- A
Plan team-building activities to build relationships.
Team-building fosters trust and cohesion.
- B
Empower the team to make all project decisions.
Why wrong: Empowerment comes after trust is built.
- C
Encourage open conflict to surface issues.
Why wrong: Conflict is productive later; early on it can be destructive.
- D
Define individual roles and responsibilities.
Clarity reduces confusion.
- E
Establish clear team norms and ground rules.
Setting norms early guides behavior.
Question 29 of 892
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 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
✓
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.
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: 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.
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Last reviewed: Jun 11, 2026
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