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 project where the team has been working overtime for several weeks to meet a milestone. The milestone is achieved, but the team is exhausted. What should you do to sustain the team's performance?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conduct a retrospective to identify causes of overtime and implement improvements
Option A is correct because a retrospective directly addresses the root cause of unsustainable overtime, enabling the project manager to implement process improvements that prevent recurrence. Sustaining team performance requires addressing systemic issues, not just short-term relief. This aligns with the PMI talent triangle's emphasis on leadership and team motivation through continuous improvement.
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.
✓
Conduct a retrospective to identify causes of overtime and implement improvements
Why this is correct
Learning from the experience prevents future burnout and improves planning.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Reward the team with a bonus and move on to the next phase
Why it's wrong here
While rewarding is good, it does not address the root cause of overtime.
✗
Encourage the team to take a few days off to recover
Why it's wrong here
Rest is important, but without process improvement, overtime may recur.
✗
Increase the team's resources for the next milestone
Why it's wrong here
Adding resources may help but is reactive; first understand the problem.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose immediate relief (time off or rewards) over root-cause analysis, failing to recognize that the PMP exam prioritizes long-term, systemic solutions that prevent recurrence over short-term fixes.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In agile and hybrid project management, retrospectives are a core inspect-and-adapt mechanism (per the Agile Manifesto and Scrum Guide) that systematically uncover process inefficiencies, such as poor estimation, scope creep, or lack of stakeholder alignment. By focusing on the team's well-being and process health, the project manager applies the 'Servant Leadership' principle, ensuring the team can maintain velocity without burnout. Real-world studies show that sustainable pace directly correlates with higher quality and lower turnover, as highlighted in the PMBOK Guide's 'Team Performance Domain'.
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: Conduct a retrospective to identify causes of overtime and implement improvements — Option A is correct because a retrospective directly addresses the root cause of unsustainable overtime, enabling the project manager to implement process improvements that prevent recurrence. Sustaining team performance requires addressing systemic issues, not just short-term relief. This aligns with the PMI talent triangle's emphasis on leadership and team motivation through continuous improvement.
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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Question Discussion
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