PMI PMI Certifications PMI-SP Questions & Answers

• Question 301:

  You are the project manager of the HQQ Project. Your project is running late by ten percent of where you should be at this time. Management is concerned. Considering that the project has a BAC of $567,899, you are thirty percent complete, and you have spent $179,450. What is this project's to- complete performance index based on the current BAC?

  A. 1.02

  B. 0.010

  C. 0.75

  D. 0.95

  Correct Answer: A

  This project is not performing well on schedule, but moderately well on costs. The project's TCPI based on the current BAC is 1.02. To-complete Performance Index (TCPI) is the measured projection of the anticipated performance required to

  achieve either the BAC or the EAC. TCPI indicates the future required cost efficiency needed to achieve a target EAC (Estimate At Complete).Once approved, the EAC supersedes the BAC as the cost performance goal. Any significant

  difference between TCPI and the CPI needed to meet the EAC should be accounted for by management in their forecast of the final cost. The formula for TCPI is as follows:

  TCPI = {(BAC-EV)/(BAC-AC)}

  Answer option D is incorrect. 0.95 is the project's TCPI value based on the estimate at completion. Answer option C is incorrect. 0.75 is the project's schedule performance index. Answer option B is incorrect. 0.010 is not a valid calculation.

• Question 302:

  You work as a project manager for BlueWell Inc. Management has asked you not to communicate performance unless the CPI is less than 0.96 or the SPI dips below 0.98. What type of report would you create for management, if these instances develop in your project?

  A. Cost variance report

  B. Exceptions report

  C. Performance management report

  D. Schedule variance report

  Correct Answer: B

  The best answer is simply an exception report. An exception report refers and documents the major mistakes, mishaps, and goofs. In other words, it itemizes the important and critically significant piece of documentation that is vital to the

  proper and effective functioning of a project. It does not document what has gone right, but rather documents what has gone wrong. Answer option C is incorrect. A performance management report is not a valid project management report.

  Answer option A is incorrect. The question is asked about cost and schedule so this answer would not be appropriate for both the cost and the schedule.

  Answer option D is incorrect. The question is asked about cost and schedule so this answer would not be appropriate for both the cost and the schedule.

• Question 303:

  Sam is the project manager of the NQQ project. He and the project team have completed the stakeholder identification process for his project. What is the main output of the identify stakeholders process?

  A. Communications management plan

  B. Stakeholder register

  C. Requirements

  D. Stakeholder management strategy

  Correct Answer: B

  According to the PMBOK, the main output of the identify stakeholders process is the stakeholder register. The stakeholder register is a project management document that contains a list of the stakeholders associated with the project. It

  assesses how they are involved in the project and identifies what role they play in the organization. The information in this document can be very perceptive and is meant for limited exchange only. It also contains relevant information about

  the stakeholders, such as their requirements, expectations, and influence on the project. Answer option A is incorrect. The communications management plan is an output of communications planning.

  Answer option D is incorrect. The stakeholder management strategy is an output of stakeholder identification, but it is not the main output.

  Answer option C is incorrect. Requirements are not an output of the stakeholder identification process.

• Question 304:

  You are the project manager of the BHG Project. You are creating a network diagram as shown in the figure: Mary, a project team member, reports that an identified risk is likely to happen in the project that will affect the completion date of Activity D . She reports that the risk event will likely cause the duration of the activity to increase by six days. If this happens what is the earliest the project can complete?

  

  A. 32 days

  B. 29 days

  C. 27 days

  D. 26 days

  Correct Answer: D

  If Activity D increases by six days, the duration of the project will not change. There is 11 days of float available for Activity D so it may delay by six days without affecting the project end date. What is float? Float or total float (TF) is the total

  amount of time that a schedule activity may be delayed from its early start date without delaying the project finish date, or violating a schedule constraint. It is calculated by using the critical path method technique and determining the

  difference between the early finish dates and late finish dates.

  Answer options A, B, and C are incorrect. These are not valid answers for the question.

• Question 305:

  Mark is the project manager of the GHQ Project. He is happily reporting that his project has a schedule performance index of 2.12. Management, however, does not think this is good news. What is the most likely reason why management does not like an SPI of 2.12?

  A. It is not good news because a larger number means the schedule duration estimates were likely to be wrong to begin with.

  B. They likely do not understand the SPI formula.

  C. It is not good news, as the number should be closer to 100 than 0.

  D. It is good news, but Mark may have large cost variances to achieve this value.

  Correct Answer: A

  Cost and schedule performance indexes should be as close to 1 as possible. A larger value, such as 2.12, means that the schedule duration estimates were likely bloated or incorrect to begin with. Answer option B is incorrect. This is not the best choice for this question. Answer option C is incorrect. The number should not be close to 100; it should be close to 1. Answer option D is incorrect. While Mark may have crashed the schedule and driven up costs to achieve the SPI value, a more likely reason is that the time estimates were bloated.

• Question 306:

  You are the project manager of the NHA Project. This project is expected to last one year with quarterly milestones throughout the year. Your project is supposed to be at the third milestone today but you're likely only 60 percent complete. Your project has a BAC of $745,000 and you've spent $440,000 of the budget- to-date. What is your schedule performance index for this project?

  A. 80

  B. 1.02

  C. 102

  D. 0.80

  Correct Answer: D

  The schedule performance index can be found by dividing the earned value by the planned value. In this project, it's $447,000 divided by the $558,750 for a value of 0.80. Schedule performance index (SPI) is the measure of schedule

  efficiency on a project. It is used in trend analysis to predict future performance. SPI is the ratio of earned value to planned value. The SPI is calculated based on the following formula:

  SPI = Earned Value (EV) / Planned Value (PV)

  If the SPI value is greater than 1, it indicates better than expected performance, whereas if the value is less than 1, it shows poor performance. The SPI value of 1 indicates that the project is right on target. Answer option A is incorrect. "80" is

  not the same value as ".80". Answer option B is incorrect. 1.02 is the cost performance index. Answer option C is incorrect. 102 is not a valid calculation for this question.

• Question 307:

  Which one of the following estimate types is a form of expert judgment?

  A. Parametric estimate

  B. Analogous estimate

  C. Bottom-up estimate

  D. Definitive estimate

  Correct Answer: B

  An analogous estimate is a form of expert judgment because it relies on historical information. The historical information, assuming that it is accurate, serves as the conduit to the expert that created the historical information.

  Answer option C is incorrect. A bottom-up estimate creates an activity duration estimate for each work package in the WBS.

  Answer option A is incorrect. Parametric estimating uses a parameter, such as 10 hours per fixture installation, as a base to predict the duration of the project. Answer option D is incorrect. A definitive estimate, also known as a bottom-up

  estimate, accounts for the cost of each work package.

• Question 308:

  You are the project manager of the NHQ Project. Management has set a conformance to the project schedule for your project at 0.95. What does this term mean?

  A. It means the largest schedule variance you can have is five percent.

  B. It is the earned value divided by the planned value for your project.

  C. It is the expectation of management to be 95 on schedule at 95 percent of the project.

  D. It means you will need to earn at least 95 cents per dollar invested in the project.

  Correct Answer: A

  Conformance to schedule is a required adherence for the project's schedule. In this instance, the project manager must not allow the schedule to slip more than five percent. Answer option B is incorrect. This is the description of the schedule performance index. Answer option D is incorrect. This is the description of the cost performance index. Answer option C is incorrect. This is not a valid statement about the project performance.

• Question 309:

  George is the project manager of the NHQ Project and has a budget of $778,000. The project is scheduled to last for one year with an equal amount of work completed each quarter. The second quarter of the project has ended and George has spent $325,000 but has only finished forty percent of the project. Management needs a variance report for the project schedule. What value should George report in this instance?

  A. .96

  B. -$77,800

  C. $-34,500

  D. -$13,800

  Correct Answer: B

  Schedule variance (SV) is a measure of schedule performance on a project. The variance notifies that the schedule is ahead or behind what was planned for this period in time. The schedule variance is calculated based on the following formula: SV = Earned Value (EV) - Planned Value (PV) If the resulting schedule is negative, it indicates that the project is behind schedule. A value greater than 0 shows that the project is ahead of the planned schedule. A value of 0 indicates that the project is right on target. The earned value in this instance is forty percent of the project budget, $778,000, and the planned value is $398,000 because George is to be fifty percent done at the end of the second quarter, as the work is spread evenly across all quarters. The schedule variance is -$77,800 for the project. Answer option A is incorrect. .96 represents the cost performance index. Answer option C is incorrect. -$34,500 represents the project's variance at completion if the project continues as is. Answer option D is incorrect. -$13,800 is the cost variance for the project.

• Question 310:

  You are the project manager of the GHY Project. Management wants you to create a process improvement plan for your project. Your project will be studied by management and will become a standard for all future organizational projects based on your project's performance, approach, and implementation of project processes. All of the following should be included in your project's process improvement plan except for which one?

  A. Process boundaries

  B. Process configuration

  C. Targets for improved performance

  D. Identification of project risks

  Correct Answer: D

  Identification of the project risks is not part of the process improvement plan. Identify risks is a risk management process, and risks are recorded in the risk register. Answer options A, B, and C are incorrect. Process boundaries, Process configuration and Targets for improved performance are parts of the process improvement plan.