20 Sample PMP® Questions and Answers

The PMP®, or Project Management Professional, is an exam conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®, is a globally recognized certification. The exam consists of 200 multiple choice questions that outline the five process groups (Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing) and nine knowledge areas (Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resource, Communication, Risk, and Procurement).

Of the 200 questions, 25 of them are pretest questions. Pretest questions appear randomly during the exam, do not affect the candidate’s score, and are used in examinations as an effective way to increase the number of examination questions that can be used in future PMP exams. The passing score for the exam is almost 61% (106 questions correct out of 175 scored questions).

Here's a video on PMP Certification Training.

Related read: Project Management Professional Exam Tips and Tricks

Below are 20 examples of PMP questions and answers.

1. Question:

A project has a 60% chance of a $100,000 profit and a 40 percent of a US $100,000 loss. The Expected Monetary Value for the project is:

1. $100,000 profit
2. $60,000 loss
3. $ 20,000 profit
4. $40,000 loss

Answer:
Expected Monitory Value (EMV) is computed by EMV = Probability × Impact.

Compute both positive and negative values and then add them:

0.6 × $100,000 = $60,000 0.4 × $100,000 = $40,000 EMV = $60,000 - $40,000 = $20,000 profit

2. Question:

Assuming that the ends of a range of estimates are +/- 3 sigma from the mean, which of the following range estimates involves the LEAST risk?

Answer:

1. 30 days, plus or minus 5 days
2. 22 – 30 days
3. Optimistic = 26 days, most likely = 30 days, pessimistic = 33 days
4. Mean of 28 days

The estimate with the smallest range is less risky.

3. Question:

If a risk has a 20 percent chance of happening in a given month, and the project is expected to last five months, what is the probability that the risk event will occur during the fourth month of the project?

Answer:

1. Less than 1 percent
2. 20 percent
3. 60 percent
4. 80 percent

4. Question:

An accepted deadline for a project approaches. However, the project manager realizes only 75% percent of the work has been completed. The project manager then issues a change request. What should the change request authorize? 

Answer:

1. Additional resources using the contingency fund
2. Escalation approval to use contingency funding
3. Team overtime to meet schedule
4. Corrective action based on causes

5. Question:

Risk will be identified during which risk management process(es)?

Answer:

1. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis and Identify Risks
2. Identify Risks and Monitor and Control Risks
3. Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis and Monitor and Control Risks
4. Identify Risks

Reference: The PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition, Page 312, Figure 11.1

6. Question:

What is meant by RACI?

Answer:

1. Responsible, Accountable, Confirm, Inform
2. Recommended, Accountable, Consulted, Inform
3. Responsible, Accountant, Consulted, Inform
4. Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Inform

The RACI chart is an example of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM), which shows the relationship between activities and the team members.
 

7. Question:

Which of the following statement is true about a Program?

Answer:

1. A Program is a group of related projects
2. A Program is group of unrelated projects
3. A Program is a part of a big project
4. None of above

Reference: The PMBOK® Guide, 5th Edition, Page 9

8. Question:

The project manager meets with the project team to review lessons learned from previous projects. In what activity is the team involved?

Answer:

1. Performance management
2. Scope identification
3. Risk identification
4. Project team status meeting

9. Question:

During a bidder conference, you see that one bidder is your close friend. What should your next step be?

Answer:

1. You will pass some confidential info to him
2. You will disclose this relationship to your management
3. You will resign immediately from the bidding process
4. You will try not to give the contract to him to prove your integrity

There is a conflict of interest in this situation. You must inform your bosses about this relationship.

10. Question:

If a risk event has a 90 percent chance of occurring, and the consequences will be US $ 10,000, what does US $9,000 represent?

Answer:

1. Risk value
2. Present value
3. Expected monetary value
4. Contingency budget

EMV = .9 X $ 10,000 = $ 9, 000

11. Question:

Your construction project was damaged by an earthquake. Your contractor says that he cannot fulfill the terms of the contract due to a specific clause you both had signed the contract. He is referring to the:

Answer:

1. Force majeure clause
2. Fixed price clause
3. Contract obligation terms
4. None of the above

12. Question:

All of the following are ALWAYS inputs to the risk management process EXCEPT:

Answer:

1. Historical information
2. Lessons learned
3. Work breakdown structure
4. Project status reports

Project Status report can be an input to risk management. However, when completing risk management for the first time, you wouldn’t have the project status report yet. Therefore, the project status report is not always an input to risk management.

13. Question:

When estimating time for activities, a Project Manager should:

Answer:

1. Use the best guess and estimate all activities since there will be changes as the project progresses and more information becomes available
2. Involve people who will be doing the work to get estimates
3. Estimate for what the cost will allow and include buffers
4. None of the above

14. Question:

Risk tolerance is determined in order to help:

Answer:

1. The team ranks the project risks.
2. The project manager estimates the project.
3. The team schedules the project.
4. Management knows how other managers will act on the project.

If you know the tolerance of the stakeholders, you can predict how they might react to different situations and risk events. This information can help assign levels of risk on each work package activity.

15. Question:

You are running a project to engineer and implement a set of business processes and a software solution for customer relationship management. The project involves a large number of organizations―a major corporation and many suppliers of different sizes. During the project, you observe effects of the differences between the companies’ corporate cultures. This leads to different expectations on how the project should be handled—as well as to frequent misunderstandings between stakeholders. Another effect is a growing degree of distrust and skepticism. What should you try first to integrate the diverse stakeholder groups?

Answer:

1. Focus on project work. As a project manager, you should not get distracted by big egos.
2. Let the problems grow further until they are obvious for all. Then escalate them.
3. Develop a joint quality policy for the project and seek a commitment by all organizations.
4. Analyze probability and impact of the risks linked with the situation and plan how to respond to them. 

​​​​​PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, page 194 (last paragraph).

16. Question:

You are finding it difficult to evaluate the exact cost impact of risk. You should evaluate on a(n) :

Answer:

1. Quantitative basis
2. Numerical basis
3. Qualitative basis
4. Economic basis

If you cannot determine an exact cost impact to the event, use qualitative estimates such as Low, Medium, and High.

17. Question:

A project manager is quantifying risk for her project. Several of her experts are offsite, but wish to be included. How can this be done?

Answer:

1. Do a Monte Carlo analysis using the Internet as a tool
2. Apply the critical path method
3. Determine options for recommended corrective action
4. Apply the Delphi Technique

The Delphi technique is commonly used to obtain expert opinions on technical issues, the necessary project, or product scope.

18. Question:

Being assigned as a project manager, you noticed during project execution that conflicts arise in the team on both technical and interpersonal levels. What is an appropriate way of handling conflicts?

Answer:

1. Conflicts distract the team and disrupt the work rhythm. You should always smooth them when they surface.
2. A conflict should be handled in a meeting so that the entire team can participate in finding a solution.
3. Conflicts should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach.
4. You should use your coercive power to quickly resolve conflicts and then focus on goal achievement.

19. Question:

During which risk management process is a determination to transfer a risk made?

Answer:

1. Identify Risks
2. Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis
3. Plan Risk Response
4. Monitor and Control Risks

Transference is a Risk Response Strategy.

20. Question:

When control charts are used, outliers are…

Answer:

1. singular measurements outside the bandwidth between an upper and lower control limit.
2. a typical result of a rare random cause which is difficult to replicate and to verify.
3. insignificant results, often measurement errors, the causes of which should not be further investigated.
4. measurements inconsistent with a run of 7 results over or under a mean value.
    

Reference: Managing Project Quality by Timothy J. Kloppenborg and Joseph A. Petrick

Conclusion

If you are considering working toward your PMP exam, Simplilearn offers a variety of project management courses that will help you pass, including the PMP Certification Training Course. Our PMP training courses are conducted by certified, highly experienced professionals with at least 10 years of experience.

Interested in learning more? View our video “Introduction to PMP Certification Training” below.

PMI, PMP, and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.