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PMP · Domain 2

Process practice questions

Process is worth 41% of the PMP exam — the heaviest of the 3 domains. Delivering the work: integrated planning and delivery approach, scope, value-based delivery, resources, procurement, finance, quality, schedule, status and closure. Official weighting 41%. 6 fully worked examples are further down this page, answers included.

Exam weight
41%
the heaviest of the 3 domains
Questions
427
across 10 topics
Free, no account
5/day
a free account allows 30 a day
Explanations
Every option
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6 sample Process questions, fully explained

Questions from the PMP bank mapped to domain 2, with the answer key and the reasoning behind every option. None of them repeat the examples on the main PMP practice page.

Question 1Process

An engineering firm is planning the repair of a highway bridge. The design is complete and approved, permits fix the work sequence, and changes after concrete is poured would be very costly. Which development approach should the project manager recommend?

Choose one.

  • a
    Adaptive

    Adaptive approaches suit requirements that are expected to change. Here the design is approved and late change is very costly.

  • b
    Iterative

    Iterative life cycles refine a solution through repeated versions, which assumes the requirements are still being discovered.

  • c
    Incremental

    Incremental life cycles deliver usable pieces in stages. A bridge repair produces its value when the whole repair is complete.

  • d
    Predictive Correct

    Stable, approved requirements, a fixed sequence and a high cost of late change are the conditions where planning the work up front pays off.

The concept

A predictive life cycle fits when requirements are well understood and stable and the cost of change rises sharply once work is done.

Why that’s the answer

Every factor in the stem points the same way: the design is fixed, permits set the sequence and rework would be very costly. Those are the conditions in which a predictive plan with baselines is the best fit. Adaptive and iterative approaches assume evolving requirements; incremental delivery assumes the result is useful in pieces.

How to reason it out
  1. Check requirement stability: the design is approved.
  2. Check the cost of change: very high after pouring.
  3. Check delivery: the value arrives when the repair is complete.
  4. Match stable requirements and single delivery to predictive.

Exam tip: Stable requirements plus a high cost of change point to a predictive approach.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

Question 2Process

A retailer wants a new pricing analytics product. Users say they will only know what they need once they see working screens, and the sponsor wants each usable capability in buyers' hands as soon as it is ready because market conditions shift every quarter. Which development approach best fits?

Choose one.

  • a
    Iterative prototyping, then one full release

    Iterating with prototypes handles the unclear requirements, but a single release at the end ignores the sponsor's need to deliver each capability as it is ready.

  • b
    Incremental releases of a fixed requirement set

    Incremental delivery gets value out early, but fixing the requirements up front clashes with users who can only define needs after seeing working screens.

  • c
    Predictive, with a longer requirements phase

    A longer requirements phase cannot capture needs that users say they can only state after seeing working software, and it delays delivery.

  • d
    Agile, with frequent incremental releases Correct

    Requirements will emerge from feedback, and value is wanted early and often. Agile combines iterative discovery with incremental delivery, which covers both needs.

The concept

The Agile Practice Guide separates life cycles on two dimensions: how stable the requirements are and how often value is delivered. Predictive: fixed and single. Iterative: dynamic and single. Incremental: fixed and frequent. Agile: dynamic and frequent.

Why that’s the answer

The stem gives both dimensions: requirements will emerge from feedback (dynamic) and capabilities should ship as soon as they are ready (frequent delivery). Only agile covers both. Iterative and incremental are the near-twins: each satisfies one dimension and fails the other. A longer predictive requirements phase fails both.

How to reason it out
  1. Read requirement stability: users define needs after seeing screens, so they are dynamic.
  2. Read delivery frequency: each capability as soon as ready, so frequent.
  3. Map dynamic plus frequent to agile.
  4. Rule out iterative (single delivery) and incremental (fixed requirements).

Exam tip: Dynamic requirements plus frequent delivery = agile; iterative and incremental each cover only one of the two.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

Question 3Process

A payroll team must implement new statutory rules that are fully defined in legislation and will not change before go-live. The business wants each country's payroll module to go live as soon as it is finished rather than waiting for the last country. Which life cycle best fits these characteristics?

Choose one.

  • a
    Iterative development

    Iterative life cycles refine the solution while requirements are still being learned. These rules are fully defined, and iteration alone does not release modules early.

  • b
    Predictive (waterfall)

    Predictive suits the fixed requirements but delivers once at the end, which conflicts with releasing each country as soon as it is ready.

  • c
    Incremental delivery Correct

    The requirements are fixed by legislation, and the business wants usable modules released in stages. Fixed requirements with frequent delivery describe an incremental life cycle.

  • d
    Adaptive (agile)

    Agile fits requirements that are expected to change. With rules fixed in law, the defining reason for agile's continuous discovery is absent.

The concept

Incremental life cycles deliver finished, usable parts of the product in stages against requirements that are already known.

Why that’s the answer

Requirements here are stable (fixed by legislation) while delivery is wanted in stages (country by country). That combination is incremental. Predictive is the tempting choice because the requirements are fixed, but it delivers once. Agile and iterative are designed for requirements that are still emerging.

How to reason it out
  1. Requirement stability: fixed in legislation.
  2. Delivery frequency: each country as soon as finished.
  3. Fixed plus frequent maps to incremental.
  4. Predictive fails the delivery need; agile and iterative target changing requirements.

Exam tip: Known requirements delivered in usable stages = incremental.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

Question 4Process

A distribution company is building a new warehouse and a warehouse management app. The building design is approved and permitted; the app's features will be discovered with floor staff as they trial early versions. The app must interface with conveyors installed in month 9. Which approach should the project manager recommend?

Choose one.

  • a
    Predictive for the building and adaptive for the app Correct

    Each component gets the approach that matches its uncertainty, and the month-9 conveyor installation becomes a shared milestone that ties the two together.

  • b
    Adaptive for the building and predictive for the app

    This reverses the fit: the approved, permitted building design has stable requirements, while the app's features are still being discovered.

  • c
    Adaptive for both, sharing one product backlog

    A single adaptive backlog suits the app but not construction work whose design and sequence are already fixed by approvals and permits.

  • d
    Predictive for both, under one integrated baseline

    Baselining the app's features up front conflicts with discovering them through trials with floor staff.

The concept

A hybrid approach applies predictive methods to well-defined components and adaptive methods to uncertain ones, integrated through shared milestones and governance.

Why that’s the answer

The building and the app differ in uncertainty, so one approach for both forces a poor fit on one of them. Predictive suits the approved building; adaptive suits the app whose features emerge from trials. The month-9 conveyor interface is the integration point both plans must respect.

How to reason it out
  1. Assess each component separately.
  2. Building: approved design and permits, so stable.
  3. App: features discovered through trials, so uncertain.
  4. Combine them in a hybrid with a shared integration milestone.

Exam tip: Hybrid means matching the approach to each component's uncertainty and integrating at shared milestones.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

Question 5Process

In a hybrid program, the PMO requires a cost baseline and quarterly milestone reporting. One component is built by a stable Scrum team whose backlog is expected to change. How should the project manager integrate this component into the project management plan?

Choose one.

  • a
    Baseline its full scope at user-story level before the first sprint starts

    Fixing story-level scope up front removes the flexibility the changing backlog needs and will drive constant change requests.

  • b
    Baseline its cost from team capacity and forecast milestones from velocity Correct

    A stable team has a predictable cost per iteration, so cost can be baselined while scope stays flexible, and velocity gives evidence-based milestone forecasts for the PMO.

  • c
    Exclude it from the cost baseline and report sprint burndowns instead

    This drops the component out of the governance the PMO requires. Burndowns show iteration progress, not the cost and milestone view asked for.

  • d
    Keep a separate agile plan and reconcile it with the program at closure

    Reconciling at closure leaves the integrated plan without this component for the whole program, so dependencies and variances surface too late.

The concept

In hybrid governance, an agile component can be integrated by fixing cost and time through stable team capacity while scope flexes, and by forecasting milestones from measured velocity.

Why that’s the answer

The PMO needs a cost baseline and milestone reports; the team needs a backlog that can change. Capacity-based cost (team size multiplied by iterations) satisfies the baseline without freezing scope, and velocity turns the backlog into milestone forecasts. Baselining stories freezes scope; excluding the component or reconciling at closure abandons integration.

How to reason it out
  1. Identify the governance needs: cost baseline and milestone reporting.
  2. Identify the delivery need: backlog will change.
  3. Recall that a stable team gives a predictable cost per iteration.
  4. Choose the option that meets governance without fixing scope.

Exam tip: In hybrid plans, fix cost and time through team capacity, let scope flex, and forecast milestones from velocity.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

Question 6Process

A company has committed to report the carbon emissions of its capital projects to a regulator each year. A project manager is planning a data center build that combines predictive construction with agile software work. How should the project manager handle this obligation during planning?

Choose one.

  • a
    Define the emissions data, owners and reporting cadence in the plan Correct

    The obligation is a critical information requirement. Defining what data is collected, by whom and when means the figures exist when the report falls due.

  • b
    Capture emissions results in the lessons learned register at closure

    Lessons learned at closure is too late and the wrong artifact: the regulator needs the figures each year, collected throughout the work.

  • c
    Ask procurement to favor suppliers with lower-carbon products

    Lower-carbon sourcing may reduce emissions, but it does not set up the data needed to report them, which is the obligation in the stem.

  • d
    Log carbon reporting in the risk register for later monitoring

    The reporting duty is certain, not uncertain. Treating a firm obligation as a risk defers the work of defining the information needed.

The concept

Determining critical information requirements means identifying the information the project must produce for decisions and obligations (such as sustainability or regulatory reporting) and planning how it is collected.

Why that’s the answer

A known external reporting duty must be designed into the plan: which data, its source and owner, and how often it is collected. Without that, the data will not exist when needed. Recording it as a risk or a lesson treats a certain obligation as optional, and supplier choice reduces emissions but does not report them.

How to reason it out
  1. Recognise the obligation as information the project must produce.
  2. Ask when it must be planned: before execution starts.
  3. Define the data, its owners and cadence in the plan.
  4. Reject options that defer it or address a different goal.

Exam tip: Reporting obligations (e.g. sustainability) are critical information requirements: define the data, owner and cadence up front.

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan Delivery — the lesson that teaches this.

What PMP domain 2 tests, topic by topic

The official exam guide breaks Process into 10 topics. The question bank follows the same split, so a weak topic shows up as a cluster of misses you can go back and read.

Published PMP practice questions per topic in Process
TopicWhat it coversQuestions
Develop an integrated project management plan and plan deliveryOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 1. Enablers: Assess project needs, complexity, and magnitude; Recommend a project management development approach (i.e., predictive, adaptive/agile, or hybrid management); Determine critical information requirements (e.g., sustainability); Recommend a project execution strategy; Create an integrated project management plan; Estimate work effort and resource requirements; Assess consolidated project plans for dependencies, gaps, and continued business value; Maintain the integrated project management plan; Collect and analyze data to make informed project decisions.41
Develop and manage project scopeOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 2. Enablers: Define scope; Obtain stakeholder agreement on project scope; Break down scope.43
Help ensure value-based deliveryOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 3. Enablers: Identify value components with key stakeholders; Prioritize work based on value and stakeholder feedback; Assess opportunities to deliver value incrementally; Examine the business value throughout the project; Verify a measurement system is in place to track benefits; Evaluate delivery options to demonstrate value.43
Plan and manage resourcesOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 4. Enablers: Define and plan resources based on requirements; Manage and optimize resource needs and availability.43
Plan and manage procurementOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 5. Enablers: Plan procurement; Execute a procurement management plan; Select preferred contract types; Evaluate vendor performance; Verify objectives of the procurement agreement are met; Participate in agreement negotiations; Determine a negotiation strategy; Manage suppliers and contracts; Plan and manage the procurement strategy; Develop a delivery solution.43
Plan and manage financeOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 6. Enablers: Analyze project financial needs; Quantify risk and contingency financial allocations; Plan spend tracking throughout the project life cycle; Plan financial reporting; Anticipate future finance challenges; Monitor financial variations and work with the governance process; Manage financial reserves.43
Plan and optimize quality of products/deliverablesOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 7. Enablers: Gather quality requirements for project deliverables; Plan quality processes and tools; Execute a quality management plan; Help ensure regulatory compliance; Manage cost of quality (CoQ) and sustainability; Conduct ongoing quality reviews; Implement continuous improvement.43
Plan and manage scheduleOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 8. Enablers: Prepare a schedule based on the selected development approach; Coordinate with other projects and operations; Estimate project tasks (milestones, dependencies, story points); Utilize benchmarks and historical data; Create a project schedule; Baseline a project schedule; Execute a schedule management plan; Analyze schedule variation.43
Evaluate project statusOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 9. Enablers: Develop project metrics, analysis, and reconciliation; Identify and tailor needed artifacts; Help ensure artifacts are created, reviewed, updated, and documented; Help ensure accessibility of artifacts; Assess current progress; Measure, analyze, and update project metrics; Communicate project status; Continually assess the effectiveness of artifact management.43
Manage project closureOfficial PMP ECO (July 2026), Domain II Task 10. Enablers: Obtain project stakeholder approval of project completion; Determine criteria to successfully close the project or phase; Validate readiness for transition (e.g., to operations team or next phase); Conclude activities to close the project or phase (e.g., final lessons learned, retrospectives, procurement, financials, resources).42
Total427

Revise Process before you drill it

PMP Integrated Project Management Plan: Approach, Estimating and Plan DeliveryQuestions on this task are mostly situational: a predictive, agile or hybrid scenario followed by what the project manager should recommend, do first or do next, or which approach, strategy, technique or plan component fits. The deciding facts are usually in the stem, such as whether requirements are stable, how often value must be delivered, which constraints are fixed, whether a change alters a baseline, and what information a decision needs, and several options are workable in principle. Expect short calculations (PERT, effort to duration, capacity-adjusted velocity, expected monetary value, remaining cost versus remaining benefit), a few Select TWO items, and distractors that skip analysis, act unilaterally, treat a known conflict or obligation as a risk, or count sunk costs.PMP Scope Management: Requirements, Scope Statement, WBS and BacklogScope items are mostly situational: a short predictive, agile or hybrid scenario, then what the project manager should do, do first, or which document, artifact or technique applies; some are Select TWO. A stated detail usually decides between workable options, such as whether the scope baseline is already approved, whether a fact is confirmed or only assumed, who raised a request, which component of a hybrid project it touches, or why stakeholders cannot state their requirements. Expect to tell near-twins apart: scope statement versus charter or scope management plan, WBS versus WBS dictionary, work package versus activity or planning package, acceptance criteria versus definition of done or definition of ready, exclusion versus assumption, and scope creep versus gold plating. Some items show a draft WBS or backlog and ask what is wrong with it.PMP Value-Based Delivery: Prioritization, Incremental Value and BenefitsValue-based delivery items are mostly situational: a short agile, hybrid or predictive scenario, then what the project manager should do, do first, propose or set up; some are Select TWO and a few are calculations. A stated detail usually decides between workable options, such as a fixed date, value that expires, a part that is or is not usable on its own, a regulatory block, a cash or payback limit, a release that carries a fixed cost, a benefit that appears only after closure, or whether the work is baselined or in a backlog. Expect to tell near-twins apart: MoSCoW versus Kano, basic versus indifferent features, MMF versus MVP, business case versus benefits management plan, NPV versus payback, outcome versus output measures, leading versus lagging indicators, and phased handover versus crashing or fast-tracking. Some items give a small table of WSJF or financial figures to compare.PMP Resource Management: Planning, Acquiring and Optimizing Project ResourcesResource items are mostly situational: a short predictive, agile or hybrid scenario, then what the project manager should do, do first or next, or which technique, artifact or plan applies; some are Select TWO and a few involve a one-step capacity calculation. A stated condition usually decides between workable options: whether the finish date can move, whether the overloaded activities have float or sit on the critical path, whether extra cost or contractors are approved, who controls the resource, whether negotiation has already been tried, the lead time to obtain a resource, and what an agreement allows. Expect to tell near-twins apart: smoothing versus leveling versus crashing or fast tracking, RBS versus WBS, OBS or RACI, resource calendar versus project calendar or histogram, and the resource management plan versus procurement, cost or risk documents. PMI's mindset applies throughout: analyze before acting, negotiate before escalating, follow change control and governance, and release resources when the need ends.PMP Procurement Management: Contract Types, Negotiation and Vendor ManagementQuestions on this task are mostly situational: a predictive, hybrid or agile buying scenario followed by what the project manager should do, recommend or which document, contract type, strategy or delivery solution fits. The deciding facts are in the stem, such as how well the scope is defined, who should carry cost risk, what the contract already says, who holds contract authority, whether claims are still open, and constraints like a spend cap, an exit right or long-term ownership. Expect one-step calculations (fixed price and cost plus incentive fees, lease-or-buy break-even), term recognition (make-or-buy, RFQ, BATNA, claim), a few Select TWO items, and distractors that bypass procurement authority or contract change control, favour one bidder, escalate or terminate too early, or ignore opportunity cost.PMP Cost and Finance Management: Budget, Reserves and Earned ValueFinance items are mostly situational: a short predictive, agile or hybrid scenario, then what the project manager should do, do first, report or calculate; some are Select TWO and several are one-step calculations. A stated detail usually decides the answer, such as whether a cost event was an identified risk, whether a variance will continue or was a one-off, whether the original estimates were flawed, whether a change was approved, whether work has float, or who the report is for. Expect to tell near-twins apart: cost baseline versus project budget, contingency versus management reserve, analogous versus parametric estimating, actual cost versus commitments, cost variance versus variance at completion, and underspend versus late work. Calculations cover EMV for contingency, Monte Carlo confidence levels, BAC after reserve movements, the EAC variants, ETC, VAC, TCPI and agile remaining cost.PMP Quality Management: Cost of Quality, Quality Tools and Continuous ImprovementQuality items are mostly situational: a short predictive, agile or hybrid scenario, then what the project manager should do, do next, or which tool, document or cost category applies; several are Select TWO, and some give data such as a target and tolerance or a description of a control chart. A stated detail usually decides between workable options, such as whether the problem is the process or a single output, whether a control-chart signal is inside or outside the control limits and the specification, whether a requirement is already approved, whether a need applies to every story, or a constraint like least rework or no slower release cadence. Expect to tell near-twins apart: quality versus grade, prevention versus appraisal, internal versus external failure, manage versus control quality, Pareto chart versus cause-and-effect diagram, check sheet versus Pareto chart, five whys versus fishbone, scatter diagram versus histogram, control limits versus specification limits, and definition of done versus acceptance criteria.PMP Schedule Management: Critical Path, Float, Baselines and Agile ForecastingSchedule items are mostly situational: a predictive, agile or hybrid scenario, then what the project manager should do, do first, or advise, with several Select TWO items and some one- or two-step calculations given as a small network, crash table, earned value figures or a velocity range. A stated condition usually decides between workable options, such as whether a change was approved, whether money or only risk is available, whether recovery is still possible, whether collaboration has already been tried, whether an activity is critical or has float, or whether a date is fixed. Expect to tell near-twins apart: lead versus lag, finish-to-start versus finish-to-finish, total versus free float, crashing versus fast-tracking, mandatory versus discretionary dependencies, milestone versus activity, the baseline versus the current schedule or forecast, revising the baseline versus reporting variance, SPI versus critical-path status, throughput versus cycle time, and story points versus hours or value.PMP Project Status: Metrics, Earned Value, Burn Charts and Status ReportingMost questions in this task are short situations in predictive, agile or hybrid projects that ask what the project manager should report, conclude or do first when the data is ambiguous. Expect to read SPI and CPI values, burndown, burnup and cumulative flow patterns, and conflicting progress figures from different sources, then choose the response that analyses or reconciles before acting. Other items ask which metric, progress-crediting rule or artifact fits a stated need, how to keep artifacts current and accessible under constraints such as contracts or screen readers, and what a status report must contain. Distractors are usually plausible but premature actions (escalating, rebaselining, setting a velocity target) or figures that measure activity rather than progress.PMP Project Closure: Completion Criteria, Transition, Lessons Learned and Closing ContractsClosure items are mostly situational: a short predictive, agile or hybrid scenario near the end of a project or phase, then what the project manager should do, do first or next, which document applies, or (in Select TWO items) which criteria or activities belong. A stated detail usually decides between workable options: who the charter, governance plan or contract names as the approver; whether a condition was in the agreed criteria; whether the receiving team or the project team performed a readiness test; whether a contract still has an open claim or an unpaid contractual amount; whether an invoice is still outstanding; whether someone is committed to a transition plan. Expect near-twins such as deliverable acceptance versus completion approval, iteration versus final retrospective, an empty backlog versus remaining value, closure criteria versus long-term benefits, and archiving records versus contractual data obligations. Distractors typically skip a step (closing before contracts or costs are settled), act unilaterally (waiving a gate criterion, handing over despite a gap), accept approval from a convenient person, use leftover reserve for new scope, or delete an uncomfortable lesson.

Other PMP domains

Domain 1: People33% of the exam · 344 questionsDomain 3: Business Environment26% of the exam · 272 questionsAll PMP practice questionsMixed sessions across all 3 domains — the way the real exam interleaves them.

Process: your questions

Process is domain 2 of the PMP exam guide and carries 41% of the scored content — the heaviest of the 3 domains. On a 180-question paper that works out to roughly 74 questions, though PMI does not publish an exact per-domain count and individual exam forms vary.

Source

The domain weight and topic list on this page come from the official PMP exam guide.