04 July at 07:09PM
Free PMP® Exam Sample Question
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Free PMP® Exam Sample Question
The following sample question for the Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam may be freely published in newsletters, websites, blogs and other media of your organization.
For newsletters it is a good practice to include the question up front and the answer & explanation toward the back.
Please credit the source by including the following text below the question, “Question provided by The PM Exam Simulator: www.pm-exam-simulator.com.”
Question
When estimating costs in the planning phase of a project, an indication of the range of possible estimates is crucial. What kind of estimate should you use when estimating costs in the planning phase of a project?
A) Rough Order of Magnitude Estimate (+/-50%)
B) Narrow Range Estimate (+/-10%)
C) Definitive Estimate (+/-5%)
D) Final Estimate (+/-0%)
Question provided by The PM Exam Simulator:www.pm-exam-simulator.com
Answer & Explanation Correct Answer: B) You are now in the planning phase of the project, so you should have more information about the project costs and you should be able to make a narrower estimate range than you did in the initiating phase of the project. You should give a narrow range budget estimate (+/-10%). Did you get confused with the available answers because the numbers shown for ROM and "narrow" do not exactly match what you may find in the PMBOK® Guide? Well... that was the idea behind this question. For this particular question it's not important to know the exact % numbers of an ROM or the other estimation types. In fact, the numbers are intentionally chosen to not perfectly match The PMBOK® Guide. We did this because in this question we want you to be able to realize that this project is now in its "planning phase" and that this is the time when an estimate of about +/- 10% should be possible. And it doesn't really matter what "name" you assign to it. Go ahead and do a mental exercise. Replace the "names" of the estimation ranges with "generic terms". So let's say the answers had been like this: A) Type A estimate: +/-50% B) Type B estimate: +/-10% C) Type C estimate: +/-5% D) Type D estimate: +/-0% Once you anonymize the names of the ranges like that, you instantly start looking for the correct answer based on which phase the project is currently in and you don't get hung up by the fact that "the numbers don't match what I see in the PMBOK® Guide". Reference:PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, page 201
Answer & Explanation Correct Answer: B) You are now in the planning phase of the project, so you should have more information about the project costs and you should be able to make a narrower estimate range than you did in the initiating phase of the project. You should give a narrow range budget estimate (+/-10%). Did you get confused with the available answers because the numbers shown for ROM and "narrow" do not exactly match what you may find in the PMBOK® Guide? Well... that was the idea behind this question. For this particular question it's not important to know the exact % numbers of an ROM or the other estimation types. In fact, the numbers are intentionally chosen to not perfectly match The PMBOK® Guide. We did this because in this question we want you to be able to realize that this project is now in its "planning phase" and that this is the time when an estimate of about +/- 10% should be possible. And it doesn't really matter what "name" you assign to it. Go ahead and do a mental exercise. Replace the "names" of the estimation ranges with "generic terms". So let's say the answers had been like this: A) Type A estimate: +/-50% B) Type B estimate: +/-10% C) Type C estimate: +/-5% D) Type D estimate: +/-0% Once you anonymize the names of the ranges like that, you instantly start looking for the correct answer based on which phase the project is currently in and you don't get hung up by the fact that "the numbers don't match what I see in the PMBOK® Guide". Reference:PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition, page 201
