PMP Exam Dumps - Project Management Professional (2025 Version)

 To avoid the problem of inaccurate cost estimation, as indicated by a CPI of 0.65, bottom-up estimating should have been used. This method involves estimating the cost of individual tasks in detail and then aggregating them to arrive at a total project cost. It is more accurate than analogous estimating because it considers the specific details of the current project rather than relying on the cost data of past projects, which may not be directly applicable. Bottom-up estimating allows for a more granular and accurate assessment of the project’s financial requirements.

According to the PMBOK guide, one of the principles of agile project management is to empower the team to self-organize and make decisions about how to best accomplish their work. Self-organizing teams are more likely to be motivated, creative, and productive, as they have a sense of ownership and autonomy over their work. Self-organizing teams also have the ability to inspect and adapt their processes and practices based on feedback and learning. Therefore, when a team faces recurring issues, the project lead should not intervene or impose solutions, but rather facilitate the team’s reflection and improvement. The project lead can use techniques such as retrospectives, which are meetings where the team reviews their performance and identifies what went well, what did not go well, and what actions they can take to improve. The project lead can also help the team to update their team working agreement, which is a document that defines the team’s norms, values, and expectations. A team working agreement can help the team to align on their goals, roles, responsibilities, and communication methods, as well as to resolve conflicts and issues. The project lead should not notify senior management, challenge the team, or post the agreements, as these actions may undermine the team’s trust, autonomy, and accountability. References:

PMBOK guide, page 18, section 1.2.3, Agile Considerations in Project Management

PMBOK guide, page 437, section 11.2.2.3, Meetings

Creating a Team Working Agreement

Identifying the root cause of communication issues is the first step to enhance project team effectiveness. The project manager should use tools and techniques such as interviews, surveys, or root cause analysis to understand the factors that are affecting the communication among the team members. These factors could include cultural differences, language barriers, time zones, technology limitations, or personal preferences. Once the root cause is identified, the project manager can implement appropriate solutions to improve the communication and collaboration within the team. Implementing team colocation to improve communication is not a feasible option for a global virtual team, as it would incur high costs and logistical challenges. Initiating daily communication of project progress is a good practice, but it does not address the underlying communication issues. Scheduling a communications control board meeting is not relevant to the question, as it is a mechanism to monitor and control the communication management plan, not to enhance the team effectiveness. References: Project Management Professional Sample Questions, page 11, question 91. [A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)], Sixth Edition, page 368, section 10.2.2.5. [Agile Practice Guide], page 28, section 3.1.2.

According to the PMBOK® Guide, 7th edition, an issue is a point or matter in question or in dispute, or a point or matter that is not settled and is under discussion or over which there are opposing views or disagreements1. Issues can arise from various sources, such as changes, risks, defects, conflicts, or assumptions1. Issues can affect the project performance, scope, quality, schedule, cost, or stakeholder satisfaction1.

An issues log is a project document used to capture and track issues until they are resolved1. The issues log typically contains information such as the issue description, priority, owner, status, resolution, and impact1. The issues log is updated throughout the project life cycle as new issues are identified, analyzed, and resolved1.

In this scenario, the newly assigned project manager is informed by a few key stakeholders that the project has some serious issues. The first thing that the project manager should do to understand the issues is to review the issues log to ensure the issues are captured. This will help the project manager to get an overview of the current state of the project, and to identify the nature, scope, and impact of the issues. It will also help the project manager to verify if the issues have been properly documented, prioritized, and assigned to the responsible parties. Reviewing the issues log will also enable the project manager to plan the next steps to address the issues, such as communicating with the stakeholders, performing root cause analysis, implementing corrective actions, or escalating the issues if needed1.

The other options are not as effective as option B. Option A, escalating the issues to the project sponsor, may be necessary if the issues are beyond the project manager’s authority or control, but it is not the first thing to do. The project manager should first review the issues log to understand the issues and their implications, and then decide if escalation is required or not. Option C, checking the risk management plan to ensure there is a strategy to address the issues, may be helpful, but it is not sufficient. The risk management plan provides guidance on how to manage risks, not issues2. Risks are uncertain events or conditions that may have a positive or negative effect on the project objectives, while issues are certain events or conditions that have already occurred and have a negative effect on the project performance1. Therefore, the risk management plan may not cover all the issues that the project faces, and the project manager should review the issues log instead. Option D, asking the key stakeholders to discuss the issues with the project team, may be beneficial, but it is not the first thing to do. The project manager should first review the issues log to get a clear picture of the issues, and then facilitate the discussion between the stakeholders and the team to resolve the issues.

 1: PMBOK® Guide, 7th edition, page 101 2: PMBOK® Guide, 7th edition, page 113

 Design thinking is a human-centered approach to problem-solving that involves empathy, ideation, prototyping, and testing. It helps project managers and teams to understand the needs, preferences, and pain points of the end users and stakeholders, and to create solutions that are desirable, feasible, and viable. By incorporating design thinking practices into the project life cycle, the project manager can avoid missing the mark on many features and deliver a product that meets or exceeds the stakeholder’s expectations. Some of the design thinking practices that can be applied in the project life cycle are:

Stakeholder mapping: This is a technique to identify and analyze the key stakeholders of the project, their roles, interests, expectations, and influence. It helps to align the project objectives with the stakeholder needs and to plan the communication and engagement strategies. Stakeholder mapping can be done at the initiation stage of the project and updated throughout the project as needed.

Persona creation: This is a technique to create fictional characters that represent the typical end users of the product. Personas help to empathize with the users and to design the product features and functions that suit their needs, goals, and behaviors. Persona creation can be done at the planning stage of the project and validated with real users during the execution stage.

User journey mapping: This is a technique to visualize the steps and interactions that the users go through when using the product. User journey mapping helps to identify the pain points, opportunities, and emotions of the users and to design the product features and functions that enhance their experience. User journey mapping can be done at the planning stage of the project and refined with user feedback during the execution stage.

Prototyping and testing: This is a technique to create and test low-fidelity or high-fidelity versions of the product with the users and stakeholders. Prototyping and testing help to validate the assumptions, gather feedback, and improve the product features and functions. Prototyping and testing can be done iteratively at the execution stage of the project and finalized at the closing stage. References:

1: Stakeholder analysis 101: a project manager’s guide - Office Timeline

2: 4 Reasons Project Stakeholder Feedback is Important

3: How to Gather and Control Stakeholder Feedback and Reaction

4: Overcoming the Challenges of Collecting Stakeholder Feedback for Project Management

[5]: Design Thinking for Project Managers - PMI

[6]: Design Thinking for Project Management - ProjectManager

According to the PMBOK® Guide, the project manager is responsible for creating a project charter that defines the project purpose, objectives, scope, and high-level risks. The project charter also establishes the project vision, which is a clear and concise description of the desired outcome of the project. The project vision provides a common understanding of the project goals and benefits among the project stakeholders, including the product owner and the agile team. The project manager should share the project vision with the agile team at the beginning of the project and ensure that it aligns with the product owner’s expectations. The project manager should also facilitate the definition of the team ground rules, which are the agreed-upon norms of behavior and expectations for the agile team. The team ground rules help to create a collaborative and respectful team culture, foster effective communication, and resolve conflicts. The project manager should ensure that the team ground rules are consistent with the project vision and the agile principles and values. By defining the team ground rules and sharing the project vision, the project manager can help the agile team to understand the product owner’s expectations, deliver value to the customer, and improve their performance. References: PMBOK® Guide, 6th edition, pages 77-78, 541-542.

According to the PMBOK Guide, scope change control is the process of managing the changes to the project scope and ensuring that they are aligned with the project objectives and benefits. Scope change control involves identifying, documenting, analyzing, approving, or rejecting changes to the project scope. Scope change control also requires updating the project management plan, project documents, and project baselines to reflect the approved changes. Scope change control is part of the integrated change control process, which involves coordinating changes across all aspects of the project, such as schedule, cost, quality, risk, and stakeholder expectations. The CCB is a formal group of stakeholders who are responsible for reviewing and approving change requests and ensuring that they are consistent with the project charter and business case. The CCB also monitors the impact of changes on the project performance and benefits. The project manager should collaborate with the CCB to review the scope and submit any change requests that are necessary to keep the project on schedule while still meeting the project objectives. This will ensure that the scope changes are properly evaluated, authorized, and communicated to the project team and other stakeholders. The other options are not the best choices because they do not follow the scope change control process and may result in scope creep, rework, conflicts, or missed expectations. Option B is incomplete because it does not mention the collaboration with the CCB and the review of the scope. Option C is risky because it may increase the cost and complexity of the project without ensuring that the scope changes are justified and approved. Option D is irresponsible because it ignores the impact of scope changes on the project schedule and quality. References:

PMBOK Guide, Seventh Edition, Chapter 4: Project Integration Management, Section 4.6: Integrated Change Control

PMBOK Guide, Seventh Edition, Chapter 5: Project Scope Management, Section 5.6: Scope Change Control

PMI-PBA Guide, Chapter 5: Planning the Business Analysis Approach, Section 5.3: Benefits Tracking

Scope change control - Project Management Institute

According to the PMBOK Guide, an adaptive approach in project management is one that responds to changes and uncertainties in the project environment. Adaptive tools are techniques that enable project managers to plan and execute projects in an iterative and flexible way. Some examples of adaptive tools are agile methods, scrum, kanban, and lean. However, not all projects are suitable for using adaptive tools, and some stakeholders may have different expectations and preferences regarding the project management approach. Therefore, before implementing adaptive tools in a project, the project manager should conduct individual interviews with key stakeholders to understand their concerns, needs, and expectations. This will help the project manager to identify the level of stakeholder engagement, the degree of change tolerance, and the potential risks and benefits of using adaptive tools. Based on the information gathered from the interviews, the project manager should then prepare a communications management plan that defines how the project information will be communicated to the stakeholders, including the frequency, format, and content of the communication. The communications management plan should also include a feedback mechanism that allows the stakeholders to provide their input and feedback throughout the project lifecycle. This will help the project manager to manage the stakeholder expectations, address the stakeholder concerns, and ensure the stakeholder satisfaction with the project outcomes. References:

PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, Chapter 2: Project Performance Domains, Section 2.1: Project Delivery Approach, pp. 23-251

PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, Chapter 3: Project Management Principles, Section 3.5: Engage Stakeholders, pp. 41-421

PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, Chapter 4: Tailoring, Section 4.2: Tailoring Considerations, pp. 51-531

PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, Chapter 8: Communications, Section 8.2: Plan Communications, pp. 123-1251

Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA) Handbook, Section 5: Exam Content Outline, Domain 2: Planning, Task 2.3: Develop a communication management plan, pp. 21-222