22 Fundamentals & Core Concepts Practice Questions & Answers

1. 1. A hospital runs its payroll every two weeks and is separately installing a new patient records system that will go live once testing is complete. Which statement classifies these two efforts correctly?

   • A.Neither is a project, because work carried out inside an existing department always counts as operational work.
   • B.Payroll is a project because it recurs on a fixed cycle; the records system becomes operations once it is funded.
   • C.Both are projects, because each produces a result that the hospital's patients ultimately depend upon in some way.
   • D.The records system is a project because it is temporary and unique; payroll is operations because it is ongoing and repetitive.✓ Answer

   A project is a temporary endeavour that creates a unique product, service or result, and it ends when its objectives are met or are no longer needed. Operational work is ongoing and repetitive and sustains the business, so a payroll cycle that repeats indefinitely is operations, while a one-off system installation with a definite end is a project.

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2. 2. Three related efforts — a mobile app, a customer database upgrade and call-centre retraining — are managed together under one manager. What makes this grouping a programme rather than a portfolio?

   • A.The three efforts draw on a single budget line, and shared funding is what defines programme-level work.
   • B.A programme is a project too large for one manager, so the work has been divided into three projects.
   • C.They are related and managed together to obtain benefits not available from managing them separately.✓ Answer
   • D.They were selected to advance the organisation's strategy, which is what makes a grouping a programme.

   A programme is a group of related projects and subsidiary programmes managed in a coordinated way precisely so the organisation gains benefits that would not be available if each component were managed on its own. Shared funding or sheer size does not create a programme, and selecting unrelated components for strategic reasons describes a portfolio.

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3. 3. A leadership team reviews a collection of projects, programmes and some ongoing operations together, deciding each year which to fund, pause or stop. The components need not be related to one another. What is being described?

   • A.A portfolio, because components are managed as a group to meet strategic goals✓ Answer
   • B.A programme, because one manager coordinates several related projects together
   • C.A project management office, because it standardises how projects are run
   • D.A phase gate review, because each component is given a formal go or no-go decision

   A portfolio is a collection of projects, programmes, subsidiary portfolios and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives. Its components need not be interdependent or even related, which is exactly what distinguishes it from a programme, whose components are related and coordinated for shared benefits.

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4. 4. At the end of the design phase, a governance board meets to decide whether the project continues into the build phase, is revised, or is stopped. What is this review, and what is its purpose?

   • A.A retrospective, held so the team can inspect how it worked and agree improvements
   • B.A phase gate, held so a decision-maker can authorise, change or end the work✓ Answer
   • C.A kickoff meeting, held to introduce the team to the objectives of the next phase
   • D.A scope validation, held so the customer can formally accept the phase deliverables

   A phase gate (also called a stage gate or kill point) is a review at the end of a phase where a decision-maker compares performance and the continuing business justification against the plan and decides to continue, continue with changes, or terminate. It is a governance decision point, not a team improvement session or a customer acceptance event.

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5. 5. A candidate believes a project always runs strictly through initiating, then planning, then executing, then monitoring and controlling, then closing, one group after another. Why is that belief mistaken?

   • A.Because the process groups overlap and can recur within each phase of a project✓ Answer
   • B.Because the process groups run in a different order on adaptive projects than predictive ones
   • C.Because the process groups each occur only once, at the very start and end of a project
   • D.Because monitoring and controlling replaces planning as soon as executing has begun

   Process groups are not phases and are not strictly sequential. Initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing overlap in time and can repeat within each phase of the life cycle: monitoring and controlling runs throughout the project, and planning is revisited as more becomes known through progressive elaboration.

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6. 6. How does a process group differ from a knowledge or performance area?

   • A.A process group is carried out by the sponsor, while a performance area is the responsibility of the team.
   • B.A process group groups work by when it is done; a performance area groups it by subject, such as scope or stakeholders.✓ Answer
   • C.A process group applies only to predictive projects, while performance areas apply only to adaptive ones.
   • D.A process group is a project phase, while a performance area is a deliverable produced during that phase.

   Process groups categorise work by the point in the effort at which it is performed, whereas knowledge or performance areas categorise the same work by subject matter — scope, schedule, cost, stakeholders and so on. Because one subject area is touched by several process groups, the two are simply different ways of cutting the same body of work, and neither is tied to one delivery approach.

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7. 7. A team is building a bridge to a fixed engineering standard, with requirements set by regulation and change that becomes expensive once construction starts. Which delivery approach fits best, and why?

   • A.Adaptive, because short iterations let the team redesign the bridge after each review
   • B.Adaptive, because regulated work always benefits from delivering value incrementally
   • C.Hybrid, because construction projects must always mix iterations with a fixed plan
   • D.Predictive, because requirements are stable and change is costly once work begins✓ Answer

   Delivery approaches sit on a spectrum and the choice is driven by requirement stability, the cost of change and regulatory constraint. When requirements are known, fixed by regulation, and change becomes expensive once work starts, a predictive approach with a controlled baseline fits best. Options claiming a type is 'always' right ignore that the approach must be tailored to context.

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8. 8. A software team's customer is available every week and expects requirements to evolve as users try early releases. Which statement best describes how the team should choose its delivery approach?

   • A.It should be hybrid, because a hybrid approach is always safer than a fully adaptive one
   • B.It should be predictive, since a fixed baseline is the only way to control change
   • C.It should copy the last project's approach, because consistency is always required
   • D.It should be tailored along the spectrum, leaning adaptive because requirements will evolve✓ Answer

   Tailoring means deliberately selecting the approach that suits the context instead of applying the same one to every project. High requirement volatility combined with a customer available for frequent feedback favours the adaptive end of the spectrum, but the tested principle is the act of tailoring along that spectrum rather than defaulting to any one approach.

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9. 9. In a status meeting, a team member reports that the supplier has already missed the agreed delivery date and the materials are now held at customs. How should the project professional record this?

   • A.As an assumption in the assumption log, because customs timing was taken as given
   • B.As an issue in the issue log, because the condition has already occurred✓ Answer
   • C.As a risk in the risk register, because the delay might still affect the schedule
   • D.As a constraint in the charter, because delivery dates limit how the team works

   A risk is an uncertain future event; once it has occurred it is no longer uncertain and becomes an issue, which is recorded in the issue log and assigned an owner and an action. Missing an agreed delivery date is an event that has already happened, so it is an issue rather than a risk, an assumption or a constraint.

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10. 10. A plan states that trained welders will be available from a partner firm when needed, and separately that the work must finish before a regulatory deadline. How are these two statements classified?

    • A.Both are constraints, because anything written into a project plan restricts how the team is allowed to work.
    • B.Both are assumptions, because neither statement can be confirmed until the project reaches its executing stage.
    • C.Welder availability is a constraint on resources; the deadline is an assumption about the regulator's timetable.
    • D.Welder availability is an assumption taken as true without proof; the deadline is a constraint that limits the project.✓ Answer

    An assumption is a factor treated as true or certain without proof, and a false assumption turns into a risk. A constraint is a limiting factor that restricts the team's options — a deadline, budget, resource or regulation. Partner welder availability is unproven and therefore an assumption; the fixed regulatory deadline limits the schedule and is therefore a constraint.

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11. 11. A newly assigned project professional drafts the project charter and asks who must sign it to authorise the project. What is the correct answer?

    • A.The sponsor or initiator, whose authority formally brings the project into existence✓ Answer
    • B.The project team, since the people who do the work must agree to the objectives first
    • C.The functional managers, because they own the staff that the project will need to borrow
    • D.The project professional, because drafting the charter also grants authority to approve it

    The charter is issued and signed by the sponsor or initiator, someone with organisational authority to commit funding and resources. The project professional may draft the document and is named in it, but cannot authorise their own project — the charter is precisely the artefact that grants the project professional their authority.

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12. 12. Which of the following would you expect to find in a project charter?

    • A.The complete risk register with a probability and impact rating for each risk
    • B.The approved cost baseline against which spending is measured week by week
    • C.High-level objectives, success criteria and the project professional's authority✓ Answer
    • D.The detailed work breakdown structure with every work package the team will build

    The charter authorises the project at a high level: its purpose, measurable objectives and success criteria, high-level requirements and risks, a summary milestone schedule and budget, the assigned project professional and their level of authority, and the sponsor's approval. Detailed baselines, the work breakdown structure and the risk register are planning outputs produced later.

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13. 13. Before a project is authorised, the organisation prepares a document that establishes whether the investment is worthwhile, weighs the options considered and states the value expected. Which document is this?

    • A.The stakeholder register, which records who is affected and how they are engaged
    • B.The project management plan, which describes how the work will be carried out
    • C.The lessons learned register, which records what earlier projects taught the organisation
    • D.The business case, which justifies the project and the benefits it should deliver✓ Answer

    The business case documents the justification for the investment — the underlying need, the options considered, the cost-benefit analysis and the expected benefits — and supports the go/no-go decision before the charter is issued. It answers why the project should exist, not how the work will be executed.

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14. 14. A project delivers a new scheduling system on time and on budget, but the expected fall in patient waiting times will appear only months later as staff adopt it. What does this illustrate?

    • A.The project has failed, because a project counts as successful only if benefits appear before closure.
    • B.The project should stay open until waiting times fall, because closing early forfeits the benefits.
    • C.The benefits belong to operations alone, so the project has no need to define how they are measured.
    • D.Benefits are often realised after the project closes, so a plan states how they will be measured and sustained.✓ Answer

    Projects create outputs; the organisation realises benefits from those outputs, frequently after the project has closed and the change has been adopted. That is why a benefits management plan names the target benefits, the metrics, the timeframe and the owner responsible for measuring and sustaining them once the project ends.

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15. 15. An organisation's project management office assigns the project professionals, controls the budgets and directly manages the projects it oversees. Which type of PMO is this?

    • A.A controlling PMO, exerting moderate control by requiring compliance with a framework
    • B.A supportive PMO, exerting low control by supplying templates, training and coaching
    • C.A portfolio board, exerting control by choosing which projects the organisation funds
    • D.A directive PMO, exerting a high degree of control by managing the projects itself✓ Answer

    PMOs operate at different degrees of control. A supportive PMO acts as a consultant, supplying templates, training and lessons learned, with low control. A controlling PMO requires compliance with frameworks and governance, exerting moderate control. A directive PMO takes over management of the projects themselves, exerting high control.

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16. 16. In which organisational structure does the project professional hold the greatest authority over budget and staff?

    • A.A functional organisation, where staff report to the head of their own department
    • B.A projectised organisation, where the team reports to the project professional✓ Answer
    • C.A weak matrix, where the project professional coordinates but cannot direct staff
    • D.A balanced matrix, where authority is shared with the functional manager

    In a projectised organisation, resources are dedicated to projects and team members report to the project professional, which gives the highest authority over budget and staff. Authority declines through strong, balanced and weak matrix structures and is lowest in a functional organisation, where department heads retain control of the people.

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17. 17. In a weak matrix organisation, a project professional must ask a department head for every staff assignment and cannot set those staff members' priorities. What does this say about the role?

    • A.Authority is limited, so the role relies on influence and negotiation with managers✓ Answer
    • B.Authority is full and permanent, so the department head is merely informed of decisions
    • C.Authority rests with the customer, who assigns whatever staff the project requires
    • D.Authority is shared equally, so the department head must approve every project decision

    In a weak matrix the functional manager keeps authority over staff and their priorities, and the project role sits closer to a coordinator or expediter. The project professional therefore works through influence, negotiation and relationships rather than positional power, escalating only what genuinely exceeds that authority.

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18. 18. A project professional finds that a needed agreement with another department is blocked at a level above their own authority. Whose role is it to clear that obstacle?

    • A.The project management office, which holds decision authority over all interdepartmental matters
    • B.The functional manager, who is accountable for delivering the project's benefits to the business
    • C.The project team, which is expected to resolve organisational obstacles as part of its own work
    • D.The sponsor, who champions the project and clears obstacles beyond the professional's authority✓ Answer

    The sponsor provides funding and resources, champions the project across the organisation and removes obstacles that lie beyond the project professional's authority. Raising an interdepartmental blockage to the sponsor follows the governance and escalation path defined for the project rather than going over anyone's head.

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19. 19. A deliverable has passed the team's internal quality checks. Who formally accepts it as meeting the agreed requirements?

    • A.The project professional, who is closest to the day-to-day work of the team
    • B.The project management office, which audits the team's compliance with process
    • C.The customer or sponsor, on whose acceptance the project's closure depends✓ Answer
    • D.The functional manager, who supplied the staff that produced the deliverable

    Internal quality checks confirm that the deliverable was built correctly, but formal acceptance against the agreed requirements is granted by the customer or sponsor. Accepted deliverables are an input to closing, which is why acceptance must be obtained before the phase or project can be formally closed.

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20. 20. Halfway through a project, a regulator that nobody had listed begins requesting reports. What does this show about stakeholder identification?

    • A.A regulator is an external body, and external bodies are never project stakeholders.
    • B.Identification ends in initiating, so the new party is handled outside the project.
    • C.Identification is continuous, so the register is updated when a new affected party appears.✓ Answer
    • D.Only parties that fund the project count as stakeholders and belong in the register.

    Stakeholder identification begins in initiating but continues throughout the project, because new stakeholders emerge and the influence of existing ones changes as work progresses. A stakeholder is any individual, group or organisation that can affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be affected by the project — external regulators included.

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21. 21. While evaluating supplier bids, a project professional discovers that one bidding firm employs a close family member. What should be done first?

    • A.Continue the evaluation, provided the family member is not personally involved in the bid
    • B.Disclose the relationship to the affected stakeholders before taking any further part✓ Answer
    • C.Withdraw that firm's bid quietly, so that no conflict of interest can ever arise
    • D.Score that firm lowest, to demonstrate that the relationship gave it no advantage

    Professional conduct built on responsibility, fairness and honesty requires that a real or perceived conflict of interest be disclosed to the affected stakeholders before the professional takes any further part, and that the professional then step back from the decision. Quietly removing the bidder or deliberately mis-scoring it replaces one impropriety with another.

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22. 22. A project professional knows the schedule has slipped, but the sponsor's report is due and bad news is unwelcome. What does honesty require?

    • A.Let the team decide what to report, since the team owns the schedule data
    • B.Report the true status together with the recovery options being considered✓ Answer
    • C.Report the schedule as on track and correct the figures once the team catches up
    • D.Omit the schedule section entirely, so that no inaccurate statement is made

    Honesty requires truthful and timely reporting of project status even when the news is unwelcome, because concealing or omitting a slip misleads the sponsor and removes their ability to act while options still exist. The professional reports the actual status and pairs it with the recovery options under evaluation.

    Source: PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, honesty in reportingReport a problem with this question

Practice questions based on the PMI CAPM Examination Content Outline and standard project-management and business-analysis concepts. CAPM, PMP and PMBOK are marks of the Project Management Institute; this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by PMI. PMI sets and periodically revises the exam's length, scoring and eligibility requirements — read the current CAPM handbook and Exam Content Outline on PMI's site before you apply or test. About the CAPM exam →