PMP

The questions provided below are intended to assist people planning on taking their PMP certification exam. The questions are based on the PMI Project Management Professional certification and are based on my more than 20 years managing projects and my experience teaching the PMP certification exam. If you are interested in taking a formal PMP certification training course, I would recommend the courses offered by SimpliLearn, one of the leading practitioners of technology training.

1. In which Process Group would a Project Manager submit a Change Request?

1. Executing
2. Monitoring and Controlling

3. Initiating
4. Planning

Answer

× B. Changes are identified, reviewed and approved in the Monitoring and Controlling process group but the approved changes are applied in the Executing process group.

2. What document determines the high level scope and constraints for the project?

1. Project Vision
2. Project Charter

3. Project Management Plan
4. Project Schedule

Answer

× B. The Project Charter is the input into the Planning Process Group and determines the high level scope and constraints for the remaining planning activities.

3. How many Process Groups, Knowledge Areas and Processes are contained in the PMBOK?

1. 4/10/42
2. 5/10/42

3. 5/9/47
4. 5/10/47

Answer

× D. Answer A reflects the PMBOK 4th Edition structure. In the 5th edition a new knowledge area for stakeholder management was introduced.

4. The Deming Cycle is also known as: ?

1. Plan – Do – Change – Accept
2. Plan – Do – Check – Act

3. Define – Measure – Analyze – Inspect – Control
4. Total Quality Management

Answer

× D. PDCA is the acronym associated with the Deming Cycle. It is part of the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. DMAIC is a technique used in Six Sigma process improvement activities.

5. All of the PMBOK Process Groups are performed in sequence except…

1. Planning
2. Executing

3. Change Management
4. Monitoring and Controlling

Answer

× C. Monitoring and Controlling is performed continually across all of the project phases.

6. All of the following are examples of Enterprise Environmental Factors except:

1. Political environment
2. Buildings and infrastructure

3. Organizational culture
4. Project Templates

Answer

× D Project templates would be an organizational process asset. The other examples are environmental factors that a project manager would need to understand in order to effectively manage a project.

7. The end of a project phase is generally considered to be:

1. The formal authorization to begin the next project phase
2. A natural point to assess project performance and determine if the project should continue

3. The point in the project life cycle where risk is at its lowest level
4. The point where formal control procedures of the project are generally enforced

Answer

× B At the conclusion of a project phase the project manager and team should assess the performance of the project and determine if acceptable conditions exist to support a decision to move forward or discontinue the project.

8. What is the formula to determine the number of communications channels on a project?

1. N(N-1)/2
2. N-1/2

3. N/N-1
4. N(N-1)/(N-1)2

Answer

× A N(N-1)/2 is the formula to calculate the number of communication channels on a project where N=the number of team members/stakeholders on a project.

9. The amount of time in a schedule that can be taken before the next task is delayed is known as:

1. Total slack
2. Free slack

3. Critical path slack
4. Buffer time

Answer

× B Free slack is the amount of time in a schedule that can be taken before the next task is delayed. Total slack is the amount of time in a schedule that a task can be delayed before an entire project’s completion date is delayed.

10. If the SPI of a project is less than one it means:

1. The project is ahead of schedule
2. The project is behind schedule

3. The project is over budget
4. The project is under budget

Answer

× B Schedule Performance Index is a ratio of Earned Value (EV) to Planned Value (PV). SPI = EV/PV. If the SPI is less than one, it indicates that the project is behind schedule to-date whereas an SPI greater than one, indicates the project is ahead.