PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
A team member has been consistently missing deadlines for the past three sprints. Their work quality is also declining. You have had informal conversations with them, but the problem persists. What is the BEST next step for the project manager?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often choose Option A (escalation) or Option C (reassignment) because they seem like decisive actions, but the PMP exam prioritizes collaborative problem-solving and coaching over immediate escalation or task shuffling.
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
✓
Schedule a private meeting to discuss the performance issues, identify underlying causes, and agree on an improvement plan
The PMBOK Guide emphasizes addressing performance issues through direct, collaborative communication. A private meeting allows the project manager to explore root causes (e.g., skill gaps, personal challenges, or unclear requirements) and co-create a performance improvement plan, which aligns with the 'Manage Team' process and the principle of servant leadership.
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 the issue to human resources to initiate a replacement process
Why it's wrong here
Initiating a replacement process by escalating directly to human resources is a premature and overly aggressive response. As a project manager, the initial responsibility is to directly address performance issues with the team member, seeking to understand and resolve them through coaching, mentoring, or specific performance improvement plans. Replacement should only be considered as a last resort after all reasonable attempts to improve performance have demonstrably failed, as per standard project team management practices.
- ✓
Schedule a private meeting to discuss the performance issues, identify underlying causes, and agree on an improvement plan
Why this is correct
This is the most appropriate and constructive first step for a project manager. A private meeting allows for a confidential, non-confrontational discussion to understand the root causes of the missed deadlines, which could range from skill gaps to workload issues or personal challenges. Collaboratively developing an improvement plan fosters accountability and provides a clear path for the team member to correct their performance, aligning with effective team development and conflict resolution strategies.
- ✗
Reassign the team member to less critical tasks to minimize impact
Why it's wrong here
Reassigning the team member to less critical tasks merely sidesteps the core performance problem rather than resolving it. While it might offer a temporary mitigation for project risk, it fails to address the underlying reasons for the performance issues, potentially leading to continued underperformance in other areas or negatively impacting team morale. A project manager's role includes developing team members, not simply reallocating them to avoid difficult conversations or skill development.
- ✗
Ignore the issue for now and hope the team member improves on their own
Why it's wrong here
Ignoring consistent performance issues is a passive and irresponsible approach that can severely jeopardize project success and team dynamics. Unaddressed problems often escalate, leading to further schedule delays, quality compromises, and decreased team morale as other members may resent carrying the burden of an underperforming colleague. Effective project management requires proactive intervention and accountability to maintain project health and team productivity.
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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.