The answer is to meet with each engineer separately to understand their perspectives. This is correct because the Project Management Professional PMP conflict resolution process emphasizes gathering facts privately before any collaborative or directive action, ensuring the project manager understands the root cause of the technical disagreement without escalating emotions or damaging trust. On the PMP exam, this scenario tests your ability to apply the "first step" of conflict management—data collection—especially when senior engineers conflict over a technical approach; a common trap is jumping to a facilitated meeting or imposing a solution, which skips critical fact-finding. Remember the mnemonic "SIP" for conflict first steps: Separate, Investigate, then Proceed—always start by separating the parties to hear each side in private.
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.
During the execution phase of a construction project, two senior engineers have a heated disagreement over the technical approach for a critical structural component. The conflict is causing delays and affecting team morale. As the project manager, 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.
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 engineer separately to understand their perspectives
Option A is correct because the PM should first gather facts privately from each engineer to understand the root cause of the technical disagreement without escalating emotions. This aligns with the PMP's conflict resolution process, which starts with data collection before any collaborative or directive action. Addressing the conflict openly or unilaterally could damage trust and miss critical technical nuances.
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.
✓
Meet with each engineer separately to understand their perspectives
Why this is correct
This allows the PM to gather facts and understand underlying issues before facilitating a 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.
✗
Call a team meeting to resolve the conflict openly
Why it's wrong here
Open confrontation may escalate the conflict; individual discussions are more appropriate initially.
✗
Make a decision yourself based on your technical expertise
Why it's wrong here
As a PM, you should facilitate resolution, not impose a solution, unless necessary.
✗
Ask the sponsor to mediate the conflict
Why it's wrong here
The PM should handle the conflict; escalating to sponsor prematurely is not recommended.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose Option C (making a decision yourself) because they confuse the PM's authority with the need for technical expertise, but the PM's role is to facilitate resolution, not impose a technical solution.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In construction projects, structural component disagreements often involve trade-offs between load-bearing capacity, material fatigue, and code compliance (e.g., ACI 318 or Eurocode 2). The PM must first isolate the specific technical constraint—such as rebar spacing vs. concrete strength—through private interviews to avoid groupthink. This mirrors the 'Confronting' (Problem-Solving) conflict resolution mode, which requires complete data before synthesis.
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: Meet with each engineer separately to understand their perspectives — Option A is correct because the PM should first gather facts privately from each engineer to understand the root cause of the technical disagreement without escalating emotions. This aligns with the PMP's conflict resolution process, which starts with data collection before any collaborative or directive action. Addressing the conflict openly or unilaterally could damage trust and miss critical technical nuances.
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
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 notices that two senior developers are in constant disagreement about the technical approach for a critical feature. The conflict is causing delays and lowering team morale. What should the project manager do first?
easy
A.Decide on the technical approach yourself and instruct the team.
B.Escalate the issue to the project sponsor for a decision.
C.Reassign the developers to different tasks to avoid further conflict.
✓ D.Facilitate a meeting with both developers to discuss their perspectives and find a compromise.
Why D: Option D is correct because the project manager's first responsibility in a conflict between team members is to facilitate a collaborative resolution. By bringing both developers together to discuss their perspectives, the PM demonstrates servant leadership and leverages the team's expertise to find a compromise, which aligns with the PMP's focus on leading people and managing conflict constructively. This approach directly addresses the root cause—disagreement on technical approach—without imposing a top-down decision or avoiding the issue.
Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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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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