Answers

1. D - State that you would like to lead the project, but disclose that your
expertise is in transmission, not electronics design. PMI's Code of Ethics
and Professional Conduct mandates that project managers accept only
those projects for which they have appropriate qualifications and
experience. However, if project stakeholders are fully informed of the
areas where you may be lacking skills or knowledge, and they still wish
you to lead the project, this is not a violation of the code. [PMI Code of
Ethics and Professional Conduct, Pages 2, 4] [Prof. Responsibility]
2. A - Use of not-to-exceed values and time limits on T & M contracts help
prevent unlimited cost growth or schedule changes. A fixed-price contract
is an option, but whether to choose that option is a decision to be made
prior to awarding the project and signing the contract. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Page 364] [Project Procurement Management]
3. C - When a bottom-up manual forecasting has been done for the ETC, the
calculation for EAC is EAC = AC + bottom-up ETC. Hence, EAC = 10,000
+ 50,000 = $60,000. Note that the BAC is no longer viable at this stage.
[PMBOK 5th edition, Page 220] [Project Cost Management]
4. A - A portfolio is a collection of projects or programs that are grouped
together to achieve a strategic business objective. Portfolio management
focuses on ensuring that projects and programs are reviewed to prioritize
resource allocation and that the management of the portfolio is aligned
with organizational strategies. The projects or programs need not be
directly related. A program is a collection of projects with common
objectives, so unrelated work cannot be grouped together under a
program. [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages 4, 5] [Project Framework]
5. B - The project manager is responsible for stakeholder identification; this
cannot be delegated to the project sponsor. Identifying and analyzing the
key stakeholders is not enough to ensure the success of the project.
Other project stakeholders can be identified by interviewing the
stakeholders who are already identified. [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages 396,
397] [Project Stakeholder Management]
6. B - The impact scale will include the probabilities of certain risks
occurring, with values from 0 to 1. A value of 0 indicates non-occurrence
of the risk while 1 is a certainty. Hence, a risk impact of 0.8 represents the
highest impact among the choices presented. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page
317] [Project Risk Management]
7. A - The Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) is a hierarchically organized
depiction of identified project risks arranged by risk category and
subcategory. This may be based on a previously prepared categorization
framework. The RBS serves to remind participants in the risk identification
exercise of the different sources from which project risk may arise.
[PMBOK 5th edition, Page 317] [Project Risk Management]
8. B - An important part of schedule control is deciding if schedule variation
requires corrective action. Activities on the critical path get first priority for
immediate action. Larger delays on activities not on the critical path may
not require immediate attention since they may not affect the overall
project schedule. Hence, Ron will first deal with the delays on the critical
 path and then tackle the delays on the other paths. [PMBOK 5th edition,
Pages 176, 188] [Project Time Management]
9. C - One product can have more than one project associated with it. For
example, the development of a new product could be a project. Similarly,
adding new functions or features could be a project. Other possibilities
include conducting a feasibility study, conducting a product trial in the
market, and running an advertising campaign. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page
3] [Project Framework]
10. C - Approval of the project management plan marks the closure of the
planning phase of the project. The stakeholder management processes
from the executing and the monitoring and controlling process groups
should be the center of attention now. [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages 61,
404, 409] [Project Stakeholder Management]
11. B - Project stakeholders are persons and organizations having a stake in
the project. They typically exist at different levels and have varying
degrees of authority. For example, the project sponsor will be at a higher
level and have greater authority than the project manager. In contrast, a
team member may be at a lower level and have lesser authority. [PMBOK
5th edition, Page 394] [Project Stakeholder Management]
12. A - A good strategy for project managers is to give the team all possible
recognition during the life cycle of the project rather than after the project
is completed. This will keep the team members motivated through the
duration of the project. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 277] [Project Human
Resource Management]
13. C - The affinity diagram enables a large number of ideas to be sorted into
groups for further review and analysis. It is a tool used in gathering of
requirements. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 115] [Project Scope
Management]
14. D - Performance requirements such as the loading time of websites are
usually considered as part of product requirements and scope. Project
requirements include business requirements, project management
requirements and delivery requirements, whereas product requirements
include technical, security, and performance requirements. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Page 105] [Project Scope Management]
15. D - It is Anna's duty to ensure that all key project stakeholders understand
the project scope and are aligned with the project management plan.
Anna must conduct one-to-one meetings with those key stakeholders that
are not fully aware of the project scope. Just emailing copies of the plans
is not sufficient. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 406] [Project Stakeholder
Management]
16. D - No action is required in this situation. Although PMI's Code of Ethics
requires project managers to report illegal or unethical activity to the
appropriate management, you have no evidence that there has been any
wrongdoing in this situation. Therefore, reporting or investigating the
procurement manager's new car purchase is unwarranted. [PMI Code of
Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 3] [Prof. Responsibility]
17. C - What-If Scenario Analysis is used to assess the feasibility of the
project schedule under adverse conditions. This is an analysis of the
question "What if the situation represented by scenario 'X' happens?" It is
 used in preparing contingency and response plans to mitigate the impact
of adverse conditions. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 180] [Project Time
Management]
18. B - The cost performance baseline is an authorized time-phased budget
at completion (BAC). It is used to measure, monitor, and control overall
cost performance on the project. In the earned value management
technique, the cost performance baseline is referred to as the
performance measurement baseline (PMB). [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages
218, 223] [Project Cost Management]
19. D - This is likely to be a Cost-Plus-Award-Fee (CPAF) contract. In such a
contract, the seller is reimbursed for all legitimate costs, but the fee is
based on the satisfaction of certain broad subjective performance criteria
defined in the contract. It is generally not subject to appeals. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Page 364] [Project Procurement Management]
20. B - Although there is no law restricting disposal, the material is still toxic
and must not be disposed of improperly. Abandoning it or giving it to local
recyclers may also result in improper disposal. PMI's Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct requires project managers to make decisions based
on the interests of public safety and the environment. Failing to ensure
proper disposal of toxic materials is a violation of this code. [PMI Code of
Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 3] [Prof. Responsibility]
21. B - Progressive elaboration applies when only a certain amount of
information is available initially, and additional information is obtained as
the project or phase progresses. It is the progressive detailing of the
project management plan and relates more closely to the processes from
the planning process group. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 55] [Project Time
Management]
22. B - As practitioners in the global project management community, it is our
responsibility to report unethical or illegal conduct. Even if reporting such
behavior may have negative consequences, we must still do so. [PMI
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Section 2.3.2, Page 2] [Prof.
Responsibility]
23. D - Since you are aware that your company lacks the necessary skills,
you need to be truthful while bidding. Rather than outright refusing to do
what your company management asks you to do, you should explain the
reasons to them and ensure that all stakeholders involved are aware that
this will be a stretch assignment. However, also explain to your
management that it is best to tell the potential buyer that you and your
company are willing to put in the necessary effort to make the project a
success. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Section 2.2.2,
Page 2] [Prof. Responsibility]
24. A - The Manage Communications process goes beyond the distribution of
relevant information and seeks to ensure that the information being
communicated to project stakeholders has been appropriately generated,
as well as received and understood. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 298]
[Project Communications Management]
25. D - As a PMP, Eric must not behave in a manner that will mislead the
buyer. Hence, given that there are still a sufficient number of days
remaining before the RFP is due, it is his responsibility to wait for the
 current quarter results to be published and truthfully provide this
information in the RFP. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct,
Page 4] [Prof. Responsibility]
26. C - The best choice is asking the procurement manager to lead the
selection process and excusing yourself from the review. According to the
PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, project managers must
disclose any potential conflict of interest situation to the appropriate
stakeholders, who will determine if it is appropriate for the project
manager to continue participating in the affected processes. Project
managers must also act fairly towards others; removing the supplier from
the list because of a possible conflict of interest on the part of the project
manager is unfair to the vendor. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct, Page 4] [Prof. Responsibility]
27. D - The Fixed-Price with Economic Price Adjustment (FP-EPA) contract is
used whenever the buyer-seller relationship spans across years. It is a
fixed-price contract with a special provision allowing for predefined final
adjustments to the contract price due to significantly changed economic
conditions. It is intended to protect both the buyer and the seller from
external conditions beyond their control. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 363]
[Project Procurement Management]
28. B - Of the tools listed, the scatter diagram is used to study and identify the
possible relationship between two variables. The others can be used for
root cause analysis. [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages 236, 238] [Project Quality
Management]
29. D - Facilitated workshops bring key cross-functional stakeholders together
to define product requirements. Because of their interactive nature, well-
facilitated sessions lead to increased stakeholder consensus. This
ensures that issues can be discovered and resolved more quickly than in
other forums. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 114] [Project Scope
Management]
30. C - If any stakeholder—resisting or supporting—identifies any issue, it
must be addressed. Since the defects have already been identified and
the scenario is talking about an action that would bring the future project
performance in line with the approved quality requirements, this is a
corrective action. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 413] [Project Stakeholder
Management]
31. B - Problem solving involves treating conflict as a problem to be solved by
examining alternatives. This requires a give-and-take attitude. In contrast,
the other alternatives listed— directing, forcing and withdrawing— are
more one-sided. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 283] [Project Human
Resource Management]
32. B - Availability of budget and time is a key factor that determines the need
for the Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis process. A small project with a
limited budget may decide to do away with this process if the project
management team decides that quantitative statements about risk and
impacts are not needed. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 335] [Project Risk
Management]
33. D - Requirements for formal deliverable acceptance and how to address
non-conforming deliverables are usually defined in the agreement.
 [PMBOK 5th edition, Pages 377, 378] [Project Procurement Management]
34. A - Training needs are captured and documented in the project's staffing
management plan. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 266] [Project Human
Resource Management]
35. B - Notifying the project stakeholders immediately is the best choice.
Unauthorized use of the intellectual property of others is unethical and is
prohibited by the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Once the
project stakeholders are notified of the situation, a plan forward can be
developed. This plan could involve licensing the previously patented
technology from the patent owner or reworking the design. However, this
mitigation plan must involve input from the appropriate project
stakeholders. [PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Page 3]
[Prof. Responsibility]
36. A - Activity cost estimates are quantitative assessments of the probable
costs required to finish project work. If included in project estimates,
indirect costs should be included at the activity level or higher levels.
[PMBOK 5th edition, Page 207] [Project Cost Management]
37. C - The sufficiency model is not a valid model. The other choices are valid
models used to analyze stakeholders. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 396]
[Project Stakeholder Management]
38. A - Use of voicemail is push communication. In this type of
communication, information is distributed to specific recipients who need
to know the information. However, this method does not certify that the
information actually reached, or was received by, the intended audience.
[PMBOK 5th edition, Page 295] [Project Communications Management]
39. A - This type of testing is called destructive testing, and it is classified
under appraisal costs. Along with other tests and inspections, it helps in
assessing the quality of the product. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 235]
[Project Quality Management]
40. A - The number of project risk reassessments scheduled depends on the
progress of the project relative to its objectives. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page
351] [Project Risk Management]
41. A - Manage Stakeholder Engagement is the process of communicating
and working with stakeholders to meet their needs and expectations,
address issues as they occur, and foster appropriate stakeholder
engagement. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 404] [Project Stakeholder
Management]
42. B - Process Analysis is a tool and technique used in the Perform Quality
Assurance process and not in the Define Scope process. The other
choices are valid techniques of the Define Scope process. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Pages 122, 123] [Project Scope Management]
43. B - The forming phase is the phase where the team gets to know each
other and learns about the project. Teams are usually on their "best
behavior" and little tangible work gets accomplished. The project manager
needs to guide the team and move them through this phase into the
performing phase. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 276] [Project Human
Resource Management]
44. C - An iterative relationship is one where only one phase is performed at
any given time. Planning for the next phase is performed as work
 progresses on the current phase. This type of relationship is suitable for
projects with unclear scope or changing environments. Hence, in a
research type of project, an iterative relationship is used. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Page 45] [Project Framework]
45. B - Identifying new risks and analyzing, tracking, and monitoring existing
project risks are done in the Monitor and Control Project Work phase. This
phase also makes sure that the status of the risks is properly reported,
and appropriate risk response plans are executed. [PMBOK 5th edition,
Page 88] [Project Integration Management]
46. A - The payoff for the strong demand scenario is $400M - $200M =
$200M (since the initial investment is $200M). The payoff for the weak
demand scenario is $150M - $200M = - $50M. Therefore, the EMV is
computed as: (0.6 * 200) + (0.4 * -50), where 0.6 represents the 60%
probability of the strong demand scenario and 0.4 represents the 40%
probability of the weak demand scenario. 120 - 20 = 100. Therefore, the
expected monetary value is $100M. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 339]
[Project Risk Management]
47. A - Quality metrics are operational definitions that describe a project or
product attribute in very specific terms. They also define how the quality
control process will measure it. These metrics are outputs of the Plan
Quality Management process. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 242] [Project
Quality Management]
48. B - Sample frequency and sizes are determined during the Plan Quality
Management process, so that the cost of quality includes the number of
tests, expected scrap, etc. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 240] [Project
Quality Management]
49. B - Activities such as project performance analysis and tracking are done
as part of the Monitor and Control Project Work process. This process
involves tracking, reviewing and regulating progress to meet performance
objectives. [PMBOK 5th edition, Page 88] [Project Integration
Management]
50. B - Contacting the manager once again will not help since you have
already had a poor response. The best option is to try using management
influence to obtain the resource's time for your project. Should all efforts
to obtain the resource prove unsuccessful, alternatives include planning
for an alternate resource or training another resource. [PMBOK 5th
edition, Page 268] [Project Human Resource Management]