Free PMP practice test · 2026 exam outline
Free PMP Practice Test Questions with Answers
Below are 10 PMP-style practice questions with answers and explanations, spread across the three domains of PMI's 2026 Exam Content Outline: People (33%), Process (41%) and Business Environment (26%). Pick an answer, then open the explanation to see why the best option wins and why the others don't.
Written by Gulab Chand Tejwani, PMP, founder of TechNet Consultancy. Original questions; not taken from any live exam. Independent preparation, not affiliated with PMI.
What the real exam looks like
180 questions (170 scored, 10 unscored) in 240 minutes, with two optional 10-minute breaks. Most questions are scenarios asking what you would do first or what is the best action, across predictive, agile and hybrid projects. Formats include multiple choice, multiple response, matching, point-and-click, drop-down and case-study sets.
Question 1 · People
A new member of your agile team says almost nothing in retrospectives. Other team members mention that she has doubts about the team's testing approach. What should you do first?
- A.Raise her testing concerns at the next retrospective on her behalf
- B.Meet her one-to-one to understand her concerns and encourage her to share them with the team
- C.Ask her functional manager to coach her on speaking up
- D.Change the testing approach, since a team member has concerns
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. A servant leader first understands the person and the issue, then helps the team member contribute directly. Speaking for her (A) takes away her voice, escalating (C) skips the conversation you should have yourself, and changing the process (D) acts on second-hand information.
Question 2 · People
Two senior developers disagree about the architecture of a new module, and the argument is now delaying sprint work. What is the best action?
- A.Decide the architecture yourself so the sprint can continue
- B.Facilitate a session where both present their options against criteria the team agrees on
- C.Ask the sponsor to choose between the two designs
- D.Let them settle it themselves; self-organising teams resolve their own conflicts
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Collaborating on agreed criteria resolves the conflict and keeps ownership with the team. Imposing a decision (A, C) can work in an emergency but damages commitment, and ignoring a conflict that is already hurting delivery (D) is avoidance, not self-organisation.
Question 3 · People
On a hybrid project, a business stakeholder keeps contacting developers directly with new feature requests. What should you do?
- A.Tell the developers to ignore requests that don't come through you
- B.Add each request to the backlog as soon as it arrives
- C.Meet the stakeholder, explain how requests are captured and prioritised, and connect them with the product owner
- D.Report the stakeholder's behaviour to the sponsor
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The stakeholder is engaged, which is good; the channel is wrong. Explaining the process and linking them to the product owner keeps their input while protecting the team's focus. Ignoring them (A) damages the relationship and escalating (D) is premature.
Question 4 · Process
On a predictive project, a supplier tells you a component on the critical path will arrive three weeks late. What should you do first?
- A.Crash the schedule by adding resources to later activities
- B.Assess the impact on the schedule and check the risk register for a planned response
- C.Tell the customer the project will finish three weeks late
- D.Start the process to replace the supplier
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Analyse before acting. You need to know the real impact and whether a response was already planned before choosing to crash, re-sequence or communicate a new date. Options A, C and D all act before the analysis.
Question 5 · Process
Your agile team's velocity has dropped for two sprints in a row. What is the best next step?
- A.Ask the team to commit to more story points next sprint
- B.Explore the causes with the team in the retrospective
- C.Request two more developers from the resource manager
- D.Report the project status as red to the steering committee
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Velocity is a planning tool for the team, not a target. A drop is a signal to inspect and adapt together; the cause might be technical debt, unclear stories or an impediment. Adding people or pressure (A, C) treats a symptom you haven't diagnosed.
Question 6 · Process
After the scope baseline is approved on a predictive project, the customer asks for an additional report. What should you do?
- A.Have the team build it, since it's a small change and keeps the customer happy
- B.Decline, because the baseline is approved
- C.Evaluate the impact of the request and take it through the change control process
- D.Add it to the next phase without telling the sponsor
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Changes to a baseline go through integrated change control: assess the impact on scope, schedule, cost and risk, then let the authorised body decide. Doing it informally (A, D) is scope creep, and refusing outright (B) ignores a possibly valuable change.
Question 7 · Process
Testing finds repeated defects that trace back to vague acceptance criteria on user stories. What is the best way to prevent this from happening again?
- A.Add another round of inspection before release
- B.Work with the product owner and team to write clearer acceptance criteria and update the definition of done
- C.Ask the testers to extend the test cycle
- D.Record the defects as lessons learned at project closure
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Prevention beats inspection. Fixing the cause (unclear criteria) stops the defects being created; more inspection or testing (A, C) only finds them later, and waiting until closure (D) loses the benefit for this project.
Question 8 · Business Environment
Midway through a project, a new data-protection regulation changes how your application must store customer data. What should you do?
- A.Continue as planned and address compliance after launch
- B.Assess the impact with legal or compliance specialists, then update requirements and plans through change control
- C.Recommend cancelling the project
- D.Ask the developers to quietly change the storage design
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Compliance isn't optional, and changing the design without control (D) hides the impact from decision-makers. Assess with the right experts, then update the plan formally. Cancelling (C) is a decision for the sponsor, and only after the analysis.
Question 9 · Business Environment
After a shift in the market, your sponsor asks whether the project will still deliver the expected value. What is the best response?
- A.Share the current cost and schedule performance figures
- B.Review the business case and benefits with the sponsor and key stakeholders, and recommend whether to continue, adjust or stop
- C.Reassure the sponsor that the project is on track
- D.Add features to make the product more competitive
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Being on time and budget doesn't prove value. The 2026 outline gives far more weight to value delivery and governance: revisit the business case and give the sponsor an evidence-based recommendation.
Question 10 · Business Environment
Your organisation is introducing an AI tool to draft project status reports. Several team members worry about accuracy and data privacy. What should you do?
- A.Require everyone to use the tool from next week
- B.Ban the tool on your project until the concerns go away
- C.Support the change: explain the purpose, listen to concerns, agree rules for reviewing outputs and handling data, and start with a pilot
- D.Leave adoption to the IT department
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Supporting organisational change means helping people through it, not forcing it (A) or blocking it (B). Agreeing how AI outputs are checked and what data may be used addresses the real risks while still realising the benefit.
Ready for a full-length test?
Ten questions show you the style. A timed, full-length mock shows you whether you can hold that judgement for four hours, and the domain report tells you where to study next.
How to get the most out of practice questions
- Review every answer, including the ones you got right by luck. The explanation is where the learning happens.
- Tag each miss by domain and by reason: didn't know the concept, misread the question, or chose a reasonable option that wasn't the best one.
- Weight your study like the exam. In 2026 the Business Environment domain grew from 8% to 26%, so governance, compliance, value and change questions now matter far more.
- Practise under time pressure: 240 minutes for 180 questions is about 80 seconds each.
More reading: how many PMP practice questions you need, the 2026 PMP exam pattern and why candidates fail mock exams.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the PMP exam in 2026?
The PMP exam has 180 questions, of which 170 are scored and 10 are unscored pretest questions, and you get 240 minutes. Since 9 July 2026 the questions follow PMI's new Exam Content Outline: People 33%, Process 41% and Business Environment 26%.
Are these real PMP exam questions?
No. They are original practice questions written in the style of the exam. PMI does not publish live exam questions, and sharing or using leaked questions breaks PMI's certification rules. Good practice questions train the reasoning the exam tests.
What is the passing score for the PMP exam?
PMI does not publish a fixed pass mark. You receive an overall pass or fail result and a performance rating for each domain: Above Target, Target, Below Target or Needs Improvement.
How many PMP practice questions should I do before the exam?
There is no magic number. Most candidates do several hundred scenario questions plus a few full-length timed mock exams, and they review every answer, right or wrong. Aim for consistent scores across all three domains rather than a question count.
Where can I take a free full-length PMP mock exam?
TechNet Consultancy offers a free, timed PMP mock exam online with a score report by domain, while the offer is listed on the PMP mock exams page. Paid practice packages are one-time payments for a fixed access period.
Exam facts are from PMI's PMP Examination Content Outline (2026). PMP and PMI are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.