PMBOK 6th Edition Questions and Answers [PDF]

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PMBOK 6th Edition Questions and Answers PMP Questions - 1 to 40 Question 1: An assessment of your project's situation suggest that the current market place conditions, suppliers and unique local requirements will have a significant influence the project's Procurement Management Plan that you are in the process of developing. These factors are collectively called: A. Project constraints. B. External environmental factors. C. Enterprize environment factors. D. Risks and assumptions. Answer: C Enterprize Environment Factors (EEF) are the conditions that are not under the control of the project team, they include internal and external factors, some of which may be constraints (eg, legislation you are obliged to comply with) and some of which may be uncertain and feed into the risk assessment processes (eg, future contract rates or resource availability). Question 2: Key project management skills include all of the following except: A. Leading B. Technical expertise C. Communicating D. Negotiating Answer: B Technicians require technical skills, managers require management skills. All of the above are important, leading, communicating and negotiating are key interpersonal management skills. The project manager needs adequate technical knowledge to manage the project, but does not need to be the technical expert. The manager of a $500 million oil project needs to be an expert manager, capable of managing a wide range of technical experts. Question 3: Senior management’s role on a project is best described as:

A. Developing the project plan. B. Helping to prevent unnecessary changes to project objectives. C. Identifying unnecessary project constraints. D. Assisting in risk assessment and mitigation. Answer: B The project team develop the project plan, which includes risk identification and planning. The team may seek the assistance of senior management and the results are approved by senior management but the development remains the project’s responsibility. Similarly, only some of the project constraints will come from or be controlled by management. The project team is responsible for identifying and documenting all constraints. Minimising unnecessary changes to the project objectives is the exclusive responsibility of 'senior management', which includes the sponsor . They develop and sign off on the business case and project charter, which establishes the objectives of the project is the responsibility of senior management (portfolio management, sponsor, etc). Question 4: The "halo effect" (or the effect of the "Peter Principle") refers to the tendency to: A. Move people into project management because they have project management qualifications. B. Move people into project management because they are good in their technical field. C. Hire people from leading educational institutions because they are seen to the best. D. Promote from within. Answer: B These terms refer to an assumption often made during staff acquisition that demonstrated competence in one area will automatically flow through to competence in other unrelated areas, however, a person who is good in technical role may not be good at a management role. For example: "You are our best business analyst; therfore you will be a great Project Manager!". These effects seem to be innate biases that can affect decision making. Peter Principle - in a bureaucracy people are promoted to their level of incompetence.

Halo Effect - the tendency to rate high or low on all factors based on performance in one factor. Question 5: In a discussion between two team members you notice one of them is making positive gestures, nodding in agreement and asking questions. This is commonly called ______________ and it constitutes ____% of communication. A. Active listening, 30%. B. Non verbal, 50% to 60%. C. Para lingual communication, 40%. D. Feedback, 20%. Answer: A Active listening involves being expressive, using body language and acknowledging the speaker (Plus paraphrasing, asking questions, etc). Non verbal communication usually relates to the physical aspect of transmitting a message. Para lingual relates to the way you speak (ie pitch and tone). Feedback is only a part of active listening, other aspects include, making positive gestures, nodding in agreement and asking questions. Finally, there is no defined 'percent-ages' in communication - different authorities have different values so as long as the value looks reasonable don't worry if it is different to something you have seen elsewhere. Question 6: The processes used to create the project's deliverables and meet the project's defined objectives fall into two general categories: A. Planning processes and Execution processes. B. Project Management processes and product-oriented or service-oriented processes. C. Project Management processes and production processes. D. Soft processes and hard processes. Answer: B The project is managed by appropriately applying the project management processes defined in the PMBOK Guide. The work of the project is accomplished by applying product-oriented or service-oriented processes. Question 7: Which of the following is not an output from the Control Scope process?

A. Scope changes. B. Corrective action. C. Lessons learned. D. Work performance information. Answer: A Scope changes (and any other approved change) are an output fromthe Perform Integrated Change Control process (4.6), the outtput from any knowledge area control process is a 'change request'. Change requests can include both preventative and corrective actions. Updates to the Lessons Learned Register are part of the 'Document Updates'. Question 8: An organisation's culture? A. Is indesribable and variable. B. Should be ignored when implementing PMBOK processes. C. Often has a direct influence on the project. D. Is unlikely to impact the project. Answer: C Most organisations have developed unique and describable cultures that often have a direct influence ont he project. The organisation's culture is on the Enterprise Environment Factors (EEF) that constrain and infuence the project. Question 9: All of the following are true about resource levelling expect: A. It can change the critical path. B. It is used to improve the accuracy of the WBS. C. It frequently results is increased project duration. D. It can be used to prevent the usage of selected resource exceeding specified levels. Answer: B Whilst the resources planned to be used for work packages may be included in the WBS dictionary, the outputs from Develop Schedule are not an input to Create WBS. The WBS work packages are the primary input to the start of Project Schedule Management - the work pacakages are used to define the activities. Question 10:

Which of the following statements is not true? A. Standards and regulations are mandatory. B. According to ISO, standards are not mandatory, but regulations are. C. Standards often begin as guidelines that are not mandatory. With later widespread adoption, they can become de facto regulations. D. Standards and regulations are socio-economic influences on a project. Answer: A Standards are not mandatory as of right; they represent guidance on standards to be achieved in products or processes to be deemed compliant. The force of law supports/enforces regulations. However, conformance to a specific standard (or standards) may be a contractual requirement, mandating its use on a particular project and regulations (laws) may reference standards. Question 11: Data gathering and group creativity techniques can include all of the following expect: A. Root cause analysis. B. Nominal group technique. C. Affinity diagrams. D. Multi criteria decision analysis. Answer: A Root cause analysis is a analytical technique typically used to identify the cause of a problem. The other options are group creativity techniques used to gather requirement or other types of data. For more on root cause analysis see: For more on multi criteria decision making see: Question 12: Which type of leadership is best for optimizing a project team's performance? A. Democratic leadership B. Participative leadership C. Autocratic leadership D. Benevolent authoritative leadership

Answer: B The Project Manager needs to display an open style of leadership that invites input from the project team whilst retaining the authority to make decisions as and when needed. Democratic leadership, referring everything to the team for a consensus/vote, is inappropriate. Autocratic/authoritative leadership, the Project Manager knows best, may be useful in an emergency but can disenfranchise and demotivate the project team. All of the above are some of the other "other style of leadership" mentioned in the PMBOK. Question 13: There is a significant amount of activity on your project and lots of interactions between team members from a range of organisations. You notice there is a verbal communication block between two key team members. The most likely barrier is: A. A hostile attitude displayed by one or both of the people B. The fact they are not co-located C. A partition between desks D. The phone, which keeps ringing Answer: A The communication process requires the sender to transmit the message and receiver to actively receive and verify the message. Barriers (or blockers) to verbal communication would include one or both parties being unwilling (or unable) to send and/or receive messages because there is some form of conflict between them. The other options are excuses for not being able to send/receive message but not barriers/blockers to the process. Question 14: What are 'workarounds' in project management? A. Workarounds are essentially the same as rework B. Workarounds are alternative strategies C. Workarounds are unplanned responses to emerging risks that were previously either unidentified or accepted D. Workarounds are activities performed according to applicable contingency plans Answer: C Workarounds and rework are both forms of 'corrective action' dealing with an issue that has arisen in the work of the project. Unplanned responses to

a risk event occurring are 'workarounds' - they focus on mitigating the effect of a risk after it has emerged and can involve all sorts of different activities. Whereas rework is focused on correcting a non-conformance in a product (literally redoing work that was not done properly). Pre-planned responses to potential risk events are called contingent response strategies. Question 15: You have to determine the most important project related to the upgrade of your organisational intranet system. The four options are: Server upgrade, Network upgrade, Storage upgrade and improved backup and recovery. Which technique is likely to be the most effective for prioritizing these projects? A. Develop numeric weightings B. Pairwise comparison C. Monte Carlo Simulation D. Regression analysis Answer: B Pairwise comparison is the only technique that directly answers the question and can be used to chose between different option, it is a form of multi-criteria decision analysis. Numeric weightings are used in a number of techniques including a Selection Matrix, but simply developing a set of weightings does not solve the problem. Numeric weightings are best used when you are choosing between similar options, eg the responses to a tender. The other two are statistical processes, not decision support tools. Question 15: You have to determine the most important project related to the upgrade of your organisational intranet system. The four options are: Server upgrade, Network upgrade, Storage upgrade and improved backup and recovery. Which technique is likely to be the most effective for prioritizing these projects? A. Develop numeric weightings B. Pairwise comparison C. Monte Carlo Simulation D. Regression analysis Answer: B Pairwise comparison is the only technique that directly answers the question and can be used to chose between different option, it is a form of

multi-criteria decision analysis. Numeric weightings are used in a number of techniques including a Selection Matrix, but simply developing a set of weightings does not solve the problem. Numeric weightings are best used when you are choosing between similar options, eg the responses to a tender. The other two are statistical processes, not decision support tools. Question 16: All of the following processes form part of the Executing process group except: A. Performing activities in accordance with the project management plan. B. Managing changes to the deliverables. C. Completing the work in accordance with the defined quality framework and specification. D. Coordinating people and resources. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Table 3-1 p61 Answer: B Managing changes is part of Integrated Change Control; this is part of the Monitoring and Controlling process group. The Executing process group consists of those processes performed to complete the work defined in the project management plan to satisfy the project specifications. An output from Integrated Change Control is updates to the project management plan to incorporate approved changes.

Question 17: Which calculation is correct for the To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) based on the Estimate At Completion (EAC)? A. AC + (BAC – EV) B. (BAC - EV)/(BAC - AC) C. BAC/CPIcum D. (BAC - EV)/(EAC - AC) Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p221 Sect 7.4.2.3 Answer: D TCPI is the projection of the future cost performance that must be achieved on the remaining work to achieve a management goal such

as the original Budget At Completion (BAC) or a calculated Estimate At Completion (EAC). All of these formula use standard Earned Value Management acronyms: Option ‘a’ calculates EAC based on future work being performed at budgeted rates Option ‘b’ calculates TCPI based on BAC (the question asked for EAC) Option ‘c’ calculates EAC based on future work being performed at the same CPI as the completed work.

Question 18: A Pareto diagram shows: A. The 80% of the work that is important. B. The qualitative improvement trend demonstrated by implementing a Six Sigma initiative. C. A histogram ordered by frequency of occurrence. D. The 20% of the work that is causing the most issues. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p237 Section 8.1.2.3 Answer: C A Pareto diagram is a specific type of histogram, ordered by frequency of occurrence. It is used to show how many defects were generated by each category of identified cause to allow remedial action to be focused on the most significant. The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) is different, see:

Question 19: Integrated Change Control includes all of the following tools and techniques except: A. Project management plan updates. B. Expert judgement. C. Meetings. D. A change control board to approve or reject changes. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p.98-99 Sect:4.5.2 The best answer is A

Project plan updates are an output from Integrated Change Control. Expert judgement and the change control meetings, of the change control board are the defined tools and techniques for this process.

Question 20: All of the following are true concerning expected monetary value (EMV) except: A. Decision tree analysis is more effective using net present values (NPV) in its calculations rather than EMV. B. The EMV of an opportunity is generally a positive value. C. EMV is a statistical concept that calculates the average value of a future scenario that may, or may not happen by multiplying the value of each possible outcome by the probability of it occurring and summing the products. D. The EMV of a threat is generally a negative value. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p339 Sect: 11.4.2.2 Answer: A EMV is calculated by EMV = probability * impact. If there are several different possibilities, the EMV is calculated for each option and the EMVs added together to give an overall, value. Decision tree analysis is based on EMV.

Question 21: Co-location is one of the techniques used to: A. Ensure effective control over the work of the project team. B. Develop the project team. C. Define the organisation structure. D. Acquire the project team. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p277 Sect: 9.3.2.5 Answer: B Co-location involves placing the active project team members in one location to enhance their ability to perform as a team. This is one of the

tools and techniques listed in the Develop Project Team process. Colocation may assist in improving the coordination and control of the project’s work but this is a secondary benefit and consequently not the best answer from the PMBOK’s perspective.

Question 22: When managing a complex, cross functional project; which of the following structures will give the project manager the most authority? A. Balanced matrix. B. Strong matrix. C. Functional. D. Weak matrix. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p22-26 Sect:2.1.3 Answer: B Strong matrix organisations provide the project manager with a similar high level of authority to a projected organisation and full time project administration staff. Matrix organisations include both functional and projectized management structures.

Question 23: Leadership in a project environment should demonstrate all of the following characteristics except: A. The focusing of the efforts of a group of people on achieving a common objective. B. High levels of respect and trust. C. The ability to get things done through others. D. A primary focus on external senior managers and other key stakeholders to ensure the project is a success through managing upwards. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Appendix X3.1, p513 Answer: D Whilst managing upwards (or advising upwards) is a key skill of the project manager, it is not the primary focus of leadership.The primary focus of

project leadership is on developing the project team and empowering them to achieve the project outcomes.

Question 24: The processes included in project communication management are: A. Collect Requirements, Plan Communications, Distribute Information and Control Communications. B. Identify Stakeholders, Collect Requirements, Plan Communications, Distribute Information, Manage Stakeholder Expectations and Report Performance. C. Plan Communications Management, Manage Communications and Control Communications. D. Collect Requirements, Plan Communications Management, Manage Communications and Control Communications. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p287 Answer: C This is a common type of question. Collect Requirements is a Scope Management process. Update project documentation is an output from a range of processes.

Question 25: Which of the following is true concerning the work breakdown structure (WBS)? A. The PMI WBS and PRINCE2 product breakdown structure (PBS) are effectively the same thing. B. The WBS is the same as the organisational breakdown structure (OBS). C. The WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team. D. The WBS is the bill of materials (BoM) needed to accomplish the work of the project. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p126 Sect: 5.4 Answer: C The difference between the PBS and the WBS is the PBS only contains the

products to be delivered, the WBS contains all of the work needed to achieve the project’s objectives including all of the deliverables (not just the ‘product’). Non-product elements in the WBS include project management work, safety and hygiene work, etc. The OBS is the document that defines the lines of management responsibility within the project. The point where the OBS and WBS intersect is known as a ‘control account’ and defines the manager responsible for a section of the project work. The BoM only describes the materials used in the work, not the other elements of the project (eg, labour). The WBS defines all of the work and consequently all of the costs.

Question 26: All of the following are true of cost plus fixed fee (CPFF) contracts, except: A. The seller is reimbursed for all allowable costs incurred performing the contract work. B. The seller receives a fixed fee calculated as a percentage of the initial estimated project cost. C. The fee does not change based on the performance of the seller. D. The seller receives a fee calculated as a fixed percentage of the actual project cost. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p364 Sect: 12.1.1.9 Answer: D CPFF contracts pay a fixed fee to the seller based on the initial estimated value of the work. All allowable costs are reimbursed by the buyer. The only time the fee will change is if the buyer changes the scope of the work.

Question 27: During a meeting with some of your project's stakeholders, you are asked to add to the project's scope of work. The project records contain correspondence from before the Charter was signed in which the project sponsor specifically declined the work being requested by these stakeholders. The BEST thing for you to do is:

A. Tell the stakeholders the work cannot be added. B. Evaluate the cost and time impacts of adding the work. C. Add the work if it can be accommodated within the existing budget. D. Talk to the sponsor and let her know of the request. Answers Reference: PMI Code of Professional Conduct Answer: A PMI expects the project manager to manage! The best thing to do first is try to resolve the problem with the stakeholders. Only is that fails should the problem be escalated to the sponsor. Whilst planning and evaluation are normal 'first steps' in assessing a change, this work was formally excluded from the project before the Charter was signed. Therefore it should not be added without the sponsor's prior approval.

Question 28: Analogous estimating when applied to a duration is: A. Based on expert judgement and is consequently more accurate than standard critical path estimating. B. Used when there is a limited amount of detailed information available. C. A calculation based on a three point estimate using a modified BETA distribution. D. The same as ‘bottom up’ estimating. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p169 Sect: 6.5.2.2 Answer: B Analogous estimating uses the duration from a similar completed activity or project as the basis for the current estimate. This is a ‘top down’ estimating technique used when there is little detailed information available. The critical path method is a precise set of calculations applied to the schedule (including the estimated durations). It is not an estimating process. The PERT technique uses three point estimates and a modified BETA distribution to assess the probability of completing the project in a given time frame.

Question 29:

The code of accounts: A. Is the system used to keep track of purchases and contracts. B. Is any numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure. C. Links the work breakdown structure to the schedule task identifier. D. Is the alpha-numeric reference used in the organisations accounts system to identify cost centres. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Glossary p531 Answer: B The chart of accounts refers to the accounting system, the code of accounts to the WBS. Whilst these should be linked, they are not the same. Links between the WBS and the activities in the schedule are required; however, this information is usually in a code field or a text field, not the Task ID. There are likely to be several activities to each WBS element and the WBS code of accounts is a fixed structure.

Question 30: A procurement audit will consider all of the following except: A. The changes in market conditions between the contract date and the current time. B. Any successes or failures in the process that warrant recognition. C. The complete procurement process from initial planning through to the administration of the procurement. D. Any lessons learned that can be applied to future procurement processes. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p388 Sect: 12.4.2.1 Answer: A PMBOK audits are focused on process improvement. They review how the system is working to learn lessons to apply to future procurements both within the project and on other projects within the organisation.

Question 31

The Delphi technique has all of the following characteristics except: A. It is a technique to reduce bias and prevent any one person from exerting undue influence. B. It is a way to reach a consensus of experts. C. It is an Oracle® database application used to optimise future outcomes. D. Individual experts are unaware of who else is participating in the process. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p324 sect:11.2.2.2 Answer: C The Delphi technique is a facilitated process to reach a consensus of experts using questions and feedback. Only the facilitator is aware of who is participating. No PMI question is likely to have a proprietary tool as the correct answer.

Question 32: The code of accounts: A. Is the system used to keep track of purchases and contracts. B. Is any numbering system used to uniquely identify each component of the work breakdown structure. C. Links the work breakdown structure to the schedule task identifier. D. Is the alpha-numeric reference used in the organisations accounts system to identify cost centers. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide Glossary p531 Answer: B The chart of accounts refers to the accounting system, the code of accounts to the WBS. Whilst these should be linked, they are not the same. Links between the WBS and the activities in the schedule are required; however, this information is usually in a code field or a text field, not the Task ID. There are likely to be several activities to each WBS element and the WBS code of accounts is a fixed structure. Task IDs can change.

Question 33: A procurement audit will consider all of the following except: A. The changes in market conditions between the contract date and the current time. B. Any successes or failures in the process that warrant recognition. C. The complete procurement process from initial planning through to the administration of the procurement. D. Any lessons learned that can be applied to future procurement processes. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p388 Sect: 12.4.2.1 Answer: A PMBOK audits are focused on process improvement. They review how the system is working to learn lessons to apply to future procurement both within the project and on other projects within the organisation.

Question 34: The Delphi technique has all of the following characteristics except: A. It is a technique to reduce bias and prevent any one person from exerting undue influence. B. It is a way to reach a consensus of experts. C. It is an Oracle® database application used to optimise future outcomes. D. Individual experts are unaware of who else is participating in the process. Answers Reference: PMBOK® Guide p324 sect:11.2.2.2 Answer: C The Delphi technique is a facilitated process to reach a consensus of experts using questions and feedback. Only the facilitator is aware of who is participating. No PMI question is likely to have a proprietary tool as the correct answer.

Question 35: A binding contract is legally created when:

A. The formal contract documents are signed by your senior management. B. When your legal department advises the contract is acceptable. C. The formal contract documents are signed by official representatives of both parties. D. There is an offer, acceptance, performance and consideration. Answers Reference: Contract Law + PMBOK® Guide p377 sect:12.2.3.2 Answer: D Contracts do not have to be in writing or signed. Whilst it is difficult to enforce the terms of a verbal contracts the law will recognize the validity of the agreement. ii The four basic requirements for a contract are: - Someone makes an offer to do something, - The offer is accepted unconditionally, - There is an intention or actual performance of the offer, - There is an intention or actual transfer of a valuable consideration (the consideration does not have to be money, just of value). iii There are many additional factors that can influence this basic starting point that project managers and administrators need to be aware of.