50+ PMP Exam Questions and Answers

Project Management Professional also known as PMP Certification is a standard for potential employers in the Project Management industry that is globally recognised. According to Glassdoor, the annual PMP Salary of Project Management certification holders is around £48,295. Every PMP professional has taken up many mock or practice tests before appearing for the PMP Certification exam.

Therefore, we are providing you with the top PMP Exam Questions and answers that will help you in PMP Exam preparation. With the help of these PMP Exam sample questions, you will be able to understand the format of other mock tests and answer other PMP sample questions from mocks.

PMP Exam's passing score is almost 61 per cent, i.e. to answer 106 PMP questions correctly out of the total 175 PMP questions. Ace your PMP Exam on the first attempt by preparing these 50+ PMP Exam Questions, which contain objective and subjective type questions. Read below!

Table of Contents

1) Overview of PMP Exam Sample Questions

2) PMP Exam Questions – Objective

3) PMP Exam Questions - Subjective

4) Tips for succeeding on the PMP exam  

5) Conclusion

 

Overview of PMP Exam Sample Questions

To successfully clear a PMP exam, you must answer several questions, which can be divided into subjective and objective categories. You need to understand these terms to be able to answer the questions and pass the exam. In answering objective questions, the candidate has to select an alternative from a list.

On the other hand, subjective questions allow candidates to give original answers that they think are relevant to the question. For your easy understanding, we have divided the PMP Exam Questions into objective and subjective categories below.

PMP Exam Questions - Objective

1) A Program is:

A) a very complex project

B) a part of a big project

C) a collection of related projects

D) A set of sub-projects having a common goal

Explanation: A Program is a collection of related projects that share common resources for the requirements of the projects. A sponsor is a person who provides resources and support for a program. 

2) If you are a Project Manager, in which type of organisation will you have the maximum control?

A) An organisation that is weak in their management

B) An organisation with a strong matrix 

C) An organisation that has a balanced matrix

D) An organisation that is Projectised

Explanation: Projectised organisations are the firms where projects take up the maximum resources of the organisation. Here, project managers have the ultimate control, as they are the ones who make all the critical decisions of the organisation. All the departments of the organisation report directly to the project manager. 

3) Which statement is true about Project Scope?

A) It is a set of sub-projects having a common goal

B) It is part of project planning that describes the project requirement

C) It is a group of projects that have common objectives

D) None of the above

Explanation: Project Scope describes the required work to deliver the completed project. It includes determining and documenting project-specific goals, deliverables, tasks, timelines, costs and deadlines. 

4) What best describes RACI?

A) Recommended, Accountable, Consulted, Inform

B) Responsible, Accountable, Confirm, Inform

C) Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Inform

D) Responsible, Accountant, Consulted, Inform

Explanation: RACI is an example of the Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM). It displays the connection between the project activities and the team members working on the project. 

5) Which of the following is not an input to the risk management process?

A) Historical data

B) Report on project status

C) Work breakdown structure

D) Lessons learned

Explanation: Reports on project status are one of the inputs required for the risk management process. However, this may not be a requirement for the first time you perform risk management, as a report on project status will not be available. 

6) When creating the timeline and deciding on the deadline, a project manager should:

A) Use his best judgement and estimate all activities on his own

B) Estimate based on the budget and include buffers

C) Involve team members who will be performing the task of the project to get the estimates

D) Both a and b

Explanation: A project manager needs to involve all those working on the project's deliverables when making important decisions on a project like timelines, budget and deadlines. 

7) What should you evaluate when you find it challenging to evaluate the exact cost impact of a risk?

A) Economic basis

B) Financial basis

C) Qualitative basis

D) Quantitative basis

Explanation: When you find it challenging to determine the exact cost impact of a risk in a project, you should use qualitative estimates such as Low, Medium and High. 

8) During which stage of the risk management process will you decide to transfer a risk?

A) Identify Risks

B) Monitor and control risks

C) Plan risk response

D) Perform quantitative risk analysis

Explanation: Transference is considered during the risk response strategy. 

9) After the deliverables are produced, the process of scope verification begins. What is the main purpose of validating scope?

A) Deliverables are produced

B) The client accepts deliverables

C) Deliverables are tested and checked against the scope

D) The project scope is prepared

Explanation: After the deliverables are matched with the project scope, the clients formally accept the project scope and deliverables. Therefore, this is the primary purpose behind validating the project scope. 

10) Determining risk tolerance will assist the project team in:

A) Ranking the project risks

B) Preparing the project schedule

C) Estimating the project cost

D) None of the above

Explanation: Knowing stakeholders' tolerance to various risk events helps the team assign levels of risk for each project activity. 

11) What is not an input to the controlling process:

A) Project work

B) Project Management Plan

C) Project schedule

D) Project Timeline

Explanation: The project management plan is a vital input to the controlling process. Also, Check here to know more about PMP Audit process in detail!

12) What is an exception to the process group?

A) Planning

B) Initiation

C) Closing

D) Execution

Explanation: Closing is not a process group in project management.

13) The output of the monitoring and controlling process is:

A) The project management plan

B) The project charter

C) The project work

D) The project schedule

Explanation: The project management plan is the output of the monitoring and controlling processes. 

14) Project Management Plan, authorised change requests, enterprise environmental factors, and organisational process assets are input to:

A) Develop a schedule

B) Monitor and control project work

C) Verifying project scope

D) Direct and manage project execution

Explanation: Developing a schedule involves analysing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and constraints to create the project schedule model. 

15) What factors should you consider when identifying the responsibilities of a portfolio manager?

A) A portfolio manager provides the finances required by the project lead until it is formally authorised

B) A portfolio manager Provides the finances required by the project to communicate with all stakeholders and Selects projects for the organisation

C) A portfolio manager governs a group of projects, selects projects and identifies a project's return on investment for the organisation

D) A portfolio manager governs a group of projects, advises the project managers on particular projects and selects projects for the organisation

Explanation: Portfolio managers are responsible for complete governance of their project, selecting projects for the organisation, identifying the project's business value, and determining the return on investment. They are also responsible for identifying risks associated with taking on the project for the organisation. 

16) Which of the below does not represent the inputs, tools, techniques, or outputs of direct and manage while executing a project?

A) The project Management plan, PMIS and deliverables

B) Change control meetings, change requests, and PMIS

C) Project scope updates, expert judgement, and enterprise environmental factors

D) PMIS, approved change requests and deliverables

Explanation: Activities are carried out during the Direct and Manage Project Execution process to deliver the planned results in the Project Management Plan. This procedure takes various inputs and employs two tools and strategies to generate several outputs. 

17) Of these five processes, which spans these processes from beginning to end?

A) Controlling

B) Initiating

C) Planning

D) Executing

Explanation: Of the above five project management processes, ‘Controlling’ spans the majority of these processes from beginning to end. 

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18) The highest point of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is:

1) Physiological satisfaction

2) Attainment of survival

3) Need for association

4) Self-actualisation

Explanation: Maslow's hierarchy of needs that suggests individual behaviour is controlled by five categories of human needs. Those needs include safety, physiological needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation needs. Self-actualisation needs: Self-actualisation explains the fulfilment of your full potential as a person and sits at the highest point of the hierarchy.

19) As part of a successful communication, the receiver is responsible for:

1) Ensure the information is clear and complete, understood and acknowledged.

2) Ensure the information is received completely, understood correctly and acknowledged.

3) Ensure the information is clear and complete, understood, and agreed upon.

4) Listening actively to make sure all the information is received.

Explanation: The receiver's task is to interpret message from the sender, both verbal and nonverbal, with as little distortion as possible. This process of interpreting the message is called decoding.

20) Negotiating must be conducted to be successful in an atmosphere of:

1) Flexibility and understanding. 

2) Sincerity and thoughtfulness. 

3) Mutual respect and cooperation. 

4) Sincerity and prudent caution.

Explanation: Negotiating to get agreements that is mutually acceptable between parties and decrease approval or decision delays is one of the five Cs of written communications.

21) What are the three major reasons for change on a project are:

1) Project Manager's or critical project team members replacement; Priority changes by Senior Management; and contractual difficulties.

2) Alteration in the relative importance of time, resources, or cost; new information about the deliverable; and technical uncertainty.

3) Mistakes in the initial assessment of how to accomplish the project goal; new knowledge about the project deliverable; and a new mandate.

4) The unavailability of essential resources promised by the functional managers, changes in customer requirements and cost overruns.

Explanation: Mistakes made during the project’s initial goal-setting, updates to the project’s expected outcomes, and changes in project directives are three key factors that can lead to alterations in a project’s course. 

PMP Exam Questions – Subjective

Lets take a look at Subjective PMP Exam Questions: 

1) Calculate the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) for a project when it has a 70% chance of a £90,000 profit and a loss of 40% of £90,000. 

A) £27,000 profit

B) £90,000 profit

C) £90,000 loss

D) £37,000 loss

Explanation: The formula to calculate Expected Monetary Value (EMV) is = Probability X Impact

You have to calculate both the positive and negative values and add the values to find the EMV. I.e.

0.7 X £90,000 = £63,000

0.4 X £90,000 = £36,000

EMV = £63,000 - £36,000 = £27,000 profit

2) Harry has just finished selecting his project team. But, in a report, he has indicated that several members of the team need specialised training.  What should Harry refer to for selecting the appropriate training for his project team members?

A) Responsibility Assignment Matrix

B) Project Management Body of Knowledge

C) Work Breakdown Structure

D) Staffing Management Plan

Explanation: The Staffing Management Plan specifies the time and strategies for meeting human resource requirements for the project. It comprises staffing acquisition, timeline, release criteria, training requirements, recognition and rewards, compliance, and safety.

3) In what activity is a team involved when they meet to review lessons learned from previous projects?

A) Contingency planning

B) Risk identification

C) Project team status meeting

D) Identification of project scope

Explanation: For risk identification, the project manager meets the project team to review lessons learned from previous projects. 

4) What does the £8,000 represent, when a risk event has an 80 per cent chance of occurring, and the consequences will be £10,000?

A) Risk value

B) Contingency budget

C) Project value

D) Expected Monetary Value

Explanation: Compute EVM by 0.8 X £10,000 = £80,000

5) Consider the following situation and choose the relevant statement.

Jacob is responsible for delivering a project that involves completing six components. Completing each component will take £60,000, and the deadline to complete the entire project is six weeks. Jacob delivered three components four weeks into the project and spent £290,000.

A) The project is over budget and ahead of the schedule

B) The project is under budget and behind the schedule

C) The project is over budget and behind schedule.

D) None of the above

Explanation: In the above scenario, the project is under budget and behind schedule.

6) Sophia is a project manager, and she is currently trying to control a project's costs. Which of these defines the value of completed work based on the approved budget assigned to a particular work for a scheduled project?

A) EV

B) SV

C) BF

D) CV

Explanation: Earned Value or EV is the value of completed work based on the assigned budget for a scheduled project or work breakdown structure. 

Schedule Variance or SV is the difference between earned and planned value SV is a measure of schedule performance. 

Cost Variance (CV): The amount of budget shortfall or surplus at a given moment, expressed as the difference between earned value and actual cost.

7) Consider that a project manager is preparing the lessons learned document. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A) Lessons learned to involve updates to the risk management planning

B) Lessons learned in meetings concentrate only on the technical development process

C) Lessons learned to provide information that could improve the effectiveness of future projects

D) None of the above

Explanation: Lessons learned are the information gathered throughout a project that demonstrates how project events were addressed and aids in addressing future events to improve the future performance of projects. Lessons Learned Knowledge Base is a repository of historical knowledge and lessons learned from past project selection decisions and project performance. The subject matter of a lessons learned meeting may vary depending on the project scope. It can concentrate on various topics, such as technological development, design plans, future enhancements, or discovered process problems. 

8) Suppose the project expenses are higher than the expected cost while computing the project's baseline cost. What is the reason for this?

A) Overestimated material costs

B) Excess inventory

C) Lack of stakeholder support

D) Both a and b

Explanation: Excess inventory occurs when the team fails to manage and control resources efficiently. Excess inventory is the reason behind increased costs in a project. 

9) The project and team are undertaking the process of evaluating and controlling project work as part of a process improvement project for a manufacturing operation. During this process, which of the following is done?

A) Obtaining acceptance of the deliverables by the customer or sponsor 

B) Drawing a comparison of project performance against the project management plan

C) Approving or rejecting after analysing the change requests

D) Applying change requests to achieve the project’s objectives

Explanation: During the above-mentioned process, drawing an actual comparison of project performance is done against the project management plan. 

10) A project manager is currently working on a project that involves developing several apartments and procuring the required materials for the project. The project manager is not responsible for this document:

A) Proposals

B) Source selection criteria

C) Procurement statements of work

D) Procurement documents

Explanation: Proposals include all the required information requested in the procurement documents issued by the buyer. The seller and not the buyer creates the proposals. 

11) A large IT corporation is establishing a change control board to assess all assigned change requests for a project. What is the best composition of members of the change control board?

A) The projects initiator or project sponsor

B) The customer, project manager and project team members

C) The customer

D) The project manager

Explanation: The change control board reviews change requests and decides whether they should be approved. In this case, the change control board's customer, project manager, and project team members are the best option (COB). 

12) How will you achieve your objective when considering the following scenario?

You have to lead a product development project using an agile framework. You must bring stakeholders and SMEs together to determine risks, project scope and other topics.

A) Conducting interviews with team members

B) Scheduling a focus group

C) Inviting the stakeholders to the daily scrum meeting

D) None of the above

Explanation: You have to schedule a focus group, to achieve the objective mentioned above.

13) What should you do, when one of the bidders is your friend during the bidding conference?

A) Disclose the relationship to the manager

B) Resign immediately from the bidding conference

C) Pass confidential information to him

D) Do Not give the contract to him, in order to prove your integrity

Explanation: You must inform your manager about this relationship since there is a conflict of interest. 

14) Which document contains these :

A) Description

B) Owner

C) Source

D) Priority

And the status of the product requirements

Select the correct answer

A) Scope management plan

B) Work breakdown structure

C) Requirements plan

D) Requirements traceability matrix

Explanation: The Requirements traceability matrix contains the product requirements' description, owner, source, and status. 

15) Due to specific changes, the project is running slower than expected. A project manager is using Microsoft Project 2016 to see the effects this has on the schedule. Which tool will be used to control the project schedule?

A) Scheduling tool

B) Resource tool

C) Resource levelling

D) Fast-tracking

Explanation: To regulate the project timeline, a scheduling tool such as Microsoft Project 2016 is utilised, which has a function that allows you to undertake a what-if scenario analysis.

16) What are outliers when control charts are used?

A) Outliers are singular measurements outside the bandwidth between upper and lower control limits.

B) Outliers are measurements inconsistent with a run of 7 results over or under a mean value.

C) Outliers result from a rare random cause, usually difficult to replicate and verify.

D) Outliers are insignificant results, often measurement errors, and the causes are not required to be further investigated.

Explanation: When control charts are used, Outliers are singular measurements outside the bandwidth that is in between upper and lower control limits.

Also, check out this blog to learn the PMP Process Chart in detail.

17) Consider that you are a project manager and forming a virtual team comprising members from overseas. What is not an obstacle in building an effective team?

A) People who want to work remotely

B) Different time zones

C) Cultural differences

D) Both a and c

Explanation: When making a virtual team, differences in time zones and cultural differences must be considered. Having a virtual team is enabled by electronic communication, and the advantage is that members may work from home or remotely.

18) Anna is measuring the risk for her project. How can she include a few experts who are offsite in this activity?

A) By Performing Monte Carlo analysis using the web as a tool

B) By Applying the Delphi technique

C) By Applying the critical path method

D) By determining options for recommended corrective action

Explanation: The Delphi technique is popularly applied for obtaining expert opinions on technical issues, the project and product scope. 

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19) Consider a project that is divided into four phases. What should you do as a project manager when the second phase is completed, and the third is beginning?

A) Performing the process of identifying the project stakeholders

B) Begin directing and managing the project

C) Start monitoring and controlling the project activities

D) Begin the process of determining the project stakeholders

Explanation: In the above case, you should identify the project stakeholders when beginning a new phase of the project. 

20) If a project consists of 5 phases after the first phase is completed, what process group will follow for the second phase to begin?

A) Planning

B) Closing

C) Executing

D) Initiating

Explanation: Initiating - is the beginning of a new phase of an existing project, of which few phases have already been completed. 

21) Consider that your project is behind schedule, and the boss is asking you to skip the last part of the testing phase to meet the deadline. And he tells you to say to the clients, if asked that the testing phase is completed. What should you do in this situation?

A) Refuse the boss to skip or lie about the last part of the testing phase

B) Lie to the stakeholders that the testing phase is completed

C) Skip the testing phase, as your boss asked

D) Ask for a second opinion from the project team

A project manager must ensure that all the project phases are completed as agreed upon while taking up the project. 

22) Considering that you are involved in the communication management plan, which of these is incorrect about the “Distribute information process”?

A) It takes place throughout the completion period of the project

B) It refers to the execution of the communications management plan

C) It refers to information gathering

D) It doesn't include responding to random requests from clients

Explanation: The execution of the communication management plan is known as the distributing information process. The main aim is to spread project-related information to all project stakeholders throughout the project life cycle. This process should also be flexible to take up any unexpected stakeholder requests. 

23) You are a project manager for a construction project. Which agile ceremony will you use in the following case?

Many team members work at the site every day. For timely cross-functional communication, it is necessary to ensure frequent and seamless communication between these members and the team leads. 

Select the right option.

A) Retrospective

B) Risk-based spikes

C) Daily stand-ups

D) Iteration reviews

Explanation: Daily stand-ups are brief, time-boxed meetings attended by the project team and key stakeholders.

24) Susan is a Project Manager. She is developing a stakeholder register. She has already listed down the potential stakeholders using the data gathering method known as brain writing. What is the first thing she starts with when using the brain writing method?

A) She will schedule a data gathering meeting with all the stakeholders

B) She will share the list of questions with participating members before the start of the creativity sessions

C) She will refer to the stakeholder engagement plan to identify potential stakeholders

D) None of the above

Explanation: When Susan develops a stakeholder register using the brainwriting method, she will start by sharing a set of questions with the participating members before beginning the creativity session.

Check out our PMP interview questions blog to prepare for your interview!

25) Which of the following range estimations has the LEAST risk if the extremes of the range are +/- 3 sigma from the mean?

A)  21-30 days

B) 30 days with a plus/minus five days

C) Optimistic time = 26 days, Pessimistic time = 33 days, Most likely time = 30 days

D) Mean of 28 days in a month.

Explanation: The least risk is observed when the range of the estimate is the smallest.

26) An organisation's project management office (PMO) should ensure that all project management processes and relevant project documents follow established best practices. What should the project manager look at first to find the stakeholders for a new project?

A) The engagement plan to recognise what management strategies and actions are needed that work best to engage the stakeholders effectively.

B) Referring to the requirements documentation to recognise potential stakeholders

C) Use the business documents to obtain information about stakeholders

D) Setup a communications management plan to find out about the project’s stakeholders and use the business documents to obtain information about stakeholders

Explanation: Business documents often contain valuable information about the project’s rationale, objectives, and the interests of those who initiated it. These documents can include the business case, project charter, contracts, and other formal documents that outline the project’s purpose and stakeholders.

27) Which of the following is not obtained from the closing process?

A) Closure documents of the organisation

B) Project Management Plan

C) Final product, service or the project’s result

D) Lessons learned knowledge base

Explanation: Project Management Plan is the outcome of the closing process.

28) When you are using an agile framework, you are about to lead a product development project. Therefore, you want to bring stakeholders and SMEs together to discuss risk, success criteria and other topics. What is the right way for you to accomplish this goal?

a) Organise a review session for the iteration.

b) Carry out one-on-one discussions with the selected persons.

c) Arrange a meeting for a group discussion

d) Ensure the pertinent individuals are included in the daily stand-up meetings.

Explanation: Focus groups can provide diverse perspectives and detailed feedback on specific aspects of the product development.

29) Imagine you are the manager of a project that involves constructing five bridges. The project involves five sequential phases. Each phase completes one bridge. After completing the first phase of the project, which process group should the second phase follow? As the manager of a project tasked with constructing five bridges, you are overseeing a project divided into five distinct phases, with each phase dedicated to the completion of one bridge. Upon successful completion of the first phase, which process group would you initiate for the second phase?

1) Executing

2) Closing

3) Initiating

4) Planning

Explanation: Initiating. The commencement of a new project or a fresh phase within an ongoing project falls under the purview of the Initiating Process Group A new project or new phase of an already existing project is defined by the Initiating Process Group.

30) The objective of the project is to evaluate the technical, economic, and social viability of building a hydroelectric dam. Following the project sponsor’s approval of the project charter, which subsequent step should be taken?

1) Identify risks

2) Develop Project Management Plan

3) Develop Project charter

4) Identify stakeholders

 Explanation: The next step after formulating and obtaining approval for the project charter is to proceed with the identification of stakeholders.

Tips for succeeding on the PMP exam

Here are a few tips to help you achieve success in your PMP exam:

1) Use the PMBOK guide as a reference

The PMBOK guide has essential information, such as an exam overview, its prerequisites, and the different questions you can expect. It can also show you the time allotted for the exam and detailed information on exam topics, including the percentage of questions dedicated to each subject. 

The PMBOK guide has a considerable amount of terminology, processes, and ITTO, which can make it overwhelming. Think of the PMBOK guide as a reference text to help familiarise yourself with critical domains for effective project delivery.

2) Create a custom study plan

Processes, people, and business environments are the three most important domains in a PMP Exam. Create a study plan that provides you with enough time to review all the information related to the domains. Your study plan can also include taking mock tests and checking with other candidates through online forums. 

You can create a plan that considers when you're taking the exam and how many hours you can dedicate to studying. You can also design your plan based on the time required to check prep material and training courses, your existing understanding of the subjects, and the training method that suits you the best.

3) Understand more and memorise less

The PMP Exam tests if you can use all the management concepts you learned and use them productively, when necessary, in real-life situations. As the exam requires you to apply these ideas to hypothetical situations, memorising the terms may not be the best way to succeed. 

Understanding rather than memorising the concepts helps you internalise what they mean and how they work. Then, you can easily recall basic concepts like knowledge areas, process groups, and formulas.

4) Use free exam prep resources

The Project Management Institute (PMI) website has the PMP handbook, exam content, and many PMP Exam Questions available. You can download all of them directly from its website free of cost. You can use these resources to evaluate your understanding of the PMP domains and concepts.

5) Join an exam prep course

Sometimes, you require additional guidance to pass the exam. Some preparation courses can give you the opportunity to speak with an experienced instructor, ask your questions, and study in a format that can help you pass the exam with ease. 

Through such courses, you can also meet other people who are looking to complete their PMP certification and share experiences and strategies. If the classes of the course are in-person, you can also network with people in your field.

Conclusion

We hope you find these PMP exam questions and answers helpful in your preparation. We hope after reading this blog, you can understand the type of questions in a PMP exam and prepare better.

Kickstart your PMP exam preparation from here – sign up for the Introduction to Project Management course!