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PMP Practice QuestionsNegotiation Skills
People Domain

Negotiation Skills PMP Practice Questions

Test yourself with 6 free, scenario-based PMP practice questions on negotiation skills, drawn from the People domain of the exam and aligned to PMBOK 8. Work through each scenario before revealing the answer — every question includes an explanation of why the correct choice is right. For randomized, interactive practice across all topics, use the practice question tool.

Question 1 of 6

You are negotiating with a department head to obtain a key resource for your project. The department head is concerned about the impact on their team's own deliverables. You know the resource is only needed for six weeks. What negotiation technique is MOST likely to result in agreement?

  1. A.Emphasize the strategic importance of your project to help the department head understand their organizational obligation to contribute resources to high-priority cross-departmental initiatives.
  2. B.Ask the project sponsor to mandate the resource transfer — executive sponsorship provides the formal authority needed to direct functional departments to contribute to high-priority projects.
  3. C.Offer a reciprocal resource-sharing arrangement — proposing to lend your own team members in exchange creates a fair trade that the department head is more likely to accept.
  4. D.Focus on the department head's interest — protecting their team's deliverables — and propose a time-boxed arrangement with a clear return date that minimizes disruption.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Interest-based negotiation focuses on the other party's underlying needs, not their stated position. By addressing the department head's real concern — protecting their team's deliverables — with a clear time-boxed arrangement, you reduce their perceived risk and make agreement easier. Emphasizing strategic importance creates pressure rather than mutual benefit. Sponsor mandate bypasses negotiation and damages the relationship. A reciprocal offer may work but is not necessarily the MOST effective technique here — understanding the interest directly is more targeted.

Question 2 of 6

You are negotiating a contract amendment with a supplier. The supplier's representative becomes increasingly aggressive, using high-pressure tactics and ultimatums. What is the BEST negotiation response?

  1. A.Match the stakeholder's aggressive posture to signal that you will not be intimidated — negotiators who respond passively to pressure tactics invite further exploitation and weaken their position.
  2. B.Accept their terms to end the unpleasant interaction and preserve the working relationship — a damaged relationship from a contested negotiation has longer-term project costs than any single concession.
  3. C.Call out the tactic calmly and without accusation, then redirect the conversation to interests and objective criteria.
  4. D.Walk away from the negotiation and escalate to a senior leader — some negotiations are not productive to continue, and removing yourself signals that unacceptable tactics will not achieve results.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

When a counterpart uses pressure tactics, principled negotiators name the tactic neutrally (e.g., 'It seems we have a firm deadline — can you help me understand what is driving that?') and redirect to interests and objective criteria. Matching aggression escalates the conflict. Capitulating rewards pressure tactics and produces a bad outcome. Walking away may be appropriate as a last resort but not as a first response.

Question 3 of 6

The product owner wants to add three high-priority features to the current sprint that is already fully committed. The development team says the current scope is at capacity. As the scrum master, how should you facilitate this negotiation?

  1. A.Tell the product owner that sprint scope is locked once planning is complete — protecting sprint commitments is a core Scrum practice and the product owner must respect the team's agreed capacity.
  2. B.Allow the features to be added and ask the team to work extended hours — the product owner's high-priority requests represent business value that justifies temporary overextension of the team.
  3. C.Split the sprint into two parallel mini-sprints — dividing work into separate tracks preserves the original commitments while also creating capacity for the new high-priority items.
  4. D.Facilitate a conversation where the product owner and team jointly evaluate the value and effort of both existing and new items.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

The scrum master's role is to facilitate, not to impose rules or solutions. A joint conversation where the product owner and team evaluate priorities transparently respects both the PO's value decisions and the team's capacity. Simply blocking the PO is rigid and doesn't help them make an informed trade-off. Mandating overtime burns out the team and ignores sustainable pace principles. Splitting the sprint disrupts the rhythm and creates confusion about goals.

Question 4 of 6

You are negotiating final acceptance criteria with a client who keeps expanding the scope of 'done' at each review. Your team has delivered exactly what was specified but the client keeps finding new requirements. What is the BEST negotiation strategy?

  1. A.Use the original signed requirements document as objective criteria, differentiate between agreed scope and new requests.
  2. B.Agree to each new requirement to maintain client satisfaction — accommodating client requests builds goodwill and avoids contract disputes that would cost more in time and relationship damage than the additions.
  3. C.Refuse to make any changes since the original specification was formally agreed upon — honoring the documented contract scope is both legally and professionally correct.
  4. D.Escalate to legal to enforce the original contract terms — unauthorized scope expansion is a contractual matter that requires legal review before any response is given to the client.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Principled negotiation uses objective criteria — in this case, the signed requirements document — to anchor discussions and separate agreed scope from new requests. This is firm but fair and keeps the relationship intact. Agreeing to all new requirements rewards scope creep and impacts cost and schedule. Refusing all changes ignores potentially legitimate client needs. Legal escalation is disproportionate and damages the relationship.

Question 5 of 6

You are entering a negotiation with an internal stakeholder over resource allocation. Before the meeting, what is the MOST important preparation step based on principled negotiation principles?

  1. A.Prepare a list of your maximum demands and open with an ambitious position — anchoring high creates room for concessions and signals confidence that shapes the negotiation from the start.
  2. B.Research counterarguments to all of the stakeholder's expected objections — being prepared to refute resistance positions you as a credible, well-prepared negotiator from the first exchange.
  3. C.Ask your project sponsor to attend the negotiation — having executive presence in the room adds organizational weight to your position and signals that your requests have leadership backing.
  4. D.Identify your BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) and understand the stakeholder's likely interests and concerns.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Principled negotiation preparation focuses on understanding interests (not just positions) and knowing your BATNA — the alternative if the negotiation fails. Your BATNA defines your walk-away point and gives you realistic confidence. Preparing extreme opening demands is positional bargaining, which is less effective. Preparing only counter-arguments is adversarial and ignores the stakeholder's legitimate interests. Sponsor pressure can damage relationships and skips the negotiation step.

Question 6 of 6

During sprint planning, the product owner insists on including a low-effort, high-value feature in the sprint. The team estimates it at 13 story points but the sprint capacity is already at 40 of 40 points. After negotiation, the PO suggests removing a 13-point story to make room. The team disagrees, saying that story is technically critical. What negotiation principle applies, and what should happen?

  1. A.The product owner has final authority over the backlog — their story selection should override the team's technical objections, since value delivery is the product owner's primary responsibility.
  2. B.The team has final authority over what fits in a sprint — the product owner must accept the team's decision, since sustainable pace and technical integrity are the team's accountability to protect.
  3. C.Both value and technical necessity are legitimate criteria — the team and PO should jointly evaluate all stories using both criteria and make an informed trade-off decision together.
  4. D.Add the feature to the sprint and accept a velocity overcommitment for this iteration — delivering the business-critical feature now is more important than maintaining a perfectly sized sprint.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

Principled negotiation uses objective, shared criteria. Both business value (the PO's criterion) and technical necessity (the team's criterion) are legitimate considerations in sprint planning. The decision should be made jointly, transparently, and with full information. Neither party has unilateral authority that overrides legitimate concerns. The PO owns prioritization of business value, but the team owns capacity and technical decisions — these must be reconciled collaboratively. Overcommitting violates sustainable pace.

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