PM Test Center

The project you are managing is nearing its end. Your testing team is currently inspecting the final deliverable. Which process is your project on?

A. Verify Scope
B. Control Scope
C. Perform Quality Assurance
D. Perform Quality Control

Answer: D. Perform Quality Control
According to the PMBOK®, Quality Control is the process of monitoring and recording results of executing the quality activities to assess performance and recommend necessary changes. In short, inspection! Do not confuse quality control with scope verification, the latter involving a formal sign-off by the customer.

George, one of your co-workers, is applying to take the PMP® exam. When you ask him about the process, he tells you that although he does not have enough experience to qualify, he is simply increasing his actual project hours to fill any gaps. You know this is wrong and the best thing for you to do is:

A. Tell his manager that he is being unethical
B. Confront him and recommend that he apply for the CAPM® exam instead
C. Notify PMI® directly
D. Do nothing

Answer: C. Notify PMI® directly
Although confronting him or telling his manager seem appropriate, the best thing for you to do is to contact PMI®. As a general rule, the safest bet is to report unethical behavior directly to the governing body, and in this case, it happens to be PMI®.

You, the project manager, have a deliverable due in three days, just in time for your client to showcase at her annual event. However, you just learned that a shipment has been delayed and it will push your delivery date out by a day. What is the first thing you should do?

A. Notify your client
B. Notify your manager
C. Evaluate the options
D. Assess the impact

Answer: D. Assess the impact
Any time you are in a scenario like this, the first two things you should do before notifying your manager or your client are to (1) assess the impact and (2) evaluate the options. In other words, take a look at what happened and figure out some alternatives. So by the time you have to communicate to your manager/client, you already have a story and recommendation ready to go.

While planning your budget, you decide to categorize your types of costs. Labor, the biggest cost on the project, is best categorized as a(n):

A. Fixed cost
B. Variable cost
C. Direct cost
D. Indirect cost

Answer: C. Direct cost
Direct costs are those that attribute directly to a particular project. Conversely, indirect costs typically benefit multiple projects, such as overhead costs. One way to look at fixed costs vs. variable costs is that the former do not change as production changes.

Contracts should typically be communicated through:

A. Informal written
B. Informal verbal
C. Formal written
D. Formal verbal

Answer: C. Formal written
Formal written communication should be used for project documents such as project charters, project plans, and contracts. As a general rule, if it needs sign-off, then you should take a formal written method. Most project communication, however, will fall into the other categories. These could include email (informal written), meetings (informal verbal), and presentations (formal verbal).

Part of your project includes building one hundred widgets. You know that it will take longer and be more costly to do the first widget as opposed to the one-hundredth widget because of improved efficiency. This is known as:

A. Historical information
B. Bottom up estimating
C. Learning curve
D. PERT estimating

Answer: C. Learning curve
A learning curve will lead to improved efficiency since your team will be more experienced as they build the widgets. This is a form a parametric estimating.

While working on a WBS, breaking down work into manageable parts is known as:

A. Decomposition
B. WBS dictionary
C. Work package
D. Scope management

Answer: A. Decomposition
Work packages are the lowest level of a WBS. The process of getting to that point is called decomposition.

After deciding to outsource a part of the project, your sponsor tells you that he wants a contract with the least amount of risk. What type of contract will you be seeking?

A. Fixed price
B. Time and materials
C. Cost plus fixed fee
D. Cost plus percentage of cost

Answer: A. Fixed price
Of the contract types listed, fixed price (aka firm fixed price or lump sum) is the safest bet for the buyer. In a fixed price contract for $100,000, the buyer knows exactly what she is getting (assuming the scope is clearly defined) and how much she is paying. If the work actually takes more than $100,000 to deliver, then it rests on the supplier.

During the project selection stage, you learn that the value of Project A is $100,000 and the value of Project B is $75,000. Ultimately, Project A was chosen. As a result, the opportunity cost of that decision is:

A. $100,000
B. $75,000
C. $25,000
D. $175,000

Answer: B. $75,000
The opportunity cost is simply the value of the project not chosen. There is no math involved.

While working as a project manager for your company, you travel to another country to meet with the client. During that visit, the client gives you a package and tells you that it is customary in their country to offer gifts. However, your company policy does not allow you to accept gifts. Therefore, you should:

A. Refuse the gift
B. Accept the gift anyway
C. Refuse the gift at first but accept it if the client insists
D. Accept the gift and notify your manager

Answer: D. Accept the gift and notify your manager
Although you should refuse gifts as a general rule, if it is customary for someone in another country to offer a gift, simply accept it and notify your manager. This is the only exception to the rule of not accepting any gifts since it could potentially be a conflict of interest.