PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A project manager is forming a new team for a complex software development project. The sponsor insists on using a co-located team for better communication. However, the best available resources are located in different countries. What should the project manager do?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume the sponsor's requirement is non-negotiable, but PMP best practice requires the project manager to analyze trade-offs and propose a solution that optimizes both resource quality and communication, rather than blindly accepting or forcing impractical changes.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Propose a hybrid model with core team co-located and remote members integrated via collaboration tools.
It balances the sponsor's preference for co-location with the practical reality of distributed talent. A hybrid model allows a core team to be co-located for high-bandwidth collaboration while integrating remote members via collaboration tools (e.g., video conferencing, shared repositories, and agile boards). This approach aligns with PMI's emphasis on stakeholder negotiation and adaptive leadership, ensuring the project benefits from the best resources without sacrificing communication quality.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Propose a hybrid model with core team co-located and remote members integrated via collaboration tools.
Why this is correct
This approach strategically leverages the benefits of both co-located and distributed teams, which is optimal for complex software projects requiring diverse expertise. By maintaining a core co-located team, critical face-to-face communication and rapid decision-making are facilitated, while integrating remote members allows access to a broader, specialized talent pool. Effective collaboration tools and communication planning are essential to ensure seamless integration and maintain team cohesion across geographical boundaries, optimizing resource utilization and project outcomes.
- ✗
Accept the sponsor's requirement and hire local contractors.
Why it's wrong here
Blindly accepting the sponsor's requirement to hire only local contractors severely restricts the available talent pool, potentially leading to suboptimal resource allocation for a complex software project. This limitation could result in hiring less experienced or specialized personnel, compromising project quality and increasing overall costs due to a smaller competitive market. A project manager should proactively analyze resource constraints and propose solutions that prioritize project success over rigid, potentially detrimental, initial requirements.
- ✗
Relocate the remote resources to the project location.
Why it's wrong here
Relocating all remote resources to the project location presents significant logistical and financial challenges that typically outweigh the benefits for a complex software project. Such a move would incur substantial costs for travel, housing, and potential visa sponsorships, while also risking resource attrition due to personal disruption. This approach is often impractical and unsustainable, diverting critical budget and time away from project execution and potentially causing project delays.
- ✗
Replace remote resources with local ones who have similar skills.
Why it's wrong here
Replacing existing remote resources with local ones, even if they possess 'similar skills,' introduces substantial risks to project continuity and team performance. This action can lead to the loss of accumulated project-specific knowledge, established working relationships, and unique expertise that the remote team members have developed. The onboarding of new personnel also incurs delays and costs, potentially compromising the project's schedule, overall competency, and team morale.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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