PMBOK GUIDE PRINCIPLES PRACTICE EXAM QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) PLUS RATIONALE...
Questions 1–10: Stewardship Principle
1. A project manager discovers that a critical supplier is using
subcontractors that may employ underage workers in a foreign
country. The supplier's costs are significantly lower than alternatives,
and switching would delay the project by six weeks. What should the
project manager do FIRST?
A. Continue with the supplier since the project manager has no direct
control over subcontractor labor practices
B. Immediately terminate the contract and begin the search for a
compliant supplier
C. Assess the legal, ethical, and reputational implications and engage
organizational leadership to determine the appropriate course of action
D. Document the concern in the risk register and continue monitoring
the situation
Correct Answer: C
,Rationale: Stewardship encompasses integrity, care, trustworthiness,
and compliance. It requires a holistic view that considers financial,
social, technical, and environmental awareness. Terminating
immediately (B) without understanding the full situation may be
premature and harmful to the project. Ignoring it (A) abdicates
stewardship responsibility. Simply documenting (D) without action fails
to address the ethical dimension. Assessing implications and engaging
leadership (C) demonstrates responsible stewardship by balancing
project constraints with broader organizational and ethical obligations.
2. During a construction project, the project manager learns that noise
ordinances prohibit work before 7:00 AM and after 6:00 PM. The
contractor proposes working extended hours to recover schedule
delays, arguing that fines are cheaper than delay penalties. What
should the project manager do?
A. Approve the extended hours since the financial analysis shows fines
are less costly than delays
B. Work with the contractor to identify alternative schedule recovery
methods that comply with the ordinance
C. Request a temporary variance from the municipal authority without
first exploring compliant alternatives
D. Approve extended weekday hours within ordinance limits but
prohibit Sunday work as a compromise
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stewardship requires operating within legal and regulatory
boundaries and respecting the community, even when compliance
creates constraints or increases costs. Noise ordinances exist to protect
community quality of life. The fact that ordinances may not be strictly
enforced does not make violating them acceptable. Stewardship
requires seeking compliant solutions first. Option A treats legal
compliance as optional. Option C seeks to burden the community
before exhausting compliant alternatives. Option D still violates the
ordinance.
3. A project manager is leading an agile product development project.
The CEO asks to compress the timeline by three months to beat a
competitor. The team is already at a sustainable pace, and previous
attempts to increase velocity caused defects and burnout. Safety
testing requires eight weeks that cannot be compressed. What should
the project manager do?
A. Challenge the team to increase velocity for the next several sprints to
demonstrate responsiveness
B. Explain the sustainable pace constraint and fixed safety testing
period, then collaboratively explore whether scope reduction could
enable earlier release of a minimum viable product
, C. Agree to the accelerated timeline and defer safety testing until after
initial market release
D. Propose splitting the team into two parallel tracks to achieve both
speed and thoroughness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stewardship in this context encompasses multiple
responsibilities: to the team's well-being, to product safety, to
regulatory compliance, and to the organization's competitive
objectives. Option B addresses all stewardship obligations—protecting
the team, maintaining safety standards, and seeking a creative solution
that could satisfy the CEO's market timing goal through scope
management. Options A and C compromise team sustainability or
safety. Option D may not be feasible and still risks compromising
testing quality.
4. Six weeks before project closure, the project manager learns that the
operations team responsible for sustaining the new system has not
been involved in any project activities. The sponsor confirms go-live will
proceed as planned. Testing is complete and the project is green on
schedule and budget. What should the project manager do?
CORRECT ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) PLUS RATIONALE...
Questions 1–10: Stewardship Principle
1. A project manager discovers that a critical supplier is using
subcontractors that may employ underage workers in a foreign
country. The supplier's costs are significantly lower than alternatives,
and switching would delay the project by six weeks. What should the
project manager do FIRST?
A. Continue with the supplier since the project manager has no direct
control over subcontractor labor practices
B. Immediately terminate the contract and begin the search for a
compliant supplier
C. Assess the legal, ethical, and reputational implications and engage
organizational leadership to determine the appropriate course of action
D. Document the concern in the risk register and continue monitoring
the situation
Correct Answer: C
,Rationale: Stewardship encompasses integrity, care, trustworthiness,
and compliance. It requires a holistic view that considers financial,
social, technical, and environmental awareness. Terminating
immediately (B) without understanding the full situation may be
premature and harmful to the project. Ignoring it (A) abdicates
stewardship responsibility. Simply documenting (D) without action fails
to address the ethical dimension. Assessing implications and engaging
leadership (C) demonstrates responsible stewardship by balancing
project constraints with broader organizational and ethical obligations.
2. During a construction project, the project manager learns that noise
ordinances prohibit work before 7:00 AM and after 6:00 PM. The
contractor proposes working extended hours to recover schedule
delays, arguing that fines are cheaper than delay penalties. What
should the project manager do?
A. Approve the extended hours since the financial analysis shows fines
are less costly than delays
B. Work with the contractor to identify alternative schedule recovery
methods that comply with the ordinance
C. Request a temporary variance from the municipal authority without
first exploring compliant alternatives
D. Approve extended weekday hours within ordinance limits but
prohibit Sunday work as a compromise
,Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stewardship requires operating within legal and regulatory
boundaries and respecting the community, even when compliance
creates constraints or increases costs. Noise ordinances exist to protect
community quality of life. The fact that ordinances may not be strictly
enforced does not make violating them acceptable. Stewardship
requires seeking compliant solutions first. Option A treats legal
compliance as optional. Option C seeks to burden the community
before exhausting compliant alternatives. Option D still violates the
ordinance.
3. A project manager is leading an agile product development project.
The CEO asks to compress the timeline by three months to beat a
competitor. The team is already at a sustainable pace, and previous
attempts to increase velocity caused defects and burnout. Safety
testing requires eight weeks that cannot be compressed. What should
the project manager do?
A. Challenge the team to increase velocity for the next several sprints to
demonstrate responsiveness
B. Explain the sustainable pace constraint and fixed safety testing
period, then collaboratively explore whether scope reduction could
enable earlier release of a minimum viable product
, C. Agree to the accelerated timeline and defer safety testing until after
initial market release
D. Propose splitting the team into two parallel tracks to achieve both
speed and thoroughness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Stewardship in this context encompasses multiple
responsibilities: to the team's well-being, to product safety, to
regulatory compliance, and to the organization's competitive
objectives. Option B addresses all stewardship obligations—protecting
the team, maintaining safety standards, and seeking a creative solution
that could satisfy the CEO's market timing goal through scope
management. Options A and C compromise team sustainability or
safety. Option D may not be feasible and still risks compromising
testing quality.
4. Six weeks before project closure, the project manager learns that the
operations team responsible for sustaining the new system has not
been involved in any project activities. The sponsor confirms go-live will
proceed as planned. Testing is complete and the project is green on
schedule and budget. What should the project manager do?
