The best questions are based on actual experiences, such as the first one below which came from this author's experience. Have you been exposed to a project situation that could be the basis for a question? If you care to share it, email a summary description to norris@TheCourse.us. You don't have to construct the formal question and options; just give us the summary and we will take it from there. Credit will be given in the citations of all materials used.
Question:
You have been asked to take on a software development project under contract to a well-known publisher we will call Company B. Your firm was awarded the contract because it had just developed a similar product for Company A. B wants to be 100% compatible with the A product to the degree that they will be able to sell their lower-cost service into their competitor’s market base. You are given a complete set of specifications for Company A products, which have not been released. What will you do?
a.
Decline to accept the Company A documents.
b.
Report to company A that you have been given copies of their unreleased specifications for use on a competitor’s project.
c.
File a complaint with the PMI ethics committee.
d.
Report the theft of documents to appropriate authorities.
Answer:
a. This incident occurred in 1965. Company B was RCA, Company A was IBM, and the product was COBOL compilers (IBM 360 vs. RCA Spectra 70). We believe option a is the best choice, albeit a threatening one to the employer who is clearly violating the trust of IBM. Option b would probably result in a permanent break in your relationship with your employer. There is no reason to believe that PMI would be involved (option c), even if this happened today, unless the boss who handed over the specs was a PMP. Option d would likely result in denial by the company plus a permanent break in your relationship with your employer. TheCourse.
Question: What is the appropriate response to the associated image?
a.
The process being monitored needs to be adjusted.
b.
Corrective action is indicated.
c.
Submit a change request.
d.
Abort the process.
Answer: a.
The rule of 7 indicates the process is out of control and needs to be adjusted. There are 7 monotonically decreasing measurements. It is theoretically possible that a change request (c) is appropriate, but process adjustment is mandatory when it is out of control. Corrective action (b) is indicated when the project has deviated from the plan; not a process malfunction. Processes may be interrupted for adjustment, but not aborted (d). PMBOK 8.3.2.2 and TheCourse.
Note: Images in TheTest are presented just as they are in the PMP exam. You must toggle between the question and the image.
Question: You have seven computer programmers reporting to you, all with varying years of experience. You want to compare their experience levels with their schedule variance. What tool is appropriate? (This is flagged as a third edition question.)
a.
Control chart
b. Histogram
c.
Scatter diagram
d. Run chart
Answer: c.
A scatter diagram will enable you to plot their experience on one axis and their mean schedule variance on the other, to get a graphical picture of the correlation between the two. None of the other options supports the comparison of two variables. PMBOK 8.3.2.7, p. 196 and TheCourse.
Question:
What are the processes that PMBOK expects to be improved through the process improvement plan?
a.
The 44 processes defined by PMBOK, as further specified by the performing organization.
b.
The steps inherent in the kinds of projects undertaken by the performing organization.
c.
The work authorization system, which is included in the enterprise environmental factors.
d.
The team work habits and practices.
Answer: b.
Although the term ‘process improvement’ is used 23 times in PMBOK, the book itself does not answer this question. The Baldrige award and CMM are mentioned as models, but they point in different directions. We choose to believe CMM is the appropriate model, as it very specifically targets a process; that is, developing computer software. Any organization that specializes in specific kinds of projects may have defined processes and specified ways to perform them. Option a is the second-best answer, as process improvement can also apply to project management processes. Options c & d are throwaways. PMBOK Chapter 8, p. 181 – Continuous Improvement Bullet.
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