PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A project team is in the storming stage of development. The project manager wants to help the team move to the norming stage. Which action would BEST support this transition?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often choose to avoid conflict (Option D) or enforce control (Option B) thinking it will restore order, but the PMBOK emphasizes that the PM should facilitate the team's own resolution of issues, not suppress or bypass them.
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
✓
Facilitate a team session to establish ground rules and clarify roles.
The storming stage is characterized by conflict and uncertainty about roles. Facilitating a session to establish ground rules and clarify roles directly addresses the root cause of storming by creating structure and mutual understanding, which is the key to moving into norming where collaboration begins. This action aligns with Tuckman's model and the PM's role as a servant leader.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Facilitate a team session to establish ground rules and clarify roles.
Why this is correct
Storming is characterized by conflict, power struggles, and unclear expectations among team members. Facilitating a dedicated session to collaboratively establish ground rules provides a framework for acceptable behavior and communication, directly addressing the chaos. Clarifying individual roles and responsibilities reduces ambiguity and competition, enabling the team to move past internal friction and progress towards the more cooperative Norming stage.
- ✗
Enforce strict adherence to the project schedule to keep the team focused.
Why it's wrong here
While project schedule adherence is important, simply enforcing it does not address the underlying interpersonal conflicts, power struggles, or lack of trust that define the storming stage. This approach ignores critical team dynamics, potentially exacerbating tension by adding external pressure without resolving internal friction. It fails to provide the necessary structure for conflict resolution, thus hindering the team's ability to mature.
- ✗
Reassign team members who are causing conflict to different teams.
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning team members is a reactive measure that avoids addressing the root causes of conflict within the current team's dynamics and prevents the team from developing essential conflict resolution skills. This action can damage morale, foster a perception that conflict is to be avoided rather than managed constructively, and may simply transfer the problem to another team. It prevents the team from learning to navigate disagreements and build cohesion.
- ✗
Encourage team members to avoid discussing disagreements to maintain harmony.
Why it's wrong here
Encouraging the avoidance of disagreements during the storming stage is counterproductive and detrimental to team development. Storming is a necessary phase where conflicts and differing opinions surface, allowing the team to work through issues and establish trust. Suppressing these discussions prevents the team from developing effective conflict resolution mechanisms and achieving genuine cohesion, ultimately hindering their progression to the Norming and Performing stages.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This PMP question is part of Courseiva's 800-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PMP practice question is part of Courseiva's free PMI certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PMP exam.