The answer is to provide additional training and pair the member with a senior developer for knowledge transfer. This approach directly addresses the root cause of a low performing team member in an agile environment—a gap in the technology stack—by combining skill development with real-time support, which aligns with the servant leadership mindset that the PMP exam emphasizes for agile teams. Rather than removing the member or redistributing their work, this solution fosters team development and maintains productivity by leveraging the senior developer’s expertise, turning a bottleneck into a growth opportunity. On the Project Management Professional PMP exam, this scenario tests your understanding of agile principles over traditional command-and-control fixes; a common trap is choosing to reassign tasks or escalate, which violates the agile value of collective ownership. Remember the mnemonic “Train and Pair, Don’t Despair” to recall that investing in the struggling member through targeted training and pairing is the best path to restore team velocity.
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 team has a low-performing member who is struggling with the technology stack. The rest of the team is becoming frustrated because they have to cover for them. What is the BEST approach to handle this situation?
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 the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Provide additional training and pair the member with a senior developer for knowledge transfer
Providing training and pairing the member with a senior developer supports their development while maintaining team productivity. This aligns with servant leadership and team development.
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.
✗
Remove the low-performing member from the team to avoid further disruption
Why it's wrong here
Removal should be a last resort; the PM should first try to develop the team member.
✓
Provide additional training and pair the member with a senior developer for knowledge transfer
Why this is correct
This supports the team member's growth and leverages the team's expertise to improve performance.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Ask the team to continue covering for the member until they improve
Why it's wrong here
This can lead to burnout and resentment among the rest of the team.
✗
Reduce the member's workload to only simple tasks
Why it's wrong here
This avoids the root cause and may not help the member improve.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
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.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→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.
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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: Provide additional training and pair the member with a senior developer for knowledge transfer — Providing training and pairing the member with a senior developer supports their development while maintaining team productivity. This aligns with servant leadership and team development.
What should I do if I get this PMP question wrong?
Identify which PMP exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
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.
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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.
Question Discussion
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