PMP Certification Exam Practice Tests 2026:
Questions with Detailed Answers & Rationales
1. A project manager discovers that two key stakeholders have conflicting expectations
about the project’s final deliverable. What should the project manager do FIRST?
A. Ask the sponsor to decide which stakeholder is correct
B. Review the stakeholder requirements and facilitate a discussion
C. Update the project scope statement immediately
D. Escalate the conflict to the project management office
Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should first understand the requirements and facilitate
alignment between stakeholders. Escalation should generally occur only after
reasonable resolution efforts have been attempted.
2. During an agile project, a customer asks the team to add a new feature that would
provide significant business value. What should happen FIRST?
A. Reject the request because the sprint has already started
B. Add the feature directly to the current sprint
C. Evaluate and prioritize the feature in the product backlog
D. Ask the sponsor to approve additional funding
Answer: C
Rationale: In an agile environment, new requirements are normally captured in the
product backlog and prioritized according to value. The product owner determines when
the item should be delivered.
3. A project team member repeatedly misses commitments. The project manager
discovers that the team member is unclear about their responsibilities. What should the
project manager do?
A. Replace the team member
B. Review roles, responsibilities, and expectations with the team member
C. Report the team member to human resources
D. Reduce the team member’s workload permanently
,Answer: B
Rationale: Before taking punitive or escalatory action, the project manager should clarify
responsibilities and expectations and determine whether the issue can be resolved
through coaching.
4. A project has a high-impact risk that has a low probability of occurring. What should
the project manager do?
A. Ignore it because its probability is low
B. Transfer the risk automatically
C. Analyze the risk and determine an appropriate response
D. Close the risk because it has not occurred
Answer: C
Rationale: Risk response should consider both probability and impact. A low-probability
risk may still require action if its impact is severe.
5. A stakeholder begins requesting frequent changes that are outside the approved
project scope. What should the project manager do?
A. Implement the changes to maintain stakeholder satisfaction
B. Reject all future requests from the stakeholder
C. Evaluate the requests through the established change-control process
D. Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate them
Answer: C
Rationale: Changes should be evaluated through the project’s established change-
management process to understand their impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and
other constraints.
6. During a retrospective, the development team identifies that unclear acceptance
criteria caused several defects. What should the team do?
A. Blame the product owner
B. Identify an improvement to prevent the problem from recurring
C. Increase the team’s working hours
D. Remove the affected requirements
Answer: B
,Rationale: Retrospectives focus on continuous improvement. The team should identify
the root cause and agree on an actionable improvement.
7. A project manager is working with a globally distributed team. Miscommunication has
increased because team members work in different time zones. What should the project
manager do?
A. Require everyone to work the same hours
B. Establish a communication approach that accounts for time zones and collaboration
needs
C. Communicate only through email
D. Allow each team member to choose their own communication method
Answer: B
Rationale: An effective communication approach should consider geographic location,
time zones, technology, cultural differences, and stakeholder needs.
8. A project sponsor asks the project manager to report that the project is on schedule
even though the latest data shows a significant delay. What should the project manager
do?
A. Report the project as on schedule
B. Hide the delay until the next reporting period
C. Provide accurate status information and explain the corrective actions
D. Ask another project manager to submit the report
Answer: C
Rationale: Project reporting must be accurate and transparent. The project manager
should communicate the actual status and explain how the team plans to address the
variance.
9. A predictive project is experiencing a cost variance. What should the project manager
do FIRST?
A. Immediately request additional funding
B. Determine the cause and magnitude of the variance
C. Remove project deliverables
D. Replace the cost-management team
, Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should understand why the variance occurred before
determining an appropriate corrective action.
10. A team member informs the project manager that a task cannot be completed
because they lack a required skill. What is the BEST response?
A. Remove the team member immediately
B. Provide or arrange appropriate training or support
C. Assign the task to the sponsor
D. Cancel the task
Answer: B
Rationale: Developing team capabilities is an important project-management
responsibility. Training, mentoring, or coaching may address the capability gap.
11. A customer refuses to accept a completed deliverable because it does not meet an
agreed requirement. What should the project manager do FIRST?
A. Tell the customer the deliverable is complete
B. Review the documented acceptance criteria
C. Close the project
D. Ask the sponsor to force acceptance
Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should compare the deliverable against the agreed
acceptance criteria to determine whether the customer’s concern is valid.
12. A project manager notices that team members are avoiding discussions about a
serious technical problem. What should the project manager do?
A. Ignore the problem
B. Create a safe environment for open discussion and collaboration
C. Escalate every team member to management
D. Replace the technical team
Answer: B
Questions with Detailed Answers & Rationales
1. A project manager discovers that two key stakeholders have conflicting expectations
about the project’s final deliverable. What should the project manager do FIRST?
A. Ask the sponsor to decide which stakeholder is correct
B. Review the stakeholder requirements and facilitate a discussion
C. Update the project scope statement immediately
D. Escalate the conflict to the project management office
Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should first understand the requirements and facilitate
alignment between stakeholders. Escalation should generally occur only after
reasonable resolution efforts have been attempted.
2. During an agile project, a customer asks the team to add a new feature that would
provide significant business value. What should happen FIRST?
A. Reject the request because the sprint has already started
B. Add the feature directly to the current sprint
C. Evaluate and prioritize the feature in the product backlog
D. Ask the sponsor to approve additional funding
Answer: C
Rationale: In an agile environment, new requirements are normally captured in the
product backlog and prioritized according to value. The product owner determines when
the item should be delivered.
3. A project team member repeatedly misses commitments. The project manager
discovers that the team member is unclear about their responsibilities. What should the
project manager do?
A. Replace the team member
B. Review roles, responsibilities, and expectations with the team member
C. Report the team member to human resources
D. Reduce the team member’s workload permanently
,Answer: B
Rationale: Before taking punitive or escalatory action, the project manager should clarify
responsibilities and expectations and determine whether the issue can be resolved
through coaching.
4. A project has a high-impact risk that has a low probability of occurring. What should
the project manager do?
A. Ignore it because its probability is low
B. Transfer the risk automatically
C. Analyze the risk and determine an appropriate response
D. Close the risk because it has not occurred
Answer: C
Rationale: Risk response should consider both probability and impact. A low-probability
risk may still require action if its impact is severe.
5. A stakeholder begins requesting frequent changes that are outside the approved
project scope. What should the project manager do?
A. Implement the changes to maintain stakeholder satisfaction
B. Reject all future requests from the stakeholder
C. Evaluate the requests through the established change-control process
D. Ask the team to work overtime to accommodate them
Answer: C
Rationale: Changes should be evaluated through the project’s established change-
management process to understand their impact on scope, schedule, cost, quality, and
other constraints.
6. During a retrospective, the development team identifies that unclear acceptance
criteria caused several defects. What should the team do?
A. Blame the product owner
B. Identify an improvement to prevent the problem from recurring
C. Increase the team’s working hours
D. Remove the affected requirements
Answer: B
,Rationale: Retrospectives focus on continuous improvement. The team should identify
the root cause and agree on an actionable improvement.
7. A project manager is working with a globally distributed team. Miscommunication has
increased because team members work in different time zones. What should the project
manager do?
A. Require everyone to work the same hours
B. Establish a communication approach that accounts for time zones and collaboration
needs
C. Communicate only through email
D. Allow each team member to choose their own communication method
Answer: B
Rationale: An effective communication approach should consider geographic location,
time zones, technology, cultural differences, and stakeholder needs.
8. A project sponsor asks the project manager to report that the project is on schedule
even though the latest data shows a significant delay. What should the project manager
do?
A. Report the project as on schedule
B. Hide the delay until the next reporting period
C. Provide accurate status information and explain the corrective actions
D. Ask another project manager to submit the report
Answer: C
Rationale: Project reporting must be accurate and transparent. The project manager
should communicate the actual status and explain how the team plans to address the
variance.
9. A predictive project is experiencing a cost variance. What should the project manager
do FIRST?
A. Immediately request additional funding
B. Determine the cause and magnitude of the variance
C. Remove project deliverables
D. Replace the cost-management team
, Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should understand why the variance occurred before
determining an appropriate corrective action.
10. A team member informs the project manager that a task cannot be completed
because they lack a required skill. What is the BEST response?
A. Remove the team member immediately
B. Provide or arrange appropriate training or support
C. Assign the task to the sponsor
D. Cancel the task
Answer: B
Rationale: Developing team capabilities is an important project-management
responsibility. Training, mentoring, or coaching may address the capability gap.
11. A customer refuses to accept a completed deliverable because it does not meet an
agreed requirement. What should the project manager do FIRST?
A. Tell the customer the deliverable is complete
B. Review the documented acceptance criteria
C. Close the project
D. Ask the sponsor to force acceptance
Answer: B
Rationale: The project manager should compare the deliverable against the agreed
acceptance criteria to determine whether the customer’s concern is valid.
12. A project manager notices that team members are avoiding discussions about a
serious technical problem. What should the project manager do?
A. Ignore the problem
B. Create a safe environment for open discussion and collaboration
C. Escalate every team member to management
D. Replace the technical team
Answer: B
