated as COQ, a method used to determine where and what amount of an
organization's resources are being used for doing things right the first time. Also calculates the resources
used for rectifying things that are not done right the first time.

cost performance index: Abbreviated as CPI, a measure of the cost efficiency of budgeted resources
expressed as the ratio of earned value to actual cost. See also schedule performance index.
cost variance: Abbreviated at CV, the amount of budget deficit or surplus at a given point in time,
expressed as the difference between the earned value and the actual cost. See also schedule variance.

CPI: See cost performance index.

crashing: A schedule compression technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least
incremental cost by adding resources. See also fast tracking and schedule compression.

critical chain method: A schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on any project
schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties.

critical path: The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which
determines the shortest possible duration. See also critical path activity and critical path method.

critical path activity: Any activity on the critical path in a project schedule. See also critical path and
critical path method.

critical path method: A method used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the
amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model. See also critical
path and critical path activity.

cross-functional team: A team that includes practitioners with all the skills necessary to deliver valuable
product increments.

Crystal family of methodologies: A collection of lightweight agile software development methods


focused on adaptability toward a particular circumstance.

cumulative flow diagram: Abbreviated as CFD, an area chart that depicts the quantity of work in a given
state, showing arrivals, time in queue, quantity in queue, and departure.

CV: See cost variance.

cycle time: A measure of the time elapsed from the actual start of work on a work item (story, task, bug,
or support incident) up to the time it is ready for delivery. Cycle time is a measure of process capability.

DAD: See Disciplined Agile Delivery.

Daily Scrum: Also known as a daily standup, a short, daily team meeting to review progress, announce
intentions for the day, and share any difficulties encountered or expected.

data date: A point in time when the status of the project is recorded.

decision tree analysis: A diagramming and calculation technique for evaluating the implications of a
chain of multiple options in the presence of uncertainty.

decomposition: A technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and deliverables into
smaller, more manageable parts.

defect repair: An intentional activity to modify a nonconforming product or product component.


definition of done: Abbreviated as DoD, a team's shared understanding about all the criteria required to
be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use. Includes the acceptance criteria,
quality parameters, and nonfunctional requirements to be met.

definition of ready: Abbreviated as DoR, a team's checklist for a user-centric requirement that has just
enough information for the team to begin working on it.

deliverable: Any unique and verifiable product, result, or capability to perform a service that is
produced to complete a process, phase, or project.

DevOps: A collection of practices for creating a smooth flow of delivery by improving collaboration
between the development and operations staff.

Disciplined Agile Delivery: Abbreviated as DAD, a process decision framework that enables simplified
process decisions around incremental and iterative solution delivery.

discrete effort: An activity that can be planned and measured and that yields a specific output. Discrete
effort is one of three earned value management types of activities used to measure work performance.
See also apportioned effort and level of effort.

distributed team: Also know as a remote team or virtual team, a project team which has team members
spread across different geographic locations and working on the same project from different locations.
Team members work for a common project goal and are often connected using the latest collaboration
tools.

DoD: See definition of done.

DoR: See definition of ready.

dot voting: A quick and simple method for collaborative decisions. The decision or option which gets
maximum dots is considered the team’s decision.

double loop learning: A process that challenges underlying values and assumptions in order to better
elaborate root causes and devise improved countermeasures, rather than focusing only on symptoms.

Dreyfus model: A model for skill acquisition. According to this model, every individual goes through five
stages during the process of skill acquisition: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and
expert.

DSDM: See Dynamic Systems Development Method.

duration: The total number of work periods required to complete an activity or work breakdown
structure component, expressed in hours, days, or weeks. See also effort.

Dynamic Systems Development Method: An Agile project delivery framework.

EAC: See estimate at completion.

early finish date: In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted
portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any
schedule constraints. See also critical path method.
early start date: In the critical path method, the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted
portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any
schedule constraints. See also critical path method.

earned value: Abbreviated as EV, the measure of work performed expressed in terms of the budget
authorized for that work.

earned value management: Abbreviated as EVM, a methodology that combines scope, schedule, and
resource measurements to assess project performance and progress.

effort: The number of labor units required to complete a schedule activity or work breakdown structure
component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks. See also duration.

elevator statement: A succinct description of a product that helps the project team focus on product
goals. Also known as an elevator pitch or vision statement.

empiricism: Making decisions based on the actual experience. An empirical approach implies that
project decisions should be based on facts, evidence, and experiences.

EMV: See expected monetary value.

enterprise environmental factors: Conditions not under the immediate control of the team that
influence, constrain, or direct the project, program, or portfolio.

epic: See compound user story.

escaped defect: A defect that goes undetected in all rounds of testing but is found in the production
environment.

estimate at completion: Abbreviated as EAC, the expected total cost of completing all work expressed
as the sum of the actual cost to date and the estimate to complete.

estimate to complete: Abbreviated as ETC, the expected cost to finish all remaining project work.

ETC: See estimate to complete.

EV: See earned value.

EVM: See earned value management.

Evo: See evolutionary value delivery.

evolutionary value delivery: Also known as Evo, a method that focuses on early and frequent delivery of
small increments of value to the customer, with quality as an integral part of it. Openly credited as the
first Agile method containing a specific component no other method has. The focus is on delivering
multiple measurable value requirements to stakeholders.

expected monetary value: Abbreviated as EMV, a statistical technique used to calculate gains in
monetary terms for a certain decision made.
Extreme Programming: Abbreviated as XP, an Agile software development method that leads to higher
quality software, a greater responsiveness to changing customer requirements, and more frequent
releases in shorter cycles.

fast failure: An approach of trying new things, getting fast feedback, and then quickly reviewing and
adapting as per the feedback. In cases where there is a high degree of uncertainty, it is often less
expensive to start working on basic deliverables, get the feedback, and make immediate decisions on
continuing or stopping the planned deliverables.

fast tracking: A schedule compression technique in which activities or phases normally done in
sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration. See also crashing and
schedule compression.

FDD: See feature-driven development.

feature-driven development: Abbreviated as FDD, a lightweight Agile software development method


driven from the perspective of features valued by clients.

feedback loop: When the outcome of an existing running process is taken into account to improve the
process and ensure it works better in the future.

Fibonacci sequence: A sequence of numbers in which each number is the summation of the two
preceding numbers, starting with [0, 1]. This sequence of numbers is used for relative size estimation for
user stories in story points.

fine-grained requirements: High priority requirements which are elaborated in detail and estimated
precisely. See also coarse-grained requirements.

finish-to-finish: A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor
activity has finished.

finish-to-start: A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor
activity has finished.

fishbone diagram: See cause-and-effect diagram.

fit for purpose: A product that is suitable for its intended purpose.

fit for use: A product that is usable in its current form to achieve its intended purpose.

fixed formula method: A method of estimating earned value in which a specified percentage of the
budget value of a work package is assigned to the start milestone and the remaining percentage is
assigned when the work package is complete. See also weighted milestone method.

Flow Master: The coach for a team and service request manager working in a continuous flow or
Kanban context. Equivalent to Scrum Master. See also Scrum Master.

forward pass: A critical path method technique for calculating the early start and early finish dates by
working forward through the schedule model from the project start date or a given point in time. See
also backward pass.
framework: A basic system or structure of ideas or facts that support an approach.

free float: The amount of time that a scheduled activity can be delayed without delaying the early start
date of any successor or violating a schedule constraint. See also total float, critical path, near-critical
activity, and near-critical path.

functional organization: An organizational structure in which staff is grouped by areas of specialization


and the project manager has limited authority to assign work and apply resources. See also matrix
organization and projectized organization.

functional requirement: A specific behavior that a product or service should perform.

functional specification: A specific function that a system or application is required to perform; typically
represented in a functional specifications document.

Gantt chart: A bar chart of schedule information where activities are listed on the vertical axis, dates are
shown on the horizontal axis, and activity durations are shown as horizontal bars placed according to
start and finish dates.

generalized specialist: An individual team member who has one or more technical specialties and at the
same time has a general idea about the processes as well as the functional and domain knowledge for
the project.

gold plating: The practice where a change is made in the scope of a project that is outside of the original
agreed-upon scope.

grade: A classification of the deliverables which has the same functional use but differs in technical
characteristics.

histogram: A specialized bar chart that organizes a group of data points into user-specified ranges to
give a graphical representation of tabulated frequencies of data.

Hoshin Kanri: A strategy or policy deployment method to confirm that the strategic goals of an
organization are key driving factors for a strategy and every implementation done in an organization.

human resource management plan: A component of a project or program management plan that
describes roles and responsibilities, reporting relationships, and staff management. See also project
management plan and staffing management plan.

hybrid approach: A combination of two or more Agile and non-Agile elements, having a non-Agile end
result.

IDEAL: An organizational improvement model that serves as a roadmap for initiating, planning, and
implementing improvement actions. Named for the five phases it describes: initiating, diagnosing,
establishing, acting, and learning.

ideal days: An estimation technique where the size of work items done is based on how long an item
would take to complete, provided it was the only work being performed, there were no disturbances,
and all functional and resource details necessary to complete the work were immediately available.
impact mapping: A strategic planning technique that acts as a roadmap to the organization while
building new products.

impediment: An obstacle that prevents the team from achieving its objectives. Also known as a blocker.

Increment: A functional, tested, and accepted deliverable that is a subset of the overall project
outcome.

incremental life cycle: An approach that incrementally delivers the viable work items which are part of
the actual solution or product that the customer can start using on every delivery.

information radiator: A visible, physical display that provides information to the rest of the
organization, enabling up-to-the-minute knowledge sharing without any formal distribution by the
team.

inspection:

1. In Agile, a measurement of the level of defects in a deliverable. A sampling approach is used, instead
of reviewing the complete deliverable.

2. In project management, an official examination of a project deliverable to ensure that it satisfies the
predetermined requirements.

internal rate of return: Abbreviated as IRR, one of the metrics used in financial analysis to estimate the
sustainable profitability of potential investments for a project.

International Organization for Standardization: Abbreviated as ISO, an independent nongovernmental


international organization which develops and publishes International Standards. ISO standards certify
quality as well as security in both products and services in international trade.

INVEST criteria: Criteria to examine the quality of a user story. INVEST stands for Independent,
Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable, Small, and Testable. If the story fails to meet any one of the INVEST
criteria, then the team may discuss and refine the story accordingly.

IRR: See internal rate of return.

I-shaped: Refers to a person with a single deep area of specialization with no interest or skill in the rest
of the skills required by the team. See also T-shaped and broken comb.

Ishikawa diagram: See cause-and-effect diagram.

ISO: See International Organization for Standardization.

iteration: A timeboxed cycle of development on a product or deliverable in which all of the work that is
needed to deliver value is performed.

iterative life cycle: An approach that allows feedback for unfinished work to improve and modify that
work.

JIT: See just in time.


just in time: Abbreviated as JIT, a process which is aimed to reduce inventory and thereby save cost,
time, and space.

kaizen events: Typically short-span events in which the team does brainstorming and implementation
sessions aimed toward improving the system.

Kanban board: A visualization tool that enables improvement in the flow of work by making bottlenecks
and work quantities visible.

Kanban method: An Agile method for designing, managing, and improving flow systems for knowledge
work; inspired by the original Kanban inventory control system.

Kano analysis: A tool to explore product attributes which are perceived to be important to customers. It
helps product specification and discussion through better development of the team’s understanding.

key performance indicator: Abbreviated as KPI. Provides direction for strategic planning, estimation,
and assessment for improving operational processes.

KPI: See key performance indicator.

lag: The amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor
activity. See also lead.

large-scale Scrum: Abbreviated as LeSS, a product development framework that extends Scrum with
scaling guidelines while preserving the original purposes of Scrum.

late finish date: In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted
portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the project completion
date, and any schedule constraints. See also critical path method.

late start date: In the critical path method, the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted
portions of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the project completion
date, and any schedule constraints. See also critical path method.

lead: The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor
activity. See also lag.

lead time: A measure of the time elapsed between a request for a work item (story, task, bug, or
support incident) and when the work item is delivered and the request is complete.

Lean software development: Abbreviated as LSD, an adaptation of the principles and practices of Lean
manufacturing, which focuses on decreased costs, effort, and waste and increased quality, speed, and
customer value.

LeSS: See large-scale Scrum.

lessons learned: The knowledge gained during a project which shows how project events were
addressed or should be addressed in the future for the purpose of improving future performance.
level of effort: An activity that does not produce definitive end products and is measured by the passage
of time. Level of effort is one of three earned value management types of activities used to measure
work performance. See also apportioned effort and discrete effort.

life cycle: The process through which a product is imagined, created, and put into use.

Little's Law: A fundamental of queue theory. Defines the relationship between work in progress,
throughput, and lead time. See also work in progress, throughput, and lead time.

logical relationship: A dependency between two activities or between an activity and a milestone.

LSD: See Lean software development.

management by objective: Abbreviated as MBO, a strategic management model used to improve the
performance of an organization by defining the goals to be achieved, which are mutually agreed by the
management as well as employees.

management reserve: Time or money that management sets aside in addition to the schedule or cost
baseline and releases for unforeseen work that is within the scope of the project.

master service agreement: Abbreviated as MSA, a contract among two or more parties in which all the
parties mutually agree to most of the terms used to govern all the prospect agreements.

matrix organization: An organizational structure in which the project manager shares authority with the
functional manager temporarily to assign work and apply resources.

MBO: See management by objective.

metaphor: Relating words, labels, tags, or stories to various elements in a project or process. A
metaphor is a team-specific terminology used within a project.

milestone: A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio.

milestone schedule: A type of schedule that presents milestones with planned dates.

minimum marketable feature: Abbreviated as MMF, the smallest set of functionality in a product or
solution which is required to deliver value to the customer. MMF focuses on the features with the
highest value and leads to reducing the time to market.

MMF: See minimum marketable feature.

mobbing: A technique in which multiple team members focus simultaneously and coordinate their
contributions on a particular work item.

Monopoly money: A prioritization technique in which sponsors and business owners are given
Monopoly money approximately equal to the project budget and asked to allocate this money to the
different system features from the backlog.

Monte Carlo technique: An analytical technique used to emulate project activities, where outcome of
action or decision is determined with the use of random numbers subject to allocated probabilities.
MoSCow method: A collaborative prioritization technique used to derive the sequence for delivery of
requirements in order to gain maximum profit and bring value to the customer. MoSCoW stands for
must have, should have, could have, and would have. Also known as MoSCoW prioritization or MoSCoW
analysis.

most likely duration: An estimate of the most probable activity duration that takes into account all of
the known variables that could affect performance. See also optimistic duration and pessimistic
duration.

MSA: See master service agreement.

muda: See waste.

multi-voting: A decision-making technique used to select one mutually agreeable option from multiple
alternatives. Involves group discussion and voting for eliminating the options until a single option
remains.

near-critical activity: An activity with a total float that is deemed to be low based on expert judgment.
See also total float.

near-critical path: A sequence of activities with low float which, if exhausted, becomes a critical path
sequence for the project. See also critical path.

net present value: Abbreviated as NPV, the difference between the value of the present cash flow and
that in the future, calculated by considering the present values of the future cash flows. When NPV is
positive, it indicates profit for the project.

network logic: All activity dependencies in a project schedule network diagram.

network path: A sequence of activities connected by logical relationships in a project schedule network
diagram.

node: A point at which dependency lines connect on a schedule network diagram.

NPV: See net present value.

opportunity: A risk that would have a positive effect on one or more project objectives.

opportunity cost: The loss of possible future return from the available alternative that is not selected or
that needs to be left out; the potential return which will not be realized as a result of one option not
being selected over another. Opportunity cost is one of the project selection criteria.

optimistic duration: An estimate of the shortest activity duration that takes into account all of the
known variables that could affect performance. See also most likely duration and pessimistic duration.

organizational bias: The preferences of an organization on a set of scales characterized by certain core
values: exploration versus execution, speed versus stability, quantity versus quality, and flexibility versus
predictability.
organizational breakdown structure: A hierarchical representation of the project organization which
illustrates the relationship between project activities and the organizational units that will perform
those activities.

organizational change management: A comprehensive, cyclical, and structured approach for


transitioning individuals, groups, and organizations from the current state to a future state with
intended business benefits.

organizational enabler: A structural, cultural, technological, or human resource practice that the
performing organization can use to achieve strategic objectives. See also organizational project
management.

organizational process assets: Plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to
and used by the performing organization.

organizational project management: A framework in which portfolio, program, and project


management are integrated with organizational enablers in order to achieve strategic objectives. See
also organizational enabler.

organizational project management maturity: The level of an organization's ability to deliver the
desired strategic outcomes in a predictable, controllable, and reliable manner.

osmotic communication: Overhearing a discussion where information flows in from the background for
the team members and they only pick up information significant to them via osmosis. Usually happens in
collocated teams.

paint drip: See broken comb.

pair programming: Pair work that is focused on accomplishing a task or work item together, working as
a pair from planning up to delivery. One of the engineering practices of Extreme Programming. See also
Extreme Programming.

pair work: A technique of pairing two team members to work simultaneously on the same work item.
See also pair programming.

Pairing: See pair work.

parametric estimating: An estimating technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or


duration based on historical data and project parameters.

Pareto principle: Also known as the 80/20 rule. States that for the majority of cases, 80% of
consequences are a result of 20% of the causes.

Parkinson's Law: The empirical observation that explains the consumption of time and its correlation to
work. States that "Work expands to fill the time available."

path convergence: A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one predecessor.

path divergence: A relationship in which a schedule activity has more than one successor.
payback period: The time required to recover the cost of investment for a project. Usually measured in
units of time, like weeks, months, or years. A project with a shorter payback period is preferred.

PDCA: See plan-do-check-act.

percent complete: An estimate expressed as a percent of the amount of work that has been completed
on an activity or work breakdown structure component.

performance measurement baseline: Integrated scope, schedule, and cost baselines used for
comparison to manage, measure, and control project execution.

performing organization: An enterprise that's personnel are the most directly involved in doing the
work of the project or program.

persona: An imaginary character developed with selective details which are used to depict target
customers and users who will be using a product or solution.

PERT: See Program Evaluation and Review Technique.

pessimistic duration: An estimate of the longest activity duration that takes into account all of the
known variables that could affect performance. See also most likely duration and optimistic duration.

phase gate: A review at the end of a phase in which a decision is made to continue to the next phase, to
continue with modification, or to end a project or program. See also project phase.

pivot: A planned course correction designed to test a new hypothesis about the product or strategy.

plan-do-check-act: Abbreviated as PDCA, an iterative management method used in organizations to


facilitate the control and continual improvement of processes and products.

plan-driven approach: See predictive approach.

planned value: Abbreviated as PV, the authorized budget assigned to scheduled work.

planning poker: A collaborative estimation technique, based on team consensus. Uses relative sizes of
work items for estimation and is a fast and effective estimation technique.

PMO: See project management office.

portfolio: Projects, programs, sub-portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic
objectives. See also program and project.

portfolio balancing: The process of optimizing the mix of portfolio components to further the strategic
objectives of an organization.

portfolio charter: A document issued by a sponsor that authorizes and specifies the portfolio structure
and links the portfolio to the organization's strategic objectives. See also program charter and project
charter.

portfolio management: The centralized management of one or more portfolios to achieve strategic
objectives. See also program management and project management.
portfolio management plan: A document that specifies how a portfolio will be organized, monitored,
and controlled. See also program management plan and project management plan.

portfolio manager: The person or group assigned by the performing organization to establish, balance,
monitor, and control portfolio components in order to achieve strategic business objectives. See also
program manager and project manager.

precedence diagramming method: A technique used for constructing a schedule model in which
activities are represented by nodes and graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show
the sequence in which the activities are to be performed. See also node and project schedule network
diagram.

predecessor activity: An activity that logically comes before a dependent activity in a schedule. See also
successor activity and summary activity.

predictive approach: An approach to work management that utilizes a work plan and management of
that work plan throughout the life cycle of a project.

predictive life cycle: A more traditional approach, with the bulk of planning occurring up front, then
executing in a single pass; a sequential process.

preventive action: An intentional activity that ensures the future performance of the project work is
aligned with the project management plan. See also corrective action.

probability and impact matrix: A grid for mapping the probability of occurrence of each risk and its
impact on project objectives if that risk occurs. See also risk.

procurement management plan: A component of the project or program management plan that
describes how a team will acquire goods and services from outside of the performing organization. See
also project management plan.

product backlog: An ordered list of user-centric requirements that a team maintains for a product.

product life cycle: The series of phases that represent the evolution of a product, from concept through
delivery, growth, maturity, and to retirement. See also project life cycle.

product owner: A person responsible for maximizing the value of the product and one who is ultimately
responsible and accountable for the end product that is built. See also service request manager.

product roadmap: A high-level summary that outlines the vision, direction, priorities, and progress on
how the product will evolve over time.

program: A group of related projects, subprograms, and program activities that are managed in a
coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. See also portfolio
and project.

program charter: A document issued by a sponsor that authorizes the program management team to
use organizational resources to execute the program and links the program to the organization's
strategic objectives. See also portfolio charter and project charter.
Program Evaluation and Review Technique: Abbreviated as PERT, a technique used to estimate project
duration through a weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely activity durations when
there is uncertainty with the individual activity estimates.

program management: The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a program to meet
the program requirements and obtain benefits and control not available by managing projects
individually. See also portfolio management and project management.

program management office: A management structure that standardizes the program-related


governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques.
See also project management office.

program management plan: A document that integrates a program's subsidiary plans and establishes
management controls and an overall plan for integrating and managing the program's individual
components. See also portfolio management plan and project management plan.

program manager: The person authorized by the performing organization to lead the team or teams
responsible for achieving program objectives. See also portfolio manager and project manager.

progressive elaboration: The iterative process of increasing the level of detail in a project management
plan as greater amounts of information and more accurate estimates become available.

project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. See also
portfolio and program.

project budget: The sum of work package cost estimates, contingency reserve, and management
reserve. See also contingency reserve and management reserve.

project calendar: A calendar that identifies working days and shifts that are available for scheduled
activities.

project charter: A document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the
existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational
resources to project activities. See also portfolio charter and program charter.

project life cycle: The series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure. See
also product life cycle.

project management: The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to
meet project requirements. See also portfolio management and program management.

project management office: Abbreviated as PMO, a management structure that standardizes the
project-related governance processes and facilitates the sharing of resources, methodologies, tools, and
techniques. See also program management office.

project management plan: A document that describes how a project will be executed, monitored and
controlled, and closed.

project manager: The person assigned by the performing organization to lead the team that is
responsible for achieving the project objectives. See also portfolio manager and program manager.
project phase: A collection of logically related project activities that culminates in the completion of one
or more deliverables. See also phase gate.

project schedule: An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates,
durations, milestones, and resources.

project schedule network diagram: A graphical representation of the logical relationships among the
project schedule activities. See also node and precedence diagramming method.

project scope: The work performed to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features
and functions.

project scope statement: A description of a project's scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and
constraints.

project tailoring: Choosing and adopting processes and related inputs and outputs of a project per the
needs of the project and available resources.

projectized organization: An organizational structure in which the project manager has full authority to
assign work and apply resources. See also functional organization and matrix organization.

prompt list: A predetermined list of risk categories which are helpful in identifying risks in a project and
may serve as a source of overall project risk.

prototype: A sample or model of an actual product which is developed to validate the hypothesis,
confirm the results, and get the feedback for the product or the solution being built.

PV: See planned value.

quality management plan: A component of the project or program management plan that describes
how an organization's quality policies will be implemented. See also project management plan and
program management plan.

RACI chart: A tool used to allocate roles and responsibilities to the stakeholders of a project. RACI stands
for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

RAM: See responsibility assignment matrix.

RCA: See root cause analysis.

refactoring: A product quality improvement technique whereby the structure or implementation of a


product is improved by preserving its functionality and expected behavior. It intends to reduce product
complexity and maintainability.

relative prioritization: A technique used to generate a list of ordered work items (for example, epics,
features, and user stories), taking into account both the benefits and the cost of the work items.

relative sizing: A method of estimating work items by comparing them to previously completed work
items.
requirements management plan: A component of the project or program management plan that
describes how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed. See also project management
plan.

requirements traceability matrix: A grid that links product requirements from their origin to the
deliverables that satisfy them.

residual risk: The risk that remains after risk responses have been implemented. See also secondary risk.

resource breakdown structure: A hierarchical representation of resources by category and type.

resource calendar: A calendar that identifies the working days and shifts upon which each specific
resource is available.

resource leveling: A resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project
schedule to optimize the allocation of resources and which may affect critical path. See also resource
smoothing and resource optimization technique.

resource optimization technique: A technique in which activity start and finish dates are adjusted to
balance demand for resources with the available supply. See also resource leveling and resource
smoothing.

resource smoothing: A resource optimization technique in which free and total float are used without
affecting the critical path. See also resource leveling and resource optimization technique.

responsibility assignment matrix: Abbreviated as RAM, a grid that shows the project resources assigned
to each work package.

retrospective: A team interaction which occurs at the end of every iteration, in which participants
inspect and explore opportunities to improve, both the process and product, and create an
improvement plan. Also see Sprint Retrospective.

risk: An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more
project objectives. See also opportunity and threat.

risk acceptance: A risk response strategy whereby the project team decides to acknowledge the risk and
not take any action unless the risk occurs.

risk appetite: The degree of uncertainty an organization or individual is willing to accept in anticipation
of a reward. See also risk threshold and risk tolerance.

risk avoidance: A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to eliminate the threat or
protect the project from its impact.

risk breakdown structure: A hierarchical representation of risks that is organized according to risk
categories.

risk category: A group of potential causes of risk.

risk enhancement: A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to increase the probability of
occurrence or impact of an opportunity.
risk exploiting: A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to ensure that an opportunity
occurs.

risk exposure: An aggregate measure of the potential impact of all risks at any given point in time in a
project, program, or portfolio.

risk management plan: A component of the project, program, or portfolio management plan that
describes how risk management activities will be structured and performed. See also project
management plan, program management plan, and portfolio management plan.

risk mitigation: A risk response strategy whereby the project team acts to decrease the probability of
occurrence or impact of a threat.

risk owner: The person responsible for monitoring the risk and for selecting and implementing an
appropriate risk response strategy.

risk register: A repository in which outputs of risk management processes are recorded.

risk report: A summarization of the risks (threats and opportunities); a short and quick document that
summarizes top risks, current status, and proposed actions.

risk sharing: A risk response strategy whereby the project team allocates ownership of an opportunity
to a third party who is best able to capture the benefit for the project.

risk threshold: The level of risk exposure above which risks are addressed and below which risks may be
accepted. See also risk appetite and risk tolerance.

risk tolerance: The degree of uncertainty that an organization or individual is willing to withstand.

risk transference: A risk response strategy whereby the project team shifts the impact of a threat to a
third party, together with ownership of the response.

risk-adjusted backlog: A sprint or release backlog which is reviewed and reprioritized based on the risk
exposure for the backlog items.

rolling wave planning: An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near
term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level.

root cause analysis: Abbreviated as RCA, a structured problem-solving method aimed at finding the root
causes of problems.

Rule of Seven: States that if seven or more consecutive measurements fall on one side of the mean,
then the process is unstable. It indicates that there is an assignable cause that needs investigation.

SAFe®: See Scaled Agile Framework.

SBE: See specification by example.

Scaled Agile Framework: Abbreviated as SAFe®, a knowledge base of integrated patterns for enterprise-
scale Lean-Agile development.
schedule baseline: The approved version of a schedule model that can be changed using formal change
control procedures and is used as the basis for comparison to actual results.

schedule compression: A technique used to shorten schedule duration without reducing project scope.
See also crashing and fast tracking.

schedule management plan: A component of the project or program management plan that establishes
the criteria and activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule. See also project
management plan and program management plan.

schedule model: A representation of the plan for executing a project's activities, including durations,
dependencies, and other planning information; used to produce a project schedule along with other
scheduling artifacts. See also schedule model analysis.

schedule model analysis: A process used to investigate or analyze the output of the schedule model in
order to optimize the schedule. See also schedule model.

schedule network analysis: A technique to identify early and late start dates, as well as early and late
finish dates, for the uncompleted portions of project activities.

schedule performance index: Abbreviated as SPI, a measure of schedule efficiency expressed as the
ratio of earned value to planned value. See also cost performance index.

schedule variance: Abbreviated as SV, a measure of schedule performance expressed as the difference
between the earned value and the planned value. See also cost variance.

scope baseline: The approved version of a scope statement, work breakdown structure, and associated
WBS dictionary that can be changed using formal change control procedures and is used as the basis for
comparison to actual results.

scope creep: The uncontrolled expansion to product or project scope without adjustments to time, cost,
and resources.

scope management plan: A component of the project or program management plan that describes how
the scope will be defined, developed, monitored, controlled, and validated. See also project
management plan and program management plan.

Scrum: An Agile framework for developing and sustaining complex products, with specific roles, events,
and artifacts.

Scrum board: A virtual or physical information board or information radiator, updated by the team, that
shows all items that need to be completed for the current sprint, the flow of work, and any bottlenecks.

Scrum Master: A servant leader of the project team and the process owner in the Scrum framework;
removes obstacles, facilitates productive Scrum events, and protects the team from external
disruptions. See also Flow Master.

Scrum of Scrums: A technique for operating Scrum at scale for multiple teams working on the same
product, coordinating discussions of progress on their interdependencies, and focusing on how to
integrate the delivery of software, especially in areas of overlap.
Scrum Team: The self-organizing and cross-functional team of developers, Scrum Master, and product
owner in a Scrum.

Scrumban: A hybrid Agile development methodology where teams use Scrum to develop, deliver, and
maintain complex projects while using Kanban to continuously improve the way teams work.

S-curve analysis: A technique used to indicate performance trends by using a graph that displays
cumulative costs over a specific time period.

secondary risk: A risk that arises as a direct result of implementing a risk response. See also residual risk.

self-organizing team: A team that chooses how best to accomplish its work objectives. Team members
assume leadership as needed, rather than being directed by people from outside the team.

sensitivity analysis: See tornado diagram.

servant leadership: The practice of leading through service to the team by focusing on understanding
and addressing the needs and development of team members in order to enable the highest possible
team performance.

service request manager: The person responsible for ordering service requests to maximize value in a
continuous flow or Kanban environment. Equivalent to product owner.

Shu Ha Ri: A Japanese model for skill acquisition, in which evolution takes place by following the rules
(Shu), changing the rules or digressing (Ha), and ultimately the individual or group finding their own way
(Ri).

siloed organization: An organization structured in such a way that employees do not have sufficient
means or intent to share information or knowledge across the organization. It only manages to
contribute a subset of all the aspects required for delivering value to customers. For contrast, see value
stream.

single loop learning: The practice of attempting to solve problems by just using specific predefined
methods, without challenging the methods in light of experience.

smoke testing: The practice of using a lightweight set of tests to ensure that the most important
functions of the system under development work as intended.

specification by example: Abbreviated as SBE, a collaborative approach to defining requirements and


business-oriented functional tests for software products based on capturing and illustrating
requirements using realistic examples instead of abstract statements.

SPI: See schedule performance index.

Spike: A short time interval within a project, usually of fixed length, during which a team conducts
research or prototypes an aspect of a solution to prove its viability.

Sponsor: An individual or group that provides resources and support for the project, program, or
portfolio, and is accountable for enabling success. See also stakeholder.

Sprint: A timeboxed iteration in Scrum. See also iteration.


Sprint Backlog: A detailed list of work items identified and estimated by the Scrum Team and committed
to complete during the sprint.

Sprint Planning: A collaborative event in a Scrum in which the Scrum Team plans and commits to the
work or potential outcome for the current Sprint.

Sprint Retrospective: A team interaction to inspect the team performance, delivery, and obstacles faced
for the last delivered Sprint. The team creates a plan for improvement, based on learning from previous
Sprints, which are leveraged during subsequent Sprints. See also retrospective.

Sprint Review: An event in which the team reviews the actual work completed with the customer to
seek feedback and review how and if the product or service needs to be enhanced further. Based on this
review, the team then adapts in subsequent sprints.

staffing management plan: A component of the human resource plan that describes when and how
team members will be acquired and how long they will be needed. See also human resource
management plan.

stakeholder: An individual, group, or organization that may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to
be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project, program, or portfolio. See also sponsor.

stakeholder management plan: A component of the project management plan that describes how
stakeholders will be engaged in project decision making and execution. See also project management
plan.

start-to-finish: A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor
activity has started.

start-to-start: A logical relationship in which a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity
has started.

story point: A unitless measure used in relative user story estimation techniques. See also user story.

successor activity: A dependent activity that logically comes after another activity in a schedule.

summary activity: A group of related schedule activities aggregated and displayed as a single activity.

sunk cost: A cost-irrecoverable expense without expected benefits for a project, activity, or event.

SV: See schedule variance.

swarming: A technique in which multiple team members focus collectively on resolving a specific
impediment.

tacit knowledge: Knowledge that an individual accrues from actual or hands-on experience, and which
cannot be gained by reading books.

task switching: An ability to quickly and efficiently adjust to different situations.

TCPI: See to-complete performance index.


team capacity: The total number of hours or days available for the team in a new Sprint. This may
change from Sprint to Sprint, based on holidays, team members being on vacation, team members'
availability, and other factors. The team considers capacity in determining how many product backlog
items to plan for a Sprint.

team velocity: The amount of work a team can deliver during a single Sprint; a key metric calculated at
the end of the Sprint as the sum of the story points completed and accepted by the customer.

technical debt: The deferred cost of work not done at an earlier point in the product life cycle; the
implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution instead of using a better approach
that would take longer.

test-driven development: A technique where tests are defined before work begins, so that work in
progress is validated continuously, enabling work with a zero defect mindset.

Theory of Constraints: Abbreviated as TOC, a methodology for evaluating the most critical limiting
factor, or constraint, due to which difficulties are faced in accomplishing the set goal and then
systematically planning improvements so that the constraint is no longer a limiting factor.

threat: A risk that would have a negative effect on one or more project objectives.

three-point estimating: A technique used to estimate cost or duration by applying an average or


weighted average of optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely estimates when there is uncertainty with the
individual activity estimates.

throughput: The total number of work items that are completed in a given time period – for example,
during a week or during a Sprint.

timebox: A fixed period of time allocated to accomplish a goal – for example, 15 minutes, 1 week, 3
weeks, or 1 month. See also iteration.

TOC: See Theory of Constraints.

to-complete performance index: Abbreviated as TCPI, a measure of the cost performance achieved with
the remaining resources in order to meet a specified management goal, expressed as the ratio of the
cost to finish the outstanding work to the remaining budget.

tornado diagram: A special type of bar chart that represents the association between different variables
related to its relative importance. This chart has data groups represented vertically in descending order.

total float: The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start
date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.

transparency: One of the pillars in a Scrum; means that all processes and their outcome must be visible
to all stakeholders involved in a project.

trigger condition: An event or situation that indicates that a risk is about to occur.

T-shaped: A person with one deep area of specialization and broad ability as far as the rest of the skills
required by the team are concerned. See also I-shaped and broken comb.
T-shirt sizing: An estimation technique used to derive quick and high-level estimates. Estimation is done
using comparison and work items are classified into predefined categories like small, medium, large, and
extra large.

Tuckman ladder: Elaborates the team development stages starting with Forming, then Storming,
Norming, Performing, and finally Adjourning. Used for creating a high performing team.

use case: Encapsulates all possible ways the end user will use or interact with a product or system.
Includes details for the different approaches in which the user and system can interact, and helps end
users achieve their intended goals.

user story: A brief description of deliverable value for a specific user; a promise for a conversation to
clarify details.

user story mapping: A visual exercise that helps product teams define the work that will create a
delightful user experience; a visual practice for organizing work into a useful model to help understand
the functionality to be created over time, identify omissions in the backlog, and effectively plan releases.

UX design: The process of enhancing the user experience by focusing on improving the usability and
accessibility to be found in the interaction between the user and the product.

VAC: See variance at completion.

value stream: An organizational construct that focuses on the flow of value to customers through the
delivery of specific products or services.

value stream mapping: A Lean enterprise technique used to document, analyze, and improve the flow
of information or materials required to produce a product or service for a customer.

value-driven delivery: A way to plan and sequence work items for early and frequent delivery of value in
an iterative and incremental manner.

variance analysis: A technique for determining the cause and degree of difference between the baseline
and actual performance.

variance at completion: Abbreviated as VAC, a projection of the amount of budget deficit or surplus,
expressed as the difference between the budget at completion and the estimate at completion. See also
budget at completion and variance at completion.

virtual team: See distributed team.

walking skeleton: A model or proof of concept done to demonstrate a concept or solution.

waste: Also known as muda, the non-value-added tasks or processes which can be reduced or
eliminated entirely to increase efficiency. Waste does not have value nor does it add value to a product
or process.

WBS: See work breakdown structure.

WBS dictionary: A document that provides detailed deliverable, activity, and scheduling information
about each component in the work breakdown structure. See also work breakdown structure.
weighted milestone method: A method of estimating earned value in which the budget value of a work
package is divided into measurable segments, each ending with a milestone that is assigned a weighted
budget value. See also fixed formula method.

what-if scenario analysis: The process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect on project
objectives.

Wideband Delphi technique: A group-based estimation technique for determining how much work is
involved and how long it will take to complete.

WIP: See work in progress.

wireframe: A high-level outline of the user interface used for fast and quick feedback on the layout;
gives an overview of the structure, information, and its flow.

work breakdown structure: Abbreviated as WBS, a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of
work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required
deliverables.

work in progress: Partially finished work items awaiting completion.

work package: The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and
duration can be estimated and managed.

workaround: An immediate and temporary response to an issue for which a prior response had not
been planned or was not effective. See also risk mitigation.

XP: See Extreme Programming.


PMP® Certification Pairwise Connections

Delphi Technique Anonymous

Baselines Plans that actuals are measured against

Management Plan How

WBS Framework

Validate Scope Completeness, acceptance

Lag Delay

Monte Carlo Simulation

Cost Baseline Time phased budget

Quality Assurance Audit, meeting standards

Control Quality Inspect, correctness

Pareto Problems (cause)

Ishy-fishy Problem (causes)

Complex Written

Sensitivity Analysis Tornado

Triggers Symptoms

Procurement documents Bid documents

FPIF Performance

CPIF Cost

@Simplilearn. All rights reserved


Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) ― Sixth Edition.

PMP, PMI, and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

@Simplilearn. All rights reserved


S t a y o n T r a c k f o r t h e P M P ® Ex a m w i t h

180 Practice Questions

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: www.oliverlehmann.com. Document version: 07-2021

1
This prep test was written by:

Oliver F. Lehmann, MSc., PMP, ACE


oliver@oliverlehmann.com

And

Antje Lehmann-Benz, M.A., PMP, ACE


antje@antjelehmann.com

Questions are based on:


• PMP® Examination Content Outline
• PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition
• PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition
• Agile Practice Guide
• Further references

Language aids:
• PMI offers language aids to the real exam in ten languages.
• If you wish to develop a language aid in your own language for this document, don’t hesitate to
contact us and ask for support. Language aid development is a great exercise if you want to get pre-
pared for the PMP exam.

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged.

Items (questions with answering options) from this document may be copied and discussed in public forums
and Internet discussion groups as long as the source is correctly stated. In such case please inform the author
to allow his contribution to the discussion, if necessary.

Visit www.oliverlehmann.com and find many more free sample questions to prepare for the PMP exam.

Feedback is welcome at oliver@oliverlehmann.com.


Preface

Contents Page

Questions 5

Answers and References 89

This document is intended to help you prepare yourself for the PMP® (Project Management Professional) exam, offered by PMI® (the Pro-
ject Management Institute). In order to pass this preparation test, you should correctly answer 135 out of 180 questions in 4 hours, simi-
larly to the real exam.

This document includes 180 PMP1 prep test items (questions & answers). Most questions have one best answer. If you need more than one
answer, the item will tell you.

The process of item generation and review for this prep test tightly follows the description published by PMP.

Try to answer all questions in 4 hours.

Start time: : + 3:50 hours = finish time: :


Required result: 135 Your test result

Answers to the questions can be found from page 89 onwards.

Further help to prepare for the PMP exam

- More free questions


- The PMP process in a nutshell
- Letter templates to employers/employees
- Key words

1
PMP, PMI and PMBOK are marks of the Project Management Institute, Newtown Square, PA, USA, which are regis-
tered in the USA and in other nations. PMI has not reviewed this document for appropriateness.

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: www.oliverlehmann.com. Document version: 07-2021

3
Questions

1. Being assigned as a project manager, you noticed during project execution that conflicts arise in the
team on both technical and interpersonal levels. What is an appropriate way of handling conflicts?1

o Conflicts distract the team and disrupt the work rhythm. You should always smooth them when
they surface.

o A conflict should be handled in a meeting so that the entire team can participate in finding a
solution.

o Conflicts should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach.
o You should use your coercive power to quickly resolve conflicts and then focus on goal
achievement.

2. What is the purpose of a project charter? 2

o To formally authorize a project or a phase and document initial requirements which satisfy the
stakeholder’s needs and expectations.

o To document how the project will be planned, executed, monitored/controlled, and closed.
o To link the project, which is going to be planned, executed, and monitored/controlled to the
ongoing work of the organization.

o To describe the process of performing the work defined in the project management plan in order
to achieve the project’s objectives.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

5
3. Which is a central objective of using a Kanban board?3

o Allowing for three-point estimation of work items


o Limiting the number of items in the Work in Progress column
o Allowing for Fibonacci numbers in estimation of epics
o Giving the Scrum Master a tool to add stories to the backlog

4. What does the term continuous delivery often refer to?4

o A standardized set of deliverables, like plans, reports, and checklists.


o A set of tools and techniques that a project manager should master.
o Increasing customer satisfaction by delivering valuable products and increments early.
o A specific sequence of work, described in terms of soft logic.

5. The communications management plan is a document which includes descriptions of5

o Project level performance reports


o Activity level status reports
o Stakeholder communication requirements
o Project benefit analysis results

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

6
6. _________ are usually not a manifestation of unique organizational cultures and styles.6

o Shared visions, values, norms, beliefs, and expectations


o Individual traits and attitudes of co-workers
o Views of authority relationships
o Policies, methods, and procedures

7. Which of the following are generally regarded as elements of active listening?7

o Making eye contact


o Pressurizing the speaker
o Paraphrasing
o Interpreting the information
o Interrupting when appropriate

8. As the project manager, you decided to arrange a team meeting to identify and analyze lessons
learned from quality control with stakeholders. What should you do with them?8

o Document them and make them part of the historical database for the project and the performing
organization.

o Discuss them with management and make sure that they remain otherwise confidential
o Publish them in the corporate newsletter.
o Follow your strategic decisions, independent from lessons learned. These decisions have been
made and should be implemented whatever the outcomes are.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

7
9. Your Scrum Team is working with a Product Owner. During daily Scrum meetings, the person criticizes
your team’s perceived “dysfunctionality” and requires that one developer should be delegated to
take the lead? What could be an appropriate response to that? (Choose 2) 9

o The Product Owner’s job is to guide the direction of the product.


o The Product Owner’s job is to validate the final deliverables of the project.
o The Product Owner’s job is to verify that the rules of Scrum are adhered to.
o The Product Owner should not join the Daily Scrums as he/she is not a member of the Scrum
Team.

o The Product owner manages the product backlog for the Developer Team.

10. How should change management be planned for?10

o Changes are generally not predictable, therefore planning for change management cannot be
reasonable.

o Planning for change management should be done while the various change control processes are
being applied.

o Change management can be planned in a set of management plans or a specific change


management plan.

o Changes are a sign of bad planning. One should avoid changes during a project, thus eliminating
the need to manage them.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

8
11. According to Bruce Tuckman, what are the stages of team development?11

o Honeymoon, rejection, regression, acceptance, re-entry


o Forming, storming, norming, performing (adjourning)
o Tell, sell, consult, join
o Direct, support, coach, delegate

12. What is not a reason for companies to organize lessons learned?12

o Lessons learned databases are an essential element of the organizational process assets.
o Lessons learned should focus on identifying those accountable for errors and failures.
o Lessons learned sessions should bring about recommendations to improve future performance on
projects.

o Phase-end lessons learned sessions provide a good team building exercise for project staff
members.

13. How does a project management team stay in touch with the work and the attitudes of project team
members?13

o By observation and communication


o Using closed questions during team meetings
o Through third-party assessments
o Through the team members’ functional managers

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

9
14. Your project is running into a number of issues that could have been predicted using a formal risk
management process with appropriate documentation

Which document could have helped you and should have been developed along the risk management
processes from identify risks through plan and implement risk responses to monitor risks?14

o List of risk triggers


o Risk register
o Risk mitigation
o Decision tree

15. A customer is requiring a minor scope change and expects you to do this without delays and
additional costs. You believe that you have adequate authorization to make the decision by yourself,
but you are not quite sure.

What should be your next steps?15

o A requested change is always an opportunity to get more money paid by the customer and to
secretly solve schedule and quality problems. You should make some reasonable estimates on
time, costs, risks etc. and then add a nice margin on top of that to calculate the new price.

o Customer satisfaction is your top priority. The customer gives you an opportunity to increase their
satisfaction, which you should use to the maximum benefit. Most project managers have
contingencies to cover risks; these can be used to pay the additional costs.

o Before making a decision you should have a look at the customer’s parking lot. If you find there
many expensive, new models, it is likely that you can use the requested change to increase the
profit from the contract. Otherwise you should reject the request.

o Handle the request according to the integrated change control processes described in your
management plans. Then make a decision together with the appropriate change control body,
whether the increased customer satisfaction will be worth the extra costs, work, risks etc.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

10
16. A facilitator should…16

o …be in full control of the discussion and its outcomes.


o …always take notes by herself.
o …avoid a flip chart parking lot.
o …give guidance as required without interfering.

17. As the project manager in a software project which is currently initiated, you want to assess high-
level risks. What should you do?17

o Develop the project charter and a risk management plan to start identifying risks based on those
and other documents.

o Identify and analyze risk events using qualitative and quantitative techniques.
o Develop contingency plans and fallback plans in case the original plan proves wrong.
o Discuss the risks documented in your Risk register with the project key stakeholders.

18. In most jurisdictions, a legally required order of formal statements establishing a contract is:18

o Invitation to treat, offer, PO


o Inquiry, bid, order
o Offer, acceptance
o MoU, LoI, final agreement

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

11
19. What should managers consider before conducting a performance evaluation interview with a project
team member? 19

o Which management fallacies can most easily be delegated to the worker?


o How can discussion of the manager’s leadership style be avoided?
o Has the employee been provided with sufficient instructions and work tools?
o How can dispute related to unsatisfactory performance be avoided?

20. During team development, the handling of assumptions is causing problems. Some team members
reject the notion that assumptions are an expression of uncertainty. Others recommended to make
exploring assumptions an essential element of team building, following the Drexler/Sibbet Team
Performance Model

Which statement describes best the handling of assumptions in this model?20

o It is the responsibility of the sales person in charge to identify all risks related to a customer
project.

o Managing and organizing assumptions means avoiding risks right from the start of the project.
o Finding out more about assumptions should be an element of goal clarification by the team..
o Risks are a sign of uncertainty. Avoiding all uncertainties means that a project should have no risks
at all.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

12
21. A WBS dictionary is a document which…21

o … describes technical terms used for scope management.


o … describes the details for each component in the WBS.
o … translates essential WBS terms for global project teams.
o … helps translate functional into technical requirements.

22. You are in the process of contacting sellers to obtain bids and proposals. You found out that it might
become a time-consuming procedure to ensure that the sellers get a clear and common
understanding of the procurement process and of the needs of your project.

Which technique may help you save time?22

o Bidder conferences
o Advertising
o Qualified sellers list
o Four-eyes meetings

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

13
23. While you implement the plans of your project, you find that cultural differences and
incompatibilities among your team members cause issues and resolving them leads to delays.

As a project manager, when should you especially consider cultural differences? (Choose 2)23

o When you break down scope to create a work breakdown structure (WBS).
o When you assign a human resources to do the work in a schedule activity.
o When you develop acceptance criteria for work results to be achieved by the team members.
o When you decide upon recognition and awards during team development.
o When you have a globally distributed project team.

24. At the beginning of project execution, you notice different opinions between team members relating
to project work and deliverables and to the level of overall complexity.

What should you do right now?24

o Give your team members some time to develop a common understanding of the project scope
and product scope. Upcoming interface problems may be resolved later.

o Use the risk management processes to identify and assess risks caused by misunderstandings and
develop a plan with measures in order to respond to them.

o Organize meetings to identify and resolve misunderstandings between team members in order to
avoid interface problems, disintegration and costly rework early in the project.

o Use interviews in private with each individual team member to inform them of your expectations
and your requirements in an atmosphere of confidence.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

14
25. You have just taken over as manager of a project that will create many benefits for the performing
organization, but you sense a high level of resistance in various stakeholders right from the start.

What is the most appropriate action to resolve the problem?25

o Develop a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) which clearly shows the responsibility of each
stakeholder for the various project activities and who needs to be consulted and informed.

o Develop an organization diagram, which places each of the stakeholders at an appropriate


position inside the project and allows for certain lines of communication while disallowing others.

o Schedule a meeting with these stakeholders to present the project, discuss and establish ground
rules, ensure their involvement and identify initial personal and organizational issues.

o Do not talk to these stakeholders too much at this time, instead create faits accomplis, which will
later force the stakeholders to support the project due to a lack of alternatives for them.

26. You are in the process of planning a project and found that stakeholders often have varying
objectives and requirements. This makes it hard to come up with a plan with which all objectives will
be met.

What is probably most helpful to ensure common understanding?26

o Ask the project stakeholders to build focus groups in order to discuss and remedy conflicting
interests.

o Create an exhaustive document describing your point of view and ask stakeholders to review it.
o Let each stakeholder write a statement of work, merge the documents to a project scope
statement.

o Use your authorization as the project manager to clearly prioritize the different objectives.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

15
27
27. Projects frequently do not meet customer expectations for which of the following reasons?

o Poor risk management by the contractor running the project


o Poor technical ability of the contractor running the project for the customer
o Technical inability and poor risk management by the contractor
o Unclear scope definition by the customer for whom the project is performed

28. You are the project manager for the development of a new type of power plant. Your project is
making fast progress, and it is getting nearer to the day of product acceptance.

Which technique will be most important for product acceptance?28

o Inspection
o Quality audit
o Impact analysis
o Team review

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

16
29. You have a discussion with management in organizations that the costs of quality are hard to assign
and to balance against each

What are the cost types in modern quality management?29

o Costs of good quality – costs of bad quality


o Planning costs – assurance costs – control costs
o Planning costs – doing costs – checking costs – acting costs
o Prevention costs – appraisal costs – failure costs

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

17
30. During the execution of a project to build a complex defense system, your team has run into a deep
crisis.

The project’s goal and objectives have been challenging right from the start, but now you have
discovered that your team members have become increasingly unaware of them. Being busy solving
detail problems, they often fail to understand the overall requirements. Then they develop solutions
which resolve issues in their area of limited responsibility, while causing new problems at the
interfaces with other system components.

Meanwhile, the team members show signs of growing frustration, and time is running away. How can
you help your team in this situation?30

o Accompany your team members along a sequence of maturity levels from dependence through
independence to interdependence.

o Ignore the low-level issues and focus on achieving the overall requirements, details can be sorted
out during test and handover.

o If everybody simply does their jobs, then there should be no problem. Make sure that team
members are fully aware of their accountability.

o Problems of this dimension have their origin in fundamental personal incompatibilities between
team members. You should replace them all.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

18
31. During execution in a project to build a major road bridge, your team found a major flaw in the
technical drawings. On an ad-hoc base, they had to find and implement a workaround to avoid delays
and mitigate technical problems. What should you do next?31

o Meticulously document the problem and the workaround to create a requested change to the
project management plan, which will then be passed to the body responsible for the change
control decision.

o The workaround was performed on a technical level only. As long as it does not influence the
function of the bridge or the organizational configuration of the project, a change request will not
be necessary.

o A retroactive formal change request side is not reasonable. Create some additional documents
describing the workaround and sign them by yourself, you can present them during the next
regular CCB meeting.

o It is normal in projects that during project execution inconsistencies arise between planning
documents and actual implementation. This is no problem as long as the functional status of the
product is maintained.

32. You recently took over the assignment for a project. The project charter has been developed. What is
an appropriate next step for you?32

o Develop the risk register.


o Develop the project milestone schedule.
o Develop management plans.
o Get approval for the project management plan.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

19
33. You scheduled a kick-off meeting in order to announce the start of your project, present the plan and
develop consensus on it. Another topic will be explanation of each team member’s role. In addition,
you planned some time for discussions.

You published the agenda of the kick-off meeting some weeks ago to all invited attendees.

Now, short term before the event, you receive various cancellations by team members, who say that
they cannot join the meeting. But they will be with you when project work will start.33

o The kick-off meeting is secondary, you are happy if the team members will do their jobs.
o You should insist on the presence of the team members to the appointed date.
o If you force team members’ presence, they would anyway be distracted by their current
problems.

o It is probably a good idea to reschedule the meeting to a day, when all team members can attend.

34. During a meeting, a discussion came up: To which degree does your project have to be compliant to
the processes enumerated in the PMBOK® Guide? What should be the guiding principle to answer this
question? 34

o The processes are meant as rough guidelines to which a team should only adhere if there is
enough consensus.

o The more processes the project team follows, the better the project’s performance will be.
o The project manager must follow all 49 processes for project management without alterations.
o The project team must select appropriate processes required to meet the project requirements.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

20
35. Your project team is complaining that the acceptance criteria of their work result are unclear and ask
you to provide clarification with the customer. You arrange a meeting, and several criteria are
identified.

The product acceptance criteria should now be laid down in which documents? (Choose 2)35

o Project scope statement


o Work breakdown structure
o Resource assignments
o Project scope management plan
o An addendum to the project contract

36. During project execution you found out that work is often not performed at the right time and in the
right order. Deliverables are made by one team member that cannot be processed by another one.
This already leads to timely rework and bad morale among team members.

Which project management tool is most appropriate to deal with problems like this? 36

o Organization chart
o RACI matrix
o Communications management plan
o Work authorization system

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

21
37. Your management is applying the 10 percent solution: It has requested that you reduce the budget
for the project which you are currently initiating by 10%. What will this probably mean for your
project? 37

o If the budget is cut by 10%, then the project will have an accompanying degradation of quality by
10%.

o If the project budget is an honest one, then a reduction in budget must be accompanied by a
trade-off in either time or performance.

o A 10% reduction in budget will be accompanied by a loss of performance much less than the
target reduction in cost.

o Most projects have "padded" estimates, and the budgetary reduction will force out the padding
from the project.

38. While applying procurement management processes in your project, you identified the need to gain a
more objective understanding of sellers’ capabilities in order to rank proposals and develop a
negotiating sequence.

Which technique may help avoid bias and subjective decisions best?38

o Bidder conference
o Weighting system
o Oral contract
o Letter of intent

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

22
39. During code inspection in a major software development project, a project management team
identified frequent occurrences of critical programming errors. These errors are scattered across the
code and occur without a discernible pattern.
Which tool is most likely to help the team identify areas of error concentration in order to develop a
prioritized response strategy?39

o Check sheet
o Influence diagram
o Decision tree
o Process decision program chart

40. The term baseline is used in both disciplines project management and configuration management.
Which statement is not true?40

o Baselines in system configurations are often also referred to as deltas.


o In configuration management, baselines are used to control change.
o Project management baselines are used for performance measurement.
o In project management, baselines help assess variance and trends.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

23
41. The scope baseline includes____.41

o The various management plans of the project


o Schedule baseline and cost baseline
o Product configuration ID and statement of work
o WBS dictionary, WBS, scope statement

42. During human resource planning you identified that your team members are not sufficiently qualified
for their tasks. Which may be an appropriate solution to this problem?42

o Reduce level of effort


o Develop a training plan
o Plan quality audits
o Plan quality inspections

43. You are performing a customer project for a customer in a high-context cultural environment, while
you and your team are in a low context country. Different communication styles and contents
repeatedly led to conflicts between the organizations.

What is typical for high-context cultures?43

o Technical means for communications can focus on transfer of spoken and written language.
o Communication is preferred which avoids passing over a great deal of additional information.
o A message has only limited meaning without an understanding of the surrounding context.
o To understand a message, no information on history or personal opinions is needed.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

24
44. In general, processes of configuration management do not include…44

o …identification and documentation of system or item characteristics.


o …controlling changes to these characteristics in an integrative fashion.
o …documenting and auditing changes and the implementation status.
o …assigning responsibilities for change control and documentation.

45. The ________ is a document which describes how the project management team will implement the
performing organization’s quality policy.45

o Quality assurance plan


o Quality management plan
o Quality commitment
o Quality audit

46. What do you expect when you are submitting an invitation for bid to sellers?46

o Offers which will differ significantly in solution approach and price.


o Offers which are similar enough to allow a selection based on price.
o Offers which are not primarily written to win against competition.
o General information on a seller’s ability to provide the goods or services.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

25
47. What is important for quality auditors?47

o They must be in-house personnel.


o They must be external-party staff.
o They must be mandated by the auditee.
o They must be properly trained.

48. Your agile team is uncertain for which elements of the project what methods should be applied. A
recommendation was to follow the stages of uncertainty.

Which are these stages?48

o Scope change and scope creep


o Internal - political – economical – external – environmental
o Simple – complicated – complex - chaos
o Project complexity – product complexity

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

26
49. You are running a major project with four sub-projects. Each of the sub-project managers has
developed a risk management plan, identified many risks, analyzed them and planned for risk
response.

It is now two months later. What should you not do?49

o Ensure that they handle all risks to save you from project level risk control.
o Make sure that the sub project managers monitor their project work for new and changing risks.
o Make sure that the sub project managers keep track of the identified risks and those on the watch
list.

o Make sure that the sub-project managers monitor trigger conditions for contingency plans.

50. What is true for statistical sampling?50

o Statistical sampling can be used to verify for each individual item in a lot, whether it can be
accepted or must be rejected.

o Attribute sampling means collection of quantitative data showing the level of conformity for each
item of a sample.

o Variables sampling includes collection of quantitative data on the degree of conformity for each
item of a sample.

o Statistical sampling is commonly used in quality assurance to examine if items of a lot conform to
quality standards.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

27
51. A project team was asked by a customer to shorten the cycle time of an iterative-incremental
approach.

51
What benefits may the customer hope to achieve?

o Increased predictivity of the project


o Shorter feedback loops
o More frequent delivery
o Easy reprioritization
o Longer lead times for resource booking

52. What is not true for change requests?52

o Change requests should always be handled in a controlled and integrative fashion.


o Change requests surpassing the formal change control processes can lead to scope creep.
o Professionally managed, change requests can help improving a project and resolving emerging
problems.

o Change requests are always a sign of bad planning and should therefore be avoided.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

28
53. You recently assigned staff members to activities, estimated work and scheduled your project. You
then created the following resource histogram for your staff:

100%

0%
Project weeks
What does this diagram tell you? 53

o The project can probably not be finished as scheduled.


o You may be able to finish the project early by reassigning work.
o You should avoid network logic diagramming for scheduling.
o You may run into problems with dual reporting relationships.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

29
54. A project manager’s PDM network schedule gets audited by a scheduling expert. The expert tells the
project manager to focus more on nodes with “path convergence”, also known as “sinks”. What is the
person referring to?54

o Nodes in a WBS, where several branches are brought back together.


o Nodes in a conditional network diagram, at which it becomes deterministic.
o Nodes in a decision tree, showing various branches with the same chance.
o Nodes in a network logic diagram which have multiple predecessors.

55. The members of your project team have been assigned to your project with general availability levels
of 50%.

Yesterday, they reported to you that significant variances occurred during project execution. You
have noted that the team members have been spending less than 50% of their time working on your
project. Your project schedule is about to become heavily delayed, and deadlines are in jeopardy.
What should you do?55

o Talk to your sponsor and try to get more resources assigned on similar conditions as the existing
ones.

o Talk with functional managers. Negotiate clear and written assignments with reliable scheduling
priorities.

o Ignore the difficulties, adjust your schedule and negotiate new deadlines according to the slower
progress.

o Focus on internal charges. Make sure that your project is not getting charged for more than the
actual work.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

30
56. What is the meaning of the acronym CSOW?56

o A statement of work that is part of a contingency plan; it is commonly linked with Contingency
reserves.

o A statement of work that has been formally agreed upon by both parties and is therefore part of a
contract.

o A statement of work that is currently valid; this contrasts with the scope baseline, a formerly valid
SOW.

o A statement of work on project level that cumulates statements of work on cost account level

57. Crashing describes a technique to speed up a project by…57

o …reallocating existing resources or assigning additional resources to the project.


o …overlapping activities which were originally planned to be done in sequence.
o …reducing the number of features of the product in order to reduce development work.
o …reducing the duration estimates for activities to increase the pressure applied to the staff.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

31
58. During risk identification sessions, you and your team identified more than 150 risks for your project.
You are afraid that evaluating each of these risks quantitatively will cost you an enormous amount of
time, while not all of them are really relevant and important enough to justify such a measure. What
should you do next?58

o Identify risk triggers where possible. Analyze only those risks quantitatively for which no trigger
could be found.

o Use qualitative risk analysis in order to prioritize risks for further action, such as quantitative risk
analysis.

o Assess the probability of each risk qualitatively and further analyze only those risks with high
probability.

o Assess the potential impact of each risk qualitatively and further analyze only those risks with high
impact.

59. During execution of a project, you observe that the performance of some of your team members is
dropping, while others are doing a consistently good job. This is endangering overall project progress.
What should you try first to bring the team as a whole back to performance?59

o Organize a team meeting and discuss openly the bad performance of the weak team members.
Try to find a joint solution during the meeting.

o Introduce a competitive incentive system with a bonus for the 20% of your team which is
performing better than the other 80%.

o Do not interfere, but give the team some time to organize and to sort the problem out
themselves.

o Research causes for bad performance, solicit systematic feedback and search for solutions based
on that.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

32
60. Your management announced that they want to put you on a stretch assignment. In this situation,
you should consider that…60

o …a stretch assignment is going beyond your qualifications right from the start. Whatever your
education, knowledge and skills are, you cannot fail personally. Congratulations.

o …key stakeholders must have timely and complete information regarding your qualifications to
make decisions regarding your suitability for the assignment.

o …stretch assignments bear an increased risk of failure, and this is rarely outweighed by the
learning and development experience expected to come with the assignment.

o …you should avoid the increased hassle coming with the assignment. It will not be enough for you
to simply satisfy requirements and achieve objectives. You will have to learn a lot.

61. Following the cultural approach of the corporation for which you are starting to manage a project,
you are guiding your project team through the first life-cycle phase of conceptualization. Your next
step is to call for a team meeting to let ideas emerge in an unrestricted creative process. What exactly
should that look like?61

o You write down the ideas of team members and structure them into categories of strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats during the session.

o You creatively gather thoughts and ideas without any discussion or frowning. These ideas are only
filtered and structured after the end of the brainstorming session.

o Your team members wear hats with different colors, each of which stands for a way of thinking.
Each member discusses topics from the viewpoint of their thinking.

o You try to eradicate deviating ideas and concepts of team members during the meeting, so that
the entire project team follows your principles.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

33
62. In configuration management, which of the following is necessary to maintain the integrity of
baselines?62

o Analyzing variances by comparing baseline information with actual project data.


o Releasing only approved changes for incorporation into products or services.
o Ensuring that team members adhere to a code of ethical conduct and behavior.
o Ensuring transparency across all project management processes and activities.

63. A representative of your customer approached you this morning referring to a part of your team that
works on customer’s premises. She complained that your team members do not fully blend with her
staff and that there are conflicts originating in different corporate cultures of your organization and
hers. She demanded that you motivate them to display more stewardship

What is she referring to? (Choose 3)63

o Care
o Respect
o Diligence
o Tayloring
o Formal leadership

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

34
64. Which is not a point used for three-point estimation?64

o Optimistic estimate
o Most likely estimate
o Budget estimate
o Pessimistic estimate

65. Which of the following are not common barriers to project team building?65

o Differing outlooks, priorities, and interests


o Role conflicts
o Excessive team member commitment
o Unclear project objectives/outcomes

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

35
66. During project planning, you are presented with the following diagram that depicts a cumulative
likelihood distribution for the duration of a project:

Deadline
100%

0%

Duration
What kind of conclusion can you draw from the information depicted in it? 66

o The likeliness that the project will finish exactly at the date marked with “Deadline” is 80%.
o The likeliness that the project team will exceed the date marked with “Deadline” is at 80%.
o If the project team will meet the deadline, project costs will be 80% of the budgeted costs.
o The likeliness that the project team will meet the deadline or will finish earlier is at 80%.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

36
67. While executing a project, you sense a slightly negative attitude in your team. Which type of
document do you now need, among others, to better understand and then be able to improve the
situation?67

o Project charter
o Team performance assessments
o Cost baseline
o Statement of work

68. The sales representative of your company recently contacted you. You made some estimates on
direct costs for an offer on a firm fixed-price contract. According to company policies, indirect costs
(overheads) are to be calculated as a percentage of the direct costs, the sum of both cost types
caused him to calculate a far too high price. How should you not react?68

o You reduce your direct cost estimates by reducing the amount of work and the rates allocated to
them. This allows a reduction of the overhead costs and a lower price.

o Calculating overheads as a percentage of direct costs is just a model to simplify calculations. A


more specific analysis of these costs may lead to a more realistic project price.

o Cost estimates are quantitative assessments of the probable costs required to complete project
work. These are made by the project team. It is the sales person’s job to make the price.

o You make the sales person aware that a reduction of direct costs may reduce the numbers for
overhead cost allocation, but will not influence the actual overheads.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

37
69. A project charter is a document that…69

o …describes both the project scope and the product scope at detail level.
o …authorizes the project and the use of organizational resources to meet project requirements.
o …breaks down the project scope over several steps to describe the project on work package level.
o …describes all activities which are necessary to create the project deliverables.

70. You identified a technical risk in your project and assigned a contingency for that. Planning
contingency reserves is part of which risk response strategy?70

o Active risk mitigation


o Passive risk avoidance
o Passive risk acceptance
o Active risk acceptance

71. Which concept of locating team members can help them best to enhance their performance as a
team?71

o Colocation
o Cross-functional dispersion
o Virtual e-teams
o Global team dispersion

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

38
72. In a lawsuit between your organization and a project contractor, the term “Constructive change” is
discussed.

Which statements on constructive changes are true?72

o Constructive changes are contract changes which are construed from actions taken by either
party, not from a change document.

o Changes in projects under contract are called constructive changes if they yield benefits for both
parties.

o Constructive changes are a frequent cause of disputes and claims of one contract party against
the other.

o Field changes should be meticulously documented to avoid an interpretation as constructive


change.

o Constructive change is a term used civil engineers for claims based on billable changes in building
projects.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

39
73. You are assigned as a project manager for an internal project. During cost planning and budgeting you
discovered that there are peak times of costs during the project and other times when costs are fairly
low. What could this mean for the project?73

o The fiscal budget mechanism which is used by the performing organization may not allow for cost
peaks in your project, and you may have to level out expenditures over time.

o You can silently create budget contingencies during low-cost periods and re-use them later during
those periods when you have to cover peak levels in project costs.

o You may find another project manager with a project that has a different rhythm of high and low
costs. Then, you may be able to move budget during one project’s low cost periods to the other
project.

o You are a project manager and work with a lifecycle budget for your project. Fiscal budgets are a
matter of the functional organization, and you generally do not have to care about them.

74. You are going to take over a new project as the project manager in an enterprise unknown to you.
What should you investigate during the chartering process? 74

o Enterprise environmental factors


o Project management plan
o Project risk register
o Team performance reports

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

40
75. An organization is considering various contract types in order to motivate sellers and to ensure
preferential treatment. What should they consider before deciding to use an award fee contract? 75

o Payment of an award fee would be linked to the achievement of objective performance criteria.
o Any unresolved dispute over the payment of an award fee would be subject to remedy in court.
o Payment of an award fee would be agreed upon by both the customer and the contractor.
o Payment of an award fee is decided upon by the customer based on the degree of satisfaction.

76. What is least important when it comes to archiving project records? 76

o A well-designed records management system


o Integration of the archive with business software
o Updated records reflecting final results
o Easy availability of information for future use

77. _______ are not necessarily used to establish the cost baseline of a project.77

o Schedule activity or work package cost estimates


o The work breakdown structure and the WBS dictionary
o The project schedule and the resource management plan
o The risk breakdown structure and the risk report

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

41
78. You took over a customer project for your company. From the inputs available, including contract,
statement of work and project charter, you have developed a project management plan.

You already presented that plan in a meeting with key stakeholders including your project sponsor
and some representatives from the customer organization. During the meeting you sensed a high
level of dissatisfaction by the customer executives, who signaled that the project might not produce
the results that their company had expected. In your understanding, all necessary actions have been
planned to meet the customer’s requirements.

What should you do next?78

o Request a written statement from the customer detailing the requirements which they believe
are not addressed by your plan. Use this statement to update the project plan.

o Arrange meetings with the customer to identify their needs, wants and expectations for the
project. Then create a narrative Scope statement from this information to document the agreed
upon project scope.

o Request a formal meeting on top executive level to get the misunderstandings sorted out, then
arrange a change request, re-plan your project where necessary and go ahead with the project
work.

o Do not over-react. Performed according to your plan, the project will produce a convincing
product for the customer. As soon as the executives will see it, they will probably change their
opinion and accept it.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

42
79. What is not true for project deliverables?79

o Project deliverables should be identified, described and agreed upon as early in the project as
possible.

o Project deliverables may be products, capabilities for services or other kinds of results.
o Once project deliverables have been identified, their description should not be changed any more.
o The acceptance process for deliverables and how rejection will be addressed should be described
in the contract.

80. Your project, performed for a customer, is coming to an end. The customer has been contractually
granted a three years warranty period for the product of the project. What should you do first?80

o Hand all relevant documentation over to the organizational unit responsible for handling the
warranty.

o There is no additional work to be done. The contract should describe all processes in sufficient
detail.

o Changes on the product can affect warranty clauses. Ensure that these clauses are aligned with
the final specifications.

o According to many legislations, you cannot formally close a project before the end of the warranty
period.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

43
81. Being the project manager in a high-risk electronics project with a lot of new technologies, you
developed a risk management plan and identified risks which you documented in a risk register.
Then, the risks were analyzed and response was planned.

During risk control meetings, it gets obvious that the documents you created are not very helpful.
What have you probably done wrong?81

o You failed to use an RBS.


o You did the first processes alone.
o You did not identify Triggers.
o You did not calculate EMVs.

82. Which is generally not regarded as one of the three categories of culture that managers should
master? 82

o National culture
o Organizational culture
o Project culture
o Functional culture

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

44
83. Post-mortem analysis after scheduled finish date of a project shows a CPI of 0.8 and an SPI of 1.25.
What is a plausible explanation for that?83

o The project was terminated early. At that time, it was over budget and ahead of schedule.
o The project has produced additional deliverables which were originally not required.
o The project has evidently been finished under budget and behind of schedule.
o The project has evidently been finished over budget and ahead of schedule.

84. Some colleagues told you that they are planning, executing, monitoring and controlling a project by
use of milestones only with durations between 1 and 4 weeks. What do you think?84

o The approach is erroneous. A milestone is a significant point with zero duration to highlight
achievements.

o It is a good approach as long as the milestones reflect fixed or imposed dates during the project
lifecycle only.

o It is a good approach if the milestones are used for reviews between consecutive project phases
only.

o It is a good approach because it saves from progress measurement on activities and work
packages.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

45
85. Together with your team, you applied three-point estimation on a cost item using a Beta distribution.

The estimates (in USD) were made as

- Optimistic: 15,000
- Most likely: 30,000
- Pessimistic: 75.000

What is the PERT value you would use? 85

o 21,000
o 35,000
o 40,000
o No statement is possible from the information given.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

46
86. You are just leaving a meeting during which you have been assigned as the manager of a project to
build a sub-station that is part of a major electric power distribution system. The decision to run the
project has been made before your assignment and without your involvement. Some basic decisions
on deliverables, staffing, budgeting and on the completion date have already been made as well.

What should you do first?86

o Obtain a project charter which links the project to the strategy and ongoing work of the
organization and documents the initial decisions.

o Create a project schedule for your project which shows all major milestones and deadlines linked
with them. Then try to obtain approval for the schedule.

o Start developing a detailed risk register which includes identified risks with their qualitative and
quantitative assessments and a response plan.

o Start the quality assurance process by developing test procedures for the final deliverable and
defining metrics against which the tests will be performed.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

47
87. What is the purpose of the following diagram?

87

o Describing the influence of extreme weather conditions on progress and on the achievement of
project objectives.

o Comparing the relative importance of variables that have a high degree of uncertainty with those
that are more stable.

o Evaluating team performance and identifying team members with low productivity and work
effectiveness.

o Evaluating the degree to which project work and deliverables conform to the expectations of key
stakeholders.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

48
88. Which is not a goal in both project management and quality management?88

o Prevention over inspection


o Customer satisfaction
o Management responsibility
o Triple constraint

89. You created a baseline of your system configuration and added several changes to that as
amendments. Meanwhile you are afraid that the big number of Deltas may cause inconsistencies and
make you unable to understand the current system configuration.

What should you do?89

o Proclaim a design freeze.


o Go on with amendments.
o Revise the baseline.
o Create an entirely new configuration.

90. A request, demand or assertion of a contract partner for consideration, compensation or payment
under a legally binding contract, such as a disputed change, is often referred to as a____.90

o Claim
o Trial
o Refinement
o Audit

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

49
91. Projects may be initiated by all of the following except____.91

o the project team


o a sponsor
o a PMO
o a portfolio review board

92. During planning processes, you used Monte Carlo simulation to quantitatively assess cost and
schedule risks of your project. During risk control, you repeat the technique, and it leads to different
results. What should not be the reason for that?92

o Some assumptions during planning have meanwhile become fact-based knowledge, so that the
risks related to them have vanished or have become certain problems.

o New risks may have been identified. These influence the input data used for Monte Carlo
simulation in a way which was not predictable at the time when the simulation was run.

o Some constraints have been identified originally, but their influence on the project was unclear
when the simulation was run for the first time. By now, the team understands these constraints
much better and has been able to adjust the simulation.

o Some dummy activities in the network logic have an element of uncertainty, which gets bigger
over time. While the project proceeds, it gets even harder to predict how the team members
assigned to them will perform.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

50
93. As a project manager you can assign any one of two team members to a highly coveted task. Both are
equally capable, but one of them is a member of your in-group. To the other one, you have far more
distance.

How should you behave? 93

o You disclose the situation to stakeholders and solicit a joint decision.


o You take the person not in your in-group to avoid misunderstandings.
o Chose the in-group person. The trustful relation will benefit the project.
o You delegate the decision to a third team member to avoid the conflict.

94. For your agile product development to build a food processing plant, you need a batch of 100
identical valves which will be custom made for your project. There is a risk of deterioration of the
valves during processing; therefore you placed requirements on the quality of the raw materials for
them, which will make production very expensive.

To cover the risk of costly production failure, you add more testing to the backlog. What should this
altered backlog version be referred to? 94

o Extended backlog
o Risk-adjusted backlog
o Issue-adjusted backlog
o Zero-risk backlog

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

51
95. Which statements are correct?

Progressive elaboration of project scope…95

o …is a characteristic of projects that accompanies the concepts of temporary and unique.
o … means developing in steps. It should not be confused with scope creep.
o …signals a weak spot in the scope definition process, caused by incomplete contracts and
specifications.

o …when properly managed, integrates elaboration of project and deliverable specifications.


o …works best under fixed price contract with incentive for meeting a challenging deadline.

96. You are managing an internationally dispersed project team. The members of your team have
different cultural backgrounds and primary languages, but all are educated and able to communicate
eloquently in English. You should nevertheless bear in mind that…96

o …there are cultural differences. You should write one code of conduct for each nationality. You
should then limit access to these codes.

o …you may have to accept that team members from one country may not be prepared to work
with colleagues from certain other countries.

o …spoken communications can cause misunderstandings you may not find in written
communications. These may be hard to identify.

o …certain groups will be happy to stay awake over night to join telephone and video conferences
during other members’ working time.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

52
97. When finishing a project, which factors that influence customer satisfaction the most should you be
aware of? 97

o Attractive price of the project and low running costs of the product
o Friendly project manager and effective after-project service
o Efficiency of the project and skills of the project manager
o Conformance to requirements of the project and fitness for use of the deliverables

98. When identifying the basis of the business need for a project all of the following can be considered
except____,98

o regular plant maintenance


o market demands
o technological advances
o legal requirements

99. You are discussing with your project team to implement a “hybrid” approach.

In a hybrid approach to perform a project, what will you do?99

o Combine elements of predictive and agile approaches.


o Use a phase gate model with overlapping phases.
o Apply rolling wave planning.
o Use agile methods to ensure long-term predictability.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

53
100. You finished your project for a customer to implement a business software solution. All deliverables
have been handed over and are already in use by the company. There is a minor last payment to be
made by the customer on contract closure. You believe that it is now getting time to finally close the
contract with the customer and then administratively close down the project.

You approached the customer this morning and found that they are reluctant to finally close the
contract. But you do not exactly understand why. What should you not do?100

o Update all documents related to the project and the product so that they reflect the final
specifications and the status of both the project and the product. Organize them in a fashion for
easy access.

o Focus on your next project and leave the customer the time to get familiar with the software.
They will come back to you anyway after some weeks to terminate the contract and make the last
payment.

o Based on the contract and all documents which are relevant for the formal relationship with the
customer, write a close-out report describing what was contractually required and what was
obtained.

o Make sure that there are no active purchase orders against the contract or any other pending
obligations, requests or claims from either party which need to be resolved. Then insist on formal
contract closure.

101. At the end of an internal project, you find several key stakeholders including the sponsor reluctant to
finally accept all deliverables and then close the project. What should not be your next step in this
situation?101

o Identify any open issues and get them solved. Then be firm on formal closure.
o Formally close the project. Stakeholders will find a way by themselves to sort things out.
o Identify and openly discuss personal rationales underlying the reluctance.
o Invite earnest feedback from all sides and try to identify misunderstandings.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

54
102. When running a project as a project manager, what should you focus on during the executing
processes?102

o Doing project work


o Coordinating people and resources
o Ensuring accountability for errors
o Avoid third-party influence

103. A review of your project team member’s most recent performance reports shows a major drop in
output. Which is the best approach to raise team productivity in a project?103

o Increase the frequency of team review meetings and status reports.


o Increase the pressure on each team member to adhere to deadlines.
o Post a special reward for the best performing team member.
o Improve feelings of trust and cohesiveness among team members.

104. A project customer and a contractor agreed on regular quality audits during execution by a third
party audit team, which is working on an assignment for the customer.

What should the contractor have prepared for the audits?104

o Work results
o Measurements and test results
o Quality documentation
o Contract-related correspondence

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

55
105. Your team is complaining that requirements against which it is going to work are not sufficiently
clarified.

Which are criteria that well-defined requirements should meet? (Chose 3)105

o Clear and concise


o Verifiable
o Consistent
o Linked with milestones
o Challenging

106. What should you focus on when managing the stakeholders of your project?106

o Ensure the order of phases.


o Address issues.
o Identify the stakeholders.
o Ensure stakeholder value.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

56
107. What should not be your thoughts when you are organizing documents as lessons learned?107

o Devise the lessons learned documentation in a wording which is easy to understand for a reader
who is not familiar with the project.

o Lessons learned must detail how certain groups or persons caused failures and delays, especially if
they are inside the own organization.

o Writing lessons learned should be an exercise enhancing your personal learning experience. Make
sure you grasp what you are writing down.

o Keep lessons learned documents at a place where they are easy to access and to retrieve for
those who may later need the information.

108. You are identifying key stakeholders for your project. Which of the following groups is least likely to
be included?108

o Project manager and project team


o Customer and users
o Sponsor
o Media representatives

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

57
109. You are using a phase gate approach for your project. What do you need to consider?109

o The order of phases must be strictly consecutive without overlapping in order to allow for gate
reviews.

o Gates are often called kill points, when they are used to eliminate weak team members.
o Phase gates are often used to verify entry criteria of a previous phase and exit criteria of the next
one.

o Approaching phase gates early is a common signal that project planning has been poor.

110. Post mortem earned value analysis of a project showed the following data:

SPI: 0.78
CPI: 1.00

What is this telling you? 110

o The entire work of the project has been finished behind schedule and on budget.
o The entire work of the project has been finished ahead of schedule and on budget.
o The project has been terminated before completion. At that time it was behind schedule and on
budget

o The project has been terminated before completion. At that time it was ahead of schedule and on
budget.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

58
111. A project has undergone a major scope change, which increased cost and work levels. What does this
mean for earned value data? 111

o The cost baseline will be updated and the new baseline will be the basis for future earned value
analysis.

o As baselines should generally not be adjusted, the project is due to exceed its budget from now
on.

o There are several reasons to change a baseline, but not scope changes. The project will exceed its
budget.

o Earned value analysis becomes useless after a scope change, the technique should not be used
any more.

112. Which statement describes best the meaning of servant-leadership?112

o Ensuring predictability in an uncertain environment


o Sustaining an ongoing business over a long period of time
o Adhering to publicized standards and procedures
o Empowering the team to develop a vision and make decisions

113. As a project manager, you must demonstrate transparency regarding… 113

o …confidential information.
o …proprietary information.
o …distribution of unproven information and gossip.
o …your decision-making processes.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

59
114. Who should always issue the project charter? 114

o A person internal to the project organization


o A project initiator or sponsor
o A low-level manager of the performing organization
o A high-level manager of the performing organization

115. You are planning quality management for your project. How can a process flowchart help you? 115

o It may help identify outliers.


o It may help understand the COQ in a process.
o It may help spot accountable staff.
o It may help react later.

116. A difference between a statement of work and a scope statement is:116

o The statement of work is prepared by the customer while the scope statement is developed by
the project management team.

o The statement of work focuses on physical or technical matters, while the project scope
statement focuses on a functional view.

o The project scope statement is in most projects developed before the statement of work is
written.

o A project scope statement can become a contract document; a statement of work cannot.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

60
117. You are the manager of a project for a company that is known to make heavy use of extrinsic
motivators in order to boost morale and team performance. What does that mean? The motivators
used…117

o …are tailored to the needs of individual team members.


o …are incentives such as rewards, gifts, or money.
o …are derived from within individual team members.
o …include the improvement of hygiene factors of the work environment.

118. When should a time and material contract with a contractor been chosen instead of a fixed price
contract?118

o When cost risks for the customer should be limited but not schedule risks.
o When project scope includes the progressive elaboration of the scope of deliverables.
o When subcontractors are being used and the customer will reimburse their invoices.
o When only a limited amount of money can be made available to fund the project.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

61
119. You are the manager of a major project to develop a system of barriers to prevent a seaside city from
flooding. Together with your team you created a code of conduct stating that the change control
board must be immediately notified of gifts when the value exceeds $90. The same applies to
invitations when the value exceeds $150.

Today, a contractor executive sent you an invitation for a night at an opera with a value of $95. It is a
one-time event and you tried to obtain tickets by yourself without success. The person told you that
he would so much wish to join you, but he will not be available on that day, and he could get hold of
only one ticket anyway.

What do you have to do? 119

o You are allowed to accept invitations with a value of up to $150, so there should be no problem.
o One may regard the ticket as a gift, but it is just at the limit: You do not have to notify the CCB.
o The ticket is a gift and over of the limit. You have to notify the CCB who will make the decision.
o You are the project manager. The rules are in place to strengthen your position. They do not apply
to you.

120. You found that colocating team members from different cultures in one place is not possible in your
project.

What should you focus on to ensure that the dispersed team works well? (select 2) 120

o Connect people through technology


o Reduce burden from travelling
o Allow team members more time to connect virtually
o Ensure identical working hours independent of time zones
o Reduce number of breaks during work hours

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

62
121. You are running a project to develop the production process for a future electronic component.
Evaluating some first test batches, you found out that the precision is generally quite good, but that
you have some irregular outliers in an increasing frequency. You believe that motivators in use for
workers making the batches are losing their effectiveness and complacency creeps in.

According to D. Pink. which motivators are least likely to lose effectiveness?121

o Extrinsic motivators
o Intrinsic motivators
o Hygiene factors
o Salary

122. As a leader, how should you deem ethical conduct?122

o You should ensure ethical conduct throughout the team by use of means including recognition
and awards and in tight cooperation with the team members’ line managers.

o Ethical conduct is all right as long as it does not impact the achievement of objectives and does
not damage the performing organization’s immediate options for profits.

o You are the role model for the team. Your personal integrity demonstrates the desired skills,
behavior, and attitudes whose adoption may benefit team members.

o There are often dilemma situations in business. Then you may have to suspend your integrity and
do what is appropriate. There may be long term negative effects, but these are not your
responsibility

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

63
123. You have recently been named as the manager of a new project under contract. The sponsor of the
project gave you the contract signed by the customer and a statement of work. He asked you to go on
with initiation. Which document should you develop next? 123

o Project management plan


o Milestone schedule
o Project charter
o Scope statement

124. When is passive risk acceptance an appropriate approach?124

o When the likeliness of risk occurrence is very low.


o When the risk occurrence is hard to identify.
o When it is best to deal with a risk as it occurs.
o When the risk cannot be assessed or analyzed.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

64
125. You are running a project to engineer and implement a set of business processes and a software
solution for customer relationship management. The project involves a big number of performing
organizations―a major corporation and many suppliers of different sizes.

During the project you observed a restraining effect of differences between the companies’
corporate cultures. This leads to different expectations on how such a project should be handled and
to frequent misunderstandings between stakeholders. Another effect is a growing degree of distrust
and skepticism.

What should you try first to integrate the diverse stakeholder groups?125

o Focus on project work. As a project manager you should not get distracted by big egos.
o Let the problems grow further until they are obvious for all. Then escalate them.
o Develop a joint quality policy for the project and seek commitment by all organizations.
o Analyze probability and impact of the risks linked with the situation and plan how to respond to
them.

126. During execution of your project you have observed that a team member is getting isolated by
other team members. Which is a wrong approach in such a situation?126

o The interpersonal relationships between team members are their private issue. You should not
interfere.

o You should apply team building measures to improve the team’s effectiveness.
o You should try to get feedback from the isolated team member to understand the situation.
o You should try to get feedback from the other team members to understand the situation.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

65
127. In an organization, project managers report directly to the head of a project management office
(PMO). In this case, which statement is probably not true?127

o The head of the project management office can strengthen the matrix as a manager of project
managers.

o The project management office will actually be responsible for direct management of the
projects.

o Projects will be run by the functional organization and project managers expedite change control.
o It will be easier for the PMO to ensure that the organizational process assets provided are used.

128. During a project, you applied a series of measurements relating to team performance and product
performance. You were warned that the act of measurement may influence the outcomes.

What is this measurement pitfall referred to? 128

o Hawthorne effect
o Confirmation bias
o Correlation vs. causation
o Root cause analysis

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

66
129. The use of scarce resources must be decided upon with functional managers before it causes delays
in your project. Which is probably your most important skill right now?129

o Planning
o Negotiating
o Facilitating
o Documenting

130. Which question is not appropriate for a weighting system to evaluate seller’s performance according
to weighted criteria? 130

o What is the yearly investment in development of personnel per year and employee?
o How many reference customers have been verified by the seller in the specific field?
o What financial status and reputation in the market place could be assessed?
o Has a CV of the prospective project manager been sent with the proposal?

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

67
131. Which is not an example of a correctly handled contract closure procedure?131

o Early termination of a contract because of a repudiatory breach


o Settling and finally closing the contract agreement
o Product verification by stakeholders and administrative closure
o Early termination of a contract because of an immaterial breach

132. You gathered a lot of knowledge on project management in your business life. What is an appropriate
use for that? 132

o Share your knowledge with the professional community in form of books, articles, lectures,
seminars etc.

o It is your knowledge, and it has a high market value. You may consider it your intellectual
property, which you keep secret.

o There are better project managers somewhere in this world. They should help developing the
professional community.

o Your job is managing projects for your customers. You should not worry about other project
managers.

133. Respect is… 133

o …a duty to show a high regard for oneself, others, and the resources entrusted.
o …a limitation to trust, confidence and performance excellence through cooperation.
o …accepting a level of information which may lead to disrespectful behavior.
o …limited to respecting the physical and intellectual property rights of others.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

68
134. During a post-mortem meeting, discussion arises about who has to take responsibility for some major
failures. It has become obvious that the attendees of the meeting will not come to a jointly accepted
conclusion.

What is not an appropriate strategy for such a situation?134

o Separate the people from the problem


o Focus on interests, not positions
o Insist on objective criteria and standards
o Suspend the discussion and schedule another meeting

135. Understanding cultural key similarities and differences is especially important for… 135

o …globally dispersed, cross-cultural and virtual teams.


o …culturally homogeneous, co-located teams.
o …project sub-teams and work cells.
o …teams under high budget and schedule pressure.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

69
136. Your project team is on its way to finish work on the project, while you have the impression that a
staff member is already negotiating the next assignment in another project. You are afraid that the
person may come under pressure to start working on the other job before she has finished her work
for your project. Her task is very complex, and it would be hard for someone else to take up the
partial results and finish them.

What action is most likely to resolve the situation?136

o Have a private meeting with the person and discuss your observations. Make the person aware of
the contract and of the legal consequences of unfinished work.

o Have a meeting with the entire team and discuss the person’s expected early leave. Use team
dynamics to buy in the commitment from the person to finish work orderly.

o Use your network of project managers to find another assignment for the person which allows for
smooth transition and does not conflict with your needs.

o Ignore your observations and let the team member do her job. It is quite uncommon that staff
drops work for a project before it is completely finished.

137. When control charts are used, outliers are…137

o …singular measurements outside the bandwidth between an upper and lower control limit.
o …a typical result of a rare random cause which is difficult to replicate and to verify.
o …insignificant results, often measurement errors, the causes of which should not be further
investigated.

o …measurements inconsistent with a run of 7 results over or under a mean value.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

70
138. You are running a project which was budgeted based on some rough order of magnitude (ROM)
estimates with a precision of -50% /+100%. Meanwhile, with new estimates made on detail level and
some work already finished, you found out that these estimates were consistently too low and the
budget will not be sufficient to successfully run and finish the project. What should you do? 138

o You shouldn’t worry too much, It is quite normal that early estimates are too optimistic, later
estimates are too pessimistic and the project costs will finally settle somewhere in between. So
relax!

o Bring the issue to your sponsor and discuss how this should be handled. Together with the
sponsor adhere to the guidelines which describe how budgets will be reviewed and refined.

o Try to reduce scope or quality in areas where it cannot create difficulties for you and the team.
Finally, it is not your responsibility that an insufficient budget has been created for the project.

o Find a contractor who can run the project for you. Set the budget as a price limit during the
bidding process and accept only firm fixed price (FFP) offers which do not exceed this price.

139. Which is typically not specified in a document referred to as activity attributes?139

o The person executing the work in a schedule activity


o Schedule activity identifiers, codes and descriptions
o Schedule activity predecessors and successors
o The cost baseline assigned to the schedule activity

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

71
140. In a country with high level of violence in public, a local police officer requires a private money
transfer to ensure the safety of your team. How do you react?140

o You regard this as bribery or at least as palm greasing and do not pay.
o You do not pay but follow the chain of command and solicit a decision.
o You regard it as a facilitation payment and pay the person.
o You regard the situation as a gray area and pay through an agent.

141. Which is not a type of project review meeting?141

o Team review meetings


o Project status meetings
o Executive management review meetings
o Customer review meetings

142. You are performing integrated change control. Which of the following will not be part of what you
do?142

o Reviewing and approving change requests


o Maintaining the integrity of baselines
o Performing milestone trend analysis (MTA)
o Documenting the allover impact of requested changes

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

72
143. You are project manager for a strategic project with a multi-million dollars value assigned by a
company that is listed at a US stock exchange.

Recent Earned Value Analysis after app. 25% completion told you that your project has a CPI of 0.76.
What should you do right now?143

o The variance is a signal of a sound project which is well under budget. There is no need for action.
o A project that much under budget may be a problem for negotiating future budgets. Try to spend
money somewhere else.

o You should immediately inform your management, which should then assess whether this CPI
constitutes a material financial issue.

o It is still early in the project and data are yet inaccurate. Wait a while and allow numbers from the
project to stabilize.

144. A management point in a work breakdown structure (WBS) used to consolidate and process work
package data and forward the results to the project manager is called144

o Control account
o Chart of accounts
o Control limit
o Account limit

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

73
145. You are the project manager supervising several Scrum teams that work concurrently in your project.
While you are planning the work items for your team members for the next three-months sprint,
which criticism is should you expect your team to come up with? 145

o Team members cannot begin to work on a specific activity without a permission written by the
project manager.

o Terms such as “supervising” and “assigning” are inappropriate for the application of Scrum, where
the team is self-managing.

o A Sprint duration should be limited to 1 month or less to avoid that the Sprint goal becomes
invalid.

o The project sponsor should first allocate team members to the project before the project
manager can assign them to tasks.

o A Scrum project cannot consist of several teams working concurrently.

146. When you perform quality assurance in your project, which technique could you typically use?146

o Code review
o Quality audit
o Inspection
o Scope verification

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

74
147. The _______ can be used to assess outlays and funding requirements.147

o Cost assignment matrix


o Cost baseline
o Cost variance analysis
o Control account plan

148. Which technique has been applied to develop the following diagram? 148

17% 0%
1.1 Optimistic costs
-$123,000.00 -$123,000.00

FALSE
1 Use existing staff -$169,220.00
$0.00

66% 0%
1.2 Most likely costs
-$158,000.00 -$158,000.00

17% 0%
1.3 Pessimistic costs
-$259,000.00 -$259,000.00

Make or buy? Implementation costs -$149,500.00


50% 50%
2.1 Optimistic costs
-$35,000.00 -$85,000.00
TRUE
2 Hire new staff -$99,500.00
-$50,000.00
50% 50%
2.2 Pessimistic costs
-$164,000.00 -$214,000.00

33% 0%
3.1 Optimistic costs
-$120,000.00 -$140,000.00
FALSE
3 Use contractor staff -$207,100.00
-$20,000.00
67% 0%
3.2 Pessimistic costs
-$250,000.00 -$270,000.00

o Decision tree
o P/I matrix
o Strategic scoring
o Risk breakdown structure

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

75
149. Your organization has the choice between several internal projects it could run. In order to select
projects, the organization assessed their strategic importance, investment requirements, and
expected cash inflow from the projects’ products, services and results. What should the organization
assess in addition? 149

o The probability of changes to strategic goals.


o The frequency of changes to strategic goals.
o The assessments done should be sufficient.
o The probability of the expected cash inflows.

150. Which of the following is not a forecasting method?150

o Scenario building
o Simulation
o Time series method
o Variance analysis

151. Processes of configuration management commonly include all of the following except:151

o Configuration identification
o Configuration status accounting
o Configuration chartering
o Configuration audit

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

76
152. A project manager tracks the work of team members using a network logic diagram. Which effect will
the presence of an actual finish date have on the calculation of float for the finished activity? 152

o Finished activities have only float left when they have been completed on schedule.
o Calculating free float and total float is generally not reasonable for finished activities.
o When an activity has been finished, total float gets often converted to become free float.
o When an activity has been finished, float gets often converted to become slack.

153. Your project work has generally been finished and you want to commence a solid closing process for
the project. What must have been attained to begin this process? 153

o The deliverables of the project must have been accepted.


o The organizational process assets must have been updated.
o The final product, service or result transition must have been finished.
o Lessons learned must have been organized into a data base.

154. The situational leadership model as defined by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard consists of the
stages____.154

o Must-be requirements, one-dimensional requirements, attractive requirements


o Telling, selling, participating, delegating
o Direct style, instrumental style, relational style
o Acquisition stage, learning stage, performance stage, exhaustion stage

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

77
155. A Pareto chart helps focusing on…155

o …causes which create a repeating and often seasonal pattern of problems.


o …the minority of causes, which create the majority of problems and defects.
o …special causes of process variations which should be investigated to avoid type 1 errors.
o …the standard deviation of process variation which should not be investigated.

156. When should the project schedule be developed? 156

o As early into the project as possible. A committed schedule should be there before any initiating
or planning processes are applied for the project.

o During initiating. The definite project schedule should be developed concurrently with the project
contract (if applicable) and the project charter.

o Scheduling should be avoided. Agile approaches with a backlog and a weekly to 4-weekly meeting
cycle are sufficient for modern project management.

o When most planning processes from time, scope, and procurement management have been
finished. These will then be iterated when necessary.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

78
157. What is wrong in this diagram?

PV
Data
$ date

EV
AC

Project weeks 157

o The data date must be accurately between weeks.


o AC cannot be higher than PV when EV is lower.
o EV cannot be assessed beyond the data date.
o PV cannot be assessed beyond the data date.

158. What is the purpose of control limits?158

o Identifying “rule of seven” patterns in control charts.


o Increasing process quality from 3σ to 6σ.
o Specifying the range of acceptable results.
o Identifying whether the process is in control or not.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

79
159. What is not the main purpose of a final project report?159

o Preparing acceptance of the final product, service or result.


o Making stakeholders aware that the project has been closed out.
o Acknowledging what has been done and achieved by all contributors.
o If a project has been cancelled before completion: Explaining the causes.

160. You are managing a project that bears a risk to either permanently damage or strongly improve the
reputation of the performing organization with its customer base. You decide to call a meeting with
the organization’s management to make them aware of the issue and discuss possible options.
Which risk response strategy are you applying?160

o Active acceptance
o Transfer
o Passive acceptance
o Escalate

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

80
161. A project manager has developed various risk response strategies for a high-risk project. When
presenting some of the results, she emphasizes the importance of putting the responses into action
instead of leaving them documented as a plan that might get forgotten. Which process is she most
likely referring to?161

o Plan risk management


o Implement risk responses
o Monitor risks
o Plan risk responses

162. For a project to replace an older ERP software with a more modern tool in an organization, you have
identified a number of risks. You have documented them in a detailed list. A manger from executive
level has asked you now to summarize the overall project risk exposure with appropriate metrics, as
well as individual high-level risks along with a quick presentation of responses with their pros and
cons. Which document is probably required by the person in this situation?162

o Risk register
o Risk management plan
o Risk report
o Risk traceability matrix

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

81
163. In order to prepare yourself for a new project assignment that requires adaptive methods, you have
developed a plan for how to tailor the project management approach using a combination of some
agile principles with other, more predictive techniques. Regarding your own personal development,
which aspect of the PMI talent triangle did you particularly address?163

o Strategic & Business


o Leadership
o Technical
o None of the above

164. The organization for which you are currently managing an IT infrastructure project has informed you
that they have hired an agile coach who is now available to help with several projects, including
yours. In a meeting to get to know each other, the coach suggests to introduce regular project
retrospectives. You are thinking about what the person might be referring to. What would be the
best answer?164

o Meetings for the project team to look back into the recent past in order to identify lessons
learned so far, and possible improvements

o Meetings with the project sponsor to look into the long-term project future in order to identify
possible necessary resource allocations

o Meetings with the key stakeholders to look at the latest deliverables in order to evaluate their
validity and usefulness, as well as identify possible rework.

o Meetings with power users of the software from within the company in order to define possible
new development tasks.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

82
165. A project manager is asked to contribute to a document to describe what is intended to be achieved
with a project once it is successfully finished, and how this will be measured. What could be the
name of that document?165

o Project management plan


o Benefits management plan
o Change management plan
o Statement of work

166. Which of the following can usually be referred to as factors which trigger the need for a new
project?166

o Meet regulatory, legal, or social requirements


o Satisfy stakeholder requests or needs
o Implement or change business or technological strategies
o All of the above and more

167. What is a project business case?167

o A documented economic feasibility study for a project


o A more detailed statement of work for a project
o A collection of management plans for a project
o A breakdown of project scope for a project

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

83
168. Which type of Organizational Process Asset should be updated by the project team?168

o Processes, policies, and procedures


o Corporate knowledge base
o External enterprise environmental factors
o Internal enterprise environmental factors

169. What is not a characteristic of what is referred to as an “organic organization”?169

o Low project manager authority


o Low resource availability
o Full-time project management administrative staff
o Flexible work groups

170. Stakeholders such as suppliers, customers, and end users have what in common?170

o They are in a similar sphere of influence by project managers


o They always share common goals
o They usually speak the same language
o They usually don’t interfere with project management

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

84
171. Which of the following is usually recognized as a form of power for a project manager?171

o Legal power
o Budgetary power
o Reward-oriented power
o Culture-oriented power

172. A project manager hears about an issue and decides to ask the project team about more details as to
how and when this happened. Is this more of a team management or more of a team leadership
approach in this moment?172

o More of a team management approach


o More of a team leadership approach
o Both
o Neither

173. A Scrum Master talks to you about the impact and value of servant leadership. What is the person
probably referring to?173

o The idea that an organization can be leaderless and still fully functioning.
o The belief that wishes and requirements of a leader have no importance.
o The commitment to serve the team as a leader, and to put them first.
o The idea of management by objectives when telling a team what to do.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

85
174. What is a purpose of agile release planning?174

o Develop an early understanding what the final product, service or result will in exactly look like in
the end.

o Create a precise project schedule with long-term forecasts and accurate estimations
o Providing a high-level summary timeline of the release schedule in less predictive projects
o Outline the requirements in detail and make sure they are described as use cases

175. What is a product backlog?175

o A description of what is to be delivered in a product


o A to-do list of tasks to be finished
o A breakdown of scope for an iteration
o A time-phased list of technical requirements

176. What does an iteration burndown chart track?176

o Work remaining to be completed for the product


o Work remaining to be completed in the iteration backlog
o Work finished so far in the iteration
o Work ideally completed on average in every iteration

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

86
177. Which is not one of the five levels of increasingly effective quality management?177

o Detect and correct defects before the customer finds them


o Use quality assurance to examine and correct the process itself
o Create a culture committed to quality throughout the organization
o Write test cases before writing software code

178. Which is an advantage of self-organizing teams?178

o Freedom of the project manager to make decisions


o Faster decision-making processes by the project manager
o Increased sense of responsibility of team members
o Higher visibility of individual team members

179. Which is a category framework that is suitable for prompt lists?179

o S.C.O.P.E.
o V.U.C.A.
o F.R.E.S.H.
o S.O.F.T.E.N.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

87
180. How are a procurement lifecycle and contracts related?180

o A project procurement lifecycles for a project can include several contracts.


o A contract lifecycle is always longer than a procurement lifecycle.
o A project contract lifecycle should always equal a procurement lifecycle.
o Project lifecycle, contract lifecycle, and procurement lifecycle are unrelated.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

88
Answers and References

Notes: 1. The real PMP® exam has one or more references to verify the correctness
for each item2. This prep document follows this approach.

2. PMBOK® Guide and Agile Practice Guide page numbers given on the
following pages refer to the PMBOK® Guide pagination at the bottom of
the page.

They may differ from the Acrobat pagination in the PDF versions of the
documents.

1
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 348.

2
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 75.

3
Answer: 2
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, pages 65-66, 105.

4
Answer: 4
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, pages 25.

2
Item: A question with 4 answering options. There are also other item types, such as more than one
choice, drag & drop answers, hotspots, type into boxes, etc.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

89
5
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 377.

6
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 38.

7
Answers: 1, 3, 4
Reference: Project Management JumpStart by Kim Heldman, page 47.

8
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 104.

9
Answer: 1, 5
References: Agile Practice Guide, pages 41, Scrumguide.

10
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 113.

11
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management JumpStart by Kim Heldman, page 214.

12
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 104.

13
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 349.

14
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 185.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

90
15
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 113.

16
Answer: 4
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 226.

17
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 75 and 405.

18
Answer: 3
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, pages 661ff.

19
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 142, 310;
Successful Interviewing by Diane Arthur, page 154.

20
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 167.

21
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 162.

22
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 487.

23
Answer: 1, 5
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 341.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

91
24
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 342.

25
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 86.

26
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 142.

27
Answer: 3
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 593.

28
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 303.

29
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 283 (figure 8-5).

30
Answer: 1
Reference: The Human Aspects of Project Management: Managing the Project Team by
Vijay K. Verma, Volume Three, page 70.

31
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 113.

32
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 82.

33
Answer: 2
Reference: Management JumpStart by Kim Heldman, page 78.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

92
34
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 28.

35
Answer: 1, 5
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 154, 461.

36
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 59
Project Management, Sixth Edition by G. Michael Campbell, page 235.

37
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 575.

38
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 669.

39
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 302.

40
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 83, 117-119.

41
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 131.

42
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 319 (“training”).

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

93
43
Answer: 3
Reference: Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed by
Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder, Second Edition, page 56.

44
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 118-119.

45
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 286.

46
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Business Management by Oliver F. Lehmann, pages 91-92.

47
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 294-295.

48
Answer: 3
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, page 14.

49
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 397.

50
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 303.

51
Answer: 2, 3, 4
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, page 15.

52
Answer: 4
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 67, 83, 96, 115, 120.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

94
53
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 719.

54
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 194.

55
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 47.

56
Answer: 2
Reference: Delivering Project Excellence with the Statement of Work by Michael G.
Martin, page 37.

57
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 703.

58
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 419.

59
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 342-343.

60
Answer: 2
Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, page 2
(http://www.https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code).

61
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 223.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

95
62
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 118-119.

63
Answer: 1, 2, 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 24.

64
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 244.

65
Answer: 3
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 154.

66
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 436.

67
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 343.

68
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 240, 245-246.

69
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 75.

70
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 443 (“accept”).

71
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 340.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

96
72
Answer: 1, 3, 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 498.

73
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 253 (7.3.2.5).

74
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 38.

75
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 472.

76
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 104.

77
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 248.

78
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 151.

79
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 151.

80
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 499 (12.3.3.3).

81
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 414, 422, 431-432, 441-442.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

97
82
Answer: 3
Reference: Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed by
Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder, Second Edition, page 55.

83
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 263 (a successfully finished project has an
SPI of 1).

84
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 186.

85
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 245.

86
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 75.

87
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 443 (Sensitivity analysis and tornado
diagram).

88
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 274-275.

89
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 120.

90
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 498.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

98
91
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 77.

92
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 453.

93
Answer: 1
Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, page 4
(www.https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code).

94
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 185.

95
Answer: 1, 2, 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 565.

96
Answer: 3
Reference: The Project Management Tool Kit: 100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the
Job Done Right by Tom Kendrick, page 51.

97
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 275.

98
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 31-32.

99
Answer: 1
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, page 15, page 26-27.

100
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 127-128.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

99
101
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 121.

102
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 90.

103
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 345.

104
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 294-295.

105
Answer: 1, 2, 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 83.

106
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 523.

107
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 104.

108
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 550-551.

109
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 244.

110
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 267.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

100
111
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 112.

112
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 60-62.

113
Answer: 4
Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, page 4
(https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code).

114
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 77.

115
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 323.

116
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 154, 477.

117
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management JumpStart by Kim Heldman, page 222.

118
Answer: 2
Reference: Program Management: A Comprehensive Overview of the Discipline by
Mitchell L. Springer, page 34.

119
Answer: 3
Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, page 5, 5.3.1 and 5.3.2,
https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

101
120
Answer: 1, 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 64.

121
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 159.

122
Answer: 3
Reference: Agile Practice Guide, pages 33-37.

123
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 75.

124
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 443.

125
Answer: 3
Reference: Project Business Management by Oliver F. Lehmann.

126
Answer: 1
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 154.

127
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 186.

128
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition, page 112.

129
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 61.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

102
130
Answer: 4
Reference: Software Project Management For Dummies by Teresa Luckey, Joseph
Phillips, page 252.

131
Answer: 4
Reference: Project Manager Street Smarts: A Real World Guide to PMP Skills, by Linda
Kretz Zaval and Terri A. Wagner, page 669.

132
Answer: 1
Reference: PMP Handbook, pages 27-29, chapter: Professional Development Units
(PDUs), categories 2-5
(pmi.org/Certification/~/media/PDF/Certifications/pdc_pmphandbook.ashx).

133
Answer: 1
Reference: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, page 3
(https://www.pmi.org/about/ethics/code).

134
Answer: 4
Reference: The Human Aspects of Project Management: Human Resources Skills for the
Project Manager by Vijay K. Verma, Volume Two, page 152.

135
Answer: 1
Reference: Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed by
Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder, Second Edition, page 68 .

136
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 350.

137
Answer: 1
Reference: Managing Project Quality by Timothy J. Kloppenborg and Joseph A. Petrick,
page 70.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

103
138
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 241.

139
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 186.

140
Answer: 2
Reference: Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and Techniques That Succeed by
Deborah L. Duarte and Nancy Tennant Snyder, Second Edition, page 70.

141
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, page 212.

142
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 113, 176.

143
Answer: 3
Reference: Earned Value Project Management by Quentin W. Fleming and Joel M.
Koppelman, Fourth Edition, page 152.

144
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 160.

145
Answers: 2,3
References: Scrum Guide.

146
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 247, 549.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

104
147
Answer: 2
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 254.

148
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 435.
N.B.: Diagram created with Insight Tree by Visionary Tools

149
Answer: 4
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, pages 373ff.

150
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 111.

151
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 118-119; Practice Standard for Project
Configuration Management
(https://drm.pmi.org/Default.aspx?doc=Practice_Standard_Project_Configuration_Mana
gement.pdf&r=http://www.pmi.org/PMBOK-Guide-and-Standards/Standards-Library-of-
PMI-Global-Standards.aspx)

152
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 210-211.

153
Answer: 1
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 121.

154
Answer: 2
References: The New Dynamic Project Management: Winning Through the Competitive
Advantage by Deborah S. Kezsbom and Katherine A. Edward, 2nd Edition, pages 266-
275.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

105
155
Answer: 2
Reference: Project Management, A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and
Controlling by Harold Kerzner, 12th edition, pages 714-716.

156
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 205.

157
Answer: 3
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 264.

158
Answer: 4
Reference: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 274.

159
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 127; Identifying and Managing Project
Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project by Tom Kendrick, Second Edition,
page 323.

160
Answer: 4
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, pages 442, 444.

161
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 449.

162
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 418.

163
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 58.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

106
164
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 224.

165
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 33.

166
Answer: 4
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 9.

167
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 30.

168
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 39-40.

169
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 47.

170
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 53.

171
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 63.

172
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 64.

173
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 65.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

107
174
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 216.

175
Answer: 1
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 131.

176
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 226.

177
Answer: 4
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 275.

178
Answer: 3
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 310.

179
Answer: 2
References: PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition, page 416.

180
Answer: 1
References: Project Business Management by Oliver F. Lehmann, page 246.

Notes

This document may be freely printed, copied and distributed for private and commercial use, as long as the lay-
out, contents and the copyright notes remain unchanged. Please verify that you have the most up-to-date ver-
sion at: https://www.oliverlehmann.com/free/free-pmp-practice-questions.

© 2007-2021, Team Oliver F. Lehmann Project Management Training, Munich, Germany

108

You might also like