The answer is to establish clear team norms and ground rules, along with facilitating icebreaker activities and defining roles and responsibilities. This is correct because during the forming stage of Tuckman’s model, team members are polite and uncertain, so planned team-building actions like setting explicit behavioral expectations and fostering social bonds reduce ambiguity and build trust, which are prerequisites for moving into the storming stage. On the PMP exam, this concept tests your understanding of the Develop Team process in the People domain, often appearing in situational questions where a new team is assembled from scratch. A common trap is confusing forming actions with norming actions—remember, forming is about structure and safety, not deep collaboration. Memory tip: “Forming = Foundation,” so focus on ground rules, introductions, and role clarity first.
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.
A project manager is building a new team from scratch. To maximize team performance, which THREE actions should the project manager take during the forming stage?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Plan team-building activities to build relationships.
Option A is correct because during the forming stage of Tuckman's model, team members are often polite and uncertain; planned team-building activities help establish trust and social bonds, which are essential for later stages. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on developing the team as a key process in the People domain.
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.
✓
Plan team-building activities to build relationships.
Why this is correct
Team-building fosters trust and cohesion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Empower the team to make all project decisions.
Why it's wrong here
Empowerment comes after trust is built.
✗
Encourage open conflict to surface issues.
Why it's wrong here
Conflict is productive later; early on it can be destructive.
✓
Define individual roles and responsibilities.
Why this is correct
Clarity reduces confusion.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✓
Establish clear team norms and ground rules.
Why this is correct
Setting norms early guides behavior.
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 often confuse the forming stage with later stages, selecting actions like empowering the team (Option B) or encouraging conflict (Option C) that are appropriate for norming/performing or storming, respectively, rather than recognizing that forming requires structure and relationship-building.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Tuckman's stages (forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning) describe team development; during forming, the project manager should provide direction and structure, including defining roles (Option D) and setting ground rules (Option E), which reduce ambiguity and accelerate the transition to storming. Team-building activities (Option A) directly address the social needs of the forming stage by fostering interpersonal relationships, which are critical for later conflict resolution and collaboration.
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: Plan team-building activities to build relationships. — Option A is correct because during the forming stage of Tuckman's model, team members are often polite and uncertain; planned team-building activities help establish trust and social bonds, which are essential for later stages. This aligns with the PMBOK Guide's emphasis on developing the team as a key process in the People domain.
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.
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. A project manager is building a new project team. Several team members have never worked together before. The project manager wants to accelerate team development and improve collaboration. Which approach is most effective?
medium
A.Assign tasks individually and monitor progress closely
✓ B.Organize a team kickoff workshop with icebreakers and create a team charter together
C.Send the team to a formal training on teamwork
D.Let the team naturally develop norms over time without intervention
Why B: Initiating team-building activities and setting clear expectations early helps form a cohesive team quickly. This aligns with the Forming stage of Tuckman's model and PMI's emphasis on team charter.
Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
Question Discussion
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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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