This document provides sample PMP exam questions along with explanations of their answers, highlighting key concepts in project management. It emphasizes the limitations of the material, noting that it is not endorsed by PMI and should serve only as a reference rather than a definitive study guide. The questions cover various scenarios related to project management practices, team dynamics, and conflict resolution strategies.

1. PMP® Sample Questions
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2. This presentation will showcase free
sample PMP® questions that will help
and guide you in studying for your
PMP® exam
Find more free sample questions when you
visit www.free-pm-exam-questions.com
and free.pm-exam-simulator.com

3. You are working in a weak matrix organization. You are having
problems acquiring the project human resources you were promised
earlier during the planning phase of the project. The substitute
resources being offered to you do not have the skills required to
perform the project work. What should you do to resolve this problem?
a. You should issue a change request
b.You should use your legitimate power to obtain the required
resources
c. You should convince your project sponsor to release the necessary
resources
d.You should negotiate with the functional manager
Hint: Determine which of the available choices can actually help you
obtain the required resources.
Sample PMP® Exam Question 1

4. The correct answer is D
You only issue a change request when you require a change to the project
baselines, which is not the case here. You can use your legitimate power to
obtain the required resources if you were in a projectized organization,
but as you are not, this choice is incorrect. Your project sponsor is
responsible for the project funding and does not have any significant
influence over the project human resource decisions in a weak matrix
organization. As the resources are controlled by their functional
managers in a weak matrix organization, negotiating with the respective
functional managers might resolve the issue.
Answer and Explanation

5. You have just taken over from a project manager who was managing a construction
project. According to the previous project manager, the project team is in the
performing stage and smoothly carrying out the project activities. During your first
week on the job you determine that the project team is actually in serious conflict.
Every team member approaches you with a conflict and a suggestion to resolve that
conflict. Almost everyone believes that the approved Project Management Plan
needs to be updated in order to successfully carry out the project. What is the
potential reason for this team behavior and why is it in conflict with the previous
project manager's statement?
a. The previous project manager lied about the team's performance
b.The approved Project Management Plan is faulty
c. You do not have expert power to motivate your project team
d.The replacement of the project manager has moved the project team
back to the storming stage
Hint: Any of the given choices can be true, however, look for sufficient
evidence in the given scenario.
Sample PMP® Exam Question 2

6. The correct answer is D
Choices A, B, and C can be real situations, and if they are occur, they
can cause conflicts. However, as there isn't sufficient evidence given
in this scenario, we can't say for sure that any of these choices are
the potential reason for the team's behavior. In contrast, whenever
there is a significant change in the team membership the team can
move back from performing to storming or even to the norming
stage. As you replaced the previous project manager, this might have
caused the team to degrade from the performing stage to the
storming stage.
Answer and Explanation

7. You are managing a software development project. One month ago your
Software Development Team Lead resigned and you promoted your star
programmer to lead the development team. This person was a fantastic
software coder and you thought the promotion would mean that he could
share his expertise across the development team. However, you are
surprised to learn that the performance of your new team lead in his new
role is not meeting your expectations. Which empirical rule did you forget
while considering the promotion of this person?
a. Peter Principle
b.Murphy Principle
c. Pareto Principle
d.Cornelius Principle
Hint: The promotion in this case is a classic example of the 'Peter
Principle' or 'Halo Effect'.
Sample PMP® Exam Question 3

8. The correct answer is A
The Peter Principle states, "In a hierarchy every employee tends to
rise to his/her level of incompetence". Most project team members
are motivated by an opportunity to grow, accomplish, and apply their
professional skills to meet new challenges. Their achievements
continuously promote them within an organization to a certain level
until they are unable to perform. Your team lead might have risen to
his incompetency level.
Answer and Explanation

9. You are managing a construction project. Your civil supervisor is responsible
for inspecting daily operations and communicating his observations to your
documentation officer, who then produces a daily work status report and
distributes it to the project stakeholders. Today your documentation officer is
on leave, and you ask your civil supervisor to prepare the status report. Your
civil supervisor does not like your documentation officer and does not want to
perform any of the documentation officer's tasks for him. However, you ask
him do this as a favor to you and in return he can submit one of his own
reports that is due today by the end of the week. Which conflict resolution
strategy you have used?
a. Withdrawing
b. Compromising
c. Forcing
d. Confronting
Hint: You are trying to satisfy your disgruntled employee by offering a
compromise.
Sample PMP® Exam Question 4

10. The correct answer is B
Compromising means searching for solutions that bring some degree
of satisfaction to all parties. Since you know that your civil supervisor
does not want to perform the documentation officer's task, you are
asking him to postpone the delivery of some of his own work until the
end of the week so that this task can be performed. In this case you
are both compromising.
Answer and Explanation

11. You have just been appointed as a project manager for a long-term project,
which is in its execution phase. You discover that the project team is not
motivated and is not performing to the standards required. After further
investigation, you learn that your company has been hiring team members
on a short-term, contractual basis. As a result, the project team members
are not developing a long-term commitment towards the project. You have
decided to motivate the team members by offering them long-term
positions. Your strategy works and your team members become motivated.
Your motivational strategy is an example of which of the following
theories?
a. Theory X
b. Theory Y
c. Theory Z
d. Theory A
Hint: This theory was developed by Dr. William Ouchi.
Sample PMP® Exam Question 5

12. The correct answer is C
Theory Z was developed by Dr. William Ouchi and concerns
increasing employee loyalty to their organizations. It was developed
in Japan in the 1980's when jobs were often offered for life. This
theory has the following benefits; 1) It results in increased
productivity 2) It emphasizes the well-being of the employees both
at work and outside of work 3) It encourages steady employment
and 4) It leads to high employee satisfaction and morale. On the
other hand, Theory X and Theory Y describe two very different
management attitudes toward workforce motivation in terms of
workforce supervision, which has nothing to do with offering long-
term positions.
Answer and Explanation