Has anyone any tips on how best to address the situation type questions in the PMP exam? I always seem to have difficulty with the "what should you do next?" type questions.
Are you to leave all logic and follow the flow of the process groups? E.g., if you are in a planning process and the options are two executing, one planning, and a closing. should you select the planning phase even though it may not align with what you would do in real life?
e.g., you are planning a new project and a new stakeholder has an issue. do you a. identify stakeholders b. update stakeholder register c. plan risk responses d. monitor stakeholder engagement Saving Changes...
You definitely don't want to abandon logic. In fact you need to use it to reverse engineer the question to figure out what they are testing and which answers apply.
I can break down your example into two sentences: You are planning. A stakeholder has an issue.
An issue is a risk that is unavoidable, so risk management is likely what they are testing. Now you need to figure out which of the answers best fits all 3 major elements: planning, stakeholders, and risk management.
Although multiple answers are things you might do next, only one addresses our primary problem which is that there is some unavoidable problem during the planning phase. You can identify who is involved, write it down, and monitor their reactions, but first and foremost is the problem.
There are many variants of this, where you have to triage the problem. Often you can rule out one or two possible answers. Of the remaining answers you need to figure out priorities. Would you focus on the details first, like the stakeholder register, or would you address the problem itself? Saving Changes...
I'd also recommend lots and lots of exercise with good quality situational practice exam questions. Also remember that PMI's view of a PM is as a proactive leader so that might help you narrow down the choices presented.
I'm studying for my PMP exam and found Aileen Ellis and PMPwithRay on YouTube. They both have a lot of videos that show you how to break down questions. Saving Changes...
