109
Practice Test 1
This practice test is designed to simulate PMI
®
’s 170-question PfMP
®
certication
exam. You have four hours to answer all questions.
INSTRUCTIONS: Note the most suitable answer for each multiple- choice
question in the appropriate space on the answer sheet.
1. Ideally, the organization practices a policy of open communications on risks
and encourages people to point any out at all levels, even if the risk does
not affect one’s own work and especially if it affects the portfolio. Different
people, though, have different perspectives of the various portfolio risks
based on their position in the organization. Assume a risk has been identied
concerning the organization’s operating model. This risk was identied by:
a. A functional manager
b. A PMO Director
c. An executive
d. The portfolio manager
2. In your portfolio some of the programs and projects that are being pursued
will realize benets throughout the program and project’s life cycle, while
others will not realize the benets until the program or project is closed or
years later. This means as the portfolio manager, you should:
a. Prepare a portfolio benet realization plan
b. Set up KPIs to document progress in benet realization
c. Include portfolio benets, results, and expected value in the portfolio
strategic plan
d. Distribute regular reports on benet realization as part of the portfolio
communications management strategy
110 ◾ PfMP® Exam Practice Tests and Study Guide
3. Your organization, given the economic downturn in your country, decided
to reduce its staff by 90% and outsource all operational activities including
those of program and project managers and their teams. It has, however,
retained the portfolio manager, and it has a Portfolio Review Board com-
prised of senior executives that meets monthly. Since outsourcing is the
norm and not the exception, the manager of Procurement and Contracting is
a major stakeholder. Her areas of interest are:
a. Benets and outcomes toward strategic goals
b. Overall portfolio performance
c. Financial standing
d. Change decisions
4. Your company has a stated policy that all stakeholders are to be treated
in an ethical manner. It is one of the largest project management train-
ing rms in the world and is a Registered Educational Provider with the
Project Management Institute as well as with other associations. It is active
in portfolio management to ensure it is offering the most benecial products
and services, both leading edge and traditional, to its customers. Its policy
toward its stakeholders is:
a. Documented in the stakeholder expectations plan
b. Considered as a legitimate right
c. Part of the portfolio communications strategy
d. A portfolio governance process
5. Assume your airline just merged with a competitor, making it the largest in
the country. Your company has a dened portfolio management process
in place, which is considered effective by your executives. The other airline
uses a more informal approach. Executives from both airlines now have dif-
ferent philosophies concerning new work to be pursued to be the leading
airline in the country. In terms of the Authorize Portfolio process, this means:
a. The complete portfolio process will require changes
b. The portfolio requirements should be evaluated
c. The portfolio management information systems will require consolidation
d. An outsider should be hired as the portfolio manager for objectivity
Practice Test 1 ◾ 111
6. Assume your automotive company is new to formal portfolio management. It
has had for years a strategic plan and tries to be rst to market for new and
improved features on its vehicles each model year. You were hired as the
portfolio manager to provide a more disciplined approach for determining
new products to pursue as well as existing ones that should be terminated.
So far, you have set up an approach, established categories for the various
components, and determined a method to rank and score new proposals for
consideration. Now you are working to set up practices to follow to optimize
the portfolio. In doing so, it is important to note that:
a. The criteria to optimize the portfolio may be the same as that used in the
scoring model
b. A portfolio management information system should be set up
c. Future investment requirements are a key criterion to consider
d. Compliance with organizational standards cannot be overlooked
7. Each time a strategic change occurs, it requires a number of updates, and it
includes the need to update the portfolio process assets including:
a. Timelines
b. Prioritization model
c. Lessons learned
d. Communication requirements
8. Assume you are helping the Portfolio Review Board select and implement
the portfolio with the best alignment to strategy as you work to create a
list for to be considered for prioritization. One possible component on the
surface does not seem to be one that is protable, but you believe that over
time changes will occur that will make it cost/ benecial to pursue. This
means you are using:
a. Market analysis
b. Business value analysis
c. Scenario analysis
d. Options analysis
112 ◾ PfMP® Exam Practice Tests and Study Guide
9. Recognizing that different components can have different types of risks, you
decide to see how each risk affects the components. For example, assume
you have identied a structural risk as overly ambitious plans and deter-
mine this risk affects three of the top ve risks in your portfolio. You also
have identied an environmental risk, in terms of whether the component
will promote the organization’s vision, which affects two components. Each
component then has some other types of risks that affect it. From such an
analysis you can see:
a. Gaps in the portfolio
b. Common causes
c. Overall portfolio risk impact
d. Rebalancing needs
10. Each portfolio risk should have a designated person as its owner. As the
portfolio manager assigns the owner, the main responsibility is to:
a. Analyze the risk for its overall impact on portfolio success
b. Determine an appropriate response and implement it as soon as the risk
occurs
c. Monitor the situation as long as the risk is current
d. Strive to take a negative risk and turn it into a positive opportunity
11. Your company, which has been in the blimp business for over 50years,
prides itself on its robust portfolio management process, which is especially
useful now that the demand for blimps of various sizes is much greater than
the capacity to produce them. One of the reasons the blimp company has
been so successful over the years is it has central management of all of its
resources. This approach is important:
a. Since the various types of needed resources may be limited
b. To ensure the right resources are assigned
c. To monitor resource allocation
d. As a way to assess whether existing resources have the competencies to
support the components in the portfolio
Practice Test 1 ◾ 113
12. Assume you are managing a high visibility project in your company that
once it is completed will transform it into new markets and be the leader
in the soft phone eld. You are keeping the project a secret from external
stakeholders, and you and your team have signed Non-disclosure agreements
(NDAs). However, the executives and those on the Portfolio Review Board
want status information on this project every two weeks. You provide it:
a. To those on the portfolio distribution list
b. Electronically in a format that cannot be printed or forwarded
c. To the members of the Board and executives verbally
d. To the portfolio manager
13. Obviously resources are more than people and include physical resources
and those at the organizational level, such as the knowledge management
system, helpful in portfolio management in terms of competitive intelligence.
However, since most organizations operate with scarce resources, it is nec-
essary to apply these scarce resources to support the highest ranked items
in the portfolio and not to fund a proposed component unless resources
are available to support it. Therefore, it is useful to determine at a collec-
tive level whether or not resources will create value greater than the cost of
creating it. A portfolio report can focus on:
a. Allocation of resources according to a Responsible, Accountable,
Consulted, Inform (RACI) chart
b. The need for drum resources and buffers to plan for their use at key
times
c. Capability and capacity
d. Costs to acquire resources with needed knowledge, skills, and
competencies
14. Your organization conducted an OPM3 assessment focusing on its best
practices in portfolio management and also on those that were needed. The
OPM3 Certied Professional felt greater attention was needed managing stra-
tegic change. This means:
a. The project charter should be reviewed
b. The strategic plan should be updated
c. Budget allocation can be handled more effectively
d. It is easier to determine which components will require specialized
resources
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