PM Test Center

According to the PMBOK®, which of the following is not a management skill used by project managers for communicating?

A. Presentation skills
B. Resolving conflict
C. Negotiating
D. Writing skills

Answer: B. Resolving conflict
Management skills used by project managers include but are not limited to presentation skills, negotiating, writing skills, and public speaking Resolving conflict is an interpersonal skill.

You are working on a project to build a small bridge near the town entrance and decide to gather risks using the Delphi technique. You know that once you have identified all the risks at this stage, you will have your initial:

A. Monte Carlo Simulation
B. Risk register
C. Performance report
D. Risk management plan

Answer: B. Risk register
The risk register is the primary output from the Identify Risks process; the Delphi technique is one of the tools and techniques that may be used. Subsequent risk processes include the risk register as their inputs as well as providing risk register updates as their outputs.

What are the stages of team development?

A. Forming, storming, norming, performing
B. Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
C. Withdrawing, smoothing, compromising, collaborating
D. Withdrawing, smoothing, compromising, collaborating, confronting

Answer: B. Forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
The fourth edition of the PMBOK® now has five team development stages (adjourning is the new addition). Choices C and D are techniques for resolving conflict.

What is the name of the document that formally authorizes a project?

A. Project management plan
B. Requirements documentation
C. Project charter
D. Project scope statement

Answer: C. Project charter
According to the PMBOK®, Develop Project Charter is the process of developing a document that formally authorizes a project or a phase and documenting initial requirements that satisfy stakeholder needs and expectations.

You are performing a quality audit to determine whether or not your project team’s testing activities follow your organization’s project policies. What process are you working in?

A. Perform Quality Assurance
B. Perform Quality Audit
C. Perform Quality Control
D. Perform Quality Activities

Answer: A. Perform Quality Assurance
The key word in the question is audit. Auditing is a primary tool in the quality assurance. Essentially, you are auditing to ensure appropriate quality standards. There is no such process as Perform Quality Audit or Perform Quality Activities.

Adam wants to show his stakeholders defect types ranked by frequency of occurrence. What tool should he use?

A. Pareto chart
B. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
C. Control chart
D. Cause and effect diagram

Answer: A. Pareto chart
Pareto charts are based on the Pareto Law (the 80/20 principle). This type of histogram shows categories of defects in order of frequency of occurrence. By ranking defect types this way, you could visually see which 20% of the causes to address in order to solve 80% of the problems.

While planning a project that involves building a unique product for a client, you decide to build a prototype in order to reduce the risk of not meeting expectations. This is an example of what type of risk response strategy?

A. Avoid
B. Transfer
C. Mitigate
D. Accept

Answer: C. Mitigate
Mitigating requires you to decrease the probability and/or impact of a particular risk. In this scenario, creating a prototype could reduce the chance that the risk triggers but even if it does, it could decrease the delta (gap).

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.

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.