PMI PMI Certification PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 1:

  Beth is the project manager of the KJH project. Sarah is Beth's administrative assistant and Ben is the project team leader. Beth's project has eight virtual teams throughout the world that will be working on the activities relevant to the deliverables in their locales. Thomas, the project sponsor, has told Beth that he is to be kept abreast of all communication between her project and the stakeholders. In this project, who is the lead person responsible for communication with all stakeholders?

  A. Thomas

  B. Sarah

  C. Each of the team leaders for the eight virtual teams

  D. Beth

  Correct Answer: D

  Beth, the project manager, is responsible for communication with all stakeholders. According to the PMBOK, the project manager occupies the center of the interactions between stakeholders and the project itself.

  Answer option B is incorrect. Sarah may help with the communications, but she is not responsible for the communications.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Thomas, the project sponsor, just needs to be kept abreast of the information.

  Answer option C is incorrect. The project team leaders for the virtual sites are not responsible for communicating with the project stakeholders.

• Question 2:

  You have been hired as a contract project manager for Tech Perfect Inc. The project has already been started. Sufficient details of the project have already been structured. You are working with your team for cost estimation of the project. Which of the following estimating techniques will you use for the highest degree of accuracy?

  A. Parametric modeling

  B. Analogous

  C. Top-down

  D. Bottom-up

  Correct Answer: D

  According to the question, you have to use the estimating technique that has a higher degree of accuracy. The most accurate estimating technique is bottom-up estimating. What is bottom-up estimating? Bottom- up is a cost estimating technique that involves estimating the cost of individual work packages or schedule activities with the lowest level of detail. The detailed cost is rolled up (or summarized) to higher levels for total project estimates. This summarized data is very useful for reporting and tracking purposes. Bottom-up estimating provides a higher degree of accuracy, provided the estimates at the work package level are accurate. Answer options C, A, and B are incorrect. Parametric modeling and analogous estimating techniques use top-down estimation model. These are less accurate than the bottom-up estimation. What is analogous estimating? Analogous is an estimating technique that uses the values of parameter, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration or measures of scale such as size, weight, and complexity from a previous, similar activity as the basis for estimation of the same parameter for a future activity. It is a top-down estimating technique and is a form of expert judgment. It provides a lower degree of accuracy than other estimating techniques. This technique is primarily used when there is a limited amount of detailed information about the project or program. What is parametric modeling? Parametric modeling is an estimating technique that uses parameters, or project characteristics, to forecast project costs. It involves a top-down approach and is similar but more accurate than analogous estimating. It uses historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration.

• Question 3:

  Which of the following provides a method to track project progress during project execution against what was planned?

  A. Team members profile

  B. Benefit-cost ratio

  C. Schedule baseline

  D. Detailed project budget

  Correct Answer: C

  A schedule baseline provides a method to track project progress during project execution against what was planned. What is schedule baseline? Schedule baseline is a project schedule used in measuring project progress. It helps provide a comparison with the actual progress of work against the schedule and to determine if performance to date is within acceptable parameters. Any change caused by change in scope of the project invalidates the original schedule and requires a new baseline schedule. Answer options D, A, and B are incorrect. A detailed project budget, team members profile, and benefit-cost ratio will not help you track project progress. What is BCR? A benefit-cost ratio (BCR) is an indicator, used in the formal discipline of cost-benefit analysis, that attempts to summarize the overall value for money of a project or proposal. A BCR is the ratio of the benefits of a project or proposal, expressed in monetary terms, relative to its costs, also expressed in monetary terms. All benefits and costs should be expressed in discounted present values. For e.g., a BCR of $3.8 indicates a payback of $3.8 for each dollar expended.

• Question 4:

  Mary is the project manager of the H1QZ Project. This project is a subproject of the HQZ Project and the project schedule is fixed and cannot vary. Stephen, a project team member, reports that he's having trouble completing his project assignment and will likely be at least two days late. Examine the figure given below:

  

  If Stephen's assignment is Activity B, what impact will his two days of lateness have on the project end date?

  A. The project will complete on time.

  B. The project will be late by one day.

  C. The project will be late by two days.

  D. The project will be early by two days.

  Correct Answer: B

• Question 5:

  You are the project manager for your organization. You are working with your project team to create the schedule baseline for your project. You will also be creating the schedule data for this project. The schedule data typically includes all of the following except for which one?

  A. Risk activities

  B. Schedule activities

  C. Activity attributes

  D. Schedule milestones

  Correct Answer: A

  Risk activities are not part of the schedule data. Risk is documented in the risk register, and monitored and controlled throughout the project. In some instances, risk may be part of the activity attributes. The schedule data includes the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and the assumptions and constraints. The schedule data includes the schedule activities, schedule milestones, activity attributes, and documentation of all known assumptions and constraints. The sum of additional data varies by application area. The schedule data commonly supplied as supporting details includes: Resource requirement by time period, frequently in the category of histogram Alternative schedules, such as best case or worst case, or resource leveled, with or without imposed dates Scheduling of contingency reserves Answer option D is incorrect. Schedule milestones are part of the schedule data. a Answer option B is incorrect. Schedule activities are part of the schedule data. Answer option C is incorrect. Activity attributes are part of the schedule data.

• Question 6:

  Tom is the project manager of the GHQ Project for his organization and he is working on recovering the project schedule. As Tom examines his schedule, he is especially aware of project activities with hard logic. What is hard logic?

  A. Hard logic describes activities that can be completed in any order but are positioned with finish-to- start relationships.

  B. Hard logic describes activities that have external constraints, such as a vendor.

  C. Hard logic describes activities that must be completed in a particular order unless additional resources with comparable skill sets can be added to the project.

  D. Hard logic describes activities that must be completed in a particular order.

  Correct Answer: D

  Hard logic, also known as mandatory dependencies, describes activities that must be completed in a particular order. Hard logic is a binding connection between activities. It is also known as mandatory dependency or hard dependency. Hard logic requires activities to take place in a specific order according to the nature of work. It is a well-built connection where an activity cannot start until and unless a previous one is completed. There are also substantial hard logic connections where soft logic does not usually apply. Several activities rely on hard logic for the successful completion of the project. Answer options B, A, and C are incorrect. These are not a valid description of hard logic.

• Question 7:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. You are creating the activity list for the project. The activity list is based on the work packages defined in the project's WBS. Activities provide a basis for all of the following information except for which one?

  A. Scope baseline

  B. Executing

  C. Scheduling

  D. Estimates

  Correct Answer: A

  The project's scope baseline is not derived or provided by the project's activity list. The scope baseline is made of the project's WBS, WBS Dictionary, and the Project Scope Statement. The activity list provides for estimating, scheduling,

  executing, and monitoring and controlling the project work. The scope baseline is an element of the project management plan. The contents of the scope baseline include the following:

  Project scope statement: It includes the product scope description and the project deliverables, and defines the product user acceptance criteria. WBS: It defines each deliverable and the decomposition of the deliverables into work packages.

  WBS dictionary: It contains the detailed description of work and technical documentation for each WBS element. Answer option D is incorrect. Estimates do provide a basis for creating time and cost estimates. Answer option B is incorrect.

  Activities are executed in the project. Answer option C is incorrect. Activities are scheduled as part of project planning.

• Question 8:

  Jenny is the project manager for her organization. Her project is not doing well on project schedule performance, and management wants her to predict how the project schedule and cost will end. Management has asked Jenny to report and forecast her project's performance based on the Judgmental methods. Which of the following judgmental methods will Jenny use to accomplish the task? Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

  A. Forecast by analogy

  B. Technology forecasting

  C. Autoregressive moving average

  D. Scenario building

  Correct Answer: ABD

  The judgmental forecasting method incorporates intuitive judgments, opinions and subjective probability estimates. Some examples of judgmental forecasting are as follows:

  Composite forecasts

  Surveys

  Delphi method

  Scenario building

  Technology forecasting

  Forecast by analogy

  Answer option C is incorrect. Autoregressive moving average is an example of the causal/econometric method.

• Question 9:

  Steve is the project manager for the POK Project. He is working with the project customers to determine how frequently they'd like to receive the project information. The customers would like weekly status reports on how the project is performing. Where should Steve document this information?

  A. Communications management plan

  B. Issues log

  C. Project schedule

  D. Schedule management plan

  Correct Answer: A

  The communications management plan defines who needs what information, when the information is needed, and the modality the information is expected in. Answer option C is incorrect. The project schedule could include project

  management activities such as schedule communication, but the communications management plan is the best answer as this information is absolutely documented in this plan.

  Answer option D is incorrect. The schedule management is not the best location for this information. Answer option B is incorrect. The request for customer communication is not an issue, so this choice is not the most appropriate.

• Question 10:

  You are the project manager for your organization. You want to record some details about the work that the project team has to complete. You want to document the level of effort, where the work is to be performed, and the person who will be responsible for completing the work. Which of the following is the best place to document this information?

  A. Activity attributes

  B. Project management plan

  C. Schedule Management Plan

  D. Roles and Responsibilities Matrix

  Correct Answer: A

  The activity attributes initially include the Activity ID, WBS ID, and the Activity Name, but it can evolve over time to include other components about the work. Activity attributes are an output of the Define Activity process. These attributes refer to the multiple components that frame up an activity. The components for each activity during the early stages of the project are the Activity ID, WBS ID, and Activity name. At the later stages, the activity attributes include Activity codes, Predecessor activity, activity description, logical relationship, successor activity, leads and lags, imposed dates, and constraints and assumptions. Activity attributes are used for schedule development and for ordering, selecting, and sorting the planned schedule activities in a number of ways within reports. Answer option B is incorrect. A project management plan is a formal document that defines how the project is being monitored, controlled, and executed. It is not the best answer. Answer option D is incorrect. The roles and responsibilities matrix records the work and the person to record the work, but does not offer additional information such as locale for the work, level of effort, and other information. Answer option C is incorrect. The Schedule Management Plan defines how the schedule will be created, executed, and controlled.