- A
Assign specific tasks to team members based on their expertise
Why wrong: Assigning tasks undermines self-organization; the team should decide who does what.
- B
Protect the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint
Shielding the team from disruptions allows them to focus and self-organize within the sprint.
- C
Allow the team to estimate their own work and plan the sprint backlog
Self-organization includes the team owning estimation and planning.
- D
Monitor each team member's hours to ensure productivity
Why wrong: Monitoring hours is micromanagement and contrary to self-organization.
- E
Define the technical solution in detail for the team to implement
Why wrong: Defining the solution reduces the team's autonomy to decide how to implement.
PMP People — Leading Projects Practice Question
This PMP practice question tests your understanding of people — leading projects. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. 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.
As an agile project manager, you want to empower the development team to self-organize. Which TWO practices would BEST support self-organization?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"best"Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
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
Protect the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint
Option B is correct because protecting the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint is a core agile practice that enables self-organization. Without this protection, the team cannot maintain focus on their committed work, and external pressures undermine their autonomy to manage their own process. This aligns with the Scrum principle of a stable sprint backlog and the product owner's role in shielding the team.
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.
- ✗
Assign specific tasks to team members based on their expertise
Why it's wrong here
Assigning tasks undermines self-organization; the team should decide who does what.
- ✓
Protect the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint
Why this is correct
Shielding the team from disruptions allows them to focus and self-organize within the sprint.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✓
Allow the team to estimate their own work and plan the sprint backlog
Why this is correct
Self-organization includes the team owning estimation and planning.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
Monitor each team member's hours to ensure productivity
Why it's wrong here
Monitoring hours is micromanagement and contrary to self-organization.
- ✗
Define the technical solution in detail for the team to implement
Why it's wrong here
Defining the solution reduces the team's autonomy to decide how to implement.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse 'empowering the team' with 'assigning tasks based on expertise' (Option A), thinking it leverages individual strengths, but this actually undermines the team's collective ownership and cross-functionality.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Self-organization in agile is rooted in complex adaptive systems theory, where teams are given clear goals and constraints (e.g., sprint goal, definition of done) but are free to determine the best way to achieve them. This requires the team to have collective ownership of estimation, task breakdown, and technical decisions, which is why allowing them to estimate their own work and plan the sprint backlog (Option C) is the other correct practice. In practice, a self-organizing team might use techniques like planning poker for estimation and swarm on tasks to balance workload, rather than relying on a manager to assign work.
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.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
- →
People — Leading Projects — study guide chapter
Learn the concepts, then practise the questions
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this PMP question test?
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: Protect the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint — Option B is correct because protecting the team from external interruptions and scope changes during the sprint is a core agile practice that enables self-organization. Without this protection, the team cannot maintain focus on their committed work, and external pressures undermine their autonomy to manage their own process. This aligns with the Scrum principle of a stable sprint backlog and the product owner's role in shielding the team.
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: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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