Start With Questions, Not Reading
The most effective way to begin your PMP preparation is not to open the PMBOK Guide. It is to attempt practice questions on the topics the exam actually tests, discover where your gaps are, and then use that diagnostic data to focus your study time.
The People domain accounts for 42% of the PMP exam. It covers team leadership, stakeholder engagement, conflict management, negotiation, team development, and servant leadership. These topics appear consistently in both straightforward and deeply situational questions.
Below are 10 free practice questions with full explanations. Attempt each question before reading the explanation.
Question 1
A project manager is leading a newly formed cross-functional team. Three team members from different departments are in conflict about how decisions should be made on the project. The project manager calls a team meeting to address the issue. What approach is most consistent with PMI's recommended project leadership style?
A) Establish a clear decision-making hierarchy and inform team members of their roles B) Facilitate a team discussion to collaboratively agree on a decision-making process C) Escalate the conflict to the functional managers of the team members involved D) Allow the conflict to resolve itself naturally over time as the team develops
Correct answer: B
PMI's preferred leadership style emphasises facilitation and team empowerment over directive management. Bringing the team together to collaboratively establish their own decision-making process builds ownership, trust, and team cohesion — all of which are People domain priorities. Escalating to functional managers (C) undermines the project manager's leadership and is an overreaction to a resolvable team dynamic. Allowing conflict to persist (D) risks productivity loss and does not address the underlying issue.
Question 2
A project manager is working with a stakeholder who is technically a low-priority stakeholder based on their power-interest assessment. However, this stakeholder has recently begun sending critical emails to senior management about the project. What should the project manager do first?
A) Respond to the emails with a formal written rebuttal B) Request that senior management redirect the stakeholder's concerns back to the project team C) Meet with the stakeholder to understand their concerns and adjust the engagement strategy if needed D) Update the stakeholder register to reflect the increased influence and continue with the current plan
Correct answer: C
The stakeholder's behaviour signals that the original power-interest assessment may have been inaccurate or that circumstances have changed. The first step is to engage with the stakeholder directly to understand what is driving their concern. This is consistent with PMI's emphasis on proactive stakeholder engagement. Updating the register alone (D) without taking action is insufficient. Escalating to senior management (B) or writing a formal rebuttal (A) are both likely to escalate the conflict rather than resolve it.
Question 3
A project is using a Scrum framework. During a sprint review, several stakeholders request significant changes to the product increment that was just demonstrated. The Product Owner is unsure how to respond. What should the project manager do?
A) Add the requested changes to the current sprint immediately to maintain stakeholder satisfaction B) Advise the Product Owner to evaluate the requests and add approved items to the Product Backlog for future sprints C) Call an emergency sprint planning meeting to reprioritise the sprint backlog D) Document the requests and escalate them to the project sponsor for a decision
Correct answer: B
In Scrum, the Product Backlog is the appropriate place for new requirements and change requests. The Product Owner has authority to evaluate, prioritise, and manage the backlog. Adding items to the current sprint mid-sprint (A) violates sprint integrity and is not a standard Scrum practice. Escalating to the sponsor (D) bypasses the Product Owner's accountability. The project manager's role here is to support the Product Owner in following the established process.
Question 4
A project manager discovers that two senior team members have been in an ongoing interpersonal conflict for several weeks. The conflict has not yet affected deliverables, but team morale is visibly suffering. What is the most appropriate first action?
A) Document the conflict in the team performance log and monitor for escalation B) Meet with each team member separately to understand their perspectives, then facilitate a joint resolution discussion C) Assign the two team members to separate workstreams to prevent further interaction D) Issue a formal warning to both team members about unprofessional conduct
Correct answer: B
PMI's approach to conflict resolution prioritises direct engagement and collaborative problem-solving. Meeting individually first allows the project manager to understand each perspective without making either party defensive, then facilitating a joint conversation works toward resolution. Separating the team members (C) avoids the conflict rather than resolving it. A formal warning (D) is disproportionate at this stage. Simply monitoring (A) allows an already damaging situation to continue unchecked.
Question 5
A project manager is new to a team that has been working together for eighteen months. The project manager notices the team is highly productive, makes decisions independently, and rarely needs direction. According to situational leadership theory, what leadership style should the project manager primarily use?
A) Directing — providing clear instructions and closely monitoring work B) Coaching — explaining decisions and encouraging questions C) Supporting — sharing decision-making and facilitating team discussion D) Delegating — turning over responsibility for decisions and execution to the team
Correct answer: D
Situational leadership theory (Hersey and Blanchard) recommends matching leadership style to team maturity and readiness. A team that has worked together for 18 months, is highly productive, and makes independent decisions is a mature, high-development team. The appropriate style is delegating — providing autonomy and trusting the team to execute without close supervision. Directing (A) would be counterproductive and demoralising for a mature team. Coaching (B) and supporting (C) are suited to less experienced or less confident teams.
Question 6
During project execution, a key stakeholder repeatedly misses scheduled review meetings and does not respond to status updates. The project requires this stakeholder's sign-off on several upcoming deliverables. What should the project manager do?
A) Proceed with the deliverables and obtain sign-off retrospectively B) Escalate to the project sponsor and request that the sponsor mandate the stakeholder's participation C) Revise the stakeholder engagement plan to identify alternative communication and engagement methods for this stakeholder D) Remove the stakeholder from the communication list as they have shown no interest in the project
Correct answer: C
The current engagement approach is not working for this stakeholder. The correct response is to revisit the stakeholder engagement plan and adapt the approach — perhaps a different communication channel, a different meeting format, or a bilateral catch-up rather than a group review. Proceeding without sign-off (A) creates a risk to deliverable acceptance. Immediately escalating (B) may be appropriate later but is premature if the communication approach has not been adapted. Removing the stakeholder (D) is inappropriate when their sign-off is a project requirement.
Question 7
A project manager is facilitating a retrospective at the end of a sprint. Team members are reluctant to speak openly, and the discussion is surface-level. What technique should the project manager use to encourage more candid feedback?
A) Announce that all retrospective feedback will be shared with functional managers to encourage accountability B) Use an anonymous feedback technique such as a pre-retrospective survey or anonymous dot voting C) Tell team members that the retrospective is mandatory and they must contribute D) Cancel the retrospective and schedule individual one-on-one sessions with each team member instead
Correct answer: B
Psychological safety is essential for effective retrospectives. When team members are reluctant to speak openly, reducing the social risk of speaking up — through anonymous techniques like surveys or anonymous voting — often enables more honest feedback. This is a standard facilitation technique for retrospectives where trust is still developing. Sharing feedback with managers (A) would drastically worsen psychological safety. Mandating participation (C) does not address the underlying reluctance. Cancelling (D) eliminates the retrospective's value entirely.
Question 8
A project manager is building a high-performing team for a complex eighteen-month project. Which action is most likely to improve team performance over the full project duration?
A) Hold a detailed project kickoff to align on scope and deliverables B) Establish individual performance targets for each team member and review them quarterly C) Invest in team-building activities and create structured opportunities for professional development D) Implement a reward system that recognises the highest-performing individual on the team each month
Correct answer: C
Over the duration of an eighteen-month project, sustained team performance depends on cohesion, motivation, and growth — not just initial alignment. Investing in team building and professional development is PMI's preferred approach for long-term team performance. A kickoff (A) is important but does not sustain performance over time. Individual performance targets with quarterly reviews (B) emphasises competition over collaboration. Recognising only the top individual (D) can undermine team cohesion and demotivate the rest of the team.
Question 9
A project manager has identified that a critical stakeholder has high power but low interest in the project. How should this stakeholder primarily be managed?
A) Engage them frequently with detailed progress updates to build their interest B) Keep them satisfied with high-level updates and escalate only significant issues C) Ignore them until they become actively engaged with the project D) Involve them deeply in day-to-day project decisions to leverage their power
Correct answer: B
The power-interest grid is a standard stakeholder classification tool. High power, low interest stakeholders should be kept satisfied — informed enough that they can make decisions when needed, but not burdened with detail that does not interest them. Frequent detailed updates (A) are appropriate for high-interest stakeholders. Ignoring them (C) risks a negative surprise later when their power becomes relevant. Deep involvement in daily decisions (D) is appropriate for high-power, high-interest stakeholders, not low-interest ones.
Question 10
A team member tells the project manager that they are confident in their ability to complete an upcoming task but have never done this type of work before and are nervous about the technical approach. According to situational leadership theory, what is the appropriate leadership style for this situation?
A) Directing — providing step-by-step instructions and monitoring closely B) Coaching — explaining the approach clearly and checking in regularly C) Supporting — encouraging the team member and helping with confidence D) Delegating — giving full autonomy to the team member to complete the task independently
Correct answer: B
This team member is stating high confidence (commitment) but acknowledging limited experience in this specific area (competence gap). Situational leadership would classify this as a D2 or "disillusioned learner" adjacent profile — capable but potentially lacking the specific knowledge needed. The coaching style is appropriate: provide clear direction on the technical approach while also being available and encouraging. Pure direction (A) may undermine their confidence; pure delegation (D) risks a quality or approach problem given the acknowledged inexperience.
Continuing Your Practice
These ten questions cover a fraction of the People domain content on the PMP exam. The 42% weighting for the People domain means you will encounter approximately 75 questions in this area across your 180-question exam.
Practise the full People domain on Got PMP, including team leadership, stakeholder management, conflict resolution, negotiation, team development, and servant leadership questions with detailed explanations.
The diagnostic data from your practice accuracy by topic is the most useful input to your study plan — it tells you where to spend your remaining preparation time before your exam sitting.