The correct first step is to facilitate a discussion with the product owner to allocate time for refactoring in the next sprint. This is because technical debt acts as a hidden drag on velocity, forcing the team to spend effort on fixing brittle code rather than delivering new features; without explicit capacity for refactoring, the debt compounds and velocity continues to drop. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of the agile principle that the project manager serves as a servant leader who removes impediments by negotiating with the product owner, not by unilaterally assigning work or ignoring the debt. A common trap is to jump into root-cause analysis or team retraining, but the immediate priority is securing dedicated time for refactoring to restore sustainable pace. Remember the mnemonic “Debt First, Discuss Next” — when velocity drops due to technical debt, your first action is always to discuss and allocate time, not to analyze the debt’s origin.
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 project has seen sprint velocity drop for the past three sprints. The team attributes it to increasing technical debt. As the project manager, what should you do FIRST?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "first"
Why it matters: Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Facilitate a discussion with the product owner to allocate time for refactoring in the next sprint
Option D is correct because the first step when technical debt impacts velocity is to collaborate with the product owner to prioritize refactoring. As the project manager, you should facilitate a discussion to allocate dedicated time in the next sprint for addressing technical debt, ensuring the team can sustainably improve velocity without compromising quality or overworking.
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.
✗
Bring in external consultants to fix the technical debt
Why it's wrong here
External consultants may not know the codebase well and can be costly; empower the team first.
✗
Reduce the scope of future sprints to compensate
Why it's wrong here
This may not address the root cause of technical debt.
✗
Ask the team to work extra hours to maintain velocity while addressing debt
Why it's wrong here
Working extra hours is unsustainable and may increase debt further.
✓
Facilitate a discussion with the product owner to allocate time for refactoring in the next sprint
Why this is correct
Balancing new features with debt reduction improves long-term velocity.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "first" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may think reducing scope (Option B) is a valid first step, but the PMP exam tests the principle of addressing root causes (technical debt) through collaboration with the product owner, not just compensating for symptoms.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Technical debt is a metaphor for the eventual cost of choosing an easy solution now instead of a better approach that would take longer. In agile, refactoring is a continuous process that should be baked into the definition of done or explicitly allocated as a sprint backlog item. A real-world scenario is when a team accumulates 'code smells' (e.g., duplicated code, large classes) that slow down feature development; allocating a 'refactoring sprint' or using a 'technical debt backlog' helps manage this without sacrificing future velocity.
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: Facilitate a discussion with the product owner to allocate time for refactoring in the next sprint — Option D is correct because the first step when technical debt impacts velocity is to collaborate with the product owner to prioritize refactoring. As the project manager, you should facilitate a discussion to allocate dedicated time in the next sprint for addressing technical debt, ensuring the team can sustainably improve velocity without compromising quality or overworking.
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.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "first". Order matters here. You are being tested on which action comes before the others — not which action is generally useful.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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. In an agile software project, the sprint velocity has dropped from 30 story points to 18 over the last two sprints. The team members report that they are spending too much time on unplanned technical debt. The product owner is pushing for more features. What should the project manager do FIRST?
hard
A.Reassign two team members to a separate 'debt reduction' team to isolate the issue
B.Remove testing from the definition of done to increase velocity
C.Increase the sprint workload to motivate the team to deliver more features
✓ D.Facilitate a discussion between the team and product owner to prioritize technical debt alongside new features
Why D: Option D is correct because the project manager's first responsibility is to facilitate a collaborative discussion between the team and the product owner to address the root cause—unplanned technical debt—while balancing the need for new features. This aligns with the agile principle of transparency and stakeholder collaboration, ensuring that technical debt is explicitly prioritized in the backlog alongside feature work. Removing or ignoring the debt would only compound the velocity drop and degrade product quality.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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.
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