PMP Part 3

Question 1

A project has completed 60% of all the work. The team has spent 55% of the project budget. The budget is currently set at $180,000. The sponsor has requested to know the project’s CPI. The project manager should inform the sponsor that the CPI is the following:

Answer 1

1.1

CPI is equal to EV/AC. To find the CPI, you must first find EV and AC. EV is equal to the percentage of actual work completed x BAC (budget at completion), which is 60% x $180,000 = $108,000. AC (actual cost) is just the amount of money already spent on the project, which is 55% x $180,000 = $99,000. So, CPI is $108,000/$90,000 = 1.1.

Question 2

While monitoring and controlling the project, the project manager and the team have consistently received broken equipment from a particular vendor. They have spoken with the vendor and implemented a new process that will ensure the equipment does not show up broken. This seems to have solved the problem. What is the next step the project manager should take?

Answer 2

Check the solution

When encountering any problem on a project, the project manager should first identify the problem, define the problem, investigate, analyze, solve, and then check the solution. In this situation, the problem has already been solved, so the next step would be to check the solution to ensure the problem has actually been solved.

Question 3

A large development company has just initiated a project to build a 60-story building. The project will take approximately 3 years to complete with a cost of $550 million. The development company has started to facilitate funding for the project by asking private equity firms and banks. What tools does this best represent?

Answer 3

Financing

Financing is a tool used in the process of determine budget. This is when a company looks at external sources to fund the project. Funding limit reconciliation is done when there are limited funds to spend on the project and work may need to be rescheduled. Parametric estimates are a type of mathematical estimates done to estimate the cost of each activity. Analogous estimates are based on historical information to estimate the cost of each activity.

Question 4

While working with the system administrator, the project manager identifies many different types of resources required for the project to be completed successfully. The project manager classifies them as HR, material, equipment, and consumable resources. Where can the project manager best document these resources?

Answer 4

Resource breakdown structure

The resource breakdown structure is a breakdown of the resources by categories or types. The resource register and resource category matrix are made-up terms. The resource requirements describe all the resources needed to complete an activity.

Question 5

The project team has completed a major deliverable on the game development project. The deliverable was given to the project manager. What action should the project manager take next?

Answer 5

Check the deliverable for quality requirements

Once a deliverable is complete in the process of direct and managed project work, the next process would be to control quality; the deliverable would be checked for quality requirements so it can be accepted by a customer or sponsor. The project should not be closed until the deliverable has been accepted. There is no need to have the project team review the deliverable since they have deemed it completed and handed it to the project manager.

Question 6

The project manager and team have decided to hire a contractor to complete building out the remaining section of the datacenter. They have the requirements listed in detail and would like to use a contract that would present the smallest amount of risk to the project. The project team members would like to purchase the materials themselves since there are very familiar with the work. What contract is best for this project?

Answer 6

cost-plus-fixed-fee

A cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is where the buyer pays all the work expenses and then pays a fixed price for the work. A time and materials contract is where the buyer pays all the work expenses and then pays the sellers for the time they spent doing the work, and this contract has the highest risk to the buyers. All other choices are made-up terms.

Question 7

Two team members were having a conflict over what programming method should be used on the new application. They have resolved the conflict. What would be their next step?

Answer 7

Implement the new method and verify that it solves the actual problem

When a problem has been solved, the next step would be to confirm that the solution has actually solved the problem after it has been implemented.

Question 8

While developing complex software for an organization, the project team creates a computer-generated model of what it will look like when it is done. This model is given to the customers for their feedback. What best describes this model?

Answer 8

Prototype

A prototype is generally a mock-up or functional product that is given to the customers for feedback. Data representation and data analysis are tools used to analyze data and present them in various forms, such as graphs or charts. Screenshots are pictures taken from a screen of an application, not a model of how the application will work.

Question 9

While building the agile space for new agile team which of the following tools should the project manager insurer is available to all of them?

Answer 9

Whiteboard

The use of high touch low-tech tools such as a whiteboard is vital in an agile environment to ensure collaboration and engagement of all team members.

Question 10

While working on an agile project, the sponsor would like to know how much work remains to be completed in the project. The project manager has scheduled a meeting with the sponsor for the next day. What tool would be best for the project manager to take to the meeting?

Answer 10

Burndown chart

A burndown chart is used on agile projects to show work that remains to be completed. A project calendar is an input, not a tool. A Pareto chart is used in quality management to show what things might be causing the most defects in a project. It displays the 80/20 rule. Earned value charts is a made-up term.

Question 11

While managing the stakeholders’ engagement, the project manager notices that some of the team members are not respectful to other team members. This has led to a few conflicts between the members. What can the project manager best do about this?

Answer 11

Implement ground rules

Ground rules are usually set within the team charter and are the general rules that the team will follow in order to effectively work with each other. These generally include behavioral rules. Before releasing the team, the project manager should try to resolve the problem. Conflicts within a project team should not be a reason to stop a project. If you were to inform the sponsor, they would generally tell you to solve this problem.

Question 12

You are currently managing a business process reengineering project and have identified all the risks that can affect the project. You would like to put the risks in order from most impact to least impact on the project. What is the best process for doing so?

Answer 12

Perform qualitative risk analysis

Perform qualitative risk analysis is a process used to rank risks according to probability and/or impact. Perform quantitative analysis is done in order to assign values to the risk. Plan risk response describes the strategies that would be used if a risk were to materialize. Rank risks is not a valid process.

Question 13

While developing very complex software, the project manager met with some of the industry’s top subject matter experts to understand their perspectives about solving some of the problems in the software. What tool best describes these meetings?

Answer 13

Focus groups

A focus group brings together subject matter experts to understand their perspectives and how they would go about solving problems. A brainstorming session is done by a group of stakeholders to gather ideas. A checklist can be created by an organization and then given to potential stakeholders, usually to identify factors they may want on a project. Questionnaires and surveys function almost the same as a checklist, which is used to gather stakeholders’ requirements.

Question 14

A team member is working on upgrading the network server while another team member is painting the server room. The outcomes of these two events will not affect each other. What best describes the relationship between these two events?

Answer 14

They are statisically independent

Statistical independence is a term used in probability that means one event cannot affect the other event. Mutually exclusive is a term used when two events cannot happen at the same time; in this question, these two events are happening at the same time.

Question 15

One of the customers would like to add a new component to the project that would likely increase the functionality of the software. What steps should the customer take when adding this new component on an Agile project?

Answer 15

Add it to the product backlog

When a customer would like to add a change to an agile project, they simply added to the product backlog. That new feature will then be prioritized based on his value in the product backlog.

Question 16

Which of the following is not a principle of agile planning?

Answer 16

Conduct most of the planning at the beginning

On the traditional project most of the planning is done on the beginning, while agile projects are planned throughout the project with the help of all stakeholders.

Question 17

When managing risks on a project, the project manager should be aware of the individual project risks and which other project risks?

Answer 17

Overall project risks

Risk generally falls into two levels on a project: individual project risks and overall project risks. All other terms are not different types of risks.

Question 18

If the work of the project will contain and the velocity of the team is currently at 14 points. What is the total size of the project in terms of story points?

Answer 18

140

Total size of the project will be 10 iterations x 14 points = 140 Points.

Question 19

While developing a new smartphone, the project team has identified a specific set of performance measurements that the phone should meet when it is complete. The measurement looks at how fast the phone can boot up and how fast it can shut down. Where should the project team document these measurements?

Answer 19

Quality metrics

Quality metrics are used to measure the project deliverables. The quality checklist will inform the project team what to look for when inspecting the project deliverables. The quality management plan will outline how to conduct the quality processes such as manage quality and control quality. The requirements traceability matrix will track the requirements back to their origin.

Question 20

The project manager is having a difficult time keeping the project on plan. There are many changes regarding the project scope, which has led to an increase in the project budget. Management would like a reason why there have been so many scope changes on this project. What would most likely cause many scope changes on a project?

Answer 20

did not gather the detailed requirements

Generally, if a project manager finds themselves with many scope changes when the project is executed, it’s most likely that they did not gather the requirements adequately from the customers. The other choices cannot be selected because the question does not give enough information regarding them.

Question 21

Mark is currently working on the workstation upgrade project. He has noticed there are three activities on the critical path, which are activity A, C, and D. Activity B has a slack of 2 and a duration of 4 days. Activity C has a duration of 3 days, and activity D has a duration of 6 days. What is the slack on activity A?

Answer 21

0 days

Activities on a critical path have zero slack. The question is trying to mislead you into drawing a network diagram that is not needed to determine the slack.

Question 22

While working on a project, the project manager notices that most of the time is spent resolving conflicts between members of the project team. What is the best tool the project manager can use to resolve the problems amongst the team members?

Answer 22

Interpersonal and team skills

Resolving team conflicts is done through the manage team process. This particular process includes interpersonal and team skills tools of which conflict management is a subset. Expert judgement, training, and collocation are not tools used in the manage team process.

Question 23

While monitoring the status of an agile project what numerical analysis can the project team use to help determine if the project is on schedule?

Answer 23

Earned value management

Earned value management are series of formulas that monitor the value of the project as it’s progressing and generally track cost and schedule.

Question 24

While managing the project team the agile project manager is having a very difficult time understanding why team members are always frustrated when communicating with him. What critical soft skills does this project manager lack?

Answer 24

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence is defined as the skill to identify, assess, and influence emotions of ourselves and others around us.

Question 25

The project manager has taken all the work performance information that has been created so far on the project. He has started to create the overall project status report to present to the project stakeholders. What process is the project manager conducting?

Answer 25

Monitor and control project work

Monitor and control project work process has an input of work performance information and an output of work performance report. No other choice has the output of work performance report.

Question 26

While conducting a risk assessment on a project, the project manager has identified a new regulatory risk. If the project is not completed by July 31, the company will have to scrap the project. What best describes this?

Answer 26

Project constraint

There are 6 constraints on a project,: scope, cost, time, resources, risk, and quality. This project is constrained by time. The other choices are project requirements, not constraints.

Question 27

The project manager is currently estimating how much programmers will need to complete the financial software upgrade project. What document can the project manager use to determine who is available to work on the project?

Answer 27

Resource calendar

The resource calendar shows the availability of resources, both physical and team. The lessons learned register is used to keep track of all lesson learned in the project. Project team calendar and availability calendar are made-up terms.

Question 28

A change request has been requested by a senior stakeholder to add a new reporting function to the current financial software development project. The change was assessed by the project team and approved by the sponsor. What process should the project manager do next?

Answer 28

Direct and manage project work

Once a change has been approved, it is time to execute the change, which is done in the executing process of direct and manage project work. Control quality is done to check the deliverables to ensure they meet the quality requirements. Validate scope is done to get formal acceptance from the stakeholders. Perform integrated change control is done to assess and approve a change request.

Question 29

While monitoring a large construction project, the project manager has calculated the SPI of the project to be 1.2. A contractor has informed the project manager that a delivery will be 1 week late. The 1-week delay is 10% of the project schedule. What would mostly likely happen to this project?

Answer 29

The project will finish ahead of schedule

The current SPI is 1.2, which means the project is 20% ahead of schedule. A 10% delay should not cause this project to finish behind schedule. You cannot determine the project’s budget from the information in this question.

Question 30

The project was executed about 3 weeks ago, and the project team seems to be having a lot of difficulties getting along with each other. They are always having conflicts about how to proceed on certain activities, and the project manager has to step in in order to solve these conflicts. What process is the project manager performing?

Answer 30

Manage team

In the process of manage team, the project manager has to resolve issues and conflicts among the project team. This is done using the tool interpersonal and team skills, particularly conflict management. Acquire team is not a process in the PMBOK. Control resources is a process that involves physical resources, not human resources. Control scope is about preventing scope creep and ensuring the project meets the scope.

Question 31

The project manager is currently analyzing the requirements for the project. He has noticed that the stakeholders will be very disappointed if there are defects in the deliverables. He decides to ensure that the project team receives the right training and the best equipment available to build the deliverables correctly. This will in turn increase the overall cost of the project, but stakeholders do not mind the increase in cost. What best describes this increase in cost?

Answer 31

Cost of quality

The cost of quality includes the cost of conformance, which includes funds spent to ensure the project meets the quality requirements. This generally includes the cost of better materials, more expert team members, and better equipment. Cost of resource requirements and activity costs are not valid elements. Expert judgement involves hiring subject matter experts to help plan a particular process.

Question 32

The deliverables for the office relocation project were accepted by the company stakeholders, and all office staff were very happy with the work of the movers. The office manager requested to close the project immediately due to year-end budgetary closeouts. The movers filed a claim for an additional $300 for moving a copier that was not part of the plan. What should the project manager do next?

Answer 32

Keep the project open and inform the claims administration

A project can only be closed once all claims have been settled. Claims should be sent to claims administration, where negotiation would be the preferred way to resolve them.

Question 33

While attempting to determine the schedule for the project, the project manager has been informed from the team that each line of code will take about 15-45 minutes to write and debug. There will be about 1 million lines of code in the application. What schedule-estimating technique best describes this estimate?

Answer 33

Parametric

Parametric estimates are based on a data set such as cost per feet or time per task. Top-down and analogous are the same and are high-level estimates based on historical data. Bottom-up involves breaking the work and then adding it back up.

Question 34

While planning a project, the project manager is given many requirements that the customers would like to add to the project. Upon further investigation, the project manager decides that a few of the requirements will not be feasible within the limited time and cost allocated to the project. What document would best list the requirements that will not be added to this project?

Answer 34

Project scope statement

The project scope statement includes a list of all the project deliverables as well as any requirements that should be excluded from the scope. Work listed in the work breakdown structure will need to get done on the project. The project charter has a high-level list of requirements. The requirements documentation lists requirements provided by customers that they would like to be done.

Question 35

What is the main difference between the product scope and the project scope?

Answer 35

The product scope describes the features and functionality of the product, whereas the project scope describes how to get the features and functionality from that product.

The product scope describes the features and functionality of the product, whereas the project scope describes how to get the features and functionality from that product.

Question 36

The project manager and team are currently working to create a list of activities needed to complete the project. They have come to one particular work package that they cannot decompose because they do not know enough about the work yet. They have decided that midway through the project, they will decompose this particular work package. What tool or technique are they using?

Answer 36

Rolling wave planning

Rolling wave planning is a tool used in the process of define activities to break work down in the future. Forward planning and requirements future planning are not real tools used in the process of define activities. Decomposition is a tool used to break down the current activities.

Question 37

The product owner has informed the project manager that all items in the product backlog are valuable and they should all get done. How should the agile project manager respond?

Answer 37

He should educate the product owner on the benefits of prioritizing the product backlog

Part of being an agile project manager is to be an advocate for agile processes. This includes educating and teaching stakeholders on the benefits of agile. Agile principles state only the product owner can prioritize the product backlog.

Question 38

The project manager is working on a new electrical wiring upgrade project for the entire office. Due to safety issues, the project manager cannot move forward with many parts of the project without inspections and permits from the local Buildings Department. Most permits take approximately 6 weeks to get. Where would the project manager document the opportunity the project should take if a permit comes within 2 weeks instead of the 6 weeks?

Answer 38

Risk register

This question describes a positive risk, which is known as an opportunity, and this is added to the risk register. The assumption log will only document assumptions that are made on a project, and the issue log will have a list of issues that are currently taking place on a project. A change request is only issued when parts of the project management plan or document must be updated.

Question 39

You have just been appointed the new project manager on a product upgrade project. One person in particular at the company feels like the project may cause them to lose their job. This person has expert knowledge of the current product and does not feel that it needs an upgrade. What would you consider this person on your project?

Answer 39

Stakeholder

A stakeholder is someone who is positively or negatively impacted by a project. In this situation, the person is negatively impacted. Team members do the work on the project. Subject matter experts are generally team members, and employees work for a business.

Question 40

While building an agile space the project manager would like to implement a tool that will allow the team to keep track of the flow of work while limiting the work in progress. What tool best meets these requirements?

Answer 40

Kanban development

The Kanban development is the use of a signboard that is used to help track the work in progress and limit the work in progress.

Question 41

A project manager has just taken over an agile project that is about 50% complete. The project manager is currently reviewing the product backlog and notices the requirements are not in an order he understands. How is the product backlog prioritized?

Answer 41

By value

The product backlog is prioritized by the product owner based on value. The requirements with the most value will be at the top of the list and will be completed in the next iteration.

Question 42

Senior management in the organization would like your project to have as few risks as possible. Which of the following contracts best meet their criteria?

Answer 42

Fixed price

A fixed price contract will have the lowest risk for the project, since the costs of the labor and material are known up front. All other contracts, such as cost reimbursable and time and material will have more risks for the buyers than the sellers. A cost plus fixed fee contract is a type of cost reimbursable contract.

Question 43

After the iteration has completed where will the team inspect the methods, they used to build that increments?

Answer 43

Retrospective

A retrospective is done after each iteration for the team to inspect and create a plan for improvements to be done in the next iteration.

Question 44

The project manager, Peter, has been informed by the sponsor that the project needs to be completed 2 weeks earlier than the scheduled time. Peter goes to the team and informs them that they will need to work overtime to complete the project sooner. What is Peter doing to shorten the schedule?

Answer 44

Crashing

Crashing adds resources to the project and will generally increase the cost. Since the team will be working overtime, this will result in additional costs to the project. Fast tracking is when you run activities in parallel. Adding leads to activities will overlap activities, which is not mentioned in the question. The sponsor has not authorized a scope change on the project.

Question 45

While working on a tablet redesign project for large technology company, the project manager received a change request from a key stakeholder. The change request would change the position of the power button from the top to the side of the tablet. After an assessment of the change, the change control board declined the change due to concerns about redesigning the motherboard. What should the project manager do next?

Answer 45

Update the change log

Once a change is approved or denied, the project manager should update the change log to list the status of the change. If a change is approved, the project management should be updated.

Question 46

When deciding what user stories should get done in the next iteration what should the project team consider?

Answer 46

How many points the team completed in previous iterations.

When determining how much stories can get done in an iteration the team should look at its velocity which is based on how much points they were able to get done in previous iterations.

Question 47

The project manager has released the project team, completed the final lesson learned, and then completed the final report. The PMO has informed the project manager that it is not happy with this approach. What has the project manager done wrong?

Answer 47

Releasing the team and doing a lessons learned

Lessons learned should be done with the team and not just by the project manager. The steps in closing usually involve conducting the lesson learned, releasing the team, and then writing the final report.

Question 48

The datacenter redesign project has been executed and is currently 50% complete. One of the project’s key stakeholders has submitted a change request to change the building’s wiring from copper cables to fiber cables. The project manager has contacted a wiring contractor, who said it will take about 2 months to install the fiber at a cost of $2 million. What should the project manager do next?

Answer 48

Submit the change to the change control board

Once a change has been assessed, the next step would be to get the change approved or rejected by the change control board. The project manager should not approve and deny changes without the change control board. Once a change is approved, you can update the project management plan.

Question 49

While working on a new server upgrade project, the project manager calculates the SPI of the project to be 1.3. The project sponsor would like an explanation for why the SPI is that high. What would be the project manager’s best response?

Answer 49

The project team was able to finish the work faster than anticipated and this is what led to the project being ahead of schedule.

An SPI of 1.3 shows that the project is ahead of schedule by 30%. This could be because the project team is finishing the work faster than originally scheduled. The other choices involve the project being either behind schedule or on schedule, but in this situation, the project is ahead of schedule.

Question 50

While working on a project, you realize that you will not be able to install the server and the workstations at the same time. In fact, the team has alerted you that after the server installation is done, you should wait an additional 4 days before installing the workstations. This is due to the updates the server will need, which is an automated process. What do you need to add to the schedule in order to account for this delay?

Answer 50

Lag

A lag is a delay between activities. A lead is an overlap between activities. Slack and floats refer to the same thing: the amount of time you can delay an activity without delaying the project.

Question 51

The project manager has just spoken to one of the software developers, Bill, about the project and has asked for an estimate of how long it will take to code a specific function. Bill said that it would take a maximum of 10 days, but that most likely it will be 6 days. The project manager has calculated the PERT estimated duration of this activity to be 6 days. What is the least amount of days it will take to complete this activity?

Answer 51

2

In this question, you have to use the PERT formula, which is (O+4R+P)/6 to find the optimistic number. The question gives you the answer to the formula—6 days—and you will need to figure out the other components. In the question, the pessimistic number given is 10, the realistic number is 6, and you have to find out the optimistic number. Plug the numbers into the formula like this: (O+46+10)/6=6 based on this equation, equals to 2.

Question 52

While planning a major network upgrade project, one stakeholder has given a requirement to upgrade the switches. The project manager has determined that this would be too costly to be included in the project and has decided to exclude it. What process will the project manager use to document this exclusion?

Answer 52

Define scope

The project scope statement would have a list of deliverables and include things such as acceptance criteria, exclusions, constraints, and assumptions. The scope statement is created in the process of define the scope. All other choices will not output the scope statement.

Question 53

The project manager is conducting a presentation with a few of the senior stakeholders, and they are not happy with the progress of the project. The project manager has informed them that the delay is due to a contractor that was affected by a major flood a few weeks ago. What process does this best describe?

Answer 53

Manage communication

Manage communication is done in the executing section of the project to update the stakeholders on the project’s progress. Plan communication management is used to create the communication management plan that describes how communication will take place on the project. Control and conduct communication are made-up processes.

Question 54

The project manager and sponsor are consulting with banks and other lending institutions in order to obtain funds for the project. What process this describes these actions?

Answer 54

Determine budget

In the process of determine budget is where the tool of financing is used to seek funding for the project. Develop project Charter is used to get the project authorized. Plan cost management is used to create the cost management plan. Determine project financing is made-up process.

Question 55

The project manager has to present the risk assessment to the senior management and has decided to take the most graphical representation of the probability and impact assessment. What tool should the project manager use?

Answer 55

Bubble chart

Bubble charts are tools in the perform quantitative risk analysis process and can show the probability, impact, and ranking of risk. The risk register is not graphical. Pareto charts are used for quality and not risk. Risk summary charts is a made-up term.

Question 56

While working on an agile project, a customer has requested for the team to deploy the software as soon as the iteration is done. The customer has already checked the completed part of the software and has accepted it. The team has refused to deploy the software. What work best explains the team’s refusal?

Answer 56

The iteration is part of a release

Iterations are part of a product that is inspected by the customers. An iteration may not be something that can be released to users since it only represents a few weeks’ worth of work. A release usually includes multiple iterations that are releasable to the customers. In this question the customer has already accepted the iteration, which means there are no errors in it.

Question 57

The project has managed to build about half of the deliverables needed to complete the project. The project has spent $50,000 on materials and labor. This money that has already been spent is generally referred to as what?

Answer 57

Sunk cost

Sunk cost is the money that has already been spent on the project. The project budget includes the cost baseline and the management reserves. Opportunity cost is the cost of all lost opportunities when selecting a project. Spent cost is a made-up term.

Question 58

The project manager has noticed that a few team members are having a difficult time following the process to inspect the quality of new software. What is the best tool to help them see the process, making it easier to follow?

Answer 58

Flowchart

A flowchart is used to visually follow the steps in a process or multiple processes. A control chart will show if a process is in “control” by illustrating the rule of 7. A histogram is a bar chart that usually shows frequency of something. A process design chart is a made-up term.

Question 59

Over the last three weeks the project team has finally been able to establish a shared vision of what the product would look like when it is complete. This is an example of?

Answer 59

Progressive elaboration

Progressive elaboration occurs when more information in detail emerges over time.

Question 60

While working with the project team and conducting a brainstorming session, the project manager noticed that a lot of the ideas the team was coming up with were not organized. What tool can best be used by the team to visually organize their ideas?

Answer 60

Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a way to visually organize data. A matrix diagram is used to show the relationship between two or more groups. A flowchart shows a graphical representation of a process. A Pareto diagram displays Pareto’s 80/20, rule usually in a histogram.