This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A project manager notices that two junior team members are struggling with a new technology required for the project. They are frustrated and their productivity is low. What should the project manager do?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Provide training or pair them with a mentor to build their skills
Option A is correct because the project manager's primary responsibility is to remove obstacles and develop the team's competencies. Providing training or pairing the junior members with a mentor directly addresses the root cause—lack of proficiency with the new technology—while fostering a supportive environment that aligns with the PMI's emphasis on servant leadership and team development.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Provide training or pair them with a mentor to build their skills
Why this is correct
Training and mentorship address the skill gap and empower the team members.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Inform the sponsor that the project may be delayed due to skill gaps
Why it's wrong here
This escalates prematurely without first attempting to resolve the issue.
✗
Reassign the tasks to more experienced team members
Why it's wrong here
This does not develop the junior members and may overload others.
✗
Reduce the scope of work for those team members
Why it's wrong here
Reducing scope may not be feasible and avoids addressing the root cause.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose to escalate (Option B) or reassign tasks (Option C) because they mistake a skill gap for a critical risk requiring immediate escalation, rather than recognizing it as a common team development opportunity that the project manager should resolve first.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In the PMBOK Guide's 'Develop Team' process (9.4), training and mentoring are key tools to address competency gaps, especially when adopting new technologies. The project manager should first assess the specific skill deficiency—e.g., lack of familiarity with a cloud platform like AWS Lambda—and then arrange targeted training or pair programming sessions. This approach not only improves productivity but also enhances team cohesion and long-term project resilience.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A security administrator must allow nursing staff to reach a patient records server while blocking access from the guest Wi-Fi VLAN. After applying an extended ACL, traffic is still blocked from nursing workstations. The ACL was applied outbound instead of inbound on the wrong interface. Questions like this test ACL direction and placement rules.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this PMP question in full detail.
People — Leading Projects — This question tests People — Leading Projects — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Provide training or pair them with a mentor to build their skills — Option A is correct because the project manager's primary responsibility is to remove obstacles and develop the team's competencies. Providing training or pairing the junior members with a mentor directly addresses the root cause—lack of proficiency with the new technology—while fostering a supportive environment that aligns with the PMI's emphasis on servant leadership and team development.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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