CHAPTER 3
The Planning Domain
This chapter includes questions from the following tasks:
• Task 1 Review and assess detailed project requirements, constraints, and assumptions with stakeholders based on the project charter and lessons learned and by using requirement-gathering techniques in order to establish detailed project deliverables.
• Task 2 Develop a scope management plan, based on the approved project scope and using scope management techniques, in order to define, maintain, and manage the scope of the project.
• Task 3 Develop the cost management plan based on the project scope, schedule, resources, approved project charter, and other information, using estimating techniques, in order to manage project costs.
• Task 4 Develop the project schedule based on the approved project deliverables and milestones, scope, and resource management plans in order to manage timely completion of the project.
• Task 5 Develop the human resource management plan by defining the roles and responsibilities of the project team members in order to create a project organizational structure and provide guidance regarding how resources will be assigned and managed.
• Task 6 Develop the communications management plan based on the project organizational structure and stakeholder requirements in order to define and manage the flow of project information.
• Task 7 Develop the procurement management plan based on the project scope, budget, and schedule in order to ensure that the required project resources will be available.
• Task 8 Develop the quality management plan and define the quality standards for the project and its products, based on the project scope, risks, and requirements, in order to prevent the occurrence of defects and control the cost of quality.
• Task 9 Develop the change management plan by defining how changes will be addressed and controlled in order to track and manage change.
• Task 10 Create a risk management plan by identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing project risk; creating the risk register; and defining risk response strategies in order to manage uncertainty and opportunity throughout the project life cycle.
• Task 11 Present the project management plan to the relevant stakeholders according to applicable policies and procedures in order to obtain approval to proceed with project execution.
• Task 12 Conduct kick-off meeting, communicating the start of the project, key milestones, and other relevant information, in order to inform and engage stakeholders and gain commitment.
• Task 13 Develop the stakeholder management plan by analyzing needs, interests, and potential impact in order to effectively manage stakeholders’ expectations and engage them in project decisions.
QUESTIONS
The Planning process group is all about thinking through the aspects of the project at hand before moving into the execution phase. Project managers perform the planning domain with the goal of reducing project risk.
The planning domain accounts for 24% (48) of the questions on the PMP exam. The PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition, namely Sections 4.2, 5.1–5.4, 6.1–6.5, 7.1–7.3, 8.1, 9.1, 9.2, 10.1, 11.1–11.5, 12.1, and 13.2, cover the 13 tasks in the planning domain.
The 96 practice questions in this chapter are mapped to the style and frequency of question types you will see on the PMP exam.
1. Calculate EMV for a risk event that has a 40% chance of occurring and that, if it occurred, would cost the project an additional $100,000.
A. $4,000
B. $40,000
C. $100,000
D. $400,000
2. Risk A has a 50% chance of happening. Unrelated Risk B has a 20% chance of happening. What is the chance they will both happen?
A. 10%
B. 30%
C. 70%
D. 100%
3. If the EMV of a risk is $200,000 and this risk exposure has been documented in the project business case, what is the maximum you could spend to remove the risk completely and be better off?
A. $20,000
B. $100,000
C. $2,000,000
D. $200,000
4. A residual risk is assessed to have a probability of 0.1 and an impact value of $50,000. What is the EMV of the residual risk?
A. $1,000
B. $5,000
C. $50,000
D. EMV does not apply to residual risk.
5. How is secondary risk assessed?
A. E = (a + 4m + b) / 6
B. EMV plus 10%
C. Determine probability and multiply by impact
D. The same way as original or residual risks
6. Your project charter has been approved. You are seeking approval of your project management plan. You have a meeting coming up with your project management team next week. They will be most interested in:
A. Needed project team members
B. The overall approach you will use to manage the project
C. How progress will be measured and reported
D. The project contracts you plan to put in place
7. You will be using earned value management (EVM) on your current project because it is mandated by the project management office (PMO). This means you will need to use:
A. A PMO member on your team
B. A project management information system
C. A dedicated EVM specialist within your team
D. Project-specific contract officers
8. As you plan your project’s resources, you should emphasize the:
A. Quality metrics to be collected to evaluate the product, service, or result
B. Costs for each resource
C. Desirability of having a dedicated team for each phase of the project
D. Need to allocate and account for all resources
9. As you prepare your project management plan, you decide to attach your subsidiary plans, one of which is the:
A. Benefits management plan
B. Contract management plan
C. Schedule management plan
D. Stakeholder involvement plan
10. An effective project management practice is to enable contractors assigned to your project to have access to information in your Project Management Information System (PMIS) such as:
A. Project budget information
B. Buy or lease decision rules
C. Change control/revision tools
D. Requirements management information
11. Having been a project manager before, you were pleased to be selected to manage a software upgrade project on a nuclear power plant and have set up specific team ground rules for your project, including that:
A. The steering committee members are part of the staffing management plan
B. The resource management plan includes all project resources
C. The Project Management Office (PMO) forms the dedicated project team
D. Your project team is part of the PMO
12. You are the lead project manager on a government contract, and you are preparing the cost management plan for the project. Given that your project is for a government agency, which of the following should you be sure to consider?
A. Policy compliance and audit procedures
B. Annual nature of government funding
C. Multiple civilian and military resources that will be available to you
D. How the Federal Reserve decisions may affect interest rate hikes
13. You are a construction project manager working on a new office building in the outskirts of your city. You are developing your project management plan that assumes a dedicated project team. The plan for the project forecasts a two-year schedule. As part of the plan, you need to consider:
A. Potential increases in resource costs
B. The payback period for every year of the project
C. Design changes based on external dependencies
D. The need for annual cost/benefit analyses
14. You are working as a project manager on a project that involves protecting grizzly bears in Alaska. Not everyone is onboard with this effort, including several external stakeholders. In developing your communications management plan, you should consider:
A. Updating the communications issues log
B. Local laws about grizzly bears
C. Building a RACI chart to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged
D. The use of a communications assessment for unsupportive stakeholders
15. Given the planning data for your project, SEMAJ, you have identified the need to use several contractors for three parts of the multiyear project. As you determine specific procurement strategies after analyzing the involved WBS elements, your next step is to:
A. Analyze the project scope statement
B. Analyze the product description
C. Prepare a procurement management plan
D. Consider make-or-buy analysis
16. Your project will include the hiring of multiple third-party vendors, and you are considering the elements to include in the procurement management plan for the project. Before completing the procurement management plan, you should first:
A. Review project assets on procurement
B. Develop activity cost estimates
C. Prepare a prequalified seller list
D. Review the WBS
17. The PMO is recommending that you use fixed price (FP, or lump sum, or firm fixed price) contracts on all vendor contracts because you will have the least cost risk. The contract information should be:
A. Included in the contract management plan
B. Part of the procurement management plan
C. Part of the procurement statement of work
D. Developed by the contracts department
18. As you prepare your quality plan, it is important to understand:
A. Quality is a variable cost in projects
B. Quality is cost based
C. Quality activities tend to be about equal from a QA and QC perspective
D. Quality should be determined after test cases are complete
19. You are the project manager setting up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies. You and your team are preparing the risk management plan. You first need to define:
A. Your organization’s risk appetite
B. The functional requirements document you plan to use to identify risks
C. Who the resistor stakeholders are
D. Budget assumptions and constraints
20. You understand that positive and negative risks may affect your project, and you have set up risk categories to help as you work on your risk management plan. One obvious category of opportunities and threats is associated with resource availability. Which type of risk is this?
A. Portfolio-related
B. Product-level
C. Program-level
D. Project-related
21. As you prepare your project’s risk management plan, and since the project involves setting up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies, you should review the:
A. Occupational safety and health issues
B. Business case
C. Potential suppliers on the prequalified sellers list
D. Cultural differences in the production workers
22. You have a team of 12 people who are working on various parts of a project whose purpose is to facilitate the buying and selling of big-box stores that have closed. You have a WBS, and now you are developing your scope baseline. Which of the following should you include in your project schedule?
A. Schedule decomposition
B. Stakeholder issue tracking
C. Activities related to stakeholder engagement
D. A requirements traceability matrix
23. On a buying and selling closed big-box stores project, you acknowledge the desire to control risk through planning and therefore conclude that your scope management approach should be:
A. Predictive
B. Adaptive
C. Iterative
D. Lean
24. As you develop the project scope statement as the foundation for work your company is performing for a very demanding client, you should:
A. Ask the project team to list the major deliverables to tie to major milestones
B. Identify any new job seekers for open positions
C. Use the resource traceability matrix in your data analysis
D. Include acceptance criteria to use as closure guidelines
25. When you prepare your project schedule, you focus on identifying those activities that are on your critical path and that you intend to manage aggressively. As a part of the project schedule, it is also important for you to:
A. Perform level-of-effort estimating for summary activities
B. Use the critical chain method to include buffers
C. Monitor the Iron Triangle for value and quality of the deliverables
D. Ensure each key stakeholder’s project deliverable expectations are met
26. Having been a PM for three years, you realize that a collective understanding of the success of the project among the project stakeholders can assist you in managing stakeholder expectations. Such a mutual understanding is best documented as part of the:
A. Stakeholder management plan
B. Project scope statement
C. Scope management plan
D. Project charter
27. On your project, you prepared a detailed stakeholder analysis. Realizing there was not a mutual understanding of the project’s direction, you should prepare a:
A. Feasibility study
B. Stakeholder engagement plan
C. Governance plan
D. Project scope statement
28. Because the WBS is used to capture all project and nonproject work, this means that project management office support deliverables should be considered a(n):
A. Top-level milestone
B. External deliverable
C. Work package
D. Project management artifact
29. In developing project scope, one approach is to:
A. Describe scope in user stories
B. Determine scope through a high-level infrastructure
C. Use the project’s budget to set a financial baseline
D. Include nonfunctional requirements for products, services, or results
30. You are creating your WBS. You realize that a generally accepted business practice is to:
A. Structure it so product scope and project scope are easily managed
B. Set it up so that it shows the complete scope of the work to be carried out on the project
C. Use it to define the management control points for each of the major deliverables
D. Define the solution to the problem in terms of a product, service, or result
31. Your organization’s long-term goal is to build and sell electric bicycles. For now, your company will continue to produce motorcycles until the electric bicycles are online. You have a design team of 6 members and a production team of 18 people; these numbers are about half of what you believe you need. These limits are:
A. Constraints to document in your project scope statement
B. Limitations to document in your project charter
C. Known risks to set aside management reserves
D. Key issues to document in the risk log
32. You are the PM on a high-priority project. Your company has limited human resources. You have been told that the completion date cannot change. You are developing the resource management plan. You have decided to:
A. Prepare a resource plan
B. Use a resource breakdown structure linked to your WBS
C. Use resource smoothing
D. Conduct a Monte Carlo analysis to identify resource supply and demand on the project
33. You are in the military stationed near the North Pole. Your project is to rebuild all the runways at your air base, and you have one year to complete the project. Since it usually snows for nine months of the year, the construction team will be able to work on the runways in June, July, and August ... and maybe May and September. You understand your organizational culture, have the latest version of the scheduling software, and ESTICOR is used for standardized estimating data. What should you do now?
A. You should prepare a scope management plan.
B. The agile release approach should be followed.
C. The critical path may change as you use resource leveling.
D. You should adjust the start and end times with leads and lags.
34. Your new project, the SecureAI Project, will view threats and security breaches of corporate data involving artificial intelligence (AI). You have a dedicated project team of 16 people. Maciej is the domain expert and is frequently used in expert systems software development. Maciej’s expertise has been a major advantage so far on your project. To be prudent, you need to:
A. Make sure there is a succession plan in place if Maciej leaves the project
B. Set up a process to debrief team members if they make plans to leave the project
C. Have everyone on your team go to advanced AI training
D. Have daily meetings with Maciej to make sure the project team knows what he is doing
35. You know that projects are unique endeavors, and you also know that they can be similar in some ways to other projects regarding work performance data and information. Which of the following will help ensure that project knowledge is a focus of your project team?
A. A project management information system
B. A chief information officer on your dedicated team
C. A chief data management officer in the PMO
D. A detailed human resource information system
36. As you manage the SecureAI Project, you know you will encounter some risks and issues. Issues can be risks that have occurred, but also are areas of concern to the project. A generally accepted business practice to follow regarding risks and issues is to:
A. Use the risk register to capture operational-level issues
B. Set up a risk control board for risks and issues that may occur
C. Set up an escalation process for you to help resolve risks and issues
D. Ensure a risk or issue is isolated to a singular project phase
37. In your project to set up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies, you have decided to use two contractor companies for the work: one for the software and one for the hardware. You have developed the procurement management plan, and you have created a WBS. You recently met with the software contract officer and she had an issue to discuss with you, and in thinking about it, you realized it also affected the hardware contractor team. You should immediately:
A. Meet with the entire project team.
B. Inform your executive sponsor of this issue.
C. Escalate it to the steering committee for resolution.
D. Analyze your response so it is consistent with project objectives.
38. You just graduated from a prestigious university and you have been appointed to your first job as a project manager. Your project charter has been approved, and you now have a dedicated team who is working with you in planning the project. So far, you have prepared your scope and quality management plans and now are beginning to work on other plans that will be included in your project management plan. In the project management plan, you need to describe how performance reports will be prepared and distributed. Your program manager pointed out that she wanted regular updates, but she did not want to see many metrics collected that did not add value. You and your team have decided that the best approach is to choose metrics that:
A. Show how your project contributes to the organization’s bottom line
B. Show the progress according to the triple constraints
C. Use earned value management to assess project performance and progress
D. Show project management and team delivery rates
39. You must develop a scope statement for a cross-department project. Many people will be involved in this project with multiple stakeholders represented from each of the departments. In this case, who would approve the scope statement that you develop?
A. The project team members
B. The project sponsor
C. The project manager
D. The financial manager
40. A project manager is stepping in as a take-over role and has been given a completed project scope statement prepared by the previous project manager. What is the first action she should take at this point?
A. Create a complete network diagram for the tasks and milestones in the project.
B. Confirm that the project management team agrees with the scope statement.
C. Develop a detailed project plan based on the existing work breakdown structure.
D. Call a meeting of the project management team to agree on a procurement plan.
41. You have just acquired a new team member on the project you are managing. This is the first project for the team member, and she asks you the purpose of the WBS. What do you describe as its primary purpose?
A. Clarify the responsibility for project tasks.
B. Communicate with all stakeholders.
C. Define the business need for the project.
D. Detail the dates for the work packages.
42. The project has produced a requirements traceability matrix that links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the project life cycle. Which statement describes the purpose of the requirements traceability matrix?
A. It describes in detail the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables and includes product and project scope description.
B. It ensures that requirements approved in the requirements documentation are delivered at the end of the project and helps manage changes to the product scope.
C. It is a narrative description of products or services to be delivered by the project and is received from the customer for external projects.
D. It provides the necessary information from a business standpoint to determine whether the project is worth the required investment.
43. You have been developing a scope statement for a project you have been given authority to manage. During this process, you came across areas of technical details that you were not familiar with. Which of the following would you use to help clarify the related issues and their impact on the project scope?
A. Experienced managers
B. Special interest groups
C. Expert judgment
D. Similar project plans
44. You have been given the responsibility for a project that you have not been involved with to date. The project is at the beginning of the execution stage. What is the main document to which you would refer to guide you on what you should be doing on this project?
A. Project management plan
B. Procurement management plan
C. Communication management plan
D. Project scope management plan
45. You are involved in a project and regularly receive work packages to complete from the project manager. The project manager describes some of the results of your work as project deliverables. The processes that describe project deliverables from your work are defined in which of the following?
A. The completed task contract form
B. The initial work breakdown structure
C. The project management plan
D. The initial project scope document
46. The project has produced a requirements management plan. What is the purpose of this document?
A. The requirements management plan links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the project.
B. The requirements management plan documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project.
C. The requirements management plan describes how individual requirements meet the business need for the project.
D. The requirements management plan provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified, managed, and controlled.
47. You are discussing your role as a project manager with your peers. In the conversation, another team member describes the process of defining and controlling what is, and what is not, included in the project. What are these activities called?
A. Project documentation management
B. Project change control
C. Plan scope management
D. Formal acceptance documents
48. You have been involved in a workshop at which the project management team created an initial work breakdown structure (WBS). Which of the following best describes the process in which you were involved?
A. Calculating the total duration of the project from the start
B. Counting the total number of work packages in the project
C. Allocating responsibilities for the project work to individuals in the team
D. Subdividing the project work into smaller, more manageable components
49. The scope management plan is produced by the project management team as part of the Plan Scope Management process. Which statement best describes the scope management plan?
A. The scope management plan provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified, managed, and controlled.
B. The scope management plan documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project.
C. The scope management plan describes in detail the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables.
D. The scope management plan is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team.
50. A team member who has just joined your project asks what is involved in this project. You refer her to the project scope statement, which contains all the following except:
A. Deferred change requests
B. Product scope description
C. Project assumptions
D. Product acceptance criteria
51. The project you are working on is running behind schedule, is over budget, and is failing to deliver the features originally promised. The project manager says that the work must now be focused on a list of activities. What defines this list of activities?
A. Shortest-duration tasks
B. Requirements documentation
C. Critical-path tasks
D. Lowest-cost tasks
52. You are assigned to manage a new project. Your line manager suggests that you should use a tool to help you plan the new project. She suggests that you use a work breakdown structure (WBS) template. Which of the following is the best description of this tool?
A. A document that lists WBS elements
B. An all-purpose WBS from the Internet
C. A WBS from a previous project
D. A definition of WBS colors and shapes
53. The project meeting you are attending is becoming heated, and arguments are starting about the work completed and the work to be done. The project manager stops the discussion and refers to one document that is used as a reference. What is this document called?
A. Approved changes
B. Newly identified risks
C. The WBS template
D. The scope baseline
54. After some changes to your project scope, you have revised the schedule, costs, and work package assignments, and these changes have been approved. What action do you now complete?
A. Wait for resources to complete current assignments.
B. Reissue the project management plan.
C. Immediately look for other changes to submit.
D. Let the project schedule continue as previously.
55. You have asked a team member to perform many actions on a project plan. These actions are decomposing the work packages into smaller components and activities that are to be the basis for estimating, scheduling, and running the project. What is this team member’s activity called?
A. Schedule work
B. Estimate tasks
C. Schedule activities
D. Define activities
56. You note that your weekly time sheet report shows that you have identified activities, scoped the work needed on each, and provided sufficient detail to allow a team member to understand what is required to complete that work. What description summarizes the time you have spent this week?
A. Producing an activity list
B. Defining the project scope
C. Developing the project schedule
D. Identifying the WBS elements
57. The precedence diagramming method can be used to clarify the dependencies between activities. One type of dependency used is to ensure that the successor activity does not start until the completion of the predecessor activity. What is the name given to this type of dependency?
A. Start-to-start
B. Finish-to-finish
C. Finish-to-start
D. Start-to-finish
58. One tool of project management is a table that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages. What is this table known as?
A. Resource calendar updates
B. Activity attribute updates
C. Resource breakdown structure
D. Activity resource requirements
59. You are completing the planning for a project schedule. Because you do not have much information about one activity, you decide to estimate its duration by referring to the actual duration of a similar activity on another project. This calculation method is called:
A. Analogous estimating
B. Expert judgment
C. Parametric estimating
D. Reserve analysis
60. Your project manager asks you to calculate the theoretical early start and finish dates on your project schedule, along with late start and finish dates, for all the project activities. He suggests you use a forward and backward pass analysis. This technique is known as (the):
A. Critical chain method
B. Critical path method
C. Schedule compression
D. What-if analysis
61. You are asked to review a project that another department has planned for your organization. Your line manager asks you to show her a project overview that shows only the start and end dates of major deliverables, along with key external dependencies. This graphic is known as a:
A. Network diagram
B. Summary bar chart
C. Milestone chart
D. Schedule baseline
62. While reviewing a work package that you have assigned to a member of your team, you look at a graphic that shows the activity start, duration, and finish on a time base. This chart is commonly known as a(n):
A. Activity float list
B. Network diagram
C. Work breakdown structure
D. Project bar chart
63. The project you have been planning has been approved by the project management team, and you can now start the execution stage. You have authority for a reference that contains an activity schedule and project start and finish dates. This reference is called:
A. The project schedule baseline
B. A network diagram
C. A milestone chart
D. The project calendar
64. You are asked to develop a table that includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and documented assumptions and constraints. You also include resource requirements by time period, alternative schedules, and scheduling of contingency reserves. The table that you prepare is known as the:
A. Project schedule
B. Schedule data
C. Resource schedule
D. Project bar chart
65. You have been working on a project in the planning stage, developing the likely costs. The project sponsor expects a narrower estimate of the costs because more information is now known. Which of the following is considered a suitable range for this request?
A. –100% to +100%
B. –5% to +10%
C. –25% to +25%
D. –50% to +50%
66. A project team member is building the costs for a current project, using costs from a previous similar project that has been completed in your organization. This estimating technique is known as:
A. Analogous
B. Bottom-up
C. Parametric
D. Three-point
67. Building the costs for a current project using characteristics from a mathematical model to help predict the project costs is known as what type of estimating technique?
A. Analogous
B. Bottom-up
C. Parametric
D. Three-point
68. A team member has been given the task of identifying which quality standards are relevant to this project and determining how to satisfy these standards. In which of the following processes is she engaged?
A. Control Quality
B. Manage Quality
C. Plan Quality Management
D. Quality Improvement
69. You have been asked to detail the steps for analyzing processes to identify activities that enhance the value of those processes. This is called:
A. Establishing the quality baseline
B. Developing quality checklists
C. Establishing quality metrics
D. Process improvement planning
70. You have been asked to perform the quality planning for a project. One of the first actions you take is to clarify what some of the measurements on the project are and how the Control Quality process measures these. This action is known as:
A. Define quality metrics
B. Develop quality checklists
C. Set the quality baseline
D. Plan process improvements
71. A team member is following the steps outlined in the process improvement plan. This is needed to improve organizational and project performance. What reference document would the team member use to help with this activity?
A. Quality metrics
B. Quality audits
C. Process analysis
D. Quality checklists
72. You are identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships for a project, as well as creating a staffing management plan for a project. In terms of project management, these activities are known as:
A. Planning resource management
B. Developing project management plan
C. Managing team
D. Developing team
73. As part of the project plan documentation, you find a diagram that illustrates the link between work packages and project team members. This diagram is called a(n):
A. Hierarchy-type chart
B. Responsibility assignment matrix
C. Organizational chart
D. Dependency diagram
74. You are planning the resourcing for a project and create a visual representation that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule. This visual representation is commonly known as a:
A. Work breakdown structure
B. Task network diagram
C. Resource histogram
D. Detailed Gantt chart
75. You are managing a project and ask for additional time to enable you to meet new roles. You list the additional activities, such as setting clear expectations, developing processes for managing conflict, including the team in decision making, and sharing credit for success. The name given to this process is:
A. Management by objectives
B. Matrix management
C. Negotiate for resources
D. Plan Communications Management
76. You are in the final stages of planning a project and are considering ways to best influence the team over the course of the project, including bonus structures, perks, and a project website. What best describes what you are defining?
A. Staff roles and responsibilities
B. Organizational process assets
C. Staffing management plan
D. Team performance assessment
77. A project manager must perform many activities when planning and managing a project. These include developing an approach for stakeholder information needs; creating, collecting, distributing, storing, and disposing of project information; and monitoring and controlling communications. These activities are examples of:
A. Recommended preventive actions
B. Project performance appraisals
C. Recommended corrective actions
D. Project communications management
78. A section of your project plan lists methods and technologies to be used to convey memoranda, email, press releases, and how frequently these should be used. The document that defines these is called a(n):
A. Communications management plan
B. Organizational assets
C. Communications technology
D. Project management plan
79. During the planning stage of a project, you decide to assign a member of your project team to be responsible for the distribution of information about the project. Where should you document this decision?
A. Project management plan
B. Communications management plan
C. Project roles and responsibilities
D. Project team assessment
80. To be successful, how often should an organization address risk management?
A. At every management meeting
B. Only in the planning phase
C. On high-risk projects only
D. Consistently throughout
81. The project director advises you that a project should have a balance between risk taking and risk avoidance. This policy is implemented in a project using:
A. Risk responses
B. Risk analysis
C. Risk identification
D. Risk classification
82. Who is responsible for identifying risks in a new project?
A. The project manager
B. The project sponsor
C. Any project personnel
D. The main stakeholders
83. The document that contains a list of identified risks and, against each a list of potential responses, the root cause of the risk, and the risk category is called the:
A. Risk management plan
B. Project issues log
C. Risk category checklist
D. Risk register
84. As part of your responsibility for managing risks in your project, you rate risks as low, medium, or high. What tool would you typically use to define these categories?
A. Probability impact matrix
B. Risk register updates
C. Assumption analysis
D. Checklist analysis
85. A new member of your project team suggests that you should quantify risks using the lowest, highest, and most likely costs of the WBS elements in the project plan. What is the name for the technique being suggested?
A. Three-point estimating
B. Probability impact analysis
C. Probability distributions
D. Sensitivity analysis
86. The process of project planning that involves developing options, determining actions to enhance opportunities, and reducing threats to project objectives is called:
A. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
B. Plan Risk Responses
C. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
D. Probability and Impact Matrix
87. Your team is developing a part of the risk management plan. For some of the risks, the team decides that a response plan will be executed only when certain predefined conditions exist. What is the term given to this type of risk strategy?
A. Contingent
B. Sharing
C. Exploit
D. Enhance
88. Information such as outcomes of risk reassessments, risk audits, and periodic risk reviews are examples from which of the following?
A. Risk management plan
B. Approved change requests
C. Project documents updates
D. Work performance information
89. During the Plan Procurement Management process for a project, you decide whether a product or service can be produced by the project team or instead should be purchased. This decision-making process is called:
A. Procurement management
B. Expert judgment
C. Risk management
D. Make-or-buy analysis
90. The contract you are negotiating with a subcontractor involves a set price for a well-defined requirement and incentives for meeting selected objectives. This type of contract is:
A. Time and material
B. Cost-reimbursable
C. Fixed-price
D. Cost plus incentive
91. The procurement and contracting process involves asking such questions as how well the seller meets the contract statement of work, whether the seller has the capacity to meet future requirements, and whether the seller can provide references from previous customers. What is the name given to this list and/or its use?
A. Contract management
B. Source selection criteria
C. Supplier risk analysis
D. Contract negotiation
92. Your contract and procurement consultant recommends that you establish source selection criteria for each of your sellers’ proposals. What part of the procurement process will this assist?
A. Bidder conference
B. Plan Procurement Management
C. Conduct Procurements
D. Buyer requests
93. Using the following part of a WBS, what do you know about Activity 3.1.1?
A. It is a control account.
B. It is used for cost reporting.
C. It is the work package.
D. It is the milestone above the work package.
94. You and your team are estimating the duration of the coding/unit testing phase. Your optimistic estimate is 1,200 hours, your most likely estimate is 1,700 hours, and your pessimistic estimate is 2,000 hours. The resource rate is $150 per hour. What is your cost estimate of the coding/unit test phase using the PERT estimating technique?
A. $255,000
B. $250,050
C. $280,325
D. $270,175
95. The business case stated a project cost of $2,500,000. You and your team just received the signed project charter and are ready to present a high-level estimate to the project management team. What is the acceptable accuracy range for this estimate?
A. $1,187,500 to $4,375,000
B. $1,200,000 to $3,300,000
C. $1,225,000 to $4,312,500
D. $1,237,500 to $3,275,000
96. A project estimate generated during the initiation phase may have an accuracy of:
A. −25% to +75%
B. −10% to +25%
C. −5% to +10%
D. −50% to +150%
QUICK ANSWER KEY
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. B
7. B
8. D
9. C
10. D
11. B
12. B
13. A
14. D
15. D
16. D
17. B
18. A
19. A
20. D
21. B
22. C
23. A
24. D
25. D
26. B
27. D
28. C
29. A
30. B
31. A
32. B
33. A
34. B
35. A
36. C
37. D
38. A
39. B
40. B
41. B
42. B
43. C
44. A
45. C
46. B
47. C
48. D
49. A
50. A
51. B
52. C
53. D
54. B
55. D
56. A
57. C
58. D
59. A
60. B
61. C
62. D
63. A
64. B
65. B
66. A
67. C
68. C
69. D
70. A
71. C
72. A
73. B
74. C
75. D
76. B
77. D
78. A
79. B
80. D
81. A
82. C
83. D
84. A
85. A
86. B
87. A
88. C
89. D
90. C
91. B
92. B
93. C
94. B
95. A
96. A
ANSWERS
1. Calculate EMV for a risk event that has a 40% chance of occurring and that, if it occurred, would cost the project an additional $100,000.
A. $4,000
B. $40,000
C. $100,000
D. $400,000
B. 40% × $100,000 = $40,000. The three steps to calculate EMV are as follows: 1) Assign a probability of occurrence for the risk. 2) Assign the monetary value of the impact of the risk when it occurs. 3) Multiply Step 1 and Step 2. The value you get after performing Step 3 is the expected monetary value (EMV). This value is positive for opportunities (positive risks) and negative for threats (negative risks). Managing project risk requires you to address both types of project risks.
A, C, and D are incorrect because the answers do not come from following the three steps of calculating EMV.
2. Risk A has a 50% chance of happening. Unrelated Risk B has a 20% chance of happening. What is the chance they will both happen?
A. 10%
B. 30%
C. 70%
D. 100%
A. 10% because 0.50 × 0.20 = 0.10 = 10%. When two events are independent, the EMV (probability) of both occurring is the product of the probabilities of the individual events. More formally, if events A and B are independent, then the probability of both A and B occurring is: P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B).
B, C, and D are incorrect because they were not arrived at by calculating the probability of two independent events through multiplication of the probabilities of the two events.
3. If the EMV of a risk is $200,000 and this risk exposure has been documented in the project business case, what is the maximum you could spend to remove the risk completely and be better off?
A. $20,000
B. $100,000
C. $2,000,000
D. $200,000
D. $200,000 is the maximum amount you would spend to eliminate the risk completely, which is equal to the amount of risk exposure.
A, B, and C are incorrect because spending any more or less than the amount of risk exposure is not a sound project management practice.
4. A residual risk is assessed to have a probability of 0.1 and an impact value of $50,000. What is the EMV of the residual risk?
A. $1,000
B. $5,000
C. $50,000
D. EMV does not apply to residual risk.
B. $5000. The three steps to calculate EMV are as follows: 1) Assign a probability of occurrence for the risk. 2) Assign a monetary value for the impact of the risk when it occurs. 3) Multiply Step 1 and Step 2. The value you get after performing Step 3 is the expected monetary value (EMV). This value is positive for opportunities (positive risks) and negative for threats (negative risks). Managing project risk requires requires you to address both types of project risks.
A, C, and D are incorrect because the answers do not come from following the three steps for calculating EMV.
5. How is secondary risk assessed?
A. E = (a + 4m + b) / 6
B. EMV plus 10%
C. Determine probability and multiply by impact
D. The same way as original or residual risks
D. Secondary risk is a risk that happens because you implemented a risk response. A residual risk is the risk that remains after a risk response has been taken. Secondary risks should be assessed for proper action in the same way as original risks and residual risks.
A is incorrect because it is the formula for three-point estimating. B is incorrect because it is an improper calculation. C is incorrect because it is the definition of risk exposure.
6. Your project charter has been approved. You are seeking approval of your project management plan. You have a meeting coming up with your project management team next week. They will be most interested in:
A. Needed project team members
B. The overall approach you will use to manage the project
C. How progress will be measured and reported
D. The project contracts you plan to put in place
B. The project management plan development process integrates the project’s subsidiary plans and establishes the overall approach for managing the project.
A is incorrect because you are responsible for acquiring, managing, and developing the project team members. C is incorrect because at this point it is too early to select the project performance measurements. D is incorrect because procurements and contracts are decided after you create a WBS.
7. You will be using earned value management (EVM) on your current project because it is mandated by the project management office (PMO). This means you will need to use:
A. A PMO member on your team
B. A project management information system
C. A dedicated EVM specialist within your team
D. Project-specific contract officers
B. A project management information system (PMIS) is the coherent arrangement of the information required for an organization to execute projects successfully. A PMIS is typically one or more software applications, together with a methodical process for collecting and using project information.
A is incorrect because PMP members are support staff and not dedicated team members. C is incorrect because you do not need a specialist added to the team to use EVM. PMs can use spreadsheets to calculate EVM. D is incorrect because it is too early in the project to know about contracts.
8. As you plan your project’s resources, you should emphasize the:
A. Quality metrics to be collected to evaluate the product, service, or result
B. Costs for each resource
C. Desirability of having a dedicated team for each phase of the project
D. Need to allocate and account for all resources
D. Resource planning is done at an early stage. Work performance reports can show the details of resource allocation and usage throughout the project.
A is incorrect because quality metrics are a description of the product or project attributes and how to measure them. B is incorrect because the costs for each resource are collected and used in the Determine Budget process. C is incorrect because the skills and competencies needed for each team member—within each phase of the project—is the Plan Resource Management process.
9. As you prepare your project management plan, you decide to attach your subsidiary plans, one of which is the:
A. Benefits management plan
B. Contract management plan
C. Schedule management plan
D. Stakeholder involvement plan
C. The schedule management plan is a subsidiary plan of the project management plan and is the only output of the Plan Schedule Management process.
A is incorrect because the benefits management plan complements the project management plan. It is not a subsidiary plan. B is incorrect because although a contract management plan can be used by the contracting officer, it is not a subsidiary plan. D is incorrect because the stakeholder involvement plan does not exist; instead it is the stakeholder engagement plan that includes strategies or approaches for engaging with stakeholders.
10. An effective project management practice is to enable contractors assigned to your project to have access to information in your Project Management Information System (PMIS) such as:
A. Project budget information
B. Buy or lease decision rules
C. Change control/revision tools
D. Requirements management information
D. Requirements management information is stored in a PMIS. Contractors can be more productive when allowed to use tools to capture and manage requirements for your projects/products in a structured, collaborative fashion.
A and B are incorrect because budget information and buy-or-lease decisions are sensitive, company-specific information and better controlled within the company. C is incorrect because the PM is responsible for maintaining the integrity of modifications to project deliverables and documentation.
11. Having been a project manager before, you were pleased to be selected to manage a software upgrade project on a nuclear power plant and have set up specific team ground rules for your project, including that:
A. The steering committee members are part of the staffing management plan
B. The resource management plan includes all project resources
C. The Project Management Office (PMO) forms the dedicated project team
D. Your project team is part of the PMO
B. The resource management plan is a subsidiary plan of the project management plan that describes how all project resources are acquired, allocated, measured, and corrected.
A is incorrect because a steering committee should be selected at the beginning of a project, usually in the preinitiation stage. In general, the steering committee is a senior management team that guides and is accountable for the project and gains management commitment. C is incorrect because the PMO is a support group. D is incorrect because your dedicated project team members are assigned to your project and are not assigned to the PMO.
12. You are the lead project manager on a government contract, and you are preparing the cost management plan for the project. Given that your project is for a government agency, which of the following should you be sure to consider?
A. Policy compliance and audit procedures
B. Annual nature of government funding
C. Multiple civilian and military resources that will be available to you
D. How the Federal Reserve decisions may affect interest rate hikes
B. DoD’s annual funding policy states that the budget request for a fiscal year should be restricted to the budget authority necessary to cover all 1) expenditures expected to be made during that fiscal year and 2) costs of goods and services expected to be required during that fiscal year.
A is incorrect because policy compliance is a goal set by an organization in its attempt to encourage and achieve compliance by its members/employees about the organization’s policies. Audits are performed to ensure compliance. C is incorrect because resource allocation and usage are handled through the project life cycle. D is incorrect because interest rate hikes affect borrowing capacity, not funding.
13. You are a construction project manager working on a new office building in the outskirts of your city. You are developing your project management plan that assumes a dedicated project team. The plan for the project forecasts a two-year schedule. As part of the plan, you need to consider:
A. Potential increases in resource costs
B. The payback period for every year of the project
C. Design changes based on external dependencies
D. The need for annual cost/benefit analyses
A. Direct costs include the salaries for dedicated team members on your project and contractors that provide support exclusively to your project. In multiyear projects it is likely that resource costs will increase each year, and a prudent project manager will budget for these increases.
B. The payback period formula is used to determine the length of time it will take to recoup the initial amount invested on a project or investment. It is calculated at the beginning of the project. C is incorrect because “design changes based on external dependencies” may affect the project, but the PM controls these changes. D is incorrect because cost/benefit analysis is part of the business case and completed in the initiation stage of the project.
14. You are working as a project manager on a project that involves protecting grizzly bears in Alaska. Not everyone is onboard with this effort, including several external stakeholders. In developing your communications management plan, you should consider:
A. Updating the communications issues log
B. Local laws about grizzly bears
C. Building a RACI chart to ensure that all stakeholders are engaged
D. The use of a communications assessment for unsupportive stakeholders
D. PMs face the challenges of communicating with stakeholders who have a different style of communication than their own. One of the best ways to quickly improve the effectiveness of your communication is to adapt your communication style to match theirs. This is especially true with unwilling/unsupportive/challenging stakeholders.
A is incorrect because although there is disagreement about your project, after you complete the communications assessments, you could update the communications issues log. B is incorrect because obeying all local laws about grizzly bears is an external factor. C is incorrect because a RACI chart assigns roles and responsibilities to stakeholders during a project; however, it would be preferable to do a communications assessment prior to a RACI chart.
15. Given the planning data for your project, SEMAJ, you have identified the need to use several contractors for three parts of the multiyear project. As you determine specific procurement strategies after analyzing the involved WBS elements, your next step is to:
A. Analyze the project scope statement
B. Analyze the product description
C. Prepare a procurement management plan
D. Consider make-or-buy analysis
D. Make-or-buy analysis (which can lead to a make-or-buy decision) is a process that PMs follow to know whether it’s better for them to do the work in-house or pay for a third-party company to help the project team.
A is incorrect because you have already analyzed the project scope statement to determine specific procurement strategies. B is incorrect because the product scope description is completed as part of scope definition. C is incorrect because the procurement management plan will include your procurement decisions after you complete the make-or-buy analysis.
16. Your project will include the hiring of multiple third-party vendors, and you are considering the elements to include in the procurement management plan for the project. Before completing the procurement management plan, you should first:
A. Review project assets on procurement
B. Develop activity cost estimates
C. Prepare a prequalified seller list
D. Review the WBS
D. The procurement management plan is a part of the overall project management plan, and the WBS is the best predictor of the success of a new project, including vendor assets. By reviewing the work breakdown structure before you prepare the procurement plan, it is relatively easy to determine what procurements are needed throughout the life of the project. The WBS identifies items to be procured, and the procurement plan defines the items to be procured, the types of contracts to be used in support of the project, the contract approval process, and decision criteria.
A is incorrect because you are not at the point that assets for procurement would be available. B is incorrect because you prepare activity cost estimates after you create the WBS. C is incorrect because a prequalified seller list is prepared in conducting procurements, which follows the creation of the procurement management plan.
17. The PMO is recommending that you use fixed price (FP, or lump sum, or firm fixed price) contracts on all vendor contracts because you will have the least cost risk. The contract information should be:
A. Included in the contract management plan
B. Part of the procurement management plan
C. Part of the procurement statement of work
D. Developed by the contracts department
B. Contract terms for a project are included in the procurement management plan.
A is incorrect because the contract management plan is not a plan used by the PM. It may be a plan used by the contracts office. C is incorrect because the work to be done on each procurement is called a procurement statement of work (PSOW), which describes the work and activities that the seller is required to complete. The activities also include meetings, reports, and communications. Contract types are part of the PSOW. D is incorrect because the project management team is responsible for receiving bids or proposals and the application of evaluation criteria to select a seller.
18. As you prepare your quality plan, it is important to understand:
A. Quality is a variable cost in projects
B. Quality is cost based
C. Quality activities tend to be about equal from a QA and QC perspective
D. Quality should be determined after test cases are complete
A. Quality is a variable cost in all projects and should be considered as such in project quality planning.
B is incorrect because the cost of quality includes the cost impact of conformance versus nonconformance. It can also include quick cost reductions versus long-term costs to prevent product problems later in the life cycle. C is incorrect because QA activities are preferred over QC activities. QA means keeping the defect out of the process. QC means keeping the defect out of the hands of the customer. Prevention over inspection. D is incorrect because test cases should be created before quality is measured.
19. You are the project manager setting up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies. You and your team are preparing the risk management plan. You first need to define:
A. Your organization’s risk appetite
B. The functional requirements document you plan to use to identify risks
C. Who the resistor stakeholders are
D. Budget assumptions and constraints
A. In risk management, risk appetite is the level of risk an organization is prepared to accept. Risk appetite constraints are not easy to define; every organization can tolerate different levels of risk.
B is incorrect because the functional requirements document may indicate project objectives that are particularly at risk and is an input to the risk management plan. C is incorrect because a resistant stakeholder will be identified in the stakeholder engagement assessment matrix in the stakeholder management plan. D is incorrect because budget assumptions and constraints will be used to keep the known risks within the identified risk thresholds.
20. You understand that positive and negative risks may affect your project, and you have set up risk categories to help as you work on your risk management plan. One obvious category of opportunities and threats is associated with resource availability. Which type of risk is this?
A. Portfolio-related
B. Product-level
C. Program-level
D. Project-related
D. Resource availability risk is a category of potential causes of positive and negative risk and can affect the day-to-day work on the project.
A and C are incorrect because each are higher-level risks and do not happen at the same time as the project work. B is incorrect because product-level risks are not usually related to resourcing.
21. As you prepare your project’s risk management plan, and since the project involves setting up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies, you should review the:
A. Occupational safety and health issues
B. Business case
C. Potential suppliers on the prequalified sellers list
D. Cultural differences in the production workers
B. When managing risk, market factors that apply to the project should be included as an enterprise environmental factor. Market demand, a high risk, is included in the business case.
A is incorrect because although you will comply with OSHA regulations in your new building, it is a low risk compared to no market for your gadgets. C is incorrect because the question does not imply the use of potential sellers. D is incorrect because resource risks are known risks and are mitigated later in the risk management processes.
22. You have a team of 12 people who are working on various parts of a project whose purpose is to facilitate the buying and selling of big-box stores that have closed. You have a WBS, and now you are developing your scope baseline. Which of the following should you include in your project schedule?
A. Schedule decomposition
B. Stakeholder issue tracking
C. Activities related to stakeholder engagement
D. A requirements traceability matrix
C. The project schedule should include activities related to stakeholder engagement, risk mitigation, and project reviews.
A is incorrect because the activities/tasks are already decomposed in a project schedule to work packages and then aggregated to build a project schedule. B is incorrect because stakeholder issues are listed in the stakeholder issue log. D is incorrect because a requirements traceability matrix is not included in a project schedule.
23. On a buying and selling closed big-box stores project, you acknowledge the desire to control risk through planning and therefore conclude that your scope management approach should be:
A. Predictive
B. Adaptive
C. Iterative
D. Lean
A. In a predictive (plan-driven) life cycle, the three major constraints (scope, schedule, and cost) are determined ahead of time, not just at a high level, but in detail. This is where the high-level planning is done for the entire project, but the detailed planning is done only for the work that needs to be done soon. In a plan-driven life cycle, the detailed scope of the project is determined right from the start.
B and C are incorrect because the adaptive life cycle is based upon the iterative and incremental process models and focuses upon adaptability to changing product requirements and enhancing customer satisfaction through rapid delivery of working product features and client participation. D is incorrect because lean is also an adaptive life cycle approach and controls risk through rapid delivery of small amounts of working product.
24. As you develop the project scope statement as the foundation for work your company is performing for a very demanding client, you should:
A. Ask the project team to list the major deliverables to tie to major milestones
B. Identify any new job seekers for open positions
C. Use the resource traceability matrix in your data analysis
D. Include acceptance criteria to use as closure guidelines
D. Acceptance criteria are documented in the project scope statement. Acceptance criteria are also considered an important part of contractual agreements on external projects and are used as project closure guidelines.
A is incorrect because major deliverables are sometimes tied to major milestones and are displayed in a milestone chart, which is an output of developing the schedule. B is incorrect because new team members are added as part of acquiring the project team. C is incorrect because resource traceability matrix is a made-up term. A responsibility assignment matrix shows the project resources assigned to each work package.
25. When you prepare your project schedule, you focus on identifying those activities that are on your critical path and that you intend to manage aggressively. As a part of the project schedule, it is also important for you to:
A. Perform level-of-effort estimating for summary activities
B. Use the critical chain method to include buffers
C. Monitor the Iron Triangle for value and quality of the deliverables
D. Ensure each key stakeholder’s project deliverable expectations are met
D. Each stakeholder group has needs and expectations. Getting the right deliverables to the right stakeholders at the right time is paramount.
A is incorrect because although prudent project managers use duration estimates for work package estimates and aggregate those estimates for summary activities, level of effort estimates are the number of labor hours required to complete an activity and therefore are not summaries. B is incorrect because the critical chain method of planning and managing projects emphasizes the resources (people, equipment, physical space) required to execute project tasks and therefore excludes buffers. C is incorrect because the Iron Triangle measures scope, time, and cost, not value and quality; however, the Agile Triangle measures value and quality in addition to Iron Triangle constraints.
26. Having been a PM for three years, you realize that a collective understanding of the success of the project among the project stakeholders can assist you in managing stakeholder expectations. Such a mutual understanding is best documented as part of the:
A. Stakeholder management plan
B. Project scope statement
C. Scope management plan
D. Project charter
B. The PM ensures that the context and framework of the project are properly defined, assessed, and documented in the form of a project scope statement. Project stakeholders should verify and approve the project scope statement.
A is incorrect because the stakeholder management plan has been replaced with the stakeholder engagement plan. C is incorrect because the scope management plan is an input to defining the scope, which produces the project scope statement. D is incorrect because the project charter ensures a mutual understanding of deliverables and milestones.
27. On your project, you prepared a detailed stakeholder analysis. Realizing there was not a mutual understanding of the project’s direction, you should prepare a:
A. Feasibility study
B. Stakeholder engagement plan
C. Governance plan
D. Project scope statement
D. The PM ensures that the context and framework of the project are properly defined, assessed, and documented in the form of a project scope statement. Project stakeholders should verify and approve the project scope statement.
A is incorrect because a feasibility study is conducted as part of preproject work and is used to justify the project. B is incorrect because the stakeholder engagement plan identifies the project partnership—shared accountability and responsibility—a two-way engagement in project decision making and actions. C is incorrect because governance relates to managing change, which is not a natural follow-on to preparing a detailed stakeholder analysis.
28. Because the WBS is used to capture all project and nonproject work, this means that project management office support deliverables should be considered a(n):
A. Top-level milestone
B. External deliverable
C. Work package
D. Project management artifact
C. The work to create project management office support deliverables is indeed work and therefore should be represented in the WBS as a work package. A work package is a group of related tasks within a project. Work packages are the smallest unit of work (typically 8 to 80 hours) that a project can be broken down to when creating your work breakdown structure (WBS).
A is incorrect because a high-level milestone is a deliverable or major event to be achieved on a specified date. B is incorrect because an external deliverable is a product, service, or result delivered to a customer outside the company. D is incorrect because project management artifacts are created because of carrying out the work packages in a WBS (e.g., user stories, class diagrams, UML models).
29. In developing project scope, one approach is to:
A. Describe scope in user stories
B. Determine scope through a high-level infrastructure
C. Use the project’s budget to set a financial baseline
D. Include nonfunctional requirements for products, services, or results
A. User stories are an effective approach on all time-constrained projects and are a wonderful way to begin introducing a bit of agility to your projects and requirement management approach. In the adaptive approach, you are more likely to create a scope statement as project requirements in terms of user stories, as compared with a functional requirements document created as part of a predictive life cycle project.
B is incorrect because the high-level infrastructure is determined as part of high-level design (HLD). Scope drives the design. C is incorrect because the project’s budget is used to set a cost performance baseline. D is incorrect because nonfunctional requirements (speed, maintainability, robustness, etc.) are classified as solution requirements and are documented when collecting requirements.
30. You are creating your WBS. You realize that a generally accepted business practice is to:
A. Structure it so product scope and project scope are easily managed
B. Set it up so that it shows the complete scope of the work to be carried out on the project
C. Use it to define the management control points for each of the major deliverables
D. Define the solution to the problem in terms of a product, service, or result
B. The WBS is the total scope of work to be done on the project—what’s in scope.
A is incorrect because product scope is the features and functions of the product. Project scope is the work performed to deliver the product. The WBS provides the framework of what must be delivered. C is incorrect because management control points are normally key review points, such as end of design, or a major management review, such as after the release of the risk management plan. D is incorrect because the “how” of the problem is left to the technical team after the business team has described the “what” of the product, service, or result.
31. Your organization’s long-term goal is to build and sell electric bicycles. For now, your company will continue to produce motorcycles until the electric bicycles are online. You have a design team of 6 members and a production team of 18 people; these numbers are about half of what you believe you need. These limits are:
A. Constraints to document in your project scope statement
B. Limitations to document in your project charter
C. Known risks to set aside management reserves
D. Key issues to document in the risk log
A. These are examples of constraints. Constraints and assumptions should be included in the scope statement.
B is incorrect because resource limitations are not documented in the project charter. High-level boundaries are listed in the project charter. C is incorrect because contingency reserves are set aside for known risks. Unknown risks are covered by management reserves. Risks are documented in the risk register. D is incorrect because key issues are documented in the issues log.
32. You are the PM on a high-priority project. Your company has limited human resources. You have been told that the completion date cannot change. You are developing the resource management plan. You have decided to:
A. Prepare a resource plan
B. Use a resource breakdown structure linked to your WBS
C. Use resource smoothing
D. Conduct a Monte Carlo analysis to identify resource supply and demand on the project
B. A resource breakdown structure shows you the resources related by function/category and resource type. It can be decomposed to a level usable with the WBS to show the work to be performed, measured, and corrected.
A is incorrect because the scope management plan is complete and you are still in the Planning process group. C is incorrect because resource smoothing is used when the schedule is top priority—when the goal is to complete the work by the required date while avoiding the peaks and valleys of resource demand. It is a resource optimization technique used in schedule development (Executing process group). D is incorrect because Monte Carlo simulation uses randomness to solve problems. Limited human resources is a specific problem.
33. You are in the military stationed near the North Pole. Your project is to rebuild all the runways at your air base, and you have one year to complete the project. Since it usually snows for nine months of the year, the construction team will be able to work on the runways in June, July, and August ... and maybe May and September. You understand your organizational culture, have the latest version of the scheduling software, and ESTICOR is used for standardized estimating data. What should you do now?
A. You should prepare a scope management plan.
B. The agile release approach should be followed.
C. The critical path may change as you use resource leveling.
D. You should adjust the start and end times with leads and lags.
A. The “rebuild the runways” project is clearly defined, and the schedule management plan will show the scheduling methodology to be used.
B is incorrect because the scope of the project is fully defined and it has a high degree of certainty. C is incorrect because you are in the execution phase and the scope management plan is complete. As you use resource leveling, it can cause the original critical path to change, especially if certain resources can only work at certain times. It is a resource optimization technique used in schedule development (Executing process group). D is incorrect because leads and lags are used to accelerate or delay activities. The weather is controlling the project, and the activities are finish-to-start.
34. Your new project, the SecureAI Project, will view threats and security breaches of corporate data involving artificial intelligence (AI). You have a dedicated project team of 16 people. Maciej is the domain expert and is frequently used in expert systems software development. Maciej’s expertise has been a major advantage so far on your project. To be prudent, you need to:
A. Make sure there is a succession plan in place if Maciej leaves the project
B. Set up a process to debrief team members if they make plans to leave the project
C. Have everyone on your team go to advanced AI training
D. Have daily meetings with Maciej to make sure the project team knows what he is doing
B. Most everyone on the project team will have some intellectual knowledge because of working on the project. A process is needed to capture Maciej’s knowledge when he leaves the project.
A is incorrect because a succession plan will identify who can replace Maciej. It will not solve the immediate problem of capturing and transferring his knowledge. C is incorrect because going to AI training is a good start and will help in the short term. D is incorrect because a daily meeting with Maciej will take away time from his work and is not practical for all team members to attend.
35. You know that projects are unique endeavors, and you also know that they can be similar in some ways to other projects regarding work performance data and information. Which of the following will help ensure that project knowledge is a focus of your project team?
A. A project management information system
B. A chief information officer on your dedicated team
C. A chief data management officer in the PMO
D. A detailed human resource information system
A. A PMIS, among other things, is helpful in sharing knowledge with the project team. It can include documents, data, and knowledge repositories.
B is incorrect because a CIO is an executive-level position concerned with IT strategies and tactics, not day-to-day project management. C is incorrect because chief data management officer is a made-up job title. D is incorrect because a human resources system is not focused on project data.
36. As you manage the SecureAI Project, you know you will encounter some risks and issues. Issues can be risks that have occurred, but also are areas of concern to the project. A generally accepted business practice to follow regarding risks and issues is to:
A. Use the risk register to capture operational-level issues
B. Set up a risk control board for risks and issues that may occur
C. Set up an escalation process for you to help resolve risks and issues
D. Ensure a risk or issue is isolated to a singular project phase
C. Risks or issues related to project objectives, resource and intergroup conflicts, ambiguous roles and responsibilities, scope disagreements, and third-party dependencies are some known situations calling for escalations. Such issues require higher-level intervention because many times the authority, decision making, resources, or effort required to resolve them are beyond a project manager’s scope.
A is incorrect because issues are recorded in the issues log, not the risk register. B is incorrect because although there is a change control board, there is not a separate risk control board, as risks are evaluated by the change control board during an impact assessment. D is incorrect because the risk management processes identify risks by category and select risk strategies to address overall risk exposure throughout the project, including when risks and issues span project phases.
37. In your project to set up a new production line for innovative gadget gifts for techies, you have decided to use two contractor companies for the work: one for the software and one for the hardware. You have developed the procurement management plan, and you have created a WBS. You recently met with the software contract officer and she had an issue to discuss with you, and in thinking about it, you realized it also affected the hardware contractor team. You should immediately:
A. Meet with the entire project team.
B. Inform your executive sponsor of this issue.
C. Escalate it to the steering committee for resolution.
D. Analyze your response so it is consistent with project objectives.
D. When you resolve an issue, you need to determine a course of action that is consistent with the project’s objectives to achieve project benefits and deliver business value.
A is incorrect because the issue is with the software contractor and may affect the hardware contractor. This is an issue resolution meeting and should include the appropriate stakeholders involved. The whole team may not be affected by the topics addressed and does not need to attend the meeting. Perhaps any team member who has a defined role in the meeting could attend. B is incorrect because the PM is responsible for conflict resolution. If the disruptive conflict continues, formal procedures (escalation) and disciplinary actions can be used. C is incorrect because the project manager is responsible for conflict resolution. If the disruptive conflict continues, formal procedures (escalation) and disciplinary actions can be used.
38. You just graduated from a prestigious university and you have been appointed to your first job as a project manager. Your project charter has been approved, and you now have a dedicated team who is working with you in planning the project. So far, you have prepared your scope and quality management plans and now are beginning to work on other plans that will be included in your project management plan. In the project management plan, you need to describe how performance reports will be prepared and distributed. Your program manager pointed out that she wanted regular updates, but she did not want to see many metrics collected that did not add value. You and your team have decided that the best approach is to choose metrics that:
A. Show how your project contributes to the organization’s bottom line
B. Show the progress according to the triple constraints
C. Use earned value management to assess project performance and progress
D. Show project management and team delivery rates
A. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should measure how the project contributes to tangible and intangible, as well as internal and external, benefits, such as profitability, goodwill, loyalty, etc.
B is incorrect because reaching a reasonable trade-off among the three project constraints does not necessarily mean that the project is delivering business value. C is incorrect because EVM is used at the project level and does not show the direct and indirect measurements used to show the benefits (business value) realized. D is incorrect because there is no indication in the answer of what is being measured for project management or team delivery.
39. You must develop a scope statement for a cross-department project. Many people will be involved in this project with multiple stakeholders represented from each of the departments. In this case, who would approve the scope statement that you develop?
A. The project team members
B. The project sponsor
C. The project manager
D. The financial manager
B. The project sponsors or initiators drive the business need for the project, and they approve the project scope statement.
A is incorrect because although project team members may provide input to the project scope statement, they are not approvers. C is incorrect because the project manager has created the project scope statement and must seek approval from the project sponsor. D is incorrect because although the financial manager has input to creating the scope statement, approving their own input would be inappropriate.
40. A project manager is stepping in as a take-over role and has been given a completed project scope statement prepared by the previous project manager. What is the first action she should take at this point?
A. Create a complete network diagram for the tasks and milestones in the project.
B. Confirm that the project management team agrees with the scope statement.
C. Develop a detailed project plan based on the existing work breakdown structure.
D. Call a meeting of the project management team to agree on a procurement plan.
B. The project management team is responsible for taking the project charter and creating a scope statement. They are included in the set of all project stakeholders. It is important that all stakeholders have had input to the project scope statement and there is consensus before doing anything else.
A is incorrect because she has not verified the project scope statement and therefore cannot continue forward to planning the work. C is incorrect because the WBS may not align to the project scope statement. D is incorrect because developing a procurement plan would be premature without a valid scope statement and WBS.
41. You have just acquired a new team member on the project you are managing. This is the first project for the team member, and she asks you the purpose of the WBS. What do you describe as its primary purpose?
A. Clarify the responsibility for project tasks.
B. Communicate with all stakeholders.
C. Define the business need for the project.
D. Detail the dates for the work packages.
B. The WBS serves as a communication mechanism to and from project stakeholders.
A is incorrect because the WBS does not show responsibilities for tasks. C is incorrect because the business need is defined in the project charter. D is incorrect because dates are decided based on more detailed schedule planning.
42. The project has produced a requirements traceability matrix that links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the project life cycle. Which statement describes the purpose of the requirements traceability matrix?
A. It describes in detail the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables and includes product and project scope description.
B. It ensures that requirements approved in the requirements documentation are delivered at the end of the project and helps manage changes to the product scope.
C. It is a narrative description of products or services to be delivered by the project and is received from the customer for external projects.
D. It provides the necessary information from a business standpoint to determine whether the project is worth the required investment.
B. The requirements traceability matrix ensures that requirements approved in the requirements documentation are delivered at the end of the project. The requirements traceability matrix also provides a structure for managing changes to product scope.
A is incorrect because it describes the project scope statement. C is incorrect because this is the project statement of work used in developing the project charter. D is incorrect because it describes the project business case. Identifying all stakeholders is the only way to uncover all project requirements.
43. You have been developing a scope statement for a project you have been given authority to manage. During this process, you came across areas of technical details that you were not familiar with. Which of the following would you use to help clarify the related issues and their impact on the project scope?
A. Experienced managers
B. Special interest groups
C. Expert judgment
D. Similar project plans
C. The use of expert judgment is recommended when a project manager comes across an area that is unfamiliar.
A is incorrect because “experienced managers” is not a clear answer. B and D are incorrect because special interest groups (SIGs) are a possibility, as are similar project plans, but expert judgment is considered the best answer because of the technical detail that can be provided by a subject matter expert.
44. You have been given the responsibility for a project that you have not been involved with to date. The project is at the beginning of the execution stage. What is the main document to which you would refer to guide you on what you should be doing on this project?
A. Project management plan
B. Procurement management plan
C. Communication management plan
D. Project scope management plan
A. The project management plan is the main reference for the project manager during the execution stage of a project.
B, C, and D are incorrect because the procurement management plan, communications management plan, and project scope management plan are all subsets of the project management plan.
45. You are involved in a project and regularly receive work packages to complete from the project manager. The project manager describes some of the results of your work as project deliverables. The processes that describe project deliverables from your work are defined in which of the following?
A. The completed task contract form
B. The initial work breakdown structure
C. The project management plan
D. The initial project scope document
C. Deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes described in the project management plan.
A is incorrect because not all tasks produce project deliverables and are not tracked with a task contract. B is incorrect because not all WBS elements produce project deliverables. D is incorrect because the initial project scope document does not list project deliverables.
46. The project has produced a requirements management plan. What is the purpose of this document?
A. The requirements management plan links requirements to their origin and traces them throughout the project.
B. The requirements management plan documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project.
C. The requirements management plan describes how individual requirements meet the business need for the project.
D. The requirements management plan provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified, managed, and controlled.
B. The requirements management plan documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project.
A is incorrect because it is the definition of the requirements traceability matrix. C is incorrect because it describes the requirements document. D is incorrect because it describes the scope management plan.
47. You are discussing your role as a project manager with your peers. In the conversation, another team member describes the process of defining and controlling what is, and what is not, included in the project. What are these activities called?
A. Project documentation management
B. Project change control
C. Plan scope management
D. Formal acceptance documents
C. The Plan Scope Management process defines and controls what is, and what is not, included in the project.
A and B are incorrect because project documentation management and project change control are procedures to allow the control of changes to scope only. D is incorrect because formal acceptance documents are part of the Close Project or Phase process.
48. You have been involved in a workshop at which the project management team created an initial work breakdown structure (WBS). Which of the following best describes the process in which you were involved?
A. Calculating the total duration of the project from the start
B. Counting the total number of work packages in the project
C. Allocating responsibilities for the project work to individuals in the team
D. Subdividing the project work into smaller, more manageable components
D. The Create WBS process subdivides the major project deliverables and project work into smaller, more manageable components.
A is incorrect because the WBS does not concern project duration. B is incorrect because determining the total work package count is not a function of the Create WBS process. C is incorrect because the allocation of responsibilities is not a function of the initial WBS.
49. The scope management plan is produced by the project management team as part of the Plan Scope Management process. Which statement best describes the scope management plan?
A. The scope management plan provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified, managed, and controlled.
B. The scope management plan documents how requirements will be analyzed, documented, and managed throughout the project.
C. The scope management plan describes in detail the project’s deliverables and the work required to create those deliverables.
D. The scope management plan is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team.
A. The scope management plan provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified, managed, and controlled. It may be formal or informal, highly detailed, or broadly framed, based on the project needs.
B is incorrect because detailed requirements are not part of a project charter. C is incorrect because it describes the project scope statement. D is incorrect because it describes the WBS.
50. A team member who has just joined your project asks what is involved in this project. You refer her to the project scope statement, which contains all the following except:
A. Deferred change requests
B. Product scope description
C. Project assumptions
D. Product acceptance criteria
A. Deferred change requests could be approved at some time in the future, but have not yet been approved and do not authorize the work that implies a change in scope.
B, C, and D are incorrect because the detailed project scope statement does include product scope description, product acceptance criteria, project deliverables, exclusions, constraints, and assumptions.
51. The project you are working on is running behind schedule, is over budget, and is failing to deliver the features originally promised. The project manager says that the work must now be focused on a list of activities. What defines this list of activities?
A. Shortest-duration tasks
B. Requirements documentation
C. Critical-path tasks
D. Lowest-cost tasks
B. The requirements documentation helps define the priorities of the requirements as part of the Collect Requirements process. This is where the project team determines how resources can be best used to obtain contract acceptance.
A is incorrect because shortest-duration tasks will give an impression of progress, but that focus may be on the wrong tasks. C is incorrect because focusing on critical-path tasks will preserve or shorten the duration but may not ensure meeting the overall contract. D is incorrect because focusing on lowest-cost tasks will help short-term cash flow but may not meet the contract or stakeholders’ expectations.
52. You are assigned to manage a new project. Your line manager suggests that you should use a tool to help you plan the new project. She suggests that you use a work breakdown structure (WBS) template. Which of the following is the best description of this tool?
A. A document that lists WBS elements
B. An all-purpose WBS from the Internet
C. A WBS from a previous project
D. A definition of WBS colors and shapes
C. A work breakdown template is often a WBS from a previous project within your organization, because projects within an organization often share many common elements and processes.
A and B are incorrect because generic or general-purpose lists of elements or structures are not necessarily the best fit for your organization. D is incorrect because WBS colors and shapes are cosmetic definitions of standards to be referenced.
53. The project meeting you are attending is becoming heated, and arguments are starting about the work completed and the work to be done. The project manager stops the discussion and refers to one document that is used as a reference. What is this document called?
A. Approved changes
B. Newly identified risks
C. The WBS template
D. The scope baseline
D. The work to be done in a project is defined in the WBS and is part of the approved project scope statement and associated WBS. This is known as the scope baseline.
A is incorrect because approved changes are only one part of the scope. B is incorrect because newly identified risks are not necessarily translated to impact on the work or scope. C is incorrect because the WBS template is a generic starting point for defining the scope or final WBS.
54. After some changes to your project scope, you have revised the schedule, costs, and work package assignments, and these changes have been approved. What action do you now complete?
A. Wait for resources to complete current assignments.
B. Reissue the project management plan.
C. Immediately look for other changes to submit.
D. Let the project schedule continue as previously.
B. Reissuing the project management plan is a major output of controlling scope once the changes have been approved.
A is incorrect because some assignments may have to be changed. C is incorrect because looking for other changes without issuing the new plan may cause rework. D is incorrect because letting the project schedule continue and ignoring the recent changes may compromise the project.
55. You have asked a team member to perform many actions on a project plan. These actions are decomposing the work packages into smaller components and activities that are to be the basis for estimating, scheduling, and running the project. What is this team member’s activity called?
A. Schedule work
B. Estimate tasks
C. Schedule activities
D. Define activities
D. As part of the Project Schedule Management knowledge area, the project manager must define activities, which allows for decomposing the work packages into smaller components and activities that are to be the basis for estimating, scheduling, and running the project.
A, B, and C are incorrect because work scheduling is part of the follow-on process, as are estimating tasks and scheduling activities.
56. You note that your weekly time sheet report shows that you have identified activities, scoped the work needed on each, and provided sufficient detail to allow a team member to understand what is required to complete that work. What description summarizes the time you have spent this week?
A. Producing an activity list
B. Defining the project scope
C. Developing the project schedule
D. Identifying the WBS elements
A. The activity list is a comprehensive list of all scheduled activities, including scope and activity identifier, that is in sufficient detail for a team member to complete the work.
B is incorrect because defining the project scope is an earlier stage and does not break the project into detailed work packages. C is incorrect because defining and developing the project schedule is a later stage of planning. D is incorrect because the WBS elements already will have been identified prior to this activity.
57. The precedence diagramming method can be used to clarify the dependencies between activities. One type of dependency used is to ensure that the successor activity does not start until the completion of the predecessor activity. What is the name given to this type of dependency?
A. Start-to-start
B. Finish-to-finish
C. Finish-to-start
D. Start-to-finish
C. The type of dependency in which the successor activity does not start until the completion of a predecessor activity is known as finish-to-start.
A is incorrect because in the start-to-start dependency a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started. B is incorrect because in the finish-to-finish dependency a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished. D is incorrect because in the start-to-finish dependency a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.
58. One tool of project management is a table that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages. What is this table known as?
A. Resource calendar updates
B. Activity attribute updates
C. Resource breakdown structure
D. Activity resource requirements
D. A list that identifies and describes the types and quantities of each resource required to complete all project work packages is known as the activity resource requirements.
A, B, and C are incorrect because the resource calendar, activity attribute updates, and resource breakdown structure are outputs of activity resource estimating but are not the correct answers.
59. You are completing the planning for a project schedule. Because you do not have much information about one activity, you decide to estimate its duration by referring to the actual duration of a similar activity on another project. This calculation method is called:
A. Analogous estimating
B. Expert judgment
C. Parametric estimating
D. Reserve analysis
A. Estimating the duration of a project activity by referring to the actual duration of a similar activity on another project is known as analogous estimating.
B is incorrect because expert judgment uses other specialists to modify historical data. C is incorrect because parametric estimating uses pro-rata data. D is incorrect because reserve analysis refers to contingency or time buffers.
60. Your project manager asks you to calculate the theoretical early start and finish dates on your project schedule, along with late start and finish dates, for all the project activities. He suggests you use a forward and backward pass analysis. This technique is known as (the):
A. Critical chain method
B. Critical path method
C. Schedule compression
D. What-if analysis
B. Calculating the theoretical early start and finish dates, along with late start and finish dates, for all the project activities using a forward and backward pass analysis is known as the critical path method.
A is incorrect because the critical chain method is specifically related to resource constraints. C is incorrect because schedule compression is about reducing project duration. D is incorrect because what-if analysis relates to calculating the durations of multiple combinations of tasks.
61. You are asked to review a project that another department has planned for your organization. Your line manager asks you to show her a project overview that shows only the start and end dates of major deliverables, along with key external dependencies. This graphic is known as a:
A. Network diagram
B. Summary bar chart
C. Milestone chart
D. Schedule baseline
C. A project overview that shows only the start and end of major deliverables, along with key external dependencies, is known as a milestone chart.
A and B are incorrect because network diagrams and summary bar charts are used for more detailed presentation; they also show dependencies and durations of tasks. D is incorrect because the schedule baseline is a detailed chart.
62. While reviewing a work package that you have assigned to a member of your team, you look at a graphic that shows the activity start, duration, and finish on a time base. This chart is commonly known as a(n):
A. Activity float list
B. Network diagram
C. Work breakdown structure
D. Project bar chart
D. A graphic that shows the activity start, duration, and finish on a time base is known as a project bar chart.
A is incorrect because an activity float list does not represent the duration of an activity. B is incorrect because the network diagram shows dependencies. C is incorrect because the WBS identifies the activities only.
63. The project you have been planning has been approved by the project management team, and you can now start the execution stage. You have authority for a reference that contains an activity schedule and project start and finish dates. This reference is called:
A. The project schedule baseline
B. A network diagram
C. A milestone chart
D. The project calendar
A. The activity schedule, with project start and finish dates, is known as the project schedule baseline.
B is incorrect because a network diagram shows dependencies only. C is incorrect because a milestone chart is a summary that does not show the activity schedule. D is incorrect because the project calendar is a detailed view of working and nonworking days for the project and resources.
64. You are asked to develop a table that includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and documented assumptions and constraints. You also include resource requirements by time period, alternative schedules, and scheduling of contingency reserves. The table that you prepare is known as the:
A. Project schedule
B. Schedule data
C. Resource schedule
D. Project bar chart
B. The schedule data includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and documented assumptions and constraints, as well as resource requirements by time period, alternative schedules, and scheduling of contingency reserves.
A is incorrect because the project schedule is a detail of activity start and end dates. C is incorrect because the resource schedule does not show weekends and vacations. D is incorrect because the project bar chart does not show the working days and shifts.
65. You have been working on a project in the planning stage, developing the likely costs. The project sponsor expects a narrower estimate of the costs because more information is now known. Which of the following is considered a suitable range for this request?
A. –100% to +100%
B. –5% to +10%
C. –25% to +25%
D. –50% to +50%
B. As more information becomes known later in the project, estimates could narrow to a range of –5% to +10% (a definitive estimate).
A, C, and D are incorrect because earlier in a project, for example, in the initiation stage, estimates could use a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate in the range of –25 to +75%.
66. A project team member is building the costs for a current project, using costs from a previous similar project that has been completed in your organization. This estimating technique is known as:
A. Analogous
B. Bottom-up
C. Parametric
D. Three-point
A. Using costs from a previous similar project that has been completed in your organization is known as analogous estimating.
B is incorrect because bottom-up estimating is based on WBS activities. C is incorrect because parametric estimating is based on pro-rata calculations from standard rates. D is incorrect because three-point estimating requires three data points.
67. Building the costs for a current project using characteristics from a mathematical model to help predict the project costs is known as what type of estimating technique?
A. Analogous
B. Bottom-up
C. Parametric
D. Three-point
C. Parametric estimating is based on pro-rata calculations from standard rates based on a mathematical model.
A is incorrect because using costs from a previous similar project that has been completed in the organization is known as analogous estimating. B is incorrect because bottom-up estimating is based on WBS activities. D is incorrect because three-point estimating requires three data points.
68. A team member has been given the task of identifying which quality standards are relevant to this project and determining how to satisfy these standards. In which of the following processes is she engaged?
A. Control Quality
B. Manage Quality
C. Plan Quality Management
D. Quality Improvement
C. Quality planning is related to establishing the quality requirements and/or standards for the project.
A is incorrect because monitoring and recording results of executing quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes is Control Quality. B is incorrect because Manage Quality is ensuring that appropriate quality standards are used. D is incorrect because quality improvement is an organizational development process.
69. You have been asked to detail the steps for analyzing processes to identify activities that enhance the value of those processes. This is called:
A. Establishing the quality baseline
B. Developing quality checklists
C. Establishing quality metrics
D. Process improvement planning
D. A plan that details the steps for analyzing processes to identify activities that enhance the value of those processes in a project is known as the process improvement plan.
A is incorrect because the quality baseline records the quality objectives for the project. B is incorrect because quality checklists are component specific. C is incorrect because quality metrics define the quality control measurements.
70. You have been asked to perform the quality planning for a project. One of the first actions you take is to clarify what some of the measurements on the project are and how the Control Quality process measures these. This action is known as:
A. Define quality metrics
B. Develop quality checklists
C. Set the quality baseline
D. Plan process improvements
A. Clarifying what some of the measurements on the project are and how the Control Quality process measures these is defining the project quality metrics.
B is incorrect because quality checklists are component specific. C is incorrect because the quality baseline records the quality objectives for the project. D is incorrect because a plan that details the steps for analyzing processes to identify activities that enhance the value in a project is known as the process improvement plan.
71. A team member is following the steps outlined in the process improvement plan. This is needed to improve organizational and project performance. What reference document would the team member use to help with this activity?
A. Quality metrics
B. Quality audits
C. Process analysis
D. Quality checklists
C. Following the steps outlined in the process improvement plan to improve organizational and project performance is known as process analysis.
A is incorrect because quality metrics are an input to Manage Quality and define the quality control measurements. B is incorrect because performing a quality audit is identifying inefficient and ineffective policies, processes, and procedures. D is incorrect because quality checklists are component specific.
72. You are identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships for a project, as well as creating a staffing management plan for a project. In terms of project management, these activities are known as:
A. Planning resource management
B. Developing project management plan
C. Managing team
D. Developing team
A. Identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships, as well as creating a staffing management plan for a project, is developing the resource management plan.
B is incorrect because develop project management plan is a broader generic process. C is incorrect because the Manage Team process concerns operational activities, not planning. D is incorrect because the Develop Team process concerns improving competences.
73. As part of the project plan documentation, you find a diagram that illustrates the link between work packages and project team members. This diagram is called a(n):
A. Hierarchy-type chart
B. Responsibility assignment matrix
C. Organizational chart
D. Dependency diagram
B. A diagram that illustrates the link between work packages and project team members is a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
A is incorrect because hierarchy-type charts show the reporting structure or work, such as a WBS. C is incorrect because organizational charts show roles and responsibilities. D is incorrect because dependency diagrams show the logical work flow in a project.
74. You are planning the resourcing for a project and create a visual representation that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule. This visual representation is commonly known as a:
A. Work breakdown structure
B. Task network diagram
C. Resource histogram
D. Detailed Gantt chart
C. A chart that illustrates the number of hours that each person will be needed each week over the course of the project schedule is known as a resource histogram.
A is incorrect because a WBS does not show weekly allocation. B is incorrect because a task network diagram is not used to show schedule information for resources. D is incorrect because a Gantt chart shows task schedule information.
75. You are managing a project and ask for additional time to enable you to meet new roles. You list the additional activities, such as setting clear expectations, developing processes for managing conflict, including the team in decision making, and sharing credit for success. The name given to this process is:
A. Management by objectives
B. Matrix management
C. Negotiate for resources
D. Plan Communications Management
D. Asking for additional time to enable you to meet your new roles, such as setting clear expectations, developing processes for managing conflict, including the team in decision making, and sharing credit for success, is known as Plan Communications Management.
A is incorrect because management by objectives (MBO) is a directive style of management, not a role or activity as described. B is incorrect because matrix management is related to organizational structure. C is incorrect because negotiating is not as described.
76. You are in the final stages of planning a project and are considering ways to best influence the team over the course of the project, including bonus structures, perks, and a project website. What best describes what you are defining?
A. Staff roles and responsibilities
B. Organizational process assets
C. Staffing management plan
D. Team performance assessment
B. The organizational process assets that can influence the Manage Team process can include certificates of appreciation, newsletters, websites, bonus structures, corporate apparel, and other organizational perquisites.
A is incorrect because staff roles and responsibilities are related to individuals, not the performance. C is incorrect because the staffing management plan is a list or schedule of work for staff. D is incorrect because team performance assessment is related to the team members explicitly.
77. A project manager must perform many activities when planning and managing a project. These include developing an approach for stakeholder information needs; creating, collecting, distributing, storing, and disposing of project information; and monitoring and controlling communications. These activities are examples of:
A. Recommended preventive actions
B. Project performance appraisals
C. Recommended corrective actions
D. Project communications management
D. Developing an approach for stakeholder information needs; creating, collecting, distributing, storing, and disposing of project information; and monitoring and controlling communications are examples of project communications planning.
A, B, and C are incorrect because recommended preventive actions, project performance appraisals, and recommended corrective actions are all inputs to the team management process in operation during a project.
78. A section of your project plan lists methods and technologies to be used to convey memoranda, email, press releases, and how frequently these should be used. The document that defines these is called a(n):
A. Communications management plan
B. Organizational assets
C. Communications technology
D. Project management plan
A. Methods and technologies to be used to convey memoranda, emails, press releases, and how frequently these should be used are examples of the contents of a communications management plan.
B is incorrect because organizational assets are related to processes and procedures that the organization has in place. C is incorrect because communications technology is about the technology only. D is incorrect because the project management plan is a higher-level document that does not contain the detail of the communications management plan.
79. During the planning stage of a project, you decide to assign a member of your project team to be responsible for the distribution of information about the project. Where should you document this decision?
A. Project management plan
B. Communications management plan
C. Project roles and responsibilities
D. Project team assessment
B. The staff member responsible for the distribution of information about the project is defined in the communications management plan.
A is incorrect because the project management plan is the higher-level document that contains the communications management plan within it. C is incorrect because project roles and responsibilities are related to task responsibilities. D is incorrect because project team assessment is a process of measurement performed during a project.
80. To be successful, how often should an organization address risk management?
A. At every management meeting
B. Only in the planning phase
C. On high-risk projects only
D. Consistently throughout
D. An organization should be committed to addressing risk management proactively and consistently throughout the project.
A, B, and C are incorrect because risk needs to be identified early with mitigation strategies in place and then constantly monitored as the details of the project are progressively elaborated to ensure that new risks have not been introduced.
81. The project director advises you that a project should have a balance between risk taking and risk avoidance. This policy is implemented in a project using:
A. Risk responses
B. Risk analysis
C. Risk identification
D. Risk classification
A. A balance between risk taking and risk avoidance is the application of risk responses.
B, C, and D are incorrect because risk analysis, risk identification, and risk classification are parts of prior steps to the responses in the risk management process.
82. Who is responsible for identifying risks in a new project?
A. The project manager
B. The project sponsor
C. Any project personnel
D. The main stakeholders
C. Any project personnel can identify risks in a project.
A, B, and D are incorrect because the project manager manages the risk management process with input from the sponsor and main stakeholders.
83. The document that contains a list of identified risks and, against each a list of potential responses, the root cause of the risk, and the risk category is called the:
A. Risk management plan
B. Project issues log
C. Risk category checklist
D. Risk register
D. A list of identified risks, and against each a list of potential responses, the root cause of the risk, and the risk category, are the basic fields in a risk register.
A is incorrect because the risk management plan is the overall management document and processes definitions for managing risk in the project. B is incorrect because the project issues log contains the list of all issues, not solely risks. C is incorrect because the risk category checklist contains weighting information on probability and impact.
84. As part of your responsibility for managing risks in your project, you rate risks as low, medium, or high. What tool would you typically use to define these categories?
A. Probability impact matrix
B. Risk register updates
C. Assumption analysis
D. Checklist analysis
A. Rating risks into a low, medium, or high category is done and presented on a probability impact matrix.
B is incorrect because risk register updates are an output from the risk management process. C and D are incorrect because assumption analysis and checklist analysis are tools used for risk identification.
85. A new member of your project team suggests that you should quantify risks using the lowest, highest, and most likely costs of the WBS elements in the project plan. What is the name for the technique being suggested?
A. Three-point estimating
B. Probability impact analysis
C. Probability distributions
D. Sensitivity analysis
A. A technique that is often used for risk analysis that calculates or obtains information on the lowest, highest, and most likely costs of the WBS elements in the project plan is called three-point estimating.
B is incorrect because probability impact analysis is a ranking of risks. C is incorrect because probability distributions are the application of three-point estimates in differing ways. D is incorrect because sensitivity analysis is used to test the major project variables independently for risks.
86. The process of project planning that involves developing options, determining actions to enhance opportunities, and reducing threats to project objectives is called:
A. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis
B. Plan Risk Responses
C. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
D. Probability and Impact Matrix
B. Developing options, determining actions to enhance opportunities, and reducing threats to project objectives is known as Plan Risk Responses.
A and C are incorrect because Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis and Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis are prior steps in the risk management process. D is incorrect because the probability and impact matrix is a means of classifying the ranking of risks.
87. Your team is developing a part of the risk management plan. For some of the risks, the team decides that a response plan will be executed only when certain predefined conditions exist. What is the term given to this type of risk strategy?
A. Contingent
B. Sharing
C. Exploit
D. Enhance
A. For some of the risks in a project, particularly those that pose a threat as well as an opportunity, a response plan that will be executed only when certain predefined conditions exist is called a contingent response strategy.
B, C, and D are incorrect because sharing, exploiting, and enhancing are responses to opportunities related to risk events.
88. Information such as outcomes of risk reassessments, risk audits, and periodic risk reviews are examples from which of the following?
A. Risk management plan
B. Approved change requests
C. Project documents updates
D. Work performance information
C. Information such as outcomes of risk reassessments, risk audits, and periodic risk reviews are examples of project document updates from the Monitor Risk process.
A is incorrect because the risk management plan defines the process and resources involved in managing the risks. B and D are incorrect because approved change requests and work performance information do not match the question items.
89. During the Plan Procurement Management process for a project, you decide whether a product or service can be produced by the project team or instead should be purchased. This decision-making process is called:
A. Procurement management
B. Expert judgment
C. Risk management
D. Make-or-buy analysis
D. The process of deciding whether a particular product or service can be produced by the project team or instead should be purchased is known as make-or-buy analysis.
A is incorrect because procurement management is the process used to manage contracts. B is incorrect because expert judgment is a technique used in many decision-making processes. C is incorrect because risk management is a process related to risks in the project and does not document into the make-or-buy analysis.
90. The contract you are negotiating with a subcontractor involves a set price for a well-defined requirement and incentives for meeting selected objectives. This type of contract is:
A. Time and material
B. Cost-reimbursable
C. Fixed-price
D. Cost plus incentive
C. A contract that involves a fixed price for a well-defined requirement, possibly with incentives for meeting selected objectives, is a fixed-price contract.
A is incorrect because time and material contracts contain both cost-reimbursable and fixed-price arrangements. B is incorrect because a cost-reimbursable contract defines allowable costs plus profit. D is incorrect because a cost plus incentive contract contains fixed agreed-upon costs plus incentives based on performance.
91. The procurement and contracting process involves asking such questions as how well the seller meets the contract statement of work, whether the seller has the capacity to meet future requirements, and whether the seller can provide references from previous customers. What is the name given to this list and/or its use?
A. Contract management
B. Source selection criteria
C. Supplier risk analysis
D. Contract negotiation
B. How well the seller meets the contract statement of work, whether the seller has the capacity to meet future requirements, and whether the seller can provide references from previous customers are examples of contract source selection criteria.
A is incorrect because contract management is the overall process of managing contracts. C is incorrect because supplier risk analysis is part of risk management. D is incorrect because contract negotiation occurs after source selection criteria have been decided and analyzed.
92. Your contract and procurement consultant recommends that you establish source selection criteria for each of your sellers’ proposals. What part of the procurement process will this assist?
A. Bidder conference
B. Plan Procurement Management
C. Conduct Procurements
D. Buyer requests
B. Establishing source selection criteria for each of your sellers’ proposals helps to rate or score seller proposals. These source selection criteria are an output of the Plan Procurement Management.
A is incorrect because the bidder conference is an open meeting prior to the proposals being delivered. C is incorrect because the source selection criteria are used as an input in the Conduct Procurements process, but are created in the earlier process. D is incorrect because buyer requests refer to the customer’s needs.
93. Using the following part of a WBS, what do you know about Activity 3.1.1?
A. It is a control account.
B. It is used for cost reporting.
C. It is the work package.
D. It is the milestone above the work package.
C. The WBS entry 3.1.1 Interview Stakeholders is a work package and identifies activity tasks to be carried out to complete the project.
A, B, and D are incorrect because 3.1.1 is a work package, not a control account, and although each work package is part of a control account, which enables the project manager to compare work completed to earned value objectives, the work package itself is not a control account.
94. You and your team are estimating the duration of the coding/unit testing phase. Your optimistic estimate is 1,200 hours, your most likely estimate is 1,700 hours, and your pessimistic estimate is 2,000 hours. The resource rate is $150 per hour. What is your cost estimate of the coding/unit test phase using the PERT estimating technique?
A. $255,000
B. $250,050
C. $280,325
D. $270,175
B. PERT = (o + 4m + p) / 6 with o = 1200, m = 1700, and p = 2000. Substituting these numbers, PERT = (1200 + 4(1700) + 2000) / 6, or (1200 + 6800 + 2000) / 6 or 10,000 / 6, or 1,667 hours. Because the labor rate is $150/hour, 1667 × 150 = $250,050.
A, C, and D are incorrect because the answers do not come from using the PERT formula.
95. The business case stated a project cost of $2,500,000. You and your team just received the signed project charter and are ready to present a high-level estimate to the project management team. What is the acceptable accuracy range for this estimate?
A. $1,187,500 to $4,375,000
B. $1,200,000 to $3,300,000
C. $1,225,000 to $4,312,500
D. $1,237,500 to $3,275,000
A. $1,187,500 – $4,375,000 is the correct answer using an order of magnitude range of −25% to +75%. The math is $2,500,000 × −25% = $1,187,500 and $2,500,000 × 75% = $4,375,000. Order of magnitude (OOM) estimates are rough guesses made at the very beginning of the project. In the initiation stage of a project, not much is known about the project, and things change as planning progresses.
B, C, and D are incorrect because they did not use estimates at initiation that may have a range of −25 to +75%.
96. A project estimate generated during the initiation phase may have an accuracy of:
A. −25% to +75%
B. −10% to +25%
C. −5% to +10%
D. −50% to +150%
A. −25% to +75% are the percentages for a rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimate that is a rough guess made at the initiation stage of the project. At this time not much is known about the project, and things change as planning progresses.
B is incorrect because these percentages apply to a budgetary estimate. C is incorrect because these percentages apply to a definitive estimate. D is incorrect because it is a made-up percentage for estimating.