The answer is to work with the product owner to clarify user stories and acceptance criteria, while also allocating time for refactoring and conducting a root cause analysis on the velocity decline. This trio of actions directly confronts the two core issues: technical debt slows future work by making code brittle, and unclear requirements cause rework and wasted effort. By dedicating sprint capacity to refactoring, you restore code maintainability, while clarifying acceptance criteria ensures the team builds the right thing the first time. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of agile principles under the "Adaptive and Hybrid" domain, where managing technical debt and stakeholder alignment are key. A common trap is to simply add more team members or extend deadlines, which ignores the root causes. Memory tip: "Clarify, Clean, and Analyze" — the three C’s to restore velocity.
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
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.
Your agile team's velocity has been declining for the past three sprints. The team cites increasing technical debt and unclear requirements. As the project manager, which THREE actions should you take to address this?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Allocate time for the team to refactor code and reduce technical debt.
Option A is correct because allocating time for refactoring directly addresses the technical debt that is slowing the team down. By dedicating sprint capacity to code cleanup and improvement, the team can improve code maintainability, reduce future defects, and restore velocity. This is a standard agile practice to manage technical debt and sustain delivery pace.
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.
✓
Allocate time for the team to refactor code and reduce technical debt.
Why this is correct
Paying down technical debt improves velocity and quality.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Facilitate a root cause analysis session with the team.
Why this is correct
Understanding the underlying causes is essential for improvement.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Work with the product owner to clarify user stories and acceptance criteria.
Why this is correct
Clear requirements reduce rework and confusion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Replace underperforming team members.
Why it's wrong here
Blaming individuals does not address systemic issues.
✗
Switch to a different agile framework, such as Kanban.
Why it's wrong here
Changing frameworks without understanding the root cause may not help.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may choose to replace team members (Option D) as a quick fix, but the PMP exam emphasizes servant leadership and root cause analysis over punitive measures.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Technical debt accumulates when teams take shortcuts to meet deadlines, leading to code that is harder to modify and test. Refactoring, as described by Martin Fowler, involves restructuring existing code without changing its external behavior, which reduces complexity and improves velocity over time. In practice, teams often use a 'technical debt backlog' or allocate a fixed percentage (e.g., 20%) of each sprint to refactoring to prevent velocity decline.
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 practitioner preparing for the PMP exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
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: Allocate time for the team to refactor code and reduce technical debt. — Option A is correct because allocating time for refactoring directly addresses the technical debt that is slowing the team down. By dedicating sprint capacity to code cleanup and improvement, the team can improve code maintainability, reduce future defects, and restore velocity. This is a standard agile practice to manage technical debt and sustain delivery pace.
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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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.
Question Discussion
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