PMI PMP Exam Questions 2025

1. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.).

Section 6.5.2.5, Schedule Compression: Defines fast-tracking as a technique where "activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel." The scenario directly calls for this technique.

Section 2.4.4.3, Project Governance: States that governance provides the framework for decision-making. Starting a new phase, especially under fast-tracking conditions, is a key decision that requires adherence to this framework, meaning approval must be sought.

2. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (7th ed.).

Section 2.5, Planning Performance Domain: Notes that project life cycles can have "overlapping phases" to "shorten the project life cycle (i.e., fast tracking)." This validates the approach.

Section 2.1, Stakeholder Performance Domain: Emphasizes that effective stakeholder engagement, which includes seeking approvals for key decisions, is critical for project success. Proceeding without approval (Option A) would be poor stakeholder engagement.

3. Shenhar, A. J., & Dvir, D. (2007). Reinventing Project Management: The Diamond Approach to Successful Growth and Innovation. Harvard Business School Press.

This academic text discusses the importance of adapting project management style to the project's context. In time-critical projects, overlapping phases is a common strategy, but it must be a conscious, approved decision made within the project's governance structure to manage the associated risks. This supports seeking approval as the correct professional action.

1. The Scrum Guide (2020): The purpose of the Daily Scrum is "to inspect progress toward the Sprint Goal and adapt the Sprint Backlog as necessary, adjusting the upcoming planned work." This supports the concept of ongoing monitoring and adaptation (Option D) rather than an immediate, major change to the backlog based on an early trend. Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. Scrum.org. p. 10.

2. Agile Practice Guide (PMI): This guide describes burndown charts as a key tool for monitoring iteration progress. "Teams use this chart to track their progress and to see if they are on track to complete the work by the end of the iteration." A deviation from the ideal line is an indicator that requires the team's attention and continued monitoring to understand the trend before taking corrective or adaptive action. Project Management Institute. (2017). Agile Practice Guide. Section 5.2.4, "Measurements in Agile Projects," pp. 63-64.

3. University Courseware: In courses on Agile Development, it is taught that burndown charts are informational radiators that provide a forecast. A team's response to the data should be contextual. An early lead might not be sustainable, and the prudent action is to observe the trend over several days before altering the sprint commitment. This prevents thrashing and maintains focus on the original sprint goal. (e.g., concepts taught in courses like MIT's 6.893, "Engineering Interactive Technologies").

In the Scrum framework, roles are defined by their core responsibilities. The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product and manages the Product Backlog, which includes making the final decision on what constitutes a releasable product version. The Development Team (referred to as Developers in the 2020 Scrum Guide) is a self-managing unit that has the autonomy to decide how to convert Product Backlog items into a finished increment. The Scrum Master acts as a servant-leader whose duties include removing impediments or "blockers" that hinder the Development Team's progress, thereby protecting their productivity.

Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. Scrum.org.

Product Owner: "The Product Owner is accountable for maximizing the value of the product resulting from the work of the Scrum Team... For Product Owners to succeed, the entire organization must respect their decisions." (p. 6)

Development Team (Developers): "They are self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how." (p. 7)

Scrum Master: "The Scrum Master serves the Scrum Team in several ways, including: ... Causing the removal of impediments to the Scrum Team’s progress." (p. 8)

Sutherland, J., & Schwaber, K. (2013). The Scrum Papers: Nuts, Bolts, and Origins of an Agile Process. The Agile Software Development Series.

This collection reinforces the foundational roles, stating the ScrumMaster is "responsible for removing impediments to the team’s progress" and the Development Team is "self-organizing" and determines how to accomplish work.

MIT OpenCourseWare. (2013). 6.170 Software Studio, Lecture 5: Development Methods. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The course materials on Agile and Scrum outline these distinct roles, describing the Product Owner's responsibility for the product backlog and release decisions, the team's ownership of the implementation plan, and the Scrum Master's role in resolving obstacles.

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.8.4, Planning Performance Domain, p. 99: "In adaptive approaches, the scope is defined and redefined throughout the project. The overall scope is decomposed into a set of requirements and work to be performed, which is sometimes referred to as a product backlog." This establishes the backlog as the primary tool for managing and adjusting scope.

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). Agile Practice Guide.

Section 5.2.3, The Iron Triangle in Agile Projects, p. 19: This section explains that in agile projects, cost and schedule are often fixed, while scope is variable. The guide states, "The team decides what can be done in the given time box... The scope is variable." This directly supports adjusting scope (the backlog) when a constraint like budget is hit.

Section 4.2.2, Backlog Refinement, p. 52: "The product owner is responsible for prioritizing the backlog to maximize the value of the product... This includes adding, removing, and reprioritizing items." This confirms that re-prioritizing the backlog is the correct mechanism for managing the work.

3. Serrador, P., & Pinto, J. K. (2015). Does Agile work?—A quantitative analysis of agile project success. International Journal of Project Management, 33(5), 1040-1051.

p. 1048: The study finds that agile planning, which includes iterative scope adjustment and prioritization, is a significant predictor of project success, particularly in managing budget and stakeholder satisfaction. This reinforces the idea that flexible scope management is a key control for budget adherence. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2015.01.006)

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.8, Project Work Performance Domain: This domain addresses "managing impediments, obstacles, and blockers." The guide states, "The project manager and project team facilitate the proactive management of impediments, risks, and issues to keep the project on track." (p. 91). Meeting the supplier is a proactive action to manage an impediment.

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). Agile Practice Guide.

Section 5.2.4, Servant Leadership Empowers the Team: This section emphasizes the leader's role in problem-solving. "Servant leaders facilitate problem-solving... by opening up communication channels and by helping people to collaborate... They remove impediments, obstacles, and blockers." (p. 35). The lack of data is a blocker, and engaging the supplier is a direct attempt to remove it.

3. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.3, Stakeholder Performance Domain: This domain covers working with stakeholders to maintain alignment. Data suppliers are key stakeholders. The guide notes, "Effective stakeholder engagement involves implementing strategies and actions to promote the productive involvement of stakeholders." (p. 67). Meeting with the suppliers is a direct engagement strategy.

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition. Section 2.4, Planning Performance Domain. This domain addresses the activities needed to organize and coordinate the project work. It includes developing a schedule, which can be optimized using techniques like schedule compression to meet time constraints.

2. Project Management Institute. (2021). The Standard for Project Management (ANSI/PMI 99-001-2021). Section 3.5, Tailoring. This section explains that the project manager must tailor the project approach based on various factors, including "compliance requirements." The standard emphasizes that projects operate within internal and external environments, and compliance with regulations is a key external factor that cannot be ignored.

3. Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (12th ed.). Wiley. Chapter 12, "Scheduling," discusses schedule compression techniques such as crashing and fast-tracking as standard methods for shortening a project schedule when faced with time constraints, while still adhering to project scope and quality requirements.

1. PMI – Agile Practice Guide, 1st ed., 2017:

• §3.4.1 “Product Roadmap”, p. 44 – defines roadmap as a high-level time-based view replacing traditional schedules.

• §3.4.3 “Iteration (Sprint) Plan”, p. 45 – identifies sprint plan as the short-term scheduling mechanism.

2. PMI – PMBOK® Guide, 7th ed., 2021:

• §4.3 “Planning Performance Domain”, p. 59 – notes that agile teams use roadmaps and iteration plans instead of detailed schedules.

3. Rubin, K. S., “Essential Scrum”, Addison-Wesley, 2012:

• Ch. 14 “The Product Roadmap”, pp. 273-275 – describes roadmap as Scrum’s long-range schedule.

• Ch. 17 “Sprint Planning”, p. 320 – positions the sprint plan as the detailed schedule for a single iteration.

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition. Project Management Institute.

Section 2.4, Team Performance Domain (p. 72): This section emphasizes that for virtual teams, "establishing regular and effective communication is critical." It highlights that leadership activities, including facilitating team development and communication, are key to creating a cohesive and high-performing team. Option B directly implements this principle.

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition. Project Management Institute.

Section 10.1.2.4, Communication Methods (p. 374): This section distinguishes between interactive communication (like meetings), push communication (like reports), and pull communication. It states that interactive communication is the most effective way to ensure a common understanding, which is fundamental to team commitment. Option B uses an interactive method, whereas Option D uses a less effective push method.

3. Hertel, G., Geister, S., & Konradt, U. (2005). Managing virtual teams: A review of current empirical research. Human Resource Management Review, 15(1), 69-95.

Section 3.1, Communication (p. 79): This peer-reviewed article synthesizes research on virtual teams and concludes that the frequency and quality of communication are significant predictors of team performance and cohesion. Regular meetings (Option B) directly increase the frequency and potential quality of team interaction. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2005.01.007)

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.4, Team Performance Domain, p. 43: This domain emphasizes that "Project team development is the process of improving the competencies, team member interaction, and overall team environment to enhance project performance." Directly meeting with the specialist is a core activity in team development.

Section 2.4.3, Leadership Skills, p. 45: Effective leaders "look for opportunities to serve others" and "demonstrate empathy." Assessing the situation in a one-to-one meeting is a direct application of these servant leadership skills.

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). Agile Practice Guide.

Section 5.1.1, Servant Leadership, p. 34: Servant leaders "help the team with problem identification and problem solving." The project manager should first seek to understand the problem by speaking with the specialist before taking other actions.

3. Müller, R., & Turner, J. R. (2010). Leadership competency profiles of successful project managers. International Journal of Project Management, 28(5), 437-448.

p. 443: The study identifies "engaging communication" and "developing others" as key competencies for successful project managers. Coordinating a one-to-one meeting to assess a situation and help an employee improve is a direct application of these competencies. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2009.09.003)

1. Project Management Institute. (2021). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition.

Section 2.7, Measurement Performance Domain: This domain emphasizes assessing project performance and taking appropriate actions. It states, "Effective execution of this performance domain includes the continual evaluation of project performance for cost..." (p. 99). This supports the need for regular review as described in option A.

2. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition.

Section 7.4, Control Costs: This process is defined as "monitoring the status of the project to update the project costs and managing changes to the cost baseline." A key benefit is that it "provides the means to recognize variance from the plan in order to take corrective action and minimize risk." This directly aligns with the preventative action in option A.

3. Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (12th ed.). Wiley.

Chapter 15, Cost Control: This chapter details that a primary objective of a cost control system is the "early identification of problems" (p. 535). It emphasizes that cost control is a continuous process of comparing actual costs with planned costs and reporting variances in a timely manner to allow for corrective action. This principle directly supports the regular review mentioned in option A.