I85PREP
⌘ K
Project Manager Examination study materials
Project Manager Examination study resources

Project Manager Examination practice questions

One question at a time. Build your Project Manager Examination understanding.

First 50 of 200 questions. Each one lists the choices, the correct answer, and an explanation. The checker at the top of this page saves progress in this browser when it is available.

Continue in the practice tool above to load more questions, 50 at a time.

Question 1Project Integration and Scope Management

A project charter has just been formally approved. What authority does it typically give the project manager in a functional organization?

  1. Authority to change the organization's strategic objectives
  2. Authority to reassign staff permanently between departments
  3. Authority to apply organizational resources to project activities Correct answer.
  4. Authority to commit organizational resources without further approval

Explanation

The charter formally authorizes the project and the project manager, giving the manager authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. It does not grant unlimited control of resources or strategic decision rights.

Question 2Project Integration and Scope Management

Which document is developed earliest and provides the business justification for initiating a project?

  1. Business case Correct answer.
  2. Work breakdown structure
  3. Scope baseline
  4. Project management plan

Explanation

The business case documents the economic or strategic justification for the project and precedes the charter. The project management plan, WBS, and scope baseline are all created after the project is authorized.

Question 3Project Integration and Scope Management

What is the primary purpose of developing a project management plan?

  1. To serve as the contract between the buyer and the seller
  2. To list the individual performance reviews of team members
  3. To record the actual cost and schedule performance of completed work
  4. To describe how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed Correct answer.

Explanation

The project management plan is the integrated document describing how the project will be executed, monitored, controlled, and closed. Performance records and contracts are separate artifacts that may inform it but are not its purpose.

Question 4Project Integration and Scope Management

Which process group contains the processes that define a new project or a new phase of an existing project?

  1. Monitoring and Controlling
  2. Executing
  3. Closing
  4. Initiating Correct answer.

Explanation

Initiating processes define a new project or a new phase by obtaining authorization to start. Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing occur after the project has been authorized.

Question 5Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is decomposing the total scope of work into smaller, more manageable components. Which tool or technique is being applied?

  1. Decomposition Correct answer.
  2. Benefit-cost analysis
  3. Alternatives analysis
  4. Rolling wave planning

Explanation

Decomposition is the technique of subdividing project deliverables and work into smaller, more manageable components. Rolling wave planning is iterative elaboration over time, and the other options are unrelated analyses.

Question 6Project Integration and Scope Management

What does a work package represent in a work breakdown structure?

  1. The contractual milestone agreed with the customer
  2. A summary activity grouping several phases together
  3. The highest level deliverable of the project
  4. The work defined at the lowest level of the WBS for which cost and duration can be estimated Correct answer.

Explanation

A work package is the lowest level of the WBS, where work is defined and cost and duration can be reliably estimated and managed. Higher levels are summary or control accounts, not work packages.

Question 7Project Integration and Scope Management

Which technique uses a sample of items to draw conclusions about the whole population and is used in scope and quality planning?

  1. Nominal group technique
  2. Statistical sampling Correct answer.
  3. Affinity diagramming
  4. Brainstorming

Explanation

Statistical sampling selects a subset of a population to draw conclusions about the whole, which is useful when full inspection is impractical. The other techniques are idea-generation or grouping methods.

Question 8Project Integration and Scope Management

What is the main purpose of the Closing process group?

  1. To finalize all activities across a project, phase, or contract Correct answer.
  2. To select the vendor that will perform the work
  3. To authorize the project manager to begin planning
  4. To verify that the scope baseline is still accurate

Explanation

Closing processes finalize all activities across a project, phase, or contract to formally complete it. Authorization occurs in Initiating, and vendor selection occurs during planning.

Question 9Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager wants to ensure the team understands the boundaries of the project. Which document explicitly states what is included and excluded from the project?

  1. Requirements traceability matrix
  2. Resource management plan
  3. Scope management plan
  4. Project scope statement Correct answer.

Explanation

The project scope statement describes the project scope, major deliverables, assumptions, and constraints, and explicitly documents what is out of scope. The scope management plan describes how scope will be managed, not the boundaries themselves.

Question 10Project Integration and Scope Management

During execution, a stakeholder requests a feature that was never included in the approved scope. What is the correct first step?

  1. Process the request through integrated change control Correct answer.
  2. Add the feature to the work breakdown structure and proceed
  3. Reject the request without documenting it
  4. Ask the team to absorb the work into existing tasks

Explanation

Requests for new features outside the approved scope must go through the integrated change control process, which evaluates impact and requires formal approval. Absorbing or adding work without approval undermines the scope baseline.

Question 11Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is creating a WBS and must decide how far to decompose the work. What is the guiding principle?

  1. Decompose until the work can be estimated and managed to an appropriate level of control Correct answer.
  2. Decompose until no further subdeliverables can be identified
  3. Decompose until the work is assigned to a single individual
  4. Decompose until every activity has the same duration

Explanation

The appropriate level of decomposition is the point at which the work can be reliably estimated and managed. This level varies by project size and risk, so there is no fixed rule about duration or single ownership.

Question 12Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is validating scope with the customer. Which output is produced when the customer formally accepts the completed deliverables?

  1. Change requests
  2. Accepted deliverables Correct answer.
  3. Work performance information
  4. Verified deliverables

Explanation

The Validate Scope process produces accepted deliverables when the customer formally signs off on completed and verified deliverables. Verified deliverables are an input to validation, and change requests may arise but are not the acceptance output.

Question 13Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is comparing the actual scope completed against the scope baseline to detect deviations. Which process is being performed?

  1. Define Scope
  2. Validate Scope
  3. Collect Requirements
  4. Control Scope Correct answer.

Explanation

Control Scope monitors the status of the project and product scope and manages changes to the scope baseline by comparing actual performance against the baseline. Validate Scope focuses on formal acceptance of completed deliverables.

Question 14Project Integration and Scope Management

Which document links each requirement to its source, business need, and the deliverable that satisfies it?

  1. Requirements traceability matrix Correct answer.
  2. Stakeholder register
  3. Requirements management plan
  4. Scope baseline

Explanation

The requirements traceability matrix links requirements back to their origin and forward to the deliverables and test results that satisfy them. It supports scope control and helps confirm that all requirements are delivered.

Question 15Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is developing the project management plan and wants to define how changes will be requested, evaluated, and approved. Which subsidiary plan addresses this?

  1. Scope management plan
  2. Change management plan Correct answer.
  3. Configuration management plan
  4. Quality management plan

Explanation

The change management plan describes how changes will be formally requested, evaluated, and approved or rejected. The configuration management plan addresses version control of artifacts, which is related but distinct.

Question 16Project Integration and Scope Management

What distinguishes a project from ongoing operations in the context of project integration?

  1. Projects are temporary and produce a unique product, service, or result Correct answer.
  2. Projects have no defined start or end date
  3. Projects are managed only by functional managers
  4. Projects are always funded by external customers

Explanation

A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result, with a definite beginning and end. Operations are ongoing and repetitive, which is the key contrast.

Question 17Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is directing and managing project work and discovers that a previously approved change was never implemented. Which process should have ensured the change was executed?

  1. Control Quality
  2. Direct and Manage Project Work Correct answer.
  3. Perform Integrated Change Control
  4. Monitor Risks

Explanation

Direct and Manage Project Work is where approved change requests are implemented. Perform Integrated Change Control approves the change, but execution of the approved change happens during project work.

Question 18Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is preparing the scope management plan. Which element should it describe?

  1. The cost baseline and funding requirements
  2. The process for controlling scope and handling scope changes Correct answer.
  3. The communication channels between stakeholders
  4. The detailed list of every activity and its duration

Explanation

The scope management plan describes how scope will be defined, validated, and controlled, including how scope changes are handled. Activity lists, cost baselines, and communication channels belong to other plans.

Question 19Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is using product analysis to define scope. Which technique is an example of product analysis?

  1. Questionnaires
  2. Systems engineering Correct answer.
  3. Focus groups
  4. Benchmarking

Explanation

Product analysis converts product descriptions into deliverables and includes techniques such as systems engineering, value analysis, and value engineering. Focus groups and questionnaires are requirements-gathering techniques.

Question 20Project Integration and Scope Management

During scope validation, the customer rejects a completed deliverable. What should the project manager do with the rejected deliverable?

  1. Deliver it again unchanged at the next milestone
  2. Close the project phase immediately
  3. Record it as accepted pending later review
  4. Document the rejection and initiate a change request to correct the deliverable Correct answer.

Explanation

Rejected deliverables are documented, and corrective action is typically initiated through a change request so the work can be reworked and revalidated. Treating it as accepted or resubmitting unchanged would not resolve the gap.

Question 21Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is applying rolling wave planning to a large WBS. What does this approach involve?

  1. Assigning all work packages before requirements are defined
  2. Eliminating the WBS in favor of a simple task list
  3. Planning near-term work in detail while leaving far-term work at a higher level Correct answer.
  4. Decomposing all work to the lowest level at the start

Explanation

Rolling wave planning progressively elaborates work packages as more information becomes available, so near-term work is planned in detail while future work remains at a higher level. It does not require full upfront decomposition.

Question 22Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is performing an analysis of the project management plan and project documents to identify inconsistencies and gaps. Which technique is being used?

  1. Document analysis Correct answer.
  2. Alternatives analysis
  3. Make-or-buy analysis
  4. Assumption and constraint analysis

Explanation

Document analysis reviews existing documents to identify information relevant to requirements and to surface inconsistencies or gaps. Assumption and constraint analysis examines assumptions and constraints rather than reviewing documents for gaps.

Question 23Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager learns that a team member has been performing work that is outside the approved WBS. This is best described as which condition?

  1. Configuration control
  2. Scope creep Correct answer.
  3. Scope validation
  4. Gold plating

Explanation

Scope creep occurs when work outside the approved scope is added without going through change control. It is often gradual and can erode the scope baseline if not detected and corrected.

Question 24Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is integrating project plans and finds that the schedule baseline conflicts with the resource management plan. What is the most appropriate action?

  1. Ignore the conflict because each plan is owned by a different team
  2. Delete the resource management plan to remove the conflict
  3. Resolve the conflict through integration so the plans are consistent and mutually supportive Correct answer.
  4. Escalate to the customer to choose which plan to keep

Explanation

Project integration management requires the project manager to unify and coordinate the various plans so they are consistent and mutually supportive. Conflicts are resolved through integration rather than by discarding plans or delegating the decision.

Question 25Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is deciding which requirements to include in the project scope. Two stakeholders present conflicting requirements with equal apparent priority. What is the best approach?

  1. Select the requirement from the more senior stakeholder
  2. Defer both requirements to the closing phase
  3. Include both requirements to avoid conflict
  4. Facilitate a resolution using agreed prioritization criteria and document the decision Correct answer.

Explanation

Conflicting requirements should be resolved through a structured prioritization process using agreed criteria, with the outcome documented. Including both may exceed scope, and deferring decisions to closing is impractical.

Question 26Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is developing the project charter and needs to formally authorize the project and the project manager. Which input provides the business justification and high-level project description for the charter?

  1. The scope baseline
  2. The project management plan
  3. The requirements traceability matrix
  4. The business case Correct answer.

Explanation

The business case is a documented economic feasibility study that provides the necessary information to determine whether the project is worth the investment. It is a key input to the Develop Project Charter process, along with agreements and enterprise environmental factors. The project management plan and scope baseline are outputs of later planning processes, not inputs to the charter.

Question 27Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is facilitating a requirements workshop with stakeholders. Which technique is specifically designed to generate a large number of ideas quickly and then group them for analysis?

  1. Brainstorming Correct answer.
  2. Focus groups
  3. Interviews
  4. Benchmarking

Explanation

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique used to identify a list of ideas or requirements in a short period. It is often followed by grouping or affinity diagramming to organize the output. Focus groups and interviews are more structured and typically involve fewer participants, while benchmarking compares practices to other organizations.

Question 28Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) and must ensure that each level of decomposition represents a logical aggregation of project work. Which principle should guide the grouping of work packages?

  1. The 80-hour rule, meaning no work package should exceed 80 hours of effort
  2. The rolling wave rule, meaning all work packages must be defined in detail at the start
  3. The single-owner rule, meaning each work package can have multiple accountable owners
  4. The 100 percent rule, meaning the WBS includes all work and only the work required to complete the project Correct answer.

Explanation

The 100 percent rule states that the WBS must include 100 percent of the work defined by the project scope and capture all deliverables, including internal, external, and interim deliverables. It ensures that no work is omitted and no extra work is included. The 80-hour rule is a heuristic, not a core principle, and rolling wave planning allows progressive elaboration rather than requiring all detail upfront.

Question 29Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is performing integrated change control. A change request has been approved by the change control board. What is the next step the project manager should take?

  1. Reject the change because it was not in the original scope baseline
  2. Implement the change immediately without updating any documents
  3. Update the project management plan and project documents, then implement the change Correct answer.
  4. Request a new baseline from the sponsor before implementation

Explanation

Once a change request is approved, the project manager must update the affected project management plan components and project documents to incorporate the change. Then the change is implemented and its status is communicated. Rejecting an approved change or implementing it without documentation would violate the change control process.

Question 30Project Integration and Scope Management

A project manager is leading a team that has identified a new requirement that will affect the project scope. The project manager wants to ensure that the impact of the change on all knowledge areas is evaluated before a decision is made. Which action best supports this goal?

  1. Log the requirement in the issue log and continue with the current plan
  2. Update the requirements traceability matrix without further analysis
  3. Perform a what-if analysis to assess the effect of the change on project constraints Correct answer.
  4. Ask the team to implement the change and report any problems later

Explanation

Integrated change control requires evaluating the impact of a change on all project constraints and knowledge areas. A what-if analysis helps assess the potential effects on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and risk before the change request is submitted to the change control board. Logging without analysis, implementing without approval, or updating documents without evaluation bypasses this integrated assessment.

Question 31Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is building the cost baseline for a construction project. Which document provides the authorized budget that the cost baseline is derived from, before management reserve is added?

  1. The cost baseline plus contingency reserve
  2. The performance measurement baseline
  3. The cost management plan
  4. The project funding requirement Correct answer.

Explanation

The cost baseline is the approved time-phased budget excluding management reserve. Adding management reserve to the cost baseline produces the project funding requirement, which is the total authorized funding the sponsor approves.

Question 32Schedule and Cost Management

During schedule network analysis, a team identifies that the longest path through the network has zero total float. What does this path represent?

  1. The resource-leveled path after smoothing
  2. The path with the highest cost of crashing per day
  3. The critical path, which determines the shortest possible project duration Correct answer.
  4. The path with the greatest number of activities

Explanation

The critical path is the sequence of activities with the least total float, usually zero, and its length sets the minimum project duration. Any delay on it delays the project finish unless the plan is changed.

Question 33Schedule and Cost Management

An activity has an optimistic estimate of 6 days, a most likely estimate of 9 days, and a pessimistic estimate of 18 days. Using the PERT weighted three-point formula, what is the expected duration?

  1. 11 days
  2. 10 days Correct answer.
  3. 9 days
  4. 12 days

Explanation

The PERT expected duration is (O + 4M + P) / 6. Substituting gives (6 + 36 + 18) / 6 = 60 / 6 = 10 days, which weights the most likely value most heavily.

Question 34Schedule and Cost Management

Which earned value metric represents the value of work actually completed expressed in the budgeted rate?

  1. Budget at completion
  2. Planned value
  3. Actual cost
  4. Earned value Correct answer.

Explanation

Earned value is the budgeted amount for work actually accomplished, calculated as percent complete times the relevant budget. It allows cost and schedule performance to be compared against a common baseline.

Question 35Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager needs to forecast the total cost at completion assuming that future work will proceed at the same cost efficiency observed to date. Which formula should be used?

  1. EAC = BAC - EV
  2. EAC = AC + (BAC - EV)
  3. EAC = BAC / CPI Correct answer.
  4. EAC = AC + ETC

Explanation

When current cost performance is expected to continue, the estimate at completion is BAC divided by CPI. This scales the remaining budget by the observed cost efficiency.

Question 36Schedule and Cost Management

Which schedule compression technique adds resources to critical path activities, usually at increased cost and risk?

  1. Resource smoothing
  2. Lead and lag adjustment
  3. Fast tracking
  4. Crashing Correct answer.

Explanation

Crashing shortens duration by adding resources or overtime to critical path activities. It almost always increases cost and may add risk, so it is applied where the least cost per unit of time is gained.

Question 37Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is estimating costs for a project with well-defined scope and a detailed work breakdown structure, and needs a defensible accuracy range of about -5% to +10%. Which estimating method fits best?

  1. Parametric estimating
  2. Three-point estimating
  3. Analogous estimating
  4. Bottom-up estimating Correct answer.

Explanation

Bottom-up estimating aggregates estimates for individual work packages and produces the most accurate results when scope is well defined. Its typical accuracy range is roughly -5% to +10%, at the cost of more effort.

Question 38Schedule and Cost Management

The schedule management plan is being drafted. Which element does it typically specify?

  1. The rules for assigning activity identifiers and the level of schedule accuracy required Correct answer.
  2. The quality inspection and testing standards
  3. The risk response owners and contingency reserves
  4. The staffing acquisition and release timetable

Explanation

The schedule management plan defines how the schedule will be developed, monitored, and controlled, including scheduling methodology, activity identification conventions, and required accuracy. Staffing, quality, and risk content belong to their own subsidiary plans.

Question 39Schedule and Cost Management

An activity has an early start of day 5, an early finish of day 12, a late start of day 8, and a late finish of day 15. What is the total float?

  1. 8 days
  2. 15 days
  3. 7 days
  4. 3 days Correct answer.

Explanation

Total float equals late start minus early start, or late finish minus early finish. Here 8 - 5 = 3 days, and 15 - 12 = 3 days, confirming the activity can slip three days without delaying the project.

Question 40Schedule and Cost Management

A project has a budget at completion of 500,000, earned value of 200,000, and actual cost of 250,000. What are the cost performance index and cost variance?

  1. CPI = 1.25 and CV = -50,000
  2. CPI = 0.80 and CV = -50,000 Correct answer.
  3. CPI = 0.80 and CV = +50,000
  4. CPI = 1.25 and CV = +50,000

Explanation

CPI is EV divided by AC, so 200,000 / 250,000 = 0.80. Cost variance is EV minus AC, so 200,000 - 250,000 = -50,000, indicating the project is over budget for the work performed.

Question 41Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager wants to show cumulative planned value, earned value, and actual cost on one chart to communicate cost and schedule performance trends over time. Which tool is appropriate?

  1. A control chart
  2. A scatter diagram
  3. An S-curve Correct answer.
  4. A Pareto diagram

Explanation

An S-curve plots cumulative cost or value against time and commonly overlays PV, EV, and AC to show performance trends. Divergence between the curves visually signals schedule and cost variance.

Question 42Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is developing a schedule and wants to reflect the fact that a testing activity cannot begin until three days after coding finishes, while preserving the logical finish-to-start relationship. What should be used?

  1. A finish-to-finish relationship with a three-day lag
  2. A start-to-start relationship with a three-day lead
  3. A start-to-finish relationship with a three-day lag
  4. A finish-to-start relationship with a three-day lag Correct answer.

Explanation

A lag is a waiting period inserted between predecessor and successor, so a finish-to-start relationship with a three-day lag delays testing three days after coding ends. This preserves the dependency while modeling the required wait.

Question 43Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is estimating costs for a new product line and has only a similar past project with comparable scale but different technology. Which estimating approach is most appropriate at this early stage?

  1. Definitive estimating using vendor bids
  2. Bottom-up estimating based on the detailed work breakdown structure
  3. Analogous estimating using the historical project as a reference Correct answer.
  4. Parametric estimating using a validated cost driver

Explanation

Analogous estimating uses the actual cost of a similar past project as a basis and is suited to early stages when detail is scarce. It is less accurate but fast and inexpensive, which fits limited information.

Question 44Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is applying resource leveling to a schedule. What is the most likely consequence?

  1. Total float on non-critical activities is eliminated
  2. Resource demand is smoothed without affecting the project finish date
  3. The critical path may change and the project duration may increase Correct answer.
  4. The schedule baseline is updated automatically

Explanation

Resource leveling resolves resource over-allocation, often by delaying activities beyond their float. This can extend the project duration and may shift the critical path, which is why it is used when resources are constrained.

Question 45Schedule and Cost Management

A project's schedule performance index is 0.85. Which interpretation is most accurate?

  1. The project will finish 15% under budget
  2. The project is progressing at 85% of the planned rate and is behind schedule Correct answer.
  3. The project has completed 85% of its total scope
  4. The project is spending 85% of its budget as planned

Explanation

SPI is earned value divided by planned value, so 0.85 means only 85 cents of budgeted work is being earned for each dollar planned. The project is behind schedule relative to the baseline.

Question 46Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is preparing a cost estimate and must include an allowance for known risks with identified responses. Where should this allowance appear?

  1. In the management reserve held by the sponsor
  2. In the project's indirect cost pool
  3. In the contingency reserve included in the cost baseline Correct answer.
  4. In the profit margin of the seller's contract

Explanation

Contingency reserve covers identified risks with planned responses and is part of the cost baseline. Management reserve, by contrast, covers unidentified risks and sits above the baseline.

Question 47Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager must determine the total planned cost for a work package that includes labor, materials, and equipment. Which document organizes the work and provides the structure for assigning these costs?

  1. The responsibility assignment matrix
  2. The work breakdown structure Correct answer.
  3. The resource calendar
  4. The stakeholder register

Explanation

The work breakdown structure decomposes project scope into work packages to which cost accounts and estimates are assigned. It provides the framework for rolling up costs into the cost baseline.

Question 48Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager observes that a schedule variance of -20,000 exists at a point when planned value is 100,000. What does this indicate?

  1. The project is 20% over budget
  2. The project has spent 20,000 less than planned
  3. The project has earned 20,000 less value than planned for the time elapsed Correct answer.
  4. The project's critical path has shortened

Explanation

Schedule variance is earned value minus planned value; a negative result means less budgeted work was accomplished than scheduled. It measures schedule performance in cost terms, not actual spending.

Question 49Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager needs to compare the planned pace of work with the actual pace to determine whether remaining work can be completed by the deadline. Which technique is specifically designed for this?

  1. Monte Carlo simulation
  2. Cost-benefit analysis
  3. Value stream mapping
  4. To-complete performance index Correct answer.

Explanation

The to-complete performance index calculates the efficiency required on remaining work to meet a target such as the budget or deadline. A TCPI above 1.0 signals that remaining work must be performed more efficiently than planned.

Question 50Schedule and Cost Management

A project manager is updating the schedule and finds that an activity on the critical path has slipped five days, while a non-critical activity has 10 days of total float. Which statement is correct?

  1. Both activities will delay the project equally
  2. The non-critical activity will absorb the slip because it has float
  3. The project finish date is likely to slip five days unless the critical activity is compressed or re-sequenced Correct answer.
  4. The schedule baseline updates automatically to reflect the slip

Explanation

Slip on a critical path activity directly extends the project duration because the path has no float. Float on a different activity cannot offset that delay, and baseline updates require formal change control.