PMP Process — Managing Technical Aspects Practice Question
A team member has been consistently late completing tasks. When you discuss this, they mention personal issues affecting their work. What should you do FIRST?
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
✓
Offer support, such as adjusting workload or providing resources
Show empathy and explore solutions together. Option A ignores the human aspect. Option B is punitive. Option D escalates prematurely without trying to resolve at the team level.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Escalate to human resources for disciplinary action
Why it's wrong here
Escalating directly to human resources for disciplinary action is premature and counterproductive as a first response to a team member's performance issue. A PMP-certified project manager's initial responsibility is to understand the root cause of the delay and attempt to resolve it through direct communication and support, rather than immediately resorting to punitive measures. Such an action bypasses opportunities for coaching and development, which are core aspects of effective team management and conflict resolution.
- ✗
Reassign the tasks to another team member
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning tasks to another team member without addressing the underlying performance issue is a short-term fix that fails to resolve the core problem. This approach can demotivate the original team member, signaling a lack of trust or investment in their development, and may also overburden other team members. Effective project management requires confronting and resolving performance gaps, not merely shifting the work to avoid the immediate challenge.
- ✓
Offer support, such as adjusting workload or providing resources
Why this is correct
Offering support, such as adjusting workload or providing additional resources, aligns with the PMP's emphasis on servant leadership and proactive team development. This approach demonstrates a commitment to the team member's success, fostering a collaborative environment where challenges are addressed constructively. By identifying and mitigating obstacles, the project manager helps the team member improve performance and contributes to overall project success, embodying principles from the 'Develop Team' process area.
- ✗
Document the issue in the performance report
Why it's wrong here
Documenting the issue in a performance report without first attempting to resolve it proactively is a reactive measure that does not contribute to immediate performance improvement. While documentation is essential for record-keeping and future evaluations, it should follow attempts to understand and address the root cause of the performance gap. Relying solely on documentation avoids the project manager's responsibility to actively manage and support their team members in overcoming challenges, which is a key aspect of project resource management.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PMP
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. You are managing a project where a key team member has been consistently missing deadlines. This has caused delays in dependent tasks. The team member has good technical skills but seems overloaded. What is the best course of action for the project manager?
hard- A.Formally document the missed deadlines and issue a warning to the team member.
- ✓ B.Have a one-on-one meeting with the team member to discuss the challenges and offer support.
- C.Reassign the team member's tasks to others to avoid further delays.
- D.Replace the team member with a more productive resource.
Why B: The PM should first understand the root cause of the missed deadlines. Option B is correct because it addresses the issue through communication and support.
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.