PMP Process Practice Questions (41% of the Exam)

Question 1: Process

A hospital is replacing its nurse-call system across six wards under a predictive plan. The vendor recommends one weekend cutover, which costs 20% less than other options. Two intensive care wards can't lose call coverage for more than 15 minutes, and the budget covers running the old and new systems side by side in only two wards. The other four wards can tolerate a short outage with extra staff. Which execution strategy should the project manager recommend?

1. Cut over ward by ward, running both systems side by side in the two intensive care wards
2. Cut over ward by ward starting with intensive care, where the need for the new system is highest
3. Take the vendor's single weekend cutover, adding extra nursing staff to all six of the wards
4. Run both systems side by side in all six wards until every ward has been tested and accepted

Correct answer: A. A is correct because this protects the wards with the strict coverage limit, stays within what the budget covers for side-by-side running and avoids it where it isn't needed. B is incorrect because this places the first and least proven cutover in the wards least able to tolerate a problem. C is incorrect because extra staff can cover the four other wards, but a single cutover can't assure the 15-minute limit in intensive care. D is incorrect because this meets the limit, but the budget covers side-by-side running in only two wards, and the other four can manage a short outage. Exam outline: Process, Task 1 (Develop an integrated project management plan and plan delivery).

Question 2: Process

The product owner of a government agile team asks the project manager to help prepare for backlog refinement. These issues have been found:

1. One 55-point story covers five different customer journeys
2. Two stories from different stakeholders describe the same feature
3. A story says "improve the report," with no way to test it
4. A low-ranked story relates to a service the agency has closed

Which option best matches each issue to the refinement action?

1. 1 Add criteria; 2 Remove; 3 Split; 4 Merge
2. 1 Remove; 2 Split; 3 Merge; 4 Add criteria
3. 1 Split; 2 Merge; 3 Add criteria; 4 Remove
4. 1 Merge; 2 Split; 3 Add criteria; 4 Remove

Correct answer: C. C is correct because a story with five journeys can be sliced, duplicates can be combined, a vague story needs testable criteria, and work for a closed service has no value. A is incorrect because criteria don't make a 55-point story smaller, removing one duplicate may lose a stakeholder's needs, and a vague story has nothing to split yet. B is incorrect because the 55-point story is wanted work, the duplicates need combining, and the closed service doesn't need better criteria. D is incorrect because combining makes the 55-point story bigger, and splitting two duplicates makes the overlap worse. Exam outline: Process, Task 2 (Develop and manage project scope).

Question 3: Process

A hybrid warehouse project has a predictive building fit-out and an agile picking app. The project manager is verifying the benefits tracker before the first gate review.

Which benefit can't be shown as achieved from the tracker's data, whatever later results show?

1. Fewer late orders
2. Staff retention
3. Lower cost per pick
4. Fewer complaints

Correct answer: D. D is correct because its target is relative to a baseline that was never captured, so no later figure can show a 20% drop. A is incorrect because the baseline, target, latest figure and owner are all present, so achievement can be shown when the figure reaches 8%. B is incorrect because the missing owner needs fixing, but the baseline, target and latest figure exist, so achievement could still be shown. C is incorrect because the baseline, target, latest figure and owner are all present, and the measure is already moving toward the target. Exam outline: Process, Task 3 (Help ensure value-based delivery).

Question 4: Process

A predictive packaging line project relies on an overseas supplier's engineers for factory testing in weeks 30 to 33. While checking the schedule, the project manager learns that the supplier's plant closes for its annual three-week shutdown starting in week 31. The project's resource calendar shows the engineers as available. What should the project manager do next?

1. Update the resource calendar and rework the factory test dates with the supplier
2. Note the shutdown in the issue log and take it up again when week 30 is closer
3. Ask the supplier to keep its plant open during the annual shutdown for this testing
4. Run the factory tests with the project's own engineers in place of the supplier's engineers

Correct answer: A. A is correct because the calendar is wrong and the testing can't happen as planned, so the plan must reflect real availability while there is time. B is incorrect because waiting removes the time needed to re-plan, and the conflict is already known and certain. C is incorrect because an annual shutdown is unlikely to move for one customer, and the dates can be reworked without asking for it. D is incorrect because the tests rely on the supplier's engineers, and the plant itself will be closed during those weeks. Exam outline: Process, Task 4 (Plan and manage resources).

Question 5: Process

A hybrid packaging-line project buys control cabinets under a firm-fixed-price contract while in-house teams build software in sprints. The seller writes that component costs rose 30% and asks for 15% more. Scope hasn't changed, the contract has no price adjustment clause, and the seller has confirmed it can still deliver. How should the project manager respond?

1. Decline the increase, because the fixed price leaves this cost risk with the seller
2. Approve half the increase to keep the vendor relationship strong through to delivery
3. Ask the software team to drop stories, freeing up funds for the requested increase
4. Convert the cabinet contract to time and materials to remove the dispute over price

Correct answer: A. A is correct because a firm-fixed-price contract with unchanged scope and no adjustment clause leaves component cost growth with the seller, who can still deliver. B is incorrect because the seller is not owed this money and has confirmed it can deliver, so this spends budget with no contractual need. C is incorrect because this gives up product value to pay money that isn't owed, and the backlog order isn't the project manager's decision. D is incorrect because this moves cost risk from the seller to the buyer, which gives up the main protection of the fixed price. Exam outline: Process, Task 5 (Plan and manage procurement).

Question 6: Process

A government facility project on a predictive plan has a $500,000 budget at completion, and 50% of the work was planned to be done by now. The work is 40% complete, and $230,000 has been spent. Which statement describes the project's status?

1. CV is +$20K and SV is -$50K, so it is under cost and behind schedule
2. CV is -$30K and SV is -$50K, so it is over cost and behind schedule
3. CV is -$50K and SV is -$30K, so it is over cost and behind schedule
4. CV is -$30K and SV is +$20K, so it is over cost and ahead of schedule

Correct answer: B. B is correct because EV is $200,000 and PV is $250,000, so CV is EV minus AC, and SV is EV minus PV. A is incorrect because this compares PV with AC to get CV, but cost variance compares the work earned with what it cost. C is incorrect because the two variances are reversed, because EV minus AC is -$30,000, and EV minus PV is -$50,000. D is incorrect because this compares PV with AC to get SV, but schedule variance compares the work earned with the work planned. Exam outline: Process, Task 6 (Plan and manage finance).

Question 7: Process

Case: dairy processing plant upgrade. A regional dairy cooperative is upgrading a processing plant under a predictive plan with an approved schedule baseline. The plant stays in service throughout, so the operations division controls when process lines can go offline. Pasteurizer installation needs its line offline for its whole duration and can't begin until civil works finish. Durations are in weeks, and the project finishes at the end of week 20.

Development: Food-safety rules require an inspector-witnessed pasteurizer test before a process line returns to service, and the quality plan includes this test. The inspector can attend in three days. The contractor offers to self-certify today with its calibrated instruments so that the line can return sooner. Operations would welcome the capacity, though there is no supply shortfall. What is the best decision?

1. Hold the line out of service until the witnessed test has been completed
2. Accept the contractor's certificate and send its test records to the inspector
3. Ask the sponsor to approve return to service with extra sampling in the meantime
4. Return the line under operations' risk acceptance and test at the inspector's visit

Correct answer: A. A is correct because the rules and the quality plan both require a witnessed test, and with no shortfall there's no reason to look for another route. B is incorrect because calibrated instruments don't replace a witnessed test, and the contractor would be certifying its own work. C is incorrect because a sponsor can't waive a food-safety requirement, and the three-day wait causes no supply problem. D is incorrect because operations can't accept a risk that the food-safety rules don't allow, and milk from the line would reach consumers untested. Exam outline: Process, Task 7 (Plan and optimize quality of products/deliverables).

Question 8: Process

A telecom's hybrid project is planning a predictive core-router cutover. Cutover takes two consecutive weeks with no network freeze and with the core lab free for rollback testing. The agile team's final configuration release lands at the end of week 23, and cutover can't begin before it.

Which weeks should the project manager plan for cutover?

1. Weeks 26 and 27
2. Weeks 25 and 26
3. Weeks 20 and 21
4. Weeks 24 and 25

Correct answer: B. B is correct because these are the first two consecutive weeks after the week 23 release with no freeze and a free lab. A is incorrect because week 27 falls in a network freeze, so cutover can't run through it. C is incorrect because these come before the week 23 configuration release, and the lab is also booked in week 20. D is incorrect because the lab is booked by another project in week 24, so rollback testing isn't available then. Exam outline: Process, Task 8 (Plan and manage schedule).

Question 9: Process

A predictive wind farm project tracks embodied carbon in its concrete, with a target of 700 t CO2e at this stage. The status report used a design factor for South because supplier data arrived late. The supplier's certified figures are now in.

What should the project manager do with this month's sustainability metric?

1. Report 630 t for now, and log the South difference in the project's risk register
2. Update South to the certified figure, and report 750 t, which is over the 700 t target
3. Report both totals as a range of 630 to 750 t, and leave the target status open
4. Keep reporting 630 t, because the design factor is the approved planning basis

Correct answer: B. B is correct because certified actuals replace the planning factor, and the corrected total changes the result from under target to over it. A is incorrect because the difference is a known fact and not an uncertain event, and the reported total would still be wrong. C is incorrect because the certified data settles the South figure, so there is no real uncertainty for a range to show. D is incorrect because a planning factor was a stand-in until actual data arrived, and certified figures are now available. Exam outline: Process, Task 9 (Evaluate project status).

Question 10: Process

Two months into a hybrid retail loyalty program, store operations says the project is done when all stores are live, finance says when the budget is closed, and the sponsor says when members' spending has increased. No closure criteria have been written. What should the project manager do next?

1. Adopt the PMO's general closure checklist, and tell stakeholders that it settles the matter
2. Ask the product owner to choose the definition of done that best suits the backlog
3. Define measurable closure criteria with these stakeholders, and have the sponsor approve them
4. Record the three views in the issue log, and resolve them as rollout nears its end

Correct answer: C. C is correct because criteria should be agreed early, while there is time to settle the differences and plan for them. A is incorrect because a general checklist does not address these competing views, and stakeholders have not agreed to it. B is incorrect because a definition of done applies to backlog items, and it does not settle when the whole program closes. D is incorrect because leaving this until late means the project runs for months with no agreed finish line. Exam outline: Process, Task 10 (Manage project closure).