Question 243 of 892

People — Leading Projects →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

First Step in Conflict Resolution: Meet Separately and Facilitate Joint Discussion

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.

You are managing a hybrid project with a critical deliverable due in two weeks. Two senior developers on your team have a strong disagreement over the technical approach. They have stopped speaking to each other, and the team's progress has stalled. 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.

A
Enforce a team policy that all technical decisions must be approved by you
Why wrong: Imposing unilateral control undermines team autonomy and may not address the root cause.
B
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution
Why wrong: Escalation should be a last resort; the PM should first attempt to resolve the conflict directly.
C
Reassign the work to other team members to avoid further conflict
Why wrong: Avoiding the conflict does not resolve the underlying issue and may demotivate the developers.
D
Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a joint discussion
Direct, private engagement and facilitation are recommended first steps in conflict resolution.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

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

✓

Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a joint discussion

Option D is correct because, as a project manager, your first responsibility in a conflict is to understand each party's perspective individually and then facilitate a collaborative resolution. This approach aligns with the PMP's 'Manage Conflict' process, which emphasizes direct, respectful communication before escalating or imposing solutions. By meeting separately and then jointly, you address the root cause—the technical disagreement—while preserving team cohesion and ownership of the solution.

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.

✗
Enforce a team policy that all technical decisions must be approved by you
Why it's wrong here
Imposing unilateral control undermines team autonomy and may not address the root cause.
✗
Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for resolution
Why it's wrong here
Escalation should be a last resort; the PM should first attempt to resolve the conflict directly.
✗
Reassign the work to other team members to avoid further conflict
Why it's wrong here
Avoiding the conflict does not resolve the underlying issue and may demotivate the developers.
✓
Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a joint discussion
Why this is correct
Direct, private engagement and facilitation are recommended first steps in conflict resolution.
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

PMI often tests the misconception that a project manager should immediately impose a solution or escalate to authority, but the PMP framework emphasizes that the first step is always to facilitate communication and understand the conflict's root cause before taking any directive action.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

In conflict resolution, the 'Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach' is a key model: it prioritizes understanding each party's underlying interests (e.g., performance, maintainability, or risk) over their stated positions (e.g., 'my approach is better'). By facilitating a joint discussion, you help the developers find a technical compromise—such as a hybrid architecture that combines both approaches—which often yields a more robust solution than either alone. This mirrors real-world scenarios where senior engineers disagree on, for example, using a microservices vs. monolithic approach, and a facilitated discussion can reveal that a modular monolith satisfies both concerns.

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.

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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: Meet with each developer separately to understand their perspectives and facilitate a joint discussion — Option D is correct because, as a project manager, your first responsibility in a conflict is to understand each party's perspective individually and then facilitate a collaborative resolution. This approach aligns with the PMP's 'Manage Conflict' process, which emphasizes direct, respectful communication before escalating or imposing solutions. By meeting separately and then jointly, you address the root cause—the technical disagreement—while preserving team cohesion and ownership of the solution.

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

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Same concept, more angles

2 more ways this is tested on PMP

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. You are managing a hybrid project with a co-located core team and remote subject matter experts. Two senior developers argue daily about the technical approach for a critical module. The conflict is delaying sprint planning and affecting team morale. Which TWO actions should you take first?

hard

A.Reassign one developer to a different module to reduce interaction
✓ B.Facilitate a private meeting between the two developers to understand their perspectives and guide them toward a resolution
C.Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves on its own
D.Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision
✓ E.Review and reinforce the team charter with the team, emphasizing agreed-upon behavioral norms

Why B: Option B is correct because facilitating a private meeting between the two developers allows you to understand the root cause of the technical disagreement (e.g., architectural trade-offs between microservices vs. monolith for the module) and guide them toward a collaborative resolution. As a hybrid project manager, you must address conflict directly and early to prevent further delays in sprint planning and restore team morale, aligning with the PMI People domain's emphasis on conflict resolution as a key leadership skill.

Variation 2. A project manager is leading a cross-functional team where two key members have conflicting priorities. One member insists on following a strict process, while the other wants to expedite delivery. The project manager needs to resolve the conflict to keep the project on track. Which approach is most effective?

medium

A.Enforce the strict process to ensure quality.
B.Suggest a compromise where both give up some requirements.
✓ C.Facilitate a meeting to discuss both perspectives and find a solution that meets core needs.
D.Ignore the conflict and hope it resolves itself.

Why C: Option C is correct because facilitating a meeting to discuss both perspectives aligns with the PMP's 'Manage Conflict' process under the 'People' domain. This collaborative approach, known as 'collaborating' or 'problem-solving,' seeks a win-win solution that addresses the core needs of both team members—ensuring quality while meeting delivery timelines—without forcing a compromise that dilutes value or ignoring the issue.

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