PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Test 22 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Your agile team has been struggling with low morale and lack of motivation. As a project manager using servant leadership, which THREE actions would be most effective in improving the situation?

Accepted Answer

Identify and remove obstacles that are hindering the team's progress. Servant leadership prioritizes the growth, well-being, and autonomy of the team, so option A is correct because identifying and removing impediments (a core Scrum Master/project manager duty) directly addresses the demotivating friction that slows progress and frustrates team members. Option D is correct because empowering the team to decide their own work processes builds intrinsic motivation, ownership, and self-organization, which are central to agile servant leadership. Option E is correct because regularly acknowledging and celebrating achievements satisfies the need for recognition and reinforces positive behavior, lifting morale without coercion. Option B does not belong because monetary incentives tied to sprint goals are an extrinsic, transactional motivator that can undermine intrinsic motivation and is not characteristic of servant leadership. Option C does not belong because imposing stricter performance metrics is a command-and-control, directive approach that increases pressure and erodes trust rather than serving the team's needs.

Answer

Offer monetary incentives for meeting sprint goals

Answer

Set stricter performance metrics to push the team to improve

Question 2

Your project team is distributed across four countries with significant time zone differences. Communication has been challenging, leading to misunderstandings and delays. Which THREE actions would most effectively improve collaboration?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a weekly synchronous meeting at a time that rotates to accommodate different time zones. Rotating the meeting time distributes the inconvenience of early or late hours across all team members, ensuring no single region is consistently disadvantaged. This approach maintains regular synchronous interaction, which is critical for building rapport and resolving complex issues, while respecting the team's global distribution.

Answer

Reduce the frequency of communication to minimize coordination overhead

Answer

Require all team members to be available during a fixed 4-hour overlap window each day

Question 3

You are the project manager for a software development project using a hybrid approach. Two senior developers have a disagreement about the technical approach for a critical feature. The conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. What should you do first?

Accepted Answer

Meet with both developers individually to understand their perspectives, then facilitate a joint discussion. As a project manager using a hybrid approach, your first responsibility is to address the conflict through collaborative conflict resolution. Meeting individually with each developer to understand their perspectives, then facilitating a joint discussion, aligns with the PMI People domain's emphasis on emotional intelligence and servant leadership. This approach preserves team morale, leverages the expertise of both senior developers, and allows the team to reach a consensus on the technical approach, which is critical for a hybrid project where both agile and plan-driven elements require team buy-in.

Answer

Decide on the technical approach yourself and assign tasks accordingly

Answer

Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision

Answer

Replace both developers with a single developer who agrees with the original plan

Question 4

During a sprint retrospective, the team expresses frustration that they are frequently interrupted by unplanned work from other departments. The project manager wants to improve team focus. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Meet with other department managers to negotiate dedicated team time and establish a process for handling requests. It addresses the root cause of the team's frustration by negotiating dedicated team time with other departments and establishing a formal process for handling unplanned work requests. This aligns with the servant leadership approach in the People domain, where the project manager acts as a buffer and facilitator to protect the team's focus and productivity, rather than imposing a technical fix that ignores the systemic issue.

Answer

Increase the sprint duration to accommodate unplanned work

Answer

Tell the team to ignore unplanned work requests

Answer

Add a daily stand-up to discuss unplanned work

Question 5

A project manager is leading a virtual team across four time zones. The project has entered the execution phase, and the project manager notices that team members are not collaborating effectively, and communication is becoming fragmented. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Review and update the communication management plan and set up a shared collaboration platform with clear guidelines. The first step in resolving fragmented communication in a virtual team is to review and update the Communication Management Plan, which defines how information is shared, stored, and accessed. Setting up a shared collaboration platform with clear guidelines directly addresses the root cause—lack of structured communication channels and protocols—rather than applying a superficial or disruptive fix. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's principle of tailoring communication to the team's distributed environment.

Answer

Send a team-wide email reminding everyone to communicate more effectively

Answer

Require all team members to work during the same core hours

Answer

Schedule a team-building retreat to improve relationships

Question 6

A project manager is leading a large construction project. The sponsor requests that the team skip a mandatory quality inspection to save two weeks on the schedule. The project manager knows that skipping the inspection could compromise safety and violate regulations. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Explain the regulatory and safety implications to the sponsor and recommend against skipping the inspection. The project manager has a fiduciary and ethical duty to prioritize safety and regulatory compliance over schedule pressure. Skipping a mandatory quality inspection violates regulations and could lead to legal liability, project shutdown, or harm. The PM must clearly communicate these risks to the sponsor and recommend against the action, as per the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

Answer

Document the sponsor's request and proceed with the inspection as planned without further discussion

Answer

Comply with the sponsor's request to maintain a good relationship

Answer

Propose reducing the inspection scope rather than skipping it entirely

Question 7

A project manager is forming a new project team. To build a high-performing team, the project manager wants to establish clear expectations for behavior and communication. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a team charter workshop to collaboratively define ground rules, values, and communication protocols. A team charter workshop is a collaborative, facilitated process where the team collectively defines ground rules, values, and communication protocols. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on building a high-performing team through mutual agreement and shared ownership, which fosters trust and reduces ambiguity in behavior and communication from the start.

Answer

Create a detailed project schedule and assign tasks immediately

Answer

Ask each team member to submit a list of their personal expectations

Answer

Send an email listing team rules and ask for acknowledgment

Question 8

During a project, a key team member consistently misses deadlines, causing delays. The project manager has had informal conversations with the team member, but the situation has not improved. What should the project manager do next?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting to discuss the performance gap, identify underlying issues, and create an improvement plan. The project manager should first address performance issues through direct, private communication to understand root causes and collaboratively develop an improvement plan. This aligns with the PMI People domain, emphasizing servant leadership and coaching to resolve team member performance gaps before escalating or reassigning tasks. The informal conversations have not worked, so a structured approach with clear expectations and support is the next logical step.

Answer

Ignore the issue and adjust the schedule to accommodate the delays

Answer

Escalate the issue to the functional manager and request a replacement

Answer

Reassign the task to another team member without discussion

Question 9

A project manager is leading a global team with diverse cultural backgrounds. Two team members from different cultures have a misunderstanding that is causing tension. The project manager wants to promote inclusivity and resolve the issue. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Arrange a mediation session where both parties can share perspectives and learn about each other's cultural norms. It directly addresses the root cause of the conflict—cultural misunderstanding—by facilitating open dialogue and mutual learning. This aligns with the PMP's focus on emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership, as the project manager acts as a mediator to foster understanding rather than imposing rules or assigning blame.

Answer

Create a policy requiring all team members to communicate in a standard way

Answer

Determine which team member is at fault and counsel them individually

Answer

Advise the team to avoid discussing cultural differences to prevent further conflict

Question 10

A project manager is using a servant leadership approach. During a sprint, the team is struggling to complete their tasks due to unclear requirements. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Work with the product owner to clarify the requirements and provide the team with the necessary information. A servant leader removes impediments for the team. By working with the product owner to clarify the requirements, the project manager directly addresses the root cause of the team's struggle—unclear requirements—without taking over the work or delaying resolution. This aligns with the agile principle of empowering the team while ensuring they have the necessary information to complete their tasks.

Answer

Take over the task of clarifying requirements and update the user stories yourself

Answer

Coach the team to ask better questions during sprint planning

Answer

Wait until the sprint retrospective to discuss the issue

Question 11

You are a project manager for a marketing campaign project. A team member has proposed a new approach that could improve the campaign's effectiveness but would require additional budget and extend the timeline. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Submit a change request with an analysis of the benefits, costs, and risks. As a project manager, you must follow the formal change control process when a proposed change affects the project's budget and timeline. Submitting a change request with a thorough analysis of benefits, costs, and risks ensures that the change is evaluated based on objective data and approved by the appropriate stakeholders, maintaining project governance and alignment with business objectives.

Answer

Encourage the team member to implement the new approach informally

Answer

Approve the change since it improves effectiveness

Answer

Reject the proposal to stay within the original plan

Question 12

A project manager discovers that a team member has been working overtime for weeks to meet a deadline. The team member appears stressed and burnt out. The project manager is concerned about the team member's well-being and the sustainability of the project. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a private meeting to discuss the workload, express concern, and explore options for support or reprioritization. It aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and proactive stakeholder management. By scheduling a private meeting, the project manager demonstrates empathy, addresses the root cause of burnout, and collaboratively explores solutions like reprioritization or resource reallocation, which sustains both team well-being and project delivery.

Answer

Increase the project budget to hire additional help immediately

Answer

Warn the team member that overtime is not sustainable and require them to stop

Answer

Ignore the situation as long as deadlines are met

Question 13

In a large-scale project, the project manager notices that sprint velocity has been declining over the last three sprints. The team is demotivated and blaming each other for missed commitments. What should the project manager do first?

Accepted Answer

Facilitate a retrospective to identify root causes and collaboratively develop improvement actions. The first step in addressing declining sprint velocity and team demotivation is to facilitate a retrospective. This aligns with the PMP's focus on servant leadership and collaborative problem-solving, allowing the team to identify root causes (e.g., technical debt, unclear requirements) and co-create improvement actions, which restores ownership and morale.

Answer

Reassign tasks to the highest-performing team members

Answer

Replace the Scrum Master with a more experienced one

Answer

Meet with the product owner to reduce the scope of upcoming sprints

Question 14

A project manager is leading a team that includes members from different departments. One team member frequently misses team meetings and fails to update task status. What should the project manager do?

Accepted Answer

Schedule a one-on-one meeting to discuss the issue and understand any challenges. The PM should first address performance issues privately to understand root causes, such as personal challenges or workload conflicts, before taking any formal action. This aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive conflict resolution, ensuring the team member feels supported and can improve without public embarrassment.

Answer

Bring up the issue in the next team meeting to encourage accountability

Answer

Remove the team member from the project

Answer

Report the issue to the team member's functional manager

Question 15

A project manager is leading a hybrid project. The team has members in three countries, and communication has been challenging. The project manager wants to improve collaboration and build trust among remote team members. Which TWO actions should the project manager take?

Accepted Answer

Rotate meeting times so that no single region always has an inconvenient time. Rotating meeting times distributes the inconvenience of early or late meetings across all time zones, which demonstrates fairness and respect for team members' work-life balance. This action directly addresses the challenge of remote collaboration in a hybrid project by fostering trust and inclusivity, which are critical for team cohesion. Option E is correct because a virtual team charter establishes clear communication norms, availability windows, and expectations, reducing ambiguity and enabling more effective asynchronous and synchronous collaboration.

Answer

Implement a reward system for individual performance metrics

Answer

Assign a single point of contact in each country to relay information

Answer

Require all team members to relocate to a central office for the project duration