A lot of preparation is required to take up the project management professional certification exam. If you are amongst the candidates who wish to become a Project Management professional, a few sample PMP® exam questions are available on this page. This will help you to evaluate your readiness.

The questions provided in the page are the best PMP® exam questions:

Question 1:
Your team is in the performing stage of team development. The following exchange took place at your last team meeting: “I’m glad you’re all having fun, but it’s time to get down to business,” you say. “I’d like to introduce Hansika Shaaron. She’ll be taking over for Jenny, who you all know is out on maternity leave.” Which of the following statements is true?

1. A new team member has been introduced, which means the team development stages will start all over the forming stage.
2. A new team member has been introduced, which means the team development stages start over with the conforming stage.
3. A new team member has been introduced, which means the team development stages start over with compromise stage.
4. The team was in the performing stage and will stay in this stage, even though a new team member has been introduced.

Answer :
A - Whenever a new team member is introduced, the team development stages start over with the forming stage

Question 2:
You work for a nonprofit organization and are currently heading up a project to bring clean drinking water to several villages on a remote place in Tamil Nadu, India. Your stakeholders have changed the scope of this project three times already, and the steering committee has reprioritized this project twice during the last six months. Which of the following risk categories does this represent?

1. Quality risk
2. Organizational risk
3. Project management risk
4. External risk

Answer :
B - Organizational risks typically include time, cost, scope objectives that are inconsistent, a lack of funding, a lack of prioritization or changing priorities, and resource conflicts with other projects the organization has undertaken

Question 3:
Your project sponsor has requested a cost estimate for the project you’re working on. This project is similar in scope to a project you worked on last year. She would like to get the cost estimates as soon as possible. Accuracy is not her primary concern right now. She needs a ballpark figure by tomorrow. You decide to use

1. Analogous estimating techniques
2. Bottom-up estimating techniques
3. Parametric modeling techniques
4. Computerized modeling techniques

Question 4:
You are a project manager for a new Information Technology project. Your organization requires you to organize the project according to project phases common to programming projects (initiation, requirements gathering, design, code, test, and implement). Once requirements are gathered, the major deliverables of the project will be finalized. You’re in the Scope Definition process, and you know that which of the following statements is true?

1. The project itself is always the first level of decomposition, followed by the major deliverables and the constituent components.
2. The project phases should be the first level of decomposition, and the major deliverables should be the second level of decomposition.
3. The major deliverables should be the first level of decomposition, followed by the constituent components of the deliverables.
4. The project phases are not part of the decomposition process but rather an organization method for the work of the project.

Question 5:
Your co-worker, Joseline, is a project manager who has come by this title through experience. He hasn’t had any formal training in project management and isn’t familiar with PMI® techniques. You discover after talking with him that he’s afraid to approach a team member with a corrective action, because Joseline doesn’t understand general accounting principles. The team member needs to take this action soon, but Joseline is reluctant to discuss it with them for fear of appearing unintelligent in front of this team member and others. You know all of the following statements are true except which one? Choose the least correct answer.

1. This demonstrates a lack of general management skills on Joseline’s part.
2. This demonstrates a lack of leadership skills on Joseline’s part.
3. This demonstrates a lack of communication skills on Joseline’s part.
4. This demonstrates a lack of product skills and knowledge on Joseline’s part.

Answer :
D - There isn’t enough information in the question to determine if there is a lack of product knowledge on Joseline’s part. Product knowledge pertains to the product of the project, and this question addresses a corrective action needed regarding an accounting issue, which is a general management skill.

Question 6:
Your manager storms into your office demanding to know what paragraph three of the recent status report means, even though she clearly knows what it means by the tone in her voice. She wants you to know that, after all, she is the Director of Marketing and has the authority to “do what it takes” to keep you in line. She doesn’t appreciate your mention of the items in paragraph three and tells you if you do it again, she’ll take further action to make sure you’re demoted. Which theory does your manager practice? Choose the best answer.

1. Achievement Theory
2. Expectancy Theory
3. Contingency Theory
4. Theory X

Answer :
D - The best answer to this question is D. Theory X managers believe people are motivated only by punishment, money, or position. This manager has made a point of telling you about her position and threatened you with punishment if you don’t shape up.

Question 7:
You are a project manager in Information Technology. Your project involves writing a new software program for the sales team of your company. Your company has strict policies regarding hardware. The project team requested new hardware for this project that was outside the stated policy. The request was denied. As a result, your new program must be compatible on the hardware specified in the policy. This is an example of which of the following?

1. Risk
2. Constraint
3. Deliverable
4. Assumption

Answer :
B - This is a constraint, because the actions of the project team are restricted due to the hardware policy

Question 8:
You’ve taken over a project that’s currently in trouble. You’ve held a meeting with the key stakeholders to demonstrate the new product prototype. They came prepared with the product requirements and upon inspection inform you that this prototype is not what the customer specified. Your boss instructs you to get the prototype corrected and make it match the requirements the customer specified before holding a demo with the customer. She also warns you to take a look at the work of the project. She’s concerned that things aren’t happening as planned and that the last project manager was not paying close enough attention to the project plan. Corrections might be needed. What knowledge area does this describe?

1. Project Time Management
2. Project Scope Management
3. Project Integration Management
4. Project Risk Management

Answer :
B - Project Scope Management is concerned with product scope and project scope. Product scope is concerned with the characteristics of the product or service of the project and is measured against the project requirements. Project scope is concerned with the work of the project and is measured against the project plan.

Question 9:
You are a project manager for an advertising firm. Your project is well underway, and the project plan is being executed. Your customer has requested some changes to the project. These changes will require changes to the project plan, and maybe even changes to the work that’s already occurred. This is a highly interactive knowledge area, so you’re not surprised that you’ll have to repeat the processes. What knowledge area does this question describe?

1. Project Scope Management
2. Project Time Management
3. Project Integration Management
4. Project Communications Management

Question 10:
You are very interested in becoming a project manager. You have mentored with other experienced project managers in your organization to learn more about how to be an effective project manager. You’ve been told your organizational skills and communication skills are excellent. However, you need some additional training in accounting and budgeting skills, as you are weak in these general management areas. The mentor who was honest enough to tell you this explained it which of the following ways?

1. You will not be able to sit for the PMP® exam unless get formal training in the general management areas.
2. General management skills are very likely to affect project outcomes. If you lack any of these skills, it could affect your project and your career adversely, so you should get some training in these areas.
3. The Cost Budgeting and Cost Control processes are under the Planning Processes group, and you will not be able to pass the questions on the PMP® exam that pertain to these processes if you don’t get some training.
4. General management skills are important to your project outcomes, and Cost Budgeting and Cost Control are two of the most important processes within the Executing phase of a project, so you should get some training in these areas.

Answer :
B - General management skills are very likely to affect project outcomes. Cost Budgeting is part of the Planning process group, and Cost Control is part of the Controlling process group. PMI® requires either a degree or a certain number of years of experience in project management to sit for the exam, along with other requirements.

Question 11:
You’ve applied for and accepted a new position advertised as a project manager. Things unfortunately don’t go well from that point on. Within two weeks of starting the job, Sumit , who is one of your project team members, enters a dispute with you over the work you’ve assigned him. You haven’t been able to successfully resolve the dispute with Sumit, and you are determined to get to the bottom of things quickly. You call a meeting with Sumit’s manager, who is your peer. She subsequently informs you that everything Sumit has told you about his availability and task assignments are true. Together, you and Sumit’s manager work out a reasonable solution to the problem. What type of organization does this describe?

1. Weak matrix
2. Strong matrix
3. Functional
4. Balanced matrix

Question 12:
International factors to be considered by the project team generally include all of the following EXCEPT:

1. Time-zone differences.
2. National and regional holidays.
3. Travel requirements for face-to-face meetings.
4. Project reporting formats.

Answer :
D - Some team members may need to be familiar with applicable international, national, regional, and local laws and customs, as well as the political climate that could affect the project. Other international factors to consider are time-zone differences, national and regional holidays, travel requirements for face-to-face meetings, and the logistics of teleconferencing.

Question 13:
Your organization is experiencing a shakeup at the top levels of management. Your project team has expressed concerns that their project may be cancelled because of the changes going on at the top. Sure enough, your project team was correct in their suspicions. You’ve received notice that the project is canceled. Your vendor only has one remaining deliverable for the project scheduled for completion next month. You notify the vendor in writing that the project has been canceled, but you understand there is one more deliverable they need to complete in order to close out the contract. You also notify them that the Phase II portion of the project has been canceled, so current contract negotiations for that portion of the project will end immediately. All of the following processes should be performed given the circumstances in this question except:

1. Lessons Learned
2. Administrative Closure
3. Scope Verification
4. Contract Closeout

Answer :
A - Lessons learned is not a process—it’s an output of several processes

Question 14:
You are the manager of a research group that is developing a new chemical material. You hire a person from a competing company who has a great deal of expertise in this area. The person contributes greatly to the progress of your project. During conversations with the person you determine that many of this person's ideas were developed by the competing company. What do you do?

1. Tell the person that he or she should not mention that the ideas came from another company.
2. Sign a nondisclosure agreement with this person before he or she leaves your company.
3. Accept the new ideas.
4. Investigate the employee for security reasons.

Answer :
C - Unless the employee has signed a nondisclosure agreement with his or her previous company, there is no obligation for him or her not to share knowledge that was gained while working for the competitor.

Question 15:
At the request of the project team for a large project, the company's purchasing department advertises that they intend to let a contract for construction work associated with the project. This is called:

1. Procurement planning.
2. Solicitation.
3. Advertising.
4. The procurement process.

Answer :
B - In the procurement process, the solicitation process is the process whereby potential vendors are notified of an impending contract procurement.

Question 16:
A contractor is working on a fixed price contract that calls for a single, lump sum payment upon satisfactory completion of the contract. About halfway through the contract, the contractor's project manager informs the contract administrator that financial problems are making it difficult for the contractor to pay employees and subcontractors. The contractor asks for a partial payment for work accomplished. Which of the following actions by the buyer is most likely to cause problems for the project?

1. Starting to make partial payments to the contractor
2. Making no payments to the contractor
3. Paying for work accomplished to date
4. Negotiating a change to the contract

Answer :
D - Although it is not to the letter of the contract, the buyer is going to have much more trouble if the seller cannot make the payroll and cannot complete the contract because their employees will not work without pay. The best thing would be to change the contract in some way that is mutually beneficial.

Question 17:
A project manager uses the breakeven point to justify his project. He presents this as a justification for buying a new machine. What risk does the project manager run by using this technique to justify buying a new machine for his company?

1. Breakeven point will favor buying a cheap, low-quality machine.
2. Breakeven point will favor buying a machine that is too expensive for the work required.
3. The company may not have the funds to buy the machine in spite of the justification.
4. The machine may not be available because the justification method takes a long time to calculate.

Answer :
A - The breakeven-point justification technique predicts a point in time where the benefits offset the costs involved. It is a simple justification technique that takes into consideration a lot of assumptions. Since it predicts the point in time where the benefits exceed the cost, given the choice of an expensive and a cheap machine, the cheap machine will usually have high short term benefits, and the expensive machine will have higher long-term benefits.

Question 18:
A project manager is in need of a solution to a problem. He decides that the best thing will be to arrange a meeting to solve the problem rather than solve the problem himself or by having one of the project team members solve it individually. Generally, this will result in:

1. The group taking more time than one individual.
2. The solution to the problem being less accurate.
3. The group taking less time than an individual.
4. It depends on the specific problem.

Answer :
A - Groups of people will generally take longer to solve a problem, but the quality of the solution will be superior to the individual solutions that are reached.

1. A decision cannot be made based on this information alone, because the payback periods are the same.
2. Alternative A, because its payback period is shorter than Alternative B’s payback period.
3. Alternative B, because its payback period is shorter than Alternative A’s payback period.
4. A decision cannot be made, because there is not enough information in the question to determine the best alternative.

Answer :
A - The payback period for both of these alternatives is the same, so you cannot choose between them based on this information alone. The payback period for Alternative B is calculated as follows: Year 1 inflows = $36,000, Year 2 inflows = $36,000, for a total of $72,000 in 24 months. The first quarter of the next year inflows = $4,000, bringing the total to the initial investment of $76,000. The payback period is 27 months.

Question 20:
You are a project manager working for a television film production company. Your organization practices phase sequencing and requires reviews and approvals of each phase before the next phase can begin. What is this process called?

1. Stage gate
2. Phase review
3. Gate review
4. Phase point

Answer :
A - Remember that all questions on the exam will refer to specific terminology used in A Guide to the PMBOK®. While answer B or C may seem correct, and in fact, might be the terms your organization uses, A Guide to the PMBOK® calls this process phase exits, stage gates, or kill points.

Question 21:
You have just taken over the project management duties for a large, complex project from a project manager who is retiring. The first thing you do is review the project charter, then the scope statement, followed by the work breakdown structure (WBS). The work package level of the WBS appears to be deliverables. You need to understand what the work at this level entails for each work package and which department or vendor has been assigned to each work package. Which of the following places will you look to determine this information?

1. The procurement management plan
2. The scope statement
3. The WBS dictionary
4. The project charter

Answer :
C - The WBS dictionary contains information such as the schedule dates, staff assignments, and cost budgets.

Question 22:
You are a project manager for Basement Refinishers, Inc. You’ve taken on a new project that requires demolition of the existing basement walls, wiring, and plumbing before new construction can start. The new design plan is completed, and the homeowners have signed off. The demolition activity is an example of which of the following?

1. Hard logic
2. Preferential logic
3. Soft logic
4. Manual logic

Question 23:
You are a project manager for Shaaron Project Management Consulting Private Limited, You are working late into the evening with the project team to finish a deliverable and meet the scheduled completion date. The team closes in on completion when an error is discovered. Fixing the error will actually cause a change in scope. You know that scope changes require approval of the CCB, but if you don’t give the team the go-ahead to fix this error, this deliverable will be late. Which of the following actions do you take? Choose the best answer.

1. All scope changes require approval of the CCB. You inform your team to stop working until you can get the CCB to approve or deny the change.
2. The change control system gives you the authority to approve emergency changes. Since this is an emergency and your authority to approve the decision is documented, you decide to tell the team to fix the error.
3. The change control system documents the procedures for approving change requests. Since there are no procedures documented in your change control system for emergencies, you inform the team to stop working until you can get the CCB to approve or deny the change.
4. The change control system documents the procedures for approving change requests. There are no procedures documented in your change control system for emergencies. But you know that time is the primary constraint for this project, so you decide to approve the change yourself and tell the team to fix the error. You will inform the CCB at the next meeting of the change.

Answer :
B - A proper change control system documents the procedures a project manager can use to approve changes in an emergency. Answer B states that this procedure is documented, so you have the authority to approve the change.

Question 24:
You are a project manager for Shaaron Project Management Consulting Private Limited, provides Music On Demand Internet Services, and you’re in the Risk Monitoring and Control process. Your project, when completed, will provide a way for any Internet user to purchase music on demand from the recording company you work for. Your testers are testing the download process now but discover that the name of the song and other textual information does not download properly. What is this an example of?

1. Technical performance measurement
2. Workaround
3. Periodic project risk reviews
4. Corrective action

Answer :
A - Technical performance measurements compares the technical accomplishments of project milestones completed during the Executing processes to the technical milestones defined in the project Planning process.

Question 25:
Aniksha Shaaron is  a project manager for Shaaron Project Management Consulting Private Limited .22 people are expected at her next stakeholder status meeting. Which of the following statements are true?

1. There are 242 lines of communication.
2. The number of attendees falls within the reasonable range for effective decision making.
3. There are 231 lines of communication.
4. There are too few people to make effective decisions

Question 26:
You are a project manager for a company. You have two projects on your desk, and can only choose one. The cost of choosing one over the other is called:

1. Opportunity cost
2. Direct cost
3. Fixed cost
4. Benefit cost ratio

Answer :
A - Opportunity Cost