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Question 81
What is the primary purpose of a project management plan?
- To replace the project charter
- To describe how the project will be executed, monitored, and controlled
- To list only project risks
- To record employee salaries
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
The project management plan defines how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed. It integrates the various management plans and project baselines that guide the project team. Depending on the project, it may address scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholder engagement. The project charter authorizes the project at a high level, while the project management plan provides detailed guidance for managing the work. A well-developed plan establishes a common framework for project execution and performance monitoring.
Question 82
A team member identifies a new threat that could increase project costs. What should the project manager do?
- Document and analyze the risk
- Ignore it until it occurs
- Immediately cancel the project
- Transfer it without analysis
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
A newly identified threat should be documented and analyzed before an appropriate response is selected. The project manager should assess its probability, impact, timing, and potential consequences. The risk may then require a response such as avoidance, mitigation, transfer, acceptance, or escalation, depending on the circumstances. Ignoring the threat until it occurs removes the opportunity to prepare. Transferring a risk without understanding its nature may be ineffective or unnecessarily expensive. Proper risk analysis allows the project team to make informed decisions and reduce uncertainty.
Question 83
Which action best supports effective stakeholder engagement?
- Communicating only when problems occur
- Understanding stakeholder needs and expectations
- Avoiding difficult stakeholders
- Sending identical reports to everyone
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
Effective stakeholder engagement begins with understanding stakeholder needs, expectations, influence, concerns, and desired outcomes. The project manager can then tailor communication and engagement strategies accordingly. Stakeholders have different levels of interest and influence, so identical communication may not be appropriate for everyone. Avoiding difficult stakeholders can allow resistance to increase. Communicating only when problems occur creates a reactive relationship. Proactive engagement helps build trust, identify concerns early, and maintain stakeholder support throughout the project lifecycle.
Question 84
A project has an approved budget of $200,000. Actual costs are $120,000 and earned value is $100,000. What is the CPI?
- 0.83
- 1.20
- 0.50
- 2.00
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
The Cost Performance Index is calculated using CPI = EV / AC. In this case, earned value is $100,000 and actual cost is $120,000. Therefore, CPI = 100,000 / 120,000 = 0.83. A CPI below 1.0 indicates unfavorable cost performance because the project is earning less value than the amount being spent. A CPI above 1.0 would indicate favorable cost efficiency. The project manager should investigate the cause of the variance before deciding on corrective or preventive actions.
Question 85
A stakeholder asks the project team to add an unapproved feature. What should the team do?
- Implement it immediately
- Follow the agreed change process
- Hide the request
- Reject every future request
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
An unapproved feature should be evaluated through the project’s established change management process. The request may affect scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, and risks, so its impact should be understood before implementation. Implementing the feature immediately can create scope creep and undermine the approved project plan. Rejecting every request is also inappropriate because some changes may provide significant business value. A formal process allows authorized stakeholders to evaluate changes and make informed decisions while maintaining control over project baselines.
Question 86
Which approach is most appropriate when project requirements are highly uncertain?
- A rigid plan with no revisions
- An adaptive or iterative approach
- Avoiding stakeholder feedback
- Completing all documentation before learning
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
Adaptive and iterative approaches are useful when requirements or solutions are uncertain and likely to evolve. These approaches allow the team to deliver increments, obtain feedback, learn from results, and adjust future work. A rigid plan with no revisions can make it difficult to respond effectively to changing information. Avoiding stakeholder feedback removes an important source of learning. Although planning remains important, adaptive projects recognize that detailed information may become available progressively. Iterative delivery can reduce uncertainty and improve the likelihood of delivering valuable outcomes.
Question 87
A project manager notices that a team member is struggling with a new responsibility. What should the project manager consider first?
- Coaching or mentoring
- Immediate termination
- Public criticism
- Removing all responsibilities
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
Coaching or mentoring can help a team member develop the skills and confidence needed to perform a new responsibility. The project manager should first understand the specific difficulty and determine what support is appropriate. Training, mentoring, pairing with an experienced team member, or providing clearer guidance may be useful. Immediate termination or public criticism can damage morale and may not address the actual capability gap. Removing all responsibilities may also reduce development opportunities. Supporting team development contributes to stronger performance and greater project capability.
Question 88
What is a milestone?
- A significant point or event in a project
- A detailed daily task
- A project expense
- A team conflict
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
A milestone is a significant point or event in a project schedule. Milestones typically represent important achievements, approvals, decisions, major deliverables, or completion of significant phases. Unlike activities, milestones generally have no duration. They help stakeholders and project managers understand important progress points without requiring them to review every individual task. Milestones can also support communication and schedule monitoring. For example, approval of a major design or completion of a project phase may be represented as a milestone.
Question 89
A project manager finds that a previously identified risk has occurred. What should the manager do?
- Treat and manage it as an issue
- Delete all risk information
- Ignore it because it was expected
- Add it to the stakeholder register
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
When an identified risk occurs, it becomes an issue that requires active management. The project manager should update the appropriate project records, assess the impact, and implement the planned response or determine another appropriate action. The original risk information may still provide useful historical context, but the event now requires issue management. Ignoring the event because it was previously identified does not resolve its impact. Proper transition from risk to issue management helps the team maintain visibility and accountability.
Question 90
A team has completed an iteration and wants to discuss what went well and what should improve. Which event is most appropriate?
- Sprint review
- Retrospective
- Procurement audit
- Kickoff meeting
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
A retrospective provides the team with an opportunity to inspect its way of working and identify improvements for future iterations. The team can discuss what went well, what problems occurred, and which changes could improve collaboration, quality, or productivity. A sprint review focuses primarily on the product increment and stakeholder feedback. A procurement audit addresses procurement activities, while a kickoff meeting generally occurs near the beginning of a project or phase. Retrospectives support continuous improvement and help agile teams adapt their processes over time.
Question 91
A project manager wants to determine whether a stakeholder’s influence has changed. What should be done?
- Reassess the stakeholder
- Close the stakeholder register
- Ignore the change
- Remove the stakeholder
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
Stakeholder influence can change during a project because of organizational changes, shifting responsibilities, new requirements, or changes in project impact. The project manager should periodically reassess stakeholders and update relevant information. This allows engagement and communication strategies to remain appropriate. Closing the stakeholder register or ignoring changes can result in ineffective engagement. Removing a stakeholder simply because their influence changed may also be inappropriate. Continuous stakeholder assessment helps the project manager maintain productive relationships and identify changes that could affect project success.
Question 92
Which conflict resolution approach seeks a solution that satisfies the concerns of all parties?
- Avoidance
- Collaboration
- Withdrawal
- Competition
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
Collaboration focuses on understanding the concerns of all parties and developing a solution that addresses the underlying needs of those involved. It can be especially useful when the issue is important and maintaining a strong working relationship is necessary. Avoidance postpones or avoids the conflict, while competition focuses on one party winning. Withdrawal can remove a person from the immediate situation without necessarily resolving the underlying issue. Collaboration may require more time, but it can produce durable solutions and strengthen relationships within the project team.
Question 93
A project manager is developing a schedule and identifies that Activity B cannot begin until Activity A is completed. What type of relationship exists?
- Finish-to-start
- Start-to-start
- Finish-to-finish
- Start-to-finish
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
A finish-to-start relationship means that the successor activity cannot start until the predecessor activity has finished. In this example, Activity B depends on the completion of Activity A before it can begin. This is one of the most commonly used logical relationships in project scheduling. Start-to-start requires the successor to begin after the predecessor starts, while finish-to-finish links the completion of two activities. Start-to-finish is less commonly used and requires the predecessor to start before the successor can finish.
Question 94
A customer provides negative feedback about a delivered feature. What should the project manager do first?
- Defend the team
- Understand the feedback and assess the issue
- Ignore the customer
- Close the project
Correct Answer: 2
Explanation
The project manager should first understand the customer’s feedback and determine the underlying concern. The issue may involve requirements, usability, quality, expectations, or communication. Listening carefully and gathering facts allows the project team to determine whether corrective action is required. Defending the team immediately can prevent the project manager from understanding the actual problem. Ignoring the customer can damage the relationship, while closing the project does not address the concern. Customer feedback can also provide valuable information for improving the product and project outcomes.
Question 95
What is the purpose of a lessons learned repository?
- To store useful knowledge for future projects
- To track employee attendance
- To calculate project revenue
- To replace the risk register
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
A lessons learned repository stores knowledge gained from projects so that it can be used by future project teams. Lessons may include successful practices, mistakes, challenges, solutions, and recommendations. This organizational knowledge can improve planning, decision-making, risk management, quality, and project execution. It does not replace project-specific records such as the risk register or issue log. Capturing lessons throughout the project and during closure helps organizations avoid repeating mistakes and encourages continuous improvement across projects.
Question 96
A project sponsor asks for a status update. Which information should the project manager emphasize?
- Strategic progress, major risks, issues, and decisions
- Every minor task completed
- Personal opinions of team members
- Unrelated departmental activities
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
A sponsor generally needs concise information that supports governance and decision-making. The project manager should emphasize overall progress, major risks and issues, important decisions, significant changes, expected outcomes, and alignment with organizational objectives. Providing every minor task can overwhelm the sponsor and hide important information. Personal opinions and unrelated activities are also not appropriate unless they directly affect the project. Communication should be tailored to the stakeholder’s role and information needs so that the sponsor can provide timely guidance and support.
Question 97
A team is repeatedly missing sprint commitments. What should the team examine?
- Causes affecting capacity and planning
- Stakeholder birthdays
- Office furniture
- Marketing slogans
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
Repeatedly missing sprint commitments may indicate issues with capacity, estimation, work size, dependencies, interruptions, technical challenges, or prioritization. The team should inspect these factors and use its retrospective or other appropriate practices to identify the underlying causes. Increasing commitments without addressing the problem can make performance worse. The goal is not to assign blame but to improve predictability and delivery. Teams should use actual performance information and learning from previous iterations to make more realistic plans and continuously improve their way of working.
Question 98
A project manager discovers that a deliverable does not meet a documented requirement. What should happen?
- Determine corrective action
- Accept it automatically
- Remove the requirement
- Hide the defect
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
If a deliverable does not meet a documented requirement, the project team should determine the appropriate corrective action. The team may need to fix the defect, perform additional work, clarify an incorrect requirement, or follow another approved process depending on the circumstances. Automatically accepting a nonconforming deliverable can create customer dissatisfaction and quality problems. Removing or hiding the requirement does not resolve the underlying issue. Requirements provide the basis for evaluating deliverables, so deviations should be properly analyzed, documented, and addressed.
Question 99
A project manager is selecting a communication method for an urgent issue affecting several stakeholders. What should be considered first?
- Urgency and stakeholder needs
- The manager’s preferred method
- The cheapest communication method
- The least interactive method
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
Communication methods should be selected based on factors such as urgency, complexity, stakeholder needs, confidentiality, location, and the importance of immediate feedback. An urgent issue may require a method that enables rapid interaction and clarification rather than a communication channel that stakeholders may not see promptly. The project manager’s personal preference should not be the primary criterion. Cost can be considered, but it should not override the need for effective communication. Tailoring communication increases the likelihood that important information will be understood and acted upon appropriately.
Question 100
What should a project manager do when project assumptions become invalid?
- Review the impact and update the appropriate project information
- Ignore the assumption
- Continue using the original plan without review
- Close the project immediately
Correct Answer: 1
Explanation
Project assumptions are conditions considered to be true for planning purposes. When an assumption becomes invalid, the project manager should assess its impact on scope, schedule, cost, resources, risks, and other project elements. Relevant documentation and plans should be updated, and appropriate stakeholders should be informed. Continuing with an outdated assumption can cause inaccurate estimates and decisions. Closing the project is not automatically justified because the impact may be manageable through corrective action or approved changes. Regular assumption monitoring helps maintain realistic project plans.