Quick answer (updated 16 October 2026): On the PMP exam that started on 9 July 2026, you get 180 PMP exam questions in 240 minutes (170 scored, 10 unscored). Most questions are situational: a short project scenario asks what the project manager should do next. Two formats are new in 2026, case-study sets (several questions on one scenario) and graphic-based questions (answering from a chart or diagram). Questions follow the 2026 Exam Content Outline, weighted People 33%, Process 41% and Business Environment 26%, and use the language of the PMBOK® Guide 8th Edition.
This guide explains every PMP question type, what each domain tests, and the reasoning that wins situational questions. It ends with 12 original sample questions in the new formats, each with the answer and an explanation.
PMP exam structure in 2026
| Questions | 180: 170 scored and 10 unscored pretest questions, placed at random |
|---|---|
| Time | 240 minutes, with two optional 10-minute breaks |
| Sections | A case-study section first, then independent questions. Once you take a break you cannot return to the previous section. |
| Domains | People 33% (about 59 questions) · Process 41% (about 74) · Business Environment 26% (about 47) |
| Approaches | About 40% predictive and 60% agile or hybrid, mixed across all domains |
| Reference | 2026 PMP Examination Content Outline and the PMBOK® Guide 8th Edition |
| Passing score | Not published. PMI reports Above Target, Target, Below Target or Needs Improvement for each domain. |
The structure above is based on PMI’s PMP certification page and the 2026 Examination Content Outline. PMI does not publish how many questions share one case study.
The 8 PMP question types (and where you will see them)
| Question type | How it works | Online exam | Test centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case or scenario (new) | A longer project situation, sometimes with charts or stakeholder details, followed by a series of questions on the same scenario | Yes | Yes |
| Graphic-based (new) | You read a burndown chart, network diagram, traceability matrix or similar visual and answer from it | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple choice | One correct answer from four options | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple response | Choose two or three correct answers. The question tells you how many. | Yes | Yes |
| Enhanced matching | Drag items onto a diagram, such as status markers onto a burndown chart | No | Yes |
| Matching | Pair items across two columns, such as roles and responsibilities | No | Yes |
| Point and click (hotspot) | Click the correct area of an image | No | Yes |
| Pull-down list | Pick the answer from a drop-down | No | Yes |
If you take the exam online, expect case studies, graphic-based and multiple-choice-style questions only. At a test centre you can see all eight formats. The majority of questions are still multiple choice, so the reasoning matters more than the format. Source: Pocket Prep, summarising PMI’s published sample items.
What each domain asks about
| Domain | Weight | Typical question themes |
|---|---|---|
| People | 33% | Leading and empowering the team, resolving conflict, coaching, engaging stakeholders, building shared understanding, servant leadership |
| Process | 41% | Scope, schedule and finance, risk and quality, choosing a predictive, agile or hybrid approach, managing changes, procurement, closing |
| Business Environment | 26% | Delivering and measuring business value, benefits, governance, compliance and regulation, organisational change, sustainability, AI in projects |
Business Environment grew from 8% to 26% in 2026. Expect far more questions on value, governance and compliance than in older practice material.
How to answer situational PMP questions
Most PMP questions describe a problem and ask what the project manager should do first, next or best. These rules reflect how the exam expects a project manager to think:
- Analyse before you act. Understand the situation, check the plan, the risk register or the backlog, and assess impact before escalating or changing anything.
- Use the right process. Changes to baselines go through change control. In agile work, new requests go to the product owner and the backlog.
- Lead as a servant leader. Remove impediments, coach and empower. Avoid answers where the project manager orders, blames or decides alone.
- Collaborate before escalating. Talk to the people involved first. Escalate to the sponsor only when the issue is outside your authority.
- Focus on value. PMBOK 8 judges success by outcomes and benefits, not just delivered features.
- Read the delivery cues. Words like sprint, backlog and product owner signal agile answers. Baselines and change control boards signal predictive ones.
- Eliminate the extremes. Ignore, punish, quit and “escalate immediately” are rarely right.
12 sample PMP questions with answers
These are original questions written in the style of the 2026 exam. Try each one before opening the answer.
Question 1 · Case study (1 of 3)
Case: A bank is replacing its customer portal. Development runs in two-week Scrum sprints, and the data-centre migration follows a predictive plan with a fixed cut-over date. Mid-sprint, the sponsor asks the developers to add a new loan calculator before the next release. What should the project manager do?
- Ask the team to add the calculator to the current sprint
- Ask the product owner to evaluate the request and prioritise it in the product backlog
- Submit a change request to the change control board for the migration plan
- Tell the sponsor the scope is frozen until the release
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. New features for the Scrum stream are prioritised by the product owner in the product backlog. The current sprint is protected, and the change control board governs the predictive migration baseline, not the backlog.
Question 2 · Case study (2 of 3)
Same case: The data-migration vendor reports a two-week delay. The migration is on the critical path of the predictive stream. What should the project manager do first?
- Escalate to the sponsor
- Ask the team to work overtime to recover the time
- Assess the impact on the schedule and dependent sprints, and check the risk register for a planned response
- Replace the vendor
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Analyse first. Quantify the impact and see whether a response was already planned before escalating, crashing the schedule or acting on the contract.
Question 3 · Case study (3 of 3)
Same case: Three months after launch, fewer customers are using the portal than the business case predicted. What should the project manager do?
- Close the project because the scope was delivered
- Review the benefits measures with the business owner and agree actions to improve adoption
- Add more features to attract users
- Report the shortfall as a project failure
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. PMBOK 8 focuses on value delivery. Work with the business owner on the benefits measures before deciding on more scope.
Question 4 · Graphic-based
A 10-day sprint started with 40 story points. The burndown chart shows 32 points remaining at the end of day 6, while the ideal line shows 16. What should the project manager do?
- Extend the sprint by five days
- Discuss impediments with the team and work with the product owner on what can be completed this sprint
- Add two developers from another team immediately
- Do nothing until the sprint review
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The team is well behind the ideal line. Find and remove impediments and, if needed, renegotiate sprint scope with the product owner. Sprints are not extended, and adding people mid-sprint rarely helps.
Question 5 · Multiple response (choose two)
Which two actions are typical of a servant leader?
- Removing impediments that slow the team
- Assigning tasks to each team member every morning
- Shielding the team from unnecessary interruptions
- Approving every technical decision
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A and C. Servant leaders enable the team: they remove blockers and protect its focus. Assigning every task and approving every decision undermines self-organisation.
Question 6 · Calculation
A project has a budget at completion of $500,000. It is 40% complete, $220,000 has been spent and $250,000 of work was planned by now. What is the project status?
- Under budget and ahead of schedule
- Over budget and behind schedule
- Over budget and ahead of schedule
- On budget and on schedule
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Earned value is 40% × $500,000 = $200,000. CPI = 200,000 / 220,000 ≈ 0.91 (over budget) and SPI = 200,000 / 250,000 = 0.80 (behind schedule).
Question 7 · Multiple choice · People
Two senior engineers disagree strongly about the system design and the argument is slowing the team. What should the project manager do?
- Choose the design with the lower cost
- Escalate the decision to the sponsor
- Facilitate a discussion so they evaluate both options against the requirements together
- Ask the team to vote
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Collaborating to solve the problem is the preferred conflict approach when time allows. It addresses the cause and keeps both engineers committed.
Question 8 · Multiple choice · Business Environment
Midway through the project, a new data-protection regulation is announced that affects how customer data must be stored. What should the project manager do first?
- Continue as planned until the regulation takes effect
- Assess the impact with the compliance team and raise any needed changes through governance
- Stop all work on customer data
- Ask the developers to redesign the database
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Compliance is part of the Business Environment domain. Assess the impact with the right experts first, then use governance and change control to adjust.
Question 9 · Multiple choice · Agile
The team’s velocity has fallen for three sprints in a row. What is the best place to address this?
- The sprint retrospective, with the team
- A meeting with the sponsor
- The daily stand-up, by assigning extra tasks
- A performance review with each developer
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The retrospective is the team’s own forum for inspecting how it works and agreeing improvements.
Question 10 · Multiple choice · PMBOK 8
In the PMBOK® Guide 8th Edition, which performance domain covers integration and change control?
- Scope
- Governance
- Schedule
- Stakeholders
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. PMBOK 8 replaced the knowledge areas with seven performance domains. Integration and change now sit within Governance, cost within Finance and communications within Stakeholders.
Question 11 · Multiple choice · Risk
A supplier raises a risk that could affect both its own delivery and your project. How should the project manager treat it?
- Record it as the supplier’s risk only
- Add it to the register with the supplier as owner
- Ask the supplier to manage it under the contract
- Assess the project’s own exposure and agree with the supplier who owns which part
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The same event usually creates exposure on both sides. Splitting ownership makes each party accountable for what they can influence.
Question 12 · Matching (shown as a table)
Match each Scrum event to its purpose: (1) sprint planning, (2) daily scrum, (3) sprint review, (4) retrospective. Purposes: (a) inspect the increment with stakeholders, (b) agree the sprint goal and backlog, (c) improve how the team works, (d) plan the next 24 hours.
- 1-b, 2-d, 3-a, 4-c
- 1-a, 2-d, 3-b, 4-c
- 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-d
- 1-d, 2-b, 3-c, 4-a
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Planning sets the sprint goal and backlog, the daily scrum plans the next day, the review inspects the increment, and the retrospective improves the process.
Common traps in PMP questions
- “First” and “next”. Several options may be right eventually. Pick the one that comes first in a sound process, usually analysis.
- Old terminology. Answers built on PMBOK 6 knowledge areas or the old 49 processes can be distractors. Learn the PMBOK 8 names.
- Ignoring the approach. An answer that is right for a predictive project can be wrong for an agile team, and the reverse.
- Escalating too early. The sponsor is involved when the issue is beyond the project manager’s authority, not as a first step.
- Answers that sound decisive. Firing, overruling or ignoring stakeholders is almost never the expected behaviour.
Time management on exam day
240 minutes for 180 questions gives you about 80 seconds per question. Case-study questions take longer because you read the scenario first, so bank time on short multiple-choice items. Answer every question before each break, because you cannot return to a section afterwards. Flag questions you are unsure about and come back to them within the same section. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so never leave a question blank. More tips: PMP exam time management.
How to practise PMP questions effectively
- Learn the 2026 content with a current guide such as the PMP Study Notes and Cheat Sheet (PMBOK 8 edition).
- Practise by domain and read every explanation, including for the questions you got right.
- Take full, timed 180-question exams in the last weeks, with the two breaks.
- Track your results by domain and focus on the weakest one.
The Gururo PMP Exam Simulator has 40 practice tests and 7,167 questions written for the July 2026 exam, with explanations and domain reports, and includes the study notes free. Compare it with other options in our guide to the best PMP exam simulators for 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions are on the PMP exam?
180 questions in 240 minutes. 170 are scored and 10 are unscored pretest questions.
What types of questions are on the PMP exam in 2026?
Case or scenario sets, graphic-based, multiple choice, multiple response, enhanced matching, matching, point and click, and pull-down lists. The online exam uses case, graphic-based and multiple-choice-style questions only.
Are PMP exam questions hard?
They are mostly situational, so they test judgement rather than memory. Several answers can look reasonable, and you need to pick what a project manager should do first or best.
Are there calculation questions on the PMP exam?
Yes, but only a small share. Expect earned value, schedule and basic estimating calculations rather than complex maths.
What is the passing score for the PMP exam?
PMI does not publish a passing score. Results are reported by domain as Above Target, Target, Below Target or Needs Improvement.
Can I get real PMP exam questions?
No. PMI does not release its exam questions, and using recalled questions breaks the exam rules. Use original practice questions written to the 2026 Exam Content Outline.
Do PMP questions use PMBOK 7 or PMBOK 8?
From 9 July 2026 the exam uses the 2026 Exam Content Outline and the language of the PMBOK® Guide 8th Edition.
