The correct answer is to facilitate a meeting with both developers to understand their perspectives, as this directly addresses the root cause of the conflict while respecting agile principles. This action is correct because it leverages the concept of self-organizing teams and collective ownership, which are core to agile conflict resolution—by encouraging the developers to collaboratively define a coding standard, you empower them to reach a consensus that everyone can commit to, thereby restoring morale and productivity. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of servant leadership and the agile mindset, often appearing as a trap where you might be tempted to impose a standard from above or escalate to management; the key is to remember that the project manager facilitates, not dictates. A useful memory tip is “Facilitate, don’t dictate”—when conflicts arise over technical practices, guide the team to own the solution themselves.
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 team is experiencing conflicts between two developers regarding coding standards. The conflict is affecting team morale and productivity. As the project manager, which TWO actions should you take?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Encourage the team to collaboratively define a coding standard that everyone agrees on
Option A is correct because it aligns with the agile principle of self-organizing teams and collective ownership. By encouraging the team to collaboratively define a coding standard, you empower them to reach a consensus that everyone can commit to, which directly addresses the root cause of the conflict and improves morale and productivity. This approach fosters team cohesion and ensures the standard is practical and accepted by all, rather than being imposed externally.
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.
✓
Encourage the team to collaboratively define a coding standard that everyone agrees on
Why this is correct
Team collaboration fosters consensus and commitment.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Remove the developers from the project to avoid further conflict
Why it's wrong here
Removal is a last resort and may not be necessary.
✗
Decide on a coding standard yourself and enforce it
Why it's wrong here
Imposing a solution may reduce ownership and buy-in.
✗
Escalate the conflict to the functional managers of the developers
Why it's wrong here
The PM should first attempt to resolve the conflict within the team.
✓
Facilitate a meeting with both developers to understand their perspectives
Why this is correct
Active listening and mediation help resolve the conflict.
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 confuse the project manager's role as a decision-maker with the agile principle of servant leadership, leading them to choose option C (deciding the standard themselves) or option D (escalating to managers), when the correct approach is to facilitate team consensus as in options A and E.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In agile frameworks like Scrum, the team is expected to self-organize and resolve technical disagreements through collaboration, often using techniques like 'working agreements' or 'definition of done' to codify standards. The project manager acts as a servant leader, facilitating discussions rather than imposing solutions. A real-world scenario might involve a team using a linter configuration file (e.g., ESLint for JavaScript) where developers disagree on specific rules; a facilitated meeting to review and vote on each rule can lead to a shared configuration that everyone adheres to, reducing friction and improving code consistency.
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: Encourage the team to collaboratively define a coding standard that everyone agrees on — Option A is correct because it aligns with the agile principle of self-organizing teams and collective ownership. By encouraging the team to collaboratively define a coding standard, you empower them to reach a consensus that everyone can commit to, which directly addresses the root cause of the conflict and improves morale and productivity. This approach fosters team cohesion and ensures the standard is practical and accepted by all, rather than being imposed externally.
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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Question Discussion
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